I have lots of ideas, but I don’t have the time, capital, or inclination to act on them all. I’m gonna start posting free ideas here. Make them happen!
Someone please open an Automat in Austin. I think it would work particularly well on 6th Street. Downtown workers can eat lunch there, but it’d be open until 5am, so that drunks can eat before they drive home & service workers can grab food after work.
The food could be good, too. (I miss Go Bites which briefly sold amazing grilled cheese sandwiches outta a hole in the side of Emo’s. My fave had spinach, bacon, and truffle oil!)
There would be limited staff, so nice people wouldn’t have to wait on drunks. And it could be minimally furnished (picnic tables, concrete floors), so it could just be hosed down at the end of the night. Fear no puke!
I’m going out to check out the Invisible Inks tonight at Club de Ville. They’re some friends’ band and I’ve liked various of their previous bands, so I’m-a check ’em out. Also, I’ll get to take great pictures of them against that awesome rock wall.
Then I’m gonna mosey next door to the Mohawk to see The Thermals! I’ve been wearing their latest record out, enjoying the scientific/philosophical/self-centered bent of the lyrics. In fact, I’m really hoping they play “When I Died” tonight because I wanna see a bunch of pop-punk hipsters punch their fists in the air and yell, “Yeah, my spine!” Oh, and the band gets punk rock bonus points for turning down $50k from Hummer.
It all started here (scroll just over halfway down the page). Then a couple weekends ago, I noticed them on the regular menu at China Palace and I ordered them suckers. Oh, baby. I was immediately in love. Then last weekend, someone brought homemade ones to a party I was at. I got there late, so they were already cold. But still fairly tasty. Now I’ve had them at a couple of other places in town. And a friend sent me a good-lookin’ recipe, but I’ve had no time to cook lately. Soon, soon…
I’m taking a really short, really basic point-n-shoot photography class. I took away a couple of quick tips from last night’s class. Mostly, though, it just made me sit down and investigate my camera for a couple of hours — something I never take time to do. Now I have some homework: I’ll take some pictures this weekend, then take them to next week’s class & she’ll ID what went wrong. Might be useful. I think I belong in the intermediate class, though.
Oh! I think I figured out what I’m gonna be for Halloween! Have you?
I know, I know. “How can she post so frequently?” you wonder. “All that typing must result in unsightly calluses on her fingers. Eww.” Well, if you’ll just pay a little more attention, you’ll notice that I haven’t posted in over a month. Pretty sad, huh? Yeah, well get used to it. You know, the fanzine this blog replaces only came out once a year. And I had help with that! Seriously, you might wanna read real slow. There might not be another post for a while. Why? It isn’t because I’m lazy, it’s just because I’m undisciplined. And because I don’t really enjoy writing. Luckily, I do enjoy having written, so I reckon I’ll keep it up. Every now and again. (May I suggest a feed reader?)
Summer is ending here and I couldn’t be happier! Sometimes I wonder why I suffer through this brutal weather. It makes me pretty miserable. I can’t cook without heating the house up unreasonably, and I don’t like to go swimming. I do like to go sledding. I live in the wrong state.
I’ve been kinda grumpy all summer, but now that it’s cooling off (it only gets into the upper 80s or low 90s lately), my temperament has been improving. I have more energy and things are starting to sound fun again! Fall’s fun! Highlights of my fall calendar: Cat Power, my brother’s wedding, Magnetic Fields, The Humpers reunion (!), Fun Fun Fun Fest, Charlie Parr, a one-night basic digital camera class, the Flair Symposium, a possible camping &/or hiking trip, and more. Also, the debates, the election, and either unbridled joy or the deepest pit of sorrow the morning after. And the cherry on top: two whole weeks off over the winter break during which time I’ll either finally get my shit together or go totally insane. Yay!
Friday morning I’m flying to Kansas City for this cute little music festival. This will be my, um, third? year. In the past, this event was held in Lawrence, with the handful of venues just steps from each other. No lines, cheap-ass wristbands, friends playing, no day shows, nightly afterparty. Very fun. Very relaxing. My brother came down from Minnesota in the past, but he won’t be there this year. Lame.
The Record Bar, KCMO
This year the fest is in KC proper. We’ll see how that goes. I’m hooking up with the usual posse, so there’ll likely be some Ethiopian food and some burnt ends on my plate. Gimme a holler if there’s something you think I should do while I’m in KC!
