Nalip
Nalip G. Directed by , Narrated by , Voices by , Starring . NALIP is conducting its fourth annual conference in San Antonio this weekend, Nov. 7-10. Anticipated attendees include director Miguel Arteta (The Good Girl), Edward James Olmos, and Diego Luna (Y Tu Mamá También) and will also showcase some of the best emerging…
Wesley Willis: The Daddy of Rock ‘n’ Roll
Wesley Willis: The Daddy of Rock ‘n’ Roll 2003, NR, 57 min. Directed by Daniel Bitton, Narrated by , Voices by , Starring . He’s a 400-pound chronic schizophrenic who warbles lyrics like “suck a tiger’s dick with Bonanza steak sauce” over plonky prerecorded synthesizers, and he’s – a rock star? This low-tech documentary follows…
Double Trouble: James Fotopoulos & Julia Halperin
Double Trouble: James Fotopoulos & Julia Halperin NR, 104 min. Directed by Julia Halperin, James Fotopoulos, Narrated by , Voices by , Starring . Christabel (2002), by avant-garde bad boy James Fotopoulos, alternates between 16mm and video projection to spin a web of dreams inspired by the poem by Samuel Coleridge. Fotopoulos’ feature-length narrative work…
Blue Vinyl
Blue Vinyl 2002, NR, 96 min. Directed by Judith Helfand, Daniel B. Gold, Narrated by , Voices by , Starring . The filmmakers call this funny rabble-rouser of a documentary a “toxic comedy.” The phrase fits. Helfand and Gold investigate the life cycle of polyvinyl chloride when Helfand’s parents decide to have the vinyl siding…
Babette’s Feast
Babette’s Feast 1987, G, 102 min. Directed by Gabriel Axel, Narrated by , Voices by , Starring Gudmar Wivesson, Jean-Philippe Lafont, Stephane Audran. Two cloistered women in a small rural village play host to a stranger with an unusual secret in this Oscar winner from Denmark. The preparation of this movie’s meal of several courses…
Naturally Native
Naturally Native 1998, PG-13, 107 min. Directed by Valerie Red-Horse, Jennifer Wynne Farmer, Narrated by , Voices by , Starring Floyd “Red Crow” Westerman, Max Gail, Valerie Red-Horse, Irene Bedard, Kimberly Norris, Pato Hoffmann, Mary Kay Place. Three Native America sisters start their own cosmetics line – Naturally native – but confront complicated issues of…
The New Adventures of Snow White
The New Adventures of Snow White 1969, X, 76 min. Directed by Rolf Thiele, Narrated by , Voices by , Starring Evelyn Dutree, Walter Giller. This West German import combines Grimm Brothers fairy tales with soft-core porn.
The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T
The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T 1953, NR, 88 min. Directed by Roy Rowland, Narrated by , Voices by , Starring Tommy Rettig, Mary Healy, Peter Lind Hayes, Hans Conreid. In this wonderful live-action fantasy devised by Dr. Seuss, a piano student has a bad dream that his cruel teacher is ruling over a musical…
News/Print
Something wonderful is about to happen to you.
Phases and Stages
Beaver NelsonLegends of the Super Heroes (Freedom) Superman and Batman, according to the scrapbook photos on Beaver Nelson’s fourth and best album. His little boy in the red cape, Beaver in blue. Seeing that Legends of the Super Heroes is number four out of the chute since 1998 for Austin’s Raggedy Man, Beaver should have…
Caesar’s Caesar
Karl Rove had a brief but interesting stint as a UT politics instructor.
Austin @ Large: Strictly Need to Know
Austin could learn something from Vancouver about public planning information.
Page Two
Bite the bullet and vote.
Phases and Stages
Richard BucknerImpasse (Overcoat) For his first album of new material in four years, once-again Austinite Richard Buckner decided to experiment. His last release, The Hill, was a successful musical adaptation of Edgar Lee Master’s Spoon River Anthology. On Impasse, the celebrated singer-songwriter recorded everything at his home in Edmonton, Alberta, composing and playing virtually every…
I-35: TxDot Makes (or Breaks) History?
The I-35 expansion project runs into trouble as it tries to avoid “impacting” historic Eastside properties.
The Hightower Report
Saudi Arabia puts lipstick on a pig; and Gary Winnick puts lipstick on his greed.
