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A couple years ago I spoke to my parents right after they’d seen a new house belonging to one of my dad’s few remaining clients. My mom said, “This place is really unique. It’d make a great topic for a video.” Then she gave me an Ablitt House bookmark. Eventually I contacted the owners, took a tour, and heard the story.

Neil Ablitt buys a 20’x 20’ lot, about the size of a two car garage, near his dry cleaning plant in a commercial district of Santa Barbara, then in 1987 wins a water hook up for it in a lottery. But it was not zoned for a residence, and it was too small to build on, or so he thought. Neighbors disapproved of a house in the alley, the Panning Commission turned him down, and even during the building he never knew how the blueprints would become a reality. Today Neil and his wife Sue give tours of their unique abode.

The film opens with some of the tiny details making up the beauty of the house. But the focus of the documentary is on the people involved. Neil remembers the shack that stood on the lot when he was a boy. He never dreamed he’d one day have a home on that very spot. In early 2000 he meets architect Jeff Shelton who figures out how to get around the commercial zone ordinances. The film shows short clips from the February 2004 Planning Commission meeting where the plans got shot down. Neil, supported by his wife, is seen walking, downcast out of City Hall.

Clips from the appeal to the City Council in April 2004 show the overturning of the decision. “But as we found out,” Neil said, “the challenges were just beginning.” Many artists contributed to the creation of the final project and a couple of them will speak on camera, as well as Jeff Shelton the architect and Dan Upton the contractor who will share how sometimes they didn’t know how to solve problems that arose. Neil took many photos during the process and some of these will be used in the film. His job was to keep his mouth shut, sweep the alley, and stay out of the way, but emotionally he was in it as much as the guys getting their hands dirty. Sue was his rock through it all. Neil, supported by his wife, is seen walking, agitated up West Haley near the building site.

The documentary shows clips from one of the tours Neil gives to thank the community, and from a party for those involved in the construction. Neil, supported by his wife, is seen walking, smiling up the refurbished alley, paseo and into their home. The theme song, “Can’t Get Rid of Me” by Sean Wiggins, plays: “A house don’t make a home. And it’s only in your arms, I’m safe, I’m not alone. As you as my guide, always by my side, our two hearts beating as one, we can take the World on.”

HGTV has featured the house on an episode of Extreme Living. But this documentary is not about the house, it’s about the people who make it a home. Some of the challenges I encountered during this project included getting an interview with Jeff Shelton. I said Thursday would be good, he said Friday would be better for him, so I said okay Friday, then Thursday night the Tea Fire broke out and he lives on East Mountain Drive. His property survived, but with that interview delayed I put off making a bona fide version of this film for several months.

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1. A tweet a day brings the tweeps (followers) your way
2. Choose a good Username and Account Name, they’re different, wisely
3. Your bio is consistently indexed so its contents are what provide your
   Twitter page with its core relevance. Take advantage of all 160 characters!
4. Sign up for Twitter directories like Twellow
   and WeFollow
5. Pimp up your profile with a background image. Templates available at twitterbacks.com
6. Don’t forget your web address
7. Integrate Twitter into your website with badges
   and widgets
8. Use URL shorteners to provide links to richer content. I like Bit.ly
   because it tracks click-throughs.
9. If you want a message to be forwarded, it’s ideal to keep it under
   120 characters so your followers can easily add RT @YourHandle
   in front of the tweet.
10. Select your lead-in, first 42 characters, of each tweet carefully for Search
    Engine Optimization.
11. Write keyword-rich tweets and use # tags. Search tags on
    search sites like tweetag.com. Watch the right-hand column on Twitter to fnd
    the hot topics.
12. Many more resources and tutorials available at mashable.com

Oh, and don’t forget about Facebook
– groups and fan pages, too.

Follow me at twitter.com/dolphingal805

Social networking is not for the faint of heart.

My first adventure into social networking was MySpace two or three years ago. I’d tried a couple of other sites, like Gather and Goodreads, but I never really got into them and consequently forgot my username and password. Well, that actually happens a lot because I’ve got too many of those, matter of fact I have logonarrhea.

Anyway, I really got into MySpace and had a blast seeing how many interesting “friends” I could add, reading bulletins and sending them out, and leaving comments on friends’ profiles. Although some profiles are too busy and annoying, I still believe MySpace is a good, free tool for creating a webspace for bands and projects. But I’ve moved on.

About a year ago a colleague tried convincing me that Facebook was better. It took a while for me to try it out. After all I already had a MySpace page, not to mention profiles on a couple of Ning sites—one for the SB Writers Conference and one for local producers. Those types of webpages are good for small, concentrated groups and can be customized to suit the participants.

I’m not counting Linkedin because it’s more of a professional or business site. You definitely need to build up your Linkedin connections if you’re looking for a job or more clients.

