Photos from Friday's Star Trek premiere party at the Bob Bullock Museum, hosted by Austin Planetarium. Attendees enjoyed Star Trek music performed by the Austin Wind Symphony, improv by Start Trekkin, and a panoply of Trek-themed beverages and snacks. Most importantly (and as expected), Darth Vader made a surprise appearance.
Despite all the commercials and crossover hype, the whole world is not made up of Trekkies. They’re out there, plenty of 'em, but they are still not the majority. And as much as Star Trek has infiltrated pop culture recently, it’s possible a few of you out there might need a little help keeping up with this “hot new trend.” So here, in the words of a pop-culture savvy but Star Trek illiterate reviewer, is what to expect when you’re ready to Trek.
We're just sayin', but the scenes being played out on TV stations around the country are not unlike the end sequence in Return of the Jedi.
Tropic Thunder poster
With the faith of a thousand men, Pastor Richard Gazowsky set out ten years ago on a divine mission: to make the greatest film ever made. Nevermind that the first film he ever saw was The Lion King, at the tender age of 40. Nevermind that he had absolutely no background in directing, editing, or producing an epic so grand that it's concept was enthusiastically described as "The Ten Commandments meets Star Wars." Nevermind that his only solid source of funding was the generous tithes of his congregation at the Voice of Pentecost Church.
What’s the Deal: Definitely one of the better pun band names, with an extra ‘r’ thrown on the end to avoid any messy copyright fisticuffs with Lucas and the Star Wars powers that be. This Austin foursome have very successfully emerged in time with a re-popularization of shoegaze in a way that doesn’t seem contrived or cleverly created to take advantage of this renewed interest. Instead, they fit right in there with Jesus and Mary Chain and My Bloody Valentine, or at least a step below. It’s fuzzy, super-loud, noise pop with a steady beat, wave after wave of ambient guitar noise and warm vocals that melt into the music.
Photo from AIArchitect.com We recently came across this fascinating master's architecture project by UT Arlington alumnus Jason Mellard. Drawing from Star Wars and "biomimicking" the clam shell, this archipelago of futuristic donuts would function as a self-sustaining aquatic research platform, designed to allow scientists to study marine animals and fish in their natural habitat for extended periods of time. From AIArchitect: The research spheres consist of laboratories, classrooms, computer labs, viewing platforms, holding tanks, offices,...
Overheard in Austin is back! If you've heard anything worthy of repeating, or good for a laugh, send your quotes to overheard@austinist.com and we'll publish the best ones. Girl eating brunch across from a guy:Try this. Guy:It’s okay. Girl:You don’t know how to taste food right. You know why? It’s because you leave a little bit of food in your mouth from your last bite. (Pause) You know what I mean. Photographer at Fun Fest,...
We remember Austin Tinius over a year ago, peddling his Burger and Friends line at Circa 77, a boutique in Denton, Texas. Everything was made with a light-hearted, punk-rock sense of humor—from acid colored T-shirts silkscreened with line-drawings of Playboy models posing with a grizzly bear, to Star Wars-inspired wallets and purses. We knew he was on to something. Sure enough, Burger and Friends (finally) got some attention shortly after last year's Stitch. Austin...
JOSH RITTER What’s The Deal: Josh Ritter graduated from college with a major in American History through Narrative Folk Music, which makes the title of this folk-pop singer/songwriter’s recently released album, The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter, fitting as well as boastful. He can boast all he wants with those hearty lyrics fat with imagery and the voluminous songwriting of this, his fifth album. Comparisons to Bob Dylan as well as John Lennon immediately come...
Childlike optimism and one recording artist's poetic ponderings have inspired two local artists to create vivid new works on display at the East Austin gallery, Art Palace. Artistic friends Eric Gibbons and Nathan Green have teamed up to create the new exhibit,“Lasers in the Jungle," which opens Saturday. Gibbons' whimsical portraits pay homage to one of his music idols. "It comes from a lot of Paul Simon listening," he admits. "I have an affinity for...
Tonight at Emo's, mc chris, the Yuppie Pricks and nerdcore rapper Terp2it (aka tireless local performer Chris Trew) will take the stage to rock your tighty whities. We recently snagged a copy of Terp2it's new album, The Freshest Dude, and sat down for a quick chat with him about his new release.
1977 was a bitch-goddess. She killed Vladimir Nabokov, but then (in an attempt at cosmic rebalancing, we suppose) she also birthed the greatest sci-fi film trilogy ever. May 25th 1977 (the day Star Wars was released theatrically) is officially "day zero" for geeks, nerds and fanboys everywhere. It's the day society learned that science fiction can be cool, and that each of us has an inner geek begging to be let out. 5-25-77 is the...
Blame it on HBO's repeated broadcasts of all six films this past month, or every super-geek's secret desire to be that Star Wars Kid, but either way, the Statesman's decided to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the sci-fi classic... with the nerdiest contest ever!
TUESDAY [27] books • Jason Dorsey presents My Reality Check Bounced at BookPeople (7:00pm) books • Aaron Allston presents Star Wars: Legacy of the Force at Dragon's Lair Comics (5:00pm) film • TMNT 2: Secret of the Ooze Pizza Party at Alamo Drafthouse Downtown film • AFS Essential: Satin Rouge at Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar music • Brothers and Sisters, The Broken West, The Glass Family at Emo's (Free) music • Scion Live Metro...
