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Projet En Vue is documenting the stories of Oakland residents. Visit us at www.projetenvue.org
Why are you here?
Well, to revolt for a life worth living, like the first banner that Occupy Oakland ever created for the first march in the week and a half that the camp was there, before the first raid, that's kind of why I'm here. Revolt for a life worth living. And, you know, we gotta spring forward, take back every park that we ever had, 'cause it's ours anyway. This is all the common space. And any time any of our comrades in other places or other cities get fucked up, we're going to be there to support them. It comes down to that. And, you know, no matter what, solidarity. I may not agree with every tactic, they may not agree with every tactic. It doesn't matter. Solidarity.
Yeah, I've been here the whole time, so it's, like, (laugh) - Well, you know, like, let me put it this way, like: Planning for the general strike, like, trying to set up a nice day of events and all this other shit and then a hundred thousand people showing up? And I'm like, that's pretty crazy, 'cause nobody will tell you that, honestly, that they were expecting those numbers. But, between that and, like - I mean, January 28th I was out with my parents, you know, when they started tear gassing in broad daylight and everything and I was like, 'Are you kidding me? Are you fucking kidding me?'
I always blame it on the police, that's the ultimate thing. And, also, it's like, what's funny is that the rest of the world seems really surprised by what they did to us in Oakland, yet all of us in the camps were like, 'Oh shit, the cops are gonna kick our asses soon, we gotta get ready.' 'Cause OPD sucks and we all know that, unlike in many other cities where they may be privileged enough to have a police department, we don't. And most of the police department isn't even from Oakland. Seven percent of OPD are actually Oakland residents, apparently. Some statistic I heard.
The day of the first raid - I got arrested at the first raid on the camp of Occupy Oakland, and I remember uh, the LRAD weapon that they used for, like, two - twice, right? It's, like, Pow! Big sound cannon. I was, like, holy shit! This just got real, you know? And then I look down and there's laser sights on me, I'm, like, what the crap? And I turn around and I start running and rubber bullets start flying over me and, like, shit starts exploding. And that's when I was like, OK. Whether I like it or not, the cops have just made this a war zone. Better get used to it. (laugh) Like, and that's actually held through pretty much.
OPD manages to create any magical scenery that we manage to retake into a fucking warzone. And NYPD, I mean fucking A! Yeah, no. NYPD, there are fifty thousand of mother fuckers and they've got their own, like, FBI spy net, whatever thing, like, 'We gotta protect New York from any more Muslim terrorists!' Crap, like, NYPD is crazy. I mean, like, we - For us it's like, 'Oh, let's go take the streets, why the fuck not?' They weren't even allowed to march in the streets most of the time until they finally took the Brooklyn Bridge and got fucked up again, like, fucking A. I mean, again, it's, like, par for the course. I'm not going to say that I'm surprised at police brutality 'cause cops are pigs, but it's also - It's also, like, nobody should have to go through that. Especially- Nobody should have to be in a seizure for fifteen minutes while handcuffed and receive no aid or support. Like As a basic human being, like, that's what happened yesterday. A woman was either beaten too badly - I'm not really sure of all the stats on it, but she was not given aid and was left on the ground in a seizure for fifteen minutes. Somebody - Somebody's head was smacked so hard against a department store window that all the glass is still cracked. Like, there's no reason for any of that. There's no reason for any of that. I mean, you're trying to, like, what? Subdue people so they don't actually come out and protest something that actually, like, fights for their interests too? These guys are absolute pigs and monsters, and anybody who's part of the police-industrial complex, whatever the hell you want to call it, it's systems of domination that are eating away at them and breaking us in the interim. (laugh) We're gonna have to keep fighting back.
How do you think the movement has changed since it started?
Well, it finally goat a little bit less white and middle class, that's what I like about Occupy Oakland, like (laugh) - My favorite thing is that we've actually tied together, like, stances against police brutality as well as many other causes. Occupy's become the umbrella for foreclosure defense, for food justice, for what have you. But police brutality, recognizing that no matter what society you're in, the police exist as an organized body to sup - Like, basically maintain a monopoly on organized violence, shit ain't gonna be good. When you have absolute power, absolute power corrupts absolutely. We see it in jail all the time, the way they arbitrarily throw people in solitary for giggling when they're getting patted down because they're like, 'This is an absolute violation of my rights, but all I can do - My defense mechanism is laughing at how absurdly wrong this is.' You know? And, like, fuck this rights discourse. The only rights we have are the ones that we can actually assert and fight for. Everything else is just something on paper that they'll, you know, make up a new law to tomorrow to take away. Like - (laugh)
Did you grow up here your whole life?
