A couple of quick, sweet notes: The girls at Sweet Tempered are busting out a new guitar-shaped cookie just in time for SXSW. Head over to Little City, Epoch Coffee Shop, or Farm to Market to purchase. Meanwhile, chocolate nerds rejoice. The Second Annual Chocolate Festival Gala and Auction benefiting the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure starts tonight and continues throughout the weekend . Get your greedy little hands messy during an......

Chuck Norris and his World Combat League had better work on those fists of legend, because there's a new breed of no-holds-barred brawlers coming to Austin this March. We're talking, of course, about the all-female Pillow Fight League. These fearsome ladies are Toronto's version of the Lonestar Rollergirls, and they boast similarly frightful nicknames, like Betty Clocker, Eiffel Power, and, our favorite, Champain. As in that delicious sparkling wine, but with bubbles... that kill.......

FRIDAY [6] agliff/party • here! presents the aGLIFF member mingle at Rain (9pm) theatre • "Psycho Beach Party" at Arts on Real (8pm, $30) theatre • "At Home With Dick 2" at Dick's Apartment (3309 Grooms) (8pm, $10-$25) ® theatre • "Stillborn" at Hyde Park Theatre (8pm, $15) theatre • Zell Miller III: "Mix Tape, Theatre Style" at Off Center (8pm, $10) theatre • "Bitten: A Zombie Rock Odyssey" at Dougherty Arts Center (8pm,......

When permit issues kept the TXRD Roller Girls out of their very own Thunderdome they went in search of the ultimate space for their next bout. Well, they've found it; the Austin Convention Center. Not only in the heart of downtown Austin, but during the heart of SXSW 2006. While they continue to work on issues with the Crockett Center so they can move home, they have been able to procure an awesome temporary......

[The following is an editorial column by contributor Alison Coffey and does not necessarily reflect the views of the Austinist staff. --The Editors] Sorry I'm late. A couple of mis-strokes on my keyboard made me lose half the column and it took me a couple of days to regroup. Sometimes you suffer for your art. Sometimes you lose two paragraphs and run to the bed and cry instead of taking a deep breath and......

Truecraig had some thoughts on the shot heard round the world in his column. Mr. Hollywood Jason Patric dropped his suit against the ever-aggressive Austin Police Department. Austin ranks as the second-best city outside of Hollywood in which to make a movie. We checked out the Zuraach Collective and took some photos. AM Syndicate, Nina Simone, Talking Heads...take a listen in AV Bits. It was a busy news week in the Kingdom of George.......

The Roller Girls are finally allowing the male gender into the league...kinda sorta. The Putas del Fuegos, of the TXRD Lonestar Rollergirls, are holding auditions for their all-male (preferably gay) cheerleading squad. The squad's name, wait for it, The Flamers. We're sure you'll want to run out and start polishing those male cheerleader skills. Auditions will be for both dancers and stunters. Prospective Flamers are expected to possess reasonable athletic skill and a roller......

Austinist presents our "Peg Your Clique Quiz" ... and we're still embarrassed by our score Additional SXSW bands were announced (Platinum Pass for auction!), and we finally saw the first week of great music releases for 2006 Reviews: Waterloo and Veronica (books); Danceworks Laboratory's latest works-in-progress showing (dance) Here's to getting past the most depressing day of the year. Thankfully, Carnivale's just a few days away! Is our fair city getting its own Central......

F R I D A Y [ 2 7 ] [music] Explosions in the Sky, Octopus Project and A Hawk and a Hacksaw at Emo's (Sold Out!) [music] Brandi Carlile at Cactus Cafe (9pm) [music] Zilla featuring Michael Travis (String Cheese Incident) at Stubb's [music] Shake Your Ass Record Release Party with Chili Cold Blood, This Damn Town, Possessed By Paul James, Black Joe Lewis & Cool Breeze at Beerland [music] Chant, Exit, and......

The 2006 season of the TXRD Lonestar Rollergirls got off to an exciting start in Week One. With a broken nose for each team, these these girls proved they're not afraid to mix it up. Each time the Hellcats scratched up a lead, the Cherry Bombs quickly rolled it back, until the fourth and final quarter, when the kitties clawed their way to the top and made their mark on the new Thunderdome as......

The 2006 season of the TXRD Lonestar Rollergirls kicks off this weekend at the brand new Thunderdome. The first all-girl league to skate on a banked track, they put on a show that is not to be missed. The race for the Calvello Cup begins Sunday as the Hellcats face off against the Cherry Bombs. Accompanied by the music of Pong and Hit by a Car, the night will be rockin'. Keeping the house......

This Friday, September 30th, Yellow Tape Construction Company - who combine dance, theatre, music and performance art - will be celebrating the opening of their newest endeavor, Come Home. Written by Amanda Butterfield and Jonathon Morgan, Yellow Tape describes Come Home as "...an indie-folk, road-trip musical beneath the overwhelming expanse of an American sky." We're not sure what that means, but after the recent success of Hobbled (which starred a few Lonestar Rollergirls), we're......

A couple of weeks ago, we asked for advice on a cool wedding DJ, who wouldn't spin any of that crap music heard at your typical reception. You guys turned out to be as cool as we thought you were, and sent some recommendations our way. Now we share them with others who happen to have both good taste and an upcoming wedding. Some friends had a wedding where Karaoke Underground "DJ-ed" before the......

Last night, as we were standing outside of Plush waiting for Ghostland Observatory to play -- yes, we know we go see them too often, but we simply can't help ourselves -- a lovely woman came up to us and handed us a flyer for an event. Then she beat us up. And we liked it. What event? It's a Lonestar Rollergirls fashion show! This Thursday, as part of the drag's Third "Not First"......

Tomorrow night at Headhunters, A&E will be filming exciting girl-on-girl pudding-wrasslin* action for a new reality show. The TXRD (Lonestar Rollergirls), who have been the focus of A&E’s cameras all season, will be providing the action. And trust us, we have been to a few parties where some serious Jell-O wrestling* went down and can say, quite simply, it is hot fun! Have you seen these ladies throw elbows? If so, who is your......

Though the Real World crew has packed up and left our fair shore, worry not because there are still reality camera crews roaming around Austin. A&E, the network that loves to bring us fun reality shows is currently producing a show about the Lonestar Roller Girls. They announced this last February, but it has only recently come to our attention as we bumped into its camera crew and one of its subjects at our......