[pdx] The Liberation of Ira Glass

932. Last thing to say on a busy blogging day; an anonymous commenter over at Oregon Media Insiders has let slip that Ira Glass’s 7 October event has moved to the Oregon Convention Center.

The skinny is available here.

Tags: OPB, Ira Glass, This American Life, Lelo In Nopo, OMI

[pdx, bloggage] KATU Blogger Meetup, The Incriminating Evidence

931. The KATU Blogger Meetup was something I approached with some trepidation, for a few reasons:

1. While I can wax gregarious, I start out as painfully shy (another blogger described it as “shy writers meeting shy writers.” That blogger (whoever you were) had our number…or at least mine).
2. No matter how you dress me up, I’m fuggly. There, I’ve said it; I feel better. I’d never be an anchor. I have a face, as they say, for radio.

But, after me and The Wife™ got there, we found a whole group of fine and very nice people. Being a 3rd-shifter, I rarely get the chance to attend any other meetups, so I came in as an unknown quantity. But, after a while, I found some people to talk to (and finally actually met dieselboi, who spotted me in e-vite) and was rather warmly received by everyone.

I’m glad I went. It was a real positive experience, not only getting to see the inside of a TV studio building that gave me a lot of the broadcasts on which I was raised, but just seeing what was where and getting an idea of how a television station works (a lifelong desire of mine), but getting to know the IRL faces of the people I read regularly (I already mentioned a few; I was able to thank LynnS at Oregon Media Insiders for the fine job she does).

Very few people looked like I thought they would, FWIW.

And now, the pictures:

We arrived during the 6:30 News broadcast, so we chatted and chewed on some very nice snacks in what turned out to be the adjacent studio. When the report was over, the talent came over to meet us.

We’ve always liked Rod Hill’s style, from when he was over at KPTV (until just after it was Foxified) and now. Well, people, that’s the way he really is in person. He walked straight up to us and just picked up talking to us, asking me very good questions about how I do what I do and how I keep track of who visits, stuff like that.

Also, Rod’s unflappable, when The Wife™ caused my glass of Drop Top Amber Ale (very good, acutally–see how KATU treated us?) to tip, she was dismayed, I rather panicked, but Rod? Cool as a cucumber.

Debora Knapp also came over to say hi to everyone:

She was also very affable. I talked to her twice, along with some of the KATU execs who showed up.

I just missed meeting Steve Dunn, but he was working the room too. Tall. That man is very tall.

After that, they let us loose in the studio (there was apparently a breaking interview that delayed us. Everyone was very cool about this):

This is the view of the News set, the anchor desk, from an angle behind. When something ephemeral gets real, the overwhelming feeling is something like I had here: gosh, It’s just a bit of furniture, isn’t it. So, yeah, I was all country-mouse about it, but I won’t lie–in some ways, I am quite unsophisticated. It was fascinating as hell to see it up close.

This moment was a personal favorite of mine:

That’s The Mighty Lelo and dieselboi, from a POV behind the anchor desk. Those cameras are both bigger and smaller than I thought (the actual camera port is quite smaller than I expected) and they can be moved from a remote console. The Wife™, a quondam Dr. Who fan, termed this “going Dalek” (there were little flashing green lights on the base of them. Very SF.

One thing you hear over and over from us hoipolloi who finally get to visit the world of media is how different it all looks in person. Well, it may be a trite thing to say, but it’s true. The news set is actually at the opposing corner of the studio…from the AM Northwest set. Now the studio room itself isn’t that small a room, but when you consider what they do with it, it seems much smaller than one would assume.

Here’s an angle on the AM Northwest set, from behind the anchor desk:

And here’s the view of the news set from the back corner of the AM Northwest set:

See? Small! As it happens, a curtain is drawn across the news set to screen it out for reverse-angle audience shots during AMNW. If you ever catch yourself watching that show (which I do occasionally because I like Dave Anderson) and you see that curtain behind the audience, now you know; the news set is behind it. The chairs themselves are on large rolly-carts that were stowed to stage right and stage left. As far as the kitchen set of AMNW, it’s astoundingly close to hand at the left (from the audience’s view).

