March 21, 2012 by Jess Pendleton

THE INDEPENDENT VOICE OF UT AUSTIN

MAR 21, 2012

WWW.UWEEKLYATX.COM

VOL 4 ISSUE 08

MARCH 21, 2012

Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t call it a comeback: Salvaging a semester gone wrong

Best Sports Rivalries

We recap SXSW

UWeekly Sits Down with Eve 6

just in case you missed anything

The Sour Notes Photo: Michael Huereque

Get real

MTV’S The Real World holding casting calls in Austin The Real World is looking for Season 28 cast members here in Austin. The open casting call will be at Maggie Mae’s on East Sixth Street, Saturday March 28 from 10 AM-5 PM. Casting Directors from Bunim/Murray Productions (the creators of the show) will be holding the auditions. “We look for characters from real life;

Past seasons have been populated with cast members from diverse backgrounds, who have shared their daily experiences openly with millions of viewers. According to the press release, this season they are looking for “applicants who have challenges living an everyday life that most take for granted, struggling with weight

“We look for characters from real life; people with strong personalities who are unafraid to speak their minds.” people with strong personalities who are unafraid to speak their minds,” said Executive Producer Jonathan Murray in a press release.

issues, affected by a natural disaster, products of home or alternative schooling, followers of unrecognized or non-mainstream belief

systems... and individuals who want to bring the spotlight of ‘The Real World’ to a cause, condition, or social issue they care deeply about or are personally affected by.” They stress that this is not a requirement. Applicants are asked to bring a recent picture of themselves (which will not be

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returned) and photo ID. You must be 21 years or older by March 1, 2013, and appear to be between the ages of 20 and 24. For those who can’t make it to the open call, applications are still being accepted via email. Visit www.bunim-murray.com/rwcasting for complete details on how you can apply.

You could call it a comeback Tips on how to salvage the rest of your semester

I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t in the same boat as you. Fresh off the good vibes of a new semester you find yourself in a rut. Perhaps a few classes are taking care of themselves, but all of a sudden you’re faced with the proposition of being an excellent student to salvage a few sections from lost-causes into respectable, solid GPAs. Spring Break makes for a good turning point. More or less the halfway point of the semester, it’s a great refueling station for the weeks ahead. Here are some tips to help you make it out alive.

Seriously, start going to class We start with the obvious point. The one that doesn’t really need repeating. The one that you think about when you roll over to fall back asleep in the face of your 8 AM class. The one that your mom brings up when you talk about how much she’s paying for the class you’re skipping. The all-time, 100 percent, ultimate, mega-combo, number-one-with-abullet cure to a slumping semester is simple: attendance. Sure, you could fuck around and pretend like half-heartedly reading the PowerPoints online is “basically the same thing as going to class,” but we know in our heart of hearts that we’re doing ourselves a disservice. There’s something that an actual presence gives us that nothing else can replicate. So my first word of advice? Get your ass to class. If you start showing up, this

whole process gets a lot easier. You didn’t get accepted into UT for nothing.

Start talking to people There are two quite obvious benefits for making a second-half buddy in your journey towards May. For one, it reassures you that you’re not the only person struggling through class and feeling guilty for not living up to personal standards. Number two, study buddies always foster a better grade. It gets to one of the most elemental ways of improving yourself: fear of embarrassment. If you have any self-respect, you’ll be incredibly fearful of being the guy who shows up to a study session completely ignorant of the subject matter. That’s instant motivation to start doing your homework! They say misery loves company; well, so do bad grades.

They have office hours for a reason Quick question: Do you know your professor’s name? If not, you need to at least establish a vague sense of rapport with them. It’s a lot easier to hand a shrugged-off F to a student who you only know as the sheepish header on a poorly written essay. Sure it’s weird because they’re an important professorial type, but you can at least make an effort.

the scheme of things. We live in a society where it’s unfortunately easy to stress out about your semester, so much so that it’s turned happy people into anxiety-stricken shells. Make sure you’re pragmatic going forward. It’s just a couple of classes. It isn’t life or death; things happen; we fuck up; we misread prompts. Sometimes we study really hard and things still don’t quite come together. It’s okay. You’ll be okay.

The all-time, 100 percent, ultimate, mega-combo, number-one-with-abullet cure to a slumping semester is simple: attendance. You might even learn something! Having a relationship with the person who’s writing the questions to your tests is a rare perk that few of us take any advantage of.

Put it all in perspective On a more serious note, it’s important to put college schoolwork in perspective with

The world will continue to turn. There isn’t anything in the dark that isn’t there in the light, and you won’t be on a losing streak forever. We’re lucky enough to have an entire institution on campus dedicated to help with mental health issues that comes with being a college student. Trust them. They’re professionals. Luke Winkie UWeeklyATX.com | March 21, 2012

Larry Faulkner and George Grainger: The TT Interview After stepping down as president of the University of Texas in 2006, a post he had held since 1998, Larry Faulkner took the reins of the Houston Endowment. He retired from his post as president at the philanthropic organization last month, but he’s making the rounds — including a stop at the offices of The Texas Tribune last week — to spread the word about the results of a Houston Endowment project he hopes will change the way people in Texas think and talk about education. Rather than analyzing the state’s higher education success using traditional metrics, the endowment tracked all the eighth graders in Texas public schools to see how many earned some type of higher education credential in the decade following their eighth-grade graduation. The result: Less than 22 percent did. George Grainger, the endowment’s director of research and planning, said that it was not yet possible to put those results in a national context. The only other state with a database capable of allowing for apples-to-apples comparisons is Florida’s, but others should be coming online soon. The Houston Endowment has pledged to continue tracking the measurement. In the meantime, Faulkner and Grainger talked with the Tribune about the state’s education problems and why the number of students who earn higher education credentials might start to fall without major changes. Faulkner also gave his take on the debate over higher education reform. The following is an edited and abbreviated transcript: TT: What’s the take-away from your results? It sounds like it’s not great news. Faulkner: I think part of the news is the fact of where the state lies, but that’s actually not the first message. The first message is that Houston Endowment has been looking for some time for a good measure of how we’re doing educationally on a combined basis, higher ed and K-12 wrapped up in one package. How are we doing and how can that be measured in an incorruptible way? Part of this is rolling out a measure that is up to this task. There are thousands of educational statistics. Not many, maybe none, really capture

So we’re looking for something that can’t be corrupted. What we’re doing is counting eighth graders. It’s easy to count eighth graders Grainger: Every one of them. We can find every one of them in public school. In all of Texas. Faulkner: Right, so we count eighth graders and we allow time to elapse — 10 years after the eighth grade. Then, we find out how many of them have achieved any kind of credential. We want to know that much percentage. We know the kids, follow the same kids and find out what the result was. That measure is about 21.9 percent for Texas, which is about half of what people guess if you play the parlor game.

Photo: Jareha

board study. They started in seventh grade. We start in eighth grade because that will match up with how other states are going to measure student progress, so we could match Texas with other states. Part of it was to see if we can replicate this. We can, with great confidence. We were aware of the coordinating board results, so we weren’t surprised by this. But there are a lot of people that are. He was very surprised. Faulkner: When he first sprung this on me, I was very surprised. And I know a lot about education. TT: Do we know what’s happening to the other 80 percent? Grainger: You can look at national employment data, national earnings data, and come to a reasonable conclusion that not a lot of good things are happening to those 80 percent. For baccalaureate degree holders in the United States, it’s essentially full employment. It’s about a 4 percent unemployment rate, and that’s getting close to full. With no high school degree or high school dropout, it’s four or five

This is definitely a “lies, damn lies and statistics” sort of domain here. Education statistics, I think they get corrupted. the roll-up of both K-12 and higher ed. This is definitely a “lies, damn lies and statistics” sort of domain here. Education statistics, I think they get corrupted. High school graduation rates notoriously get corrupted. You can’t believe those data at all because of games that get played in school districts and others.

March 21, 2012 | UWeeklyATX.com

TT: What did you guys think it would be? Grainger: Well, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board had done a similar study three times for earlier cohorts. Part of our idea was to see if we could hire a third-party research outfit to replicate the coordinating

times that. And with weekly earnings, there are huge disparities depending on your level of achievement and credentialing. My conclusion is that the 80 percent, a lot of them don’t have good potential for reasonable life outcomes if you think about what it takes to achieve a modestly middle-class lifestyle.

Faulkner: One thing that’s important to know is that more people than the 21.9 actually do get a viable credential. Some of them get it in the military, some get it through apprenticeship programs or other programs. So people get work credentials on a larger scale than this. We don’t want to represent that we’re counting absolutely everything that can produce a posthigh school validation. But we are measuring something that covers the bulk of the population and is a good index for how K-12 and higher ed are doing. There are several loss stages in the system. It’s probably notable that about a third of kids in Texas don’t graduate from high school. That’s one big loss zone. Then, another big body of people actually enroll in higher education but don’t ever do anything with it. There actually are more college dropouts in Texas than there are high school drop outs. Then, you have a third group that completes high school and never attempts post-secondary education. You’ve got those three groups that make up the 80 percent. What we’re saying here with this index is that we know what the performance is. What we want to do is follow it over a number of years. So the index will be available. The question is will we get better. Our contention is that we can work on getting better at a lot of points. There’s not one silver bullet to fix this. Reeve Hamilton *The rest of this interview can be found on the Texas Tribune website where it was originally published or in the campus section of our website.

