I don´t know whether to feel sorry for CNN´s Anderson Cooper for having to try and make sense out of Sarah Palin´s PR officer Meg Stapleton or for Ms Stapleton having to explain the actions of her erratic boss. But one thing is for sure: this 5 minutes 49 seconds only proves that no normal logic works for Sarah Palin as a politician.
Next move: we just sit and wait for Levi Johnston´s tell-it-all book on the Palin family.
This guy on the video, Johnnydurham19, is coming in a couple of weeks to a video culture symposium at the University of Arts and Design. I will be moderating a session there - with Johnny and others - on why non-professionals make and watch videos. Should be fun. Thursday 28 May at the University of Arts and Design Helsinki.
Fourth day in Amsterdam. If I would need to name one thing why this city if amazing, it is its Spring. The whole city is blossoming - something that we will get only in like a month in Finland. It is clear that it is still my Second City.
I just facilitated a a great two-day meeting with TheStrangers, the advisory group of StrangerFestival consisting of young video makers. Above one of them, Nerimon, talking about what we do. After this weekend I am quite convinced that the festival will be awesome this year. The deadline for entries is 15 August but this year it is wise to upload early as one video is picked every month as a monthly winner and the maker is invited to Amsterdam.
A bit more about Amsterdam. Cycling around this city, it is easy to understand why people love it so much. I do too. Amsterdam is the best city in terms of doing things in human scale. I wish more cities could give you this amazing feeling that the city is open for you, it is there for you and it is playful.
This is where broadcasting meets the wonders of the Internet. Without this strong programme concept and reality television, Susan Boyle would never have emerged into the public sphere. The drama building before her singing is something that TV professionals can do so superbly. That´s talent.
But without the Internet and YouTube, Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore would never have become fans of this English lady or she wouldn´t have become a world-wide phenomenon. Currently at 12 million hits. I love TV, I love YouTube and there´s no contradiction there. I think writing of television as a medium is just bull crap.
So, my former colleagues had put a clip from the StrangerFestival DVD online. I actually like how in this interview the background thinking of the project comes across.
And yes, someone should have told me to control those hands while I speak....I know, I know.
You can order your own copy of the DVD with this interview and much more from stranger (a) eurocult.org.
On Monday we launch together with Demos a report on youth and video which has been carried out associated to StrangerFestival. From Monday 6 October the report is available for downloading at www.demos.co.uk. I highly recommend reading it. But here as a taster, a video building up the excitement. The report is funded by Helsingin Sanomat Foundation.
New video from Moveon.org covered in all political talk shows here in the US yesterday.
A weekend nearly free of StrangerFestival is about to end. It was needed as now I am again superexcited about the fact that the festival starts on Wednesday with 200 people flying in. I saw some of our posters again in the city and I had the "oh me god, that is me project" (sorry for those who do not appreciate the attempt to imitate an English accent there).
One of the most exciting things is flying in cool people to run workshops. Nerimon, a British blogger, is one of them. He and Katers17 will run two workshops on video blogging. Here's my favourite post from Nerimon. I am also extremely excited about Eboman performing at the opening.
It is nearly here. The travels have been organised, the participants have been informed about the workshops they take part in, the posters are across the city and the voting for the AudienceAward approaches its closure. Next Thursday 19.00 doors open at the Gashouder.
Here quite an entertaining and smart video from Rotterdam competing for the AmsterdamAward, the prize for Best Dutch video.
During the Kerry-Bush campaign in 2004 I loved the innovations in the anti-campaigns. Only in America. It seems that here we go again.
It's been a tough week, which is of course expected at this stage of production. StrangerFestival is only a few weeks away. On Thursday I realised that I need a day off to survive the build-up to the festival during the next three weeks. As a colleague of mine said well, it is better to take a full day off than go on 60 % for weeks. It definitely was the thing to do.
The voting for AudienceAward of StrangerFestival ends tomorrow. At the same time we are busy with organising the travels for the finalists and getting the programme together. Here is one of the finalists from Slovakia which shows how a simple message and dedication really makes a difference. See all finalists here.
As she says, changing the world one video at a time. Nature of the comments under the video show the difficulties of dialogue online.
You know, I was thinking of writing about the generational change in Finnish politics but then I heard this song in Apple's Air commercial and I just did not feel like it anymore. La-la-laa-laa. And yes, Apple Air is light and oh so wonderful.
As I was cycling to the gym today, my iPod (on shuffle) started playing this song from the Swedish glam band The Ark. I found myself listening to the lyrics in detail for the first time and realised that the message of this song is just briliant.
Last week I had a discussion at work on what does all this video making do to these teenagers. If they would feel like singer Ola Salo in this song, we would have reached a lot. The attitude he is propagating is wonderful: focusing on the essential for you, not on what others might find giving you stature.
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