As part of the Fusebox Festival of performing arts, a NYC theater company has been commissioned to create a site-specific play. They chose the Lucky Lady Bingo parlor and will present a re-imagined version of "Death of Salesman" using a roster of both actors and non-actors from Austin.
Light monkeying around for Peligrosa, a Latin DJ collective that has a regular jam at the Scoot Inn.
As Joe Gross put it in his write up of OBNIIIs, "Orville Neeley is a @!#$*% rock star." This guy puts on an intense and physical show. Catch him at Beerland one of these nights.
Many yards look just as depressing as the lakes during this record breaking drought. Mark Simmons, ecologist and director of the Ecosystem Design Group at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, has shown that combination native grasses outperform Bermuda grass in surviving tough conditions. There may be a small silver lining to the current extreme conditions as more people make a jump to native species and invest in water catchment. We've got nothing to lose but dead yards.
I love dogs and all things on the water, so this was an assignment made in heaven. Spent a few hours with a canine paddling class at the Texas Rowing Center. The class was impressed I jumped into a boat with my camera gear, but who can say no to kayaking with dogs?
Nine-year-old Cash Robinson has been to every Austin City Limits Festival. He attended his first when he was just 10-months old. Cash recently got an electric guitar and is already banging out AC/DC's 'Back in Black.'
Janell Smith, a black belt martial arts instructor, teaches women and teens the techniques of self-defense. FitCity reporter Pam LeBlac and I sat in on a class at the School for Performing and Visual Arts in downtown Austin.
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Lucy Morrison, 13, center, raises her fists for a punching exercise during a self-defense class taught by Janell Smith. |
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Aleta Neill, 13, center, raises her fists for a punching exercise. |
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(Left to right) Aleta Neill, 13, Cady Boyd, 15, Lucy Morrison, 13, and Katie Knight, 14, practice an escape technique during a self-defense class taught by Janell Smith, a black belt martial arts instructor, at the School for Performing and Visual Arts in downtown Austin. |
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Janell Smith, right, demonstrates an escape technique with Statesman Fit City reporter Pam LeBlanc, left, during a self-defense class at the School for Performing and Visual Arts in downtown Austin. |
Nothing like a few FitCity assignments to make me feel like a lazy slug! For a series on trainer/client duos I photographed Stephanie Flores and Erin Griffin at o'dark-thirty in the morning at J. Nettles Gym. Griffin has dropped 90 pounds, completed three half-marathons, and returned to competitive soccer in the three years she's worked with Flores. You can read more about Stephanie and Erin and other trainer/client teams here.
I love to play (and work) outdoors. Pam LeBlanc's Fit City columns give me an excuse to do both while on the job. The downside? Getting exposed to fun things I end up spending money on later. It's a first-world problem. I'll live.
A few weeks ago I met Liana Mauro, a pilates instructor with a new delivery platform - all the difficulty of pilates on a Stand-Up paddle board. Being on the water is a blessing and a curse, but you can't beat the view. One of her clients nominated her as one of the best trainers in Austin.
I spent an afternoon chasing Liana and her class around Townlake and came back with only a mild case of poison ivy. Next time I'll borrow a housing and get on the water with them.
Jesse Flores suffered stroke in March of 2010. His neighborhood just east of downtown on 8th street, was jammed with traffic - visitors to SXSW looking for free parking. The ambulance ride to the hospital, less than a mile away, took over 20 minutes.
Traffic congestion and parking problems in neighborhoods bordering downtown have become all to common in the last three years. Thursday through Sunday nights are filled with constant traffic and loud bar and club patrons return for their vehicles in the early morning hours. With the city extension of parking meters into the evening hours, the problem will only get worse. Flores and other neighbors are petitioning the city for residential parking permits to ease the problem.
My relationship with my dad is one of the most important in my life. He's always seemed to 'get' me, always able to pinpoint the exact thing that bothers me or brings me joy. We share the same sweet tooth, an appreciation for small cute critters, and an irreverent, dry wit. I'm immune to most appeals to Hallmark sentimentality, but when it comes to depictions of Dads and Daughters I cry every time.
The Statesman called me last month to spend a morning with a group of girls who recently lost their dads. A faith-based organization called the Kids Outdoor Zone brings them together for a group discussion about their loss and then leads them into the great outdoors. I fell instantly in love with the cause of KOZ.
It was a gray, drizzly morning but the girls were bright spots of love for each other. You can read Joshunda Sanders' story here.
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(Left to right) Nicole Basey, Kendal Rhodes, and Amy McInnes say a prayer during a KOZ group meeting on Saturday May 21, 2011. Kids Outdoor Zone is a youth ministry devoted to helping girls who have lost a father. |
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Destiny Richter, 12, (left) and Salem Severance, 9, right, look for a passage about faith the size of a mustard seed in the New Testament. |
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CC Vantrease, right, gives a reassuring hug to Salem Severance, second from right, as they lead KOZ group members to an open field for a lesson in tent construction at Mary Moore Searight Park in South Austin. |
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Salem Severance, left, and CC Vantrease, right, fold up tent poles while singing a song about team work. |
