My So-Called Life

Guys - I don't care what anybody else says - "My So-Called Life" was the best show on television.





I don't even know what inspired me to watch it tonight. But now, STILL, I get a little bit nostalgic (/teary!) when I watch it.

Can't you just feel the flannel cotton on your skin? Hear the Nirvana playing overhead? This show takes me straight back to junior high/high school.



OH MY GOD, when was Jared Leto this cute?? Are you looking at this?

Alright WAIT. Check this out:



I KNOW.

But then....fast forward....



Oh no.

After the singing career, and the eyeliner......oh Jared Leto, what happened?

I don't think I'm alone here when I say I lust for JORDAN CATALANO, and not Jared Leto.

Sorry guys, this has nothing to do with Austin. Except to make an impassioned cry to Alamo Drafthouse:

Have a "My So-Called Life" night already!!

Putting it on your radar

It's not until November 8-9, but the redheaded stepchild of Austin music festivals is almost upon us!

Here's one reason I may very well attend Fun Fun Fun Fest:

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah

YOWZA Austin bloggers + Pre-Halloween fun

WOW, there are a ton of Austin bloggers out there! Almost 40! Thanks so much, you guys - compiling all these blogs may take a little longer than I thought, but in the meantime, I want to tell you about some fun things going on this week before HALLOWEEN. (Are you so excited? I'm excited!! Even though I don't really know what I'm going to be yet!)

Here we go:

WEDNESDAY WEDNESDAY WEDNESDAY


Alright so I have never been to this, but I do love Beauty Bar. And I saw one of the DJ's, Brian Tweedy, at Fashion Freak Out a while back. In these stressful economic / political times, who couldn't use some rock soul disco?

Local jewelry designer Anthony Nak will also be on-hand tomorrow night at the W3LL People "Eco-Exclusive" event, from 6-9pm. W3LL is a skincare products shop that specializes in natural products, and has one of the best slogans I have ever heard:

"Hippie tested. Diva approved."

Isn't that clever?

THURSDAY THURSDAY THURSDAY


Bows + Arrows is having a happy hour from 6-8pm on Thursday, with a Scotch tasting courtesy of Spec's. (Maybe you get more spendy when you're tipsy?) Anyway, Bows + Arrows is at 215 S. Lamar, and TRUST, it's top-dollar. But if I had the coin, here is what I would get:

I know. It's lovely. I want the whole thing. (But I want to pay my rent more.)

Do you have an Austin blog?

Hey people - before I forget:

Follow my blog with bloglovin´

Totally optional of course!!

So in about a month and a half, this blog will officially be one year old. Isn't that crazy? I usually never keep up with hobbies! Also - big step - I ordered "That Austin Girl" business cards the other day!!! They are on their way right now, and I am super-pumped. I'm always messily scribbling down my URL for people on old receipts or bar napkins or whatever, which is just silly.

ANYWAY. The reason I bring all this up is because I'm really interested in reading all the other local blogs out there. (PS: Soon, I'm going to do a post on OTHER, non-Austin-based blogs I'd like to collect, so if you blog from a different city entirely, sit tight). I read about 4-5 ATX blogs daily, but I know there has to be a ton more out there - witty, wonderful things that lurk completely beneath my short-range radar.

So Austin bloggers: Where you at?

Here are the instructions:

1. If you are an Austin blogger, leave a comment about your blog to this post. (EVEN if you know I read yours already.)

2. Tell me what it's about! Music / food / your life / etc. It doesn't matter if your blog is ABOUT Austin or not, I'm just interested in blogging Austinites.

3. I will collect blogs and URL's and post them all here.

Easy-peasy, right!

Also: Our results from the DEAL BREAKERS poll are in. Here is the final tally:

WINNER, most offensive Deal Breaker: Constant Bluetooth usage
2nd place: Non-ironic visor wearing
3rd: Precious Moments
4th place: Brand names on attire
5th place: Sunglasses indoors

People, let it be known that you do NOT like the Bluetooth in excess. In fact, "constant Bluetooth usage" got nearly double the votes (12!) of the second place winner! (non-ironic visor wearing!) Tiffanie Lanmon, who inspired this post, had predicted (as had I) that Precious Moments would dominate. No no no. As she put it, "yes, the porcelain figurines can stay just as long as you give the 'tooth a rest. Austin just wants some quality time, baby...even if it means sharing it with a doe eyed figurine."

