Many people supported my doing this contest, but many others weren’t so excited about it. A few comments came my way stating, “this car promotion was distracting me from my music & a waste of time.” While I understand how it could be seen that way I must say I think I gained quite a bit of knowledge in other areas of social media marketing that are going to help me as an independent artist. Things I had not much experience in, now I do. (Such as video editing.)
It’s been a fun 6 months. Lots of inspiring events happened over the road that will be resulting in some new songs by this spring I did get to travel to a couple festivals and performed some shows this summer.
Six months is a long time to spend with a car while documenting the various adventures one might find themselves getting into. So I wonder, what else did these 100 agents learn while on the road? If you are an agent, send me a tweet @current, or leave a comment below. I’m curious to hear your perspective.
For those of you interested, take a look at some of the Fiesta Agents’ profiles and vote for your favorite agent. The awards ceremony is on 12/1, so help your favorite agent get ahead of the pack.
Hey Fiesta Agents, do you want to be on TV?
Max and Jason will be covering the Fiesta Event at the LA Auto Show live on 12/1 (for info check out this post), and they’ll be looking to capture the scene from the perspective of the agents in attendance. So agents, be on the lookout for our cameras, and tweet @current, @maxandjason, or using #current while you’re at the Fiesta Event. Who knows, you might find yourself on TV!
As a part of their Fiesta Movement we’re partnering with Ford to have Max and Jason bring you the Fiesta Movement Celebration on December 2nd at 11:30/10:30c on Current TV. Before we dive into the details, here’s some background information to give you a little context.
To kickoff the Fiesta Movement, Ford challenged bloggers, technologists, and any other social media enthusiasts to spend six months participating in a campaign called the Fiesta Movement. They received over 4,000 applicants, but only 100 were chosen to be “Agents of the Fiesta Movement.” These agents spent the next six months behind the wheel of a Ford Fiesta while traveling around the country completing 600 monthly themed missions ranging from Travel, Adventure, Social Activism, Technology, Style & Design, and Entertainment.
Each of these missions were documented using social media sites like YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, 12seconds, and just about any other social media site out there. If your interested check out some of the missions, or if you’re interested in what some of the agents are doing as their six month stint winds down take a look at the #fiestamovement hashtag on Twitter.
So, what are Max and Jason up to?
Here’s the full rundown of what you can expect. On 12/1, the guys will be filming live at the Ford Fiesta Movement Celebration at the Palladium in LA between 11pm-2am E / 8pm-11pm P. They’ll be spending the evening soaking up the event, and using Current cameras to get the unique perspective of the Fiesta Agents in attendance. Portions of their coverage will be streamed on the Max and Jason: Still Up page on Current.com, and live updates will also air on Current TV throughout the night.
Then on 12/2 Max and Jason will return to the Current airwaves to host the Fiesta Movement Celebration at 11:30/10:30c.
Tonight, Current is kicking off a brand-new season of SuperNews! at 11/10c. This season will include the return of fan favorites including technology obsessed office workers Craig and Darren, the beleaguered Obama administration, the self-obsessed hipsters and continued scathing satires of today’s political, pop-culture, and infamous figures.
But that’s not all. The Thursday Night Block Party kicks off at 10/9c with a brand-new infoMania. This week, Sarah Haskins takes a look at home security in Target Women, so tune in to see her and the rest of the infoMania crew’s take on the week in news and entertainment. Missed an episode? Check out previous infoMania episodes on Current.com.
Then att 10:30/9:30c, tune in for a new episode of The Rotten Tomatoes Show. This week Brett and Ellen take on “Precious,” “The Men Who Stare At Goats” and “A Christmas Carol.” Watch previous episodes or leave a webcam with your review at The Rotten Tomatoes Show on Current.com.
Finally, at 11/10c, the new season of SuperNews! premieres. Check out a sneak peek, or get a SuperNews primer on the SuperNews page.
From the many amazing videos, Common hand-picked his favorite, ‘Common’s Make My Day Music Video: Clip Art’, by Josh Milowe, Elizabeth Casal and Mike Potter, collectively known as Wealthy Pictures.
Check out the video above, and look for its on-air premiere Wednesday, November 4 at 11/10c during Embedded featuring Common:
This is awesome news, and a hearty congratulations is due to all who submitted to this. Thanks!
Yay! October 14th is finally here, and tonight we’ll unleash season 3 of our documentary series Vanguard, followed by the first of our six part music special, Embedded.
Here is everything you need to know about our Current TV premiere night:
Tell Your Friends!