Comedian
Comedian 2002, R, 81 min. Directed by Christian Charles, Narrated by , Voices by , Starring . What more could there be for us to learn about Jerry Seinfeld? It turns out there’s a fair amount, according to this new documentary Comedian. Neither a concert film of Seinfeld performing his stand-up act nor a biopic…
Mr. Smarty Pants
If you’re trying to contact the dead, try scrying.Bobbing for apples is a relic of the “Druidic Ordeal by Water,” signifying the passage of the soul to the hereafter.Although the origin of candy corn is unknown, in the 1880s, the Wunderle Candy Company of Philadelphia became the first confectioner to mass produce it. The Goelitz…
Phases and Stages
Will JohnsonMurder of Tides (Undertow) Like Guided by Voices’ Robert Pollard, Will Johnson never fails to amaze with his prolific songwriting and, unlike Pollard, his amazing consistency. Thanks to main man Johnson, Denton/Dallas darlings Centro-matic have established themselves as the state’s finest low-to-the-ground indie sensations. If there was a Matador or Drag City branch in…
PODER vs. H-Zoning: Ready for Round Two?
Eastside gentrification task force recommends expanding, not abolishing, historic zoning.
Jim Brown’s Shades of Gray
Spike Lee’s latest documentary, Jim Brown: All American, looks at the turbulent life of the “greatest football player ever.” Lee and Brown will be in town Tuesday to present the film at the Westgate Cinema.
War Photographer
War Photographer 2002, NR, 96 min. Directed by Christian Frei, Narrated by , Voices by , Starring . It’s nearly impossible to know how to react to this film. On the one hand, the current military ramp-up renders this documentary about James Nachtwey — quite possibly the greatest living war photographer ever — excruciatingly topical…
After a Fashion
BIRTHDAY PRESENCE Having turned 45 last week, I am obsessed with the signs of aging. I love where I am at this point in my life, and there is one indisputable fact: I am blessed with some amazing, deeply talented, dear friends. So it seemed like a birthday party was in order, thrown by several…
Phases and Stages
Fluffers UnionSirens Disco (Chocolate Johnson) By their very nature, roots are twisted. This is especially true in Austin, where Li’l Cap’n Travis’ stoned grandeur can’t quite cover up their Seventies singer-songwriter sensibilities, Okkervil River’s anaerobic bluegrass barely keeps the demons at bay, and the Gourds just want to get drunk and debate H.L. Mencken. Crashing…
Seton vs. Hospital District?
The success of a Travis Co. hospital district may depend on whether Seton Healthcare Network agrees to delay plans to build a new $200 million children’s hospital, leaders of a district working group assert. Clarke Heidrick and Lowell Lebermann, who co-chair the steering committee facilitating the creation of a health-financing district, have asked both Seton…
French Free-for-All
The latest Austin Film Society free series surveys French cinema in the Nineties.
Time Changer
Time Changer 2002, PG, 95 min. Directed by Rich Christiano, Narrated by , Voices by , Starring Paul Rodriguez, Richard Riehle, Jennifer O’Neill, Hal Linden, Gavin MacLeod, D. David Morin. Gavin MacLeod has gotten himself a new Love Boat — only this time it’s a time machine instead of a cruise liner. And instead of…
Day Trips
Pecans, even though they grow throughout the South, symbolize Texas like longhorns and bluebonnets. Whether you find your favorite nuts at a farmers’ market, a roadside stand, the grocery store, or pick them up in a park, homegrown pecans are fresher and tastier than any others. According to official nutritional information, the Texas pecan is…
Phases and Stages
Ramsay MidwoodShootout at the OK Chinese Restaurant (Vanguard) Too often these days, “Americana” means tepid singer-songwriters and middle-of-the-road alt.country material. This Midwood fella, a recent River City transplant, hews a lot closer to what the term ought to mean. He cites as his touchstones Mississippi John Hurt, Dock Boggs, Woody Guthrie, and Bob Dylan, and…
Sophia King: What Happens Now?
The city, APD, and police union haggle over what kind of “independent” review will be made of the King shooting.
