• Check out this White Denim video where they are playing the “prom.” Hello, yummy cheesiness!
• It’s a rap about Whole Foods. Yes, “It’s Getting Real In the Whole Foods Parking Lot.”
• The Austin Public Library (and the Austin Film Society) are screening some movies for FREE!

Austin Public Libraries are abuzz today with readings, panels, and workshops for their New Fiction Confab event which kicked off last night with a celebratory reading of David Foster Wallace's new novel, The Pale King. more ›

• If you need an antidote to all that shopping madness, you might consider a screening of Charlie Chaplin’s black comedy Monsieur Verdoux.
• The New York Times “Modern Love” column has a Texas twist this week!
• Behind the scenes with the visuals for The Octopus Project.

Update on the AISD teacher/Linux debacle: HeliOS Project head Ken Starks feels bad about blogosphere reaction, saying, "I'm really and sincerely sorry from the bottom of my heart that I caused her grief." The new central library will be designed by Lake/Flato and Shepley Bulfinch, City Council decided today. Colt McCoy a Heisman finalist. Police believe that the Steiner Ranch shooter may be dead; they are still looking for him (or his body). City approves $1 million settlement for the 2005 shooting death of Daniel Rocha. Woman assaulted last night while waiting at a UT bus stop on Dean Keeton. Drunk San Marcos woman backed her truck into the wall of an apartment, injuring a 12-year-old boy as he slept in his bedroom. more ›

The People-Powered Media [un]Workshop, hosted by the Greater Austin Community Media Action Group, plans to offer sessions of interest to local journalists, artists, technologists, community advocates, creators or just regular citizens. To make sure people get what they want from the event, it's structured as an "unconference", meaning that attendees themselves generate the agenda, the sessions and the discussion. more ›

Every weekday morning we'll be featuring a photo (or two) from our readers. Please feel free to submit your photos (min 600px width) by adding them to the Austinist Flickr Group. more ›

The Friends of the Austin Public Library are holding another Monster Book Sale this weekend. Books of all sorts will be available for $1 or $2 (at past sales, you could fill up a box of books for $10). more ›

Red light camera locations announced this afternoon. New TYC conservator rules out the use of pepper spray in youth prisons, except for in emergency cases. Dallas cop serving in Hillary's motorcade this morning killed after his bike hit a retaining wall. Little Walnut Creek library location is opening tomorrow after almost a year of renovation. more ›

It's time to play the name game! The Friends of the Austin Public Library and the Monster Book Store, located at 5th and Mary in South Austin, are moving and looking for a new, snappier name. They want to tap the collective creativity of Austin. Suggestions will be accepted through February 14th. more ›

Photo from City of Austin Tree Planting CeremonySaturday, November 10Zilker Park Rock Gardens (2100 Barton Springs Road)(9am, Volunteers Welcome)[info]In observance of Veterans Day, the City of Austin's Parks and Recreation Department is getting together tomorrow morning to plant 57 trees at the Zilker Park Rock Gardens: A special ceremony will honor the dedication and sacrifice of men and women who have fought to preserve our nation's liberty. Following the ceremony, volunteers organized by Tree Folks... more ›

Photo courtesy 31 Corn Lane StitchSaturday, November 10Austin Convention Center (500 E Cesar Chavez Street)Doors at 4pm, Fashion show 9:30pm, Tickets $10[info] | [tickets]31 Corn Lane is all about girls wanting to have fun. It's the brainchild of three sisters—Teeter (the youngest), Amy and Heather Sperber (the latter two are identical twins who rock out with The Boxes). We've loved their pony necklaces, novelty totes and bright floral print belts ever since we saw them... more ›

Rock y Roll Dia’s second annual Dia de los Muertos concert takes place at 7 p.m. this Friday at La Zona Rosa. Hosted by VJ Paul Saucido (Sonido Boombox on ME Television), last year’s bash was marked by an appropriately eerie atmosphere, a sharp dressed Paul, and international and local musical talent. This year the event is a two day extravaganza, with music from Austin acts such as Boombox and Kanko, and out of state... more ›

We admit to using the Austin Public Library Online Catalog at least once a week to search for books we've heard about and to put books on hold. So we were happy to see that the online catalog was updated over the weekend. The "My Account" button in the top navigation now opens a new window for you to sign into, which is more private and secure for public computers than the previous setup. The... more ›

A new 668-page report by the Texas State Library and Archives Commission has declared that Texas has too many state reports. The 18-month-long project surveyed over 170 agencies, public colleges, and universities, all of whom are required by the State Legislature to generate a periodic report of some sort. The task force anticipated dealing with about 400 of these reports; the final tally exceeded 1,600 before investigators evidently decided they'd had enough. "At first, we... more ›

Starting today, City of Austin is offering free Arabic lessons (written and spoken) to anyone interested. The classes run weekly on Wednesdays through December 5. You'll need to pre-register by calling 512-974-7500 Introduction to Spoken and Written Arabic Austin Public Library - Ruiz Branch 1600 Grove Blvd 6-8pm... more ›

UT Austin dropped from its much-heralded top spot in this year's rankings of the country's Best Party Schools, published in The Princeton Review's annual "Best Colleges" survey. Based on input from over 120,000 students across the nation, the rankings are a decent barometer of general public opinion among the notoriously fickle college set. Students were asked to rate universities based on "use of alcohol and drugs, hours of study each day, and the popularity... more ›

