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.
Lucy Morrison, 13, center, raises her fists for a punching exercise during a self-defense class taught by Janell Smith.
Aleta Neill, 13, center, raises her fists for a punching exercise.
(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.
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.
Playing a little posting catch up from the end of the summer.
The city of New Braunfels passed an ordinance that will ban disposable containers such as beer cans on the Comal and Guadalupe rivers within the city limits. More than 10,000 visitors a weekend come to float on the water or cookout in local parks. The costs of clean-up amount to $155,000 annually, but local business owners claim the influx of money from visitors to the area more than makes up for the litter problem.
The ordinance doesn't take effect until 2012, but this Labor Day Weekend saw a marked decrease in traffic on the rivers and with local businesses. Opponents are gathering signatures to put the issue on the ballot in November. Their motto, Can the Ban. You can read the story 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.
On my recent family visit to Bend, OR I met up with one of my favorite friends and photographers Sol Neelman for a little weird sports therapy. Sol has made a career of shooting events like the Outhouse Races, Urban Golf, Redneck Fishing, and ChessBoxing among many, many others including run-of-the-mill sporting events - you know, like the Olympics.
Sol's personal passion has culminated in a new book which is easily my new favorite photo volume. It's inspiring to see that come to fruition. In our new freelance paradigm we alone are in charge of our path. As Penny reminds us - "self-assign the dream assignment." Sol's done that and man it looks fun.
Thanks for the good times, Sol. See you in Denver!
Part 2 of the Goodnight-Loving legacy appears in the September issue of Texas Highways Magazine. Editor Griff Smith did a great job culling the take from the 2,000+ miles across Texas it took to shoot the story. Outtakes and the lede are below.
My Obsession with Charles Goodnight began with a nudge from my father, a one-time history major who, as a retired state employee astride a motorcycle, explored historical sites all over Texas and reported his observations back to me. When his father, my grandfather, became seriously ill, those exploratory trips became therapeutic. My dad latched on to Goodnight’s story, and as he lost his own father, he sought out a tale that wove manliness, mortality, and legacy into the mythic story of a man who became legend.
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.
The August issue of Texas Highways Magazine has part one of a two part series on the Goodnight-Loving Trail, a historic Texas cattle trail, the story of which inspired the Pulitzer Prize winning epic Lonesome Dove. You can link to the article here, or grab a copy at your favorite local bookstore. Intakes and outtakes appear in the slideshow below.
In 1866, a young cattleman named Charles Goodnight forged a partnership with Oliver Loving, an established rancher 25 years his senior, and they blazed a new cattle trail across Texas to Fort Sumner, New Mexico. By 1868, the trail spanned some 2,000 miles, extending into Colorado and Wyoming. And the partnership that started with a handshake in an unassuming hamlet in North Texas became one of the most celebrated legends of the West.
The story of the Goodnight-Loving Trail represents the defining story of the last frontier, before fences and railroads changed the West forever. As a Texan born 100 years after the close of the frontier, I’ve always wanted to see the state as it was then—wide open to anyone courageous enough to take it on. Believing in the power of place to connect us to history, I decided to retrace the steps of Goodnight and Loving to call forth that sense of possibility and purpose.
Two-time All-American Scott MacPherson has joined Austin's Rogue Running team and is training for the Olympic marathon trials in January of 2012. The Dallas Morning News profiled MacPherson's eating habits for a series dubbed 'Eat Like a Pro'.
Scott was a great sport (pun intended) allowing me to drape him in linguine for a more fun take on the 'athlete with food' photo.
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.
(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.
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.
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.
Salem Severance, left, and CC Vantrease, right, fold up tent poles while singing a song about team work.
