Hyde And Seek

Last week I went to Hyde Park Theater for the first time since I've been in Austin. A very lovely friend of mine suggested it and even went so far as to buy my ticket.I met her there just before showtime and got a glass of wine before making our way to our seats.

It's a tiny little theater seating only about 30 odd playgoers. Very intimate and cozy, it's easy to get sucked into the production. We had perfect seating, front row center.
The play itself was a dark comedy/drama based in the midwest about a somewhat estranged brother and sister coping with the death of a father who suffered from dimensia. It started by making the audience leave their seats and walk outside where we became a part of the play. Nothing like a little interactive theater. I won't bore you by going in depth into the play, but the interaction between the actors was wonderful, and dark and sad and funny... Sometimes all at once.

After the show, we walked over to Vino Vino (Also her idea). A lovely little wine bar there in the Hyde Park area and shared a bottle of cabernet franc domain de la noblaie les chien-chien.

Of course you know I would have to pick a bottle of wine whose name is dog related... But it was a really excellent 100% cab franc.

We also split a cheese plate, leaving up to our server the three cheeses and assortment of fruit.

Everything was so good, and it's nice to share some culture, some entertainment and some good conversation.

San Antonio Stroll

Happy New Year!
Myself, I'm headed to San Antonio to the St Anthony Hotel. I'll spend the eve on the riverwalk eating good food, drinking good alcohol and at midnight I'll try to find a pretty girl to kiss.

Have fun, be safe and here's to a better year next year.

Slice Of Heaven

I felt the need last night for just a little casual personal time... Nothing fancy. Pizza and a movie (the new Bond flick, I highly recomend it) sounded like just the ticket, so I headed down to SoCo (South Congress Ave) to Home Slice Pizza for a bite and a beer.

I'd picked up pizza from there before, but never eaten in. It's a neat experience.

Since the wait for a table was a half hour, I opted to sit at the bar. The bar faces the prep area and you get to watch them make the pies.

Pie after pie after pie. That place rolls in the dough, pun intended.

These guys are fast. It's really impressive to watch guys who know what they are doing and obviously enjoy doing it... Mash, mash, mash... Twirl, twirl, twirl... Top it, rack it and on to the next one.

My barmaid was a dark haired amazon who towered over everone else behind the bar. She was really sweet, and suggested Brooklyn Lager to go with my meal. Not a bad brew if a little light for me.

I had a slice of their margarita pizza (tomatos, cilantro with a bit of a tang, really good... kind of interesting) and a slice of pepperoni.

I went to the movies in a good mood and satisfied. And if you haven't seen Quantum of Solace... Go... Of course you need to have seen Casino Royale first... So do that and then go... But by all means, GO!

Gruene With Envy

"At a dance hall down in Texas

That's the finest place to be

The women all look beautiful

And their men will buy your beer for free"

-Lyle Lovett

Yesterday afternoon I headed down to Gruene, Texas (say Green) to Gruene Hall and met up with some friends to see Redd Volkaert play.

Gruene Hall is the oldest dance hall in all of Texas. Redd is a Grammy nominated (three times now) guitar player.

The hall is much bigger than it looks from the front... It stretches way out back.

Redd is a Hell of a guitar player and the musical stylings, while mostly country, ranged into some damn good rock and roll.

The Venue is exactly what you'd expect when you hear the words "Texas Dance Hall".

A couple of the guys and myself decided to get a picture with Redd... A great time was had by all.

So, if you ever find yourself in Gruene, Tx, stop by the dance hall, have a beer and listen to some good music.

Who Are You Calling A Turkey?

Happy Thanksgiving all. This year I am doing nothing... Well, nothing much.

Jack and I went for a morning run, spent some time at the dog park and then came down to the pub for a pint of Guinness and a bowl of water.

What better place to be than among friends, with good food, good alcohol and great fellowship?

God bless each of you. Have a safe and happy day.

MMMMMMmmmmmmmmm...

Up Chukker

Yesterday I spent a rah-thur pleasant afternoon at the Austin Polo club. There were several of my friends there. We had a wide variety of beer, snacks, real food, and mimosas. We lounged under a small tent, ate, drank and were quite merry.

Between matches we went out onto the pitch and stomped divots. It was all quite civilized.

