Local DJ and Tucson Weekly contributor Casey Dewey is hitting Austin this week for SXSW. He is providing daily dispatches of the experience for your information/angry jealous rage:

Day 1:

Starting your first SXSW adventure by sharing an elevator with the legendary singer-songwriter/Love Boat regular Paul Williams is not a bad sign. After the smooth and easy badge pick-up and the Williams encounter (he’s a sweet and funny guy) I was on my way to the roaring streets. This being my first time at SXSW, I don’t think I had even a close idea of what to expect. Throngs of hungry and eager music fans and musicians alike roving downtown Austin in search of great tunes, cheap beer and awesome times. My first stop was a Thrasher Magazine party at the seedy and gritty Scoot Inn. I felt at home and wanted to start off the festival by paying respect to my roots; some skate-punk and and a few cans of Lone Star would treat me right. Caught a band from Venice, Ca called The Shrine. These guys definitely grew up on a healthy combo of DRI, The Circle Jerks and a litte Dio thrown in for good measure. Perfect soundtrack for the kids shredding on the half-pipe next to the stage. After buying some choice Thrasher sunglasses I took off and wandered around downtown a bit, keeping my ears open and soaking in the electricity in the air - the first tip I received about SXSW was to pace your self, young man. Looking forward to some amazing shows tonight, from the triumphant stoner rock of Black Tusk to the Tangerine Dream-like soundscapes of Brooklyn duo Blondes, I’m in for a whirlwind. Over and out!

His recap of today's events so far is below the cut:

The date has been set for this year's Eat More Pie event, hands down the best dessert-themed event thrown in Tucson each year. This year's event is scheduled for Saturday, April 28. More on the event can be found here.

The event - now in its ninth year - apparently ran out of pie last year, so if you're touched with the gift of knowing how to make decent pie, consider entering a few. Otherwise, just bring a fork and sample away to your heart's sweet content. All the money made goes to a local charity, too.

It seems like the Andrew Bird show was announced two or three years ago at this point, but with his new album Break It Yourself on sale now, his concert at the Rialto Theatre on April 20th almost seems real at this point. This Pitchfork.tv video for "Danse Caribe" combines a delightful song with aerial images of Minnesota (I think). Yay for aesthetically pleasing things!

An e-mail arrived yesterday asking for a recommendation for a good place to find good Thai food in Tucson. Without hesitation I suggested the monthly Thai feast at Wat Buddhametta, a Buddhist temple at 1133 S. Swan Road. It is truly some of the best homemade food I've ever had, and for $10 per person it's an absolute steal.

Wat Buddhametta is throwing another feast this Saturday, March 17. From Ajahn Sarayut, abbot of the center:

The very best Thai cooks are preparing a wonderful buffet of Thai food including pad thai, egg rolls, yellow potatoes chicken curry, red curry, vegetarian curry, dessert and more delights. Bring the whole family and your friends. The buffet starts at 5 p.m. and continues until about 7 p.m. We are asking for a small donation of $10.00 per person, children under 10 eat free. The collected funds from this event will help to support the temple to sustain the ability to offer all classes free of charge to the community.

There's more on Wat Buddhametta over here.

There's a new sushi joint called Sushi Lounge at 4802 S. Sixth Ave. If memory serves me right that location was formerly a place called Wok and Sushi and I'm pretty sure it was a Shakey's Pizza before that.

I haven't heard much about the place yet, except for one righteous detail: Apparently you can get sushi rolls there done "Mexican-style," which means jalapenos and onions are tossed in the mix. I love it when foods from different cultures intermingle and this is one of the better fusion incidents I've come across in some time. Hats off to Sushi Lounge for keeping it interesting.

I'm heading over there today to try a Mexican-style sushi roll. If you want more information on the place, give 'em a call at 294-4408.

• John de Dios
• One of the newest features at the Tucson Festival of Books was the Science City.

In the past, I've posted some photos of the Tucson Festival of Books. Usually, I try to post while the event is going on.

This time out, and a few days late, are some photos from the newest offering at the book festival: the Science City.

