Photo by lilapants ln flickrPatrol car video footage that documents the final, pleading calls of police shooting victim Kevin Alexander Brown was made public by the city of Austin yesterday according to The Austin American-Statesman. "Please turn me over," Brown asks repeatedly from the distant background of the grainy video. His last request falls on deaf ears. "I'm gonna die," he says to the officer who shot him. The cop in question, Sgt. Michael Olsen,......

As reported in a heartfelt eulogy on Michael Barnes' blog, Austin lost one its treasures yesterday. Karen Kuykendall passed away at the age of 69 from complications from cancer of the lungs and spine. Ms. Kuykendall was so many things: funny, kind, amazingly talented, beautiful, friendly, bright...the list goes on and on. We met her a handful of times; she was always warm and truly delightful. And of course legions of Austinites will remember her......

We haven't made it to Project Runway at Moxie and the Compound, yet, but we've heard it's fun. Last week's winner Malissa Long sent us a picture of her creation (see right); the challenge was to design a piece only using a white knit fabric. This week the challenge is to design a dress for the Shiki customer. The Moxie version of Project Runway is similar to the Bravo show, although there's a local twist......

An industrial crane toppled this morning in the 900 block of Red River Street. No one was hurt when the crane fell, police said. Red River Street between 9th and 10th was shut for about two hours but reopened shortly after 11 a.m. The site under construction is near the Sheraton Hotel and is a four-story apartment building. Update: (10:40am) The Austin American Statesman has reported that the crane is not one of the giant......

Tribeza is co-sponsoring a search for “Texas’ Next Top Designer" with Dallas Fashion Incubator and Stanley Korshak, a large upscale boutique in Dallas. Go here if you are interested in applying for the event. The winner, to be announced in November, will receive a price package worth—*gasp*—$30,000. A public party promoting the competition is today at Estilo (234 W. 2nd St.) and Girl Next Door (250 W. 2nd St.) from 6 p.m. to 8......

Austin city leaders announced late Friday afternoon that the U.S. Department of Justice is starting an investigation into the Austin Police Department and its use of force, specifically when dealing with minorities. "We are obliged to determine whether APD is systemically violating the Constitution of the United States," read the letter sent to the city from the Justice Department. In 2004, the Austin American-Statesman analyzed police data from 1998 to 2003, revealing that Austin police......

If you haven’t noticed, the Austin American-Statesman has a new fashion and style reporter, Marques G. Harper, replacing Jean Scheidnes. You can read his Style & Substance columns here. Get ready, aspiring fashion designers. Applications for those wanting to participate in Stitch 2007 will be posted on the event’s website in June. If you want to sponsor Stitch now, go here. Also, the deadline for the Runway to Heaven fashion show is May 30.......

As you might recall, former Austinist co-editor Matthew "OK" Odam left our humble publication a few weeks ago in search of power, prestige, and proper press passes over at the Austin American-Statesman. Today, our favorite thirty-something renaissance man and aspiring screenwriter makes his fabulous debut on Austin360's frontpage as their newest blogger. Barely three days old, The M.O. already features some killer commentary on a variety of subjects, including new South Congress restaurant The Woodland,......

Almost two years ago I joined a motley crew of a couple dozen folks looking to enhance the entertainment landscape of Austin and help explode Austinist onto the scene via the wonders of the internets. Since that time, many of the names and faces have changed, but the desire to provide fun, entertaining and informative content to Austinites (and former Austinites) has remained the same. Therefore, it is with a mixture of sadness and excitement......

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......

Sometimes the jokes just write themselves. Exhibit A: Check out the juxtaposition of the picture of President Bush with this (allegedly) unrelated headline from today's Austin American-Statesman. Thanks to reader Bruce for the heads-up.......

You may have read a little something in the news recently about The University of Texas being the #1 Party School in the country, much to the chagrin of trustees, parents and state officials, and much to the delight of proud 18-22 year olds. In what we can only imagine is a bit of strategic timing on the part of our good friends over at the Austin American-Statesman, today, in their XL pull-out, they have......

Yes, it’s all very overwhelming. The planes in the air. The snakes on the interweb. The Samuel L on the profanity tip. And if it seems to you that only one writer is writing about it here, well then, you’re pretty much right. And the funny thing is, that writer doesn’t even care about the movie. But he does like paper planes, bitmappy clipart-type graphics, and the symbol of man’s inability to handle shame.......

