Finally! Some Good News!

I was taught an old saying many years ago, that "if you don't have something good to say, then don't say anything at all". It may not always be the wisest lesson (because sometimes we need 'constructive criticism' ), but it does make me want to stay positive. Since my last posting a lot of bad things have happened, including hospitalizations, financial woes, and Michigan winter. I suddenly found myself too busy, and frankly, too depressed to write about what we will be doing when we finally get our AYV equipment. I was tired of saying that we will be 'creating with purpose' soon, only to have to accept that I didn't know when (or if) we were going to get the needed equipment. I often felt that I just wanted to shut down the clubhouse until I knew we had the needed hardware.


I was also taught that "this too shall pass", meaning that all days are not going to be good (in fact, some may be down right horrible), but if you make it through it, you can make the next day better, and future days even better. I figured I'd start back writing this blog when the AYV equipment arrived. I knew that like the cold and gloomy days of winter in the D, the bad days would eventually pass. I really didn't think that it would be almost four months. I'm glad I'm a patient person. I am now excited that after so many months, we have finally started getting the hardware needed for AYV projects. Yeah! I have longed for this equipment for nearly a year! I have spoken and written about it until I couldn't anymore. Now, we've received only a few of the requested items, yet, I feel like pulling out the 'hallelujah trumpet'! It is a great day, because, when it comes to technology, being patient is always rewarded with better, faster, smarter! Case in point: 1) our computers should have been ordered with Windows Vista, but because of a two month delay...we got Windows 7 (Yeah!); 2) our award to join Adobe Youth Voices included licenses for Adobe's latest creative suite; when we were notified of the award in February 2010, the latest was version CS4; when we received the award in April 2010, it was version CS5; and 3) when I placed the initial order for video cameras, I requested the HD Flips, I like the current ones we have in the clubhouse because they capture good video, but, I thought, wouldn't it be nice if they could take a memory card (increase their storage capability) and take digital stills of at least 3mp resolution. I knew the Flip couldn't do these things, so I started looking around and, low and behold! I found the Kodak Xi8. It costs less. It is HD. It can take a SD card up to 32 GB. It takes stills up to 5mp. It includes a HDMI cable. It has a built-in USB connector (like the Flip). It has a rechargeable battery. It is a real winner! I love it! It hasn't passed the test of durability, but I am confident that because it is a Kodak product it will hold up.


Another great addition to the clubhouse is our green screen. There are so many cool things that can be done through green screen techniques that I am really looking forward to learning and helping to create awesome projects. So, let's see if we can put some of your ideas into a movie. What can you tell the world about living in Detroit? How should you display your image? What are some of your concerns? Who do you want to impact with your story? Why are the things that you want, need or should have important? Let's keep in mind that our goal is the Create with Purpose and let's go make some great videos!