Well-put.

Finally, to cap off the weekend: Here are some pics from last night. Car Stereo Wars tore it up at Beauty Bar!

In this last pic, my friend Sissel is looking quite fierce here.....while I am sporting some crazy eyes.

Don't forget to drop off your URL, Austin bloggers!

Dwight Schrute comes to Austin

Here's some food for thought:

"Where do spirituality and creativity meet?"

That's the big question Rainn Wilson (a.k.a Dwight Schrute on "The Office"), whom I had the pleasure of meeting today, wants to know.



I rarely talk about work on this blog, but for my 9-to-5, I'm a publicist. Rainn swung into town today to give the keynote talk for Lotus Night, a charity event my company helped publicize. Anyway, during our chat, he mentioned his new project "Soul Pancake," which looks pretty interesting.

See, Rainn wants to "de-lamify" talking about God and religion. (Did you know Rainn talked about God at all? As a matter of fact, he does). He wants to do away with the "airy-fairy," "hippie dippie" (his clever words, not mine) flavor of modern spirituality, and instead, start asking big questions. ("QUESTION." as Dwight would say). Soul Pancake is his place to get that started, and it's supposed to be a social networking site where spiritually- and intellectually-curious minds (Bahá'í-curious?) can hash it out.

Rainn also wants to talk about spatulas.

As you can see, Rainn is a pretty cool dude.

And as for me, Reader - I'm squeezing in a little disco nap after this busy day. And then momentarily, it's off to Car Stereo Wars!

Pangaea: Si or no?

Austin, let's talk about it. What do you think of Pangaea?


Is impressive from the outside, non?

So impressive that DJ AM will be playing there next month for Pangaea's first birthday.


Hmm.....for some reason, I have my suspicions about Pangaea. Is very chichi (and sorry, but DJ AM just doesn't do it for me).

But! Before I go any further, I must admit I've never actually been to Pangaea. I've heard it's fun for dancing, and in fact, here is what Michael Barnes has to say about the place:

Let me dispense with three misconceptions:

1. Because it is cordoned off by a velvet rope, Pangaea is exclusive. (Frankly, I’ve never seen anyone turned away. It’s an illusion.)

1. You must spend several hundred dollars on bottle service. (No, you can purchase a reasonably priced drink at one of two bars.)

1. Upscale spots like this decrease Austin’s weird factor. (This is my main point: Austinites are the customers. So it’s very, very Austin. Slightly more dressed up than usual, but variety is not an anti-Austin condition.)

And see, that all puts me squarely back at "hmmmm." I envision all the patrons of Pangaea shopping at The Domain, but perhaps that isn't fair. Maybe I'm just being a cranky ass.

Have you all been to Pangaea? And if so what did you think?

Trade your booty-shakin' for some book-learnin': Perfumes - The Guide

Ok, so here's a yummy little book I read recently. As much as we would all like to be creatures of the night, dance-dance-dancing 'til morn-morn-morning, it's just not always possible.

Henceforth, I give you:


Do you guys like perfume as much as I do? I don't wear it all the time, but I do like to wear it when I go out. It's such a silly, frivolous pleasure.

Anyway, here's an excerpt from my book review of Perfumes: The Guide by Luca Turin and Tania Sanchez. (And you can read the full review at Lit Mob.) Enjoy!

Perfumes: The Guide is a dishy little affair. Over a number of years, biophysicist Luca Turin and perfume aficionado Tania Sanchez smelled nearly fifteen hundred fragrances, and the two have recorded their findings in this alphabetical catalog. Sound girly? It sort of is. But even men (well, the men I like most) will discover bits of advice worth holding onto, and pleasures rugged enough (such as Himalayan musk deer, civet cats, and ambergris, a substance that great big sperm whales cough up into the ocean—all providers of fragrance you may be wearing right now, gentlemen). Ladies, if you want to drive men wild, you are advised to rub yourselves with bacon. When you are ready to discuss the more sophisticated and finer points of fragrance, Perfumes is ready.

