“Around the Republic: Roundup of Austin Blog Posts Week of July 12th 2009″

2009 July 20

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Each week we take a look at what’s going on in the Austin Blogosphere. See a post from your fave Austin blog and want it to get recognized? Email Rory and let him know!

Sorry this is late, folks. Too much fashion had me WIPED out this weekend! Here’s what’s good in Austin this week.

There’s a new cicada in town

Have you heard a mysterious noise that sounds like a whistle stop or a fax machine screaming? Our friends over at Austin Metblogs have figured it out: Quesada gigas. Originally from Mexico, this giant cicada was spotted for the first time in Travis County earlier this month. Its sound (click here for an mp3) is made by inflating an air sac in its abdomen.

Lovely Rita Meter Maid Now Unemployed

Packaged in the lovely color of green, the city announced this week that it would be installing “new solar powered pay stations” to “replace the City of Austin’s 3,800 outdated and failing single space parking meters.” Wow! Who knew we had such shoddy meters? NEW NEW NEW! MORE MORE MORE! And don’t fret: According to the press release, 500 of them will be recycled. The press release doesn’t say what will happen to the remaining 3,300, but hey, we can use debit cards on these, right? I just hope the pay stations don’t run on Windows Vista.

Look for the new stations starting on July 22nd. Bicyclists, look for new bike racks to replace the old meters sometime before Thanksgiving.

Downtown Living is for the dogs

Dog lovers: According to the Keller Williams blog, the Austonian welcomes dogs. If you can afford the high price tag, you can keep you canine companion. You can also stay at the Sheraton Four Seasons with Poochie while you wait for your million-dollar condo to be completed.

A Castle of our Own

No need to wait in a cow patty field out in Burnet for 4 hours to see a castle. Apparently Austin has a few of our own!

This week, Downtown Austin takes a look at a stony fortress right here in river city. The castle on the hill behind the old old Whole Foods at Lamar and 10th has been there since the 1800′s. At one point, it was the Texas Military Institute, making it the oldest collegiate building in existence…in Texas. It’s also the reason that neighborhood is named “Castle Hill.” Who knew?

Speaking of Castles: The Most Interesting Cluster Kuff

The wrath of the blogosphere this week was directed towards Dos Equis’ and Rare Magazine’s Most Interesting Academy (aka the Castle Party). Held out in a castle in Burnet, the party promised some interesting attractions, including sky diving simulations, DJ Z-Trip and free booze. Republic of Austin bloggers Ari, Chris and Sophia made it out and had an awesome time. Some of their friends, along with thousands of others, didn’t get to make it in.

Here’s why:

Depending on route and traffic, Burnet is more than an hour away.
The promoters encouraged attendees to take shuttles.
With a limited amount of shuttles and more RSVPs (like thousands more) than capacity, many people were left waiting in the 104 degree heat, either in Burnet after driving or busing there, or in Austin waiting for shuttles that didn’t come at 5, 6 or 8 P as promised. (Some people, however, apparently snuck through the woods and stormed the castle!)

The next day, all hell broke loose. The comments to the DO512 event posting blew up with testimonials about waiting for hours and then not getting let in. Tyler Groover at Examiner wrote a scathing post about the event–but the comments were full of rage directed at Do512 after DO512_Jimmy wrote in his comment: “Either way, the Do512 crew had a blast, XX was nice enough to provide us w/ a bus, the event was awesome on the inside (just wish the beer were colder).” DO512 really wasn’t to blame; they only had 1800 RSVPs. Rare Magazine had almost 4000!

Dos Equis swiftly reached out to the negative commenters. They also released an apology and promised a make-up party. DO512 and Rare magazine also both issued apologies, distancing themselves as mere marketing tools.

All’s well that ends well, right? Ajay over at ‘NITES says he’s learned his lesson: Don’t fall for big corporate marketing schemes.

Check this YouTube video from mattreyes. These people waited for 5 hours:

Nom Nom Nom: Munchies from the Foodies

Tasty Touring visits Nubian Queen Lola’s Cajun Soul Food
Austin Epicurian reminisces about Thailand while visiting Muangthai restaurant
I Love Beer looks at tasty summer seasonals
Miso Hungry Now tells you how to make Fried Nori Meat Rolls

Tidbits:

Raquel over at HomeGirl wants to know where the people of color blog. Non-whites and whites are encouraged to leave a comment with their blog’s URL.
9:10 has a list of the top watering holes in Austin. That list might need to be amended if this drought continues.
The world famous Hamburger Bed, created by Austinite Kayla Kromer, was sold on EBay this week for $3,000! That’s an expensive burger.
Katy, over at All About Me, gives some inspirational words to the single folks in a post titled “Dear Past Lovers: You Totally Screwed Up.” After years of getting dumped, Katy has now found love, and it’s better than she ever imagined.
The diversity of Austin’s bicycling community will not be seen in a pamphlet on the city’s Bike Master Plan. Austin Texas Bike Stuff breaks it down.

See a post on your favorite blog that needs recognition? Email rory[at]republicofaustin[dot]com by Friday at midnight and we’ll share it!