I’m in Austin for my 2nd SXSW IA. Last year, it was huge and overwhelming and great. I wanted to have something to offer, but I wasn’t sure what it was. This year, I feel like all we all have to offer is our take on what’s going on in this amazing digital space, and how to navigate it.
I sat next to two college younguns from PRSSA (a great student public relations group) on the plane from Nashville. We geeked out, chatting out best practices and disclosure and etc., etc. And it occurs to me. I don’t know exactly what you’d call this thing that we do here on the internet- but I know that I love it, and I’m passionate about all the ways it can influence our lives.
So I want to know: How bout you? Whatcha doing? Whatcha working on? And most importantly, where do you want to be in a year?
Wow. Still in a bit of shock to be sitting in a hotel room in Los Angeles, fresh from twelve hours at the 2010 Red Carpet Kodak Bleachers. It was an experience I never expected, and will never forget.
Most of all, it was an homage to art- I’ll admit, I’ve often thought of the Oscars and the Red Carpet as a day for the pretty folk to preen for the cameras.
But the beauty of seeing it live was seeing all of the people who don’t make it on the TV- but who make the magic happen. the sound editors, the costume designers, the directors. The ones whom, when they walk down the red carpet, a hush falls over the crowd, as they try to figure out if they’re anyone to cheer for. But if their face isn’t well known, the assumption is that they’re not a star. (UNLESS you’re in Bleacher Section B, where we cheered ourselves hoarse for the “nobodies”- much to their bemusement and befuddlement.) Read the rest of this entry »
Well. In a sentence I never thought I’d write, I’ll be heading to the Oscars Red Carpet on Sunday. (I mean, I’m DRAMATIC, but an OSCAR?)
Oh, wait. Right. I’m not GETTING one- despite my mom’s many recommendations of my adolescent ouvre being Oscar-worthy! No, I’ll be warming the Red Carpet Bleachers for Kodak, whose Chief Blogger Jenny Cisney kindly invited me to join ten other bloggers in rocking the red carpet observatory, Blogger-style.
The Twitter List of my comrades is Here. Some faces I know well, others I’m excited to get to know!
But what I’m most excited about: seeing beyond the airbrush. You know, the glam and glitz that Tinseltown is all about. At home, we get the perfect snapshot frozen in time, or the very carefully controlled camera angle as stars walk down the red carpet.
This view of the Oscars is 360 degrees. Not that I’m hoping for any wardrobe malfunctions or anything like that, but wouldn’t it be nice to see a star take her shoes off for a minute? Or catch the last minute hairpins going in before the Red Carpet promenade begins? Maybe I’m just dreaming, but one thing I love about blogging is that it reinforces how very human we all are.
So I’m excited to see the human side of the brightest stars- even if the human side is already perfectly coiffed, buffed, and Red-Carpet ready.
Which I am so, so not- I’m so glad that bleacher dress is casual-ish, as heels aren’t really safe for bleacher climbing. We can change up before the broadcast party at the El Capitan Theatre, but my general vibe is that no one’s expecting me to go head to head with Meryl Streep. (Note: She would win.)
Many have asked me to kiss Brad Pitt for them: to you I say, I fear the Angelina. Your missives will go undelivered. BUT I will send a general vibe of love to all the humans.
Note: Kodak has generously provided me with an Easyshare Z950 Camera and a ZX1 Videocamera to document the Oscars experience, and is covering travel costs. Please see my disclosure policy for any further information.
From my video archives that I’m finally editing: This was late Fall, I think NYC. My hubs is the bass player, so closest to the camera. We need an East Coast show in the Spring, but worse comes to worse there’s Bonnaroo in June. Note: That’s NOT me singing along very loudly. Really. I’m almost sure.:)