The death toll from the cyclone that hit Bangladesh is over 3,000 now; the UN says a million people have been left homeless. We're (*cough*) so surprised: Austin named the fall allergy capital of the nation. Alberto Gonzales didn't have an easy time speaking at the University of Florida last night. After child workers were found at one of their factories in India, Gap is determined to improve working conditions there. US Military calls... more ›

Still from The District! The DistrictNovember 16-222110 South Lamar (2110 S. Lamar)Various Showtimes, $8.25[info]We heard a lot of good things about Áron Gauder's one-of-a-kind animated gem The District! during Fantastic Fest last year, but we hadn't had a chance to see it until recently. It's a Hungarian Hip-Hop / time travel / gangster odyssey set in Budapest's notorious 8th district, where rival crime families feud like Montagues and Capulets. That is, until their kids fall... more ›

In terms of the new businesses in the wake of a Navy base closure, ‘revitalization’ is a hard nut to sell. More like 'damage control'. In Alameda, the closure meant the exodus of literally tens of thousands of civilian jobs, not to mention the millions of dollars enlisted Navy personnel poured into the city's economy trying to impress local high school girls. more ›

It seems Chuck Woolery is back from the dead, chillin' at the beach out at Horseshoe Bay. While he's there, he's making ends meet by selling time shares home sites (at lease we think he's selling home sites - we're having a hard time figuring out exactly what is for sale). The commercials have been running on television in California and offering airfare and hotels to potential buyers, leading some Austinites to cry "Californication!" If... more ›

Every fall, Austin looks forward to ACL Fest, and each year, there's always a point where two of your favorite bands are playing on different sides of the park at the exact same time. ACL Band Clash is a weekly series in which Austinist scribes Paige Maguire and Tom Thornton examine the worst ACL scheduling clashes, and try to provide good advice on finding a resolution. Well, good advice might be a stretch, but... more ›

Austinist recently had the opportunity to talk with Zell Miller III about his upcoming show Hip Hop Theater Explosion!. Miller was this year's winner of the Mark David Cohen New Play Award for his work My Child, My Child, My Alien Child. He received critical acclaim for last year's B-Boy Bluez, and packed houses the previous year for his phenomenal Evidence of Silence Broken. Now he's showcasing Austin's best and brightest hip-hop talent in what... more ›

Kind of a slow week for new releases here in Austin. You can either bro out and get amped on some new Die Hard, or submit to the CGI summer blockbuster force that is Ratatouille. Oh, and Michael Moore wanted to talk to you about some things. Live Free or Die Hard: John McClane is back! Now shorn bald (and resembling a very stern penis), he must jump off careening jets and donkey-punch the... more ›

From big blockbusters to foreign films, there's something for everyone being released today. These overviews should help you choose which movies you'd like to shell out for this weekend. DOA: Dead or Alive We thought DOA meant dead on arrival, but fans of video games and girls in bikinis likely won't quibble with the title of this action movie featuring scantily clad heroines. Babes! Yeah! Eagle vs. Shark Nerds kiss while wearing animal costumes,... more ›

Today, Governor Rick Perry officially recognized that when it comes to filmmaking, cash does indeed rule everything around us. After months of determined effort from the Texas Motion Picture Alliance, the Texas Film Commission, Rep. Dawnna Dukes and Sen. Bob Duell, Perry signed the dotted line on House Bill 1634, freeing up some $20 million in incentives to lure production crews--and the myriad jobs they generate--to the Lone Star State. The gaming industry also scores... more ›

Short one this week. I read in The New York Times Online (5/28/07) that CD sales have fallen more than 20% this year--the most precipitous drop in the format's history--and that the big music conglomerates, or at least the ones not in the process of being bought or sold, are having to get creative. Steps taken include: taking cuts of their artists' profits outside of album sales (touring, merchandise, and licensing profits), finding new... more ›

Qué tan lejos | How Much Further Regal Metropolitan #11, 7 PM Qué tan lejos narrates a journey of self-discovery, as two girls in their mid-twenties travel through the Ecuadorian mountains and coastline. Esperanza and Trizteza will not find postcard views or true love, but their journey will open them to a world beyond such illusions. Tania Hermida was born in Cuenca, Ecuador. From 1988 to 1991 she studied Film Direction at the San... more ›

