Stay Current with the Pick of the Day: Kenny Rogers
Houston-born icon Kenny Rogers began his career in the ’50s, loaning his talents to rockabilly, jazz, and folk outfits before forming The First Edition, a band that arrived on the scene in 1968 with the psychedelic hit “Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In).” Since proving himself as a solo artist…
Stay Current with the Pick of the Day: SantaLand Diaries & Season’s Greetings
When David Sedaris first read from his SantaLand Diaries on NPR’s Morning Edition in 1992, it quickly became one of the program’s most popular stories of all time. Dark and wickedly funny, the essay compiles slightly embellished stories from the two seasons Sedaris worked at Macy’s in Herald Square. Donning green velvet knickers and a…
ChildSafe Halos Stocking Gift Drive
My good friends at ChildSafe reached out for help with their annual HALO Stocking Gift Drive. ChildSafe serves families and children traumatized by child abuse and neglect. Always ready to assist a good cause, I am passing on this information. Of the more than 1,500 families served annually at ChildSafe, 67% live on an annual…
Stay Current with the Pick of the Day: A “Better Block” Project
The City of San Antonio Center City Development Office’s latest placemaking initiative brings Dallas-based Team Better Block back to town to transform Plaza de Armas and West Commerce as a “complete street” offering running and biking activities, live music by Sarah Centeno, live painting by artist Joshua Perez, pop-up shops from Revolucion Coffee + Juice…
Actress Gabrielle Union roughs it in the wild for ‘In Our Nature’
Gabrielle Union stars in the drama “In Our Nature.” In the new film In Our Nature, actress Gabrielle Union (Bring It On) plays Vicky, the young girlfriend of a man (John Slattery) whose estranged son (Zach Gilford) surprises them when he shows up to their family’s cabin on the same weekend with his significant other…
Krisanne Frost (1951-2012)
San Antonio lost a bright light in the local art scene yesterday. Krisanne Frost, well-known local artist and the gallery liaison at Blue Star Contemporary Art Center, died December 6 from cancer at age 61 after being diagnosed just weeks ago. Born in Houston, she spent much of her youth in the Hill Country. At…
Stay Current with the Pick of the Day: Mockingbird Holiday Market
Carrying an abundance of unique treasures crafted by a dozen local artists, Mockingbird Holiday Market takes flight from the ashes of such seasonal favorites as Art.i.copia and Bazaar Sabado. With a name inspired by the eclectic repertoire of the Texas State Bird as well as the collaborative new venture Mockingbird Hand Prints, the two-day market…
Regis and Kelly by Todd Wright
What I like about this story is the temporal shift. The subtle change from past to present gives the story, Regis and Kelly, a taut depth. There is sadness here (and, in fact, abject horror — this cannot possibly end well), but also humor: what we talk about when we talk about love. Habit. Even…
Hays Restoration Group continues to fight microbrewery, files lawsuit against city
A group of local activists and East Side residents continue to fight the city-approved deal to build microbrewery next to the Hays Street Bridge, filing a lawsuit in Bexar County Court Thursday claiming the City of San Antonio violated an agreement with a local community group to turn the area into a park. In August…
Stay Current with the Pick of the Day: Boyd, Valencia, & Mora
Sounds and visions of the Texas landscape meet an inventive escape from Earth in three new exhibitions at the Southwest School of Art. For his solo show “Days and Days,” local artist/educator/DJ Justin Boyd collected found objects, images, and sounds along the banks of the San Antonio River to explore the “flux of life.” Known…
Dave Brubeck: 1920-2012
The world of music lost one of its giants today, as jazz pianist, composer, and innovator Dave Brubeck died just one day short of his 92nd birthday. Brubeck suffered a fatal heart attack (ironically, on the way to visit his cardiologist), and the jazz community lost a universally beloved, admired, and respected figure who had…
Art and Science Forge Together to Launch Community Partnership
Sharing–resources, space, skill-sets, knowledge, equipment–that’s what a hackerspace does by definition. 10BitWorks Hackerspace, a nonprofit located at 1020 Roosevelt, is reaching out at the grassroots level by partnering with other nonprofits, artists, software programmers, techies and DIY enthusiasts. “In founding 10BitWorks with Mike Perez and Jeremy Zunker, we envisioned becoming a part of the greater…
