Cynematik • Cyndi Greening

For the latest reports on the incredible RISE in terrorism since he began his war on terror, George Bush and the rest of the Dirty Dozen deserve to be spanked and sent to bed without supper. Every time I say it can’t get any worse, it does.

MoveOn.Org’s Bush in 30 Seconds brings it all home on who will pay the long-term price for his choices. Thanks to JD Lasica for these two links.

Of course, we can’t appropriately bash Bush without a revisit to the Sloganator, a collection of 2004 campaign slogans. There’s even a link to Make Your Own Slogan and hang it in your office.

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“Everything can change, but not the language that we carry inside us, like a world more exclusive and final than one’s mother’s womb.”
    Italo Calvino (1923 - 1985)
    Italian novelist

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According to AP, Michael Moore’s film Fahrenheit 9/11 has broken two single-day box office records in New York City where the film opened Wednesday prior to its Friday national rollout.

The wire report said that the film grossed $49,000 at the Loews Village 7 theater more than $30,000 at the Lincoln Plaza, breaking the single-day records for both theaters, said Tom Ortenberg, president of Lions Gate Films Releasing. [The Independent Film Weblog]

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“Persistence can grind an iron beam down into a needle.”
    Chinese proverb

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“Each day is a little life: every waking and rising a little birth, every fresh morning a little youth, every going to rest and sleep a little death.”
    Arthur Schopenhauer (1788 - 1860)
    German Philosopher

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Finally, a shot of my digital storytelling tribe. We were grouped by non-linear editing software (Apple Final Cut Pro) on the first day. Since each group had different tutoring sessions and breaks, we ended up becoming a fairly tight-knit group. There were two fellows in our group (Mark & Ben) but they were traveling with family so they generally dined with their family members.

We had Kelly from North Carolina. A graphic designer, web designer and writer, Kelly’s story was about trying to match photographic images of her ancestors with stories she had heard about them.

Kackie, from Massachusetts, had found a old journal and images from a family trip to Racine, Wisconsin in 1956. Her story was about the bonds that are made when families travel and explore together. The images of the 50’s she used were a gas!

Therese, from Missouri, is a teacher with deep family roots and extensive family bonds. Her story was about the contribution of her father, the patriarch. One of a set of twins, Roland’s life and family were the archetypal family. Therese (and Carmel) were absolutely diligent about attending everything.

From New Zealand, we had Suzi who works for TUANZ e-Vision in the area of Digital Storytelling. Her story was about her desire to be eccentric when she’s older (should be and easy goal to fulfill since she’s already quite eccentric). She had great photos of Machu Pichu and other sites in South America. She’s obviously well-travelled.

Another global storyteller was Carmel, from Australia. Carmel’s story was a fairy tale of sorts about a princess who kissed a frog and found happiness with a lifelong companion. Another graphic designer and writer, Carmel had a voice that Kelly thought was ideal for fairy tale narration.

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I am fond of saying I’ll do certain things “when pigs fly” … if I’m feeling grumpy, I say I’ll do it when pigs fly out of my butt. Well, today, BoingBoing had a link to a company that sells a Flying Paper Origami Pig. Like Susan Jeschke’s book Perfect the Pig, the idea of flying pigs is a wink and a nod at confronting the impossible. Like getting me to do something I really don’t want to do.

And, since we’re contemplating things made of or with paper, a Simple, Reusable Chinese Lantern for the budget conscious filmmaker! A quick, immediate, movable, light source for the cinematographer on the go.

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“It is impossible to dissociate language from science or science from language, because every natural science always involves three things: the sequence of phenomena on which the science is based; the abstract concepts which call these phenomena to mind; and the words in which the concepts are expressed. To call forth a concept, a word is needed; to portray a phenomenon, a concept is needed. All three mirror one and the same reality.”
    Antoine Lavoisier (1743 - 1794)
    French Scientist

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I love metal sculpture and retro products, so it’s logical that I would like the online gallery of work by Southern California-based artist, sculptor, designer and machinist Greg Brotherton. The site is Brotron.Com [Source: Boing Boing] . Great retro-combat-robot pieces and futuristic weapons. Somehow it reminds me of Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow. This certainly is the best repurposing of an Electrolux Vacuum that I’ve ever seen. Of course, my favorite metal sculptor is still Joan Waters but I do have a greater appreciation for metal now.

Speaking of repurposing old items, last week I had the pleasure of seeing John Freyer at the Digital Storytelling Conference and Festival. Freyer talked about his first eBay-fueled project, All My Life For Sale and his newest PBS-supported Second Hand Stories. Starting out from New Jersey in a 1978 ambulance they bought for $2,500 on eBay, the two relic hunters visit every second-hand outlet they can find, from thrift stores and garage sales to military auctions and university surplus centers, guided only by their sense of an obscure treasure lurking around the next corner. Determined to maintain a thoroughly second-hand experience, the duo record their journey with a variety of vintage cameras they have spied along the road and fill out the soundtrack with music from old records they have bought for a song.

