Why Tell RAINBOW Stories?

Butterfly in the sky
I can go twice as high
Take a look
It's in a book
A Reading Rainbow

I can go anywhere
Friends to know
And ways to grow
A Reading Rainbow

I can be anything
Take a look
It's in a book
A Reading Rainbow
A Reading Rainbow

Truly one of the greatest television shows EVER! But I have recently re-discovered my adoration towards Levar Burton, host of Reading Rainbow and so much more. Levar is one of the few "celebrities" who use the social network/micro blog site Twitter. Never before has there been a place where you can see insights into people to such a degree. True, many people use Twitter for mundane blogs about what they had for lunch, but a rare few twitter interesting stories about their current lives, or use it to connect with their fan base on a more personal level. Levar's post are what got me really interested in Twitter. While we are still searching to define what this new blog thing is, we know that it is different, and can represent a new way of reaching those who we previously could not reach.

But back to Reading Rainbow. I remember watching episode after episode, back then we didn't have tech shows like "How It's Made", or "Mythbusters" to enlighten us, we just had Mister Rogers Neighborhood and Reading Rainbow to tell us how crayons were made, or how a wax mannequin could be cast. One of my favorite episodes, and one that is ranked as the top Reading Rainbow episode ever, was when Levar took us on the set of Star Trek: The Next Generation. Levar played Lt. Geordi La Forge, the first helmsmen and later Chief Engineer of the Enterprise D. I - the nerd, always loved Geordi's character, a phenomenal role by Levar.

So keep your eyes on this talented actor, He's not done telling stories just yet.

Why Tell SPARTAN Stories?

When college started for me in 2002, the name of the game was Halo. This flagship game had just come out on the new XBOX console by Microsoft.

I remember running down the hallways as we set up multiplayer matches from different dorm rooms, four players to a room, 4 rooms to a game. Now compared to the graphics of the third Halo game, these were primitive, but we loved it just the same.

When we weren't killing each other in multiplayer we were delving into the involved story of Halo. You were the Master Chief, top Spartan of the entire earth space marines (who wouldn't love that title) And you had an arsenal of weapons no one could match. You were fighting the Covenant, a collection of alien races bent on earths destruction.

How this saga has grown, 3 video games, several books, and a movie in the works. Halo hooked you with the game play, but won you with it's multiple levels of story and suspense.

Why Tell GALAXY Stories?

While the plot is standard Mario saves the Princess and fights Bowser umpteen times, the nuances of the Super Mario Galaxy's story are still shining stars.

But what makes the story, what makes the gameplay so different and fun is how it handles two player mode. In every other game I've played the screen is split either horizontally or vertically and each player controls the views of their own world. But it is different in Super Mario Galaxy, the second player assists the first player by tying down baddies, shooting star bits, and making the game twice as fun as it would be playing alone.

Sometimes the best story is the one that you make with your friends while playing, not the one that the imaginative game designers made. Playing with my friend Stephen has been the most fun I've had with a Mario game ever. What a great story.

Why Tell MOON Stories?

One of my favorite mini-series, in fact this is the standard I hold mini-series to and lays the base for my theory about stories. Stories fall into three categories, and when they are not cast in their appropriate category then they usually fail. The first is a Feature Film, a narrative which is 90 plus minutes and you see it in one sitting. The second is a TV Series, where you can develop characters and plot threads over several episodes and seasons. The third is a Mini-Series, which tells a special story in 12 parts, but is formatted in such a way that the main arc ends at the end and that is it, that is all there is.

So "From the Earth to the Moon" falls into this third category. A focused set of stories beautifully told about America's journey to the Moon from 1961 - 1969. (Spoiler - we get there) One of the thing I like best about this series is each episode is so unique, even once they start going regularly to the moon it never feels routine, they cover different ground from news, to mechanical construction, to family of the Astronauts. My top two episodes are Part 5 : Spider, the story of the development and construction of the Lunar Module, and Part 10 : Galileo Was Right, about how the Apollo 15 Astronauts learned skills to perform Lunar Geology.

So if you are in the mood for a great set of American television, there is nothing better than From the Earth to the Moon.

Why Tell ONION Stories?

Make way for the Onions, the Onion News Network (ONN)is here! While the satirical (not real) group of stories has existed on the web for a long time as a print newspaper type feel it is their recent move to television news which stands out. Online you can view hundreds of 2 minute clips performed by news actors who deliver their lines with picture perfect seriousness.

