Bevo Down

At the South Austin Museum of Popular Culture there is always something to make you smile. Like this crash of the Bevo-powered plane (glider?).

Amp it Up

FFP poses at the giant amp in front of South Austin Music...below their giant guitar.

A Movable Feast for the Eyes

I have been doing a weekly blog for Arthouse at Jones Center since last November. Here is one of my latest photos. This magnificent structure on Congress Ave, our main street in downtown, will be displaying some of the finest and most envelope-pushing artwork in the country. Here you see the huge movable wall in the second floor main gallery that is now hung and almost ready for use.

Music Legends

There is a mural on South Lamar shop appropriately called South Austin Music depicting some famous (locally at least) musicians. Can you identify any? Click the picture or here to make it bigger.

Coffee, Quick

Austin has lots of local coffee shops or at least local chains to satisfy your coffee needs without going to that big chain out of Seattle. Brevità is on South Lamar next to a couple of trailers, including that Donut trailer, Gourdough's. You can get a coffee here to go with it or even drive through on your way to work.

Does She Have Any Tattoos?

Our friend Jackie, faithful contributor to this blog, saw my comment about age and tattoos and volunteered this picture of hers, obtained in honor of a certain birthday. She says, "The lizard is a symbol of good luck and renewal (because they can regrow their severed limbs). I figure 'late' in life is a good thing because 1) I could use a little help with renewal and 2) living with a permanent mark for the rest of my life is no big deal. And I chose the henna ink color because it seems to harmonize with the age spots. ;-)" Very amusing, I think. However, she says it's Fresca in the glass because she took it early in the morning.

Three Brave Men

I apologize for not sticking with the theme of "bright colors." I just got up in the early morning and had an impulse to post this photo. Linda reminded me about the theme after I had this photo and text up.

I always look on August 1st as my "second birthday." Reason being, at approximately 11:57 a.m. on August 1, 1966, the "Tower Sniper" Charles Whitman, chose to shoot a high-powered rifle round through the body of a man standing about four feet to my right instead of me. (He died in a local hospital's ER about two-and-a-half hours after that.)

Largely because of the wonders of the Internet, I have managed to meet and become acquainted with many of the former police officers who ascended the University of Texas tower and took Whitman out that fateful day. On April 1, 2007, I was privileged to go to the top of the tower with them and relive the moments they spent up there.

Here you see three of them in the elevator they used on August 1, 1966, to reach the top. Left to right, they are Houston McCoy, Jerry Day and Phillip Conner. McCoy is the man who put two shotgun rounds in Whitman's head and ended the rampage at around 1:20 p.m. Jerry Day, armed with nothing more than his service revolver, was headed towards Whitman from the south side of the observation deck. Phillip Conner had stationed himself in the west window of the deck, trying to get a shot at the sniper from there. (Whitman was in the northwest corner.) If you want to read my account of what I went through, here is the link:
http://www.austinprop.com/Whitman.htm

Forty-four years later, I can still remember so much about that day.