What Does He Know
It’s always fun to read blogs during SXSW and find out what people think of the festival and the city of Austin. WhatdoIknow blog guru, Todd Dominey, describes his first impressions:
“The area of Austin I?m staying in reminds me very much of the cultural mishmash of Atlanta?s Little Five Points or Virginia Highlands area. There are bikers, hippies, surfers, unemployed art directors, and hot-jazz looking girls with black bangs and flowered skirts. And every once in a while, just to remind you of your regional locale, a stranger walks by in a suede cowboy hat, boots, and a big buckle hanging like a license plate on their front-side. And no, they ain?t trying to be cool.
The other part of Austin that impresses me is the civic planning of downtown. The entire area is organized on a grid; allowing tourists like myself to easily figure out how to get to a particular spot on the map. Walking across the river into downtown with the capitol dome as the end focal point is quite a sight to behold.
Surprisingly, I have yet to detect a vocal accent from the non-immigrant locals. Like many in Atlanta, they have none. I wasn?t expecting to hear “y?all,? rope-and-dope cowboy lingo, or anything stereotypical, but at least something that felt indigenous. For the most part, people sound like my Atlanta neighbors.
From what I can see, Austin is going through growing pains. The downtown area is a steady, aural drumbeat of jackhammers and electric saws from construction sites all over. And like any city with proud, dogged locals trying to hang on to their cultural scene, there are signs plastered all over to fight this, fight that, and basically keep corporate America and rampant development out of their funky neighborhoods.”
I should note that “y’all” is entirely accepted and encouraged here.