Finally I signed up for Facebook. The benefits surfaced right away. I didn’t have to pimp my profile or chose my top friends, and I can see what all my “friends” are saying, and the comments by their friends, as soon as I log on. Some people I don’t talk to too often and in person details don’t come up like they do online. But now I know that cool person is into kickboxing so I have something to talk to them about next time I run into them. It’s a fun way to get to know others better.

Then came Twitter. It’s amazing what you can say in only 140 characters. You can give your “Followers” business tips, a weather report, or a link to your latest blog post. How do you get Followers? I registered myself on a couple of Twitter directories, Twellow the Twitter Yellow Pages and WeFollow—which lists popular tags that help people find you and your content. But you don’t have to follow me to get my tweets, because I’ve set it up so you can just come here and look at that little box in the right hand column. Plus my tweets do double duty because when I post on Twitter my Facebook status is automatically updated.

One of the definitions of twitterpated is the ever increasing acceleration of heartbeat and body temperature. And that’s exactly the way I feel when I see somebody new is following me on Twitter.

If you need help building your online presence, contact me. If you already have made a place for yourself on the Net, and like this blog post, please click the SHARE button below to pass it along.

After the Jesusita Fire, I’d had enough of fire talk. I’d sat glued to the TV, watching Joe Gehl and Tracy lehr reporting on location while ash rained down and flames shot up on the split screen next to them. But I was in for some more when I showed up for Lars Nelson’s Adult Ed documentary class Tuesday night. His special guest was Jennie Reinish whose film Behind the Lines: Fighting a Wildland Fire depicts what we don’t see when watching such a disaster covered on TV.

In July of 2007 Reinish went to shoot stock footage of the mushroom cloud of smoke coming from the Zaca Fire. She stopped for a soft drink and happened onto an information kiosk manned by firefighters. Their conversation led to an invitation for her to film at the base camp. Because she was a documentarian and not mainstream media, she got access to people, like the incident commander. who didn’t normally grant interviews.

While watching her film, I was amazed to find out what goes on in one of those base camps. Independent contractors are needed to provide basic necessities, such as food and hot showers. They even bring in a souvenir vender to sell t-shirts with the fire’s name on it to keep up the firefighters’ morale. The film also shows the many agencies involved in battling a wildfire and the difficult duties they must perform.

Behind the Lines premieres Saturday, June 6, 7:30 pm, at Samy’s Camera, 614 Chapala Street. The event includes live music and some of the firefighters featured in the film will be on hand. You can have your photo taken on a fire engine, too. A $5 suggested donation at the door benefits Jesusita Fire victims through the United Way.

Contestants scribbled on paper or tapped on their laptops with only 15 minutes to finish a grueling writing assignment. As SBWC attendees they got an added bonus of being able to compete in the reality TV style challenge called the Ultimate Write-Off. Viewers can share in the fun by tuning in to Part 1 of the Ultimate Write-Off TV special on cable channel 17 on Friday, September 5 at 7 pm.

The competition was the brainchild of Cheri Steinkellner, Montecito resident and former head writer for Cheers,and Marcia Meier,SBWC Executive Director, welcomed the addition to the many activities offered. On the first day the Reagan Room filled with anxious participants. Steinkellner invented unique writing tasks for each of the six days, which included writing poetry for a chosen prop, creating a musical number for a work never before put to music, and coming up with dialogue with a partner in the style of famous writers such as David Mamet and Tennessee Williams. One day the assignment centered around food in honor of celebrity guest judge Fannie Flagg.

Different judges tallied up scores at the end of every day’s event. At the awards banquet at the close of the Conference four winners were announced. Some who competed found the race for top honors nerve-racking. But no matter who won, all the contestants enjoyed themselves and got to pump their writing muscles.

The Ultimate Write-Off was videotaped and edited by Lisa Angle of Ninety Degrees Media, who is also on staff at The Santa Barbara Channels that runs cable channels 17 and 21. Second camera operator on the program was Victoria Minnich, whose short documentary World’s “Easiest” Catch premiered at last year’s Ocean Film Festival.

For further air dates and times check the channel 17 schedule. Part 2 of the Ultimate Write-Off will premiere on channel 17 sometime in October.

Find more videos like this on indiecoop

Have you seen the largest animal to ever live on the earth? I have. Right out in the Santa Barbara Channel, about an hour from my house, is one of the best places in the world to view blue whales. Estimates calculate the pre-whaling population of these mammoth creatures at 275.000, and today the population is gauged at only 5,000. Just 2,000 of those travel in the Northern Hemisphere, where they can get up to 90 feet long and weigh as many tons. Interestingly enough, in the Southern Hemisphere they get even bigger, reaching over 100 feet long, and as is true in baleen whales, the females are larger than the males. So technically the largest animal to ever live on earth would be a female, Southern Hemisphere blue whale, and I haven’t seen one of those—but I have seen a blue whale, and WOW!

