Burgers, Tex-Mex, and Anything Fried

(Austin, Texas.) The title basically sums up the food culture here.

Food trucks (pretty popular in Austin) congregate in a parking lot in South Congress neighborhood, selling everything from Thai food to huge platefuls of crawfish.

The ever-present sweet potato fries...

...and jalapeno poppers. Don't worry, the seeds have been removed beforehand, so they're not particularly spicy. I have only seen fresh jalapeno once in a Japanese supermarket, and one little pepper cost around 200 yen ($2.50).

A sampler of Austin and Mexican beer from a downtown bar.

Breakfast burritos and migas at a Mexican family restaurant.

One of my favorite meals was at Magnolia Cafe. Apparently there are two in town, and we found the bigger one.

The decor was fun and kitschy...

...and the food was excellent. Chicken with lemon sour cream, Spanish rice, and zucchini. We don't have lemon sour cream in Japan, but I can see it going over very well here. I also very much appreciated being able to eat a vegetable in its plain form -- no excessive grease, dressing, or salt.

Austin burger chain Hopdoddy, my pick for the best burgers in town. (This is completely biased, though. I've never even been inside a Whataburger, the other big chain.) I see the best of Austin here, in terms of food, attitude, and style.

I had the Buffalo Bill burger, with bison, Maytag blue cheese, Frank’s hot sauce, apple-smoked bacon, and "sassy sauce". Bison itself doesn't seem to have a strong taste, so the pairing of blue cheese was genius.

Made in Austin

(Austin, Texas.) The sweetness of this graffiti message (spray-painted on the side wall of a cafe) tells you something about the vibe of this city.

There were a series of animal tags, particularly in the downtown area.

We lucked upon a couple in the process of tagging a wall.

Not all graffiti is cute and sweet, though. Faced with the most obvious message ever written...




...someone put their foot down and said, "no shit".

Baylor Street Art Wall

Baylor Street Art Wall in Austin, Texas. This space may look like a random vandalized area, but it was actually donated by a local company for a certain period of time precisely so local artists could have an outlet for their art.

That said, there has been no safety-proofing of the space -- climbing up the wall presents all sorts of dangers, such as falling on random slabs of concrete, or being snagged by the huge wires protuding from the walls.

There isn't much of the prettiness and whimsy you would expect here from Austin.

There is, however, a considerate -- almost surprising, really, when you consider how the earthquake and its aftermath has largely faded from world consciousness -- tribute to the victims of the Tohoku Earthquake.

Someone has written, "Graffiti is a gateway crime."

Ferry Ride Down Lady Bird Lake

(Austin, Texas.) A couple of weeks ago, I took a nice ferry ride up and down a stretch of Lady Bird Lake, which is close to downtown Austin. If you want to learn about the city's history in all its quirky glory, it's well worth it to pay10 dollars per person for the one-hour tour.

The three tall buildings you see in the background are currently some of the tallest buildings in Austin, although there will be an increase in such buildings in the future. I found it hilarious that the guide explained the price of buying an apartment in those high rises in detail as part of city history.

The pair of swans swimming in the lake are actually not native to the lake; they were brought there by a man and the swans subsequently made their home there. There is a ten-mile walking trail that runs alongside the lake, and is called The Lady Bird Lake Hike and Bike Trail after Lady Bird Johnson.

Austin may be a city, but it's easy to immerse yourself in nature: rivers, creeks, natural springs. It made me scared for Tokyo, where a row of trees planted sparsely alongside the road counts as greenery. Considering how easy it is to feel joy and freedom from the natural surroundings in Austin, the lack of nature is probably affecting the humanity of Tokyoites.

One of two graffiti works on the Union Pacific Train bridge.

It is forbidden to use a motorized boat in the lake, and swimming is also forbidden because the lake's depths are unpredictable. Not that this stopped this young man from jumping in.

Chase Bank Tower, visible from anywhere downtown. If you look at it from an angle, the Chase logo suddenly starts to look like a pair of eyes, and then the rest of the building morphs into an owl. Rumor has it that the building was built by an architect from a Texas city whose football team are rivals with the Austin team, and as a prank, they deliberately shaped the building to favor their own mascot, the owl.

