arse poetica

Further SXSW Notes Redux

Sunday, 3/12:

Keynote: Heather Armstrong and Jason Kottke joint interview, 2 p.m.

Heather was taking it straight to Jason, needling him good naturedly for "just being good for links" and probing him on his decision to go to a subscription model to fund his blogging habit instead of going the usual route of accepting advertising. Why? 1) Because ads are ... ads, and 2) he wanted to do an experiment: what would his website be if he could devote a year to it? Jason vowed never again, still smarting from the criticism of a few readers for taking their $30 and running off to travel in Asia. "I felt like I had 1,500 bosses."

Jason asked Heather if she would consider such a thing as the subscription model since she has such a large fan base. Heather talked about the mutiny that almost occurred when she went to G00gle ads and rejected the micro-patron route outright.

Heather: I don't want anyone else to have any control.
Jason: You're a lot smarter than I am.
Heather: We know that.
Big laugh.

My favorite quote from the session (from Heather): I told Jason that getting to meet him was like getting to meet Brad Pitt's cousin.

Found out that some idiot has created a website devoted to how much s/he hates Dooce. I just don't get it. I'm not a regular reader of Dooce, but when I've dialed in, I've found a person who takes amazing photos and tells a good story. I've now seen her twice in this sort of forum, and both times she was intelligent, engaging, serious about the task at hand, and funny. Whatevs, man. Let her be.

3:00 p.m. db and I say buh-bye to Skye and Ben, hoping to catch up w/ her again at the 5 p.m. block. We then hightailed it outta there and back to the pad for a quick change and another lie down. I'm not feeble, I promise! Just an introvert. A grrl can only take so much being in public before her brain shuts down. Plus, I was still fighting whatever it was that had snagged me the week prior. After the grand, much needed quietude, back to the ACC for ...

Revenge of the Blogs: Election '08, 5 p.m.

My pal Ruby was the best part of this panel by leaps and bounds. Markos was a little glib for my tastes, but he answered the questions well enough, I suppose. Krempasky (?), there to provide the Republican POV, was quite good. Didn't agree w/ a word he said (as regards policy), but he was concise, clear, and faithful to his positions. The most articulate conservative I've ever heard, actually. Seemed intelligent. Why is he a conservative then? Just don't make no sense to me.

Everyone seemed to be in agreement that calling for censure/impeachment was political suicide for the Dems. Mebbe, mebbe not. Interestingly, Markos noted later in the panel that the future of politics was local, thus validating Ruby's great work here in our neighborhood, not that Ruby's efforts need to be validated, mind you.

I was VERY SORRY to have missed the Blogging While Black Revisited panel, at this same time, but Liz liveblogged it, as did others.

6:00 p.m. db and I ran out to dinner at Pappasito's for some goddam fantastic food, good lord. I'm so glad I went to Austin, because now I fully understand the siren song of Tex-Mex. Woof!

8:45 p.m. Caught up w/ the Tar Heel crew for the BlogAds party at Headhunters. Good conversation, not so loud considering, and, what the hay, my panel's over and now is the time we dance!!

EAT AUSTIN!

Guest Post from DB!

Having just returned from SXSW in Austin, here, in order, are my top 5 places we dined.  (This list is based mostly on the food, not the company, atmosphere, or anything else.)

1.  The Salt Lick - Austin airport.  Good thing we discovered this place on the way out of town instead of on the way in.  It would have been expensive going out to the airport each day for lunch.  Especially since the restaurant was on the other side of security so it would have required the purchase of a ticket each time.  One way to Round Rock?

2.  Pappasito's - near I-35.  This place was recommended by a friend in Chapel Hill, and I really though it was worth the trip out. The only problem being that the directions listed on the website are wrong, and if you have never been to Austin, the city seems to be infamous for their interstate "access" roads, ie, you can see the restaurant, but you can't get to it.  Who knew there would be such a crazy freeway system in the middle of Texas?  Anyway, the fajitas were excellent, the place was packed so we sat at the bar, and the service was good.

3. Little Mexico - South First.  Okay, mapquest is wrong.  You put South First street in, and it gives you Cesar Chavez Street, which is just south of 2nd.  South First actually runs parallel to South Congress (Thanks for the heads up, SteveR!). Anyway, ae and I stopped here for lunch on a tip from the Chronicle.  We couldn't find the taco they suggested on the menu, but the salsa was excellent.  My mouth is still burning.  Plus, I love drinking beer at lunch!

4. Threadgills - near South Congress. This place reminded me the most of something in NC.  I had chopped steak with mushrooms and onions.  Very good. Plus, WillR cracked me up when he ordered the chicken fried chicken. I don't know why that is funny considering I have lived for 15 years with the queen of redneck eating!

5.  Stubbs BBQ - Red River.  I was a little disappointed with the food.  I ordered "barbecue," which, as we know, means different things in different areas.  I got the sausage and the brisket,
which were actually just slow grilled meat.  No sauce, etc.  So, nothing much here to speak of.  I did have my first Lonestar Beer so I felt like friggin' Willie Nelson.  If we were not meeting ae's panel for the first time, I might have grabbed a guitar and hit the stage.

