Holding Back

Day: 243
High Temp: 74F


I wanted to share with you a situation and get some feedback on it.  Like many of you, I have a Facebook page.  I check it a few times throughout the work day, and generally find the random thoughts of my friends and family members entertaining and informative.  This is particularly true of the tweenage daughter of one of my cousins. She is on it constantly, and is always in the middle of hormone-fueled dramas with her school friends. It's quite hilarious, and it helps me remember why I am so glad to not be a teenager any more!


That was not the case this morning when I read her update that said "if you come to our country, learn to speak our language, or don't come at all. :)"


I find that ignorant and offensive.  Hoping that surely this young, smart kid was alluding to some kind of inside joke, I write, "that is a joke, right"


She says, "nope."


Me, "okay, well then I have to ask, you realize that "our language" wasn't here first, right? when your English speaking ancestors arrived, they were foreigners. basically, you are the product of immigrants."


I know it is Facebook, not the place to pick political or social fights with family members, but I just could not let it slide.  I spent a school year volunteering in the Chicago Public Schools, teaching a curriculum of human rights and tolerance with Amnesty International. I can get a young man who grew up in the DRC to come around to the fact that it is not okay to persecute homosexuals, then certainly I can help my sheltered second-cousin realize the ignorance of what she is saying.


To her credit (I think), she then posted, "Ohh sorry i have facebook mobile and i wasnt sure which status you commented on. And didnt know that:) thanks for lettin me know.:) Haha"  


I can see her rolling her eyes while posting it, but still, she seemed to at least gather that what she said was offensive.


Following that, this girl's aunt (the woman married to another of my cousins) said "I agreed because most immigrants from mexico are illegal and stubborn so the case is closed for me."


Well, that pissed me off.  I want to go back on there and say to the aunt, "Oh, well, if most Mexicans are illegal and stubborn, then of course, by all means, marginalize them!" Or to the young woman who originated this post, "Well yes, with adult roll models like these, I can see what you are a closed-minded xenophobe."


These people are my family, and here there are doing their best to prove another stereotype- people from Missouri are backwards, intolerant hicks. 


So, instead of instigating a huge war of the families (which I kind of want to do, because, lets face it, I am right, and I have mad debating skills), I am writing this post. What do you guys think. Hold my tongue. Fight against ignorance? Am I just self-righteous?




UPDATE: A few hours after my blog posting, I got a little notification on my Blackberry that someone else had commented on the original Facebook post which incited my little war. Nervous about what other horror may have been unleashed, I tentatively checked what was new. Turns out it was the offending tween's dad, my cousin, who had this to say, "Yeah, I just can't leave this one alone...my opinion, but this statement is a little narrow-minded, intolerant and certainly not a reflection on her father. I encourage free thinking but wowzers!"


Good on ya cousin Justin! Thank you for saying what needed to be said, in a caring and open minded way, and with a sense of humor and love. This probably had a more (positive) affect than anything I could have said.


And thanks for those who here, and over email, gave me their thoughts on this subject. It's good to know that you guys are out there fighting the good fight against intolerance too! 

Camping: The Menu

Day: 236
High Temp: 72F

In anticipation for this weekends camping festivities (and the anticipated "unplugging" that will happen during that time) I thought I would give you all a preview of what is on the menu for the trip.

Those of you who have camped with me before know I like to do so in semi-gourmet style. This likely stems from the influence of my aunt and god mother Patty, who on a camping trip many many years ago made me one of the most memorable and influential meals of my life.  She cooked up beef stew from scratch in a dutch oven on the campfire. And topped that (literally) with an amazing peach cobbler cooked on the lid of the oven. If there is one thing I would give up s'mores for, it would have to be cobbler. That meal taught me that you can eat good ANYWHERE, if you only care to (including the bat-inhabited sandy shore of a river in Missouri.)

For my own camping trip, I plan the menu for days and make a special grocery trip just for the ingredients (I spent over $80 last night for this trip, although that did include some non-food stock up items we need to stock up on before we leave, like batteries and bugspray.) I also like to try and pack as light as possible, finding several different ways to use one ingredient (take the Dubliner cheese in this weekend's menu).

This trip will be a bit more challenging than past trips, as Tom and I got rid of our little table-top hibachi grill in the move to Austin. Having not yet replaced the grill, it was my challenge to come up with a menu that could be either A. cooked on a skewer OR B. cooked in a packet. So no pizza this time and no turkey burgers. That said, I am still pretty stoked for the food!

