(stroke the pussies) Balcones Ranch [15 May 2008|01:45am] austincommunity [floha] I'm wondering if any other LJer's live in Balcones Ranch.. and more specifically if any other residents are having the same parking issues that I'm going through. Management has ignored me, despite having quoted their own policies to them, but I don't want to fight it if I'm the only one. Anyone?

(10 purrs | stroke the pussies) Heads up! [15 May 2008|12:42am] austincommunity [spammityspam] I know there've been some epic quests for Wii stuff recently, so: I work at the Blockbuster on Burnet & Koenig and we just got a huge box full of $10 used Wii Wheels for Mario Kart. They all look brand-new to me and I'm pretty sure actual new ones are at least $15 at Target or Fry's.  Also, we got a Wii a few days ago but it was bought about 3 hours after we put it out. If one lasts long enough for me to get home and post about it, I'll put it on hold for the first commenter! Also, the $14.99 pre-owned table, which was once the two-for-$20 table, is now 3-for-$20. This means one of the movies you buy is about 2/3 free and another is completely free. Generally speaking they've been viewed about once; they're old rental copy, and since corporate's been sending us, say, 800 copies of I Am Legend, many of them haven't been viewed at all.. As for new stuff, we just got a shipment of great old movies, most of which are $10 or under, including things like Apocalypse Now and Basic Instinct 2-discs. ...That sounded like I love my company a lot more than I do. BUT YES! Cheap stuff at Blockbuster. I have no clue how long the 3-for-$20 thing is going to last, so if there's anything out in the last six months or so you want to buy, now is the time. PS: I had this triple-cream Brie once and it made my life worth living. Does anybody know where I can get some really, really, really good cheese? HEB ain't cuttin' it. And is there anywhere I can get European sweets, like Kinder eggs or Tim Tams or McVitty's Digestive Biscuits? Thanks!

(stroke the pussies) last minute thoughts on rustbelt... [15 May 2008|01:45am] multimediagrl [ mood | awake ] just fyi to all participating.. the Buffalo team is repping the Njozi poets, not Nickel City. Which is cool! lots going on! That being said, I'm still thinking of coming just to check it out, one or two nights.. anyone passing through? or should I pay my AAA card and trust my poor little car? I may be able to pack 'em up, just to watch & learn, make friends, but a few of the NC poets have kids, so not sure who can be spontaneous. I'll check at the meeting. And what hotel are y'all staying at? ~~~~~~~~~~ And just so y'all know, even if I don't call, I listen to your stuff on my ipod when it's late. It's like seeing you again.

(18 purrs | stroke the pussies) More hail up to baseball size possible now. Crossing Austin. [15 May 2008|12:32am] austincommunity [austinindiecast] Severe wind gusts and it is not impossible that this storm works up a tornado before it is through Travis, as well.

(1 purr | stroke the pussies) Watching Doctor Who [15 May 2008|12:53am] aurorabell and tinkering

(stroke the pussies) *Squee!* [14 May 2008|11:32pm] jennifervescent Went to the Shinyribs show at Threadgills tonight and it was as awesome as usual. Finally talked to Kevin Russell (Shinyribs and Gourds lead guy) and gave him a big bear hug. He's the most beautiful man. I'm such a fanatic.  His music just transports me. However, I should not mix drinking and listening to James Blunt on the way home. Blame it on the rain.  Damn, I've gotta stop drinking if it makes me this yearn-y.  Doesn't take much. Feh.

(1 purr | stroke the pussies) Rust Belt Draw [15 May 2008|12:31am] scottwoods   Who is facing who in the first round of the Rust Belt? http://rustbeltpoetryslam.rewritingovid.com/teams.php

(stroke the pussies) Looky This [14 May 2008|09:23pm] sandringall [ mood | happy ] http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20021104 http://www.abneypark.com/ ummmmmmm........coolness incarcerated. I've been collecting Victoriana and pirate stuff for years now, never realized it was a "trend".

