Distant Thunder
Before the Rain, a three-part anthology of stories from the war-torn Balkan nation of Macedonia, is as powerful and passionate an examination of war as Schindler’s List. And although there isn’t a single dull or unoriginal shot anywhere in the picture, and the film is eloquently performed by an international…
Vile and Viral
Outbreak is a true paranoid’s wet dream, and something very scary for those with normal fears. For two thrilling hours, the audience is skillfully tortured with an orchestration of what we all dread: the vivid spectacle of hemorrhagic fevers; deranged government conspiracies and cover-ups; heavily armed troops showing up on…
A Cultural Question
“So,” a Holocaust survivor demands of a fellow concentration camp victim, now a famous musician, whom he hasn’t seen for 50 years, “if you are so big, why didn’t you call me once?” Since the circumstances surrounding this familiar comic complaint are among the most dire our century has known,…
My Lunch with George
The recent buzz that former Houston police chief Lee P. Brown may be leaving his job as President Clinton’s drug czar and returning here with an eye toward running for mayor may have surprised some people, but not City Controller George Greanias. It seems Greanias had already been approached by…
Party of Insiders
The Democratic Party has lots to celebrate. Sure, the president has fumbled his way into near-irrelevancy, and both houses of Congress are held by the GOP. And, yeah, Texas Democrats did lose the governorship to a Republican who actually has an agenda and is acting on it. And maybe 17…
Greed on Trial
The long-awaited trial of accused investment scamster Teresa Rodriguez debuted last week in Judge Sim Lake’s federal courtroom amid dorky pastel pie charts, surreal tape recordings and a burnished parade of witnesses who left the distinct impression that the rich really are different from you and me. For one thing,…
Never Mind!
You might call it the Texas Legislature’s “RoseAnn Rosannadanna Act,” after the Saturday Night Live character who was forever seeking forgiveness for her misunderstandings. Every two years since 1934, Texas municipal officials have been able to sigh a heartfelt “never mind” as legislators enact a law that basically legalizes all…
Letters
Give George a Chance In response to the article that appeared in the Houston Press regarding George Greanias and Bayou City Enterprises written by Brian Wallstin [News, “Gunning for Greanias,” February 23]: Is anyone, other than the news media, willing to give our controller a fighting chance? George Greanias is…
Press Picks
thursday march 16 Party on the Plaza Austin blues band Soulhat is the first band of the season, and Popa Chubby opens. This official kickoff concert has a St. Patrick’s Day theme: “Show your most creative use of green.” Many of your fellow Houstonians, and even folks from Katy and…
Manna from Sugar Land
I must confess that my interest in Sugar Land has been, until now, strictly ethnographic. I wondered at the exactitude with which the chilly, affluent suburbs of North Dallas seem to have replicated on the coastal prairies of Fort Bend County; I speculated on the Nouveau Sugar Land lifestyles of…
Roots Rockabilly
This rockabilly revival stuff can be tricky. For evidence, all one has to do is look at the careers of the Stray Cats and Commander Cody and the Lost Planet Airmen. Both groups came strong out of the box, knocked off a couple of memorable opening albums, and then floundered…
Rotation
James Carr The Essential James Carr Razor & Tie Records James Carr is one of the few ’60s soul men who actually deserved the honorific “legendary,” if for no other reason than that for nearly 25 years he has existed only in legend. “Hard to find” doesn’t begin to describe…
Wilder Thing
Webb Wilder wants to set the record straight. The self-proclaimed “last of the full grown men” is not one to strap on a big guitar and try to cover his errors and distract his detractors with a lot of thrash, twang and thunder. The part-time B-movie star, full-time sage and…
The Battle Over Brentwood
Every morning, when he steps out into the still foggy air of the pristine, orderly African-American subdivision of Brentwood, David Syrus can see a battlefield. It doesn’t look the part. From Syrus’ buzz-cut lawn, it looks like little more than brambles, a gray, wild patch of real estate at the…
Ready for Home
“Houston — A Great Place to Be From” could be the motto for local musicians — especially blues musicians — who achieve any degree of visibility and success. For a town that’s so famously pro-business, there’s never been much effort made to encourage the local music business — despite a…
Mixed Results
One of the nice things about a mixed repertoire program is that it can sometimes surprise you. The pieces you assumed would be excellent may be only ordinary, while what you anticipated to be passable proves an unexpected pleasure. Such is the case with the quartet of dances being performed…
Diner’s Notebook
Lettuce (Etc.) Happens Bubble, Bubble, Toil and Trouble: Already, there has been a Major Unpleasantness at the excruciatingly hot new Cabo Mix/Mex Grill. Proprietor James Hillyer and menu consultant Arturo Boada, the well-known Houston chef who put the late La Mer on the map, had a falling out after a…
No More Girlish Games
Next time you’re stuck in the supermarket checkout line, by all means grab the March issue of Vogue. It contains a curious feature article and photo spread that go the whole nine yards to explain — seriously — why it’s okay to look rich again. Celebrating the new “luxe” look…