Brewery bill on the go
Impediments are falling away to a common-sense bill allowing microbreweries in Texas to have take-away beer as part of the price of a tour. Archaic beer laws in the state have been in need of a tuneup for years even as wine laws have slowly progressed. With nearly a month to go in the 82nd…
Photos/Video from SWU’s May Day march
Southwest Workers Union, indigenous groups and other activists gathered at Main Plaza Sunday for International Worker’s Day. About 200 marched through downtown San Antonio championing a list of causes – chief among them immigration and detention reform.
Q & A with Andro Mendoza
San Antonio is about to come on hard times, given major budget cuts at a state and federal level. What programs do you think can be trimmed back? What should we not touch? At present, the City saved approximately $11 million by seeking efficiencies. To continue this positive direction the City should adopt a Zero-Based budget…
Q & A with Ernest Zamora, Jr.
San Antonio is about to come on hard times, given major budget cuts at a state and federal level. What programs do you think can be trimmed back? What should we not touch? Education is one area that I will not recommend cutting back, but it does need some very fine tuning in order to…
Chubby Hipster resents being called ‘Zach Galifianakis’
SAN ANTONIO, Texas — Colin Weathers loves his soy chai lattes, his collection of neon colored sneakers, and his mp3 collection of Aesop Rock remixes. He especially loves the Buffy the Vampire Slayer DVD collection prominently displayed for all to see in his living room. What Colin hates however is constantly being accused of looking…
New state senate bill corners Planned Parenthood
By Michael Barajas mbarajas@sacurrent.com Early this month, at the encouragement of Texas Right to Life and other anti-abortion outfits, Texas House Republicans took a hammer to the state’s family-planning dollars, stripping nearly two-thirds of the $99 million pot. In a clear effort to prevent any of that money from reaching Planned Parenthood’s family-planning clinics, TRL…
“The Blue Box” by Mo H Saidi
Introduction The plot of “The Blue Box” by Mo H Saidi leaves the reader feeling empty and used instead of elated by the prospect of life. The somewhat surprising role reversal emphasizes the loss, not just of a love affair, but of a family. I’m always looking for fresh flash fiction. Send in your work:…
Q & A with Rey Saldaña
San Antonio is about to come on hard times, given major budget cuts at a state and federal level. What programs do you think can be trimmed back? What should we not touch? The current fiscal climate is a challenging one, whether it’s at the city, state or federal level. San Antonio is no exception,…
Q & A with Lourdes Galvan
San Antonio is about to come on hard times, given major budget cuts at a state and federal level. What programs do you think can be trimmed back? What should we not touch? I will request a budget review and review the least impact to our city operation. I will review duplication of services but…
Use a condom. And get tested. It’s important!
For the love of whatever deity you worship – use a condom. Yes a condom! Use it every time and use it correctly. Did you know that up to 1 out of 4 people who have HIV don’t know it? Knowing your HIV status can greatly impact your health. If you know you have HIV,…
Flash Fiction technical difficulties rectified
My sincerest apologies to all you wonderful submitting writers out there. Due to technical difficulties (perhaps partially user error), I was not receiving your submissions. I’ve got them all now (dating back to late February) and will be replying shortly. Thank you all so much for your flash fiction: I look forward to reading. And…
Ashley Hansen takes A. Renee jewelry from “drag” to riches
Desiree Prieto Ashley Renee Hansen, designer and owner of A. Renee Jewelry, began featuring her first sets of earrings and necklaces on “The Drag,” in Austin, Texas. Now her dreams have taken her from the drag to designing custom-made lines for weddings and special occasions. “I have a client who wants pearls, pearls, pearls, for…
Dozens of San Antonio artists migrating to Kansas
By Scott Andrews sandrews@sacurrent.com Artists, get out of town. For the sake of our city — please leave. The arts community does a great job putting out show after show of hot stuff in town, but it’s time to spread the word to foreign lands. Thirty-three painters, sculptors, mixed-media makers, and performance artists have taken…
Forget SXSW embarassment — let’s poach NYC’s Latin Alternative fest
