Austin360 blogs > Out & About > Archives > 2009 > August
August 2009
Live Chats this week: Alex Winkelman & Paul Oveisi
3 p.m. Thursday: Avant Le Weekend Live Chat with Paul Oveisi (Momo’s, Live Music Task Force).
Remember, you can join these live conversations here at Out & About.
Then you can replay them at any time afterwords.
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Joyce Vandeveer: A Mystery in 3 Parts (Part 3)
For more of “Joyce Vandeveer: A Mystery in 3 Parts,” scroll down to previous posts, or link here to Part 1 and Part 2.
Why? What happened at Tommy’s Place in 1954?
According to newspaper archives — and Nan Alamilla Boyd’s chronicle of pre-Stonewall San Fransisco, “Wide-Open Town” — Vandeveer acted
heroically in the face of social and legal persecution.
During the early 1950s, the city by the bay experienced one of its periodic crack-downs on “lesbian thrill spots,” as the press called Tommy’s Place and other bars. The local Parent Teachers Association joined the anti-gay campaign. An Oakland paper smeared Tommy’s Place as patronized by “deviants, bohemians and tourists.”
Despite the inherent humor in this characterization, unprovoked and unrepentant raids and stings of gay clubs — with newspapers printing names and photos of otherwise non-criminal patrons and employees — continued into the late 1960s and early ’70s.
Vandeveer fought back. Not only was she acquitted of serving a minor, her accuser was indited for perjury, an almost-unheard-of legal triumph, even today.
Nevertheless, the bar lost its license and the photographer forfeited her job and apartment. Vandeveer told Sicola that PTA women “would chase her down the street.”
Later in life, Vandeveer would not talk to reporters or researchers about her life, so great was the internalized dishonor.
“They never got their due,” Sicola says of Vandeveer’s generation. “They went to their graves filled with embarrassment and shame.”
Bartender, I’ll take a cabernet, if you have one. And allow me to raise my glass to Joyce Vandeveer.
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Joyce Vandeveer: A Mystery in 3 Parts (Part 2)
For Part 1 of “Joyce Vandeveer: A Mystery in 3 Parts,” scroll down to the previous post, or link here.
Austin seemed to enjoy the momentary mystery.
“A fluke of the universe brought the two of us together,” Sicola told me over the phone.
Turns out Sicola knew Vandeveer’s ex-girlfriend, who lives in Austin but suffers from Alzheimer’s. (Sicola carefully avoids identifying the ex-girlfriend who, after all, cannot approve of her “outing” due to her current mental status.)
The lawyer and the photographer met 12 years ago. “I stayed in touch with her,” Sicola says of their casual friendship. “Then, three years ago, she asked me to come to Arkansas, where she was living as a shut-in, to take care of her cats while she had emergency surgery. I don’t know why she thought of me — we barely knew each other — but Joyce could spot an easy target when she saw one.”
Sicola did spend three weeks in Arkansas caring for the felines. Later, medical professionals told Sicola that Vandeveer, who had developed ovarian cancer, was on the verge of death. They wanted to place her in an Arkansas hospice. Sicola was concerned that Vandeveer had no relatives or friends there, so she brought her to Austin’s
Christopher House.
“I couldn’t let this old lady die alone,” Sicola says, thinking of how gays and lesbians, especially of that generation, are often cut off from families and left with no natural caregivers in their last years. “Within an hour after arriving at Christopher House, she came to. They said: ‘This woman isn’t dying!’”
Vandeveer spent her last three years in an assisted-living facility with a dog, photographs and memories, as well as some new Austin friends. Raised in Los Angeles, she was an only child and her parents predeceased her. She had no family members left.
“She lived happily,” Sicola says. “I tried to find her relatives. Never did. But it turned out to be one of the greatest blessings of my life.”
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Joyce Vandeveer: A Mystery in 3 Parts
The picture prompted the initial enigma. A woman sporting short, dark hair. A cigarette. Shadowed eyes, half brooding, half smiling. Like her fastidiously painted lips.
The image could have been lifted from a 1950s book-jacket portrait. A Carson McCullers. Or a Dorothy Parker. Or perhaps a Jane Bowles.
The paragraphs below the photograph answered some questions, but also deepened the mystery. Cold fact: The 82-year-old woman died in Austin on Aug. 23. It seems Vandeveer was a photographer, too, “by trade and passion.” She followed the jazz scenes as well as other cultural and political trends in New York City and San Francisco during the 1950s and ’60s.
She tended bar at Ann’s 440 in San Francisco’s North Beach district — launch pad for the beat generation — and was associated with Johnny Mathis, Lenny Bruce and other breakthrough entertainers.
The beguiling clue, however, in Vandeveer’s obituary was reference to the raid of Tommy’s Place, another North Beach club where she worked as bartender. The unidentified obituary writer drops the metaphorical bread crumbs: “In a harbinger of the Stonewall Riots of the decade to follow, Joyce’s resistance to, and ultimate victory over, a politically motivated police raid …”
Stonewall? Was Vandeveer a lesbian? If not, why the bring up the 1969 riots that jump-started the gay liberation movement?
Were that not enough, what caught the eye of many Austin readers was the kicker: “To celebrate Joyce’s life, she would highly recommend a cabernet Sauvignon, or, if one is really grieving, a scotch and water on the rocks.”
“How I wish to have known her!” wrote reader Shelly Kanter to Out & About. “Chivas on the rocks tonight.”
“God she sounded like a fascinating person,” Bea Ann Smith wrote.
“That was some obit,” Dannah Peck wrote “Great photo.”
More to come …
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Marcella Hazan 2: The Frittata
Part of a planned multi-year series on the basic recipes of Cookbooking Founders Marcella Hazan, Claudia Roden, Diana Kennedy and Julia Child.
In Italy, they are served for a light, late supper, the way quick, gooey omelettes are offered in France. I prefer them for brunch, though. They take longer than most morning egg dishes, but the results can be comforting, and certainly filling with all that Parmesan added after beating the eggs.
My personal method has always been allied to Hazan’s: Instead of flipping the egg dish in a 10-inch pan, I place the concoction under the broiler for 30 seconds to a minute to solidify the top. This, after 15 minutes on the lowest of possible flames, stove-top.
Hazan says “do not brown,” but I like a slightly crisp, very thin crust on a frittata.
Also, I reduce the butter from her recipes, sauteing the onions, shallots, leeks or other first ingredients in two, rather than three tablespoon. Avoids a greasy plate.
Robustly aged Parmesan Reggiano is ideal for a simple, unadorned frittata, but may be too strong when other tastes must be considered. A supermarket brand — Italian, but not too hard, aged less than a year— is fine when one adds, for instance, asparagus.
Hazan recommends a specialized Italian asparagus cooker, which sounds intriguing: Vertical so the butts are boiled while the tips are steamed. Next time grazing at the gourmet shop …
Until then, I’ll continue to use a wide-bottomed Calphalon pot to cook-steam a pound of asparagus for 15 minutes, after soaking them in cold water for 10. I’d follow Hazan’s cramped directions for prepping the stalks, but I think she’s dealing with asparagus closer to the source, and therefore tougher.
OMG: The results are divine asparagus frittatas. Although, do cook them 5 minutes longer than the basic ones, because the moisture absorbed by the vegetables contributes more liquid. Nothing worse than a runny frittata.
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Art + Style Poolside Fashion Show at Amli on 2cd
Boutique sampler shows are finicky creatures …
Sonia and Anthony Dominguez
You know, the ones where several shops send some unrelated merchandise down a runway …
William Buchanan and Sonja Sorensen
Where’s the idea? What’s the context? …
Lacey Pack and Michelle Flores
Saturday’s Art + Style Poolside Fashion Show at Amli on 2cd for Austin Art Alliance proved a sterling exception to this rule, partly because Jen Shoemaker, now of the Phoenix, was involved …
Brent and Laura Lane
First, the setting: The apartment tower’s pool deck during a rosy sunset, the conditions comparatively dry and cool …
Barbara Ann Kelso, Cherie Matthews and Sloan Foster
Then there were the refreshments: Little stands that demonstrated how to construct a Bombay Sapphire Collins: You made it yourself, with help …
Julia Mooradian and Matt Campbell
Then the runway — a bridge over the long, narrow pool … And DJ Kurupt spinning some of my favorite tunes at just the right volume for each part of the evening …
Viviane Mitchell and Braxton Clement
But wait! Where were the lights? It’s dusk now! (I joined another guest redirecting the theatrical lighting focused on the gin stands, not the models!) …
Laura Clemmer, Brett Coleman and Caroline Hughes
Then came the summery wear from shop after shop along West Second Street …
Erin Rivers, Jo Ong and Valerie Jayne
Some strappy, some flowing, some tight: It all looked of one cloth, meaning from the same mind’s eye …
Brittani Flanagan, Arika Haynes and Virginia Le
All young. All nightlife-ready. Not that all of it worked — the denim especially looked bland from a distance, and a couple pieces didn’t fit at all — but enough to make for a thoroughly satisfying runway show.
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Texas 4000 Tribute at the Four Seasons Hotel
Naturally, they looked fit as a fiddle …
Amit Anandwala and Kate Wallace
Not only the Texas students who rode the Texas 4000 this year …
Whitney Yang and Tyler Mann
But those who endured the summer cycling and camping circuit to Alaska and back in previous years …
Ben Atkins and Michael McAllester
And those who have signed on for the next rotation …
Hannah and Michael Lu
(You could distinguish the classification of riders by the colors of their ribbons) …
Doug and Stacy Bain
Chris Condit, who helped conceive the annual long-distance fundraiser, told me that $300,000 had been collected so far …
John Fitch and Ana Coronell
The money goes to back a special position at M.D. Anderson …
Mandy and Chris Condit
Last year, Lance Armstrong treated the Texas 4000 riders to dinner at Chuy’s …
Daniel Tesfay, Zaid Hassan and Maxim Polanksy
I guess this year, he’s back on the tour and wants to spend time with his girlfriend and new child in Aspen …
Maxim and Alexander Polanksy (rider son the on the left, proud father on the right)
No one begrudges him those honorable commitments …
Jeff Boes, Emily Parham and Colin Doyle
Last year, too, I met a whole rally of Olympians, but none this time around at the Four Seasons Hotel. .
Socar Chatmon-Thomas and Martin Thomas
Ah well. Next time, maybe I’ll stay for dinner, too. Sure ain’t biking to Alaska with these 54-year-old legs.
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An Inside History of Antonio’s TexMex
One of the reasons I relish reporting the results of the A-List “Best Of” contests each week is that I learn something every time, often from readers. Few responders, however, have been as thorough and gracious as John Cortez, who saw that I’d never been to any of the Antonio’s outlets. The TexMex restaurant group — almost four decades old — won for Best Margarita in the A-List vote. So I decided to quote his message in full (with minor editing).
Thank you
John V. Cortez Antonio’s Tex-Mex
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Meet the new entertainment bloggers
The Entertainment Journalism class at St. Edward’s University once again impresses. We’re meeting each Monday night for three hours. We’ll cover news reporting, feature writing, blogging, social media, interviewing, editing, celebrity journalism and other subjects related to entertainment.
Class members are posting away on their entertainment blogs, some freshly minted, others already underway when the semester began. As in the past, I’ll re-post some of the best entries here on Out & About as well.
Meanwhile, a directory:
James Bingham: Working Title
Phillip Bradshaw: A View from Austin
Trisha Corona: Trisha’s Blog
Mary Fisher: Redmusi’s Blog
Carly Hallman: Chairman Wow!
Ryan Lester: Musings on Music
Cilla Longoria: Cilla’s 1127 Blog
Kaitlin Meilert: Kaitlin’s Entertainment Blog
Sara Ortiz: A Little Bite of This, A Little Bite of That
Jules Ramirez: Twenty Fresh
Chris Saad: Got Entertainment?
Others to be added.
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Ear Candy: Austin Music Vol. 8, The Flatlanders, Porterdavis
For our freshly revived “Ear Candy” micro-picks series, we offer more Austin music, some of which has been out for many weeks …
The Flatlanders. “Hills and Valleys” — Weatherbeaten West Texans Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Butch Hancock and Joe Ely never sounded more trustworthy than under producer Llloyd Maines’ guidance in this New West blend of politics, guts and rootsiness. (References to Woody Guthrie can’t be ignored.)
