VOA CONNECT
EPISODE # 185
AIR DATE: 07 30 2021
TRANSCRIPT
OPEN ((VO/NAT))
((Banner))
Green Transport
((SOT))
((Sam Merrett, Captain/Team Leader, Schooner
Apollonia))
There's an experiential side to it. And so, to some degree,
engaging with people, getting them on boats, getting crew
sailing again, keeping this wisdom alive is the only way it's
going to persist, right?
((Animation Transition))
((Banner))
From Past to Future
((SOT))
((Mercedes Dorame, Native American Artist))
A lot of my work references, objects or culture has been
erased from the history books, and so, I have to give a lot of
history lessons
and tell these stories in a way that people are not familiar
with.
((Animation Transition))
((Banner))
Pushing Boundaries
((SOT))
((Lidia Reyes, Founder, Biker Chicks))
From time to time, you get looked at like, you know, like its
almost like a joke. But to me, it's like no, I can ride this bike,
I can ride it hard, and I am not afraid.
((Open Animation))
BLOCK A
((PKG)) SCHOONER APOLLONIA DELIVERS SAIL
FREIGHT
((TRT: 10:00))
((Topic Banner: Sustainability in Simplicity))
((Reporter/Camera: Aaron Fedor))
((Producer: Kathleen Mclaughlin))
((Editor: Kyle Dubiel))
((Map: Hudson River, New York City - New York))
((Main character: 1 male))
((Sub characters: 1 female; 7 male))
((MUSIC/NATS))
((Sam Merrett, captain and team leader, Schooner
Apollonia))
Hi, I'm Sam Merrett. I'm Captain and Team Leader of the
Schooner Apollonia which is the wonderful ship we're all
aboard right now. The Apollonia is a schooner, which is just
a fancy way of saying it's a sailboat which has more than
one mast and we sail freight and cargo throughout the
Hudson Valley from our home port, right back here in
Hudson, New York, all the way down to New York City.
((MUSIC/NATS))
((Sam Merrett, captain and team leader, Schooner
Apollonia))
All right. Is everybody ready on their lifts?
((Speaker 1))
Yup.
((Sam Merrett, captain and team leader, Schooner
Apollonia))
All right. Go ahead and pull away both lifts. Let's go. All
aboard.
((Sam Merrett, captain and team leader, Schooner
Apollonia))
Were using the wind to transport things sustainably, but with
the purpose of weaving together all of these amazing
producers throughout the Hudson Valley. So, we're
connecting people who make maple syrup right here, people
who make hot sauce right here with consumers down in New
York City and then we're even flipping things around. When
we turn around, we're sailing up cargoes like coffee and
things like that, that you can't really grow around here.
((Sam Merrett, captain and team leader, Schooner
Apollonia))
Our primary cargoes on the Apollonia are brewers malt, oak
logs for mushroom cultivation, bulk flour that was grown and
milled right here in the Hudson Valley and other grains. And
those are what we consider the like bulk cargoes or the large
cargoes. We also have individual cargoes. We work with
small-scale producers delivering everything from honey to
maple syrup to hot sauce. The Apollonia is an old boat. She
actually turned 75 this year. She's from 1946.
((Sam Merrett, captain and team leader, Schooner
Apollonia))
That's the Hudson Athens Lighthouse. That's from 1874 and
it's a fascinating little spot. But yeah, that is up until the
1940s, there was actually a family that lived there that had to
keep a lamp oil fire burning as the only means of navigation
there. Now, the coast guard runs it with a little solar panel
and its kind of a much simpler ordeal.
Matt, let's see if we can get a little speed up and then we'll
tack.
((MUSIC/NATS))
((Sam Merrett, captain and team leader, Schooner
Apollonia))
The Hudson River's an amazing body of water. It presents all
of the challenges of sailing anywhere that I've ever sailed. In
some ways it's more challenging because it tends to be quite
skinny. There's lots of commercial traffic. There's lots of
shallow water, things like that. The wind is always changing
and always fighting with you, but what's amazing about the
Hudson River is the people that it connects. I think that's
what really makes it work for me, is that we're constantly
sailing past towns and people and we're interacting with
them, right? We see our jobs very much as delivering cargo
and also connecting people, connecting whether that's a
producer to a consumer or whether that's just someone who
lives in Hudson with the whereabouts of something cool that
just happened in Kingston. You know, like thats what ships
were historically as they were messengers, not only of cargo
and freight, but also of news and weather and you'd send
something to a friend at another town. And so, I think as
we're trying to encourage folks to think about how the
Hudson River is a way to move things, understanding the
connection is really important.
((MUSIC/NATS))
((Brad Vogel, Partnerships and Logistics))
This is definitely a new thing at the same time because it just
started within the last year to make these runs from Hudson,
New York, down the Hudson River, to here in Brooklyn, New
York,
((Photo Courtesy: Grain de Sail))
and really connecting a lot of different towns and
communities along the way and showing people that there's
a way forward on sustainable freights and cargo.
