Thursday, November 5, 2009

They Absolutely Didn't Have to Do This


But they did. They took an overgrown, trash heap wasteland section of the San Antonio River and gave it a radical makeover. They dredged it out, widened the river channel, built elaborate stonework walls and walkways, and secured artists to conceive and install wildly creative, bizarre and even subtle works of art. And now San Antonio has an outdoor linear art gallery that's like nowhere else in the world. The picture above is Donald Lipski's F.I.S.H. under the I-35 bridge, with San Antonio Museum of Art in the background.


They--the city, the county, the San Antonio River Authority, and the San Antonio River Foundation--had an uphill battle to fight. They had to convince a skeptical public that an area of town that, to put it kindly, has seen better times, could become a showplace for the Alamo City. And now, with a lot of corporate support, those governmental entities have done precisely that.


Almost a year ago the River Foundation contacted KLRN to document the creation of what's come to be called the Museum Reach portion of the new River Walk. We've interviewed dozens of people, including all the artists, former mayors, all the movers-n-shakers. And we've spent time along the river shooting beautiful high-def video of all the artists' wondrous creations. We've cruised in River Barges, night and day, to capture the experience of this fabulous new stretch. And we've put all that into a lively, half-hour documentary that we've named Paseo Del Arte: Expanding the San Antonio River Walk. If you'd like a preview, go here. It airs Tuesay the 10th at 9PM on KLRN, and we sure hope you'll watch.

If you watch, you'll see how much neater a town we can be, how much more interesting a society we become...when we do that which we don't have to do, but which will make us all a little happeer.


Tuesday, November 3, 2009

To medicate or not to medicate...that is the question.

I have to be honest, with all of the talk about the H1N1 vaccination and it's safety (or not), the discussion has happened in my house... to vaccinate or not to vaccinate? There is speculation. There are questions. And frankly, my family is in a quandry about it, trying to figure out the best route to take. I guess I won't have to make any drastic decisions until the shot actually becomes available to me and mine. Until then, I wait (and am quite relieved not to have to make the ultimate decision just yet).

In the meantime, I am left to think about children and medicine. Quite a combo. I remember penicillin being the cure all for me as a child...for anything and everything, but that was it. If penicillin didn't cure it, then I was to wait it out or sleep it off.

Tonight, Frontline is rebroadcasting the episode titled "The Medicated Child". Some programs bear repeating and I believe because of the current discussions about our little ones and which medicines are good for them, this one is more than appropriate. Tune in tonight or watch the full episode online. I know I will.

Katrina

p.s. By the way, there is a plethora of information at the website for this episode. FAQs, discussion forums, and a parents guide, for any of you interested in learning more.