VOA – CONNECT
EPISODE  #135 
AIR DATE  08 14 2020   
TRANSCRIPT


OPEN  ((VO/NAT))
((Banner))
Gun Violence’s Toll
((Tondra Mangrum, Mother of Jamar I Kilgoe, Victim of Gun Violence)) 
You don't expect to bury a child.  It's tough.
((Animation Transition))
((Banner))
A Fresh Start
((Jeremiah Hirsch, Owner, Electric Pair O’ Dice Tattoo))
Erase the hate is a campaign that we put together to cover up racist and offensive tattoos.
((Animation Transition))
((Banner))
Protecting the Oceans
((Fabien Cousteau, Aquanaut, Ocean Explorer and Conservationist))
We need, as a society, as individuals, as communities within our own homes, we need to change our behavior.  We need to stop the problem at its source and that requires us to be enlightened about what’s happening in our ocean world. 
((Open Animation)) 


BLOCK A
((Animated Banner with Music:  
Americans and Guns:  Differing Perspectives))


((PKG))  URBAN GUN VIOLENCE  
((TRT:  07:02))  
((Filmed before the COVID-19 pandemic))
((Banner:  A Family’s Pain)) 
((Reporter/Camera:  Deepak Dobhal))
((Map:  Wilmington, Delaware))   
((Main characters:  1 female;  1 male)) 
((NATS))
((Tondra Mangrum, Mother of Jamar I Kilgoe, Victim of Gun Violence)) 
When he was a baby, look how much him and his son resemble.  This is what he was doing when they killed him.  You don't expect to bury a child and it's, it’s tough.
((NATS))
((Tondra Mangrum, Mother of Jamar I Kilgoe, Victim of Gun Violence)) 
February the 16th of 2015.  Jamar, he was murdered in Rose Hill Community Center in Newcastle County. In a community center, which should be a safe haven.  
Seniors, Kumba classes, Zumba classes I mean, daycare, 
Boys and Girls Club, everything is in this building. 
((Still Courtesy:  Tondra Mangrum))
((Tondra Mangrum, Mother of Jamar I Kilgoe, Victim of Gun Violence)) 
And one person just walks in, shot him in his head and walked right back out.
((Still Courtesy:  Tondra Mangrum)) 
((Tondra Mangrum, Mother of Jamar I Kilgoe, Victim of Gun Violence)) 
Still unsolved.
And then, the day before Mother's Day 2017, my youngest 
son Shaquil was shot eight times.  I thought he was gone.
((NATS))
((Tondra Mangrum, Mother of Jamar I Kilgoe, Victim of Gun Violence)) 
He was paralyzed.  And those are my only two sons.  One 
was murdered and one is paralyzed.
((NATS))
((Tondra Mangrum, Mother of Jamar I Kilgoe, Victim of Gun Violence)) 
In Wilmington, it's just like on a norm now. Like, okay, you hear gunshots and this is regular.  Three 
shootings in one day and then its broad daylight, like, you don't even care that you're seen.
((NATS))
((Shaquil Kilgoe, Victim of Gun Violence, Son of Tondra Mangrum))  
I was on my way to clock in for a shift when somebody tried to take my life.  Bullets pierced here, the left side of my chest, made its way, grazed the heart, punctured a lung. 
((NATS))
((Shaquil Kilgoe, Victim of Gun Violence, Son of Tondra Mangrum))  
