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Austin really, really loves its dogs, and don't think for a second the city's most famous don't have their own furry friends.
Here are the dogs of Austin's famous residents.
Bob Costas
Owner: Brooklyn Decker
The supermodel and actress, who is married to tennis star Andy Roddick, has a thing for bulldogs. The couple has named two after sports greats: Billie Jean and Bob Costas. Billie Jean died in October 2020, but Bob Costas is still flourishing—even making it onto Decker's latest photoshoot.
Theo and four more
Owner: James Van Der Beek
New Austin residents, the Van Der Beeks, have five dogs, so we understand why the family of seven sought out more space in the Hill Country. The family's newest addition is a Siberian Husky rescued from an LA kill shelter named Theo.
Marshall Mae Rogan
Owner: Joe Rogan
Racking up 740,000 followers on Instagram, Marshall Mae Rogan is a star all by herself. Superstar podcaster Rogan has posted the golden retriever on his own social media, but she has been posing gracefully on her own account since 2018.
Cheesy and three more
Owner: Camilla McConaughey
With a white muzzle, Cheesy is the McConaughey family's oldest dog. They also have another older dog and recently adopted two rescues in a single weekend. Like the Van Der Beeks, the McConaugheys have a full house.
Icarus and one more
Owner: Jensen Ackles
The "Supernatural" star has a cocker spaniel-poodle mix. He was not initially happy with wife Danneel, who brought him home more than 10 years ago. The dog, Icarus, has recently had complications in his old age.
Henry and three more
Owner: Chris Bosh
A family of seven needs a dog, and the Boshs have Henry. A white Maltese, little Henry completes the Bosh family.
Jack
Owner: Jackie Venson
After a year of canceled performances, Venson is ready to hit the road. This time around, she'll have a very special companion. Venson got Jack, a mini Dachshund, in 2020 and is planning on taking him on tour. Their next stop is Oklahoma City this week.
Popular
(Joe Rogan/Instagram)
After just a few months of moving to Austin and getting comfortable in a new podcast studio, The Joe Rogan Experience has a new look.
Fans have been complaining for months about the red room Joe Rogan has been talking to podcast guests in since moving from California. He heard them loud and clear and posted on Instagram that the first podcast recorded in the brand new studio was available Saturday with guest comedian Tommy Segura.
The new studio, complete with the same podcast table and relics, is a well-lit, wood-paneled room with a new sign.
Just like the first time around, he brought in local help to bring the studio to life. Local Elm Construction and Project Management, Soundshed Studios, Wrightsmith Studios, Texavy and Roundhouse Relics all had a part in the new home to JRE podcasts. For Soundshed and Wrightsmith, this was their second time around helping Rogan with a podcast studio.
Joe Rogan has stayed busy in his roughly seven months in the capital city. Tapping into his comedy roots, Rogan has booked local stand-up shows with comedian Dave Chappelle in recent months. And a bigger project in the works, Austonia revealed last week that the podcaster is plans to open up a new comedy club at the location of the One World Theatre.
More on Joe Rogan:
Willie Nelson is celebrating his 88th birthday in signature style. The Austin country music star announced he'll spend his birthday with marijuana-loving fans everywhere with a three-day virtual cannabis convention.
Alongside his brand Luck Presents, Nelson will work to destigmatize marijuana use with his fest, called Luck Presents: Planting the Seed, on April 26-29.
Singer Nathaniel Rateliff will host the convention, which will feature "musical collaborations, comedy sketches, cooking demonstrations, health-focused activities and more." The fest will also hold speakers and panel discussions about misconceptions of the plant, the history of marijuana and its pervasiveness in today's culture.
The convention will also raise funds for Headcount's Cannabis Voter Project, an organization that works to get cannabis-friendly voters registered. Those interested in joining the summit will need to make a $10 minimum donation to get the golden ticket into the fest.
"The Cannabis Voter Project believes it's important for the cannabis community to be an active and informed voting bloc," the organization's website reads.
In a statement, Nelson said he hopes to educate people on marijuana misconceptions with his latest foray into cannabis culture.
"I think people need to be educated to the fact that marijuana is not a drug," Nelson said. "Marijuana is an herb and a flower. God put it here. If He put it here and He wants it to grow, what gives the government the right to say that God is wrong?"
Nelson has dipped his toes into the weed landscape before—an outspoken weed enthusiast, Nelson started his own brand of recreational marijuana in 2015, followed by CBD brand Willie's Remedy, which focuses more on health and wellness.
Most recently, Nelson opened up about the pandemic, smoking weed and living a more sustainable life for his SXSW debut in March.
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SpaceX launched 60 of its Starlink satellites Wednesday night, bringing a string of lights into the Austin sky that some mistook for UFOs.
The satellites trailed after each other through the night sky and were visible to the naked eye, leading many to speculate that the mysterious lights were supernatural.
The "freaky lights in the sky", which could be seen as far north as Denton, are the latest of SpaceX's satellite launches.
Did anyone else just see the giant mother ship over Denton? #ufo excuse my voice and how dark the sky is, but you see the long strip of lights disappear into the space pic.twitter.com/vSMIPmuvw6
— justin (@Justin_K_Taylor) April 8, 2021
SpaceX's satellites orbit at a lower altitude than most others so that they can fall to Earth and be recycled in a few years instead of becoming "space junk." The satellites are about the size of a table and are part of a project to launch up to 12,000 satellites to form a "megaconstellation" and work toward constant global service.
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said the company is hoping to "rebuild the internet in space." The project has sent 1,238 satellites into orbit so far, creating the largest satellite constellation in the world. It's enough to provide basic global service, but Musk and the company look to extend their reach even further in the future.
Some called out the billionaire Austinite directly after they saw the newest pack of satellites join their lookalikes in Earth's orbit.
@elonmusk Hey, is this one of yours? If it is just give us a heads up next time. We aren't used to having a mad scientist as a neighbor yet! #atxufo #austinufo #Austin #ATX #ufo #Starlink #SpaceX pic.twitter.com/lbBY5S3WGg
— Ken Lundberg (@KenLundberg) April 8, 2021
While no UFO was spotted this time, many more unexplained phenomenons have been spotted in the Austin sky in the past.
According to reports on the National UFO Reporting Center's website, six UFO sightings have already been reported in the greater Austin area in 2021. Cleveland Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield and his wife, Emily, most recently spotted something they were "almost 100%" certain was a UFO over Lake Travis in March, giving the notoriously "weird" city of Austin the spotlight for its latest possible alien encounter.
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