As many of my friends will concur, the saying, “Keep Austin Weird,” is really stupid. The morons who buy those stupid t-shirts are just conforming to whatever stereotype they’re trying to block. Such banal garbage is right up there with “78704–more than a zip code, a way of life.” Nope, it’s really just a zip code.
As I roamed the streets of San Francisco this weekend, I thought about Austin and how I can be just about anywhere in that city and know exactly where I am. Navigating the city is pretty simple, and finding the right places to hang out is as easy as a couple of phone calls and half an ear to the ground. In fact, Austin is downright familiar. Austin makes sense.
San Francisco, however, does not make sense. Chewbacca.