Austin Dispatches | No. 205 | May 28, 2018 |
Just when I thought I was
up, they pull me back down.[1]
May 18, after a moderately
successful week at work, I returned home to a notice from my landlord. My lease
expires in two months. That revived a lot
of unpleasant memories from last year.
I called my friend Jody
Lockshin at Habitat Hunters to seriously review my alternatives to paying yet
more rent in an increasingly crowded
neighborhood.[2]
My dissatisfaction with my current apartment extends to the interior design. The
bathroom lacks storage cabinets. The vaulted ceilings mean I must file a service
request to change a lightbulb, which are the
hyped compact fluorescent type that provide poorer lighting and burn out
faster than incandescents. The door handles, instead of doorknobs, mean it's
easier to tear clothes than hang clothes on them. The landlord even got the
blinds wrong. My previous apartment, one of the last remaining units in the
“classic” style, or what some Millennial chick at the leasing office dismissed
as an '80s leftover, had Venetian blinds that made it easy to imagine being in a
neo-noir flick –
especially when things were going badly.
Here, the slats are too large to create that effect.
Incidentally, a haberdasher
stubbornly insisted on sending an order of dress shirts to my old address. I
briefly chatted with the new resident, who’s also dissatisfied enough with the
property management company to leave when her lease expires.
If only I could do the same.
Like the last time I was roused to consider
leaving, the apartments that met my specifications have unsatisfactory
egress and ingress, particularly constantly having to make unprotected left
turns against thoroughfare traffic from driveway aprons angled to gouge the
underside of one’s car, in combination with increasingly heavy traffic flow.
Moreover, seemingly most complexes in the Austin metro area have this problem,
far more than in other cities I lived.[3]
That plus the moving, first and last months’ rent, and administrative fees,
neutralizes any advantage to the $200/month less in rent the seven places I
considered would charge – at least for my first year.
Ultimately, staying was the
best bad option available to me.
Meanwhile in the
neighborhood, SWAT officers pepper-sprayed a man out of an armed standoff in a
motel restroom off MoPac Expressway on April 24.[4]
On May 12, some SUV-driving
idiot cut sharply from the inner southbound lane to the first right-hand egress
at Burnet Road just south of the Research Boulevard intersection. Since this
could’ve caused damage, injury or death to me and mine, I sustained my car horn
at the idiot until he or she got off the road and out of proximity.
On May 22, a woman crossed
the intersection of Metric Boulevard and Kramer Lane during rush hour while
engrossed in her cell phone. Her body could stop traffic, but even that’s not
enough protection against local drivers.
On April 30, I witnessed a
bearded hipster tumble off his bicycle onto the Metric Boulevard sidewalk,
probably after too many microbrews overwhelmed his microbrain.[5]
Also on April 30, KFMK-FM reported a collision at Burnet and Braker Lane. On May
14, failed traffic lights at Gracy Farms Lane and Metric snarled evening
commuter traffic.
The Statesman’s Traffic Web
page reported auto collisions at MoPac and Parmer Lane on March 27, at MoPac and
Braker on March 28, at Burnet and Rutland Drive and at Lamplight Village Avenue
and Parmer on April 13, at Braker and Kramer on April 23, on Highway 183
southbound near Burnet and at Gault Lane and Burnet on May 2, at Gracy Farms and
Hobby Horse Court on May 9, at the 183 southbound frontage road and Burnet on
May 11, and at Scofield Farms Drive and Parmer on May 21. It also reported a
grass fire near McKalla Place and Burnet on March 26.
A rainstorm briefly
disrupted power to my apartment complex and shredded the neighborhood foliage
the night of April 13. The evening of May 6, I noticed a couple of vultures
perched atop the clubhouse. They must be new hires at the landlord’s office.
Five businesses have opened
and one has closed.[6] District 7
councilwoman Leslie Pool criticized the City’s subsidy to The Domain again,
after an audit confirms City Hall’s chumpitude on the deal.[7]
The City Council OK’d a mixed-use redevelopment of IBM’s Broadmoor Campus
(a.k.a., “the Pink Palace”), including the relocation of the Kramer Lane
MetroRail station.[8]
The Long Bad Friday, and Other Observations
March 30:
Traffic during commute times was remarkably light. Apparently, many in Austin
took the day off for Good Friday. Perhaps there’s something to be said for
keeping the Catholics down.[9] They made
up for their absence with a vengeance on Cinco de Mayo.
March 31:
As someone else commented, perhaps the full moon
caused the salseras at Inspired Movement Dance Studio to be noticeably more
coquettish. It was a nice setting to my first social excursion in about five
months because of the weather.[10]
April 4:
I witnessed a near-collision at the eastbound
frontage road of 183 at the Interstate 35 intersection.
April 13:
At the intersection of Metric, Thermal Drive, and
Howard Lane, an idling motorcyclist wrecked his carefully cultivated image of a
devil-may-care free spirit after he held up traffic while checking his cell
phone, oblivious to the light change, then looked sheepish despite his visored
helmet and fumbled to repocket the phone before scrambling away.
