The Post and Review

Onè Respe check for Red Cross

2010-02-14T21:10:01Z

Feb 14 2010 written by Lane Hartwell and Michael Biven and photography by Lane Hartwell.

Feb 14 2010

Onè Respe check for Red Cross

Written by Lane Hartwell and Michael Biven and photography by Lane Hartwell.

Thanks to the generosity of those who purchased our benefit magazine, Onè Respe, we will be delivering our first check for Haiti to the American Red Cross in the amount of $4076. Thanks to everyone who has purchased a copy and to each of the contributors.

Thank You

2010-01-17T21:10:01Z

Jan 17 2010 written by Lane Hartwell and Michael Biven.

Thanks to everyone who has given support and has purchased copies of Onè Respe, a photographic benefit for the survivors of the Haiti earthquake. Each purchase will send $12 to the American Red Cross International Response Fund.

Jan 17 2010

Thank You

Written by Lane Hartwell and Michael Biven.

Thank you to everyone who has given support and has purchased copies of Haiti: Onè Respe, a Photographic Benefit for the Survivors of the Haiti Earthquake. Each purchase will send $12 to the American Red Cross International Response Fund to help the work ahead in Haiti. Especially now with such grim images coming in we wanted to give a glimpse into the lives of the Haitian people and hope for what is possible. These photographs show the sense of family and community, the sheer happiness of the Haitian children in spite of the extreme poverty in their country.

Of the photographers that offered work we found Mary Ellen Mark's photograph of Mother Teresa to be the perfect ending to the issue, bringing a sense of compassion and charity that she has come to symbolize. The images from Chet Gordon, Peter Pereira and Lindsay Stark document life in Haiti before the earthquake which has now been changed forever.

This magazine would not have been possible without the work of these amazing photographers and several people who contributed their time and talents. Derek Powazek who not only helped us work with Magcloud to drop the costs for each issue allowing us to give more to the Red Cross, but also gave his time to design and layout the magazine. Douglas Mooney has worked tirelessly helping us with research and writing. Kari Hartmann provided several polaroids that helped tie the text in with the tone of the magazine. Plus amazing help from Jim Goldstein, D. Ross Cameron, Meredith Lue, and Grover Righter.

Additional thanks to the following for their donations and coverage.

Donations:

HP/Magcloud - for providing a service that let us create an issue in under 38 hours and for dropping the costs down for each issue.
Moo Cards - for providing cards that will allow us to expand our online benefit to the world outside the web.
Crowd Science - for covering the costs of the press release

Coverage:

NY Times Lens Blog - Behind the Scenes: A Doomed Classroom
Andrew Hetherington for ad space and Haiti "Honor and Respect".
Ken Kobre - Photo Magazine to Aid Haiti Quake Victims.
Flickr Blog - Haiti: A community responds.
Adorama - How photographers can help Haiti.
Jim Goldstein - View the Beauty of Haitian People & Make A Donation For Earthquake Relief.

Give, and then give some more. Here's our list of favorite charities currently helping those in Haiti: the American Red Cross, Doctors Without Borders, Save The Children, or the Saint Rock Haiti Foundation.

View the previous article: Haiti Onè Respe or find more in the archives.

Feel free to share your comments using Twitter or email.

Haiti Onè Respe

2010-01-14T05:10:01Z

Jan 14 2010 written by Lane Hartwell and Michael Biven and photography Peter Pereira<

A Photographic Benefit for the Survivors of the Haiti Earthquake

Jan 14 2010

A Photographic Benefit for the Survivors of the Haiti Earthquake

Written by Lane Hartwell and Michael Biven and photography Peter Pereira

By now you have heard of the devastation caused by the massive earthquake in Haiti. Reports are still coming in, and the full measure of the damage is still not known. Hospitals, residences and government buildings have collapsed or have been heavily damaged. In interviews, Haitian officials have asked all friends of Haiti to please provide any assistance possible to the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. They are in desperate need of medical and disaster relief supplies.

Several photographers including the iconic photojournalist Mary Ellen Mark, have donated the use of one or more of their works to help create this issue as a fund-raising photography magazine to benefit Haiti with all proceeds to be donated to the American Red Cross International Response Fund. The title Haiti: Onè Respe comes from a traditional Haitian greeting meaning "honor and respect."

2009 Year in Pictures

2010-01-04T05:10:01Z

Jan 4 2010 written and photographed by Lane Hartwell

2009 in pictures from Lane Hartwell.

Jan 4 2010

2009 Year in Pictures

Photographed by Lane Hartwell

Cover of Yes! Magazine Winter 2010

2009-12-07T11:10:01Z

Dec 7 2009 written and photographed by Lane Hartwell

Recently I had the pleasure of shooting two Bay Area environmental activists; The Story of Stuff's Annie Leonard and Green For All's Phaedra Ellis-Lamkins for Yes! Magazine.

