Snow-Pumpkin follow up

So my forum WON!!! We got the grand prize. It makes me happy because my teacher was like,"I really want to win this year. I REALLY WANT TO WIN" People said it was totally unexpected. I mean a snowman in October for Halloween, who would have expected it? For the grand prize we get a pizza part and/or a doughnut party. Yummy pizza, yummy doughnut. I bet my forum teachers face was hahalarious when she found out we won. She must have been extatic about it.We need to take a forum picture with the winning snowman. I still think its awesome because it was my idea. Usually my ideas are crap but this time my idea helped us win. WHOO!! I feel good dun na na na na na na na. So good bum bum, so good bum bum. I feel good. I felt kinda good going into the competition but then when I saw a jaguar sphinx in the catagory we were going to enter it into(most creative) so we decided to make a GO JAGS! sign and put into the school spirit catagory. It was kinda a last minute thing so I wasn't completely sure about it but apparently teaches like school spirit stuff. Maybe it was just the fact that is was a snowman that made us when. Either way we won and Im happy about it.

PUMPKIN!!

Halloween is coming up soon and the school is starting the festivities. Our forum classes are doing a pumpkin decorating contest. There are four categories pop/culture, look-a-like, most creative, and school spirit. My forum is doing a snowman. It’s super cute. A Pumpkin Snowman. Awesome!!! It makes me happy to see the hard work our forum put into it. Tomorrow morning some of us have to go to the class and put the finishing touches on it. Our snowman is a mix of creativity, pop/culture, and school spirit.

There were some complications with the project as we couldn’t puncture the pumpkin and we couldn’t use outside pumpkins that we had bought ourselves because not everybody can get them. This kind of put a damper on our parade because we had to figure out how to get the pumpkins connected without putting holes in them. Our solution? DUCT TAPE. This proves that duct tape fixes all. After we stacked the pumpkins we taped a yard stick to the back of them. The problem was that the duct tape is grey/silver so it looked like a jail bird. Another problem was that the base pumpkin was lopsided. To fix the jail bird problem we painted the duct tape white and to fix the base problem we had a temporary fix of placing a wad of tissue under the lopsided part.

The judging of the pumpkins is Thursday so I will let you know how it turns out.

Remember the Alamo

After being to the Alamo Drafthouse many times, I now know the routine; buy your ticket, choose a seat behind one of the counter tables lining each row of seats, grab a menu, write down you order and bam your done- sit back and enjoy the show.  How could such an enjoyable movie experience be so simple, you may ask- well it’s all thanks to the friendly Austinites who are employed here. Being the only theater in Austin were you can dine while watching a movie, the Alamo is very popular but it is definitely worth waiting in line. The Alamo offers various menu items, such as more than fifty different kinds of beers, more than twenty different kinds of wines and other various beverages, appetizers, salads, sandwich's’, entrees, pizza’s, desserts, and other specials, which can vary based on the movie your watching. With so many choices, you’d think the food couldn’t possibly be five-star dining, and yet the food is just as delicious as the environment. Before your movie starts, instead of watching endless commercials, sponsors, and ‘how the movie was made’ clips you get to enjoy cartoons, comedy skits, and other short films relating to the movie you are about to watch. The Alamo also has many ‘signature events’ which include special viewings of movie classics, theme night movies, and sing-along and/or quote-a-longs were everyone dresses up and participates in the show. This is what must have made the Alamo Drafthouse to be named the best overall theatrical experience across the nation. All of this and more, is definitely what makes it an easy first choice as my favorite movie theater in Austin. 

-Marbles:) 

La Madeleine

I impatiently wait in line, tapping my toe, tray in hand. I finally get to the front where I am offered several different types of salads. I choose the Strawberry Romanoff salad, which has spinach topped with nuts and fresh strawberries. I moved down the line to the pastries, and choose the Florentine Quiche. My mouth waters at the sight of the flaky crust, and creamy inside filled with spinach. The smell of the butter wafts from the pastries, giving a pleasant aroma to the restaurant. My next stop is the soups. There were an infinite number of choices, each one calling out to me. Maybe I should choose the French and Onion soup topped with lightly toasted bread. Or perhaps the tomato basil soup that is tangy and creamy at the same time. But alas, I decide on the Cream of Mushroom Soup. The liquid is light, but the flavor is strong and satisfyingly salty, and the mushrooms give an enjoyable texture to the soup. I pay for my food, and go to my last stop. I grab a loaf of bread, still warm from being freshly baked. There are a bowl of mini containers filled with jam—raspberry and strawberry. I choose the raspberry jam to start off my meal. I sit down at the table near the large window through which the sun’s rays softly light the room. There is truly no better way to spend my Saturday afternoon than  lunch at the La Madeleine.