Whilst crawling about the AMNW set, I noticed this door:

Ever wonder what it looked like back there? So did I (I found the stone-wall stucco strangely humorous), so I peeked around:

Yep, that’s pretty much it. One more illusion destroyed…but you didn’t really think there was really a forest back there, didja? If you did, go over to The Drudge Report please–there is nothing further for you at this blog.

A couple more pics of things that fascinated me:

There is a lot more room behind the anchor desk than I thought. And you didn’t really think they had a view of Mount Hood, didja? If so, to Drudge with you. Seriously, dude. Go.

Here’s where the weather is reported…the weather wall…

If you peep the video monitor immediately right of the cutie in the red mini, you’ll see that the green wall is replaced by the graphics. This is called chroma-key, and all that is is when the color (chroma) is subtracted out and the image is combined in on the technical end. This is why you never see the weather person wearing green. And, yes, it was smaller than you’d think at home.

For those who always wondered, this is why the weathermanorwoman never looks at the map they’re describing–they’re watching themselves in the monitors directly to the left and the right of the wall.

The Party’s over…

Me and The Wife™ were actually the last people to leave. This was because we talked quite a bit with some station personnel, who had the most interesting stories to tell. For the “busman’s” view of the way the station worked, I want to personally thank Mike Sutton, one of the station engineers: Mike, you gave us memories that will last a lifetime, and you, like the rest of the KATU staff, were just fine and nice people.

And here’s one of our favorite newsies, Scott Moore, of the Portland Mercury, hot off the game of 4-square they were playing across Sandy Blvd (sadly, me and The Wife™ were too busy to see them there. But they posted fun stuff about it at Blogtown). Behind him: the esteemable Nothstine, of P3. I enjoyed meeting them both. Scott in particular was a howl…

I’ll gather up my swag and post piccies in an entry or two. I didn’t put every picture up, if you want to get a look at my fuggly self and all the best pictures I took, go to this link to my Photobucket sub-album.

Brian Westbrook (who was apparently the media-blogger liaison between KATU and usn’s) has a recap, pixs, and link list at his blog here.

Another good roundup can be found at Silicon Florist, here.

We had a great time. Thanks, KATU!

KATU-Portland Blogger Meetup, 29 August 2007
(It’s a big one folks-630 KiB)
Above Photo copyright Brian Westbrook

Technorati Tags: KATUMeetup, KATU Meetup, KATU, Channel 2, Portland Media, Portland bloggers

[liff] Michael Jackson (no, not that one) Has Passed On

930. Michael Jackson is dead.

No, not that one. This one.

This MJ was a world-renowned authority on not just beer, but good beer–the kind anyone who gives a damn about beer should be drinking (in my mind, that would not be PBR, but I digress). His signature publication was The World Guide to Beer, published originally in 1977. He also wrote extensively on whisky (or, whiskey, if you will). Public television viewers may best know him from his show, The Beer Hunter.

The man had a decided passion for well-made beer, as his home site will quickly reveal. The most exemplary paragraph from it is this:

I want you to think about every beer you put to your lips. Very often I’m just walking along . . . and somebody wants to stop and shake hands and say “Hi, you introduced me to that really strange Belgian beer and my life’s never been the same since.” Maybe the next time it will be you.

[pdx] The Liberation of Ira Glass

932. Last thing to say on a busy blogging day; an anonymous commenter over at Oregon Media Insiders has let slip that Ira Glass’s 7 October event has moved to the Oregon Convention Center.

The skinny is available here.

Tags: OPB, Ira Glass, This American Life, Lelo In Nopo, OMI

[pdx, bloggage] KATU Blogger Meetup, The Incriminating Evidence

931. The KATU Blogger Meetup was something I approached with some trepidation, for a few reasons:

1. While I can wax gregarious, I start out as painfully shy (another blogger described it as “shy writers meeting shy writers.” That blogger (whoever you were) had our number…or at least mine).
2. No matter how you dress me up, I’m fuggly. There, I’ve said it; I feel better. I’d never be an anchor. I have a face, as they say, for radio.

