I have now visited every Alamo Drafthouse here in Austin. There were four when I arrived, but now there are only three, and in a few months there will be four again. Sadly, the original Alamo closed at the end of June. I was able to attend a few of the farewell events such as Quentin Tarantino’s Last Night at the Alamo Grindhouse as well as Half-Ass-A-Thon. Before living in Austin, I had attended Butt Numb-a-Thon twice, so I was already convinced of the Drafthouse’s awesomeness. I am sad to see the original go. But it will be reborn a few blocks away as the Alamo at the Ritz. This old movie house is being restored and updated into a state of the art theater.
For those of you who have not enjoyed the Alamo Drafthouse experience, let me describe it for you. First off, it is best to arrive at least an hour before your film begins. This is not so you can wait in line or get a good seat (though those can be factors). No, it is so that you can order your food and drink while you enjoy the pre-show. The pre-show consists of a thoughtfully edited presentation of clips relating somehow to what you are about to see. For instance, before the latest Die Hard film they showed a behind the scenes feature about the previous Die Hard movies, clips from Moonlighting and the famous Seagram’s Golden Wine Cooler commercials starring Bruce Willis (or “Bruno” as he preferred to be called).
In front of each row of seats is a sort of platform where you can place your food and tasty beverages. The food at the Alamo is prepared by actual chefs and is delicious. You cannot order a nasty greasy hamburger there, but you can definitely order a gourmet Royale with Cheese and a $5 milk shake to wash it down. There are often themed feasts to go along with movie premieres. You can also order buckets of beer. And the movie has yet to begin.
Before the trailers, you are likely to see advertisements for upcoming special events at the Alamo. They have monthly sing-a-longs, Saturday morning events for kids, a Mystery Science Theater 3000-style series, special guests, and more. They make their own “Turn off your cell phone and shut up during the movie” segments. My favorite is the cleverly-edited Star Wars clip with the Imperial officer taking a call at the meeting with Vader and Grand Moff Tarkin. “Don’t talk on your cell phone or we’ll throw your ass out.”
At this point, it almost doesn’t matter what movie you’re going to see. You’re surrounded by people who love film and you can order food and beer until halfway through the movie. The Alamo Drafthouse is the greatest movie theater in the country.
The official site: http://www.originalalamo.com/
Tags: Austin, movies
Each day I grow more comfortable with my particular section of Austin. I know the main streets and which way to drive if I get lost. I am growing familiar with back ways and alternate routes. The traffic here is unexplainable, I-35 choked at either end by invisible bottlenecks during rush hour (though 4-7PM isn’t exactly an hour, is it?).
I owe much of my success to an intimate relationship with Google maps. As I find cool places, I add them as markers to my own personal map.
If you don’t already use Google maps, you lose 25 points. Speaking of Google, the other night I witnessed my friend Mischa call the Google hive mind on his cell phone and speak to it, gleaning a phone number. Not a mere search or text message, but a voice conversation. Those who do not fear and respect the hive mind will become the lowliest worker drones in Google’s thrall on the day It awakens.
Tags: Austin
Upon arriving here, perhaps in an attempt to distract myself from what I had just done, I got involved. I went out practically every night. Open mics, movie events, gaming, and so on. There is just TOO MUCH to do here. And I was swiftly overwhelmed. So now I’ve cut back a bit, spend some nights at home watching DVDs, and generally taking it easy. If I ever get bored, I just have to step out the front door, because there is always something interesting going on.
Tags: Austin
One of the many reasons that Austin is superior to other cities is that most cool hangouts here are either open to midnight or later or they simply never close.
I went to check out the board game scene at Great Hall Games. I met a bunch of great gamers there. we played Fire & Axe until about 11, hung out until midnight (when the store closed) and then reconvened at the Epoch coffee house (always open) for more gaming. We hung out and played Citadels until about 1:30 AM. They were still going strong when I bowed out to go home and sleep.
Apparently this happens every week. Awesome.