((Sam Merrett, captain and team leader, Schooner
Apollonia))
Sail freight has been something people have done for
thousands of years,150, 200 years ago in the Hudson Valley
most of what was moved was moved by sloops and
schooners like this on the Hudson River. And of course,
today, there's this crisis we're having with the climate and
we're looking for some solutions and I feel inspired by the
past and feel like this is still a realistic solution. So, the
concept is to try it out and see how it goes. We are looking to
the past, but not in some living history kind of museum way,
just in what were practical solutions like horses, total
renewable energy. The wind obviously still exists. The
Hudson River, still a resource that's here. Once it was the
super highway of the region. Maybe it has a utility as such
again.
((Jamie Pierce, Customer))
Today, I came down to pick up some honey and some cider
that I ordered on the Apollonia.
((Sam Merrett, captain and team leader, Schooner
Apollonia))
So, Lou right here, is riding our.....this is our standard
distribution rig right here and you can just take off whenever
you want.
((Sam Merrett, captain and team leader, Schooner
Apollonia))
It is a Tern e-bike equipped with a Carla trailer. In the trailer
is 400 pounds of malt from upstate farms and Lou is about to
ride it for distribution. In addition to that, what we've got
today is some friends came out with a team of horses. I
mean, this is kind of, we've got in some ways reappropriation
of 18th century technology to be the green version of the
future and horses are obviously a renewable solution.
((NATS))
((Sam Merrett, captain and team leader, Schooner
Apollonia))
The next load is going to Van Brunt,
((Robert Tronsky, Owner, Triple T Farm))
Okay.
((Sam Merrett, captain and team leader, Schooner
Apollonia))
which is the closest delivery. So, that should be nice. Nice
and refreshing load after last time.
((Robert Tronsky, Owner, Triple T Farm))
Yeah. Last one was a boatload.
((Sam Merrett, captain and team leader, Schooner
Apollonia))
Yeah, totally. This one's right around the corner and it's the
rye, which is the unmarked bags. Same stuff we got you. So,
yeah, and he's using that to make a white rye whiskey.
((Robert Tronsky, Owner, Triple T Farm))
Oh.
((Sam Merrett, captain and team leader, Schooner
Apollonia))
So, it should be good hopefully.
((Robert Tronsky, Owner, Triple T Farm))
Yeah.
((Sam Merrett, captain and team leader, Schooner
Apollonia))
Actually, we will be ready by this fall. So, when we do this
again in the fall,
((Robert Tronsky, Owner, Triple T Farm))
Yup. We'll go back out.
((Sam Merrett, captain and team leader, Schooner
Apollonia))
you can taste some of the products of our labor.
((Sam Merrett, captain and team leader, Schooner
Apollonia))
And on the way up, we're going to bring whiskey from Van
Brunt Whiskey, and we're going to bring a bunch of mead
from Enlightenment Wines. We're also rendezvousing with a
French ship
((Photo Courtesy: Grain de Sail))
that sailed wine and chocolate over across the Atlantic
Ocean on Monday.
((Sam Merrett, captain and team leader, Schooner
Apollonia))
So, we're going to have some wine and chocolate in our
northbound cargo. And there's probably something else I'm
forgetting, but thats, you know, it's been a long trip, been
underway for about a week now. So, yeah, we're just trying
to get the boat unloaded and things being squared away.
((MUSIC/NATS))
((Speaker 2))
Hoist up the John Bs sails.
See how the main sail sets.
((Sam Merrett, captain and team leader, Schooner
Apollonia))
You have to understand that the people we work with are
very passionate about what they're making and very
thoughtful about that. And they've thought about the taste.
They've thought about the impact. They've thought about the
producers. The idea of supporting local farms to a lot of
these people is common practice, right? And the idea of
organic produce and fair trade and how the labor is treated.
And they're really trying to make the best product and that's
not just flavor. That's also story and impact.
And then I think, by and large, they all take the trucking part
for granted, right? You build it. You need to get it to
someone. You make it. You need to get it to someone. What
do you do? You throw it on a truck that, sort of, is how our
distribution network is set up. And so, when we approach
them with the idea that there was an alternative, I think at
first, they, sort of, didn't really believe us and then we've
been, sort of, demonstrating that that's the case and building
a network of people who have faith in us.
((Tanya van Renesse, Crew Member))
There's a lot of people who try and do something like this. I
mean, when he got this boat, it was just bare bones. There
wasn't no mast, no booms and in just a couple of years, he
put it all together. If it wasn't for his just like amazing like
drive and energy, it would never ever been able to take
place.
((MUSIC/NATS))
((Speaker 6))
I feel so broken up,
I want to go home.
((MUSIC))
((Sam Merrett, captain and team leader, Schooner
Apollonia))
For us, part of this is that sailing and many of the, sort of,
traditional crafts, you can't preserve them in books. I mean,
you can write amazing stories about sailing. Obviously, you
could write down the goods. But the truth is, if you don't do it,
you'll never really know how to do it, right? There's an
experiential side to it. And so, to some degree, engaging
with people, getting them on boats, getting crew sailing
again, keeping this wisdom alive is the only way it's going to
persist, right?
