Cover Story
What Happened to the No-Kill Millennium?
Austin’s plan to end wholesale euthanasia at Town Lake shelter remains a distant dream
The Polar Express: An IMAX 3-D Experience
The Polar Express: An IMAX 3-D Experience 2004, G, 100 min. Directed by Robert Zemeckis, Starring Tom Hanks, Michael Jeter, Peter Scolari, Nona Gaye, Eddie Deezen. Chris Van Allsburg’s magical tale of the Christmas Eve re-education of a Santa-doubting adolescent screens in all its dimensions.
70mm Extravaganza
70mm Extravaganza Curated by Grover Crisp of Sony Pictures entertainment, this program will present some of the best in restoration of the rare 65mm format, including footage from some Hollywood films of the 1960s and ’70s, plus some shorts newly restored by the Academy Film Archive.
Reels of Steel: 2005 Texas Showdown
Reels of Steel: 2005 Texas Showdown Various film archivists, who are in town for their annual convention, are showing their most obscure, entertaining short films (under 20 minutes) and engaging in an archivists’ version of a smackdown. Only one will emerge with the gold chain of the 2005 AMIA Emulsion Propulsion champ.
Raider Film Fest
Raider Film Fest Student filmmakers from Reagan High School strut their stuff. (See p. XX of this week’s Politics section for more.)
Beyond the Rocks
Beyond the Rocks 1922, NR, 81 min. Directed by Sam Wood, Starring Gloria Swanson, Rudolph Valentino. Long believed to be lost, this silent feature was recently discovered within a collection donated to the Nederlands Filmmuseum and restored by their archivists, who will be present at the screening to describe the research and restoration process. The…
Short Circuit
Short Circuit 1986, PG, 98 min. Directed by John Badham, Starring Ally Sheedy, Steve Guttenberg, Fisher Stevens, Austin Pendleton, G.W. Bailey. When struck by lightning, an experimental military robot acquires human emotions and consciousness.
Mary Poppins
Mary Poppins 1964, G, 140 min. Directed by Robert Stevenson, Starring Julie Andrews, Dick Van Dyke. The great Julie Andrews played the definitive English nanny in this rousing live-action musical featuring hits “A Spoonful of Sugar,” “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious,” and “Chim Chim Cher-ee” along with a dash of Disney animation (dancing penguins!).
UT Choral Arts Society
For its fall 2005 concert, UT Choral Arts Society draws on the rich repertoire of English sacred music, transporting its audience to a London cathedral
Soccer Watch
The Lady Longhorns will have to wait ’til next year.
Town Lake’s Future: Fix It or Ditch It
The animal center needs a major renovation, but funds and political will are needed
Point Austin: Fattenin’ Frogs for Snakes
Wave a white sheet at City Hall, and the Keystone Kops kome running
Wafflefest
The folks at the Hideout didn’t scrimp on the titular treats at the third annual Wafflefest, and the waffles and their toppings were as good as the improv
Oops!
The photo cutline for last week’s “With God on Their Side: The KKK Stops By” incorrectly stated there were dozens of Klansmen rallying on behalf of Proposition 2 in Austin Saturday, Nov. 5. There were actually only somewhere around a dozen. The Chronicle regrets the error.
Election Breakdown
The not-so-shocking election story, in numbers
Point Austin: Beside the Point
Neighborhood activist gives us an earful on proposed downtown high-rise
Austin Cabaret Theatre
To break in its new home in the Mansion at Judges’ Hill, Austin Cabaret Theatre has booked a class act of the musical theatre: Lee Roy Reams
Fino, Finally
The Foxes’ second success
Austin – the Only Gay Place
Travis defeated Prop. 2, but the rest of the state wasn’t even close
The Hightower Report
Leaked internal memo shows a company scheming to cut back on employee benefits; and winner of common-sense competition will get $100,000 smackers
Arts Review
Intense is an apt word for describing Shakespeare’s bloody Macbeth, but intense moments in the UT Department of Theatre & Dance’s new revival are few and far between
Starlite
How has the menu-rotating restaurant’s fare held up after its big move?
Democratic Disagreements and the Election
What will county election results mean for local Dems?
