In the American Revolution, Connor Brings One of His Own in Assassin’s Creed 3
There is merit to the notion that some stories are timeless: a wayward teen fulfilling a greater destiny, fathers and sons reconciling, age-long struggles between bitter enemies founded upon opposing ideals. They are tales we’ve heard before, yet time and again they persist through the years and reinvent themselves in untold fashions. In the Assassin’s…
‘Drone Caucus’ members awash in industry cash
RS-16 UAV flown under the Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) Initiative at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi. Over the past four years members of the Congressional drone caucus, which continues to push for open U.S. skies for unmanned aerial vehicles, have drawn nearly $8 million in campaign contributions from drone makers, according to a new investigation from…
No Twitter for Terrorists! (For Zion’s Sake)
What connects a bunch of San Antonio-based evangelicals to Mideast foreign policy? Answer: John Hagee. San Antonio-based Christians United for Israel last week launched a letter-writing campaign demanding Twitter ban Hamas, reports the Times of Israel. In an action alert, the group wrote, “The fact that a terrorist organization like Hamas, with so much Israeli…
Stay Current with the Pick of the Day: Fantasyland
Nearly three decades before Andy Warhol was working magic in the windows of Bonwit Teller or Joel Schumacher was upping his ante as visual director of Henri Bendel, Joske’s had established itself as “the biggest store in the biggest state.” In keeping with its reputation, the five-level flagship on Commerce and Alamo took holiday shopping…
Stay Current with the Pick of the Day: A Christmas Story
The 1983 box-office sleeper A Christmas Story now boasts such a following that the 19th-century Victorian home used in the film has been restored as a museum that stays open year-round — thanks in no small part to a gift shop that sells leg lamps (in multiple sizes and variations), decoder rings, bars of Lifebuoy…
Video: new songs by The Heroine at the White Rabbit, 11/23/12
This is how you start a show: The fierce, back-to-back, non-stop delivery of “Make You Move,” “Outlaw,” and “Texas Star” set the tone for the whole night: The Heroine never let up. Even while playing their upcoming mid-tempo first singe, “Coming Home”… … they played harder than I ever saw them play. That means: a…
Stay Current with the Pick of the Day: Flamenco Flash Mob
In the last couple of years, flamenco has found its footing in flash mobs. In September, the closing ceremony of the Bienal de Flamenco de Sevilla was preluded by a flash mob set to a four-minute piece choreographed by Rafaela Carrasco and performed to Fernando Terromoto’s “Nadie lo sepá.” Dancers outside Seville also learned the…
Stay Current with the Pick of the Day: Las Nuevas Tamaleras
A Google search for “tamalada” quickly proves San Antonio is ground zero for tamal-making parties. At these seasonal gatherings, tamales get cranked out at a pace that makes spreading masa and filling on corn husks, wrapping them up like presents, and steaming them to perfection look easy. As playwright Alicia Mena’s Las Nuevas Tamaleras reminds,…
In case you missed it: FFFF’s Taco Cannon and “F*&k the VIPs” rant! (Final fest recap)
The Fun Fun Fun Fest is over, but the echoes of the festival’s Taco Cannon are still in the air. Some of the tacos launched into the crowd included “golden passes” that converted general admission tickets into backstage passes. Don’t care about tacos and prefer to stick to music instead? Here’s J.D. Swerzenski’s final recap…
Stay Current with the Pick of the Day: Sun*Day Tribute Show
Formed in 1989, Sun*Day adopted its name from U2’s 1983 political anthem “Sunday Bloody Sunday,” a song the band mastered early on and frequently closed shows with. Made up of “four Mexicans from the Southside” (vocalist Rikko, guitarist Eddie Hernadez, bassist Rick Rios, and drummer Juan Ramos), Sun*Day toured extensively in the ’90s, released four…
UPDATE: Saluté clears the last major hurdle toward landmark status
The end of an era defined by the Saluté International Bar has been long and bittersweet. But the hearing for approval as an historical landmark designation was both short and sweet. Official imprimatur from the Historic and Design Review Commission (HDRC) came after a procedure that lasted mere minutes. It was, in fact, a largely…
‘Mark of the Beast’ fears spark legal challenge over student tracking chips
The number of the beast is 666 by William Blake. At a protest last month, John Jay High School sophomore Andrea Hernandez called the school’s newly-mandated student-tracking system a violation of her religious rights. “I feel that it’s the implementation of the Mark of the Beast,” she told Infowars.com, the brainchild of Austin-based libertarian…
Keystone XL pipeline protesters released, tar sands ‘Blockade’ vows to continue
By Liana Lopez Tuesday marks just the second week of the new presidency and already protestors have descended on the nation’s capital and held rallies across the nation. They are not opposing the election outcome, but a pipeline that would carry tar sands from Canada to the Texas Gulf Coast. Thousands of citizens took to…
Stay Current with the Pick of the Day: Matisyahu
“This is definitely pushing the boundaries of what I’ve done before,” Matisyahu said about Spark Seeker, his new album. “It’s a new kind of record for me.” He still mixes spiritual hip-hop and reggae, but with a much more laid-back and unapologetic pop attitude that isn’t afraid of the body. Externally, the former bearded Hasidic…
Saluté’s landmark status: Will it become official?
The demise of the landmark Saluté International Bar on North St. Mary’s Street at the end of July created quite a stir as plans to unwind the venue in a neat fashion ended in a knotty tangle involving new owner Casey Lange, tenant and Saluté proprietor Azeneth Domínguez, and her supporters. And while the iconic…
Stay Current with the Pick of the Day: D. Kenton Mellott: Exophobe
Local author D. Kenton Mellott (aka David K. Mellot) visits the Twig to sign copies of his zippy new sci-fi novel Exophobe. Incorporating elements of cutting-edge neuroscience and emotional slapstick, Exophobe follows a blogger whose life takes an adventurous turn when he meets a beautiful representative of the shadowy organization PHANTASM. Free; 5-7pm Tue, Nov 20; The…
Direct action, arrests hold up another day of Keystone construction
By Andrew Oxford Rarely is there as much excitement in Wells, Texas, as there was on Monday. The Tar Sands Blockade continued its campaign against construction of the Keystone XL pipeline extension in East Texas with a day of protests and disruptions at two constructions sites outside the small town southwest of Nacogdoches. The direct…
