(Pretty) Trustworthy
Web Exclusive Trust the Man Dir. and writ. Bart Freundlich; feat. David Duchovny, Julianne Moore, Billy Crudup, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Eva Mendes, Garry Shandling, Ellen Barkin (R) Trust the Man is like that bright-eyed kid in class with the wrinkled pants. You know the one: He doesn’t have his homework quite done, what he has finished…
Armchair Cinephile: The Cine-Mini
Web Exclusive PICK OF THE WEEK: United 93 (Universal): Those who don’t want to experience it have my full understanding, but this reenactment of 9/11’s “fourth plane” is devastatingly effective — a hundred times better than World Trade Center, and maybe the best film of the year. Lost (Second Season) (Buena Vista): Back in the…
Armchair Cinephile: The Cine-Mini
Web Exclusive PICK OF THE WEEK: United 93 (Universal): Those who don’t want to experience it have my full understanding, but this reenactment of 9/11’s “fourth plane” is devastatingly effective — a hundred times better than World Trade Center, and maybe the best film of the year. Lost (Second Season) (Buena Vista): Back in the…
A Family Affair
Ten years ago, Reckless Kelly moved to Austin from Portland, Oregon. The roots-country, country-rock band marked the anniversary this year with a live CD and DVD release. It’s a good introduction to the band for newcomers, and an even better memento for anyone who has been to a live show. Brothers Willy and Cody Braun…
A Family Affair
Ten years ago, Reckless Kelly moved to Austin from Portland, Oregon. The roots-country, country-rock band marked the anniversary this year with a live CD and DVD release. It’s a good introduction to the band for newcomers, and an even better memento for anyone who has been to a live show. Brothers Willy and Cody Braun…
A Family Affair
Ten years ago, Reckless Kelly moved to Austin from Portland, Oregon. The roots-country, country-rock band marked the anniversary this year with a live CD and DVD release. It’s a good introduction to the band for newcomers, and an even better memento for anyone who has been to a live show. Brothers Willy and Cody Braun…
Blood Money
I looked at the number of bar-code stickers left on the clipboard, soon to be wrapped around the vials of dark red liquid, extracted at 15-minute intervals from the bruised, sore, inflamed vein in the crook of my right arm. A bloody tune played in my mind with every cc.: “42 vials of blood to…
Laugh With Them
Initially, and quite naturally, you may find yourself resisting laughter during the Vex’s production of Tom Griffin’s comedy, The Boys Next Door. After all, four out of five of the main characters are mentally handicapped … couldn’t that be, well, mean? But try as my politically correct super-ego might, I couldn’t help myself. I positively…
Come Sail Away
Attack of the killer tomatoes: nothing tops a pizza like oven-roasted tomato sauce. If shimmering sands and swaying palms aren’t on your immediate horizon, how about a trip out West Commerce instead? Granted, the only proximate body of water will be Our Lady of the Lake’s namesake, but at El 7 Mares, scintillating ceviches and…
Second Time Around
In the trend-hopping, flavor-of-the-moment world of commercial rap, three years can be a lifetime. It’s been about that long since Charles “Easy Lee” Peters and Tre Scipio, aka Mojoe, first unleashed their hip-hop jewel Classic.Ghetto.Soul. on San Antonio audiences. After selling more than 2,000 copies of their debut, touring extensively in midst of lineup changes,…
Big Love Leads to Small Bust
You never know what a routine traffic stop might turn up: Last week, the Nevada Highway Patrol netted a red Cadillac Escalade sans license plates and loaded down with police scanners, wigs, money-stuffed envelopes, and a prophet of God — or rather, the puffed-up, self-proclaimed “prophet” Warren Jeffs, 50, leader of a splinter sect of…
Blood Money
I looked at the number of bar-code stickers left on the clipboard, soon to be wrapped around the vials of dark red liquid, extracted at 15-minute intervals from the bruised, sore, inflamed vein in the crook of my right arm. A bloody tune played in my mind with every cc.: “42 vials of blood to…
Laugh With Them
Initially, and quite naturally, you may find yourself resisting laughter during the Vex’s production of Tom Griffin’s comedy, The Boys Next Door. After all, four out of five of the main characters are mentally handicapped … couldn’t that be, well, mean? But try as my politically correct super-ego might, I couldn’t help myself. I positively…
Come Sail Away
A platter of seafood delights from 7 Mares, including fish and shrimp. If shimmering sands and swaying palms aren’t on your immediate horizon, how about a trip out West Commerce instead? Granted, the only proximate body of water will be Our Lady of the Lake’s namesake, but at El 7 Mares, scintillating ceviches and super-scale…
It’s Renny!
