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Latest News
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‘The Meg’ takes big bite out of box office
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Fall TV: Julia Roberts, reboots and efforts at diversity
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Photos: Austin Pride Parade celebrates LGBTQ community on Aug. 11, 2018
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How ‘Crazy Rich Asians’ could help change stereotypes about Asian men
From our Columnists
Peter Blackstock
The Voice: Kevin Galloway sings a sweet new tune beyond Uncle Lucius
Deborah Sengupta Stith
Get ready to fest: A look at 7 events happening this fall
Gary Dinges
Dinges: ‘Bobby Bones Show’ heads to Canada
Author brings ‘Beowulf’ to the suburbs in spot-on retelling
Maria Dahvana Headley, a writer of juvenile fiction and fantasy, steps into the adult world with “The Mere Wife,” a spot-on reimagining of a classic of Old English literature. Think “mere” as sea, as in the Old English, and not just as some dismissive term. Think of the world as the author of “Beowulf” did, where sea caves shelter monsters and great mead halls harbor...
New Oscars category sets up cynical tug-of-war between art, commerce
Well, as the kids say these days, that escalated quickly. When the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced its decision to add an award for best popular film on Wednesday, the predictable howls went up throughout the Film Twitterverse. The best hot take might have come from Rob Lowe, who called the new category “the worst idea the Academy has had since they asked me to sing with...
Weekend events continue with opening of Ransom Center art exhibit
Art “Ed Ruscha: Archaeology and Romance.” This Ransom Center exhibit looks at the American artist’s process of book design and production via photographs, drawings and prints alongside archival production materials, preliminary sketches and notebooks. Ruscha’s work explores themes such as the manufactured romance of Hollywood. Opens Saturday. 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday-Friday...
Want free fun in Austin? Enjoy it with Movies in the Park, more events
Sunday Tumble, a Science Party for Kids. Conduct cool science experiments and other fun activities with Lindsay Patterson and Marshall Escamilla, hosts of the Tumble Science Podcast for Kids. BookPeople will also be sharing neat science books from the shelves to check out. 2 p.m. Sunday. BookPeople, 603 N. Lamar Blvd. 512-472-5050, bookpeople.com. Monday Pints & Poses at the Hyatt Regency Austin....
From YMCA’s Splash Bash to Vista beer debut, Saturday events for all
Recreation Splash Bash at the YMCA. Bid summer goodbye with the annual Splash Bash at the TownLake YMCA this weekend. The free community event will include a pool party with free snacks, games, giveaways, music and a bouncy house. The event will also provide a first look at YMCA Camp Moody, which is being developed along Onion Creek and will have an eight-lane natatorium. 1 to 3 p.m. Saturday. Free...
Actress Jennifer Garner, daughter rescued from shipping channel while kayaking in Sweden
Actress Jennifer Garner took to Instagram this week to poke fun at herself after she got lost while kayaking in Sweden. >> Read more trending news Garner and her 12-year-old daughter, Violet, took to the waters while vacationing in Stockholm when something went wrong. Garner admitted they ended up in a shipping lane and had to be rescued. “On a pre-middle-school sneak away with my...
Texas history museum names new director you might know
You might already know the newly appointed director of the
Bullock Texas State History Museum. That’s because hyper-competent
Margaret Koch has already twice served as the museum’s interim director as well as its director of exhibits and deputy director. The Bullock Texas State History Museum names Margaret Koch as director. Contributed Koch previously...
Austin musician bringing old songs to a new generation
All his life, Walter Tragert has channeled music. He’s wrangled a living from it for 30 years and partnered with some of Austin’s finest musicians, including Scrappy Jud Newcomb and the late Ian McLagan. His solo outings (the 1996 CD “Heavy Just the Same,” 2004’s “Lousy with Desire” and the 2012 recording “A Single Drop of Rain”) have showcased...
A Guy Fieri ‘convention’ is coming to paint Austin in donkey sauce
The world will eventually come to end. When the ground beneath our feet has turned to ash the color of lead, and when poisoned air grasps at our throats with its choking skeleton grip, will you be able to remember a town that once bloomed with flavor? You might, as there is a Guy Fieri convention coming to Austin this fall. That’s according to Do512, where a posted event called &ldquo...