The book starts out with a collection of essays from Turin and Sanchez designed to get our heads in the game, sketching out the first criticism of perfume that I think I’ve ever seen. Of the perfume industry itself, they are witty and illuminating: perfume companies “change formulas without telling customers,” “lie about contents,” and “shill shameless copies of great ideas and hope no one notices.” Scandal. Also, they dismiss the idea that perfume is a “science” supported by pheromone mumbo jumbo: “Tocade is not a better fragrance than Dior Addict because it better approximates the mix of odors released by a fertile female. Tocade is better than Dior Addict because it’s more beautiful.” Turin and Sanchez make it clear that perfume is an aesthetic form and should be treated as such, and the first forty-nine pages reveal to us the tools by which we should evaluate the art, with words like “drydown” and “top note.” Finally, oenophiles don’t have a monopoly on connoisseur lingo.

What follows is Turin and Sanchez’ staggering list of fragrance reviews, of which there are two broad highlights: a) colorful raves of their favorite, five-star picks (of Gucci’s “Rush:” “Announces its sloppy good mood for miles about, and woe to anyone in the vicinity who planned on using his sense of smell for anything else”) and b) the oh-no-you-didn’t damning of the un-worthiest scents (of Escada’s “Sentiment pour Homme:” “To choose this as your personal fragrance could only be a cry for help.”)

Speaking of perfume....would you like to do a poll on favorite scents to smell on people??

Car Stereo (Wars) + The Always Already

So it always seems like I'm out of town or BUSY whenever Car Stereo (Wars) play, but this Saturday I'm going y'all!!On Saturday night, R. and I get to meet Rainn Wilson - that's right, Dwight from The Office. Right here in ATX! For rils y'all! But then, it's dance party central.

To get a little taste of The Always Already, just have a listen.

And hey, if you're just too dead-tired this weekend to do ANYTHING but stay home and read a nice book, I've got a lovely recommendation for you. Stop by tomorrow and see what it is! (Hint: It smells good). Or, you can just visit Lit Mob and read my write-up there.

A tale of two bars: Sacramento, California + Black and Tan

I'm b-a-a-ack!

So after hopping around on Austin Is Burning, Austin Style Watch, The Famousish, and Party Ends just now, it appears to mine eyes that ATX party-makers were out in full force this weekend. That's awesome everyone. This gal took the party to the west coast however, and while she was there, conducted some investigative nightlife journalism.

Guys, when you look around at your friends, do you ever take note of a few acute commonalities? Love of sushi, horror films, indie music, whatever? Well for me it's dancing. I am very lucky that almost all of my close pals LOVE to shake it, which is good because if they did not I would be a constant source of embarrassment.

So on Saturday night, our crew raided two very different spots in Midtown Sac (a neighborhood of quaint, Victorian homes mixed with little cafes, gay bars, and a smattering of coffee shops):

1. Blue Cue, an upstairs bar / dance club situation,
2. The significantly divier, DELIGHTFUL, Pine Cove.


If I had to pick an Austin doppelganger for Blue Cue, it'd probably be something like Vicci, minus the self-aware ironic cheesiness (of Vicci, that is). Blue Cue is technically a billiards bar, but guys, it's like the fanciest billiards bar I've ever seen. The bartenders are well-coiffed, the bar backlit, and people there dressed to the freaking NINES. Very "young professionals" pedigree, you know what I mean? I wore my flats for the evening, and seriously, I think I came up to all the girls' boobs. Total strangers would pat my head while dancing (when they weren't being socked by my flailing arms, that is) because I was so wee!

But anyway, you know what's fun about that kind of place? The playlist. You say "Britney?" They've got your Britney. They've also got your Kanye, your Madonna, your fill-in-the-blank ear candy delights, and it's all good. And by "good" I mean infinitely danceable, so kindly check your hipster at the door and brace yourself for some "Womanizer" (which you secretly know you love!! At least I do! "Boy don't try to front ah-ah/Know just-just what you you are" - oh God I can't resist!)

Pause - speaking of danceable - pardon the tangent here, but OMG I am obsessed with this new person I discovered!!! Neiliyo, who's an Austin dude. He'll be playing next month at The Mohawk at Team Fabrication 6, a fashion/music/awards show dreamed up by crazy talented designer pair Jenifer Rea and Erin Mikulenka. Many many thanks to Party Ends for the reference.

ANYWAY, after our fill of Red Bull/vodka's and Britney, we stumbled over to the Pine Cove...


Pine Cove basically = Hole in the Wall + karaoke, and anyone who knows me knows that karaoke exerts this undeniable, siren-like force over me. (This is true even though I do not have a good voice, at all.) But anyway, with cheaper drinks and a zillion people all sloshing around this teensy, dimly lit, Cheers-for-twenty-somethings establishment, Pine Cove turned out to be the ideal venue to regale people with....more Britney!! (We had practiced at Blue Cue, you see).

