Photo by smellyknee on flickr Sorry, Kucinich fans: Federal judge rules that he won't be on the Texas ballot. Downtown oil-spill sends 1,500 gallons of oil into Waller Creek, and it is still unclear where the oil came from. City of Hutto signs U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement. Seven City of Austin employees alter vehicle inspection stickers, get arrested. Search is still on for Lewisville dad who killed his two daughters; on New Year's Eve......

The Blanton Museum's B Scene events happen once a month and celebrate the arts by combining music, drinks and socializing to rejuvenate the sometimes stuffy fine art scene. Their unique approach to reaching out to the public this way includes showcasing local musicians and DJs, and each B Scene event offers a different genre representation from Austin's diverse musical culture. ...

Photos from this year's First Night Austin, which took place last Monday. The family-friendly New Year's Eve festival relies on volunteers and local performers. To find out how you can help with next year's festivities, visit their website. Photos courtesy of Steve Hopson. If you can't view the Flash slideshow above, an alternate version appears after the jump.......

New Year's Eve at Mohawk, photographed by Nash Cook: Brazos, Pink Nasty, White Denim and Black Joe Lewis. ...

Besides the wonderful events highlighted by the flyers above, there are a few other shows on New Year's Eve in Austin worth noting: - New Monsoon @ Club 115 - South Austin Jug Band & Dertybird @ Stubb's - Bob Schneider & Two Guy Trio @ Antone's - Dale Watson & Jon Dee Graham @ The Continental Club - The Flametrick Subs & Scott H. Biram @ Emo's Outside - Reckless Kelly @ La......

The Onion (Grand Master Onion)Austinist got a chance to swap sarcasm with Chet Clem, The Onion’s Editorial Manager and one of many fine writers for their newest hard-covered print offering: Our Dumb World: Atlas Of The Planet Earth, which is an atlas bursting with humorously doctored images and witty insights into our little Earth (as it has been politically divided to-date by drunken Brits). We asked Chet about The Atlas, his affinity for dated pop-culture,......

Image courtesy First Night Austin, by 2008 featured artist Alina Byoun Now in its third year, First Night Austin will return to downtown on New Year's Eve. This massive public gathering, intended to ring in the new year through "art, ritual, and festivity," features visual and performing art projects by more than 60 Austin artists. This year's performances and installations will run from Congress Avenue to Cesar Chavez, including Auditorium Shores, City Hall, and......

Spider House and the United States Art Authority, along with yours truly, want to keep you away from downtown this New Year’s Eve. Sure the shenanigans on 6th St. is always stirring but keeping within the cozy confines of the campus area is arguably safer and largely less expensive. Spider House hosts a solid line-up of DJ’s with a couple of live acts thrown in for good measure. Doors are at 8 p.m. and the $12 tickets can be purchased in advance via Front Gate Tickets....

5th Annual Big Reds and BubblesTuesday, November 27Driskill Hotel (604 Brazos St.)6:30-9pm; $75 general admission, $60 for members[info] | [tickets]With Thanksgiving a mere two days away and the holiday season right around the corner, this time of year brings fine wine to all foodie minds. Wine lovers traditionally splurge in December on fancy bottles for both holiday toasts and New Year's Eve celebrations. To welcome this time of year and the wines that complement......

HBMG Foundation is still inviting folks to apply for the 2007 ArtSpark Festival, a twelve-week-long creative festival and competition that pits teams of theatre junkies, video game developers, and visual artists against one another to create awesome new works. At orientation, each team is given a "spark," an object which serves as the catalyst and inspiration to jumpstart the team's creative process. If you'd like to apply but can't find a team to join,......

Sunday. Usually, a quiet, contemplative day in the Blogosphere. But not here in the Ist-a-Verse. Nonono! Just look below and see all of the wild and crazy stuff our staffs are up to. In Austin, bands are beginning to confirm for SXSW and the rumor mill is up and running. Good thing, too, because we all know how much Austinites love live performances. Austin also found itself in the national spotlight, with Longhorn Legend......

DJ Mel packed the house at the Parish on New Year's Eve.......

Relive those halcyon days of flannel shirts and Gin Blossoms this New Year's Eve, as the folks of Car Stereo (Wars) present SWISSmas: A '90s-themed party at the Beauty Bar. Outside, local super group SWISS, drawn from members of The Gloria Record, Zykos, and more, will be performing apropos hits from the likes of Pavement, Smashing Pumpkins, Weezer and all the alt classics you know and still love. Inside, the mixmasters behind Car Stereo (Wars)......

Relive those halcyon days of flannel shirts and Gin Blossoms this New Year's Eve, as the folks of Car Stereo (Wars) present SWISSmas: A '90s-themed party at the Beauty Bar. Outside, local super group SWISS, drawn from members of The Gloria Record, Zykos, and more, will be performing apropos hits from the likes of Pavement, Smashing Pumpkins, Weezer and all the alt classics you know and still love. Inside, the mixmasters behind Car Stereo (Wars)......

Come 12:01am on Monday morning, downtown Austin will be a madhouse of drunken revelers and even drunker artsy types. You could opt to shell out plenty of dough to get into the swanky parties, but why bother? You probably won't remember it the next day. Below are our top choices for fun things to do this New Year's Eve, all with reasonably-priced cover charges and, more importantly, within stumbling distance of one another. Get there......

