Photo by Marjil M

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Austin

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AustinSync

Museum In Motion

Going Orange

Hey Chuy, How You Doin’?

Studenten in Wurstfest

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This Blows!

End This BcS

UT Top Ten

5 Classic Austin Favorites

No Child Left Behind

Best Pizza

Haunting at the Driskill

The Austinite Horoscope

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Meet the Staff! 2

Unique Photo Essay 23

Meet

the

Staff!

Celine H.

Hannah B.

Abi M.

Juli V.

Hanuli Abine

Abi M. would like you to know that she is so awesome. She is uncertain what else to say. As you can see from the picture, she takes on the “God” role in the group. Despite popu-lar belief, those are actually her hands, not messed up feet, though she is missing a few

paired organs. She thinks the Spurs and the Cowboys, especially Tony Romo, suck. However, she thinks that Colt McCoy is hot stuff and hopes to become his trophy wife someday, or at least his watergirl. She contributed “The Best Pizza in Austin,” “Leaving Kids Behind,” and “Going Orange.”

Celine H. likes skipping and jumping on the purple paw prints outside the school. She also enjoys climbing trees, but recommends that you do not do that in sandals. Ce-line deals in black-market Girl Scout cookies behind the school every day, and she

is trying to convince Coach McNiel to start an Equestrian Club. She also did not tell Juli what she wanted to have written about her, so Juli took some creative license. Celine made the Ta-ble of Contents, “Texas 10,” “Studenten in Wurstfest,” “Unique”, and “5 Classic Austin Favorites.”

Hannah B. is the regal figurehead of the group who enjoys posing as a saguaro cactus. She loves animal crackers, but she has no preferences to how they are eaten—i.e., she doesn’t bite the heads off first. She also likes to sing opera at the top of her lungs while she is

home alone. Hannah contributed the cover page, “This Blows!,” “Museum in Motion,” and “Haunt-ing at the Driskill.” She also exercised her Photoshop skills in the process of making this page.

Juli V. is the duct tape that binds the group together and is older than she appears to be… or at least that would explain her obsession with Pink Floyd and The Eagles. She is also in love with Manu Gi-nobili, which is not a natural thing for a fifteen-year-old girl. She would also like to inform Abi that the

Spurs do not suck (as much as the Cowboys do). She contributed “End this BcS,” “Hey, Chuy, how you doin’?” and “The Austinite Horoscope.” She also wrote the staff descriptions, which is why they’re so good.

Hanuli Abine is the fifth member of the staff who inspired the page itself. The staff was in the process of taking pictures for this fabulous page when he savagely attacked them, chasing them across campus. While Juli, Hannah, and Celine climbed a tree in order to escape, Abi proceeded to call

in a high-pitched voice, “Heeeere, doggy doggy doggy!!” incurring the wrath of the hound and its owner. Undeterred, Abi followed the dog home where he bit her and she contracted rabies. She then wrote her stories. Let’s all send her a fruit basket. Not really. She doesn’t deserve it for being so naïve and foolish. Hanuli contributed nothing to this magazine other than a near death experience of the staff and inspi-ration. His lengthy biography clearly reflects his superiority in the group. He is also natively Hawaiian.

Celine H.

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I plodded up the spotted stone stairs of the University of Tex-as at Austin, unlike the other kids who were bouncing up the same stairs. While most would assume my grumpy mood was because I don’t like UT, it was in fact the opposite. I resented and didn’t see the point visiting the school I loved but had as much chance to get accepted to as a rat has to be a chef- i.e., only in the movies. Techni-cally, going to the Liberal Arts and Science Academy should make my classmates and

me much more qualified and ready to go to UT, it’s basically a college prep school. Unfor-tunately though, a Texas law meant to help disadvantaged students from less than aver-age schools get into college has a serious side effect- its giving a huge disadvantage to students who chose to go to a harder than normal school.

This law, the top 10% law, guar-antees the top 10% of every graduating high school class a spot at UT and every other college in Texas. It has been debated since its placing onto paper, but nothing has been changed-until now. Affecting current 11th graders and be-low when they graduate, only the top 8% percent of each graduating will be automatical-ly accepted to UT, leaving 25% of the school holistic review.The top 10% law has always been debated, but this has

started a whole new round of debating. Many students are against this change, but I believe that it is a great plan and start to changing and fix-ing the top 10% law. It will give students from harder schools that might not make top 10% (at no fault of their own) a fighting chance to get into a school that every year

is getting harder and harder to get into, good student or not.The 2009 freshman class at UT was 85% top ten per-cent admissions- more than ever before since the law started. When that percent-age grows, the percentage of holistic review acceptances is less and less, making it ex-tremely competitive. It’s a cat-fight between great students. The students who are fighting for these few spots at UT aren’t any worse students than the top ten-ers. A lot of things affect who gets in the top 10% and the “quality” of the student. Imagine you live in the middle of the country, where there is one high school in the town with only 50 se-niors. The top 10% students here might have a 3.5 GPA and do average on their SAT-not bad, but not stellar. Now imag-ine you go to an application-only school with more gradu-ating seniors than that country school’s entire student body. A student here could have a 3.9 GPA, have a great SAT score and not make it into the top

thecommentary

By Celine H.

