AUSTIN | Misc. Discussions - No Politics

[wwmiv]

I meant compete in terms of climate during this time of year...

I lived in San Antonio and yes they can compete with Austin in terms of overall culture as well, and in many respects beats Austin handily. Fiesta, for instance, is a huge deal. But they just do not have the same VIBE that SXSW requires, and THAT is why I said SXSW would never move there.

And no, there isn't just bad rock and metal. There's a vibrant Tejano scene which Austin can never expect to match. There are substantially better art museums, and in fact the art scene is just all around better in San Antonio than it is in Austin. I've own multiple pieces by Marcus Cerda, who is simply phenomenal.

[KevinFromTexas]

Originally Posted by Syndic

I'm just tired of people pretending that it's not a godawful, ridiculous idea. The only thing they have more of than us is surface-level parking lots, which the SXSW bigshots seem to be big fans of. I guess we're victims of our own success. But yeah last time I was in San Antonio all I could find there was metal and bad Christian-sounding "rock" music that only people in small towns listen to. Most Austinites really don't realize how different things are here than other places (in Texas, at least).

Moving SXSW from Austin would be like moving Sundance from Utah. It's just crazy. People come for the city as much as they come for the entertainment.

My brother works for a software company that is based in California. They have only two other offices on the planet. One is in Austin, the other is in London. He periodically flies to San Francisco for conferences there and gets to mingle with some of the workers who live in California. Somewhere along the line internet service providers (ISPs) came up in conversation. They were talking about internet speeds there versus what they are here. My brother said they told him they were paying 50 bucks a month for 5 mbps. They freaked out when he told them he gets 20 mbps at his house for the same amount. Now, my brother lives in far Southeast Austin. We get 200 mbps here in our neighborhood in South Austin, and Google started laying their new fiber network this week on our street. My brother was saying out in California, they might have one or two internet providers, but here in Austin we've got at least 4. It's pretty impressive that Austin has a better selection of internet providers, and at a higher speed than even some of the communities in the freaking bay area.

With that kind of bragging right, I would think it would benefit them to stay here. This city is so tech heavy, and for a big festival social media and connectivity matters immensely these days.

Austin would also be wise to keep SXSW. It encourages further upgrades to the local communication network. Companies also come to Austin for SXSW and do some amazing things. My brother was telling me Spotify completely gutted an old abandoned building down the street from his office, completely renovated it and used the space last year during SXSW. Once they leave, that building has had those improvements made and is good to go for whatever other use.

[Jdawgboy]

Originally Posted by wwmiv

I meant compete in terms of climate during this time of year...

I lived in San Antonio and yes they can compete with Austin in terms of overall culture as well, and in many respects beats Austin handily. Fiesta, for instance, is a huge deal. But they just do not have the same VIBE that SXSW requires, and THAT is why I said SXSW would never move there.

And no, there isn't just bad rock and metal. There's a vibrant Tejano scene which Austin can never expect to match. There are substantially better art museums, and in fact the art scene is just all around better in San Antonio than it is in Austin. I've own multiple pieces by Marcus Cerda, who is simply phenomenal.

I try not to think of it so much as competition rather a regional complementary culture. The cities are very different in mentality and individual culture and very little of it really clashes head to head. Trying to compare SXSW and Fiesta is like trying to compare a peach with a banana. Two completely different types of events. The Tejano music scene has always been apart of SA's culture so it makes sense that we would not have a comperable scene.

As far as art goes, at least fine art, a big part of that is lack of long standing major museums but when it comes to the creative community here and the art that is produced from it, I'd say we have one of the best scenes in the country.

So yea there are things we just don't compare but the same is also said that we have that SA can't compare with as well.

[wwmiv]

Originally Posted by Jdawgboy

I try not to think of it so much as competition rather a regional complementary culture. The cities are very different in mentality and individual culture and very little of it really clashes head to head. Trying to compare SXSW and Fiesta is like trying to compare a peach with a banana. Two completely different types of events. The Tejano music scene has always been apart of SA's culture so it makes sense that we would not have a comperable scene.

As far as art goes, at least fine art, a big part of that is lack of long standing major museums but when it comes to the creative community here and the art that is produced from it, I'd say we have one of the best scenes in the country.

