Redskins-Steelers: Outcome Could Swing 2008 Presidential Election
As crazy as it sounds, ESPN and other sports outlets have been reporting that tonight’s Monday Night Football game between the Washington Redskins and Pittsburgh Steelers could determine the outcome of tomorrow’s election. From BleacherReport.com: Since the 1940 Presidential Election, if the Redskins win their last game before the election, the party that won the…
MoveOn.org’s Top 5 Reasons to Vote in Texas
Republicans are welcome to submit their own Top 5, but for now here’s MoveOn.org’s “Top 5 Reasons to Vote in Texas”: The Top 5 Reasons To Vote In Texas Or: Why It Still Means A Thing Even If It Ain’t Got That Swing Big margin = big mandate. The popular vote doesn’t put anyone in…
OurVoteLive.org tracks election problems in real time
OurVoteLive.org is a site developed by the good folks at the Electronic Frontier Foundation in San Francisco that tracks reports of voter complaints all across the country and is sortable by state and county. As of 11:30 a.m. today, Texas had 214 complaints. 103 of them had to do with registration problems. For the complete…
Live & Local: Blowing Trees
What up, G-money ho-dog peeps ? Tonight me and my bizznitch (that’s slang for reporter’s notebook, right?) will be scoping the mad skillz of O.G. Say Town rockers and hip-hop lingo appropriators Blowing Trees at Rebar (8134 Broadway). The Trizzees will be politicking with Rebar mainstays Henry and the Invisibles and the fo-sheezy Cartographers (still…
The medium is the message
Hot gossip at last night Arts & Eats party — and the subject of an E-N post by political editor Scott Stroud and a story by journo Guillermo Garcia — was the maybe-possibly mayoral candidacy of master marketer Trish DeBerry of Guerra, DeBerry, Coody. That’d be the DeBerry who helped Mayor H and Judge Nelson…
Halloween tricks & a treat from Ansen Seale
A sweet antidote to the right-wing tricks flooding my inbox just ahead of election day (“Did Bill Ayers Ghostwrite Obama’s First Book?” “Barack Obama, a Communist, is no Christian,” “Obama, Same Sex & Child Sacrifice”) from San Antonio artist Ansen Seale (whose work you may have admired most recently in Art at Our Doorstep). Enjoy!…
Bexar County Voter Rights Coalition working to protect your vote
Several interesting factoids from today’s Bexar County Voter Rights Coalition/Field Investigator meeting hosted by the Neighborhoods First Alliance and MALDEF (Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund). The meeting was held at the Claude W. Black Community Center for the purpose of training volunteer field investigators for Tuesday’s monumental election. About 25 people attended. N.F.A.…
On the Street: Theater of Competition, Tim Duncan is Mechanical Gothic, Travels with Salim, Travels with T.A.F.K.A.M., and Other Important Issues of the Day
“Theater of Competition” Letters (to the On the Street Penthouse Suite) A bounty of letters for this week, with an appropriate nod towards the election. However, there are also inclusions of art, history, and the Spurs. It’s times like these I wonder if this is a blog or a newspaper within a newspaper. However, until…
Texas Voters Urged to Avoid Straight-Party Option, After Vote-Flip Complaints
Wired.com has a story urging Texas voters to avoid selecting a straight-party option on e-voting machines after numerous complaints that some of the machines have been flipping votes from Democratic choices to Republican ones. See: http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2008/10/straight-party.html Three of the most used voting machines companies have been cited – Election Systems & Software, Premier Election Solutions…
Herb Hornung
Recently, Herb Hornung of the Wooden Nickel Museum passed away. Only a few months ago we wrote an article about him and his museum. I found the interview I did with him for the article. He shows his knowledge and enthusiasm on a variety of topics. foto: Justin Parr It’s difficult to imagine that he…
Voting rights against bullshit
Xavier Perez xavier.perez.007@gmail.com Now we have spelled out all the rights given to you by the brave advocates who pressed for the Voting Rights Act of 1965, there are some requirements you should know to help ensure against election fraud. It basically breaks down like this: The requirements to vote in Texas are the same…
STS9 to rock Austin on Halloween
