This guy wants to rub some more back sweat on you

If you got back sweat rubbed on you at Home Slice a month ago, this guy wants to see you again.

I meant this to be an honest comparison of ATX & SF, but I ended up homesick.

I am about to explore Austin and San Francisco through my twitter feed, because obviously my twitter is the BEST source for this comparison.

When I first got here in Austin, I was so excited about living in a place that could quite possibly be weirder than SF. I found several similarities between the two. In fact, I’ve found constant truths between the two:

Yeah, they’re constantly everywhere. Everywhere.

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I’m fairly certain that the Pacific in NorCal is the same temperature as Barton Springs.

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People say amazing things everywhere.

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There is an abundance of food carts in both ATX and SF.

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This happened in SF, and is a regular occurrence in ATX.

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People everywhere have melding body-parts and make terrible fashion decisions.

More after the jump

Sade & John Legend

From Austin Bloggy Limits:

Well Austin, you should expect a spike in birth rates around June/July 2012 because tonight, the legendary,Sade will be performing at the Frank Erwin Center with John Legend playing the opening slot and somebody's gonna get pregnant. If you sit through a full Sade set and you don't want to have sex, you should probably talk to your doctor.

I could not have said it better myself.

Seriously, folks, donate me some tickets.

Texas Fires

The Atlantic, The Statesmen, KXAN, and Boing Boing have put up galleries of photos from the fires across Texas. These fires (especially the one that swallowed Bastrop yesterday) are visible from space.

09/05/11 Bastrop, TX (Reuters/Mike Stone) via The Atlantic

UPDATE
Look at this video from Bastrop State Park, showing how quickly the fire is spreading


More images after the jump.

Music Monday: Austin Pride Festival!

It's Austin Pride Festival this Saturday (9/10)!

I'll be volunteering at the parade (9:30am-noon) and at the festival (2-4pm), so yall should holler! I'll find out Wednesday at the volunteer meeting what my assignments will be.

I have no idea who any of the performers are at the festival, but AGLPF just posted a festival mixtape, so check it:


I'm stoked for this weekend. The festival is $12 in advance, or $15 at the door. I think there's a service fee on the advance tickets, so you might as well pay at the door. I get in freeeeee.

Bat Fest: Filter (Review)

"Sorry we're not 'Lady GooGoos' and 'Justin Bieeeeeeebers', but we use fucking profanity. This is Punk Rock. Right?"

I don't thoroughly enjoy Filter via their albums, but then again I never really gave them a try. When I heard they were going to be at Bat Fest, I consulted my iTunes and found I only had one song by them: Take a Picture. Live, however, they were pretty glorious. They engaged the crowd and got me excited to be there. Dude acted like he was 23, not 40s (which is what he is. 40s).

Not everyone was enjoying themselves, though.

Don't bring your babies to a fucking Filter concert.

Austin Bat Festival

People in Bat costumes, and a few live bands. It's all goin down RIGHT NOW until Midnight. I'll be there around 10 to see Filter and Bob Schneider.

DID I MENTION IT'S FREE?

KLBJFM Stage North end:
Bob Schneider & Lonelyland 11:00 - 11:59pm
Nakia - "Final eight on the voice!" 9:00 - 10:30pm
Bat Costume Contest 8:15 - 8:45pm $200 CASH PRIZE! ADAM WEST appearance
Suzanna Choffel 7:00 - 8:00pm
Akina Adderley & the Vintage Playboys 5:30 - 6:30pm
White Ghost Shivers 4:00 - 5:00pm

101XFM Stage South end:
Filter 10:30 - 11:59pm
Alpha Rev 9:00-10:00pm
The Black & White Years 7:30-8:30pm
Eyes Burn Electric 6:00-7:00pm
Indofin 4:30-5:30pm

Email Coupons

It's the age of coupons.

I just sent my mother an email listing my favorite email coupon services, so I guess I should do the same here. Obviously I favor those catering to SF and Austin, so if you're in or frequent either or both, you're in luck! All (except scoutmob) are the kind of coupons that are actually vouchers. You buy them online, and redeem wherever they are.