((Matthew Soltesz, Crew member))
When people hear we're delivering by sail, they're first
confused and just, "No way." Like, "No, really. No fossil
fuels?" "Yeah, none." And then, "Interesting." And then their
second question is, "Well, do the numbers add up?" I was
like, "Well, that's the point. That's what we're working on."
And I think when we explain what we're doing, I think people
overwhelmingly just understand that, you know, the system
that we have working now just does what's not working. The
system that's in place right now is not working and it's not
sustainable. And it's just the power structure, trade structure,
everything. It's not sustainable. It's good for now. It's good
for maybe 10 years, but it's not going to be good in 50 years
and sure as hell not good for our grandchildren. So, there's
got to be a way to change things. And this is a small attempt.
It's a test case, but it gets the conversation started. So, that's
the point.
((MUSIC/NATS))
TEASE ((VO/NAT))
Coming up..
((Banner))
Reclaiming Home
((SOT))
((Mercedes Dorame, Native American Artist))
So, I always have this feeling that Im, you know, moving
through Los Angeles, moving through this territory that's my
ancestral homelands, but theres all these private property
signs and people call me a trespassing or call me a
trespasser. And so, its this odd feeling of, you know, this
deep connection and then kind of also being told that I don't
belong here.
BREAK ONE
BUMP IN ((ANIM))
BLOCK B
((PKG)) NATIVE AMERICAN ART IN AUGMENTED
REALITY FORMAT
((TRT: 04:28))
((Topic Banner: Native Art Augmented))
((Reporter/Camera: Genia Dulot))
((Map: Los Angeles, California))
((Main characters: 1 female; 1 male))
((NATS))
((Mercedes Dorame, Native American Artist))
I grew up in Los Angeles. Part of my cultural ancestry is
Tongva, which are the original people of Los Angeles. And a
lot of my work revolves around looking at land, land access.
Our tribe is not federally recognized, which means we don't
have sovereign land base. So, I always have this feeling that
Im, you know, moving through Los Angeles, moving through
this territory that's my ancestral homelands, but theres all
these private property signs and people call me a
trespassing or call me a trespasser. And so, its this odd
feeling of, you know, this deep connection and then kind of
also being told that I don't belong here.
((Mercedes Dorame, Native American Artist))
So, I make these kind of constellation cosmic spaces as a
way to kind of point people into interacting with something
that they can recognize. A lot of my work references, objects
or culture that has been erased from the history books, and
so, I have to give a lot of history lessons and tell these
stories in a way that people are not familiar with.
((Banner:
"Portal for Tovaangar" by Mercedes Dorame is one of five
augmented reality works set up by the Los Angeles County
Museum of Art (LACMA) in collaboration with Snapchat.))
((NATS))
((Mercedes Dorame, Native American Artist))
Translating my physical work and my installations into this
digital kind of augmented reality space, really points this
Indigenous presence, this Tongva presence, to the future for
me.
((Stuart "Sutu" Campbell, Extended Reality Artist))
If I create an augmented reality artwork, that is, you're
looking at it through your phone and it's activated in that
physical space, that's a spatial artwork. So, what we have at
LACMA is a spatial artwork.
((Stuart "Sutu" Campbell, Extended Reality Artist))
As my hand moves around this environment, I am holding
down the trigger and the red strings growing out of the
controller. So, what I am doing here now is like I can grab
the artwork with my controllers and I can scale it up and look
at it very closely. And what I've done, I've pulled in a photo of
Mercedes' artwork, which I am using as a reference at the
bottom of this sculpture, and I am then sculpting on top of it
everything else, the ropes and the rocks, and then I
recreated it in a 3D program.
((Stuart "Sutu" Campbell, Extended Reality Artist))
This is Snapchat's Lens Studio, what we are looking at the
moment. So, what you can see here is the same painted
artwork. It's now being placed on the floor in this 3D
environment. So, I'll send it to my device.
((Stuart "Sutu" Campbell, Extended Reality Artist))
So, now we have the artwork. It's in my living room. I don't
have a lot of space in my living room, so I'll shrink it down a
bit. And you can see the artwork is now on the floor and then
I can go in close and I can look at the details.
((Stuart "Sutu" Campbell, Extended Reality Artist))
We have these big, long ropes stretching out everywhere in
every which direction and immediately when I gave it to my
friend's daughter, who is like five-years old, she started
crawling under the ropes and climbing over the ropes and
like literally on her back on the ground, sliding around the
ground. And it was really motivating her to explore the art
from all those different vantage points.
((Stuart "Sutu" Campbell, Extended Reality Artist))
We can do that with physical art, but it was interesting to see
that we also can do that with these virtual artworks, that
something that's not tangible, has that power. Like you know
that you can walk through it, but still she was kind of going
underneath it.
