One of our own here at Austinist has a book out, in case you didn't know, and we are not above a little shameless self-promotion. We promise, however, to not shove it up your eyelids like Stephen Colbert and I Am America (and so can you!). Craig McCullough, who posts as the ever-irreverent Truecraig, is the author of the similarly parenthesized title, I Am An Idiot (but there is nothing wrong with you). McCullough’s debut......

Our first experience with Independence Brewing Company came just a few short years ago when browsing the beer aisle at a nearby Austin grocer. Shuffling past the quick favorites (Lone Star) and growing tired of the old stand-by's (Shiner) we came upon the logo of a shaggy-haired kid jumping, cannonball-style, into a pool not unlike our own Barton Springs. With curious mind and ever-growing soberness, we delved further to discover what has quickly become......

My how this city has grown. Austin used to be the kind of town where the summertime theatre offerings were slim pickings. Not so...not anymore. The joints are jumping, and this week is no exception. It's darn near impossible to offer a Pick of the Week, so this week we're suggesting not one but two productions we think you'll enjoy. First, however, we need to report on some awards show shenanigans that went down earlier......

SXSW has truly built a strong reputation around the world, and every year various countries send their top-notch artists to Austin to display their nation’s talent. Scandinavia is one such area with a booming music scene. Danish band Mew and Sverige’s own Loney, Dear (Emil Svanängen) will bring their best to the festival this year. Finland, too, is doing its bit, with the Finnish Moosic Tour. Featuring punk rock from Disco Ensemble and electro-pop from......

The following review was written by Austinist foreign correspondent David Cheng, who's off cavorting with ill-mannered expats in Southeast Asia. We would've published this sooner, but we forgot. -- The Editors We want to start out this review by saying we "heart" Zach Braff.  We’re a huge fan of Scrubs, so much so that we’ve seen every episode at least three times.  We loved Garden State, and not just because Natalie Portman was so very......

Local: Travis County Commissioners on Tuesday approved a controversial 1,800-home Hill Country development project known as Sweetwater. Sweetwater will cover roughly 1,000 acres with its main entrance at the intersection of Texas 71 and Bee Creek Road. Residents and environmentalists have said the area is already stressed by booming development. Christy Muse, executive director of the Hill Country Alliance, said that "questionable" actions by the commissioners allowed the project to fall under the state's......

The Austinist isn’t very, how you say, musically inclined. We’re better at listening to it than playing it. But we can keep a beat. I mean, we’re not totally hopeless. Which is why Clap!Clap! is our kind of band. There’s a clapping beat in every song! We don’t have to clap alone! This is sheer genius. You can shake your ass and clap along with Clap!Clap! tonight at club Surveillance at Karma Lounge. They’ll......

Sad news was passed along to us that Randy "Biscuit" Turner, lead singer of Austin's famed punk band the Big Boys, and well-known Austin artist was found dead in his home this week. Biscuit was not only known for his music, but also for the yard art which adorned his 78704 home. In a rather odd but tribute-worthy coincidence, this weekend's Chronicle actually features a cover story on him. The art opening that was......

The Austinist has, somewhat regretfully, agreed to accept the ramblings of truecraig: a 78704 resident with bad knees, questionable taste in facial hair, and an erroneous belief that the bathroom walls of the men’s restroom in Casino El Camino contain the deepest of possible political satire. Craig drinks, smokes, runs, tells ridiculous stories, describes himself in the third person, and spends money he does not have. All in the bestest Texan city, Austin. His......

The Austinist is always looking for new restaurants to try, because we love food. Like, looooove it. Have we mentioned this before? Anyway, when a friend told us about a newish place downtown that serves healthy, Asian-style comfort food, we said, “What time will you meet us there?” Koriente is a family owned and operated Korean café that has a small but delicious looking selection of entrees, rice rolls, and side dishes. They happily......

In case you have not heard, early this morning in London (which would have been the middle of the night for us) several explosions hit the city’s transport system near the financial district and King’s Cross. Three bombs exploded in the tube system, one other on a public bus. The subway and bus lines were immediately shut down, bringing the city to a standstill. London's transportation system remains frozen indefinitely while rescuers search among......

The Austinist grew up with Sesame Street. We could even say we survived on it, and there are still VHS tapes of old recorded episodes in our parents’ house. So when we heard about the proposed budget cut for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, we were more than a little appalled. Fortunately, public broadcasting won a reprieve yesterday as the House voted (284-140) to restore the $100 million cut to the $400 million budget.......

In our sadly misguided youth, Austinist had three heroes whom we idolized. In our admiring (and evidently nearsighted) eyes, they were champions of integrity and courage, pillars of moral righteousness, and infallible gurus to whom we could always rely on for sagely wisdom. They were, ordered in descending import: Superman, The Professor on Gilligan's Island, and that lanky dude in the Police Academy movies who makes the nifty sound effects with his mouth. We'll......

Various feuds between two neighbors in the upscale Davenport Ranch subdivision turned deadly when the Blairs came home to find their dog, Cody, shot in the head. The Blairs had tethered their dog to a pole to prevent him from digging holes under the fence that separated their yard from their neighbor's, Phillip Spies. The Blairs found Cody, still tethered to the pole, but lying in a pool of blood with a gunshot wound......

Apparently Austin radio station 101X refuses to let its 10th birthday come and go on one day. They're having a series of bands play on different dates in honor of the celebration. Lucky for us, one of the bands is The Killers. Despite getting the shaft and having to play an early Friday afternoon show at ACL last year, The Killers rocked out. The Austinist is excited to see them at Stubb's, which is......