Porterdavis. Self-titled. I’ve worn down the digital coding on this deep imprint of Austin Americana from this five-year-old act. I can tell, too, from this and MP3 downloads that they are a dynamite live act. But I still haven’t seen them! Missed the listening party at the Gibson Guitar Showroom and the CD release gig at Saxon Pub, both by my own fault. The omission will not be repeated.
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Bullet-fast, blade-sharp Paula Poundstone at One World Theatre
At age 49, Paula Poundstone still thinks faster on her feet than the next 10 comics. (Dame Edna’s ad libs are equally fast, but she slows down the delivery pace for effect.) Poundstone’s improvised chats with audience members do not disintegrate into easy insults, as with so many comics, although she comes close to offending her conversation mates with the relentless attention.
Poundstone does not let up, however. She interviews. She repeats answers. She willfully mishears them. She comes close to heckling her fans, but the smile disarms. Eventually she launches into an extended rant, having found a topic for which she can argue the audience’s side.
To an architect, she posed: “Haven’t all the buildings been designed?” For a couple of government workers from College Station, she asks if they “stand guard against any ideas that might intrude.” To a brain surgeon, she suggests an extra year of medical school to teach scheduling. “Now you have a patient at 10. No you can’t have two. OK, 10:15 for the next appointment. Will it take you only 15 minutes to take care of the first patient? No? Well, you see …”
You bet the audience liked that line of questioning. Poundstone also free-associated about child-rearing, obsessive-compulsive disorder, aging bodies, politics and educational systems in Texas, California and Alaska, and the failure of CNN to maintain serious news standards (“That’s why there’s a FOX”).
Unabashedly Democratic, Poundstone professes the standard liberal openness to other ideas, but her partisanship is blade-sharp. Which plays well in Austin.
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Austin Celebrity Roundup 8/29/09
Austinite Sandra Bullock and San Antonian Eva Longoria-Parker hit the red carpets (Bullock for “All About Steve”) in Hollywood this week. StarPulse set up their appearances as a competition: “Sandra looks dazzling in a Lanvin cocktail dress, while Eva looks demure in white. Which star looks better?”
Playbill reports that Austinite and Tony-nominee David Bologna is leaving the cast of “Billy Elliot.” His final performance as Michael is Sept. 27.
Another Austin actor, Joe Sears, is the subject of a “Building Character” career profile in LA Stage magazine. A Los Angeles Times review of “Tuna Does Vegas” bugles: “Sears and (Jaston) Williams remain national treasures.”
For my earlier report on Austin’s Andy Roddick on “The Late Show with David Letterman,” go here.
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Young Women’s Alliance Fashion Show at the Parish
This abbreviated post virtually defines drive-by reporting …
Gina Whitney and Lori Lewis
On a busy Thursday night, I had hoped to cover the Young Women’s Alliance fashion show …
Julia Genin and Lauren Oholendt
Striding down East Sixth Street, I could spy a long line of stylishly dressed people outside the Parish …
Travis Wester and Jessica Pierce
I thought about the line. I thought about how stuffy and close the Parish can get with a large crowd. I thought about the rest of the night …
Marshall Kenderdine and Katie Blount
Forgive me. Instead of forcing my way upstairs, I chatting with folks in line and took their pictures …
Dimple Patel and Krystal Stone
I’m sure everything went well inside. Later that evening, I caught up with the new season of “Project Runway” to make up for it.
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Fairy Godmother Academy Launch at Hotel St. Cecilia
You read about it here first: “The Fairy Godmother Academy” is going to be big …
Singer Gabby Gillespie and author Jan Bozarth
OK, maybe not Harry Potter big, but so promising that Disney, Random House and other media powerhouses are deeply involved …
Andrea Humphrey and Keegan Myers
The Academy is a concept from Jan Bozarth, formerly of Houston, now of Marfa, whose artistic team is mostly based in Austin…
Brandon Cooper and Kate Hose, Matt Naylor
The concept includes seven books, video games, Web site, songs, CDs and planned Fairy Godmother parties for girls …
Dan Markim and Mario Champion
During a launch party at Hotel St. Cecilia on Thursday, I mingled with concept investors from Hong Kong and Los Angeles, literary agents, lawyers, game developers, kids and, of course, Bozarth …
Jan Wieringa, Kes Trester
Already, 500 Fairy Godmother parties have sold out around the country. I think we’re all going to hear a lot about this Austin-centric project.
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Ballet Guild In Bloom at Shoal Creek Gallery
Gallery owner Judy Taylor has borrowed a swell idea from museums …
Rene Alvarado with his painting and a matching floral installation
She has matched major artworks displayed for the “In Bloom” exhibition with large-scale arrangements from area florists …
Candice McKay and Betty Oltorf
The arrangers soaked up the art, then responded with their own equally pleasing, if more ephemeral art …
Bonni Taylor and Laura Harrison
On Thursday, Taylor demonstrated the results for a Ballet Guild meeting at her Gallery Shoal Creek, located underneath Fino restaurant just off North Lamar Boulevard. One of her signature artists, San Angelo’s Rene Alvarado, explained the dense storytelling in one of his large, yellow canvases …
Judy Taylor and Rene Alvarado
The guild counts approximately 150 members and provides various, mostly quiet support for Ballet Austin, while encouraging members to branch out into experiences like the “In Bloom” exhibit.
Leslie Cox and Duane Sanford
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Andy Roddick betrays wit on ‘The Late Show with David Letterman’
One expects wit from a talk-show host. But from a sometimes media-shy tennis star?
On “The Late Show with David Letterman,” Austin’s Andy Roddick was asked if his new wife, swimsuit model Brooklyn Decker, played tennis. He said no, and that Decker had turned down lessons from her pro husband. Roddick said: “I guess as with any wife she doesn’t want to take instruction from me.”
Recreational player Letterman suggested that Roddick’s recent losing Wimbledon match with Roger Federer would go down in history. “You’d like to be on the better end of tennis history,” Roddick responded. Was the challenger in a better mental place to beat the champion, now getting inside Federer’s head? “Oh yeah, if there’s one thing people know, I’m in Roger Federer’s head. That’s probably consistent with gravity.”
After the loss, Roddick’s spirits were raised by the rare American attention to tennis. “Everyone here in the States was talking about it,” he said. “Normally it’s football or baseball on the front pages.”
Before airing a few ace serves and shared volleys, staged on a New York City street, Letterman teased Roddick about his record 155 mile-per-hour serve.
“It would kill a guy. Have you killed anyone?
“Not yet.”
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Austin’s Mehcad Brooks is Essence Eye Candy
Son of American-Statesman editorial writer Alberta Brooks, he has appeared in such TV shows as “Desperate Housewives,” “The Game” and, currently, on Season 2 of “True Blood.”
He also earned a substantial role the movie “Glory Road.” Look for him on the the big screen in the upcoming “Fence Walker” and “Just Wright,” which stars Queen Latifah.
The gallery includes Brooks trivia and quotes from the actor, such as “I want to be the first American to be Bond. Not just the first black American.”
Essence points out that Mehcad’s mother derived his name from the ancient Ethiopian word meaning “prophet” or “wise one.” He says: “Little did she know that I’d make a profit off being a wise ass.”
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Out & About iCal for Aug. 27-29
THURSDAY, AUG. 27
6 p.m. Ballet Guild Event at Gallery Shoal Creek
9 p.m. Young Women’s Alliance Fashion Show at The Parish
10 p.m. The Daze CD Release at Antone’s
FRIDAY, AUG. 28
7 p.m. Paula Poundstone at One World Theatre
10 p.m. Porterdavis CD Release at the Saxon Pub
11 p.m. Dan Dyer Band at Momo’s
SATURDAY, AUG. 29
6 p.m. Texas 4000 Tribute at the Four Seasons Hotel
7 p.m. Art + Style Poolside Fashion Show at Amli on 2cd
8 p.m. A Southern Gothic Soiree at the Vortex
9 p.m. Your Pal Charles/Carl Natal Anniversary Celebration at a Westlake home
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Pangaea rises again as the Phoenix
When Pangaea opened almost two years ago, it attracted a full house of admirers. Yet it left simmering outside the cool, upstairs club a coterie of haters.
They objected to the ultra-lounge’s dress code (actually, nonexistent), velvet-rope entry (actually, quite porous) and bottle service (entirely optional). In their minds, all this East Coast falderal appeared elitist in egalitarian Austin. One reader actually wrote in: “I’m leaving! Austin is officially no longer weird.”
Sigh.
In fact, Pangaea and its expert DJs, dance-anywhere policy and wide-open attitude made a perfectly Austin institution. Just one where people dressed up a bit (and some, very little). Often packed with Austinites, it added another option to the city’s vast nightlife landscape.
After two years, Pangaea ran its course. It lasted much longer than the haters predicted. And experts will tell you, two years is a lifetime in the concept-club biz.
Now the space above Cuba Libre has re-opened as the Phoenix. The decor has changed from late British Empire safari to what I’d call French 19th-century pleasure palace, with quilted red velvet walls, chandeliers and a few ornate pieces of furniture. (The managers stress the “Renaissance” feel of the place, because of the large oil paintings that duplicate museum masterpieces. Art historically, that’s not accurate. I know: Who cares?)
Much of the staff has changed, but the service is top-notch. Two Austin nightlife stars were in evidence as employees — Jen Shoemaker and George Gutierrez — along with club imagineer Michael Ault.
The crowd at Wednesday’s opening was mixed in the extreme, and for my money, much more relaxed than the early Pangaea set. Maybe that’s because Austin has grown up a little in the past two years. No longer is a large, classy club a novelty. Or a threat to Austin’s precious funkiness.
For party pictures, go to the A-List gallery here.
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Music feeds the soul at the Squirrel Ranch
Music assumes a commanding role in the lives of Dan Bullock and Annette Carlozzi. Their Jester Estates house, which they wryly dub “Squirrel Ranch” for its treetop views, rings with it, as with art and opportunities for entertaining.
So naturally the business leader and the museum curator wanted to share the gift of music with others. So they regularly invite a dozen or so friends over for an evening of listening. But not just ordinary listening.
Bullock, who takes the part of emcee at these parties, invites the guests to choose, in advance, a CD with a song that holds special meaning for them. When the time comes, each guest explains their attachment to the music. And their choices scatter all over the map to include jazz, classical, rock, pop — anything that touches the soul.
Early Wednesday evening, I attended one of these sessions. Bullock talked about his West Texas roots and played two cuts from the soundtrack of “Giant.” I picked a cut from an Alpha Rev album, after explaining that my favorite Austin band represents the “Open City” sentience in Austin and how, at each concert, I felt connected to everyone in attendance, in part because of the complexly symphonic sound of the band. (I promised to alert the group when Alpha Rev’s first major-label album is released with better production values.)
All other revelations were off the record, but suffice to say they were touching, funny and uplifting in turn. These gatherings take on the characteristics of party game, spiritual testimonial and meet-and-greet. I’m sure Carlozzi and Bullock wouldn’t mind if you borrowed the notion.
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Your A-List: Best 24-Hour Restaurant
In fact, all the nominees in the A-List brawl for Best 24-Hour Restaurant — locals and chains — have been around forever.
Four-headed Kerbey Lane, long a college redoubt, triumphed this time with 42 percent of the vote.
Doubled-up Magnolia Cafe, forever open, challenged with 33 percent.
Katz’s, which never “klozes” on suddenly popular West Sixth Street, lagged at 13 percent.
Hipster hangout Star Seeds served 5 percent, while chainies IHOP, Waffle House and Denny’s made do with 4 percent or less.
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Your A-List: Best Margarita
The primacy of the margarita as Austin’s preferred strong beverage has not been seriously challenged, even during the martini renaissance and the more recent cocktail mania. The Best Margarita in Austin can be found at — Antonio’s?
Tried-and-true Trudy’s, with four locations, if you include the South Congress Cafe, trumped up 20 percent. Vivo, whose margaritas are suitably vivid in looks and tastes, tripped up 10 percent. Baby Acapulco — a party magnet if there ever was one — came in fourth with just under 10 percent.