Stephanie

Great Place with a Great View

Are you looking for a great place to visit in Austin, open all year round, and with a BEAUTIFUL VIEW? Got it right here! Mt. Bonnell, aka, Covert Park. This is a great place to visit with your family, loved one, or even your pet; best part? It's free. Yes we all know that you're broke, don't worry, we're broke as well (at least I am!). Mt. Bonnell is one of the best places to go in the city of Austin that has a great view of not just Lake Austin, but of a beautiful neighborhood as you drive to the park. 
Some history behind the mountain:

• Has any mysteries behind the actual naming of the mountain.
• It was thought to be named after a newspaper publisher named George W. Bonnell. He moved to Austin in 1836 and was very involved with affairs after the war for Independence. 
• Another though is that the mountain was named after an actual solder in the war for Independence of Texas. His name was Joseph Bonnell.
• Another legend states that Mt. Bonnell was once named Antoinette's Leap because a young woman had once jumped off the mountain to escape some Indians who had recently killed her fiancé. 
• It opened in 1972
• Mt. Bonnell is open 366 days a year. (yes even on your birthday) 

This is a great place to go if anyone's looking for a gorgeous view and is low on cash. This mountain is part of what makes Austin the best city in all of the US (in my opinion).

This is an image of the gorgeous view of Lake Austin

Thanks to Wikipedia.org for the image.

Express not Impress

~Cam

HOPE FARMERS MARKET

 So.... This weekend I went to a little farmers market called Hope Farmers Market. It honestly was awesome! Everywhere I saw there were organic stances of every kind of food that was in season. There were even organic soaps on sale! My whole family shopped for groceries and completely fell in love with it. It was the first time that we had ever bought anything there and the food is just delicious. You can really tell that organic is so much better for health, the body, and the soul. I really loved the whole experience and would recommend the market for anyone who wants to buy good local goods that help local farmers AND that are organic.

The little market is every Sunday from 11-3 pm, and is located on 4th and frontage road. The market itself looks like a HUGE shed but then once you're inside the back yard, beautiful sounds fill your eats and the smell of organic cakes and pies overtake the aroma department; all daring you to buy something. Everyone there is super friendly and is willing to change their price to a more reasonable one if you do “barter”.

The whole selection of things all around from the central Texas area consists of

Meat (don’t worry the meat is kept inside a traveling cooler and is grown and slaughtered at the farmer’s ranch)

Organic juices freshly squeezed the morning of

Organic pastries like cakes, breads, cupcakes, and muffins

Organic shirts

Organic soaps

 The Hope Farmers Market really is all around one of the best places to go if you want to get great organic food that is healthy for the mind, body, and soul.

Thanks to Salt and Time for the picture!

PEACE:P

express not impress

~Cam

Austin Cake Balls

Beware readers with a sweet tooth! 

I am about to introduce you to one of the most amazing desserts on this planet. For those of you who have never eaten a cake ball, you are missing out. Cake balls are exactly what they sound like—bite-sized balls of cake covered in frosting and chocolate, and any other embellishments. These mouth-watering desserts can be decorated for weddings, or parties, or for this year’s Halloween!

Cake Balls were first just a way to use up all of the leftover scraps from cakes. But now, the Austin Cake Ball, a local business created in early 2008, has grown by 400% since. Presently, these cake balls can be found throughout Texas, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Louisiana. The cake balls have even been shown at food events like the Texas Hill Country Food & Wine Festival.

Of course, for every sweet food, there is a dark side. There is no doubt that the calories for each ball are extremely high. Some people say that the calories are not worth it; others would throw any dieting rules they previously held for the dessert. It all depends on the person. Here is a recipe for making a cake ball—you can decide for yourself, if these scrumptious desserts are worth eating, or if the sugar packed spheres are appalling to even consider putting in your mouth.

  

Stephanie

Fast food

Austin food not only consists of purely original things but also of fast food. For lunch today I enjoyed a "cheeseburger" and curly fries. How does Jack in the Box get their fries to be so curly? I put quotes around cheeseburger because 'CAM says meat is murder' but not only that but because fast food chain don't have real meat in healthy portions. If you wanted to get a real meat sandwich you can always get a chicken club. But most people don't go to fast food places for the chicken (unless its chicken nuggets) they go for the beef. McDonald's now has an Angus burger but it is abnormally large and the proportions are to large for a healthy diet.

