digg_url = 'http://digg.com/odd_stuff/Naked_Guy_Screams_BUTT_SLIDE_After_Breaking_Glass_Tasered'; Zilker area residents watched in horror last week as a naked man, seemingly mentally deranged or under the influence of a mind-altering drug, used his body to shatter a window at Barton Hills Market and subsequently proceeded to roll around in the nearby bushes while shouting "Butt Slide!" Police later arrived and had to taser the man three times before finally subduing him. [Video by heinedancer]... [continue]

Still/BloodsportAn automated message service operating as "your neighbor Lisa" began dialing local residents last week, questioning some campaign promises supposedly made by City Council Place 3 candidate Randi Shade. In the broadcast, Shade, who is running against incumbent Jennifer Kim and Ken Weiss, is accused of promising to raise the salaries of Austin police and firefighter higher-ups in exchange for their endorsements. Shade's campaign office responded almost immediately on Saturday morning, sending out an angry... [continue]

From 3pm to 7pm, you can exchange five plastic shopping bags for one of those green plastic totes you've probably seen around. H-E-B estimates that it'll collect some 750,000 plastic bags today as a result of this giveaway, which is a good step towards reaching Austin's new goal of having each major local retailer recycle 600,000 pounds of plastic bags in the first half of 2009.... [continue]

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 Robin Cravey, who is running for Place 4 against Jennifer Gale, Cid Galindo, Laura Morrison, Sam Osemene and Ken Vasseau. See all his responses after the jump.... [continue]

On Tuesday night, ROMA Design Group, the lead consultant for the Downtown Austin Plan, will present the findings so far of its study of Downtown mobility, potential public transit connections within Downtown, and potential public transit connections between Downtown and other significant destinations in Austin. Click here to see Ben Wear's description of the light rail plan to be discussed at the Mobility Workshop.... [continue]

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 priceless learning opportunity 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. Hence 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. Call 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.... [continue]

As we mentioned last week, Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama is setting up one of his campaign headquarters in Austin for the upcoming Texas Primary. Today we found out that the location for the offices will be downtown Austin, on the second floor of the old Frost Bank building at 816 Congress Avenue.... [continue]

Skating, art and music has always been a big part of Warren McKinney’s life. The Austinite is sharing his passion for all three this weekend during Art on Deck, a special exhibit of rare skateboards, a skate demo and concerts at United States Art Authority.... [continue]

Production still courtesy of Troma Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead w/ Lloyd Kaufman Live! Friday, December 7thAlamo Drafthouse Lake Creek (17329 Research Blvd)(7:30pm, $10)[info] | [tickets]Over the course of the last thirty-three years, Lloyd Kaufman's Troma Entertainment has produced hundreds of films, attracted legions of devoted fans, and influenced the likes of Peter Jackson, Quentin Tarantino, Trey Parker, Eli Roth and Takashi Miike. In fact, by Kaufman's estimation, the studio now owns more than...... [continue]

Image from nbc.comAustin's favorite high-school football drama, Friday Night Lights, could be changing networks. Radar is reporting that ESPN is in talks to bring the critically-acclaimed, but little-watched, show into its lineup of original programming. Friday Night Lights, which follows the lives of the fictional Dillon High School Panthers, films in and around Austin. Despite winning critical awards and having a loyal following, the show has moved time slots three times and has struggled in...... [continue]

Photo of Madball courtesy Keith GaddisFun Fun Fun Fest lived up to its name in spades last weekend, showcasing local and not-so local bands of all genres on three stages in two short days. Day one included local acts Okkervil River, Explosions in the Sky, and Brothers and Sisters, as well as touring acts like the New Pornographers, of Montreal and Youth Brigade. To read what else we had to say about day one, click...... [continue]

Photo of Girl Talk by Davisayer on FlickrFun Fun Fun Fest lived up to its name in spades last weekend, showcasing local and not-so local bands of all genres on three stages in two short days. Day one included local acts White Denim, Brothers and Sisters and Okkervil River, as well as touring acts like Neurosis, Final Fantasy, of Montreal and Girl Talk. Last year's event was a success, albeit overshadowed by too-cool temperatures and...... [continue]

Photo by Ray Soto $2 Music Mondays: Punk’s Not DeadMonday, November 5thAlamo Drafthouse Downtown [map]9:45pm, $2[info] | [tickets]After a painful four month hiatus, the Music Mondays film series has finally returned to the Alamo Drafthouse! Huzzah! The series will no longer be curated/hosted by Kier-La Janisse (who has left Austin to return to the wilds of Canada), but the first batch of programming looks strong, beginning tonight with Susan Dynner's Punk's Not Dead, a documentary...... [continue]

Pump Up the Volume was so much more than a proto-Jock Jams house anthem by M/A/R/R/S. It was the youthful, telegenic angst of 1990, distilled and splashed against an awesome soundtrack. It was a young and (remember?) hot Christian Slater playing a high-school pirate radio DJ named Happy Harry Hard-On. It was Samantha Mathis playing a way ballsier and like, more articulate precursor to Angela Chase. And, like any teen dramedy worth its salt, it...... [continue]

As promised, here's the schedule of set times for this weekend's Fun Fun Fun Fest, sponsored in part by Austinist.com. Fun Fun Fun Fest: [official] [myspace] [tickets] Update: Download this as a pdf Saturday, November 3rd Stage 1 Stage 2 Stage 3 12:30 PM 12:45 PM The Lemurs(12:50-1:20) Down To Nothing(12:40-1:10) 1:00 PM Djs Manny and Bigface(1-2) 1:15 PM Iron Age(1:10-1:40) 1:30 PM Zykos(1:25-1:55) 1:45 PM Viva Hate(1:45-2:15) 2:00 PM Brothers and Sisters(2-2:30) 2:15 PM...... [continue]

Will Wynn renewed calls for an Austin streetcar at today's Downtown Austin Association Annual Luncheon. Moving forward would require two votes in the 2008 election - one to allow the project and another for bonds to finance it. The new plan would include connections to the airport (along Riverside), downtown, UT, the Triangle and Mueller. We are generally fans of mass transit, rail especially, and naive optimism is our default position, so a streetcar sounds... [continue]

We're looking forward to Stitch. It's probably the most anticipated fashion-show/craft-bazaar in Austin, recognized by so-hip-it-hurts Nylon magazine as "a runway show that's as much about the community as it is about the clothes." And it only gets bigger and better each year. We're not just blowing smoke up your Simplicity pattern skirt. We think this year's Stitch is going to blow your DIY mind. After flipping through the six-page press release, we learned that...... [continue]

The first two of six new commuter rail trains arrived in Austin this week. The diesel-electric trains trains, the last of which should arrive by late spring, were purchased from Swiss manufacturer Stadler Bussnang AG ("We Track Clever Solutions" -- get it?) for $34 million. Cap Metro plans to start testing these cars next month along the rail line from Howard Lane and Mopac down to 47th Street and Airport Boulevard—each will be run...... [continue]

For those of you jonesing for Tamari Cashew Vinaigrette and a big Peasant's Meal, your wait is almost over. Keep your fingers crossed - the folks at Mother's Cafe and Garden tell us they are hoping to reopen tonight after the popular Hyde Park restaurant was damaged by fire earlier this year. According to their website, plumbers have been working to get the restaurant in order for opening tonight, but very well may be pushed...... [continue]

Photos from last weekend's Maker Faire at the TCMS Expo Center. Photos by Romain Nayalkar and Aaron Haley. If you can't view the Flash slideshow above, an alternate version appears after the jump....... [continue]