Dec 7 2009

Cover of Yes! Magazine Winter 2010

Written and photographed by Lane Hartwell

Recently I had the pleasure of shooting two Bay Area environmental activists; The Story of Stuff's Annie Leonard and Green For All's Phaedra Ellis-Lamkins for Yes! Magazine.

Many of you might know Leonard from her online video, "The Story of Stuff" which explores the cycle of production and consumption of goods. I thought it would be fun to shoot her at a park that was once a landfill, The Albany Bulb, close to Leonard's office in Berkeley. The Bulb is a haven for dog owners because of the rugged, un-groomed trails and access to the water of the San Francisco Bay. We didn't have a lot of time but it's not hard to find evidence of the park's past: from slabs of graffiti-tagged concrete and rebar spring life - wild anise and other plants grow freely, reclaiming the land. Yes! Magazine had asked me for a portrait of Leonard that was more on the serious side as the theme of the issue was climate action. A challenge to that was our wonderful fall weather in the east bay: sunshine. The answer to was to bring my own lighting and try to overpower the sun, which was fairly simple with an off-camera flash on a stand, triggered with a remote. I used a grid spot to concentrate the light mostly on her head and shoulders which allowed the flora around her, and the sky behind her, to go dark.

For CEO of Oakland based Green For All, Phaedra Ellis-Lamkins, the choice to shoot her in an urban setting was simple - the moment I set eyes on her and her black leather jacket and dark form fitting dress I thought she looked like a Super Hero. Ellis-Lamkins was named by Essence Magazine as one of the 25 most influential African Americans of 2009. Again I chose to use an off camera flash with a grid spot just to give her a little light under the shade of the trees. I was thrilled when Yes! told me they would be using her on the cover.

I am certainly no ace when it comes to lighting, but the simplicity of using small flashes on portable stands really does give a photographer an edge for traveling light and fast. I was able to carry everything I needed in one backpack and needed no power outlet to plug into. I've also learned that there is no perfect formula for setting up the lighting, which can be intimidating at times, especially when you need to produce results in a scenario where there is one chance with your subject, and often very limited time to do it in. It's a matter of playing with the flashes and camera settings until you get something you like. While normally I would have gladly relied on natural light, the needs of my client for "serious" portraits demanded that I control the variables to make sure they worked for me.

I'm very pleased with how both portrait sessions turned out, and really enjoyed working with both of my subjects who were cooperative and willing to get the shot. Shots from both sessions are available for licensing, please contact me at lane (at) fetching.net

You can order a copy of this issue directly from Yes! magazine.

Annie Leonard on Life After Stuff by Annie Leonard

Climate Hero Phaedra Ellis-Lamkins by Kate Sheppard

US Daily Newspaper circulation down 10.6%

2009-10-26T11:10:01Z

Oct 26 2009 written by Michael Biven photography by Lane Hartwell

This morning the Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC) released their FAS-FAX report covering the past six months ending September 2009. The numbers show an average decline in circulation of 10.6% for the dailies (Monday - Friday) and 7.4% for Sunday circulation.

Oct 26 2009

US Daily Newspaper circulation down 10.6%

Written by Michael Biven photography by Lane Hartwell

- A decorative tombstone for Halloween as seen in a yard in Alameda, Calif. on Saturday October 24, 2009.

Local area news papers faired differently with The San Francisco Chronicle seeing the largest overall drop of 25.82% for daily and over 22% for Sunday circulation. The Oakland Tribune was fifth among those newspapers that saw the largest increase in both print and online audiences with a 8.35% increase in their combined audience.

This report comes after recent layoff announcements at The New York Times of 100 positions in its newsroom, layoffs at Conde Nast properties like Glamour, Wired, Lucky,Style.com, Bon Appetit, Details and the announcement that the November issue of Gourmet Magazine would be its last.

Pinball - Real American Culture

2009-10-02T10:06:01Z

Oct 2 2009 photography by Lane Hartwell Audio by Lane Hartwell and Michael Biven

The Pacific Pinball Expo - world's largest pinball show October 2-4, 2009, at the Exhibition Hall at the Marin County Civic Center, San Rafael, CA.

Oct 2 2009

Pinball - Real American Culture

Photography by Lane Hartwell Audio by Lane Hartwell and Michael Biven

The Pacific Pinball Expo

The world's largest pinball show October 2-4, 2009, at the Exhibition Hall at the Marin County Civic Center, San Rafael, CA.

With almost 400 playable machines from 1930 to 2008.

