Sigh...

I just don't know what I'm going to do about that girl.

Anyway. As you may have guessed from Katelyn's...ahem...informative blog post, we spent the lovely Thanksgiving holidays with her family in Fayetteville, North Carolina. Laying out on a hammock in her backyard with a good book under the autumn leaves was, I think, an excellent respite from the constant go-go-go that has been our lives for the past several months. That, and shooting BB guns with her two brothers in the backyard. (Mom, I've never wanted a BB gun before, but THIS Christmas...)

Just kidding.

Sorta.

Anyway, with barely three weeks left on the road, we're desperately trying to tie up any loose ends that can't be tied up back in St. Louis. With almost 40 hours of footage, we've stopped trying to frantically find something, ANYTHING to put in front of the camera (sort of like we did at the beginning of the trip) but still there are a few people we want to talk to before we head home. One is here in Ithaca, at Cornell University where we're staying with my best buddy, Ben. Dr. Harry Segal, a psychologist who specializes in "psychodynamic approaches to literary texts" (whatever THAT means) has agreed to meet with us this weekend. That will be cool because it will lend, I think, a bit of an "academic" bent to our film.

In New York City, where we're hoping to be within a week or two, provided we find a place to stay, we are meeting with a producer who has written and directed an Off-Broadway show which collects over 4,000 stories of people's "first times" and performs them with four different actors and actresses.

And a week from yesterday, we are meeting the founder of StoryCorps, the national initiative to collect stories from everyday Americans, in Boston. Mr. Dave Isay is currently on a book tour for StoryCorps first book, Listening Is An Act of Love, and we will be filming both the signing he will be at on Monday and also have a brief exclusive interview with him.

We're only looking for about one or two more interviews, and then it will be all over. I have to admit I'm strangely excited to be going back to school, the classes I'll be in are going to be great, but I'm a bit nervous about editing this whole thing together. I've been thinking about it lately, mostly because people have begun asking if I've started to think about how it's all going to fit together, and the truth is I really haven't.

The biggest concern I have right now is I think I'm just beginning to grasp how weird of a concept this is for a documentary. I mean, how do you document stories? How do you document what stories are, what they mean? We can just play all of our interviews back-to-back, but goodness knows that's boring. How are we going to make this interesting enough to other people? Specifically other people who are not our friends and family, who are by default required to find it interesting. This will, I think, be our biggest struggle in the year to come.

That being said, next semester is already stressing me out and I haven't even set foot on campus yet. A lot of opportunities and options have been presenting themselves and I'm trying to decide which ones to choose. A lot of it has been consuming my mind so much I'm finding it hard to focus on the film and the trip. It's been increasingly harder to keep my mind on the here and now as school looms closer and closer. But, such is life.

Besides, it's the Christmas season and that always cheers my spirits, despite the fact that radio stations seem to think there are only, like, 20 good Christmas songs worth playing over and over and over and over and over and over....

Numbers

Days spent in Colonial Williamsburg: 2 1/2

$ we spent on food in Williamsburg: refuse to tell

Times we've gotten lost leaving the visitor center in Williamsburg: 3

Hours to drive to North Carolina: 4

Number of the tape for filming we are on: 40

approx hours of footage we have: 39

Pictures taken and uploaded on computer: 1,779

Miles till next oil change: less than 300

Days we've spent in Fayetteville: 6

Lizards found in house: 2

Hours to Chapel Hill to interview Daniel Wallace: 1 1/2

Times listened to Hairspray in the car: once daily

days of leftover Thanksgiving food: approx 4

movies Matt has watched for his independent study: over 40

Times Matt has told me to write a blog and I procrastinate: infinite

Onward!

Hello faithful readers,

Our time in Washington D.C. is sadly coming to a close. What an eventful visit we've had! We spent the last two days getting in some last-minute touring; we saw Mount Vernon, George Washington's mansion in Virginia, the National Holocaust museum, the Lincoln Memorial and Washington Monument, the World War II memorial, and several of the Smithsonians! As one can imagine, we're pretty beat.

We're on our way this morning to visit Colonial Williamsburg and witness even more of our nation's history. After a three-day stop there, we'll be with Katelyn's family in North Carolina for Thanksgiving, because there's no place like (a) home for the holidays. I can hardly believe Christmas is practically right around the corner.

And with the advent of Christmas comes the advent of the end of our adventure. We have little more than three weeks or so left. We've both done a lot of talking in the past few days about how odd it will be to have to go back to the "real" world and be responisble adults again. It's not something we're looking forward to, but as they say, all good things must come to an end. At least we can be satisfied that we were able to make this good thing last as long as we did.

Plus, I'm very excited to get back and start editing this film. I can't wait to see how it all fits together! I can't forget that after the traveling is done, the hardest part of the work is still ahead.

Have a great day everyone!

Good night, good morning or good day

The best thing about this trip is that making a documentary is AWESOME! Not only do we get to travel and learn about something we are passionate about, stories, but we get to do so many neat things. For example, we had an interview at the Library of Congress in the Jefferson building. We were then taken into the ultra secret secured stacks- in the underbelly of the library. The Library of Congress has some books in the reading rooms that researchers are allowed to use, but generally they have to have in mind what books they want and ask for them to be brought out. We got a tour of the folklife section, where materials are kept. Ducking and breathing tight as the ceilings are low and the hallways small, Matt and I were blown away by all the books and the documents kept. It was cool to hear from Todd and Valda about all of the archiving that is done there. After the interview and tour we went and got our researchers cards, good for two years, to be able to research and go into the reading rooms there.
We met with Amy from SpeakeasyDC and interviewed her and will see a show hosted be SpeakeasyDC on Tuesday. She explained the difference between an open-mic storytelling and stand-up comedy. Stand-up comedians adopt a persona and work to make the laughs. The laughs are crucial and important. Storytelling may be funny, but the more real the person, the less persona they present on stage, the better the story. Laughs may come and go, but telling the story is more important.
We've also gone to the Spy Museum, Arlington National Cemetery and the National Archives to see the original Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.
Tomorrow we're heading to the Smithsonian to learn more about history. Matt and I keep taking turns being sick. I wasn't feeling well the last two days, Matt has a headache today. The temperature is hard to adjust to, with us traveling in and out of cold weather, muggy, rainy, etc.