((Mercedes Dorame, Native American Artist))
The stones kind of have their own life. The stones, which
was really fun, which I can't do when Im making an
installation like that, are like up in the air and they kind of
create their own little constellation around the piece.
Utilizing these new technologies and these things that,
maybe, I haven't engaged with in the past, is a way for me to
insert and proclaim that, you know, Tongva people belong in
the future visions of place, the future visions of art and the
future visions of technology.
((NATS))
TEASE ((VO/NAT))
Coming up..
((Banner))
Taking Control
((SOT))
((Vanessa Flores, Member, Biker Chicks))
You have a machine that you are in total control of. You just
sit on it and take it for a ride, and you have a power to slow it
down. You have the power to throttle all the way through. It's
an amazing freedom. It's an amazing feeling of power. And
for Latina women, our struggle is real. So, when we get
behind these bikes, that struggle is gone. It disappears.
BREAK TWO
BUMP IN ((ANIM))
BLOCK C
((PKG)) LATINA BIKERS/BIKER CHICKS
((TRT: 04:11))
((Topic Banner: Freedom on Wheels))
((Reporter/Camera: Genia Dulot))
((Map: Los Angeles, California))
((Main character: 1 female))
((Sub characters: 3 female; 1 male))
((MUSIC/NATS))
((Banner:
In the last decade, the percentage of female motorcyclists
doubled, with women now accounting for one in five riders in
the US: Motorcycle Industry Council))
((Lidia Reyes, Founder, Biker Chicks))
My husbands the one that got into it because of his brother.
They wanted to go, and I was like, "I want to go too." So, my
husband's like, "All right, let's go." So, we took the class. It
was like a four-weekend course. I passed, they didn't, so
that's the biggest joke ever.
((Edgar Reyes, Lidias Husband))
That's because she was a girl and the instructor was a male.
Im kidding. I don't know what happened but yeah, thats
true.
((Lidia Reyes, Founder, Biker Chicks))
At that time, when I first started riding, there wasn't females
taking the class. It was predominantly men and the fact that
my husband was like, "Okay, let's go", I, honestly, I thought it
was a joke because I never saw myself riding, especially
because I am super short and I can never reach the floor on
a regular bike. So, when I got there, they had little bikes.
They had like, you know, like smaller bikes and I was able to
reach on my tippy toes.
After I got on that bike and I figured that I can actually do it,
there was no stopping from there. When you start learning
how to ride and you conquer that fear and learning to face
your fears, that was for me what really got me into riding.
((NATS/MUSIC))
((Lidia Reyes, Founder, Biker Chicks))
From time to time, you get looked at like, you know, like its
almost like a joke. But to me, it's like no, I can ride this bike,
I can ride it hard, and I am not afraid.
((NATS/MUSIC))
((Edgar Reyes, Lidias Husband))
Clubs, riders, you know, they feel like its a mans world.
The women need to be on the back end, and they do and
say as the man does. I look at it different. You know, if they
are capable of doing it, why not? More power to you. Let's do
this.
((NATS))
((Vanessa Flores, Member, Biker Chicks))
You have a machine that you are in total control of. And this
machine can do powerful things and you have control of it.
You just sit on it and take it for a ride, and you have the
power to slow it down. You have the power to throttle all the
way through. It's an amazing freedom. It's an amazing
feeling of power. And for Latina women, our struggle is real.
So, when we get behind these bikes, that struggle is gone. It
disappears.
((Susy Romo, Member, Biker Chicks))
For me riding is, I know it's going sound clich, but it's
freedom. I don't worry about anything. I don't worry about the
house. I don't worry about the kids. I don't worry about
having to cook. Do I need to do laundry, dishes? None of
that. I don't have to worry about any of that when I am on my
bike. When I am on my bike, I am me. I am not the wife. I am
not the mom. I am me. So, I get a little of me back every time
I get on.
((NATS: Susy Romo))
I need help getting up because it's heavy and I am short.
((Mayra Martinez, Member, Biker Chicks))
I just feel very proud of myself. To be a Chicana and be able
to say that I am an independent woman and I have my own
business and I am able to afford these things for myself.
Coming from poverty, because nobody has ever given me
anything. Everything I have, my lowriders or my Harley
Davidson, like it's all because of me or my hard work.
((NATS/MUSIC))
((Lidia Reyes, Founder, Biker Chicks))
Biker Chicks Inc. is a non-profit organization. I created it to
bring the community of women together that ride, and to help
out different causes. So, that's the main reason behind it, is
to unite with other women that ride, that we have that in
common, and we can help either children, animals, other
people in need, through the biker community.
((NATS/MUSIC))
CLOSING BUMPER ((ANIM))
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((PKG)) FREE PRESS MATTERS
((NATS/VIDEO/GFX))
((Popup captions over B Roll))
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Washington, D.C.
