The 24th Annual Tribute to the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. - The Audacity of Hope transcends the Tenacity of Despair
Once again The World Arts Foundation, Inc. launches preparations for the annual Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Tribute. 2009 marks the 24th consecutive year of this event. This blog will present behind the scenes video of the meetings and preparations that take place prior to and the day of the celebration. This is truly a labor of love of many people who come together and share a common dream. This blog will allow those who can not make a meeting be able to review what went on. It is also a blog for the public to share in the excitement and dedication that so many volunteers engage in as they have for 24 years. Comments can be made at bottom of this blog entry. We will post entries as soon as we have them edited. So come back often.
October’s meeting was held at Ken Berry’s home in Happy Valley. We have split the video into two parts. Part one is now available. (SEE LINK BELOW) We will issue part two the week of November 2, 2008. Be sure to come back often for updates. Be sure to visit The World Arts Foundation for historical & current information: http://www.worldartsfoundationinc.org/
If you would like to receive NLE Media Production’s Newsletter, click on the Newsletter link. We make announcements about various events and projects we are involved in twice a month. Our Small Business Forum (sbforum.net) adds regular blogs spotlighting new businesses and organizations in our community. Be a part of our community. Join today! 
Our Small Business Forum (sbforum.net) adds regular blogs spotlighting new businesses and organizations in our community. Be a part of our community. Join today! October 18th Meeting - Part 1 see the video
October 18th Meeting - Part 2 see the video
The 24th Annual Tribute to the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. - The Audacity of Hope transcends the Tenacity of Despair
Once again The World Arts Foundation, Inc. launches preparations for the annual Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Tribute. 2009 marks the 24th consecutive year of this event. This blog will present behind the scenes video of the meetings and preparations that take place prior to and the day of the celebration. This is truly a labor of love of many people who come together and share a common dream. This blog will allow those who can not make a meeting be able to review what went on. It is also a blog for the public to share in the excitement and dedication that so many volunteers engage in as they have for 24 years. Comments can be made at bottom of this blog entry. We will post entries as soon as we have them edited. So come back often. 
S. Renee Mitchell - Moving On
By now most of you know that local Oregonian columnist, S. Renee Mitchell has been the object of downsizing as an ever shrinking readership of newspapers in general has swept the nation - not to mention the economic downturn.
I received a very nice letter from Renee several weeks before her column made the official announcement. Aside from the initial shock, I began to wonder what this means to the many readers of her column. You may not have agreed with everything she said, or maybe you did. Doesn’t matter. What matters is a voice that resonated with the community on so many levels, has been removed from a major source of communications in this city. There are no words to express the loss this represents. Life will go on, and we will all collectively forget the richness that Renee brought to our Oregonian. Just another layer of sadness we’ll bury among the flotsom and jetsom of a tanked economy. What follows are some excerpts from her letter to me:
Hi Greg,
In case you hadn’t heard: After 10 years at The Oregonian, being
nominated for two Pulitzer Prizes, and named No. 1 Commentor in five Western
states by the Society of Professional Journalists, I have taken the
paper’s very generous buyout offer. I officially leave my job on Oct. 1.
I will remain based in Portland, where I will continue to invest my
talents, voice and energy into community building and becoming a full-time
writer on my own terms. (see attached press kit) My various projects
include publishing my first novel, discovering my potential as a
multi-media artist, and expanding my reach as an international speaker,
performer and women’s advocate. I also plan to travel more, record more CDs
(have you bought my new songs on iTunes yet?) and spend more time with
my twin boys, who are living in Detroit with their father. (If you
didn’t know that, here’s the link to my Aug. 20 column:
http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/renee_mitchell/index.ssf?/base/news/1219191906326940.xml&coll=7
In a few weeks, I will be traveling to Guam, New Orleans and Florida to
speak and/or perform my now-one-woman show, Tangoing With Tornadoes
(www.tangoingwithtornadoes.com) I ask for your prayers, advice, insight
and referrals for even more paid gigs. 
I am also available for hire
as a media consultant, graphic artist, grant/proposal writer, copy
editor and ghost writer, among other God-given talents that I want to
share with the world. Please keep in touch!
