A Grin Without a Cat: Part 2
A Grin Without a Cat: Part 2 1993, NR, 90 min. Directed by Chris Marker, Narrated by , Voices by , Starring . Frenchman Chris Marker practically invented the essay film and has certainly remained one of the form’s most esteemed and poetic practitioners. His 1962 masterpiece “La Jetée” is a faceted gem-like study of…
Battle for Soviet Ukraine
Battle for Soviet Ukraine 1943, NR, 80 min. Directed by Alexander Dovzhenko, Narrated by , Voices by , Starring . Dovzhenko’s wartime documentary incorporates footage of the invasion of the Ukraine taken by German cameramen but later captured by the Soviets. The film includes scenes of the counterattack, as well as scenes of the battlefield…
A Grin Without a Cat: Part 1
A Grin Without a Cat: Part 1 1977, NR, 90 min. Directed by Chris Marker, Narrated by , Voices by , Starring . Frenchman Chris Marker practically invented the essay film and has certainly remained one of the form’s most esteemed and poetic practitioners. His 1962 masterpiece “La Jetée” is a faceted gem-like study of…
Austin Found: A Short Experience
Austin Found: A Short Experience NR. Directed by Various, Narrated by , Voices by , Starring . Four local filmmakers come together for this screening of their short films. Showing is “One Sweet Deal” by Jonas Lamis, “Company Outing” by James Webb, “Still” by David Lowery, and “Once a Storm” by Marian Yeager.
Book Reviews
Marion Winik reviews Jennifer Egan’s startling National Book Award finalist, now in paperback.
Phases and Stages
Bright EyesLifted, or the Story is in the Soil, Keep Your Ear to the Ground (Saddle Creek) This goes for all young bands, not just Conor Oberst. Stop taking your tape recorders into your cars with you! There’s nothing more annoying than listening to a goddamn turn signal. Everyone already knows about The Futility of…
Maxey Gets Roasty
Outgoing state Rep. Glen Maxey, D-Austin, was looking a bit more red-cheeked than usual Monday night following a roast held in his “honor” by his fellow Democrats. Travis Co. Democratic Party Executive Director (and emcee) Tim Weltin, Dianne Hardy-Garcia of the Lesbian/Gay Rights Lobby of Texas, attorney Catherine Mauzy, Rich Bailey of the Stonewall Democrats,…
TV Eye
Live From New York … the sometimes sordid history of Saturday Night Live.
Book Woman Fights Back
If “things don’t return to the normal pattern by the end of the year, then I think we would have to re-evaluate,” says Book Woman’s Susan Post. “But we’re not going to take out a loan, we’re going to have a benefit! It’s like we’re in the hospital and we have some hospital bills, and…
‘ACL’ Live Shots
WilcoThe Mercury, Friday, Sept. 27, 10:30pm Jeff Tweedy rarely smiles. He’s a mopey-faced guy, hunched over ever so slightly. Friday night, the Wilco honcho was wearing that same starchy red button-up you might have seen him sporting on certain magazine covers. “This song is called ‘Kamera,’ and I need a bucket,” groans Tweedy. He makes…
Phases and Stages
ColdplayA Rush of Blood to the Head (Capitol) Musically, Coldplay are comfort food: easily digestible, not at all spicy (but not necessarily bland), probably a little fattening. The macaroni and cheese of rock bands. The Londoners’ 2000 debut Parachutes was an island of hand-knitted warmth in a sea of manufactured self-loathing and aggression, and sophomore…
Naked City
A look at breaking news items from around the city, state, and world
News/Print
James Crumley (The Last Good Kiss, The Final Country) won’t be in attendance at Bouchercon 2002, the 33rd World Mystery Convention, which is taking place in Texas — Austin, if you’re going to insist on specificity — for the first time, Oct. 17-20, at the Renaissance Hotel. The reason isn’t that he doesn’t like Texas,…
‘ACL’ Live Shots
Blind Boys of AlabamaZilker Park, Saturday, Sept. 28, 1pm Saturday felt more like late summer than early fall, the kind of day where you’re smart to guzzle more water than beer. The Blind Boys didn’t care, though, sweating through their ice-cream-colored suits in the midday sun. There’s a point where secular music and gospel intersect.…
Phases and Stages
The WhoMy Generation (Deluxe Edition) (MCA/Universal) In late 1964, the Who signed a production deal with expatriate American producer Shel Talmy of Kinks’ fame; “I Can’t Explain” followed in January 1965 as the Who’s inaugural hit. A year later, the demonstrably irrelevant Talmy was dumped. Unfortunately, Talmy’s contract held up in court, and he received…
Naked City
After less than three years at the helm, Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce President/CEO Mark Hazelwood announced he would step down by year’s end. After backing causes like light rail and regional planning, Hazelwood earned good marks from many Austin leaders used to fighting tooth-and-nail with the “Chamber of Concrete.” But the tech bust, which…
