Ride the City maps the best or safest urban bicycle route from point A to B. Presently featuring multi-lingual maps from New York, Chicago, Austin, Louisville, San Diego, and Seattle. Their blog posts updates about new cities added to the grid, or other topics relating to urban bicycling.
posted by netbros on Oct 29, 2009 - 16 comments

From 1988-1994 game designer Richard Garriott ran one of the most elaborate, interactive 'haunted houses in the world from his own house, a sprawling mansion custom built in part to house the event. After 1994 there was a break for Garriott's new house to be built (with more customization just for haunt use). Many had lost hope, but now 15 years later it's back.
posted by djduckie on Oct 8, 2009 - 17 comments

The Next Youth Magnet Cities, even with double digit unemployment.
posted by Marnie on Oct 1, 2009 - 74 comments

Can I get some sushi with my taco? Until a few years ago, Austin's culinary tradition seemed to be limited to breakfast tacos and BBQ. From these humble beginnings, however, has come an bizarre explosion of food trailers. [more inside]
posted by lunalaguna on Jul 29, 2009 - 51 comments

Like eating brains? I know you do. Why not add some new dishes to your collection of recipes that use the "fifth quarter?" [more inside]
posted by Demogorgon on Apr 2, 2009 - 39 comments

The big biggest cobra and Austin Stevens. Snake Bite TV: Austin Stevens getting bitten by cobra.
posted by nickyskye on Jan 16, 2009 - 31 comments

Austin music scene ~1990-1995 (an unscientific survey): 8 1/2 Souvenirs ₁ - American Analog Set _{1 2} - Bad Livers ₁ - Bedhead - Butthole Surfers ₁ - Duckhills ₁ - Ed Hall ₁ - Fuckemos ₁ - Furry Things - Gals Panic ₁ - Glass Eye ₁ - Johnny Goudie ₁ - Hamell on Trial ₁ - The Horsies - The Impossibles ₁ - Daniel Johnston ₁ - Motards - Pocket FishRmen ₁ - Poi Dog Pondering ₁ - Pariah - Pushmonkey _{1 2} - The Reivers ₁ - Retarted Elf - Scratch Acid (yes, I know -- late 80s...) - Shoulders - Sincola - Sixteen Deluxe ₁ - Sons of Hercules ₁ - Soulhat ₁ - Spoon _{1 2} - Starfish ₁ - Storyville ₁ - Twang-Twang-Shock-a-Boom ₁ - Ugly Americans - Wild Seeds ₁. Previously: 1 2 3
posted by swift on Dec 3, 2008 - 66 comments

The last standing member of the Council Oaks, a group of 14 oak trees located in what is now downtown Austin, Texas, the Treaty Oak has stood for more than 500 years. The Treaty Oak got its name from the (probably apocryphal) story of how Stephen F. Austin signed a boundary treaty with local tribes under its branches. In 1927 the Treaty Oak was called "The most perfect specimen of a North American tree". In 1937 the City of Austin (prodded by the Campfire Girls of Port Arthur and other schoolchildren) purchased the quarter acre of land upon which the Treaty Oak stood and believed that this ancient tree, and its 128 foot canopy, was safe. Of course, the did not know that in 1989 someone would dump enough of the herbicide Velpar around its roots to kill 100 trees. [more inside]
posted by dirtdirt on May 12, 2008 - 33 comments

Texan judge rules $5 "pole tax" violates First Amendment rights. Further, Judge Scott Jenkins found no evidence to justify the purpose of HB 1751 (PDF), finding the anecdotal link of the patronage of strip clubs with a lack of health insurance and increased sexual assault rates for dancers insufficient, and ordered the state to pay the plaintiffs' legal fees. Activists are already looking to appeal Jenkins' ruling and reenact the tax. (Previously on Metafilter.)
posted by Blazecock Pileon on Apr 3, 2008 - 9 comments

From 1987 until 1992 Britain's Austin-Rover Group exported the Rover 800 to America and called it the Sterling. Jointly developed with Honda, the Sterling was a bit of a flop in contrast to Honda's Acura Legend. Of course, every car has its fans. One more thing, if you need a part for your Sterling, you better call this guy.
posted by punkfloyd on Apr 2, 2008 - 10 comments

The Maker Faire in Austin is over but you can see all the blue ribbon winners here. Dont miss stuff like the star wheel, or the life sized mousetrap, artgolf, high-voltage toys, a parking lot trebuchet, and of course robots.
posted by damn dirty ape on Nov 3, 2007 - 10 comments

Streaming interviews and performances from KGSR in Austin. Rufus Wainwright, Willie Nelson, The Gourds, Gomez, Kelly Willis, Pete Townshend, and many more.
posted by ColdChef on Aug 19, 2007 - 12 comments

Cowboys & Indians. Literally.
posted by phaedon on Feb 7, 2007 - 8 comments

They shut down part of Austin last week, thousands did it in Esperance, Western Australia, record numbers in England and thousands more along I-84 in Idaho. Conspiracies abound; could it be poison, or testing EM weapons, "some kid with a BB gun" or drunk on hackberries or maybe it is global warming?