Life changed.  I can't, I can’t feel anything below the belly button.
((NATS))
((Shaquil Kilgoe, Victim of Gun Violence, Son of Tondra Mangrum))  I don't know how there's so many guns on the streets.  
It's just too many of them. 
Every corner, in any part of the city, doesn't matter, guns are around.  Somebody has a gun and somebody is 
willing to get rid of one for a price. 
((NATS))
((Shaquil Kilgoe, Victim of Gun Violence, Son of Tondra Mangrum))  
Whether it's Wilmington, Philadelphia, Kansas City, the streets are the 
streets.
The urban city really don't have too much to offer the youth. 
Too many young kids have too much time on their hands 
and 
they're not using it productively.  That's where the guns 
come into play.
Poverty in the inner city is just horrible.
The youth did not push to get a job.  They are more pushed 
to sell drugs or buy a weapon and steal. 
I was a thief at one point but I learned from it.
((NATS))
((Tondra Mangrum, Mother of Jamar I Kilgoe, Victim of Gun Violence)) 
When I was coming up, I remember, I think we would walk from one side of town to the other side of town with our babies in the strollers and you didn't have to worry about you got to duck down because somebody could just come past shooting.  We didn't have to worry about that.
((NATS)
((Tondra Mangrum, Mother of Jamar I Kilgoe, Victim of Gun Violence)) 
Guns are too accessible for young kids to get to them.  Where are they getting them from?  And it's too many.
It's like 16, 17, 18-year-olds, 13s carrying guns.  They’re babies.
((NATS))
((Shaquil Kilgoe, Victim of Gun Violence, Son of Tondra Mangrum))  
A perfectly normal life can turn upside down in a blink of an eye, in a blink of an 
eye. You could be walking one day and be in the chairs like mines the 
next or worse. 
Hopefully, I can help the youth make the right decision, so they won't come down this path I came down.
((NATS))
((Shaquil Kilgoe, Victim of Gun Violence, Son of Tondra Mangrum))  
Young guys, right here.  Guns, it's not the way to go. 
It's sad because people your age, younger, they can get access to guns so easily.
I just pray you all don't go down the wrong route.
It's not cool to play with guns.  It's not cool to be shot.
Please.  I'm talking to you guys right here, right in front of me.
((NATS))
((Tondra Mangrum, Mother of Jamar I Kilgoe, Victim of Gun Violence)) 
I can say in this cemetery, it's quite a few people that I know that have lost either their 
sibling, their child, their uncles, aunts, even aunts to gun 
violence.
Not only is my son buried here.  My nephew Nathaniel Mangrum is buried here due to gun violence.  My nephew Raekwon Mangrum is buried here due to gun violence.  And one of my son’s best friends is buried here due to gun          violence.
It's senseless, it's senseless.
((Banner:  
Gun homicides account for around 14,000 deaths every year in the US.
Gun homicides disproportionately impact communities of color in American cities.))
((NATS))


