The Documentary Forum

The Documentary Forum is housed on the campus of CCNY in Shepard Hall at 259 Convent Avenue in Manhattan.  Its Mission states, “The Documentary Forum at CCNY is a new center dedicated to supporting and encouraging the creation, exhibition, and study of documentary film, journalism, and non-fiction visual story-telling through multi-platform media. The Forum aims to build a bridge between the college’s media-making community, the Harlem community in which it resides, and a growing international online audience. The Documentary Forum exists to foster, produce and study media-making that incorporates students, faculty, alumni and the Harlem community into the global documentary conversation.”

I attended a screening and director’s talk for Resistance at Tule Lake, a film about the incarceration of Japanese Americans in internment camps during World War II.  The event included pizza, salad, beverages, and cookies; a screening of the film; and a discussion with the director.  Coincidentally, a woman who was born in Tule Lake while her family was interned happened to be in the audience.

Free events listed on the website, which include screenings and film workshops, are held seasonally and RSVPs are requested.

Director, Resistance at Tule Lake

Museum Day

Smithsonian Magazine is again hosting Museum Day in which cultural institutions around the country open their doors free to the public.  This year, the event takes place on Saturday, September 22, 2018.

To gain free entry, one must present a ticket downloaded from the Museum Day website.  Participants are allowed to download one ticket per email address, which provides free general admission for two people.

Not all NYC cultural institutions participate, there certainly are enough to choose from; and it’s a good way to venture out to a museum you have never known about or visited.  Last year, I visited the Bartow-Pell Mansion in the Bronx for my first Museum Day participation.  It was also my first visit to the mansion.  I arrived at opening; and within a couple of hours, there was a large crowd waiting outside to gain entry.  So my advice is to get to your chosen institution early.

 

MUSEUM MILE FESTIVAL

The Museum Mile Festival was developed in 1978 as a way of attracting new museum audiences and to increase support for the arts.  It is held each June along Fifth Avenue from 82nd to 105th Streets, which is officially designated as “Museum Mile.”­

Some museums are more attractive to visitors than others.  For example, the line for the Neue Galerie begins to form well before the beginning hour; and the line stretches around the block.  Fifth Avenue is closed to traffic, which makes it possible to offer art activities for children, music offerings, and dancing outdoors.

DCIM100MEDIA

DCIM100MEDIA

DCIM100MEDIA

This year, the festival is scheduled on Tuesday, June 12, 6 p.m.-9 p.m., rain or shine.

Project Code Phase One

Once again, the New York Public Library offered a free course through its Tech Connect program that was of great interest to me.  Similar to the Office Readiness course I wrote about in the past, one must attend an orientation, take a basic computer understanding test to determine readiness and eligibility, and be chosen by lottery for admission into one of the course slots among various branches.  If chosen, one must attend twice a week for ten weeks and adhere to a strict attendance policy or face expulsion.

If you are interested in learning how to create websites, then Project Code Phase One is right for you.  The lessons begin with basic HTML language and moves onto applying CSS styling.  Each student creates an individual site following specific guidelines. Toward the end of the program, students are placed in small groups and must work together to create a group project.  Once both requirements are met, students are invited to attend the graduation ceremony where certificates of completion and awards are distributed.  All students who complete Phase One are invited by email to attend Phase Two in the future.

Before the start of the individual project, the instructor asked us to provide a theme.  I chose to create a site about my passion:  west coast swing dancing.  For the group project, members must agree on a topic from a list provided by the instructor.  My group chose a NYC landmark.  Each of these two sites was formatted for wider screens, by the way, since the computer screens in the lab were wide.  The group project was a joy as the three of us worked well together.  Our page is shown on the screens behind us in the photo below.  For my efforts, I was awarded the Outstanding Leadership award.

To get up-to-date information about the Project Code course, visit the Tech Connect page on the NYPL.org website.

 

Group Project Team Members

Certificate and Leadership Award

 

Excel Genius

MS Excel was a useful tool for me in my teaching practice both as an aide to keeping track of student grades and as a tool to introduce to my business students for use in projects and to prepare them for the workforce.  Most of my experience with the software, however, was with its basic functions.

The New York Public Library created a series of classes called Excel Genius for those who have good fundamental knowledge of the spreadsheet application.  Beginner and intermediate classes are available to gain those fundamental prerequisites and can be taken before registering for the Excel Genius classes.  Each class covers a topic in depth and includes exercises that apply that knowledge to real world situations for personal and/or business use.  Prerequisite  skills include:

• Data Entry
• Selecting Cells
• Copy and Paste
• Formatting Cells
• Basic Formulas

Although the classes are labeled 1-6, each topic is independent and one need not take them in numerical order.  Classes can also be skipped or repeated as needed.  A link to practice material for all the classes is provided for use outside of the library.

Class 1: Logic Functions

Class 2: Charts and Sparklines

Class 3: Tables, Structured References, and Data Validation

Class 4: Pivot Tables

Class 5: Lookup Functions

Class 6: Importing Data, String Functions, and Goal Seek

Search the TechConnect page to find classes throughout the library system.

