AltWeeklies Wire
Remembering a Chicano Revolt in a Texas Townnew
The Cara Mia Theatre in Dallas recently reenacted a landmark event in Mexican-American civil-rights history: the Crystal City Walkout of 1969. The all-Chicano drama spotlights the valiant students who demanded equity, dignity, and opportunity in their education. Their victory changed the face of Texas public education forever.
San Antonio Current |
Gregg Barrios |
12-16-2009 |
Immigration
Disney's First African-American Princess is a Modern Galnew
The Princess and the Frog begins and ends with a good story. A dynamic 19-year old African-American woman dreams of owning her own restaurant. Turned into a frog with a kiss, she’s drawn into a funny adventure, twisting and turning through Louisiana’s bayous in a quest to become human again.
San Antonio Current |
Melissa Tarun |
12-16-2009 |
Reviews
El Mensaje de Mérida: Restoring Wilderness is Vital to Saving the Planetnew
Slash-and-burn agriculture and deforestation had unintended consequences on the early Maya. But these weren’t the only people doomed by unsustainable environmental practices or rapid shifts in the climate.
San Antonio Current |
Greg Harman |
12-09-2009 |
Environment
'A Rebel Life' Remembers Molly Ivinsnew
In First Son: George W. Bush and the Bush Family, Bill Minutaglio deciphered Dubya's career as a campaign of filial devotion and rebellion. Turning now to Bush's spunkiest critic, Minutaglio interprets Ivins as similarly driven by resentment toward her overbearing, overachieving father.
San Antonio Current |
Steven G. Kellman |
10-21-2009 |
Nonfiction
The Americanized 'Astro Boy' is an Illogical Messnew
Actually it's all pretty lame, and not helped at all by the ridiculous dialogue and voice work, featuring several name actors (Sutherland, Bell, Theron) delivering their lines with the sort of single-take disinterest generally reserved for rushed bargain-bin-anime overdubs.
San Antonio Current |
Jeremy Martin |
10-21-2009 |
Reviews
'Cloudy' Opts for Offbeat Humor and Smart Characterizationnew
At the very least, parents can depend on Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs to convey vital lessons, like large portions of food can squash you, and monkeys only think about mustaches and Gummi bears.
San Antonio Current |
Cynthia Hawkins |
09-17-2009 |
Reviews
'The Informant!' Takes Soft Approach to Satirenew
Matt Damon packing on layers of doughy flab to play a biochemical whistleblower isn't exactly a formula for comedy gold, but the film is funnier than it has any right to be.
San Antonio Current |
Jeremy Martin |
09-17-2009 |
Reviews
Nukes Mean Mines: Are We Digging a New Toxic Legacy Before the Last One's Filled In?new
The risks involved in uranium mining and processing should be a starting point for any debate about the promise and peril of nuclear power. The aftermath of our last uranium boom still echoes loudly in South Texas.
San Antonio Current |
Greg Harman |
09-17-2009 |
Environment
'How to Make Friends With Demons' Ranks as One of the Year's Best Novelsnew
Leaping forward and backward through time, Graham Joyce expertly weaves a cohesive novel that essentially chronicles a mid-life crisis.
San Antonio Current |
Rick Klaw |
09-10-2009 |
Fiction
Health, Lies and Videotape: The Attempted Hijacking of the Health Care Debatenew
Unlike bottom-up organizations such as Moveon.org that take no corporate donations, most of the organizations behind this right-wing "grassroots" movement are directly or indirectly related to the guys poised to lose big bucks if Obama's plan passes.
San Antonio Current |
Enrique Lopetegui |
08-26-2009 |
Politics
Calorie Restriction Advocates Continue to Gain Tractionnew
Given that the average American consumes more than 3,700 calories per day, and that much of it comes from junk food, some calorie restriction would probably be a good thing for many of us. But if you’re not fat, does it make sense to starve yourself from thin to bony?
San Antonio Current |
Ari LeVaux |
08-26-2009 |
Food+Drink
'Inglourious Basterds' is Stylish, Daring and Snappily Writtennew
There were moments of trepidation for me during the early goings of Tarantino's latest. I wasn't sure I wanted to see a sensationalized, Grindhouse take on the events of World War II. And yet, Basterds is quite a bit more than that. It is inventive, surehanded, aggressively original -- and destined to be a classic.
San Antonio Current |
Brian Villalobos |
08-19-2009 |
Reviews
Is the Hutto Decision Really a Victory for Immigration-Rights Advocates?new
The government announced earlier this month that no more undocumented-immigrant families (especially families with small children) will be imprisoned at the for-profit T. Don Hutto Residential Center in Taylor, Texas. How big -- or small -- a victory this is for immigration-reform advocates is still a matter of debate.
San Antonio Current |
Enrique Lopetegui |
08-12-2009 |
Crime & Justice
For Slayer, 30 is the New 666new
It's hard to imagine, but Slayer -- hailed as one of the greatest metal bands of all time -- is quickly approaching 30.
San Antonio Current |
Josh Fernandez |
08-12-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
'In the Loop' is a Dark Satire for Dark Daysnew
Taking his cue from The Office, Armando Iannucci delivers a deliciously corrosive backstage view of the Iraq War years, as Brits and Yanks danced around what they knew was a foregone conclusion of their own making.
San Antonio Current |
Jeff Meyers |
08-12-2009 |
Reviews
