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December 2008
Your A-List: Best Women’s Clothing Store
Certainly you can get away with wearing jeans and sandals pretty much anywhere in Austin, but that’s no fun. When you’re headed out and about, you wanna look nice, and chances are, if you’re a lady you’ve graced the stores mentioned in this week’s You’re a-List poll for Best Women’s Clothing Store.
This year’s winner in that category is the stylish and sophisticated By George, which took home 19 percent of the vote.
I must admit that I thought By George had only been around for a decade or so, but a little research on the Internet revealed that By George, and owners Katy and Matthew Culmo, have been rocking the designer fashions since 1977.
The By George flagship, which has been named one of the country’s Top Ten Boutiques by Lucky Magazine, is located at 6th Street and Lamar Boulevard and was joined recently by its little, slightly more casual sibling down south on South Congress Avenue. While the two stores have unique feels and merchandise, they both take pride in offering fashion that rises above and beyond trends.
By George
524 N. Lamar Blvd.
472.5951
1400 S. Congress Ave.
441.8600
Others receiving votes
- Strut, 16 percent
- Emerald’s, 13 percent
- Goodie Two Shoes, 10 percent
- Parts and Labour, 9 percent
- SoLa, 6 percent
- Girl Next Door, 5 percent
- C.Jane, 4 percent
- Feathers, 4 percent
- Moxie and the Compound, 3 percent
- Adelante, 2 percent
- Blackmail, 2 percent
- Estilo, 2 percent
- Shiki, 2 percent
- Y & I, 2 percent
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Your A-List: Best Local Web Site
(As an obvious admission of conflict of interest, let me say I work for Austin360.com and used to work for Austinist.com)
In a town where everyone has a blog, thousands Twitter and there is a plethora of wonderful entertainment sites, it is quite an honor for us at Austin360 to be voted as the winner, with 31 percent of the vote, of this year’s Your A-List poll for Best Local Web Site.
In addition to offering so much of the great entertainment content you get in the print version of the Austin American-Statesman, we at 360 are proud to offer thousands of entertainment and movie listings, hundreds of photo galleries and videos that enhance our reporting and often work as stand-alone pieces, and over a dozen blogs that range from the arts to music, movies, food and more that keep you connected and informed with Austin’s entertainment world.
In a move to stay interactive with our community, we’ve also taken to the social networking and micro-blogging waters, with our Facebook page and Twitter feeds, the latter of which has helped us to deliver you breaking news, updates from music fests and more.
All of the sites in this year’s poll do great work, and we appreciate the acknowledgment of those who voted for Austin360.
Others receiving votes
- Statesman.com, 24 percent
- TheScrewShop.com, 8 percent
- Austinist.com, 7 percent
- AusChron.com, 7 percent
- Do512.com, 5 percent
- BurntOrangeReport.com, 4 percent
- News8Austin.com, 4 percent
- LonghornNation.com, 3 percent
- Texas Monthly.com, 3 percent
- DailyTexanOnline.com, 1 percent
- ShowlistAustin.com, < 1 percent
- UnlockAustin.com, < 1 percent
- SXSW.com, < 1 percent
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Your A-List: Best Place to Take a Tourist
It seems that at least alf the folks I meet who have had the ocassion to visit Austin always end up mentioning “some restaurant out by the lake that had just an awesome sunset.” The restaurant of which they speak is instantly recognizable as the winner of the Your A-List poll, with 18 percent of the vote, for best place to take a tourist, The Oasis.
While there may be better meals to be had in town or better venues for live music, it is pretty damn hard to argue with the signature selling point — the sunsets (replete with bell ringing and much hoopla) — at Beau Theriot’s restaurant which was opened in 1982.
Even a massive fire in 2005 could not stop this Austin landmark on Lake Travis, which re-opened just days after the fire and came back bigger and better than ever, with three stories of decks and enough room for a party of almost any size. In addition to the restaurant, there also plans under way to add condos, shopping and an entertainment district of its own.
Others receiving votes
- Barton Springs Pool, 16 percent
- South Congress Avenue, 15 percent
- Mount Bonnell, 14 percent
- Texas State Capitol, 11 percent %
- Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum, 7 percent
- Lady Bird Lake Hike and Bike Trail, 6 percent
- Zilker Park, 5 percent
- Whole Foods Market, 3 percent
- UT Tower, 2 percent
- Blanton Museum of Art, 1 percent
- LBJ Library, 1 percent
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Your A-List: Best Hangover Breakfast
In a town where people enjoy their fair share of imbibing, it is important to have a roster of eateries on which one can rely for a post-overindulgence meal. Fortunately, Austin is no slouch in this regard. While some may tend to a hangover with a bit of hair of the dog, the best way to sop up a hangover is by eating a lot of empty calories and queso. Lots of queso.
