Arts in the Parks

Photo by Tiana Johnson
Alaska Teen Media Institute

My teens have been doing a lot of photo and video projects in the parks this summer. This photo came in today. I felt like sharing it.

Live now!

...humm...dee...dum...

I have been ridiculously stressed out lately and need some cheering up. (Happens to everyone once in a while.) Luckily I stumbled upon this site, called We Live Now. It is put together by a guy who has three different types of cancer. If anyone needs a little pep in his step, it must be him! It is basically a click through of positive message after positive message to inspire you to have a better day. Here are some of my favorites. :)

Summer Solstice!

PARTY

If you have the chance to get out of town this coming weekend for solstice, stop by this event in Seward! :) You will dance like a mad man or lady!

"The Skinny"

The teens at work have a new radio show on KRUA 88.1 FM. Monday, June 15 from 4 to 6 p.m. they will debut "The Skinny" a show with lots of music and ridiculous local and global stories. Listen in! And support them by making a request. :)

Free time in Tatitlek Part II

Emily, 10, was visiting Tatitlek for Cultural Heritage Week. She and her friends were catching bullheads down at the beach, it's what they like to do for fun in the summer.

Free time in Tatitlek

Alaska Geographic sent me to Tatitlek, Alaska in Prince William Sound last week and this is a lil' slide show that a student and I put together. These kids are true Alaskans. There are no leaves on the trees yet but they are jumping into the ocean.

Fairview Bike Scavenger Hunt

So, last night some friends and I had the opportunity to crash a Bike Scavenger Hunt. This really cool girl named Victoria gave us a list of things we needed to track down in Fairview. There were about five or six teams and we all had two hours to photograph as many items on the list as we could. Here are some highlights of what we found!


Crappy car



Remnants of a good time

Ribs, beer and chips.

Remnants of a good time, part two

Condom and cigarettes.

Best use of a blue tarp

Thug life

Kitty Cat

Dan and his cat.

Abandoned Car Seat

COMBOVER, he does have one.

And his name is Harry. And it was his birthday.

Our team bike dancing

Sunset over Fairview, part one

Sunset over Fairview, part two


Shadow Puppets, "tit camel"


Evidently, Victoria is going to hold one of these every month this summer in different neighborhoods in Anchorage. Keep an eye out for fliers around town!

Definition of the week: The early bird catches the worm

Phrases.org
The early bird catches the worm:

Meaning
Success comes to those who prepare well and put in effort.

Origin
This is first recorded in John Ray's A collection of English proverbs 1670, 1678:

"The early bird catcheth the worm."

Clearly, the title of the work indicates that this was considered proverbial even in the 17th century.

The Bob Cummings Show (A little story)

The other day I went to Walmart with my mom. Yes, I did. We were walking down the center aisle of the store a little old lady tapped me on the shoulder. She was standing next to a rack of 50 cent DVDs and was making her case to anyone who would listen.

The DVD she had her eye on was a three-episode disc of The Bob Cummings Show, an American sitcom produced in the 50s, about a studly photographer/Air Force reserve officer.

The lady was 80 and in pretty decent shape for her age. She could run! She showed us. Anyway, she said there was something about the smiles on our faces that made her think we might actually listen.

"Give it to an old person you know!" She said. "It will make them so happy. I love this kind of stuff. And you know they aren't making any money off it. It's just that no one knows what it is."

So, I picked up a couple copies and she gave me and my mom a hug.

"It means so much to me that you stopped and talked to me," she said. "I've been a widow 20 years and you stopped and talked to me!"

BOB JUDGES A BEAUTY PAGEANT

Definition of the week: Footloose and Fancy Free

Answers.com definition
FOOTLOOSE AND FANCY FREE: Having no attachments, especially romantic ones, and free to do as one pleases. For example, when I was in my twenties, footloose and fancy-free, I would travel at the drop of a hat. Both of these words have long been used separately; their pairing dates only from the 1900s.

My first fabric!

