5 Things You Have to Do This Week
Mon 7/14 – Wed 7/16 National Doll Festival Thanks to The Twilight Zone’s hateful Talky Tina and a host of nightmare-inducing films (Magic, Poltergeist, Child’s Play, etc.) dolls scare as many adults as the kids they comfort. But don’t expect to find Stephen King’s murderous Chinga (The X-Files) wreaking havoc in the Wyndham’s Fiesta Pavilion.…
Texas Lawmakers Want to Deport Children Faster
Congressman Henry Cuellar (via Facebook) In a bipartisan effort, two Texas lawmakers will try to amend a child sex trafficking law to make it easier to deport undocumented children found crossing the border. Congressman Henry Cuellar, D-TX28, a member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security, and U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, ranking member of the…
‘CHIFLADAzine’: Bratty New Zine is Inclusive and Important
“Chiflada means ‘crazy’ or ‘bratty’ in Spanish,” explains Claudia Cardona, editor-in-chief of the newly established CHIFLADAzine. In January, when the St. Mary’s student and aspiring filmmaker decided that she wanted to create a new zine, she had difficulty deciding on a title that was wholly inclusive. Several months later, when brainstorming with co-founder and co-editor Laura Christine Sinner,…
10 Free Events Happening This Week
Mon 7/14 Tom Gillam &The Kosmic Messengers Gruene Hall presents a live performance by the folk-rockers Tom Gillam and The Kosmic Messengers. The versatile Austin natives will blaze the stage with original songs like “Ready to Begin” and the wanderer’s mix of “8th Wonder.” Free, 7-11pm, Monday, 1281 Gruene, (830) 606-1281, gruenehall.com. Tues 7/15 Lone…
Sunday Night Sound Bite: Lady Gaga Spotlight
Naughty and nice: Lady Gaga loves old-school Versace bondage gear and Kermit the Frog An audio/visual continuation of my contribution to “Redeeming Mother Monster vs. Arrested Development: The Pros and Cons of Lady Gaga,” this week’s Sunday Night Sound Bite digs into Gaga’s catalog to prove she’s anything but a one-note artist. “The Edge of Glory”…
The Current Wins Two National Awards
Happy Sunday. We won some shit. Via: http://cheezburger.com/template/654237 Last night, at the annual conference for the Association of Alternative Newsmedia, the winners of the 2014 AAN awards were announced. We were delighted to learn that former staff writer Mike Barajas took the gold in the Feature Story (circulation under 50,000, as are all the other…
These 5 Apps Will Make Your Food Pics Drool-worthy
Before and after. Photo tips aside, when it comes to editing my own batch of #SAfoodpics (because an iPhone can only do so much), I have a handful of apps that I can’t live without: Instagram: I’ve honestly stopped adding serious filters to images on Insta, save for the occasional image that would just look…
Celebrating National Mojito Day in SA
Ocho mojito via Margaritas reign in a city rich with Mexican and Tex-Mex cuisine. Today, for this national holiday we’re honoring this libation that may not get as much play as it’s tequila brimmed counterpart. We’ve rounded up a few places to get your mojito sip on: The Fruteria (1401 S Flores) has it’s mojito…
Live and Local: Marcus Rubio at the Ten Eleven
SA pop experimentalist Marcus Rubio Like Nas to the underbelly of Queensbridge and Dante to the nine burroughs of the Inferno, on “welcum 2 hell,” Marcus Rubio acted as field guide for the Ten Eleven’s crowd, bringing ’em through his vision of eternal suffering: the Northern ‘burbs of Los Angeles. “It’s like an entire town of La…
5 Shows to See this Weekend
Backtrack (Friday, July 11) Long Island’s Backtrack in action In the midst of the post-hardcore wasteland, classic hardcore is trying to rise from the ashes like a punk rock phoenix. Backtrack is doing exactly what their name promises, going back in time to bring back what punk was in the good old days of Black…
LeBron James returns to Cleveland Cavaliers
Via Sports Illustrated After the 2014 Finals loss to the Spurs, LeBron James has left the Miami Heat to return to Cleveland for the 2014-2015 NBA season. As reported by Sports Illustrated, the 29-year-old, four-time MVP will return to the Cavs, the team with which he spent the first seven years of his career. “When I…
‘Bound by Flesh’: the woebegone story of ‘San Antonio’s Siamese Twins’
While watching Bound by Flesh, a well constructed albeit overly talky documentary on the lives of early 20th century sideshow stars and conjoined twins Daisy and Violet Hilton, it’s impossible not to think how their unusual and ultimately tragic tale would make for an even more fascinating narrative feature helmed by a director like…
SA’s Lonely Horse wins spot on Brooklyn’s Afropunk Festival
Nick Long and Travis Hild of Lonely Horse After electioneering enough votes to enter into a qualifying battle of the bands, SA duo Lonely Horse won the final round for Brooklyn’s Afropunk festival (August 23-24). With a prize of $3,000, Lonely Horse will now have an opening slot at Afropunk, featuring D’Angelo, Shabazz Palaces, Trash…
Shot of the Week: Root Beer
This week’s shot has no theme. It’s all about flavor–A southern favorite at that. Think about being a kid again, popping open a crisp, ice-cold bottle of root beer on a steamy summer day. Try to remember that tingling on your tongue and in the back of your throat. Now imagine that same feeling as…
Trashing or Tubing?