Another group of reliable favorites — Z’Tejas, Chuy’s, Guero’s and Manuel’s — grouped at 4 to 6 percent. Serving less than 4 percent were Iron Cactus, Cedar Door, El Arroyo, Serrano’s, The Oasis, Aubelo’s, Four Seasons and Tres Amigos.
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Your A-List: Best Celeb with Local Ties
He’s the undisputed king of Austin culture. Even though he’s on the road most of the year and owns a second home in Maui. But how can you argue with international superstardom that’s lasted 40 years.
Sandra Bullock, who insists she’s a dyed-in-the-wool Austinite — she votes and pays taxes here — was rewarded with 16 percent of the tally. Matthew McConaughey, now more Malibu than Highland Lakes, still rode a 12 percent wave of popularity to third place.
Robert Rodriguez (pure Austin) and Lance Armstrong (part-Aspen) nearly tied at 9 percent. Dragging up the rear were Luke Wilson (5 percent); Andy Roddick (3 percent) and Dennis Quaid (2 percent).
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Your A-List: Best Vintage Store
Top-notch or trashy, you’ll find the right look at Austin vintage stores. And usually for a fair price. It may take some shopping around, but that’s part of the larger sartorial undertaking, right?
Buffalo Exchange, national chain based in Tucson, Ariz. and represented in Austin on the Upper Drag, stampeded into second place with 17 percent. Amelia’s Retro-Vogue & Relics on South Lamar Boulevard and Goodwill outlets at numerous locations were not far behind with 13 percent and 11 percent respectively.
Stocking the finals slots were Room Service (5 percent); New Bohemia (4 percent); as well as Big Bertha’s, Flashback, Salvation Army and Feathers, all at 2 percent.
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OK, Julie Powell, I’ll see you one, and raise you three
I came to cooking late in life. Before meeting my husband, it was the bachelor’s life for me. Ate out. Improvised comfort food at home. For dinner parties, I depended on more talented housemates.
My first adult cookbook was, looking back, the equivalent of “A Child’s Guide to Italian Food.” Can’t remember the actual title. Every recipe called for a cup of olive oil and a cup of Parmesan cheese. No wonder I gained weight.
Frances Mayes’ “Under the Tuscan Sun” inspired me to up my game. As did ragtag cookbooks purchased on the cheap at Half Price Books and during our travels. It was around the late 1990s, when the Spice Boys (three gay couples, including Kip and I) inaugurated monthly feasts that I discovered what I called “the Founding Cookbookers.”
I had grown up with Irma Rombauer’s American recipes, but now I depended on Marcella Hazan (pictured) for Italian, Claudia Rodin for Middle Eastern, Julia Child for French and Diana Kennedy for Mexican cuisines. From there, I branched out into other world food cultures and regional variations.
Powell, of course, has made a career of her year-long blog about cooking all the recipes in Child’s “Mastering the Art of French Cooking.” I’m not a big fan of her self-absorbed book, but it was paired with Child’s deeply wise memoir, “My Life in France,” to make the delicious Nora Ephron movie.
And I think Powell’s program merits repetition. So I’ve started cooking the 250 recipes in Hazan’s “The Classic Italian Cookbook,” not skipping any of the basics that I ignored over the past two decades. Then I’ll move on to Kennedy, Child and Rodin — and other classics recommended by readers.
Last night, I made Hazan’s version of maionese (mayonnaise). At first, I tried to beat the egg yolks, salt and the drops of olive oil — then lemon juice — with a hand-held Cuisineart blender, but there was not enough material. I started over twice. So Kip suggested a hand-held Sunbeam mixer which I forget we even owned. Perfect. Thick but smooth consistency and light yellow color. I used a dark green olive oil, however, and the results are a bit bitter. Fine for fish, but I wouldn’t use on a sandwich, unless there was a strong counterflavor.
I’ll keep you posted, if not obsessively.
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Ear Candy: Suzanne Abbott, Black Joe Lewis, Phoenix Down
After many months absence, we revive “Ear Candy” micro-picks with three Austin CDs already long on the market.
Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears. “Tell ‘Em Your Name.” The volcanic soulfulness of Lewis’ performances are a throwback to the golden days of R&B. How much is ghetto and how much is satire in this hugely popular act?
Phoenix Down. Self-titled. This quiet Austin band deserves more attention, and this bare-bones recording documents the promise of its pop-rock building blocks.
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Avant Le Weekend Live Chat with Victoria Gutierrez
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On texting, driving, biking and walking
City Council Member Mike Martinez can’t resist knotty policy tangles. Remember he took on the eye-busting billboard industry, with only partial success in a strict property-rights state
As a sometime Austin driver, I endorse the effort.
What could be so important that it must be texted while operating a behemoth vehicle in traffic? I’d go even further, ripping cell phones from the hands of drivers, except in cases of emergency. Whenever I witness a driver making a poor or delayed choice — changing lanes, turning at an intersection — I suspect a hand-held. I’m often right.
Equally tough to enforce is the parallel proposal to keep vehicles three feet away from bikers and pedestrians. As an inveterate pedestrian, I’m also for this. Safety first. But it would be far more costly than City Council members can imagine, since Austin’s network of sidewalks is painfully inadequate. And there’s no extra money to fix them.
Urban planners peg the cost of improving all downtown sidewalks at a quarter billion dollars. Nothing would preserve and improve Austin’s nightlife and attractiveness to businesses, residences and tourists more than a pedestrian-friendly downtown. Where to find such money? A lot of federal stimulus rattled around for transportation projects this year, but it went to Ben White Boulevard flyways and such.
When will pedestrians flex their political muscles?
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School Daze for Entertainment Journalism
The first day of school. Empty halls full of promise. Refreshed faces flashing curiosity. A hint of fall in the air.
A gift: A shimmering new classroom in the natural sciences building. Dizzily high ceilings. Windows, front and back, beveled for extra light and transparency. A squad of desktop computers at full attention. A teaching pod bristling with tech treats.
For the sixth time, I’m sharing a variation on entertainment journalism with budding writers for St. Ed’s fall semester. Fourteen students. Mostly English majors, but also communications, media, philosophy and psychology.
They come to the class with all sorts of expectations. First, we introduced ourselves. Then combed over the syllabus introduction. After that, students composed contracts detailing their class goals and the time they plan to devote towards those ends.
A sprightly discussion ensued on the roles of the entertainment journalist — factual reporter, aesthetic arbiter, artist advocate, consumer lobbyist — and, for the first time, the final option seemed the most attractive to one of my classes. I think it has to do with the interactive nature of most current media, including social media, that makes today’s young journalists advocates for readers.
Before firing up their own blogs — it’s a three-hour class on Mondays — we flickered through a writing exercise that demonstrated the framing questions of the class. Observation, description, analysis, interpretation and evaluation were applied to the densely rich images and sounds from the “Mad Men” opening credits.
I’ve conducted this “Mad Men” exercise three or four times, and each iteration, students bring fresh insights to the experience. I’m always amazed at what I never noticed before. Anyway, a brisk, bracing preview to the kinds of discussions in store.
Soon, I’ll share links to their blogs.
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Austin Celebrity Roundup 8/24/09
If you’ve been following Austinite Joe Dowdle’s post-“Survivor” music career, then you’ll want to link up with his sweet Facebook fan page.
After pulling out of the Tour of Ireland, Austin’s Lance Armstrong heads to Dublin today for a cancer conference in his name. It’s the first of its kind to be held outside the U.S.
Lindsay Lohan, who headed to Manhattan after shooting “Machete” in Austin last week, was the victim of a burglary at her Los Angeles home, her family confirms. “It’s true,” the actress’ mother, Dina Lohan, told People.com. “The safe was ripped out of the wall, and the door was off the hinges and door handles removed. Bags, shoes and jewelry were taken too. Thank God she wasn’t home.”
Austin celebrities can celebrate the Hollywood box office this week: Frequent Austin visitor Quentin Tarantino’s “Inglorious Basterds” surprised with $37 million its first weekend; Austin property owner Dennis Quaid’s “G.I. Joe” blasted out $12 million, bringing its total to $120 million; full-time Austinite Robert Rodriguez’s “Shorts” started slow at $6 million, but could build steam, “Julie & Julia,” based on Central Texas-raised Julie Powell’s blog and book, scraped together $9 million to reach $59 million total; resident Sandra Bullock’s “The Proposal” continues to chug along, hitting $159 million.
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Spice Boys and Wren Cottage Feast (all in 1 day)
Sunday was not a day for calorie counting. In fact, I can’t count that high.
It started with brunch at the serene Eastside Cafe. I had the Belgian waffles with sides of crisp bacon and garlic cheese grits. Mmmm.
The conversation grazed over summer trips and residencies (China, Brazil, Spain), summer movies (“Hurt Locker,” “In the Loop,” “District 9,” “Julie and Julia”), politics (university, state and national) and a particularly good story about Rice’s adventures improving the food services at A&M, for whom a slice of ham and a slice of cheese on Mrs. Baird’s bread constituted a sandwich, until Dale and others stepped in.
The next few hours were spent preparing our latest Wren Cottage Feast. Here we mixed and matched socially active guests from different Austin communities — Cliff Redd, Alex Winkelman, Rich Garza, Rick Johnson, Donald Park and Elaine Garza — and not an introvert in the bunch. I missed a lot of the conversation sweating in the kitchen (Kip and I split the menu), but this group didn’t let up for five hours of an intentionally slow meal.
Our menu came from Anne Burrell (pictured), whose “Secrets of a Restaurant Chef” is our current lodestar on the Food Network. We started with her roasted red and yellow pepper goat cheese involtini matched with grilled eggplant and ricotta crostini, moving on to halibut in cartoccio with potatoes chef Anne then finishing off with panna cotta with roasted figs and balsamic vinegar. Arthur Earl winery was the source for the memorable viognier and granache from the California Central Coast.
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Catalyst 8 Bash at the Long Center
Catalyst 8 is not a chemical agent used to contain aliens in “District 9” …
Azalea Saemi, Jordan Laroe and Nieku Manshadi
It is, instead, a social and fundraising arm of the Long Center for the Performing Arts …
Michael and Meredith Martin
The group was fashioned for the “under 40” crowd usually designated as “young professionals” …
Acia and Edward Moody
Almost all the major arts groups have them …
Matt Swinney, Kara Swinney, Katy Hackerman
They go along with niche guilds for women, gays and lesbians and ethnic minorities …
Karina Kalish, Patrick Kronfli
Historically, those without access to the decision-making boards of directors …
Tracy Walker, Dipti Dahal
The old thought was: Let them raise money, but they’re just not ready for power …
Heather Godin, Paula Kothmann
Well, I’m happy to say that the Long Center, along with other Austin arts groups, does not restrict Catalyst 8 to a segregated fundraising district …
Elizabeth Hufnagel, Christine Perrault Moline
In fact, Saturday, at the group’s fourth annual Bash, the second at the Long Center, I heard tell of multiple programs Catalyst 8 has put its considerable weight behind …
Wolfgang and Julie Niedert
It’s an actual agent of change, thus the aptness of its name …
Azalea Saemi, Sophia Koen, Jason Ballentine
But hey, Catalyst 8 can also create a social stir. The Black and White Years spread their musical innovation around the Kodosky Lounge, while patrons mingled through all the lobbies on the mezzanine level … It’s not the oldest “under 40” club in town, but it’s dynamic and effective beyond its years.
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Helping Austin Ice Ball at the Austin Music Hall
Mighty proud of the Helping Austin Ice Ball …
Amy Kelly and Chris Langan
Just a few years ago, Helping Austin was a clutch of friends who could fit around a table at happy hour …
Michelle and Paul Weigand
Last year, they moved up to the Monarch Events Center, a nice, but hardly high-profile former movie theater near Highland Mall …
Craig and Amanda Moore
Now, thanks to Amy Stanley and friends … Helping Austin’s Ice Ball roared into the Austin Music Hall …
Bill Hopkins and Julie Nowlin
In other words, the charity big time … A VIP area upstairs got the action rolling (hey, has anyone else notice that the Green Water Treatment Plant just to the south is being demolished quickly?)
