At yesterday's "Texas-sized Town Hall" at the Austin Convention Center, Senator Hillary Clinton's media entourage was forced to work out of a men's bathroom in a nearby community center. "It was immediately interpreted as something of a metaphor for the Clinton campaign's attitude to the press: With Sen. Hillary Clinton at Austin's convention center for 'a Texas-sized townhall,' her media entourage was taken to its work space — in a men's room of a separate community center." A campaign representative was quick to apologize, saying, "These accommodations should in no way be taken as a commentary on the quality of our media coverage.” Still, too late for the ensuing shit storm. more ›

Another interview with our governor: he tells the Washington Post, "just because you're a liberal doesn't mean that you can't be loyal, trustworthy and kind and obedient." Good to know. Federal judge decides to suspend the law preventing groups from raising funds to lobby for the ouster of the Texas Speaker. Is Craddick soon to be outta here? Dukes campaign manager complains about Thompson's big donors; Dukes herself has received a chunk of change from GOP donor Bob Perry. Double homicide on East Sixth Street early this morning. Firefighters fighting garage fire in Northwest Austin this morning find a body inside. more ›

Separated at birth?Two weeks ago, the Statesman's new-ish resident fashion fella, Marques G. Harper, wrote an innocent little style article in which he happened to compare the president's recent vacation attire as "more like 'Walker, Texas Ranger' than a sweaty, tough ranch hand." OMGWTF, screamed an outraged White House, which promptly contacted Harper several days later. Evidently, Dubya—who seems to care little about his sub-30% approval rating—"read" the article and was, according to the Washington... more ›

Eat More Anchovies: Ten Solutions to Save the Ocean. Breaking Taco News: Al Pastor (the truck and the restaurant) reviewed by Taco Journalism. You can 100%-unlock the iPhone using a Turbo SIM card, without depending on the version of your current carrier card. The Washington Post discusses salary, gender and the cost of social haggling. Houston Community Radio station KPFT 90.1 received a single bullet through a window this week, missing a DJ by... more ›

In the first bit of Las Manitas news this year that has nothing to do with small business displacement or forgivable loans, Academy Award winning director Jonathan Demme has announced plans to shoot a new film at the embattled downtown eatery. The film (mentioned at the tail end of this Washington Post article) will apparently be a concert documentary featuring Austin roots rocker Alejandro Escovedo. No word yet on a timeframe for the shoot, but... more ›

"I've had a hell of a good time. I tell you, we are here on Earth to fart around, and don't let anybody tell you any different." Such was the off-the-cuff nonchalance and quirky charm that epitomized the inimitable Kurt Vonnegut, who passed away yesterday at the age of 84. With a dazzling career that spanned over half a century, Vonnegut was, to us, the quintessential American man of letters: novelist, essayist, playwright, and, despite having borne witness to the brutalities of World War II, a staunch humanist. Vonnegut crafted lucid, oftentimes absurd narratives that unmasked the horrors of war, satirically railed against the greed and hypocrisy inherent in human nature, and generally took the piss out of the bizarre structures and notions built into what we consider "modern" societies. "Human beings will be happier," said the writer in an interview with Playboy in 1973, "Not when they cure cancer or get to Mars or eliminate racial prejudice or flush Lake Erie, but when they find ways to inhabit primitive communities again. That’s my utopia." Equally as memorable as the messages in his novels were the characters that Vonnegut conjured up. Some of our favorites were Dr Paul Proteus of Player Piano, a rabble-rousing engineer fed up with life in a fully-automated society, and the curmudgeonly old Rabo Karabekian of Bluebeard, a retired artist who'd rather everyone just leave him be. We can only imagine Vonnegut carefully crafting these fascinating and (mostly) likable protagonists, then gleefully plunging them into preposterous or terrifying dystopias and forcing them to fend for themselves. Vonnegut suffered a fall a few weeks ago in his Manhattan apartment, causing extensive damage to his brain. Even then, said his manager, Donald Farber, "He was in good spirits. Every time he spoke with me no matter what the circumstances in the world, he had a funny angle on it even if it wasn't a funny thing." And so it goes.
More:
Kurt Vonnegut dead at 84 (Washington Post)
Works by Vonnegut (Book List)
Vonnegut's Official Website
Interviews with McSweeney's more ›

As 2006 ends and 2007 begins, the -ists look back not at the past week, but at the past year. So here it is, your Best of 2006 Spectacular. And from all of us at the -ists, happy New Year! Austinist was all about controversy as new construction to increase urban density ran rampant in 2006, as did threats to the city's image from gigantic corporations looking to set up shop in town, leading... more ›

