• There’s a college basketball game in Houston on Monday night. It’s kind of a big deal.
• At least one of the basketball fans in the stands at the Final Four will be wearing a dog collar that has nothing to do with Butler!
• 70,000 people are in H-town for the Final Four?

Perhaps there is finally some good news for Jason Ulmas. Ulmas, the owner of two Lucky J's Chicken and Waffle trailers, posted an impassioned and tragic blog entry Monday announcing the theft of the Lucky J's trailer from East 6th and Waller Street on Christmas Eve night. He went on to describe the theft as the final blow in a year filled with health problems and family tragedy - for the full entry, click here.

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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... more ›

Photo courtesy Ricardo B. Brazziell Brownout w/ Bavu BlakesFriday, November 16Flamingo Cantina (515 E. 6th St.)Doors: 9pm[info] Bavu Blakes @ B-Girl CitySaturday, November 17Ruta Maya (3601 South Congress Penn Field)10pm set[info] Bavu BlakesSaturday, November 17Plush (617 Red River)$10, Midnight[info]The anticipated long-form paean to Sparkdawg will have to wait for a week: Bavu Blakes, Austin’s biggest rapper, plays three shows and runs a 5k this weekend before hanging up his hat for the holidays. I caught... more ›

Photo by swanksalot on flickr After losing a chunk of the AT&T account, this week local ad firm GSD&M could layoff up to 15% of their staff. Today's standoff at Webberville and 12th ended with the suspect in custody. Austin Police Association is filing a grievance against the city and requesting an independent review, saying that private information regarding the officer who shot Kevin Brown shouldn't have been released. Austin Cantina in Seattle plays Austin... more ›

Austin Green Art Austin Green Art Celebrates Third BirthdayFriday, November 16, 6pm-8pmIF+D (208 Colorado)[info]Austin Green Art celebrates its third birthday party at IF+D Gallery, Friday November 16. AGA is an umbrella project of the Austin Community Foundation and produces public programs in collaboration with community partners, artists and community volunteers. Check out the unique projects on the horizon, including AGA's Grow Austin Weird Project, which was initiated in collaboration with the Campus Environmental Center's Gardening... more ›

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A bat found at Leander High School tested positive for rabies Leadership Austin's next project: finding a new chief UT nabbed a $1 million federal grant to fund grad school programs for low-income, first-generation and other minority students Happy National Coming Out Day! Some company named "Digital Reg of Texas" is suing Apple, Hustler.com, Microsoft, Playboy, Audible, Sony, Macrovision, and Blockbuster, claiming the companies violated a 1998 patents on digital rights management technology Environment... more ›

"When was the last time you saw a stuffed chicken taking phone calls, a mermaid playing an ocean harp, and a burnt-out yet decorated has-been singing to a cat in a litter box?”, asked Rebecca Havemeyer in an email. Um, not in quite some time, we thought to ourselves. She continued, “It’s time to get your pennies and prayers together, boys, because a telethon is coming to Austin!” Rebecca is promoting her Live Telethon Jubilee... more ›

Spoon (6:30pm): So here's the thing about Spoon: they're a studio band. And on record, they're pretty much bulletproof for this decade. But the band also have a deserved reputation as a sometimes shaky live act, and such was the case for the show's beginning today. Britt Daniel and the band emerged without opening music or much ceremony, plowing right into a half-dozen tracks from new album Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga. But they... more ›

Ming's Cafe (Chinese) Location: 2604 Guadalupe St. [map] Phone: (512) 476-8888 Cost: Lunch specials $6-8; Dinner dishes $6-12 Atmosphere: Clean, good tunes, comfy booths and a semi-private outdoor patio. Food: The word on the street is that Ming's is hit or miss, so we decided to check in and assess the situation. We ordered straight off the Daily Specials menu: crawfish with jalapeno black bean sauce, curry chicken with potato and the specialty spinach. We... more ›