First off, I must mention DailyDibs because I just found them tonight and am pretty darn stoked about it. They go through most of the sites I'll list below and show the daily deals all in one place! So if you don't want to get all these straight to your email, you can select your city from the drop down (pretty sure they've got everywhere) and see the list.

Scoutmob
Scoutmob is my absolute favorite. They have iphone and android apps, and unlike the others I shall list, you don't buy a voucher; you present the coupon to the cashier and they give you that % off your purchase. Just like a coupon should be, right?

They currently have deals for San Francisco, Austin, Chicago, Portland, Seattle, LA, Denver, Dallas, Nashville, Atlanta, DC, NYC, and Boston
They're supposedly adding San Diego, Phoenix, Minneapolis, Houston, Philadelphia, Miami, and Charlotte soon.


Groupon
This guy is the big one, I guess. Everyone knows about it, so why don't you? Where have you been? They, too, have iphone and android apps. Dig it. They are everywhere. Almost all major cities around the globe. Go get it.


LivingSocial
No, I don't mean the game that was on MySpace and Facebook where you vote for which of your friends is the biggest nerd, or whatever it was. This guy has lots of fun things, like rock climbing and burlesque classes. They're also in most major cities in the US, and also in Canada (where I'm not allowed to go, but that's a whole other story). Go climb some rocks!


HomeRun
I got a nifty teeth whitening kit for $20 on here, but I haven't used it yet. And I left it in SF. Figures. They're all over: Atlanta, Austin, Baltimore, Boston, Charlotte, Chicago, Columbus, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Houston, Indianapolis, Jacksonville, Kansas City, Las Vegas, LA, Memphis, Miami, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Nashville, NYC, Oklahoma City, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, Portland, Sacramento, Saint Louis, San Antonio, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose, Seattle, Tampa, and DC

Zozi

I have forgotten my password for this site and had to reset it 3 times now. I always use the same password though, so I'm not sure how this happened. Curious. Anyway, I'm not going to link to 62 goddamn cities (some of those being in Canada), so go find yourown.


SF Station (SF)
Obviously this is only relevant to those in SF. They have a lot of VIP table services, contests for VIP tickets to concerts, and speed dating vouchers. OH LOOK- that's what they have up on their site tonight. Go figure.


MyBART (SF)
Again, only relevant to those in SF. You don't have to ride BART to get deals from them. They have some pretty rad contests every week (usually 3 contests at a time, and you can enter all 3 once a week), as well as suggestions for free things to do around the city, and coupons (not vouchers, coupons) redeemable at places near BART stations.


Localiter (Austin)
I just started getting emails from these guys, and haven't gone for any of their deals yet. They're only in Austin for now, and coming soon to Boca Raton, Waco, Melbourne (FL), Charleston, Bellingham (WA), Port St. Lucie, and Fayetteville. Did someone working there get a map of the US and randomly point to a few cities and say "Yes, let's do that one"?


DealSwarm
I also haven't used this one yet, but got it once I moved to Austin. They're only in Atlanta, Austin, Dayton, Reno, Seattle, Tampa, Tulsa, and West Palm Beach. Coming soon to Jacksonville, and San Antonio. I feel like the same person that made location decisions for Localiter decided for DealSwarm...


Pinchit (SF)
This one is only available in San Francisco, Silicon Valley, and Maui, but their facebook page is only for SF, and they also appear to have a deal at Shasta, Costa Rica, and India... They have this comment feature where you tell them your favorite spots, and they go get deals for you. I'm skeptical as to their success rate, but intrigued. Too bad I don't live in SF anymore. Someone else should try it and tell me if they come through.




I haven't personally used or signed up for these others, but I'll throw 'em out there anyway because they seem to be legit:

KGB Deals
Atlanta, Atlantic City, Austin, Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Dalas/Fort Worth, Denver, Houston, LA, Minneapolis, NYC, Orange County, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Portland, San Antonio, San Diego, SF, Seattle, St. Louis, DC

Eversave
They serve 58 cities, so chances are pretty good that they've got you if you're in a major city in the US.

