Texas Country Legend Ray Price Dead at 87
Ray Price, one of the most beloved figures in Texas country music, died Monday afternoon of pancreatic cancer at his home in Mt. Pleasant, Texas. He left behind 109 songs that made it into the country charts between 1952 and 1989, which include 46 top 10s and eight number ones. Price scored 17 top 10…
5 Things You Have to Do This Week
Mon 12/16 – Wed 12/18 Arturo Herrera: Adam Born in Caracas, Venezuela, and based between New York City and Berlin, Germany, Arturo Herrera made his first impression on the Alamo City as an Artpace resident in 2000 and was showcased earlier this year with a solo exhibition at the Linda Pace Foundation. Widely recognized for…
San Antonio Zoo Fire Kills Komodo Dragon
A fire early this morning on the San Antonio Zoo grounds killed a Komodo dragon (a larger than average lizard species), a lizard and a snake, according to KSAT. RIP San Antonio Zoo Komodo Dragon. Photo via Creative Commons Images. While there was no huge blaze, heavy smoke engulfed the reptile enclosure and led to…
This Bytes: The Cocosicle
Tis the season to drink Crown Royal (if you didn’t read that to the song of “deck the halls” then you read it wrong) Ok, maybe it’s the season to drink eggnog, but this drink we made for you is sure to blow that eggnog out of the water. Besides some people aren’t about that…
Local Coffee Aims for Late December Opening at Pearl
Local Coffee’s new home at the Pearl will continue to feature great beans prepared simply. Color us excited. Local Coffee, with locations in Stone Oak (700 E Sonterra, Ste 1113) and Alamo Heights (5903 Broadway), will open its third at the Pearl Brewery in late December. The shop is known for its use of quality…
Divine Intervention: What Do Pope Francis and Viggo Mortensen Have in Common?’
Pope Francis holding the jersey of San Lorenzo, his favorite soccer team. “¿San Lorenzo is the champion?” was the first thing Pope Francis reportedly said upon getting up this morning, according to Argentina’s press. “What a joy!” San Lorenzo de Almagro, one of the five “big” teams in Argentina and Pope Francis’ favorite, won the…
10 Free Events Happening This Week, Dec. 16-22
1) “Con Estas Manos/With These Hands” Monday, Dec. 16 10 a.m. The work of acclaimed quilter Alicia Avila comes to San Antonio this month in a celebration of color, art and culture. Avila’s quilts feature abstract patterns and vibrant colors that tell the story of her Mexican-American heritage. The exhibit is available for viewing during…
Peter O’Toole (1932-2013): Our 14 Favorite Moments
Peter O’Toole as ‘Lawrence of Arabia,’ the role that immortalized him. Irish-born, British-educated actor Peter O’Toole passed away December 14 at Wellington Hospital in London after battling a long illness. He was 81. Looking back at his long, incredibly successful and admired career, it is hard to believe O’Toole never won an Oscar despite his…
5 Things You Missed From Friday’s “Muerte Por La Cerveza” Wrestling Event
One of San Antonio’s local promotions held its last event of 2013 on Friday, December 13 at Sideliners Grille. For its ultimate main event of the year, the River City Wrestling incorporated the Grille’s alcoholic beverages into the fray for a sort of wrestling power hour. Every three minutes, match participants, and fans 21 and…
Video: Maidana Convincingly Outpoints Broner at the Alamodome
The new champ right after the fight. Argentina’s Marcos “El Chino” Maidana (35-3 with 31 KOs) beat previously undefeated WBA welterweight champion Adrien “The Problem” Broner (27-1 with 22 KOs) on a unanimous decision Saturday night at the Alamodome. The score cards read 115-110, 116-109 and 117-109 for the Santa Fe, Argentina power puncher. The…
Drop What You’re Doing and See ‘American Idiot’ Today
Our theater critic, Thomas Jenkins, caught the touring production of American Idiot at the Majestic last night. There’s still time to check it out the final two performances today. $31.50-$66.50, 2pm & 7:30pm Sat, The Majestic Theatre, 224 E Houston, (210) 226-3333, majesticempire.com Holy shit—who’d have thunk that one of the best theatrical events in SA…
Uruguay Legalizes Marijuana: Things to Know Before You Move There
Uruguay’s José “Pepe” Mujica, the world’s “poorest” (and coolest) president. “We ask the world to help us create this experience. It will allow us to adopt a socio-political experiment to address the serious problem of drug trafficking the effect of the drug traffic is worse than the drug.” (José Mujica, President of Uruguay) Unless…
Top 10 New Restaurants of 2013
It’s been an exciting year for food: Italian, Asian, New American, French restaurants have all graced our fair city. Whether the food added a bit of something new (Kimura’s ramen, Tuk Tuk’s Asian street fare meets brewpub concept) or more of the classics (Fratello’s) or provided a twist on the norm (Beat Street, Barbaro), the…
Bonehead Quote(s) of the Week: Texas Lieutenant Governor Candidates on Creationism in Public Schools
This week we have a trio of Bonehead Quotes for you. During a Thursday evening debate in Waco featuring all GOP candidates vying for lieutenant governor– incumbent Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, state Sen. Dan Patrick (R-Houston), Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples and Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson–three of the four candidates promoted teaching creationism in public schools, according…
Shot of the Week: Drunken Affogatos
All of my favorite things in one. More dessert than anything, this shot makes dreams come true. With National Ice Cream and Violin Day (for some reason) on Friday, December 13, I decided to combine two of my loves: coffee and booze. The result was a sweet, highly caloric, shot you have to take with…
Today Only: Mexicans With Guns Releases “Lucha” Album for Free Download
Finally! Ernest Gonzales is back and making sweet, sweet music as Mexicans with Guns. His long awaited “Lucha” album is available for free download today only, in observation of Dia de Guadalupe, here.
