var ever_com_entries = [{"link":"http://austinist.com/2007/03/21/an_open_letter_from_factorypeople_we_love_you_austin_and_sxsw_but_youre_freaking_us_out.php","authorlink":"/staff.php#austin_allen","displaydate":"Mar 21, 2007","excerpt":"The following is a letter written by Le and Thomas Popov, owners of South Congress boutique FactoryPeople. As life-long independent music lovers and long-time Austinites (at least one of has lived here since 1989), we have come to love mid-March when the SXSW Music Festival brings Austin to life. After the events of this year's fest, it’s unlikely we’ll ever feel the same affection for SXSW. On Thursday, March 15th, an inspector of the City...","date":"March 21, 2007  2:29 PM","author":"allenychen","comments":199,"title":"An Open Letter from FactoryPeople: We Love You Austin and SXSW, But You’re Freaking Us Out","id":99298,"votes":27}, {"link":"http://austinist.com/2006/12/13/walmart_will_wait.php","authorlink":"/staff.php#austinist_elizabeth","displaydate":"Dec 13, 2006","excerpt":" Councilmember Mike Martinez' office sent out a press release this afternoon saying that Austin city council and WalMart have come to an agreement that WalMart will suspend development at the Northcross location for 60 days. This news comes before the council meeting tomorrow where councilmembers were certain to hear about the Northcross debacle. There have been many mixed signals on this whole deal, and this suspension leaves time for the council and residents of...","date":"December 13, 2006  4:30 PM","author":"Elizabeth S.","comments":126,"title":"WalMart Will Wait","id":86345,"votes":6}, {"link":"http://austinist.com/2007/09/11/white_stripes_o.php","authorlink":"/staff.php#austinist_maguire","displaydate":"Sep 11, 2007","excerpt":"For updates, go to today's post The Statesman's 360 blog is reporting that the White Stripes have pulled out of the ACL Festival. The band was scheduled to play on Saturday night in the headlining position opposite Arcade Fire, as well as an after party @ Stubb's on Sunday. The word on the streets is that someone is ill, we'll be sure to keep you posted as details emerge. Photo courtesy Autumn De Wilde...","date":"September 11, 2007  11:19 AM","author":"Paige Maguire","comments":118,"title":"White Stripes Out of ACL?","id":123602,"votes":8}, {"link":"http://austinist.com/2008/04/25/hyde_park_na_ha.php","authorlink":"/staff.php#Shilli","displaydate":"Apr 25, 2008","excerpt":"Our pal Austin Contrarian</a> is reporting that at <a href=\"http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/council/2008/council_04242008.htm\">last night's City Council hearing</a>, the councilmembers acceded to demands from the Hyde Park Neighborhood Association to deny pedestrian and bicycle access between Hyde Park and a new development on 51st Street.  This means that not only will the street grid that is the basis of Hyde Park not be extended for cars, it will also not be extended for bikes and pedestrians.  The street grid is the groundwork on which an urban environment is built.  Urban streets form a network that allows movement in every direction via multiple modes of transportation.  Suburban streets form a maze of dead ends and require every trip to use an arterial road, almost always by car.","date":"April 25, 2008  11:38 AM","author":"Shilli","comments":94,"title":"Urban vs. Suburban - the Street Grid<br />or: Hyde Park Hates Pedestrians","id":158659,"votes":15}, {"link":"http://austinist.com/2007/09/13/our_pal_wells_d.php","authorlink":"/staff.php#Shilli","displaydate":"Sep 13, 2007","excerpt":" Austin’s rising population and stagnant housing supply have resulted in increased housing prices. Even though there are a lot of condos under construction, few have hit the market. Our pal Wells Dunbar over at the Chronicle has a nice article discussing the complicated answers to the problem of affordable housing. One undiscussed simple answer would be to get people to stop moving to Austin. Despite our commenters efforts, that plan isn't working [ed: isn't...","date":"September 13, 2007  12:44 AM","author":"Shilli","comments":92,"title":"New Construction is Not the Enemy of Affordability","id":123931,"votes":4}, {"link":"http://austinist.com/2006/10/04/smoking_ban_news.php","authorlink":"/staff.php#matthewodam","displaydate":"Oct 04, 2006","excerpt":"Some of the smoke surrounding the vagaries of the smoking ban has cleared. U.S. District Judge Sam Sparks ruled today that some of the enforcement provisions were \"unconstitutionally vague.\" The ruling did not overturn the existing ban, but it did state that bars must take greater measures to make sure they were in compliance with the law. It also appears bars won't face the brunt of the law if they can't get patrons to quit...","date":"October 04, 2006  5:29 PM","author":"matthewodam","comments":89,"title":"Smoking Ban News","id":77350,"votes":3}, {"link":"http://austinist.com/2008/03/25/austinist_show_149.php","authorlink":"/staff.php#Adam S","displaydate":"Mar 25, 2008","excerpt":"This Tuesday, it’s won’t be business as usual for a quartet of local bands looking to escape the drudgery of the bar/venue scene.  <strong>Mo Pair</strong>, <strong>Some Say Leland</strong>, <strong>The Blue Hit</strong> and <strong>Infinite Partials</strong> are planning what will be the seventh in a series of “secret shows” that take place all over Austin in diverse locals like sewers, next to old Cottonwood trees, and now, on an island on Ladybird Lake.  ","date":"March 25, 2008  4:45 PM","author":"Adam S","comments":89,"title":"Austinist Show Preview: Secret Show #7","id":153383,"votes":10}, {"link":"http://austinist.com/2008/06/27/wont_somebody_think_of_the_pecan_tr.php","authorlink":"/staff.php#Shilli","displaydate":"Jun 27, 2008","excerpt":"As part of the construction of the <a href=\"http://www.bartonplaceaustin.com/\">BartonPlace</a> condos at the former site of the <a href=\"http://austinist.com/2006/12/04/condomania_continues_at_shady_grove_tp_and_barton_court.php\">Shady Grove RV Park</a>, several big pecan trees have been removed.  The <a href=\"http://www.statesman.com/search/content/news/stories/local/06/12/0612pecans.html\">Statesman noticed</a> and so did <a href=\"http://www.marciaball.com/\">Marcia Ball</a>, who apparently <a href=\"http://www.myfoxaustin.com/myfox/pages/News/Detail?contentId=6867957&version=1&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=VSTY&pageId=3.2.1\">mentioned something about it</a> while on stage at a Blues on the Green a few weeks ago.  BartonPlace developer Larry Warshaw felt both the Statesman and Marcia Ball were unfair about the tree removal, noting that BartonPlace complied with the law and agreements with the neighborhoods, unlike another developer that recently <a href=\"http://www.statesman.com/news/content/news/stories/local/06/18/0618trees.html?COXnetJSessionIDbuild99b_prod=lTwwLY2BY8XlTLxwQ72zW32BrlM4q1MLQ3rbngZMRZ3PbWxkyL2h!-567337682&cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=52&UrAuth=%60N_NUObN[UbTTUWUXUaUZTYU^UWUbUcUZU]UZUcTYWYWZV&urcm=y\">clear-cut hundreds of large oak trees in Oak Hill</a>.  The full letter from Larry is reprinted below.","date":"June 27, 2008  8:59 PM","author":"Shilli","comments":89,"title":"Won't Somebody Please Think of the Pecans?","id":168807,"votes":5}, {"link":"http://austinist.com/2007/02/26/snapshots_wristband_mania.php","authorlink":"/staff.php#patrickdentler","displaydate":"Feb 26, 2007","excerpt":" SXSW co-creator Louis Black (left) looks on as folks wait anxiously in line at Waterloo Records for SXSW Music wristbands earlier this afternoon. First 2,000 are $130 and the next 2,000 shoot up to $160--nearly twice as much as they were five years ago, when the first round of wristbands were $85. Lines stretched around the block, with eager Austinites showing up in increasing numbers even as we left at 1:30pm. In '05, the...","date":"February 26, 2007  2:57 PM","author":"patrickdentler","comments":83,"title":"Snapshots: Wristband Mania!","id":96013,"votes":13}, {"link":"http://austinist.com/2007/09/04/sinsations_erot.php","authorlink":"/staff.php#austinist_nick","displaydate":"Sep 04, 2007","excerpt":" Let’s be honest&mdash;on your average trip to an adult store, you're likely to experience omnipresent feelings of shame, paranoia, and pressure from the moment you cross the threshold. Sure, you may feel a little uncomfortable and out of place if you don’t often find yourself surrounded by an array of dildos and sex slings, but the employees in most adult establishments make no effort to alleviate the tension or create an open, welcoming environment....","date":"September 04, 2007  1:24 PM","author":"Nick Barbieri","comments":77,"title":"Sinsations' Erotic Carnival: Get Spanked for AIDS Services of Austin","id":122476,"votes":6}, {"link":"http://austinist.com/2007/07/31/highways.php","authorlink":"/staff.php#Shilli","displaydate":"Jul 31, 2007","excerpt":" Between claiming that we need more highways no matter how we pay for them and promoting Smithville as an affordable alternative to living in Austin (commute to Austin, Houston or San Antonio!), it was easy to miss the Statesman's publication of a new rant by developer Ed Wendler, Jr., in which Wendler points out that downtown condos are expensive and says that \"Austin should abandon the idea that it is encouraging downtown living to...","date":"July 31, 2007  1:00 PM","author":"Shilli","comments":70,"title":"Affordable Housing: Is Sprawl the Solution?","id":117738,"votes":3}, {"link":"http://austinist.com/2007/05/25/factorypeople_bows_out.php","authorlink":"/staff.php#austin_allen","displaydate":"May 25, 2007","excerpt":" Earlier today, FactoryPeople made the stunning announcement that it will be closing its doors for good on July 15th. The website will continue to operate, along with several temporary \"pop-up\" stores placed in key cities around the country. The South Congress shop, which launched three and a half years ago, quickly established itself as world-class lifestyle store, garnering national recognition through various \"Top Boutique\" lists published by Daily News Record, GQ, Seventeen, and Lucky....","date":"May 25, 2007  4:05 PM","author":"allenychen","comments":69,"title":"FactoryPeople Bows Out","id":108698,"votes":9}, {"link":"http://austinist.com/2007/08/29/economic_growth.php","authorlink":"/staff.php#austinist_elizabeth","displaydate":"Aug 29, 2007","excerpt":" The national poverty numbers were released earlier this week, and while Texas isn't the poorest state (we are fifth down the list), we seem to be stuck in a rut. Even though we've seen five years of economic growth in our state, the poverty numbers for our state remain about the same: not great. 