The Peoples House

The first site of the Museum of the City of New York was in Gracie Mansion until 1932.   The Parks Department then took over the site and continued to use it as a museum until 1942 when a decision was made to allow future mayors of the city of New York to use it as a residence while in office.  Fiorello H. La Guardia became its first resident mayor, and 2017 marks its 75th anniversary as the Peoples House.

While the first family occupies the top level, the home remains partly a museum with rotating exhibits.  A free guided tour of the public rooms, where the artwork is displayed, is available by making a reservation in advance.  Choices of tour times are 10 a.m., 11 a.m., 2 p.m., and 3 p.m. on Tuesdays only; and each reservation is limited to two people.  Unfortunately, photography is not permitted inside the house.

NYC Council Celebrations

The New York City Council holds free events throughout the year in its council chambers at City Hall to recognize the diverse cultures of this great city and its outstanding citizens. The celebrations include refreshments and performances along with the issuance of proclamations, and speeches from council members and recipients.  Starting times are either 5:30 p.m. or 6 p.m.

Events that I attended so far were Let Freedom Ring (Martin Luther King’s Birthday), Lunar New Year, Black History Month, Ghana Independence Day, and Women’s Herstory Month.  Unfortunately, I won’t be able to attend next week’s St. Patrick’s Day celebration.  Of those listed, one offered just beverages, one provided cookies and beverages, and the remaining three offered hot food along with beverages.

If you wish to receive invitations to the events, you can do so in one of two ways:

1.  Contact your council member’s office and ask to be added to the upcoming events mailing list.  Use this link to locate your council member’s contact information:  http://council.nyc.gov/districts/
2. Text NYCC to 917-746-5837

At Let Freedom Ring

Photoshop

Ever wonder how computers are used to alter photographs?  Then you want to take a series of workshops on how it’s done.   Photoshop, the image editing software, is the program most widely used for the task; and thanks to the New York Public Library’s TechConnect program, you can learn to manipulate images like a pro.

I took a series of four classes presented each week that the NYPL offers to the public for free.   In the first class, Photoshop For Beginners, basic elements of the program were introduced as well as how to create layered photographs. The next two classes were labeled as intermediate and covered retouching photographs (removing unwanted marks, changing colors of objects) and green screening (placing objects on backgrounds.)  The last workshop, Compositing Techniques, was labeled advanced and involved the use of text and  sculpting and styling images.

If you don’t own Photoshop software or don’t want to purchase it, the NYPL offers access to the software for free; however, currently the only site available is at the Mid-Manhattan branch.  The Creative Lab is available during scheduled hours and computers are assigned on a first come, first served basis; but currently only the midtown branch offers the sessions.  I’ve written an email to the NYPL requesting that the two sites in the Bronx where I took the classes be used as labs and hope my request is considered.

Green Screening

Microsoft Office Series

Tech Connect is an educational division of the New York Public Library that offers computer classes to the public free of charge.  In the Microsoft Office Series, Google Drive, Word, Excel, and Power Point are covered over a ten week period.  Due to the high volume of registrations, one must first pass an entry exam to demonstrate basic knowledge of the computer to be admitted to the program.

The process begins with an orientation session where participants are introduced to the requirements of the program, take the entrance exam, and are asked to choose two locations where they would like to take the classes, which are held at several branches weekdays and Saturdays with day and evening schedules available to choose from.   Slots will be offered to those who pass the test.  After two absences, participants are permanently dropped from the program; and every two late arrivals to class count as one absence.

My classmates

Once classes begin, students are provided with a workbook to keep that contain exercises created by the instructors.  At the midway point, participants from all the branches are invited to attend a meet and greet reception where speakers are on hand to provide advice to those who wish to use their learned skills to find employment.  Refreshments of fruit, desserts, and beverages are provided, and the event is held at the Mid-Manhattan branch on a weekday evening.

A final project is required consisting of a Power Point presentation that incorporates skills learned in class.  The topic is the same for everyone:  How is the NYPL valuable to me? A graduation ceremony is held at the end of the ten weeks where classes from all the branches come together once again.  Each student receives a certificate, and trophies are presented to the Most Improved and Star Student from each class.   I received the Star Student award for my class.

Graduation Day

To find classes, visit http://www.nypl.org/computers.

See You at the Movies

A trip to the movies has become quite expensive over the years.  One can expect to pay $15 for one ticket not including any online fees if purchased in advance.

A much better deal is taking a trip to The New York Public Library, which offers domestic and foreign films free to the public.  Those holding a library card or an id NYC identification card can check out DVDs for one week.  Free afternoon and evening screenings are offered throughout the year at selected branches and do not require a card.  Special screenings with discussions also do not require holding a card but registration in advance is strongly suggested.

One event that I attended featured Ken Burns offering clips from his four hour Jackie Robinson documentary that later aired on PBS.   Jackie’s widow joined him and others on the panel.  At another, The Case of the Three Sided Dream, a wine and cheese reception preceded the screening.  Both were part of the Films at the Schomburg series.

DVDs are available at all branches.  Use the NYPL Public Programs page to search for screenings at branches throughout the city.  Be sure to note if advanced registration is suggested.

One of the Films at the Schomburg offerings.

Some of the DVDs I’ve checked out.

The Tremont Branch screens a film every Monday.

Ken Burns