This is a call to cameras for all of you out there surfing the web. Docubloggers needs you. We’re looking for our very first community-generated docublogs to post on our website, and one really good one to air during our pilot on May 17^th.

Docublogs are 3 to 5 minutes videos on anything that conforms to our motto “Life in Central Texas”. It can be a person, place, or event that means something to you and your community. It can be a project or organization of which you or someone you know is a part. It can be anything you want! Just go out there and create your docublog, and then send us a copy of it (email us for instructions). We’ll post the entries on our website, and one lucky Docublogger just might get to show theirs on the air during our pilot episode on May 17^th!

If you have any questions about this call for entries, please feel free to email us.

We just got word from our programming department that the Docubloggers pilot is set to air on Thursday, May 17^th at 8:30pm (following Downtown). Stay tuned for the very first full episode of Docubloggers, and be sure to add your own thoughts and share story ideas right here on our blog (email us if you want to find out how). We’re looking forward to sharing our stories with you, and seeing what you’d like to share with us. The countdown to the pilot has begun!

Unfortunately, the Professional Rodeo Cowboy Association specified that I can only use the footage I captured at the San Antonio Rodeo for television. In other words, I can’t stream video of Justin competing in the rodeo from our website. I’m sorry if you didn’t catch this episode on the tube. I personally like the story much better with the additional three minutes. But sometimes a producer has to play by the rules. I present to you an abridged cut of the Justin Maass story.

There are two cows in a paddock eating grass. One turns to the other and says, “Moooooo!” “Hey”, says the other…. “I was just about to say the same thing!”

I’ve been around a lot of cows lately-specifically, baby cows. And yes, they do actually make a “moo” sound… especially when they’re in a pin about to get roped! It was January right after the holidays and I finally received a call back from Pro Rodeo tie down roper Justin Maass. I admitted to him that I wasn’t exactly sure what roping involved…. but I wanted to learn and document him. I was surprised at how agreeable he seemed to the idea of being interviewed and followed by a camera crew. And then I asked him, “Why are you doing this?” He started to tell me how he decided to go into roping and I interrupted, “No, I mean why are you open to the idea of me filming you?” He stressed the importance to keep the rodeo’s fan base alive. He added that the younger generation isn’t as familiar with this event, and unless the rodeo “runs in the family”, it’s harder to target the general public. (more…)

At one time or another, it’s natural for people to experience the feeling of homesickness. On occasion I yearn to see the mountains and saguaro cacti of Tucson Arizona. Fortunately, I can go back and take in the scenery, visit my dad, friends and completely fill that void. Some of us aren’t that lucky and have to find other ways to dissipate their longing. (more…)

There are so many different routes of information that gives me the incentive to produce a story. Sometimes it’s word of mouth, word of web, or it’s a spontaneous “I’m on it!” reaction to an advertisement in the Taylor Daily Press to join a quilting bee. The first thought I had was “Do quilting bees still exist?” I assumed homemade quilts are a keepsake that women made back in World War II to keep families and soldiers warm. And I must first admit before I write anything further, I’m not the craftiest girl in Texas. When I took a trip out to Taylor, Texas to visit the Blackland Quilt Guild, little did I know that quilting is the fastest growing craft in the US. The Blackland quilting bee is not the only quilting bee in Central Texas. There are tons of them everywhere: Georgetown, Austin, Round Rock, La Grange, and Fredericksburg. About every town in Texas has one! Check out all these Texas bees. (more…)