v a u g h n a u s t i n

Austin Gibson at Night, originally uploaded by ghargreaves.

When I lived in Cincinnati, we had pig statues scattered around downtown to commemorate some historical relationship the city had with Porky. When I lived in Chicago during the summer of ‘93, there were cows everywhere. Now Austin is doing the same thing with guitars and I gotta say… it’s sitting with me a heck of a lot better than my previous midwest experiences.

The official page for Guitartown is on Gibson’s website, but it’s a bit more fun to flip through all the photos people have published on Flickr.

As we get closer to our one year anniversary, we thought we’d share with you a few snippets of our wedding video. After all, not everyone is going to make it by Austin anytime soon, so why not use the web to share it?!?

We’ll post ‘em on Our Wedding page. Stay tuned for a handful more between now and June 17th.

We got some video of a strange creature during our Port Aransas vacation a few weeks ago. We didn’t even know that we had captured it on video until we were watching it last night and saw the creature run past. Kristin’s Dad, who is a bit of an expert on the area and its native wildlife, seems to think it might be an Oompa Loompa…

Kristin worked late last night, so I made dinner and cleaned the kitchen. She unwound by perusing sexy swimsuit photos of her favorite movie star while sipping on a cocktail and burping the alphabet. Then she got settled in for some college hoops while I watched Pride & Prejudice.

Truthbot has reason to suspect that one or more items in this post may have been fabricated or stretched for entertainment purposes.

Dave Gahan, lead singer of the band Depeche Mode, widens his artistic expression on June 7th, and opens up his first restaurant. Named “the bitter apple“, after Gahan’s song “Bitter Apple” (from his first solo album, “Paper Monsters”), the restaurant opens the door for Dave to express his culinary side. “I’ve always wanted to open up a restaurant, but with obligations to Depeche, as well as my solo career, I never had the time. Now is the time.” Taking over the restaurant site formerly known as Poetessa, the bitter apple promises to be one of the cooler restaurants in the NYC area. With a small sound stage in the back of the restaurant, owner Dave Gahan promises to “have the joint rocking”.

This was a great April Fool’s joke! How perfect!? A Depeche Mode restaurant!? The menu is a total riot if you’re a DM fan.

6th St, originally uploaded by dreadfuldan.

South by Southwest 2007 is in full swing! At this point I’m feeling like a total schmuck. From Film to Music to Technology, SXSW has it. I love all three of these things and have gone to, count em, zero events. Well, next year, right!?

I took this photo on highway 360 several months ago on my way home from work. I love this photo. It may be hard to decipher, but it’s a film crew with police escort. The trailer appears to be equipped to capture a scene from within or around a car. You might be able to make out the front end of a yellow car on the back of the trailer. The two white vans behind the trailer may or may not have Quentin Terentino inside! He was reportedly in town when I took the photo. Have I mentioned that I love Austin?

So why am I posting this photo now, you ask? Well, I’ve been saving it in my phone, cuz I didn’t want to delete it but wasn’t sure what to do with it. Well, now I’ve figured out how to email photos from my phone to my blog. This could be dangerous. Now you never know what you’re gonna find here!

This movie isn’t for everyone. If you think it might not be for you, it’s not. Don’t watch it. If you think it might be too gory for you, it is. If you think the plot won’t be there, it won’t. If you think you might not like it, you won’t. Don’t watch it.

For the rest us, it was brilliant, beautiful, intense and artistic to the hilt. Man’s first fight for freedom. 300 struck a million chords with me. I can’t wait to watch it in my home theater!

The soundtrack for the movie 300 was just released. I downloaded it on iTunes and am now listening to it while working. This actually makes my job more fun. I feel like I’m conspiring in some plot or doing something that actually might make a little difference in the world. Something of significance, heaven forbid.

The movie will be released Friday and I’ve been looking forward to watching it since I first saw the trailer in the theater last year. Sometimes I think I’d just rather not know about a great movie that’s coming out *next* year or even next month, for that matter. Sure, the build up is a unique and sometimes palatable experience, but I mean, I think I’d rather just be surprised. Heh. Movie foreplay. Pain or pleasure?

Based on the epic graphic novel by Frank Miller, 300 is a ferocious retelling of the ancient Battle of Thermopylae in which King Leonidas and 300 Spartans fought to the death against Xerxes and his massive Persian army. Facing insurmountable odds, their valor and sacrifice inspire all of Greece to unite against their Persian enemy, drawing a line in the sand for democracy. The film brings Miller’s acclaimed graphic novel to life by combining live action with virtual backgrounds that capture his distinct vision of this ancient historic tale.