The important thing is, I'm meeting new people

We are getting a visitor.

I AM EXCITE

It’s nice to be back in Austin. Chrismahannukwanzivus break was absolutely perfect (except for the massive head cold I got on the last day) - 4 days visiting with friends and 6 days being lazy and playing games with family/binge reading. Still, good to be back. Our dog got way cuter. Plus I think it was the longest I’ve been without a taco since we moved here.

Tonight’s weather is fairy dust?

Had a great Austin weekend filled with Austin activities which, unfortunately, usually only happens when people come to visit. I need to stop being so lazy and start doing shit regularly. We had a good visit with S’s sister, S’s cousin, and my friend. Lots of eating - La Condesa brunch, Black’s Barbecue in Lockhart, Rosita’s al pastor brunch, Mighty Cone, East Side King. Lots of drinking outside. Bat watching.

Sunday I went to art museums with my friend - the Austin Museum of Art and Arthouse at the Jones Center.

AMoA was…disappointing. There was an exhibit on Herman Miller design, which was one of the most poorly designed museum exhibits I have been to in a long time. It felt like it was meant to be viewed in a linear way, without being laid out in that order. There was too much text. There was not enough context. The Mona Lisa exhibit was fine, but not my cup of tea. There were a few selections from the collection that were cool, including some of Rauschenberg’s works on paper that I hadn’t seen before. 

We were going to go to a coffee shop and then just go home, but then we decided to stop into the Arthouse…and I’m so glad we did. I am KICKING myself for living in Austin for two years and not going here before. The second floor was closed, as they were setting up for an upcoming exhibit, so there were only three exhibits - a selection of works by Jack Strange, a film by Javier Tellez, and a video piece by Ely Kim.

First, it’s free. That’s crazy! Second, there weren’t a lot of people there, which is great because I hate crowded museum experiences (we went Sunday afternoon). Third, it was awesome.

We entered and looked at Jack Strange’s stuff first - some pieces of sculpture, some slideshows, some videos - all interesting and worth some chortles. I enjoyed Stunt Doubles - a slideshow of photos of him, wearing a red parka, posing with someone on the street who also happens to be wearing a red parka. I also liked Tom, a video of clips of Tom Cruise running through his movies. I enjoyed it all and was a bit worried, because I thought it was all pretty good, and the other two things couldn’t possibly be good. Spoiler: I was wrong!

Next we watched Letter on the Blind, For the Use of Those Who See, a film project by Javier Tellez. This was amazing. It shows six blind New Yorkers, in an empty public pool in Brooklyn, interacting with an elephant. I found it really powerful and got a bit ferklempt - admittedly, it doesn’t take much, but I teared up. Several times. It was shot beautifully in black and white. It was beautifully constructed and conceived, interesting, and meaningful. What more do you want from art? I started watching pretty much at the halfway point, and sat through the credits and started over from the beginning because I was so in love with it. The other great thing about such a small selection of exhibits was that I could watch the entire film (about 30 minutes) without feeling like doing so was really at the expense of experiencing something else. 

Last was Ely Kim’s Boombox, which we experienced by stepping into the elevator - doors close, and the video plays. I loved it. The video is fun and great and a perfect counterpoint to Letter on the Blind. If you don’t live in Austin, you can watch the video here. But if you do live in Austin, go see it! I will go see it with you! Ely Kim dances to 100 songs in 100 places in 100 days, boiled down to a 10 minute video. The elevator was such a great place to see this too, and it was especially interesting for this particular video. I wonder what other videos they play in the elevator? 

So, skip the AMoA, but go to the Arthouse. I plan on going back, and often.

A good night for bats!

The bats are out early this year (I think this just means the drought is really bad).I managed to get a good shot from the bridge without dropping my phone into Town Lake.

A handy sign by the bat-watching area said that one bat can eat 600 mosquitoes in an hour. Can I keep a bat on a leash?

Sold out Yelle show last night at the Mohawk.

So much fun! That woman can rock a unitard like no other. I could also listen to her say, “hello Austeeen!” all the time. Also, there seemed to be a strangely high number of straight guys at the show - who knew that French electro-dance-pop was so popular?

What the fuck, weather? Warm up faster.