We don't have the details yet, but local NBC affiliate KXAN has apparently settled its dispute with Time Warner Cable and is now showing again on channel 4.

Okay, so it's going to be as chilly as a penguin's patootie in Republic Square Park this evening, but that's no reason to miss the Austin Film Society's free screening of local filmmaker Nancy Higgins acclaimed documentary Viva Les Amis. Seriously, bring some blankets, a dog (or two), and a box of House Merlot and we promise you'll be fine. So what, exactly, is Viva Les Amis? To quote Higgins, it's "a documentary about Les Amis Café -- the Parisian-inspired bohemian meeting place that flourished for 27 years in Austin, Texas. The film shows the counterculture of the 70's, punk rock of the 80's, and rapid growth of the 90's as seen through the eyes of one local establishment ... and explores how a place like Les Amis Café contributes to the culture and identity of a city by capturing the cafés long history and eclectic clientele." Nicely put, but we might also add that Les Amis -- notoriously replaced by a Starbuck's at the corner of 24th Street and San Antonio eleven years ago -- featured prominently in Richard Linklater's legendary Slacker, was the cradle of Austin's still-standing boho birthright, and, frankly, had the coolest waiters and waitresses ever. But you missed it. Damn the luck and thank Guy Debord for Higgins' splendid doc. Tonight's screening opens with music by Little Big Man at 6pm, followed by a whole lotta Higgins at 7 pm. Miss this and you're not allowed to whine about the good old days anymore. And for the love of Henri Langlois, would someone please open up a Les Amis 2.0 already? (And we'll take a side of Mad Dog & Beans with that.)

Barack Obama will make his fourth appearance on The Daily Show Wednesday, Oct. 29, according to a breaking news report from Comedy Central. Obama will appear on the 10pm telecast.

The Daily Show's election coverage culminates on election night when it joins forces with The Colbert Report to present "Indecision 2008: America's Choice." The live, election night special will air from 9pm to 10pm, with Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert as co-anchors.

The future of the Internet is at stake if the public does not step up and let its voice be heard in favor of opening unused TV airwaves for Internet use, according to FreePress.net, a media reform watchdog group.

In addition to the presidential election, Nov. 4 is the date the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will vote on whether to open unused television airwaves to Internet use nationwide. Opening these so called "white spaces" could provide affordable Internet access to hard to reach rural areas, where are much as 75% of TV airwaves remain unused. In urban areas, where spectrum use is unsurprisingly crowded, opening up the white space would provide some additional breathing room.

SXSW may be months away, but it's never too soon to start name-dropping the hot shots who'll be flooding town come March. And the first drop's a doozy – Todd Haynes (I'm Not There), one of the most respected and influential independent filmmakers of the last two decades. According to a SXSW press release sent out this morning, Haynes will participate in a conference talk with Richard Linklater, who recently premiered Me and Orson Welles at the Toronto Film Festival. Other confirmed SXSW '09 panelists include Col Needham, founder of imdb.com, and Jan Harlan (producer, Barry Lyndon, The Shining). For more info, check out the SXSW Film official website.

Perhaps it’s human nature to want to sit at the foot of the successful and try and ascertain how they did it and see if there is something in their story you might be able to mimic. When it comes down to it, everyone makes it in their own way, as TV writer Greg Daniels revealed. Daniels with this year’s recipient of the Outstanding Television Writer Award given by the Austin Film Festival. He, along with fellow honoree Danny Boyle (recognized for extraordinary contributions to filmmaking) were the guests of honor at the AFF's annual awards luncheon. Afterwards, Daniels took center stage for one of several, "A Conversation With…" presentations to share his story and reflect on his career.

The creator of the U.S. version of The Office developed his writing chops writing for Not Necessarily the News, Saturday Night Live, The Simpsons, King of the Hill, and various other jobs along the way, paying his dues and learning as much as he could — even from the not so hot jobs (anybody remember Let’s Party starring Cheech Marin?) But even the wrong turns and dead ends were opportunities Daniels appreciated.

If anyone had doubts that there’s change afoot in TV land, sitting through these two, contrasting AFF panels made it perfectly clear. Examined side by side, the panels offered a vivid snapshot on the state of televisual viewing (this term borrowed from TV Studies maven Sharon Ross).

It’s clear that people want content, but where, how and when they watch it is the big thing that’s changing, and not everyone is happy about it. The Titans of TV panel, featuring writer/creators Tim Kring (Heroes), Phil Rosenthal (Everybody Loves Raymond), and Greg Daniels (The Office), bemoaned the rise of the Internet, mostly because it was seen as a threat to their income, along with lingering fears of piracy and the exploitation of their labor to create content in addition to their regular and extraordinary work load (as in “webisodes” shown on network websites. (The annoyance seems misplaced, but that’s a whole other subject.)

Johnny Tesar is an American eccentric. As amateur archaeologist and would-be entrepreneur, Johnny collects more than seven thousand rocks and crystals around Pigeon Forge, Tenn., exhibits them to the public in his trailer, and attempts to convince archaeological academics that his collection describes an ancient civilization. Unfortunately, Johnny also finds himself implicated in the slaughter of seventy-three rabbits at Bunnyland, a miniature golf resort he once managed, and later, in the death of a woman killed when a fire breaks out in one of the shoddily constructed cabins he has built and rented-out on his mountain property. Through these disparate misadventures, director Brett Hanover attempts to weave a story of backwoods Americana, but his film is poorly judged. While this documentary's failure to find an overriding viewpoint might be forgivable, less so is the sneering attitude of condescension the filmmaker shows to the predominantly poor, uneducated cast he enlists to tell Johnny’s story. Bunnyland screens again Thursday, Oct. 23, 8pm, at the Dobie Theater.

Yesterday I went to the Paramount to check out the AFF screening of Role Models, the new big-budget comedy from director David Wain (Wet Hot American Summer). From the flash-mob parade of zombies on Congress Ave. regaling those of us waiting in line with cries for “equal rights!” and, of course, “brains!,” to the less flashy, less living-undead mob scene inside the packed theatre - where the laughs came easy, often, and loud - the mood could best be described as raucous and partisan. Role Models is about two self-involved 30-year-old men (played by co-writer Paul Rudd and perpetual Stifler Seann William Scott) forced by court order to take part in a child-mentoring program. It co-stars Superbad breakout Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Christopher Guest Company player Jane Lynch, and several of Wain’s co-conspirators from the mid-Nineties comedy troupe the State. Of course, the real star of the movie is Elizabeth Banks. I say that not because her role is the biggest or her performance is the best but rather because her appearance is the most significant. A movie star for just a few years, Miss Banks has quickly become the most ubiquitous, most sought-after, and perhaps most powerful actress of her generation. She is the rare Hollywood hinge, a performer who appears in seemingly every movie – defying the laws of time, space, and physics as she goes – who can all but guarantee box-office success with her imprimatur. She’s a predictor of a film’s success, proof of a director’s influence, a barometer of Hollywood sensibilities, an arbiter of public taste. She’s a talisman, a good-luck charm, a sorceress, warding off evil spirits and putting bodies in the seats. Was there a Hollywood before Elizabeth Banks? If so, how did it survive? And how did it recognize itself?