May 16, 2017
President Erdogans bodyguard attacks peaceful protesters
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We cover it
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((PROMO))
A DAY IN THE LIFE OF REFUGEES
CLOSING BUMPER ((ANIM))
voanews.com/connect
BREAK THREE
BUMP IN ((ANIM))
SHOW ENDS
EPISODE # 185
AIR DATE: 07 30 2021
TRANSCRIPT
OPEN ((VO/NAT))
((Banner))
Green Transport
((SOT))
((Sam Merrett, Captain/Team Leader, Schooner
Apollonia))
There's an experiential side to it. And so, to some degree,
engaging with people, getting them on boats, getting crew
sailing again, keeping this wisdom alive is the only way it's
going to persist, right?
((Animation Transition))
((Banner))
From Past to Future
((SOT))
((Mercedes Dorame, Native American Artist))
A lot of my work references, objects or culture has been
erased from the history books, and so, I have to give a lot of
history lessons
and tell these stories in a way that people are not familiar
with.
((Animation Transition))
((Banner))
Pushing Boundaries
((SOT))
((Lidia Reyes, Founder, Biker Chicks))
From time to time, you get looked at like, you know, like its
almost like a joke. But to me, it's like no, I can ride this bike,
I can ride it hard, and I am not afraid.
((Open Animation))
BLOCK A
((PKG)) SCHOONER APOLLONIA DELIVERS SAIL
FREIGHT
((TRT: 10:00))
((Topic Banner: Sustainability in Simplicity))
((Reporter/Camera: Aaron Fedor))
((Producer: Kathleen Mclaughlin))
((Editor: Kyle Dubiel))
((Map: Hudson River, New York City - New York))
((Main character: 1 male))
((Sub characters: 1 female; 7 male))
((MUSIC/NATS))
((Sam Merrett, captain and team leader, Schooner
Apollonia))
Hi, I'm Sam Merrett. I'm Captain and Team Leader of the
Schooner Apollonia which is the wonderful ship we're all
aboard right now. The Apollonia is a schooner, which is just
a fancy way of saying it's a sailboat which has more than
one mast and we sail freight and cargo throughout the
Hudson Valley from our home port, right back here in
Hudson, New York, all the way down to New York City.
((MUSIC/NATS))
((Sam Merrett, captain and team leader, Schooner
Apollonia))
All right. Is everybody ready on their lifts?
((Speaker 1))
Yup.
((Sam Merrett, captain and team leader, Schooner
Apollonia))
All right. Go ahead and pull away both lifts. Let's go. All
aboard.
((Sam Merrett, captain and team leader, Schooner
Apollonia))
Were using the wind to transport things sustainably, but with
the purpose of weaving together all of these amazing
producers throughout the Hudson Valley. So, we're
connecting people who make maple syrup right here, people
who make hot sauce right here with consumers down in New
York City and then we're even flipping things around. When
we turn around, we're sailing up cargoes like coffee and
things like that, that you can't really grow around here.
((Sam Merrett, captain and team leader, Schooner
Apollonia))
Our primary cargoes on the Apollonia are brewers malt, oak
logs for mushroom cultivation, bulk flour that was grown and
milled right here in the Hudson Valley and other grains. And
those are what we consider the like bulk cargoes or the large
cargoes. We also have individual cargoes. We work with
small-scale producers delivering everything from honey to
maple syrup to hot sauce. The Apollonia is an old boat. She
actually turned 75 this year. She's from 1946.
((Sam Merrett, captain and team leader, Schooner
Apollonia))
That's the Hudson Athens Lighthouse. That's from 1874 and
it's a fascinating little spot. But yeah, that is up until the
1940s, there was actually a family that lived there that had to
keep a lamp oil fire burning as the only means of navigation
there. Now, the coast guard runs it with a little solar panel
and its kind of a much simpler ordeal.
Matt, let's see if we can get a little speed up and then we'll
tack.
((MUSIC/NATS))
((Sam Merrett, captain and team leader, Schooner
Apollonia))
The Hudson River's an amazing body of water. It presents all
of the challenges of sailing anywhere that I've ever sailed. In
some ways it's more challenging because it tends to be quite
skinny. There's lots of commercial traffic. There's lots of
shallow water, things like that. The wind is always changing
and always fighting with you, but what's amazing about the
Hudson River is the people that it connects. I think that's
what really makes it work for me, is that we're constantly
sailing past towns and people and we're interacting with
them, right? We see our jobs very much as delivering cargo
and also connecting people, connecting whether that's a
producer to a consumer or whether that's just someone who
lives in Hudson with the whereabouts of something cool that
just happened in Kingston. You know, like thats what ships
were historically as they were messengers, not only of cargo
and freight, but also of news and weather and you'd send
something to a friend at another town. And so, I think as
we're trying to encourage folks to think about how the
Hudson River is a way to move things, understanding the
connection is really important.
((MUSIC/NATS))
((Brad Vogel, Partnerships and Logistics))
This is definitely a new thing at the same time because it just
started within the last year to make these runs from Hudson,
New York, down the Hudson River, to here in Brooklyn, New
York,
((Photo Courtesy: Grain de Sail))
and really connecting a lot of different towns and
communities along the way and showing people that there's
a way forward on sustainable freights and cargo.