Single day admission: $25 for adults, $15 for kids 12 & under.

Weekend admission (every day show is open): $45 for adults, $35 for kids 12 & under.

Friday October 2: 10am to 10pm

Saturday October 3: 10am to 12 midnight

Sunday October 4: 10am to 8pm.

Senator Edward M. Kennedy dies after battle with cancer

2009-08-25T23:15:01Z

Aug 25 2009 photography by Lane Hartwell

My brother need not be idealized, or enlarged in death beyond what he was in life; to be remembered simply as a good and decent man, who saw wrong and tried to right it, saw suffering and tried to heal it, saw war and tried to stop it.

Those of us who loved him and who take him to his rest today, pray that what he was to us and what he wished for others will some day come to pass for all the world. As he said many times, in many parts of this nation, to those he touched and who sought to touch him: 'Some men see things as they are and say why. I dream things that never were and say why not.'

Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) speaking at his brother Robert F. Kennedy's funeral at Saint Patrick's Cathedral New York City June 8, 1968.

Aug 25 2009

The senior Senator from Massachusetts has died of brain cancer at his home in Hyannis Port, Mass. at the age of 77.

Aug 25 2009 photography by Lane Hartwell

- Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) speaks at a campaign rally for presidential hopeful Barack Obama on Friday, Feb. 1, 2008 in Oakland, Calif. (Photographer/Lane Hartwell)

Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) speaking at his brother Robert F. Kennedy's funeral at Saint Patrick's Cathedral New York City June 8, 1968.

- Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) speaks at a campaign rally for presidential hopeful Barack Obama on Friday, Feb. 1, 2008 in Oakland, Calif. (Photographer/Lane Hartwell)

Video Senator Edward M. Kennedy's speech responding to the Republican party attempts to block a minimum wage increase on the floor of the U.S. Senate Thursday, January 25, 2007.

Reblog, Repost, But No Credit?

2009-08-19T14:40:01Z

Aug 19 2009 written by Michael Biven

Sites like A Continuous Lean, A Time to Get and the impossible cool show wonderful images of people and things that for me evoke a classic style. Each of the three are in my feed reader giving me a series of photographs that I enjoy, but over time I have noticed that they unfortunately fail to credit the photographer on a regular basis.

Aug 19 2009

Opinion

Aug 19 2009 written by Michael Biven

The material used on these sites can be pulled from anywhere; Flickr, old magazines and other websites that have images licensed from All Rights Reserved to Creative Commons, or images in the public domain. When I've approached bloggers on this they usually reply that it would take too much time to find the name of the photographer - the copyright holder - and credit the work. I don't understand this excuse a valid reason to not properly give attribution, especially when there are bloggers like Scott Beale at Laughing Squid who credit the photographer and follow the license of the image or images used. I would venture a guess that as a starting point, in many cases, the information needed to credit the photographer could be found on whatever site the images were pulled from. And that the tools - bookmarklets - available for WordPress, Tumblr or Posterous or other services make it so easy to pull content from someone else that the time needed to credit the photographer and even check to see how the work is licensed is thought to be a burden.

- Photographer George Skadding - May 1951 LIFE Magazine (For personal non-commercial use only)

The image above is used in today's A Continuous Lean post, Life Archive | The Pentagon c.1951. In that post there are no links going back to the original work. I showed that image to a friend and asked her to find the original photograph and the photographers name - she found both in under two minutes.

Simply linking back to the site where the work was found cannot be considered a form of attribution. In a different ACL post A Beautiful Life Michael Williams writes "this man's flickr photostream" as his attribution. This is not crediting the photographer - there is no mention of the photographer's name and in this case all of the images are licensed as All Rights Reserved. If he did not have the time to credit the photographer you have to wonder if he even asked permission to use the images in the first place?

Everyone wants their work to be recognized and respected. That means asking permission before using the image if it's licensed as All Rights Reserved or following the requirements if used under one of the other licenses like Creative Commons (which are often more complicated in scope than what you'd imagine). The bottom line is: if you are using content that you did not create, respect the restrictions the artist has placed on its use, and give credit.

- Michael B.