“It’s a catfight between great students”

Texas Ten

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10%, even though they are technically much better stu-dents. Students at harder schools are being punished for going to a more chal-lenging school, even though they should be accepted more readily-they are usu-ally more prepared than the students who make top 10. Top 10% students have been known to drop out of col-lege because it was just too overwhelming & they were not nearly prepared enough. Another huge prob-lem with the top 10% at UT is that too many students are eligible for UT-if everyone who qualified went, there wouldn’t be enough room! UT is forced to accept all the top ten-ers that want to go to there. UT’s percentage of ho-listic review is shrinking year-ly, making the spots nearly unrealistic to get. There are many, many stories of stu-dents who got great SAT scores, great grades who would do fantastic at UT, yet they are rejected. They aren’t bad students in the slightest- there just isn’t room. UT is slowly becoming a no-choice school, and the student body is becoming diluted, average.The supporters of the top 10% law claim it allows dis-advantaged students into schools they couldn’t go oth-erwise. They believe that it gives chances they need, and support to work hard in school. While true, it is dis-

couraging students at more competitive schools to not even try- and that is an un-fair and unacceptable ex-change. Their dreams are crushed. The original reason the 10% law was put into law was to allow more di-versity into the schools. The schools were primarily white back then, and they couldn’t accept people based on race at all- it was against the law. Now you can, so the original need of the law in unneeded!I believe UT changing to top 8% is a great start to chang-ing the whole top 10% pro-gram. There are many flaws in it that have been ignored, and finally one school-one of the major schools in Texas- is doing something about it.

Leaving Kids

Behind

commentary

By: Abi M.

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Leaving Kids

Behind

As the TAKS test approach-es, the teachers at Pearce

Middle School are frantically preparing their students for the upcoming tests. If 73.4% of the students do not pass the English TAKS, and 66.6% do not pass the Math TAKS, then the school will be closed down for not meeting AYP(adequate yearly progress) for the 5th consecutive year. What is causing this stress on teachers and students? The No Child Left Behind Act, established in 2002. Since the TAKS test last year, Pearce Middle School did not meet the AYP for Sci-ence and had to be re-pur-posed. This means that the school develops a proposal to reopen, and fires all admin-istration and teachers in the area of the failed tests. That is a horrible way to address the prob-lem of students fail-ing state mandated tests. It is giving up on teachers in-stead of trying to directly deal with specific problems in their teaching. It also gives up on students, by blam-ing the teachers and administration for problems that may be specific to students. Also, the No Child Left Behind Act does not address students that did not pass due

to specific situations, such as dyslexia, Spanish-speakers, or students that don’t care if they pass. The main thing this does not help is students that are living in extreme pov-

erty. 92 percent of students at Pearce Middle School are eligible for free or reduced lunches and most students are classified as low-income. Although the assignment of a new administration may help unmotivated students, it does not help students that come from bad situations at home. Even though schools may show improvement, the No Child Left Behind Act still re-

quires them to pass the TAKS test. If the state had given Pearce one more year, they would have been rated as

academically acceptable in all subject areas because the scores were so close to pass-ing. Reagan High School has been rated academically un-acceptable for several years,

but because they have shown significant gains in most subjects, the state has allowed them more time to raise scores. If Pearce had received the same courte-sy, the scores would have

been increased drastically. Another thing that the No Child Left Behind Act does is waste government funding. When schools fire their teach-ers, more teachers must be hired. But, because of the schools academically unac-ceptable rating, teachers are less likely to want to teach there. Therefore, schools must pay their teachers more, and in the case of Pearce Middle

School, the administra-tors were given a very large bonus to coax them to work there. This is not helping solve our national debt prob-lem, and wastes mon-ey that could be going to help poor students. I think that the No Child Left Behind Act should be abolished. It is unhelpful to students and causes unneces-sary stress on teachers.

Instead, we should focus on helping individual students with special needs and situations.

If 73.4% of the students do not pass the English TAKS, and

66.6% do not pass the Math TAKS, then Pearse will be closed down.

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Commentary

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This Blows!Lying in bed, barely awake, I concentrate

on listening to the soothing sounds of my neighborhood surroundings. The birds are

chirping, the neighbors are chatting and the-WRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!-leaf blow-ers are at it again... I groan and get up, waving my white flag to the unwanted alarm clock. For as long as I can remember, I have hated leaf blowers. Their sound, their smell, their supreme absence of an actual purpose, all of it repels me. Passing them on the street, I cringe thinking about their users either igno-rance or lack of concern to the leaf blower’s many faults. The machines are noisy, stinky, polluting, and for what? To blow some leaves around. That seems like a pretty big waste to me. My biggest immediate problem with the machines is that they are noisy and irritating. The EPA says that noise depletes the quality of life by inhibiting conversation, restricting the quality of tasks, especially complex, and caus-ing general frustration that lasts even after the noise has stopped. Ac-cording to sound experts at Los Altos, Claremont, and UCD, the noise pro-duced by leaf blowers is irritating because of its particular amplitude, pitch, and lack of control by the listener. Not only is the noise just plain annoying, it can be damaging to your hearing. The average leaf blower is 70-75dB measured at 50 feet away. The World Heath Organiza-tion recommends an outside noise level around 55dB or lower, and 45dB for healthy sleep. This means that a even a low noise level leaf blower producing only 65dB would be 100 times* too

loud to allow for healthful sleep. Continuous noise can also be responsible for rises in blood pressure levels as well as heart rate. Though these machines are harmful to the listener, the hearing impairments are even more danger-ous for the user. People within 3 feet of a leaf blower (and try using one without being at least that close) are exposing themselves to around 99dB of noise, which, even with earmuffs, is severely damaging to the hearing. With the se-verity of the problem clearly laid out, it is ap-palling to me that some people would be will-ing to risk their own hearing abilities in order to blow every last leaf off their lawn. By making this choice, people are not only putting them-selves in danger, they are, unknowingly and selfishly putting their planet in danger as well. The emissions from leaf blowers today are absolutely horrendous. In a report from the EPA based on a 2000 California study, leaf blow-ers emit 145 more hydrocarbons, 7.5 times more carbon monoxide, and 11 times more particu-

late matter in an hour than a light duty ve-hicle getting 15 miles to the gallon, driven at 30 miles an hour. Think about it. That’s leaf blower hydrocar-bon emission that, in

just half an hour, are equal to the emissions pro-duced from a round trip from Denver to San Di-ego. When you add it up, that’s 2.6 million tons of carbon dioxide emitted each year in the Unit-ed States. Each year, leaf blowers burn enough fuel to fill 6.4 million barerels of oil. But not all of it goes to actually producing energy. The leaf blower’s two-stroke engines are so inefficient

Each year, leaf blowers burn enough fuel to fill 6.4 million barerels of oil.

By: Hannah B.

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that they release 30 percent of unburned fuel with the exhaust. That’s 1.92 million barrels of oil per year completely wasted. Since 200, the EPA has released “Standards for Small Spark Ignition Hand Held Engines” which restrict emmitions and noise levels. Though this small recognition had been made, many leaf blowers sold today still fail to meet these new standards. We simply cannot possibly support such a wasteful habit. The last thing that really gets me about these lawn maintenance tools is their productiv-ity, or lack thereof. As far as I’ve seen, all leaf blowers do is, well, blow dead leaves off your lawn. How hard is it to just grab a rake and do it yourself? Raking a lawn on a Saturday morn-ing is good, satisfying, exercise. I certainly ap-preciate a well-raked lawn more if I was the one who raked it. “But it’s time consuming!” people complain. Not really. In a test by the Department of Water & Power Leafblower Task Force, Diane Wolfberg, a grandmother in her late 50s was timed raking different areas such as a porch, lawn, and driveway, against a gas powered and battery powered leaf blower. In all three tests, she (pardon the pun) blew them away. Diane

cleaned the areas faster and better than all of the battery powered leaf blowers, and significantly better and almost as fast as the gas powered blowers. If this grandmother can do it, then you have no excuse. Raking your lawn is only a small bit more time consuming, and it is much better for you, your neighbors, and the environment. All the facts are here, showing clearly that the cons of leaf blowers are undoubtedly over-whelming. They are noisy, stinky, inefficient, pol-luting, and just overall unpleasant. If you are one of the millions of people faced with these facts that can live with simply turning a blind eye and continuing to use the machines, fine. But for the rest of you, I pose the simple question: What’s more important, the overall health and well being of you, your peers, and your planet, or the satis-faction in the ability to blast that last little leaf into oblivion? It’s your choice. I think you know mine.

*The dB scale is logarithmic. An increase of 10 (60 to 70 dB) indicates a noise 10 times louder.

Invest in a rain barrel! The free water is good for you, and the conservation is good for the envoronment.

Keep your lawn mower blades sharp! Dull blades cause an unnecessary use of en-ergy and can tear up your grass.

The taller, the better! Raise the blades on your lawn mower to 3-4 inches. Taller grass needs less water, holds on to soil better, and can compete better with weeds.

Leave grass clippings! They serve as free and easy mulch for your lawn, and you don’t have to rake them.

Tips for Greener Lawn Care:

By Juliana V.

End this

B c S!An analysis of the BCS system and its effects on college football players and fans

Picture taken by surelyitsjohn

commentary

Acacophony of sound en-gulfs me as I walk down UT campus. There are

twice as many people as usual, and they are all clad in the same thing-- burnt orange and cowboy boots. Thousands of UT fans are heading to the football game of the day, their hopes high. Today, for a few hours, they can forget about all of the troubles of their lives and the world as they relax, yell at the opposing team and glory in their college football team's success. Of course, the team cannot be successful if the BCS sys-tem does not allow them to be. Consider last year's season. The Longhorns were highly successful. They had beaten their longtime, most hated rival Oklahoma, and they seemed prepared to go un-defeated. Then, on a last second play by Texas Tech's Graham Har-rell, that all changed. Harrell threw a touchdown pass in the final sec-onds, and that was it. The Long-horns were undefeated no longer. The Longhorns had only one loss, but under the BCS system, that was not good enough. Even though Texas had beaten Oklahoma, Okla-homa was allowed to play in the ti-tle game instead of Texas. OU lost. If the Longhorns had been able to compete in the championship game, they may have also lost. The fact of the matter is that they

were denied the chance to com-pete for the national title. The BCS system must be changed. The biggest issue with the BCS is that not enough teams get a chance to compete. Every year, there are at least five or six teams who deserve to compete for the championship, but only two of them get the opportunity. For example, in the Big 12 conference last year, there was basically a three-way tie. Texas beat Oklahoma, Okla-homa beat Texas Tech, and Texas Tech beat Texas. If these three teams had been allowed to have a playoff against other deserv-ing teams, such as Utah, Florida, and Alabama, then there would have been a series of entertain-ing games and a fairly determined champion. Every year, under the BCS system, there is a controversy because there is no clear winner. For example, even though Flori-da won the championship, beating Oklahoma, there are still people who believe that Texas could have defeated Florida. This makes for controversy, anger, dissatisfac-tion, and it is bad for the players themselves, even the winners. It is hard to feel good about win-ning when most people believe that you did not deserve the title. Many people involved with sports say that there are too many teams in the BCS to create a de-

cent playoff with-- that is, not ev-ery team will be able to play in the playoff anyways, and they might as well feel good about life play-ing in a bowl game. Also, the BCS puts emphasis on the regular sea-son, which is not so important in other sports such as pro basket-ball and major league baseball. My answer is that not every team deserves to make the play-off. In the NBA, teams like the Min-nesota Timberwolves or Memphis Grizzlies do not deserve a chance to get into the playoff, and in the BCS, teams that lose consistently do not deserve to make the play-offs either. But every college foot-ball season, there are at least five or six teams with one loss or no losses. They deserve to have a chance to win. Also, the regular season would still be important. If only a handful of teams get the opportunity to compete, then there will still be competition to get into the playoffs and importance in every game. The regular sea-son would not lose its meaning. Another problem with this sys-tem is the polling. Currently, three parties get opinions-- the college football coaches, the sports writ-ers, and a computer program that analyzes statistics. There are a few problems with this. Though the col-lege football coaches are qualified, they are still humans. This means

photo taken by TJ Blakem

an

Under the BCS system, the action cannot take place on the field.Sync 11

Talk to Congress and the political leaders of the United States, and even they will tell you that the system is flawed.

they are still humans. This means that there is going to be a bit of bias in every poll. Also, if the coaches are allowed to decide which teams are at the top, it is more likely that distortions will occur. The coach-es may persuade other coach-es to vote for their team, which makes the poll undependable. Next, the sports writers get a thir-ty three percent say. This is not a good idea because the media is of-ten subject to its own hype. Every year, teams like Notre Dame and USC are hyped up to be contend-ers. When the teams prove that they are not very good-- for exam-ple, USC recently lost to a team that had previously lost almost twenty games in a row-- the media

still keeps that team in the discus-sion. Arguments are made that the team has been good in past years, and therefore it will be good this season as well. Meanwhile, teams like Utah are going undefeated, but unmentioned. The teams who get to compete should prove that they are able to compete. They should not make the championship game based on the opinions of a few unqualified, biased sports writers. The last third of the polling sys-tem is based on a computer pro-gram. This is the best part of the system, seeing that computers are unbiased and their calcula-tions are based on facts. Howev-er, this is not a fail proof method. Sometimes, there are extenuat-ing circumstances that computers

are unable to grasp. Also, though the computers are the most ac-curate of the three polling groups, they make up the minority of the decision. This is unfair and il-logical, and it should be changed. Finally, the BCS system should be changed because the fans want it to be. One of the allures of college basketball is the under-dog. Every time one watches a playoff game during March Mad-ness, there is a chance that the small school will beat the larger one. America loves the under-dog, but in a bowl game, that is impossible. Lesser known teams are denied a chance to compete, and so, even if they are capable of beating that big, bad, Florida,

they are denied the chance to try. Talk to the average college football fan, and they will tell you about the controversy sur-rounding the previous champion, how their alma mater was cheat-ed out of competing, and how the system needs to go. Talk to Congress and the political lead-ers of the United States, and even they will tell you that the system is flawed. An article off of the ESPN college football site contains this quote. "Too often col-lege football ends in sniping and controversy, rather than winners and losers," Committee chairman Joe Barton said. "The current sys-tem of determining who’s No. 1 appears deeply flawed." The fans make the game, and if they are

unhappy, it is time to take action. Here is my suggestion-- a play-off. The top eight teams in the coun-try will be selected based on their records. If there is a tie, then the BCS way of deciding teams can be implemented- however, the sports writers will not get a say. The top eight seeds will be decided, and there will be four games the first weekend, two the next, and finally, the championship game. This way is not long and tiresome, and it still puts emphasis on the regular sea-son, as not very many teams will be able to make the playoffs. Also, in order to let all of the teams play, as in the bowl games, something similar to college basketball's NIT system, so that the other teams

can feel good about themselves. This way is better than the BCS because all the teams get to play, but more than two get a chance to win the actual championship. My proposal would alleviate contro-versy, let all of the teams who de-serve to compete play, make the sport fairer and make more fans happier. Because the BCS system does not promote any of those out-comes this BcS cannot continue.

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to Austin’s Most Haunted HotelCheck In...

When room 525 was re-opened in 1998 after years of being bricked off, many

strange things started to occur. The walls re-quired repainting 4 times, due to excessive peeling, an unconnected air conditioning vent left on the floor blew cold air, and the bath tub was filled with crystal clear water. The faucet was not dripping, the floor was completely dry, and the door had been bricked off for years!

The owner, Colonel Driskill himself, is said to roam the halls of the hotel, leaving a trail

of cigar smoke and flickering bathroom lights.

P.J. Lawless can regularly be seen on the first floor, in and around the elevators. He

lived in the hotel for 31 years, working as a ticket agent for International Great Northen Railroad. He can be easily spotted because of his early 20th century ticket-taker’s uniform and his routine checking of his watch, perhaps to check for phantom trains. He is the only of the Driskill ghosts to acknowledge the living, looking at and acknowledging many visitors.

Singer Annie Lennox had layed two dress-es out on her bed before taking a shower.

45 minutes later, after primping and shower-ing, she returned to find only one dress on her bed, and one hanging neatly in the closet. She took the ghost’s advice and wore the dress on the bed. Her room had been locked the entire time, and she had the only copy of the key.

A young girl haunts the first floor lobby, the ladies bathroom on the second floor

near the bar, and along the stairs leading to the mezza-nine. She died while chasing a ball down the grand staircase while her father, a senator, was attending the senate meet-ing. A few days later, she was back to haunt the hotel halls.By: Hannah B.