Two weeks ago, Katherine Gregor's Chronicle column discussed a recent study by professors Louise Harpman and Jason Sowell from UT Architecture, sponsored by the Downtown Austin Alliance. The study concluded that Wooldridge Square Park (between Guadalupe/San Antonio and 9th/10th Street) needs more community support, event programming, and landscaping improvements. Wooldridge Square, along with Republic Square and Brush Square, was one of four public squares included in the original grid for the city of Austin... more ›

For 2008, Capital Metro is planning to double bus fare for adult passengers from 50 cents to $1. Other fares would increase in proportion (students would have to pay 50 cents instead of 25 cents for local/rapid routes); the Dillo would remain free for everyone. In their informational brochure(.pdf), Capital Metro makes a point of saying that the current fares have been the same since 1985, while operational costs keep going up. Is this... more ›

Trustees at the Westbank Community Library recently announced that their new branch, scheduled for opening sometime next year, will be named in honor of first lady Laura Bush. more ›

Police officers at the University of Texas have responded to an undisclosed "low-level threat" on campus. The following email was sent out earlier this morning: At about 9 a.m. The University of Texas at Austin Police Department (UTPD) received a report of a low-level threat to the University Teaching Center (UTC) near the intersection of 21st Street and Speedway. Police are investigating and sweeping the building with officers and their dogs in accordance with their... more ›

MONDAY [11] film • Patton Oswalt live with "Ratatouille" sneak preview at Alamo Downtown film • Music Monday: "Harry Nilsson's Birthday Party" at Alamo Downtown food • Central Market Cooking School Class: Sushi 101 with Chef Timothy Thomas at Central Market Cooking School, 4001 N Lamar ($70, 6:30-9:30pm) music • Maserati, My Education, Lazar Wolf at Emo's music • Sleepytime Gorilla Museum, Cheer Accident, Oh, Beast at Emo's music • Manu Chao at Stubb's... more ›

East Avenue Investment Group is hosting a "neighborhood appreciation party" from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at the site of the new East Avenue development (formerly Concordia University). They will show renderings of the new development, which is now expected to include 1,450 condos and apartments, 600,000 square feet of office space, 325,000 square feet of retail and a 250-room hotel. For a sneak preview, look to the right of this text -> more ›

When it comes to U.S. Presidents, few people know more than Michael Beschloss, NBC News' official Presidential Historian. His best-selling books have covered all things executive and his latest, Presidential Courage: Brave Leaders and How They Changed America, 1789-1989, examines several moments within 200 years of American history when Presidents had to seriously represent, keeping it realer than real for the sake of the nation and the world. On Monday, June 11th, the LBJ Future... more ›

This morning, the long-awaited remodeling of Bass Concert Hall -- the main performance center on UT campus, located between the LBJ Library and Royal-Memorial Football Stadium -- began in earnest. The renovations will cost a total of approximately $15 million and will include upgrades in fire code compliance, improvements in sound and lighting systems, restaurants, a rooftop lounge, a donor lounge, as well as additional exhibition spaces. It will also include a new glass-front... more ›

Overused and misspelling-encouraging pun aside, the newest installment of Filming Austin’s Lives is a great opportunity for you to show love for a favorite "Austin-tatious" landmark—person, place, event, or otherwise. Capture a story about a special landmark on film and it could be seen by all of Austin this fall! more ›

There's so much going on across the Ist-a-Verse that it's almost impossible to keep track these days. Fortunately, we do it so you don't have to! Londonist took a walk through Oliver Twist's London, thanks to a gorgeous map layer for Google Earth. They also caught up with modern-day fictional London, with the Fantastic Four and 28 Weeks Later. It was a week of insanity over at DCist. They started the week off with... more ›

TUESDAY [17] party • Red Bull Music Academy Info Session, hosted by Prince Klassen, featuring SuperContinent at Beauty Bar (Click to RSVP) books • Mark Regnerus presents Forbidden Fruit at Intellectual Property (5:00pm) books • Mayor's Book Club Author Event with Mayor Will Wynn and Stephanie Elizondo Griest at Mercury Hall (6:00pm) books • Darryl Wimberley presents The King of Colored Town at BookPeople (7:00pm) comedy • Comedians Nathan Timmel, Normal Wilkerson, Robb Loving... more ›

*The views expressed in Truesday are those of the author and do not represent Austinist as a whole. Thank heavens.* -The Editors It was supposed to end by now. We’re supposed to already be past this. Many believe they saw it coming before it hit, and many more than that read through the lines to see the “conspiracy” for what they believed it was. Have you heard that Del Monte or Chiquita or some... more ›

In celebration of its 150th birthday,the American Institute of Architects (AIA) surveyed over 1,800 randomly selected Americans in late February to compile a list of the 150 Favorite Works of Architecture in the United States. The AIA created a panel that narrowed down the options to 248 structures, which included the Empire State Building, the White House and the Washington National Cathedral. The University of Texas' own Battle Hall rounded out the list at... more ›

After vehemently encouraging Austinites to indulge in the splendor of live musical entertainment, Mayor Will Wynn's charisma is now focused on more literary pursuits. Wednesday, March 28th, at 7pm marks the official start of the annual Mayor's Book Club. For the sixth installment of the book club Mayor Wynn has chosen Stephanie Elizondo Griest's Around the Bloc: My Life in Moscow, Beijing, and Havana. To get readers in the mood, the City of Austin is... more ›