Steve McHugh’s Cured to Open in Late December
Get ready, folks (Courtesy) Talk about holiday gift, SA food junkies. Steve McHugh’s Cured at Pearl will open its doors in late December. Although the press release hints at a Christmas opening, we’re guessing the eatery will be open sooner rather than later. McHugh (previously with Lüke San Antonio) will focus on regional ingredients to…
10 Things You Have to Do This Weekend
Thu 12/12 Raja Gemini Sutan Amrull learned how to apply makeup from “his 14-year-old friend Eva, who was under house arrest for breaking into a restaurant.” Those lessons paid off: In addition to a client list that includes Dita Von Teese and Adam Lambert, Amrull served as makeup artist for nine cycles of America’s Next…
5 Ridiculous Right-Wing ‘War on Christmas’ Remarks
As Texas conservative groups make national headlines for promoting a new “Merry Christmas” law intended to fight the so-called “War on Christmas”, we’ve rounded up a list of some of the absurd comments from right-wing culture warriors waging a battle against the mythical war: Screen Shot Via Media Matters for America 1. Fox News’ Bill O’Reilly:…
Report Highlights San Antonio’s Emergency Food Problem
San Antonio is one 25 cities in the nation that experienced an increase in demand for emergency food assistance, according to a report released today. The 2013 U.S. Conference of Mayors Hunger and Homelessness Survey surveyed cities whose mayors sit on the conference task force– that includes Mayor Julián Castro. Officials were asked to address hunger, emergency food assistance…
10 Free Events Happening This Week, Dec. 9 – Dec. 15
1) Pixels of Fury Thursday, Dec. 12 6 p.m. Bringing together the area’s most creative minds, top designers compete in front of a live audience to create an original and innovate poster design. In addition to the inspired competition, guests can enjoy refreshments, door prizes, and the comedic stylings of local funnyman Cleto…
Watch “Kanye Motherf***ing West” Kicking Heckler Out of SA Concert
Does this guy look like a &&****%%$$### comedian? Was it all planned in order to get an immediate viral reaction on social media? Only Kanye and a handful of people would know. But what you will see actually happened at AT&T Center on Sunday, when a female fan (?) kept bugging him to take his…
6 Ways to Get Your Drink/Grub On This Week
Saturday, December 14: Get your hands dirty with some masa this weekend as the Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center hosts its annual tamal-making community party. Tamaleras and historians Carmen Tafolla, Olga Kaufman and Ellen Riojas-Clark will be joined by chef Cariño Cortez for this tamal-making workshop. Free, 11am-2pm, 1300 Guadalupe, (210) 271-3151, guadalupeculturalarts.org. Saturday, December 14:…
Food Stamp Cuts Threaten to Leave Many San Antonians Hungry
Many San Antonio families will face the prospect of not-so-happy-holidays thanks to nationwide cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), aka food stamps. While SNAP benefits saw a temporary economic stimulus infusion in 2009 after the recession, that short-term increase has expired and $5 billion in cuts to the program made by Congress in…
Happy Hour Hound: Tost Bistro & Lounge
Tost Bistro & Lounge isn’t a place you go to because it made a top 10 list or was named a hot spot. It’s not that type of place. It’s never been a shining star or destination, but it was a great plan B–a place where I could always get a table and a pretty…
SA Sound: The best SA band you’ll never see?
