Student Groups at OU

OUCCC: East Green pizza party! http://post.ly/wEAk (Campus Crusade)

Wed, 08 Sep 2010 03:14:37 +0200

OUCCC: East Green pizza party! http://post.ly/wEAkOUCCC: East Green pizza party! http://post.ly/wEAk

OUCCC: FREE PIZZA TONIGHT @ 9PM! Come join us! East Green: Jefferson Dining Hall South Green: Old Nelson Dining Hall West Green: Ryors Basement (Campus Crusade)

Tue, 07 Sep 2010 22:11:48 +0200

OUCCC: FREE PIZZA TONIGHT @ 9PM! Come join us! East Green: Jefferson Dining Hall South Green: Old Nelson Dining Hall West Green: Ryors BasementOUCCC: FREE PIZZA TONIGHT @ 9PM! Come join us! East Green: Jefferson Dining Hall South Green: Old Nelson Dining Hall West Green: Ryors Basement

OUCCC: Wear your 180 tee-shirts on Thursday to get the word out about our first meeting. Let's cover the campus in 180 gear! (Campus Crusade)

Tue, 07 Sep 2010 21:43:37 +0200

OUCCC: Wear your 180 tee-shirts on Thursday to get the word out about our first meeting. Let's cover the campus in 180 gear!OUCCC: Wear your 180 tee-shirts on Thursday to get the word out about our first meeting. Let's cover the campus in 180 gear!

OUCCC: FREE PIZZA TONIGHT @ 9PM! Come join us! East Green: Jefferson Dining Hall South Green: Nelson Commons (South... http://fb.me/ukoxMZhq (Campus Crusade)

Tue, 07 Sep 2010 21:37:16 +0200

OUCCC: FREE PIZZA TONIGHT @ 9PM! Come join us! East Green: Jefferson Dining Hall South Green: Nelson Commons (South... http://fb.me/ukoxMZhqOUCCC: FREE PIZZA TONIGHT @ 9PM! Come join us! East Green: Jefferson Dining Hall South Green: Nelson Commons (South... http://fb.me/ukoxMZhq

OUCCC: The First 180 of the Year! is a week from today! What are you looking forward to most? (Campus Crusade)

Thu, 02 Sep 2010 19:22:15 +0200

OUCCC: The First 180 of the Year! is a week from today! What are you looking forward to most?OUCCC: The First 180 of the Year! is a week from today! What are you looking forward to most?

OUCCC: Help us get over 100 facebook fans tonight! Spread the word! (Campus Crusade)

Thu, 02 Sep 2010 04:59:00 +0200

OUCCC: Help us get over 100 facebook fans tonight! Spread the word!OUCCC: Help us get over 100 facebook fans tonight! Spread the word!

OUCCC: "Like" us! You know you want to! (Campus Crusade)

Wed, 01 Sep 2010 03:02:15 +0200

OUCCC: "Like" us! You know you want to!OUCCC: "Like" us! You know you want to!

OUCCC: The First 180 of the Year is Thurs, Sept. 9th. Will you be there? http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=150769138285593&index=1 (Campus Crusade)

Wed, 01 Sep 2010 02:30:25 +0200

OUCCC: The First 180 of the Year is Thurs, Sept. 9th. Will you be there? http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=150769138285593&index=1OUCCC: The First 180 of the Year is Thurs, Sept. 9th. Will you be there? http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=150769138285593&index=1

OUCCC: @HannaZoe Ha, we fixed it. Thanks! (Campus Crusade)

Wed, 01 Sep 2010 02:21:03 +0200

OUCCC: @HannaZoe Ha, we fixed it. Thanks!OUCCC: @HannaZoe Ha, we fixed it. Thanks!

Interview: How it is to Prevail: An Interview With Jonathan Corley of Manchester Orchestra (ACRN News)

Sun, 29 Aug 2010 00:00:00 +0200

ACRN had the opportunity to talk with Manchester Orchestra's Jonathan Corley about his interest in film, and the current project the band is working on with Kevin Devine, Bad Books, and the undeniable reality of it all.

Read the full article here.

OUCCC: Some of the OU staff team are heading to Marietta College to do some questionnaires with the students. Pray for us! (Campus Crusade)

Wed, 25 Aug 2010 21:03:09 +0200

OUCCC: Some of the OU staff team are heading to Marietta College to do some questionnaires with the students. Pray for us!OUCCC: Some of the OU staff team are heading to Marietta College to do some questionnaires with the students. Pray for us!

OUCCC: The first 180 of the '10-'11 school year is three weeks from today! Who is excited?! (Campus Crusade)

Thu, 19 Aug 2010 16:05:23 +0200

OUCCC: The first 180 of the '10-'11 school year is three weeks from today! Who is excited?!OUCCC: The first 180 of the '10-'11 school year is three weeks from today! Who is excited?!

Live Review: John Mayer / Blossom Music Center / August 13, 2010 (ACRN News)

Thu, 19 Aug 2010 00:00:00 +0200

Whether fans traveled to Blossom to listen to the superb musicianship of John Mayer or simply wanted a live viewing of his passionate facial expressions, they were not disappointed. Pompous though he may be, John Mayer certainly knows how to put on a show.

Read the full article here.