Keep raising hope,
Renee
* www.reneemitchellspeaks.com
* www.linkedin.com/in/reneemitchellspeaks
* www.youtube.com/sreneemitchellspeak
* http://cdbaby.com/cd/naenaymusic
* www.tangoingwithtornadoes.com
S. Renee Mitchell
Columnist, The Oregonian
rmitch@news.oregonian.com
503-221-8142/503-294-5023 (fax)
www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/renee_mitchell
Renee left me with her electronic press kit. You can access it by going here: http://nlemedia.com/SRMpresskit.pdf
If you would like to receive NLE Media Production’s Newsletter, click on the Newsletter link. We make announcements about various events and projects we are involved in twice a month. Our Small Business Forum (sbforum.net) adds regular blogs spotlighting new businesses and organizations in our community. Be a part of our community. Join today!
Announcing A New Sports Show
NLE Media Productions and the African American Hunting Association Launch Outdoor Sports Show
Friday , August 15, 2008 NLE Media Productions and the African American Hunting Association, LLC launch the first episode of a new show highlighting African Americans and other urban dwellers as they pursue the great outdoors. As the opening segment states: “African Americans, while they are about 13% of the population, according to the U.S. National Fish and Wildlife Service, they make up only 1% of those who hunt. We believe hunting, fishing and other outdoor sports to be wholesome, healthy, family fun.”
13 episodes are currently being filmed by a joint effort of Greg Gordon (NLE Media Productions) and Donny Adair (African American Hunting Association). Gordon and Adair bring years of experience and know-how to this enterprise. The show will be aired initially on the African American Hunting Association website (http://aahunt.com/ , http://blackhunting.com/ , and http://africanamericanhuntingassociation.com/ .), then ported for cable access and finally, made available on 2 episode DVD’s.
For further information contact: donnyadair@yahoo.com & greg@nlemedia.com .
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23rd Annual Tribute to Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
NLE Media Productions is proud to be associated with The World Arts Foundation, Inc’s annual tribute to the legacy, memory and work of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Last year we had the honor of shooting some of the footage for this event. We have recently compiled footage shot by the video team from last year’s production in preparation for the 2008 event. We have linked a 5 minute version as well as a 22 minute version at the bottom of ths blog entry. We have been fortunate to work with Mr. Ken Berry and Mr. Michael “Chappie” Grice of The World Arts Foundaton, Inc in preparing these videos. Some of the philosophy and motivation for this special event is included in the following excerpts:
“Keep Living the Dream; The American Dream of Freedom” is an educational, cultural arts, and historical event designed to serve and inspire local, state, and regional communities through community participation in the 6-hour live program. Our live audience, media broadcasts, and print media coverage ensure maximum exposure.
Emphasis is placed on:
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Illuminating the contributions of Dr. King through the arts.
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Coordinating an artistic vision into a community event.
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Showcasing local and regional talent by featuring civic and community leaders, educators, dramatic vignettes and performance pieces, music, dance, and authentic cultural presentations.
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Creating positive opportunities for children, families, and volunteers to engage and work together.
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Building community cohesiveness and pride.
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Distributing bone marrow and other health information and collecting blood for/by The American Red Cross.
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Donating canned food to the local food bank.
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Providing an opportunity for local civic and social organizations to display products and information to improve the quality of life for all community members.
“Keep Living the Dream” is now recognized as the largest tribute in the State of Oregon and has official designation from the National Martin Luther King Jr. Federal Holiday Commission.
See the video: http://nlemedia.com/MLKT.wmv (22 minute version) or, http://nlemedia.com/MLKTmini.mov
View Tech Rehearsal 12/08/07: http://nlemedia.com/MLKTech.wmv
At NLE Media Productions we offer many services including the editing that was done in the videos shown on this blog. For more details on what we can do for your business or organization:
See: http://nlemedia.com/Pages/products.htm
See: http://nlemedia.com/Page/services.htm
See: http://nlemedia.com/NLEmmercial.htm
See: http://nlemedia.com/eventvideo.htm
See: http://nlemedia.com/Video Production Packet.pdf
Mark Lindsay’s “Rock & Roll Cafe”
You could see it in their eyes. The music, the cars, the memories of a time when life seemed simpler, and in many ways, more vibrant. Every now and then, the music and the crowd were drowned out by the roar of an engine being turned over and revved up. It was magnificient - and many a pacemaker lunged forward with the gas pedal floored.
For my generation this was a return to our Mecca, our time and our music. We remember the great places of our youth, “Yaw’s Top Notch”, “The Tick Tock” and “Scotty’s Burgers”. All of this made possible by Mark Lindsay and his team of memory makers. For those of you who don’t know who Mark Lindsay is, my regrets. For those of you who do, what can I say?