Imagine sitting on the bow of a 60 foot boat with its engines off. At least ten spouts can be seen all around you in the distance. Then, without warning, a blue whale surfaces right next to you. So close even the lady who works in the galley yells. This happened to me right off Santa Cruz Island on the Rachel G in 2002. I’ve seen many other blues since then, and smelled them too—they have horrible breath when they’re feeding on little, shrimp-like krill. Just like the tourists who come to Santa Barbara County for the great restaurants and wines, the blues come here for the five-star kill in the Channel, and they can eat a couple ton of it a day.

Anyway, the reason I get to see so many blues, and whales in general, is that I’m part of the Channel Islands Naturalist Corps. This group of volunteers is managed jointly by the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary and the Channel Islands National Park. We talk to passengers on whale watch boats in Ventura and SB, and lead hikes on the Channel Islands. I’ve lead hikes on Santa Cruz Island and usually do whale interpretation on the Condor Express at least once a month. In the summertime when blues and humpbacks flock to the Channel, I use the Sanctuary’s camera to take photo ID pictures.

The photos go to Cascadia Research where they are cataloged under the supervision of John Calambokidis. He identifies individual whales by the unique patterns around their dorsal fins or the underside of their flukes, and he figures out where their journeys take them and which other whales they hang out with.

On August 16, 2008 I happened to be on the Condor Express, camera in hand, when we came upon Calambokidis in his skiff tagging blues.

When asked how a researcher in what amounts to a dingy tags an eighty-something foot blue whale, Calambokidis answered, “Carefully.” He pulled up along side the Condor and gave a Q&A and demo of the long poles they use. The large orange suction cup tags fell off not long after being affixed.

Megan McKenna, from the Scripps Whale Acoustic Lab, will use the data collected to see if blue whales in the shipping lanes can hear ships coming and if the whales try to move out of the way of approaching ships. In wake of four blues washing up dead on Southern California shores last year, It’s an important study.

We actually saw two tags on the whales. The smaller yellow ones were put on earlier that month by Dr. Bruce Mate of Tagging of Pacific Predators. These are meant to stay on for several months and communicate with sattlelites, so hopefully we’ll be able to track these whales on the Internet soon.

Notable passengers on the Condor that day included Hayden Panettiere and Jeff Pantukoff of Save the Whales Again/The Whaleman Foundation, and Bernardo and Diane Alps of American Cetacean Society LA Chapter.

The highlight of the June ’08 SBWC for me was Wednesday night’s award presentation to Sue Grafton. First I liked that it wasn’t just Sue standing up and giving us a talk. The format of having the guest speaker sit with somebody and chat seemed to engage the audience. I hope they use this “in conversation with” format more in the future.

Second I liked what Sue said at the end of the program about how a writer isn’t a real writer until they realize not everything they write is good. It’s true. Being a writer is like being an Alcoholic. An alcoholic can’t start on the road to recovery until they admit to having a drinking problem. But once they begin getting help and work on staying sober, they get healthier and healthier. Once a writer admits they need help and attends a workshop, writers conference, or the SBWC Café, their writing will get better and better.

Like working the 12 steps, getting your writing critiqued regularly can lead to serenity. It’s hard being a writer. We have our own 12 steps to learn.

1. Write, write, write
2. Hook your reader
3. Show don’t tell
4. Keep it simple
5. Kill your darlings
6. Build the story up with tension and unanswered questions
7. No reader-feeder
8. Use appropriate grammar and spelling
9. Get critiqued
10. Read work by other writers
11. Give your readers a satisfying ending
12. Rewrite, rewrite, rewrite

They work, if you work them! We may not be recovering, but we are rewriting.

Sue didn’t allow her presentation to be recorded, so here’s a clip of the tribute to her at the SBWC talent show that also took place that night.

P.S.: My suggestion: U is for Underground.

You produce it. They get people to watch it.

Back in the ‘80s we didn’t have YouTube so we turned to the BoobTube for entertainment. In 1984 Senator Barry Goldwater sponsored a law causing Cable TV to pop up all over the US. In exchange a small portion of the revenues went back to the communities to establish their own television stations for Public, Education, and Government (PEG) Access.

While channel surfing you may have come across City Council meetings on Channel 18, SB’s Government Access station. Interesting, if you’re into politics. But I’m not.

I tend to watch more Public Access on Channel 17 and Education Access Channel 21. Well, they’re both on while I’m at work. I’m a part-timer at The Santa Barbara Channels, the nonprofit that runs 17 and 21.

