Rising Fried from the Flames
It’s Phoenix Café, with a fabulous flounder in its beak
After Sunset
Gonsemble onstage at the Revolution Room. Courtesy photo. I floated into Revolution on Broadway after being carded by a muscle-bound door guy who looked like a member of a hip-hop fraternity. Blood-orange lights hung from the ceiling and created a purplish glow that fell on a crowd of young hipsters scattered throughout the room. I…
Message in a Bottle Cork
Circular Reasoning 1-5pm Sat and by appointment Through Mar 2 Closing reception: 7-10pm Mar 2 Unit B Gallery 500 Stieren Street (312) 375-1871 Unitbgallery.com Have you ever considered the astonishing variety of bottle corks that are out there? Most people haven’t really given it much thought. A throwaway cork is just too mundane. But Jason…
The Mashup
From the Editor Some guy who looks a lot like the Ken-doll governor of Texas issued an executive order on February 2 that will require all cowgirls, ’09 princesses, and mijitas to receive an HPV vaccine before beginning sixth grade, effective September 2008. Gardasil, the only HPV vaccine currently available, can protect innoculated women from…
Sermon on the Mounting Threat to Freedom
America: Freedom to Fascism 7pm, 10pm Thursday, Feb 8 Alamo Drafthouse Westlakes 1255 SW Loop 410 Aaron Russo, who wrote, produced, directed, and edited America: Freedom to Fascism, repeatedly touts his Hollywood credentials. A constant presence in the film, Russo, who long ago produced The Rose and Trading Places, neglects to mention what he has…
The Wheels on the Hussy Go …
By day, she’s (actually, not-so) mild-mannered Melissa Joulwan. But when night falls on the roller-derby track, she becomes Melicious — and she’ll knock you on your ass. Photo courtesy Rebecca Davis. ROLLERGIRL: TOTALLY TRUE TALES FROM THE TRACK Melissa “Melicious” Joulwan Touchstone $15, 273 pages Just in time for the 2007 roller-derby season, Melissa “Melicious”…
Not-So-Smooth Sailing
Content to be “smooth” and “contemporary”: saxophonist Boney James. Courtesy photo. In the book Jazz: A History of America’s Music, writer and essayist Gerald Early is quoted as saying, “When they study our civilization 2,000 years from now, there will only be three things that Americans will be known for: the Constitution, baseball and jazz…
Message in a Bottle Cork
From left: Installation view of Michael Vasquez’s “Two Times for 29th & The Cayne,” and Jason Hedges’s “Untitled (Cork #1)” at Unit B. Courtesy photo. Circular Reasoning 1-5pm Sat and by appointment Through Mar 2 Closing reception: 7-10pm Mar 2 Unit B Gallery 500 Stieren Street (312) 375-1871 Unitbgallery.com Have you ever considered the astonishing…
One Night in Bangkok …
We didn’t know if we should take a boat across the Chao Phraya River. Well-dressed and gorgeous, a woman stood on the pier telling Translator why the restaurant on the other side of the river was worth the trip. “She says it’s about 180 to 250 baht ($5–7) per entrée, and really good,” he said.…
Sermon on the Mounting Threat to Freedom
America: Freedom to Fascism 7pm, 10pm Thursday, Feb 8 Alamo Drafthouse Westlakes 1255 SW Loop 410 Aaron Russo, who wrote, produced, directed, and edited America: Freedom to Fascism, repeatedly touts his Hollywood credentials. A constant presence in the film, Russo, who long ago produced The Rose and Trading Places, neglects to mention what he has…
The Wheels on the Hussy Go …
ROLLERGIRL: TOTALLY TRUE TALES FROM THE TRACK Melissa “Melicious” Joulwan Touchstone $15, 273 pages Just in time for the 2007 roller-derby season, Melissa “Melicious” Joulwan, a founding member of the Texas Rollergirls Rock-n-Rollerderby League, has published Rollergirl: Totally True Tales from the Track, the comprehensive handbook for rollergirls and their fans, covering everything from the…
Hustle and Flow
The Spurs’ fifth-annual rodeo road trip started off with a bang on January 28 when Kobe Bryant’s elbow cracked into Manu Ginobili’s nose during San Antonio’s overtime victory against the Los Angeles Lakers. Bryant’s subsequent one-game suspension for the transgression registered minor aftershocks in the TV sports world. Mired in the dull minutiae of Super…
Armchair Cinephile
Viva Pedro: The Almodóvar Collection. Courtesy photo. Bloodthirsty bullfighters, transsexual incest, and women on the verge of nervous breakdowns — whatever you might say about the films of Pedro Almodóvar, you can’t call them boring. They’re a prime example for casual filmgoers, in fact, of just how unlike homework foreign cinema can be. Colorful, hilarious,…