(stroke the pussies) This Week's Moment of Artistic Beauty aka I Need To Get Out More [14 May 2008|10:14pm] brazencaucasian So I'm at the local Menard's on Sunday(like a Home Depot but much classier, for real) picking up some vent clamps and a pooper scooper to give my Dad for his b-day from my dog. I hear a piano instrumental version of Van Morrison's "Moondance" which is always nice and I've been on a bit of a Van Morrison kick lately (more so than Van Halen. Bizarre!). So i approach the moving walkway to get to the second floor and sure enough, right there is an actual dude playing an actual piano (i told you it was classy). This guy was rocking the fuck out. He's mouthing the words, stomping the pedals, and doing some improv tinkling. Keep in mind, he's wearing a suit, is about 50 and balding, and nobody but me is paying any attention. so i'm staring at this guy while i'm on the moving walkway and he looks up in the middle of his rock out and gives me a nod like "you know it bro!". got my Momma's Day off right.

(1 purr | stroke the pussies) You know youre too involved in burlesque when... [14 May 2008|08:07pm] gunstreetgirl78 ...you're watching the weather alerts for the tornados heading your way and after noticing the conical symbol they use for said twister, you think "why is there a pastie on the map??"

(9 purrs | stroke the pussies) itty bitty kitties! [14 May 2008|07:45pm] austincommunity [starshide] A friend and I have rescued some kittens from under her neighbor's shed. So, if you're in the market for some amazingly adorable kittens, please click! ( more pics and info! ) Feel free to contact me at claireby at gmail if you are interested!

(4 purrs | stroke the pussies) Tornado Warning includes northwestern Travis & southwestern Williamson [14 May 2008|07:51pm] austincommunity [austinindiecast] Edit: It does appear that this warning is not a false alarm. A likely tornado is heading towards populated sections of the larger metro area. In addition to one or more tornadoes pushing towards I35, these cells are capable of producing severe wind gusts and very large hail. ( Read more... ) TORNADO REPORTS NOW COMING IN FROM BURNET -- THERE ARE SEVERAL PORTIONS OF THIS STORM EASILY DROPPING TORNADOES AT THIS TIME 9pm NOW PASSING VERY NEAR TO LAGO VISTA & JONESTOWN ... HEADING JUST SLIGHTLY SOUTH OF DUE EAST - COULD RIDE EASTBOUND EITHER SIDE OF RR620 TOWARDS 183&620... 11pm The tornado-producing supercell is now well out of our general area.

(1 purr | stroke the pussies) northwest auto detailing recs [14 May 2008|07:28pm] austincommunity [dinaofdoom] i live in the anderson mill/parmer/183 area and need to get my car detailed tomorrow. lj seek yielded some recommendations but the phone number for some of the places are disconnected (first class auto detail in particular). any recommendations? i don't have a BMW or anything fancy, my car is just REALLY dirty. i have a friend visiting from out of town and will be playing chauffeur for a week, road tripping, etc. so i feel like it needs a super extra good cleaning inside and out. i am trying to be the hostess with the mostess, ya know? thanks!

(11 purrs | stroke the pussies) Train in Vain [14 May 2008|06:27pm] fengi Here's an issue you'd think at least one candidate would embrace, as it addresses many current woes: public transit. Alas conservative / libertarian fucktards branded transit as socialism unless it could pay for itself. Even though the road system - the single largest transit expense for every level of government - wouldn't exist if it wasn't almost entirely taxpayer subsidized. It's not just that the car seemed good and boundless while bus and train involved sharing (eeewwwww!). People prefer panaceasand cars seemed flexible enough to meet all needs. The auto also meant less need for organized growth. Pave it, build it and let individual vehicle owners deal with the consequences. Only a few metro areas retained a multifaceted system - the most successful cites, but let's not rub it in. So America sprawled all over, ignoring arcane concepts such as centralized planning and travel distances as quality of life. Until recently: Gas Prices Send Surge of Riders to Mass Transit ...Mass transit systems around the country are seeing standing-room-only crowds on bus lines where seats were once easy to come by. Parking lots at many bus and light rail stations are suddenly overflowing, with commuters in some towns risking a ticket or tow by parking on nearby grassy areas and in vacant lots. “In almost every transit system I talk to, we’re seeing very high rates of growth the last few months,” said William W. Millar, president of the American Public Transportation Association...But the biggest surges - of 10 to 15 percent or more over last year - are occurring in many metropolitan areas in the South and West where the driving culture is strongest and bus and rail lines are more limited." The manager of the MBTA spins this as economic health, "If we are in a recession or economic downturn, we should be seeing a stagnation or decrease in ridership, but we are not...Fuel prices are without question the single most important factor that is driving people to public transportation." I disagree, as previous drops in ridership indicated people could afford to drive instead. People riding trains because cars cost to much is a downturn. Which brings up another problem: But meeting the greater demand for mass transit is proving difficult. The cost of fuel and power for public transportation is about three times that of four years ago, and the slowing economy means local sales tax receipts are down, so there is less money available for transit services. Higher steel prices are making planned expansions more expensive. ( After basing a nation on the car, is it too late for mass transit to save it? Does anyone even dare ask? Could the auto be evidence of why free market evangalism is stupid? )

