I attended an event after work today at The Belmont, downtown on Sixth Street. It is billed as a “state-of-the-art music venue and private event space”. My event was relatively small, so I wandered around a bit and took some photos so you could get an idea of what the space looks like in case you have the inclination to see one of their upcoming concerts or maybe to attend a SXSW event there in March. Cheers!
I purchased (with a discount) a new Contigo 24 oz. West Loop Stainless Travel Mug to use primarily at work. It was still expensive, but my plan is twofold. One – save money by drinking hot tea at work since the hot water is free and tea bags from the store are not too costly. Two – drink less sugary drinks from the vending machines or the coffee shop. This Mug worked like a charm today. I filled it with hot water and a green tea bag just in time for a 2:00 pm meeting, thinking it might last me through the meeting at least. Not only that, but the tea was still toasty warm and delicious at 5:30 pm when I decided to stop being a workaholic. I was impressed with my first go, and saved about $2.00 by using my own tea and not purchasing an afternoon drink. The Mug will be paid for in no time. Plus, the English dude from Lincolnshire in the UK, who sits nearby, highly recommends this contraption for the perfect tea time! What could go wrong?
The cold, rainy weather has returned to the Austin area, so it was a good day for an indoor activity like “Once Upon a Cake” presented by the Capital Confectioners. This was their “11th Annual Sugar Art Show & Cake Competition”. The challenge was to create edible works of art pertaining to fairy tales, nursery rhymes, or fables. Imagine a sports complex full of decorated cakes. I could have shared a ton of photos, but here are a few of my favorites. The artists were truly exceptional!
I wasn’t a very good MAPJAM participant today. Too much stuff going on. KUT offered up 9 great bands in 4 awesome venues, and I only caught two bands. My favorite today was Rattletree Marimba – a super fun band that “plays high energy fully acoustic music from Zimbabwe on GIANT wooden xylophones.” If you see these people in your area, be sure to check them out!
I visited Chinatown Center in Austin to celebrate the Chinese New Year. It was super crowded as the weather was nice. The celebration included drums, strings of explosive firecrackers, red lanterns, food, drink, and the spectacular Lion Dances. According to Wikipedia, here is the mythology behind the New Year celebrations.
There are some nice sights along the trails of Great Hills Park. This is a special little known hiking spot near the Arboretum area in Austin.
I went out to Great Hills Park after work this evening expecting a short hike. It turned out to be a 2.7 mile exploration of the area, and I would have loved to ramble further if I hadn’t run out of daylight. The main trail goes up and down some hills and crosses the creek several times. This would be a great summertime hike, as the trails are mostly shaded by the surrounding trees. I will definitely return to explore some more!
This was the scene in my neighborhood as I stumbled out of the front door with a head cold and running a little bit late to work. I think I like the original photo better than the cropped version. Either way, it was a beautiful sunrise!
A few good parts to this movie.
Today’s entertainment was The Zoo, a musical folly by Arthur Sullivan and B. C. Stephenson. It was presented by the Gilbert & Sullivan Society of Austin. Here is how the story goes.
A gentleman attempts suicide at the zoo because his love’s father doesn’t approve of him. A young lady tries to stop the suicide so it won’t adversely affect her refreshment business. A Duke in disguise enters the zoo to woo the young lady, his love. The gentleman’s love arrives at the zoo to find her lover. Everyone cavorts around, meets calamity, and then all ends well after a narrow escape from certain death for the gentleman in the Bear Pit.
Overall, a very fun afternoon!
earthrobert 