After it was over a couple of us stayed late, drinking champagne and discussing polo, among other things, with the lovely woman who arranged the whole thing.

*A chukker is a period of polo play lasting 7.5 minutes.

Blunk Drogging

Mebbee not, but it could happen if I'm not careful. I took today off despite an intuition that begged me not to. I needed some me time... Or some down time or something. So, after a busy morning of throwing tennis balls and standing in the sun saying "Good boy, Jack", I strapped my kayak to the top of my Jeep with the best of intentions and ended up sitting at the pub drinking guinness.

I don't come here as often as I once did, due to some past personal disruptions, but I'm coming back more and more. I love this place. In case you didn't notice, it's the only banner ad on my site and I provide it free.

The staff is friendly and good at what they do... John, the publican, has become a good friend to me, and although the regular crowd has moved about and changed there is usualy a familiar face at the bar.

The interior was built in Ireland and reassembled inside the building here. There is something about the feel of real wood and the taste of Guinness from clean lines and taps That just makes me, if not happy, less unhappy.

Erin go braugh... and Riley's go braugh as well.

Sun Day Redux

This weekend was pretty nice. I worked Saturday of course, I always do... and spent Saturday night puttering around the house. I accomplished nothing, but who cares.

Sunday morning Jack and I had a nice 7.5 mile stroll. The weather was beautiful. My friend M decided to play turtle and hang around his house all day yesterday, so I stopped over there for a few beers and various sporting events on TV before venturing out on my own.

Jack and I hit various bars with decks sitting in the fresh air having a beer or two then moving on. I even got next week's tatoo picture.

We ended the night sitting with two lovely ladies at the Key Bar on west 6th getting nicely squiffed. All in all a very pleasant Sunday.

Wine Makes Us Princes...

...Love makes us beggars. -Wycherly

Last night I loaded Jack in the Jeep and we made a return to Uncorked.

The back deck was deserted on this Labor Day night, but the hostess had Jack a bowl of water before I could sit down.

I gave her my order, not realizing she was the hostess. She took it and off she went. I didn't realize my mistake until my waiter showed up with my wine. Most places the hostess will say "Your waiter will be right with you."

Nope, she took good care of me.

At the end of my visit, I gave her a rose that I just happened to have with me (Long Story).

The weather was cool and there was a nice breeze.

I had a few glasses of Educated Guess Cabernet and the meat platter. The platter was a lazy susan with prosciutto, Genoa salami, chorizo, Gouda cheese, Italian bread and some melon slices.

Perfect for munching along with Kipling's Just So Stories which I just happened to have with me (Different long story).

The platter was very filling and I even shared quite a bit with Jack.

After I was just about full I asked about ports. I am a big fan of good port. Our waiter brought me samples of a Spanish and an Australian port type wine. The Australian stuff was quite good, so I finished up the night with a glass of Dustchke (pronounced Dootch-key). It was a little sweet, but I survived nicely.

All in all a pleasant evening. Just about what I expected.

Sun Day

I like my Sundays. I don't have to work... Usually. I do my walk early in the morning when the air is sweet with dew.

Jack is full of piss and vinegar, and my disposition is usually a little better too. Usually.

Seven and a half miles is no joke, but it seems to go quickly. It takes just under two hours including a stop at the dog park.

By the time I get home I usually have a text message waiting for me from my friend M. Brunch here or there. Sometimes just him and me, sometimes others.

My favorite is going to Opal Divine's so Jack can join us. Jack is especially well behaved after the long walk on Sunday.

I like to get there a little early so I can sip a glass of iced milk in the sunshine and solitude.

M is a good conversationalist, and we discuss everything from politics, history and law to the fact we have seen a lot of one particular type of car lately.

M is going out of town this week. I think I will still go to Opal's. I'll miss the conversation, but I enjoy my personal time too. I also enjoy the banana pancakes and Jack enjoys the attention from the waitresses (and the little pieces of pancake I slip to him).

If you happen to be near 6th and Rio Grand around 10:30-11 on Sunday, look for the guy with the tenuous hold on inner peace and a blue heeler that looks like he thinks he needs a bite of a banana pancake.