3.7 million Texans are living in poverty. And while the rich are getting richer, the poor are increasingly living without...","date":"August 29, 2007  1:00 PM","author":"Elizabeth S.","comments":69,"title":"Economic Growth Still Leaves Some Texans Behind","id":121858,"votes":3}, {"link":"http://austinist.com/2007/09/28/the_flaming_lip.php","authorlink":"/staff.php#joshuahuck","displaydate":"Sep 28, 2007","excerpt":" Editors’ note: The opinions and ideas expressed in this opinion piece are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the outlook and belief of anyone else in the Ist network. I hadn't initially planned to attend The Flaming Lips show at La Zona Rosa this past Tuesday, opting to avoid possible run-ins with any \"Furries\", but a last-minute ticket to a Lips show is not something to turn one's nose up...","date":"September 28, 2007  10:08 AM","author":"joshuahuck","comments":64,"title":"The Flaming Lips Tour With Special Guest, Cancer","id":126178,"votes":18}, {"link":"http://austinist.com/2007/01/17/sxsw_80_more_bands_confirm_and_weve_got_the_list.php","authorlink":"/staff.php#austinist_tom","displaydate":"Jan 17, 2007","excerpt":" As you sit in the snow, bored to tears with your second snow day, you may again wonder if the folks at SXSW have released their huge band list so that all good indie-yuppies have something to do later this week at work besides listening to that Clap Your Hands Say Yeah leak. Well, not so much. But thanks to the good people at Done Waiting and BrooklynVegan, some MySpace confirmations, a big stack...","date":"January 17, 2007  12:00 AM","author":"Tom Thornton","comments":62,"title":"SXSW: 80 More Bands Confirm, And We've Got The List","id":90285,"votes":17}, {"link":"http://austinist.com/2008/07/01/hit_and_run_karma_sucks.php","authorlink":"/staff.php#austinist_keb","displaydate":"Jul 01, 2008","excerpt":"Back in late March, Carrie Miller was riding home on Guadalupe when she was <a href=\"http://www.kxan.com/Global/story.asp?S=8577334\">struck by a hit-and-run driver and thrown from her bike</a>. The driver, whose passenger side mirror struck Miller, may not have stopped, but he left her with a key piece of evidence -- evidence that would lead Miller back to her own apartment building.","date":"July 01, 2008  10:53 AM","author":"austinist_keb","comments":61,"title":"Hit And Run Karma Sucks","id":169225,"votes":23}, {"link":"http://austinist.com/2007/09/10/the_stranger.php","authorlink":"/staff.php#austinist_benreed","displaydate":"Sep 10, 2007","excerpt":"...there’s some kind of breakdown in logic going on here. As in, I made an effort to move here, whereas the people who claim to be native—well, they just fell out of their moms’ vaginas.","date":"September 10, 2007  12:15 AM","author":"Benjamin Reed","comments":60,"title":"The Stranger","id":123411,"votes":11}, {"link":"http://austinist.com/2007/03/20/sxsw_2007_death_of_the_afterparty.php","authorlink":"/staff.php#austin_allen","displaydate":"Mar 20, 2007","excerpt":"With no less than three of the biggest afterparties at this year's SXSW abruptly shut down, it's no wonder that we've been hearing all sorts of crazy conspiracy theories. But much as we'd love to blame this year's spate of buzzkilling closures on curmudgeonly old muckety-mucks, the evidence seems to point to something far less interesting: lack of permits. At least that was the case with FactoryPeople's Thursday night rager, \"La Chic Disco Boum,\" and...","date":"March 20, 2007  12:07 AM","author":"allenychen","comments":59,"title":"SXSW 2007: Death of the Afterparty?","id":99110,"votes":11}, {"link":"http://austinist.com/2007/01/10/sxsw_rumor_mill_sxsw_hides_160_band_list_but_were_here_to_help.php","authorlink":"/staff.php#austinist_tom","displaydate":"Jan 10, 2007","excerpt":" Last week, the Austin Chronicle reported that officials at SXSW are delaying the release of their huge band list. The rationale is that a late release will cut down on the rampant day party scene from last year since party planners won't know who is playing until late in the game. Given the unbridled love we have for day parties, we have our doubts about the effectiveness of these tactics, but that still doesn't...","date":"January 10, 2007  10:57 AM","author":"Tom Thornton","comments":58,"title":"SXSW Rumor Mill: SXSW Hides (160) Band List, But We're Here To Help","id":89418,"votes":17}, {"link":"http://austinist.com/2007/07/20/there_is_no_spo.php","authorlink":"/staff.php#joshuahuck","displaydate":"Jul 20, 2007","excerpt":" It's been a gloomy day, but leave it to Britt Daniel and Co. to save the evening with a surprise show at our beloved Mohawk. The Decemberists went off without a hitch last week, but this time is guaranteed to be even more awesome, in that it's outside (don't worry, there's a big tent). Spoon is gonna pack in as many as can possibly fit in the warm bosom of the Mo', but if,...","date":"July 20, 2007  3:51 PM","author":"joshuahuck","comments":58,"title":"There Is No Spoon...Unless You're At The Mohawk Tonight!!!","id":116475,"votes":21}, {"link":"http://austinist.com/2007/07/27/cockfight_ethic.php","authorlink":"/staff.php#truecraig","displaydate":"Jul 27, 2007","excerpt":"[Editor's note: Cockfight Ethics is a biweekly column written by a long-time Austin opinion-monger and word-slanger, Percy Julian. The opinions expressed herein are the writer’s, and the writer’s alone. They do not necessarily represent those of the Austinist or its editorial staff.] If the other articles don’t hurt me later, this one will, initially. I go to Spider House and Beauty Bar quite often. And each time, I can’t help but to think “Are these...","date":"July 27, 2007  2:03 PM","author":"truecraig","comments":56,"title":"Cockfight Ethics:  Bring Me The Ugly","id":117469,"votes":8}, {"link":"http://austinist.com/2005/03/12/bread_broken_brad_in_coma.php","authorlink":"/staff.php#austinist_ben","displaydate":"Mar 12, 2005","excerpt":"Festivities at last night's SXSWi Unofficial Opener, Break Bread With Brad, got a wee bit out of hand when host Brad Graham tried to strangle SXSW keynote speaker, Jeffrey Zeldman over an argument about web standards. Ooh, that sounded like journalism, eh? But it isn't. Nothing but lies! Austinist was both amazed and wildly pleased that the topics of conversation seemed to stay mostly away from the geekery that is the focus of SXSW Interactive....","date":"March 12, 2005  09:21 AM","author":"Ben Brown","comments":55,"title":"Bread Broken, Brad In Coma","id":45009,"votes":0}, {"link":"http://austinist.com/2005/09/23/trojan_helps_us_prepare_for_hurricane_rita.php","authorlink":"/staff.php#katie spence","displaydate":"Sep 23, 2005","excerpt":" T - 1 days Until We Party Hard? This is your friendly reminder that Austinist, with the gracious and sexy help of Trojan Brand Condoms, will be throwing a big bash this Saturday night at the Velvet Spade. We know you have short attention spans. Hey, who doesn't nowadays?! So you'll be seeing this pleasant little reminder every day until it gets down to T- 0. Our HQ is filled, literally filled, with Trojan...","date":"September 23, 2005  4:07 PM","author":"Katie Spence","comments":54,"title":"Trojan Helps Us Prepare for Hurricane Rita","id":46214,"votes":0}, {"link":"http://austinist.com/2006/12/01/salvation_pizza_rocks.php","authorlink":"/staff.php#matthewodam","displaydate":"Dec 01, 2006","excerpt":" The best damn pizza joint in Austin has decided to offer patrons not only music for their mouths but the traditional kind, as well. You know, music for your ears. Oh, and eyes. Salvation Pizza will be kicking out the jams over the next three Saturday nights with bands on their patio and avant garde visual treats projected by filmmaker Lori \"16mm\" Surfer inside the restaurant. Head over for some grub and a little...","date":"December 01, 2006  4:13 PM","author":"matthewodam","comments":54,"title":"Salvation Pizza Rocks","id":84783,"votes":12}, {"link":"http://austinist.com/2008/09/03/las_manitas_closed_forever.php","authorlink":"/staff.php#Shilli","displaydate":"Sep 03, 2008","excerpt":"Las Manitas <a href=\"http://www.texasmonthly.com/blogs/eatmywords/?p=170\">closed forever</a> on August 31 according to <a href=\"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hs__ZXvMSjI&eurl=http://www.texasmonthly.com/blogs/eatmywords/?p=170\">Cynthia Perez</a> (one of the owners).  The restaurant will probably be replaced with a complex of <a href=\"http://austinist.com/2006/07/21/marriott_is_the_new_las_manitas.php\">three new Marriott hotels</a>.","date":"September 03, 2008  11:33 AM","author":"Shilli","comments":54,"title":"Las Manitas Closed Forever","id":180148,"votes":12}, ];
