Quincy Jones at SxSW Music 2009

It was just announced today that Quincy Jones will be the keynote speaker at the South by Southwest 2009 Music festival.

Legen – wait for it. . . . – dary.

<3Caitlin

A Designer’s Paradise

Among the many things Austin has to offer is a vast number of design firms and really talented independent designers.  It’s no secret that Austin is full of creatives, but let us delve into a little bit of what our great city has to offer.

Zocalo Design and Advertising - Zocalo is one of my favorite firms in Austin.  They create everything from web pages to packaging to identities for companies.  Zocalo’s clients have included The Austin Film Festival, KLRU and and Uchi.  My personal favorite is the environmental  graphics they do for stores.  Check them out at the the Zocalo website under environments.

Ranch Road – Ranch Road is a creative solutions company based out of Austin.  They boast a lengthy client list that includes companies from 3M to Howdy Honda to Sweet Leaf Tea.  Ranch Road offers graphic design, digital printing, marketing solutions and personalized URL campaigns.  They are a one stop shop for getting your business or company’s name out there.  But mostly I enjoy the brilliant work their designers have done.  Check out the Ranch Road portfolio here.

Envision Creative Group – Lastly I have to mention Envision Creative Group.  Handling everything from signage to logos to custom Powerpoint templates, Envision caters to clients like Amy’s Ice Cream and the Texas Culinary Academy.  Here is a sample of a logo they did for Let Them Eat Cupcakes. I think this logo is beautiful and memorable – everything a logo should be!

Basically Austin is a hotbed for super talented creatives.  Their amazing work can be seen all over town, at the businesses I mentioned earlier and more. Next time you see a logo or sign or brochure you like, find out who designed it. You may want to check out the designers other work, and you never know when YOU may want to hire a design firm for yourself.

–Brittany

Parking Lots, or Lots of Parks?

Although I feel completely unqualified to make this comparison, I think I’ll piggyback on Samantha’s Austin/New York analogy idea and say that Central Park is to New York City as Zilker Park is to Austin. Granted, I’ve never lived in NYC, but it’s at least the same general idea. Right?

In my estimation, green spaces are a commodity that too few of us stop to really appreciate. Can you imagine living in a concrete jungle every day of your life and not having a park, river or garden to stroll along? On the UT campus, think of the South Mall. Even today, December 2, I sat there and ate my lunch with 30-40 other students. People love being able to relax under the shade of a Spanish Oak or soak up the rays on the cool grass (although, to be honest, it’s more like hay now).

My little town of Beaver, Pa. was laid out on a grid by the founders. The centerpiece of the town? Four parks. And the perimeter of the town (at the time, although now it has expanded) was dotted by a park at each corner, as well. The quaintness of this was ruined for me when I arrived at soccer conditioning in high school and we were required to run “the four parks” (2.2 miles), as they were known, all day long.

Below is a “greatest hits” of sorts of Zilker Park in Austin, produced by Laurel Stalla. Enjoy!

-Jeff

Thank you, Austin, for Enabling My Curry Addiction

To Whom It May Concern:

My name is Saul Elbein, and I’m addicted to curry. It’s taken me a long time to get to a point where I could admit that, but it’s true.

It wasn’t so bad at first. I’d go to someplace like Madam Mam’s and sometimes I’d order a Yellow Curry. Not always, mind. Sometimes I’d order Pad Thai, or Pad Kee Mao, or any kind of other noodle dish. And they were good. They were always good. But looking back, I have to admit, every time I did, I felt a little pang in my heart. Because it wasn’t curry.

But I was doing okay. I really was. It was too expensive for me to go that often. So most of the time I ate normal, healthy things, like pizza or hamburgers. Things that could be found in the line at Kinsolving or Jester dining hall.

And then my friend Mauro turned me on to Thai Noodles House, Etc. Tucked away behind the 7-11 at 26^th and the Drag, with an incomprehensible menu, cheap plastic tables, and a staff that spoke neither English nor the language of basic human kindness, it was capital-A Authentic. Best of all, probably since they cut so many corners on their health policy, it was capital-C Cheap.

Or to put this in the drug terms you can all understand, Thai Noodle was crack to Madam Mam’s cocaine.

So I started going there a lot. I’d order a Massaman curry, no rice, slurp it down while the waitress was still standing there, glaring. Then sometimes I’d order another.