(stroke the pussies) Mundane [14 May 2008|06:00pm] superherojen [ mood | accomplished ] [ music | Sublime ] This morning, I woke up at 5am to a horrible CRASH of thunder. I'd been asleep for almost 3 hours after having watched Resident Evil 2 & 3. That was SO uncool. After pacing around, I went back to sleep. Woke up just in time to realize I had about 45 minutes to get to the gym for my session with Suzanne. Totally great session, by the way. I felt awesome! We focused less on my legs so that I can go hiking tomorrow and not feel like death. Next was Freebirds for lunch with David, and then the best, well-deserved nap =) This afternoon, I took part in the rescue of a cat and a snake. My friend Erica called me to catch a cat that has been troubling her for a while now, which is fine. I don't mind doing things like that if it keeps the animals out of the hands of animal control. When I got there, she hadn't seen the cat in awhile, but a snake had found its way next to her front doorstep. She WALKED OVER IT to come outside! No worries. Cell phone + Apartment complex phone number = maintenance in 5 minutes or less. The maintenance guy came over with a pool net and captured it, but not before I got some really cool pictures (Will edit later, add pics). Lucky for me, the snake has been returned to an area of wilderness that he can feel at home. He was TOTALLY cool looking! I'm still not sure what kind of snake it was, but it was about 2 1/2 to 3 feet long, and had eaten recently enough for his belly to be largely distended. I'm thinking small rodent or bird. Tasty. So then, having not seen the cat since last night, we sat in the living room and chatted for a couple of hours. After awhile, I was thinking about leaving, when I saw this white-ish fluffy thing walking next to my car - it was the kitty! She is GORGEOUS! (Will edit later, add pics) She appears to be around a year old or so by my guess and in reasonably good health. I'm keeping her until Friday to see if anyone claims her or shows any interest in keeping her. After that, I'm going to find a no-kill shelter to take her to. Maybe the SPCA. So, anyone want a kitty?

(11 purrs | stroke the pussies) one more political question for the day [14 May 2008|06:07pm] pinata Does an Obama-Edwards ticket make anyone else hot? Just saw the tail end of the endorsement speech, and they looked GREAT together.

(6 purrs | stroke the pussies) Digital Camera....repair?!? [14 May 2008|05:29pm] austincommunity [blackglue] My Sony DSC T-1 digital camera has decided to stop working (and I bought it on craigslist...buyer beware!). Any ideas where a guy could take a used digital camera to get repaired in this town?