Good Deeds Publisher Michael Huereque Account Executives Nick Lorges Emily Faeth Art Director Jessica Caraway Ad Designer Terry Kennedy Editor–in–Chief Sarah Neve Copy Editor Daniel J. Frimpter Campus Writers Amanda Chappel Luke Winkie Sports Writers Brian Bogart Entertainment Writers William M. Bass Sarah Vasquez Karissa Rodriguez Brett Thorne Elijah Watson Arryn Zech Circulation Jeremy Tooker CONTACT uweeklyatx.com michael@uweeklyaustin.com facebook.com/uweeklyaustin PUBLISHER Highbrow LLC ABOUT UWeekly Austin

UWeekly Austin is an independent publication and is not affiliated with the University of Texas at Austin. One free copy per person. Additional copies may be picked up at our office for .50 each. Opinions expressed are those of the writers/authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the staff or publishers of UWeekly. Not liable for omissions, misprints, or typographical errors. No part of this publication may be reproduced without the written consent of the publisher. © Copyright 2012 Highbrow, LLC

What, exactly, is

SoulPancake?

Photo: David Shankbone

Rainn Wilson explains

Funny man Rainn Wilson, also known as Dwight K. Shrute to all of you who watch “The Office,” is much more than just an actor. He’s also a deep thinker, a philosopher and spiritual journeyman, although you might not have known it until the launch of his website, SoulPancake.com. At a speech he gave to a large and engaged SXSW audience, Wilson goes on to chronicle his experiences with the internet, acting and spirituality. He jokes about his age and how he was around for “the dawn of the internet.” He sprinkled the telling of his history with the internet with sound bites of old modems connecting and cracks about Friendster. After he laid the groundwork for what the internet means to him and how he uses it, he goes on to explain why he decided to launch a website, and what he would like to see happen with it. “SoulPancake is a truly integrative way to explore the deeper aspects of life, spirituality, art and philosophy,” said Wilson. But how can a website integrate such large concepts about life? Wilson, who wanted to be a philosopher before he wanted to be an actor, believes that the internet is the perfect tool to facilitate a debate about the deeper aspects of life. “‘Spirituality’ is a very corrupt word,” said Wilson. “We needed to delame-ify it,” which is what he hopes SoulPancake does. Yet even as he goes through his talk, you find

Pancake. You see, even though the concept of life, spirituality and deeper thought have been around since the beginning of humanity, and even though they cross and overlap and intermingle with each other every day, there’s really

‘Spirituality’ is a very corrupt word. We needed to delame-ify it. yourself still asking the question, “But just what is SoulPancake?” The question burrows deep into your curiosity and just has to be satisfied. So you wait and you listen and you try to glean from his descriptions of SoulPancake what it actually is, what it does and what it’s meant for. It’s only towards the end of his speech that I start to get a firm grasp on the idea of SoulPancake, or, shall I say, the idea behind Soul-

no one place in our modern age where one can go and spark a conversation of higher intellect with another. That’s where SoulPancake comes in. SoulPancake is the modern day forum for such a discourse. As Wilson sees it, the internet is the new place where people all across the globe can come together and talk about life in a more meaningful way.

“This conversation of who we are, why we are here has been happening from the dawn of time. But we didn’t see a place for this on the web,” said Wilson. “We wanted it to be a content site with interviews, creative challenges, interactivity.” On the website, there are many different ways to interact with it and to interact with other users. You can post questions, read articles or simply become inspired by the deeper level of conversation and support that’s going on. With the ever-pervasive location and capability of the internet, Wilson sees a unique opportunity to use this amazing forum to further the development of minds and of humanity. The way Wilson sees it, there’s only one conclusion he can draw from it. “The internet is the future of spirituality,” said Wilson. Amanda Chappel UWeeklyATX.com | March 21, 2012

Events on or around campus

Wednesday, March 21 Women’s Tennis Illinois, Austin, Texas, 2 PM

Thursday, March 22 Men’s Swim & Dive NCAA Championships, Federal Way, WA, All Day

Friday, March 23 Baseball Kansas State, Manhattan, KS, 6:30 PM

Softball Iowa State, Ames, IA, 4 PM

Men’s Swim & Dive NCAA Championships, Federal Way, WA, All Day

Saturday, Mar 24 Baseball Kansas State, Manhattan, KS, 2 PM

Softball

Sunday, Mar 25

Iowa State, Ames, IA, 2 PM

Baseball

Men’s Swim & Dive NCAA Championships, Federal Way, WA, All Day

Men’s Track UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, TBA

Kansas State, Manhattan, KS, 1 PM

Softball Iowa State, Ames, IA, 12 PM Brian Bogart

Stocks, bonds and mutual funds

I’m a Barbie girl

March 21 Do you know the difference? Bet you don’t. And if you do, I bet you don’t know the specific differences. Make sure you don’t lose the shirt off your back with shoddy investments by attending this free workshop. Burdine Hall (BUR) 130, 4-5 PM

March 26 Do you think those Barbie dolls you played with as a kid had a positive or negative effect on your body image? If you were like most kids, you didn’t think of such things until you got older. Unfortunately by that time, the subliminal messages of Barbie’s anatomically incorrect body had already sunk in. Come celebrate Week of Women by sticking a pair of scissors into the right side of a life-sized Barbie. West Mall, 11 AM-2 PM Amanda Chappel

Poster design March 23 Ever think about designing a poster? With all of the bands in Austin needing them, I think it’s safe to say that you might do well for yourself if you learned how to do it. Better yet, learn to do it right. If you are up to the challenge, here’s your chance to learn how to make, design and get hands-on practice creating enchanting posters. RSVP @ uresearch@austin.uexas.edu Flawn Academic Center (FAC) 327, 1- 2:30 PM

Master journalist March 23 Ten-hut! A master journalist is on deck, and he’s here to show you how to become one yourself. Pulitzer Prize-winner Seymour Hersh presents to you, a peon, a master class on investigative journalism. Sharpen your pencils and have your notebooks ready. Jones Communication Center A (CMA) 6.144, 10-11:30 AM Seymour Hersh, at Trinity University, San Antonio, Photo: Zereshk

March 21, 2012 | UWeeklyATX.com

Air It Out

Opinion Photos and Interviews by Brian Bogart

That’s what she said. If you could be BFFs with anyone in the world, who would it be?

“I’d say Jonah Hill. I love surrounding myself with funny people, and I think he’s freaking hilarious. And he’s BFF’s with Channing Tatum so that’s a big plus.”

Dear SXSW tourist that wont leave, We are glad you liked Austin so much. We appreciate all the nice things you have to say about our city, and our food, and our music. I don’t know how to say this nicely so I’ll just say it. SXSW has been over for nearly a week. Go home. You’re wandering around like lost little lambs, and you seem to be confused by the fact that after the party, we have to go to work just like everyone else.

SUBMIT TO AIR IT OUT! 1. Everything Anonymous – Not only are we giving you an opportunity to publicly air your grievances, we’re allowing you to hide behind the cowardly mask of anonymity to do it. So we don’t want your name. But we’re also extending that same courtesy to whomever you’re complaining about. If a wasted girl spilled food on you at Kerbey Lane, then call her “a girl.” We don’t need her name, date of birth, or UTEID. 2. Be Brief – Short and not–so–sweet is key. If you can’t say what you need in less than 250 words, than you’re rambling, not ranting. 3. Stay Specific – There’s a lot to be annoyed about on campus. We know. But please pick one issue, not seven, and avoid digressing. An open letter to whoever keeps shaving their pubes in the communal sink is good; a list of things you don’t like about living in the dorms is less so.

“Uh, I would probably be friends with Daniel Tosh because we’re both assholes.”

Lindsay Tuggey

Sara Pence

Are you not bored with being the only one still day drinking and talking about how bad-ass Bruce Springsteen was, and how you saw Anthony Bordain on Congress? Seriously, Finish your margarita, grab a breakfast taco for the road, and get out of here.

Sincerely, See you next year 4. Powerful Language – At UWeekly, we write our own rules. We’re down to say a naughty word now and again. But there is a huge difference between the rare, well–placed profanity and a barely literate Youtube comment. Your critiques should be at least a little bit more cutting than “blah blah blah is a *@#&!!!” 5. To Whom It May Concern – Air It Out is publishing your open letters, so don’t forget to address them as such. Did some douche lose his lunch the last time you rode the E–Bus? Then open with “Dear Dude Who Barfed on the Bus.” And just because we’re not giving out your name doesn’t mean you can’t let him know who it’s from. Just sign it, “Sincerely, Everyone Else on the Bus.”

airitout@uweeklyatx.com

“I pick Nathan Fillion. Not only did he play my favorite space cowboy in Firefly, but his nerdy tweets get me through my day at work. Oh, and he’s Canadian. Which is always awesome.”

Loren Grush

“I would be BFFs with blue ivy because she is destiny’s child! Not only could I kick it with Jay-z and Beyonce all the time but when she becomes a superstar in her own right, who is she going to ask to be in her girl group? that’s right, her BFF felicia aka purple flower.”

