ShyCloud.com

RIP Scott Zensen, 1958-2008

I received this e-mail earlier today from Sandi Shaner:

Subject: Scott Zensen has been promoted to Glory today! RIP

I have the unfortunate announcement to make about my good friend, Scott Zensen, editor of MyWeekMagazine.com. He passed away in his home from heart failure, in the company of his sister, daughter, and mother, only a couple of hours ago. He simply could not make it back this time.

Since Scott's open heart surgery, he has remained a constant figure here in the San Diego Music Scene, and worked really hard to get us all some recognition for our talents.

I think it is only fair that we give him recognition for his talents. At this year's 1st Annual Musician's Networking Party, we are going to dedicate all of the live music to Scott. I will also be accepting donations for his family in their time of great need. I am sure that his memorial will be open to all who knew him. Please say a prayer this Thanksgiving for his family.

DMG's Father Would Be 92 Today

Happy Birthday to my father, Madison "Bud" Green! Born in 1916, Dad would have been 92 today, if he hadn't passed away at age 71 on November 20, 1987, when he suffered a heart attack after reeling in a catfish at a nearby lake. My mother, Helen (Rummelhart) Green, took this picture of Dad and me in 1949, when Bud was 32 and I was just 5 months old.

Dad and Mom both grew up in small towns in Iowa. Dad was from Lone Tree, while Mom was from nearby Riverside. Somehow they met and fell in love, and they were married on November 22, 1941, in Brooklyn, New York, where 25-year-old Dad was serving with the U.S. Navy. Fifteen days later, on December 7, 1941, the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, which began World War II! My future parents hardly saw each other over the next four years, which is partly why I wasn't born until after their seven-year anniversary!

I received my love of baseball from my father, who used to play it, and I'm sure he would have been watching the World Series between the Philadelphia Phillies and the Tampa Bay Rays, a team that didn't exist when he was alive.

Every time I go to Petco Park to see the Padres play, I try to walk past a building at 7th and J that my dad worked in during the '50s and '60s. I give a little lucky rub to the loading dock doors that I know he must have opened hundreds of times, and thus take him symbolically with me to the new ballpark.

Tonight I'm going to the SD Bloggers Meetup Group's first anniversary party, and at some point I plan to lift my glass and toast my Dad, "Here's to you, Bud Green!"

SD Bloggers Meetup Is 1 Year Old

At the beginning of 2008 I wrote about being a member of Meetup.com. At that time I was active in the San Diego Photography Meetup Group and the Arthouse Movies Meetup Group, and had become an Assistant Organizer in both of them.

I had joined several other groups as well, but I hadn't attended any of their events yet. In February, though, I went to my first gathering of a young Meetup group called SD Bloggers, where I met a lot of people who are much hipper to the tech scene than I am.

I attended about five of their monthly meetings, then I got busy being Associate Producer for Dave Fresina's documentary film, "Return to Dwight and Nile: The Story of PSA Flight 182," but Dave is back in Boston now editing that and I'm once again trying to improve ShyCloud.com and my blog.

So I'm ready to reappear at an SD Bloggers Meetup, and luckily for me they will celebrate their first anniversary tomorrow night, October 28, with a big party at Modus Supper Club! I'm planning to be there, and I'm looking forward to seeing the people I already know again, as well as meeting a ton of new bloggers. It should be a grand time!

I'm hoping I'll meet some bloggers who use Movable Type, as I recently upgraded this system to the latest version, but I haven't learned to make it work yet.

[NOTE: You can see a list of all the Meetups I belong to at: DMG's Meetup.com Profile]

182 Memorial At Dwight And Nile

One question people always ask about the 1978 PSA plane crash in North Park is:

"Why isn't there a memorial plaque or something at the site?"

I tell them there is a plaque and a tree at the North Park Library several blocks away, but that answer seldom pleases anyone.

Sunday night I had an idea for a possible memorial that wouldn't cost much money, and might be easy to get cleared by the city.