Youssef Lahlou and Victoria Gutierrez
Then the mammoth hall filled up quickly … A dozen or so restaurants set up service booths …
Greg Williams, Matt Raines
A silent auction spread over the hall’s north quadrant … Goddess auctioneer Victoria Gutierrez handled the live action …
Taylor Perkins, Meredith Davis
Two things amazed: The amount of money (in the six-figure range) raised for Big Brothers Big Sisters (who can argue with that?) …
Bryan Baralt, Tiffany Williams
Also the fact that, out of hundreds of charity revelers, I recognized maybe three —
Megan Felker, Mark Harrington
Stanley, Rare publisher Taylor Perkins and former Mayor Will Wynn, looking so tanned and relaxed, he might as well have been wearing metaphorical flip-flops. Good for him!
Shay Bourgeois and David Alley
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Deep Nasta Pub Crawl on East East Sixth Street
East East Sixth Street — meaning East Sixth Street east of Interstate 35 — finally fosters a street life …
Deep Nasta and Cassie Bishop
Most of the dozen or so Latino bars that clustered there remained dark, inward-turning for so long …
Kathy Sokolic, Deep No. 1 (Nasta’s friend from NYC with the same name), and Kara Winebright
The newer hipster joints — Shangri La, the Good Knight, Rio Rita, East Side Show Room, Buenos Aires, plus some arty food trailers and the nearby Scoot Inn — have promoted pedestrian club-hopping in a positive way …
Caitlin Stewart, Travis Jackson and Brittney Covey
That’s where I caught up with Austinite-turned-New Yorker Deep Nasta’s East Side Pub Crawl. Always a treat to spend time with this gregarious man and his friends …
Raj and Diane Chudgar
Walked home via regular East Sixth Street. All the clubs were hopping around 11 p.m. As were the Fifth Street, Warehouse District and nearby niteries …
Angie Ludolph, Craig Niedermeier, Bethany Sioux
Let’s grossly simplify: That’s 100 watering holes downtown with an average of 100 guests, making our simplified count 10,000 revelers on a hot night. They spend an average $25 on drinks. That’s a quarter million dollars easy.
Not on a holiday or a game night. And not counting food, parking, entertainment, lodging and other expenditures. So why don’t we pay more attention to this economic sector?
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Films Fantastic at the Independent
Jolyn Janis and Jay Galvan had a notion …
Jolyn Janis and Jay Galvin
To stage a tiny — almost microscopic — movie festival …
Bears Fonte, Jon Alvord, Richard Ford
They called it Films Fantastic! …
Rocio Garza, Sophia Hoang
And it played out Friday at the Independent, Mike Henry’s cool, flexible, post-Electric Lounge performance space in the 501 Studios complex on East Fifth Street …
Kai Salim, Josh Robins
All the movies were short. Some were incomplete, or trailers, or music videos, or behind-the-scenes documentaries.
Sesar Sandoval, Stephanie Johnson
Here’s the shocker for such a one-off, grassroots Austin event: Despite the low-or-no-budget work, almost all of it was professional to a high degree. Keep an eye out for the filmmakers listed at Artist in Resonance.
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Concordia University Gala at the Four Seasons
Concordia University Texas continues to raise its Austin social profile …
Concordia President Thomas Cedel, Penny Cedel, Liz Watson and Sen. Kirk Watson
Its enrollment has increased by 25 percent since it moved northwest from its cramped central location …
Heidi and Michael Doering
Last year, its first-ever formal gala raised $100,000 at the Four Seasons Hotel …
Mandy and Dan Gregory
This year, despite the recession and flat giving, the event was once again sold out, bonding potential future givers to the Lutheran institution …
Lindsey and Matt Levin
Black tie in August never looked so cool …
Barbara Mink, Jeffrey Richard and Naomi Richard
The honoree was the ever witty, self-denigrating Sen. Kirk Watson, who recently turned down a run at the governorship to keep his sure-thing role in the Texas Senate …
Lindsey Erwin, Brent Garner and Carrie Simmons
With Watson to help, events like this propagate the word about upwardly aimed Concordia (Pres. Thomas Cedel’s tenure reminds me of the dynamic leadership of Pat Hayes and George Martin during St. Edward’s University’s expansion phases).
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Austin Celebrity Roundup 8/21/09
It’s been a while, so some of this short-shelflife ephemera is already stale …
File this under endorsements we didn’t really notice anyway: Austin’s Andy Roddick is exchanging his Lacoste sponsorship for Babolat clothing and shoes, starting in 2010 and apparently for the rest of his career. So says Tennis Connected. …
Not sure if they are getting a kick of this, but part-Austinites the Dixie Chicks are frequently cited in current discussions of boycotts and First Amendment rights related to Glenn Beck’s self-inflicted wounds.
When their name becomes a transitive verb — as in “being Dixie Chicked” — they join all the Bachelors and Bachelorettes the past two seasons who have been the subject of speculation that they will “pull a Brad Womack,” meaning to choose no mate on the dating shows. So named after the Austin bar owner. …
Matthew McConaughey, who can only be called an Austinite these days on certain Longhorn weekends and for movie premieres, has passed along his celebrity vibe to son Levi. The ever-microscopic TMZ.com reports: “The adorable 13-month-old hunk-in-training went for a walk in Malibu yesterday” under the headline “Can You Say Ridiculously Cute.” …
A mere bib once worn by Lance Armstrong fetched $5,000, auctioned to raise money for injured cyclists in Canada. OK, it was a Tour de France bib. Hey, have you noticed how relentlessly Colorado media now refers to Armstrong as as “part-time resident of Aspen.” Guess we should start doing the same thing …
That’s all for now …
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Out & About iCal: Aug. 21-22
Back to the old, more legible format on iCal additions:
6:30 p.m. Concordia University Texas Excellence in Leadership Gala honoring Sen. Kirk Watson at the Four Seasons Hotel
7:30 p.m. Artist in Resonance Films with Jay Galvan at The Independent @ 501 Studios
9 p.m. East Side Pub Crawl with Deep Nasta at the Good Knight
SATURDAY, AUG, 22
6:30 p.m. Helping Austin Ice Ball, benefiting Big Brothers Big Sisters at the Austin Music Hall
8 p.m. Catalyst 8 Bash 09 at the Long Center
9:30 p.m. Sci-Feye Ball for the Rude Mechs at the Off Center
SUNDAY, AUG. 23
1 p.m. Spice Boys Reunion at East Side Cafe
6 p.m. Feast at Wren Cottage in Bouldin for Cliff Redd, Rick Johnson, Elaine Garza, Rich Garza, Alex Winkelman and Donald Park
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Care Communities Gala at TDS Exotic Game Ranch
As one might guess, a social columnist attends quite a few charity events …
Michael and Rachel Feferman
I hear a lot of speeches from staff, volunteers, clients, board members …
Judge Wilford Flowers and Simone Flowers
I see a lot of inspirational videos, hear uplifting musical acts …
Jeremiah Padgett and Alex Underhill
I witness a lot of giving in various forms — live auctions, silent auctions, pledges, ceremonial gifts …
Jeanne and Lou Little
I nibble at mostly OK food and sip mostly OK wine …
Cindy Howard and Gary Bechtol
I meet new people; renew friendships with familiar figures …
Leora Visotsky, Melissa Frederick and Carol Johnson
So I think I know about charity events …
Lisa Jackson and Katie Sternberg
Then one sneaks up on me …
Steven Tomlinson and Eugene Sepulveda
Like the Care Communities Gala at the TDS Exotic Game Ranch …
Suzanne Deal Booth and Patricia Parinejad
As with most fundraisers staged at the ranch’s pavilion near Creedmoor, this one on Thursday was fairly informal and helped out a small-to-mid-sized charity that benefited from the free facility …
Stephanie Dodoo and Micah Barber
But when time came for the three speeches from the group’s awardees — Tarrytown United Methodist’s Rev. Ann Beaty, Entrepreneurs Foundation’s Eugene Sepulveda and singer/songwriter Sara Hickman — I was moved beyond words by their simple, yet articulate and often religious reasons for backing the Communities’ team strategy for caring for people with HIV-AIDS and cancer. Amazing stuff.
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Media: Which RSS Feed You? Part 5
For more “Which RSS Feed You,” — what I read daily — scroll down to previous post, or link here for Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 and Part 4. Feel free to suggest others.
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Media: Which RSS Feed You? Part 4
For more “Which RSS Feed You,” — my daily reads — scroll down to previous posts, or link here for Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3. Feel free to suggest others.
More to come, alphabetically …
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Media: Which RSS Feed You? Part 3
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Media: Which RSS Feed You? Part 2
For Part 1 of “Which RSS Feed You,” scroll down to previous post, or link here. Feel free to suggest others.
More to come, alphabetically …
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Media: Which RSS Feed You? Part 1
These are my current feeds on Google Reader. Feel free to suggest others.
More to come, alphabetically …
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What’s up with Avant and Après Le Weekend?
Personalities power Out & About. While Austin’s nightlife, entertainment, parties and indigenous scenes provide the backdrop, it’s the people that really matter.
So, as each weekend blooms and fades, we converse — through the written word — with a key Austin personality on the blog version of Out & About. It’s a live chat, not a formal interview, and, as such, fun, messy, unconventional.
Avant airs 3 p.m. most Thursdays, Après 3 p.m. most Tuesdays.
To share a sense of the style, we offer edited excerpts from the live chat with speaker, writer and humorous storyteller Mary Gordon Spence.Out & About: Read any good books lately?
Mary Gordon Spence: Yep: “Woods Burner — (Austin writer) John Pipkin — is one of my faves.
I just finished “Woods Burner.” Superb! Hope to meet Pipkin soon.
I can introduce you and take your picture. John is an amazing writer.
Another that I read this summer and liked was “The Big Rich,” all about Texas oil wealth.
I have a new, temporary, business, Michael.
What?
My new business adventure: I will have a drink for people while I’m in Italy. They give me money; I let them know what I drank. It’s off to a great start.
Love it.
I can also eat for people, take naps for them — anything they have only dreamed to do in Italy. I already have collected more than $35.
What for?
One guy gave me 25 cents. I’ll take a sip of wine for him. See, they pay, I live out their dream.
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Willie Nelson’s ‘American Classic”’
Don’t do many record reviews. Yet when the American-Statesman music department asks, I oblige.
Willie Nelson once again stamps familiar standards with his ineradicable musical personality on his new album, “American Classic.” Nelson simplifies and slows down the tempos, then applies his tawny, world-weary voice to mostly melancholy lyrics, as he interprets songs from the mid-century catalog.
He leaves it to Joe Sample, Diana Krall and Norah Jones on piano, Christian McBride and Robert Hurst on bass and Lewis Nash and Jeff Hamilton on drums - along with dashes of sax, harmonica and organ — to supply the welcome jazziness.
Nelson had perfected this stripped-down strategy on 1978’s “Stardust,” recording immortal versions of “Georgia on My Mind,” “Blue Skies,” “September Song,” “Moonlight in Vermont” and the title song. Nothing on “American Classic” matches those intense refinements.
Nelson is weakest here in the duets with Krall and Jones, whose zesty playfulness contrasts with his drifting vocal responses. He regains his storytelling balance on “Angels Eyes” and he unspools homespun joy for “On the Street Where You Live.” Nelson saves the album altogether with his last two cuts, a soulful version of “Since I Fell for You” and a bigger-band retake of “Always on My Mind,” which he canonized in 1982.
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Your A-List: Best Place to Buy Fashion Accessories
Always choose the accessories last. That’s what people notice. And, after following the social circuit, I can attest that’s true. A bright scarf, a richly hued tie, a flattering necklace, a fashionable watch — they all catch the eye first.
The winner, however, is Luxe, also known as Luxe Apothetique. Located in the Domain, it’s a full-service establishment, with hair, skin, gift and apparel functions, as well as delicious accessories.
Emeralds, the longtime, bustling shop on Lamar Boulevard formerly known as Emeralds and Coconuts, came in second with 14 percent.
