Screens City of death
Juarez is terminally ill, and the murders of 400 women are the symptom In 1990, while driving in Mexico City, actor César Alejandro hit the brakes when the car in front of him suddenly stopped. Before he knew what was happening, a gun was placed to his head and he was forced into the back…
Screens That’s a wrap
The low-down on this week’s premieres Santa must be a big film buff because there is a laundry, er, Christmas list of movies coming out this holiday week. To begin, on Wednesday, December 21, Jim Carrey (Bruce Almighty) and Téa Leoni (Spanglish) play a married couple who rob banks to pay the bills in Fun…
News Contract conflict
LULAC accuses the housing authority of mishandling a rape case The Current has changed the name of the rape victim, a SAHA resident, to protect her privacy. Like a modern-day Don Quixote, George Alejos has again taken up the pen to charge the San Antonio Housing Authority with misconduct, this time on behalf of a…
Food & Drink All you can eat
News and notes from the San Antonio food scene This New Year’s Eve, say goodbye to Dick Clark and hello to duck confit. If you haven’t made plans yet, here are several places to eat and drink your way into 2006 … Chef Louis Halfant of Eclipse Café, 14439 NW Military Hwy, will peel and…
News Party lines
Pulling the plug on Public Access Although it wasn’t officially on last week’s City Council agenda, Mayor Phil Hardberger and Co. hosted 50 people who signed up to be heard concerning a plan to pull the plug on public-access educational and government TV programming at year’s end. `See “Fade to black,” December 15-21, 2005.` The…
Screens Why Munich still matters
Although commonplace by today’s standards, the 1972 Olympic murders marked a turning point in terrorism The death toll from the terrorist operation at the Munich Olympics would be unremarkable for an average day of suicide bombings in Iraq. Many, many more died in New York on September 11, 2001, Bali on October 12, 2002, Istanbul…
News Briefs
Murderous mom gets life sentence Dr. Kimberly Molina of the Bexar County Medical Examiner’s office testified recently that 2-year-old Diamond Alexander Washington suffered at least 26 blows to her body, administered during a 24-hour period June 5, 2004, which ended the toddler’s life. `See “Party Lines,” December 15-21, 2005.` A 12-person jury, consisting of seven…
Screens Kosher cinema
A modern take on Abraham’s tale is a mitzvah You can always depend on the kindness of strangers, if they happen to be observant Jews. In Genesis, after extending lavish hospitality to three travelers who show up outside his tents, the patriarch Abraham discovers that they are emissaries of God. For his spontaneous generosity, the…
Screens Armchair Cinephile
Anthropomorphism run amok This month, most of us are going to spend at least a few hours with an altruistic talking lion or an ape who’ll do anything for his favorite blonde. (And after thrilling to Kong once, some of us will go back for more.) For those who find they just can’t get enough…
Food & Drink Popover for lunch
Warm bread early and often makes up for shortcomings at Mariposa In the small Minnesota town where I grew up, the mall was a one-story collection of modest shops anchored not by a major department store, but by Andy’s OK Hardware. No matter the whims of fashion on either coast, pastels ruled the racks in…
Food & Drink Tastes like home
Meatloaf and mashed potatoes at the Centre Café It’s generally considered safe to go downtown during the holidays; the myriad multi-colored lights dangling from the cypress trees along the River Walk apparently banish the bogeymen that are normally thought to abound. At other times, the cautious need to rely on other crutches – the protective…
Food & Drink Value vino
Festively fizzy It’s pretty much a given that Champagne is the libation of choice during the holiday season, and I say go for it – especially since Champagne itself goes with everything, with the possible exception of fruitcake – and go for the really good stuff if the budget allows. Not necessarily Krug, but any…
Arts Tour de grotto
A guide to San Antonio’s Lourdes shrines, rustic & resplendent Like St. Bernadette, my experience with grottos began with an amble. I’m not Catholic, but I like to walk my dog, Ella, over to St. Anthony’s High School, where she can run unfettered loops around the football field. One summer evening, Ella led me to…
