Find a show you like and click the 
button. The show will be added to your My Playlist page and updated 24/7 with new videos.
Search Results
0 Views
22:03:19 11/10/11
Time- An eploration of techniques to tell stories with time.
[LESS INFO] 0 VIEWS | ADDED 22:03:19 11/10/11
This is a montage of clips from recent porjects that use techniques to alter how we preceive time in moving pictures
0 Views
22:02:49 11/10/11
Time- An eploration of techniques to tell stories with time.
[LESS INFO] 0 VIEWS | ADDED 22:02:49 11/10/11
This is a montage of clips from recent porjects that use techniques to alter how we preceive time in moving pictures
0 Views
19:13:18 08/14/10
2 Reel Guys - Episode 6 - Working with Actors
[LESS INFO] 0 VIEWS | ADDED 19:13:18 08/14/10
Actors can be frightening, especially to new filmmakers. This is becauseactors live in a world of emotions -- experiencing them, then projectingthese emotions through their characters into a film. ;Because of this, manydirectors don't know how to work with them. But they're really not so scarywhen you realize that they are trying to do the same thing that everyoneelse on your project is doing -- tell the story through the most effectiveuse of their tools.In this episode of 2 Reel Guys, hosts Norman Hollyn and Larry Jordan discuss how to work with actors and provide some simple techniques you can use to solve, or avoid, problems.
0 Views
19:13:18 08/14/10
2 Reel Guys - Episode 6 - Working with Actors
[LESS INFO] 0 VIEWS | ADDED 19:13:18 08/14/10
Actors can be frightening, especially to new filmmakers. This is becauseactors live in a world of emotions -- experiencing them, then projectingthese emotions through their characters into a film. ;Because of this, manydirectors don't know how to work with them. But they're really not so scarywhen you realize that they are trying to do the same thing that everyoneelse on your project is doing -- tell the story through the most effectiveuse of their tools.In this episode of 2 Reel Guys, hosts Norman Hollyn and Larry Jordan discuss how to work with actors and provide some simple techniques you can use to solve, or avoid, problems.
3 Views
18:32:05 08/04/09
Titleist's Bob Vokey about making Wedges Golf Video
[LESS INFO] 3 VIEWS | ADDED 18:32:05 08/04/09
Inside Golf Magazine sits down with Bob Vokey to hear how passionate he is about making beloved and infamous Titleist Wedges.Check out this story and see how Bob Vokey has made his golf club a successful, fashionable and scoring club. Distributed by Tubemogul.>> FOR ME, TITLEIST IS A GREAT FAMILY; THEY’VE GOT GREAT PEOPLE AND THEY MAKE GREAT EQUIPMENT. WITH VOKEY, HE’S THE GREATEST GUY IN THE WORLD. IF I GO TO VOKE, I SAY, VOKE, THIS WEEK, I WANT A DIFFERENT WEDGE, I'M GOING TO NEED A LITTLE MORE BOUNCE BECAUSE THE GOUND’S A LITTLE SOFTER OR WHATEVER IT IS. VOKEY WILL GET RIGHT IN THERE, WE'LL HAVE THREE WEDGES, WE'LL TAKE A LOOK AT THEM, WE'LL GRIND ON THEM. HIS PASSIONS FOR THE GAME, HIS JOB, MY WORK, IT’S AMAZING. IT’S CONTAGIOUS, TOO. HE JUST LOVES BEING OUT HERE AND HE LOVES WORKING AND, IT’S FUN BEING AROUND THAT. THEY MAKE GREAT STUFF SO IT’S A REALLY NEAT FIT. >> NOW WE TAKE YOU TO CARLSBAD, CALIFORNIA WHERE TITLEIST CLUB DESIGNER, BOB VOKEY, BUILDS SOME OF THE BEST WEDGES IN THE GAME. >> I LOVE WORKING WITH GOLF CLUBS, GOING BACK TO MY TEEN YEARS. I WOULD SHAPE THEM AND I USED TO WORK IN THE GARAGE. GO TO THE GOLF COURSE AND I JUST WORKED ON IT. TO COMPETE WAS LIKE A HOBBY. IT WAS JUST FUN DOING IT. I WAS VERY FORTUNATE THAT I TOOK THIS HOBBY AND I TURNED IT INTO A LIVELIHOOD. NEVER FIGURED OUT HOW IT REALLY GOT INTO IT. IT WOULD HAVE BEEN IN THE LATER 60’S WHEN I WAS WORKING. I REMEMBER THIS ONE FELLOW, HE SAID, SON, IF YOU DON’T LOVE WHAT YOU’RE DOING, QUIT, OR YOU’LL NEVER BE A SUCCESS. SO THAT’S WHEN I GOT INTO LEARNING ALL THE INS AND OUTS ABOUT A GOLF CLUB. PEOPLE SAY, VOKEY, YOU’RE A GURU; I'M NOT A GURU. YOU’RE AN ENGINEER AND I'M NOT. I THOUGHT AN ENGINEER WAS A FELLOW WHO DROVE A TRAIN AND WORE A FUNNY HAT. I SAID, I'M NOT, I'M JUST A GOLF GUY WHO HAD A LOVE, I HAD A KNACK WORKING WITH THE PLAYERS. I WAS WHAT I CALL A LISTENER AND A NOTE-TAKER. I STARVED FOR A LOT OF YEARS. I REMEMBER BACK IN MY LEE TRAVINO DAYS. I USED TO WORK WITH LEE QUITE A BIT AND DROVE MY LITTLE DATSON. HE WAS LIVING IN PALM SPRINGS AND I USED TO DRIVE OVER FROM VISTA, CALIFORNIA. TRAVINO LAUGHED AT ME, YOU DROVE THAT THING OVER THE MOUNTAIN? HOW DID YOU EVER GET OVER THE MOUNTAIN DRIVING THAT THING? I WAS FORTUNATE TO COME IN CONTACT AND WORK WITH LEE AND WITH DAVE STOCKTON. I RAN INTO DAVE, YESTERDAY. HE WAS ONE OF THE GREATEST SHORT GAME PLAYERS, EVER. I REMEMBER DAVE TELLING ME, YOU LEARN THE GAME FROM THE GREEN BACK 250 YARDS. HE WORKED ON THAT VERY HARD IN THAT PART OF THE GAME, WHICH I WOULD RECOMMEND TO A LOT OF YOUNG PLAYERS. THEN, AT TITLEIST, I TOOK A LOT OF THOSE IDEAS WITH THE HELP OF A LOT OF PEOPLE WITHIN TITLEIST. I LIKE TO LOOK AT IT AS A TEAM EFFORT; I HAD A LOT OF GOOD PEOPLE WORKING WITH ME. TITLEIST, HAS THE BEST R%D SYSTEM. I’VE GOT THE PGA TOUR PLAYERS. ALL THE YEARS OF RESPECT BEING OUT THERE WITH THEM. I LET THEM TRY IT, THEY TELL ME LITTLE INS AND OUTS, WHAT IT CAN AND CAN’T DO. EVERYBODY IS A LITTLE DIFFERENT. THEY HAVE A LITTLE DIFFERENT TECHNIQUE, A LITTLE DIFFERENT STYLE SO IT REQUIRES THEM TO HAVE A LITTLE DIFFERENT OPTION AT THE WEDGE AND I KNOW THAT’S WHAT WE'VE DONE. JUST GETTING OUT THERE, WATCHING A PLAYER HIT THE BALL, LISTEN BY SIGHT, WATCHING THEM PLAY THEIR BALL; JUST DIFFERENT SOUNDS. THESE PLAYERS WILL TELL YOU. THEY MAY NOT EXACTLY TELL YOU THAT THE BOUNCE IS NOT RIGHT AND, THEY DON’T GIVE YOU A NUMBER BUT, THEY CAN TELL YOU JUST BY HITTING, BOB, I DON’T LIKE THE FLIGHT, IT’S COMING OFF A LITTLE LOW. KNOWING ALL THOSE CERTAIN THINGS, I CAN HELP A PLAYER AND GIVE THEM A HINT. THIS IS WHAT THE WEDGE IS DESIGNED TO DO. THIS IS WHY I WANT YOU TO USE THE BOUNCE, I WANT YOU TO USE THE TRAILING EDGE. IT’S NOT JUST TOUR PLAYERS, WE’RE ABLE TO PASS THIS ONTO THE WEEKEND GOLFER, WHICH IS MY BIGGEST THRILL. IT’S NICE TO SEE A PLAYER COME UP TO ME HOLLERING, MR. VOKEY, I LOVE YOUR WEDGE, THEY’RE THE BEST WEDGES I EVER HIT. I SAID, THEY’RE TITLEIST WEDGES. THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THE SUPPORT BUT, IT’S NICE TO BE ABLE TO SAY THAT WE'VE DESIGNED A GOLF CLUB THAT THE AVERAGE WEEKEND GOLFER CAN GET THE ENJOYMENT OF HITTING SHOTS. I CALL IT THE HOLY GRALE, A PERFECT WEDGE. IT DOESN’T EXIST. ONE MAN’S POISON IS ANOTHER MAN’S CUP OF TEA. I CONTINUE TO WORK AND THAT’S WHAT MAKES MY JOB MORE EXCITING. WHEN I GREW UP WITH THE WEDGE, THEY WERE A, “GET OUT OF TROUBLE” TYPE OF CLUB. THE WORD WAS SAND WEDGE. WE CALL THEM LOBBERS NOW. I SAID, THE SAND WEDGE, IT’S GOT TO WORK, IT’S GOT TO PERFORM. THAT’S ONE OF MY FIRST THINGS I LIKE TO WORK WITH A PLAYER. IT’S YOUR, “GET OUT OF TROUBLE CLUB.” IT’S GOT TO WORK, IT’S GOT TO PERFORM. YOUR, “GET OUT OF JAIL” CLUB. THESE PLAYERS, BEING SO BIG, SO STRONG, HITTING THE BALL SO FAR, THEY’RE SO TALENTED, THEY WANT A WEDGE; THEY DON’T EXPECT TO JUST GET OUT OF TROUBLE, THEY EXPECT TO HIT A SHOT. THEY’RE EITHER UP OR DOWN FOR A BIRDIE OR AN EAGLE. AS A RESULT, IT’S EVOLVED TO MORE OF A SCORING CLUB. FIRST AND FOREMOST, IT HAS TO LOOK GOOD. THE WEDGE, TO ME, IS PROBABLY THE TOUGHEST CLUB TO DESIGN. EVERY PLAYER PUTS IT DOWN, WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE. THAT’S CALLED PROFILE. SO I TRY TO MAKE A PLEASING PROFILE. IN ESSENCE, IT’S A PROFILE THAT I CALL A TEARDROP. IT’S A LITTLE HIGHER IN THE TOE AREA, AND A LITTLE SHALLOWER IN THE PIE AREA. I SPEND A LOT OF MY TIME GIVING A LEADING EDGE TREATMENT AND SOMETIMES TOP LINE JUST TO MAKE IT LOOK GOOD, FIRST OFF. WHAT I’VE DONE WITH THE WHOLE WEDGE THAT WE'VE WORKED HARD AT IS TRY TO MAKE IT LOOK LIKE A COMPLETE SET. YOU CAN PULL ANY NUMBER AT ANY PARTICULAR TIME. YOU CAN SAY, WOW, THAT’S A NEAT SERIES. EVERY MAJOR MANUFACTURER MAKES THE BEST CLUB. WE ALL MAKE A VERY GOOD GOLF CLUB BUT, I THINK AT TITLEIST WHAT WE HAVE IS THE PEOPLE WITH A PASSION BEHIND EACH PRODUCT. IT’S A TEAM EFFORT, WE ALL WORK TOGETHER, AND WE ALL CROSS-TRAIN EACH OTHER, WITH KNOWING ABOUT ALL OF OUR PRODUCT. WE ALL HAVE A PASSION, WE ALL LOVE WHAT WE DO. IF YOU DON’T LOVE WHAT YOU DO, YOU’LL NEVER BE A SUCCESS.
