Hey y’all:

First off: HOLY EFFING SMOKES!! We won TWO Austin Chronicle Best of Austin 2010 awards. Roary did a back flip and puked, he was so excited–or maybe it was the four loko he’s been drinking all morning (Don’t judge, he’s on vacay).

But seriously, thank y’all so much for voting RoA Best Local Blog and me Best Austin Blogger. I couldn’t do it without my kick-a team of bloggers. This award is as much for them as it is for me.

And to all our readers: YOU GUYS EFFIN ROCK!! On the real, mad love

Here’s your “Best of Austin 2010″ Limited Edition blingee. I felt that nothing said “Holy ish we won” and “Thank y’all so effing much” like a dolphin, a pirate parrots and a double rainbow. Check it:

Ok, so all you newbies reading the site for the first time: Hello! Thanks for stopping by. You’re probably wondering what the hell this site is all about.

Here’s the short “About Us” (you can read the long version here):

• We love Austin.
• We’re all in our 20′s and 30′s.
• We like lots of photos, videos, writing on pictures, and blingees.
• We’re part of the militant wing of the “Keep Austin Weird” set.
• Don’t ever take our Armadillo blogger Roary seriously. He’s always effed up on pot, four loko and Lone Star.

But we’re not just a blog. In fact, most of the interaction happens on other sites:

• The blog is where we post original photos, videos and stories about life in Austin.
• Our Twitter is kinda like, well, it’s Twitter–we share our posts, other people’s posts and events. Although we are moving more towards Facebook.
• The Republic of Austin Facebook page is fully interactive. We share articles from our favorite Austin bloggers, drop a couple of our daily Austin party and event picks, and chat about things that Austin folk love.
• We recently launched a tumblr to share photos and things from our favorite Austin tumblrs. We’re n00bs, so be gentle.

Take a look around. You can see our music videos here and our other videos here. If you’re into blingees, too, you might like the Rick Perry/Twilight Blingee or our last celebratory I Love You blingee.

And did I mention that we are looking for more writers, some ad sales folks and an intern or two? More details here.

Oh yeah, if you find anything Austin-related or have something you want to share, Photos, screen shots, articles, news? Email us at tips@republicofaustin.com.

<3 + V + \m/

Chris apollo

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I recently had the pleasure of drinking coconut juice on the East Side with Machete star Danny Trejo.  I’ve gotta say that I was surprised at how he wasn’t at all the mean, tough guy he is on screen.  In fact, I almost didn’t recognize him when the muscles in his face aren’t expressing that monstrous mug we’ve all come to love.

You know the one:

I found him to be hilarious, caring, sweet, and a really swell guy.  He’s concerned about the gulf, he’s insightful, he took a moment to hug and take photos with East Side neighbors, and he’s hysterical.

A Few Fun Danny Trejo Facts and Quotes:

• Did you know that Trejo should have been a Texan?  He confessed to me that his uncle was an adamant, proud Texan that felt Texas should secede from the union.  He wanted all Trejo’s to be born in Texas so they would all be citizens of the Republic.  Somehow they were unaware that Danny’s mother was pregos and she gave birth to him in East LA.
• “John Malkovich asked me what the spanish word for ‘rape’ was.  I said, ‘amor.’  There is no word for rape in spanish.”  (Please don’t write hate mail to either me or Danny; He and Republic of Austin are fully aware that rape is not “amor”.  This was a silly joke said on the set of the film “Con Air” during that horrifying rape scene.  Everyone needed a laugh after all the drama.)
• “I heard they’re trying to hide the oil on the gulf by sinking it.  That’s fucked up man.  I hope the oil industry sinks.”
• “I’m Mexican, of course I’m possessive.  With all four of my wives, I just had to give them the look and they’d say ‘I’m not doin’ nothin!’”
• While Danny was filming Predators in Hawaii he’d spend his spare time fishing.  He’d scrape for bate and fish off the balcony.  “Well if I caught anything, I’d just give it to the people.”
• “I look like a leader next to anyone.”
• “My 22 year old son is making a brilliant film.  When I was 22 I was in the penitentiary making pussies cry.”
• He loves doing Indie films and helping out film students every now and then, in spite of the fact that his agent thinks he should be more exclusive.  Nice guy.
• His phone was a humble analog cell phone, not a smart phone.  Loved that.
• When he signed my machete, he dotted the “i” in Ari with a heart by himself

You can catch Danny as a machete-wielding hitman in Robert Rodriguez’s new film, Machete. It debuts TONIGHT at the Paramount. If you didn’t get tickets, you can look for Danny at the after party at Austin Studios or wait until the film goes to wide release on September 3rd.