Sometimes the explanation is pretty simple but mostly, scientists are scratching their heads and wondering what is causing bird to drop dead out of the skies all over the globe at an alarming rate.
posted by DragonBoy on Jan 15, 2007 - 43 comments

Giant Concrete Caterpillar. Driving on I35 south out of Dallas to Austin, you pass through Italy, Texas, and on the side of the road is Bruco, the Texas Italian Caterpillar, and the home of the Monolithic Dome Institute, makers of fine homes, restaurants, and churches. These domes are green and disaster resistant. (See previous thread). They also can be visually interesting. These domes are concrete as opposed to R. Buckminster Fuller's Geodesic domes, such as Epcot Center or the incredibly interesting Eden Project.
posted by dios on Oct 10, 2006 - 19 comments

The moral terrain of the desert. Mary Austin describes a desert "where the borders of conscience break down... where the boundary of soul and sense is as faint as a train in a sand-storm... [where] the senses are obsessed by the coil of a huge and senseless monotony” -- is that the desert of photographer Richard Misrach? Joan Didion describes a "country so ominous and terrible that to live in it is to live with antimatter, [where] it is difficult to believe that 'the good' is a knowable quantity... [T]here is some sinister hysteria in the air out here tonight” -- is that the desert of photographer Bill Lesch? Possibly the most depressing are these suburban deserts.
posted by salvia on Sep 10, 2006 - 7 comments

96 Minutes... 40 years later. Texas Monthly has an article that, through eyewitness accounts, tells the tale of Charles Whitman. Forty years ago today--before 9/11, Columbine, Oklahoma City, "going postal"--Whitman perpetrated an act of public terror that impacted the national conscience. It all began when he killed his mother. Then he started typing a letter that, after he killed his wife, he finished hand-writing. Then he went to the Tower with a small arsenal and began the slaughter. Over 96 minutes he killed 13 more people and wounded 34 others until off-duty Officer Ray Martinez made it to the top of the tower and killed Whitman. (more inside)
posted by dios on Aug 1, 2006 - 71 comments

Art teacher in hot water over topless photos - Meet Tamara, a 29 year old art teacher at Austin High School (notable alumni) in Austin, TX. She's in danger of losing her job with the Austin independent School District over inappropriate photos posted to her Flickr account (may be NSFW). "I'm an artist and I'm going to participate in the arts," Hoover said. "If that's not something they want me to do then I want to be told that. I don't feel as if I was doing anything that was beyond expectations."
posted by nitsuj on Jun 17, 2006 - 88 comments

Of course, you've seen Get Your War On the comic strip, but have you seen Get Your War On, the Musical? It's playing in Austin, apparently to rave reviews and sold out shows. They even have photos of a performance.
posted by mathowie on Feb 9, 2006 - 23 comments

The Austin-Rover web resource A complete resource of the cars of British car manufacturer Austin Rover. Read the history of such design classics as the Morris Marina, the Austin Maxi, and my own first car, the Austin Allegro. No wonder Britain no longer has much of a car industry.
posted by salmacis on Jan 17, 2006 - 16 comments

A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing?  Walgreens, a nationwide drugstore chain, has been unsuccessful in obtaining city approval for a new store in a south Austin neighborhood. Now, they're trying a new approach:

“Along with plan revisions and numerous neighborhood meetings, they made public in February their intention to build a permanent home for a nearby icon, Maria Corbalan's Taco Xpress.”
      —Austin American Statesman, 6-13-04

...and they've hired a political consultant, reportedly with green leanings and a history lobbying the city of Austin, to drum up support for this cause (specifically the Maria's Tacos portion of their strategy). Insidious? Benign? Is this a new trend?
posted by Ethereal Bligh on Jun 13, 2004 - 35 comments

Austin Postcard. Photographs, postcards, history and ephemera related to Austin, Texas.
posted by plep on Aug 29, 2003 - 21 comments

"The 9-28-01 Critical Mass bike ride in Austin generated some controversy when a jeep driver intentionally ran over a cyclist and crashed into another car."
posted by monkeymike on Oct 1, 2002 - 125 comments

'Invastion' [sic] of Army recruiters unnerves jittery Austinites I guess we're just lucky that none of our fellow residents who (legally or illegally) carry concealed handguns took matters into their own hands!
posted by tippiedog on Oct 17, 2001 - 16 comments

What? The sky isn't falling! It's just an acorn! John Kelso, Austin's foremost professional Texan, writes today about the Austin-California grudge match. (In Austin, it's de rigeur to blame the Cal-dot-commers-cum-Texans for the city's growing pains. It's also a tad accurate.) He also gripes about a silly SF gate Flash site where you can turn the lights out on Austin. The guy's a crank -- and he can't write a column without mentioning Bubbas, chili, or vegetarians -- but this is a perfect example of Texas' head-in-the-sand attitude towards a possible energy crisis. And the rest of the country's, maybe.
posted by mudbug on Jul 27, 2001 - 23 comments

Ain't It Uncool News? Seems like all the film scoopers want to start scooping all over Harry Knowles, Austinite poster boy and all-around huge self-promotion machine. And it ain't about money, it's about credit and credentials. Now the AICNers are hacking and slashing other sites...
posted by honkzilla on Jun 19, 2000 - 4 comments