The Forest for the Trees

The Austin Arts Commission has never been a model of bureaucratic efficiency, but this year it seems to have become a big cliché in action, a body so focused on procedure and minutiae and the concerns of the moment that it can't see the forest for the trees. It's compounding the problems in Austin's profoundly flawed public arts funding system and demonstrating just how poorly that process serves not only the city's artists but all its citizens.

"...When people can't even get a good jump on the agenda without quibbling over something totally unrelated to the..."

July 6, 2001 Arts Feature by Robert Faires

When You Get to the Forest Gets to the Drafthouse

Animator Eric Power brings his new, mythical feature back home

"...Eric Power's films are known for their violence. The Austin cut-paper animator's debut, Path of..."

Feb. 18, 2023 Screens Post by Richard Whittaker

The Way of the 'Food Forest'

Locavores planting seeds for the next phase of urban agriculture

"...As green initiatives increase in popularity, the city of Austin maintains a complex relationship with urban..."

Feb. 14, 2014 News Feature by Anna Toon

Then There's This: Save the Trees!

Groups aim to spare seven Downtown trees

"...Leaders of the Austin Heritage Tree Foundation and other like-minded folks will..."

June 1, 2012 News Column by Amy Smith

Until the End of the World

Writing is not what I live for, it’s how I live

"...Author's note: In January 2020, the poet Gail Wronsky asked me to contribute to What..."

Nov. 26, 2021 Arts Feature by Michael Ventura

Point Austin: The Tree in the Way

Commission decision could lead to changes in tree ordinance

"...a surprise to anyone who follows local politics, but the city's Heritage Tree Ordinance, which took years to craft..."

Oct. 21, 2011 News Column by Amy Smith

The Trees

Online music trading that "leaves" the RIAA and music industry in the underbrush.

"...Return for a moment to grade school and a basic lesson..."

Oct. 3, 2003 Music Feature by Margaret Moser

Me, Ange, and the Interlocking Shadows of Trees

Why do I love Naruto? Because I love my daughter.

"...I've read comic books before. By the time I was her age, I'd read..."

June 1, 2007 Screens Feature by Wayne Alan Brenner

First 2009 Candidate for Mayor Announces!

You'll never guess who it is!

"...in her alloted three minutes, she announced her intentions for 2009, and riffed a little on the race: "Who..."

Oct. 2, 2008 News Post by Wells Dunbar

Opinion: The Problem in Texas Isn’t Republicans – It’s Capitalism

To prevent last week's crises from recurring, we have to go beyond the Democrat vs. Republican culture wars and take back control of Texas' energy system.

"...The New York Times published an article last week quoting..."

Feb. 26, 2021 Column by Dave Pinkham

Shivering the Timbers

The Dirigo Group's 'Gypsy Chain' Speaks for the Trees

"...24-year-old activist named David "Gypsy" Chain was killed in the Headwaters Forest in Northern California: This is a matter..."

Aug. 3, 2001 Arts Feature by Wayne Alan Brenner

Off to the Races

"...That's not me. No matter how much I hum the tune, it does no good. I'm running around like..."

Sept. 5, 2007 Screens Post by Marjorie Baumgarten

Ferngully: The Last Rainforest

"...you thought you'd been ecologized to death, here comes another preachy-teachy, green cartoon. But wait, this is no Captain..."

April 17, 1992 Movie Review by Hollis Chacona

Dr. Seuss' The Lorax

Even though it's primarily a cautionary ecological tale, this animated film is fun and visually pleasing.

"...Nicely making the transition from book to screen, Dr. Seuss' 1971 children's..."

March 2, 2012 Movie Review by Marjorie Baumgarten

Day Trips: I.D. Fairchild State Forest, Maydelle

Take a walk in the woods behind the pine curtain of East Texas

"...I.D. Fairchild State Forest outside of Maydelle, between Palestine and Rusk, offers a..."

