Austin American-Statesman

Rock's Best Fiction Novelists and Poets

We writers are a masturbatory bunch, if you don't mind me saying so. We love to talk about our own work, the works of others, and generally just get into a huge hubbub over the art of the written word. So I don't think it should come as any surprise that some of our favorite musicians are also accla ... More >>

Goodbye, Downtown Macy's (Nee Foley's): Six Oddities You May Not Know, Featuring Massive Fallout Shelters, Ghosts & Spider-Man

It's a sad sight walking by the downtown Macy's these days -- a cheap-ass "Going Out Of Business" hangs from its walls, and if you go inside you'll find few floors open and everything -- even the fixtures -- on sale. It's an undignified ending for the old store, which opened as a Foley's in 1947. ... More >>

30 Essential Texas Restaurants

Eat here before you die.

50 Rad Things Now on the Sig's Lagoon Walls

Within the past month, the walls of Sig's Lagoon have been transformed into a sprawling pop-culture collage of posters, photos, newspaper clippings, magazine covers, picture discs and cardboard cutouts courtesy of former Sundance Records owner Bobby Barnard. Since the longtime San Marcos music stor ... More >>

Sig's Lagoon Keeping Sundance, Beloved San Marcos Store, Alive

A big part of Texas music history went dark this past weekend, when Sundance Records went out of buisness after 35 years. But thanks to the San Marcos record store's strong Houston connection, part of its legacy - in fact, a large part of its inventory - is coming here. Sig's Lagoon, the Midtown re ... More >>

ACL: The Sound (Or Lack Thereof) & The Fury

Photos by Chris GrayYes, that stage is as far away as it looks.​When a bleary Rocks Off arrived at the media area this morning, there was some chatter about Stevie Wonder's supposed sound troubles, and more online, both in our review and the Austin American-Statesman's. (By the way, we've upda ... More >>

Texas Pop Festival Finally Getting Historical Marker

Mike PorterBathe, hippies, bathe!​Rocks Off can't do anything about the drought, but this weekend we will be breaking our own personal drought and returning to the Austin City Limits Music Festival after taking 2010 off. But long before ACL, there was another massive musical gathering in Texa ... More >>

Rick Perry's Prayerapalooza: Let The Whitewashing Begin!

​Sharp eyes at the Austin American-Statesman have noticed something different about the home page for the epic Houston prayer meeting called The Response: It seems to have been scrubbed. The page no longer includes a list of "endorsers," several of whom drew criticism for being frothing luna ... More >>

Eirin Ann Hicks: Texas State Student Killed by One-Story Jump

Texas StateEirin Ann Hicks: Killed by first-floor jump​If you're a parent who wonders why you worry about your kid, fresh evidence today that you need to: A Texas State student has died by jumping out of a first-floor window. Eirin Ann Hicks, 24 and from Temple, was taken off life support ye ... More >>

ACLU: When Facing Death, Lizards Are Treated More Humanely Than Humans

Does Cleve Foster deserve a death at least as humane as that of a lizard? The ACLU thinks so.​The pets of those on death row would be treated more humanely than their owners, if the animals were sitting in the execution chamber instead of them. According to a report released by the American C ... More >>

Texas Is a Lying Junkie When it Comes to Buying Death-Penalty Drugs, Inmates Say

Anything for a fix, man.​You know those guys who are masters at faking prescriptions or massaging paperwork in order to abuse their drug of choice? Texas might be a member of that club. Two TDCJ inmates are complaining to feds that the state's paperwork shows the mandatory DEA registration n ... More >>

Rick Perry's Cuts: Good for Polluters, Electricity Companies; Bad for Commissions Who Opposed His Wife's Renovation Plans

Rick Perry, stomping on the Historical Commission​Rick Perry's State of the State speech today made clear that the lamestream media has it all wrong when it comes to the financial health of Texas. "Have the doomsayers forgotten that Texas added more jobs in 2010 than any other state?" he aske ... More >>

