Modern art can baffle and delight, and sometimes leave you wondering, "What in the what was that artist thinking?"...

The Secret Show is a collective of Austin musicians who are dedicated to bringing music to the most out-of-the-way and beautifully unusual corners of Austin. Their 4th performance in the series took place on Tuesday night, in a drainage ditch behind Ricky Guerrero park, with a wall covered in graffiti as a backdrop and a few dozen fans and friends in attendance. The shows are always performed with short notice, announced on the group's......

Frank Warren appears to be a typical, soft-spoken family man from Maryland. But on the internet, Warren, like a priest, accepts confessions. Hundreds of anonymous, artistically-rendered secrets are sent to him on postcards every day. He reads each one, carefully selecting and displaying a handful of them on his blog, PostSecret, every Sunday. What was originally intended as a one-off art project has grown into not only a website boasting over a million hits a......

FRIDAY [8] music • DJ Krames (Cobra Kai), Prince Klassen at Beauty Bar (Free) books • Dominic Smith presents The Beautiful Miscellaneous at BookPeople (7:00pm) comedy • Punchline, open mic stand up comedy at ColdTowne Theater (10pm) film • "The Secret Mirror" at The Paramount film • Master Pancake Theatre: "The Breakfast Club" at Alamo Downtown film • "Severance" at Dobie Theatre food • Central Market Cooking Class: Manicotti Workshop with Foodie Barbara Sampson at......

It's entirely possible that you aren't at all interested in wandering around Zilker dehydrated and lost all weekend, but there's no reason to worry: there are plenty of things to do and shows to see this weekend that have nothing to do with wristbands or sunscreen. Most notable is the Filter Party at Beauty Bar featuring The Presets, I Love You But I've Chosen Darkness and The Secret Machines. In addition to the MSTRKRFT......

Well, I can't quite believe I'm finished. Last night I posted the few remaining previews, which means that for the second year in a row, I have previewed each and every act performing at the Austin City Limits Festival. I couldn't have done it without help though, so once again, I would like to thank John, JD, Jeff, Chris and Becky, who each contributed guest previews to help me finish my project. I would......

MONDAY [27] [film] Soul Cinema Monday: "The Spook Who Sat By the Door" at Alamo Downtown ($1, 7pm) (link) [film] "Candy: Terry Southern Psychedelic Mindwarp" at Alamo Downtown ($1, 9:45pm) (link) [film] Spike & Mike? Twisted Animation Fest at Alamo South Lamar and Alamo Village (Through Thursday, 10:15 SL, 9:45 Vill) (link) [film] "Tank Girl" at Cafe Mundi (8pm) (link) [TV] Twin Peaks & Carnivale at Beerland (Free, 7pm) (link) [books] Karenna Gore Schiff, the......

SXSW.com released an updated lineup for this year's SXSW Music Festival earlier today, and it's one hell of a list. The SXSW committee hastens to note that "This is a partial list of performers confirmed to appear at the 2006 SXSW Music Festival. This list is current as of 1/13/06. All of this information is subject to change." International acts include: Masahiro Nitta, DMBQ, Ellegarden, Tsu Shi Ma Mi Re, PE'Z, The Emeralds (Japan)......

Pitchfork today posted the initial lineup of confirmed SXSW XX artists, and the roster is ... well, see for yourself: The Adored, Annie, Arctic Monkeys, Belle and Sebastian, The BellRays, Be Your Own Pet, Blockhead, The Boy Least Likely To, The Brokedown, Calexico, Neko Case, Cat Power, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Clor, Jason Collett, The Cribs, Cuff the Duke, Jamie Cullum, Dashboard Confessional, Death In Vegas, Death Vessel, Dengue Fever, Destroyer, Die! Die!......

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......

You figure with all the research on mice these days, it's gonna be The Secret of NIHM everywhere soon enough. The latest batch of wunderkind rodents is bolstering research on free radicals being a major contributor to the aging process. Free radicals are, of course, free-floating molecules with unpaired electrons. Over at the University of Washington, Peter S. Rabinovitch and his wacky crew cooked up a batch of mice that produced large amounts of the......

Don't have cable so you can't watch the Ian McShane define cool on the new Deadwood tonight? That's ok, Austinist has a Tivo, so you can come over and watch later on this week. We like company. Instead, we recommend you head on down to the Spider House around 8:30 tonight to catch the Austin Premiere of filmmaker and native Texan Patrick Phillips' new documentary The Cost of War, an outline of the conditions, emotional......