Spurs on the ropes
By Rudy Gayby If you have hopes of attending a Spurs home game this season then Wednesday’s game might (probably) be your last chance in a long while after the Spurs lost tonight, 86 – 104. The Spurs held a halftime lead tonight for the first time in the series, 50 – 48. It didn’t…
Happy Birthday, Tim Duncan
By Rudy Gayby Thirty-five years ago, today, Tim Duncan was born to Ione and William Duncan in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Initially a swimmer, as the story is often repeated, Duncan took up basketball when Hurricane Hugo destroyed his island’s sole Olympic-sized swimming pool. The rest is San Antonio Spurs and NBA history. Here is…
Texas Biennial: Jade Walker at Blue Star
The second part of Blue Star Contemporary’s Texas Biennial exhibitions is now on view with Quadri-Poise, work by Texas mixed media artist Jade Walker. Walker’s sewn and tufted installations and sculptures depict the human body and its organs in piles of abstract whimsy that often look like a cross between a costume bin and the…
City Council Election 2011: District 1
Chris Forbrich Email: info@chrisforbrich.com Websites: chrisforbrich.com, Facebook Bio: Chris Forbrich challenged Mary Alice Cisneros, who terms-out this year, for D1 seat last election and managed to drum up nearly 40 percent – no small feat for a newcomer up against a Cisneros. Forbrich, owner of a local IT consulting business, says he has been non-stop…
City Council Election 2011: District 2
Ivy R. Taylor (incumbent) Website: sanantonio.gov/council/d2 Bio: Incumbent Ivy R. Taylor began her career working for the City of San Antonio in the Housing and Community Development Department and the Neighborhood Action Department. She has worked with various nonprofit organizations that focus on inner city redevelopment and children, education, health, and financial literacy programs. She…
City Council Election 2011: District 3
Jennifer Ramos (incumbent) Phone: (210) 815-5676 Email: jennramoscampaign@gmail.com Website: jennramos.com Bio: Jennifer Ramos, who has held the D3 seat since 2008, had to fight a swath of damaging ethics charges in the run up to this year’s campaign. Early in the year, the sister of Ramos’ main challenger launched an ethics complaint with the city…
City Council Election 2011: District 4
Leticia Cantu Email: LC@leticiacantu.com Phone: (210) 370-3268 Website: Leticiacantu.com Bio: Early on in the D4 race, some have dubbed Leticia Cantu a shoe-in for the seat, given her connections to local politicos – it could also stem from the fact that she briefly took over the D4 seat while her fiancé, Councilman Philip Cortez, was…
City Council Election 2011: District 5
Lourdes Galvan Phone: (210) 322-1387 Websites: Facebook, lourdesgalvan.com Bio: Lourdes Galvan won the D5 seat in 2007 in a tight race against David Medina, and then, in 2009, narrowly lost it. Feeling it’ll be just as close this time around, Galvan and Councilman Medina are up for a third rematch. Galvan, who worked as the…
City Council Election 2011: District 6
Ray Lopez Phone: (210) 680-5106 Email: ray@raylopezdistrict6.com Website: Raylopezdistrict6.com Bio: Ray Lopez, a retired from AT&T marketing director, held a spot on the Northside ISD board before being elected to council in 2009. While he’s gained a long list of endorsements, Lopez drew fire this year when emails surfaced showing he suggested his private IT…
City Council Election 2011: District 7
Gloria Rodriguez Phone: (210) 255-3230 Websites: Facebook, Twitter, votedrgloria.com Bio: Rodriguez, who has a PhD in early childhood education from UT Austin, was founder and former president and CEO of AVANCE, a nationally-recognized parenting program in the Mirasol housing project. In 2006, Rodriguez received a lifetime achievement award from the National Hispanic Leadership Institute, and…
City Council Election 2011: District 8
