Pam’s Patio offerings cover the culinary universe
Release Date: 2011-01-10 Nestled in the middle of a cozy shopping center at Wurzbach and Lockhill-Selma, Pam’s Patio Kitchen is not unlike your charming aunt who’s occasionally a little dotty. From the brightly painted walls to the student art for sale to the multicultural menu, Pam’s is a confusing, weird mix that ultimately comes off…
Gayby’s Monday Musings
Salon’s Broadsheet is unfortunately no more, but Monday Musings is still here. Cue the Billboard No. 1 song from 34 years ago today. On Sunday night, the Miami Heat joined elite company with the San Antonio Spurs, becoming the second team this season to win 30 games. However, the San Antonio Spurs remained ahead of…
Slideshow: The very First Thursday & Friday of 2011
A handful of shows made 2011’s very First Thursday/Friday entirely memorable, and I even bought some art (Franco Mondini-Ruiz’s “Rabbit Food,” a figurine of a bunny tipping over a tub of coleslaw, $20). In fact, the amount deals to be had at Blue Star Contemporary Art Center seemed to be making art fans forget that…
Pam’s Patio offerings cover the culinary universe
Nestled in the middle of a cozy shopping center at Wurzbach and Lockhill-Selma, Pam’s Patio Kitchen is not unlike your charming aunt who’s occasionally a little dotty. From the brightly painted walls to the student art for sale to the multicultural menu, Pam’s is a confusing, weird mix that ultimately comes off as quaintly eccentric.…
Red, White, and Blue-Balled
Is America catching up? I don’t mean in education or manufacturing (clearly we are lagging). Nor do I mean in love for games that don’t allow the use of hands (like football’s retarded older sister soccer). No, what I’m asking is with the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” Has America finally begun to Calm…
National Mentoring Month: for our future, our leaders
January is National Mentoring Month. So, this blog is about … mentoring. If Sarah Palin can make up words, I can make up definitions. My definition of a mentor is a caring adult who helps a young person get a grip on life. Mentors make that happen by being an encourager, a listener, an adviser,…
Bexar County Democrats meeting breakdown a lesson in dysfunction
Judge: Mr. Kirkland you are out of order! Arthur Kirkland: You’re out of order! You’re out of order! The whole trial is out of order! They’re out of order! — And Justice for All Ugh. Without any background on the boiling animosities roiling Bexar County Democrats, a visitor to the monthly meeting of the County…
“Pop” by Nicole Provencher
Introduction The lyrical story “Pop” by Nicole Provencher only hints at a wound, but does so indelibly. The language of mechanics, electricity and repair (including what to avoid doing), genuinely limns, as the best flash fiction does, a relationship. And the innocence of the narrator’s understanding of this kinship is rendered both touching and melancholy…
Why I Don’t Make New Year’s Resolutions
Happy New Year everyone! I bet you’re sick of hearing that by now. And chances are, 75 percent of you have already “failed” in keeping your new year’s resolutions. Or, you might be in that other 25 percent that has given up on making your annual resolutions altogether. Okay, I’m exaggerating a little…there might be…
Broken Teeth: Up Close and Personal
This week, I put my mouthguard in to chat up Broken Teeth frontman Jason McMaster in advance of the Austin-based band’s Friday gig at Nightrocker Live. Broken Teeth skull-stomp the line between heavy metal and high-voltage Texas rock ’n’ roll — think old-school AC/DC-style riff rock with the swagger and explosive live show to match.…
Performance Party XXVI