Disclosure

I was feeling pretty depressed on Monday. I worked a 12.5 hour shift at work. After I went home, I took my nephew and his wife to Eddie V's on 5th street. We had a great meal and some bourbon... Well, a lot of bourbon... A lot of bourbon. We stayed out until the last bar closed at 2.

At 7am yesterday I rolled out of bed, took an alkaseltzer, brushed my teeth and threw Jack in the jeep.

Before 8 we were at the place I wanted to spend my birthday morning. There is a pool of clear blue water and a little trickling waterfall. No people. I even beat the park rangers there.

I stripped down to my skivvies and dived in the pool. I would have skinny dipped, but it is public land and no one needs to be exposed to that.

Jack and I swam for almost an hour.

Just as I was getting out of the water, I heard a rumbling noise. Then the little trickle of a waterfall exploded into a gushing torrent. In 30 seconds the water went from my knees to my waist. Luckily we were on the same side of the stream as the Jeep because the path across disappeared.

I got out and dressed just as it started to sprinkle. We danced and played in the rain like the heathens we are. A ball washed up stream to us, so I threw it for Jack and he ran across the rocks at full tilt.

It was great. The cold water, the cold rain, the fresh air. It was as though it washed away my sins for a few hours.

After, I took my guests to the Texas Chili Parlor for lunch, we saw a movie, took Jack to the dog park, and on to BD Rileys. We shared pints with friends, Had a late dinner at Hut's Hamburgers (mine was buffalo meat), listened to some blues at Friends and back to the house and bed.

Rabbit an his wife are on their way back to NC and I'm back at work.

Thank you for all your well wishes and birthday greetings. It was a good day.

Winey Baby

In my quest to expand my horizons, last night I decided to hit a relatively new place here in Austin.

Everyone knows that I am a quality beer and bourbon drinker. What not many people know is that I like good wine also. I don't really know a damn thing about wine per se, but I know good wine when I try it.

So, after calling to make sure their deck was dog friendly, Jack and I stopped at Uncorked Tasting Room and Wine Bar.

With a long name like that I was expecting a pretentious place filled with urbanites of the type that make my skin crawl... And there was some of that, but I actually found myself liking the place anyway.

It's located on 7th St. east of I-35 and the back deck offers a cool view of downtown from the capitol dome to the frost bank tower.

While the clientele didn't have a lot of use for a blue heeler and his black t-shirted, blue jeaned owner, our waiter Andrew was very friendly and informative. I had no idea what to try, so I told him I like dark beer, bourbon rocks and red meat. He told me to try the Nappa Vally flight. 2oz each of a zinfandel, a syrah and a cabernet. Very tasty, especially the Educated Guess Cab.

They also have meat and cheese plates, salads and the such. Next time you're feeling urbane and pretentious, stop by and try it out. It's definitely worth the experience.

UPDATE:

Second Trip

Random Thought

I've been in kind of a bad mood lately. I've been doing the whole bipolar thing for a while, and the week before was pretty good... This week not so much.

Work has been slow. My personal life has been non-existant. I have one really good friend locally, and most of the time I wonder why he puts up with me.

Three mornings a week I do the gym thing, the other mornings Jack and I do the dog park.

It's nice. It's not crowded at all at 7am. We climb in the Jeep while the Texas morning is still damp enough to be somewhat cool and drive down 6th st. through an almost deserted downtown. All the bars are closed and the sidewalks are empty save the bus stops and the homeless.

At the park the lot is always full of jogger's cars, but I can squeeze the Jeep in somewhere.As soon as we cross the South 1st st. bridge Jack starts bouncing around in the back... He knows.

The smells start to relax me even before we park. The grass, the river, whatever the hell is blooming at any given time... The dog poop. Hey, it's all part of the experience.

Sometimes I grab a tennis ball out of the Jeep, but most of the time we find one or two on the riverbank.

I don't know why I bother with that though, because most of the time he's too preoccupied to chase it. You know, things to sniff, things to pee on... Most of the time the same things.

As for me it's just nice to stand in the shadow of the city listening to the birds and the wind in the trees knowing that my day has yet to go to Hell.

Revolting Situation

July 14th marks the anniversary of the storming of the Bastille and the beginning of the French revolution.

Here in Austin is the French Legation, built as an embassy to the Republic of Texas in 1841.