The fact that Renny Harlin has managed to score a pair of hit action films (Die Hard 2, Cliffhanger) should not be misconstrued as evidence that he is anything but a punch line to a joke enjoyed equally by Hollywood execs, critics, and all the folks who have spent their hard-earned money to sit through…
Second Time Around
Got my Mojoe working: Peters and Scipio are set to re-release their debut album — with a few new touches. In the trend-hopping, flavor-of-the-moment world of commercial rap, three years can be a lifetime. It’s been about that long since Charles “Easy Lee” Peters and Tre Scipio, aka Mojoe, first unleashed their hip-hop jewel Classic.Ghetto.Soul.…
Big Love Leads to Small Bust
Jeffs. You never know what a routine traffic stop might turn up: Last week, the Nevada Highway Patrol netted a red Cadillac Escalade sans license plates and loaded down with police scanners, wigs, money-stuffed envelopes, and a prophet of God — or rather, the puffed-up, self-proclaimed “prophet” Warren Jeffs, 50, leader of a splinter sect…
Blood Money
I looked at the number of bar-code stickers left on the clipboard, soon to be wrapped around the vials of dark red liquid, extracted at 15-minute intervals from the bruised, sore, inflamed vein in the crook of my right arm. A bloody tune played in my mind with every cc.: “42 vials of blood to…
Laugh With Them
Initially, and quite naturally, you may find yourself resisting laughter during the Vex’s production of Tom Griffin’s comedy, The Boys Next Door. After all, four out of five of the main characters are mentally handicapped … couldn’t that be, well, mean? But try as my politically correct super-ego might, I couldn’t help myself. I positively…
Culture – SA’s Classic-Car Cults are Driven by Dreams and Memories
“In the simplest terms, restoring an old car … is about fulfillment,” writes Tom Brownell in his book How to Restore Your Collector Car. “Maybe it’s fulfillment of a dream, finally possessing that sports car … that was out of reach when it was new. Maybe it’s a fulfillment of a creative urge, to take…
It’s Renny!
Covenant star Steven Strait plays Caleb, possessor of an ancient, untold power passed from father to son: explosive flatulence. Right: director Renny Harlin also wields this power. The fact that Renny Harlin has managed to score a pair of hit action films (Die Hard 2, Cliffhanger) should not be misconstrued as evidence that he is…
Second Time Around
In the trend-hopping, flavor-of-the-moment world of commercial rap, Got my Mojoe working: Peters and Scipio are set to re-release their debut album — with a few new touches. three years can be a lifetime. It’s been about that long since Charles “Easy Lee” Peters and Tre Scipio, aka Mojoe, first unleashed their hip-hop jewel Classic.Ghetto.Soul.…
The Answer Is Always Yes
It’s coming. It will be big; very big. It will be expensive. And you can be sure it will happen. Neatly listed among the “program changes” in the City’s proposed fiscal 2007 budget is a $100,000 item: “Increase Funding for Convention Center Expansion Study.” What’s proposed is a study to “determine the logistics and feasibility…
Blood Money
I looked at the number of bar-code stickers left on the clipboard, soon to be wrapped around the vials of dark red liquid, extracted at 15-minute intervals from the bruised, sore, inflamed vein in the crook of my right arm. A bloody tune played in my mind with every cc.: “42 vials of blood to…
Now that’s a 25th-Birthday Bash
Lace up your Chuck Taylors, grab a notebook, a pencil, and a six-pack of Red Bull, and take a deep breath. To celebrate its 25th anniversary and the hiring of a new curator for its contemporary and modern art collections, SAMA (200 W. Jones) is hosting two parties and a weekend of 25 artists in…
All You Can Eat (09-06-06)
Art, food, and charity collide in the most pleasant ways this week, beginning with: The September 7 FUNraiser at the Blue Cactus Café, 13525 Wetmore Rd., which regularly hosts charity dinners for local causes in its historical Wetmore General Store and Post Office building. Thursday’s beneficiary is the SA to SA Humanities Festival, an annual…
It’s Renny!
