Austin events anyone?

It's been an eventful weekend here in Austin. Yesterday, I hosted the Bluebonnet Elementary bookfair at Barnes and Noble. We did stories, face painting and a Mothers' Day poetry reading but the real attraction was our bulldog mascot named Peaches. She is a great inspiration for books and reading as she herself is a literate dog. Deaf from birth, Peaches learned to read commands from her persistent owner who happens to be our principal at Bluebonnet. The school had bulldog pride way before Peaches or Mrs. McVey, the principal, came four years ago. It was providence it seems that Peaches would inspire this Title 1 school to stretch their reading skills. Many ESL kindergartners have found great inspiration in routines such as these that we saw at B&N yesterday. Click here to read more about Peaches. I tried super hard to upload a video of Peaches doing her tricks but it just wouldn't work. So sad.

In other news, Matt and I hopped on the trendy punk rocker band wagon by attending the Austin Roller Derby last night. Guilty as charged, we only became aware of this underground phenomenon after watching Drew Barrymore's sensationalized "Whip It" flick. It was great fun though; and we became much more absorbed by the game, tactics and rules than expected. It was the Holy Rollers v. the Hellcats. If the sport was based on costumes/jersey's alone then the Hellcats would have had the Holy Rollers beat with their greasy Steve Buscemiesque coach and their skanky short pink smocks with leopard underware and fishnet tights. The Holy Rollers had a less flashy get-up with mini pleated plaid skirts and white shirts. They did have a curvy black pleathered Mother Superior shouting out plays - which was pretty impressive. So maybe this costume and coach competition ended in a tie...



The game had some impressive athletic manuvering and made for a compelling show. It was so rough and tumble that when a ref called a penalty on one of the players, it was unclear which of the thrown elbows and body slams was not "legal". Still, penalties called for a spin of the Penalty Wheel that determined whether or not the penalized player would have to arm wrestle, pillow fight on skates, long jump or simply wrestle (what all the other penalties ended up becoming in the end) the other girl. It may seem like WWF staging but it is for real. These roller derby teams are mainly comprised of underpaid working class gals that make their living off of waiting tables and such. In fact, lots of them are uninsured and when they get an injury from the sport the audience usually passes around a can to help pay for the medical bills. That's how it goes in Austin at least.

At any rate, these girls are the real deal - trying to get the lead out maybe. So they demand respect and they put on a great show. I would recommend partaking in the culture if you ever get the chance.