OUCCC: CruPress Green is here! Check it out! http://fb.me/xLxU7Wcj (Campus Crusade)

Wed, 18 Aug 2010 01:34:21 +0200

OUCCC: CruPress Green is here! Check it out! http://fb.me/xLxU7WcjOUCCC: CruPress Green is here! Check it out! http://fb.me/xLxU7Wcj

OUCCC: OUCCC Campus Ministry Intern Austin Ross (@brustin) was recently interviewed by the Marietta Times- check it out! http://tinyurl.com/2ac6ae4 (Campus Crusade)

Mon, 16 Aug 2010 20:37:53 +0200

OUCCC: OUCCC Campus Ministry Intern Austin Ross (@brustin) was recently interviewed by the Marietta Times- check it out! http://tinyurl.com/2ac6ae4OUCCC: OUCCC Campus Ministry Intern Austin Ross (@brustin) was recently interviewed by the Marietta Times- check it out! http://tinyurl.com/2ac6ae4

Live Review: Dragonette and Dan Black / Grog Shop / Cleveland, Ohio / August 8, 2010 (ACRN News)

Fri, 13 Aug 2010 00:00:00 +0200

With enough flashing lights to send a person into a seizure or at least blind them, Dragonette and Dan Black killed it at The Grog Shop.

Read the full article here.

With enough flashing lights to send a person into a seizure or at least blind them, Dragonette and Dan Black killed it at The Grog Shop.

Read the full article here.

Album Review: Matt Skiba - Demos (ACRN News)

Mon, 09 Aug 2010 00:00:00 +0200

Matt Skiba's first full-length solo album sets a dark mood and allows fans a look at the rawest form of his art.

Read the full article here.

Matt Skiba's first full-length solo album sets a dark mood and allows fans a look at the rawest form of his art.

Read the full article here.

Album Review: Avenged Sevenfold - Nightmare (ACRN News)

Thu, 05 Aug 2010 00:00:00 +0200

Nightmare, Avenged Sevenfold's darkest and most refined album to date, pays a clear tribute to the tragedy that preceded its recording.

Read the full article here.

Nightmare, Avenged Sevenfold's darkest and most refined album to date, pays a clear tribute to the tragedy that preceded its recording.

Read the full article here.

Album Review: Menomena - Mines (ACRN News)

Thu, 05 Aug 2010 00:00:00 +0200

On their fourth full-length, Portland trio Menomena has a twinkle in its eye, as if to say, I bet you werent expecting that. And with song titles like Dirty Cartoons, Lunchmeat and Oh Pretty Boy, Youre Such a Big Boy, clearly these boys have fun exploring what is eerie and playful.

Read the full article here.

Interview: Scanning the Warped Tour Crowd with Every Time I Die's Josh Newton (ACRN News)

Wed, 04 Aug 2010 00:00:00 +0200

ACRN met with bassist Josh Newton at Warped Tour to discuss touring, the band's upcoming "Shit Happens" sequel DVD, what not to order at P.F. Chang's, and did a bit of myth-busting about a band's perception of its Warped Tour crowd.

Read the full article here.

Live Review: Vans Warped Tour 2010 / Riverbend Music Center / Cincinnati, Ohio / July 28, 2010 (ACRN News)

Mon, 02 Aug 2010 00:00:00 +0200

Vans Warped Tour, whether it's a yearly ritual, just something to do or something one plans for all year, is sure to provide a different experience for each person in attendance.

Read the full article here.

Vans Warped Tour, whether it's a yearly ritual, just something to do or something one plans for all year, is sure to provide a different experience for each person in attendance.

Read the full article here.

To be honest… (Soul of Athens Blog)

Tue, 27 Jul 2010 14:00:34 +0200

I’d been thinking about my Soul of Athens project for a long time. Working on a photo essay in Carbondale, Ohio, the entirety of my winter term, I’d begun to learn what it meant to do something in-depth; meeting lots of really, really interesting people along the way. In particular, there was one story that I planned on focusing on when I returned from spring break. However, after our first Soul of Athens class and almost immediately after I’d left the “Experience” group’s first meeting, I found myself in Carbondale, Ohio, searching without much luck, for the two people I’d intended to spend time with and photograph. They were nowhere to be found.

That said, while I searched and searched, I ultimately came back to our next meeting with several story ideas also based in Carbondale. Beyond working there most of the winter, I also thought Carbondale was a small town that represented a lot of the history of the area as well as, the current issues in the region (not to mention that I just enjoyed spending time there). Near the end of the winter term I’d spent in Carbondale, I’d meet Bucky Hall, his wife, Christie, and their two boys, Michael and Aaron. At the time I’d meet them, they were living in Christie’s mother’s house, a small trailer right in the center of Carbondale. I’d previously heard that, before they moved into the trailer, they’d squatted in a small camper above Carbondale but I only had a vague sense of how much history rested on that land. When I returned to Carbondale after my break, I soon found out that – with the good weather – Bucky, Christie, and their family had moved back into the camper and were trying to revitalize the land up there. Ultimately, I decided that my original story would require more time than we had for Soul of Athens and I devoted myself to spending time with Bucky and his family.

Looking back on it now, I couldn’t be happier with my decision; not because I’m happy with the work, but because Bucky, Christie, Michael and Aaron were so wonderfully open and honest with me about their lives. There’s a lot of talk within photography, and especially at OU, about why photographers choose to focus on the stories that they do. When I began this story, I really had to ask myself those questions. At the end of the day, however, I found the story so compelling because, in my mind, it was an opportunity to tell one family’s history while watching another be created. To me, the piece was just as much about Bucky’s intense personal connection with the land on which he was raised as it was about the family he’s now raising on it.

