C'mon, admit it - you've always been curious about exactly what goes on behind the doors at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Former President Jimmy Carter's new book, White House Diary, offers the chance to finally satiate that curiosity. more ›

• Jimmy Carter still delivers. It's hard to imagine Bush being able to pull this off. Ever.
• A visit to execution chambers in Japan.
• If you feed a chicken bad feed you get bad eggs. Who knew?

Former President Jimmy Carter calls outburst during Obama's speech an act "based on racism" more ›

Ritz-Carlton and Marriott hotels targeted in Jakarta bombings; eight people killed. Things looking up in the West Bank. Hot climates lead to slower economic growth? Obama spoke at the NAACP conference last night. ICYMI: Former Pres. Jimmy Carter, "The words of God do not justify cruelty to women." Senate Republicans say they won't block a vote on Sotomayor. Emmy nominations announced yesterday; lots of love for "30 Rock" and "Mad Men", with a little "Flight of the Conchords" and "How I Met Your Mother" thrown in. more ›

JK Rowling's final installment in the Harry Potter series comes out at midnight this Friday, and at least one local store has already sold out its entire pre-order. The 1,500th voucher for one of BookPeople's initial batch of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows was picked up late Monday afternoon, making this series finale—which weighs in at a hefty two pounds—their biggest pre-order book of all time. "We have never sold this many book vouchers... more ›

FRIDAY [15] ballet • Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker at Bass Concert Hall (Check website for details) music • Baby Robots, Horse + Donkey, Foot Foot, DJ Blip at Emo's Lounge music • Moonlight Towers, The Fall Collection, Buttercup at Emo's music • Mice & Rifles CD Release, Texas Sapphires, Adam White (The Personals) at Stubb's music • Crawling with Kings, Ian Moore, Lossy Coils, Future Clouds in Radar at The Parish Room music • Papa... more ›

It seems perfect timing that, with former President Jimmy Carter in town today for a book-signing, Austin Habitat for Humanity is teaming with AT&T to provide an exciting opportunity for low-income families in Austin. Austin Habitat for Humanity stands at the forefront of assisting Austin’s low-income residents, 58,000 of whom live in substandard or overcrowded housing. Their new partnership with AT&T will bring in-home Internet and technology access to 76 low-income Austin families as part... more ›

Mixel Pixel Music For Plants (Kanine Records) Don't judge Mixel Pixel based on their hilariously bad website. Trudge through the mangled HTML and take a listen to "You're the Kind of Girl". A tit for tat dialogue between two disaffected hipsters, it could have easily been glib garbage, but instead, shambles about in hypnotic honesty, the negative image of Yo La Tengo's "Our Way To Fall". Sample back-and-forth: "I heard it all before/thought you... more ›