U.S. media establishment yawned at damming Downing Street Memo; and Merck launches advertising blitz to portray itself as 'huggable teddy bear of a corporation'

BY JIM HIGHTOWER

food

Keep Austin Chilled

Where to go for sweet relief from the heat

BY VIRGINIA B. WOOD

Food-o-file

Rachael Ray is on her way; plus, a tasty local tag team

BY VIRGINIA B. WOOD

music

I'm New Here

Smog descends on Austin in the guise of Bill Callahan

BY AUDRA SCHROEDER

TCB

Murder in San Antonio, an old Austin scenester passes by the Bay, and the sorry state of U.S. pop. Happy Fourth of July!

BY CHRISTOPHER GRAY

CAVEDWELLER

Smog Reviewed

Richard Thompson, Lucinda Williams, Son Volt

Live from Austin, Texas

13th Floor Elevators: A Photographic History of Easter Everywhere

Stephen Curran

Roky Erickson, Roky Erickson

Don't Slander Me, Gremlins Have Pictures

Inside the Actor's Superego

How Michael Baldwin got here (hint: It involves a showbiz upbringing, Oreo cookies, and shrieking armadas of flying, brain-sucking spheres)

BY MARC SAVLOV

In Space

It won't torment you with joint horoscopes, Starbucks ads, or group bulletins full of memes, but Conspyr – Austin-based and mere months old – is a networking site

BY MARRIT INGMAN

Film News

Ron Perryman, an Austin film pioneer, died last Saturday

TV Eye

Saving the Corporation for Public Broadcasting is going to require stepping outside the bleeding-heart comfort zone

BY BELINDA ACOSTA

Screens Reviews

Martin & Lewis

'What we had,' said Jerry Lewis, 'was lightning in a bottle.' And now we have it in public domain.

Film Reviews

With this disturbing story about the lingering affects of child sexual abuse, Gregg Araki creates a film that is psychologically rich, emotionally haunting, and technically superior to anything he has ever done.

Paheli

The Hindi megastar Shahrukh Khan and the arthouse director Amol Palekar combine forces for this new Bollywood fable.

Rebound

Although this Mighty Ducks/Bad News Bears clone is predictable and inoffensive, it's filled with sweet humor and well-drawn young characters.

Rize

Celebrity photographer David LaChapelle casts his lens toward the newest L.A. dance craze.

Saving Face

In this breezy Chinese-American coming-out comedy, ethnic, generational, and family identities collide with the anything-goes ethos of modern love.

War of the Worlds

Spielberg and the gang at Industrial Light & Magic have knocked the ball not only out of the park but out of Earth orbit as well.

arts & culture

Oh, Give Me a Home

The 20th 'New American Talent' exhibition reveals a country struggling with isolation and power

BY RACHEL KOPER

Summer of the King 'B'

Relax, Schroeder! Beethoven gets his due at this year's Austin Chamber Music Festival.

BY ROBERT FAIRES

Theatrical Impresario Larry Gatlin

Recording star Larry Gatlin is now a man of the theatre and busily working on a pair of musicals here in Austin

BY ROBERT FAIRES

Bigger Is Better, for Once

The production team for Coda Theater Project's new version of Jean Giraudoux's 'Ondine' is bigger than most – 50 people – and that's all for the best

BY ROBERT FAIRES

Arts Reviews

The Mikado

The Gilbert and Sullivan Society of Austin's latest production of 'The Mikado' is a somewhat flawed jewel, all the more charming for its blemishes

Batboy: The Musical

As long as it has its mind squarely on fanged freaks, horror cliches, and musicals it can shamelessly riff off, 'Batboy: The Musical' is one bloody good time

Now and Tomorrow II

columns

Page Two

Please, don't ask my son if we are related

BY LOUIS BLACK

Postmarks

Our readers talk back.

After a Fashion

Ooooh, Oprah! Grrrrl, those sales clerks locked you out? And that model did what to Cameron? And Leo DiCap got hit where? What is this world coming to?

BY STEPHEN MACMILLAN MOSER

About AIDS

We need your participation in a focus group, specifically to gather the insights of the Austin gay male community regarding issues about volunteerism.