No. I'm actually from Los Angeles, um... I went to Santa Cruz for the past two years. I was part of the student occupations there. I came up during the Oscar Grant movement a lot up to Oakland and then I moved here because for one thing it's the most radical city in America and for another thing it made sense. Like, Oakland's beautiful and I'm in love with Oakland and I'm proud to be a resident now here.
I'm here for liberation, on all levels. To comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable is the best way to put it. (laugh)
Was this planned?
This was not planned. This is the beauty of Occupy Oakland! We don't have anything necessarily planned, but people of Oakland show up and everything's popping.
And have a dance party in front of the police department!
And everybody's boogying in front of the police station! Because they can't stop the party. I'm sorry. No matter how much they try. I mean when I was arrested, the first jail car we were in, we were all smoking a joint and we all slipped out of our cuffs. We were, like, kickin' it, calling down to LG. Like, they have - They all like to think they have control. They don't have control over shit.
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www.projetenvue.orgProjet En Vue is documenting the stories of Oakland residents. Visit us at... more
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20 days ago
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If you spent time in the South in the 1970s and '80s, the days of a handful of TV channels and limited viewing options, you probably spent more than a few hours watching professional wrestling from Florida, Tampa in particular. And you'll recall the unforgettable voice of announcer Gordon Solie. http://www.mrmedia.com/?p=771If you spent time in the South in the 1970s and '80s, the days of a handful of TV... more
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Original Hooters Restaurants co-founder Ed Droste once told me I held a small place in his company's almost 30-year history: I was the first journalist to take it seriously as a business, first at the St. Petersburg Times and later at Florida Business magazine and elsewhere. Enjoy my newly restored interview with Ed over wings, brews and served by a delightfully snarky yet refined Hooters Girl! http://www.mrmedia.com/?p=449Original Hooters Restaurants co-founder Ed Droste once told me I held a small place in... more
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If you missed my 2008 audio interview with Kirk Douglas, today's your lucky day! This classic conversation with Hollywood royalty has been digitally upgraded so it's easier to hear Michael Douglas's father -- and me, too! http://www.mrmedia.com/?p=472If you missed my 2008 audio interview with Kirk Douglas, today's your lucky day!... more
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There’s Ben & John, best friends and Community Ambassadors. Both Oakland natives, they exude an infectious positive energy. Before he dies, Ben wants to skydive to see why anyone would want to jump out of an airplane.
There’s Myles, a nine-year-old poet from New Jersey who enjoys playing PlayStation in his spare time. When he’s President he’s going to outlaw beer companies and eliminate taxes for those who make less than $250K a year.
There’s Chris, a tough-looking guy with a scar across the side of his face that he got in a fight. He sells food stamps for a living now, but since he was a child he’s wanted to be a biologist. He’s still working on that.
There’s Lordleon, a crossing guard on the corner of Grand and Lakeshore since 1996. When they tried to relocate him, the store owners offered to pay for him to stand on the same corner. He could “cook an elephant if it would stand still” and is terrified of snakes.
There’s Dillan, a drop-dead gorgeous aspiring model who began to transition from male to female about a year ago. She can’t afford the hormone treatments yet. Modeling is helping her gain confidence. She hasn’t been able to come out to her father.
Every day, Projet En Vue is adding to a growing archive of the stories of people who make up the social fabric of Oakland. Oakland is a community of artists, entrepreneurs, rebels, and immigrants. The people here don’t just live their lives. They live their lives with vision and purpose. The stories we have collected through Projet En Vue are strikingly diverse. The only criteria for participation in the project is that one must have a connection to Oakland. We walk around with a voice recorder and a camera, and ask people to share their stories. Some of them we flagged down on the street, and some of them found us.
Outsiders have many preconceptions about Oakland, and not all of the stereotypes are unfounded. I know. The day before we began the project, I was violently mugged by two men in East Oakland. Oakland is a place filled with extremes. There is profound pain, poverty, and neglect here. The schools are like prisons. Kids grow up not knowing that college is even a remote possibility for them. There is also profound beauty here. It is one of the most ethnically and linguistically diverse communities in America, and even in the most underserved neighborhoods, the dream of social mobility is alive and well. People can make it here. It is a city filled with potential and possibilities. This duality is evident in every interview we have conducted.