Without further ado, I give you the menu:

FRIDAY DINNER
-Chicken, spinach and feta sausages on whole wheat buns
-Campfire baked potatoes with Dubliner Cheese
-Rising Moon Spring Ale
-S'mores

SATURDAY BREAKFAST
-Campfire toasted Bagles with cream cheese
-Bananas, strawberries and blueberries in a homemade vanilla-lime-agave yogurt dressing
-Campfire percolated coffee

SATURDAY LUNCH
-Sliced turkey and Dubliner cheese sandwiches with tomato, cucumber and avocado
-Crudites (carrots, broccoli, cucumber) and Humus
-BBQ Chips
-More Rising Moon perhaps?

SATURDAY DINNER
-Classic campfire packet dinner with chicken sausage, leeks, whole garlic cloves, zucchini, mushrooms and potato (and more Dubliner, if there is any left!)
-Corn on the Cob
-Tempra Tantrum Wine (tempranillo grenache blend)
-S'mores (no originality here, I have to have them every night that we camp)

Sunday morning's breakfast will likely just be the leftover fruit salad and bagels/granola bars. It is nearly impossible to come up with creative breakfast ideas without traditional cooking implements, besides we rarely start a new fire on Sunday, knowing we will be heading home soon.

Happy camping!

Camping

Day: 234
High Temp: 81F

We have, again, been having problems with our apartment. About 2 months ago new neighbors moved in next door. They are bachelors, and total douche-bags. I hate them. For the first few weeks, they were fine. However, in the past few weeks the have started to act like total assholes. They go out to the bars every Friday and Saturday night. When the bars close, they come home, and hang out on their back deck, making a ton of noise which wakes us up. I am talking 3 or 4am, laughing, incoherent ramblings and event the perplexing occasional appearance of ESPN radio. You know, sometimes Tom and I go out too, and nothing is worse than coming home, getting into bed, falling asleep only to be awoken an half-hour later.

(Okay, now I know you are all thinking, what does this rant have to do with camping? Bear with my while I suss out the finer points of my indignation, and we will get to the camping, promise!)

We have asked nicely, and we have complained. Our (nice) neighbors have complained too. We all call the security team for the complex, or we call APD. Then we wait until they show up, and eventually it gets quiet and we can go back to sleep. So far, the (asshole) neighbors just don't give a crap that they are waking everyone else up on that side of the building. The office management says they give them lease violations each time a complaint is registered, but no one is really sure what happens after that. Do they get kicked out after a certain number of violations? Have to pay fines? No idea. All I know is the us other 8 apartments on that side of the building and are good members of the community, who pay our rent each month. And for that, we are now subjected to this ridiculousness.

It makes me so sad. Since Tom and I moved over to this new building in October, we have been pretty happy. I guess I should have known a tolerable living situation in this complex was too good to last.

So, instead of waiting around this weekend to be rudely awoken again in the middle of the night, we are going camping. We are packing up our stuff (including a new, bigger tent that Tom and I bought right before leaving Chicago), and getting the heck out of town.  It's bluebonnet season here in the Hill Country, and besides that the weather is supposed to be glorious this weekend. Highs in the upper 70s, with lows down into the 50s. Perfect campfire weather.

It will be Homer's first camping trip, which is exciting. He is a little bit of a scaredy dog, but he loves being outside (even in the rain) and loves to eat bugs and meet new people, so I think he will like it.  The only things I am worried about are the fabled critters of Texas.  While I would be amused by a somewhat far-off sighting of an armadillo (I've never seen one) or even a scorpion, I am terrified of encountering a tarantula. Please god, keep the mutant spiders at bay.

Stay tuned to hear how the adventure turns out!

Losing Sarah

Day: 229
High Temp: 83F

Tuesday at lunch I received a call from a former co-worker, informing me that my friend Sarah had lost her battle with cancer. It was shocking news, and I have struggled over the past few days to come to terms with it. Sarah and I were not close friends, but she was a straight genuine lady, and was the only other girl on "frat row" back in the days at WT when Dennis, Shade and Jimmy still worked there.