Yea, this isn't a profound update or entry, but at least it is one. Goodnight, good morning or good day to you all.

PICTURES!

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention - for those of you who haven't been to our website recently, check out our pictures tab, we finally have a few up! More to soon follow!

The City of Brotherly Love -Or - Birth of a Nation

After five or so days in good ol' Philly, we've landed for the time being in our nation's capitol - Washington, D.C. I'll have to admit that out of all the places we've been so far, Philadelphia has been my favorite. A large part of that may be my love for American history, but nowhere else have we found the most things to do in the least amount of time. AND the nicest people. But more on that in another post.

Thanks to Holland Saltsman and John Buck at Webster, we were able to stay with a beautiful family only 20 minutes from downtown Philly; Buck's old high school friend David Harkins, his wife Judith, and their two wonderful daughters, Sophia, 3, and Mirielle, 2. Katelyn and I were thrilled to have younger people to play with once again. We played with the girls in their own huge playroom in the basement, went to feed the ducks at a nearby college campus, and we even got to babysit for a night while Dave and Judith went out. (We figured a free night of sitting was the least we could do to pay back their hospitality).

Oh yeah, we also worked on our film. Once Upon a Nation was indeed what Katelyn said it was; a huge production that takes place over the summer that employs a large array of costumed interpreters from colonial times as well as storytellers who perform at a series of benches around the historic district, telling stories of our nation's birth. It sounds like a great program...definitely something the two of us will be keeping an eye on for summer employment options!

The Please Touch Museum was wonderful as well. We were bummed we didn't have kids to play with there (Sophia and Mirielle had to be in school) but we were wonderfully taken care of by the staff of the museum who were more than willing to work with us. We filmed an interview with the VP of Exhibits as well as Alice and David who write and perform in the children's theater. The show they were doing now was called "Eat Like a Pirate," and it was a thinly veiled message to kids to start eating less fast food and more fruits and veggies. We loved it.

When we weren't working, we spent time touring. I finally got to see Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell, as well as the grave of Benjamin Franklin. Being in Philadelphia made me want to learn more about the Revolutionary War, watch National Treasure, and see the musical 1776 again. I'm not sure if I can really describe what it was like for me to be in these places and see these things; to see actual copies of the Declaration of Independence, Articles of Confederation and the Contsitution. I think I'm finally at that age when I can fully appreciate what these things meant to the people who wrote them, and what they mean to all of us now. It was truly a treat to see them all in person.

Being in Philadelphia brought new decisions and more disappointments also; we both registered for a full set of classes at Webster next semester, so that pretty much sealed our decision about whether we go back or not. We also found out that the school system at Nashville apparently has this whole application process we were supposed to go through in order to film anything at one of their schools. Even though we had permission from both the teacher, the principal and every single parent of each child who was filmed, they don't want us to use the footage. We asked the man who we've been in contact with if we could submit an application ex post facto, and they told us no, they don't want Metro to be affiliated with our project. That means right now we can't use any of the footage we shot of the first grade class. Obviously, I'm not that willing to let it go just yet, but we're a bit confused about how to go about convincing them that we're not out to smear their school's reputation.

So, the fun continues. We're having a blast in D.C. as well, but I'll let Katelyn tell you more about that in a day or two. Thanks for reading!

how do you spell lolligagging?

I don't quite understand how mapquests driving time and our driving time seem to differ in MANY HOURS. I understand that it is just an estimated time. I understand that it does not involve time to get out and use the restroom, to change drivers or simply to blow your nose. The drive to Philadelphia from Cincinatti was supposed to take a mere 9 hours and 15 minutes. Our drive took...13 hours and some minutes.

But that's okay, because we made it safely. Matt's lolligaging in his sleeping bag this morning, but we have an interview at 10 with a man that works for Once Upon a Nation. This organization, if I understand it correctly, works with interpreters and storytellers that interact with visitors in downtown Philadelphia. They put on numerous programs throughout the year. It's similar to a living history museum, like New Salem in Illinois or Williamsburg in Virginia, but it seems to be a little more in depth. We'll find out more as we interview today. Some of what I said may be wrong.

We also have an interview set up with people at the Please Touch! Museum. It's an interactive childrens museum that has some exhibits bringing Alice in Wonderland to life, as well as Where the Wild Things Are. We're waiting to hear back today when we are allowed in the museum to film. The woman we're in touch with there seems extremely excited about us.

This second leg of our journey seems to be bringing us a wider variety of options and things to learn. The Creation Museum in Petersburg, KY was exciting. We had media passes which allowed us in the museum before it opened in the morning and we were able to walk around without a crowd for an hour. The museum takes you through Genesis; through the creation of the earth, through the fall of Adam and Eve, the great flood and Noah's Ark, and the tower of Babel. It finished with a film about the resurrection of Christ. There is a planetarium that illustrates how large the universe is, which I found to be really cool in putting everything into perspective. How miniscule our solar system is... There are animatronics throughout the museum and a lot of displays putting the stories in the bible into three-dimensional form.

Matt's awake, so I need to go.