Cover Story
C Sick
Eight years after the Chronicle‘s initial look in hepatitis C, Austin’s music community is both better and worse
‘Tip Time’: The Freshman 15 & Other Points of Emphasis
My apologies on Tip Time’s apparently notable absence. Whoever you are, please stop sending suicide threats: I can tell that you’re bluffing just by the fact that you say you’re looking forward to the Big 10 conference tournament in March for “Michigan’s indirect revenge” (whatever that means) and have been praying to the good lord…
Rookies Shine in Disappointing Season
With the previous week’s last-second heartwrenching loss to the Buffalo Bills and last Sunday’s dismal effort in a 26-11 defeat by the New York Jets; even I, Mr. Superdiehardfan, can safely call this year a bust and start looking toward next year’s draft and off-season maneuverings. So, glass-half-full time. The Texans 2006 draft class is…
Austin Wranglers Host Open Tryouts, Release ’07 Schedule
The Wranglers host their open tryouts this Sunday, Dec. 3 at the Round Rock ISD Stadium (10211 Parmer Ln.) beginning at 9am (registration begins at 8am). If you think you’ve got what it takes to make it in the AFL here’s your chance to find out. And, like the NBDL, the AFL has been a…
Mike Martinez on MySpace? OMG!
While hard to swallow, there’s some doubt as to the authenticity of Brewster “Emcee” McCracken’s MySpace page. For one, we’re sure Brewster has way more friends than just Tom. But dig this – it looks far more likely Mike Martinez is the real deal. He’s even gone far enough to fill out one of MySpace’s…
City Council 1, Wal-Mart 0
City Council vents spleen on proposed Wal-Mart
How Sweet It Is
How beautifully righteous it was for New Orleans Saints wide receiver Terrance Copper to haul in a Drew Brees Hail Mary at the close of the first half of a 31-13 victory over the Atlanta Falcons. Take that, Alfred Jenkins! Take that Steve Bartkowski! And to push Falcons quarterback Michael Vick so far into frustration…
Week in Review, Week in Preview
The NCAA College Cups – both men’s and women’s – are this weekend: semifinals on Friday, finals on Sunday, and every game is on ESPN2. Friday is a UCLA doubleheader: the Lady Bruins take on host and top-ranked North Carolina at 2:30pm, and the guys face Virginia at 5pm (the otUher semis – Florida State-Notre…
Cornyn Popular as Herpes
John Cornyn vulnerable going into 2008
UT Hosts NCAA Volleyball Playoffs
I’m in agony. An unfortunate scheduling conflict is going to keep me from going to Gregory Gym this weekend to watch the No. 8 Texas Longhorns begin their playoff run in the NCAA volleyball tournament. I haven’t seen nearly enough volleyball games this year. But since my seat will be vacant, you should take it…
At Least We’re Not Kansas
New blog draws Chris Bell into election debate
Bush Babes’ Booze Bender Blunders
The TPM Muckraker is reporting the Bush twins’ vacation adventures in Argentina have caused such a commotion, the U.S. embassy there has advised them to leave the country. No, seriously. UPDATE: This may explain things.
My Voice Mail Message From Bob Stoops
Hey Joe! Pick up, man. It’s Bob, the coach, calling for you, bubba. I got some news for your little sports blog, my man. You know I truly feel the Longhorns’ pain. That offensive pass interference call was totally bogus! I’m having flashbacks to my own little tryst with Oregon, my little sports buddy. So,…
Former ACTV Head Gets 7 Years
Monday, former Austin Community Television Executive Director John Villarreal was sentenced to 7 years in jail for embezzling $354,000 from the public access station, bringing a nearly two-year cycle of accusation and investigation to an abrupt end. Villarreal was suspended for nonperformance of duties December 21, 2004. Yet unbeknownst to the ACTV board, Villarreal had…
Special Election for State House Dist. 29
Gov. Rick Perry has set Dec. 19 for a special election to determine a replacement for Rep. Glenda Dawson, R-Pearland, who died in September. Dawson’s name remained on the November ballot and her fightin’ spirit went on to win the election in House District 29, thanks in part to a slick mailer that her campaign…
Dixie Chicks’ ‘Shut Up & Sing’ Screening in Austin
On Wednesday, November 29 at 7pm, at the Galaxy Highland Theatre, 6700 Middle Fiskville (the shopping center northeast of Highland Mall, across the street from Lincoln Village), People For the American Way will be screening the documentary Shut Up & Sing, which details the education that country music superstars the Dixie Chicks got on the…
Former State Senator Killed in House Fire
Former state Sen. Frank Madla died over the holiday weekend in a house fire.
