Monthly Archives: March 2007

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Drafthouse News

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I can’t tell you all how much I love the Alamo, and it looks like the next time I’m in Austin, I’ll be going to a different place. I’ve mentioned all I’ve seen there (it’s a movie theater that serves food and drinks, and hosts numerous special events) and this is kind of big news! I don’t know how much I like the idea of waiting in a line outside on 6th Street next to all the drunks to see a movie, I hope they have plenty of indoor waiting room. 4th Street was far enough off the beaten path to not incur the crazies. We’ll have to see how it goes…

Alamo Drafthouse Downtown moves to the Ritz!
ALAMO DOWNTOWN CELEBRATES TEN YEAR ANNIVERSARY…

Ten years ago, my wife Karrie and I opened the doors to the original Colorado Street Alamo Drafthouse Cinema. We had just finished the most grueling six months of our lives, working on the construction every day, 7 days a week about 15 hours a day. We worked at a feverish pace and did damn near everything ourselves, mainly because we had no money. With a paltry sum raised by hitting up our parents and friends and an assortment of credit card loans, we installed new plumbing, air conditioning, electrical, and fabricated the screening room that we’ve been enjoying for the last decade. On opening day, we had $20,000 left in the bank, and with our freshly-hired staff, our first ever employees, that was enough to last us for about a month if no-one came to the theater. It was a miserably naive business plan.Thankfully, Austin responded to us quickly and we stand looking back ten years later to happily see the concept of our original cinema still intact. In the next three months, we will be celebrating our 10 year anniversary by bringing back many of our classic events and guests. We hope you will join us many times in April through June as we celebrate and share some of our favorite movies of the past decade. Look for the red “10” logo in our printed guide for all anniversary screenings. – Tim League: founder, Alamo Drafthouse Cinema

AND MOVES OPERATIONS
TO THE HISTORIC RITZ THEATER!
For the last 10 years, we have also seen the warehouse district grow up around us. As the neighborhood has become more and more upscale, we’ve seen many long-time businesses fall away: The Bitter End, Gilligans, Waterloo Brewing Co, and Ruta Maya to name just a few. At the end of June, 2007, our lease will expire and due to the high costs of rent, insurance and taxes, we have been not been confident that we would be able to continue occupying our current space. With the end of our lease looming, the Downtown Austin Alliance stepped in quickly and brought us together with the owners of the Ritz Theater on 6th Street. In a matter of weeks, we shook hands on a deal and are now moving full-steam ahead with planning for the next decade of Alamo Drafthouse Downtown programming: Alamo Drafthouse Cinema at the Ritz.

Renovation begins in April and we hope to be open as soon as possible, maybe as early as summer’s end. This theater will prove to be the best Alamo Drafthouse yet. While retaining the intimacy and programming of the original location, the Ritz will have two screens, plush VIP seating, state-of-the-art projection and sound and the new experience of a remodeled and renovated landmark Austin movie palace. Please stay tuned to the Alamo website and blog for progress on the construction as well as updates on opening week programming and events…

…For more information about the 10 Year Anniversary screenings at the original Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, check out our website. There are only a few months left to enjoy the original location, we hope to see you there soon and often! Every dollar you spend will be going towards the massive renovation overhaul of the Ritz. Also, stay tuned for information on the “last night at the Alamo” final screening and party!

—from http://originalalamo.blogspot.com/

 

alamo.jpg

 

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Great Article, Site

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Just how much time do you need to burn off that deep-fried Snickers? The Diet Detective’s Count Down by Charles Stuart Platkin, MPH, makes it easy to calculate how to compensate for your favorite treats “The idea is not to burn every bite but to help you decide what’s worth splurging on,” Platkin says. ~from Women’s Health

Check out the website! dietdetective.com

It lets you know how much running or biking etc. that you’d have to do to work off what you’re eating. There’s a lot of other information there too, like tips for eating out.

this makes you fat
www.funcarpackages.com

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Starting Already

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It should come as no surprise that as I get closer to moving, there are going to be things I get to hear about and become really sad that I won’t be able to do. KLRU has an Engaging Speaker series that will be featuring Anne Lamott in May. That one really got me, she’s someone I’ve always wanted to see speak.

People are already reminding me of all the fun things they themselves will be doing that I won’t be around for; the summer weather and the boating, the going to Zilker, the cookouts, the Mexican food.

In order to get over missing the old, we bought a guide book to Seattle to get us excited about the new. I’m already comparing it to New Zealand, and getting excited about the hiking, biking, and camping we’ll get to do. There’s the ferries, the islands, Canada, a mention of how close we would be to CHINA, the parks, the water, I want to travel the entire state and beyond. It seems to go without saying that a new adventure should win over a place you’ve lived forever, but Austin is, I think, one of the best cities in the US and it will be hard to leave, despite the excitement of Seattle.

