Mr. Smarty Pants Knows
It’s against the law to place salt on a railroad track in Alabama. Leading garbologists say the middle class produce less garbage than either the rich or the poor. According to one source, the expression “mad as a hatter” came about because the chemicals once used to soften and treat wool hats eventually caused madness.…
Benefits
FRI 10 A HOLLY DAY EMPORIUM WILL BE HELD THROUGH SUN, NOVEMBER 12 TO BENEFIT HABITAT FOR HUMANITY, AT A WARREN ELY HOME, 10509 OAK VIEW DR. 329-9220. Sat 11 An Annual Jewelry & Bead Bazaar will be held through Sat, Nov 12 to benefit the Austin Bead Society, at Murchison Middle School, 3700 North…
Keel: The Real Deal
by Audrey Duff Travis County Sheriff Terry Keel recently bragged about the time that two men tried to carjack him on his birthday two years ago. In an October 8 article in the Austin American-Statesman, Keel portrayed himself as a brave crimefighter who was confronted on January 13, 1993 by “two thugs who tried to…
Food-O-File
Everywhere you look these days, Austin chefs and restaurants are on TV. The last weekend in October, anchor people and camera crews from NBC cable network’s new program Recipes of America shot definitive Austin footage (bats, armadillos, Town Lake, music venues, etc.) and then interviewed chef Scott Roberts of the Salt Lick and chef Charlotte…
Beneath a baleful,
slate-gray winter sky, an icy north wind…” Perhaps, “Pulsating from the amplified effect of brilliant night lights, the herbaceous, rain-soaked turf…” Maybe, “An angry multitude, attracted like summer June bugs to the bright silhouette of wintery…” These were only a few of the imaginative leads possible to begin this column. Unfortunately, they required, to maintain…
Calling for Division
by Hugh Forrest Thank you very much and have a great day” said the young man dressed smartly in a black bow tie and white shirt from whom I purchased a copy of The Final Call as he returned my change. Maybe the fact that so many people were not buying this newspaper made him…
Dart Bowl Cafe
7801 Burnet, 459-4181Mon-Sat, 7:30am-9:30pm Sunday, 8am-9:30pm Unless you’ve got league night on Tuesday, you probably never eat in bowling alleys. Most people group bowling alley restaurants along with prison cafeterias and airport snack bars as dining options suitable only for captive audiences. At their worst, alleyside bars offer only the requisite ballpark nachos and gas…
Page Two
by Louis Black Dear Mr. Black, I feel I must comment on The Austin Chronicle’s format change. I have two general observations. First, I am an avid fan of Ken Lieck’s “Dancing About Architecture.” The reason I liked it is because with one quick glance, it tells you everything you need to know about what…
Deep Six
The Best and Worst in Austin and National Media 1) American Literature 101. A story about the Dreamworks team in the October 20 Entertainment Weekly reports that the group recently aquired the rights to My Old Man and the Sea. Was that one written by Ernest Hemingway or Fred MacMurray? 2) Reality Bites. Two disc…
Quality Seafood
5621 Airport Blvd, 454-5827 Mon-Sat, 8am-7pm When it comes to seafood, you want to get as close to the source as possible. In a perfect world, we’d be able to buy a fish straight off the boat, while it’s still fresh enough to have a personality. Failing that, the near-perfect place would be a neighborhood…
Fast & Furious
Okay, two quick orders of in-house biz, then together we blast into a frenzied November. *Through the holidays, look for “Blue Lights Anonymous,” here in this column for holiday shopping with a conscience. Heck, we might as well do some good while over-stimulating the economy and making those spirits bright. *Organizations: Submit holiday event/gift info…
Naked City
That was some profile of former Austin attorney Gabrielle Kirk McDonald on the front page of the Statesman’s Insight section on Sunday. The federal district court judge from Houston is one of only two women on the United Nations’ Bosnia war crimes court. One wonders if she’s the only member to also serve on the…
Bonus Tracks
BILLY JOE SHAVER Restless Wind: The Legendary Billy Joe Shaver 1973-1987 (Razor & Tie) Like so many of these old Texas codgers, Waco’s Billy Joe Shaver has a back catalogue so outta print that it’s just a memory now. But given his recent success on Zoo with Tramp on Your Street and Unshaven, it’s definitely…
A Revolutionary Letter to Employers
by Michael Ventura To begin with, dear Employers, you are not the bad guys. At least, most of you aren’t — though some of you give an awfully good imitation of it. I recognize that many of you get out of your beds feeling almost as tired as when you got into them, wondering whether…