Sarah started feeling ill in October, and was treated for a range of respiratory disorders that kept increasing in severity. By December, she was having serious back pain along with her difficulty breathing. Soon after, a scan found a mass in her lungs, melanoma, that had metastasized to her spine and hip bone. Sarah learned that it was stage 4 cancer, inoperable and incurable.  She began an aggressive regiment of treatments, including some experimental, but nothing was able to slow or reverse the progress of the cancer within her body.

I followed a blog that she and her family had been keeping, and it was plain that nothing was working. Just 8 weeks after her diagnosis, she was practically bed-ridden. I have been thinking about her so much over the past few months. The phone call on Tuesday confirmed something that I am still having trouble understanding: within 6 months of feeling her first symptom, cancer has taken this otherwise young and healthy woman.

The whole Writers' family is reeling over this, a continuation of the surprise many of us felt upon hearing the news of the diagnosis in January.  I find myself unable to express how it is making me feel, except shocked. I was confused as I watched her Facebook page turn into a memorial board. Both saddened and comforted by it. I am thinking a lot of my Chicago theatre friends who knew and loved Sarah. I am thinking of her family, her parents who seem to be bearing this loss with strength and an openness that all of us who knew Sarah appreciate.

What I can say about Sarah is that she was funny, and tough. She was honest, and didn't put up with anyones bullshit. She was fun to have around. She was a major reason why artists loved to work at WT, and that made all of our jobs easier. Her attitude, even in dealing with this horrible reality of the cancer in her body, was so admirable. She remained strong and positive throughout, exhibiting grace that I am sure I would be incapable of.

I had an errand to run on Tuesday afternoon, shortly after I received the news. I looked up at the sky, bright blue, sunny, breezy, birds singing. It was warm and beautiful and I thought to myself, on a day like today, such sorrow is still possible. On any day, such sorrow is possible. I know it made me hug Tom a little tighter when I got home. I also know that many of us are thinking that our next visit to Glencoe won't quite feel the same without Sarah there.

SXLB

Day: 219
High Temp: 74F

My experiences at SXSW were a mere sliver of all the excitement that this year's festival had to offer, but as many of you have asked, I figured I would provide you with the rundown of what was SXLB.

And by the way, I was so right to be intimidated! But we had a lot of fun. And I am glad that I now have a full year to recover...

Wednesday- Day one of SXSW music. Tom and I bike downtown and catch a portion of a Scottish band playing in a hotel lobby. We stroll about the 6th street/Red River area checking out the pandemonium. Tom says, "It's like a music amusement park."  He is so right. On every corner there is a rag-tag band competing with the live music pouring from every storefront, bar, balcony and open window.  We enjoy the musical stylings of local string metal group Judgement Day, who rock our socks off. We then have the unfortunate luck to happen upon (and quickly escape) a corner where an ex-boyfriend of mine happens to be playing with his band. It is beyond surreal, and this puts the nail in my coffin for Wednesday.

Thursday- We stay home. Screw you SXSW, we need to rest up for...

Friday- We first head up to our local pizza joint, Home Slice, to grab some food, and catch a few acts featured at their Music By The Slice party (MXTS). Among them, we enjoy Miles Kurosky (fmrly of Beulah) and Tom says, "I think I have reached my fill of guitar rock." Then we enjoy the Movits! (swedish swing-rap anyone? Yes they wear tuxes when performing). We bike over to the east side, pleasantly surprised to find no line at the Mess With Texas (MWTX) party. We catch the last few songs of Billy Bragg's set, watch Frightened Rabbit (more Scots!) and enjoy free Sweet Leaf Tea, and lots of swag (posters, CDs, temp tattoos, handkerchiefs, pins, etc). Then we head over to the south stage, and are temporarily confused by what we thought was supposed to be Man or Astroman?. We quickly learn they are 50 minutes behind schedule, and so steak out a great seat, sit through Black Angels (not my cup of tea) and then rock out to Man or Astroman? Tom and I have been waiting for this show for months (years!). The show does not disappoint, and we are thrilled by the kitschy stage props. One of the Astromen says, "It's been forty years since we have played a show... forty space years!" Then we bike over to St. David's church only to decide that $20/person is too much to pay, even if it does mean you get to see Jacob Dylan and Neko Case play a show in a historic church sanctuary. Possibly something we will regret down the road... Grab free water and bike home, exhausted.

