The Austin Ice Bats, who entertained hockey fans in these parts for more than a decade, receive a well-deserved tribute in today's New York Times....

As part of the AFS Essentials series on the films of superhuman director Michel Haneke, the Alamo Downtown will be running The Piano Teacher (or "La Pianiste", if you want to impress somebody impressionable) tonight. Do not let this film still of a scene of passion in a public restroom deceive you; this movie will not inspire you to do the popcorn trick on anybody, but rather to rush out and invest in a chastity......

Spring is when we get busy here in the Ist-A-Verse. Very busy. But, after staying bundled-up indoors all winter, it's nice for us to be out, about, and collecting things to write about for you. Here's a glimpse at what's been keeping your favorite citybloggers busily away from home and out of bed. For LAist, strong winds attacked LA on the same day the Feds raided the Crips. Not to fear, though: the Japanese version......

We don't remember much of SXSW but of what we can remember, we think we had a pretty kickass time. During the week of March 13th to the 17th, we were out surviving on what little we had time to consume (usually free, alcoholic or "containing artificial flavors"), catching every bit of sanctioned and unsanctioned SXSW goodness. While we were out on the streets and bars of Austin, we began to realize a lot......

So, maybe you’re kind of a sports fan. Or maybe the word “fanatic” just doesn't quite capture how much you love sports. Maybe you don’t like missing really awesome games that you could be watching instead of, say, cleaning the lint trap in your dryer. But how do you know when you’re missing such a game? You can’t be scanning sports listings all day, scouring the internet for information about your favorite teams or......

"What the Stones were; what the Dandy Warhols should have been."* Strong words, even in today's desensitized rock-critisphere, but Lions In The Street have already opened for Kings Of Leon, been shopped-and-dropped by major labels, and recorded their debut EP in a dingy basement with an 8-track and broken mics because they could hardly afford beer. What are you gonna tell them, be less rock and roll please? This is the kind of band......

The first-ever Fun Fun Fun Fest is this Friday, December 1st, at Waterloo Park. Over two dozen great acts are on the bill, including Spoon, Peaches, The Black Angels, Prefuse 73, and DJ Mel. Tickets are $20, and can be purchased online. Circle Jerks perform on the Punk stage at 8:55pm. -- The Editors We’re excited to have you coming to Austin. You were here in March attending South By Southwest, right? I’ve been......

If you vote for Rick Perry, and you’re not a Christian, you’re going to hell. At least according to the coiffed Governor of Texas. Not that we figured there to be a lot of Buddhists, Hindus, Jews, agnostics or Sikhs voting for Perry, but, you know...just in case. Following a fire and brimstone sermon Sunday in San Antonio, Perry made it clear that iffin you aren’t saved, it’s H-E-double hockey sticks for you. "In my......

It certainly has been a wonderful week in Central Texas; cool weather is on the way, hockey season is here, and Texas has beaten OU for the second year in a row. The stars are aligned, and love is in the air, so it's the perfect time to find a connection. A great excuse to waste a little time at work, hunting for your Missed Connections... You were a life saver - m4w I......

Wonderfully effusive post-punk-'n-pop band The Lovely Feathers hail from Montreal, and this crew is nothing if not motley. The five-some consists of: a classically-trained concert pianist, a former hardcore grunge drummer, a scholarship-winning college hockey player with a rumored criminal record in New Hampshire, a med school dropout, and a self-described Ancient Greek Hermeneutician. Their debut album, Hind Hind Legs, was produced by the guys behind Stars, Broken Social Scene, and Metric -- they......

[The following is an editorial column by contributor Alison Coffey and does not necessarily reflect the views of the Austinist staff. --The Editors] Monday night's episode of The Apprentice was the best of the season. It's down to Lee, a 22 year old politician wannabe with an appropriate gift for dodging questions, and Sean, the metrosexual Brit with eyes for Tammy. I am pulling for Sean. Lee's a little too backstabbing for my taste.......

There's a serious crisis in Canada. Edmonton bars and pubs are having a hard time keeping their beer on tap and in stock. We guess hockey fans know how to drink beer. Tune up your cars and rev your engines. State Officials are planning to raise some speed limits to 80 mph, the highest in the country. We'd like to take this opportunity to let you know that slow drivers suck, too. How do......

