'Bout Blogs

Mr. Porteno contributes the item of the day. From NYTimes Pogue's Posts, David Pogue interviews blog pioneer the former Wonkette Ana Marie Cox. She's moved on from her gossipy, funny blog and from suck.com to work for Time magazine and develop a book deal (not to say she isn't gossipy or funny anymore). Take a look at the article, some good insight.

http://pogue.blogs.nytimes.com/

A few excerpts:

DP: So what are the ingredients then for a successful blog, apart from being entertaining or snarky?

AMC: I think it’s changing. Six months, a year ago, I would have talked about what I think made Wonkette successful and makes Gawker successful, to a certain extent, and other blogs: A strong, defined personality with a sense of humor about themselves. An ability to filter news quickly and to recognize, you know, what is interesting to other people as well as interesting to themselves, and finding the balance between those things.
What I think is changing is that people have now become addicted to the rapid update. You know, the not just 12 times a day; 18 times a day, 24 times a day. And it’s almost physically impossible for one person to do that.
And so I think that we’re probably going to see that the individual, strong-personality blog is not going to be at the forefront, because group blogs are going to be able to do what people expect of blogs better.

DP: Who are the readers of the blogs? Is it just the BlackBerry crowd? The white-collar coasts?

AMC: I think it’s people with time on their hands. People who work at white-collar jobs, have high-bandwidth Internet connections, and aren’t expected to produce, you know, widgets on an hourly basis. I think those are the blogveyers.

DP: Wait till the widget blogs get a hold of these comments.

AMC: Now, I’m not insulting the widget makers. I come from a long, proud line of widget makers. (LAUGHS)

DP: I doubt it. So, blogs are read by this upper–

AMC: Well, they’re read by the opinion-elites, if you want to put it that way. Which means that they get written about disproportionately to how much they affect the world.
But because they get written about, they do wind up affecting the world. So–

DP: It’s self-fulfilling.

AMC: Yeah.

DP: Do you have any big-picture wrapup on the future of blogs?

AMC: I think that the media fascination with it as a force could decline. But, what’s kind of neat or inspiring about the blogosphere is that it’s very American. The idea that someone could enter into a conversation, you know, based just on having an opinion and an argument. And it’s a conversation that includes people who have real power in the world. I mean, that idea is very seductive.

Aha! Moments

In an earlier post - NPR spoke with a network exec about more dramas on the docket this year versus the deluge of Reality TV shows of the past seasons. Today Renee Montagne reported on the serial nature of those new dramas, and how that is causing stress among fans and those who create the shows. Why? Because fans are afraid they'll become emotionally involved and then the network will pull the plug and leave them hanging.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5580382

Here is where the Aha Moment comes in for me. I've been exploring on this blog how the internet will be used as a new delivery system for broadcast and cable television shows... what does that mean, exactly and how will we all make a living from it?

Montagne reports that network execs will use the internet to bridge gaps for these new shows in a few ways. If a serial drama gets cancelled, the network may continue the rest of the season through the internet. For the shows that continue - fans can keep up with evolving story lines through internet updates.. and the real Aha came when Montagne said there are even a few shows being developed primarily for the internet. If they do well and garner a fan base... they will make the jump to broadcast.

Aha! Check out the story. Very interesting. Perhaps we are getting somewhere.

On another note: I've been doing video work for a group called The Knowledge Trust which is a University of North Carolina-led group of industry gurus, uber librarians, and other visionaries. Their job is to figure out what the digital revolution means to libraries and specifically training librarians (UNC is one of the world's premier library schools). They are asking simple questions like: what IS a library? what happens to books? and what exactly ARE the questions? Also on NPR today - those same types of questions apply to museums. Here is the link to the web extras page:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5563221

The Manilow Method

Poor Barry! I have a soft spot in my heart for this dear, disrespected crooner. My SUNY Buffalo singing group was hired as backup for Manilow's Memorial Auditorium extravaganza in the mid '80's. I'll never forget mid-medley on stage catching sight of two of my former high school teachers swooning in the front row, their lighters bravely blinking through the darkness. It was then I was sure the Bar was not my ticket to stardom.

http://www.wcsh6.com/news/watercooler/article.aspx?storyid=38516

Barry Manilow's music may be magic to some but not to everybody, as they're finding out in a suburb of Sydney, Australia.