March 30, 2018 Column by Gerald E. McLeod

East Austin Doesn’t Get the Same Shade, and Consequences Ripple for Health and Equity

Beating the heat

"...have been facing a record-hot summer, having just endured the hottest May, June, and July on record. August is..."

Aug. 12, 2022 News Feature by Hannah Uebele

Then There's This: Think Trees

Margret Hofmann's spirit lives within Austin's urban forest

"...Thirty years to the month after surviving the Allied bombing of Dresden in..."

Feb. 10, 2012 News Column by Amy Smith

The Revenant

Iñárritu’s Western loses the forest for the trees, but oh, what trees

"...Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hardy, Domhnall Gleeson, Will Poulter, Forrest Goodluck, Lukas Haas, Dave Burchill and Melaw Nakehk’o...."

Jan. 8, 2016 Movie Review by Marjorie Baumgarten

Green on the Go

For Austin Green Art, every day is Earth Day – or eARTh Day

"...help but wonder when this guy will run for public office. Coming down from last month's jam-packed eARTh..."

May 25, 2007 Arts Feature by Nikki Moore

The Webberville Conundrum

Austin's plans for an eastern landfill hit a little obstacle – the people who live there

"...Back in the early Eighties, Dave and Joann Gunlock bought themselves a..."

June 6, 2008 News Feature by Lee Nichols

Ben Wheatley Goes Digging In The Earth

Of mushrooms, men, and subterranean superintelligences ..

"...Over the last few years, forest management has become part of..."

April 15, 2021 Screens Post by Richard Whittaker

Day Trips: DuPont State Forest

How a Texas governor tried to help save a forest in North Carolina

"...about an hour south of Asheville, DuPont State Recreational Forest is an island of public land with majestic waterfalls..."

Oct. 28, 2015 Travel Post by Gerald E. McLeod

The Tree Play

For this story of a rain forest over a lifetime, Robi Polgar created a living, breathing poem

"...time considering our ecological footprint. Some spend too much. The Tree Play, nurtured from seedling to sapling and beyond..."

Aug. 14, 2015 Arts Review by Shanon Weaver

The Book of Henry

Abandon all hope ye who purchase a ticket

"...There are many reasons we go to the movies. To..."

June 16, 2017 Movie Review by Josh Kupecki

East Austin Needs More Trees, and This Nonprofit Is Planting Them

February 28 event will add foliage on Huston-Tillotson campus

"...TreeFolks, an environment-oriented nonprofit, is partnering with East Austin performing arts theatre the Vortex and Huston-Tillotson for a tree-planting..."

Feb. 25, 2025 News Post by Mattea Gallaway

Flippin' the Birds

Closing parts of Balcones Canyon Preserve angers mountain bikers and doesn't do enough to save wildlife.

"...On the Saturday after Valentine's Day, the cop at the gate..."

April 13, 2001 News Feature by Dan Oko

The Spy Behind Home Plate

Fascinating documentary about spy/baseball player Moe Berg never cracks his code

"...The Spy Behind Home Plate is a documentary that should..."

July 19, 2019 Movie Review by Marjorie Baumgarten

How Two Texans Helped Make it Snow for Frozen II

Disney worldbuilders Jay Jackson and Brandon Jarratt explain the technology and art of the animated smash

"...a snowflake in Frozen II, someone made it. Sometimes they are drawn by animators, but no one can illustrate..."

Feb. 14, 2020 Screens Feature by Richard Whittaker

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

There's little about this return trip to Middle-earth that feels "unexpected" or fresh.

"...All aboard: The Middle-earth Express has once more pulled into the station...."

Dec. 14, 2012 Movie Review by Marjorie Baumgarten

Five Things to Enjoy on the East Austin Studio Tour

From trees to tour buses, the highlights of weekend two of the celebration of tactile creativity

"...The Austin Studio Tour, presented by Big Medium, is a..."

Nov. 12, 2021 Arts Column by Wayne Alan Brenner

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