Oscars new popular film category meant to boost ratings, deny ‘Black Panther’ ‘best picture’ nod, critics say
Big changes are coming to the Academy Awards, including the addition of a popular film award category and the promise of a shorter ceremony in an effort to combat declining viewership and criticisms that the awards are out of touch with the mainstream. But the Wednesday morning announcement was also met with immediate backlash online, raising questions about what the new category would mean for a...
Fashion icon Tim Gunn to mentor Austin for a day
If you’ve ever wanted
Tim Gunn from “Project Runway” to act as your mentor — even for just a short time and as part of a very large group — your chance is
here. Tim Gunn from “Project Runway” will speak in Austin in September. Contributed The sweet, dapper man who always “makes it work” is the featured speaker...
‘$75 for you to ruin my watermelon?’: Here’s what this New York barbecue joint is smoking
“How different could New York barbecue really be?” you asked yourself, before you sat down to a plate of brined and smoked watermelon that looks exactly like ham steak. That’s right. Really different. According to Insider, the smoked watermelon steak is being served at New York barbecue restaurant Duck’s Eatery and runs guests $75. It also takes between four and six days...
Before school starts, find family fun in Austin, Aug. 10-12
For some of you, this is the last weekend before school starts. Others of you have more time, yet still the summer is dwindling. Find something fun FRIDAY That’s My Face, Youth and Young Adult Film Series continues with
“The Mask You Live In,” 6:30 p.m. Friday. George Washington Carver Museum, 1165 Angelina St.
austintexas.gov Art Smart...
Pups rescue mishmash of stories in ‘Dog Days’
“Dog Days,” an omnibus comedy about the unique ability of dogs to connect us to others and ourselves, is the kind of mildly amusing, pandering film that shows up in movie theaters at random times throughout the year when nothing else notable is playing and people are willing to watch just about anything. Yet it still achieves some moments of genuine sweetness. It’s a film about dogs...
Movies in theaters, 8/10/18
OPENING THIS WEEK “The Meg” Grade: B. Review page 19 “Dog Days” Grade: C-. Review page 20 “BlacKkKlansman” Grade: B+. Review page 18 NOT REVIEWED “The Miseducation of Cameron Post.” Not rated. 91 minutes. In 1993, a young girl is forced into a gay conversion therapy center by her guardians. Alamo South. “Never Goin’ Back.” R. 86 minutes...
It’s Statham vs. shark, and you’re gonna need a bigger popcorn
It’s as true in 2018 as it was in 1975: There’s no better way to beat the summer heat than a movie about a really, really big shark. From “Jaws” to “The Shallows,” moviegoers have been gobbling up flicks about treacherous fish for decades, and it’s time to meet our newest finned foe: “The Meg.” It’s the nickname for the megalodon, a prehistoric...
‘BlacKkKlansman’ is Spike Lee’s best, and most necessary, movie in years
Among Spike Lee’s prodigious filmmaking talents, opening sequences are perhaps his most distinctive. He creates ambitious, operatic overtures for his films, mini-movies that introduce viewers to the stories and themes they’re about to encounter, as well as plunge them into the precise kind of dream-state necessary to best appreciate what’s to come. The introductory sequence to &ldquo...
.JPG "Whataburger plans DFW airport restaurant for Texans needing quick fix or last bite")
Whataburger plans DFW airport restaurant for Texans needing quick fix or last bite
Let’s say you’re coming into DFW International Airport on the 7:04 p.m. flight from San Francisco. You’ve been there a week, trying the sushi, stuffing yourself at the House of Nanking, knocking back Anchor Steam beer and thinking about Texas. What’s the first thing you’re aiming for when you set foot on Lone Star soil? I know, Whataburger, right? Well, if all goes according...
Get most of these ‘award’-winning unhealthy meals here in Austin (or don’t!)
