The 14th Annual SA Film Festival
It was the final day of the festival and I went out to the Instituto to see one last film during the late afternoon. The film, Twelve, was a dozen shorts fashioned together into a 110-minute anthology; each segment was directed by a different filmmaker. All the directors hailed from Salem, MA, so I thought…
Local 782 goes for 3 Rounds
Local 782 took over The Mix for 3 days this past weekend. This event has been 4 months in the making. Judging by the turnout, it was a big success. If you were there…thank you. If not, then let me fill you in on what is going on. Local 782 was established to bring awareness,…
14th Annual SA Film Fest
This year’s San Antonio Film Festival will perhaps be remembered for its record crowd of spectators and a handful of movies and documentaries that showcased plenty of potential in the film industry. The four-day event wrapped up this past Sunday, June 22 at Instituto Cultural de Mexico. This year’s guest of honor was Luciana Cabarga,…
The 14th Annual SA Film Festival
It was the final day of the festival and I went out to the Instituto to see one last film during the late afternoon. The film, Twelve, was a dozen shorts fashioned together into a 110-minute anthology; each segment was directed by a different filmmaker. All the directors hailed from Salem, MA, so I thought…
Local 782 goes for 3 Rounds
Local 782 took over The Mix for 3 days this past weekend. This event has been 4 months in the making. Judging by the turnout, it was a big success. If you were there…thank you. If not, then let me fill you in on what is going on. Local 782 was established to bring awareness,…
14th Annual SA Film Fest
This year’s San Antonio Film Festival will perhaps be remembered for its record crowd of spectators and a handful of movies and documentaries that showcased plenty of potential in the film industry. The four-day event wrapped up this past Sunday, June 22 at Instituto Cultural de Mexico. This year’s guest of honor was Luciana Cabarga,…
14th Annual SA Film Fest
It’s a step in launching their careers as directors, and an opportunity to showcase some of their best work. About 45 directors from San Antonio, Mexico and other cities in the Lone Star State and throughout the nation have continued featuring their latest independent flicks during the 14th Annual San Antonio Film Festival, an event…
14th Annual SA Film Fest
It’s a step in launching their careers as directors, and an opportunity to showcase some of their best work. About 45 directors from San Antonio, Mexico and other cities in the Lone Star State and throughout the nation have continued featuring their latest independent flicks during the 14th Annual San Antonio Film Festival, an…
The 14th Annual SA Film Festival
As I walked up to the Instituto Cultural de Mexico for my second night at the SAFF, I noticed something quite different than the evening before: mas gente! While Thursday’s premiere of the impressive documentary Crawford should have brought out dems in droves, it still was a Thursday night, which probably had something to do…
The 14th Annual SA Film Festival
There have only been two animated feature films released this year (Horton Hears a Who and Kung Fu Panda), so it was worthwhile to attend the third day of the SAFF where the line up of short films included a few nice animations. The very first one – and my favorite of the afternoon –…
The Tejas delegation’s FISA vote
In case you were wondering how the Texas delegation voted on the FISA “reform” compromise now winging its way to the Senate, here’s the tally from govtrack.us (where you can find the entire voting record, too: Texas No Vote TX-1 Gohmert, Louis `R` Aye TX-2 Poe, Ted `R` Aye TX-3 Johnson, Samuel `R` Aye TX-4…
The 14th Annual SA Film Festival
As I walked up to the Instituto Cultural de Mexico for my second night at the SAFF, I noticed something quite different than the evening before: mas gente! While Thursday’s premiere of the impressive documentary Crawford should have brought out dems in droves, it still was a Thursday night, which probably had something to do…
The 14th Annual SA Film Festival
There have only been two animated feature films released this year (Horton Hears a Who and Kung Fu Panda), so it was worthwhile to attend the third day of the SAFF where the line up of short films included a few nice animations. The very first one – and my favorite of the afternoon –…
The Tejas delegation’s FISA vote
In case you were wondering how the Texas delegation voted on the FISA “reform” compromise now winging its way to the Senate, here’s the tally from govtrack.us (where you can find the entire voting record, too: Texas No Vote TX-1 Gohmert, Louis `R` Aye TX-2 Poe, Ted `R` Aye TX-3 Johnson, Samuel `R` Aye TX-4 …