Covenant star Steven Strait plays Caleb, possessor of an ancient, untold power passed from father to son: explosive flatulence. Right: director Renny Harlin also wields this power. The fact that Renny Harlin has managed to score a pair of hit action films (Die Hard 2, Cliffhanger) should not be misconstrued as evidence that he is…
Second Time Around
In the trend-hopping, flavor-of-the-moment world of commercial rap, three years can be a lifetime. It’s been about that long since Charles “Easy Lee” Peters and Tre Scipio, aka Mojoe, first unleashed their hip-hop jewel Classic.Ghetto.Soul. on Got my Mojoe working: Peters and Scipio are set to re-release their debut album — with a few new…
The Answer Is Always Yes
It’s coming. It will be big; very big. It will be expensive. And you can be sure it will happen. Neatly listed among the “program changes” in the City’s proposed fiscal 2007 budget is a $100,000 item: “Increase Funding for Convention Center Expansion Study.” What’s proposed is a study to “determine the logistics and feasibility…
Blood Money
I looked at the number of bar-code stickers left on the clipboard, soon to be wrapped around the vials of dark red liquid, extracted at 15-minute intervals from the bruised, sore, inflamed vein in the crook of my right arm. A bloody tune played in my mind with every cc.: “42 vials of blood to…
Now that’s a 25th-Birthday Bash
Lace up your Chuck Taylors, grab a notebook, a pencil, and a six-pack of Red Bull, and take a deep breath. To celebrate its 25th anniversary and the hiring of a new curator for its contemporary and modern art collections, SAMA (200 W. Jones) is hosting two parties and a weekend of 25 artists in…
All You Can Eat (09-06-06)
Art, food, and charity collide in the most pleasant ways this week, beginning with: The September 7 FUNraiser at the Blue Cactus Café, 13525 Wetmore Rd., which regularly hosts charity dinners for local causes in its historical Wetmore General Store and Post Office building. Thursday’s beneficiary is the SA to SA Humanities Festival, an annual…
It’s Renny!
Covenant star Steven Strait plays Caleb, possessor of an ancient, untold power passed from father to son: explosive flatulence. Right: director Renny Harlin also wields this power. The fact that Renny Harlin has managed to score a pair of hit action films (Die Hard 2, Cliffhanger) should not be misconstrued as evidence that he is…
Sound and the Fury (09-06-06)
COTTONFIELDS BACK HOME Filmmaker Hector Galán has devoted much of his career to exploring the roots and development of indigenous Chicano musical forms in Texas, and with his latest project, Los Lonely Boys: Cottonfields & Crossroads, he’s found the ultimate crossover manifestation of that story. Like the brothers Garza, Galán is a native of San…
The Answer Is Always Yes
Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center It’s coming. It will be big; very big. It will be expensive. And you can be sure it will happen. Neatly listed among the “program changes” in the City’s proposed fiscal 2007 budget is a $100,000 item: “Increase Funding for Convention Center Expansion Study.” What’s proposed is a study to…
Blood Money
I looked at the number of bar-code stickers left on the clipboard, soon to be wrapped around the vials of dark red liquid, extracted at 15-minute intervals from the bruised, sore, inflamed vein in the crook of my right arm. A bloody tune played in my mind with every cc.: “42 vials of blood to…
Framed
Lest last week’s feature piece onJaime Hernandez be taken to imply that his brother Gilbert has been slacking, rest assured that Jaime was singled out solely for having ventured into the August pages of The New York Times, and his sibling is going strong. In fact, Beto may be the more prolific of the two,…
All You Can Eat (09-06-06)
Art, food, and charity collide in the most pleasant ways this week, beginning with: The September 7 FUNraiser at the Blue Cactus Café, 13525 Wetmore Rd., which regularly hosts charity dinners for local causes in its historical Wetmore General Store and Post Office building. Thursday’s beneficiary is the SA to SA Humanities Festival, an annual…
It’s Renny!
