Best When Boring Trailer Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

FEBRUARY 8TH, 2010

CONTACT: Will Urquhart, 202.587.4145, urquhart@sumofchange.com

Today, Monday February 8th, we are pleased to release the website and first preview for a documentary we have been working on for some time now, Best When Boring.



Best When Boring is a deep look at the history and current state of clinic defense in the DC, Maryland, and Virginia area. We have collected video, audio, pictures, newspapers and organizational documents dating back to 1989. We have conducted interviews with clinic escorts. We have also had an individual embedded with the escorts, volunteering approximately every other week since the summer of 2009 at various clinics.

We still have a ways to go before the scheduled release of the documentary next fall, but we are excited to be releasing the first glimpse into the project.

Will Urquhart
Managing Partner, Sum of Change

MUSIC MONDAY: Jazz & The Birth of Television - Part 2 - Jimmy Rushing, Benny Goodman, Ella Fitzgerald, and Cannonball Adderley

To follow up on last week's article about early Jazz Television, I'd like to give you some more examples of some what jazz you could expect to see and hear on 1960s TV. The first clip is from the special "The Subject is Jazz". The show is most famous for the song performance of the song 'Fine and Mellow' by Billie Holiday and Lester Young, as described in Ken Burns' Jazz series. I would like to steer your attention to a song that happened earlier in the show performed by Jimmy Rushing and the Count Basie Band called 'I Left My Baby'. Rushing was a magnificent blues singer (and piano player) from Kansas City who made it is most known for being Basie's long time singer. He was a terrific blues man and I love his smooth yet powerful voice. The second clip is from a show called 'The Subject is Jazz'. Each week, the show focused on a particular aspect of jazz, be it a genre of jazz, like the blues or swing, or an aspect of jazz culture, like the international significance of jazz or jazz and other arts, and breaks it down into simple terms so that a non-jazz audience could understand and be interested in the music. The host, Gilbert Seldes, introduced and explained the topic in an academic (and usually pretty boring) manner and the great Dr Billy Taylor with backing band and special guest would play examples of Seldes' discussion points. This episode is on 'bop' and features special guest Julian 'Cannonball' Adderley who is was a terrific jazz educator and quite a good sax player to boot. This clip also features some reminiscences by Dr Taylor on the program. The last clip is from a special called 'Swing into Spring', which was more or less a showcase of Benny Goodman and some of the most popular artists of the day. This show was a bit corny, fortunately this clip misses the dance interludes aimed designed for 1950s college students, but catches songs featuring Ella Fitzgerald, Peggy Lee, Lionel Hampton, and, of course, Benny Goodman, including a solo by Goodman on a personal favorite of mine, 'Sweet Loraine'. Please Enjoy...

-- The Sound of Jazz



-- The Subject is Jazz



-- Swing Into Spring



For more Music Monday articles, please go to:
www.SumofChange.com/musicmonday

Green Thoughts: The Home Energy Audit

Friends. Beginning with this week's post about home energy auditing, we are happy to inaugurate our new Thursday feature called 'Green Thoughts'. Though healthcare is currently dominating ever other issues, cleaning and strengthening our planet is vital for guaranteeing a healthy and viable future. As such, we want to spotlight ways that Americans, individually and collectively as a society, can work to maintain and improve the long term outlook of our world. From home energy auditing, to novel recycling efforts, to renewable fuel research, people are working on a variety of different green solutions and we would like to discuss a few of them with you every week.

We are going to start off 'Green Thoughts' with some videos on home energy auditing and retrofitting. Having your home audited and retrofitted is helpful for (many reasons, but particularly for) three purposes: 1- Lowering your energy bills, 2- Improving the environment, and 3- Cleaning the air you and your family breathe. It is a complicated process, however, and I hope our videos help to simplify the steps for you and explain why this is such a necessary undertaking. Please contact us to submit any ideas for future posts and come back to sumofchange.com/greenthoughts every Thursday for more articles. Thanks!

Getting a home energy audit and making the according retrofits is a win-win situation for homeowners. They can improve their energy bills and decrease their energy foorprint at the same time. Basically, a home energy audit is top-to-bottom test of your house. From the attic to crawl spaces, auditors check for every leakage and inefficiency in your home. They want to make sure that your house is sealed- that the air circulating the living spaces is isolated from the air in non-living spaces and from the outside. If there are leaks you will have several issues. First of all, you risk leaking conditioned air out of your living area into the attic or outside. By doing so you waste the conditioned air from you AC or heating system, thereby having to over use those systems and use more energy. The other main issue of an unsealed home is that the leaks allow toxins and harmful chemicals from crawl spaces, attic insulation, and elsewhere, to get into your breathable air. So by finding the gaps and sealing them, homeowners can ensure that they are efficiently cleaning and conditioning the breathable air in your home.