Differences between Social Media and Broadcasters in how they respond to suicidal threats and suicides

2009-08-13T11:10:01Z

Aug 13 2009 written by Michael Biven and photograph by Lane Hartwell

Earlier this summer I read a message on Twitter (an online microblogging platform) about a person who threatened suicide and stated he was headed to the Golden Gate Bridge. This is a person who I have met in person and has threatened suicide at least once before. It could have been very easy for me to brush this off as yet another attempt to grab attention and to not take his threat seriously, but someone who recently lost his brother to suicide pointed out any threat should be taken seriously:

"Attention or not, you have to treat every threat as if it is a REAL threat. Someone needs to act on this." - A. Tobias Tenney

Aug 13 2009

And how suicide prevention professionals are adapting to these differences

Aug 13 2009 written by Michael Biven and photograph by Lane Hartwell

- The Hopper's Hand's plaque at Golden Gate Bridge, Fort Point, San Francisco on January 1, 2007. Hopper's Hands is an enduring icon for joggers and other visitors. People touch the double hand imprint to mark their arrival at this point. Runners have to tag the hands before they've officially reached the mark. Hopper's Hands is named for iron worker Ken Hopper in honor of the iron workers who randomly intervene on suicide attempts. (Photographer/Lane Hartwell)

"Attention or not, you have to treat every threat as if it is a REAL threat. Someone needs to act on this." - A. Tobias Tenney

I continued to watch as people expressed concern for him, explained to others his history as best they could and read as multiple people called 911 to report him. After contacting both San Francisco Police Department and California Highway Patrol that night I was able to verify that he was in custody and getting the help he needed.

Afterwards I started to consider how people reacted to his threat and how the public method that he threatened suicide with affected those who read it. Did Twitter have some responsibility to have a method in place so others could have alerted the authorities more easily and effectively? There are enough similarities between Twitter and Radio and Television broadcasters that they could offer insight on how social media could or maybe should respond to suicide threats and suicides. But has Twitter or any other social media service ever reached out for that experience?

When comparing social media and broadcasters the similarities may be easy to see, but the differences are not as simple to explain as you might think. Especially in how they respond to suicidal threats and suicides. First it depends if you consider social media to be a part of the media or not; if the ethical or industry standards from journalism should be applied. Does the person who is using the social media service consider these issues when they are creating content which would include commenting or reposting material from someone else? For example if someone retweets a message that someone has threatened suicide that could have an effect because suicide is considered to be a contagion (see sidebar). At the same time, suicide prevention professionals are having to adjust their outreach to the media to include social / new media services. A recent summit organized by two such groups discussed some of these issues and is resulting in a change to their media guidelines on how to report on suicide.

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline

1-800-273-TALK

Suicide as a Contagion

Journalists in Vienna covered from 1984 to 1987 the deaths of individuals who jumped in front of trains in the subway system. Towards the end of that reporting they were informed of the negative effects of that type of reporting and giving suggestions on how to cover the stories differently. During the first six months after the alternatives were given a drop greater than eighty percent was seen in suicides and non-fatal attempts.

Research shows an increase in suicide by readers or viewers when:

The number of stories about individual suicides increases
A particular death is reported at length or in many stories
The story of an individual death by suicide is placed on the front page or at the beginning of a broadcast
The headlines about specific suicide deaths are dramatic

The coverage of suicides by broadcasters can be described as a public - private dichotomy. Mr. Stacey Woelfel, Chairman of The Radio-Television News Directors Association (RTNDA), explained that broadcasters generally do not cover suicides as spot news (unexpected news that is reported on the spot), but this does change if the person involved is a public figure or if the suicide happened in a public place.

Woelfel recounted an incident that took place on January 22, 1987 where Treasurer of Pennsylvania Budd Dwyer called a press conference to comment on his recent conviction of taking bribes. He went on to explain that for Treasurer Dwyer to call a conference was very unusual as he had a rocky relationship with the press. During the conference Mr. Dwyer pulled a handgun from an envelope after making a public statement and then he fatally shot himself. The press that were in attendance captured his death by suicide in a series of audio, video and still photographs which included live coverage from the local PBS affiliate. Due to a recent snow storm many school children who were out of school witnessed the suicide live on television. That coverage started a series of debates within the journalism profession on how to cover suicides.

For operators of social media sites like Twitter, Facebook or MySpace a debate on how to respond seems to be mostly absent or hidden from the public's view. Due to the high volume of content in each service, the rights of free speech and the difficulties in talking about suicide there is a large amount of inertia to fight against to address suicide in social media. But consider that cases of child abuse are dealt with rather quickly and effectively by most social media services after it has been brought to their attention. How is the welfare of one person over another more important due to the person's age?

If it is difficult for people to come forward to talk about suicides what about automatically monitoring for such behavior? That isn't necessarily the answer and not just for the freedom of speech concerns that it brings up, but very practical points as well. During the 1998 Winter Olympics Diane Pozefsky, IBM Fellow and professor at UNC, was part of the team that deployed the computer network at Nagano. One thing they had put into place was filters that would trigger alerts if an email contained certain words - like "bomb". This resulted in a flood of false alerts due to the phrase "da bomb" being used in many of the emails. This was a popular phrase at the time used to show that something was outstanding. You can imagine that would be a very common phrase as family, friends and fans sent emails to athletes competing in the Winter Olympics - maybe even more so if you remember that snowboarding debuted at '98 Olympics.

