Friday evening, Zach Anner and fellow finalist Kristina Kuzmic-Crocco produced great pitches for their shows: Rollin' Around the World and Fearless Kitchen. Oprah was faced with the impossible decision of rewarding one of them as winner of his or her own show. more ›

Austin's own Zach Anner is still in the lead in Oprah's reality show competition, and voting is open through July 3 if you haven't voted yet or would like to vote for the 25th time. Meanwhile, Anner has continued his video tour of our fair city. In this part of the tour: Mt. Bonnell! Which, it should be noted, is not handicap-accessible. But Zach figures out a way to make it work. more ›

Whether through shenanigans or actual votes, Austinite and internet superstar Zach Anner was in second place yesterday in Oprah's contest behind the much less endearing Dr. Phyllis (who wants a reality show focused on teachers). However, as of this writing he has already recovered his lead and is currently ahead by about 209,000 votes. more ›

Zach Anner, a local twenty-something with cerebral palsy (in his words, "the sexiest of the palsies"), entered Oprah's Search for the Next TV Star with the goal of hosting a travel show for people who never thought they could. It seems that he promised that if he got a million votes for his entry, he would crawl the Austin Marathon. Now it looks like he'll have to! more ›

• Israel brushes off Obama criticism over Jerusalem.
• US urges release of citizen held in China for two years.
• Russia moves one step closer to death penalty abolition.

• Irony alert: Governor Perry was against Texas accepting the stimulus package, but the nonprofit group he founded will still receive a stimulus grant!
• Tip: Take the meth out of your pockets before screaming for help while fighting an invisible foe. Trust us on this one.
• There was an early -Monday taping of the Oprah show at the State Fair of Texas in Dallas. Check out this photo-set!

• The New York Times blogs ACL.
• Cat fancier near Waco may have her home torn down because of the smell!
• This 97 year-old dude got a follow-up visit from the real estate lady who’d sold him his house…and she’d sold it to him in 1956! Talk about customer service!

Oprah is getting her own network. Called OWN. In "her own voice." Because you know, we don't get enough of that. more ›

Doctors plugged an Italian tourist into a drip-feed of vodka to save him at a hospital in Australia that ran out of the medicinal alcohol it would normally have used for treatment. Plants chatter amongst themselves to spread information, a lot like humans and other animals, new research suggests. Actor Nick Nolte is a father again at age 66 after his British girlfriend of several years, Clytie Lane, gave birth to the couple's first... more ›

Congress votes to expand the White House's wiretapping free-for-all. Exercise, it turns out, doesn't have to completely suck. Man pleads "I was sleepwalking" to rape charges, actually succeeds. Wanna get a kid to eat something? Wrap it in a Big Mac wrapper. Giuliani's own daughter is voting for Obama. Chicago Tribune music critic sums up Lollapalooza 2007. Thinking of getting married? Oprah'll change your mind.... more ›

Amelia Sweethardt, a young Texas native, oversees day-to-day operations at Pure Luck Farm and Dairy, just outside of Dripping Springs. Her award-winning goat cheese, carried by Whole Foods, Central Market and Wheatsville, is not only the stuff of local legend, but also the subject of a recent article in Oprah magazine. As Oprah tells it, Amelia inherited Pure Luck Farm -- one of the first in Texas to be certified organic -- from her mom,... more ›

It was announced today that Austin-based scribe Lawrence Wright was awarded the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for general non-fiction. This is not the only award his book, The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11, has won, but it is one of the more illustrious honors it has received. Wright is currently a staff writer for the New York Times New Yorker, has written for Texas Monthly, and helped pen the screenplay for the Denzel... more ›

Our favorite posts by local bloggers for this first week of January: Wipeout celebrated New Year's at Emo's and has the photos to prove it. Ken (from Cheap Thoughts by Ken) tells about being towed next to DPS. I Blame the Patriarchy has Oprah all figured out. We agree with Diane Holloway. Why are people still watching Trump? We prefer to ignore him and hope he goes away. Ultra8201 looks forward to seeing The... more ›

As fall settles in and another calendar page gets turned, thoughts turn from bbq's and vacations to holidays and the realization that '06 is coming to an end. With all that going on, with change in the air, we wonder what is it that made that makes the -ists ponder? Phillyist is concerned that the war on Trans fats could affect it's beloved cheese steak sandwiches, something for which we should all be concerned.... more ›

We -ists are an eclectic bunch, but there's a couple of things we all love: famous people, social causes, and wacky local facts. Join us as we starf**k, get virtuous, and learn across the -ist network! Austinist starts us off right by filling the famous person quota by interviewing Lewis Black, covers the social cause with a non-profit car sharing company, and gives us more wacky local facts than we can handle with Austin by... more ›

