When you get a chance, take a look at a documentary that Jason Swanson and I just produced. It's aired on TV6 and Fox UP and it's now posted on the web. You can link to it here Spirit of Hiawatha
It's called "The Spirit of Hiawatha" chronicling the last Hiawatha Traditional Music Festival in July. I first went to Hiawatha 6 years ago when I was considering coming to Marquette, and the festival convinced me this was a place I could live in and like.
Ever since, I've wanted to do a documentary on it because it's so rich with video and sound.
Now we've finally done it, and I'm happy to say it met my expectations, thanks in huge part to Jason Swanson, the young videographer and editor who worked his butt off shooting everything he could at the festival, and then worked his magic in the editing booth.
I think the program does, in fact, capture the spirit of Hiawatha, and does justice to the skills of the musicians, as well.
I hadn't done anything like this since I left Miami two decades ago, and it's good to get back into it. The dream for any TV journalist is to do long-form pieces.
In the meantime, Money in the Ground continues to sell. It's now available on Amazon and Barnes and Noble's website, as well as as stores throughout the UP, and of course right here on this website.
And in recent weeks, I've been consumed with a project I'm collaborating on with the painter, Paul Grant. We're putting together a coffee-table style book on his art as it reflects the UP, the culture, and the residents here. Very rewarding. We expect to have it out at the beginning of December.
A second novel on Yoopers is also underway.
Keeping busy and trying to keep cool during a warm and humid UP summer
Showing posts with label Paul Grant. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Paul Grant. Show all posts
Friday, August 13, 2010
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
What's up with the UP?
Overheard in the WLUC newsroom this week, from one of our sports guys: "Do you think the UP is going to become the new Spring Break destination for college kids?" Not a bad question given the fact that we're edging up toward 60 degrees under sunny skies, and we haven't seen snow in weeks.
You notice everybody's got a smile on their face around here? And then there's my dog romping on the beach last weekend, with hardly a patch of snow anywhere in sight. She's thrilled.
But, of course, we all know we're going to get slammed by a blizzard before this winter says goodbye.
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Enough with the health care reform debate already. Just do it, vote yes or no, and move on. No wonder Americans are sick of politicians.
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Seems to me there's a distinctly anti-intellectual movement afoot among Americans these days.
How else to explain the enormous popularity of Rush Limbaugh (a dropout from Southeast Missouri State, Glenn Beck (never attended college except for one class at Yale where he was enrolled as a non-traditional student, and he dropped out of that class), and Sarah Palin (bounced around from Hawaii Pacific University to Northern Idaho College to Matanuska-Susitna College to the University of Idaho where she finally graduated)?
Maybe we don't want our leaders from the Ivy League anymore. Maybe we don't trust "book-learning" anymore. We just want "common sense" and "street smarts". Historians might refer to Limbaugh, Beck and Palin as populists; others might just refer to them as scary.
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If you get a chance, watch Jerry Harju's commentaries on TV6---Tuesday at 11 on the late News, Wednesday at 5:30 on the Morning News.
A couple of his observations from this week:
"Remember when you used to reach into a mud puddle just to retrieve a penny?"
"Remember when they used to threaten to keep a kid back in school if he didn't meet the standards for the grade, and they actually did it?"
"Remember when being caught with a weapon in school meant the teacher took away your slingshot?"
Maybe you've got to be older to appreciate those observations, but I can assure you they're absolutely true.
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I'm still working on the Upper Peninsula art book with Paul Grant. We may not meet the mid-July deadline. It might be early December instead. We'll see. Stay tuned. In any case, we're both starting to get excited about it. We've collected about 40 of his paintings so far from the last 30 years, and he's also working on some new ones.
You notice everybody's got a smile on their face around here? And then there's my dog romping on the beach last weekend, with hardly a patch of snow anywhere in sight. She's thrilled.
But, of course, we all know we're going to get slammed by a blizzard before this winter says goodbye.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Enough with the health care reform debate already. Just do it, vote yes or no, and move on. No wonder Americans are sick of politicians.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Seems to me there's a distinctly anti-intellectual movement afoot among Americans these days.
How else to explain the enormous popularity of Rush Limbaugh (a dropout from Southeast Missouri State, Glenn Beck (never attended college except for one class at Yale where he was enrolled as a non-traditional student, and he dropped out of that class), and Sarah Palin (bounced around from Hawaii Pacific University to Northern Idaho College to Matanuska-Susitna College to the University of Idaho where she finally graduated)?
Maybe we don't want our leaders from the Ivy League anymore. Maybe we don't trust "book-learning" anymore. We just want "common sense" and "street smarts". Historians might refer to Limbaugh, Beck and Palin as populists; others might just refer to them as scary.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If you get a chance, watch Jerry Harju's commentaries on TV6---Tuesday at 11 on the late News, Wednesday at 5:30 on the Morning News.
A couple of his observations from this week:
"Remember when you used to reach into a mud puddle just to retrieve a penny?"
"Remember when they used to threaten to keep a kid back in school if he didn't meet the standards for the grade, and they actually did it?"
"Remember when being caught with a weapon in school meant the teacher took away your slingshot?"
Maybe you've got to be older to appreciate those observations, but I can assure you they're absolutely true.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I'm still working on the Upper Peninsula art book with Paul Grant. We may not meet the mid-July deadline. It might be early December instead. We'll see. Stay tuned. In any case, we're both starting to get excited about it. We've collected about 40 of his paintings so far from the last 30 years, and he's also working on some new ones.
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