The Wheels on the Hussy Go …
ROLLERGIRL: TOTALLY TRUE TALES FROM THE TRACK Melissa “Melicious” Joulwan Touchstone $15, 273 pages Just in time for the 2007 roller-derby season, Melissa “Melicious” Joulwan, a founding member of the Texas Rollergirls Rock-n-Rollerderby League, has published Rollergirl: Totally True Tales from the Track, the comprehensive handbook for rollergirls and their fans, covering everything from the…
Rising Fried from the Flames
From the looks of it, Phoenix Café doesn’t amount to much. It’s located in a bland strip center dominated by acres of parking, and the décor, with its harsh lighting and shopworn carpet, is no great shakes, either. Yet in the manner of the truck stop, where the old saw is that a lot of…
Spring Sprang Sprung
Texas: The State of Springs 8 pm Thurs Feb 15 KLRN I know what you’re thinking. “Sweet! Another documentary on the Texas water system!” Let me temper your expectations a bit. Although this hour-long documentary narrated by Walter Cronkite starts off depicting the beauty and significance of Texas’s springs, it eventually turns into a political…
An SA-Masala Spice Mix
The Inside Story: Contemporary Art of India 1-4pm Fri-Sat Through Feb 17 Indian Classical Dance Performance 2pm Sat, Feb 10 Collaborative Sculpture Project Unveiling: Following dance performance Feb 10 Free Bihl Haus Arts 2803 Fredericksburg 732-3502 India’s known for its caste system, but America has social barriers, too. When was the last time you saw…
The Bar Tab
Joe Blue’s 1420 S. Alamo 212-5421 Mixed drinks: $3.50-$4 Joe Blue’s is a brand-new bar at the Blue Star Arts Complex owned by Joey Villarreal, proprietor of Joey’s and the Blue Star Brewery. Because I like both of those established watering holes, I had high expectations for Joe Blue’s, but was disappointed on my first…
That’s a Wrap
It’s that time again. Time for Eddie Murphy to multi-task-it-up Klumps-style for Norbit. In this instance, the most in-your-face Murphy is not a nutty professor but a “large Marge,” for lack of a better term. Wish he would’ve invited the rest of the faux-bese shemales club: Martin Lawrence, Nathan Lane, Tyler Perry, Robin Williams and,…
An SA-Masala Spice Mix
THE INSIDE STORY: CONTEMPORARY ART OF INDIA 1-4pm Fri-Sat Through Feb 17 Indian Classical Dance Performance 2pm Sat, Feb 10 Collaborative Sculpture Project Unveiling: Following dance performance Feb 10 Free Bihl Haus Arts 2803 Fredericksburg 732-3502 India’s known for its caste system, but America has social barriers, too. When was the last time you saw…
Aural Pleasure
Catching The Clap One of the primary sources of indie-rock’s appeal, its stubbornly insular nature, is also what makes so much of it annoying. When bands write in a cryptic code of non sequiturs, it can make you feel that they’re having a private, poetic conversation with you, a cerebral communion that the cluelessly literal-minded…
Merchant of ‘Venus’
Venus Dir. Roger Michell; writ. Hanif Kureishi; feat. Peter O’Toole, Leslie Phillips, Jodie Whittaker, Richard Griffiths, Vanessa Redgrave (R) It’s a shame that the marketing team tasked with drawing viewers to Venus chose the photo they did for the movie poster: a harshly-lit headshot of Peter O’Toole, foppish in ascot, mummified in skin tone, and…
An SA-Masala Spice Mix
Prasenta Mukherjee, left, Ela Mukherjee, right, and Roland Mazuca, center, fashion fiberglass sculptures that will be part of the public-art installation at Primrose and Bihl Haus Arts. Photo courtesy Bill Haus Arts. The Inside Story: Contemporary Art of India 1-4pm Fri-Sat Through Feb 17 Indian Classical Dance Performance 2pm Sat, Feb 10 Collaborative Sculpture Project…
The Fast Foodie
In a town filled with taquerias, it is always refreshing to find a restaurant that offers another option. By serving Vietnamese food, Saigon Express inherently creates its own niche, even if it also serves Americanized Chinese food to those who aren’t ready to make the courageous leap from Lemon Chicken. I went for lunch on…
Sermon on the mounting threat to freedom
Aaron Russo, who wrote, produced, directed, and edited America: Freedom to Fascism, repeatedly touts his Hollywood credentials. A constant presence in the film, Russo, who long ago produced The Rose and Trading Places, neglects to mention what he has been doing since 1991 — organizing the Constitution Party (1994), pursuing, unsuccessfully, the Republican nomination for…