Les Enfants Terribles
The series runs Tuesdays through December. Admission is free. All screenings will take place at Alamo Drafthouse Downtown (409 Colorado), with the exception of the first screening, Wild Reeds, which will take place at the Alamo Drafthouse North (2700 W. Anderson). For more info, visit www.austinfilm.org. Nov. 12, 7pmWild Reeds (D: André Téchiné, 1995, 110…
jackass the movie
jackass the movie 2002, R, 87 min. Directed by Jeff Tremaine, Narrated by , Voices by , Starring Johnny Knoxville, Bam Margera, Jason “Wee Man” Acuña, Ryan Dunn, Dave England, Steve-O, Chris Pontius, Ehren McGhehey. Here’s the deal: They don’t call it jackass for nothing. jackass the movie is, as the title would suggest, the…
To Your Health
My city recently voted to begin fluoridation of the municipal water supply. Should I be concerned, and if so, how would I remove the fluoride?
Phases and Stages
StevIe Ray Vaughan & Double TroubleThe Essential Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble (Epic/Legacy) There will be no complaining this time. Seems that every autumn welcomes a new Stevie Ray Vaughan collection, even though the local blues legend has been dead since 1990. This time, they did it right. Spread across a 2-CD set, The…
Once Burgled, Twice Busted
A 23-year-old Southwest Texas student spent five nights in county jail — for having his checkbook stolen.
Short Cuts
Good movies, good cause: LunaFest lands in town to raise cash for The Breast Cancer Fund.
Bowling for Columbine
Bowling for Columbine 2002, R, 119 min. Directed by Michael Moore, Narrated by , Voices by , Starring . With his new documentary Bowling for Columbine, Michael Moore proves once again that he is one of our country’s most valuable gadflies, a gifted provocateur with a real sense of humor and a keen eye for…
About AIDS
HIV, Hep C, and STD Testing: Free & Easy Have you ever wondered where to go for an HIV test? Does your regular doctor offer anonymous testing, so your name is not known? Do they provide counseling about risk assessment, prevention, safe sex, condoms, and other important information? Do you know where HIV testing is…
Phases and Stages
Del Castillo Vida (Smilin’ Castle) It’s all too easy to understand why Austin’s Del Castillo has captivated so many local fans. Part old-world “gitano,” part new-world flamenco with generous shots of rock and blues and a twist of soul, Del Castillo brings it all together in Vida, the group’s vibrant second album. If the flamenco…
Snyder Plea Spares Knee
The much-anticipated case of former APD officer Eric Snyder came to a sudden conclusion Oct. 25, with Snyder pleading no contest to a class C misdemeanor as part of a plea bargain. Snyder had been charged with official oppression, a class A misdemeanor, in conjunction with a March 2000 incident where he allegedly hit a…
Video Reviews
Eurotrash, with teeth.
Auto Focus
Auto Focus 2002, R, 104 min. Directed by Paul Schrader, Narrated by , Voices by , Starring Ed Begley Jr, Don McManus, Maria Bello, Ron Leibman, Rita Wilson, Willem Dafoe, Greg Kinnear. There’s a telling moment early on in Auto Focus, the accomplished film about Sixties television actor Bob Crane, whose sexual compulsions propelled his…
Letters at 3AM
You can’t always be who you want, but if you try sometime you just might find you can be who you need.
Phases and Stages
Dressed In Black(Dualtone) Surely you didn’t think Johnny Cash’s 70th birthday would pass without a slew of tribute albums, retrospectives, and biographies, did you? Tribute albums are usually dicey affairs, but this one isn’t bad. The Austin contingent is represented by Earl Poole Ball’s great swaggering version of “I Still Miss Someone,” Rosie Flores’ “Big…
Pssst. Rick Green Has Some Moldy Little Secrets
District 46 state Rep. Rick Green, R-Dripping Springs, may have pissed off the wrong constituent: Melinda Ballard, winner of the $32 million homeowners’ insurance mold claim lawsuit against Farmers Insurance Co. and now president of Policyholders of America. After the Texas Association of Businesses’ BACPAC distributed a flier (“Pssst. Patrick Rose has a Moldy Little…
TV Eye
This year’s political campaigns have been just as stupid and offensive as previous ones, but at least Jon Stewart knows how to wrangle a good punch line out of them.
An Ancestral Flavor
Día de los Muertos: The dead can only consume the ‘vapors’ emitted by our festive foods, so the rest is for us.
