Interview with renowned photographer Spike Mafford

Born in México, photographer Spike Mafford was educated in California and eventually relocated to Seattle.

Throughout the journey, Spike has sought the ideal image, which he describes “hunting the perfect moment, which is invariably a fleeting one. I love the sense of the elusive 'now' that one tries to capture.” This journey has not only carried him from one end of the North American continent to another; but has enabled him to marry the disparate worlds of sun-bleached México and rainy Seattle in a way only he could.
Whether capturing a stark leafless tree through a stucco porthole and the confetti-laden sugared skulls of Día de los Muertos celebration or the opulence of Seattle’s courthouse terrazzo floor, Spike’s images are infused with a stark elegance.
He talks to Darek Mazzone about his process and inspiration

http://crossfader.com/full_content.aspx?id=163

The Program - Five nights that celebrate the best of Northwest hiphop

THE PROGRAM
The best of Northwest hiphop

The first 2 nights of the Program we’re off the hook and totally sold out!
It is the biggest showcase of NW Hip Hop and Production ever and the depth and quality of talent is staggering. To see so many producers using their PC’s to create this amount of work is definitely encouraging for the future.
The fact that it’s an all ages show has added a new level of excitement and crowd participation from the audience.
Look for interviews with some of the major players in the next few days at http://www.crossfader.com/

What it is?
Five nights that celebrate the best of Northwest hiphop, at Neumo’s December 18-22

Why it is?

The 2000s have seen the explosionof the NW hiphop scene, from the success of local producers to breakdance crews winning national championships to Northwest groups touring internationally and fans coming out in droves to support local shows. One of the groups at the center of this excitement has been who came into existence in 2003, achieved local recognition in 2005, and reached national recognition this year with their second CD, Bayani. Prior to releasing Bayani in June of 2007 on the legendary Rawkus Records in a joint venture with their own label Massline, Blue Scholars had sold out Seattle’s Showbox several times, including a two-night stand that sold out in advance.

Crossfader.com using Silverlight

Croosfader.com is one of the first sites to choose Silverlight for his online video magzine
Now you can get high-quality video to all major browsers running on the Mac OS or Windows.

What is crossfader
Crossfader is a online magazine aimed at the professional and next generation digital artists. Our main goal was to create a site that features video interviews and stories with artists who use technology in their work. We feel the PC has transformed how art and expression is made and we’d like to share that story. Our motto is Artist. Creative. expression aimed at the professional and next generation digital artists. Our main goal was to create a site that features video interviews and stories with artists who use technology in their work. We feel the PC has transformed how art and expression is made and we’d like to share that story. Our motto is Artist. Creative. expression
http://crossfader.com/default.aspx

What is Silverlight ?
Microsoft® Silverlight™ is a cross-browser, cross-platform plug-in for delivering the next generation of .NET based media experiences and rich interactive applications for the Web. Silverlight offers a flexible programming model that supports AJAX, VB, C#, Python, and Ruby, and integrates with existing Web applications. Silverlight supports fast, cost-effective delivery of high-quality video to all major browsers running on the Mac OS or Windows.

Share Your Studio Experience" online video editing contest by Microsoft & Pinnacle

Today we are announcing a new contest

Since the “Share Your Pinnacle Studio Experience” contest went live in July in the US and Europe, the number of contestants and site visitors has continued to grow, reaching more than 1.75 million page views and more than 700 video submissions by the end of December. Visitors to the contest’s web site have been showcasing their creative pieces, enjoying the diversity of the submitted videos, voting or rating their favorites, reading about user experiences and sharing editing techniques.
“The Ultimate Pinnacle Studio Experience” new video contest will enable even more users of Pinnacle Studio software users to share their creativity and experiences with thousands of visitors from around the world. Eligibility has been extended to include US and Canadian (excluding Quebec) users with all versions of Pinnacle Studio software, not just Pinnacle Studio 11. In addition, the contest will now accept one submission per email address, rather than one per household.
Pinnacle Systems has also lined up an exciting group of prizes that will be awarded to the contest’s winners. First-place winner will receive a Microsoft® Xbox 360 Elite, a Pinnacle PCTV™ HD Ultimate Stick and Pinnacle Title Extreme. For second place, the winner will receive a Microsoft® Zune 80GB, a Pinnacle PCTV HD Card and the Pinnacle Scorefitter™ product vol. 1 & 2 with original, royalty-free songs for use with Pinnacle Studio v.11. Third-place winner will receive a Microsoft® Zune 30GB and the Pinnacle Scorefitter product vol. 1 & 2.

Jake One: Producer & DJ

Jake One’s long history of production began in 1992, when he was inspired to begin creating beats by Sensimilla producer Hussein and Vitamin D (Derrick Brown). After collaborating with underground hip-hop artists Boom Bap Project and Sharpshooters, Jake’s production was usurped by the commercial world of rap—artists 50 Cent, Kutfather, Snoop Dogg, G-Unit and E-40 have either directly featured his production on their albums or highlighted his work on full-lengths and compilations. Jake’s beats appear on records released by Rhymesayers Entertainment, Quannum, Epitaph Records, EMI Canada, Interscope and Columbia.

Crossfader interviewed Jake in his Seattle Capitol Hill studio, where he discussed his vinyl obsession, musical modus operandi, and the stealthy and humble way in which he represents Seattle hip-hop for the United States in totality.

http://crossfader.com/full_content.aspx?id=159