Hey, kids! Are you already bored of the heat and the not-reading of summer? Then beat the heat with the Coolest Book Club in the World! This summer, the O. Henry Museum is teaming up with the Encyclopedia Show’s hosts, who happen to be trained and experienced teachers, to put together a four-part Language Arts workshop/book club that will have the outdoor kids jealous! more ›

There is no doubt about it: film festivals are expensive. The badge, the travel, the time off work—it all works against the ability for workaday film lovers to experience new and interesting cinema, especially independent film. We are lucky that in Austin there are endless opportunities to have many different kinds of cinema experiences, but typically the price of admission is not insignificant to the casual cinephile. Well, there's a new kid in town that aims to change that and its name is Cinema East. more ›

The fourth annual Green Potato Ventures/Austinist/Party Ends Summer Extrav-O-Ganza boat party on is Thursday, August 27th. We're making this one a ditch-day affair, so take a half day, have a friend cover your shift, or just play hooky and join us aboard The Ark for an afternoon of beer, burgers, and bands in the middle of Lake Travis. Tickets to get on the boat are $27 each and a few are still available over on the boat party page. For a chance to win a spot on the boat, fill out our giveaway form after the jump! more ›

Too hot to write long Contemplative thoughts today Instead: Haiku lite! Triple digit trip Me up triple digit trip Me up. Fucking heat. Barton Springs Night Swim is free but in this damn heat they could charge millions. Legal bare breasts catch The eyes of teen boys, old men And hungry babies. more ›

Bananarchy, Austin's first-ever frozen banana stand, celebrates its grand opening this Saturday. The shop is the brainchild of UT alums Laura Anderson and Anna Notario, who launched the venture as an alternative to sno-cones, ice cream, and other summertime desserts. As part of the stand's tongue-in-cheek 'Bananarchist' sensibilities (their slogan, "revolutionary desserts," is all over the website, which looks like it finds its design inspiration from Commodore 64 video games), Bananarchy sources fair trade bananas and doles out recyclable spoons. more ›

*Editor's Note: Every Wednesday, we will be bringing you a set of photographs taken by our photo essay staff. Any opinions conveyed via the photographs or commentary are those of the essayist and are not representative of Austinist as a whole.* more ›

Every weekday morning we'll be featuring a photo (or two) from our readers. Please feel free to submit your photos (min 600px width) by adding them to the Austinist Flickr Group. more ›

All eyes are on Dolly as the feisty tropical storm makes its way past the Gulf of Mexico this week. The Weather Channel suggests that atmospheric conditions are optimal for this storm to intensify to hurricane status by tomorrow, and while she's expected to make landfall by mid-week, it's still anyone's guess where she'll eventually end up. A hurricane watch is now in effect from Brownsville up to Port O'Connor. more ›

Even after the sketch comedy gem The State was grounded prematurely (and where’s that DVD already?) it hasn’t stopped Michael Showalter or Ian Black from bounding into many more comedic projects in the ensuing years. more ›

Image from Scion's websiteSo you’re all set for an afternoon with the family and/or friends, tons of food on the horizon, be it Turkey or Tofurkey. Still, you need to scratch that live music itch before heading home. Well, fear not oh lovely residents of Austin, the city has a solid night of gigs on the 21st in store for the common layperson. If you’re not already planning on hitting up the Benko and The... more ›

Spoon (6:30pm): So here's the thing about Spoon: they're a studio band. And on record, they're pretty much bulletproof for this decade. But the band also have a deserved reputation as a sometimes shaky live act, and such was the case for the show's beginning today. Britt Daniel and the band emerged without opening music or much ceremony, plowing right into a half-dozen tracks from new album Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga. But they... more ›

We hate it when things end. Seriously. We cry at funerals (end of life), weddings (end of freedom), heck we even cried at the end of the last Harry Potter book for no other reason that that it was all over. Needless to say, we are all sadfaced at the moment because our favorite excuse to sit on our rear ends all summer is coming to a close this week. Yep, that's right, the Paramount... more ›

ACL Previews Interview: Ghostland Observatory Previews: The Broken West, Big Sam’s Funky Nation & Rose Hill Drive Previews: Billy Joe Shaver and Fionn Regan Previews: Brandon Rhyder and Ocote Soul Sounds Interview: The Broken West Previews: Sylvia St. James, Jeffrey Steele, and Amy Cook Interview: Bloc Party ACL Fest Updates: Google Mashup, Contests, Eco-Chic Previews: Augustana, Amos Lee Interview: Peter, Bjorn, and John ACL Band Clash, Round 3: Wilco Vs My Morning Jacket Travis... more ›

Although Hoot Nights and Tribute shows tend to occur frequently, Saturday’s extravaganza at Ruta Maya promises to trump all with an extensive lineup of local talent set to cover a variety of tunes recorded (or released) in 1967, known otherwise as the Summer Of Love. Get there early, even if the music does only start at the respectable time of 4:20 p.m. Full lineup below but we have to mention some of our favorites --... more ›

The Funniest Filmmaker in Austin contest returns to Cap City Comedy Club, with semifinals emceed by Bryan Gutmann, winner of the 2007 Funniest Person in Austin contest NYC's uber-scenesters The Misshapes hold court at Beauty Bar with Riot in Belgium and KidIndie Zilker Park hosts the very last installment of KGSR's Blues on the Green, featuring Marcia Ball & Band DJ Mel spins the killer 80s jams at the quarterly Rock the Casbah dance... more ›