An SA-Masala Spice Mix
The Inside Story: Contemporary Art of India 1-4pm Fri-Sat Through Feb 17 Indian Classical Dance Performance 2pm Sat, Feb 10 Collaborative Sculpture Project Unveiling: Following dance performance Feb 10 Free Bihl Haus Arts 2803 Fredericksburg 732-3502 India’s known for its caste system, but America has social barriers, too. When was the last time you saw…
Aural Pleasure
Catching The Clap One of the primary sources of indie-rock’s appeal, its stubbornly insular nature, is also what makes so much of it annoying. When bands write in a cryptic code of non sequiturs, it can make you feel that they’re having a private, poetic conversation with you, a cerebral communion that the cluelessly literal-minded…
Straight Shooter
We all saw the State of the Union address, so let’s not kid ourselves. Between the call for new troops and the proposed civilian reserves, I’m guessing you and everyone you know will probably be drafted very soon. Not me though — my services as a comic-book reviewer will be much too valuable stateside to…
We Can Say This About Molly Ivins, Can’t We?
Molly Ivins, a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin’s journalism school, wasn’t a J-school creation. No “establishment” or system has the guts to encourage anyone like Ivins, the 62-year-old firebrand columnist whose journalistic life was devoted to turning establishments on their ears. Just consider the titles of her books, devoted to the skewering…
The Fast Foodie
In a town filled with taquerias, it is always refreshing to find a restaurant that offers another option. By serving Vietnamese food, Saigon Express inherently creates its own niche, even if it also serves Americanized Chinese food to those who aren’t ready to make the courageous leap from Lemon Chicken. I went for lunch on…
Sermon on the Mounting Threat to Freedom
Protesters dress as the Alan Moore character “V” to fight American fascism in the Capitol. Courtesy photo. America: Freedom to Fascism 7pm, 10pm Thursday, Feb 8 Alamo Drafthouse Westlakes 1255 SW Loop 410 Aaron Russo, who wrote, produced, directed, and edited America: Freedom to Fascism, repeatedly touts his Hollywood credentials. A constant presence in the…
An SA-Masala Spice Mix
Prasenta Mukherjee, left, Ela Mukherjee, right, and Roland Mazuca, center, fashion fiberglass sculptures that will be part of the public-art installation at Primrose and Bihl Haus Arts. Photo courtesy Bihl Haus Arts. The Inside Story: Contemporary Art of India 1-4pm Fri-Sat Through Feb 17 Indian Classical Dance Performance 2pm Sat, Feb 10 Collaborative Sculpture Project…
Aural Pleasure
Catching The Clap One of the primary sources of indie-rock’s appeal, its stubbornly insular nature, is also what makes so much of it annoying. When bands write in a cryptic code of non sequiturs, it can make you feel that they’re having a private, poetic conversation with you, a cerebral communion that the cluelessly literal-minded…
Straight Shooter
We all saw the State of the Union address, so let’s not kid ourselves. Between the call for new troops and the proposed civilian reserves, I’m guessing you and everyone you know will probably be drafted very soon. Not me though — my services as a comic-book reviewer will be much too valuable stateside to…
Bread Between the Lines
Let’s get super-cynical for a moment, don our conspiracy-theorist balaclavas, and level our RPGs (rhetorically propelled gumptions) at Texas media credibility with a few suppositions. In that paranoid mindframe we’d feel free to suggest: • KENS-5’s parent company Belo Corp. has 13 directors, a third of which have contributed substantially to state Republican campaigns. For…
The Fast Foodie
Saigon Express 1626 McCullough 277-1899 In a town filled with taquerias, it is always refreshing to find a restaurant that offers another option. By serving Vietnamese food, Saigon Express inherently creates its own niche, even if it also serves Americanized Chinese food to those who aren’t ready to make the courageous leap from Lemon Chicken.…
Spring Sprang Sprung
Texas: The State of Springs 8 pm Thurs Feb 15 KLRN I know what you’re thinking. “Sweet! Another documentary on the Texas water system!” Let me temper your expectations a bit. Although this hour-long documentary narrated by Walter Cronkite starts off depicting the beauty and significance of Texas’s springs, it eventually turns into a political…