Politics: Schooling, Pre-Sputnik Style
Keep a Cool Head O. Henry’s boys’ shower functions only as a storage closet Photograph by Alan Pogue Story: O. Henry / Images: [ Boys Shower | Bathroom | Lab Table | Water Leaks | Shower Stall | Light Switches ]
Music Reviews
BLUE MOUNTAIN Dog Days (Roadrunner) When I interviewed the various bands for this article, I always finished off by asking them, “Do you think the potential market could become oversaturated with this type of stuff too soon?” It was specifically Blue Mountain that caused me to ask this. When I heard this album, I thought…
A House Afire
by Virginia B.Wood Skyline Grill 801 S. Congress 443-3700 Sunday-Thursday, 11am-10:30pm Friday and Saturday, 11am-11pm Bar until 12am every night This classy little spot sits on a hill overlooking Town Lake and downtown Austin. Skyline Grill joins several local eateries (Zoot, the original Kerbey Lane, the Paggi House, Brio, Hyde Park Bar & Grill) that…
Politics: Schooling, Pre-Sputnik Style
Bathroom Monitor? Proximity to the bathroom is not an advantage in this cramped O. Henry classroom Photograph by Alan Pogue Story: O. Henry / Images: [ Boys Shower | Bathroom | Lab Table | Water Leaks | Shower Stall | Light Switches ]
Scanlines
Command & Conquer CD-ROM for Windows Westwood Studios Set in the future, you must choose a side. Either defend the planet with the GDI or go for complete world domination as the Brotherhood of NOD. Even the set-up to this Risk-style military strategy game is a tremendous kick. With a handful of troops and an…
Club Comings and Goings
Rumors have been flying about another club’s demise, and this time it’s the Back Room, whose doors are said to be closing so that a Tejano club can open. Owner Ronnie Roark could not be reached for comment, but his wife Lisha Roark told the Chronicle that she thinks the rumors are coming from employees…
Politics: Schooling, Pre-Sputnik Style
Lab Table Once a lab table, now a trash receptacle Photograph by Alan Pogue Story: O. Henry / Images: [ Boys Shower | Bathroom | Lab Table | Water Leaks | Shower Stall | Light Switches ]
Hard to Be Fragile
by Joe Mitchell I like to reach up, grab the essence, and run with it,” says Abra Moore, grabbing some air just above and to the right of her head. She holds a tightly clenched fist aloft for a moment before pulling it down to just below her jutted chin. She gently rocks it to…
Politics: Schooling, Pre-Sputnik Style
Water Leaks Stained ceiling tiles show water leaking directly over electrical connections Photograph by Alan Pogue Story: O. Henry / Images: [ Boys Shower | Bathroom | Lab Table | Water Leaks | Shower Stall | Light Switches ]
Recommended
edited by Raoul Hernandez ALL STIFF JAWBREAKERS Emo’s, Friday 10 — Sunday 12 Three consecutive nights of bands who hit all facets of this reinvented animal known as “punk.” Friday, Philadelphia’s Stiffs, Inc., go straight for the Buzzcocks with that positively ska bounce, while All, on Saturday, tear like hardcore rabid dogs, trying to burn…
Politics: Schooling, Pre-Sputnik Style
Shower Stall Fights Back Cracked and broken wall tiles line the edge of this stall Photograph by Alan Pogue Story: O. Henry / Images: [ Boys Shower | Bathroom | Lab Table | Water Leaks | Shower Stall | Light Switches ]
Articulations
Austin’s musicians may be used to having star artists drop in to hear the locals when they visit town, but its theatre artists aren’t. A national theatre artist seeing a local stage production is about as rare as an Austinite getting nominated for a Tony. So, it created a stir when noted actor/writer Eric Bogosian…
Roadkill
While David Lee Roth was swinging from rafters in buttless chaps during the mid-Eighties, Sonic Youth was modestly — though not quietly — defining underground music on the now-defunct SST label with the likes of H�sker D�, the Minutemen, and Dinosaur, Jr. With the influences of these seminal bands now glowing in full color on…
Politics: Schooling, Pre-Sputnik Style
Light Up Your Life! Light Up The Room. A missing faceplate exposes wiring in the O. Henry boys’ locker room Photograph by Alan Pogue Story: O. Henry / Images: [ Boys Shower | Bathroom | Lab Table | Water Leaks | Shower Stall | Light Switches ]
Out of Many, One
by Robert Faires She dances alone. And yet there are 17 people dancing with her. So it is when Deborah Hay, Austin’s most recognized dance artist both within and without the city, performs her latest solo, Voil�. The piece is a distillation of the work my heart, developed by Hay and the 17 trained and…
What Hath Uncle Tupelo Wrought?