var ever_fav_entries=[{"link":"http://austinist.com/2007/01/12/announcement_open_call_for_writers.php","authorlink":"/staff.php#austin_allen","displaydate":"Jan 12, 2007","excerpt":"Austinist is recruiting! We're looking for a small handful of new staffers who can commit to two or three short posts a week in one of the following sections: Film (independent or mainstream) Local and State News Politics Fashion Food Gay & Lesbian Matters (various, sundry) If you're interested, please send us a brief email with the following: Your name A short bio, in four sentences or less Section you're interested in A brief writing...","date":"January 12, 2007  12:16 AM","author":"allenychen","comments":0,"title":"Announcement: Open Call for Writers","id":89323,"votes":53}, {"link":"http://austinist.com/2007/07/27/call_for_new_co.php","authorlink":"/staff.php#austin_allen","displaydate":"Jul 27, 2007","excerpt":"Want to join the ranks of the Austinist staff and publish fawning love letters to things like White Denim, Green Energy, and homeless people? Great, because we're looking for new contributors! Specifically, we're out to find 6 or 7 folks who'd like to write about any of the following: Food and Wine (e.g. restaurant reviews, special tastings) Books (book reviews, author appearances, lectures) Fine Art (gallery previews/reviews, artist interviews) Fashion News (local/regional/national) Sports Theatre/Comedy Community/Nonprofit/Volunteer...","date":"July 27, 2007  10:13 AM","author":"allenychen","comments":0,"title":"Call For New Contributors","id":117422,"votes":52}, {"link":"http://austinist.com/2008/06/03/texas_man_kills.php","authorlink":"/staff.php#austin_allen","displaydate":"Jun 03, 2008","excerpt":"Just 15 minutes in, the third annual Matamoros-Bagdad Cycling Tour in Mexico was plunged into chaos when a drunk driver from Texas <a href=\"http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jC7kDSj_MJ-NbOCh7cYYYKYrOOjQD912BQRG3\">smashed head-on into the group of riders</a>.","date":"June 03, 2008  12:10 AM","author":"allenychen","comments":30,"title":"Texas Man Kills Cyclist, Injures Others in Drunk Driving Nightmare in Mexico","id":164796,"votes":43}, {"link":"http://austinist.com/2007/01/23/klbj_morning_show_pranks_ellenhousewivesus.php","authorlink":"/staff.php#patrickdentler","displaydate":"Jan 23, 2007","excerpt":" Over the weekend the internets were buzzing over a video of the latest Austin weblebrity. Last week on Ellen, the quirky daytime talk show with equally quirky host Ellen DeGeneres, set up a toll free number so viewers could give feedback about her show. One was from \"Gladys Hardy\", an 88-year-old woman from Austin who voiced concerns, opinions and suggestions all in one thirty-second message to Ellen. She liked her so much, she called...","date":"January 23, 2007  6:28 PM","author":"patrickdentler","comments":22,"title":"KLBJ Morning Show Pranks Ellen/Housewives/Us","id":91068,"votes":41}, {"link":"http://austinist.com/2008/12/10/aisd_teacher_throws_fit_over_studen.php","authorlink":"/staff.php#austin_allen","displaydate":"Dec 10, 2008","excerpt":"In an age where Windows and OS X reign supreme, it's no wonder that a local AISD middle school teacher became enraged upon discovering one of her students distributing bootleg copies of an operating system in class. ","date":"December 10, 2008  2:45 PM","author":"allenychen","comments":29,"title":"AISD Teacher Throws Fit Over Student's Linux CD","id":197312,"votes":38}, {"link":"http://austinist.com/2006/07/25/bun_in_the_oven_pregnancy_austin_style.php","authorlink":"/staff.php#austinist_julie","displaydate":"Jul 25, 2006","excerpt":" [The following is a new column by Austinist theatre editor Julie Holden. The views expressed herein are those of the author and do not represent Austinist as a whole. -- The Editors] Austin is one of the most educated cities in the US. Everyone wants to live here; there's an influx of fresh, young faces hitting the scene daily. We're healthy. We're sweaty. We've got a great singles scene. Nationally, the average age for...","date":"July 25, 2006  3:44 PM","author":"Jooley Ann","comments":2,"title":"Bun in the Oven: Pregnancy Austin Style","id":59061,"votes":33}, {"link":"http://austinist.com/2006/05/31/crepes_at_flip_happy_better_than_those_in_france.php","authorlink":"/staff.php#austinist_shannon","displaydate":"May 31, 2006","excerpt":"We recently discovered a unique crepe stand in South Austin that gives us hope that not all French food here has to be expensive: Flip Happy Crepes is run out of a little Airstream trailer off of South Lamar in the parking lot between Floribunda and Flashback. All their savory crepes are around $5.50 or less, and their sweet crepes are $3.75 or less. We've been craving crepes as good as those we've enjoyed in...","date":"May 31, 2006  4:23 PM","author":"Shannon","comments":6,"title":"Crepes at Flip Happy Better Than Those In France?","id":47978,"votes":32}, {"link":"http://austinist.com/2008/01/23/call_for_contri.php","authorlink":"/staff.php#austin_allen","displaydate":"Jan 23, 2008","excerpt":"Photo not to scaleNow that we're finally settled into the new year, we're on the prowl for a few fine individuals to join our motley crew of writers and photographers. Specifically, we're recruiting contributors in the following areas: Arts & Entertainment Film, Art, Theater, Comedy/Improv News Local/State Politics, GLBT News, Items of an Offbeat/\"WTF\" Nature, Breaking News, Campus Shenanigans Other Cartoonists, Community and Volunteer Opportunities, Sports (UT) Photography Photo Essays, Special Events If you're interested,...","date":"January 23, 2008  1:08 PM","author":"allenychen","comments":0,"title":"Call For Contributors!","id":143778,"votes":32}, {"link":"http://austinist.com/2008/09/04/i_am_so_popular_gillespie_and_palin.php","authorlink":"/staff.php#spikegillespie","displaydate":"Sep 04, 2008","excerpt":"Like Republican VP nominee, Sarah Palin, I, too, am a hunter and a fisherwoman. In fact, I like to combine the two by shooting fish in a barrel. Which is why, though I know I’m way late to the over-saturated sport known as <em>hurl-shit-at-the-unvetted-candidate-chosen-for-her-good-looks-lack-of-penis-and-radical-conservatism</em>, I just can’t resist. \n\nLet’s examine the obvious, shameless marketing first. Apparently, to illustrate her point that no woman should ever be allowed to have an abortion (except in very extreme cases, which I will get back to in a minute) Palin came up with an elaborate plot not only to have five children, but to make sure one of them has Down Syndrome, just so she could point to her holier-than-the-rest-of-us self. Even Pappy and Babs Bush didn’t stoop so low as to play the <strong>Retard Card</strong>, despite the fact they, too, have a mentally disabled son, one who managed to land a job in the White House.","date":"September 04, 2008  1:11 PM","author":"spikegillespie","comments":11,"title":"I Am So Popular: Gillespie and Palin-- Separated at Birth?","id":180160,"votes":32}, {"link":"http://austinist.com/2008/02/28/i_am_so_popular_4.php","authorlink":"/staff.php#spikegillespie","displaydate":"Feb 28, 2008","excerpt":"A couple of weeks ago, I <a href=\"http://spikegillespie.blogspot.com/2008/02/court-in-session-i-get-to-meet-another.html\">blogged about the uplifting and relaxing experience</a> of taking my son to court for truancy. Brief recap: In Texas, if, say, your seventeen year old child, who lives independently, takes care of himself, buys his own food and gas and concert tickets, owns his own car, and demonstrates daily acts of thoughtfulness, compassion and general total-duded-ness, decides that having to attend chemistry first period is not part of his <em>Desired Life Experience</em>, and if, say, he does this forty-seven times in a row, there’s a very good chance that you, the parent, will find yourself in a court case titled <em>State of Texas vs. Henry’s Mom</em>.","date":"February 28, 2008  11:25 AM","author":"spikegillespie","comments":7,"title":"I Am So Popular: I'll Tell You Who's Out of Order","id":149444,"votes":31}, {"link":"http://austinist.com/2008/07/10/i_am_so_popular_take_my_uterus_plea_1.php","authorlink":"/staff.php#spikegillespie","displaydate":"Jul 10, 2008","excerpt":"In March 1997 a doctor said to me, “Your jeans are going to fit a lot better once we get that out.”\n\nSo tactful.\n\nThe that to which he referred was a cyst-morphing-into-a-tumor that had wrapped itself around my left ovary. This was discovered at a post-abortion checkup. I paid cash for the abortion. The removal of both the tumor, which as it turned out had malignant cells in it, and the ovary (the two could not be disentangled) were covered by insurance. Luckily, I required no chemo or radiation. I don’t recall that my jeans fit any different when all was said and done.","date":"July 10, 2008  1:01 PM","author":"spikegillespie","comments":17,"title":"I Am So Popular: Take My Uterus-- Please!","id":170679,"votes":31}, {"link":"http://austinist.com/2007/09/04/austinist_prese.php","authorlink":"/staff.php#austin_allen","displaydate":"Sep 04, 2007","excerpt":"On the eve of ACL Fest, we're gonna turn off our laptops, put on our drinking shoes, and head over to the Mohawk, because Austinist is hosting Local Music is Sexy IV. An annual tradition since its inception in 2005 (back when the 'hawk was the Velvet Spade, and folks were still arguing over the smoking ban), Local Music is Sexy showcases a bunch of promising young Austin bands and DJs that we're most excited...","date":"September 04, 2007  6:21 PM","author":"allenychen","comments":5,"title":"Austinist Presents Local Music is Sexy IV","id":122647,"votes":30}, {"link":"http://austinist.com/2007/06/14/south_austins_b.php","authorlink":"/staff.php#patrickdentler","displaydate":"Jun 14, 2007","excerpt":" Although it may just look like a pizza stand parked in a Mobil gas station on Barton Skyway and South Lamar, Giovanni's Pizza Stand may be one of the greatest South Austin pizza joints since Austin's Pizza (Ed Note: and Home Slice Pizza, ahem). Barton Hills residents don't have far to look for value-priced pizza with a ton of toppings to satisfy their hunger after a jump in Barton Springs, a spin around The...","date":"June 14, 2007  2:55 PM","author":"patrickdentler","comments":22,"title":"South Austin's Breakthrough Pizza Joint","id":111477,"votes":29}, {"link":"http://austinist.com/2007/09/19/remember_when_w.php","authorlink":"/staff.php#Joel Nihlean","displaydate":"Sep 19, 2007","excerpt":"Once the camera crews, exuberant (and nostalgia seeking) fans, and Illuminati-crying conspiracy theorists had retreated to their respective rocks last week, former President Clinton decided to do some shopping at BookPeople. In town to raise money for Hillary's campaign at the home of long time Clinton family friend Roy Spence of GSD&M, Bill made a stop at BookPeople where he signed over a thousand copies of his new book, Giving: How Each of Us Can...","date":"September 19, 2007  11:26 AM","author":"Joel Nihlean","comments":2,"title":"Austinist Takes A Look At What Bill Clinton's Been Reading","id":124181,"votes":29}, {"link":"http://austinist.com/2008/08/21/rumors_of_trouble_down_gsdm_way.php","authorlink":"/staff.php#austinist_elizabeth","displaydate":"Aug 21, 2008","excerpt":"Mediabistro's AgencySpy broke news this afternoon that an as-of-yet-unnamed creative director at Austin's own GSD&M was fired last Friday after pulling a not-so-bright stunt.  