0 Views
18:32:05 08/04/09
Titleist's Bob Vokey about making Wedges Golf Video
[LESS INFO] 0 VIEWS | ADDED 18:32:05 08/04/09
Inside Golf Magazine sits down with Bob Vokey to hear how passionate he is about making beloved and infamous Titleist Wedges.Check out this story and see how Bob Vokey has made his golf club a successful, fashionable and scoring club. Distributed by Tubemogul.>> FOR ME, TITLEIST IS A GREAT FAMILY; THEY’VE GOT GREAT PEOPLE AND THEY MAKE GREAT EQUIPMENT. WITH VOKEY, HE’S THE GREATEST GUY IN THE WORLD. IF I GO TO VOKE, I SAY, VOKE, THIS WEEK, I WANT A DIFFERENT WEDGE, I'M GOING TO NEED A LITTLE MORE BOUNCE BECAUSE THE GOUND’S A LITTLE SOFTER OR WHATEVER IT IS. VOKEY WILL GET RIGHT IN THERE, WE'LL HAVE THREE WEDGES, WE'LL TAKE A LOOK AT THEM, WE'LL GRIND ON THEM. HIS PASSIONS FOR THE GAME, HIS JOB, MY WORK, IT’S AMAZING. IT’S CONTAGIOUS, TOO. HE JUST LOVES BEING OUT HERE AND HE LOVES WORKING AND, IT’S FUN BEING AROUND THAT. THEY MAKE GREAT STUFF SO IT’S A REALLY NEAT FIT. >> NOW WE TAKE YOU TO CARLSBAD, CALIFORNIA WHERE TITLEIST CLUB DESIGNER, BOB VOKEY, BUILDS SOME OF THE BEST WEDGES IN THE GAME. >> I LOVE WORKING WITH GOLF CLUBS, GOING BACK TO MY TEEN YEARS. I WOULD SHAPE THEM AND I USED TO WORK IN THE GARAGE. GO TO THE GOLF COURSE AND I JUST WORKED ON IT. TO COMPETE WAS LIKE A HOBBY. IT WAS JUST FUN DOING IT. I WAS VERY FORTUNATE THAT I TOOK THIS HOBBY AND I TURNED IT INTO A LIVELIHOOD. NEVER FIGURED OUT HOW IT REALLY GOT INTO IT. IT WOULD HAVE BEEN IN THE LATER 60’S WHEN I WAS WORKING. I REMEMBER THIS ONE FELLOW, HE SAID, SON, IF YOU DON’T LOVE WHAT YOU’RE DOING, QUIT, OR YOU’LL NEVER BE A SUCCESS. SO THAT’S WHEN I GOT INTO LEARNING ALL THE INS AND OUTS ABOUT A GOLF CLUB. PEOPLE SAY, VOKEY, YOU’RE A GURU; I'M NOT A GURU. YOU’RE AN ENGINEER AND I'M NOT. I THOUGHT AN ENGINEER WAS A FELLOW WHO DROVE A TRAIN AND WORE A FUNNY HAT. I SAID, I'M NOT, I'M JUST A GOLF GUY WHO HAD A LOVE, I HAD A KNACK WORKING WITH THE PLAYERS. I WAS WHAT I CALL A LISTENER AND A NOTE-TAKER. I STARVED FOR A LOT OF YEARS. I REMEMBER BACK IN MY LEE TRAVINO DAYS. I USED TO WORK WITH LEE QUITE A BIT AND DROVE MY LITTLE DATSON. HE WAS LIVING IN PALM SPRINGS AND I USED TO DRIVE OVER FROM VISTA, CALIFORNIA. TRAVINO LAUGHED AT ME, YOU DROVE THAT THING OVER THE MOUNTAIN? HOW DID YOU EVER GET OVER THE MOUNTAIN DRIVING THAT THING? I WAS FORTUNATE TO COME IN CONTACT AND WORK WITH LEE AND WITH DAVE STOCKTON. I RAN INTO DAVE, YESTERDAY. HE WAS ONE OF THE GREATEST SHORT GAME PLAYERS, EVER. I REMEMBER DAVE TELLING ME, YOU LEARN THE GAME FROM THE GREEN BACK 250 YARDS. HE WORKED ON THAT VERY HARD IN THAT PART OF THE GAME, WHICH I WOULD RECOMMEND TO A LOT OF YOUNG PLAYERS. THEN, AT TITLEIST, I TOOK A LOT OF THOSE IDEAS WITH THE HELP OF A LOT OF PEOPLE WITHIN TITLEIST. I LIKE TO LOOK AT IT AS A TEAM EFFORT; I HAD A LOT OF GOOD PEOPLE WORKING WITH ME. TITLEIST, HAS THE BEST R%D SYSTEM. I’VE GOT THE PGA TOUR PLAYERS. ALL THE YEARS OF RESPECT BEING OUT THERE WITH THEM. I LET THEM TRY IT, THEY TELL ME LITTLE INS AND OUTS, WHAT IT CAN AND CAN’T DO. EVERYBODY IS A LITTLE DIFFERENT. THEY HAVE A LITTLE DIFFERENT TECHNIQUE, A LITTLE DIFFERENT STYLE SO IT REQUIRES THEM TO HAVE A LITTLE DIFFERENT OPTION AT THE WEDGE AND I KNOW THAT’S WHAT WE'VE DONE. JUST GETTING OUT THERE, WATCHING A PLAYER HIT THE BALL, LISTEN BY SIGHT, WATCHING THEM PLAY THEIR BALL; JUST DIFFERENT SOUNDS. THESE PLAYERS WILL TELL YOU. THEY MAY NOT EXACTLY TELL YOU THAT THE BOUNCE IS NOT RIGHT AND, THEY DON’T GIVE YOU A NUMBER BUT, THEY CAN TELL YOU JUST BY HITTING, BOB, I DON’T LIKE THE FLIGHT, IT’S COMING OFF A LITTLE LOW. KNOWING ALL THOSE CERTAIN THINGS, I CAN HELP A PLAYER AND GIVE THEM A HINT. THIS IS WHAT THE WEDGE IS DESIGNED TO DO. THIS IS WHY I WANT YOU TO USE THE BOUNCE, I WANT YOU TO USE THE TRAILING EDGE. IT’S NOT JUST TOUR PLAYERS, WE’RE ABLE TO PASS THIS ONTO THE WEEKEND GOLFER, WHICH IS MY BIGGEST THRILL. IT’S NICE TO SEE A PLAYER COME UP TO ME HOLLERING, MR. VOKEY, I LOVE YOUR WEDGE, THEY’RE THE BEST WEDGES I EVER HIT. I SAID, THEY’RE TITLEIST WEDGES. THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THE SUPPORT BUT, IT’S NICE TO BE ABLE TO SAY THAT WE'VE DESIGNED A GOLF CLUB THAT THE AVERAGE WEEKEND GOLFER CAN GET THE ENJOYMENT OF HITTING SHOTS. I CALL IT THE HOLY GRALE, A PERFECT WEDGE. IT DOESN’T EXIST. ONE MAN’S POISON IS ANOTHER MAN’S CUP OF TEA. I CONTINUE TO WORK AND THAT’S WHAT MAKES MY JOB MORE EXCITING. WHEN I GREW UP WITH THE WEDGE, THEY WERE A, “GET OUT OF TROUBLE” TYPE OF CLUB. THE WORD WAS SAND WEDGE. WE CALL THEM LOBBERS NOW. I SAID, THE SAND WEDGE, IT’S GOT TO WORK, IT’S GOT TO PERFORM. THAT’S ONE OF MY FIRST THINGS I LIKE TO WORK WITH A PLAYER. IT’S YOUR, “GET OUT OF TROUBLE CLUB.” IT’S GOT TO WORK, IT’S GOT TO PERFORM. YOUR, “GET OUT OF JAIL” CLUB. THESE PLAYERS, BEING SO BIG, SO STRONG, HITTING THE BALL SO FAR, THEY’RE SO TALENTED, THEY WANT A WEDGE; THEY DON’T EXPECT TO JUST GET OUT OF TROUBLE, THEY EXPECT TO HIT A SHOT. THEY’RE EITHER UP OR DOWN FOR A BIRDIE OR AN EAGLE. AS A RESULT, IT’S EVOLVED TO MORE OF A SCORING CLUB. FIRST AND FOREMOST, IT HAS TO LOOK GOOD. THE WEDGE, TO ME, IS PROBABLY THE TOUGHEST CLUB TO DESIGN. EVERY PLAYER PUTS IT DOWN, WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE. THAT’S CALLED PROFILE. SO I TRY TO MAKE A PLEASING PROFILE. IN ESSENCE, IT’S A PROFILE THAT I CALL A TEARDROP. IT’S A LITTLE HIGHER IN THE TOE AREA, AND A LITTLE SHALLOWER IN THE PIE AREA. I SPEND A LOT OF MY TIME GIVING A LEADING EDGE TREATMENT AND SOMETIMES TOP LINE JUST TO MAKE IT LOOK GOOD, FIRST OFF. WHAT I’VE DONE WITH THE WHOLE WEDGE THAT WE'VE WORKED HARD AT IS TRY TO MAKE IT LOOK LIKE A COMPLETE SET. YOU CAN PULL ANY NUMBER AT ANY PARTICULAR TIME. YOU CAN SAY, WOW, THAT’S A NEAT SERIES. EVERY MAJOR MANUFACTURER MAKES THE BEST CLUB. WE ALL MAKE A VERY GOOD GOLF CLUB BUT, I THINK AT TITLEIST WHAT WE HAVE IS THE PEOPLE WITH A PASSION BEHIND EACH PRODUCT. IT’S A TEAM EFFORT, WE ALL WORK TOGETHER, AND WE ALL CROSS-TRAIN EACH OTHER, WITH KNOWING ABOUT ALL OF OUR PRODUCT. WE ALL HAVE A PASSION, WE ALL LOVE WHAT WE DO. IF YOU DON’T LOVE WHAT YOU DO, YOU’LL NEVER BE A SUCCESS.