TEASE  ((VO/NAT))
Coming up…..
((Banner))
A Change of Art
((Jackie Williamson, Client))
I want to cover up this tattoo that I got a long time ago.  I’m getting rid of this heart here with this Confederate flag in it.   


BREAK ONE									
BUMP IN  ((ANIM))				 


BLOCK B  
  

((PKG))  COVERING UP RACIALLY SENSITIVE TATTOOS
((TRT:  04:26))
((Banner:  A Change of Art))
((Reporter/Camera:  Lisa Vohra))
((Additional Camera:  Philip Alexiou))
((Map:  Fredericksburg, Virginia))
((Main characters:  1 Male))
((Sub Characters:  1 female))
((NATS/MUSIC))
((Jeremiah Hirsch, Owner, Electric Pair O’ Dice Tattoo))
I feel that us, as the white community, that we hold a very strong responsibility to speak up and be heard.
((Stills Courtesy:  Jeremiah Hirsch))
((NATS/MUSIC))
((Jeremiah Hirsch, Owner, Electric Pair O’ Dice Tattoo))
My name is Jeremiah Hirsch and I am the owner of Electric Pair O’ Dice Tattoo in Fredericksburg, Virginia.  
((NATS/MUSIC))
((Jeremiah Hirsch, Owner, Electric Pair O’ Dice Tattoo))
Erase the hate is a campaign that we put together to cover up racist and offensive tattoos.
((NATS/MUSIC))
((Stills Courtesy:  Jeremiah Hirsch))
((Jeremiah Hirsch, Owner, Electric Pair O’ Dice Tattoo))
I started to post information and stuff to raise awareness about Black Lives Matter and towards the Black community.  And in doing so, I had a gentleman that I went to high school with that reached out to me 
((Stills Courtesy:  Jeremiah Hirsch))
about having a Confederate flag tattoo on his foot that he was embarrassed of and it was hitting him even harder 
((Jeremiah Hirsch, Owner, Electric Pair O’ Dice Tattoo))
seeing the stuff that I was posting.  And he asked if we would work with him on covering it up.  So I went to the guys in the shop and I was like, ‘Hey, I think this would be a really good opportunity for us 
((Stills Courtesy:  Jeremiah Hirsch))
to help this guy out and cover it up, document it and then post it and then launch this campaign of Erase the hate.
((NATS/MUSIC))
((Jackie Williamson, Client))
I want to cover up this tattoo that I got a long time ago.  I’m getting rid of this heart here with this Confederate flag in it.   
((NATS/MUSIC))
((Jeremiah Hirsch, Owner, Electric Pair O’ Dice Tattoo))
The tattoo is free but we ask for a minimum donation for $100 that will go to one of the organizations that we’re working with, that goes directly to the Black community.  
((NATS:
Client:  Looks good.))
((NATS/MUSIC))
((Stills Courtesy:  Jeremiah Hirsch))
((Jeremiah Hirsch, Owner, Electric Pair O’ Dice Tattoo))
People have really been behind what we’re doing.  I mean you do have some, like, a handful that are, like, against it.  Their argument is that it’s heritage, not hate and that it’s a symbolism of, you know, state freedom and stuff like that.  But I feel, you know, not to be disrespectful, but I feel at the same time they’re not very educated in the history of what it’s behind and what it stands for and what the different declarations of the Confederacy was for.  It was to keep and instill slavery. 
((Stills Courtesy:  United States Slave Trade, 1830 / Library of Congress)) 
((NATS/MUSIC))
((Jeremiah Hirsch, Owner, Electric Pair O’ Dice Tattoo))
From my own experience and convictions that I’ve had, just seeing daily interactions and stuff like that, showed me my privilege.  
((NATS/MUSIC))
((Jeremiah Hirsch, Owner, Electric Pair O’ Dice Tattoo))
Being a white male in America and seeing the unjust acts and treatment towards the Black community and the huge difference between those two.  
((NATS/MUSIC))
((Jeremiah Hirsch, Owner, Electric Pair O’ Dice Tattoo))
I wanted to get involved as much as I could.  So, I started actively going to protests.  
((Video Courtesy:  Jeremiah Hirsch))
((NATS:
Black lives matter.  Cops kill us every day.))
((NATS/MUSIC))
((Jeremiah Hirsch, Owner, Electric Pair O’ Dice Tattoo))
I’m a single dad with four kids and I’ve always led by an example that we see someone by their heart and their actions and that love is love, that it’s universal.  
((NATS/MUSIC))
((Jeremiah Hirsch, Owner, Electric Pair O’ Dice Tattoo))
Everything deserves a chance and the opportunity to live and be loved.  My upbringing, my parents were preachers and was raised in the Christian faith and as I got older and ventured out on my own, I experienced other religions and stuff.  I really connected with Buddhist and Hindu traditions and really found this parallel between religions and understanding that the universal importance is empathy, love and compassion.  
((NATS/MUSIC))
((Jeremiah Hirsch, Owner, Electric Pair O’ Dice Tattoo))
And then I see this connection between them and between human beings as a whole, and that being present here in this moment and where we are as a nation, is very important that we need this progressive push forward for equality for every human being that’s on this planet, especially the Black community where they’re affected most.  
((NATS/MUSIC))


TEASE  ((VO/NAT))
Coming up…..
((Banner))
Theater in the Open
((Scott Graham, Actor
I’ve never done anything like this.  I don’t know that there’s ever been anything like this to do before.  So, it’s kind of like some of the things but still it’s not.  It’s entirely different.   


