Uncle Mat’s Mate Finder 2000
Cross-posted from Uncle Mat’s Myspace blog: As mentioned in my August 8th column in the San Antonio Current: Below you will find images of the Mate Finder 2000 that I designed for myself last winter. Just three short months later, I found a boyfriend! A close up of some of the contents… complete with a…
Gaffes on Film: Rudy Giuliani
No matter your political affiliation, you have to love Rudy Giuliani’s ability to mock himself. Starting in 1997 and continuing throughout his mayoral tenure, he was the annual attraction of the Inner Circle mayoral roast, singing musical numbers, dancing the can-can, and appearing in drag, all to gently mirror and mock the absurdity that is…
Gaffes on Film: Mike Gravel
Even if you don’t care about Alaska, direct election, or Citizen Power, you should like Democratic candidate Mike Gravel. Why? Because he’s an artist of the highest order. Gravel’s campaign video is quite possibly the most mesmerizing, most accomplished bit of filmmaking to come out of the American political system in the last 30 years.…
On the Street
On the Street Troop redeployment, football, religion…all wrapped up together at a practice field at Central Catholic High School. I’ve occasionally wondered why football attracts one type of crowd and basketball another. Does football celebrate suffering and being brought back down to earth, whereas basketball is more unapologetically a celebration of ascendancy and success? Well,…
On the Street
On the Street Troop redeployment, football, religion…all wrapped up together at a practice field at Central Catholic High School. I’ve occasionally wondered why football attracts one type of crowd and basketball another. Does football celebrate suffering and being brought back down to earth, whereas basketball is more unapologetically a celebration of ascendancy and success? Well,…
Agents of the Sun w. Strikes Back, Sky Blue 72, & The Early Strikes
Release Date: 2007-08-08 Houston-based rock trio Sky Blue 72 consists of siblings Jessica (vocals, drums) and Frank Zweback (bass, vocals) and honorary sibling Davis Jumper (guitar, vocals). Female drummers are a rare find, but a female drummer that doubles as the lead vocalist? That’s almost unprecedented. The band was born in 2003 when Jessica won…
Streetball Slam
Release Date: 2007-08-08 Hoopsters can sweat it out in air-conditioning as the San Antonio Sports Foundation hosts its first Streetball Slam indoors. The 3-on-3 basketball tournament features 250 teams, recreational and competitive, male and female, ages 8 and up. Final entry deadline August 8, $125 for each three to five member team. Saturday-Sunday, Henry B.…
Sound & the fury
Exponential Records chieftain Ernest Gonzalez is bringing an intriguing show to Limelight (2718 N. St. Mary’s) on Saturday, August 11, with a quadruple bill fronted by Monterrey, Mexico trio Uvi.lov. Cover is $5 for those 21 and up, and $8 for 18-20 year-olds. Showtime is 9 p.m. … Girl in a Coma, SA’s favorite all-female…
Something to ‘Talk’ about
In today’s radio universe, you’d be hard-pressed tofind asuperficially angry talk-show voice who doesn’t actually have a little (Stern) or a lot (Limbaugh) of interest in keeping the status quo quo-ing. Talk to Me, based on the life of Ralph Waldo “Petey” Greene, offers a radio personality who not only started off as one of…
Gaffes on Film: Tom Tancredo
When he’s not advocating the bombing of Islamic religious sites, Representative Tom Tancredo (R-Colorado) amuses himself and alienates voters by whining in presidential debates. In the August 5 Iowa debate, Tancredo got a little huffy when he was not the first candidate to respond to Mitt Romney, and ripped into moderator George Stephanopoulous for not…
A time to shoot
Recover from out-patient surgery. Drive from the Alamodome tothe Georgia Dome with a few bathroom breaks in between. Determine a suspect in a homicide case. Blow your life savings in Las Vegas. You could do a lot of things in only 48 hours. Is it possible to make a movie in the same amount of…
Broken English