April 25:
I witnessed a near-collision on eastbound 183 at
the I-35 exit.
May 14:
A rabbit bounded amid the office walkway
shrubbery. Sensing my presence, it pivoted onto its haunches expectantly.
“What’s up, doc?” it asked.[11]
May 15: A search for pants brought me to visit Pflugerville’s Stone Hill Town Center for the first time. I opted to dine at a Mexican restaurant to wait out the evening commuter traffic, and serendipitously encountered a friend and former co-worker.
May 27:
Smoke from a fire at Southwood Shopping Center
obscured my visibility along West Ben White Boulevard.
Austin Death Watch
An assailant stabbed a local
comedian in Southeast Austin.[12]
So far, it appears to be a case of random street violence, unless the stabber
had seen the comedian’s last set. Had the comedian been aware of his
surroundings and armed, in the aftermath he could say truly that “he killed.”[13]
State police arrested Travis
County Tax Office employees for racketeering and theft of more than $1 million
in state taxes.[14]
The Austin Police Department fired another cop.[15]
Attendees of the annual Eeyore’s Birthday Party discovered a corpse at
Pease Park.[16]
Locals honored Keep Austin
Beautiful Day by driving out inhabitants with bad dye jobs, facial piercings and
thrift store dorkwear, as well as the remaining hippies.[17]
The power elite constantly
laud alternatives to the automobile, but its members also attacked local scooter
rental companies because they didn’t ask permission from the Austin
Transportation Department.[18]
Remember, before you defy industrial civilization to “Keep Austin Weird,” you
must first fill out the proper paperwork in
triplicate and pay hefty fees to the local bureaucrats. Similarly, the April
13 Business Journal contains two stories about the power elite stymieing
developers’ projects.[19]
Bevo and Butt-Heads
Police found a
goatee-sporting UT pharmacy prof and convicted assailant dead in his house,
although the Daily Texan story didn’t reveal whether he used his knowledge to
off himself.[20]
When I was a college
newspaper reporter, we’d have uncovered details like that. The so-called
Revolutionary Student Front jeering at an oppressor’s death reminded me of a
superior story from my alma mater decades ago.[21]
Some Marxoid professor killed himself after the exposé of him sexually harassing
a coed. “He figured she had abilities, he had needs,” quipped the fellow alumnus
who told me the story.
In similar vein, the March
30 Chronicle asks “Why Aren’t UT Students Getting Rape Kits?” but doesn’t once
mention tuition.[22]
An irate teachers’ union
forced the local school board president from office. The same newspaper story
reports the school district’s budget has a $30 million deficit.[23]
Cultural Canapés
The April 6 Villager
reported on a “Beards and Bowties” fashion show.[24]
The photos prove my contention that since Humphrey Bogart died, only Murray
Rothbard managed to look credible wearing a bowtie when not part of a tuxedo
ensemble.[25] Everyone
else just looks prissy or priggish.
A jury’s conviction of Bill
Cosby for sexual assault leaves one question unanswered: How will this impact
the likelihood of another “Electric Company”
DVD release?[26]
Fail Britannia
My aforementioned problems
aren’t the worst fate to befall someone. Harry Mountbatten-Windsor, a.k.a.
Prince Henry Charles Albert David, Duke of Sussex, Earl of Dumbarton, Baron
Kilkeel, and Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order, wed a Hollywood
actress from a flaky, dysfunctional family.[27]
Worse, seemingly everyone on the Internet has coldly, cruelly assessed the
marriage and pronounced it doomed. I wonder if he knew:
“Oh, Jeeves.”[28]
“Yes, milord.”
“What are the common people
saying about my impending nuptials?”
“Well, er….”
According to the Internet
consensus, he’ll soon get royally screwed outside the boudoir.[29]
For once, Harry’ll have something in common with the average Brit.[30]
Business Roundup
What used to be an Irish pub
downtown is turning into a Mexican restaurant.[31]
The sociodemographic implications hardly need to be elaborated.
Media Indigest
One of my instructors
appears on the Spring cover of Waterways magazine as the winner of a dance
contest.[32]
Notes in the Margin
Index | Archives |
NOTES
[1] The
Godfather: Part III. Paramount Pictures/Zoetrope Studios, 1990.
[2] Eisler,
Dan. “Lease Situation.” E-mail to Jody Lockshin, 18 May 2018; Salazar,
Daniel. “Stadium or Affordable Housing?: McKalla Place’s Fate in Balance.”
ABJ 25 May 2018: 10.
[3] EAD No. 5
(June 1999); EAD No. 11 (Jan. 11, 2000).
[4] Huber,
Mary. “Man Arrested After SWAT Standoff.” AAS 25 Apr. 2018: B4.
[5] AD No. 195n27
(May 7, 2017).
[6] “Impacts.”