With the various issues involved with adding automation I asked professor Pozefsky about adding a method to verify people who are trained as suicide prevention counselors that could step in when needed. Twitter recently started verifying accounts - user accounts where they have verified that it belongs to a public figure. What if they started verifying accounts of professional groups like crisis counselors?

"the idea of having the right people, is very interesting" - Diane Pozeksy

May 6th, 2009 in Washington DC the Suicide Prevention Action Network (SPAN USA) and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) invited key people involved with suicide prevention and social media to their summit called: "Suicide Prevention and New Media: An Action Planning Summit to Save Lives". One thing that came out of the summit was the plan to revise the media guidelines to address social medial. Talking with Eileen Zeller, M.P.H. and Richard McKeon, Ph.D. from SAMHSA they explained the issues they face in taking guidelines that are meant for journalists and not only apply them to citizen journalists and bloggers, but also how to get their message out and educate people on how to discuss suicide. Suicide is a difficult issue to talk about in person and it can be difficult for people to know how best to proceed, but social media is helping to break down that barrier.

I had tried repeatedly to reach someone at either Twitter or Facebook to discuss their policies on this issue and get answers to my first set of questions:

Do you have a policy or have plans for a policy on how to respond to suicidal threats or suicides from people using your service?
Do you see yourself to be responsible to act in certain circumstances due to the actions of your users like those threatening to commit suicide?
Has there ever been or is there any planned outreach to other professional organizations like the American Association of Suicidology or broadcasters?
Would you consider a person who has repeatedly threatened suicide harassment of other users due to the potential emotional stress placed on them a violation of your Terms Of Service?

Neither responded to my questions in the four times I tried to contact them. They never took the opportunity to discuss their position and I never had the chance to explore it.

After that I did email Automattic to get a response from the people behind WordPress, Matt Mullenweg (founder of Automattic & WordPress) did send me a very short (seven word) response to my first email to them. After replying that I was looking for a little more information than that to my questions he responded one last time with a little more information that included the following:

"It sounded like you had already written the article and wanted people to fill in the blanks, which most people tend to shy away from. (Not saying you have, that just was the impression.) We've all been burnt by sensationalists. We don't have a PR firm or marketing people, so I tend to be blunter about things." - Matt Mullenweg

(Automattic has received over $30 Million in funding. 08/13/2009)

While Social Media services might not want to be seen actively playing a hand in monitoring it's users to not give the impression of playing "big brother", it is involved with suicide prevention. The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is on Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, has a channel on YouTube and both Facebook and MySpace attended the Suicide Prevention and New Media summit in May.

A meeting that will address some of the points brought up in that summit will be held at The Annenberg School of Public Policy in Philadelphia later this month. Called Media Recommendations V2.0 it will cover updating the media guidelines to include social media with the results being published as soon as they are completed. When they are published I will explore their changes and will again try to get a response from Twitter and Facebook.

"I instantly realized that everything in my life that I'd thought was unfixable was totally fixable-except for having just jumped." - Ken Baldwin recounts his suicide attempt by jumping off of the Golden Gate Bridge in the New Yorker article Jumpers by Tad Friend.

Suicide is a serious issue that in 2006 was the cause of death for 33,300 people and included over half a million emergency room visits for self-inflicted injuries. If you find yourself or someone else you know in need of help remember the above words of Mr. Baldwin. There are people out there that not only can help you - they want to help you. You can reach a person at one of their 130 crisis centers by calling 1-800-273-TALK (8255).

Mainstream Media Still Good for Distribution

2009-07-30T01:05:01Z

Jul 30 2009 written by Michael Biven with additional research by Lane Hartwell

In an interview done by Spiegel Online International (reprinted in Salon) with Chris Anderson, editor in chief of Wired about his new book, Mr. Anderson stated that he has no need for the traditional distribution methods of news.

Jul 30 2009

In promoting his book Free: The Future of a Radical Price, Chris Anderson's use of Mainstream Media outnumbers New Media.

Jul 30 2009 written by Michael Biven with additional research by Lane Hartwell

"But the problem is not that the traditional way of writing articles isn't valuable anymore. The problem is that this is now in the minority. It used to be a monopoly, it used to be the only way to distribute news." - Chris Anderson

"So now that you don't need this access to a commercial channel to distribute (news), anyone can do it." - Chris Anderson

Of the "anyone can do it" methods of distribution how many has Mr. Anderson used to promote his book by giving an interview? Keep in mind the numbers below are the results of a Google web search and a Google blog search for the title of the book and a second search for the title and the search term interview and then parsing through several pages to find articles that include only an original interview. The articles are listed below.

