The Blanton Museum of Art is a part of the College of Fine arts in The University of Texas at Austin, with a permanent collection of substantial range and depth. It is the principal art museum in Austin, with collections and exhibits on a par with art museums throughout the country. Positioning itself as a gateway between the University community and the general public in Austin, the Blanton is committed to building the finest collections possible, being a vital resource for teaching in a broad variety of disciplines, and to making their offering available to art lovers of all ages.

Originally known as the University Art Museum, the Blanton dates back to 1963, when a new building for the art department designated some gallery space. The Blaton Museum began collecting in earnest throughout the 1960s and 1970s, and gained a large group of important paintings from a private donation from the acclaimed author James Michener. The Blanton took an early leadership role in the promotion and preservation of Latin American art, founded on the donation of some two hundred paintings and 1,200 drawings from the collection of John and Barbara Duncan. Other permanent holdings include the C. R. Smith Collection of Paintings of the American West, and nearly one thousand contemporary prints donated by Charles Clark of McAllen, Texas. Now, the museum has over 17,000 works in its permanent collection.

The museum also offers a great number of traveling exhibitions, with topics that range from cultural to political art. Whether featuring the sculpture of New York's Park Place Gallery Cooperative, the performance-installation work of Michael Smith and Joshua White, woodcuts and engravings by Albrecht Dürer, or Rembrandt's etchings, the rotating exhibitions are world-class.

The public programs available at the Blanton are diverse and exciting. They offer public tours of the museum, guided by knowledgeable docents who can answer questions about the collections and exhibits. Each month, they host an art party known as "B-Scene," featuring live music by Austin bands, gallery tours, art-making activities, light snacks, and a cash bar featuring their signature cocktail, the Blantini. The last Tuesday of the month brings the Bach Cantata project, a choral performance held in the majestic atrium of the museum. Hot Art Hip Kids is a program for children, and for adults, they also offer educational lectures on their exhibitions, as well as Third Thursday, a themed event held in the evenings. Classes and workshops on many different subjects are also available.

With the opening of the new Blanton in April 2006-following a 2 1/2 year building project—the museum was for the first time able to house all of its collections under one roof, becoming the premier art museum in Central Texas. In its new home, with its rich and versatile collections, magnificent galleries, fun and diverse programming, and an enthusiastic and committed group of staff and volunteers, the museum continues its mission to promote the arts in Austin to the students attending the University of Texas of Austin and the general public.

Ki lives in Austin Texas and works as realtor helping people interested in Austin real estate. His website provides current statistics on his Austin real estate blog along with a search of the Austin MLS.

Austin, Texas is home to many different attractions with great food, shopping, and entertainment venues. Many think of Sixth Street as Austin's premiere hotspot, but there are several other interesting yet relatively overlooked areas in town. One of the most popular and diverse places in Austin for great food and entertainment is a strip along Guadalupe Street affectionately referred to as the Drag. From around 34th Street at the northern edge to Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd, great food and shopping abound, along with a few curiosities.

Austin is renowned for its live music scene, but the clubs aren't all downtown. The Hole in the Wall is one of the most renowned and stored venues in the history of Austin, with 25 years of experience bringing in both great local talent and road shows in many styles ranging from old-school country to rock and pop. With its dim lighting and homey atmosphere, the Showdown is a great bar in which you can kick back and observe the tides of burnt orange flocking to and from class. Spider House is one of Austin's most eclectic places to share a pitcher of Lone Star, the National Beer of Texas with friends, with regular influxes of live music and DJs. The decor is based most obviously from vintage gliders, chairs and tables with dozens of Christmas lights to provide illumination and the odd sculpture of a naked child urinating in a bathtub. Such expression is much more commonplace in Austin in part because of its long connection with the University of Texas.

Since the University of Texas at Austin is located directly off Guadalupe, many businesses have taken advantage of the huge influx of students. As a result, there are many great stores to check out. As far as apparel, American Apparel has recently opened a store directly across from the West Mall of the University. Other stores include Whole Earth Provision Company and Tyler's, the source for "Keep Austin Weird" shirts and assorted UT-related garb. Toy Joy on 29th and Guadalupe offers a plethora of creative gifts and eccentric toys for all types.