BREAK TWO									
BUMP IN  ((ANIM))				 


BLOCK C 



((PKG))  FABIEN COUSTEAU  
((TRT:  04:57))   
((Banner:  Exploring the Sea)) 
((Reporter/Camera:  Aaron Fedor))
((Producer:  Kathleen McLaughlin)) 
((Editor:  Stefan Pildes))
((Map:  New York, New York))   
((Main characters:  1 male))  
((NATS/MUSIC))
((B Roll Courtesy:  The Fabien Cousteau Ocean Learning Center Inc.)) 
((Fabien Cousteau, Aquanaut, Ocean Explorer and Conservationist))
My name is Fabien Cousteau.  I’m an aquanaut, third-generation ocean explorer and ocean conservationist.  
((B Roll Courtesy:  The Fabien Cousteau Ocean Learning Center Inc.)) 
((Still Courtesy:  The Fabien Cousteau Ocean Learning Center Inc.))   
Having had the honor of growing up in a family of ocean explorers, 
((B Roll Courtesy:  The Fabien Cousteau Ocean Learning Center Inc.)) 
the ocean connection was a natural background.  
((Fabien Cousteau, Aquanaut, Ocean Explorer and Conservationist))
The Fabien Cousteau Ocean Learning Center is a culmination of different programs that come together in one philosophy, which is something my grandfather told me when I was young.  People protect what they love, they love what they understand, and they understand what they’re taught.  
((NATS/MUSIC)) 
((B Roll Courtesy:  The Fabien Cousteau Ocean Learning Center Inc.))
What is the general state of our aquatic world?  Well, if you look at how we’ve treated our land-based part of our planet, the ocean is even worse.  And the only reason I’m saying this is not to strip away hope and motivation to do something.  It’s to just gauge our understanding because for decades the ocean has been treated as an endless resource and a garbage can. 
((B Roll Courtesy:  The Fabien Cousteau Ocean Learning Center Inc.))
There have been some implementation of technologies and approaches to aquatic restoration. There is a lot more that needs to be done because, thus far, we have some monumental tasks in tackling things like 
((B Roll Courtesy:  The Fabien Cousteau Ocean Learning Center Inc.))
plastic pollution, carbonic acid from hydrocarbon pollution, which is basically climate change-related issues, 
temperature augmentation, variations which throws off all sorts of systems like coral eco-systems.  So, although there are things that are slowly being implemented, by and large, we have a lot of work to do.  
((B Roll Courtesy:  The Fabien Cousteau Ocean Learning Center Inc.))
Whether we love nature or not, whether we are conscious of to the level of science or not, we need to understand that our everyday decisions are the very fundamental reason why we are where we are.  And as such, we can also be heroes individually.  We can be proactive in creating those solutions in our everyday decisions, by not using single-use plastics for example, by being more conscious of the way and what we drive.  
Proteus is our most ambitious project to date.  Proteus itself is slated to be the most innovative, history-making, International Space Station underwater.  And it will be a platform where we’ll be able to invite up to 12 scientists to do mid and long-term research, so that we can bring back the data that we need, the information that we need, and the solutions that we need, to generate to tackle viral pandemics, cancer, and better manage 
((B Roll Courtesy:  The Fabien Cousteau Ocean Learning Center Inc.))
our aquatic understanding, so that we can look at storm mitigators and things like that and be pro-active in those decisions to better serve us and by default the planet. 
((B Roll Courtesy:  The Fabien Cousteau Ocean Learning Center Inc.))
Proteus will be located in Curacao, because it’s our most-favored nation right now.  We have an MOU [memorandum of understanding] with them.  We have the support of the government.  Proteus is really slated to be the United Nations of underwater research platforms, in the sense that we will be inviting government, non-government, university and businesses, as well as being able to shepherd individuals who may be able to use this platform but may not have the access to it under normal circumstances.
((NATS/MUSIC))
((BRoll Courtesy:  The Fabien Cousteau Ocean Learning Center Inc.))
((Fabien Cousteau, Aquanaut, Ocean Explorer and Conservationist))
We need, as a society, as individuals, as communities within our own homes, we need to change our behavior.  We need to stop the problem at its source.  And that requires all of us to make that effort, to change our behavior.  That requires us to change policy and that requires us to be enlightened about what's happening in our ocean world. 
((NATS/MUSIC))
((BRoll Courtesy:  The Fabien Cousteau Ocean Learning Center Inc.))
((Fabien Cousteau, Aquanaut, Ocean Explorer and Conservationist))
The ocean is an amazing playground.  It's Pandora's box. We've explored less than 5% of our ocean world to date. Despite all the exploits of people like my grandfather and people who have dedicated their lives to marine exploration, there is a lot left out there to explore.  
((Fabien Cousteau, Aquanaut, Ocean Explorer and Conservationist))
And I truly believe that if we push forward in our endeavors and be more conscious of our connection with the world and our ocean, we'll be able to give back to our future generations, the things that we've taken for granted.
((NATS/MUSIC)) 


