Members of the congregation of Austin's St. Elias Orthodox Church have been busy for months preparing for this weekend's 76th annual Mediterranean Festival. Women of the church have spent weekends cooking and freezing authentic Mediterranean dishes that will be served to the appreciative crowds. In addition to traditional foods and fascinating crafts, ethnic music and folk dancing are always an integral part of the festival's attractions. On recent Sunday evenings, longtime festival steering committee member Bill Attal has been teaching folk dance steps to members of the congregation so they can join in the fun. Chronicle photographer John Anderson dropped by the church hall recently to shoot some video footage of the dance action. The renown Pennsylvania-based Greek group Stavros & Maria will be performing and Bill Attal assures us that the urge to get out on the dance floor will be irresistible. The folks at St. Elias invite Austinites out to enjoy the festival this weekend. They will be selling great food and drinks, very entertaining musical performances, and plenty of good exercise on the dance floor! The festival will close an entire block of 11th Street between Trinity and Red River and the cover charge is $5 at the gate. Food and drinks will be for sale. Friday & Saturday, Oct. 10 & 11 from 6pm until 12mid. [video-1]

No, it's nothing the longtime Statesman columnist wrote himself. But here's a question: faced with an inbox full of stereotypical, racist drivel, what writer worth his salt would decide to publish the epithets instead of sending them to the trash? Apparently John Kelso. Kelso's column today, "Counterpunch to light jabs at Palin: racist responses" hopes to inoculate itself from criticism by calling the quotes he uses "the worst in people," and ostensibly offering it as a heads-up. Well, sorry John, there's ample evidence out there of the growing racial animosity directed at Obama as his lead builds. We don't need any more pathetic examples. Which really leaves no excuse for Kelso – and the Statesman – to put this anonymous drool in print:

"Let's talk about Obama, and chitlin' and collard greens in every pot. National barbecue pit. And maybe we could have a watermelon thump and seed spitting contest on the South Lawn."

Or this remark, sent to Kelso from a one Timothy Shanley, 48:

"Will there be bar b-q and old Cadillacs on milk crates, with the musical stylings of Tupac or 50 Cent keeping the neighbors up? … I would rather have log rolling than blunt rolling on the South Lawn."

The author himself describes the above as "racist." There's absolutely nothing newsworthy about these comments. So why in the world were they published? (One reason that comes to mind: Kelso's a monumentally lazy writer.)

Apparently the smarty-pants engineers at Google are as human as the rest of us – meaning they've engaged in the e-mail equivalent of drunk dialing. And they aim to put a stop to it, by way of new software, called Mail Goggles, that red flags late night, potentially problematic e-mails to the ex and forces you to answer a series of timed math questions prior to sending. (Already I see a hitch: Does it have to be math? How about French New Wave trivia, or a name-the-sexual-dysfunction series of Philip Roth multiple choices?) Excerpt from the Guardian UK's article "Google Mail Goggles aims to end drunken email embarrassment" after the jump:

Ding, ding! Round two! If you hadn't noticed, there's a bit of a presidential debate tonight, so unless you were planning to watch with your shoes off and your hand in your pants, a la Al Bundy, there's a couple of watching party options (not including the Alamo Dratfthouse South Lamar, who'll be having their own bash on multiple screens.) The big one is the Travis County Democratic Party's big screen presentation at the Long Center. The evening will kick off at 5.45pm with an event for retiring Judges Margaret Cooper and Jeanne Meurer in the Kodosky Lounge. However, expect everyone to bail early to grab some the good seats for the big debate watch in the Michael and Susan Dell Hall. Fancy-schmancy. Burnt Orange Report-er Matt Glazer explained it would be a nice option, so put your best dress pants on: not least because Jimmie Dale Gilmore will be performing and there'll be a very special guest in the form of LBJ's daughter and Luci Baines Johnson in attendence (sigh. Remember the happy days when Texas produced presidents that believed in signing civi rights legislation?) For the more informally dressed or big fans of brisket, Texans for Obama have booked out Scholz Garten again For our GOP readers, the Travis County Republican Party will be having their shindig at Annie's West at 706 W. Sixth.

