June12012

Somehow on a moment’s notice last month, I found myself in the midst of a conversation of global proportions.  Who knew that hiding in plain sight all these years, a discourse involving representatives of all the world’s indigenous people was occurring annually at the United Nations in New York?

I heard about it a week earlier and forces collided to allow me to be there. While it was too late for me to get security clearance into the main UN building, I attended side events, and then met and interviewed people from remote places in the world.

The genuineness of our conversations impressed me most.  Those I met had a mission, but not an agenda; something they wanted to share with the world, but no trace of the attention-seeking we’ve become accustomed to in our media.

This digital story was produced, written and edited in just three days.  My partner, photographer Nancy Wong, captured the beauty of these faces, and we co-edited the piece.
March272012
A Note or Two (or Three) About the News 1. Why do so many newscasters of today seem like frat boys to me? Do we really need sex appeal to take an interest in information? Sort of like Mary Poppins’ spoonful of sugar theory? 2. Why do news outlets need to tell us they broke a story first? Case in point, abc.com interrupts their reporting on Travyon Martin’s conversation with his girlfriend to tell us they figured this out before anyone else did. That kind of bragging just makes it all seem like exploitation instead of investigative journalism. 3. I only watch CNN in airports and hotel lobbies. But, I’m glad a face like Trayvon Martin’s is finally dominating the 24-hour news cycle, instead of say, Anna Nicole Smith’s. (I don’t mean to elevate one life above another… I’m just saying, this is a story worthy of that kind of singularly focused attention.)

A Note or Two (or Three) About the News


1. Why do so many newscasters of today seem like frat boys to me? Do we really need sex appeal to take an interest in information? Sort of like Mary Poppins’ spoonful of sugar theory?

2. Why do news outlets need to tell us they broke a story first? Case in point, abc.com interrupts their reporting on Travyon Martin’s conversation with his girlfriend to tell us they figured this out before anyone else did. That kind of bragging just makes it all seem like exploitation instead of investigative journalism.

3. I only watch CNN in airports and hotel lobbies. But, I’m glad a face like Trayvon Martin’s is finally dominating the 24-hour news cycle, instead of say, Anna Nicole Smith’s. (I don’t mean to elevate one life above another… I’m just saying, this is a story worthy of that kind of singularly focused attention.)
1AM
“He said this man was watching him, so he put his hoodie on. He said he lost the man… I asked Trayvon to run, and he said he was going to walk fast. I told him to run, but he said he was not going to run.” - Trayvon Martin’s girlfriend, as quoted on abc.com In the Good article “Trayvon Martin Could Have Been One of My Kids”, Liz Dwyer writes about preparing her boys for a world where being black and male increases one’s vulnerability.  One or two commenters wondered if she was setting her sons up for paranoia by pointing out the potential dangers. But, I feel like any woman who’s ever lived in an urban setting will recognize the last conversation Trayvon Martin had with his girlfriend.  Strike that.  That discussion can be understood by any woman who’s found herself out alone late at night, anywhere.  (I mean, seriously, doesn’t a quiet suburb with unobtrusive “mood” lighting inspire more vigilance than a busy, well-lit city block?)   As neighborhoods go, I’d call mine safe. But, I’d say I live trouble-adjacent.  I live close enough to hear cavalcades of screaming police cars a few nights week. I’ve never had a problem, though, and most nights walking home poses no threats. But, once in a while, someone who appears to have nowhere to go, or a couple guys stumbling home together, will make me stop and think.   At those times, I might call my boyfriend to strategize.  Should I park next to the  group of men who have been standing on the corner for the last 20 minutes? Or should I take a spot several blocks away?  Oh, and should I carry the duffel bag of laundry in my backseat or leave it for another time so I can proceed unencumbered?   I think most women have had similar moments, when getting from point A to point B requires an action plan - or at least our best educated guess at one. Most of us have had to prepare ourselves to navigate a violent world where misogyny still reigns.  It shouldn’t be all that difficult for us to relate to parents who feel they need to equip their sons to do the same.

“He said this man was watching him, so he put his hoodie on. He said he lost the man… I asked Trayvon to run, and he said he was going to walk fast. I told him to run, but he said he was not going to run.” - Trayvon Martin’s girlfriend, as quoted on abc.com

In the Good article “Trayvon Martin Could Have Been One of My Kids”, Liz Dwyer writes about preparing her boys for a world where being black and male increases one’s vulnerability.  One or two commenters wondered if she was setting her sons up for paranoia by pointing out the potential dangers.

But, I feel like any woman who’s ever lived in an urban setting will recognize the last conversation Trayvon Martin had with his girlfriend.  Strike that.  That discussion can be understood by any woman who’s found herself out alone late at night, anywhere.  (I mean, seriously, doesn’t a quiet suburb with unobtrusive “mood” lighting inspire more vigilance than a busy, well-lit city block?)  

As neighborhoods go, I’d call mine safe. But, I’d say I live trouble-adjacent.  I live close enough to hear cavalcades of screaming police cars a few nights week.

I’ve never had a problem, though, and most nights walking home poses no threats. But, once in a while, someone who appears to have nowhere to go, or a couple guys stumbling home together, will make me stop and think.  

At those times, I might call my boyfriend to strategize.  Should I park next to the  group of men who have been standing on the corner for the last 20 minutes? Or should I take a spot several blocks away?  Oh, and should I carry the duffel bag of laundry in my backseat or leave it for another time so I can proceed unencumbered?  