((PKG))  DRIVE-THRU COMMUNITY THEATER  
((TRT:  04:07))  
((Banner:  Drive-Thru Theater)) 
((Reporter/Camera:  Philip Alexiou))
((Map:  Mclean, Virginia))   
((Main characters:  2 females;  1 male))  
((Sub characters:  4 female;  8 male)) 
((NATS:  Actor 
I can already see that you don’t like it.  Look, I would just start over.  How about that?  Okay.  Hi, my name is Taylor as you know, and this is the tear drop from the orange sky.  No momma, it isn’t like that at all.)) 
((NATS:  Actor 
Dude, I’ve got to tell you what happened at old man Fletcher’s class the other day.  I mean this, this is insane.)) 
((Sarah Schallern Treff, Co-Producer, Youth Theater Programs))  
So Drive Thru Drama, it’s kind of like a Disney ride without the scary animatronics.  It’s driving and stopping at each actor.  It’s a live actor. 
((NATS:  Actor
Asleep already.))  
((Sarah Schallern Treff, Co-Producer, Youth Theater Programs))  
They perform a monologue where there are 10 stations and it all comes together to make one story. 
((Danielle Van Hook, Director, Youth Theater Programs))
I came across something I had learned about in theater history called medieval pageant wagons which was common at the time where actors would be on a wagon and they would do their scene and then it would move to the next town or to the next group of audience members.  So, I sort of took that idea and flipped it, where the actor stays in one place and then the audience drives around and hears the rest of the story. 
((NATS:  Scott Graham
I was a banker.))  
((Scott Graham, Actor)) 
I’ve never done anything like this.  I don’t know that there’s ever been anything like this to do before.  So, it’s kind of like some of the things but still it’s not.  It’s entirely different.   
((NATS:  Scott Graham
Part of my job was I would sort through the money and decide if money couldn’t be used anymore.)) 
((NATS:  Actor
It’s in the game.  Okay?  All Right.  You know, I have a help cushion but it’s not enough.  Okay, listen.  I think we ought to cut our losses, like try to outlast until maybe second place and then.....))
((NATS))
((Jeff, Annapolis Resident)) 
We’ve never done anything like this before but I’m really looking forward to it.  We both love theater and any chance to go and see live theater, I was excited about because there hasn’t been much this year. 
((Andrew Scott Zimmer, Writer/Director, Drive Thru Drama)) 
Well, I thought when Danielle came to me and said, “I want to do a show,” my mind went to monologues.  My mind went to plays that are traditionally told by one person at a time, a one-person show but spread out over 10 people.  And I thought I guess that’s possible to do 10 disparate stories that are all linked around one thing, which in this case is a dollar bill with some writing on it. 
((NATS:  Actor
Make a small change and those sound like pretty big changes to me, pal.))  
((NATS:  Staff
Yes, I am going to cue you.  So, this car needs to get over to the second actor.  They’ll be there for just a few moments.  I’m trying to pace it so there’s no accordion happening on the back side.  I’ll let you wait it from there.))  
((NATS:  Audience Member
This is, I don’t know, it looks really fun.  You know, and we do like to go to things like this.  But you know.))  
((NATS:  Staff
She had a, battery is dead in her car.))
((NATS:  Audience Member
I ran the air conditioning during the last half hour without the car on.))  
((NATS:  Staff
When they’re done, they’re going to give you a little bit of a bow.  There’s a chance for you to give a little clap and you may move on from there to the next.))  
((NATS:  Actor Singing
What are the worlds that are waiting for you when the untraveled path starts to call....))  
((Scott Graham, Actor)) 
See, this dollar.  You always, always have worth even if somebody says you don’t.  Sweet dreams. 
((NATS:  Actor Singing 
Me and green Georgie, we’re waiting for you.))  
((NATS:  Actor 
Thank you.  I’m going to take my break now, but albums are 10 dollars.  Nine if you pay in singles.))
((NATS))