Mars Restaurant & Bar (Asian Fusion) Location: 1400 South Congress Avenue (map) Phone: (512) 472-3901 Cost: Brunch plates $4-6 dollars Atmosphere: Sleek, modern décor; airy and sunlit; nice people-watching from the spacious deck; attentive waitstaff Food: This just in: if you wake up on the weekend with a craving for a la carte Chinese hors d’ouevres, you no longer have to travel north of the river to get them! Mars, South Congress’ newest culinary addition,... more ›

Quick, get me the Pentagon. American superiority is waning in the human longevity department. Can't we just bomb somebody over this? A lengthy but entertaining goodbye to Factory Records founder Tony Wilson, recently deceased. Informative readers' Q&A with Floyd Norris, chief financial guru at the New York Times, on the current state of the U.S. economy (not suggested for feel-good reading). Instead of simply fading away into the annals of big hair rock, Van... more ›

LaGrange, Texas says 'good riddance' to Houston reporter whom they believe responsible for the closing of the infamous Chicken Ranch (aka Best Little Whorehouse in Texas) Austin ranks 13th among office building sales in the US, with transactions totaling $1.44 billion in the first half of 2007 alone Fire Department officials believe the fire at a Dollar General in North Austin was arson The Feds discover another massive marijuana field near Dallas Elsewhere in... more ›

[This post comes from Anna Hanks, who'll soon be joining the Austinist staff!] We admit that when it comes to being entertained, we have the attention span of a kitten. We’re happily distracted by bright shiny costumes, jingly bells, and the occasional gilded, squeaky rubber chicken, especially when said chicken is employed to excellent comedic effect. Put a capable, young, red-headed actress charmed with crazy comedic timing into a twinkly, jingly costume, and we’re smitten.... more ›

Austin native Rebecca Rosenberg has been living in South Korea teaching English, and she wants to share her experiences abroad with all of Austin. Austinist believes that we could all use some Korean culture. Well people, I don’t know just where to begin, but I can say that life in and around Seoul just keeps getting better. A few weeks ago I headed to Hongdae for the usual Saturday night debauchery, and got quite... more ›

As Independence Day approaches, it's tough not to think of patios, grilling, and fireworks. This weekend will find half the city decamping to visit family and friends elsewhere and the other half of us running around buying meats, beers, wines, and chips for our mid-week July 4th celebration. In the spirit of the holiday, we've selected six American wines from California and Oregon that are each classic examples of both their grape and the... more ›

Want an excuse to toss down yet another of the Alamo's Asian Chicken Salads this weekend? Sample one of these new celluloid delights from Tinseltown. (Hey, Alamo: Bring back the shrimp substitution option! Seriously!) 1408: John Cusack stars as a skeptical debunker of all things haunty who spends the night in a legendary hotel room and finally gets his Western rationality scared right outta him. Made from a Stephen King short story, like all... more ›

While the Austinist staff remains split on the subject, some of us are pretty partial to meat. No offense to our vegetarian friends, but some of us just have too many positive associations with delicious animal parts. So when we had the chance to interview Ray Lampe, national barbecue champion and author of three books on the subject, including his latest, Dr. BBQ's Big-Time Barbecue Road Trip!, we were more than a little excited.... more ›

*The views expressed in Foodie Friday are those of the author and do not represent Austinist (and quite often our readership) as a whole. Ahh, the subjective nature of tastebuds.* -The Editors Growing up in Williamson County, culinary choice was abundant. If you wanted homestyle cooking, you could drive west on 620 to Pass the Bis'kits, Please, where you might be presented with a chicken fried steak and a - you guessed it -... more ›

Posted for Veronica Meewes How’s a mom to celebrate Mother’s Day when she’s stuck working a double at the Yellow Rose? Or catering someone else’s mom-day brunch? Or doing any of the number of things Austin’s plentiful parental population will be busy doing this and every Sunday? Well, the folks at Patsy’s Cowgirl Café feel your pain and they’re offering a Post-Mother’s Day service industry lunch special this Monday, May 14 for those who... more ›

