Keepin' it Weird, Live Animal Edition

We were walking down South Congress on a pleasant day in early February when we noticed two horses tied up in front of a shop. They were right beside this car which has been there a while promoting the shop I guess. FFP showed the long view yesterday of this same shot. Just shows how a change in POV can make a shot very different.

Keepin' It Something

It really seems to be a little self-conscious for a city to have a Keepin' It Weird Festival (and 5K, always a run involved!) but we do. These gents were passing by our building on their way to said event one day last month.

Capitalizing on Weird

Folks say 'Keep Austin Weird,' but when it becomes part of an ad campaign? Hmmm....

Dress for Success

Spotted this gent on Congress Avenue during F1. He had a deck of cards and alternated between looking at his cell phone and shuffling them. He tried to engage a couple of passers-by but I just moved along muttering 'so orange!'

Weirdly Beautiful

Here's another picture from the Keep Austin Weird Festival. These women look pretty striking (and attractive) in their costumes. That's our building emerging from the cape and the W Hotel on the right.

Super Heroes Preserving Austin's Weirdness

This family, decked out as super heroes, were preserving Austin's Weird Cred at the Keep Austin Weird Festival.

Portrait of the Artist as Himself

Here you see Jim Franklin, a remarkable artist and an Austin legend. The whole concept of the armadillo as a cultural icon came from him. (As did "Long Live Longnecks." And see below for the official designation.) I interviewed him for my West Austin News column and visited in his studio recently. The painting in this photo is of himself -- he drew the original outline for it with his eyes closed. The resulting perspective-bending take is remarkable. I swear that Jim doesn't look like he's aged all that much in the last forty years. He still toils in relative obscurity in a small studio off a side street near a barbecue joint in downtown Austin.

Oh, by the way, here it is in official language --

RESOLVED, That the 74th Legislature of the State of Texas hereby designate the longhorn the official Large State Mammal of Texas and the armadillo the official Small State Mammal of Texas.

Mural at Threadgill's

Threadgill's South Location has this mural, picturing both the old Armadillo World Headquarters (which was nearby) and the original Threadgill's (in an old gas station on North Lamar...which is now Threadgill's North). The man on Texas is the late Kenneth Threadgill, namesake.

Armadillo Cow

I know we are all tired of plastic cows. But this is too funny. Armadillo Cow. Actually labeled 'Armoodillo Cow!"

1966? Or 2011--you be the judge.

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We were on one of our morning walks a few weeks ago and passed by this house which sports two fine examples of the main modes of transportation from the 1960s: A VW bug and a VW van. Nice to know some folks are keeping the flame alive for all of us old-timers.

Herding the cows

I took this photo from the Drake Bridge over Lady Bird Lake a few days ago. It shows two of our decorative cows seemingly being herded by a white city of Austin pickup.

Flowery Cow

This cow painted with bluebonnets, our state flower, is resting on the Pfluger Pedestrian Bridge over Lady Bird Lake. It's part of the herd of over 100 colorful cows around Austin. Lots of people are out having fun posing their kids for photos with these bovines.

Out to pasture

The latest idea for public art in our town is a herd of fanciful cows. Here you see one who "Loves Moo." Linda and I shot a series of photos of these creatures who are roaming around the downtown area and we'll be putting them up over the next few days.

Pink rabbit

I was on my morning walk Thursday and came upon this pink motor scooter. To me, it looked like a bunny rabbit loose in the urban wilds. This person's bumper stickers were great. One said, "If being in a church makes you a Christian, does being in a garage make you a car"?"

Have you ever seen a nutria?

On our morning walk a few days ago, we saw this young lady by a nutria enjoying a little sunshine on the shore of Barton Creek. It's not often you see these animals.

Lost and Found

Linda and I went for a long walk around Lady Bird Lake yesterday morning. While still on the north shore, we saw this ad hoc "Lost and Found department" various joggers and walkers had created. The plaque on this stone is about the story behind the naming of Travis County. I also wonder about the story behind each of these items. Two of these sets have both car and house keys. What a hassle!

The Aftermath

After Graham Reynolds got through hammering that red piano into pieces, the crowd descended on it for parts to take away for souvenirs.

The Day the Music Died

Here you see well-known composer and musician Graham Reynolds taking a sledge hammer to a piano that was slated for extinction anyway. This happened after he and some other players gave a concert at the foot of the pedestrian bridge not far from our home. These old pianos have been placed around the downtown area and anyone can play on them at any time.

Some Dashing Runners

This colorful bunch of runners were part of the annual Capitol 10,000 race in downtown yesterday. It's the biggest annual run in town. Linda and I went to a spot on Congress Avenue to snap some shots of the runners. All told, there were over 22,000 people participating.

Honkfest

This band had come to Austin all the way from Providence, RI to participate in Honkfest. It's a gathering of cool and crazy bands that coincides with SXSW. This group stopped for a quick concert before moving to the Dell Children's Museum to play with similar musical groups. We met a local lady who said that she was putting the whole band up at her home. Right here, they were playing "Sing, Sing, Sing."