Keepin' It Weird

Apparently I am not going to be able to post stuff without a week's lag. That may have been too lofty a goal, like last year's ill-fated resolution of being nicer to stupid people.

So, Austin. Their creedo is "Keep Austin Weird". Weird, as in non-conformist. Despite their recent expansion, new tollroads, 40 or so new downtown residential towers, I am happy to report they are keeping true to their trend-bucking roots.

Most of my friends in Austin are heavily involved in theatre. I went with Andrea' to see a play called Trickster at the Vortex Theatre. It was an amazing play, mainly a interesting, tolerance-building spin on how perceptions of reality differ. Two things stood out 1) The production was done as a mini Cirque, complete with one of the leads spinning himself up and down on two pieces of cloth hanging from the ceiling. Quite an accomplishment considering the stage was about the size of my kitchen (small). The other thing that stood out was that the play was very sexually-charged. Very. In Dallas this would have caused people to get up and walk out, in Austin it received a standing ovation. It was tastefully done and everyone seemed to "get" the interpretation, even the senior citizens.


Next Andrea' and I walked the downtown entertainment district until 1am. What I like about the area is the variety of venues all on the same street: Jazz, Rock, Country, Gay, Straight, etc., all seem to blend without issue or age-delineation. We spent some time in Rainbow Cattle Company, Austin's gay C&W bar. What I found odd was that noone arrived until 1130, then it was like a stampede. Fun place, good music and an unsettlingly friendly crowd of men and women in equal amounts.


Austin Museum Of Art

Next day I checked out the Austin Museum of Art. They were having an exhibit called "Radical NY", art from the Soho modernist movement of the 70's and 80's. Considering the size of the city, the exhibit was huge and very-well presented. I almost felt like I was back in late-70's NYC.


Auntee: 'What the hell is going on here?'

My big cheese table design

The other reason I went to Austin was for my aunt's surprise birthday party. My cousin and I had been conspiring for months and I'm happy to report it was a success. We had a mutual friend keep her out of the house all day so we could decorate (my big contribution was lighting and arranging the cheese table).She was completely surprised, as well as a little freaked out. And here she thought she would just pick up a few things for dinner at Whole Foods then watch a movie. Only if you share with your 50 guests, Auntee :)

(I highly recommend Whole Foods downtown Austin for party catering, wow!)




My restaurant recommendation from this Austin trip is Thai Tara. Good location, incredible Panang, helpful service and very decent prices ($6-12).