by Lee Nichols Does anyone know if the Cosmic American Music News is still being published? I haven’t seen an issue in quite a while, but if it is, the editors and writers must be going crazy about now. If you’re unfamiliar with it, CAMN is or was a Gram Parsons fanzine. Anything that even…
Schooling, Pre-Sputnik Style
by Roseana Auten A bittersweet, trick ending is the literary device for which the 19th-century short story writer William Sidney Porter, who labored under the nom de plume O. Henry, is best known. As most Austin public school students of American literature know, O. Henry briefly lived in a rented house at Fifth and Neches…
Local Palette
Recent Works Julie Speed at Tarrytown Gallery Showing through December 2 I am the Queen of my room. I’m the only one home. It’s easy to be Queen if one is all alone. There’s more to Julie Speed’s poem (above) scribbled next to a mixed-media drawing by the same name on the wall at Tarrytown…
OPIC Letter to Freeport
1 OPIC recognizes that Article 7.02(c) provides the termination of the Contract is effective “as of the date of the breach,” which clearly predated this notification. However, OPIC is extending the effective date of the termination to provide Freeport with an opportunity to discuss this matter, make alternative insurance arrangements if necessary and/or voluntarily terminate…
Insuring Disaster
by Daryl Slusher The Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), a federal agency which provides insurance and financing to American companies doing business overseas, has canceled Freeport-McMoRan’s political risk insurance in Indonesia. That means CEO Jim Bob Moffett and his company are big political risks. In Austin, the question now becomes who will provide the local…
Jewish Book Fair ’95
Family and community is the theme of the 12th Annual Austin Jewish Book Fair, which began last week with lectures from Tikkun editor and publisher Michael Lerner and Boychicks in the Hood author Robert Eisenberg. The fair’s second and final week, which is sponsored by The Jewish Community Center but open to the general public,…
Heal Thyself
by Alex de Marban A number of humble items occupied last Thursday’s agenda, killing much of the council’s usual tendency for the spotlight and a snappy tempo. Mayor Bruce Todd offered a laborious expanse of advice on Brigid Shea’s and City Manager Jesus Garza’s initiative for a comprehensive audit of city government. Perhaps the mayor…
Texas Independent
Check the newsstand this month for The Independent Film & Video Monthly’s special regional issue: Spotlight on Texas. Chock full of features on Texas filmmaking, statewide festivals, and the artists who have given The Lone Star State a name in the national film community, the pieces — written by local critics from Houston, Dallas, and…
Susie Bright Comes on Strong Ask a Sexpert
by Kate X Messer Susie Bright’s Sexwise by Susie Bright Cleis Press, $10.95 paper Everything is person- al to Susie Bright… and political… so when “America’s favorite X-rated intellectual” tackles and tickles topics like the GOP, Camille Paglia, the Black Panthers, Dan Quayle, and lesbian moms, it’s a bet that the flannel, the latex, and…
Jump off the Board
by Robert Bryce The following is an editorial by Robert Bryce, who has reported on Freeport-McMoRan since 1990. William Cunningham must resign immediately from Freeport-McMoRan’s board of directors. The October 10 letter from the Overseas Private Investment Corporation to the company’s subsidiary, Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold, is proof that the company has created an environmental…
The Wild, Wired West
by Jesse Sublett Not since the inven- tion of barbed wire has technology flashed across the American frontier with such terrible brilliance. This time, the technology is CD-ROM, and the frontier is more of an imagined place than a real one. So much the better: Instead of fencing in our imagination, a virtual manifest destiny…
Freeport McMoRan: A Timeline
1936 Dutch explorer-geologist Jean Jaques Dozy discovers Ertsberg (Dutch for “ore mountain”) in Papua New Guinea. His discovery is recounted in a paper which was promptly ignored. 1959 Forbes Wilson, exploration chief for Freeport Sulphur Co., learns of Ertsberg from Dozy’s report, visits site. 1961 Jim Bob Moffett graduates from UT with a bachelors degree…
Freeport’s Motherlode
by Robert Bryce Jim Bob Moffett knows how to turn a phrase. The Australian Financial Review recently quoted the CEO, president, and chairman of the board of Freeport-McMoRan as saying that the pollution coming from his company’s mining operation in Irian Jaya, Indonesia was “equivalent to me pissing in the Arafura Sea.” Well, either Jim…
Off the Page
Diverting from the CD-ROM trail for a moment, the audio-book version of The Texas Rangers (Western Books on Tape, $17.99) by Walter Prescott Webb, has a place in this multimedia shoot-out. This nifty two-cassette package was abridged by Turk Pipkin and read by Steve Fromholz. Webb made poetry of Texas history with this epic, and…
The Greatest Gift to Your Community… Yourself! — Volunteer!!!
There are many ways in which you can provide a vital service to people living with HIV/AIDS in living with dignity. We are looking for caring volunteers who have some time to dedicate in serving on the front line of combating this disease. Helpers: Provide ongoing practical support, such as house cleaning, assistance with meal…
Freeport McMoRan: A Timeline
1936 Dutch explorer-geologist Jean Jaques Dozy discovers Ertsberg (Dutch for “ore mountain”) in Papua New Guinea. His discovery is recounted in a paper which was promptly ignored. 1959 Forbes Wilson, exploration chief for Freeport Sulphur Co., learns of Ertsberg from Dozy’s report, visits site. 1961 Jim Bob Moffett graduates from UT with a bachelors degree…
day trips
The food at Hall’s Walhalla USA has to be good. There are not many reasons to drive this stretch of FM1291 in Fayette County, besides going for the chicken-fried steak at the cafe or visiting Round Top 5.5 miles down the road. Hall’s diner started in 1984 as a meat market “that got out of…