Want a little Danny in your life RIGHT NOW? Check out this video of me getting Danny to cut open a coconut for me with my machete. He calls me a dominatrix!!

Danny Trejo, a machete and a coconut…

Are you excited about the opening of Machete?

Will Machete provoke a race war?

How do you like dem coconuts?

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Find something Austin related that you want to share? Photos, screen shots, articles, news? Email us at tips@republicofaustin.com.

Want more RoA? Be our friend on Facebook. Add our RSS feed! [what’s that?]. Start your morning with Republic of Austin in your InBox. Or read us 24-7 on Twitter!

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This little fashionista is still recovering from Austin Fashion Week, but there are three wallet-saving events going on this weekend that you won’t want to miss out on

Strut – multiple locations, but my favorite is on 2208 South Lamar, 78704

If you’ve never been to Strut, It’s a womens boutique specializig in affordable, fashion-forward clothing, shoes and accessories. Seriously, I go there once a month to get cheaper, trendy pieces that are hot right now. Plus, their shoe selection is awesome–some of the best flats selection I’ve seen in Austin!

Their First Thursday Sale with 40% off everything is one of my favorites and a staple in my shopping routine, you can do the math, but that’s insane savings. And with a pre-first Thursday sale of 30% off everything, you can’t help but stop in for a quick peek this week, right?

You can also shop at their new online store until September 2 and receive 30% off your purchase with coupon code: fall30.

Click here for store locations.

Touch of Sass – 500 North Lamar Boulevard, 78701

Matt and Currie Bucher, owner of Touch of Sass boutique at Austin Fashion Week, right before she won best fashion boutique, reader's choice

Still looking to get gameday ready? And looking for a pre-game party to get you pumped?

This Thursday from 6:00 – 9:00 p.m.,  Touch of Sass is hosting their “You’ve Got Game” Sassy Hour to get you ready for Saturday’s football kickoff.  Even if your not a Longhorn at heart, they’ve got your game-day ensemble covered along with a few cool deals:

• Super cute game-day shirts, tanks and scarves from Sarah Ott of New Orleans, Louisiana
• Amazing team jewelry in lots of colors from the y Micah Yancey
• Custom men’s shirts from J. Hilburn
• $25 spray tans from The Tan Can – email currie@touchofsass.net for your appointment (available from 4-8pm)
• Delicious cocktails (always a must!)
• Treats from Austin airstream Man Bites Dog
• 10% discount on any Touch of Sass purchase

Le Garage Boutique – Palmer Events Center, 900 Barton Springs Rd, 78704

Last time I went to Le Garage Boutique Sale I totally scored some sweet vintage, perfectly broken-in cowboy boots for only $7! Its basically your typically garage sale on crack, featuring over 50 local retailers offering incredible deals and $12 gets you in for the day.

The sale offers an amazing variety of goods with the convenience of everything under one roof plus you get the warm fuzzies for supporting local businesses. So stop by this weekend and let me know what you think of the experience!

Do you know any other local Labor Day sales?

What are your favorite Austin boutiques?

What Fall fashion are you most looking forward to?

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By now, you’ve probably seen the weird contraption enclosing the top of the Capitol Building — you know, that thing that sort of looks like a giant set of braces?  They got me wondering about the storied history of Texas’ most august structure. (photo via News 8)

Capitol Building wrapped in braces (via News 8)

Those ‘braces’ are part of the renovation process to the nearly 130-year old building. Since the top of the structure is refined granite from Marble Falls, it requires regular upkeep. And the dome, made of sheet metal, is getting a fresh coat of paint to match the color of the granite. The current renovations, costing about $3.5 million dollars, should be finished sometime before the Lege goes back in session in January.

View from the UT Campus before renovation.

And there are plenty of  other interesting tidbits about the Capitol Building, like…

• At the time of its completion, it was billed as the “Seventh Largest Structure in the World”, which is, I suppose an intriguing marketing strategy. I routinely wonder what the cut-off is for being impressed with that sort of claim. If the Texas Capitol was the Fourteenth Largest Structure in the World, would they still have used it? Does it have to be in the top ten?
• How much did the Texas Capitol cost? Zero, technically. The costs of production and construction were paid off in a giant land distribution to what would eventually become the XIT Ranch.
• Much of the concept of the building is pulled from 15th and 16th century Italian architecture.
• A fire at the Capitol in 1983 nearly destroyed the building, and took over 10 years of renovation to fix. Some parts of the Capitol have never been repaired.