Reed Williams (incumbent) Phone: (210) 488-3322 Website: reedwilliams.net Bio: Reed Williams is a retired oil exec with Tesoro and Frontier corporations. Williams is also a retired US Army Reserves captain. Endorsements: San Antonio Express News, SA Apartment Association PAC, Convenience Store Retailers Association, GSABA-SAB, Tesoro, Valero, Dominion Civic Awareness Committee Inc., Davidson & Troilo, NuStar,…
City Council Election 2011: District 9
Elisa Chan (incumbent) Phone: (210) 990-8888 Websites: sanantonio.gov/council/d9/, Twitter, Facebook Bio: Chan was born in Taiwan and moved to the United States in 1988, becoming a U.S. citizen in 1999. Chan is a co-owner and president of Unitech Consulting Engineers, Inc., and was first elected to council last term. Current coverage: Questionable choices mark three…
City Council Election 2011: District 10
Isy Perez Phone: (210) 391-9142 Website: Facebook Bio: Perez is a 19-year-old political science student a Rockhurst University in Missouri and has run most of the campaign from out of town. Among other things, Perez says he would like to see a local Fair Tax system and hopes increased public transit could battle drunk driving.…
City Council Election 2011: Mayor
Julián Castro (incumbent) Phone: (210) 314-7707 Websites: mayorcastro.com, Facebook Bio: Though he seems destined for reelection, four obscure candidates have still lined up to challenge Mayor Castro this year. Elected in 2009, Castro became the youngest mayor to lead a top 50 U.S. city. Let’s see if any of these outside candidates can put any…
2011 City Council Election Guide
For the first time since completing the city-wide “visioning” process under SA2020, in which thousands of San Antonians named salvaging local public education, renewing our downtown, and improving mass transit as primary community initiatives for the years ahead, local residents are preparing to place a new slate of leaders into office on May 14. With…
Step away from the ledge, Spurs fans
By Rudy Gayby Deep breaths? Bubble baths? Beer? Enya? All of the above? Whatever works. Relax, Spurs fans. While the Spurs current 2-1 hole to the Memphis Grizzlies isn’t ideal, it’s certainly not impossible. Face it Spurs fans, you have been spoiled. You don’t know how to handle basketball adversity. Your gut reaction is to…
Alamo Heights mayoral candidate withdraws with AHNA complaint
Remember that Alamo Heights shadow government story we ran a while back? Well, apparently we aren’t the only ones critical of the PAC that has been passing itself off as a neighborhood association up the road. One-time mayoral candidate Sarah Reveley just withdrew from the race complaining of harassment by Alamo Heights Neighborhood Association founder…
Playoff Guide to Former Spurs Sightings
By Rudy Gayby The consensus among the NBA establishment has long been that the San Antonio Spurs are the league’s model franchise. Reasons cited include: four NBA titles since 1999, a league-leading 14 straight playoff appearances, 12 straight 50-win seasons (13 if you ignore the lockout shortened 1998 – 1999 season), the longest tenured head…
‘Portal 2’ keeps you coming back, even after the puzzles are solved
Let’s Face it: Valve knows video games. They were born to do it, just as much as Samuel L. Jackson was born to drop F Bombs. Since the time of the original Half-Life that garnered critical success, Valve has maintained a stellar track record that symbolizes proper narrative development and unparalleled game play innovation. But…
“Only If We Had Lived Here” by Forrest Roth
Introduction Flash fiction, like any genre (blurred or not), works well as an homage. Or as a reworking. In fact this week’s story is a flash “remix” of original material from Blake Butler’s Scorch Atlas. The lovely juxtapositions that Roth comes up with here make for jarring and stunning reading. A perfect short form. Have…
Run for Your Life! It’s not Peter Cottontail… It’s the Bunnyman!
