Producers In A Panic Over Final Cut X

Final Cut X was just released. We'd like to tell you that we're bringing you the latest and greatest ASAP-est, however, we might have to sit back and watch the bodies pile up first.  Editors ARE NOT happy and MC staff and volunteers who have tried the new version are giving it a thumbs down.  So we will not be bringing you FCP Pro X anytime soon.

However, allow me to refer you to this excellent article from the Times last Wednesday about what might be deemed wrong with the latest version and then why Apple might have deigned to release such an inferior product.

And finally here is a viral video of Conan's editors' opinions of FCP Pro X from yesterday's show.  The question is why would such smart company like APPLE release such a boneheaded version?  Are they going to stop supporting FCP which has over 50% of the pro-editing market?  Are they going all in on the IPad and IPhone and hanging the huge pro market out to dry?  (Did I just mixed 2 metaphors in 1 sentence???  Must be because I'm in a tizzy over FCP!) 

MC Producer Terrance Abdullah Dead at 43

Terrance Abdullah 

The Media Center is saddened and shocked to announce the death of a Studio producer.  Terrance Abdullah was 43 when he was killed on the Dumbarton Bridge on Tuesday.  His car was stalled and was hit from behind by another car.  We grieve along with community of East Palo Alto where his family and many friends live and where he visited often.

A resident of Fremont, Terrance Abdullah was a most interesting fellow.  He had survived the backstory that plagues too many of our young males of color - drop out, drugs and incarceration.   With a singleness of purpose he overcame all of that.  A small business owner, he devoted himself to transforming his life and influencing his community to work for change.  Earlier this month he produced his first and only episode of BRIDGING THE CORPORATE GAP.   The show addresses the lack of people of color in the Silicon Valley workforce and the patterns that perpetuate this glaring omission -- including not only ongoing racial prejudice and the educational/economic divide, but even the mindset of a child who learns early to self-limit expectations.    The guests on this - the only episode that will be produced - are a retired educator from DeAnza and the head of Job Train, two of Terrence's own mentors along his road to self actualization.

I knew Mr. Abdullah (called affectionately Tip - by his friends) only professionally.  I can assure you that I never got to call him Tip!  In fact, I  knew very little of his background until I read the articles about him.   What I did know of Terrance:  he was the kind of guy that will push whatever and whoever to get the job done, to do what he knows is right.  Having a conversation with him was at times like going several rounds with a well matched sparring partner.  And to his credit he always seemed to get what he wanted out of me!   He was always polite but forceful and dogged.   That's the making of a good producer.  He was bright, passionate and determined to fulfill his vision.  Why he is no longer with us baffles and grieves us here at the Media Center.

Terrance's untimely and completely unnecessary death is a very sad reminder that we are all so fragile here, and a call to rededicate our own lives to doing what really matters to us... like Terrence was doing, up until the very moment he left us.

To learn more about the life and times of Terrance Abdullah, please read Henrietta Bourrough's thoughtful article in her online and print publication EPA Today.

Wes Rapaport Receives Highest Honor Paly Can Bestow

I had the distinct pleasure of being at the Palo Alto High School Graduation ceremony today. I went there to support Wes Rapaport.  Wes --  as anyone who has given the Media Center more than a passing glance over the past six years knows -- has given a great deal of his time in service to the Media Center.  Well it turns out, no surprise to us, that he has given a great deal of himself whereever he has gone.  And whereever he has gone he has left an indelible and positive mark.  Everybody loves this guy.

So before his 400 classmates and the two thousand family and friends of the school community, Palo Alto High School conferred upon Wes the 2011 Viking Award.  Now this award is NOT given out every year.  It is at the discretion of the faculty and more often than not it is not given out.  On average, it is awarded every ten years!  The Award was presented by Wes's journalism teacher Mike McNulty, who read a veritable litany of four years of Wes' contributions to Paly staff, administration, students and the greater community.  Mr. McNulty reported that the faculty and staff easily came to consensus about honoring Wes with the Viking Award, that the decision was"virtually unanimous".