Critic’s Pick Release Date: 2011-01-05 This is a test. For four hours on Saturday, JSTV Channel 26 will conduct a test of the performance art network of San Antonio, Texas. Do not be alarmed as the programming shifts from G-rated to R-rated content as the test progresses. At any point during the test, feel free…
Deer Vibes: Ventura
Deer Vibes: Ventura Label: Self-released Release Date: 2011-01-05 Rated: NONE Genre: Recording Building on the national trend in woodland animal band names (Deerhunter, Deerhoof, Deer Tick, etc.), San Antonio’s own Deer Vibes has emerged from the woods with this mostly instrumental four-song EP. The 10-piece mob escapes into the realms of indie-pop accompanied by sweet…
Art opening: Leah DeVun & Sarah Sudhoff: Femininity Constructed
Critic’s Pick Release Date: 2011-01-05 Beautiful, but also somewhat frightening, Femininity Constructed, an exhibition of photographs by Sarah Sudhoff and Leah DeVun, examines two female rites of passage ? playing dress up and sorority rush. While Sudhoff’s “With a D with an E with an L-T-A” almost looks staged and styled, it’s a documentary photograph.…
Ana Tijoux: iTunes Live from Soho
Ana Tijoux: iTunes Live from Soho Label: Nacional Records Release Date: 2011-01-05 Rated: NONE Genre: Recording Born in France in 1977 (after her Chilean parents escaped from the regime of Supreme Asshole Augusto Pinochet), Tijoux is South America’s hottest female solo rapper. Her 2010 U.S. debut (and second solo album), 1977, showed a decent, socially…
11th Annual AIA Archaeology Fair
Critic’s Pick Release Date: 2011-01-05 Dig into the past at the Archaeological Institute of America’s Archaeology Fair, a fun-filled day of hands-on activities and enlightening demonstrations led by archaeologists, museum educators, and historical re-enactors. Although perfect for kids, guests of all ages are invited to learn about history and cultural heritage directly from the experts.…
Johnny Mathis
Critic’s Pick Release Date: 2011-01-05 Native Texan John Royce “Johnny” Mathis has recorded more than 130 albums (73 of which made the Billboard charts) and sold more than 350 million albums worldwide. After his family relocated to California, Mathis, then 13, traded odd jobs for voice lessons, learning both classical and operatic skills. At 19,…
Tango Buenos Aires: The Fire and Passion of Tango
Critic’s Pick Release Date: 2011-01-05 Critically-acclaimed performances in Australia, New Zealand, Japan, and Europe, as well as tours throughout the U.S. and Latin America have cemented Tango Buenos Aires as “one of Argentina’s great cultural exports.” The words “passion” and “seduction” pop up in articles written about the 25-member troupe (presently under the direction of…
Barney Live in Concert – Birthday Bash!
Critic’s Pick Release Date: 2011-01-05 When Catholic watchdog groups decided Barney & Friends (which first aired in 1992) condoned witchcraft and necromancy, the purple anthropomorphic T. rex was banned in the Philippines. Other countries dismiss the show for its glaring lack of educational value. But none of this seems to faze Barney, who thrives on…
Aly Tadros
Critic’s Pick Release Date: 2011-01-05 Technically speaking, Tadros is from Laredo and now lives in Austin. But it was here in San Antonio (where she lived for most of 2007) that she launched her career. A self-made singer-songwriter still in her early 20s, Tadros created a little gem of alternative folk-pop with her 2009 debut,…
San Antonio Art League & Museum: Works on Paper from the Permanent Collection
