Covering Music, Film and Pop Culture
The Fourth of July is our most patriotic holiday. It’s a time of nationwide flag flying, backyard barbecuing and fireworks. June’s pallid Flag Day hardly makes a dent in comparison. On this 230th anniversary...
If America is a classless society, why has the Geico gecko on the telly suddenly developed a working-class British accent? Although geckos are the only lizards with a voice, this accent seems odd to...
Like many people who move to Austin to attend the University of Texas, I didn’t know a soul when I arrived. It was the fall of 1988, and I didn’t have a single friend...
Radio waves are all around us. They penetrate into buildings and travel through car windshields. Unfortunately, if you turn on the radio, those radio waves often magically transform into yelling. Much of the time,...
Everyone needs a deep, dark secret. For years, mine was NBC’s supernatural soap “Passions.” In the early part of the decade, I was faithful to it, never missing lunch with its characters, closely following...
In America, love is a many-fendered thing. Like no other people on earth, Americans adore their autos, embrace them and identify with them. This love affair started with Ford’s first Model Ts and progressed...
Last Monday, Sandip Gupta, 19, was having a rough evening. Days away from the national championship tournament, his training session was not going well. His broad face was sweating, his arm hurt, and he...
The most dramatic symbol of the colossal changes that have taken place during the 20 years of the South by Southwest Music Festival might actually be a tiny lapel pin worn by a visiting...
It’s no coincidence that that Westminster Kennel Club dog show and the Oscars don’t happen at the same time. The grooming product supply chain couldn’t take the strain. Like the prize pooches at the...
When you see a homeless street kid, chances are you don’t think of the person who broke your heart in high school. I do. When I think of Adam Bartley, then 15, I picture...