The winner of the You’re A-List poll for best hangover breakfast (although, as often as not, lunch is just as likely to be the day’s first meal after a battle with the bottle), with 23 percent of the vote, is Kerbey Lane Café, a landmark in Austin dining of the late night and early morning variety since 1980.
With locations spread across town, there is almost certainly a Kerbey Lane within crawling distance for you on those mornings that seem to come way too soon and seemingly never end. Whether you’re a traditionalist who loves steak and eggs, have a taste for some Tex-Mex and migas, or like to mix traditions with The Paris Texas Platter (migas, French toast and queso), there is almost certainly something for you on the 24-hour breakfast menu to help you through the early part of a long day and fill you up nicely for that nap you just know you want to take when you’re done.
Others receiving votes
- Juan in a Million, 22 percent
- Magnolia Café, 21 percent
- Maria’s Taco Xpress, 9 percent
- The Omelettry, 6 percent
- Tamale House, 5 percent
- Taqueria Arandinas, 5 percent
- Star Seeds, 4 percent
- El Sol y La Luna, 2 percent
- El Chilito, 2 percent
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Sparks headed for spot next to Zima in the booze graveyard
Someone take away the hipsters’ skinny white belts and those big wooden paddles from the frat bros … MillerCoors is discontinuing the production of Sparks, the booze-and-caffeine-infused energy drink that helps get your night off to a strong start or a horrific end.
Check out this post from SFist for more details.
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Snow’s BBQ in Lexington
After five years of serving barbecue mostly to locals in the small Texas town of Lexington, Snow’s BBQ — thanks to laurels bestowed earlier this year by Texas Monthly and, subsequently, The New Yorker — went from little-known gem to regional star to the Mecca of Meat in the blink of an eye. Snow’s, which sells meat for only a few hours each Saturday, was soon being flooded with visitors from around the globe (80 percent to 90 percent of their business is now out-of-towners), and their weekly orders skyrocketed from 300 pounds to 1,000 pounds. The restaurant’s charming backstory and odd operating schedule seemed to add heavily to the mystique. Of course, with great honor comes great responsibility. And gushing praise and sudden stardom wrapped in a precious narrative can be a double-edged sword. (Just ask “Juno” screenwriter Diablo Cody.) Everyone loves taking shots at the king, and everyone’s an expert. So, with a bit of skepticism and a huge appetite for barbecue, a dozen or so friends and I headed over to Snow’s to find out what all the fuss was about and see if the meat could live up to its growing mythology. Situated between Austin and College Station, Lexington is home to about 1,000 people. It’s a one-stoplight, blink-and-you’ll-miss-it kind of place where kids play in the streets and everyone admittedly knows everyone. Sitting on Main Street across from an old peanut warehouse and down the road from a cattle auction site, Snow’s BBQ opened in March 2003 and resides in what was once the farm and ranch store of owner Kerry Bexley. The place has a few tables inside with a covered area of picnic benches outside by the barbecue pits.
When Bexley, who works at the lignite mine outside town, decided he wanted to open a barbecue joint, he knew there was only one partner to ask to join him. Between his people and management skills (he is a former amateur rodeo clown and ran a rodeo for a dozen years) and Tomanetz’s seemingly unmatched touch as a pit boss, Bexley figured they could be a formidable team. With a restaurant that is open only on Saturday mornings from 8 until they sell out, usually around 11 a.m. or noon, that hard work comes very early on weekend morning, after both Bexley and Tomanetz, who is a custodian for the Giddings Independent School District, have worked all week at their day jobs. The briskets are thrown over the coals between midnight and 1 a.m., then Tomanetz comes in at 2 a.m. and throws on the chicken, pork and ribs. The briskets smoke eight to 10 hours, the other meats smoke six to 10 hours, all over oak coals. After the smoke and Tomanetz have done their work, it’s showtime.