ACL Previews Austinist Launches Dedicated ACL Page! Preview: Manchester Orchestra and Patterson Hood Preview: Ian Ball and the Little Ones Interview: Paolo Nutini ACL Band Clash, Round 2: The Killers Vs. Björk Weekly Features Tales Of Mere Existence Hots On #9: Sound Off New Release Tuesday: Frisell's Floratone The Argyle Academy New Movie Releases: The Invasion, Superbad, Death at a Funeral, and More Truesday: Friesday The Laurie Show News, Features, and More Travis County... more ›

It's August already, and if you haven't sweated it out to some great rock outside at Emo's yet, you can't claim to be an actual citizen of this 'burg, let alone a real human in the world. It can be a trying, vaguely sensual experience testing your physical, mental, and spiritual stamina amongst so many different flavors of scenester/hipster/regular Joe, all with their own fragrance and fashion aesthetic - or lack thereof. Also, due... more ›

ACL Previews Interview: Midlake Interview: The National Preview: The Wonderful Harmonizers, Loretta Williams Gurnell Preview: JJ Grey & Mofro and Charlie Musselwhite Preview: Young Love and the Dynamites Featuring Charles Walker ACL Band Clash, Round 1: Spoon Vs. Queens Of The Stone Age Snapshots Lollapalooza 2007 Snapshots: Summer Extrav-O-Ganza 2 Weekly Features The Argyle Academy New Release Tuesday: Art in Manila, Flight of the Conchords & Marissa Nadler Feature Review: Okkervil River's The Stage Names... more ›

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In case you hadn’t noticed, the watery pummeling we have been subjected to of late mercifully subsided, and the giant death ball in the sky has returned to rid the earth of its perpetual moistness. Hooray! We can get back to the business of summer, which is of course, sweating while walking, sweating while driving and sweating while watching movies on big blow-up outdoor screens. Wednesday night, all of this can be yours thanks to 101X, Central Market and the Alamo Drafthouse as they present Office Space. more ›

*The views expressed in Truesday are those of the author and do not represent Austinist as a whole. Thank heavens.* -The Editors Initially, I planned on writing about the boat-party-Summer-Extrav-O-Ganza thing. But, I didn’t attend, so I’d be talking out of my ass. Well, I'd be pulling more out of my ass than normal. So I won’t even touch on that event, as I’d just be speculating without a real purpose. (though I soooooo... more ›

Surely by now you've heard about this big boat party bash we're co-sponsoring on Sunday with Green Potato Ventures, PartyEnds.com, Independence Brewery, Super!Alright! and Progress Coffee.This party's going to be off the hook. Seriously. Five hours on a lake on a boat full of good music and great people*. And food. If you want to take a pop at getting yourself a spot on the list without having to pony up the entry fee like... more ›

[This post comes from Anna Hanks, who'll soon be joining the Austinist staff!] We admit that when it comes to being entertained, we have the attention span of a kitten. We’re happily distracted by bright shiny costumes, jingly bells, and the occasional gilded, squeaky rubber chicken, especially when said chicken is employed to excellent comedic effect. Put a capable, young, red-headed actress charmed with crazy comedic timing into a twinkly, jingly costume, and we’re smitten.... more ›

Thanks to everyone who wrote in about getting tickets to the annual summer party we're co-sponsoring with Green Potato Ventures, PartyEnds, Super!Alright! and Progress Coffee. Summer Extrav-O-Ganza 2 will take place on Sunday, August 5th, on board the Ark at Lake Travis. We'll have music by White Denim, DJ sets by Markus with a K and Hustle Simmons, plus beer, food, refreshments and more. Everything, including the boat rental, is included in the ticket. BYO... more ›

Tonight and tomorrow night, the Paramount's Summer Classic Film Series gives you a double dose of the man who once singlehandedly freaked out some radio listeners so much that they ran out on the streets, shooting at menacing water towers and searching for meteorites: the corpulent and magnetic Orson Welles. First, enjoy 1958's border story Touch of Evil, recently restored and also featuring Charlton Heston; then, regardez-vous the best movie of all time, Citizen Kane... more ›

For the last few years, the good people at St. Edwards University and Zilker Theatre Productions have quietly been running a very nifty little summer program for high school students called Summer Stock Austin. The program is essentially its own theatre company; high school students perform and work side-by-side with experienced college students in an environment that's staffed and supervised by seasoned professionals. The outcome, after several weeks of intensive work and training, is two... more ›

Craving a trip out to Lake Travis, especially now that monsoon season has passed? So have we. As such, we're thrilled to be co-sponsoring the second annual Summer Extrav-O-Ganza, along with Green Potato Ventures, PartyEnds.com, Independence Brewery, Super!Alright! and Progress Coffee. Last year's midsummer soiree at the old Gallery Lombardi warehouse was a huge success. This year, we're taking a cue from a certain action movie franchise and moving this out to Lake Travis.... more ›

Dandi Wind - Concrete Igloo (Summer Lovers Unlimited Music) Ok, we are fond of electronic duos. Even more so when they hail from Canada. Dandi Wind (comprised of Dandelion Wind Opaine and Szam Findlay) tests our undying affection with their hit or miss debut, Concrete Igloo. The duo combines a variety of genres to conjure up an adrenaline fueled, almost destructive sound that clicks wonderfully on songs like “Slumlord” and “Apotemnophilia.” The insistent “Hitch-Hiker” could... more ›

Say what you will about Tom Cruise’s career choices, religion, or personal relationships, the man has certainly made some fantastic action movies. Witness his sweaty brilliance firsthand tonight as 101X presents this week’s Summer Movie Series classic Top Gun. Cruise plays Maverick, a Naval Aviator whose record is less than pristine due to his high-flying high jinks and general loose cannon-itude. He makes it into the elite Fighter Weapons School by the skin of his... more ›