Austin360 blogs > Out & About > Archives > 2011 > January
January 2011
Graham Reynolds and Friends at the Continental Club
A few words about Graham Reynolds, if I may.
I first encountered the composer, pianist and band leader in 1999. He scored a dance for the sprightly Andrea Ariel. Right away, it was clear his music defied conventions: Serious yet playful; intellectual, yet appealing first to the ear, then the heart.
In short, Reynolds is, as violin prodigy Ruby Jane put it on Saturday night at the Continental Club: “A genius.”
Consider this: That very night, he played for Robert Wilson, among the world’s leading experimental theater artists and a University of Texas ex, at the Blanton Museum of Art gala. The normally reticent Wilson gave him a big bear hug.
Then he skittered down to South Congress Avenue for three sets at a packed Continental Club, mostly zooming off into musical space, as inspired by Duke Ellington. (Jane revealed her vocal potential in a terse version of “Satin Doll.”)
My date that night, Eugene Sepulveda, has been a Reynolds fan since he collaborated with choreographer Stephen Mills and visual artist Trenton Doyle Hancock on the astonishing Ballet Austin creation “Cult of Color: Call to Color,” one of the most sophisticated bits of culture this city has ever witnessed.
Sepulveda introduced me to a covey of young musicians form Mother Falcon who have worked closely with Reynolds lately, although I must admit, in the club din, I didn’t memorize their names. I’m hoping that I learn more about them soon.
Next to me during the thrilling climax of the last set, as Reynolds forced the piano to do the impossible, I stood next to Ariel herself. We smiled. It’s a been an amazing run.
Other journalists have written more astutely about Reynolds. I’m just reconnecting. As I type this, I’m listening to his CD “The Difference Engine.” Hard not to imagine that Reynolds’ music will be remembered long after all of us have abandoned this earthly plane.
Photo: Jay Janner
Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment Categories: Music
Dell Children’s Gala at the Austin Convention Center
The gala for the Dell Children’s Medical Center Foundation of Central Texas was tremendous, unambiguous fun. No kidding. I mean fun, as in a fabulous time was had by all — that I surveyed.
If you detect of note of surprise here, that’s because organizers of most galas devoted to serious causes — and you can’t get more serious than the lives and health of children — forget that people leave the house to have fun. To talk to interesting people. To play a few games, maybe. Listen to music. Eat. Drink. Dance. It’s a party.
Alisa Weldon, Victoria Gutierrez and Lynn Yeldell
Well nobody had to announce that the Dell Children’s gala was a party this year. It started with the opposing Bart Kresa light walls, whose vivid projected, kaleidoscopic images breathed life into the oversized and gray Austin Convention Center. It’s the most magical thing I’ve seen at a party in a long time.
The spellbinding images (badly reproduced above in my photograph) were complemented by Victoria Hentrick and David Kurio’s swank, slightly futuristic decor and floral arrangements.
Debra and Brett Hurt
Then there was the program: Streamlined, upbeat, to the point. Live-wire Victoria Gutierrez auctioned off a half dozen dream vacations in a flash. Video testimonials lasted just as long as they should. A few people spoke. Emcee Judy Maggio kept things humming. And afterwords, a backstage casino area was so snazzy and beckoning, I actually played blackjack (no money changes hands during such dealings, but it’s seems awfully real).
Sister Helen Brewer (Chair of the Seton Family of Hospitals Board of Trustees) and Ken Gladish (President/CEO & Sr. Philanthropic Advisor at The Seton Foundations/Seton Family of Hospitals )
It all, however, boils down to the people. And my table was over the moon: Bazaarvoice CEO Brett Hurt and his wife Debra (we talked restaurants, mostly); EZCORP President and CEO Paul Rothamel and his wife Lawana; Robert Bonar Jr., President and CEO of Dell Children’s Medical Center of Central Texas; and Maureen “Missy” Wood, Executive Director of the Children’s Medical Center Foundation. Judy Waxman was there and, of course, my “date” for the evening, Eugene Sepulveda.
Judy Waxman with David and Pam Frager
You can’t beat that. Conversation sizzled, but I got to know only half my tablemates, as is often the case at such affairs. Can’t wait to get to know the others better.
Note: The Dell family sat at the adjoining table. At one point, Michael Dell got up, bounded over, all smiles, to greet the unassuming Hurt. I’ve never seen Dell so pleased to greet someone at a formal event. Then again, some think Bazaarvoice is the next Dell, Inc.
Permalink | Comments (1) | Post your comment Categories: Charity
Gala Lumière at the Blanton Museum of Art
The Blanton Museum of Art looked stately, formal, luminous. The dreamy blue atrium swam with late afternoon light. Four virtually still Robert Wilson video portraits stood guard over the lower galleries, its dinner tables strewn with orchids.
Jack and Ginger Blanton
Upstairs, the pre-party had begun. Major patrons, including eponymous Jack Blanton and family, milled around a darkened gallery as an enormous Wilson black panther mesmerized guests from one wall. The Kleins, the Butlers and other Austin art luminaries carried on vigorous conversations.
Ned Rifkin and Jeanne Klein
Talked with genius Graham Reynolds about his evening, which would include three sets at the Continental Club after his Blanton gig (more on that in a later post). Didn’t meet Wilson this time around, who was late arriving from Santiago, Chile and whose luggage was lost or delayed in Houston.
Charles and Tamara Dorrance
This party was just Act 1 in a 3-act social pilgrimage this night, so it made sense, on the way out, to wander the upper galleries, which have been discreetly rearranged during director Ned Rifkin’s short tenure. A few minutes of reflection among the Blanton’s treasures — some now old, old friends — helped recharge those social batteries.
Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment Categories: Arts
Women Who Do Honored at the Carver Museum
Ten were honored. Eight were present. All are exemplary.
The Carver Museum and Cultural Center saluted 10 Austin leaders on Thursday. “These are Women Who Do,” said museum director Bernadette Phifer, referring to the honor’s name. “Not women who did. They are still contributing to he community.”
Bernadette Phifer and Toni Martin
Some have made their marks in public office, or from the bench: Austin City Council Member Sheryl Cole, State Rep. Dawnna Dukes, Judge Harriet Murphy, Travis County Tax Assessor/Collector Nelda Wells Spears.
Austin City Council Member Sheryl Cole, State Rep. Dawnna Dukes and Etta Moore
Activist and educator Willie Mae Kirk, joked about seeing her son on TV the night before. (That would be former Dallas mayor and current U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk, subject of several close-ups during the State of Union address.) Another honoree, Angela Shelf Medearis, reveled in her gracious status as “Kitchen Diva.” Still another, Girls Scout of Central Texas CEO Etta Moore, kidded about her staff telling her what to do.
Judge Harriet Murphy and Bertha Means
Retired school administrator and Democratic National Convention delegate Bertha Means beamed. Missing from the room were community icon Ada Anderson and University of Texas track coach Beverly Kearney.
Angela Shelf Medearis and Willie Mae Kirk
The crowd in the Carver atrium cheered them all. Repeatedly. A Carver exhibit dedicated to their achievements will be up through March 10. I hear there are plans for a Men Who Do exhibit and ceremony two years from now. They must be pretty darn illustrious to match the inaugural class of 10.
Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment Categories: City
Breast Cancer Resource Center Reception at Ranch 616
One crisis. That’s all it took to bind me permanently to an Austin group.
Kathleen Coggin (BCRC) and Deborah Durham (St. David’s Foundation)
In this case, the group is the Breast Cancer Resource Center. The crisis was a very public collapse during the BCRC art bra fashion show at the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum last year. That scare — the model, a breast cancer survivor, is doing well almost a year later — left indelible memories for all present.
Ricky Magallanez and Thomas Johnson
So of course I wanted to meet the new BCRC executive director Kathleen Coggin. Talking the board members, who munched on the Ranch 616’s famous fried oysters and salmon slivers, it was clear they want Coggin to raise the Center’s profile to that of Austin’s established medical charities, like Family Eldercare or Project Transitions.
Donna Di Carlo (BCRC board president) and Crestina Chavez (YNN evening anchor)
Coggin handles herself impressively. I hope she cooperates with other fine cancer charities like Livestrong and Susan G. Komen for the Cure. There’s always a concern among donors that charities are duplicating services. BCRC has attracted fiercely loyal followers, so Coggin enjoys a headstart accomplishing its specific mission, bringing information, experience and support to the women of Central Texas.
Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment Categories: Charity
Atticus Circle Luncheon at Renaissance Austin Hotel
So far, my admiration for Anne Wynne knows no bounds. The president and founder of the Atticus Circle — a group for straight allies of the gay community — is a mistress of soft power.
I’ve watched her face-to-face, in small groups and, now, in front of a large crowd. She never flinches. Her common-sense dedication to equality addressing what she calls “the great civil rights issue of our times” astonishes.
Tim McCabe and Larry Warshaw
More than 300 guests witnessed her quiet, determined leadership style at the Circle’s first fundraising luncheon, Thursday at the Renaissance Austin Hotel. She dealt quickly and convincingly with registration snafus that delayed the start of the lunch by a few minutes. Wynne then encouraged tablemates to share their coming out experiences (you hear these often from gay people, but not from straight).