But one taste of the finest brisket in the land is a reward great enough for an unusually early wake-up call. The meat simply melts in your mouth like red velvet cake. The most impressive part of the brisket might have been that each cut of our entire brisket was cooked as perfectly as the next, a mind-bending consistency that put the rest of the meats to shame. Those who prefer a crusty, caramelized edge to their brisket might prefer a rub different than that used by Snow’s, but nobody can argue with beef that crumbles at the touch. The sausage was loosely packed and flavorful, though no more impressive than that of Smitty’s Market or Kreuz Market in Lockhart, while the ribs were a little dry. The most curious piece of meat was a pork shoulder that looked like a pork loin. It was juicy and tender but lacked the flavor of some better pork I’ve had in some other joints. The meat came with traditional sides of slaw and potato salad, both of which were fresh and tasty, as well as the standard pickles, onions and white bread. But who needs sides when the star of the show is so sublime? Beyond the food, however, it is the plain-spoken, unpretentious nature of Bexley and Tomanetz and the family atmosphere they have cultivated that makes a trip to Snow’s worth your while. Snow’s — named after Bexley’s childhood nickname, Snowman — has handled well the explosion of interest and the pressure that comes with it. “There is always the stress level of (meeting expectations),” Bexley said. “I’m very concerned to try to fulfill the honors we received.” Though it might be hard to officially crown any one barbecue spot as the best in the state — a task akin to a parent picking his favorite child — a tireless commitment to quality and a welcoming and unique atmosphere has earned Snow’s barbecue a spot among the state’s elite smoked eats.
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Your A-List: Best Place to Hear Live Music on a Weeknight
If you’ve got an out-of-town friend in town on a weekday and want to take them to hear some live music and get a good taste of what Austin is all about, chance are you’d take them to the Continental Club, winner, with 22 percent of the vote, of the Your A-List poll for best place to hear live music on a weekday.
When some complain about transplants ruining their town, they speechify about how they have been here for 30 or 40 years. That’s impressive and all, but the Continental has been around for over 50 years and is still going strong. The club, which was originally a private supper club which hosted such jazz/swing titans as Glenn Miller and Tommy Dorsey, is rumored to be the first in Travis County to leagally sell booze. The 50s gave way to burlesgue in the 60s and then a rotating cast of legendary songwriters and roots rockers in the 70s and 80s. In 1987, current owner Steve Wertheimer, one of the most familiar faces in South Austin, bought the club and restored it to its former glory.
Others receiving votes
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Your A-List: Best French Fries
The winner of the Your A-List poll for best French fries obviously think as highly of their taters as you do. How else could you explain the massive statue of fries outside of Hyde Park Bar & Grill, winner with 36 percent of the vote.
Whether you’re getting them as a side to your burger or just making a late-night pit stop to soak up the extended happy hour booze, people seem to love Hyde Park’s fries. They’re breaded and come served with some secret sauce that must have an ingredient in it that make people come back time and time again.
Others receiving votes
- P. Terry’s, 13 percent
- Billy’s on Burnet, 9 percent
- Top Notch, 9 percent
- Hut’s, 8 percent
- Phil’s, 7 percent
- Sandy’s, 7 percent
- The Tavern, 4 percent
- 219 West, 3 percent
- Quality Seafood, 2 percent
- Starlite, 2 percent
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Yoga on the cheap
Everyone from Major League Baseball players to screenwriter Charlie Kaufman have caught the yoga bug. Despite the amazing benefits of the practice and all the effusive commentary we hear on it from friends, it can be hard to get motivated to do yoga. It takes time, patience, sweat, discipline and money. For those of you who have been avoiding gettin’ all stretched out at the Church of the Open Hip (trademark, Rebecca Onion) due to the financial strain, you have no more reason to complain. Seventh Street Yoga is offering a promotional special that allows you to take unlimited yoga classes for only $75/month. The program requires a minimum two month commitment, but if you’re a regular practitioner or a curious novice, it seems the deal is worth exploring. Find out more at the their Web site.
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Your A-List: Best Place to Sip Wine
The wave of condos downtown, as well as on the east side and SoCo, has been accompanied by an explosion of wine bars.
While these new bars have seen varying degrees of success and patronage, you’d have to drive a little further north to find the winner of the Your A-List poll for Best Place to Sip Wine.
A little over a mile up Guadalupe St. from The University of Texas, bordering Hyde Park, you will find Vino Vino, winner with 19 percent of the vote.