Felicia Fitzpatrick

“Tina Fey. I feel like she would make everything hilarious and she just seems really down to earth and real. ”

Dani Rourke

“Natalie Portman...SNL rap and my favorite actress.”

Emily Bordages UWeeklyATX.com | March 21, 2012

It’s a rivalry, folks

Uweekly breaks down some of the most intense and entertaining rivalries in sports history Duke v. North Carolina, basketball In-state rivalry? Check. Tradition-rich basketball programs? Check. Snobby private school kids against roughneck blue collar types? Check and then some. To the naked eye, it’s obviously not hard to see why Duke/UNC is such a big deal in the college basketball universe. The rivalry has its share of names, “The Battle for Tobacco Road” and “The Battle of the Blues” being the two most famous. Although this rivalry has stood for as long as these two programs shared such close proximity with one another, things didn’t really hit their stride until the arrival of Mike Krzyzewski (pronounced Sha-chef-ski, or just Coach K) at Duke. Now, four national championships later, just about everyone knows coach K’s name,

over Duke, with a 36-25 advantage over their rivals, even though Coach K has only been at Duke since 1980. Now, the two fabled programs alternate their turns at the top of the mountain, with Duke capturing a national championship as early as two years ago, and North Carolina winning their most recent one in 2009. As long as these two teams keep playing, though, people will keep watching, and no one is happier than the residents of Tobacco Road themselves.

Ohio State v. Michigan, football This is the game. When recruits get their pens ready to sign the dotted line on National Signing Day for either of these schools, this is the game that occupies the back of their

Many would argue that the rivalry ended prematurely when Hayes famously punched an opposing student during the Gator Bowl. even if they can’t quite spell it. These days, the schools have met for a grand total of 234 times, with UNC snatching the latest victory by a considerable 18-point margin. Earlier in the year, however, Duke guard Austin Rivers, son of NBA coach Doc Rivers, stole a game from the Tarheels with a three-pointer to win as time expired. UNC currently still holds the all-time edge

minds. Even if it’s a bit of an old-school rivalry, with roots that spread all across the American heartland where football first started catching on in popularity, it’s still one of the biggest games to watch on rivalry weekend every college football season. As great as the game is these days, though, easily the most intense sequence of the rivalry came during the “Ten-

In 1918, Babe Ruth started to make his move more from an a pitcher to more an everyday batter. 1918 was the first year Ruth led the league in home runs. The Image of Their Greatness, authored by Lawrence Ritter and Donald Hong, published by Crown Publishers in 1979.

Year War” where Ohio State coach Woody Hayes and Michigan coach Bo Schembechler squared off from 1969-1978. Bo held the favorable record ever so slightly with a 5-4-1 mark against his rival, but many would argue that the rivalry ended prematurely when Ohio State released Hayes after he famously punched an opposing student during the Gator Bowl. Although the Ten-Year War had to end on a sour note for a coaching legend of Woody Hayes’ caliber, both he and Bo’s legacies are more than secure after everything they gave for their universities.

New York Yankees v. Boston Red Sox, baseball As you’ll notice, many of these are collegiate rivalries and that’s because, for the most part, you just see a different level of passion in collegiate athletics than in professional sports. But then

again, rivalries like Yankees-Red Sox are why I say “for the most part.” Maybe it has something to do with the juvenile tendencies of the two fanbases, or maybe it’s because there’s so much money poured into both franchises, or maybe it’s just that it’s like a northeastern version of UT-A&M given the small penis syndrome typically synonymous with the “little brother” in these types of rivalries. Whatever it is, whenever people talk about great rivalries in sports, Yankees-Sox is always on a very short list and, given the years of trash talking, bench-clearing, curse-breaking, and even full-out brawling, there’s just too much history between the two teams to turn a blind eye to. Also, it’s always nice to see a team play perpetual secondfiddle to a franchise you like, even if Boston has been having a great run in the last decade or so. But hey, that’s what makes it a rivalry. Brian Bogart

In addition to the Historic Down town 5k, we will now be offering a Scenic Lake & Park 10k, Austin Music History 5k, and UT Camp us 5k. Saturday March 24 Downtown Austin Historic 5K Run - 10 AM Scenic Parks 10K Run - 10 AM Austin Music 5K Run - 3 PM

CityRunningTours.com/Austin

March 21, 2012 | UWeeklyATX.com

Sunday March 25 Downtown Austin Historic 5K Run - 12 PM Scenic Parks 10K Run - 3 PM UT 5K Run - 3 PM Check out www.cityrunningtours

.com/austin for more info.

Highlight

Reel

It’s March Madness, and the whole damn nation is feeling it, including some of the double-digit seeds as three out of the last 16 teams left are 10-seed or higher. So far teams that have shone in particular include North Carolina, Kentucky and Florida, the latter of which is currently playing on a level well above the number seven seed it was designated. Only time will tell what team is worthy of a Final Four bid and, in this writer’s opinion, Kentucky will ultimately reign supreme as this year’s champion. If UNC can somehow manage to get Kendall Marshall back from his injury before the tourney ends, however, they have a chance to be a major player themselves.

Photos U.S. Navy; Aaron Vazquez; Keith Allison

The

easily be the biggest upgrade in quarterback play one team has ever experienced in a one-year period in the league’s history, questions about Tim Tebow’s future are running rampant. While Denver has pretty much accepted that they’ll be trading the spunky QB with questionable mechanics but a penchant for winning, it’ll be interesting to see who picks him up. Even more interesting will be to see if he can win a starting job or if there is any team in particular that has a demand for his unique skill-set. Only time will tell but I’ll be damned if this hasn’t been one of the craziest seasons of free agency in recent memory. Top three best teams in the NBA right now, in order: Chicago, Oklahoma City, Miami.

After a five-year marriage that was marked more by its shortcomings than its accomplishments, the University of Texas and its women’s head basketball coach Gail Goestenkors have parted ways after Goestenkors resigned on the heels of another lackluster season. Although basketball fans on the 40 Acres probably wish they had gotten more out of Goestenkor’s tenure while she was here, it was clear it was time to move on for both parties. One thing people won’t forget from this year’s run, however, will be the Lady Longhorn’s pounding of the defending national championship Aggies in coach G’s last game against A&M. All the best to coach G in the future and a big salute for her service on the 40 Acres. We officially have a winner in the Peyton Manning sweepstakes and the lucky team is the Denver Broncos! In what could

Speaking of the Bulls, how great is it for them that they’ve been able to be such a force even with the reigning MVP being out for the last week or two? That is a direct reflection of the fantastic job head coach Tom Thibodeau has done in coaching this group of guys as well as the great chemistry this squad has been able to develop. After flying somewhat under the radar in the first

half of the season (if you can believe it since it’s the freakin’ Bulls after all), Chicago is clicking on all cylinders right now and will only get that much better when Derrick Rose returns. Teams in the east better be on watch. Brian Bogart

Photo: Ytoyoda

shootin’ the shit ”With Pey ton Manning on his way to Denver, what do you think is going to happen to Tim Tebow?” — Jordan Cannon Well if we’re talking from a physical perspective, I think Tebow will be one of a handful of people who will be saved on December 20, 2012 (the projected day of the earth’s demise in case you didn’t know), so long-term I’m not all that worried about the guy. The football universe, however, is a different animal entirely, but I’m not necessarily predicting gloom and doom for the former Florida star. In fact, stepping down from the Broncos (or really any starting job for that matter) might prove to give Tebow the development he really needs to break to the next level. Sure, that’s something we’ve been hearing for a while, but these are some

from his play and Denver signed Peyton, all signs pointed to Tebow leaving Denver to find a home on another team, and chances are it’s not a team that will be keen to start him immediately. Luckily for Tebow, he’s

enlist his services immediately, but none come to mind, and right now I think it would be best for Tebow to accept the second spot in the two-deep behind a veteran quarterback. The sun may be

Although the winning streak was the combination of a lot of factors, Tebow had the intangibles needed to carry the Broncos for a while. pretty unique circumstances surrounding the Jockey spokesman. First of all, he probably shouldn’t have been a first-rounder in the first place, which is a move that puts tremendous pressure on a franchise to use him. Once Denver was compelled to start him, probably a little too early than what would be ideal, it became too late when he started winning games in dramatic fashion. Although the winning streak was the combination of a lot of factors, Tebow had the intangibles needed to carry the Broncos for a while. But as some of the luster dimmed

March 21, 2012 | UWeeklyATX.com

always proven to be a resilient guy and even if it’s ugly, he’s shown that there’s something about the way he plays the game that allows him to win. For that reason alone, he’ll find a home and will probably get paid decently for it. The only difference now is that he’ll have the experience of having started almost an entire football season while now being able to observe the game from the bench for a while longer. At least that’s how I see it. Who knows? Maybe some team liked what he did with the Broncos so much that they want to

s e t t i n g o n “ Te b ow T i m e ” i n D e nve r, b u t i t w i l l b e p o i s e d to r i s e a g a i n i n a n o t h e r m a r ke t s o m e t i m e s o o n . A s f o r Pe y to n M a n n i n g , i t ’ l l b e f u n a s h e l l to s e e w h a t h e d o e s i n D e nve r. B e s t o f l u c k to b o t h q u a r te r b a c k s . Brian Bogart

Want to Shoot the Shit with me? Email your questions to brian@bogart.us

The other NBA teams A breakdown on some of the teams we’re not talking about If you only knew the NBA by watching ESPN coverage, you might think we were in a five-team league. The Bulls, the Heat, the Thunder, the Lakers and the Clippers. We talk about these squads because, well, honestly they do have the best shot at winning a title, as boring as that sounds. But let’s get away from LeBron James and Kobe Bryant for a minute. Let’s talk about some of the other 26 teams in the league. The spoiler potential, the upsets, the seventh seed knocking out the second seed. Here are some teams that could be very dangerous come playoff time.

