#some 200 years later he gets to see his cat wife again :] that's nice
Note
Fossil restoration guys revive Lady Sneasler next and Warden Ingo goes "Oh look! My wife :)" leaving everyone 100000% confused
Ingo & Emmet panicking for a good 20 minutes that they might be part sneasler before having it explained to them [that's where the grey hair came from]
#hoof draws#fossil ingo#SNEASLERS FOSSIL BEING RESTORED IS A CONCEPT I HAVEN'T THOUGHT OF BEFORE ....#that's good ourgh#i imagine sneasler died b4 ingo did and he kept her chest gem or smthn as a reminder#so her fossil (?) was in the same place they found ingo's body#some 200 years later he gets to see his cat wife again :] that's nice#he's gonna go right back to being warden
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Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde rewritten - Ch. 49
49. Her Ladyship's strange and remarkable Friends (tw: bad French and mention of violence and gore)
Just a few days later, Lady Summers informed them, that her old friends would be happy to meet them on Sunday. But they would have to come to them, as they had no housekeeper and couldn't leave their house alone.
Lanyon had major issues with permitting the Lady to travel across London in her state. It had been only three weeks since the incident and she was still very fragile.
But it was quite impossible to talk her out of this, so he gave up. He did however ask the coachman to drive as carefully as possible.
“Don' worry, Doc”, the Irishman replied gruffly, “My drivin' won't be the problem 'ere.”
This didn't make Lanyon feel better in the slightest, but he said nothing more.
And so it came that on Sunday, Lady Summers and the male quartet were on their merry way to Soho of all places and apparently not far away from where Hyde lived.
Of course Lanyon's greatest worry was that his Lady was fine. But deep down … he had to admit that he was curious.
He really wanted to meet those childhood friends she had been talking about so much lately.
After a while, the coach stopped and they got off.
Lanyon was surprised to see that they were standing in front of a corner bookshop, that seemed to share the building with a surgery. The house was in good shape and looked a bit out of place among all the other buildings that were anything but.
He read the sign above the door.
Flamel & Wife – Bookshop and Library, est. 1865
Antiquary books, textbooks and school utensils
And right next to it:
Dr. Faust, surgery
“Huh. I do know that house”, Hyde stated, “I bought a few books here. The bookseller was a Frenchman and he was really-”
“He's one of the friends I'm going to introduce you to”, Lady Summers told him.
Then she slowly stepped up to the door, but hesitated to ring.
“I seriously hope that they remembered”, she muttered, “Last time they thought I was someone else and the reception was … explosive.”
Lanyon swallowed and tried to ignore his sense of foreboding.
Now the Lady finally rang the bell.
Something moved inside and a chubby woman with auburn hair and brown eyes opened the door.
She recognised the Lady, gasped in delight and called something over her shoulder further into the house.
“Careful, careful”, Lady Summers told her, when she wanted to hug her, “I'm having a sick phase.”
The auburn-haired woman frowned. “Oh mon dieu! Je suis désolée¹!”
Lanyon's attention was up. That had to be the French proprietress.
Lady Summers stepped to the side, so the other woman could see her company.
“Perenelle, these gentlemen are-”
“Tell us all at once”, the other responded. “Entrez! Les autres vous attendent²!”
“Perenelle, speak English”, the Prussian reminded her. “Only two of my companions are fluent in French.”
Sheepishly, the Frenchwoman apologised and let them in.
About time, Lanyon thought. It's pretty rude to wait that long to invite people in.
“Cut them some slack”, Lady Summers responded telepathically, “They don't have guests that often and are quite apprehensive.”
The four men were lead into the parlour, which was a bit cluttered, but otherwise cosy enough.
A gaunt, platinum blond man with silvery eyes and a pince-nez fetched a few extra chairs. “Do sit down”, he invited them. That had to be the bookseller Hyde had mentioned.
And sure enough, they recognised each other.
“Monsieur Flamel”, Hyde spoke. “Quel plaisir de vous revoir³.”
“Mister 'yde”, the man returned. “Fancy seeing you again.”
Their tone was cool and they didn't look as pleased, as they claimed. Then again, no one was pleased to meet Hyde and the brunette naturally reflected the antipathy he was met with.
Then the man named Mr. Flamel turned to them. “Welcome, gentlemen. I'm Nicolas Flamel, the landlord and owner of the bookshop in the front and the small library upstairs. This-” He pointed at the auburn-haired woman, “-is ma merveilleuse épouse⁴, Perenelle.”
Lanyon tried to recall, where he had heard those names before, but then Jekyll solved the riddle for him.
“Nicolas Flamel?”, he cried, “The Nicolas Flamel? The man who is said to have found the philosophers' stone?!”
Oh. Now Lanyon remembered, but-
What the hell?! That man lived 500 years ago!
The Frenchman chuckled. “I'm surprised you know me. People aren't that interested in alchemy these days.”
Jekyll blushed a little. “I am”, he admitted quietly.
The other man, who was tending to the fire, paused. “Really? How nice! I'm an alchemist myself. Everyone in this house is, actually.”
The man was stocky and thin, had unkempt, ginger hair, a crooked nose and sharp blue-grey eyes with slight bags and frowning wrinkles. He gave Lady Summers a warm smile and said something in German to her.
She laughed: “Good to see you too, Johann. Gentlemen, this is Prof. Dr. Johann Georg Faust. Yes, that Dr. Faust”, she added, when she saw their incredulous faces.
They just had time to introduce themselves, before Hyde suddenly barked: “You! I remember you! You're the doctor I was forced to pay, when-”
“You trampled a little girl”, Dr. Faust finished icily. “Well, if it isn't Mr. Hyde! It's not a pleasure to see you again.”
“Likewise!”, Hyde hissed, “You wanted to kill me!”
The ginger-haired doctor looked at him scornfully. “I didn't try to. Besides, what kind of reaction would you expect after walking over a little girl like she's a dirty rug!”
“Well, what was that brat doing out there in the middle of the night to begin with?!”
“Running from a creep her parents had sold her to! I know that, because-”
“I don't bloody care-”
“Don't lie to me! I have the same ability as Luise and some more. And if I didn't know what happened to you since then, I would-”
“What would you do?”, the brunette snarled. “Turn me into an animal?”
“Why not, I bet you'd make a beautiful cat-”
“Please!”, Jekyll cried, startling them, “This is not the moment to argue about this!”
“He's right. Pull yourselves together, girls! You're both pretty!”, Lady Summers agreed firmly.
The two squabblers stared at her. “GIRLS???”
“And please don't turn him into a cat, Johann. You know I'm allergic to them. Außerdem hat er viel gelernt in den letzten Monaten⁵.”
Lanyon stared at Dr. Faust in horror. “So what Marlowe and Goethe wrote about you is true?!”
Dr. Faust shook his head. “It's not. Don't wreck your brain, Dr. Lanyon.” A mischievous smirk. “I don't need a demon to do the fantastic! Do you want to see-”
“No, I do not want to see it! I've seen enough witchcraft in one year! This is too much!”, Lanyon spat angrily. Then awareness of his tone set in and he apologised: “I'm sorry. How rude of me.”
Dr. Faust shook his head. “It's fine. I'm accustomed to worse.”
Then he smiled lopsidedly. “I'm stoked to meet you. Not to sound offensive, but … you three went to school and finished it. So far I've been the only one!”
The Flamels coughed in the background.
“Oh shut up, you two have been home-schooled!”
Jekyll frowned. “Not to sound offended, but what is that supposed to mean?”
Two more men entered the room.
Dr. Faust sighed and pointed at one of them. “This is what.”
The one he pointed at was a peaked boy with long hair, glasses and amber eyes. He looked young, but his black hair was greying and tied up in a messy pony tail.
The other was huge (not smaller than 8ft), had yellowish, nigh transparent skin, creepy yellowish eyes, a black mane of hair and looked more like a huge rag doll than a living man.
“Oh, they're here! Hello, everyone”, the boy said, “It's a pleasure to meet you. Luise told us so much about you-”
“Did you clean up the mess?”, Dr. Faust asked.
“Yes, Doctor. I did.”
“Next time think twice, before you make a mess in my lab, do you understand me?”
“Yes, I do”, the boy said duly, but looked a bit agitated at being talked to like a child.
But Mr. Flamel jumped to his aid: “I don't see 'ow you're one to admonish 'im about making a mess, Jean. Do you remember that one time you almost blew up my bookshop in Paris?”
“That was 200 years ago and an accident! You can't still be angry about that!”
The Frenchman's silvery eyes narrowed.
“… I guess you can.”
Meanwhile the boy turned to Jekyll: “I'm Victor Frankenstein.”
Jekyll gasped: “What a surprise! I read the novel by Mary Shelley, but I didn't think that I would ever meet you! Charmed!”
Oh! The novel 'Frankenstein or the modern Prometheus' by Mrs. Shelley! Henry loves that one!
Victor blushed awkwardly. “Likewise. You must be Dr. Lanyon?”
“No, that's me”, Lanyon spoke up sourly.
Frankenstein blushed. “Oh! Oh Heavens, I'm so sorry! I didn't think-”
Dr. Faust facepalmed and groaned: “Of course you'd assume that Luise would love the man you would find most handsome in that group!” (Jekyll blushed) “Stop stuttering and introduce to them what you made!”
“Right, sure. This-” He pointed at the giant, “-is my creature.”
“His homunculus”, Dr. Faust corrected cuttingly, “And he has a name.”
Lady Summers stood up slowly and introduced the creature. “That's Adam. Johann named and adopted him – sort of – because Victor doesn't want to deal with him.”
It was Hyde, who first stepped forward, looking up at the giant in wonder. The creature named Adam stared back. Then he knelt down and Hyde placed one of his small, bony hands onto one huge knee. He looked even tinier and more fragile next to the black-haired giant.
Lanyon could tell in their eyes, that they were recognising each other, seeing the fellow artificial creation in each other, the suffering companion. There was something heart-rending and intimate about it and the bespectacled doctor had to hold back tears, when the two hugged each other (awkwardly, as Hyde wasn't used to giving affection, while the other seemed unused to getting it).
From the corner of his eye, he could see Mrs. Flamel wipe her eyes with a handkerchief.
Dr. Faust looked mollified at their interaction, seemed like he really cared about the giant.
After a while Jekyll joined his other half and held out his hand. “It's a pleasure to meet you, Sir”, the blond said kindly. “I'm Dr. Jekyll. I'm his creator.”
Jekyll placed the other hand on Hyde's shoulder and rubbed it gently.
The giant blinked. Then carefully took the offered hand and replied: “The pleasure is mine.”
Lanyon and Utterson exchanged a glance, before following suit and introducing themselves.
“So, we 'eard about what 'appened at the royal gala”, Mr. Flamel brought up later.
Hyde and Adam were sitting in the library, while the rest of the group was still in the parlour, having tea and cakes.
“Such a barbaric thing to do to a lady. Seeing you in such a state around this time of the year, when you're normally fine … 'ow bad was it three weeks ago, right after it 'appened?”
“It was awful”, Lanyon told him, before the Lady could answer. “We needed to give her two transfusions, because she was suffering from severe anaemia …” He felt a lump in his throat and had to turn away to regain his composure. “I'm sorry”, he apologised.
Lady Summers grabbed his hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze.
But Mr. Flamel shook his head. “Why apologise for love and care? It's the most wonderful thing in the world. And we don't just feel this way because we're French.”
Mrs. Flamel took her husband's hand and gazed at him lovingly. “We've been married for 518 years”, she told them.
“That's wonderful”, Jekyll replied, “I wish I had such a wonderful relationship.”
“You will”, Dr. Faust suddenly spoke up, “But you need to learn an important lesson.”