Steve Adler, Cookie Ruiz and Eugene Sepulveda
She saluted Dell, Inc. for its admirable even-handedness with gay employees and for its help funding the Circle - Kate Bishop and Lisa Mink picked up the award. She thanked Lowell Kane and Karla Gonzales for their work spreading “Gay: Fine by Me” T-Shirts around the Texas A&M campus. (I understand 130,000 have been distributed around the country by the Austin-based group.)
Proud luncheon co-chairwomen Mary Herman and Susan Longley
Wynne saved the best for last: A public conversation with country star Chely Wright. I understood in advance of the event that Wright had come out as a lesbian in the traditionally intolerant country music industry. But I didn’t know the full story of her upbringing, her struggle to stay true to both sides of her personality (gay and country), her near-suicide and ultimate redemption.
Quite a story. And especially moving when she thanked the straight-oriented Circle for its dedication to equality for gay Americans.
Not your everyday luncheon.
Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment Categories: Law
Hill Country Conservancy Mixer at House and Earth
Many Austin nonprofits throw short mixers, receptions or happy hours. These small social events bond the true believers to the cause and sometimes attract the curious. They also facilitate conversation.
Mike Blizzard and Rick Cofer
You see, speeches, films or performances - required at larger galas - are not planned for these more intimate events. At the Hill Country Conservancy mixer Wednesday at House and Earth on West Sixth Street, substantive chats proliferated over substantial snacks positioned around the deep room, former home to the upscale Spazio furniture store.
Theresa Gebhardt, Stephanie Ignacio and Harper scott
KGSR’s Andy Langer talked about how longtime ACL fans would adapt to the Austin City Limits Live at the Moody Theater and how they eventually accepted apparently necessary changes at his radio station - and at KUT, which recently jumped to No. 1 in the ratings.
David Stuart and Sandy Castoro
We speculated on the role of nostalgia in Austin and how it can be harnessed for good, as it has in the environmental movement. Also how it commonly blinds Austinites to change that can improve the city, like development of a vibrant downtown.
Politically alert Mike Blizzard conversed on the topic of Austin’s new downtown towers. He agreed that when done right, they add energy, excitement and sustainability to the city. And, perhaps most important in the long run, they fight sprawl, traffic and pollution, when designed for pedestrian convenience.
Sam Hellman-Mass and Francisco Albornoz
Promised Travis County prosecutor Rick Cofer - no political tenderfoot himself - that we’d get together for coffee soon. Thanked crack Conservancy communications director Harper Scott for including me at such a relaxed mixer that nonetheless produced plenty of material for future columns.
Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment Categories: City, Law
Friends of Molly Ivins gather at Zach Theatre
Four years after her death, Molly Ivins is still making friends. They showed up to a party and preview performance of “Red Hot Patriot,” a solo show about her life at Zach Theatre on Wednesday. Everybody came with a Molly story, usually to do with her brash personality, piercing wit and lifelong pursuit of justice.
Del Garcia and Ellen Sweets
This particular event benefited the Molly National Journalism Prize, which friends endowed to reward the best in investigative journalism around the country. Some pretty amazing reporters have won the award. And some pretty amazing people packed Zach’s Nowlin Rehearsal Studio — one couldn’t swing an appetizer without hitting a FOM.
Saralee Tiede and David Ochsner
I couldn’t stay for the subsequent performance, but I’ll return to Zach soon. Wouldn’t miss dear friend Barbara Chisholm as Molly: Among Austin’s most beloved actresses playing among Austin’s most beloved writers. (Unless you happened to have been on the receiving end of her pointed pen, which could be pretty poisonous, if almost always funny.)
Julia Cuba and Mike Nellis
Strikes me that two contemporaneous Austin women — Barbara Jordan and Ann Richards — attracted solo-show stage treatments. Holland Taylor’s take on Richards is set to reach the Paramount Theatre in May.
Texas leaders just tend to be theatrical.
Permalink | Comments (1) | Post your comment Categories: Arts, Law, Media
Austin Social Hot Spots for January
Three downtown Austin hot spots traced a triangle of social activity in January.
Haddington’s on West Sixth Street, Trace and attendant lounges on Lavaca Street and the duo of Second/Congress at Second Street and Congress Avenue.
Reports of waits of up to three hours have discouraged some early adopters, although both Haddington’s and Second Bar and Kitchen accept reservations for six or more. The waits will shorten, too, as the weather continues to warm and outdoor seating becomes available.
Indira Castillo and Glenn Williams at Qua
Folks are headed to Haddington’s for Bill Norris’s succulent cocktails. They love chef David Bull’s soul-stirring inventions down at Second and Congress. As co-owner Jeff Trigger will happily demonstrate, the siblings were meant for socializing. Table hopping is almost required.
And speaking of drinks: Best Manhattan ever Monday night at Second. “Right glass, right ice, right ratio, right ingredients, stir just long enough but not too much & the perfect maraschino cherry,” explained the tweeter behind the CongressAustin handle.
Robyn Grona and Anthony Martinez at Qua
And the tall lounges leading to Trace at the W Hotel & Residences are always packed, for the atmosphere, music, buzz and slowly improving service. (I see the Austin City Limits Live at the Moody Theater imagineers — Tim Neece, Terry Lickona and Arthur Andersson — passing through the lounges often.)
As previously reported, guests are assembling at Annies on Congress Avenue on Thursdays for Jim Cullum’s jazz band, but also at Qua on Wednesdays for DJ Manny’s global music sets. The shark-tank club on West Fourth Street often looks empty to me, but it was stuffed with the stylish set on Sunday.
Connie Bakonyi and Colleen Tomlin at Qua
That’s when Brianna Fleet’s Top Austin Model contest settled there. A line had formed by the time I arrived at 8 p.m., but the fashion show didn’t start until almost two hours later. Responding to my tweets on the subject, several readers responded “that’s why they call it ‘fashionably late.’”
I stayed for the first line of clothing and admired the dauntless models. Fantasy themes abounded.
There was some grumbling among the masses that ButterFly Entertainment’s contest didn’t really reflect the Austin modeling community accurately, but hey, do TV reality shows truthfully mirror the societies they infiltrate? Don’t bother answering.
Fleet, just out of college, is ambitious and courageous. And the crowd at Qua proved her point.
Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment Categories: Food, Nightlife, Style
Jo’s Coffee message of love mutilated
It started as an encouraging sign on Jo’s north wall: “i love you so much” scrawled in lipstick-red script over spring green.
Posted by Penelope DeMeerleer on Facebook (that’s her)
It ended with Xs over the O, V and E, before management just painted over the whole thing.
Barista Matthew Konsa at 4 p.m. today
In July 2010, Austin musician Amy Cook thought partner Liz Lambert, majority owner of Jo’s Coffee on South Congress Avenue, was having a bad day. So she drew a sign of love that everyone walking, biking or even driving down the avenue could see.
But Monday night, some misanthrope mutilated the message. Now it’s back to plain green. No word yet on whether Cook will duplicate what was a spontaneous gesture.
But people miss it already, if the Jo’s Facebook page is any evidence. Dozens have already posted their photographic memories.
UPDATE
Good news! The “i love you so much” message is back! Amy Cook repainted it.
Permalink | Comments (5) | Post your comment Categories: City
A father remembers a son
Sometimes, I can barely make it through an interview.
My throat closes up. My eyes water.
“I can’t lose it right here on the phone with somebody who has laid to rest a loved one,” I think. “It just wouldn’t be right.”
Yet that happened earlier this week when I called Frank Stiles. The polite man on the other end of the line spoke in the clipped, matter-of-fact tones of a small-town doctor. Turns out, he’s a Leander veterinarian, whose family has farmed near Thrall for five generations.
The Stiles family had given the charity $7,700 to plant two miles of roadside and a park in Liberty Hill, where Stiles’ son had attended high school.
So far, so routine. Until Stiles talked about John Kinkead Stiles, who died a year ago of leukemia, just short of his 21st birthday.
“John was my youngest,” Frank Stiles said. “And the most dedicated. He would have taken over the farm.”
Despite battling the disease, his son attended Texas A&M University for two years. After he died, the family used the rest of his college savings account to pay for other students’ tuition, with some left over for the Lady Bird’s Legacy.
“John cared about people and he worked hard,” Stiles said. “He enjoyed the outdoors. Loved wildflowers. This is one of the ways to honor him.”
Stiles explained his connections to the Johnsons through Earl Deathe, Jr., who oversaw many of President Lyndon Baines Johnson’s affairs; and John’s friend Jordan Deathe, who carried his Eagle Scout badge on the 2010 Texas 4000 Ride, the bicycling epic from Austin to Anchorage, Alaska that raises money to fight cancer.
One stretch the Stiles seeded leads to the family cemetery near Thrall.
“John’s buried at the foot of his great-grandmother,” he said.
This is where I came close to abandoning my professional demeanor.