San Antonio Spurs Easily the number one when it comes to underrated teams, the Spurs aren’t getting buzz right now simply because they’ve been getting buzz for the entirety of the last decade. The Spurs currently hold one of the best records in the west, and they’ve violently taken down the favorite Oklahoma

Memphis Grizzlies It’s easy to count the Grizz out right now because Z-Bo is injured and other teams like OKC hoard the all-star names. But still, this was a team that beat the first-seed Spurs last year; they play scrappy, winning basketball with a focus on everyday players overachieving. Randolph, Gay, Gasol: all of a sudden Memphis has themselves a solid, durable core. It’s hard to think anyone would be eager to face them in the playoffs.

New York Knicks Let’s face it, New York’s season has been a disaster. Since flying high with Linsanity the Knicks dropped 8 of their last 10 and generally played shitty, depressing basketball. Eventually it cost Mike D’Antoni his head coaching job, because any team starting Jeremy Lin, Carmelo Anthony, Amar’e Stoudemire and Tyson Chandler with

Any team starting Jeremy Lin, Carmelo Anthony, Amar’e Stoudemire and Tyson Chandler with a losing record is pretty much unacceptable. City Thunder twice in a row now. Tony Parker is having a prime, MVP-like season, Tim Duncan has proven he can still play, and a guy like Manu Ginobli is still coming off the bench. They remain a powerful high seed with the sort of crunch-time experience a group like the Thunder or Clippers don’t have. Sure it’s easy to get discouraged with their age or their recent postseason failures, but we shouldn’t be counting the Spurs out.

a losing record is pretty much unacceptable. Since his dismissal however, the Knicks have won their last three, scoring well, and playing respectable defense. I’m not trying to say that this is anything more than a brief rejuvenation from a shift in philosophy, but if the Knicks do sneak into the postseason with the pieces they have, would it be remiss to think they could make a run? Maybe it’s all the buzz, but I don’t think so.

Photo: Keith Allison

Orlando Magic The ongoing confused diva drama that practically consumed the Dwight Howard legacy over the past few months was a damning, media-obsessed thing. It’s a miracle the Magic escaped unscathed. Let’s be clear, Orlando doesn’t have much of a shot to make the finals, especially after the trade deadline passed without sourcing a scoring threat to help their anemic

offense, but Van Gundy has somehow kept everything together. Even on nights where they only score 59 points, even in press conferences where Howard is grumbling to himself about his apparent unhappiness, the Magic remain contenders. It isn’t a finals team, but don’t write off the Magic Kingdom as merely the sum of its drama. That 29-17 record doesn’t lie. Luke Winkie UWeeklyATX.com | March 21, 2012

Did the Longhorns figure it out and get back into character, as Augie Garrido says? We’ll see, but it certainly looked like it. This weekend, the Longhorns (10-8, 3-0) took the momentum from last Tuesday’s win over Texas State on the road to Oklahoma, and the No. 22 Sooners (11-9, 0-3) felt the wrath of a team that suddenly could pound the baseball all over the park. For the third straight time, the Horns recorded double-digit hits, scored runs consistently throughout the game, and on Sunday completed the series sweep over OU with a 9-4 win. Saturday’s win assured Texas of its 14th straight series win over Oklahoma. Sunday’s victory marked the seventh time the Horns swept the Sooners since 1999, and gives UT seven straight wins in Norman. Texas jumped on the Sooners for two runs in the top of the first, and it could have been worse. Five straight runners reached base, but both Mark Payton and Tim Maitland were caught stealing to start the inning on separate plays. With two outs, Erich Weiss walked, Jonathan Walsh singled, and Alex Silver drove in Weiss with a hard single to right. On the plate, Walsh went from first to third, and the errant throw allowed to score, which gave Texas the 2-0 lead. In the second, Landon Steinhagen led off the inning by smacking a double to the wall in right field, and he was bunted over by Brooks Marlow. Jordan Etier struck out, but with two outs, Payton hit a soft single into shallow center to plate Steinhagen. It was Payton again doing the damage in the fourth inning, and he blasted a solo homer the opposite way to left field to give Texas a 4-0 lead. The homer was the first for the sophomore as a Longhorn. Behind the speed and hustle out of the box by Maitland, the Horns increased their lead to five in the sixth. With two outs and runners on first and second, the senior hit a hard shot on the ground to first. The first baseman dove to make the stop, hesitated for a second, and the speedy Maitland beat him to the bag. On the

March 21, 2012 | UWeeklyATX.com

Photo: University of Texas at Austin Athletics

Horns sweep the Sooners

slider that hung in the zone, and was hit out of the park by Lockwood. Still, the freshman pitched deep into the game, and allowed Texas to take a big lead early by coming out and pounding the zone early. That’s something that the previous two starters didn’t do for Texas. French gave up four runs in 6.2 innings on five hits, two walks, and he struck out four. In a seventh-inning jam, Dillon Peters retired the only hitter he faced to end the inning. He came in, got ahead in a big spot, and forced the batter to put the ball in play. From there, Curtiss tossed 2.0 shutout innings to end the game. The freshman did a very solid job of getting on top of his fastball and driving it down into the zone.

Breaking down the batter’s box

play, Steinhagen, who was hit by a pitch to start the inning, motored around third as he was moving on the pitch, and beat the throw home from first to make it 5-0 Texas. Parker French’s no-hitter lasted 5.2 innings, and the Sooners were finally able to get on the scoreboard in the sixth. Max White hit a two-RBI, two-out single with the bases loaded to make it 5-2. However, with two runners in scoring position, French struck out Cody Reine - in Friday’s game, Reine’s bat flip and staredown after hitting a game-tying homer in the ninth led to the benches clearing - to keep the Horns in front by three. Texas immediately responded in the seventh to get those two runs back. Walsh walked to start the inning, Silver singled, and Felts ripped a RBI double to the wall in left to score Walsh. A groundout by Etier scored Silver to give Texas a 7-2 lead. Hunter Lockwood hammered a two-run homer over the wall in left-center in the seventh to keep the Sooners within striking distance at 7-4. However, the Horns went back to work with the sticks in the top of the ninth. Felts’ bloop double found some grass in left, and Brooks Marlow scored him with a single. He moved to third, and scored on a grounder off the bat of Payton to make it 9-4.

John Curtiss tossed the final 2.0 innings to earn his first career save, and preserved the 9-4 victory.

Key moment in the game One of the things that great Garrido teams at Texas have done is respond. Immediately after French gave up those two runs in the sixth, Texas bounced right back to get them back. Not only did it squash OU’s momentum, but it showed that the Horns were very dialed in offensively. When Garrido talks about the character of his team, that’s a prime example of what he’s referring to.

Battle on the hill Winning pitcher - Parker French, Texas (3-0) Losing pitcher - Steven Okert, Oklahoma (2-2) Save - John Curtiss (1) French had the sinker working again, and even touched 94 MPH on the stadium radar gun in that big sixth-inning strikeout. Early in the game, the freshman wasn’t getting on top and driving that pitch down enough in the zone, but that issue was quickly corrected, which allowed him to keep the Sooners hitless for 5.2 innings. At times, the right-hander’s slider looked as good as it has this season, but he wasn’t able to snap a sharp, tight spinning slider consistently. His one big mistake pitch of the day was a flat

Star of the game - Not only did Payton hit his first career homer, but the sophomore also went 3-for-5 with a walk, a run scored, and three RBI. He’s reached base in every game this season. Although he can get out on his front foot a little too much, Payton is doing a great job of putting the good part of the barrel on the baseball to hit it hard. Frustrating day at the office - Reine struck out in a huge spot for OU, went 0-for-3, and left two runners on base. Plus, his antics after his homer on Friday fired up the Longhorns for the rest of the weekend.

