CLOSE UP by Brian Rudnick

Grandpop goes digital

Garland Thompson was monkeying around with a large camera on the bench just outside the Allens Lane Art Center when, as I was about to go in, I paused to talk with him. Thompson who took his first photography class at Allens Lane 42 years ago, is a professional journalist. He had just recently purchased this, his first digital camera, and was saving the first shot to capture his grandson’s two year-old birthday celebration that same day. Soon he would be traveling to Panama from where he will report for the Philadelphia Tribune and WYRP radio in Baltimore.

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YOU’VE BEEN DOING PHOTOGRAPHY SINCE… Since 1969 when I learned here at Allens Lane Art Center with a photographer named Larry Kanefsky. He taught us how to do the lab stuff as well as composition tricks and all kinds of nice stuff. OK, so this is my camera, it’s a Canon single lens reflex camera. I bought it because it is an SLR Seeing is the difficulty with a camera rather than hearing (oops, let me get the dot) You can tell I’m not real familiar with it, I just got it! (There we go) I bought this camera so I could shoot my grandson but also because I’m going to Panama. I’m going to be doing some reporting for WYPR radio in Baltimore and, among other things, I helped to convince them that radio in the Internet age is really TV, and they had to do pictures. too. So I’m going to do some stories for them and also bring back some stories for the Philadelphia Tribune, one of my old papers and, some probably who knows, some will be souvenir shots. So that’s my big thing. I bought this camera so I could get back into photography which I used to truly love ‘cause it’s so fascinating. Now I’m really quite fearful that it’ll be too absorbing. So that’s my story. YOU’RE GOING DIGITAL TODAY? I’m going digital today. AND THE FIRST THING YOU’RE TAKING WITH THIS YOU SAY IS? My grandson Joshua Monk is two this week and we’re having a celebration for his birthday. So I’m going to go, be grandpop, and shoot his pictures. HAVEN’T SHOT A SINGLE THING YET? No, I haven’t shot the first thing. I’ve been very careful to not shoot anything so that Josh is the first thing I do. Journalist and author Garland Thompson.

Epilogue: “What I like about it is it has a diopter adjust. I can actually look through this camera and not use my glasses There’s a diopter lens adjustment."

Watch video here

Grand wedding in India to follow

Vinita Dora, a masters student in public health in Saint Louis and Karthik Gowrishankar who works in IT in Los Angeles were getting ready for their engagement party the next day at the Hill Stead Museum in Farmington, Connecticut, Vinita’s home town. They met online, then met in person, fell in love, and “wanted to take it forward” says Karthik. They then introduced themselves to their prospective in-laws which involved Karthik’s parents travelling to the States from Chennai. The bride’s family is originally from Bombay. A grand wedding will follow next year in India. Watch video interview here.

Adventist basketball player seeks gig in Israel

Kelvin Green hopes to play professional basketball in Israel, where the Jewish sabbath coincides with the sabbath he observes as a practicing Seventh-Day Adventist. Watch video interview taken outside House of Produce in Mount Airy, Philadelphia.

Israelis jail him for peaceful protest

Lucas Koerner from the Mount Airy section of Philadelphia talks about being seriously roughed up and arrested by Israeli police as seen in the video here during a trip with a peace group to Israel. He was subsequently jailed for two days for peacefully protesting the annual Jersulem Day parade which celebrates Israel's capture of East Jerusalem during the 1967 Mideast War.  Koerner reports that this was the first time that the parade was deliberately winding its way through an Arab neighborhood. Watch interview here.

Nuclear faith, nuclear fears- workmates differ on energy alternatives

Workmates Stephen McShane and Jarek Heljak (seated on other side of table) of Northeast Philadelphia talk about the nuclear plant crisis in Japan and energy generation alternatives. McShane has a Japanese friend whose parents in Sendai were far west enough to have only lost power. He expressed grave concerns about water and food contamination and favors solar or wind energy. Heljak, who says his native Poland relies on coal and has no nuclear plants due to the expense, favors nuclear. Starbucks Coffee, Chestnut Hill. Watch video interview here.

Vancouver librarian volunteers in Galapagos

Sally Taylor, a university reference librarian from Vancouver, Canada is finishing up an 8-month stint as a volunteer librarian at the Charles Darwin Research Station in the Galapagos. She spoke via Skype from her home in the town of Puerto Ayora on Isla Santa Cruz about her work which includes finding materials for staff and volunteers and emptying the dehumidifier. She’s also had the opportunity to do touristy things like a cruise to see flora and the albatrosses nesting on the island of Española. The station is advertising for a volunteer librarian to succeed her. Sally blogs about her adventures on the equator at http://blogs.ubc.ca/galapagos/

Watch Skype interview here.