Covenant star Steven Strait plays Caleb, possessor of an ancient, untold power passed from father to son: explosive flatulence. Right: director Renny Harlin also wields this power. The fact that Renny Harlin has managed to score a pair of hit action films (Die Hard 2, Cliffhanger) should not be misconstrued as evidence that he is…
Rare Air
Years ago, when I lived in Arizona, I’d occasionally make special trips to L.A. just to stop by the Museum of Television and Radio. One of the great, underappreciated meccas for pop-culture nerds, MTR is more a video library than a true museum, offering you access to all manner of arcane broadcasts. On a typical…
The Answer Is Always Yes
Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center It’s coming. It will be big; very big. It will be expensive. And you can be sure it will happen. Neatly listed among the “program changes” in the City’s proposed fiscal 2007 budget is a $100,000 item: “Increase Funding for Convention Center Expansion Study.” What’s proposed is a study to…
The Art Capades
Last Fotoseptiembre, you might recall, the Current carried the banner of new(er) technology. More video! we cried. Bring us the audio accompaniment! Or something like that. But this year, we’re under the spell of Eudora Welty, whose classically composed and deeply moving images of the Depression-era South are just down the street at the San…
Framed
The characters of Gilbert Hernandez’s new Vertigo graphic novel, Sloth. Lest last week’s feature piece onJaime Hernandez be taken to imply that his brother Gilbert has been slacking, rest assured that Jaime was singled out solely for having ventured into the August pages of The New York Times, and his sibling is going strong. In…
Value Vino – Great Wines for Under $15
The distinction between aroma and bouquet is not one we make often in this column, though there is one to be made. Aroma is technically the characteristic smell of a particular grape, say black cherry. Bouquet, on the other hand, is the result of the winemaking process and bottle-aging — say the vanilla hit you…
Ben Down Too Long
Deep down in that part of the soul that houses whatever integrity and artistic good sense one has, it feels wrong to say this. Wrong like enjoying Bum Fights too much. But, believe it or not, it’s not Adrien Brody as a publicity-grubbing private dick in search of original Superman actor George Reeves’s murderer who…
Rare Air
Years ago, when I lived in Arizona, I’d occasionally make special trips to L.A. just to stop by the Museum of Television and Radio. One of the great, underappreciated meccas for pop-culture nerds, MTR is more a video library than a true museum, offering you access to all manner of arcane broadcasts. On a typical…
Texas Hold ‘Em: The Cowboys gamble with T.O.
The wait will finally be over for football fans this Thursday when the NFL opens its regular season with a prime-time game featuring the Miami Dolphins and the Super Bowl Champion Pittsburgh Steelers. The Steelers’ efforts to repeat have already been tested through multiple injuries to their quarterback, Ben Roethlisberger — first as the result…
The Art Capades
Last Fotoseptiembre, you might recall, the Current carried the banner of new(er) technology. More video! we cried. Bring us the audio accompaniment! Or something like that. But this year, we’re under the spell of Eudora Welty, whose classically composed and deeply moving images of the Depression-era South are just down the street at the San…
The Past Ain’t Even Past:
In a rare confession of ignorance, George W. Bush admitted not knowing what crimes, if any, were committed by the hundreds of Muslims, young and old, held without charge or trial at Guantánamo Bay. “I don’t know what these men have done,” said the president, “but I know they’re the worst of the worst.” Unlike…
Ben Down Too Long
After thoroughly ruining Daredevil, Ben Affleck successfully tackles another superhero: 1950s Superman actor George Reeves, the subject of the murder mystery Hollywoodland. Deep down in that part of the soul that houses whatever integrity and artistic good sense one has, it feels wrong to say this. Wrong like enjoying Bum Fights too much. But, believe…
Tool Time
Over its 16-year history, this prog-metal warhorse has released albums sporadically, according to its own creative timetable. It has willfully strayed from its perceived genre to tour with the likes of trip-hop hero Tricky and avant-garde pioneers King Crimson. It makes no concessions to radio, and doesn’t even think in terms of singles. It shuns…
The Art Capades
