· Of course you all know by now, but the Austin Chronicle’s “Best of Austin 2005 Issue” is out today. I found a few items of interest in the Critics’ Picks. Vanilla Girl Designs (Place to Get Yer Tile On), Chain Drive (Least Likely New Live Music Venue), Cielo Water (Homegrown H2O), The Billboard Project (Blog With an IRL Component), No Nonsense in November (Advice to Texas Voters), Project Access (Low-Income Medical Assistance), Quincy’s Guitars (Place to Buy a Rare Acoustic Guitar).

· One that the “Best of Austin” missed was MedSavers, a pharmacy that sells generic prescriptions for the non-insured.

· Rare Austin (blog), which should also have won a “Best of Austin” for something, points out that Austin theaters are offering free shows on October 20th.

· An Austin Chronicle reader complains about the lack of hip-hop coverage. A blog called Austin Hip Hop Scene attempts to fill the void.

· A Californian captivated by Austin has decided to open a branch of his hipster chain Metropark at Barton Creek Square (a mall), automatically rendering it uncool.

· According to this article in the Statesman, the Upper Drag is the new hot block in Austin, stealing the crown from SoCo, SoFi, and SoLa. Perhaps we can call it UpDr or UpGu? Third Thursday is next week.