Tonight is as good as any to gather a group together and turn the dial to Current.
Get Directions
Make sure you know where to find Current TV on your cable/satellite service. Here’s a list of channel numbers where you can find us: DIRECTV 358 | COMCAST 107 | DISH NETWORK 196 | TIME WARNER (check local listings).
Have A Backup Plan
What? You can’t make it? Well, alright. There are plenty of ways to watch. Here are a few: Set your DVR! No DVR? Join the Vanguard and the Embedded groups on Current.com and the full episodes will be available shortly. You can even login using Facebook!
Be Prepared
Pop some popcorn, but also have some tissues on standby. Seriously, tonight will be a rollercoaster ride. I expected tears (and was correct in doing so) while watching Mariana Van Zeller’s “The OxyContin Express” during our Current SF screening party, but I was also surprised by the humor, too. Conversely, I anticipated laughs during Embedded with Mos Def, but was taken aback by the layers behind the mask. With both of these shows, you never know where you’re going to go — emotionally and philosophically.
After Vanguard and Embedded Air
Share!
Did you like the episodes? If so, you’re definitely on the inside track, so why not show off a little? We have plenty of options to help spread the word, here are a couple: Share Vanguard (requires login) and Embedded (requires login) on Current.com. You can also find our shows on iTunes, and tell a friend from there.
Interview Mariana Van Zeller
Did “The OxyContin Express” leave you with a few biting questions? Or, do you have a general interest in the nuts and bolts of our Vanguard journalism team? Well, you’re in luck! We’re planning an interview with Mariana right here on the Current.com blog, and we want YOU to provide the questions! Get all the details here.
Embed Embedded
We need your help getting the word out about our new Current Music Special, Embedded. Each week, we will release a clip from the upcoming show. If you choose to help out, you will get first look at this exclusive clip, and a chance to score some limited edition Embedded swag! All you have to do is embed the unique embed code for the exclusive clip (found here — requires login via Current or Facebook) on your blog, MySpace, Tumblr, or other site that allows embeddable video content. (NOTE: Posting to your Facebook stream will not work, as your unique embed code will not be used in the Facebook news stream). You can get the full scoop here. Help us please? Thanks in advance!
More importantly, thanks for tuning in tonight, and let us know what you think (Leave a comment, or shoot us a tweet with the hashtags #Embedded and #Vanguard!
Season 3 will premiere with Vanguard correspondent Mariana Van Zeller’s report, “The OxyContin Express” — in the episode, Mariana travels to Florida to take a closer look at pain clinics, pill addiction, and the costs of this rising trend.
To help raise awareness, Mariana and the rest of the Vanguard crew have been hitting the road to spread the word by visiting TV shows and doing interviews.
But, we want to add one more interviewer to the mix. You.
Starting today, we’re going to start take questions for Mariana, Darren Foster, and Cerissa Tanner — the team behind “The OxyContin Express.” Ask them anything about the episode, Vanguard, or how they got into journalism. The floor is yours, so make it good! Here’s how it will work:
Watch the season 3 premiere, on Current TV this Wednesday October 14, 10/9c
Ask a question: you can post your question to the blog, as a tweet @current or @marianaVZ, or submit your webcam and text questions to the You Interview Mariana group on Current.com (you’ll need to join the group to submit).
Come back to the Current.com Blog on Monday to see the full Q&A.
Our Current Music team has been working overtime to bring you our brand new six part music special, Embedded. Everything is set to go for our Wednesday night premiere (October 14, 11/10c), but we need your help getting the word out.
Help us Internets, you’re our only hope.
But seriously, if you have a website, blog, Tumblr, MySpace, or [insert other social network profile] account that takes video embeds, now is your time.
Log in on Current.com (Don’t have an account? No worries, we support Facebook Connect!) and visit Embed Embedded. We’ll post a new Embedded clip for you to embed each week. The artists featured on Embedded include Mos Def, Silversun Pickups, Ben Harper, Common, Thievery Corporation, and The Decemberists to name a few. To name a few more, you’ll also catch glimpses of K’Naan, Arcade Fire, Lykke Li, Bloc Party, Amanda Palmer, Delta Spirit, Passion Pit, and Bon Iver to boot. So, expect to see embed Embedded clips from some of those folks.
And here’s the cool thing — each embed code on the Embed Embedded page is unique to you. The person with the most views on their embedded Embedded video will become the top embed user for the week, and will be showered with praise in the Current Music blog. So start embedding your unique embed code, help us spread the word, and get the opportunity to score some exclusive Embedded swag.
Monday is here, and while I typically bemoan the end of a weekend, this particular Monday arrives bearing gifts in the form of Current praise from none other than Lo-fi legend Lou Barlow.
This is Lou Barlow, one of the founding members of Dinosaur Jr., we’re talking about here. He’s responsible for Sebadoh, and The Folk Implosion! Amazing. In the post, Lou shares his experience discovering Current along with some very insightful feedback on our programming — ranging from infoMania, Vanguard, and SuperNews! Getting into Current wasn’t exactly a cakewalk for Lou, and I think his recount of the journey to eventually place us on his list of good things is a telling document.
Here’s some of what he had to say:
So, now I’m hooked. I don’t mind the time bar, and the music content is way indie: Animal Collective during the hourly what’s-hot-on-the-web stats, a best-of Take-Away Show (the French web series that captures all our favorite precocious indie stars emoting in public places), a Death Cab For Cutie documentary, etc.
Based on Lou’s interest in our music programming, I wonder if he’s had a chance to check out some of the sneak peeks of Embedded — our six part music special premiering Wednesday October 14th 11/10c. The show covers a wide range of artists, including Mos Def, Silversun Pickups, Ben Harper, Common, Thievery Corporation, and The Decemberists to name a few. To name a few more, you’ll also catch glimpses of K’Naan, Arcade Fire, Lykke Li, Bloc Party, Amanda Palmer, Delta Spirit, Passion Pit, and Bon Iver to boot.
This is just a taste, so please take the time to read his full write-up over on Magnet. If you’re so inclined, do yourself a favor an check out the re-united (and touring) original members of Dinosaur Jr. If you happen to catch them on tour, say hello to Lou for us and deliver this message on our behalf:
Lou, Current is honored to be listed as one of “Lou Barlow’s Good Things.” Thanks for the awesome feedback.
Do you have a “How I discovered Current?” story to share? Post us a comment on this post, over here, or just submit a story to Current (Requires login via Current or Facebook Connect) and tag it “How I Discovered Current.”
Divorce has been in the news lately, specifically following the arrest of an divorced American father who was jailed while attempting to “rescue his children” from his estranged wife in Japan. I put that in quotes only because the concept of right vs. wrong is still very much in question here.
The issue here is that Japanese law states that custody in divorce cases should be granted to a single parent. Culturally, this typically falls to the mother, and while Christopher’s case might be getting press in the US, it’s coverage in Japan is actually indicative of the norm — divorced Japanese fathers typically must fight for the ability to see their children.
“In Japan, nobody thinks it’s a problem if a mother takes away her children without consent,” said Hideki Tani, a lawyer who has taken on cases of fathers seeking access to their children. “Here, it’s common for either parent to completely lose contact with children, but people outside Japan find it outrageous.”
Masahiro Yoshida, a 58-year-old musician, is actively fighting to get custody in Japan. His ex-wife, Akemi Kurahashi, is open to granting Yoshida visitation rights, but with some hesitation.
“I will swallow my own feelings if my daughter is happy seeing her dad,” she said. “But I still fear he may end up hurting me or her someday.”
Today the good folks over at Current Exposed passed me their latest interview with Max and Jason. In the interview, the guys discuss issues of divorce in the US with Douglas Caballero. There are certainly stark contrasts in the way Japan handles custody in divorce cases. Max and Jason’s insights reflect some of the thoughts and feelings of children of divorced families in the US, and it added a level of context missing from the Japanese divorce stories. While the cultural decision of granting sole custody to the Mother may be well intentioned, it misses one very crucial aspect — the wants and needs of the children involved.
It’s been a while since we’ve made a significant update to our TV Schedule on Current.com. Our previous version of the schedule focused on what is airing right now. We collected feedback and are proud to present the latest version of the Current TV Schedule.
The list view let’s you see what is on Current, one day at a time. When you land on the new schedule, the grid will automagically jump to what is on Current TV right now. In addition, you can scroll back to see what you missed, or jump ahead through the next six days to find out what is coming up.
There are still a few more things we plan to roll out in our next release (scheduled for Wednesday). Here’s the list:
Grid view: This will let you look at an entire week’s worth of Current TV scheduling in one go. For those of you who like to plan out your week, this will be the way to go.
List view time zones: We squashed a bug from the previous release that left out time zones on the list view. Those will make their triumphant return.
Homepage schedule: Our new schedule page is nice, but sometimes you’ll want to know what’s coming up on Current TV from the comfort of the Current.com homepage. With this new feature, that problem is solved.
I did get to travel to a couple festivals and performed some shows this summer.