By Enrique Lopetegui elopetegui@sacurrent.com When I saw the KENS5 news item about the supposed “talks” of bringing South By Southwest to San Antonio, I could not have cared less. SXSW belongs to Austin, and it should remain in Austin. Of course, it was all an April Fool’s joke, a masterful bullshit story started by the…
Gary Neal wins a lifetime of free meals in San Antonio as Spurs stave off playoff expiration
By Rudy Gayby Momentarily, the scoreboard read 95 – 95 after Manu Ginobili nailed an improbable corner shot, leaving 2.2 seconds remaining on the game clock. Pandemonium quickly ensued. But, as has been the case during this series, any positive energy or momentum was quickly zapped, popped, erased. After carefully reviewing the shot, officials ruled…
Q & A with Diego Bernal
San Antonio is about to come on hard times, given major budget cuts at a state and federal level. What programs do you think can be trimmed back? What should we not touch? Over the course of the campaign I have come to believe that asking what we should cut is the wrong question. The…
Q & A with Chris Forbrich
San Antonio is about to come on hard times, given major budget cuts at a state and federal level. What programs do you think can be trimmed back? What should we not touch? I will apply the “Yellow Pages Test” to all city functions no related to public safety. If there is a private sector…
Q & A with Ralph Medina
San Antonio is about to come on hard times, given major budget cuts at a state and federal level. What programs do you think can be trimmed back? What should we not touch? The safety of our seniors and families is of paramount importance. I will not jeopardize any funding that puts our citizens in…
Q & A with Elena Guajardo
San Antonio is about to come on hard times, given major budget cuts at a state and federal level. What programs do you think can be trimmed back? What should we not touch? It’s not about trimming back. It’s about reviewing programs and identifying what is working and what is not. We need to make…
Q & A with Steve Shamblen
San Antonio is about to come on hard times, given major budget cuts at a state and federal level. What programs do you think can be trimmed back? What should we not touch? Due to the uncertainty of the funding amounts that will be coming from Washington and the State of Texas for our coming…
Spurs look to avoid expiration date
If you comb the internet for all things basketball you won’t have any trouble finding Spurs-related obituaries in response to the Memphis Grizzlies’ startling 3 -1 series lead. Tony Parker looks pedestrian at best. Manu Ginobili isn’t his normal, frenetic self. Timmy Duncan can’t find a time machine. Antonio McDyess said the Spurs are playing…
Echale! Latino Music Estyles with Bomba Estereo and Nortec Collective Presenting Bostich & Fussible
Critic’s Pick Release Date: 2011-04-27 If you still havenâ??t heard about Tijuanaâ??s Nortec Collective, this is a good time to discover them. The collective of DJs, producers, and graphic artists mixes techno with Northern Mexican music (mainly banda and norteña) and has solidly established themselves as one of the coolest electronica hybrids in the world.…
Breakthrough Thinkers Series: Caroline Kennedy
Critic’s Pick Release Date: 2011-04-27 Local literary nonprofit Gemini Ink inaugurates its Breakthrough Thinkers Series with a public reading, book signing, and Q&A with Caroline Kennedy, the only surviving child of President John F. Kennedy. As an author and editor, Kennedy has published several books, including In Our Defense: The Bill of Rights in Action…
Cocktails & Culture: Snakes and Samba
Critic’s Pick Release Date: 2011-04-27 The first of three upcoming adults-only “Cocktails & Culture” events at the Witte lures grownups to the museum for a unique evening of schmoozing and boozing. Centered around the “Amazon Voyage: Vicious Fishes and Other Riches” exhibit, “Snakes and Samba” offers such exotic opportunities as “meeting live piranhas, petting a…
Dia De Los Ninos
Critic’s Pick Release Date: 2011-04-27 With roots as far back as 1860, the observation of Children’s Day ? for which a national date has never officially been set ? predates the celebrations that honor moms and pops. With a focus on “literacy for children of all linguistic and cultural backgrounds,” the local chapter of REFORMA…
7th Annual Artpace Family Day
Critic’s Pick Release Date: 2011-04-27 Works by former Artpace residents will serve as examples of artful repurposing for “Recycle, Reuse, Reinvent,” the institution’s seventh-annual Family Day and block party. While the Conjunto Heritage Taller (1 p.m.), singer/songwriter Nicolette Good (1:45 p.m.), and the Fox Tech Wind Ensemble (2:30 p.m.) entertain from the courtyard, associate educators…