On the Street
The Summer season is in full swing. Last year was all about the monsoon and accidental gardening. This year there hasn’t been much of meteorological interest except an occasional brisk wind. Yes, things are slow right now. A self-diagnosis of chondromalacia didn’t help and put the ride-by journalism on a temporary break. With that melodramatic…
Free pass for AT&T
Here’s why I just want to smack our daily sometimes. Above the fold June 8, with lots of dramatic followup: City lies about playground inspections, some playgrounds in bad shape. Above the fold June 15: DA Susan Reed may have secured special treatment for her son’s friend, who was caught packing heat at an airport.…
Medical pros and patients rally for realistic medical care
“Health insurance is a lie, they don’t care if people die,” was the rallying cry last Thursday at a protest held by a local group pushing for health-care reform in front of the Humana Insurance building. The San Antonio HealthCare-Now Coalition was participating in a nationwide protest directed at lobbyist group America’s Health Insurance Plans’…
On the Street
The Summer season is in full swing. Last year was all about the monsoon and accidental gardening. This year there hasn’t been much of meteorological interest except an occasional brisk wind. Yes, things are slow right now. A self-diagnosis of chondromalacia didn’t help and put the ride-by journalism on a temporary break. With that melodramatic…
Free pass for AT&T
Here’s why I just want to smack our daily sometimes. Above the fold June 8, with lots of dramatic followup: City lies about playground inspections, some playgrounds in bad shape. Above the fold June 15: DA Susan Reed may have secured special treatment for her son’s friend, who was caught packing heat at an airport.…
Medical pros and patients rally for realistic medical care
“Health insurance is a lie, they don’t care if people die,” was the rallying cry last Thursday at a protest held by a local group pushing for health-care reform in front of the Humana Insurance building. The San Antonio HealthCare-Now Coalition was participating in a nationwide protest directed at lobbyist group America’s Health Insurance Plans’…
Hammer Thyme
Sander Edmundson’s re-christened restaurant is still brushing up its moves
Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends
Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends Composer: Coldplay Conductor: Coldplay Label: Capitol Release Date: 2008-06-18 Rated: NONE Media: CD Length: LP Format: Album Genre: Singer/Songwriter (Rock/Pop) “Do you know how I know you’re gay? You like Coldplay.” That line, uttered by Paul Rudd to Seth Rogen in The 40-Year-Old Virgin, crystallized what…
Real Animal
Real Animal Composer: Alejandro Escovedo Conductor: Alejandro Escovedo Label: Back Porch/Manhattan Release Date: 2008-06-18 Rated: NONE Media: CD Length: LP Format: Album Genre: Roots Among his considerable attributes, Alejandro Escovedo could lay claim to being the Forrest Gump of rock. Whenever seminal events happened, he was usually in the vicinity. As a member of the…
The Incredible Hulk
The Incredible Hulk Director: Louis Leterrier Screenwriter: Louis Leterrier Cast: Ed Norton, Liv Tyler, Tim Roth, William Hurt, Tim Blake Nelson Release Date: 2008-06-18 Website: incrediblehulk.marvel.com Rated: R Genre: Action In Ang Lee’s 2003 Hulk, Dr. Bruce Banner spent more time brooding than smashing and his big final battle consisted of … transferring his rage…
Standard Operating Procedure
Standard Operating Procedure Director: Errol Morris Screenwriter: Errol Morris Release Date: 2008-06-18 Website: http://www.sonyclassics.com/standardoperatingprocedure/ Rated: R Genre: Documentary To every modern war, its own iconic photograph. For World War II, it was the raising of the flag on Iwo Jima. For Vietnam, it was the little girl burnt by napalm, running down a road unclothed.…
Local782 Membership Launch Event
Release Date: 2008-06-18 Local782 is an assembly of local musicians and music lovers who have been meeting over the past several months to discuss media awareness and innovation regarding the SA scene. Membership with Local782 opens to the public June 19, coinciding with a fundraiser and CD release party heralding the digital release of the…
Paula Nelson Band
Release Date: 2008-06-18 Paula Nelson shares a last name with her father, Willie, but she has a niche all her own, mixing blues, jazz, country, and rock with a little yodel for an infectious sound that’s pure Paula. She’s surprisingly also known for her stunt and martial arts work. Nelson and the band tour Texas…