Showgirls, as interpreted by Jayne Lawrence’s wire-frame banana dancers, at Galería Ortiz. Last Fotoseptiembre, you might recall, the Current carried the banner of new(er) technology. More video! we cried. Bring us the audio accompaniment! Or something like that. But this year, we’re under the spell of Eudora Welty, whose classically composed and deeply moving images…
The Past Ain’t Even Past:
In a rare confession of ignorance, George W. Bush admitted not knowing what crimes, if any, were committed by the hundreds of Muslims, young and old, held without charge or trial at Guantánamo Bay. “I don’t know what these men have done,” said the president, “but I know they’re the worst of the worst.” Unlike…
Something Wicker This Time Sucks
There’s a story I heard a while back that, while most likely untrue, is nonetheless fairly entertaining to consider: Rumor has it that Nicolas Cage, somewhere around his late-’90s, post-Leaving Las Vegas, circa The Rock-through-Snake Eyes period, attended some highfalutin’ social event or other and was summarily decked by then-good-friend Sean Penn for no longer…
Tool Time
Over its 16-year history, this prog-metal warhorse has released albums sporadically, according to its own creative timetable. It has willfully strayed from its perceived genre to tour with the likes of trip-hop hero Tricky and avant-garde pioneers King Crimson. It makes no concessions to radio, and doesn’t even think in terms of singles. It shuns…
Counterpoint – Paris-ite
From the Editor Among the several poignant things I did to celebrate Labor Day (i.e. work), I boycotted Paris Hilton’s new CD, Paris. What bullshit, you may be thinking, because either (a) your criteria for pop stars is more or less your criteria for high-school prom dates or (b) you’re so disdainful of the Paris…
The Art Capades
Showgirls, as interpreted by Jayne Lawrence’s wire-frame banana dancers, at Galería Ortiz. Last Fotoseptiembre, you might recall, the Current carried the banner of new(er) technology. More video! we cried. Bring us the audio accompaniment! Or something like that. But this year, we’re under the spell of Eudora Welty, whose classically composed and deeply moving images…
The Green Goddess – Changing the World One Shopper at a Time
The goddess has been bad. One of my many weaknesses is self-control, or lack thereof. I have no will power to keep on driving past the cute boutique. Like a heroin junkie I need to shut that screaming monkey up. I will rationalize to myself every time I pull into my dealer’s parking lot. “Just…
Something Wicker This Time Sucks
Nic Cage picks on girls in Neil LaBute’s remake of The Wicker Man. The Wicker Man Dir. Neil LaBute; writ. LaBute (screenplay), Anthony Shaffer (1973 screenplay, screenplay); feat. Nicolas Cage, Ellen Burstyn, Kate Beahan, Frances Conroy, Molly Parker, Leelee Sobieski (PG-13) There’s a story I heard a while back that, while most likely untrue, is…
CD Spotlight – Paris
We’re barely two bars into Paris Hilton’s debut CD before she breathlessly assures us, “Uh, that’s hot.” It’s a canny move, since this greeting is Paris’s all-purpose catch-phrase, one that she valued enough to recently copyright (which is a bit like your toddler copyrighting “I poop!”). Paris may not know much, but she understands her…
Culture – SA’s Classic-Car Cults are Driven by Dreams and Memories
In the simplest terms, restoring an old car … is about fulfillment,” writes Tom Brownell in his book How to Restore Your Collector Car. “Maybe it’s fulfillment of a dream, finally possessing that sports car … that was out of reach when it was new. Maybe it’s a fulfillment of a creative urge, to take…
The Art Capades
Showgirls, as interpreted by Jayne Lawrence’s wire-frame banana dancers, at Galería Ortiz. Last Fotoseptiembre, you might recall, the Current carried the banner of new(er) technology. More video! we cried. Bring us the audio accompaniment! Or something like that. But this year, we’re under the spell of Eudora Welty, whose classically composed and deeply moving images…
The Great Tomato Salvage
A tempest blasted the farmers’ market last Saturday, with wind and rain whipping everything in sight and temperatures dropping 30 degrees. In the aftermath, four vendors remained, happy to have survived. “You need some really ripe tomatoes, Ari?” Wrathful Steve asked me. “Yes.” He presented me with two boxes of Roma tomatoes the most scandalous…
Something Wicker This Time Sucks
There’s a story I heard a while back that, while most likely untrue, is nonetheless fairly entertaining to consider: Rumor has it that Nicolas Cage, somewhere around his late-’90s, post-Leaving Las Vegas, circa The Rock-through-Snake Eyes period, Nic Cage picks on girls in Neil LaBute’s remake of The Wicker Man. The Wicker Man Dir. Neil…
