Austin360 blogs > Out & About > Archives > 2007 > November
November 2007
David Letterman in Austin
Where was David Letterman while the Cowboys were beating the Packers? Chowing down on USDA prime beef in the Captain’s Room at III Forks. He and his crew, in town to help on a Habitat for Humanity build, took in the game and lingered for three hours at the downtown Austin restaurant. “He couldn’t be nicer,” said owner Curtis Osmond. So was there something brewing for his show, on hiatus because of the writers’ strike, or was this trip all about Habitat? “I can’t confirm or deny that,” said the group’s executive director Michael Willard.
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Perfect 10 for Perfect 10
At first, it was a pretty party. Austin Lyric Opera’s second annual Perfect 10 event, which honors outstanding arts patrons, took place in the creamy, terribly tasteful surroundings of Saks Fifth Avenue. Guests in cocktail wear drifted from racks to counters to food stations (terrific chow from Chinatown) to impromptu bars (Perfect 10 wine from Twin Liquors, thanks to David Jabour). (Photo 1: Dr. Thomas and Karen Vaughn)
Then it threatened to become a lively party. White Ghost Shivers, playing a “clean” set, light on the sex and drugs, tickled the guests, some old enough to remember the first time that hot jazz raised eyebrows — and skirts. Conversations sizzled. Andrew Heller spoke forcefully about how the media flubbed coverage of the California fires. Martha Cotera remembered the bean soup with poblano flakes she made for the first Noche de Opera party. (Send me that recipe!)
Unexpectedly, the party turned weighty. Just hearing the credits for the 10 couples or singles recognized for their citywide — sometimes nationwide — work made the crowd swell with collective pride. I’m going to break a rule and list (just) some of their credits here, as refined by Austin Lyric Opera captain Kevin Patterson. (Photo No. 2: Julie Nguyen, Jane Sibley and Dottie Rutishauser)
Fred and Marilyn Addy: Michigan State University, U.S. Air Force, Austin Symphony, Austin Lyric Opera, KLRU, the Long Center.
Sandy Ball Austin Lyric Opera, IBM Corp., Triangle on Stage, University of Texas Longhorns.
Sarah Biedenharn: Wellesley College, Yale University, Austin Symphony, Caritas, SafePlace, Long Center, University of Texas, Sage, Meals on Wheels, West Austin Caregivers, Episcopal Seminary and Good Shepherd Episcopal Church.
Martha and Juan Cotera Cotera and Reed Architects, University of Texas, Austin Design Commission, Robert E. Johnson State Office Building, Austin Hilton downtown, Austin City Hall, Austin Symphony, Blanton Museum of Art, Mexican American Cultural Center, Austin Heritage Society, Texas Women’s Political Caucus, National Women’s Political Caucus; Mexican American Business and Professional Women of Austin, Hispanic Women’s Network of Texas, Latina Political PAC in Texas, Austin Hispanic Chamber of Commerce; IMAGE of Austin Board; Hispanic Women’s Network, Reforma, LULAC, Mexican Consulate Advisory Committee for Immigrants; KLRU Latino USA; Austin Heritage Society and the Shaw-Cotera UT Consortium on Teen Violence. (Photo No. 3 Susan Lubin and Saks general manager Scott Siegel)
Mary Ann and Andrew Heller: IBM, Heller Associates, Seton Health Care Network, Austin Symphony, Austin Lyric Opera, UT Performing Arts Center, Dell Children’s Medical Center Foundation.
Joe and Teresa Lozano Long: Teachers Retirement System, State Securities Board, Office of the Attorney General, First State Bank, Texas Education Agency, HeadStart, National Museum of Women in the Arts, UT Chancellor’s Council; UT Education Foundation Advisory Council, UT Press Advisory Council, University Interscholastic League Foundation, Ballet Austin, Pan-American Round Table, Long Center, Austin Symphony; Seton Fund , UT Chancellor’s Council, UT Development Board, Travis County and Texas Bar Associations, Institute of Latin American Studies at the University of Texas.
Lynn and Tom Meredith: Motorola Inc., Dell Inc., Meritage Capital, MFI Capital, MFI Foundation, Austin Children’s Museum, St. Stephen’s Episcopal School, Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, Austin chapter of the National Charity League, Dell Children’s Hospital, Blanton Museum of Art, Association of Junior Leagues International, Association of Professional Fundraisers, Leadership Austin, Ballet Austin, Girl Scouts, Austin chapter of Women in Business International.
Cliff Redd: Long Center for the Performing Arts, University of North Texas, Southwestern University, University of Texas, Texas Commission on the Arts, City of Dallas, Office of Cultural Affairs, Texas Non-Profit Theatres, Stonewall Professional and Business Association
Peter Schram and Harry Ullmann U.S. Navy, Marine Corps, University of Texas, Longhorn Band, H.T. Cox Accounting, State of Texas Department of Water, Austin Lyric Opera, Ballet Austin, the Austin Symphony, Paramount Theatre, Zachary Scott Theatre Center, New Mexico State University, DeWal Corp., State of Texas Securities Board. (Photo No. 4: Jill Addison and Shawn Morgan)
Karen Kuykendall: Cafe Manhattan, Ballet Austin, Conspirare, Austin Musical Theater, Austin Arts Hall of Fame, Girl Scouts of America, Austin Circle of Theaters, Zachary Scott Theatre Center.
In the evening’s most touching moment, Karen’s daughter, Sarita, accepted the honor for her mother, holding her head steady and high, looking more like Karen than ever.
Robert Godwin photos.
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Join Out & About this week
You might find your faithful columnist at the following events:
THURSDAY
Austin Lyric Opera’s Perfect 10 at Saks Fifth Avenue
Gay Gaddis talk at Texas Hillel
“Showgirls” with David Schmader at Alamo Lake Creek
2007 Holiday Fashion Lounge at Qua
FRIDAY
“Thom Paine” at Hyde Park Theatre
SATURDAY
Man Fest at Birds Barbershop
Project Transitions’ Holiday Swing at the Dell Jewish Community Campus.
SUNDAY
Dinner honoring Dolph Brisco at Headliners Club
Dance International Holiday Dance and Showcase at Texas Federation of Women’s Clubs
Disco Wonderland Gala for Austin Jewish Academy at Renaissance Hotel
The Arabic Bazaar at Zein’s Dance Studio
La Cage at Oilcan Harry’s
MONDAY
Straylight Run at the Parish
TUESDAY
AGLIFF presents “Naked Boys Singing!” at the Alamo South
Tony Campesi Quartet at the Elephant Room
WEDNESDAY
Long Center for the Performing Arts holiday party at a private home
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Your A-List: Best Radio Station
Perhaps you picked KGSR 107.1 as Austin’s best radio station in our A-List poll because it plays so much Austin music. Or because its on-air personalities are so deeply invested in Austin events and causes. (Can you think of somebody more Austin with a capital A, of a certain generation, than Jody Denberg, pictured with Shelby Lynne photo by Todd V. Wolfson?) Or maybe you just like adult alternative radio, which is perhaps best defined as lyrically and melodically earnest and rootsy music that appeals to adults who grew up on the album rock format.
KGSR did not run away with the title, however, having pulled 14 percent of the vote. Like radio’s audience, the tally was fractured. Hard rocking KLBJ-FM 93.7, with all its historical ties to Central Texas’ First Family, took almost 14 percent. 101X came in third with 11 percent, and 96.7 KISS-FM followed in close pursuit.
Highly rated public radio station KUT 90.5 earned 10 percent, and eclectic Mix 94.7 got 7 percent. Another mix-master, 103.5 BOB-FM, more in the commercial postmodern mode, nabbed 4 percent.
At 3 percent or less were KLBJ-AM 590, Jammin’ 105.9, KVET 98.1, SportsRadio 1300, KASE 100.7, 102.3 The River, Hot 93.3, Beat 104.9, KMFA 89.5, Majic 95.5, KOOP 91.7, ESPN Radio 1260/1530, KAZI 88.7, La Ley 98.9, La Que Buena 104.3, KVRX 91.7 and Talk Radio 1370.
Write-ins: KITY 102.7, San Antonio’s KXTN 107.5 (because Austin has no Tejano stations) and “none of the above … too many commercials and worn-out playlists”
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Your A-List: Best Buffet
When Austin rates buffets, “new” translates into “good.” Cannoli Joe’s, the expansive and still novel Italian eatery that took the place of Wolfe Nursery on U.S. 290 West, handily won the Your A-List poll with 45 percent of the vote. Regulars like the mountains of options, geared for a slightly higher income bracket than the normal buffeteria.
Asian-themed Buffet Palace took the No. 2 spot with 24 percent. After that, the vote drops off quickly. Homegrown pizza chain Mr. Gatti’s came in No. 3 with 6 percent. Mongolian BBQ — always a dramatic experience — earned No. 4 with just under 6 percent.
Upscale contemporary Indian restaurant Clay Pit snapped up 5 percent, while pizzeria Double Dave’s took a 4 percent slice. Long-timer China Star twinkled with 3 percent, and Thai Passion inspired just over 1 percent, as did Madras Pavilion, Taj Palace and Alborz. Under 1 percent: Sarovar, Bombay Bistro and Thomas Super Buffet.
Write-in candidates: Golden Corral, Sunday brunch at Lamberts and Star of India.
Photo by Mark Matson.
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Nips and nibbles at the Driskill Hotel
The Wine & Food Foundation of Texas has become one of Austin’s essential organizations. Director Rebecca Robinson continues to sharpen the image of this group that stages the Hill Country Wine & Food Festival and raises money for culinary scholarships. In addition, the foundation throws one of the classiest parties of the year.
Last night at the Driskill Hotel, hundreds mingled in two main rooms, one dedicated to big reds and matching food, the other to sparkling wines and their complements. Although the Red Room could have used some elbow room, the flow between the two was smooth throughout the evening. Chatted with a dozen folks, including the Driskill’s new chef Josh Watkins, formerly David Bull’s lieutenant, and Austin-based promoter/producer John Bernadoni, best remembered locally for helping to save the Paramount Theatre. It was a heck of a party, given the Driskill’s Winter Palace ambiance and the breaks in the crisp air on the hotel’s balconies.
Among my fave reds: The heady Elvio Cogno Barolo, the fruity Provenance To-Kalon Cabernet Sauvignon and the aromatic Miner Merlot. As for bubbles, give me the flexible Iron Horse Vineyards Wedding Cuvee, the surprising Laetitia Vineyard and Winery Brut Rose and, the winner for the entire evening, the incredibly complex Moet & Chandon Nectar Imperial. My three top dishes: the smoked salmon terrine from Aquarelle, the slow cooked axis venison loin from the Driskill Grill and the truffle lollipops from Fete.
Champagne lovers Ashley Belview and Jeffrey Neumann
Dr. Aziz Laurent (an internist) and wife Nneka
David and Greg Kalb. One brother consults about wine; the other is in finance, so he can afford the finest bottles. (Another connection: David, left, was one of Lowell Lebermann’s former aides.)
Melissa Good and Heather Stanley recommended the Moet Nectar (thanks!).
