…or corruption running rampant. Oh… wait a minute…
I’m guilty of this misconception. I’ve never been there; and I knew there were a lot of rich people living there…
Actually, when I think of Austin, I think “Great music to be found.” Isn’t it the “live music capital of the world?”
To be fair, out of the 50 largest cities in the U.S., Minneapolis *is *the coldest. (Milwaukee is #2. :()
Glad I could clear up the misconception.
To be honest, there are a lot of rich people living there, but there are also a lot of people just scraping by, as well as tourists of just about every income level. And it’s nearly impossible to tell which is which. And the rich, and even famous, get absolutely no special treatment. Egalitarianism is pretty much the unspoken rule there.
I think this is mostly true, and it trades on the presence of SXSW… but I lived in Boston and Atlanta, and I would put the music scene on the same level. The difference is probably with local bands. There are tons of places to catch bands. But I’ve been frustrated somewhat because being something of an Anglophile, I saw a lot of emerging bands in Boston - typical Boston-New York-Washington jaunt, then back to Blighty. We’re far from the coasts so we don’t see those cool shows unless it’s SXSW, or the band has enough money to go inland.
Everybody who’s lived in Austin more than 10 years and can create noise with an instrument, though, probably was in a band, is in a band, or is between band.
I’m always a little bummed that Austin’s national profile as a hometown for bands is pretty small. The Vaughan Brothers, Fabulous Thunderbirds, Fastball, Shawn Colvin, and Spoon are all Austin-based artists. We’ve got a neat regional scene, and if you’re into particular niches we have some legendary folks like Daniel Johnston and Rory Erickson from here… but I always thought that there should be more big bands emerging from here.
Yeaaaah, Minneapolis is cold as fuck. Not very snowy, but when it warms up to 10 degrees in January and you declare Hallelujah!, I’d say it’s a cold town. Also not very dangerous, despite what the people in Chanhassen may imply by calling it Murderopolis. “Oh golly, 10 people were killed all year! That place is a veritable war zone!”
I know it’s not but if you look at a map to spot “old” cities of some size, Indianapolis seems to be located in a great spot for many of the old wagon trains (and choo-choo trains) to stop and load up on supplies for their trips west. If the wagon train started further south, St. Louis is the obvious stopping place. If north, the city for re-supply at the time would be Chicago. I just wondered if that placement had anything to do with Indianapolis becoming as large as it did as early as it did (before all paved highways happened).
Wikipedia implies that the early size might have to do with choosing that location to become the state capitol in 1820, but again, why there? There’s no major waterway to support shipping and such. It’s unusual for a city without a major port to have become the size Indianapolis did before the era of automobiles. Indianapolis accomplished that. I just find it interesting.
Actually, I didn’t even think of Austin as the musical hub of Texas, let alone any larger region. The only Austin band I knew of before I read your post were Bowling for Soup. Compare that with Houston, from which I know of ZZ Top and King’s X.
Austin is an awesome musical hub. Someday, I’m going to make it to the ACL music festival but until then, I can rely on my handy public radio station to cover it for me.
Pretty sure it was Falls. I had been to a late meeting in an unfamiliar area of Akron and got lost trying to find my way back to a main street, and by the time I did I was so aggravated I was trying to make up for lost time, hence the speeding. I probably was going about 45 in a 35 – not qualifying for the Daytona or anything. He got me right in front of St. Thomas Hospital. That has to be 25 years ago and I’m still kicking myself.
It’s working for my whole country. 
Backing up Kyla - about the weather and about native born San Franciscans. I live 3 blocks from where I was born, in the heart of the city - and I love helping tourists 
My office mate, who worked in Boston for quite some time, had a book called “Wild in the Streets” about driving there. It appears that reporters from the Globe get lost all the time. So, you’re in good company.
I used to live in a small town outside of Princeton, and my drive to work went past lots of fields and a working dairy farm (and too many damn deer.) We have friends who never locked their door (the lock was broken) and never had a problem.
The purpose of Newark and the Northern Turnpike is to keep New Yorkers out.
I had always heard that they moved the capitol there because it was more central. The early settlement of Indiana was around the Ohio and Wabash Rivers. So the first two capitols were Vincennes and Corydon. Once the North grew in population, they decided to pull an Austin/Brasilia/Washington (these were also constructed in the middle of nowhere in a “central” location).
I’m not sure I understand why you even think Indy is “between” St. Louis and Chicago, even on the North/South axis. If you are on a wagon train heading west from Indianapolis to California then your next major stop would probably have been St. Louis. See where this road is pointing to?
There’s the answer I am looking for in your link. The “improved road” project began in 1811. So it was a settlement on an engineered road that had the attractions of small but good rivers and good soil. And so people settled there.
I never said Indy was in a direct line between Chicago and St. Louis, just that it seemed like a good point for a major city as otherwise one would have to swing their path up or down to find a town big enough to restock their wagon train. And though it is closer to St. Louis, I doubt everyone who passed through Indy went on to St. Louis. No biggie.
The biggest misconception about Kansas City is one possessed by touring musicians - that anyone wants to hear you do that fucking song as an encore.