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You might remember Austinite Joseph Nicolosi's work from earlier this year, when his Mario Brothers feature film bumper was shown during SXSW. We instantly fell in love with his videos, and we're happy to report that he's recently completed a new one called "Kittywood Studios: Cat Videos Incorporated." The premise is that there is just one super-huge company responsible for every single cat video on the web. We're pretty sure we had this idea one night hanging out with some Sociology majors behind Spiderhouse, but we're glad someone made it a reality. Enjoy, and follow Joe on Twitter @tehpwnshop. more ›

If you thought last night was out of control, wait till you hear the post-relationship poetry of Textsfrommyex.com. Started by two St. Edwards MBA students and their roommate, the site runs on the same basic formula of public content blogs, and was specifically inspired by the recent run of sites like Texts From Last Night, When Parents Text, and their local competition at Lamebook. The site started as a class project, but has blossomed into its own entity. It's in the early stages, so if you've got some crazy ex material you've got a good shot of making them famous (anonymously) and making everyone feel better about their relationship history in the process. The site started as a class project, but has blossomed into its own entity. It's in the early runnings, so if you've got some crazy ex material you've got a good shot of making them famous(anonymously) and making everyone feel better about their relationship history in the process. more ›

We all know that Hollywood is not entirely concerned with pumping out interesting and original ideas, especially when it comes to television. Sure, you have your odd Mad Men or The Wire or (insert TV show you are obsessed with here), but the other million* hours of programming a week are filled with carbon copies of old ideas and laugh tracks galore. Execs would be just as happy to see another Two and a Half Men on the boob tube, raking in the ad dollars and Emmys, as they would another LOST or Breaking Bad. The question is, where is the line determining what makes it to the small screens and what doesn't? The Other Network will possibly give us some insight into that delicate balance from the losers side of the fence. more ›

Zach Anner, a local twenty-something with cerebral palsy (in his words, "the sexiest of the palsies"), entered Oprah's Search for the Next TV Star with the goal of hosting a travel show for people who never thought they could. It seems that he promised that if he got a million votes for his entry, he would crawl the Austin Marathon. Now it looks like he'll have to! more ›

Rick Perry has a new housing option that could save taxpayers almost $10,000 a month. In a news conference yesterday, Texas AFL-CIO president Becky Mueller offered the governor the use of a "manufactured home" for $1 a year in rent: the trailer in the AFL-CIO parking lot comes with a limited supply of hair products and a subscription to Food & Wine magazine. more ›

Next week, thousands of university students across Austin are going to start freaking out when they realize their semester is coming to an end and they have only one test left to raise their grade--their final exam. From late night Wendy's visits and sleeping in public to scantrons and in-class essays, the late-spring ritual usually brings out the worst in college students, but Austin comedian Chuck Watkins, replacing the library with UT's west mall, takes on Finals Week a little differently... more ›

In celebration of his newest release, and in anticipation of various readings about town, Austinist asked Austin author Owen Egerton to write something special to be published here, just for you. From his heart. Something sacred. Something of wow and character. And that is precisely what he has done here. But for those readers who, like most of us, are slaving away at some dismal day job beneath pale lights of buzzing fluorescence amidst the scent of burnt coffee, where certain words or humor are unfortunately frowned upon, some of the subject matter and phrasing may be deemed NSFW. Perhaps you should wait until you get home. Or live a little and risk it. Hell, it’s Friday. And seriously, this is quite possilby the funniest thing we've read all week. more ›

Duran: It's important to remember that the Television is part of the American culture. Therefore it's only natural that food has become a theme to be covered through this medium. As long as these chefs are inspiring viewers to start cooking in their own kitchens, I see no issues with what they are doing. more ›

Yesterday, Austin media outlets covered the sad closing of downtown fixture Las Manitas. A reader recommended we check out KXAN's story on the closing of the restaurant; towards the end of the on-location story, as the reporter reads from the sign in the door about the soul of Austin being lost, another woman joins in the fun. It's at about the 2:37 mark. [KXAN video] more ›