Now, blog readers, I ask you: Is there really anything more valuable in this world than good friends? The kind that will rush the stage like you're Queen Madge herself? My friends Claire, Anna and I shut down Pine Cove with an off-key (but sassy!) rendition of "Toxic" which in fact garnered some drunken applause, mostly by our friends/"backup dancers." All in all, this was the type of down-to-earth, messily supportive crowd that I think Austin would clutch to its collective chest and embrace as our own. I cannot recommend Pine Cove enough if you're out west yourselves, Austinites.

Finally, to cap off this Monday....by violently switching subjects!

Here in the 9-to-5 world, it's tough to find weekday dancing/music appreciation partners, non? (And truth be told I probably not should be staying out past 11 myself, but there is so much awesome stuff right now!). So, tell me: do any of you head to Black and Tan on Tuesday regularly to see this fine individual?

On that note, lovely Richard Gear is out of town in NYC this week, while Bird Peterson and GoGo Garcia take over his regular Tuesday night gig:


There was also talk of Markus (with a K) joining the fun tomorrow night, too...maybe a surprise visit?

Baby Got Bacteria + Maker Faire + Designer Drugs + Deal Breakers....oh my

So in approximately 11 hours, I hop a plane to sunny California to visit old friends. You see not too long ago, I had it in my head that I was going to be a scholar on Victorian Literature, flew out to the west coast for grad school, and devoted two years of my life to Oscar Wilde, Robert Louis Stevenson, Bram Stoker, etc. You know, the whole nineteenth century British crew y'all! HOLLA BACK Charlotte Bronte.

As it turns out I was very terrible at academia, but made lovely friends with some very smart, awesome people. And because I will be hanging onto their every word and witty aside from now until Sunday night, I want to do a longer-than-usual post to talk about a few rad ATX things going on this weekend. Ready! Ok go!


Friday Night: Baby Got Bacteria
Creekside Lounge
10pm

Maybe it's the cross-dressing, maybe it's their cool sound - whatever it is, live music newcomers Baby Got Bacteria will be playing tomorrow night, and I think you will have fun if you go. Here's a taste:



Saturday/Sunday: Maker Faire
Travis County Expo Center

Alright, we are SO lucky to have something this cool in our city. I know I know Austin has tons of cool stuff all the time, and Maker Faire is definitely well-publicized, but seriously, you should attend this. I will give you two reasons:

1. Fighting robots,
2. A life-sized Mousetrap. Like the boardgame you played when you were little. It looks like this:


Anyway, if you haven't heard of it yet, Maker Faire is a huge celebration of DIY, and basically provides all these hands-on activities to make stuff. Rachel at Austin Style Watch did a great post on it today, so I encourage you to hop over there and read her pre-event coverage.


Saturday Night: Designer Drugs
Black & Tan


Another fun fun party hosted The Famousish! Might sell out, so go RSVP here.

And finally...well we've got a new poll up!! Vote this weekend, and feel free to leave some comments in the post below. It's about your own deal breakers, it's to the top right-hand corner of your screen, and with all of our help together - we'll rid the world of Precious Moments. (Or at least from our collective dating pool.)

I feel though like I should add a quick disclaimer here just to supplement that poll. Now, some people may be breaking some deals this very moment - by wearing a visor or yapping on your Bluetooth, for example. I just want to come forward and admit that, were I not married, I would very likely be a walking deal breaker myself. My own vile personal habits include but are not limited to:

1. Licking the container after I finish a microwave meal.

2. Licking said container at WORK, in front of co-workers.

3. Constantly running off all the gas in my car, then leaving it for R. to fill back up as I hop into our other, non-empty car. I.e., his vehicle. Can you believe that?

4. Relentless misquoting of song lyrics. "Scuse me while I kiss this guy" is nothing. Every time Whitesnake comes on with "Here I Go Again" (God I love that song), I always, ALWAYS sing, "Here I go again with rock n' roll!!!" Instead of the proper, "Here I go again on my own." You can see how one would make this mistake. You may not see how one would learn her mistake, then insist on singing it the wrong way.

5. SKIP SHOWERS. There I said it! Almost every person who has commented has something about hygiene. Sorry y'all. I'm a little gross.

What are your DEAL BREAKERS?

