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......

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......

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.......

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......

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......

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......