TOY STORIES We all know the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve’s Toys for Tots program, which every year collects, well, toys for children in need during the holiday season. Lisa Morales (of Sisters Morales fame, now a well-established solo artist and producer) has been doing her own TFT event for 12 of the last 13 years,…
NFL, Drugs and Prison: The ballad of Sam Hurd
It’s a blistering afternoon in downtown Dallas. Inside the confines of the polished Earle Cabell Federal Building, the pings and whirs of metal detectors and x-ray machines cascade off the gypsum walls. A massive rendering of Howard Chandler Christy’s Scene at the Signing of the Constitution of the United States rests slightly above members of…
‘Alternate Currents’ Group Show Lights up the Guadalupe
Maybe she was watching Bugs Bunny when the light bulb flicked on over curator Patty Ortiz’s head, but she had a bright idea nonetheless: Challenge five of the city’s leading contemporary artists to respond to the light from a single, lonely bulb. Shadowy, mysterious and provocative, “Alternate Currents” at the Museo Guadalupe is sparked by…
Flip Out at Preservation Hall Jazz Band’s Creole Christmas Show
When Allan Jaffe and his wife Sandra moved from Pennsylvania to New Orleans in the early ’60s, they didn’t initially come for the music. But they ended up staying for the music after they took over a small, dingy art gallery in the French Quarter and turned it into Preservation Hall, a 100-seat concert venue…
Coffee Fest Provides 30+ Ways to Get Buzzed
Are you ready to get your coffee buzz on? The second annual San Antonio Coffee Festival will take place in La Villita on Saturday, December 14. From 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., attendees can sample more than 30 locally roasted coffees sourced from around the world, attend educational seminars and buy java paraphernalia from vendors.…
Sweet Toof: Chocolate Bark
I could regale you with how many awkward attempts it took me to whip up a solid batch of velvety chocolate, but I won’t (it was three). But when it actually works out, bark screams quickie Christmas gift for the masses. It can be easily dressed up and packaged in fun tins or candy boxes…
Taps y Tapas Adds Modern Mex to Five Points
Allow me to hop on a soapbox for a sec: As the third in a number of restaurants to open in the last few months that feature street fare or tapas, Taps y Tapas also follows its predecessors’ price points, which aren’t “street” at all. Of course, it’s not cheap to create quality food, and…
Flavor File: ‘Eat St.’ invades SA, farewell CIA Bakery, BIN 555 and Boneshakers
San Antonio is about to get another dose of love from the Cooking Channel’s Eat St. The show, which focuses on fun food trucks across the U.S., stopped by last year to film DUK Truck, Say She Ate, Rickshaw Stop and Tapa Tapa Truck. This time around, the crew will film Wheelie Gourmet outside the…
Free Will Astrology
ARIES (March 21-April 19): The poet Charles Baudelaire prayed for help, but not to God — rather he prayed to the writer Edgar Allan Poe. Novelist Malcolm Lowry sometimes pleaded with God to give him insight, but he also prayed to the writer Franz Kafka. I really like this approach to seeking guidance, and recommend…
Best Bowls We Know: Holiday punches to keep you warm
The holidays are crazy, sure, but throwing a winter-themed soiree doesn’t mean slaving over cocktails at your home bar–far from it. Holiday punches are not only easy to put together, but they’ll quench your guests’ thirst while adding a bit of flair to your gathering. Don’t have a punch bowl? Visit local thrift or antique…
Bruce Dern Mesmerizes in ‘Nebraska’
Time makes fools of us all, some bigger than others. When we first see Woody Grant (Bruce Dern), a Korean War vet and disheveled old drunk, he’s wandering alone on a Montana highway, growing a little smaller against the mountains as he edges toward the horizon. Woody is a vanishing figure in his own life…
Book reviews: ‘Leapfrog and Other Stories’ and ‘The Accidental Native’
Leapfrog and Other Stories by Guillermo Rosales (translated by Anna Kushner) | New Directions | $14.95 | 144 pp What can a word like “homeland” possibly mean to most people living in the Unites States? Unless you’re a Native American, it means nothing. Everyone here is from somewhere else. Outside of an unscrupulous and…
In Southwest School Exhibit, Chris Sauter Explains It All (Not)
The titular image is a large photograph of the view from an airplane seat. Not just the overhead view of the sprawl of landscape you’re flying over, but the interior architecture of the window itself—on which the word “Doubt” is written in Sharpie—and a couple of seats. It’s really good, this image, very specific. It…
Savage Love: LGBT&P?
I recently ended things with a guy I liked because he wanted to stop using condoms, but he balked when I said we should both get tested for sexually transmitted infections. He said he felt I didn’t trust him. I tried to explain that trust has nothing to do with it, and that if he…
Tickets to Geek Bowl VIII on Sale December 11
2013 Geek Bowl, at Austin Music Hall. (Courtesy) Is Austin ready for another wave of nerdom? Geeks Who Drink, will host Geek Bowl VIII for 1, 200 pub trivia players nationwide at the Moody Theater of Austin City Limits Live. Tickets for the geeky trivia event will go on saleWednesday, December 11 at 6 p.m.…
Want Spanish Caribbean fare? It’s on the menu at NAO
A Dark and Stormy. (Courtesy) For the next six weeks, (until January 17), Spanish Caribbean food will be taking over the menu at NAO (312 Pearl Parkway). Chef Geronimo Lopez is infusing cuisines from Spain, Africa, East India and China with dishes from Puerto Rico, Cuba and the Dominican Republic. The appetizer features a choice…
District 10 Council Member Carlton Soules Jumps Into County Judge Race
In the last hours of yesterday’s primary filing deadline, District 10 council member Carlton Soules announced he’d leave his post at the dais for a run at Bexar County Judge. Soules’ departure marks the second time, in less than three months, a council member has left to pursue higher office. In October, District 9’s Elisa Chan…
