The Blanton Museum's B Scene events happen once a month and celebrate the arts by combining music, drinks and socializing to rejuvenate the sometimes stuffy fine art scene. Their unique approach to reaching out to the public this way includes showcasing local musicians and DJs, and each B Scene event offers a different genre representation from Austin's diverse musical culture. ...

Image courtesy of Nacional RecordsThe first annual Ground Zero Texas fest kicks off their weekend schedule of events on Thursday, with the opening ceremony at Sound On Sound Records at 6 p.m. (featuring a performance by the official GZT mascot NOBUNNY), followed by opening night action at Beerland with music from The Spits, The Wax Museums, and The Hibachi Stranglers. Denton’s The Reds will also re-unite and rock this special evening. The plethora of local......

Photo of the Walls Unit gurney from Britannica Student Encyclopedia 25 Years of Lethal Injection: What Have We Learned?Friday, December 7Texas Prison Museum (map) This Friday marks the twenty-fifth anniversary of the first execution by lethal injection in the United States. Naturally, Texas, along with the city of Huntsville -- sometimes referred to as the "execution capital of the world"-- took this honor. With executions effectively on hold in Texas while the U.S. Supreme Court......

Flyer courtesy Downtown Austin Alliance Holiday Sing-Along, Tree Lighting and Congress Ave. StrollSaturday, December 1Texas State Capitol (1100 Congress Ave)6-9pm[info]The annual Holiday Sing-Along, Capitol Tree Lighting and Congress Avenue Stroll takes place tomorrow evening. Here's the schedule of events, courtesy the good people at the Downtown Austin Alliance: The evening starts at 6:00 p.m. when crowds gather on the south steps of the Capitol to sing the songs of the season during John Aielli's Holiday......

Photo from City of Austin Tree Planting CeremonySaturday, November 10Zilker Park Rock Gardens (2100 Barton Springs Road)(9am, Volunteers Welcome)[info]In observance of Veterans Day, the City of Austin's Parks and Recreation Department is getting together tomorrow morning to plant 57 trees at the Zilker Park Rock Gardens: A special ceremony will honor the dedication and sacrifice of men and women who have fought to preserve our nation's liberty. Following the ceremony, volunteers organized by Tree Folks......

Photo from SpikeG.com Spike Gillespie presents Quilty As ChargedTuesday, November 6BookPeople (603 N. Lamar)7pm, Free[info]Local raconteur Spike Gillespie has been a favorite of ours for a long time. Easily the hardest writing writer in Austin, the moxie-mad Gillespie stole our hearts with the annual Kick Ass Awards ceremony she holds on her birthday. She isn't one to hold anything back or censor herself. Her "dot-novel", a completely free book, opens with the phrase "donkey-cock," and......

Londonist: Photo by ChloeLondonist got the big scoop of the week with what may be the first images of notorious street artist Banksy in action. They also got on a runaway train without an operator provoking a response from the transport authorities. Elsewhere, London's answer to Central Station is about to open for business, and Londonist got a sneak preview. Meanwhile, spooky goings-on beneath London Bridge, where a cache of skeletons provided an apt story......

At least that's according to Travel + Leisure magazine, which just released its annual rankings of America's Favorite Cities, as based on a survey taken by over 60,000 people. Austinites are ranked as the fourth Most Attractive, and first in "Overall" characteristics. The results, presented from both the visitor and resident's perspective, also give a pretty accurate general indication of how we feel about the state of things here, from what we're most jazzed about......

Strapped for cash after blowing the budget on $6 beers and pedicab rides last weekend? Or maybe you're just ready for a little air-conditioned peace and quiet after rubbing sweat with 65,000 other music lovers. Either way, on Sunday you can spend zero dollars and enjoy a break from live music by taking advantage of the 10th Annual Austin Museum Day. The event's 30 participating sites will incorporate a mix of art, history and......

Austin native Rebecca Rosenberg has been living in South Korea teaching English, and she wants to share her experiences abroad with all of Austin. Austinist believes that we could all use some Korean culture. The other morning I woke up with one of those hangovers belonging in a special class. I call it a please, someone, shoot me in the face morning. Sure, it was a Sunday after the Boryeong Mud Festival [dear lord,......

