10 Austin landmarks in Austin High

by Elizabeth Seward on


Austin landmarks in Austin High, the movie, aren’t difficult to find. The city’s tried, true, and loved spots make special appearances in scenes throughout the recently released, for lack of a better genre, stoner comedy. It’s a comedy (and it really is funny, I think) depicting a community in support of the legalization of marijuana; a popular cause in Austin. I caught the film during the Austin Film Festival back in the fall. One of the things I liked most about the movie was that, for me, it really felt like Austin. The landmarks representing Austin in the film are good ones. So good, in fact, that I decided to dedicate this post to giving you the run-down of some of my favorite landmarks in the film. And so, here it goes, my favorite 10 Austin landmarks featured in Austin High.1. Alamo Drafthouse Cinema
The Alamo Drafthouse, commonly referred to as one or the other (‘Alamo’ or ‘Drafthouse’), is a staple in the Austin community for both locals and tourists alike. Founded in 1997, this movie theater is unlike any other. With several locations within the city of Austin and an expanding fleet beyond Austin, it’s no wonder this cinema has become so popular: it’s also a restaurant/bar. You don’t have to pay an arm and a leg for tickets–the movie tickets themselves are actually cheaper than most mainstream movie theater tickets. The food and drink menu changes from location to location. Filled with satisfying comfort food (including vegetarian options, seasonal specials, and dessert) and a wide selection of beer, wine, and cocktails, the Alamo is, as far as I am concerned, the only place worth seeing new releases. Even better? The Alamo also features movies aside from new releases. Local films, like Austin High, oftentimes make their debut at Alamo. The cinema also shows older films frequently–I recently saw Over The Top at the Alamo (seriously). They even do themed shows like cartoons on Saturday mornings complete with milk and cereal.

2. Rio Rita
For what I deem the best Bloody Mary in Austin, go to Rio Rita. This joint on East 6th street is a popular spot for a reason. The drinks are both caffeinated and alcoholic (take your pick!). The decor is lacks pretension and, for that, it is welcoming. You can order things like a soy chorizo with Brie wrap. The Wi-Fi is free and all in all, this place does a good job at being a place to eat, drink, hang out, and still get work done.

3. The Highball
The Highball is one of those places that’s a good place to go if you can’t decide on what exactly you want to do with your night. Live music, drinks, bowling, food, private karaoke rooms, and a ballroom make this venue what it is: popular.

4. Hippie Hollow Park
Hippie Hollow Park is the only clothing-optional public park in Texas. Swim, sun-bathe, or hike at your leisure here, dressed or undressed. I could go on, but, really, this sums it up. The rest you have to see for yourself.

5. Waterloo Park
Once the home of the now-expanded Fun Fun Fun Festival, Waterloo Park is a nice park located in the eastern part of Austin’s downtown. Only 10 acres of grassy land make this park small, but quaint. Oftentimes the home base for events in Austin, it’s a great spot for a quiet picnic just west of I-35.

6. Torchy’s Tacos
Everyone in Austin will tell you: you need to try Torchy’s Tacos at least once. And if you really like them, you’ll have no problem returning for more–there are 8 locations in the city of Austin. My favorite? Fried avocado.

7. Lady Bird Lake
Lady Bird Lake seems to be at the center of attention in the city of Austin. It’s the dammed up river that runs straight through the center of town, commonly referred to as a ‘lake’ (it’s not a lake). It is, however, beautiful. This is where you’ll go to see the famous Austin bats. You’ll be right next to these shores when you’re at Auditorium Shores, Zilker Park, Barton Springs, or a number of other Austin staples. Great for hiking, running, leisurely walking, kayaking, biking, and plenty more, Lady Bird Lake is truly a treasure in the middle of Austin.

8. The Victory Grill
The Victory Grill is a historic music venue in East Austin. Originally opened in 1945 as a restaurant and bar for African American soldiers returning home from war, the grill soon became known for live music as well as food and drink. In the 1950’s, most of the popular blues and jazz acts at the time played at the Victory Grill. Etta James, James Brown, Chuck Berry, Billie Holiday, Ike & Tina Turner, and Janis Joplin all graced the Victory stage.