It was only a matter of time before Zoe Cassavetes — daughterof director John Cassavetes and actress Gena Rowlands, and friend of Sofia Coppola’s — made a feature film. That’s a good thing, as far as I’m concerned — the more female filmmakers out there, the better. That said, however, the story Zoe has borne…
“Where’s Chloe” Afterthoughts
WARNING – SPOILER ALERT “Where’s Chloe?”- The title of San Antonio producer Brian Santiago’s latest film ingeniously sparks the curiosity of moviegoers, and makes them ask themselves “Who is Chloe, and why is she missing?” Before seeing the “documentary” at its premiere Thursday night, I read Chloe’s biography on the film’s Website, watched her daily…
Trouble no more
With the passing of Port Arthur native Johnnie Mac “Uncle John” Turner in the early morning hours of July 26, due to complications from his long battle with Hepatitis C, a little ray of light seemed to flutter out of sight. Uncle John, or “Unc” as he was affectionately known by his friends, was one…
Armchair Cinephile
PICK OF THE WEEK: The world’s favorite lovey-dovey sleuths are captured here in their non-Thin Man collaborations. It’s largely comedy, I’m happy to report, though we get to see the pair test their chemistry in thrillers and melodrama as well. It takes chutzpah to remake Rear Window (without credit, no less!), but this pop thriller…
Kino Club
“Plano is a northern suburb of Dallas, Texas. Painfully new, unrelentingly horizontal landscapes, open fields next to long fortresses of super stores, miles of parking lots: these image places are both the resonant center and dissonant catalyst for the project. The textual method for exploring the ideas and image places in Plano is through an…
Gaucho grand
MostAmericans are not likely to go mad for mate (MAH-tay) at first sip. This slightly bitter herbal tea, which conjures images of the rough-and-ready gaucho, is the national drink of Argentina, and is consumed across socio-economic levels. Yerba mate consumption is also a ritual affair involving a decorated gourd (the name mate comes from the…
Remotely Interesting (telly navigation)
Two Oscar-winning actresses on basic cable, in shows premiering mid-summer. Weird. Where else are you going to see Holly Hunter or Glenn Close, though? Nowhere, that’s where. If you’re a middle-aged woman who isn’t Sandra Bullock or Meryl Streep, the silver screen doesn’t want you. Basic cable, though, might. Following their premium-cable cousins, basic networks…
Junk Bonds
It’s not that hard to put yourself in Barry Bonds’s place in the fall of 1998. Granted, you probably didn’t have a famous dad who hit 39 homers and stole 43 bases for the San Francisco Giants in 1973. And you probably didn’t play catch with Willie Mays as a pre-schooler. And you probably weren’t…
Don’t book ’em, Suz-o?
DearDistrict Attorney Susan Reed, I took a whirlwind tour of the Frank Wing Magistration and Detention Center on Monday. It’s kind of a bare-bones operation, isn’t it? It took me a while to choose the right word to describe it. I settled on “squalor.” The detention center is squalid. I saw detainees sleeping on the…
Session men
Recording studios come and go. With life spans like new restaurants, they crop up in garages, spare bedrooms, rented spaces, and in meticulously designed buildings with obsessively precise angles. San Antonio has its fair share of the makeshift variety, less of the spacious, state-of-the-art variety, and a handful that fall somewhere between the two extremes.…
QueQue 08/08/2007
In our 8/8/07 issue, QueQue mistakenly attributed the words “my heart breaks for…every child who is subject to the rampant desires of adult homosexual men” to radio talk-show host Adam McManus. The correct speaker of these words was in fact Deborah Locander, who spoke soon after McManus at the 8/2/07 meeting. We sincerely regret the…
The QueQue
Please excuse the Queque … we’re a little choked up. Feedback from last week’s “Paper to Pen” special supplement for incarcerated readers has been, well, a bit overwhelming. We’ve received letters from inmates who heard about it on Chris Duel’s KTSA 550 AM talk show; the San Antonian (Thesanantonian.typepad.com) blogged us and shared his own…
Aural Pleasure