The blond doctor frowned at him. “And that would be?”
“To be careful with how you speak to and about the ones you love and, most importantly, consider the feelings of others!”, the ginger told him bluntly.
Lanyon could tell that Jekyll was offended and about to make a snappy retort. But a gentle look from Utterson silenced and pacified the angry scientist.
They all knew that Dr. Faust was right, but it was wiser not to say that out loud.
Still though, how the hell does that man know?
The eerie alchemist answered aloud: “I already told you, I have the same ability as Luise and some more. I can also predict the future and perform necromancy, but I don't use that to earn my livelihood these days. I'm tired of people insulting or trying to kill me.”
“Necromancy?”, Lanyon repeated, “You raise the dead?!”
Dr. Faust frowned. “No. No spell in the world can really bring back the dead, even though Victor here would love to tell you otherwise. I can only conjure their spirits and question them. And that alone is something that shouldn't be done.”
“Have people ever asked you to do it?”, Utterson asked curiously.
“Of course!”, the alchemist groaned, “In fact, it happens quite a lot lately. It's always the same kind of people. They can't get closure over the death of a loved one and want to get them back. This is so boring and tiring, that I just send them away. If they have an actually good reason and can pay accordingly, only then I consider it, maybe!”
“Uhm …”
Everyone startled, when Victor Frankenstein spoke up.
Right. That lad was still there too. He was looking at Jekyll in fascination. “So … you're in love?”
The blond Doctor blinked. But then he nodded and smiled. “Yes. I certainly am.”
Frankenstein tilted his head. “But you're not married. I see no ring on your finger.”
Jekyll shrugged.
Of course he could have replied something the likes of: “I would, if I could.” or “It's illegal”. But then he would have given away that he was loving another man (or two, because Lanyon was quite sure, that Jekyll loved Hyde as well) and that was more than dangerous these days.
Both Lanyon and Utterson knew that and that's why they weren't offended by his apparent nonchalance.
The Flamels and Dr. Faust seemed to get the hint as well, because they made no remark either.
But Frankenstein began to pry: “Who is it? The black-haired lawyer sitting-?”
Dr. Faust promptly elbowed him. “Shut up, Victor. It's none of our business, who he loves and it doesn't matter anyway.”
“But I want to know how their-”
“It's none of our business!”, the alchemist growled, “And even if it was, you wouldn't understand the emotional depth of it.”
The black-haired boy glared back at him. “How are you one to talk? In the 400 years of your life, you've never once been in love!”
“Neither have you”, the ginger-haired man retorted. “You claim that you were in love with Elisabeth, but you never confided in her, never were there for her, when she would have needed it and on top of that, you left her alone on your wedding night. Everyone in this room can tell you, that this has nothing to do with love and it's not how you treat someone you care about.”
The others nodded affirmatively.
But Faust wasn't finished yet – in fact, he seemed to be just getting started.
“And don't even get me started on how you treated your creature. You animated him and ran away, because you didn't like his eyes. And you still insult him and call him a monster, ugly and other charming things like that. I would have preferred dying over treating my little Gretchen like that, when she was alive.”
That caught Lanyon's attention. “So your alleged mistress was actually your daughter?”
“Mhm. My little sunshine she was!”
“'E was a good father too”, Mr. Flamel spoke up, “'E took good care of 'er.”
Dr. Faust smiled warmly. “She really was the best person in the world. But then she fell in love, married and decided to grow old and live a normal life with her family. Of course it broke my heart, when she died and I still really miss her sometimes. But she was happy and that's all I could ask for as a father.”
He pointed at an oil painting at the wall. “That's her. Nicolas painted that.”
It was the full body portrait of a beautiful, blond woman with grey eyes and rosy cheeks.
“She doesn't look anything like you”, Utterson pointed out.
“Oh, that's because I only adopted her. I met her shortly, after I had faked my death in 1541, when I was moving around with the Flamels (we were already a group back then) and she was sitting at the side of a road, begging for alms. She just looked so pathetic, I had to do something. That's how I got myself a daughter.”
“When did you become immortal?”, Jekyll asked curiously.
The German alchemist shrugged. “When I was 38 years old. Then I met the Flamels on a trip to Heidelberg and after some persuasion, they agreed to teach me how to make a Philosophers' Stone. For a while I could conceal that I wasn't ageing. There was no registry back then and as a wandering Doctor, I was always on the move. However … I was very famous in a lot of territories of the Holy Roman Empire, so it was only a matter of time, before someone would question my age. So I created a puppet, that looked like me and caused an explosion. It worked perfectly, they thought the Devil had claimed me.” He shook his head. “Of course I had to go into hiding after that. But I still nearly got killed countless times. Got accused of some vile stuff I don't even want to take into my mouth.”
“To their defence, Johann”, Lady Summers remarked. “You're rather unheimlich⁶.”
She had a point there.
Dr. Faust was obviously brilliant and charming in a gruff way, but he also seemed paranoid, difficult and – to put it politely – borderline creepy. Something was just off about him. Not as extreme as with Hyde, but it was unsettling.
Like Jekyll's science.
Yes, that was it. The aura of alchemy and dark magic was just oozing off him.
Totally someone people would pin to have a deal with the devil.
Suddenly Lanyon remembered, how Lady Summers had said that the two would get along famously. And he realised that she might be right.
“I can't decide, if I should be flattered or offended”, Faust drily responded to his inner musings.
The hoary doctor blushed at being caught red-handed.
The ginger-haired man turned back to Jekyll. “Are you interested in becoming immortal?”
That caught the Flamels' and Frankenstein's attention and they looked at the blond expectantly.
Jekyll considered the question.
But then he exchanged a look with both Lanyon and Utterson.
He smiled and shook his head. “No. I don't think I could handle watching my loved ones die, while I live for centuries. I don't want that. I'm fine with living a normal life, as long as the people I care about are in it.”
Lanyon grinned; he wouldn't have expected any other answer from their mad scientist.
Utterson smiled fondly, a rare thing to see in public.
Lanyon didn't need his Lady's telepathic abilities to know that the two men's feet were touching under the table.
These two silly lovebirds.
“That's coming from you?”, Dr. Faust's voice suddenly sounded in his head, nearly making him jump, “You call Luise your 'radiant angel' and you're her 'dear doctor'! So shush!”
Said Lady glared at her old friend. “Johann, stop that! The only one who's allowed to invade his mind is me!”
He laughed and stood to make a bow. “Of course. Do forgive me, oh Marchioness of Brandenburg, Princess of Hanover and Countess of Calenberg and Cornwall. Will I be granted mercy?”
“One last time, you lowly commoner”, she responded playfully.
The Flamels and Frankenstein chuckled.
Now Utterson spoke up again: “If you don't mind, ladies and gentlemen: how did you meet?”
The alchemist group and the mad scientist frowned.
It was Frankenstein, who answered: “Well, somehow that evil organisation found out about us and kidnapped us; that is, me and the Flamels. We were experimented on for weeks, they took quite a lot of our blood – to experiment on the samples, probably. One day they carried a half-dead ten-year-old girl into our cell. And that was Luise. That's how we met her. Dr. Faust and the Wre-” (he corrected himself, when Dr. Faust glowered at him) “-Adam came to free us. The Doctor blew up whole parts of the building and was totally shocked, when he saw the ill little girl with us.”
The ginger-haired man nodded. “Yes. But she wasn't too ill to get enthusiastic, when she looked into my mind and knew who I was. Seriously, I've never seen a little girl so happy to meet me.”
Lady Summers blushed and laughed awkwardly. “I'd never heard about the Flamels until I met them, but I had already read Goethe's Faust and Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, so I was ecstatic to meet the men themselves – that's just how children are.”
Lanyon almost laughed at the Flamels' wry smiles and Dr. Faust's cocky grin.
He hadn't expected their visit to Lady Summers' old friends to be so strange, long or entertaining.
All the time their hosts had been nothing but friendly and well-mannered and Dr. Faust had quickly warmed up, when he had concluded that none of them meant harm to their mind-reading friend.
He even became friendlier to Hyde, after seeing how harmoniously the brunette and Adam interacted.
In fact, when the group came to pick the gremlin up, they found him dozing in the giant's lap.
Adam put a hand to his mouth as a sign to be quiet.
Jekyll broke into a huge smile, crossed the room silently and brought a gentle hand to Hyde's pale cheek.
“Hyde?”, he spoke, just barely above a whisper, “Hyde. Wake up.”
Lanyon saw those bilious green eyes slowly open and blink.
“Huh? Already time to go?”, he mumbled sleepily.
“I'm afraid so”, Jekyll replied and turned to Adam: “Sir, give him back to me, please. We have to go home.”
The giant was obviously extremely unwilling to let go of his “brother”, but Jekyll looked so friendly, asked so nicely and seemed to be so fond of Hyde (and he was, Lanyon knew that), that he finally gave in.
With a chuckle, the blond helped his alter ego up and helped him put on his coat.
“Let's go home, my dear other half”, he said fondly.
Hyde appeared too drowsy to really register it and just leaned into him.
They all said their goodbyes and left.
Of course not before Dr. Faust had threatened to blow Lanyon to bits, should he ever break Lady Summers' heart.
“I have nothing to fear, then”, the hoary man had calmly retorted, before saying goodbye and seeing himself out.
Jekyll and Hyde had been the first to get off the coach, when Mr. O'Connor had dropped them off one by one.
Something had concerned Lanyon though.
“Have you noticed something about Hyde?”, he asked the other two.
Utterson nodded. “Yes. He was so quiet, ever since he first saw Mr. Adam. And just now he was so clingy towards Jekyll. That's so unlike him. Something is making him upset and I wish I could do something about it. You have seen it, right, Milady? You know the answer, you have seen it inside his head!”
“Of course I have. But I'm not going to tell.”
Both men were frustrated.
But they knew: her silence meant that this was a matter between Jekyll and Hyde.
---
1) French: Oh my god! I’m sorry!
2) French: Come in! The others are waiting for you!
3) French: What a pleasure to see you again.
4) French: my marvellous wife
5) German: Besides, he’s learned a lot in the last months.
6) German: the feeling that something is off, without being unable to pitpoint it; uncanny valley; strange at best, a subtle kind of creepy/eerie at worst (sorry, I couldn’t contain myself XD)
Edit: I corrected the French grammar mistakes, in case it wasn’t clear. One of my followers was so nice as to point them out to me.
#The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde#Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde#Dr. Jekyll#henry jekyll#Mr. Hyde#edward hyde#Mr Utterson#Gabriel John Utterson#utterson#Hastie Lanyon#dr lanyon#oc#jekyllxutterson#uttersonxhyde#jekyllxhyde#lanyonxoc#frankenstein#victor frankenstein#frankensteins creature#dr faustus#johann georg faust#nicolas flamel#perenelle flamel#i actually wrote a crossover chapter#and my story initially wasn't supposed to be a crossover#it won't happen much from here i promise
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When Will We Make the Time?
WHEN WILL WE MAKE THE TIME?
SERMON YOM KIPPPUR YIZKOR 5778 – 2017
Rabbi Stephen Weiss, B’nai Jeshurun Congregation
One of my all-time favorite singers is Harry Chapin. It’s not that he had such a magnificent voice, or that his melodies were so rich, though they certainly are catchy and get stuck in my head. What makes Harry Chapin stand out above all the rest for me are his lyrics. Chapin had a magical way of using his songs to teach valuable life lessons. Okay, maybe not so much in his song “30,000 Pounds of Bananas,” though I love that song. But songs like “Flowers are Red,” which speaks to the importance of encouraging creativity and independent thought, manage to touch us deeply by uncovering every day truths that we too often overlook. Perhaps Chapin’s most famous song is “Cat’s Cradle.” It was in the top ten for 15 weeks back in 1974 and it was Chapin’s only number one hit, but 40 years later it remains a song almost everyone knows.