I finally posted a fabric to Spoonflower. A while ago, I posted blog about this beta site where you can upload your own designs and get fabric printed. You can choose to let other people get prints of your fabric as well. I ordered a yard of this stuff, we'll see how it goes!

MY FIRST FABRIC

Let me get a word in

KENDAL TAKES THE MIC (Chevak, Alaska)

RadioLingual

I just got back from the National Federation of Community Broadcasters conference in Portland and I have to share this project I heard about there.

It is called RadioLingual, a Seattle-based multimedia project found in translation.

These two people from Seattle use a new tool that Google is coming out with called Google Voice , where you can record phone calls online.

What they do is they ask people a question, like, "What does it mean to open up a can of worms?" And then have people call in answers using the Internet. Last, they compile the answers into a radio piece.

Like a child, I'm holding on to you

Oh, Marcus Bently. I, for one, think it is time someone got him back to AK for a visit.

MARCUS BENTLY "Amelia's Roses"


MARCUS BENTLY with location location, "Papercuts"

"So Far Around the Bend"

Aaron and Bryce Dessner of The National produced an album called "Dark was the Night" for the Red Hot Organization – an international charity dedicated to raising money and awareness for HIV and AIDS through popular culture. The album features 31 tracks from some of my favorite artists. Bon Iver, Feist, Iron and Wine, Arcade Fire, Cat Power and the Decemberists to name a few. Here the brothers talk about how they got involved in the project and play a tune!

SPECIAL PRESENTATION Dark Was the Night The National - "So Far Around the Bend"

Definition of the week: "The dickens!"

Dickens was — and still is, though people hardly know it any more — a euphemism for the Devil, according to World Wide Words.

It is used in expressions such as "what the dickens," "where the dickens," "the dickens you are!," and "the dickens you say!"

The Phrase Finder Web site

Meaning: A lot; as in 'hurts like the dickens' or 'run like the dickens!'

Origin: Nothing to do with Charles Dickens. Dickens is a euphemism for the word devil, possibly via devilkins. Shakespeare used it in 'the Merry Wives of Windsor: 'I cannot tell what the dickens his name is my husband had him of.'

Chili Lobo is good stuff!

I stumbled upon a recipe for Chili Lobo from a blogger out of Portland, Oregon named Alicia Paulson. Paulson posted her dad's perfected chili recipe, in honor of what would have been his 64th birthday, on her blog "Posie gets cozy."

Last night I made the dish for a group of friends. Instead of ditali pasta, we picked up some mini lasagna noodles but other than that we followed the recipe to a tee. Everyone was up for seconds. Well done Alicia's Dad!

"POSIE GETS COZY" BLOG

"Echo" project out of Atlanta

Today while browsing potential grant opportunities for work, I came across a cool project out of Atlanta. Two journalists are working on making Atlanta a more walk and bike friendly place. They are in the beginning stages but this will be something to keep an eye on. The project would allow you to hear stories about different places you might pass on a daily walk to school or work in Atlanta. I'll just let them explain, check out this video.

ECHO PROJECT DESCRIPTION

Introducing the Echo team from J-Lab on Vimeo.

ehem...

I wouldn't typically recommend going to the Woodshed in Anchorage. In fact, I don't think I am right now. BUT The Moon Knights are back in Anchorage and they happen to be playing a show there this weekend. I've gone out to see them two weekends in a row at Bernies and it has been a good time. :)

And for you twitter junkies.

THE MOON KNIGHTS

Our heroes

Two of my new teen reporters at work interviewed a bunch of kids at their school, Polaris K-12, about who their heros are for our show this weekend. It is kind of silly, might make you laugh a little.

Snowmen on the strip

natural light love
Photo by Brian Adams

Alaska photographer and friend Brian Adams posted a few shots he got on his way home the other day. Lucky guy to catch these snowmen in such a nice light. Check out his blog for more of his work!

The Old Believers

Two kids from Kenai, Alaska, Nelson Kempf and Keeley Boyle, make up The Old Believers, a duo that is getting some attention from Portland, their new homebase. NPR did a lil write up.