To chase away car enthusiasts who were gathering in a local park at nights on weekends, officials have been blasting songs by Manilow and Doris Day. Officials say after a month, the music is having the desired effect. But people who live near the park aren't too happy. They say, imagine having to listen to "Copacabana," "Could It Be Magic" and "Que Sera Sera" every week. One woman says she can't sleep when the songs are blaring and she can't imagine how she'll survive, given that officials plan to keep up the musical barrage for the next six months. The Australian city has turned down the volume a bit and is reviewing the playlist. Even Rockdale's deputy mayor admits he can't stand Manilow's hit "Mandy."

http://www.abc.net.au/newsradio/txt/s1679462.htm

Clean Soles and Designer Doodles

This from one who does not consider herself precious: I realized today that I now own anti-bacterial hiking shoes and a hypo-allergenic dog. Hmmmmmm...

No Dander Zone

Bloodthirsty Hybrid From Hell

Upcoming on National Geographic: The Is It Real? series episode of Chupacabra which was the show I directed and produced on my summer vacation 2005. Episodes air on Nat Geo Channel on July 30 at 8P, with follow-ups on July 30 at 11P and September 10, 8P.

http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/channel/ET/popup/200607302000.html

TV.Com gives the show a 9.3 superb rating with 2 whole votes! ben10fan12475 says "there is something different about this episode" and rates a perfect 10. Hmm, mysterious, elusive. A little like... EL CHUPACABRA.

TV Production One, Oh...??

My fall course for Shenandaoh University's Center for Lifelong Learning

http://www.su.edu/cont-ed/programs.asp?programid=1

Television Production Workshop
If you’ve ever wanted to film for T.V., this is your chance! This course is a hands-on introduction to the basics of producing, writing, filming and editing. The goal of this six-week course is to expose you to all aspects of video production, while creating a thirty-second Public Service Announcement for a local non-profit organization. Early in the course, you’ll help develop a concept for the PSA with the instructor and learn technical basics. Midway through the course, you’ll apply that theory on location and help in filming, interviewing subjects and getting background video. Finally, the whole class will assist in editing the assembled elements, and finish the PSA. Each participant will receive a copy of the final product. Paulette Moore is the producer and director of the SU Television Center, and the creator of many documentaries, commercials and short videos. (Limit 6 students)
Credit Hours:
1.2
Course Meets:
Tu 6:00:00 PM to 8:00:00 PM
Course Dates:
9/12/2006 to 10/17/2006
Location:
Winchester
Instructor:
Moore
Fee:
$107
Course #:
CONT 338 CEL w

Truth and Science Reprise

Anyone who doubts that sexism remains a problem deep and wide in our world should read, no REALLY read this Washington Post article on transgendered Stanford University neurobiologist Ben Barres. He spent the first half of his career being ignored and underestimated because... well, as close as he can figure... because he was a woman.

His article appears in the journal Nature and provides a unique perspective on former Harvard president Lawrence Summer's assertion that innate differences between the sexes might explain why many fewer women than men reach the highest echelons of science.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/12/AR2006071201883.html

Here are a few of my favorite anecdotes from the article:

After he underwent a sex change nine years ago at the age of 42, Barres recalled, another scientist who was unaware of it was heard to say, "Ben Barres gave a great seminar today, but then his work is much better than his sister's."

And as a female undergraduate at MIT, Barres once solved a difficult math problem that stumped many male classmates, only to be told by a professor: "Your boyfriend must have solved it for you."

"By far," Barres wrote, "the main difference I have noticed is that people who don't know I am transgendered treat me with much more respect" than when he was a woman. "I can even complete a whole sentence without being interrupted by a man."

Barres said the switch had given him access to conversations that would have excluded him previously: "I had a conversation with a male surgeon and he told me he had never met a woman surgeon who was as good as a man."

Barres's salvo, bolstered with scientific studies, marks a dramatic twist in a controversy that began with Summers's suggestion last year that "intrinsic aptitude" may explain why there are relatively few tenured female scientists at Harvard. After a lengthy feud with the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Summers resigned earlier this year.

Truth and Science

Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth; a documentary about the truth and, well... truth of global warming, is a lovely platform for the geeky, earnest politician/science professor. Who knew a slide show could be so darn compelling?! I think Gore finally found a way to run for president on his terms. Cool.

http://www.climatecrisis.net


Scientists and such seems to be on the radar today. Here are some quotes from Baltimore's sublime Urbanite Magazine www.urbanitebaltimore.com.