The song is about a father that is too busy to spend time with his son. As the son grows he asks his father to spend time with him, but the father always postpones the son’s request to the future. The son idolizes his father and wants to become like his father. At the end of the song, the father realizes his son has become like him. It is the son, now who has no time for his father. Throughout, the song is peppered with phrases of nursery rhymes to remind us how quickly this time is going by. Here are a few verses:
My child arrived just the other day.
He came to the world in the usual way.
But there were planes to catch and bills to pay.
He learned to walk while I was away.
He was talking before I knew it, and as he grew
He said, “I’m going to be like you, Dad.
You know I’m going to be like you.”
My son turned ten just the other day.
He said, “Thanks for the ball, now come on let’s play.
Can you teach me to throw?” I said, “Not today,
I’ve got a lot to do.” He said, “That’s OK.”
And he walked away and he smiled and he said
“You know I’m going to be like you, Dad,
You know I’m going to be like you.”
The final verse says:
I’ve long since retired and my son’s moved away.
I called him up just the other day.
I said, “I’d like to see you, if you don’t mind.”
He said, “I’d love to, Dad, if I could find the time.
You see, my new job’s a hassle and the kids have the flu,
But it’s sure nice talking to you, Dad.
It’s been real nice talking to you.”
And as I hung up the phone it occurred to me,
He’d grown up just like me.
My boy was just like me.
That’s the song. But there is more to the story. Harry Chapin’s wife, Sandy, was the one who actually wrote the words to that song. Her poem was inspired by watching her ex-husband try to reconnect with his absent father. Harry wasn’t really interested in the poem until after their son Josh was born. It was then that he put the words top music. But sadly, Harry Chapin himself became the father in the song.
When their son was seven, Harry was performing 200 concerts a year. Sandy asked him “When are you going to spend some time with our son?” Harry promised he would make some time at the end of that summer. But he never made it. That summer, on his way to a business meeting, his car was rear-ended by a truck. The car burst into flames. Harry died in that accident before he could fulfill his promise to Sandy to make time with their son.
Just as in the song, I’m sure if Harry Chapin had it to do all over again, he would have used his time differently. The question we should be asking ourselves today is “How well do we use our time?”
We tend to live as if we had all the time in the world. But the Psalmist reminds us that is not so. In Psalm 90, we our lives are compared to the fragile grass: “In the morning it sprouts afresh, by nightfall it fades and withers.” Our time on earth is limited, and what we do with that time matters. We only have a finite amount of time to do the things that really count.
And yet we squander that time and let it slip away from us. We don’t mean to. It’s just that our lives are so busy. We rush after so many things: trying to get that job or promotion, launching a new business or project. There is shopping to do, and laundry. The house doesn’t just take care of itself. So many demands press in on us every day and it seems like there just aren’t enough hours to get it all done. At the end of the day we are so exhausted that it is hard to find the energy to do much else. As a result, we put off the very things that most deserve our time. But postponing life’s true priorities comes at a cost.
Too often we are like the farm boy, Joe, who accidentally overturned his wagonload of corn in the road. The farmer who lived nearby came to investigate. He offered to help the boy but he said to him, "Hey, Joe, forget your troubles for a spell and come on in and have dinner with us. Then I'll help you get the wagon up."
"That's mighty nice of you," Joe answered, "But I don't think Pa would like me to."
"Aw, come on, son!" the farmer insisted.
"Well, okay," the boy finally agreed. "But Pa won't like it."
After a hearty dinner, Joe thanked his host. "I feel a lot better now, but I just know Pa is going to be real upset."
"Don't be foolish!" exclaimed the neighbor.
"By the way, where is he?"
"Under the wagon."
How many times have we left a family member or friend “under the wagon,” knowing they need us but not making the time to be present for them?
According to a 2013 Pew Study, parents – no surprise – say they feel increasingly stressed about juggling work and family life. 56% of working moms and 50% of working dads say they find it very or somewhat difficult to balance these responsibilities. Though time with our children is thankfully on the rise, half of all fathers and one out of every four mothers say they spend too little time with their children.
A 2010 study in the Great Britain revealed that one in ten of us spends more time talking to our other half on the phone or by email than in we do in person. Couples now spend on average less than an hour a day talking while together, with one in five of us spending just fifteen minutes a day chatting in person. Fifteen minutes. More than a quarter of couples said they did not get the chance to have a proper chat until the weekend. That’s six days without spending meaningful time together.
We all know in our hearts that there is no replacement for spending time being fully present with others. Just ask the ingenious teenager who, tired of reading bedtime stories to his little sister, decided to record several of her favorite stories on tape. He told her, "Now you can hear your stories anytime you want. Isn't that great?" The little sister looked at the machine for a moment and then replied, "No, not really. It hasn't got a lap."
What those we care about need most from us is not things. What they need most is us. They need us to be fully present in their lives. If we are absent from our relationships how can we expect those relationships to flourish? If we fail to be present in the lives of those we love, how can we expect to them to feel our love and be transformed by it?
The same can be said for our relationship with God. A 2007 study found that the average American spends a total of three minutes on religious or spiritual activities on a normal weekday. Three minutes. No wonder then that we struggle to feel a relationship with God in our lives, or even to feel God’s presence at all. The Kotzker Rebbe taught “Where is God? Wherever we let him in.” The problem is that we don’t let him in very often.
It is not that we do not know what is important. We do know. If I asked you to list your priorities in life, most of you would not list shopping, or commuting, your job or your home. The proof that we know what is truly important is that toward the end of our lives we suddenly start scrambling to attend to all those things that we have ignored.
A rabbi waited in line to have his car filled with gas just before a long holiday weekend. It was a full-service station and the attendant worked quickly, but there were many cars ahead of him. Finally, the attendant motioned to him to move forward to a vacant pump. Rabbi, said the man, I’m sorry about the delay. It seems as if everyone waits until the last minute to get ready for a long trip. The Rabbi chuckled. Oy. I know what you mean. It’s the same in my business!
That’s us isn’t it? Like the father in Harry Chapin’s song, suddenly, we get older, we realize what we are missing and we stand in line seeking to fill up on the love and good that we passed by so many times. We want to heal our broken relationships. We want to make up for lost time. The problem is, we can lose time but we can never restore it. Once it’s gone, it’s gone forever
The rabbis of our Talmud tell us that when we stand before God in heaven for judgment of our lives, we will be asked five questions:
Did you conduct your business honestly?
Did you set times to study Torah?
Did you engage in procreation?
Did you hope for deliverance?
Did you seek wisdom and discern one thing from another?
I think there is one more question God will ask us: How do you explain those times when projects and things were more important to you than people? If we want to be prepared to answer that question, we need to ask ourselves now: Who do we need to spend more time with? What do we need to cut out of our schedule to make that possible? What sacrifices do we need to make?
The psalmist pleads with God: “Teach us to number all our days, so that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” But God has already provided the teaching. It’s up to us to heed it.
Let me close with a poem by Charles Hanson Towne:
Around the corner I have a friend
In this great city that has no end;
Yet days go by, and weeks rush on,
And before I know it, a year is gone.
I never see my old friend’s face,
For life is a swift and terrible race.
He knows I like him just as well
As in the days when I rang his bell
And he rang mine. We were younger then,
And now we are busy, tired men;
Tired: with trying to make a name.
“Tomorrow,” I say, “I will call on Jim.
Just to show that I’m thinking of him.”
But tomorrow comes – and tomorrow goes…
And the distance between grows and grows.
Around the corner! Yet miles away…
“Here’s a telegram sir… Jim died today.”
And that’s what we get, and deserve in the end.
Around the corner, a vanished friend.”
So be present – truly present – in the lives of those you love now, because you just do not know how long you will have the opportunity. Circumstances change. People die. Children grow up. You have no guarantee of tomorrow. If you want to express love, you had better do it now.
#judaism#jews#jewish#yom kippur#yizkor#spirituality#time#memory#values#family#parenting#love#preaching#homiletics#sermons#torah#chapin#harry chapin#cats cradle
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A Big Dumb Button http://ift.tt/2tufYsI My wife Sara and I… http://ift.tt/2sq5nj0
A Big Dumb Button http://ift.tt/2tufYsI
My wife Sara and I used to have this running joke leading up to her birthday each year. Each year I’d say, “Honey! What would you like for your birthday?,” and she would reply “I’d like a Hasselblad”. Usually with a big smile on her face, in a wink-wink-nudge-nudge kind of way.
Then I’d say “Ha ha, no, seriously, what would you like?” and we’d both laugh and move on to more serious things.
Hasselblad. The 500c/m. Man. That camera. It’s like the Rolls Royce of cameras. It would send shivers down our spines and we’d get all giggly any time we’d talk about it.
Hasselblad. We both wanted one. For me, the Hasselblad 500c/m is the perfect camera. It’s this beautiful, perfect melding of function and art mixed together. It really is a work of art; this little square box and can come all apart and attach to other things to make other types of cameras. If he was a Transformer he’d be the classiest one. He’d probably have a swirly moustache and wear a top hat and speak in an elegant accent.
Sometime around 2007-2008, I worked part-time a few days a week at our local camera shop. Three generations owned this shop. A downtown staple. The owner knew everyone that walked in. He chatted everybody up. He knew everyones stories.
A few months before Sara’s birthday, this older gentleman came into the shop. A small, white-haired guy, slightly bent over. He wore one of those blue trucker hats that had the yellow crests on the bill. It said MARINES.
The owner of the camera store knew of the little ongoing joke that Sara and I had. Those two were talking for quite a while and as they finished up their conversation, I got called over.
“Sid, this is John.”
“Hi.”
“I told John about your little joke you have with Sara. John actually works on Hasselblad cameras.”
“You do??” I asked him.
“I do,” he said. “I’m actually about to retire. I’m going to be closing up my workshop. I heard about your little run-on gag you have with your lady-friend. Y’know, I have a bunch of Hasselblad parts at my workshop still. Let me see if I can piece something together, and if I can, I’ll bring it back in here and we can talk.”
“Oh. Totally. That’s awesome. Thank you.”
And John left the store. And I figured that even if he did have something lying around, there is no way in hell I’d get my hands on one. I’d priced them on Craigslist. I’d followed them on eBay. Even with the “Great Film Crash” since the advent of digital cameras, the Rolls Royce of cameras was still at a price I couldn’t reach.
Two days later, John comes walking back in with a plastic bag under his arm. I got this tingle down my spine.
John pulls a 500c/m out of the bag. He sets it down on the glass counter and he nods for me to pick it up. I paw at it. It’s beautiful. It’s all leather and silver streamlined trim. It’s square and compact. And it’s calling to me.
“Sid. Sid. Look at me. Looooook.”
I wind it, pull the darkslide, and press the shutter. It makes that beautiful “CLOP-LOMP!” sound. Oh, that sweet, sweet sound.
I owned a Mamiya RB67 while in college. That thing was a tank. It was heavy and huge and it was near impossible for me to handhold and take a picture with it. You could drop an RB from a very tall building and the impact below would make a crater in the ground. But it would still work. That camera was fantastic.
But this camera was totally different. More elegant, refined. Not cumbersome like a blaster, but refined like a lightsaber. A more elegant weapon for a more elegant time. This was the girl that everyone had a crush on. That everyone wanted to take to the Prom.
This was the one true thing when it came to cameras.