Another oenophile M.D., Felicia Stonedale, with Gayl Hubatch
Photos by Michael Barnes
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Austin recording to benefit California fire victims
Austin’s Renaissance Man philanthropist and tenor Andrew Heller has released a version of Al Jolson’s “California, Here I Come” to benefit the victims of the Southern California wildfires.
DiamonDisc Records announced that they are releasing a special download-only edition of the song, with all proceeds going to the American Red Cross to aid those affected by the fires. It’s available on iTunes and elsewhere, and is made possible by DiamonDisc, Heller (pictured here with wife Mary Ann in a Robert Godwin photo), the song’s recording musicians, United Artists, Songcast and the Al Jolson Family Trust.
“My wife and I just returned from an eye opening visit to some of the fire-ravaged parts of Southern California,” Heller said. “I am honored to lend my voice to this project and to be able to help raise money for the Red Cross to aid the victims and families affected by the wildfires.”
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Just friends: Bill Bradley and Betty Sue Flowers?
For months, LBJ Library and Museum director Betty Sue Flowers and former presidential candidate and Sen. Bill Bradley have been spotted together in Austin, London and East Coast cities. “Good friends” is how Flowers characterized the relationship through the library’s publicist on Tuesday.
Fueling rumors of romance: Bradley separated from Ernestine, his wife of 33 years, in June; Flowers divorced her husband, John, last year after more than 30 years of marriage.
Photos by Peter Partheymuller for The Alcade and Henny Ray Abrams for Associated Press.
Austin Music Hall opens — almost
It may have been the softest opening in the history of performance venues. The Austin Music Hall threw a preview party last night among the roaming hardhats, skeletal walls and precipitous drop-offs of the new/old space at the dead end of West Third Street. Perhaps veteran promoter Tim O’Connor and his Direct Events company wanted to make a statement about the construction progress on the facility. If so, the statement reads: Not ready.
The thin mob at 9 p.m. — about the same age as the symphony circle, but with hair that strings down rather that poofs up — braved the outdoor conditions, wandered aimlessly up and down the stairs and checked out the U-shaped upper levels (sans bleachers). The capacious stage was decorated with scenery depicting an odd realignment of the downtown skyline, which one hopes will be lighted more fortuitously in the future, a la “Austin City Limits.”
Testing the sound was pointless, given the absence of enclosure. It was all sort of surreal. It could be a killer venue when it actually opens. We won’t know for some time.
I asked one gentleman in an Austin Fire Department jersey how the owners obtained a permit to open such a rough facility.
“They didn’t get a permit,” he said. “They got a reprieve.”
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The DVD social scene
Early on, home videos and DVDs — along with video games, personal music devices and the Internet — were slammed as anti-social. They allowed people to nestle in the comfort of their homes without seeking the unavoidable social contact associated with certain forms of traditional entertainment. Some alarmists even predicted a general decline of civic discourse with each advancing entertainment technology.
Yet humans are hard-wired for socializing. Gamers connected with gamers. Social networks bloomed on the Internet. And even strangers were sharing the contents of their favorite MP3 delivery systems.
And videos? A simple post-Thanksgiving trip to the Vulcan Video South revealed social complexity on several levels. In the busy shop behind Guero’s, folks chatted about what they had seen, and what they had not, and what they’d like to see together. They talked about the must-view titles and the trashy flicks required for later, cool cocktail conversation.
The video store, as opposed to convenient but sterile services such as Netflix, also affords unexpected encounters, such as a shoulder-brush with playwright Steve Moore, whose “Nightswim” provided the philosophical underpinnings for Out & About (i.e. Austin is defined by how we treat one another).
Should have asked what Moore was renting. My choices, since Vulcan was out of “Ratatouille” and “La Vie en Rose,” were the taut, probing thriller “The Lookout” and the near-miss inspired by reality spy movie “Breach.” One thing I learned: Ryan Phillippe cannot carry a film with his putty-like reactions, but more supple and subtle Joseph Gordon-Levitt, pictured, can.
Ever since the emergence of Quentin Tarantino, video stores have additionally provided a social nexus for film geeks, formerly forced into one another’s presence only at festivals and art houses. Week in, week out at Vulcan, the amount of geeky social and aesthetic information exchanged, especially behind the counters, by the creatively whiskered and coiffed clerks boggles the mind.
The DVD will give way to the next technology within a decade, but like the record stores that seem to proliferate even as gloomy nostalgists thunder their doom, the video store seems likely to survive, and maybe even thrive.
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Out & About No. 1,000: Giving thanks
Thanksgiving united family and close friends. Now, post-feast, let us give thanks for the blessings, some enduring, some ephemeral, of Austin’s social scene.
For all that is new and good in Austin.
For the soaring condos, apartments and lofts downtown that combat sprawl, enhance social culture and contribute to the richness of street life below.
For the ambitious restaurants that have transformed Austin from a culinary backwater of (admittedly indispensable) barbecue and Tex-Mex into a foodie mecca in just 20 years.
For the myriad improvements to East Austin, or at least the ones that don’t displace indigenous cultures, that have charged sidewalks and gathering places with an unprecedented buzz. And for all the other neighborhoods that have preserved the best of their physical and social environments, while recognizing the incontrovertible benefits of change.
For the pockets of intense culture that pop up in central Georgetown, Lockhart, San Marcos, Marble Falls, Fredericksburg and elsewhere across Central Texas.
For the boutiques, eateries and street vendors that make shopping — and walking — so cool along South Congress Avenue, Second Street, the Market District and the Drag. (Selfishly, also for the men’s wear scattered among the stylish treasures usually reserved for women.)
For the taco stands and other purveyors of comfort food along South First, South Lamar, North Lamar, East Seventh and East Cesar Chavez streets. And for the seafood section at the MT Oriental Market in the Chinatown Center.
For the seven sisters of higher education that join hands to train Central Texas’ creative classes. And for the more than 100 coffeehouses that serve as backup offices and libraries for Central Texas students and workers. Especially for the espresso-based drinks at Java Dive in Lakeway, Mozart’s, Pacha, and (more consistently) JP’s Java.
For the intimate and perfectly tuned music halls, such as Cheatham Street Warehouse in San Marcos, The Parish, Saxon Pub, Momo’s, Beerland and the now beleaguered One World Theatre.
For the faces that light up party after party, such as charity circuit regulars Forrest Preece and Linda Ball, Jack and Carla McDonald, John and Julie Thornton, Ray Benson and Bob Cole, Mary Margaret Farabee and Eddie Safady, Bettie Naylor and Libby Sykora, Evan Smith and Anne Elizabeth Wynn, Rosa Rivera and Juan Miró.
For the spreaders of good words by profession, such as publicists Kevin Smothers, Jeff Salzgeber, Adrienne Dealy, Robert Nash and Karen Frost. One of them even taxied a stranded reporter to and from a key event two weeks ago. That’s dedication.
For the philanthropists who endow the region with, among other things, the Dell Children’s Medical Center of Central Texas, Long Center for the Performing Arts and Blanton Museum of Art.
For the Longhorns. And for the absence of major league sports, which suck the life out of many civic cultures. Sports fans don’t know how good they have it here with just hardworking collegians and minor leaguers, and no franchise owners blackmailing taxpayers into billion-dollar subsidies.
For politicians such as City Council Members Mike Martinez and Betty Dunkerley, who take on less than glamorous projects, like the current campaign against billboards, the No. 1 eye pollution in Texas. The late Lady Bird Johnson would be proud.
For the club owners who have opened such innovative spots as The Belmont, Qua, Imperia and Pangaea, to complement what already was on the ground. From what this observer has seen, there’s plenty of party to go around. (See the 300 or so clubs and bars listed in the XL cover story planned for Dec. 14.)
For the arts managers from all over the country who have turned Austin’s creative yet amateur scene into a professional dynamo since the mid-1980s.
For the Alamo Drafthouse, not just for the special events, Fat Tire ale and fried pickles, but for championing fantastic movies that might otherwise fall by the wayside.
For the Arbor and Dobie theaters for their competitive exhibition of art house movies; Tinseltown South and Metropolitan for their empty, and therefore quiet auditoriums for blockbusters. (OK, a dubious honor.)
For the Lady Bird Lake hike and bike trail, Austin’s de facto town square, and its egalitarian acceptance of any fitness profile.
For the sometimes rugged, sometimes remote leash-free trails at Turkey Creek, Bull Creek, Red Bud Isle and Walnut Creek, where dog lovers roam free, too.
For alternative meeting places, such as the Capitol grounds, the doughnut-shaped hallways of the Erwin Center and the suddenly essential lunch spots along East 11th Street and Manor Road.
For the comparatively cool 2007 summer, which painted every Central Texas gardener a green thumb.
For the newly full lakes, and for those who give others space and peace while using them.
For the Hill Country, which no amount of development can rend asunder. And for the wineries that lure city folk out into the rolling, sun-drenched fields.
Most of all, for Austinites and the way they treat each other. That’s what defines our town.
Not the green hills or sparkling water, not the research universities or high tech industries, not the progressive politics or activism, not the hyperactive music, movies or arts industries, not the traditional or modern buildings, not the ancient beer haunts or the sophisticated nightclubs.
A city is made of people. Whenever I hear someone say, “that’s not Austin,” I’m skeptical. How can a place or an activity not reflect the culture of its people, especially in a city with such a singular and imperishable sense of identity?
Tourists visit Austin in order to share in activities Austinites pursue every day, not to check some artificial destination off a lifetime list. (Sorry San Antonio.) People move to Austin to live among Austinites, not just to make money or to share in some imaginary high life. (Sorry Dallas and Houston.)
Those Austinites already in place, despite their cranky moments, are generally open-minded, friendly — but not aggressively so — and accepting of those around them. They cultivate a social scene unlike any other on Earth, making your columnist as comfortable in the lowest dive or highest palace.
That’s certainly reason enough to give thanks.
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Your A-List: Best Breakfast
Austinites love the first meal of the day. Often because it’s actually the last meal of the day, too.
Two post-hippie establishments have always stayed open 24 hours in order to serve eggs, pastries, coffee, etc. whether the first of the day or the last of the night. No. 1 Kerbey Lane (27 percent) and No. 2 Magnolia Cafe (23 percent) were the unsurprising leaders in the Your A-List contest for Best Breakfast.
It helps that both swing open their doors at multiple locations. No. 3, Juan in a Million (12 percent), on the other hand, has been filling up Austinites with spicy meals at its solo 2300 E. Cesar Chavez location for as long as this reporter can remember.
Enhancing the theme, No. 4, Omelettry (7 percent), and the near No. 5 (7 percent), The Frisco, are also longtimers, both on Burnet Road.
No. 6, Galaxy Cafe, is the only newcomer to attract more than 5 percent.
No. 7 Las Manitas, has made so much news regarding its downtown location and its jockeying for advantages, rather than its food, the casual reader might expect it to attract more than just 5 percent of the vote.
Fast-expanding Austin Java came it at No. 8, while South Austin faves El Sol y La Luna and Curra’s virtually tied at No. 9 and 10. Earning less than 2 percent were Counter Cafe and Azul.
Write-in candidates: 620 Cafe, Chez Zee, Cisco’s, Flores, La Cocinita, Maudie’s, Mi Madre’s, Opal Divine’s, Star Seeds, Taco Shack, Tamale House and Trudy’s.