In modern life, we don’t often have the same connection to the land on which we live as previous generations have had. We don’t farm the land, we don’t stay at home for as long, we move away and we leave behind. Obviously, the location of Bucky’s upbringing had pretty polarizing memories associated with it; the tenderness he shared for the way in which he was raised alongside such tragedies as the suicide of his brother. In his attempts to leave, Bucky would constantly express how the act of moving away was tantamount to abandoning his family. When his brother committed suicide, I think that just compounded that feeling. Now Bucky’s not only revitalizing the land in order to make a home for his current family but also – in some sense – trying to come to terms with that trauma; in the act of renewing the land, he seems to be making amends with the very real decisions he made that drew him away from Carbondale in the first place. The thought of being so deeply and emotionally connected to a piece of land that was yours but now isn’t, especially in a time and place where it’s rare to see someone care so much for something, was extremely moving to me. And, of course, the very practical reality that you might be asked to move your entire family’s way of life at any moment, was staggering. Ultimately, the resilience, courage, and love that I saw in the face of these types of conditions, was a story that I thought people should know about.

Bryan Thomas

My story is about a family… (Soul of Athens Blog)

Fri, 23 Jul 2010 14:00:11 +0200

their business, their way they life and how it all works together. I have been doing this story on the family behind Ancient Roots since when it all started in February for a class assignment. For the class assignment everything fell through and on my Sunday jaunt through the Athens farmers markets I just happened [...]

Lauren Genter and Justin Reynolds are the owners of Ancient Roots and also the mother and father of their two sons Immanuel and Addae, who play a key role in their business. Ancient Roots is a local business in Athens Ohio that makes herbal remedies of all kinds, kombucha and “just local stuff for local people” as Lauren says.

Not knowing what she was getting into Lauren agreed to let me to do a story on their business. I ended up fallowed her for a little more than a month. I finished with a story about her and her two sons, Addae and Immanuel.

When Soul of Athens started I decided that I really was going to do a story on Ancient Roots and so I have. After about a little more than three months I have not only made a story on their family business but I have created true friends. Lauren and Justin where the most friendly and open people I have photographed, telling me about themselves, their family and beliefs. Many times I never took a photo I just sat and talked with them.

But sadly with MANY, MANY (can I say that again) MANY late nights of hard work and in my opinion a wonderful story, my story, was among many other similar stories therefore got cut. Even though I had put more work into this story than have even put into a story I am glade that I got to work with the students I did, learned what I learned form them and from Lauren and Justin. The people I photographed and worked with make all my stress and hard work worth it in the end. But because you will not be able to see my hard work I will tell you just a little bit about what it is all about by some images that where in my video and quotes pulled from the audio.

Ancient Roots is a true locally grown business but not only in the since of their produce; Ancient Roots was started by the creations of creams and healing salves made for their son, Addae. The work put into their produce is scheduled around their family time, allowing them to always be with kids and allowing them to chose when they want work. Lauren says, “Our business is inextricable from our family. If Justin’s with the kids I’m at the office making stuff and if Justin is at the office making stuff then I am at the park with the kids. That’s part of what we wanted. We wanted that for our family, for to be together and to work for ourselves.” They wanted a business for their family but also good for other things: “You know something we could do that was good for the planet and good for people and good for our family.”

Ancient Roots was created through Lauren and Justin’s’ way of life. “Everything that we use is chemical free a lot of that comes from beautiful land here in Athens. Some of it is certified organic from, some of it we pick by hand walking through the hills or in our garden or in people’s that we knows gardens and farms. You know we are trading with local famers, people in other places in Ohio, and you know the circles go out from there,” said Lauren. “The idea is that we are making stuff here with local ingredients for people who live here in this environment that the plants where ideally raised in too. So I feel like even if you never meet that specific plant you know each other. You know I think there is a healing in that goes beyond what you can explain,” said Lauren at the ending of my story, which sums up their life and business. Sadly I cannot put everything in here so there is a bit left out. But I hope you enjoyed my visual story translated into words by the words of Lauren Genter.

Halie Cousineau

Bringing Some Soul to Drupal (Soul of Athens Blog)

Thu, 22 Jul 2010 15:22:36 +0200

Once again, for this year’s edition of Soul of Athens we decided to use Drupal as our CMS. Drupal gave a level of flexibility and ease of use that matched our knowledge of both programming and CMSs. While using Drupal, we ran into a few unique problems that required some interesting solutions. Let me prerequisite this by saying I do [...]

While using Drupal, we ran into a few unique problems that required some interesting
solutions.

Let me prerequisite this by saying I do not claim to be some know-all Drupal or PHP
guru; these are just some solutions that happened to work for us in our situation.
As you may know, this year’s site was built around the idea of having multiple editions,
five to be precise, each with a unique template. While one approach to that would have
been to load specific CSS files for each page template on each page and piece of
content, we decided to do it a bit more dynamically with PHP. The idea behind the code
was to inject part of the current URL path into the body tag so that we could specify
each CSS rule more specifically with each edition’s links and divs:

path); print $edition[0];?>">
There it is. Simple, but it does exactly what I need it to do. What the PHP is doing is
taking the path of the node (expression/ink, for example) and exploding the string into
an array that is being delimitated by the “/” character. Then I use the first element in
the array as the id of the body.

Alright phew.