I’m just about to start whispering sweet nothings into it’s viewfinder when John speaks up. He sounds kinda frustrated and angry. Not with me, but with himself:
“I was able to piece a kit together. The leather is good. The foam inside is clean. I put a brighter focusing screen in there so you can see better. It’s in good shape. But the serial numbers on the body and the film back don’t match. I hope that’s okay.”
I’m about to get down on my knees and propose marriage and he’s irritated with himself that the serial number don’t match.
“Uh…” was all I could say.
I paw at it some more, like a cat playing with a mouse. All of my logic is gone. All I can do is oggle the beautiful silver lines that move around the body of this camera. I’m hypnotized.
“So,” John begins and briefly snaps me out of my daydream.
“Here it is,” I start thinking. “The moment he tells me it’s like $1,200 bucks or more and I have to hand it back over to him”. My brain starts to get depressed.
“I have to ask: how much?” I say. I’m a mix of excitement but I’m ever so slightly pulling away because I know I’m going to be ripped away from this beautiful mix of utilitarianism and sculpture.
“Welp, I think it’s great that you both are photographers. And that you both met in art college. And I cleaned this thing up just for her. And since she loves photography and you love photography and she sounds like such a lovely lady, give me $200 and it’s yours.”
I was kind of in a daze. I had prepared for him to say something close to a thousand. My body was already instinctively starting to push the camera away from me when he tossed out the price. It took a few seconds for it to catch up on me.
“Wait, what?”
“Two hundred. And I might even have a prisim viewfinder back at the workshop. If I do I’ll bring it by in the next few days.”
Nobody has ever seen me run faster out the door of the camera shop, down main street and to the closest ATM. I ran like The Flash. I ran for my wife. I ran for that camera, and in my head, all the pictures I’d take and film I’d wind and times I’d just lovingly look over at it on a tri-pod.
I gave John the cash, and he again told me that if he found a prism for it, he’d bring it by in a few days and I could have it.
Suddenly I looked down and I owned the camera that was in my hand. Wait. What?
After John left, the owner of the camera store came up to me. He asked me if I knew who John was.
“No. He’s a really nice guy that just sold me a dream camera for a steal.” I said.
He told me to go home tonight, and look up the name John Kovacs on the internet. I might get a better idea of who just left.
So I did. And I wasn’t prepared for what I found.
John Kovacs.
John, it turns out, was one of the original group of technicians that was trained in Sweden many, many years ago. He had been working out of Nashua, New Hampshire, for decades under the name Hilton Command Exposures. Back in the days before the Internet, he would be the guy who’s name you would see in the back of camera collector magazines. He would be the guy that people would recommend to other Hasselblad owners when something went wrong with their camera. You popped your Hassy in a box and sent it off to Hilton Command Exposures in Nashua NH, and, weeks or months later, you’d get your camera back fixed and in perfect working order. He didn’t have a website. He worked by word of mouth.
John is the patent holder for the workings that enable multiple exposures on cameras with a film-back mechanism.
And John Kovacs was one of the original group of technicians that worked on the NASA modification of the Hasselblad equipment for the Space Program.
Wait. What?
Two days later, John came back into the camera store with a prism for me. I immediately jumped into asking him questions about all this stuff that I found online.
“Yeah,” he said with slight irritation, “that’s me.”
“Space! You worked on the cameras that went to the moon!! That’s amazing!”
John got even more irritated.
“Space,” he dryly said. “F**king Armstrong couldn’t operate the camera with his big stupid moon gloves on, so I had to create a big dumb button that he could bang to take the exposure.”
It was one of the most surrealistic moments I’ve ever been part of. Listening to someone irritated about the part they played in documenting people landing on the moon. There is a whole documentary film in his angry statement.
Shortly after he left. A week later he retired from being a Hasselblad technician, closed up his shop, sold the rest of his stuff to someone who turned around and sold all of it in pieces on eBay. The legacy of John Kovacs, and his participation in the history of cameras and photography came to an end.
John moved to Florida to live the remainder of his life happy and retired. One of the things I regret in our all-too-brief 4 day friendship was not getting a picture of him. I found a scan of a newspaper article that talked about Hilton Command Exposures back in the early 1990’s. Sitting there in his workshop, tending to someone’s mail-order, bringing a Rolls Royce of cameras back to life for people all over the world.
Sara was over the moon when she opened her birthday present that year. And, doubly over the moon when I told her the story that came with the camera. That some of the most skilled hands refurbed this camera, and that those hands adjusted the camera’s that are still sitting up there on the moon. And we got one of the very last cameras he worked on before he retired.
John died on January 18, 2013, in North Fort Myers, Florida, where he retired. He was a WWII Veteran with the United States Marine Corps. He was formerly the proud owner of Hilton Command Exposures in Nashua.
That camera will never part from us. It’s too important. There is too much history behind it. And one of the things that makes me sad is the history of photography, and of Hasselblad cameras, just became a little less because of John’s passing. These individuals who are on the outskirts of the history of photography are starting to pass. While we are obsessed with resolution and cramming megapixels into sensors and how to find the fast track to success, people like John who could turn a camera inside out and back again, are passing on.
I hope the information that was in John’s brain was passed on to somebody. Or somebodies. I hope he didn’t die with all the years of technical information and history without being able to pass all that on. Because I can’t bear knowing that he did.
Share your stories. Share the stories of those who pass those stories on to you. Photography is much larger that just taking pictures of things and putting them in a book or on a website. Share the stories, the conversations that come with them. Preserve the past and the history, however small it might seem to be.
There is so much more I wish I knew about John. But I’m glad that I get to share my story about him, however small it might be.
And every time I hear that CLOP-LOMP! coming out of my Hasselblad, I’m preserving John’s legacy and sharing who he was in a minuscule way.
About the author: Sid Ceaser is a studio and location photographer based in Nashua, New Hampshire. He specializes in band and musician publicity, press kit and promo photos, as well as headshot photos for people in entertainment and business. In addition to shooting he also teaches workshops and runs a podcast with designer Dave Seah. You can connect with him through his website, blog, Facebook, Flickr, and Twitter. This article was also published here.
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Today I continue my stories about SIHH 2019 with Part 2. If you skipped the first part, you can read it here. I left my story at the preparings for the first day of SIHH 2019. Let’s continue…
The first day of SIHH
Bowties, traffic and parking spaces
The first day can be tricky. You have to be there early enough to pick up your badge without queuing too long, prepare for the first meetings and so on.
So I wake up at 6:30 to get ready. The suit was prepared, the only worries in the morning being reserved for the bowtie. The bloody thing is gorgeous (I like bowties, without being one of the guys wearing one with religiosity, like some of the fellow journalists. No, I will not give names… Who knows, knows…) but so complicated to tie. Especially when you used it just a few times per year.
Preparing for the Salon 20 minutes, arranging the bowtie another 20 minutes, traffic for Monday morning another 20 minutes. Ohhh, I am so much late… But not for what one might expect!
Arriving at Palexpo it is easy, just a few kilometres away and the morning traffic. Finding an empty parking slot in which my car gets in, another story. I usually have two situations: I block one of the sides near a pillar or block both sides by parking in the middle, between two other cars blocking. Why they have so small parking slots? It’s not like they come cheap. I was lucky enough to find a slot close to an emergency exit, so my driver side should remain theoretically free. That was for just 5 minutes until a car parked on the forbidden space. But did not blocked me. I just thought: “Let’s see until the evening”.
Badges, orange juice and Lamborghini
Look OK, parking OK! Now I need to go in… A ginormous queue to get in. The security was checking every bag and every device, just like at the airport. Metal detectors included. “Great, I feel safe!” I do actually agree with the increased security. It gives me a good feeling. With the last events all over Europe, you can never know when someone decided it is the time for you to die.
After the guys have checked to my entire equipment with some untrusty look: “That is yours? Your entire equipment?”, I get to get my badge. I had to choose between the girls, which one should make my badge. I just picked the cutest one and proceed with the papers and stuff. The first badge was an error. Being registered to a later event at IWC made me appear in the system as an IWC guest. But I was an accredited journalist… After another 2 minutes, a full press badge was on my neck.
And now running to the press corner. Why? Because there are less than 200 lockers for more than 1000 journalists. But I was lucky. At around 8 o’clock there were still a few available. The same amount of lockers as of fingers on my hand. So I locked part of the equipment and asked for an orange juice. There was almost an hour to kill until the first presentation. So I have made a quick tour of SIHH and made some photos with my phone to put on Instagram.
Roger Dubuis booth held a Lambo. “Can I take it home? No! Aaaah, just for the show…”
The first conference was held in Auditorium by Roger Dubuis. People from Roger Dubuis and Lamborghini talked about their collaborations. Rather impressive.
Meetings and failures
The first real meeting was with Christophe Claret. Lovely booth, nice timepieces… The new cable fusee is something out of normality. The time display with rubies is a nice touch – I like rubies.
I have met with the Gronefeld brothers. I love those two guys. The new Principia is like an entry level for the brand – in the Gronefeld style.
Then another conference in Auditorium – “The genesis of a new complication” with Christian Selmoni and that girl from Revolution that knows about watches more than I will ever know in my lifetime. You can see the conference here:
I head it to the lockers to pick up the video lights and stands for the interview with Stephen Forsey. What can I say? Prepared everything, did a great interview only to discover after that the camera stopped after one minute. Did I prepare a B-roll? Of course not… So I died a little bit inside… Stephen stormed away from the room. Probably not to kill me ’cause he lost 30 minutes of his time. The perks of working alone.
I managed to photograph the novelties… So it was not a complete waste of time.
The dark clouds and my disappointment were fast away. I had another interview with David Bernard, from Time Aeon Foundation. Lovely time, great discussion. The interview will follow in the next days. Stay tuned for some horrible sound (noisy background) and poorly placed camera. I still have so much to learn.
I ran to the Vacheron Constantin booth to meet the girl from the German press. I promised her we meet for a drink (working drink, you know – business meeting) and I was more than half an hour late. I managed to find her, kind of pissed of. But she was right, I have made her wait in a time and place where there was no time to spare. Thank you, A-M, for understanding. I owe you…
Swiss SIM, German dinner
So after the crazy first day was over. I ran to my car. Paying the 20 CHF for the parking was painful. So again on the Genevan roads to try to get a SALT boutique to buy a SIM card. I was lucky to have one relatively close. I was there 10 minutes before the store closes. I managed to get the desired SIM. The prepay system has unlimited Internet with 2 CHF per day. Necessary to post on media and to keep in contact with my loved ones (roaming was like 5 Eur per 150MB traffic – too much for too less).
Now was the time to meet and greet the colleagues from the German press at a hotel nearby. I will be honest, it was nicer than expected. Nice people, good conversation, good food. Since I was driving, no alcohol.
After the “social duties” were over, I drove back to the hotel to get some sleep. It was already midnight.
The second day of SIHH
The second day was less stressful. A tie, easier to tie than the bowtie, no hurry to get a locker…
Meeting, people & watches
My first meeting was with the girls from Roger Dubuis. Now that I knew them from the German press dinner, everything was quite a pleasure.
The next meeting was with Hautlence. Interesting implementations / variations of an older design.
Some ice to cool a hot day
The booth also hosted the H. Moser & Cie – crazy pieces. “Go green!” sounded in my eyes and ears. I am an avid fan, not only of their watches but also of their campaigns.
Is the year of the green dials?
Is green the colour of this SIHH?
The Piaget press conference amazed me with some gorgeous ladies pieces. Again, green was present in some lady watch and in the Polo.
That mother of pearl… that diamond set…
The Richard Mille was an explosion of colours. A strange thing: I was asked to send the pictures to headquarters before publishing something… To get the approval. Hmmm, forgot to send them so no pictures for you. You got to believe me, it was colourful.