Photo by Tom Lankes
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Your A-List: Best Beauty Salon
Retro ruled in the Your A-List competition for Best Beauty Salon. Birds Barbershop on South Lamar Boulevard, which combs a little rock vibe and winking irony into respect for hairstyles past with its Joel Mozersky design, ranked No. 1 with 30 percent of the vote.
Visible Changes, a write-in candidate with two locations, zoomed up to No. 2 with 20 percent, virtually tying No. 3, veteran Avant, also a day spa for two decades. (Gotta try that day spa thing someday.)
Jackson Ruiz, which pioneered contemporary hair for diverse customers, was No. 4 (9 percent). Bunched at below 3 percent of the vote were Salon 505, Ann Kelso, Aziz, Bradz, Joie de Vie, Vain, Electra, Pink, Wet, Maximum FX, Shag and Mint.
And just to prove that Central Texans spread their hair love around, all these shops won write-in votes: Bella Salon and Day Spa, Bob Salon, Cates & Co., Cutting Room, Grateful Head (which I stupidly assumed was a head shop), Innu, James Allen Salon, Jose Luis Salon, Keith Kristofer, La Fuentes, Lake Austin Spa, Lush, Salon Uffizi, Shag, Sirens, Spa at the Lake, Super Star Nails, Thomas Saverio Salon, Urban Betty, Vickmay Skin and Body Salon.
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Feast on the Gulf
In just a few hours, the Gulf of Mexico will beckon. Every Thanksgiving, the Barnes clan descends on the sandy village of Surfside, which perches on ribbon-thin Follett’s Island, just southwest of Galveston. We’ve spent a stretch of time there several times a year since Hurricane Carla flattened the place in 1961.
Our two regular visits come in November and February, since fall and winter are the finest seasons on the Gulf. The beaches are virtually empty. Storms roll in, then recede. The sun pierces the thick clouds for days of croquet, long walks and dog surfing.
Winter is for the Reading Week with friends from around the world. Thanksgiving is for family — one spouse, two parents, five siblings, five in-laws, 12 nieces and nephews and their assorted friends. Games, books and conversations deep into the night.
We’ll leave behind the laptop, but expect a few scheduled blogs, including Out & About No. 1,000, over the holidays.
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As thousands cheer, Brad Womack denies
OK, maybe a hundred people showed up at the Thirsty Nickel on Sixth Street, one of the Womack family bars, to witness the final rose ceremony on “The Bachelor.” And if you want to be absolutely accurate, a rump caucus was following the Titans-Broncos game on a smaller monitor.
Yet the masses — 2 to 1 female to male — picked chatty Jenni early on in our informal poll, then turned to grave DeAnn after the seeing Brad Womack’s mother’s reaction to both. (Jenni giggled nervously; DeAnn came off as down home.)
Curiously, the Austin guys were as glued to the screen as the gals. Romance knows no gender, I suppose. At least one viewer, however, was not amused. “I don’t (expletive) care,” said Natalea Hays, who was dragged to the Nickel by her sister. “The show is retarded.”
When Brad failed to propose to, first, Jenni, then DeAnn, hands clasped gaping mouths and eyes widened to maximum surprise magnitude. Then they cheered. No kidding. They realized that Austin’s very own Bachelor is still on the loose. And co-owner of four busy bars, where he can be easily encountered.
Look, Brad seems like a nice guy. I’d spend time with him at any party. But I knew from the first minute I heard his voice over the phone in our first interview that he hadn’t proposed to one of the 25 candidates. He’s not that adept of a liar. (Although we hear Bobby Bones is predicting he’ll propose tonight to one of his previous rejectees. Bones knows his stuff usually.)
So why did he agree to appear on such a sadistic show, where women leave weeping after each episode? Go figure. This was my one and only investment season in “The Bachelor,” and only because Brad was destined to become a local celebrity. Hope to see him soon. And hope to avoid any references to the show in future conversations.
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Top movies of 2007 revised
With the addition of the six movies seen this week, the 2007 Out & About Top 20 (or so) films is revised to include, somewhat in order of 1 to 20:
“No Country for Old Men,” “Knocked Up,” “Into the Wild,” “Gone Baby Gone,” “The Nines,” “Eastern Promises,” “Michael Clayton,” “3:10 to Yuma,” “Manufacturing Dissent,” “The Darjeeling Limited.” “Transformers,” “American Gangster,” “Crazy Love,” “Superbad,” “Once,” “300,” “Waitress,” “Shooter,” “Hairspray,” “The Namesake” and “Hot Fuzz.”
Not yet seen but promising before the end of the year on the big screen or DVD: “In the Valley of Elah,” “Ratatouille,” “Sweeney Todd,” “La Vie en Rose,” “His Dark Materials: The Golden Compass,” “Charlie Wilson’s War,” “Dan in Real Life,” “We Own the Night,” “Across the Universe,” “I’m Not There,” “Margot at the Wedding,” “There Will Be Blood,” “The Savages” and “Rescue Dawn.”
Feel free to nominate.
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What’s up at the Whatleys
The real estate and architecture droves mingled Friday with the contempo art and foodie broods at the Camp Mabry-area house of education minded Melba and Ted Whatley — she’s on the board of St. Edward’s Univeristy; he headed Dallas’ elite St. Mark’s School — for a project that appeals to a lot of different constituencies. That would be the 21C Museum Hotel project, a high rise that will include a contemporary art museum, the second such outing from collectors Steve Wilson and Laura Lee Brown of Louisville.
Years ago, in another life, I visited their home on the Ohio River, a renovated farmhouse packed with assertive art. “If we had to do it over, we’d have done the first 21C in Austin,” Brown said. “You have the music scene and the students and the high-tech community, including Dell.”
Louisville itself is a fascinating place, although almost the opposite of Austin — old fortunes, industrial age architecture and businesses, large underclass, still underpriced building stock, and only beginnings of a creative class.
Chef Michael Paley, from 21C Louisville’s Proof on Main, was in charge of the delectibles at the Whatleys, aided by Austin caterer to the stars Quincy Adams Erickson. My favorite was a micro-potato dotted with sour cream and Kentuckey paddlefish caviar. The hit of the evening, besides the food and announcements about the Museum Hotel, was the Whatleys sleek, grid-like library.
Laura Lee Brown (yes, of the Brown distilling fortune).
Louisville’s Steve Wilson with Jeanne and Mickey Klein, Austin’s highest flying art collectors
In the Whatley kitchen with Quincy Adams Erickson (left) and 21C chef Michael Paley (right)
Blanton Museum of Art curator Annette Carlozzi, man-on-every-scene Dan Bullock and hostess Melba Whatley, who reminded me she was a St. Ed’s trustee, and therefore my part-time boss
Mexic-Arte Museum’s Sylvia Orozco and the University of Texas Dean of the College of Fine Arts Doug Dempster (interim, but also a finalist for the job permanently)
Lively brokers Jorge Rangel (of the Corpus Christi Rangels) and Claire Swinback from Ironwood Real Estate
The real star of the evening: The Whatleys’ library
Party up at Pangaea
Already, Pangaea means party.
Don’t give too much credit to the safari decor at Michael Ault’s new club on Colorado Street. Big game trophies and tribal art are kept to a minimum. And the -bark\stripped tree trunks and billowing white fabric could just as easily suggest a nautical theme.
It’s not the hardcore clubgoers, who, after all are the same Austinites who frequent other slightly dressy establishments. Last night, they wore the usual mix of boutique casual wear, accessorized with jackets and touches of whimsy, but nothing costumey. (Except some employees in Raquel Welch “1 Million Years B.C.” bikinis.)
And don’t focus too long on the pricey bottle service. Sure, it’s fun to watch the sparklers gush each time a server delivers champagne, spirits or the like. But most of the business is transacted at the bar in the form of liquor by the drink.
The DJ deserves a huge share of the praise, however, since keeping the tracks fresh and sensitive to the general mood motivates almost irresistible dancing. The drummers and other instrumentalists, including a sax player, improbably named Conrad Hilton, who the night before was playing on a street corner, linked the music directly to the revelers by threading through the crowd all evening. (At least one Hilton had to be at the club opening, right?)
Pair the music with the layout of the room and you end up with 8,000 square feet of party. You see, there’s no dance floor. That is huge because it means that people are dancing everywhere — on the serpentine banquettes, counters and ledges — encouraged by scantily clad professionals. (Several women and men remarked on the lack of gender parity in the go-go set, which is a fair point. More tastefully disrobed males!)
Everybody feels free to dance because, without a dance floor, nobody is really onstage unless they want to be. (And plenty climbed up on ledges to prove it.) The rest of us simply moved in place, comfortable in knowing that only the most proximate people could comment on the dance style or lack thereof.
The most remarkable thing was the Pangaea crowd. One hundred percent Austin. Nobody served attitude. Nobody was too sexy for their shirt. Nobody engaged in vacant conversation.
Men and women, straight and gay, native and immigrant, treated each other with respect and curiosity, and more than a little flirtation.
At least that was the observation of your reporter.
Photos by Kelly West.
It’s the part of the job most social columnists hate: when someone admirable and goodhearted stumbles in the public eye. That happened to KXAN anchor Michelle Valles last night when she was picked up for DWI. Valles made an appearance at Pangaea last night, as did scads of other media types. KXAN said her job is safe. She’ll bounce back soon. You can bet on it.
Toast Meow with an Out & About, up, olives, clean
It’s a small thing. Yet thoughtful. And it tickles the ego. Marc Katz, whose all-night Deli has kept West Sixth Street vibrant for 28 years, has named a drink after Out & About. Yes, it’s a Bombay Sapphire martini, up, olives, clean. That’s been your columnist’s standby at Katz’s for some 18 years, starting back when wags John Bustin (who dubbed Katz the “Deli Lama”), Jerry Conn, Robert Faires, Jamie Smith Cantara, David Mark Cohen, Barry Pineo and other critics gathered once a month at the same spot for Critics Table lunches. David and John have since passed away; only Robert is still writing reviews regularly. But the group persisted long enough to create the Critics Table Awards and the Austin Arts Hall of Fame. These days, Statesman arts critic Jeanne Claire van Ryzin assembles the comparative youngster journalists, most often at Opal Divine’s Penn Field.
Anyway, the Out & About martini appeared on the menu for the grand opening Thursday of Meow, the one-time mayoral candidate’s re-branded bar. The decor and the regulars have not changed, but a new door opens directly onto West Sixth Street, covered by a freshly minted awning and manned by a barker who assures potential patrons that Meow is open to compete with the flourishing nightlife tucked between the Warehouse and Market districts. (Later today, expect a posting on the preview shindig at Pangaea, which, you may have already heard, was one Wild Party. Must nap first.)
