Mikhail Baryshnikov and Liza Minnelli on Broadway

The Alamo Drafthouse

 We went to see ‘No Country For Old Men’ this weekend and had such a great time at our local movie theatre that we decided to go see ‘There Will Be Blood’ the next night. The Alamo Drafthouse is a cinema/restaurant/bar, offering the ultimate movie-going experience :

The Alamo Drafthouse Cinema is Austin’s only independently owned and operated movie theater. We serve a full menu of dinner and drinks to your seat while you watch the movie. The theater is laid out like a traditional movie theater, except every other row of seats has been replaced with a long narrow table for your food and drinks. Those who have never been to the Alamo may worry about disruptions during the movie, but we have devised an ordering system that minimizes interaction during the film, allowing you to order, eat and enjoy the movie with minimal distraction. We recommend arriving early; seating begins 45 minutes before the show and there is always pre-movie entertainment on the screen while you wait for the movie. We have waiters that serve you at your seat; orders before the movie begins are taken in the traditional way. Once the movie starts if you need anything at all, there is paper and pencils at the table, write down what you need on the paper, stand the paper up on the card holder attached to the table. This acts as a flag, your waiter will only come by if he sees the card, otherwise he will stay out of your way so you can enjoy the film.

January is this.

January always seems to find me. Even in central Texas.

Frosty temperatures are creeping in and the unbelievable but simple fact is, I don’t own a pair of socks.

All of my winter wear is exactly where I left it seven months ago….in a cubby above a closet in a Brooklyn apartment.

I have a surprisingly low tolerance for low temperatures, which I suppose makes Austin an ideal locale considering the 5 months of spring, 6 months of summer, and 1 measly month of winter. Still, I’m ill-prepared for the chill and I resent having to defrost the windows in the morning.

Interesting ‘Winter in Texas’ observation:

Swaddled outdoor cacti in colorful Mexican blankets appear to be crouching and waiting to lurch!

Standing Statues

A recommendation

After a long day of work (ten hours) one should buy a healthy piece of fish from their local grocer, douse it in olive oil and lemon, and bake it at 350 for twenty minutes. Couscous is friendly and broccoli is true. Eat all at once with a glass of Cotes du Rhone.

The Tree Swing

Beyond the restaurant are a handful of ‘old-Austin’ tenement apartments that miraculously withstand recent condominium property developmet (i.e. beaucoup gentrification).

Directly behind the Counter Café, in the front yard of two friendly fellows is a terrific tree swing. Simple in construction: plank of wood, length of rope, big tree.

Every so often, when the weather is fine, we admire them; shirtlessly gliding from their front deck all the way to the corner of our parking lot. Large arcing swings that transgress a dirt front yard and the alley way. At the peak the the pendulum is a cityscape view reflecting the rosy pinks of a Texan sunset.

After work we all wandered up and had a go on the swing.

I wish their had been a camera to have caught all of our exhilarated exclamations of glee.

Smiles were thick. Whoops were rampant.

I enjoyed a tittering fit of giggles for theentire 7 minutes of my ride.