Electronic/groove/jamband music fans looking for something to do on Halloween should think about heading up to Stubb’s Bar-B-Q in Austin where Sound Tribe Sector 9 will be treating Texas to the band’s annual Halloween blowout. In the jamband world, Halloween is the second biggest holiday of the year (trailing only New Year’s Eve.) The California…
The Last Vegas w. The Heroine & Top Dead Center
Release Date: 2008-10-29 The Last Vegas brings the next generation of raw to the Alamo City yet again, this time joining up with standout local rock ’n’ rollers The Heroine and Top Dead Center for a balls-out, high-energy show. The darlings of underground rock ’n’ roll, The Last Vegas is known for going viciously independent…
Mudvayne w. 10 Years & Snot
Release Date: 2008-10-29 One of the most creative and distinctive bands in the aggressive music world today, Mudvayne is touring in support of The New Game, the band’s first studio album in three years. The Grammy-nominated foursome from Peoria, Illinois, has sold nearly 5 million units worldwide and played for more than 1 million fans…
Olmos Park Terrace Art Stroll
Release Date: 2008-10-29 Experience the talent of artists living in the historic Olmos Park Terrace neighborhood while enjoying a crisp fall day with friends. The Uptown Art Stroll allows the community to explore the working spaces of innovative San Antonio artists and visit with them in the studios where they find inspiration. 41 artists are…
The Pink Spiders, Mondo Primo, & Cruiserweight
Release Date: 2008-10-29 With a fiery sound and a kick-ass attitude, Nashville-based foursome The Pink Spiders spins their power-pop web over SA with Austin’s female-fronted pop-punkers Cruiserweight (above) in tow. Supporting their new independent release, Sweat It Out, on this headlining tour, The Pink Spiders recently wrapped up their second stint on this summer’s Vans…
Ghouls, Ghosts, & Blues Halloween Party w. Coco Montoya & Ruben V
Release Date: 2008-10-29 On tour to support his latest album, Dirty Deal, legendary blues-rock artist Coco Montoya brings his icy-hot guitar playing and his passionate, unaffected vocals to Sam’s for a Halloween bash. With 30 years of experience under his belt, Montoya’s explosive guitar playing and emotive vocals have made him into one of the…
2008 Artesanos Del Pueblo
Release Date: 2008-10-29 Purchase one-of-a-kind folk art from Texas, Central America, Mexico, and Peru during Artesanos del Pueblo, a show and sale of traditional arts and crafts. Several artisans and merchants will feature early religious folk art, combining Christianity with Native American beliefs. Bring the family and make papel picado, paper marigolds, clay skulls, and…
Leopold and his Fiction
Release Date: 2008-10-29 Leopold and His Fiction come to life by juxtaposing the empty feeling of the big city and the calm, soothing feel of the Western era. With a mixture of gritty vocals, bluesy guitar riffs, and rock beats, the band draws logical comparisons to The White Stripes and The Black Keys, but their…
StoneMetal Press Fundraiser
Critic’s Pick Release Date: 2008-10-29 SA’s 27-year-old printmaking cooperative StoneMetal Press hosts a black-and-white ball for the South Texas art set this Saturday. The entrance fee covers a chicken-mole buffet and dessert, music, dancing, door prizes — and most valuable of all, a gallery talk by artist and Cornyation backbone Ray Chavez, and a slide…
Travels with Frenchie
Part II: Donuts and tacos along the Old Spanish Trail
999 EYES Authentic Vaudevillian Freakshow
Critic’s Pick Release Date: 2008-10-29 A jam band playing at the same venue as the 999 Eyes Freakshow should probably equate to cynical-critic whack-a-mole. One look at the Denton band’s MySpace page — featuring pictures of the band made up like Braveheart extras — and the smelly-hippie jokes (i.e., “How do you tell the difference…
Watching cinematic sausage-making
What Just Happened Director: Barry Levinson Screenwriter: Barry Levinson Cast: Robert De Niro, Sean Penn, Bruce Willis, Stanley Tucci, John Turturro Release Date: 2008-10-29 Rated: R Genre: Film Cinephiles who know exactly what a gaffer and a best boy do can be stumped by the question: What is a producer? In principle, a movie producer…
Blue Star’s Arts & Eats 2008
Critic’s Pick Release Date: 2008-10-29 Arts & Eats, San Antonio’s original fall food and wine festival, marks its 14th year this Thursday with delicacies, drinks, and contemporary art on the grounds of the beautiful Tobin Estate. The celebration of the visual and culinary arts adopts a Día de los Muertos theme once again, honoring Viola…