This project has permanently changed the way that we view and interact with people in our community. It is changing the way that we and the people who interact with our project perceive “strangers.” Personally, this project has given me a purpose: to document individuals’ stories and experiences and put them “in view.” I will be doing this for the rest of my life. The experience of interviewing strangers on a daily basis and learning from them is not something I could ever give up.
The next stage of our project is a full-color photo book featuring fifty portraits of people in Oakland. We want to create a tangible representation of our project that will be distributed nationally. We hope that our book will help create a sense of pride in Oakland and will help both residents and non-residents understand its complexity. 25% of our proceeds for the book will be donated to the Ella Baker Center, an organization committed to unlocking the power of low-income people, people of color, and their allies through organizing, leadership development, and advocacy.
To meet the cost of self-publishing our book and printing it locally and sustainably, we have launched a Kickstarter campaign. We have 19 days left to reach our funding goal. This project is intended to serve our community, and we need the help of our community to make it possible. Donate to our campaign here: http://kck.st/HOhPv2
Learn more about Projet En Vue at www.projetenvue.orgThere’s Ben & John, best friends and Community Ambassadors. Both Oakland... more
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Projet En Vue is documenting and sharing the stories of Oakland residents. Visit us at www.projetenvue.org
And can you describe the neighborhood where you grew up?
Oooh, yeah. I grew up, let's see. Between birth and the age of eleven, um, on the south side of Chicago, but it was, like, a good neighborhood. It was more older families there. A really quiet block in the neighborhood called Chatham-Avalon. And then after that I moved further south-east over to Lakeshore. And it was, um... It was kind of a culture shock for me, because I had to transfer schools. This is sixth grade and, like, the kids were selling drugs, doing drugs, and that was just so - Like, it wasn't what I was used to, you know? I was still playing with my Barbie, you know? (laughs) So, I was really sheltered, too. So it was just really different. The neighborhood was, uh - So that was from eleven to eighteen. And so that's really where I grew up, you know? 'Cause those are the years you're really growing and finding yourself and everything. So I grew up there, um, and the neighborhood was - It was violent. And, uh... (sighs) It was real, though. It was - It was a sense of reality on the south side of Chicago.
Being around a peaceful neighborhood, you know, seeing people respect one another, that lasted in me, you know? Um... Because I didn't - It made me see the difference. It made me see that, you know, this is not for me. I'm not violent. It's just not natural to me, and I was called "too nice" a lot, you know? So I had to learn that you can't really be overly nice to everybody, you know, in that - In this new neighborhood. I had to learn that the hard way because I was just - I was nice and I wanted that to - I wanted to leave an impression on the girls in my neighborhood. Like, I adopted all the kids on my block, you know. Like, they were my play-kids, you know? And I just wanted to leave a good impression and let them see something different.
It was just me and my sisters and my mom and I just - We never really got along. You know? Even at eleven, I just - I think I really grew up kind of lonely, with this lonely feeling, feeling really different from them. Which I was and am really different from them. And, um, that kind of made my feel like, um, I was on my own. And my mother was, um... She was on her own for the first time. So I really grew up with, uh, having to look out for myself, having to shape my own mind, having to kind of raise myself because I kind of got neglected being the baby I guess. And, um, that's something I've had to really understand and accept in, like - In the recent years it hasn't bothered me as much as it has my whole life. But that's led me to be a more radical person, more radical thinker, and be outside of these boxes that most people are in.
Uh, I think the first thing I wanted to be was a ballerina, of course. And then I used to want to be a waitress just because I used to walk around the house and balance, like, as many things as I could on my hand. I used to think that was a really cool thing. But then more seriously I wanted to be - By, like, eleven I knew I wanted to be an architect. And I used to sit up and draw blueprints and things like that, but uh... Mmm... Just due to where I think my mother's own barriers were, she - She told me that it wasn't a good idea and that because I was a woman and because I was black that it - I probably - I wouldn't be successful in it at all. And so that - I threw that in the garbage. Like, 'OK, well...' That's my mother. I'm eleven. So of course I'm gonna listen to her. Like, 'Oh, you know, she knows.' And that's probably due to her upbringing and the time that she grew up in and the society and the way they've treated black people and women. You know. That's doubly oppressed. So, um, I took that. So I left that alone. I used to fantasize also about being a singer as a child, too. I just never felt that - That I would ever do that. All my sisters sang, and I'm like, 'I'm not doing that.' And then that's what I end up actually doing. You know. (laughs) And I never thought that I'd do it. I used to fantasize about it and then I finally got there.