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Yet another trip to Taverna has us convinced that Robert Montez is a front-of-the-house genius. Chef Andrea Volpi treated us to a deliriously intoxicating risotto made from mushrooms sent to him by his mother, Giovanna, who lives in Milan. As in Milan, Italy, y'all. Seriously, we’re not worthy. Bust down the doors at Central Market and hoard as much double-sweet corn from Florida as you can. It’s so sweet, we wanted to tell you... more ›

Kaavya Viswanathan better steer clear of Oprah. Allegations that Viswanathan plagiarized parts of How Opal Mehta Got Kissed, Got Wild, and Got a Life have led to a recall of her debut novel. Little, Brown has asked retailers to stop selling the book and return their unsold copies. No word yet on whether Viswanathan will have to give back any of the half million dollars she received as an advance on a 2-book deal. more ›

A lot of folks have been talking about this past Wednesday's Oprah Show which put a spotlight on just a few of the atrocities occurring in Africa. It was an amazing show and what we saw haunts us still. Like many, we have the desire to do something, but feel a little powerless. After all, most of us aren't rich and powerful celebrities. And most of us don't have the resources to make a documentary or fund a trip across the world. But we can make a small difference and many small differences add up. more ›

Austinist would generally claim you, dear readers, to be lucky ducks, though today we'll crown you as fortunate as the swans of Town Lake. Here's why: we're loading you up with tons of artdata. People, get ready. The first order of business is this weekend's Austin Fine Arts Festival, or TAFAF, which is fifty years old 'n strong. It was originally conceived in the 1950s by one Miss Peggy Frary, an art lover and... more ›

We went to Carnaval. And loved it. SXSW full list of bands and movies updated. Cat Power backs out of SXSW and cancels tour. Ausitn art goes green. Tired of run-of-the-mill valentine's day activities? We got you covered. We reviewed the new documentary The Outdoorsmen: Blood, Sweat and Beers. And laughed our asses off. For about $600 in fees, your band can play a showcase at Waterloo Records during SXSW. The week in interviews:... more ›

If you thought your week went well, check out five days in the life of Spurs guard Tony Parker. On Monday, he and girlfriend Eva Longoria appeared on The Oprah Winfrey show to donate $50,000 to Oprah's Hurricane Katrina fund and to talk about their relationship. On Wednesday, Parker scored 32 points and added 13 assists in a road win against Toronto. Yesterday, he was named to the 2006 NBA All-Star Team for next... more ›

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[The following is an editorial column by contributor Alison Coffey and does not necessarily reflect the views of the Austinist staff. --The Editors] more ›

*Update: The show will air "live" today at 4pm C.S.T. Game on! Did we mention there is a taped piece featuring a stern reprimand from Maureen Dowd. God what we wouldn't give for a stern reprimand from that woman. But we digress.* We all discussed James Frey's Million Little Lies last week in this space. Some were hurt, some were saddened, some could care less. Some were pissed. But apparently none were as pissed... more ›

[The following is an editorial column by contributor Julie Neumann and does not necessarily reflect the views of the Austinist staff. --The Editors] My heart has broken into a million pieces. Approximately, give or take a few thousand. Actually, it may not be my heart at all, but some other vital organ in the chest area. You get the point, do these details really matter? I read James Frey’s account of addiction and recovery... more ›

The Austin Center for FEMA Disaster Relief closed yesterday The New Pantheon shortlist nominees have been announced, and they are: Animal Collective, Antony and the Johnsons, Fiona Apple, Arcade Fire, Bloc Party, Death Cab for Cutie, The Decemberists, Kings of Leon, M.I.A., and Sufjan Stevens So there's evidently a species of rare African clawed frogs that, when injected with urine from a pregnant woman, will ovulate. There's also a story about how they're dying... more ›

With only three days to go until the Tour de France ends on Sunday, Lance held onto his lead today, at 2:46 over Ivan Brasso. Jan Ullrich gained :37 today but is 5:58 behind Lance. more ›

Today, at 4pm, Oprah will be a re-run. It will be the second showing of Tom Cruise's meltdown over Katie Holmes. If you didn't get to see it the first time, it's your chance to absorb the manic scene that begat the car crash that is TomKat. more ›

Our Oprah diets are not working. Unfortunately, we heard about a new bakery with homemade donuts and we got there as fast as we could. Ohmigosh, best donuts ever! This time we are serious. As a heart attack, which is what you'll get after a few of these. But who cares? We are willing to die happy AND fat for these. more ›