Photo By Mozzchops

Some illustrations.

PAOLA ZAKIMII came across this illustrator, Paola Zakimi, from Villa Giardino, Argentina. I really like the mix media stuff. There is some innocence in these that I want to be part of. If the etsy shop weren't down for maintenance, I would be pulling out my credit card right now.
PAOLA ZAKIMI

Color Me Katie

YOU DON'T LOVE NEW YORK...DO YOU?
Photo by Katie Sokoler

A freelance photographer out of Brooklyn, Color Me Katie posted some photos she took after putting a heart-shaped, homemade filter over her camera lens. I'm inspired!

Thank you Neil for the link.

Thembi's AIDS Diary

One of my students recently moved to South Africa for a while and in hope of inspiring him and other youth in the teen media program, I went searching for good audio from Africa. I found Thembi Ngubane.

THEMBI NGUBANE


South Africa has the largest number of people with HIV/AIDS in the world, Thembi is one of them. For more than a year, she carried a recorder and shares an account of her struggle with AIDS. She is so strong in her willingness to share her story.

Flannel scarf is the hotness!

The instructions for this scarf are in this month's copy of Ready Made magazine. Basically, I cut up two flannel shirts and used rit dye to make them match. I heated up a pot of dye on the stove and put the flannel in there for about 10 minutes. Then, I ran it through the wash and started sewing. I wore the scarf out on Saturday night and it didn't get rave reviews. I think people aren't ready for it yet! :P

HOMEMADE SCARF

Look again!

I've always loved things that look like one thing but are obviously another, especially when these objects serve a purpose. Like in elementary school, we used a Coca-Cola can pencil sharpener to pass notes in class. So clever!

LEGO Flash Drive

Available at thinkgeek.com for $39.99.

One question...

Thanks to J.R. for this one...

FIFTY PEOPLE, ONE QUESTION | SHORT FILM

Blackberry shakes just ain't what they used to be...

When I was really little my dad would take me into Castle Rock, WA for ice cream sometimes. My dad is a big ice cream guy. He eats the stuff for breakfast.

C&L Burger was a key stop on the way to Castle Rock. Established in 1969, this locally-owned joint calls in all the farmers, ranchers and loggers in the area. My favorite item on the menu when I was little was the blackberry shake.

My friends humored me on a recent drive (November 2008) from Portland to Seattle by pulling off at Exit 49 to allow me a nostalgic moment. I saw the place with fresh eyes.

This is what I saw:

THE T-SHIRTS


SONJA'S BURGER


THE POSTER NEAR THE ENTRANCE

Frosty

Sometimes I hesitate a bit to tell people when I find something really cool. Like if everyone knew how easy it was for me to make their Christmas presents, they might not think I am BADASS anymore. :) I am about to share one of those things. Awwwwwwwwww...

MY FROSTED GLASS


You can get a tutorial on how to make frosted glass at craftster.org.

The Ave is poppin'

So, there is this guy, Ziggy. He has a video camera outside his shop, which happens to be next to the Avenue Bar in Anchorage. He catches people peeing and puking on his doorstep and then posts the videos to his YouTube channel. But the post I like best is this one. He has condensed three hours of traffic outside the bar into two minutes. It is testimony to how popular the Avenue has become. Conan, an Avenue bartender, once said, "Rosey, you remember when there would be three people in here?" Now look.

ZIGGYVISION - 06/22/08

COLD

We are all ready for it to be over. Fifteen degrees would be brilliant. As it is, while I'm outside, all I can concentrate on is getting from one warm place to the other. From my cozy kitchen to the heated car. Then, from the car to my desk at work with a cup of tea. There is hardly a minute to look around. But when I do look around, I realize there is a beauty in 15 below. Luckily, there are people like Marc Lester at the Anchorage Daily News who have the strength and supply of hand warmers to document it for us. His audio slide show says everything that needs to be said about this cold time in Anchorage.

COLD SNAP EXCURSION by Marc Lester