Opened in October of 2006 by Jeff Courington and Kelly Bell, the refined yet warm and inviting bar offers tables for groups of all sizes and an impressive collection of over 300 bottles of wine, priced from $17 - $80. The establishment, which initially offered only full bottles of wine, has since expanded to include wines by the glass ($6 - $15) as well as a delicious menu that can meet any appetite, with offerings ranging from small plates (cheese assortment, calamari, charcuteries, etc.) to full meals (pasta, beef short ribs, fish).
The wait staff is always affable and eager to assist the non connoisseurs, with the house’s “random red” (a daily house selection ranging in price) often serving well as an introduction for those who are intimidated by wine lists or simply indecisive. (For you beer lovers, Vino Vino also offers Real Ale, Chimay and Full Sail drafts.)
Outside of being Hyde Park’s preferred evening destination for dates, groups of friends and families looking to sip wine, the folks at Vino Vino also offer Saturday tastings from 3 p.m. - 5 p.m. and larger-scale events, such as its springtime Pink Fest, where they offer samplings of 44 roses, and its fall Turkey Fest.
This weekend the good folks at Vino Vino will be celebrating the fizzy stuff, with its Oodles of Bubbles Fest ‘08, which allows customers to pay $10 to sample all 41 of the bar’s bubbly offerings. Ooddles of Bubbles takes place in Vino Vino’s parking lot this Saturday from 2 p.m. - 4 p.m.
Vino Vino
4119 Guadalupe
465.9282
Others receiving votes
- Cru, 14 percent
- Malaga, 14 percent
- Cork & Co., 12 percent
- Uncorked, 8 percent
- Vespaio, 7 percent
- Wink, 6 percent
- Green Pastures, 5 percent
- House Wine, 5 percent
- La Traviata, 3 percent
- Enoteca, 2 percent
- Zoot, 3 percent
- Saba, 1 percent
Write-in: Vino 100, The Grove, Salt Lick
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Wanna be a U.S. Senator from Illinois? Get out your credit card
The silly, silly Internets are at it again.
As you may have heard, Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich has gotten into just a little bit of hot water by trying to profit off the appointment of President-elect Barack Obama’s resigned senate seat.
Now, it can be yours. The seat is up for sale on eBay, with a current bid of $99 million. Better start saving up that baby-sitting money.
In related news, the Minnesota Independent says that Obama’s incoming Chief of Staff, former Illinois congressman Rahm Emanuel, is rumored by GOP sources to be the whistleblower on Gov. Blags. So much for those sharp elbows being intended strictly for Republicans. (More on that development from Daily Kos.)
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Apple getting that NASCAR application ready for new iPhone?
Soon, even your third cousin Cletus will have an iPhone.
The rumors have been flying around the Internet, and now it seems more and more likely that Walmart will soon be selling a low-end iPhone with 4GB of memory.
Bloggers and the commenterati have been going crazy slamming the idea and are up-in-arms of their status symbol being reduced to purchase by the lowest-common-denominator shopper at America’s least-cool store, with one commenter going so far as to say that the new budget iPhones should be sold in a gross brown color in order to signify that the user is simply a poseur and not a hip “true” iPhone user. This is what we’ve come to.
Of course, the punishment may simply be in the phone itself, as 4GB does not seem like it will allow for much storage of music and videos or any of the gillions of cool applications that Mac offers for the bigger, “real” iPhones.
Let the stampede (of customers and slaggers-off) begin. Or at least soon.
Update: Since I know next to nothing about technology, I asked our tech writer Omar Gallaga for his take on the latest developments. He says: “Yeah, it’s looking like it’s gonna stay close to $200 and won’t be the 4GB one. Apple is already undercutting its premium pricing with AT&T. They won’t want to go any lower than that for at least another 6 months.”
He goes on to say that he thinks it will be the 8 GB for around $197 and possibly the 16GB, as well, if the Walmart rollout happens.
“The 4GB was discontinued quite a ways back. It’s not like Apple to go digging back through their old stock and reintroducing it at a cut-rate,” Gallaga said.
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Fran Drescher hopes to whine her opponents into submission in the U.S. Senate
Andrew Cuomo, Caroline Kennedy, Fran Drescher … one of these things is not like the other. One of these things just isn’t the same.
With Al Franken running for senate in Minnesota and Jesse Ventura having already been that sober-minded state’s governor, it was starting to seem like the northern state had a monopoly on strange political choices. New York may soon be throwing its hat into the ring, as word has come out that actress Fran Drescher has designs on the senate seat vacated by Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton.
