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......

Stay away from the Denver International Airport. Major anti-abortion group endorses that Law & Order guy. Ship spills more than 1.3 million gallons of oil into the Black Sea. As if Russia's environment wasn't effed up enough... New studies show that children who are identified as troubled in kindergarten might end up doing fine in elementary school. So give the kids a chance, okay? Having good friends at work makes you less stressed out.......

La Luz is having a Halloween fiesta tomorrow. The new-ish South Austin boutique is inviting the public out for live music by The Early Tapes, refreshments, a spooky photo booth, games, prizes and activities. The fun starts at 6 p.m. and ends at 10 p.m. at 2009 S. 1st St. Explore the treasures of India with Marigold's Fall Festival today at 6 p.m. If you've never heart the rhythms of tabla and sitar, check......

And you thought hipsters tried too hard. Soon taking over the space vacated by the Alamo Drafthouse is Pangaea, Austin's very own safari-themed nightclub in the Warehouse District. The so-called "ultra-lounge" will come decked out with various and sundry adornments meant to evoke visions of the Dark Continent and intrepid desert expeditions — we're guessing mounted zebra heads, tribal hunting gear, and the like. Unabashedly exotic and — if its London sibling is any indication......

Violent crime goes up in the US; so do arrests for pot. Apparently, nobody in Iran is gay. Even gay people. It's been fifty years since Little Rock, and now we have Jena. Progress... If Microsoft buys Facebook, will it become lame? Or don't the corporate kids care? India gets meta with the outsourcing. Kiefer Sutherland arrested for DUI. Maybe he's drinking to drown the guilt over his torture-show? Newest sex tape scandal features...Meg......

Rush Hour 3: Don't Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker look dismayed to find themselves in the third installment of their never-ending Rush Hour franchise? If you find it hilarious to watch a BLACK GUY and an ASIAN GUY fighting crime--together!--then look out, because now they're fighting crime in France, the funniest place in the world! Which one of them do you think will be eye-rolling and making fish-out-of-water quips while dangling from the Eiffel Tower......

Let's be honest: everyone loves SXSW week, but when it ends, you are secretly very ready to move on. Before we do, let's take a look at some of the isolated, crazy, and wonderful moments that make SXSW such an over-the-top sensory experience. – The dude at Girl Talk dancing with a broken pinata on his head. Then passing said pinata to someone else to dance with. – Isaac Hayes talking in his famous......

SXSW has truly built a strong reputation around the world, and every year various countries send their top-notch artists to Austin to display their nation’s talent. Scandinavia is one such area with a booming music scene. Danish band Mew and Sverige’s own Loney, Dear (Emil Svanängen) will bring their best to the festival this year. Finland, too, is doing its bit, with the Finnish Moosic Tour. Featuring punk rock from Disco Ensemble and electro-pop from......

An Austinist reader left a comment in our First Night preview inquiring about the canopy of bells installed on 1st Street Bridge. "Liminal Spaces," envisioned and executed by local artist Neesha Thakkar, was meant to "represent the movement between grounded and defined states," and "create an idyllic passageway with a processional quality." Handcrafted in India and each featuring a unique ring tone, the brass bells were to be given away after First Night to......

University of Texas students will soon have the opportunity to learn Hindi and Urdu as part of a Department of Defense initiative that focuses on global security. The National Security Education Program has awarded $700,000 to UT’s South Asia Institute to help implement the program that will “teach languages whose knowledge is considered critical to national security.” The program kicks off next year, and university officials expect to enroll about 10 students who already have......

All India Radio formed in 1998 in Australia when Martin Kennedy decided to incorporate tranquility and turmoil into a platform of ambient backdrops. His inspiration stemmed from the chaotic street sounds of India as well as the British act, KLF, and in Kennedy’s hands (and studio), those varying sounds turned into serenity. The resulting organization of guitars, cellos, violins, electronic beats, and assorted exotic sounds provides the base for the band’s atmospheric recordings. Echo......

Well shut our mouths and call us Uncle Tupelo! Austin roughnecks San Saba County have released a stellar new LP proving that Alt-Country is not only alive and well, it's rummaging through your liquor cabinets and throwing up on your cat. It's Not The Fall That Hurts is an ambitious bounty, bursting at the seams with great tracks. Released on India Records, the San Saba boys (and girl?) have crafted what is a worthy......

Unemployed techies, it's time to start dusting off those resumes and polishing your interview skills. Apparently India and Poland aren't the only places where Dell is planning to expand its workforce. During a stopover in Poland today where he is to announce the building of a new plant, Michael Dell, Chairman of the Board at the tech giant, declared that they will soon be hiring 500 additional engineers in Austin. Bloomberg and Reuters say......

If you lost your ACL pass and – even after countless screaming matches with Front Gate Ticket employees and hours of scouring Craig’s List for scalpers – you’ve been left sans plans for the festival weekend (or maybe you’re just afraid of tourists/loathe sunshine/whatever), we’ve got an alternative suggestion. An air conditioned alternative suggestion. Go see a play. That’s right, don’t be a pussy about it. It’s just theatre. You might even like it......

