Cover Story
Love Is All Around
Tracking Sonny Curtis and his tall, West Texas tales
A Good Town for Dreaming
Austin gets inside the West Texas capital of contemporary art
Mission Accomplished
After more than a decade, Mars’ adventurous menu might not be as challenging as it once was, but it’s still one of the best in town
Welcome to the Ride for the Roses
A snapshot of this weekend’s festivities
Innocent Man Off Death Row
Ernest Ray Willis exonerated after 18 years behind bars
Cinematic Convergence
Sheriff D: Daniel Kraus Like some existentialist episode of Cops (or, say, Lars von Trier’s Most Mundane Police Videos), Sheriff is a jittery riff on the law in rural North Carolina. Ronald E. Hewett, sheriff of Brunswick County, allowed filmmakers unfettered access to him; the result is a vérité exposé of Hewett in action, serving…
Taxi
Queen Latifah and Jimmy Fallon comedy stalls at the starting gate.
Peter Pan vs. the Longhorns
Peter Pan has more than Capt. Hook to worry about this weekend. He has the whole Longhorn football team breathing down his neck.
Food-o-File
Everything is still happening in October!
Lance on Tour
Lance talks about his work with the LAF
UT Class Spikes CIA Project
Concerns over ‘human subjects’ research lead to end of marketing effort
Cinematic Convergence
Tobacco Money Feeds My FamilyD: Cynthia Hill While tobacco money doesn’t feed director Cynthia Hill’s family, it used to. As we learn when she revisits her hometown of Pink Hill, N.C., it feeds many of the families there still – though the number dwindles as the politically unpopular crop suffers government-mandated quota cuts year after…
Raise Your Voice
Raise your voice and just say “no” to Hilary Duff as a wannabe singing sensation.
Mail to the Chief
Vortex Repertory joins 27 other theatre companies from coast to coast in readings of ‘Dear George: Letters to the President,’ a theatrical presentation of actual letters from Americans across the country
Mini-Review
Ben Wash’s welcoming greeting, big smile, and positive outlook are once again drawing in the folks from the neighborhood and the throngs of smoked meat faithful
By the Numbers
The foundation has grown steadily and strongly
Chalking Up the Charters
Are they ‘campuses’ or ‘districts’? Both, the TEA says.
Cinematic Convergence
RollingD: Gretchen Berland Rolling is the product of footage shot by three wheelchair-dependent L.A. residents over the course of 16 months. The often shaky or off-frame shots give the viewer an enlightening perspective on a world designed for able-bodied people. The dialogues are shot from lap level, and details as small as whether people bend…
Eulogy
Amusing comedy with a killer cast seems like it should be a lot funnier than it ultimately is.
Culture Flash!
October is Art in Public Places Month, and the Austin Shakespeare Festival invites you onstage
Mini-Review
From steamed lobsters to crispy salt and pepper seafood to kung pao shrimp to dim sum, Golden Bay delivers Chinese classics of admirable quality
Millions of Wrists
The LiveStrong wristband is an international hit
Faulkner Mulls 125 Report
UT prez says he’ll think hard about blue-ribbon panel’s recs
Cinematic Convergence
ChrystalW/D: Ray McKinnon; with McKinnon, Billy Bob Thornton, Lisa Blount, Harry Lennix, Harry Dean Stanton McKinnon draws leanly nuanced performances from a fine cast in this handsomely shot Southern Gothic. Opening with an elegantly underplayed police chase and deadly car crash, the film is haunted by the physical and psychological pain of choices made when…
Team America: World Police
Trey Parker and Matt Stone tame the world with marionettes.
Arts Review
The distinctive voices of soprano Emma Kirkby and the English viol consort Fretwork resist homogenized sound for the sake of the polyphonic music they perform
Mini-Review
Apparently, Austin has an unshakeable thirst for coffee and an equally insatiable thirst for all things hip
We Think It Can, We Think It Can …
Capital Metro may have finally found a rail plan everybody can … tolerate
Crunching Numbers And Kids at CPS
Has GOP fiscal austerity put children’s and seniors’ lives on the line?
