Browsing Tag

Texas

Austin, Film, Pop Culture

Ten Best Pop-Up Movie Theaters Around the World

Pop-up movie theaters seem to be the craze as of late. Austin is no stranger to the format; the city’s beloved independent theater chain, Alamo Drafthouse, has been showcasing their Rolling Roadshow screenings for years. All over the U.S., movie fans have had the pleasure of seeing films such as Blue Brothers at the Old Joliet Prison, Rocky at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Goonies in Astoria, Oregon and Texas Chainsaw Massacre at the original house of slaughter in Kingsland, Texas courtesy of the Rolling Roadshow.

It appears that another pop-up movie theater might make a guest appearance in the Capital City soon. Bike-In-Theater debuted on an abandoned riverside street in Brooklyn last summer to much fanfare. The gang behind the bike-friendly screenings are looking to expand and Austin is on their list! Read more about the project here or donate to the cause here.

Below are some of the best pop-up movie theaters from around the globe. What is your favorite?

photo via Alamo Drafthouse

Pop-up (more…)

July 16, 2012 by
20-Something, Austin, Hipstercrite Life, Pop Culture

I love Texas, but why does Rick Perry have to be such a dick?

 

“My state is #50 in health care! Weee!”

 

I promised myself when I went freelance that I would buy health insurance-  and one of those desk chair bicycles so my backside wouldn’t turn into a butt pancake.

Only one of these things I’ve succeeded at.

With the help of a broker, I found the cheapest insurance Blue Cross Blue Shield has to offer and I took it. Knock on wood, I’m a healthy, non-smoking twenty-something so the plan is somewhat reasonable at $117/month, but it definitely adds to the financial pinch each month. Truthfully $117 is all I can afford.

Through reviewing my policy kit and asking questions to my broker, I learned that the plan covers very little. At least I have insurance if a fleet of angry advanced beings from another planet attack.

Yesterday was the first day I put my insurance coverage to the test.

I became sick over the weekend with a high fever, sore throat and questionable delusions. I spent a lot of Friday night dreaming about cheese (more…)

July 11, 2012 by
Hipstercrite Life

Big Sky, Big Country

As a freelancer, taking a vacation when you’re supposed to is kind of terrifying, but I gave in to the fact that there wouldn’t be much work to do over the holidays and tried to enjoy my time off. I managed to succeed! Though I was unable to go home to visit my family, I spent the holidays with my boyfriend and his wonderful family. I have a trip planned home at the end of January ($200 round-trip ticket to Upstate New York on Southwest!), so I’ll definitely get some family time in soon and Grandma can stop using here Jewish guilt powers to make me feel bad about it.

Though Texas is a big ass state, one of the beauties of it is its proximity to other cool areas. Along with my boyfriend’s cousin and her boyfriend, we snuck over to Santa Fe for a few days last week. Driving through the American Southwest is one of the most cathartic trips one can experience. I’ve driven alone and with friends or family through the Southwest countless times now and I always love it. Living in cities for (more…)

January 2, 2012 by
Austin, Hipstercrite Life

I Wasn’t Born in Texas, But I Got Here at an Average Speed

Oh man, did it feel good to stay away from the computer this weekend!
I hope all of you had a wonderful holiday and that most of you are still on break and not at work reading this post.
Wanted to share with you last Friday’s CultureMap post. It meant a lot to me. It’s about the the generous and familial culture in Texas and how inspiring and comforting it is.
I hope I don’t offend any of my fellow Upstate New Yorkers here. I think you’ll get what I mean…

I Wasn’t Born in Texas, But I Got Here at an Average Speed

I’m a Yankee. Born and raised in the armpit of the Rust Belt. In the land of fallen big box giants, frost-bitten morale and Wonder Bread tans.

