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March 28, 2007

We Interrupt the Fun for a Short Environmental Message

The Save Our Springs Alliance has documented pollution caused by rain water run-off from the AMD and Hill Country Galleria construction projects in the Barton Springs watershed:

A less-than-two-inch rain storm was enough to wash untold amounts of construction pollution off AMD and the Galleria's construction sites. AMD's site is on Southwest Parkway and Rialto Blvd. and the Galleria is in the Village of Bee Cave. We are going to file complaints against these polluters with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. These mall developers were caught polluting Little Barton Creek during construction of their "Shops at the Galleria" strip mall in 2005 and fined by TCEQ (a nominal few thousand dollars).

In related news, the coalition will be meeting this Saturday, March 31, from 9-11 a.m. to pick up trash in the recharge zone (as part of Keep Austin Beautiful's Clean Sweep).

Update: Clean up has been postponed due to rain.

Posted by timothompson at 10:23 PM

More Favorites

Posted by timothompson at 06:19 PM

March 27, 2007

Favorites

In lieu of beating the dead horse that is SXSW (though I may yet do that), I'm going to keep it light with this list of favorites via Tiny Showcase's latest email dispatch.

Posted by timothompson at 06:33 PM

March 25, 2007

Things I Learned BSing with Friends Last Night

I'm sure you might think these are obvious points. But this is a blog, OK? And I had too many things to Twitter it. No, wait. I'm totally Twittering that catty fatty thing.

Posted by timothompson at 11:11 PM

March 24, 2007

Tumblr

I'm playing with Tumblr. For now, just adding quotes and whatnot (plenty of whatnot).

Posted by timothompson at 12:26 PM

March 23, 2007

NSFW!!

I don't know why, but this week I've been encountering a lot of funny stuff that could be deemed NSFW. And I've been torturing my co-workers with it because it's kinda NSFW, but not really XXX NSFW. Par example:

So yeah, it must be dirty week. Get dirty with your bad selves, y'all!! Channel Christina Aguilera or something and have some hawt NSFW action this weekend (trannies not required—unless they're really hot. Heh.).

Posted by timothompson at 06:46 PM

March 21, 2007

Silver Jew: The Movie

At this year's SXSW Interactive, I felt more comfortable with movies than with people. Not to say I didn't meet or hang with a lot of great people–just that I felt a lot of anxiety relating to people. And for me, socializing taps energy while most movies inspire me and allow my batteries to recharge.

I skipped the morning panels on Sunday (yet another of those dreary Austin days we've been having lately) because I knew it would be my only chance to catch the world premiere of "Silver Jew," Michael Tully and Matthew Robison's documentary about David Berman's tour of Jerusalem.

I wasn't sure what to expect. Actually, I was not expecting it to be much more than a travelogue intermixed with musical interludes. While that's what this movie was on the surface, I was underestimating the understated humility and charm of Berman. Sure, I've heard his poetry and read his writings, but watching this movie was like hanging out with DCB. There was no rock star posturing or macho shit-talking. Quite the opposite. Berman exudes a fragility in this movie that I wasn't expecting.

Here's a guy who toiled away in relative obscurity for over a decade partly because of his conviction not to tour or face his audience. He has a innate talent for turning out unexpected, but immediately captivating, observations. But he also possessed an insecure streak and dwelled in a comfort zone cocoon for many years while his best friends experienced success.

How many of us have gone through the same trials and tests? How many of us have been running away from our natural gifts due to some irrationality or insecurity we possess inside? As Berman says (I'm paraphrasing obviously), "We all have something inside that we have to let out, and if we don't let it out, it will kill us." What we suppress will kill us. To pay attention to our internal wants or to ignore them. That is the $500 question.

Helping him along on his journey out of desparation and into the light is the beautiful Cassie (Marrett) Berman. You can tell in a shot where he clutches her hand while walking through the streets that she is the rock–the mooring.

By the end of the movie, you realize that Berman has achieved both a spiritual and professional epiphany. He realizes that he was loved all along and that he's lucky for his lot in life. He doesn't have to run away anymore. The music, which started as a tossed-off side-project recorded on a boombox, has become his medium. Though he originally longed for the artistic respectability and literary sheen of poetry, he's learned that he can affect far more people through his music than will ever read his books.

Posted by timothompson at 12:09 AM