9. Spider House
The Spider House patio bar & cafe is popular in Austin. Food, drinks, and live music make the Spider House a full house on any given day.

10. Beerland
Loud music, cheap beer, pool, liquor, arcade games, live music, and karaoke make this destination the attraction that is. A plus? It’s open 7 days a week, waiting for you.

Video of the day: Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque projections

by Elizabeth Seward on

Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque Projections from Obscura Digital on Vimeo.

Ready to see a beautiful video that will brighten your afternoon? Then check out this gorgeous video featuring the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi, the capital city of the United Arab Emirates. Projectors, 44 to count, came together form a combined brightness of 840,000 lumens. The images from these projectors covered a 600 foot wide and 351 foot high surface on the building. Mostly floral patterns were projected alongside filigree-type designs, creating a stunning imagery any visitors undoubtedly enjoyed. Were you lucky enough to see this display first-hand? Please tell us about it in the comments if so.

Boombox Party in NYC Saturday

by Elizabeth Seward on

Want to go to a Boombox Party in NYC this Saturday night? Of course you do. I do. I don’t know if a last-minute flight from Austin to NYC will be worth the Boombox Party experience for me or not, but something tells me it just may be. So, suffice it to say that if you’ll already be in New York this weekend because you’re visiting or living there, you should embrace this new kind of impromptu party. What is a Boombox Party? It’s a portable and battery-powered party, basically. Started by two guys out of Vancouver, the parties invite thousands of people to carry boomboxes around and dance. A DJ carrying an FM radio transmitter in a backpack has the boombox carriers tune into his master FM broadcast. The result is a mobile, synchronized sound system. The party can, and probably will, go anywhere and everywhere. Subways, city blocks, parks–who knows. The location for Saturday night is TBA, but it will start at 9pm. The theme is Strictly Business, meaning, of course, you must wear business attire.

Follow the party-throwers on Facebook and find out tonight where the NYC Boombox Party will be held. And if you hear the party outside your window in NYC and you’re annoyed, just remember: you’re in the city that never sleeps.

Secret supper prohibition-era restaurant pops up in Vancouver, Canada

by Jessica Festa on

For three evenings only, Swallow Tail Canada will once again be hosting their Secret Supper Soiree in Vancouver, British Columbia, in Canada. While guests can expect a classy 1930’s-inspired underground bar, murder mysteries, transportation in a timeless double decker bus, and tastings of wines that are not available on the market, they will not know the location of the speakeasy until the night of the event.

The creators of the prohibition-era pop-up event are telling guests to meet at Pacific Central Station and from there will be picked up and taken backwards in time. To make the event more realistic, participants are also being asked to wear their fanciest speakeasy attire. Once at the secret location, a five-course tasting menu by Chef Andrea Carlson of Bishops as well as one Pims Cup and three wine tastings from local wineries will be offered.

Says Chef, Sommelier, and Owner of Swallow Tail Canada, Robin Kort, “I used to be a swing dancer, so I’m really enamored by the 1930s and that whole speakeasy era. It embodies what Swallow Tail is, too. It’s underground, exclusive, and secret. I like that vibe.”

Dates for the event are January 21, January 28, and February 4 at 4PM. Click here to purchase tickets.

Will Scam for Food in Burma

by David Farley on

It was my first night in Yangon, the southeast Asian metropolis formerly known as Rangoon, and I was standing in a dank, dark back street arguing with a 16-year-old boy over his fee for oral sex. Well, sort of. He had propositioned me. And while I wasn’t interested, I was appalled when he told me how little he’d do it for. So I began lecturing him that he should charge more. Not that I know the going international rate for such things. I swear. It just seemed low for doing such an intimate thing to a complete stranger. Why I didn’t talk him out of the nightly practice completely is beyond me. Then again, my mind at that moment was in full-on negotiating mode.