Ha – I know, I know. You look at me and see a whirlwind frenzy of globetrotting and peanut serving, ocean-hopping and lavatory monitoring. I can't imagine how glamorous this game of intercontinental hopscotch must appear. Left foot, Belize; right foot, Miami. Left foot, Shanghai; right foot, New York. Well, with a layover in Chicago. And we generally switch posts at that airport because it's a hub. You get the picture. more ›

We asked Chet about The Atlas, his affinity for dated pop-culture, The Onion's New Year's Eve party, and petty larceny. He obliged us, and it’s all transcribed below for your eyeballs’ pleasure(s). more ›

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 by Wylie Maercklein The good folks at Yellow Tape Construction Co. are giving away two tickets to Thursday's opening of The Ultimate Christmas Musical: The Musical! According to their website, "When one little boy loses the Spirit of Christmas, his disbelief sends the North Pole into chaos — Rudolph is a diva, the elves are disenfranchised, and Santa has suddenly started growing old! Can Frosty the Snowman and his sidekick, Soniyeve — the pluckiest... more ›

"Barista Babe" From Unrelated Source, Found on Seattle MetblogsA new coffee trailer in South Austin is hoping to capitalize on the recent "sexpresso" fad that's taken over Seattle. Latte Dolls offers a selection of coffees and espresso drinks served by scantily-clad female baristas with stripper fascinating names like Kyana, Alysha, and Reyna. Touting itself as a "highly-personalized, memorable and convenient coffee alternative to morning commuters and the mobile labor force of Austin," the stand plans... more ›

Some would rather vote for a yellow dog. Image from DemocraticStuff.com Lou Dubose presents Bill Of WrongsTuesday, November 27BookPeople (603 N. Lamar)Free, Starts at 7pm[info] Fiery Austin columnist Molly Ivins was once described to us as "equal parts sugar, spice, piss, and vinegar" by friend and fellow yellow-dog-democrat Bob Mann. To this day we still can't think of a better way to describe her. Her death last January left a deafening silence — gone was... more ›

Photo courtesy Richard Foreman/Miramax There is dark humor, and then there is the kind of humor in which a bone sticking out of a man’s arm qualifies as one of the lighter moments. No Country For Old Men, a film of dark beauty and sharp formal precision, is not a comedy by any stretch of the imagination; but, like the best films, it proves that an element of absurdity is necessary to chart the best... more ›

unattributed press photo Regina Spektor at Stubb’sTuesday, November 6thStubbs [map]$22.50 SOLD OUT, doors at 7[venue info][Regina Spektor Website][MySpace]Tonight, Russian import and all-around cutie Regina Spektor will deliver her charming sense of humor and attitudinous tunes to Stubb’s. And if it feels like she was just here, it’s because she pretty much was, with an evening position at the Austin City Limits Festival followed up by an intimate performance for her ACL show taping—both of these... more ›

We remember Austin Tinius over a year ago, peddling his Burger and Friends line at Circa 77, a boutique in Denton, Texas. Everything was made with a light-hearted, punk-rock sense of humor—from acid colored T-shirts silkscreened with line-drawings of Playboy models posing with a grizzly bear, to Star Wars-inspired wallets and purses. We knew he was on to something. Sure enough, Burger and Friends (finally) got some attention shortly after last year's Stitch. Austin... more ›

Normally we're wary of anything that hints of the pejorative chick-lit (or related single-twentysomething-hipster-trying-to- get-lucky-with-the-opposite-sex genre) as it's about as wispy-thin and over-played as emo haircuts. But Diane Vadino, whose debut novel is entitled Smart Girls Like Me, had credentials enough for us to take a closer look. Vadino was an original staff member of that magnetic bastion of literary cool, McSweeney's, who churn out more high-minded humor and literature than you could shake a... more ›