Prenuptial disagreement
Rachel Getting Married Director: Jonathan Demme Screenwriter: Jonathan Demme Cast: Anne Hathaway, Debra Winger, Bill Irwin, Tunde Adebimpe, Anna Deavere Smith Release Date: 2008-10-29 Rated: R Genre: Film It takes about an hour, but Anne Hathaway finally sheds the Princess Diary glitter that makes her performance as Kym, recovering drug addict on leave from rehab…
Halloween Disco Party
Release Date: 2008-10-29 Take out that white polyester suit hidden in the back of the closet and slick back your hair to boogie ’cause it’s disco night at The Mix. Suzy Bravo and The Soul Revue hit the high notes in a two-hour set of disco with classics like Michael Jackson’s “Don’t Stop ’Till You…
Pride and Glory
Pride and Glory Director: Gavin O Connor Screenwriter: Gavin O Connor Cast: Edward Norton, Colin Farrell, Jennifer Ehle, Noah Emmerich, Lake Bell Release Date: 2008-10-29 Rated: R Genre: Film If Pride and Glory were an episode of Cops, it would be any one of the shows where a police officer pulls an eightball out of…
Calavera Fest ’08
Release Date: 2008-10-29 The smell of Sam’s juicy burgers and the explosion of local musical talent make Calavera Fest ’08 a sure best bet for the Halloween weekend. Local barrio-big band Bombasta has coordinated some of San Antonio’s best musicians and artists for a night of celebration, remembrance, and entertainment that highlights the rich culture…
Cardinology
Cardinology Composer: Ryan Adams Label: Lost Highway Release Date: 2008-10-29 Rated: NONE Genre: Recording It’s difficult to look past the truly crappy pun in the title of Ryan Adams’ latest, and even more difficult to look past the douchier aspects of Adams’ public persona, but let’s try, at least for a moment. Cardinology is, unfortunately,…
The Rocky Horror Experience
Release Date: 2008-10-29 Catch the Cameo’s second production of The Rocky Horror Experience Saturday, starring Lee Marshall as Dr. Frank N. Furter direct from L.A. The campy salute to horror movies and sexual liberation features an extended costume party, cash prizes, a singing bee, virgin sacrifices, and more. Must be 16 or older to attend…
Intimacy
Intimacy Composer: Bloc Party Label: Atlantic Release Date: 2008-10-29 Rated: NONE Genre: Recording Think of Bloc Party as the British Killers — yes, the Brit-poppy Killers are actually from Las Vegas — in that both quartets have successfully melded Brit dance pop with American-ready arena rock. But whereas the Killers have showcased an ability to…
Caged Bird Sings
Release Date: 2008-10-29 San Angel Folk Art presents a Dia de los Muertos event that features an altar in remembrance of pets, dedicated to San Angel’s green canary, Truchas, who recently passed away. The gallery is creating an outdoor ofrenda to the birds of the world, so please bring a photo of a pet that…
Missiles
Missiles Composer: The Dears Label: Dangerbird Records Release Date: 2008-10-29 Rated: NONE Genre: Recording Fair warning to the uninitiated: The Dears don’t do radio singles. Only one song in 10 clocks in at less than four minutes, but with Missiles, patience is a virtue. Those weaned on sugar-candy power-pop singles probably won’t get it. The…
Leave It All Behind
Leave It All Behind Composer: The Foreign Exchange Label: Hard Boiled Release Date: 2008-10-29 Rated: NONE Genre: Recording Listening to the Foreign Exchange’s first-rate sophomore release, one can’t help but recall soulful hits of yesteryear — the Five Stairsteps’ “Ooh Child,” Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On,” etc. From the album-opening “Daykeeper” — one of the…
Washington merlots
“The No. 1 source right now for good American merlot is Washington State.” — Eric Asimov, New York Times “There is no argument that Washington state wines have become world-class in a relatively short period of time. Merlot was its first major success … rich, ripe, seductive merlot remains Washington’s signature wine.” — Linda Murphy,…
Texas Voters’ Bill of Rights
You have the right to vote. On Election Day November 4, polls are open 7a.m.-7 p.m.; if you are in line at 7 p.m. stay put; you get to vote. Bexar.org/elections for precint info. You don’t have to present your voter-registration card as long as you’re registered. As long as you’re registered, other forms of…
Amuse-BOUCHE
