Austin

Fear the Return

April 8, 2012
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Fear the Return

What the heck, Austin? Grocery stores are closed. Gas stations are closed. Both Best Buy and Fry’s Electronics are closed. How are people supposed to survive? This isn’t a day off. It’s post-apocalypse survival training. Stock up on food, gas, and guns, because no one wants to risk being outside when The Resurrected One walks the Earth. The only places open are prepared food distribution centers with lines stretching out the door. Inside, they’re cramming in as many people as possible. There are no menus. If you want to eat, you silently join the shuffling line of bodies as each…

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New to Austin: Week 20 – Wherein I am disappointed by the lack of Cardassians in The Domain

March 25, 2012
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New to Austin: Week 20 – Wherein I am disappointed by the lack of Cardassians in The Domain

For the last four months I’ve harbored oddly suspicious feelings towards “The Domain.” According to Austinites it’s a self contained city in the unfashionable north end of town where brainwashed denizens peel the skin off panhandlers to make buttery soft leather coats. That seemed a little extreme to me. Baking in the Austin sun, your average panhandler here has the coarsely wrinkled texture of a slice of beef jerky snatched off a barbershop floor. Today I bravely ventured into this frightening land in the name of networking. What I found would frighten…intimidate…moderately annoy… er, okay, let’s be honest here. It’s…

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New to Austin: Week 19 – Wherein SXSW is redeemed by music

March 19, 2012
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New to Austin: Week 19 – Wherein SXSW is redeemed by music

Wow. I’m still overwhelmed by the last couple weeks. Last week I spewed some deservedly hateful bile at SXSW. It’s been a long damn time since I went anywhere I was treated so miserably. After only two days of exposure as a damned badgeless townie I was ready to look up every company with a significant presence at SXSW and boycott their products. This may be hard to believe, but I actually played down the assholery of attendees. Then I got a badge. A contact with the Professional Writers of Austin put me in touch with a Dallas newspaper. They…

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New to Austin: Week 18 – Wherein I attend SXSWi as a damned badgeless townie

March 10, 2012
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New to Austin: Week 18 – Wherein I attend SXSWi as a damned badgeless townie

This is not how I expected to experience South by Southwest. Back in St. Louis, when I fantasized about moving to Austin, I imagined SXSW would be an amazing pivotal point in my life. I’d roam the halls, put my networking powers to good use, leave the trade show with silly amounts of swag, and drink away any intimidation sparked fears as I charmed my way through the parties. Along the way I’d meet fascinating tech workers and thought leaders from all over the globe. While enjoying quality time with the technorati, some of them would realize what an amazing…

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New to Austin: Week 17 – Wherein I attempt to raise money for an injured artist

March 4, 2012
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New to Austin: Week 17 – Wherein I attempt to raise money for an injured artist

The local Steampunk community has been good to me. The very least I can do is give something back. Last week, local Steampunk musician and artist Darwin Prophet fell 15 feet from a ladder. That’s a heck of a lot of physical damage for someone who doesn’t have health insurance. As a fellow uninsured creative professional, I want to help. Therefore, on March 6-7 I’m giving SteamDrunks away for free. Instead of paying Amazon $5 for the download, go to paypal and donate $5 to Darwin at darwinprophet@gmail.com. Now, $5 doesn’t go that far, so to sweeten the deal a little,…

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New to Austin: Week 16 – Wherein I renew my love affair with fake history

February 25, 2012
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New to Austin: Week 16 – Wherein I renew my love affair with fake history

Oh, Austin. Did I really need more reasons to love you? To the north lies a yearly Ren Faire in Dallas. To the south lies a yearly festival in Houston. Both of those are about a 3 hour drive. I used to drag anywhere from 12-20 people on a yearly 4 hour trek past Zombie Jesus and into the wilds of Ohio for the Columbus Ren Faire. Imagine my delight on discovering two large Ren Faires within three hours. But lo! Two years ago a new Faire sprang up a mere 40 minutes outside Austin. Honestly, Sherwood Forest Faire is…

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New to Austin: Week 14 – Wherein evil plans are afoot with the Professional Writers of Austin regarding a new “Creative Nonfiction Writers Group”

February 17, 2012
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New to Austin: Week 14 – Wherein evil plans are afoot with the Professional Writers of Austin regarding a new “Creative Nonfiction Writers Group”

I was pretty damn worried about losing my job a mere five weeks after moving to Austin. There wasn’t anything I could do about the company going under. It would’ve happened whether I was here or in St. Louis. Still, moving to Austin not only depleted all my savings but also resulted in some significant credit debt. After only five weeks here I suddenly wasn’t sure how to pay the rent. I’m still significantly concerned, but to my surprise and delight networking has landed me just enough work to keep the lights on. Each check I cash reaffirms my decision…

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Geek Girl’s Guide to Austin: Feb 7-13

February 7, 2012
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Geek Girl’s Guide to Austin: Feb 7-13

Get out of the house, geeks! Once a week I round up the steampunk, boardgames, science fiction, burlesque, and other random bits of geeky awesome which make Austin such a great place to live. This is your excuse to get out of the house and mingle with your own kind. Enjoy. Our nearest Renn Faire starts to the east while Firefly guests descend on a convetion to the north. Meanwhile, here in Austin there are plenty of fun things coming up at the Alamo Drafthouse. However, this week’s secret stealth event is the Sci Fi and Fantasy Social. It only…

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New to Austin: Week 12 – Wherein I am Denied TMBG/JoCo Goodness

February 4, 2012
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New to Austin: Week 12 – Wherein I am Denied TMBG/JoCo Goodness

I’m clearly not the only person who loves Austin. In fact, I was one of 6000 people who moved here last November. In 1990, the metro area’s population was only 400,000. It doubled to 800,000 by 2000 and doubled again to 1.7 million by 2010. Projections put it around 3 million by 2020. All those new people want to do one thing – buy my They Might Be Giants tickets. I thought I’d purchased my ticket over a month ago, but alas, a week or so before the concert, when I decided to print out my ticket, I met the…

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New to Austin: Week 11 – wherein the internet shows SteamDrunks some love

January 28, 2012
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New to Austin: Week 11 – wherein the internet shows SteamDrunks some love

  Behold the wonder! That’s right, you’re looking at my very first published book. You too can buy a copy of SteamDrunks: 101 Steampunk Cocktails and Mixed Drinks for a mere $4.99. In fact, quite a few of you have. I can’t thank you enough. This is my first foray into writing for the Kindle market. In 90 days I’ll release the book for the Nook and other ereaders. Before my next Steampunk convention this spring I plan to have an actual physical edition I can sign and sell at cons. That’s right, it’s done well enough the good people…

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