PicoBlog

This post is by Contributor Johan Pregmo. There’s a famous line of unknown origin sometimes misattributed to Winston Churchill: “History is written by the victors.” It’s been repeated so many times over the years that many of us just accept it as a truism. Certainly it has a plausible sounding logic to it. The powers that be are self-serving and prone to propaganda. Every leading player in large, history-defining events like wars and revolutions has their own spin on what really happened.

Writing food history can be quite difficult. Not in the sense that it physical hurts to rehash all the awful things humans do to each other, unlike the history of slavery or genocide or war. Or that no matter what you write it immediately becomes grist for the never-ending shouting match that is the “Culture Wars,” like the history of race, gender, or sexuality. No, its difficulty lays in the fact that food is often deemed unimportant, non-essential, not worthy of note.

This is the latest in our series of 10 Austin music venues open at least 30 years. In the 1930s it was home to Spears BBQ Kitchen, then became a washers-only Half Hour Laundry in 1947. The Continental Club opened there in 1955 as a swanky private club featuring lounge acts with Vegas dreams. It was later a topless bar and day drinkers dive, resurrected as a rock club in the late ‘70s.

We adored the cooking of chef Flavio Lucarini at Le Bistrot Flaubert and were sad to learn that he had left… until we realized he and the owner were opening a new restaurant called Hémicycle. This new restaurant near the National Assembly is a much glitzier showcase for Lucarini’s ambitious, Italia… ncG1vNJzZmiokae2tK7YpqaurJhjwLau0q2YnKNemLyue89on56lmZjGpLjE

We made a remarkable movie about fake news. Called Hoaxed. It was a blockbuster on the independent charts, despite receiving almost no reviews from conservative media. Should out to Christian Toto for his review, click here for that. People like will cry all day about the lack of conservative filmmaking, and then completely ignore a legitimate piece of art, due to jealousy that they could never produce such work. I’m used to it.

So, I’m going to start this post off with a confession. When I was wandering the streets of New York City, I was (kind of) a hobosexual. I’d sleep with people to get a roof over my head, food in my stomach, and shelter from whatever. I really wanted someone to save me from my dire straits. I did. And I wanted to show that I was capable of doing something good for them, even if it was only companionship and housekeeping.

A friend of mine is a trivia buff and a big fan of the TV game show Jeopardy! About once a week he texts me, excited about getting the Final Jeopardy question right while playing along from his living room. The Hockey Tactics Newsletter is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. ncG1vNJzZmiimJa7qbfYZ6qumqOprqS3jZympmegZLWwr8qesGaho2K5qrfEZqGep6CWv6XF

Welcome to the first in a full line-up of LAST CALL Holiday Gift Guides! We’re kicking things off with Holiday Advent Calendars, and throughout November we’ll have you covered on Food & Provisions, Drinks & Spirits, Lo Spirito d'Italia, Books & Cookbooks, and Stocking Stuffers. Even though you won’t start counting down the days with these Advent Calendars until December 1, we are featuring these first as they often sell out by Thanksgiving.

Kenneth Anger died May 11 at 96. He had alienated countless of his friends and supporters and even fans who found their way to him as if on pilgrimages. His demands and paranoia and egomania regarding almost everyone he worked with were, sooner or later, inescapable. I know one person who invited Anger to stay with him; after months, he couldn’t get him out of the house, because Anger had filled the place with acolytes and taken it over as his own domain.