What did you dress up as for Halloween? 911 Dispatcher that fielded the first calls about the North Carolina beach house fire is now receiving death threats (w/ creepy audio). Want to beat cancer? No red meat. No wine. Eat less. The Canadian dollar is worth more than the American dollar. Double, oh no way. UK comes out with invisible tank (w/pictures). Dog The Bounty Hunter gets yanked from A&E due to Dog's racist... more ›

Brief Austin resident and alt-country namesake Richard Buckner has had a career as tumultuous as it has been consistently rewarding. Making his mark with the appropriately-titled debut Bloomed in 1994, Buckner has outlived many of his No Depression-era singer-songwriter contemporaries, whose projects have either splintered, broken up, or just puttered out. After fruitful collaborations with like-minded musicians like Chicago stalwarts David Grubbs and John McEntire and a difficult spate with MCA records (who summarily... more ›

The University of Texas raised $26 million in athletic donations in 2006, putting it 16th among all U.S. universities. A study by The Chronicle of Higher Education found that money for athletics accounts for more than one-quarter of all contributions to some universities. The Chronicle survey reported that the country's largest athletic departments and booster clubs raised more than $1.2 billion in 2006 and 2007. The University of Texas wasn't the top athletic fund-raiser in... more ›

#6 Texas (2-0) vs. Central Florida (1-0) Time: 2:30 pm, Saturday, Sept. 15 Location: Bright House Networks Stadium, Orlando, Fla. TV: ESPN2 Radio: KVET (98.1 FM, 1300 AM) Texas heads to Florida for their first road game of the season on Saturday, but when the Longhorns step onto the field at Bright House Networks Stadium, they'll have played as many games there as the home team. How's that? Central Florida rushed to build the... more ›

No plans for tonight? No need to call in for backup--the Austin Film Festival has you covered with a screening of revered cop documentary Sheriff at the Alamo Drafthouse Lake Creek. Filmmaker Daniel Kraus gets up close and personal with Sheriff Ronald E. Hewett as he brings about justice in Brunswick County, North Carolina. Critics rave about the intimate portrait the film manages to capture in little over an hour; according to the event site,... more ›

Here comes the story of the hurricane that wasn't really a hurricane and didn't even affect the fireworks last night ... but you should still be skeert. Golden gloves indeed: 20-year-old man charged with manslaughter for his part in the murder of a man on June 19. Giving new meaning to booze in the blender. We are totally awesome at throwing block parties. When it's not raining, at least. Wonder if you could afford... more ›

While the Austinist staff remains split on the subject, some of us are pretty partial to meat. No offense to our vegetarian friends, but some of us just have too many positive associations with delicious animal parts. So when we had the chance to interview Ray Lampe, national barbecue champion and author of three books on the subject, including his latest, Dr. BBQ's Big-Time Barbecue Road Trip!, we were more than a little excited.... more ›

Democratic Presidential-hopeful John Edwards will be making a short stop in Austin next Tuesday, and his campaign team is hoping that regular folks (besides the typical big-money donors at such fundraising events) will be able to stop by. By donating $15 to his campaign, you can get in to hear him speak about his plan for America. Austin musician Marcia Ball will be his opening act. We don't expect anything near Obama-sized crowds, but... more ›

If Texas State University gets their way, in a few months, the river and beer won't be the only thing you smell while driving through San Marcos. Plans are currently in the works by TSU to create a 17-acre "body farm", a forensic field laboratory used to examine and study decomposing corpses. The field will be placed along Highway 21, at the university's horticultural center. The Statesman reported that University Provost Perry Moore told local... more ›

Michael Tully came of age at the North Carolina School of the Arts, where he made friends with such latter-day indie stars as director David Gordon Green and songwriter Dave Berman. His documentary, Silver Jew, about Berman's band The Silver Jews and their recent tour in Israel, is set to screen during SXSW. We caught up with him via email to ask the tough questions: So the documentary is only 51 minutes long. Does... more ›

The Rosebuds may be your best hour of SXSW 2007. The North Carolina-based duo has been on the Merge (Spoon, The Arcade Fire) roster for several years, and new album Night Of The Furies may just be the record that breaks them to the larger audience they deserve. The album is a notable departure from both the New Pornographers power pop of debut The Rosebuds Make Out and the more somber, Pitchfork-lauded Birds Make... more ›

If you're a fan of dreamy indie-pop and you haven't spent time with a Sparklehorse album, watch out. The North Carolina-based Mark Linkous and his band play hazy, epic music that is worth getting to know. All of the proper credits are here: production from Flaming Lips and Mercury Rev mainstay Dave Fridmann, a guest spot from Danger Mouse, and even some added credibility via a collaboration with Tom Waits. Add this to prior work... more ›

Mia Hamm doesn’t want to visit Waco, and we can’t really say we blame her. The North Carolina Tar Heel and world soccer legend recently declined induction in to the Texas Sports Hall of Fame. Sometime-Austinite Hamm and husband Nomar Garciaparra are expecting their first child in early spring, and the couple’s doctor advised any travel after January. Yea, sure that’s the reason. more ›

Ever sniff the inside of Weezer's Pinkerton? Wait, hear us out. Its monochromatic liner notes were printed on a kind of matte, somewhat grainy paper, and happened to possess a pungent, fantastic smell. Don't look at us like you've never sniffed a record before. It's the music fan's equivalent of picking out a wedgie: inevitable, personal, and done when others aren't looking. Upon cracking open the Ace Fu Annuals debut offering, Be He Me,... more ›

Some sociologists are taking on a mission to make sure strippers are taken seriously. North Carolina has created a commission to investigate potential wrongful convictions. A non-ponographic sculpture is causing quite an uproar in Colorado. And we thought Texas was prude... Why go out in public anymore? You get in trouble if you're drinking, you get in trouble if you're not drinking... This rediculously elaborate wedding gown could have bought you [insert fantasy here]... more ›

French MP goes on hunger strike. "Like a sad clown," he says, "I'm not asking to win. I'm asking for good sense to triumph." Reason for the dramatics? He didn't want a paint factory in his district to close. When they say "Long Live the Queen" they're not kidding. Today Queen Elizabeth II celebrates her 80th birthday with a small get-together. MySpace has been quite the forum for do-no-gooders lately. Some kids were planning... more ›

Many groups have attempted to follow in the footsteps established by the legendary Queens crew, but only a handful have come close. The best group, by far, is North Carolina's Little Brother. Phonte, Big Pooh, and 9th Wonder create a sound that has roots in groups like De La Soul and Tribe, but also has a sense of exploration like the ATLiens of Outkast. Little Brother's 2003 release, "The Listening" is regarded as an underground classic, and had ?uestlove of the mighty Roots crowning himself "Pres-o-Dent of the Little Brother fan club." Little Brother will release "The Minstrel Show" on September, 13th. They will be at Emo's tonight supporting their upcoming release. The doors open at 8, and the show begins at 10. $12.50 gets you in at the door. more ›

Maybe we had not been paying enough attention. Maybe it’s because we do not have middle or high school-aged children (that we know of). Or maybe we do not pay too much attention to things going on in the more conservative areas of our state. Whatever the reason, the fact that some public schools have been offering a course, designed by North Carolina-based National Council on Bible Curriculum in Public Schools, that teaches the... more ›

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On the hill this week select Congressmen badgered and belittled President Bush for misleading America into war with Iraq and demanded him to apologize for the mistakes of his administration. How is this in any way new or interesting? Well this time it was two Republicans. Or perhaps one and a half Republicans. more ›