Souvenir
Critic’s Pick Release Date: 2011-04-27 The life of Florence Foster Jenkins — a tone-deaf socialite with a passion for singing — unfolds from the perspective of her longtime piano accompanist Cosme McMoon in Stephen Temperley’s Souvenir. Set in 1964, the semi-biographical play is driven by McMoon’s recollections of the many concerts they performed to a…
Grand Opening: Mission Library
Critic’s Pick Release Date: 2011-04-27 Mission Drive-In memories (my personal favorite involves watching circling bats from the bed of a pickup truck during the opening credits for Batman Begins) get a new spin on Saturday, when the 26-acre site becomes the official home to Mission Library, a four-acre, state-of-the-art facility designed with the architecture of…
Havana Sessions Presents Hacienda
Critic’s Pick Release Date: 2011-04-27 Not unlike Austin’s Grupo Fantasma, who found fame under Prince’s purple wing, Hacienda (brothers Abraham, Jaime, and Rene Villanueva, plus cousin Dante Schwebel) owe a bit of their mass appeal to The Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach, who produced, engineered, and mixed both Loud Is the Night (2008) and Big Red…
A Conversation with Adam Fuss
Critic’s Pick Release Date: 2011-04-27 The days of dropping off a roll of Kodachrome at the drugstore seem lifetimes ago — photography’s gone digital with the rest of the world. British/Australian photographer Adam Fuss streamlines his image-making by losing the camera along with the film. His photograms, prints made by placing objects directly on photosensitive…
Steve Earle: I’ll Never Get Out of This World Alive
We fall into habits that, if continued long enough, can become caricature. Steve Earle never got that far, but his angry, politicized country-rock was growing predictable by 2007’s Washington Square Serenade, where simple musings on love and longing were the superior tracks. I’ll Never Get Out is a well-timed return to his roots. It’s an…
Tilted Kilt Pub & Eatery evokes dreams of greener pastures
On a Saturday night, Tilted Kilt Pub & Eatery is a jungle. The vast majority of patrons are men — some young, some old — all seemingly in heat. And while the behavior of the patrons clearly rests on the shoulders of the individuals, it doesn’t help that the joint is a monument to machismo.…
Local review of Aperture’s Now That You’re Awake (EP)
"In love with the illusion/Far from serenity," sings Nathan Alvarado on the signature cut, "Of the Sun," off this band’s debut EP. If you’re sensing a little philosophical angst here, you’re not far off. The album’s six tracks are connected by issues of self-doubt, spiritual searching, and the questioning of religious dogma: strangely appropriate territory…
Taste this: Deviled Eggs at The Esquire Tavern
After a late Saturday night celebrating “Exotic Easter” with 500 other like-minded misfits, I woke up craving eggs. And since none had been hidden in my backyard during the wee hours, I decided to nurse my hangover at the dark and handsome Esquire Tavern. The deviled eggs ($5) are stuffed with a decadent filling (hard-boiled…
Queen: Greatest Hits II
In case you had any doubts about the fact that the later part of Queen’s career is the less interesting one, here’s this album for some mysterious reason, released in the U.S. 20 years after it originally came out. The collection centers on the more decidedly techno-pop version of the band. It includes one track…
Restaurant Gwendolyn: A first date
Chef Michael Sohocki, the Weissman alum that has taken over the old Le Rêve space downtown, is nothing if not sincere about his pledge to serve only product available within a 150-mile radius of San Antonio. Yes, he’ll have no bananas — or Chilean sea bass, Maine lobsters, Australian lamb, Burgundian wines … oh, wait:…
Sophie Hunger: Sophie Hunger
The U.S. debut of Swiss songstress and multi-instrumentalist Sophie Hunger is a compilation of her albums Monday’s Ghost (2008) and 1983 (2010), which were critically acclaimed and sold more than 200,000 copies. Singing mostly in English, but also in French, Swiss Alemanic dialect, and German, Hunger is an unpredictable mix of indie pop, grungy folk,…
¡Feria! Folk Art from Regional Fairs in Latin America on view now at SAMA
Maybe it’s just a post-Fiesta and CAM hangover vision, but SA seems like one big, roving party, a festival town defined by event as much as place. When people hit the streets here, they do it with gusto. But hey, it’s in our blood — part of a tradition hundreds of years old that began…
The ultimate San Antonio beer, Alamo City Cerveza Fest, beer dinners, and the passing of a brewing pioneer
