Joel Bush

Paper for the iPad (by FiftyThree)

ht @frankdenbow

Ron Swanson on Canada (by KingZidane92)

Parks and Recreation - Ron Swanson - Eggs & Bacon (by sdobart)

Tour the Amazon with Street View (by Google)

Art in the Era of the Internet | Off Book | PBS (by PBSoffbook)

ht Swissmiss

Ratigan @regularing a few weeks back

regulars:

brycedotvc:

I wrote a post last week that seems to have struck a cord.

In it, I talked about what I was calling Indie Businesses. Businesses that historically would have raised venture capital, but were deciding to forgo funding and blaze their own trail independent of the pressure and expectations that come with outside investment.

Many commenters rightly pointed out that Indie, or VC free, businesses are the rule rather than the exception and they would be right to posit that.They took issue with me suggesting that this was a new thing but they were only partly right.

You see, the point I wanted to make was that we’re at an critical inflection point for entrepreneurship. The company man and his accompanying gold watch and pension are a relic that I, nor my kids, will see again in our lifetimes. As the book that arrived on my doorstep this week celebrated, the startup is now you. And I believe that’s a fundamental change.

This video celebrating 9 Detroit based businesses captures much of that new independent spirit. Note that no one is talking about raising money, eyeing an IPO or changing the world. They talk of community, and independence, of filling a need and meeting a demand. They make crepes, coffee, pizza, bagels and custard pies. They watch dogs and watch out for visitors to their city. They teach, educate and inform. They share a love for their craft and seem to be collectively crossing fingers that their hard work and passion will be enough to make it on their own.

This video celebrates the spirit of the indie businesses I tried to capture in that post. Which is why it’s required weekend viewing on BRYCE DOT VC.

Go, indies, go.

As part of his building crusade, Dylan Ratigan carried FireflyLED from The Regulars to Jimmy Fallon’s show. Pretty dang cool, eh?

Fact.

ht Aarron Walter

modernhombrealpha:

Austin’s First Firehouse Transformed Into “Palazzo Lavaca”

Mike gets it. Read Techdirt.

deancruse:

Deb Roy of Bluefin Labs at TED in 2011 on the birth of language in a child and how the research his team did in his home was then applied to measuring the links between public media content and the conversation that surrounds it. They showed this video at TEDxAustin this weekend, and it was one of my highlights.

Ditto.

ht Jake

davemorin:

46 seconds on life from Steve Jobs.

grantimatter:

Rules of engagement. I think I may need to make these a wallpaper or transcribe them onto a Post-It or something.

Remind me about it tomorrow, OK?

[via girldefective: iateabee]

itbsb:

Peter Mayhew (Chewy) & Kenny Baker (R2D2), during Empire filming, July 1979.

MSNBC’s Dylan Ratigan had a crew covering SXSW. They joined the Awesome Foundation party and interviewed Christina Xu, Tim Hwang, and Peyton Wimmer. See the full story here.

We are excited to announce our first grantee — the Payphone Revival Project. Bridget Quinn is bringing the awesome.

It was great to meet Bridget this weekend at the Awesome Foundation’s SXSW Party and to give her the $1,000. She’s pictured here with Peyton Wimmer, Jacqueline Hughes, and Joel Bush.

Y’all keep applying. This is fun.

We gathered at Threadgill’s on N Lamar in February to hang out, exchange ideas, and set plans. It was a blast.

Eddie Wilson, Armadillo World Headquarters founder and Threadgill’s proprietor, joined us. He shared great stories about Austin and the Armadillo community, and we got to see some of the amazing items he has collected.

Thanks to Rodney for taking these photos.

Click for more info on Paco Barba, a photographer who plans to use handmade images of urban life in a cultural exchange between youths in the the US and Brazil.

In April 2011, Awesome DC awarded a grant to GirlTrek. Read more here.

Awesome Austin micro-trustee Sunni Brown spoke at TED last year. Check it.

The Awesome Foundation Launches in Austin
 
February 6, 2012 aka Awesome Day (Austin, Texas)

Would you like to do or create something that makes Austin more awesome? We want to help you.