Canada is the source of many of the things that make our lives worth living: hockey, beer, cheap pharmaceuticals, and good writing about unbalanced people. Indeed, for such a sparsely populated country, Canada is home to an inordinate number of our favorite writers: Atwood, Munro, Shields, Martel. So we had high expectations for one of its most recent literary exports, A Map of Glass by Jane Urquhart. Urquhart’s latest novel centers on three unbalanced people:......

Remind us to make plans to spend next summer in Cabo! The recent legalization of drugs in Mexico is expected to increase tourism, especially by college students. Aside from the economic benefits of increased tourism, perhaps legalization could crack down (no pun intended) on the violence associated with drug trafficking. Women in Cyprus created the world's longest Bra Chain in an effort to increase breast cancer awareness. The Stars are out! Some teams in......

Anyone looking to start their weekend early can head over to the Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar, which is hosting a bevy of special screenings for both discriminating and very-non-discriminating moviegoers. The Shaw Brothers retrospective continues with The Five Deadly Venoms, arguably the pinnacle of 1970s kung-fu mythology, and the legendary Lon Chaney gives a genuinely chilling performance as The Phantom Of The Opera, a silent classic with live creepy-organ-music courtesy of Austin composer Graham......

The Austin Icebats will play their last game in the Travis County Expo Center this Saturday evening. Next season they will be moving to an upgraded Chaparral Ice. The move will mark a major turning point in Austin hockey, as the Icebats have called the Expo Center home for their entire 10 year history. Hopefully the team will go out with a bang, or at least a win. The team will definitely be going......

At a press conference held today, the Austin Icebats stated that they will be staying in Austin as they continue to look for a more permanent home. As you may recall, the team and the city of Cedar Park had an on-again, off-again relationship for a while. Now, they've apparently reached some form of agreement, and the Ice Bats have temporarily returned home while they look for a bigger place. In a joint announcement......

Cindy Sheehan was arrested at the Capitol (essentially for unlawful conduct) just before Bush's State of the Union Address last night. Ever wonder why the hell you've gotta sit in traffic sometimes? Maybe sometimes it's just a giant roll of steel. That's all. Domestic Partners - gay or straight - might soon be able to share benefits with Austin City Employees. Brewster McCracken wants to appeal the current prohibition of coverage for domestic partners.......

The Austin Ice Bats will host the National Hockey League's Stanley Cup at the Travis County Expo Center Saturday night. The Cup will be on display during the Ice Bats' game against Wichita, and fans may bring their cameras to take their picture with the Cup. The Cup will be available to the general public starting at 6:30pm. It's also Guaranty Win Night as the Ice Bats play the Wichita Thunder of the Northern......

Halloween is just around the corner and Austin is full of ghoulishly fun activities. Among the nightmare factories and haunted houses is the one of a kind Haunted Trails out west at the Wildlife Basin Preserve on Highway 360. Austinist got an early glimpse of "the show" at their media night, with said media consisting of Austinist and a guy from a local Austin access show. They served us tacos and beer and cokes......

S A T U R D A Y music · Solomon & Tummler play their last show ever (members of Recover and Visitors), Mars Wars, Hockey Night, Pirates of Darkwater, LAX, plus DJ Shane at Emo's. 10pm [mp3s: Solomon & Tummler EP via MoreFizz] in-store · Sally Crewe & the Sudden Moves at End of an Ear 6pm [mp3: Sally Crewe - Drive it Like You Stole It] party · Swerve Coffee Lounge celebrates its......

Independence Brewing, one of Austin's many fine local breweries, is having its inaugural Pub Crawl tonight. This event gives you the chance to join the brewers and other faithful beer enthusiasts as they make their way through four different bars that feature Independence beer. Here's a little walk-though of what you can expect at each venue. The Ritz (320 E 6th St) Crawlers will be meeting up at 7pm. Yes, that's early...but it's never......

Contrary to popular belief, we here at the Austinist are not solely interested in going to exclusive parties, seeing the best live music Austin has to offer, and getting free drinks whenever possible. We also have been known to enjoy the basketball. All of you Austinites who have been living vicariously through the Mavericks, Spurs, and Rockets, your time has come. Austin is getting it's own National Basketball Developmental League Team for the 2005-06 season.......