While we were building the node templates for the pieces of content, it became quite
obvious that the way in which we were entering the contributors was slightly
problematic. When we would go into the devel module and inspect the node contents,
the only content available for the contributors was their “number.” The reason why that
was happening is still a bit of a mystery. Nevertheless, I was presented with a large list
of numbers that I was going to have to somehow correlate to an author. Instead of
going and spending an hour or so constructing a keyed array of values in PHP off a list
formated like this,

… I wrote a quick and dirty script in C++ to process the text into the format that I
needed, which took all of .0025 seconds to run:

#include #include #include using namespace std; int main () { ifstream ins; ofstream ous; ins.open("parse.txt"); string tmp,tmp2,tmp3; while (!ins.fail()) { int i; getline(ins,tmp); for (i =0;tmp[i] != '|';++i) std::cout< ++i; std::cout<<"=> \" "; std::cout< std::cout<<"\","; } }
… which ended up spitting out something that looked like this:

0=> ” Matthew Anderson”,1=> ” Jonathan Adams “,2=> ” Josh Birnbaum”,3=>
” Victor Blue”,4=> ” Kiersten Bonifant”

While that solved one problem, we also had to figure out a way to correlate all the users’
roles with their names and then display that in an organized fashion. The first thing we
tackled was how to grab the roles that people held:

That is what the input format looked like in Drupal. We were using a single select dropdowns
and then a multi-select field for their roles because one person could do multiple
things in any given piece.

So let’s take a look at the code … and then we can talk about it:

for ( $ii = 0; $ii <= 5; $ii++) { print("

print $arr2[$node->field_content_role_1[$i]['value']];

}

if ($ii == 1&&$arr2[$node->field_content_role_2[$i]['value']])
{
print $arr2[$node->field_content_role_2[$i]['value']];
print(” “);

}

if ($ii == 2&&$arr2[$node->field_content_role_3[$i]['value']])
{
print $arr2[$node->field_content_role_3[$i]['value']];
print(” “);
}
if ($ii == 3&&$arr2[$node->field_content_role_4[$i]['value']])
{
print $arr2[$node->field_content_role_4[$i]['value']];
print(” “);
}
if ($ii == 4&&$arr2[$node->field_content_role_5[$i]['value']])
{
print $arr2[$node->field_content_role_5[$i]['value']];
print(” “);
}
}

print("'>"); if ($ii == 0) print $arr[$node->field_content_contributors[0]['value']]; if ($ii == 1) print $arr[$node->field_content_contributor_2[0]['value']]; if ($ii == 2) print $arr[$node->field_content_contributor_3[0]['value']]; if ($ii == 3) print $arr[$node->field_content_contributor_4[0]['value']]; if ($ii == 4) print $arr[$node->field_content_contributor_5[0]['value']]; print("

");

}

?>

Basically, what I did was set up a variable called $arr that holds all of the
contributors and another array, $arr2, that contains the roles that someone
could hold (and, yes, it is also a keyed array).

Then it gets a bit more complicated. I set a nesting looping structure that goes through all five possible contributors (variable $ii) and within that goes through their possible roles. If the role field is not NULL and $i is at the corresponding contributor it prints the role(s) within the title field of a link.

The reason for all of this code is that we really wanted to refine how peoples roles were displayed. Instead of listing the contribtors roles below or beside them we decided to do something a but more dynamic and throw some jquery into the mix, with something called Qtip.

So all that work for something so simple? Yes, but that is what makes this years site so great, it’s the little things that seem almost expected that work so intuitively that really make this years site shine.
I hope this explanation helps and pulls back the curtain that all to often falls on those glued to their monitors coding away.

Good luck and Thanks for reading.

Sam Saccone

OUCCC: We hope everyone is enjoying their summer and rooting themselves in the Lord! Let us know what you're up to! (Campus Crusade)

Wed, 21 Jul 2010 19:42:05 +0200

OUCCC: We hope everyone is enjoying their summer and rooting themselves in the Lord! Let us know what you're up to!OUCCC: We hope everyone is enjoying their summer and rooting themselves in the Lord! Let us know what you're up to!

I had a great time… (Soul of Athens Blog)

Wed, 21 Jul 2010 14:00:18 +0200

getting to know Patty and all the wonderful people in her life. Everyone was so helpful in granting me access to taking photos wherever Patty went. The challenge was getting them to ignore my camera and me. That was especially true with Patty’s cat, Cinnamon. There we times when I was taking photos of Patty in her apartment, and Cinnamon would come right over to me and curiously stare into my camera. That is exactly what happened here, when Patty’s friend and aid, Margaret Wharton of Havar Incorporated, was over helping take care of Patty’s finances and paperwork. I’m still not sure if Cinnamon liked me, or just my camera.

Erin Corneliussen

The Bruce Manor Experience… (Soul of Athens Blog)

Mon, 19 Jul 2010 14:00:01 +0200

Shooting at The Bruce Manor was a lot of fun. Imagine the excitement of a live concert, the feel of a party, and not having to spend a lot of money to have a good time and that is what The Manor is. From the outside, the house might not look like much but as you step inside, you immediately notice the character of the place. Posters from past shows around Athens clutter the yellow, torn wallpaper in the living room. During the week, the house is just like any other living space, but come the weekend, the furniture is moved out and the house is transformed into the place to see live music. Local acts, along with traveling bands, come to play at this three-year-old concert venue many times each year.

You must watch your head as you enter the small doorway that leads down to the basement of The Manor, for it is here when the main acts play. The basement is dark, musty, and cramped—the perfect place for a DIY house show. Packed like sardines, the crowd is hit with a wall of sound from whoever is playing just an arms-reach away. After the set, everyone claps and cheers and shuffles upstairs to the front porch—the social hotbed of The Manor. The porch is a mixture of beer, cigarettes, whiskey, singing, dancing and friendship. It is a great place to meet new faces or talk to the band that just performed.