“Fran Drescher, actress, women’s health advocate and public diplomacy envoy for the U.S. State Department, announced that she is throwing her hat into the ring of contenders for the senate seat being vacated by Secretary of State-designate Hillary Rodham Clinton,” Drescher spokesman Jordan Brown told CNN in a written statement late Monday.
Well, good for her, I guess. I had no idea of her previous diplomatic experience.
Now if we can only get Mr. Belvedere appointed as Ambassador to the U.N., we’ll really have something going.
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The 2009 presidential inauguration: It’ll get ya drunk
Millions of visitors are expected to descend on the city to celebrate Barack Obama’s presidential swearing-in on Jan. 20. The council hopes to accommodate the throng by allowing licensed restaurants and taverns to serve drinks later and to keep their doors open 24 hours a day for the whole week. At the request of Mayor Adrian M. Fenty, a Democrat, the legislation excluded nightclubs, which would have had to continue observing the current closing hour of 2 a.m. However, council member David A. Catania, at-large independent, moved after the vote to remove the nightclub exclusion from the bill, and his amendment carried 8-5. Council member Jim Graham, Ward 1 Democrat, who introduced the bill, said the measure will allow the city’s entertainment industry to “engage fully” in inauguration week, which includes Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Jan. 19. Mr. Graham said the measure also will encourage celebrations that are safely indoors. He pointed to the boisterous revelers on election night as an example for the city to try to avoid. “On election night there were just throngs of people who were pouring into the street, and I think people may be safer celebrating inside than be wandering the streets,” he said.
It’s nice that the city is trying to accommodate a historic celebration, but you think people would want to remain somewhat sober so that they can actually remember being in D.C.
I can’t decide if this is a fabulous idea or a horrible one (although I am leaning toward the latter), and good luck finding a cab in the snow at 5:01 a.m. Regardless, someone better save me a stool next to Liam Murphy at Ireland’s Four Fields.
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Your A-List: Most Annoying Pseudo-Celebrity
Katharine Hepburn and Oscars. Barry Bonds and NL MVP Awards. Leslie Cochran and Most Annoying Pseudo-Celebrity in Austin nods. Fairly or not, it seems some people were just born to win certain awards. For the second year in a row, Austin’s most recognizable cross-dresser has received the ignominious prize, receiving a couple of more votes than cycling legend Lance Armstrong and fashionisto Stephen Moser.
People have as many varied reactions to Leslie as there are urban tales about his background and current living situation. Is he really a former UT professor? Does he live in a giant mansion in West Austin? And the list goes on.
What is known about Leslie is that you can hardly visit downtown on a weekend night without spotting him smoking cigarettes and chatting up locals and tourists alike. Whether he received this “honor” for his rather skimpy clothing (and sometime boorish behavior) or because others are jealous that he seemingly makes a living (and has his image branded on gifts sold around town) by being “weird” is unclear. Regardless, I am sure he is none to hurt at the recognition. After all, there is no such thing as bad press, right?
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Fifty ways to lose your lover (NHL edition)
Chances are you’ve seen, or at least heard about, this clip that comes to us from the slowly dying NHL. Apparently schoolyard antics aren’t just for the playground anymore.
We all know what it’s like to lose a lover, and sometimes we even know that special pain of losing said to a peer. But rarely are any of us in the position to ridicule the two other people on national television. And rarely would any of us be so juvenile to do so. Apparently the Dallas Star’s Sean Avery does not have the same compunction.
In the locker room before facing the home team Calgary Flames, the notoriously wheels-off Avery blasted his ex-girlfriend, actress Elisha Cuthbert, and her new boyfriend, Flames defenseman Dion Phaneuf. Boo yea! I know you are, but what am I?
The obvious premeditation is fairly skittishizing, but the response of his poor teammates is pretty funny, especially considering the Canadian accents.
Apparently Avery does not ascribe to the ol’ “a life well lived is the best revenge” adage.
Not certain if Cuthbert and Phaneuf responded with, “I’m rubber, you’re glue.” But the NHL did respond swiftly, suspending Avery indefinitely. Come on, NHL. You’re sport is struggling on a cable network that nobody can find on their cable box, and you suspend the one dude who is certain to enrage other players and entice them to fight? That reeks of an NBA-level of overcontrolling PR.
(For the record, the visiting Stars won last night’s game 3-1.)
