The world's just not as much fun as it used to be, what with all the global warming, credit crises, genocide, and other assorted world events that get us down, bum us out and convince us that, yeah, totally—the sky is falling. Thank goodness for Joe Hartman's new one man show, Overwhelming Underdogs, in its second strong week at Arts on Real. Hartman's writing and acting, Kirk German's directing, and maybe a glass of wine from the in-theatre bar is the perfect antidote to thinking about all that other stuff....

Sign of global warming? Two butterflies make their first appearance in the Valley; they haven't ventured this far North before. Austin lawyer forged judges' signatures on personal bonds. KXAN shows how an Austin couple's startup is making it simple to buy from Shanghai (see video at right). GOP Presidential hopeful Huckabee was in town fund-raising last night. Operation Blue Santa needs volunteers. And so does the Human Rights Commission! State Rep. Mike Krusee won't......

But what if attitudes and religious memeplexes aren’t changing because adapting to social pressure is necessary? What if the new millenarianism, instead of crashing computers, will be a fight to the death with a Frankenstein version of Mother Nature? What if environmentalism is becoming the new faith? What if responsible consumerism is the new moral ethic? What if recycling, dear Green God, is the new ritual of absolution?...

Tomorrow, November 3rd, the Step It Up Campaign gathers once again to see which of our politicians are stepping up and taking action about global warming. Following up on the first event back in April, the campaign unites ordinary folks concerned about global warming and demanding action from the candidates of 2008 to take bold steps on climate change. Millions will be gathering across the country to address representatives on three key priorities to stop......

Mayor Wynn says, "We're taking action today that will lower the cost of utility bills, make housing more affordable, help improve air quality and take critical steps in the fight against global warming," as City Council adopts codes to make new homes zero energy capable. El Paso high school student collapses and dies after finishing the PSAT. Blanco High School pranksters put bloody deer carcass in Comfort High School bus. Bird conservationists are opposed......

Little did we know last Monday when Al Gore stopped off in Austin for his Inconvenient Truth presentation that today he would be announced the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize. There were rumors that it might happen - as a way for the Nobel committee to make a firm statement about the correlation between the environment and world peace - but now it is official. Gore will share the prize this year with the......

Math teacher at Bowie high school wins a national education award worth $25,000. Last night, the Planning Commission voted against proposals made by CWS to develop land so close to Lady Bird Lake. TxDOT used cameras hidden in orange barrels to collect license plate data for a transportation study. Staph infections making the rounds at Austin high schools; 10 Anderson football players have been affected in recent weeks. As if we needed another reason......

Here in Austin, we're all about the environment and stuff. Right? Damn right! So this year's AFF Green Cinema Showcase should go over especially well with all you envirothusiasts out there. This year's program will feature three films that explore topical environmental issues like global warming, industrial hemp production and renewable fuel sources. Oh hey--if you're interested in these films, you might also want to check out Gimme Green, a short documentary exploring America's obsession......

Huge Arctic icemelt convinces even some global warming skeptics. Texas oilman pleads guilty to paying Saddam Hussein money in order to gain access to his raw materials. Profits make you do strange things... They found a (very old) former Nazi dog trainer in Georgia. Saber-toothed tiger was more like a bear than a cat. Next time you dress your man down for leaving his clothes on the floor, remind him it's all for your......

O.J. Simpson is just weird. Bush to appoint new legal yes-man, er, we mean Attorney General. Greenspan says Iraq War was mostly just about gettin' our grubby hands on some of that cheap oil. The world's top 10 most polluted places, according to Scientific American. Get your iPhone unlocked for, like, $50. Our legs are really, really sore from ACL. Another effect of global warming: The unthawing of prehistoric mammoth dung, which stinks!......

The Brave One Jodie Foster's pool-table (or was it pinball machine?) scene in The Accused was burned into our early middle-school brains, so will that make it harder or easier to watch her get brutalized again in this new movie? At least her character is totally different - this time she's an upscale New Yorker who gets beaten by unknown assailants in Central Park (and the movie is directed by Neil Jordan, of The......

Back in June, after Mayor Wynn gave his global warming presentation at the Alamo Downtown, the funnymen at Master Pancake Theater performed a special one-off skewering of Roland Emmerich's cheeseball disaster flick The Day After Tomorrow. Sad you missed it? Well cheer up, sunshine, because the show went over so well that the one-off has now become an eleven-off! Starting tomorrow, the Master Pancake guys (aided by guest comedian Scott Chester) will roast The Day......

The biggest trend in fashion (and everything else) this year seems to be going green. With all of the talk about global warming and environmental conservation, the fashion industry has started responding by using sustainable fabrics and organic dyes. Now, boutique owner Jyl Kusche from Therapy Clothing is jumping on the bio-diesel bandwagon. Eco With An Edge is Therapy’s new campaign. The shop is expanding with eco-friendly inventory, such as canvas shopping bags, recyclable gift......

Mayor Will Wynn and writer/actor/director Turk Pipkin will tackle a hot topic (this one, not that one) this coming Monday as they host a special "Global Warming Q&A Session" between screenings of Pipkin's Nobelity and Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth at the Paramount Theatre. Mayor Wynn loves talkin' climate change (he's a key member of the U.S. Mayors Council on Climate Protection, and in January, he trained with Al Gore to deliver the slideshow Gore......

Never mind that it's not that hot outside right now (though we would argue that the wet-dishrag humidity more than makes up for what the thermometer's not showing). Climate change is still happening/still scary, and the movie at the Alamo tonight, the next installment in the AFS' global scifi series, is all about that possible future heated terrasphere. The Day The Earth Caught Fire, having been birthed in 1961, is more worried about nuclear war......