What was the first thing you noticed when you got here?
I got here and the first thing I noticed is my interactions with people. The people. That's really what I love most about Oakland is Oakland's people. They are very different to me than anywhere else. You can have a conversation with just about anybody and you can probably make friends with just about anybody, you know? It's just more free, you know? I just feel like it's in the air, that type of freedom is. And I needed that.
I've grown so much since I got here, period. I've done a lot of shedding since I - And I've been here half a year. So I think that definitely Oakland has helped me blossom more, basically. Helped me blossom more. Way more. You know, open up more and give myself, which is something I had been holding back for a long time. I give me: Wisdom. You know? And everybody needs that. And I think I'm full of that and am gaining more as I go.
I see myself leaving an impression in a number of ways. Um, I see my music going really far, and um... I'm taking my time with it. I definitely see myself as a leader who wants to make others aware that they are also leaders, and, um, I think most of my focus at this time is on my own people and raising the consciousness and making them aware that the journey to knowledge of self is necessary. So I see myself leaving a strong impression on every person that I meet, and so it's my duty to make sure that I'm meeting people and doing my duty and building with the young girls and building, you know, with the women and the people I come in contact with and telling them the truth as I see it and what I've learned through this culture, which is a lot.
When I walk down the street and I see some girls, I'll stop and I'll talk to them, and I'll talk to them about things that most people aren't going to really talk to them about.
Like what?
Like the fact that they're Eurocentric. The fact that they have no knowledge of their history, of their heritage. That they are being - Their minds are being led by the media. Their thoughts aren't their own, you know? The devil teaches lies from very early on and so early on that you don't even see that your mind is filled with hate. Self-hatred. Right now I'm a student to nutrition and learning healthier eating, and that's also something that I plan to teach the people in this community because, you know, we're being killed off in so many ways.
So I tell girls to always question. Ask why. Don't be comfortable with everything that you see in front of you, you know? Look outside of that. You know? Dig deep. You know? That's naturally who I've always been, and I'd like to see people, um, know themselves, know who they are, know their history, so that they can be powerful.
I have had a couple different experiences. I've had experiences where they get upset and they don't want to hear what I'm saying. But the good experiences that I've had, they're usually with children. Children are - They don't have as much weight on them as adults do, as even teenagers do. Um... Their minds aren't boxed yet. Planting the seed of the truth is really all I - All I wish to do. Um... And if someone else comes along and they water it and then that person decides to apply it... Well, that's what I'd like, you know, but my duty's just to plant the seed.
http://kck.st/HOhPv2
See the full interview at www.projetenvue.org/wisdomProjet En Vue is documenting and sharing the stories of Oakland residents. Visit us at... more
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19 days ago
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Bubb Rubb, Oakland, California. West Oakland, California. Twenty-first and Myrtle. I was born at the mansion, Granny Pearl's house. I grew up in, uh, West Oakland, Laurel Bottoms, Cyber Village, Acorn, Camel Village, Seventh Street down there - You know, the Boondocks.
Projet En Vue: What's the best advice you ever got?
Uh, the best advice I ever got was, uh, do it real live. Whatever you do, do it real live!
You know, I bumped into KRA and Channel 4 News, aired that, and I was on Tribune, I did a Playstation commercial, been on BET, did videos, I finna be on Tosh two-point-oh, did a whole bunch of songs, I rap and all kinds of shhh you know... Oakland celebrity. Didn't make it too far with T-shirt, Bubb Rubb, all of that. That's my big bruh right there!
Big Bruh: Howdy, howdy!
You know... You know I got famous off the woo woo!
Big Bruh: Tell it like it is!
All the time! If I don't get it right I don't know who will. But I'ma get it right.
You didn't hear it from me, you heard it from Bubb Rubb. And, you know, I evolve like Pokemon, so my name is now Toyoshi Cold Bubblebath.
