Browsing Category

Austin

Austin, Fashion/Design, Pop Culture

Hipster Valentine’s Day Gift Guide 2013

Are you a fan of Valentine’s Day?

I’m not a fan of Valentine’s Day.

I spent so many years single that V-Day became a day of celebrating my bitter, unrelenting scorn.

But now this will be my second holiday with someone special and I realize that I didn’t dislike V-day because I was single, I just don’t like it period.

IT’S A STUPID HOLIDAY!

Actually, most holidays are stupid- except for Halloween. That is not a stupid holiday.

But you know what?

A lot of really cool people make really cool stuff that make great Valentine’s Day gifts.  Their stuff is so hip, it makes me want to celebrate Valentine’s Day every day (which I kind of do already- that’s why I think having a holiday to express your love  is silly-willy).

As some of you know, I’m friends with the fine folks over at Scoutmob.

Their artisan shoppe boasts a kick-ass collection of handmade art, clothing and decor by talented folks in New York City, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Detroit…and Austin. Our very own Austin-bred (more…)

February 6, 2013 by
Austin, Pop Culture

Dear Trader Joe’s, When Are You Opening in Austin?

trader joe's

source

Dear Mr. Joe,

DUDE! WHEN THE HELL ARE YOU OPENING UP IN AUSTIN, HUH?!?!

Excuse me. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to shout. Let me regain my composure.

I’m just really really anxious about your impending arrival in our fair city.

Last year, you teased us with the news of your future opening in Austin like a laser pointer being aimed straight above a cat’s face.
YOU, SIR, ARE THE STUPID LASER POINTER AND WE ARE THE CATS!

YOU LEFT US AIMLESSLY PAWING AT THE FRIGGIN’ WALLS, oops, sorry, I mean, you left us aimlessly pawing at the walls, hoping, praying that we will somehow feel your physical presence.

Your establishment is a big deal to us Austinites since at one point or another we’ve experienced you in another city.
We got to try your fine $2.99 libations and magical cookie butter and the luscious tastes have never left our trembling lips.

You left an impression on us, sir. We dream about you often, in tropical Technicolor of reds, yellows and blues.
We (more…)

February 4, 2013 by
Austin, Film, Hipstercrite Life, Pop Culture

Holy Crap! My Film Will be Premiering at SXSW!

Tireste Kelly Dunn Geoff Marslett Loves Her Gun

You guys remember that movie I told you about? The one I co-wrote and co-produced and some of you were gracious enough to donate to so we could finish our post-production?

Well, it will be premiering under the Narrative Spotlights at the South by Southwest Film Festival this year!

I can’t believe that this idea born out of my late-night, heavy-breathing “Oh my God I’m going to DIE!” panic attacks is now a full-fledged movie premiering at one of my favorite film festivals.

We are beyond the Thunderdome excited. Like, I’m going to go bleach and feather my hair and put a chain-link dress on and find Mel Gibson and say, “Two men enter, one man leaves” excited.

The film was written in the summer of 2011, but the subject matter- gun culture- is all the more prevalent today. We couldn’t have imagined that the always important topic would (sadly) heat up again.

Since we shot the film, our lead actress Trieste Kelly Dunn was offered a reoccurring role on Alan Ball’s new TV show (more…)

February 1, 2013 by
Austin, Film, Pop Culture

Awesome Lady Hero of the Day: Adrienne Shelly

adrienne shelly

Ever since I was a little girl I was fascinated with the art and fantasy of film. This fascination led me to film school and then to Los Angeles where I held an assistant role at the production company of an Oscar Award-winning actor.

My upbringing and surroundings in Los Angeles barely introduced me to the world of independent cinema. Sure, I saw movies that weren’t produced by large studios, but they were still the films that had known actors in them or were bought for millions of dollars at Sundance. I had no concept of the 99% of other independent films on the film festival or local scenes (film school most definitely doesn’t tell you about this world either). My childhood art house theater was 30 miles away from my home and when I dragged my high school friends to see American Beauty (not an independent film and produced by Dreamworks), I thought I truly knew what independent film was.

It wasn’t until I moved to Austin and began meeting a large number of the country’s best (more…)

January 24, 2013 by
Austin

Hipstercrite’s 100% Natural Good-Time Family Blog Solution (i.e. My Blogging 101 Class!)

blogging 101

Gxfhkasdwrwq, dfhkadfh!
Wait, a minute. Let me take a sip of my coffee.
Ahh…that’s better.
Howdy, gang!
So, I’m putting on a blogging class! Yay!
I came up with the blogging class idea last year and with the outpouring of interest and support I decided to make that dream a reality!

