Nonogirl Radio

Community Organizing

From what I've heard about the Democratic Party from the 2004 elections is that they needed to get their act together.  Volunteers who went to swing states to get-out-the-vote were sent to Republican neighborhoods(!); given old voter registration addresses; or were sitting idle, waiting for an assignment.

But from what I've witnessed, social justice organizations know how to make the machine run. APEN has run several successful political campaigns where they've swung the vote through community organizing and phone banking.

This story on Morning Edition looks at how Barack Obama is employing lessons he has learned from his community organizing days to build a movement.

The best thing about this is that it's sustainable and scalable, so if he does win the Democratic nomination, he is in a good position to mobilize people to win the presidency!

As for the radio segment, it had some great scenes and great cuts, but I didn't care for the mix. One of the important cuts was a volunteer explaining why she got involved with the campaign and it was mic'd from too far away.

Si Se Puede Cambiar

For Obama: "Si Se Puede Cambiar" by Andres Useche

When Oprah signed up to back Obama, I rolled my eyes. But since then, I've seen how cultural workers have contributed to the Obama campaign with great songs/videos like this one by Colombian writer, director, actor, composer, editor, and designer, Andres Useche.

The video was directed Eric Byler and there's a cameo of Kal Penn!

Whose Neighborhood is This Anyway?

Another Making Contact intern produced another great show! This show explores the Mission District, a neighborhood close to my heart. The show explores the gang injunction in the neighborhood, which places a curfew on a number of people identified as street leaders, prohibits them from hanging out with other known gang members, and prohibits them from wearing red. Staff at HOMEY talk about how the injunction fails to address root causes of the gang problem.

She adds that she feels the gang injunction is not to make the community safer for the people who live there currently but rather is intended to make the neighborhood desirable to a higher class of people.

This is a great piece to listen to after seeing Danny Hoch's play about gentrification in Brooklyn, Taking Over. Hoch's solution to gentrification: outsiders should move back to their hometown.

I disagree. Migration is constant. The bigger problem is displacement. As someone who moved in to San Francisco's Mission District I can see that I play a role in the gentrification. The answer is not for me to just not move here and my place is not in the Marina. My gut reaction to his show is that it's not about prohibiting new people from moving in. It should be about empowering the people who live in the neighborhood to stay. That means making sure that they have good jobs where they can afford the rent and have the resources to fight against illegal evictions.

Whose Neighborhood is This Anyway? is a great exploration into a complicated issue and once again it's filled with great sound elements. The producer even used archival tape of someone getting jumped into a gang, provided by the staff at HOMEY.

Joel on the Grammys

My friend Joel Rose is a great producer and although he lives in Philadelphia now, I'm always delighted when I hear one of his stories on NPR. He always has great hooks like this one on the Grammys.

This story is about how out of touch the Grammys are from quality music.

Paradise Lost: Military Training in Makua Valley

I'm a fan of Making Contact, a weekly public affairs show, because they were the first to distribute one of my stories internationally. They support thought provoking documentaries on important issues like the prison industrial complex, environmental justice, and race.

I'm also a fan of media that brings Hawaii's issues to a national audience.

Intern Samson Reiny combines these two loves of mine into an amazing, sound rich piece. It's really an example of the great work that the National Radio Project does in covering important issues and mentoring the next generation of media workers.

Greencine

Having been sick for almost three weeks, mostly bed-ridden, I decided it's time for me to sign up for a DVD service. I'm hoping that this will help me get caught up with films, both narrative and documentary. So I've been transferring my wish list from my smartphone to my Greencine list and it's been fun. I'm hoping that once i start renting and reviewing the films, the service will be able to turn me on to other films I might like. I'll keep you posted.

BTW, I went for Greencine over Netflix because it's a local service.

La Bamba Obama

La Bamba Obama

Bill Hing is a noted immigration scholar and was part of our successful Crossing East team. Here, I learned of another talent.

Gay Rights Now!

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Originally uploaded by sfjim123

I went down to the Castro last night to see how the filming of Milk has transformed the Castro back to the 1970s.

The gas prices are under a dollar, the housing for Victorian's is under $50k, and several stores (while still operating) have new storefronts.

Although I missed the shooting of this scene to the right with Sean Penn, I did catch a sight of him in a car before it drove away from the shoot.

Then I waited around about a half an hour to catch one more scene, a protest scene where the crowd leaves a rally to take over City Hall.

I love the documentary but there is very little in terms of capturing Milk's character. I can't wait to see what Sean Penn does with it.