Pierson High School in Sag Harbor comes in for a fair amount of criticism from the Sag Hampton community, some justified. Standardized test scores aren't always what they might be, per-student costs are very high, course offerings are sometimes too limited for the brightest students, and questionable administrative decisions are known to have been made from time to time. But, often Pierson does things right. I want to tell you about one of its successes for which I am personally grateful. ...   more »

3/5/07 Update: You can now see the winning film at http://www.freshfilms-portland.com.

Sag Hampton native, Alec Cohen (my son), and his friends and fellow students at the Art Institute of Portland, Uli Beutter and Kurt Nishimura, won the $10,000 first prize (and a year's supply of OJ) in the Tropicana Fresh Take Film Contest for their short film Splash. The results of the on-line voting (which counted for 40%) and the judges’ decision (60%) were announced today. To add to the excitement, Kurt also won the Re-Animate The Decemberists Contest sponsored by Capitol Records. His winning video, O, Valencia, will air on MTVu on Monday morning (3/5/07). In addition, all three filmmakers will graduate from AIP on March 23rd, and, happily, my wife Bobbie and I will be able to celebrate with them in Portland. Looking ahead to more projects, the trio has formed a production company: SandyMontana. You can view some of their work at the SandyMontana website.

A big thank you to all who saw my earlier post and took the time to vote for Splash.

For background on the Tropicana contest see my original post: Local Boy Makes Good (With Your Help) from February 16th.
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Currently listening to: Shine So Bright by Teddy Thompson

Usually when I ask my readers (all three of you) to do something, it's for the benefit of the Sag Hampton community in one way or another, whether it's a reminder to attend a meeting, or an entreaty to write to our public officials about the issue du jour. But this post...this is shamless family promotion. Don't let that stop you, though...please read on.

Sag Hampton native, Alec Cohen and two of his friends and fellow students at the Art Institute of Portland, Uli Beutter and Kurt Nishimura, created a short film to enter in the Tropicana "Fresh Take on Portland" short film competition. From among many entries, their film was selected as one of the three finalists in the competition. Now you can help determine the grand prize winner by viewing the three short films and voting for the one you think is best. (Hint: it's named Splash.)

Here's a link to the films and voting:  http://www.freshfilms-portland.com/voting

Each film is less than two minutes long, and is themed around the quintessential Portland (Oregon) morning.

Why should you vote? Well, for one thing you'll be helping three young and talented filmmakers get a little closer to their dream with the help of the contest's $10,000 first prize. If that's not enough, do it 'cause you like this blog. You do like the blog, don't you?

Voting starts today, Friday, February 16, 2007 and continues until midnight Thursday, February 22, 2007. You can vote once each day for each e-mail address you have. Now you know what to do. So, what are you still doing here?  Click on the link above and vote (for Splash)!

If you like Splash, and I'm sure you will, you can see more of Alec, Uli and Kurt's work at their website, Sandymontana.com
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Currently listening to: Twin Cinema by The New Pornographers

Right now, I'm thinking "theater-lover's", thanks to the glorious reading that was given to Susan Merrell's excellent new play Unused Characters at the Bay Street Theatre today. But, the blank in the sentence that is the title of this post could be completed in so many other ways.   more »