It's an odd proposition, but according to Michael Kimmelman, New York Times' chief art critic, there are striking parallels between museums and department stores as "institutions of social change." He's in Austin this afternoon to present his argument, which will also examine the role of commerce in today's museums. A finalist for the 2000 Pulitzer Prize in criticism, Kimmelman has authored several books on art and art history. Notable works include “Portraits: Talking with Artists......

If you need an excuse to visit San Antonio this weekend, you might check out the grand opening festivities for the Museo Alameda del Smithsonian. The museum is the largest in the nation dedicated to Latino arts and culture and is the official state Latino museum. Their mission statement is to "tell the story of the Latino experience in America through art, history and culture." Museo Alameda is also the first museum (outside of D.C.)......

This weekend, first-time directors Brian Cassidy, Jennifer Loeber and (ex-Austinite) Aaron Hillis will bring their unusual but fantastic new documentary Fish Kill Flea to Austin for its world premiere at SXSW. Strange and funny and sad by turns, Fish Kill Flea is an honest, close-up portrait of a decaying mall in upstate New York that has become home to a popular (though shabby) flea market. Though the subject seems fairly specific at first, the film......

Spring appears to have, er, sprung, at least temporarily, in most of the Ist-A-Verse, so naturally, we're all feeling pretty good. (Yes, we know that spring doesn't officially start till later this month. Just let us enjoy our weather!) And that makes us that much more eager to share all of the nifty things we're up to... Over at Sampaist, spring has more than sprung: it's sweltering! But, as everyone knows, museums are an ideal......

One of the more charming locales for Austin weirdness, the intimate and unique Museum of Natural & Artificial Ephemerata is opening their new exhibition this weekend. The show, called ANIMALS, features "over 25 loans from Austin collectors, a narwhal tooth replica, a weeping taxidermy crocodile, a video of a beer-drinking hog, and millions of invisible animalculae!" To kick it off, they're having an opening preview which will feature a Multimedia Light Safari by Ms. Lori......

Tonight, the Blanton Museum's monthly B Scene event is being held in honor of James Michener's 100th birthday. There will be readings by fellows from UT's Michener Center for Writers (who, seriously, are inhumanly physically attractive and talented), at 8pm sharp. There will be periodic guided tours of the Blanton's Michener art collection. There will be music by Julia LaShae and Stay Gold. There will be birthday cake and a cash bar offering, among other......

Tonight, at Austin's own internationally famous document-stuffed cultural mothership, the Harry Ransom Center: a public celebration of their 50th anniversary. There will be cake. There will be viewings of their new exhibit, "The American Twenties." And people who are named "Harry," as well as people who are turning 50 this year, will get special presents (no word on what will happen if you fit both conditions... presumably, a ticker-tape parade!) A nifty timeline of the......

We're looking forward to seeing the freshly installed art that's going to be unveiled at the Blanton's B scene tomorrow. Since there aren't enough museums to fill our ever-voracious appetite for new art in Austin, we've been awaiting this opening with great anticipation. To go with those visuals, there's going to be the auditory pleasure of Austin's awesome instrumental space-dance quartet The Octopus Project, a performance of some of playwright Suzan-Lori Parks' 365 Plays/365......

We've been putting off going to great Austin museums for very lame reasons, some of which include beer, gravity and the occasional fact that we just don't feel like paying for it. This Sunday, we will no longer have the last excuse, because museums are free for the ninth annual Austin Museum Day. To encourage a city-wide rediscovery of Austin museums, there will be local exhibits and activities at 29 participating institutions which are listed......

Posts that caught the eye this week: Tim O. Thompson is happy with the redistricting decision that came out late last week. And on the other side of the spectrum, some Texans want Condi to run for Prez so much that they put up a billboard in Mcgregor (near Waco/Crawford). That's, um, dedication. An Austinite currently serving in the Peace Corps, Clare is having an interesting time of it. Lithebast took their eye for......