It seems that this CD created a GMail address in the name of the Executive Creative Director, and then went on to send out emails to other creative department employees about salary and other information pertinent to their department -- all under the ECD's name, mind you.","date":"August 21, 2008  4:50 PM","author":"Elizabeth S.","comments":5,"title":"Rumors of Trouble Down GSD&M Way","id":178131,"votes":28}, {"link":"http://austinist.com/2007/03/21/an_open_letter_from_factorypeople_we_love_you_austin_and_sxsw_but_youre_freaking_us_out.php","authorlink":"/staff.php#austin_allen","displaydate":"Mar 21, 2007","excerpt":"The following is a letter written by Le and Thomas Popov, owners of South Congress boutique FactoryPeople. As life-long independent music lovers and long-time Austinites (at least one of has lived here since 1989), we have come to love mid-March when the SXSW Music Festival brings Austin to life. After the events of this year's fest, it’s unlikely we’ll ever feel the same affection for SXSW. On Thursday, March 15th, an inspector of the City...","date":"March 21, 2007  2:29 PM","author":"allenychen","comments":199,"title":"An Open Letter from FactoryPeople: We Love You Austin and SXSW, But You’re Freaking Us Out","id":99298,"votes":27}, {"link":"http://austinist.com/2006/09/20/youtubeaustin_in_memoriam_ann_richards_at_the_drafthouse.php","authorlink":"/staff.php#patrickdentler","displaydate":"Sep 20, 2006","excerpt":" We were sitting down at the Drafthouse months ago, anxiously awaiting whatever over-hyped major motion picture was about to let us down (probably War of the Worlds), when we first witnessed our next YouTubeAUSTIN feature. The Alamo Drafthouse's infamous Or We'll Take Your Ass Out trailers--warning patrons to stay quiet throughout the film--starred none other than Austin's true tough grandma, Ann Richards. This trailer--which premiered only months before she was diagnosed with cancer--is a...","date":"September 20, 2006  1:15 PM","author":"patrickdentler","comments":3,"title":"YouTubeAUSTIN - In Memoriam, Ann Richards at The Drafthouse","id":66790,"votes":26}, {"link":"http://austinist.com/2007/01/10/volunteering_help_give_middle_schoolers_skills_with_citizen_schools.php","authorlink":"/staff.php#austinist_tom","displaydate":"Jan 10, 2007","excerpt":"As you make those New Year's resolutions, you may wonder how to get more involved in the Austin community for 2007. January is National Mentoring Month, and one way to mentor here in Austin is through a volunteer teaching position at Citizen Schools. The Boston-based nonprofit arrived in Austin last year, and helps children in lower-income middle schools to prepare for the rigors of high school and college. They've already won 2006 and 2007 Fast...","date":"January 10, 2007  12:46 AM","author":"Tom Thornton","comments":10,"title":"Volunteering: Help Give Middle Schoolers Skills With Citizen Schools","id":89429,"votes":26}, {"link":"http://austinist.com/2007/02/09/snapshots_if_you_have_to_ask_youll_never_know.php","authorlink":"/staff.php#patrickdentler","displaydate":"Feb 09, 2007","excerpt":" By far, one of the best views of the skyline anywhere in Austin. If you recognize this view, you know what were talking about. This has become one of this city's best kept secrets, tucked away nicely in a Central Austin neighborhood. Enjoy it while it lasts--a view like this, with a city like ours, is likely to not last long....","date":"February 09, 2007  10:11 AM","author":"patrickdentler","comments":35,"title":"Snapshots: If You Have To Ask, You'll Never Know","id":93595,"votes":26}, {"link":"http://austinist.com/2008/04/10/i_am_so_popular_10.php","authorlink":"/staff.php#spikegillespie","displaydate":"Apr 10, 2008","excerpt":"My darling son called me a week or so ago in the middle of the day. Some of you might recall that Henry sometimes (like about 54 times in a row one semester) has a hard time getting up at the crack of 9 a.m. to get to chemistry class and, as a result, he’s been afforded <a href=\"http://austinist.com/2008/02/28/i_am_so_popular_4.php\">a priceless learning opportunity</a> to find out, firsthand, what it’s like to go to court for truancy. The judge, in addition to basically telling my son that he’s stupid, informed him he better have a pristine attendance record when we show up for our next date, in June.\n\nHence my son’s call. He wanted to let me know that he’d left school in the middle of the day. His excuse? He found a bullet in the hallway. You know, live ammunition. He turned the bullet in to the school cop and principal and voiced his concerns about safety. Then he split. He wanted to let me know that he was worried his absence would be counted as unexcused, getting him in trouble in court.\n\nCall me a screaming liberal and Charlton Heston hater, but, you know, I could really get behind this vacate-the-premises-in-the-face-of-otherwise-maybe-getting-shot-to-death.","date":"April 10, 2008  5:02 PM","author":"spikegillespie","comments":26,"title":"I Am So Popular: Don't Shoot, Shoot, Shoot That Thing At Me","id":156244,"votes":26}, {"link":"http://austinist.com/2006/11/08/hurts_so_good.php","authorlink":"/staff.php#matthewodam","displaydate":"Nov 08, 2006","excerpt":" *Exploitation alert* But, daddy, who will protect us from the sodomites now? Apparently Rick Santorum had to concede so early that his kids didn’t even get to stay up past their bedtimes. Shucks. In his report in the Pittsburgh Post Gazette, James O’Toole discusses Democratic State Treasurer Bob Casey’s victory over the much maligned Rick Santorum. Hopefully the soon-to-be-former senator’s kids pictured above in the amazing photograph by the Post-Gazette's Robin Rombach, will not...","date":"November 08, 2006  2:32 PM","author":"matthewodam","comments":20,"title":"Hurts So Good","id":81887,"votes":25}, {"link":"http://austinist.com/2007/07/25/adopt_a_cat_bef.php","authorlink":"/staff.php#austinist_elizabeth","displaydate":"Jul 25, 2007","excerpt":" Just moved out of the family house and feeling lonely? Living in an apartment that won't allow dogs? Maybe you need a cat. Throughout the month of July, the Austin Humane Society and Town Lake Animal Center have lowered the adoption fee for cats to $35. This fee covers vaccination, microchipping, de-worming, flea/tick treatment, as well as spay/neuter procedure (if applicable). At this low cost, how can you pass this deal up? Even some...","date":"July 25, 2007  3:05 PM","author":"Elizabeth S.","comments":4,"title":"An Ideal Time to Adopt a Cat","id":117102,"votes":25}, {"link":"http://austinist.com/2008/08/19/back_2_schoolz.php","authorlink":"/staff.php#austinist_maguire","displaydate":"Aug 19, 2008","excerpt":"Austinist is happy to announce this year's line-up for the <a href=\"http://www.funfunfunfest.com/\">Fun Fun Fun Festival</a> happening at Waterloo Park on November 8 & 9. Once again, we're proud media sponsors, and will be bringing you all the news and coverage you'll need to be prepared for two incredibly packed days of music. ","date":"August 19, 2008  5:00 PM","author":"Paige Maguire","comments":4,"title":"Breaking: Austinist Releases Official Fun Fest 2008 Lineup","id":177667,"votes":25}, {"link":"http://austinist.com/2006/08/29/comedy_the_5th_annual_out_of_bounds_improv_sketch_festival_.php","authorlink":"/staff.php#erikamay","displaydate":"Aug 29, 2006","excerpt":" With Out of Bounds -- Austin's largest improvisation and sketch festival -- kicking off tomorrow night at the Hideout Theatre, Austinist sat down with festival producers (and talented performers in their own right) Jeremy Lamb and Shannon McCormick to discuss what the festival is all about. So tell us, what is Out of Bounds? Jeremy Lamb: Out of Bounds is the biggest improv festival in Texas. It started out as a 3-day get together...","date":"August 29, 2006  3:50 PM","author":"erikamay","comments":3,"title":"Comedy: The 5th Annual Out of Bounds Improv & Sketch Festival ","id":64101,"votes":24}, {"link":"http://austinist.com/2006/08/30/former_woodside_trails_therapeutic_camp_counselor_discusses_his_experience_and_opinion_on_the_tough_grandma.php","authorlink":"/staff.php#matthewodam","displaydate":"Aug 30, 2006","excerpt":" The director of Woodside Trails Therapeutic Camp, a camp for troubled youth, has sued Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn and nine other state officials. [From San Antonio’s Express-News] Betty Lou Gaines, the former director of Woodside Trails Therapeutic Camp in Bastrop County, claims Strayhorn's \"Forgotten Children\" report was misleading and inaccurate. The April 2004 report was critical of how the Department of Family and Protective Services protects foster children. The camp operated for more than...","date":"August 30, 2006  4:00 PM","author":"matthewodam","comments":6,"title":"Former Woodside Trails Therapeutic Camp Counselor Discusses His Experience and Opinion on the Tough Grandma","id":64355,"votes":24}, ];
var year_com_entries = [{"link":"http://austinist.com/2008/04/25/hyde_park_na_ha.php","authorlink":"/staff.php#Shilli","displaydate":"Apr 25, 2008","excerpt":"Our pal Austin Contrarian</a> is reporting that at <a href=\"http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/council/2008/council_04242008.htm\">last night's City Council hearing</a>, the councilmembers acceded to demands from the Hyde Park Neighborhood Association to deny pedestrian and bicycle access between Hyde Park and a new development on 51st Street.  This means that not only will the street grid that is the basis of Hyde Park not be extended for cars, it will also not be extended for bikes and pedestrians.  The street grid is the groundwork on which an urban environment is built.  Urban streets form a network that allows movement in every direction via multiple modes of transportation.  Suburban streets form a maze of dead ends and require every trip to use an arterial road, almost always by car.","date":"April 25, 2008  11:38 AM","author":"Shilli","comments":94,"title":"Urban vs. Suburban - the Street Grid<br />or: Hyde Park Hates Pedestrians","id":158659,"votes":15}, {"link":"http://austinist.com/2008/03/25/austinist_show_149.php","authorlink":"/staff.php#Adam S","displaydate":"Mar 25, 2008","excerpt":"This Tuesday, it’s won’t be business as usual for a quartet of local bands looking to escape the drudgery of the bar/venue scene.  <strong>Mo Pair</strong>, <strong>Some Say Leland</strong>, <strong>The Blue Hit</strong> and <strong>Infinite Partials</strong> are planning what will be the seventh in a series of “secret shows” that take place all over Austin in diverse locals like sewers, next to old Cottonwood trees, and now, on an island on Ladybird Lake.  ","date":"March 25, 2008  4:45 PM","author":"Adam S","comments":89,"title":"Austinist Show Preview: Secret Show #7","id":153383,"votes":10}, {"link":"http://austinist.com/2008/06/27/wont_somebody_think_of_the_pecan_tr.php","authorlink":"/staff.php#Shilli","displaydate":"Jun 27, 2008","excerpt":"As part of the construction of the <a href=\"http://www.bartonplaceaustin.com/\">BartonPlace</a> condos at the former site of the <a href=\"http://austinist.com/2006/12/04/condomania_continues_at_shady_grove_tp_and_barton_court.php\">Shady Grove RV Park</a>, several big pecan trees have been removed.  The <a href=\"http://www.statesman.com/search/content/news/stories/local/06/12/0612pecans.html\">Statesman noticed</a> and so did <a href=\"http://www.marciaball.com/\">Marcia Ball</a>, who apparently <a href=\"http://www.myfoxaustin.com/myfox/pages/News/Detail?contentId=6867957&version=1&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=VSTY&pageId=3.2.1\">mentioned something about it</a> while on stage at a Blues on the Green a few weeks ago.  BartonPlace developer Larry Warshaw felt both the Statesman and Marcia Ball were unfair about the tree removal, noting that BartonPlace complied with the law and agreements with the neighborhoods, unlike another developer that recently <a href=\"http://www.statesman.com/news/content/news/stories/local/06/18/0618trees.html?COXnetJSessionIDbuild99b_prod=lTwwLY2BY8XlTLxwQ72zW32BrlM4q1MLQ3rbngZMRZ3PbWxkyL2h!-567337682&cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=52&UrAuth=%60N_NUObN[UbTTUWUXUaUZTYU^UWUbUcUZU]UZUcTYWYWZV&urcm=y\">clear-cut hundreds of large oak trees in Oak Hill</a>.  The full letter from Larry is reprinted below.","date":"June 27, 2008  8:59 PM","author":"Shilli","comments":89,"title":"Won't Somebody Please Think of the Pecans?","id":168807,"votes":5}, {"link":"http://austinist.com/2008/07/01/hit_and_run_karma_sucks.php","authorlink":"/staff.php#austinist_keb","displaydate":"Jul 01, 2008","excerpt":"Back in late March, Carrie Miller was riding home on Guadalupe when she was <a href=\"http://www.kxan.com/Global/story.asp?S=8577334\">struck by a hit-and-run driver and thrown from her bike</a>. The driver, whose passenger side mirror struck Miller, may not have stopped, but he left her with a key piece of evidence -- evidence that would lead Miller back to her own apartment building.","date":"July 01, 2008  10:53 AM","author":"austinist_keb","comments":61,"title":"Hit And Run Karma Sucks","id":169225,"votes":23}, {"link":"http://austinist.com/2008/09/03/las_manitas_closed_forever.php","authorlink":"/staff.php#Shilli","displaydate":"Sep 03, 2008","excerpt":"Las Manitas <a href=\"http://www.texasmonthly.com/blogs/eatmywords/?p=170\">closed forever</a> on August 31 according to <a href=\"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hs__ZXvMSjI&eurl=http://www.texasmonthly.com/blogs/eatmywords/?p=170\">Cynthia Perez</a> (one of the owners).  The restaurant will probably be replaced with a complex of <a href=\"http://austinist.com/2006/07/21/marriott_is_the_new_las_manitas.php\">three new Marriott hotels</a>.","date":"September 03, 2008  11:33 AM","author":"Shilli","comments":54,"title":"Las Manitas Closed Forever","id":180148,"votes":12}, {"link":"http://austinist.com/2008/04/21/better_know_a_c_5.php","authorlink":"/staff.php#Shilli","displaydate":"Apr 21, 2008","excerpt":"<em>Editor's note: In hopes of getting a little more information on how the candidates in the May 10 Austin City Council election may respond to issues facing Austin, we sent out a few questions.  Up next is <a href=\"http://www.weissforplace3.com/\">Ken Weiss</a>, who is running for Place 3 against Jennifer Kim and Randi Shade.</em>  See all his responses after the jump.","date":"April 21, 2008  10:35 AM","author":"Shilli","comments":52,"title":"Better Know a Candidate: Ken Weiss","id":157805,"votes":5}, {"link":"http://austinist.com/2008/10/02/the_daily_photoist_october_2_2008.php","authorlink":"/staff.php#Justin Cox","displaydate":"Oct 02, 2008","excerpt":"Every weekday morning we'll be featuring a photo (or two) from our readers. Please feel free to submit your photos (min 600px width) by adding them to the Austinist Flickr Group. *Editor's Note: This image was edited at the discretion of Austinist This sums it up BY STELLATEX...","date":"October 02, 2008  10:08 AM","author":"Justin Cox","comments":48,"title":"The Daily Photoist: October 2, 2008","id":185102,"votes":2}, {"link":"http://austinist.com/2008/03/24/annex_san_jose.php","authorlink":"/staff.php#Shilli","displaydate":"Mar 24, 2008","excerpt":"The long anticipated condo project near the <a href=\"http://www.sanjosehotel.com/\">Hotel San Jose</a> finally has a <a href=\"http://annexsanjose.com/\">flashy website</a> and a big billboard.  The project will apparently include 77 condos ranging in price from $300k-$900k and may break ground before the end of this year.","date":"March 24, 2008  10:33 AM","author":"Shilli","comments":45,"title":"Annex San Jose Coming to South Congress","id":153270,"votes":9}, {"link":"http://austinist.com/2008/04/15/here_we_go_agai.php","authorlink":"/staff.php#austinist_maguire","displaydate":"Apr 15, 2008","excerpt":"It's official: Foo Fighters, Robert Plant & Alison Krauss and John Fogerty take top billing along with <strong>Beck, Manu Chao, David Byrne, The Raconteurs, The Mars Volta, Gnarls Barkley, Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band, N.E.R.D., Erykah Badu, Robert Earl Keen, and Parry Griffin</strong> rounding out tier one. ","date":"April 15, 2008  09:29 AM","author":"Paige Maguire","comments":45,"title":"Here We Go Again: 2008's ACL Lineup Revealed","id":157003,"votes":7}, {"link":"http://austinist.com/2008/01/31/there_is_hope_i.php","authorlink":"/staff.php#Shilli","displaydate":"Jan 31, 2008","excerpt":"<a href=\"http://www.hopeinthecity.org/\">Hope in the City</a>, a church in southwest Austin that exists to glorify God by growing devoted followers of Christ in communities that advance His Kingdom in Austin and the nations, <a href=\"http://www.statesman.com/news/content/news/stories/local/01/28/0128hope.html\">is running into trouble with the city</a>.  They have been so successful at attracting devoted followers of Christ that there is no longer room in the parking lot.  The church would like to build another parking lot in the field between their buildings and Williamson Creek, but city officials denied their request because the church is in the Barton Springs watershed and has used its 15% land cover allowed by the <a href=\"http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/watershed/ordinances.htm\">Save Our Springs ordinance</a>.  City officials have suggested that church members could take the bus, but that would require a miracle.  The church is now suing the city on grounds that their free exercise of religion is being illegally hindered.","date":"January 31, 2008  10:05 AM","author":"Shilli","comments":41,"title":"There is Hope - Infinite Hope. But Not For Us.","id":144502,"votes":8}, {"link":"http://austinist.com/2008/01/28/obama_said_knoc.php","authorlink":"/staff.php#austinist_benreed","displaydate":"Jan 28, 2008","excerpt":"I thoroughly enjoyed watching Barack Obama win South Carolina. Like most Americans, I like Barack Obama. And, like most Americans, I'm not sure why.","date":"January 28, 2008  11:59 PM","author":"Benjamin Reed","comments":41,"title":"The Accidental Gentrifist: Obama Said Knock You Out!","id":144628,"votes":8}, {"link":"http://austinist.com/2008/06/05/tranmission_ent.php","authorlink":"/staff.php#austinist_maguire","displaydate":"Jun 05, 2008","excerpt":"<a href=\"http://www.transmissionentertainment.com/\">Transmission Entertainment</a> has made a huge impact on Austin's music scene in the last year. Between their five venues, the hugely successful <a href=\"http://www.transmissionentertainment.com/feature/fun_fun_fun_fest/\">Fun Fun Fun Fest</a> and their unique approach to the scene, TE has formed a network of independent music lovers (fans and musicians alike) that are dedicated to bridging the gap between artists and their fans, and rejecting the out-of-date business model that the traditional promoters have let trickle down to the independent music community. “TE is a new sort of entertainment group that not only looks at the independent music experience, but supports those that create it and connects those that love to see it,\" says James Moody, co-founder of Transmission. \"We are working to make change happen in a somewhat confusing music industry, and we think we can do it right.  We have been music fans for so long, its now time for us to really contribute to protecting that and helping it grow.\"","date":"June 05, 2008  12:45 AM","author":"Paige Maguire","comments":41,"title":"Transmission Entertainment Launches New Web Site Today","id":165179,"votes":20}, {"link":"http://austinist.com/2008/06/18/trammell_crow_trampels_foes.php","authorlink":"/staff.php#Shilli","displaydate":"Jun 18, 2008","excerpt":"<a href=\"http://www.bizjournals.com/austin/stories/2008/06/16/daily31.html?b=1213588800^1652652\">City Council has unanimously declared Trammell Crow the winner</a> in the <a href=\"http://austinist.com/2008/05/29/council_weighs.php\">contest for rights to redevelop the Green Water Treatment Plant and the Energy Control Center</a>.  The Trammell Crow proposal was the most ambitious in many way - most total square footage, most parking, most green roofage and most solar panels crammed into a small area.  They were among the lowest in retail square footage, and more parking just means more smelly cars, so they weren't our favorite, but they were the City Staff's favorite.","date":"June 18, 2008  6:25 PM","author":"Shilli","comments":38,"title":"Trammell Crow Tramples Foes","id":167229,"votes":3}, {"link":"http://austinist.com/2008/09/15/kxan_and_time_warner_cable_dispute_qa_with_charlie_ray_director_of_digital_media_kxan.php","authorlink":"/staff.php#austin_allen","displaydate":"Sep 15, 2008","excerpt":"Local NBC affiliate KXAN announced today that it may be taken off of Time Warner Cable's broadcast service in early October if current contract re-negotiations don't work out. The station, which has been around since the 1960s, is part of parent company LIN TV, which owns local stations around the country. ","date":"September 15, 2008  12:08 AM","author":"allenychen","comments":36,"title":"KXAN and Time Warner Cable Dispute: Q&A with Eric Lassberg, General Manager @ KXAN","id":182108,"votes":19}, {"link":"http://austinist.com/2008/05/29/council_weighs.php","authorlink":"/staff.php#Shilli","displaydate":"May 29, 2008","excerpt":"Last week, five developers presented their <a href=\"http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/seaholm/green.htm\">proposals</a> for the redevelopment of the Green Water Treatment Plant and the Energy Control Center - six prime acres of downtown real estate worth something like $55 million.  