Moments of Inspiration
Release Date: 2008-06-18 Central Library hosts an exhibit by Glen “Frank” Franklin that examines the struggle of African-Americans during and after slavery through a series of paintings. Coinciding with Juneteenth – the day Union troops stormed Galveston in 1865 to enforce the emancipation of slavery – the exhibit portrays the struggles of African-Americans in a…
Sevendust w. A New Revolution, Neverset, & Soulidium
Release Date: 2008-06-18 Alternative nu-metal pioneers Sevendust possess an energy and charisma that keeps fans flocking to their shows no matter how many times they’ve ripped up a stage. The band has returned to their original lineup with guitarist Clint Lowery rejoining the ranks, and their new release, Chapter VII: Hope and Sorrow, is one…
Hoops and Hounds Game
Release Date: 2008-06-18 Own Up SA teams up with the Silver Stars for a dog-friendly June 24 game against the Houston Comets — fans can bring their dogs for a parade, doggy costume contest, and themed entertainment. The discount package includes a ticket for you and your dog, a food voucher, and name recognition on…
San Antonio Film Festival
Release Date: 2008-06-18 SAFILM — San Antonio Film Festival (formerly San Antonio Underground Film Festival) runs this weekend at the Instituto Cultural de Mexico in Hemisfair Park, screening 46 independent films from around the globe. The festival’s Grand Prize Winner, Adventures of Power, is directed by Student Academy Award Winner Ari Gold, with original music…
Paula Nelson Band
Release Date: 2008-06-18 Paula Nelson shares a last name with her father, Willie, but she has a niche all her own, mixing blues, jazz, country, and rock with a little yodel for an infectious sound that’s pure Paula. She’s surprisingly also known for her stunt and martial arts work. Nelson and the band tour Texas…
Dear Uncle Mat
I’ve been working downtown for several years now, and I can tell you firsthand just how important tourism is to San Antonio. I love my job very much, especially the historical part of it. The thing that pisses me off is that everyone (tourists) complains about everything; from prices, to choice of food, and especially,…
CRITICAL Darling
I’m sorry to report that Stan Winston died of myeloma at the young age of 62, and you will be too when you learn he’s the “creature creator” behind the aliens of Aliens, the terminators of the Terminator, the predator of The Predator, and the dinosaurs of Jurassic Park (still better-looking than comparable beasts 15…
Trans-Texas Corridor slims down
Unable to ignore the 28,000 Texans who complained about the 650-mile Trans-Texas Corridor, which is slated to cut through east Texas on its route from Mexico to Louisiana, the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) has agreed to improve existing highways, not build new ones, to construct the TTC. This is a change from TxDOT’s plan…
Free Will Astrology
ARIES (March 21-April 19): We’re halfway through 2008. It’s a perfect moment to take inventory of how well you’re capitalizing on this year’s unique opportunities. So let me ask you, Aries: Are you working your ass off in order to stoke the fire in your belly? In other words, are you doing everything you can…
Changes at the MPO!
Bexar County’s Metropolitan Planning Organization met Monday to vote on proposed bylines changes, including what constituted a quorum, powers given to the mayor and county judge to appoint officials to elected positions, the powers granted to the head of the finance committee, what funds can be used for tolling, and the extension of the MPO’s…
Masters of their domain
“My dwarf would suggest that we enter the room with the skull in the back that has a gem in its eye. We know the gem is magical.” “All right, you enter the 15-by-15-foot room. There is debris from the ceiling falling on the ground. You need someone to roll with a plus-two intelligence to…
Three internet myths that won’t die
Since I started writing this column in 1999, I’ve seen a thousand internet businesses rise and die. I’ve watched the web go from a medium you access via dial-up, to the medium you carry around with you on your mobile. Still, there are three myths about the internet that refuse to kick the bucket. Let’s…
The 14th Annual SA Film Festival
Adam Rocha’s baby is all grown up. From the bizarrely-named Golden Shower Video Festival to the campy San Antonio Underground Film Festival to the more professional San Antonio Film Festival of this year, the evolution of Rocha’s labor of love is evident. When I judged the film festival back in 2002, I watched over 150…
¡Ask a Mexican!