Page Two
Leaving us no time to catch our breaths after the Austin City Limits, Pecan Street, and Cinematexas festivals, our little city is graced next with the Heart of Film Screenwriters Conference and Austin Film Festival, unofficially kicked off by a screening (co-sponsored by the Austin Film Society) of Jonathan Demme’s new film, The Truth About…
‘ACL’ Live Shots
The Mighty Sincere Voices of NavasotaZilker Park, Saturday, Sept. 28, 2pm One downside of festival-shortened sets is that some artists — particularly those accustomed to freer sets — warm up just about the time they have to wrap up. While their first number was delivered with concentrated focus and intent, the Mighty Sincere Voices of…
Phases and Stages
The WhoAmerican Airlines Center, Dallas, TX, September 21 And then there were two. At the end of an alternately magic and depressing two-hour set, the stage emptied and Roger Daltrey fell into Pete Townshend’s arms. Daltrey, 58, short, stout, still without an ounce of fat on a physique the Gods on Olympus bequeathed him, is…
Naked City
The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality caved under intense public pressure and agreed last week to do away with 55-mph speed limits in smog-choked Houston. — M.C.M. Mark McClellan, eldest son of State Comptroller and former Austin mayor Carole Keeton Rylander, has been nominated by President Bush to run the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.…
Mr. Smarty Pants
Thorny trees such as blackthorn and hawthorn are said to serve as meeting places for fairies.What do Geri Halliwell, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry, and Renée Zellweger have in common (other than all being celebrities)? None of them eat French fries.The Founding Fathers didn’t want Ben Franklin to write the Constitution because they feared he would…
‘ACL’ Live Shots
Gillian Welch & David RawlingsZilker Park, Saturday, Sept. 28, 3pm “We haven’t been to Austin in a long time,” was one of the first things Gillian Welch said from the stage. That was among the reasons she drew one of the largest audiences of the Austin City Limits Music Festival weekend. She and partner/guitarist David…
Dancing About Architecture
Our resident Marshmallow Peep relates the news and hearsay in and around the Live Music Capital…
Naked City
Texas Environmental Democrats of Austin will hold a rally tonight (Thursday), 6:30-8:30pm at Threadgill’s, 301 W. Riverside. All Dem hopefuls on the Travis Co. ballot have been invited. Iced tea and appetizers are free; bar drinks will cost you. Vote2002 will hold a 40-hour voter registration marathon from 8am Sunday, Oct. 6, until midnight the…
The Long Incubation of the Incubus
Playwright David Hancock and director Vicky Boone reveal how they developed the play The Incubus Archives over six years, through 11 sometimes radically different versions.
Day Trips
Benno’s on the Beach may have the best patio view of the sunset of any restaurant in Galveston. It doesn’t hurt a bit that they have pretty great seafood to go along with gorgeous colors reflecting off the waves that fill the evening sky. “People come by all the time and ask if they can…
‘ACL’ Live Shots
Gary Clark Jr.Zilker Park, Saturday, Sept. 28, 5:45pm By the time Gary Clark Jr. finished wowing ’em at the CapMet tent on the first day of the ACL Music Festival, everything was long. The shadows from the quickly setting sun made giants of the crowd, as 15-foot shadows bobbed between stages, vendors, the food court,…
Pipe Dreams
Chapter 37 From Robert Bryce’s new book on Enron
Naked City
Architect Peter Pfeiffer’s 4,000-square-foot Tarrytown home looks a lot like the other luxury addresses on his block. But despite the massive granite staircase leading to the front door and the elevated pool out back, there’s plenty that belies the notion that Pfeiffer is just another wealthy man indulging his edifice complex. In fact, the house…
Shakti: The Power
Shakti: The Power 2002, NR, 170 min. Directed by Krishna Vamsi, Narrated by , Voices by , Starring Aishwarya Rai, Ritu Shivpuri, Deepti Naval, Shah Rukh, Nana Patekar, Sanjay Kapoor, Karisma Kapoor. Shakti: The Power is an interesting new Bollywood release that is receiving a relatively large stateside release. The Hindi-language film (with English subtitles)…
Heroism in Flight
When the New York stage company Collective Unconscious took transcripts of Cockpit Voice Recorder tapes from six real-life airline emergencies and performed them on stage under the title Charlie Victor Romeo, they created a theatrical sensation and a testament to the strength and spirit of humans in crisis.