The city is requesting your opinions <a href=\"http://survey.constantcontact.com/survey/a07e2aqzbbifgax6b7r/a014pfgtglupr/questions\">here</a>, but only until this Sunday.  Our pick?  Stratus had us at HEB.","date":"May 29, 2008  10:48 AM","author":"Shilli","comments":35,"title":"Council Weighs Green Options","id":163990,"votes":7}, {"link":"http://austinist.com/2008/07/31/condomania_lives_mobile_manor_next.php","authorlink":"/staff.php#Shilli","displaydate":"Jul 31, 2008","excerpt":"The land underneath Mobile Manor, the trailer park off Barton Springs Road between Chuy's and Baby A's, is <a href=\"http://www.statesman.com/business/content/business/stories/realestate/07/31/0731apartments.html?plckCurrentPage=1&sid=sitelife.statesman.com\">under contract to a developer</a> with plans to build a five-story, 250 unit apartment complex behind a 4,900 square foot restaurant.","date":"July 31, 2008  11:32 AM","author":"Shilli","comments":33,"title":"Condomania Lives!  Mobile Manor Next Trailer Park Casualty.","id":174314,"votes":8}, {"link":"http://austinist.com/2008/06/24/allandale_suburban_4eva.php","authorlink":"/staff.php#Shilli","displaydate":"Jun 24, 2008","excerpt":"Two big wins for the patriots fighting to keep Allandale among the <a href=\"http://allandale.typepad.com/allandale/2007/06/neighborhood-de.html\">least dense, slowest growing neighborhoods in central Austin</a>.  First, <a href=\"http://www.statesman.com/business/content/news/stories/local/06/24/0624walmart.html\">Wal-Mart has abandoned</a> any <a href=\"http://austinist.com/2006/11/08/walmart_the_new_urban_legend.php\">pretext of urbanity</a> at their proposed Northcross location.  Second, <a href=\"http://austinzoning.typepad.com/austincontrarian/2008/06/council-wimps-out-on-allandale.html\">City Council acceded to Allandale's demands to opt out almost all of its eligible tracts from VMU zoning</a> (all that they added was the Wal-Mart/Northcross location and a lot that is already VMU).","date":"June 24, 2008  10:40 AM","author":"Shilli","comments":31,"title":"Allandale = Suburban 4eva!","id":168154,"votes":3}, {"link":"http://austinist.com/2008/04/15/better_know_a_c_1.php","authorlink":"/staff.php#Shilli","displaydate":"Apr 15, 2008","excerpt":"<em>Editor's note: In hopes of getting a little more information on how the candidates in the May 10 Austin City Council election may respond to issues facing Austin, we sent out a few questions.  Up next is <a href=\"http://www.allendemling.org/\">Allen Demling</a>, who is running for Place 1 against Lee Leffingwell and Jason Meeker.</em>  See all his responses after the jump.","date":"April 15, 2008  10:53 AM","author":"Shilli","comments":30,"title":"Better Know a Candidate: Allen Demling","id":156877,"votes":7}, {"link":"http://austinist.com/2008/06/03/texas_man_kills.php","authorlink":"/staff.php#austin_allen","displaydate":"Jun 03, 2008","excerpt":"Just 15 minutes in, the third annual Matamoros-Bagdad Cycling Tour in Mexico was plunged into chaos when a drunk driver from Texas <a href=\"http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jC7kDSj_MJ-NbOCh7cYYYKYrOOjQD912BQRG3\">smashed head-on into the group of riders</a>.","date":"June 03, 2008  12:10 AM","author":"allenychen","comments":30,"title":"Texas Man Kills Cyclist, Injures Others in Drunk Driving Nightmare in Mexico","id":164796,"votes":43}, {"link":"http://austinist.com/2008/02/04/the_remora_cult.php","authorlink":"/staff.php#austinist_benreed","displaydate":"Feb 04, 2008","excerpt":"Like the disaffected grunge movement. Nobody could really find a way to bank off it, at least not until Ethan Hawke and Eddy Vedder came along. Then the music and film execs got a hard-on so big, it bumped into Kurt Cobain’s elbow while he was cleaning his shotgun.","date":"February 04, 2008  1:15 PM","author":"Benjamin Reed","comments":29,"title":"The Accidental Gentrifist - The Remora Culture: Sub-Urban Planning for the Homeless Organic","id":145527,"votes":10}, {"link":"http://austinist.com/2008/02/06/it_aint_no_air.php","authorlink":"/staff.php#austinist_julie","displaydate":"Feb 06, 2008","excerpt":"I've decided to out myself about something that will shock even my closest friends.  Hell, it might even get me fired.  Oh well.  Here goes.  All day, Monday through Friday, I listen to conservative talk radio on <a href=\"http://www.590klbj.com/\">590-KLBJ</a>.  Being a lifelong, card-carrying Democrat, some folks might guess my husband turned me on to it&mdash;but this is all me.  It began about a year ago in a desperate move fueled by pregnancy hormones.  A bona-fide <a href=\"http://www.npr.org/templates/rundowns/rundown.php?prgId=3\">Morning Edition</a> junkie, I needed a break from the incessant negative news, so I decided to find out what the enemy was up to.  Somehow...I got hooked. Here's a brief run-down of what life is like on the other side.","date":"February 06, 2008  09:30 AM","author":"Jooley Ann","comments":29,"title":"It Ain't No Air America...","id":145700,"votes":8}, {"link":"http://austinist.com/2008/11/13/bankrollers_of_bigotry_financiers_o.php","authorlink":"/staff.php#austin_allen","displaydate":"Nov 13, 2008","excerpt":"Prop 8 Supporters in Austin, via SFGateLest 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 not-so-insignificant role when it came to funding this historic referendum. For such a self-touted \"oasis of blue,\" Austin still has its fair share of...","date":"November 13, 2008  10:43 AM","author":"allenychen","comments":29,"title":"Bankrollers of Bigotry, Financiers of Fairness Dwell Among Us [Prop 8]","id":192670,"votes":11}, {"link":"http://austinist.com/2008/12/10/aisd_teacher_throws_fit_over_studen.php","authorlink":"/staff.php#austin_allen","displaydate":"Dec 10, 2008","excerpt":"In an age where Windows and OS X reign supreme, it's no wonder that a local AISD middle school teacher became enraged upon discovering one of her students distributing bootleg copies of an operating system in class. ","date":"December 10, 2008  2:45 PM","author":"allenychen","comments":29,"title":"AISD Teacher Throws Fit Over Student's Linux CD","id":197312,"votes":38}, {"link":"http://austinist.com/2008/01/28/villa_muse_proj.php","authorlink":"/staff.php#spencer","displaydate":"Jan 28, 2008","excerpt":"This project is a direct response to Austin’s lack of world-class entertainment infrastructure, and it’s a bold attempt to bridge the gap between a mid-level entertainment industry with huge potential (which Austin is) and a mature industry with world-class production facilities and creative professionals (which Austin, says Villa Muse, could be). ","date":"January 28, 2008  10:00 AM","author":"s","comments":28,"title":"Villa Muse Project Near Groundbreaking East of Austin","id":144188,"votes":5}, {"link":"http://austinist.com/2008/02/14/sxsw_news_rumor_4.php","authorlink":"/staff.php#austinist_tom","displaydate":"Feb 14, 2008","excerpt":"Item:</strong> The organizers at SXSW have responded to years of complaints about long lines and short notice by <a href=\"http://wristbands.sxsw.com/\">dramatically revising</a> the wristband system for the 2008 festival. 4,000 wristbands priced at $139 are reserved exclusively for Austinites and will be distributed via an <a href=\"http://wristbands.sxsw.com/\">online lottery system</a> that commences at 9am on Thursday, February 21st. There is a four-day period for sign-up, then the festival will let the winners know they've been selected shortly thereafter. All registrants must live in the Austin area - a credit card with an Austin metro area billing zip code will be required (this generously stretches as far as San Marcos, Georgetown, and Taylor). One can purchase two wristbands, but one of them must be for the purchaser...and the recipient of the second one must be named when placing an order.","date":"February 14, 2008  1:19 PM","author":"Tom Thornton","comments":28,"title":"SXSW News & Rumor Updates: Wristbands, Dropouts, and Dayshows","id":147289,"votes":13}, ];
var year_fav_entries=[{"link":"http://austinist.com/2008/06/03/texas_man_kills.php","authorlink":"/staff.php#austin_allen","displaydate":"Jun 03, 2008","excerpt":"Just 15 minutes in, the third annual Matamoros-Bagdad Cycling Tour in Mexico was plunged into chaos when a drunk driver from Texas <a href=\"http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jC7kDSj_MJ-NbOCh7cYYYKYrOOjQD912BQRG3\">smashed head-on into the group of riders</a>.","date":"June 03, 2008  12:10 AM","author":"allenychen","comments":30,"title":"Texas Man Kills Cyclist, Injures Others in Drunk Driving Nightmare in Mexico","id":164796,"votes":43}, {"link":"http://austinist.com/2008/12/10/aisd_teacher_throws_fit_over_studen.php","authorlink":"/staff.php#austin_allen","displaydate":"Dec 10, 2008","excerpt":"In an age where Windows and OS X reign supreme, it's no wonder that a local AISD middle school teacher became enraged upon discovering one of her students distributing bootleg copies of an operating system in class. ","date":"December 10, 2008  2:45 PM","author":"allenychen","comments":29,"title":"AISD Teacher Throws Fit Over Student's Linux CD","id":197312,"votes":38}, {"link":"http://austinist.com/2008/01/23/call_for_contri.php","authorlink":"/staff.php#austin_allen","displaydate":"Jan 23, 2008","excerpt":"Photo not to scaleNow that we're finally settled into the new year, we're on the prowl for a few fine individuals to join our motley crew of writers and photographers. Specifically, we're recruiting contributors in the following areas: Arts & Entertainment Film, Art, Theater, Comedy/Improv News Local/State Politics, GLBT News, Items of an Offbeat/\"WTF\" Nature, Breaking News, Campus Shenanigans Other Cartoonists, Community and Volunteer Opportunities, Sports (UT) Photography Photo Essays, Special Events If you're interested,...","date":"January 23, 2008  1:08 PM","author":"allenychen","comments":0,"title":"Call For Contributors!","id":143778,"votes":32}, {"link":"http://austinist.com/2008/09/04/i_am_so_popular_gillespie_and_palin.php","authorlink":"/staff.php#spikegillespie","displaydate":"Sep 