Pictures of the break in the Burrow

Trying to negiotate his path in the snow.

The aftermath of the storm. When it slid off the roof, it sounded like the whole place was caving in.




Keels among the food.


Totally interested in the movie times.





Working hard during a walk around snow covered Salem.

Heated Wii battles. Enter at your own risk.

Wintertime greetings from the Burrow

Someone much smarter than me dubbed the house the Burrow, a la Harry Potter. And i think that is incredibly fitting. Thus the title.

A lot has happened since we let out for the semester. The ice storm blew out power. Luckily Durham got it back Friday afternoon. Ate lunch/dinner in HoCo without power. that was fun. The fire alarm went off in my dorm room when we got it back. Not as much fun.

Despite being electrically challenged, UNH decided to go ahead with the finals. Lucky us. I can't complain, the Burrow was powerless for 37 hours (not that they were counting or anything) and had to deal with a flooded basement.

After the horrors of finals, i went home. No really, like right after. got out of the exam at 9:45 a.m., was on the road at 10. The first of the snow storms started that afternoon. The snow didn't stop till Monday morning. We got about three feet. Had to pave a path for the dog in the backyard. Let me tell you, running after a tiny dog in the snow should be a competition on Paris Hilton's BFF.

The week before Christmas was a blur of baking and cleaning. Then we got a lovely visit from Keeley before she headed west. Highlight was a game of Kings with the guys and Keeley. Too bad no one could remember the rules. That was interesting.

But now the rush is over. The snow is melting (flooding the basement again) and the food is disappearing. But i have to go, the gauntlet has been thrown and someone is going to lose in Wii tennis.

Mmm Popcorn.

First and foremost, last time i wrote, someone was kind enough to leave a comment regarding my beloved Patriots. My response: low blow, you-know-who, low blow.

Secondly, i am beyond impressed with the viewing. I'm really amazed at the quality the class was able to achieve given the hurdles everyone had to overcome. So congrats, we survived. Now we just need to do, what, like three dozen more and we're right on par with professionals.

Thirdly, thank you to everyone for the feedback. I like the idea of adding a third story but doubt it's possible given time constraints as well as a lack of another person. But i appreciate the idea, nonetheless. Thank you for the encouraging words about the photos and audio. My already oversized ego has grown considerably and I have you all to thank for it. muahaha.

Fourth, (Fourthly?) Dana as TA is the funniest thing because it seems like he cannot just sit at a computer, he needs to be moving around, doing something. Like when Sandy turned around to talk and we can see Dana clicking and randomly highlighting text. So thanks for that, Dana.

Finally, (Fifthly?) Popcorn is good. Possibly great. I believe more should be had. Lesson of the day, nay, the semester, better yet, the YEAR - Popcorn. Is. Good.

Project update and addition

Hope everyone had a loverly thanksgiving and black friday. IT'S SNOWING!

I thought i'd update the world on my project. Wednesday night when i got home, i ran into a friend of my brother's who is a senior at Worcester State. We got to talking and he seemed perfect for the project. He lives at home and works part time. he commutes to Worcester three days a week as it's cheaper than living at school. He did two years at NECC to alleviate the loans but is still feeling a crunch from the financial times. It helps he's a ham and sounded excited to get his photo taken. He was doing a little bit of work today, so i tagged along and tried to get some engaging photos. I tried to channel Don when i was snapping away. Not as dramatic as i was hoping. maybe i'll try to photoshop them a bit.

Now i'm at his family's house and I'll get audio and more photos. I'm going to work around the game though. Pretty sure curse words will fly but not ideal for the project.

Matt Light's going to play. Here we go, Patriots!

On Slacking in the Class blog

After much deep and profound brain things inside my head, (Madagascar reference. Anybody?) i figured out why i am such a bad blogger.

1. Slightly forgetful. i can't tell you how many times i've written down blog or barefoote or write something stupid on my to-do list. it just never happens. i think it's because unlike an assignment when i can hold the paper it's written on or see/listen to the notes on the voice recorder, i can't physically touch the blog and therefore feel, i dunno, not connected i guess.
1a. (yeah i can do that. it's my blog) assignment mentality. i keep a journal but don't feel like it's a requirement. i write most everyday and if not everyday then at least four times a week. i look at this like it's an assignment, which i guess it is. but because of that, i don't feel as involved as i think i would were it something i was doing of my own volition. in addition, i have conferences with sandy every week where i get to vent/brief/ask about the class. i feel like he's been the main sounding board during the semester where i guess i should have been using the blog.
2. Diary/journal/blog? I've done a bit of research, aka looking at other blogs, to figure out what exactly should go up here. i'm left more confused than ever. I've seen some similar to live journals or diaries, some forums for the writer's (blogger's?) opinion, and other more news oriented. well, what the hell? what should i do? my journal is not for the public, while i have lots of opinions (perhaps too many) i'd really rather not share, and for news, well, there's tnh.
3. lacking a gripping subject. my friend phil is in italy at the moment and he's using his blog to talk about his adventures. kind of saving him the time of writing individual emails to everyone. keeley, another friend, just set up a blog to highlight some of the places she's gonna see during her season. practice for the travel writing she wants to get into. i'm less inclined to use the blog as a soundboard for my whining about multimedia. i whine enough in person, there's no need to pollute the internet with it.
4. Whining it is. in that vein, i am struggling with posting things. i put together a trailer for my project, little 20 second video, but couldn't get it on youtube. it was saved as a moviemaker file which doesn't work, then i couldn't get the compressor to cooperate. so i ditched that idea and fooled around on blogspot to see if there's a way to just upload a video right from the computer but was unsuccessful. if anyone has solved that particular puzzle, i'm willing to pay in coffee and cookies for info.

