Daily - The Austin Chronicle (2024)

'He's a Great Writer!' 'A Great Souse!'

A good – if not entirely sporting – place to start a discussion about being pro-writers’ block is with the anti-addiction argument. So… why do I hate junkie-writer movies so? (And I do – I really, really hate junkie movies.)Because junkies are joyless and, even worse, one-note.Yes, writers with block have a certain sameness to them, too – mostly a lot of staring glumly at the blank page, the monitor, the typewriter – but the fun stuff happens when the writer gets up from the page, the monitor, the typewriter, and does some living instead. When the junkie writer gets up from the page, he goes straight to the nearest dealer. Injects drug of choice. Spectacularly fouls up career, health, hygiene regimen, relations with family and family. Rinse and repeat.

More 'Pride Coalition' Whuuuuuut?

The Write Stuff

Greetings all, and welcome to another Film Fight. If you’re new to the Fight, then I’ll direct you here to read all about the rules of engagement. Rules might be a misleading word, though – honestly, Josh and I are sort of making this thing up as we go along, which is why our topics grow more amorphous and ungainly every month. Hence…Writers in the Movies! (dunh-dunh-dunh)What do we mean by this? It’s a good question. A couple of weeks ago, when we were scratching heads over what we were going to brawl over next, it occurred to us that the Austin Film Festival will be kicking off this week. AFF is unique in that it was one of the first (if not the first?) conference in the country dedicated to the art of screenwriting. And I suppose I should preemptively put it out there – because I suspect Josh will use it against me anyway and I’d rather cut him off at the pass – that I have a half-dozen scripts gathering dust in a drawer, which is why the topic is especially near and dear to me, and also why I will no doubt casually, annoyingly drop screenwriterly words willy-nilly in an attempt to intimidate Josh.

'Compliance' With What?

Can anyone explain to me why the fundraising arm of the McCain/Palin campaign is called the "Compliance Fund"?What the hell does that mean?

Basic Decorum

My son and I were Googling "McCain yells" (don't ask) when we came across this old nugget. No silly, not John McCain, but this now tremendously overplayed clip:I feel compelled to make a few points.First of all, relative to his annoyingly nasal speaking voice, John McCain's singing voice is actually quite sweet (almost Ashcroftian). But aside from that pleasant distraction, I cannot believe the gall of this man. Sure, he's among pals, a mess-tent's worth of rockhard-nutsac ex-Charlie killin' He-men, but IS HE REALLY BLOWING AND PICKING HIS NOSE IN FRONT OF A LIVE AUDIENCE? And did he just use that same snot-wiping, booger-emancipating hand to grab the mic???This is the man 42% of the American people (Gallup, Oct. 10, 2008) want to represent our country to classy dudes… like Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari, or Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero?Mercifully, the clip is cut just at the point McCain is digging out some serious old-man eye goo.

Flat Track Derby in Motion, Part 1

With the flat track Roller Derby world wondering who'll come out on top at this weekend's Eastern Regionals, time for a refresher of what went down last weekend at the the Western Regionals in Houston, where Austin's own Texas Rollergirls took top seed going into nationals in November (see the full write-up here.)

Film Fight Pre-Emptively Thanks You for Being a Friend

Josh Rosenblatt and I have just a couple more days to cram for the next Film Fight throwdown – Film Fight III: Writers in the Movies lands Monday! – but if you're hankering to show us a little love rightthisverysecond, then mosey on over to our myspace page and make us a friend, eh?See you on Monday.

No Metal

When Ran Shimoni came out sticks a-blazing, sat behind his kit, and commenced playing with flaming pieces of wood shortly after 11pm last night, I felt a spray of liquid and thought it was lighter fluid. I was standing a little close to him and felt a flicker of fear, but it didn't last long, because the throng surrounding Monotonix last night began pouring beer on him. A lot of beer. Like, full cans of beer.Mohawk's outside stage got a strategic workout from the Tel Aviv trio: they played in front of the stage, then to the side of the stage, then it was upstairs to celebrate Yom Kippur, then back downstairs and out the exit into the street for an acoustic set. When an ambulance drove towards Sixth Street with sirens blaring, everyone clapped. It was a surreal night of rock star poses (I maintain singer Ami Shalev is the Israeli Ronnie James Dio) and tiny shorts and hairy asses and shirtless mosh pits that's really better summed up in photos like the ones to the right.

The Lineup