“It’s taken me a year to do anything but get out of bed and get back into bed,” Stiles said. “He would have been disappointed if I didn’t put one foot in front of the other. I wish I could have five minutes with him to say how proud I am of him.”
Then it was almost as if Stiles was comforting me.
“If you’re out near Thrall, drive by the Stiles Cemetery,” he said. “Come out there some spring day. We’ll go fishing.” …
Following up on another Legacy donation, we heard from Rex and Laura Bohls, whose family had given $2,400 in memory of longtime Austin businessman Everett Bohls, making possible MoPac Boulevard (Loop 1) seedings.
Bohls, Rex’s father, had been quite the painter, skilled and prolific. The family recently showed some of his art, raising another $10,175 for the campaign.
“It was such fun for Rex and me to hear all the wonderful comments,” Laura Bohls reported. “We are thrilled and overwhelmed at the amount of donations. We know he would be very proud and pleased.
Go here for more information on the campaign.
Permalink | Comments (4) | Post your comment Categories: Charity
They Mattered to Austin: Emma Long and Sue McBee
Not all that long ago, Austin lost two generations of trailblazing women: Former U.S. Rep. Barbara Jordan (1996), former Gov. Ann Richards (2006), former U.S. first lady Lady Bird Johnson (2007), diva extraordinaire Karen Kuykendall (2007), and all-round activist Liz Carpenter (2010).
In the space of two recent weeks, we said goodbye to two more: Preservationist Sue Brandt McBee (Jan. 3) and former Austin Council Member Emma Long (Jan. 15), a pair of women whose impact on Austin is immeasurable.
Not long after that lunch, I shared drinks with former mayor Lee Cooke and University of Texas connector Katy Hackerman at the W Austin Hotel & Residences. We talked of McBee — yet another writer — and her affect on downtown Austin’s vibrancy, something we take for granted today.
Back in the early 1980s, Cooke said, McBee thought that the city’s urban core would be deserted in a few years if Austin’s power players didn’t intervene quickly and decisively. Cooke subsequently nailed down several commitments from hotel chains to build in or near downtown — at a time when skeptics thought nobody would ever want to visit our inner city.
Another inveterate social connector, Mary Margaret Farabee recently lent me copies of three McBee books — a volume of poetry, a book of drawings accompanied by her descriptions, and a collection of her columns for the American-Statesman dating from the mid-1980s. The poems are mostly personal and intimate, but the other books should be required reading for those trying to analyze Austin and how we got where we are today.
Paging through Farabee’s pristine copy — better preserved than mine in its original red box — the buildings pass by like old friends on parade. Yet one appeared new to me on this viewing — “Wisteria,” an 1875 farmhouse at 1610 Virginia Avenue above Barton Springs Road. How had I missed this handsome house on land associated with storied Austin family names - Bouldins, Swishers, Goodriches, Davises, Griffins, Kinneys and Josephs.
In “Remembering Austin,” McBee’s collected columns strike a familiar chord, in part because what she did — profiling people, places and scenes — is echoed in my current assignment. She looked primarily backwards. A series of columns began with variations on “You know you’re Old Austin when …”
A gentle, funny voice, McBee could break convention by taking on antagonists like demolition specialist Quentin Sam “Pee Wee” Franks, who flattened much of old Austin. She could also surprise, as with her ode to the city’s mushrooming skyscrapers, which put her in opposition to some leaders of the day.
“Thank heaven I don’t have political aspirations,” she wrote. “I’d last about five minutes in this town, massacred in cold blood, no doubt by We Care Austin, Sally Shipman, Larry Deuser, Roger Duncan and the rest.”
I feel that way sometimes, when I try to explain New Austin to Old Austin, loving both as McBee did.
McBee is particularly eloquent profiling other women who forged their own destinies, like “Pepper Lady” Jean Andrews (recently deceased) and caterer and event planner Victoria Hentrick (happily recuperating after a scary illness).
But it was one of her short poems from “Lines for a Texas Town” — Austin is the titular town — that struck me as most timely.
In “Crazy Woman,” McBee she places Richards, then running for State Treasurer, in a long line of groundbreaking Texas females, among them Angelina Eberly, Clara Driscoll, Oveta Culp Hobby, Elisabet Ney, Lorene Rogers, Sissy Farenthold, Barbara Jordan and Ima Hogg.
McBee nicely rounds out the feelings expressed in today’s column: “And all the rest of the crazy women / Who made a dent on Texas / Through sheer determination. / And brains, of course. / And work. / Makes one kinda proud, thinking back. / And downright excited, / Looking forward.”
CORRECTION
Emma Long and Anita Brewer Howard were neighbors in Wilshire Wood, not Windsor Park. Also, white flight from central neighborhoods started in the 1950s, but continued through the 1980s.
Permalink | Comments (5) | Post your comment Categories: City
Chad Womack speaks out about Brad’s criminal record
Austin club owner Chad Womack, brother and business partner of “Bachelor” reality star Brad Womack, has broken his silence about reports that his twin bears a criminal record and has changed his name.
Yet through Facebook direct messages, he wanted clear up any lingering questions generated by the originating Star magazine report about Womack’s changed last name (from the slightly ludicrous ‘Pickelsimer’), the source of the drab photograph shown in widely distributed reports and the ongoing legitimacy of their business.
“Our birth name is Womack,” Chad said. “My mom’s second husband adopted us at the age of four and gave us his last name which was ‘Pickelsimer.’ They divorced 10 years later and all three of us — Brad, Wes and I, changed our name back to our birth name as soon as we legally could. We’ve all been Womacks again for years and are very proud of that name — once again our birth name.”
As for the mug-shot-like photo: “The picture of Brad that is being used for this story is a picture taken at the Department of Public Safety for a Small Business Administration loan,” Chad said.
Chad adds that similar photographs of himself and Wes were taken the same day for that loan.
As for the weight of the decades-old charges against Brad, his brother said the family has undergone rigorous background checks and earned eight liquor licenses from the exacting Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission over the past 10 years.
Chad is not unaware that his brother’s high profile means the past is not always considered the past.
He said: “We all understand that when you’re in the public eye there are both good and bad issues that you have to deal with.”
CLARIFICATION
Tela Mange, spokeswoman for the Texas Department for Public Safety, today said Brad Womack’s photograph, taken as part of the fingerprinting process for a background investigation, was not from his arrest.
It then became part of his criminal record.
“The photo is attached to the person, not to an event,” Mange says.
Permalink | Comments (3) | Post your comment Categories: Media, Nightlife
Trivia in the Library of the Mind
As a child, I imagined the mind as a library.
All my knowledge, memories and experiences could be found there, on the pages of glowing books, organized in a dream version of a Dewey Decimal System. Often restless, I could fall asleep paging through those memory books.
I’ve always been attracted to games of specialized knowledge. I was not blessed, however, with instant “point to point” memory, matching fact to fact like some lighting round of “Jeopardy.” Rather, I tend to retrieve memory bits through “topographical” or “associative” connections.
Like searching a library by classification.
And just as a librarian takes time to fetch a reference book — if you are old enough to remember such a person — it takes me a while to make the connections.
Memory is improved through trivia games, and recently I’ve become addicted to two online: QRank, which is social on a digital level, and Sporcle, which is so only if you play with someone beside you in front of the screen.
QRank is mobile. Sporcle, which sometime turns into a typing contest, is nearly impossible to play on a smart phone.
QRank encourages live, random play, pitting known opponents against each other, and rewards consumers of news, since the questions are often topical and timely.
Sporcle is something I play late at night, or in between writing assignments, or during the boring parts of a sports broadcast.
It encourages, instead, a rigorous refinement of basic knowledge — with few exceptions, for instance, I can now locate and spell the 195 countries of the world — but also attracts cultists. Huge swaths of the Literature category, for instance, are devoted to Harry Potter fans.
Why bring this up now? Because I’m working on a fairly big writing project and my mind has been trained to work in hour-long spurts. So a break for QRank or Sporcle is about as social as your social columnist can be just now.
Permalink | Comments (2) | Post your comment Categories: Media
Jim Cullum Band at Annies
Every night should be like Thursday night at Annies. Place was packed. Tables were hopped. Appetites were sated.
Why the commotion? Jim Cullum’s jazz band played. Cullum, who entertained Louis Armstrong and lit up the White House during President Lyndon Baines Johnson’s administration, nurtures special ties to Austin. The San Antonio frontman (pictured center) is related to several key local connectors, who spread the world about Cullum’s four-night residency at the Congress Avenue bistro.
Bonnie Cullum and Robert Nash
Our table alone included theatrical director Bonnie Cullum, professional connector Robert Nash and partner Paul Simmons, writer and jazz promoter Dean Lofton, social angel Christine Perrault Moline, power blogger Chris Apollo Lynn (dressed as if lolling around Paris of the ’30s), new-to-me Michele Foster and Earl Lundquist, a jazz blogger.
Dean Lofton and Michele Foster
Bouncing to the Dixieland sounds elsewhere at Annies were drink entrepreneur Clayton Christopher, prodigal returnee Adam Ayres, cafe owner Love Nance, peripatetic Charles Gentry, recent acquaintance Frank Rivera, and many others recognizable to followers of this column.
