surviving the 9 to 5

Weekday Warrior: Activities for Fat Tuesday and the rest of the M-F

J Black’s Mardi Gras 2012
Fusebox Festival presents: 60-in-Sixty
Weird True Hollywood Tales: Hollyweirdland at Salvage Vanguard Theater

February is more than halfway through, and you know what that means: less than a month remains before the bicoastal (and transcontinental) throngs descend on our fair city. So what can you do to cherish these last few rest-filled pre-SXSW weeks? We’ve got you covered. Here’s our weekly guide to keep you busy during the days that don’t start with S.

Monday, February 20th

ACL Reel Rarities: Flaming Lips and The Shins @ The Ritz

The Drafthouse presents this vintage (2004) episode of the eponymous television show, where they’ll not only debut 3 new tracks from the band, but raffle off tickets to the band’s upcoming taping of ACL this March.

Texas Hall of Fame Presents: Infamous @ Alamo South Lamar

The Texas Hall of Fame series honors the work of the 2012 honorees, who will be honored at a March 8th ceremony. This Truman Capote biopic was filmed in Austin, and stars sometime Austinite Sandra Bullock as Capote’s compatriot Harper Lee.

Tuesday, February 21st

J Black’s Mardi Gras 2012

We may not be in the Big Easy, but that doesn’t mean you have to let Fat Tuesday fly by. Get in the creole spirit on W. 6th, with Bacardi Hurricanes, Gulf shrimp, and sausage gumbo.

Fat Tuesday Sing-Along @ Alamo Ritz

The Ritz gets into the booty-shaking spirit of Fat Tuesday, bringing what they tout as the “sexiest” sing-along party in the whole wide world. Selected tracks include ditties by Usher and Justin Timberlake, so its guaranteed to showcase at least a moderate amount of shirtlessness.

Wednesday, February 22nd

Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks @ The Mohawk

One of the kingpins of the nineties indie rock scene, Stephen Malkmus brought forth some of the decade’s greatest music with Pavement. Well he’s back with his post-Pavement project, performing tracks of his latest album, 2011’s Mirror Traffic.

Fusebox Festival presents: 60-in-Sixty

This special event, that benefits the Fusebox Festival, presents 60 of Austin's finest performers, musicians, visual artists, filmmakers, thinkers, and community leaders lined up to perform sixty solo pieces in 60 minutes.

Thursday, February 23rd

KLRU 50th Anniversary @ ACL Live at the Moody Theater

Join KLRU in celebrating their half-century mark, with an evening of fine food, drinks, and lots of Austin fun.

Weird True Hollywood Tales: Hollyweirdland @ Salvage Vanguard Theater

Weird True Hollywood tales travels back to the Golden Age to profile some of the silver screen’s most tragic legends. Topics to be covered include The History of Hollywood, Marilyn Monroe’s Death, and The Unsolved Case of the Black Dahlia.

Friday, February 24th

Polica @ The Mohawk

The Minneapolis-based band joins Har Mar Superstar and Marijuana Deathbeds to close out the February residency at Mohawk. Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon touts the band as one with which he’s head over heels, so if you want to be one of the cool kids, you should probably check this out.

Master Pancake: Con Air

Two words: Nick. Cage. Join the Master Pancake fellows in mocking who is easily one of Hollywood’s most mockable Coppolas. With a cast that also boasts Danny Trejo and John Cusack, there’s sure to be enough source material to make this a laugh-a-minute Friday night.

There you have it — you can screen Capote, sing Timberlake, and mock Cage, all before you clock out on Friday afternoon.

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Self-driving Roller Coaster

More self-driving cars expected to roll out in Austin for 2025

Photo courtesy of Waymo via KVUE

Various brands offering self-driving cars are on-and-off in Austin.

Expect to see more self-driving rideshare vehicles, also known as robotaxis, on Austin roads next year.

Robotaxi company Waymo, which you may have already seen on Austin's roads, is partnering with Uber. At some point next year, customers will be able to use the Uber app to call a self-driving ride.

Austin-based company Avride is in the testing phase and plans to roll out its robotaxis next year.

Currently, Volkswagen ADMT and Amazon's Zoox are in the testing phase in Austin, while Hyundai's Motional is in the mapping phase.

Last year, robotaxi company Cruise paused operations in Austin after the California Department of Motor Vehicles revoked the company's permits to operate driverless vehicles in the state. And last week, General Motors said it would no longer fund the company because of the time and resources needed.

This way of getting around has come with its safety concerns and issues. The city is tracking those concerns. According to the Transportation Department, the problems span from blocking the roads and parking in front of people's homes for weeks with lights beaming through their windows, to actual wrecks.

Since July 2023, robotaxis have been involved in 75 incidents. Only 21 of those incidents happened in 2024. It's important to note that Cruise has not been operating in Austin this year.

Since July 2023, driverless rideshare vehicles have been involved in 22 near collisions, eight collisions and seven instances where driverless taxis ignored directions from the Austin Police Department (APD).

According to the data, at least four of those Austin police incidents happened in recent months. The issues varied from driving through police checkpoints, to malfunctioning and getting stuck at an APD road closure near pedestrians, causing safety concerns.

A Waymo spokesperson said their vehicles have gesture recognition capabilities, which they've been training APD officers on using.

As the report shows, sometimes it does not work and Waymo said it is working to improve that. The spokesperson said that as of just last week, Waymo's First Responder Program has been independently verified by TÜV SÜD, making Waymo the first autonomous vehicle (AV) company to receive third-party validation for our emergency response protocols. They also said the data to date indicates the Waymo Driver is already reducing traffic injuries and fatalities in the places where the company currently operates.

Read the full story and watch the video at KVUE.com.

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