Critic’s Pick Release Date: 2011-01-05 Cynics who think the San Antonio Art League & Museum collects and shows nothing but bluebonnet paintings might actually be surprised when Works on Paper from the Permanent Collection opens Sunday. The list of featured artists brings to light the complexity and depth of the museum’s archives, which date back…
Art opening: Works on Paper from the Permanent Collection
Critic’s Pick Release Date: 2011-01-05 Cynics who think the San Antonio Art League & Museum collects and shows nothing but bluebonnet paintings might actually be surprised when Works on Paper from the Permanent Collection opens Sunday. The list of featured artists brings to light the complexity and depth of the museum’s archives, which date back…
Details, details: Bright new eatery has some work ahead
Release Date: 2011-01-05 Nestled in the maze of shops that comprise the recently remodeled Artisans Alley off Bitters sits The Pomegranate, a new casual dining restaurant that beckons to hungry shoppers. The Pomegranate offers diners tantalizing food combinations — a grilled gruyère and ham sandwich and the Portuguese panini with prosciutto and port-soaked figs are…
Lüke pairs intention with location
New French-German tourist on the River Walk aspires to fine dining
Five Guys Burgers and Fries
Release Date: 2011-01-05 I wasn’t headed here, you have to believe me. My goal was to check out the progress of Urban Taco and Max’s Wine Dive in the Quarry Market, but neither was yet open (both should be by the time you read this), and, well, a guy gets hungry. So there was Five…
Gorillaz: The Fall
Gorillaz: The Fall Label: Self-released Release Date: 2011-01-05 Rated: NONE Genre: Recording Our Rating: 2.50 Damon Albarn hasn’t lied to me before (that I know of). So when he releases a free, full-length Gorillaz album on Christmas Day and claims to have written, recorded, and produced the entire thing on his freaking iPad while touring…
Guenther House: Currier & Ives in the Alamo City
Release Date: 2011-01-05 Anyone even the least bit susceptible to the devious charms of the Christmas season, and that includes more of us than might be willing to admit, should just give in and get thee over to the Guenther House in King William. The house itself, completed in 1860, has sufficient Victorian vibes to…
Duran Duran: All You Need is Now
Duran Duran: All You Need is Now Label: iTunes exclusive Release Date: 2011-01-05 Rated: NONE Genre: Recording Our Rating: 3.50 Duran Duran’s 13th album, produced by Mark Ronson, is a direct, fresh, revitalized musical statement that explains why the band worked in the first place. It wasn’t just their looks, promo machine, and perfect MTV…
Vast portions and hefty prices
Release Date: 2011-01-05 In 2002, Nia Vardalos wrote and starred in My Big Fat Greek Wedding, a romantic comedy about a Greek woman marrying a non-Greek. It was a sleeper hit, and even drew an Oscar nomination for best screenplay. Taking their cue, Chris Tsailakas and John Roumanas opened the first MBFG Restaurant in 2003. Expanding rapidly around…
Lang time coming
After a three-year search for a new director, the San Antonio Symphony introduced German-born director Sebastian Lang-Lessing with a sold-out gala on October 2, 2010. But the Symphony’s new era really begins on January 12, when the new maestro directs Chinese superstar pianist Lang Lang at the Majestic. “`Lang Lang is` the full package,” Lang-Lessing…
Winners and losers in media and technology
2010 was a seminal year for media consumers. We saw some big winners and big losers making changes that will be affecting us for a really long time. LOSERS: Comcast, the nation’s largest cable and internet service provider (ISP) with unrestrained pricing power, announced this year its intention to merge with NBC Universal (NBCU). If…
Ask a Mexican!