[UPDATE: ae format fudging.]

Further SXSW Notes: Women's Visibility

Sunday, 3/12:

Increasing Women's Visibility: Whose Butt Should We Be Kicking?

Moderated by your humble correspondent. Levels of nausea experienced were positively Sartrean, friends!  But why worry? My panelists had a wealth of experience, diverse points of view, and were among the most clear and concise panelists I heard all week. [But then, I wasn't worried about them.] This was a big topic and it was a short hour. Regretfully, I'm not sure it's possible to answer this question at all, let alone in an hour, especially since it hinges on structural inequalities, perceptions, social expectations, &c. and &c. As a result, our butt kickers really didn't have the chance to fully show their wonderful deep thinking on the not small subject of increasing women's visibility on the web. [Liz, wanna make that wiki?]

I feel quite lucky to have witnessed first hand the thoughtfulness, generosity of spirit, and professionalism of our panelists. A few things will stay w/ me: Tara's humility in noting her own privilege, Jan's no-nonsense (yet compassionate) DIY philosophy, Liz's vigorous and imaginative approach(es), and Virginia's resilience in forging her own path. These are strong and learned women, fine examples for us all, and I have to thank the gals of BlogHer everyday for giving me the opportunity to get to know them. Liz, Tara, Jan, and Virginia, you gals simply rock, and that is no jive.

Thanks, too, to our fired up audience for their enthusiasm, keen analyses, and passion. We were all delighted to participate in such a robust discussion and only wish we could have heard from more of you. Maybe next time they'll give us a couple of hours! And many thanks to Meri and fiancee (sorry, I missed your name), Jerry, Elizabeth, Jim, Dave, Melinda, Skye, Kirk, SteveR, WillR, Ruby, Mr. Jude Law lookalike, mystery SXSW volunteers, Wendy and others for your kind comments after the panel. Conversations continue.

Let's do it again next year!

>>>UPDATE: Elisa liveblogged the panel.

Austin Views

 

Further SXSW Notes

Friends, in attempts to better document the things I do, you may notice a few lists going up from time to time w/o the pressure of commentary. You'd never know, for instance, that in the last month I've seen the Mark Morris Dance Group and the Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra (led by Arturo O'Farrill), heard Joan Didion read, and had the pleasure of meeting Michael Berube at our last CH Bloggers MeetUp, and neither will I remember these in a year if I neglect to note them now!

Bustling, gadgety, geek-filled, hipster, forward-thinking, Web 2.0-ing, monetizing (oh, ugh.), trend-projecting SXSW was a damn good time and a brain boost to boot. I will do my best to get back there, not least because I owe Hugh Forrest a beer.

Friday, 3/10:

3:30 p.m., arrive on scene and early due to the luck of being put on the direct flight -- woohoo! -- and I am happy to be in Austin, the Chapel Hill of Texas. After about 12 minutes of being on the ground, I am already declaring to db that I could live here.

db and I drive around taking in the murals and the parks and orange-colored longhorns designed into the bus stops. Austin is hilly and dusty and alternately broken down and shiny, and there's a fair amount of public art, and I am always a fan of cities that pay attention to public art. So far, so good.

The thought creeps into my head though that I am physically standing in Texas, which means that I am that much closer to the reality of having to stand in front of 200 (or more) people. Urgh. Bleah. Try to down my sorrows in fresh squeezed lemonade at the Spider House Cafe.

7 p.m., BlogHer dinner: Stubb's Bar-B-Que

I meet my panelists for the first time, and they're tres cool. And in what must've been a rare occasion in Stubb's BBQ history, half of us at the table ordered the veggie plate. Those were some damn good yams, y'all. I'd also like to give a little shout out to the fried green tomatoes, yessiree.

9 p.m., BlogHer DrinkUp: ditto

I force my tired, overstimulated, and steadfastly introverted self to mingle. It is an effort. More on introversion in future posts. I don't believe it would've been possible for Stubb's to have been more loud. And since my nerves were already jangled, the rockabilly-meets- cranked to 11 wasn't helping.

Saturday, 3/11:

Morning reserved for coffee and a bagel and notes fidging and fudging. Ugh. Non-productive, brain not working, wishing I weren't missing the 10 a.m. panels.

We Got Naked, Now What?

The BlogHer survey made it into the WaPo. Way to go, gals! Ran into Roxanne of Rox Populi, who mentioned a cool new blog from the Smithsonian American Art Museum to me: Eye Level.

Public Square or Private Club: Does Exclusivity Strengthen or Dilute?

Saw less of SXSW than I would've wanted on Sat., but I had to keep heading home [JM's sister Anne's house -- thanks, Anne and family!] in between sessions to be nervous about my upcoming panel in the morn. Some things, like anxiety-motivated heebie jeebies, just take precedence.

Dined w/ Elisa, Ronnie, Lori, Jan and Dave, and db at a local steak place on 6th. Did not even consider attending any of the parties that eve.

My notes became less and less coherent the more I looked at them. Let's just say that when you look into the abyss, the abyss also looks into you.