1) Right now it is a 2-way Stop. Add 2 more poles and Stop signs and make it a 4-way Stop.

2) Paint crosswalks across all 4 sides.

3) Add 4 signs beneath the Stop signs that say:

4) This one is optional: Paint 182 either in the lines of the crosswalks, or in the center of the intersection.

All of that would bring everyone who passes through Dwight and Nile to a slight stop, sort of like a moment of silence, for the 144 people whose lives stopped there.

It also would slow down people who pass through there and thus make it a safer intersection.

My only worry is that people would steal the special 182 signs from under the Stop signs.

I e-mailed my idea to a lawyer I met while we were filming at the site. He has lived just south of Dwight since 2000. Here is his reply:

I like the stop sign idea because we could use it. My wife suggested that we get the city to fix the corners for disabled access, like they've been doing around here, and stick a stamp in the cement. Double duty.

U-T Writes About "Dwight And Nile"

There is an article about Dave Fresina's film, "Return to Dwight and Nile: The Story of PSA Flight 182," on the front page of today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

To read it, Click Here.

Stay tuned. This is only the first of many stories that will be written about our little film in the months ahead!

"Dwight and Nile" Filming Begins

As most of our readers know by now, I am Associate Producer for a documentary film called "Return to Dwight and Nile: The Story of PSA Flight 182."

Boston-based Producer/Director Dave Fresina, above, of Nantascot Films, was in San Diego from August 30-September 7, and we had a very successful first week of filming interviews and locations.

Our crew shot 16 people during that time, including two firemen, two policemen, a priest, a doctor, a teacher, a mailman, a television news anchor, a newspaper reporter, two photographers, and four people who live or work in North Park, where the crash happened.

Dave will be here again from September 20-28, and plans to film at Dwight and Nile on the morning of September 25th, the 30th anniversary of the tragedy that affected EVERY San Diegan in 1978.

We still are looking for more people who are willing to be filmed telling your personal stories about that horrible day. The crew captured me telling mine on the first day of shooting. In case you didn't know, back then I was a newspaper reporter and photographer who covered the story at the crash site and inside the temporary morgue.

If you also were involved with the crash and would like to participate in the film, please e-mail me so that we can set up a time next week to interview you.

Click Here to read an article from The Patriot Ledger in Quincy, Massachusetts, about Dave and his reasons for making the film, which he hopes will premiere around the middle of next year somewhere in San Diego. I think the North Park Theatre would be the perfect place for it, but we haven't talked to anyone about that yet. It also will be entered in various film fests next year, including our own San Diego Film Festival.

Also, a photo I shot at the crash of policeman Nate Harris standing in front of the tail section of the PSA jet is appearing currently in a new documentary about the 80-year history of San Diego Airport called "A Piece of the Sky." If you have Cox Video on Demand, you can view it in their FreeZone under Features. It also will be shown on Cox Channel 4 immediately after the Padres game this Sunday, September 21.

Beta Testers Wanted For New Blog

I could use some help getting the new ShyCloud.com ready for business!

I've set up a new blog where I am going to rebuild ShyCloud.com from the ground up, starting with templates provided by Movable Type. I will slowly move stuff from our old templates to the new ones, until we have a fine-looking new version of ShyCloud.com!

You can help me by going to the new blog at:

www.shycloud.com/new_blog/

I've had commenting turned off on the old ShyCloud.com because I was worried about spam.

I'm turning it on in the future ShyCloud.com, however, because MT 4.21 offers a registration process that will enable me to quickly banish any spammers who attempt to sneak onto the system.

I need some assistance testing things out, though, so if you want to help, please go to the new blog and try to add a comment to one of the posts, and follow the steps to register. That will tell me if the registration process is working.

Thanks for your help, and for being the future ShyCloud.com's first registered members!

DMG Photo In "A Piece of the Sky"

One of the photographs I took on September 25, 1978, at the PSA crash site is a tiny part of an excellent new documentery about the 80-year history of San Diego International Airport.