So yea there are things we just don't compare but the same is also said that we have that SA can't compare with as well.

I fundamentally agree with all but this: "when it comes to the creative community here and the art that is produced from it, I'd say we have one of the best scenes in the country."

I'd just say that both cities have really good art scenes, but San Antonio's on the whole is better because it is more subaltern and authentic.

[KevinFromTexas]

Austinites are definitely more likely to paint a wall than to hang something on it. I guess you could say wall art isn't authentic, but really the word that comes to mind is unconventional. I mean, there's a house in our neighborhood with a blue tree in the front yard.

[Jdawgboy]

Originally Posted by KevinFromTexas

Austinites are definitely more likely to paint a wall than to hang something on it. I guess you could say wall art isn't authentic, but really the word that comes to mind is unconventional. I mean, there's a house in our neighborhood with a blue tree in the front yard.

That's what I mean by our creative community. Also go into East Austin and you will come across an impressive and growing art scene. There are lots of art galleries and other creative spaces. I think authentic comes down to personal preferences. There are people here that consider their work authentic. Some of it is "outside the box" so to speak and even strange but hey it Austin, that's what makes it fun and unique in our own way.

[drummer]

Blue trees aside (not sure if San Antonio has any of those...)...

I like San Antonio because, to me, it feels like a legit Latin city more than any other city in the U.S. (Miami aside, but that's more Cuban/Puerto Rican, so it's unique also) - at least the core does. The surburbs are just like Flower Mound, Round Rock, Humble, and any other uninteresting such community. The core feels, in some ways, similar to Guadelajara or Mexico City. I love visiting those cities and I think it's great the way many hispanic folks pride themselves on their culture - authentically so - in San Antonio. Sure, Los Angeles might have more Mexicans, but San Antonio feels more so. I think it'd be a great loss if they changed that. Side note - I think it'd be great if San Antonio and Monterrey hook up by HSR as people have rumored over the years.

Austin is Austin; it doesn't need to be like or better than another city, nor does Houston need to beat Dallas or vice versa. I agree with Jdawgboy - these cities should complement rather than compete. All are growing in pretty cool ways right now anyway.

[Tech House]

Cenk Uygur raves about Austin and SXSW on The Young Turks YT channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1OVdwRJ3cNE

[KevinFromTexas]

Oh, I love San Antonio. I was born there. I agree about liking those places for their own character. That's what makes San Antonio so special.

I'm just wondering which one is the peach and which is the banana.

[LoneStarMike]

Originally Posted by KevinFromTexas

I'm just wondering which one is the peach and which is the banana.

San Antonio has a proper loop around the city so it's more round. I think they would be the peach. It seems like most of Austin's growth, and especially our public transportation, runs north to south, so I'd say we're the banana.

Plus, we always like to talk about how great we are and what a fun place we are, etc and one of the definitions of top banana over at the Urban Dictionary is

British slang meaning great. Similar to 'wicked'. A cool/fun/easy-going/nice etc person could be described as a top banana. Also if something's good.

There's another definition at the bottom of the page:

1) Cult Activity involving copious amounts of alcohol and cheesy music, frequented by Warwick University Students and the Hardest of Hard-Core Teeny Boppers.
2) Form of self-inflicted torture involving agonisingly loud, irritating noise, nausea and drunken revelry.

[lzppjb]

Maybe we're more of a Palm fruit...

[KevinFromTexas]

Well that settles it then, Mike. lol

[AusTxDevelopment]

Originally Posted by Jdawgboy

That's what I mean by our creative community. Also go into East Austin and you will come across an impressive and growing art scene. There are lots of art galleries and other creative spaces. I think authentic comes down to personal preferences. There are people here that consider their work authentic. Some of it is "outside the box" so to speak and even strange but hey it Austin, that's what makes it fun and unique in our own way.

Austin does have a lot of art spaces in East Austin in particular. Below is a map from the marketing brochure for 310 Comal (located here: https://www.dropbox.com/s/575c9zx2lw...Flyer.pdf?dl=0 ) All the red dots are art studios. That's a lot for such a small area:

[Tech House]

The East Austin Studio Tour featured over 400 artists' studios this winter. Many of the studios shown on the map are actually complexes with multiple studios in one or more buildings. I cannot begin to overstate how amazing the studio tour is and I highly recommend it to any and all. It's my favorite event of the year.