Saturday- Holy hell Austin! It's cold down here. Although many a band will cancel their unofficial sets to stay out of the cold, Tom and I bike back over the lake, so punishing, to stand in a teeny tiny line and see what feels like a private show by Visqueen. Seriously, there were only like 50 people there! They are excellent, and to read what Tom and Kevin have to say about there most recent release click here.  Still ready for more rock, we walk over to the Mohawk, only to stand in line for the entirety of the Free Energy show we were hoping to catch. Now that our hands are totally freezing, we decide to bike back home to warm up.  I am brought to a complete standstill biking west on 4th street, as a bitter wind kicks up. I take a hot shower when I get home, and a nap! Tom and I bid adieu to SXSW 2010 in a laid back manner, as we take in a Vadoinmessico show at the Hilton Second Stage. We nab seats, grab a few drinks, and are home in time for dinner.

EVERYTHING we did was free (except the few drinks we bought at the various venues). SXSW is the best deal in live music, if you are willing to hustle a bit for it.

Intimidated by a Festival

Day: 209

High Temp: 70F

As the birds begin chirping and the bluebonnets begin to bloom, the minds of all Austinite's turn to one thing... no, not spring. South by Southwest! Abbreviated SXSW to those of us in ATX, SXSW is one of the premiere arts/tech festivals in the nation. And it is not just for music lovers, despite what you may think you know. SXSW has a large film festival and also features Interactive, a most intriguing festival component featuring presentations by top leaders across a multitude of industries. Beginning today, tastemakers from around the world will descend on my fair city to see, hear, tweet, blog and generally experience the best of what's new in music, video games, film, technology, etc. etc.

It is exciting. It's also intimidating. Not even taking into account the "official" festival activities, there are literally HUNDREDS of presentations/screenings/chats/shows/events taking place every day. They take place in pizza joints, churches, retail stores, bars and of course some of the best professional music venues in the nation. Much of it is free, and some of the neatest stuff isn't even announced anywhere. You just have to know someone, or be in the right place at the right time.

If you think I am overstating, I want you to do two things for me. First, check out the official SXSW schedule. That is crazy enough, but now head on over to look at this schedule. Notice the bright sea-foam "unofficial" denotation. With well over 50 unofficial parties happening each day of the music fest, just how would you would decide how to answer the question "What are you doing Friday?" It's impossible to decide!

PS- Schubas, the legendary Chicago music venue, is hosting a party during SXSW, as many of town clubs and radio stations will do. I think it is indicative of just how ever-present this festival is to note that the well respected Schubas will be presenting their show at Yard Dog the awesome and seriously teeny-tiny art gallery about 2 blocks from my apartment. It's all around you, you cannot escape!

Happy Independence Day!

Day: 199

High Temp: 59F

Texas Independence day, that is. I have never lived anywhere that celebrated an independence other than July 4th, and to be honest, the fanfare is rather lacking.

That said, I would like to direct your attention to a website kept by a man who truly understands the important place that UT and Texas as a whole have in this world. Jim Nicar is an employee over at Texas Exes- the university alumni association, and is sort of the unofficial historian of UT. He always has some pretty awesome and entertaining stories to tell, including this one sent in a campus-wide email this morning, detailing the Independence Day celebrations of 1996 and 1997. Enjoy!

For the proudest of Texans, it’s the most important day of the year. It’s a holiday that no other state can claim. March 2 is Texas Independence Day, and it’s observance on the University of Texas campus began with a missed class, a visit to Scholz’ Beer Garden, and a spiked cannon.

In the spring of 1896, the fledgling University was confined to a forty-acre campus, with a white-washed wooden fence around the perimeter to keep out the town cows. A Victorian-Gothic Main Building, only two-thirds complete, commanded the hill in the center. It was flanked by the Chemistry Lab Building to the northwest, and B. Hall, a men’s dorm, down the hill to the east.

The University’s 482 students were divided into two departments: Academic and Law. The Academic Department encompassed studies comparable to today’s Colleges of Liberal Arts and Natural Sciences, and the “Academs” pursued their classes for the usual four years, leading to a Bachelor of Arts degree.

Law students, though, needed only two years to complete an LL.B. - a Bachelor of Laws and Letters - and a previous undergraduate degree was not required for admission. Junior Laws were first-year law students, while Senior Laws were completing their final year.

On the cloudy, warm and humid morning of March 2, 1896, the Junior Laws were waiting for their next lecture in criminal law, taught by Judge Robert Batts, when one student bemoaned the fact that the day was Texas Independence Day, a legal holiday for Texans, except, apparently, for UT students.

