The Virgin Diaries Say a little prayer: Great article on True Love Waits ("No Trespassing," by Michelle Martinez and Leah Gerchario, December 18). It shows the kids and the struggles that they deal with and how it affects them. I wish someone had been around to encourage me in that...
Just when the Texas blues-rock sound as exemplified by Stevie Ray Vaughan felt like a dull old saw, along come three young Mexican-Americans to sharpen its teeth. The brothers Garza--Henry (guitar), Jojo (bass) and Ringo (drums, natch)--have been playing since their youth, first backing their father and then stepping out...
Van Zandt County Constable Pat Jordan knew what he was facing when the call came from prospective puppy owners upset about conditions at Moore's Precious Puppies near Canton. Last May, Jordan had warned operators Renée and Randall Moore to clean up their facility and make certain their dogs had enough...
So, have you ever wondered what exactly goes into the painting of a portrait? You might have suspected there's more to it than a painter saying something along the lines of, "Hey, baby, can I, uh, paint you?" and then someone else saying, "Yeah, sure, that'd be cool." You might...
Zeroes to Heroes Couldn't stop: Thanks for an excellent article ("What's Wrong With This Picture?" by Zac Crain, January 15). I intended to read the first couple of paragraphs to see if the article might be interesting, and I found I couldn't stop reading. I was moved by Hal's story...
1/8 January 8 was a banner day in entertainment history. Born on this date were such greats as David Bowie, Elvis Presley, R. Kelly and Bob Eubanks. But only one of these entertainers is being honored with a party at Dick's Last Resort on Thursday. Oddly enough, he's also the...
Talk about timing. Quite a few local bands have album releases pending for spring 2004, leaving many scenesters' hopes for indie-rock stocking stuffers in the coal pit. But where Chomsky, Pleasant Grove and The Polyphonic Spree have placed their fans in Christmas limbo, [DARYL] has flown in like a sweaty,...
Drinking coffee with Jason Pierce of Spiritualized one morning earlier this year (actually, I drank coffee; he drank Rolling Rock), I asked him why Amazing Grace, his band's latest album, sounds so much rawer and more off-the-cuff than the couple that preceded it. He took a swig (actually, two) and...
Everyone wants to look good, but who wants to work for it? All that sacrifice and inconvenience. Not to mention the sweating. Gross. Take a shortcut in 2004: Improve your appearance the easy way--pay for it. The Fab Four warned us that money can't buy you love. Queer Eye for...
In 1998, a passionate majority of Venezuelans elected a new president. His name was Hugo Chavez, and he was the first leader in generations to come from outside the ruling class. He vowed to redistribute Venezuela's oil wealth and to involve the people intimately in the political process. Openly comparing...
In a South Austin coffeehouse, Patrice Pike locks eyes with her interviewer as she talks about herself and her career. It's a gaze that's direct but intense, with a warmth that feels almost seductive. It's similar to the way Pike, a seasoned performer at the age of 33, addresses an...
You've known it since the dear old days at Faber College: Knowledge is good. Here are seven places where you and your kids can put that credo into action this year with no risk of double secret probation. Unless that's the kind of thing that floats your boat, in which...
As you might expect, I've gotten my ass kicked plenty during the past 26 years. Generally it's a direct result of opening my stupid mouth--an involuntary action that just can't be helped, sort of like breathing. I am proud to say that I've never been beaten up by a girl...
Even though the Polyphonic Spree's album was released in 2003, it was also released in 2002. And 2001. So we're disqualifying it. Here are the ones that do count. Centro-matic, Love You Just the Same (Misra) Will Johnson and company return after a lengthy (for them) two-year break with another...
12/21 My man Beardog Wheeler--have you ever heard a better name for a biker?--says that rain or shine the December 21 Big Texas Toy Run, which benefits underprivileged and challenged metroplex children who need a little holiday-season help, is going to be a roaring success. So get your bike tuned...
Errol Morris, sitting just one story above the floor from which Lee Harvey Oswald killed (or did not, whatever) John Kennedy, does not know where to begin. The maker of documentaries--he's interviewed subjects ranging from Florida codgers and owners of pet cemeteries to the imprisoned innocent and builders of execution...
Off the coast of Galicia, a rocky province in northwest Spain, a storm was brewing. Captain Luis Dopico, aboard the tiny Carmen Belen, towed a line of 2,000 hooks through the ocean. He braced against the spray and hoisted up a cord writhing with sea snakes. Ocean life from the...
It was one of those years. Three beloved major-label acts dominating nearly every major category, with little but their hometown in common. One a sweet, unassuming Christian family making music beyond their years. One a crew of aging but still-scorching rockers giddily throwing up the devil horns. One a chorus...
It is the privilege of all dreamers to see hope and promise where others see gloom and rot, so Edward Harris will understand if you scoff at his plans for growing an urban paradise in this field of weeds and trash. The 56-year-old grew up in this very neighborhood; his...
Every so often, I get asked to DJ parties in the neighborhood--not because I'm the guy with the best taste, but because I've got the biggest CD collection in a 20-block radius (on rare occasion, size does matter). At first I gladly accepted the invitations for two reasons: It meant...
No municipality on earth is a better locale for a restaurant pushing backyard cuisine than Plano, bedroom community to the world. But what exactly is gourmet backyard cuisine? If my memory still serves correctly after years of alleged cabernet abuse, backyard cuisine once consisted mostly of Oscar Mayer tubes, Durkee...
During the Mavericks' December 4 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers, Steve Nash became the latest victim to be taken down by one of Karl Malone's infamous "inadvertent" elbows. Here's the play: Early in the third quarter, Nash takes it to the hole, misses. Malone rebounds, and Nash swats at...