Tippr
Atlanta, Austin, Baton Rouge, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Honolulu, LA, NYC, Philadelphia, Portland, San Diego, SF, Seattle, DC

BuyWithMe
Atlanta, Austin, Baltimore, Boston, Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Houston, Kansas City, Las Vegas, LA, Miami, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, NYC, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Portland (OR), Portland (ME), Providence, San Diego, SF, San Jose, Seattle, DC, Worcester

DealOn
They've got 57 cities, but not Burlington (yet). I say this because it's the only city under their "coming soon" tab.

Dealster
I guess they have badges? The whole reason I use Foursquare is for the badges! They don't have a list of what cities they're available in, so type in your zip code and see what's up. Gogogogo!

TravelZoo Local Deals
Available basically everywhere.


I'm SURE there are probably others, but seeing as it's currently 2am I should probably get off this light box.

I wanna write something but I have no subject, so I'll embed a bunch of youtube videos. Again.

I DECLARE IT MUSICAL MONDAY

It has come to my attention that I don't have the same musical repertoire as everyone else, so allow me to enlighten you with some big names, small names, and all around eargasmic material.

p.s. should I turn this into a weekly thing? I'm probably to irresponsible for a blogging schedule, but I could pretend I'll do it... My musical taste changes every week, so it'd be a perfect mixture of goods and services week to week. I shall provide this week's preferential treatments below.

Since I'm now an ATX resident it is my duty to begin today's Musical Monday with Austinites.

T H E     L O C A L S

"Be Yer Fool" - The Happen-Ins

"Does she get mad? Oh no, she explodes."

My local favorite. I've been here 11 days and I already have a local favorite! The Happen-Ins came to my attention via my favorite Austin blogger Tolly over at Austin Eavesdropper. (p.s. how adorable is ms Tolly? Damn adorable, that's how damn adorable.) I haven't actually seen these guys play live yet, seeing as they're currently on tour (playing in Tennessee, last I checked). Ever heard of them? Yeah I didn't think so. Check their full album over on their MySpace. Download all their glorious shieeeeeeeeeeeet over there too.

"97 Reasons"  - Uncle Lucius

"On the road is where I'm going, on the road is where I'll be found."

Threadgills is the first place I saw a live show in Ausitn, and boy was it spectacular. You can order godly delicious food inside, and bring it out to eat whilst watching some great bands have a grand ol' time on stage. Their main dishes come with "vegetables" which is just a euphemism for a side, unless you count Mac & Cheese as a vegetable. I digress. Uncle Lucious had a great vibe going on. They apparently knew everyone in the joint, or pretended to, at least. Some of their songs lasted an excruciating eternity, but aside from that, they're golden. They have a myspace, too.

"It's About Me" - Slowtrain

"It's about me, it's about me, it's about me. It's all about me."

Please Please go to their website and listen to "Bound to Find You Out" because it's glorious and I'm in love with it but I'm too lazy to embed it. I also saw these guys at Threadgills. They opened for Uncle Licious, and also appeared to know everyone there. They've got some great lyrics in each and every one of their songs. They seem to be an Austin staple, according to my AirBnB host (who was also the guy that suggested we go to Threadgills in the first place. Thanks dude!).

O T H E R        D U D E S

"Countdown" The Black Keys

"You done stole my heart but you can't take my mind."

Would my list be complete without a Black Keys song? Absolutely not, is how that question would be answered. I just can't seem to shake these guys out of my earbuds. I get tired of one song, and accidentally find another treat upon each push of the "next" button. I dance in my underwear to this song.

"Kiss with a Fist" Florence + The Machine

"You hit me once, I hit you back. You gave a kick, I gave a slap. You smashed a plate over my head, then I set fire to our bed."

How can a gal be so damn adorable while so extremely violent? Not to mention the adorableness of this entire music video. She's so cute! If you haven't heard of her already, get out from under that rock and join us.

"Toothbrush and My Table" Grace Potter & the Nocturnals

"I don't care which way you think the story might have went. I've already recollected all the love I wish I had not spent."

Grace Potter is way too cute. I love this whole song. I can feel the emotions she must have had whilst writing it. I guess you can't really tell here, but if you watch Paris (Oh La La) (which is my favorite song) you'll see her perfect fashion sense. I want her wardrobe. I guess I'd have to get her body first, though. And long blonde hair. Hmmmm.

"Behind the Moon" Matt Costa

"All the stars point me to you and lately they just drive me crazy."