National Round-Up
While Rome Burns edition. How Many Friedmans? Ne plus ultra blogger Atrios shares his Friedman calendar with us. In Moustache of Understanding parlance, one Friedman is equal to six more months in Iraq to give it “one last push.” Unfortunately, Friedmans have a way of spawning and extending their life span – while doing the…
Secret Fishgirl Sing-Along
Secret Fishgirl Sing-Along They’re not mentioning the title of this film – but it’s a musical about someone who is part girl and part fish, and an animated personality.
Bulldogs Grab Dragons by the Throat
The Bowie high school Bulldogs mowed down the visiting Round Rock Dragons 59-42 Saturday night at the Convention Center as a prelude to the Toros NBDL home opener. Jeremy Green from Bowie had a Tracy McGrady-esque game – hitting from outside, penetrating, impressively blocking shots; he did it all. I’d give you his line but…
Aggies Hook Horns, Astros Land Lee
So the Fightin’ Farmers from College Station – who, according to a front-page article in the Houston Chronicle, are now every bit as suburban, SAT-savvy, and middle class as their despised Teasip arch rivals, albeit still less apt to grow dreadlocks and major in things like Postmodern Film Theory – waltzed into DKR this morning…
Toros Lose Season-Opener, Host First Home Game Tonight!
The Toros got their second season off to a rough start with a 101-77 loss to the Thunderbirds in Albuquerque that coach Dennis Johnson described as “way beyond a bad game” and “embarrassing.” The Toros were felled by horrible free-throw shooting, turnover after turnover, and overall poor play. Even with their sloppiness, they managed to…
To Your Health
Are there some lesser-known nutrients that would help fight periodontal disease?
Texas Platters
Patrice PikeUnraveling (Tape Slap) Unraveling? Untangled, maybe. United definitely. Unflinching, unabashed, unconditional – all. Austin’s Supernova delivers her best solo album fresh off prime time. Best not to linger on the local mainstay’s lyrics, whose musician class sass can’t quite achieve the everyday profundity in which they rummage. “Beautiful Thing” opens as case in point,…
Point Austin: Thinking Outside the Box
Stacy Mitchell examines the megaretail culture and the tools required to dismantle it
TCB
A TCB Thanksgiving with purple turkey, mash-up potatoes, and a juicy lawsuit for dessert
The Common Law
That Fence is Ugly – Can I Take It Down?
Texas Platters
Blaze Foley & the Beaver Valley BoysCold, Cold World (Lost Art) The posthumous Blaze Foley just keeps on coming. Cold, Cold World collects the now mythical late Austinite’s first recordings: Houston 1979, Fredericksburg 1980. The Beaver Valley Boys (Foley supposedly wanted an all-female band) were led by a young Gurf Morlix on guitar and included…
Beside The Point
Council members vote to give themselves near 30% raise, but not everyone accepts it
Curatorial Reportage
The Blanton Museum’s ever-shifting WorkSpace offers up- to-the-minute views of what’s happening in contemporary art
Mr. Smarty Pants Knows
Avoiding la guillotine, and catching up with Van Hawk
Texas Platters
The Original Bells of JoyWith Friends (Dialtone) The soul in soul music refers specifically to a dedication to God. It’s putting your savior so far above all other things that there’s no doubt that you’re eternally indebted to his grandeur. It’s the repetition of homage paid through the attendance of church services and participation in…
Reefer Madness
Medi-Pot Hysteria Unfounded
365 Days/365 Plays: Over the river, but in the River of Spirit
The local launch of the 365 Days/365 Plays project saw hundreds of people, including playwright Suzan-Lori Parks, crowd onto the Pfluger Pedestrian Bridge for a dramatic spectacular
Oops!
