Jun 092006
Jun 082006
Anybody that knows me knows that I’m not the biggest sports nut. I casually follow the Dallas Mavericks and may catch a game or two here and there for sports other than basketball, but that’s about it.
However, with the Mavericks in the NBA Finals for the first time ever and World Cup starting up tomorrow, I’m in sports mode for the next couple of weeks (sorry, Spurs fans). Unfortunately, I’ve got to go to a rehearsal dinner tonight, so I’m DVR’ing the Mavs-Heat game. Shhh! I don’t want to hear it! I’m watching it later.
World Cup can be entertaining, especially as the teams are narrowed down. We’re getting the usual assurances that the U.S. team has improved and they’ll do better this time, but I have a hard time believing they’ll make it out of their bracket with the Czech Republic and Italy to get past. You can check out the schedule here, complete with nifty local time converter.
So where do you go to watch the big game? The consensus seems to be Ringers on Colorado between 4th and 5th although I’ve never been in there. What about The Warehouse? For World Cup in particular, it seems like Irish or English Pubs will also be hopping. Fado? What about the Ale House in the alley behind Old Pecan St. Cafe on Sixth?
Jun 072006
Jun 072006
Sepia Mutiny is a great group blog with a focus on everything desi, but at least every few days, they come up with a really good post that speaks to a wider audience. Today, they’ve got a post focusing on an article in Newsweek by Fareed Zakaria, who’s a frequent guest on The Daily Show. The article’s a good read in itself, but abhi of Sepia Mutiny pulls in some other relevant articles and commentary. Good stuff.
[tags]newsweek, fareedzakaria, china, india, culturaldecay, empire, america, dailyshow, sepiamutiny[/tags]
Jun 062006
The Internets are lighting up with news of Billy Preston, aka “The Fifth Beatle”, who died today as a result of kidney failure. Preston was a native Texan, born in Houston. Besides commemorating the passing of a great musician, what am I doing posting this on a blog about Austin? Keep up with me.
Preston played in one of Eric Clapton’s many backing bands along with Austinites Doyle Bramhall II and Jimmie Vaughan over the past six years or so. Preston also played on the recent Rick Rubin produced albums by Neil Diamond and Red Hot Chili Peppers, some of his last recorded work. And who’s produced most, if not all, of Slayer’s albums over the last 20 years? That’s right, children, Rick Rubin.
Photos courtesy of Flickr members, uncleboatshoes, poc67 and paranoide0. Crappy graphic courtesy of me.
No Hexakosioihexekontahexaphobia for Alamo Lakecreek
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Jun 062006
Yes, fellow Austinites, it’s National Day of Slayer.
As you can see, I’m appropriately assaulting my co-workers with some of their fine musical stylings. I was hoping to find that at least one member of the Austin Alamo Drafthouse empire appropriately commemorating the occasion and Alamo Lakecreek is the only one showing the proper reverence.
In addition to that crap re-make of The Omen (trust me, go rent the original instead, though I must commend the casting of David Thewlis in the part originally played by David Warner), they’ve got a special screening of The Exorcist at 7:30pm tonight. Alamo South Lamar gets a pass because they’re hosting Dionysium tonight, coincidentally this marks two years for the monthly gathering of the hoi polloi.
P.S. Can somebody brave enough to endure the re-make tell me how they handle Damien’s birthday? It’s 6/6/66 in the original, so it sort of worked out with the release of the movie in 1976. Sort of. I can’t see how they’ll pull anything like that off in this one unless they set it in 2012 or something and, if they do, are there any flying cars?
Jun 062006
Jun 062006
A city appointed task force has proposed new rules for new or remodeled homes on lots in 48 neighborhoods near downtown. Naturally, M1EK’s against it (check out the lively discussion from February and MJL had several other posts on the issue, including this one). KUT did a story yesterday about the proposed rules. There’s a hearing on Thursday at 6pm at City Hall downtown.
I don’t know about anyone else, but if I need more than 2,300 square feet for my shrine to Slayer. And if I can’t build on more than 40 percent of my lot, how am I going to hide the bodies?
Statesman Swim Safe
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Jun 052006
I found this buried in the city PARD site after seeing a mention of it in a K-EYE story:
Statesman Swim Safe for Austin Kids is a non-profit program addressing the critical need for accessible swimming instruction. Through a partnership of public, private and corporate entities, the Swim-Safe Program works toward a safer community by teaching its youngest citizens the lifesaving skill of swimming. Enrollments is limited and primarily open to east Austin children (kindergarten – 3rd grade) with limited resources. Please contact one of the Recreation Centers listed below to determine if you meet eligibility requirements. The Swim-Safe lessons are provided by resources from the City of Austin Parks and Recreation Department and the Austin American Statesman. Registration will be available through participating City of Austin Recreation Centers listed below and the Aquatic Office.Recreation Center – Lesson Location – Phone Number
Alamo – Bartholomew Pool – 474-2806
Dottie Jordan – Dottie Jordan Pool – 926-3491
Dove Springs – Dove Springs Pool – 444-6136
Givens – Givens Pool – 928-1982
Metz – Metz Pool – 478-8716
Montopolis – Montopolis Pool – 385-5931
Rosewood – Rosewood Pool – 472-6838If you are interested in donating to the Statesman Swim-Safe for Austin Kids program, please call 512/416-4700, category 7946 for a donation form to be faxed to you.
So there you go. If you live in East Austin and can’t afford swim lessons for your K-3 child, there’s a program this summer to help you out. And if you’ve got some extra cash and deem it a worthy cause, you can help out. Good stuff. The Statesman page for the program is here. I’m not sure if this is the first year the program’s been offered or not.
Day of Confusion
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Jun 052006
The Criterion Collection edition of Dazed and Confused will be released tomorrow. Like most Criterion DVDs, it’s got tons of cool extras for the rabid fan or film geek. Wiley, one of the cast members who still lives in Austin, linked an recent interview he did to commemorate the release.
The film’s set on May 28th, 1976. Apparently, some people have a tradition of watching the movie on Memorial Day weekend. It’s attained quite a cult following over the last 13 years since its release. I remember kicking myself for not saying something to Linklater back in ’92 or ’93 when the film was casting/shooting. He used to come into the Sound Warehouse at 49th and Burnet to buy CDs. I was 20, looked young, lived in a neighborhood where a lot of the shooting was taking place and had really long hair, a shoo-in as an extra (or so I like to delude myself). Damn missed opportunities. By the time the film was released, I was living in New York. I saw it in a theater in midtown Manhattan at an afternoon showing. There was hardly anyone else in the theater.
The number of actors who’ve continued their careers and go on to do other things is quite impressive: Matthew MMilla Jovovich, Adam Goldberg, Ben Affleck, Parker Posey, Joey Lauren Adams, the list is endless. The Austin Chronicle did a collection of articles on the film’s 10 year anniversary and the party to celebrate it a few years ago.
When the flickr/Google Maps Memory Maps craze hit and disappeared last spring, a few of us fiddled with Movie Memory Maps. I did one with a few of the locations from Dazed and Confused. I know, too much time on my hands.
Photo from the Criterion Collection website