I don't remember who introduced me to Matt Costa's songs, but I'm sure glad they did. (Nate, was that you?) All of his songs are perfection. This song is intoxicating, through and through.

There ya have it, folks. I'm beat.
Here's all the songs in one nifty playlist:

Graffiti and Cows

When you think of Austin, what crosses your mind? Hippies, Hipsters, Vegan Food, ACL, and Stevie Ray Vaughan. Sure, UT's mascot is the longhorn, and where there are hipsters there is graffiti... but for some reason graffiti and cows never really crossed my mind as having predominance in Austin.

First things I see when I get here: cows and graffiti. Tons of both.

More after the jump

Coming Soon to Hippie to Hipster

Brief synopsis since I've arrived in Austin-

This city is trying to be San Francisco so hard.

Cows. Tons of cows.

It's hot and humid.
-No need for sweaters at night.

The layout of streets makes NO sense.
-even less than SF

I haven't seen any spiders yet.
-or rattle snakes.
-but I did see a giant frog.


Elaboration and visual aids shall come all in good time, my dears.

ATX Pride Parade

In the midst of all the chaos of moving, I've neglected to look up when the pride festival is in Austin. Since LA, NYC, Seattle, and tons more all have their pride parades and festivals during the same weekend as SF, I had assumed ATX would be the same...

Thank goodness I was mistaken!

September 1st, you could quite possibly be my favorite ATX day of the year. We shall see.

I've signed up to volunteer at the festival!
Look at me, the little LGBT community member is finally growing into her platform heels.

Hobolot

I have a new mission: to build Hobolot, a monstrous cardboard castle located in the center of Austin. Eventually, I shall expand far enough to swallow the entire city into my own boundaries and rule it as Queen. Thousands of years from now, my biography shall become the world's best selling book ever, which will prompt Amazon to finally list the Bible as fiction.

Really though, I need to find a place to live before this becomes reality. I'd make a terrible Queen.

Manifesto

I’ve been doing a lot of waiting around lately. I am currently waiting for my ride to some supposed fabulous party in UpScale Marin with some people I don’t know, and some I do. The hype makes the wait worth it: a mansion-esque house, comfortable company, prospective conversations with people I don’t know, seafood, sangria...

That’s one type of waiting I do every day; waiting for busses, waiting for my sister to get home, waiting for my favorite show to air online somewhere, waiting for my manager to be ready to leave for work - lots of waiting. This is to be expected. I suppose the amount of time spent waiting by the average person may rival that of the average amount of time the average person (depending on age) sleeps. Together that’s a lot of time spent idle, though not a waste - in my opinion. Sleep allows refreshment after activity (ideally), and waiting creates a buffer between living life and sleeping - prime contemplation and reflection time. What is a waste, however, is the other kind of waiting I have come to find myself taking part in.

I am moving to Austin this summer, this is no secret. I’ve said it a thousand times, and I’ll say it seven thousand more times before it happens - and then remind everyone that I live in Austin once I get there. I have some time before I leave, though, and I feel like I’m in purgatory. I don’t go out as much anymore because what’s the point? I’m only going to miss my friends more if I get closer to them, and probably miss San Francisco so much that I get homesick. I’ve come to the realization that all this is going to happen anyway. No matter how close I get to those around me, I’ll miss them. No matter where I go, I’ll miss San Francisco. I’m tired of spending my time in inactivity. My carelessness has caused me to come close to the brink of losing contact with my friends that live a few streets away from me, and caused me to fall behind in my classes. Lately I’ve spend a great deal of my time at home watching Grey’s Anatomy on Netflix.

I’ve been making excuses for this lethargy. My fake ID recently got taken from me, almost as soon as I got it. I wrapped my social life around acting older than I am, and rationalized this by comparing our society to that of the rest of the world and the fact that I would be considered an adult anywhere else. I’ve got a year left to figure out how to make friends, fall in love, and have a great deal of fun without centering myself around and abundance of alcohol. No more excuses.

My point to this awkward rambling is to urge my friends to take my lead (and help me) in promoting creativity, action, and making memories for ourselves. This is my written contract (mentally signed) that I will not remain idle.