One of the oddest urban legends in the U.S. revolves around a dubious figure known as the Bunnyman. Said to haunt the area around Fairfax County, Virginia this phantom, man-beast is likened to an axe-wielding maniac. But with a strange twist, as he apparently is always seen dressed in a white bunny costume! Reports of…
Green Spaces community gardens workshop nears
At the Current, we’re big on gardens. Anything that brings people back into community, sparks relationship with the land, and produces needed fresh fruit and veggies (eggs! chickens! goats?!) for our people is a welcome shift. With the dozens of shared neighborhood gardens that have broken ground around the city in past few years, it’s…
Community-wide Helicopter Easter Egg Drop
Critic’s Pick Release Date: 2011-04-21 More of an egg race than an egg hunt, this pre-Easter blowout promises to get youngsters hopping when 30,000 candy- and toy-filled eggs are “laid” by a giant chopper hovering over Lopez Middle School’s Practice Fields. Once the coast is clear, kids will be released into age-organized sections (0-2, 3-5,…
Regina Carter
Critic’s Pick Release Date: 2011-04-21 Armed with the funds and creative freedom offered by a prestigious MacArthur Fellowship (aka a “genius grant”), jazz violinist Regina Carter dove into the archives of New York City’s World Music Institute in search of inspiration. The results of this exploration see ethnographic field recordings ? including ones based on…
Sleigh Bells & CSS
Critic’s Pick Release Date: 2011-04-21 The chance meeting of vocalist Alexis Krauss and guitarist/producer Derek Miller (in a Brazilian restaurant in New York in 2008) sparked a wildly successful collaboration called Sleigh Bells, a band Wikipedia labels as “noise pop.” But Pitchfork’s Ryan Dombal may have said it best when he wrote, “Sleigh Bells sound…
San Antonio Fetish Ball: Exotic Easter 11
Critic’s Pick Release Date: 2011-04-21 If you (like us) were among the furverts who immediately RSVPed to a Facebook invitation for Temple of Flesh’s Exotic Easter 11 (the latest chapter in the San Antonio Fetish Ball saga), then you likely shared in our devastation when the event was “cancelled.” Thank the loincloth-clad Lord: Facebook speaketh…
Fiesta Pops
Critic’s Pick Release Date: 2011-04-21 Another Fiesta may have drawn to a close, but two official Fiesta events are still on the horizon (so don’t put your medals back in the safe just yet). While the Miss San Antonio Scholarship Pageant (a precursor to the Miss Texas and Miss America pageants and reportedly the oldest…
Bosco Delrey
Critic’s Pick Release Date: 2011-04-21 A night with Sleigh Bells and Brazil’s CSS doesn’t need anybody’s help, but add Bosco Delrey and things get even better. “20 Flight Dub,” included in his full-length debut Everybody Wah (out on April 26 on Mad Decent and mixed by Doug Easley of White Stripes, Sonic Youth, Pavement, Wilco,…
Artist Panel: An Evening with Okay Mountain
Critic’s Pick Release Date: 2011-04-21 It’s a great handle for the biz, but Okay Mountain is not a country music band. OKMT is an art gallery and Austin-based art collective of 10 who are masters of site-specific projects, like the hewn lumber exercise equipment in New Image Sculpture at the McNay. The wooden beams seem…
Judge temporarily blocks controversial drainange project
After two long days of court testimony last week, state District Judge David Berchelmann has granted a temporary injunction that stops the city from spending any 2007 bond money on a multi million dollar drainage project down Hildebrand. The plaintiffs, the Headwaters Coalition and the River Road Neighborhood Association, had argued in court that the…
‘Restrepo’ co-director killed in Libya
According to CNN World and other news outlets, Sundance winner and Oscar-nominated photojournalist/filmmaker Tim Hetherington has been killed today by a rocket-propelled grenade while on assignment in Misrata, Libya. At the time of his death, the British-born, Brooklyn-based artist was working for Panos Pictures. In 2008, Hetherington won the World Press Photo’s first prize for…
Child Advocates San Antonio (CASA) Volunteers Speak for Abused and Neglected Children
Working as volunteer child advocates with CASA, John and Jane Kiernan are champions. They speak for abused and neglected children who otherwise would have no voice, no advocate, no one who cares to make sure they get the best, independent representation possible in a court process that will determine the rest of their lives. I…
Al Di Meola: Pursuit of Radical Rhapsody
Al Di Meola: Pursuit of Radical Rhapsody Release Date: 2011-04-20 Genre: Recording When the Astor Piazzolla-influenced World Sinfonia came out in 1991, one of the members of Al Di Meola’s band (who had also recorded on the album) dismissively told me that it was “muscle music.” I disagreed, but I could get his point —…
Maná: Drama y luz
