Leave it to a Texan to whip out some slabs of leather at a sweat-drenched outdoor fest. Mychal Mitchell and Edward Bailey of Iona Books are set up selling heirloom leather journals and photo books at Jazz Fest.

The bulk of the population making the music rounds at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Fest are no different than folks at fests around the globe: Most are dressed for comfort in your typical cargos, slides, and (shudder) floppy hats. Thank heaven for those not-so-elusive creatures who go all out and peacocky. Nothing particularly big or easy about some of these combos, just a bunch of folks expressing their inherent right to whack couture. While cruising the grounds, I'm finding it irresistible to document some of these fabulous fashion forwards. That first dude in the picture over there? That's a skirt. Made out of neckties. A tie skirt. Click above the pic to check the gallery and watch this space for more posts about fest fashion, including a series on "We Are Human Garanimals" and "Gentlemen's WTF?" this weekend and next.

Profiling the Place 4 candidates, featuring Robin Cravey, Cid Galindo, Laura Morrison, and Ken Weiss. [video-1]

CITY HALL BRAWL! Watch uncensored Hustle outtakes of a forum fight between Jason Meeker, Jennifer Gale, and Randi Shade – click here!

This statement from Randi Shade on the Rick Culleton-financed TV ads slamming Jennifer Kim and Lee Leffingwell, and supporting Jason Meeker and herself:

"I've been made aware today that Mr. Rick Culleton, the owner of Discount Electronics, has begun airing television commercials which are critical of Jennifer Kim and which advocate for my candidacy. I want to make clear that I have never met with or talked to Mr. Culleton about my campaign, and have no previous association with him. Mr. Culleton did make an unsolicited online contribution to my campaign on Wednesday night, and while I appreciate his support and advocacy, I am in no way involved in his effort and have not received any notification from him regarding any of his independent expenditures."

Not entirely surprisng, as Shade's campaign consultant, Mark Nathan, is also – can ya guess? – Lee Lefffingwell's. My brain hurts.

Cick on the graphic to the right to enlarge – it's a slide from the city's Economic Outlook and Financial Forecast, presented to City Council this Wednesday at their first budget work session. And even by the most pony-producing-projections, we're still a little short. In order to get a sense of the city's total revenues, budget officer Greg Canally prepared three projections: Scenario 1, with the effective property tax (lower than last year's rate, but accounting for rising property values, bringing in the same amount) and 3% sales tax growth; Scenario 2, nominal property tax (same as the current rate), and 3.5% sales tax growth; and Scenario 3, the rollback property tax (the nominal rate, plus an 8% increase in the operations and maintenance portion of the tax rate – 27.30 cents of the total 40.34 cent rate; the rest covers debt obligations), and an optimistic 4% sales tax projection. But even under this last, most bullish projection, revenues – $620.7 million – are surpassed by the city's expenditures – $641.3 million – leaving a $20.6 million deficit. Now we all remember the hand-wringing and hem-hawing over the even larger budget gap last year. But with these numbers coming out at a work session itself borne of greater transparency and council's desire to come in on the process earlier, well – it's a little spookier.

The 11th Annual Cine las Americas International Film Festival (my, that's a mouthful) has wrapped another year – by all accounts a rollicking success. Normally we'd say see you next year, but Cine Las Americas has been transitioning into a year-round presence. So... see you next month, maybe? And get some rest. In what is presumably their last bit of official fest business, Cine just released this year's jury and audience award winners. The full list after the jump.

Despite some of the worst timekeeping since game four of the 1994 Rockets-Jazz playoff series and some of the strangest and most inaccurate announcing since Harry Caray’s passing, the Outlaws played well against the Houston Cyclones in their season opener this past Saturday. Linebacker, tight end, and defensive lineman Tracey Suire scored the Outlaws’ first touchdown off an 11-yard pass from quarterback Julie Wilke. Shadana Hurd ran for 202 yards on just 22 carries and scored a touchdown off a 17-yard run. Monica Gauck totaled nine tackles on the game, ran for 85 yards on just 13 carries, caught two passes for a total of 30 yards, and recovered a fumble in the end zone for the Outlaws’ second touchdown. And with the game tied at 14-14 late in the third quarter, defensive back Emily Green stifled a Houston drive with a timely interception. Unfortunately, the team also missed some important passing opportunities, and Houston’s running back and wide receiver Raasin McIntosh capitalized on the few opportunities provided to her by an otherwise strong Outlaw defense. In the end Houston won 27-20 in a down-to-the-wire game, which for some reason felt almost exactly 13 seconds too short.

I keep Patrick Rosal’s collection of frenzied-cool poetry Uprock Headspin Scramble and Dive on the water tank of my toilet, along with A Brief History of Time, an episode of The Paris Review, a few well-worn issues of Austin Monthly, Stuff Magazine, and some decomposing installments of The Sporting News. When scrutinizing the 2008 draft, often between morning bran flakes and lunchtime burrito, it was Rosal’s method, his passion and candor that became insightful for this spring’s college selection process. As opposed to the dead and retired poets of the past, Rosal’s work is honest, dealing with the grandeur and futility of relationships, and it is what I like calling “now.” I’ve been writing on football, the draft specifically, for 14 years, usually predicting the first round with skill and the accuracy of Robin Hood. This isn’t arrogance, just fact, often to sad degrees (I predicted Ryan Leaf’s story before it happened). But this year I feel like a sparrow headed toward a glass window. I have no educated guess as to who the first pick will be, let alone where all the other “now” athletes will land. I’ve looked at game film, talked to players, wrote to journalists, and even enlisted my college students in an attempt to unravel this year’s simulated draft prediction. Mock drafts are an exercise in complete futility, but like poems and relationships, mock drafts are a blast to have. I’m honest with you here, but I take little responsibility for this year’s predictions, and make no claims of reason. These are gut reactions with an emphasis on the psychology and character of each franchise. One kid might go with the second pick, or fall ten slots to eleven. I’m expecting a slam of a draft, and won’t be surprised if I get each of these picks wrong. Let’s dive in.

The Aztex announced their 2008 Under-23 Roster on Thursday, April 24, at a press conference held at SoccerZone North in Cedar Park. Sorry, I couldn't be there myself; but the lineup looks pretty solid. My further first impressions from yesterday are repeated below.