Karen Rosenthal

Well, I’m not big on political matters, but this YouTube is pretty neato.

photo / Jackie Acker (all rights reserved) 

Hey down there, AUSTIN! Karen Rosenthal here, your friend from the Great City to the North — Round Rock, of course. And, as always, I’m reminding you that we Rockers are keepin’ it weird — if not weirder up here and down there. It’s been a while since I’ve written to the Internet, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t been busy keeping up with the coolest stuff going on in our little corner of the planet. Here’s what is up…

Free secrets

Is this thing on? That’s exactly what students in Dan French’s (ooh-la-la!) free stand-up comedy class, The Cleverly Hidden Secrets of Stand-up Comedy, will be saying tonight from 7–9pm at ColdTime Theater. If I can get Hubbers to take care of the kiddos, I’ll be front ’n’ center. I don’t want to give too much away, but I’ve been writing a routine for months now that pokes fun at airplane food and the differences between men and women. I just can’t quite nail down my last bit about how President Bush sometimes mispronounces words. We’ll see if Monsieur French can help me!

photo / Jackie Acker (all rights reserved) 

Hey down there, AUSTIN! Just wanted to give y’all a friendly hello from waaayyy up north here in Round Rock. Well, I guess I shouldn’t say that we’re waaayyy up here, ’cause it’s really just a few miles up the highway from downtown. Sure, lots of folks think we Rockers just stay up here and “Keep It Normal,” but that’s just plain crazy! I, Karen Rosenthal, am here to say that YOU people are the ones who are missin’ out on all the real weirdness. Check out what you’re missing, Austin!

The new outlet mall

Okay, so maybe it’s not so brand new anymore, but it’s still worth mentioning. Before, you had to pack up the Excursion and head to San Marcos to get the hottest deals on out-of-style clothes with manufacturing irregularities. Most of the time, it just wasn’t worth it to even go there. That’s all changed now that Round Rock is home to the Premium Outlets, an outdoor shopping center with discount stores from Burberry, J. Crew, and even Calvin Klein. And with three restaurants, it’s like you never need to leave!

IKEA

photo / cara fealy choate IKEA 

Talk about culture in our city — this store sells Swedish furniture. If you’re like me and you were smart enough to camp outside the store for three days before its grand opening, you might still be trying to decide what to buy with the $2 gift card you got for being among the first inside.

Round Rock Express at the Dell Diamond

These 2006 Pacific Coast League American Conference champions are so much fun to watch, and the kiddos just love going to games. It’s a wonderful event that the whole family can enjoy. Amazing fact: The Dell Diamond has a capacity for 10,000 people. It’s no wonder that Round Rock is the Sports Capital of Texas!

Chili’s

Yep, we have plenty of great restaurants up here, too. Ever since this eatery started allowing customers to pick ’n’ choose whatever trio of tastiness they’d like in their Triple Dipper appetizer, this evening and weekend hotspot has had quite a wait to get in. Spicealicious!

As you can see, things up here in the RR are just as cool and totally weird as they are in Austin. Maybe even weirder.