SPOTLIGHT: Flight Simulators

I'm really excited about this story, because it's so visually stunning. While I was editing it, I could feel the motion again, as if I were back in the simulator. Flight simulators are large machines that replicate the cockpit of an airplane, with all the instruments in the same place they would be in a real aircraft. The simulator also shows the view outside the windows, projected with high tech equipment. The motion creates a sense of realism too. I could actually feel the small bumps on the pavement below as we taxied on the runway before take-off. I produced the story at CAE in Montreal, the world leader in flight simulator manufacturing and training. You may see the story on the Spotlight segment of Mountain Lake Journal Extra, Thursday at 8:30pm, on Mountain Lake PBS. It repeats Friday at 6am and 12:30pm, Saturday at 7:30pm, and Sunday at 10:30am.

SPOTLIGHT: Bridge to Terabithia

What absolute joy I felt while interviewing Katherine Paterson, author of Bridge to Terabithia. The book, depicting a close bond between young friends of opposite genders, has a special meaning for me, as I had a similar friendship while growing up. This makes the tragedy of the novel hit very close to home. It was fascinating to hear Paterson discuss the inspiration behind the book, as well as her battles with Hollywood as she fought screenwriters who wanted to change her story into something unrecognizable to its author for the sake of a happy ending. The Katherine Paterson interview airs on Mountain Lake Journal Extra this Thursday at 8:30pm on Mountain Lake PBS. Immediately following the interview, I will introduce a new online series of interviews called "Author Visits."

SPOTLIGHT: Soovin Kim performs at home.

Fans of fine music can hear world class performers this week in New York and Vermont. It was a pleasure to once again interview violinist Soovin Kim, artistic director of the Lake Champlain Chamber Music Festival, today. He's based in New York City, so we used Skype. He'll arrive in Vermont next Thursday, and he spoke to me from his office at Stony Brook University, where he serves as a professor of violin.

The topic at hand, two upcoming chamber music performances. The 2011 Winter Encore Concerts feature the work of living composers of three different generations who served as inspiration for each other, as well as music by Schubert. I also spoke with 18 year-old composer Tim Woos. He was commissioned at the age of 15 (!) to write a piece for the orchestra, and they played his composition on a world tour.

The concerts are Friday, February 25 at 7:30pm in the E. Glenn Giltz Auditorium at SUNY Plattsburgh, and Saturday at 7:30pm in the Elley-Long Music Center at Saint Michael's College in Colchester, VT.

Tickets are available from the Flynn Regional Box Office, 1 (802) 863-5966, Angell College Center at SUNY Plattsburgh, 1 (518) 564-2121, and the North Country Cultural Center for the Arts, 1 (518) 563-1604.

The "Spotlight" segment airs on Mountain Lake Journal Extra Thursday at 8:30pm on Mountain Lake PBS. It repeats on Friday at 6am and 12:30pm, Saturday at at 7:30pm and Sunday at 10:30am.