The Austinist was sad to hear that local band At All Cost had their entire equipment trailer stolen this morning between 4:30AM and 8:00AM. The band will be trolling around pawn shops for the next week, hoping to find some of their stuff. If you have any information, please contact Mike at (832) 654-8183. Things like this shouldn't happen, especially in a town defined by it's love for music. God, this kind of crap......

Well, we can't tell you her name. Why, you ask? Because this San Antonio woman is being charged with promoting child pornography...and her daughter is the victim. She sent another winner named Erik Hull naked pictures of her daughter so he could sell them. And if that isn't "Jerry Springer" enough for you, the daughter also accused Hull of raping her. Police walked in to find mom holding a knife to Hull's throat after......

The Austinist isn't embarrassed to admit that we love ABC's show "Desperate Housewives," only because you probably watch it, too. Now we have even more reason to love it. Mehcad Brooks moved to Wisteria Lane in last night's season finale, and we're happy to tell you he's from Austin. We know he'll play the son of actress Alfre Woodward, but so far there's no indication of what drama they'll bring to the street. Both......

The Austinist likes all kinds of music, good ole rock n’ roll, electro-pop, punk, country and those one-man singer/songwriter types too. It makes us sad when labels, attitudes and categories overshadow the music, pigeonholing their work and growth. Thankfully sometimes the music and the musicians defy that. Mice Parade is such a band: once a solo project, now a seven (or more) person collaboration, often instrumental, now features multiple vocalists on many songs. Their......

The Austinist doesn't know if Pink Floyd intended its album "Dark Side of the Moon" to match up with The Wizard of Oz, but it's kind of cool (and at times, eerie) how well the music and movie correlate. See for yourself this week at the Alamo Drafthouse when it shows "The Dark Side of the Rainbow." Let us get all Saturday morning cartoons on you and say "kids, don't try this at home."......

Well, we are sad to relay that the rumors concerning the Church of the Friendly Ghost are in fact true... kinda. In a telephone conversation, Aaron Mace told us that while no formal charges had been filed against him (or the other tenants or property owners), a cease-and-desist letter filed by the neighborhood association would go into effect on May 21st. This means that all music performances at the Church have come to an......

You probably missed the latest news report on Austin traffic because you were sitting in it. According to a national analysis of urban traffic, Austin is the most congested medium-sized city in the country for the 5th year in a row. The 2005 Urban Mobility Report from the Texas Transportation Institute calculated peak-hour Austinite drivers wasted 51 hours in their cars last year. The increase in travel time from 2002 is minimal, but the delay......

The Austinist loves food. We often take for granted that there will be food for us to eat everyday, and we forget that so many of our fellow citizens do not know where their next meal will come from. We have much to learn about the hunger problem here in Central Texas. For example, did you know: One in ten children under the age of 12 in Texas are hungry. Texas ranks second out of......

The Austinist is sad to report that there is an art thief somewhere on the UT Austin campus. From Craigslist: Hi Austin artists, Some of my art was stolen from UT's Art building Monday morning between the times of 8:10 and 9:45 AM. It probably would've been taken in a large white/clear 3x3x2 foot Tupperware. I set up a little gallery for my morning critique, and when I returned with my class, everything was gone,......

This weekend you will have your choice of ways to help out Austinist's favorite charity, Safeplace. First, we'd like to remind you that the Tripartite festival, which we posted about last week, takes place on Firday, May 6, 2005, at Jo’s (1300 S. Congress). Program starts at 8:30PM. Admission is free but donations (all of which will go to SafePlace) are encouraged. The Austinist recommends bringing your own chair as seating will be limited. This......

It doesn’t matter if you’re really broke (attention soon-to-be college graduates) or if you're just looking for a way to save some money, the Draught House is the place to be on Wednesday nights. Why, you may ask? Well, because on hump day, they serve free pizza. Is the pizza any good, you want to know? Damn, you’re demanding. It’s free food for crying out loud! But yes, it is good. It’s made on Mangia......

The Austinist was giddy when Chicagoist reader Angel Tagudin let us know that Rude Machanicals was doing a staged rendition of David Rees' widely popular comic strip, "Get Your War On". From the Rude Mech site: A certifiable internet phenomenon, “Get Your War On” represents pissed off, scared and outraged people of all political faiths as they react to 9/11, the Bush administration and their totally awesome War On Terror: “Remember when the U.S. had......

Hard to believe it’s already May, but the calendar doesn’t lie. And what’dya know, this Thursday is not only First Thursday, it’s Cinco de Mayo. The Austinist knows it’s never to early to start making plans to party. There’s going to be a weekend festival to commemorate Cinco de Mayo in Austin, and it will kick off on Thursday, with the Austin Civic Wind Ensemble playing on the Grace United Methodist Church’s lawn. The church......

Austinite Charlie Gough went from a UT undergrad pursuing a computer science degree to Time’s 100 Most Influential People list, all without a diploma. Bungie game studio (which later was bought out by Microsoft) scooped up the one of three creators of Halo back in 1988. The video game was pretty much responsible for making the Xbox a necessity for gamers. Halo 2 isn’t doing bad either, with Microsoft reporting selling $125 worth of games......

This Saturday, April 30th, from 7pm-9pm, Progress Coffee (500 San Marcos St) is hosting a show entitled Episodic Attempts. The opening features wine, bite-sized food, music and the paintings of Sean Ripple, a self-made mover/shaker in Austin's art scene. Sean's biggest claim to fame might be as the vibraphonist for The American Analog Set, but the Austinist loves him most for being the man behind the Tripartite Film Festival. The festival, which is now in......