Four years ago this week, I spent a few days holding the hand of a dying friend. The cause was cancer and if you’ve not witnessed a cancer death, my wish for you is that you never will. And yet, bittersweet, I was at least grateful for the opportunity to bid my friend a proper farewell, kiss her fuzzy head, look one last time into her once sparkling eyes. That friend was Molly Ivins. She succumbed on January 31, 2007. I remember getting the call that she’d passed. I remember crying and then heading out to hear music at Café Mundi, and Southpaw covering Springsteen’s Promised Land, and crying some more. I remember being doubled over with grief at her overflowing memorial service, where a thousand of us gathered for her send off. My friend Sarah went with me, practically had to carry me out of the church. more ›

• ‘La Barbie’ may be the biggest criminal to ever come out of Laredo.
• During the trial, details are emerging about that shooting at Spiros nightclub.
• Texas hates gay marriage so much that they’re making a gay couple stay married?

The BP oil spill is big in the news now and nobody seems to be looking at the bright side— combined with global warming, the spill suggests the possibility that soon shrimpers will be able to harvest the little critters pre-fried and ready-to-eat. Dark side, bright side, whatever. Like everything else in the news that lasts more than five minutes, I say give the spill another week or so and most everyone will stop caring. Sort of like the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan— by applause, how many of you really think about these conflicts on a daily basis and know that the combined death toll of US troops is fast approaching 6,000? And how many of you know the documented number of Iraqi civilian deaths? (If you said “around 100,000,” give yourself a pat on the back.) Fortunately, when we get bored with all that oil gushing and all those bodies falling, there are more exciting current events to keep us on the edge of our seats. For example, this past week, Al “I Invented the Internet” Gore and his wife Tipper “I Helped Teenagers Pick X-Rated CDs With Ease Courtesy of My Censorship Efforts” Gore have announced they are splitting after 40 years of marriage. Friends insist there was no affair going on leaving me to theorize that she couldn’t stop leaving the lights on and he couldn’t stop cussing and so it’s over. more ›

I sort of hated Elizabeth Gilbert for beating me to the punch in writing a memoir about how an utterly fucked up divorce led to amazing travels, much meditation, and ultimately great healing. On the other hand, I have to say that I actually enjoyed the book, my enjoyment compounded by the fact that I read it while I was in the midst of my own utterly fucked up divorce. For the three of you who haven’t heard of or read Eat, Pray, Love, basically this really tall chick with blonde hair and a big book advance decides to spend four months in three different countries not getting laid for a very long time despite the fact that she meets a lot of hot Italian guys. A part that really stuck with me was how her friends ragged on her for taking night classes in Italian. I think they referred to the campus as Divorced Lady College. As if we must immerse ourselves in frivolous activities to help us forget what our idiot ex-husbands did to us. more ›

Straight out of the suburbs of Atlanta, the young men of Manchester Orchestra have quickly found a spot in the Georgia indie-rock circuit. Guitarist and lead vocalist Andy Hull homeschooled himself his senior year of high school to allow himself more time to focus on his work with Manchester Orchestra. The result of that focus is the band's first full-length. Peppered with references to Woody Allen, the album is full up with moody music that... more ›

Paul McCartney - Memory Almost Full The problem with rock legends, assuming they live past 30, is that they are held to such high standards. But for Sir Paul McCartney, age 65, such standards exist nowhere if not in his own driven psyche. In the past two years, he has released a politely (read: coolly) received acoustic album, Chaos And Creation In The Backyard, performed an extravagantly surreal rendition of "Yesterday" with Jay-Z at the... more ›

Brian McBride began Stars of the Lid here in Austin years ago, but his solo album, When the Detail Lost its Freedom, is one that gestated during a time of terrible strife (divorce, harrowing move to new city) in McBride's life. Recorded almost exclusively on an SR X keyboard sampler, Detail utilizes guitar, piano, vocals, harmonica, trumpet and strings, abandoning keyboards and synthesizers entirely. The result is a lovely, gentle and ultimately emotional album... more ›