Austin's The Sword aren't your average metal band. They're "the best band" Klosterman saw at SXSW '05, and they're even up to Joe Gross' (Austin American-Statesman) high standards. Beyond the acclaim, The Sword are one of the only bands left that can manage to take heavy metal seriously without coming off like a dated tribute band or an inside joke gone horribly serious. If you missed them at SXSW, and if you missed their......

You won't be exaggerating when you tell people you're not used to this heat; these past months have been the hottest on record since 1895. An Austin American-Statesman reporter collected one ton of cans around town, and she'll tell you the lessons she learned (be they what they may). Whatever you think of Castro, he may remembered in years to come as a conservationist. It's getting worse for aid workers in the Darfur region.......

Your favorite little internet secret is out, Austin. We've been exposed in broad daylight. And probably with too big a photo....

Sometimes things just don't read exactly the way they're meant to. With that said, we give you today's headline of the day, courtesy of the Austin American-Statesman: "Track star Hooker leaves Texas to turn pro."......

The Austin American-Statesman stated in its Opinion section Thursday that the debate over the future of Tamara Hoover should be centered on moral propriety and not on constitutional rights......

For those who don't necessarily want their dinner to scream while being cooked, Whole Foods Market salutes you. According to the Austin American-Statesman, the Austin-based company will no longer sell live lobsters, effectively immediately, out of concerns for overcrowded conditions in the tanks. Instead, Whole Foods stores will offer only frozen lobster choices. You go, lobsters! Your time is here! Image (c) Morgy on Flickr......

Austinist was heavy-hearted to learn this week of the passing of Warren "Ryder" Schwartz. As has been much reported in the press, Schwartz was stabbed to death in south Austin last weekend. Ryder Schwartz -- a nickname that seemed to grow from "Red" (he had quite the coppertop), to "Red Ryder", to most casually "Ryder" -- was a juggler of unusual talent. In 1987, at the age of 21, when he heard that the......

*Ed. Note: The opinions and thoughts expressed by Mr. Odam do not reflect those of Austinist or its staff. Or, for that matter, anyone else on this planet.* Ken Burns, you’ve been put on notice. There’s a new baseball historian in town. And he’s hot. Real hot. So, eat it, you pencil-necked dweeb. The Barry Bonds saga has, to some degree, captured the imagination of the American public. The mountain of circumstantial evidence surrounding......

Happen to be working on the Next Great American Comedy? Want to share it with the public, and pull in a little dough to boot? Our esteemed colleagues at the Austin American Statesman will put their money where your mouth is...or something like that. They're hosting the XL Funnywriter Contest, for which you can win $500 for writing the funniest "600-word scenario or dialogue script — on political, musical or evergreen subjects." Semi-finalists will......

There are so many great outdoor activities going on this weekend; we hope that you can find time to enjoy as many of them as possible. On Saturday, UT is playing host to the 10th annual Running of the Horns 5k. This event kicks off the annual 40 Acres Fest, celebrating the diverse interests of the gigantuan UT student body. Amidst the weekend of activity, even the kids are invited to join in. Also......

*Photo taken from Austin American Statesman * As you probably have read and seen, the Broken Spoke suffered a blow from a tour bus Sunday night. Following a 15th anniversary celebration for country radio personalities Sam and Bob from KVET, Barbara Snowden of Barbara Snowden and the Geezinslaws decided to move their bus to a better spot. The better spot turned out to be, unfortunately, the side of the structure of the bar. Apparently......

Speaking of American Idol, one of our readers in the comments section let us know about an interesting idea that popped up on Craigslist the other day: Haven't you always wanted to raise awareness about the brain-melting nature of television by putting on makeup, pretending -- along with 40 other people -- to be a zombie, and terrorizing throngs of vapid pop star hopefuls at the Austin American Idol Auditions? Yes? Well here's your......

In January of 2003, Austin American-Statesman reporter Kevin Carmody published a startling exposé, revealing to an unbeknownst public that Barton Springs, Austin's natural landmark synonymous with summertime idyll, contained dangerously high levels of toxins and pollutants - of such magnitude so as to potentially cause various cancers and debilitating neurological afflictions. The media frenzy ignited by these scathing articles was swift and ferocious: the City quickly engaged in damage-control, hiring 'expert' toxicologists to dispute......

The Austinist likes to read its sister publications, and we recently happened upon a story about skylines. Turns out, Austin’s skyline does not rank in the top 100 in the world, according to an article by Emporis, posted on the Chicagoist. While the Austinist is not surprised that our great city’s view didn’t make the cut, it is interested in how that infamous new building being proposed will effect not only our skyline, but the......