Dustin’s extra bases Walsh went 2-for-3 with two walks, two runs scored, and the only time he was retired was when he smacked a hard shot right at the second baseman. The most encouraging part of this performance had to be the two walks, which gives him four this season. Walsh can be a guy that expands the zone too often, but on Sunday, he controlled the strike zone well. A well-executed slash play by Silver on Sunday put the exclamation mark behind his great weekend. Hard sliders off the outside corner can still give him issue, but as he did all weekend, the sophomore took very aggressive swings; he’s really starting to square the ball up often. Felts took some of his best swings of the weekend on Sunday, and his hard double to left might have been one of the hardest balls he’s hit this season. Like Silver, Felts is swinging with a ton of confidence and is taking aggressive hacks with good bat speed. Dustin McComas Orangebloods.com Staff

Joss Whedon: On life and art Insight and advice from a film and TV king Joss Whedon is an accomplished film and television writer, producer and director, credited with such creations as “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” “Firefly,” “Dollhouse,” and “Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog.” In a sit-down interview at SXSW Film and Interactive, Whedon opens up about his latest endeavor, The Cabin in the Woods, which made its world premiere the first night of the festival. Whedon, who’s been around the TV and film block, so to speak, opened up at this year’s festival about his life’s work, his creative process and how he’s managed to fit all of that in to an industry that he affectionately refers to as “the machine”. While Whedon describes The Cabin as a step backward in the right direction, he also emphasizes that the movie is “a reaction against horror movies as well as a love letter to them.” He goes on to describe the journey he’s taken to get to his latest

film as well as impart some words of wisdom. As he describes his multi-modal roles in the film and TV industry, he declares that he always wanted to be a director but often enjoys the quieter lifestyle of a screenwriter. “That’s the great thing about being a writer: You get exactly the amount of attention you need to feed your greedy ego, but not so much that you can’t handle it,” said Whedon. Whedon answers one audience member’s question in regards to which is better: film or TV? Surprisingly enough, Whedon replies that TV is the place to be. “TV is the place to be because of being able to spend years developing a character and with actors,” said Whedon. “Movies are about shrinking it down to its barest storytelling. There are so many film actors going to TV because that’s where the roles

are. If you’re just a writer, you want to be in TV. That’s where you have control.” He also goes on to describe the passion he has that’s taken him through his career and how he’s handled exhaustion, decision-making and creating works of art. Whedon, who had “a complete breakdown on Buffy,” said that over the years, he’s learned to rarely let stress get to him. “You really have to know where your decision-making passion is. Figure out where not to expend your energy.” Though, Whedon does believe that some stress can be a great motivating factor in creating art and being productive. “There’s a certain kind of adrenaline that’s brought on by stress because you’re getting something done that you need to get done creatively,” said Whedon. One audience member got to ask a three-part question that most of us were dying to know. Those

Safety Not Guaranteed Almost the perfect movie Aubrey Plaza is known for her straightfaced humor and witty, sarcastic comments. She made no exceptions for her role in Safety Not Guaranteed, a heartfelt comedy about a slightly-odd Kenneth Calloway, played by Mark Duplass (“The League”), who is a 30-something with a plan to travel back in time to 2001 in order to save his girlfriend from being killed by a drunk driver. Plaza, along with co-stars Jake Johnson (“New Girl”) and Karan Soni (“The Protector”), are reporters from a magazine sent on assignment to investigate an ad taken out by Duplass in need of a partner for his time traveling adventures. Dancing the line between funny and sad, the film progresses from a work assignment

to a journey of the heart as the characters attempt to travel back in time to places and to people that made them feel happy and safe. Duplass, who went the furthest outside of his acting comfort zone, managed to make his character likable and funny all the while paranoid of secret agents attempting to foil his grand plans. In order to prove her worthiness and gain his trust, Plaza has to complete a series of mental and physical trainings in order to show that she’s ready to travel the timespace continuum. What you find in this movie is a chance to dream again like a child even though you know you’re an adult who’s been heartbroken, disappointed and who knows that not everything works out the way you want it to.

The only thing that could have made this movie better is a resolution of a side love Photo: Gage Skidmore story between Johnson and his old high school girlfriend, played by Jenica Bergere, as he tries to rekindle the flame between them. Yet, ending this film without resolving this relationship is more akin to real life and, for some reason, you’re OK with not knowing what happens. When the first thought you have after the film ends is, “I’ve been living my life all wrong,” you know it was a good movie. Amanda Chappel

Photo: Patrick Lee

of us who know the genius of Whedon cannot understand why his shows get cancelled so often. Basically it boils down to numbers. The networks see the industry as nothing more than a business, and if you don’t make the numbers then it’s the chopping block. Quality of the content often has nothing to do with the cancellations. After having a couple quality shows cancelled, Whedon has a learned to take a detached view of “the machine,” as he calls it. “I would say the networks have a particular agenda, model and structure. If you have a product that fits in, that’s cool,” said Whedon. He goes on to describe how, at times, networks or production companies really liked some of his work, but didn’t know how to market it because it was such a mix of genres. “Firefly” could definitely be seen as an example of that. Although we can blame various factors for his shows being cancelled—marketing, change in time slots, placement—the mixed-genre shows he creates often have a niche audience which isn’t always network-friendly. “A lot of what I do is very difficult for networks. ‘How do we market something that fits in with so many different genres?’ It can be frustrating. Not to diss networks, but the machine doesn’t care,” said Whedon. “Their structures cannot be built on passion.” Maybe he’ll resume working on a web series like “Dr. Horrible” after his current project is finished. The internet definitely gives him more room to work with character development without fear of being cancelled. As long as he keeps working, he can choose whatever domain he’d like. Amanda Chappel & Celine Suarez

March 21, 2012 | UWeeklyATX.com

Let’s push things forward A few suggestions for future South by Southwests Look, we love you, South by Southwest. You’re a truly unique presence in our world. Austin is literally the only city in the country with the navigation-ready smallness and the incredible density of rock clubs to have such a festival. You bring millions of dollars, loads of prestige and Bruce fucking Springsteen. Austin wouldn’t be Austin without SXSW. Still, there are a few things worth improving, a couple pointers to help reduce annoyance, and build a better city.

party at the Beauty Ballroom where I was one of maybe 12 people watching the show. That doesn’t seem healthy to me. Obviously it’s not all officially put on by the SXSW higher-ups, but maybe there could be some rules to make sure a band isn’t playing to an empty field.

A better way to deal with the press

Get back to the music

Take the drums away from those fucking kids

Not to be a snob, but seeing a towering recreation of a Doritos vending machine loom over downtown Austin isn’t the most reassuring thing in the world. Obviously corporate sponsorship makes the world go round, but couldn’t be a little more subtle? Doesn’t that violate zoning ordinances? Does the world really need Lil Wayne holding a bottle of Mountain Dew quoting PR copy? I mean, the fact that big companies want a piece of the SouthBy pie shouldn’t surprise anyone, but it certainly could be handled with more grace than that.

Walking around downtown last week, you would inevitably run into an impromptu drumrave crowding an otherwise useful sidewalk. I get that it’s Austin, but oh my god did it get annoying after a while. Power to the police force. Seriously, I’d let them taze those little douchebags. If there’s one thing SXSW doesn’t need, it’s more distractions and blockades impeding your progress towards the next thing on your to-do list. Moments like that make you feel like this entire festival is a bad idea. Luke Winkie

One of the primary issues you’ll hear about SXSW from all sorts of industry folks is that the music week is a disorganized hell-hole of working journalists and vacationing proletariats roaming the same streets and trying to get into the same venues. This causes a lot of stress for one party, and a lot of “man I wish I could actually see my favorite band instead of all these jaded rock critics taking my spot” for another party. It just seems silly to mix those two demographics. There’s gotta be a way to cater to both crowds

without marginalizing either one. Perhaps book a series of industry-specific events? Maybe organize a press RSVP system? It’s better than having thousands of people running around downtown feeling stressed.

Cut out the chaff Part of SXSW’s excitement is how big and ridiculous it is. But at a certain point, maybe it’s a little too big? With hundreds of showcases every night vying for our attention, it leads to a lot of the lesser lineups criminally underattended. I found myself at a hip-hop day

UWeeklyATX.com | March 21, 2012

Permanent

autonomous zone

Wardenclyffe opens up new windows for art, community, and experience Austin has its fair share of ways in which people can explore and exhibit their creative impulses. The sheer number of music venues, theatres, and other ad hoc creative spaces might even make a New Yorker jealous. However, much of the time, these spaces can be just as constricting on artists while furtively dictating social norms which participants must adhere to. Luckily, two of Austin’s most dynamic movers and shakers, studio art major Katie Rose Pipkin and Olivia Pepper, have created a space that subverts expectations and social divisions called Wardenclyffe. Leasing an old house on the grounds of an abandoned chop shop, Pipkin and Pepper are transforming the house and space around it into a creative commons in which the adventurous and the unknown can manifest

Tesla’s Wardenclyffe plant on Long Island in partial stage of completion. Work on the 55-foot diameter cupola had not yet begun. Note what appears to be a coal car parked next to the building. From this facility, Tesla hoped to demonstrate wireless transmission of electrical energy to France. Circa 1902