Vintage motorcycles ship to England

WHAT’S THE STORY WITH ALL THE MOTORCYCLES?
They’re all heading to England.There’s a big craze there right now with these older Japanese motorcycles forrestoring. So we traveled around North Jerseyand bought ten and were heading back. AND HOW DO THEY COME TO BE HERE INCHESTNUT HILL? I live in Wyndmoor. A friend of mine is a motor cycle dealer in England so hesent me on a mission to get 10 of these old bikes. It’s taken me about twomonths but I found them. HOW OLD ARE THEY AND WHAT’S SO SPECIAL ABOUT THEM? Theoldest is 1970 and the newest is 1976. They’re all two-stroke engines which youcan’t buy anymore because of the emissions. And they’re becoming rarer andrarer. Some just rot away in garages. Others get in accidents and stuff andjust by attrition they get rarer and rarer. So they got some real value to themnow. HOW DO YOU GO ABOUT FINDING THEM? Mostly through caigslist. I got a coupleon eBay but almost purely on craigslist. But then you have to do a phoneinterview and really get down to nitty-gritty and asking prudent questions andfinding out what they have and then maybe it’s worth traveling 100 miles topick them up. AND WHICH IS YOUR PRIZE HERE? I would say these two.  It’s purely a money thing although I’d like to keep them. WHAT ARE THEY WORTH? Here they’re probably not worth more than$2000; in England,$5000, maybe 6 if you get the right buyer. Each of them cost about $400 to getto England and obviously there’s a profit to be made. Marc Bagwell, left,a contractor who lives in Wyndmoor with his brother-in-law Jack Leamy, of Chestnut Hill.
Watch video here.

Marie Colette, Paintre on the protests in France over retirement age

WHAT’S GOING ON IN FRANCE? “In France, the people, I think have been too spoiled because before Mitterand, the retirement was at 65. But to be voted for, [they] reduced it to 60 years old. And that was when- 1982?...Of course with all this booming of the new generation, there is not enough money to pay for social security and retirement for everybody so we have to extend again, from 60 to 62. The problem comes from that- only the two years. And I think the French are really spoiled. Students of 15 from the school, who don’t even care so much just do that manifestation. And Sarkozy said, ‘That’s enough, I’m going to pass the law anyway.’ ” Marie Collette of Glenside, a native of Champagne, Reims,  walking her dog Maya in Chestnut Hill, where she has had a shop for many years showcasing her painted furniture and murals. Watch video here.

 

Richard Morais' Hundred Foot Journey

WHAT DO YOU LIKE ABOUT READING YOUR BOOK ALOUD? “As you can see I’m a bit of a ham and authors love talking about themselves. Nothing gives them more pleasure. I actually always wanted to be an actor so I realized early enough on that I wasn’t a stable enough person to be an actor because it’s a very unstable life and the ragged edges of my personality would be magnified in that situation so I decided to be a writer… The next time I went down to Bombay, there was an actor who introduced me and I was sort of inspired by his presence to put on an Indian accent and so I went home and I called my wife up and I said, “Yeah I think it went pretty well. I read in an Indian accent” And she said, “Tell me you didn’t.” [Audience laughter] And the reason I say this is that the way I’m reading it now is the way I hear it. One of the great things about fiction writing is for a little while you can pretend you’re not who you are. You can pretend you’re someone else in the world. And that is the great joy and liberation of fiction writing.” Richard Morais, author, The Hundred Foot Journey. Watch video and Morais reading aloud from book in Indian accent here.

From Togo to snow on Christmas

I HAVEN'T SEEN PEOPLE OUT HERE ON CROSS COUNTRY SKIS. DO YOU GET OUT HERE MUCH ON THEM? Andrew Jacobs (left): "This is my first time." Steven Jacobs: " This is actually our first time. I just got a pair for Christmas so I decided to come out with my brother. He just got back from the Peace Corps." AJ: "It's my first time on snow in a long time. My Dad has been out three or four times so far. It's great. I can't remember the last time I was in the Wissahickon there was snow on the ground at Christmas.” SJ: "It's a pretty hysterical thing being able to ski in the middle of Philadelphia." WHERE WERE YOU IN THE PEACE CORPS? AJ: "I was in Togo, in West Africa. So there was not much snow there, needless to say. HOW ARE THINGS IIN TOGO? AJ: "It's a very interesting, culturally rich country but they have a lot of problems. They have a long ways to go in terms of development. But it's peaceful, non-violent, which I think is a big plus in Africa. But in due time I think they'll start to make some advances. But it's great to be back in the U.S.-" SJ: "It's good to have him back" AJ: "..be with the family for Christmas." Forbidden Drive, Christmas Day. Click here to watch video interview.