We at the Media Center are extremely proud of Wes and congratulate him on being so recognized by his high school community... and if you are interested in learning about the award that Wes won last week, read on....

Wes on the big screen at the PTA Council Luncheon

So last Friday, Wes was honored by the Palo Alto PTA Council at its annual Honorary Service Awards Luncheon.  These awards go to anyone in the community whose pursuit of service to the community has an enormous impact not only on the school community but on the community as a whole.  It is their highest accolade and the vetting for this award must be approved at the highest levels in the district.  So Wes was lured to the luncheon thinking he was honoring Mr. McNulty, his mentor at Paly, but the tables were turned when it was he, Wes, who received this top honor from the PTA Council.

Well Wes, I think you can just stop now and relax and enjoy your summer.  You have a few months until it's time to transform your college campus.   We are sure going to miss you around here... but something tells us you'll be back.  No one could give as much as you have to your town and not return to brighten its streets and avenues again!

We're bringing you a Special Menlo Park Planning Commission Meeting Live Tonight: Channel 26 at 7 pm

 

Tonight the city of Menlo Park is calling a special meeting of the Planning Commission to present and discuss the El Camino Real/Downtown Specific Plan Draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR).  They want to bring some changes to downtown.  The city seeks to promote growth while maintaining the village like quality.  How can they attract all Menlo Park residents to downtown to support local businesses?  What kind of businesses should be encouraged to set up shop?  Who is not being served by the current set up?  How can they change traffic patterns to accommodate and foster growth?   Here is a link to the agenda.

The meeting will play on Channel 26 at 7 pm.  And of course anytime it's on TV you can watch it right off our website!  Click here to visit our streaming page.

And if you can't watch tonight, you can watch this and all past Planning Commission and City Council Meetings for Menlo Park, right here.

For me as Programming Manager at the Media Center, this is what I really like about what we do.  The meeting was called with fairly late notice.  The City of Menlo Park called us to see a) could we provide them with a camera operator and b) could we could take it live?  Because we are local and super flexible we were able to say a resounding YES to both requests.

Where else are you going to get that kind of old fashioned "customer service?"  Only at your community television station!

Come see us.  We'll help you see yourself, the people you know and your community on TV and on the Web.  That's what we do.

CHILDHOOD OBESITY DOCUMENTARY SCREENS SUNDAY

Louise Pencavel, Media Center Staff Producer

Our own Louise Pencavel has produced a first of its kind documentary created expressly for parents of kids struggling with obesity. The one-hour long Parents’ Survival Guide: Childhood Obesity will screen in our studios this Sunday. The documentary addresses prevention and cure of a growing pediatric health problem. Obesity rates in the U.S. have doubled since 1980. Over 2/3 of Americans are overweight or obese and this is spreading to our children, affecting their growth, health, and quality of life. In the past 3 decades there has been a 300% increase in the fraction of children who are overweight or obese.

This documentary profiles three families struggling with the problem and features: Daniel Delgado, MD, FAAP East Valley Clinic, San Jose; Thomas Robinson, MD, MPH Stanford University School of Medicine and Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital; Ellyn Satter, MS, RD, LCSW, BCD, nationally acclaimed author and educator on child feeding; Stewart Agras, MD, FRCP(C), Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the Stanford School of Medicine - all preeminent authorities on Childhood Obesity.

Sponsors and partners include: The Health Trust, Kaiser Santa Clara, El Camino Hospital, First Five Santa Clara County, Healthy Silicon Valley, Parents' Place, Common Sense Media, The Children’s Health Council and The Midpeninsula Community Media Center.

The program will air on the Media Center's Cable Channel 28 the following times:

Sunday, June 5: 8:30 - 9:30 pm
Monday, June 6: 10 - 11 pm
Wednesday, June 8: 9 - 10 am
Friday, June 10: 7 - 8 pm

More information, and the full program online, is at
ParentsSurvivalGuide.org