DVR Warning: Daily Show to Take On Legislature's Right-Wing Christians Tonight

State reps, get ready for your close-up​The Daily Show is getting ready to show America just how progressive, intelligent and open-minded the Texas Legislature is -- check that, we are now informed they are going to show the Lege for what it is. The Austin American-Statesman's capitol blog re ... More >>

Texas & Nuclear Waste: Federal Judge Opens Path For Expansion

Nuclear waste in Texas: It's not just for Vermont anymore​Environmental groups are crying foul over a federal judge's decision to lift a ban on allowing a state commission to greatly expand Texas's ability to accept nuclear waste from other states. U.S. District Judge Sam Sparks said Tuesday ... More >>

UT-Brownsville Using Text Message to Warn Students of Violence

UT-Brownsville: text messaging to fight the drug cartels. ​UT-Brownsville is using a new tactic to keep its students safe from violence across the border: text messaging. Students, faculty and staff at the school are being asked to enter their cell phone numbers in a university database, so whenev ... More >>

Shot Down: Lethal Injection Drug Shortage May Require Change to Execution Protocol

There's always OFF WITH THEIR HEADS!​The Austin American-Statesman reports that there's a national shortage of drugs for lethal injection. The shortage apparently began when the country's sole dealer of sodium thiopental, Hospira, decided earlier this year not to deal in it anymore, and since ... More >>

Bob Hudgins Leaves Texas Film Commission, Unpleasantly

The head of the TFC is gone​A couple of months ago, when we examined why there was so little fim and TV production in Houston as opposed to Dallas and Austin, some of the commenters blamed Bob Hudgins, who heads the Texas Film Commission. Well, they won't have him to kick around anymore -- he ... More >>

Despite Suicide, UT Still On Lockdown

Grim news on UT-Austin's website:September 28, 2010 at 9:38 amThe university is open.A suspected shooter in PCL library is dead. Police are searching for possible second shooter.Lock doors, do not leave your building. The incident has been going on since shortly after nine this morning, and included ... More >>

Gimme Back My Bullet: An Eyewitness Account of Billy Joe Shaver's Trial

Even by his own rather lofty standards (marrying the same woman three times, losing several fingers on his right hand... oh hell, just read this story here), Billy Joe Shaver's recently concluded trial has to rank pretty far up there on the legendary Waco singer-songwriter list of exploits. As you ... More >>

The Yelp Effect

​Although there was no shortage of food-related panels at the Interactive portion of South by Southwest (SXSWi) this year, none were as insightful or as incendiary as The Yelp Effect, a frank discussion on the effect that online reviews and criticisms have on the restaurant industry. Led by A ... More >>

SXSW News: Adds Include DEATH, Voivod, Neon Indian, Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings, Trae Tha Truth and Chamillionaire & Paul Wall, Together Again

This past week a few Houston musicians began getting their dreaded SXSW rejection notices; most notably we heard that Robert Ellis' entry was not accepted. That's a tough bullet to take, considering how well his band does on Wednesday night at Mango's and the quality of his solo album. Either way E ... More >>

Million-Dollar Mud

The 2009 Austin City Limits Music Festival became a quagmire everywhere but onstage.

ACL 2009: This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things

Photos by Mark C. Austin​From the Austin American-Statesman comes word that Zilker Park, which hosted the three-day Austin City Limits Music Festival this weekend, will have to remain closed until the end of the month. Why? Because ACL more or less destroyed the park. For the next 25 or so da ... More >>

ACL Aftermath, Part 1: Spearhead's "Electric Mudslide" and the Whole "Dillo Dirt" Situation

Mark C. Austin​ Night fell on the Austin City Limits Music Festival at Zilker Park this past Sunday under a full moon and over a sea of mud. (It wasn't strictly mud, but more on that in a bit.) Many in the crowd, especially those in the proximity of the Dell stage, responded the only logical way p ... More >>

Austin American-Statesman Takes Down The "For Sale" Sign

​About a year ago, Cox Enterprises, the media company that owns the Austin American-Statesman, put the paper up for sale.Today they took it back, saying they will keep the thing because this whole print phenomenon still has legs, dammit.Or maybe they just didn't get any good offers. Publisher Mich ... More >>

Oh Noes!!!111!!!! Barton Springs In Austin Might Be Closing For Awhile!!

