Filed under: Claire file
I just noticed this…
http://communication.utexas.edu/news/PROD75_015320.html
Filed under: Life, art, music, etc. | Tags: lev yilmaz, tales of mere existence
Filed under: Claire file, Life, art, music, etc. | Tags: aicn, ain't it cool news, incredible hulk, the hulk
Famous last words of the Hulk special video they put up on the official hulk site (under “hulk connect”). http://incrediblehulk.marvel.com/index_flash.html
This is freaking hilarious. SMASH! I promise they didn’t tell me to say that, although it looks somewhat staged…
Filed under: Life, art, music, etc. | Tags: ain't it cool news, alamo drafthouse, fantastic fest, marvel comics, the incredible hulk, tim roth
So I saw the new Hulk movie Wednesday night at a special Ain’t it Cool News/Fantastic Fest screening at Alamo Drafthouse South. It’s set to come out June 13, and I would have honestly waited for it to come out on DVD (or even longer) to see it, but I got the great opportunity of attending this event, and it was a blast. As for the movie, I was about to pee my pants with excitement nearly the whole time (I love seeing action on the big screen!) … but that could have just been a side effect of the complimentary 42 Below Kiwi flavored (and strong) “gamma martinis” they served at the pre-party. Not to mention that they kept it coming with the green pizza, green sour cream potato skins, green guacamole chicken fingers, Heinekin and Rolling Rock (green bottles, of course). I’ll say — Harry Knowles knows how to throw one hell of a party.
Right before the movie started I got my Hulk poster signed by Tim Roth, who was phenomenal in the movie. But he’s always pretty rad. He had a long line of folks wanting autographs and no drink in front of him, so I picked him up a Heinekin in the beer line on my way to the table where he was signing and he seemed to appreciate it. He wrote “To Claire … Grrr … ” on my poster and asked if I was excited about the film. “Heck yeah,” I said. Then I laughed when he replied, “Me too. I haven’t seen it yet.” I thought he was kidding, but when he spoke before the movie started he said the same thing to the audience, adding that his kids were especially excited to see it and that he promised them they would get to very soon. So yeah, I was pretty surprised and excited that I was actually getting to see a film that even one of the main actors hadn’t seen yet.
About the movie: Marvel comics are so rad that a movie could never do justice to the cartoons or illustrations. That’s just a matter of fact. But this movie rocked, aside from the bits of too-cheesy dialogue. However, you could not listen to a word of the film and know exactly what’s going on and enjoy it just as much. All you have to hear are the smashes, crashes and pows to love this movie. Really.
Better than the TV show? Hmmm. I’m not going to go there. But it was pretty awesome. And I get really excited about cameos in movies and there were three of them in the Hulk. I’m not going to tell you who because that would just ruin all the fun 
I could say more about the story line, etc, etc, but I don’t really have to … and doesn’t everyone already know what happens? Dude eats gamma. Dude turns into hulk. Dude smashes stuff. Dude turns back into dude. That’s just the wonderful thing about Marvel movies (think Spider Man, Iron Man) or any other movies based on comic books for that matter — They are freaking exciting and you wait in suspense to see what you already know is going to happen. And the good guys basically always win, so there’s no surprise there either… but I could be wrong. I’m no movie expert Still, in this version of the Hulk, there were some striking political statements in the movie which really caught my attention (whether they were intentional or not), something that one may not be able to get from a comic book. As the story goes, a U.S. Army general seeks to harm the love of his daughter’s life to steal his power in order to strengthen the U.S. military force, but the Army actually ends up creating a monster that it can’t control… and who they think is the real monster is actually no monster at all (regardless of its outside appearance) and ends up helping its enemies in order to make the world a better place for everyone. Take what you will with that…
I’d go see the movie if I were you… on the big screen. I actually don’t think a movie of this sort would be nearly as good at home. But aside from my criticism, I totally loved it. And that kind of means a lot coming from me, because I don’t normally go crazy over that kind of thing.
Filed under: Life, art, music, etc. | Tags: austin farmer's market, farming, Johnson's backyard garden, organic gardening, salmonealla outbreak
The state health department is advising consumers to avoid eating raw tomatoes, as they are investigating a nine-state Salmonealla outbreak that has gotten 21 people sick in Texan alone. HEB has pulled it’s tomatoes from the shelves of its 300 stores, but the local news media is in need of a little moment of clairification. The headlines should read: “Hey folks! There’s no tomatoes at your local HEB, and you should probably not buy any from Walmart or Randall’s or your other local grocers or restaurants that ship in the wax-covered fruits fit with pesticides and additives. But what a good opportunity to support your local farmers or cooperative gardens!”
PEACHES! BLACKBERRIES! Field TOMATOES! All available at Wednesday and Saturday Austin Farmer’s Markets NOW.
From AustinFarmersMarket.org:
Saturday 2008 Market schedule and info
- Saturdays, 9 a.m. – 1 p.m. through December 27, 2008.
- 4th & Guadalupe
- Plenty of available free parking at top half of parking lot (don’t park in other half–you’ll pay), and in the convenient state parking garage at 3rd and San Antonio.
Wednesday 2008 market schedule and info
Wednesdays, 4 – 8 p.m. “PICNIC IN THE PARK” season, through December 17th, 2008
Triangle Park, 4600 Guadalupe (46th Street — between Lamar and Guadalupe)
Plenty of free parking available at parking garage across the street from the market.
EVEN BETTER… The tomatoes are lovely and ripe at Johnson’s Backyard Garden, a local gem that’s only five miles east of downtown and run by the most lovely family in town. Farm leaders Brent and Beth Johnson (and their daughter Lila) were some of the first friends I met upon moving to Austin about six years ago, and they have since brought a few more Johnsons into the world: Drew, Ada and Jim. They are the Lovely Johnson 6, and they are about the most inspiring folks I’ve met in my time in Austin.