So, Tiffanie Lanmon is probably one of my favorite people. We met at a party once, and at that party, we composed a list of DEAL BREAKERS: you know, red flags in the dating world. This is a partial list of what we came up with, and I would LOVE to hear yours.

According to Tiffanie and I - and I believe a few people standing around the kitchen at said party - a deal breaker can constitute any of the following:

-Precious Moments. If you own a porcelain figurine, consider yourself warned.
-Beanie Babies in the back windshield of your car. Actually, Beanie Babies in any form are questionable.
-Wearing sunglasses indoors. NO.
-Word shirts. Handled in the right way, this one can be acceptable sometimes. It becomes a problem though when we start getting into Versace territory.
-Ditto brand names displayed loudly ANYWHERE on your attire, but especially on your butt.
-Scrunchies. Goes without saying.
-Crocs or water shoes of any sort.
-Tribal tattoos - Are you a Celtic warrior? I didn't think so. Let's move on.
-Non-ironic visor wearing. Think K-Fed circa 2005.
-A blinged-out, pimped-up MySpace page.
-Art cars - Very popular here in Austin. I'm going to admit that a lot of these are actually really impressive. We just can't be kissing and having fun if you're super-gluing action figures to your car all the time, now are we?
-TRICKING SOMEBODY INTO GOING TO CHURCH. Which in fact happened to me once.

So, everybody - what are YOUR deal breakers? I'm going to take down the old poll on claymation figures - I'm just taking some time to get over the fact that Rudolph did NOT win - and then throw up one for deal breakers!!

P.S. - Tiffanie is also the drummer for Follow that Bird, who has a show tonight at Beerland!! Jump on it.

Indie arts and crafts for Austinites

Hey all you indie Austin artists and designers: This sounds like your time to shine. It's happening way off in April '09, but you can sign up to show off your duds NOW.

DATE - Saturday April 18, 2009

TIME - 11:00am to 5:00pm

PLACE - Saengerrunde Hall (next to Scholz Garten), 1607 San Jacinto Blvd, Austin, TX 78701

TICKETS - In advance $8, at the door $10.

WEBSITE - THEBEARDEDLADIESPRESENT.COM

EVENT - The Bearded Ladies Production Co. is set to produce its first show in Austin, Texas. The 2009 event will be a craft fair, art festival, and independent designer showcase all wrapped up into one. The Bearded Ladies Present: Shop Austin will provide shoppers an opportunity to find one of-a-kind gifts, unique accessories, fashionable attire, home decor and more. Shoppers can browse the work of talented artisans who buck the trend of mass-production by offering handcrafted goods that are finely constructed and very unique.

The Bearded Ladies Present: Shop Austin is currently accepting applications for vendors. All local crafters, independent designers, and artists that want to broaden their customer base are invited to apply. Let all of Austin know what you have to offer and join The Bearded Ladies Present: Shop Austin!

To apply go to: http://www.TheBeardedLadiesPresent.com/apply_here.html

So, this is The Bearded Ladies' first event, after setting up shop just seven months ago. "Shop Austin" sounds somewhat akin to Maker Faire, which I'm very sad to not be attending this weekend. (So much fun stuff happening this weekend!).

I am a sporadic crafter, especially as it applies to knitting scarves and sometimes decoupage. Lately though, I've been wanting to learn screen printing, and at the VERY least, I would like to learn how to take a decent picture. (I am probably the worst photographer I know. One time for Mother's Day, I gave my mom a coffee table book of photographs taken by blind children. And every last shot - once again, by blind children - was 50x better than any picture ever taken by this able-bodied girl.)

Are you all crafty? If so, what do you make?

Who says you can't get down on a Monday?

If you've been following this blog for the past few weeks, you know that I've recently come to despise the gym. I love the way exercise feels, you see. I just hate the setting for it. So I'm always looking for fun, physical activities that don't involve a sports bra but MAY involve high heels - and ideally, those activities also involve me shaking my badonka-donk.

This looks like something rad that fits the bill:


"LOVE AND A 45"

Rio Rita

Monday
October 13
8:00pm –
11:30pm






From Rio Rita's site: It’s a record player party and you’re the DJ! Bring in three of your coolest 45’s and rule the dance floor. Sign-up opens at 8pm. Music starts at 9pm. Dare to impress us.