I stopped seeing friends and family. Girls would complain that I always smelled like ginger and coconut milk. Those were the bad days. When I saw friends, it would only be at Thai Noodle. If they wanted pizza or a sandwich, I’d say goodbye and traipse off behind the 7-11, alone with my shame.

Looking back, now, I realize that the low point was when I pawned my roommate’s TV for curry money. I bought an industrial size bin—Red curry cut with Panang. I know you’re not supposed to mix, but I was beyond caring. I ate it all in one epic twelve hour binge, my eyes tearing up from hot sauce and ecstasy.

Those were the bad days. Then I moved away, to the far end of West Campus, at 22^nd and David Street, far from the Thai Row of 26^th and the Drag.

Then Crave opened at 21^st. At first, I tried to avoid it. I’d walk blocks out of my way so I wouldn’t have to walk past it, wouldn’t have to smell the succulent, sweet-sour aromas wafting over the Drag.

Until one day I was late for class. I passed by and—well, I want to say that the smell crawled into my room and forced me to skip class, to walk into Crave and put down all the money I had on Yellow Curry, extra spicy. But I’ve learned, by now, that that’s just me refusing to take responsibility for my own actions.

So I stand before you, today, to beg you. Close the Thai restaurants. Why must West Campus have three within four blocks of each other? This is a clear and present danger to the students of Austin. Maybe if we can take a stand now, they’ll go back to safer things, like alcohol, or chocolate, or LSD.

Also, to be on the safe side, we should probably close Pho too.

Thanks for your consideration.

Very Truly Yours,

Saul Elbein

South by Southwest Festival

I know I’m super early, but I love this too much to hold it in any longer – the South by Southwest Festival is one of the coolest things about Austin, hands down.  The festival is broken into 3 parts.  It kicks off this year with the Interactive and Film portions of the festival (both start on March 13; the Interactive runs until March 17, and the Film until March 21.)

Billy Bob Thornton at SxSW 2008 (Photo by kris krüg)

In 2008, Mark Zuckerberg (the founder of the social networking site Facebook), Frank Warren (from the online phenomenon PostSecret) and Jane McGonigal (an established game designer) were the keynote speakers for the Interactive fest. The Film fest showcased the hit films 21 and Forgetting Sarah Marshall, among many, many others.

Then. . .there is the music part. The SxSW Music Festival is undoubtedly one of the coolest fests to hit Austin, because it attracts people from all across the music industry, and also brings hundreds of bands into town, both big and small. In my three years at the music fest, I’ve had the honor of listening to Neil Young, Pete Townshend, and Lou Reed keynote, have listened to Iain Archer perform in a tiny Irish pub while the guys from Snow Patrol stood next to me, and ran into Teitur (literally) on my way to a show. On a personal note, I always love the fest, because it has always been on my birthday in past years. This is the first year where I will turn 22 two days before the music fest kicks off, but that’s OK – I’m just glad I’ll be 21 for the duration of the festival! (It helps, a LOT.)

A few bands have already been named for the 2009 Music Fest, including St. Vincent, Sage Francis and Anni Rossi. To keep up with all of the SxSW announcements of keynote speakers, performers and panel folk, you can follow them on twitter, but I think it’s more efficient to check out the Austin, TX Showlist and SxSW Baby!

Elijah Wood DJs at SxSW 2008 (Photo by aaron)

One huge complaint about the festival is that it is incredibly expensive to attend, and that if you don’t have a badge or wristband, it’s almost impossible to get into shows. I always shell out the money for a badge, because – let’s be honest, this is all I do with my life. I paid $550 for my badge this year, which is definitely a huge sum of money that many can’t afford. Wristbands aren’t on sale yet, but they are usually upwards of $100, if memory serves me. *If* you just want to pay for a few shows, make sure you arrive at the venue REALLY, REALLY early – otherwise, you probably won’t get in. And if it’s a band like Vampire Weekend, who had so much buzz at the 2008 festival that honey came out of their noses, don’t bother; it is highly, highly unlikely you’ll make it in without a wristband or badge. What happens is, three lines are formed – a line for badges, a line for wristbands and a line for everyone else. The badge folk are let in first, followed by the wristband folk, and then everyone else. And as more and more badges show up, they’ll get trickled in to the already-moving lines. It can definitely seem unfair, but remember that badge people are usually industry people, and the bands really need them to see their sets and write about them/get excited about them, etc.