Science City boasted 10 tents and stages that featured scientists who spoke about their research; docents from local parks that showcased gila monsters, spiders, and snakes; more volunteers with whale bones and many others.

Oklahoma indie rock act Other Lives has stumbled into an incredibly unique opportunity: opening for Radiohead on their US tour, which rolls into Glendale's Jobing.com Arena this Thursday (the show is sold out). I talked to frontman Jesse Tabish, while his band was getting ready to kick off their first taste of touring arenas:

DG: These arena shows with Radiohead are the largest shows Other Lives have played. Do you have a different approach to playing these shows?

JT: The room we're playing tonight is about a hundred and twenty in Chapel Hill, so there's a big jump in audience size, but our show doesn't really change. The mindset is more a trip, that here we are in front of a bigger audience. The whole psychological thing will be the challenge, if anything. I look forward to it. I love playing club dates, enjoying the homey feel, but this is a new challenge and it's a good thing to stretch the band in different ways. It's a subtle thing, the band shifts a bit. There isn't a lightbulb that goes off, but different things and ideas seem into our mind.

DG: How would you describe Other Lives to the Radiohead fan that hasn't heard you yet?

JT: I'd say we're orchestral, classically influenced with pop elements. Heavily percussive, with a lot of instruments on stage. Really, I just hope it's a positive experience for people who get there early [laughs].

DG: Other Lives has a really interesting website and a strong social media presence, but somewhat retro-leaning music. How has the experience of marketing classically influenced music in a highly technological world worked out for you?

JT: I generally manage to keep my head outside of those things. I'm not going to fight it, but I personally can't really go there. Our music is sort of old and primitive, and I'm really at my least creative in the marketing realm. Maybe I just choose to be.

DG: What comes next for the band after the stint with Radiohead?

JT: We'll take a half a month off or so and in April, we'll record an EP to release this fall. We're doing a lot of writing, getting ready for the next record. Going into 2013, we like to know where we're at.

Why can't we come up with the cash to fix the TCC? Because no event coordinator has the guts to book a day of entertainment as amazing as the Lincoln Women's Expo, featuring Leonardo DiCaprio impersonator Frank Roberts. Instead, we get the circus or professional wrestling, two events that would be far better with a little addition of Faux Leo.

For everyone out there who has long claimed that Tucson would be the best city in the world if they were in charge, here's your chance to not only run a town, but to own it outright.

The tiny town (though I'm going to argue that any place with a population of 1 is, at most, a village) of Buford, Wyoming is going up for auction on April 5. Apparently, the town's owner/mayor/sheriff/only resident, Don Sammons, is ready to move on from his doubtlessly busy political life, with plans to move away after the sale.

For $100,000, you can own a 10 acre slice of life, complete with a house, garage, cabin, schoolhouse, convenience store and gas station — not to mention, your own ZIP code.

Hm. Looks like I just found the perfect place to direct the schmucks we try to run off in the Weekly's annual "Get Out of Town!" issue. If only "tiny hamlet" was something that we could fit into the budget...

[Inquisitr.com]

According to a news report by the New York Times' "Bits" blog, AOL has slashed the team for its long-time instant messaging program, AIM.

Nick Bilton reported that a former AOL employee told him that “nearly all of the West Coast tech team has been killed," effectively ending the upcoming development for the software.

In the age of Facebook chat, Google Chat and Skype, AIM is a bloated, decrepit dinosaur that tries to install too much crap into your browser. Its death is long overdue, to be honest.

But at the same time, I feel like my generation owes it a debt of gratitude — particularly because I know that many of my longest friendships wouldn't exist had I not been able to connect with those people using AIM to talk outside of class (yes, I'm of the generation of kids who didn't go outside, lay off me).

And I'm pretty sure that NBC's To Catch a Predator would have had to work twice as hard to snag the same number of potential pedophiles had AIM chat rooms not been around.

So my fellow Millennials, let's take the time to pour one out for AIM — may its alert tones ring in our hearts forevermore.

[New York Times]