IN COMING WEEKS  ((VO/NAT))
In Coming weeks…..
((NATS))
Black lives matter.  Black lives matter.  Black lives matter.  
Just go home.  Just go home.  Just go home.  
Black lives matter.  Black lives matter.
((Scott Kiehl, Controls Engineer))
It was very clear to me quickly that we were not dealing with a hostile group of people who were here to wreck and pillagethings.
((NATS))
((Scott Kiehl, Controls Engineer))
I went there yesterday not exactly knowing what to expect 
but knowing what I'd seen on TV, a large crowd of Black Lives Matter protesters.  And not only that.  From what I've seen on the TV and mediaand news, a violent crowd of Black Lives Matter protesters.  So that's what I went prepared and to help stop 
any damage to my friends and families and businesses there in the town.
((NATS))
((Scott Kiehl, Controls Engineer))
When I got there, that isn't what I saw at all.
I would say they numbered 15 to 20, plus or minus a little bit. Just young people wanted to get their voice out.
((NATS))
I came here to protest.  Minerva is here to protest.
((NATS))

CLOSING  ((ANIM))
voanews.com/connect		


((PKG))  FREE PRESS MATTERS  ((NATS/VIDEO/GFX))
((Popup captions over B Roll))
Near the Turkish Embassy
Washington, D.C.
May 16, 2017
President Erdogan’s bodyguard attacks peaceful protesters 
“Those terrorists deserved to be beaten”
“They should not be protesting our president”
“They got what they asked for”
While some people may turn away from the news
We cover it 
reliably
accurately
objectively
comprehensively
wherever the news matters
VOA
A Free Press Matters


BREAK THREE								
BUMP IN  ((ANIM))		


((PKG))  FREE PRESS MATTERS  ((NATS/VIDEO/GFX))
((Popup captions over B Roll))
We make a difference
When we unmask terror
When we explain the impossible
When we confront an uncertain future
When we give voice to the voiceless
The difference is Freedom of the Press
We are the Voice of America where
A Free Press Matters


CLOSING  ((ANIM))
voanews.com/connect		


SHOW ENDS













			 













1st proofing 07 21 2020 
((PKG))  SINGING GOLDEN GATE BRIDGE  
((TRT:  ?????))
((Banner:  ?????)) 
((Reporter/Camera:  Matt Dibble))
((Adapted by:  Philip Alexiou))
((Map:  San Francisco, California))   
((Main characters:  2 male)) 
((Sub characters:  1 female)) 
[[Additional Info
BANNER:  San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge Has Begun To Sing  
TEASER:  Millions flock to San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge each year for the stunning visuals. Now, a recent safety upgrade has accidently turned the bridge into a giant ambient music generator.  
INTRO: Millions of people flock to San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge each year for the stunning visuals. Now a glitch in a safety upgrade is providing extraordinary sound effects too. Matt Dibble listens in.]]   
((NATS))
((Courtesy/NATS: Mark Kreuger/Twitter)) 
Oh dude. 
Close Encounters of the Third Kind.
((Courtesy:  @roamingrecord)) 
((NATS))
((Anna Klafter, San Francisco Resident)) 
((Courtesy:  Zoom))  
I watched the video and I was like, what a crazy sound.  And then after it ended, I like heard the sound in the background.   
((NATS))
((Courtesy/Video:  Anna Klafter)) 
It’s quite loud actually.  Since then, I’ve been hearing it almost every afternoon or evening.  
((NATS))
((Paolo Cosulich-Schwartz, Public Affairs Manager, Golden Gate Bridge District)) 
((Courtesy:  Zoom))  
The Golden Gate Bridge has started to sing.  The new musical tones that are coming from the Golden Gate Bridge are known as an evitable phenomenon  
((NATS))
((Courtesy:  Golden Gate Bridge District)) 
that stem from our wind retrofit project.  It happens during very high winds.   
((Courtesy:  Zoom)) 
((Paolo Cosulich-Schwartz, Public Affairs Manager, Golden Gate Bridge District)) 
We’ve been replacing handrail on the west sidewalk with new railing that has thin vertical slats that are designed to run more air to flow through them.  One effect of that is that the bridge now at very high winds and with specific angles sings or hums.   
((NATS))
((Courtesy/Wind Surfer Video:  Bowen Dwelle/Instagram)) 
((Courtesy/NATS: Mark Kreuger/Twitter)) 
((Courtesy:  Golden Gate Bridge District)) 
We knew going into the replacement that the bridge would sing during high wind events but what we didn’t know was just how loud that might be.  
((Paolo Cosulich-Schwartz, Public Affairs Manager, Golden Gate Bridge District)) 
((Courtesy:  Zoom)) 
Some people love it and find it soothing and meditative.  Others have found it somewhat unpleasant.  
((NATS))
((Courtesy:  Mr. Bill)) 
((Mr. Bill, DJ & Electronic Musician))  
((Courtesy:  Zoom))  
I moved to America like five or six years ago to pursue my music career, which is basically DJ-ing and writing electronic music and playing out at clubs and stuff like that.  
((Mr. Bill, DJ & Electronic Musician))  
((Courtesy:  Zoom))  
So, I rode my bike like right in the middle of the bridge and then I just took a field recorder with me and recorded it and then turned it into music.    
((NATS))
((Mr. Bill, DJ & Electronic Musician))  
I was just working on a few tracks at the time  
((Courtesy:  Zoom)) 
and that one just happened to be slightly closer to being into the key of the bridge.  
I’m not sure, I might use the sample like here and there and a few other tracks maybe.  The thing that I found the most interesting about it was that they were doing all this construction and didn’t realize until the very end that it was going to make this huge resonance and now it’s just like this hum that just emanates through the immediate vicinity of the city around us.
((NATS))


