Hand-drawn illustrations, limited edition art prints, experimental fiction, self-published zines, comic anthologies, DIY board games, sci-fi plush dolls -- what do all these things have in common? They're art forms that Austin's creatives have a particular knack for, and you can find them -- and more -- at the seventh annual Staple! Independent Media Expo. An interactive book fair and conference promoting comics, art, animation and self-published literature taking place March 5-6, 2011 at The Marchesa Hall and Theater, Staple! is a celebration of underground media featuring panels, performances and an extensive selection of local and visiting vendors. more ›

Most of us developed an aversion to homework at an early age, avoiding anything that vaguely resembled work, like memorizing formulas or reading 500-page novels. But what if your teachers had assigned you the latest issue of X-Men instead of Jane Eyre? Would reading for fun seem more appealing? Dallas filmmaker Todd Kent wanted to find out, and the result is Comic Book Literacy, a documentary that explores the use of comics in literacy education and promotion. more ›

Writer, director and producer Jason Neulander has one of Austin's most impressive resumes; from 1994 to 2008, Neulander was the founder and Artistic Director of Salvage Vanguard Theater, where he directed and produced more than fifty world premiere plays, musicals, and operas - earning him the Austin Chronicle's coveted "Best Theater Director" title not once, but three times (2004, 2005 and 2007). Neulander's work has been staged at national venues including The Playwrights' Center and The Guthrie in Minneapolis and Oregon's Portland Center Stage, but it's his long-running radio play, The Intergalactic Nemesis, which began in 2006, that's been touring to sold-out audiences coast to coast. more ›

Waller Creek Design Workshop. Image from City of Austin News Austin Music Commission's Town Hall Meeting Notes AMD Sued Over Birth Defects Plant a Tree for Freedom Waller Creek Design and Vision Workshop At This Rate, We're Having Our Next Happy Hour in Cancun Pangaea: It's For Real, Y'all UT Biologists Propose Biodiversity Institute Save BookWoman! Austin Music Commission Considering Plan to Stop the Rock They've Got the Lasers... Now All You Need is... more ›

Logo from Austin Jewish Book Fair Keynote Lecture: "Iraq, Al Qaeda, and the Future of Israel" with Jeffrey Goldberg and Lawrence WrightSunday, November 11Jewish Community Association of Austin (7300 Hart Lane)7:30pm, $12 Gen Ad, $10 Students/Seniors/JCC Members[info] | [tickets] Austin Graphics and Comics Night with Paul Benjamin and Terry and Patty LaBanThursday, November 8Barnes and Noble Westlake (701 S. Capital of Texas)7:30pm, Free[info]Less than four days are left in the 2007 Austin Jewish Book Fair,... more ›

Ambassador Dennis Ross, U.S. point man on the Middle East peace process during Bush I and the Clinton administrations, is coming to town to deliver a special morning lecture in advance of the Austin Jewish Book Fair. Now counselor to the Washington Institute and author of Statecraft, And How to Restore America's Standing in the World, Ross will discuss "how it came to pass that, not so long after 9/11 brought the free world to... more ›

Activist and author Elie Weisel is in town to speak tonight to a sold-out audience. He is kicking off the 23rd Austin Jewish Book Fair which starts today and goes through Sunday, November 12. Tonight Wiesel will most likely speak on the topics of racism, anti-Semitism, genocide in Darfur, religious fanaticism and more. When we heard him speak he was still working on his lecture for this evening. "Indifference is the enemy of humanity."... more ›

We spent last weekend wandering around the Austin Ballet administration building. No, we weren’t in an ether haze, nor were we trying to tap into our inner-Billy Elliot. We were shopping for books. Cheap books! more ›

M O N D A Y [ 7 ] TV · Screenings of episodes from Twin Peaks and Carnivale, with free popcorn! At Beerland (Free, 7pm) music · Pre-Election Day Party at Stubb's, with the Blues Crawlers, Daniel Kang, Booher/Davis, Pompeii and Roma 79 (10pm) music · Elizabeth McQueen and Jason Roberts at Threadgills (Free, 8pm) film · "The T.A.M.I. Show", documenting the 1964 Teenage Awards Music International - footage includes The Rolling Stones, The... more ›

Yeh, we know, it sure as hell took us some time to do the write-up on this year’s (NSFW, for most people, apparently) Extravagasm, which went down on Saturday the 22nd. And there is a really good reason for that. Perhaps we were so black-out-obliterated on the Friday night before, that we could not decide whether to dance on, or throw tables all over the place, and it has taken us a week to recuperate? Perhaps. But that would only be part of the equation. Extravagasm is a rather unique experience, and it would be unjust to wing it in description, with or without the crippling hang over. more ›