This month, the Austinist kicks off a monthly interview series with local alt-comedy performers featuring interviews with Austin's best stand-up, spoken word, sketch, improvisation, and comedic actors. For the inaugural interview, we hooked-up with Lisa deLarios, local stand-up and frequent performer on some of Austin's best know stages. She recently returned from performing at this year's Aspen Comedy Festival, and discusses New York, being an agrarian at heart and getting her start. How long have... more ›

One of the films we're really excited about seeing at this year's SXSW Film Festival is A Lawyer Walks Into a Bar..., a broad, lighthearted look at America's obsession with (and simultaneous hatred of) lawyers and lawsuits. The film follows six law students as they prepare for the notoriously difficult California Bar Exam, but it also features stories and commentary from several notable lawyers, comedians and personalities including Eddie Griffin, Robert Shapiro (counsel to O.J.... more ›

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What would you find if you went snooping around Carol Keaton Strayhorn's Attic? Pink hair accessories? Broken Records? Divorce papers from Abe Lincoln? Apparently, Rick Perry thinks he's found a filing cabinet full of Strayhorn's tax refund secrets, a mounted large-mouth bass that exposes her flip-flopping, a treasure chest full of her constituent pay-outs. Oh yeah, a few powder kegs stamped "XXX". And even a recipe: 2 ½ cups gross incompetence 3 tbsp unbridled... more ›

When Atlantic decided to open its Nashville division, the label shipped Jerry Wexler out to scout talent. While in Tennessee, Wexler went to a guitar-pickers’ party where a few old hands were taking turns playing and singing. At some point in the night, however, the guitar stopped in the hands of Willie Nelson. Nelson played through a cycle of songs, a meditation on divorce that later became Phases and Stages, likely the first concept album in country. more ›

The follow up to her surprise smash, Prep, Curtis Sittenfeld's The Man of My Dreams (TMoMD), is a similar meditation on awkwardness that tracks its protagonist, Hannah Gavener, from the trauma of her parents' divorce at age 14 to her realistic, and not too overdue, epiphany at age 28. Sittenfeld shows that it's not just parents that don't understand, as Will Smith posited in 1988, but sisters, cousins, boys, and protagonists, too. more ›

We got a little tied-up this weekend, but here it is, your re-cap of what's what in the Ist-a-verse. more ›

Taking a page from former governor Bush's political playbook, Rick Perry has been spending quite a bit of time up conservative Christians' asses of late. In his latest move to pander to the far right, Governor Perry announced Thursday that he believes Texas public schools should teach intelligent design alongside the theory of evolution in science classes. more ›

We spent an inordinate amount of time going to movies, shoveling buttered popcorn into our trawls, and drinking Mr. Pibb through red vines (Watch this SNL clip we just referenced if you want to laugh. Crazy funny.) Well, just like with our illegitimate children, we refuse to name favorites, so with that in mind, Austinist presents to you our favorite 14 films of 2005 in no particular order. *UPDATE: A late editorial note, at... more ›

A few weeks ago, Death Cab for Cutie played two sold-out, back-to-back shows at Stubb's in support of their latest album, Plans. We had a very brief chat with their bassist, the affable Nick Harmer, and discussed a wide variety of topics: their recent move to Atlantic Records, being on the road, Death Cab pushing their mid-forties, writing the Great American Novel and more. Read on for the interview! --- So we’d might as... more ›

We closed down the AFF Thursday night with Jeff Daniels and arguably the best film of the festival, "The Squid and The Whale". Writer/director Noah Baumbach has penned a heartbreaking tale, based on the real-life drama of his parents' divorce, peppered with bittersweet moments of dark hilarity. Author-parents Joan (Laura Linney) and Bernard (Daniels) have exhausted their marriage. Their love affair of the mind has burned itself to ashes, leaving both husband and wife enervated... more ›

We have always had romantic notions of hotel living--like Royal of the Royal Tennenbaums, or Karen on Will & Grace making it with the the maintanance man at the Plaza Hotel during her divorce. Our fantasy includes terry cloth robes and slippers, daily maid service, champagne at our door, and lots of movies on demand. We fantasize about striking it rich just so we can make a habit of room service. We love hotels... more ›

The holy union of Nick Lachey and Jessica Simpson, which was born in this great city of ours (and celebrated at the fancy Barton Creek Resort) has come to an end. more ›