An Immense World of Delight

It used to be a commonplace of moralists that man was the only creature in the animal kingdom to slaughter his own kind. But as Chronicle writer Roger Gathman points out, kind is slaughtered by kind routinely among ants, salamanders, and, as any child can tell you, guppies. The golden rule, in nature, is not "do unto others" -- it is "why waste the protein?"

"...Nonzero: The Logic of Human Destiny by Robert Wright..."

June 30, 2000 Books Feature by Roger Gathman

Mrs. Charles Darwin's Recipe Book, Revived and Illustrated

An opulently illustrated, annotated glimpse into the Darwin family's diet

"...When we think about Charles Darwin, author of The Origin of Species, what he ate at home..."

May 29, 2009 Food Feature by MM Pack

Birth of Texas Independent Movement

"...Dear Editor, The state of Texas came into existence with bold assertions about government..."

Nov. 6, 2009 Postmarks

The Name of the Game

Raising deer, oryx, antelope, and more on central texas ranches

"...the old barbed wire ones, but the tall ones, often adorned with a ranch sign that includes the word..."

June 7, 2002 Food Feature by MM Pack

In Search of Intelligent Life at the SBOE

The State Board of Education reviews biology textbooks, and the battle over evolution rejoins.

"...The Sept. 10 public hearing of the State Board of Education devoted approximately 12 hours..."

Sept. 19, 2003 News Feature by Michael King

Surreal Science

Looking at three books -- Plague Time, Cancer: The Evolutionary Legacy, and The Rise and Fall of Modern Medicine, Roger Gathman observes that for every advance in technology, nature counterbalances with new opportunities for disease.

"...The Rise and Fall of Modern Medicine..."

March 2, 2001 Books Feature by Roger Gathman

Evolving Dialogue

Can Sharon Sparlin's play get science and religion to stop yelling and start talking?

"...Before the March 27 meeting of the Texas State Board of Education, the Texas Freedom..."

May 8, 2009 Arts Feature by Elizabeth Cobbe

How to Paper a Powder Room

New books for when you've got a little time on your hands

"...strew the tinsel most artfully, and scrutinized what your coffeetable books say about you. But have you considered how..."

Dec. 4, 2009 Books Feature by Kimberley Jones

Tarzan

"...and nature, man and beast. However, this new Disney offering represents the first time that Tarzan has been animated..."

June 18, 1999 Movie Review by Marjorie Baumgarten

Dissecting Mercer's Anti-Evolution Editorial

Because shooting fish in a barrel is fun!

"...it takes a while for the lightbulb to go off over my head...."

Feb. 16, 2009 News Post by Lee Nichols

The Night Attila Died: Solving the Murder of Attila the Hun

Here are the facts. We have a dead male, approximately 47 years of age, who once led a ruthless gang of killers.

"...The Night Attila Died: Solving the Murder of Attila the Hun..."

Aug. 26, 2005 Books Review by R.U. Steinberg

Mr. Smarty Pants Knows

"...William Buckland, Oxford University's first professor of geology, described and named the first dinosaur Megalosaurus..."

Jan. 12, 2024 Column by Mr. Smarty Pants

Red Rain

Greed, muck, and strife at a Hudson River port in 1864

"...Red Rainby Bruce Murkoff Knopf, 352 pp., $26.95..."

July 23, 2010 Books Review by Richard Whittaker

Inherit the Wind

Austin Playhouse revival reminds us that the war between creationists and Darwinists still isn't finished

"...finished?" asks defense lawyer Henry Drummond at the end of Inherit the Wind, a dramatization of the Scopes Monkey..."

Oct. 12, 2007 Arts Review by Avimaan Syam

SXSW Film Review: American Animals

A docudrama as audacious as the heist it re-creates

"...is the most cliched adjective-noun combo in cinema, and often the most misused. It's not audacious when skilled criminals..."

March 19, 2018 SXSW Post by Richard Whittaker

Postmarks

Different Traditions

"...idea that no "traditional neighborhoods" could be found west of the Mississippi. I am so glad to have been..."

July 30, 1999 Column

Underworld: Awakening

When humans sniff out the existence of vampires and Lycans, all hell breaks loose.

"...Underworld franchise had gorged on its elaborate mythology – of Lycans and Death Dealers, vampire elders and hybrids –..."

Jan. 27, 2012 Movie Review by Kimberley Jones

Smallfoot

Furry animated antics as yetis find proof: Humans exist!

"...film inverts the common storyline about human beings’ fear of others and puts the focus on the fears that..."

Sept. 28, 2018 Movie Review by Marjorie Baumgarten

Captain Marvel

Brie Larson confidently lays the next cornerstone of the Marvel Cinematic Universe

"...In the history of Marvel Comics, there's been few characters that have been..."

March 8, 2019 Movie Review by Richard Whittaker

Letters at 3AM

Technological progress is altering fundamental issues of identity.

"...story.) According to this legend, the arts are not of human origin, but were given as a divine gift,..."

Aug. 17, 2001 Column by Michael Ventura

Mr. Smarty Pants Knows

"...A new species of whale has been discovered in the Gulf of..."

Oct. 21, 2022 Column by Mr. Smarty Pants

OroBianco Italian Creamery Makes Magic With Water Buffalo Milk

Making mozzarella from white gold

"...run a farm in Fredericksburg, is an unlikely purveyor of cheese. But his Italian heritage, and a fascination with..."

Dec. 11, 2020 Food Feature by Jessi Cape

Mr. Smarty Pants Knows

Taking the bark off banana trees with slippers and four tons of potatoes

"..."One theory about the origin of nunchakus suggests they were once used as a..."

Dec. 24, 2004 Column by Mr. Smarty Pants

SXSW Episodic Review: The Man Who Fell To Earth

First look at the Showtime sequel to the Bowie space oddity

"...novel and the 1976 film from Nicolas Roeg (starring, of course, David Bowie), the first two episode of the..."

March 15, 2022 SXSW Post by Sarah Jane

Lil Ugly Mane’s (Very Good) Bad Hair Day at Oblivion Access

Reclusive legend of internet rap brings along a furry frenemy

"...end, pinned in place by the dead eyed stare of a five foot tall, synthesizer-playing animatronic orange dog (trained..."

May 13, 2022 Music Post by Julian Towers

DVD Extra: 'Sushi: The Global Catch'

Overconsumption kills the sushi star

"...Austin filmmaker Mark S. Hall, examines the current state of a booming, and unsustainable, sushi trade...."

Aug. 7, 2013 Screens Post by Jessi Cape

Day Trips

Ellison's Greenhouses in Brenham boasts an eye-popping array of poinsettias to help enliven the Christmas season

"...knows Christmas flowers. The nursery grows a wide variety of different plants throughout the year, but they are most..."

Nov. 18, 2005 Column by Gerald E. McLeod

Coach's Corner

Coach relates NFL football tips he picked up from a delusional wino he met in a bar in Colorado.

"...I first made the acquaintance of Cedrick Trout early one morning at the Dancing Bear..."

Sept. 7, 2001 Column by Andy "Coach" Cotton

The Metaphysical Club: A Story of Ideas in America

"...The Metaphysical ClubA Story of Ideas in America..."

June 8, 2001 Books Review by Roger Gathman

SXSW Online to Feature Stacey Abrams and N. K. Jemisin in Conversation

James Cameron, Ted Lasso team, Bill Hader also announced

"...The Venn diagram sweet spot of people who are going to fangirl over voting rights..."

Feb. 11, 2021 SXSW Post by Kimberley Jones

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