The ultimate San Antonio beer Beer meisters from five San Antonio-area breweries gathered at Ranger Creek Brewing & Distilling last week to collaborate on a commemorative beer to mark the first San Antonio Beer Week. Malt, classic Czech and German hops, water from each brewery, and the considerable combined brewing talents all merge in Cinco…
Trans/Action explores values of exchange at Guadalupe Gallery
Half a century ago the Abstract Expressionist painters flourished to no small degree because New York art dealer Leo Castelli fronted art supplies and rent money. Castelli bought their works as investments while his insight brewed into high-culture capital. In the 1980s and ’90s, Mary Boone was reputed to be one of the last NYC…
Mon Ami’s Olaf Harmel falls at state, but has new drink to offer locals
“I think I need a shot of whiskey.” Mon Ami’s Olaf Harmel was sitting in the soaring atrium of Austin’s Hyatt Regency Hotel as he awaited transportation to the Long Center where he would be competing in the Maker’s Mark cocktail shakeoff. It was to be one of the highlights of the Hill Country Wine…
Margarita Cabrera’s group projects hammer at an artificial divide
With work in three important group shows this spring — Trinity University, the McNay, and now Guadalupe Gallery — Margarita Cabrera might appear to be an over-exposed local artist. But the exhibits only show hints of the mammoth production being done by this El Paso-based artist who emigrated from Monterrey, Mexico, as a child, and…
Fashion event to raise funds for UIW’s ‘Project Africa’
Volunteers working to raise $32,000 for the construction of a school in the impoverished country of Mali haven’t been holding any bake sales or car washes as part of Project Africa, a University of the Incarnate Word-based non-profit founded by Cisse Drame. Instead they go where the students already are: They’ve hosted drink specials and…
Book review: The Pale King by David Foster Wallace
Consider the tax return: the absurd inanity of matching numbers from your personal documents to government forms and filing it under threat of incarceration. Consider how boring the process is to you; now put yourself behind the desks of the people who have to review all those numbers. This is exactly what David Foster Wallace…
Comedy + Guitar – Hack = JR Brow
When I see a comic with a guitar I usually think, “Oh, great — here’s a guy who’s going to redo a famous pop song to milk zany homosexual references for cheap laughs.” Nine times out of 10 that’s exactly what happens. Nine times out of 10, a guitar comic is just a guy who…
Best of Flash Fiction, April 2011
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 work. Have…
Free Will Astrology
ARIES (March 21-April 19): To convey my vision of how best to proceed in the coming week, I’ll offer the following metaphorical scenario: Imagine that you are not a professional chef, but you do have a modicum of cooking skills. Your task is to create a hearty, tasty soup from scratch without the benefit of…
SAPD arrest results in civil-rights lawsuit, jailer jailed … seven years later, McGhee’s strange bedfellows in SAISD race, and trans marriage rights scrapped by dirty ’pubs
SAPD arrest results in civil-rights lawsuit The Texas Civil Rights Project last week filed a lawsuit against four San Antonio police officers, saying they “brutally dragged” 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…
Why the AT&T-T-Mobile merger is bad for San Antonio
My phone and I have an “it’s complicated” relationship. I take it to bed with me at night, and I’m pretty sure I’m not the only one in town who checks the phone in the morning before I get up. I love having a device that can do so much and still fit in the…
Fight over decrepit Maldonado Building about honoring Westside soul
Half-century-old newspaper accounts chronicling the story of Casa Maldonado drum up not-so-distant memories of racial segregation and an impassioned fight for social justice growing out of San Antonio’s west side. For many, the pink two-story house on the corner of South Brazos and Guadalupe, once a Westside hub for political and community activism, holds an…
Water for Elephants not worthy of historical novel it is based on
While it deserves some recognition for creating a visually-pleasing spectacle (credit Oscar-nominated production designer Jack Fisk and Oscar-nominated cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto), the Depression-era melodrama Water for Elephants isn’t the charming phenomenon one might’ve imagined based on the popularity of the 2006 historical novel by Sara Gruen from which it’s adapted. Instead, the film lacks the…
Bidding adieu to Tangeré and Le Midi
