WALKING TALL
Julián Castro is so alone. “These subsidies are a form of corporate welfare,” says the District 7 City Councilman, referring to the estimated $60 million in tax abatements that the developers of the proposed PGA Village want from San Antonio. Castro’s tone is conversational, but what he’s saying is revolutionary. As the Current goes to…
À la familia
Capparelli’s on Main maintains a family tradition
SOUTH BY SA
About the time I started looking for a place to stay in Austin for SXSW this year, my enthusiasm waned and I began considering a stay in San Antonio instead. This reconsideration isn’t because I dislike hip after-hour parties peppered with people happy to shmooze me until my inability to help their career becomes apparent;…
SOUNDS OF THE HOMEFRONT
Every SXSW, a few bands extract themselves from the extravagant parties and industry elbow-rubbing in Austin and trickle into San Antonio for one evening. Otherwise, our humble city sees relatively no touring bands of the indie-rock persuasion, considering the lack of reliable venues and the local metal-loving stigma that frightens indie rockers everywhere. On March…
A COMMON READER
W.H. Auden kept a notebook for jotting down interesting passages from the pile of books he was always reading; it was published posthumously under the title A Common Reader. The practice is quite common among writers, but it’s helpful to anyone. Here are some of my gleanings, and some recommended books. “The work of madmen…
CARRYING A CAMERA INTO BATTLE
When veteran Wall Street Journal correspondent Daniel Pearl traveled to Pakistan, he had resolved this would be his final assignment abroad. Assassins ensured the integrity of Pearl’s intentions. Wartime journalism is a perilous profession, but it is essential to keeping us informed, and without information there is no hope at all that journalists can ever…
CARRYING A CAMERA INTO BATTLE
When veteran Wall Street Journal correspondent Daniel Pearl traveled to Pakistan, he had resolved this would be his final assignment abroad. Assassins ensured the integrity of Pearl’s intentions. Wartime journalism is a perilous profession, but it is essential to keeping us informed, and without information there is no hope at all that journalists can ever…
New Reviews
Ice Age “Warms the heart” Dir. Carlos Saldanha, Chris Wedge; writ. Michael J. Wilson (story), Michael Berg (screenplay); feat. Ray Romano, John Leguizamo, Denis Leary, Goran Visnjic, Jack Black (PG) Everything comes full circle. A few years ago retro clothing came back in style. Now, the old-fashioned, slapstick comedy cartoon is back. As the mother…
New Reviews
Ice Age “Warms the heart” Dir. Carlos Saldanha, Chris Wedge; writ. Michael J. Wilson (story), Michael Berg (screenplay); feat. Ray Romano, John Leguizamo, Denis Leary, Goran Visnjic, Jack Black (PG) Everything comes full circle. A few years ago retro clothing came back in style. Now, the old-fashioned, slapstick comedy cartoon is back. As the mother…
Video & DVD
Practically everything in the theaters this week sucks. But check out the DVD shelf! Who knew that even before The Sopranos, HBO was making original series that put the networks to shame? Harking from the early ’90, The Larry Sanders Show: The Entire First Season (Columbia/TriStar) is pop culture self-reference at its best. The writing’s…
Still Playing
A Beautiful Mind “Pity, fear, and cognitive reverie” Dir. Ron Howard; writ. Akiva Goldsman, based on biography by Sylvia Nasar; feat. Russell Crowe, Ed Harris, Jennifer Connelly, Paul Bettany, Vivien Cardone, Adam Goldberg, Judd Hirsch, Christopher Plummer (PG-13) Black Hawk Down “Crash landing in confused territory” Dir. Ridley Scott; writ. Mark Bowden, Ken Nolan; feat.…
FOR US, BY US
In January 1990, just three weeks after Christmas, the Levi-Strauss Company closed one of its San Antonio factories and laid off 1,150 workers, most of whom were older, uneducated Mexican-American women. Petra Mata, one of those workers, still vividly remembers that day and the ensuing feelings of betrayal and extreme despair: “Overnight everything disappeared. All…
Still Playing
Black Hawk Down “Crash landing in confused territory” Dir. Ridley Scott; writ. Mark Bowden, Ken Nolan; feat. Josh Hartnett, Ewan McGregor, Tom Sizemore, Sam Shepard, Eric Bana, Jeremy Piven, William Fichtner, Jason Isaacs (R) Brotherhood of the Wolf (Le Pacte des loups) “Lupine loopiness” Dir. Christophe Gans; writ. Simon Donald, Stéphane Cabel, Christophe Gans; feat.…
THE DEAFENING BUZZ
Combing through the country’s major music magazines, it’s clear that the best albums of 2001 were made by Bob Dylan, Björk, Radiohead, Alicia Keys, Macy Gray, Ryan Adams, System of A Down, Jay-Z, and the Strokes. These artists kept popping up on all the Best of 2001 lists and, in fact, they’re the ones we’ve…
PUNK LIKE ME
There’s an entire epoch of punk that some of us just missed. Three years before I was born, the Ramones were recording their first fundamental album — and I didn’t hear it until nearly two decades later. Everything I know about the Sex Pistols I admittedly learned from a documentary, and my earliest encounter with…
Less barn raising, more hell raisin’
When Eddie Spaghetti has a birthday, there are no candles and cake – it’s pure hillbilly hellfire and brimstone on a microphone. So toss back what’s left of that cold one, hitch up those britches, and pomade that pompadour to perfection, because we’re all invited to the party as the Supersuckers (below) celebrate frontman Spaghetti’s…
Less barn raising, more hell raisin’
When Eddie Spaghetti has a birthday, there are no candles and cake – it’s pure hillbilly hellfire and brimstone on a microphone. So toss back what’s left of that cold one, hitch up those britches, and pomade that pompadour to perfection, because we’re all invited to the party as the Supersuckers (below) celebrate frontman Spaghetti’s…
