VIDEO: AMY GUITTARD OF GUITTARD CHOCOLATE COMPANY

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We sat down to speak with Amy Guittard of Guittard Chocolate Company to find what it takes to run a 150 year old chocolate company that runs 24/7 and produces over 200 chocolate products. Guittard Chocolate Company is one of the best kept secrets of San Francisco. The company was founded by Etienne Guittard in 1868, who came from France during California’s Gold Rush.

Amy Guittard is a fifth generation member of the family and the first woman to work in the chocolate company. She wears many hats and one of them is director of marking and she also works quite a bit with the sustainability aspect of the company. We also talk about her parents and how she came to write Guittard Chocolate Cookbook that is based on her family recipes.

This interview aired on TV in the US and is part of our Women in Science, Tech & Business series sponsored by Zoho Corp.

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VIDEO: MONTEREY BAY AQUARIUM

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This was my first trip to the Monterey Bay Aquarium that is about 90 minutes away from Silicon Valley. While I have visited Monterey and Carmel many times, I never did manage to visit the famous aquarium. Monterey Bay Aquarium demands your total attention from the moment you step in. There is so much to see and learn about oceans and marine life and how to conserve them. You need about 5-6 hours to explore the museum and even then you might feel you did not do justice to it.

The Monterey Bay Aquarium is located right down the famous Cannery Row of Monterey.

 

The aquarium is located in a former sardine factory. You can find out more about the history of the former sardine factory right as you enter the aquarium.

There is so much to see and experience at the aquarium from the kelp forest to the live feeding of penguins to exploring the Ocean’s Edge, the sardines, jellyfish, the sharks, stingrays and other marine life. I found myself standing mesmerized by the Kelp Forest exhibit and had to reluctantly walk away to explore other parts of the aquarium like The Open Sea and the jelly fish exhibit.

DIRECTIONS TO THE MONTEREY BAY AQUARIUM: The Monterey Bay Aquarium is about 90 minutes from Silicon Valley. We parked at the Cannery Row Parking Garage and walked down to the aquarium.

VISITING THE MONTEREY BAY AQUARIUM: The  aquarium is open from 9.30 to 6.00 pm PST. Check Monterey Bay Aquarium’s website before you plan your visit.

RELATED LINKS: Travelling through the back roads of Gilroy, Salinas, Watsonville and Carmel

You can watch our weekly TV show in the US. Here is a list of TV stations in the US that broadcast our show. You can subscribe to our YouTube channel and podcast where we feature new interviews.

VIDEO: FILMMAKER AMIT MADHESHIYA ON THE CINEMA TRAVELLERS, WALTER MURCH & FILMS

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Filmmakers Amit Madheshiya and Shirley Abraham’s award-winning documentary The Cinema Travellers shows you a different side of India’s love for films. The duo takes you on a magical ride around the small villages and towns outside of Mumbai (Bombay), India’ entertainment capital, which is home to Bollywood film industry. What we get to see in the film is a dedicated band of cinema travellers or dream merchants who show films to an audience that gets to see 35mm films about once a year.What you see is a whole different world – an analog world filled with old 35mm films and 35mm projectors and the films are screened in pitched tents.

We sat down to speak with Madheshiya during the 2017 San Francisco International Film Festival. Madheshiya and Abraham produced, directed and co-wrote their debut film that took them nearly 8 years to make. Both had to learn a lot about filmmaking and how to edit the film. Madheshiya shares that he learnt a lot by reading Academy Award winner Walter Murch’s (The Godfather) books and watching his films.  The films’ cinematography is the one that hooks you into the film and we wanted to find out how Madheshiya shot the film and what kind of camera he used. We also find out how he developed an interest in photography and about his mentor in his boarding school in Nainital, India. Tune in to find out about the making of The Cinema Travellers.

This interview was aired on TV in the US. Here is a list of TV stations in the US that broadcast our show. You can subscribe to our YouTube channel and podcast where we feature new interviews.

VIDEO: ROBERT BYRNE OF SAN FRANCISCO SILENT FILM FESTIVAL

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Meet Robert Byrne, President, Board of Directors of San Francisco Silent Film Festival, film restorer and engineer. We sat dow to talk about how he developed his passion for silent films, the legacy of silent films and his work in restoring silent films. We also find out why Byrne switched his major from film and theatre to computer science. After working as an engineer for many years, he went back to pursuing his primary passion in films.