Dear Mexican: I was today alerted to the problem of trash dumped on the Sonoran Desert in Arizona and am trying to track down more articles about the issue. That is how I found you. There are lots and lots of piles of trash — looks like clothes — in a wash in Arizona. Can you…
The possibilities of William S. Burroughs
I was at a bar outside of an art gallery recently, making small talk with some guys that had just been shooed out of the closing gallery. It seemed that everyone around was an artist, except for these two guys; they were there to enjoy the music and the drinks. One pointed to the other…
Bottle & Tap
There’s a lot to be said for making resolutions for the New Year. It helps assuage guilty feelings from the past year, provides a fresh outlook on life, and makes other people think you’re trying to better yourself. But how about making a resolution you can actually keep? Drink beer. Here are a few suggestions…
Puro poetry reigns at Half Shell
Tuesdays in Saytown don’t present many options for us night owls. But the few we do have are top quality: on a weekly basis, Limelight’s longest-running DJ party, Velcro Underground, attracts a loyal, well-dressed following of progressive dance music fans; the Saint becomes an urban melting pot, bubbling over with a crowd that consistently defies…
Doin’ San Antonio doggie style
As I was walking through La Cantera the other day, I noticed quite a few canine companions walking about with their best friends. It led me to the thought — OK, so they are allowed outside, but can they really go into the stores? Can they dine in the outside areas of restaurants? What are…
Details, details: Bright new eatery, Pomegranate, has some work ahead
Nestled in the maze of shops that comprise the recently remodeled Artisans Alley off Bitters sits The Pomegranate, a new casual dining restaurant that beckons to hungry shoppers. The Pomegranate offers diners tantalizing food combinations — a grilled gruyère and ham sandwich and the Portuguese panini with prosciutto and port-soaked figs are just two examples…
Sinking feelings
KARNES COUNTY — Veteran oilman John Braudaway has been in the industry so long that he says he can estimate the amount of crude in a 400-barrel storage tank just by feeling slight temperature differences on the metal surface. While that may sound like a Texas tall tale told by an affable septuagenarian who bears…
Fracking’s short, dirty story
Developed decades ago, hydraulic fracturing involves the process of breaking up heavy oil- and gas-bearing shale formations by pumping millions of gallons of chemically tainted water through vertical and lateral wells at intense pressure. Only in recent years has the practice become cost effective for industry, as advances in technology have been matched by rising…
Critical Darling
Oh, happy day and thanks be to Zarathustra! Wings of Desire director Wim Wenders’ 3D dance film Pina is scheduled for release in 2011, and readers, it is 2011! Pre-production came to a halt in 2009 when Pina Bausch — the brilliant German tanztheater (“dance theatre”) choreographer — shed her mortal coil. Now all the…
Gustavo Dudamel’s sound sistema
One year into his gig as director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, 29-year-old Gustavo Dudamel is making good on his promises. When he arrived in LA in the fall of 2009, he talked about building a repertoire that relied both on the familiar classical canon, as well as contemporary pieces. He said he wanted…
Moving out of Hell
When Jacqueline Murekatete, a Rwandan girl who lost her family in the 1994 genocide, addressed the UN, you could have heard a pin drop. But you could have also imagined the faces of those present darkening with shame. After all, it was they who were supposed to stop the massacre. But Jacqueline’s spirit is not…
Live & Local
When you have a band as adventurous and ambitious as Deer Vibes, you better mic them correctly. What’s the point of having a 10-piece combo that includes viola, cello, and violin, if you won’t be able to hear the strings? You don’t overlook that, especially at a place like Sam’s, which is one of the…
Reason’s for New Year’s Cheer
Sooner or later, most of these movies will be shown in San Antonio in 2011. The list is much bigger, but these are the ones I don’t want to miss, even though a couple of them — I suspect — will bomb. Guess which ones. Biutiful (January 28, dir. Alejandro González Iñárritu, starring Javier Bardem)…
Free Will Astrology
ARIES (March 21-April 19): "A man may fulfill the object of his existence by asking a question he cannot answer, and attempting a task he cannot achieve," mused 19th-century author Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. Advice that wild could just as well have been dispensed by a feral saint living in a cave in the woods.…
The Sound & The Fury
“Take the conjunto element out of Tejano music, and you end up with nothing,” Little Joe once told me. And he was absolutely right. Now, take the Tejano Conjunto Festival out of the music festival scene in San Antonio, and … well, San Anto wouldn’t be the same. For the last 29 years, the TCF…
Happy New Year San Antonio
Dear readers – For my first blog post of the new year I wanted to take some time to let you know why I am here and what my goals are for this blog. If you have read my posts before I’m sure you have seen this from last years posts: “Who am I? My…
Bexar County dems allege party hijacking by Party Chair Dan Ramos
At a near-downtown coffee shop, Dee Villarrubia (right) and Joel Mayer, former and current precinct chairs with the Bexar County Democratic Party, are scrolling through documents on their iPhones, talking to, at, and over each other about local Party by-laws, state Party practices, and what they see as an unrestrained power grab by Party Chair…