As far as food goes, the Drag offers more choices than many other areas in town, partially because of the diverse student body that frequents the area. Madam Mam's makes great Thai and Chinese food, while just down the road lie several venerable Austin establishments such as Burger Tex, Dirty Martin's (Home of the Kum-Bak Burger), and Veggie Heaven, a favorite for vegans and health-conscious people. Kerbey Lane Cafe is the place to go if you're looking for late-night food ranging from enchiladas to classic American fare. Don't forget to try the famous pancakes, which come is several delicious and fruity flavors. Tom's Tabooleh offers great falafel and other various Middle Eastern fare, using locally grown and organic ingredients. They also have a wide selection of fresh hummus and Greek dolmas available every day. Wheatsville Co-op is a local grocery which sells local and organic produce as well as a variety of health foods and a great deli to boot. For those in search of a tasty ice cream treat, options abound: The famous Amy's Ice Cream has many different and unusual types of creamy delights, including Guinness or Shiner Bock ice cream. So if Austin's where you want to be, don't forget to check out the Drag (it's kind of hard to miss).

Ki is a realtor working in the Austin Texas real estate market. On his site he runs a blog about Austin real estate and provides visitors a free search for Austin Homes.

For a long time, Austin has been considered the “Third Coast” in the film industry, with more filmmakers on the rise in Austin, and more Hollywood types coming to Austin to shoot their movies. One of the biggest proponents of the up and coming filmmakers is UT’s Radio-Television-Film department. Though the film courses are a challenge to get into, with many vying for a slot and low numbers of students per class, many consider the red tape worth it, as UT has become a highly regarded film school, comparable to UCLA or NYU. Though UT’s film school is on the rise, Austin is still not the heart of the movie industry, but some graduate students have taken it upon themselves to get UT’s student films in from of Hollywood big shots, and created their own film festival called CinemaTexas. The award winners of the UT student film festival, with help from prominent UT alumni, get their movies screened before the Director’s Guild in Los Angeles, solidifying CinemaTexas as a true festival. In 2003, the University of Texas Film Institute (UTFI) was set up. Not only does it help students keep up with the newest film technologies, but it is also partnered with Burnt Orange Productions, allowing students to participate directly on feature length big budget independent films. Some local budding filmmakers looking to gain some skills, but not deal with UT’s bureaucracy find themselves enrolling at Austin FilmWorks. Their 14 week-long course is taught by former UT professor, Steve Mims. When Robert Rodriguez couldn’t get into UT’s film school due to a low GPA, he turned to Mims’ classes for insight, and considers him a crucial influence on his filmmaking skills. In the mid 1980s, local filmmaker and creator of cult hit Slacker Richard Linklater, helped create the Austin Film Society as a non-profit educational organization. Though the organization began strictly as a film appreciation group, today the Austin Film Society holds their own filmmaking camps for Austin’s youth, has discussion panels with experts in different aspects of moviemaking, and offers an internship program. In 1999, Richard Linklater, Robert Rodriguez, and other movie making heavy hitters approached the Austin City council explaining that Austin was becoming a moviemaking hotbed which could lead to several million dollars for the city. Linklater and Rodriguez went on to point out that office and studio space was hard to come by, due to Austin’s constant popularity and the tech boom of the time. In November of 2000, the Austin Film Society leased the old Robert Mueller airport from the city for a mere 100 dollars a year, and has turned the old hangars into official sound stages called Austin Studios. Sandra Bullock was the first to bring Hollywood to town with her Warner Brothers movie “Miss Congeniality” which used two stages for 5 months. Since then, several feature length movies have been shot at the studios, as well as documentaries, television commercials, music videos, and photo shoots. With over 100,000 square feet of production space, and a tolerance for productions at any budget level, the Austin Studios have become popular among multimillion dollar blockbusters and local low budget creations alike. With the variety of filmmaking options to local Austinites, and the amount of high end productions coming into town, the possibility of becoming a filmmaker, or running into a Hollywood movie star, are ever increasing. Ki is a real estate agent in Austin. His site has a free search of the Austin MLS along with background information on Austin real estate and downtown Austin condos