CIN Apr. 2018, Northwest Austin ed.: 9; “Now Open.” CIN Mar. 2018, Northwest
Austin ed.: 9.
[7] AD No. 97
(March 13, 2007); Neely, Christopher. “North Austin Council Member Seeks to
Have the City Pull Out of The Domain Economic Deal.” CIN Apr. 2018,
Northwest Austin ed.: 17.
[8]
“High-Intensity, Mixed-Use Redevelopment of IBM Broadmoor Campus Gets
Initial City Council Approval.” CIN Apr. 2018, Northwest Austin ed.: 18;
Whittaker, Richard. “Moore and More at Broadmoor.” AC 27 Apr. 2018: 12.
[9] Duffy,
Eamon. The Stripping of the Altars: Traditional Religion in England c.
1400-c. 1580. New Haven, Conn.: Yale UP, 1992.
[10] AD No.
200n8 (Nov. 6, 2017).
[11] Ohmart,
Ben. Mel Blanc: The Man of a Thousand Voices. Duncan, Okla.:
BearManor Media, 2012: 11.
[12] Wilson,
Mark. “Comedian Recovering After Stabbing Attack.” AAS 27 Apr. 2018: B3.
[13] I
Killed: True Stories of the Road From America’s Top Comics. Ed. Ritch
Shydner and Mark Schiff. New York City: Crown Publishers, 2006; Korwin,
Alan, and Georgene Lockwood. The Texas Gun Owner's Guide: Who Can Bear
Arms? Where Guns Are Forbidden? When You Can Shoot to Kill?, 7th
rev. ed. Scottsdale, Ariz.: Bloomfield Press, 2013; Street Smarts,
Firearms and Personal Security: Jim Grover's Guide to Staying Alive and
Avoiding Crime in the Real World.
[14]
Goldenstein, Taylor. “Audit: $1M in State Taxes Lost by Office.” AAS 23 May
2018: A1+; Goldenstein, Taylor. “Fraud Charges Tied to Taxes on Vehicles.”
AAS 22 May 2018: A1+.
[15]
Hoffberger, Chase. “One Cop Fired, One’s Fate Sealed?” AC 6 Apr. 2018: 9.
[16] Garcia,
Ariana. “Body Found in Park at Eeyore’s Birthday.” AAS 30 Apr. 2018: B3.
[17] “Civics
101.” AC 13 Apr. 2018: 10.
[18]
Hernandez, Nina. “At War on Two Wheels.” AC 20 Apr. 2018: 12; Hernandez.
“The Bird Is the Word.” AC 13 Apr. 2018: 12-13; Salazar. “Goat CEO: Bird,
LimeBike Have Unfair Advantage.” ABJ 4 May 2018: A10.
[19] “Quote of
the Week.” ABJ 13 Apr. 2018: 11; Salazar. “Missing Commissioners, Puzzled
Developer.” ABJ 13 Apr. 2018: 10.
[20] Eisler.
“Some Good News From Austin.” E-mail to Bruce Miller, 31 Aug. 1999;
Lassmann, Anna, and Chase Karacostas. “Pharmacy Professor Richard Morrisett
Found Dead.” DT 9 Apr. 2018: 1-2.
[21] Tuma,
Mary. “UT Policy Change Coincides With Professor’s Sudden Death.” AC 13 Apr.
2018: 12.
[22] AD No.
148n6 (Jan. 1, 2012); Marloff,
Sarah. “Why Aren’t UT Student Getting Rape Kits?” AC 30 Mar. 2018: 12+.
[23] Bradshaw,
Kelsey, and Melissa B. Taboada. “School Board President Resigns Amid Texting
Flap.” AAS 22 May 2018: A1+.
[24] Richard,
Naomi. “ ‘Beards & Bowties’ Fashion Show Kicks Off Urban Music Festival
2018.” The Villager 6 Apr. 2018: 1-2.
[25] Raimondo,
Justin [Dennis Raimondo]. An Enemy of the State: The Life of
[26] Deng,
Boer. “Cosby Lashes Out As Jury Convicts Him of Sex Assault.” The Times
27 Apr. 2018, 1st ed.: 5.
[27] Palmer,
Tim. “The Sussex Factor.” Sunday Times
27 May 2018: 16-17; Richard. “The Duke and Duchess of Sussex.” The
Villager 25 May 2018: 1+.
[28] Ames,
Jonathan. Wake Up, Sir! New York City: Scribner, 2004.
[29] Fennell,
Edward. “Void Vows.” The Times 24 May 2018: 57.
[30] Gabb,
Sean. Cultural Revolution, Culture War: How Conservatives Lost
[31] Anderson,
Will. “It’s Official: Austin Can Never Have Enough Tacos.” ABJ 4 May 2018:
A3.
[32]
Parssinen, Cathie. “Dancing With the Stars Austin.” Waterways Spring
2018: 18.
[40] Eisler.
“I Got Yer Class Reunion Right Here.” E-mail to Bob Ruliffson et al., 10
Mar. 2018.