The folks over at Pluck have hit the big time, signing a major deal with Reuters that will allow the news giant to carry syndicated content from Pluck's BlogBurst. BlogBurst streams syndicated content to mainstream media from over 2,800 blogs. In addition to agreeing to carry BlogBurst’s contents, Reuters made a financial investment in Pluck. The deal allows Reuters to use BlogBurst’s content alongside its stories, which will then get picked up by thousands of... more ›

As we sat down to write this week's Best of the -ists post, a car blaring "21 Questions'" passed by our house. And that started us thinking about how some of the best -ist posts out there have at their hearts questions, some of which are answered, and some of which are left open. Check out the Best of the -ists from this week, and see if you agree. Londonist answers the questions "How much... more ›

What with Memorial Day or Labor Day coming up this weekend, we've teamed up with the lovely folks over at BlogBurst to host an Austin Blogger Happy Hour on Thursday, over at Club de Ville. The product of local tech company Pluck, BlogBurst syndicates some of the internet's top blogggers onto major media sites (think The Washington Post, SF Gate) and other "top-tier online destinations." For bloggers, it represents a tremendous opportunity to have their... more ›

What with Memorial Day or Labor Day coming up this weekend, we've teamed up with the lovely folks over at BlogBurst to host an Austin Blogger Happy Hour on Thursday, over at Club de Ville. The product of local tech company Pluck, BlogBurst syndicates some of the internet's top blogggers onto major media sites (think The Washington Post, SF Gate) and other "top-tier online destinations." For bloggers, it represents a tremendous opportunity to have their... more ›

The 2006 Pulitzer Prize winners were announced today, with UT's David M. Oshinsky, George Littlefield Professor of American History, garnering the prestigious History prize for "a distinguished book upon the history of the United States." Said book was Polio: An American Story, what Publishers Weekly hailed as "an edifying description of one of the most significant public health successes" in our country's time. Congrats, Professor! Other winners included Geraldine Brooks for March (Fiction), the Staff... more ›

M O N D A Y [5] music · MF Doom, Count Bass D, John Robinson at La Zona Rosa music · Saves the Day, Senses Fall, Emmanuel, Early November at Emo's film · "Shaun Of The Dead" spinoffs at The Drafthouse Downtown (7pm) [link] T U E S D A Y [6] music · Red Leaves at CRL Art Gallery film · AFS screens "The Singing Blacksmith" at The Drafthouse Downtown (7pm) [link]... more ›

Tom DeLay succeeded yesterday in having Judge Bob Perkins removed from his money-laundering and conspiracy case, complaining that the Democrat had donated over $5,000 to "liberal" causes since 2001. While a new judge has yet to be named, The Hammer's already working on his next weaselly tactic: having the trial moved out of Austin. Ridiculously, his indictment hearings have become something of a farce - it's hard to remember that the whole thing stems... more ›

Vice President Dick Cheney's right hand man, chief of staff Lewis "Scooter" Libby, was indicted today for "obstructing justice, perjury and lying" after a two year investigation into the CIA leaks of agent Valerie Plame's identty. more ›

-The Washington Post's Terry M. Neal speculates on Miers' failed bid for the Supreme Court -The latest move in Google's quest to take over the internet: crushing eBay? -Janet Jackson has a secret kid! (Maybe) -2,000 international firms have been accused by the United Nations of paying off Saddam Hussein's regime -MSNBC explains the whole hubbub over the CIA leak story -Charles and Camilla, desperately trying to stay relevant -Another luxury condo's going up... more ›

Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor resigned today, which means that President Bush will have his first opportunity to nominate a new justice. Happy birthday, America! more ›

Now that the FBI informant credited with exposing the Watergate scandal has revealed himself, it's only a matter of time before the pivotal communications between Deep Throat and Washington Post reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein are shown to the public. more ›

Congratulations Kenneth Y. Tomlinson! You are the Austinist Shit-Bag of the Month! For those of you that don't know, Kenneth Y. Tomlinson is the Chairman of the Board for the Corporation for Public broadcasting (CPB). Here's a short list of the good work he has done so far: - "Tomlinson contracted an outside consultant last year to monitor the 'political content' of PBS's Now With Bill Moyers for 'anti-Bush,' 'anti-business' and 'anti-Tom DeLay' 'biases.'"... more ›

Tom Delay, America's stalwart icon of moral and ethical behavior, has again come under the vicious thumping of the fourth estate. Both the New York Times and the Washington Post have today written about 2 different ethical lapses on the part of Mr. Delay. more ›