Frank Rivera and Chris Apollo Lynn
The music? What can I say? As authentic as New Orleans gumbo (a dish prepared to perfection, by the way, by NOLA expats Moline and husband Terrence Moline at their house recently!)
Cullum returns Jan. 27, Feb. 3 and Feb. 17, from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. There’s no cover charge, but one must order food from the simplified menu.
Permalink | Comments (1) | Post your comment Categories: Food, Music
AU40 Nominations Closing Happy Hour at the Driskill Hotel
Was it the cold? The first 60 minutes of the Austin Under 40 Nominations Closing Happy Hour seemed empty compared to last year’s party at the Driskill Hotel. Well, that meant more time with the ambitious networkers who give the prizes to young leaders from so many sectors of Austin business, charity and other fields.
Naila Ahmed and Sara McCuistio
And more yummy snacks for everyone. I wandered from pod to pod, picking up what I could about the backgrounds of the members, the respected awards and the always popular ceremony, coming up at the AT&T Center on Feb. 26.
Yann Curtis and Kate stoker
For those who haven’t had the pleasure, AU40 is a outgrowth of the Young Women’s Alliance and the Young Men’s Business League. They among them many Austin groups that train (relatively) young folks in leadership and philanthropy.
Priya Nathan and Jessica Sajak
They also mix. And this was a mixer. As the first hour of this Happy Hour drifted by, more folks in winter-wrapped business attire drifted into the upstairs lobby of the Driskill. It was time for me, however, to head out for my next gig.
I look forward to the AU40 ceremony in February, which conflicts with the Links Mardi Gras event, so probably another split evening.
Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment Categories: Business
Flow Nonfiction Screening Party at W Austin Hotel & Residences
The pack could be divided three ways: 1) The movie makers. 2) The movie insiders. 3) The folks who spread the word about movies.
The Flow Nonfiction Team: Matt Naylor, Tanya Schurr, David Rice, Lisa Pearson, David Modigliani and Chris Steiner
Approximately 100 people assembled in the “social room” — also called the “strategy room” — on the second floor of the W Austin Hotel and Residences, among the tall, gray, dignified meeting spaces. They gathered to see the short documentary “Espwa (Hope)” on three flat screens. Before the showing, the three sub-packs circled each other over deli snacks and drinks.
Joel and Dani Rasmussen
“Espwa” — as austin360 writer Matthew Odam explains more minutely on his blog — is a collaboration between Flow Nonfiction, which provides content for socially conscious companies and purpose-driven brands, and Operation Blessing International, a nonprofit relief organization. It records in rhetorically persuasive film language the efforts of Tide Loads of Hope to bring washing machines and dryers to the survivors of the 2010 Haiti earthquake, specifically to a general hospital and a small orphanage.
Tim and Julie Novak
An articulate Austin trio — David Modigliani (“Crawford”), Matt Naylor and David Rice — produced and directed. They and their Flow associates have cooked up a new production format that yokes documentary makers with nonprofits and, in this case, a for-profit, Procter and Gamble, whose Tide logo is all over the screen.
Kate Gose and TK Largey
That might make some purists wince, but when a corporate giant actually does some concrete good, why not trumpet it? (I understand the P&G folks actually requested a lower profile for their product than was seen in earlier cuts.) Anyway, the movie, which is headed to the Sundance Festival, is quite powerful enough.
Bonus: I got to know the Flow team and peeked around the ACL Live at the Moody Theater, due to open in February, and its upper terrace. It’s a beauty.
Photos: John Pesina
Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment Categories: Movies
Texas Inauguration Night Celebration at the Palmer Events Center
The evening’s festivities stuck to the 2011 austerity theme.
Dennis Martinez and Anna Hundley of the Autism Treatment Center
Guests at the Palmer Events Center were attired in cocktail wear or dressy business suits, although a few women opted for full-length gowns and wraps, some in patriotic themes.
Sarah Beck and Ashton Morgan
Palmer was opened to full, airplane-hangar capacity, with stations for bite-sized desserts and cash bars, scenes for old-fashioned political backslapping.
Donna Williams, Hannah Bell and Texas Railroad Commissioner Michael Williams
Bands, including hard-working country artist Bonnie Bishop, played the north stage, too loudly for some patrons, who retired to Palmer’s south end.
Drs. Dawn and Edward Buckingham
High officials, legislators, judges and other dignitaries roamed the vast floor, exchanging casual forms of gallantry. Brigadier General Red Brown — his chest a shield of medals — said it was an evening for special pride.
Jane Brown and Brigadier General Red Brown
Others spoke of the legislature’s honeymoon period, with ceremonial activities not yet overshadowed by the state budgetary challenges.
Paul and Kim Harle
First lady Anita Perry’s spokeswoman Sarah Beck summed up the evening: “It’s all smiles.”
Ann Butler and former Texas Secretary of State Geoff Connor
Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment Categories: Law
Inauguration Barbecue on the State Capitol Grounds
As soon as barbecue hit the plates, the sun came out.
Before that, the first party on Texas Inauguration Day looked pretty bleak. Blankets and caps sold briskly at the official merchandise tent.
David and Joanne Farrell
“It has become progressively colder,” said vendor Matt Turner of San Marcos. “We were wearing the blankets ourselves.”
All 10,000 free tickets were distributed for the lunch spread following the swearing in of Gov. Rick Perry and Lt. Gov. David Dewhurt. Yet the crowd seemed thinner than that to veteran party supplier Damon Holditch of Marquee Events, who provided tents, linens and other prerequisites for the outdoor bash.
Denise Guerra and David Rodriguez
Holditch’s crew had been working the State Capitol grounds since Thursday, tempted by Eddie Deen & Co. Catering’s meats and sausages smoking round the clock in 18-wheeler trailers parked along Colorado Street.
In a true people’s picnic, bearded, tooth-challenged men gobbled brisket next to fastidious diners in coats and ties.
Joe and Jennifer Santana
“A lady in the office gave us the tickets for a penny,” said construction worker Jonathan Gilbert of Austin. “The barbecue is good but the sauce is really, really good,” he said of the especially bottled chipotle hot sauce, sampled under tents decorated with gingham and bunting.
Rodney Sheridan and Deborah Barta
“Thank Red McCombs for us,” shouted Don Wickham from a long table, referring to the San Antonio businessman who picked up the lunch tab. “This is very generous.”
Folks gathered from near and far. “It’s an historic third term,” said Joanne Farrell of Harker Heights. “And we’ve been impressed so far. It’s well organized.”
Horace Gore and Vera Galvan
“I’ve never experienced an inauguration,” said state worker Denise Guerra. “I wanted to welcome the governor back and join the festivities.”
“This is my first time,” said Randy Sheridan of Katy. “I follow politics in Texas closely, so I had to see it.”
Silver Vasquez, Lindsey Heintz and Greg Macksood
Folks were lining up for the free meal before Gov. Perry took the stage. As soon as the ceremony ended, a mariachi band from Crockett High School welcomed the guests, who quickly streamed through the self-service tables.
Watching the crowds from a bench nearby, Horace Gore, 77, of Gonzales talked about hunting along the Clear Fork of the Brazos River with a young Gov. Perry.
“I didn’t think he was worth a (expletive),” Gore laughed. “Now he’s governor. He’s as straight as a string. His mommy and daddy raised him right.”
Permalink | Comments (1) | Post your comment Categories: Law
Odes to Inaugurations Past
Usually, inaugurations make grand — and rare — excuses for public extravagance in Austin. For pomp and circumstance. Ceremony and symbolism. Feasting off the fat of the land and dancing in the streets.
Not today. Yes, there will be speeches. In politics, there are always speeches.
Yet because of the state’s economic condition — $27 billion state budget shortfall and widespread unemployment — organizers of this year’s inaugurations for Gov. Rick Perry and Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst kept it discreetly simple: a church service in the morning, followed by the swearing-in ceremony and free barbecue for up to 10,000 pre-registered guests on the Capitol lawn, paid for by San Antonio businessman Billy Joe “Red” McCombs.
In the evening, instead of thematic balls at multiple locations, backers have scheduled a plainly titled “Evening Celebration” at the comparatively humble Palmer Events Center. Folks in business or cocktail attire will listen to a few speeches, of course, dance to musical acts, nibble on dessert or possibly belly up to the cash bar. The “Austerity Inauguration” could make history. We’ll use this excuse to recall some highlights from inaugurations past.
Sources: ‘The Handbook of Texas’ and American-Statesman archives.
1841
Sam Houston, twice president of the Republic of Texas, then later governor, was not pleased that his immediate predecessor and rival, expansionist Texas President Mirabeau B. Lamar, moved the capital from Houston’s namesake city to Austin, located on the hilly fringe of the frontier. A Comanche attack was not out of the question during the swearing-in ceremonies for Houston’s second presidency. So the Travis Guards, organized in 1840 as Indian fighters, escorted Houston into the city for his inauguration.
