Sneak Preview
Birraporetti’s is in the process of reinventing itself — a notion to which many who have endured the conveniently located restaurant’s exceedingly average food and decor over the years will say “amen.” They’ve junked that schizoid motto, “A Great Italian Restaurant, A Heck of an Irish Bar.” They’ve snared a…
Just Bitchin’
“Special Issue: Women in Rock.” It’s right there, in glorious black and white, on the cover of this week’s Rolling Stone, so you know two things. One, female rock artists are selling so many records that the buyers of their product, as a demographic group, are overlapping with Rolling Stone’s…
Mirth and Murder
The trouble with comedy is that, unlike drama, it has to make the unbelievable believable. Such is the case with John Bishop’s The Musical Comedy Murders of 1940. There’s no point in discussing the plot to this nostalgic farce, which had a successful run in New York a few years…
Three to the Beat
The waltz is a simple and beguiling dance form, from its appealing one-two-three beat to its romantic, swirling motion. In The Waltz Project — which the Houston Ballet is presenting in repertory with Ghost Dances and Gloria as part of An Evening of Three — choreographer Peter Martins plays with…
Streep in the Wild
Meryl Streep is as good as Arnold Schwarzenegger. I never thought I’d be saying this. But then again, I never thought that Streep, she of the varied accents and subtle emotional shadings, would star as the heroic lead in an action-adventure flick. But she does, and the most accomplished actress…
Sodomy and Sentiment
Seductive, lyric fantasy and the horrors of genuine human suffering don’t usually work together. And it’s not often that the American moviegoing public is treated to a movie that contains scenes of brutal sodomy and scenes of achingly clear-eyed sentiment — and by sentiment I don’t mean a few feel-good…
Son of Lindsay … Son of Driscoll
Shortly before Vince Ryan and Robert Eckels were to engage in the first major debate of their race for county judge, Ryan crossed paths with outgoing County Judge Jon Lindsay between tables near the podium at the hotel ballroom. Ryan shook Lindsay’s hand and cracked, “Judge, aren’t you glad you’re…
Scary Tales from the Tapes
The political career of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Henry Cisneros is likely as stiff and cold as his extramarital sexual relationship with former Texas Democratic fundraiser Linda Medlar. But judging from more than 200 pages of transcripts of their conversations — compiled by Medlar with her trusty tape recorder…
Farm to Mall Court
So what do you think of the concept?” demands Morris O. Jenkins Jr., the barest trace of anxiety invading his upbeat cadences. The youthful Texas Agricultural Extension agent and urban-gardening specialist nods toward the vaguely surreal tableau unfolding on Westwood Mall’s atrium balcony. Right there in front of The Gap,…
Letters
Dissin’ dismissed Unfortunately, the Press has allowed its usually solid standards to be purloined by a rather vapid “dissing” of the Constitution, federal laws and state law [News, “Losing Track,” by Cynthia Greenwood, August 25]. Missing from the article are basic principles of good journalism such as objectivity, common sense…
Press Picks
thursday september 29 Banned Books Week It’s winding to a close — have you read a banned book today? This week? Well, most people who read have read a banned book at some time or other. An astonishing number of books have been banned by some library or school. The…
Veni, Vidi Veneto
“The chef is from Venice!” Being a Houstonian, and therefore inclined to optimism and a wistful respect for Things European, I have been propelled onto the freeways by such tantalizing phrases more often than I care to admit. Dashed hopes generally ensue. Still, I cling to the fantasy that great,…
Rotation
Sebadoh Bakesale Sub Pop Sebadoh guiding force Lou Barlow — who was unceremoniously canned from the J. Mascis-helmed Dinosaur Jr. shortly before that band’s run at mainstream success — has the right attitude. He’s a relentlessly indie musician and an avowed enemy of indie cliquishness. Barlow was one of the…
Somber News from Nashville
If you’re picking up this paper on Thursday, you missed it by a day, but Linda Lowe’s Writers in the Round songwriter series kicked off its fifth season on Wednesday the 28th at Main Street Theater. What was originally supposed to be a celebration, though, had turned into a more…
Swamp Thang
In the swampier parts of East Texas, the ground holds pockets of gas that bubble to the surface and form iridescent clouds glowing in the wet night air. My grandfather called them “haints”: vaguely supernatural creatures hovering at the edge of the tree line, beckoning folks — impressionable young kids,…