Each month, we will give $1,000 to a project we pick because it forwards the interest of awesome in Austin and in the universe. We prefer projects that lead us somewhere new, that bridge communities, that bring to light new possibilities.

Your idea is your own. We want no ownership, and we will attach no strings. We just want to help you make it happen.

It’s really simple. Start by applying here. We will review applications received by February 28 to make our first selection by March 12.

We are excited to bring the Awesome Foundation to this great town. Begun in Boston in 2009, this network has gone global with 20+ chapters in places like San Francisco, London, New York City, Ottawa, Seattle, Berlin, Sydney, and Zurich. Funded projects have included a giant hammock in Boston, random swings of joy, and the wonderful Big Dipper project.

We will gather periodically to celebrate awesome projects like these. A fun night at The Alamo Drafthouse sounds about right. Keep a lookout.

Austin’s founding members are:

• Hank Blackwell
• Matt Blake
• Sunni Brown
• Burnie Burns
• Joel Bush
• Kenneth Cho
• Jacqueline Hughes
• Shimon Kogan
• Randall Macon
• Vitorio Miliano
• Kerry Miller
• C. Enrique Ortiz
• Rip Rowan
• Rodney White
• Peyton Wimmer

[image via boston.com, project via Awesome Foundation]

In June 2011 the LA chapter awarded a grant for swings in Los Angeles.

Global TV News profiled Awesome Toronto.

In January 2011, Awesome NY awarded a grant to the Laser Tweezer project of Ben Dubin-Thaler’s BioBus. Read more here.

In December 2011, San Francisco Awesome micro-trustee’s awarded a grant to Erin Bregman and Little Opera Company. Read more here.

Christina Xu, Chancellor of IHAS, talked Awesome Foundation at TEDxBoston.

The Institute on Higher Awesome Studies (IHAS) shared this awesome wrap-up. That’s a lot of awesome.

February 6, 2012 is Awesome Day in Austin, Texas, y’all.

The Awesome Foundation is saddling up in Austin, y’all. It’s on. It’s so on.

[photo by Trey Ratcliff]

A few of the Regulars have banded together to organize live music at Cat Mountain Grill (3815 Dry Creek Road) Sunday evenings, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Ask Pat, Luke, or Ricardo for details, and get on out to have fun and support their efforts.

Artist, expert running instructor, and much more, Eino unveiled his latest sculpture today at Dell Children’s. His remarks demonstrated how much the project and especially these kids mean to him.

Congratulations, sir. Thanks for regularing. Much appreciated. Respect. Best.

#regularing May 18, 2012.

I only snapped a few shots and missed the bulk of the crew. We enjoyed another excellent morning. Thanks, everybody.

I accidentally skipped this set — #regularing March 16, 2012, featuring Firefly LED; Texas Tea; Eddie’s Armadillo etc. stories about Bruce Springsteen and more; kanban2go; Dylan Ratigan’s SXSW production team of Aprille and Lance. Home run.

This is one of my favorite Regulars photos so far. Thanks, Kevin and Peyton.

Everyone has a contribution to make that can benefit others. Come on down on Friday mornings. Mix it up with us. You will be heard. Let’s help each other and have some fun.

Thanks again to Jake for recently leading a vibrant discussion about Austin’s mobility future. We will soon host additional special guests on this topic.

I recommend this book, Road, River, and Ol’ Boy Politics, via Amazon:

Winner of the 2006 National Council on Public History Book Award for the best work published about or growing out of public history, Road, River, and Ol’ Boy Politics has quickly established its reputation as the definitive source on the subject of the growth of supersuburbs.

In 1946 Williamson County was profoundly rural, centered on an agricultural economy, ethnically diverse, and Democratic. Half a century later, it was one of the five fastest-growing counties in the United States, staunchly Republican, and culturally homogeneous.

Linda Scarbrough presents the story of how this came about through the machinations of a handful of local political and economic “bosses” who brought Williamson County two federal public works projects: Interstate Highway 35 and a dam on the San Gabriel River.

