The 5th Annual Lights. Camera. Help. Cause-Driven Film Festival (Aug 2013)

Earlier in the year the wife and I attended to Attic Film Festival here in Austin. That was April, now come August it is time for another film festival. This one reportedly is bigger.

When:
August 15 at 6:30pm through August 17 at 11pm
Opening Night - Thursday, August 15 • 6:30pm-9:30pm
Second Night - Friday, August 16 • 6:30pm-9:30pm
Closing Night - Saturday, August 17 • 3:30pm-6:30pm
Awards Party - Saturday, August 17 • 6:30pm-11pm

Website:
lightscamerahelp.org

What:
Lights. Camera. Help.’s uniquely cause-driven Film Festival will kick off on August 15 (2013) at the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema’s (Village Location). This three-day film festival will host dozens of cause-driven films that focus on the good happening in every corner of the world and the organizations that are getting it done. The festival brings together activists, film fans, advocates, nonprofits and filmmakers to show us the beautiful results when causes and films meet.

The Festival’s Program Coordinator, Virginia Hernandez, said “We’re so proud to present this year’s film selections. The quality and variety of submissions we received was truly impressive, and as a result, we were able to cultivate a unique and inspiring program. We are excited to show these works, and even more excited to draw attention to the great causes behind the films.”

Aaron Bramley, co-founder and Executive Director shares his excitement about the closing awards event, stating, “The awards party will be a chance to celebrate those who do good in our community, network with other filmmakers and nonprofit professionals and award prizes to the nonprofits associated with the winning films of the festival. With numerous food and drink sponsors, it’s sure to be a night to remember.”

The featured, closing night film this year will be Brasslands, a story of the world’s largest trumpet competition in a tiny, Serbian village. The competition is teeming with Serbian trumpet champions and Roma gypsies, and, this year, an unlikely brass band from New York City. The festivities and competition that commences is a testament to the transcendent nature of music. This documentary film shows that despite vast political, racial and ethnic divides, people can gather to dance, to enjoy music and to celebrate life. The screening will include a panel discussion and audience Q&A with the directors, a group of filmmakers from Meerkat Media Collective.

On Friday night, after the feature “When I Rise”  there will be a discussion with the director of that film, Mat Hames. When I rise is a feature-length documentary about Barbara Smith Conrad, a gifted University of Texas music student who finds herself at the epicenter of racial controversy, struggling against the odds and ultimately ascending to the heights of international opera.


Lights. Camera. Help. is a nonprofit organization that enables others to create significant positive change through film.  More information is available at their website listed above.



Tickets:
$70 - all three nights of the festival (includes dinner and a drink each night/ also admission to the awards party on Saturday night)
$25 - Thursday Night Only
$25 - Friday Nigh Only
$30 - Saturday Night Only
$20 - Saturday night awards party only

Handicapped Accessibility:
Alamo Drafthouse is generally handicapped accessible, with very few exceptions.

Location:
Alamo Drafthouse Cinema Village
2700 W Anderson Lane
Austin, TX ‎

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Eanes-Marshall Ranch

photo by Kevin Surbaugh

Inscription:
Alexander Eanes (1806-1888) moved to Texas from Mississippi in 1845 and acquired this ranch by 1857. In 1873 he sold the property to his brother, Robert Eanes (1805-1895), who had moved to the area following the Civil War. A log cabin built on the Eanes ranch was the first Eanes school, and the community also assumed the Eanes name. Robert Eanes sold the ranch to his son-in-law, Hudson Boatner Marshall (1862-1951) in 1883. Marshall dismantled the ranch house and moved it to a site adjacent to the nearby creek.
Erected:
1986

photo by Kevin Surbaugh

Handicapped Accessibility:
somewhat, depending on the mobility issue you are dealing with. Wheelchairs may have trouble accessing this marker.

Location:
near 941 S Capital of Texas Hwy, Austin, TX, just outside the Capital of Texas Highway entrance of the Saint John Neuman Catholic Church.

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Austin is 4th Hardest Working City in the USA

Hey Austin! Have you heard the news?  I just received a tweet from KXAN  a few minutes ago about the news. Austin has made another "Top 10 List." This time the "Hardest Working Cities" list. Austin is number four (4) on the list. Out of the top 10, five (5) of them are in Texas. Below is the complete list of the top 10 hardest working cities in America.

1. Seattle, WA
2. Arlington, TX
3. Fort Worth, TX
4. Austin, TX
5. San Jose, CA
6. San Francisco, CA
7. Dallas, TX
8. Virginia Beach, VA
9. Washington, D.C.
10. Houston, TX

So what factors into the decision of these cities making the list?

