Friday, June 17, 2011

What Father's Day gifts really mean

This is my Sunday column, but I'm trying new storytelling avenues and thought that Storify could fit nicely. Let me know what you think.

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Woodstock native suspends man by skin from bottom of hot air balloon almost 11,000 feet in air for documentary

WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA????


Former Woodstock resident Sean Devine, along with his partner, Matt Morgan of Precarious Egg, a Portland, Oregon-based film production company, suspended a man by hooks through his skin from the bottom of a hot air balloon in Mammoth Lakes, Calif. on June 11.

The stunt was part of Precarious Egg’s documentary, "Feet Off the Ground," an exploration of the human suspension community. Zane Whitmore, 34, of Seattle, was pierced two times across the shoulder blades and suspended beneath a tethered hot air ballon, which then was released to circle the skies above the Long Valley Caldera as Whitmore hung below. The balloon reached a maximum height of around 10,800 feet above sea level during the approximately 75 minute flight.

“This balloon suspension is really the culmination of several years of immersing ourselves in the body modification and suspension communities,” Morgan said in a prepared statement. “We wanted to explore the motivations and humanity of this often maligned subculture, to bring their experiences to a wide audience.”

Morgan and Devine expect primary shooting to wrap by the end of the summer, and plan to premiere Feet Off the Ground in 2012.

JRC Chat on alternative storytelling

It's Wednesday! And that means that members of the Journal Register Company's Idealab - and anyone who wants to - are going to be taking part on the weekly Twitter chat at noon.

In light of CUNY professor (and JRC adviser) Jeff Jarvis, we'll be tackling the orthodoxy of the article and  we'll are talking about alternative storytelling: What this is, what forms of alternative storytelling are out there, how they can complement (replace?) articles and what forms have we used that work best.

The live feed is posted below. But you can also follow the chat here or here or also here. And you can also check out past chats over here.

If you want to chime in, just post a tweet with the hashtag "#jrcchat" so it can automatically appear below, or post a comment in the field at the bottom of the chat box.

As always, you are welcome to participate at anytime you want.

Monday, June 13, 2011

Tales of a deleted tweet

WBPM-FM's “Robinson and Shannon in the Morning Show” spoke to Ulster County Legislator Michael Madsen this morning to talk about a tweet he posted, which he later erased. Here's the tweet, via Brian Robinson.



As Ann Gibbons reported, a "boater on Sunday afternoon found a body among some logs and debris on the Esopus Creek in Kingston,  but city police detectives say it is impossible to say right now whether it is that of Zachary Green of Saugerties, who was last last seen Uptown on Jan. 2." (emphasis mine)

The Freeman currently checking with authorities and we'll have an update as soon as there is one.
Update: There is one: City police Monday night said an autopsy of the body found in the Esopus Creek on Sunday afternoon confirmed it was Saugerties man Zachary Green., who had been missing since January.

Before this, I had send a Tweet to Madsen today, to which he replied:


Good point: The leaked info I tweeted yesterday was not verified. @ivanlajara: Madsen you should post a Tweet correcting the one you erasedless than a minute ago via Echofon Favorite Retweet Reply


I'll let  Madsen's interview with "Robinson and Shannon in the Morning" explain why verification is paramount, (hat tip to Shannon O'Neil and Robinson for letting me use the audio clip).



"Robinson and Shannon in the Morning" airs weekdays from 6 to 10 a.m. on 92.9 WBPM in the Hudson Valley. 

Friday, June 10, 2011

O+: The Book

The Oo Gallery, 323 Wall St., Kingston is hosting a party on Saturday from 6 to 9 p.m. for the release of a limited-run, celebrating The O+ festival (Full disclosure: I'm O positive).

The soft-cover publication was created in collaboration with graphic designer Carla Rozman, printed with environmentally thumbs-up materials by Kingston's Tri-State Litho printers, and funded by contributions from local sponsors (Full disclosure: I was not one of the sponsors)

The book sports artwork by O+ contributing artists, "essays and interviews by some of our favorite Hudson Valley writers," (full disclosure: I'm not one of their favorite writers) and a free compilation CD of hit tracks "and O+ exclusive releases from Nina Violet, Mike + Ruthy, Hopewell, Gail Ann Dorsey and more (!!!)."
(Full disclosure: !!!)

An exhibition of work by Rhinebeck-based photographer Andy Milford will be on display and for sale. The event will also feature a screening of the O+ mini-documentary by Maciek Godlewski. Visit opositivefestival.org to submit your work for the 2011 fest, or drop a line at info@opositivefestival.org to volunteer. (Full disclosure: I will not volunteer)

Sarah Palin Emails from Alaska, annotated

Here's my crack at the first batch of Sarah Palin emails. I've annotated some that I found interesting. Add your comments below and I'll add your annotations to the document.


JRC Chat Storified!

Nicole Finkbeiner of Battle Creek, Mich. joined our JRC Chat for the first time on Wendesday and somehow didn't seem to be disappointed.

Wow.

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

JRC Chat on crowdsourcing replication

It's Wednesday! And that means that members of the Journal Register Company's Idealab - and anyone who wants to - are going to be taking part on the weekly Twitter chat at noon.

Today we are talking about crowdsourcing projects: As it should be hopefully familiar, we'll tackle what have we done recently., what you need, what are we going to do next, how are we going get this going.

The live feed is posted below. But you can also follow the chat here or here or also here. And you can also check out past chats over here.

If you want to chime in, just post a tweet with the hashtag "#jrcchat" so it can automatically appear below, or post a comment in the field at the bottom of the chat box.

As always, you are welcome to participate at anytime you want.

Friday, June 3, 2011

News Quiz!

Edwards interactive graphic


How to embed a Google doc to your site

First, obviously, you need a Google Document (and a Google account to create one)

Take, for instance, this aberration.

Then use this code:



Replace "GOOGLE DOC URL GOES HERE" and paste it in the source (html) of your site.

Presto. You can change witdth and height to whatever you please.
Example:

Thursday, June 2, 2011

What an Astronaut's Camera Sees

Every now and then I pay a visit to YouTube Trends to see what's up, and every now and then I run into a gem.

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

JRC Chat this week is a call to action ... uh, chat!

It's Wednesday! And that means that members of the Journal Register Company's Idealab - and anyone who wants to - are going to be taking part on the weekly Twitter chat at noon.

Today we are making a call to action about upcoming projects: What have we done recently in terms of training and engagement, etc., what are we going to do next (like, as soon as we stop chatting), and how are we going to, well, get this going.

The live feed is posted below. But you can also follow the chat here or here or also here. And you can also check out past chats over here.

If you want to chime in, just post a tweet with the hashtag "#jrcchat" so it can automatically appear below, or post a comment in the field at the bottom of the chat box.

As always, you are welcome to participate at anytime you want.