I’m reading it now. If you start it, too, let’s discuss it some Friday. Here is a library link.

Best as always. Thanks, everybody.

#regularing April 20, 2012, with a special thanks to John Dawson for dropping by to show off his Rocket Electrics bicycle. Read their Statesman profile and give one a test drive soon.

#regularing April 6, 2012, featuring DJ Spooky’s app and a great art book from Austin Community College faculty and staff 

#regularing March 30, 2012 with a special thanks to Jacob Dirr who engaged us about Austin’s future development, character, mobility, etc.

#regularing March 23, 2012

austinkleon:

Wow, that was fast: video of my Everything Is A Remix, so Steal Like An Artist panel with Kirby Ferguson is up. (via)

It was awesome having Kirby and Austin hang out with us last Friday. Austin says he’ll return, so we can look forward to that. In the meantime, enjoy their SXSW panel conversation.

Dylan Ratigan has a crew covering SXSW. Earlier this week, they spoke with Christina Xu, Tim Hwang, and Peyton Wimmer about the Awesome Foundation. They may join us tomorrow. Austin rules, y’all. Thanks, Dylan!

We will reconvene at Mozart’s Coffee tomorrow from 8 a.m. till at least 11 a.m. Come on down.

austinkleon:

Bobby Womack, “Please Forgive My Heart,” off the forthcoming album from XL Recordings, The Bravest Man In The Universe

I’ve become a huge Bobby Womack fan over the last year, so I was super excited when richardxl posted this earlier:

Here is the first track from the new Bobby Womack album, “The Bravest Man In The Universe”, which I co-produced with Damon Albarn at the end of last year. We recorded 16 songs in 3 sessions, 10 of which will be on the final album. It didn’t take us long to make, but it felt like all of our lifetimes of musical enthusiasm went into the record…

Bobbys musical history is so spectacular, from writing the Rolling Stones first number one hit, playing guitar for Sly Stone and Aretha Franklin, to making some of the best soul music ever as a solo artist, that it was hard to believe how free of ego he was, and how open to new ideas. But Bobby seemed to relish the opportunity to make something modern and original, and embraced and encouraged the use of unusual sounds and techniques. We had a blast making this album; its a platform for one of the greatest voices ever heard.

Can. Not. Wait.

It was great chatting about Bobby Womack with Austin and Kirby this morning at Mozart’s.

Hopefully tomorrow Kirby Ferguson will join us. Watch the rest of his Everything Is a Remix series, and please support his next project via Kickstarter. I have.

Thanks.

You can find us any Friday by finding these armadillos (at Mozart’s).

The prior armadillo(s) shattered if dropped, and I dropped them. I got these instead. They’ll do just fine. Also feel free to bring your own anytime.

For background, see here; here; and here.

We will reconvene tomorrow morning at Mozart’s per usual, from 8 a.m. till at least 10:30 a.m. Come on down and bring a crowd. SXSW will definitely be top of mind, and cool visitors might be coursing through the crew.

I’ve been thinking about Regular Works for well more than a year. I introduced the idea on a recent Friday morning, and we have started talking about it a bit each week. The instant enthusiasm and collaboration portend good things.

Our community weekly mixes entrepreneurs, artists, technologists, pranksters, and teachers for benevolent conspiracy. We enjoy a lot of vibrant interaction every Friday morning across diverse skill sets and backgrounds. We will always remain open to everyone, and Regular Works will have continuity with what we have already built.

We have a few more things to do internally first. Then I expect us to start contributing to Austin and building community in cool new ways. It’s gonna be something seeing what we can do together.

When we do, Jason Roberts will remain a powerful inspiration. What a force. I am grateful to TEDxAustin for introducing Austin to him.

See y’all tomorrow morning. We should have a great crew. Thanks, everybody.

p.s. Special thanks to Rye for the idea and help to list on Sched.org.

#regularing

topherchris:

meetups:

Official Tumblr SXSW meetup with ice cream provided by Coolhaus

Come see me and other people even cooler than me!