We have no quarrel with films featuring lots of Latino actors and music in which, instead of gardening or being one of several desperate housewives, they are handed a knife and instructed to hack, slice and blow shit up for dramatic purposes. I think our enthusiasm is evident in the video below. (Which you can also see at this direct link if the video doesn’t load for you.)
Next up, we’re doing the Facebook feature The Social Network.
For one thing, each story took several months to report and write, and were such large projects that I went through the thing many reporters do where you have so many pages of notes and memories and observances that you forget what it is you wanted to write and begin to panic and get stress headaches.
Luckily, I have a very understanding editor and was given the time to sort it all out. I’m really proud of this story in particular because it’s one I’ve wanted to write for a long time, ever since I first learned what Ken and his organization does (they raise, rebuild and distribute donated computers to Austin’s poorest kids and community groups). It literally got me teary-eyed the first time I grasped the work they do and one thought just kept pounding in my head for almost two years after: I want to help. In some way, I want to help these guys. So I wrote a story. I hope it will help. I put a lot of work into it.
On Monday, a different story I wrote, for Tech Monday, runs. It’s a column about how there aren’t as many BarCamp-style events in Austin as their used to be and about an upcoming “ProductCamp” event that’s bucking the trend. Nothing earth-shattering, but the ever-helpful Whurley helped offer some perspective on the subject and it’s always fun to chat with him.
No NPR segment this week, but I’ve got some other things I’m working on, including a new Trailers Without Pity that was just posted and a separate blog post about a rash I had. Yes, for real.
Also on Monday, I did my first NPR All Tech Considered segment in a while. It was about companies like Google and Microsoft racing to offer cloud-based e-mail and other services to government agencies and city governments like Los Angeles.
There honestly hasn’t been a lot to alert you to lately and I’ve been so busy with some work and outside-of-work things lately that there’s not even be time to post anything fun and goofy.
What’s new:
I haven’t done NPR in a few weeks and honestly have no idea when I’ll be on again. It’s been very quiet. People have been on vacation, my producer was assigned to a major blog project and I just haven’t heard much. I’ve been enjoying the summer time off and am still posting an occasional blog entry on All Tech, but there’s been no parting of ways or anything like that (that I know of).
Ditto with CNN. They originally asked me to write just two pieces and that was that. I’m still waiting on my first check to clear through their large corporate structure and arrive before I ask if they’ve got any more assignments.
The famous tech podcast Glark and I did that was never famous, Age of Lasers, has transformed into a Tumblr blog at AgeOfLasers.com. It’s much more random and requires a lot less coordinating to post on. So far, so fun.
The contract Pablo and I have for Trailers Without Pity hits the two-year mark in October and we’re in the process of deciding whether we want to continue. We’ve been told there’s no money for raises, so it’s kind of up to us whether we want to keep doing what we’re doing at the current rate, propose a different project that would be simpler to produce, or just stop. They’re still fun videos to do and it’s very nice to get paid to do fun work, but it’s very time-consuming and we’ve been doing it with very few breaks for two straight years. I’m inclined to say we had fun, said what we wanted to say, and are ready to move on, but that decision is not set in stone yet.
Where I’ve been spending a ton of energy lately is at work where I’ve been wrapping up a story scheduled to run on the front page (fingers crossed) Sunday. It was a very tough story to put together — it’s a profile and when it comes to telling one person’s life, especially a person you’ve been wanting to tell people abou for a long time — it’s a lot of pressure. I’ll be very glad when it’s completely finished.
Lastly, my mom was in the hospital recently for surgery and just got out today. It wasn’t nearly as bad as when she was in the hospital a few years ago and everything seemed to be going wrong, but it was still scary and draining (much more for her than for us). We’re very glad this whole experience is over.
And that’s what’s going on. Lilly and Carolina are doing great. I think Lilly has just discovered that if she plays with Carolina, Carolina will respond and play back and it’s a wonderful thing to watch. Lilly has a birthday coming up. The summer already feels like it’s almost over. I’m trying to enjoy it before it’s gone with trips to Schlitterbahn, walks in the evenings and trying not to take on too many projects, at least for now.
This one had been on our list of movies to do for a while. The mix of over-the-hill action stars, ridiculous title and even more ridiculous trailer beckoned like a lit, beckoning thing over on the horizon of a hill or something.
The Expendables looks like it might be just enough fun to watch on video, but not quite enough fun to make much money in theaters. I mean, look at The A-Team. That faded quickly and looked way more interesting.