This blogging class is for:
–Peeps who want to start a blog but don’t know where to start.
–Peeps who already have a blog, but want to make it more awesome than it already is.

In the class we will discuss:

–So Which Blogging Platform Really is Best?: We’ll go over the pros and cons of WordPress, Blogger, Typepad, Squarespace, Tumblr etc. and decide which one is best for you.

–To Niche or Not to Niche: What the hell should I make my blog about? What sort of blog do people like to read? Should I just post a bunch of selfies and hope that fashion designers will pay for advertising on my blog?

–Is Content Really King?: You can have a sleek-looking blog, but if you have poo-poo for content, (more…)

January 22, 2013 by
Austin, Travel

Exploring the Americana of Small Town Texas (pics)

Geoff and I took a lovely trip to Gonzales, Texas this weekend (60 miles due south from Austin on Highway 183); he was acting in a movie and I was happily reconnecting with nature after becoming a complete workaholic recluse.

Acting is something that Geoff has gotten into recently (he acted in two movies last year) and disconnecting with reality and working on the couch is my current hobby. Needless to say, the short trip was advantageous for both of us (though I had a mini-meltdown when I realized that the SOLE coffee shop in Gonzales closed down over two years ago).

Gonzales, like similar old towns dotted over the state of Texas, is small and quaint. A sign proclaiming, “Pocketknives are IN! Pick up yours today!” greeted us as we drove in. Like rings on a tree, you can see the decades of wear on the semi-deserted downtown. On the smallest ring, you see the strong, granite buildings from the 1800s  with beautiful tin tile ceilings and floor to rooftop windows. The next ring you can (more…)

January 14, 2013 by
20-Something, Austin, Hipstercrite Life

Are You a Moochetarian?: The Act of Not Eating Meat Unless it is Given to You

The holidays are a challenging time for dietary restrictions. If you don’t eat meat, fish, gluten, dairy or fatty foods, it’s often difficult to avoid eating what you can’t or don’t what to eat. Whether it’s your tightly-budgeted, all-pizza holiday office party or your grandmother calling “veggematarians” “stupid idiots” while cooking a ham hock for the family Christmas dinner, sometimes you just don’t have a choice in what you eat this time of year.

Having stayed in Austin (a town full of health-conscious and animal welfare-conscious hippies open thinkers)  for the holidays and attending several Christmas dinners and parties, the question, “Do you eat meat?” came up frequently. For years now, I’ve felt that the long-winded and convoluted answer I gave people sounded like a crock of horseshit, but I discovered last month that many people have similar diets. I also discovered from my friend Jerm what the name for our kind is:

Moochetarian [moo-cha-tair-ee-un]–a person who does not (more…)

January 3, 2013 by
20-Something, Austin, Film, Hipstercrite Life, Pop Culture, Writing

Delusions of Grandeur 2013: What Are Your Big Dreams for the New Year?

2012, my last year of slinging it through my twenties, was a year of many firsts: completed my first movie, advanced my freelance writing career, started the second year of an adult relationship with someone I love and fart in front of,  got a pet cat!…which died two weeks later, met David Duchovny…in his boxer shorts! and had my adopted grandfather move into a home for folks with Alzheimer’s which threw off the emotional balance of my family.

Overall it was a pretty wonderful year, one I will look back on when I’m an old, wrinkly woman and think, “2012 was the best year of my life”  while silently weeping into a pillow.

I recently came across a list I wrote at 12 years of age of predictions for my adult self. The list included: “Make a movie!”, “meet David Duchovny!”, “write a book!” and “meet Elton John!”. It still boggles my mind that two of those have come true considering at 12 years of age I had mighty delusions of grandeur, but maybe I’ve always had that “dream big!” (more…)

December 31, 2012 by
Austin, Hipstercrite Life, Pop Culture, Writing

The Art of Being a Lazy Blogger

I’ve been a lazy blogger over the past few weeks, but FUCK!, it was the holidays and the holidays are confusing and disorienting and make you want to live on the couch for a month while gorging yourself with White Chocolate Peppermint Pringles.

What I have not been is a lazy writer and somehow I’ve managed to stumble through my month-long writer’s block and spew out a bunch of stuff.

So, because I’m a lazy blogger this month, I’m going to be super-ass lame and share with you a couple of articles I wrote on other sites, but ones I’m particularly proud of. I hope you enjoy! Regular blogging will resume shortly and I think my first post will be about “moochetarians”, the title given to a person who is vegetarian except when someone gives them free food- then they will eat a pig’s entire face if they have to.

December 28, 2012 by