85 Views
18:25:10 07/21/09
Titleist's Bob Vokey about making Wedges Video
[LESS INFO] 85 VIEWS | ADDED 18:25:10 07/21/09
Inside Golf Magazine sits down with Bob Vokey to hear how passionate he is about making beloved and infamous Titleist Wedges. If you don't love what you are doing, then quit because you will never be a success. Vokey talks about how he starved for many a years before coming into his success. He talks about how his wedges have the ability to help the professionals and municipal weekend golfer. Check out this story and see how Bob Vokey has made his golf club fashionable and a scoring club. >> FOR ME, TITLEIST IS A GREAT FAMILY; THEY’VE GOT GREAT PEOPLE AND THEY MAKE GREAT EQUIPMENT. WITH VOKEY, HE’S THE GREATEST GUY IN THE WORLD. IF I GO TO VOKE, I SAY, VOKE, THIS WEEK, I WANT A DIFFERENT WEDGE, I'M GOING TO NEED A LITTLE MORE BOUNCE BECAUSE THE GOUND’S A LITTLE SOFTER OR WHATEVER IT IS. VOKEY WILL GET RIGHT IN THERE, WE'LL HAVE THREE WEDGES, WE'LL TAKE A LOOK AT THEM, WE'LL GRIND ON THEM. HIS PASSIONS FOR THE GAME, HIS JOB, MY WORK, IT’S AMAZING. IT’S CONTAGIOUS, TOO. HE JUST LOVES BEING OUT HERE AND HE LOVES WORKING AND, IT’S FUN BEING AROUND THAT. THEY MAKE GREAT STUFF SO IT’S A REALLY NEAT FIT. >> NOW WE TAKE YOU TO CARLSBAD, CALIFORNIA WHERE TITLEIST CLUB DESIGNER, BOB VOKEY, BUILDS SOME OF THE BEST WEDGES IN THE GAME. >> I LOVE WORKING WITH GOLF CLUBS, GOING BACK TO MY TEEN YEARS. I WOULD SHAPE THEM AND I USED TO WORK IN THE GARAGE. GO TO THE GOLF COURSE AND I JUST WORKED ON IT. TO COMPETE WAS LIKE A HOBBY. IT WAS JUST FUN DOING IT. I WAS VERY FORTUNATE THAT I TOOK THIS HOBBY AND I TURNED IT INTO A LIVELIHOOD. NEVER FIGURED OUT HOW IT REALLY GOT INTO IT. IT WOULD HAVE BEEN IN THE LATER 60’S WHEN I WAS WORKING. I REMEMBER THIS ONE FELLOW, HE SAID, SON, IF YOU DON’T LOVE WHAT YOU’RE DOING, QUIT, OR YOU’LL NEVER BE A SUCCESS. SO THAT’S WHEN I GOT INTO LEARNING ALL THE INS AND OUTS ABOUT A GOLF CLUB. PEOPLE SAY, VOKEY, YOU’RE A GURU; I'M NOT A GURU. YOU’RE AN ENGINEER AND I'M NOT. I THOUGHT AN ENGINEER WAS A FELLOW WHO DROVE A TRAIN AND WORE A FUNNY HAT. I SAID, I'M NOT, I'M JUST A GOLF GUY WHO HAD A LOVE, I HAD A KNACK WORKING WITH THE PLAYERS. I WAS WHAT I CALL A LISTENER AND A NOTE-TAKER. I STARVED FOR A LOT OF YEARS. I REMEMBER BACK IN MY LEE TRAVINO DAYS. I USED TO WORK WITH LEE QUITE A BIT AND DROVE MY LITTLE DATSON. HE WAS LIVING IN PALM SPRINGS AND I USED TO DRIVE OVER FROM VISTA, CALIFORNIA. TRAVINO LAUGHED AT ME, YOU DROVE THAT THING OVER THE MOUNTAIN? HOW DID YOU EVER GET OVER THE MOUNTAIN DRIVING THAT THING? I WAS FORTUNATE TO COME IN CONTACT AND WORK WITH LEE AND WITH DAVE STOCKTON. I RAN INTO DAVE, YESTERDAY. HE WAS ONE OF THE GREATEST SHORT GAME PLAYERS, EVER. I REMEMBER DAVE TELLING ME, YOU LEARN THE GAME FROM THE GREEN BACK 250 YARDS. HE WORKED ON THAT VERY HARD IN THAT PART OF THE GAME, WHICH I WOULD RECOMMEND TO A LOT OF YOUNG PLAYERS. THEN, AT TITLEIST, I TOOK A LOT OF THOSE IDEAS WITH THE HELP OF A LOT OF PEOPLE WITHIN TITLEIST. I LIKE TO LOOK AT IT AS A TEAM EFFORT; I HAD A LOT OF GOOD PEOPLE WORKING WITH ME. TITLEIST, HAS THE BEST R%D SYSTEM. I’VE GOT THE PGA TOUR PLAYERS. ALL THE YEARS OF RESPECT BEING OUT THERE WITH THEM. I LET THEM TRY IT, THEY TELL ME LITTLE INS AND OUTS, WHAT IT CAN AND CAN’T DO. EVERYBODY IS A LITTLE DIFFERENT. THEY HAVE A LITTLE DIFFERENT TECHNIQUE, A LITTLE DIFFERENT STYLE SO IT REQUIRES THEM TO HAVE A LITTLE DIFFERENT OPTION AT THE WEDGE AND I KNOW THAT’S WHAT WE'VE DONE. JUST GETTING OUT THERE, WATCHING A PLAYER HIT THE BALL, LISTEN BY SIGHT, WATCHING THEM PLAY THEIR BALL; JUST DIFFERENT SOUNDS. THESE PLAYERS WILL TELL YOU. THEY MAY NOT EXACTLY TELL YOU THAT THE BOUNCE IS NOT RIGHT AND, THEY DON’T GIVE YOU A NUMBER BUT, THEY CAN TELL YOU JUST BY HITTING, BOB, I DON’T LIKE THE FLIGHT, IT’S COMING OFF A LITTLE LOW. KNOWING ALL THOSE CERTAIN THINGS, I CAN HELP A PLAYER AND GIVE THEM A HINT. THIS IS WHAT THE WEDGE IS DESIGNED TO DO. THIS IS WHY I WANT YOU TO USE THE BOUNCE, I WANT YOU TO USE THE TRAILING EDGE. IT’S NOT JUST TOUR PLAYERS, WE’RE ABLE TO PASS THIS ONTO THE WEEKEND GOLFER, WHICH IS MY BIGGEST THRILL. IT’S NICE TO SEE A PLAYER COME UP TO ME HOLLERING, MR. VOKEY, I LOVE YOUR WEDGE, THEY’RE THE BEST WEDGES I EVER HIT. I SAID, THEY’RE TITLEIST WEDGES. THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THE SUPPORT BUT, IT’S NICE TO BE ABLE TO SAY THAT WE'VE DESIGNED A GOLF CLUB THAT THE AVERAGE WEEKEND GOLFER CAN GET THE ENJOYMENT OF HITTING SHOTS. I CALL IT THE HOLY GRALE, A PERFECT WEDGE. IT DOESN’T EXIST. ONE MAN’S POISON IS ANOTHER MAN’S CUP OF TEA. I CONTINUE TO WORK AND THAT’S WHAT MAKES MY JOB MORE EXCITING. WHEN I GREW UP WITH THE WEDGE, THEY WERE A, “GET OUT OF TROUBLE” TYPE OF CLUB. THE WORD WAS SAND WEDGE. WE CALL THEM LOBBERS NOW. I SAID, THE SAND WEDGE, IT’S GOT TO WORK, IT’S GOT TO PERFORM. THAT’S ONE OF MY FIRST THINGS I LIKE TO WORK WITH A PLAYER. IT’S YOUR, “GET OUT OF TROUBLE CLUB.” IT’S GOT TO WORK, IT’S GOT TO PERFORM. YOUR, “GET OUT OF JAIL” CLUB. THESE PLAYERS, BEING SO BIG, SO STRONG, HITTING THE BALL SO FAR, THEY’RE SO TALENTED, THEY WANT A WEDGE; THEY DON’T EXPECT TO JUST GET OUT OF TROUBLE, THEY EXPECT TO HIT A SHOT. THEY’RE EITHER UP OR DOWN FOR A BIRDIE OR AN EAGLE. AS A RESULT, IT’S EVOLVED TO MORE OF A SCORING CLUB. FIRST AND FOREMOST, IT HAS TO LOOK GOOD. THE WEDGE, TO ME, IS PROBABLY THE TOUGHEST CLUB TO DESIGN. EVERY PLAYER PUTS IT DOWN, WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE. THAT’S CALLED PROFILE. SO I TRY TO MAKE A PLEASING PROFILE. IN ESSENCE, IT’S A PROFILE THAT I CALL A TEARDROP. IT’S A LITTLE HIGHER IN THE TOE AREA, AND A LITTLE SHALLOWER IN THE PIE AREA. I SPEND A LOT OF MY TIME GIVING A LEADING EDGE TREATMENT AND SOMETIMES TOP LINE JUST TO MAKE IT LOOK GOOD, FIRST OFF. WHAT I’VE DONE WITH THE WHOLE WEDGE THAT WE'VE WORKED HARD AT IS TRY TO MAKE IT LOOK LIKE A COMPLETE SET. YOU CAN PULL ANY NUMBER AT ANY PARTICULAR TIME. YOU CAN SAY, WOW, THAT’S A NEAT SERIES. EVERY MAJOR MANUFACTURER MAKES THE BEST CLUB. WE ALL MAKE A VERY GOOD GOLF CLUB BUT, I THINK AT TITLEIST WHAT WE HAVE IS THE PEOPLE WITH A PASSION BEHIND EACH PRODUCT. IT’S A TEAM EFFORT, WE ALL WORK TOGETHER, AND WE ALL CROSS-TRAIN EACH OTHER, WITH KNOWING ABOUT ALL OF OUR PRODUCT. WE ALL HAVE A PASSION, WE ALL LOVE WHAT WE DO. IF YOU DON’T LOVE WHAT YOU DO, YOU’LL NEVER BE A SUCCESS.