Cinematic Convergence
Cape of Good HopeW: Mark Bamford, Suzanne Kay Bamford; D: Mark Bamford; with Eriq Ebouaney, Nthati Moshesh, David Isaacs, Debbie Brown, and Quanita Adams “Love is what keeps the universe glued together,” says Jean-Claude (Ebouaney). Indeed, love is what keeps this likeable four-character film – based around the daily doings at a pet shelter –…
Shall We Dance?
Richard Gere, Jennifer Lopez, and Susan Sarandon co-star in in this tempting remake of a Japanese film about a man’s midlife slump.
Arts Review
The Arthouse exhibition “Comic Release” is well worth seeing if you like to give your mind’s teeth something complex to chew on or you appreciate the vernacular of comic books and graffiti or even if you don’t
What’s a Constable to Do?
Candidates clash over job descriptions in Precinct 3 and 5 contests
SCI, Funeral Board Make Nice
The ‘death-care’ giant and its state nemesis are now on the same side
Cinematic Convergence
50 Ways to Leave Your LoverW/D: Jordan Hawley; with Paul Schneider, Jennifer Westfeldt, Poppy Montgomery, Tori Spelling, Dorian Missick, Fred Willard In a desperate attempt to leave the black hole of L.A., our man Owen (Schneider) decides to ease the pangs of departure by burning all his bridges. After five drinks in the face, he…
Rick
Directed by Gus Van Sant’s longtime editor and written by Lemony Snicket author Daniel Handler, Rick is a harsh but compelling tale that loosely mixes tragedy and comedy.
Every Woman Everywhere
UT, ALLGO, and Resistencia honor the life and work of the late Gloria Anzaldúa
Phases & Stages
Green DayAmerican Idiot (Reprise) Even if it’s not as catholic as Rock Against Bush, or as ideologically dependable as Ted Leo, American Idiot is one of the most politically volatile albums to come out since the ascension of the Accidental President. It’s also the best album of Green Day’s 12-year career. How else to explain…
Pushing ‘Patriot Dreams’
A ‘user’s guide to democracy’ with regime change in mind
Austin @ Large: To Preserve and Thrive
Alvarez and Thomas’ Eastside plan needs fine-tuning, but it’s about time
Cinematic Convergence
The Dirty Side of Clean: ‘Down to the Bone’ Director Debra Granik On Recovery and Its Risks “Is this what I got clean for?” It’s a question often asked by people conquering substance addictions, rarely one honestly confronted in films about drugs. But in Down to the Bone, Debra Granik’s harrowing and humane feature debut,…
Head in the Clouds
Charlize Theron, Stuart Townsend, and Penelope Cruz co-star in this stilted romantic drama set against the background of Europe between the wars.
Surviving the Battles, Shaping Our Worlds
Oct. 22 and 23:For a detailed schedule call 472-2001 or go to: www.techmex.net/anzaldua.Friday Oct. 22:1-6pm: Student Union, the University of Texas at Austin 6:30-9pm: Reception at Las Manitas Avenue Cafe, 211 S. Congress Saturday Oct. 23:9am-2pm: ALLGO’s Tillery Street Theatre, 701 Tillery Related events:Oct. 28, 7:30pm: Readings of Gloria Anzaldúa’s work at Resistencia Bookstore, 1801-A…
Phases & Stages
Bright Eyes, Jim James, M. WardParamount, Oct. 9 “Monsters of Folk unite,” joked My Morning Jacket frontman Jim James as he and Conor Oberst, aka Bright Eyes, strolled back onto the Paramount stage with folk singer M. Ward at the beginning of their Saturday night encore. At this moment, the full house of teenagers and…
In Other Election News …
Nader still off Texas ballot, Pete Sessions’ naked butt, sexing up GOTV, and more
Austin @ Large: Who Gets CP(&)R?