Austin Mayor Will Wynn, long a proponent of green energy, has his sights set on an even bigger target: global warming. Back in February, Wynn unveiled the Austin Climate Protection Plan, whose ambitious goals are eliminating all carbon dioxide emissions from municipal activities by 2020 and running all City buildings and vehicles using renewable energy sources. "Austin has long been a national leader on energy efficiency, renewable power and innovative technologies," said Wynn earlier this......

Russians plan to stop global warming with vodka--er, sulfur-containing aerosol. However, it sounds like this could also promote global dimming. We may be screwed either way, so drink up. Bush plans to stop global warming by having a series of meetings to set "a long-term global goal" by "the end of next year." The sense of urgency is palpable. Neapolitans' ice cream is melting due to trash fires necessitated by the closure of all......

It seems, where Pettitte goes, Clemens goes. Roger won't be around to save the Astros-he'll be busy saving the Yankees this season. Guess we can't blame Global Warming for the gradual decline in Irish Pubs. In the middle of a transition and confused about which bathroom to use? The Bathroom Liberation Front has created safe2pee.org for you...because these situations can be embarassing. Mexico City was certainly the place to be this weekend. If this......

*The views expressed in Truesday are those of the author and do not represent Austinist as a whole. Thank heavens.* -The Editors I’m all for the co-opting of absolutely horrific tragedies for pet causes. Like using hurricanes to sell Global Warming DVDs. Valentine’s Day for the relationship healing powers of warming lotions. Or cancer to peddle aromatherapy. Go Free Market! You mad-dazzler you! Why, it feels like just yesterday that after hearing of some......

It was a fun-filled weekend with some so-so weather, let's hope that it didn't stop you from making some connections. Let's put off that global warming thingy as long as possible. It'll be 100 degrees before ya know it, and it's hard to look hot when you're sweaty. If you haven't yet had a chance to check for yourself you can read our collection of last week's Missed Connections... beauty bar 1 year anniversary......

Tomorrow, across the country, people are going to be gathering to encourage the gov't to take decisive action on global warming. The organizers of this action, one of whom is climate change prophet Bill McKibben, say that there are 1,367 separate rallies planned for tomorrow across the country. One of those will be in Austin, in front of the Statehouse at noon. Convinced, like all scientists and most sentient beings, that global warming is a......

The 2007 KLRU Spark Series returns tomorrow night, focusing its attention on global warming. Two leading figures on climate issues, Dr. Tim Flannery (The Weather Makers) and Elizabeth Kolbert ("The Climate of Man"), will discuss the causes and impacts of global warming. Enter below for your chance to score a pair of tickets to tomorrow's lecture series: Congrats, Cari! [KLRU Spark Series] KLRU Spark Series 07 with Tim Flannery, Elizabeth Kolbert Tuesday, March 20th......

MONDAY [19] film • Alejandro Jodorowsky's "El Topo" at Alamo Drafthouse Downtown music • Melissa Ferrick, Coles Whalen at Stubb's film • "8-Bit": A film about art & video games at Alamo Drafthouse Downtown TUESDAY [20] books • O. Henry Prize Winning Short Story Adaptations at Harry Ransom Center (7:00pm) food • Central Market Cooking Class: Chef Justin Raiford - Flavors of Spring at Central Market Cooking School, 4001 N Lamar ($50, 6:30-9pm) music......

Those of you who breathe and/or can't stand the thought of deformed, three-eyed amphibians taking over Texas may want to read several recently published New York Times articles on TXU, the corporation that had planned to build 11 coal plants throughout the state. Interested in a buyout, investors Texas Pacific and Kohlberg Kravis just completed several weeks of negotiations with the corporation that brought prominent environmental groups like Environmental Defense and NRDC into the......

Among the many exciting items on tomorrow's City Council meeting agenda is the fate of CLB Partner's 32-story condominium tower at 7th & Rio Grande. Also on the list are the Retail Retention and Enhancement Program for Congress Avenue and East 6th Street, the Mayor's Climate Protection Plan, the Town Lake Hyatt condo plan, VMU opt-in/opt-out and the Big Box ordinance. The Statesman has a rather bizarre article on the controversy surrounding this development.......

Like everyone in the world but the U.S. has recognized for a while, global warming causes the new Katrina-caliber hurricanes. Today, disconsolate producers at Dateline find that their war on predators has missed the Taliban of pedophiles. Not saving any money? Don't worry, nobody else is either. Al Franken is maybe/probably running for Senate in Minnesota. Not to be gross, but: Harry Potter. Naked.......

Don't let the rain get you down. We took this shot just three days ago while kayaking around Town Lake. Forget that global warming hype, we've been dealing with local warming long enough to know that soon enough it will be sunny again.......

Paul Burka, Senior Executive Editor of Texas Monthly, reports on his latest blog that plans for a George W. Bush Presidential Library on the SMU campus are meeting some serious resistance. Burka writes, “A letter, dated December 16, from ‘Faculty, Administrators, & Staff’ of the Perkins School of Theology to R. Gerald Turner, president of the Board of Trustees, is now circulating not only on the SMU campus but also among a wider academic community,......

According to a climatologist at Austria's Central Institute for Meteorology and Geodynamics, Europe's Alpine region is going through its warmest period in 1,300 years. John Bolton has decided to leave his position as the U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. before he is removed. Lake Travis is at a 42-year low for the month of December. It sounds like Illinois Senator Barack Obama likes New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's chances in the 2008 presidential......

Turk Pipkin is a Texas original who has built a colorful and successful career as a writer, comedian, performer and actor. After appearing in dozens of productions and writing several books, Pipkin decided to focus his creative energies on an issue of global importance. Through his interviews with nine Nobel laureates, Pipkin’s documentary Nobelity, focuses on the most pressing problems in our world today and how we can attempt to leave the planet a better......