Phases and Stages
Sisters Morales Para Gloria (Luna) Fortunately for Sisters Morales, they have “the look” — thin, not too Mexican-looking (if you know what that means), and they look good in fringe. Their pluckiness also helped them endure hard knocks from the music industry; Roberta (the blonde) is a cancer survivor. To top it off, their newest…
The Chronicle Endorsements, Nov. 2002
The Chronicle endorses for the 2002 November general election
The Santa Clause 2
The Santa Clause 2 2002, G, 98 min. Directed by Michael Lembeck, Narrated by , Voices by , Starring Judge Reinhold, Wendy Crewson, Spencer Breslin, David Krumholtz, Eric Lloyd, Elizabeth Mitchell, Tim Allen. Like its boffo predecessor from 1994, Santa Clause 2 is an amiable, formulaic holiday romp with the whole family in mind. Director…
Second Helpings
“Second Helpings” offers tasty, bite-sized restaurant listings compiled from new and previous reviews, guides, and poll results. This week’s entries were updated by Erin Mosow. For quick, reliable information about Austin eateries, check here. Hairston Creek Farm Gary and Sara Rowland 4300 County Rd. 335 Burnet, TX 78611 512/756-8380www.moment.net/~hcf hcf@moment.net Burnet County farmers Gary and…
Sharing the Swing
Cabaret artist Ann Hampton Callaway returns to Austin to share not only her talents in performance, but, in working with a select group of local singers, she’ll be sharing her insights into the form of cabaret, ways in which they might find their own place in it, and literally sharing the Scottish Rite stage with…
Día de los Muertos Celebration
MexicArte Museum (419 Congress, 480-9373) commemorates Día de los Muertos with a parade and celebration on Friday, Nov. 1. The annual parade of floats and decorated automobiles begins at 6pm at Plaza Saltillo (East Sixth & Comal), proceeds west on Sixth to Congress, and concludes with a reception from 7 to 9pm outside the museum…
Phases and Stages
Same Day ServiceEndless AdolescenceSplit ChristieHere Comes Lunch! The melodic celebration of young love gone awry against a backdrop of gawkiness is a hallmark of American pop-punk, but there’s more than one way to skin a paradigm. Accordingly, Same Day Service and Split Christie start with similar source material but wind up on different roads. Formed…
Naked City
News briefs from Austin and elsewhere.
I Spy
I Spy 2002, PG-13, 96 min. Directed by Betty Thomas, Narrated by , Voices by , Starring Eddie Murphy, Owen Wilson, Malcolm McDowell, Famke Janssen, Gary Cole, Phill Lewis. Fans of the mid-sixties CBS series starring Bill Cosby as the Rhodes Scholar-cum-secret agent Alexander Scott and Robert Culp as co-spy-cum-tennis bum Kelly Robinson are apt…
The Sporting Life
John Posey’s Father, Son & Holy Ghost is football on the field on the stage.
Recipe for Atole de Nuez
This nutty milk drink will warm you on chilly nights
Phases and Stages
Gravy BoatBars and Stars This second album by the standard-bearers of South by-Gawd Austin will be greeted like a long-lost relative by anyone who procures their liquid refreshment in multiples of six. Gravy Boat (starring Chronicle contributor Jerry Renshaw) are far from a one-trick pony, however; they’re more like a multicolored palomino with its head…
Naked City
The Travis Co. Democratic Party says GOP county judge candidate Bob Honts poses a threat to the county, not to mention incumbent Sam Biscoe. So the Dems have taken a crack at Honts in a campaign mailer attacking the candidate’s record, both on and off the Commissioners Court, where he served until 1986. The mailer…
Exhibitionism
Director Robert DeSimone relocates Gaetano Donizetti’s comic opera The Elixir of Love action from the Basque countryside of the original to a 1950s-era bottling distribution warehouse, but he keeps the story clear, and his fine young cast delivers the warmth and humor of this charming opera with colorful aplomb.
Your Very Own Ofrenda?