0 Views
18:25:10 07/21/09
Titleist's Bob Vokey about making Wedges Video
[LESS INFO] 0 VIEWS | ADDED 18:25:10 07/21/09
Inside Golf Magazine sits down with Bob Vokey to hear how passionate he is about making beloved and infamous Titleist Wedges. If you don't love what you are doing, then quit because you will never be a success. Vokey talks about how he starved for many a years before coming into his success. He talks about how his wedges have the ability to help the professionals and municipal weekend golfer. Check out this story and see how Bob Vokey has made his golf club fashionable and a scoring club. >> FOR ME, TITLEIST IS A GREAT FAMILY; THEY’VE GOT GREAT PEOPLE AND THEY MAKE GREAT EQUIPMENT. WITH VOKEY, HE’S THE GREATEST GUY IN THE WORLD. IF I GO TO VOKE, I SAY, VOKE, THIS WEEK, I WANT A DIFFERENT WEDGE, I'M GOING TO NEED A LITTLE MORE BOUNCE BECAUSE THE GOUND’S A LITTLE SOFTER OR WHATEVER IT IS. VOKEY WILL GET RIGHT IN THERE, WE'LL HAVE THREE WEDGES, WE'LL TAKE A LOOK AT THEM, WE'LL GRIND ON THEM. HIS PASSIONS FOR THE GAME, HIS JOB, MY WORK, IT’S AMAZING. IT’S CONTAGIOUS, TOO. HE JUST LOVES BEING OUT HERE AND HE LOVES WORKING AND, IT’S FUN BEING AROUND THAT. THEY MAKE GREAT STUFF SO IT’S A REALLY NEAT FIT. >> NOW WE TAKE YOU TO CARLSBAD, CALIFORNIA WHERE TITLEIST CLUB DESIGNER, BOB VOKEY, BUILDS SOME OF THE BEST WEDGES IN THE GAME. >> I LOVE WORKING WITH GOLF CLUBS, GOING BACK TO MY TEEN YEARS. I WOULD SHAPE THEM AND I USED TO WORK IN THE GARAGE. GO TO THE GOLF COURSE AND I JUST WORKED ON IT. TO COMPETE WAS LIKE A HOBBY. IT WAS JUST FUN DOING IT. I WAS VERY FORTUNATE THAT I TOOK THIS HOBBY AND I TURNED IT INTO A LIVELIHOOD. NEVER FIGURED OUT HOW IT REALLY GOT INTO IT. IT WOULD HAVE BEEN IN THE LATER 60’S WHEN I WAS WORKING. I REMEMBER THIS ONE FELLOW, HE SAID, SON, IF YOU DON’T LOVE WHAT YOU’RE DOING, QUIT, OR YOU’LL NEVER BE A SUCCESS. SO THAT’S WHEN I GOT INTO LEARNING ALL THE INS AND OUTS ABOUT A GOLF CLUB. PEOPLE SAY, VOKEY, YOU’RE A GURU; I'M NOT A GURU. YOU’RE AN ENGINEER AND I'M NOT. I THOUGHT AN ENGINEER WAS A FELLOW WHO DROVE A TRAIN AND WORE A FUNNY HAT. I SAID, I'M NOT, I'M JUST A GOLF GUY WHO HAD A LOVE, I HAD A KNACK WORKING WITH THE PLAYERS. I WAS WHAT I CALL A LISTENER AND A NOTE-TAKER. I STARVED FOR A LOT OF YEARS. I REMEMBER BACK IN MY LEE TRAVINO DAYS. I USED TO WORK WITH LEE QUITE A BIT AND DROVE MY LITTLE DATSON. HE WAS LIVING IN PALM SPRINGS AND I USED TO DRIVE OVER FROM VISTA, CALIFORNIA. TRAVINO LAUGHED AT ME, YOU DROVE THAT THING OVER THE MOUNTAIN? HOW DID YOU EVER GET OVER THE MOUNTAIN DRIVING THAT THING? I WAS FORTUNATE TO COME IN CONTACT AND WORK WITH LEE AND WITH DAVE STOCKTON. I RAN INTO DAVE, YESTERDAY. HE WAS ONE OF THE GREATEST SHORT GAME PLAYERS, EVER. I REMEMBER DAVE TELLING ME, YOU LEARN THE GAME FROM THE GREEN BACK 250 YARDS. HE WORKED ON THAT VERY HARD IN THAT PART OF THE GAME, WHICH I WOULD RECOMMEND TO A LOT OF YOUNG PLAYERS. THEN, AT TITLEIST, I TOOK A LOT OF THOSE IDEAS WITH THE HELP OF A LOT OF PEOPLE WITHIN TITLEIST. I LIKE TO LOOK AT IT AS A TEAM EFFORT; I HAD A LOT OF GOOD PEOPLE WORKING WITH ME. TITLEIST, HAS THE BEST R%D SYSTEM. I’VE GOT THE PGA TOUR PLAYERS. ALL THE YEARS OF RESPECT BEING OUT THERE WITH THEM. I LET THEM TRY IT, THEY TELL ME LITTLE INS AND OUTS, WHAT IT CAN AND CAN’T DO. EVERYBODY IS A LITTLE DIFFERENT. THEY HAVE A LITTLE DIFFERENT TECHNIQUE, A LITTLE DIFFERENT STYLE SO IT REQUIRES THEM TO HAVE A LITTLE DIFFERENT OPTION AT THE WEDGE AND I KNOW THAT’S WHAT WE'VE DONE. JUST GETTING OUT THERE, WATCHING A PLAYER HIT THE BALL, LISTEN BY SIGHT, WATCHING THEM PLAY THEIR BALL; JUST DIFFERENT SOUNDS. THESE PLAYERS WILL TELL YOU. THEY MAY NOT EXACTLY TELL YOU THAT THE BOUNCE IS NOT RIGHT AND, THEY DON’T GIVE YOU A NUMBER BUT, THEY CAN TELL YOU JUST BY HITTING, BOB, I DON’T LIKE THE FLIGHT, IT’S COMING OFF A LITTLE LOW. KNOWING ALL THOSE CERTAIN THINGS, I CAN HELP A PLAYER AND GIVE THEM A HINT. THIS IS WHAT THE WEDGE IS DESIGNED TO DO. THIS IS WHY I WANT YOU TO USE THE BOUNCE, I WANT YOU TO USE THE TRAILING EDGE. IT’S NOT JUST TOUR PLAYERS, WE’RE ABLE TO PASS THIS ONTO THE WEEKEND GOLFER, WHICH IS MY BIGGEST THRILL. IT’S NICE TO SEE A PLAYER COME UP TO ME HOLLERING, MR. VOKEY, I LOVE YOUR WEDGE, THEY’RE THE BEST WEDGES I EVER HIT. I SAID, THEY’RE TITLEIST WEDGES. THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THE SUPPORT BUT, IT’S NICE TO BE ABLE TO SAY THAT WE'VE DESIGNED A GOLF CLUB THAT THE AVERAGE WEEKEND GOLFER CAN GET THE ENJOYMENT OF HITTING SHOTS. I CALL IT THE HOLY GRALE, A PERFECT WEDGE. IT DOESN’T EXIST. ONE MAN’S POISON IS ANOTHER MAN’S CUP OF TEA. I CONTINUE TO WORK AND THAT’S WHAT MAKES MY JOB MORE EXCITING. WHEN I GREW UP WITH THE WEDGE, THEY WERE A, “GET OUT OF TROUBLE” TYPE OF CLUB. THE WORD WAS SAND WEDGE. WE CALL THEM LOBBERS NOW. I SAID, THE SAND WEDGE, IT’S GOT TO WORK, IT’S GOT TO PERFORM. THAT’S ONE OF MY FIRST THINGS I LIKE TO WORK WITH A PLAYER. IT’S YOUR, “GET OUT OF TROUBLE CLUB.” IT’S GOT TO WORK, IT’S GOT TO PERFORM. YOUR, “GET OUT OF JAIL” CLUB. THESE PLAYERS, BEING SO BIG, SO STRONG, HITTING THE BALL SO FAR, THEY’RE SO TALENTED, THEY WANT A WEDGE; THEY DON’T EXPECT TO JUST GET OUT OF TROUBLE, THEY EXPECT TO HIT A SHOT. THEY’RE EITHER UP OR DOWN FOR A BIRDIE OR AN EAGLE. AS A RESULT, IT’S EVOLVED TO MORE OF A SCORING CLUB. FIRST AND FOREMOST, IT HAS TO LOOK GOOD. THE WEDGE, TO ME, IS PROBABLY THE TOUGHEST CLUB TO DESIGN. EVERY PLAYER PUTS IT DOWN, WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE. THAT’S CALLED PROFILE. SO I TRY TO MAKE A PLEASING PROFILE. IN ESSENCE, IT’S A PROFILE THAT I CALL A TEARDROP. IT’S A LITTLE HIGHER IN THE TOE AREA, AND A LITTLE SHALLOWER IN THE PIE AREA. I SPEND A LOT OF MY TIME GIVING A LEADING EDGE TREATMENT AND SOMETIMES TOP LINE JUST TO MAKE IT LOOK GOOD, FIRST OFF. WHAT I’VE DONE WITH THE WHOLE WEDGE THAT WE'VE WORKED HARD AT IS TRY TO MAKE IT LOOK LIKE A COMPLETE SET. YOU CAN PULL ANY NUMBER AT ANY PARTICULAR TIME. YOU CAN SAY, WOW, THAT’S A NEAT SERIES. EVERY MAJOR MANUFACTURER MAKES THE BEST CLUB. WE ALL MAKE A VERY GOOD GOLF CLUB BUT, I THINK AT TITLEIST WHAT WE HAVE IS THE PEOPLE WITH A PASSION BEHIND EACH PRODUCT. IT’S A TEAM EFFORT, WE ALL WORK TOGETHER, AND WE ALL CROSS-TRAIN EACH OTHER, WITH KNOWING ABOUT ALL OF OUR PRODUCT. WE ALL HAVE A PASSION, WE ALL LOVE WHAT WE DO. IF YOU DON’T LOVE WHAT YOU DO, YOU’LL NEVER BE A SUCCESS.