Elsewhere in the Ist-averse [08.05 in Special] Out the Other's ACL Previews: Son Volt, Willie Nelson, The Long Winters and More [08.05 in ACL] Keep Keith Away From The Trees: Stones Confirm Zilker Details [08.04 in Music] Political Tidbits & Outlawing Cleavage [08.04 in Politics] It's Not What You Think! [08.04 in News] Walker, Hungarian Ranger [08.04 in News] Extremely Rare: Free Concert Worth Attending [08.04 in Music] Project Runway #1 In Our Hearts......

Austin Earth Month continues this weekend with Austin Nature Day, a "celebration of the beauty, vitality, and diversity of natural resources that contribute to our high quality of life." All around town tomorrow, over twenty local eco-conscious and/or cultural organizations have set up various events -- and, holy crap, there's a lot going on! Some of the events that we think you outta check out include the Xeriscape Garden Tour (Umlauf Sculpture Garden, 3:30pm-4pm), Westside......

What a possible travesty! Might the Texas Commission on the Arts -- provider of grants, information, and technical assistance to artists and arts organizations in visual arts, theatre, dance, music, media and literature -- be destroyed? The organization, which has been the primary source of governmental funding of the arts in Texas for over forty years, was under the Sunset review this year, a process all state agencies undergo every 12 years to determine whether......

Austin's Public Information Office yesterday released details of the city's holiday schedules, reiterated below: City administrative offices will be closed Friday, Dec. 23, 2005, and Monday, Dec. 26 for the Christmas holiday and Monday, Jan. 2, 2006, for New Year’s. Pay-As-You-Throw customers will receive services as normal for garbage, recycling and yard trimming collection. The Household Hazardous Waste Facility will be closed the week of Dec. 26. Normal schedule will resume on Tuesday, Jan.......

This is the first post from our new contributor, Elizabeth... Now that you've gone to all the free museums you can, surely you need something to do this evening. So here's where we remind you that the Emmys are on tonight (7pm, KEYE CBS42). We don't make as much of an effort to watch the Emmys as we do to watch the Oscars (and yes, even the Golden Globes). We still have opinions on......

: : FRIDAY : : [music] The Zippo Hot Tour Semi-Finals featuring Fractious, 9pm @ The Backroom - FREE! [film] A Bunch of New Movies Open! @ your local theater [film] QT6, 7pm & 9:30pm @ Drafthouse Downtown: Grindhouse Triple Feature also Saturday [music] Mike Graff, 8pm @ End of an Ear [dance] Refraction Arts presents "Shish-ka-bob! An Inventory of Works by Amy Cone," 8pm @ The Blue Theatre [music] Palaxy Tracks, The Glass......

[This post by Austinist contributor Ami] We like to think we’re pretty edjah-macated, worldly, and cultured here at Austinist. Like on occasion, we’ll sip a martini rather than shotgunning our usual can(s) o’ beer. For extra special occasions, we’ll (reluctantly) trade in our flip-flops for closed-toed shoes. Heck, we’ve even been known to watch Antiques Roadshow if there’s absolutely no sporting event, trashy sitcom or good infomercial on TV. But when we really stop......

Austinist remembers those awkward years just after college; you know, the ones that find you drinking too much, underemployed and looking for love in all the wrong places. The years seemed to represent some sort of way station between adolescence and the alleged “adulthood” about which we had heard and read so much. In his debut feature film, Funny Ha Ha, writer-director Andrew Bujalski explores these testing times through the eyes of thumb-twiddling beauty......

AmericanStyle Magazine just published their Top 25 Art Cities in the US. Our fine town placed 8th in the "Big City" category. All of Texas' other major cities made the Top 25 as well. Dallas came in at 13th, and Houston and San Antonio at 17th and 18th, respectively. Congratulations to those fine cities for having lost to us great art scenes as well. With Austin packed full of so many museums and galleries......

Just kidding. We are pleased to report that this Saturday is opening day for Austin's new Fire Museum on E. 5th. It's a museum about the history of fighting fire in Austin. We liken this to the Spy Museum in Washington DC (a smaller, specialized museum) and are pretty sure that now Austin will turn into a huge city with a lot of free museums. You heard it here first, folks.......