Many films were destroyed or lost over the decades. But every now and then a lost print will surface like the 1916 on Sherlock Holmes starring William Gillette. Byrne was involved in the restoration of this iconic  film since Gillette is the one who created that memorable get-up for Holmes through his stage play, which later on became a silent film. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle approved of Gillette’s stage play on Holmes. That long coat,  curved pipe and the deerstalker hat are creations of Gillette points out Byrne.

Every June the San Francisco Silent Film Festival takes place where they showcase silent films from around the world. The festival recreates the silent film era experience complete with live music by well-known orchestras. This year the San Francisco Silent Film Festival runs from June 1 through June 4, 2017 at the Castro Theatre.

You can watch our weekly TV show in the US. Here is a list of TV stations in the US that broadcast our show. You can subscribe to our YouTube channel and podcast where every week we feature new interviews.

VIDEO: WOMEN IN TECH SERIES – SUZANNE FREY OF GOOGLE

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Meet Suzanne Frey, Director, Trust, Security, Privacy, Google Apps at Google. Frey has a liberal arts degree from Wellesley College and ended up working in the technology sector. After working for a few years,  Frey decided to get an MBA from MIT and was on her way to becoming an entrepreneur when she got an offer from Google. She joined Google over 10 years ago and is a founding member of Google’s global Women@ leadership organization. Frey is also on the board of Motley Fool.

We sat down to speak with Frey about her journey from her home state of Pennsylvania to Silicon Valley. What was her journey like? How did her father’s hard work influence her? How did she go from a liberal arts background to working in the tech industry? Tune in to find out.

How did she do it? What was her journey like to working in the tech industry? How did she do it?

This interview aired on TV in the US and is part of our Women in Science & Tech series sponsored by Zoho Corp.

You can watch our weekly TV show in the US. Here is a list of TV stations in the US that broadcast our show. You can subscribe to our YouTube channel and podcast where we feature new interviews.

VIDEO: DR. RAJNI AGARWAL-HASHMI OF STANFORD’S CHILDREN HOSPITAL ON STEM CELL TRANSPLANT

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We sat down to speak with Dr. Rajni Agarwal-Hashmi about her work in stem cell transplant for children and how they go from the bench to the bedside in treating their patients. She is Associate Prof & Medical Director, Pediatric Cell Transplant Program, Stanford Children’s Health.

Dr. Agarwal-Hashmi’s developed an interest in stem cell or cord cell transplant in the 1980s after listening to a talk by a doctor in India. She eventually came to the US and worked at the National Institute of Health with Dr. Arhtur Neinhuis and Dr. Cynthia Dunbar. She went on to work at Children’s Hospital Medical Center in Cincinnati, OH. She helped establish a research lab on stem cells at the hospital.

We were curious to find out what led Dr. Agarwal-Hashmi to pursue a career in medicine? How did she prepare for a career in medicine? What was the role of her parents? What advice did her mother give that prompted her to pursue a career in pediatrics? What were the challenges she overcame when went to medical school? Tune in to find out.

This interview aired on TV in the US and is part of our Women in Science & Tech series sponsored by Zoho Corp.

You can watch our weekly TV show in the US. Here is a list of TV stations in the US that broadcast our show. You can subscribe to our YouTube channel and podcast where every week we feature new interviews.

 

 

VIDEO: AARON LINGTON & CHRIS MOTTER ON JAZZ AND JAZZ IMPROVISATION

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We sat down to speak with Dr. Aaron Lington and Chris Motter on jazz and jazz improvisation.  Dr. Lington shares how technology has changed the way people play and learn to play jazz. There is a lot students can do with technology today he shares.  Mother shares how he uses technology to transcribe the music on his computer and learn to play tracks.

How and when do they start improvising well-known jazz standards? It is a 3-stage process explains Dr. Lington. It starts with mimicking, followed by assimilation and finally innovate on that track. Not every jazz musician gets to that third stage of innovation he points out. Louis Armstrong was an innovator as was Duke Ellington among others he adds.

Dr.Lington and Motter then do a show and tell of jazz improvisation. They play a few well-known jazz standards like Billy Strayhorn’s Take The A Train followed by their version of improvisation.