2 Views
17:50:00 01/03/09
September 4th: The Bombing of the Peace March
[LESS INFO] 2 VIEWS | ADDED 17:50:00 01/03/09
http://rnc8.org/
Defend the RNC 8!
The RNC 8 are organizers against the 2008 Twin Cities Republican National Convention who have been falsely charged in response to their political organizing: Luce Guillen-Givins, Max Specktor, Nathanael Secor, Eryn Trimmer, Monica Bicking, Erik Oseland, Robert Czernik and Garrett Fitzgerald .
On Saturday, August 30th 2008, the Ramsey County, Minnesota Sheriff’s Department executed search warrants on three houses, seizing personal and common household items and arresting RNC organizers Monica Bicking, Garrett Fitzgerald, Erik Oseland, Nathanael Secor, and Eryn Trimmer. Later that day Luce Guillen-Givins was arrested leaving a public meeting at a park. Rob Czernik and Max Specktor were arrested on Monday, September 1. These arrests were preemptive, targeting known organizers in an attempt to derail 2008 anti-RNC protests in St. Paul, MN before the convention had even begun. The “RNC 8″ were originally charged with conspiracy to riot in the 2nd degree in furtherance of terrorism, a felony which is the first ever use of Minnesota’s PATRIOT Act.
In December 2008, Ramsey County Attorney Susan Gaertner (who is also running for Governor of Minnesota as a Democrat) added three more felony charges: 2nd degree conspiracy to riot (without the terrorism enhancement), 1st degree conspiracy to commit criminal damage to property in furtherance of terrorism, and 1st degree conspiracy to commit criminal damage to property (without the terrorism enhancement). Combined, we believe the charges would carry a maximum of 12.5 years in prison.
This site contains news updates, press releases, biographies, resources, events, and information for contributing to their legal support, and is maintained only by the support committee for the RNC 8 . For the latest updates on the defending the RNC 8, view the Recent Posts on the right.
This case is as an opportunity to demonstrate community solidarity in the face of repression and to establish a precedent of successful resistance to the government’s attempts to destroy our movements. We will not be intimidated!
SEE YOU IN THE COURTS!
Terrorizing Dissent
The Election Cut
Glass Bead Collective, Twin Cities Indymedia, and other independent media activists have released a new film, 'Terrorizing Dissent', an exposé of events at the 2008 Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minnesota.
Featuring first-person accounts and footage from more than forty cameras on the streets, 'Terrorizing Dissent' focuses on the story of dissent suppressed. People charged with "conspiracy to riot in furtherance of terrorism" speak out against the government's campaign to manipulate media coverage and label civil disobedience and community organizing as terrorism. > "If civil disobedience becomes framed as 'terrorism' ... that's baloney. And the reason they're waving the T-word around, there's one reason and one reason only, because they want to squash dissent and they want to justify what the police do in the effort of squashing that dissent."
Michelle Gross, Communities United Against Police Brutality
'Terrorizing Dissent' shows the results of the $50 million dollars the Department of Homeland Security gave to local authorities for security — a large chunk of which went to weaponize the police — and the $10 million insurance policy contract between the RNC Host Committee and the City of St. Paul, which shattered Minnesota's civil compact between protesters and police.
Effectively, the Republican National Committee provided financial cover for the widespread, organized suppression of dissent. The FBI and Secret Service coordinated with local police to raid homes and work spaces before the RNC even began. On the streets, the government's intimidation strategy shut down peaceful protests through the heavy use of tear gas, pepper spray, stun grenades, rubber bullets, and other projectiles. This excessive use of force followed months of harassment and surveillance of community activists. At every stage, local officials have refused to release the documentation behind what they did, from the origins of dubious search warrants to joint powers agreements.
The Republican Party's efforts to control the message and crush dissenting voices were led by one of the top local Republicans, troubled Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher, who personally spearheaded the "pre-emptive raid" strategy and spun the media by claiming captured household items were weapons (most notably, the buckets of recycled grey water he dubbed "urine"). At every stage, from fake urine to riot threats, messages of fear were distributed to chill Minnesotans from exercising their First Amendment rights.
Just days before Fletcher launched high-profile preemptive raids against protesters, two of his closest aides, Mark Naylon and Timothy Rehak, were found guilty on federal charges after they attempted to steal $6,000 in an FBI sting. To shore up his murky political future, Fletcher staged an authoritarian spectacle unparalleled in Minnesota history. > "We have unlawful search and seizure. We have unlawful arrest without probably cause.... Mass arrest and detention without probable cause.... Then you have excessive force. Spraying people point blank range with mace who aren't resisting and who are peaceful is excessive force. Beating people in jail is excessive force... Those all should be criminal complaints. They'll never be charged as such by any prosecutor."
Bruce Nestor, National Lawyers Guild
As local Democratic officials cautiously stepped back, Fletcher put himself in front of a classic "security theater" media campaign to create a non-existent enemy, equate civil disobedience with terrorism, and move in to attack peaceful protests. This plan culminated with the blocking and flashbang bombing of a peaceful march organized by anti-war activists on September 4th as John McCain delivered his acceptance speech at the Xcel Center.
Within weeks, John McCain's campaign turned to attacking Barack Obama on the same grounds as the RNC Welcoming Committee, a group that provided logistical help such as housing, food and a convergence center for demonstrators.
This rapidly produced "election cut" shows how the government — even in a liberal state like Minnesota — easily rolled over to domestic militarization and criminal abandonment of Constitutional freedoms. As the Republican National Convention paved the way for a fall of terrifying national instability and financial chaos, Americans need to know about the techniques used to silence Minnesota.
Cut from hundreds of hours of donated footage, "Terrorizing Dissent" has been released for free on the Internet in HD, FLV and Quicktime formats, under the Creative Commons / CopyLeft license, and its producers encourage everyone to share this important film. More video releases are planned; stay tuned to this website for updates.
Glassbead Collective ( glassbeadcollective.org ), based in New York City, brings together individuals from diverse academic and professional backgrounds including video art, film, theater, architecture, photography, music, mathematics, fine arts and philosophy to create works which re-contextualize culture and the world in which we find ourselves today.
Twin Cities Indymedia ( twincities.indymedia.org ) is the local chapter of the international Indymedia network, a collective of independent media organizations and hundreds of journalists offering grassroots, non-corporate coverage. Indymedia is a democratic media outlet for the creation of radical, accurate, and passionate tellings of truth. Twin Cities Indymedia provided up-to-the-minute coverage of the St. Paul's Republican National Convention with news and media straight from the streets. As an entirely volunteer-run organization, the Tech Collective handles the Web platform, and the passionate observers of the Editorial Collective write stories and fend off spam. TC Indymedia plans to organize a new video project collective as an extension of the work behind producing 'Terrorizing Dissent.' http://blip.tv/file/get/Glassbeadcollective-TerrorizingDissentS4SD_fin_h264418.mov
1 Views
17:48:00 01/03/09
September 3rd: And Then They Came for the Anarchists
[LESS INFO] 1 VIEWS | ADDED 17:48:00 01/03/09
Terrorizing Dissent
The Election Cut
Glass Bead Collective, Twin Cities Indymedia, and other independent media activists have released a new film, 'Terrorizing Dissent', an exposé of events at the 2008 Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minnesota.
Featuring first-person accounts and footage from more than forty cameras on the streets, 'Terrorizing Dissent' focuses on the story of dissent suppressed. People charged with "conspiracy to riot in furtherance of terrorism" speak out against the government's campaign to manipulate media coverage and label civil disobedience and community organizing as terrorism. > "If civil disobedience becomes framed as 'terrorism' ... that's baloney. And the reason they're waving the T-word around, there's one reason and one reason only, because they want to squash dissent and they want to justify what the police do in the effort of squashing that dissent."
Michelle Gross, Communities United Against Police Brutality
'Terrorizing Dissent' shows the results of the $50 million dollars the Department of Homeland Security gave to local authorities for security — a large chunk of which went to weaponize the police — and the $10 million insurance policy contract between the RNC Host Committee and the City of St. Paul, which shattered Minnesota's civil compact between protesters and police.
Effectively, the Republican National Committee provided financial cover for the widespread, organized suppression of dissent. The FBI and Secret Service coordinated with local police to raid homes and work spaces before the RNC even began. On the streets, the government's intimidation strategy shut down peaceful protests through the heavy use of tear gas, pepper spray, stun grenades, rubber bullets, and other projectiles. This excessive use of force followed months of harassment and surveillance of community activists. At every stage, local officials have refused to release the documentation behind what they did, from the origins of dubious search warrants to joint powers agreements.
The Republican Party's efforts to control the message and crush dissenting voices were led by one of the top local Republicans, troubled Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher, who personally spearheaded the "pre-emptive raid" strategy and spun the media by claiming captured household items were weapons (most notably, the buckets of recycled grey water he dubbed "urine"). At every stage, from fake urine to riot threats, messages of fear were distributed to chill Minnesotans from exercising their First Amendment rights.