All the rest — Goodie Two Shoes, Downstairs Apparel, Girl Next Door, Parts and Labour, SoLA, New Bohemia, Peyton’s Place, Eliza Page, Blackmail, Creatures, Garden Room, Feathers, Minx, Shiki, Estilo and By George — crowded together at less than 10 percent.
Hey, you might not guess by looking at me, but I shop at some of these places!
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Your A-List: Best Pool Hall
Austin’s favorite pool hall hustles every night in Austin’s favorite entertainment district. Makes sense.
Clicks, a multi-state chain with Austin locations north and south, scored 27 percent of the vote. Slick Willie’s, which operates 12 Houston pool halls as well as two in Austin — and has absolutely nothing to do with Willie Nelson or President Bill Clinton — tallied 17 percent of the vote.
Warehouse Saloon and Billiards, a single-location sports and game bar, drew 12 percent. Following with 10 percent or less were The Grand, Dave & Busters, Stardust Club, Main Event and Side Pocket Billiards.
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Your A-List: Best Thai Restaurant
Madam Mam’s has served up reasonably priced Thai food at its Guadalupe Street location for years. These days, the restuaruant group includes Westgate and Village incarnations. Which helps explain why it won the A-List vote for Best Thai Restaurant handily with 32 percent of the vote.
Thai Passion, another three-location group, came in second with 19 percent; Thai Kitchen, a third three-spot chain, copped third with 14 percent.
Thai Tara on bustling West Sixth Street posted the fourth best score at 7 percent.
No. 5, Satay Restaurant, operates only one eatery, but it’s popular with 5 percent of the voters.
Thai Spice was not far behind, followed by Little Thailand, Pad Thai, Mekong River, 888, Thai Village, Chon Som, Thai Spoon, Bangkok Cuisine and Classic Thai.
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Yelp Elite Event at Stubb’s
To some extent, these are my people.
Katie Hlavinka, Matt Meisner and Christina Vara
The Yelpers do what I do.
Dana and Jim Bone
They go out. They sample Austin. They write about it at Yelp.com.
Laura Furr and Chris Linick
So I always feel comfortable at Yelp events, like the Elite gathering at Stubb’s on Tuesday.
Laura, Jim and Beckett Curry
Yelpers come in all shapes and forms.
Mike Larkin and Anna Giuluani
I probably met 30 people at the party last night and shared substantive conversations with a half dozen of them. Mission accomplished.
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Belinda Acosta Book Signing at Cuba Libre
Belinda Acosta would never contemplate anything so ordinary as a solemn book signing.
Belinda Acosta and Rachael Torres
So to launch her book, “Damas, Dramas, and Ana Ruiz,” Cuba Libre was decked out like a Quinceañera, tissue flowers, crowns, ball gowns, pastel cupcakes and all.
Kristi Minjares, Cristina Lizardo and Clarisa Minjares
I haven’t yet read the book, but Acosta fans gleamed with pleasure at the opportunity of having it signed by the merry Austin Chronicle columnist (formerly an American-Statesman contributor, if readers can remember back that far into our shared past).
Michael Ramos and Travis County District Clerk Amalia Rodriguez-Mendoza
To give you a sense of the festivity factor at this signing, it was scheduled to last four hours, from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m.
Vanessa Lively and Paul Saucido
Now that’s a serious party in the literary world. I had to leave early, but I’m sure it was still throbbing hours later.
Tim Staley and Patricia Fraga
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‘Extract’ Premiere at the Paramount Theatre
Mike Judge’s “Extract” is an exceedingly sweet and funny movie brushed by a darkish undercurrent.
Mike Judge
Austinite Judge was among the celebrities attending the movie’s premiere at the Paramount Theatre last night.
Patty Griffin
Jason Bateman, who stars as a decent, likable cooking-extract company owner gone adrift, also graced the Austin Film Society event.
Jason Bateman, Mike Judge
I interviewed Bateman earlier this morning at his hotel, and will share our conversation as soon as some transcription time pops up on my schedule.
Eloise DeJoria
Meanwhile, the film opens for a general run Sept. 4. Go for it.
Kelly West photos.
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My Austin Film Critics Awards list grows longer
Quickly catching up on the possible award nominees for the Austin Film Critics Association voting later this year. (Didn’t particularly care for “Inglourious Basterds.”) As you know, the real awards season starts in September, but I hate forgetting my early-year faves.
“The Hurt Locker”
“Moon”
“Funny People”
“Star Trek”
“Outrage”
“(500) Days of Summer”
“Best Worst Movie”
Added in just the past few days:
“Julie and Julia”
“Extract”
Need to see before the summer ends:
“Up”
“Public Enemies”
“The Proposal” (Austin connection)
“Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince”
“District 9”
“The Hangover”
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Out & About iCal 8/18/09
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Apres Le Weekend Live Chat with Jay Galvan
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Tips: Lindsay Lohan, Robert De Niro, Jessica Alba. What to do? Part 2
For more on “Tips: Lindsay Lohan, Robert De Niro, Jessica Alba. What to do?” scroll down to previous post, or link here.
Testing the evidence on the basis of reputation is trickier. Given the saturation coverage of her recent behavior, the Lindsay Lohan tips sound pretty darn convincing. Similarly, the bland whispers about Jessica Alba and Robert De Niro skew to type. But isn’t that playing along with the alternate universe spun by the tabloid mongers? Gotta keep celebrity prejudice under control.
Then we ask: Who cares?
The alert reader might say: “That should be your first question. Quit wasting your time and mine.” This blinkered way of treating potential news is very popular, especially in mainstream print media. “It’s news when we decide it’s the news,” goes The New York Times view of the world. And that view often precludes what readers actually want to know.
I’ll admit to entering this profession with that attitude. “I’ll decide what’s substantive enough to deserve consideration, thank you.” Didn’t matter if thousands of Austinites thought something else — their tips, for instance — were newsworthy.
Then a colleague said something so obvious, yet so revolutionary, I’ve never really recovered from it: “Sometimes, we must meet the readers where they live.”
She’s right. If my readers, sorting through my Out & About blog posts, columns and other articles about personalities, nightlife, entertainment, socializing and city scenes want to know — or share something — about the famous people in our midst, I’m not going to shut that door.
Tip me. Go ahead. Trust me not to abuse the information through character assassination or invasion of privacy. And I’ll trust you. Up to a point.
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Tips: Lindsay Lohan, Robert De Niro, Jessica Alba. What to do?
Lindsay Lohan misbehaves in a downtown Austin hotel.
She’s spotted “texting furiously” while her friends buy wine at a Lakeway drugstore.
Another “Machete” star, Jessica Alba, is logged at the Starbucks at Fifth Street and Lamar Boulevard.
Robert De Niro, a third Rodriguez import to our town, is pegged at quiet corners all over downtown.
Which celebrity rumors and tips to believe? And what to do about them?
After we get past the inevitable and reasonable “Why should we care?” and “Why don’t you leave those poor people alone?” objections, a responsible social columnist must systematically and sympathetically evaluate each piece of evidence.
The first thing I do is consider the source. One tip came from an unimpeachable agent, but three times removed from the scene. Another from a reader who provided credible details, but whose word is unproven.
The “flesh-colored brassiere” incident was duly recorded and distributed online. The images look like Austin. It is Lohan, or an extremely convincing likeness. That’s about as far as that evidence takes us.
Another tip came from a Facebook friend with no record of misleading me. Unlike neighbor Beau Bahan, who offered up this delicious, mock scoop: “I saw (Lohan’s) image on a pancake at Maudie’s this morning, reaching toward what seemed to be the image of Doug Sahm, forming in the condensing moisture on the outside of a glass of orange juice.”
More to come …
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AdFed ‘Mad Men’ Party at Alamo Ritz
Never enough “Mad Men.”
Elise and Pansy Flick
The second of two Sunday themed parties was thrown, aptly, by the Austin Advertising Federation.
Ken and Cindy Cobb
Fewer costumes than at the Belmont party.
Liz Bell and Joel Cavness
Yet fans lined up down the block for the showing, preceded by period ads, snips from Jon Hamm “Saturday Night Live” sketches and an abbreviated costume contest. (The apparel wasn’t abbreviated. The contest was.)
Paul Susuico and Aaron Yeats
The first episode of the third season was a jaw-dropper, as expected, including the show’s first gay kiss.
Leigh Gatling and Aaron Dixon
Imagine that televised in 1963!
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American-Statesman ‘Mad Men’ Party at the Belmont
Sixties styles.
Jesse Wolter and Jana Frohnapfel
Martinis.
Samantha Brown, Kate Cotnam, Everlee Cotnam, Samantha Furry
Shades.
Dale Roe and Brian Jepson
Cigarettes.
Nathan Damweber and Lindsey Stuart
And one of the best shows on television.
Jesse Falk, Paul Stinson and Beth Stinson
And so goes the first of two “Mad Men” parties — this one hosted by the American-Statesman TV critic Dale Roe at the Belmont — toasting the launch of the third season.
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Three questions for a Ringling Bros. ringmaster
Chuck Wagner acts as the primary ringmaster for Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey, coming to town Aug. 19-23. Hailing from Pensacola Beach, Fla., the 51-year-old actor/singer has been cracking the Ringling whip for four years.
Who’s in charge behind the scenes, and how do you communicate, especially if something goes wrong?
We are a team. The production manager, stage manager, band leader and I work together. And after over 600 shows, we know what needs to be done in the moment of crisis. It is my job to keep smiling and be poised, and give at least the illusion of control. The most important thing is to spot the developing problem in the first place, before it turns serious. If there’s a problem in an act that isn’t a safety concern, it’s up to me to try to cover it so that, as far as the audience is concerned, nothing has gone wrong. But sometimes, the audience clearly sees that an accident has happened. In those cases, all you can say is, ‘These stunts are real, things can go wrong, and let’s give them a big hand.’ And you move on.
Give me an example.
Once we had a gas-cap malfunction on a motorcycle up on the high wire, and gasoline started to pour down. But because I was watching the stunt, I was able to help move some audience members very quickly.
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River Tracing: Rio Frio 3
To read more “River Tracing: Rio Frio,” scroll down to the posts below, or follow the links to Part 1 and Part 2.
Tracing the 200-mile-long Frio meant driving more than 400 miles, and not too much hiking around the riverbeds in the heat. Getting back, however, would be a straight shot up Texas 123 from Live Oak County to Interstate 35 in San Marcos the next morning.
Our stay in George West, another former ranching center, proved uneventful. But just outside Karnes City, we spotted the famous hamlet of Panna Maria. The first Polish colony in America, it was founded in 1854.
The cluster of homes, stores and schools around the Catholic church are in remarkably good condition. You may recall that Pope John Pall II accepted tributes from Panna Marians during his 1984 trip to San Antonio. Somehow, I had imagined the pope actually visited here, but that does not seem to be the case. Other Polish towns with other Polish churches — not to be confused with the painted Czech churches of Schulenburg, Shiner, etc. — line Texas 123. But we had one last small-town attraction to visit before we skittered back to Austin.
That would be the Sebastopol House in Seguin. Made from formed, unreinforced “lime-crete” in 1854, it is lovingly preserved and explained by the Texas parks folks. It appears it was the unfinished city home for plantation owner by the name of Young, whose descendant sold it to the Zorn family. (The name apparently came from the Crimean War battle that intrigued the original owner’s children.)
One Zorn became mayor of Seguin and his daughter left the to a conservation society, who later let the State of Texas look after its not inconsequential upkeep. Park ranger Georgia Davis (above) proved a fount of well-calculated information, among the only tour-guides I’ve ever encountered who didn’t simplify the history for the purposes of mere entertainment. Some recent research, for instance, suggests that the style is not neo-Classical at all, but perhaps Caribbean.
I can see it.
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River Tracing: Rio Frio 2
For more “River Tracing: Rio Frio,” scroll down to the post below or follow this link.
We are tempted to call this tracing “The Mystery of the Disappearing River.”
Somewhere northeast of Uvalde, the Rio Frio simply dries up. At least during the summer. And during a drought. I’m not just referring to its tributary known as the Dry Frio. The above image of the waterless main course was taken under the old railroad bridge outside of Knippa.