Ann W. Richards Congress Avenue Bridge, home to a million female bats. Yes, bats, and all of them pregnant. The bridge was renovated in the 1970s, and concrete slats were added under to reinforce the construction. The tiny crevices in between the slates turned out to be perfect for the hand-sized bats. As the babies are born, the population doubles, and around 9 pm every night, the bats come out en masse, to the delight of bat-watchers. Because it was daytime I couldn't see them, but I could hear their sonic screams.

One of the best works of graffiti I saw is on the railroad bridge, and on the left side of the photo. It's too blurred to make out, but it reads, "Lets (sic) pretend we are robots".

The view from one of the midsize buildings on the other side of the river. The building has a pool on one of the higher floors that looks like it belongs in a beach resort, and there's even a party room you can use so your own apartment won't get trashed.

Austin Pets Alive!

(Austin, Texas) Austin Pets Alive, a non-profit organization that rescues unwanted cats and dogs and saves them from euthanization. APA aims to make Austin a no-kill city for such animals. 

 

There are around 100 animal rescue organizations in Austin, although many will only take in a specific breed of animal. 

Today, the number of pets adopted from the center is almost as high as the number of animals accepted into the center -- the result of years of dedicated work. (The organization was established in 1997.)

APA differs from other animal shelters in the area in that they take in only cats and dogs that have been turned away from other shelters, and are scheduled for euthanization.

These almost painfully tiny kittens would qualify for euthanization, because they are unweaned and still dependent on their mother's milk.

Since very few of the kittens in the shelter have a mother, it's up to the very dedicated volunteer staff to keep a 24-hour watch on them.

This kitten is around 5 weeks old. Kittens need to fed every 2-3 hours, even through the night! To prevent diseases from spreading, the staff follow a very meticulous system of feeding, cleaning, and disinfecting. For example, to feed a kitten in a particular cage, you can wear only certain smocks that correspond to the number on the cage.

 

Without their mother to lick them clean, newborns need major encouragement (read: humans applying pressure with a cotton ball) simply to go to the bathroom. Needless to say, if you walk in simply wanting to look at the tiny things, you'll be left reeling from the smell of excrement and bleach.

Seeing the kittens made me realize how shielded the average pet consumer is from the realities of raising kittens. You don't even see kittens in the pet store until they're significantly bigger!

The dog shelter is even sadder than the cat shelter. (The two buildings are about a 20-second walk away from each other.) My heart went out to Vanilla, this puppy who is still too young to be walked. His head was perpetually poked through the fence, as if desperate to see anything other than the three walls that enclosed him. I worry his head is going to get stuck like this.

You Wish Your University Library Was This Beautiful

The University of Texas at Austin, or UT Austin for short. The Main Building (with the beautiful clock tower) was completed in 1937.

 

Step inside the central entrance, and head for the Life Science Library on the top floor. As much as US state universities gripe about funding, they sure have beautiful buildings. (E.g., UCLA, though the photos I have on this blog are ridiculous in retrospect. It's the coral pink brick buildings that deserve attention.)

The top floor, with the library to the right.

The ceiling of the Life Science Library is decorated with quotes from famous figures.

This is what you see when you look directly above you. This room was fairly small, but the entire campus was absolutely riddled with spaces for students to study in. It seems like there is a nook and cranny for everyone, and students each seemed to have their unofficial personal space to study in. What's more, everyone was studying quietly and independently. As someone who thinks Japanese universities are a shame, this was a gratifying sight.

Even the light fixtures are beautiful.

This man hauled his enormous ladder throughout the building, checking on all the lights. I hope he appreciates the beauty of those fixtures.

Easter Egg Dyeing -- in May

Better late than never -- during a trip to Austin, Texas to see a friend, we dyed Easter eggs. When a $1.50 product is slashed to 50c post-Easter, it is a true bargain.

This package came with cups, an egg-catcher, wax crayon, and tiny tablets of egg dye.

Pour vinegar and water in as directed...

...and the color begins to unfurl.

We couldn't figure out which dot was red and which was pink. (You're not supposed to use vinegar for red dye.) Consequently, the dye tablet never really dissolved, and we ended up with a nice orange.

Suffice it to say, we really got into it. After a couple of your standard solid-colored eggs, we got creative with the wax pencil and Scotch tape. I particularly like my friend's multicolored square egg and my drip-dye egg on the top.

One thing to improve on: making sure the base color doesn't get ugly through repeated soaks of color.

The fruits of our labor.

Since I was leaving the next day, I actually took four of the eggs home with me to Japan! I'm surprised airport security had no problem with it. The temperature difference made the dye separate and sweat off.