[lzppjb]

Good omen for a stronger El Nino

Saw this and thought I'd share it here. Hoping for the best.

Shaggy's favorite weather guy poster thinks the signs are pointing to a mild spring and summer with more rainfall, leading to a wet autumn and an El Nino winter. Maybe we can get a couple drenchers west of town this time.

[airwx]

Originally Posted by lzppjb

Good omen for a stronger El Nino

Saw this and thought I'd share it here. Hoping for the best.

Shaggy's favorite weather guy poster thinks the signs are pointing to a mild spring and summer with more rainfall, leading to a wet autumn and an El Nino winter. Maybe we can get a couple drenchers west of town this time.

The Water Development Board is quite optimistic about this summer. This year is the first year they've published an outlook using the current method, but it looks good!

[Tech House]

Originally Posted by lzppjb

Good omen for a stronger El Nino

Saw this and thought I'd share it here. Hoping for the best.

Shaggy's favorite weather guy poster thinks the signs are pointing to a mild spring and summer with more rainfall, leading to a wet autumn and an El Nino winter. Maybe we can get a couple drenchers west of town this time.

Thank you so much for posting that link, it's fascinating! I'm an extreme weather geek and this type of thing is like intellectual porn for me. I love the complexity of weather and climate. How cool is it that the devastation of an island nation in the South Pacific would come at the hands of the very same entity that could end up playing a significant role in filling our lakes? Thanks to Cyclone Pam, tubing the Guadalupe could be more exciting this summer than it has been in the last few years. Of course Pam is just one of innumerable factors that work together to generate phenomena such as El Nino, but it's a very dramatic illustration of the workings of chaotic systems.

With this increased chance for a sustained Nino event, the odds are pretty good that 2015 will best 2014 for warmest year on record. Which reminds me of one of my favorite scenes from King of The Hill's very first episode:

Dale Gribble:
I say let the world warm up, see what Boutros Boutros-Ghali-Ghali thinks about that! We'll grow oranges in Alaska.

Hank Hill:
Dale, you giblet-head, we live in Texas. It's already a hundred and ten in the summer, and if it gets one degree hotter, I'm gonna kick your ass!

[lzppjb]

These warmest years on record sure are allowing for mild Texas seasons and record snowfall across the north.

[KevinFromTexas]

Yeah, but California is in trouble. I read they have a year's supply of water left in the whole state, according to NASA. And it's been in the upper 80s to low 90s there for weeks, which is not all that normal actually. Washington state has been unseasonably warm also. And I saw that Kansas hit a high of 90F a few days ago. And I remember reading a comment from someone (someone from SSP actually) who lives in Anchorage, that they've been getting rain in winter there when it should be snow, and they've had highs in the 60s when ti should be in the 30s.

[Tech House]

Originally Posted by lzppjb

These warmest years on record sure are allowing for mild Texas seasons and record snowfall across the north.

Sure, it's always going to be colder than normal in some places, even during a much-warmer-than-normal year. It so happens that the eastern half of North America was the only substantial area of the planet that had significantly cooler than normal temps this winter. The most obvious indicator of someone's lack of understanding about global warming is their correlation of their experience with their belief in the existence of the phenomenon on a global scale. It would be interesting to see a regional survey right now, which would show that people from California to Alaska are more inclined to accept that global warming is happening, vs. people in the east. To think it's happening because it's hot where you live is just as ignorant as to think it's not happening because it's cold. Think of the analogy of property value; you wouldn't conclude that housing prices throughout Austin are declining simply based on the fact that houses in your immediate vicinity dropped value. Apply that same logic to global climate and you'll liberate yourself from the Senator Inhofe clown school of snowball antics.

In fact, there's mounting evidence that the cause of the jet stream's sagging so far south, and getting stuck there for so long, lies in the melting of the Arctic, where winter sea ice saw its lowest maximum winter extent in recorded history 2 weeks ago. I'd explain more about how it works but I'm already way off topic. Here are a couple of graphics illustrating the dramatic weather pattern that trapped so much cold air twixt the Gulf of Mexico and Hudson Bay: