::For once I don't smell like cigarettes:: [/general/austin] (22:10)

September is here and the smoking ban is finally in effect. Amazingly the world didn't end, and Austin continues to go on pretty much the way it always has. I was down on 6th street last night and things seemed about like they always have on my weekly trek to the Ritz. I enjoyed my trip downtown much more than I usually do thanks to the smoking ban, and I can't say that I'm sorry I don't smell like cigarette smoke.

I predict that in a year nobody will really care that you can't smoke in bars here, and in 5 years the thought of smoking in a bar will be as foreign as the idea of smoking in a restaurant. It'll be something reserved places like Vegas where people people do strange and dumb things for no apparent reason anyways.

Things change, and life moves on. Austin has changed a lot in the 15 years I've been here. Not everything has been for the better, but this change certainly is.

::The best of the "best theatre in america":: [/general/austin] (09:32)

I'm a huge fan of the Alamo Drafthouse, and I don't find it hard to believe that it is best theater in america. It really is that awesome. But, it made me think for a minute which of the 6 Drafthouse locations is the best. Here's my stab: (in order, best to worst)

Downtown: Ok, how can you not give credit to the very first Drafthouse? Sure it's dumpy, and even on my scooter it can take a while to find somewhere to park. But, when you want the classic Drafthouse experience, this is the place to go. Walking up the steps is like walking into your own house. It may not quite be a multi-million dollar westlake mansion, but it just feels right.

Lake Creek: It pains me to say that there is anything good about northwest Austin, but it's true. The Lake Creek location is great. The front of the house has a nice Drafthouse feel, with the bar and the sitting room. The theaters are clean all nicely laid out. I think it does a good job of providing a cleaned up version of the classic location. Alamo Lake Creek doesn't get all the special events that the other locations get, but if you just want a place to watch a first run movie, it's a good choice.

West Oaks: West Oaks feels a lot like the Lake Creek location to me. It's clean and bright and has a nice front of house. It can get a bit cramped, especially when waiting for a popular movie, but it's still very nice. Alamo West Oaks has experimented a bit more with theater layout than the others, which makes it a unique experience. Being in a mall, I don't get quite the vibe I do from the Austin locations, but it is still a very good location.

Village: The Village location is the closest thing to the classic downtown experience. Part of it is that it is a bit older of a theater, giving it a similar "well-worn" feel, but it is also because the Village location does many of the big events and even has it's own regular attractions like Videoke. A year or two ago I would have have ranked the Village as the #2 location, but I'm very disappointed by the theater changes they made last year. Theater two, for example, was completely ruined. Seats can only be accessed from one side, and you have to crawl over more people than in other theaters. Many of the seats offer an unpleasant angle to the screen. It's just not the Drafthouse it used to be.

South Lamar: This is the newest Austin location. I heard they spent a lot of time designing it, but I have to say that it was time wasted. Alamo South Lamar completely fails to capture the spirit of the Drafthouse. The boring entry way is a big part of it. They've tried to make it interesting with the hanging decorations, but the lack of a bar or any sort of functional waiting area makes it really boring. It seems designed only as a place to queue up. The theaters are stadium seating. On paper, I'm sure this looks nice, but the tiers make mean that the tables don't have breaks for easy access to seats. I really don't want to have to climb over a dozen people to get to my seat. Ultimately, the South Lamar location is just boring. It doesn't make you want to come back like the others do. On the bright side, I will say that the food at the South Lamar location tends to be better than at the others. I've had some of the best Alamo pizzas there. Lately the food hasn't been that great, but it might just be a function of how busy they are when I've been there.

Westlakes: Well, some location has to come in last, and the San Antonio location is it. If Alamo South Lamar fails to capture the spirit of the Drafthouse, the San Antonio location has sucked all the life out of it and turned it into a zombie theater. I went when it first opened and haven't been back, even though I've been in that part of San Antonio half a dozen times since then and really wanted to watch something there. The floor plan suffers in much the same way as the South Lamar location. It is bland and uninspired, completely lacking in character. While even the worst Drafthouse is better than even the best mega-chain-theater, Alamo Westlakes makes that a much tougher call than it should be.

::Why I hate the Arbor Cinema :: [/general/austin] (16:56)

The truth is that I hate most movie theaters whose name doesn't begin with D and end in rafthouse(hint). But I don't have high expectations from them either. If I go to the 50 screen theaters, I expect to have a completely average experience at best. But when it comes to the "art" type theaters that show less mainstream movies, my expectations are raised abit. In Austin, there's Dobie Theater and the Arbor Cinema.

I was sad when the original Arbor was closed to make room for The Cheesecake Factory. But they relocated nearby, and even managed to keep those comfortable red seats that the old location had. But unfortunately, the first time I walked into the new Arbor, I was hit with the worst movie experience I've ever seen - The 2wenty. If you've never had to sit through this 20 minutes of drek, it's basically twenty minutes of loud obnoxious advertising for TV shows, pop stars and soda. I was glad to discover today that I'm not the only one who hates the 2wenty

I would expect an art theater to have at least some sense of style and attention to customer experience, but the good 'ol Arbor's corporate masters (Regal) are fully in control making sure it's just as bad as every other theater in town. Worse even, because the others only force you to sit through a couple of dumb slides and a commercial before the trailers. My first experience at the Arbor was bad. The second one made me decide never to return. Seeing a movie should be a pleasant experience. If I wanted garbage, I'd stay home and watch TV. (and since I don't even own a TV, you can probably imagine what the likelihood of that happening is)

::Chango's gets Wireless:: [/general/austin] (23:18)

Chango's makes the best burritos in Austin. Whenever I travel, I make a point of searching for new burritos. I've found some great ones, but I've yet to find one as good as at Chango's. In the acknowledgements of my book I even thank "Chango's, for the Maximo Burrito. If you had wireless, I'd live there."

Well, I guess it's time to pack my bags and move in, because Chango's now has WiFi. It appears to be provided by LESSnetworks. It looks like they are helping get quite a few hotspots up all over town. It's very interesting. The best thing is that now I don't have to go to Schlotzsky's in the morning just to get network access. I regularly use the wireless at Schlotzky's, but I dread going there in the morning since their breakfast menu is horrid. (they have the worst breakfast taco's I have ever tasted - even McDonald's couldn't put out something more disgusting)

Do take a look at the access points listed at the LESSnetworks site. Most of them don't seem to appear on the austinwireless.net node list yet.