giving thanks in a different place

this year's thanksgiving was exactly what the title entails, giving thanks but i was traveling all over the place.  thanksgiving was spent at home with the fam, which is always good.  after the festivities at home with the family i was rushed off to the airport to catch my flight out to sin city to shoot a basketball game for kbyu.

there was a chance that they could play two games that weekend and we would shoot them both.  they first played #6 louisville and if they beat them we would not shoot the second game because they would play #1 unc for the championship game.  many people (i included) did not believe that byu would be able to pull the upset and so we planned on being there for both games.

byu actually pulled the upset and so we just spent a night on the town and then went to our hotel for a nap until the next morning where we got up and then went to the airport to fly back home.

i spent a lot of time traveling that weekend but i feel it was definitely worth it.  so i drove from provo to california, flew from california to las vegas and back, and then ended up driving back up to provo to get to school for monday classes.  the trip was exhausting and amazing to sum it up in two words.

it is not our fault

there is much talk about all things bad in the world and the two parties that receive most of the blame in this area are the advertising and film industries (with the double dose of these in the television industry). there is a lot of media out there that is terrible and isn't worth watching based solely on the fact that it just has terrible acting, video/cinematography, no story, and a bad message. i wish that people could separate those things into different aspects of media and advertising.

i know a few people in the advertising industry and they are not bad people (and i love them), nor are the companies that they work for. i happen to work with a television station and associate with people (and love them as well) that have been in many other companies over there tenure in the film and television industries. being in those industries it is easy to point at all the bad things that are portrayed and then to generalize. i say stop generalizing! it bothers me and it makes you look dumb and not know what you are talking about. i love when people get on there soapboxes and rant and rave (wait a second, this seems familiar) about things that are so important to them but have little evidence to back it up.

the greatest thing that i hear almost on a monthly basis is the fact that there is nothing good on television and everyone should abstain from watching television because of the content on it. i particularly like hearing it from the people that i associate with on a daily basis. but i can think of some great programs that are on annually, semi-annually, monthly, weekly, and even daily. it is because of television and the advancements made therein that millions of people worldwide can be enlightened and know exactly what is happening in the here and now.

what we do with our time on the internet also needs to be monitored this day and age. the media that we do not consume on the radio, on television, in magazines, and in the multiplexes can now be brought to us on the internet. we now do not have to leave our households, but we can get our media from clicking a few links, whether we want that media or not.

i am not condoning all the programs or people that put media out there for us to consume, that would be ludicrous, and a generalization, but i am saying that we should all be more thoughtful of the media that we consume and also you may think about what media you would like to consume in order to let these people put food on the table and a roof over their families head.

work: a chore or a choice?

my job is amazing and takes me the places that i want and need to be. first of all, this fall i had the opportunity to be inches away from the prophet gordon b. hinkley (well, technically he was further away but i was in the kbyu truck staring at 10 monitors of him). i love the ability that i have to transmit these things to the world. it really makes me happy that i am able to give millions of people around the world that closeness to things that move and inspire them.


for the prophet.

also with these little badges you can get anywhere you want to in the facility that is hosting your event. hence this video about the energysolutions arena in salt lake city, utah. there i had the opportunity to work with tc smith at the jazz game. he runs the jib for the pre-game, halftime, and post-game shows. with one little pass i got into the game for free, entered the halls down in the "belly of the beast," ate free catered food and got to go out to the floor for some of the game. here is a little video, but it was during a time out so the guards were out and that is why i was still in the tunnel. enjoy.


the "golden ticket".


picture of the set of the show.





(but zack you still do better things more consistently, i love you).

this past weekend i had yet another chance to be with the "big wigs" of the brigham young university sports teams. i got into the women's volleyball game, for free (and actually got payed to be there). and then i shot a press conference immediately following the game. then on saturday i was able to attend the brigham young university game against the university of nevada, las vegas for the mountain west conference championship game. after this game we interviewed the mountain west conference most valuable player (katie fellows). it was awesome to be there and watch the cougars win their first championship in the past few years that they have been in the championship game.


here is the press pass for the soccer game, and the photo sticker (makes it very professional).

true blue is what has given me the opportunity to go to the volleyball and soccer games. i love the opportunity that i have to work for them and get into these events and hone my skills to be able to fill up my resume and get the experience i need to pursue my dreams.

but seriously, let's be honest. is this a chore? no; this is awesome, i love it and want to do it so much more. beautiful, beautiful "work"!