The Say-Town Lowdown – Guest Column
I work with the Texas Media Empowerment Project; people close to me would say that I’m somewhat obsessed and an overall malcontent when it comes to media. But if you’ve ever complained about any of the following — radio playlists, recycled news, record labels, internet services, phone bills, file-sharing rights, voting machines, marketing to children,…
Sound and the Fury
Cause to Fret In the 16 years since debuting as a showcase for Central Texas guitar students, the Southwest Guitar Festival has emerged as one of the premier celebrations of serious guitar virtuosity, and this year’s lineup is among its best. Among the standouts on this year’s bill are Judicaël Perroy, a 33-year-old French guitarist…
Straight Shooter
We all saw the State of the Union address, so let’s not kid ourselves. Between the call for new troops and the proposed civilian reserves, I’m guessing you and everyone you know will probably be drafted very soon. Not me though — my services as a comic-book reviewer will be much too valuable stateside to…
Bread Between the Lines
Let’s get super-cynical for a moment, don our conspiracy-theorist balaclavas, and level our RPGs (rhetorically propelled gumptions) at Texas media credibility with a few suppositions. In that paranoid mindframe we’d feel free to suggest: • KENS-5’s parent company Belo Corp. has 13 directors, a third of which have contributed substantially to state Republican campaigns. For…
One Night in Bangkok …
By Chef Boy Ari flash@flashinthepan.net We didn’t know if we should take a boat across the Chao Phraya River. Well-dressed and gorgeous, a woman stood on the pier telling Translator why the restaurant on the other side of the river was worth the trip. “She says it’s about 180 to 250 baht ($5–7) per entrée,…
Spring Sprang Sprung
I know what you’re thinking. “Sweet! Another documentary on the Texas water system!” Let me temper your expectations a bit. Although this hour-long documentary narrated by Walter Cronkite starts off depicting the beauty and significance of Texas’s springs, it eventually turns into a political debate about the environment. And while caring for our ecosystem and…
The Wire: Snipped or Broadened? The January 17 Episode
A few things went down on January 17. You know S.A.’s homeboy “A.G.” — the one who leads the world’s largest law office, the U.S. Department of Justice? The one torn between enforcing federal laws and allegiance to his White-House compadres? He sent a puzzling letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee that said the program…
Sound and the Fury
Cause to Fret In the 16 years since debuting as a showcase for Central Texas guitar students, the Southwest Guitar Festival has emerged as one of the premier celebrations of serious guitar virtuosity, and this year’s lineup is among its best. Among the standouts on this year’s bill are Judicaël Perroy, a 33-year-old French guitarist…
Straight Shooter
We all saw the State of the Union address, so let’s not kid ourselves. Between the call for new troops and the proposed civilian reserves, I’m guessing you and everyone you know will probably be drafted very soon. Not me though — my services as a comic-book reviewer will be much too valuable stateside to…
Bread Between the Lines
Map by Chuck Kerr Let’s get super-cynical for a moment, don our conspiracy-theorist balaclavas, and level our RPGs (rhetorically propelled gumptions) at Texas media credibility with a few suppositions. In that paranoid mindframe we’d feel free to suggest: • KENS-5’s parent company Belo Corp. has 13 directors, a third of which have contributed substantially to…
One Night in Bangkok …
We didn’t know if we should take a boat across the Chao Phraya River. Well-dressed and gorgeous, a woman stood on the pier telling Translator why the restaurant on the other side of the river was worth the trip. “She says it’s about 180 to 250 baht ($5–7) per entrée, and really good,” he said.…
Merchant of ‘Venus’
Peter O’Toole chews the scenery in pursuit of Jodie Whittaker’s disaffected young thing in Venus. Courtesy photo. Venus Dir. Roger Michell; writ. Hanif Kureishi; feat. Peter O’Toole, Leslie Phillips, Jodie Whittaker, Richard Griffiths, Vanessa Redgrave (R) It’s a shame that the marketing team tasked with drawing viewers to Venus chose the photo they did for…
We Can Say This About Molly Ivins, Can’t We?
