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Keep Austin Wierd?

KeyDog
Level Contributor
43 posts
Keep Austin Wierd?
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Hi,

I have been traveling alot to Austin latey and I don't really understand the Keep Austin Wierd slogan posted everywhere from t-shirts to bumper stickers. I like Austin very much, but it is most "vanilla" corporate-chain city I have ever been to. I am just wondering where the wierdness is at and the appel of this slogan? If this slogan was for say New Orleans, San Francisco, or Miami I would definitely understand. I have been told to check out South Congress for the "wierd" vibe, but I am still not seeing it. Can someone please shed some light on this oxy-moronic slogan?

Austin, Texas
Level Contributor
4,473 posts
188 reviews
278 helpful votes
1. Re: Keep Austin Wierd?
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I guess if you've spent most of your time driving up and down I-35 this is the vibe you would have gotten, but Austin does have a lot of local independent businesses, with a lot of history, that are behind the "Keep Austin Weird" campaign. Here's a brief history of the campaign from wikipedia -- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keep_Austin_Weird.

If you think Austin is "vanilla" and full of corporate chains, you must not have ever been to Dallas.

Also, the old "i before e" rule does not apply to the word "weird."

Dallas, Texas
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141 posts
2 reviews
23 helpful votes
2. Re: Keep Austin Wierd?
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KeyDog,

Sadly, you may have missed it... It is not a new slogan. Like all small cities, Austin has grown up and changed, and is unrecognizable to many. But where are you staying when you travel, anyway? If you spend any time in South or Central Austin you will probably meet and talk to many Austinites, and then you will understand what makes it so special. Next time you go: stay, eat, and hang out centrally, and I 'd be surprised if you didn't then "get" the slogan.

Austin, Texas
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4,473 posts
188 reviews
278 helpful votes
3. Re: Keep Austin Wierd?
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PortAddict --

I think you're right in saying that Austin has grown up and changed quite a bit since the slogan was first adopted, but as those of us who have chosen to make our homes here know, it's still a very special place. Austin is special because of the people who live here, the laid-back vibe, the friendliness, and the people who visit here and "get it."

KeyDog --

As PortAddict suggested, perhaps you are just staying and hanging out in the wrong places. Austin does not have the history of New Orleans, or the sophistication of San Francisco, but it's not even close to the "most vanilla corporate chain city" I've ever visited. Get off the highway, get out of the suburbs, and head into central and south Austin to get a good feel for the place.

Mansfield, Texas
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1,393 posts
1 review
2 helpful votes
4. Re: Keep Austin Wierd?
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Ted, lol your right. Still laughing at the "i before e"!

McGregor, TX
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965 posts
3 reviews
43 helpful votes
5. Re: Keep Austin Wierd?
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Now now, fellas... let's not pick on people who spell wierd, er, I mean weird wrong!! (It's one of the words I ALWAYS get wrong.) :D

At least "Keep Austin Weird" is better than "Keep Waco Wacko". Ugh. We can't get rid of our "wacko" reputation!

My favorite take-off on the slogan is "Keep Lubbock Flat". Somehow, that just really struck me as funny. :D

Mansfield, Texas
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1,393 posts
1 review
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That is funny!

McGregor, TX
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965 posts
3 reviews
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I had to think awhile on how to respond to KeyDog.

I can really see what you're saying. Funny, how when I think of Austin I think of the Austin *I* knew when I lived there (late 80s) which is very different from the Austin of today.

Austin is, to me, Whole Foods:

http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/company/history.html

Hippy Hollow:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hippie_Hollow

Waterloo Records:

http://www.waterloorecords.com/waterlooinf.html

The Drag without a Barnes and Nobles or a Starbucks:

http://www.6street.com/6s_pg_guadalupe.htm

Austin City Limits:

http://www.pbs.org/klru/austin/

Chuy's:

http://www.chuys.com/culture.html

Barton Springs Pool:

http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/parks/bartonsprings.htm

Stevie Ray:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stevie_Ray_Vaughan

Kerbey Lane Cafe:

http://www.kerbeylanecafe.com/

'Ritas at The Oasis:

http://www.oasis-austin.com/gallery.html

And a whole bunch of now-70-year-old hippies (I won't say how I'm related ;-))

Then "Silicon Valley" moved in, and now people hang out drinking lattes at the IKEA store and Whole Foods is a national chain with a NYSE ticker symbol. *Sigh*

The slogan "Keep Austin Weird" is an attempt to hang on to what made Austin special in the first place. The now-middle-aged of us who embraced the culture (begun by the now-70-year-old hippies) and who remember when Mo-Pac was an easy commute miss "the good old days".

It's still there, beneath the vanilla corporate chains. I hope you can find it.

McGregor, TX
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965 posts
3 reviews
43 helpful votes
8. Re: Keep Austin Wierd?
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Amy's Ice Cream: http://www.amysicecream.com/

Willy Nelson...

HELP!! I'm stuck on memory lane!! LOL. :D

Anyone else with any Austin associations that would help KeyDog "get it"?

Georgetown, Texas
Level Contributor
6,256 posts
113 reviews
81 helpful votes
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Well said, Owl- couldn't add a thing!

Dallas, Texas
Destination Expert
for Tulum, Dallas
Level Contributor
14,537 posts
27 reviews
29 helpful votes
10. Re: Keep Austin Wierd?
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I also wonder KeyDog has been hanging out....Arboretum area?...where?

Get your butt down to South Congress - stay at the San Jose, or better yet, Austin Motel and see what the weirdness/uniqueness is all about. Cruise the shops - Uncommon Market, Yard Dog, etc...you'll get it.

Have dinner outdoors at the Shady Grove on Barton Spring. Go east and have lunch at Mr. Natural on Cesar Chavez....check out Big Red Sun (garden store) while you are there. Have breakfast at Las Manitas...nothing like it - great mex breakfast while an interesting Austin vibe having a glass of carrot juice with your plate of chorizo and eggs.

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