To listen to the audio from this interview, visit http://projetenvue.org/subb-Rubb-aka-Toyoshi-Cold-Bubblebath
To learn more about Projet En Vue, visit www.kck.st/HOhPv2Bubb Rubb, Oakland, California. West Oakland, California. Twenty-first and Myrtle. I... more
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www.kck.st/HOhPv2
I was born in Arlington, Virginia and then I moved to Montana when I was four. I've always been obsessed with wildlife, so that was awesome. My mom is totally nature-obsessed. And so growing up she would refuse to get a dog. We were the only Montana family without a dog, because Montana's very dog-oriented. And my mom refused to get one because she never wanted to fence our back yard, um, because we had deer that nested in our yard. And (laughs) there are deer all over the place in Montana, but my mom is Chilean and she wasn't used to them. But she would get so excited by every deer that we saw. She'd, like, pull the car over and be like, 'Deer! Deer!' People thought she was totally nuts, but anyway we had all these deer that ended up growing up in our yard because we were the only yard without a fence. And that's very Montana to me.
I love Montana. I think it is one of the most magical places. It's so big and there are so few people, uh, but it's also so small. I mean, it's a very tight community that I left, and a lot of people don't leave because it's so comfortable. But I knew I had to. We - Turner and I graduated school together and we knew we had to leave soon before we fell into a rut of comfortability. And truthfully it was either Portland or Oakland.
What's the first thing you noticed?
In Oakland? Oh my gosh this is funny! So, there are no earthquakes in Missoula, and we had kind of spaced the fact that there were earthquakes here. And then the day we pulled into Oakland we were like, 'Oh my gosh there are earthquakes here.' And then we were laughing about it. And then that day two earthquakes happened and we were like, 'Oh my gosh! They're way more common than we thought!' That's my first memory of Oakland.
What are you passionate about these days?
Juice boxes. Nah, I'm just kidding. Although I feel I have been a lot, very passionate about childish things. Which is funny, 'cause I feel like I should be growing up but in a lot of ways I'm regressing. But I felt (laughs) - Um, I'm super passionate about literature. I studied literature and I have always been the most avid reader, but it feels so good to be reading on my own time now. I never stop. It's like, if I am separated from reading material I feel funny.
What are you most proud of?
(pause) My heritage I think. I - another funny thing about being from Montana is that there's no diversity. I am a Chilean Jew and it's amazing. There's a lot of - It's just a fun - It's a rich history. And I was always, like, the Cultural One in my friend group at home. And it kind of made me embrace it more. Like, my mom was the one who taught Spanish to my friends and also who taught us what Hanukkah was when I was a little girl and who made us latkes.
You were talking a little bit ago about how you feel like you're regressing even though you feel you feel like you should be growing up.
I've made a lot of friends just by being kind of childish and forward and that sort of thing. But it hasn't seemed to be very negative in my life. I've become really more passionate about animals. Like, I want to cry sometimes when I see bums with dogs. And I've always been really emotional about animals, but I feel like that's a childish reaction to have, almost, that I should have under control. And for some reason it's gotten a lot stronger here.
Maybe it's 'cause I've always been small. (laughs) When I was born I had tiny hands and feet, and the doctors told my mom I was gonna be a midget and she didn't believe it. And they're like, 'No, she really is going to be. Her hands and feet are proportionately really unproportional. They're very small.' And my mom's just like, 'Psh. Whatever.' And I wasn't. But maybe part of that.
I'm not very good at a lot of things. I'm not very good with my hands, like, doing um... You know, manual labor and that sort of thing. So I've relied on people a lot in my life for those things. And maybe that's kind of stunted my ability to grow up in some ways. But I don't think it's been - Done irreversible damage in any way.
What's the hardest thing you've ever gone through?
I feel really lucky. I feel like maybe I haven't had a hardest moment yet. Truthfully. My parents had a really unhappy marriage, but it never affected me as much as it should have maybe. I have an older sister and she left and she didn't see any of it, really - Or, she didn't see the divorce. So I think looking back on it, seeing how unhappy my mom was, was probably the hardest thing that I've gone through. It's just that it didn't register until later. So, you know, I think if it had registered as serious as it does sometimes when I think about it now it would have been really really hard then. But I was going through a totally self-centered adolescent phase when it was all happening and, um, I didn't get it. But now when I think about how unhappy my mom was and I was the only one there to see it, that was definitely difficult.
I have become really sick of how disillusioned people are about love and about relationships. Um, because it seems like everyone I talk to had parents who were in an unhappy marriage and now they're all sick of it. And none of them want to try it. And I do. I want - (laughs) I feel the opposite. I really want to make it work. I want to prove that people can be happy together. And that it can be cute. And people can be really healthy for each each other, and I just hope that that doesn't become a trend in the world. I think a lot of people put barriers between themselves and who they have feelings for just because they don't think it can work, you know. And I want to prove that wrong. I think allowing yourself to trust someone and to be happy with someone is amazing. It's a beautiful thing.
