Austin has sold itself-Dale Watson says

[cBach]

Originally Posted by austin-steve

Regarding "Greed is Good ...


(Mother Teresa did more harm than good, for example),

You had me up until then. In fact, you might as well have horns and a cape after that statement

[Mrs.JT]

Originally Posted by Austin97

I bought a large acreage in town with great views. A neighbor had been landscaping a small portion of it for a long time with permission of the former owner. The city was upset about the landscaping since it is a drainage/conservation easement. I asked him to stop and he wouldnt so I put up a fence to keep him out. the fence is "wrought iron" and built to match his fence.

He is really upset because in his words my fence is ugly (almost exactly the same as his fence) and blocks the great view which the entire neighborhood used to enjoy. I suggested that he take down his fence and let people enjoy the view from his yard if it was so important to him. Of course that wasn't an option.

People dont like change, old people really dont like change. I hope to never become one of those old people. I loved austin when I moved here and I love it now. I love most of the changes to the city and bemoan some of the growing pains.

THL (and NIMBYS) never will see the irony that they were the many that created massive change when they first moved here and are now complaining about the change from their snapshots. This story is repeated infinitely backwards through history. Some people are forever looking backwards at what they have lost, while the truly happy appreciate what they have today.

Yes, INDEED!!! Let me never become one of those old people.

[Westerner92]

The paradox of the counterculturalist: The moment something cool is acknowledged, it stops being cool. It just sounds like Dale Watson has sour grapes over his music event not being embraced and doesn't like rich people.

If the best example for Austin selling itself he can come up with is a couple bucks for parking, he desperately needs to learn urban planning fundamentals and look at the music scenes in dense cities. I'd be willing to bet that multiple music venues have gone up where there was previously free parking, and the new economic activity generated by eliminating parking lot deserts supports even more. Besides, there's free weekend parking just a few blocks from the Red River, East and Dirty 6th, and Rainey scenes.

There are more bands and more shows and more talent and more music opportunities to support in Austin than ever. It's not just harder for musicians and creative types; it's harder for everyone. I'm personal friends with members of several of Austin bands, a couple of them employed by the soulless corporations who've moved in, a couple of them slackers in service industry jobs (who now get paid time off thanks to Austin city council).

I agree that more can be done, in Austin and around the world, to support local businesses and make housing more affordable (rezoning, tax incentives for employee-owned companies, etc.), but the shrinking middle class is a worldwide systemic problem, and it's only a matter of time before Memphis is "discovered" and "sells out", not realizing he's part of the problem. He's just one of those perpetual outsider types that seems to have a tendency to assume that most success comes from ill-gotten gains and needs to be around "raw and real" people.

[austin-steve]

RE: Mother Teresa did more harm than good ..

Originally Posted by cBach

You had me up until then. In fact, you might as well have horns and a cape after that statement

There is a lot of easily researchable opinions on this, backed by objective data. There is always more to a story. There was actually a story about MLK on NPR yesterday pointing out that our memory of him is somewhat elevated "hero worship" but that he was more complex and changed his tactics over time. Ghandi was also a complex person. Just saying, it's why I don't really worship anyone too highly, as everyone is still a human.

Similarly, we tend to "remember back" with selective memory the parts of Austin we choose to cherish, memorialize, and miss, and completely forget or ignore the less favorable aspects. I'm guilty of it myself.

Another good example is distorted history is Rosa Parks. The vast majority of people have learned a history of her as just a random, quiet, soft spoken black lady who one day, out of the blue, did not want to give up her bus seat and thus became a reluctant icon. She was in fact a lifelong "radical" (in the context of her time) activist long before the bus incident for which she is famous.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/poste...s-story-wrong/

Steve

[TexasHorseLady]

Originally Posted by A-Tex

Because posting on a message board totally precludes any kind of volunteerism, community involvement and assisting others in the terrestrial world.

Exactly. Besides working for a living and taking care of the animals and the ranch I'm on the Boards of two (down from three) non-profits plus a few other things that occupy my time. And yet still somehow I manage to post on message boards and Facebook and things like that. Don't know HOW I do it!

[cBach]

Originally Posted by austin-steve

RE: Mother Teresa did more harm than good ..



There is a lot of easily researchable opinions on this, backed by objective data. There is always more to a story. There was actually a story about MLK on NPR yesterday pointing out that our memory of him is somewhat elevated "hero worship" but that he was more complex and changed his tactics over time. Ghandi was also a complex person. Just saying, it's why I don't really worship anyone too highly, as everyone is still a human.

Similarly, we tend to "remember back" with selective memory the parts of Austin we choose to cherish, memorialize, and miss, and completely forget or ignore the less favorable aspects. I'm guilty of it myself.

Another good example is distorted history is Rosa Parks. The vast majority of people have learned a history of her as just a random, quiet, soft spoken black lady who one day, out of the blue, did not want to give up her bus seat and thus became a reluctant icon. She was in fact a lifelong "radical" (in the context of her time) activist long before the bus incident for which she is famous.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/poste...s-story-wrong/

Steve

I'm well aware of what Mother Theresa did. The fact that there are millions in India, where she had her mission, that still have reverence for her speaks more than the various (mostly) Protestant articles I have read that talked about her facilities and lack of modern medicine, etc... What they didn't realize is that for those poor people, she was the only one to actually care. Yes she was not a medical professional but she had a kind heart.

As a Jesuit (educated) Roman Catholic, "Thou shalt not talk bad about Mother Teresa" is right up there with "Thou shalt not talk bad about the Pope". This is veering really off topic though.

[ScoPro]

Chris Hitchens had an interesting opinion on Mother Teresa.

Everybody has opinions about Austin & MT, and obviously not all are going to agree.

Even though Mt. Watson is moving out of Austin (like I did 23 years ago), I'm sure he will be back to visit. His new home isn't going to stay static though, just like mine hasn't.