Saturday night was the Bastille day celebration at the French Legation. It's only about a mile from my house, and yet I'd never been there. When a friend of mine invited me out, I decided it would be a pleasant way to spend the evening.

There was wine and food and a silent auction. I had no wine, I didn't eat, and I bid on nothing. I did however juggle with some of the entertainers, listen to French and Creole music and laugh at the French cars (One Citroen had a flat two cylinder engine).

I got there around 8pm so it wasn't too hot and it was actually nice in the shade.

I do have to say, they had the worst imitation guillotine I've ever seen, and the guy opperating it was wearing a striped polo shirt and a lone ranger mask... But it was pretty funny seeing all the people going up to get their pictures taken with their head on the block.

I came straight from work, so I didn't bring my camera. All photos were taken by my buddy M.

So Tired

Well, I got up early yesterday and beat the sun to the park for my morning walk. I was surprised how many people were on the hike and bike trail that early on a Sunday, but I had on my headphones and just shut them all out. Seven and a half miles around stopping every two or so to do 10 pushups.

I hit the house for a shower and then down that dusty trail. Thirty miles out of Austin I had a blowout on the Jeep. Rear driver side tire went kablooie. No idea why. By the time I got stopped and pulled into a safe area, it was shredded. It was only about 85 degrees by then, but luckily we finally had some clouds and the humidity had spiked.

My spare tire is an old one with 70,000 miles on it. Not wanting to get stuck out in the middle of nowhere with three wheels I headed back into town.

I went out for some reflection, but the only thing that got reflected was my dirty, sweaty, angry countenance in the rear view mirror. Everywhere I tried to go was thronged with people... Loud annoying people in cars with the windows down playing rap music.

OK, maybe it wasn't that bad, but it sure seemed that way to me.
On top of everything, a new tire for that monster is around $250. Two hundred fifty on top of a budget already stretched too tight as it is.

Yeah, great stress reliever this whole thing turned out to be. I should have more great ideas like this...

UPDATE:

More good news! Called the tire shop... Two of my tires have full replacement warranties, two don't. Don't know which one this is yet. Anybody want to lay any bets? 50/50 odds...

Not to mention the closest shop with the right tire is Grand Prarrie, TX... It'll be here in two days.

UPDATE 2:

I'd have lost my own bet. It was under waranty. There was a nail that caused a slow leak, as the sidewall bowed out the heat, stress and speed ripped it apart.

$24.27 total. I just have to wait 2 days for it to arrive. So, now I'm going to endose Discount Tire... The one in Georgetown, TX anyway. Thanks tire dudes.

Trip And Falls

First off let me start by saying, "No. I am not better."

The dreams have abated somewhat, but I'm still pretty miserable. I've decided to continue to post, but I'm not sure how I came to that conclusion. As per the usual I'll not post on specific problems that I have, but you'll probably notice a subdued tone... at best. That being said...

I went on a little trip to McKinney Falls park in SE austin. It's only about 20 mins from the house. I'm searching for stuff to get the bugs out of my brain. It's a good day trip if you live around here. They say a picture is worth a thousand words. Here's a few K.

Scenes like this always make me think of The Planet of the Apes.

That white spot is a heron (or crane) catching fish

I don't know what these are, but there was just one plant in the middle of a bunch of scrub brush.

The lower falls at the park

The other side of the "Apes scape" where Onion creek cut through the limestone.

The new buff K-nine. The background is a 30' drop to the creek. This picture doesn't do the view justice.

Stairs, rails and a bridge in the middle of the woods.

The upper falls. Turtle on rock, one in the water., little bitty waterfall

The old Mckinney homestead ca. 1840. It's fenced off so I couldn't explore.

Prickly Pear in bloom

I sat there waiting for him to stick out his head. He did, I lifted the camera and he ducked.

Happy, happy, joy, joy. The drop behind me is 20'+. Most folk know I'm afraid of heights so this was a huge step for me.

