Maker's Quest 2.0 - shaping the sound of tomorrow

Appy Birthday to In Verse

Julie Drizin — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 15:04:30 +0000

It's radio. It's photography. And now...it's an app! Attention iPhone Generation: download your free In Verse app from the App Store and take In Verse with you wherever you go. Whip it out at the next gathering of friends and everyone is guaranteed to be blown away. A real conversation starter.

And, while I'm at it, I must share some of the well-deserved praise songs for In Verse among the comments posted on Transom.org

This from Glynn: "Just so you know - this touched me to the quick (I had to shout it from the rooftops and send it to all my people)."

The Weekend Belongs to In Verse

Julie Drizin — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 14:31:22 +0000

Lu Olkowski's docu-poetry series got a double-launch today. PRI's Studio 360 with Kurt Andersen features "Women of Troy" this week, 3 beautifully crafted sound-rich segments blending punch-in-the-gut poetry and unforgettable documentary clips that reveal the real lives of the working poor. Also, Transom.org, the showcase and workshop for new public radio, puts In Verse in the spotlight with an essay on the making of this unique collaborative project. Transom Editors introduce the story this way: "One advantage of the modern age is that good work travels fast; you may already have heard and seen “Women of Troy.” But if not, get thee to Transom and spend a few minutes."

Indeed: http://transom.org/

http://www.studio360.org/episodes/2009/11/06

InVerse Publishes Photographer's Essay with Virginia Quarterly Review

katinaparker — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 17:00:14 +0000

Brenda Ann Kenneally, the photographer who followed the subjects for "Women of Troy" for 6 years, has published an essay with Virginia Quarterly Review discussing her work.

Her essay begins: "The city of Troy sits on the banks of the Hudson River less than 150 miles north of New York City. During the War of 1812, a local butcher named Sam Wilson marked barrels of his meat to be shipped to American troops with the label “U.S.” Soldiers joked that it stood for Uncle Sam, and Troy is still known as “The Home of Uncle Sam.” In the 1820s, Hannah Lord Montague invented the detachable shirt collar and spawned an industry that became the cornerstone of the regional economy, employing over 8,000 sewing-machine operators. During the Civil War, the city’s steel-processing plants made millions of dollars manufacturing horseshoes and figured prominently in the Union victory. Troy helped forge the American ideology and exemplified the possibilities of the nation’s future."

To read "Upstate Girls" click here.

In Verse: Women of Troy from InVerse on Vimeo.

InVerse Poet Talks About "Women of Troy" in Virginia Quarterly Review

katinaparker — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 16:51:37 +0000

The Virginia Quarterly Review published its first piece from poet Susan B. A. Somers-Willett who talks about writing "Women of Troy" for InVerse.

The essay begins: "To celebrate Ford Motor Company’s fiftieth anniversary, Norman Rockwell painted The Street Was Never the Same Again, in which a 1903 Model A Ford belches smoke through a bustling small town, its many residents wearing expressions of surprise and awe at the might of American industry at the turn of the century. The street Rockwell selected as the backdrop for his iconic depiction was Fourth Avenue in Troy, New York—a city whose architectural character was forged by the boom of the meatpacking, textile, and steel industries during the Industrial Revolution."

To read Susan's essay click here.

In Verse: Women of Troy from InVerse on Vimeo.

Jenny Asarnow Presents The Corner @ AFI DigiFest This Thursday

katinaparker — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 16:11:13 +0000

Catch Jenny Asarnow @ AFI DigiFest on Thursday. She's presenting The Corner: 23rd and Union along with other productions that AFI has dubbed "the most innovative media productions released during the last year."

AFI DigiFest offers attendees a window into the most compelling uses of new media storytelling and associated cross-platform engagement opportunities.

Day Two features the following invited presenters:

• 2012, dramatic visual effects demonstrated by Digital Domain (film opens Nov. 13)

• DISTRICT 9, a behind-the-scenes look at games and an augmented reality application created by production house Trigger

• LIVE MUSIC, a 3D animation created by thousands of animators from across the world, masterminded by Mass Animation's Yair Landau, former Vice-Chair of Sony Pictures

• And of course, THE CORNER: 23RD AND UNION, a collaborative storytelling project for public radio created by producer
Jenny Asarnow as a part of the Association of Independents in Radio Makers Quest 2.0 Initiative.