For years, students had regularly petitioned the faculty for a break on March 2nd, but had always been refused. “Our faculty is afraid to grant us holiday, even on such occasions,“ complained the Alcalde, a weekly student newspaper that pre-dated The Daily Texan (and not to be confused with the present alumni magazine). “They fear that some 2 x 4 politician, or still smaller newspaper, will accuse them of not earning their money. That is the real cause of their reluctance to grant a cessation of routine grinds, to allow our Texan bosoms an inflation of truly patriotic atmosphere.”

After serious discussion, the Junior Laws decided they would honor such an auspicious day by avoiding class altogether, and invited Judge Batts to join them. The diplomatic Batts responded with an eloquent speech, espousing all of the dire things that might happen to Junior Laws who skipped lectures. The students listened, cheered, and promptly ignored Batts’ pleas, choosing instead to spend the day at Scholz’ Beer Garden just south of the campus, where they were reportedly “very gemuethlick.”

One year later, in 1897, the now senior law class was determined to include the entire campus community in a celebration of “the natal day of Texas Independence,” and again petitioned the faculty for a holiday. But the Board of Regents had recently appointed George T. Winston (photo at left) as the new University President. A native of North Carolina and an alumnus of both the Naval Academy and Cornell, Winston neither understood nor shared the affinity Texans had for March 2nd. Winston recognized only one Independence Day, and that was on July 4th.

Undaunted, the Senior Laws pressed ahead with their plans, hoping to impress upon President Winston the importance of the second day of March. Working with the Texas Attorney General, four of the students signed a bond in order to borrow one of the two brass cannons that stood guard in front of the State Capitol. It took most of the afternoon of March 1st to roll the cannon to the Forty Acres, where the Laws planned to use it for a 21-gun salute to Texas at dawn following day.

Just before sunrise on March 2, 1897, the Senior Laws arrived for their celebration, only to find the cannon had been spiked. A large nail had been driven in to the ignition hole, and it took some time, persistence and the employment of several pocket knives to remove the offending item. By then, President Winston had arrived on the scene, and was rather unhappily resigned to the fact that the students were going to celebrate, whether or not the faculty approved. Hoping to minimize the damage to the class day, Winston asked the Laws to move the cannon away from the Main Building, down the hill to the University’s athletic field (where Taylor Hall and the ACES Building now stand). Or, they could wait until after noon to have their fun. As it turned out, the students did both.

Boom! Starting at 9:30am, an otherwise peaceful March morning was harshly interrupted by a series of cannon blasts from the athletic field. The entire Law Department attended, including Professors Robert Batts and John Townes, and following the cannon fire, each person present gave a short but sincere patriotic speech. The talks by Batts and Townes were greeted with particularly loud cheers from the students.

Meanwhile, a distracted Academic Department continued to hold classes as best as it could, some of the faculty hoping the Laws would tire of their efforts, while other professors were no doubt wishing they could join in the fun. The Laws, though, weren’t going to allow Texas Independence Day to pass without including the rest of the University.

At 1pm, a fresh supply of gun powder was secured, and the cannon was dragged up the hill and positioned directly in front of the Main Building, facing the Capitol. The first blast “threatened to break every window in the building.” In a flurry, the Academs vacated their classrooms and joined the Laws outside, and the scene of the morning was repeated, with more speeches from students and professors.

Midway through the afternoon, it was discovered that President Winston had quietly made his escape home just north of the campus, to which a large and boisterous committee of students promptly followed. Refusing to take no for an answer, Winston was persuaded to return and make a speech of his own. He opened with the remark:

“I was born in the land of liberty, rocked in the cradle of liberty, nursed on the bottle of liberty, and I’ve had liberty preached to me all my life, but Texas University students take more liberty than anyone I’ve ever come in contact with.”
The students responded with their loudest cheers of the day, and gave President Winston a rousing rendition of the University of Texas yell:

Hullabaloo! Hoo-ray! Hoo-ray!
Hullabaloo! Hoo-ray! Hoo-ray!
Hoo-ray! Hoo-ray!
Varsity! Varsity! U. T. A.!

Since then, UT students and Texas Exes have recognized March 2nd as a time to celebrate both the Lone Star State and the University of Texas. In 1900, the Ex-Students Association adopted a resolution which states: “Whenever two Texas Exes shall meet on March 2, they all shall sit and break bread and pay tribute to the institution that made their education possible.”