October 23, 2005
Adventures in multimedia ...
I'm teaching an online journalism class at Ohio University this quarter, and I asked the students to build a multimedia project.
I didn't know what to expect, really. Most of them have little or no experience, and I just wanted them to experiment a little and see what they could do and what tools are available for building online news presentations.
For this assignment, I asked them to do a first person or personal piece and didn't put a lot of restrictions on them. It could be as simple as a few blog posts or as complex as a video story. I was pretty impressed with the results. Click here to take a look at what they turned in.
Posted by Bob Benz at 3:31 PM | Comments (0)
October 22, 2005
Video iPod
Our resident Mac whore at work already has one of the new video iPods. I was pretty dubious when I first heard about it. Who would want to watch video on that tiny little screen? But when he showed it to me, I was blown away. The video quality is really sharp. Might be a nice way to kill time during plane flights.
I've added it to the Gadgets I Gotta Have List ... I guess my only concern is the battery life. There's apparently a program that will allow you to rip DVDs to the device, but I'm wondering if it will have enough battery life to get through an entire movie. Guess I'll find out. I just downloaded the latest iTunes update and the store now have videos you can buy and download. This could get interesting.
Posted by Bob Benz at 8:24 PM | Comments (3)
Patron saints of dogs ...
A few friends of ours, Gary and Elaine, have been working to help pets who were separated from their owners in Hurricane Katrina. The dynamic duo left Pittsburgh last Saturday en route to Mississippi and stopped at our place in Knoxville for a rest before continuing on to Mississippi.
They had a pair of dogs with them -- Taz and Pokey -- who had been taken to Pittsburgh after the storm and were going to be returned to their owners. After returning the dogs, Gary and Elaine stayed in Mississippi this week to help with other animal rescues. We're expecting them to come back through tomorrow night on their way back to Pittsburgh, perhaps with more refugee dogs in tow. Great stuff. It's pretty heart-warming to know that at least a few animals are being reunited with their people after the storm ...
Posted by Bob Benz at 8:20 PM | Comments (0)
Mr. Mully's brush with death ...
While I was on the West Coast for a business trip, our resident yappy dog, Mully, apparently decided to run headlong down the driveway and throw himself in front of a car. Somehow, miraculously, he survived. It's the first time one of my dogs has been hit by a car. Hope it's the last.
Here's Lara's description of what happened:
When I went out to get the paper -- a routine that involves taking our littlest dog, Mully out, too -- Mully went berserk and ran, I mean RAN, right out into the street and was run over by a car. When I scooped him from underneath the car I thought for sure he was a goner. Ran him to the vet in my jammies and waited an agonizing two hours before the vet came out and said he was going to be fine. No internal injuries, no broken bones. Just cuts and bruises. He looks like hell, but he's fine.
"The poor guy who hit him felt bad and kept apologizing, but I told him it wasn't his fault. Tonight I posted a sign on the road, saying "My dog is fine :)" in case he rides by here again (most folks on this road live around here). So I hope he sees it. If I were him, I would want to know."
Now playing: It Makes No Difference from the album "The Last Waltz Disc 1" by Band, The
Posted by Bob Benz at 8:08 PM | Comments (1)
The sound and the fury ...
I tried shooting some video that captures the frenzy that is Gilligan when he's running amok at the lake. Thanks to the wonders of my Mac's video editing, here's my first cut. It's three shots edited together. Pretty cool and easy. I shot it with a Dimage Xg camera in video mode. It's a Quicktime file, about 1mb.
Now playing: Coyote from the album "The Last Waltz Disc 1" by Band, The
Posted by Bob Benz at 8:00 PM | Comments (0)
October 2, 2005
Meet You in Hell
I just finished Les Standiford's "Meet You in Hell: Andrew Carnegie, Henry Clay Frick and the Bitter Partnership that Transformed America." Great book, particularly in it's detailed description of the Homestead strike. It was a defining moment in the relationship between the two men.
For several years, I've been toying with the plot for a novel that hinges on that strike. Haven't really gotten much further than a lot of notes. Standiford's book inspired me. The strike really is an incredible tale, especially when viewed through the lens of the Carnegie-Frick relationship. Each was a rags to riches story. Each amassed wealth that was unfathomable at the time. And raw greed drove each to hate the other with a passion.
To the end, Carnegie blamed Frick for Homestead, though he was clearly as much to blame as the pitbull he turned loose there. Lots of great details here, especially for anyone who has an interest in Pittsburgh history.
I particularly liked the excerpts from Hamlin Garland's essay in McClure's Magazine on the aftermath of Homestead. So much so that I Googled it and found a copy of the entire piece.
Posted by Bob Benz at 5:39 PM | Comments (1)