bum diggy diggy diggy bum diggy bum

there's so much, and i mean SO much to take care of before we leave for ghana in two days. but i just spent about forty minutes playing with this internet toy. (thanks bshap!) so as a small token of goodwill on the eve of new years eve, i wish you all the best in 2008 and many mesmerized hours with the tony-b machine.

dollar storeys jr.

when the third coast festival conducted the dollar storeys public audio project earlier this year, we received submissions from all over the world. 82 of them, to be exact. but as far as i know, we didn't receive any from middle schoolers. now that doesn't mean there weren't any sixth, seventh or eighth graders producing short audio stories inspired by items purchased at a dollar store anywhere. in fact, dozens of them over in winston-salem, NC spent some time dollar storeying away with gusto. no really, hear for yourself.

such energy! such enthusiasm! such a great way to spend your time while schoolmates practice for the cheerleading squad or roll around on a mat in the gym, gunning for the next national wrestling championship!

thanks to the enthusiastic students and obviously very cool teacher over at hanes middle school who took the project on. thanks also to sue mell for alerting me.

p.s.
full disclosure - mr. clauset is actually an old acquaintance of mine. but i didn't know he'd be teaching the DS project.

p.p.s.
you may have noticed that Team Hanes picked a couple new dollar store items in addition to the ones we chose for the TCF version of the project. yes, i'm jealous of the toy pony option.

mighty organization seeks help

the prometheus radio project, which toils tirelessly to protect community radio and promote, support and build low power FM stations around the world (while fighting hard for some semblance of a fair and accessible / non-corporatized media landscape in the US) is hiring a volunteer and intern coordinator. from a recent email announcement: "we want someone with a commitment to social justice and strong organizational skills, who possesses enthusiasm and experience recruiting, coordingating and mentoring interns and volunteers to help expand and strengthen these programs and the educational opportunities we can offer."

is this you?

find out more about the job and how to apply.

hyperacousia

greetings from the heart of it all where i'm simply taking a week off. this means there's time to sit and read up on ghana for an upcoming trip, and listen to the entire two-hour democratic candidate debate with my mom, and meet my friend and her two kiddos at gasoline alley for 4-cheese macaroni, and visit square records and sleep tremendously long hours and...you get the point. there's also time to follow up on links i've been meaning to, like this one. joan schuman's a media /radio/sound artist who's been producing audio work ranging from abstract, deeply personal sound poems to straight-up documentaries ever since i've been listening carefully. joan's a writer, teacher, producer, artist and many other things i'm sure, and her work's been heard all over the place. she has a distinct voice and a light touch, and she's been a tireless champion of artful sound constructions - many of which you can hear through her pleasingly mostly grey website, which i hope you'll check out.

what's up for tomorrow in the buckeye state, you ask? well we're not going to miss the lighting of the chocolate menorah at summit mall, right at sundown. i'm already looking forward to the latkes and free chocolate donuts advertised in my nephew's school's newsletter. AND to hearing his class sing some rousing hanukah tunes. see? the heart of it all. and yes, i'll take pictures.

update: well. that was definitely Something. we didn't stick around for donuts - it was a pretty loud / chaotic / exuberant affair by the time the choir and school band finished up and the rabbis and local politicans (mayor of akron!) had their say. i'd hazard a guess that it was the first time in summit mall's history that klezmer-inspired music filled the air, mingling with the smell of latkes and yes, chocolate. (WDGET*?) turns out the choc-orah suffered some breakage, and so instead of standing tall was laid flat on a table in all of its confectionery glory. and there was plenty of other chocolate to be found, including a very blonde young woman dressed up as a human-sized hershey kiss and handing out tidbits. i'll leave that image to your imagination. (you're welcome.)

*What Did Gap Employees Think?