Holly Colby and Marc “I Gotta Tell Ya” Katz
MeLissa Nicholas and Kat McCown, who just turned 35, share what could be Out & Abouts
Meow is just a regular, comfy bar for Andre Black from Chicago and Gabriel Guillen
Love the jacket worn by Kristy Freeman, here with Deidre Ligarde, who says Meow is “adorable”
Khaled and Milana Noueilaty, who turned into the evening’s most alert conversationalists
Mary Blockley gags on ‘Beowulf’
University of Texas English professor Mary Blockley giggled through much of the preview screening of “Beowulf.” The 3D CGI adaptation of the Old English poem is hardly faithful to the original, but it’s full of action and effects. (See Joelle Pearson’s review for the American-Statesman.) After the show, Blockley and I huddled outside the Galaxy Highland to compare notes:
Out & About: Clearly the movie doesn’t follow the poem closely, but does it honor the spirit?
Mary Blockley: The spirit of “Beowulf” the poem or Beowulf the “mighty warrior”? (Laughs.) It kept more of the original than I expected. “Beowulf” is a poem about war, and this is a movie of derring-do. It’s doesn’t have much to do with the Migration Age, and it doesn’t have much to do with Benedictine reform, and it doesn’t have much to do with the language. It could have been so much worse. But it’s pretty bad. I’m wondering how long it will be around, and if the Mystery Science Theater fellows will make a “Rocky Horror Picture Show” thing out it, because there’s plenty of opportunity for that (kind of camp). If I were an 8-year-old boy, I’d like it a lot.
When I saw “Troy,” I was horrified. But others said if it gets people to read “The Iliad,” then maybe it’s not so bad. Do you think that argument applies here?
Yes. I think it does. But “Beowulf” has gotten such bad press since Woody Allen anyway. People are going to be so surprised when they read the poem, how contemporary the real poem is …
How contemporary …
“Beowulf” is very much a homosocial poem. It’s all about men. (The movie) is all about protecting (actor) Ray Winstone’s junk. (During a long battle sequence, Beowulf is naked, and the animation goes to great extremes to disguise his privates.) All the women here are bad women who come from the 19th-century versions of 12th-century love. It will make people realize when they read the poem, there’s not that much fighting in “Beowulf.” About a third of it is dialogue, because it’s a political poem. Beowulf comes not necessarily invited to solve somebody else’s problem, but he’s very good at doing this in a way that doesn’t precipitate political disaster. He’s not brought down by them. But there’s no politics in this movie at all.
What about that one scene of forgiveness when we suddenly see Christ’s image in the background …
This is the usual monkish interpolation version that there were good old values until the Christians came in and ruined them. It’s not as bad as I would have expected, just sort of silly. There are more books about “Beowulf” than there are lines in the poem. It’s a poem that people have been thinking about for a long while. The manuscript is from the year 1000. And the first edition didn’t happen until the 18th century. But people think about it in different ways. One is, the poem’s about thinking about what it was like under paganism, combining the stories that they did have into something.
The most recent book I’ve seen that came out over the summer begins something like, “Beowulf” was composed in the years 861 to 862 as a funeral offering (for a prince), because Beowulf is not a common name, a real name, so there’s a kind of empty center to the poem. It’s a kind of “Zelig.” He’s there to get us around some historical events that we know a little bit about. The movie, on the other hand, will be good for audiences with short attention spans. (Laughs.)
It seems like they included some of the more recent sympathetic treatments of Grendel …
Oh yeah. At least they didn’t make the dragon as sympathetic as they could have …
So each age gets the “Beowulf” it deserves?
Their own private “Beowulf”!
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L’Affaire d’Christmas
Acres and acres and acres of stuff. Some of it tacky. A lot of it dazzling. All wrapped in holiday glitz. That’s A Christmas Affair at the the Palmer Events Center. Those who remember their local history from the 1990s know that the Junior League of Austin fundraiser was a primary rationale for the center, which replaced the trade show functions of the 1950s-era Palmer Auditorium, now months away from rebirth as the Long Center for the Performing Arts. For the “Unveiling of the Gifts” gala Wednesday, decor, eats and entertainment underscored the theme of “The Gift of the Magi,” loosely interpreted to include a family of dromedaries and a flock of skillful belly dancers.
Excavation contractor Mark and Maryanne McKenzie with a humped friend.
“Come to the Casbah”
Carolyn Raup flanks the massive tree at Palmer’s heart.
“Single husband” Jay and League organizer Rebecca Turbeville with Kathryn and Hub Bechtol (fifth generation Austinite)
The shopping starts at an early age: Austin High School student Catherine Edsel with mom and sustaining president Nancy Edsel
Looking for jewelry, cards and other holiday things are sisters Alice Nazro, Francie Thurman and Evvie Nazro (yes, their mother is Lucy Nazro, head of St. Andrew’s School).
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Join Out & About + Stephen Moser link
You may run into Out & About at the following events:
THURSDAY
Grand opening of Meow, Marc Katz’s bar next to Katz’s
Pre-opening of Michael Ault’s Pangaea, 409 Colorado St.
10th anniversary party for Matt Luckie’s Lucky Lounge, 209 W. Fifth St.
FRIDAY
Grand opening of Pangaea, 409 Colorado St.
SATURDAY
2007 Power of the Cross Festival
Roy Lichtenstein Prints opening, Austin Museum of Art
Discount Electronics 10th annivesary party with Bob Schneider
Opening of Querencia at Barton Creek with Larry Gatlin and Darrell Royal
SUNDAY
“Bladerunner: The Final Cut,” Paramount Theatre
E.A.S.T., East Austin Studio Tour
Also join Out & About sending out good thoughts to Austin Chronicle’s Stephen Moser, who revealed in his column today what his friends have known for a while, that he has prostate cancer and the disease has spread. It’s a beautiful, funny, angry piece, one that could only be written by Austin’s outspoken Style Avatar. Check this space for updates on fundraisers to help Moser defray his expenses. That’s Stephen at his 50th birthday party with Mark Ashby and Nina Seely.
Your A-List, Best Addition to Austin’s Dining Scene: Imperia
Imperia makes a grand first impression. The Your A-List winner for Best Addition to Austin’s Dining Scene occupies the prime Warehouse Distict location that formerly housed Mezzaluna and Capitol Brasserie. Star designers Dick Clark and Joel Mozersky collaborated to create a space that is, at once, open and intimate, light and dark, relaxed and formal, traditional and contemporary. Cream and black panels enclose a lowered dining area, prominent corner bar, abbreviated lounge and Asian-style semi-private spaces. The updated Chinese menu, including the Peking duck pictured, has already earned a following, including 46 percent of our voters.
Joe DiMaggio’s Italian Chophouse, the Austin iteration of the San Francisco eatery, won second place with 30 percent of the vote. The Domain restaurant doesn’t overdo the baseball concept and includes a Marilyn Monroe-themed lounge. Particularly alluring on a fall night is the curving patio, which overlooks the easy-going, if somewhat stage-managed street life in the planned urban community north of Research Boulevard. Don’t expect standard Italian fare — this place adds a sophisticated twist to eats and drinks.
Lamberts, the latest project from West Texas-to-Austin chef Lou Lambert, snapped up 6 percent of the vote. Located in the historic Schneider Building, lovingly renovated by architect Emily Little, the two-story barbecue and more place was an instant hit with downtown diners and music lovers. (In fact, it was nearly impossible to find a table the first weeks after opening.)
Bess, Sandra Bullock’s swank restaurant on West Sixth Street that often attracts discreet patronage from visiting celebrities, took 4 percent. Clustered at under 3 percent of the vote were Kona Grill, Zocalo, Jasper’s, Cibo, The Daily Grill, Stortini, Cannoli Joe’s, Primizie, Gypsy and North.
Cannoli Joe’s, by the way, was a write-in that scored higher than three seeded choices. Other write-ins: Jezebel, La Familia, Mars and Roux.
Our favorite comment came from reader Laura Haussmann, who was in a feisty mood about Austin’s “fine dining” scene, which she didn’t find so fine: “My vote is for a restaurant to be created in the future … well, hopefully.”
Photo by Bret Gerbe
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Your A-List, Best Place to Buy Jeans: Hem
When Andy Roddick craves denim, he goes to Hem. With his giant thighs and glutes, paired with his trim waist, Roddick can’t find his jeans size at the Gap, for sure. So he depends on tailoring at the sleek shop at Lamar Boulevard and 12th Street, which Your A-List voters also chose as Best Place to Buy Jeans (26 percent of the vote).
Three years ago, Loree and Aimee Lindgren spied a niche for a specialty jeans shop and geared their business to local tastes.
“We felt that Austin’s such a casual market, so that even when dressed to the nines, people are wearing denim with a really dressy outfit,” Amiee says. “We can fit the individual in a perfect pair of jeans. The minute you walk in the door, we are focused on making sure we know our inventory; we can look at somebody and say, ‘OK, this is their body type,’ we know right away what to pull for them, and make it kind of a painless experience.”
Southwestern resalers Buffalo Exchange (19 percent), well-fitting mallsters Lucky (16 percent), youthful chainsters Diesel (8 percent), local veterans By George (7 percent), hip chainsters Urban Outfitters (7 percent), eclectic boutiquers Blue Elephant (6 percent), South Congress specialists Service Menswear (3 percent), nearby eco-friends Therapy (3 percent), Dallas-based Second Streeter Cowboy Cool (2 percent), another Second Streeter Octane (1 percent) and Service spin-off Crown (1 percent).
Write-in candidates: Cavender’s, Downstairs, Goodwill, Kohl’s, Luxe Apothetique, Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom, Physical Fit, Sam’s Club.
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‘Love in the Time of Cholera’ review preview
A generosity of spirit illuminates “Love in the Time of Cholera,” Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s novel about an epic romance that averts consummation for 50 years. That spirit flickers only intermittently in Mike Newell’s earnest film adaptation.
To be fair, it would take a sustained and muted delicacy to translate this love story from page to screen, because so much of it turns on the interior reflections of the protagonists, who age from youth to middle age and seniority in states of suspended sexual and emotional animation.
Florentino, a lovesick telegraph agent, falls hard for Fermina, the modest yet feisty daughter of a rough-hewn muleteer made good in a Colombian port (presumed to be Cartagena, but never named). The father, hoping for a noble match, stymies the couple by removing Fermina to the country, yet upon return to the city, and despite reams of exchanged missives, she rejects Florentino.
Did her father break Fermina’s spirit? Did she grow distant independently? Or is Florentino a phantom of an earlier life, as she proclaims in a grimy outdoor market?
We never find out in Newell’s movie. We bear witness as Fermina marries a wealthy and reasonably honorable doctor. Meanwhile, stricken Florentino rises from clerk to head of his uncle’s riverboat company while taking hundreds of lovers from the apparently limitless supply of sexually frustrated wives and widows in Cartagena.
When the doctor finally dies, well, we should experience a fullness of romantic swelling for Florentino and Fermina. We do not.
Follow the words: Screenwriter Ronald Harwood, best known for middle to high brow projects such as “The Pianist” and “The Browning Version,” picks up the obsessively repetitive language of love from the novel, but he rarely imbues it with poetry. Instead, he pauses on the scenes of awkward humor, delivered in a childlike English diction and a wide variety of accents — Italian, Puerto Rican, etc. — that replace the original Spanish.
Newell’s artistic team doesn’t help much, putting care into their depiction of stone-clapped streets, luxuriously leafy gardens and dreamy upstream wilderness, but outlining only the barest historical context.
