The Insider
Lonesome Cowpoke Hand it to Paul Allen, that erstwhile promoter of the supposed rebirth of the Post on the Internet: whatever else he hasn’t got — like the legal rights to the Post name and logo — the man has chutzpah. Even after the Press revealed him to be freshly…
Letters
Lord of the Semicolon I was delighted to read the well-researched story by Brian Wallstin [“Lords of Illusion,” April 4], a writer who has meticulously covered the tale of Michael and Patrick Graham, and, most appreciatively, has wisely moderated the use of the semicolon throughout his story. Recently, a commentary…
Press Picks
thursday april 25 Dom Irrera Hey, sports fans, here comes Dom Irrera, the CableACE Award winning host of Offsides. The cable star has a long TV history, and his current project is providing the voice for an animated ape on Captain Simian and the Space Monkeys (due out this fall)…
More than Dough
It’s no secret that our town’s in the middle of a bagel explosion. Last fall’s yellow pages listed fewer than ten bagel shops, but today it’s possible to encounter nearly that many newly sprouted bagel purveyors just by motoring around the Galleria area for an hour or so. Like some…
Static
Raves and wave-offs… My cluttered shelves are again calling out for relief — a spring cubicle-cleaning, if you will, a clearing out of the cluttered mire of pitch letters, band bios and, of course, CDs and cassettes from local bands looking for a little media attention. So in the spirit…
Everything Fest, Part Two
To be sure, this year’s West African theme brought an impressive array of Afropop stars to town last week for the kickoff of the Houston International Festival. This weekend’s lineup, however, makes the first batch seem like warm-up acts. Let’s start with Cesaria Evora, who, until recently, was an obscure…
Dilution of Evil
It would be an overstatement to say that Ministry created the musical form most now call “industrial,” but not by much. Ministry kingpins Al Jourgensen (vocals, guitar, keyboards, etc.) and Paul Barker (bass, vocals, programming, etc.) met in Boston way back in 1981; the following year, Jourgensen produced a record…
Sound Check
Great bands breaking apart is about as common in rock and roll as the inevitable reunions of the lousy ones, and true to form, the last decade or so has been a veritable graveyard of wasted potential. The timing of said dissolutions is often impeccable — either impeccably bad (the…
Abstract Ideas
Over the past few years, the Texas art world has become obsessed with the validity of abstract painting. In Houston alone, three large exhibits of regional abstraction have been mounted, and panel discussions on the topic have been a big draw. Because abstract painting presents so many challenges for both…
To Lie For
The best date movie around right now is The Truth About Cats and Dogs, an extremely clever romantic comedy that strikes just the right balance between the sweetly sentimental and the smartly unconventional. There’s a hint of screwball comedy here and there, and a hefty dose of Cyrano de Bergerac…
Big Screen TV
True happiness requires laughing so suddenly and so hard that soda comes out your nose, and doing so often. Luckily, to help us do just that, we now have Kids in the Hall: Brain Candy and Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie. Both are based on shows easily found on…
Poor, Proud, But Independent
For months, Darryl Menkin waged an internal debate over the pros and cons of trading in his old career for another. A record label — his own record label: the thought of it one night caused a tossing-and-turning Menkin to bolt upright in his bed. “Why the hell not?” he…
Sweet Deal
It helps to have friends in high places — especially when you need to borrow a lot of money. Charles Hurwitz, according to court papers filed by the Office of Thrift Supervision, was a best sort of friend to his cash-strapped buddy Stanley Rosenberg. The OTSclaims Hurwitz helped ease the…
Feature
Info:Correction date: May 23, 1996 The Case Against Hurwitz In one of the last big S&L cases from the ’80s, two federal agencies are pursuing Charles Hurwitz over the failure of united Savings. And for once, Hurwitz may have no place to hide. By Laurel Brubaker Calkins On a crisp,…
In Denial
A few years back, a handful of grassroots agencies that provide care and services to people with AIDS undertook a bittersweet mission. Known collectively as the Minority Caucus, the group was thrilled to receive more than $1 million in federal funds to distribute among African-American and Latino neighborhoods. But with…