CD Spotlight – Paris
PARIS Paris Hilton (Warner Brothers) We’re barely two bars into Paris Hilton’s debut CD before she breathlessly assures us, “Uh, that’s hot.” It’s a canny move, since this greeting is Paris’s all-purpose catch-phrase, one that she valued enough to recently copyright (which is a bit like your toddler copyrighting “I poop!”). Paris may not know…
Culture – SA’s Classic-Car Cults are Driven by Dreams and Memories
83-year-old classic-car restorer and appraiser Clint Lindsey pauses behind a restored 1950 Ford flathead V8 in his shop. Lindsey’s current projects include several classic Mustangs and a 1961 Nash Metropolitan. “In the simplest terms, restoring an old car … is about fulfillment,” writes Tom Brownell in his book How to Restore Your Collector Car. “Maybe…
The Art Capades
Showgirls, as interpreted by Jayne Lawrence’s wire-frame banana dancers, at Galería Ortiz. Last Fotoseptiembre, you might recall, the Current carried the banner of new(er) technology. More video! we cried. Bring us the audio accompaniment! Or something like that. But this year, we’re under the spell of Eudora Welty, whose classically composed and deeply moving images…
The Great Tomato Salvage
A tempest blasted the farmers’ market last Saturday, with Attack of the killer tomatoes: nothing tops a pizza like oven-roasted tomato sauce. wind and rain whipping everything in sight and temperatures dropping 30 degrees. In the aftermath, four vendors remained, happy to have survived. “You need some really ripe tomatoes, Ari?” Wrathful Steve asked me.…
Shut Up
Burnt Orange Productions and the University of Texas Film Institute were launched to give Austin film students “hands-on experience in all aspects of filmmaking.” With their debut production, The Quiet, they teach one of the curriculum’s toughest lessons: If you want to make a living working on other people’s movies, you’re going to invest your…
Indecision 2006
Ciro Rodriguez held a press conference in the backyard of his Southside home late Friday afternoon, underneath a green-and-white striped, vinyl-tarp roof. The squeak of a rebuilt wooden box-fan filled the political revival tent with the sounds of temperature control, but not the companion coolness. There were 25 people in the audience, most with swollen…
Blood Money
“In the simplest terms, restoring an old car … is about fulfillment,” writes Tom Brownell in his book How to Restore Your Collector Car. “Maybe it’s fulfillment of a dream, finally possessing that sports car … that was out of reach when it was new. Maybe it’s a fulfillment of a creative urge, to take…
The Art Capades
Showgirls, as interpreted by Jayne Lawrence’s wire-frame banana dancers, at Galería Ortiz. Last Fotoseptiembre, you might recall, the Current carried the banner of new(er) technology. More video! we cried. Bring us the audio accompaniment! Or something like that. But this year, we’re under the spell of Eudora Welty, whose classically composed and deeply moving images…
The Great Tomato Salvage
A tempest blasted the farmers’ market last Saturday, with Attack of the killer tomatoes: nothing tops a pizza like oven-roasted tomato sauce. wind and rain whipping everything in sight and temperatures dropping 30 degrees. In the aftermath, four vendors remained, happy to have survived. “You need some really ripe tomatoes, Ari?” Wrathful Steve asked me.…
Shut Up
Elisha Cuthbert and Camilla Belle star in the Burnt Orange Production The Quiet. The Quiet Dir. Jamie Babbit; writ. Abdi Nazemian & Micah Schraft; feat. Elisha Cuthbert, Camilla Belle, Martin Donovan, Edie Falco, Shawn Ashmore (R) Burnt Orange Productions and the University of Texas Film Institute were launched to give Austin film students “hands-on experience…
Indecision 2006
CD-23 Candidate Ciro D. Rodriguez, in another T.S. Eliot “Do-I-dare-to-eat-a-peach” hesitant moment. Ciro Rodriguez held a press conference in the backyard of his Southside home late Friday afternoon, underneath a green-and-white striped, vinyl-tarp roof. The squeak of a rebuilt wooden box-fan filled the political revival tent with the sounds of temperature control, but not the…
Blood Money
I looked at the number of bar-code stickers left on the clipboard, soon to be wrapped around the vials of dark red liquid, extracted at 15-minute intervals from the bruised, sore, inflamed vein in the crook of my right arm. A bloody tune played in my mind with every cc.: “42 vials of blood to…
The Art Capades
Showgirls, as interpreted by Jayne Lawrence’s wire-frame banana dancers, at Galería Ortiz. Last Fotoseptiembre, you might recall, the Current carried the banner of new(er) technology. More video! we cried. Bring us the audio accompaniment! Or something like that. But this year, we’re under the spell of Eudora Welty, whose classically composed and deeply moving images…