But, after me and The Wife™ got there, we found a whole group of fine and very nice people. Being a 3rd-shifter, I rarely get the chance to attend any other meetups, so I came in as an unknown quantity. But, after a while, I found some people to talk to (and finally actually met dieselboi, who spotted me in e-vite) and was rather warmly received by everyone.

I’m glad I went. It was a real positive experience, not only getting to see the inside of a TV studio building that gave me a lot of the broadcasts on which I was raised, but just seeing what was where and getting an idea of how a television station works (a lifelong desire of mine), but getting to know the IRL faces of the people I read regularly (I already mentioned a few; I was able to thank LynnS at Oregon Media Insiders for the fine job she does).

Very few people looked like I thought they would, FWIW.

And now, the pictures:

We arrived during the 6:30 News broadcast, so we chatted and chewed on some very nice snacks in what turned out to be the adjacent studio. When the report was over, the talent came over to meet us.

We’ve always liked Rod Hill’s style, from when he was over at KPTV (until just after it was Foxified) and now. Well, people, that’s the way he really is in person. He walked straight up to us and just picked up talking to us, asking me very good questions about how I do what I do and how I keep track of who visits, stuff like that.

Also, Rod’s unflappable, when The Wife™ caused my glass of Drop Top Amber Ale (very good, acutally–see how KATU treated us?) to tip, she was dismayed, I rather panicked, but Rod? Cool as a cucumber.

Debora Knapp also came over to say hi to everyone:

She was also very affable. I talked to her twice, along with some of the KATU execs who showed up.

I just missed meeting Steve Dunn, but he was working the room too. Tall. That man is very tall.

After that, they let us loose in the studio (there was apparently a breaking interview that delayed us. Everyone was very cool about this):

This is the view of the News set, the anchor desk, from an angle behind. When something ephemeral gets real, the overwhelming feeling is something like I had here: gosh, It’s just a bit of furniture, isn’t it. So, yeah, I was all country-mouse about it, but I won’t lie–in some ways, I am quite unsophisticated. It was fascinating as hell to see it up close.

This moment was a personal favorite of mine:

That’s The Mighty Lelo and dieselboi, from a POV behind the anchor desk. Those cameras are both bigger and smaller than I thought (the actual camera port is quite smaller than I expected) and they can be moved from a remote console. The Wife™, a quondam Dr. Who fan, termed this “going Dalek” (there were little flashing green lights on the base of them. Very SF.

One thing you hear over and over from us hoipolloi who finally get to visit the world of media is how different it all looks in person. Well, it may be a trite thing to say, but it’s true. The news set is actually at the opposing corner of the studio…from the AM Northwest set. Now the studio room itself isn’t that small a room, but when you consider what they do with it, it seems much smaller than one would assume.

Here’s an angle on the AM Northwest set, from behind the anchor desk:

And here’s the view of the news set from the back corner of the AM Northwest set:

See? Small! As it happens, a curtain is drawn across the news set to screen it out for reverse-angle audience shots during AMNW. If you ever catch yourself watching that show (which I do occasionally because I like Dave Anderson) and you see that curtain behind the audience, now you know; the news set is behind it. The chairs themselves are on large rolly-carts that were stowed to stage right and stage left. As far as the kitchen set of AMNW, it’s astoundingly close to hand at the left (from the audience’s view).

Whilst crawling about the AMNW set, I noticed this door:

Ever wonder what it looked like back there? So did I (I found the stone-wall stucco strangely humorous), so I peeked around:

Yep, that’s pretty much it. One more illusion destroyed…but you didn’t really think there was really a forest back there, didja? If you did, go over to The Drudge Report please–there is nothing further for you at this blog.

A couple more pics of things that fascinated me:

There is a lot more room behind the anchor desk than I thought. And you didn’t really think they had a view of Mount Hood, didja? If so, to Drudge with you. Seriously, dude. Go.

Here’s where the weather is reported…the weather wall…

If you peep the video monitor immediately right of the cutie in the red mini, you’ll see that the green wall is replaced by the graphics. This is called chroma-key, and all that is is when the color (chroma) is subtracted out and the image is combined in on the technical end. This is why you never see the weather person wearing green. And, yes, it was smaller than you’d think at home.