If you are looking for good music, good people, and a good time, then all you need is a six-pack of PBR and a donation at the door.

Dustin Franz

After spending three years working on SoA… (Soul of Athens Blog)

Thu, 15 Jul 2010 14:00:43 +0200

The photographs are of me getting ready for their family portrait one cold winter day. After spending three years working on SoA this has been the best. I think it has to do with the fact that I have two pieces on the site in two different Editions, both I am very proud of. I [...]

The photographs are of me getting ready for their family portrait one cold winter day.

After spending three years working on SoA this has been the best. I think it has to do with the fact that I have two pieces on the site in two different Editions, both I am very proud of. I got a chance to continue photographing Locke and Christina throughout the year after making a multimedia piece, “Raising Felix” for my capstone major class, 486 in the fall. By working with Uma Sanghvi in the winter I slowly added in new photos and audio, and finally finished the piece this spring. Thanks for all those who took the time to review my work and give such helpful feedback; Rachel Mummy, Josh Birnbaum, Eric Maierson, and Marcus Yam.

Abby Verbosky

One of the subjects… (Soul of Athens Blog)

Tue, 13 Jul 2010 14:00:14 +0200

in my SOA story, Paul Strauss, told me that when he bought his farm 30 years ago, what he really purchased was an education. My time in SOA this spring has helped to shape my idea of what constitutes a classroom. This stemmed from my work on my own project and the [...]

For the Hocking College students taking an edible/medicinal plant class at Strauss’ farm in Meigs County nothing could be more paramount then first hand experience in the forest. These students formed intimate relationships with the land around them in ways that simply reading or writing about a topic couldn’t produce. For me spending time with people, taking photographs of them, interviewing them, becoming friends with them, was a similar experience. Something important happens when you engage and interact with communities around you. You begin to absorb things first hand rather then have it mediated or filtered through classrooms or academic institutions.

One of the positive aspects of participating in something like SOA is the freedom you have to form and make the most of the community around you. The classroom can become elevated to many things, a tent on an organic farm under the stars or a caffeine-infused media lab. What you walk away with is an appreciation for all the opportunities to grow that surround you.

Francis Tatem

Interview: Jeremiah Edmond and All His Favorite Gentlemen (ACRN News)

Sun, 11 Jul 2010 00:00:00 +0200

Jeremiah Edmond, previously of Manchester Orchestra, is one of the main contributors to the business and growth of new label Favorite Gentlemen. ACRN spoke with Edmond about the ins and outs of the label from the past to the future and all the rewarding work that's to be done in the meantime.

Read the full article here.

Soul of Athens was a new experience for me… (Soul of Athens Blog)

Thu, 08 Jul 2010 14:00:39 +0200

I have never approached a story like this before. Surrounded by a crew of people with so much talent was inspiring. Working along side of these people, till the wee hours in the morning, pushed my own creativity to new heights I don’t believe I could have reached on my own. At the age of 33, [...]

At the age of 33, I usually find it hard to harder to stay up late at night. But, this is what I found myself doing night after night editing along the other people working on this project night after night. Scott Quad gets to be a crazy place at 5 AM. Some were getting giddy and laughing uncontrollably, some were quiet and focusing in more and more on their end goal, and after gallons and gallons of coffee a few were ready to bounce off of the walls.

In the end everyone created something in such a short amount of time it’s amazing to say the least. I was proud and thankful to be a part of this process with such an amazing group of talented people. Thank you.

Ty Wright

I began photographing… (Soul of Athens Blog)

Wed, 07 Jul 2010 14:00:49 +0200

at the Nelsonville Community Center in January 2010 for one of my first picture story classes. Since then I have visited the center countless times and shot many, many gigabytes of photos, video and audio. The past spring quarter was the first time I had ever learned the process behind multimedia. Along with Soul of [...]

I felt drawn to the center the first time I visited it and I soon became connected to the people and the atmosphere; more than any other story I had ever photographed. The people there thought of me as a friend and allowed me to take a glimpse into their lives. They welcomed me to meetings and events and opened their hearts to tell me stories of struggles and happy times.

In a few words, I figured out that the content gathering is only a teeny tiny part to the whole. Hours upon hours of my time was spent in front of the computer moving, cutting and rearranging the pieces to figure out my final product.

Not only did I learn a new story telling technique, audio recording, video recording and multimedia editing, but the people at the center taught me valuable lessons about companionship and giving. I felt connected and more importantly, a part of something.

Cayce Clifford

“What You Have” was an idea conceived in the wee hours… (Soul of Athens Blog)

Tue, 06 Jul 2010 14:00:44 +0200

0f the night laying on my rooftop staring at the moon well into the “supposed to be gathering content” phase of Soul of Athens. I had a couple other ideas that had fallen through in the first three or four weeks of the quarter and I was left struggling to come up with an interesting [...]

After spending a little over six months in this new, exciting area I realized that I had this vast resource at my fingertips to help relay this idea of taking shelter, finding comfort, and enjoying this place I’m calling home for the next year and a half, the people I’ve met and their stories of why they find this place special.

I wanted to tell this story in a very different way, one as unique as the reasons people love this place. Trying to reinvent the way I see and tell stories all while learning a new medium, video, was one of the best experiences I’ve had since picking up a camera. I left the questions simple and the conversation open while interviewing each subject in the video piece. Having known most of the subjects in the piece from previous times I’ve spent with them it was a wonderful, relaxing experience to just sit down and talk about things they find comfort in.