LGBT Chamber hosts economic summit
Thursday, December 6, the San Antonio LGBT Chamber of Commerce will host their first Texas Economic Summit with support from the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC). The event will be held from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Menger Hotel, 204 Alamo Plaza, and will feature Justin G. Nelson, co-founder and president of the NGLCC,…
Review: Peter Pan at the Majestic
Weirdly, I’d never before seen a version of the original Peter Pan before last night’s opening here in San Antonio: yes, I’d witnessed postmodern Peter Pans (such as the American Repertory Theater’s deeply flawed Peter Pan and Wendy) and manic mash-ups (such as Peter and the Starcatcher, currently enjoying a healthy run on Broadway).…
Stay Current with the Pick of the Day: Closing Reception: “Peace Doves for the World”
Don’t miss your last chance to see “Peace Doves for the World,” an exhibition featuring contributions from Patrice Villastrigo, Krisanne Frost, Roland Mazuca, Janice Joplin, Agosto Cuellar, Raul Castellanos, Trina Bacon, Denise McCoy, Kathrine Daluz Maple, Rebecca Coffey, David Zamora Casas, and many more. At the reception: an audio/visual presentation by Jeremy Koontz, live music,…
Council to consider ‘Bikini Rule,’ other restrictions on strip clubs
City Council Thursday is set to consider tighter restrictions for strip clubs and other so-called sexually oriented businesses, just the latest move in the city’s years-long fight to crack down on San Antonio’s naked club scene. The proposed changes drafted by San Antonio Police Chief William McManus and Council’s Public Safety Committee would increase criminal…
Project Censored: Uncovering the most underreported news stories of 2012
On the cover of the most recent book produced by Project Censored is a photo of protesting college students in California getting pepper-sprayed by a cop. The shot is framed in such a way that much of the focus is on the spectators holding their cell phone cameras up to capture images of the assault.…
Free Will Astrology
ARIES (March 21-April 19): Spencer Silver was a co-inventor of Post-it notes, those small, colorful pieces of paper you can temporarily attach to things and then remove to use again and again. Speaking about the process he went through to develop this simple marvel, he said, "If I had thought about it, I wouldn’t have…
'The Pastry Queen' opens restaurant in Fredericksburg
Rebecca Rather is best known for her sugary treats, having run Rather Sweet Bakery & Café in Fredericksburg and published a cookbook, The Pastry Queen. She’s now foraying into the savory world at The Pink Pig, a new new Fred-based restaurant focusing on Southern foods in a rustic setting. The restaurant is open for breakfast,…
'In Vogue' opens up dreamland, while 'Hunted' offers death, rebirth
Hunted (9pm Fri, Cinemax) While other critics were obsessing on Homeland, I urged you to watch Hunted, an even better spy series about a troubled female heroine. After this week’s thrilling conclusion, I know you will want to thank me in some way. Chocolates are always nice. Sam Hunter (Melissa George) is an operative for…
Linnea Gabriella Spransy's generative art
Raised in the Midwest in a multilingual family speaking English, Swedish, and German, Linnea Gabriella Spransy received her MFA at Yale University School of Art, and now lives and works in Los Angeles. Her lush, densely layered, abstract paintings seem to hint at organic forms; their intricate ribboned gyres and swirls recall a plethora of…
Chico Ocaña: 'Canciones de mesa camilla'
In his first solo album, the ferocious singer of the disbanded Mártires del Compás (the coolest, edgiest alternative flamenco band ever) continues what he did with his old band: create an offbeat, unpredictable mix of flamenco, reggae, and pop, all done with a rock attitude — minus Mártires’ tango touches. The album was originally released…
AC/DC: 'Live at River Plate'
The release of this double-disc set of ferocious recordings from dates in Buenos Aires a few years back should be a treat for rock fans. It finds AC/DC in great form and pace, ripping through standards as well as plentiful material from the outstanding Black Ice album at the stadium of one of Argentina’s two…
Roxtar: A free new musician-friendly social network
Remember the Hair Club for Men? In commercials that aired in the 1980s, former president Sy Sperling famously claimed that he wasn’t just the president — he was also a client. That’s how Ricky Reyes feels about Roxtarmusic.com, a networking website for musicians that Reyes launched on November 29. Reyes, a 43-year-old drummer who has…