Texas inaugural festivities did not always take place in Austin. Columbia was the first to hold the honors in 1836 for Houston. In 1838, Lamar was sworn in at Houston. In 1844, President Anson Jones avoided the dueling capitols by taking the oath of office in Washington-on-the-Brazos, where Texas’ Declaration of Independence was signed. Today, it’s mostly a well-tended state historical park not far from Brenham, while East Columbia is a hamlet near newer West Columbia on the Brazos River.
1847
According to a 1991 article in this newspaper: “When Gov. George T. Wood was sworn in as governor of Texas, he refused to wear socks. His successor, Gov. Peter Hansborough Bell, wouldn’t trim his shoulder-length hair before taking the oath of office. Yet there were few if any snide remarks — perhaps because of the Bowie knife and two pistols stuck prominently in Bell’s belt.” No source was given for these amusing anecdotes.
The Civil War — Travis County had voted against secession — and the subsequent Reconstruction generated lasting tensions in Austin. Lt. Albert Roberts of the Texas National Guard was assigned to lead the Austin Company of the Travis Rifles to confront carpetbaggers at the inauguration of Gov. Richard Coke, a conservative Democrat. The race, pitting Coke against his predecessor, Gov. Edmund J. Davis, was highly disputed, and force was used to back the Democrat’s inauguration (pictured).
1886
The Driskill Hotel opens at East Sixth and Brazos streets. For almost 100 years, the ornate structure hosted numerous inaugural balls. The hallways rang with politics anyway as unofficial headquarters for legislators and other officeholders, including President Lyndon Baines Johnson. While the newer rooms in the hotel’s north extension are comparatively plain, the lobbies, bar and banquet rooms in the original building are palatial enough for any political ego.
1931
Texas inaugurations entered the broadcast age in 1931, when pioneering Dallas radio station WFAA aired the swearing-in of Gov. Ross Sterling, founder of Humble Oil and Refining Co., now known as Exxon. Only eight years later, the power of radio was reinforced when one of its accidental stars was elected governor.
Gov. Wilbert Lee ‘Pappy’ O’Daniel was a country musician and a flour salesman who blanketed Texas airwaves during the Depression, thanks to a far-reaching radio signal broadcast from the other side of the Mexico border. Although historians don’t give O’Daniel much respect as a statesman, he was hugely popular, and his inauguration took place in Memorial Stadium at the University of Texas. “The Handbook of Texas” cites two crowd estimates: 45,000 and 100,000. In either case, a good deal more than the 10,000 expected today.
1991
The last Democratic governor knew a little something about political theater. On inauguration day, Gov. Ann Richards led her followers and several high school bands across the Congress Avenue Bridge toward the Capitol, as she had promised in campaign speeches, “to reclaim the state government for the people of Texas.” Daylong, televised celebrations continued at Palmer Auditorium, now the Long Center for the Performing Arts, and the Erwin Center, where prominent entertainers performed. Richards died in 2006, and Austin’s City Council rechristened the bridge in her honor.
The “Ice Inauguration” is probably best remembered for what didn’t happen. A planned 11-block-long parade was canceled and the swearing-in ceremonies for Gov. Rick Perry and Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst were moved inside the Capitol’s House chamber because of a fierce ice storm (fierce for Austin). Despite the transportation obstacles, copious crowds still showed up at the Austin Convention Center for one of the inaugural balls. Also memorable: machine-gun toting rocker Ted Nugent appearing onstage in a cut-off Confederate flag T-shirt, making disparaging remarks about illegal aliens.
Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment Categories: Law
Inauguration overseer: Patty Huffines
One never hears “Rick” or “Anita.” For Patty Huffines, it is always “the governor” and “the first lady,” or sometimes “Mrs. Perry.”
Although the co-chairwoman of the 2011 Texas Inaugural Committee has known Gov. Rick Perry and first lady Anita Perry for years, Huffines does indeed stand on ceremony.
James would be James Huffines, president and chief operating officer of PlainsCapital Corp. , twice chairman of the University of Texas System Board of Regents and a Perry adviser.
The affable banker twice co-chaired Perry swearing-in celebrations — including the 2007 “Ice Inauguration” — and passed along plenty of hints to his wife, a professional fundraiser.
“I’ve never done anything like this before, on this scale,” said the insistently modest co-overseer of the inauguration’s morning church service, subsequent swearing-in and barbecue lunch, plus the less-formal-than-usual evening celebration. “So many things you have to be aware of. It’s an historical event, and you want to stay true to that.”
Not that Patty Huffines is unfamiliar with organizing social events. For years, she worked in development for Zach Theatre, St. Edward’s University and Public Strategies, a business advisory firm. She’s headed numerous gala committees, including last year’s memorable all-purple anniversary party for the Long Center for the Performing Arts, dreamed up with gala co-chairwoman Bobbi Topfer and event planner Victoria Hentrich .
“Bobbi taught me how to put on a production,” Huffines said. “And that’s really, truly what it was. I’ve never had so much fun in my life.”
All that organizing and fundraising have been noticed far and wide. “Hard to have enough good adjectives for Patty,” said Pam Willeford, an Austinite and a former U.S. ambassador to Switzerland and Liechtenstein. “Smart, gracious, efficient, humble, fun, generous, creative, intuitive, hardworking. She understands problems and constituencies and what needs to be done to help others or to make something work.”
Born in Marshall of John B. Hayes, an ice businessman, and Maxie Hayes, a housewife and volunteer, middle child Patty was something of a spitfire, roaming the East Texas town.
“With Mother, you had to be outside,” Patty Huffines remembers. “Growing up in a small town, that’s what you did: Go outside and play with your friends.”
By the time Patty was in the seventh grade, the young family had moved to the ranch houses of the middle-class Briargrove neighborhood in Houston. She made good grades at Lee High School and moved to Austin to major in education at UT. She graduated with honors and a concentration in math.
Like so many UT graduates, she never really left Austin. After working for a bank, she taught at Pecan Springs and Doss elementary schools. She raised two children from a first marriage: Ashland Shepherd, now 28, and Cameron Shepherd, 21. She picked up one stepdaughter: Victoria Huffines, now 22 and a senior at UT, majoring in public relations . Her first grandchild, Cameron Elizabeth, or “Cammy,” was born to Ashland and his wife, Heather, last year.
“They were my best friends,” she said. “Steve and James were in a fraternity together. We had a lot of mutual friends but had not really met.” The couple’s Pemberton house was built for entertainment and nonprofit events.
“The frustrating thing is that I don’t have just one cause,” she said. “It’s whatever piques my interest. However I can help. I like to be able to make a difference in some way.”
Among her signal charities are the Ronald McDonald House, Hospice Austin, Caritas, the Long Center, the Women’s Symphony League and the Austin Community Foundation. Her state appointments include the Texas Equal Access to Justice Foundation, the Governor’s Commission for Women and the Texas Commission on the Arts.
“There is an old saying: ‘Leading by example isn’t the main thing in influencing others; it’s the only thing,’ ” said Randa Safady, vice chancellor for external relations for the UT System. “To me, that defines how Patty Huffines impacts the Austin community. She’s very smart, considerate, determined and progressive.”
“My mom taught me about volunteerism,” Huffines said. “She was busy with three kids, but she has always found time to do.”
Huffines is not all high goals and seriousness. At times, a mischievous smile sneaks across her serene features. She danced the tango for Dancing with the Stars Austin and kicks up her heels at various galas.
“Don’t let the sweet, gentle, modest side of Patty fool you,” Safady said. “She’s got a wickedly funny, irreverent side. I never try to sit across from her in a meeting because I know that one of us is going to crack, and when that happens, all we can do is adjourn early.”
Like several other Austin social stars, she received leadership training through the modernized, more businesslike Junior League, formerly scorned as a group for “ladies who lunch.” Since the 1970s, she’s watched the city’s philanthropy grow by leaps and bounds, starting to match its deeply rooted volunteerism.
“We are blessed and cursed,” she said. “We have so many nonprofits — What is it? More than 3,000 — but that’s also a curse. I’ve always been a proponent for combining agencies. I worry about the giving spreading too thin and a lot of agencies doing the same thing.”
Like other philanthropic leaders, she wonders when the next generation of givers will come forth, but she’s confident they are following the increasingly higher profile of charity work in town.
“I think there are people watching what’s going on,” she said. “When the economy settles down, they will come out and participate more. We need their help and expertise. They bring fresh ideas.”
Patty Huffines got to know the governor and first lady through husband James. She’s an admirer of Anita Perry’s accessibility and inclusiveness.
“Mrs. Perry is who she is. What you see is what you get,” Huffines said. “She’s very personable. Very approachable. … It’s got to be hard for her. Everybody wants to talk to her. But she’s always accommodating.”
Huffines is far from alone working on the 2011 inauguration, estimated to cost $2 million from private donations. Ida Louise “Weisie” Steen of San Antonio is top chairwoman; Lana Andrews of Dallas is co-chairwoman with Huffines. Other Austinites include Willeford, Stockton-Hicks and Teresa Long.
Heading the staff of dozens is Chief Inaugural Officer Teresa Spears, now rounding up her fourth such fandango. Additionally, Leah Zaccagnino, who was the ambassador’s assistant in Switzerland, has come on as director of events.