Photo by rutloBarton Springs, Austin's landmark pool that has chilled generations even in the hottest Texas summers, is in trouble. It's not trouble that can't be fixed, but it will require time and money.Time, as in closing the pool for six to eight months. Money, as in almost $5 million the city d ... More >>

Farm Living Isn't the Life for Damian Mandola

Damian Mandola and his wife, Trina -- both notable Houston chefs and restauranteurs -- have found themselves in a spot of bother up the Hill County, where they currently reside on a ranch outside of Austin. That spot of bother? Allegations that they had three of their neighbors' Swiss mountain ... More >>

Mack Brown's Print-Loving Fans Enter The Fray

We wrote a while back about UT football coach Mack Brown's diary of his trip to see the troops in Iraq and other places. We excerpted the rather significant time Brown seemed to spend complaining about conditions.It went national, with Deadspin picking it up. There was the usual feedback from Longho ... More >>

Rick Perry's Biking Accident Somehow Leads To Outbreak Of Hair Jokes

The news day is nearly done, and we can begin to total up the Official Rick Perry Hair-Joke Count.As you likely know, Perry broke his collarbone while riding a bike. If you didn't know, then you were, apparently, one of the few people who didn't head directly to the web to make a hair joke.Google ri ... More >>

Upcoming Events

Big Bertha at Saint ArnoldThis weekend marks the end of the nearly week-long Wine and Food Week in The Woodlands. And since most people haven't been able to attend the events that took place during the week, it's a sure bet that the Waterway will be packed to the gills with food and wine conn ... More >>

Saturday: Tim Easton at Cactus Music

I first encountered Tim Easton about five years ago at a New West Records South By Southwest party. It was a hot day at an outdoor stage. I felt the presence of someone moving up beside me and saw from his name tag that it was Michael Corcoran, longtime music critic for the Austin American-Statesma ... More >>

The Episcopal Church In Texas -- Covering Up For Its Pedophiles

In 2005, the Austin American-Statesman wrote about Allen Becker, the retired headmaster of a prestigious Austin Episcopal boarding school, hitting the bricks once again to raise money for a lower-income black congregation on the city's east side."We want to give children in this part of Austin a cha ... More >>

Battle Of The Sportswriters: Oh, It's Already Been Broughten

We noted a while back that Texas Monthly writer Gary Cartwright had written a stinging take on today's Texas sportswriters, saying they weren't as talented or wacky as him and his old gang of Blackie Sherrod, Dan Jenkins, Bud Shrake and Mickey Herskowitz were.He particularly pointed out two Austin A ... More >>

Texas Monthly Hates Houston Sports Columnists, Others

A month ago Texas Monthly editor Jake Silverstein promised subscribers an upcoming Gary Cartwright "screed" against modern-day sportswriting, and it's here.And it bored, mostly. Precis: No one writes as good as we did back in the old days.At least Cartwright calls people out by name: Cedric Golden a ... More >>

Abstinence Education, (Not) Propaganda and Sugar Land

Trees Have Been Killed: The print edition of the blog debuts

Meeting of the Minds

Hilarity ensues after a UH scheduling mix-up

South By So Huge

Austin's little music festival is all grown up

The Return of the Band of Rhythm and Pleasure

The Hollisters reunite to rock the East Texas pines

Playbill

This Week's Day-by-Day Picks

Dark Riders

The good, the bad and the ugly rock-star performance contracts

Prose and Cons

Crusading convicts turned the docile Echo newspaper into a voice for prison reform. Fellow inmates cheered, but alarmed TDCJ officials preferred silence.

Celebrate Good Times

The Bush inaugural is a wonderful, wonderful thing

Real or Satire?

News of the Weird

Capital Irony

As Governor Bush reviews the case of Henry Lee Lucas, a local lawyer casts a jaundiced eye

Fool's Paradigm

Static

Static

The Winners