For those who always wondered, this is why the weathermanorwoman never looks at the map they’re describing–they’re watching themselves in the monitors directly to the left and the right of the wall.

The Party’s over…

Me and The Wife™ were actually the last people to leave. This was because we talked quite a bit with some station personnel, who had the most interesting stories to tell. For the “busman’s” view of the way the station worked, I want to personally thank Mike Sutton, one of the station engineers: Mike, you gave us memories that will last a lifetime, and you, like the rest of the KATU staff, were just fine and nice people.

And here’s one of our favorite newsies, Scott Moore, of the Portland Mercury, hot off the game of 4-square they were playing across Sandy Blvd (sadly, me and The Wife™ were too busy to see them there. But they posted fun stuff about it at Blogtown). Behind him: the esteemable Nothstine, of P3. I enjoyed meeting them both. Scott in particular was a howl…

I’ll gather up my swag and post piccies in an entry or two. I didn’t put every picture up, if you want to get a look at my fuggly self and all the best pictures I took, go to this link to my Photobucket sub-album.

Brian Westbrook (who was apparently the media-blogger liaison between KATU and usn’s) has a recap, pixs, and link list at his blog here.

Another good roundup can be found at Silicon Florist, here.

We had a great time. Thanks, KATU!

KATU-Portland Blogger Meetup, 29 August 2007
(It’s a big one folks-630 KiB)
Above Photo copyright Brian Westbrook

Technorati Tags: KATUMeetup, KATU Meetup, KATU, Channel 2, Portland Media, Portland bloggers

[liff] Michael Jackson (no, not that one) Has Passed On

930. Michael Jackson is dead.

No, not that one. This one.

This MJ was a world-renowned authority on not just beer, but good beer–the kind anyone who gives a damn about beer should be drinking (in my mind, that would not be PBR, but I digress). His signature publication was The World Guide to Beer, published originally in 1977. He also wrote extensively on whisky (or, whiskey, if you will). Public television viewers may best know him from his show, The Beer Hunter.

The man had a decided passion for well-made beer, as his home site will quickly reveal. The most exemplary paragraph from it is this:

I want you to think about every beer you put to your lips. Very often I’m just walking along . . . and somebody wants to stop and shake hands and say “Hi, you introduced me to that really strange Belgian beer and my life’s never been the same since.” Maybe the next time it will be you.

[pdx] KATU Puts On a Fine Show

929. The KATU Blogger meetup came off with little trouble. It was a great time.

Now me, I’m quite awkward in social situations until I can find a person or two to talk with, and I did pretty soon. It was a thrill to meet people like dieselboi, Lelo, The Mercury’s Scott Moore, Kai, Nothstine, and Betsy Richter amongst others (If I missed you, just shoot me a note, I’ll put you in there).

Regardless of what anyone might feel about on-air talent, the KATU news anchors were the very definition of affable. Incrediby nice and friendly people. I was pleased to meet Rod Hill and Debra Knapp–just missed meeting Steve Dunn–and they were just the sweetest people. It was uncanny the way Rod Hill could just pick up a conversation with you talk with you.

I’ll post a bit more on it when I’ve let the event percolate. Like many there, I’ve got piccies too.

Update: Here’s the entry with the incriminating photos!

Technorati Tags: Portland Bloggers,Portland Media,KATUMeetup

[pdx] Mad Props to Lelo

928. Now, I know I’m late to the party on this one, but I’d be extremely remiss if I didn’t add my plaudits to the esteemable courage shown by our own Lelo in suggesting to the booking agency for Ira Glass that it is rather amiss that OPB would have him speak in a venue powered by a movement who wants to disenfranchise an entire class of people, just ‘cos they’re…you know…icky.

Ira’s upcoming lecture, once scheduled for a well-known SE area conservative megachurch, is now in a venue TBD.