Music No worries
A look back at the best releases of 2005 It goes without saying that any best-of list is purely subjective and could never be definitive. Ultimately, it reflects the preoccupations of that writer/listener at that given time, which in my case tended to be contemporary R&B and orchestral pop. With that in mind, here are…
Arts The art capades
When the weather outside is frightful, the art is so delightful Some current Blue Star exhibitions play springtime to Mr. Danny Geisler’s multi-venue megaplex of wintry cheer. Like a Canadian goose looking for warmer weather, you can hop from UTSA Satellite Space’s “Christmas in December” (115 Blue Star, 212-7146, through December 23) to more temperate…
Music After sunset
A crawl through the San Antonio club scene Morning Wood brings the self-deprecating sleaze to Sam’s Paul’s brothers’ band supposedly sucked. He always spoke of them with many disclaimers. But after I saw Morning Wood perform at Sam’s Burger Joint and told Paul how much I’d enjoyed their show, he admitted that he actually liked…
Arts Woman of steel
Sculptor Cakky Brawley bends metal to the community’s will Perhaps Cakky Brawley should consider booking a cruise in the future. The steel and aluminum sculptor, who shall remain ageless, has been inundated with personal and municipal projects for such a long time that physical escape might be the only way she could take time off.…
Music CD Spotlight
Go-getters OK Go frontman Damian Kulash doesn’t have much use for television. In fact, Kulash’s angriest moment on his band’s sophomore release, Oh No, comes with the punkish raver “Television, Television,” in which he derides the tube as a sensory cesspool that interchangeably feeds us pop stars, cop cars, prom queens, junkies, and soldiers. As…
News Speed reads
Open government aid Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott recently unveiled mandatory open-government training materials. The materials were developed in conjunction with a new state law that gives the Attorney General authority to establish the formal training necessary to ensure all elected and appointed government officials understand open-record and open-meeting laws. “We live in an era…
Music Son of CD Spotlight
Short subject Louise Harman, aka Lady Sovereign, is hardly your typical rap sensation. Raised in the London neighborhood of Wembley by punk-rock parents, the pint-sized, 19-year-old emcee turned to hip-hop after getting kicked out of school at age 15. Since generating underground buzz through online demos, the self proclaimed “white midget” has toured with Basement…
Arts Well shod
SA native Nicole Brundage designs shoes in Italy When I first met shoe designer Nicole Brundage, my feet were hurting so badly I was standing in my stockings, high heels in one hand, a martini in the other. “If you were wearing my shoes,” Nicole said, “you wouldn’t have to do that.” I knew immediately…
Music Sound and the Fury
A week on the scene Precious metals After nearly nine years of consistently providing San Antonio its head-banging fix, Robb Chavez is moving his television show, Robb’s Metalworks, from public access Channel 20 to STUF TV, available at Time Warner Cable Channel 50. Chavez’s final public-access installment of the show aired in November, and he’ll…
Arts Word on the street
News and notes from the San Antonio literary scene Checked out for christmas All San Antonio Public Library locations will be closed December 24-26 and January 1-2 for the holidays. Which means you won’t be able to use the free internet access to confirm the re-opening date for the Brook Hollow branch, scheduled to begin…
Arts Holiday ornaments
For those who relish being out and about, here’s a sampling of area events to keep you and your crew busy during the holiday season. As you bake your final pan of cookies, attend the last party, and cross Christmas Eve buys off the gift list, take some time to enjoy a drive through Santa’s…
Feature Always in fashion
The revolution may have failed, but Rodrigo Moya’s photographs outlived it “Arresting” is an overused adjective, like “sublime,” or “transcendental,” that tells us as much about what the viewer is seeking as it does about the object viewed. But Rodrigo Moya’s images truly are arresting; they stop you in your tracks, even when they are…
