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IU / photo / television / video / Wednesday — Comments Off on Mrs. Cooley would be proud
27
Oct 21

Mrs. Cooley would be proud

I took this photo yesterday of a westerly-facing tree outside of our television studios and didn’t share it with you. Shame on me. The light was catching it so nicely, and everything. So here’s the westerly-facing tree.

Trees, of course, face all directions. That’s the sort of useful information that you keep coming back here for, I know.

And also this insight, a phrase I coined today, but a feeling that has long been on the mind of any expert who has ever talked about their craft to a non-expert.

Shortcuts used shouldn’t always be the shortcuts taught.

It had to do with a conversation about writing, and the root of it is the cliche, you have to know the rules so you can break the rules.

Or “learn the rules like a pro, so you can break them like an artist,” which is often attributed to Pablo Picasso, or “know the rules well, so you can break them effectively,” as the 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso supposedly said. (And hasn’t the web ruined us on standalone quotes? I no longer believe anyone said anything, but that everything was said by Abraham Lincoln quoting Calvin Coolidge.)

I’m pretty sure I learned the theme from my algebra teacher, of all people. Learn the rules to break the rules. And that’s what algebra was like for me.

How I got through calculus and trig is something of an open mystery.

More time in the television studio tonight. It was the sports crew shooting tonight, and those shows will start to come online tomorrow.

Here are the news shows from yesterday, though. All the local that is news, and all the news that is local …

And the Halloween-themed show that I teased here yesterday …

Why do trees face all directions? It’s a question of survival to be prosperous. Tree branches grow to give the most leaves the most light, because light means they can run photosynthetic process. The rest is us being misanthropomorphic.

errands / friends / IU / memories / television / Tuesday / video — Comments Off on A day that always seemed difficult, but was actually easy
26
Oct 21

A day that always seemed difficult, but was actually easy

I went to the recycling center to drop off some expired fluorescent bulbs. (Our closets have fluorescent bulbs. I have questions.) There are … one, two, three, four, five recycling centers in this county. Of those five, only one accepts this sort of light bulb. It is not our usual recycling center, which is to say, the closest one. It is three miles away from that one, an improbable nine-minute drive. So maybe it’s the next closest, but when I got down there today …

Always read the website yourself, that’s what I’ve learned. And if you ever meet anyone in charge of the solid waste management office, ask about these seemingly arbitrary Open/Closed days.

So I went to Lowes, for the second time in three days, because that’s the way it works. Lowe’s is 6.4 miles and 12 minutes from that recycling center. And today I needed to pick up a toilet seat. Because I broke the one I’d installed just two months ago.

Whoever heard of that?

I walked down the correct aisle, around a slow-moving couple who were deliberately deciding among off-white bathroom fixtures, and found all of the toilet seats were blocked by a scissor lift. Eventually a person wearing the “I work here” red vest and the “but please don’t ask me about it” expression walked by. I asked her if she could move the store equipment. We discussed the issue and she found that what I wanted was only partially blocked, so she didn’t have to find a person to move the lift. She squeezed in between that and the aisle and grabbed the thing. That was easy.

Paid, walked out, thought about it and grabbed those light bulbs. Turns out Lowe’s accepts those for recycling. That was easy, too. A theme emerges.

I had lunch with my friend, and a former student, Auston Matricardi. He watches things, talks to people, assembles sentences and applies punctuation for a living.

He’s a sports writer. A pretty great one, too.

And the building behind us there is where I work, and where we met. He was also a sports broadcaster. He’s one of those people that’s capable of doing whatever is before him.

The sort that makes the rest of us jealous.

Videos from the studio … here’s the morning show. They talked to a tarot card reader. And they got a lot of tarot cards read. Then they visited a haunted house, and that part is highly amusing.

It’s a fun show, all new people, the crew is largely new, and they are coming into their own nicely.

And this show is brand new, one of two the student television station has launched this semester, a fun look at students making films.

And today they shoot the news shows. One, which I’m teasing here, had a Halloween theme.

You’ll see that tomorrow.

This evening I got home and removed the new broken toilet seat and installed the new new one. So scarred am I from recent projects that I feared the worst, but it was simple: remove two plastic screws on the old one and line up the parts for the two plastic screws of the new one.

I wonder if I can get my money back on a busted seat which is still well within the store’s general policy time. We’ll find out Thursday! (Update: I did.)

But there will be much more here tomorrow. Who knows what theme it will hold. Don’t miss out!

bespoke / Friday / IU / photo / Twitter — Comments Off on A full and exciting day to wrap an incredibly full week
22
Oct 21

A full and exciting day to wrap an incredibly full week

Studio this morning. Two shows were shot, one included an interview with a tarot card reader.

And another discussing student films.

And then I hosted this conversation.

We had a full room for the Emmy-award winning director and Murrow-award winning producer. We talked about skillsets, they told media war stories, discussed hard days, good days, and how to do all the things you want to do in those broadcast internships and first jobs. They were, of course, terrific. I wish you’d been there to hear it.

While that was going on technology was breaking in the TV studio. Good thing we have backup cameras! There was an event to shoot and stream tonight, celebrating five exceptional alumni. And that was to be streamed — on Zoom?

On Zoom.

Zoom?