March 21, 2012 | UWeeklyATX.com

Upon a cursory glance, Wardenclyffe might seem like just another art-space (house) in east Austin, another notch in Austin’s creative community. However, the newly minted space serves as a sort of temporary utopia for creatives and noncreatives alike to do what they please. The only constriction on what happens there at this point seems to be the laws of time and space, and even that is up for future debate. Ostensibly, the purpose of Wardenclyffe is to serve as a multi-use art-space that explores a variety of mediums. “The concept came from Nicola Tesla’s laboratory in New York, Wardenclyffe, where he was trying to develop free energy,” said Pepper. Indeed, the utopian and eccentric ideas of Tesla have often been a fascination for Pepper and Pipkin for some time now. Likewise, Pepper and Pipkin’s space embodies the spirit of Tesla’s failed laboratory, serving as a space where experiments in all mediums and human endeavors could take place outside of the sanctioned realities of both the prosaic and art worlds. “The idea that you can pull energy from the air that came from a variety of sources and vibrational frequencies translates well into a metaphor for creating a unifying space for artists who work in different media to come together, a space where artists could feel safe to create without expectation or subculture norms,” said Pepper. Taking its utopian ethos even further into the realm of infinite possibilities, Pepper and Pipkin’s intentions are for the space to

exceed the mono-dimensionality of most venues in Austin. “In addition to the normal mediums (visual, performance, music), I’ve had visions of tree houses, permanent installations, and pleasure gardens,” said co-founder Pipkin. “However, at the end of the day, it is really up to the winds, Olivia and I, and the people who come out to see what happens with the space.” Indeed,Wardenclyffe’s open source nature will be re-written every week by the varied genres of people who come out, not just by Pipkin and Pepper. “Anyone and anybody is allowed to submit a proposal for a project of any medium and we will surely discuss it,” said Pipkin. “While we may be the curators of the space, a lot of the things that will happen here are demanded by the community: community gardens, live drawing classes, and other participatory endeavors.” No matter what one’s subculture affiliation one might pledge allegiance to (hippie, hipster, bro, etc.), Wardenclyffe’s refusal to be defined in terms of any specific thing makes it a safe commons where one can let their mask down and see what is behind the others’. “I feel like other spaces in town have

While we may be the curators of the space, a lot of the things that will happen here are demanded by the community.

certain subculture norms that one has to adhere to and a sense of cliquishness,” said Pepper. “We’ve had so many different kinds of people from all different ilks and everyone relates to each other in a peaceful and cohesive way, even people who have legitimate reasons to have friction with each other. Everyone behaves very civil and cool.” Likewise, many venues or scenes in Austin can seem insular, unconsciously urging one to stay within the confines of their particular demographic or social scene. On the contrary, Wardenclyffe strives to be a creative fertile crescent in which creators and spectators alike can explore novel experiences, and states of mind and body: a sort of liminal space characterized by the dislocation of established structures, the reversal of hierarchies, and an overall sense of uncertainty. “People have the freedom to branch out into new avenues of experiences here,” said Pepper. “I’ve heard people say at our old venue (The Island), ‘That was the first time I’ve heard that kind of music’ or ‘I’ve never seen a movie like that.’ Just being able to have these new experiences in a profoundly vulnerable way is essentially what we’re all about.” Wardenclyffe is located on 1101 Springdale Rd. Visit Wardenclyffegallery.com for more information on upcoming events and ways in which to get involved and volunteer.

William M. Bass

SXSW meet-up with Kate X Messer

It is time for us to grow as a community

Kate X Messer is something of a local icon to gay discussed why we came to the meeting, and and lesbian Austinites everywhere. Mostly known what we hoped to get out of it. for her column “Gay Place” in the Austin Chronicle, Unfortunately, I left feeling a bit more Messer is always in the know when it comes to dejected than when I arrived as I started to cool gay shit going on in this fair city of ours. notice an unnerving and saddening trend So, naturally, she was the perfect host for this among my fellow gays: We’ve stagnated. year’s SXSW LGBT meet-up which was When speaking with other held at the Hilton Garden Inn (not attendees, I found myself to be confused with the Hilton, quickly predicting what was I left feeling a bit which is where I first went to going to come out of their more dejected than when look for the group). mouth. Not because they I arrived as I started to Held in a conference were boring or because room high above the they are talking gay notice an unnerving and city, gays and lesbians robots, but because I’ve saddening trend among my alike got a chance to heard it before, and I’m fellow gays: We’ve hear Messer speak, mingle sure I’ll hear it again. stagnated. and look down from our Talk to any out and open huge window on all the poor, gay long enough and the same rain-soaked SXSW attendees as we words will inevitably come out of

all of their mouths. The words “community,” “support” and “acceptance” are common talking points within the LGBT world. While these are all perfectly valid and legitimate reasons to coalesce as a group, it seems as though this is also the place we’ve stopped. Perhaps we’ve stopped at this certain place because many of us are still in the process of coming out or still shy about who we really are. “I’m new to the transgender group,” said Michael, who wanted to withhold his last name for private reasons. “This is very brand new to me.” Michael, like many newly out gays, lesbians and transgender individuals, reached out to the group in search for support, inspiration and acceptance. “Acceptance is one of the biggest things,” said Michael. Walking around the room, there were fliers and announcements for the meeting’s after party. Apparently, after Messer’s speech, we were all heading down to the hotel bar, even though it was only 4:30 in the afternoon. Then from 5-8 there would be a party down at Chain Drive, a popular bar in downtown Austin. While this could be seen as another SXSW reason to celebrate, one must also take into

consideration that the gay community already does this sort of thing a lot. In fact, it seems as the primary way the gay community involves itself with one another is to drink and go clubbing. This is fairly unfortunate, since the gay community is one of the largest, most organized and mobilized groups in the country. If the gay community spent as much time on philanthropy or charity work as it does on drinking and clubbing, the world would be a much better place. So what’s stopping us? Betsy Bruce, who also attended the meet up, sees the gay community progressing in a very specific way. As Bruce sees it, the gay community is moving towards a sense of total integration with the rest of the population. She sees gayness as something that won’t be of much importance in the future. “I see it not really mattering,” said Bruce. To some, this might be a cause for celebration. But to others, this might be a lost opportunity. If the queer community never matures out of its partying ways, then what we might really accomplish as a group for the greater good will be lost forever. Amanda Chappel

UWeeklyATX.com | March 21, 2012

bMUSEd INC presents UNSIGNED GIANTS

Small town nights, big city lights SXSW rolls over Austin once a year in thick cloud of promises and excitement. Some people wait eagerly for another chance to see their favorite bands all rolled up in one week. Others dread the influx of people and noise, cowering under the covers until the storm passes. There are many differing views on how to approach the festival as an Austinite. The same goes for the different bands that come to play here, game plans varying as much as sounds. The following perspectives come from two such groups, a small town rock trio’s first crack at SXSW, and an urban band’s calculated approach to maximize their exposure. They may be from different backgrounds but they have one thing in common, the drive to stand out above the other gazillion bands trying to make a name for themselves. These are their stories.

Hitting stuff with Purple A diminutive blonde kneels onstage, setting up a drum kit. Going about her business she draws the eyes of several bar patrons as they look in idle wonderment, confused as to what this youth thinks she is doing up there. When the band begins to play they have their answer: She is rocking their faces off. The Beaumont, TX group Purple is not just another upstart. Consisting of guitarist/ vocalist Taylor Busby, drummer/vocalist

March 21, 2012 | UWeeklyATX.com

Hanna Brewer, and bassist Tyler Smith, they bring the noise every time they take the stage. The band has an energy that commands people to take notice, with Brewer being the most surprising of the lot. Do not be fooled by her unassuming East Texas accent, this girl wails and pounds her kit, taking out her frustration from the many times some guy told her she was “pretty good, for a girl.” Their unapologetic fury is one of the points about Purple that captivated their audience this SXSW. Coming from a small town, they are used to playing to many of the same faces, so when they get a crack at fresh meat, the band does not balk at the opportunity for an impression. Rehearsing like crazy leading up to their first SXSW allowed Purple to work out any kinks in their set. It also helped to minimize the anxiety steadily building while the festival approached. Their practice paid off as they electrified the crowd and surely made many a new fan in the process. Releasing their debut album next month (release parties take place in Beaumont on April 20 and Houston on April 21), Purple just tries to soak

in the whole experience. They spend their time when not playing to seize the many opportunities to meet fans and catch shows of other bands. This may have been Purple’s first SXSW, but if their dedication to bringing the heat is an indicator of things to come, this will not be their last. Check out purpletexasmusic. com for more information on the band.

Touring with Zelazowa There are many paths that lead to Austin during SXSW, but few of these routes have the same DIY flavor as Zelazowa’s. Though hailing from the bustling streets of New York, this band is no stranger to the road or to Austin. Years ago brothers Bryan and Kyle Weber, along with fellow band mates Terry and Ian Sharkey, struggled to get good leads on venues while touring. Steadily over time, however, they built up their rolodex of clubs and bookers, each time simplifying the process for the next. This list of contacts eventually led to a brilliant idea and a side project for the band: The free venue database Indieonthemove.com. Zelazowa’s need for a musician-friendly catalogue of venues made it an obvious niche for them to fill. By creating a website that appeals to a touring musician’s needs for ease, availability, and frugality they put themselves in a position to help other artists where they had struggled in the

past. Participating bands can engage with a host of useful tools at indieonthemove. com, ranging from booking to signing up for email lists updating them about gigs open in nearby areas. The site also comes in handy when searching for open spots during SXSW. Veterans to the festival, Bryan and Kyle made it down from NY and performed a stripped-down set that was more folksy than the usual alternative sound of their full band. Though lacking two of their band mates the performance did not disappoint. The two brothers picked away and sang in harmony as can only be done by two people very familiar and comfortable with playing together. They played several shows throughout the week, maximizing the exposure while still enjoying the city that they have come to know fairly well through their many travels through town. When it comes to SXSW, Zelazowa brings the networking spirit both trough their website and the many bands that they have met while touring. SXSW exposes us to an assortment of bands with looks and sounds all across the spectrum. That is the beauty of this festival and of Austin itself: It offers an opportunity to experience bands big and small that otherwise would be impossible to see in one spot. Love it or hate it, SXSW is a dynamic festival with lots of potential for the many artists passing through. Landon McCampbell

celine suarez

Needless to say, the Screenburn Arcade was by far my favorite part of Interactive. I felt right at home as soon as I walked in. There were game demos all around and it was all presented in a dark room with very little lighting, a gamer’s dream.