After a Fashion
Stephen takes you to the Emmy’s and deems them not worthy of any particular awards. Plus, a local retail roundup and more!
‘ACL’ Live Shots
Nickel CreekZilker Park, Saturday, Sept. 29, 7pm It’d be easy to ascribe the success of Nickel Creek to the O Brother Where Art Thou? phenomenon, but it’d also be extremely lazy and misplaced. The band’s musical pedigree is informed more by pop, alternative rock, and jazz more than by Bill Monroe, which soon became clear…
Enron’s Masters of the Universe
Robert Bryce, the author of Pipe Dreams, reported for the Chronicle from 1988 to 2001, most of that time as a staff writer in the Politics department. We talked to him recently about his new book. Austin Chronicle: Can you describe briefly the important events in Enron’s collapse, beginning in 1997, when Jeff Skilling took…
Naked City
Last Wednesday night — actually very early Thursday morning — the Planning Commission voted to sustain two of three appeals filed by the Hyde Park Neighborhood Association against time extensions previously granted to the Hyde Park Baptist Church’s site plans for three tracts in the 3800 block of Speedway. Although the 45-day extensions, granted to…
Me Without You
Me Without You 2001, R, 108 min. Directed by Sandra Goldbacher, Narrated by , Voices by , Starring Anna Friel, Michelle Williams, Kyle MacLachlan, Oliver Milburn, Trudie Styler. Growing up from grade-school confidantes into half-ass punks in Thatcher-era London and then finally into semi-lost twentysomethings, best friends Holly (Williams) and Marina (Friel) survive two decades…
Articulations
The winners are in for the 28th annual B. Iden Payne Awards, honoring outstanding achievements in Austin theatre from August 2001 through July 2002.
To Your Health
A trainer where I work out has recommended a supplement called MCT oil. He says it will improve athletic performance and help with weight loss. How can increased fat in the diet help with weight loss?
‘ACL’ Live Shots
Pat GreenZilker Park, Saturday, Sept. 28, 8:45pm Pat Green loves Texas. That much is obvious. Not counting songs in Saturday’s set that overtly said so (i.e., Django Walker’s “Texas on My Mind”) he still fired off enough Lone Star references to fill the Cotton Bowl: barbecue, rodeos, dance halls, highways, Willie, etc. Incidentally, he also…
The Devil in the Details
After 10 years, the Great Streets master plan runs into controversy over two-way streets.
Naked City
Journalists around Austin and the nation mourned the passing Sept. 23 of Ron Gibson, longtime editorial adviser to the student journalists at The Daily Texan, of complications from diabetes and kidney failure. He was 68. From 1988 to 2000, five nights a week, Gibson read every word of the UT student paper, checking for libel…
Red Dragon
Red Dragon 2002, R, 124 min. Directed by Brett Ratner, Narrated by , Voices by , Starring Philip Seymour Hoffman, Mary-Louise Parker, Emily Watson, Harvey Keitel, Ralph Fiennes, Edward Norton, Anthony Hopkins. There’s a scene in Red Dragon — a bigger-budgeted remake of Michael Mann’s 1986 film Manhunter — in which Edward Norton, as FBI…
Exhibitionism
Austin Musical Theatre’s production of My Fair Lady serves up the tale of a Cockney flower girl’s transformation at the hands of an egotistical phonetics professor with a lavish look and a playful spirit, creating a delightful dance of elegance and frivolity.