Another Friday means another round of fresh outta the box movies. With summer's end possibly mere weeks away, these are our last days to indulge in the pastime of escaping Austin's scorching good vibes to sit in distracted air-conditioned comfort. And in some parts of the country it's already fall, which means there's a bumper crop of new movies out! The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford: On one hand, this period... more ›

One man’s hapless journey through life is documented in the new exhibit, Mike’s World, a performance and video installation at the Blanton Museum of Art. Tonight's edition of the monthly B Scene at the Blanton Museum of Art will offer a sneak peek at Mike’s World, which won't officially open until September 11. Short video performances shown on flat screens throughout the exhibit space will give viewers a focused look in to the life of... more ›

The Out of Bounds Improv Festival and Miniature Golf Tournament ended on Monday after six days of blithe musings from some of the finest improv and sketch-comedy troupes in the country. In its sixth year, Out of Bounds reached new heights of comedic exuberance over the past week—and, more importantly, surely introduced a new universe of humor to an unimaginable quantity of newcomers. But for some, Out of Bounds was more than a once-a-year... more ›

In your mouth you have these things called taste buds. The amazing thing is that everyone’s buds are different--even people who came out of the same birth canal. For example, we lurv broccoli and begged for it as a child. But our siblings, and this guy, hate it. Taste buds don’t make sense. Tastes buds are kinda like humor receptors; everyone’s sense of what is good is different, and thankfully no one can tell us... more ›

Kurt Vonnegut was the little booger hanging on the up-turned nose of literature. He kept the sci-fi and fantasy genre from getting too one-dimensional, and he helped reel the “literary world” back in from too much self-aggrandizement. For decades his cynical humor and desperate energy pulled at the spindly awkward adolescent us, and gave us something we could claim as our own. He got us to suspend our disbelief and see the same-old same-old... more ›

Once in a while, we like to take some time to introduce you to bands -- both local otherwise -- that we think you'd enjoy. Le Diamont Brut aims to showcase those MySpace gems we hope to see shine. Recommend your local suggestions by emailing music@austinist.com. THE UNFORTUNATE HEADS What’s the Deal: The Austin indie folk fivesome has just released their sophomore disc, Come Be Light. Featuring multi-instrumentation by the likes of banjo, keyboards, upright... more ›

In a random survey of 438 Austin singles, online dating site OkCupid recently discovered the following facts: When it comes to attire, Austinites care little for fancy designer threads, preferring their dates to wear flattering, stylish, or simply clean clothes. Most don't expect to score on the first date: less than a quarter bring protection along Much to our surprise—and in a somewhat disgusting turn of events—when asked whether they'd prefer that their date a)... more ›

Have you ever wondered what would happen if you hit “reply” to those Nigerian e-mail scams to strike up a conversation with the sender? Have you ever thought about responding to a classified ad, just to harass the ad placer in an outlandish way? Does the idea of pushing people’s buttons via the anonymity of e-mail appeal to you? Do you just like laughing at stuff that’s funny? If so, David Earthman might be... more ›

Austin-based advertising firm LatinWorks scored a major honor last week. The local company earned a bronze lion from the Cannes International Advertising Festival for its "Classroom" commercial featured during Super Bowl XLI. Why let Saatchi & Saatchi have all the fun? According to the synopsis provided by the folks at Cannes, the "spot showcases Carlos Mencia's comedic humor to demonstrate that the love for Bud Light crosses any cultural boundary." Lesson learned: never let your... more ›

Few forms of entertainment elicit such fanatical, diverse opinions on what warrants the label of being "good" as comedy does. To this day, the mere mention of Andy Kaufman's name can set off a heated debate on whether "genius" or "talentless asshat" is more applicable, and the perceived injustice that the Freaks and Geeks fan club was dealt when network suits and critics downed one of Judd Apatow's earliest efforts still has teeth. All this... more ›