City Hall Inaugural: New Council, New Mayor and New Challenges

A swearing-in ceremony should be both solemn and fun. The rules are simple: dress up, bring your family, friends and staff, and speak briefly. At City Hall on Monday, two returning council members, Mike Martinez and Sheryl Cole, and two new members, Chris Riley and Bill Spelman, along with the new Mayor, Lee Leffingwell, took the oath of office. Leffingwell moves to the center position of what he called a strong city council. In a short speech, he cautioned that tax revenues continued to decline. Using a metaphor from his days as a pilot, he said, “We will arrive safely at our destination, but there might be some turbulence along the way.” Leffingwell offered no specifics on his budget priorities. The inaugural was also an opportunity for the council to thank outgoing Mayor Will Wynn for his nine years of service. Martinez praised his leadership and cited the welcome extended to Katrina victims as an example. Wynn and outgoing council member Brewster McCracken received sustained applause as they walked off the dais for the last time.

The Invincible Czars, from catchy name to daunting stage presence, are a rare breed. They bring bizarre, but methodical math-rock heavily influenced by classical music, polka, and even some country and jazz. Self-described as "a rock soundtrack to a sci-fi film with interruptions by a myriad of genres," we couldn't agree more.

Major Company Brings The Hammer Down on Local Food Blogger

Natanya Anderson, creator of The Everyday Foodie blog, wrote yesterday that she had received a cease-and-desist letter from a large corporation, saying Anderson's blog infringes on their trademark and intellectual property. Anderson said the letter ordered her to stop publishing at her current domain and to transfer all domain rights to the company.

Gears of War on Cowboys Stadium Video Screen

While setting up for a concert at the new Cowboys Stadium last weekend, some folks hooked up a Xbox 360 to the 72 x 160-foot LED wall and played video games in their full 11,520 square feet of glory. Check out the video. [Engadget]

Let Jenny Lewis Melt Your Heart [Tonight at Stubb’s]

An aching mix of dewy and caustic, Lewis is at her best when confessional, and will certainly never suffer a shortage of idolatrous confessors.

Annual "Can&#8217;t Stop the <em>Serenity</em>" Plus &#8220;Dr. Horrible&#8221; Screening Fundraiser at Drafthouse Lake Creek

Held annual since 2006, "Can’t Stop the Serenity" is a global fundraising effort that benefits Equality Now, a nonprofit that works to end violence and discrimination against women and girls around the world. Like its name implies, the event is centered around a screening of writer/director/cult-hero Joss Whedon's sci-fi film, Serenity, which was based on the short-lived TV show, Firefly.

Governor Perry Vetoes SB 488 [Cyclists' Safe Passing Bill]

SB 488 would have created a safe zone around special roadway users. Special users included pedestrians, runners, skaters, motorcyclists, cyclists, and more. The bill passed 26-5 in the Senate and passed on the local calendar in the House. It attempted to change current driver behavior (and possibly save lives) by criminalizing the near physical harm of fast-moving vehicles inches from your elbow. Governor Perry has some recent personal experience with pedestrian life on the road; he ran in this year’s Texas Independence Relay, a 203.2 mile race from Gonzalez to Houston. You can view the Governor’s objections here.

Texas Opens College World Series Final Tonight Against LSU

It's a college baseball clash of the titans as Texas takes on LSU tonight in the finals of the College World Series in Omaha. The traditional powers have combined for 11 national titles and both have reached the best-of-three final series without losing a game in Omaha. Tonight's game begins at 6 p.m. and can be seen on ESPN2.

Snapshot: Steve Earle @ the Paramount

Singer songwriter, Steve Earle performing at the Paramount Theater in Austin Texas, June 19, 2009. Due to his uncompromising songs he is known as "the hardcore troubadour". Earle performed songs from his recent tribute to his mentor, Townes Van Zandt. Photo by Steve Hopson.

Snapshots: Peter Murphy @ Emo's [Last Thursday]

If you can't view the Flash slideshow above, an alternate version appears after the jump. Photos courtesy Nari.

Austinist on the Road: NXNE Recap [Days Two & Three]

After the dreary, drizzling Thursday, day two dawned sunny and beautiful in Toronto. Having missed the explosive rock of Austin's Ume the previous evening due to a schedule conflict, we made it a point to catch the trio's taping for a few blogs at some very interesting locations near the intersection of Spadina Ave. and College St. First up, the band performed a couple of songs in the basketball court of a nearby school, eventually amassed a crowd full of enthusiastic kids very eager to learn more about what was going on. "Who do you work for?" quipped one inquisitive girl. Another brought her guitar down to the court and started mimicking Lauren Larson's guitar chords. The boys were content in teasing their female classmates but eventually garnered enough courage to join in, dribbling the basketball in unison to the beat.

Austinist on the Road: NXNE Recap [Day One]

"Every year, over 500 acts from around the world perform for 70,000 music fans and industry delegates at 40 clubs and outdoor stages during the four-day, four-night festival." No, it's not a SXSW marketing blurb from the early days, it's a legitimate summation of NXNE, Canada's own little festival that could. Now in its fifteenth year and much like its older counterpart in Austin, NXNE offers live performances by a fair share of underground and established musicians, tons of educational opportunities via panels, and a healthy dose of film, albeit largely music related.

Weekend Art Roundup

A few notable art exhibitions are opening this weekend, here's a rundown of the highlights. New American Talent returns to the Arthouse with its twenty-fourth annual juired exhibit. NAT:24 has been juried by Hamza Walker, the Curator and Director of Education for the Renaissance Society at The University of Chicago; he will be at the museum on Saturday at 3pm for a discussion about the latest exhibit. Past New American Talent exhibitions have featured emerging contemporary artists with work in a variety of mediums. Out of the twenty six artists selected to be in this year's show, twelve live and work in Texas. Admission to the talk and the Arthouse is free. New American Talent: 24 runs through August 23.

Review: <em>Killer Joe</em> at Hyde Park Theatre

Lest this come off as a negative review, let’s get a few things straight up front about Capital T Theatre’s production of Killer Joe, currently playing at Hyde Park Theatre. The acting is across the board spot-on. The set, co-designed by Mark Pickell and Tommy Grubbs, is nothing short of spectacular in its authentic, exquisite disgustingness. And Pickell, who also directs, is clearly a man who understands timing, suspense, and recognizes that kid gloves have no place in the staging of this piece. That said, a warning to the faint of heart, past victims of violent crimes, and sufferers of PTSD: you might be better off going to see a matinee screening of UP. Because Killer Joe is, even in its lightest moments, about as light as a pile of bricks buried under a slurry mound of wet cement. And then, as the plot thickens, so, too, does the concrete, until you feel your innards tighten and your organs harden at the spectacle before your eyes. It’s like somebody took MacBeth, All in the Family, and Sylvia Plath, tossed them in a blender, and splattered them inside a beat to fuck trailer out in Dallas County.

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About Austinist

Austinist is a news and culture website about Austin, Texas. We publish Monday through Friday, and also maintain a guide to local arts and entertainment events that we call the Weekly IST List.

Editor: Allen Y Chen
Publisher: Gothamist

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