Three Days in Rome

A few pictures from a trip to Rome back in May.

A Few Days in Athens

Roma

Recently visited Rome and Athens in a whirlwind tour of antiquity. It was a trip of a lifetime, seeing the landmarks that I've read about for so long. It was a fast trip, didn't quite get a sample of the culture but I wouldn't have changed a thing.

And also, I have replaced my camera, which was stolen last November. So more pictures are coming. 

Seven Little Lambs

My co-worker's neighbor had excitedly told her community that one of her ewes had given birth to seven little lambs, an impressive number even for the finn sheep, which apparently give birth to a bunch. We figured it was a nice, cute, little quick video story.

On the Space Needle's Roof

Some time ago, the Space Needle kicked off their 50th anniversary celebrations by inviting a bunch of journalists to the Needle's roof to photograph the family who owns the landmark paint the roof. So on a regular cloudy Seattle day, we went to the top.

A taste of the 1990s at the Sonics rally

With Payton, Detlef, and Kemp making appearances and a KUBE 93 DJ emceeing, a recent rally for the return of the Sonics felt a little like a time capsule. But overall, it was quite fun to shoot.

The Squirrel Eating Lady

Some time ago, we did our own version of the story featuring a Seattle lady who likes to trap neighborhood squirrels and eat them from time to time. I guess this is quite common in some parts of the South but here in animal-loving Seattle, this was a bit of weird news.

The woman used to be a vegan, by the way.

Flash Bang

 I was almost hit by flash bang at a recent Occupy Seattle protest.

And it was kind of fun.

That day my assignment was to cover the Occupy The Ports protest in Seattle. Similar protests were happening along the West Coast. In Seattle, Occupy had decided to march from downtown to Port of Seattle's Harbor Island, which houses a handful of terminals.

It all started with the standard fare: people blocking semis, then police moving in, followed by chants, and speakers. Like many Occupy events, it wasn't exactly an organized event. From the get-go, the crowd of about 500 people split into several areas near the entrances to the port. One group had speakers, others picketed in front of an entrance, and yet another, had more disruptive plans.

To make their point, a group of the protesters grabbed debris from the area _ wooden crates, metal scraps _ and blocked one of the main streets. They had a huge banner, and began to chant.

Mounted police moved in.

By the time I got there, the protesters were trying to "hold the line" by pushing against the mounted police. I saw a couple of them lighting flares, then I saw one of the flares fly toward the horses, prompting the cops to become more aggressive about cleaning the street. A tussle broke out, with the cops forcefully removing people, and protesters pushing back. One person threw a sign at the cops.

As it was getting heated, I was in the middle of the barricade, I decided to step to the side to avoid any injuries. As I did that, a loud boom went off, and smoke from a percussion grenades went up. Then a second grenade went off near me, about 10 feet maybe. Check the video out.

I was told the police horses were hit by paint, which they had a hard time removing from their skin :(


And here, a picture from my phone:

Camera Stolen

Sigh. There will be no more pictures on this blog for a while. My camera was stolen from my car. I can't remember if I locked it. Cop said the door could have been picked open too.

Filed a police report, though I doubt it will do anything. Cop said to call all the pawn shops in the area tomorrow.

Sigh.

-M

Missing Child

A few weeks back I got to do a video report on the disappearance of a 2-year-old boy in Bellevue, Wash. The story around it is weird, to put it nicely. The mother claimed that he left the boy in her car after it ran out of gas, but police later on said there was enough gas in the tank. This plays against the backdrop of a bitter custody battle between the two parents.