Year in Review: November and December

BREAKING: CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR 44TH PRESIDENT

As we close out 2008, we're taking a moment to briefly revisit some of the articles that we published on Austinist this year. Whether poignant, sad, hilarious, or downright ludicrous, many of these stories probably affected your lives to some extent. Certainly, at the very least, they provided their own commentary on Austin's ongoing transformation.

BREAKING: CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR 44TH PRESIDENT!!

The scenes that played out on TV stations around the country were not unlike the end sequence in Return of the Jedi.

Presidential Election Recap: McCain, Obama Both Shine

"Back in Austin, faint shouts of 'Obama!' and the sound of fireworks crackling could be heard echoing in the darkness into the wee hours of the night. The Driskill was a champagne-fueled madhouse, with a line outside of eager revelers snaking around the building. One fellow near the watch party in French Place that we attended took to his scooter once the election was called, and spent a good thirty minutes zipping up and down the small residential streets while pumping his horn, cheered on by curious witnesses in packed living rooms.

It was of little surprise that these scenes, which doubtlessly played out simultaneously in small towns and mammoth cities across the country, seemed altogether cinematic in nature—for many, it was the fitting denouement in an 8-year-long drama punctuated by occasional moments of absurdist comedy. "

Texas Election Results, By the Numbers

Austinist took a look at the various stats related to this year's historic election.

Buck, Rogered After Classy Obama Comment

Longhorns backup center Buck Burnette was kicked off the team by Mack Brown himself after Burnette, self-described as being "very conservative" in his beliefs and evidently a notable racist, was so confounded by Obama's victory on Tuesday night that he immediately logged on to Facebook and updated his status with the regrettable comment that hunters "should get their guns."

Ice Cube at the Mohawk: Opener "Trick Trick" Wants You To Know That He Hates the Gays

Austinist explained why getting riled up over Detroit rapper Christian "Trick Trick" Mathis' blatent homophobia simply wasn't worth the effort.

Snapshots: Local Music Is Sexy Photobooth, Video Recap & More

We kicked off Fun Fun Fun Fest weekend with our annual Local Music Is Sexy party at the Mohawk, featuring Brothers & Sisters, Foot Patrol, the Lovely Sparrows, Leatherbag, the Eastern Sea, and surprise guests Dengue Fever.

Our Year In Listening: Austinist’s Top 15 Albums in 2008

Our Year In Listening: Austinist's Top 15 Albums in 2008

"Our listening hours in 2008 were filled with a hundreds of records, some mediocre, some good, a few great. The distillation of our favorites is a tradition at Austinist, and we're happy with our list this year, despite talk of '08 being a shallow year album-wise. We've covered everything from Cut Copy to Bon Iver, the Dodos to Girl Talk. There are three local stand-outs on our list, and no Vampire Weekend to be found."

Gallery Lombardi to Close its Doors

It was announced that Gallery Lombardi would close on January 15th, 2009. The contemporary art gallery, currently located on West 7th Street, had existed in Austin since 1996. Proprietor Ron Prince and Director Rachel Koper cited not making "nearly enough money this year" as a reason for closing the gallery.

AISD Teacher Throws Fit Over Student's Linux CD

In an age where Windows and OS X reign supreme, it was no wonder that a local AISD middle school teacher became enraged upon discovering one of her students distributing what she believed to be bootleg copies of an operating system in class.

Fun Fun Fun Fest Snapshots. Photo by Patrick Dentler

Fun Fun Fun Fest Saturday Recap, Pt. 1 | Fun Fun Fun Fest Recap: Saturday, Pt 2 | Fun Fun Fun Fest Sunday Recap | Fun Fun Fun Fest Snapshots

For the third year, Transmission Entertainment's Fun Fun Fun Fest turned Waterloo Park into a veritable underground music melting pot. Successfully spanning hip-hop to comedy to hardcore in one weekend isn't an easy feat, and we can't remember the last time we saw so many punks, hipsters and club rats quite so elated.

Bankrollers of Bigotry, Financiers of Fairness Dwell Among Us [Prop 8]

Lest you go around crediting the collective denizens of Hollywood and Salt Lake City for the record $50 million donated by supporters and opponents of California's Prop 8, which overturned the state Supreme Court's ruling in May allowing gay marriages, several dozen Austinites played a role as well.

Darque Tan’s Hide Is (Likely) Fried

Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott sued Darque Tan owner Robbie Segler and his affiliates for false marketing claims stating that searing your flesh with carcinogenic light bulbs is actually good for you and can reduce your risks of some cancers.

Happy Birthday, Home Slice

The dough throwers over at Home Slice Pizza have been serving up New York style slices from its South Congress location for three years now.

Bike Rack Design Contest Winners Announced

The Downtown Austin Alliance announced three winners in its bike rack design contest.

Guest Editorialist: Owen Egerton!

In celebration of his newest release, and in anticipation of various readings about town, Austinist asked Austin author Owen Egerton to write something special to be published here, just for you. From his heart. Something sacred. Something of wow and character. And that is precisely what he did.