It appears that city council members are choosing to pursue a bike safety study rather than moving forward with an law requiring cyclists to wear a helmet. The five redrawn congressional districts are now open and ready for political mayhem with multiple candidates running for office in each district. Democratic goobernatorial candidate Chris Bell thinks that Rick Perry is catering to "polluters who write big campaign checks." In other completely unrelated news, a campaign...
Austin's teams finished second and tenth (out of 73 total teams) in last night's first prelim rounds for the National Poetry Slam. To put it in perspective, a perfect score is 90; TeamAustin/NeoSoul (which we've erroneously been calling South Flavas, mea culpa) scored 87.2, and TeamAustin/Ego's scored 80.9. We'd like to point out that NeoSoul is competing in their first nationals ever. Way to kick some ass! We're mighty proud of our local poet...
FRIDAY [2] [food] Flip Happy Crepes is open! (link) [music] Country Teasers, Green Milk From the Planet Orange, Attic Ted, Gorch Fock at Emo's (link) [music] The Roots with Blackalicious and the Incredibuls at Stubb's (link) [music] Nightmare of You at The Parish Room (link) [music] "Country Teasers -- ""Is their new album ""The Empire Strikes Back"" a concept album about race, England, and Star Wars, or did the band just find something unwholesomely amusing...
It was a great week in the world of Missed Connections, most of them being short but sweet. That way the funny hits before you're even done reading. If you didn't get to check them out firsthand, no problem, we'll shed some light on the highlights. We've got honesty, mullets, size-typing, dump truck shout-outs, and an MC with an MC.
The ETA, a separatist group in Spain, has declared a ceasefire after several decades of often violent campaigning for a separate state. Their intention is to focus on their own democratic process in the Basque Country. Russia has promised a "significant supply" of energy to China's evergrowing population by building a pipeline directly from Siberia to the populous country. Bobby Brown's original boy band- New Edition-yeah you heard me- is going to reunite-what, are...
-Lewis "Scooter" Libby evidently dabbled in a bit of fiction writing, his 1996 novel The Apprentice dubbed by The New Yorker as his "entry in the long and distinguished annals of the right-wing dirty novel." Consider the following tasty excerpt: "He could feel her heart beneath his hands. He moved his hands slowly lower still and she arched her back to help him and her lower leg came against his. He held her breasts...
-Surprise, surprise: NCLB has, in fact, left most behind. -Considering weight loss surgery? You're 4.6% likely to die. Better options: eating right, vigorous exercise, or picking up a cocaine habit. -Yet another reason why we wish we were twelve: Star Wars Transformers! -As a rule, when you throw a house party, uninvited guests will invariably show up. -These 2006 SXSW wristbands are going for a great cause. -They're actually arguing that intelligent design is...
Back in May, Alamo Drafthouse and DJ Nick Nack teamed up to bring us a screening of Fritz Lang's magnificent Metropolis, set to a live turntable score by the vinyl maestro. This Saturday, they're bringing it back with back-to-back showings of the black and white sci-fi masterpiece at the Downtown Drafthouse, at 7pm and 9pm. The screening we attended last time sold out, so we had to settle for seats at the very front;...
Before we begin the new music, we have two concert announcements. Apparently the Frank Erwin Center does still hold concerts, as they will host the Austin date for the Foo Fighters/Weezer show. Tickets range in price from $30 to $50 and go on sale this Saturday. The show will be Wednesday, September 14th. If you prefer space rock over geek rock then write this down on your Star Wars calendar: Coheed and Cambria are...
We might as well dub this the Week of the Dance Party - Emo's on Monday, Beerland on Tuesday, Flamingo Cantina on Wednesday, The Parish on Thursday, and - best of all - Gallery Lombardi on Friday. Check it out, and pace yourselves. As always, feel free to contact us with any hot tips! MONDAY [music] Church of the Friendly Ghost may have postponed shows at their awesome Eastside house, but they're still bringing great...
Austin took a big leap forward earlier this week in its goal to become a major performing arts powerhouse before the next decade. The ambitious Long Center - which when completed in 2008 will consolidate the Austin Symphony Orchestra, Ballet Austin, and Austin Lyric Opera as well as serve as an exhibition space for hundreds of local artists and organizations - received $500,000 from the Dallas-based Meadows Foundation. This brings the total level of donations to over $61 million, ever closer to its goal of raising $77 million.
In 1927, Austrian filmmaker Fritz Lang premiered his latest masterpiece to a modest reception in Berlin: Metropolis it was titled, so-named for the futuristic citystate where its story takes place. The black-and-white silent film describes a society split into two vastly disparate castes: the privileged Thinkers, who dwell in the lofty upper levels of the skyscrapered urban cityscape, and the oppressed Workers, who wallow in an underground dystopic squalor.Borne of the waning German Expressionism...
A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, the "Star Wars" trilogy reigned supreme as an almost perfect movie series. Then came Jar Jar Binks. Fortunately, for uber fans and common moviegoers alike, George Lucas has righted his cinematic ship with the sixth (or third, depending on how you count) installment, “Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith.” One of the best things about seeing a movie with this great...
Austinist would be remiss if we did not inform you that although Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith is not opening for another month, tickets at the Alamo Drafthouse South are on sale now at the S. Lamar and Anderson Lane locations of the Alamo Drafthouse. Get them while their hot, and keep telling yourself that this one will be better. We know we are.
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