Things I didn't know but now do after reading this article (New York Times, registration required or not):

• Rufus Wainwright is writing an opera titled Prima Donna.
• He's writing it in French.
• The Met would rather it be in English.
• Nico Muhly is also writing an opera for the Met.
• I would rather listen to a Nico Muhly opera than a Michael Torke opera.
• If I were to go to an opera, that is.

Tags: nico muhly opera rufus wainwright ...

There’s no way we are going to make all these competitive events, but it’s crucial to acknowledge the options as the traditional social seasons kicks off. Thursday: First Night Event for Dave Sullivan at the Long Center; Concordia University Excellence in Leadership Gala at the Four Seasons; Second Street Birthday Bash; Obama Watching Party, LTBA Friday: Vince Young Foundation Event; Young Texans Against Cancer with Young Love, the Southern Sirens, Vinyl Darma at Austin Music Hall; Dale Rice Retirement Party at private residence Saturday: University of Texas Longhorns vs. Florida Atlantic at Royal Memorial Stadium; Cantanker Issue Launch at ...

Not only that, Jesus didn’t give a shit about politics. Listen up, Godless voters!  It’s almost time to get down on your knees and pray, pray, pray for the special guidance in voting that only God can provide.  That’s right:  the Southern Baptists will hold a 40 day prayer vigil leading up to the election.  The suggested topics for your prayer list:  how to get God’s followers in their walkers and to the polls on election day to vote for McCain; how to keep Satan from attacking your political leaders; and, most importantly, how to remove those pesky stains ...

So many social connections surged at J. Black’s on Tuesday, it was hard to keep track. First, Strata TX held a happy hour, which makes sense, because the young professionals club for the Texas Cultural Trust significantly brings down the ages for the trust’s statewide supporters and helps spread the word about what this arts group does (primarily backs the Texas Commission on the Arts and educational programs about the arts, as well as some individual young artsts). Erin Ivey, Marc Fort Second, another group, Grounded in Music, held a simultaneous happy hour. This is another collection of twenty- and thirtysomethings ...

Ultra Naté rebounds nicely with this excellent 2-Disc companion piece to 2007's outstanding, Grime, Silk & Thunder. As the title suggests – specifically the "G.S.T. Reloaded" subtitle – 'Alchemy contains choice remixes of material taken from the aforementioned 'Grime. Some – like "Give it All You Got featuring Chris Willis (Bimbo Jones Mix)" and "Automatic (Tikaro, J. Louis and Ferran Remix 1.0)" – are concurrently available on digital singles, whereas others – "Love's the Only Drug (Morgan Page Mix)"; "Star (It's Showtime) (Funky Junction and SplashFunk Extended Mix)" and "Falling (Mark & Shark Mix)" – are newly available. ...

Food fight! Food fight! When we asked readers to name their fave 24-hour eatery, they split the vote. In one corner was Kerbey Lane with 37 percent of the vote; in the other, Magnolia Cafe with 34 percent. Both local restaurant groups have garnered support for decades with bountiful breakfasts, quickie lunches and unconventional dinners. (In recent news, KL announced it would move its Northwest location to the Anderson Arbor Shopping Center at U.S. 183 and Anderson Mill Road). Another well-trod Old Austin haunt, Katz’s, with it signature martinis, over-stuffed deli sandwiches and constantly burbling atmosphere on West Sixth Street, ...

Another year, another win for Blue Velvet. The family-run vintage clothing store even increased its margin, taking 37 percent of the A-List vote, beating its 35 percent tally in the 2007 contest. The store, owned by Jennifer Barker-Benfield and Susie Lange, has since moved from 2100-B Guadalupe St. to a vintage shopping center at 217 W. North Loop, next to Epoch Coffee, and not far from Guadalupe. More room for all their campy and classy threads, mostly from the collective mind of the 20th century. Buffalo Exchange, a mere write-in candidate last year, zoomed up to second place with 20 ...

“Rome 1960” disappointed me terribly. David Maraniss’ reputation as a journalist who can handle book-length material led me to choose this treatment of the Rome Olympics as my games-side reading. Maraniss begins promisingly with taut, suspenseful accounts of women’s track coach Edward Temple, would-be spy David Sime and other leading characters — a young, brash Cassius Clay, a classically chiseled Rafer Johnson, long, limber Wilma Rudloph, and especially self-styled aristocrat and IOC president Avery Brundage, who couldn’t foresee that the Olympics were going truly global, thanks, in part, to commercial television. These personality snapshots set up the contextual themes ...

I'm already seeing some work come in for portraits. I completed one yesterday for a friend, which prompted two more commissions from them. I also am currently working on drawing for an ex co-worker of mine of her and her... ...

Fresh. Lively. Sometimes a little raw. Meet the entertainment bloggers from St. Edward’s University journalism program. We met for our first three hours on Monday night, discussing the potential roles of the entertainment journalist (see their comments on an earlier post featuring Perez Hilton), the framing questions for crunchy writing about the arts (relating the “Mad Men” opening credits to observation, description, analysis, interpretation and evaluation.) A day later, we launched their blogs. Find the early links below. Read ‘em. Comment on ‘em. Danielle Therese Bauman Claire Cella Tommy Collins Celeste Diaz Kelsey Ann Downey Mackenzie Jenkins Marloes ...

ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION releases its next studio album, Surfer Bangaku Kamakura, on Nov. 5, about eight months after the release of its most recent album, World World World, reports Bounce.com. A new single, "Fujisawa Loser", precedes the album on Oct. 15. For this album, the band is making some sort of wordplay on the Enoura station name with the song titles. (Or at least, that's how I'm reading it. I may be translating that incorrectly.) The band will embark on a tour to promote the album in November. Tags: asian kung-fu generation new album ...

The crazed-beyond-reason PUMAs find a smidgen of solace in the emails they’ve furiously been sending back and forth to each other, don’t they?  These folk just don’t act right when they’re separated from the host body.  Let’s watch: Sounds like a few of them were just in it for Hillary Clinton, everything else be damned.  On the other hand, we have proof - proof! - that the public relations push for the Iraq war came months before any National Intelligence Estimate for a justification to the war.  Of course, the PUMAS have proof that Obama is really and ...

Loyal Strifemongers Diana and Cynthia nominated me for a blog award, which is the bona fide bees knees. Thanks, guys! You both rock! However, with great power comes great responsibility, and now I am charged to adhere to the following rules:1. Put the logo on your blog.2. Link to the person from whom you received the award.3. Nominate at least 7 other blogs.4. Put links to those blogs on yours.5. Leave a message on the blogs nominated.In picking out blogs to nominate, I realized that I read tons of feminist blogs, but hardly any written by male Pagans ...

“No way. No How. No McCain.” “I Support Barack Obama!” On John McCain & George Bush“…these days they’re awfully hard to tell apart.” In what many are saying is Hillary Clinton’s best speech of all time was delivered Tuesday night at the Democratic National Convention, the DNC, in Denver. It was amazing and I would agree this may have been her best. Clinton was truly a class act, professional and hit every mark without missing a beat. Her speech was presidential in itself. It was certainly the most important speech at the DNC so far and possibly of the entire convention. Without her ...

Right away, at Angels on the Runway, I ran into Kelli and Keith Lawson. The newcomers from Washington D.C. — like newcomers sweetly do — asked about the event. They wanted to know everything. Kelli Lawson, Keith Lawson Well, it’s an annual fashion show. And one with some name designers — this time layer-lover Robert Comstock from Aspen and New York, courtesy of Keepers men’s wear on Congress Avenue — as well as promising locals, such as Joanna Ruley-Garza and Stephanie Jimenez. But not all the beauteous models are experienced, so the action on the runway can be a bit tentative. ...

Regular readers of this here blog know by now that I’m not religious at all, despite my brainwashing indoctrination upbringing.  So, when I read (and see) the Democrats putting on the Jesus act at their convention and basically becoming the Republican Party, the ick factor goes up by about a power of ten for me.  Homogenizing into the other party is probably not the best way to distinguish yourself from the other guys.  On the other hand, if Obama manages to pull in a few more evangelical votes, it could mean winning or losing in a close election.  Having ...

Wonder if there’s a Fortunate 500 caucus at the Democratic National Convention? After all, prominent Austin citizens — not just the usual politicos — are roaming the halls at the Pepsi Center, spreading Texas good will and texting each other about their brushes with party greatness in Denver. Among the notables already there or headed that way: John and Julie Thornton (pictured), Amy and Kirk Rudy, Alexa and Blaine Wesner, Crystal Cotti and Rep. Mark Strama, Lynn, Tom and Sarah Meredith, Sen. Kirk Watson, Diane Land, Eugene Sepulveda, Marc Winkelman, Bertha Means and Steve Adler. Got any tips from Austinites ...

MSNBC is reporting that Sen. Barack Obama has requested that Oscar-winning singer/actress, Jennifer Hudson, perform at the 2008 Democratic National Convention on Thursday night. Hudson will sing the National Anthem – "The Star-Spangled Banner" – that closing night of the convention when the presumptive Presidential nominee formally accepts the Democratic Party's nomination. Hudson, whose debut album is set to be released Sept. 30, takes her place alongside numerous innovative musicians and performers gracing the convention's stage – John Legend, Sheryl Crow and Dave Matthews to name a few.   Categories: Barack Obama; Jennifer Hudson; Sheryl Crow; ...

‘The Edge of Heaven’ Four stars. Have patience with “The Edge of Heaven.” You will be rewarded. Faith Akin’s finely embroidered drama, split between Turkey and Germany, filigrees the lives of six characters, as well as the closely interwoven Turkish and German cultures. (The dialogue bounces between the two languages, plus English, the lingua franca.) An earthy Turkish laborer, retired in Germany, attempts to fill his declining years with a gusto for life’s pleasures. This brings him into contact with kind, worldly Turkish prostitute, who leaves the profession just ahead of Islamic religious bullies. His son is a scholar of German at ...

Friends of Steven's were completely disctriminated against this weekend at a local gourmet Mexican restaurant in a very gay friendly area of town. Please go to Steven's blog and read what happened. Want to make a call to complain about... ...