Maná: Drama y luz Label: Warner Music Mexico Release Date: 2011-04-20 Rated: NONE Genre: Recording Maná is the most popular, best-selling Spanish-language pop-rock group of all time, and also the most lambasted by critics such as myself (If they rock live, why can’t they rock in the studio?). The band’s first studio album in five…
The Kills: Blood Pressures
The Kills: Blood Pressures Label: Domino Recording Company Release Date: 2011-04-20 Rated: NONE Genre: Recording The fourth full album by The Kills is like an overheated engine — covered with dark grit, sputtering, and heaving with sweltering energy. Blood Pressures strays away from the pop-infused dance melodies of Midnight Boom and goes deeper into the…
TV on the Radio: Nine Types of Light
TV on the Radio: Nine Types of Light Release Date: 2011-04-20 Genre: Recording After three albums of challenging and rewarding art-rock, the Brooklyn quintet has assembled their warmest, most immediately alluring set of songs. Where in the past they raised their freak flag with abrupt time/tonal changes, unusual sounds/samples, or careening waves of guitar, Nine…
Paul Simon: So Beautiful or So What
Paul Simon: So Beautiful or So What Label: Hear/Concord Release Date: 2011-04-20 Rated: NONE Genre: Recording Paul Simon has always been a restless artist, going all the way back to “Cecilia,” the percussion-driven world music sing-along he slid onto Simon & Garfunkel’s Bridge Over Troubled Water. But his excursions over the past 15 years — including…
Meat Puppets: Lollipop
Meat Puppets: Lollipop Label: Megaforce Release Date: 2011-04-20 Rated: NONE Genre: Recording The Meat Puppets are rocking again. The third album since bassist Cris Kirkwood’s return after his struggle with addiction is the most rocking and grooving since 1984’s Meat Puppets II. That album’s irresistible sloppiness is now a polished, catchy feast of crunchy guitars…
Local 782’s Local Music Week, plus Texas Music Coalition news, and recipients of the San Antonio Blues Society scholarships
It took Local 782 forever, but it was worth the wait: The calendar of events for Local Music Week 2011 is finally here. You can check the full calendar at local782.org/localmusicweek, but this is what will take place this week except for last-minute additions (all shows are all ages and free, except where indicated; all…
Vamos, Ramos: Committee votes to oust chair of embattled Bexar County Dems
A small committee of local Democrats sighed, shook their heads, and grimaced as they painstakingly recreated much of the chaos and discord their party had suffered over the past year. Conveniently, that discord has a name: Dan Ramos, elected party chair of the Bexar County Democratic Party. Despite his marked absence, and with no one…
Dancing about architecture: School of Seven Bells tells us how to do our job
This one made me a little nervous. In interviews, School of Seven Bells’ Benjamin Curtis is a sharp critic of music critics. Ever since Curtis (formerly of Tripping Daisy and the Secret Machines) teamed up with Alejandra Deheza (formerly of On!Air!Library) in 2007, the two have been critically acclaimed, often in the form of inaccurate…
Q & A with Interpol’s Sam Fogarino
Interpol will play at Josabi’s (Helotes) on Friday, April 22 (tickets at josabis.frontgatetickets.com). Days prior to the show, drummer Sam Fogarino spoke to Enrique Lopetegui on the phone from London. Read related story, "A ‘better than ever’ Interpol comes to the neighborhood” here. What happened to `former bassist` Carlos Dengler? He left right after the…
A “better than ever” Interpol comes to the neighborhood
You’ve heard it before, right? “They’re not as good as they used to be.” “The first album was better.” “They sound like Joy Division.” And so on and so forth. But, come to think of it, the worst you can say about New York’s Interpol is that they launched their career with a superb album…
Live and Local: Catherine Denise at Sunset Station
God forgive me for overlooking Granvil Poynter and headliner Tab Benoit — I had to see Catherine Denise. Recently elected to the Blues Hall of Fame with a ceremony at Sam’s Burger Joint on April 3, Denise caught my attention with her CD, Treat Me Like a Lady. She can play like Stevie and sing…
Film review: Of Gods and Men (Des hommes et des dieux)
Because the French regarded Algeria not as a colony, but an integral part of France itself, the war for independence was especially bitter and bloody — more than half a million casualties in 1954-62. Freed of European rule, Algerians turned on one another; in 1991-2002, more than 150,000 lives were lost in violence between the…
In through the out Aperture: Craigslist fathers a prog-metal bromance and a new EP
Creativity’s as much about luck as it is about planning — sometimes you simply walk into the perfect situation. That’s how it was for Nathan Alvarado, lead singer of Aperture. The San Antonio native and Taft High graduate found a quartet of Austin cats via a Craigslist ad, and six months later they’ve released the…
Screamers reprise: Original ‘Scream’ gang returns to ask: ‘How meta can you get?’