One of my favorite clips is about our new robot overlords, the way the news anchors react you could swear they were serious about the ludicrous topics they discuss. So if you need a laugh and have some time to kill, check out their sport or tech news clips. Ideas so crazy they almost could be true.

Why Tell TWITTER Stories?

Twitter is an amazing thing, or as they say "Twitter is a service for friends, family, and co–workers to communicate and stay connected through the exchange of quick, frequent answers to one simple question: What are you doing?"

I've only been using twitter for a couple of months now, and am still working out my own kinks. Not kinks with the system, but in how I post and how often I post. Which if you want to subscribe to me my twitter id is @Darrenmoser. These micro stories, each encapsulated in 140 characters cover a variety of topics. From the interesting twitterers they give you updates for products, postings of online content and links to pictures and in-the-know deals. From the less interesting twitterers they tell you what they are having for lunch, or that they are heading to school now. The good rule of thumb is if you wouldn't write a page blog about it, you probably don't need to tweet about it every hour.

Some of my favorite twitterers to follow are Scott Kurtz who draws my favorite web-comic PVP. My college friend David Hepburn, he posts interesting links and announces when his 365 photo blog is updated. But my favorite to follow is Levar Burton of Roots and Reading Rainbow fame. Twitter gives you a level of connection to these celebrity types that has not been possible in the past. A passive window into their lives, their current projects and personality, and I love it.

So check out twitter, post some tweets, and try to figure out all the @, #, and RT's

Why Tell ROLANDO Stories?

I don't own the most recent 2nd generation ipod touch, or an iphone, just a small 8 gb 1st gen. touch, but all that said, I love it. I use the calendar feature every day, and even track my mpg's on my old Windstar. But my newest download is by far my favorite, it's a game called Rolando.

Rolando tells of the small creatures of Rolandoland and is exclusively built for the ipod touch/phone device. What a fun game! You touch, tilt, spin and roll the Rolando's through level after level.

Now, not to just be one more shameless plug for something, this game has a simple yet engaging story at it's core. Many of the small characters have different skills but they are defined by the story. The blue spiky ones can stick to surfaces and are royal guards. The big king is always asleep, and the prince doesn't stop rolling! Because of the story I actually care when I mess up and loose a Rolando to a shadow figure (bad guy). I want to save the king and queen and prince of Rolandoland!

But above all I am happy and satisfied that the developers of the game took their fun game physics and made sure to encase it within a story, for without the story you might as well be bouncing pixels off the wall. So roll on Rolando's, go have some finger fun.

Why Tell IMPOSSIBLE Stories?

My wife and I have a great dinner routine, she cooks the meal and I wash the dishes, and we both watch Mission: Impossible! The show fits perfectly for a meal time, 42 minutes of edge of your seat action! Well, maybe not edge of your seat, but M:I has the ability to be entertaining and engaging, but you can still remain calm while watching.

Jim, Willie, Barney, Cinnamon, Roland, Paris, these are now common names around our dinner table. And for good reason, as part of the 70's craze with spy shows, Mission: Impossible pulled to the head of the pack to define this fun genre. It is incredibly easy to become an M:I fan, and while many diehard fans despise the feature films, I believe that each has its place and purpose, and i'll just say this. I own seasons 2,3,4,5 of the TV show and none of the movies yet. But that is in part to how Tom Curise has gone off the deep end.

One of my favorite bits about the series is when the team is in a european country all the writing is in a pseudo language very similar to english but with z's instead of s's and a bit of spanish splashed in, just enough for you to read it and still seem foreign. Classic. I would suggest starting with season 2, the cast has worked out most of the "new character" quirks. Or jump to season 4 where Leonard Nimoy joins the cast as Paris the magician of a thousand faces!

So head down to Best Buy or DVD Planet and grab a copy, you won't be disappointed. This blog will self destruct in five seconds, good luck Jim.....

Why Tell TITLED Stories?

Have you ever heard the saying that a movie doesn't truly start until the title is spoken? How 'Back to the Future' really begins to soar when Doc Brown tells Marty, "Next Saturday Night We're sending you back, to the future!" Or in the end of 'China Town' Jack Nicholson is consoled by the words, "Forget it, Jake. It's China Town".

From someone who has made films this statement actually seem rather valid. While all of my short films do not speak the title in them, in the ones that speak it they do seem to inherit a spark when that title is dropped.

