It’s amazing the lengths people will go to to rip others off. I recently was contacted by a Mr. Dehua from Henan Yu Xin International Co. Ltd. in Zhengzhou, China. He emailed to say that his company was making a 20 episode series of 25 minute documentaries in HD for television broadcast. The intention was to enlighten the Chinese audience about America’s history, economy, culture … Continue reading The Chinese Scam I Almost Fell For
Very early on the morning on May 5, 2007 I got a call from NBC News to hurry from Denver to Greensburg, Kansas. There had been a huge tornado and the town was devastated. Go! Go! When I pulled into the town six hours later I was stunned to see wreckage so complete that even the bark had been pulled off the trees. These skeleton … Continue reading The Greening of Greensburg
Want to live to be a thousand years old? It’s not far fetched at all if you ask theoretician and geneticist Aubrey de Grey. He believes within the next 25 years there is a 50/50 chance we’ll have the technologies to extend human life indefinitely. I learned of Aubrey and his ideas in 2005 and immediately pitched the story to NBC’s Today Show. They were … Continue reading How to Live Forever
Two years ago the Rocky Mountain News ended publication after 150 years. The Colorado newspaper was a casualty of a changing media environment which saw the bankruptcy of dailies across America. Recently former Rocky editor and publisher, John Temple, sent out a survey to his former staffers to see how they were faring in their careers. Ryan Warner of Colorado Public Radio sat down with … Continue reading Rocky Mountain News Retrospective
As we speak I have 10 Christmas cards. I used to have a huge stack by mid-December but then I gave up on sending them. I guess I brought this on myself. I broke this tradition with much guilt and trepidation. It seemed quite sacrilegious to give up on holiday cards. We wrote a couple hundred each year (at great expense I might add) with … Continue reading The Grinch Who Stole Christmas Cards
Thanks to my friend, Randle Loeb, for sharing this inspiring story with me. Randle is a tireless voice for the homeless and wanted me to see this Washington Post article about Eric Sheptock, a homeless man in Washington, D.C., who is advocating for those like him using social media, Facebook and Twitter. People can make a difference anywhere. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/12/12/AR2010121203509.html?hpid=topnews For more information on Vicky Collins … Continue reading “A Homeless, Homeless Advocate”
Just bought a Nikon D7000 camera and Nikkor 18-200 mm 1:3.5-5.6 GII lens. Have set a goal to teach myself to shoot and edit video in the year ahead. My television colleagues are trying to talk me into Final Cut Pro. Also looking into continuing education at the Santa Fe Photography Workshops. Need to enhance the skill set. Time to step up as a photographer … Continue reading Photography: Stepping Up My Game
Move over Generation X, Y and Z. Make room for the Alphaboomers, the 55 to 64 year old demographic that has been largely ignored by advertisers when it comes to broadcast television buys (except during the evening news which relies heavily on prescription drug advertising and Beano.) Now NBCU is calling out for this demo age group to get respect and be recognized as a … Continue reading Alphaboomers
One of the most interesting things I read in the newspaper while in Delhi was the matrimonials in the Sunday Times of India. The section consisted of page after page of personal classifieds by families unapologetically seeking the perfect made to order husband or wife for children whose time has come to make a love connection. Some of the ads were very specific. They spelled … Continue reading A Westerner Ponders Arranged Marriage
Andres from Switzerland, his girlfriend, Paola from Brazil and I were riding on camels in the Thar Desert outside of the western Indian town of Jaisalmer. We were in a spot as remote as I’ve ever been, 21 hours by train from Delhi, just 60 kilometers from the border with Pakistan. It’s a flat, arid locale, punctuated by sand dunes and populated by only villagers, … Continue reading The Camel and the Cell Phone
Vicky Collins Online 