The one thing that has been keeping me from updating this blog has been Google Video. In attempting to upload the latest episode of Set It Up, it has given me nothing but grief. I think that our last episode was just fantastic, and I really want everyone to see it, so I'll keep working on the problem. In the meantime, here are a few more photos from the Set It Up Photo Project to appease your unquenchable thirst for youth media.




What else have I been up to, you ask? We've been working on the last episode of Set It Up, which is a "producer showcase," meaning that the youth can choose any topic or style of video that they wish. Just as in the last episode, we are going to do an outdoor shoot where the hosts introduce the segments. The twist? We'll be bbqing in a park for the shoot. It's going to be awesome/delicious. I've also been working on coordinating four summer video classes that we will be running. We'll be working with middle-school aged kids in four distinct neighborhoods around Saint Paul. And the most exciting thing I have to report? The Set It Up t-shirts just arrived about five minutes ago!

Busy as always. One of the coolest things I've been involved with lately is the Set It Up photo project. A while ago, I came up with the idea of having the Set It Up crew take home digital cameras and take pictures of their surroundings. We would then use the pictures a) as an introduction to Photoshop, b) as the raw material for a video segment, and c) as youth-created art to decorate our walls! I collaborated with Roxanne to run the program, and here are some of the pictures we ended up with!

These past few days have been pretty exciting. On Friday, the Youth Advisory Committee met to begin pre-production on the promo they will be creating for SPNN's Youth Education department.

There are three main ideas we want them to convey in the video: people should watch our shows, join our programs, and come to our events. The idea the YAC finally decided on is to follow someone around who is putting up flyers. As soon as a flyer is posted, they'll use chroma key to have it "come to life" and start talking about how awesome SPNN is. The magic of television.

Our current episode of Set It Up is almost finished. We had an open day on Sunday for people to work on their pieces. After watching most of the segments, Mejid remarked that our current episode is going to be the best yet. Get excited.

SPNN was abuzz on Saturday. Mental Engineering, the television show I help out on, had some fantastic guests. Writer, radio host, and SNL alum Al Franken was there. He was joined by Sam Simon (the co-creator of the Simpson), Margaret Werry (an historian from the University of Minnesota), and Leola Johnson (my former advisor from Macalester). Macalester College President Brian Rosenberg and Saint Paul Mayor Chris Coleman were both in attendance as well.

As if this weren't enough, professional poker player Tom Fuller has been staying with us for the past week. Highlights have included seeing the Joggers, Giant Drag, and Pretty Girls Make Graves at Triple Rock, getting him hooked on The Office and having him declare it the best show on television, and going to see Sigur Ros (that last one doesn't happen until tonight, but when it does, it will definitely be a highlight).

Two new videos. The first one is on the the CTEP Media Committee Vlog, which you can always access using the link in the sidebar on your right. The other is a short video that I produced using footage I shot when we were at the Western Sculpture Park for Set It Up. I call it A Day in the Park.

Here's the second draft of our design for the new mousepads in the media lab. Bekka did the pencil sketch of the SPNN logo, and then I put it into an etch-a-sketch. I'm having a hard time getting the "Building Community Through Television" to look right. What do you guys think?

Just a quick update to let you know that I've posted the Youth Advisory Committee one hour video projects on google video. You can access them using the sidebar on the right. Check them out and let me know what you think! Our next YAC meeting is this Friday, and I'm still ironing out all of the details. If you have a chance, check out the Set It Up blog (also accessible using the sidebar on your right). The youth have posted a couple updates, and I also gave the look of the blog a little facelift.

If you haven't checked out the CTEP Media Committee Vlog, you should. Now featuring the legendary media committee ghost movie. I ain't afraid of no ghost.

One story from the CTEP office party I forgot to share - I was talking to Jeff about music. He talked about listening to anarcho-punk and hanging out with Profane Existence when he was younger. I said I'd never heard of them. As we drove home, Jeremy played "Stevie Nix" by The Hold Steady, so that I could hear this line: "When we hit the Twin Cities, I didn't know that much about it; I knew Mary Tyler Moore and I knew Profane Existence."

So the Set It Up videos are now on Google Video. They're listed in the sidebar on the right. Try it out!

As Thomas Fuller once wrote, "I can't estimate how important the weather/ climate/ seasons are to me. When I get out and feel the sun on my skin, I feel great. It's as simple as that." Yesterday was gorgeous, a perfect 70 degree day in downtown Saint Paul. So, of course Bekka and Ivan wanted to shoot outside. And of course they wanted their location to be the park. And of course I volunteered to help them out. The pictures on the right were taken with the SPNN Youth Education Department's new camera, a Canon Powershot A610, that I picked out. I think it's been working really well so far, and I've been really impressed with the image quality.

On a different note, I'll be attending the Macalester Internship Reception today to represent SPNN. One of our interns, Zoe Holmes, is a mentor for the Set It Up show. Being a Mac grad myself, I thought this would be a fun opportunity to check out the old stomping grounds.

Yesterday I uploaded the Set It Up episodes to Google Video. They're awaiting verification, but once that process is over with, I'm hoping that this will solve some of the issues that people have been running into with archive.org.

On a more life altering note, I've reached the point in my service year where I have to start thinking about what's next. I've been thinking about applying to do another year with CTEP. I've also been considering moving back to Washington state. I do love my job, probably as much or more than anyone I know. However, I don't relish the thought of living on the stipend and food stamps for another year. Ah, the life of an AmeriCorps.