Has anyone ever been to this neato-sounding event? It happens every Monday at Rio Rita apparently. While I think the only 45's I own are an inherited collection at my parents' house, made up of things like Simon and Garfunkel and James Taylor, what I lack in cool 45's I can make up in sweet moves! (I have a very broad definition of "sweet.")

Here's a video that was filmed at Rio Rita. It was directed by Jef Greilich and you might recognize M83 playing in the background:



Even cooler? This was all done in ONE single steadycam shot! I hardly know anything about film and even I know how hard that is!!

I want Many Birthdays

ATTENTION: Cool band alert!!

This is Many Birthdays, a band we saw last night at Club DeVille. The guy lead singer (he switches off with one of the ladies) sounds exactly like Frank Black from The Pixies to me, except with synthesizers/Fruity Loops for backing rather than a big ol' bass guitar. They have an EP out right now that looks like this:



You can buy it here, which I think I am about to do right now.

If you have a weakness for synthesizers (me me!) then you'll dig some Many Birthdays. And what better place to hear synthesizers than Beauty Bar?? They are playing there in two weeks on November 1 - a Saturday night so pretty rad billing - and although I'm not sure who is playing with them yet I'll throw up a poster if they/Beauty Bar designs one.

Have you guys heard of Many Birthdays? Anyone going to this show? Moreover: Do you like synthesizers??

Cap'n Crunch + JEM + Drafthouse = Yes yes yes

So y'all, sometimes, I just can't keep up with the Drafthouse. The sing-a-longs! The quote-a-longs! The Master Pancake Theatre! By the time we're finished with previews at the Drafthouse, I always feel like, "damn, am missing so much?! You mean to tell me there are Austin Air Guitar Championships every year? And I haven't been to a single one?? Omigod, whoa, I cannot keep missing these Quentin Tarantino nights - he's right here in my city and I haven't seen him live yet ahhhh!!!" -That feeling.

Anyway, all that being said, the Drafthouse clearly offers a superior movie-watching experience. I think the concept only works however in a city already dripping with personality. You see, one time, R. and I joined his parents to see a movie in Grapevine, Texas - one of the many ant-like communities clinging onto the Dallas metropolis - at a newly-opened "restaurant" theatre. It was very high-tech and fancy, with chrome metal and black lights everywhere, and we all ordered full meals and lounged in our cushy leather chairs. It closed two months later.

Austinites are doggedly proud of just how weird they are, however, so the Drafthouse will never die and in fact, will keep pumping out increasingly kitschy and interactive film events. Here is one I totally wish I was attending:

saturday morning cereal party
drafthouse downtown (6th st.)
october 18
12:00pm

Ok everyone, listen to what all this entails: 2.5 hours of Ghosbusters, JEM, Thundarr the Barbarian and Care Bears, WITH over 50 varieties of cereal on the menu!! People are encouraged to wear their footie pajamas and forget about the debauchery of the previous night, as they are lulled back into child-like innocence coated with sugar cereal.

Whoever comes up with these Drafthouse events is a genius, non?

(Speaking of child-like innocence. Have you, yes you there reading this blog, VOTED for your favorite claymation figure? Top right corner of your screen? Because I see that Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer is being edged out by Wallace & Gromit!! Rudolph-lovers, come on now, let's pull it together.)

I will sadly not be able to attend Saturday Morning Cereal Party as I will be in Cali - so, not sad at ALL really but THRILLING - but am considering a "favorite Saturday morning cartoon poll" to make up for it. Of which the Snorks will play a big role.

P.S. - Yelle a freaking blast last night. This is Aaron, who I met standing in line. Also got to see these ladies out and about as well: Austin bloggas crew, HOLLA!

(P.P.S. - Don't be fooled by this picture, taken at the BEGINNING of the night. The end-of-night shots are truly disturbing).

EDITED TO ADD:

French Invasion!

Alright well hopefully everyone is with the program and has heard about this already through The Famousish or Austin Is Burning, whose blogs are much better resources for this kind of thing, but.....gaaah I have to talk about it!!


Tomorrow night at The Mohawk: YELLE! With many other cool people. You can buy tickets here.

Not only is Yelle on tour, but her crew is making a documentary of it! How sweet would that be, if you were in a Yelle movie?? You can enter to be a part of it here.

This photo pretty much puts her music (and personality) in visual form:


Doesn't she look fun? I can't wait to see her tomorrow.