The Foundry looks like an especially nice version of your average urban coffee house: a redone early 20th-century commercial space at the corner of McCullough and Huisache in historic Monte Vista; well-worn furniture that could have been culled from area estate sales; a granite-topped bar. Except it’s not average. The baristas are volunteers, and mostly…
The next 20 years
“If I went back in time even 10 years ago and told Past Vince that this would happen, I wouldn’t have believed me.” That’s me quoting, well, me from a column I wrote right after Barack Obama won the Iowa primary. I think it’s appropriate because, frankly, if I went back in time less than…
Extra-sensory perception
Richie Budd’s politely wary about my request to record our interview. This reticence seems ironic, considering that his oeuvre — both as a solo artist and with the Denton-Brooklyn collective Good/Bad Art — is chock-a-block with performative antics, including loopy, Andy Kaufman-esque character work (“Jogger Buttermilk Hogger,” 1996), street-art theatrics robo-dubbed on video into Spanish…
It’s McCain, stupid!
“Either way, I’m gonna cry,” said Ryan, a leading campaigner at the AlamObama headquarters at Third and Broadway. Tears of joy if Obama wins; tears of pain if he loses. What nobody seems to be crying about is the possibility of another less-than-transparent outcome of a presidential election. Blame it on blindness, stupidity, lack of…
ARTIFACTS
Pues, viene el Día de los Muertos: need your calavera fix? If you’re too busy to make your own sugar skulls (though the Current believes that any real San Antonian makes time), head on over to the Russell Hill Rogers Gallery on the Southwest School Of Art & Craft’s Navarro campus, where the print exhibition…
Not over yet
The collapse of American finance capitalism, being an event beyond the control of Karl Rove and the Republican apparatus, may well be the decisive factor in electing Barack Obama president. Or so say the pundits. That analysis, however, underestimates the risks that lie ahead this final week and the qualities of Obama’s campaign that enable…
Night of the Hunter
Rick Hunter’s current photography show at One9Zero6 Gallery caused many an appreciative murmur among kids and adults, artists and onlookers, during SMARTFair October 11. Prints were beyond reasonably priced at $20, and many have already been snapped up (so to speak). Before the closing reception Thursday night, Hunter promises, the walls’ empty spots will be…
Term limits: baby steps on the ballot
My husband and I were driving out I-10 Sunday afternoon, and as we passed one of the billboards promoting Mayor Hardberger’s campaign to loosen our restrictive local term limits (currently set at just two, two-year terms apiece for council and hizzoner), he commented on its clever double entendre: “Vote Yes to Extend Term Limits” could…
Dancing as fast as they can
The San Pedro Playhouse Cellar’s production of El Grande de Coca-Cola attains (and maintains) the level of a decent drag show. At a real drag show, of course, you’re free to do other things, such as flirt or burp or leave, while El Grande is saddled with the conventions — and seating arrangement — of…
Star whores
Kevin Smith is a monster. Not because he’s the size of one these days (he recently posted a blog about how he was taking a break from filmmaking to lose weight), but because he’s become one of those forces of nature here in Hollywood that even a so-so track record can’t slow down. His movies…
Temporary fill
I happened to meet Andrew Porter at a party not too long ago. At the time, I didn’t realize that a story from his collection The Theory of Light & Matter, which won the Flannery O’Connor Award for Short Fiction, is included in the Pushcart Prize 2008 anthology, which was sitting on my desk at…
S’Nuff film
There’s a few horror films in theaters this Halloween, sure, but the smart money for a truly disturbing 2008 movie experience is probably on Hustler’s new Sarah Palin-fetishizing porn flick Nailin’ Paylin. Those who deny sexism in politics should try to imagine the release of a Gerald Ford-themed pornographic movie. Blarrrgghh. Sorry. If it’s any…
My Death
You never had to tell her. She would just go. You would help her dress, put on socks, slippers, guide her out the door, into the hall, and down the corridor she would go, touching the handrail every now and then, just to make sure it was still there. I stood in the shower, washing…
Cinema Obscura