(stroke the pussies) Berkeley Finals Recap [14 May 2008|03:17pm] chazellik [ mood | relieved ] Oh, folks, this was an incredible event, our annual TEAM FINALS! We had a packed house (of course!) and raised our most funds ever for our team! The poetry and performances were stellar, in part because the scores remained close and competition was HEATED! Also, in part because these poets simply do not know how to compete half-assed. ---Before announcing the team, THANKS go out to all our volunteers, our staff, to ALL THE POETS who competed for the team this year. The Berkeley slam has gone through major changes this season and emerged re-invigorated, stronger, and better attended! This is in no small part due to our loyal and supportive fans, who make all this possible! Thank you for your support! ---High score of Round 1 went to Christian, though props should be given to Laura Yes Yes, who drew the “A”, performed a new poem, and STILL boosted scores up to a 27.3, minimizing score creep. Our judges took their jobs seriously, most kept track of the scores, so both “7’s” and “10’s” were handed down clear through the finale. ---High score of R2 went to Abe, who absolutely RIPPED his piece, “Psychiatric Drugs” and moved into first place by a tenth of a point! On his heels, Christian and Jason Bayani. Bayani also had a break-out performance with “35 To The Ocean”, but suffered a .5 time penalty. Things looked grim for Laura Yes Yes and Joyce, both of whom were considered major contenders but languished in 6th & 7th, respectively. Matt Blesse moved into 5th and The Poet “I” held on to 4th. ---In R3, nothing less than a heart-stopping performance and scintillating writing would cut the mustard. It was also in this round where we got to see some of our talented newcomers falter, as they simply didn’t have enough major works to survive the brutal qualifying process. There were essentially two battles going on: Abe, Christian, and Bayani for the win; Blesse, Laura, and Joyce fighting for 5th and a berth on the team. ---High score of R3 and the night went to Christian for “Blood Bank”, 29.8, giving him 1st and the Coveted Golden Macaroni Belt. Bayani’s “Tigres & Euphrates” earned a 29.5 and gave him 2nd overall. Had he not gotten a time penalty... Abe earned one of the night’s top scores, but in this rarified environment it was only enough to earn a very respectable 3rd. Poet “I” confirmed everyone’s predictions by remaining solid throughout and finishing 4th with “Case Of The Mondays”. Laura praised “The Body Beautiful” and made the team, barely! In her own words, it was the hardest she’s ever worked in a slam! Here are the numbers: ----- Christian: 28.3, 27.6, 29.8 =85.7 Jason: 27.5, 28.4, 29.5 =85.4 (-.5 time) Abe: 27.4, 28.6, 28.5 =84.5 “I”: 27.5, 27.8, 28.1 =82.9 (-.5 time) Laura: 27.3, 26.5, 28.6 =82.4 --------- Matt: 27.4, 26.6, 27.1 =81.1 Joyce: 27.5, 26.1, 27.2 =80.7 Andrew: 25.1, 26.8, 27.6 =79.5 Dre: 26.0, 25.5, 27.3 =51.5

(3 purrs | stroke the pussies) Long, sweaty walks and pet peeves [14 May 2008|02:22pm] thesoniashow Yeah, so, I just got back from my hour-long lunchtime stroll and it’s damn hot out. It’s 94! Whew. Needless to say, I think I’ll be doing some shopping in an air-conditioned building during tomorrow’s lunch break. Pet peeves alert! People who lie on meme surveys. That’s so sad. Just because you put it in a meme survey doesn’t make it true. Also, bicyclists who yell, "On your left! On your left! On your left! On your left! On your left," while I'm walking on the trail by my office, even though I've acknowledged their "On your left" the first time and already moved over for them. So anyway, while having dinner at my folks’ place last night I hopped on the scale. I’ve lost about 10 pounds during the last month. It looks like eating all those apples, doing all that yoga and taking those extra long walks with Homer are paying off. Yay!

(stroke the pussies) slow. [14 May 2008|01:00pm] karinotvery Originally published at wish you were here. You can comment here or there. I’m waiting on a few things: emails, days, the end of a story. You know, the usual. Actually, I started writing a poem last week, and it may take awhile to finish it. My brain needs to actually switch from writing poetry to fiction, so I need some breathing space to let that happen. As of yesterday, I turn 30 in 3 weeks. Now, I’m one of those people who’s looking forward to it, and here’s why. For one thing, even though I’m a constantly evolving person, I feel like I can take changes with some amount of grace and humor, something for most of my 20’s I never really could get with. I’ve done a lot of cool stuff in my 20’s (which I’ll probably have a post about when it’s closer to my birthday), and I have to say I’m looking forward to cooler stuff in my 30’s. I don’t feel old. I don’t even feel like I’m limited in any way, shape, or form. I’m excited to see what I can do in the next decade. I feel grown up but I don’t feel like I have to be limited by a definition of what people think that means. That’s just scratching the surface of probably what I’ll be blogging about at the beginning of next month. I’m excited.

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