As our long-suffering Romeo, Javier Bardem is too old to play callow youth, while his counterpart, Giovanna Mezzogiorno, is too young to play wise old age. Bardem’s gravity and range enrich his performance as the movie advances, but Mezzogiorno’s main acting technique — rotating her eyes like a doe in flight — eventually freezes into stiff expressions. As the doctor, Benjamin Bratt transcends his Hollywood glamour, but, compared with Bardem, he’s a stick.
At least they don’t make utter fools of themselves, like John Leguizamo, whose New York accent and heavy-handed humor elicit only disbelief as Fermina’s father. Playful then somber confidante Catalina Sandino Moreno and excessively protective mother Fernanda Montenegro come off best.
There’s plenty in “Cholera” to hold the eyes and ears, but the novel’s singular, protracted love story, perhaps best dramatized in a mini-series, passes without effect, like a series of tropical afternoon showers.
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Josh Brolin on Austin, acting and otherwise
Josh Brolin’s features look gouged from rough granite.
His jaw, cheeks and brow break into separate planes. His bull nose pokes out from the rocky mass of flesh and sooty eyes, making him, in certain lights, as intimidating as Robert Mitchum in “Cape Fear,” or as pensive as Christian Bale in “3:10 to Yuma.”
The striking son of actor James Brolin and Corpus Christi’s Jane Agee, who died in 1995, Brolin is enjoying a miracle year, featured prominently in three Oscar-worthy movies: “In the Valley of Elah,” “American Gangster” and, especially, “No Country for Old Men,” which opens Friday in Austin.
In the Coen Brothers’ spare, punch-to-the-gut adaptation of Cormac McCarthy’s novel, Brolin plays Llewelyn Moss, a self-reliant every-Texan who keeps the money he finds at the scene of a drug deal gone horrifically bad. It’s the kind of performance that could snag Brolin an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor, although he’d likely compete against Javier Bardem, who plays a methodical killer in the same movie.
Aptly, Brolin’s leap into “No Country” started in Austin, while he was working on Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarentino’s “Grindhouse,” in which he played gruff Dr. William Block.
“Robert and Quentin did my audition tape on a $950,000 Genesis camera,” Brolin says, relaxing at the Driskill Hotel last month. “So it was like the best-looking audition tape in the history of audition tapes. When (the producers) saw it, their response was, ‘Who lit it?’ I was like, ‘Yeah, but what did you think of the actor?’ They go, ‘He’s good, but he’s not what we’re looking for.’”
The makers of “No Country” eventually came around to Brolin, who lost weight and shaved off some facial hair for the role.
“With ‘No Country,’ it’s a fictional piece, but every day it felt like it was based on something very real, I don’t even know why,” he says. “Fictional characters are fun to play but they’re more difficult to get into because you’re creating it from scratch.”
How did he get so deeply inside the character of close-to-the-ground Moss, who often makes choices without reflection?
“I don’t know man, I really don’t,” Brolin says. “I feel that he’s quiet. He’s an intuitive guy, so you have to be quiet to be even more connected to the intuition. You’re feeling everything, as opposed to listening, as opposed to talking, so that was nice. It was kind of a challenge every day to not over compensate with inappropriate physicalities. I mean, I’m not going to scratch when I don’t feel the itch. … Javier, he’s more verbal than Moss. He’s got all that other stuff that you can kind of hang on. Moss just has him. Down-home-boy. ‘Come on, trailer park’ boy.”
Moss’ West Texas accent came with its own challenges, especially in a cast that included Texan-to-the-bone Tommy Lee Jones.
“Well, Tommy is from San Saba, where the character is from, and he reminded me of that often — which was quite unnerving,” Brolin says. “So first, I was watching a lot of Tommy’s early movies and listening to his accent.
“But what I also do for accents, I’ll call local hotels or the local chamber of commerce and I’ll just talk to them. I’ll act like I’m visiting the city, ‘My family and I are gonna come see you guys. We’re gonna be there for two weeks. What do you suggest we do?’ ‘Oh, well, you gotta do this.’ ‘Are you from the area by the way?’ ‘Oh yeah, born and raised.’ Then like, press the tape recorder and keep talking and keep asking questions like a reporter or a journalist.”
Brolin found just the right inspiration in Marfa.
“I heard a guy at a pizza place in Marfa and he was telling his buddies a story and I was talking to somebody and I said, ‘Listen to the guy.’ I just loved his vernacular, I loved his rhythm,” Brolin says. “The accent was a little too heavy. Anyway, he went away but I couldn’t stop thinking about him all night. Then I went looking for him for a day and finally learned that he owned a jewelry store. I told him what I was doing, he thought I was either going to rob his place or, I don’t know, but we ended up talking for a while and I recorded him and then we went out for lunch”
“Grindhouse” — Brolin appeared in Rodriguez’s ultra-bloody zombie section — presented completely different acting problems.
“It’s such an extreme thing, like, how far do we go?” he says “Where we can really go is far because the violence is so gratuitous, it’s almost ridiculous. You know, my dad called me after ‘Grindhouse’ and goes, ‘I love what Robert did with your voice.’ I go, ‘What did he do with my voice?’ He said, ‘You know, how he really deepened it and made it all gravelly.’ I go, ‘No bro’, that was all me.’ He said, ‘No, no, no, I love what he did with your voice.’ I said, ‘Listen man, I’m telling you.’ Like it was a backhanded compliment or something. Anyway, so roles like that are a lot of fun just because there’s no-holds-bar.”
Before “Grindhouse,” Brolin made “Picnic” with Mary Steenburgen in San Marcos, and whenever he drops into the area, he heads out with Rodriguez and friends.
“Oh man, Robert knows the city inside out,” he says. “We spend a lot of time at Continental Club and Antones and Gueros and Fonda San Miguel. To me it’s like the best food on earth. I go out to the (Barton Springs) in the morning before work and it’s like coffee. It’s better than coffee.”
His favorite Austin musician? Hands down, Bob Schneider. “Actually there was one point where I was going to ask him to come and play music at our wedding,” Brolin said. “We had a mutual friend that did this short film; (Schneider) did the music for it. I was turned on to him right away. I was like, this guy’s genius, just genius.”
With all his recent high-profile roles, Brolin’s been stuck mostly on planes promoting movies all over the country and in Europe.
“I can’t wait for the next acting job,” he said. “This is not bad, though. Somebody told me something the other day that I really appreciated, they said, ‘It’s a heavy schedule, and all that, but you’re not just doing it for you, you’re doing it for everybody who worked on the film.’ And I go, ‘I like that, thank you for that.’”
Brolin appreciates the fact that his recent successes will allow him to focus on unusual projects.
“The thing is, is to respect the moment and to continue working with people I like, which, I’ve always tried to do anyway,” he says. “From a studio point of view, I’ve never had the monetary value, at least in their minds. But if you hire a person who’s right for the part, you’ll make the money. I’ve seen it happen more times than not, where they hire somebody, and you go, “Why?” It’s just miscast and the movie fails and that means they don’t make any money. So, yes, I’ve been very fortunate this year.”
Some things readers might not know about Brolin: He’s a devout “Top Chef” fan and once considered the food industry for a career, and he writes short stories and poetry, often inspired by his mother.
“My mother’s a massive inspiration in everything that I do,” he says. “When somebody dies, you glorify all the positive aspects of them and you slowly forget the negative. If my mom were here she would love this movie more than anybody who’s ever seen it so far, I guarantee that.”
Reported with Elizabeth Peterman.
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Anton Nel’s 9-foot instrument
When Austin’s premier concert pianist acquires a 9-foot concerto-quality Steinway, you know that at least 30 people will gather in his Barton Creek-area condo to hear it baptized. Actually Anton Nel — originally from South Africa but long of Austin — threw three listening parties over the weekend. Sunday’s sanctification attracted striking, comfortably dressed men, mostly savoring their second half-centuries.
Anton with his new friend, the day it arrived (which explains the cazsh attire)
Surrounded by his exquisite selection of Asian art, Nel raised the lid on the black monster, then parked at the keyboards to reveal unbelievably rich, tender sounds from the big-voiced instrument. Nel, you see, had helped the Long Center for the Performing Arts select their pianos, and ran across this special on at the Austin Steinway Gallery. “One of the world’s great pianos,” he beamed. A special installation crew had hoisted it to the second floor landing, then, amazingly crooked its enormous frame into Nel’s jigsaw puzzle of a floor plan.
He played Chopin, Beethoven, Debussy and Schubert, including selections from “The Wanderer,” the piece that nabbed him the 1987 Naumburg International Piano Competition prize and cinched his far-flung career. Alas, the general public cannot squeeze into his condo for future afternoon musicales, but Nel, who teaches at the University of Texas, plays fairly frequently in Austin, and we hear the concerto Steinway he selected for the Long Center, which he first encountered in Aspen, is a doozie.
Sometimes, music is almost as satisfying as sex. The Austin Chamber Music Center’s concert Saturday with the Tosca String Quartet and that musical typhoon, Michelle Schumann, who now heads the organization, commenced with the fingertip caresses of Rachmaninoff, moved on to a sheet-scattering, overtly flirtatious Faure and settled into the half-conscious embrace of Ravel before strutting around with a cheeky Piazzolla.
All this in the creamy, immaculate surroundings of the First Unitarian Universalist Church. Hey, if you’ve never spent the night with chamber musicians, you don’t know what you’re missing.
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Jesse Plemons placed on the injured list
Jesse Plemons is only 19. So forgive the actor who plays Landry Clarke on “Friday Night Lights” for injuring his knee in a pick-up football game — not a rehearsal or performance — on TV drama’s Del Valle set Nov. 3.
“I was being stupid,” said Plemons, pictured here with sister Jill and mother Lisa at Dell Diamond on Saturday. “I cut on it wrong. My knee went left. Hopefully I’ll be able to walk on it in a few days.”
He hopes his injury won’t last long enough to make it into the show. “So far I’ve had three scenes sitting down,” Plemons laughs.
Still, he gamely maneuvered his crutches to the podium at Dell Diamond on Saturday morning to help launch the Greater Austin Walk Now for Autism event. Plemons’ investment in the charity runs deeper than a celebrity pumping a worthy cause. His mother, Lisa, teaches autistic students in the Waco school district.
“This is something that I didn’t know a lot about,” he said. “A lot of people have heard the word ‘autism,’ but they don’t know what it means. I’ve now had a chance to spend time with these kids and watched them make progress. A lot of times they’ll make great progress then, all of sudden, one day, they revert back and have to start from scratch.”
Plemons, who played quarterback in middle school, spent his high school years in Mart, a tiny agricultural community not far from Waco, where football reigns supreme.
“I was a waterboy for Quan Cosby’s state playoff team,” Plemons said of his early brushes with humility with the future University of Texas star receiver.
Tucked into a Dell Diamond office, Plemons, who made his movie debut in “Starting North” in 1998, sounded every bit as grounded, quick-witted and sometimes hapless as Landry.
“I don’t know if you’d call him responsible,” he quipped about Landry. ” He’s a good kid. Killing people …”
At 19, Plemons has already seen a lot, including stints on “CSI” and “Grey’s Anatomy.” He talked about his Austin girlfriend (not naming names, though), hanging out at Alamo Drafthouse and horsing around with the rest of the cast. Why haven’t any of them gotten into as much trouble as their fictional counterparts?
