Cool houses, Hot Fuzz, cool bug, and hot fun

Working backwards through the weekend, today we went on the "Cool House" tour, which is a tour of houses that have been built or remodeled for a maximum green factor... green energy, water conservation, recycled materials, etc., and as much of as a learning experience as it is, it's more fun just to get to do a lookie-loo at some of the most interesting houses around. One of the houses was the one featured on the PBS series This Old House as a green remodel. All the houses were wonderful, but there was one house that I wish I could be more creative in describing other than to say it was a dream house. It was part of a little "artist colony" at the end of a dead end road branching off another dead end road right in the heart of South Austin. The rock letters in these pics were just a small part of the wow factor. It even had a fabulous view.


Saturday I had a lot of work to do, but we did make it out to see Hot Fuzz, which gets two thumbs way up! It equals or surpasses Shaun of the Dead. Very funny stuff. Now I feel a strong urge to rent Bad Boys II and Point Break.

Friday afternoon I slacked and went to KGSR's Fan Fare Eldercare benefit at Threadgills. It's an annual event held around the Summer Solstice so it's always hot enough to remind people that if you are an older person on a fixed income with no A/C, a fan could be a life-saver. I was down there from noon until about 7:30. Saw Ruthie Foster, my beloved South Austin Jug Band, Dale Watson, Ray Wylie Hubbard (whose storytelling as as good as his songs, and that's a compliment for both), The Band of Heathens, Charlie Sexton, and Elana James (and the Continental Two). We hadn't seen Elana since The Hot Club of Cowtown. They used to have a regular gig at the Continental Club, then they went on tour opening for Willie Nelson and Bob Dylan, then they broke up! Elana has been back touring with Dylan as one of his band members. 2 out of 3 Hot Clubbers are in this band but still it's not called that anymore. Here's the Heathens pictured below. Gordy Quist, second from left, just released a solo record and I bought it from him (my favorite way to buy CDs). It's a good one!

Here's Charlie Sexton getting ready to play. Coincidentally, Charlie also played in Dylan's band for awhile.


The sighting of the day was this magnificent giant bug. It flew into Threadgill's beer garden looking as big and making as much noise as 2 bugs. Landed right on my chair and scared the holy crap out of the woman behind me. And in the weirdest coincidence of the week, the guy sitting next to us spoke up and said he was an entomologist!! Of all the times when you really want an entomologist to show up and they don't... so here was this guy, who explained that this was a Cottonwood borer, a member of the Longhorn Beetle family. This picture really does not show off those antenae very well, but pics on this page do. That's his arm, but I did let it walk on me (that was a little too tickly for me and I told him to please take the bug) but he did hold it up to my ear so I could hear him hiss. I did read later that they can bite you if you mishandle them, so I'm glad I didn't do that.

Still recovering from the cloudburn I got on Friday -- cloudburn, that's when you stupidly think that because it's overcast that you aren't getting a sunburn, even though you should and do know better.

Tags: Music - Austin - Texas - Texas Music - Hot Fuzz - beetle