Mock the Vote!

As we gear up for our coverage of the 2007 Westminster Mock Convention, I pieced together a quick promo as a prototype for a BC 251 assignment.

Homecoming 2007 Parade Highlights

"Caitlyn May" Honored As Runner Up at Iris Film Fest

Congratulations go out to Mike Wolenski, Andy Polack, Julie Kepins & Ashley Pierson and their film "Who Knows What 'Caitlyn May' Do..." The project was honored as the runner up in the short documentary division in the 2007 Iris Film Festival. Festival organizers featured "Caitlyn May" during Saturday night's screenings at the Clifton Theater in Huntingdon, PA. I'd like to offer congratulations to Penn State faculty member Jerry Zolten and his documentary "Roxie Moore: A Life of Song" which took the top prize.


I was impressed by the eclectic choice of entries in the various categories from filmmakers of all ages. Iris reaches out to the novice as well as the struggling filmmakers with $30,000 budgets trying to strike deals with Hollywood studios. We enjoyed meeting other college students with class projects as well as high school teachers with a knack for storytelling.

I also enjoyed hearing from Edinboro University's Brad Pattullo on stop-motion animation. Pattullo was gracious enough to share his current project with those of us in the audience-- an amazing stop-motion mockumentary about his craft.

Two gems I singled out in this event included an animated shorted called "Fish, But No Cigar" by Tara White and Lyn Elliot. My favorite of the entire festival was a wonderfully sincere story directed Alan Beck, a Bedford County high school teacher who recruited his students and fellow teachers as the cast. His movie, "Last Skate For Couples," is exactly what this kind of competition should celebrate. Beck provided me with a copy of his film to share with my students. "Last Skate For Couples" also took home the top prize for short feature.

The organizers of the Iris Film Festival marked their second year celebrating a diverse selection of projects created by Pennsylvania filmmakers. I look forward to submitting additional work from Westminster students in this up and coming festival.

Westminster Student-Produced Documentary Feature at Iris Film Festival

CONGATULATIONS FORMER MASS COMM/SOC 109 CLUSTER STUDENTS!

The 2007 Iris Film Festival will showcase a short documentary produced and directed by Westminster College students.

"Who Knows What Caitlyn May Do..." was produced for the communications/sociology cluster course during the spring 2007 semester. The 13-minute film introduces the audience to three-year-old Caitlyn May Hickman, a child with Down syndrome, and her family: Lisa, Jason, and Leah Hickman. The family shares insights to remind the viewer that while life may seem rough at times, viewing from a different perspective makes one aware of all life's gifts.

Executive producers are Dr. Virginia Tomlinson, associate professor of sociology and director of the Drinko Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning, and Bradley Weaver, instructor of broadcast communications. Dr. Mandy Medvin, professor of psychology, was also featured in the documentary. Weaver will represent the College at the festival, Sept. 21-23, at the historic Clifton Theater in Huntingdon.

Students involved in the writing, direction and production of the documentary are:

Julie Kepins, a senior psychology major, is a daughter of James and Cindy Kepins of Murrysville and a graduate of Franklin Regional High School.

Ashley Pierson, a senior financial economics major, is a daughter of James and Kara Pierson of Wellsville, Ohio, and a graduate of Wellsville Local High School.

Andrew Polack, a senior computer science and mathematics major, is a son of Samuel and Barbara Polack of Abingdon, Md., and a graduate of Edgewood High School.

Michael Wolenski, a 2007 Westminster graduate with a degree in broadcast communications, is a son of Thomas and Maureen Wolenski of Butler and a graduate of Peters Township High School.

Visit www.irisfilmfestival.org for additional information.

The County Line SHOW OPEN

The County Line debuts on WCN on Thursday, September 20, 2007.
Live and local on New Wilmington Cable 9, Comcast (Lawrence County) Channel 10.

The BC 601 Titan Traverse VIdeo (Spider Pig Version)

Here's the original "automovie" version of the Capstone @ Titan Traverse video.

You can CLICK here for all the BC Capstone Titan Traverse pix- www.flickr.com

A New Season of BC Capstone

BC Capstone students are now refining abstracts to define their senior projects and a research question that will allow them to move forward on researching and planning their work this semester. While they work on this, they’ll also develop a focus for their weblogs as they craft and publish their mission statements online.

Here’s the complete link list to the BC 2007-08 student blogs:

• Danielle A.
• Josh A. & Sunset Gardens
• Tom B.
• Jill C.
• Alex H.
• Clarissa H.
• David G.
• Pam M.
• Terese M.
• Chris N.
• T.J.
• Sky Y.

In class the next week we will meet at Titan Traverse for a twist on the liberal arts experience in higher education as we work on bonding as a capstone class and goal making for the coming year. Students must be at Titan Traverse by 2:00 Thursday afternoon (September 6). Please don’t keep the staff there waiting (being on time is an asset of a professional). Wear comfortable shoes and clothing that will allow for climbing, crawling, swinging, etc. I’m throwing on a little bug repellant as well.