My favorite person in the universe, my grandmother, all the way off in CT, and a woman who has been through more surgeries and new hips than anyone ever and is now a breast cancer SURVIVOR, has already let me know that when she comes she wants to go to Victoria. Ma’am. So there’s a lot to look forward to. Quit telling me how miserable I’ll be without you and 6th St. and margaritas. I’m hitting the Pacific Northwest.


www.johann-sandra.com

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Let’s Get Packing

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One summer, I think when I was a sophomore at UT, I threw everything I had in a storage unit and moved to Wimberley to stay with an Aunt. By the end of that summer, thinking things were going to be fine, I moved into a new place, with a new roommate, and took my chances. Despite it feeling a little like Christmas to have my most treasured possessions returned to me – books and posters, I was in college – things from that point on went horribly, horribly wrong.

Now, facing a similar situation, but at a different stage in my life, I keep having flashbacks. We’ve almost moved all the junk in our garage and things we don’t need out of our place already. We’ve opted for a fully furnished type place in Seattle, so we’re not even taking the art on the walls. I have a lot of “those” things, that writers and comedians alike joke about – I’ll see you next time I move. Packing photos and furniture away is strange. MK keeps having to convince me the place won’t burn down. But more than that, history repeats itself. What if we get up there and MK decides he’s bi-polar, lies, cheats, steals, and goes off the deep end and escapes in a stolen car like that horrible roommate?

Well, maybe I’m overreacting slightly, but I can’t get over how that messed with my head back then. I used to never second guess anyone, or worry about anything. Now this life change has me getting nervous. I don’t like it. I’ll be fine when we get up there, it’s this next month that’s going to take some medication to get through.

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Global Warming

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Al Gore posted this message on his website:

 

I know from personal experience that the only thing that will make Washington really take notice and do something to solve the climate crisis is the prospect of millions of committed citizens taking action. It’s time to join together and make that happen.

Sign the postcard to your representative demanding real action on global warming below and I’ll personally deliver it to Washington in March. I’ll keep you up to date on how things are going by email.

 

Here’s the link where you can fill out the petition, it’s real and worth your time!

 

Message To Congress


www.boiseweekly.com

Come on, help the polar bears.

 

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SXSW Was Dangerous, I Was Right!

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“With no less than three of the biggest after parties at this year’s SXSW abruptly shut down, it’s no wonder that we’ve been hearing all sorts of crazy conspiracy theories. But much as we’d love to blame this year’s spate of buzzkilling closures on curmudgeonly old muckety-mucks, the evidence seems to point to something far less interesting: lack of permits.At least that was the case with FactoryPeople‘s Thursday night rager, “La Chic Disco Boum,” and the IHeartComix/Triple 5 Soul Friday night “Blow Out,” both of which were shut down by fire marshals not long after they began. Vice Magazine‘s end-of-SXSW-orgy, on the other hand, succumbed under the collective weight of its hard-partying hipster clientèle — literally, as pieces of the main balcony at the Elks Lodge collapsed. Miraculously, no one was injured.” -from the austinist.com

We missed Factory People AND iheartcomix, and don’t feel so bad we didn’t go wait in line if they ended up shut down. The Vice party absolutely cracked me up. The story was, after the guest list was full, you could be awarded an entry if you wrote them a begging haiku. Not only that, but the party was moved from the original location the night of. And they still managed to break things!

These are things I’m not sorry I missed, and further reason I’m convinced we had the best experience ever!


www.i.a.cnn.net.com

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For Snippy’s Readers

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Since our dear friend snippy is going to be gone for a while, and I get a ton of her traffic as well, I thought I’d share with you some research that I found out about Italy, so we can imagine her trip more clearly:

Fun Facts About Italy

  • Italy is slightly larger than Arizona.
  • Almost 20% of Italy’s population is over 65 years old.
  • The average Italian makes $26,700 a year, however those in the more prosperous north make almost $40,000
  • The thermometer is an Italian invention.
  • The average Italian consumes half a pound of bread a day.
  • With almost 40 million visitors, Italy is the fourth most visited country in the world.
  • The average Italian is 41 years old.
  • The average Italian consumes 26 gallons of wine a year.
  • Italy has more hotel rooms than any other nation in Europe.
  • Italians used to be known for having large families, however Italy is now known for having Europe’s lowest birthrate.
  • Italian families save more money than the Japanese and Germans, and three times more than Americans do.
  • The average Italian consumes 25 kilograms of pasta a year.
  • Italy imports over 75% of its energy.
  • “Ars longa, vita brevis” is a common saying in Italy. It means “art is long, life is short” and reflects the Italian love of leisure.
  • Italy has a resident foreign population of 1.27 million.
  • The national sport of Italy is soccer (known as football outside of America).