Poverty, famine, political corruption, a fragile ecosystem that is growing more fragile by the day. The world is facing some serious concerns and we must be very conscientious in the way we move forward if we want to have any hope of leaving it a better place for our children. Author, actor, filmmaker Turk Pipkin felt the weight of these pressing global concerns, so he went and found some of the world’s brightest people......

Park Officials in Bastrop are busting out the big guns against the hundreds of black vultures that presently terrorize the local establishment. The new Texas State Highway 130 (under construction) may allow drivers to fly down the road at 85 mph. Unfortunately it took a violent death to push the Backyard music venue to address the dangers related to their parking situation. Our thoughts go out to the family and friends of the deceased.......

In what appears to be a trend, another large residential tower has broken ground in downtown Austin (at West and Fifth). In a break from the trend, this tower will be full of high-end rentals instead of high-end condos. Zom Inc., the developer and ostensible future landlord, and PageSoutherlandPage, the architect, appear to be making full use of the building's prime location, with 9,000 square feet of street level retail, so that's nice. On the......

Pervasive Software has become the first local high tech company to finally come to its senses. After just a few years of experimenting with offshoring software development, QA, IT, and more, they're throwing in the towel and moving jobs from India to Austin. (Yes, we're aware that several local companies have either hastily backed out of or withdrawn plans for offshored customer support work, but this is a first for dev, IT, and the......

FRIDAY [19] [music] Cross Canadian Ragweed w/ Micky & the Motorcars at Stubb's (link) [music] Clint Small Jr. Middle School's Phat Cats Jazz Ensemble at Waterloo Records (Free, 6pm) (link) [music] Moth Fight! at End of an Ear (Free, 7pm) (link) [music] Faceless Werewolves, Hotrails, Tokyo Nites at Beerland (link) [music] Dynah CD release at Red Eyed Fly (link) [music] Wilco Hoot Night with "many, many Austin bands" at Trophy's (link) [music] Pudge Zeppelin with......

The following details came to us in a vision at 3 a.m. on the night of the Blanton Museum's grand opening. So here they floweth, as if from a golden goblet on high: Four times a month, the Blanton Museum hosts a series of public programs known collectively as Art Fix. Each "fix," as it were, uses work from the galleries as a springboard for specialized discussion and activity. For example, this month's Art Fix......

Toby Keith would watch at least one of these movies... *Akeelah and the Bee It’s hard to make fun of such an earnest, lesson-filled film that stars Laurence Fishburne, Angela Bassett, and an adorable little girl. All we can really say is, she best win that motherf*cking bee. United 93 Nothing says “America” quite like capitalizing on the lingering sentiments created by recent national tragedies. *Stick It From the geniuses/idiots who created Bring it......

You may remember that druing SXSW we got a chance to interview Turk Pipkin to discuss his new documentary Nobelity. And you may remember how we said that there would be another screening in April. Well, that day is today. Head over to the Paramount this evening to see the movie about which Harry Knowles said, "Absolutely brilliant. This is one of the most important films of this year or any year." Turk Pipkin......

Good news for workers looking for a job in the hi-tech field...in India. Dell Corp. has announced that they plan to get their Indian workforce up to 20,000 employees in the next three years. If they reach their target goal, the India branch of Dell would have more employees than Dell's home base here in Round Rock, where they currently employ 18,000. [from the Statesman] Although most of the new hiring will be made......

Turk Pipkin is a Texas original who has built a colorful and successful career as a writer 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, which premieres today at SXSW (Paramount, 7pm), focuses on the most pressing problems in our world today and how we can attempt......

Don't fret if you get pulled over this week; you may be rewarded with baseball tickets for your good driving. A police officer was dragged and run over by a car she had pulled over on Riverside early Tuesday morning. She has already been treated and released from the hospital. Two local companies are thinking green for their office interior space. DeLay won the Republican primary, so now we can only hope that Lampson......

Last night, City Council told us that it was cool if we took our dogs out to eat with us on those outdoor patios. America is hypocritical? No. Bush's proposed nuclear deal with India isn't without criticism. His visit was unwelcome by many and led to protests and rioting causing at least one fatality. Some information has been released detailing the fact that George W. was warned of the pending threat of Hurricane Katrina......

The SWAT standoff off of Riverside yesterday ended in the arrest of a 19-year old who allegedly shot two people overnight-injuries were minor. George W. Bush's visit to India-in hopes of congealing some kind of partnership with the country-is laughable. His next stop is Pakistan where, ironically, he has been deemed as The Most Hated Man. If only we had his confidence, after a 5 year search, Bush insists that Osama Bin Laden will......

Former Heisman Trophy winner and former Texas Longhorn Ricky Williams has gotten into some hot water, again. Williams reportedly has violated the NFL's drug policy for the fourth time. A fourth violation requires a one-year suspension from the league. Williams, who won the Heisman in his senior year in 1998 at UT, was the subject of intense scrutiny after failing several drug tests and admittedly smoking marijuana, then disappearing and resurfacing at a holistic......

Satyajit Ray was a prolific Indian filmmaker, whose works - all spoken in Bengali - were paragons of humanistic storytelling. Akira Kurosawa said of his films, "It is the kind of cinema that flows with the serenity and nobility of a big river. Without the least effort and without any sudden jerks, Ray paints his picture, but its effect on the audience is to stir up deep passions. How does he achieve this? There......