Over a span of 6 months I trekked out on the weekends/weeknights to converse with some of Austin's houseless (as they like to be called). These images are my attempt to share what I took away from each of these individuals....

This week's news on art, books, music, and film....

Photo by pisti on stock.xchngAustin City Council will discuss a resolution today that calls for expanding services for the local homeless population. Councilmember Jennifer Kim, citing the need for a "comprehensive and compassionate" strategy in dealing with Austin's estimated 6,000 indigents, sponsored the proposal. From what we've seen, the measure mostly calls for re-prioritizing and increasing social services funding, providing more beds at local shelters, and collecting more data on the homeless. Critics of the......

Photo by dground on flickr City Council considering the gathering of information about Austin's homeless and the expansion of services that help them. The council may also merge Park Police, Austin Aviation Police and City Marshals with APD. Travis County officials aiding Hays County officials in the search for a woman who may have witnessed the murder of her son. Williamson County man on the run from child sexual assault charges captured in Costa Rica.......

Poster by christoball Acknowledge MeSaturday, December 1Scoot Inn (1308 E. Fourth)$5, 8pm-2am, 21+[info] As if you didn't have enough fun events from which to choose this weekend, we'd also like to mention the Acknowledge Me shindig happening on Saturday evening at the Scoot Inn. Billed as "for the creatively disposed and the disposably creative," the event begins at 8 p.m. Among the things to see and do: Over thirty vendors at a DIY craft market......

The death toll from the cyclone that hit Bangladesh is over 3,000 now; the UN says a million people have been left homeless. We're (*cough*) so surprised: Austin named the fall allergy capital of the nation. Alberto Gonzales didn't have an easy time speaking at the University of Florida last night. After child workers were found at one of their factories in India, Gap is determined to improve working conditions there. US Military calls......

Overheard in Austin is back! If you've heard anything worthy of repeating, or good for a laugh, send your quotes to overheard@austinist.com and we'll publish the best ones. Girl eating brunch across from a guy:Try this. Guy:It’s okay. Girl:You don’t know how to taste food right. You know why? It’s because you leave a little bit of food in your mouth from your last bite. (Pause) You know what I mean. Photographer at Fun Fest,......

Former Westlake High teacher resigns to teach at a lower-income school; less than pleased, Eanes school district attempts to get him suspended A UT journalism student has a nice chat with Dan Rather during a morning Jet Blue flight from Austin to New York City A routine traffic stop in Hunt County turns up two dozen embalmed human heads in the back of a tractor-trailer A woman in the Dallas/Fort Worth area comes forward with......

One burrito to rule them all: 10,000 lb burrito to be built at October fundraiser for local charities. Texan Dan Rather is suing CBS (and others related to his ouster) for $70 million. GOP presidential candidate Fred Thompson visited Dell today. Southwest Airlines is sticking with open seating, but families with small kids will no longer get to go first. A rabid bat was found this morning at St. Edwards. A local filmmaker is......

Best known as the frontman of alt-country group Richmond Fontaine, Willy Vlautin is now also an author. His debut novel, The Motel Life, takes the same bleak, resigned-to-fate look on life that fuels his music. The story centers around the relationship of brothers Frank and Jerry Lee, who flee town after one of them accidentally kills a boy in a drunken hit-and-run accident. They find a strange kind of freedom in their ensuing travels; it's......

Greece is burning up. Meanwhile, China is simply self-destructing (with a little help from the world). It was about two years ago...remember? Viagra makes people fall in love. With each other, not Viagra. Hopefully. Some guy tried to open the airplane door in midflight. (Probably had a seat next to a two-year-old. Desperate times...) Sam Jackson got mistaken for a homeless guy, but didn't mind. Ang Lee's new movie is too hot for America......

Settle down, gore hounds, for this weekend’s movie releases are clearly not for you (put your blood-soaked dreams of a modernized Michael Myers on hold for one more week). The real question is – are this week’s new releases for anyone? If fans of Scarlett Johansson’s panty lines and Rowan Atkinson’s crotch shots really do exist, then there must be at least a few audience members out there reveling in the fact that their time......

Austin police nab the asshole who (allegedly) pretended to sublet several campus-area apartments to unsuspecting folks, who'd later discover they'd been dupedHaving temporarily lost their brand new skate park, kids in Round Rock promise to behave A Fort Worth cop who slapped a girl's ass after catching her fooling around with her boyfriend in a parked car gets arrested Two con artists in North Texas are convicted for scamming would-be vacationers out of over......

So far this year, eighteen people have been murdered in Austin. Six of those murders remain unsolved. One of these unsolved murders occurred in a drainage ditch under 30th Street in a bustling campus area busy with all day (and night) bike, car and foot traffic. The victim was a 50-year old blind man named Randall Hays. Robbery is believed to be the motive in this murder and he wasn't stabbed or shot, but......

[Editor's note: Cockfight Ethics is a biweekly column written by a long-time Austin opinion-monger and word-slanger, Percy Julian. The opinions expressed herein are the writer’s, and the writer’s alone. They do not necessarily represent those of the Austinist or its editorial staff.] If the other articles don’t hurt me later, this one will, initially. I go to Spider House and Beauty Bar quite often. And each time, I can’t help but to think “Are these......