If you'd like to attend admission is FREE. Simply RSVP by clicking here.

Legendary Taco Land Club Revealed on NPR Through Place + Memory

katinaparker — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 18:05:40 +0000

Long before the Dead Milkmen wrote a song about it, Taco Land was
just an after-work beer joint. Shift workers from the Pearl Brewery and folks from the neighborhood were shooting pool and drinking cheap, cold beer.

So begins coverage of Taco Land on NPR Weekend Edition, as told by The Place + Memory Project. The piece goes on to detail Taco Land's most outrageous legacy, its owner Ram, who was murdered during a robbery in 2005. To hear the NPR feature click here. To experience the photo/video/audio testimonials posted about Taco Land on The Place + Memory Project wiki site click here.

Audio Link is Live for Mapping Main Street on NPR's Weekend Edition

katinaparker — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 17:43:37 +0000

NPR aired the latest installation from Mapping Main Street: A Thrill Ride Lies Under A Montana Main Street.

The story begins: Main Street in Lewistown looks like a postcard with its barber shop, soda fountain and old movie theater. But below the street runs Spring Creek — the scene of a rite of passage for many of the town's residents.

To hear the NPR audio or read the write-up click here.

To view photos from Main Street in Lewistown, Montana click here.

The Place + Memory Project and Mapping Main Street are on NPR Weekend Edition

katinaparker — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 20:49:44 +0000

It's an MQ2 double-header this weekend.

Mapping Main Street will be featured on NPR Weekend Edition Saturday and Place + Memory will have a story on Weekend Edition Sunday.

Mapping Main Street takes us to Lewistown, Montana where a spring runs under the town's Main Street. The Place + Memory visits San Antonio, Texas and the site of the infamous Taco Land Nightclub.

Mark Your Calendar: 10/20 - Mapping Main Street @ Harvard

katinaparker — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 12:52:46 +0000

BERKMAN LUNCHEON SERIES on MAPPING MAIN STREET

10/20/09, 12:30 PM ET, Berkman Center Conference Room @ 23 Everett St., Cambridge, MA
RSVP is required for those attending in person rsvp@cyber.law.harvard.edu.

Topic: Mapping Main Street: Experiments in Estrangement at the Intersection of Social Science, Art, Design, Public Media and the Digital Humanities

Guests: Jesse Shapins, Harvard Graduate School of Design and the School of Arts and Sciences, and James Burns, Department of Economics at Harvard University

Mapping Main Street is a collaborative documentary media project that creates a new map of the country through a dynamic visualization of stories, data, photos and videos recorded on actual Main Streets. The goal is to document all of the more than 10,000 streets named Main in the United States. The project is a co-production by Harvard PhD students Jesse Shapins and James Burns with public media artists Kara Oehler and Ann Heppermann. Supported by AIR's Maker's Quest 2.0 and the Berkman Center Harvard Graduate Student Awards, Mapping Main Street premiered in August on NPR's Weekend Edition Saturday.

With this luncheon talk, the creators of Mapping Main Street hope to gain specific feedback on how to further develop the project as an interdisciplinary research initiative between between the social sciences, art, design, public media and digital humanities.

To check out the live webcast please visit:

http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/events/luncheon/2009/10/mappingmainstreet

Transom Posts Behind-the-scenes Report from The Corner: 23rd & Union

katinaparker — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 15:44:13 +0000

Transom is working with the Association of Independents in Radio and producers from their Maker’s Quest to bring you behind-the-scenes reports. They’re starting with THE CORNER from Jenny Asarnow in Seattle. She writes, “The Central District is a lovely, lush neighborhood. But 23rd and Union is a ghost corner… I wanted to know why this place is the way it is. And I wanted to invite everyone who knew the neighborhood to collaborate in telling its story.”

Jenny is a talk show producer at KUOW, but she wanted to find new ways to tell stories using sound, image, phone, web, and a public installation. Come see and hear what she did and how she collaborated. Get details on the things she learned, to wit: Go Multi Media, Go Public, Share Ownership, Embrace Your Role, Embrace Failure. Jenny is taking your questions. Check her out on transom.org.