Cover Story
Can Schlotzsky’s Be Saved?
John Wooley and the battle to bring Schlotzsky’s back to life
Gil Scott-Heron: The Revolution Will Not Be Televised
Gil Scott-Heron: The Revolution Will Not Be Televised 2004, NR, 60 min. Directed by Don Letts. This new documentary from Grammy-winning director Don Letts looks at the godfather of rap’s significance to music and civil rights. The BBC4 program features concert footage and contributions from disciples such as Chuck D and Mos Def.
Great American Film Project
Great American Film Project A film festival and short screenplay contest with lots of prizes. The Project’s objective is to “create opportunities for those who might not otherwise obtain the chances they merit to break into the film and entertainment industries.”
Panetti Sane Enough to Die
But schizophrenic’s execution stayed pending further appeals
Culture Flash!
Tapestry can dance this season after all, Austin artists may be the new Marfa lights, Angelina Eberly fires up the Avenue, and ‘Cracks in the Pavement’ gets national recognition
Phases & Stages
Zykos(Post-Parlo) Zykos is still a young band, having only been in existence a couple of years. In that short span, however, the Austin sixpiece has crafted an indie sound distinctively its own, resulting in 2003’s compelling debut Comedy Horn, and now an incredibly mature second album, one that has them poised on the brink of…
Rankings Give Schools a One-Two Punch
Both state and federal accountability measures leave Austin ISD cold
Friday Night Lights
H.G. Bissinger’s classic book about the secular religion of high school football was lovingly adapted for film prior to becoming a TV show.
More From Death Row …
Inmate Anthony Graves gets new hearing on his appeal
Readings
Flat Crazy by Ben Rehder St. Martin’s Minotaur, 308 pp., $24.95 Austin novelist Ben Rehder is back with the third installment of his Blanco County mystery series, and, once again, he’s brought the funny. Rehder’s protagonist, level-headed county game warden John Marlin, finds himself at the center of another bizarre series of events. The Houston…
Phases & Stages
The Late Great Daniel JohnstonDiscovered Covered (Gammon) Firstly, don’t let the title worry you – Daniel Johnston is still very much with us. Half tribute, half greatest hits, Discovered Covered is a 2-CD “prehumous” celebration of Johnston’s absolutely unique “Keep Austin Weird” songcraft. Significantly, no local acts are included here, evidence of how expansive the…
No Child Left Untested!
The Federal Rankings Under the federal No Child Left Behind act, schools are evaluated by their year-to-year improvement, or “Adequate Yearly Progress.” If a school fails to make AYP for two years running, its students are eligible to transfer (and be transported at district expense) to schools with better scores. As of Oct. 1, this…
I Heart Huckabees
An existential comedy, to be sure, but in the end this movie quite happily tips toward being and everythingness.
Beating the Back-Door Draft
Legal advice for reservists caught in the Iraq ‘stop-loss’ trap
Readings
Black Trials: Citizenship From the Beginnings of Slavery to the End of Caste by Mark S. Weiner Knopf, 448 pp., $26.95 There is a self-flattering myth afloat in the American culture that racism is a matter of feeling and taste, much like disliking squash, or being hateful on your birthday. Well, no. Racism is only…
Phases & Stages
Ocote Soul Sounds and Adrian QuesadaEl Niño y el Sol (Aire Sol) Aiming to haul himself from Brooklyn to Michoacan in a Mercedes Benz that chugs french-fry grease, Martin Perna of Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra hit a snag when his eco-luxury vehicle broke down in Austin. In perfect improvisatory fashion, the saxophonist and Fela Kuti-devotee utilized…
Weed Watch: Oh, All Right, Eat the Hemp
Feds give up three-year effort to ban foods with hemp seeds and oil
Uncovered: The War on Iraq
The filmmaker, who is also responsible for the recent documentary Outfoxed, argues that intelligence data have been manipulated by this administration to justify the decision to go to war.
The Supremes’ Fall Season
Criminal justice, medical marijuana – and maybe redistricting? – on the high court’s plate
Page Two
The mainstreaming of extremism
Phases & Stages
Omar A. Rodriguez-LopezA Manual Dexterity: Soundtrack Volume One (Gold Standard Laboratories) Even odds say Omar A. Rodriguez-Lopez’s favorite flick is Jim Jarmusch’s Dead Man. The Mars Volta and At the Drive-In guitarist/songwriter dives into Neil Young experimentalism headfirst on his solo debut, A Manual Dexterity, a half soundtrack to a work in progress and labor…
Another Slowdown on Rainey Street
Staff redevelopment plan hits a roadblock at the Design Commission
The Motorcycle Diaries
Young Che Guevara takes a road trip up the length of South America and discovers his humanity in this portrait of the future revolutionary as a young man.