Molly Ivins. Courtesy photo. Molly Ivins, a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin’s journalism school, wasn’t a J-school creation. No “establishment” or system has the guts to encourage anyone like Ivins, the 62-year-old firebrand columnist whose journalistic life was devoted to turning establishments on their ears. Just consider the titles of her books,…
After Sunset
I floated into Revolution on Broadway after being carded by a muscle-bound door guy who looked like a member of a hip-hop fraternity. Blood-orange lights hung from the ceiling and created a purplish glow that fell on a crowd of young hipsters scattered throughout the room. I felt I’d entered a red box of a…
Straight Shooter
‘68 Image Story by Mark Kidwell Art by Nat Jones and Jay Fotos $3.99, 32 pages Winter Soldier: Winter Kills Marvel Story by Ed Brubaker Art by Steve Epting, Lee Weeks $3.99, 48 pages The Nightly News #1 Image Story by Jonathan Hickman Art by Jonathan Hickman $2.99, 32 pages We all saw the State…
Bread Between the Lines
Map by Chuck Kerr Let’s get super-cynical for a moment, don our conspiracy-theorist balaclavas, and level our RPGs (rhetorically propelled gumptions) at Texas media credibility with a few suppositions. In that paranoid mindframe we’d feel free to suggest: • KENS-5’s parent company Belo Corp. has 13 directors, a third of which have contributed substantially to…
One Night in Bangkok …
We didn’t know if we should take a boat across the Chao Phraya River. Well-dressed and gorgeous, a woman stood on the pier telling Translator why the restaurant on the other side of the river was worth the trip. “She says it’s about 180 to 250 baht ($5–7) per entrée, and really good,” he said.…
Fire Talk With Me
The tidbits of information kept alternating between exciting and worrisome: Slow-working visionary David Lynch had made a new movie, but it was so long and weird no company would distribute it. He’d put it in theaters himself, but only in cities like New York and L.A. It might come to Texas, but only one sold-out…
Bread Between the Lines
Molly Ivins, a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin’s journalism school, wasn’t a J-school creation. No “establishment” or system has the guts to encourage anyone like Ivins, the 62-year-old firebrand columnist whose journalistic life was devoted to turning establishments on their ears. Just consider the titles of her books, devoted to the skewering…
Not-So-Smooth Sailing
Smooth Jazz Fest: Boney James with Charlie Wood 8pm Fri, Feb 9 Laurie Auditorium (Trinity University) $32.50-$38.50 224-9600 (Ticketmaster) In the book Jazz: A History of America’s Music, writer and essayist Gerald Early is quoted as saying, “When they study our civilization 2,000 years from now, there will only be three things that Americans will…
Straight Shooter
‘68 Image Story by Mark Kidwell Art by Nat Jones and Jay Fotos $3.99, 32 pages Winter Soldier: Winter Kills Marvel Story by Ed Brubaker Art by Steve Epting, Lee Weeks $3.99, 48 pages The Nightly News #1 Image Story by Jonathan Hickman Art by Jonathan Hickman $2.99, 32 pages We all saw the State…
Bread Between the Lines
Map by Chuck Kerr Let’s get super-cynical for a moment, don our conspiracy-theorist balaclavas, and level our RPGs (rhetorically propelled gumptions) at Texas media credibility with a few suppositions. In that paranoid mindframe we’d feel free to suggest: • KENS-5’s parent company Belo Corp. has 13 directors, a third of which have contributed substantially to…
One Night in Bangkok …
A palate pleaser from the green heart of Thailand — a spicy salad of shrimp, grapefruit, and coconut. Photo By Chef Boy Ari We didn’t know if we should take a boat across the Chao Phraya River. Well-dressed and gorgeous, a woman stood on the pier telling Translator why the restaurant on the other side…
Fire Talk With Me
The tidbits of information kept alternating between exciting and worrisome: Slow-working visionary David Lynch had made a new movie, but it was so long and weird no company would distribute it. He’d put it in theaters himself, but only in cities like New York and L.A. It might come to Texas, but only one sold-out…