A New York Jew with a thick Brooklyn accent, Larry Harlow is an unlikely hero of Latin music. Born in 1939 into a family of musicians, Harlow grew up in New York barrios where Afro-Caribbean rhythms drifted from record shops and bodegas. A Tito Puente protégé and devotee of Cuban bandleader Arsenio Rodriguez, he was one of the first musicians signed to New York’s mighty Fania Records. “El Judio Maravilloso,” or “The Marvelous Jew,” as he’s affectionately known in Latin music circles, produced more than 250 albums for the Latin Motown in addition to leading his Orchestra Harlow in some 50 LPs. His searing keys bless two standout tracks on Grupo Fantasma’s latest release, Sonidos Gold, and Harlow will join the local Latin big band Saturday at Antone’s, as well as present the 1998 documentary Through the Eyes of Larry Harlow 4pm Sunday at the Alamo Ritz Downtown. Bump & Hustle caught up with the Marvelous Jew by phone at his New York home and respectfully disagrees with his disdain of the boogaloo.

Austin Police and other public officials will get down with neighbors from across Austin tonight for the 25th National Night Out. APD Chief Art Acevedo, public officials and community activists want YOU to join them tonight for a Night Out kick-off party at the Turner/Roberts Recreation Center, 7201 Colony Loop Drive, from 5-7pm. Following the kick-off, city officials will visit Night Out shindigs at the Rosewood Rec Cetner (at 6:45p), 1182 Pleasant Valey Rd.; Austin Community College Riverside Campus, Bldg. A (at 7:15p), 1020 Grove Blvd.; and at 4811 Allison Cover (at 7:45p). National Night Out (elsewhere held in August, when, in Austin, its really not so much fun hanging with your neighbors out on the street) encourages neighbors to get outside and get together to generate support for and awareness of crime prevention efforts.

I admit, the Girls Rock Camp Austin final showcase this past summer at the Parish made me tear up. The confidence and ambition of these middle school and high school-aged girls was inspiring, and it made me wish I had something like that when I was a kid. And then it made me wish there was a place women could go and do the same thing. And then there was! The inaugural Ladies Rock Camp Austin takes place the weekend of Oct. 17-19 at the Griffin School (710 East 41st St.) and benefits its little sister. No experience necessary, just the desire to rock. Instructors include Rosie Flores, Amy Cook, LZ Love, Terri Lord, Akina Adderly, Tiffanie Lanmon of Follow That Bird!, Lauren Langner of Ume, Cari Palazzolo of Belaire, and more. Go here to register.

Joe, my man! Bob Stoops here. But you can call me Coach, my scribbling wordsmith. So here we are again. The big week. Tell me, is Mack Brown shaking? Has he got that little nervous smirk on? Heck, Joe, I'm sitting on top of the world here at No. 1. How do I do it? Pure Oprah, buddy. Positive visualization. The Law of Attraction. The Secret. That New Agey crap. But it works! I visualize my Sooners beating your Horns by 20. Pow! It happens. Thank you, Oprah. Don't get me wrong. I watched the tape of UT walloping Colorado 38-14. It wasn't even close. Hey, Mack, where'd you find that pass defense? A goal-line stand. Outstanding. I like what I see from this Roy Miller kid. He's a hustling madman. Eight tackles. Recovered a fumble. I've got my eyes on him. I like what Ryan Palmer is doing, too. Heck, Mack scored one by snagging Will Muschamp to coach these lunkheads. He's crazy, and I like crazy. What's that he said? "Stats are for losers. I like winning games." You rock, Coach! Of course the biggest stat of all is the final score. The Horns are up-and-comers. Maybe next year will be their year. They need to think positively about the future. The present is all Big Red. I can see it. And we've found our defense, too.

It's October, which means that the nine members of the U.S. Supreme Court have dusted off their robes and are heading back to the court room for a few months of work. First up on the docket today, Oct. 6 – the opening day of their October 2008 term – was a drug case, but regarding the legal kind, that is: cigarettes. (The question there, in case you're curious, is whether state-law challenges to descriptions of "light" cigarettes – that they contain less tar and, thus, are perhaps less damaging, for example – that were authorized by the Federal Trade Commission are thus pre-empted by federal law. Sounds technical, sure, and perhaps boring, but the outcome could effect the ability of states to enforce their deceptive trade practices laws.) But just this first day will pass before the Supremes get down to considering the drug war, with two cases that will ask them to weigh in on the Fourth Amendment and limits of police search powers. In the first case, Arizona v. Gant, the court will have to decide whether a warrantless search of a car, made after the occupant was arrested and in handcuffs, violates the constitutional protection against unreasonable search and seizure. In the second case, Herring v. U.S., the court will have to decide if it is a violation of a defendant's Fourth Amendment rights to use evidence obtained by one police agency during a search that was based on erroneous information provided by another law enforcement agency. Stay tuned to Reefer Madness for more on these two cases.