As local celebrations of Día de los Muertos become more popular, it’s easier to find altar-building materials in stock at several local specialty retailers. Some of these folks were busy building their own altars when we called to inquire about merchandise, and they’ll be more than happy to give you some pointers about building an…
Phases and Stages
Guy ForsythVoices Inside: An Acoustic Record (Small & Nimble) “What we’re getting at here is a systematic deconstruction of my psyche,” announces Guy Forsyth by way of “Intro” to Voices Inside. The Saxon Pub, where this hour-long live set was delivered with meaty aplomb, is good for precisely that, quenching the thirst of Austin’s most…
Naked City
The San Antonio Scandal grew exponentially last week, with the indictment by a Bexar Co. grand jury of nine people, including six current and former local electeds, on corruption and bribery charges. The alleged ringleader, former SA City Council Member Raul Prado, is the Democratic nominee for state rep. in Dist. 117 — disconcerting news…
Exhibitionism
Edmundo is writer-performer Jennifer Haley’s imaginative, scurrilous, charming creation, part dusty, crude, but enjoyable vaudevillian, part raconteur of an era long past, and his story may be a bit dark, but Haley unfolds it with so much theatrical flair that it is impossible not to have something of a good laugh at the vagaries of…
Food-o-File
Virginia B. Wood breaks out.
Phases and Stages
Mike McClureTwelve Pieces (Compadre) Some may recognize Centex troubadour Mike McClure as the former frontman for Oklahoma’s the Great Divide. A mainly acoustic affair, this solo debut steps away from the raucous and ragged sound of his regular unit. McClure obviously has the basics down, with the occasional hook and memorable melody. Yet lyrically, he…
Naked City
Rahul Mahajan, Green Party candidate for governor, will speak at Chez Zee (5406 Balcones, at 2222), Saturday, Nov. 2, 5-7pm. Music by Mundi Ensemble, refreshments, $10 suggested minimum donation. More info: 389-0215 or www.rahulmahajan.com. The Travis Co. Green Party is also holding a benefit concert Sunday, Nov. 3 at Steamboat, Riverside and Congress, beginning at…
Exhibitionism
Tapestry Dance Company’s new paean to our fair city, Austintatious, made clear this company’s innovative spirit and amalgamation of serious talent; we’re lucky this sterling organization calls Austin home.
Gael Force
Austin’s Celtic tributaries feed into Austin Celtic Festival — and the larger whole.
Phases and Stages
Western KeysDamage (Self-Starter Foundation) We’ve been hearing about them for a while now, and Post-Parlo Records honcho Ben Dickey finally has his own venture Western Keys off the ground, ironically releasing this debut EP on New York’s Self-Starter Foundation (Les Savy Fav, Mooney Suzuki). The buzz on Western Keys is that their copious use of…
Naked City
Residents of Webberville in far East Travis Co. held a barbecue and fundraiser Oct. 27 to support their ongoing campaign against strip-mining operations that could soon turn their pastoral environs into an enormous gravel pit. Due to lax regulations regarding gravel mining, Trinity Materials Inc. and Texas Materials could begin mining in the area at…
Big Mischief
Like the protagonist in his latest novel, Miss Spellbinder’s Point of View, novelist Edward Swift is still battling the “disease of the literal minded.”
Celtic Cuts
The recent death of the Chieftains harp player Derek Bell is a wistful reminder that music is timeless, but musicians are mortal. The venerable Irish clan recently released Down the Old Plank Road (RCA), bridging Nashville musicians with their Emerald Isle roots. The result is glorious; they are the Chieftains (!) after all. If you’re…
Phases and Stages
Beatbox Has hip-hop’s separation into coasts caused purchasing confusion? Well, somewhere in the wards of H-Town, former Geto Boys frontman Scarface gots The Fix. The remedy’s prescribed in the strange fusion of Scarface’s streety Southern storytelling and his new platinum-producing affiliation, Def Jam South. Jumping back and forth between rhyming with Jay-Z, Nas, Beanie Sigal,…
Naked City
The wheels of Austin’s conspiracy-theory machine got a few turns recently when Mayor Gus Garcia appointed David Anderson to the city’s Environmental Board. According to an Oct. 28 memo from Garcia to the City Council and City Manager Toby Futrell, his office has received numerous e-mails requesting him to reconsider Anderson’s appointment. “The complaints ……
Austin Jewish Book Fair 2002
Clip and save this schedule for the Austin Jewish Book Fair, which takes place throughout November, and then go see these authors
Dancing About Architecture
Mars Music store goes the way of Halley’s Comet.
Cedar Park, Over Ice
Southwest Sports Group’s high-powered campaign to win voter approval for an ice rink/concert complex could “put Cedar Park on the map.”
Farewell to a Giant
The late Sen. Paul Wellstone was larger than life.