Tournaments

to play in those games takes as much training as a professional athlete would need. Famous strategy games Starcraft II and League of Legends held their own tournament as well. If you’ve ever played Starcraft II, then you’ll understand how difficult and intense that game can get.

Throughout the three-day span of Screenburn, there were professional gaming tournaments. Having never been to one before, I have to say the gamers were intense. Each one had such fierce concentration it looked like they were actually fighting for their lives. IGN even As soon as you walk in, there’s already had announcers for each event. I two game demos ready for you managed to catch the first to play. Firefall dominated tournament of Street the entrance with life-size Fighter X Tekken and Now with newer characters from the was blown away by game and at least five the skill of some of technology, better gaming stations. the contestants. educational games can be Alienware provided Honestly, it’s all of the monitors, ridiculous because made and more students keyboards, mice, and most of them will actually learn and towers for Firefall’s were probably demo. I must say how still in high school. retain things like how the absolutely gorgeous The tournaments government works. the setup looked. It truly are what you call made the experience of the E-sports, which game that much more likeable. UWeekly’s sport writers Firefall was actually really fun. It’s have deemed as “not a real like a mulitplayer FPS and had easy-to-use sport.” With a huge display right in the center of Screenburn, I almost want to controls. It’s free for download, but it is in argue that it is. The amount of skill needed beta stage. I’m not a PC gamer, but the cool

Game demos galore

weapons and easy controls may convert me. If you walked to the left, you could find an entire section of the room blocked off for anyone who wanted to play a Valve game. You could choose from Portal, Half Life 2, Left 4 Dead 2 or Team Fortress 2. You even had a choice of which episode of Half Life 2. If FPS’s weren’t for you, there were a few arcade games as well. It was fantastic just because you could play with some amazing gamers (some as young as 13). Alienware again provided all of the hardware, and plenty of it. It wasn’t too difficult to find a spot, but it filled up really quickly.

Games 4 Change, Cloudy With a Chance of Gaming Among the conferences I went to, “Games 4 Change: Great Power, Great Responsibility” was the most inspiring. Games 4 Change is an organization that tries to implement more gaming in school. Co-President Asi Burak talked about how most video games are seen in a negative way, but many people have forgotten that they’ve played educational games all their life. Anyone remember Oregon Trail? Well, those video games are more memorable than some of the lectures your teacher gave. Now with newer technology, better educational games can be made and more students will

actually learn and retain things like how the government works. “Cloudy With a Chance of Gaming” was an unfortunately dull conference. I was hoping to hear more about how Cloud gaming might be the future, but the speakers became too technical about the Cloud. It has advantages to developers and for gamers, but I don’t think it’ll catch on too soon. Once Cloud gaming becomes more standard, Photos: Celine Suarez gamers will definitely appreciate how much quicker the servers go up and are maintained.

Booths Like most gaming conventions, this was filled with booths. Unfortunately there was no free swag, but most booths gave away stickers and business cards. This was more like a mobile gaming convention with the types of booths that were presented. Mobile apps like GameSalad were showing gamers how they could create their own video game for iOS. They provide the technical aspects and you create the story. Vendors like Game Over Videogames had set up an old-school NES and let gamers play Super Mario Bros. and Donkey Kong for the SNES. Microsoft had set up a Kinect and had players play in a medieval realm. This may have been a fairly small gaming convention, but it was still great to walk around and see Master Chief. It didn’t offer nearly as much free stuff as the Tech Career Expo, but you could play arcade games without having to use nickels. Innovative mobile gaming apps whored themselves out, and most of them seemed like they might actually be fun to use after SXSW is over. The cosplay competition was fun to watch, but not as exciting as Austin Comic Con’s cosplayers. I’d say that the gaming section of Interactive is off to a great start but still has a lot of room to grow. Celine Suarez UWeeklyATX.com | March 21, 2012

The

battle of STORMS This week on Versus, we’re talking about that potentially apocalyptic storm that is supposed to be raging through Austin on Monday and Tuesday. If you’re reading this,

congratulations! You survived! But here’s what your peers had to say when all of our fates were hanging in the balance of time, space and holiness. Luke Winkie

Are you scared? • Whenever they’re talking about tornados I get scared. —Melissa Flanegan

• Pssssssh. —Jeremy Eudy

• A little rain never hurt anybody. —Stanley Teeter • No matter how old I get, an intense thunderstorm will always make me nervous. —Martin Cho • I’ve been through way worse. I’m from Wisconsin, damnit. —Henry Tuck • I watched Twister last night, so yes. —Eileen Irby

Will you be building any protection measures around your home? • Yeah, if by that you mean huddle in my bathtub. —Emma Shine

• Yeah, it’s called “not being a pussy.” —Dianne Sherrer

• I’m actually really curious to see if my back alley can flood. —Albert Neace • We’re gonna need a bigger boat! —Flora Dreher

• I eat storms like this for breakfast. —Antonio Bullock

What’s the worst that could happen? • My entire roof gets destroyed and I get sucked out in the barrel of a tornado. —Vincent Winstead • My dog gets left outside. —Andrew Gillipsie • The storm is actually the four horsemen of doom returning to the mortal realm. —Charles Fuqua

• The camera doesn’t get my good side when they film me fighting the storm on the roof of my apartment. —Ryan Cropper • Some thunder wakes me up before my calc test. No biggie. —Natalie Brice

How do you feel about building an Ark? • Noah is my homeboy! —Dennis Conte • Pure prophecy if you asked me. —Angelica Basso

March 21, 2012 | UWeeklyATX.com

• Honestly, raining 40 days and 40 nights isn’t that big of a deal. —Byron Alpizer • Noah is full of shit. Just like this storm. —Nolan Shertzer

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Super Crossword

Crypto Quip

Clue: E EQUALS W

This is a simple substitution cipher in which each letter used stands for another. If you think that X equals O, it will equal O throughout the puzzle. Solution is accomplished by trial and error.

Buy 1 Laser Tag game

GET 1 GAME FREE Must show valid student ID. Not valid with other oﬀers. Thursdays only. One discount per person, per day.

1 coupon per person, per day. Void if altered. No cash value. Cannot be combined with other oﬀers or specials. Must present coupon. Exp 03/31/12. CODE: UW032112

March 21, 2012 | UWeeklyATX.com

HOLLYWOOD HEADLINE

Sudoku

eve 6

’90s rock band to release a new album after nine years

Believe it or not, this year was the first time Eve 6 performed at South by Southwest Music Festival (SXSW). The band that brought us the sing-alongs “Inside Out” and “Here’s to the Night” has played in Austin before, but never during the week-long festival. Eve 6 chatted with UWeekly during SXSW to discuss the upcoming album Speak in Code, which comes out April 24, and how fans welcomed them back after nine years of not hearing from this rock trio.

First of all, what brought you back together? Tony Fagenson: We were walking down the street and I saw Max on the other side of the street and I saw Jon behind me. Max Collins: What was I wearing? TF: You were wearing your Speedo backpack which is full of speedos. (Max then turns around to reveal his Speedo backpack.) We came together and it was this glorious moment, like The Sound of Music. We started dancing, and we decided to be a band again. We’d spent some time off and done other projects. The name of the band had stayed out there. There were a lot of people out there that still seemed to like the band and were interested in hearing some new music from us. We thought, hey, let’s do this. Let’s get back together and make music again. It’s been a really good thing, so it’s just the timing was right for it.

When you first played together after your hiatus, did that come quickly for you or was it getting used to each other again? What was that like? Jon Siebels: It was easy once we got into the room and started playing, I think, for me anyway. Once we jammed through some of the old songs and everything, it was like, oh, there it is. MC: It did, and this record has a group of songs that were amassed over the last few years, and it also has a group that’s brand new that kind of happened when Jon reentered the band and we became the original three again. So it was definitely an inspiring thing and we got to work.

are newer, and we were able to take more time with them here and there.

You released your single “Victoria.” What was the response you got with that single and were you surprised by it? TF: I don’t know. I feel that it’s very different now with the way the internet works. The outlets are just totally different now. There are a lot of other places that people hear about it and stuff, so that’s something that’s different now. But so far, the response has been good. We like to sit there and look on Twitter and see what people say about it. I don’t know. It’s been good.

“We came together and it was this glorious moment, like The Sound of Music. We started dancing, and we decided to be a band again.” JS: That’s a really cool thing about putting out a new record after so many years of not doing that, because you really get to see the cool stuff that’s going on in the world and being able to really interact with our fans through Twitter, through Facebook. It’s great seeing the instant response, especially when it’s generally good.

So writing the album came pretty quickly?

You had mentioned the new technology now. When “Inside Out” came out, we didn’t have Facebook and Twitter then. So when that started coming out, how did you approach it? Did you welcome it immediately?