“I guessed we just haven’t got caught.”
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Studying the Studio
Communities coalesce in all varieties of locations, so it shouldn’t startle the newcomer to find that a warm, well-connected crowd relaxes regularly in a former bar situated in a motel parking lot under the shadow of the Interstate 35 / U.S. 290 interchange. The Studio, an extension of San Antonio’s successful club by the same name, took over the shell of the late, unlamented Bombay Bicycle Club in December, and almost a year later, the hot spot has turned into a social magnet, especially for African Americans in the mood for something much mellower than Sixth Street.
General manager Johnnie “JT” Tyler (above) books jazz and R&B, and on Thursdays, a healthy following has developed for Chicago-style line dancing. Every night Tyler hosts special events, including birthday parties; Guy Butler’s band, All U Need, plays 9 p.m. Fridays. The Studio, owned by San Antonio’s Alvin Roundtree, inherited some of the architectural blandness of the previous business, but that nagging impression is banished in the comfy, leather-clad VIP lounge, among the most inviting in the city. That’s Butler, above, relaxing with New Orleans transplant Geraldine Jennings, who keeps tab on The Studio’s burgeoning scene.
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American Youthworks at Palmer Events Center
It was a match made in blues heaven when the Help Clifford Help Kids benefit for American Youthworks paired with the Stax Records Showcase, starring Booker T and the MGs with Eddie Floyd and William Bell. (For those who did not live through the Stax Era, at least rent “The Blues Brothers.” It holds up.) As several patrons at the Palmer Events Center said Thursday, “Clifford Antone is smiling down on this one.”
The fundraising event, chaired by Susan Antone, the amazing Carla and Jack McDonald with Alan Luecke of Charity Partners of Austin, draws the craziest mix of jeans-wearing philanthropists, bleary-eyed musicans and educators from Youthworks on their best behavior. And why should it, one happy backer said, “it’s dedicated to a saint.”
Raising more than $400,000 in one night, Help provides a substantial part of the educational rescue program’s $6 million budget. The casual eats came from Guero’s, Hoover’s, Chez Zee, Austin Java and Kenichi. And mixing under the high ceilings were celebrities including Austin Police Chief Art Acevedo, guitar slinger Eddie Wilson and E! News host Dave Adelson.
Event co-chair Carla McDonald with her brother Rich Stanmyre and his girlfriend Michelle Priest (both musicians)
Sam Willis and Gigi Bryant
Jenny Murphy of Austin Ventures and California transplant Beau Morrow (as far as I know, the first actual Beau I’ve met.)
Elizabeth Garver and DiverseArts founder Harold McMillan
Carol Adams (who reported that the Karen Kuykendall Stage campaign has raised $600,000 so far) and Chez Zee’s Sharon Watkins
Recent transplants to Austin from NYC: Christy and David May. He’s with Third Coast Capital, a hedge fund; she’s the former Miss Louisiana who made the Top 10 of the Miss USA pageant. Both engaging conversationalists.
Fogo de Chao and the Out & About Weekend
Austin is not unfamiliar with the upscale churrascaria trend. For years, locals have made pilgrimages to Houston, Dallas and Las Vegas for high-end versions of the commonplace Brazilian eateries that offer countless samples of perfectly prepared meat. And recently, Estancia opened on U.S. 290 West, to the delight of Austin carnivores.
Wednesday, the long-awaited Austin incarnation of Fogo de Chao opened in the building that housed the ill-fated Houlihan’s across from the Austin Convention Center. The owners made a few radical changes in the space, including an extension over the sidewalk that showcases the traditional meat spindle. The former rooftop space has not been re-opened — imagine those swords of beef racing up and down stairs — and the main hall is cordoned off with discreet screens of dark, reddish wood.
It’s all very understated and geometric, with only the slightest hint of a concept restaurant. The signature Brazilian cocktail, the caipirinha, is made to perfection: muddled, tart and limey, not too sweet. The salad bar is extensive and includes savory cheeses and deli meats (as if we needed more). The expertly trained staff explains the serving sequence, and each time your card is turned to red, waiters appear out of nowhere to offer lamb, beef, sausage, whatever your heart’s desire.
News 8’s news director, Kevin Benz, and KVUE anchor Olga Campos joined American-Statesman food editor Ed Crowell and me at a table. Our lively meal was topped by flan (which Benz and Campos loved) and a pureed papaya and vanilla ice cream with blackberry and cassis on top. Heaven.
On to the weekend. You might see me at these Out & About events.
THURSDAY
Giving Back Bash at Austin Children’s Museum, Help Clifford Help the Kids event at the Palmer Events Center, Miles Davis Night with the Jeff Lofton Quintet at the Elephant Room
FRIDAY
Youth Spin at KOOP Radio Studios, Night out at Studio Club, Creep Out with Chicken Ranch Records at Beerland
SATURDAY
Walk Now for Autism with Jesse Plemons (left) at Dell Diamond, Kathy Dunn Hamrick fundraiser at Austin Design Center, “King of the Hill” exhibit reception Texas State University-San Marcos, “Hot Enough for Ya?” chamber concert at First Unitarian Universalist Church
SUNDAY
Frida’s Fiesta at Fonda San Miguel, Lawrence Wright at the Jewish Book Fair
MONDAY
Z’ Tejas Avery Ranch grand opening
TUESDAY
“Beowulf” screening at Galaxy Highland Theater
WEDNESDAY
“Project Runway” premiere-watching party (looking for location), A Christmas Affair at Palmer Events Center
Photos by Barton Wilder
Permalink | Comments (1) | Categories: Food
Describing Karen Kuykendall’s memorials
Thanks to Dave Steakley, we can publish the following descriptions of the Karen Kuykendall memorial events this week:
“At the Paramount Theatre, I think we had around 800 people come through during the 3-hour visitation. It was to begin at 4 p.m. and people were already there by 3:30 p.m. and the flow of people never let up; at about 5:30 p.m. as people got off from work the entire place was packed until the end which extended to 7:30-ish.
“The ‘altar’ we created used Michael Tracy’s painting and candelabras from Karen’s house. We also took the bags of rose petals from Karen’s floor that she has been collecting all year from the many gifts she received and scattered those across the stage. The pall on the coffin was made from fabric that Karen brought back from India on her last trip with Ann Richards. One of Karen’s caretaker nurses made the fabric into a bedspread for her to have on her bed these past three months and then we altered it this week in our costume shop for the coffin. It is a beautiful, bright magenta raw silk, and on the backside is a light iridescent green with flower embroidery. David Kurio matched the magenta with a spray of the most breathtaking orchids, from deep purple to light magenta — they were spectacular. David also provided rose petals from 800 roses which attenders were invited to spread across the coffin — there was quite an accumulation by the end on the floor and on the spray itself.
“The upstairs lounge/bar was open and friends gathered upstairs to socialize and look through the gallery of 25 photos from Karen’s family life and showbiz career that we had blown up on easels throughout. After 5:30 p.m. the social aspect had also permeated the theater itself as people brought their drinks downstairs into the theater — it felt like one of Karen’s house parties, and since we brought the art from Karen’s house I think those people who had been to her home responded as such.
“I even saw two people dip their rose petals in their gin and tonics — Karen’s signature drink of choice — before tossing them on Karen’s casket! The Paramount donated the space and employees to make the event happen — Ken Stein made sure we had everything we needed, and the tech staff was spectacular.
“The sanctuary at St. Ignatius was standing room only … I think it seats around 800 and there were a lot of people standing at the back. The music was very diverse and there was lots of it — soloists included Janis Stinson, Tim Curry, Craig Hella Johnson, Sterling Price-McKinney, Donna Hightower and the St. James Baptist Church Choir. Jodi Roberts played a Tibetan sacred bowl at three points in the ceremony.
“Highlights included: Janis and Tim sang ‘Amazing Grace’ for the processional and it had everyone in the sanctuary weeping — they were in magnificent voice — it was really powerful; Craig sang with such absolute purity and feeling on ‘Every Time We Say Goodbye’ and ‘It Singeth Low In Every Heart.’ Hightower sang Sterling’s arrangement of ‘Poor Wayfaring Stranger’ in a sorrowful, powerful Nina Simone-like voice.
“There was a big buzz from the audience when Father Kirby Garner announced that Karen was the first baby baptized at St. Ignatius after it was built. The big moment was when Karen’s speaking voice came over the loudspeaker and you heard a huge gasp in the auditorium as the spoken intro to Sterling’s ‘The Ballerina Song’ began. It is an 8-minute song, many tears flowed, and it was met by the audience leaping spontaneously to their feet for a standing ovation at the end that must have lasted for two minutes.
“Karen’s casket then was escorted out of the church by the gospel choir following and singing jubilantly ‘Going Up Yonder’ with the entire congregation clapping in rhythm. As everyone departed the choir kept singing a cappella, like an old-time revival where the spirit kicks it all up a notch, and there was another big hand for Karen outside. Not your typical mass!
“Dramatic, over the top beginning to end, eclectic, heart-breaking, joyous and irreverent. Definitely Karen.”
Photos by Nancy Scanlan
Permalink | Comments (1) | Categories: Fame
Coaching for social anxiety
A 28-year-old University of Texas student of psychology, Brad Calomeni probably doesn’t need much professional coaching for sticky social situations.
At times, however, he relies on MobileFaker, a Sprint service that provides its clients with cell phone rescues from awkward encounters, such as when Calomeni met an online acquaintance for the first time in person.
“It was a dreary, dreary situation,” he says. “I think they were expecting sex and I was not. I didn’t want to reject them.”
So he pressed a key and MobileFaker sent him a text prompt about a drunk friend locked out of his house, freeing Calomeni to escape.
“It’s like a white lie,” he says. “As long as you’re not hurting anyone’s feelings. I wouldn’t recommend using this on people you care about.”
MobileFaker can also provide a photo of a faux girlfriend (or boyfriend) as well as timely icebreakers at parties or clubs.
Calomeni is not alone in seeking outside help for social anxiety. VH1’s Austin-filmed reality series “The Pickup Artist,” which wrapped its first season last month, focused on self-promoting, one-named Mystery, pictured, who coaches guys on meeting potential romantic partners.
The series came with all the expected elements of the current rash of reality shows: a mansion overlooking Lake Travis for the benighted geeks who treated Mystery and his wing men as gurus; the surprise performance tests, such as kissing and lingerie judging; the nightly excursions to downtown Austin locations, where the contestants proved their skills to the unblinking witness of hidden cameras and mikes. (Hundreds of Central Texans must have signed away their privacy after the fact, because only a tiny minority pictured at clubs were pixelated out of existence.)
Claiming authority on romance — or, let’s be more accurate, sex — is nothing new, and Mystery’s method is clotted with familiar notions on mate-matching value familiar from evolutionary psychology. Like a traveling showman, however, he adds a jaunty set of jargon and sells it with snake-like charm. (Any targets who watched the show, however, will now be on guard about the rather obvious setup lines practiced by Mystery’s crew.)