((Sam Merrett, captain and team leader, Schooner
Apollonia))
Sail freight has been something people have done for
thousands of years,150, 200 years ago in the Hudson Valley
most of what was moved was moved by sloops and
schooners like this on the Hudson River. And of course,
today, there's this crisis we're having with the climate and
we're looking for some solutions and I feel inspired by the
past and feel like this is still a realistic solution. So, the
concept is to try it out and see how it goes. We are looking to
the past, but not in some living history kind of museum way,
just in what were practical solutions like horses, total
renewable energy. The wind obviously still exists. The
Hudson River, still a resource that's here. Once it was the
super highway of the region. Maybe it has a utility as such
again.
((Jamie Pierce, Customer))
Today, I came down to pick up some honey and some cider
that I ordered on the Apollonia.
((Sam Merrett, captain and team leader, Schooner
Apollonia))
So, Lou right here, is riding our.....this is our standard
distribution rig right here and you can just take off whenever
you want.
((Sam Merrett, captain and team leader, Schooner
Apollonia))
It is a Tern e-bike equipped with a Carla trailer. In the trailer
is 400 pounds of malt from upstate farms and Lou is about to
ride it for distribution. In addition to that, what we've got
today is some friends came out with a team of horses. I
mean, this is kind of, we've got in some ways reappropriation
of 18th century technology to be the green version of the
future and horses are obviously a renewable solution.
((NATS))
((Sam Merrett, captain and team leader, Schooner
Apollonia))
The next load is going to Van Brunt,
((Robert Tronsky, Owner, Triple T Farm))
Okay.
((Sam Merrett, captain and team leader, Schooner
Apollonia))
which is the closest delivery. So, that should be nice. Nice
and refreshing load after last time.
((Robert Tronsky, Owner, Triple T Farm))
Yeah. Last one was a boatload.
((Sam Merrett, captain and team leader, Schooner
Apollonia))
Yeah, totally. This one's right around the corner and it's the
rye, which is the unmarked bags. Same stuff we got you. So,
yeah, and he's using that to make a white rye whiskey.
((Robert Tronsky, Owner, Triple T Farm))
Oh.
((Sam Merrett, captain and team leader, Schooner
Apollonia))
So, it should be good hopefully.
((Robert Tronsky, Owner, Triple T Farm))
Yeah.
((Sam Merrett, captain and team leader, Schooner
Apollonia))
Actually, we will be ready by this fall. So, when we do this
again in the fall,
((Robert Tronsky, Owner, Triple T Farm))
Yup. We'll go back out.
((Sam Merrett, captain and team leader, Schooner
Apollonia))
you can taste some of the products of our labor.
((Sam Merrett, captain and team leader, Schooner
Apollonia))
And on the way up, we're going to bring whiskey from Van
Brunt Whiskey, and we're going to bring a bunch of mead
from Enlightenment Wines. We're also rendezvousing with a
French ship
((Photo Courtesy: Grain de Sail))
that sailed wine and chocolate over across the Atlantic
Ocean on Monday.
((Sam Merrett, captain and team leader, Schooner
Apollonia))
So, we're going to have some wine and chocolate in our
northbound cargo. And there's probably something else I'm
forgetting, but thats, you know, it's been a long trip, been
underway for about a week now. So, yeah, we're just trying
to get the boat unloaded and things being squared away.
((MUSIC/NATS))
((Speaker 2))
Hoist up the John Bs sails.
See how the main sail sets.
((Sam Merrett, captain and team leader, Schooner
Apollonia))
You have to understand that the people we work with are
very passionate about what they're making and very
thoughtful about that. And they've thought about the taste.
They've thought about the impact. They've thought about the
producers. The idea of supporting local farms to a lot of
these people is common practice, right? And the idea of
organic produce and fair trade and how the labor is treated.
And they're really trying to make the best product and that's
not just flavor. That's also story and impact.
And then I think, by and large, they all take the trucking part
for granted, right? You build it. You need to get it to
someone. You make it. You need to get it to someone. What
do you do? You throw it on a truck that, sort of, is how our
distribution network is set up. And so, when we approach
them with the idea that there was an alternative, I think at
first, they, sort of, didn't really believe us and then we've
been, sort of, demonstrating that that's the case and building
a network of people who have faith in us.
((Tanya van Renesse, Crew Member))
There's a lot of people who try and do something like this. I
mean, when he got this boat, it was just bare bones. There
wasn't no mast, no booms and in just a couple of years, he
put it all together. If it wasn't for his just like amazing like
drive and energy, it would never ever been able to take
place.
((MUSIC/NATS))
((Speaker 6))
I feel so broken up,
I want to go home.
((MUSIC))
((Sam Merrett, captain and team leader, Schooner
Apollonia))
For us, part of this is that sailing and many of the, sort of,
traditional crafts, you can't preserve them in books. I mean,
you can write amazing stories about sailing. Obviously, you
could write down the goods. But the truth is, if you don't do it,
you'll never really know how to do it, right? There's an
experiential side to it. And so, to some degree, engaging
with people, getting them on boats, getting crew sailing
again, keeping this wisdom alive is the only way it's going to
persist, right?