I hope you enjoy the piece as much as I enjoyed producing it.

Best,

Brad Vest

www.bradvest.com

For my first attempt … (Soul of Athens Blog)

Fri, 02 Jul 2010 14:00:17 +0200

at creating multimedia, I did not make it easy on myself in choosing a subject. The Nelsonville Bypass is obviously a big story in the Southeast Ohio region, and I had not seen anyone cover the issue in a way that satisfied me. The Bypass is a very large project, impacting the region, the city, and the people of Nelsonville in many ways. It was very difficult for me to find a starting place. Many who were most affected by the construction of the Bypass were unwilling to talk about it. They found it too sensitive or too close of a subject to speak about. With some applied time and effort, I finally began to make some headway. I met Ed Moleski, a homeowner whose land had been taken by the Bypass. Other elements of the story fell into place soon thereafter.

At the same time, I was also producing the story, “Love, Aged to Perfection” for the ‘Thrive’ Pod. I had gathered content for that story earlier in the school year. I learned a lot in the process of creating two multimedia pieces for in the space of a couple of months. I am so thankful to the people who helped me endure the long hours and who provided the guidance to follow the projects through to the end. I could not have finished “Clearing the Way” without the help of the ‘Shelter’ senior producers Andrea Morales and Ty Wright. They were steadfast believers throughout the project. Danielle Kees and Davis Kramer created stunning infographics and motion graphics to accompany the piece, and I could not be happier with the energy that we gathered as a pod to create an inspiring package of stories that we are all excited about.

These are some out-takes from a night shoot from just outside of the construction site. We really liked how they looked, but we couldn’t manage to fit them logically into the storyline.

Jim McAuley

Soul of Athens has been a new and exciting… (Soul of Athens Blog)

Thu, 01 Jul 2010 14:00:32 +0200

Soul of Athens has been a new and exciting project for me. I’m from Athens so being part of this group was a great opportunity for me to share my ideas about the town I’ve grown up in. I’ve had a chance to meet some really cool people that are really good at what they do. My group has taught me a lot about teamwork and working toward a mutual goal. I look forward to being part of Soul of Athens again in my senior year, 2011. I think next time I will try to better manage my time in order to have a very successful story. The time that the senior producers put in with me and the rest of the group, really helped pull things together. Getting to know everyone and learning the long process, have definitely been the best parts of Soul of Athens this year.

Davis Kramer

Creating “Away” (Soul of Athens Blog)

Tue, 29 Jun 2010 14:00:31 +0200

I am really excited about telling the story, “Away” because it’s about people who are trying to make the best out of a negative situation. Toni, the mother in my piece, recently moved from Chauncey to Athens so that her son Josh could come out of the place he has been court ordered to live at and be removed from the environment that got him in trouble. Given that Toni is in a wheelchair, the move shows such motivation. Josh is now at the Hocking Valley Community Residential Center (HVCRC), a juvenile rehabilitation center, in Nelsonville, Ohio for boys between 12 and 18 who have commit a federal offense. Josh is has been there since February of 2010 for theft and drug related charges.

I have been going to HVCRC since October of 2009. There are a lot of stories there to be told. I felt drawn to Toni and Josh’s story after meeting them in February. Toni was smoking a cigarette outside of HVCRC with her partner Wanda. We conversed about the things that Toni would do for her son to come out of HVCRC, finish high school and go to college. After the conversation I grew closer to both Toni and Josh and decided their story was important because it communicates solutions. Though Josh is still at HVCRC he hopes that he can get out before the end of this school year in order to graduate with his high school class.

The image was taken at an event that HVCRC put on for a special Saturday “Family Fun Day”. Josh is on the left with his cousin on his shoulders. Toni sits front and center wearing an FBI shirt.

Dania Maxwell
www.daniapatricia.com

Interview: Hurting, Healing and Living Music with Andy Six of Black Veil Brides (ACRN News)

Tue, 29 Jun 2010 00:00:00 +0200

Black Veil Brides vocalist Andy Six wants his band to band to be the biggest in the world and wants to experience it all with a fanbase that has become a family to him.

Read the full article here.

Black Veil Brides vocalist Andy Six wants his band to band to be the biggest in the world and wants to experience it all with a fanbase that has become a family to him.

Read the full article here.

Oh hello there… (Soul of Athens Blog)

Mon, 28 Jun 2010 14:00:50 +0200

How did I get this tan? You are so observant! No I don’t sun bathe on college green, i’m too shy for that. Really this quarter my attention was placed on one thing: Soul of Athens. Yes I got this pasty complexion by spending the quarter with a fantastic group of people, the 2010 SOA web team. (insert heroic music) The amount of time, energy, and pizza spent by this fine group of people is insane. In 10 weeks we cranked out a site that we are all proud of and to top it off it’s the most accessible yet. I mean caps for the web team wouldn’t be out of the question.

On the web team I was on the server side team- we handled Drupal, a content management system that has been utilized by Soul of Athens for the last two years. It is a very powerful open source software. My role was to set up Drupal and create a structure for our site. Organizing how content will enter the site, be collected, and aggregated.