What remains fascinating, however, is how crucial this coaching was to the contestants. Taken at their own words, the experience changed their lives. On several episodes, they break down crying in gratitude and in new-found fraternal bonding. And the relegation of women to targets aside — nobody with the tiniest bit of gender sensitivity could ignore that — “The Pickup Artist” made viewers root for these socially inept players.
The truth is that almost everybody suffers from some form of social anxiety. My gut tightens up every time I head to an unfamiliar gathering in my Out & About columnist guise, even given several such events in an evening.
My crutch? Not an anxiety coach or an opening line. Recently, it’s been a camera. It’s easier to start a conversation when you’ve asked someone for the favor of their image. And so far, only one person has turned me down (only to appear in another publication’s party photos!).
A feeling overwhelmed me returning from the last party one weekend: Every single person I met was genuinely engaged in our conversations, once the ice had been broken, and even those whom I had pegged as distant or snobbish turned out to be just momentarily insecure in an unfamiliar situation.
Like myself. And, apparently, like a lot of other people.
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Your A-List: Best Happy Hour
Does anyone else remember this: The eggroll vendor, looking somewhat like Bloody Mary from “South Pacific,” on the Drag who would yell “HAPPY HOUR! HAPPY HOUR!” as the late afternoon sun sunk behind the hulking University Co-Op?
That cry might ring in your ears as you read about the next Your A-List contest entries. Winning with a whopping 33 percent of the vote was the Saxon Pub, the South Lamar Boulevard haunt with so much character that splits its personality between friendly bar and intimate music venue.
“We are honored to say the least,” said owner Joe Ables. “We didn’t even get on the ballot for live music venue. And we’ve had some pretty good happy hour shows during the week, Wednesday being one of the strongest for us. It was a cool thing that the patrons took charge of voting for us.”
Ables reported that they’ve recently added a green room and a VIP booth in honor of the Willie Nelson video shot there.
The only other establishment to come close was Trudy’s, which benefits from multiple locations and rather raucous HAPPY HOURS! (18 percent) Baby Acapulco, which advertises its specialty with a margarita-sipping elephant on its signs, gained a respectable 7 percent, while the peregrinating Cedar Door stood still long enough to earn 6 percent, as did seafood specialists McCormick & Schmick’s.
South Congress tourist destination Continental Club took 4 percent, as did central Congress Avenue restaurant Roaring Fork. Doc’s, which has created a singular experience around a old car repair shop, roared in with 3 percent. Kyoto, the veteran Japanese eatery downtown, the classy Brown Bar, and the college-crowd Jackalope on Sixth Street also pulled 3 percent.
Rounding out the official slate were Lamberts, Clay Pit, Third Base, The Mohawk, Zax and Mars.
Write-ins: 219 West, Barton Springs Saloon, Casino El Camino, Cuba Libre, Dog & Duck Pub, Eddie V’s, Hoover’s, Imperia, Key Bar, North by Northwest, Saba Blue Water Cafe and Z’Tejas.
HAPPY HOUR!
Photo by Larry Kolvoord
Permalink | | Categories: Your A-List
Your A-List: Shopping Center
Suburban vs. urban. Planned vs. organic. Indoor vs. outdoor. Massively centralized vs. sporadically linear.
The battle between Austin’s top shopping centers for Your A-List came down to distinctly differing views of commercial culture. Barton Creek Square mall, the traditional indoor center that sits atop a hill above the iconic waterway, won with 26 percent of the vote. Not far behind was South Congress Avenue, the hip, revived strip along a broad urban boulevard, coming in at 22 percent.
The first center buzzes with big department stores, led by Nordstrom’s, and countless smaller specialty shops, and its browsers range from teens escaping family constrictions to grayhairs power-walking along the mall’s miles of halls. The other unexpectedly evolved from a semi-derelict district south of downtown and now hosts many of the city’s most stylish boutiques and eateries. It’s become a must-see for tourists and festival-goers.
Given that it just arrived a few months ago and remains incomplete, it may surprise some readers that The Domain made third place with 15 percent of the vote. Also, given that Prime Outlets San Marcos is very high on the list of Texas tourist destinations, it might give pause that it garnered only 9 percent.
The Arboretum, a mixture of traditional and newer shopping models, took 7 percent, while the Round Rock Premium Outlets, the first of its kind in Central Texas, attracted 5 percent. The strictly urban but highly planned Second Street District copped 4 percent and straightforwardly traditional Lakeline Mall 3 percent, as did the student-oriented Drag.
Pulling 2 percent or less were the Tanger Outlets San Marcos, Capital Plaza, La Frontera, Highland Mall, Shops at the Galleria and Wolf Ranch.
Two write-ins: Midtown and Southpark Meadows.
Permalink | | Categories: Your A-List
Matthew McConaughey’s Longhorn bike for sale on eBay
Now this is the way to show your orange: Buy Matthew McConaughey’s commemorative Texas Longhorn National Championship Tribute Bike, which is for sale on eBay. Minimum bid for the custom-built bike from Ralph Randolph’s Knockout Motorcycle Co. is $25,000. All proceeds will be shared by McConaughey’s Just Keep Livin’ Foundation and Texas Exes Scholarship Fund. You have until 5 p.m. Nov. 17 to bid. The shirtless one is quoted on eBay as saying: “Let the biddin’ begin, hook ‘em Horns, and now and always, just keep livin’.” Maybe he couldn’t find room for it in his recently purchased $10 million Malibu mansion.
Permalink | Comments (1) | Categories: Sports
Roasting UT’s Pebbles Wadsworth
They made fun of her name. They mocked her e-mail argot (all capitalization and punctuation). Yet to a one, the roasters who commemorated Pebbles Wadsworth’s 15-year tenure at the UT Performing Arts Center praised her pioneering leadership, her focus on Latin American artists through Artes Americas and her fortitude during the center’s cycles of good and bad fortune.
Among the most eloquent was Texas Tech University President Jon Whitmore, pictured with Wadsworth, who poked fun at her flower budget while sharing her advocacy of merging arts presentation with academics. Whitmore hired Wadsworth away from UCLA in 1992 when he was the dean of the UT College of Fine Arts, and this newspaper published the first interview with the PAC director. (Privately, Whitmore expressed concern about the looming Tech/UT game on Saturday.) Other speakers included emcee and Texas Monthly publisher Mike Levy, UT President William Powers and producer Julio Soloranzo Foppa.
And look who else showed up: Neil Barclay, lovingly dubbed “high priest of the arts,” former PAC associate director and now president and CEO of the August Wilson Center for African American Culture in Pittsburgh. He’s pictured right, looking like a Jesuit in his usual costume of black. Could Barclay be lured back to Austin? Hmmm. Let’s see. He’s just raised $38 million to build a new complex for the Wilson Center. On the other hand, UT is famous for drafting the best.
Permalink | | Categories: Arts
Debating celebrity journalism at the Dionysium
The Dionysium is a civic treasure. The monthly conclave that includes music, lectures, performances and debates clocked its 42nd incarnation Tuesday with the announcement that it will transfer from Alamo South Lamar to the newly renovated Alamo at the Ritz. (“The hippest Alamo since the original Alamo,” said emcee and president L.B. Deyo.) Tuesday’s event, organized by Sarah Rigdon, included an introduction by curator Kelly Baum to two exhibitions of contemporary works at the Blanton Museum of Art.
The main event, moderated with sere, nimble wit by Ben Anderson, pitted St. Edward’s University journalism faculty member and former American-Statesman columnist Michele Kay (pictured) against your humble correspondent. The resolution: “Celebrity journalism is inherently irresponsible.” Taking the affirmative position, Kay argued that reporting on the famous eats up valuable newspaper space, encourages bad behavior and borders on voyeurism. The negative responded that celebrity journalism is natural, universal and valuable (providing necessary narratives for a chaotic existence). It can also be executed responsibly, following the 3 Ps: No paparazzi, no potshots, no puncturing the veil of privacy. Also, space is available online and role models can also teach us what not to do.
After vigorous questioning from the audience, and much agreement between the debaters on what constitutes newsworthiness, the discussion was closed. The final argument from Out & About: respect. Give celebrities, local or national, the same respect we give people involved in natural disasters, accidents and crimes. Report and evaluate their public actions and speech, but delve no further. Much to my surprise, the negative narrowly won the audience vote.
Permalink | Comments (1) | Categories: Media
Manhood and morality
What does a man do? For family? For community? And how does a man juggle conflicting notions of morality, especially related to safekeeping loved ones?
Those appear to the be questions of the Hollywood season, if you consider the following characters:
Casey Affleck’s slow to ignite South Boston private detective in “Gone Baby Gone,” choosing among competing good intentions. Also Morgan Freeman and Ed Harris’ compromised policemen who claim to protect children in the same movie.
Josh Brolin’s every-Texan in “No Country for Old Men” who presages all that will go wrong for him and his family, but can’t turn back.
Christian Bale’s hired gun in “3:10 to Yuma” who seems willing to do anything to save his young family and uphold his honor, even if his stubbornness will bring nothing but tears.
George Clooney’s legal fixer in “Michael Clayton” who must balance a web of loyalties in surprising ways.
Tommy Lee Jones’s honor-bound father in “In the Valley of Elah” as well as his befuddled, old-school lawman in “No Country.”
Viggo Mortensen’s seemingly amoral Russian mobster in “Eastern Promises” who masks his acts of salvation.
Seth Rogen’s boy-man in “Knocked Up” who cluelessness dissolves so slowly, we barely notice the signs of maturation.
I’d include the three brothers in “The Darjeeling Limited,” but they are incompletely formed boys, even after the moving, transformative events in the film.
Same goes for Mark Webber in “The Hottest State” and Glen Hansard in “Once,” though these movies touch on related issues of what society expects from males.
This is only a partial list. I’m sure that some others will pop up during the season of serious movies.
Permalink | Comments (1) | Categories: Movies
Losing 6 ladies; missing Kuykendall memorials
Six leading ladies. Six Austin role models. Six who passed from our company in a little more than a year. It’s tough to absorb the loss.
Lady Bird Johnson graced everything she touched. The first lady championed the environment and the well-being of those who inhabited it.
Ann Richards out-smarted, out-joked and out-maneuvered almost every politician in the land, with the exception of the current president in 1994, and even he gave her props.
Molly Ivins never let a public blunder go unpunished. She angered some with her withering wit, but she could make readers of all political stripes catapult their morning cereal with shock and delight.
Kay Longcope was another kind of journalist: a pioneer from the lesbian and gay community who took the newspaper business seriously and created the state’s first gay publication of substance.
Ruth Denney schooled several generations of theater folk, including Broadway and Hollywood stars, but she never lost that firm, warm honesty of everybody’s favorite high school or college teacher.
Karen Kuykendall lit up personal and social lives just as she illuminated the stage. She died minutes before midnight on Halloween, demonstrating perfect timing right to the end.
Note on Kuykendall memorials: I was never able to confirm times and places, so I’ve failed those readers who depended on Out & About to update them. Believe me, I tried. I understand the visitation was well-visited and the funeral Mass is underway.
Permalink | | Categories: Fame
Dating tips for Austinites and Frequent Austin Visitors
If you are serious about staying out of the tabloids:
Lance Armstrong: Stay away from twins, especially gossip bait like the Olsens.
Owen Wilson: Keep clear of celebutantes (hands off, Jessica Simpson).