Madeline (Bellamy) and Neil (Harron) head to Haiti to get married, at the invitation of Beaumont, some dude they barely know, and the arrangement somehow, shockingly, goes wrong. Turns out Beaumont’s fallen in love with Madeline, feelings he expresses by subtly hitting on her as he’s walking her down the aisle. But bad wedding planning…
All He Has
He had a famous name to live up to. According to the family tree, Jose Chavez y Chavez, the outlaw who rode with Billy the Kid, was his great-great-grandfather. Some had doubted the authenticity of the claim, but it was regarded as truth within the family. No one knew when the story started or how…
Bigger than hip-hop
“I love hip-hop,” exclaims 27-year-old San Antonio educator Lupita Leos. The mother of three has voted in every presidential election since she turned 18, and like many members of the hip-hop generation is eager to make her presence felt in this year’s historic race. “I definitely back Obama,” says Leos. “Things need to get better.…
THE SOUND & THE FURY
Local hard-rock juggernaut the Heroine will soon be heading to California for a gig with seriously high stakes. The group has been chosen as one of six finalists in the Guitar Center On-Stage competition, with prizes that include $25,000 in cash, $20,000 of Gibson gear, a management/record deal, and, most importantly, an opening slot on…
From a great Height
Things can change quickly, an idea Hawthorne Heights explores on their new album, Fragile Future, after some unexpectedly trying experiences. In fall 2005, the Dayton, Ohio, emo act was on top. Their 2004 debut, The Silence in Black & White, had gone platinum, and they’d just finished recording their follow-up, If Only You Were Lonely.…
Pura familia
“Texican” rock sensation Los Lonely Boys are on the road again and stopping in tonight (Wednesday, October 29) for a show at San Antonio’s truly Majestic Theatre. The power trio from San Angelo are supporting their third studio release, Forgiven, which came out this summer, as well as a just-released holiday album, Christmas Spirit. The…
Dear Uncle Mat
She slept with someone the next night. I don’t know what now. Let me rephrase; the relationship was described to my mother-in-law, by my wife, a MONTH ago as perfect, we’d be married forever. My wife cheated twice before we got married, but things were honestly perfect three years later. We’re best friends. She got…
Marcus Rubio and the Gospel Choir of Pillows
Marcus Rubio makes it clear he divides his set list into two discrete categories. “We’re going to play a few songs about whales, and a few songs not about whales tonight,” he tells the crowd gathered on the roof of the Artpace building. And this isn’t some stage-banter bullshit, either. Song titles such as “Prom…
Free Will Astrology
ARIES (March 21-April 19): What perplexing defeat was inflicted on you once upon a time — a defeat that you still can’t figure out how to rise above? What painful memory continues to lurk at the edges of your awareness, taunting you with its implication that you’ll never be whole? This is the time and…
“2 Peas in a iPod” — Mars Dlugosz
This is what iTunes might sound like if it chopped and screwed your music library and played it in reverse. Electronic blippity bloops, hair-metal riffing, proggy drum solos, and keyboard lines throw a rave, and the resulting track could easily soundtrack either a robot love-in or the car from Night Rider jumping over a canyon…
¡Ask a Mexican!
Dear Mexican: I know you’ve been asked variations of this before, but I’m going to ask you again anyway. I’m a gay white guy, and I’ve had three relationships with Mexican men in the last seven years. Each lasted from three to six months. This past relationship actually lasted a year and culminated with us…
The QueQue
Bosque in the light Were Queque scripting the show, we’d have a carnival barker knee-deep in the marsh, maybe a tattered Uncle Sam top hat in implausible balance. Into the rich muck of El Paso’s Rio Bosque Wetlands Park falls ash from a bobbing cigarette as the figure cries out to a passing peregrine falcon,…
Childhood leukemia? Blah, blah, blah.
Yes, let’s “pay attention to his words.” Risks of nuclear power? McCain’s response is “blah, blah, blah.” Here’s Nicholas Graham weighing in on HuffPost: While McCain is targeting Obama’s eloquence as empty words with his “blah, blah, blah” comment, it’s curious why he would use safeguards for nuclear power as the vehicle for this attack.…
