The State of Our Community - Transcripts & Your Thoughts

[Lumière]

I am so sorry I missed the live broadcast, but i am listening to it now!

So far, I've listened to Daniel and I am now listening to Phillip's speech! 

Be back later. 

~M

[Lumière]

Thank you so much Phillip and thank you to everyone who called in and left a message.
It was amazing to get to hear your voices!  Truly amazing!

Hey Chrissi - Just to update your list .. I am number 8! 

Cheers everyone! 
Thank you Phillip and John for your continued efforts!  We appreciate it and love ya!

~M

[Phillip Dampier]

Behind The Scenes: What You Didn't Hear

(This article had to be moved out of the original thread because I actually achieved the maximum possible size of a message the software can handle.  I guess I am more long-winded than I thought!)

The presentation ended up being about a month later than I expected.  A lot more work was involved in putting this together and making sure it included every important event and person than I anticipated, and a rotten cold was a major setback, as it ruined my voice for nearly two weeks.  It took approximately 30 hours of research, writing, revising, and recording the actual speech.  Both Lynne and Ellemeno provided assistance in fact-checking, clarity, and making sure I didn't forget anybody.

Brokeback Mountain Radio One launched with the live stream just a few minutes before 9pm ET.  One of the side effects of live streaming is that it boots everyone off the stream during the changeover.  I wanted to get the stream running about 15-20 minutes before, but I was extremely pressed for time, not putting the finishing touches on the broadcast until minutes before it aired.

The first (and last) song aired on the stream during the "tune-up" was Sarah Evans & Vince Gill - No Place That Far.  The opening moment of thought was written and recorded by Daniel, our BetterMost sage.  Although it was originally intended to be part of the greetings segment, I thought it worked far better as an opening.

The speech itself ran about 40 minutes.  If I had more time, I might have added a bit more audio to break up the monotony of 40 minutes of me, but I elected to spend more time on the two segments that followed.

My intention with the Greetings section of the presentation was twofold - to proudly emphasize we've all begun a Brand New Day in a moving way.  The song in question was an extended (very extended in fact, as you hear part of the music running throughout the entire section of calls) remix of the song by that name recorded by the stars of The Wiz.  Some have already made mention that if people didn't know I was gay before, they do now.    I liked the energy of the song, what can I say?

The phoned-in greetings took a considerable amount of time to bring together.  Audio was cleaned up, and some phone lines were notoriously bad and I did the best I could.  Any undue pauses, "ummms" or stumbles were removed by me to make sure you all came out great!  I am so grateful for everyone who participated, and it's given us ideas for some new projects to work on, because everyone loved to hear the voices behind the words!

The final part was my personal homage to Brokeback Mountain, taking the listener back to a journey that started with Jack and Ennis in rural Wyoming in 1963, drifted through their 20 years of their history together, and finished with a song that I hope sent a message that it's not just their lives being touched, it has grabbed the Time of Our Lives as well!  Sometimes people that come before us help blaze a trail that makes it easier for those of us who follow in their footsteps.  For those living their lives today...

There's a time for us to let go
There's a time for holding on
A time to speak, a time to listen
There's a time for us to grow

There's a time for laying low down
There's a time for getting high
A time for peace, a time for fighting
A time to live, a time to die

A time to scream, a time for silence
A time for truth against the lie
A time for faith, a time for science
There's a time for us to shine

There's a time for mixed believing
There's a time to understand
A time for hurt, a time for healing
A time to run, and make a stand

This is the time
Of our lives...

 

That song moved me when I first heard it a few years ago, and I hope it moved you as well.  It's my first experiment into what I call a Soundscape, with natural sounds and movie dialogue blended within and between songs that express a sentiment.  I will be creating a longer form of this in the future, with a variety of songs.  I believe in the power of restful contemplation -- closing your eyes, turning the lights off, and just ...listening.  I'd love to include the sounds of the wind and nature atop and around the mountains of the western states and provinces.  Just listen and let yourself drift there.

I hope that your experience with this hour and some was enjoyable, and perhaps even moving -- Some time to look back, reflect, and consider where we've been and were we're going.  Your help on this journey together is essential, so when you see or think of something that could be a great addition to our community, making you want to spend even more time here, please let us know!

[Phillip Dampier]

Yay!  The official transcripts are complete for everyone to enjoy.  Whew... lotta work!

[Front-Ranger]

This is no little thing that you've done here! Whoo-eee!!

[belbbmfan]

Yay!  The official transcripts are complete for everyone to enjoy.  Whew... lotta work!

Mayor Phillip, what can I say? This is truly a labour of love. Thank you so much! 

[Cameron]

Hi,

I just wanted to say I listened to all of it last night.  Phillip, what a great speech!  You did re-inspire me to use BBM to help change my life.  It was great!

I so enjoyed hearing all of your messages.  It was absolutely tremendous to hear all of your voices and all of your great words.  I wish that I hadn't been too shy to say hello to everyone too.

Great Job Phillip, and everyone here at BM

Thank You

[fritzkep]

As a new member here, just wanted to say that I listened last night and enjoyed it very much. Thank you all!

[mvansand76]

This was absolutely wonderful to listen to!!!!

Thank you so much to everybody who contributed, it was great to hear your voices!

 

Mel

[Kerry]

I couldn't listen live 'cause it started at 12 midday on Wednesday here in Australia. I sometimes log-onto BetterMost from work, when I'm having a quiet day. Alas, wouldn't you know it, Wednesday was a particularly manic day, and I couldn't log-on.     I've tried clicking onto the broadband link in the first post of this thread (I have wireless broadband at home) without success. Seems to chug away for hours, leading me nowhere. I'll wait until Phillip installs the on-line play button, and try accessing the broadcast that way. I'm so sorry I missed the live broadcast. Would have loved to have been listening live. Sounds like it all went very well. I'm really keen to hear the voices of my BetterMost friends!    Congratulations to Phillip and the team.