Just days before Fletcher launched high-profile preemptive raids against protesters, two of his closest aides, Mark Naylon and Timothy Rehak, were found guilty on federal charges after they attempted to steal $6,000 in an FBI sting. To shore up his murky political future, Fletcher staged an authoritarian spectacle unparalleled in Minnesota history. > "We have unlawful search and seizure. We have unlawful arrest without probably cause.... Mass arrest and detention without probable cause.... Then you have excessive force. Spraying people point blank range with mace who aren't resisting and who are peaceful is excessive force. Beating people in jail is excessive force... Those all should be criminal complaints. They'll never be charged as such by any prosecutor."
Bruce Nestor, National Lawyers Guild
As local Democratic officials cautiously stepped back, Fletcher put himself in front of a classic "security theater" media campaign to create a non-existent enemy, equate civil disobedience with terrorism, and move in to attack peaceful protests. This plan culminated with the blocking and flashbang bombing of a peaceful march organized by anti-war activists on September 4th as John McCain delivered his acceptance speech at the Xcel Center.
Within weeks, John McCain's campaign turned to attacking Barack Obama on the same grounds as the RNC Welcoming Committee, a group that provided logistical help such as housing, food and a convergence center for demonstrators.
This rapidly produced "election cut" shows how the government — even in a liberal state like Minnesota — easily rolled over to domestic militarization and criminal abandonment of Constitutional freedoms. As the Republican National Convention paved the way for a fall of terrifying national instability and financial chaos, Americans need to know about the techniques used to silence Minnesota.
Cut from hundreds of hours of donated footage, "Terrorizing Dissent" has been released for free on the Internet in HD, FLV and Quicktime formats, under the Creative Commons / CopyLeft license, and its producers encourage everyone to share this important film. More video releases are planned; stay tuned to this website for updates.
Glassbead Collective ( glassbeadcollective.org ), based in New York City, brings together individuals from diverse academic and professional backgrounds including video art, film, theater, architecture, photography, music, mathematics, fine arts and philosophy to create works which re-contextualize culture and the world in which we find ourselves today.
Twin Cities Indymedia ( twincities.indymedia.org ) is the local chapter of the international Indymedia network, a collective of independent media organizations and hundreds of journalists offering grassroots, non-corporate coverage. Indymedia is a democratic media outlet for the creation of radical, accurate, and passionate tellings of truth. Twin Cities Indymedia provided up-to-the-minute coverage of the St. Paul's Republican National Convention with news and media straight from the streets. As an entirely volunteer-run organization, the Tech Collective handles the Web platform, and the passionate observers of the Editorial Collective write stories and fend off spam. TC Indymedia plans to organize a new video project collective as an extension of the work behind producing 'Terrorizing Dissent.' http://blip.tv/file/get/Glassbeadcollective-TerrorizingDissentS3sdh264755.mov
6 Views
17:41:00 01/03/09
September 1st: The Battle of St Paul
[LESS INFO] 6 VIEWS | ADDED 17:41:00 01/03/09
Terrorizing Dissent
The Election Cut
Glass Bead Collective, Twin Cities Indymedia, and other independent media activists have released a new film, 'Terrorizing Dissent', an exposé of events at the 2008 Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minnesota.
Featuring first-person accounts and footage from more than forty cameras on the streets, 'Terrorizing Dissent' focuses on the story of dissent suppressed. People charged with "conspiracy to riot in furtherance of terrorism" speak out against the government's campaign to manipulate media coverage and label civil disobedience and community organizing as terrorism. > "If civil disobedience becomes framed as 'terrorism' ... that's baloney. And the reason they're waving the T-word around, there's one reason and one reason only, because they want to squash dissent and they want to justify what the police do in the effort of squashing that dissent."
Michelle Gross, Communities United Against Police Brutality
'Terrorizing Dissent' shows the results of the $50 million dollars the Department of Homeland Security gave to local authorities for security — a large chunk of which went to weaponize the police — and the $10 million insurance policy contract between the RNC Host Committee and the City of St. Paul, which shattered Minnesota's civil compact between protesters and police.
Effectively, the Republican National Committee provided financial cover for the widespread, organized suppression of dissent. The FBI and Secret Service coordinated with local police to raid homes and work spaces before the RNC even began. On the streets, the government's intimidation strategy shut down peaceful protests through the heavy use of tear gas, pepper spray, stun grenades, rubber bullets, and other projectiles. This excessive use of force followed months of harassment and surveillance of community activists. At every stage, local officials have refused to release the documentation behind what they did, from the origins of dubious search warrants to joint powers agreements.
The Republican Party's efforts to control the message and crush dissenting voices were led by one of the top local Republicans, troubled Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher, who personally spearheaded the "pre-emptive raid" strategy and spun the media by claiming captured household items were weapons (most notably, the buckets of recycled grey water he dubbed "urine"). At every stage, from fake urine to riot threats, messages of fear were distributed to chill Minnesotans from exercising their First Amendment rights.
Just days before Fletcher launched high-profile preemptive raids against protesters, two of his closest aides, Mark Naylon and Timothy Rehak, were found guilty on federal charges after they attempted to steal $6,000 in an FBI sting. To shore up his murky political future, Fletcher staged an authoritarian spectacle unparalleled in Minnesota history. > "We have unlawful search and seizure. We have unlawful arrest without probably cause.... Mass arrest and detention without probable cause.... Then you have excessive force. Spraying people point blank range with mace who aren't resisting and who are peaceful is excessive force. Beating people in jail is excessive force... Those all should be criminal complaints. They'll never be charged as such by any prosecutor."
Bruce Nestor, National Lawyers Guild
As local Democratic officials cautiously stepped back, Fletcher put himself in front of a classic "security theater" media campaign to create a non-existent enemy, equate civil disobedience with terrorism, and move in to attack peaceful protests. This plan culminated with the blocking and flashbang bombing of a peaceful march organized by anti-war activists on September 4th as John McCain delivered his acceptance speech at the Xcel Center.
Within weeks, John McCain's campaign turned to attacking Barack Obama on the same grounds as the RNC Welcoming Committee, a group that provided logistical help such as housing, food and a convergence center for demonstrators.
This rapidly produced "election cut" shows how the government — even in a liberal state like Minnesota — easily rolled over to domestic militarization and criminal abandonment of Constitutional freedoms. As the Republican National Convention paved the way for a fall of terrifying national instability and financial chaos, Americans need to know about the techniques used to silence Minnesota.
Cut from hundreds of hours of donated footage, "Terrorizing Dissent" has been released for free on the Internet in HD, FLV and Quicktime formats, under the Creative Commons / CopyLeft license, and its producers encourage everyone to share this important film. More video releases are planned; stay tuned to this website for updates.
Glassbead Collective ( glassbeadcollective.org ), based in New York City, brings together individuals from diverse academic and professional backgrounds including video art, film, theater, architecture, photography, music, mathematics, fine arts and philosophy to create works which re-contextualize culture and the world in which we find ourselves today.
Twin Cities Indymedia ( twincities.indymedia.org ) is the local chapter of the international Indymedia network, a collective of independent media organizations and hundreds of journalists offering grassroots, non-corporate coverage. Indymedia is a democratic media outlet for the creation of radical, accurate, and passionate tellings of truth. Twin Cities Indymedia provided up-to-the-minute coverage of the St. Paul's Republican National Convention with news and media straight from the streets. As an entirely volunteer-run organization, the Tech Collective handles the Web platform, and the passionate observers of the Editorial Collective write stories and fend off spam. TC Indymedia plans to organize a new video project collective as an extension of the work behind producing 'Terrorizing Dissent.' http://blip.tv/file/get/Glassbeadcollective-TerrorizingDissentPart1TheFallInStPaul227.mov
6 Views
01:15:36 02/12/08
Virtual Worlds Libraries Education And Museums Conference Saturday March 8 2008 In Second Life
[LESS INFO] 6 VIEWS | ADDED 01:15:36 02/12/08
“Virtual Worlds: Libraries, Education, and Museums”Saturday, March 8, 2008 in Second Life - New Media Consortium Conference Center.http://www.alliancelibraries.info/virtualworlds/Purpose of the Conference: To provide a gathering place for librarians, information professionals, educators, museologists, and others to learn about and discuss the educational, informational, and cultural opportunities of virtual worlds. Please note: Although the conference will be held in the virtual world Second Life, presentation and paper proposals about LEM developments in other virtual worlds are encouraged. Tentative Schedule 9:00 a.m. Second Life Time (Pacific Time) "Ancient Mesopotamia: Engaging Online Resources from the Oriental Institute," Presented by Wendy Ennes and Lisa Perez Wendy Ennes, Teacher Services and e-Learning Coordinator for the Oriental Institute Museum of the University of Chicago, will present information about the new, engaging website Ancient Mesopotamia: This History, Our History. In this highly useful online resource, students and educators can learn about various aspects of Mesopotamian culture. They can participate in the interactive "Dig into History", playing the role of an archeologist or a museum curator. Also, they can peruse the "Learning Collection", zooming in on various teacher-selected artifacts. Teachers can also locate primary source materials, lesson plans, and recommended learning activities. This presentation will be useful to teachers, librarians, students, and history aficionados. This presentation is brought to you in collaboration with the Chicago Public Schools Department of Libraries and Information Services. "Persistent Worlds: Will They Ever Go Away?" Presented by Dr. Susan Hazan Now that Second Life has hit the front page of Newsweek it seems Neal Stephenson's vision of the Metaverse has crossed over -- from being a fringe fantasy land for pure escapists to a persistent world for play, commerce, creativity and exploration. It's time to take a close look at this synthetic world. Presented by three leading avatars directly from Second Life, this panel will showcase some of the leading cultural institutions from their 3D graphic locations, and will explore how they welcome visitors, guests and colleagues in-world. "The State of Librarianship in Second Life" Presented by Lauren Pressley This session examines the idea of librarianship in Second Life, specifically focusing on reference practices and the development of a library's presence in a virtual world. The session will conclude with a discussion of possible virtual world library services that have not yet been designed and implemented. "Reflections in Wonderland" Presented by Alison (Wynne Merlin) Williams & Mary (Merry Mayo) Hudson This paper takes a reflective approach concentrating on the authors' explorations of Second Life. These explorations were undertaken as part of a project to assess how the university library might operate in such an environment to support student learning. An introduction briefly outlines the project and we then go on to describe our initial experiences of Second Life, and of participation in courses and meetings. In the light of these experiences we reflect on the possibilities offered by this type of environment, before concluding with our thoughts on the way forward. "Reconstructing Maya: Student Created Poems" Presented by Beth Ritter-Guth (SL Desideria Stockton) The students in College English II: Literature at Lehigh Carbon Community College are creating interactive poems to celebrate the poetry of Maya Angelou. Conference participants will be able to view the work of students, meet them, and construct a poem of their own. The workshop will require the use of voice and participants should download a free recording program like Audacity. Students will showcase their interactive poem "Still I Rise" by Maya Angelou. A notecard with the instructions on how to build the poem will be provided, and participants will work together to create a collaborative poem using WAV files, objects, and scripts. 