SPECIAL PHILADELPHIA Edition Dear Mexican: I recently went to a Los Angeles Dodgers game at Dodgers Stadium. It was good to see the familias having fun with their children, pero I then saw and heard something disturbing. There will always be rivalries in any sport, of course, pero the white people cheering for the St.…
CPS Against the Wind?
CPS makes a lot of hay about their wind energy consumption. The most renewable wind energy this side of the deregulated market, we hear. But when it comes to cranking up the pace of solar and wind energy development in Texas, CPS has to draw the line somewhere, it appears. Last night the Alamo chapter…
Clothes-minded
I first fell in love with natural-living company J.R. Watkins’ packaging — simple, clear labels, copperplate writing, small Victorian flourishes — the modern products look every bit as old-timey as when the company was founded in 1868. But eventually I came to rely on Watkins for a few key products, and the look was just…
Trans-Texas Corridor slims down
Unable to ignore the 28,000 Texans who complained about the 650-mile Trans-Texas Corridor, which is slated to cut through east Texas on its route from Mexico to Louisiana, the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) has agreed to improve existing highways, not build new ones, to construct the TTC. This is a change from TxDOT’s plan…
Amuse-BOUCHE
It’s shill week, sorta, but a good kinda shill … that rhymes with chill, as in cold drinks and hot art (you’ll find the the hot art part `Red Dot` on page 23). Cold drinks, made with that Siberian-associated, freezer-friendly nectar can be found at Very Vodka, Friday evening, 7-11 p.m., at the Southwest School…
Changes at the MPO!
Bexar County’s Metropolitan Planning Organization met Monday to vote on proposed bylines changes, including what constituted a quorum, powers given to the mayor and county judge to appoint officials to elected positions, the powers granted to the head of the finance committee, what funds can be used for tolling, and the extension of the MPO’s…
Playing ‘Possum’
Skeptics might view the Toadies’ most recent reunion tour — yes, there have been others — as nothing more than a past-its-prime band looking to cash in on a little ’90s alt-rock nostalgia. Frontman Vaden Todd Lewis saw the North Texas band’s holiday-season mini-tour (which hit San Antonio for two shows last December) as a…
The 14th Annual SA Film Festival
Adam Rocha’s baby is all grown up. From the bizarrely-named Golden Shower Video Festival to the campy San Antonio Underground Film Festival to the more professional San Antonio Film Festival of this year, the evolution of Rocha’s labor of love is evident. When I judged the film festival back in 2002, I watched over 150…
THE SOUND & THE FURY
It’s no coincidence that Local 782’s name sounds like it could belong to a labor union. The San Antonio music coalition, much like a union, is intended to help locals unify, organize, network, and advance their collective cause. The group, an outgrowth of the more broad-based Texas Media Empowerment Project, developed from a frequently expressed…
Lost Love and the No Wave story
Not long ago, Rhino reissued one of those masterpieces that flopped on release (it peaked at #154 on the Billboard charts in the ’60s) but went on to enduring greatness (these days, it appears on most “best rock albums ever”-type roundups). If the only album Love ever made had been Forever Changes, they’d have earned…
Playback
By all acccounts, R. Kelly seemed bored and distracted during his child-porn trial until the moment when the infamous sex video was shown to the jury. At that point, according to eyewitnesses, he looked startled and anxious. I imagine that it was much like that moment during Bill Clinton’s 1998 grand-jury testimony when he was…
The trouble with term limits
The trouble with term limits is that they are a symptom of our inability, 200 years on, to effectively govern ourselves. They represent not the best government, but the best government that a limited public attention span and special interests can buy. Like representative democracy and the electoral college, term limits are based on the…
The national scold
A recent online poll conducted by Foreign Policy and Prospect magazines ranks the 100 leading public intellectuals. It’s no surprise that Noam Chomsky tops the list, which is otherwise top-heavy with economists and political scientists. However, a formidable literary figure is unaccountably missing from the roster. “Gore Vidal is America’s premier man of letters,” proclaims…
De-Frosting the classics
Fire and Ice Even as Congress bumbled and then fumbled a slew of energy-related bills, leaving America mired in an unstable oil market without a coherent way forward (beyond burning more corn as the world food markets riot), San Antonio’s leadership dropped green ordnance on the Alamo City. It was sorta like being in Maxwell…