So what can we presume for our friend’s trip other than that IF she returns, it will be on the arm of a former soccer-playing man, over 40, who will subsist on bread, pasta, and wine, she will have no babies and she will be more leisurely? Nah, but we all hope she has a good trip!

from lifeinitaly.com

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Official Announcement

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Now we’ll be chronicling a journey. MK and I have decided that when our lease is up on April 30th, we will definitely be moving to Seattle, for at least 6 months. We’ve talked about it for months – but that’s how we do anything – but finally we went ahead and got the storage unit and started packing, so even though we don’t know where we’re going to be living yet, it won’t be in Austin!

SXSW last week was a great memory to have of the city on my way out for a little while. Our ability to live anywhere made the decision tricky, but we were engaged in Seattle and really enjoyed the time we spent there.


www.worldphotoarchive.com

I’m hoping that all our friends and family will be able to visit us there, and also that I get to live it up while I’m still in Austin, making even more great memories to take with me. Mom, if you’re in shock: thanks for actually reading this again, I know you’ve been tuning me out since the first time I mentioned (free!) alcohol. And no, I’m not doing this to be as far from you as possible, even though I think it is.

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SXSW Aftermath

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Cyanide & Happiness

The illness is real. I’m one of many Austinites with “Post SXSW Alcoholic Binge Disorder”.

Here’s a glimpse of the symptoms:

  • Looking in cupboards for booze
  • Asking if you ‘need a wristband’ before you go in anywhere
  • Ringing in the ears
  • Sore feet
  • No food in house
  • Half empty water bottles appear to be breeding in house and car
  • Purse full of stickers and flyers
  • The shakes
  • Missing shoes
  • Greasy hair
  • Putting on night club clothes instead of getting ready for bed
  • Spending all day reading blog coverage and streaming new music

Those are just the beginning. And there’s no cure I’m aware of…

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SXSW Night (And Day!) Seven

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Bloody Mary. Those two words were music to my ears – cliche appropriate due to the ringing also in my ears by now – Saturday at 12 at La Feria with KD. Anxious to head back downtown, we met everyone out at Red7. Again, with some amazing luck, we made it in the door right before the 2 hour line planted itself there for the rest of the afternoon. Words I also loved hearing, in response to “Who are we here to see?”: “It’s the David Cross showcase.” Perfect.

We saw the bands Deerhunter, The Ponys, The Black Lips, and The Walkmen. We got to see David Cross perform, as well as Brain Posehn and (I think, but may have to edit this list later) Bob Odenkirk, Zack Galifianakis, and the girl that does the news on SNL that isn’t Tina Fey.

Here’s David Cross. I saw him listening and performing, my friends E and P took a pic with him (I’m so jealous!):

dc.jpg dcp.jpg david-cross-and-friends.jpg

I really like the music that Deerhunter played, but I felt awful that I could not take my eyes off the lead singer. “The skinniest man on the face of the Earth,” claim the MySpacers. “He suffers from Marfan syndrome, try not to insult him,” others retort. The 1 in 5,000 Americans affected are typically tall, thin, and at risk of heart problems. Source(s): MySpace, March of Dimes, pitchforkmedia.com.

deer.jpg

The Ponys were decent, The Black Lips better, and The Walkmen, whom I’ve seen before, couldn’t really project fully enough the perfect way the vocals and the vintage instruments compliment each other. Outside seemed to be tough, and with 800 bands and all that equipment, I’m sure the sound guys were toast.

walkmemn.jpg

I did get to have my photo taken with Brian Posehn:

bpnme.jpg

All that work drinking and rocking made us hungry. We went for sushi

sushi.jpg And got a ‘boatload’:sushi2.jpg

Here’s one more Frost Bank Tower pic:

fronst2.jpg

From there we were headed to a party that ended up being canceled, so we re-routed our group to Firehouse, to see DJ Chicken George.

fire.jpg fun.jpg

djcg.jpgfun3.jpg

It wasn’t like we forgot about St. Patrick’s Day either, there was plenty of that everywhere.

fun2.jpg

That about wrapped it up. We made it out each day, and now it is time to relax. We’ll all be going through party and drink withdrawals, and missing live music. I think it is safe to say that SXSW has been one of the best things I’ve finally been able to experience. It opened my eyes to so much new music to listen to, so much to think about, and so many new friends that I’m still in overload. I didn’t leave the house today, and it’s going to be tough to get back on schedule.

It’s cute that we all make jokes about the mad influx of hipsters, but our city has to embrace this week, this party we throw. It’s that good.