Yep. Three branded platforms to choose from, and that important program highlighting prestigious graduates was put on Zoom.

So there’s no feed to show you, unfortunately. Perhaps the recorded version will be uploaded somewhere eventually. (I’m an optimist, and team long-tail.)

Anyway, it was about 7 p.m. before I left campus. An 11-hour day today, and five of the last six days have been late days for me. I’m … tired.

The daily duds: Pictures of clothes I put here to, hopefully, help avoid embarrassing scheme repeats.

But I looked good! Old Calvin Klein shirt and a cheap Apt. 9 tie (hey, it has some heft and a great texture). It was Friday, so a casual dark blue suit.

How about the mespoke pocket square though? I made that one this summer. It got a nice compliment by a random person passing by today.

I was also sporting mespoke cufflinks, which I made earlier this year.

Now I just need to make a way to take better pictures of the cufflinks.

And a nice long nap. I need to make a way to take a nice long nap. I feel like I’m due a weekend and, wouldn’t you know it, we have one of those coming up. I hope you do, too! And I hope it is great!

bespoke / IU / television / Tuesday / Twitter / video — 1 Comment
19
Oct 21

New tie Tuesday!

Back in the suits this week. Just another series of things to customize some kind of way. Just imagine this in the morning.

You do the regular stuff. Shower, shave, and so on. Then you slap in some fresh collar stays into your shirt. Fortunately, I did all of the week’s ironing last night. But I still have to get a tie that works with this suit. And then a pocket square that compliments (but only just) the tie. So, anyway …

The daily duds: Pictures of clothes I put here to, hopefully, help avoid embarrassing scheme repeats.

Oh, and you have to make your pocket square behave in whichever way you want it to today. I found a great page with 52 ways to fold a pocket square. I’ve probably used two dozen, have found some to gravitate toward and will soon be making it up, I’m sure.

After that, it’s the cufflinks. And which should we bring together? The tie or the pocket square?

It’s an additional sequence of events, is all. You have to remember all the things you don’t want to forget, and allot enough time for it.

We were in the studio this evening. There was the traditional news show and the pop culture show, where the president of the student government stopped by for a quick interview. And they discussed bones and no bones days.

(You’re going to hear all about that elsewhere later this week.)

Those shows will both be online tomorrow.

Speaking of studio stuff, here’s one of the entertainment productions. It was produced last Friday. And there’s apparently ghosts.

Now, the campus is supposedly haunted. (I’ve never been on that tour. I’m always working, it seems.) But the building that particular studio is in doesn’t have any ghost stories.

Yet. Sebastian and Mia could very well be making some good tales for us these next few weeks.

food / Friday / IU / photo / television / video — Comments Off on Easing into the weekend … with an 11-hour day at the office
15
Oct 21

Easing into the weekend … with an 11-hour day at the office

My morning started with a meeting. I used the Zoom option, because some people have trouble with masks. My day ended with another meeting. There was no Zoom option. I wish there had been a Zoom option. But not because of the masks.

My day should have ended with that meeting, but I ended up running into a prospective student and her father and talked about the school for a while. And I shot an instructional video and finally left the office at 7 p.m. On Friday. All of this was made possible because that Friday afternoon meeting ran until 6 p.m.

In between those meetings, though, I caught up on a week’s worth of emails and many of the small chores that fill up everyone’s work week. I also went to the Bureau of Motor Vehicles to get a temporary handicapped driver placard. The Yankee can’t drive for a few weeks, doctor’s orders, but parking on every college campus in America is a premium commodity, and she’ll be limited in her walking distances the next few weeks.

So I got the temporary tag. And I updated my car’s registration, as well. And this was the time of the day when the sun broke through the clouds. It was a wonderful moment to be outside doing things.

The other thing I did was to notice that the BMV office is close to Carson’s, the best barbecue in town, so I picked up a sandwich to take back to the office.

It isn’t Bob Sykes, but it will do get the job done in the moment.

I haven’t updated this space with any of the student television this week, so let’s get caught up.

The morning show introduced us to some service dogs and had some other great segments, as well.

The best part is when they’re trying to introduce the dogs, who are trying to be service animals, and one of them immediately hides under the chair. You couldn’t have coaxed that out of that pup any better. Never work with animals, they say. Whoever says that doesn’t appreciate the joy of the spontaneity.

Here is one of IUSTV’s new shows this semester. Bring in a student filmmaker, have them talk about a project they’ve produced. It’s pretty cool.

I say one of their new shows, because there are two new shows this term. Here’s the first episode of a new sports project, almost everyone on it is an underclassman. I’m excited to see where they take this as it grows.

Of course that isn’t enough sports for you, but not to worry. I’ve got more sports for you. Here’s the oldest sports show in our catalog. They produced this one Wednesday night, and it has all the highlights and the looks ahead you’ll need for the weekend of IU sports.

And tomorrow is homecoming around here. (Naturally they have scheduled a top 10 conference foe for homecoming.) The Toss Up has your deep dive ready, right here.

One of the entertainment crews was in the studio this evening, as well. And we should see that episode early next week. I’ll have it here in a timely fashion.

Until then, have a great weekend, and don’t forget we’ll have Catober updates on Saturday and Sunday.

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