We’ll tag out the conclusion of the semester with another Titan Traverse outing which will stand in for the final exam period. The only way not to get the final exam points on December 12 from 3:00-5:30 is not to participate. So please mark your calendars now that BC 601’s final will be a chance to decompress from all the other stress of final exams while also taking stock of your Capstone efforts of charting goals and social and professional networking you have in place as you wrap up your time at Westminster.

www.titanradio.net

Titan Radio Welcomes New Students to Campus!!!

MOCK CONVENTION FLASHBACK

With the 2008 Westminster College Mock Convention jumping from spring to fall semester, The County Line crew at WCN and Titan Radio News will need to hustle. I've started posting clips from the 2004 Mock Convention Coverage on YouTube to help students get a feel for how the convention works. It's also a nice way to reach out to those grads who lead the way four years ago.

2008 Presidential Mock Convention Slides Back Into 2007

from Titan Radio- August 16, 2007
The presidential campaign comes early in New Wilmington as the 2008 Westminster College Mock Convention will take place this November. That's three months earlier than originally planned. Convention faculty advisor James Rhoads, associate professor of political science, says a combination of early campaigns and primaries forced the College to move up the Westminster event. The Convention changes to a Wednesday-Thursday night schedule on November 7 and 8. The location will also change to the Witherspoon Rooms in the McKelvey Campus Center. The Mock Convention has taken place traditionally on a Thursday-Friday schedule in early February in Memorial Field House.

"The last several Conventions have had to move earlier and earlier due to the political parties moving up their primary schedules," Rhoads said. "This year, we have moved into the fall semester. In addition to the change in dates, we are instituting a year-long series of events to coincide with the presidential selection process."

When California moved its primary election date to February 5, 2008, it turned up the heat on presidential campaigns forcing them to begin nearly a year earlier. In Pennsylvania, Governor Rendell supported a move to change the Keystone State's primary to February. However, the initiative has failed to take root in the General Assembly. Nearly 40 other states will hold primaries before Pennsylvania's May primary election in 2008.

This year the Mock Convention will mirror the Democratic National Convention. Campus tradition dictates the event focus on the party not in control of the White House. Westminster's Mock Convention is recognized as the second oldest in the country as it began in 1936 founded by political science professor Thomas Mansell. The Convention started as an effort to educate students and cultivate participation in the political process of a presidential election.

USA Network's "Burn Notice" Burning Up My TiVo

Get out the SPF 30 as my TiVo helped me discover a stylish, new character-driven guilty pleasure for my summer viewing pleasure. It's USA's "Burn Notice." Well-written dialogue, good acting and some stylish directing make this Miami-set twist on the "spy" comedy/drama fun to watch. It promises to tell the story of what happens when spies get fired. That's exactly what the main character does with a McGyveresque approach as he improvises to make spy gadgets on a dollar store budget. The show's hero is glib, out of work tough guy/secret agent Michael Westen (Jeffrey Donovan). He often reveals details of his life as a spy during voice-overs vignettes while he's working episode-length freelance gigs he picks up to make an extra buck.

His mother (Sharon Gless) and a sexy ex-girlfriend, former IRA operative Fiona (Gabrielle Anwar), trade one-liners as they're forced to come together in this light-hearted look at unemployed spies. The second episode even pokes fun at cop shows while paying homage to Gless with a reference to "Cagney and Lacy" (if memory serves me, Gless played Christine Cagney...geez I would have been in high school back then). Westen's trying to figure out who burned him-- each episode he gets a little closer-- he really wants his job back. In the meantime, he'll champion the underdog for a price and ends up turning the tables on Miami baddies like drug smugglers and corrupt real estate tycoons.


He can do what the cops can't do and he does it with style while also being tailed by the FBI as the people who burned him are still keeping tabs. While he wants to be a loner, he'll need to learn to be the ex-spy who loves his mother and old girlfriend to get ahead. The show's topical sarcasm and likeable cast of misfit characters have a cool rhythm.


"Burn Notice" is fresh and much more entertaining than the worn "4400" which has morphed away from its original concepts and lost my interest. I never got into "Monk" as it came off too much like any other spin on the old "NBC Sunday Night Mystery Movie" formulas. While I once enjoyed "The Dead Zone" it seemed to go on forever...but now USA has put some heat back into summer television with "Burn Notice." The show sizzles against the few new things to watch including those tired, predictable summer reality shows.

From Westminster to Winchester TV 3

Look what commencement ceremonies will bring to campus… It’s Sebas! The world (at least the world in Winchester, VA) now knows him as TV 3’s Sebastian Salazar (a.k.a.Sebastian Driver- the man who created Titantown Sports at WCN). Sorry I didn’t have a chance to mingle after the commencement pageantry, Sebas.


You can keep up to date with this up and coming sportscaster online where his latest TV 3 sportscasts are posted. You can also check out his sports blog and leave comments. It seems like only yesterday he was shooting, editing, producing & anchoring sports on WCN.