I was invited on the two-day inaugural preview on Norwegian’s colossal new cruise ship, the Epic. While most of the other journalists were upstairs getting soused on the open bar (which I did — later), I was downstairs investigating the new “Studio” cabins. These new solo quarters will enable people who wish to vacation alone, or at least have a stateroom to themselves, to avoid paying that dreaded “single supplement” which keeps so many people from taking the trips they’d like to take.
I thought it’d be much more fun to make a video about them than to just write something. So my friend Josh Koll shot me. We had it in the can in 10 minutes, but as far as I know, I’m the only journalist who made a video of these rooms. As if that’ll win me any prizes.
I also cut it, which may explain why it’s a little choppy. I don’t expect you to share in my sense of accomplishment, but Final Cut Pro can be a beast.
We shot the hospital one after the ledger one, but I realized that my trip to Mount Vernon had yielded a fascinating tidbit that was a perfect closer to it. So Washington’s balance sheet makes a double appearance. I’m a history nerd, so any chance to show off a wicked cool old document titillates me.
A few months ago, Nevada Republican Sue Lowder earned mockery for suggesting Americans might be able to barter for their health care. Yes, that’s no longer a workable system in our non-agrarian economy, but here’s proof that it was once the norm — and it can still work. So there.
Here’s a new video I did (and the link to the original). I’m not actually in it because I felt that it should be about them, not me. But it was me who was asking the questions, and it was me who approached Disney to do this topic.
There are actually a bunch of people working at World Showcase in Epcot who have been there since the beginning, or who are fixtures. There’s Miyuki the Japanese candy lady, there’s Jutta the German egg painting lady, there’s Carol the Hat Lady in the United Kingdom, and there’s Andrew the wood carver in the Outpost.
I took a few days out of a five-day vacation to create this video because I thought it would be so cool to have an internationally shot segment on WalletPop. I am especially proud of a few of the shots in here, such as the shot of the traghetto gondolier shot from below. On the Grand Canal in a rocky gondola.
I really need to learn how to put work demands on a shelf when I’ve got time off. Then again, when I create stuff like this, I’m 1) doing something that pretty much no other website is doing 2) creating a cool video scrapbook of the places I go and the people I meet and 3) having fun anyway. And I’m learning.
This weekend, I was having drinks with an old friend, someone I’ve known for 17 years, when all of a sudden he asked what I did. Maybe I shouldn’t be surprised; dear friends know each other deeply and don’t always need to sweep up every morsel of information of their progressing careers.
Nonetheless, I realized that I need to do a much better job of posting my work so that people will know about it. Starting today.
I’m going to get some of my videos for WalletPop.com and Aol.com up onto the blog. Each one was originally published with a link to a story that, often, gave more context or detail or behind-the-scenes information than we could fit in the actual video, so I’ll also provide a link to that story. You can watch the video alone right here or, preferably, click through to WalletPop.com and read the story that went along with it.
The first two were supposed to be one, but my colleague/producer/cameraman Ken Shadford got so much material that we ended up cutting them into two segments, each covering different aspects of coin production. The first is about how coins are now designed digitally and carved into molds using computers, and the second shows the actual production line on the day the Mint was making the new Yosemite state quarter.
The Mint was a fascinating place to shoot, not just because of what we captured about production there — we all carry its products around in our pockets, every day — but also because of what we couldn’t shoot. Wide shots, pans, and shots of windows were not permitted lest we give outsiders a sense of how the building is laid out. I confess I was all turned around myself and relied on our guide to thread me through the caverns and warrens of clattering equipment.
Some days I get to shoot things that are so over-the-top cool that the whole experience feels rather dreamlike. I am so focused on asking questions and guiding the narrative and heeding Ken that I often forget how to just bask in the great fortune of my job. Maybe this blog entry will count toward the appreciation, just a little.
I also loved the fact that you’re not allowed to bring loose change into the Mint. Every penny is left in an envelope at the security desk, and the metal detectors (both coming and going) are amped up so high that even the foil in a gum wrapper will set them off.
The contents of my pocket kept beeping until we realized that my tube of ChapStick was triggering the alarm. “Huh,” said the guard, who like the rest of the staff was exceptionally friendly, “I had no idea ChapStick had metal in it, but it must, because it’s going off.” He looked at it closely, rolling it between his fingers with a quizzical expression, and then handed it back. “You have a great day,” he said.
As I was heading to Fox News’ studio to do my weekly segment on Fox Philly, there was a terrible boat accident in the Delaware River involving one of those Duck tours, and two people were still missing. As I was sitting in New York in my chair, waiting for the cue in my IFB to begin, people in Philadelphia were watching disturbing pictures of the scene of the accident, as divers searched the waters at Penn’s Landing.
What a perfect time to throw to Jason talking about restaurant deals! Today was the day I learned to decide for myself what my on-camera mood ought to be. Next time, I will be more careful about my segues. I gained more respect for the daily tightrope walk that anchors master when I was inadvertently so chipper at the top of this segment. Just another lesson in this step-by-step evolution I’m going through.
When I was in Branson a few weeks ago, my buddy Kenny Kleiber tuned me into College of the Ozarks, which runs an ice cream parlor that sells ice cream made by its students. I’d written about this place a few times before, both for WalletPop.com and for the departed Arthur Frommer’s Smart Shopping magazine, so I knew tuition was free if you were accepted. It was fun to be able to see it in person.
We ran over and asked — right there on the spot — if we could shoot a little video, and they were gracious enough to welcome us. It was lots of fun, and I like what they’re doing there, even if they welcomed the snide Sarah Palin there as a speaker recently.
There’s something to enjoy about this one, particularly with the Deliverance-style music at the start. That was the editor’s selection.
Fun fact: The shirt I’m wearing is what I unimaginatively call my Travel Shirt. When I have a flight of more than 8 or 9 hours, such as to Australia or South Africa, it’s the one I wear. I believe it’s the also one I wore on my very first travel writing assignment from Arthur Frommer, to the Galápagos Islands. Lumberjack plaid is timeless.
I’m talkin’ scams. What I said is really true, by the way. Someone really did try to call me this very morning to get personal information out of me. Don’t do it, America!
By the way, did you know Chef Boyardee is a real person?
I was on TV. Ever had a conversation with someone you can’t see and who isn’t there? What sounds an awful lot like insanity is, in fact, the way a modern satellite interview works.
I’m in New York City’s Fox News studio, talking to a camera about debt settlement rip-offs and Groupon while newsroom employees sit next to me, blocking out my voice with headphones. At that very moment, Glenn Beck was just feet away, scribbling furiously on blackboards. How’s your news?