I have not lived in the North in over seven years, but one can never really change where they’re from, right? Where you were born is in your blood. Always.
The fact that I’m a Yankee is not something I advertise, but it’s difficult to hide when you develop instant heartburn just looking at Polvo’s salsa. The sweat on your (more…)

December 26, 2011 by
Fashion/Design

My Boyfriend the Style Icon

As I grew older, I began to realize that the probability of me dating a man who is smart, funny, interesting, good-looking, has a good job, is close to his family, has his head screwed on tightly AND dresses well was very unlikely. I could have maybe 3 or 4 of those things and dressing well would definitely not be one of them. I’m convinced that 50% of the male population do not know how to dress themselves. Sorry guys, but until the day you stop wearing short-sleeved piqué polo shirts that are two sizes too big for you, I will firmly keep that prior sentence in place.

Imagine my surprise when I did meet a guy who had all those qualities who wasn’t a.) gay b.) had a girlfriend that dresses him.

My boyfriend has style. It’s a style I can’t classify because it’s simply his own. If I had to pick a type I would call it “nerdy cowboy”? He always keeps a pen in the pocket of his pearl snap shirt.

My boyfriend has entire closet filled with costumes. He has another closet entirely filled (more…)

October 12, 2011 by
Austin

Things They Lost In the Fire

photo by Keye TV of Bastrop, TX
Right now, surrounding Austin is on fire.

Small pockets in Austin are on fire.

Yesterday, I was having drinkings with a friend at the Black Star Co-Op (the world’s first co-operatively owned and worker self-managed brewpub) and noticed a plume of black smoke behind her shoulder. The smoke cloud could not be more than a few miles away in Central Austin and we both got concerned. The entire city is combusting, I thought to myself. We scrambled to Twitter to see what was going on (both our first go-to for news) and didn’t see anything. Later we learned that a fire started about a mile away but was quickly extinguished. Over 40 counties are on fire in Texas and local news reports new fires in Austin daily.

Everyone is on edge right now and heartbroken over the destruction the fires have caused, most notably the Bastrop fires. Over 550 homes have been damaged in Bastrop.

It’s eerie how this complete annihilation can be occurring so (more…)

September 7, 2011 by
Austin

Can’t I Go to Both Hell AND Texas?

Yesterday my mother emailed me the above picture with the caption, “Remember this picture? I call it “Future Texan”.

I’d like to call it, “Future Toddlers and Tiaras Reject”, but “Future Texan” will suffice.

I’m a Northerner. A Yankee. I come from land where for six months of the year social interaction and entertainment is hunted for it’s rare and delicious meat. My ass had never seen the sun nor had my virgin taste buds made love to anything spicier than vanilla bean. Vanilla bean is not spicy, you say? You’re right. The word “vanilla” just seemed appropriate in this paragraph. Growing up in central New York makes you vanilla. I was vanilla. Diverse culture and cuisine are not prevalent in central New York. That’s not true. Diverse culture and cuisine outside of all the white people from Old Country is not prevalent. I had never even seen a Mexican restaurant until I moved to California. Sushi? Indian? Ethiopian? These things did not exist where I was from. I once heard there (more…)

May 20, 2011 by
Hipstercrite Life

To Dance in Laredo

Life is always an adventure.
Even when it takes you to a border town in Texas where friends and loved ones suggest that your safety will be in great danger if you go.

Texas is 268,581 square miles of curios. Even on the long stretches of dry nothingness or repetitious sand-colored strip malls, the state is never boring. When I first moved to Texas two and a half years ago, I felt like a child seeing the world for the first time. Everything about the state fascinated me and it continues to do so. From the freeways that ascend into the sky to the characters in cowboy hats to the forgotten main streets to the sprawl of major cities, I write a tiny love letter to Texas every day. And now this is my tiny love letter to Laredo.

Laredo, Texas borders the larger Mexican city of Nuevo Laredo. If you Google Nuevo Laredo you will see warnings from US Consulates urging Americans not to travel to Nuevo Laredo and pictures of people’s heads blown open. Laredo is the 88th largest city in the country (more…)

April 19, 2011 by