The lack of a parade or multiple black-tie events this year is intentional, meant to reflect the austere economic times. In 2007, however, the parade was canceled because of inclement weather, and the swearing-in moved to the House chamber of the Capitol. Huffines credits Houston social veteran Mica Mosbacher with handling that potential disaster nimbly.
“Everything had to be changed at the last minute,” Huffines said. “You think on your feet, have a Plan B.”
Most of the business of inaugural planning is done by phone or e-mail. Yet a series of meetings brought together the statewide committee in Austin. The first was a late November swearing-in for the committee leaders at the old Texas Supreme Court chamber. Most of the decisions were made before the holidays; much of the fundraising — culminating in Red McCombs picking up the tab for the barbecue — took place over the holidays.
McCombs’ gift appeals to Huffines’ impulse toward inclusion.
“Someone can come to Austin, see the swearing in, take the whole family, stay for lunch on the lawn,” she said, although the free tickets had to be reserved online by last week . “It is an historical event in so many ways, but this is especially, since it will be the first time a governor has served three terms.”
By mid-January, almost all decisions were finalized on ceremony details and ticket information.
Despite all the preparations, do ice storms give her nightmares?
“It’s going to beautiful,” she said during Austin’s recent cold snap. “We’re having all the bad weather this week.”
Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment Categories: Law
Austin Social Agenda, Jan. 17-23
This week, the inaugurations of Gov. Rick Perry and Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst overshadow other Austin socializing.
After the sun goes down, some guests in cocktail and business attire will arrive at the Palmer Events Center for dessert, music, dancing, speeches and a cash bar. Tickets are $75. All part of the “Austerity Inauguration.”
Wednesday, respected Austin filmmaker David Modigliani privately screens “Espwa (Hope)” at the W Austin Hotel and Residences. The short documentary revisits inspirational work in post-earthquake Haiti. Modigliani is best known for “Crawford,” his doc about President George W. Bush’s adopted town.
I’m hoping that later in the evening, I can drop by FronteraFest’s Short Fringe at Hyde Park Theatre.
Thursday, San Antonio jazz great Jim Cullum — father to Vortex Repertory Theatre director Bonnie Cullum and uncle to Austin social connector Robert Nash — will play Annies on Congress Avenue.
Saturday, dig into the 5th Annual Chili Cold Blood Chili Cook-Off at Jo’s Hot Coffee on South Congress Avenue.
Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment Categories: Nightlife
Austin Lyric Opera Party in Barton Creek area
“Opera people are party people!” exclaimed Sylvia Spertus over a plate a delicious-looking dinner. She and 50 or so opera/party people, some adorned in sparkles, had gathered at the Barton Creek area home of Rick and Cathy Coneway. There, the Austin Lyric Opera President’s Circle met the cast and artistic leaders of “An Italian Girl in Algiers,” the Rossini comedy that opens Jan. 29 at the Long Center for the Performing Arts.
Marilyn Rabkin and Linda Bush
Until recently, I had found it difficult to suss out information about socializing with the opera set — and I sadly missed ALO’s gala altogether this year. One gentleman at the Coneway party said to me: “Must be a slow night on the social circuit if you are here!” Befuddled, I asked why he held that impression. “Well, you don’t do the Big 3, do you?” He meant the symphony, opera and ballet, I assume.
Susan Thompson, Hardy Thompson, Curby Conoley
Well, I do. When possible. With the help of board members Wendi Kushner and Richard Hartgrove, the opera is becoming more artful about such public attention.
Since ALO must book its dates at the Long Center what, oh, two years in advance, it would be great to slap their opening nights right now on the calendars at AustinSocialPlanner.com and ILiveHereIGiveHere.com.
Richard Buckley and Molly Anderson
Goodness knows I’m interested in the art form — if I haven’t made that clear over the decades — and audience. Interestingly, however, we mostly talked about travel, there atop the rain-soaked Barton Creek hills. Various opera stalwarts tipped their hands about trips to Buenos Aires, Bogotá, Costa Rica and elsewhere. The world opens before us in so many Austin conversations.
Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment Categories: Arts
Hill Country Ride for AIDS Party at Austin Music Hall
Charities frequently use mob psychology — in a good way — at parties. Live auctions raise money, for instance, partly on the rolling excitement of competitive bidding. Needs auctions — which I suspect are subscribed in advance, for the most part — prime an audience for waves of unexpected generosity.
Michael Thad Carter and Rodney Ahart
The Hill Country Ride for AIDS uses its pre-ride party at the Austin Music Hall to pump up enthusiasm among riders and backers. But it also nudges fence-sitters over the edge. Laptops with registration forms line one wall, just waiting for those who need a little social motivation to sign up for the 50-mile trek.
Patty Ramsey and Stacy Schwarz
The largest tribe at the party on Thursday consisted of gay men. Although AIDS is no longer identified so closely with the gay community, those of us who went through the ’80s and ’90s remain committed to conquering this insidious scourge.
Enrique Moreno and Adrie Canales
Also up front and present were lesbians (always allies in this struggle), straight couples and singles, and — natch — bike enthusiasts. The Ride is yet another way that bicyclists are contributing to the community, along with cutting pollution, decreasing traffic and adding to our collective health. Not a bad looking bunch either, if I can be excused for saying so.
Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment Categories: Charity, Sports
Austin International Network Mixer at Malverde
It started as a social club for Asian Americans in Austin. Then founders Chi Dinh and Tony Tang realized that even that subset of humanity was too narrow. So within a couple of years, the group evolved into the Austin International Network, attempting to link newcomers of all backgrounds in our ever more cosmopolitan city.
Alex Lee and Chia Chu
To that end, the group’s mixer Thursday added members of the Hispanic Network of Austin and Texas Asian Chamber of Commerce. Chips and salsa complemented the upstairs club’s urbane setting, inspired by Mexico City, and its expertly mixed drinks. About 50 people, mostly in their 20s and 30s, circulated around the west end of the tall place, readily introducing themselves to strangers.
Kimberly DimeDiva Richardson, Vicky H. Rodriguez and Yvette Ochoa Armani
Topics ranged far and wide, from European-style handball, designer pet biscuits (from It’s Positively Irresistible) and the cultural mix of Singapore (I didn’t know Tamil was one of the city-state’s official languages!) to the fate of our country’s increasingly varied population and the potential of a grassroots international festival as early as this summer in Austin.
June Guo and Lucinda Wang
I probably harvested ideas for three or four future Out & About columns before heading around the block to the launch party for the Hill Country Ride for AIDS at the Austin Music Hall. More on that later.
Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment Categories: City
GivingCity Giving Gala at El Sol y La Luna
Established Austin philanthropists often ask: What about the next generation? Who will lead efforts to support the city’s many causes in decades to come?
Faiza Hassan and Maria Paula Hernandez
The answers are piling up before our eyes:Charity Bash, which aims to inspire young professionals to be more philanthropic; I Live Here, I Give Here, which hopes to expand the culture of personal philanthropy in Central Texas; Greenlights for Nonprofit Success, which finds affordable, effectives way to connect business people with the nonprofit community; veteran Leadership Austin, which rounds out civic training; and Austin Involved, which specifically targets philanthropy among Gen Xers.
Gary Bowman and Dawn Foster
Micro-giving and micro-volunteering are watchwords of the moment. On top of that, almost every medium-to-large Austin charity includes a young leaders club.
And from look of the GivingCity Giving Gala at El Sol y La Luna on Tuesday, those efforts are bearing fruit. A noisy, shifting crowd of more than 200 networked liberally in owner Nilda de la Llata’s open, central space — ideal for such gatherings — while a few regular dining customers watched from booths.
Josh Garza and Vicky Garza
GivingCity Austin is a digital magazine devoted to the nonprofit scene. It flies under the aegis of Austin Community Foundation, which I respect even more since it has drafted a younger crowd into its already large assembly of givers.
Who could have predicted that such an almost global gathering would bundle into El Sol y La Luna on a frigid weekday, when most people stayed warm and toasty at home? The next generation of philanthropy, that’s who.
Permalink | Comments (5) | Post your comment Categories: Charity
Promising developments for Austin walkers
This pedestrian — make-believe flâneur and boulevardier — was elated that Austin voters approved bonds in November for construction of a boardwalk to extend the hike-and-bike trail around Lady Bird Lake.
The boardwalk should further knit together East and West Austin, socially and economically. Donations to the Trail Foundation will help complete the project.
My fellow pedestrians, you remained virtually silent during the run-up to the bond election. Why? Bicyclists and car enthusiasts had their say, loudly. The latter group expressed scorn for anything that would assist those of us whose shoe leather hits the pavement, remarks which colleague and columnist Ben Wear meticulously recorded.
Perhaps as our numbers increase, our voices will grow to at least an audible level.
In general, any destination one mile from our South Austin home qualifies as a stroll. A two-mile journey is a jaunt. Three miles is a march. Anything like five miles is defined as a hike, almost a tour. (Reminder: These require an equidistant return trip on foot.)
