Texas 4000- Riding to fight cancer

Here at UT Austin, a select group of determined students are members of a great organization called Texas 4000.

Texas 4000 is an organization of young people who raise money and then ride their bicycles about 4,000 miles over the summer from Austin, Texas to Anchorage, Alaska. According to their website, the riders are mostly UT students, and "they train, fundraise, educate, and bring hope to those with cancer."

I had the privilege of meeting with some of the riders for the 2010 summer team, and interviewed them for a podcast project that I worked on. Below is the link to the podcasts, and I think that they can explain the program in their own words better than I ever could.

PODCAST: Fighting Cancer by the Mile

If you want to help the cause and contribute to the Texas 4000 team, visit this link or just look for the riders around Austin- they're a high energy, very visible group.

Happy Thanksgiving... and Go Horns!

This Thanksgiving I have so much to be thankful for. My family is healthy, safe, and happy; I have the privilege to attend a great university and learn from amazing teachers; I'm surrounded by great friends in Austin who are always there for me; and it looks like my Texas Longhorns are headed to the Big 12 (and maybe even National) Championship.

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays- I have a huge extended family in Austin and my parents and siblings always come to town to eat with about 40 of my cousins, aunts and uncles at my Aunt Katie's house in Buda. We always make too much food, too much noise, and everyone likes to talk trash to each other in and out of the kitchen.

After we've eaten to our heart's content, football is the name of the game. First we watch the Cowboys, and then attend or tune into the always exciting Texas vs. Texas A&M rivalry game. This year the game is in college station at Kyle Field, so unfortunately I won't be able to go, but that means that we can lounge around and watch the game with extra servings of pumpkin pie. Texas is still undefeated, and I'm not too worried about their game today. Although A&M always brings immense energy to the rivalry game, their 6-5 record doesn't scare me much.

Texas' win against Kansas guaranteed us a spot in the Big 12 Championship, but if we do great against the Aggies today, we're one step closer to the National Championship in Pasadena, California. Hopefully we'll make it all the way, but even if we don't, there's plenty to be thankful for.

Handmade Goodies for your Favorite Longhorn

With the holidays just around the corner (and the ever lurking Black Friday) many people are already thinking about what gifts to get for everyone on their shopping list. If that special someone happens to be a Texas Longhorn fan, this post is for you.

If you're looking for something original and fun, check out Etsy.com, a unique shopping website that is a cross between eBay and a traditional craft fair. With its motto of "Buy, Sell, and Live Handmade" the Etsy website is dedicated to connecting artists, designers and crafters who make original creations with the people who want to buy them.

Along with handmade products, people on Etsy sell vintage items, homemade sweets, and craft supplies. Etsy offers multiple options for paying for items, including credit card, money order, and PayPal (which is a service of eBay).

I've chosen a few of my favorite Longhorn items (hint hint) for the holiday season that I think a variety of Texas fans would enjoy. Here are a few of the best:

Texas Longhorn Cufflinks



These longhorn cufflinks would be a great gift for a dad, brother, uncle or boyfriend who wants to show off his 'horns with style. From CufflinkConnection's Shop, these are just one of many unique pieces available.

Tutu

Any little princess would love this UT tutu and bow set from PolkaDotPrincess. I have a few cousins that would adore this sweet set.
photo: http://ny-image1.etsy.com//il_430xN.100143733.jpg


Apron

Do you have an aspiring chef on your gift list? This reversible longhorn apron from RockyTopBakery would be a perfect present. Even if all they do is burn hot dogs at the tailgate, they will feel like a culinary star wearing this.
photo:

Headband

This sparkly longhorn headband is my absolute favorite. I think I might have to rush order one from EllieKatt myself, so that I can wear it to the national championship game! :)

Embroidered Pillow

I think that this pillow is quirky and fun, and would be a great gift for a mom, grandma, or sister, or even look great in a dorm room. It's from AuntBs' shop, where there are several other designs available as well.

Typewriter Necklace

Another unique piece that I really like is this typewriter necklace from JenniferPerezDesigns. It would be great game day jewelry for any longhorn fan who wants to wear something a little different.

Christmas Ornaments

These ornaments from StickyTatts would be a great gift for just about anyone on your list, including a boss or neighbor. Or if you participate in an ornament exchange, these would be the first to go!


Well those are just a few of the many splendid things on Etsy.com. Take a look for yourself, and I'm sure you can find something out of the ordinary (and usually pretty affordable) for just about anyone. (As a side note- I believe that they do sell some Texas A&M, Texas Tech, and other school's items on the site, but if you have any Aggies or Red Raiders on your gift list, they probably just deserve coal.)

Salsa Dancing in Austin

As a follow up to my previous blog, I thought I'd write about another style of dance that is also very prevalent in Austin- Salsa. Although I prefer two stepping (because it's much easier, in my opinion) my older sister Karen is quite the Salsa enthusiast. She loves to go out and dance in Austin, and whenever she gets the chance to drag me along, I end up having an awesome time.