Tags: Austin, gaming, Geek
Tonight I found myself sitting in the outdoor yard of a coffee house called the Irie Bean, listening to a singer-songwriter open mic and reflecting how life seemed completely transfigured from a few weeks ago. I had decided to demand more out of my life and to just make the things I wanted to happen happen. Breaking camp and moving to some foreign locale is not a trivial matter. For a long time I had been anchored by the perceived weight of all my possessions and responsibilities. And I did feel the weight of all my worldy possessions, now stripped of function, cargo that took up space. In Gibson’s “Pattern Recognition”, the protagonist Casey travels the world unfettered, needing only a laptop, a credit card plugged into some deep corporate account, and a leather jacket. Somewhere, offstage, is an apartment that perhaps contains a couch. That lifestyle has a great attraction to me. Sometimes I just want to Go and everything not attached to me seems like a net.
I have ready answers for people who ask why I up and moved to Austin. They are of course true answers, but they are not the real answer. I shouldn’t need an answer at all. I am free and I am flowing. I moved because I wanted to and because I had already left. I moved because I loved someone so much that it eclipsed everything else and I couldn’t tell what love was anymore, like staring into the sun and seeing a sun everywhere I looked.
And I needed to remind myself about what I could do. This is what is possible when I don’t take “no” for an answer.
Tags: Austin, Jess
I really hate good-byes. I haven’t said good-bye to this many people since… well, ever. The thought of having this conversation with every one of you just breaks my heart, so I hope you will forgive the e-mail. In about 2 weeks I will be moving to Austin, Texas. So I guess this is me putting in my 2 weeks’ notice to Albuquerque. To a lot of things, actually. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Albuquerque, Austin, avatar
Originally I had no intention of seeing Grindhouse. I love Rodriguez and Tarantino, but this looked like an over the top gorefest a la From Dusk ‘Til Dawn and I really don’t like those types of movies. But I had the opportunity to see it with a unique crowd and a unique venue, so I didn’t turn it down. It was insanely gory and violent, but it was executed brilliantly. Rodriguez shot his segment digitally and then added tons of processing effects to make it look like it was filmed thirty years ago. Death Prook, Tarantino’s segment, was a bit like Reservoir Dogs: long stretches of dialogue punctuated by horrible violence.
1. Return of the King
2. Children of Men
3. Stay
4. American Astronaut
5. Shortbus
6. Stranger Than Fiction
7. Pan’s Labyrinth
8. Grindhouse
9. Apocalypto
10. Black Snake Moan
Tags: Austin, Top Ten Movies
I have returned from my recon trip. I have seen the lay of the land. Everything looks promising.
Tags: Austin
Yesterday, driving to a friend’s house, I reflected on my plan and how my car always suffers from some kind of breakdown when I attempt such things, as though testing my resolve. Ten seconds later a flywheel snapped, unspooling the serpentine belt. I immediately lost power steering and power brakes. I limped into my friend’s driveway. The repairs were relatively simple, but frustrating and time consuming nonetheless.
But I took it as a sign. All of this has already happened.
Tags: Austin, Life
By some unknown series of misfortunes, Suzanne had yet to see Return of the King, so Lesley decided to remedy this by having a “Make Suzie Watch Return of the King” party. Since such a film deserves to be seen on a big screen, I volunteered my home theater. Little did I realize how many people would be attending. I must have had 10 people in my apartment! At last I was able to see if my seating calculations would prove true. My new folding chairs came in handy as well.
This movie will always be close to my heart. I cannot separate the experience of seeing it from meeting Peter Jackson at the Alamo Drafthouse in Austin, surrounded by fellow geeks. Peter had been walking down the aisle and, when he turned to wave at someone, had lost his balance and tumbled down a few stairs, landing in front of me. A wave of shock washed over the theater as we thought, “We killed Peter!” Without really thinking about what I was doing, I reached down, grabbed him under the arm and pulled him to his feet (he is a small man), pointing him in the direction of the stage. Later, when he came back down the aisle to sit with us, I told him, “Hey, watch your step this time.” He chuckled and said that a nearby serving table had helped break most of the fall.
1. Return of the King
2. Children of Men
3. Stay
4. American Astronaut
5. Shortbus
6. Stranger Than Fiction
7. Pan’s Labyrinth
8. Apocalypto
9. Black Snake Moan
10. Heavenly Creatures
Tags: Austin, Geek, Top Ten Movies