The picture is featured during a short segment about the tragedy. I think my name in the credits at the end actually stays on the screen longer than my picture does, but hey, my photo now will live on as long as the documentary does! That's pretty cool!

Below is some information I found about the film on the airport's web site. It was shown on KNSD TV on Sunday night, will appear four times on Cox Channel 4 after Padres games, and is currently available for free viewing on the Cox Video On Demand channel in their Freezone under Features.

"A Piece of the Sky: San Diego and its Airport " airs on NBC 7/39 at 6:30 p.m. on August 24. The 30-minute documentary highlights significant events in the history of the airport and the region, showing how each has benefited from the other's evolution and change. With rare historical footage of the airport and the city from as early as 1883, dramatic modern photography, and interviews with a 17-year airport veteran, key business and civic leaders and travelers. The documentary is also scheduled to air on COX Channel 4 from August 31 to September 28. It will air four times, following the San Diego Padres games on August 31 and September 7, 14, and 21. It will also be available on COX Video on Demand beginning August 25.

ShyCloud Upgrades To MT 4.21

I spent most of today preparing to upgrade ShyCloud.com from Movable Type 2.661 to Movable Type 4.21, and then performing the actual upgrade.

This is the first message I am posting using the new system.

I'm not sure how quickly you, the reader, will notice any changes, as I have a lot to learn before I can begin to put MT 4.21's new powers to use.

It could happen quickly if I learn fast, or it could happen less quickly if I learn slow.

Either way, some cool changes are in ShyCloud.com's fairly near future! Stay tuned for more developments!

Music Scene Loses Another Brother

Still reeling from the death of Craig Yerkes, the San Diego Music Scene lost yet another brother Wednesday, with the passing of poet and photographer Billy Brazier, the younger sibling of Louis Brazier of Lestat's Coffee House.

I learned this news a few hours ago from a bulletin posted on MySpace by Kill Poet Press, which was co-run by Billy and a partner. Comments posted there in the hours since have expressed sadness at the news.

I went to grade school and college with Billy's and Lou's aunt Linda, and I first saw the brothers way back in 1975 when they were two of Fagin's Boys for a production of "Oliver!" that I photographed. Their sister Theresa also was in that show.

My heart goes out to all the family members, and also to everyone in the local music scene who are about to be hit with more sadness.

For Craig And Those Who Love Him

I received this e-mail today from Cathryn Beeks:

Good people,

The need to gather, love and remember Craig Yerkes is overwhelming us all right now. With Marcia and Virginia's blessing, Craig's friends have organized a gathering on Sunday, July 27th, at The Boat and Ski Club in Pacific Beach from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. Directions can be found at ListenLocalsd.com under VENUES.

This evening, lovingly started by Kristen Cusato, will be open to anyone who wishes to join us. There will be music and donations will be accepted, all monies going to trusts Marcia has set up for Brent and Trevor Yerkes. There are so many people who love Craig, it's impossible to contact them all... please help us spread the word.

Music Scene Mourns Craig Yerkes

Craig Yerkes, the lead guitarist for a San Diego Americana band called The Grams, was killed around 11:30 a.m. Saturday morning in a one-car crash in Bonsall. He and The Grams were scheduled to play at the Ocean Beach Street Fair that afternoon.

Following are some reports about the accident.

KFMB-TV Video About Craig's Accident

SignOnSanDiego.com Article About The Accident

San Diego CityBeat Blog Article With Comments

Photos Of Craig By Dan Chusid With Comments

I didn't know Craig very well, but I crossed paths with him many times over the last few years when I was out shooting music photos, and I liked him quite a lot. He always was smiling and laughing when I saw him, and that always made me smile too.

On June 14th, my friend Marsi and I made a last-minute decision to accept an invitation from Chuck and Joanna Schiele to go to the house concert The Grams were performing that night in Harbison Canyon, and I'm glad we went, as that wonderful evening will be my last memory of Craig. I shot this photo that night.

My heart is with his sister Marcia, who I know better than I knew Craig, and to his wife Elise and all their family and friends.