Start Lining Up Now
‘Brokeback Mountain’ to bring McMurtry
Arts Review
The visual experience of Jill Thrasher’s work in ‘A Studio Portrait’ offers an opportunity to explore all phases of the printmaking process
T’s Cafe
A safari in Pflugerville
Capital Metro’s Labor Lowdown
StarTran makes its ‘last, best, and final offer’
‘SXSW Presents’: East Austin Stories
East Austin Stories
Arts Review
What draws the eye into Neil Coleman’s images of female nudes is the comfort of the models with their own bodies and their connection to the photographer
Food-o-File
Much ado about Manor Road; plus, Ahmad Modoni returns from Oaxca and sadness at the Chicago Dog House
Naked City
Headlines and happenings from Austin and beyond
Film News
Are the Coens coming back to Austin? Plus, Anne Rapp and ‘Double Wide,’ Jenn Garrison in Italy, and Jacob Vaughan kind of gets hit on by Dave Carradine.
Culture Flash!
Whole Foods is about to get more arts-friendly, Austin moves closer to Puerto Rico, Shear Madness has a new detective running the show, and art at the new fire station really rocks.
Howlin’ Wolf Does Not Wear Panties
Walter Daniels’ punk blues stirs up a whole new generational ilk, like Black Joe Lewis
Free Speech Fight Continues in Court
Appeals court finds city’s move to dismiss ‘without merit’
DVD Watch
It could be the series’ best
Readings
The latest from Naomi Shihab Nye and Ray Gonzalez
Black Joe Lewis: Close to the Bone
The Atlantic Records-style vinyl single Walter Daniels is so crazy over features Black Joe Lewis & Cool Breeze. Lewis is a 24-year-old singer-guitarist who’s been in Austin four years – his second time to live here – and prefers 90-degree nights to the cool November afternoon on the Drag. He’s tall and lanky, handsome and…
Weed Watch
Denver legalizes weed, and a record number of Americans think it’s a good idea
TV Eye
This was one of those weeks when I was asked my ‘expert’ opinion on a variety of TV-related subjects
Readings
A memoir of lament, meditation, anxiety, and hope
Phases & Stages
All music is mood music waiting to happen, and new international releases offer round-the-clock listening. Early morning is ideal for Trio Medieaval’s third ECM release, Stella Maris, on which the Norwegian-Swedish ladies sing sweet spirituals from the 12th and 13th centuries. Midmorning calls for vigor are answered by Amjad Ali Khan’s Moksha (Real World) and…
Ehrhardt’s Murderer Sought Cash, Marijuana
Police arrest a San Antonio man for allegedly killing UT student
Page Two
Persistence of memory
Phases & Stages
Three 6 MafiaMost Known Unknown (Columbia) Ellay Khule Califormula (Decon) E-40The Bay Bridges Compilation Vol. 1 (Sick Wid It) B-Legit Block Movement (Block Movement) Dangerdoom The Mouse and the Mask (Epitaph) Dripping with toxic sweat, DJ Paul and Juicy J run the gamut of crunk, horror-core rap, Three 6 Mafia’s signature shivering drums haunted by…
GAO Report: FDA Strayed With Morning-After Pill Approval Process
GAO report says rejection of contraceptive may have been made before scientific review
Derailed
The first release from the new Weinstein Co. is this thriller starring Jennifer Aniston and Clive Owen that never fully engages our sympathies.
After a Fashion
Stephen lovingly remembers his time designing couture for Zach Scott Theatre
Phases & Stages
Fiery FurnacesRehearsing My Choir (Rough Trade) It probably seemed like a good idea: The Fiery Furnaces get their octogenarian grandmother, a former choir director, to guest on the third full-length. In reality, it’s more trying than a shuffleboard tournament. Singer/guitarist Eleanor Friedberger is adept at spinning fingernail-biting yarns that make their music breathless. Their grandmother…
Central Library Project Update
Price tag at three times that of City Hall.
