Putting on some miles

Pulled into a parking space and just happened to notice that my car was RIGHT THEN rolling past 140,000 miles! Mr B has the same year and model (2000) and his has about 155,000 on it. I've never had a car that went this far!

And speaking of going a long ways, check out this hitchhiker I picked up on Friday. I was driving home in rush hour (and it IS an hour long commute but there's not much RUSH about it or I would get home in half that time) and I see this bold grasshopper riding outside on the passenger side. He moved around quite a bit, despite being blasted with winds as high as 50mph. Look at his antennae blown back by the wind. I started worrying about him (which seems to be my main pastime - worrying about stuff), because I was afraid he was going to be dislodged to meet with a sudden splat behind me, so I started driving more carefully - like having a baby on board. ;-)

He rode the car all the way home to the driveway after riding at least 5-6 miles, then flew away after I nudged him with a leaf.

I wonder if this was a joy ride or absolute terror for this awesome little dude?

Running to help

That's our Mayor, Lee Leffingwell, as Batman. It's a fitting choice of superhero for him because this is a bat-oriented city. The reason these folks are addressing the press dressed up like this is to promote the CASA Superhero Run on Sep. 30. CASA is "Court Appointed Special Advocates" and their purpose is to help abused kids to get into a safer situation. The motto of the run is "Every child needs a hero, but abused children need superheroes." This video is just too darned cute.

2011 CASA Superhero Run from CASA of Travis County on Vimeo.

On Oct 20 there will be a differently-themed run called the Austin Thong Jog, held in honor of the memory of Leslie and benefiting the homeless. This is the first one, so there's no archived footage, only this little promo.

A bit less dressed than the first event, but probably more dressed than this annual World Naked Bike Rise that Austin participates in every June.


The Thong Jog happens at the same time that MrB likes to ride his bike (in costume) in the Tour de Fat Parade so we might miss the underwear spectacle. I can't run or jog (with this misbehaving foot of mine) and never could ride a cycle with fewer than 3 wheels - so I'm pretty much a freak and a permanent spectator, but I'm glad for the folks who do get to play along.

Bessie's lost weight

This cow is always there and is not part of the Art Cow exhibit.

Under the Star

The new forecast from weather.com is even hotter than the one they issued last week. The 98° predicted for tomorrow (and forecasts vary a lot) is due to Tropical Storm Don - which is probably not going to bring us much more than a cloud passing by. The rest of the temps will be ridiculous. 106°? 107°? What? Ugh!!! (that's 41.666°C) (the .666 is Hell's fraction)

Despite the heat, we went out to see a bit of the awesome Cindy Cashdollar at the history museum, called Music Under the Star. A free show, and held outside. A fine night of Western Swing, and the patio was shaded from the blazing setting star by the museum building. Hoo. Ray. Also, TS Don brought around a light breeze.

There were also a few Art Cows, but I don't think they were meant to be ridden (as they are supposed to sold for charity). Hard to resist, though, I must admit. This one's called "Pi-cow-sso."

Gay For Satan

Some graffiti on the outside of Cheapo Records. This must be a band name or something, but I couldn't find them on the internet. Could be a garage/kid band.

Might be a takeoff on this band's name. (They seem to play here every SXSW). I see their genres listed are Hardcore, Queercore, and Screamo.

Screamo is wiki-defined using terms like Crunkcore, Powerviolence, and nintendocore. Music genres now need an entire dictionary. I wonder how many new terms are invented every day? It would definitely outpace Sarah Palin's book she is writing, called "Words and other stuff I made up."*


*I made that part up.

Saturday night with the Heathens

Went out to see one of our favorite bands to see live, The Band of Heathens, on Saturday night. A rather high-impact show for me these days since these 100°+ days we're having really drag me down, and standing up for 6-7 hours straight is tough on the old bones.

While waiting in line to get in, a man came along and gave us some free tickets! Saved us $30! (Also it made up for that fake "5 dollar bill" I picked up off the sidewalk.) They were comp tickets and there were a few pairs given out, we were glad to get them.

The song in the video is "Look at Miss Ohio," which is one of the few covers the band plays (this one comes from Gillian Welch) - and they do an energetic version with some cool Pink Floyd vibes in parts.

The Heathens are back out there on the road now, so if you like what you hear/see, check out their schedule.

You'll wear these again!

Seen on Sixth Street Early Saturday night. I counted the legs and came up with what looks like 14 women in black leotards/tights with magenta tutus. MrB amused me by suggesting that they were bridesmaids. Okaaaay, maybe not, but I guess anything is possible when it comes to bridesmaid and wedding fashion.

Disappointed?

Saw this laying on a Sixth Street sidewalk on Saturday night (the above photo is a re-creation of the actual event, and uses our patio as a stand-in for the sidewalk). At first glance it looked kind of fakey, like maybe counterfeit or something, but worth picking up.

Here it is, front and back view.

Yes, I was disappointed.

Roadside fish, very frightening

I didn't stop and get any Bondo Fish because pulling over to the side of the road in heavy traffic and shopping outdoors while it's over 100° is not pleasant. That's probably why these fish are so snarly...

... but cute.

(NOT) VERY FRIGHTENING

The very sad stump

Same boat

-- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

...no, really!

photo taken at Cheapo Records.

Street pianos

The new header (and the above photos) are from the street piano art project that was here during the month of April. They select artists from a city to decorate the pianos, then they are placed on the street where anyone who feels like it can play them. Austin had 14 pianos. Afterward, the pianos are donated to schools and such.

It's a traveling art project, with London, Geneva, and San Juan coming up next.

Here's the website: Street Pianos.

I didn't play this piano in the pic. I don't even remember how to play chopsticks. These days, if it's not a tambourine or a cowbell, I probably can't play it.

Wisdom from the BS Saloon

ummmm hmmmm.

Drive-by bubbling

Hey! I found your dentures!

Couldn't resist this logo seen on the trailer of "Big Jon Plumbing." And you thought you were having a shitty day at work.

Beep beep

Do you think they called each other before going to the store?

On a side note, you can tell just how small these parking places are. This is the right size car for them. I think they are really cute little cars but haven't driven one.

Om sweet om

Seen during tonight's commute:

Woodrow's Wits

Always a pleasure to drive by Little Woodrow's and see what the sign says this time.

Seen on Saturday

A gorgeous, perfect day in Austin, Texas. We had nothing planned so decided to go downtown and ride the new MetroRail in its debut week while it's still free, then have lunch at Cafe Mundi before it closes down. Started out stopping by the Library, where a yucca stem pressed itself against the eave and a bird built a nest at the top.

Also on the yucca was this green anole (which is brown for some reason)

Downtown at the train stop, the recorded voice informed us that MetroRail does not run on the weekend. OK. Drove over to Cafe Mundi and were sad to discover that it is already closed (apparently last week was it) and workers were there hauling stuff out of the building. Another favorite place bites the dust. {bummer}

Here's a person with a job that I hope I never have to do. On a day like today (80°) it's not horrible but in the summer it would suck.

MrB couldn't resist snapping this billboard. He is a sucker for cute animals or things that look like them. I guess this whisky-maker knows that.

Moving on from the Cafe Mundi disappointment, we went to this Lebanese restaurant that is located in a re-purposed Taco Bell. I love to see that! If you are local, this place is located right next to the Curra's Grill on Oltorf, and is a hell of a lot less crowded.

We stopped by the Farmer's Market and saw this car parked there. Something you don't see every day. To be honest, I barely took notice of it at first, just thinking somebody was pulling their boat (something to expect on a beautiful day).

How great is this thing? Pretty great.

Bumper Truth