Media Game theory – Great balls of stars
The Katamari game series puts the cosmos in your hands You’ve made up your mind. It is time to see what the fuss is about. You are ready to explore the gaming landscape. These might be your first steps in this new arena, or you might be returning to the gaming world after a lengthy…
Media I want
A home theater in a box The current pace of technological development has made nothing so outmoded as satisfaction. How can you be entirely complacent with your 1-year-old laptop when your friend is using a stylus to write in her Gateway Convertible Notebook, the screen of which swivels from electronic notepad to desktop with a…
News Big questions
Despite unknowns, Big Tex clears zoning commission Real-estate developer James Lifshutz wants the City to green-light his 7-acre, $20 million development near the Blue Star Art Complex, but he refuses to prove to the public that the site isn’t contaminated with asbestos. The lack of evidence didn’t stop the City Zoning Commission last week from…
Media Special screenings
SA Film Slam Texas filmmakers are invited to screen their work at the first SA Film Slam of 2006. The Slam marks the beginning of “The San Antonio Film Series.” Screenings will begin at 8pm, Friday, January 27, at the Apollo Playhouse, 1216 West Avenue. Submitting filmmakers should arrive early. $5 general / $3 submitting…
News Show us the data
Lifshutz can’t expect citizens to take his word that Big Tex is A-OK Shot himself in the foot. His own worst enemy. Or, a recent favorite: Snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. Any of these clichés seem appropriate for the inexplicable behavior of downtown developer James Lifshutz, whose Big Tex mixed-use project has passed…
Food & Drink Grandma’s ever-lovin’ lasagna
Capparelli’s piles on the Italian-American fare The Capparelli family has been plying San Antonians with its brand of Italian-American food since Gaetano and Rose Capparelli established a toehold on W.W. White in 1963. Founding a family tradition, they went on to open two more outlets, and each succeeding generation followed suit until, today, there are…
News Party lines
Life in a cascarón San Antonio, it’s a giant cascarón. No it’s too early for Fiesta, we haven’t even been to the rodeo yet. The cascarón was used as a metaphor for the City by District 5 Councilwoman Patti Radle, and its usage became a political football last week as Council debated allotting more than…
Food & Drink The three comidas
Local Mexican fare has norteño flavor Former Mayor Henry Cisneros once told a news reporter his favorite restaurant was Panchito’s in the Military Plaza. It was nearby, and the flautas were muy delicioso, hizzoner said, but that restaurant’s use of near-fake cheese likely damaged his credibility and political power. The next thing you know, the…
News Briefs
No answers for public access City officials took no action and had no answers about the plight of public-access television, but they did listen to program producers at a January 17 forum about the future of Channel 20. Public-access station Channel 20 has been off the air since January 1, when the City became responsible…
Food & Drink Meatless in Steer City
Hotcakes sans huevos I’m not a vegan, but I discovered this excellent vegan pancake recipe out of sheer laziness. Craving pancakes on a Sunday morning, but having no eggs in the fridge and no desire to change out of my pajamas for a trip to the grocery, I got out my trusty dairy-friendly cookbook and…
News Speed reads
You’re 40 — why not enlist? Are you tired? Poor? Among the huddled masses? In your early 40s? Uncle Sam wants you. A new program authorized by Congress under the National Defense Authorization Act raises the recruitment age limit from 35 to 42. The Army is also offering $1,000 “finders fees” for current soldiers who…
Food & Drink All you can eat
News and notes from the San Antonio food scene On Monday, January 30, Tennessee-based Krystal Hamburgers will usher in its new restaurant at 6446 NW Loop 410 at 10 a.m. The oldest fast-food chain in the South will give away a year’s supply of Krystal Hamburgers or any “big taste” item of your choice for…
Arts Art on walls, film, and stage
Urban art invades the Alameda, 318 W. Houston, during the Houston Street Fair and Market, noon to 6 p.m. Saturday, January 28. Local artists Victor Zarazua and Colleen Sorenson Frost will showcase their exhibit, Alternative Justice, and demonstrate alternative methods for creating murals using techniques similar to those used in creating graffiti wall art. The…
Arts Word on the street
