End of Silence

I just ran across this story in the Metro section of the Statesman. The accident happened nearly two weeks ago, but it’s showing up today for some reason. Apparently, a couple returning from Schlitterbahn in New Braunfels decided to remove their wet clothes and drive home nude. I suppose that’s one way to keep the seats from getting wet.

The problem is that they were also allegedly drinking and got into a head on collision with a man from New Braunfels.

Money quotes from the DPS officer on scene:

“The only thing they had on was the radio . . . and their seat belts.”

Alvarez said that in his 13 1/2 years as a DPS trooper, he had never before investigated a crash involving nude drivers.

“But she’s from Austin,” he said, “and I figure Austin folks are a little different.”

The Islamabad Metblog has been doing amazing coverage of the Lal Masjid siege in their city. This has implications for us and for the rest of the world as Pakistan is a major battleground between moderates and extremists. The comment threads are particularly interesting to those of us not from that part of the world.

As Alamo Drafthouse Downtown prepares to face its last week at the Colorado location before they close down for the summer in anticipation of the move to the Ritz, they’ve made the news for another reason: the South Lamar location had computer problems this week and has overcharged customers, some multiple times.

That’s one way to raise money for the move. 😉

On another note, former Metblogger, Marc Savlov has an Alamo Downtown remembrance in this week’s Chronicle and Jette Kernion is running an Alamo Downtown blog-a-thon on Monday. Be sure to get your posts to her.

I caught this in the Chronicle. The first session just started at the Federal Building downtown. There’s another session this Saturday and then three more after that.

FREE VIN ETCHING Preventing crime is always preferable to reacting to it after the fact, so Austin Police Department is hosting several workshops this summer in which you can have your vehicle identification number etched on your windshield. Doing so will make your car more easily identifiable and therefore less likely to be stolen.

• Thu., June 21, 10am-1pm: Federal Building, 300 E. Ninth.
• Sat., June 23, 10am-1pm: Target, 11220 FM 2222.
• Thu., June 28, 5-8pm: St. James Baptist Church, 3417 E. MLK.
• Wed., July 11, 10am-1pm: Wal-Mart, 9300 S. I-35.
• Sat., July 21, 10am-2pm: Dolores Catholic Church, 1111 Montopolis. 974-5017.

My wife and I got out last night to see Hyde Park Theater’s production of Martin McDonagh’s The Pillowman. Here’s the description from their site:

In this very black comedy indeed, a short story writer (Jude Hickey) must answer to the police when his horrifying–and unpublished–fictions begin to come true. And once the police (Kenneth Wayne Bradley and Ken Webster) question the writer’s mentally impaired brother (Mark Pickell), the story begins a series of startling twists. Austin Arts Hall of Fame member Ken Webster directs this edgy and enthralling evening that blends black comedy and mystery into one riveting tale.

The first section is nearly 100 minutes, followed by a 10 minute intermission, and then another 50 minutes. I say this not to scare you off, but so that you’ll be prepared. We honestly contemplated leaving at intermission (and a few did leave), but I’m glad we stayed as the second section really paid off. I’d also recommend leaving the kids at home. In addition to the length, this is a very dark play that deals with child abuse, torture and murder.

It’s a dense play that takes on a lot of different themes: storytelling and the affects that stories can have on their audience, child abuse and its effects, family relationships and censorship. Nearly all of the main characters tell a story at some point during the play, not just Katurian, the writer. The play itself is named for one of the stories told and the theme of The Pillowman is woven throughout in many different ways.

Ken Webster was recently awarded Outstanding Lead Actor for his
performances in HPT’s St. Nicholas and Thom Pain (based on nothing) at the Critics’ Table Awards and was the subject of an Austin Chronicle cover story. The acting from all of the leads, direction, set design and staging were all excellent. The sparse set adds to the Kafkaesque feel of the play.

I tracked down a review in the New York Times of the Broadway production from April, 2005 if you’d like to check out another opinion.

The show runs at 8:00 PM on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays, June 7 – 30, 2007.