Amenities continue to cluster within strolling distance of the bungalow on West Monroe Street: A hot hamburger-and-beer outfit, Hopdoddy; a fish taco outlet, Wahoo’s, which tries hard not to appear a chain; a cute Pâttiserie, which threatens to make South First Street into Sweetie Row; a new cowboy boot place inside a clothing store and a new clothing store inside a cowboy boot place.
All of these are better connected because of new traffic lights on South Congress Avenue at Gibson and James streets, plus the previous installation at Elizabeth Street. I can attest that we pedestrians use them, and have almost completely abandoned the reckless jaywalking across the Congress Avenue chicken lane that gave us all the jitters.
One new eyesore, though: The Chase bank building at East Mary Street and Congress. Its precision limestone facade and sleek, blue, out-sized corporate logos would look fine behind native landscaping on MoPac or Bee Caves Road, where the cars rule. But the bank is painfully out of place on funky-friendly, walker-oriented SoCo, with its 100 or so shops and eateries that thrive on local character and color.
A newsroom source says neighbors were happy a restaurant didn’t go on the lot where once a former house served as a funeral home, because eateries invite street parking. They may regret the alternative.
One more note: The Pfluger Bridge Extension Project is almost complete. The span over West Cesar Chavez Street eliminates yet another safety hazard for walkers, joggers and bikers. Yet it won’t be very useful connecting North and South Austin for pedestrians until the path winds under the railroad bridge and up past Seaholm Power Plant redevelopment to link with downtown streets near Whole Foods Market
Permalink | Comments (2) | Post your comment Categories: City
Austin Social Agenda, Jan. 10-17, 2011
Before the 2011 gala and festival seasons start in earnest, why not catch up with local music at the city’s 150 clubs, or head to a game featuring the Longhorns, Bobcats, Toros, Stars or other local teams? Prices are surprisingly modest this time of year.
A few stand-alone events bow in mid-January.
Tuesday, GivingCity’s Givers Ball graces El Sol y La Luna.
Wednesday, “Treasures of the Yunan Province” internationalizes the Paramount Theatre.
Thursday, Hill Country Ride for AIDS kicks off with a party at the Austin Music Hall. Friday, Habitat Young Professionals throw a Legacy Bash at Shady Spring Party Barn, a special events center that has been serving Southeast Austin since 1980. (I’ve never been. Can’t wait!)
Saturday, the Austin Home and Garden Show domesticates the Austin Convention Center (also Friday and Sunday, but if I go, it will be Saturday).
Sunday, the Wine Ride Competition - Race for the Perfect Pairing — makes Uchiko even yummier.
Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment
Spinning time with DJ Manny
Few of us spent the holidays like Manuel Muñiz, better known as DJ Manny, who worked a range of private parties for a week in Southern California.
One noisy night, he spun for friends Sunny McMillan-Kientz and Rob Kientz, who own a mansion in West Hollywood. For the past few years, the Austin lawyers have hired Muñiz to entertain an eclectic assembly of 150 or so guests.
On another night, he acted as DJ for a tiny party that included “American Idol” runner-up Adam Lambert at friend Hans Haveron’s art studios in Glendale, Calif.
“It was really chill,” Muñiz, 37, says. “We talked about art and music until early in the morning. I played atmospheric tracks, combined with ’80s Cure, Depeche Mode, house music.”
A fixture on Austin’s DJ and dance scenes since the late 1990s, Muñiz is exquisitely sensitive to the shifting moods of any social gathering.
“I watch the attention span on the dance floor,” he says. “I pick it up from the room. The room creates a certain energy.”
Muñiz, who doubles as a graphic artist, certainly looks the part of the modern DJ — long face, aquiline nose, salt-and-pepper beard, streaky hair, oversized brown eyes, self-designed tattoos and wing-shaped earrings made of bone. A microscopic, blue stud glints from his nose.
Regulars in Austin’s vast nightlife scene best recognize Muñiz, however, from this radiant personality.
“People enjoy seeing me get into it — dancing, rocking out, connecting with crowd,” says the San Juan, Puerto Rico native.
His father, Tomás Muñiz, is a writer; his grandfather, Tommy Muñiz, an actor who starred in the 1989 Oscar-nominated “Lo que le Pasó a Santiago.” His mother, Margarita Garcia, is a painter and teacher who married three times. He is a middle child among three brothers and two sisters.
Muñiz attended private Catholic schools in San Juan before moving to the Houston area in 1985, switching to Sugar Land public schools. From an early age, he was employed in retail stores, at restaurants and at entertainment events.
“I was brought up to work hard and try new things,” he says. “By the time I was in my 30s, I realized that I always had everything I needed.”
In 1994, brother Tomás Muñiz lured the future DJ to Austin.
“My brother called at two in the morning from dance club,” Muñiz recalls. “He said Austin is small enough for somebody young to get started, but the amount of art and music is really going to blow your mind.”
Jeff Strange of Strange Tribe Productions — also owner of the Downstairs apparel store on South Lamar Boulevard — gave him his first breaks, including opening for the band Thunderball at Texture dance club. Soon after that, Muñiz earned his first regular gig at the Red Fez, where he played for eight years on Tuesdays. (He left that engagement six months ago.)
Typically, he throws Top 40, hip hop, reggae, jazz, punk, techno, anything Latin oriented into the mix. Early on, he noticed that club guests noticed his outgoing performance style.
“At first, I wondered if they were making fun of me,” he smiles. “But my personality is friendly, eclectic. I feel like a chameleon and attract a lot of different people into the same place.”
As he struck out on the road to parties in New York, Los Angeles, New Orleans and elsewhere, he wondered what to play. “I told myself: Think that you are at the Red Fez. Be that. Following that, everything flowed naturally.”
In 2006, Muñiz started DJ Dojo, a combination record store, studio and DJ school, with Javier Arredondo a.k.a. DJ Bigface. That magnet on South First Street closed two years later because Muñiz was traveling more and wanted to spend time with wife Talitha Wallick, a Montessori teacher, and daughter Phoenix Love Muñiz, now three years old.
He still teaches the DJ craft — from choosing the right hardware and software to mixing music — one-on-one as DJ Dojo by appointment in the Art Department building at 503 Neches St.
“You’ve got music going in your head that sounds different than what’s being played in the speakers,” he says. “You must be in right place to make two records match and make them sound in harmony. I see people sweat it, but when they get it, the student starts to get really excited. I teach everybody from four years old - my youngest - to my oldest - I never ask - over 50.”
Muñiz nurtures a few collaborative projects with fellow DJs and MCs. He divides the DJ scenes into older, club crowd that dances to spiky music from 10 p.m. to 2 p.m., and mostly teen dancers, who haunt private parties under waves of electronica until dawn. His current regular gig is at Qua — the once controversial West Fourth Street lounge — on Wednesdays.
“Austin’s tastes are diverse,” he says. “We’re into blending as many genres as possible with an edge of heavy base or something that really moves the body.”
Permalink | Comments (5) | Post your comment Categories: Music, Nightlife
Milonga for Tango Buenos Aires at the Long Center
Although tango may be 120 years old, its social antecedents go back many centuries. I learned that during the milonga prior to a performance of Tango Buenos Aires at the Long Center. Noticing, after 90 minutes or so, that women, dressed to the nines, were waiting long turns to glide across the dance floor with a few suave gents in the Kodosky Lounge, I was told the reason was sacred milonga tradition.
Rachel Martin and Orazzio Loayza
The women must wait for a man to lead at these tango opportunities, and since there are fewer men than women in Austin’s tango community, the gals are left standing on the outside more often. Sounds like an ancient gender agreement ripe for repeal.
Dear friend Laura Pellegrino — we survived intensive Italian together more than 20 years ago; she still looks 20 — served as DJ for the music that sounded as if it were transported from pre-World War II Argentina. I spoke with several tango aficionados, including Rachel Martin, who informed me that a rogue teacher would be conducting workshops in same-gender tango partnering soon in Austin.
Laura Pellegrino and Bentley Post
Spent a good deal of time with Irais Galvez, trying to determine how she might be related to Bernardo de Galvez, the 18th-century Spanish colonial leader after whom Galveston was named. (The spelling for the bay changed from Galvezston on Spanish maps, a not infrequent occurrence, since they were supposed to remain top secret.) Turns out Irais’ great-grandfather was a performer who took Galvez as a stage name, so probably a thin connection to Bernardo.
Irais Galvez and Jose Luis Lopez
Chatted at length with Long Center interim director Paul Beutel, who spends long spells of every year with his beloved in South Africa. You see, Christmas Eve, I had came up with the notion that Kip, my brothers and my brothers-in-laws should take the seven Barnes nephews to Africa in 2012 (my sisters and sisters-in-law had taken the Barnes nieces to Italy last year). Paul provided the most elegant two-week itinerary — wildlife parks, wine country, surf spots — and even a possible guide.
Oh, the show. Almost forgot: Tango Buenos Aires showcased the dance form through short pieces. Look for a review soon on Austin Arts: Seeing Things.
Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment Categories: Nightlife
Rachel Elsberry Reception
Via social media, Rachel Elsberry invited me to a business reception. Rachel is widely known in the Austin style, nightlife and contingent scenes, primarily because of her publicity, public relations and television production company called Pickie Pie Productions.