John Vanderslice is a low-budget, poor-man’s Jon Brion. That’s not a shot at Vanderslice’s talents, but rather a recognition of what he’s accomplished in San Francisco with his Tiny Telephone recording studio. Over the last 10 years, Tiny Telephone has been the hip, affordable recording haven for San Francisco’s indie-rock scene, and Vanderslice has helmed…
Becoming Jane CDs – ENDED 08-29-2007
UPDATE: All CDs have been given away, thanks for entering. Hey kids, I know our freebies have been looking a little thin here at our new web home, but today I have been graced with a stack of Becoming Jane CDs. It’s the original score from the movie or something, I’m not really sure, but if…
HB 2391: The stoner’s summary
Aight, folks. On September1, which just happens to be my kid sister’s birthday, a new Texas law will go into effect that says if a cop catches you with your stash — assuming you’re not dumb enough to cruise around with more than four ounces on your person — they can issue you a citation…
CDs Nuts
In Our Bedroom After the War Stars (Arts and Crafts) This time around, lead vocalists Amy Milan and Torquil Campbell mostly ditch Set Yourself on Fire’s mopey-duets model and instead pass the mic between songs. The change allows Campbell to flirt with everything from Bee Gees falsetto disco (“The Ghost of Genova Heights”) to Aqualung-esque…
The Say-Town Lowdown
Democraticprimaries in Texas used to be a spectator sport fit for pay-per-view. Remember when Jim Maddox and Ann Richards duked it out in ’88, with bribery allegations (against Maddox) and drug and alcohol allegations (against Richards) taking center stage? Or when now-fallen-star Dan Morales sent out dossiers accusing Tony Sanchez of being a money launderer…
Letters to the Editor
Comment: Consistent I find this well written article `“Global warming hates South Texas,” July 25-31` both clear and consistent with the climate researchers in the U.K. , the glaciologists in Switzerland and India and all the peer reviewed scientific literature (including almost all the literature with verifiable citations) that I have reviewed. — Joseph L.…
Amuse-BOUCHE
What can such a tiny bit of column do for you, the time-poor reader, already overstuffed with the week’s media offerings? We certainly don’t have the space to get you drunk on high-alcohol-content adjectives (we’ll leave that to Value Vino, making its monthly appearance on page 20, and the Bar Tab). Not enough table real…
The Mashup
I’m sure you’ve found that any sort of free time is at a premium now. Boy, isn’t that the truth. Even when I go powder my nose, I’ve got to continue to work. Let’s talk about why you would want to take that on. The page where you announce that you’re running, you refer to…
The Fast Foodie
Fortunately I wasn’t in a hurry when I went to Presa Street Grill. The menu advertises, “Your meal will be prepared fresh and made to order,” which actually meant it took about 20 minutes for a couple of sandwiches to arrive at our table. Don’t get me wrong; if you’ve got the time to spare,…
Game On (video-game commentary)
Those who could have died happily without ever seeing O.J. Simpsonbusting a celebration dance in an end zone again may find themselves a little jarred by All-Pro Football 2K8, 2K Sports re-entry into the most lucrative corner of the video-gaming universe. The rest of us may simply look at it as another way to scratch…
Rosé redux
It was dicey there for a while, but proper pink has finally prevailed over pink plonk. Sales of rosé are up as much as 45 percent in the U.S. this year. Bracingly dry and thrillingly complex wines, in subtle shades of pink, salmon, and copper, have been made for generations in France, and Spain and…
Mex In Manhattan
You haven’t lived until you are up to your elbows in lard and a pinch of baking soda. Pan de Polvo, a Mexican cookie dusted with sugar and cinnamon that falls apart the minute you put it in your mouth, is a treat that many enjoy but few attempt to make. My experience with this…
Artifacts
The San Antonio Museum of Art has a message for you: Stop touching the Ken Little sculpture in the new contemporary galleries. And: You have less than two weeks left to see the Botero retrospective on joint display at SAMA and the Southwest School of Art & Craft. Through August 19. Samuseum.org for details. Every…
¡Ask a Mexican!