MC: Yeah, well I think the more recent section after Jon came back in was very quick. It kind of had to be. He came in not that long before we went into the record. Then the songs before that, some of them are older, some of them

MC: I feel like that’s one of the reasons that sort of allowed for the band name and the music to stay out there when we were virtually inactive for awhile. So we’re definitely grateful for that. There was this word-

Photo Courtesy: Fearless Records

of-mouth stuff that could happen and access to our music without us having to facilitate it, which is kind of amazing. We were surprised when, after a few years of not doing this, we went out and started to play shows again, the reception was awesome, and there were younger kids at the shows. So it’s been really helpful, I think, to the band. TF: Yeah, I kind of grew up as a computer geek anyway so it’s great that it’s all caught up to that. We’re so attached to technology and computers now as a culture, and it’s great to be able to use that as a tool to help promote your band and again interact with fans. So the tools out there are really great right now, and we definitely jump at every opportunity to use them. JS: And the fans are able to interact with each other, too, which is cool. They got their own little community going on, and they talk to each other on our websites and stuff like that. They talk about Eve 6 online, so it’s cool.

How much are you engaged with the interaction with your fans? TF: I think anyone that reads Max’s tweets that knows Max knows that it has to be him doing the tweeting personally. No intern is coming up with that stuff. We read a lot of our tweets and our mentions. We’re the ones behind our personal twitters and everything, so we like to be hands-on as much as we can, within reason. I mean, we can’t answer every single question, but we try to be as informative as we can and let people know that they are actually speaking to us, that we are interacting with them, and seeing what they’re thinking, and we appreciate it all. Sarah Vasquez UWeeklyATX.com | March 21, 2012

Wednesday

thursday

Action Pack Presents:

Demolition Man

@ Alamo Ritz, 320 E 6th

As the toxic tide of marketing, Von Dutch hats, and plu codes slowly recedes back into the infernal ocean from which it came—Los Angeles—we can finally open up the door to our bomb shelters a little to peek out and see if the coast is clear (don’t worry, it is). Now you can reclaim 6th and patronize the Alamo Drafthouse for quite possibly one of the greatest action movies of the ’90s, Demolition Man. Watch Stallone, before he started retreading this territory, and Snipes, before he was a vampire and IRS evader. Tickets: www.originalalamo.com

►►Also Worthy

The top events & shows in Austin this week Will bass 28

friday

Grits and Gravy

Black Widow Burlesque

@ Barberella, 615 Red River

@ ND, 501 Brushy St

You need to take a vacation from your vacation. Whether you were trundling around Austin in a breakfast taco and Lone Star stupor, or doing the same thing overseas, you probably need to lay off the sauce and idiocy for a while and enjoy some good, ol’ fashioned, clean fun. Well, not clean in the eyes of Baptists; we’re talking about twerkin’, booty shaking, and whatever perverted ways you can imagine to move your body down at Barberella. Thursday is Grits and Gravy which means they will be pumpin’ out some funky tunes to get you funked up, down with the funk, etc.

Whether we know it or not, we all love being teased in some form or fashion; not the demeaning variety, but the sexual. The sensation of what is to come often eclipses the pleasure of what actually comes and what might never come. A sense of mystery and revealing/concealing can often be the most sexually charged thing one can experience. Come down and experience the tasteful mystery of the burlesque show without having to be exposed to the scary mystery that is the bathroom at the Landing Strip. Tickets: www.brownpapertickets.com/event/230502

►►Also Worthy

Reckless Kelley

The Threefer (Improv Comedy)

The Naked and the Famous

James Hyland

My Golden Calf

The Bright

John Dee Graham

Pillowtalk

Sunrise Capital

Alex Reymundo

Woody Witt Quartet

Master Pancake: Back to the Future

Comic Striptease

Bamako Airlines

Salsa Dance

Emo’s East, 2015 E Riverside Frank, 407 Colorado Continental Club, 1315 S Congress Cap City Comedy Club, 8120 Research Blvd Antone’s, 213 W 5th

The Hideout, 617 Congress Mohawk, 912 Red River Frank, 407 Colorado

Elephant Room, 315 S Congress Skinny’s Ballroom, 115 S Congress

Stubb’s, 801 Red River Frank, 407 Colorado

Hole in the Wall, 2538 Guadalupe Alamo Slaughter Lane, 5701 Slaughter Ln Go Dance Studio, 2525 W Anderson Ln

March 21, 2012 | UWeeklyATX.com

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Michael Mordecai’s Jazz Jam @ Elephant Room, 315 S Congress

No better antidote for the poison that one feels like they have injected when they wake up on Monday than some jazz. If you got a fever, the only cure is more Elephant Room.

Honk Texas @ TBA

Free Improv Comedy:

Oh Science

►►Also Worthy

Leo Rondeau

Hole in the Wall, 2538 Guadalupe

Braves & Babes Dance Party

Time to wave that freak flag! Dig up that marching band flute that you had buried along with your traumatic high school memories, put on your best post-apocalyptic attire, and make yourself heard at Honk Texas. A gathering of the country’s most talented community street bands (read: punk rock marching band), Honk Texas will feature some of the funkiest, most righteous and face-melting street ensembles this side of Burning Man. Honk Texas blurs the lines between performers and audience as the bands will flood the streets of Austin with a litany of different street band styles including New Orleans’ second line brass, European klezmer, Balkan and Romani music, and festivals such as Mardi Gras and Brazilian Carnivale.

@ Coldtowne, 4600 Airport Blvd

►►Also Worthy

Auroravore

Junior Brown

Hole in the Wall, 2538 Guadalupe

Continental Club, 1315 S Congress

Mescquire

Sunday Mellow Ride

Red Eyed Fly, 715 Red River

Mellow Johnny’s 400 Nueces

►►Also Worthy

Bruce Robison

Top Model Austin Showcase

Deicide

Broken Spoke, 3201 S Lamar

219 West, 619 W 6th

Emo’s East, 2015 E Riverside

Experience Hendrix

James Bullard

Tittie Bingo

Hole in the Wall, 2538 Guadalupe

Highball, 1120 S Lamar

Danny Malone

Tony Price

ACL Live, 310 Willie Nelson Blvd

There is nothing more unfunny than Sundays. Hangovers and homework are no laughing matter, and neither is the way you probably look after sleeping face-down in an alley in West Campus. Laugh all of those embarrassing moments of the weekend away at Coldtowne with some delicious, and free, improv comedy.

Mohawk, 912 Red River

Big Lebowski Quote-Along Alamo S. Lamar, 1120 S Lamar

tuesday

Perfume Genius Lambert’s, 401 W 2nd

Hotel Vegas, 1500 E 6th

Didn’t catch any next-big-things at SouthBy? Now is your chance, as Perfume Genius spices up the BBQ at Lambert’s.

Continental Club, 1315 S Congress

UWeeklyATX.com | March 21, 2012

►►Dizzy Rooster

►►Cain and Abel’s

306 E 6th

2313 Rio Grande

$2 wells/domestics/jello shots

$8 32 oz. Texas Teas from 7 PM-close

►►Chuggin’ Monkey

►►Maggie Mae’s

219 E 6th

323 E 6th

$2 wells/domestics

$2 You Holla!

►►Blind Pig

►►The Library

317 E 6th

407 E 6th

$2.50 wells/domestics

$1 domestics, wells $2 import bottles

►►Soho Lounge

►►Buffalo Billiards

217 E 6th

201 E 6th

7-11: $1 Well Drinks, $2 Domestic Beers

$3 Imperial

►►Mother Egan’s

►►Bikini’s on 6th

715 W 6th

214 E 6th

$3 Guinness

$12 beer buckets

►►Trudy’s

►►Shakespeare’s Pub

409 W 30th

317 E 6th

$4.95 Sangria ritas

$4 bombs

►►The Ginger Man

►►Blind Pig

Dolce Vita 4222 Duval Mama Mia! A gelato place that also serves cocktails? A-pinch me, because I must-a be dreaming (and yes, that is how you write an Italian accent). Not that Dolce Vita is a totally unfamiliar name to those who peruse the food and drink scene around the Hyde Park area; after all, it’s one of the only places students can go nearby for some gelato. But what you may not know is that Dolce also has a surprisingly extensive list of specialty drinks that include cocktails named things like the Honey Nut Sorberita and the Manhattan Perfecto. Pretentious drink names be damned! Next time you want to simultaneously get buzzed while you plow through a bowl of gelato, not many other places come to mind other than Dolce Vita. So hurry up and go, cause as far as I’m concerned, that’s amoré!

Brian Bogart

►►Cuatros

301 Lavaca

317 E 6th

1004 W 24th

Service Industry Night

$2.50 Wells/Domestics

$2 Tecates and Modelo Esp. $5 Deer and Beer

►►Cain and Abel’s

►►Ginger Man

►►Third Base

2313 Rio Grande

301 Lavaca

1717 W 6th

Sunday Funday

Logo Pint Night

$2 Lone Star/Fireman/Shiner

►►Treasure Island

►►Dizzy Rooster

►►Mother Egan’s

413 E 6th

306 E 6th

715 W 6th

$0.25 wells, $1 triples & kamikazes, $4 bombs

$2 Domestic/Wells/Jello Shots

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