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You may want to think twice before ordering books from Amazon.com
‘Tis the season to find a way to not spend a lot on holiday gifts. You know, recession and all. While it’s always nice to get something personal for your friend/family/loved one, sometimes the easiest and best gift is a book. Fortunately, we are blessed with the presence of BookPeople, and Half-Priced Books for that matter (but you can really only go used book for a younger sibling), but many people still prefer to order their books online. The behemoth of the online book selling world is obviously Amazon.com, but if you plan on ordering from said online purveyor this year, you may want to read this first.
From the Village Books (in über-heady Bellingham, Wash.) blog:
With this being the beginning of Buy Local Week here in Bellingham I thought it appropriate that I post a response I sent to a very good question from one of our customers. He had just received our holiday catalog and was curious why the prices on some of our books were considerably higher than those of online retailer, Amazon. Here is the answer I sent to him. I’d love to have your comments.
Thanks for your note and the chance to let you know a bit about book pricing. The publisher sets the suggested retail price of a book and bookstores and other resellers buy the books for a discount off of that price. Our discount is in the range of 40 - 45% off the retail price. Regular discounts that we give, such as our frequent buyer program, school discounts, our birthday card discounts, etc. pare that margin down to below 40%. The costs of operating a bricks-and-mortar retail establishment—occupancy, personnel, etc. eat up most of what remains. In the most profitable days of retail bookstores bottom-line profits were about 2%. Stores have struggled for several years to get back to that point in spite of low compensation (including that of owners—Dee and I make less than we would if we had stayed in education) and controlling every possible expense.Amazon and other online retailers have created a very low-cost delivery system, though it’s still unclear whether they really make money on the book part of their business, given all of the other products they sell. We simply cannot compete with those vendors on price. What we believe we do deliver is a contribution to the quality of life in the community that remote mail order businesses cannot and will not provide. Each reader will make his or her choice on the basis of what is most important to them. Retail bookstores may well be the buggy whip stores of a previous century. In 1992, when I was president of the American Booksellers Association there were about 4500 independent bookstores. Today there are fewer than 1500.
Village Books has had a good run, coming up on thirty years. It may be that “the times they are a changing.” And, we too, may go the way of the dodo bird and dinosaur. But, it’s not going to happen soon. Many folks understand the difference between price (what one pays for an item) and true cost (what one gets and/or sacrifices for it). Many believe that what we, and other independent businesses, contribute to the life of the community makes the cost of buying from us lower than buying from Amazon or WalMart or…
We hope you see the value of what we, and other independent businesses, contribute to the quality of life in our community. We truly appreciate your business and will continue to strive to provide great value. Thanks again for your note.
Point being: buy local this holiday season. It may cost a couple of bucks more, but come on, you’re buying books as gifts, you can at least do it with a clean conscience, you cheapskates. (Thanks to Ingrid for the tip.)
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The beginning of the end of journalism? (Part eleventy hundred)
Chances are, if you have a computer (or a phone), you’ve probably made a customer service call that directed you to a call center in India. No shock there. The world is flat, just ask Thomas Friedman. But the whole outsourcing thing has really gone to a new level.
Maureen Dowd’s column in the New York Times yesterday featured a man by the name of James Macpherson who runs Pasadena Now, an online news outlet “in” Pasadena, Calif.
With his profit margins apparently struggling, Macpherson decided to save some money by outsourcing his content and reporting to an outpost on the other side of the world.
So, he thought, “Where can I get people who can write the word for less?” In a move that sounded so preposterous it became a Stephen Colbert skit, he put an ad on Craigslist for Indian reporters and got a flood of responses.He fired his seven Pasadena staffers — including five reporters — who were making $600 to $800 a week, and now he and his wife direct six employees all over India on how to write news and features, using telephones, e-mail, press releases, Web harvesting and live video streaming from a cellphone at City Hall.
“I pay per piece, just the way it was in the garment business,” he says. “A thousand words pays $7.50.”
Reporting on events in California from India … what could go wrong, right?
Um …
I checked in with one of his workers in Mysore City in southern India, 40-year-old G. Sreejayanthi, who puts together Pasadena events listings. She said she had a full-time job in India and didn’t think of herself as a journalist. “I try to do my best, which need not necessarily be correct always,” she wrote back. “Regarding Rose Bowl, my first thought was it was related to some food event but then found that is related to Sports field.”
Read the whole column here, and get that resume ready. If local news can be outsourced, what can’t be? Maybe I should start Mumbaist. Fortunately, they’ll never be able to outsource fry cook positions, so there is some light to be found.
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