Breakfast Taco Wars: Race, History, and Food in Austin and San Antonio
When New York-based writer Matthew Sedacca made the claim that Austinites invented the phrase “breakfast taco”, he probably did not expect the level of outrage that he received from … Continue reading
The Curious Case of Clarksville
It’s no secret that Austin, Texas is a growing town. Residents gripe about the weak infrastructure, how the bustling tech industry has made the city less weird, and the pains … Continue reading
How Austin Became Weird: The Story of a Slogan
Everyday, thousands of Austinites roam our city’s sidewalk-less streets, creep along its concrete highways, and ramble through the corridors of its universities and start-ups with one question burning in their … Continue reading
Fighting for Affordable Housing in Austin: A Conversation with Mandy De Mayo, Director of HousingWorks.
Mandy De Mayo is the Executive Director of HousingWorks, a non-profit organization on the front lines of the fight for fair and affordable housing in Austin. We sat down to … Continue reading
Goodbye to a River?
In May of 2014 I returned to Austin for one last research trip before finally sitting down and completing my book on Austin’s history. Having been gone from Texas for … Continue reading
Alright Alright Alright: We Get Older, Dazed Stays the Same Age
Dazed and Confused (1993) turned 21 last year. Yes, the film that follows a longhaired teenager and his friends as they attempt to avoid being hazed, the film in which … Continue reading
Slacker Geography, 25 Years Later
Filmed for a reputed $23,000 in summer 1989, Slacker is a film that had the odds stacked against it. Writer-director Richard Linklater had exhausted family members from which to borrow … Continue reading
The End of Manor Downs
On the way back from Manor Downs, on Route 290, down 35, and then to the Statesman building just across the river, I used to think of my lead, the … Continue reading
What’s Being Born?
Mourning what’s dying is child’s play. Seeing what’s being born is a lot harder and more interesting. See, for example, Billy Joel’s “Allentown.” At the same time he was crooning … Continue reading
The Beginning, the Middle, and Not the End
In the beginning, when Austin was born, it was named Waterloo. Young, little Waterloo had humble beginnings as a small Texas town in the hill country, but Mirabeau B. Lamar … Continue reading
Spent A Year There One Knite
Anyone who’s met me has heard me say it; I was born 40 years too late. Film, music, literature, you name it; it seems whatever I am interested in hit … Continue reading
The Capitol Complex
Austin’s status as the capital city of Texas is both a privilege and a burden. State government employs thousands locally and is a major contributor the local economy. The State … Continue reading
The End of Austin 