Keynotes should be announced soonish, so get excited about this festival! Hey, we start celebrating winter holidays way too early, why not celebrate an awesome music festival 3 months early?

How do you feel about SxSW? Lemme know!

-Caitlin

Austin’s Park and Pizza

So this may be a random suggestion for fall, but today’s cold weather actually reminded me of another place in Austin that I LOVE – Austin’s Park and Pizza!  Last year my boyfriend and I went one night in November.  It was about 45 degrees outside, but we braved the cold and went putt-putt golfing on the course at Austin’s.  We would have done the batting cages, but they were closed for the night. Despite having to wear gloves to keep from getting frost bitten fingers, we had SO much fun.

Austin’s is a great place to go with friends to feel like you are a kid again.  They have free arcade games, games you play to win tickets (yay, prizes!), go kart racing, mini-golf, batting cages and more.  Show your college ID on Thursdays and get in for half price.

I would recommend eating before you go, though.  The pizza isn’t that great, and eating buffet at a place were kids are running around all over the place is not the most sanitary thing…

–Brittany

37th Street Christmas Lights

That Other Paper's photos of the 37th Street Lights in Austin

Started in 1980 by a few neighbors wanting to “one-up” each other, the 37th street Christmas light display is now an Austin tradition.

There is no committee or neighborhood planning for the lights. It is a voluntary effort made by the residents of 37th street every December to decorate their front and (sometimes) their back yards with huge, non-traditional light displays.

Many people visit the street over the holiday’s some drive through and others walk. It is recommended that you walk… driving does not allow for the “full experience” and is dangerous since there are many pedestrians.

A few years ago the Austinist published these tips for visiting:

1) The utmost and strongest encouragement we can give you is to walk, not drive. You will miss many details of the Christmas light art if you see it from a distance. And don’t just walk through quickly. Stroll leisurely and check out the details of the decoration instead of hurriedly trying to take it all in. The longer you look, the more you will see in each yard.

2) Since you will be walking the block, we suggest you come in on 38th street and find parking off of one of the side streets. There are other lights in the area, and this way you can check them out too.

3) Jamie’s (Jaime Lipman has been decorating his house with lights since the 1970’s and is one of the initial creators of this tradition.) house is one of the more noticeable houses. Don’t miss thoroughly enjoying this one. You can go in and explore his backyard which is incredibly decorated. He is the master of finding unusual things to light up. We can’t imagine how long it must take him to decorate each year, nor how many circuit breakers it takes to power everything.

4) Don’t litter while you’re enjoying the lights. It makes baby Jesus cry.

I live on E. 37th street (not the same street as the lights but close), and am definitely going to check out the lights this year! It’s a nice alternative or addition to visiting the Trail of Lights at Zilker.
-Samantha

Map of 37th Street Lights

No Socks for Me.

I hate socks.

Ever since I was little, if someone told me to make a list of things I hated, ’socks’ would always be one of the top items on the list.
Worser socks are socks with toes. Even grosser are wet socks with toes.

So, for me, it’s awesome that Austin has such warm, dry weather that we only need socks for maybe a month or two. I always hang on to my flip-flops as long as I can, and even in the coldest weather I still try to figure out ways to avoid wearing socks.

Most people in Texas will be thinking, ‘What’s the big deal about not wearing socks?’
Well, that’s because you’re in Texas. In other places, it is a huge deal. Places like Pennsylvania.

Pennsylvania lies entirely within the humid continental zone, and has cold long winters and cool summers. Perfect weather for socks.
Apparently, they get so sick of socks that they have even declared May 8th as “No Socks Day.”

HolidayInsights.com says,

No Socks Day is a day to free your toes of the confines of socks and stocking. Give those toes of yours a breath of fresh air. The creators of this day also profess that No Socks Day will reduce your laundry load, and therefore, is healthy for the environment.
It’s easy to participate in No Socks Day. Just leave your socks and stocking off, and let your toes enjoy a moment in the sun!

It must be terrible up there, having to actually declare a day to not wear socks! I would be very unhappy living there.

Austin is the place for happy toes. So I love Austin!

