A man bearing an uncanny resemblance to that unlucky sap on The Office was tossed in jail on Monday morning, after reporting to the Williamson County courthouse for jury duty. That's because 47-year-old John Peter Shevetz, who was to serve on a jury in a DWI case, showed up completely soused himself....

The world's just not as much fun as it used to be, what with all the global warming, credit crises, genocide, and other assorted world events that get us down, bum us out and convince us that, yeah, totally—the sky is falling. Thank goodness for Joe Hartman's new one man show, Overwhelming Underdogs, in its second strong week at Arts on Real. Hartman's writing and acting, Kirk German's directing, and maybe a glass of wine from the in-theatre bar is the perfect antidote to thinking about all that other stuff....

Now in its sixth week, the Writers Guild of America strike is still going strong. And despite Alec Baldwin's hilarious/bizarre advice and Michael Eisner's name-calling, WGA members show few signs of giving in any time soon. Though the effects of the strike are most evident in places like Los Angeles and New York City, you may be surprised to learn that there are around 100 WGA members living here in Austin....

Brillo pads, travel toothbrushes, and stainless steel dog bowls may seem more appropriately placed in your junk drawer than at an art museum. But the beauty of ordinary household items is exactly what's celebrated in the new exhibit, Extra-Ordinary: The Everyday Object in American Art, now on display at the Austin Museum of Modern Art. In addition to the main exhibit, which features Andy Warhol’s iconic Campbell’s Soup Can and a giant fabric sculpture of......

Back on November 7, 2006, Austin voters approved Proposition 5, the issuance of $55 million in "tax supported General Obligation Bonds and Notes for constructing, renovating, improving, and equipping affordable housing facilities for low income persons and families, and acquiring land and interests in land and property necessary to do so, and funding affordable housing programs as may be permitted by law; and the levy of a tax sufficient to pay for the bonds and......

As everyone knows, Iraq is a mess. A big, nasty mess. It's also pretty much common knowledge that the Bush Administration, faced with dwindling patience by Congress on the war, is working double-time in a mad scramble to create some sort of progress and forward movement in the region. A large part of this effort is being directed toward ensuring that local governments in cities throughout Iraq move toward self-sufficiency. As it turns out, the......

Finding hot button issues in Austin is not unlike finding a needle in a needlestack and no issue is as passionately debated as real estate. When Liz Lambert left her law practice with the Attorney General’s office and purchased the run down San Jose Motel, she had designs to create an oasis of hip on South Congress Avenue before the condo-boom had even begun, and little did she know that what she was building would......

City Manager Toby Futrell announced a couple days ago that she will be retiring in May 2008. Ms. Futrell has served as city manager since 2001. She had been expected to retire sometime next year, since the city council recently approved a pretty sweet retirement package for her. Futrell has worked for the city since 1976; her current annual salary is $240,600, and the retirement package ensures her $167,000 per year. During her service......

Twenty-one people were taken to the hospital this morning after being exposed to a hazardous material at a dental appliance office near Cameron Road and 290 East. Not many details are available yet, but our first guess for the material is nitrous oxide, which can be harmful in high concentrations. But that's just a guess. Hopefully more information will be available soon . . . 1:30 Update: 24 people from the office have been......

Are you worried about a use of force by APD so great that it warrants a federal investigation? Do you find the rift between the police department and Austin's black community unsettling? Are you satisfied with the choice for Chief? Do you think that APD is doing a great job and has been given a bum rap? Whatever your thoughts, Austin Listening wants to hear from you. The program is looking to get Austinites'......

Whether you're planning on attending or entering the Austin Film Festival this year, deadlines are looming. The festival won't take place until October, but early registration ends tomorrow, late screenplay and teleplay entries are due June 1st (that's Friday!), and early film entries are due June 5th. All entry "due" dates are postmark dates. Confirmed panelists for the festival include Scott Alexander (writer 1408, Ed Wood, The People vs. Larry Flynt, Agent Cody Banks),......

If musical history has taught us anything, it's that you simply do NOT stand between a child prodigy and her chance to shine. Do not do this! Once that intense prodigal drive is thwarted, it's guaranteed to metastasize into something ugly that will come back to haunt you. (Um, Antonio Salieri much?) In the first scenes of Denis Dercourt's French thriller The Page Turner, famous concert pianist Ariane Fouchécourt (Catherine Frot) thoughtlessly signs an......

Attention, super-involved citizens! Yesterday, the City of Austin announced that all of us will have an opportunity to meet the five finalist candidates for the office of Chief of Police for the Austin Police Department next month. Throughout June, three "community forums" will be held at the Palmer Events Center, and these events will be completely open to the general public. According to the City, "feedback from these sessions will be utilized in making......

Seven months after a sold-out Texas debut at the Austin Film Festival, the indie mockumentary Chalk returned to Austin Friday as part of a national platformed release. Shot for a mere $10,000 with the aid of friends and students, the work is a collaboration of Austinite ex-teachers and co-writers Mike Akel (who also directed) and Chris Mass. Chalk uses a faux-documentary style in the same manner as Spinal Tap or The Office, exposing the......

Austin has a love/hate relationship with bikes. Love Lance. Hate the Lance-wannabes cruising FM-1826, slowing down the burnt-orange pickups on their way to the Salt Lick. Love biking the Hike-and-Bike trail. Hate slaloming between kids and dogs on a busy Saturday. Love the idea of bike lanes and bike commuting. Hate actual bikers slowing down traffic and swerving into the street because of cars parked in the bike lanes. Love reducing traffic and pollution......