Bread Between the Lines
Let’s get super-cynical for a moment, don our conspiracy-theorist balaclavas, and level our RPGs (rhetorically propelled gumptions) at Texas media credibility with a few suppositions. In that paranoid mindframe we’d feel free to suggest: • KENS-5’s parent company Belo Corp. has 13 directors, a third of which have contributed substantially to state Republican campaigns. For…
Not-So-Smooth Sailing
Smooth Jazz Fest: Boney James with Charlie Wood 8pm Fri, Feb 9 Laurie Auditorium (Trinity University) $32.50-$38.50 224-9600 (Ticketmaster) In the book Jazz: A History of America’s Music, writer and essayist Gerald Early is quoted as saying, “When they study our civilization 2,000 years from now, there will only be three things that Americans will…
Straight Shooter
‘68 Image Story by Mark Kidwell Art by Nat Jones and Jay Fotos $3.99, 32 pages Winter Soldier: Winter Kills Marvel Story by Ed Brubaker Art by Steve Epting, Lee Weeks $3.99, 48 pages The Nightly News #1 Image Story by Jonathan Hickman Art by Jonathan Hickman $2.99, 32 pages We all saw the State…
Car-Theft Conundrum
Taking the Bait: “Let’s go crash this thing,” a kid tells his friend as he jumps into the driver seat of a car they just stole. “I’m down,” the friend, now in the passenger seat, replies. “Where do you want to crash it?” “Wherever.” While joyriding, the criminal behind the wheel looks in the rear-view…
Rising Fried from the Flames
Orders of the Phoenix, from left: Salt-toasted spare ribs, deep-fried flounder, and stir-fried shrimp w/ walnut. Photo by Antonia Padilla. From the looks of it, Phoenix Café doesn’t amount to much. It’s located in a bland strip center dominated by acres of parking, and the décor, with its harsh lighting and shopworn carpet, is no…
Fire Talk With Me
The tidbits of information kept alternating between exciting and worrisome: Slow-working visionary David Lynch had made a new movie, but it was so long and weird no company would distribute it. He’d put it in theaters himself, but only in cities like New York and L.A. It might come to Texas, but only one sold-out…
Bread Between the Lines
Let’s get super-cynical for a moment, don our conspiracy-theorist balaclavas, and level our RPGs (rhetorically propelled gumptions) at Texas media credibility with a few suppositions. In that paranoid mindframe we’d feel free to suggest: • KENS-5’s parent company Belo Corp. has 13 directors, a third of which have contributed substantially to state Republican campaigns. For…
Not-So-Smooth Sailing
Content to be “smooth” and “contemporary”: saxophonist Boney James. Courtesy Photo. Smooth Jazz Fest: Boney James with Charlie Wood 8pm Fri, Feb 9 Laurie Auditorium (Trinity University) $32.50-$38.50 224-9600 (Ticketmaster) In the book Jazz: A History of America’s Music, writer and essayist Gerald Early is quoted as saying, “When they study our civilization 2,000 years…
Straight Shooter
‘68 Image Story by Mark Kidwell Art by Nat Jones and Jay Fotos $3.99, 32 pages Winter Soldier: Winter Kills Marvel Story by Ed Brubaker Art by Steve Epting, Lee Weeks $3.99, 48 pages The Nightly News #1 Image Story by Jonathan Hickman Art by Jonathan Hickman $2.99, 32 pages We all saw the State…
Car-Theft Conundrum
Taking the Bait: “Let’s go crash this thing,” a kid tells his friend as he jumps into the driver seat of a car they just stole. “I’m down,” the friend, now in the passenger seat, replies. “Where do you want to crash it?” “Wherever.” While joyriding, the criminal behind the wheel looks in the rear-view…
Aural Pleasure
Catching The Clap Some Loud Thunder Clap Your Hands Say Yeah (Self-released) One of the primary sources of indie-rock’s appeal, its stubbornly insular nature, is also what makes so much of it annoying. When bands write in a cryptic code of non sequiturs, it can make you feel that they’re having a private, poetic conversation…
Fire Talk With Me