-Jane

P.S.
Interesting sidebar.. the guy who created No Socks Day is Tom Roy, who played the crazy street evangelist in the movie 12 Monkeys (an awesome movie, if I may say.).

Austin-Bergstrom International

When someone has writer’s block or isn’t able to think creatively about their writing, he or she is often told to “write about what you know.” (As an aside–that link to the Purdue OWL Web site is invaluable for writers. They have tremendous resources. Aside ended.) I’m not insinuating that I currently suffer from “the block,” but I am saying we’re going to be talking about a place I know very well: the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport.

While it’s probably true that I’ve spent more total hours at my layover destinations (Dallas/Ft. Worth or, God help me, Chicago O’Hare), I’m always one to arrive with plenty of time before my flight, so I’ve logged some hours at ABIA. For starters, it’s a smaller airport with only 25 gates. As soon as you walk in the sliding glass doors, the “vibe” of the place grabs you. It doesn’t have the half-sterilized, over-trafficked feel that most airports do.

The Austin-Bergstrom International Airport served nearly 8.9 million passengers in 2007. It was also the first facility in the nation to be converted from an Air Force base to a commercial airport.

This so-called “vibe” isn’t an accidental by-product of engineering, either. Rather, the City of Austin, who owns the airport since its conversion from a U.S. Air Force base, made a concerted effort to capture the “character of Austin.” The airport’s Web site reads:

The airport immediately reminds visitors that they have arrived at a place that is mindful of its heritage — political, cultural, and natural. A Live Music Stage features local performers. Well-known Austin-based companies operate many restaurant and gift concessions. Landscaping consists of native and xeriscape plantings.

On Wednesday, I enjoyed a bit of this “well-known, Austin-based” restaurant food at 5:30 a.m. as I was flying home to Pittsburgh. Two breakfast tacos with egg and sausage and a cup of coffee from The Salt Lick’s airport stand: $9.90. Breathe it in–that’s the smell of getting ripped off, my friends. I’m not saying they weren’t delicious, but for $9.90 I’m fairly confident in my ability to find a hen myself and demand it produce an egg for me.

Structurally and aesthetically, it’s a beautiful public building. Airport terminals can often feel oppressive with low ceilings and thousands of people (I’m lookin’ at you, O’Hare), but the lofty feel of the (somewhat ridiculously) high ceilings at ABIA give you room to breathe. Security can sometimes have lines that wrap around for days, but I’m always astonished at how quickly they move. On Wednesday, TSA was so well prepared that I had no wait at all. Even though I appreciate the peace of mind that added security brings to the flying experience, I never thought I’d actually be tipping my hat to the people who feel you up before your flight. And speaking of TSA, they’ve produced a “Holiday Travel Guide” for what you can and can’t bring on the plane. If you’re traveling soon, this will save you time (and potentially embarrassment).

And a tip from my own personal experience with ABIA–arriving an hour before your flight (if you know what you’re doing) is all the time you’ll ever need. Don’t believe the hype.

-Jeff

Gentrification!

The Village is to Brooklyn, what Central/ Downtown Austin is to the East side.

Out with the old and in with the new. Brooklyn is where everything is happening. Many of the featured bands at this year’s ACL came from Brooklyn. There are five-star restaurants there, the real estate prices are growing and condos are going up along the East River. Longtime Brooklyn residents are protesting the demolition of historical buildings and zoning regulations…

Listing for an East Side Condo by Austin Living Properties

A similar situation is happening here in our fair city of Austin. The East Side just hosted it’s 7th annual “East Austin Studio Tour.” Condominiums are being erected throughout the area, and with them more bars are opening and high-end clothing stores are selling their wares.

Knowing a of a new place to go to eat or drink in East Austin is something many Austinites regard as “cool.” To know where to go on the East Side is a mark of someone “in the know,” someone who has the inside scoop.

Many of the places to go to on the East Side are really awesome, they’re a lot more relaxed than bars downtown and are perfectly kitschy.  I like them a lot- but, there are times when I do think about the people getting kicked out of homes they have lived in for their entire lives, and it makes the evening a little bittersweet.

In the video below, Professor Gene Burd from UT talks about gentrification in Austin and his experiences…

However…It is, what it is… so, I say enjoy it!

There are excellent restaurants and hangouts. Take advantage of it. Or don’t.

Here is a list of places to check out.

-Samantha