To see more interviews, go to www.projetenvue.org
To help us create a photo book featuring fifty portraits of Oakland residents, visit www.kck.st/HOhPv2www.kck.st/HOhPv2
I was born in Arlington, Virginia and then I moved to Montana... more
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My name is Dillan Anthony. I was born in Vietnam, in 1990. In Saigon. My dad is an immigrant from - So from Vietnam we flew to the Philippines and then from the Philippines we moved to North Dakota and I lived there for a little time. We moved to Long Beach, California when I was about two.
Um, I’m passionate about modeling. That’s what I want to do, to be honest, with my life. Um, but, it’s hard to try to break into the modeling industry if you’re not tall and skinny, so I’m just trying to find my niche.
When I was in high school, I believe, I went to, like, this modeling school and everything and my dad paid for it. And I was all, like, this is what I want to do with my life. Because, being a model you don’t have to think or talk, you just kind of have to just walk down the runway and look pretty and that’s the only thing I’m good at. (laughs) Sad to say. Maybe I think it’s just who I am. I didn’t really have any, uh, support when I was growing up, so I guess I’m just not that confident but that’s kind of, like, an oxymoron since you have to be confident if you’re a model and you have to strut down the runway.
My dad was a working dad. He had to support three kids and my mom left my family when I was, like, in third grade, so I kinda had to take care of the family and, um, I barely saw my dad. And I kind of just was on my own, basically. I didn’t really have any guidance. Basically I became the mother, so...
I think last year, July the Fourth was the first time I dressed up as a woman and went out to a party. It was July the Fourth and me and my friends were going out to a celebration for the Independence Day. And I was wearing my friend’s - Annie. I was wearing her Bare Mineral makeup. And I borrowed a dress from my roommate, and it was, like, a Little Bo Peep dress. (laughs) And I was so terrified to walk out the street because I thought that I was going to get gay bashed or hurt in some way. But, you know, walking down - My friends were all supportive and they said, ‘You know, no one’s gonna even notice that you’re a boy in a dress. You’re just so beautiful that people will think you’re a girl. And I just walked out the door and walked to the party and everyone was really surprised to find out that I was a boy when I got there, so I was - I was really satisfied with the reaction I got from the public.
To read more of Dillan's story, visit www.projetenvue.org/dillan-anthony
To learn more about Projet En Vue, visit www.kck.st/HOhPv2http://i2.crtcdn1.net/images/spacer.gif
My name is Dillan Anthony. I was born in... more
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2010 audio interview with LinkedIn expert Mike O'Neil, author of Rock the World with your Online Presence, conducted by Mr. Media, Bob Andelman. http://www.mrmedia.com/?p=9252010 audio interview with LinkedIn expert Mike O'Neil, author of Rock the World... more
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2012 video interview with documentary filmmaker Morgan Spurlock, director of Comic-Con: Episode IV: A Fan's Hope, Super Size Me, conducted by Mr. Media, Bob Andelman. http://www.mrmedia.com/?p=44572012 video interview with documentary filmmaker Morgan Spurlock, director of... more
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Projet En Vue is an online installation featuring the true perspective of Oakland and its Inhabitants in an honest, aesthetically tasteful manner. http://projetenvue.org/
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WHO WE ARE:
We are a photographer and an oral historian living in Oakland, CA. Oakland is one of the most ethnically and linguistically diverse communities in America, and yet outsiders are mostly familiar with it due to its reputation for being poor, dangerous, and violent.
WHAT WE DO:
We are walking around Oakland with a camera and a voice recorder, interviewing the citizens of Oakland. Our conversations range from five to thirty minutes and don’t have any particular theme. Our goal is to paint a portrait of them as an individual. We want to know where they came from, what they are most proud of, where they see themselves in ten years, and what they are most passionate about, among other things.
WHY:
In this era of advanced technology, we are increasingly connected to a global network of people, yet we are losing our connection to those closest to us. Because of this, we are becoming increasingly isolated from our own humanity. The simple mission of Projet En Vue is to bring people together with different perspectives and life experiences in order to create a greater narrative of community as well as what it means to be human in the modern world. We want to do this through a variety of means, both in our own communities and around the world.
IN THE FUTURE:
Closest to home, we want to create a series of interactive exhibitions that will feature fifty portraits of Oakland residents who differ in a variety of ways but who all share a sense of pride in the community. We will bring these exhibitions to local schools, community centers, and galleries to engage people in our work. These events will feature large photographic portraits of the people that we interviewed, along with interactive audio installations that we will commission local artists to design and produce.