In its test-tube version, Raul Alvarez and Danny Thomas’ Community Preservation and Revitalization Zone plan for East Austin would work like this: Up to 35% city property tax rebateMixed-use projects: at least 7,500 square feet of commercial space Commercial-only projects: at least 25 jobs for residents of the CP&R zone Up to 60% city property…
Cinematic Convergence
Unconstitutional: The War on Our Civil Liberties D: Nonny de la Peña From Robert Greenwald, producer of Unprecedented and Uncovered, comes another “un” documentary, this one exploring the ramifications of the PATRIOT Act and the U.S. violations of the Geneva Accords. The interview subjects provide disturbing testimony, like that of Jose Padilla’s lawyer, barred from…
Grand Champion
Kids adventure movie stars a boy and his prize steer – and a host of star cameos.
Letters at 3AM
As we approach the most pivotal election since 1860, the work of Stirling Silliphant comes to mind because he shows that our present situation was not created by 9 / 11 but has been brewing for a long time
Phases & Stages
BjörkMedúlla (Elektra) A word to the wise: Medúlla is a headphones-only album. It’s meant to be absorbed directly by the area for which it’s named – the brain. Even then, its aesthetic success depends entirely on the open-mindedness – or forgiving nature – of the listener. Opener “Pleasure Is All Mine” is marked by guttural…
Listen to the Candidates Debate …
Greens’ Cobb, Libs’ Badnarik face off before UT crowd
Contemptible
Tom DeLay setting new ‘salacious’ standards in congressional ethics
Cinematic Convergence
The Hot ShoeD: David Layton When faced with the overwhelming odds of the blackjack table, practitioners of the art of card counting use everything at their disposal to discover the key that will tip the odds in the little guy’s favor – and what could be more American than that? The heroes of David Layton’s…
Sheriff
Sheriff 2004, NR, 76 min. Directed by Daniel Kraus, Narrated by , Voices by , Starring . Like some existentialist episode of Cops (or, say, Lars von Trier’s Most Mundane Police Videos), Sheriff is a jittery riff on the law in rural North Carolina. Ronald E. Hewett, sheriff of Brunswick County, allowed filmmakers unfettered access…
After a Fashion
(Y)Our Style Avatar, Stephen M.M. does the party circuit and still manages to keep himself on time in order to serve you, the fashion slaves of Austin
Phases & Stages
Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds Abattoir Blues/The Lyre of Orpheus (Mute) It’s a long and winding snake trail from the Birthday Party’s “My baby is a cool machine … she says damn that horror bat, sex vampire bat” to “Years passed by, we were walking by the sea half delirious. You smiled at me…
A Med-Mari Challenge to HHS
Advocates petition the feds to change their tune on medical marijuana
The Hightower Report
Mad scientists and Big Brother … maybe we should be paranoid!
Cinematic Convergence
Oct. 14-21: The 11th annual Austin Film Festival
About AIDS
Last week’s vice-presidential debate confirmed, once again, the slim attention that HIV/AIDS is getting in the current election cycle. Nonetheless, what was said (plus the respective records of Bush and Kerry) shows there is only one choice for a voter who cares about, or especially who is affected by, HIV/AIDS. Cheers to debate moderator Gwen…
Phases & Stages
Richard BucknerDents and Shells (Merge) Richard Buckner is cooler than Freon. His raspy voice begets dour lyrics that actually chill the air around your mode of music delivery. Without elation or regret, Buckner speaks stories, explanations of missteps and wrong turns, contemplations of lost loves and past lives. Dents and Shells is the travelogue of…
Put That in Your Big Box and …
Activist groups beg to differ with the city’s big-box report
America’s Team
Matt Stone and Trey Parker take on terrorism, celebrity, and the perils of puppetry
Mr. Smarty Pants Knows
The rapture: gone like the wind
Phases & Stages
Saul Williams (Fader Label) “Got a list of demands written on the palm of my hands, I ball my fist and you’re gonna know where I stand.” Saul Williams, a spoken word poet, rabble rouser, philosopher, and MC, formulates an insurrection of rhymes designed to rescind the self-defeating worldview of those “emitting at a lesser…