     Most fast food places are now offering healthy alternative to their burgers. They now have salads and smoothies to keep up with the growing awareness about obesity. In an effort to keep their costumers they are making it more convenient to get "healthy" alternatives to the burgers traditionally served. The healthy aren't as good as the advertisements make them out to be. When you look at the nutrition facts you can see that the foods are chock-full of sugar and/or salt.

     Though most people make up their minds to get a salad when they walk into a fast food chain the allure and the aroma of the burgers and fries make it almost impossible not to want one. The chains are setting people up for failure as they make a profit off of others demise.FAST FOOD KILLS!!

MAXZ!!!

Welcome To SoCo!

I walk in a straight line from my house to the nearest main street and I conveniently arrive on South Congress Avenue, commonly known as SoCo. Besides from being home to Fulmore Middle School, South Congress is host to a variety of Austin’s most popular restaurants, clothing stores, motels, as well as other stores that cannot even begin to be categorized. This is the frequent home to me and my friend’s Sunday afternoon’s, un-winding before school starts again. Making our way down, slowly, one store at a time; we dip in and out of clothing stores like Creatures, New Bohemia Retro Resale, Blackmail, and Maya. When we get hungry the debate starts over where to eat; with so many restaurants and trailers to choose from it’s always a long discussion. When one person wants to go to Frans for classic American dining, another wants to go to Guero’s Taco Bar for Tex-Mex, The Mighty Cone Trailer with various options all in a cone, and Enoteca Vespaio for Italian, we all decide to go our separate ways and meet up afterwards at Lucy In Disguise too look for Halloween costumes. After that, we are all craving desserts, and once again we have to split up; while one person goes to Amy’s Ice-cream, and another to Big Top Candy Shop, my friend and I go to Hey Cupcake, a trailer famous for it’s various cupcake choices. When we meet up again, we don’t have to fret over saying goodbye to our wonderful SoCo, because we can still hear the live music drifting from Guero’s, reminding us how close a thousand things to do are, to our very own homes.

-Marbles:)

American Music Awards

This year the American Music Awards are going to be held at the Nokia theater in L.A. Leading in nominations are Eminem and Lady Antebellum with five nominations each. Eminems Recovery Album earning him two of his nominations. With the recent "Bieber fever" Justin Bieber supprisingly only has three nominations; one in favorite male artist(Pop or Rock),favorite band, duo, or group(pop or rock), and lastly artist of year. In Pop/Rock and Artist of the year Ke$ha, Katy Perry, and Lady Gaga are up against each other. Makeing its debut in the movie the Iorn Man 2 soundtrack has gotten a nomination for favorite album in the soundtrack division. Even though Chris Brown had a bad year in 2009 he has come back and managed to squeeze out a nomination for favorite male artist in the Soul/Rythm and Blues category.

POP or ROCK MUSIC

Favorite Male Artist
Justin Bieber
Eminem
Usher

Favorite Female Artist
Ke$ha
Lady Gaga
Katy Perry

Favorite Band, Duo or Group
The Black Eyed Peas
Lady Antebellum
Train

Favorite Album
Justin Bieber/ My World 2.0
Eminem/ Recovery
Katy Perry/ Teenage Dream

COUNTRY Music
Favorite Male Artist
Jason Aldean
Luke Bryan
Brad Paisley

Favorite Female Artist
Miranda Lambert
Taylor Swift
Carrie Underwood

Favorite Band, Duo or Group
Zac Brown Band
Lady Antebellum
Rascal Flatts

Favorite AlbumJason Aldean/ Wide Open
Lady Antebellum/ Need You Now
Carrie Underwood/ Play On

RAP/HIP-HOP MUSICFavorite Male ArtistB.o.B.
Drake
Eminem

Favorite AlbumB.o.B./ B.o.B. Presents
Drake/ Thank Me Later
Eminem/ Recovery

SOUL/RHYTHM & BLUES MUSIC

Favorite Male Artist
Chris Brown
Trey Songz
Usher

Favorite Female ArtistAlicia Keys
Rihanna
Sade

Favorite Album
Alicia Keys/ The Element of Freedom
Sade/ Soldier of Love
Usher/ Raymond v. Raymond

SOUNDTRACKS

Favorite Album
AC/DC / Iron Man 2
Glee: The Music, Volume 3 Showstoppers
The Twilight Saga: Eclipse

