Photo from the Austin History Center archives Since so many of you wrote in asking about places to watch the Democratic Presidential Debate, we went ahead and called around town. Below are your best options if you missed out on the Alamo's watch parties or the Texas Democrats' party—both are now sold out. We still recommend calling ahead to make sure the folks below haven't changed their minds, and feel free to share any that......

Photo from Obama’s rally at The Backyard by Romain Nayalkar for Austinist.comWith all eyes focused on Texas and what could well prove to be a kingmaking March 4 primary, the statewide political machine has kicked into full gear. Whether it's a happy hour, camp out, or fundraising poker tournament, there's something going on just about every day of the week for Obama or Clinton supporters. Even those still rooting for under-underdog Ron Paul have something......

At least it has a cool roofUPDATE: The Statesman has just released information from Hector Nieto of the Texas Democratic Party that attendance to the Feb. 21 Barack Obama/Hillary Clinton debate will be by invitation only. Well, while we were all was guessing The LBJ Library, Hogg Auditorium or The Frank Erwin Center, UT has announced that the February 21 Democratic Debate will officially be held at The Recreation Sports Center. Yes, this no name......

Tonight's massive Super Tuesday election returns should make for some top notch TV watching, but there's no reason why you should spend the evening yelling at political pundits by yourself. Whether you're a hardcore democrat or republican, plenty of your like-minded brethren are getting together around town to watch the returns and collectively celebrate (or commiserate). Besides the formal meetup spots, you'll probably stand a decent chance of catching some prime time coverage at Brown Bar and the Cloak Room....

Welcome to Ask Austinist, the feature wherein we answer questions from our readers. Today we take on this question: Could Austinist please provide some tips on bars or other not so serious venues where political junkies can watch their favorite change-agent, decider, hope salesman and sycophants and wonks stumble their way through presidential primary election nights?...

As a prelude to CNU XVI, Envision Central Texas and the Congress for the New Urbanism are hosting "From Boom to BEST? The Future of Central Texas", a lunch featuring a discussion by Andrés Duany of Duany Plater-Zyberk & Company, Hank Dittmar of The Prince Charles Foundation for the Built Environment and our own beloved mayor. Topics include fostering walkable development, transit, sustainability in times of booming growth and the impact of mixed-use development......

Plans have been released for a new 44-story condo/hotel/museum tower on Third Street between Brazos and San Jacinto. It would be the second such tower by ACE (Art Commerce Entertainment) Unlimited - they did a similar tower in Louisville, Kentucky. The plans call for a nearly even split between hotel rooms and condos, plus a restaurant, café, contemporary art museum, and artist lofts (below market rentals). Various architects are involved in the project: Deborah......

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......

Our pals at Project Transitions will host the 12th Annual Texas Swing fundraiser this Friday. Project Transitions - the only nonprofit organization in Central Texas that provides hospice and housing programs for individuals and families living with HIV/AIDS - raised more than $37,000 during last year's Texas Swing with more than 700 people attending. Texas Swing is a family-friendly event that features live music by local favorite Alvin Crow, barbeque by Scholz’s, and free......

TUESDAY [8] music • Bruce Springsteen Tribute with Southpaw Jones, Matt the Electrician, Scrappy Jud Newcomb, Nathan Hamilton, Abia Tapia, Graham Weber, JJ Barron, Nakia at Cactus Café (FREE, 8pm) music • Elf Power, AM Syndicate at Emo's music • Ryan Shaw at Stubb's music • Jimmy LaFave at Waterloo Records (5pm, Free) music • Cathar, Fire vs Extinguisher, Connie Ball at Beerland music • The Mohawk Residency with White Denim, Brazos at The Mohawk......

MONDAY [7] books • Caro Soles and Anthony Bidulka read from their latest works at BookWoman (7:00pm) comedy • Funniest Person in Austin Contest, hosted by 1986 Winner Kerry Awn at Cap City Comedy Club film • "Strangers on a Train" with Farley Granger live at Alamo Downtown film • Music Mondays: "We Were Never Here" at Alamo Downtown food • Central Market Cooking Class: Picnic Food with Amuse Bouche at Central Market Cooking......

