Empire Control Room & Garage
news
Smart Enough to Die
In 2002, the Supreme Court banned the death penalty for mentally retarded defendants. Still, Texas finds a way.
BY JORDAN SMITH
Point Austin: Texas Brinkmanship
State report card shows plenty of room for improvement
BY MICHAEL KING
Then There's This: Power Play
The continuing debate over who should control Austin Energy
BY AMY SMITH
Quote of the Week
Civics 101
Headlines
Two, Three ... Many Festivals = How Many Cops?
As special events grow, so does the need for police
BY MIKE KANIN
Lehmberg: The D.A.'s DWI
D.A. enters a guilty plea
BY JORDAN SMITH
Lege Lines
The Michael Morton Act, airport screening, business tax cuts, and more
BY JORDAN SMITH AND AMY SMITH
Drug Testing State Officials? Senator Says It's Only Fair
Sen. Eddie Lucio Jr. asks for accountability
BY JORDAN SMITH
Spreading Ignorance
Lege abortion misinformation and "fetal pain."
BY JORDAN SMITH
Council Preview: What Can We Afford?
The Council budget preview kicks off months of presentations and hearings
BY MICHAEL KING
Despite Prosecutor's Deal With Snitch, Cobb Loses Appeals
Despite prosecutor's deal with snitch, Cobb loses appeals
BY JORDAN SMITH
The Hightower Report
Let's join the army
BY JIM HIGHTOWER
food
The Art of Dining
Digestible Feats makes meaning out of meals
BY AMY GENTRY
Slow Money Austin Celebrates Earth Day
Connecting the green dreams of Slow Food champions to financiers
BY JESSI CAPE
Food-O-File
Austin Food & Wine Festival finds a new home, a new restaurant moves to Manor Road, and fundraisers for ailing members of the food community
BY VIRGINIA B. WOOD
Food Events
April 19-22
Food Reviews
Épicerie
Consistency issues dog this new Rosedale cafe, but that doesn't mean we're not going back for more
music
OLD SETTLER'S MUSIC FESTIVAL
Big Wheel Keep On Turning
Bluegrass, new grass, song grass, tropical grass – roll some Old Settler's Music Fest
BY RAOUL HERNANDEZ, DOUG FREEMAN AND JIM CALIGIURI
Record Reviews
Playback: Record Store Day
Record Store Day – inclusive, not exclusive
BY KEVIN CURTIN
screens
You Gotta Have the Mettle
Legendary Texas doc 'Hands on a Hard Body' keeps on truckin'
BY LEAH CHURNER
Swimming 'Upstream'
Shane Carruth on pigs, money, and being a control freak
BY PATRICK COURTNEY
All Hail 'The Lords of Salem'
Rob Zombie on his fifth feature, a decade in the making
BY RICHARD WHITTAKER
Film Reviews
Camp
A counselor and a troubled kid learn from each other while at camp.
From Up on Poppy Hill
This latest film from the Japanese animation house Studio Ghibli is dubbed into English.
Girl Rising
This documentary showcases the power of education to change lives as it follows nine girls from around the world.
It's a Disaster
This dark comedy by UT grad Todd Berger is built around a likable ensemble.
The Lords of Salem
With his fifth horror feature, writer/director Rob Zombie proves he's a unique visionary in a repetitive cinematic genre.
The New Juarez
This partisan film essay attacks both the United States and Mexican governments for the massive violence in Juarez.
Oblivion
Tom Cruise stars in this science-fiction outing that favors style over substance.
Scary Movie 5
This parodic auto-mash-up of Paranormal Activity, Black Swan, The Evil Dead, and more is even worse than you think.
Starbuck
A sperm donor learns 20 years after the fact that he is the father of 533 children in this mild, French-Canadian comedy.
Upstream Color
Shane Carruth's film is arthouse science fiction at its most compelling yet cryptic.
arts & culture
The Learning Curve
Bill Hader on his schooling in comedy at SNL
BY ROBERT FAIRES
'Austin Is a Place (You Are Here)'
Theatre en Bloc sparks a conversation about the city's growth on the gateway to the Eastside
BY DAN SOLOMON
Studio Visits: Elizabeth Chiles
This Austin photographer's studio space is her gateway to the natural world
BY ANDY CAMPBELL
Arts Reviews
Mad Beat Hip & Gone
Steven Dietz's play about the Beats might best be considered as the kind of literary experiment they engaged in
The Importance of Being Earnest
At Mary Moody Northen Theatre, Oscar Wilde's comedy is not only wonderfully expressed but played with remarkable accuracy
String Theory
Generous performances from violinist Stephanie Sant'Ambrogio and pianist Gregory Allen made this an impressive recital
columns
Letters at 3AM: An Arbitrary Nation, Part 1
We are governed today by an arbitrary legal hodgepodge
BY MICHAEL VENTURA
After a Fashion
Stephen weighs in on this season's latest trends as put forth by the fashion forward
BY STEPHEN MACMILLAN MOSER
Gay Place: Perf/Art Faggotry
A strangely wonderful confluence of performance art and artists (including drag queens), G-Spot exploration, and hanky codes invade Austin this week
BY KATE X MESSER
Day Trips
Name of Texas ghost town a misnomer
BY GERALD E. MCLEOD
Mr. Smarty Pants Knows
BY MR. SMARTY PANTS
The Luv Doc: Love Him Tender
Nobody wants to end up an accidental necrophiliac
BY THE LUV DOC
Feedback
Letters to the editor, published daily
sports
MotoGP
The world’s leading road circuit motorcycle sport hosts inaugural Austin race
BY RICHARD WHITTAKER
Soccer Watch
Aztex face Hilltoppers and Pirates, and more
BY NICK BARBARO
comics