Our latest batch
Texas Platters
Nanci GriffithRuby’s Torch (Rounder) Throughout her 30-year career, former Austinite Nanci Griffith has shown a masterful touch on heart-tugging ballads. With Ruby’s Torch, laments of lost love for late-night cabarets, the longtime Nashvillian goes overboard. Augmenting her Blue Moon Orchestra with string and wind sections, the Folkabilly Queen stirs a couple of her own tunes…
The Hightower Report
Softening the Words of War; and “Burden” on Corporate Crooks
E-flux Video Rental Austin: Keep circulating the tapes
E-Flux Video Rental has come to Austin, bringing more than 600 short and feature-length art videos that you can watch at Arthouse or take home to view at no charge
Line of Descent
Carol Dawson and Carol Johnston’s House of Plenty: The Rise, Fall, and Revival of Luby’s Cafeterias
Texas Platters
The Boxing LessonSongs in the Key of C (Diamond) LalalandMumbojumbo EP (Coup d’Etat) These debuts total just more than an hour of listening time well spent, from two local trios who deserve more of a following. Though claiming “Indie Rock Is Dead,” the Boxing Lesson’s Songs in the Key of C provides enough lo-fi life…
The Austin Film Society’s Sublime Lines
Essential Cinema series: Japanese Animé
The Darkling Band: Lay on, Macduff … again
With his latest novel, The Darkling Band, comics writer Jason Henderson returns to the story of Macduff and creates a sort of Western with dark elves
‘Luby’s Recipes & Memories: A Collection of Our Favorite Recipes and Heartwarming Stories’
Luby’s Recipes & Memories: A Collection of Our Favorite Recipes and Heartwarming StoriesLuby’s, 175 pp., $24.95 Successful Houston restaurateurs Chris and Harris Pappas became stewards of the legendary Luby’s cafeteria brand in 2001. As the third generation of an immigrant family that had pursued the American dream and prospered in the restaurant business, they were…
Texas Platters
The DicksHungry Butt (HotBox) As a Reagan-era battalion, the Dicks and their “commie fag” frontman Gary Floyd assaulted ears and sensibilities. Hungry Butt, two shows from 1980 and 2005, violates those sweaty crevices. With Floyd on the mic, gruffer and older, Houston offers shambolic “Lifetime Problems” and a dedication of “Rich Daddy” to Biscuit. “Dicks…
Robert Altman
1925-2006
Arts Review
The premiere production of the City Theatre Company is excellent – a simple and powerful staging of Bryony Lavery’s Frozen, a difficult drama about a serial killer and forgiveness
New & Noteworthy
Whole Foods pizza
Texas Platters
Z-RoI’m Still Livin (Rap-a-Lot/Asylum) While the intent of most rap albums is to win mass popularity through flippant excursions into the most commercial aspects of African-American culture, a rare few reveal the true heart of men ruled by the injustices thrust upon them by modern society. The oft-incarcerated rapper Z-Ro never strays from the mission…
DVD Watch
Louise Brooks. Berlin. The Twenties.
Arts Review
Zachary Scott Theatre Center’s charming production of Plaid Tidings, the sequel to the hit musical revue Forever Plaid, proves you can never have too much of a good thing
In Print
The Asian Grill: Great Recipes, Bold Flavors
The Town Lake Variance Shuffle
The hike-and-bike trail, questionable developer tactics, and a potential windfall for urban parks all flow together on East Riverside Drive
TV Eye
TBS tries to be funny
Arts Review
The tattoo art on display in “Celebrated Skin” show technical virtuosity and are visually arresting, but the element that shines the most in the exhibition is the respect for tattooing
Food-o-File
Going from farm to market to mural; plus, a shot at winemaking immortality
Close to Outrage
A letter sent to city leadership by Sarah Campbell, who recently retired from a 20-year career with the city’s Parks & Recreation Department, where she was a senior planner.
Let’s Go to Prison
Bob Odenkirk directs this comedy written by the Reno 911! team, but consider this one disarmed and extremely pointless.
Readings
Yes, jeans are iconically American, but however many ways this is restated, it does nothing to quell the question of … so what?
Event Menu
Where to find the Austin Farmers’ Market, at least for a while
Supremes Weigh In on ‘Partial-Birth’ Abortion
Supremes recently heard oral arguments in two cases that ask whether federal law banning so-called partial-birth abortion should be allowed to stand – even though it lacks any exception to protect life of the mother
Wrestling With Angels: Playwright Tony Kushner
Documentarian Freida Mock presents her subject as a play in three acts, but the academic and fragmented structure obscures the warmth of this playwright.
Readings
Jon Fosse’s Melancholy is a repetitive book. The writer, Jon Fosse, repeats himself in Melancholy. It gets pretty exhausting after a while. After a while, it gets pretty exhausting.
A Small Light Bulb: Artists, activists, spiritual people convene
Monthly salon where progressives can meet and talk begins this Sunday
For Your Consideration
Although it attempts to skewer Hollywood, this new comedy from Christopher Guest, and his loyal troupe of improv actors doesn’t have even a drop of affection for its characters.
Page Two: We Hold These Truths to Be Self-Evident
Free speech: Do we have to spell it out for you? Plus, a farewell to a great American filmmaker.