Tangeré, we hardly knew ye. Though much lauded after its opening a few months ago, the Mediterranean bistro has already shut down. Hopes were high when life returned to the former Shiraz location in Olmos Park. Tangeré owner Erick Abrams had already shown his flair for restaurants with the former Metropolitain at the Quarry. But…
African Cats stakes its claim in recently trendy nature doc kingdom
“Who would win in a fight — a gorilla covered in armor or a cobra that spits acid from its fangs?” These were the type of brain-busters my poor parents would have to answer when I was in elementary school; my oversized head filled with useless questions about hypothetical battles between vicious animals I conjured…
This is it: The bizarre but still-legendary career of Lauryn Hill
There are many reasons why Lauryn Hill’s The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill (1998) captivated audiences, earning 10 Grammy nominations (and winning five). The most important may be that Hill’s debut album featured exceptionally crafted, often daring songs built around a universal theme: love. As cliché as the topic remains in R&B, Hill managed to make…
Local 782 Music & Media Mixer, Bus Stop Stallions, The Lazy Boys, and Hacienda
Live Music Week will end with a huge bang on April 30, but the music will continue on, thanks to both local homies and visitors from as far away as Dresden, Germany. First, you’re all invited to attend the San Antonio Music and Media Mixer organized by Local 782 on Thursday, April 28, at the…
Madea’s Big Happy Family is Tyler Perry’s big unfunny mess
Devout followers aside, director/writer Tyler Perry isn’t doing anyone any favors with his latest dysfunctional dramedy. Madea’s Big Happy Family is so obnoxious, annoying, unfunny, and downright hateful, that watching lunatics freaking out on stage during a paternity episode of Maury Povich would be better received. At least Povich feels scripted. With BHF, the screenplay…
The mammoth Downtown Live Music Fest closes Local Music Week
The last event of 2011’s Local Music Week is symbolic of the momentum enjoyed by the local music scene — it’s an all-out, ambitious event that combines some of the best, the most popular, and the most promising up-and-coming local bands in a wide variety of styles. “This is barely the second year of Local…
News from San Antonio’s filmmaking front, and El Cine looking for YOUR local movie project happenings
Kudos to director Ya’Ke Smith, who will be going to Cannes for the second time in his career. His award-winning short, Katrina’s Son (2010), will be screened at Cannes’ Short Film Corner. This is no smally — when it comes to good films, Cannes is still the world’s most prestigious festival, and Smith has been…
Live & Local: Apaso CD release party at Limelight Music + Drinks
“What you really want? A show or an authentic flow?” sang Apaso at Limelight on April 23. Celebrating the release of his first full-length, Illaments (on Acquired Taste Preferred Records), the decade-plus-in-the-game MC waited as long as it took for a Limelight slot to open to do the release party right. In 1999, he got…
Critic’s Pick: The Blue Angel (Der blaue Engel)
At the end of The Blue Angel, screening Thursday at the McNay Museum, the camera tracks slowly away from a lone man sitting at a desk in a darkened classroom. The scene not only conveys the unbearable tragedy of a wasted life, but also anticipates the disintegration of the most civilized society in Europe. Filmed…
Magical anime girls fight for love and power in Arcana Heart 3
Last month at PAX East 2011, I had the chance to try out the latest game that Aksys Games had recently licensed and localized, Arcana Heart 3. While fun, it was a shot preview due the the number of people wanting to try it out as well. Now thanks to their PR rep, I was able to receive a…
Can Popovich overcome stubborness displayed in Blair benchings?
Mike Seely/Guest Blogger In a premature obit for Tim Duncan’s Spurs, who stand a loss away from elimination in their playoff series against the upstart Memphis Grizzlies, Basketbawful writes the following: You know what else is wrong with the Spurs? Tim Duncan … [He’s] had quite a few un-Duncan-like performances this season. Out of the…
Top Dems back McGhee for SAISD, despite voucher support, failing charters
“Dr. James Leininger is known as the Daddy Warbucks of Texas social conservatism — or, as the San Antonio Current recently called him, ‘God’s Sugar Daddy.’” — Molly Ivins By Robert J. Pohl pohl.robert@gmail.com San Antonio Mayor Julián Castro and two Democratic members of the Texas House are backing an SAISD school board candidate who…