If you haven't found something strange during the day, it hasn't been much of a day.

-John Archibald Wheeler, American theoretical physicist


Be less curious about people and more curious about ideas

-Marie Curie, Polish chemist, pioneer in the field of radiology and two-time Nobel Prize winner


It has yet to be proven that intelligence has any survival value.

-Arthur C. Clarke, British author and inventor

Hope, Fear and... Faith??

-With Enron behind us (kinda, sorta), some encouraging news about how one might choose to handle one's fortunes. Second richest man in the world Warren Buffet said earlier this week that he doesn't believe in dynastic wealth so he's giving over the bulk of his fortune to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The foundation will use the money to fight AIDS, malaria and other diseases.

http://money.cnn.com/2006/06/25/magazines/fortune/charity1.fortune/index.htm

The other charities that Mr. Buffett will divide about $6 billion in stock among are the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation, which emphasizes family planning, abortion rights and anti-nuclear proliferation issues; the Howard G. Buffett Foundation, which focuses on environmental and conservation issues; the Susan A. Buffett Foundation, which supports educational opportunities for low-income children; and the NoVo Foundation, which has focused on education and human rights.

-On a more puzzling note we've got war going on, a multitude of education/race/gender/class issues pulling at the country, does the US Congress really have time to wrangle over a constitutional amendment to ban flag-burning? How many flags did you burn this week?? Hmmm??! This headline nearly made me spontaneously combust:

Flag Amendment Narrowly Fails in Senate Vote

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/28/washington/28flag.html?hp&ex=1151553600&en=f83a4d98b77907b4&ei=5094&partner=homepage

-And then there's both good and bad news in the ongoing debate over ordaining gay bishops in the Anglican Church -the Archibishop of Canterbury said it's not a good idea. That leaves some tough decisions for Episcopal Church, the Communion's American province. What drama will ensue??

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/28/us/28episcopal.html?hp&ex=1151553600&en=c430e21d859b78d0&ei=5094&partner=homepage

Pod People

On my way to a podcasting seminar at American University this weekend - so thot I would brush up on the true banality of associated terms.

http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Podcasting&action=edit


Podcasting is the method of distributing multimedia files, such as audio programs or music videos, over the Internet using either the RSS or Atom syndication formats, for playback on mobile devices and personal computers.

The term podcast, like 'radio', can mean both the content and the method of delivery. The host or author of a podcast is often called a podcaster. Podcasters' web sites may also offer direct download or streaming of their files; a podcast however is distinguished by its ability to be downloaded automatically using software capable of reading RSS or Atom feeds.

Usually a podcast features one type of 'show', with new episodes released either sporadically or at planned intervals such as daily or weekly. In addition, there are podcast networks that feature multiple shows on the same feed.

The publish/subscribe model of podcasting is a version of push technology, in that the information provider chooses which files to offer in a feed and the subscriber chooses among available feed channels. While the user is not "pulling" individual files from the Web, there is a strong "pull" aspect in that the receiver is free to subscribe to (or unsubscribe from) a vast array of channels. Earlier Internet "push" services (e.g., PointCast) allowed a much more limited selection of content.

Podcasting is an automatic mechanism by which multimedia computer files are transferred from a server to a client, which pulls down XML files containing the Internet addresses of the media files. In general, these files contain audio or video, but also could be images, text, PDF, or any file type.

A podcast is generally analogous to a recorded television or radio series.

BTW: the photo posted of Serena Williams in chaps has nothing to do with the content, but this stuff is so boring, I thought I should throw it in for fun.

Something Old Something New

Frustrating NYTimes article today asking the questions I've been pondering lots lately in the piece called "Waiting for Dough on the Web".

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/25/business/yourmoney/25frenzy.html

Reporter Richard Siklos says he periodically asks tv executives, "Who do you think has this internet thing figured out?" and then goes on to reveal those execs are at Fox, Time Warner, Walt Disney, Viacom, the Washington Post and of course The New York Times.

Hardly surprising given that he interviews the Usual Suspects that he gets essentially a lot of "beats me" responses. I think this is the problem with the Same Ole media companies... I don't sense they are able to imagine the questions, much less post the answers.

Perhaps I overstate, but I think not. After all, I come from the tradition of the Usual Suspects and I feel slightly clueless about this stuff. Admitting I have a wall here is the biggest step... perhaps my brick and mortar brain will begin to become a bit more fluid around this topic.