Want to join the ranks of the Austinist staff and publish fawning love letters to things like White Denim, Green Energy, and homeless people? Great, because we're looking for new contributors! Specifically, we're out to find 6 or 7 folks who'd like to write about any of the following: Food and Wine (e.g. restaurant reviews, special tastings) Books (book reviews, author appearances, lectures) Fine Art (gallery previews/reviews, artist interviews) Fashion News (local/regional/national) Sports Theatre/Comedy Community/Nonprofit/Volunteer......

Austinist was deeply saddened and disturbed to hear of the horrific murder of Randall Hays, better known as Tennessee, a long-term resident of Hemphill Park. A frequent presence in the park, Tennessee was blind and spent most of his time in the immediate area. Police are still searching for Tennessee's family, but in a sense the people with whom he came into daily contact were his family. Austin's homeless community is mourning one of their......

The usually busy streets of 30th and Hemphill, near late night hot spots Trudy's and Spiderhouse, just east of Guadalupe Street were at an eerie standstill this afternoon when it was discovered that a middle-aged, white transient was found murdered in the drainage ditch that runs down the middle of Hemphill Park, just a few blocks north of The University of Texas. This neighborhood, especially the specific section of the drainage ditch, is frequented......

As you might recall, a homeless man inadvertently started a fire on the outdoor patio of Mother's Cafe earlier this month, causing an estimated $500,000 in damage. No charges were filed against the man, John Evans, who was merely trying to stay warm; Mother's co-owner Cameron Alexander demonstrated an extraordinary degree of compassion in agreeing with fire investigators that Mr. Evans should not be punished. While no one was injured by the blaze, much......

A little under a year ago, the building where community radio station KOOP resided was destroyed in two freak fires. Rendered homeless and limited by meager finances, the station temporarily moved its broadcasting space to 89.5FM KMFA's headquarters, while taking up residency with the ACLU Foundation of Texas to house their offices. Thanks to an enormous outpouring of aid from the local community, KOOP was recently able to relocate to a new studio of......

Although Art From the Streets has had their show and sale benefitting the homeless for 14 years now, last year was the first time we visited the show (after reading about it here). We were stunned by the amount of great works available for purchase. We had already paid for two abstract paintings (one by John Monbelly and one by Stacy) when we realized there was a whole room full of art we had......

It's the time of year to get out and make some connections. The cool weather has arrived, and the holidays are just around the corner. No one wants to spend New Year's Eve alone sober, so it's time to find someone more booze. Until then, you can just kick back with the best of last week's Missed Connections... one leg, all heart - m4w you were on your cruches and whistling at the homeless......

Apparently the nuclear testing by North Korea has made South Koreans a tad frisky. Obese people are totally bad for the environment. And we aren't talking about methane gas. Students in business school are a bunch of cheaters. That explains quite a bit. On its death-bed, the Ford Taurus is considered to have been a huge influence within the auto industry. Grandpa would be glad to know he's storing a piece of history. In......

Mobile Loaves and Fishes has recently started a program called Habitat on Wheels. This program supplies homeless and working-poor Austinites with gently-used trailer homes for very reasonable rental rates. This weekend the organization is presenting a renovated mobile home to Elalein Hathaway, a 63-year-old single homeless woman whose husband died in service in Vietnam. Mobile Loaves and Fishes is currently seeking land in Austin to develop its own trailer park community for this program,......

The Gnarls Barkley show at Stubb's tonight is free (brought to you by AT&T), but let's face it, the chances of you getting in are slim to none. Just this morning, the homeless guy at the gas station wanted to know if we could spare some change for his version of "Crazy". He'll be there. Will you? Let us help! We're giving away two guest list spots for the show tonight, so give it......

It's a mad, mad world out there, folks. If you don't believe us, just check it out for yourselves... LAist tracks an award-winning TV writer who worked on Good Times to a homeless shelter and sees a Little Old Lady get a jaywalking ticket because she can't get across fast enough (in the same post!). Poets invade Metro and an LAist contributor's new book asks WWJB. Gothamist gets down with the immigration rally and......

Be sure to check out our extensive theatre coverage and new movie releases. Please let us know about any corrections/suggestions! FRIDAY [31] [music] Reckless Kelly at La Zona Rosa (link) [music] Peter & the Wolf, Navajo Radio and more at Emo's (Inside) (link) [music] Ghostface Killah, Word Association, DJ Notion at Emo's (Outside) (link) [music] The Glass Family w/ Quien es Boom (CD Release) & Brothers and Sisters at The Parish Room (link) [music] Red......

The Austin Humane Society is currently raffling off a brand spankin’ new Mazda RX8 to help raise funds for their community (animal) outreach programs. Apparently, this sporty little roadster goes from 0-60 in six seconds (unlike our current vehicle, which has a hard time getting up to 60, like, ever). Even better, they’re only selling 5000 tickets and there’s no limit to the number of tickets you can buy (until they run out), so......

The plight of Austin's homeless population is an issue that the city's lately been wrestling with quite a bit, and with considerable opposition. A more interesting question, and one that we entirely failed to consider, is this: what happens after they die? The city currently provides "traditional burials" for those whose families can't be found and/or simply can't afford the costly fees, in the last year administering 85 services according to today's Statesman. But......

In the next few weeks, it's going to get pretty damned chilly out. While you're nestled safely in bed, consider for a moment the plight of Austin's thousands of homeless or otherwise impoverished folks, forced to make their way in the bitter cold this winter. We were pleased to see that News 8 and Reid's Cleaners have teamed up this season for their third annual "Keep Austin Warm Blanket Drive," which is, well, a......