The Great Tomato Salvage
Attack of the killer tomatoes: nothing tops a pizza like oven-roasted tomato sauce. A tempest blasted the farmers’ market last Saturday, with wind and rain whipping everything in sight and temperatures dropping 30 degrees. In the aftermath, four vendors remained, happy to have survived. “You need some really ripe tomatoes, Ari?” Wrathful Steve asked me.…
That’s a Wrap (09-06-06)
Happy Wednesday. The particularly astute among you may have noticed without prodding that the subtitle this week has been changed from “The Low-Down on This Week’s Premieres” to “Snap Judgments About This Week’s Premieres.” Why, ask you? Simply: I feel it incumbent upon me to draw attention to the very bare fact that these bits…
Indecision 2006
CD-23 Candidate Ciro D. Rodriguez, in another T.S. Eliot “Do-I-dare-to-eat-a-peach” hesitant moment. Ciro Rodriguez held a press conference in the backyard of his Southside home late Friday afternoon, underneath a green-and-white striped, vinyl-tarp roof. The squeak of a rebuilt wooden box-fan filled the political revival tent with the sounds of temperature control, but not the…
Blood Money
I looked at the number of bar-code stickers left on the clipboard, soon to be wrapped around the vials of dark red liquid, extracted at 15-minute intervals from the bruised, sore, inflamed vein in the crook of my right arm. A bloody tune played in my mind with every cc.: “42 vials of blood to…
The Art Capades
Showgirls, as interpreted by Jayne Lawrence’s wire-frame banana dancers, at Galería Ortiz. Last Fotoseptiembre, you might recall, the Current carried the banner of new(er) technology. More video! we cried. Bring us the audio accompaniment! Or something like that. But this year, we’re under the spell of Eudora Welty, whose classically composed and deeply moving images…
Come Sail Away
If shimmering sands and swaying palms aren’t on your immediate horizon, how about a trip out West Commerce instead? Granted, the only proximate body of water will be Our Lady of the Lake’s namesake, but at El 7 Mares, scintillating ceviches and super-scale seashell art await. Toss in a cerveza such as Sol and you’re…
That’s a Wrap (09-06-06)
Happy Wednesday. The particularly astute among you may have noticed without prodding that the subtitle this week has been changed from “The Low-Down on This Week’s Premieres” to “Snap Judgments About This Week’s Premieres.” Why, ask you? Simply: I feel it incumbent upon me to draw attention to the very bare fact that these bits…
Devolution
On February 8, 2006, President Bush signed the National Science and Mathematics Access to Retain Talent (SMART) grant program, which will provide annual funding of up to $4,000 for third- and fourth-year full-time college science students. The idea was to give the sagging American lead in science a swift kick in the butt. In early…
Blood Money
I looked at the number of bar-code stickers left on the clipboard, soon to be wrapped around the vials of dark red liquid, extracted at 15-minute intervals from the bruised, sore, inflamed vein in the crook of my right arm. A bloody tune played in my mind with every cc.: “42 vials of blood to…
Laugh With Them
Initially, and quite naturally, you may find yourself resisting laughter during the Vex’s production of Tom Griffin’s comedy, The Boys Next Door. After all, four out of five of the main characters are mentally handicapped … couldn’t that be, well, mean? But try as my politically correct super-ego might, I couldn’t help myself. I positively…
Come Sail Away
If shimmering sands and swaying palms aren’t on your immediate horizon, how about a trip out West Commerce instead? Granted, the only proximate body of water will be Our Lady of the Lake’s namesake, but at El 7 Mares, scintillating ceviches and super-scale seashell art await. Toss in a cerveza such as Sol and you’re…
That’s a Wrap (09-06-06)
Happy Wednesday. The particularly astute among you may have noticed without prodding that the subtitle this week has been changed from “The Low-Down on This Week’s Premieres” to “Snap Judgments About This Week’s Premieres.” Why, ask you? Simply: I feel it incumbent upon me to draw attention to the very bare fact that these bits…
Devolution
On February 8, 2006, President Bush signed the National Science and Mathematics Access to Retain Talent (SMART) grant program, which will provide annual funding of up to $4,000 for third- and fourth-year full-time college science students. The idea was to give the sagging American lead in science a swift kick in the butt. In early…