A father and son were walking home from church last night in the Capital Plaza area (around Cameron Rd. and Reinli) when they were robbed. After taking everything the immigrant family had on them, the robbers shot and killed the teenage boy, in front of his father. If you were in the area behind Popeye's Chicken and the Austin Cornerstone Church last night around 10pm and witnessed anything, please call 477-3588 (the homicide tip... more ›

FRIDAY [20] benefit/music • Ashera-Blare-A IV with All In the Golden Afternoon, The Heirs, The Minderchucks, and The Otters at Club DeVille beer/party • Black Star Co-op's Craft Beer Celebration with Pong, Opposite Day, The Second Line Social, and fine craft beer from around the country at Fiesta Gardens (8pm-Midnight, $10) comedy • Punchline, open mic stand up comedy at ColdTowne Theater (10pm) dance • Room, part of Refraction Arts' Fuse Box Festival at The... more ›

Ah, the nineties. Cross Colours*. Plaid flannels. Yellow nugget gold rings. Sega Genesis. It was like, well, a time that was just before the current time, but after a particular decade which really, really marketed itself much better. Which is just too bad, really. Because in and amongst all that weed, war, and Tetris of the 90s, there was Yo MTV Raps (well, in the late 80s too, but whatever). And within that haven of... more ›

With all the recent responses, we get it - you're passionate about food. Austin is no longer a one chicken fried steak town with a burgeoning fine dining scene and three "best new chef" honorees by Food and Wine Magazine. In that spirit, the city has announced plans for its fifth annual industry-specific start-up conference: Ingredients for Success: Opening a Restaurant. The one-day forum, sponsored by the City of Austin Small Business Development Program... more ›

TUESDAY [3] awards •Texas Medal of Arts Awards Ceremony at The Paramount Theatre books •Martha Egan presents Clearing Customs at BookWoman (7:00pm) books •The Utter Reading Series with Darin Ciccotelli and Dominic Smith at BookPeople (7:00pm) comedy •Paul Varghese at Cap City Comedy Club debates/booze •Dionysium at Alamo South Lamar film •AFS Essential Series screens "The Seventh Continent" at Alamo Downtown film •2007 Austin Air Guitar Championships at Alamo Downtown food •Central Market Cooking Class:... more ›

Seth MacFarlane, the brains behind the greatest cartoon TV series since The Simpsons (Family Guy and its not-so-funny counterpart, American Dad), will be coming to UT campus next Friday, April 13th to give a lecture on lord knows what. The Emmy Award-winner is not only the creator, director and executive producer of the above, he's also the voice of many animated characters--lending his voice to partners in the genre, Robot Chicken, Crank Yankers and... more ›

We realize that you have many options for delicious food here in Austin, and coming from LA home of some great Mexican food we were very happy to run into Aurelio's on 6th Street. They've only been open for a few months (taking over the location from a previous Mexican place that reportedly was ousted due to drug issues, allegedly) but Aurelio's has been one of our regular haunts as we make our way... more ›

THURSDAY [8] film • Super Happy fun Monkey Bash 5 at Alamo Drafthouse Downtown film • Now That's What I Call a Singalong: Pop Royalty at Alamo Drafthouse Downtown film • Terror Thursday: The Beast Must Die at Alamo Drafthouse Downtown art • Opening Reception for "In My Stairwell" by Mark Seliger at Fielding Lecht Gallery (6-9pm) art • Artistic License: Matthew Day Jackson at The Blanton (6-7pm) art • Public Tour: The Geometry... more ›

Just after the start of the new year, we were devastated to learn that Austinist reader and all-around kind soul Heather Haenes was involved in a tragic car accident, of such severity that doctors were forced to remove both of her lower legs. Now, after a succession of complex surgeries, Heather faces months of painful physical and mental therapy and ever-increasing medical bills. Luckily, friends and family have rallied together to form the Heather Haenes... more ›