So browse over you movie collection and see how many movies you can spot which title drop. Because having a gusto moment marker is a great way to tell a story.

Why Tell IMDB Stories?

IMDB aka The Internet Movie Database began on the internet on October 17, 1990 and has grown to become one of the largest repositories of Movie and Television information. It has almost become it's own verb, similar how when people intend to do a search on something they "Google it". Film students are frequently quoted to "IMDb it", or at least i've said it a lot.

My wife and I recently hosted a party to celebrate movies in general, we created two games for our guests. The first was just like the scene-it games where the guests split into two teams and answer questions cued up on a DVD screen. We selected 11 films from each genre with 33 questions total, including video clips, character quotes, and extra trivia. The second game we played was a battle of the sexes, guy movies vs. chick flicks. The teams were a little uneven, 3 girls to 2 guys, but the men put up a good fight but still lost the battle.

So be sure to bookmark IMDb, an excellent catalogue of stories.

Why Tell HOBBIT Stories?

I first read the Hobbit by JRR Tolkien in the summer of 2000 when I was up at Westminster Woods working in the kitchen and with the kids. I was anticipating the new movies which would start coming out in late 2001 and I wanted to read both the Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings before I saw the films.

I'm re-reading it right now as my bedtime book, I don't have my glasses on the edge of my nose yet, although one day I suppose I will. I had to wait such a long time for the story to slowly drain out of my mind. I wanted to read it with a fresh mind, not remembering what happens next almost before I turn the page. The same thing happens for movies, but it takes only a matter of months, right now my mind is very blank and ready to be refilled with the Hobbit.

The Hobbit was first printed in 1937, over 70 years ago and it is still an excellent story. A definite read for fantasy folks, even with the LOTR movies out both of JRR Tolkien's Middle Earth books are must reads. This green leather version I purchased as a companion to the red leather LOTR 3" thick book I received as a birthday gift from my high school spanish teacher.

Tolkien has a talent for weaving fine details into his stories, songs, poems, language, maps, artwork. His books are rich reading, but you don't have to take my word for it.

Why Tell TREE Stories?

This is my best Australian friend (mate) Pickering reading the Lorax to a bunch of kids at Westminster Woods. Now reading the Lorax is not as easy as you would assume, Dr. Seuss has placed many tongue twisters in this book that the first time reader will be sure to stumble over. That being said it is a most excellent book to read, and read out Loud!

I LOVE reading The Lorax, I would read it to the 5th and 6th grade kids of Sherwood Forest and it was my favorite time of the week. Weaving a tale of Truffula trees which of course everyone, everyone, everyone needs. The half circle of kids would gaze up at me as I read each rhyming line, almost by memory. We pushed the importance of taking care of God's earth in many ways up at the Woods. But never so simply as the 61 pages of the Lorax. It is easy to see God's beautiful creation when surrounded by coastal redwoods and a creek filled with Coho salmon.

So go read the Lorax, or take a trip to the forest itself, you will thank yourself later after breathing some of that fresh air and feeling the shade of a tall tree hide the sun and the wind.

On a technical note, I will be updating my blog Monday - Friday each week, taking a break on the weekends because you have to live life to write about it, no?

Why Tell DANCING Stories?

This is the video which sparked the genesis of this blog. It was linked to on facebook by one of my APU professors and I can scarcely fathom the impact this one little video is going to have on me.

So, "Where the Hell is Matt?", this man knows why you tell stories. You tell them to reach a world of people through a simple dance. I cannot stop watching this video, I play it in a loop in the background just to hear the music. I don't know quite how, but the music combined with the simple image of Matt dancing all over the world made me feel more connected with the other humans on Earth. Similar to that feeling you get from viewing the planet from space. Such as the Blue Marble Photograph take by Apollo 17, the last mission to the moon.

Matt Harding spent 6 months of 2008 traveling to 40 countries around the world to film himself dancing with the people. He journals and posts all his videos on his website and is apparently still traveling, probably for a new video project which I already cannot wait to see. While Matt is not a "professional" videographer or even camera man, but his video, his journey is more inspiring then most of the "inspirational" films I have seen.

Telling dancing stories may seem silly to some, I see this story and have to catch my breath.

Why Tell BLOGGING Stories?

Well my inspiration finally came for my blog. Why Tell Stories is my outlet for videos and stories I make and discover. So subscribe if you want to see a glimpse on Why We Tell Stories.