A series of zines (24 to 30 pages each) and a full-color photo book will allow Projet En Vue to have a national impact. The photo book will feature beautiful portraits from our interviews, along with the accompanying text. The zines and the book will be printed locally with soy-based inks, recycled paper, and animal-free binding and will be a tangible manifestation of our project.
Finally, our website will help us create a global impact with our work. The website is already being created and is where we feature the photographs, audio, and text. Our multi-media approach to these portraits creates a visceral and deeply emotional experience for the viewer.Projet En Vue is an online installation featuring the true perspective of Oakland and... more
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2012 video interview with music critic Steve Morse, who author Rock History course for Berklee College of Music, conducted by Mr. Media, Bob Andelman. http://www.mrmedia.com/?p=44212012 video interview with music critic Steve Morse, who author Rock History course for... more
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2009 audio interview with Pulitzer Prize winner for feature writing Lane DeGregory of the St. Petersburg Times. Conducted by Mr. Media, Bob Andelman. http://www.mrmedia.com/?p=6502009 audio interview with Pulitzer Prize winner for feature writing Lane DeGregory of... more
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360 Atelier is a Barbershop / Hair salon and Art Gallery has it's grand opening in Los Angeles on Melrose. Here the interviews and see the live performances.
@hoodnews360 Atelier is a Barbershop / Hair salon and Art Gallery has it's grand opening... more
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The Canadian government has been accused of "muzzling" its scientists.
Speakers at a major science meeting being held in Canada said communication of vital research on health and environment issues is being suppressed.
But one Canadian government department approached by the BBC said it held the communication of science as a priority.
Prof Thomas Pedersen, a senior scientist at the University of Victoria, said he believed there was a political motive in some cases.
"The Prime Minister (Stephen Harper) is keen to keep control of the message, I think to ensure that the government won't be embarrassed by scientific findings of its scientists that run counter to sound environmental stewardship," he said.
"I suspect the federal government would prefer that its scientists don't discuss research that points out just how serious the climate change challenge is."”
Professor Thomas Pedersen
University of Victoria
The Canadian government recently withdrew from the Kyoto protocol to reduce carbon dioxide emissions.
The allegation of "muzzling" came up at a session of the AAAS meeting to discuss the impact of a media protocol introduced by the Conservative government shortly after it was elected in 2008.
The protocol requires that all interview requests for scientists employed by the government must first be cleared by officials. A decision as to whether to allow the interview can take several days, which can prevent government scientists commenting on breaking news stories.
Sources say that requests are often refused and when interviews are granted, government media relations officials can and do ask for written questions to be submitted in advance and elect to sit in on the interview.
'Orwellian' approach
Andrew Weaver, an environmental scientist at the University of Victoria in British Columbia, described the protocol as "Orwellian".
“The information is so tightly controlled that the public is left in the dark”
Professor Andrew Weaver
University of Victoria
The protocol states: "Just as we have one department we should have one voice. Interviews sometimes present surprises to ministers and senior management. Media relations will work with staff on how best to deal with the call (an interview request from a journalist). This should include asking the programme expert to respond with approved lines."
Professor Weaver said that information is so tightly controlled that the public is "left in the dark".
"The only information they are given is that which the government wants, which will then allow a supporting of a particular agenda," he said.
The leak was obtained and reported three years ago by Margaret Munro, who is a science writer for Postmedia News, based in Vancouver. Speaking at the AAAS meeting, she said its effect was to suppress scientific debate on issues of public interest.
"The more controversial the story, the less likely you are to talk to the scientists. They (government media relations staff) just stonewall. If they don't like the question you don't get an answer."
Ms Munro cited several examples of what she described as the "muzzling" of scientists by the government.
Research on falling salmon stocks was published in a leading journal
The most notorious case is of that of Dr Kristi Miller, who is head of molecular genetics for the Department for Fisheries and Oceans. Dr Miller had been investigating why salmon populations in western Canada were declining.
The investigation, which was published in one of the leading scientific journals in the world, Science, seemed to suggest that fish might have been exposed to a virus associated with cancer.
The suggestion raised many questions, including whether the virus might have been imported by the local aquaculture industry.
Requests denied
The journal felt this to be an important study and put out a press release, which it sent out to thousands of journalists across the world. Dr Miller was named as the principal contact.