Of the 247,000 Google web results for "Free: The Future of a Radical Price",

and the 9,240 Google web results for "Free: The Future of a Radical Price" interview,

and the 9,413 Google Blog results "Free: The Future of a Radical Price",

and the 114 Google Blog results for "Free: The Future of a Radical Price" interview,

10 were actual interviews and only one was at a new media "anyone can do it" site.

(Search results from 07/29/2009)

Mainstream Media

Digital book free for a month, SFGate San Francisco Chronicle

The New Price Point? 'Free', NPR

Chris Anderson - ColbertNation, The Colbert Report

Chris Anderson | Borders Media, Borders Media

The demand for everything, Economist.com

The Gift Economist, The New York Times Magazine

An interview with The Long Tail's Chris Anderson on the meaning of free, Publishers Weekly

A conversation with Chris Anderson of Wired Magazine, The Charlie Rose Show

Maybe Media Will Be a Hobby Rather than a Job (Salon), Spiegel Online International

Chris Anderson: "There's nothing really wrong with the music industry", Times Online

New media

Chris Anderson Speaks for Free, Geek Entertainment Television

Hornet Plus Three

2009-07-25T01:45:01Z

Jul 25 2009 written by Michael Biven photography Lane Hartwell

"We been landing on a runway for 28 or more years, we can't afford to do that because we're going to go back to the moon where we were 40 years ago - thats not leadership to me we have wonderful opportunities in front of us and to go backwards is to secede, to give away leadership in an industry that is indispensable to the security of our nation, the aerospace industry" - Buzz Aldrin

Jul 25 2009

Hornet Plus Three

Jul 25 2009 written by Michael Biven photography Lane Hartwell

A story of the USS Hornet's recovery of the Apollo 11 crew and spacecraft. The USS Hornet will be hosting a four day celebration of the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moonlanding July 23rd - 26th. Saturday July 25th former crew members who served onboard the USS Hornet during the Apollo 11 mission will be present as well as Bob Fish the Apollo curator from the USS Hornet Museum, Don Blair the only radio newsman onboard the Hornet during the recovery of Apollo 11 and Special Guest Buzz Aldrin - Lunar Module Pilot for Apollo 11 and the second man to walk on the Moon.

USS Hornet 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 Splashdown. (Photographer Lane Hartwell)

Both Bob Fish's new book "Hornet Plus Three: The Story of the Apollo 11 Recovery." and Buzz Aldrin's new book "Magnificent Desolation: The Long Journey Home from the Moon." will be available at the Museum's store.

USS Hornet (CVS-12) - Apollo 11 Anniversary Teaser

2009-07-22T01:50:01Z

Jul 22 2009 written by Michael Biven photography Lane Hartwell

Here is a teaser of a slide show we are finishing up on the USS Hornet and her participation in the US space program. We talked with Pete Sutherland, Chief Operating Office for the USS Hornet Museum about the history of the Hornet, the Apollo 11 mission and what you can expect at this Saturday's 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 splashdown onboard the Hornet.

Jul 22 2009

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USS Hornet (CVS-12) - Apollo 11 Anniversary Teaser

Jul 22 2009 written by Michael Biven photography Lane Hartwell

- The CIC (Combat Information Center) on the USS Hornet, Tuesday, July 22, 2009 in Alameda, Calif. The Hornet is a decommissioned aircraft carrier designated as a National Historic Landmark and is open to the public as a museum. The Hornet played a major role in the Apollo 11 mission in 1969, as recovery ship for the first men to walk on the moon. (Photograph/Lane Hartwell)

- The first steps on Earth of returning moonwalkers Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, are marked on the hangar deck, as part of her Apollo program exhibit on the USS Hornet, Tuesday, July 22, 2009 in Alameda, Calif. The Hornet is a decommissioned aircraft carrier designated as a National Historic Landmark and is open to the public as a museum. The Hornet played a major role in the Apollo 11 mission in 1969, as recovery ship for the first men to walk on the moon. (Photograph/Lane Hartwell)

A Tribute to Dammit Dog

2009-07-20T06:43:01Z

Jul 20 2009 written and photographed by Lane Hartwell

I was saddened to hear yesterday of the passing of Chicken John's beloved dog, Dammit. I first met Dammit about two years ago when Chicken John, a local artist and showman, decided to run for mayor of San Francisco, and I decided to cover his campaign. I fell in love instantly with Dammit, who was about 17 years old at the time. I rarely saw Chicken and Dammit apart; she was always present during events at his warehouse, often nosing about under a table looking for a piece of food that someone had dropped, or sleeping close to Chicken's feet. I loved to see her, pet her and take photos of her. She was a sweet dog, and I wish that I had spent more time in her presence.