About AIDS
Medicaid Should Care for HIV Disease Before AIDS True or False: Most low-income people can get medical care for their HIV disease through the Medicaid system, just as they can for other health problems. Shocking as it seems, the answer is largely “False.” In Texas, a poor HIV-positive adult generally must wait until he/she has…
‘ACL’ Live Shots
Rebirth Brass BandZilker Park, Sunday, Sept. 29, 5:30pm This gig may as well have taken place in the Economy Hall tent at New Orleans’ annual Jazz & Heritage Festival. That’s the famous home to the best in jazz, Dixie, and big band blues, swing, and other specialties of the Big Easy, such as the Rebirth…
The Great Streets 2025 Plan
The Great Streets Master Plan identifies six different types of Great Streets in the Central Business District. In general, the 80-foot right of way typical of downtown streets would contain 44 feet of auto traffic and two 18-foot sidewalks, with specified styles and placement of paving, trees, curb cuts, and lighting. In order of frequency:Pedestrian-Dominant…
Naked City
One of Austin’s most committed activist groups — People Organized for the Defense of Earth and its Resources (PODER) — got national attention this week when co-founders Susana Almanza and Sylvia Herrera won a “Leadership for a Changing World” award from the Ford Foundation. The award, which comes with a $130,000 cash grant, recognizes PODER’s…
Moonlight Mile
Moonlight Mile 2002, PG-13, 123 min. Directed by Brad Silbering, Narrated by , Voices by , Starring Dabney Coleman, Ellen Pompeo, Holly Hunter, Susan Sarandon, Dustin Hoffman, Jake Gyllenhaal. Middle-aged commercial real estate agent Benjamin Floss (Hoffman) asks his attorney why his daughter was caught in the crossfire of an anonymous domestic dispute in a…
Exhibitionism
For a concert in Austin, modern Houston-based music ensemble Istanpitta chose about a dozen medieval songs about the Virgin Mary and gave them a charming airing.
Letters @ 3AM
The author offers notes for a poem that tells how the America of our hearts is a forgotten country.
‘ACL’ Live Shots
Allison MoorerZilker Park, Sunday, Sept. 29, noon Wrong time, wrong place, right singer. An outdoor stage on a postcard-perfect (if a little warm) Central Texas afternoon is hardly the ideal environment to truly appreciate Allison Moorer’s songs, populated as they are with addictive personalities, hard-luck cases, and enough down-at-the-heels barroom ambience to have your clothes…
Near-Term Downtown Transportation Plan
The “Near Term CBD Transportation Improvement Projects” package — now slated for City Council consideration in October — contains 15 separate items with an estimated total cost of $17.5 million. The money would come from bonds, cash on hand, utility funds, and Austin’s share of the 1é4-cent sales tax (formerly set aside for light rail)…
Smells Like Victory
For a change, this November’s state elections might actually be interesting.
The Tuxedo
The Tuxedo 2002, PG-13, 99 min. Directed by Kevin Donovan, Narrated by , Voices by , Starring James Brown, Peter Stormare, Ritchie Coster, Debi Mazar, Jason Isaacs, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Jackie Chan. Director Donovan and writers Michael Leeson and Michael Wilson ought to be shipped off on a slow boat to China and forced to…
Exhibitionism
The Zachary Scott Theatre Center production of Claudia Shear’s Dirty Blonde does not always work, but when it does — such as any time Rosalie Teneth struts and curves and bends around the stage as Mae West — the show embodies everything truly amazing about theatre.
The Secret Ingredients
Meet the best chefs you’ve never heard of.
‘ACL’ Live Shots
Ryan AdamsZilker Park, Sunday, Sept. 29, 6:30pm This writer may be in the minority, but this performance from “it boy” Ryan Adams had me longing for the days when his ex-band Whiskeytown would put on a caterwauling, highly unpredictable, and inspired show at Liberty Lunch. He started off strong with an enthusiastic rendition of “Nuclear,”…
No Dove of Peace Over Georgetown
Charges continue to fly over the defective Dove Springs Wastewater plant.
The Hightower Report
Be a Jewel; Truly Beautiful Art
I Am Trying to Break Your Heart
I Am Trying to Break Your Heart 2002, NR, 93 min. Directed by Sam Jones, Narrated by , Voices by , Starring Wilco. The title is taken from a song on Wilco’s latest album, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, but it might as well be a boldfaced memo from record company Reprise to the critically feted but…
Food-o-File
Virginia B. Wood catches up on culinary news in this week’s “Food-o-File.”
‘ACL’ Live Shots
Robert Randolph & the Family BandSunday, Sept. 29, 7:30pm Starting things off with a long, soulful warm-up, Jersey pedal steel savior Robert Randolph evoked pre-Civil War African-American spirituals using 20th-century amplification. With a singing tone recalling Eric Johnson, Randolph’s driving 13-string pedal steel guitar resonated with the mostly, but not entirely, jam-fan audience during the…
Austin’s Creative Clash
Austin’s arts funding process leaves much to be desired — and consulted.
Migrating North
As the Texas and national film industry feels the burn of runaway production, many agree with one directive: Blame Canada.