So there it is. the reasons why i am such a bad blogger. to change the subject, the project is progressing marvelously. i loved talking to don on thursday. one of my high school teachers described the sensation as 'an a-ha moment' and that was what talking to don was for me. i was trying to go large scale, cram everything about the subject into multimedia, which just wasn't working. but he put it nicely, it's not a comprehensive story, it's highlighting one aspect of it. to those that don't know, i've decided to look at the financial crisis from the stand point of a student (it's been narrowed down to just one, barring the ceramics student getting back to me) and how that affects their plans and current situation. don was really great about hearing a few minutes of audio and immediately zoning in on the good stuff, what's going to grab the audience. so now i can sit here and have a very clear narrative in mind instead of being bogged down in the details. the audio track i'm going to use is just about finished too (i just need him to clarify a few things, maybe say something without so much noise in the background). so at the moment i'm just missing a few bits of audio and pictures (i really want a nice portrait, not the fuzzy one i have now.) that being said, i'm going to go knock on wood and throw some spilt salt or something.

I'm not entirely sure how i ended up in journalism but looking back it seems it is where I've always been headed. That being said, i have a tendency to get bogged down in the academic necessities of getting where I'm going, as the Brad Paisley song goes. I know the information I'm learning this semester is important but recently I've felt a lot less journalism student, a lot more Woodstock from Charlie Brown. Just keep jumping off the top of the dog house, only to fall like the last upteen times.

So the past week was a real rejuvenating one for me. On Wednesday, Dahr Jamail visited and spoke about his time in Iraq. Jamail paid his way into Iraq and was a freelancer for the BBC among others. The BBC is my ideal work place. The expanse of it's reach as well as it's reputation. So the chance to write for them, write important stuff, in such a pivotal part of the world would be just amazing. I was inspired listening to him and reminded why I'm plugging away.

Then on Thursday, I was let out of class early to listen to Susan Mercandetti, ’76 UNH grad and now Executive Editor at Random House. While i have a passing interest in publishing, Mercandetti said somethings that really rang true for me. The first of which was Mercandetti's emphasis on having many different jobs. She said at one point that she wanted to do everything. I believe her words were "so much to do, so little time." She said she's been under qualified for each of her jobs and "fear and panic are my friends. I live for fear and panic." I was inspired again thinking, 'Yes, this is what i want to do and yes it can be accomplished.'

Even while i am back at square one with the project - as in i have no idea what to do - and the studio production class is giving me nothing but nerves at the moment, i remain encouraged. Encouraged this path is what i want and it is possible, even if it feels like I'm braving each and everyone of the potholes along the way.

Oh ok, I'm not alone

I was really nervous about this. Not to say I'm not now. It's just ... less.

I too am rethinking the project. I wanted to do something with the compost but am having a hard time making food look good on film. That, and its hard getting good audio when you're gagging in the background. Go figure.

While i still like the idea of food, maybe doing something with preparation in a dining hall or documenting a whole day at one of the stations in HoCo.

A second idea: I'm taking a class in studio production in Nashua. There is a whole TV Station in Nashua South High School. Seniors produced and directed the TV interviews with the presidential candidates for the Telegraph. The teacher used to work in TV and he's really cool. The angle then would be kids learning broadcast and being able to essentially handle profession assignments.

As multimedia, both these projects would show, not tell the part of the story most don't see. The pictures would show a HoCo worker making dozens of batches of cookies at one time or someone at stir fry handling three different orders at once. A track audio would be them talking about the work, what they like/don't like about it, etc. B track would be people talking, the noises of stir fry, the sounds of HoCo.

Or. Or the pictures of students handling the cameras or directing, holding the boom mics or manning the switch board. A track audio is Jim Phieffer, the teacher, talking about teaching the students and what it takes to learn TV and make a profession out of it. Students talking about what interested them in that and how they like it. B would be a filming, student director giving orders or Jim teaching them.

On another note, I'm with Bobby and Jon with the technology frustrations. I have studio class on Wednesday where I'm irritating the more knowledgeable high schoolers with my endless questions, ultimately getting mad because there is a lot i don't know. Then Thursday where I'm usually equally lost and just ready to quit. But i figure if i passed three science classes and a math, I can handle this which really interests me. It just might take well into the next semester or two.