Now, if you’ve ever wondered what the woman at the top of the Capitol looks like up close and personal, I’ve got good news for you: Before putting the finishing touches atop the massive rotunda, workers stopped to pose for a photograph with Big Bertha in all her horrifying glory.

I am sure sculpting a face is a pretty difficult thing to do, after all, I have trouble carving out a pumpkin for Halloween. But let’s be fair here: There’s a reason they put this woman at the highest point on the biggest building in the city, and I don’t think it was “for all the world to see.” There is apparently no definitive record as to the ole’ Goddess of Liberty’s exact origins, though the Texas State Board of Preservation presumes that the sub-contractor who provided the materials for the structure may have also provided the statue.

Last known photograph of these three humans before being eaten by the Goddess

There is, too, a somewhat famous Austin legend that the face of the statue is said to be the face of Texas Stonecutter, Tom Vorshardt. Poor Tom. For his sake, I hope it’s just the stuff of legend.

Oh, and there’s one other thing that the Capitol is a great place for:

Smoochies on your wedding day.

See ya next week!

–

Is the Capitol still Austin’s most important structure?

Should Austin re-institute the “No obstructing the view of the Capitol” rule?

What’s your fondest memory of the Capitol grounds?

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Have y’all seen Scott Pilgrim vs the World yet? It’s basically the story of a boy (Scott Pilgrim) who falls in love with a girl and then has to fight her exes mano-to-mano in a hyper video game world. The fights seem to follow Scott everywhere, including several rounds of Toronto’s Battle of the Bands. I don’t want to give any aspect of the plot away, but I will say that the movie makes Battle of the Bands look hella cool and exciting.

In real life, however, most Battle of the Bands are boring and strenuous–and the band that wins doesn’t seem to do anything besides get wasted on Lone Star and scream “Fuck yeah!” Sadly, that night will be the highlight of the band’s career; later in the evening, one of the members of the band will knock up an underage groupie, causing the band to split up.

A band bucking that one-night wonder trend in the Battle of the Bands space is the Ben Baxter Band, College Battle of the Bands 2010 Austin Regional Battle Winner. With influences from roots rock, reggae and hip-hop, they kinda take me back to the days of early 311. And the hippie in me loves the peaceful messages in their music.

• LEARN MORE: Check out Ben Baxter Band’s homepage for more info about the band.
• BUY: Purchase Ben Baxter on iTunes

Ben and crew recently released a video for the track “Open Your Mind.”  Filmed on a lake, it’s chill grooves are perfect for the end of summer. It also seems to capture the kick-back nature of Austin in the summer. Check it:

Ben Baxter Band – “Open Your Mind”

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Man, Austin’s food trailers are blowing up. It feels like every bike ride leads to the discovery of some new mobile gourmet something or other–and that’s awesome because it highlights two of my favorite things about Austin: our amazing food and our entrepreneurial spirit. And if you’re an outdoor-loving, hard-to-stay-seated-in-one-place kinda person like me, food trailers are perfect!

Over the last month, Austin-area food trailers have been featured by the Travel Channel’s Anthony Bourdain and the Food Network. Not that I’m surprised, Austin has some pretty kick-a food trailers in this city. And now we can help our favorites get more recognition and CA$H MONEY!

Yup, the Food Network is rocking the Great Food Truck Race. Netizens around the country nominated their favorite food trailers for the contest, and now it’s time to vote. The winning trailer gets $10,000 and the chance to be on the Food Network’s show “The Great Food Truck Race.”

There are 19 Austin-area food trailers in the competition. Some of my favorites included on the roster are Gourdoughs, Odd Duck, Mighty Cone, Torchy’s Tacos, Cutie Pies, Counter Culture and mmmpanadas. And don’t worry if you feel bad about playing favorites. You get 10 votes a day, which makes it easy to spread the love to all your faves. Voting ends on September 9th, so you get like a hundred votes between now and then.

Right now a trailer in Oklahoma is winning. OKLA-EFFING-HOMA?!! And Austin isn’t even in the Top 10!! ARE YOU KIDDING ME PEOPLE? Get out and rock the effing vote. Let’s give this prize to a deserving AUSTIN food trailer–or maybe Marfa’s Food Shark (which is, incidentally, in the top 10).

And if civic pride doesn’t getcha, then maybe this will: Every vote you cast enters you to win a trip to the New York Wine and Food Festival.

Get to voting people. It’s daily, so set an alarm. Make a calendar event. Let’s give an Austinite $10,000.