Dear Mexican: I’ve run into a problem with my wife. I’d like to proudly display our last name on the back window of the family car, but she won’t allow it. How can I convince her that’s it’s a long and honored Mexican tradition to do so? — Tejano Rick P.S.: How and where did…
Trey McIntyre on pointe
Trey McIntyre is one of a new generation of choreographers who combine the best of classical ballet with contemporary music, motion, and aesthetics to create an original canon of contemporary dance. He’s created works for American Ballet Theatre, Stuttgart Ballet, and Ballet de Santiago in Chile, and maintained a long-standing position with Houston Ballet, as…
Clothes-minded
The ultra-girly T-shirt: demure puffed sleeves, tissue-thin vanilla-colored cotton, and kicky red vintage embroidery featuring two adorable urchins stitched over your heart. Underneath, three little words: “I hate children.” Swiss-French designer Nicole Locher playfully refers to her designs as “perversion with a touch of class,” but it’s really the other way around. The subtle candy…
… And we’re back
G’morning, folks. Allow me a moment to allay your concerns, soothe yournerves, and introduce the new Curblog properly. This weekend at the Unit B Lawn Sports Gala, a certain local artist and sporadic Current contributor (we won’t identify him, but we will out his beard – see right) pulled me aside to gently complain about…
It’s a chica thing
Once upon a Quinceañera is Julia Alvarez’s candid look at a young girl on the harrowing day of her quinceañera. Described by Alvarez as “a wedding without a groom,” this lavish Latino ritual symbolizes a young girl’s passage from girlhood into womanhood. To write the book, the author of How the Garcia Girls Lost Their…
Straight Shooter
So let’s get this one thing straight, Marvel. Your story about the kid bit by a radioactive spider is ridiculous, and you aren’t fooling anybody, no matter how many times you’ve updated it in the past 45 years. Whether the nuked spider bites Peter after falling through some sort of gamma-ray particle beam or after…
… And we’re back
G’morning, folks. Allow me a moment to allay your concerns, soothe yournerves, and introduce the new Curblog properly. This weekend at the Unit B Lawn Sports Gala, a certain local artist and sporadic Current contributor (we won’t identify him, but we will out his beard – see right) pulled me aside to gently complain about…
La Pistola y el corazón
OAXACA –Those of us who report from the front lines of the social justice movement in Latin America share an understanding that there’s a bullet out there with our names on it. Brad Will traveled 2,500 miles from New York to this violence-torn Mexican town to find his. Throughout the summer and fall of 2006,…
Critical Darling
We’ve made some changes around here — you may have noticed — one, of course, being the name of this glorious section over which I preside. “Screens” is rather more accurate these days, as our coverage has expanded to include a regular television column, and our video-game columns now share a niche with End User…
Dear Uncle Mat
I am a 40-something female, good-looking, kind, and loving, with my own little pet-care biz. I have lived in San Anto for 10 years now and have been alone, sans man, for most of my time here. I admit my track record in relationships is less than stellar. As a result (of my poor choices and some…
Angel’s wings
On her neck, right below her chin, R&B sensation Amanda Perez bears a tattoo that reads “atras del miedo hay dinero,” which she translates as “behind fear there’s money.” For the Fort Wayne, Indiana, native, the ink symbolizes her dedication to music and family, the two elements that have inspired her young career. At age…
See Jane date
Dew-drenched countryside, floor-dusting dresses, witty banter, and repugnance quickly evolving into romance — the lush opening scenes of Becoming Jane have the trappings of any other Austen adaptation. Then, at the point at which events should converge toward the tidy ending of a wedding, the story strays into more dismal territory and viewers realize the…
Free Will Astrology
ARIES(March 21-April 19): “The face is the most erotic part of the body,” says fashion designer Vivienne Westwood. Try out that perspective for a while, Aries. Your assignment in the coming week is to enjoy getting excited by faces that captivate your imagination. This isn’t just about pure physical beauty, of course. You should also…