10:00 a.m. Second Life Time (Pacific Time) "Voice vs. Text Chat: Solutions for Teaching/Presenting in Two Languages Simultaneously" Presented by Chris Haskell As voices ring out over the virtual landscape, some oppose vocal communication for its technical imperfections, infrequent use, and VW cultural bias. Educators, presenters, and facilitators in the Metaverse need solutions to communicate in both "native" languages. This session demonstrates tools and techniques currently being employed to engage multiple learning and communication styles in this expanding virtual space. "Immersion Environments and Recreational Learning: Opportunities for Informal Education on the Virtual Landscape" Presented by Aldo Stern and JJ Drinkwater When the residents of an online three-dimensional platform such as Second life are able to create their own immersion environments, learning opportunities abound. Experience with a number of recent experiments has indicated that the educational potential of these builds comes not just within the context of a formal, institutionally-managed didactic approach, but also--and in some cases, more successfully--in the context of informal, self-directed learning opportunities. Panelists Aldo Stern and JJ Drinkwater draw upon their real world backgrounds in the museum and library fields, along with their extensive experience in a variety of experimental collaborative educational, cultural and recreational environments created on the SL platform, to discuss the relative success of traditional "classroom" approaches in various builds, and the surprisingly vibrant informal learning dynamic that has developed alongside--or as an alternative to--the attempts at structured, hierarchical didacticism. The panelists also will seek to explore how what has transpired in-world is analogous to the real world living history/reenacting "hobby" movement of the 1970s-1990s and other recreational self-directed learning opportunities, and consider issues of how institutions and organizations might utilize the potential of online creative platforms in the future to more effectively foster and encourage self-directed learning, and to integrate it into their programming in ways that it could compliment and enhance more traditional approaches to engaging and educating diverse audiences. "Whatcha Gonna Do?: An Academic Health Sciences Library in Second Life Embraces New Roles" Presented by PF Anderson (Perplexity Peccable); Gillian Mayman (Gillian Oh); Anne Perorazio (Kaiya Qunha); and Jane Blumenthal (Wrenaissance Jewell) Academic health sciences libraries support the educational, research, clinical, and service missions of the universities and healthcare institutions of which they are a part. In the recent past, this has meant primarily building print and web-based collections of health and research information, and providing classes and services that facilitate the use and integration of these collections into the skillset of the local academic healthcare community. In Spring of 2007, the University of Michigan Medical School purchased an island in Second Life. In supporting the activities associated with this initiative, we have found that many of the activities and services we have traditionally offered are not immediately relevant in the new environment, are needs that are being filled by others, or are beyond the scope of what is possible with the resources currently available to us. Examples of these might include teaching how to search Medline, offering classes relating to health skill sets, building collections of health information. Similarly, many of the activities and services we have found ourselves embracing in Second Life are hard to imagine ever happening in our real life libraries. Examples of these might include building freebie collections, teaching classes on how to make clothes, setting up a Spirit Shop for the university (along with making the inventory), hosting in-world and out-world events to engage community, setting up a patient support group, as well as helping folks navigate Orientation and Help Islands. Here we present information about the similarities and differences between what we do in which environment and why we do or do not offer similar services in the other environment, as well as discuss the planning process and skill sets required. We would particularly like to focus on tools that have formed the basis of our community building efforts, which have largely depended on resources that bridge Second Life and the broader online and analog environments. So, when it comes to leading the way in a new and emerging technological environment, what are librarians going to do? Our answer: whatever needs to be done. "Interaction, Visibility and Searchability in Virtual Worlds: The Possibilities, Benefits and the Future" Presented by Namro Orman Interaction with the Web should be a major focus point for libraries in virtual worlds. Resources, news, and communication are needed, and not only with Second Life Residents. The merging with other social networks looks promising, but a lot can be improved/gained inside Second Life as well to make library services and resouces more visible, and findable, also on the Web. This goals of this session are to improve awareness of current possibilities, to show developments, and to offer a sketch of the future. "The 3D3C Metaverse" Presented by Yesha Sivan Dr. Yesha Sivan, founder of Metaverse Labs, is interested in interoperability. He also has been looking into how virtual world simulations can interface with the real world. 11:00 a.m. Second Life Time (Pacific Time) "Applying Distance Educational Theory to Virtual Worlds" Presented by Rebecca Hedreen Current adult educational theory is student-centered and those students have experience, abilities, and preferences that affect or control the learning process. This presentation will show (and tell) you how to use these theories, and the practices that spring from them, to improve your Second Life presentations. In the process, we'll cover some techniques that also improve accessibility and decrease the chance that a technological glitch will ruin your work. "The Museum Phenomenon in Star Wars Galaxies" Presented by Annie Platoff Annie Platoff, the Director of the Wookiee Cultural Center, the premier Wookiee museum in Star Wars Galaxies, will discuss the museum phenomenon in Star Wars Galaxies. "My Life as an Avatar (So Far)" Presented by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle This presentation is intended for teachers, librarians, and those who work in museums; as well as amateur history buffs. In this discussion I will provide an account of how I came to portray one of the best known authors of the Victorian era; the development of a plausible "back story" to cover my inadequacies; my successes and failures in Second Life; my views on the educational potential of ReCreationism; and, finally, my advice to aspiring ReCreationists. "The Festival of European Languages in Second Life" Presented by Birdie Newborn (Birdie Newcomb in SL) This session will look at the Festival of European Languages recently held on Belle Isle in Second Life. It was a venture in outside-the-classroom education. It was a 6-hour festival over half the island with a schedule of speakers, demonstrations, booths, and a giant map of Europe with landmarks to every known language community in Second Life. 6:00 p.m. Second Life Time (Pacific Time) "Self-directed Group Learning in Virtual Worlds" Presented by Nick Noakes This will be a mix of an interactive discussion session on the affordances of Virtual Worlds with respect to self-directed group learning, followed by a tour of Boracay sim to see one way self-directed group learning can be implemented. "Virtual Museums: When Do They Become "Real"?" Presented by Annie Platoff With the launch of massively multiplayer online roleplaying games (MMORPGs), players were given the opportunity to build their own communities within the confines of virtual worlds created by the game developers. When Star Wars Galaxies was launched in June 2003, players were also given the opportunity to manipulate their environment. SWG Developers not only allowed players to place structures within the landscape of the game, but also gave them the opportunity to decorate the interiors of their buildings. It wasn't long before players began to open their own museums. At first, the museums were nothing more than decorated houses containing developer-made paintings and objects. Eventually, however, the museums evolved and now there are quite a number that include interpretive labels, thematic exhibits, and more. While some of these museums are quite well known within their communities, they are virtually unknown by those who do not play the game. That is not the case for the museums in another virtual community, however. The emergence of museums in the virtual world of Second Life has been the topic of much discussion in the museum community. Also launched in 2003, Second Life presents itself as a 3-D virtual world rather than a game. In the world of Second Life players can create just about anything they can imagine and add it to the environment including, of course, museums. Some of those museums have been replicas of real-life museums created by private individuals. Other museums in this virtual environment were created as initiatives of established real-world museums. But there are some museums in Second Life that only exist in that virtual landscape. The International Space Museum, one such museum, has spawned a real-life non-profit organization to support the work of the virtual museum. All of this activity in virtual museums brings with it some interesting questions for members of the museum community. Are virtual museums "real" museums? And if they are, what are the implications for established real-life museums? This paper will examine a variety of museums in two virtual environments ? the MMORPG Star Wars Galaxies and the virtual world of Second Life. It will apply established definitions of what is a museum and determine which of those virtual museums appear to meet the criteria. Finally, it will draw conclusions about the "realness" of virtual museums and the potential of these institutions for reaching new audiences. "An Overview of Science-Related Stuff in Second Life" Presented by Dr. Troy McConaghy (Troy McLuhan in SL) Troy will give examples of how Second Life is being used for science education, public outreach, prototyping, and research Intendend Audience: Scientists, science educators, science librarians, and science museum professionals. "Immersive Education: New Models for Lifelong Learning" Presented by Kevin Roebuck Open source technologies for virtual worlds, on-line games, and new media have tremendous potential to offer new models for lifelong learning. Sun Microsystems Global Education & Research Group has formed a new community to explore these new immersive worlds and their application with the Project Wonderland 3-D tool-kit, Project Darkstar Game Server and SunSPOT sensor platforms. The new Sun Immersion Special Interest Group has announced a joint initiative with the Immersive Education Initiative at Media Grid including a $25,000 set of "Immersion Grants" to see pilot projects in K12 schools, community college, and higher education institutions. This session will feature Kevin Roebuck, Community Manager for Immersive Technologies at Sun, to give a brief overview of the communities activities, initiatives and worldwide projects in open source and open content for Immersive Education. 