41st annual O. Henry Museum Pun-Off World Championships set for May 12 in Austin
AUSTIN — For more than four decades, the O. Henry Pun-Off has celebrated the lowest form of “groan-up” humor.
The 41st Annual O. Henry Museum Pun-Off World Championships will take place Sat., May 12, 2018 at 409 E. Fifth St. in Austin, in the back yard of the O. Henry Museum, also known as Brush Square Park.
According to the Pun-Off’s website, The O. Henry Annual Pun-Off consists of “two mighty struggles.”
Punniest of Show: A maximum of 32 contestants will compete to deliver their prepared “punny” material within a time limit of 90 seconds. At 90 seconds a “soft” bell will be sounded. The presentation may continue, but at 2 minutes a “hard” bell will be sounded and the contestant will be disqualified. These entries are ranked on a 1-10 scale by our judges’ panel. A cumulative score will be recorded. The three top scoring contestants will be recognized as winners of Punniest of Show. In the case of a tie score, the audience will be asked to help decide a championship round.
Punslingers: A maximum of 32 contestants may compete. Each pair of competitors will be given a topic. At the judge’s signal, each player in his turn will have 5 seconds to deliver, or begin delivering a pun. The opponent will then be given a signal and another 5 seconds to start a pun. This shoot-out continues until one of the contestants cannot make a pun “tongue-tied” or accumulates a total of three non-qualifying “strike” attempts at a pun. Eliminations continue in standard tournament style until the final round where we often end up with an odd number of surviving punsters. In such cases, a three-way contest results in the elimination of one contestant. The quick draw wit continues on the same topic until an ultimate winner is determined. This, of course, means the second place finisher is even more determined to do better next year.
For information about the O. Henry Pun-Off event, call (512) 974-1398 between noon and five p.m., Wednesday to Sunday, or leave a voice message. Contestants are selected from online registrations each April 1; information for spectators may be found at www.punoff.com.
(Compiled from event website and media reports; photo by Dudley Hawthorne at www.punoff.com)
NATIONAL TRAVEL & TOURISM WEEK, MAY 6–12, 2018
Libraries beckon as Texas bookish destinations
Story and photos by Barbara Brannon
Every year the U.S. Travel Association sets aside the first full week in May — as travelers are making their plans for the end of school and the start of summer vacations — to recognize the economic and other benefits of the tourism industry on local economies.
In Texas, travel and tourism yield a nearly $70 billion economic impact statewide, and the Lone Star State ranks consistently among the top three destination states in the nation, along with California and Florida.
Book lovers especially love to travel, and so does the Lone Star Literary Life team. We’ve compiled just a few highlights from our travels over the past year. While this is by no means a top-ten list (we refer you to our annual Top Bookish Destinations coverage for that), it represents a few places we’ve personally checked out, in recent months.
NEW LIBRARIES
Among the newest — and coolest — public libraries in Texas is the downtown Austin Central Library, which opened last fall after much anticipation. With its magnificent site along the Shoal Creek pathway and overlooking Lady Bird Lake, the Central Library welcomes readers and visitors alike. Its rooftop garden offers some of the best views in the city. View photo album here
HISTORIC LIBRARIES
Texas, which once boasted thirty-two libraries built with funding from the Carnegie Corporation of New York from 1898 to 1915, has lost many of these iconic structures. Today, thirteen remain; ten of these are listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Only four still serve their original function as public libraries. Here are two of them we visited recently; email us at info@LoneStarLiterary,com with the others, and we’ll send you a prize!
Carnegie Library, Ballinger (1909): view photo album here
Carnegie Library, Stamford (1908): view photo album here
Above: Ballinger; right: Stamford
LIBRARIES WITH GREAT ART
Many libraries and their grounds house impressive works of painting, sculpture, and installation. We’ve noted some of these in Literary Texas (2016). Check out the amazing work of Tom Lea at the downtown El Paso Public Library, for instance.
Brownwood’s downtown public library welcomes visitors to appreciate this outdoor sculpture of children — appropriately — reading. Other treasures await, inside. View photo album here
To wrap up this travel feature, we’ll provide a clue to the location of the literary mural at left. (We’ll make it easy: view the photo album here.)
Email us at info@LoneStarLiterary,com with the solution, and we’ll send you a prize!
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