((Matthew Soltesz, Crew member))
When people hear we're delivering by sail, they're first
confused and just, "No way." Like, "No, really. No fossil
fuels?" "Yeah, none." And then, "Interesting." And then their
second question is, "Well, do the numbers add up?" I was
like, "Well, that's the point. That's what we're working on."
And I think when we explain what we're doing, I think people
overwhelmingly just understand that, you know, the system
that we have working now just does what's not working. The
system that's in place right now is not working and it's not
sustainable. And it's just the power structure, trade structure,
everything. It's not sustainable. It's good for now. It's good
for maybe 10 years, but it's not going to be good in 50 years
and sure as hell not good for our grandchildren. So, there's
got to be a way to change things. And this is a small attempt.
It's a test case, but it gets the conversation started. So, that's
the point.
((MUSIC/NATS))
TEASE ((VO/NAT))
Coming up..
((Banner))
Reclaiming Home
((SOT))
((Mercedes Dorame, Native American Artist))
So, I always have this feeling that Im, you know, moving
through Los Angeles, moving through this territory that's my
ancestral homelands, but theres all these private property
signs and people call me a trespassing or call me a
trespasser. And so, its this odd feeling of, you know, this
deep connection and then kind of also being told that I don't
belong here.
BREAK ONE
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BLOCK B
((PKG)) NATIVE AMERICAN ART IN AUGMENTED
REALITY FORMAT
((TRT: 04:28))
((Topic Banner: Native Art Augmented))
((Reporter/Camera: Genia Dulot))
((Map: Los Angeles, California))
((Main characters: 1 female; 1 male))
((NATS))
((Mercedes Dorame, Native American Artist))
I grew up in Los Angeles. Part of my cultural ancestry is
Tongva, which are the original people of Los Angeles. And a
lot of my work revolves around looking at land, land access.
Our tribe is not federally recognized, which means we don't
have sovereign land base. So, I always have this feeling that
Im, you know, moving through Los Angeles, moving through
this territory that's my ancestral homelands, but theres all
these private property signs and people call me a
trespassing or call me a trespasser. And so, its this odd
feeling of, you know, this deep connection and then kind of
also being told that I don't belong here.
((Mercedes Dorame, Native American Artist))
So, I make these kind of constellation cosmic spaces as a
way to kind of point people into interacting with something
that they can recognize. A lot of my work references, objects
or culture that has been erased from the history books, and
so, I have to give a lot of history lessons and tell these
stories in a way that people are not familiar with.
((Banner:
"Portal for Tovaangar" by Mercedes Dorame is one of five
augmented reality works set up by the Los Angeles County
Museum of Art (LACMA) in collaboration with Snapchat.))
((NATS))
((Mercedes Dorame, Native American Artist))
Translating my physical work and my installations into this
digital kind of augmented reality space, really points this
Indigenous presence, this Tongva presence, to the future for
me.
((Stuart "Sutu" Campbell, Extended Reality Artist))
If I create an augmented reality artwork, that is, you're
looking at it through your phone and it's activated in that
physical space, that's a spatial artwork. So, what we have at
LACMA is a spatial artwork.
((Stuart "Sutu" Campbell, Extended Reality Artist))
As my hand moves around this environment, I am holding
down the trigger and the red strings growing out of the
controller. So, what I am doing here now is like I can grab
the artwork with my controllers and I can scale it up and look
at it very closely. And what I've done, I've pulled in a photo of
Mercedes' artwork, which I am using as a reference at the
bottom of this sculpture, and I am then sculpting on top of it
everything else, the ropes and the rocks, and then I
recreated it in a 3D program.
((Stuart "Sutu" Campbell, Extended Reality Artist))
This is Snapchat's Lens Studio, what we are looking at the
moment. So, what you can see here is the same painted
artwork. It's now being placed on the floor in this 3D
environment. So, I'll send it to my device.
((Stuart "Sutu" Campbell, Extended Reality Artist))
So, now we have the artwork. It's in my living room. I don't
have a lot of space in my living room, so I'll shrink it down a
bit. And you can see the artwork is now on the floor and then
I can go in close and I can look at the details.
((Stuart "Sutu" Campbell, Extended Reality Artist))
We have these big, long ropes stretching out everywhere in
every which direction and immediately when I gave it to my
friend's daughter, who is like five-years old, she started
crawling under the ropes and climbing over the ropes and
like literally on her back on the ground, sliding around the
ground. And it was really motivating her to explore the art
from all those different vantage points.
((Stuart "Sutu" Campbell, Extended Reality Artist))
We can do that with physical art, but it was interesting to see
that we also can do that with these virtual artworks, that
something that's not tangible, has that power. Like you know
that you can walk through it, but still she was kind of going
underneath it.
