Working That Green Screen

Before someone else asks, yes that is me in the audience for this show, Dr. Fuhrman's Immunity Solution! currently airing on PBS stations. Yes, I agree with much of the sentiment, even if the presentation is a little silly... but then again, so is much of TV:



Sarah and I sat in on a taping of this show at WMHT-TV's studios in Troy, New York, a few months back. It was an opportunity to meet again with some of the station's staff I had been getting to know, and make a quick buck (yes, we got paid to sit in the audience). The production was first-rate--the studio looked beautiful, and was well-coordinated. I don't know about the presentation though... the doctor seemed a little forced, and it had the air of one of those infomercials... but I'll reserve judgment until I see the final show (maybe I can fast-forward through the silly bits).

Having said that, maybe Dr. Fuhrman's book is worth reading. I know that Sarah and I have been pretty keen on learning more about the prevention of disease through natural foods--we are big supporters of locally-grown produce and co-op markets, and have been on a green drink kick ever since a recent trip to New York City... we even got a food processor and juicer for our wedding, so I'm ready to "go green"... we just need to learn how to make better wheat-grass smoothies than a few years back (was like having a glass of mowed lawn... blecch!).

This book looks interesting: healthygreendrink.com (no canned audience reaction required!).

Topical solutions

I have been issued a creative assignment this week: to reinterpret the news. Whoa... didn't I just finish that with The Spoken Word Almanac Project (S.W.A.P.)? Well yes, but this is a different request. Thank God I keep up on the news... New Hampshire Republican Primaries? Nuclear threats in Iran? The high schooler whose photos are too sexy for her yearbook? And the week has only begun!... Things change so rapidly nowadays, and there are so many new, faster outlets from which to retrieve information. I still prefer my news the "old-fashioned way"- we're talking clear-headed, in-depth journalism that takes time to tell an accurate story. So here's to you, NPR and New York Times... it can't be easy to do what you do, and still attract new audiences in this "instant age."

Ok, while I get that thought around my head this evening, here's another collection of visuals I created for poems performed during S.W.A.P.'s December 17, 2011 year-end show, covering everything from protesters around the world; Superman giving up on his American citizenship; the uprising in Egypt, to the death of Gaddaffi. Not always an easy task or for the squeamish (and I'm not talking about Advocate of Wordz's Superman undies)! As they say, "viewer discretion is advised."