Monday, August 27th found Lindsay walking and talking and reminiscing with those of us who danced to the music and grew up on burgers and fries - the real thing. Lindsay’s establishment touches on the moments that made us who we are. The restuarant is alive with memories of the past, plus things for the present and future.
But there is more to Lindsay than just the showman, entrepreneur.
In the showbiz world it is not too often that you find a celebrity genuinely interested and engaged with his public. Lindsay impressed me as someone authentically involved with his community. He didn’t have to meet and greet, much less allow photos. His opening would have been a success even if he hadn’t shown up. He strikes me as a generous person who knows the value of the people who made him famous.
NLE Media Productions’ “Small Business Forum” is about entrepreneurs who engage the community. We salute and applaud Mark Lindsay’s “Rock & Roll Cafe” and wish him every success. And this also, “Thank You” - thank you for bringing these memories back home.
Located at 42nd and Sandy Blvd.
www.marklindsaysrockandrollcafe.com
Reservations (503)288-9297
For more information on the graphic content used in this blog:
See: http://nlemedia.com
See: http://nlemedia.com/CLAds.htm
See: http://nlemedia.com/CraigsListFlyers/CLAds3.html
Robots and Helper Monkeys and Where My Dogs At - musings on Engineering
11.5 years as an engineer pretty much bored me. It wasn’t until about 3 years before I took an early retirement that I actually got to do something I really enjoyed and, I might add, excelled at. I was given an assignment to create a test lab, staff it and supply it with tools, instruments and anything else needed. This assignment would require someone who could work without supervision, secure supplies and testing equipment without a budget, design testing platforms and methodologies, impliment the tests, gather the data and pass the information on to the affected departments.
In a word it was a license to create. And create I did. A collection of Rube Goldberg machines like you have never seen. Some had computerized components. Others were gizmos and gadgets that whirred, buzzed, clanked, whined, whooshed and, sometimes, went boom in the night (my favorites). Those of us who worked in this lab were known as “Helper Monkeys”. The “design engineers” didn’t care for us much, afterall we were doing unimaginable things to their inventions trying to find the weaknesses, terminal velocities (and I do mean terminal), points at which their creations failed - and why.
I always gave names to the robots and test machines I built or designed. The names were always a goofy combination of letters that represented the actual process or function the machine served. Like “AFLAC” which stood for: “Always Functional Linear Actuator Control”.
As we built more and more of these testing machines the lab took on a rythmic, almost musical tonality with all the pops, whizzes, whirls and bangs. That led to me applying music and video to the process. We were already using video to capture test results, adding music was a no-brainer.
Well, before you knew it, I had gotten an idea in my head about doing a rap piece about the life I led as a “Helper Monkey”. That ended up as a music video called: “Where My Dogs At, Yo?” And, yes, that is my voice doing the rap. What a ham bone I turned out to be.
You can view these videos at: The Further Adventures of Helper Monkey Mike
December - End of Year Thoughts
Season’s Greetings and Best Wishes for the New Year!
Our November Small Business Forum was lightly attended. If you recall, there were threats of freezing rain throughout the day. As it turned out, we had a nice little get together with a few friends, sharing stories and poems. We made a short night of it avoiding complications from the inclement weather.
If you have been following any of the hype surrounding Microsoft’s latest operating system, “Vista”, you have to be wondering what is going on in Renton? As a former programmer and systems analyst I have been watching this unfold with great skepticism. I must say this is probably the worse release of a bloated operating system, ever. What galls me is that Microsloth has bragged about how many millions of dollars and thousands of new IT jobs will be created as a result of this new product. Since when is the need for more service techs a good thing for consumers? If it is so complex and buggy as to require all of this added infrastructure, then count me out. Remember, you, the consumer will be ponying up the millions of dollars required to maintain these thousands of new jobs. A fellow observer, Ron Wackerly, sends this link on the problems Vista will create just in one area of hardware: http://www.cs.auckland.ac.nz/~pgut001/pubs/vista_cost.txt
Joan Stewart publishes a wonderful site, http://www.publicityhound.com/, appropriately named. If you are looking for ways to promote your business, be sure to link up with this site. She also publishes an eBook http://tinyurl.com/y4dnwr filled with hints and tips you can start using today to promote your business. Please check it out.
Lastly, what would a Small Business Forum Post be without links to some of our latest videos? Here are 2 we shot in Washington DC this past October:
The Incident in the Oval Office; The Incident at Farragut Park
