Food for the brain
UTSA food journal brings white bread to the ivory tower Fava beans have never tasted the same since the scene from Silence of the Lambs in which Hannibal Lecter purred: “A census taker once tried to test me. I ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice Chianti.” Since people have eaten (or…
What’s it all about, Algae?
Spirulina: a boost, but not a panacea It’s green, smells fishy, and a month’s supply costs as much as 20 bottles of aspirin, but spirulina still sells like hotcakes, albeit teal-colored ones. The microscopic algae known as spirulina, or as the Sloan Kettering medical website refers to it, pond scum, has been purported to treat…
Debunking the texas death machine
Sister Helen Prejean Sister Helen Prejean visits San Antonio as yet another death row inmate dies One hour after Francis Newton is scheduled to die by lethal injection in Livingston, Texas, Sister Helen Prejean, author of Dead Man Walking, will speak in San Antonio. Prejean has spent the last 20 years in a global campaign…
All You Can Eat
News and notes from the San Antonio food scene With another location in Waco, Backyard Burgers made its way to San Antonio in October. The restaurant’s menu has a range of chicken sandwiches and burgers, including backyard burgers with 100 percent Black Angus beef, Hawaiian and Miz Grazi’s spicy burgers. Salads, baked potatoes, and desserts…
Old friends
The average lifespan of an Asian elephant is 60 years. They are sociable, and zookeepers have reported that captive elephants who are separated from their social group and placed on their own can die of “broken-hearted syndrome.” Where will Wandy and Winky spend their twilight years? It’s a dilemma many families and caregivers face: How…
Glory days
Glorium combined tight grooves with guitar chaos and darkly literate lyrics. With new rarities compilation, Glorium makes a brief, brilliant return Glorium never officially disbanded, so the group’s spate of Thanksgiving weekend activity – gigs in San Antonio and Austin, and the release of a new compilation CD – isn’t exactly a reformation. But for…
Departing the Wu-Tang
ODB: hip-hop’s latest fallen icon ODB’s death robs hip-hop of one of its grittiest, most tormented soldiers “If the energies of Satan and God were to combine, what kind of energy do you think it would produce? My energy.” — Ol’ Dirty Bastard Ol’ Dirty Bastard was born Russell Jones in Fort Greene, Brooklyn on…
Sound and the Fury
A week on the scene Narcocorrido king Touring in support of his just-released Pa’ Corridos, Lupillo Rivera brings his act to Noche Caliente this Friday, November 26. The impeccably-groomed singer, with his pinstripe suits, cropped mustache, and shaved dome, has made a lasting mark on the regional Mexican genre, not for his appearance (although his…
Mexican torch songs
Heartfelt warmth and sorrow-filled tracks from Eliseo Robles and Rosendo Cantu There’s something about the poetic heartbreak of traditional Mexican music that compels los hombres que no deben llorar to break down and beg for forgiveness in verse, if only because they were too stubborn to do so in person. These slow waltzes and melodic…
A softer, gentler Edna Turnblad
John Pinette (left) in the Hairspray role Divine made famous: Edna Turnblad, stage mom extraordinaire to plucky Tracy Turnblad. Comedian John Pinette puts on the curves for one of Broadway’s hottest roles “You can’t stop my happiness, because I like the way I am. You just can’t stop my knife and fork when I see…
Hot-rod Kirchen
Bill Kirchen — Telecaster master Have-twang-will-travel The world is filled with skilled guitar players, but Bill Kirchen is one of those rare virtuosos who not only possesses his own distinctive sound, but is able to faithfully imitate an endless range of six-string legends. For years, a highlight of Kirchen’s live shows has been an extended…
In the round
News and notes from the San Antonio theater scene Alms for actors In keeping with our “Red State” status, the “holiday” fare at local theaters has a distinctly Christian bias. If you’re comfortable with, or at least not distracted by, all the Christmas talk, there are plenty of ways to help keep actors off the…
Peter-pan-theism
Johnny Depp plays J.M. Barrie, the English not-so-gentleman who invented Peter Pan with the inspiration of Sylvia Llewelyn Davies’ (Kate Winslet) all-testosterone brood. A celebratory account of the man who found Neverland overlooks the cost to those around him It is best to resist mass hallucinations. “Do you believe in fairies?” asks Peter Pan. When…
Recent reviews
After the Sunset Dir. Brett Ratner; writ. Paul Zbyszewski, Craig Rosenberg; feat. Pierce Brosnan, Salma Hayek, Woody Harrelson, Don Cheadle, Obbar Babatundé (R) After the Sunset’s cast ought to guarantee something, but the film’s story is about as fresh as they come from Hollywood these days Brosnan’s reluctant criminal is trying to get out of…
Rated pernicious
John Waters John Waters reflects on MPAA ratings, the art world, and yodeling in the canyon Filmmaking King of Trash John Waters, whose Hairspray inspired the hit musical currently playing at the Majestic Theatre, visited Austin in September to promote his latest film, which was branded with an NC-17 rating (and as a result has…
Arthouse entrepreneur
David Gordon Green wants to make movies with soul that play to a mass market Undertow, the new movie from David Gordon Green, looks in some ways more like a ’70s exploitation flick than the intimate dramas for which he has become a critical favorite `see review, “Fleeing Through the Woods,” November 18-23, 2004`. While…
Small screen and special screenings
Small screen ‘Nuestra familia’ fights to stay on air For 20 years, Nuestra Familia, a family-oriented program produced by San Antonio-based Hispanic Telecommunications Network, has covered topics including single motherhood, immigration, health care, teen sexuality, and Catholicism through a faith-based lens. The flagship program of HTN, a non-profit network specializing in religious, Spanish-language programming, Nuestra…
Armchair Cinephile
The long and short of it Fans of epic – generously proportioned, at least – cinema have a wide array of choices at video stores this month. As the DVD format teaches, too long is never enough; there’s always a new edition around the bend with more scenes rescued from the cutting-room trash bin. Which…
A fortune in cookies
This thriving business is going Wong’s way I meet Derrick Wong, vice president of sales and marketing for Wonton Food Inc., and Richard Leung, a salesperson, in front of an anonymous-looking warehouse in Queens, New York. Though Wong is diminutive and Leung is bullish, they both wear polo shirts with chinos. Through the warehouse doors,…