Pool Skewed

I have had some professional and personal turmoil in my life for a while. It has recently been compounded by some very personal turmoil. No, I'm not dying... Far as I know.
I know my mother hates when I complain about my birthday, but I know I have a birthday curse and I dare anyone to try to disprove it. My birthday is three weeks from yesterday, and if I could hide in a dark cave I would. That is not what this is about, however. This is a Mi Tejas post.
Yesterday I awoke early, puttered around the house, went to work for a couple hours, then headed for the pub. None of the regulars were there, so after sharing some fried pickles with Kat the barmaid I wandered across the street to Buffalo Billiards.

BB's is a HUGE pool hall/bar/live music venue/God knows what else. Sunday at lunchtime it was deserted. I got a rack of balls and a Shiner Bock and punched the cueball around the table for a while. I got a table close enough to the front window I could people watch.
That may sound boring to some, and I suppose it is, but that is part of Mi Tejas.

Side note: My pool game reeks. I used to be pretty good, but I suck now. As if I wasn't down enough already.

Reel Lines (11) Sunday Matinée

Holly Golightly: What do you do, anyway?

Paul Varjak: I'm a writer, I guess.

Holly Golightly: You guess? Don't you know?

Paul Varjak: OK, positive statement. Ringing affirmative. I'm a writer.

Yesterday I found myself with some time to kill, so I thumbed through the Austin Chronicle for a tip on what to do with two and a half hours. The Paramount Theater had a Sunday afternoon showing of Breakfast at Tiffany's. Not one of my favorite movies, but a decent film none the less. So off I went.The Paramount is a grand old theater... Not like those cold sterile things you see nowadays. Built around 1915 it still serves for stage and film. I've been there to see Leo Kottke twice, Tom Rush, Joe Satriani with Eric Johnson and Dave Grissom, and a wonderful Scottish Christmas music program that my artsy friend Eva gave me tickets to. This was the first time I'd come to see a film here. I bought my ticket at the box office outside, a real ticket taker in a bow tie tore it. I made my way to the bar (Oh, yes... The bar) and got a Maker's and Coke, a small popcorn and some junior mints. I made my way to my seat just as the opening credits were rolling. I took some pictures of the screen and of the theater, but I forgot to bring my camera with me to post them. Maybe later.I know that I knew in the back of my mind that George Peppard was in this film, but I guess I forgot. Remember, I was a pre-teen and teenager in the '80's so to me Peppard was Col. John "Hannibal" Smith of the A-Team.That notwithstanding, it was a great way to escape the hectic everyday life that I live. I think I'm going to make this part of my routine now. Not every Sunday, but they have shows throughout the week. Tonight is The Asphalt Jungle with Marilyn Monroe in her film noir stage. We'll see if I can work it in.

Right Off The Bat.

A group of the regulars from the pub loaded up today to head for Arlington Texas to watch a little baseball. Red Sox vs our very own Texas Rangers. After a short three hour jaunt we arrived at the stadium. Everybody got their tickets? Good.

Inside, right by our section we found the Dublin Up Irish Pub. Vitamon G on tap. Woo-hoo! Guinness and baseball... What could be better than that? Oh, yeah, jumbo dogs.

Out the back door of the pub were our seats. I took this picture from my seat in fact. Location, location, location.

And then of course was the ball game. The man at the plate? Sammy Sosa. No homers today though. This picture was also taken from my seat, no zoom lens.

Out Of The Red, And Into The Black

With my next paycheck it will be official, my financial woes will be gone. I won't be rich, but I'll be able to do stuff again. The signifing event was the last Naked Lunch Special. I am going to be able to take days off to do research. Since I know there are those out there who have issues with that reoccuring feature, I will be starting an additional one:

Mi Tejas. I have been here for six years now. I know of some really cool things around here. Some I've done before, some I've wanted to for a long time. From now on most Sundays I will be doing something local. Taking some pics and writing some thoughts. On the list:

*The Austin Guitartown Project. Who doesn't love 10 foot tall guitars each with origonal artwork and a different theme scattered all over town.




*Zilker Park. Beautiful botanicals.



*Live Music. It is, after all the live music capitol of the world.



*Spelunking. I can cave with the best of them.



*Fredericksburg. German Texans and the only War in the Pacific museum on the mainland (Nimitz's hometown).



I'm not promising once a week, but I will promise fun pictures and informative reviews. Yesterdays trip to the Alamo Drafthouse was the inspiration. If I don't see ya 'round here, I'll see ya 'round, hear?