Average hours worked per week

 According the Bureau of Labor Statistics, workers in Houston are putting in more time than the rest of us. Resident of the Texas city averaged 37.6 hours of work each week. Coming in second was a three way tie between Fort Worth, Arlington, and Dallas, each with 37 hours. This is likely because the data collected was for the metro area.
Movoto Blog

Unemployment rate
Here the lower the unemployment the better. Seattle came up with lowest unemployment rate at just 4%.
Commute time
The longest commute was Chicago, and this survey factored in the average commute time according to the U.S. census.
Employed workers per household
Again using the Census Bureau they looked at how many people in each household are working.
Hours volunteered per year
Some people put in extra hours for various causes that are important to them in addition to their work hours.
Lack of sleep
Are people staying up late zipping emails back and forth with colleagues? In other words, are they losing sleep burning the midnight oil?
Cost of living
Here they looked at the cost of living in each city and figured that those with higher costs would mean that people would have to work harder just to survive.
So there you have it. The top 10 hardest working cities and how they figured the list.

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Beautiful Scenic Overlook on 360

A must see attraction in Austin is the Scenic Overlook on Highway 360 (Capital of Texas Highway). This scenic vista can be found as you drive north on 360, just after the entrance to the Wild Basin Preserve.

photo by Kevin Surbaugh

Among the things that you can see from this scenic viewpoint is the Texas State Capital, University of Texas Tower, and a number of other tall buildings that sit high on the downtown horizon.

photo by an unknown visitor at the site

Handicapped Accessibility:
Yes, the wife had no problem moving around the Overlook.

Location:
There is no exact address for this attraction, however it is 2.3 miles south of the Pennybacker Bridge at an approximate address (according to the GPS) of  1673 N. Capital of Texas Highway. The nearest intersection is Hwy 360-Loop North and Westlake. Just north of the Wild Basin preserve entrance.

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King-Von Rosenberg House

photo by Kevin Surbaugh

Inscription:
In 1916, the heirs of Gov. Elisha Pease established the Enfield Realty and Home Building Company and began dividing the Pease estate into what would become Austin's Enfield neighborhood. Six years later, Belmont Belle Graham, a cousin to the Pease heirs, and her husband, Florian Bibb King, built their home at this site. Nina Electa and Frederick Charles Von Rosenberg bought the house in 1928, and the property remained in their family until 1988. The historic home exhibits influences of the Prairie School and Renaissance Revival styles, with a porte cochere, composite columns, triumverate windows, decorative ironwork and a wide overhanging hipped roof.
Erected:
2004 (currently Missing)
Handicapped Accessibility:
unsure
Location:
1500 Lorrain Street
Austin TX 78703

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Austin High School

Inscription:
Tax supported, locally controlled secondary education began in Austin in 1881 with the establishment of a high school department in the city school district. Plans for implementing the program were developed under the leadership of school board President A.P. Wooldridge and Superintendent John B. Winn.

Austin High School opened in September 1881 with an enrollment of 31 girls and 17 boys. Classes were first held on the third floor of the west Austin school building at the corner of 11th and Rio Grande. Due to continued growth, classes were later moved to the First Baptist Church building, the temporary State Capitol, and the Smith Opera House. In 1900 the first high school building was completed at Trinity and 9th. When the enrollment outgrew the facilities there, the high school was moved to the campus of John T. Allan Junior High School on Rio Grande. Austin High was moved again in 1975, following the completion of a new complex at this site.

For over a century, Austin High School has been a leader in the development of innovative educational programs and has maintained a record of academic excellence that reflects the community’s concern for the quality of education in Austin

photo by Kevin Surbaugh

Erected:
1981
Handicapped Accessibility:
Yes, the marker is located on the wall near the main entrance.

photo by Kevin Surbaugh

Location:
1715 W Cesar Chavez St
Austin TX 78701

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Daniel H. Caswell House

Inscription:
Daniel H. Caswell came to Austin from Nashville, Tennessee, about 1895. He purchased a cotton oil manufacturing company, bought and sold cotton, and in 1899 built a cotton gin. When completed for his family in 1900, this house was located in the far northwest corner of the city. The Caswell House, which exhibits influences of Late Victorian, Colonial Revival, and Chateauesque styles, features a corner turret and porches supported on rusticated piers.

photo by Kevin Surbaugh

Erected:
1984

photo by Kevin Surbaugh

Handicapped Accessibility:
No, the marker itself is on the porch at the top of the steps.

Location:
On Porch
1404 West Avenue
Austin TX 78701

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