Music forges family ties that bind
When I saw that the English electronic band Depeche Mode (known for their hit song “People are People”) was going to be to doing their first-ever showcase at the South By Southwest Music Conference...
Category: Essay and Opinion
Give a homeless animal a chance at a soft landing
Recently the Austin Animal Center has received more animals than they can handle. They are at full-as-a-tick capacity, with an additional 518 dogs and cats in offsite foster care. Hearing about the number of...
Live life now — don’t waste it taking pictures
You’ve heard the one about how a picture says a thousand words? This week’s $1 billion acquisition of the mobile phone picture-sharing service Instagram by social media giant Facebook says even more. It tells...
Let us dry clothes outside without fear of an HOA
One of my earliest childhood memories is of hanging out laundry with my grandmother. Early on humid Houston mornings, my East Texas-born grandmother would haul a load of wet wash down her back steps...
At fest, stars mingle among us – and it’s fantastic
Just before I was sucked into the movie madness of Fantastic Fest, I called my mother to let her know I wouldn’t be answering my phone much the next week. When I explained I’d...
For those able to find work at festival, music was just bonus
On the Friday afternoon of the Austin City Limits Music Festival, I met Marina, 19, a sophomore political science student at Texas A&M International University in Laredo. The day before, she had taken an...
At SXSW, love of Duran Duran was still going strong
When I was in junior high school, I could have told you anything about the band Duran Duran. With crucial information gleaned from Tiger Beat and Rolling Stone, I could have explained how the...
Dig those crazy grooves, daddy-o
I spent a few days loitering on the fringes of the South By Southwest Interactive festival this past week. Every year the festival blows into town, bringing a cornucopia of digital goodies that promise...
The right kind of scary
I spend many October evenings as a guide at the charity haunted house “Scare For a Cure.” In what may be the only acting/hiking gig in the world, I’m responsible for safely leading groups...
A festival everyone can enjoy
I had an unexpected realization during the Flaming Lips set at the Austin City Limits Music Festival. Watching the Oklahoma-based band closing their show with “Do You Realize??” I discovered tears steaming down my...