- You can check out their farm’s site, fit with directions and info on how to become a member or apprentice, at http://www.johnsonsbackyardgarden.com/index.php. I wish I could share more about the backyard garden, but I haven’t been out there yet, and I think I may have to make it out there this weekend. The last I saw the Johnsons was about two years ago, when the backyard garden was smaller and located in the backyard of their home on Holly Street, only walking distance from downtown. Their backyard farm was super impressive then, and I took some pictures out there that day and at the farmer’s market (below), but it’s nothing compared to what they have established now at 9515 Hergotz Lane in east Austin.
- GO TO JOHNSON’S BACKYARD AND PICK YOURSELF A SALMONEALLA-FREE TOMATO!
- Original Johnson’s Backyard Garden photo essay
- Photos taken during the 2005 fall season by Claire Harlin
Filed under: Claire file | Tags: cnn, Fox News, Hillary Clinton, news, politics, texas primaries
I finally made it over to the one library on campus that’s equipped with the necessary technology to convert VHS to digital, which begs the question: Why are people, especially those over at CNN headquarters, still using VHS anyway? I don’t even have a VHS player, so today was the first day I actually got to watch these clips, and they brought back some fond memories of those few very eventful weeks of the Texas primaries. And I am glad to say that the Texan’s very controversial endorsement of Hillary Clinton got voters (especially young voters) that much more involved in the election. This was a record breaking year for voter turnout in Texas, and in March it was looking like the results in Texas could make or break either candidate. Hillary got my vote this spring, and I knew I was setting myself up for strong criticism by endorsing her in a paper that serves an Obama-crazed community. But I hope I showed a few young voters that it is, in fact, OK to like Clinton, and I think it was the best service to democracy to provide the less popular and much less accepted viewpoint. I’ll be happy to vote for Obama in the upcoming general election (very happy, actually), but I was even happier to make the “uncool” choice in March and get people upset, involved and off their butts and to the poles! A tear for Hillary … however, wasn’t her endurance and dedication inspiring?
and then, here is the other CNN clip that had already made its way into Internet land…
Filed under: Life, art, music, etc. | Tags: austin, b-boy city, b-boys, breakdancing, documentaries, inside the circle, romeo navarro, ruta maya, texas
The breakdancing documentary “Inside the Circle” was a 2007 SXSW movie fest hit, but I just saw it for the first time two weeks ago at Alamo Drafthouse’s music Monday screening. The film, which chronicles the lives of several Texas b-boys over four years of ups and downs in breakdancing competitions, was the most engaging and moving documentary I’ve seen in a long while. Coming from the documentary geek that I am, that says a lot.
I’ve been catching the B-Boy City competitions, organized by Austin b-boy icon Romeo Navarro, for a few years now, so the magic in this documentary was no surprise to me. In my years as a barista at Ruta Maya on South Congress, I saw the Austin b-boy troupe practice and compete on several occasions, and their skill is even more impressive in person. Some of the documentary, actually, was filmed at Ruta Maya, capturing images of the particularly Austinacious coffee shop before the porch-dwelling regulars took it upon themselves to spend weeks painting the outside concrete columns with detailed Native American-style artwork. I’ve met Navarro and served many a Red Bull to these hardworking breakdancers on several occasions, and having experienced their sincere and dedicated attitudes firsthand made watching “Inside the Circle” even a more heartfelt experience.
Simply put, I had mixed feelings about this film, and what a pleasing mixture it was. I felt hip-hop love and Austin pride (not only were there scenes from my beloved Ruta Maya, but toward the beginning of the film there’s a quick close-up of a Daily Texan newspaper stand). I wanted to cry and dance at the same time. I was amazed and intrigued by the skill and dedication of Omar, Josh and the other b-boys chronicled in the film, and I was delighted by their ability to stay in good humor during even the most stressful times. Most of all, however, I was utterly inspired by these boys’ ability to stick together, achieve their dreams, and inspire so many others despite each of their very arduous life circumstances.
Omar explains in the film that the “circle” is not about “friends dancing in a circle.” What happens in the circle are called “battles,” but they are battles that both unite and create conflict, and that conflict gives rise to respect and self-purpose. And as Romeo notes, the circle must always be complete.
Filed under: Claire file | Tags: chronicle of higher education, cnn, editor and publisher, gawker, journalism, news, romanesko, student journalists, tvnewer, university newspapers, uwire, UWire 100
The folks at UWire just passed along some links to well-known media entities that have featured the UWire 100 in the first day since the release:
Filed under: Claire file | Tags: E&P, Editor & Publisher, journalism, The University of Texas at Austin, UWire 100
So, this is the actual link to the UWire 100. I just realized that I kind of broke the embargo by putting that on my blog before today. Oopsie. Sorry. Nobody reads this, so it’s OK.
The list is also featured on the Editor & Publisher Magazine Web site, and there will be some journalists featured in the June issue of E&P.
http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003806037
http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003805764
Stephen Veres wrote in an e-mail to the winners today:
“The students hail from 66 different schools, ranging from small liberal arts colleges such as Cabrini, Loras and Hamilton to large state universities. Among the schools represented by multiple members of the UWIRE 100 are the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill (five), Penn State University (four), the University of Iowa (four), the University of Florida (three), Syracuse University (three), Indiana University (three) and the University of Texas-Austin (three). Fifty-nine of the students were graduating seniors and three were freshmen.
“It was a very tough decision – one that took almost a month to figure out. We were impressed by quality of the pool of candidates, and it was inspiring hearing the wonderful things about all of you.”