Groundbreaking national survey finds domestic workers vulnerable, underpaid, and abused
In his keynote to the Democratic National Convention in September, Mayor Julián Castro spoke of his grandmother, an orphaned immigrant from Mexico, who cleaned houses, cooked, and babysat to raise her family. “My grandmother never owned a house,” Castro said. “She cleaned other people’s houses so she could afford to rent her own.” The story…
Viva John Lennon: Jenny Luna may be a dreamer, but she's not the only one
Jenny Luna wasn’t even alive when John Lennon was murdered on December 8, 1980, let alone when the Beatles took the world by storm in the early ’60s. After discovering the band on the radio at age 12, she became a Beatlemaniac, and a John girl at that. "John was very punk rock before punk…
Newsmonger: Congress' newest science-denying Science Committee chair, Incarceration nation, Teacher suspended over supposed murder memoir
Congress’ newest science-denying Science Committee chair House GOP leaders last week picked man-made climate-change skeptic Lamar Smith to lead the House Science Committee, reportedly after the congressman made his pitch for the new post wearing a "tie decorated with planets and spaceships," according to The Hill. Smith will now head the congressional body overseeing energy…
A Q&A with director Sacha Gervasi
For filmmaker Sacha Gervasi, reinvention has been both an inevitable professional trajectory and a personal test of will. For a brief while, the one-time assistant to British Poet Laureate Ted Hughes was a fill-in drummer for the ’90s rock band Bush. Then, in the mid-’90s, he decided to attend UCLA’s film school, earning a living…
'Ebenazio' is Jump-Start's comical gift of the season
Three things that no sane adult would want to go near throughout this season of institutionalized jollity: a shopping mall, a bowl game, and A Christmas Carol. "Bah, tonterías," says Ebenezer Scrooge in a Spanish translation of his derisive dismissal of Yuletide sentimentality. And the prospect of a Latino-inflected version of the Charles Dickens story…
Hitchcock is less about birds, more about the man — and the woman behind him
Sacha Gervasi’s Hitchcock, based on the lauded 1990 book Alfred Hitchcock and the Making of Psycho, might’ve been somewhat better served if, while plumbing its source material for story arc and character beats, its crafters had just gone ahead and borrowed the title, as well. The film’s scope, unlike its definitive-sounding name, is more intimate…
Ke$ha: 'Warrior'
What the hell to make of Ke$ha? Outwardly, she seems to factor in all the basics of lowest-common-denominator pop: Generic club beats? Bafflingly dumb lyrics? Auto-tuned vocals? Check, check, check. But then there’s the other side of her — the 1500 on her SATs, the Flaming Lips collaboration, her surprising songwriting ability — that leaves…
Nicha's Comida Mexicana: la madre of global mexican cocina
Is two of anything enough to signal a trend? If so, then the taco is ready for a run — at least in the book world. The last few months have seen the appearance of Taco USA: How Mexican Food Conquered America by Gustavo Arellano of "Ask a Mexican" fame (in equal measure, appealingly impassioned…
¡ASK A MEXICAN!
Dear Mexican: Why is it that many Mexican women hate on me for having an Asian (Korean to be exact) novia? I notice this in a lot of places. We go to the store and I get looks. We go to the movies and people look or say things like "Mira la chinita." I get…
Trending veggie at Adelante
Tucked away in the land of the ’09 zip code, there lays a quaint Mexican vegetarian-friendly joint called Adelante that claims to be the place "where heaven and health meet." Anxious to see if such a wholesome culinary nirvana existed here in San Anto, I popped in for dinner after a chilly scooter ride hoping…
Villarreal files non-discrimination bill for LGBT workers
State Rep. Mike Villarreal, D-San Antonio, has again filed a bill that would ban Texas employers from discriminating against LGBT workers. Villarreal’s HB 238, filed Monday, would keep companies from discriminating against workers because of their sexual orientation of gender identity/expression. (Read the top of Villarreal’s bill if you need further explanation for “gender identity…
Stay Current with the Pick of the Day: Peter Pan
As reported in The New York Times in the review “Flying, With Greatest of Ease, One Last Time in Neverland,” spritely Gold Medalist Cathy Rigby announced her retirement from the high-flying antics of Peter Pan back in 2005. Six years later a national tour of the kid-centric Cathy Rigby Is Peter Pan proved the former…