The next appointment was with my close to heart JLC. Not all the pieces were available for me to photograph. But it’s ok…
That tourbillon enclosed by a translucent enamel… Gorgeous!
Audemars Piguet was an interesting stop. I had read some articles and seen some of the videos pre-SIHH and I was curious to see the C.O.D.E.11:59. The watches look much better in reality. Seen straight from above, the dials don’t breath the AP’s individuality. But I am not an expert in AP to judge that.
That sapphire though…
The Girard-Perregaux appointment ended with a tour of the booth and the presentation of the watches. There was, unfortunately, no time to photograph them. I have to tell you: the new perpetual calendar and the Girard-Perregaux Cat’s Eye Plum Blossom – gorgeous pieces.
After the photo session with Piaget (yes, first a presentation and later a photo session), I ran to Vacheron Constantin booth to catch the novelties in my hands. Here, I was again firmly convinced that, for SIHH 2019, there is a battle between green and blue. The new shade of petrol blue from VC is gorgeous.
The new Overseas in an interesting shade of blue
Singer and Krayon
After all the meetings from SIHH were over, I drove to Geneva’s centre to meet some friends. One and a half hours to cover 6 km. The traffic in Geneva is terrible. The only good thing was that I arrived after 7pm and I could park on the street, for free.
A new concept from Singer Reimagined
I got the chance to meet Rémi Maillat and his interesting Krayon. More about that in a separate review.
A white gold case, exquisitely decorated – Krayon Everywhere
My second day of SIHH ended. I was tired, kind of hungry and eager to have some proper conversation with my wife. So I head it to the hotel and tried to rest…
But was not the case. I prepared first some press releases. A lot of brands sent me the PR just after SIHH started. How was I supposed to prepare them? Even copy paste the text and upload the pictures needs at least half an hour…
But enough for today. Enjoy your weekend.
SIHH 2019 Impressions – Part 2 Today I continue my stories about SIHH 2019 with Part 2. If you skipped the first part, …
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Podcasting How To’s and Tips with Jeff Bradbury and Vicki Davis
Jeff Bradbury on episode 267 of the 10-Minute Teacher Podcast
From the Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis
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Jeff Bradbury, IT Coach and Podcaster at the Teachercast Network and I talk about education podcasting and how it all works.
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Enhanced Transcript
Podcasting How To’s and Tips with Jeff Bradbury
Link to show: www.coolcatteacher.com/e267
Date: March 6, 2018
Vicki: Teachers, today I’m talking with fellow podcaster and friend Jeff Bradbury @JeffBradbury from the TeacherCast Network https://www.teachercast.net/.
Jeff, you and I are both podcasters. Why did you START podcasting? What do you get out of it?
Jeff: I love being able to reach out and work with teachers. We’ve been doing this for seven years now, and it’s been a great opportunity to not only meet people but have people on the show and share their stories.
Vicki: You know, I learn so much — like talking to people — and it’s almost addictive, isn’t it?
Jeff: It absolutely is.
Vicki: So what kind of feedback do you get from the audience? I mean, does that keep you going? What keeps you doing the podcast?
What keeps you going?
Jeff: Oh, you know, I get amazing feedback — not necessarily on the show, but on the things that we talk about.
Just a quick story here.
Many of you guys know that my wife is in remission from breast cancer and she recently put out kind of small stories on this show. And it was so amazing and so wonderful to get feedback saying, “I’m glad your wife is doing OK. Please send her our best and send her our love.”
That is the feedback that I absolutely love hearing about the show. People that listen and, you know, they get what you’re doing. They get that you are a family person first. I absolutely love my audience.
Vicki: Yeah, it’s really a blessing, and I have a hard time calling 10-Minute-Teacher “remarkable educators” and I have a hard time calling out my audience because I just sort of feel like it’s a shared experience.
Isn’t it hard, sometimes, adjusting from — you know, we both kind of feel like we’re just regular educators, right?
We’re just regular educators
Jeff: Absolutely. We’ve done over 800 shows here. I’ve always said that I’ve never once interviewed anybody. I’ve just always had amazing conversations with them.
Vicki: So tell us about…
What’s one of your most amazing… where you’re like, “Ohhh, this is so awesome!”
One of Jeff’s most amazing experiences as an influencer
Jeff: You know, one of my favorite shows was one that I didn’t even know that I was doing. This was five, probably six years ago. It had Dan Callahan on from — at that time, he was kind of working with the EdCamp Foundation and founders, and we just did a show on, “What Is EdCamp?”
Six months later, I got an email from this random person that said,
“Hey, I just wanted to let you know… We’re here at EdCamp Buffalo. The reason that we’re at EdCamp Buffalo is that I’ve heard your show, and it inspired me to create my own EdCamp. And now we’ve got a couple hundred people here.”
That’s pretty awesome!
Vicki: (agrees)
Jeff: And I love that story because you never know who’s listening.
Many people say, “Well, what are your numbers?”
Well, it’s not your numbers. It’s who’s listening and the impact that you have on them — it might be next week, and it might be next year. But everything that we do has the opportunity to impact the world.
Vicki: And it’s about the students.
It’s about the students.
I remember a Spanish teacher from the northeast who sent me an email once, and he said that he was a new teacher. Not only did he thank me, but his students thanked me because he was so excited about teaching in the classroom now. He just felt like he had a new life.
When you get those emails, you kind of go, “You know, I get to do this? Really? I get to love on kids every day and love my colleagues, and then I get to help other teachers fall in love again?”
It’s just awesome.
Jeff: It’s pretty remarkable.
Vicki: Yeah. It is.
So, you and I both self-produce our podcasts.
Jeff: (agrees)
Vicki: And I know that you’ve recently relaunched everything.
Is it hard to put this into your weekday routine?
Jeff: The day’s pretty simple, right?
I go to work. I come home, and now I’m a dad of 4-year-old triplets. They go to bed around 8:00. So after that is my family time with my wife or my Teachercast time here.
We recently relaunched. We rebranded, re-did everything here. The new website is AMAZING. I hope you guys have a chance to check out teachercast.net
It’s just a matter of making sure that you’ve got time to do everything.
And that was the whole idea of having the new website, was to provide myself with a resource that not only is going to knock your socks off when you see it, but also give me the time with my family that they deserve.
Vicki: Well, it’s about routines and habits, and something called batching.
So, I’m interviewing you, and we’re talking today.
I think you’re my 6th or 7th interview today.
So you know, people say, “How do you do it?”
Well, really, three or four days a month, I’ll sit down and interview six or seven.
And it’s just about routines.
And you’re right. It’s about making the back end even more efficient.
So I’m always saying, “How can we save time? How can we more helpful? How can we be more useful?”
Right?
Jeff: Absolutely. And I always preach, “Have templates ready.”
You know, make sure that your Shownotes follow a path. Make sure that your intro follows a path. That way, everybody can kind of keep on the same beat.
Vicki: And finding people to help you. Do you have some folks that help you on your show?
Jeff: You know, we have our show on Tuesday (although we might be changing it) called our Tech Educators Show. We’ve got some great co-hosts on, somebody who was recently on your show, Dr. Sam Patterson…
Vicki: (laughs) Oh yeah! I love Sam!
Jeff: You know, we’re kind of partners in crime on this.
He’s got the west coast people. I’ve got the east coast people here.
It is important to have a nice team around you. That being said, everything you see on Teachercast, from the recording to the editing to the Shownotes to the… I’ve been doing it strong by myself for about basically for seven years.
It is important to have a team around you
Vicki: (disbelief) Whoa… I don’t know how…
Jeff: But I love doing it that way. I’ve tried outsourcing it, but… I’ve gotten it down to… I can record an hour show and have it edited out in about 5-6 minutes, and published within an hour and a half of hanging up.
Vicki: Wow…
Jeff: You know, you do it so long? It’s like teaching, right? You do it so long. You get into a rhythm. You’re good to go.
Vicki: Well, we’ve just been going a year — a little over a year — with the 10-Minute Teacher.
There’s me.
There’s my husband, Kip, who is the producer.
There’s Dr. Lisa Durff, who sets all the appointments because I just can’t keep it all organized.
And Kymberli Mulford, who does the transcripts.
And Jim Beeghley, who keeps the hackers and gremlins off of my site.
I mean, it’s just so much! It seems like..
Educators, you CAN do it by yourself. Or you can do it with a team.
It can be done either way, right, Jeff?
Jeff: Absolutely. You know, you don’t HAVE to do it by yourself.
It’s just a matter of making sure that you always have your audience in mind. And it’s always about, “What does your audience want to listen to?”
So keep in mind why we’re doing this. It’s to make some great content and improve the lives of students worldwide.
Vicki: So, Jeff, what’s the worst thing about podcasting?
The worst thing about podcasting is…
Jeff: (Sighs.)
You know that you have to put a show out tomorrow or the next day, and you don’t have a guest yet to fit the spot.
Vicki: (agrees)
Jeff: Or, you’re doing a live show in five minutes, and the power goes out and you’ve got a live audience waiting for you.
Vicki: (agrees)
Jeff: I live in North Jersey up in the mountains, and I literally live on an island. When the power goes out, you’re the last people that the power company comes to.
So we’ve had that, unfortunately, a couple of times now, where everyone’s ready to go, and I’m ready to go, and then (CLICK)… nothing. (10:00)
Vicki: So your show is live, and then you turn it into a podcast, right?
Jeff: I do one live show a week. On any given week, I could be putting out anywhere between 10-15 podcasts.
Right now, like I said, when we re-launched, we actually had nine shows online plus my client shows that I do.
Plus my client shows. I do a show for the Jersey Educators Association and I also do it for Microsoft Education. So I guess that’s eleven shows total that I’m running simultaneously.
Vicki: Wow.
Jeff: So it’s a very, very, crazy, crazy thing. But I love doing it.
And for me, it’s the — you know — CAN you do it? And I love being able to help anybody.
I mean, one of the things if you go over to educationalpodcasting.tips. It’s our new private Facebook group. You guys are welcome to come in and join us.
We’ve got a growing community there. We’re an educationalpodcasting.tips. Every day we’re doing tips and tricks, and share your stories, and share your favorite this-n-that. It a little community.
Vicki: So Jeff, we have 30-seconds to wrap up. If somebody’s thinking about starting their own podcast, what’s your advice?
What’s your advice to anyone who wants to start podcasting?
Jeff: Call me.
I’ve been working with podcasters. I love working with teachers.
Remember, it doesn’t have to be anything huge.
Like I do a lot of work with teachers who want shows, or media content in their classrooms. Just as much as I love when people want to make studio like we have here.
Call me anytime. Educationalpodcasting.tips and of course you can always reach out at Teachercast
Vicki: So, educators, we’ve talked about podcasting. Als, we’ll add to the Shownotes all the equipment that I use, and I know Jeff, if you have a link to yours. He and I both use the ATR 2100 and he have a what? 2500 mic?
Jeff: Yep ATR 2500 USB. They’re fantastic microphones.
Vicki: They are, and they’re just really easy to use. I actually have two of them. So if I want to podcast with my students and bring my personal rig to school, I can do that.
And you can get started, and you can do your own podcasting.
You can partner with others. There are a lot of ways to do that.
I think… here’s the big thing.
Podcasting is so intimate to me. I listen to podcasts. I really love learning from podcasts.
And the thing about it is that we customize our own radio now, and that’s one of the things that I love about it the most.
Take a look in the Shownotes and at the teachercast relaunch and all that Jeff Bradbury is doing.
Jeff, thanks for coming on the show and for being my friend.
Jeff: Thank you so much for having me.
