journal.melendez.org

A Stop at Spider House on a Search for the soul of Austin   Every day we are looking. Trying to find out what makes this place different from all the other Sun Belt boom towns of America. I often tell people that I feel like I am living in Los Angeles in the 1950's: a place of incredible opportunity, hyper growth and money. Lots and lots of money.   In the midst of all this, we are looking for the funky soul, the underbelly that isn't part of the approved ad campaigns.   We are still looking.   But we haunt some of those places that don't have a concept, like the Spider House.

For New Orleans Folks (note: I didn't write this) From the "Louisiana Events" E-mail List: "FROM TOURO BOULIGNY MEETING: Capt. of 2nd Dist. demonstrated tonight this new on-line source of crime incidents occurring within 1 mile radius of a given address. There is a lag time of about 5 days for the info presented. 1st - access the NOPD at WWW.NOPD.COM 2nd - click on NOPD Crime Map (left column) 3rd - click on sentence that begins "click this link to view interactive crime, etc. 4th - enter address and click submit (this will resolve to a map with yellow location of address.) 5th - Click on City Services at top on page and that will present a drop down menu; select NOPD. This will resolve to a page that will show all crime incidents within 1 mile radius of the address in last 30 days. Put the cursor on any symbol to see brief details. Detail results are shown at bottom of this page with Police report number, Street, Description, and incident date. Check it o...

Business Leaders Explore Affordable Health Insurance Options for Small Businesses in Central Texas Region http://www.prweb.com/releases/2007/7/prweb539989.htm

Cassie says "see, we don't look old."

Near UT campus.

Hipster Haircut 2 Originally uploaded by Edward Melendez A haircut at Bird's, followed by...

hipster coffee shop Originally uploaded by Edward Melendez

Guitar Serenade of the Zilker Zephyr Originally uploaded by Edward Melendez Self made South Austin celebrity Wood Woode (or is it Woode Wood?) entertains the folks on the Zilker Zephyr, the World's Slowest Train.

Santiago at Dad's Office Originally uploaded by Edward Melendez Santiago made his first visit to the ICC today, so Cassie and I could brainstorm ways to make the office space a little happier.

More Heartbreak From New Orleans (It just keeps on coming) It's pretty incredible to write this on the heels of a happy little post about my last visit to NO. Two people. Two stories. One story has a few years distance. One is now. This picture of horseplay at the hair salon is of two good friends of mine. On the left is Bobby Merrill, who died in 2003 of a heart attack at age 34. The guy on the right is Robin Malta. Robin was murdered in his Marigny home earlier this week. I had just visited Robin at his shop when I was in New Orleans a few weeks ago. Bobby was our "family" hairsylist, confidante and conspirator. Cassie and I would schedule both our haircuts on the same night with Bobby and make an evening of it. Bobby, Cassie and I would have drinks during the haircutting process (Bobby always had an amazingly steady hand, even after a few cocktails) followed by dinner out, often at Adolfo's in the Marigny. Robin worked at the same salon as Bobby and ...

This Week, New Orleans So I am back in New Orleans this week, visiting a few friends and business associates. My semi-frequent appearances in the city seem to mystify most people. They feel absolutely natural to me. New Orleans is the culture I understand best and function in most effectively. I know the city backwards and forwards, although I am having trouble keeping up with the torrent of gelato shops and t-shirt boutiques with pro-New Orleans imagery that seem to be some of the primary drivers of the economy at the moment. I have favorite places and people and I also enjoy being an anonymous guy at a neighborhood bar, like I was yesterday at Molly's, where a patron bought the entire bar a round in celebration of the passing of Jerry Falwell. New Orleans is a good second home for me for now.

This Makes Me Happy

NYC and Austin May 2007

New Pics April 2007

Even CEO Can't Figure Out How RadioShack Still In Business

Oh Yeah, I Made a Movie Here's part one of the Unbroken Line of History: Here's part two:

PISTOLERA If I can get some strength back (and get some cases prepped), I really want to check out Pistolera tomorrow. They're playing once during the day at the Mexicarte Museum and later at the Copa.

Advice to Young Men from an Old Man Some of these are pretty good.

Great photo from New Orleans . This is taken in front of my favorite bar in all of New Orleans, Ms. Mae's. By the way, the bar is open for business.