End of Silence

Well, the now infamous cheerleading bill appears to have died in the Texas Senate. I suppose Al Edwards (D-Houston) got whatever political mileage he wanted out of it, although I’m at a loss to see what positive effect it could have on his current or future political career. At the very least, he now has the honor of being the subject of one of the infamous Daily Show “interviews” with the always creepy Bob Wiltfong. Those of you in his district can use the state house link to let him know if you think this was a good use of legislative time or if he should be doing something else. He’s certainly proof that stupidity (or at least shameless grandstanding) comes from either side of the aisle.

Lending further proof to the notion that you take for granted what’s in your own backyard, it took a post from Fleshbot to remind me that Austin’s very own Satan’s Cheerleaders might have something to say about Rep. Edwards and his crusade. It does my heart good to see the Cheerleaders are still in full form. If you’ve never checked out a Flametrick Subs show with Satan’s Cheerleaders, you’re clearly not a true Austinite. They’ve been throwing it down for at least 6 or 7 years, starting out at the now burned-and-gutted, but still legendary, Black Cat Lounge.

President Bill Clinton is in town today to sign copies of his memoir at Bookpeople. I’d heard about it last week, but didn’t deem it worthy of attending. Sure, it’d be cool to meet him, but they’ll be herding people through there so fast, there’ll barely be enough time to exchange two sentences. They’re also not allowing cameras into the signing area. What’s the point?

Anyway, the included picture is the sight that greeted me on my way to work this morning. The line wrapped all the way around the building and was growing rapidly as I sat at the light at 6th and Lamar.

I wonder if Bill will make a stop at Guero’s this time?

We managed to avoid a rain-out this past Saturday at Eeyore’s 42nd Annual Birthday Party. The rain in the morning kept the dust down and prevented it from getting too hot. We all wore sweatshirts or pullovers until noon. The kids’ costume contest lasted a little long this year. I understand that they were trying to include everyone and to award a prize to each participant, but allowing kids to keep trickling in almost an hour after the contest started was a little much. We didn’t manage to win a bike this year, maybe next year. The crowds picked up by late afternoon as evidenced by the longer and longer wait times at the port-a-potties by the time we left around 6.

There was a new brewery at this year’s beer stand, Independence Brewing Co. I hadn’t heard of them before, probably because they’re draft only and I don’t get out much anymore. Apparently, they were founded late last year by a longtime brewer from Copper Tank. I tried one cup of the Independence Pale Ale and was underwhelmed, although in their defense, I had already had a few and may have been a little distracted. I’ll give them another chance. I can’t say I was ever very impressed with the beers at Copper Tank either, so I’m not surprised that I wasn’t into it.

I posted a few shots over on Flickr. I may add a few more tonight if I don’t hit my limit.

As far as I’m concerned, there are two holidays each year that are specific to Austin/Central Texas. The first holiday of the year is this Saturday, Eeyore’s 42nd Annual Birthday Party, at Pease Park. Most long-time Austinites are aware of this holiday. Here’s a little history from the Eeyore’s website:

Eeyore’s Birthday Party was established by University of Texas students in 1963. In 1974 the event moved to Pease Park and in 1979 came under the leadership of the non-profit group, University of Texas YMCA. In 1999, The University of Texas YMCA changed their name to the Friends of the Forest Foundation. The event caters to all Austinites, young and old, and offers the only fundraising opportunity for many non-profit groups each year.

The non-profits host the food and drink booths around the park and proceeds go to their respective causes. Past participants have included Safe Place, AnimalKind Foundation and Hospice Austin among others.

You really have to attend it to appreciate the oddness of it all. I think I first attended as a UT student in the early 90’s and have returned most years since, now indoctrinating my kids in the fun. There’s a costume contest for adults and kids in the early hours, followed by an egg toss and a sack race. There’s also face painting and other kid friendly activities. For the college students and adults, there’s plenty of beer and the perennial favorite, the drum circle, where genuine and ersatz hippies pound themselves into a rhythm-induced frenzy. Of all the local annual festivals, I think this is the most quintessentially Austin of the bunch. Even the beer has a local flavor with Real Ale and St. Arnold’s being frequent suppliers.

Eeyore’s signals the beginning of summer for me as the weather is almost always warm. This year is no exception with the forecast predicting a high of 87. The rain out date is always the following Saturday. Check the website for updated information. We generally camp out somewhere near the basketball courts under the trees to the east of the path, so come by and say hello. I’ll have my camera with me and will post a re-cap on Sunday.

With the family out of town for the weekend, I was down on Sixth Street Friday night. Sometime after midnight, we heard a rumor that there had been a bomb threat at either Jackalope or La Cucaracha. The police apparently moved everyone out of that entire block and closed it down.

When we were booted out onto the street from Casino El Camino at 2am, we found an APD officer and a line of yellow tape stretching across Sixth. I was parked on Congress. Feigning ignorance, we asked the cop what had happened and whether or not we could get through. He told us to use the alley and that he couldn’t tell us what had happened. We trudged through the alley between 5th and 6th with the rest of the crowd, stunned at the number of people trying to whiz behind dumpsters. I know it happens, but you’d think the increased foot traffic would discourage the practice, not encourage it.

Is Austin a town of exhibitionists or what? And does anybody have anything more on this bomb threat? I checked News 8’s website, figuring them for the best chance of having a story and came up with nothing. Is APD intentionally keeping a lid on it?