We put these videos together for Edge Energy (www.edge-gogreen.com), a local home energy company, to explain their work. Though Edge is going to use the videos for their own self promotion, we find that the videos are very helpful and educational for homeowners. The first video is about Edge's consulting (auditing) practices. Though Jason, the project manager with Edge Energy, doesn't go into detail on the specific tests of the audit (which the other videos will) he goes through the entire process, which includes much more then just finding the problems in your home (like helping you find out how to pay for fixing it). The second video is about the main test of the audit, the blower door and infrared tests. For this test, they put a large fan in your door which creates a controllable and constant air flow in your home. By doing so they can test how the air cycles in your home and use the infrared camera to find the gaps and weaknesses in your insulation, and more.

There are so many other ways in which the audit helps your home and several more tests included in an energy audit, such as duct and combustion safety appliance tests. We'll be posting more videos on these and other aspects of the audit process in the next few weeks, so please keep checking back every Thursday to see them. Go to www.sumofchange.com/greenthoughts. Enjoy!

--Home Energy Consulting



--The Blower Door and Infrared Tests



Full Disclosure: EDGE Energy hired us, as Sum of Change not individuals, to produce several videos for them including the ones in this post. We have not been hired to distribute, recommend, or advertise for EDGE Energy, rather we are using these videos to explain a vital service and we appreciate them letting us do so.

Please come back to SumofChange.com/greenthoughts next Thursday for more videos explaining the energy audit and retrofit process.

William McNary at the Pennsylvania Progressive Summit [Video]

For me, the highlight of the entire Pennsylvania Progressive Summit was the speech given by WIlliam McNary, President of USAction, on Saturday morning of the conference. Jeff Garis, the gentleman who gave the introduction, claimed that Mr McNary is, 'Someone who you will not forget, a speaker to measure all other speakers' and he was certainly correct. I had never heard of Mr McNary before the summit, but he is someone who I will never forget. The entire speech was amazing and we hope to be able to release it in its entirety soon, but for today, I have isolated 4 selections that highlight his best points.

Trying to explain his words is impossible and my explanation can not do his speech justice (though I'm going to try), so you really have to watch all of the videos. His speech was an impressive impassioned plea for progressives to stand up, 'grow a backbone' as he says, and lead this country to a better future. As he explains in the first video, progressives must win not because they are selfish and want to win, but because they are the ones who are caring for the American people So if America wants to build a future better than its past, progressive policies must reign supreme.

To improve America, we must work together to build a better future for everyone. We can't play politics when there are so many people who need our help, so we must work openly to improve America for everybody. Moreover, we as citizens need to take matters into our own hands because ordinary people are the ones who make change. Though politicians are the figureheads in office, nothing will happen with out us citizens working to make it happen. And especially now, with so much turmoil and so many things in flux, we have to work harder than ever.

Finally, Mr McNary talks about how we must be committed to social justice by organizing for power, democracy, and change. As he says, 'the root cause for social injustice in the country is the inequality of power. Power is unequally distributed along many fault lines in this country along race, income, class, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, [and] immigration status." Only with a solid stable democracy can the needy masses fall on the powerful side of the fault line. And it is only by fighting for and working towards change can we guarantee improvement for everyone.

I hope you all enjoy Mr McNary's words as much as I did. We will have more footage from his speech and the rest of the summit up at www.SumofChange.com/paprog.

To get more info on the summit please go to paprogressivesummit.org and keystoneprogress.org/

--Progressives Must Win



--We Must Work Together



--Ordinary People Are The Ones Who Make Change



--Committed to Social Justice by Organizing for Power, Democracy, and Change

Training Tuesday: The Numbers You Need To Win Your Election - Part 2

This week, we are going to follow up on last week's post on the numbers you need to win your election. This week, we're looking at special circumstances and unique elections and how that may or may not effect how you set your numbers. First, what happens if you are running in a multi-candidate race? A win number in a two candidate election is 50% +1, but when there are multiple candidates that number is going to change. That said, it's never a case of simple math - your win number in a three person election won't necessarily be 33.3% +1 - and you have to be wise in setting your goals. The second video is about how your numbers may change due to major national issues. The obvious issue of our day is healthcare, but from the war on terror to the economy, there are often major issues outside of your control as a a candidate which will alter the turnout for your election. The final video are some stories from our trainer, Kendra-Sue Derby, on how you should constantly be challenging your own numbers. A campaign should never be satisfied or static in their evaluation of the electorate, so it is important to keep changing and updating that number to maximize a campaigns effectiveness (hint: expected turnout almost never goes down).