Here’s the full list of Austin trailers from the Great Food Truck Race

• OneTaco
• Colibri Cuisine
• Flip Happy Crepes
• Holy Cacao
• Hey Cupcake!
• Counter Culture
• Takorea (In real life, I think they are dunzo)
• Mighty Cone
• Odd Duck Farm to Trailer
• La Boite
• Torchy’s Tacos
• The Shed BBQ’s Rolling Joint
• Franklin Barbecue (?)
• Gourdough’s Big Fat Donuts
• The Jalopy Rotisserie and Press
• mmmpanadas
• Cutie Pies
• Austin Daily Press
• Chilantro BBQ

Now get out there and rock the VIZOTE!

Who should I spend my 10 daily votes on?

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Find something Austin related that you want to share? Photos, screen shots, articles, news? Email us at tips@republicofaustin.com.

Like what you see? Be our friend on Facebook. Add our RSS feed! [what’s that?]. Start your morning with Republic of Austin in your InBox. Or read us 24-7 on Twitter!

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Every analysis of my spending habits reveals the same weakness – eating out.  Lately my husband and I have been spending an average of $300 a month on eating out.  To be honest, that’s probably a low estimate–and we do have two kids.  But, to me, eating out is one of those easy drips in the cash flow to plug.  I’ve tried vowing to cook meals  for a month, and that lasted a full two days until a friend of mine invited me out to go out to eat.  So I’m going to give myself a gift card this month to see if that can reign in my eating out spending.

To find gift cards, I took a trip to the grocery store. There were cards for restaurants, home repair shops, toy stores, music stores, and coffee houses–but I just wanted the plain Visa or American Express ones.

After finding them, I had to decide how much I wanted to give myself and determine if I wanted to get a few cards  and give myself a new one each week or  just buy one to last me the entire month.  After looking on the back and seeing that each card had a $3.95 to $5.95 activation fee depending on the amount, I decided to get one $100 card to get me through the month.

How will I use the gift card?

My plan for this card is to use it for all non-grocery store food or drink items for myself or my kids.  When my husband and I go out to eat together, we can split the meal (he has a gift card this month, too) or maybe he’ll decide to treat me!  Ah, the romance! Grocery items, gas for our cars, and other purchases will still be paid for with our bank debit card.

Why not just use cash?

You may be wondering why we just don’t use cash for the month.  I’ve tried that before, and when the cash runs out, I just go back to my debit card.  I’m hoping that since I’ll still be using my typical method of purchasing things (my debit card) my brain will be more receptive to the idea of liming myself.  Being on a budget is all about tricking your brain, right?

So let’s see if using a card will help trick my brain into spending less money on dining out. I’ll let you guys know if it works!

What do you think about using gift cards to stick with your budget?

What are some other ways you trick your brain into saving money?

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Summer nights in Austin are unbeatable. In the early evening, you kick back on your porch, looking up at the big night sky. You contemplate the vastness of space and the tiny role we play in the grand scheme of things. The bright moon reminds you of friends on the other side of the country: Are they looking at the same moon?

Suddenly you catch a fleeting glimpse of a shooting star–or was it a UFO? “Is there life on Mars?” you wonder. A playful grin as the crescendoing cicadas bring you back from the heavens. You are overwhelmed with a calm sense of peace. You feel happy to be alive.

Ok, it may be a little hippie dippy–BUT summer is coming to an end, and I’m starting to get nostalgic. The days ARE getting shorter. The gray of October is just on the horizon, and by golly, I’m gonna soak up every moment outside I can get.

So when you’re out this weekend, take a moment to look up at the stars. Smile. Shoot a mental snapshot. And then go back to your hustle and bussle.

This song, Stargazing, by Austin’s Ryan Harkrider might be your soundtrack. It was filmed around Austin and makes me smile:

Also, check out this great time lapse video of the night sky shot last month on a small farm outside of Austin:

Short Star Time-lapse from Wild Orchid Studios on Vimeo.

What’s your favorite beer for stargazing?
Have you ever seen a UFO?
Where’s the best place in Austin to watch a meteor shower?

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Looks like Tom DeLay is coming to Austin, y’all!! Yesterday, despite Mr DeLay’s fears that the good folks of Austin were too liberal to give him a fair trial, a judge ruled that Mr DeLay would indeed be tried for money laundering in Travis County. Mr DeLay has reason to be scared, not because we Austinites would be unjust; instead, the gerrymandering scumbag needs to be afraid of the LIBERAL MOB that might try to run him out of town on a rail.

So, fair and just people of Austin, let’s give Mr Delay a warm welcome. Here’s how to prepare:

1. Get torches and pitch forks.

What good is an angry mob if you can’t seem unruly. And nothing says unruly like torches and pitch forks. I believe you can find both at Home Depot or Lowes (or for a local alternative, try Breed & Co!)