Independence Day
On a sticky Sunday night at the Continental Club in late June 2005, I drank a Negra Modelo, my drink of choice. It tasted wonderful, cold and bubbly, and set my two-beer buzz just right. I put the empty bottle on the bar as my boyfriend swung me out to the dance floor while Heybale…
Naked City
Quote of the Week “We’ll succeed – unless we quit.” – President Bush, on the lessons America learned in Vietnam that can be applied to Iraq … clearly showing that he understands neither Vietnam nor IraqHeadlines• Sleeping off a tryptophan hangover, all city of Austin offices will close Thursday and Friday, Nov. 23-24. Trash collection…
Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny
How much you’ll love (or loathe) JB and KG’s passion for the power chord and all it entails will depend, most likely, on your familiarity with the duo beforehand.
Letters @ 3AM
Democrats may vote for laws like the PATRIOT Act that gut the Bill of Rights, but Democrats do not initiate laws that abolish our freedoms � an important distinction.
Get It While You Can
Although I only knew him from our interview, I wish I could’ve talked to Tary Owens about music instead of hepatitis C. Owens died in 2003 after suffering from hepatitis C, diabetes, and Parkinson’s disease. He graciously discussed his health problems with me one summer afternoon in 1998 for the Chronicle, at his house east…
Icon or Eyesore?
Chance to decide which nearing end
Déjà Vu
If the science fiction in Déjà Vu has more to do with fiction than science, it’s not as though this Denzel Washington picture ever pauses long enough for that realization to fully take hold.
After a Fashion
Are you a ho on the go? Well, you could use the information in this week’s column. Ho-bag.
Resources
American Liver Foundation, South Texas Chapter www.liverfoundation.org/southtex 866/58-LIVER ClinicalTrials.com (nationwide clinical trials listing) www.clinicaltrials.gov Hepatitis Foundation International www.hepfi.org 800/891-0707 Liver Foundation of Central Texas www.lfct.org 370-5422 327-HEPC (hotline) Texas Liver Coalition www.texasliver.org 800/72-LIVER Austin/Travis County Health and Human Services Department Travis County’s downloadable manual on hep C is a remarkably readable and helpful document and…
Post-Election Coverage: Vouchers crap out
School-voucher proponent James Leininger contributed more campaign dollars this election cycle than in previous elections, but his gamble on GOP candidates didn’t pay off at polls
Bobby
Bobby looks at the lives of some everyday people who are about to get caught up in the avalanche of history when they become witnesses to the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy.
Day Trips
Christmas-light displays are one of the many holiday traditions that all ages seem to enjoy with equal enthusiasm
Texas Platters
KGSR Broadcasts Vol. 14(107.1 KGSR Radio Austin) It’s no PlayStation Wii, but Broadcasts, KGSR’s annual dual-CD collection of live, in-studio hootenannies recorded September to September, will fly off shelves like it does every year. And with good reason. Upon first listen, the uninitiated might wonder at the curatorial imperative behind this Austintatious collection. Who’s the…
Primates’ Fate in Limbo
Legal battle deciding fate of Bexar Co. animal sanctuary’s inhabitants heats up over decision to move seven chimps to primate sanctuary in Louisiana
The Fountain
Like some epic figure of yore, writer/director Aronofsky has allowed his hubris to get the better of him: The Fountain is a dry well.
Soccer Watch
Portland dismisses UT Lady Longhorns from the NCAA tourney, and more
Texas Platters
Bar mistress! Jack & Coke for Chicken Ranch Records’ Michael Dickenson, Creepout! meister at Beerland 2006. Good-humored mechanics ground any garage, vinyl, digital, six-cylinder, but a cherry cream 45 with Alan “This Gun for Hire” Ladd artwork bespeaks the local label’s pledge to Fifties grit. The Woggles’ Cover the Waterfront peels out like a ’57…
Pro-Lifer Appointed to Oversee Nation’s Family-Planning Program
Bush announces that he has chosen pro-life doctor Eric Keroack as his new appointee to oversee family planning at Department of Health and Human Services
Dhoom 2
New Bollywood sequel pits a supercop against a high tech superthief, who meets his match in a thief of the opposite gender. (Opens Friday.)
Luv Doc Recommends: Thundercloud Subs Turkey Trot
Thanksgiving is the most American of all holidays – not because it reminds us of how the Native Americans (sometimes referred to by the Freudian phrase “Naive Americans”) welcomed the white men with open arms and saved them from starvation (a small kindness white men repaid with disease, famine, and genocide), and not because it…
