"[W]hen you think about it, Richard Linklater’s Slacker could not have been made anywhere but in Austin, Texas. Oh, sure, a crew could film such footage on any urban location. But that would be fiction. Only Austin . . . could open its collective trench coat and flash its vitals at an unsuspecting audience – and have it be true in revealing its netherworld of space cadets, goonballs, punk groupies, gently aging iconoclasts, coffee-shop feminists-gone-‘round-the-bend, conspiracy dweebs lurking in used-book stores, artists, anti-artists, and a whole purgatory of other refugees from the world of productive sanity.”
-- James L. Haley, introduction to the printed Slacker screenplay
In 1989, Richard Linklater hit the streets of his beloved Austin and filmed the movie Slacker. It is quite an odd movie, and may not be to everyone's taste. But I love it... to me, it perfectly captures what the area surrounding the UT campus was like at this time in Austin’s recent history. Some of that Austin is still around... but as each new Barnes & Noble and Starbucks appears on the Drag, it is fading fast. This cache will hopefully allow you to experience some of that old Austin feeling.
This cache is a little different than what you may be used to. It is a 9 leg multi-cache, with all of the legs except the last one planted at places in Austin where Slacker was actually filmed. Each leg will give the coordinates for the next leg, along with instructions explaining HOW to find the next leg. THE COORDINATES DO NOT GIVE THE EXACT LOCATION OF THE MICRO CONTAINER. The coordinates will only point you to the general area. To find the next micro-container, you will have to follow the instructions from the previous clue! And the only way you will be able to follow the instructions is to WATCH THE MOVIE.
Here are a few suggestions:
1. Make sure that you have rented the right movie! You want "Slacker," directed my Richard Linklater, released in 1991. You do NOT want to rent "Slackers," directed by Dewey Nicks, released in 2002. I disclaim all liability for mental or emotional anguish if you rent "Slackers" instead of "Slacker." I've heard its pretty bad, particularly if you are over the age of 18.
2. Don’t plan on knocking this one out in a few hours, or even a day. You will likely have to watch several of the scenes multiple times to find some of the legs. If you have one of those spiffy vehicles with a VCR in it for the kiddies, you are in luck. Or, if you have a DVD capable laptop or portable DVD player, see the info for "The Traveling Slacker" below. For everyone else, unless you have a photographic memory, plan to take this one leg at a time.
3. The first eight legs are all hidden in extremely high traffic areas. PLEASE BE VERY DISCREET. Please use your best urban caching skills to avoid others seeing where you replaced the cache. Don't open the container and read the clue right next to the hiding spot.
4. You will definitely need something to write with. Some of the instructions are somewhat precise and you probably should not rely on your memory.
5. I have split the coordinates for the final cache among multiple legs, to prevent folks from trying to guess my locations and jumping in mid-stream! I designed one of the legs to actually draw the attention of certain geomuggles to maybe draw more folks into the sport. But I want them to have to start at the beginning on this cache.
6. Due to the high traffic in these areas, I expect that the geomuggles may eventually grab some of my containers. Therefore, if you are having trouble with a certain leg, PLEASE E-MAIL ME. I will check to make sure that the container is not missing and replace it if necessary. Also feel free to E-mail me when you decide that you will attempt this cache (i.e. when you rent the film, or find a Traveling Slacker DVD) and I will try my best to check some or all of the cache locations to see if they are still there before you start.
7. Terrain for this one is all urban, EXCEPT the last leg. The last leg is hidden in a spot that has nothing to do with the film, but it is safe from cache plunderers (knock on wood) and is one of my favorite Austin hikes. For this last leg, be ready for a mile and a half hike round-trip (down an easy trail), with a short scramble up steep terrain in the middle of that hike. I'm sure you've seen worse! May be rough on wet days, and probably not safe for young children.
I sincerely hope you have as much fun hunting this one as I had setting it out. For your reward, the cache has some pretty decent goodies, and all of them are somehow Slacker themed. The first finder prize that went to Bugs and Mustang was an authentic 1960's era Super-8 camera, as seen at the end of the film! I would appreciate it if you keep your trades high value as well. If you can keep the slacker theme going, that’s even better... music, movies, books... stuff that the folks in the movie would get a kick out of. No need to try and match the value of what you took, but try and be fair (and creative!)
TRAVELING SLACKERS
I have placed one DVD of the movie "Slacker" in circulation among the Austin caches. (There will soon be two more in circulation.) If you prefer to watch your movies on DVD, here is your chance. Check the logs for "the Traveling Slacker"'s current location. When you find it, PLEASE LOG HERE THAT YOU TOOK IT. After you are through with it, PLEASE LOG HERE WHERE YOU PUT IT. Remember to mention which Traveling Slacker you are talking about in your logs (#1-3). Please do NOT keep my DVD! Please also keep it in the Austin area! Let me know if the DVD is damaged; I will then try and replace it.
Good luck! HERE IS YOUR FIRST INSTRUCTION:
Go to the coordinates listed above. Your mission is to live out the alternative reality of the young man in the taxi cab. Do what he should have done, and see if you find yourself a beautiful woman... or at least the next clue!