via A usual crowd of families and drunken tubers packed the cold waters of the Comal River last Saturday. While most people had fun this Independence Day weekend, some tubers and river rats were grossed out by the amount of litter in the river, and a recent report by the City of New Braunfels helps justify…
Wendy Davis to Visit San Antonio Tomorrow
Wendy Davis, giving Abbott what we imagine to be the side eye. Image by Jeremiah Teutsch Democratic candidate for Texas governor Wendy Davis will make a stop in San Antonio on Friday as part of her Texans Deserve to Know tour, a seven-city trip around Texas to address her Republican opponent Attorney General Greg Abbott’s…
6 Ways to Make Your Food Photos Not Suck
I’m not a professional photographer by any means. I have amazingly talented photographer buds (Casey Howell, Dan Payton and Josh Huskin who shoot our awesome print images, and Helen Montoya Henrichs, photojournalist for the Express-News), but no one’s paying me to shoot food images. Still, with the addition of pretty bitchin’ cameras on our phones,…
La Santa Cecilia unveil “Strawberry Fields Forever” single supporting Migrant Workers
Los Angeles Grammy winners La Santa Cecilia Today at the LULAC Unity Luncheon in New York, La Santa Cecilia released their new single and Spanglish take on the Beatles’ “Strawberry Fields Forever,” where they joined First Lady Michelle Obama and Jennifer Lopez as participants. A psychedelic cumbia rendition of the Beatles’ iconic ’67 single, La Santa Cecilia dedicated…
Castro to appoint downtown task force, lauds street car plan
The Future of Downtown During a Centro San Antonio luncheon San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro addressed the future of downtown before he prepares to pack his bags and head to Washington D.C. And he used the opportunity to announce that he’ll form a mayoral taskforce that will look at how to keep San Antonio’s urban…
10 Things You Have to Do This Weekend
Thu 7/10 “Paper, Pencil & Ink: Prints & Other Works on Paper” Robert Motherwell, Yellow Flight, 1986 In addition to celebrating Latin American and “Texas-connected” artists, Ruiz-Healy Art maintains a strong focus on prints and works on paper and is one of three Texas-based members of the International Fine Print Dealers Association—a nonproft comprising prestigious…
Report Levels SA’s Affordability with Map and Calculator
Screenshot from Fixr’s San Antonio Affordability Atlas and Calculator A recent report from Fixr, a home improvement community, ranked 32 cities of Texas with populations of 100,000 or more residents based on how affordable they are for each of nine demographics: from highly educated workaholics to minimum-wage workers. The Alamo city only had one demographic…
5 Ways to Get Your Drink/Grub on This Week
Busted Sandal’s chef John Tamez is adding more chocolate to El Robusto. Saturday, July 12: Busted Sandal takes over the the taps at Missions Untapped with 210 Ale and a special Randallized version of El Robusto Porter with Abuelita Mexican Chocolate and Ancho chilies. Prices vary, 5pm, 8123 Broadway, Ste B, (210) 320-0486, facebook.com/BustedSandalBrewing. …
First Course: Free Slurpee at 7-Eleven and Kate’s Frosting expands first location
Slurp it up, SA. (Via) Friday, July 11 is 7-Eleven Day which means 7-Eleven (multiple locations) is giving out free small Slurpee drinks from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. If that’s not tempting enough 7-Eleven is taking a step further and offering food freebies all week. If you download the 7-Eleven app, you can get…
Summer Drinks for All Your Aquatic Adventures
As the mercury rises, your skin browns and the electricity bill skyrockets, take comfort in a body of water and a cool, boozy beverage. Whether you long for nature, luxury, comfort or convenience, let the Current be your guide to aquatic libation bliss. OUTDOORS Just a short jaunt up I-35 in New Braunfels on the…
SA trio Crown’s Raw Blues Rock Power on Debut Album
In the oversaturated market of blues rock, a band really has to believe in their tunes to stand above the crowd. Cream, the Black Keys, the White Stripes, every White Stripes rip-off—in such an established form, it’s tough to get your work heard among the white noise of distortion pedals, bass and drums. (And yes,…
Surviving Splashtown
Surviving Splashtown, how do you do it? Why would you even try? I never imagined that I would be the one extolling the virtues of Splashtown San Antonio. “Water Parks are Filthy Cesspools of Despair,” Jezebel charged last summer, and I agreed. But now, here I am a card-carrying season pass convert. Yes, Splashtown, that water park…
Mayoral Horse Race
In an op-ed in the last issue of the Current, Frederick Williams noted that District 2 City Councilwoman Ivy Taylor, who is being considered for the interim mayor position, was hailed by members of the black community for being effective but met with criticism from the LGBT community. In 2013, Taylor voted against a city…
