Charmed Monday

First a note on the end of Sunday:
I saw The Taqwacores, a narrative film about the hardcore Muslim scene. It was brilliant. Adapted from the book of the same name by Michael Muhammed Knight, the film tackled the difficult subject of being an outcast in a restrictive religion while not succumbing to the clichés of modern cinema: there was no redemption of the main characters, a love story did not conquer all, and no one achieved peace via “understanding”. In addition the film was beautiful. The coloring was at once drab shades of gray with intense reds and blues, like an old sailor tattoo. After seeing the film yesterday, Mr. Nice seemed insignificant in its frivolity.

Overall Monday felt rather charmed. We stopped at Bouldin Creek Coffee House for brunch and I was initially dismayed to discover that they no longer had tofu migas on the menu. The veggie chorizo and tofu scramble tacos more than made up for it though.

The most beautiful surprise of the day was running into my dear friend from Rice, Elizabeth Oehler. We had one of those wonderful, if somewhat annoying to observe, encounters in the line for coffee filled with screaming and hugging and kissing and “oh my god, Jen Hitt!” “ELIZABETH! I love you!!”

Then we headed off to the Airport to exchange the rental car. The back right tire had been losing pressure and we’d been filling it up to no avail. Budget was quick to fix the problem and upgraded me from the Focus to the Mustang. It’s been raining though, so I haven’t had a chance to open her up on the highway... don’t worry I have two more days.

I did a quick loop of the shops on South Congress and discovered where all the ladies are picking up their hair flowers or “fascinators” as Rose pointed out they are called.

In the evening, we caught one of Jason’s films, The Happy Poet. Filled with dry humor and subtle dialogue, the movie was thoroughly enjoyed by the sold-out audience. Discussions and drinks with the producers afterward will hopefully lead to the posting of their eggless egg salad sandwich recipe on the film’s website.

A brief stop by the Austin Chronicle Film Bash resulted in free food and a good rendition of Dr. Feelgood by the Kashmere Stage Band.

Our final stop of the evening was Flipnotics to catch a warm room of acoustic music from Raina Rose and AJ Roach and band. Alerted to the show by Elizabeth Oehler, her music and harmonies made my heart travel to that place of endless possibility and redemption through sound. Heavy, I know, but written descriptions of music are rarely adequate to describe the sensation. I hope to catch more of her and the other grassers later this week.