Investigation to follow. Forgive my same ole tv jargon, but stay tuned.

On another note - as far as what the future holds, check out this astounding Star Wars laser saber battle short which was shot, choreographed and edited by high school students. All the more reason to get busy. Gosh, I hear the pitter patter of little producer/directors!

http://ebaumsworld.com/videos/highschool-lightsaber-duel.html

Have you ever seen the rolling fighting scenario before???!! Terrific.

The Yellow Box

To use the apt exclamation of my understated niece Makayla: "Whoa." Fabu Fotog Tyrone Turner debuts his first full-blown National Geographic commission in July with a gorgeous photo gallery on America's Coasts in Crisis. This pic is part of the Yellow Box online extras.

Tyrone is from New Orleans and did a Geographic story a few years back on the Louisiana Wetlands. He was back in the 'hood shooting this story when Katrina hit and his knowledge and photo archive of the area were invaluable to telling that devastating story. He even made a Nightline appearance talking about his Huck Finn boyhood on the levees sporting the 7 stitches he received when he failed to Hang 10 while shooting on the West Coast.

I've had the priviledge over the past 2 decades of watching this talented photographer grow and change and challenge himself and those around him, all the while keeping a firm grip on his integrity and his sense of humor. Congratulations you IWS.

Coasts Feature Story: http://www7.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0607/feature2/index.html

Photo Gallery: http://www7.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0607/feature2/gallery5.html

Wetlands Story: http://magma.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0410/feature5/?fs=www3.nationalgeographic.com

One of my favorite Tyrone fotos:

Long Summer Daze

Love the longest and perhaps most bittersweet day of Summer Solstice.

Embracing extended hours yet sad because tomorrow there will be less magical evening . Feels like something is over before the fun begins.

National Geographic describes Solstice Ceremonies. Native Americans celebrate the day as a time for renewal, sacred ceremonies where they pray for healing medicines, good crops, good harvest.

"It's a very significant day for us," said Jim Compton, also known as The Rising Day in Ojibwa.

Mr. Porteno agrees... he has perhaps a more typical South/Native American take on the day, "Just enjoy."

Summer daze photo by Mr. Porteno

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2002/06/0621_020621_solstice.html

Yum Yum Chips and Films

Pal Sarah Cohen may be President of one of the smallest potato chip factories in the United States, but it’s probably one with the biggest attitude.

www.rt11.com

http://www.citypaper.com/news/story.asp?id=3354

Esquire magazine voted Rt. 11 one of America’s 8 best potato chips and with flavors like Dill Pickle, Chesapeake Crab and Yukon Gold, Sarah has moved her hip chips throughout the US and all over the world, including some grateful warzone clients in Iraq.

She's located in Middletown, VA in the Shenandoah Valley and on Saturday launched a new flavor of chip; Sweet Potato with Cinnamon and Sugar. Thanks to Sarah for a great launch party with bands you could dance to and chips, chips everywhere. You can stop by and watch the little chippies being made at her factory on... Rt.11.

Sarah is also a talented filmmaker - consider yourself lucky if you have a chance to view her award-winning ode-to-food “Oysters Guanaca”.

http://press.slowfood.com/press/eng/leggi.lasso?cod=496&ln=en

Making Her Mark

Susie Finsen (center) making her mark with a gaggle of adoring fans including Mama Finsen (in blue) at last weekend's artist reception at The Art League Gallery. Photo courtesy Mr. Porteno

Artsy pal Susan Finsen (Susie to some lucky few!) is featured this month in a much-deserved Art League solo show entitled Making My Mark.

http://susanfinsen.com/gallery10.htm

Lovely, lively and luscious abstract art. I loved checking out her paintings amid the THRONGS of people who attended her artists reception last Sunday. Hopefully you can make your way over to Old Town Alexandria before the show closes on July 2. Susie is one of the longest standing artist tenants of the Torpedo Factory so if you miss the show - you check out her work in Studio 25.

The Art League Gallery is located in the Torpedo Factory Art Center, 105 North Union Street, Alexandria VA. The Gallery phone number is 703-683-1780. Gallery hours are Monday-Saturday 10-5; Sunday 12-5.

Oh, Those PorteÑos!

Great NYTims shot of Argentina players blocking Ivory Coast free kick last Saturday. Final score: Argentina 2, Ivory Coast 1.