04, 2008","excerpt":"Like Republican VP nominee, Sarah Palin, I, too, am a hunter and a fisherwoman. In fact, I like to combine the two by shooting fish in a barrel. Which is why, though I know I’m way late to the over-saturated sport known as <em>hurl-shit-at-the-unvetted-candidate-chosen-for-her-good-looks-lack-of-penis-and-radical-conservatism</em>, I just can’t resist. \n\nLet’s examine the obvious, shameless marketing first. Apparently, to illustrate her point that no woman should ever be allowed to have an abortion (except in very extreme cases, which I will get back to in a minute) Palin came up with an elaborate plot not only to have five children, but to make sure one of them has Down Syndrome, just so she could point to her holier-than-the-rest-of-us self. Even Pappy and Babs Bush didn’t stoop so low as to play the <strong>Retard Card</strong>, despite the fact they, too, have a mentally disabled son, one who managed to land a job in the White House.","date":"September 04, 2008  1:11 PM","author":"spikegillespie","comments":11,"title":"I Am So Popular: Gillespie and Palin-- Separated at Birth?","id":180160,"votes":32}, {"link":"http://austinist.com/2008/02/28/i_am_so_popular_4.php","authorlink":"/staff.php#spikegillespie","displaydate":"Feb 28, 2008","excerpt":"A couple of weeks ago, I <a href=\"http://spikegillespie.blogspot.com/2008/02/court-in-session-i-get-to-meet-another.html\">blogged about the uplifting and relaxing experience</a> of taking my son to court for truancy. Brief recap: In Texas, if, say, your seventeen year old child, who lives independently, takes care of himself, buys his own food and gas and concert tickets, owns his own car, and demonstrates daily acts of thoughtfulness, compassion and general total-duded-ness, decides that having to attend chemistry first period is not part of his <em>Desired Life Experience</em>, and if, say, he does this forty-seven times in a row, there’s a very good chance that you, the parent, will find yourself in a court case titled <em>State of Texas vs. Henry’s Mom</em>.","date":"February 28, 2008  11:25 AM","author":"spikegillespie","comments":7,"title":"I Am So Popular: I'll Tell You Who's Out of Order","id":149444,"votes":31}, {"link":"http://austinist.com/2008/07/10/i_am_so_popular_take_my_uterus_plea_1.php","authorlink":"/staff.php#spikegillespie","displaydate":"Jul 10, 2008","excerpt":"In March 1997 a doctor said to me, “Your jeans are going to fit a lot better once we get that out.”\n\nSo tactful.\n\nThe that to which he referred was a cyst-morphing-into-a-tumor that had wrapped itself around my left ovary. This was discovered at a post-abortion checkup. I paid cash for the abortion. The removal of both the tumor, which as it turned out had malignant cells in it, and the ovary (the two could not be disentangled) were covered by insurance. Luckily, I required no chemo or radiation. I don’t recall that my jeans fit any different when all was said and done.","date":"July 10, 2008  1:01 PM","author":"spikegillespie","comments":17,"title":"I Am So Popular: Take My Uterus-- Please!","id":170679,"votes":31}, {"link":"http://austinist.com/2008/08/21/rumors_of_trouble_down_gsdm_way.php","authorlink":"/staff.php#austinist_elizabeth","displaydate":"Aug 21, 2008","excerpt":"Mediabistro's AgencySpy broke news this afternoon that an as-of-yet-unnamed creative director at Austin's own GSD&M was fired last Friday after pulling a not-so-bright stunt.  It seems that this CD created a GMail address in the name of the Executive Creative Director, and then went on to send out emails to other creative department employees about salary and other information pertinent to their department -- all under the ECD's name, mind you.","date":"August 21, 2008  4:50 PM","author":"Elizabeth S.","comments":5,"title":"Rumors of Trouble Down GSD&M Way","id":178131,"votes":28}, {"link":"http://austinist.com/2008/04/10/i_am_so_popular_10.php","authorlink":"/staff.php#spikegillespie","displaydate":"Apr 10, 2008","excerpt":"My darling son called me a week or so ago in the middle of the day. Some of you might recall that Henry sometimes (like about 54 times in a row one semester) has a hard time getting up at the crack of 9 a.m. to get to chemistry class and, as a result, he’s been afforded <a href=\"http://austinist.com/2008/02/28/i_am_so_popular_4.php\">a priceless learning opportunity</a> to find out, firsthand, what it’s like to go to court for truancy. The judge, in addition to basically telling my son that he’s stupid, informed him he better have a pristine attendance record when we show up for our next date, in June.\n\nHence my son’s call. He wanted to let me know that he’d left school in the middle of the day. His excuse? He found a bullet in the hallway. You know, live ammunition. He turned the bullet in to the school cop and principal and voiced his concerns about safety. Then he split. He wanted to let me know that he was worried his absence would be counted as unexcused, getting him in trouble in court.\n\nCall me a screaming liberal and Charlton Heston hater, but, you know, I could really get behind this vacate-the-premises-in-the-face-of-otherwise-maybe-getting-shot-to-death.","date":"April 10, 2008  5:02 PM","author":"spikegillespie","comments":26,"title":"I Am So Popular: Don't Shoot, Shoot, Shoot That Thing At Me","id":156244,"votes":26}, {"link":"http://austinist.com/2008/08/19/back_2_schoolz.php","authorlink":"/staff.php#austinist_maguire","displaydate":"Aug 19, 2008","excerpt":"Austinist is happy to announce this year's line-up for the <a href=\"http://www.funfunfunfest.com/\">Fun Fun Fun Festival</a> happening at Waterloo Park on November 8 & 9. Once again, we're proud media sponsors, and will be bringing you all the news and coverage you'll need to be prepared for two incredibly packed days of music. ","date":"August 19, 2008  5:00 PM","author":"Paige Maguire","comments":4,"title":"Breaking: Austinist Releases Official Fun Fest 2008 Lineup","id":177667,"votes":25}, {"link":"http://austinist.com/2008/02/14/_owen_egerton_r.php","authorlink":"/staff.php#austinist_smith","displaydate":"Feb 14, 2008","excerpt":"For the first time in over a year, erstwhile <a href=\"http://www.sinusshow.com/\">Sinus Show</a> members Owen Egerton, John Erler and Joe Parsons are back together, skewering bad films like some kind of movie mocking Voltron. And this time, they're taking dead aim at Robert Zemeckis' goofy sci-fi adventure <em>Back to the Future</em>.","date":"February 14, 2008  1:15 PM","author":"math","comments":1,"title":"Sinus Show Members Reunite for Back to the Future","id":147312,"votes":24}, {"link":"http://austinist.com/2008/03/27/i_am_so_popular_9.php","authorlink":"/staff.php#spikegillespie","displaydate":"Mar 27, 2008","excerpt":"Just as I was once an amazing pet sitter who nevertheless had a hard time keeping my own animals alive (back off—they were guinea pigs), I am now the wedding officiant who cannot manage to stay married for more than ten months. I tried twice, each time marrying a different facet of my father (round one: the bully, round two: the narcissist) but when husband two walked out, that cured me of any “need” I felt to be hitched. Interestingly, it was during the very month I filed for divorce (he left the dirty work to me), I had to perform eight weddings.\n\nIt’s true, people, I’m not just popular, I’m a minister. Actually, you can be a minister, too. It takes about two minutes at the <a href=\"http://www.theuniversallifechurch.org\">Universal Life Church</a> web site. And the cool thing is, once you’re ordained, you are legally qualified to join people in matrimony. \n\nBack in 2004, I was up in Jersey, visiting my bio family, and a few days before they chased me down the beach yelling about Jesus, prompting an earlier than planned departure, I was reading the <em>New York Times</em> and I saw an article about a growing need for wedding officiants by non-denominational and mixed-denominational and secular couples. The gig involved writing, public speaking, being useful, making people happy and cold hard cash and so the article caught my attention since these things are all very important to me.","date":"March 27, 2008  11:00 AM","author":"spikegillespie","comments":6,"title":"I Am So Popular: Three Weddings and a Funeral","id":153998,"votes":24}, {"link":"http://austinist.com/2008/05/22/i_am_so_popular_17.php","authorlink":"/staff.php#spikegillespie","displaydate":"May 22, 2008","excerpt":"<em>I love tattooing names on people,</em> says Hez, down at S<a href=\"http://www.southsidetattoos.com/\">outhside Tattoo</a>. Then he cuts to the punch line: <em>It means they’ll be back for another, bigger tattoo to cover up the first one.</em>\n\nThree months ago, <a href=\"http://austinist.com/2008/02/21/i_am_so_popular_3.php\">I detailed here</a> an example of my sometimes astounding stupidity: In June 2006, I got a tattoo the size of Chicago prominently featuring the name of a man I’d married just a month prior. Because I knew he was <em>the one</em>. \n\nSadly, though, I just didn’t know <em>which </em>one.","date":"May 22, 2008  12:01 AM","author":"spikegillespie","comments":6,"title":"I Am So Popular: Inking Things Over","id":162919,"votes":24}, {"link":"http://austinist.com/2008/10/23/i_am_so_popular_black_men_are_every.php","authorlink":"/staff.php#spikegillespie","displaydate":"Oct 23, 2008","excerpt":"I think I might be the most racist person I know. Let me clarify. When I say I’m a racist, I don’t mean that in the classic sense which, in my case, being a whitey, would shake down as me discriminating negatively against groups outside of my own race. Like the blacks. Or the Jews. <em>Au contraire!