Since I’ve worked there, I’ve seen Channel 21 grow into a great resource for local arts and culture. The staff shoots David Starkey’s Creative Community, a variety of performances at the Marjorie Luke Theatre, and a diverse array of community forums ranging from poetry readings to media seminars. At the moment they’re airing a concert called Rock the Reagan given exclusively for the crew of the USS Ronald

Reagan, and their friends and family, while the ship was in port in SB. Of course they still air some fascinating lectures recorded at UCSB by the university’s team, and programs from the County Schools Office. A precious few outside arts and education pieces by SB producers have been shown on Channel 21, such as Much Ado About W that aired after its premier at SBIFF in 2007.

But SB indie producers have a huge venue for showcasing their work on Channel 17. Yes, I know, if you’ve ever surfed onto it, you’ve probably seen some stinky stuff. I know I have, but I’m not naming names. Keep in mind it’s a place where people can learn, people like me who can hone their directing skills on shows like Secrets of Self Improvement. Some programs gear themselves to the IV crowd that makes up drinking games to play while they watch. On the flip side, they’ve got cute kids shows like the award-winning Talk to Mirely, and programs that spotlight local bands and musicians like Musical Café and Indie Music Show.

Despite the jokes you’ve heard about Public Access TV, or the portrayals you’ve seen on South Park or The Simpsons, good reasons for airing your material on it remain. Channel 17 goes to 67, 000 Cox customers between Carpinteria and Gaviota, and it does actually get watched. Actress Carol Metcalf, who stared in the popular Channel 17 special Disco Academy, says she’s always having people she doesn’t know come up and tell her how they love her character Donna Disco.

SB Indie Producers who’ve shown their work on Channel 17 include Penny Little, whose program People to People tackles peace and social change, and Larry Nimmer has aired many videos on the station. I haven’t seen Mark Dispenza’s production yet, but I have seen him at the station checking out a camera, microphones, and a light kit, so maybe soon. That’s another plus to Public Access, studio and field equipment available for community use.

Thankfully, our PEG TV stations have moved past the 1980’s. I’d hate to dress in legwarmers, spandex, and puffy hair to go to work. We’ll be making some progressive changes to our website soon. Can’t say any more because I’m sworn to secrecy, but we are joining the age of online video. Channel 21 even has its own YouTube page.

I’d watch the show even if I didn’t have to. I work for The Santa Barbara Channels, the nonprofit that runs Channel 21, SB’s culture, arts and education TV channel on Cox. Mainly I do marketing for them, but occasionally I find myself behind a camera. So there I am giving a count down and cuing host David Starkey at the beginning of most episodes of The Creative Community.

As David says, The Creative Community is a video archive of SB’s writers, poets, artists, musicians, actors, filmmakers, and other creative people in our community. The first episode I worked on featured Bill and Cheri Steinkellner who wrote for Cheers, one of my favorite sitcoms. I was hooked and have worked on every in studio episode since. Other notable guests have included Nobel Laureate Walter Kohn, who garnered one of only two of the shows hour-long episodes. The other sixty-minute show went to Andrew Davis, director of Hollywood films such as Holes—another favorite of mine. Author Erica Jong was the only non-local guest we’ve had, because she happened to be in town speaking at the Writers Conference. Other Writers Conference stars who’ve appeared on the show include Perie Longo, Barnaby Conrad, and Ernie Witham.

Being a writer, poet, playwright, and musician himself, David has his finger on the pulse of SB’s creative community, which makes him the perfect host. I’ve peered at David through the viewfinder of a camera for two and half years now, and seen him mature as an interviewer and relax as an on-air personality. He claims to be recognized wherever he goes.

A few shows were shot on location in places like SBMA for the migrant workers photo exhibit (I edited that episode), and a special at the home studio of painter, and Creative Community set and lighting designer, Ray Cirerol. Most recently, David took a group of poets out to Anacapa Island to do readings for the show.

With a wealth of talented guests, a now seasoned host, and over a hundred episodes in the can, it’s no wonder the show has won a few awards, both national and regional. First place national awards from the Alliance For Community Media went to interviews with Mike deGruy (2006) and Mary Rose Betten (2007), and a first place Western Access Video Excellence Award went to an episode with Annie Crawley.

Sample clips from The Creative Community are available on YouTube, or you can tune into Channel 21 Mondays or Thursdays at 4 pm, Tuesdays or Wednesdays at 10 pm, Saturdays at 6 pm, or Sundays at 11 pm, and see for yourself. You don’t have to watch it, but I sure recommend it.

In my opinion, the best bet for Fiesta fun is the dancing and music at the Courthouse Sunken Gardens. It’s not just a one night only event, you can go Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and/or Sunday. You can put your blankets down in the morning and they won’t be thrown aside when you come back—unlike the parade scene. The atmosphere is more family orientated so the crowd isn’t as wild. But it’s still downtown, not tucked away like El Mercado Del Norte.

How’d you spend your Fiesta?