And - this just in! - side ponytails and hair crimping will be happening too!! the word from Yelp:

Prototype Vintage and Birds Barbershop, in cooperation with Transmission Entertainment, are joining design forces to transform a highly-anticipated show into a full-blown interactive event. On October 8, French electro-pop sensation Yelle will make her Austin debut at The Mohawk, performing on Prototype's neon-designed stage, with Birds Barbershop providing free sideways ponytails and hair crimping to audience members. A pair of two-day passes to Fun Fun Fun Fest will be given away in a free raffle by Partyends.com.


With a documentary film crew in Austin to record her over-the-top "dance masquerade" stage show, Yelle has only performed once before in the United States. In response to that Coachella performance, Spin Magazine described Yelle as "a French electro version of the young Olivia Newton-John who stole Kylie Minogue's dance moves." Doors open at 8 p.m. Funeral Party opens. Super Sonic Soul Squad starts the party. Neon drink specials all night, with DJ Bigface afterparty inside at 11:30. 10/8, The Mohawk

WHEE!

Who's your favorite claymation figure??

So, as you all may or may not know, there are frequently little polls running on That Austin Girl ranging in subject from "Favorite Cocktail" to "Favorite Toys" to whatever else I'm sort of in the mood to talk about. They frequently do not have anything to do with Austin, Tx really, except for the fact that it is where I am physically located. (On a sidenote: I think my blog is having an identity crisis. Sometimes think I should make it more local or more topic-oriented, like, "Hi welcome to That Austin Girl, where we talk about BANDS." But instead it's quite random, and it ends up being about whatever, and I hope that's ok with everyone? At any rate, I've decided I really like these little polls so we're going to keep doing those). ANYWAY.

The most recent poll we did was "Favorite Superhero," and Batman completely crushed his competition (which I think we can chalk up to his summer 2008 trendiness, cheesy Darth Vader growly voice and all). But now, I'm throwing out a much, much tougher question.

Who is your favorite claymation figure?

Are you ready? Are you so excited?! Let's meet our contestants:

Wallace & Gromit

Gumby

RUDOLPH THE RED-NOSED REINDEER (my vote!!)

Penny from "Pee Wee's Playhouse"

The California Raisins

For me personally, I don't know if anyone can dethrone Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, although Gumby is a close second. (PS - How did a blob of green clay that resembles the letter "K" get his own show on NBC? What? Ditto on a Motown band comprised of raisins??) I remember watching the Rudolph the Reindeer Christmas special on TV for the first time when I was 5 or 6, and thinking it was, like, an action-adventure thriller. I also remember thinking it would be so cool if I had a light for a nose.

So I'm going to leave this post up a few days in case you want to leave a comment explaining your selection. Why, for example, is Penny (who looks like she is about to hurl in this picture?) more awesome than Rudolph. (Which is completely hypothetical by the way, since Penny is clearly NOT as awesome as Rudolph).

Readers, you have the floor: Who is your fave clay character? And how did you first encounter them?

Ghostland Observatory

So I'm sure these will sell out pretty fast, but yesterday tickets for Ghostland Observatory's November 14 show went on sale. You can go jump on that here.

I know they're huge now and rarely even play in Austin anymore, but I heart Ghostland so much. I remember seeing them for the first time at this little tiny club in San Francisco, Cafe du Nord. We're waiting for them to go on, and here comes this guy with long braids, jeans and Birkenstocks, looking like he came directly from a Greenpeace rally.....followed by another individual wearing a metallic cape. And guys, it was the BEST SHOW I have ever seen.


Ghostland is a band of 100% excess, meaning every chance they get, there are colored lights and lasers and explosions and things. Aaron Behrens (right) is a total diva on stage with a mean strut and a ginormous mouth, and every time I see them I try to remember exactly what he did so I can steal his dance moves. Exhibit A:



Isn't that just ridiculous? It's like watching Gumby at a rave party.

I'm also giggling at this interview Mr. Behrens had with Gothamist last year, which gives you an idea of his personality:

Gothamist: How will you celebrate New Year's Eve?

AB: My wife and i will be packing and moving into to our new house!!!! HALLA!!!! Party animals over here!!!!

Gothamist: What trend do you think will be "big in '08"?

AB: I think the new trend of 2008 is going to be cell phones installed into your molars.

Hehe. Love.

So bottom line: If you haven't seen Austin's Ghostland yet, I highly recommend it.

What bands make you guys wanna dance like a crazy hip-swivelin' fool?