‘Streets Without Cars’ on TV
Tune in to KLRU-2 at 8pm Saturday, Oct. 9, to watch ‘Streets Without Cars: The Urban Experiment of State Street’
About AIDS
For the last several weeks, the nation has been observing Hispanic Heritage Month. The last day of the celebration – Friday, October 15 – will be devoted to the second National Latino AIDS Awareness Day. This year, the sponsoring Latino Commission on AIDS has chosen as its theme “Abre Los Ojos: El VIH No Tiene…
Phases & Stages
Planning some cuddle time soon? The cool winter nights are still a couple of months away, but it’s not too soon to think about music to get cozy with. Put Traci Lamar’s Apasionada (Akashic Recordings) at the top of the list. Amid castanets, accordion, percussion, horns, and strings, her sultry alto voice tickles the ear…
UT Students Sell the CIA
Controversial biz-school course offers ‘real-world’ marketing for spy shop
The Yes Men
The Yes Men are a couple of prankster activists whose target in this movie is the World Trade Organization.
The Global Test
Whatever happens next month, we all have plenty of work to do
After a Fashion
How does Stephen M. M. repeatedly get such hot dates? By being the Avatar’s Avatar, that’s how. See what local gigs he appeared at this week …
Phases & Stages
Book of ShadowsHanged Man (Whirling Rainbow) Having left venerable space rock outfit ST 37 in 2001, keyboardist Carlton Crutcher now turns his third eye toward connecting otherworldly noise to pagan and Wiccan lyrical themes. While Book of Shadows experiments in the same psychedelic hemisphere as ST 37, it’s a mellowed-out tangent focused on slow, comforting…
A ‘Culture of Excellence’ at UT Inc.
The Commission of 125 report calls for a first-class (and blue-chip) university
Faster
Loud, swooping documentary about the sport of motorcycle racing follows 24 riders on the international circuit.
Austin @ Large: Triangle, Full Circle
Seven glorious years later, and did we learn anything?
To Your Health
Is there any nutritional help in dealing with hemorrhoids?
Phases & Stages
Ian MooreLuminaria (Yep Roc) Since vacating Joe Ely’s hotshot guitar slot a decade ago, Ian Moore has released six albums on nearly as many labels. Typically, this could be an omen of declining popularity, or rudderless creativity. Not so with Moore, whose former imprints are maps of his journey from blues-rock sharpshooter to textural troubadour.…
Will Alcoa Clear the Air?
The aluminum giant’s power-plant replacement plan hasn’t convinced enviros
The Hightower Report
Bloomberg applauds as New York’s finest crack down on the First Amendment; and ‘foolproof’ electronic voting looks foolish
The Common Law
Name changes in Texas
Phases & Stages
Robert Earl KeenNo Kinda Dancer (Koch)Robert Earl KeenA Bigger Piece of Sky (Koch)Robert Earl KeenNo. 2 Dinner: Live (Koch) This trio of reissues offers a glimpse into three very different moments in Robert Earl Keen’s career. Their appearance reminds us that he wasn’t always one of the best-known ambassadors of Texas music. As with most…
World Energy Week’s Hometown Highlights
Events in Austin and Fredericksburg show off region’s clean-energy champions
Imperfect Game
The Texas Documentary Tour: ‘Small Ball’ follows a Little League team – and their parents – to the World Series
Mr. Smarty Pants Knows
‘Star Wars’ and Honey Mushrooms
Phases & Stages
Redd VolkaertFor the Ladies (HighTone) Sometime after Bob Wills and Hank Williams taught the world to swing, things went to hell. The Toby Keiths and Kenny Chesneys of Hot 100 country ran that classic guitar sound through Disney’s ad agency, and the diamonds turned to coal. Fortunately for Austinites, Redd Volkaert never subscribed to that…
Naked City
Headlines and happenings from Austin and beyond
Shark Tale
Animated Shark Tale lacks bite.