1st proofing 07 13 2020 
2nd proofing 07 13 2020
((PKG))  UNIQUE GLASS ARTIST  
((TRT:  ?????))
((Banner:  ?????)) 
((Reporter/Camera:  Deborah Block))
((Additional Camera:  Mike Burke)) 
((Adapted by:  Zdenko Novacki))
((Map:  Providence, Rhode Island))   
((Main characters:  1 female)) 
((NATS))
((Toots Zynsky, Glass Artist)) 
I'm working with thousands and thousands of very fine glass thread.  Because it's so fine, I'm able to do these very elaborate color overlays and combining colors and fading colors into each other.  Very similar to making brushstrokes with paint.  
((NATS))
((Toots Zynsky, Glass Artist)) 
I grew up in an incredibly beautiful natural surrounding and there were just myriads of birds of every possible kind in the Northeast and they started dwindling.  I started researching all the birds that I remember very well.  And I was really stunned to find that I would say at least 90 percent of them were on the endangered species list.  A lot of the color variations do happen because of an almost thread-like crossing of different layers.  All these colors that you see here, a few brighten some more when they’re fired again but basically, these are the colors that I’m going to see when this piece is completed. 
((NATS))
((Toots Zynsky, Glass Artist)) 
Something that I looked at my whole childhood and was very lucky to have to look at my whole childhood, now I’m looking at them mostly on a computer screen.  But the magic of that is that I can blow them up and zoom into details that you can’t do when a bird flies by in front of your eyes. 
As the glass, the thread is pulling, it’s melting and it’s therefore very hot.  So, it has to pull over a certain distance so it can air-cool, so the threads will maintain their straight, even quality.  
((NATS))
((Toots Zynsky, Glass Artist)) 
Beautiful feathering effect.  So, what they become is thousands and thousands of prisms.  So, the light is constantly refracting. 
((NATS))
((Toots Zynsky, Glass Artist)) 
You can do with glass what you can with every other material.  You can cast it.  You can carve it.  You know, you can pour it.  You can crush it and fuse it.  You can thermoform it.
((NATS))
((Toots Zynsky, Glass Artist)) 
I think a lot of people think that, you know, we come into our studios, day or night, which often it is, day and night.  And, you know, we’re just like inspired and it’s like some kind of wonderful daydream.  And it’s not.  It’s work.  Always a new challenge.  I’m lucky that I get to do what I love to do every day.
((NATS))