We created a structure that allowed the students to log into the site and fill out our custom forms and that information would appear on the site based on what we asked for. It seems like nothing, someone answers a couple of questions about themselves or fills in the title of their video and it appears on the site after you hit refresh. The first time I saw that I was bubbling over with joy! It was very cool. So all the information you see on the credits page, for the most part, was typed by that student. Same is true for the headline on the content, the description and the transcript. Once the students had filled out their story form for example, we could go in, and upload their video, the thumbnail , and click the aspect ration. In the 9th week we were able to have a gathering of the senior producers and ask them to look over their editions in Drupal and adjust or point out the errors. To have them all logged in and fixing spelling errors, or adjusting descriptions in my opinion made for a better end product. Drupal allowed us to have 60 plus people contribute to the site.

Looking back at what we did and how we went about accomplishing it I would have adjusted a few things. Mostly clarifying the structure of the forms I created, and clarifying exactly how Drupal works to the SOA class. The latter might have helped us avoid a section of Moby Dick being used as transcript filler- thankfully Jill Bateman made a last minute catch. Man that was close! It wasn’t all smooth sailing, but the content management system made the process so much easier than the alternative.

There is no question that the process is intense, and challenging. The process was also fun, and I learned so much alongside my team. Thank you Zach, Brian, Dustin, Tony, John, Corey, Sam, Jill, Jonathan, and of course our fearless (sleepless) leader Brandon.

Christina Baird
Drupal Developer & Marketing Senior Producer
www.christinaeiler.com

Live Review: LMFAO / BoMA / Columbus, Ohio / June 17, 2010 (ACRN News)

Sat, 26 Jun 2010 00:00:00 +0200

BoMa, Columbus's Premiere Event Venue, hosted a night full of electronic beats and bizarre aesthetics with acts like DJ Haze, Dirty Disco Kidz and the Party Rock Crew.

Read the full article here.

BoMa, Columbus's Premiere Event Venue, hosted a night full of electronic beats and bizarre aesthetics with acts like DJ Haze, Dirty Disco Kidz and the Party Rock Crew.

Read the full article here.

Album Review: The Gaslight Anthem - American Slang (ACRN News)

Tue, 22 Jun 2010 00:00:00 +0200

Its the scene of rusting away and nostalgia that American Slangs sound evokes: a sound both expected and unexpected from the New Jersey band that worked with producer Ted Hutt on Slang and whose previous album paid a more punk-marinated ode to the past.

Read the full article here.

Album Review: Against Me! - White Crosses (ACRN News)

Sun, 20 Jun 2010 00:00:00 +0200

"White Crosses" is a decent release carried by its lyrics but without many surprises.

Read the full article here.

"White Crosses" is a decent release carried by its lyrics but without many surprises.

Read the full article here.

Live Review: The New Pornographers / Newport Music Hall / Columbus, Ohio / June 13, 2010 (ACRN News)

Fri, 18 Jun 2010 00:00:00 +0200

On June 13, The New Pornographers treated a dedicated audience to a 22-song set full of oldies, newbies and overall goodies.

Read the full article here.

On June 13, The New Pornographers treated a dedicated audience to a 22-song set full of oldies, newbies and overall goodies.

Read the full article here.

SOA Rollercoaster Ride: (Soul of Athens Blog)

Tue, 15 Jun 2010 14:00:52 +0200

This project for SOA was a lot like a rollercoaster ride: fun, thrilling, scary, and even had a few twists and turns. When I initially started this project it was literally like I was standing in line for a ride that common sense was telling me I didn’t have to go on. I was nervous, concerned, [...]

This project for SOA was a lot like a rollercoaster ride: fun, thrilling, scary, and even had a few twists and turns.

When I initially started this project it was literally like I was standing in line for a ride that common sense was telling me I didn’t have to go on. I was nervous, concerned, and a little confused as to what I was doing and why. I was placed in the Shelter edition and encouraged to go out and find a story. I had a basic idea, focused on religion and how it gives people a spiritual shelter, and two amazing people to photograph, Betsy and Briju.

The actual photo shoots were the climb up the first big hill. Anticipation for creating beautiful photographs and the overall final piece was building! I can’t thank Betsy and Briju enough for opening up all aspects of their lives to me, while also teaching me about Indian culture and letting me taste some amazing cooking! (I honestly had no idea that people in India used so much coconut!) Ty and Andrea, the senior producers for Shelter, gave me tons of advice and encouragement for the story, so thanks you two! And by the end of my first round of content gathering I was on the descent of that hill; I had photos to edit, a story line to lock-in, and a rush of adrenalin and freedom.

However, at week 4 my project took an interesting twist: I switched editions! Basically, I was prepared to climb up another hill; instead I was jerked left for a loop-d-loop. A couple hours before my interview with Betsy and Briju, I found out that my story would now be in Passage. So not only did I need to shift the storyline of my piece, I also started working with people (senior procedures, producers, and other Passage content creators) who had only a very vague idea of what my story was. However, Kayana, Kate, and Marcus (new senior producers) were all very nice and helpful with my piece. They gave me advice for my interview and also gave me some more shooting tips for the next big hill I went up, again with building anticipation, for my final content gathering opportunities.

Now the ride was supposed to be slowing down, with only a couple of small little bumps along the way; content was gathered, editing was taking place, and production was starting to happen (thanks Annette!). However, the day before my final rough draft was due, I found out that Betsy went into pre-term labor (at 28 weeks) and had been rushed to Columbus! Talk about coming up to a corkscrew without any notice! To make a long story short, the basic storyline that I had in previous rough drafts got completely re-worked that night and a new story was slowly emerging.

After that, the ride slowly started to level out and the exit platform was getting closer. Other than a few technical blips (and the fact that I still have only very minimal skills in Final Cut Pro) and a couple more late nights at Alden, I was able to finish my project with the help of some fellow riders (Annette and Marcus in particular with production).