Not Just From Alabama Anymore

I am interested in applying the emerging use of the internet in political campaigns to distributing documentaries and other video...

NYTims Adam Cohen reports from the Daily Kos blogger convention held in Las Vegas http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/5/22/175959/875 that 2008 will be the campaign of internet-powered politics. He talks of the sea change that brings - handing issues, fundraising and power to a grass-roots network of bloggers who are trying to figure out how to herd the cats called the internet.

One 15-year-old conventioneer from rural Alabama made a big splash with her homemade video skewering the Bush Administration Youtube.com (Ava Lowery's video).

One day, Cohen says, there could be a Daily Kos television station staffed by volunteer bloggers and sent out over the Internet as streaming video, going up against Fox News. On Election Day 2008, voters could get video clips on their laptops and cellphones from Beyoncé, Bruce Springsteen or the Dixie Chicks — targeted by geography or demographics — urging them to vote, and telling them where to do it.

Whatever. How does one promote and distribute production in general? And how does the cash flow?? The sea change is here - I'm just a bit caught in the waves at the moment.

My Blog, My Dog

Super Mona action photos by Mr. Porteño


"When love and skill work together, expect a masterpiece."


-John Ruskin

Schooling Baltimore Street

I am always searching for good examples of media mentoring organizations. I believe I found one last night when I attended the Wide Angle Media premiere of a 15-minute student film called Schooling Baltimore Street at the University of Baltimore.

www.wideanglemedia.org

2 student filmmakers Kyle Halle-Erby and Lendl Tellington spent the last year following youth-led organizing for education equity in Baltimore's public schools Demonstrations by an interviews with members of the Baltimore Algebra Project provide the basis for the film. It's an exploration of the motivations and effects of youth activism.

The theater was packed with a multi-racial, multi-generational audience. Organizers did a good job of pre-production on the event and the energy was high with viewers rooting for the young artists.

After the event, an impressive panel:

-Lee Boot, filmmaker, media artist and associate director of University of Maryland Baltimore County Imaging Research Center

-Edward Burns, producer and co-creator of HBO's The Wire and Homide, Life on the Street

-Joyce J. Scott, visual and performing artist who has lectured, performed and exhibited internationally

-Anthony McCarthy, moderator, journalist and public policy advocate

A few of the comments:

Kyle Halle-Erby: What the film did for me is what of the students we interviewed said... I always knew I was smart, but I was not aware. Being aware is a really different state of being.

(Q. Is this type of documentary film art?)

Lee Boot: I believe in media as an artform. The fine art community and I are currently filing separation papers. That community has sequestered itself culturally.

Joyce J. Scott: This evening is definitely an example of art. Now young people are able to express themselves in the first person. Soon they are going to be composing entire symphonies on their telephones. They are speaking to each other across all boundaries.

Lee: We love when our kids read books. What is it about that? Eventually we will see that this book thing was just a blip alone the timeline of our human experience. These students are speaking a contemporary language that is not yet reflected in mainstream society. Video and film are not toxic waste.

Joyce: Those ideas will change. We will croak. This is the first language of kids your age.

Kyle: I look at video production as team sports for people who can't play sports. We are the first generation with these types of options.

(Q. We want to call this art, but production like Homicide and like The Wire portray Baltimore in a bad light - is that art? Some people feel it is bad for the image of the city.)

Ed Burns: What I see here tonight is raw, it is alive, it is a statement. It is like a snow fell on the city of Baltimore 40 years ago and we all fell asleep. It is so bad out there, it is criminal. That is the magic of bringing the message home. Good people educate each other. You put this type of thing out there and and it is not yours, it is not mine anymore. It is the viewer's.

Lendl Tellington: One thing I learned from this is that I felt my peers were taking a chance and able to making a change.

Kyle: What I took away from this is that people care. If you want to make a change, there is an audience for it. There is a way to do it. This project took me beyond caring for myself.

What I believe is that the kids in the Algebra Project and the City of Baltimore are on the same side. They are just not playing well together.

She Source

...The online database of women experts to be used as a resource for journalists.

http://www.shesource.org/about_us.php

A not so surprising statistic:

Of the 3 major broadcast networks 87 percent of soundbites are provided by men.

This website aims to foster more represetative public discourse.

It is an offshoot of the very impressive White House Project which works to advance a diverse, critical mass of women into leadership positions, up to and including the U.S. Presidency.

http://www.thewhitehouseproject.org/