ALTERNATIVE ROCK MUSIC

Favorite Artist
Muse
Phoenix
Vampire Weekend

ADULT CONTEMPORARY MUSIC

Favorite Artist
Michael Buble
Lady Antebellum
Train

LATIN MUSIC

Favorite Artist
Daddy Yankee
Enrique Iglesias
Shakira

CONTEMPORARY INSPIRATIONAL

Favorite Artist
Casting Crowns
MercyMe
TobyMac

ARTIST OF THE YEAR

Justin Bieber
Eminem
Ke$ha
Lady Gaga
Katy Perry

The T-Mobile Breakthrough Artist Nominations

B.o.B
Justin Bieber
Taio Cruz
Jason Derulo
Ke$ha
Lady Antebellum
Travie McCoy
Mike Posner

--MAXZ!!!

Ted Hall's Austin Guitar School

The Austin Guitar School is a school for people who want to learn to play guitar, bass, drums, and any other different instruments involved in Rock, Blues, or Jazz. The school itself has an awesome atmosphere geared towards broadcasting rock to the masses. Personally the Austin Guitar School is a great place to go a learn music, whether it is classical guitar, or metal electric. The Austin Guitar School began as a small business in 1987; Ted Hall, the owner, has grown up in Austin and seen the whole Austin music scene grow like a tree from its small seed. The guitar school has been around for 23 years and is still strong and running. All the teachers there are great and are willing to help on anything that the student needs. The Austin Guitar School also has a "Gym" for those who cannot afford the private lessons. These people can pay $25 a month, go at anytime that they want and learn to play their instrument on their own. There is always a small movie theater that can play instructional videos; also there is a library that holds different instrumental music for readers to learn.
I think that in my two years of learning from there I've learned a lot about guitar and the school's fun atmosphere along with the fun teachers have made me appreciate guitar even more than the normal person. I love the showcases that the school has every now and then, and I just all around love the music scene in Austin.
I hope that everyone out there goes and checks out the Austin Guitar School if they want to play any kind of ROCK instrument and just all around appreciates the Austin music scene.

~Cam


express NOT impress...

Torchy's Damn Good Tacos

Why should I support local restaurants when all they do is bring unwanted austinites parking, and crowding, my neighborhood? 505 El Paso St. too be exact, has become host to Torchy’s Tacos customers who have nowhere else to park but my already crowded street. So, my question is, why should my fellow neighbors put up with these obnoxious customers-who are often tourists- and their careless parking jobs? Although my patience is stronger than some of my other neighbors, who have resorted to putting cones in front of their houses and signs that say “Torchy’s Tacos customers beware”, it is hard to avoid calling the business and complaining when there is a car blocking your driveway. So, I decided to look into how local businesses benefit their community, particularly local restaurants, and here is what I found out; if a businesses is purely local than all of it’s employees would be local as well. Meaning that, even the constructing the businesses would be a local affair, and everything the businesses sells would have been bought locally, as well as providing multiple jobs, so that all of the profit comes back to the community. So when Torchy’s construction began, local accountants, local advertisers, local architects, construction companies, and local Torchy’s employees were hired, just to name a few. This is why local restaurants, such as Torchy’s Tacos, and local businesses should be supported in our city as job opportunities instead of a way to blow of steam yelling at a Torchy’s ‘Damn Good Tacos’ employee because a car that is parked a few inches to far over the curb than it should be.  

--Marbles:)

The CowParade is coming to Austin!!!!!

Now, many of you may be wondering what the CowParade is. The CowParade is a public art event held in order to raise money for charities. This year Austin has been chosen to host the event. The parade in Austin is going to support the Dell Children’s Hospital Medical Center.

Patients of the medical center are going to paint the CowParade icon, a cow, at the Healing Garden to attract the attention of local artists, both amateur and professional. This is a part of the event called “Open Call to Artists,” This event also includes mailing local artists, and putting ads in newspapers and TV commercials. Then, artists interested in participating are to submit their designs from which the sponsors of the event are going to select artists. In the past, many well known artists, architects, and designers have participated in this art event. They include, but are not limited to Peter Max, Patrick Hughes, Kate Spade, Red Grooms and Robert Stern. There are many other artists, especially from other countries, who have participated in the event.

Those of you who are familiar with the CowParade may realize the magnitude of this event being held in Austin. The CowParade has been hosted in over 50 cities globally, and has raised over $20 million for charities.

The important thing is that each cow made in each city is different. This is our chance to exhibit Austin's individuality.