I think most women have had similar moments, when getting from point A to point B requires an action plan - or at least our best educated guess at one. Most of us have had to prepare ourselves to navigate a violent world where misogyny still reigns.  It shouldn’t be all that difficult for us to relate to parents who feel they need to equip their sons to do the same.
February282012
This Huffington Post article makes some important points about the role  storytelling plays in our lives, particularly storytelling through motion pictures. Mohr writes: “Popular films become part of our cultural fabric, stories that paint a particular picture of what it means to be a man, to be a woman, to be white or black.” My generation (born in the 1970s) is the second in America to have never known life without TV. And perhaps we’re the third generation to have never known life without the cinema. While, we’re a pretty smart group of people, we can’t deny that our world is partly constructed by the images and messages we consume on screens both large and small. And, of course, those are the fantasies of filmmakers. I’ve recently been crushing on the work of the Center for Digital Storytelling in Berkeley, California, which offers group storytelling workshops around the globe.  I believe putting the tools of movie-making into the hands of everyday people, through digital storytelling, can help broaden the story of what it means to be a man, a woman, black or white. Or perhaps more precisely it can help deepen and individualize that story, so that one’s understanding of reality is no longer the constructed (non)reality of someone else.  Especially when it comes to the editing stage, digital storytelling allows a person to hyper-focus on each and every nuance of a story.  In turn, one can both absorb it and stand apart from it; feel it, think it and decide which parts of it jibe with one’s own views and experiences.

This Huffington Post article makes some important points about the role  storytelling plays in our lives, particularly storytelling through motion pictures. Mohr writes:

“Popular films become part of our cultural fabric, stories that paint a particular picture of what it means to be a man, to be a woman, to be white or black.”

My generation (born in the 1970s) is the second in America to have never known life without TV. And perhaps we’re the third generation to have never known life without the cinema. While, we’re a pretty smart group of people, we can’t deny that our world is partly constructed by the images and messages we consume on screens both large and small. And, of course, those are the fantasies of filmmakers.

I’ve recently been crushing on the work of the Center for Digital Storytelling in Berkeley, California, which offers group storytelling workshops around the globe.  I believe putting the tools of movie-making into the hands of everyday people, through digital storytelling, can help broaden the story of what it means to be a man, a woman, black or white. Or perhaps more precisely it can help deepen and individualize that story, so that one’s understanding of reality is no longer the constructed (non)reality of someone else. 

Especially when it comes to the editing stage, digital storytelling allows a person to hyper-focus on each and every nuance of a story.  In turn, one can both absorb it and stand apart from it; feel it, think it and decide which parts of it jibe with one’s own views and experiences.
February242012
I watched this film with a group of friends last night. What a fascinating story. It made think about the nature of being fully human: a soul, a heart, a body, a mind all in one package.

I watched this film with a group of friends last night. What a fascinating story. It made think about the nature of being fully human: a soul, a heart, a body, a mind all in one package.
February162012

A seven-year-old girl still lives somewhere inside me.  Sometimes the distance between us can be measured in eons.  At other times, it feels like we’re experiencing the same moment together.

That seven year old likes to dance in front of the television, mostly by herself. But, with her friends, takes a boom box and her Columbia House tape collection out to the yard and choreographs routines that resemble gymnastics more than dance.  She plays a few songs in heavy rotation: ‘Papa Don’t Preach’, ‘Crush on You’, and ‘I Wanna Dance With Somebody’.

The thirty-three year old can’t remember dancing much since then.

The seven-year-old stares at Whitney Houston and her energy is unleashed by the singer’s.  A few years later, at fourteen, she’ll stare at the star some more, mesmerized by her voice and femininity.  She’ll record ‘I Will Always Love You’ to VHS and keep it in a trunk long after she disconnects her VCR.  

The thirty-three year old feels embarrassed by a fascination with someone so famous. She’s weary of attention seekers.  Her stomach even turns when she notices her peers pandering to the loudest one in the room.  She’d much rather hang out with people who can see beyond themselves.

The seven year old belongs. Everywhere she goes, she’s supposed to be.  She anticipates a life filled with as much sunshine and warmth as she experiences now. 

The thirty-three year old reviews Whitney Houston videos trying to trace the singer’s steps and determine when all went wrong. She’s lost friends and family members to addiction and early death.  She knows what its like to see someone’s light go dim. She knows what it’s like to lose the same person twice. 

She knows life is both long and brief, difficult and rewarding, all at the same time.  
12AM
Whitney Houston barbie doll from 1987.How could little girls not love her in her prime!

Whitney Houston barbie doll from 1987.How could little girls not love her in her prime!
February132012
 “Fame is a very curious game. Perfect strangers call you by name. I don’t know what transpires from making a record to ‘I know you.’” — Whitney Houston in a 1996 profile by The Washington Post’s Robin Givhan.

 “Fame is a very curious game. Perfect strangers call you by name. I don’t know what transpires from making a record to ‘I know you.’”

— Whitney Houston in a 1996 profile by The Washington Post’s Robin Givhan.
February62012
finding-joy: Burning of Swede Hollow, St. Paul. Photograph Collection 12/11/1956

finding-joy:

Burning of Swede Hollow, St. Paul.

Photograph Collection 12/11/1956
February12012

New Favorites

Creative Pitch brings art supplies to teachers in areas of greatest need in Chicago. As their site so aptly points out, an art teacher could easily be responsible for hundreds of students a semester, but given perhaps $1 a person for supplies.

Having been a student in a creative arts school myself, I know what a difference arts education can make. When I look at the profiles of my peers from that elementary school, all of us now in our 30s, I can see how creativity still plays a part in our lives.

But, more than a “fun” break from academics, I believe creativity opens up the power of reflection. It allows us the time, space and mindset to be contemplative. And when we practice contemplation, that skill can gradually become a part of our personal operating system, so that we think - and think deeply - before we react. 

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