Fifteen years ago, Scream revitalized the horror film, made the slasher legitimate again, and spawned a whole generation of clones. Then Scream 2 carried through (everybody was wearing Ghostface masks), and we were all there for Scream 3 as well, even if the self-awareness was eclipsing the story somewhat. And, because that was a trilogy,…
Texas taps center stage at Boneshakers, another beer bill to watch, and a summer sampling at the Friendly Spot
TEXAS TAPS CENTER STAGE AT BONESHAKERS Boneshakers is all about bands, bicycles, and beer, but what sets it apart is a pleasant riverside patio and Texas brews. The venue at 116 West Mitchell has just undergone a remodeling behind the bar that increases the number of its Texas-only taps to 25. If it’s made in…
The Grateful Dead Movie Event
The Grateful Dead was never an album band — you got to see them live. This film registers the Dead at their peak in October 1974, during the last concerts they played before taking a two-year sabbatical. Since Jerry Garcia died in 1995 this is the closest you can get to understanding what the Dead…
Accidental awesomeness for the ‘seedster’ in you at Betty’s Battalion
When the Current last covered Betty’s Battalion nearly eight years ago, the Government Hill bar was a sad-sack casualty of Fort Sam’s post-9/11 spate of gate closings. That year, the “Camo Curtain” fell over the North New Braunfels gate, shuttering many of the neighborhood’s venerable Vietnam-era bars and shops. Betty Ford, the bar’s proprietress and…
Free Will Astrology
ARIES (March 21-April 19): Now comes one of the supreme tests that most every Aries must periodically face: Will you live up to your promises? Will you follow through on your rousing start? Will you continue to stay passionately committed once the fiery infatuation stage evolves into the earthy foundation-building stage? Here’s a secret to…
Fleming’s 5-6-7 happy hour
So, yes, the napkin notes area was a little blurry, but here’s the basic skinny: Happy hour at Fleming’s Steakhouse is a deal. The shtick is five for six until seven, translated as five cocktails, five wines, or five apps for six bucks each. The seven part you get. I started with a non-happy cocktail…
Tim Duncan staying cool as the margins narrow and the league goes on the fritz
If one could penetrate Tim Duncan’s stoic surface to view the inner workings of his mind, last Tuesday’s matchup against the Los Angeles Lakers surely would have offered a fascinating view. Duncan looked on in an untailored blazer as the second- and third-unit Spurs tested the starting lineup of the Lakers until minutes prior to…
Comedian Tommy Blaze: Blazin’ for God
There are many great reasons to see Tommy Blaze perform this week. He’s been in the business long enough to have the best stories (my favorite is his firsthand account of how Eddie Murphy’s taping of RAW really went). He powerfully approaches the stage much like a military drill inspector (with a deep booming voice…
Ask a Mexican!