However, the government declined all requests to interview Dr Miller. It said it was because she was due to give evidence to a judicial inquiry on the issue of falling fish stocks.
According to Ms Munro, because reporters were denied the opportunity to question Dr Miller about her work, important public policy issues went unanswered.
"You have a government that is micromanaging the message, obsessively. The Privy Council Office (which works for the Prime Minister, Stephen Harper) seems to vet everything that goes out to the media," she said.
A spokeswoman for Fisheries and Oceans Canada told BBC News: "The Department works daily to ensure it provides the public with timely, accurate, objective and complete information about our policies, programmes, services and initiatives, in accordance with the Federal Government's Communications Policy.
"In 2011, Fisheries and Oceans publicly issued 286 science advisory reports documenting our research on Canada's fisheries; our scientists respond to approximately 380 science-based media calls every year."
Fisheries and Oceans Canada declined a request by the BBC to interview Kristi Miller for this article. Dr Miller told us she would have been willing to be interviewed had her department given her permission.
More at the linkThe Canadian government has been accused of "muzzling" its scientists.... more
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RT's getting a new talk show - and world media's already in a spin over its host. It's the man who's exposed wrongs at the highest levels of government and military - the WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.RT's getting a new talk show - and world media's already in a spin over its... more
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NASA's chief climate scientist built his career studying Earth's atmosphere and modeling humans' potential impacts on climate. Then he realized that laboratory work was only part of the equation.
A Climate Query for James E. Hansen
Interview conducted and condensed by Douglas Fischer
James E. Hansen never thought his decision to study atmospheric models would lead to his arrest. But there he was in handcuffs last summer, protesting at the White House against a pipeline that would carry crude oil from Alberta's oil sands to the Gulf of Mexico.
It wasn't the first arrest, either. Hansen, who has directed NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies for 31 years, earned the sobriquet "father of global warming" after testifying before Congress in 1988 on the dangers of global warming. He appeared again in 1989. Then he quietly returned to his work, turning aside television and media requests for the next 15 years because, as he said, "you have no time to do the science if you're talking to the media."
There are consequences of becoming a target. Of course that's going to cause other scientists not to step out.
That approach changed in 2004, when he realized government climate policies worldwide failed to reflect the dangerous story his science was telling. Emerging from his lab, Hansen attacked Bush Administration officials for censuring and watering down climate findings. In 2008 he testified in British court on behalf of the "Kingsnorth Six," a group of Greenpeace activists who successfully claimed their effort to shut down a power plant was justified under British law because it prevented the greater harm of climate change. In 2009 and 2010, Hansen was arrested protesting mountaintop-removal coal mining.
DailyClimate.org editor Douglas Fischer caught up with Hansen in December at the American Geophysical Union meeting in San Francisco, where the scientist previewed findings about impacts the world courts with its unslacked appetite for carbon-based fuels.
Do you fear you have lost some of your scientific credibility by protesting at the coal plants or by becoming more of a voice in the climate debate?
If I was not publishing papers in the peer reviewed literature, then that would be a valid criticism. But I am still publishing. I'm trying to make that science clear to the public. It's not easy: The scientific evidence has really become very clear, and we're not doing a very good job of communicating that.
Climate policy has become less a scientific question and more a cultural marker. How can science influence those values and attitudes?
We need to make clear to the public what's really going on. If they just listen to politicians, they don't understand the story because nothing is being done.
snip
Where's the clear climate message?
Obama could've done it if he had started out when he had 70 percent approval and if he followed a policy like Franklin Roosevelt and had fireside chats. It's not that difficult. It can be explained.
How long can emissions increase before we risk serious impacts?
We really should be aiming to keep CO2 no higher than about 350 parts per million and possibly somewhat less than that if we want to maintain stable ice sheets and stable shore lines and avoid many other issues. That would require starting today. We'd have to reduce CO2 emissions at six percent a year if we began next year. If we began five years ago, it would've been three percent. If we wait until 2020, it becomes 15 percent.
So if we're hoping to maintain a planet that looks like the one that humanity has known, we're out of time right now.
More at the linkNASA's chief climate scientist built his career studying Earth's atmosphere... more
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Video interview with Mike Edison, author of Dirty! Dirty! Dirty! Of Playboys, Pigs, and Penthouse Paupers, conducted by Mr.Media, Bob Andelman. http://www.mrmedia.com/?p=3768Video interview with Mike Edison, author of Dirty! Dirty! Dirty! Of Playboys, Pigs,... more
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