Photo Courtesy of The Driskill

Think back to when finger-painting and macaroni necklaces were a favorite pas-time. Recall the feeling of sticking your

hands in gooey goop, and coloring with crayons until they broke. Remember when you could be anything you wanted, a waiter, a train conduc-tor, or even a bat. All of these wondrous childhood sensations can be found in the urban core of Austin. A place of color, ex-ploration, and creativity, the Austin Children’s Museum con-tinues to delight and inspire kids and parents everyday. Filled with a vast variety of exhibits, the museum is located in the Dell Discov-ery Center at 201 Colorado St. This is only a tempo-rary home though. Plans for a move to the new Muller de-velopment are cur-rently underway. This move will provide the museum with a permanent space of its very own, which is exciting for staff and visitors alike.

“This is a very big thing for us,” says Ju-lie Almaguer, Marketing and Communications Manager for the museum. “It [the move] will al-low us to really bump it up to the next level.”

The new museum will be almost twice the size of the Dell Discovery Cen-ter and entirely the museum’s own. Prior to this, the museum rented pre-defined

spaces, which inhibited the creativ-ity of the exhibits. This will no lon-ger be a problem, since the move will give the museum the oppor-

tunity to build the entire structure from scratch, customized to fit its needs.

Upon hearing about the move to Muller and out of downtown, visitors have expressed some

concern about accessibility. According to Almaguer, this shouldn’t be a problem.

“Muller is only a few miles away,” she says. With all

these plans for the future, the history of the museum tends to be overlooked. The muse-um was the product of peo-

ple who wanted more creative learn-ing opportunities for the next generation. “It [the museum] was known as the ‘museum without walls,’” Almaguer says, “It was a group of parents and educators that would get togeth-er to provide a learning experience for kids.”

Established in 1983, the museum would

Museum in Motion

Pictures courtesy of The A

ustin Children’s M

useum

By Hannah B.

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travel to public places such as libraries, parks, and malls to do fun, hands-on activities with kids. These activities were simple, such as experiment-ing with paper parachutes or making Borax goo, yet there was always something educational that kids would take away from the experience. “After a while, the community started investing in this,” she says. “They began to realize it was valuable.” That support is what enabled the mu-seum to establish its first walls in 1987 on West 5th street. In 1997, it moved into the Dell Dis-covery Center on 2nd and Colorado. This space was larger still, but obtaining it had been no easy feat. The funding for the move had come from 81 donor gifts of $10,000 or more, and $1 million in lead gifts. This is just one example of the difficulty children’s museums have in obtaining funding. “The museum is funded in two ways,” Almaguer says, “through what we call ‘earned income’ which would be like donations, store profits, and birthday parties, and through vari-ous grants and corporation sponsorships.” The need for funding will never be fully satisfied, although the museum is doing pretty well for now. We can’t forget though, that this non-profit exists purely because of the support and care of the community. The museum’s adminis-trators believe that this is a small price to pay for such a priceless contribution to the community. “Adults enjoy it [the museum] too,” Al-maguer says, “It provides educational value beyond spending quality time with children.” Not that the children don’t enjoy it… What child doesn’t like playing doctor, making masterpieces at the creation-station, or being a chef at their very own restaurant? These perma-nent exhibits are favorites among visitors, who can always rely on the slide and the Austin Kid-die Limits exhibit for a good time. There is a tem-porary feature exhibit space as well; this desig-nated space takes up most of the ground floor and changes two to three times a year. The current exhibit is based on the PBS Kids GO! TV show, Cyberchase. This exhibit allows kids to use their math and critical thinking

skills to help save Cyberspace from the evil Hack-er. However, this exhibit will be replaced soon. “Coming in January, our next exhibit is “Air-fare” which explores the powers of moving air,” Almaguer informs me, “Later on that year, Air-

fare will be replaced by “The BIG Game” which is basically lots of oversized games.” All of these exhibits support the Austin Children’s Mu-seum’s belief that the most important skill

children can receive, is the ability to learn. This is an idea that has stayed with the museum through its many years, with and without walls, and will con-tinue to do so through the upcoming move, provid-ing the next generation with the abilities to think, recall, and remember the experiences of their child- h o o d .

“It [the move] will allow us to really bump it up to the next level.”

Pictures courtesy of The A

ustin Children’s M

useum

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by Celine H.

1. Barton SpringsFamous for its cold water and unique endan-gered salamanders, Barton Springs is an old classic of austin. When the heat starts rising in the summer, Barton Springs provides a great escape. Dedicated smimmers can be found all year long swimming early in the morning. Just don’t let the seaweed get you!

2. Congress BridgeHome to the largest Urban bat colony in Ameri-ca, Congress Bridge attacts tourists and locals alike to watch the bats leaving their home to go feed on bugs. Come with a blanket and some food and have a picnic under the beautiful aus-tin sky. The bats emerge mid-March to Novem-ber every night at dusk.

classic

AustinFavorites

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3. Whole FoodsThe first Whole Foods opened in 1980 in Aus-tin, with a mission to become a natural foods supermarket. Since then, Whole Foods has grown leaps and bounds. The headquarters is situated right in downtown Austin itself. Check out the chocolate fountain, delicious pizzas and gelatos. Come during lunchtime and have a huge, healthy taco made on the spot for you. There is loads to see-check it out!

4. The GreenBelt The Barton Creek Greenbelt-considered by many as just The Greenbelt- runs a little over 7 miles through Austin. It’s beautiful limestone cliffs, pools of water and much foliage amaze visitors. When the rain fills the rivers, you can go tubing and swimming in the crystal waters. Hikers and mountain bikers visit all year long, along with daring cliffside climbers. The Green-belt is a beautiful Austin jewel!