The Frio even disappears from two of our three most trusted maps. I’m no hydrologist, but the culprit may be the heavily irrigated plains around Uvalde. My guess is that the Frio contributes to the aquifer, which is then depleted by agriculture. And there’s lots of it for miles around this bustling town of 14,000.
After shopping for Texana at Uvalde’s Opera House Antique Store, then eating enormous spicy Juan burgers at Towne House cafe, we head into the vast mesquite brush of the South Texas triangle. Here, the Frio reappears in little rivulets and pools under thirsty tree motts as we move through Pearsall, Dilley, Cotulla, Fowlertown and Tilden.
Then, almost without warning, the Frio spreads into the Choke Canyon Reservoir. This wide, shallow lake provides water for the city of Corpus Christi. The lake is low these days, although not as dramatically depleted as Lake Travis. Fishermen hug its shores. Bird life swarms. Last winter, a stray pine flycatcher attracted thousands of birders to Choke Canyon State Park.
Our most exotic sightings on this trip are masses of crested caracaras, raptors that look positively tropical to us, but are common in this thorny brush country. We spot a four-foot-long alligator just beyond the grassy shore (above). Later, we read that the state park is the westernmost home of the American alligator.
In the short distance between Choke Canyon and the town of Three Rivers, where the Frio feeds merges with the Nueces, early 20th-century ranches are interrupted by an enormous federal penitentiary and an old refinery now owned by Valero. In the shadow of that refinery, we visit Tips Park, part municipal recreation, part campground for winter Texans. At an artificial falls (above), a sign reads “Alligators exist in the park.”
We believe the sign maker.
More to come …
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River Tracing: Rio Frio 1
The Rio Frio rises among steep, rugged canyons on the ragged southern fringe of the Edwards Plateau southwest of Kerrville.
When we first encountered its tines (forked tributaries) alongside FM 336 in Real County, its river rocks lay liked bleached bones among the bushy ashe juniper. Nothing but fritillary butterflies and buzzards moved in the open-oven heat.
After an exceedingly tortuous descent into the valley (above the settlement of Vance), multiple springs feed the main course of the Frio (actually kind of lukewarm here). Brave bigtooth maples appear. Also a few pecans. Cabins poke out from limestone ledges. Birdsong rises all around us.
Vacation culture ramps up near Leakey, just north of Depression-era Garner State Park, so popular that vehicles queue up for access to the cooling rapids and welcoming weir. Outside the park, every little low-water crossing turns into a swimming, wading or tubing opportunity for those not willing to wait out the crowds at Garner.
Noble cypresses begin to parade up and down the banks. Dark catfish and light, spotted perch dart among the water plants. Even water lilies float atop the quieter eddies. Here, the Frio is the equal of the Guadalupe River at its most alluring.
Yet as soon as we arrive at the village of Concan, not too far below Garner, the Frio begins to fade. Algae collects in shallows. Fish, birds and insects disappear. From the looks of things, the Frio is being loved to death.
More to come …
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‘Wicked’ Opening Night at Bass Concert Hall
“Wicked” fans were out — loud and proud — for opening night at Bass Concert Hall on Thursday.
Thomas and Karen Smith
Technically sold out for its entire three-week run, “Wicked” ranks up there next to “The Lion King” and “The Phantom of the Opera” for big Broadway bangs in Austin. We can thank the uncluttered Bass Concert Hall calendar for that. (Another blessing from the Long Center.)
Sheila Oshner and Laura Mackey
The audience embraced all ages and backgrounds. No niche musical this. And for good reason.
Andrea and Ashley Murillo
The songs soar, the story bubbles and the characters deepen as the musical, based on Gregory McGuire’s richly textured novel, develop.
Jay Boisseau and Nina Dandachi
Some minor sound difficulties and a seat to the extreme of house left didn’t ruin the opening night for me. I’m looking forward to the formal reviews like everyone else.
Summer Rydel and Michael Coffey
But if I were a critic, my review would be pretty gushy for this old-fashioned musical that manages to feel contemporary, using 19th-century stage technology to look 21st Century. Or at least magical.
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Opening of Santa Rita No. 2
Santa Rita 2 serves up a plate of vivacity in otherwise hushed Circle C.
Blair Conder and Amber Elliot of Brilliant Magazine
The TexMex outlet transfers the atmosphere and dining fare from its original location on 38th Street to the corner of West Slaughter Lane and Escarpment Boulevard.
Gerald Rich and Emma Tran of the Daily Texan
Sure, there are other restaurants on this busy corner, but this one just opened (softly) with a party for the media and neighbors.
Crystal Chavez (KUT 90.5) and Jonathan Wilson
Customers praised the piquant salsa, swirled margaritas and lightly seasoned fajitas.
Jenn Banda and Jai Suite
I predict Santa Rita No. 2 will become a party destination for Southwest Austin.
Michael Wasaff, Tanya Johnson, Sarah Reams
It’s like Chuy’s without the big yuks.
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Girls on the Run at Gibson Guitar Showroom
Girls on the Run is fairly new to Austin.
Molly Robbins, Carrie Peasinger and Soky Lustgarten
Yet the charity has already chased fitness, achievement and esteem goals for girls internationally.
Karen and Albert Saenz
Seems like a snug fit for our charitable and health-conscious town.
Deanna Johnson and Mike Ethan Messick
Their first fundraiser at the Gibson Guitar Showroom attracted a healthy pack of men and women (mostly women) and a healthy assembly of auction items.
April and Ruben Ramos
Once I left, I wondered why nobody at the Gibson cultural and social center was talking about electric guitar pioneer Les Paul, who died earlier that day.
Julie Nelson, Ashley McLean
Maybe they did after the band played.
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Avant Le Weekend Live Chat with Mary Gordon Spence
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Out & About iCal 8/13/09
Warning: Parking could be even worse than usual for the opening of “Wicked” at Bass Concert Hall because of the Longhorns football practice nearby. Factor in congestion time.
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Out & About on the radio
Listen into the “JB & Sandy” show on 94.7 around 8:20 a.m. Expect discussions of celebrities and Facebook with Out & About.
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Austin Celebrity Roundup 8/12/09
Former Longhorn shooting star Kevin Durant raps for Nike hypertize commercial. Parody is always welcome.
Several sports sites are reporting that former Longhorn Vince Young may get to start as Tennessee Titans quarterback during the rest of the preseason. Back in form?
In an exclusive, EW says that Zach Gilford’s farewell run as Matt on Austin-shot “Friday Night Lights” has been expanded from five to seven episodes. Aw.
Did you know Austin’s Eric Shanteau, finally a gold-medal winner in Rome, swims 10 miles a day. Exhausts me just counting.
MTV quotes “Bandslam” actor Aly Michalka talking about playing in Austin with co-star Vanessa Hudgens during the movie’s shoot: “We went and we, like, saw movies and ate dinner together and went shopping and went to [the clothing store] Free People all the time. [We] saw Willie Nelson. I went laser-tagging with the cast a lot. We had a blast. It was very much like a summer-camp experience.”
Theoretical Austinite Dennis Quaid’s “G.I. Joe” tromped at the box office over the weekend, highjacking $54 million despite dismal reviews.
Was I just not paying attention, but it seems that Gov. Rick Perry sold land to Austin tycoon Michael Dell back in 1995? This, in an AP story about how Perry made $1 million in 2007, despite a salary of $111,000, mostly dealing in real estate. Maybe he really did unload some Texas land on Sarah Palin, as rumors suggest.
Turns out HBO had submitted Austin’s Austin Nichols for an Emmy actor nomination for his performance in the canceled “John from Cincinnati.” He didn’t click with Academy voters, though. Still clicks with his hometown.
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Your A-List: Best Rock Climbing
Sigh.
But if I rock climbed, I’d certainly head directly to the winner of the A-List vote for such activity — Enchanted Rock. As it is, I just walk up the bald pate of basalt poking up from the Llano Uplift. Inspiring. The rock slammed 42 percent of the A-List vote.
The Barton Creek Greenbelt, whose wooded cliffs arc for miles and miles, came in second with 16 percent. Reimers Ranch — which I’ve never visited — took 11 percent.
Guadalupe Peak, way out in West Texas, pulled up 7 percent, followed closely by physically closer Pace Bend State Park. Runners-up: McKinney Falls State Park, Bull Creek boulders (currently off-limits?), Hueco Rock Ranch and Monster Rock.
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Your A-List: Best Dive Bar
Some, like the Ginger Man, move. Others, like Trophy’s, change their core clientele. But these dark, scruffy, comforting watering holes never lack for barstool occupants.
This year’s A-List highly contested vote crowned Ginny’s Little Longhorn on Burnet Road as dive-iest. The original home of chicken(expletive) bingo scooped up 12 percent of the vote.
Deep Eddy Cabaret, snug off Lake Austin Boulevard, came in second with 11 percent. Relocated on Lavaca Street, Ginger Man pulled 9 percent, followed closely by Lala’s, just off Burnet Road.
Donn’s Depot, Hole in the Wall and Horseshoe Lounge virtually tied, right behind Ginger Man and Lala’s. Nipping at their heels were G&S Lounge, Poodle Dog Lounge, The Jackalope, Scoot Inn, Barfly’s, C. Hunt’s Ice House, Ego’s, Carousel Lounge and Trophy’s.
I am positive that 11 of these 16 were here when I arrived in 1984. And haven’t changed a wink. Anyone for a chauffeured dive crawl?
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Movies headed for Austin Film Critics Awards voting
Preserving — if only just barely — my membership in the Austin Film Critics Association, I’m catching up on quality movies. Of course, the awards-worthy movies often come out after Sept. 1.
“The Hurt Locker”
“Moon”
“Funny People”
“Star Trek”
“Outrage”
“(500) Days of Summer”
“Best Worst Movie”
Need to see before the summer ends:
“Up”
“Public Enemies”
“Julie and Julia” (Austin connection)
“Extract” (Austin connection)
“Inglourious Basterds” (Austin connection)
“The Proposal” (Austin connection)
“Shorts” (Austin connection)
“Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince”
“District 9”
“The Hangover”
Your suggestions go here …
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More hope for open Texas spaces
The Austin Business Journal reports that Clear Channel incurred a $3.7 billion quarterly loss.
Yet those who blame the company for the wholesale homogenization of American radio can perhaps take heart that hefty losses came from CC Media Holdings Inc.
And those who despise the unchecked eye pollution along Texas highways can possibly cheer a similar downturn for Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings Inc.
On a recent trip back from Houston, I counted more than two dozen empty billboards (many owned by Austin’s Lamar Outdoor Advertising, ironically attempting to attract advertising by targeting Texas pride).
Could we be seeing the end of billboards on the horizon?
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Hollywood celebrities swamp Austin in August
August in Austin is hardly hospitable, weather-wise. Yet necks will rubberize — and not from the heat — as movie celebrities invade our town this month.
As usual, blame the Big 4 Filmmakers: Robert Rodriguez, Richard Linklater, Elizabeth Avellan and Mike Judge, and their projects, either on location or in the can. The shooting of producer Avellan’s and director Rodriguez’s “Machete” (co-directed by Ethan Maniquis) has lured tabloid queen Lindsay Lohan here to sample our alternative variety of heat.
We’ve already received tips on Lohan’s movements, but “Machete” co-star Robert DeNiro is likely to be more discreet. We hear that all sorts of celebrities — Jessica Alba, Steven Seagal, Don Johnson, Cheech Marin, et al — will make appearances in the movie, so who knows will show up at the Four Seasons, Uchi or the Belmont. Quentin Tarantino is expected to play a production role in “Machete,” which was previewed, fictionally, in his and Rodriguez’s “Grindhouse.” He’s also scheduled for the Alamo Ritz premiere of “Inglourious Basterds” on Saturday, although don’t expect a red-carpet parade on East Sixth Street.
Sunday, Rodriguez and Avellan’s Austin-shot “Shorts” premieres at the Paramount Theatre, with proceeds going to Thoughtful House Center for Children. Younger stars Jimmy Bennett, Trevor Gagnon, Devon Gearhart, Jake Short, Jolie Vanier and (son) Rebel Rodriguez will line the red carpet. Sadly, adult actors Leslie Mann, James Spader and William H. Macey are not on the evening’s roster.