I know it probably wasn’t just Lelo, but she put up the word and once the cat was out of that bag, it spread like wildfire, and if OPB wasn’t willing to pay attention, then their content provider obviously made them pay attention. Lelo put it very well herself:

So what’s wrong with this picture? I love Oregon Public Broadcasting, and I love Ira Glass, but there’s no way I’m walking into a church that doesn’t accept me for who I am, and who works against me, to hear him. I just can’t do that. And Oregon Public Broadcasting? They evidently can do that no problem, and are paying a pretty penny for the use of the venue. Yep, they’re paying New Hope, a place that is actively and monetarily working to encourage discrimination, for the use of their venue for the wonderfully inclusive and pro-LGBT Ira Glass to speak.

I don’t believe that anyone should be treated differently because of whom they share thier intimate joy with.

Not even Christians.

But I also believe that just because we find someone else’s choice of intimate partner distasteful–or sinful (whatever that’s supposed to mean) this also does unequivocally not give us any right or call to divest them of rights they should reasonably expect to have.

I too am pro-LGBT, actually, I’m pro-person. Even though a majority of Oregon voters approved the constitutional amendment against gays marrying, I think it was wrong–a majority doesn’t make a horrid idea a good one–and as a Oregonian and a native son besides, I’m embarrassed for my state on this, terribly so.

Technorati Tags: gay bigotry,OPB

[pdx] KATU Puts On a Fine Show

929. The KATU Blogger meetup came off with little trouble. It was a great time.

Now me, I’m quite awkward in social situations until I can find a person or two to talk with, and I did pretty soon. It was a thrill to meet people like dieselboi, Lelo, The Mercury’s Scott Moore, Kai, Nothstine, and Betsy Richter amongst others (If I missed you, just shoot me a note, I’ll put you in there).

Regardless of what anyone might feel about on-air talent, the KATU news anchors were the very definition of affable. Incrediby nice and friendly people. I was pleased to meet Rod Hill and Debra Knapp–just missed meeting Steve Dunn–and they were just the sweetest people. It was uncanny the way Rod Hill could just pick up a conversation with you talk with you.

I’ll post a bit more on it when I’ve let the event percolate. Like many there, I’ve got piccies too.

Update: Here’s the entry with the incriminating photos!

Technorati Tags: Portland Bloggers,Portland Media,KATUMeetup

[pdx] Mad Props to Lelo

928. Now, I know I’m late to the party on this one, but I’d be extremely remiss if I didn’t add my plaudits to the esteemable courage shown by our own Lelo in suggesting to the booking agency for Ira Glass that it is rather amiss that OPB would have him speak in a venue powered by a movement who wants to disenfranchise an entire class of people, just ‘cos they’re…you know…icky.

Ira’s upcoming lecture, once scheduled for a well-known SE area conservative megachurch, is now in a venue TBD.

I know it probably wasn’t just Lelo, but she put up the word and once the cat was out of that bag, it spread like wildfire, and if OPB wasn’t willing to pay attention, then their content provider obviously made them pay attention. Lelo put it very well herself:

So what’s wrong with this picture? I love Oregon Public Broadcasting, and I love Ira Glass, but there’s no way I’m walking into a church that doesn’t accept me for who I am, and who works against me, to hear him. I just can’t do that. And Oregon Public Broadcasting? They evidently can do that no problem, and are paying a pretty penny for the use of the venue. Yep, they’re paying New Hope, a place that is actively and monetarily working to encourage discrimination, for the use of their venue for the wonderfully inclusive and pro-LGBT Ira Glass to speak.

I don’t believe that anyone should be treated differently because of whom they share thier intimate joy with.

Not even Christians.

But I also believe that just because we find someone else’s choice of intimate partner distasteful–or sinful (whatever that’s supposed to mean) this also does unequivocally not give us any right or call to divest them of rights they should reasonably expect to have.

I too am pro-LGBT, actually, I’m pro-person. Even though a majority of Oregon voters approved the constitutional amendment against gays marrying, I think it was wrong–a majority doesn’t make a horrid idea a good one–and as a Oregonian and a native son besides, I’m embarrassed for my state on this, terribly so.

Technorati Tags: gay bigotry,OPB