It all began when I had arrived in Myanmar two hours earlier. As I was checking in to my hotel, I was told the price of the room and pulled out my wad of $20 bills (there are no ATMs in Myanmar, so one must arrive with a bulk of cash). I put three bills down on the counter and the team at reception began scrutinizing the notes like avid baseball card collectors inspecting a Honus Wagner card. They discussed among each other, spitting out a slew of Burmese and then shaking their heads from side to side. The oldest member of the money-scrutinizing triumvirate stepped forward and informed me my money was no good. “See this,” he said, pointing to the tiniest of creases in the crisp $20 bill. “No good.” I protested, saying that anywhere else in the world these were perfectly valid twenty dollar bills. “You don’t understand,” he said. “This is Myanmar.”

I have to confess: I had heard the warnings that they only exchange perfectly crisp, blemish-free American dollars here and it wasn’t until the day I was leaving–having already withdrawn $500 in cash from my bank the day before–that I realized I should take it all back to the bank and get brand new bills. The problem, though, was that by the time I got around to it, the banks were closed. I had no choice but to get on my flight that night, hoping that the guidebooks and friends who had been here were grossly exaggerating.


They weren’t.
At the reception desk, the three hotel employees went through my entire bundle of bills. They found three that worked. Enough to pay for my room that night. But that was it. The rest, while mostly crisp and new-ish, were disqualified for having a tiny crease here or a black marker spot there.

I took a deep breath and wondered what I was going to do. One of my biggest fears when I’m traveling is being stuck in a place with no access to money. To be totally stranded, reduced to a homeless beggar. The previous month I was in Ethiopia and when a few ATM machines wouldn’t let me withdraw money that old uncomfortable feeling came back and I sulked around the streets of Addis Ababa for an hour or so going on a cash machine crawl and fearing the worst. I did eventually get money.


So, with no ATMs in Yongon to seek out, I deposited my things in my room and picked out five of the most corrupted bills I had. I was going to exchange these by the end of the night. I was determined. And I was going to do in the street. Not in a brightly lit hotel with overly discriminating employees. The key, though, was this: I knew that exchanging money on the street anywhere in the world is an invitation to get ripped off. So I was going to have to be as sketchy and scheming as the guys with whom I was going to be doing business. I was going to have to out sleaze them. I might as well have hung a sign around my neck that read: WILL SCAM FOR FOOD. Was I up for it? Well, I did want to eat that night. So, yes.

About two blocks outside of my hotel, a couple teenagers accosted me. Did I want to exchange money? Why, yes I did. I followed them. We twisted and turned down dark narrow streets. Water dripped from god knows where. In the distance, female Buddhists were chanting. We finally stopped at the entrance of an apartment. I was invited up. But this is where the shady part begins. We needed to do this in as dimly lit environment as possible. I knew I was risking getting ripped off as well, but it was the only way I was going to possibly exchange money.

After some arguing about whether I was going to come up and the price of the exchange, one of the boys finally ascended the steep steps to get the money. Meanwhile the second boy began quizzing me on my sexual preference. He could do it just as well, if not better, than a woman, he assured me in near perfect English. I said I believed him but I wasn’t interested. His explicit details were interrupted when his colleague materialized with the cash.

He counted it out. Seventy-five 1000 kyat bills. And then he handed it to me and asked for my five $20 bills in exchange. First, though, I wanted to count the wad of Burmese kyat myself. I did, creating individual piles of 10 bills each. It was all there. One of the boys picked up the money again and demanded my cash. I pulled it out and as they were looking at each $20 bill, I recounted the kyat. Suddenly only half of it was there. Here was the scam. Here was when they matched my sleaziness. When I called them on it, one of boys threw down the missing bundle. But it didn’t matter. They’d already noticed that my dollars were tainted with creases and value-decreasing ink stains.

“Okay then, forget it. The deal is off,” I said, grabbing the five American bills from his hand. But their desperation got the better of them. They’d already invested enough time and energy into this situation that they didn’t want to let me walk away now.

“No, okay,” one of the boys said. “We’ll take your dollars.” I handed him my money and scooped up the 75 Burmese bills. I counted off a few and handed it to the boy who made the indecent proposal to me. “Here, go eat something instead of propositioning foreigners,” I said and then briskly walked down the street, fearing they’d change their mind about the exchange and run after me. I celebrated in a restaurant eating curry chicken and various vegetable dishes over rice and washing it all down with an enormous bottle of Myanmar beer, trying not to think that in a few nights I was going to have to do this all over again.