ACL Fest is just too much of a good thing
This is the tale of two bands. One’s country. The other, rock ‘n’ roll. Both are from Austin and both played ACL Fest on Saturday. The sultry heat made Zilker Park feel like a...
Category: Austin
Pirates break all the rules… and we cheer
This summer, I’ve seen the pirate flag, the jolly roger, more often than I’ve seen the Stars and Stripes. The distinctive black flag usually includes a white skull with swords, or bones, crossed underneath....
Beating the blues; Antone’s was home away from home for a lonely UT freshman
Like many people who move to Austin to attend the University of Texas, I didn’t know a soul when I arrived. It was the fall of 1988, and I didn’t have a single friend...
Vehicular Easter eggs: Now that’s a smashing concept!
In America, love is a many-fendered thing. Like no other people on earth, Americans adore their autos, embrace them and identify with them. This love affair started with Ford’s first Model Ts and progressed...
Forensics: It’s more than CSI
Last Monday, Sandip Gupta, 19, was having a rough evening. Days away from the national championship tournament, his training session was not going well. His broad face was sweating, his arm hurt, and he...
I am a video-game widow
Like many modern married women, I’ve been saying for years that I’m a video-game widow. After all, it’s only by the occasional bursts of faux gunfire, faintly audible from the other room, that I know that my husband is alive and well.
Al Franken in Austin: A Broadcast from Out of the Past
Cameraphone pic of Al Franken and Paul Sicard! When my husband was the only person in town to win tickets* to the live broadcast of the Al Franken Show, I was so excited. I would...
The burnt orange gates
With South by Southwest upon us, our city is awash in recording industry executives with multiple digital devices, layers of flunkies and hot and cold running bar tabs. We are surrounded by college students...
Say Hello to Kitty
Hello, my name is Anna, and I have a problem. And I am not alone. There are a lot of us who share the same addiction. There are few men in our world. And...
Behind the Scenes at a Holistic Veterinarian’s
A short, fat, brown dog was panting heavily in the examining room of the animal clinic. Her owner was with her. Fine stainless steel needles punctured the dog’s skin, yet the dog didn’t...