At this point the ride is now pulling into the gate and the safety bars are lifting up. All I can say is that this experience has overall been hectic, crazy, stressful, exhilarating, fun… and totally worth it!

-Kylie Schafer

P.S. Betsy and Briju had a boy, Rufus, and he is doing well!

Playing in the Band (Soul of Athens Blog)

Mon, 14 Jun 2010 15:00:59 +0200

I love music. As such, when I came to Appalachia, I knew I wanted to explore the rich tradition of bluegrass, country, old time, and gospel music that still pervades the area. I have played guitar for many years and I recently started playing the mandolin, so I had an easy way to connect with [...]

These musicians are not famous country stars, nor do they have any aspirations to be famous. They are people for whom music is a natural part of their everyday lives. The play music purely for the joy of playing music. Much of the footage was gathered in the homes of the artists to showcase the lifestyle and cultural traits of the area and its people.

The short film, portrait series, and online archive will all be constantly updated at the website: www.banksoftheohio.com. The people of Appalachia were wonderful and generous in sharing their lives with me, and I realize that there will never be a shortage or musicians or generous people, so this project will continue for the foreseeable future.

Josh Birnbaum
joshbirnbaum.com
banksoftheohio.com

From left, uncle Jesse and aunt Linda, Larry and his wife, Martha, and I gathered for a jam at Martha's garage in Vinton, Ohio, on Sunday, May 23, 2010.

Doug Crabtree plays banjo in the backyard of Martha Whitlatch in Vinton, Ohio, on Sunday, May 30, 2010. Doug plays fiddle, banjo, mandolin, guitar, and dobro, just to name a few.

Live Review: Benny Benassi / BoMA / Columbus, Ohio / June 10, 2010 (ACRN News)

Mon, 14 Jun 2010 00:00:00 +0200

As the night crawled forward, the Building of Modern Arts displayed a spotlight that accented the top front of the former church's architectural majesty. The BoMA logo magnated a crowd of girls in minis to glowstick ravers. What exactly was it signaling? The return of Italian electro house DJ maven Benny Benassi, of course.

Read the full article here.

Album Review: Grace Potter & The Nocturnals - Grace Potter & The Nocturnals (ACRN News)

Sun, 13 Jun 2010 00:00:00 +0200

The state of Vermont has never been known for its contributions to the musical fabric of the United States. This is where Grace Potter comes in.

Read the full article here.

The state of Vermont has never been known for its contributions to the musical fabric of the United States. This is where Grace Potter comes in.

Read the full article here.

Over the last few years of riding my bike… (Soul of Athens Blog)

Sat, 12 Jun 2010 14:00:24 +0200

down the Athens Bike Path, I constantly passed a set of abandoned boxcars, occasionally stopping with friends to hang out on top of them. It took two years of seeing this plot of land and a few houses to question what the land was used for. One day I decided to find out and was [...]

I learned about the Good Earth Farm and what it did for the community. I was invited into their home for church services, meals, and volunteer workdays, along with access to document their lives. The church gave me a new perspective on relating land with religion. Everyone was welcoming and eager to share their outlooks on life, though they did not force it on anyone. They are merely a group of like-minded individuals living their lives in the most efficient ways possible, always with their eyes set on the greater good. It was a pleasure meeting this group of people and being able to share their unique way of life.

Dan Krauss
Dankraussphoto.com

I have been a big fan of Soul of Athens… (Soul of Athens Blog)

Fri, 11 Jun 2010 15:00:57 +0200

for the past three years. I eagerly awaited the launch of the site every June, took time to watch as many stories as I could, and asked my friends who were part of SOA countless questions about the project. This is my last quarter at OU, and I was determined that I would not sit on [...]

This is my last quarter at OU, and I was determined that I would not sit on the sidelines of Soul of Athens this year. I wanted to be part of the experience.

I went into Soul of Athens with a story in mind, but unfortunately it fell through within the first week. I volunteered to be part of another project, which I worked on for a few weeks before it too fell through. I was still determined to participate in SOA any way I could, and my senior producers recommended that I begin another project with Julia Dose and Becca Quint.

We began putting together The Road to Athens at a fairly late stage in the Soul of Athens process, but we gave it everything we could. We wanted our project to serve as a short introduction to what Athens, Ohio is like.

The project could not have been completed without the help of the entire Expression Team, several of whom volunteered images for the project and the help of our senior producers Jennifer Cecil and Josh Birnbaum. It was a group effort, and the experience was all that I hoped for when I joined Soul of Athens.

Rachel Yoke
“The Road To Athens”

http://rachelyokephotography.blogspot.com

OUCCC: RT @hiramf: no 180 tonight? I feel so lost... @ouccc (Campus Crusade)

Fri, 11 Jun 2010 08:26:01 +0200

OUCCC: RT @hiramf: no 180 tonight? I feel so lost... @oucccOUCCC: RT @hiramf: no 180 tonight? I feel so lost... @ouccc

I started my project… (Soul of Athens Blog)

Thu, 10 Jun 2010 15:00:03 +0200

Wee Wrestling, just weeks into my winter quarter picture story class. Over
the course of about six weeks, I covered three matches and a couple practices with the Athens
Youth Wrestling program.

My favorite part about working with the wrestlers and their parents was how accepting they
were in allowing me to document their relationships with one another. While I do a large amount of sports photography work, I rarely have the chance to focus on the moments happening around the event. For Wee Wrestling, I did just the opposite, and got some of my favorite images of my career.

- Joel Hawksley