5. Waterloo RecordsWaterloo Records was established in 1982, when Austin was still a small college town and the Austin area was called Waterloo (hence the name). Waterloo has been one of the best music stores in Austin since established. Some credit goes towards it’s personal costomer service- feel free to listen to a whole album before you buy it in the relaxing atmosphere. Knoledgeble, friendly staff are always available to help you choose a new CD to try out. Live music is hosted commonly. Waterloo is a store that truly helps Austin be “The Live Music Capital of the World”.

Hey, Chuy,

How you Doin’?

The story be-hind Texas’ most

succssful Tex-Mex restaurant as told by the man behind

the metaphorical wheel.

By Juliana V. Photo by .imelda, flickr.com

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Photo by Lisa J. Parker at www.dontdrinkbees.com

Photo by .imelda, flickr.com

The aroma of Mexican food wafts through the open door and out-side, overwhelming the parking lot smells

of auto exhaust and fuel vapors. Inside, t-shirts, neon fish, and Elvis paraphernalia cover the brightly colored walls and ceilings. All that can be heard above background music is the jum-bled voices of happy customers as they enjoy their meals, and the crunching of chips laden with salsa. The atmosphere is relaxed; the wait-ers are clad in t-shirts and jeans, and chat com-fortably with their charges, recognizing a few regulars on sight. The feeling is hubbub and loosely controlled chaos. It is far from the ste-reotypical Mexican restaurant of the southwest. “Most of the [Mexican] restaurants were very predictable - Mexican hacienda feeling - and we were a little different,” says Mike Young, co-founder of Chuy’s Comida-Deluxe, known to its loyal customers simply as Chuy’s. “We want simple, casual, and fun.” We are sitting in the waiting area of the original Chuy’s, the one near Barton Springs. As we talk, Young tips his chair back comfortably, obviously in his element. Average height and middle aged, Young is only begin-ning to show physical signs of aging. He demonstrates a youthful exuberance that helps him relate to what young people in Austin want in their restaurants. And perhaps that is the biggest reason for Chuy’s success.

* * * * *

In the middle of the 1980s, Young and his business partner John Zapp owned and managed a fancy Italian restaurant, but they needed a change. We weren’t ‘fine dining’ type of guys,” Young says. “Our per-sonalities were more casual.” So they began creating Chuy’s. It was a while before the res-taurant got its name, though. “Lots of Spanish names have nick-names,” Young says. “‘Chuy’ is a very traditional nickname for Jesus, really for Jesse, and so growing up in South Tex-as, you heard ‘Chuy’ all the time. Nick Child and I were kinda trying to come up with a name...We walked into a bar downtown... and a buddy of mine was upstairs, and he looks up and says, ‘Hey, Chuy, what you doin’?’ And we said, ‘Okay, let’s eat lunch, we have our name.” The first Chuy’s on Barton Springs only cost about seventy-five thousand dollars total to start, which today would probably only cover architectural design costs. The site of the first Chuy’s was an old, worn out restaurant called Shady Q Barbeque. The men’s restroom was out-doors, and the women’s restroom and the office area were in a garage. What is now the Chuy’s waiting area was dirt. “People used to sit out here in the dirt and wait for us to call their names,” Young says. However, once customers started com-ing, Chuy’s was renovated and expand-ed. The business, as well as the physical restaurant, has expanded as well. There are now four Chuy’s restaurants in Aus-tin, three in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, three in San Antonio, four in Houston, and plans to expand even further, out of the state. Young’s new chief executive, Steve Hislop formerly worked for another restaurant group based in Nashville, Ten-nessee. Because of his familiarity with the area, Hislop is overseeing Chuy’s expan-sion into the Southeast. There are plans

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Photo by Jon Wiley, flickr.com

Photo by Freddie Avalos at Flickr.com

to construct new restaurants in Nashville, At-lanta, GA, Birmingham, AL, and other locations. Chuy’s has grown rapidly and is expanding quickly due to a few fac-tors, the foremost of which is the food. “We’re very committed to our food.” Young says. Everything at Chuy’s is fresh and homemade, except for the tortilla chips, which are bought. The food is not frozen and stored. A freezer con-tains ice cream and green chiles, but that is all. “I haven’t had anything there that didn’t taste good... and they make wicked good jalapeno sauce,” says Leslie Engles, a regular Chuy’s customer. She says that the fresh, good taste of the food keeps her coming back for more. Though most people consider Chuy’s to be a Tex Mex restaurant, Young observes that the menu is more New Mexican than Texan. “Really, about a third of the menu is New Mexi-can,” Young says. “When you’re doing new things, you always want to bring new things to the marketplace. If you go back that far, we brought the first blue corn products into Texas, the first green chiles, just a list of things that we brought in that didn’t exist [in Texas] before.” New Mexican inspired foods that are on the Chuy’s menu aside from green chiles and blue corn products include chalupas – a corn tortilla fried into a bowl shape and stuffed with meat, cheese and vegetables, chile rellenos –

chiles stuffed with cheese and spices, and pico de gallo – a cold salsa with chiles, tomatoes, and onions. The variety of Chuy’s menu, as well as its originality, has contributed to the restau-rant’s rise in the local and regional food world. “The homemade tortillas just really stand out in my mind,” says Patricia Goubil-Gambrell, an-other Chuy’s attendee. “I also appreciate that it’s quirky, with the Elvis as you go in... you want to take people from out of town there to show au-thentic Austin, the quirky, weird, side of Austin.”