2. Get tar and feathers.

Nothing drives “You’re a scumbag” home like tar and fathers. In fact, tar and feathering is the tuxedo of mob rule: It’s a classic that never goes out of style.

Not quite sure where to get the tar, tho…maybe someone can steal some from the repaving of MOPAC? As for feathers, quite a few households in Travis Heights, Bouldin Creek and the East Side have chicken coops–so we’ll probably be able to roundup enough for a fat cat like DeLay.

3. Assemble the mob.

I’m not exactly sure how this is traditionally done. I do know, however, that it’s kinda hard to get people in Austin to do anything that doesn’t involve music or booze. Maybe folks will come out if we can give away free Titos, Treaty Oak or Lonestar? Hmmm…the Thursday Night Bike Social gets about 500 people or so on each ride–maybe we can talk to them!

4. Storm the castle.

Should we get this march permitted, or just kinda wing it? We wouldn’t want our mob to offend anyone, so maybe we should file for proper permits. Also, I feel like it will move at the same pace as the Zombie March. Should we have an after party once the mob has dispersed?

5. Ride DeLay out on a rail.

Thanks to Capitol Metro, we’ve got an extremely overpriced Metro Rail on which we can send DeLay out of town. The multi-million dollar transit project should be expensive enough for his fat cat tushie. And I’m sure Cedar Park will welcome him with open arms.

Bonus: Run up on Perry’s Mansion.

Would anyone be interested in continuing the mob over to Rick Perry’s $10,000/month tax-payer funded mansion in West Austin? Kinda worried all the hairspray holding that diva hair in place will ignite with all the torches around…

Do you think North or South Austin will have more folks representing?

Is tar and feathering eco-friendly?

Was the US Constitution set up to prevent mob rule?

Who is more fair: Democrats or Republicans?

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Like what you see? Be our friend on Facebook. Add our RSS feed! [what’s that?]. Start your morning with Republic of Austin in your InBox. Or read us 24-7 on Twitter!

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In the words of my younger brother, my Dad is “super Mexican.”  As children, the man insisted we waste NOTHING, and he always loved doing things the hard way. I mean, why should we spend 30 minutes making potato chips ourselves when we could just go to the store and buy some?  Why did we have to bike to visit his sister when the Suburban was sitting in the garage fully gassed up. Dad was soooo “Mexican”–and it used to drive me crazy.

While hanging out with Dad on a recent family gathering in Wimberley, I watched him walk around the cabin and make sure no one left on lights or threw away their glass bottles. Suddenly it dawned on me: Dad’s not a cheap Mexican, he’s just simply resourceful.

When I was a child, my Dad, brother and I used to go out into the woods and harvest prickly pear, or as Dad calls ‘em in Spanish: “tuna” [thoo-ná].  In the hot summer days, we’d use them to make make popsicles, lemonade, meat marinade or just swallow those pink suckers whole.  As we got older, we started adding them to margaritas. So to celebrate summer, I thought I’d adapt those old recipes and share how to make prickly pear MARGARITAS…handpicked, Guerrero style.

If you’ve never had prickly pears, you’re in for a surprise. They’re not as sugary as most fruit.  They have a gentle, mildly  tart sweetness similar to Swedish Fish candy.  I find them to be perfect for margaritas because their flavor is subtly sugary with just the right kick to compliment the soury sweetness of agave, tequila and lime.

Enjoy!

Recipe for Handpicked Prickly Pear Margaritas:

Step 1:

Using a pair of tongs, grasp the prickly pear and with a knife (or machete if you’re a badass), slice the prickly pears off of mama cactus.

Collect them in a bowl.  Be very careful not to prick yourself.

Step 2:

Use your gas stove top, a fire or a candle to burn off the thorns.  This process will also make the prickly pear juices flow.  (Alternatively, you could boil them).

Step 3:

Cut or peel off the prickly pear skin and puree the flesh with some water and agave nectar.  We pretty much wing the measurements, but I’d say 1/2 cup of water to every 3 prickly pear.  Squirt agave to taste.

You can strain your seeds, but they are edible.

Step 4:

Add 1/4 cup of lime juice, tequila, ice, agave to taste, and a splash of orange juice and blend.  We usually pour 1-2 shots of tequila per person into our margaritas, but we like them strong. Garnish with lime or strawberries.

Step 5:

Drink up.

When we were done with ours, my uncle said, “So much work for margaritas!”  And that’s precisely the lesson.  Food takes work.  It doesn’t, and shouldn’t come easy.  Most of all, it’s fun!

What’s your favorite seasonal summer drink?

What other seasonal fruits have you made into a cocktail?

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