7:00 p.m. Second Life Time (Pacific Time) "Using Second Life to Enhance Student Research and Presentations" Presented by Robert Walker The presentation will look at an exciting Second Life assignment being used at Labette Community College in the Music Appreciation classes to enhance student presentations. This assignment could easily be adapted for use in any class that requires students to research and present that research to the class. It is useful for both onground and online classes. Students are given the following assignment, using Second Life, prepare a museum exhibit on the following composer. You should include written information, audio, images and perhaps video. Your presentation should not only include biographical information about the composer, but information about the period that the composer was writing. That information should include people of historical interest, other artists of the period, clothing and architectural styles of the time. This presentation will show the mechanics of managing an assignment like this. What tools do the students need? What knowledge/tools does the instructor need? These concerns will all be discussed and examples of previous semester projects will be reviewed as well as the assignment and the rubric. "Virtual Worlds for Learning" Presented by Ann Crewdson and Sachin Patil Virtual Worlds offer a quick and inexpensive ways of simulating information artifacts(in libraries and museums) into multi-faceted synthetic learning environments that merit interaction, immersion and information equally. The Federation of American Scientists, as part of its "Virtual Worlds for Learning" research program, has created a Virtual World Sim (Mesopotamia) in Second Life that leverages collective intelligence by enabling interdisciplinary communities of scholars such as archeologists, librarians museologists, historians, technologists, artists, and academia to share data and their expertise. The prototype has developed a web-integrated inworld tool, called Medulla, to collaborate on 3D content creation, peer-review the content for authenticity and edit it continuously based on new academic & research findings. In the near future, this tool will support functionalities for incorporating game-like features to make simulation experience more interactive and engaging. This presentation will describe content creation & management processes we have developed to collect, render, manage, evaluate and preserve digital assets for 3D virtual environments. Attendees, mainly librarians and museum administrators, will learn how virtual worlds together with web technologies can be used for a wide variety of learning opportunities, scholarly interaction, and the collection, development and management of digital assets for 3D virtual environments. "Standing on the Shoulders of Giants" Presented by Rochelle Mazar This presentation will demonstrate and explore the ways that digital objects have been archived in older virtual environments, their contribution to a competitive gift economy, and the kinds of lessons those practices bring to bear on the work being done by librarians and educators in Second Life. In text-based MOO spaces, object archives function as museum spaces, shops for finding useful objects to use in one's own builds, and as a structure that reinforces and supports a functioning gift economy. In worlds without built-in money economies, archiving and "generics" organization allows new users to see what has been built before, to take advantage of that older work by taking their own copy of these generic objects to build upon, and provides a form of feedback and recognition for those who build the best objects across the entire MOO community world-wide. With a long tradition of including the builder's name as part of the object, a successful builder can build a reputation across many different virtual worlds as others request archived copies of their objects. This gift economy encourages builders and programmers to donate their work for use by others as well as to create more and better generic objects for general use. Their active participation in the gift economy thereby assists in the creation of richer online spaces for all. Could this model work in Second Life, in spite of its existing money economy? This presentation would consist of audio content detailing the structure of these digital archives and their use, as well as detail about the gift economy and how it encouraged more and better objects to share with the community, and would include discussion with participants about its pros and cons and feasibility for use in Second Life. 8:00 p.m. Second Life Time (Pacific Time) "Education on the Teen Grid: The View from Eye4You Alliance Island" Presented by Kelly Czarnecki (Bluewings Hayek in SL), Anthony Curtis (Stone Semyorka in SL), and Beth Kraemer (Alice Burgess in SL) So what's it like to be an educator on the teen grid? Eye4You Alliance Island has been a source of education, creativity and fun on the teen grid since 2006. Librarians, professors, authors, technology specialists, subject matter specialists, and teens from around the world are involved in projects ranging from classes about SL and RL skills; recurring events like book discussions, space talks and island management meetings; special events like the recent literary festival, last year's college fair and craft fair; and a host of other activities. The presenters will provide an overview of what it's like to be an adult educator on the teen grid, describing the challenges and opportunities, and will discuss recent activities and plans that are underway. We'll compare the experience with education on the main grid and discuss our view of the future of education for teens in Second Life. The presentation may also incorporate comments from the teen residents themselves. "VW Libraries and Education: The Purpose and the Potential" Presented by Valerie Hill (Valibrarian Gregg in SL) Virtual worlds seem to be exploding into existence online. For everyone from toddlers to senior citizens, a virtual world beckons. Valibrarian Gregg, a Second Life librarian (and real life school librarian) shares her journey learning in a virtual world to help understand the purpose and potential for librarians and educators. Read some of the latest Virtual World news at iVinnie.com. "Providing Library Services in Second Life" Presented by Margaret Ostrander and Anne Mostad-Jensen Margaret Ostrander will share her research in progress exploring information seeking behavior in Second Life. All research is taking place in-world, combining structured interviews and ethnographic fieldwork. Research questions include: What are the information needs of everyday Second Life residents? What kinds of information are people in SL utilizing, and how do they go about finding it? This research explicitly studies SL residents in non-library contexts. A more robust understanding of such "native" information seeking behavior can help inform SL library services. This research is under the supervision of Dr. Michael Stephens of Dominican University (Illinois, U.S.A.). Read more about Margaret's research at Librarian Dreamer. Anne Mostad-Jensen will present her research in progress focused on the new user's experience in Second Life. Research questions include: How do new users approach and use virtual worlds? What are the information needs of new users and what are their information seeking behaviors? Research subjects will be observed while utilizing the Second Life interface for the first time, accompanied by pre- and post-interviews. This research will inform how libraries in Second Life can help meet the needs of new users. This research is under the supervision of MLIS faculty member Dr. Joyce Yukawa of the College of St. Catherine (Minnesota, U.S.A.). Both Anne and Margaret will share their findings to date, along with learnings about the methodologies and research instruments they have adopted.CREDITS: This machinima was filmed on location with the help of avatars in the teen grid and main adult grid of Second Life: Info International, Talis, and Eye4YouAlliance Island, funded by the Public Library of Charlotte & Mecklenburg County (PLCMC). http://infoisland.orghttp://www.talis.comhttp://www.plcmc.org/teens/secondlife.aspMachinima: Bernadette Daly Swanson / HVX Silverstar in Second LifeMusic: Revostock.com
2 Views
21:20:21 01/21/07
The Death and Resurrection of Formula
[LESS INFO] 2 VIEWS | ADDED 21:20:21 01/21/07
I've been teaching media writing since 2001 — not all that long, but much has changed with the rise of new media. Not just in terms of production and distribution tools, though those have evolved and proliferated with amazing speed. Content is changing. Which means writing is changing.
I sometimes have difficulty getting my students to believe that they are writers. They see themselves as audio engineeers, camera operators, directors, editors, producers. But more and more, these separate jobs are getting done by one person. More and more, the media we watch is coming from a single author, or a very small team operating as an author.
And a lot of these authors don't want to write sitcoms, or crime dramas, or anything else they've seen over and over again on TV. Or they do, but they want to write it better . No one has to copy a formula to get their work "on the air" now. Perhaps the most important feature of new media is that it's different from TV .
This is a beautiful thing. It could save us from the suffocating affliction of monoculture, as long as we refuse to let it devolve into a small-screen version of old-fashioned, corporate-owned, commercial-sponsored television. I understand the urge to keep new media pure in that sense.
But I'm worried, too. "Kill Your Television" worries me. The "death of the sitcom" worries me. I'm worried for all those media-makers out there who suddenly have to be writers, because it seems like a lot of writerly knowhow is about to become taboo.
Yes, I know TV mostly sucks, but we should figure out exactly why before we issue a blanket condemnation of all things broadcast. I feel strange saying it, but I think there's a lot about TV that is worth saving. I feel even stranger saying that one of the things I hope survives is — and now I'm really taking my life in my hands — formula.
"Formula" shouldn't be a dirty word. Of course, most TV shows are crap — but not because they follow a formula. It's because they do so in uninspired, repetetive and predictable ways, and because they sacrifice art (which is original and risky) for commercial viability (which relies on imitation).
But it's silly to say that a bad sitcom is bad because it's structured as a comedy, or that a drama is bad because it's structured as a drama. Formula doesn't make a story boring; rather, it heightens the impact of the material by keeping it clear, uncluttered, and powerful. It helps the storyteller focus and strengthen the plot, create engaging characters, and send the audience on an enjoyable trip.
Formula doesn't have to limit or repress creativity; it can help a writer tell where, whether and why the story is working (or not working). If a story is going to engage us, it needs to be shaped, edited, structured — some writing has to happen. Decisions must be made about what gets told, in what order and at what pace; what gets omitted, or rearranged, so that there can be focus and clarity and meaning; what effects are achieved, what gratifications delivered, what experience is created for the audience.
When a writer knows how to tell what works and what doesn't and why, then any element of a formula can be rejected or modified. Some proficient storytellers (vloggers, for example) do this instinctively and so might think that they're not doing it at all, but we've all seen enough clunky, pointless and boring vlogs (and cable-access TV shows, and student films, and "experimental videos") to be able to instantly register the difference.
Do a search on YouTube for "cat fight" and you'll see where we might end up if we choose to forget what we know about storytelling. (And I'm not even talking about the porn.) I've chosen three cat-fight videos (at right) as examples of storytelling technique (or lack thereof), hoping to inspire my students and other new-media makers to take up the work of being writers.
I've done this because I dread the day when all there is to watch is people's cute cat footage, or unedited road-trip videos, or private musings in extreme close-up. Because, honestly, your cat is not as cute to me as it is to you; your friends are not as funny as you thought they were when they did that crazy thing you caught with your cell-phone camera; the raw footage you shot of the broken-down semi in a ditch somewhere along I-90 is not a pithy commentary on the economics of food transport or life in the heartland. It's just home movies — which can be a lot of fun to watch, but most people still prefer to go to the cinema or the video store or, yes, the dreaded TV, to see something that's had thought and craft put into it. The fact that someone was somewhere with a digital camera doesn't necessarily mean the result is anything anyone wants to watch.
So my hope for my students is this: that they think of themselves as writers. That they take the time to learn about story structure, and then hack the hell out of those formulas with precision, deliberation and skill. That they make media that brings light and life to the great world of people out there, watching.
Click on images to play
6,090 views; 5 comments; 11 favorites. This one didn't "go viral" (spread by word of mouth) and didn't generate much response. It's easy to see why: viewers have to wait through lots of nothing-happening time, and what little action there is doesn't build. Real life is like that: lots of waiting, events not effectively arranged in sequences with pacing and timing and rising action. But a good story needs some shape, needs an arc — or else no tension, no drama, no interest! 25,530 views; 2 comments; 10 favorites. This one didn't generate much discussion either, but it had almost 20,000 more viewers. It uses music to establish some context, and focuses on one event that has a bit of build; not quite telling a story, but getting there. 249,836 views; 116 comments; 986 favorites. Now we're talking viral! And the reason is obvious: at only 9 seconds, this video tells a complete story with identifiable characters and strong 3-act structure. Act I: Naive, overconfident protagonist faces a challenge; is ignored by bigger, wiser, more powerful opponent. Act II: Naive protagonist doubles his efforts, taunts the opponent; at first it seems his second attempt has failed as well (dark night of the soul). Act III: Climax! Powerful opponent engages, beats crap out of naive hero. OK, so it's not a happy ending. But storywise, all the elements are there. And the audience definitely responded.