Chuy’s relaxed, playful atmosphere contributes to Chuy’s success and helps it stand apart from the average Mexican res-taurant. The walls and tiles are bright and the decorations outlandish. Walk into Chuy’s and there is an explosion of color. Multicolored tiles spiral on the floor, and the walls are light pink. Elvis looks serenely down on the scene, large schools of colorful wooden fish dangle from the ceiling, and brightly colored (and cleverly worded) t-shirts hang from the rafters. “When we started doing this, we did ev-erything you are not supposed to do. Looking back, there were not any wild crazy restaurants. It started with the floor. We were sitting around at Robert Smith’s house and he had all these tile samples. One of us said, ‘Ah, let’s use all the colors!’ So we laid out all the different colors with white and said, ‘Hey, that’s cool, let’s do that.’ Well, once we came up with that, it went from there. It took on a life of its own,”Young says, ex-plaining the history of Chuy’s distinctive decor. For regular Chuy’s patron Katie Silver, the design, as well as the food, is a big rea-son to eat there. “The food is wonderful, the design is eclectic, and the people remem-ber our odd taste in food,” she says, refer-encing an experience where a waiter came up to her and mentioned her dining prefer-ences. “I've also been going for my entire life, so it's not only fun, but it's also tradition.”

* * * * *

Chuy’s, as well as be-ing delicious, changes lives. “We’ve been in business for thirty-five years,” Young says slowly, in a rare moment of seriousness, when asked about his personal fa-vorite aspect of Chuy’s. “We’ve had many em-ployees. I think the best part is seeing how people have used Chuy’s to enhance their lives, to reach goals.” He pauses, considering, and relates how once he was approached (and thanked) during a random meeting on a commercial airline flight by a man who had supported himself working at Chuy’s while attending the University of Texas School of Law, and who is now a successful attor-ney. Young seems to take special pride in a story he relates about a woman who worked at Chuy’s

as a waitress twenty years ago and now has her own design firm. Young has hired the design firm to help him with a new business venture. Young relates how another young man wanted to work at the restaurant on Barton Springs because his fa-ther met his mother while working there. Then the moment is over, and Young’s face splits open with a huge grin as he contemplates the future of Chuy’s. “Restaurant management is really just managing people, and that’s a skill set anyone can learn. But in the restaurant business, we have a lot of ‘you’re only as good as your last enchi-lada.’ The success of Chuy’s – of any restaurant – depends on what is in the window right this sec-ond. You always have to focus on the customer.” This is something Chuy’s has excelled at, and if they continue what they’re doing, there will be generations upon generations of Chuy’s lovers.

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Austin, Texas, USA

UNIQUE.by Celine H.

Christmas Tree at ZilkerPark

Austin Pets Alivesaving Austin pets daily

Artisan MarketOne of many booths

Lady Bird Park & Lake

Lady Bird Park & Lake

Downtown Austinvia the center of South Congress.

Crepes MilleSouth Congress avenue delish.

Sherry Sanchez is a 35-year-old Austinite living with MS. Even though the disease does impair her daily life, she still finds time to vol-unteer for the National MS Society. Participating in the steering com-mittee for the MS150 is just one of the many things she does for the MS So-ciety. Every year, the Texas Chapter of the MS Society raises over 1 million dollars to help fund research that is helping to find a cure for Multiple Scle-rosis, a disease that affects around 350,000 people in

the United States alone.“…the MS society is in a learning curve right now, with how they can best utilize vol-unteers. I think that they have made steps year over year with how to coordinate them

and how to assign roles and responsibilities better.” San-chez says about problems she has with volunteering with the MS Society. “That’s [not giv-ing volunteers jobs] the prob-lem with any non-profit orga-

nization because volunteers are volunteers, sometimes they show up and sometimes they don’t. I think that if the MS Society had a better way of tracking who was and who wasn’t giving commitments,

and giving training so they could offer posi-tions in advance to get people who are more likely to take it seriously, and honor the commitment and

actually participate when they say they are going to.” The recent move of the MS Walk to Round Rock is another factor that caused less people to at-tend the Walk this year.

“83 cents of every dollar raised does go towards research programs for people with MS”

Going Orange for M.S. By: Abi M.

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By: Abi M.

Instead of Central Austin, where most people can eas-ily get to, it was moved up to the Dell Diamond, a more ex-pensive and less convenient location. In the past, the Walk has taken place on week-ends where there is some other big fundraising event going on, such as Susan G. Komen or other cancer soci-eties. Having it on Halloween is also another negative to the MS Society’s planning. But, there are also many good things that come out of volunteering. “I re-ally enjoy getting to know the people and other family members and people living with MS or dealing with the

family members that have had it and some other per-sonal connection, learning more about it,” Sherry San-chez says. For people living with MS, volunteering is a re-ally good thing you can do be-cause it directly impacts you. “I think they [the MS society] do a lot more good than most non-profit groups because 83 cents of every dollar raised does go to-wards research programs for people with MS,” says San-chez. “It directly impacts MS in some way, whereas a lot of other organizations don’t contribute that amount to the actual cure or the cause”. Donating more of the money

they raise is a big factor that leads volunteers to the cause. Some other events, such as the BP MS150 get a lot more attention in the news and are more success-ful. Thousands of bikers will ride 182 miles from Houston to Austin on April 17-18. This is the major fund raiser for the MS Society, as last year, the MS150 raised 17 mil-lion dollars to help fight MS. Even though a cure for Multiple Sclerosis has not been found, you can contrib-ute to research and develop-ment to help millions of peo-ple living with this disease.

Sherry Sanchez and her husband Michael Sanchez at the MS Walk

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The Best

By: Abi M.

In Austin

1 Brick OvenFor those Austinites who prefer a little more upscale dining experi-ence, Brick Oven is the place. Their menu has a wider variety of foods than most pizza places, so the healthier can eat there too. Their pepperoni pizza had just the right amount of sauce, cheese and pepperoni, and the bread wasn’t too doughy. The minestrone soup had a little too much squash and zucchini and not enough other types of veggies for my taste, but in all it was ok.