Photos from last night's performance of Ears + Eyes + Feet. The multimedia presentation (featuring dance, electroacoustic music, and video) which is being put on by The University of Texas Electronic Music Studios in collaboration with the Department of Theater and Dance, closes tonight. Ears + Eyes + Feet Friday, May 4 Iden B. Payne Theatre (UT Drama building, 23rd and San Jacinto) 8pm FREE! Photos courtesy of Romain Nayalkar. If you can't view......

FRIDAY [30] music • The Skeletons at South Austin Speedshop (7pm) fashion/music • Couture de Amore with fashions by Loves, Mariessa; Stiletto Gold; Sea and Enemies; Amy Kline (Jewelry), and Clap!Clap!, Golden Bear, Haunting Oboe Music, The Valentines at The Parish Room ($10) music • Video/CD release for "The Projeckt" at Latitude 30 music • Bluebonnet Blues Festival, benefitting Historic Main Street Association of Marble Falls, at Marble Falls music • 3rd Annual Global......

WEDNESDAY [21] books • Jeff Stone presents The Crane at BookPeople (10:00am) books • The Intimacies Group at BookPeople (7:00pm) food • Angel Valley Organic Farm Farmstand at Asian American Cultural Center, 11713 Jollyville Road (10am-2pm) food • Market Days at the Farm at Boggy Creek Farm, 3414 Lyons Road (8:30am-1pm) food • Austin Farmers Market at Whole Food Parking Lot, 525 N Lamar (8:30am-Noon) drink • Mojito Tasting at Dona Emilia's, 101 San......

APD needs your help in solving a homicide case that happened in downtown Austin over a week ago: at approximately 3:22am on Saturday, March 10th, 28-year-old Jeremy Anderson and another guy were leaving 6th Street when they became involved in an "altercation" with three black males. Anderson was struck in the process, falling to the ground. Last Saturday, March 17th, at Brackenridge Hospital, he was pronounced dead. The indicident took place at East 7th and......

MONDAY [19] film • Alejandro Jodorowsky's "El Topo" at Alamo Drafthouse Downtown music • Melissa Ferrick, Coles Whalen at Stubb's film • "8-Bit": A film about art & video games at Alamo Drafthouse Downtown TUESDAY [20] books • O. Henry Prize Winning Short Story Adaptations at Harry Ransom Center (7:00pm) food • Central Market Cooking Class: Chef Justin Raiford - Flavors of Spring at Central Market Cooking School, 4001 N Lamar ($50, 6:30-9pm) music......

We've gotten our hands on a bunch of tickets, guestlist spots, and assorted swag for several excellent parties happening during SXSW, and over the course of today we'll be giving these away. Check back every hour for the newest giveaway contest -- each will only run until the next one is posted, so your chances at winning are pretty damn good. Congrats to the winner of our last contest, who'll be announced at the end......

Mad scientists with Victorian flair, lend us your ears: next week is your week to sail your rocketships to the moon -- or at least dock them at a SXSW steampunk party. And for the rest of you who don't regularly don goggles and ride penny-farthings: about steampunk. ">Steampunk refers to a brand of creative science fiction that weds modern technophilia with the sweet trappings of railroads, air balloons, top hats and all-around steam engine-ness,......

Memorial services for beloved newspaper columnist Molly Ivins, who passed away on Wednesday, will be held at 2pm this Sunday afternoon at First United Methodist Church. A gathering will follow at Scholz Garden. Donations in Ivins' honor can be made to The Texas Observer or the American Civil Liberties Union at: The Texas Observer 307 West Seventh Street Austin, TX 78701 American Civil Liberties Union 125 Broad Street 18th Floor New York, NY 10004 Related:......

WEDNESDAY [24] books • Dr. Steven Moore presents Alternative Routes to the Sustainable City at BookPeople (7:00pm) books • Neal Shusterman presents Everlost at BookPeople (7:00pm) comedy • Bil Dwyer at Cap City Comedy Club DJ • Cut Club at The Mohawk DJ • Tighten Up at Beauty Bar film • Stroszek at Alamo Drafthouse Downtown film • Ladies of the 80s Singalong at Alamo Drafthouse Downtown film • Weird Wednesday: Get Mean at......