More on the bus accident this morning . . . A Capital Metro bus crashed into an office building earlier today after hitting an SUV; the SUV's driver didn't yield at a side street. The bus driver and one of the passengers were seriously injured on their Medical Parkway route, between 45th and 38th Street; four other passengers are in the hospital with minor injuries. A few more passengers and the driver of the SUV......

Authorities at the University of Texas have launched an investigation into alleged illegal dealings that UT associate vice president and financial aid director Lawrence W. Burt may have had with education finance provider Student Loan Xpress Inc. According to the office of New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, Burt was issued stock from Student Loan Xpress, a glaring conflict of interest given the company's status as one of UT's "preferred lenders." "It is important that......

You might think that observational office-centric humor has been over done, what with Office Space and two versions of The Office, Anglo and American. And who -among the old skool set- can forget the venerable Nine to Five, the movie and both incarnations of the television show? Dabney Coleman is a genius! But have you ever experienced office satire...in book form!? Company is Max Barry's fictional foray into that obtuse world bred by capitalism, where......

Alright, let's be honest with each other shall we? We just woke up from SXSW, and we're pretty sure you're all still hungover. That's why we're here, so that you don't have to strain your brain. So let's cut to the chase, and bust loose with the best of the last few week's Missed Connections... pornqueen, where are you? - m4w Hey pornqueen... what happened to you? Haven't talked to you in years! Drop......

It's THAT time of year folks. Strap on your wristband, ready your liver, and let's party. Oh, and lest we forget, it's almost time for SX connections. Let's all promise each other that we'll just approach anyone we might like, that way we can eliminate missing a connection of our own. Sure it will increase the coyote ugly stories, but those are much better anyway. Until then, we've gathered the best of last week's......

Seaholm Power, LLC has released new renderings of the proposed Seaholm Power Plant redevelopment, which it will present to City Council tonight. The site plan includes an extension of the city street grid, filling the gap in Third Street, connecting West Avenue to Cesar Chavez and adding a new street, Seaholm Drive, between Third Street and Cesar Chavez. Both new streets get pedestrian/bicycle crossings at their intersections with Cesar Chavez, to help integrate this......

The following is a weekly column by guest contributor Laurie Gallardo. Hear her Friday evenings on KUT 90.5FM -- The Editors Greetings, chilly willies. I will now quote something I heard this morning from the esteemed producer of In Black America on KUT, John L. Hanson, Jr.  Mr. Hanson is someone I hold in very high regard. Everyone should. To put it as succinctly as possible, he is a bad ass. This morning in......

St. Croix Capital has announced plans for "Austin Commons," a mixed office/retail project at Braker and Kramer, near IBM and JJ Pickle. It's also developing The Lakes @ TechRidge, a larger mixed-use project that includes residential and commercial space at I-35 and Howard Lane. On the one hand, this looks a lot like a strip mall with an office park behind it. There's a parking lot between the buildings and the street, and there's......

At one time or another, in a fit of nostalgia for our high school years, we have had the delusion of grandeur warm and fuzzy feeling that we could be a teacher. Yeah, and a really good one, too! Then we remember that one freshman civics teacher, whose name we can’t remember, but whose story became urban legend. Bit by bit – like a water torture technique – he lost control of the students under......

Just overheard at the office: "The best Tacos al Pastor in town are at Arandas on Burnet Road." Fact or fiction? Discuss! Taquerias Arandas #3 6534 Burnet Rd......

Holy Cylons, Batman, The Alamo Village is hosting TV Parties for all our favorite shows! If you are a fan of "Gilmore Girls," "Veronica Mars," "Smallville," "The Office," "My Name is Earl" and/or "Battlestar Galactica" then you've got a lot of awesomeness ahead of you. The Alamo Village is screening your favorite shows weekly as part of their new series of TV Parties. Here's the schedule: Every Tuesday, 7:30pm - "The Gilmore Girls" followed by......

We’ve underestimated them. For eons, we’ve thought receptionists were just pretty faces with good phone etiquette redirecting our calls. The sentinels of the company. The greeter of all guests. Sitting behind those fortress-like desks with only their eyes peering over the top, they’ve fooled everyone. We’ve always thought they were spending the time between phone calls creating the world’s biggest rubber band ball, or adding another yard to their paperclip chain. Maybe an occasional......

Out at the refurbished Del Valle High School football stadium, a staged homecoming football game was filmed last Friday night and into the pre-dawn hours of Saturday. The “game” was the backdrop for the Austin-based NBC series Friday Night Lights. The show’s pilot premieres tonight at 7:00 p.m. “We wrapped at 4:00 a.m.,” assistant director Michael Waxman said. “I’ve had about 3-1/2 hours of sleep at this point.” Waxman was talking by cell phone from......

We all know that "Austin City Limits" is one of the finest television shows in the country. The intimate venue provides an enchanting atmosphere in which musicians can feel at home. Ever since we started watching it as wee ones in the 70s, we've been in love. It seems others share our passion. Paste Magazine's The Best 24 Hours on Television issue has named "Austin City Limits" the best place for music on television. "Austin......

First and foremost, we'd like to give a shout-out to higher education. Promoting the notion of Thinking for Yourself since at least the 18th century. Television advertisements will soon embrace images of cancer tainted lungs as cigarette companies are required to clear up any confusion about the health benefits of cigarettes. (See benefits of higher education, above.) And the smoking-ban in Austin will hopefully soon be changed to make smokers, not bar-owners, responsible for......