Was coming back into Austin from some exurban excursion when I realized something: I like the new Austin skyline. I'd previously gone along with the consensus grumbling about overpriced condos, the influx of Californians, and the true spirit of the city being destroyed, but it suddenly struck me that the Austin skyline was pretty dreary before the Frost Bank Tower was built, a jumble of concrete blocks from sixties indistinguishable from the parking garages that served them. If there ever was any true glory in the architecture of downtown Austin the damage was done long before the current condo and office boom, with the few building that remained from an era of public grandeur and style having been neglected, obscured and/or uglified decades ago.

I'm not so certain about the comedy modernism of 5021 Congress Avenue, however. And maybe building like the 360 Condominiums only look good because they stand alone like unique sculptures rather than jostle for attention amongst a hundred others as in more developed cities. But right now I'm withdrawing my membership of that particular branch of the Austin Isn't Austin Anymore club.

And my reservations remain about the people who are going to be living in these expensive highrise condos though. They're not going to be doing traditional Austin jobs like manning the support desks at Dell for minimum wage, assembling microchips, lobbying for coal, oil and sundry pollutions, lawyering (ditto and worse) or tattooing "tramp stamps" on nice girls from Midland, Beaumont and Sugarland. More likely they'll be engaged in rich kid pursuits, padding out daddy's allowance by running designer ashtray stores on 2nd St or publishing crappy lifestyle magazines that advertise designer ashtray stores on 2nd St.

But that skyline at dusk, or better still (and I wish I had pictures) reflecting the July 4th fireworks, gives me a little thrill about living in Austin that was missing before.