Get this man an ashtray: Director David Lynch promotes Transcendental Meditation and his new film Inland Empire. Courtesy photo. The tidbits of information kept alternating between exciting and worrisome: Slow-working visionary David Lynch had made a new movie, but it was so long and weird no company would distribute it. He’d put it in theaters…
Car-Theft Conundrum
Taking the Bait: “Let’s go crash this thing,” a kid tells his friend as he jumps into the driver seat of a car they just stole. “I’m down,” the friend, now in the passenger seat, replies. “Where do you want to crash it?” “Wherever.” While joyriding, the criminal behind the wheel looks in the rear-view…
Not-So-Smooth Sailing
Content to be “smooth” and “contemporary”: saxophonist Boney James. Courtesy Photo. In the book Jazz: A History of America’s Music, writer and essayist Gerald Early is quoted as saying, “When they study our civilization 2,000 years from now, there will only be three things that Americans will be known for: the Constitution, baseball and jazz…
Message in a Bottle Cork
Circular Reasoning 1-5pm Sat and by appointment Through Mar 2 Closing reception: 7-10pm Mar 2 Unit B Gallery 500 Stieren Street (312) 375-1871 Unitbgallery.com Have you ever considered the astonishing variety of bottle corks that are out there? Most people haven’t really given it much thought. A throwaway cork is just too mundane. But Jason…
Car-Theft Conundrum
Illustration by Chuck Kerr Taking the Bait: “Let’s go crash this thing,” a kid tells his friend as he jumps into the driver seat of a car they just stole. “I’m down,” the friend, now in the passenger seat, replies. “Where do you want to crash it?” “Wherever.” While joyriding, the criminal behind the wheel looks…
On the Street
OTS On the Street (02/21/2007) Friday night I swung by Beethoven’s in Southtown to begin the weekend. On a tip from friends I went to see the Psychics, a three-piece band comprising drums, electric bass, and tenor sax. Their MySpace page describes them as pop-jazz-punk-blues. That’s four categories right there and there’s only three of…
Sound and the Fury
Cause to Fret In the 16 years since debuting as a showcase for Central Texas guitar students, the Southwest Guitar Festival has emerged as one of the premier celebrations of serious guitar virtuosity, and this year’s lineup is among its best. Among the standouts on this year’s bill are Judicaël Perroy, a 33-year-old French guitarist…
Straight Shooter
‘68 Image Story by Mark Kidwell Art by Nat Jones and Jay Fotos $3.99, 32 pages Winter Soldier: Winter Kills Marvel Story by Ed Brubaker Art by Steve Epting, Lee Weeks $3.99, 48 pages The Nightly News #1 Image Story by Jonathan Hickman Art by Jonathan Hickman $2.99, 32 pages We all saw the State…
Car-Theft Conundrum
Illustration by Chuck Kerr Taking the Bait: “Let’s go crash this thing,” a kid tells his friend as he jumps into the driver seat of a car they just stole. “I’m down,” the friend, now in the passenger seat, replies. “Where do you want to crash it?” “Wherever.” While joyriding, the criminal behind the wheel looks…
Fire Talk With Me
The tidbits of information kept alternating between exciting and worrisome: Slow-working visionary David Lynch had made a new movie, but it was so long and weird no company would distribute it. He’d put it in theaters himself, but only in cities like New York and L.A. It might come to Texas, but only one sold-out…
The Wheels on the Hussy Go …
Just in time for the 2007 roller-derby season, Melissa “Melicious” Joulwan, a founding member of the Texas Rollergirls Rock-n-Rollerderby League, has published Rollergirl: Totally True Tales from the Track, the comprehensive handbook for rollergirls and their fans, covering everything from the sport’s campy history to choosing a nom de guerre. Even over the phone, Joulwan…
The Mashup
From the Editor Some guy who looks a lot like the Ken-doll governor of Texas issued an executive order on February 2 that will require all cowgirls, ’09 princesses, and mijitas to receive an HPV vaccine before beginning sixth grade, effective September 2008. Gardasil, the only HPV vaccine currently available, can protect innoculated women from…