Endorsements
The Chronicle’s picks in the Nov. 2 election
Cinematic Convergence
Sharing More Than a Name: ‘Searching For Angela Shelton’ Searching for Angela Shelton is a gale-force storm in the recent resurgence of documentary features. Director Shelton located as many other Angela Sheltons as possible for an informal survey; she found approximately half of the 80-plus women interviewed had, like her, been victims of sexual and/or…
Keepin’ ‘Em on the Farm
Barry Tubb is a true Texas independent. The filmmaker has been doing it his way since … well, let’s say since the age of 15, when he won the state bull-riding championship (junior division) and decided to hang up his spurs for the lure of the greasepaint. Throughout the Eighties and Nineties, Tubb appeared onstage…
To Your Health
The sense of smell is vital for good health
Phases & Stages
InterpolAntics (Matador) Maybe Interpol should’ve just packed it in, let Paul Banks go back to his international studies and allowed Carlos D to work on his lucrative sideline as a DJ. There was almost no way the NYC quartet could follow up 2002’s seething, out-and-out brilliant Turn on the Bright Lights, yet even though there…
Naked City
Headlines and happenings from Austin and beyond
Cinematic Convergence
Desperate Measures: ‘Robbing Peter’ Director Mario de la Vega’s Less-Than-Smooth Criminals He says to himself, “I am a criminal”; one look at Pedro (Louie Olivos Jr.), a Mexican mechanical engineer, and you can’t help but exclude him from that title. However, desperate times (14 months of unemployment) call for desperate measures (getting embroiled in organized…
‘SXSW Presents’
‘Growin’ a Beard’ and “The 72 Oz. Steak”
TCB
A rock out, a rock opera, and a rock show. Must be Rocktober.
The Common Law
Common-law marriage in Texas
Smoot Steps Down
Texas Freedom Network director moves on after six years of leadership
CAMPO’s $5.8B Sticker Shock
The regional transportation plan’s vision is bigger than its wallet
Cinematic Convergence
Make ‘Em Dance: The Hackberry Ramblers StoryD: John Whitehead The venerable Hackberry Ramblers have been makin’ ’em dance and keepin’ ’em happy since their inception in 1933 right to this very day. Co-founded by fiddle player Luderin Darbone and multi-instrumentalist Edwin Duhon in Lake Charles, La., the Ramblers have touched upon and contributed to almost…
Short Cuts
Dazed and Confused stands accused, but there’s good news in The Bad News Bears department. Plus, Reel Women trivia master Sherry Mills has a secret.
A Smattering of Shorts
Brief but sweet offerings from this year’s Austin Film Festival
Day Trips
Appreciating the Indian rock art of the Lower Pecos River region
Texas Faith and Freedom
Samantha Smoot recounts her work with the Texas Freedom Network
County OKs Rocky Creek
New Hill Country Coalition fails (for now) to stop Hamilton Pool project
Cinematic Convergence
WMD: Weapons of Mass DeceptionD: Danny Schechter Remarkably, the tidal flood of recent documentaries examining the aspects and angles of the United States’ current Middle East situation have also managed to focus on the media’s involvement, as well: Partisan or not, such films as Control Room, Outfoxed, and, yes, even Fahrenheit 9/11 have forcibly pried…
TV Eye
Sanitized for your protection
Texas, Art Texas
When it comes to Lone Star art, Rebecca Cohen wrote the book (finally!)
Soccer Watch
Tough times for UT; Dallas burning for a playoff spot
Bicycles, Roses, and Survivors
The Lance Armstrong Foundation and the spirit of its founder
From Heaven to the Springs
‘Nightswim’ moves Barton Springs from history to literature
Cinematic Convergence
Open HouseW: Dan Mirvish, Lawrence Maddox; D: Dan Mirvish; with Sally Kellerman, Ann Magnuson, Kelly Martin, Anthony Rapp, James Duval The elation of finding that one special home in your price range, the devastation of losing that perfect piece of real estate to a higher bidder, the giddy pleasures of the house hunt: What better…
Luv Doc Recommends: Extravagasm II Fantasy Ball
If the gimp suit in the box in your basement is getting a little moldy, good news: This Saturday is the second annual Extravagasm Fantasy Ball, a fetish, fashion and freakshow/fete set to a porn soundtrack. Bow chica wow wow. Hey, you may not own a gimp suit, but surely you’ve had a fantasy or…