Let’s see if the local Austin artists are up to showcasing Austin’s uniqueness in the world’s largest public art event.

Masterpieces of previous years:

Houston, TX



San Antonio

Mexico City

 

Atlanta

 

Boston, Massachusetts

Ireland



New York 



London

More information about the CowParade in Austin can be found in the article here, and general information about the event can be found here.

Stephanie

Freddie's Place

An evening spent at Freddie’s place could only be described as a Friday, every single day of the week. The smells of passionate American dining wafting in your direction by the misters cooling you off as you sit in that delicious Texas heat. Looking around I see chicken fried steak, fish tacos, nachos, burgers and fries, as well as the famous onion rings they are so well known for and I cannot fathom what to order.

I hear the clang of horse shoes being played a few feet away in a sand pit by the bar, and the panting of a few dogs sitting here and there at their owner’s feet. The live music is ringing marvelously in my ears and I start to crave something fresh. A friendly hostess wearing a “For A Good Time Call Freddie 512-445-9197,” shirt asks me what I’d like to order and I quickly ask for my favorite portabella mushroom burger with a side of mouth watering hand cut fries. I eat my dinner, which is so good it can’t possibly be vegetarian, and listen to the friendly chatter of the people around me and the smooth voice of the local band back from their break and can’t help but feel as if this is Austin. 

-Marbles:)  

Keep Austin Weird

            If you have lived around Austin for a while, you have most likely heard “Keep Austin Weird” more times than you can easily count. Although this logo was first adopted to promote local businesses in Austin, it is now commonly known as a symbol encouraging unique Austin culture.

            Going off of this topic, I have discovered some unique Austin art projects that really do, “Keep Austin Weird.”

See for yourself:

Polka Dot Lawn

Polka Dot Lawn was created by an Austin native Beth Thom.
This house is a perfect example of why Austin is so unique. Not only does it have a polka dot lawn, but the house itself is a multitude of colors. Even the roof is blue! Is an explanation really needed?

The Austin Art Car Parade

The Art Car Parade is the march of several different cars that have been decorated. Perhaps decorating is too weak a word. A better word may be created. One car in one of the past parades was transformed into a giant white bunny. Yes. A giant bunny.  If a giant bunny trolling the streets of Austin isn’t weird, then I don’t know what is. 

The Cathedral of Junk

The Cathedral of Junk is giant towers made of… well, junk. Vince Hannemann has worked on the cathedral for over twenty years, gathering random objects, such as ladders, clocks, lights, bottles, bicycles, and any other object you can possibly think of, to create his masterpiece. However, recently, there has been much controversy surrounding this colossal building… Look forward to an opinion piece in BRB’s magazine soon!

                    

What do you think? Is Austin weird or what? 

 ~Stephanie P

Red Alert at Baby A's 10/2

 

I was at Baby A's last night. They always have live music but this time it was Red Alert. Ive been working as a roadie for them for about two years. They are one of the top ten 80's cover bands in Austin. Last night they were missing their lead singer(kat) so they called themselves Horizontal Hitchcock. Last night in the middle of a song their main speakers went out and they had to play through it. For a few minutes the bands guitarist and I tried to figure out what the problem was until we decided that it was an overloaded circuit. During the bands second set they had a live band karaoke contest. There was a great turn-out. People who could sing along with those who weren't so great we up having fun. At the end of the night the winner of the karaoke contest, later called the karaoke queen, was the birthday girl.

http://www.coverband80s.com/

--MAXZ

Book Review... so far 10/1

Hello... Ok, so I just started reading a book called "Jay's Journal"
Originally I got this book because I though that it would be like another book by the same author: "Go Ask Alice" both books are about the hardships of the characters and how they've been involved in drugs and other bad habits. I think that this book partially relates to the theme of my magazine because books are art, art is a main part of our magazine, also in the book the character is right in the middle of the age range that our magazine is targeted to. Also our magazine seems like a magazine that the main character in the book would read and follow.

Anyway... This book has started off as a pretty boring book, but I'm hopeful that it'll pick up and be a lot more interesting. Honestly I'm sort of enjoying the book, the only thing that I'd have to say to the author is that the story really goes slow, there should be a little more action in the plot. That's really all I have to say about the book. I would really recommend it to people. Especially people who like to read about the misfortunes of others. I know it sounds kind of mean to say that, but really books like that are really interesting.

The cover if the book:

PEACE!
EXPRESS NOT IMPRESS!!!



~Cam