 Intro: I shouldn't have put off... Break Bread with Brad Meet Me in the Cactus Room Stout-Hearted Men! Rob and Tim Look Away MenuPile - this is [good] Two Monster-Sexy Mofos One Monkey, Two Men and a Lady Mena, Ben and Dinah Karaoke at Polly Esther's Jish, Wes and Jane Bry Refreshes ...Like He Just Don't Care Jane, Jessa and Kevin Don't worry, Dineen. He behaved. Wes 'breaks on through' Kevin gets down and funky Joey representin' fo' the west coast! Oops, he did this intentionally KICK! in Auditorium Shores Park TiBook at the crack of...noon Jeremy puts those muscles to use Our cheerleader is vivacious! Cam doles out the schwag Jessica, Dinah and Jesse Lane REALLY likes his shirt! Chris, Ryan, Jared and Rusty Lone Star, you say? Lunch at Threadgill's The ladies who lunch... ...in red hats, if you please. Jay and Tim James contemplates okra... Dan contemplates having a nap. Saturday Night That's entertainment...tonight! What the hell is 'Code Two'? At the Trade Show SXSW reunites old friends Meet the Chairman... ...and the Iron Webmasters. SXSW Web Awards My SXSW Periodic Table Eat your heart out, Harry Potter! Is that a ten-gallon hat... ...or is Halcyon just happy to see us? Ladies and gentlemen, Lane Becker Fray Café 2 Derek Powazek, Raving Lunatic Jish has a girl in the closet Kevin and Heather Do You Trust Me? Bryan J. Busch talks trenchcoats Justin Hall wants attention... ...and he's got mine! Suzanne Vance won a bet. Barbara Carr likes music. This is what it's all about. Halcyon hallucinates... ...and the audience is rapt. Jay looks for signs. James smoked pot. Jason had a very good day. 20x2 at Mercury Jessica knows how to shop! Porn for the Deaf Reunion Michael plays da blues. Forty minutes is all we ask. SXSW without pool? Unthinkable! DFW Webloggers Party at Jazz Beer and conversation Jesse's understudy Where's the *next* party? Monday Night Hello, cowboy! Three bars later... Jessica's 'Wonderful Cock' Return to Iron Cactus Dan, Nikolai and Matt Chris, Rusty, Mike, Leia Thomas and Cameron Pamela and Cameron Adaptive Path Party at Ginger Man Veen TeeVee Miss M, Halcyon and Joshua Davis Derek, Brad and Andre The patio crowd Kevin and Mark Party at Bruce Sterling's Home Cam and Robert A swingin' birthday for Mike My favorite picture this year. A goodbye kiss from Jay The lovely Miss Jane Which one's the Cocky Bastard? Ms. B and Miss M My digitally-intimate hero ...but the kitchen does. Winding Down Interactive He already got off. Web vixens and Lyle Lovett Monkey to go And THAT'S why I left Austin...  Comments or questions about this scrapbook? Do you have your own gallery of SXSW memories on the web you'd like to share? Interested in going next year? Drop me a line!
Do you have a photo page, recollection or other SXSW 2002 site you'd like to share? Let me know!
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 BackAnd THAT'S why I left Austin...IntroductionEach year, SXSW has had a different character for me. This year, it was predominantly social. I contented myself with taking in a few official panels and events, but mainly took advantage of the entertainment possibilities presented by the presence of so many smart, funny and good-looking geeks in one place at one time. So, rather than haunt the Convention Center, crowding into panel discussions where I often feel like a poseur who understands only one acronym out of three, I passed my time in Austin downing Shiner, playing pool, walking around town, flirting with straight boys, and soaking in the irresistable, heavy cloud of creativity that settled on the city for the week. I am not in or of the industry which this conference and festival serves and celebrates. I'm just a guy with a website, warmed and inspired by the potential of the personal web, the web that exists both online and off. This conference, this city, these people -- it all conspires to give lie to the concept of an A-list, a web elite, a culture based on popularity or prosperity. If you believe that there's a rarified cabal at the heart of the personal publishing world, you haven't come to Austin in March and friend, you should. You really should. At the outset, I said that going to SXSW was, for me, less about packing up and leaving town and more to do with shedding my cares and just taking life as it comes, surrounded by folks I've come to care about and admire. It's a time -- a precious week each year -- to recharge my batteries, soaking up the energy of the place and the people. I may not have accomplished anything of consequence during the week. I did not hold forth in peer sessions or ask pointed questions of panelists or even really participate meaningfully in the conference proper much at all. But by Wednesday morning, although physically tired, I was refreshed and creatively reinvigorated, exactly as I had hoped to be when I set out from home. And that's why I left Austin. (Only 354 days until SXSW Interactive 2003.)
BackAnd THAT'S why I left Austin...Introduction
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