--Turnout In A Multi Candidate Race



--How Do Your Turnout Estimate Based on Major National Issues



--Stories of Challenging Turnout Expectations



This slew of videos are from Democracy For America's Campaign Academy. This particular session was filmed at Gettysburg college in Gettysburg, PA. To find out more about Democracy For America's Campaign Academy, go to http://www.democracyforamerica.com/training.

To see more training videos, go to www.SumofChange.com/trainingtuesday

Hayti Cherie: Haiti The Week Before Disaster

As the effort to assuage the disaster and devastation that has hit Haiti continues, we would like to bring you a piece written by a Haitian-American friend of ours (who has asked to remain anonymous) who was in Haiti the days leading up to the tragic earthquake and flew out of the country that morning.  Her viewpoint on the situation is certainly unique and we are proud to bring you her words and some pictures she took of Haiti immediately before the quake hit as a celebration of a country and culture that deserves much, much better.



Only History tells the story well.

Behind my camera lens, I see an illuminative and collective rendition of history in culture. It’s a motion picture of sorts, in which life is mimicry of art and vice versa. How priceless? How beautiful? It puzzles me. Can someone pinch me? As I click away, I see above and past the dilapidation, poverty, destitution, and penury. What I see is true, perfect, and whole.  As I walk around the city, I feel the gentle breeze whisper sweet lullabies in my ear and when I close my eyes, the warm embrace of the Coco Puff Mountains wrap around me. I am safe for I am experiencing a glimpse of paradise.  It’s a secret heaven on earth that one experiences, if one lets go of worldly influences and listens to the heartbeat of a nation. It is in the air. It is in the food. It is in my blood. It is all around me- guiding me to a higher truth and understanding.

The cries of my ancestors are heard in the thunderstorm at night. Liberte- Egalite- Fraternite! It has been over 500 years since Christopher Columbus discovered Hispanola. At that time, the Arawak and Taino Indians protected and cared for the land. They named the land, Hayti, mountainous land. They were not only the true inhabitants of the lowest valley, but also, the masters of the highest mountain peak (8,793 feet).   Moreover, they were mindful of the environment and its natural resources. Gold, vegetation, sugar! What a jackpot.  But how come this prosperity is not inexistence today? What happened?



The 7.0 Earthquake raises the skeletons and unmasks the rebellious truth.  For the first time, we clearly see the Universal equilibrium of life and death; a journey to the past reflects an essential step inward and a monumental move forward.  At the inner core of the Haitian people is liberty and justice for all.  The glorious revolution of 1804 is seen in the eyes of the grandmother and carried on the backs of the men. The women uphold the cultural diet, sharing recipes while planning dinner at the crack of dawn. The hustle and bustle of the streets begins right after breaking bread and savoring a warm cup of coffee. So, one might ask, what keeps them from seeing their own beauty and enjoying their own freedom?  If beauty is in the eyes of the peacemaker, maybe the peacemaker has a misconception of the standard of beauty.  So I ask, what is beauty? What is freedom? Who is beautiful? Who is free?  Who is not?



We were all created in a delightful image and what makes us beautiful is what’s on the inside. Regardless of external circumstance, the pulse of a being is what keeps them alive. If we remember correctly, the heart is at the center of our being. The heart is capable of many wonderful things provided it is open to the light of mankind. We are all a reflection of progress, whether it is civilized or uncivilized. We are Human Beings. A cooperative process is essential to the preservation of mankind. With cooperation comes peace, balance, and basic human rights. I love you Hayti. Always remember to thine own people be true. All else will follow.



Please help Haiti by donating to the relief efforts. Below are three reputable national organizations who can ensure that your donation is having the maximum effect and one local church who is sending assistance to Haiti:

-The Clinton-Bush Haiti Fund
-The Red Cross
-UNICEF
-Shrine of The Sacred Heart

Joe the Nerd Protests Senator Specter at PA Progressive Summit

The last main event at the PA Progressive Summit this past weekend was a Senatorial Forum with Senator Arlen Specter and Congressman Joe Sestak.

During the Q&A with Sen. Specter, there was one man who spent the entire time standing with his back to the stage. It was rather obvious, one man standing while the rest of the room was seated. We caught up with the protester, Joe Ferraro, better known to the online world as Joe the Nerd, and got a chance to chat with him about what he was doing and why:



Whether you agree with Joe the Nerd or think the Senator deserves to speak with progressives, it is rather difficult to argue with his logic. Senator Specter has a conservative history, albeit moderate and on some issues, and even liberal on others. According to the Specterometer, after switching parties the percentage of votes he cast with the Democrats jumped from 44% to 69%. After it became clear that Congressman Sestak would enter the primary, that spiked up to 97%. That is sure to please many progressives, but is it enough to overcome the years of pre-Democrat-Specter?

More videos from the PA Progressive Summit available at www.SumofChange.com/paprog with lots more to come!