Relive those halcyon days of flannel shirts and Gin Blossoms this New Year's Eve, as the folks of Car Stereo (Wars) present SWISSmas: A '90s-themed party at the Beauty Bar. Outside, local super group SWISS, drawn from members of The Gloria Record, Zykos, and more, will be performing apropos hits from the likes of Pavement, Smashing Pumpkins, Weezer and all the alt classics you know and still love. Inside, the mixmasters behind Car Stereo (Wars)......

Relive those halcyon days of flannel shirts and Gin Blossoms this New Year's Eve, as the folks of Car Stereo (Wars) present SWISSmas: A '90s-themed party at the Beauty Bar. Outside, local super group SWISS, drawn from members of The Gloria Record, Zykos, and more, will be performing apropos hits from the likes of Pavement, Smashing Pumpkins, Weezer and all the alt classics you know and still love. Inside, the mixmasters behind Car Stereo (Wars)......

While on tour, New Orleans sextet Galactic provide support for some serious funk and jazz artists, from The Meters to Medeski Martin & Wood. And their contemporary and ex-labelmate, North Louisianan slide guitarist Papa Mali has worked with some of the most famous funk musicians on the planet, from Cyrille Neville to Burning Spear. So it's safe to say that fans of those groups will gravitate to La Zona Rosa for the New Year's......

SATURDAY [23] music • Wintershow Benefit for SafePlace and Capital Area Food Bank with Bill Callahan (SMOG), Shearwater, Nick Hennies (Weird Weeds) and Brian Sookram at The Mohawk (Doors at 3pm, Music at 5pm) film • Sinus Show: Die Hard at Alamo Downtown (7 & 10pm, $12.50) music • Everyone Knows Everyone Winter Party, with music by Visitors, Rory + the Artificial Hearts, Pompeii, and Mars Wars; art by Carlos Rosales-Silva, Justin Cox, Jay......

Official Poster of First Night Austin 2007 by Peat Duggins After the tremendous success of last year's inaugural festival, First Night Austin returns to downtown this New Year's Eve with an all-day program full of music, art, theatre, dance, and more. Begun in Boston back in 1976 as a massive public gathering to ring in the new year through "art, ritual, and festivity," First Night events are now held all over the world, from......

It's the time of year to get out and make some connections. The cool weather has arrived, and the holidays are just around the corner. No one wants to spend New Year's Eve alone sober, so it's time to find someone more booze. Until then, you can just kick back with the best of last week's Missed Connections... one leg, all heart - m4w you were on your cruches and whistling at the homeless......

Austin is once again celebrating New Year's Eve with First Night, and FNA is accepting artist proposals starting this coming Monday, May 1. They're calling for "emerging and established artists with big ideas for ringing in the New Year" to put their ideas down on paper and get 'em to FNA no later than 5pm, June 12. That may seem like a long time from now, but the proposals can include a heck of......

Thai Kitchen has been a serious addiction of ours for about 6 years. It all started one New Year's Eve when we didn't really have the bucks or energy to go out, but at least wanted a yummy take out meal. Thai sounded really good. Before our move to Austin 7+ years ago we lived in Chicago, where every other block had an amazing looking culinary experience. It was hard to be poor in......

T H U R S D A Y [ 2 6 ] · [music] Hard-Fi with Driver F and DJ Mel at Stubb's! · [music] Aaron Reynolds presents found objects, materials, and textures at The Space (Free, 8-10pm) (link) · [music] Happy Hour at Carousel Lounge, with Peter and the Wolf, Sparrowhouse (Jared from Voxtrot), and Clapperclaw. Performance by Erica. · Fire dancing at Cafe Mundi (1704 E 5th St, between Chicon & Comal). The......

W E D N E S D A Y [ 2 5 ] [music] St. James Inc, Hurts to Purr and Mike Blackhurst at Stubb's (8pm) [music] Akron/Family, Mi and L'au, Shearwater at Emo's [music] "Old Man Night," with skate videos, DJ Vomitnoise, free pizza from Slices and Ices, and special raffles and giveaways at Beerland [film] Screening of Fearless Freaks director Bradley Beesley's "Hill Stomp Holler," plus a set by John Schooley at......

[festival/music/art] First Night at Congress Avenue (All Ages, 2pm, Free/$10) [info] [tickets] [music] Nic Armstrong and the Thieves, Moonlight Towers and DJ Polecat at Club de Ville (21+, $5, Call 512-457-0900) [fabulous] Studio 54 Par-tay! at Rain (21+, Call 512-494-1150) [info] [music] White Ghost Shivers and The Small Stars at Blue Genie Art Industries (21+, 9pm, $37) [info] [tickets] [music] Flametrick Subs with Satan's Cheerleaders, Slick 57 and Basin Street at Emo's (All Ages,......

Our favorite days of the year are (in order) New Years Eve, Halloween and Christmas, but right below those is the annual French bacchanal known as Le Beaujolais Nouveau. More appropriately, Le Beaujolais Nouveau refers to the unaged wine produced from the Gamay grape in the Beaujolais region of France. Ready for consumption less than two months after the annual harvests, the Beaujolais are rushed to Paris on the third Thursdays of November for......