Tear Down

I'll bet what's coming next in the open space is what you see behind it. Condos. They're going to build something. My memory is that it used to be a grocery store and other small shops in a mini-mall situation. Did business dry up as people who would shop there were priced out of the neighborhood? Was business fine but the owners of the space could make a truckload of money by selling the property? Cities influence development through zoning and other regulations on building. If Austin liberals can't control development it makes you wonder why voting even matters. Liberals keep voting for politicians who don't stop the destruction of working people's neighborhoods and don't stop the affluent takeover of valuable spaces.

East Austin Run Down

Why did these homeowners let their property go to disrepair? If you can barely pay the property taxes or the heat bill you can't pay for the upkeep and when your wages stay the same, well then you're done for. I think those people could at least pull some money out of the sale. Or they got property seized due to liens. I don't know. Think about all the others who rented and were poor and never owned. This is east of I-35 in Austin and that's where the segregation line began a century ago. When I see these houses I feel that sense of historical inequities regarding race. I also see how some people prospered in the face of it and made good homes for themselves. And how today is not that world but a new one with privilege based on social class more than race.

East Austin Redo

A sampling of homes in east Austin right near the interstate. Some old house were refurbished and fixed up. Some houses have been demolished and new houses built. Many of those are more dense housing--duplexes or bigger condos. Some that were so fixed up and built upon that they're basically new houses. Some old houses are total run down. I would have loved to live in one of those old houses. Even like the last pic - the home that is so small. I think its the idea of owning your own home, even back then, no matter what size, would be a huge deal. Thats how I feel now. I hope I can keep mine in better shape, or make a ton in profit from its sale.

Drive-In Theater in Trinidad

Drive-Ins probably were in on the downside when I was growing up. I only remember going once. When I was in high school in the 1980s I never remember going to one. I saw many bad movies in other movie theaters but not a drive-in. Trinidad reminds me a little of my old Wisconsin small town hometown.

Tree Man

A tree turning into Sasquatch or vice versa. Sometimes I love Austin and all this quirky stuff. We could use a few more Yetis.

The Tree of Life

I noticed the tree of life motif in works I bought at TTV in these photos. I was reading today about the tree of life in the myths of Mesopotamia and their connection to the Adam and Eve story and paradise stories in Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. Agrarian societies are tied to nature and the tree. When trees are healthy than usually farming is going well (well at least in the Middle East), and life thrives. Thats my explanation in the history of human culture. I have a guttural reaction to these kinds of nature scenes and I don't know the origin of that for me. I grew up in the country in Wisconsin-that's probably part of it. Trees become intertwined with experiences and memories.and help you notice the passing of time.

Ten Thousand Villages Store

Interesting shop in Austin with fair trade items and products from entrepreneurs and businesses that uplift the poor and oppressed around the world. For example, former sex workers create some of these items. The store gives you a short story of the workers who make the goods you buy. It has a very powerful effect on the consumer. Well, it did on me. I wish it was mandatory to provide the background to the main workers who make the product to consumers. Or it should be readily accessible to a curious consumer. Would people care if they knew the background to what they buy?

Creek in Austin

In the first two pics it looks like people cut out the rock from the hillside. Who would have done that? I think this place was actually mined for its rock. I gotta go back and re-read the signs. The last two pics show incredible grooves in the rock but I think that's from nature. But how much of the natural erosion increased due to how much run off occurs now with roads and homes and businesses being built up in the surrounding areas? This mystery of what people were doing in this creek is fascinating. That type of curiosity drives my interest in history. I juxtapose this with the new condo tower in Austin a mile away from this nature preserve. What people do now with the land and resources only makes sense to me if I know how people used to use those resources. And how nature acts with or without us informs our decisions about what to do now.

Ravens Imprisoned in Austin

Why are these awesome birds in prison? For the pleasure of the creatures in Austin at the top of the food chain. Does this caged bird sing? Ravens are very intelligent and social creatures. I posted about a group of ravens out in LA in an earlier post. They were causing a ruckus on my brothers property. I admire them for their animal culture and not giving much of a care about the humans in their midst.. You can just put up with them. You can try to alter their behavior. Or you can shoot them as a menace. But don't put them in cages. This is cruel and disturbing. You can see nature by going into it. And there's plenty of it in Austin. You may not see a wide spectrum of animals but you'll see enough. What's the point of a zoo of any kind? Most animals in zoos are victims of something messed up with urban people. Are there zoos in the country? Its a troubling legacy of the isolation of urban people from their roots in nature.

Death by Car

Its one of the big fears of biking that some idiot not paying attention will run you over and kill you. Im guilty myself of distracted driving from any number of causes. When you bike you feel more vulnerable to injury and death compared to driving. In cars you feel invulnerable. I think that's why so many people drive like idiots and don't pay attention to what they're doing. Which leads to the huge number of auto wrecks. I actually feel safer biking around town than driving in Austin. These pics show the sad incident when being a biker is a vulnerability. Give bikers their own paths away from all cars. Lets get rid of cars. Its a pipe dream. Until then Im going to keep biking and not let the people in cars who go along with the destruction of the planet to stop me from biking. If the lord wants to take me then Im ready.

Kreuz Barbecue in Lockhart

There's so much smoke and soot and haze in these old barbecue joints in Lockhart that you think you might have entered an inter sanctum of Hell. The old paraphernalia puts you back decades ago in the South. You can imagine the delicious smoked meat being around for decades.

On the Way to Barbecue in Lockhart

Interesting mix of old run down buildings and modern political messages. One has a Ted Cruz sign and the other building is against the landfill. Are they political allies or foes?

South Congress - Out with the Old and In with the New

The view from Jo's Coffee Shop on South Congress. Those big condos going up are replacing a lot of what used to be Austin. None of that was happening in South Congress in the early 2000s when I used to visit the Continental Club. You can see the mix of bikes and scooters and pedestrians and cars. Lots of cars on this road. What you notice biking around is the incredible amount of space in residential areas dedicated to allowing every home access to car accessible streets.