I’ve been thinking about this whole consumerist approach to a “second childhood” for over a year now because my friend, Peter Wolf, recently completed his Masters at Arizona State University. His area of study is enduring design and the societal penchant to acquire authentic retro items as a means of reacquiring one’s youth. Wilcha’s series looks like it will be fun. Watch for it on PBS this fall.

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When I was a wee lass, growing up in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, I joined the Girl Scouts. Our girl scout leaders were Mrs. McCrossen and Mrs. Cray … Mrs. Seymour Cray. For you non-computing types, Seymour Cray was the inventor of the Cray Supercomputer. I remember him as a quiet fellow who always wore Hush Puppies.

Seymour (who was born in Chippewa Falls) had the idea that computer speed was most enhanced by shorter wiring and reduced instruction set computing. Cray used RISC-like thinking before RISC was even created. [My birth mother worked at Cray and proudly told me that no wire was longer than 4 feet in the Cray I while Cray II topped out at 16 inches.] Shorter, denser wiring and complex computing caused significant heat build-up in the computer.

I remember hearing how mechanical engineer Dean Roush solved the problem by designing a liquid freon cooling system (which was housed in the “bench” that surrounded the “C-shaped” computer). So, it is with GREAT amusement that I see the new 2.5 GHz Apple G5 computer has liquid cooling. Take a look at the offspring of Seymour’s grand-daddy, the liquid-cooled Cray X1. Who would have thought this experience in my Girl Scout Days would be valuable decades laters? Desktop machines are becoming so powerful, I guess it was only a matter of time before supercomputing principles applied to consumer electronics.

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“Courage is almost a contradiction in terms. It means a strong desire to live taking the form of a readiness to die.”
    Gilbert Keith Chesterton (1874 - 1936)
    British Author

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Got to LOVE this guy! Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the World Wide Web, who in giving his creation to the world for free changed it forever, is finally compensated with a $1 million prize from a Finnish tech foundation. [By Victoria Shannon, NYT.]

The Spec Spot is a grass roots news portal for the commercial production community. Filmmakers are making commercials “on spec” in the hopes of landing production work. Some funny spots, outrageous spots and a fair share of clunkers. Nice to see what the competition is doing.

Thinking of going to film school? LOAFS (Library of Annotated Film Schools) gives you reviews and shared experiences from the film students themselves. Even Scottsdale Community College gets a mention (although it is from 1996).

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“Neither a work of nature nor one of art we get to know when they have been finished; we must surprise them in the process of being created so as to understand them to some degree.”
    Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe (1749 - 1832)
    German Poet & Dramatist

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This past week, I participated in the 7th Annual Digital Storytelling Bootcamp and Festival. The first three days were committed to creating a personal, digital story (that I’ll post after I clean up a few glitches). The end of the week was a global gathering of people deeply committed to digital storytelling as a means for preserving personal voice in an increasingly homogenized, mass-media world (aka the “dark side” of Marshall McLuhan’s global village). We were touched by stories from the people of Wales in a compelling presentation by Daniel Meadows and Huw Davies regarding the Capture Wales project. I hope they post the story about the dog in the wardrobe on their site soon. I also really enjoyed the segment on Gordon Quinn’s The New Americans for PBS. Quinn follows five families (Nigerian, Palestinian, Dominican, Mexican, Indian) as they transition to life in the United States. Sponsored by Independent Lens, it’s a sensitive, compelling portrait of the triumph and trauma of change. I particularly enjoyed this inclusion of global voices in the festival. Another of my favorite presentations was by the folks from ThirstyFish. A discussion of storytelling for fun and profit (aka rapacious “marketing”) was exciting and informative. The use of personal narrative within corporations to help endusers better gauge the true nature of the product or service was explored. The final discussion was on Cultural Stories and National Myth was soooo exciting, I could hardly stand it.

And, An Opportunity for More Personal Stories

There were also presentations on more personal applications of the digital storytelling medium. JD Lasica talked on balancing the laws of copyright with the use of “common culture” in stories that were for personal use. It was an excellent discussion on Creative Commons’ variable rate copyright. The challenge of using music or video in personal storytelling as part of a cultural shorthand was fascinating. His POV is detailed on his blog: NewMediaMusings. [He also had some wickedly funny and/or provocative political links I must remember to post.] SilenceSpeaks is a site devoted to digital storytelling in support of healing and violence prevention. Mari, Sharon and Chris’s stories resonated most with my personal history. I also found Sharon and Sophie’s stories to be compelling. Like therapeutic journalling, digital storytelling creates an avenue for expressing, perhaps even exorcising, personal trauma. Much of the digital storytelling movement started with the late Dana Atchley’s Next Exit, a multi-dimensional, interactive performance piece that I never actually saw but could sample on his archival site. His wife, Denise, carries on with a dedicated core group at the Center for Digital Storytelling in Beserkly, California. Yavapai College in Sedona, Arizona now offers a Digital Storytelling Certificate at the newly christened, Dana Atchley Digital Storytelling Center. I’ll post more later on my Storytelling Comrades.

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