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"Keep Austin Weird" - Buy More
Stuff
Bad Guys Get the Trademark
The folks at Absolutely Austin
(a.k.a. Nobonz, Outhouse Design, Udamon, etc.),
who make most of the T-shirts, hats, and some of
the bumperstickers you see, got the trademark
for "Keep Austin Weird" in October 2003. We
realize most people don't care, and for good
reasons. We invented the phrase, did the
original bumperstickers, and put up this website
before they were out of their diapers, so
forgive us for being a touch defensive and
probably egotistic.
The real problem with this turn of
events is that it points out the boring irony of
the entire "movement" (to use a grandiose term).
It was a small attempt to counter Austin's
descent into rampant commercialism and
over-development. Absolutely Austin getting the
trademark rather than letting this chicken run
free is a sad proof that commercialism is
winning. Most people probably think of Keep
Austin Weird as a marketing slogan rather than
our original attempt to highlight those aspects
of our town that are really weird. Making money
isn't high on that list. And they are
enforcing the trademark, getting desist orders
to folks who were making T-shirts.
Sorry to suck the fun out of this
site. If you care, drop us
or Absolutely
Austin a line with your views. Ignore
this. Be weird. Make your own T-shirt or take
a look at our new version.
The
oversize coffee mugs from this company that say
"Keep Austin Weird: Support Local Businesses" are
made in China |