Harry Ransom Center Scores Ezra Pound Materials

The Harry Ransom Center at UT Austin acquired a substantial collection of materials related to Ezra Pound, the famous American expat poet and pillar of the Modernist movement who dallied with the Dadas during his tenure in pre-war Paris and later gained infamy after being accused of treason against the United States.

The Blanton: Edgar A. Smith Building Opening

The Blanton Museum of Art celebrated the completion of the Blanton complex by unveiling the Edgar A. Smith Building, which now houses the museum's cafe, a gift shop, an auditorium, and classrooms for art and education events. The opening of the new structure made the Blanton the largest university museum in the United States.

Photos from Austin’s Prop 8 Rally at City Hall Plaza

Photos from Austin's Prop 8 Rally at City Hall Plaza

The dozen or so speakers at the rally, including representatives from Equality Texas and "straights for gays" alliance Atticus Circle, supplanted vitriol with grace and tact. Instead of an angry backlash against those who supported California's Prop 8, the focus was on family, respect, and the need for our entire community, regardless of sexual orientation, to demonstrate to others that the only "gay agenda" at hand is, simply and genuinely, to be granted the right to love.

Plan to Prolong Paid Parking Periods Produces Protests

Austin debated cutting a policy that gave away a scarce resource to the lucky few: downtown street parking, which is free to those lucky enough to find a spot after 5:30 pm and on the weekends.

Censorship Fears Resurrected After Round Rock Superintendant Pulls Spicy Teen Novel

Parents in Round Rock were in a huff after area Superintendent Jesus Chavez decided to pull a steamy young-adult novel from all district middle school libraries.

Texas A&M Laredo Axes Prof for Publishing Names of Students Who Plagiarized

Former adjunct professor Loye Young was fired from Texas A&M International University in Laredo after posting the names of six students on his blog whom he caught plagiarizing.

Snapshots: StrataTX "Second on Sixth" Anniversary Party

Hundreds of Austinites came out to celebrate the second birthday of local arts nonprofit strataTX at este.

Austin Musician Amy Cook Among Out Magazine's Top 100 of 2008

Austin singer Amy Cook was honored as one of Out magazine's "Top 100" GLBT men and women who made a difference in the community in 2008. Cook was listed alongside such esteemed individuals as designer Todd Oldham, Weeds star Guillermo Díaz, and beloved actor George Takei.

Want to go Home with a 'Dillo?

Six 1998 Chance Trolley AH-28's (former 'Dillos) were put up for auction.

UT Student Has Passed Away

We at Austinist were deeply saddened about the passing of Josh Talbot, a 21-year-old RTF major at UT.

Snapshots: South Austin Carnival on HWY-71/290

The carnival on HWY-71/290 between South Congress Ave and I-35 opened for business over the holiday weekend.

Robbery a Family Affair for Round Rock Mother and Son

Diedre Blackburn of Round Rock pleaded guilty to going with her 16-year-old son on a short bank robbing spree in December 2007 and January 2008. In all, they robbed four banks in Round Rock.

More Toll Roads Coming to Austin

The Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization board voted to use funds from the 183-A toll road in Cedar Park to guarantee payments for the conversion of U.S. 290 East between 183 and Manor from an untolled four-lane highway to a tolled twelve-lane highway (three tolled lanes each direction, plus three free frontage roads each direction).

That's a Lot of Pot

A Temple cop pulled over an 18-wheeler on IH35 for a traffic violation. After noting the driver's suspicious behavior, the cop asked to search the truck, where he came to find 872 pounds of pot (about $872,000 worth) in the trailer.

Weasel Out of That Red Light Camera Ticket

News 8 Austin reported that companies wishing to use photographic evidence in court must possess a certain "private investigator's license"—neither the camera company used by the City of Austin nor the largest firm in Texas has this license.

Texans As Sickly As Ever, If Not Worse

Texas continued its downward descent in the "Annual Health Rankings" published by the United Health Foundation, dropping from 37th to 46th in the United States.

Mayor, City Council to Honor Jennifer Gale. Photo by Patrick Dentler

Rest in Peace, Jennifer Gale | Mayor, City Council to Honor Jennifer Gale; House the Homeless Seeks Donations for Thermal Underwear Drive

Longtime Austinite and frequent political candidate Jennifer Gale passed away.

Yes, Dubya's Moving Back to Texas [At Least It's Not Austin]

It turned out that New York Post gossip columnist Cindy Adams was spot on about the Bushes: after leaving office next January, the President and First Lady will be settling down in the modest neighborhood of Preston Hollow in north Dallas.

Austin Runner Dies During Dallas Marathon

Austinite Erin Lahr, 29, collapsed and died during the Dallas White Rock Marathon.

Four-Year-Old Breaks Into Beaumont Store

Police were alerted to a break-in at a Beaumont Family Dollar after a four-year-old got into the store at 3 a.m. Monday morning. It seems he unlocked a door at home, walked to the store a block away, crossing a multi-lane road, and found his way in through an unlocked door