Contact us about the show: http://www.coolcatteacher.com/contact
Transcribed by Kymberli Mulford [email protected]
Bio as submitted
Jeffrey Bradbury, author of Kidblog: An Introduction to Blogging With Your Students, is the creator of TeacherCast.net, TeacherCast University, and Educational Podcasting Today. He is an ASCD Emerging Leader, Google for Education Certified Innovator, Google for Education Trainer, PBS Learning Media Digital Innovator, Microsoft Innovative Educator, Microsoft Surface Expert, speaker, writer, podcaster, broadcaster, consultant, and educational media specialist. He is currently the Coordinator for Technology Integration and Instructional Technology Coach for a K-12 Regional School District in New Jersey.
In 2012, Jeff was recognized as one of top 50 educators using social media at the first ever Bammy Awards and has been nominated three times in the category of Innovator of the Year. Jeff has provided Keynote speeches for the Pearson Authentic Learning Conference, EdTechNJ, and most recently at Columbia University’s Teacher College and Podcast Mid-Atlantic conference.
Jeff earned his Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree from West Chester University in Pennsylvania. In his free time, Jeff enjoys teaching, web design, broadcasting, playing viola and violin, conducting, and spending time with his wife Jennifer and their four-year-old triplets.
Blog: http://www.TeacherCast.net
Twitter: @teachercast
Disclosure of Material Connection: This is a “sponsored podcast episode.” The company who sponsored it compensated me via cash payment, gift, or something else of value to include a reference to their product. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I believe will be good for my readers and are from companies I can recommend. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.” This company has no impact on the editorial content of the show.
The post Podcasting How To’s and Tips with Jeff Bradbury and Vicki Davis appeared first on Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis @coolcatteacher helping educators be excellent every day. Meow!
Podcasting How To’s and Tips with Jeff Bradbury and Vicki Davis published first on https://getnewdlbusiness.tumblr.com/
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Text
Podcasting How To’s and Tips with Jeff Bradbury and Vicki Davis
Jeff Bradbury on episode 267 of the 10-Minute Teacher Podcast
From the Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis
Follow @coolcatteacher on Twitter
Jeff Bradbury, IT Coach and Podcaster at the Teachercast Network and I talk about education podcasting and how it all works.
Advancement Courses has more than 200 graduate level online professional development courses for K-12 teachers. You can take these courses for continuing education, salary advancement, or recertification. They are practical courses that have teachers developing tangible resources to use in their classrooms immediately. Go to advancementcourses.com/coolcat and use the code COOL20 at checkout to get 20% off any course. With this coupon, a 3 grad credit course is only $359.
Listen Now
Listen to the show on iTunes or Stitcher
Stream by clicking here.
***
Enhanced Transcript
Podcasting How To’s and Tips with Jeff Bradbury
Link to show: www.coolcatteacher.com/e267
Date: March 6, 2018
Vicki: Teachers, today I’m talking with fellow podcaster and friend Jeff Bradbury @JeffBradbury from the TeacherCast Network https://www.teachercast.net/.
Jeff, you and I are both podcasters. Why did you START podcasting? What do you get out of it?
Jeff: I love being able to reach out and work with teachers. We’ve been doing this for seven years now, and it’s been a great opportunity to not only meet people but have people on the show and share their stories.
Vicki: You know, I learn so much — like talking to people — and it’s almost addictive, isn’t it?
Jeff: It absolutely is.
Vicki: So what kind of feedback do you get from the audience? I mean, does that keep you going? What keeps you doing the podcast?
What keeps you going?
Jeff: Oh, you know, I get amazing feedback — not necessarily on the show, but on the things that we talk about.
Just a quick story here.
Many of you guys know that my wife is in remission from breast cancer and she recently put out kind of small stories on this show. And it was so amazing and so wonderful to get feedback saying, “I’m glad your wife is doing OK. Please send her our best and send her our love.”
That is the feedback that I absolutely love hearing about the show. People that listen and, you know, they get what you’re doing. They get that you are a family person first. I absolutely love my audience.
Vicki: Yeah, it’s really a blessing, and I have a hard time calling 10-Minute-Teacher “remarkable educators” and I have a hard time calling out my audience because I just sort of feel like it’s a shared experience.
Isn’t it hard, sometimes, adjusting from — you know, we both kind of feel like we’re just regular educators, right?
We’re just regular educators
Jeff: Absolutely. We’ve done over 800 shows here. I’ve always said that I’ve never once interviewed anybody. I’ve just always had amazing conversations with them.
Vicki: So tell us about…
What’s one of your most amazing… where you’re like, “Ohhh, this is so awesome!”
One of Jeff’s most amazing experiences as an influencer
Jeff: You know, one of my favorite shows was one that I didn’t even know that I was doing. This was five, probably six years ago. It had Dan Callahan on from — at that time, he was kind of working with the EdCamp Foundation and founders, and we just did a show on, “What Is EdCamp?”
Six months later, I got an email from this random person that said,
“Hey, I just wanted to let you know… We’re here at EdCamp Buffalo. The reason that we’re at EdCamp Buffalo is that I’ve heard your show, and it inspired me to create my own EdCamp. And now we’ve got a couple hundred people here.”
That’s pretty awesome!
Vicki: (agrees)
Jeff: And I love that story because you never know who’s listening.
Many people say, “Well, what are your numbers?”
Well, it’s not your numbers. It’s who’s listening and the impact that you have on them — it might be next week, and it might be next year. But everything that we do has the opportunity to impact the world.
Vicki: And it’s about the students.
It’s about the students.
I remember a Spanish teacher from the northeast who sent me an email once, and he said that he was a new teacher. Not only did he thank me, but his students thanked me because he was so excited about teaching in the classroom now. He just felt like he had a new life.
When you get those emails, you kind of go, “You know, I get to do this? Really? I get to love on kids every day and love my colleagues, and then I get to help other teachers fall in love again?”
It’s just awesome.
Jeff: It’s pretty remarkable.
Vicki: Yeah. It is.
So, you and I both self-produce our podcasts.
Jeff: (agrees)
Vicki: And I know that you’ve recently relaunched everything.
Is it hard to put this into your weekday routine?
Jeff: The day’s pretty simple, right?
I go to work. I come home, and now I’m a dad of 4-year-old triplets. They go to bed around 8:00. So after that is my family time with my wife or my Teachercast time here.
We recently relaunched. We rebranded, re-did everything here. The new website is AMAZING. I hope you guys have a chance to check out teachercast.net
It’s just a matter of making sure that you’ve got time to do everything.
And that was the whole idea of having the new website, was to provide myself with a resource that not only is going to knock your socks off when you see it, but also give me the time with my family that they deserve.
Vicki: Well, it’s about routines and habits, and something called batching.
So, I’m interviewing you, and we’re talking today.
I think you’re my 6th or 7th interview today.
So you know, people say, “How do you do it?”
Well, really, three or four days a month, I’ll sit down and interview six or seven.
And it’s just about routines.
And you’re right. It’s about making the back end even more efficient.
So I’m always saying, “How can we save time? How can we more helpful? How can we be more useful?”
Right?
Jeff: Absolutely. And I always preach, “Have templates ready.”
You know, make sure that your Shownotes follow a path. Make sure that your intro follows a path. That way, everybody can kind of keep on the same beat.
Vicki: And finding people to help you. Do you have some folks that help you on your show?
Jeff: You know, we have our show on Tuesday (although we might be changing it) called our Tech Educators Show. We’ve got some great co-hosts on, somebody who was recently on your show, Dr. Sam Patterson…
Vicki: (laughs) Oh yeah! I love Sam!
Jeff: You know, we’re kind of partners in crime on this.
He’s got the west coast people. I’ve got the east coast people here.
It is important to have a nice team around you. That being said, everything you see on Teachercast, from the recording to the editing to the Shownotes to the… I’ve been doing it strong by myself for about basically for seven years.
It is important to have a team around you
Vicki: (disbelief) Whoa… I don’t know how…
Jeff: But I love doing it that way. I’ve tried outsourcing it, but… I’ve gotten it down to… I can record an hour show and have it edited out in about 5-6 minutes, and published within an hour and a half of hanging up.
Vicki: Wow…
Jeff: You know, you do it so long? It’s like teaching, right? You do it so long. You get into a rhythm. You’re good to go.
Vicki: Well, we’ve just been going a year — a little over a year — with the 10-Minute Teacher.
There’s me.
There’s my husband, Kip, who is the producer.
There’s Dr. Lisa Durff, who sets all the appointments because I just can’t keep it all organized.
And Kymberli Mulford, who does the transcripts.
And Jim Beeghley, who keeps the hackers and gremlins off of my site.
I mean, it’s just so much! It seems like..
Educators, you CAN do it by yourself. Or you can do it with a team.
It can be done either way, right, Jeff?
Jeff: Absolutely. You know, you don’t HAVE to do it by yourself.
It’s just a matter of making sure that you always have your audience in mind. And it’s always about, “What does your audience want to listen to?”
So keep in mind why we’re doing this. It’s to make some great content and improve the lives of students worldwide.
Vicki: So, Jeff, what’s the worst thing about podcasting?
The worst thing about podcasting is…
Jeff: (Sighs.)
You know that you have to put a show out tomorrow or the next day, and you don’t have a guest yet to fit the spot.
Vicki: (agrees)
Jeff: Or, you’re doing a live show in five minutes, and the power goes out and you’ve got a live audience waiting for you.
Vicki: (agrees)
Jeff: I live in North Jersey up in the mountains, and I literally live on an island. When the power goes out, you’re the last people that the power company comes to.
So we’ve had that, unfortunately, a couple of times now, where everyone’s ready to go, and I’m ready to go, and then (CLICK)… nothing. (10:00)
Vicki: So your show is live, and then you turn it into a podcast, right?
Jeff: I do one live show a week. On any given week, I could be putting out anywhere between 10-15 podcasts.
Right now, like I said, when we re-launched, we actually had nine shows online plus my client shows that I do.
Plus my client shows. I do a show for the Jersey Educators Association and I also do it for Microsoft Education. So I guess that’s eleven shows total that I’m running simultaneously.
Vicki: Wow.
Jeff: So it’s a very, very, crazy, crazy thing. But I love doing it.
And for me, it’s the — you know — CAN you do it? And I love being able to help anybody.
I mean, one of the things if you go over to educationalpodcasting.tips. It’s our new private Facebook group. You guys are welcome to come in and join us.
We’ve got a growing community there. We’re an educationalpodcasting.tips. Every day we’re doing tips and tricks, and share your stories, and share your favorite this-n-that. It a little community.
Vicki: So Jeff, we have 30-seconds to wrap up. If somebody’s thinking about starting their own podcast, what’s your advice?
What’s your advice to anyone who wants to start podcasting?
Jeff: Call me.
I’ve been working with podcasters. I love working with teachers.
Remember, it doesn’t have to be anything huge.
Like I do a lot of work with teachers who want shows, or media content in their classrooms. Just as much as I love when people want to make studio like we have here.
Call me anytime. Educationalpodcasting.tips and of course you can always reach out at Teachercast
Vicki: So, educators, we’ve talked about podcasting. Als, we’ll add to the Shownotes all the equipment that I use, and I know Jeff, if you have a link to yours. He and I both use the ATR 2100 and he have a what? 2500 mic?
Jeff: Yep ATR 2500 USB. They’re fantastic microphones.
Vicki: They are, and they’re just really easy to use. I actually have two of them. So if I want to podcast with my students and bring my personal rig to school, I can do that.
And you can get started, and you can do your own podcasting.
You can partner with others. There are a lot of ways to do that.
I think… here’s the big thing.
Podcasting is so intimate to me. I listen to podcasts. I really love learning from podcasts.
And the thing about it is that we customize our own radio now, and that’s one of the things that I love about it the most.