TUESDAY [27] film •AFS Essential Series "Climates" at Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar books •Laura Van Prooyen presents Inblot and Altar at BookWoman (7:00pm) books •Robert Utley presents Lone Star Lawmen at BookPeople (7:00pm) film •"8-Bit": a film about art & video games at Alamo Drafthouse Downtown film •"Where's the Beef?" best commercials of the 80s at Alamo Drafthouse Downtown music •Yellow Fever, Basic, Popup at Emo's music •O'2L at Stubb's music •Dale Watson at... more ›

WEDNESDAY [21] books • Jeff Stone presents The Crane at BookPeople (10:00am) books • The Intimacies Group at BookPeople (7:00pm) food • Angel Valley Organic Farm Farmstand at Asian American Cultural Center, 11713 Jollyville Road (10am-2pm) food • Market Days at the Farm at Boggy Creek Farm, 3414 Lyons Road (8:30am-1pm) food • Austin Farmers Market at Whole Food Parking Lot, 525 N Lamar (8:30am-Noon) drink • Mojito Tasting at Dona Emilia's, 101 San... more ›

WEDNESDAY [7] music • The Shins, Viva Voce at The Backyard music • Love and Dancing, with Daetron Vargas, Disco Nihilist, Majora Y Minora, and John Gomi at The Peacock music • Spinto Band, Dios, The Changes at Emo's music • Invincible Czars, Bee vs Moth, Golden Arm Trio at Emo's Lounge music • Woodgrain Wednesday with Bavu Blakes, DJ Rapid Ric, D-Madness at The Parish Room music • Patty Griffin at Waterloo Records... more ›

It's been nearly five years since an appearance on KCRW's "Morning Becomes Eclectic" rocketed Alexi Murdoch's songs into Honda commercials,The O.C., and Garden State. The teen drama association doesn't do justice to the careful and serious tone of Murdoch's music, which he recorded and released independently despite multiple offers from the major labels. After a long silence since his Four Songs EP, Murdoch's 2006 full-length debut Time Without Consequence didn't pander to casual fans.... more ›

Alamo Lake Creek will be showing the mid-season premiere of Lost tonight at 9pm (the show's new time). You can watch the show on the big screen with others (no, not those Others), and we do believe the Alamo has a DVR so you don't have to mess with pesky commercials. Did we mention it's free? Be sure to get there early and claim your seats just as you would for any other show at... more ›

The Shins - Wincing The Night Away There are few tried-and-true elements of pop songwriting, but you can always count on the pairing of a winning melody with a morbid (but sweetly sung) lyrical sentiment to prick up the ears. While The Smiths will forever hold the blue ribbon for said convention (“Girlfriend In A Coma,” aww!), The Shins' James Mercer seems up to the task of carrying the torch into the new millennium. As... more ›

There's been plenty of buzz about a couple of today's new releases (anyone noticed the abundance of commercials for diamonds lately? It ain't just the holiday season), but you might be able to pick out a few gems from the list. Depending on what you consider a "gem," of course. Us, well, we're just happy when someone else buys our movie ticket and a drink (or several) afterwards so we can go home and... more ›

Theatre fans aren’t hurtin’ for stuff to do this week. So let the good times roll, people. Let ‘em roll theatre-style. Put your hands together for our Austinist Pick of the Week, Free Night of Theatre! Not just one, but like a bazillion completely free shows in Austin, and across the nation. (That’s right, jetsetter – even if you’re out of town, it’s no worries, because the metro area you’re closest to is probably... more ›

Holy Cylons, Batman, The Alamo Village is hosting TV Parties for all our favorite shows! If you are a fan of "Gilmore Girls," "Veronica Mars," "Smallville," "The Office," "My Name is Earl" and/or "Battlestar Galactica" then you've got a lot of awesomeness ahead of you. The Alamo Village is screening your favorite shows weekly as part of their new series of TV Parties. Here's the schedule: Every Tuesday, 7:30pm - "The Gilmore Girls" followed by... more ›

