triggerhappymedia

and I’ve been up to…

…post-production for a documentary that will air on the History Channel. That’s all I can say for now. But the subject is amazing and I am incredibly excited about it!

… directing my own short documentary. I was given the opportunity to film (with a Flip MinoHD, the smallest HD camera available- it’s the size of an iPod) right here in Brooklyn. I will be editing it over the next few weeks, and hope to have something to show soon.

…working at the Food Bank For New York City. Approximately four million New Yorkers experience difficulty affording food, and the Food Bank’s soup kitchens and pantries serve 1.3 million-pretty staggering numbers.

In some triggerhappymedia-type news, the world’s oldest Sunday newspaper, The Observer, may be closing with speculation that it will be replaced by a mid-week magazine. As magazines stateside are faltering or failing, it’s interesting that Guardian News and Media would go that route.

In the meantime, I expressed my love for the current Observer Magazine (tucked away in every Sunday edition) to my friend who arrives today from London. She has been collecting them for me week by week in case they are, in fact, the best of the last.

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Trigger: Guardian Media admits The Observer may be closed

Bush and friends have urged Americans to use this ±$600 boost to go shopping. The reality is that most of us will be putting the money towards the mortgage, credit card debt, or monthly bus passes until we can afford to put gas in the car again.

But instead of spending frivolously, why not make a statement with your dollar bills?

Idea #1: the anti-immigration lawn. Hire this company to do your yard work: White Guys Landscaping. The name says it all- no Mexicans here!

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Trigger: “First stimulus checks arrive - What you need to know“, CNN

The latest trend in shop window accessories is the “This employer uses E-verify” sign. E-verify is a voluntary service that allows businesses to check the status of potential employees.

American consumers can now breathe a huge sigh of relief. While everything we buy may be made in China, at least we can be sure that a legal worker is getting the $5.50 an hour to ring us up.

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Trigger: Department of Homeland Security

The Visitor
Festival premiere
2008, USA

The Visitor begins with a chain of events that could only happen in New York City.

Walter Vale is a lonely college professor soured by everything except his nightly glass of wine. By chance he meets Tarek Khalil, a Syrian musician who teaches Walter to play the drums– and to rediscover the simple joys of life.

Tarek plays the djembe in clubs, and has a Senegalese girlfriend who sells handmade jewelry. His mother in Michigan calls everyday to check in on him. All three are undocumented immigrants.

A random stop by the police lands Tarek in a detention facility. Afraid of losing his newfound friendship, Walter visits Tarek each day and brings back news to comfort the mother and girlfriend who must wait on the outside.

With The Visitor, writer and director Thomas McCarthy brings a new perspective to the debate on immigration. For his research he visited detention centers in the New York area over the course of one year. He learned that 90% of detainees do not have access to any legal advice. He met one young man from Nigeria who was held for three years only to be deported.

McCarthy insists that the immigration issue is undoubtedly complex, and that there are no easy answers. But there are also many important questions that rarely get asked: what about the immigrants who work hard and make great contributions within their communities? What of those don’t ask for anything in return except to live their lives like any other citizen? What about the good immigrant?

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Trigger: The Visitor official site and trailer

The debate on immigration is getting hotter than the US-Mexican frontera in the summertime.

The latest reform offers a path to citizenship to the 12 million immigrants already in the US. But it won’t be easy. Border security will tighten, allowing a maximum 400,000 workers in each year.

Guest workers can stay in the country for two years- and then must leave for one- for up to six years total. These restrictions won’t apply to professionals who can fill a skill gap, but to the larger group of unskilled workers.

The bill’s main flaw is that it will create “a large, poorly paid and constantly rotating underclass with little stake in American society.” The Economist calls the policy “better than nothing.” And that about says it all.

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Trigger: Icky Thump by the White Stripes
Site: White Stripes
Quote: “Well, Americans: nothing better to do? Why don’t you kick yourself out? You’re an immigrant, too. Who’s using who? What should we do? Well, you can’t be a pimp and a prostitute, too.”