Take a look in the Shownotes and at the teachercast relaunch and all that Jeff Bradbury is doing.
Jeff, thanks for coming on the show and for being my friend.
Jeff: Thank you so much for having me.
Contact us about the show: http://www.coolcatteacher.com/contact
Transcribed by Kymberli Mulford [email protected]
Bio as submitted
Jeffrey Bradbury, author of Kidblog: An Introduction to Blogging With Your Students, is the creator of TeacherCast.net, TeacherCast University, and Educational Podcasting Today. He is an ASCD Emerging Leader, Google for Education Certified Innovator, Google for Education Trainer, PBS Learning Media Digital Innovator, Microsoft Innovative Educator, Microsoft Surface Expert, speaker, writer, podcaster, broadcaster, consultant, and educational media specialist. He is currently the Coordinator for Technology Integration and Instructional Technology Coach for a K-12 Regional School District in New Jersey.
In 2012, Jeff was recognized as one of top 50 educators using social media at the first ever Bammy Awards and has been nominated three times in the category of Innovator of the Year. Jeff has provided Keynote speeches for the Pearson Authentic Learning Conference, EdTechNJ, and most recently at Columbia University’s Teacher College and Podcast Mid-Atlantic conference.
Jeff earned his Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree from West Chester University in Pennsylvania. In his free time, Jeff enjoys teaching, web design, broadcasting, playing viola and violin, conducting, and spending time with his wife Jennifer and their four-year-old triplets.
Blog: http://www.TeacherCast.net
Twitter: @teachercast
Disclosure of Material Connection: This is a “sponsored podcast episode.” The company who sponsored it compensated me via cash payment, gift, or something else of value to include a reference to their product. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I believe will be good for my readers and are from companies I can recommend. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.” This company has no impact on the editorial content of the show.
The post Podcasting How To’s and Tips with Jeff Bradbury and Vicki Davis appeared first on Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis @coolcatteacher helping educators be excellent every day. Meow!
Podcasting How To’s and Tips with Jeff Bradbury and Vicki Davis published first on https://getnewcourse.tumblr.com/
0 notes
Text
Podcasting How To’s and Tips with Jeff Bradbury and Vicki Davis
Jeff Bradbury on episode 267 of the 10-Minute Teacher Podcast
From the Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis
Follow @coolcatteacher on Twitter
Jeff Bradbury, IT Coach and Podcaster at the Teachercast Network and I talk about education podcasting and how it all works.
Advancement Courses has more than 200 graduate level online professional development courses for K-12 teachers. You can take these courses for continuing education, salary advancement, or recertification. They are practical courses that have teachers developing tangible resources to use in their classrooms immediately. Go to advancementcourses.com/coolcat and use the code COOL20 at checkout to get 20% off any course. With this coupon, a 3 grad credit course is only $359.
Listen Now
Listen to the show on iTunes or Stitcher
Stream by clicking here.
***
Enhanced Transcript
Podcasting How To’s and Tips with Jeff Bradbury
Link to show: www.coolcatteacher.com/e267
Date: March 6, 2018
Vicki: Teachers, today I’m talking with fellow podcaster and friend Jeff Bradbury @JeffBradbury from the TeacherCast Network https://www.teachercast.net/.
Jeff, you and I are both podcasters. Why did you START podcasting? What do you get out of it?
Jeff: I love being able to reach out and work with teachers. We’ve been doing this for seven years now, and it’s been a great opportunity to not only meet people but have people on the show and share their stories.
Vicki: You know, I learn so much — like talking to people — and it’s almost addictive, isn’t it?
Jeff: It absolutely is.
Vicki: So what kind of feedback do you get from the audience? I mean, does that keep you going? What keeps you doing the podcast?
What keeps you going?
Jeff: Oh, you know, I get amazing feedback — not necessarily on the show, but on the things that we talk about.
Just a quick story here.
Many of you guys know that my wife is in remission from breast cancer and she recently put out kind of small stories on this show. And it was so amazing and so wonderful to get feedback saying, “I’m glad your wife is doing OK. Please send her our best and send her our love.”
That is the feedback that I absolutely love hearing about the show. People that listen and, you know, they get what you’re doing. They get that you are a family person first. I absolutely love my audience.
Vicki: Yeah, it’s really a blessing, and I have a hard time calling 10-Minute-Teacher “remarkable educators” and I have a hard time calling out my audience because I just sort of feel like it’s a shared experience.
Isn’t it hard, sometimes, adjusting from — you know, we both kind of feel like we’re just regular educators, right?
We’re just regular educators
Jeff: Absolutely. We’ve done over 800 shows here. I’ve always said that I’ve never once interviewed anybody. I’ve just always had amazing conversations with them.
Vicki: So tell us about…
What’s one of your most amazing… where you’re like, “Ohhh, this is so awesome!”
One of Jeff’s most amazing experiences as an influencer
Jeff: You know, one of my favorite shows was one that I didn’t even know that I was doing. This was five, probably six years ago. It had Dan Callahan on from — at that time, he was kind of working with the EdCamp Foundation and founders, and we just did a show on, “What Is EdCamp?”
Six months later, I got an email from this random person that said,
“Hey, I just wanted to let you know… We’re here at EdCamp Buffalo. The reason that we’re at EdCamp Buffalo is that I’ve heard your show, and it inspired me to create my own EdCamp. And now we’ve got a couple hundred people here.”
That’s pretty awesome!
Vicki: (agrees)
Jeff: And I love that story because you never know who’s listening.
Many people say, “Well, what are your numbers?”
Well, it’s not your numbers. It’s who’s listening and the impact that you have on them — it might be next week, and it might be next year. But everything that we do has the opportunity to impact the world.
Vicki: And it’s about the students.
It’s about the students.
I remember a Spanish teacher from the northeast who sent me an email once, and he said that he was a new teacher. Not only did he thank me, but his students thanked me because he was so excited about teaching in the classroom now. He just felt like he had a new life.
When you get those emails, you kind of go, “You know, I get to do this? Really? I get to love on kids every day and love my colleagues, and then I get to help other teachers fall in love again?”
It’s just awesome.
Jeff: It’s pretty remarkable.
Vicki: Yeah. It is.
So, you and I both self-produce our podcasts.
Jeff: (agrees)
Vicki: And I know that you’ve recently relaunched everything.
Is it hard to put this into your weekday routine?
Jeff: The day’s pretty simple, right?
I go to work. I come home, and now I’m a dad of 4-year-old triplets. They go to bed around 8:00. So after that is my family time with my wife or my Teachercast time here.
We recently relaunched. We rebranded, re-did everything here. The new website is AMAZING. I hope you guys have a chance to check out teachercast.net
It’s just a matter of making sure that you’ve got time to do everything.
And that was the whole idea of having the new website, was to provide myself with a resource that not only is going to knock your socks off when you see it, but also give me the time with my family that they deserve.
Vicki: Well, it’s about routines and habits, and something called batching.
So, I’m interviewing you, and we’re talking today.
I think you’re my 6th or 7th interview today.
So you know, people say, “How do you do it?”
Well, really, three or four days a month, I’ll sit down and interview six or seven.
And it’s just about routines.
And you’re right. It’s about making the back end even more efficient.
So I’m always saying, “How can we save time? How can we more helpful? How can we be more useful?”
Right?
Jeff: Absolutely. And I always preach, “Have templates ready.”
You know, make sure that your Shownotes follow a path. Make sure that your intro follows a path. That way, everybody can kind of keep on the same beat.
Vicki: And finding people to help you. Do you have some folks that help you on your show?
Jeff: You know, we have our show on Tuesday (although we might be changing it) called our Tech Educators Show. We’ve got some great co-hosts on, somebody who was recently on your show, Dr. Sam Patterson…
Vicki: (laughs) Oh yeah! I love Sam!
Jeff: You know, we’re kind of partners in crime on this.
He’s got the west coast people. I’ve got the east coast people here.
It is important to have a nice team around you. That being said, everything you see on Teachercast, from the recording to the editing to the Shownotes to the… I’ve been doing it strong by myself for about basically for seven years.
It is important to have a team around you
Vicki: (disbelief) Whoa… I don’t know how…
Jeff: But I love doing it that way. I’ve tried outsourcing it, but… I’ve gotten it down to… I can record an hour show and have it edited out in about 5-6 minutes, and published within an hour and a half of hanging up.
Vicki: Wow…
Jeff: You know, you do it so long? It’s like teaching, right? You do it so long. You get into a rhythm. You’re good to go.
Vicki: Well, we’ve just been going a year — a little over a year — with the 10-Minute Teacher.
There’s me.
There’s my husband, Kip, who is the producer.
There’s Dr. Lisa Durff, who sets all the appointments because I just can’t keep it all organized.
And Kymberli Mulford, who does the transcripts.
And Jim Beeghley, who keeps the hackers and gremlins off of my site.
I mean, it’s just so much! It seems like..
Educators, you CAN do it by yourself. Or you can do it with a team.
It can be done either way, right, Jeff?
Jeff: Absolutely. You know, you don’t HAVE to do it by yourself.
It’s just a matter of making sure that you always have your audience in mind. And it’s always about, “What does your audience want to listen to?”
So keep in mind why we’re doing this. It’s to make some great content and improve the lives of students worldwide.
Vicki: So, Jeff, what’s the worst thing about podcasting?
The worst thing about podcasting is…
Jeff: (Sighs.)
You know that you have to put a show out tomorrow or the next day, and you don’t have a guest yet to fit the spot.
Vicki: (agrees)
Jeff: Or, you’re doing a live show in five minutes, and the power goes out and you’ve got a live audience waiting for you.
Vicki: (agrees)
Jeff: I live in North Jersey up in the mountains, and I literally live on an island. When the power goes out, you’re the last people that the power company comes to.
So we’ve had that, unfortunately, a couple of times now, where everyone’s ready to go, and I’m ready to go, and then (CLICK)… nothing. (10:00)
Vicki: So your show is live, and then you turn it into a podcast, right?
Jeff: I do one live show a week. On any given week, I could be putting out anywhere between 10-15 podcasts.
Right now, like I said, when we re-launched, we actually had nine shows online plus my client shows that I do.
Plus my client shows. I do a show for the Jersey Educators Association and I also do it for Microsoft Education. So I guess that’s eleven shows total that I’m running simultaneously.
Vicki: Wow.
Jeff: So it’s a very, very, crazy, crazy thing. But I love doing it.
And for me, it’s the — you know — CAN you do it? And I love being able to help anybody.
I mean, one of the things if you go over to educationalpodcasting.tips. It’s our new private Facebook group. You guys are welcome to come in and join us.
We’ve got a growing community there. We’re an educationalpodcasting.tips. Every day we’re doing tips and tricks, and share your stories, and share your favorite this-n-that. It a little community.
Vicki: So Jeff, we have 30-seconds to wrap up. If somebody’s thinking about starting their own podcast, what’s your advice?
What’s your advice to anyone who wants to start podcasting?
Jeff: Call me.
I’ve been working with podcasters. I love working with teachers.
Remember, it doesn’t have to be anything huge.
Like I do a lot of work with teachers who want shows, or media content in their classrooms. Just as much as I love when people want to make studio like we have here.
Call me anytime. Educationalpodcasting.tips and of course you can always reach out at Teachercast
Vicki: So, educators, we’ve talked about podcasting. Als, we’ll add to the Shownotes all the equipment that I use, and I know Jeff, if you have a link to yours. He and I both use the ATR 2100 and he have a what? 2500 mic?
Jeff: Yep ATR 2500 USB. They’re fantastic microphones.
Vicki: They are, and they’re just really easy to use. I actually have two of them. So if I want to podcast with my students and bring my personal rig to school, I can do that.
