texasdago

Poor whiny grandpa... You know, this is how Trump thinks: "The courtroom is freezing to make ME uncomfortable" rather than "The courtroom is freezing. I'm not the only uncomfortable" Its always about meeeee

...and hey, in current Austin I can bump into @jimmyjazz at a show and see that Austin still turns out great new bands... and a lot of them TBH. For those who care, Money Chicha playing at Central Machine Works on Sunday. Which reminds me, Africa Night at the Sahara Lounge is one of the best things going in Austin...

Corporate in Chicago apparently announced that the whole company was shutting down. I would occasionally drop into the one on 2nd street for a coffee/pastry if I was DT in the morning but that was it. My wife and I were pointing out the one near the Austin mural since it looked like it had a really cool interior patio but, ah well, never mind. It never even achieved Old Austin status.

Give it time... its either going to fall over or have an electrical short.

OMG this thread. DO NOT scroll through this thread while leaving someone a voice mail. I was fake coughing when I saw this one...

Yeah, I'm down with this as long as its not rehashing the past which is what pisses me off. Funny we bring up Italy but its like my mom bitching about Rome of the 1960s versus the Rome of today. I have my own opinions of Rome of today but there's still plenty to love. I digress. You know what I love about today's Austin? Tacodeli's $10 margarita to go will get it done! (not my pic, not my wife)

My feet first touched the ground in Italy. Dago.

Its funny but when we lived in Houston, I would have never ever gone to a city pool. Austin's got a different thing going on with its pools, depending on where you are. My office is a few short blocks from Ramsey Pool in Rosedale. Come summertime it opens up and is a great place to jump in for a swim in what is some of the cooler pool water in Austin. They use a big aerator thing to recirculate the water and, man, it could be 100 degrees and that water feels great. I'll walk from my office and take a quick swim for lunch. Its amazing, clean and free. Its very old school, a bit run down (bathrooms are a time capsule) and quiet but its perfect. You have to envy the people who are lucky to live right along Ramsey Park. Place must be a perfect summer job for neighborhood kids. https://www.austintexas.gov/department/ramsey-pool

Usually we get lucky and park in the lot in the back or we try for one of the side streets. Which reminds me. Yeah, its changing but I love me some Clarksville and the two front yard ducks that live on Eason Street behind Howler Brothers. If I'm over there, I always walk over and say hello.

Old Austin will always find a reason to complain. Always. I'm going to focus on the good stuff about the Austin of today. Love that this was added to Pease Park. I think we'll swing by Eeyore's to check it out and to see "Weird" in all its glory.

I really like going to Bar Peached... great outdoor patio, food is really good, prices are surprisingly reasonable and there's lots of scenery. Y'all know prices in Austin and these prices are legit. And... I'm going to be very vulnerable here as the resident Italian but while I hate that they call it Bolognese, that dish is LEGIT, filling and only $17.00. Desano kicks ass

Yeah, Crown and Anchor's burgers and fries are legit. Had a friend visiting town with his wife for some dance competition and I sent them there. They were like, WTF, but then understood.

Bitchfest is over here -

They opened another one in South Austin... https://captquacks.com/

Focusing on the Austin of Today... I love what they've done at Cosmic Saltillo. I've been a big fan of Cosmic Coffee but Saltillo is so kickass, especially since you can drink there... go to a show at The Scoot Inn... and then go right on back. Not to mention, you can then work your way over to East 6th and allll the options there.

Taco Shack was where I first learned about breakfast tacos. I feel like it was called Taco Wars back then. 99 cent tacos. One favor Can we please please please not turn this into a "I miss old Austin thread?" I would love to keep this about Austin today... Austin in the present tense. Not, "I miss going to the Black Cat... waaaaah" There are other "I miss Old Austin threads" scattered through surly

As I said, I went to UT from 89-93. I have no qualms going to anything... and everything. F it. I don't care. (although I went to Latchkey with a group of friends... yeah, felt a little out of place there)

OK... I have seen the DJ at Party Island but never seen the band. That is hilarious. Also love it when there is a band on a Saturday morning along the trail... usually there to support the Trail Conservancy. https://thetrailconservancy.org/programs/music/#:~:text=The Trail Conservancy is thrilled,to your morning Trail routine.

Sweaty summer concerts at the Drop In... worth the humidity. Mmmmm burgers. These dudes better be back this summer... https://www.instagram.com/chuckwagon.burgers/

Yeah, you know... its funny... we met up with my brother at Irene's about two weeks ago. He was at UT in the mid/late 80s. For me it was 89-93. I loved Austin back then and let's be honest, I didn't really take advantage of everything it had to offer. I left Austin for many years but would come back all the time and I watched it change. Same goes for my brother. The change was just that... change... and it didn't phase me. Living in Houston, I always laughed at Austin traffic. It was piddly in comparison. When we came back, I saw that it was worse but still so minor compared to Houston so I try to use that perspective. Well, anyway, my brother and I were at Irene's and I asked him what he thought of the Austin of today and he said exactly what I was thinking... "I love it even more today" Yeah, its more expensive and that sucks BUT there is more live music than ever before and it is a broad mix of music. The food is better than it used to be. East side has all kinds of stuff going on. Breweries throughout town. Hiking trails and network has been improved. BSP has not changed a thing. There's more to do... UT has stepped up its gameday experience, Austin FC, etc. etc. Oh... and I hate the 1980s skyline. Lame ass skyline. Fight me. The new skyline kicks ass. I'm thinking of eventually leaving because of the climate and because of the dicks running this state but, for Texas, nowhere else I would rather be. I'll raise a toast to y'all when watching a show this weekend. Central Machine Works has some good bands both Saturday and Sunday if I don't make it to Psych Fest (or Briscoe tonight at Stubb's since someone is trying to convince me to go)

Well everyone knows the bottom of BSP is lined with liberal homeless people who had their bodies draped in LBGTQ flags. ...but when I'm not dodging them, give me a nice cold cocktail under the oak trees at Fresa's on S. 1st.

By the way, in case aggy tells you that the jizz jar story is not true, please refer to the last paragraph in this article: https://www.texasmonthly.com/the-culture/the-aggie-bonfire-tragedy/ From 2000... The problem with Bonfire is that it is red-ass (sometimes abbreviated as RA) culture run amok. The administration has never known quite what to do about it; it needs RA Aggies to uphold the school’s uniqueness and guard its traditions, but it doesn’t need drinking, hazing, racism, and strippers, and it has never figured out how to get one without the other. The redpot traditions exemplify RA culture. One is that no woman may set foot in a certain area of the stack site unless she has slept with a redpot; an Aggie who described herself as weighing 95 pounds wrote a letter to the student newspaper two years ago protesting that a redpot had shoved her when she breached the boundary to avoid a mud puddle. A wide-ranging witness statement given by a female member of the corps told how each group of redpots fills a jar with ejaculate and sets it atop the stack to burn.

Good God, BSP was a lifesaver last year. It was so absurdly hot that on days when it was 105+, we would go down to Barton Springs, jump in for a swim and then you could sit in the shade and feel air conditioned for the next hour. One of my favorite things about BSP is the community feel around the diving board... a mix of people showing off, doing crazy jumps, learning how to jump off of a board the first time and... the best... the whole pool cheering on a kid who is scared to jump off. Its beautiful. First visit to BSP this year was end of March...