The Center for Science in the Public Interest wants you to take a closer look at what you’re eating when you go out to eat. Fortunately for us, they got all snarky about it. Thus, the 2018 XTREME EATING AWARDS … The consumer advocacy organization has come up with eight menu items from nationwide chains and they pull no punches in describing how they blot out all reasonable...
Model Nyle DiMarco was at Barton Springs Pool, and he’s a great diver
There are a few ways you might know Nyle DiMarco. He was the second male winner and first Deaf winner of “America’s Next Top Model.” He won the 22nd season of “Dancing With the Stars.” He’s appeared in roles on TV shows like “Switched at Birth” and “Difficult People.” He’s an activist for the Deaf community. He&rsquo...
Annual ‘party schools’ list released and Texas is not invited
Turn out the lights, the party’s over. The Princeton Review has released its annual list of best party schools and for at least the third year in a row, a Texas school has not made the Top 10. Sixth Street in Austin? Weak. Northgate in College Station? Overrated. The, uh, cotton fields outside Lubbock? Lame. Instead, we crown a new party king: The University of Delaware, home to 18...
INSIGHT: Why Alex Jones, or someone like him, will be back
Confrontational characters spouting conspiracy theories and promoting fringe ideas have been with us since the invention of American broadcasting. First on radio, then on television, the American audience has consistently proven eager to consume the rants of angry and bitter men. Before Alex Jones and InfoWars, there was Glenn Beck. A decade ago, Beck was hawking his conspiracy theories on HLN and...
Spike Lee just wants America to achieve greatness, period
Spike Lee has been opining for a few minutes now: Isn’t it ludicrous that people call football players unworthy of living in this country for kneeling during the national anthem, he says, when the first American who died during the Revolutionary War was a black man? “So nobody can tell black people … about going somewhere else,” he concludes. “Along with the genocide...
All the Harry Potter movies are coming back to theaters for one week. Here’s where to see them in Austin
All eight Harry Potter films, plus the first installment of the “Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them” spinoff series, are coming back to theaters -- but there’s only one place you can watch them in the Austin area. Cinemark 20 and XD (formerly Tinseltown) in Pflugerville is the only Central Texas theater hosting Cinemark’s “Wizarding World XD” week...
Have you noticed this subtle art installation on the corner of San Jacinto and Second Street?
You don’t have to go to a museum to see art in Austin. In fact, you could be literally stepping on it every day thinking, “Who dropped all this change?” Reddit user bonsiguy57 shared a picture to the link sharing site Saturday showing disks embedded in the sidewalk on the corner of San Jacinto Boulevard and Second Street and asked, "What are these little disks on the corner...
Singer Tamar Braxton said she was ‘targeted’ after confrontation with Delta pilot
Singer Tamar Braxton is speaking out for the first time about an “unfortunate” exchange she said she had with a Delta Air Lines employee earlier this year. >> Read more trending news During an interview with TMZ, the singer discussed her interaction with a pilot, who reprimanded her on a flight last month. She said she was “targeted.” The star’s sister...
That’s a lot of cookies: The Big Bake Sale raises more than $12,000 for RAICES
Over the weekend, dozens of bakers set up bake sales at Austin-area restaurants and cafes to raise money for
RAICES, the organization assisting families that have been separated at the border. Austin-area bakers made treats at home and then sold them at several locations through the city on Saturday morning. Contributed
by the Big Bake Sale. Including donations from partners...
Austin has most dog-friendly restaurants of any US city, report says
It’s another great day to be a dog in Austin, Texas. Especially if you’re a dog who likes to eat out. Personal finance site WalletHub recently ranked the 100 largest cities in America in terms of pet friendliness, and you might not be surprised to hear Austin fared pretty well. The city was ranked as the country’s fourth most pet-friendly, but ranked No. 1 when it came to the number...
Event: Fonda San Miguel welcomes world-class chef from Mexico City’s Quintonil
Fonda San Miguel
, Austin’s original temple to fine interior Mexican cuisine, will welcome renowned
chef Jorge Vallejo of Mexico City’s
Quintonil
during the next installment of its Guest Chef dinner series. The four-course dinner from the chef who helm a modern Mexican
restaurant consistently...