Judge’s “Extract” premieres at the Paramount on Tuesday. Some of the artists, including the director and the underrated lead, Jason Bateman, are rolling into town for interviews and red carpet. Co-stars Mila Kunis or Ben Affleck will not likely to join them, but who can say …
What about Linklater, you say? We’ve been waiting with bated breath for his “Me and Orson Welles,” which wrapped last year with Ben Chaplin, Claire Danes and Zac Efron. It bowed at Toronto Film Festival and made a surprise appearance at South by Southwest. Should arrive for real during the Oscar rush in October.
Meanwhile, Linklater’s got “School of Rock 2” and other local projects in the works. Add them to the list of possible celebrity magnets for our long, hot August.
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Apres Le Weekend Live Chat with Tolly Moseley
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Austinite John Pipkin’s ‘Woods Burner’ magnificent
“Woods Burner” gathered dust on my bedside table for far too long.
Austinite John Pipkin’s novel had beckoned from the bottom of the book pile since last fall. Yet his putative subject daunted, dismayed.
I should not have worried. Pipkin adroitly tells the story of the historical fire through the senses and sensibilities of a half dozen distinct major characters. The book’s larger subject is world around Concord, Mass. in the 1840s. That encompasses the pantheists attached to Ralph Waldo Emerson; the dark side of Second Great Awakening religious revival; the spread of bookstores, coffeehouses, theatrical spectacles and pornography; New England insularity and entrepreneurism; and the peculiar tensions endemic on a retreating frontier.
Each sentence paints a dab of poetry. Yet Pipkin never lets the action — interior or exterior — flag. He’s kind to his flawed characters, which makes the end satisfying.
Can’t wait to meet him on the local literary circuit.
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Live Chats with Tolly Moseley & Mary Gordon Spence
Back in town and you just can’t shut me up.
Apres Le Weekend live chat 3 p.m. Tuesday (today) with Austin Eavesdropper Tolly Moseley here at Out & About.
Avant Le Weekend live chat 3 p.m. Thursday with Ask Mary Gordon’s Mary Gordon Spence here at Out & About.
Don’t forget that readers can question and comment during these sessions. Chat with you then…
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Rue McClanahan to star at Austin lunch
All summer, Betty White has saturated the media with gossipy tidbits following her snappy role in “The Proposal,” starring Austinite Sandra Bullock.
Now Rue McClanahan returns to Austin as keynote speaker for the Breast Cancer Resource Centers of Texas’ champagne brunch and auction.
The event will also feature Austin’s all-female chamber group, Tosca String Quartet.
McClanahan is a breast cancer survivor, as is Austin fashion designer Gail Chovan, who recently appeared in Nike ads and will serve as the event’s honorary chairwoman. KEYE’s Judy Maggio will emcee Sept. 27 at the Renaissance Austin Hotel.
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Austin’s Clarke Straughan romances the world, Part 2
For Part 1 of “Austin’s Clarke Straughan romances the world,” scroll down to previous post, or link here.
Adventure movies fed his imagination. Military school and U.S. Marines officer training added discipline. He launched into the hospitality industry while attending Texas A&M University by managing the run-down Western Motel on Highway 6 in College Station. He did everything: Clean the rooms, check in the guests, run what he calls the “Lily Tomlin-style” switchboard. That experience, and a spell at a Dallas hotel, earned Straughan a sense of self-sufficiency must have helped when he decided against taking a standard job in Texas, instead borrowing money for a one-way ticket to Hawaii.
As Straughan island-hopped through the Pacific Ocean  then later continent-hopped around the globe — he made up for a lack of means with unwavering optimism (he studied Dale Carnegie self-improvement books); priceless contacts (a tycoon chatted up on a ship’s deck added to his growing list of character references); dogged persistence (he’d press hotel managers until they gave him a job, any job); and his almost cosmic good luck.
No sooner than Straughan arrived in Australia or Japan or Afghanistan, and he’d land a choice job, meet up with the local fast set, and go dancing all night with the most eligible women in town, or study martial arts with a wise trainer. (Healthy skepticism creeps into the mind of the reader of his memoir, “Romancing the Impossible.” Yet photographs don’t normally lie, and there’s Straughan, tanned and trim, looking respectful in the robes of a Buddhist monk in Zamboanga, glad-handing villagers on the Thai-Burma border, or horsing around with international models in Rome. OK, the cover shot is photo-shopped, but that’s all.)
One Japanese newspaper called him “Marco Polo from Texas.”
Here’s a typical Straughan story: He arrives by ship in Bangkok, Thailand, with only $7 in his pockets. No hint of job, friends or a place to stay. Checks into the YMCA, then hits all the luxury hotel offices. No jobs are available. But a contact, Major Stanley, had given him the name and phone number of a “Mrs. Swan.” “Why don’t you come out to the house this morning,” Mrs. Swan tells Straughan when he contacts her. “I’d love to meet and visit with you.”
When Straughan steps off the bus, he realizes her address is a house located on the manicured grounds of the Thai royal palace. “Does Mrs. Swan live here?” he asks. She does, in a home of “subdued splendor” that had once served as a royal study. “I have a lot of extra room in this grand house and you are welcome to stay here until you find a job, Clarke,” says Mrs. Swan.
When he applies at the new hotel across the street, Straughan wins the open job as manager, partly because of his hotel experience, partly because he lived at the palace.
“Romancing the Impossible” is stuffed like a steamer trunk with such good-luck stories, so they quickly become commonplace. And Straughan’s inveterate cheerfulness might daunt the less sunny readers.
But when I first met him during an international dinner at the Bullock Texas History Museum, I knew, one way or another, Straughan was journalist’s get: A story that tells itself.
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Austin’s Clarke Straughan romances the world, Part 1
In 2001, for his first task as the state’s director of international protocol, Clarke Straughan welcomed the king and queen of Spain to Texas.
“No problem,” Straughan, now retired, thought. He had already served King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia, discreetly, at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel, where the then-crown prince and princess sojourned on their honeymoon. Almost four decades later, the couple recognized him — and thanked him for his past hospitality — during a reception for the opening of Southern Methodist University’s Meadows Museum of Art.
“Clarke, after all these years!” He remembers Queen Sofia exclaiming. “Thirty-nine years!” King Juan Carlos interjected.
No denying, socially, Straughan possesses the golden touch. The San Antonio native has led a beguiling life, one that began in utmost working-class normalcy.
Now an Austinite, Straughan spent seven years of his youth, during the 1960s, circling the globe with empty pockets, picking up jobs, mostly in the hospitality industry, along the way.He babysat the Beatles in Hong Kong; dodged guerillas in Cambodia; and danced into a string of romances from Tahiti to Italy. His youthful adventures are recounted in “Romancing the Impossible,” a memoir distributed through Travel Treasure Publishing.
Tall, handsome and courtly, Straughan, now married, looks and sounds like central casting’s idea of a U.S. senator. In fact, a hint of late Senator Lloyd Bentsen can be detected in his manner and diction. From the evidence of his book’s many photographs, the younger edition of Straughan resembled suave Austin-raised actor Zachary Scott, his one suit fitting lightly over a gangly frame.
More to come …
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Austinites in Upstate New York, Part 5
For more “Austintes in Upstate New York,” scroll down to posts below, or link to Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 and Part 4.
The glorious summer weather here — highs in the 70s, mostly sunny, a light, steady wind in the Susquehanna River Valley — encourages walking.
Over the course of four full days here, I will have walked about 25 miles.
I’ve covered the main East-West trajectory across Main and Court streets, a 6-mile axis from the Square Deal arch to the far side of the new medical school (formerly the Inebriate Asylum). And each day, I’ve made multiple trips North-South from my hosts’ home on the Southside, across the well-traveled Washington Street pedestrian and bike bridge, to the city’s increasingly lively downtown core.
Last night, we savored the nightlife on State Street during the city’s First Friday gallery ramble. We ended up at Tranquil, where one could run into a state senator, a state assemblywoman, numerous city hall officials, artists, Web designers, retirees, plus folks leaving the B-Mets game a block away.
Later today, a small group of us will trace the creek that flows through the Southside from source to mouth. So a little nature hiking to go with the urban trekking. Then I’m hoping for a B-Mets game with my godson, Alfie.
One thing strikes me, beyond the city’s glorious density, is the age of the building stock. I know there must be some late 20th-century residences, but I haven’t seen them. Instead, I’ve walked past hundreds of blocks of enormous Victorian or Edwardian beauties.
And here’s the other deal: One can buy a four-bedroom in good condition for under $100,000. A fixer-upper for $25,000. And that’s in part because they built strong-boned houses and apartments in the central city rather than flinging them out over surrounding hills.
I’m not trying to tempt anyone to move. The winters here can be as brutal as the summers in Texas. Also, the economic, cultural and social wounds here are still healing.
But it’s heartening to know that Austin could learn a few things from Binghamton.
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Austinites in Upstate New York, Part 4
For more on “Austinites in Upstate New York,” scroll down to the previous posts, or follow the links to Part 1, Part 2 & Part 3.
Binghamton, N.Y.’s core problem is the opposite of Austin’s.
Binghamtonians just don’t believe change can happen in their slowly reviving city. Austinites know change will happen in our rapidly expanding metropolis, but many of them fear it.
They picked a building and a cuisine. Hired a culinary-school-trained chef. Transformed a dank Irish sports bar into a bright, lively space.
Everybody said they were nuts. The location — on the eastern edge of downtown — was the province of crackheads and their allies. The French and Asian-inflected American food would never fly in this bastion of Southern Italian cooking.
Yet it worked. Massey and Couch opened Tranquil Bistro almost two years ago. It’s now a downtown mainstay and the informal “club house” for the political set. They are particularly known for their martinis and seafood. Everything I’ve eaten there was excellent.
These Austinites believed in change. And they trusted that Binghamtonians would eventually embrace the addition to their culture. (Now, of course, my dear friends must spend much of their days worrying about the moods of their employees and whether enough hot water is running.)
In Austin, someone would accuse Tranquil of gentrifying an impoverished corner of the city, thereby altering its essential character. Blame the fear of inevitable change that comes with Austin’s otherwise reflexive openness. In the Big Bing, they are instead grateful that somebody, even outsiders, believed that change could actually happen.
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Austinites in Upstate New York, Part 3
For more “Austinites in Upstate New York,” scroll down to previous posts, or link to Part 1 or Part 2.
A timely Binghamton T-shirt: “Whatever. Our economy collapsed decades ago.”
Hope has arrived. On two tracks.
One is the get-rich-quick bet on natural gas in the green hills that surround the Triple Cities (Binghamton, Endicott and Johnson City). It could be a devil’s deal in the long run, given the environmental trade-offs and the renewed dependence on a single, easy-to-deplete income source. Binghamton succumbed to this historically through its giant shoe factories, then later IBM and aerospace industries that, for the most part, went bye-bye.
While no one enduring a long-collapsed economy would turn down the gas bonanza, the more promising track should sound familiar to Austinites. It’s about promoting economic diversity, small businesses and a creative culture that can feed longterm regional health.
Binghamton Mayor Matt Ryan appears to embody this approach. He has emphasized human-scaled amenities — streets are well paved and landscaped; hike and bike trails proliferate; sidewalks are gentle, graced with modern pedestrian signals. (I’ve walked the 6-mile length of Main and Court streets in the city limits, for instance, without hitting a really nasty stretch.)
High-tech promises another expanding frontier here. Binghamton University’s research helps. Also small things like a functioning downtown WiFi District, which I’ve used for the past three mornings.
Community gardens are replacing crack houses. Restaurants are going in where abandoned buildings stood. (Binghamton has the same problem Austin had — and, to some extent, still has — too many surface parking lots where mixed-use development could go.)
Just as importantly, Binghamton is trending increasingly cool and socially active. It starts with an openness to difference (the city recognizes gay marriages, for instance). It is manifested in a vibe-y cafe society, a steady flow of activities (nothing like Austin, but …), and on-again-off-again celebrations of local popular culture like BingPop.com, an analog to Austin services like Rare, Tribeza, Austinist, Do512, Launch787, Austin Is Burning, Downtown Austin and, of course, austin360.com. Attracting BU’s kids to downtown Binghamton is essential.