Sound and the Fury
Cause to Fret In the 16 years since debuting as a showcase for Central Texas guitar students, the Southwest Guitar Festival has emerged as one of the premier celebrations of serious guitar virtuosity, and this year’s lineup is among its best. Among the standouts on this year’s bill are Judicaël Perroy, a 33-year-old French guitarist…
On the Street
Art and Hunger On Monday I got out of class early, at 11 a.m. No offense to its affordable cafeteria, but dining options around St. Philips College are scarce. Sure, there is a chicken and waffles restaurant (that I plan to review) about to open half a mile to the west on Commerce, but other…
The Mashup
From the Editor Some guy who looks a lot like the Ken-doll governor of Texas issued an executive order on February 2 that will require all cowgirls, ’09 princesses, and mijitas to receive an HPV vaccine before beginning sixth grade, effective September 2008. Gardasil, the only HPV vaccine currently available, can protect innoculated women from…
Armchair Cinephile
Bloodthirsty bullfighters, transsexual incest, and women on the verge of nervous breakdowns — whatever you might say about the films of Pedro Almodóvar, you can’t call them boring. They’re a prime example for casual filmgoers, in fact, of just how unlike homework foreign cinema can be. Colorful, hilarious, shocking, and passionate, they aim above all…
The Wheels on the Hussy Go …
Just in time for the 2007 roller-derby season, Melissa “Melicious” Joulwan, a founding member of the Texas Rollergirls Rock-n-Rollerderby League, has published Rollergirl: Totally True Tales from the Track, the comprehensive handbook for rollergirls and their fans, covering everything from the sport’s campy history to choosing a nom de guerre. Even over the phone, Joulwan…
The Mashup
From the Editor Some guy who looks a lot like the Ken-doll governor of Texas issued an executive order on February 2 that will require all cowgirls, ’09 princesses, and mijitas to receive an HPV vaccine before beginning sixth grade, effective September 2008. Gardasil, the only HPV vaccine currently available, can protect innoculated women from…
After Sunset
BY BROOKE PALMER brookepalmer@yahoo.com I floated into Revolution on Broadway after being carded by a muscle-bound door guy who looked like a member of a hip-hop fraternity. Blood-orange lights hung from the ceiling and created a purplish glow that fell on a crowd of young hipsters scattered throughout the room. I felt I’d entered a…
On the Street
OTS On the Street (02/21/2007) Friday night I swung by Beethoven’s in Southtown to begin the weekend. On a tip from friends I went to see the Psychics, a three-piece band comprising drums, electric bass, and tenor sax. Their MySpace page describes them as pop-jazz-punk-blues. That’s four categories right there and there’s only three of…
The Mashup
From the Editor Some guy who looks a lot like the Ken-doll governor of Texas issued an executive order on February 2 that will require all cowgirls, ’09 princesses, and mijitas to receive an HPV vaccine before beginning sixth grade, effective September 2008. Gardasil, the only HPV vaccine currently available, can protect innoculated women from…
Armchair Cinephile
Bloodthirsty bullfighters, transsexual incest, and women on the verge of nervous breakdowns — whatever you might say about the films of Pedro Almodóvar, you can’t call them boring. They’re a prime example for casual filmgoers, in fact, of just how unlike homework foreign cinema can be. Colorful, hilarious, shocking, and passionate, they aim above all…
The Wheels on the Hussy Go …
Just in time for the 2007 roller-derby season, Melissa “Melicious” Joulwan, a founding member of the Texas Rollergirls Rock-n-Rollerderby League, has published Rollergirl: Totally True Tales from the Track, the comprehensive handbook for rollergirls and their fans, covering everything from the sport’s campy history to choosing a nom de guerre. Even over the phone, Joulwan…