TCB
Rocking out on Red River, all the way to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame
AFF Opens With ‘Overnight’ and More
For admission information and more, see www.austinfilmfestival.com, or check back here next week for our preview
Day Trips
Cornfield mazes offer fun for all ages
Phases & Stages
Charlie RobisonGood Times (Dualtone) Charlie Robison gets a lot of credit – from Kevin Fowler on down – for pioneering the whole “Texas Music” shebang, but what he’s really done is invent a stirring brand of Hill Country soul. Situations ripped from the headlines of Bandera and Blanco counties, and songs that begin, “Skinny dipping…
All in a DeLay’s Work
The hits just keep on coming for the ethically challenged Bug Man
Expert Marx Man
Gabe Kaplan knows Groucho, and he’s bringing him back to life on stage.
The Many Splendors of Resfest
Friday-Sunday, Oct. 8-10
Soccer Watch
Assisting UT; breakfast with Beckham
Phases & Stages
Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double TroubleLive at Montreux 1982 & 1985 (Epic)Los Lonely BoysTexican Style: Live From Austin (Epic) It may not have been Dylan plugging in at Newport, but Stevie Ray Vaughan would have had a much different career if he and Double Trouble had never played the Montreux International Jazz Festival in July…
Lege Foes Spar on Schools
Stick and Strama, Baxter and White at education forum
Payne Pleasures 2004
Sam Bass Theatre’s Forever Plaid took top honors at the 30th anniversary B. Iden Payne Awards
‘SXSW Presents’
Mobilus Media Sampler
The Ultimate Church Supper
St. Elias expects thousands to satisfy their spirits and appetites at its Mediterranean Festival
In Other Election News …
Crawford paper goes blue, and Jennifer Gale gives up
Ancient History Alive!
In Marc Silva’s painting ‘Diatessiraq,’ the artist’s archaic language fits like a glove around his image of fragmented stone hands touching an engraved tablet
Westlake High and ‘Friday Night Lights’
Though it’s really about Odessa’s Permian High School, Westlake figures prominently in ‘Friday Night Lights,’ which opens in Austin on Friday, Oct. 8
Ararat Middle East Restaurant
Attitude aside, this contemporary Xanadu is a feast for the imagination
The Life of a Sandwich
Schlotzsky’s from sandwich to bankruptcy
CP(&)R for the Eastside?
Raul Alvarez and Danny Thomas home to promote revitalization while preventing gentrification
Arts Review
As produced by Austin Playhouse, Tennessee Williams’ ‘Cat on a Hot Tin Roof’ leaps and lands on its feet with aplomb
Short Cuts
SXSW comes up fast on the outside, and the ascent of one Keun-Pyo Park
Sunflower Restaurant
The atmosphere is mediocre, the tables are a little too close together, the service can occasionally border on indifference – but we love this place!
Original History
The Schlotzsky’s history begins with a really big sandwich
HCC Celebrates Five Years
Hill Country land trust looks for further harmony in the future
Arts Review
Battle of Hickory RidgeThrough Oct. 20. 916 E. Springdale, in the Blue Theater. freshupclub@yahoo.com. Peat Duggins’ imaginative and witty “Battle of Hickory Ridge” installation at Fresh Up Club takes on a big topic. The installation is a room-sized cardboard mock-up of a stereotypical suburban community, with little houses and cars around the painted streets and…
TV Eye
The world-views of ‘Desperate Housewives’ and ‘Boston Legal’ might be absurd and sobering, but they’re also worth keeping an eye on
Food-o-File
Pace yourself and brace yourself: October is a very busy month for foodies
The Beard Gambit
Shareholder Joseph Beard made a run at the company, but fell short
Arts Review
In their testsite collaboration, two Annettes, Carlozzi and Lawrence, both move into rewarding new territory, transforming the experience of the art on display
DVD Watch
Always popular in Europe and film school, Cassavetes was largely underappreciated in his lifetime and criticized for being boring, terse, and difficult, but these films are fresher than ever
Holy Ghost
Austin’s Revenant Records follows up its Grammy-winning Charley Patton box set with free jazzman Albert Ayler’s 9-CD ‘Holy Ghost’
Sheriff Hopefuls: Looking-at-Jail Time
Both McNeill and Hamilton say a new lockup is TCSO’s top priority
Ladder 49
No scorcher this, but nonetheless a sturdy tribute to firefighters and male camaraderie.
Luv Doc Recommends: Linucon
What a busy weekend ahead. There’s the Texas/OU game up in the Big D. If you’re into coming early, being loud, wearing orange, and then driving back to Austin humiliated, you’ll want to ice down the light beer and cut out of work around noon on Friday to get a jump on all of the…