Dr. Lington plays the baritone saxophone and Motter plays jazz guitar. Dr. Lington is a musician, teacher and composer, who teaches at San Jose State University. He is also a member of the Grammy winning band Pacific Mambo Orchestra. Motter graduated from San Jose University in music.

April is #jazzappreciation month.

This interview was sponsored by Zoho Corp and aired on TV in the US.

Here is a list of TV stations in the US that broadcast our show. You can subscribe to our  YouTube channel and podcast where every week we feature new interviews.

VIDEO: FILMMAKER JAMES GRAY ON “THE LOST CITY OF Z”

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We caught up with filmmaker James Gray to talk about his new film The Lost City of Z. Gray was in San Francisco to attend the 60th San Francisco International Film Festival. We spoke to Gray about why Brad Pitt sent him the novel and how he got attached to the project and what did he learn from making the film.

The Lost City of Z is based on David Grann’s best-selling novel by the same name. Gray wrote, directed and co-produced the film that was largely shot in Columbia, South America.  This is a true story about an early 20th British explorer Lt. Colonel Percy Fawcett, who was convinced there was a lost civilization in the Amazon. Finding that lost city became Fawett’s magificient obsession and over a course of 20 odd years he made multiple trips to South America in search of the city. He was convinced he had found the remnants of an ancient civilization, but he had a hard time convincing others of his finding.

The film stars Charlie Hunnam, Sienna Miller, Robert Pattinson and Tom Holland among others.

The Lost City of Z  releases in the San Francisco March 10, 2017.

  • Title: THE LOST CITY OF Z
  • Running Time: 150 minutes
  • Status: Releases April 21, 2017
  • Country:USA
  • GENRE: DRAMA

This interview aired on TV in the US. Here is a list of TV stations in the US that broadcast our show. You can subscribe to our  YouTube channel and podcast where every week we feature new interviews.

 

VIDEO: NICOLE LAZZARO ON VIRTUAL REALITY & DESIGNING GAMES

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We sit down to talk to Nicole Lazzaro,CEO of XEO Design about the fun and emotion of games and why we play them. This is part of our Women in Science and Tech series.

Lazzaro talks about her fascination with designing and creating games and about Virtual Reality (VR). Lazzaro has been designing games for over 20 years and she has a VR game called Follow The White Rabbit that is inspired by her childhood memories of wonder and awe and traveling.

Wha advice does she have if someone is interested in designing games. Her reply was – learn to code and read lots of science fiction books.

This interview aired on TV in the US and is part of our Women in Science & Tech series sponsored by Zoho Corp.

You can watch our weekly TV show in the US. Here is a list of TV stations in the US that broadcast our show. You can subscribe to our YouTube channel and podcast where every week we feature new interviews.

REMEMBERING BILLIE HOLIDAY ON HER BIRTHDAY

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Jazz musician and composer Billie Holiday would have been 102 years old today. She was born on April 7, 1915 in Philadelphia  and died rather young on  July 17, 1959.

Holiday was a gifted singer, whose voice captured deep and complex emotions in an effortless manner. You simply can’t be indifferent to Holiday’s music, especially her voice. Emotional, moody, soulful are some of the words that come to mind when you listen to her sing. There was something magical about her voice that made you sit up and take notice. You simply cannot ignore Holiday’s voice.

Holiday has the ability to convey emotion writes Tom Vitale in this article. He points out that Holiday was greatly influence by Louis Armstrong’s vocal style. Until I read Vitale’s article I had not made the connection on how strong Armstrong’s influence was on Holiday.

“Even when she sang a happy song, she seemed half in a dream world she wasn’t sure she should share,” writes Geoffrey Himes in What Makes Billie Holiday’s Music So Powerful Today.

Holiday started singing in the 1930s. “There was something special about her. Jazz musicians and some fans heard it, and so did a young record producer named John Hammond. He heard an 18-year-old Holiday sing in a small club in April 1933, writes John McDonough. Holiday came to be noticed in 1939 when she sang Strange Fruit.

Here a rare interview of Holiday talking about jazz and the book she wrote The Lady Sings The Blues.

Here are a couple of songs from Holiday for your listening pleasure. Did I mention that April is #JazzAppreciation month?

You can catch our weekly TV show and here is a list of TV stations in the US that broadcast our show. You can subscribe to our  YouTube channel and podcast where every week we feature new interviews.