Market Eats: Olive Frites
The history of the delightful and greasy snack nearly universally called “French fries” (in this country, at least) is as contentious as it is tasty. Fried potato enthusiast Paul Ilegems, a retired art history professor profiled by Reuters in 2010 for his fry-love, called the adjective “French” a misnomer and even an insult to Belgians,…
A Grown-Up’s Guide to Tubing
I am a late convert to tubing. I love being near water, but oddly, not usually in it. I don’t like swimming in the ocean or a lake, I’m also averse to crowds and am generally an old-fashioned “get off my lawn” curmudgeon. So for years as family and friends would enthusiastically open tubing season…
Sweet Toof: Boozy paletas for hot summer days
Paletas (aka delicious popsicles) are one of the few ways to keep cool during the sweltering summer days. If I absolutely have to go into a stuffy kitchen this month, it’s to hurriedly grab a cool treat from my freezer and rush back to the comfort of my living room where the window-unit blows chilly…
Paul Haggis’ ‘Third Person’ is a Complete Waste
July is generally too early to pick the worst movie of the year, but Third Person is so bad it ranks as one of the worst movies ever made. That’s not hyperbole, and it’s not an attempt to take away from Ed Wood, director of the immortal schlock shitfest Plan 9 from Outer Space. Here’s the key difference:…
Savage Love: Over and Domme
I am a straight female who was a dominatrix for a while—and out of all the jobs I’ve had, I loved it the most. But professional dommes aren’t immune to workplace romances, and I fell in love with a client. Long story short, we are still together after a year and a half, after I…
The Hispanic Heritage Center of Texas Reconnects Tejano Roots
Texans have no shortage of pride when it comes to our history, which is filled with stories of the Alamo, Sam Houston and the Texas Rangers. For many Hispanic Texans, though, the history tends to become muddled and the pride tends to be mixed with feelings that range from indifference to confusion. After all, anyone…
Still Mad as Hell: ‘Network’ surprises 38 years later
When I learned of the great film director Sidney Lumet’s death in 2011, I decided to memorialize him by diving back into his masterpieces. While Dog Day Afternoon, Serpico and, of course, 12 Angry Men are undeniable classics, the one that continues to impress and astound me is Network. The 1976 film manages to be…
Northern Mexico makes its way to The Quarry
Johnny Hernandez knows how to design a restaurant. His is a detail-driven mind, and he genuinely loves every piece of artisanal work he brings into each of his eateries from the chairs at La Gloria to the iron fruit tree at The Fruteria and now the altar of angels that surrounds the grill at Hernandez’s…
Sail Away: Get on a boat in Canyon Lake
Around the corner from my house lives a guy who inexplicably runs his powerboat engine in his driveway for hours several times a week. I guess that’s what you do when you own a boat but no waterfront. But, even if you can’t decamp to your vacation home on the water, even if you don’t…
Adventurous Brews ahead for San Antonio Brewing Company
For this month’s installment of Bottle & Tap, I visited with San Antonio Brewing Company, which formally came into existence in 2013, founded by the husband and wife team of Brent and Vera Deckard. However, its genesis lay in words of advice from the U.S. Air Force years before. When Brent deployed to Afghanistan in…
Sex, Religion and War: Meet Artpace’s latest crop of International Artists-in-Residence
The mighty N’gone Fall, curator for this go-round of Artpace International Artists-in-Residence, is an art critic, consultant, educator and “cultural engineer” based in Dakar, Senegal and Paris, where she graduated from École Spéciale d’Architecture and worked as editorial director of the seminal contemporary African art magazine Revue Noire from 1994 to 2001. In addition to…
Misadventures in kayaking: The bridges of Goliad County
In March of 2007, I accepted a close friend’s invitation to venture to the small Texas towns of Goliad, Tivoli and Falls City for a long weekend involving some combination of bird-watching, junk-shopping, cheap motels and kayaking—an activity I’d never braved and figured I’d find a way out of. Late in the afternoon on the…
Surfing Wakes and Fakes in SA
It is not often when I’m working that I give out an audible “WOOOOO frickin’ HOOOOOO!” But that’s pretty much what I did when I was asked to try out the facilities at Texas Ski Ranch and the new FlowRider Wave Machine at the Hyatt Hill Country Resort. Score! The Texas Ski Ranch is 70…
Free Will Astrology
ARIES (March 21-April 19): What are the sources that heal and nourish you? Where do you go to renew yourself? Who are the people and animals that treat you the best and are most likely to boost your energy? I suggest that in the coming week you give special attention to these founts of love…