An open love letter

Dear Sacramento,

It's been way too long since you and I spoke. How are things? Do you miss me? I miss you. In fact - surprise! - I'm coming to see you in less than two weeks! Hang onto your Governor's Mansion: We're going to make San Francisco and L.A. wish they were as cool as us!!

But seriously Sac. How are you. It's been, what, a year and a half now? Are you still under-the-radar as ever? Did you ever get over my relentless comparisons to Austin, Tx? That wasn't very cool of me. But then, I was so bitter about your 2-hour parking meters, the way you cast me aside after exactly 120 minutes every single work day - including Saturdays! A girl can only take so much, so many parking tickets, before she longs for the infinitely more relaxed and lenient law enforcement of Austin...a place where cops, it's true, still ride bicycles.

(In all fairness though, Sac, I realize now that I probably shouldn't have started placing old parking tickets under my own windshield wipers whenever I parked anywhere, in an effort to trick your hawkish and unfeeling meter maids into thinking they had already given me a ticket. Most of the time it worked, even if they were tickets from San Francisco! Or sometimes other people's tickets from San Fransisco! You have to admit - that was pretty damn crafty. But as I soon learned, that is actually illegal. As you proved that one time you booted my car.)

We had some good times Sac, you and I. Sure, there were a lot of lonely nights copy editing at the magazine, but somehow, you always knew how to bring a smile to my face. Like that one time I was walking back to my car at 3a.m. in the morning after a long night of edits, and that homeless woman stopped me in the dead of night to ask if I wanted to hear some opera, then lifted up her arms to the sky and bellowed forth her own charming, slightly slurred and definitely drunk rendition of "Figaro!" Or "William Tell Overture!" Or whatever! That was totally awesome.

How about that other time when I was having a really bad day, a mere 15 miles away in Davis holed up in my little grad school apartment, shedding tears over a vitriolic email some college freshmen had just sent me accusing I really didn't know that much about Charlotte Bronte - honestly, the nerve - and a bus that ran by our house every day decided to start driving on the sidewalk? Until crashing into our neighbor's recycling bins? And then the slightly hungover college student driving it stumbled off, scratched his head, and pointed at the still-living, tail-swishing squirrel that he "expertly" managed to maneuver a bus around? That little bit of absurdity completely made my day, and you deserve to know how much I appreciated that, Sac. (/Davis.)

Now, Sac, you've always known that Austin in my first love. The music! The art cars! The mind-boggling combination of NRA-loving Republicans and Nader-loving vegans! Austin loves me and I love it back, and nothing is going to change that. Even when I horrify everyone at Common Interest Karaoke with a wretched rendition of Rick Astley. Even when I run into old teacher friends, while posing naked. EVEN when I pee on myself and on the floor, in front of my fiance! Austin accepts me for who I really am, public embarrassments and all.

But let me say something, Sac. I miss you, ok? I miss your your coolly business-like exterior, the way you call your state governor "The Govenator." I miss eating buckets of smoked tofu at Crepeville, and I miss your gay bars with swimming pools. I miss my dentist. I miss your hidden vintage shops, your local fascination with fruit pies, your adorable little Victorian houses in Midtown AND all of your "America's Next Top Model" contestants (take that, L.A!). Mostly, I miss the people you (and Davis) gave me: funny, smart, beautiful friends who made me forget how much I longed for Austin (and who didn't slap me silly every time I whined about it).

So Sac, get your meter maids ready: I'm coming for you! Let's drink Californian wine just because we can, laugh smugly at any lounge lacking the "ultra-" prefix, and eat more sushi than is reasonably appropriate!

Love,

Tolly

Thrifty fashion fun...

Sorry so MIA this week everyone. Four Rare stories, VP debate!!, the gym. (Just kidding...I don't work out).

But I do have something to put on your calender. Next Friday everyone.

All the fun details:

Join us on Friday, October 10th, as we showcase the talent and creativity of Austin’s independent DIY fashion designers, makeup artists & models.

Runway Show
Treasure City Thrift
7-9PM, FREE
1720 East 12th St.
Pre-Show Dance Performance by The Bomb Squad
Music by DJ Bullet

After Party
10PM-2AM $5 Donation Benefits Treasure City
Victory Grill, 1104 E 11th St
Silent Auction of Runway Designs
Bands: The Always Already, {{{Sunset}}}, Blacklisted Individuals, Damp Heat

And guess who's in it y'all? Moi!