The Meat Purveyors al fresco encore, North vs. South, 2007
I get home Sunday night, hang around the ATX for a couple of days, then head out to San Francisco for a conference (Weds-Sun). I’ve never been to the Bay Area, so gimme some tips for there, too, will ya? So far, I know I’m gonna go here & hopefully here. Oh, and to some conference shit, too, of course.
And I plan to wear a sweater the whole time I’m there. Yay! Sweater weather!
Almost every night last week, I made a cozy. I just got an iPod touch and I wanted to make my dream cozy for it. My design slowly evolved from the first one (the abomination) to the super-cute elephant-patterned version I am carrying around.
first good version (closed)first good version (open)elephant-print cozy (closed)
It’s very functional! I had a really hard time finding one (years ago, first iPod) which provided accommodation for my headphones. So I put a little pocket on my version.
elephant-print cozy (open)
I also made a version which is lined with impossible-to-photograph black fleece and has a different structure. I’ll make one out of something else soon & post photos.
car-patterned cozy
I’m also planning to tutorialize these photos into something useful for my fellow crafters. You know, one day. I’m also planning to make some more of them (outta some sweet new fabric I just got) and sell them in my Etsy shop (which will also have some stitch markers available soon).
Oh, I also made a really basic one for my new camera which is making this little show-n-tell possible… Anybody out there think I should be worrying about fleece + electronics = static = bad?
I first noticed her in No Country For Old Men. I was instantly captivated. Then I saw the trailer for Chokelast night. I am now planning to revisit Trainspotting,then work my way through her other films. Mmm…
I went to a wedding in Chicago a few weeks ago. I love Chicago. Really love it. I get this big, stupid grin the second my plane touches down there. And I walk around grinning the whole time I’m there. I’m really gonna have to move there one day…
I tried to Priceline a room, but had no luck, so I ended up staying at the Arlington House International Hostel. What a stroke of (accidental) genius! The hostel was clean, convenient, cheap – $65/night for a private room w/ half bath (showers down the hall) – and located two blocks from Lincoln Park! Perfect!
I arrived early so I could screw around in Chicago for an extra day. And I planned not to do anything I’d done there before (I’ve been in a rut). I made one exception.
best pancakes I've ever tasted
The Salt & Pepper Diner (there are several locations) serves my absolute favorite pancakes in the world. I had to go. I took a really, really packed redline train to the Addison stop, and I soon realized why the train was so packed: Cubs v. White Sox. The diner location I prefer is the one by Wrigley Field and when I got there around 10am on a Friday morning, the whole area was totally bumpin’. Cubs &/or Sox fans as far as the eye could see!
Cubs v. Sox mob
As a native Texan, I am unused to the feeling of being caught up in a rush of humanity. Sure, I’ve been to some Spurs games, maybe some other pretty crowded places, but there’s nothing like being in a big city at rush hour. All the people on the streets and trains are amazing to me. I never tire of just wandering about in Chicago checking the people out. And the train ride to Wrigleyville was perfect for this. It was packed! Everyone was in a good mood since they were probably playing hooky & had a whole day of fun ahead of them. The crowd was so delightedly boisterous!
Lincoln Park Conservatory
On Saturday, I went to Lincoln Park without a plan. I wanted to hit the Conservatory, but other than that, I just wanted to wander about. And I did. I checked out the zoo, I accidentally went to a street fest (the back gate was open & I didn’t realize I’d snuck in w/o paying until I happened upon the real entrance!), and I had some Indian food for lunch.
a lion sunning his balls
I checked out the Lincoln Park Zoo, too. There’s no admission and the crowd was totally respectable, without being a mob. The weather was just lovely, as the above lion can attest.
I also took in the Architecture Foundation’s Architecture River Cruise. It was pretty good. The tour guide knew lots and was relatively entertaining. Unfortunately, I’m kind of a geek about Chicago architecture and I was hoping for something different. It was a lovely tour, though. Really.
There were more good times, but if I told you everything here, well, we wouldn’t have anything to talk about when we meet in person, would we?
I’m going out to check out the Invisible Inks tonight at Club de Ville. They’re some friends’ band and I’ve liked various of their previous bands, so I’m-a check ’em out. Also, I’ll get to take great pictures of them against that awesome rock wall.