Matthew McConaughey: Do not, under any circumstance, get engaged to a 24-year-old Brazilian model, no matter how tantalizing.
Do us a favor, boys.
Permalink | | Categories: Fame
Vegetarian chili cook-off at Austin Zoo
What’s the point of vegetarian chili? The folks at the Austin Zoo, who have been raising bucks through a veggie chili cook-off for almost two decades, know. Almost every offering in the dusty, village-like marketplace on the zoo grounds threw in a twist: unexpected ingredients, varied consistencies and a wide range on the heat index. Particularly picante was the white chili — no tomatoes or red chile powder — from Team GRITS (Girls Raised in the South), which included smoked corn, mushrooms and jalapeno that remarkably mimicked the flavor of bacon. And after the treats, off to view the lions, tigers and bears — plus less frightening species, most of them rescued and all housed in up close and personal enclosures.
“Adult chili!” they yelled, when they were not flipping their coconuts.
Sophie Caillabet, 3, of Dripping Springs, attends the zoo twice a week. No kidding.
Peas and chiles were among the afternoon’s stars
He wouldn’t give his name to the newspaper, but he was proud of his Atomic Tattooes art
These mad scientists obviously enjoy their brew. The one on the left kinda looks like Henry from “Ugly Betty,” a show he doesn’t watch.
Permalink | Comments (4) | Categories: Fun
L Style G Style in style
If the party you attended late Saturday appeared bereft of stylish gay and lesbian participants, they were attending the launch of L Style G Style, the latest slick magazine catering to Austin’s LGBT community. The setting — the sidewalk, curb and just-finished lobby of the AMLI apartments at Third and San Antonio streets — telegraphed the urbanity and ambition of the flip mag. The theme was black-and-white and the runway show was, for once, balanced between men’s and women’s wear. The patter remained upbeat well into the evening, interrupted frequently by nearly universal rubbernecking at the collective glamour.
Founder and publisher Alisa Weldon (right) with partner Lynn Yeldell
The keeper of Keepers
It was an evening of brio most everyone
The young and the restless, moving in packs
Two models
More animated guests
And into the night…
Permalink | Comments (1) | Categories: Style
Fun Fun Fun it is
Things to like about the Fun Fun Fun Fest, the three-stage feast of hardcore, indie and electronic music that wraps today at Waterloo Park.
1. Never hot. Last year, cold. This year, warm.
2. Comparatively intimate settings. No more than 6,000 people or so max in the entire park.
3. Double stages. So the next band is set up and ready to go right away.
4. Lots of trees and terraces. The better to sit and see.
5. An open shed, not a tent, for the electro stage. Much better sight lines this year.
6. Hardcore stage benefits from natural setting. Violence not really an option in a sylvan glade.
7. Cheap tickets. Young crowd. No infants.
8. The opportunity to hear acts such as the New Pornographers and Explosions in the Sky (pictured) opening up their sound for outdoor consumption.
A single, sustained set of Explosions exposes more than their recordings — or “Friday Night Lights” scores — can possibly do. Their slow chord progressions clearly ticked off some festers who wanted quick releases. Also, their rhythm-based instrumental burblings, descended from the line of Philip Glass, Eno, etc., pump emotion into meditation, .and might, in other circumstances, be associated with certain forms of psychotropic stimulants. (Did anyone else catch the Explosions reference on “Dirty, Sexy Money” the other night?)
Photo by Jay Janner
Permalink | | Categories: Music
Marlee Matlin steals show at Book Festival gala
Substance mingled with frivolity during the opening-night gala of the Texas Book Festival on Friday. Authors read aloud from their books, entertainers entertained, and, for the first time, the festival, which raises money for Texas libraries, squeezed into the public rooms of the Four Seasons Hotel.
Actress and children’s book author Marlee Matlin stole the show with deft jokes about deafness and a “life that is far from tragic.” She related meeting President Reagan trying out a hearing aid. She was introduced to Reagan as the Oscar winner for “Children of a Lesser God.”
“Well, I was never one of those,” the president said after a pause.
Matlin, who sat with Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott, talked about growing up a “deaf Marcia Brady” and about how books whisked her away to “fantastical lands.”
Historian Douglas Brinkley read from “The Reagan Diaries,” which he edited. The only times that Reagan did not make a daily entry in the dairy, a document whose existence surprised many presidential watchers, were the weeks after he was shot and when he was dealing with cancer.
“Getting shot hurts,” Brinkley quoted Reagan from the diary. After the assassination attempt, Reagan recorded how he collaborated with Pope John Paul II to work toward eliminating nuclear weapons.
The cool, dry weather cooperated with festival organizers as festival guests, packed into the hotel ballrooms, took refuge on the curving terraces.
“It’s a crowd you don’t see every day,” festival Executive Director Mary Herman said. “There are authors and people from all over the state.”
Alexander Butterfield, the man who revealed the existence of Nixon’s White House tapes on July 16, 1973, dropped by, mixing with Robert Draper, the former Texas Monthly staff writer who was lionized for his book on President Bush, “Dead Certain.”
“I feel like I’m walking around in a spacesuit,” said Draper of his triumphant return to his onetime hometown. “It’s an out-of-body experience because I’m so often on the other side of the notebook.”
The Texas Book Festival continues today and Sunday on the Capitol grounds and includes free music and readings for the public.
Marlee Matlin in an animated conversation
Nixon aide Alexander Butterfield, who is researching a book at the LBJ Library
Ellen Sweets, State Rep. Elliot Naishtat and Jan Demetri
Two from the Texas Cultural Trust: Amy Barbee and Jennifer Wijangco, who is everywhere
Distinguished looking Robert Draper, lionized in his former hometown
Friendly Bouldin residents with a fantastically trained blonde Lab who our Labs should emulate. She’s Jayne Barrett of the Austin Library Foundation, he’s Mack Ray Hernandez.
Don’t need help identifying Michelle Valles and Ray Benson, who served as emcee again this year
Luke Borders (at his first gala ever), Louisa Crosby and Tom Borders
Despite the longer blonde tresses, Chase Masterson still attracts Trekkies like bees to honey drawn. Her five seasons as Leeta on “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine” — earned after a four-line guest part — made the University of Texas graduate an idol to sci-fi followers. Crossing her fishnet stockings and and flashing her studied looks at Jo’s Hot Coffee on Friday, Masterson talked about her years in Austin — roles at Capitol City Playhouse, for instance — and her fierce climb up the career ladder in Hollywood. She was accompanied by James Kerwin, a TCU grad who moved from film to stage direction (unusual), but returned to movies to direct “Yesterday Was a Lie,” produced by and starring Masterson. I admire this duo’s entrepenureal spirit and hope to see “Yesterday” on the festival circuit.
Permalink | | Categories: Books
Alamo at the Ritz opens — barely
The carpet unfolds in places, and the moulding is missing in spots, but on Thursday night a pair of Davy Crockett statues welcomed first-nighters to the Alamo at the Ritz, the new East Sixth Street location for the local meal-and-a-movie chain. Wednesday’s preview was canceled but health and occupancy certificates came to the rescue.
Alamo fan Quentin Tarantino and movie theater co-owner Tim League discuss the new venue at the Ritz
“We’ve been wandering around in a daze,” Alamo programmer Henri Mazza said. “There are some rough edges, but we’ll be working on them while people are watching movies.”
“What’s not to like?” said Jay Knowles, father to Internet movie pundit Harry and a longtime Austin cultural figure, about the former movie theater that most recently served as a pool hall. “The ceilings are higher, the look is more luxurious and the trenches are deeper for the servers.”
Munching on a special mushroom feast, the audience, which including Alamo fan and cult director Quentin Tarantino took in the weirdness of “Matango: Attack of the Killer Mushrooms.”
“Tim’s always want to show it,” co-owner Karrie League joked about her husband and co-owner. “But probably nobody would come, so he forced them to by showing it on opening night.”
In other local movie news, please welcome Agnes Varnum to Austin. Formerly of the Brooklyn documenatry distribution company First Run, Varnum has taken the position of communications manager for the vital Austin Film Society. She formerly worked for the Center for Social Media in D.C. and serves at a columnist for Indie. She blogs about new media and other issues. Docs to look for in the coming months, says Varnum, include “Mondo Bala” and “Taxi to the Dark Side.” By the way, expect the society’s renovated studios at the Mueller site to open in January 2008.
Permalink | Comments (2) | Categories: Movies
Karen Kuykendall would have loved ‘em
Every other thought is of Karen Kuykendall. Probably will be for a while.
The published tribute to her life, on and off the stage, was written a bit after midnight on Halloween. Karen’s timing was flawless to the end.
At 11:22 p.m., when she passed peacefully in the arms of her family, a party roared not half a mile away at American Legion Hall. She would have adored it: The Greek Revival house, dating back to her great-grandfather’s day, its rooms bristling with costumed revelers, most of them in the rosy blush of youth.
But mostly there was the band: White Ghost Shivers. Lordy, these jazzy vaudevillians can make the twentysomethings Charleston like it was the devil’s own music. Their screeching, howling, bawling sound, tight as a cat-gut fiddle, reminds the listener that jazz was once considered racy (and race music at that, like the swing, rock and hip-hop that followed).
This year, the organizers, including Adrienne Mishler, dressed as a flippant flapper, kept the head count down to 300, which allowed room for surely the most volcanic demonstration of physical exhaultation on All Hallow’s Eve.
Sorry, the photos are pre-band, pre-Charleston, pre-exhaultation, but you get the pictures.
Super Mario and the Cube. So ’80s. That’s Anthony Moschella and Nick Laroche inside. Or the other way around.
Check out the attention to detail from the Day of the Dead duo
It took a few seconds to figure out Pepper and Salt. Tamara Rivers: “And you get to wear a unitard …” Scott Crow: “It’s tighter than you think.”
Tony and Amber Buonodono think they are starring in film noir, but their sweet look is closer to the standard ingenues in a backstage musical.
Mr. & Mrs. Frankenstein (Adam Pyles and Elissa Rodgers) before the electricty of White Ghost Shivers lighted them up.
Fidel shakes with Abe? Must be the end of the world.
Join Out & About at some of the following events:
THURSDAY
Alamo at the Ritz opening, 320 E. Sixth St.
Ray Benson benefit concert, La Zona Rosa
FRIDAY
Texas Book Festival Gala, Four Seasons Hotel
Arthouse Texas Prize party, Stubb’s BBQ
SATURDAY
KMFA’s 40th Anniversary Party, Tarry House,
Fun Fun Fun Festival, Waterloo Park
Texas Book Festival, Capitol Grounds
Downtown Fight Night, Erwin Center
L Style G magazine launch party, AMLI on Second Street
SUNDAY
Austin Zoo Vegetarian Cook-Off, 10807 Rawhide Trail
Fun Fun Fun Festival, Waterloo Park
MONDAY
Grounded in Music Benefit, Antone’s
TUESDAY
Pebbles Wadsworth roast, Four Seasons Hotel
Dionysium (including a debate about celebrity journalism), Alamo South
WEDNESDAY
Fogo de Chao grand opening, 309 E. 3rd St.
One from the East party, Salvage Vanguard Theater