((Mercedes Dorame, Native American Artist))
The stones kind of have their own life. The stones, which
was really fun, which I can't do when Im making an
installation like that, are like up in the air and they kind of
create their own little constellation around the piece.
Utilizing these new technologies and these things that,
maybe, I haven't engaged with in the past, is a way for me to
insert and proclaim that, you know, Tongva people belong in
the future visions of place, the future visions of art and the
future visions of technology.
((NATS))
TEASE ((VO/NAT))
Coming up..
((Banner))
Taking Control
((SOT))
((Vanessa Flores, Member, Biker Chicks))
You have a machine that you are in total control of. You just
sit on it and take it for a ride, and you have a power to slow it
down. You have the power to throttle all the way through. It's
an amazing freedom. It's an amazing feeling of power. And
for Latina women, our struggle is real. So, when we get
behind these bikes, that struggle is gone. It disappears.
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BLOCK C
((PKG)) LATINA BIKERS/BIKER CHICKS
((TRT: 04:11))
((Topic Banner: Freedom on Wheels))
((Reporter/Camera: Genia Dulot))
((Map: Los Angeles, California))
((Main character: 1 female))
((Sub characters: 3 female; 1 male))
((MUSIC/NATS))
((Banner:
In the last decade, the percentage of female motorcyclists
doubled, with women now accounting for one in five riders in
the US: Motorcycle Industry Council))
((Lidia Reyes, Founder, Biker Chicks))
My husbands the one that got into it because of his brother.
They wanted to go, and I was like, "I want to go too." So, my
husband's like, "All right, let's go." So, we took the class. It
was like a four-weekend course. I passed, they didn't, so
that's the biggest joke ever.
((Edgar Reyes, Lidias Husband))
That's because she was a girl and the instructor was a male.
Im kidding. I don't know what happened but yeah, thats
true.
((Lidia Reyes, Founder, Biker Chicks))
At that time, when I first started riding, there wasn't females
taking the class. It was predominantly men and the fact that
my husband was like, "Okay, let's go", I, honestly, I thought it
was a joke because I never saw myself riding, especially
because I am super short and I can never reach the floor on
a regular bike. So, when I got there, they had little bikes.
They had like, you know, like smaller bikes and I was able to
reach on my tippy toes.
After I got on that bike and I figured that I can actually do it,
there was no stopping from there. When you start learning
how to ride and you conquer that fear and learning to face
your fears, that was for me what really got me into riding.
((NATS/MUSIC))
((Lidia Reyes, Founder, Biker Chicks))
From time to time, you get looked at like, you know, like its
almost like a joke. But to me, it's like no, I can ride this bike,
I can ride it hard, and I am not afraid.
((NATS/MUSIC))
((Edgar Reyes, Lidias Husband))
Clubs, riders, you know, they feel like its a mans world.
The women need to be on the back end, and they do and
say as the man does. I look at it different. You know, if they
are capable of doing it, why not? More power to you. Let's do
this.
((NATS))
((Vanessa Flores, Member, Biker Chicks))
You have a machine that you are in total control of. And this
machine can do powerful things and you have control of it.
You just sit on it and take it for a ride, and you have the
power to slow it down. You have the power to throttle all the
way through. It's an amazing freedom. It's an amazing
feeling of power. And for Latina women, our struggle is real.
So, when we get behind these bikes, that struggle is gone. It
disappears.
((Susy Romo, Member, Biker Chicks))
For me riding is, I know it's going sound clich, but it's
freedom. I don't worry about anything. I don't worry about the
house. I don't worry about the kids. I don't worry about
having to cook. Do I need to do laundry, dishes? None of
that. I don't have to worry about any of that when I am on my
bike. When I am on my bike, I am me. I am not the wife. I am
not the mom. I am me. So, I get a little of me back every time
I get on.
((NATS: Susy Romo))
I need help getting up because it's heavy and I am short.
((Mayra Martinez, Member, Biker Chicks))
I just feel very proud of myself. To be a Chicana and be able
to say that I am an independent woman and I have my own
business and I am able to afford these things for myself.
Coming from poverty, because nobody has ever given me
anything. Everything I have, my lowriders or my Harley
Davidson, like it's all because of me or my hard work.
((NATS/MUSIC))
((Lidia Reyes, Founder, Biker Chicks))
Biker Chicks Inc. is a non-profit organization. I created it to
bring the community of women together that ride, and to help
out different causes. So, that's the main reason behind it, is
to unite with other women that ride, that we have that in
common, and we can help either children, animals, other
people in need, through the biker community.
((NATS/MUSIC))
CLOSING BUMPER ((ANIM))
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((PKG)) FREE PRESS MATTERS
((NATS/VIDEO/GFX))
((Popup captions over B Roll))
Near the Turkish Embassy
Washington, D.C.
May 16, 2017
President Erdogans 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
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wherever the news matters
VOA
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((PROMO))
A DAY IN THE LIFE OF REFUGEES
CLOSING BUMPER ((ANIM))
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SHOW ENDS