Dear Mexican: You seem like a smart guy and your input regarding an ethnic phenomenon I’ve observed would be of interest. I live in a tiny, gated neighborhood that I would describe as solidly middle- to upper middle-class. On each side of me live Vietnamese small business owners whose kids attend prestigious universities; across the…
Sidney Lumet (1924-2011): Revisiting Dog Day Afternoon and The Verdict
Last week, legendary filmmaker Sidney Lumet passed away, leaving us with decades of great films. Yet, his is, somehow, an uncertain legacy — his films are more famous than he is. Lumet’s greatest traits include his ability to get the best from his actors and his focus on storytelling. Even though his films typically floated…
Fig Tree tempers its prices as performance improves
“Usually we’re bitching about something at this point in a meal.” “Yes, I know; there must be something … The butter, that’s it: it’s too cold!” “But it’s really good butter,” she countered, all the while attempting to apply some to a house-made roll. The Fig Tree has long been associated with terms such as…
A talk with Gemini Ink’s director, Rosemary Catacalos
When Rosemary Catacalos left the prestigious Poetry Center in San Francisco to take over the directorship of Gemini Ink in 2003, the small writer’s center was on the verge of financial failure. To Catacalos, a San Antonio native returning home after 16 years in the Bay Area, the shortcomings were broader in scope. “This town…
New farmers (and ranchers) market opening at the Quarry
If you’re never able to make it out to the Pearl Farmer’s Market on Saturday mornings, you’ll soon have a Sunday option a short jump up 281 North. The Quarry Farmers and Ranchers Market is set to open May 1 in the parking lot by Whole Foods. Like the Pearl market, the Quarry promises live…
It’ll take a community to tackle San Antonio’s high illiteracy rates
The well-worn adage “It takes a village to raise a child” holds true when it comes to the illiteracy issue weighing on San Antonio. As the Current’s On the Books series has chronicled in past installments, arts and literature educations have been hamstrung in the public school system by a legacy of racism, funding disparities…
Taste this: Pepperoni and mushroom pizza from Florio’s
Sure, Dough has a seemingly supernatural lock on the Best Pizza category in our annual Best of SA issue, but when it comes to a more street-level slice, Florio’s reigns supreme. Their NY style is impeccable, from the pitch-perfect crust (thin and crisp, but not crackery) to the fresh, generous toppings — with just the…
How a local poet found art (and the rosary) can heal and restore lives
On Chicano New Year’s Day, Victoria Garcia-Zapata Klein is reading her poetry as the train rumbles by behind Gallista Gallery. It’s a Spring Equinox celebration full of music, food, drinks, and art, but the revelers have become more serious as they consider topics like the state’s slashing of educational funds and nuclear meltdowns in Japan…
Fast Foodie: Aspen Leaf Frozen Yogurt
Discounting the occasional cold front, the weather is taking a turn for the warmer. This change in the seasons wakes up the taste buds to the fresh flavors of spring and summer and has our bodies craving cold treats — I prefer those we can enjoy guiltlessly. Aspen Leaf Frozen Yogurt, located in the Village…
Push Pens to beat-box San Anto truths
For a solid dose of hip-hop theater (words — fast words — are involved), catch the Yawn Dawgz’s alter egos as they bare all beneath heavy beats at Jump-Start this weekend. Opening Thursday night, three San Anto natives explore topics like family violence, alcohol abuse, sexism, and homo- and trans-phobia in a genre-bending “Last Call…
Fast Foodie: Cool Café Mediterranean Cuisine and Bar
I adore everything about Mediterranean cuisine: the slow progression of a meal from the mezzas, or appetizers, to the main course, the fresh produce, and, above all else, the emphasis upon simplicity that allows the star elements of a dish to really shine. However, don’t let minimalism fool you; a short list of ingredients does…
Broadway drainage, promises, and bones, public power versus coal power, Shamblen & Teapot Party rising, Immigration? Immi-gracias!, and the ‘Pink Building’ before Council
Broadway drainage, promises, and bones Lawyers with the Headwaters Coalition and the River Road Neighborhood Association who went to court last week seeking an injunction to stop the city from spending any 2007 bond money on a controversial drainage project down Hildebrand were still waiting for a ruling Tuesday afternoon from state District Judge David…
Local activists file civil rights suit against four SAPD officers
The Texas Civil Rights Project has filed a lawsuit against four San Antonio police officers, saying they “brutally dragged” and injured an activist who staged a sit-in at the Mexican Consulate two years ago, then unjustly arrested his four friends waiting for him outside a local hospital. The lawsuit names the Texas Indigenous Council and…
‘Austin High,’ co-written by San Antonian Will Elliott, screening at the Alamo Drafthouse Park North
Filmed entirely in Austin, Austin High was directed by Alan Deutsch and co-written by Will Elliott (from San Antonio), Kirk C. Johnson, and Michael S. Wilson. At times hilarious, it is a stoner comedy dealing with a bunch of high-school students battling conservative efforts to eradicate the city’s emblematic weirdness. I never laugh at movies,…