When I heard about Dammit's passing, I decided to make this slide show to pay my respects to both Dammit and Chicken. They were very clearly a team and it will be hard to think of one without the other.

Rest in peace, Dammit Dog.

Jul 20 2009

A Tribute to Dammit Dog

Written and photographed by Lane Hartwell

Rest in peace, Dammit Dog.

Splashdown 2009 - Apollo 11 40th Anniversary Celebration

2009-07-20T01:25:01Z

Jul 20 2009 written by Michael Biven photography Lane Hartwell

"An age may come, when Project Apollo is the only thing by which most men remember the United States - or even the world of their ancestors, the distant planet Earth." - Arthur C Clarke

Jul 20 2009

Splashdown 2009 - Apollo 11 40th Anniversary Celebration

Jul 20 2009 written by Michael Biven photography Lane Hartwell

- USS Hornet CVS-12 moored at Alameda Point . (Photographer/Lane Hartwell)

"An age may come, when Project Apollo is the only thing by which most men remember the United States - or even the world of their ancestors, the distant planet Earth." - Arthur C Clarke

The USS Hornet will be hosting a four day celebration of the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moonlanding July 23rd - 26th. Former crew members who served onboard the USS Hornet during the Apollo 11 mission will be present as well as Bob Fish the Apollo curator from the USS Hornet Museum, Don Blair the only radio newsman onboard the Hornet during the recovery of Apollo 11 and Special Guest Buzz Aldrin - Lunar Module Pilot for Apollo 11 and the second man to walk on the Moon.

The Hornet recovered the unmanned Apollo capsule CM011A used in the AS-202 mission in 1966 and served as the Prime Recovery Ship (PRS) for both the Apollo 11 and 12 missions in 1969. The unmanned AS-202 mission tested the heat shield of the Command and Service Module and was the second test flight of the Saturn IB rocket. The capsule used in that mission will be on display along with the Mobile Quarantine Facility (MQF) used by the Apollo 14 mission and helicopters similar to those used in the Apollo 11 and Mercury recoveries.

Buzz Aldrin will giving a public presentation and will then be signing copies of his new book "Magnificent Desolation: The Long Journey Home from the Moon". You can purchase a copy of the book Friday evening with an "A" ticket to get you in line during the first hour of the book signing.

This is an unique opportunity to see in person a special part of history from the US space program on the anniversary of the Apollo 11 Splashdown.

Directions to the Hornet and additional information can be found here.

You can relive the historic event at the following sites:

We Choose the Moon - a site from the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum that recreates in realtime the Moon mission that Kennedy started us on. Archived communications from the Apollo 11 space craft, Lunar Module and Houston Control on Twitter. And from Jason Kottke's 40 year delayed coverage of the Apollo 11 on CBS by Walter Cronkite.

Sand By The Ton

2000-01-01T00:00:00Z

Jul 13 2009 written by Michael Biven photography Lane Hartwell

You might be wondering why the Oakland Fire Department had the entrance closed to Sand By The Ton at American Steel if you had already made it inside or were turned away Saturday night. Their reason for doing so was completely reasonable, but it could have been avoided.

Jul 13 2009

Sand By The Ton

Written by Michael Biven photography Lane Hartwell

- An unidentified woman dances at the Sand by the Ton event at the American Steel building on Saturday, July 11, 2009 in Oakland, Calif. (Photographer/Lane Hartwell)

- A larger than life sculpture by artists Dan Das Mann and Karen Cusolito greets partygoers to the "Sand by the Ton" event on Saturday, July 11, 2009 at the American Steel Building in Oakland, Calif. (Photographer/Lane Hartwell)

Arriving at the event that night we could already see an Oakland Fire Department engine at the entrance. And after parking the car we walked up to find a small line of about 60 or so people who were trying to figure out where to pick up their tickets. A guy in a white shirt, vest and a hat was jumping around with a bullhorn yelling "If you are here for will call get out of the long line and walk over here". We walk over to the booths to get our tickets and finally our wristbands.

After getting inside we were immediately hit with the sounds and lights from the two stages within earshot of the entrance (there were another two stages farther back in the space). Walking down towards the midway, the size of the crowd increased along with the smell of pot and body odor. Several people were stopped, standing around in the middle of the walkway when a large brute of a fireman started yelling at the crowd to get moving and stop blocking the area - later this would prove to be an issue.

