Primary results from national/state/local races: So even though it seems that Hillary won the Texas primary (it's interesting that Obama led in statewide early voting), Obama may beat her in delegate numbers. In the GOP race, McCain is now the GOP candidate as Huckabee gives up the ghost. In Travis County, Ron Paul won 17% of the vote . . . ...

After Van Halen, Bruce Springsteen, Radiohead, and Jay-Z all elected to skip Austin on their spring US tours, it's not unreasonable to feel that our music-loving town seems to be off the radar of the arena pop and rock circuit. This despite a perfectly functional (if rather dated) basketball arena smack in the center in town. Thankfully, the Louis Vuitton Don Kanye West agrees with you, and has elected to show Austin some big-production love with a date here at The Frank Erwin Center in late April....

Photo credit: sniderscion Torontoist spent its week uncovering who was behind mysterious ads for a drug called "Obay" that popped up across the country (Scientology? Frank Shepard Fairey?), first tracing them to an advocacy group called Colleges Ontario and then confirming their suspicions a few days later.Phillyist learned how to put on a puppet show – it's not as easy as you might think!Shanghaiist discovers that the average starting monthly pay for fresh graduates......

If your heroes include absinthe guzzling artistic wack-jobs like Oscar Wilde, Toulouse Lautrec and Vincent van Gogh, get ready to party like it's 1899....

Michael Olsen could get his job back with APD on a technicality. Man's body found near North Campus area; police say he fell off the roof. Obama's rally tomorrow night will close down roads downtown, so don't say we didn't warn you. Hillary trying to nab the Longhorn vote by wearing burnt orange today?...

Sex toys are no longer illegal in Texas; federal appeals court overturns the ban. McCain adviser tells NPR that if Obama is the Democratic nominee, he won't keep working on McCain's campaign. Decapitation wire placed by someone on US/Mexico border fence. Hezbollah leader in Lebanon calls for "open war" on Israel at the funeral for their top commander. Yesterday the Prime Minister of Australia publicly apologized for the wrongs done to the Aboriginal people.......

Though wholly deserved, it was a little surprising to find our favorite bedroom nerd-rockers Hot Chip on the cusp of huge fame last year. Their album The Warning went gold in the UK, a Mercury Music Prize nomination followed, and sold-out shows across the US and Europe became the norm. This from fellows who record in a London bedsit and look like they walked out of the Dell engineer's cafeteria. As a sold-out crowd at Antone's last May attested to, the group's unique mix of electronics, blue-eyed soul, club bangers, and indie-rock captivated many worldwide searching for a new voice. Hot Chip have always claimed that they loved lots of music, but that nobody made the exact music that they wanted to listen to. And their pastiche of their influences backed the statement up - critics weren't sure what to compare them to. But they sure loved them....

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......

Nothing quells the squabbling mass’s ire like a fat check. You want those three dudes who pissed in your gym locker to change their tune? Buy them off. You know what will impress the volleyball team? Bomb-ass circuses. What do all bouncers and voters in Florida understand when it comes to deciding whether they like someone or not? Bread. Dinero. Duckets. Dosh. Some-other-D-word-for-money. That’s a uni-goddamn-versal hand-shake that says “if you didn’t believe in my powers of affable superiority before, perhaps the fact that I can magically produce some money for your wallet will change your mind.” ...

I left you somewhat in the lurch last week concerning my plans for a weekly column devoted to guests (that would be you), and that was a bit rude of me. But honestly, at the time I wasn’t convinced that I knew exactly what I was looking for....

AngelouEconomics will host the annual Economic & Technology Forecast next Thursday, January 24, at the Austin Convention Center. The Economic & Technology Forecast is billed as the largest business event in Austin, with attendees including public officials, educators, media, economic analysts and business executives from Central Texas’ technology, legal, real estate and services industries. Speakers include Angelos Angelou, the Founder and CEO of AngelouEconomics, and Zanny Minton Beddoes, the US economics editor for The Economist....

This year's SXSW Music lineup seems to be taking shape a bit more quickly than last year, as bands have taken it upon themselves to announce showcases publicly before the official list release by SX organizers. This is a departure from prior years, but since festival officials aren't complaining, we assume they're happy to let the hype build as the acts trickle in. This week's top twelve additions:...

The Iraqi defense minister just said that the country will need US military help through at least 2018. That would make...oh...fifteen years of US involvement, total. Bush begs Saudi Arabia to produce more oil, help a brother out. Obama tries to stop the hatred between his campaign and Hillary's. Good luck, buddy. ...

The week's news on arts, books, film and music....

The first big non-SXSW show announcement of 2008 is here, and guess what: it's a massive dance party. Straight out of Paris, the electronic duo known as Justice will kick off their US tour at Stubb's on Monday, March 3rd. This is actually a small venue for the band - just a week after the Austin date, they'll headline Madison Square Garden. If you've not already heard Justice, start with Daft Punk or MSTRKRFT as sonic reference points, then add some scruffy beards and leather jackets. Justice also revel in the rock 'n' roll imagery, so their live show features a huge backlit cross (pictured at right) and stacks upon stacks of Marshall guitar amps to blow everyone right out of the venue. The band are touring in support of 2007 album †, which spawned the hit single "D.A.N.C.E." and was quite the critical darling as well. Their set at Coachella '07 was widely praised as a festival highlight, so this March gig should be something special....

The Strange Attractors MySpace] | [The Koreans MySpace]