I attended the Wednesday evening reception in the lower Burnet Road shopping center anchored by buzzy Apothecary without knowing much about the business, other than a mention of skin care products. Turns out, this was a full-on meeting to present a line of anti-aging products developed by a pair of dermatologists.
Rachel Elsberry and Loren Graham
Although I was present merely to record the social scene, I thought: “Fine. I have skin. I’m aging. I can at least give it a listen.”
Almost two hours later, I knew many details about the company, which Elsberry will represent in Austin. I’ve left out the name of the line only because, even with the speeches, videos and testimonials, I can’t really attest to its efficacy in field crowded with hundreds of market-saturating skin products.
Instead, I chose to watch the social transactions. The visiting dignitaries from the company performed as smoothly as lamb’s wool. The Austinites asked probing questions about the manufacture and sale of the products, not all of which were answered by the experts. In fact, some guests were clearly frustrated by the lack of details.
Kathleen Lucente and Lorin Lewis
Most of the women — and one other man — entered the borrowed bridal shop in the first place because they knew someone else there. Their loaded looks and whispered asides — positive or negative — told more than any speeches or videos could.
The promoters of this line have pulled the products from department stores in order to concentrate on direct sales through social media — the magic words of the decade. I can say this much: Based on Rachel’s use of social media, I was there. So in part it worked.
And I enjoyed the company.
Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment Categories: Style
Video: Michael Barnes as Bruno Tonioli at Dancing with the Stars Austin
The video is in. Anything for Dancing with the Stars Austin and Center for Child Protection.
Please share.
Thanks to Mary Herr Tally for making the edit possible.
Permalink | Comments (2) | Post your comment Categories: Charity
3 Dot: Johnny Depp, Sandra Bullock, Ryan Reynolds, Drew Barrymore, Scarlett Johansson, Billy Gibbons & more
Second edition of the 3-Dot revival:
In more Barrymore news, she’s purchased a $7 million mansion near Oprah Winfrey in Montecito, Cal., near Santa Barbara,. Don’t ask me where Barrymore lives in Austin — I wouldn’t give out the address anyway, dear ones. But boyfriend Justin Long almost assuredly owns a pied-à-terre in Travis Heights, according to multiple sources.
Not far away, part-time Austinite Johnny Depp dined with ZZ Tops’ Billy Gibbons and other buddies at Vespaio on South Congress Avenue. Like most Hollywood celebrities, Depp keeps a pretty low profile while in Austin. We respect that.
You aren’t going to spot many bold-face names there — surely not Depp — but the Wahoo Fish Taco chain outlet on South Congress has settled quickly into the neighborhood, attracting tourists, artists, musicians and other eclectic types. The Wahoo folks cleverly wedge their surf-themed eateries and full bars within urban pedestrian zones, like the thriving spot in the West Sixth Street district. Met Eric Erickson there — the brother of rocker Roky Erickson, not the political blogger Erick Erickson. My only complaint: The cheap windows that look borrowed from Long John Silver’s.
Permalink | Comments (4) | Post your comment Categories: Nightlife
Old Austin meets New. East meets West. Glitterati meet Hoi Polloi
Sometimes at parties, Karen Kuykendall whispers into my ear.
“Go!” she hisses. “What are you waiting for? Introduce those two. They should know each other!”
“I couldn’t look at her without breaking up,” writes Austin artist and essayist Frances Nail, 86, about Kuykendall in “The Way of It,” published in 2009. “I knew she was having some wickedly funny thought, and her face was so expressive, she could share it without a word. When she walked in, the dullest party brightened up and the fun began.”
Kuykendall liked to introduce Old Austin to New, and, conversely, New to Old. She acquainted East Austin with West, and vice versa. The glitterati were recommended to the hoi polloi, and the other way around.
Not coincidentally, that’s a core mission of this social column.
Among the Austinites profiled in these pages last year were quiet achiever Mary Ann Rankin, who has raised more than $700 million as dean of the University of Texas College of Natural Sciences, and, on the other side of the economic divide, Erin Lane, an unemployed veteran, whose story elicited a half dozen job offers.
You’ve read here about musician activist Carlos Sosa, student events promoter Sascha Stone Guttfreund, graceful social connector Jetté Momant, online magazine publisher Milton Torres, paralysis conquerer Joe Dunn and cocktail crusaders David Alan and Joe Eifler.
We’ve spent time with collaborative fundraiser Rebecca Powers, injustice foe JoAnn McKenzie, Sufi poet and songwriter Ustad Ghulam Farid Nizami, legal achiever Revlynn Lawson, ballroom dancer Linda Holland, city beautifier Rodney Ahart, orphanage angel Caroline Boudreaux, TV actor Jackson Hurst, RV salesman/surfer dude Justin Pistorius, civic organizer Carla Jackson, University Interscholastic League captain Charles Breithaupt and importer/organizer Monica Peraza.
Wider audiences got to know floral designers Victoria and Sofia Avila, cancer survivor Sarah Lisle, East Village sprite Blake Shanley, humanitarian Eloise DeJoria, rainforest savior Niyanta Spelman, jazz trumpeter Jeff Lofton, comprehensive health promoter Susan Dell, community leader Retta Van Auken, lithe models Laura Aiden and Chris Cantoya, singing actor Andrew Cannata, octogenarian journalist and teacher Anita Brewer Howard.
We said goodbye to our mentor, Oscar Brockett, the world’s foremost theater historian — a dear friend of Kuykendall’s — and to “Pepper Lady” Jean Andrews.
All year long, deeper connections were made with Fidel Estrada and Lonnie Limón, dual subjects of an early 2010 profile. Their sprawling families will make an even larger impact on these pages in the coming weeks, as we finally inaugurate our promised Ancestral Austin series.
And those were just some of the 2010 leading players in this column.
Austin, please meet Austin. The spirit of Karen lives on.
Rest in Peace: Sue McBee — Austin journalist, businesswoman, preservationist, connector — 1923-2011.
Permalink | Comments (1) | Post your comment Categories: City
Austin Social Agenda, Jan 3-9, 2011
As usual, the new year gets off to a slow social start.
Good time to explore the musical riches of Red River Street as its clubs offer their annual — self-explanatory — Free Week. Dozens of acts play, among them, Quiet Company and What Made Milwaukee Famous.
Tuesday, thinking about buying a late ticket to the University of Texas Longhorns against the Arkansas Razorbacks at the Erwin Center.
Friday, who would miss the Russian Christmas Party at a Hemphill Park home (OK, you’ll need an invitation first from hosts Rob Moshein and Bob Atchison).
Saturday, there’s the Bachelors of Austin Presentation Ball, one of the city’s older social customs, at the Omni Hotel. The previous night, find a smaller Patron’s Party at the Driskill Hotel. Gordon McGill, whose wife, Charmaine Denius McGill recently triumphed at Dancing with the Stars Austin, chairs the Bachelors board of governors.
Also Saturday, L Style G Style launches its next issue at BMW of Austin, 7011 McNeil Drive.
Sunday, Spike Gillespie’s Kick Ass Awards recognize under-recognized Austinites at BookPeople.
You go for me, because I’m tapped for a wedding in Houston on Saturday, then a Wren Cottage Feast at home on Sunday.
Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment Categories: Nightlife
A mellow New Year’s Eve
Dec. 31, 2008 was spent migrating to various smoldering parties in the West Texas arts colony of Marfa. It was like refining the open, fit, kind, smart, festive and informal Austin into a few arid blocks.
Dec. 31, 2010, it was time to downsize.
This New Year’s Eve, Kip and I attended a house party with a short guest list. Nick and Nora were safely stashed in the quietest room of our home — big Labrador retriever ears can’t bear fireworks. And we were off to negotiate the maze of partially closed downtown streets by 8 p.m.
The bungalow in Aldridge Place comfortably handled the collection of artists, musicians, writers, producers, editors, educators, lawyers, entrepreneurs, at least one judge and one unemployed construction worker. In fact, a fair fraction of this intriguing crowd, it occurred to me late in the evening, had journeyed to Marfa precisely two years previous.
Three versions of cassoulet — one of them the four-day recipe — various desserts and barbecue from an East Austin trailer were among the delicacies produced by a host-driven pot luck process.
The advantages of smaller New Year’s Eve celebrations should be obvious. One is less likely to be swept up in a public frenzy that would make Euripedes’ flesh-flaying maenads seem tame. Conversations dip into deeper waters and acquaintances grow a bit older, mellower.
It’s hard to keep a party interesting for five hours, but our hosts are experts at human interconnection. A final dozen guests dawdled well past midnight in two pods. At one point, we shared our New Year’s “words,” which is our version of resolutions, only less directed.
Mine? “Showtime,” adapted from “It’s showtime folks!” in Bob Fosse’s “All That Jazz.” Indeed, every night on Austin’s social circuit feels like “showtime!”
The next day, I accomplished my only goal: To accomplish nothing of any import. Which is why this report is a day late.
Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment Categories: Nightlife