</em> For often enough it is the lily white man—usually the one in the business suit pushing me out of the way at the airport—that most alarms me. Those others? Well let’s just say sometimes I go overboard in the opposite direction.","date":"October 23, 2008  7:33 PM","author":"spikegillespie","comments":0,"title":"I Am So Popular: Black Men Are Everywhere!","id":188720,"votes":24}, {"link":"http://austinist.com/2008/06/11/pgraph_dabbles_1.php","authorlink":"/staff.php#Erik_Adams","displaydate":"Jun 11, 2008","excerpt":"<em>Villainy</em> is a showcase for stories revolving around despicable characters, and in its premier show (which marked Pgraph’s 150th performance), Pgraph found one hell of a heel in King Harold, a pauper who juggled and stabbed his way to the English throne. ","date":"June 11, 2008  12:42 AM","author":"Erik_Adams","comments":0,"title":"Pgraph Dabbles in <em>Villainy</em>","id":165777,"votes":23}, {"link":"http://austinist.com/2008/07/01/hit_and_run_karma_sucks.php","authorlink":"/staff.php#austinist_keb","displaydate":"Jul 01, 2008","excerpt":"Back in late March, Carrie Miller was riding home on Guadalupe when she was <a href=\"http://www.kxan.com/Global/story.asp?S=8577334\">struck by a hit-and-run driver and thrown from her bike</a>. The driver, whose passenger side mirror struck Miller, may not have stopped, but he left her with a key piece of evidence -- evidence that would lead Miller back to her own apartment building.","date":"July 01, 2008  10:53 AM","author":"austinist_keb","comments":61,"title":"Hit And Run Karma Sucks","id":169225,"votes":23}, {"link":"http://austinist.com/2008/10/30/photo_essayist_charles_alexander_me.php","authorlink":"/staff.php#Justin Cox","displaydate":"Oct 30, 2008","excerpt":"On Sunday, October 26, eight days before Election Day, Sen. Barack Obama held a rally with over 100,000 people in downtown Denver, Colorado--the capital of a state that has voted for a Republican in nine out of the last ten presidential elections. One of those people in the crowd that day was 86-year old Charles Alexander, a Boulder resident that has lived a remarkable life, combated a variety of hardships and out of it all personified a true American story, with a life dedicated to family and service.","date":"October 30, 2008  3:38 PM","author":"Justin Cox","comments":7,"title":"Photo Essayist: Charles Alexander meets Barack Obama","id":190167,"votes":22}, {"link":"http://austinist.com/2008/01/24/_editors_note_t_2.php","authorlink":"/staff.php#spikegillespie","displaydate":"Jan 24, 2008","excerpt":"I haven’t really slept with half of Austin--it's probably closer to a third, unless you count sleeping-with a by-proxy affair, the old one-degree of separation being close enough to count. In which case, pre-Warren, I’d slept with the whole of Austin at least twice and, post-Warren (because, of course, after an exchange like that, we hopped into bed almost immediately), well then, I’ve now slept with the whole of Austin several times over.","date":"January 24, 2008  4:09 PM","author":"spikegillespie","comments":7,"title":"Spike Gillespie: I Am So Popular","id":143954,"votes":21}, {"link":"http://austinist.com/2008/05/29/i_am_so_popular_16.php","authorlink":"/staff.php#spikegillespie","displaydate":"May 29, 2008","excerpt":"In early 2001 I told my son we were going to Japan. His immediate excited response was this:<em> Well mom, you’re going to have to learn how to shit on a plane. </em>\n\nI don’t recall that I actually emptied my bowels on that seventeen-hour flight, but Henry had a point. The idea of crapping away from a familiar toilet, particularly around a bunch of strangers, and in a situation that involves not-real-plumbing is usually enough to stop me up, sometimes for days on end.\n\nWhich was the case last weekend, at least until my intestines couldn’t stand it anymore. Warren, my hot young boyfriend, had invited me months prior to attend Flipside with him, the local version of Burning Man, that annual festival in the desert where thousands of people set up a tent city and experiment in… well, let’s just say all sorts of things.","date":"May 29, 2008  1:00 PM","author":"spikegillespie","comments":12,"title":"I Am So Popular: If You Can't Shit In Public, Stay Home","id":164002,"votes":21}, {"link":"http://austinist.com/2008/07/08/chit_chat_lovey_and_lovey_hit_usaa.php","authorlink":"/staff.php#austinist_julie","displaydate":"Jul 08, 2008","excerpt":"For the remaining Fridays in July, Lovey and Lovey, the alter-egos of comedians Michael Jastroch and Tami Nelson, will be holding court at the US Art Authority.  Described by Sean O'Neal at <a href=\"http://www.theonion.com/content/index\">The Onion</a> as a \"modern take on the screwball comedy...in the grand tradition of The Thin Man's wet-whistled wits Nick and Nora,\" the Loveys trade barbs about life, love, and whatever the audience might toss their way.  We had a chance to chat with none other than Madame and Monsieur Lovey.  Here's a teaser of the snap and sparkle you can expect from the show.","date":"July 08, 2008  1:30 PM","author":"Jooley Ann","comments":0,"title":"Chit Chat: Lovey and Lovey hit USAA","id":170266,"votes":21}, {"link":"http://austinist.com/2008/07/16/these_are_politics_mental_recession.php","authorlink":"/staff.php#ESeufert","displaydate":"Jul 16, 2008","excerpt":"Former Texas Senator and McCain economic advisor Phill Gramm told the Washington Times on Wednesday that the economy is merely in a state of “mental recession” and that the United States has become a “nation of whiners.”","date":"July 16, 2008  1:36 PM","author":"ESeufert","comments":0,"title":"These Are Politics: Mental Recession","id":171244,"votes":21}, {"link":"http://austinist.com/2008/10/16/thanks_guys_best_of_austin_2008.php","authorlink":"/staff.php#austin_allen","displaydate":"Oct 16, 2008","excerpt":"Austin ChronicleWe're thrilled and so very honored that you've voted us Best of Austin for the third year in a row! And for two equally wonderful categories this year, no less: Best Local Blog and Best Local Entertainment Website. We're also touched that critics chose Austinist's Urban Development Editor, Shawn \"Shilli\" Shillington, along with Mike \"M1EK\" Dahmus and Chris \"Austin Contrarian\" Bradford for the jointly-shared award for \"Best Urban-Development Echo Chamber.\" \"Like a box of...","date":"October 16, 2008  08:45 AM","author":"allenychen","comments":3,"title":"Thanks, Guys! [Best of Austin 2008: Best Local Blog, Best Local Entertainment Website]","id":187514,"votes":21}, {"link":"http://austinist.com/2008/10/24/college_station_mccain_worker_fakes.php","authorlink":"/staff.php#austin_allen","displaydate":"Oct 24, 2008","excerpt":"AP20-year-old Ashley Todd, originally from College Station, Texas and working for the McCain campaign in Pittsburgh, gained national fame yesterday after claiming that she had been assaulted and robbed, allegedly by an Obama fan who noticed the McCain bumper sticker on her car and \"became enraged.\" What made the story even more sensationalistic was the fact that the assailant, whom she initially described as a 6-foot-4-tall black man, also reportedly carved the letter 'B' into...","date":"October 24, 2008  2:08 PM","author":"allenychen","comments":10,"title":"College Station McCain Worker Fakes Attack","id":189093,"votes":21}, {"link":"http://austinist.com/2008/11/20/i_am_so_popular_oops_i_did_it_again.php","authorlink":"/staff.php#spikegillespie","displaydate":"Nov 20, 2008","excerpt":"Warren, my young hot boyfriend and I got married a few months ago. We did this very much on the down low, just the two of us and a county clerk. I wore a lovely dress I picked up on the sale rack at Target for $10 and Warren wore a matching Hawaiian-themed shirt. \n\nIt was my third time to get hitched and Warren’s first. You might think, with me being old hat at getting married and Warren being the sort to swear he’d never marry, that he would’ve been the one with cold feet. Nah. He practically skipped into the Travis County Marriage License Office to file the paperwork, whereas I was the one shaking. Because after enduring two prior short lived marriages-from-hell and two even more hellish divorces, I finally came to the conclusion that I’d rather be tied to a bed of rusty nails and broken glass and have a diarrhea plagued horse shit in my mouth while my ten worst ex-boyfriends plucked out my toenails then ever go that route again.","date":"November 20, 2008  3:17 PM","author":"spikegillespie","comments":1,"title":"I Am So Popular: Oops! I Did It Again.","id":193867,"votes":21}, {"link":"http://austinist.com/2008/06/05/tranmission_ent.php","authorlink":"/staff.php#austinist_maguire","displaydate":"Jun 05, 2008","excerpt":"<a href=\"http://www.transmissionentertainment.com/\">Transmission Entertainment</a> has made a huge impact on Austin's music scene in the last year. Between their five venues, the hugely successful <a href=\"http://www.transmissionentertainment.com/feature/fun_fun_fun_fest/\">Fun Fun Fun Fest</a> and their unique approach to the scene, TE has formed a network of independent music lovers (fans and musicians alike) that are dedicated to bridging the gap between artists and their fans, and rejecting the out-of-date business model that the traditional promoters have let trickle down to the independent music community. “TE is a new sort of entertainment group that not only looks at the independent music experience, but supports those that create it and connects those that love to see it,\" says James Moody, co-founder of Transmission. \"We are working to make change happen in a somewhat confusing music industry, and we think we can do it right.  We have been music fans for so long, its now time for us to really contribute to protecting that and helping it grow.\"","date":"June 05, 2008  12:45 AM","author":"Paige Maguire","comments":41,"title":"Transmission Entertainment Launches New Web Site Today","id":165179,"votes":20}, {"link":"http://austinist.com/2008/07/24/i_am_so_popular_left_handed_lovin_m_1.php","authorlink":"/staff.php#spikegillespie","displaydate":"Jul 24, 2008","excerpt":"I first saw <a href=\"http://www.southpawjones.com\">Southpaw Jones</a> back in ’04 when he was playing in the tin roofed barn behind the original <a href=\"http://www.moxieandthecompound.com\">Moxie and the Compound</a>. The very first song I ever heard him sing was <em>The Cruelty of Teenage Girls</em>, and in that moment my life radically and permanently changed for the much, much better. And I’m not even saying that because I read a recent article in <em>Wired </em>telling me that hyperbole is the path to more page views. I’m saying it because, thanks to Southpaw Jones, I got my picture in the <em>New York Times</em>, I was afforded the privilege of home ownership, I collect royalty checks for decent sums of money, and—I am not shitting you—I regained the ability to walk again. ","date":"July 24, 2008  10:55 AM","author":"spikegillespie","comments":1,"title":"I Am So Popular: Left Handed Lovin-- Mr. Southpaw Jones","id":173042,"votes":20}, ];