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December 2009 Archives

Wheel Questions is over for 2009

By
Johnny Monsarrat
on December 15, 2009 7:43 AM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The Wheel Questions project is over for 2009, and having self-funded the last two years, I definitely cannot self-fund it again 2010. However, I am hopeful that corporate sponsors or a grant will help me continue the project. Do me a favor and mention it in your blog or to friends. The more it's out there, the more likely I am to be able to show it's real and to get the fuel I need to keep going.

The Wheel Questions video blitz ended up taking 2 weeks, but I did amass a ton of questions and answers: 388 written on cards and 276 on video. So at 664 I didn't quite make the number of the beast, but trust me, it's plenty! Each video took about 20 minutes to greet passersby, record, record a reply, edit, and post. Each card about 3 minutes.

At the end of November, Wheel Questions finally got a sponsor. The marketing firm behind HP, Intel, and Best Buy paid for a two-week video blitz, where I tried to answer 1,000 questions in a single week, much of it by video.

Start here and go forwards for the full story of the Wheel Questions video blitz.

Start here and go forwards for the 2009 Wheel Questions project, or go backwards for 2008.

I'll continue to post a daily question and answer, mostly written but occasionally a video. I hope you find it uplifting. You can see the videos and all 12,000 questions at The Wheel Questions Complete Archive.

Photos from the Wheel Questions video blitz:

Recording answers at Edaville Today - last video day!

By
Johnny Monsarrat
on December 7, 2009 8:55 AM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Yesterday was a flood of people at Edaville Railroad, despite temperatures around freezing. I got a bunch of people on camera despite everyone frantically hurrying from attraction to the warm indoor gallery back to attraction. And plenty of cards as well. My trick for the first 4 hours was hot apple cider. Hot anything, really. But I did leave early through sheer self-preservation.

Then I went to the annual Newbury Comics corporate party and danced! Those people know how to throw a party.

Back to work this morning! To rectify the artistic situation and to get some more footage at Edaville, I'm returning today to shoot answers to questions. What a great backdrop with the carousel and the Ferris Wheel and trains.

The HP Envy is continuing to be the workhorse of the project. I finally discovered a limitation in the powerful laptop: it wants to be warmer than freezing to work properly. I'm not sure how much of limitation that is, unless you're on a mountain climbing or Arctic exploration project. I will most definitely not be taking the Wheel Questions project mountain climbing.

So this morning, a little video editing, then recording some answers, and I hope to post them tonight!

Back to Edaville Railroad for One More Day of Questions

By
Johnny Monsarrat
on December 6, 2009 9:55 AM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I can't help it! I had so much fun at Edaville Railroad that I'm going back for a second day.

The Edaville Festival of Lights is a midsize amusement park with a carousel and Ferris wheel and a lot of kids rides. But the main attraction is a train ride that takes you in a big loop through the forest, with over 7 million holiday lights. It definitely makes you feel awed and happy like a child, enough that I went last year even though I don't have any kids of my own. I am my kid!

That being said, the idea is apparently unique. I didn't see anyone there without kids in tow on Friday. The weather was warm, 55 degrees at night, and they placed me right at the end of the queue for the train ride. Unfortunately, the people there are a little crazy about getting on that train, and all the stanchions and chains create a social barrier. So that's another reason why I'm going out. This time, I'll plop myself (with permission) right in the middle of all the action.

Like any holiday lights attraction, Edaville is open after dark this time of year. Shooting video at night creates its own challenge, even with all the lights, but I got some great video. I even took the camcorder on the train ride and shot the fireworks that capped the evening.

I also discovered some secrets about Edaville. It's a generic holiday attraction that doesn't feel too religious, but they don't avoid songs with Jesus on the loudspeakers. And I managed to find one creche scene, tucked waaaaaaay in the back on the train ride. A big statue of Santa and his elves contains a good book for all the good children. But also a bad book, which is equally filled with names. I thought Santa and Jesus were a bit of a pushover on the good/bad thing for children but apparently not.

Amongst the holiday lights is a diorama village, one-quarter size, that contains a masonic temple. (The Masons! They're behind everything!) And there's a semi-private place where mothers can nurse babies. I wish I were a baby again just for one night.

So I'm going back today, and I'll have a lot more to report (and a ton more questions) tomorrow. Meanwhile the HP Envy and I are still best friends. At night I was even able to run video constantly and show off the unit, and the battery lasted fine for over 3 hours of screen display.

If you want to enter to win the HP Envy laptop, subscribe to this blog and I'll choose a random winner on Wednesday. If you're still waiting for your answer, hang in there! I'm almost done.

Nearly 200 Videos for Days 1-5 are up. Hello, Edaville Railroad!

By
Johnny Monsarrat
on December 3, 2009 10:19 AM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

It's been a completely crazy week, but the end is in sight. The last day will be tomorrow, Friday, at Edaville Railroad's Festival of Lights, the largest display of lights in New England. (I might switch it to Saturday if the rain forecast disappears.)

That will make the Wheel Questions Video Blitz over two weeks long: 7 days of collecting questions, and about 9 days of answering questions. So far I have 193 videos and a ton of written cards as well, all answered. Take a peek at Wheel Questions: Complete, and look for your question by date.

Getting up to speed was tough, and the weather interfered a bit, but by and large the project was a big success. Everyone seems to love the concept, and I'm really pleased by the volume and quality of entries. Thanks to everyone who dared to reveal their inner thoughts, especially on camera.

I'm setting next Wednesday, December 9th, as the official end point to give away the HP Envy laptop computer. Just subscribe to this blog to be entered for the random drawing. Do me a favor and mention the project in your blog or email to a mailing list! The more that Wheel Questions gets noticed, the more pleased my sponsors will be. :)

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