If you were at the past two UT football games, you might remember a couple of commercials that played throughout the game and received a lot of attention from the 80,000+ crowd. Those advertisements were only two out of nine created for The University of Texas last year as part of their latest ad campaign entitled, What Starts Here Changes The World. Legendary journalist and UT alum Walter Cronkite narrates the ads, the brainchild... more ›

We like Chris Bell; we really do. He's a (oxymoron alert - to preempt any comments from snarky readers) great lawyer and a proven civic leader with his heart in the right place. We'd love to see him win the governor's mansion. We really would. We miss the days when the big white house at 11th and Colorado was occupied by a Democrat. We even shed a little tear into our sour cream at Las... more ›

Were we the only ones caught off guard by the second coming of the British Invasion (Three if by air!)? Regardless, we were very excited to attend Monday's taping of Ray Davies for the PBS Austin City Limits program that airs locally on KLRU (schedule). Terry Lickona's excellent and enthusiastic introduction even named Ray Davies in his personal top 5 "pulls" for the show. The introductory performance of I'm Not Like Everybody Else found... more ›

News Corp, mother company of MySpace.com, yesterday announced that it would be spending "millions of dollars" to launch TV and online ad campaigns promoting internet safety for kids. No doubt motivated in large part by lawsuits, such as the one recently filed by a Travis County mother-daughter duo, that accuse MySpace of making it too easy for online predators to pick up underaged teens, and emotionally troubled youths like the 13-year-old girl who ran... more ›

This being one of those quality-over-quantity weekends for bands and rocking and, y'know, that kind of thing, you won't really have to make any tough decisions. Friday night you got Sonic Youth w/Awesome Color at Stubb's. Thurston & Co. have aged so gracefully they just might be wheeled onto the stage encased in blocks of carbonite; they're like 50 years old! Nonetheless, if you've never seen Kim Gordon do her cheerleader dance, or heard... more ›

It’s pretty hard not to like Salvage Vanguard’s Intergalactic Nemesis trilogy (of which we saw Episode II: The Return of the Intergalactic Nemesis this past Friday). As the lights come up, an incredibly dry and playfully sarcastic LB Deyo introduces the show like a late night personality doing his opening bit. The audience warms, then laughs – almost as if Deyo is their new buddy, with whom they’re merely shootin’ the shit. By the... more ›

It’s summer, it’s hot. No one is in a good mood. Then, on the horizon, it shows its beautiful ears. It’s double sweet corn at Central Market. Buy it now, while you still can. A tip: soak it in its own husk for about an hour before grilling to infuse it with a grassy flavor on top of its already sweet brilliance. If a nerdy love for delicious vegetables replacing nights of debauchery is... more ›

It's Wednesday night and you didn't think to buy Franz/Death Cab tickets. What to do? Well, as usual, the Alamo Drafthouse Downtown has something on you'd enjoy. The final showing of "World's Best Commercials" happens at 7pm, and the breadth alone of this compilation makes it look mighty good. Over 140 (!!) commericals from around the world will be shown, and the curators promise amped up sex, violence, and comedy during the foreign bits.... more ›

MONDAY [27] [ music ] Jay Moeller's Birthday Blues Bash, with Ephraim Owens, Mike Barfield, Scott Nelson, Damien Llanes, James Bullard, and loads more at The Continental Club (9:30pm) (link) [ music ] KOOP Radio Monday Benefit with Guy Forsyth, Wammo and Sick, and Southpaw Jones. Hosted by Owen Egerton (of Sinus) at Ruta Maya ($5, 8:30pm) (link) [ art ] "Art is Imagination": Paintings of the American West at Blanton Museum of Art (Free,... more ›

MONDAY [20][film] "Flying Nun" documentary, courtesy of End of an Ear, at Alamo Downtown (link) [books] Rabbi Michael Lerner presents The Left Hand of God: Taking Back Our Country from the Religious Right at Bookpeople (7pm) (link) [film] "Dr. Black and Mr. Hyde" at Alamo Downtown (7pm) (link) [art] Blanton Museum of Art hosts "Art is Intimate: Prints and Drawings" at Blanton Museum of Art (6pm) (link) [music] Karaoke at Beerland (9pm) (link) TUESDAY [21][film]... more ›