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
The fourth Potter emphasizes the emotional over the gothic
About AIDS
Service to observe World AIDS Day, Dec. 1
Phases & Stages
The RosebudsBirds Make Good Neighbors (Merge) Birds Make Good Neighbors is autumn wrapped up in cashmere: rich, comfortable, welcome. North Carolinian couple Ivan Howard and Kelly Crisp know it well on their sophomore album: “I’ve waited for the leaves to fall, for old John White to save us all,” they sing on the galloping “Leaves…
Another Round This Week In Champion Sisters Fight
City wants to avoid court fight over development, saying a loss could make it even worse
Walk the Line
Joaquin Phoenix is terrific as the musician Johnny Cash, whose rise, fall, and resurrection we watch as he does the Benzedrine 12-step in order to earn the love of country-and-gospel sasspot June Carter.
To Your Health
Why was my newborn given a vitamin K shot before we left the hospital?
Phases & Stages
Bobby BareThe Moon Was Blue (Dualtone) A country outlaw long at large, Bobby Bare has been whiling away his golden years fishing as his legend drifts into memory. No more. Thanks to his son Bobby Bare Jr., the 70-year-old Bare Sr. has emerged from a quiet retirement with this dignified collection that resurrects an old-school…
‘Leak’ on Recommendation to Fire Officer Prompts Complaint From Police Union
Austin Police Association President Mike Sheffield has filed formal complaints with city alleging someone from Police Monitor’s office and/or the Citizen Review Panel leaked panel’s disciplinary recommendations regarding shooting death of Daniel Rocha.
Bee Season
Myla Goldberg’s novel about spelling-bee fever, a family in chaos, and religious/mystic exploration arrives on the screen with all its faults intact but few of its charms.
EAST: Now With More!
The 2005 East Austin Studio Tour boasts 40% more paintings, sculpture, photography, ceramics, jewelry, prints …
The Common Law
Why do I need a will? What happens if I die without a will?
Phases & Stages
WilcoKicking Television: Live in Chicago (Nonesuch) There’s no misunderstanding Jeff Tweedy. “I like to thank you all” – and here’s where the shouting commences – “for nothing! Nothing! Nothing! Nothing! Nothing! Nothing! …” Thirty-six nothings! Late in the first disc, the hangdog Wilco frontman passes up a chance to reprise the pounding opener “Misunderstood” in…
AMD, SOS, PR – It’s War!
Shots fired in Aquifer battle … and the target is you
Dorian Blues
Dorian Blues has wit, humor, good performances, and clever technique, which catapult the film into the front ranks of coming-out movies.
TCB
Border Media Partners prove radio’s not dead, especially en Español, the Wannabes remember fighting the TCU frat scene, and Dave Chappelle details his obsession with the female anatomy
Day Trips
Ellison’s Greenhouses in Brenham boasts an eye-popping array of poinsettias to help enliven the Christmas season
Phases & Stages
CreamRoyal Albert Hall London May 2-3-5-6 2005 (Rhino) Eric Clapton shed tears during his 1993 reunion with estranged Cream bandmates Ginger Baker and Jack Bruce at the pioneering Brit blues-rock trio’s induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Shame it took another 12 years for the mates to bury their late-Sixties burnout this…
Babysitter Denied New Trial in Paper Towel Case
Lawyers claim lead attorney in case gave ineffective counsel
Paradise Now
Inside the mind of a Palestinian suicide bomber: That’s the guarded territory broached in Paradise Now, a film fashioned as a thriller rather than a psychological study.
Find the Real Reporter: A Questionnaire
The city has decided to be the arbiter of quality journalism. We decided to help them out.
Mr. Smarty Pants Knows
Who ranks 16th among 21 industrialized nations when it comes to achievement in science?
Scalito Scary to Nonconservatives
While Bush’s Harriet Miers Supreme Court nomination prompted teeth gnashing from activists and interest groups on both the left and right, the president’s about-face with the nomination of Samuel Alito has calmed conservatives and left the gnashing to the left.
Luv Doc Recommends: Dr. Seuss: An American Icon
Back in 1931 a 27-year-old cartoonist named Ted Geisel illustrated his first book. It was called Boners, and it received lackluster reviews. The illustrations however, were roundly praised. Mind you, this was a simpler time, when boners were something you committed rather than popped, so instead of deft renderings of turgid phalli, bulging purple veins,…
