April 1st victim
Wow. Hook, line, and sinker. You got me good. Might as well stuff me, mount me on the wall, put an apple in my mouth, and serve me at a picnic.
So, if a friend of yours told you that he was just awarded an NSF grant (despite not being qualified) to document glow-in-the-dark Antarctic rabbits from a 1980s Russian nuclear accident, would you believe him?
I did. But it was a very convincing set-up.
And then I noticed the calendar.
Blog from the Baghdad Bureau
Photojournalism Exhibit by Max Becherer
In September 2005, we hosted a photojournalism exhibit by Max Becherer. Max was an embedded photographer during the initial 'Shock and Awe' invasion of Iraq in 2003 and has traveled back and forth between Iraq and Afghanistan several times, often for months at a time. Max's exhibit presented various storylines depicting what life is like for Iraqis in the post-Saddam era. The objective was to offer an honest portrayal; it is what it is.
The exhibit was very moving, and I am proud to have Max as a friend. Max is a giant of a man with an uncanny eye for capturing the emotion within an image. His work includes some pretty horrific combat photography, requiring a special skill set to be both sensitive to the subject matter and still tell the story.
Max has shared some very emotional reflections on the past five years in Iraq. His piece was published in The New York Times on March 18, 2008. You can read it here. After that, visit his website at www.MaxBecherer.com.
To Max: Keep your head low and travel safely.
Girl Scout Cookies
I am cashing in on the extra Hometime web traffic we are receiving to shamelessly promote for my niece Ellie. She is selling Girl Scout Cookies. Buy four get one more! Call the shop at 1-651-385-0500 and place your order now.
Hometime
Hometime Episode Recap
Last year, the PBS television show Hometime came to our shop to film an episode. This episode is part of a season-long project that involved completely building out a luxury townhome. Our job was to scan, print, stretch, and install custom-designed art. Hometime has been broadcast nationwide for 22 years and has a very loyal following.
It wasn't until the last month that we received final confirmation of the Hometime episode we participated in. PBS has a unique way of scheduling compared to other networks, allowing local affiliates to schedule at will, often around fundraising activities they might have going on.
So, the bottom line is that our episode (#2206, Townhome: Finale) will be broadcast nationwide on March 8th and in the Red Wing area (TPT, Channel 2) on March 15th at 9 am.
What can we expect? I have no idea. Hometime is carried by 240 PBS stations and is broadcast 340 times per week. The typical episode is seen by about 1 million households and 1.2 million viewers.
Bill Gibb, the producer/director for our episode, mentioned that it typically takes 8 hours of filmed tape to produce 8 minutes of on-air footage. I saw our episode, and there are about 7 minutes of dedicated air-time discussing our portion, with the art visible in the background throughout most of the show. One of the best parts for me was the shots taken of the Red Wing community at large. Bill followed up on a suggestion to take some footage from Memorial Park and captured some terrific footage of Downtown Red Wing.
I have several tools in place to try and measure the impact the show will have, and I promise to share the results as they unfold.
Done Deal…
It all begins with an idea.
The legal mumbo-jumbo has been signed and it is official...we are moving! The new location is around the corner from our current space (1 block to the West and 1 block to the South, per Mother Google) and the address is 312 West Avenue.
The new space offers several benefits and a few compromises:
Benefits:
+ We can play the music painfully loud without concern to shared-wall neighbors.
+ Our own parking!
+ A phenomenal view.
+ I will finally be able to sit in morning sunlight in my sleeveless t-shirt and tan my face with a reflector board as street thugs stop to pay their respects.
Compromises:
- No longer will we be gently lulled by the engine braking of tractor-trailors barreling through town.
- My current space has this amazing tin ceiling that I have enjoyed for over 5 years. It will be missed.
We will have a 30 day overlap and will begin the move-in as of March 1st.