Towards the end of the midway we entered the VIP area which had the Kinetic Steam Works steamboat Wilhelmina suspended from the ceiling. She had encountered damage to some of the steam pipes earlier after a trip back from her voyage on the Hudson River and was restored using funds from Sand By The Ton.

- Essay Tsegay displays his cat makeup at "Sand by the Ton" on Saturday, July 11, 2009 at the American Steel Building in Oakland, Calif. (Photographer/Lane Hartwell)

Later, back at the entrance we find that the fireman had shut it down with hundreds of people wanting to get in crowded up against a line of several black t-shirted security guards holding hands. The fireman who shut it down was the same brute from earlier and was now explaining to the organizers what he wants to happen with enough intensity that his veins were throbbing on his forehead and neck. Discussions back and forth between the event organizers and the brute led to calls for volunteers from the organizers to try and control the entrance, because they were planning on letting in some additional people - people who had wristbands.

After another walk through to see the third sand sculpture, the other two stages and the bordello we start walking back towards the entrance to call it a night. When we walked out the main entrance there were still close to a hundred people being held back, waiting to get in even after being told earlier that is it - this door is closed.

Now the city might seem like they are being a bit overzealous enforcing the codes, but they have good reason to do so:

December 1979 Who concert in Cincinnati, Ohio 11 fans were crushed to death
March 1990 The Happy Land Social club fire in NYC 87 people killed in a fire
February 2003 Great White at The Station nightclub in Warwick, R.I. pyrotechnic fire kills 96

Walking around that night there were no visible exit signs or emergency lighting. If anything would have spooked the crowd or if a real emergency had taken place there were plenty of issues that could have created a horrible outcome. From what I saw, I have doubts that the Fire Department actually came out and took measurements of the space to determine the occupancy load and that the event was over sold on tickets.

There were half a dozen Oakland Police Officers standing across the street from the front entrance and we saw a few times the fire engine leave only to return shortly afterwards. While it is not clear to me if the event had obtained the necessary permits and to what level of communication the Fire Department had while the event was being setup, but I saw enough that makes me believe the FD did very little to educate and / or enforce the building and fire codes at the events location prior to that night. Ideally the city would have been proactive in explaining it's requirements to the organizers rather than only to react tying up resources that could be used elsewhere. Last month we saw the same thing from the City of Oakland when they tried to shutdown the East Bay Rats fight party by having the street out front of the party closed off until midnight. Again tying up several OPD officers that I'm sure had better things to do. Funny thing was while walking up to the fight party we could hear an illegal sideshow somewhere close by in the neighborhood.

This isn't to say that events like Sand By The Ton shouldn't take place. They bring unique events to the East Bay, business to some of the local performers and vendors and provides funding to many of the local artists like in the case of Kinetic Steam Works. What it does say is that both the city and the organizers have work to do to keep these events as safe as possible so everyone can have a good time without keeping the understaffed and under budgeted emergency services of Oakland busy.

Note - I was a fireman for six years at St. Matthew's Fire District outside of Louisville, KY. During two of those years I was also one of the fire inspectors for the district.

- A throng of people try to make their way through the midway section of the Sand by the Ton event at the American Steel building on Saturday July 11, in Oakland, Calif. (Photographer/Lane Hartwell)

- The Extra Action Marching Band perform at "Sand by the Ton" on Saturday, July 11, 2009 at the American Steel Building on Oakland, Calif. (Photographer/Lane Hartwell)

- Security guards form a physical barrier to close off the entrance to the American Steel Building while ticket holders hope to gain entry to the Sand by the Ton event on Saturday, July 11, 2009 in Oakland, Calif. The building had reached maximum capacity and Oakland Fire Department officials shut down further entry. (Photographer/Lane Hartwell)

Never Can Say Goodbye

2009-07-07T06:43:01Z

Jul 7 2009 photography and audio by Lane Hartwell audio by Michael Biven

Photography and interviews with fans at Michael Jackson's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and outside both his and his family's house.

Jul 7 2009

Never Can Say Goodbye

Jul 7 2009 photography and audio by Lane Hartwell audio by Michael Biven

Maker Faire 2009

2009-06-01T14:06:01Z

Jun 1 2009 photography Lane Hartwell

Jasmine Gilbert of Seattle, Wash. models a pair of "Digilegs" at the 4th Annual Maker Faire Festival on Saturday, May 30 in San Mateo, Calif. Gilbert and fellow artist Pavel Amigud said the legs took over a year in research and development and over 100 iterations to reach the current working configuration. Gilbert said "The legs are very comfortable, I can walk for hours in them". Maker Faire is held annually in San Mateo and is billed as the largest "Do it yourself" festival in the world.

Jun 1 2009

Maker Faire 2009

Photography Lane Hartwell