Seniors vanish from retirement home, found at headbanging heavy metal festival
Two senior citizens disappeared from their rural retirement home in northern Germany Friday and were later found with thousands of headbangers at a heavy metal music festival in Wacken, according to news reports. >> Read more trending news The nursing home alerted police when staff discovered the elderly men missing from their home, in Dithmarscher, according to German broadcaster...
.JPG "Want to hear the ACL Fest action but skip the ticket price tag? Here are some tips")
Want to hear the ACL Fest action but skip the ticket price tag? Here are some tips
We’ve all been there. When the Austin City Limits Music Festival rolls around, sometimes, you just don’t feel like coughing up the money for a day or weekend pass. But not attending feels like you’d be missing out on some great performances. What are your options? Take some advice from Austin pros: You don’t actually have to be within the gates to hear some of the best acts...
Trump, ABC talk dominates ‘Last Man Standing’ as it heads to Fox
LOS ANGELES — The only name dropped more than Tim Allen at last week’s “Last Man Standing” panel was Trump. It wasn’t a surprising line of questioning from the journalists assembled for the Television Critics Association panel, as Allen is an outspoken conservative and the show’s cancellation at ABC in 2017 caused an uproar among fans who claimed the ax came down...
5 takes on Shiner’s newest flavor
Spoetzl Brewery is churning out something new. And it’s as tart as it is Texan. Shiner recently released its Dewberry Tart Ale, which is a limited edition Berliner Weisse style beer made with Texas dewberries. According to Austin Food Magazine, the beer utilizes a wild yeast and a longer fermentation period to yield its 5.9% ABV. It’ll run you $10.99 for a six-pack. The...
A doughnut museum. In Austin. With an ‘edible wall.’ It’s happening, for a few hours.
Move over, Louvre. Get lost, Getty. Austin’s about to host a museum that will make those venerated cultural galleries seem boring: a pop-up doughnut museum. According to a Facebook event, the Refinery on Brazos Street will turn into the “Museum of Donuts” on Aug. 26 from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. The “pop-up experience” is to promote Shop Koko, a new merch line from...
New releases fail to top ‘Mission: Impossible — Fallout’
Despite three new films opening in wide release this past weekend, Paramount’s “Mission: Impossible — Fallout” maintained the No. 1 spot at the box office for the second weekend in a row. The film earned $35 million in the U.S. and Canada for a cumulative $124.5 million, handily beating its closest competition, Disney’s “Christopher Robin,” which opened at...
Film festival event celebrates Austin as home to growing Asian culture
Asian-American creatives gathered Saturday night at the Long Center for the Performing Arts to celebrate strides in Asian representation in food, fashion and media. The Austin Asian American Film Festival hosted the event to highlight “Crazy Rich Asians,” an upcoming film adapted from the novel of the same name by Kevin Kwan. Festival board President J.D. Chang said the event sought to...
Wind down summer with Blues on the Green, more Austin events
1. Blues on the Green at Zilker Park Music starts at 8 p.m. Aug. 8. Free, parking pass $15 + service fees. 2115 Lou Neff Road. kgsr.com. Have we already reached the end of the road for this year’s Blues on the Green run? The popular KGSR-sponsored series, which draws thousands to Zilker Park every few weeks during the summer months, has tapped a bit of an underdog for its final headlining spot...
Texas author’s latest romance explores infertility, communication
Named for an imperfectly worded fortune cookie, Texas author Colleen Hoover’s latest, “All Your Perfects,” compares a woman’s relationship with her husband before and after she finds out she’s infertile. Quinn meets her future husband, Graham, in front of her soon-to-be-ex-fiance’s apartment, where Graham is about to confront him for having an affair with his girlfriend...
Webb Report: Who’s not feeling a potential Austin name-change? Readers
You know who had a busy week? • Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort (on trial for charges including bank fraud, stemming out of the Robert Mueller investigation) • Basketball star LeBron James (opened a history-making public school in Akron, Ohio) • Austin broadcaster Alex Jones (built a business on peddling untrue, poisonous conspiracy theories; went to court as a consequence...