Interview with Jordan Bower: Walking to Mexico

I met photographer, walker and alleged "love-wallah", Jordan Bower, at Sitar Indian food restaurant after I finished my last final for winter quarter. Indulging in a well deserved meal after 2 weeks of studying I overheard a conversation coming from the table behind me.
"Well I started in Vancouver and I've been walking for about six months now..."

After introducing himself to my friend and I after we inquired about his journey, Jordan Bower presented us with a stack of photographs from a trip he took to India and requested we choose one for ourselves to keep, the only exception was we had to take a picture with the chosen photo- so that in a metaphorical sense we could be united to this person we had never met. I, of course, posed with a rose between my teeth, my Indian woman stood at a fried food stand with "chat center" in yellowing paint across the withering wooden booth.

Once Jordan and I got to talking, he started to explain his ideal for the trip, what he wanted to learn teach and spread as he walked. Lets face it, it's not everyday that you meet someone who has been walking for the last 6 months, has a college degree, a paying job, speaks eloquently and happens to be free at 7:00 on that Thursday night (the time of my show).

So I picked up photographer and self-proclaimed "love-wallah" in my Plymouth Voyager Minivan, showed him the inside of KZSC and conducted an interview about the differences in Indian and American culture, what it means to be a dependent person, and how the appreciation he has gained for humans in his journey.

Our interview recorded live and aired March 17th 2011 can be listened to here (The Interview begins at 4:27)

Walking to Mexico: Interview with Jordan Bower

To learn more about Jordan's mission click on the link below

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/904479314/walking-to-mexico-an-experiment-in-cross-cultural

His collection of photographs can be viewed here

http://www.walkingtomexico.com/

A Collection of Interviews

"How does one become a DJ on KZSC?"

A common question for those looking to start their career at the radio station, and a question I once asked more than a  year ago.

One must volunteer for 20 hours, apply for the Intro to Radio class, pass the class and then apply for a show.

In the Intro to Radio Class (which was a highly enjoyable and rewarding experience) students are required to produce a seven minute interview of a person they find worthy as their final project in the class. 

After listening to a few of the projects I realized that many of these pieces were wonderfully excecuted and simply needed a venue to play them.

Therefore- after listening to hours of the interviews from past classes I decided on three with the greatest range of subject- but all equally interesting.

Lucie Arnaz Luckinbill
The first piece by Quincy Ross, an interview with Lucie Arnaz Luckinbill, daughter of Lucille Ball and Ricky Arnez from the hit TV Show of the 50's "I Love Lucy." She speaks about her own career, as producer and director, and how she has learned from her parents.

Lucie Arnaz Luckinbill is photographed below with her brother Desi Arnaz Jr. and her mother Lucille Ball.

UCSC Student Recently Diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma 
Next, "Cody" (who prefers to remain anonymous) spoke with a UC Santa Cruz student recently diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma cancer. Their talk focused on how his friends and family are dealing with the news and how his life has changed since.

Below is a photograph of a petri dish of Hodgkin's Lymphoma under a microscope.

Jack Passion
And last, but most certainly not least is Eileen O'Grady's enjoyable interview with Jack Passion, a professional beard grower and UCSC alumni.

Below is a photograph of Jack Passion, with his most valuable commodity.

Although it may appear to be a hodge-podge collection of subjects, each student edited with respective piece with attention and respect for their guests.

Congratulations to Eileen, Cody and Quincy whose pieces I chose to air.

Click to listen to the collection of interviews aired on 3/10/11
http://soundcloud.com/honey-bee-kzsc/a-collection-of-interviews

Cinequest Film Festival: Interview with Alyson Stoner

A few weeks ago I had the privilege of interviewing Halfdan Hussey, Director of the Cinequest Film Festival in San Jose.

After the interview aired, Halfdan contacted me about the show. Because he enjoyed the way I conducted our talk, he invited me to be a moderator for one of the events in Cinequest- something I was unfamiliar with. However, he explained to me that when special guests arrived at the film festival I would lead an interview with them on stage in front of a large audience in order to expose some engaging insights into these artist's lives.

I happily accepted.

As the event drew closer I found I was to interview Alyson Stoner, actress, dancer and singer, best known for her work in Cheaper By the Dozen, Step Up, The Suite Life of Zack and Cody and on the Disney short, "Mike's Super Short Show".
Alyson was to receive the Maverick Spirit Award which honors actors and actresses whom continue to take risks in the industry.

The event would take place Saturday March 5, 2011 at the San Jose Reparatory theater.
I would be lying to say I was not nervous.

However, once I met the 17 year old and we began talking, stories flowed naturally out of her and the interview was an overall success. My favorite story of hers was when she was speaking about her experience as a dancer in a Missy Elliot Hip/Hop Rap music video with guest artist Ludacris.
After her grandmother accompainied her on the set (Alyson was 10 at the time) she went back home to tell her friends she met "the world's greatest rapper, Ridiculous!"
It was truly a joy and a pleasure to have that opportunity.

Still attempting to find the video footage of the event but will update it as soon as possible.

Such a great experience!

Below is a photo of Alyson accepting the award from Jon M. Chu, director of Step Up 3D and Justin Bieber's Never Say Never. From left to right: Alyson Stoner, Casey Coughlin, Jon M. Chu

Photograph of Alyson Stoner at Disney event and below, Director Jon M. Chu With Justin Bieber at the premiere of the film Justin Bieber Never Say Never

Below is another link of myself during the interview, here I am listed as "Host from Santa Cruz"

http://www.flickr.com/photos/consultingpractices/5502109990/in/photostream/

To watch "Cinequest Connecting" in which part of the interview is showcased click here

Interview with Siobhan Fallon

Author Siobhan Fallon's recently released novel is a collection of short stories about the army base Fort Hood in Austin, Texas.
In her book You Know When the Men Are Gone, she focuses on the often underrepresented aspects of war. The battle for sanity on the home front.
A truly engaging novel by a truly engaging person, Siobhan spoke about the difficulties of being a military wife, and the life that accompanies it.

Because I am a a student of literature, one of the most exciting aspects of this interview to me was to actually speak with the source. I am currently enrolled in the class Theory & Interpretation taught by Professor Jody Greene which centralizes around the idea of authorship and questions if the author is necessary when determining intent or hermeneutics. Although many of the theorist believe that an author should be removed from a text, I found it helpful to speak with Siobhan about her influences when writing the text- especially when they were not explicitly referenced.
When reading "You Know When The Men Are Gone" I was struck with the parallels between her writing and that of "The Things They Carried" by Tim O'Brien. When I brought this comparison up, she  admitted she had hoped the novel would be something of the female version of O'Brien's famous text and was thrilled I had made the connection. She said no one had made the observation of the similarities between the two books that she had intended and thought was obvious.

Overall it was an insightful interview. I found it particularly intriguing when she revealed that many of the characters represented her in different stages of her life. The idea that one can channel emotions and opinions through fictionalized characters is a fascinating concept.

Siobhan moves to Saudi Arabia in a few weeks, where she is optimistic she will find more writing material; perhaps even a new novel, which I eagerly await.

Click Below to here the full interview aired 3/3/11
Interview with Siobhan Fallon