The Non-Madding Crowd

Lots of folks were shopping at the Farmer's Market near our place the other day. Quite a different scene from when we moved downtown 11 years ago.

Evacuation drill

We were at a concert on the U of Texas campus the other night when they made us get up and evacuate the hall. We finally got frustrated and got a car home.

Batwatch

A lot of people seem to think it's a good idea to be underneath a huge flock of bats that emerges from under the Congress Avenue Bridge each night. This group of people was eagerly awaiting the event.

The Lineup at South By Southwest

Linda and I spent part of our day Saturday standing in line at South by Southwest to wait for films we wanted to see. The crowds at this point will pale in comparison to the ones next week when the music program starts. This photo was shot inside Austin's Convention Center.

Concert Crowds on the South Shore

Linda shot this photo from our balcony yesterday afternoon. This was the crowd which had gathered to hear a band called The Strokes at Auditorium Shores, south across the lake from our place. We heard that this was a free concert but that they had to limit the size of the crowd for safety reasons. While we were standing in line at our movie Thursday night, we heard that there were some "crowd control issues."

A Crowd

This is a zoom in on the view from yesterday of the W Hotel and skyline on the Fourth of July. The crowd had really gathered for the fireworks. When night fell and the bridge was closed, it was covered with people, too. We laughed the next evening when we were strolling around downtown and it was almost deserted.

Attention Please

Lyle Lovett, Robert Earl Keen and Joe Ely are paying close attention to Ray Benson singing a song at Turk and Christy Pipkin's tribute to Willie Nelson to raise money for their work in Kenya. The young lady in the foreground, though, is paying close attention to someone else which makes this picture FFP took show how distracting the evening was. FFP and I enjoyed visiting with the author Sarah Bird at our table and with many other friends (celebrities in their own right) in attendance. Star-studded night. Some kids in Kenya will get to go to school beyond the eighth grade thanks to the Pipkins efforts (and their friends in high places).

Crowded

I thought I'd go back to the Fourth of July and show you what the crowd looked like at Auditorium Shores and the lawn of the Long Center for the symphony and fireworks. I took this from my condo but I watched the fireworks (with a radio simulcast of the symphony) from the 20th story of this building.