I’ve hit some of the hot spots with BingPop’s Joshua B, a morning radio jock, and my hosts. Of course, they bemoan the lack of activity one can always find in a larger market, but they also easily mine a lot of creative fun in this reviving city.
More to come …
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Austinites in Upstate New York, Part 2
For Part 1 of “Austinites in Upstate New York,” see post below …
All in Binghamton, N.Y. is not bleak.
In fact, on a cool, green, sunny day like today, it’s hard to take seriously the mountain of problems facing the city and the region.
This could mean boom times again for Binghamton, just as it has for places like Shreveport, La., where recent discoveries hearten those who see natural gas as a cleaner, transitional alternative to coal and oil. And, normally, the energy-hungry East Coast could use this kind of news.
But, as those of us in Texas will attest, drilling, transporting and transforming natural gas are not without their longterm environmental menaces. Just today, the city’s Press & Sun-Bulletin newspaper ran a front-page story — sandwiched between coverage of sensational murder trials — on the clash over the disposal of water used in the process of releasing the gas from the shale.
A natural gas rush would lift the limping Southern Tier economy, for sure. But, along with environmental concerns, a boom could distract the city from its good work on building a foundation for sustained prosperity — education, openness, infrastructure improvements, high-tech training and lifestyle amenities.
And from what I can see, much progress has been made in these areas — some with positive social consequences — since I first visited this area a few years ago.
More to come …
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6th Street Austin’s Larry Craddock responds to Out & About
Michael,
Josh Allen distributed your columns on 6th at yesterday’s 6th Street Austin board meeting. I enjoyed reading them and found them accurate.
I have kept in touch over the years and inherited and still own the buildings housing the Ritz and the Pecan Street Cafe (which used to be the location of one of my dad’s furniture stores). I have seen the street go up and down over the years.
I believe the street is on its way back but the fact that the city of Austin which prides itself in it’s cleanliness, greenness, and livability has allowed it’s prime entertainment area in its central downtown historic district to deteriorate to such a state is an embarrassment and gives the city a black eye. It is time to remedy the state of deterioration of the 6th Street area, the filth, the stench, and the lack of protection, and sanitation. Those of us who are working toward that end appreciate your columns calling attention to the problems and the need for counsel and public support in remedying them.
Thanks again for your work along these lines and let us know anything we can do to help,
Larry Craddock
PS: I would also say something about the all too frequent barricading of East 6th Street. This frequent barricading makes it hard for the new family oriented restaurants and similar family oriented businesses which 6th street has recently attracted (and has kept away some of the other businesses we have tried to attract to the street). When the police department just barricades the street instead of increasing the number of policemen on the beat, it makes it difficult for those members of the public who want to enjoy themselves in innocent pursuits to patronize the types of businesses we are trying to attract to the street. Further, barricading doesn’t adequately protect the public from the disreputable element. We need more police presence on the street to accomplish greater public protection.
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Austinites in Upstate New York
It would be easy to forsake Binghamton, N.Y.
Parts of downtown remain a wasteland after urban renewal. Monolithic government buildings impede what little pedestrian traffic is nurtured by the remaining, attractive commercial strips. Blight nudges into even prosperous neighborhoods.
Yet Binghamton maintains great promise in its abundant greenery, wealth of densely packed building stock and, especially, the presence of Tier-1 Binghamton University. That institution has planted its flag downtown and a developer proposes some fairly sensitive student housing nearby.
How to leverage those assets? Longtime locals are fighting the good fight. They are getting some help from Austinites and their ideas.
More to come …
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Social inclusion at Promiseland West, Part 2
For Part 1 of ‘Social inclusion at Promiseland West,’ see post below …
Women flowed into the auditorium in loosely cinched summer dresses and jeans. Men wore Hawaiian prints, golf-wear and square-cut shirts. I spotted only one pair of shorts, but numerous flip-flops. Their attire might be termed “Sunday casual.”
Light jazz played over the PA system as folks entered the broad, comfortable theater. Bandstands stood in dramatic half-light on the stage of the recently renovated auditorium. Twin screens flashed deft multi-media projections on either side of the proscenium arch.
At the appointed time, a choir broke into energetic songs in what music critics might call a “soft rock” or “indie rock” style, although it might be classified as “contemporary Christian” on the radio because of the subject matter. After a scriptural reading and prayer, pastor Randy Phillips, shifting weight from foot to foot, detailed the church’s many programs — common in contemporary churches — niche ministries for men, women, youth, etc. but also for divorced and single parents.
A surprise guest, country giant Larry Gatlin, also a congregant, tearfully sang a newly minted song. Then Texas first lady Anita Perry introduced the featured speaker, “Friday Night Lights” and “Northern Exposure” star Janine Turner. Like an actress in a screwball comedy, Turner raced through her thoughts on single parenting, climaxing in a hilarious account of one day’s anxieties, chores and crises. Pressing to the stage, single parents then received gift bags and chances at family-friendly prizes.
Again, Promiseland West is not the only church taking this fresh path, but it seemed to this first-timer a thoroughly Austin way of socializing faith.
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Social inclusion at Promiseland West, Part 1
So far, other than covering the parties associated with the 2008 presidential debates, conventions, election day and inauguration day, this social column has veered away from politics. Similarly, we’ve edged away from that other traditional social taboo, faith, except in the context of charity or volunteer events.
Pastors Randy and Denise Phillips’ conscious efforts to make Promiseland West a “safe place” for non-churchgoers as well as regular congregants produce intriguing social results. Their church is far from alone in these inclusive efforts, yet the Phillips are particularly generous about sharing their stories, which explains the banks of television cameras and print reporters at their services Aug. 2.
Sunday mornings, once the most segregated hours of the week, are strikingly nontraditional inside the congregation’s home at Westlake High School’s Performing Arts Center. Attendees of widely varied backgrounds and races visibly and vocally embraced the music, speeches and scenography of a special event designed for single parents (already detailed in Andrea Lorenz’s news article of Aug. 3).
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Brainstorming East Sixth Street, Part 2
For Part 1 of ‘Brainstorming East Sixth Street,” see post below …
All agreed the East Sixth Street sidewalks require complete replacement — wider, better designed and easier to clean. (One can’t spray down often vile East Sixth Street weekend mornings because of environmental concerns. That and the poorly chosen sandstone sidewalk pavers would erode almost immediately.)
Among the positive gains for these groups pushing downtown improvements is the addition of traditional retail — groceries, apparel, etc. — to complement the glut of restaurants and bars. I’m not sure how well shops such as Patagonia, St. Bernard Sports and The Texas Clothier are doing, but the real test will come when the new residential and hotel towers come completely online.
What could really help East Sixth Street and downtown as a whole: The same thing that could help the country— liquidity and credit. Key projects like the planned Marriott complex on Congress Avenue have been sidelined because even the highest-rated developers can’t raise the money.
East Sixth and surrounding areas will still be plagued by low-impact storefronts — like the Texas Lottery offices at Sixth and Red River streets — and warehoused land, such as big swaths of East Fifth Street. You can’t force landlords serve the greater good in a strong property-rights state.
Still, I’m delighted to know that nonprofits like 6th Street Austin and Downtown Austin Alliance — as well as business leaders like League — are working quietly, diligently to make East Sixth Street and the rest of the urban core welcoming for everybody.
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Brainstorming East Sixth Street, Part 1
That Sixth Street column led to a fortuitous lunch meeting at El Sol y La Luna, where owner Nilda de la Llata is shaking up perceptions about Mexican cuisine.
To my relief, the meeting was not confrontational. They agreed wholeheartedly with my recommendations. Which allowed us to dig into a hundred or so questions I had about their strategies for preserving and improving this vital social gem.
The main eye-opener: Although work on the the Waller Creek Tunnel will begin in January, it will take four years to complete. If businesses decide to improve their properties along the creek’s banks in the interim, they’ve rolling the dice that a major flood could wash away some amenities.
As it stands, downtown’s northeast sector, split by Waller Creek, remains something of a blank slate. Positive developments include full apartments across the street from Club de Ville and Mohawk, a planned national Episcopal archive on Seventh Street and a youth center/parking garage for the First Baptist Church uphill of the archives. That leaves too many blocks fallow. But gives developers time to consider much-needed affordable housing. (The type of development that has lifted the southwest sector is hampered by terrain and Capitol view corridors).
Even blocks away, this makes an impact on East Sixth Street, as does the campus for the homeless on East Seventh Street. City leaders are looking into a comprehensive strategy for the homeless on the model of San Antonio’s Haven for Hope. But it’s not likely to land elsewhere, given the city’s rampant NIMBY-ism. Improved order — along with consistent, disciplined empathy from all of us — seems the only answer.
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Public safety concerns on East Sixth Street
Two days after my short screed about improving East Sixth Street ran in this space, a July 30 front-page news article detailed a series of unprovoked “punch-and-run” attacks on Austin’s main entertainment stem.
In my breezy column last week, I didn’t address public safety. Instead, I wrote about filling in Sixth Street’s business gaps, cleaning its sidewalks and managing the mix of its pedestrians. Yet the perception of public danger remains a nagging issue.
Personally, in 25 years of striding up and down what composer Sterling-Price McKinney dubbed “Electric Street,” I’ve never felt threatened. Some people do, despite increased police presence.
Partial blame can be attributed to an old bugaboo: Too much testosterone. Sometimes Sixth Street reminds me of a classic port of call with all the strutting, preening and bluffing from revelers and bouncers alike.
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The WhoDo at Jovita’s
Who suspected Lawrence Wright rocks out?
The WhoDo (or some of them)
The Austin author of substance (“The Looming Tower,” The New Yorker) slapped the keyboards (quite well) and sang (well enough) with the roots band, the WhoDo, at Jovita’s on Saturday.
Claire and Katie Breihan
Must be his alter ego, “Larry.” The South Austin assemblage delighted in the tunes, including a jazzy version of “The Eyes of Texas.”
Heyden and David Walker
Many in the crowd go back to Armadillo days (1970s). Others trace their Austin credentials even further back to Giant Armadillo Days (1950s).
Jim Hightower and Susan Demarco
One sweet lady coasted up to me, saying “Must be a slow weekend, if you’re covering this …”
Laura Castro and Daphny Dominguez
Truth is, I live spittin’ distance from Jovita’s, a short stroll across the steaming pavement, so a natural choice.
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Austin’s Sheridan Lorenz heads to White House with Stephen Hawking
The daughter of Houston oilman and developer George Mitchell and wife of Austin developer Perry Lorenz met Hawking through a Cambridge University-Texas A&M University collaborative physics program, which met regularly at the Mitchell Institute for Fundamental Physics and Astronomy at College Station, then later at a wildlife retreat she manages in the East Texas Pineywoods.
“Over the years Stephen and I simply became friends,” Lorenz says. “His good cheer in spite of the obstacles is amazing, and he has a wonderful wry sense of humor.”
Lorenz had also befriended the famed physicist’s daughter, journalist and novelist Lucy Hawking: “So of course our emails are about what you’d expect: ‘What are YOU wearing?’ Lorenz says. “I will meet them in Washington and we’ll all stay at a hotel near the White House. Afterwards there will be a reception at the British Embassy in Stephen’s honor.”
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ACLU Reception at Travis Heights home
President George W. Bush was a gift to the ACLU …
David Glassco and Dotty Griffith
What with the Patriot Act, Guantanamo, etc., the civil liberties organization doubled its national membership …
Susan Herman and Terri Burke
Now, according to chat at an ACLU reception in Travis Heights, the leadership must wrestle with a president with whom they sometimes disagree, but who listens to their arguments …
Lisa Graybill and Barbara Forrest
Also, the economy has buffeted the group’s fortunes, though they’ve laid off just 10 percent of their national staff, not 20 or 30 percent, like some nonprofits …
Lee Henderson and Rebecca Bernhardt
And the Texas staff, once a single paid representative, is still at 17, headed by Terri Burke, former managing director for the American-Statesman …
Amanda Tyler, David Chang
The mood was generally upbeat at Web designer David Glassco’s multi-level, minutely landscaped house high up on Travis Heights Boulevard, as the reception helped launch a weekend conference.
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