ARTIFACTS
Collect outstanding local art and support Blue Star Contemporary Art Center this Thursday at the non-profit’s annual fundraising extravaganza, Red Dot. The name spells out the game: Pay for entry ($75 apiece or $125 a pair), and at 7 p.m. sharp it’s first-come first-serve on work by the likes of Chris Sauter, James Smolleck, Kelly…
SAHA retrenches
The President and CEO of the San Antonio Housing Authority announced his resignation last Thursday, one of several recent internal changes in the department that may represent a deeper shift in the City’s approach to low-income housing. The official line is that Henry Alvarez resigned from SAHA to lead the San Francisco Housing Authority, but…
Together in the desert
Women turn up dead in the desert while cops throw innocent men in jail to satisfy the desire for justice. Among the Sand and Smog is a skillful character-driven story addressing one of the most talked-about human-rights issues of the past 10 years — the unsolved murders of dozens of women in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico.…
Rosa Rosales on Mirasol & HUD
This spring, the League of United Latin American Citizens passed a resolution calling for an investigation by the appropriate federal agencies into the “disturbing trend in substandard new home construction” in the affordable-housing market. LULAC also called for subcommittee hearings in Congress on the deregulation of HUD and its lack of oversight for the past…
To ‘Momma’s’ house we go
Trip, indeed. Jump-Start’s intensely watchable production of Chuck Squier’s coming-of-age/road play Trippin’ to Momma’s is deceptively simple in its staging. The background of increasingly dark-gray rectangles within rectangles on the theater’s back wall at first calls to mind a basketball court, with its large road signs on either side standing in for backboards. A car…
Olympic torcher
Today, protests were expected to erupt across Tibet as the Olympic torch passed through the Central Asian region. A last-minute cancellation, however, now has the Tibetan leg of the relay on hold. Political activists had been preparing for major actions intended to draw attention to China’s ongoing human rights abuses at the “roof of the…
Fantasy farm
In March I came across the works of artist Jennifer Khoshbin and philosopher Paul Lewis during their Luminaria project, Refarm Spectacle, which featured carved books with characters physically leaping out of the tomes. So when Khoshbin’s latest venture into the surreal opened this past weekend at One9Zero6 Gallery, I expected something fantastical. Entering the gallery,…
Third screen’s a charmer
It’s a womb! It’s Plato’s Cave! It’s … a movie theater! And as in the days of yore (i.e. the bygone salad days of the TV and VCR), for the past few years romantics have again been living in fear of the demise of their favorite hideout, the shadowy interiored temples wherein they can at…
CPS Against the Wind?
CPS makes a lot of hay about their wind energy consumption. The most renewable wind energy this side of the deregulated market, we hear. But when it comes to cranking up the pace of solar and wind energy development in Texas, CPS has to draw the line somewhere, it appears. Last night the Alamo chapter…
Youth gets served
Watching the Celtics-Lakers series from a San Antonio-centric perspective, one fact has stood out to me: While the Spurs were dogged thru much of the post-season for being too old, no one has pointed out that the Celtics have prospered with a trio of stars older than the Spurs’ Big Three. Ray Allen will soon…
It’s Sedimentary!
So that’s how you win a “Golden Shovel” award, eh? Announced by the lamentably un-singed press staff of Governor Rick Perry this morning, Texas received the gilded implement from Area Development magazine. Can you feel that business-friendly climate breathing down your neck? Can you see it? It looks an awful lot like bad building practices…
Youth gets served
Watching the Celtics-Lakers series from a San Antonio-centric perspective, one fact has stood out to me: While the Spurs were dogged thru much of the post-season for being too old, no one has pointed out that the Celtics have prospered with a trio of stars older than the Spurs’ Big Three. Ray Allen will soon…
It’s Sedimentary!
So that’s how you win a “Golden Shovel” award, eh? Announced by the lamentably un-singed press staff of Governor Rick Perry this morning, Texas received the gilded implement from Area Development magazine. Can you feel that business-friendly climate breathing down your neck? Can you see it? It looks an awful lot like bad building practices…
