Supreme Court grapples once again with whether Texas death penalty scheme – and the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals' interpretation of its role in deciding death penalty cases – meets constitutional requirements

BY RITA RADOSTITZ

Naked City

Headlines and happenings from Austin and beyond

On the Lege

Austin's freshman senator picks up plum assignments

BY AMY SMITH

Point Austin: Compared to What?

Crisis at Kealing the latest chapter in a too-long story

BY MICHAEL KING

Beside the Point

Wynn is leading the way in cities' efforts to curb greenhouse gases

BY WELLS DUNBAR

The Hightower Report

What Hath George Wrought in Iraq?; and Cheating on Oil Royalties

BY JIM HIGHTOWER

food

Bocaditos

Tom's Tabooley Mediterranean Platter

BY BARBARA CHISHOLM

Spirited Suggestions

Tezón Tequila

BY KATE THORNBERRY

Food-o-File

Local artisan food producers should have a big 2007

BY VIRGINIA B. WOOD

Event Menu

Jan. 26-Feb. 1

BY VIRGINIA B. WOOD

Food Reviews

Maru Japanese Restaurant and Sushi Bar

I have previously praised sushi that, in retrospect, was merely acceptable. My standards have been redefined.

Shandeez Grill

About four years ago, Mehdi and Farah Meschi were persuaded by friends and family to move to Austin, and they opened Shandeez Grill last year.

music

All My Love

C-Side Records' family values

BY AUSTIN POWELL

TCB

Ted Nugent livens up Rick Perry's inaugural ball, the literary side of the Texas Rollergirls, more parking needed on the Eastside, and a redheaded stranger comes to Coachella

BY CHRISTOPHER GRAY

Texas Platters

Ghostland Observatory

Live Shots

Clap! Clap! Foot Foot

Foot Foot, Clap! Clap!

Tammany Hall Machine

Amateur Saw

the Dirty Hearts

the Dirty Hearts

Hit Space

(Verb)

Matt the Electrician

One Thing Right

Mandy Mercier

Run Out of Darkness

David Chenu Quintet

Two

screens

Strategy and Strategery

Luke Meyer and Andrew Neel on Darkon and the real-world implications of role players at war

BY RICHARD WHITTAKER

The Gate Escape

Eric Steel on The Bridge

BY MARC SAVLOV

Four for the Weekend

E-mail Angelina Jolie, support Screen Door and Reel Woman, or experience the effects of Hurricane Katrina in IMAX

BY JOE O'CONNELL

In Play

Star Trek: Legacy

BY JEREMY MARTIN

TV Eye

For once, Ellen Pompeo is spared Belinda Acosta's wrath while she goes after ... America Ferrera?

BY BELINDA ACOSTA

Screens Reviews

Border Radio

Though it was mostly noted for its cult performers and scenester ambience, the film's Criterion edition positions it firmly amid the commercial groundswell of independent cinema

Film Reviews

The Aura

A sure winner for arthouse audiences with crossover appeal, Fabián Bielinsky's The Aura spins a purely enjoyable web of intrigue within a meditative, dreamlike setting.

The Bridge

An emotional and aesthetic whirlpool of horror, fascination, beauty, and resignation gives Eric Steel's Golden Gate Bridge suicide documentary an eerie power.

Catch and Release

An archetypal date movie with a good heart, Catch and Release is the lightweight story of a widow (Jennifer Garner) who discovers that you never really know a person.

The Hitcher

This remake of Robert Harmon's original 1986 horror semiclassic serves as a primer in how not to generate suspense.

Inland Empire

Not reviewed at press time. David Lynch's latest mindfuck pits Nikki Grace (Laura Dern) and Devon Berk (Justin Theroux) against the characters they're playing in a cursed fictional film.

Salaam-e-Ishq: A Tribute to Love

Bollywood meets Richard Curtis' Love Actually in this Hindi breakout.

Seraphim Falls

A morality play without the morality, Seraphim Falls demands its protagonists (Pierce Brosnan, Liam Neeson, Anjelica Huston) resign themselves to their loneliness and brutality.

Smokin' Aces

A person could have a reasonably good time with this confusing, Tarantinoid actioner starring Ben Affleck, Jason Bateman, Jeremy Piven, and Alicia Keys, but there’s not actually much tension in the movie.

Venus

Peter O'Toole, in an Oscar-caliber and -nominated performance, pulls off the tricky May-December relationship at the heart of Venus with colossal panache and sublime craft.

arts & culture

They Hear America Singing!

Grammy-nominated Conspirare brings together 600 voices in search of our national sound

BY ROBERT FAIRES

'El Automóvil Gris': Making an old silent film speak today

Mexican theatre company Teatro de Ciertos Habitantes brings a silent film from Mexican cinema into the 21st century, using a 19th century Japanese performance technique

BY BELINDA ACOSTA

Cheryl Bentyne: Transfer to the solo line

Cheryl Bentyne, the willowy soprano of the Manhattan Transfer who also has a solo career, talks about the difference between singing with a group and singing alone