May 2009
1 post
April 2009
1 post
Post-Bus
I’ve had a week to reflect on the 2009 HTV Bus Tour, our 3,400 mile journey to the east coast and back.
Some random thoughts in case someone is still checking this blog:
*Teachers I heard from wanted to know how we did this, especially how we funded it. I wonder how hard projects like this will be to finance in the coming year given the economic mess we’re in. It was not easy for...
March 2009
42 posts
See the videos from the HTV spring trip →
“Who’s the hot chick on your shoulder?”
– S. Galyon, Henry County, KY
Zzzzzzz.....
Got home at 6:30 a.m. and yes, we had to unload in the rain.
Hit the sack at 8 a.m., got up groggy, but somewhat rested, at 1 p.m.
Watched last week’s “24” at 1:30 p.m. because well, Jack is in deep trouble.
Now rooting for Mizzou against UConn, and trying to stay awake.
Exciting blog, exciting day.
See photos from our 2009 Bus Tour →
Rainy Return
We are driving home and it’s a little after 4 a.m. and we are tired. We are riding through southeastern Missouri in a dark, heavy downpour. Eli says we’ll make one more stop in Willow Springs, then the next time we pause, it will be to unload in the Hillcrest parking lot, where we began ten days ago.
Kids are still finishing final edits on the last stories we shot in Nashville...
Listen
Listen
htvmagazine.com →
All of our 2009 Bus Tour videos are here. Give ‘em a look, leave us a comment.
Soul Food In Dixie
I am stuffed, and smiling.
In downtown Charlotte, while walking in a cold rain, attempting to help an HTV crew find a story, I hear my cell phone ring, and life gets better fast. Brandon Goodwin, along as a field producer, informs me that a place called “Mert’s Heart and Soul Restaurant” is open, and willing to let us do a story about the southern soul food they serve.
We...
Listen
Listen
Wake Me Up at 5 a.m.
That’s the sad truth. I will arise at 5 a.m. to prepare for our 7 a.m. departure for Virginia Beach as the HTV Tour heads south.
The good news is, we got back to our hotel a few miles outside Washington, D.C. around 7 p.m., so we can get some rest. It’s a theory, at least.
We are a little over half-way in this journey and I have to say, it’s been maybe my favorite trip ever....
A Bus Driver's "Life"
I have to tell you about our driver, Eli Mast. Here is how his day went yesterday:
10 a.m. Drop off the HTV group in Manhattan
11:45 p.m. Take the HTV group back to its hotel in Paramus, NJ
In between? Kill almost 14 hours in the bus, waiting for us to finish our day. You can’t give up a parking spot for a tour bus in the Times Square area, so it’s sit-and-wait for guys like...
Listen
“I have got to get out of Chinatown and find a place where there are less than...”
– SAID BY ME SATURDAY AFTER TEN MINUTES ON CANAL STREET
If We Can Make It There...
Almost midnight. Tired? Yeah. But right now I am sitting in our field producers’ room at the Comfort Inn, listing to Brook Linder and Charles McDonald coach Lindsey Hale through a session of “looping” audio into a parody of the Verizon commercials. You know, “It’s a dead zone…” Anyway, it’s hilarious, or we’re just getting loopy from lack...
“The videos are working now. I fixed it.”
– Mike Teuber, HTV Web Guru
Bus Life
It’s been way too smooth of a trip overall, but I did meltdown a little last night. Sheer exhaustion made me pretty incoherent by 9 or 10 p.m. Alex Tabor has quoted me several times, and I don’t remember saying half of what she says I said. Oh well. I provided some entertainment, I suppose.
The Wi-Fi on the bus has been inconsistent, except in its slowness. When we get between...
“It’s THEIR story.”
– Jerry Jacob, KY3 News
Yes, the Stories Are Coming
We’ll be posting the stories we’re shooting on the HTV website very soon. It’s been a stressful, challenging start to our trip. Lots of logistics to work out, but yes, we have some great content you’ll be seeing at htvmagazine.com very, very soon.
Meanwhile, Brandon Goodwin, Mehleena Edmonds, Alex Tabor, Lauren Dorris and I are at Columbia College in downtown Chicago...
“It’s either we stop now, or I change underwear.”
– Eli Mast, HTV Bus Driver
From Rolla, MO: Biscuits and Soda
It’s our first food stop. Yes, the Golden Arches in Rolla, MO. Our bus made great time, and we only had one “potty-break,” and that was initiated by Eli, our bus driver.
We are having a lot of problems with the on board Wi-Fi system, so we may be uploading mainly from the hotel in Chicago this evening. If we get a decent connection, the students will start posting blogs this...
Game On!
We leave for Chicago in about eight hours. Time for bed. We’ll be on the road tomorrow, but expect us to upload some video by the evening. Just keep watching the new-look HTV website, because our web guy, Mike, will have it online soon. Remember, it’s www.htvmagazine.com.
“The World is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page.”
– St. Augustine
Equipment Check: Check!
I spent about two hours testing cameras, mics, batteries, etc. Saturday afternoon. Six HTV camcorders have been drafted for our big spring trip, which launches on Wednesday.
Here’s the deal with equipment for one of these big trips. It’s the “small stuff” that drives you crazy. Cameras and tripods are easy to keep track of, and they usually work if you know what you are...
“You can’t get there by bus, only by hard work and risk and by not quite...”
– Alan Alda
“A man who’s never afraid, he’s a fool.”
– Marshall Matt Dillon, Dodge City, KS
Why I'm Already Scrambling
So guess who forgot to order fresh tapes for our spring break journey? Yeah, so now he has to pay about 50 cents per tape more than he would have had he remembered to order them online last week. I-d-i-o-t.
Anyway, it looks like a chain super store that got its start in northern Arkansas is stocking the Sony tapes we use, so I’ll fork over about 75 bucks later today and be done with it.
...
A message about the first story coming to our...
“The traveler sees what he sees. The tourist sees what he has come to see. ...”
One week and counting...
The final plans have been made. Rooms are booked, the bus is revved and ready, and next Wednesday morning, we will be “on the road.”
Our TV staff of 19, plus six adults, will cover 2,800 miles in 10 days. We’ll head first to the Windy City, and finish in Music City, aka Nashville.
Follow us at: www.htvmagazine.com That’s where you’ll find our video uploads,...
February 2009
1 post
“It’s true that while some Cub fans are lovable, all Cub fans are losers.
...”