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SalvationSalvation Pizza, located in Central Austin, is a great place for families to dine. The service was a little slow, but the pizza was definitely worth the wait. Normally, I prefer thick crust over thin, but this pizza completley changed that view. To make up for the lack of crust, they added a ton of spices such as basil and garlic to make the pizza more flavorful. It was pretty cheap, only 15 bucks for a pizza that 3 people could eat. I also really enjoyed the outdoor dining area.

4

3 Austin Pizza GardenI’ve driven by this place on my way to school al-most every day, but I’ve never stopped there. The dark sheet of ivy growing along the front of the building makes it difficult to notice in the light. You are required to pay extra for the crust to be thick-er, but it was well worth the extra two dollars. The sauce was very flavorful and the cheese had just the right amount of thickness. When I first looked at my pizza, I couldn’t tell if there was pepperoni, but then I realized that it was just under the thick layer of cheese.

East Side Pies5 Located right by Kealing Middle School, Eastside Pies is a very popular destination for students. Having eaten this pizza once a month for 3 years, it can get a bit tiring. I personally don’t like thin crust, and there is no option for thicker crust. The cheese is greasy and in all, just not worth your time.

Conan’s2 The hanging ivy plants that are all la-beled with unique names are just one of the pieces that make Conan’s a very interesting place to eat. I found the crust to be a little under-cooked, and the cheese to be unnecessarily thick (I had to eat it with a fork), but the delicious Canadian Bacon and Pepperoni toppings made the experi-ence all right for me.

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Studenten

O On any other day, being greeted by a man in lederhosen and knee-high socks in Texas would be a strange and highly un-likely experience. But every year, for a little over a week, high socks and lederhosen are barely given a second glance. German classes from all around central Texas bus over to Wurstfest to spend the day in Ger-man culture. “When I first walked through the Wurstfest gates, I saw crowds of happy teens, deli-cious foods, and rides” recalls Sarah Marti-nez, a freshman at LASA High School. This is the third time she has been to Wurstfest, and while it doesn’t change much, it is still fun, she says. Wurstfest is divided into three main parts. In the center, a portable tent

holds dancing to live German folk music that absolutely radiates with energy. A man stands in the middle, smiling and laugh-ing while he asks the crowd a multitude of things. “Step left, step right, up and down!” he shouts in the microphone to the group below the stage. A few minutes later, a band takes over, playing songs the majority of the teenagers there had never heard be-fore. Once your hunger catches up to you, the building a few steps away is your des-tination. Here, Kartoffel Puffers, bratwurst, sweetened roasted almonds are just a few of the options available to buy. If you want a keepsake, little shops sell t-shirts, paint your faces and much more. After your fill of food and music, you can walk back to the

By Celine H.

in wurstfest

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wurstfest

carnival, where there is a multitude of rides, some that you simple walk through and look at your distorted reflection, and others where you go upside down and are twirled around at high speeds (not suggested to ride right after filling yourself up on wurst and pancakes, however). There is some-thing for almost everyone!“Wurstfest is great because it’s a good way to connect with the German culture; it makes what we are learning in German class make slightly more sense,” explains Sarah. German is not the easiest language out there, and especially with its native

home so far away from us, it can be hard to get the feel of the language. While Wurstfest is Americanized, it is still a great way to get out of the same

old classroom and get a new view on the language

you’re are learning. “It’s a rare opportunity for German students to experi-ence Texas German cul-ture right at home” furthers Frau Jaworski, the teacher of both the LASA and Kealing German classes. She has been bringing students to Wurstfest every year since she started teach-ing eight years ago, and she doesn’t plan on stopping any time soon. The students love it; she loves it. Ready to show off your fanci-est German ensemble? Then head off to Wurstfest, a festival where American and German culture combines to create fun and educational time.

Future Wurstfest Dates

2010 - Oct 29 - Nov 72011 - Nov 4 - 132012 - Nov 2 - 11

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The Austinite

Pisces(Feb. 19-March 20)

Keep being your usual, helpful self and you will be re-warded by tickets to a Longhorns game

Aries(March 21-April 19)

You will destroy a com-puter at a local high school out of frustration.

Taurus(April 20-May 20)

You’ve been too hard on yourself recent-ly: Go frolic in Zilker Park with a kite today.

Gemini(May 21-June 21)

Gather a group of your closest friends and go swim at Bar-ton Springs. Don’t for-get your sunscreen!

(June 22-July 22)

Watch a movie on the Imax at the Bob Bull-ock Museum today, and you will find what you’ve been looking for.

CancerLeo(July 23- Aug 22)

We would stay away from the danger-ous chemicals in the University of Texas labs if we were you.

horoscope

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By Juliana V.

The editors of AustinSync look into the stars and see the future

Virgo(Aug 23- Sept 22)

Yes, it is entirely pos-sible to catch pigeons on UT campus, but we don’t recommend it.

Libra(Sept 23- Oct 22)

You will win the Texas Lottery!

Scorpio(Oct 23- Nov 21)

Keep Austin weird on your birthday: visit the epitome of weirdness, Toy Joy

Sagittarius(Nov 22- Dec 21)

Head on down to the Frank Erwin cen-ter for sports, food, and entertainment.

Capricorn(Dec 22- Jan 19)

Tragedy will be-fall you on Lake Travis if you don’t wear a life jacket!

Aquarius(Jan. 20- Feb 18)

The musical Hair is coming to town, and you’ll regret it if you don’t go...

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