News and notes from the San Antonio Literary scene The don’t-miss literary event of the winter months belongs to Gemini Ink, which is bringing Pulitzer Prize-winning author Edward P. Jones to town in honor of Black History Month. Jones, author of The Known World, which garnered a National Book Critics Circle award as well as…
Music Super emcees
Grayskul redefines itself as a group of crime-fighting, hip-hop crusaders Prior to the multi-ethnic collective Oldominion and their offspring Grayskul, the Pacific Northwest’s biggest contribution to hip-hop was Sir Mix-A-Lot. While Mix-A-Lot’s greatest inspiration was undoubtedly the female posterior, Grayskul draws influence from the likes of Alexandro Jodorowsky, Vincent Price, and Jack “King” Kirby. Grayskul:…
Media Glorified road
Former Miner Nevil Shed says Bruckheimer’s film is more truth than fiction Nevil Shed’s telephone is ringing. Again. Context: In 1966, the Texas Western University Miners stormed through a 27-1 season to unseat the granddaddy of all basketball Goliaths, Adolph Rupp’s Kentucky Wildcats. The ’66 Miners, under Hall of Fame coach Don Haskins, was the…
Music All Ears
Keeping records Last week, The New York Times did a nice feature on jazz drummer Paul Motian. One of the article’s revelations was that, at 74, Motian has basically given up on touring, opting to take gigs in familiar environs, like the stint he’s currently doing at the Village Vanguard. Motian goes way back at…
Feature It takes a village
A Hill Country woman helps 25 Sri Lankan families rebuild their homes and their lives Epiphanies happen in the most ordinary moments. For Becky Westbrook, it happened to be while she was watching television. On December 31, 2004, Westbrook, a horse breeder, came in from her Hill Country ranch to get lunch, and switched on…
Music CD Spotlight
Something about Mary It’s always been tempting to view Mary J. Blige as the Aretha Franklin of the hip-hop era. For all her raspy vocal power, Blige can’t match Franklin’s technical mastery or her musical range (we’ll probably never see Blige singing opera at the Grammys). On the other hand, Franklin’s seemingly limitless gifts occasionally…
Arts (Almost) no strings attached
Thanks to the web, freeloading is easier than ever Now is the winter of our discontent. Holiday credit-card bills are coming due, and tax time is just around the corner. A buck don’t buy what it used to. So how about something for free? Music and movies, books and booze, electronics, furniture, even a car…
Music Current Choice
Marcus Rubio Youth movement While Pete Townshend cries crocodile tears for a new generation’s cultish worship of the iPod, the kids are busy playing live music. One local teenager raising hell when the lunch bell rings is Marcus Rubio. Most youngsters aspire to rock and/or twist knobs on turntables, but Rubio simply picks up a…
Arts The Art Capades
The Prince of revelatory prints In honor of African-American Heritage Month, StoneMetal Press received a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts to bring Steve Prince, a Virginia-based artist and activist, to San Antonio for a celebratory Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend. At various venues, Prince opened two exhibitions of prints and drawings,…
Music Sound and the fury
A week on the scene Listening party line Buttercup’s new album, Hot Love, won’t be available in stores until mid-April, but in the meantime the art-pop quartet plans to satiate the demand of impatient fans, one song at time. Beginning on Monday, January 23, the Cup is releasing a new song each week on singer/guitarist…
Arts Metaphorically singing
The Lyric Opera’s Magic Flute was too dark, but the music transcended all The Magic Flute (all those in favor of psychoanalysis, say “Aye”), Mozart’s final opera, was performed last weekend by the Lyric Opera of San Antonio at the Municipal Auditorium in celebration of old Wolfgang’s 250th birthday. Existing somewhere between fairy tale and…
Arts My way or the freeway
Home on the Range – A former New Yorker’s guide to the texas adjustment One of the first times I visited Texas, about 15 years ago, my husband and I spent a couple of nights in Austin. We wanted to check out some live music at Antone’s, which was probably the equivalent of 10 New…
Media Too real to feel good
Soderbergh’s HD experiment is magic-free Bubble is the latest film from Oscar-winning director Steven Soderbergh (Traffic) and likely cost less than the craft services on his last production, Ocean’s 12. The George Clooneys and Brad Pitts of the world wouldn’t even get out of bed for what they would’ve been paid for this. Still, even…