Second Helpings
If you’re not waking up in glorious Mexico, you might as well wake up to migas, galletas, pan dulces, piedras, or buñuelos at one of Austin’s Mexican bakeries.
Book Reviews
Kate Cantrill reviews A.M. Homes’ first collection since 1990.
Mini-Review
Rachel Feit writes that “sandwiches are Texicalli Grille’s real specialty.” Read on to see if they live up to the legend.
‘ACL’ Live Shots
Arc AngelsZilker Park, Sunday, Sept. 29, 8:30pm “Thank you, thank you — thank you — for being here,” gracioused three-time Tour de France king Lance Armstrong, without whom this inaugural Austin City Limits Music Festival might not have been the nuclear sun success it was. (His manager’s firm produced the event.) “I remember a long…
War Drums
The encouraging news is that an overflow crowd of several hundred people turned out for a Saturday morning public forum, sponsored by the Gray Panthers, at the First Unitarian Universalist Church, on the looming threat of war with Iraq. The crowd enthusiastically welcomed guest of honor U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett, who was frankly less encouraging.…
Something Wild
There’s no pussyfooting about it: The Truth About Charlie is a remake — of the widely adored Charade — and Jonathan Demme isn’t apologizing for it.
Book Reviews
Kimberley Jones reviews Sarah Vowell’s follow-up to Take the Cannoli.
Highest Stakes
Groobee gal Susan Gibson steps out on her own, chin up.
‘ACL’ Live Shots
Critics Picks: Best ‘ACL’ Music Fest SetJim Caligiuri: Kelly Willis Christopher Gray: Los Lobos Raoul Hernandez: Li’l Cap’n Travis David Lynch: Robert Randolph Margaret Moser: Caitlin Cary Jerry Renshaw: Nickel Creek Jay Trachtenberg: Sound Tribe Sector 9
Vision Villains?
The director of Vision Village project pleads guilty for failing to monitor the doomed venture.
You’re Looking at It
The heart of rock ‘n’ roll may be Cleveland, but the “Heart of Film”? You’re looking at it.
Book Reviews
The bad news: Melanie Haupt isn’t satisfied with Sandra Cisneros’ eagerly awaited epic. The good? Read on.
Immigrant Song
Kim Richey — outta Nashville, into Austin.
Phases and Stages
BeckSea Change (DGC) Tears of a clown: After Überslacker Beck (Mellow Gold), Freak Beck (Odelay), Stoned Beck (Mutations), and Prince Beck (Midnite Vultures), is the world ready for Sad Beck? Everyone’s favorite towheaded human jukebox is uncomfortably numb, but after all, “It’s only lies that I’m living,” he opines on “Guess I’m Doing Fine.” (He’s…
Delamora Denied
State District Judge Julie Kocurek denied a motion for a new trial Sept. 23, filed by Austin attorney Linda Icenhauer-Ramirez on behalf of Edwin Delamora — and in so doing may have opened up yet another avenue for Delamora to appeal. Delamora was convicted this summer in the Feb. 2001 shooting death of Travis Co.…
Short Cuts
Classes and a contest.
Book Reviews
Amanda Eyre Ward diagnoses Joan Barfoot’s latest novel.
Kim Richey Reviewed
Kim RicheyRise (Lost Highway) Rise, new Austinite Kim Richey’s fourth collection of songs, finds the accomplished songwriter hitting a new watermark. With production assistance of Bill Bottrell (Sheryl Crow, Shelby Lynne), Richey creates one inspired and intimate mood after another, with intoxicating results. From simmering opener “Girl in a Car” and the intriguing rhythms and…
Phases and Stages
Sixteen HorsepowerFolklore (Jetset) Of the 10 wicked tracks on Sixteen Horsepower’s new album Folklore, only four are originals — a departure from the Denver trio’s previous studio albums. Two tracks are by Hank Williams and the Carter Family, “Alone and Forsaken” and “Single Girl” respectively; the remaining four are traditionals, including a waltz sung in…
Discovering Chief Knee
Legal proceedings against former Austin police officer Eric Snyder have been postponed again and are now set for Oct. 25. Snyder was fired after a March 2000 incident that spurred the charge of “official oppression” he is now facing in district court. But the battle that’s slowing this case to a crawl is not between…
Video Reviews
King Rat is a terribly honest and brutally realistic film about WWII P.O.W.s — a perfect counter to its story of terribly dishonest people living in brutal times.