Guitarist Chris Schlarb Recharges Santería-style with ‘Making the Saint’
The mental process of writing and recording an album is sort of like trying to finish a long, elaborate project while cruising the internet. Brief spouts of clarity and ambition are interrupted by long, seemingly helpful or relaxing asides where black holes of time go bye-bye into each new tab or musical toy. With each…
Redeeming Mother Monster vs. Arrested Development: The pros and cons of Lady Gaga
The Cons “The Doors? Jim Morrison? He’s a drunken buffoon posing as a poet. Give me The Guess Who. They got the courage to be drunken buffoons, which makes them poetic,” says Phillip Seymour Hoffman as iconic music critic Lester Bangs in the ’00 dorm room classic Almost Famous. Too often when I’m thinking about…
Flavor File: Cured’s new Midnight Hours, Charcuterie Week returns and TravelChannel.com visits SA
The squeaky wheel gets the grease and in this case our begging for more late night snacking options has paid off once more with the addition of Cured’s (306 Pearl Pkwy, (210) 314-3929) Midnight Hours. On weekends, the eatery will offer select small plates along with bottled cocktail sodas. Cured switches to its late-night menu…
Glitter Political: The eyes of Gerry Rickhoff are upon you
When 61-year-old Gerald C. “Gerry” Rickhoff leads me to his office on the first floor of the Paul Elizondo Tower, he doesn’t appear, at first glance, to be a man who’s had a gun pointed at him five times during his almost 20-year administration as Bexar County Clerk. The office, which manages court records and…
Stone Oak: Don’t Water your Lawn Right Now
The affected area is generally north of 1604 and west of Hwy 281 in and around the Stone Oak subdivision, according to SAWS. If you live near the Stone Oak area, don’t water your lawn. The San Antonio Water System announced today crews are making emergency repairs on the primary water pipeline to the Stone…
Preview of the 8th Annual Josiah Media Festival
Beginning this Thursday, July 10, fresh new voices in the realm of filmmaking will be on display as part of the 8th annual Josiah Media Festival. Started by Urban-15 Group in 2007 to honor the memory of vibrant media artist and namesake Josiah Miles Neundorf, the festival has been thriving throughout the past several years as…
Bexar County: Economic Development Department Restructured
This screen grab from the Bexar County Economic Development Department’s website shows its Executive Director David Marquez. Bexar County Commissioners Court on Tuesday morning accepted a recommendation to restructure its economic development wing by placing it directly under the county manager, like all other county departments. Bexar County Economic Development Department Executive Director David Marquez…
Boris Diaw signs three-year deal with Spurs
Boris Diaw is back in black Update: July 8, 2014, 5:50pm: Though the contract isn’t set in stone until the NBA’s free agent signing period begins July 10, deals announced in early July with free agents re-signing with their current team are quite common. The San Antonio Spurs re-signed 32-year-old forward Boris Diaw for a three-year contract…
Local Bartenders to Compete in GQ’s Most Imaginative Bartender
Gutierrez is shaking things up in Austin this evening. (Courtesy David Rangel) Bar-badasses Elisabeth Forsythe (bar manager at Barbaro and this year’s Miss Speed Rack Texas) and Javier Gutierrez (Brooklynite, Stay Golden Social House) are heading up to Austin this evening to compete in the GQ Magazine’s Most Imaginative Bartender Competition sponsored by Bombay Sapphire…
Fun Fun Fun Fest adds Modest Mouse, announces comedy stage
Modest Mouse added to Fun Fun Fun Fest 2014 Earlier today, Austin’s Fun Fun Fun Fest called a mid-summer audible for their 2014 festival (November 7-9), swapping out Saturday’s headliner Death Cab for Cutie for seminal indie rockers Modest Mouse. Caused by a rather routine scheduling conflict, Death Cab for Cutie bailed on the 9th Fun…
Zombie!: a preview of the 13th Floor’s Great Room Escape
The Great Room Escape’s preliminary puzzle room, the only photo I was allowed to take so as not to spoil the experience. Halloween may be far off but a good scare isn’t too hard to find. As part of the 13th Floor’s plans to develop events throughout the year so that the haunted house…
Booze News: Saint Arnold’s birthday bash, culinary treats at the Witte and National Mojito Day
Booze News lets you know which hotspots you should be sipping, slurping and getting straight up sloppy every Tuesday. Chef Geronimo will be dishing out the best culinary sensations at Salud! Culinary Night (Courtesy Photo) On Wednedsay, July 9 at 6 p.m., Big Hops Growler Station (all locations) celebrates the 20th Anniversary of Saint Arnold Brewing Company with a…
