Creeper in My Apartment

I found this video to be creepy, fun, and surreal.

Who was that girl? How did she get into his apartment?

Then I saw this video…

My whole thinking changed. It’s a meme! “Creeper in My Apartment” is a meme. I’m not sure who was the first to tell this story and nothing came up when I searched the Know Your Meme website (which you must visit, BTW).

I love stuff like this! This video is an urban folktale told and retold through new media. “Creeper in My Apartment” is modern day electronic folklore that brings to mind tales such as “The Vanishing Hitchhiker.” I’m going to look for more of these. If you know of any, please share in the comments!

International Conference on Narrative: Call for Papers

2012 International Conference on Narrative

March 15-17, Harrah’s Las Vegas Hotel and Casino Las Vegas, Nevada

Plenary Speakers
Steven Mailloux, Loyola Marymount University
Ramón Saldívar, Stanford University
Vanessa Schwartz, University of Southern California

Contemporary Narrative Theory Session Speakers
Heather Dubrow, Fordham University
Margaret Homans, Yale University
Deirdre McCloskey, University of Illinois Chicago
Mark McGurl, UCLA
Alan Nadel, University of Kentucky
Peggy Phelan, Stanford University

Conference Coordinators
Eddie Maloney, Alan Nadel, James Phelan, Robyn Warhol

Call for Papers

We welcome proposals for papers and panels on all aspects of narrative in any genre, period, discipline, language, and medium.

Deadline for Receipt of Proposals
Monday, October 17, 2011

Proposals for Individual Papers
Please provide the title and a 300-word abstract of the paper you are proposing; your name, institutional affiliation, and email address; and a brief statement (no more than 100 words) about your work and your publications.

Proposals for Panels
Please provide a 700-word (maximum) description of the topic of the panel and of each panelist’s contribution; the title of the panel and the titles of the individual papers; and for each participant the name, institutional affiliation, email address, and a brief statement (no more than 100 words) about the person’s work and publications.

Please send proposals by email in PDF, Word, or WordPerfect to: narrative [at] georgetown [dot] edu

All participants must join the International Society for the Study of Narrative.

For more information on the ISSN, please visit: http://narrative.georgetown.edu

How to Talk to the Press

If you’ve ever played the game “telephone,” in which kids sit in a circle and pass a message around by whispering it into each other’s ears, then you know that things can easily get distorted as they flow from person to person.

When you receive press coverage, the last thing you want is for your story to be skewed and disseminated in a way that makes you cringe. Below are some simple tips that will help you keep your message on target when talking to the press.

Be Prepared

The more you prepare the more confident you will feel. Brush up on what you’re going to say before your interview if possible. If there’s time, have a friend ask you some questions.

Know Your Point/Purpose.

Why are you talking to the press? What key bit of information do you want the world to know? Focus in on the most important details.

Keep the Message Simple.

You’re hosting an event. You won an award. You were robbed. You were bit by a tiger. You saw the UFO. You’re having a grand opening. Simple. Make it work in one sentence.

Don’t Stray From the Message.

Whatever your purpose, everything you talk about should support that fact and drive it home.

Say Something Interesting.

Give the writer some cool sentences. If you don’t they might make up stuff for you. There’s nothing worse than being quoted in a newspaper as having said some bizarre word or phrase when you didn’t say it in the first place. If you say something interesting the reporter will react and jot it down. If you’re being recorded for air at a later date, the editors will catch it. If you’re live the audience will latch onto it. 

Be Careful of Humor.

Use humor carefully. Rarely do jokes translate into print. What’s more, your sense of humor might not click with the audience. 

Listen as Much as You Speak.

When a writer interviews you they often have already done some leg work to learn about you and your story. Along with that research comes some preconceived notions of what they’re going to write. If there’s a close deadline it’s possible they’ve already started the story by the time they meet with you. When the writer already has an angle they’ll ask you leading questions to pull facts, figures, and quotes from you to support the narrative they’ve already got going. By listening carefully to their questioning you can either support the direction of their story or counter it if it’s not serving your purpose.

Be Emotional.

You needn’t be a performer to tell a good tale. If the press is interested then you already have a newsworthy story so convey it with gusto! Give the reporter a rendition of the story that they can bite into. Smile if you’re happy and frown if you’re sad. Be genuine. What you say is only part of your communication. How you say it is equally important. 

Get Out of the Way.

It’s possible that the story you’re telling isn’t about you. If you’re a witness, a PR rep., or a face for the company, then just be that and let the story stand on its own.

You Needn’t Answer Every Question.

A reporter asks the seasoned politician about their plans. The politician says, “I am going to lower your taxes.” The reporter asks a biting question about the politician’s extramarital affairs. The politician responds, “I am going to lower your taxes.”

Talk On Purpose.

Only talk about things that are on (your) purpose. If you’re not crystal clear the reporter can receive mixed messages and might make up their own version of your story.

I hope you found these tips for talking to the press useful. Good luck!

This World is Made of Stories

Storyteller and mythologist, Michael Meade explains how this world is made of stories. Michael is the founder and director of Mosaic Multicultural Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to cultural healing through story, mythology, and poetry via work with at-risk youth, veterans, gang youth, prisoners, the homeless, and the culture at large.

Everything is a Remix

Copy → Transform → Combine

I just discovered this great miniseries on Vimeo called Everything is a Remix by New York-based filmmaker, Kirby Ferguson. The first three episodes are below. He’s planning a fourth due out October of 2011. See his website for that… EverythingIsARemix.info

Part 1: Some of your favorite Led Zeppelin songs weren’t Led Zeppelin songs at all.

Part 2: Watch how movie makers borrow ideas from other previously made films.

Part 3: Copying, transforming, and varying. Learn about Apple and the first home computers ever made.

Are you telling an original story? Does it really matter? Maybe if you own the IP and copyright…

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