And you can get started, and you can do your own podcasting.
You can partner with others. There are a lot of ways to do that.
I think… here’s the big thing.
Podcasting is so intimate to me. I listen to podcasts. I really love learning from podcasts.
And the thing about it is that we customize our own radio now, and that’s one of the things that I love about it the most.
Take a look in the Shownotes and at the teachercast relaunch and all that Jeff Bradbury is doing.
Jeff, thanks for coming on the show and for being my friend.
Jeff: Thank you so much for having me.
Contact us about the show: http://www.coolcatteacher.com/contact
Transcribed by Kymberli Mulford [email protected]
Bio as submitted
Jeffrey Bradbury, author of Kidblog: An Introduction to Blogging With Your Students, is the creator of TeacherCast.net, TeacherCast University, and Educational Podcasting Today. He is an ASCD Emerging Leader, Google for Education Certified Innovator, Google for Education Trainer, PBS Learning Media Digital Innovator, Microsoft Innovative Educator, Microsoft Surface Expert, speaker, writer, podcaster, broadcaster, consultant, and educational media specialist. He is currently the Coordinator for Technology Integration and Instructional Technology Coach for a K-12 Regional School District in New Jersey.
In 2012, Jeff was recognized as one of top 50 educators using social media at the first ever Bammy Awards and has been nominated three times in the category of Innovator of the Year. Jeff has provided Keynote speeches for the Pearson Authentic Learning Conference, EdTechNJ, and most recently at Columbia University’s Teacher College and Podcast Mid-Atlantic conference.
Jeff earned his Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree from West Chester University in Pennsylvania. In his free time, Jeff enjoys teaching, web design, broadcasting, playing viola and violin, conducting, and spending time with his wife Jennifer and their four-year-old triplets.
Blog: http://www.TeacherCast.net
Twitter: @teachercast
Disclosure of Material Connection: This is a “sponsored podcast episode.” The company who sponsored it compensated me via cash payment, gift, or something else of value to include a reference to their product. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I believe will be good for my readers and are from companies I can recommend. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.” This company has no impact on the editorial content of the show.
The post Podcasting How To’s and Tips with Jeff Bradbury and Vicki Davis appeared first on Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis @coolcatteacher helping educators be excellent every day. Meow!
from Cool Cat Teacher BlogCool Cat Teacher Blog http://www.coolcatteacher.com/podcasting-tos-tips-jeff-bradbury-vicki-davis/
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My wife Sara and I used to have this running joke leading up to her birthday each year. Each year I’d say, “Honey! What would you like for your birthday?,” and she would reply “I’d like a Hasselblad”. Usually with a big smile on her face, in a wink-wink-nudge-nudge kind of way.
Then I’d say “Ha ha, no, seriously, what would you like?” and we’d both laugh and move on to more serious things.
Hasselblad. The 500c/m. Man. That camera. It’s like the Rolls Royce of cameras. It would send shivers down our spines and we’d get all giggly any time we’d talk about it.
Hasselblad. We both wanted one. For me, the Hasselblad 500c/m is the perfect camera. It’s this beautiful, perfect melding of function and art mixed together. It really is a work of art; this little square box and can come all apart and attach to other things to make other types of cameras. If he was a Transformer he’d be the classiest one. He’d probably have a swirly moustache and wear a top hat and speak in an elegant accent.
Sometime around 2007-2008, I worked part-time a few days a week at our local camera shop. Three generations owned this shop. A downtown staple. The owner knew everyone that walked in. He chatted everybody up. He knew everyones stories.
A few months before Sara’s birthday, this older gentleman came into the shop. A small, white-haired guy, slightly bent over. He wore one of those blue trucker hats that had the yellow crests on the bill. It said MARINES.
The owner of the camera store knew of the little ongoing joke that Sara and I had. Those two were talking for quite a while and as they finished up their conversation, I got called over.
“Sid, this is John.”
“Hi.”
“I told John about your little joke you have with Sara. John actually works on Hasselblad cameras.”
“You do??” I asked him.
“I do,” he said. “I’m actually about to retire. I’m going to be closing up my workshop. I heard about your little run-on gag you have with your lady-friend. Y’know, I have a bunch of Hasselblad parts at my workshop still. Let me see if I can piece something together, and if I can, I’ll bring it back in here and we can talk.”
“Oh. Totally. That’s awesome. Thank you.”
And John left the store. And I figured that even if he did have something lying around, there is no way in hell I’d get my hands on one. I’d priced them on Craigslist. I’d followed them on eBay. Even with the “Great Film Crash” since the advent of digital cameras, the Rolls Royce of cameras was still at a price I couldn’t reach.
Two days later, John comes walking back in with a plastic bag under his arm. I got this tingle down my spine.
John pulls a 500c/m out of the bag. He sets it down on the glass counter and he nods for me to pick it up. I paw at it. It’s beautiful. It’s all leather and silver streamlined trim. It’s square and compact. And it’s calling to me.
“Sid. Sid. Look at me. Looooook.”
I wind it, pull the darkslide, and press the shutter. It makes that beautiful “CLOP-LOMP!” sound. Oh, that sweet, sweet sound.
I owned a Mamiya RB67 while in college. That thing was a tank. It was heavy and huge and it was near impossible for me to handhold and take a picture with it. You could drop an RB from a very tall building and the impact below would make a crater in the ground. But it would still work. That camera was fantastic.
But this camera was totally different. More elegant, refined. Not cumbersome like a blaster, but refined like a lightsaber. A more elegant weapon for a more elegant time. This was the girl that everyone had a crush on. That everyone wanted to take to the Prom.
This was the one true thing when it came to cameras.
I’m just about to start whispering sweet nothings into it’s viewfinder when John speaks up. He sounds kinda frustrated and angry. Not with me, but with himself:
“I was able to piece a kit together. The leather is good. The foam inside is clean. I put a brighter focusing screen in there so you can see better. It’s in good shape. But the serial numbers on the body and the film back don��t match. I hope that’s okay.”
I’m about to get down on my knees and propose marriage and he’s irritated with himself that the serial number don’t match.
“Uh…” was all I could say.
I paw at it some more, like a cat playing with a mouse. All of my logic is gone. All I can do is oggle the beautiful silver lines that move around the body of this camera. I’m hypnotized.
“So,” John begins and briefly snaps me out of my daydream.
“Here it is,” I start thinking. “The moment he tells me it’s like $1,200 bucks or more and I have to hand it back over to him”. My brain starts to get depressed.
“I have to ask: how much?” I say. I’m a mix of excitement but I’m ever so slightly pulling away because I know I’m going to be ripped away from this beautiful mix of utilitarianism and sculpture.
“Welp, I think it’s great that you both are photographers. And that you both met in art college. And I cleaned this thing up just for her. And since she loves photography and you love photography and she sounds like such a lovely lady, give me $200 and it’s yours.”
I was kind of in a daze. I had prepared for him to say something close to a thousand. My body was already instinctively starting to push the camera away from me when he tossed out the price. It took a few seconds for it to catch up on me.
“Wait, what?”
“Two hundred. And I might even have a prisim viewfinder back at the workshop. If I do I’ll bring it by in the next few days.”
Nobody has ever seen me run faster out the door of the camera shop, down main street and to the closest ATM. I ran like The Flash. I ran for my wife. I ran for that camera, and in my head, all the pictures I’d take and film I’d wind and times I’d just lovingly look over at it on a tri-pod.
I gave John the cash, and he again told me that if he found a prism for it, he’d bring it by in a few days and I could have it.
Suddenly I looked down and I owned the camera that was in my hand. Wait. What?
After John left, the owner of the camera store came up to me. He asked me if I knew who John was.
“No. He’s a really nice guy that just sold me a dream camera for a steal.” I said.
He told me to go home tonight, and look up the name John Kovacs on the internet. I might get a better idea of who just left.
So I did. And I wasn’t prepared for what I found.
John Kovacs.
John, it turns out, was one of the original group of technicians that was trained in Sweden many, many years ago. He had been working out of Nashua, New Hampshire, for decades under the name Hilton Command Exposures. Back in the days before the Internet, he would be the guy who’s name you would see in the back of camera collector magazines. He would be the guy that people would recommend to other Hasselblad owners when something went wrong with their camera. You popped your Hassy in a box and sent it off to Hilton Command Exposures in Nashua NH, and, weeks or months later, you’d get your camera back fixed and in perfect working order. He didn’t have a website. He worked by word of mouth.
John is the patent holder for the workings that enable multiple exposures on cameras with a film-back mechanism.
And John Kovacs was one of the original group of technicians that worked on the NASA modification of the Hasselblad equipment for the Space Program.
Wait. What?
Two days later, John came back into the camera store with a prism for me. I immediately jumped into asking him questions about all this stuff that I found online.
“Yeah,” he said with slight irritation, “that’s me.”
“Space! You worked on the cameras that went to the moon!! That’s amazing!”
John got even more irritated.
“Space,” he dryly said. “F**king Armstrong couldn’t operate the camera with his big stupid moon gloves on, so I had to create a big dumb button that he could bang to take the exposure.”
It was one of the most surrealistic moments I’ve ever been part of. Listening to someone irritated about the part they played in documenting people landing on the moon. There is a whole documentary film in his angry statement.
Shortly after he left. A week later he retired from being a Hasselblad technician, closed up his shop, sold the rest of his stuff to someone who turned around and sold all of it in pieces on eBay. The legacy of John Kovacs, and his participation in the history of cameras and photography came to an end.
John moved to Florida to live the remainder of his life happy and retired. One of the things I regret in our all-too-brief 4 day friendship was not getting a picture of him. I found a scan of a newspaper article that talked about Hilton Command Exposures back in the early 1990’s. Sitting there in his workshop, tending to someone’s mail-order, bringing a Rolls Royce of cameras back to life for people all over the world.
Sara was over the moon when she opened her birthday present that year. And, doubly over the moon when I told her the story that came with the camera. That some of the most skilled hands refurbed this camera, and that those hands adjusted the camera’s that are still sitting up there on the moon. And we got one of the very last cameras he worked on before he retired.
John died on January 18, 2013, in North Fort Myers, Florida, where he retired. He was a WWII Veteran with the United States Marine Corps. He was formerly the proud owner of Hilton Command Exposures in Nashua.
That camera will never part from us. It’s too important. There is too much history behind it. And one of the things that makes me sad is the history of photography, and of Hasselblad cameras, just became a little less because of John’s passing. These individuals who are on the outskirts of the history of photography are starting to pass. While we are obsessed with resolution and cramming megapixels into sensors and how to find the fast track to success, people like John who could turn a camera inside out and back again, are passing on.
I hope the information that was in John’s brain was passed on to somebody. Or somebodies. I hope he didn’t die with all the years of technical information and history without being able to pass all that on. Because I can’t bear knowing that he did.
Share your stories. Share the stories of those who pass those stories on to you. Photography is much larger that just taking pictures of things and putting them in a book or on a website. Share the stories, the conversations that come with them. Preserve the past and the history, however small it might seem to be.
There is so much more I wish I knew about John. But I’m glad that I get to share my story about him, however small it might be.
And every time I hear that CLOP-LOMP! coming out of my Hasselblad, I’m preserving John’s legacy and sharing who he was in a minuscule way.
About the author: Sid Ceaser is a studio and location photographer based in Nashua, New Hampshire. He specializes in band and musician publicity, press kit and promo photos, as well as headshot photos for people in entertainment and business. In addition to shooting he also teaches workshops and runs a podcast with designer Dave Seah. You can connect with him through his website, blog, Facebook, Flickr, and Twitter. This article was also published here.
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June 30, 2017 at 09:00PM
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