Since early voting began today, we're going to do a very short series of posts on the city bonds up for vote. Proposition One in ballot language: "The issuance of $103,100,000 in tax supported General Obligation Bonds and Notes for reconstructing roads and streets, constructing, reconstructing, and improving drainage facilities related to the roads and streets; constructing, reconstructing, and improving bicycle and pedestrian mobility infrastructure; improving traffic signal synchronization and controls systems, acquiring and......

A new group in Austin called W.O.R.D. (Women Organizing to Revive Democracy) is throwing a bash tomorrow evening in support of Chris Bell. The event will feature appearances by State Rep. Donna Howard, slam poet Genevieve Van Cleve, and Liz Carpenter’s Yellow Dog Democrat mask. The goal is to provide a place for local Democratic women to gather, learn more about Chris Bell, and hopefully rally behind him. So break out of your Perry-induced......

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,......

UT’s great-great granny dies. And the moment we’ve all been waiting for...or maybe not. Help re-vamp UT spirit and go to the Torchlight Parade and Pep Rally: 8 p.m. Wednesday @ 25th and Guadalupe. And in case we win, de-code the UT tower. UT goes ALTRUISTIC: Go hungry so somebody else doesn’t have to! The Muslim Students’ Association presents the 5th Annual Fast-A-Thon Thursday, Oct. 5 6:30 p.m. @ the San Jacinto Multi-Purpose Room.......

Reeling from the nomination as the #1 Party School in the nation, students at The University of Texas are hard at work peeing on street corners, throwing up during class and passing out on the steps of The Church of Scientology. And in recent years, we've been lucky enough to have a record of these acts, thanks to the folks over at the UT Police Department. The boys in blue release a bi-weekly campus-watch......

MONDAY [2] music • Nina Nastasia, Cue, Jonathan Mieburg (Shearwater) at Emo's music • HAAM Benefit with Marcia Ball at Antone's lecture • Zeina Halabi presents "Summer at School: Dispatches from the War on Lebanon" at Monkeywrench Books (8pm) film • Francophone Film Festival: Monsieur Ibrahim at Texas Union Theatre (7:30pm) film • True Romance at Rounders Pizzeria (8pm, Free) film • I Know I'm Not Alone at The Space (8pm, Free) film •......

The new Luca Cambiaso exhibit at the Blanton Museum is like a stimulating, well-rounded bottle of red wine -- one made with hard-won grapes. Officially uncorked today, the show features the works of Luca Cambiaso (1527-1585), an Italian Renaissance painter celebrated in his day, yet unknown to most modern art lovers. Such a show could more easily have been launched by the likes of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, but similarly great institutions, whether owing to fashion, finance, or a combination of the two, often shy away from under-the-radar subject matter. ...

The greatest sporting event in the world begins tomorrow, so it’s time to think about where to watch all of this year’s World Cup games. Contacting a friend with a high definition television is a good idea, as all 64 games will be shown live in HD. If you don’t have HD, not to worry, as all the games will also be shown live on ESPN, ESPN2, and ABC. The opening match, between Germany and......

This Sunday night is the world premiere of Hef and the Magnificent Mansion from Atomicpunk Productions and Anshawn Entertainment. Somewhere in between Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory and a bad ass Playboy party at Hef's killer casa du love, this musical comedy follows Charlie as he tries to find the "golden centerfolds". Check out the trailer here. Dig it. The party starts at 7pm, the show starts at 8pm, and if you wear......

It’s raining culture on San Jacinto Boulevard. Austinist was given a special tour of the new Blanton Museum of Art last Tuesday, much to the delight of our journalistic ego. We even got a press pass. And, let us tell you, fellow Austinites – this one’s a winner. Our only complaint is that, with so much to see inside, it may prove a little overwhelming for those of lesser stamina. By our "skilled" estimation,......