We first took Merengue lessons on a trip to the Dominican Republic when I was a senior in high school, and when we got back Karen continued learning other Latin American dance styles including Bachata, Cumbia, and of course Salsa. (I still love Merengue because the music is amazing and it reminds me of the time we spent in the Caribbean.) She and her friends have taught me most of what I know about Salsa, but I'd like to take lessons to get better and be more confident when we go downtown.

I recently interviewed some members of Longhorn Salsa, an organization that provides free dance lessons to UT students. The video below shows students at a salsa lesson in the Texas Union building.



Some great places to go salsa dancing here in Austin are Copa, Cuba Libre, and Maria Maria.

Texas Two Step

When I tried to explain "two stepping" to someone in California this summer, I think my description was less than perfect. They responded with, "oh, that's like a line dance right? You do it in barns?" Not quite. So let's see if I can explain it better here.

The two step that couples dance at bars and weddings these days is more like the 1950's foxtrot than a line dance. It's simple enough to pick up, as long as you remember "quick, quick, slow" and then listen for that rhythm in the music. It is most commonly danced to country music, and once you learn the basic steps there are more advanced spins and partnering tricks that you can do, like my favorite, the pretzel.

I'm not by any means a great two stepper, but it's fun to do when you're out with friends, and not as intimate as other styles of dance. I first learned how to two step from my dad, who taught me at a wedding. He and my mom took a ballroom dancing class (per my mom's request) when they were in college together at the University of North Texas, and now they can show off their moves whenever country songs come on.

To learn how to two step here in Austin, you can take lessons at various places, including Austin Uptown Dance, Go Dance, or free intro classes with UT's Longhorn Country Dance Club.

Some great places to practice your two stepping or show off your skills are the Broken Spoke, a dance hall on South Lamar; Dallas Nightclub, one of my personal favorites in North Austin; Nutty Brown Cafe, which often features live country artists in their outside venue; Hill's Cafe, which also features live country music and free concerts during the summer; and Midnight Rodeo, a club that plays a combination of hip hop and country music and hosts "college night" every Thursday.

So dust off your boots and grab a beer- the two step is one of Texas' finest traditions and can be enjoyed at any skill level.

Do 512: Austin made easy

Non-Profit News for Texans

The Texas Tribune, a new non-profit nonpartisan online news site, launched yesterday and there is already big buzz among bloggers and tweeters from across the nation. The site's mission is to "promote civic engagement and discourse on public policy, politics, government, and other matters of statewide concern" through their original content that they plan to share freely with other news organizations, and eventually through events open to the public.

The site is unique not only because it is among the "new wave" of non-profit news experiments, but also because of their extensive searchable databases including a directory of Texas elected officials. In an interview with the Poynter Institute, Texas Tribune reporter Matt Stiles said that these 11 databases are just the beginning, and eventually the databases will interact with eachother so that readers can see how the information is related.

This is a relatively new concept in news, where reporters give readers all of the raw data used for stories and let them use it as they wish instead of simply interpreting the information. It only works in certain stories or with certain audiences, as some data is better explained through a narrative or graphic rather than overwhelming the audience with meaningless unexplained figures.

The stories on the Texas Tribune website are organized by topic: ranging from immigration, education, and health care to the major campaigns and candidates in the big 2010 Texas elections.

As a non-profit news organization, the Texas Tribune relys completely on donations. According to their about us section, they have already raised $3.6 million and do not plan on selling advertising on their site. In the opinion of Rosental Alves, the Director of the Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas and (more personally) the professor of my Multimedia Journalism course at UT, the refusal of advertising is a mistake. In their initial launch, they will be able to pay for business costs and the salaries of their reporters but "a few years down the road sustainability will become an issue without Google Ads" according to Alves.

I agree with him, and discussed with my father, a former newspaper journalist, the issue of sustainibility and donations. He raised another interesting point- how can they keep political lobbyists and big PACs from becoming their main donors and thus influincing their "nonpartisan" news? My inclination is that since they are a non-profit and all of their financial records are public, taking money from such organizations would tarnish their reputation and diminish their credibility, but it will be interesting to see who their major donors are in the coming years.

Over all, I am optemistic and excited about the launch of this new news organization. As a journalism student, I often find myself combating those who say "newspapers are dead" and this is one of the main examples that I give for the future of news. Now that's not to say that I think this is the only solution, and I think that this particular site definitely still needs some work; it's currently running extremely slow because of all of the heavy traffic, and the simple solution is to buy more bandwidth. But I think that for a first launch, the Texas Tribune did a great job, and I look forward to what they, and other similar news sites, will produce in the future.

(The following video was produced by the Texas Tribune and gives more information from the co-founders.)