KIDSBUZZ: Click here to discover new books, "meet" the authors and enter to win.
AUTHORBUZZ: Click here to discover new books, "meet" the authors and enter to win.
Dear Reader,
Today's guest author, Dr. Michael Guillen, writes about "The Thrills and Chills of Making History" and he's giving away 10 copies of his book, Amazing Truths. Say hello and you'll be entered to win. Email: info@michaelguillen.com And don't miss his column. I loved it!
Welcome to the book club, Dr. Michael Guillen...
The Thrills and Chills of Making History
I was Science Editor of ABC News from 1988 to 2002, during which time I appeared regularly on Good Morning America, Nightline, 20/20, and World News Tonight. On many occasions, I faced danger--like the time I nearly lost my life in an accident at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean while doing a report on the Titanic. But happily I survived and now I have a treasure trove of memories, none more exciting than the one I'm about to recount for you.
In November 1992, I had a chance to make history by being the first television reporter to broadcast live from Antarctica to the United States. The feat had never been done before because no civilian satellite existed with a southerly enough orbit to transmit a signal from so far down under. But I contacted my buddies at NASA, and they allowed me to use one of their Tracking and Data Relay Satellites.
When the big day arrived, the executive producer of Nightline back in Washington, DC, instructed my producer and me to pretape a run-through of the show as insurance against something going haywire with the planned live shot. And we did.
Finally, the time came for us to do the real thing. As I stood on the ice facing the TV camera--surrounded by my crew, the scientists I was to interview, and some onlookers from nearby McMurdo Station--I was a jumble of emotions. I felt nervous, excited, awed, and proud of what we were about to pull off.
"Ten minutes!" my producer, Rick Wilkinson, called out.
I took a deep breath and mentally rehearsed what I planned to say.
"We've got a problem!" Rick shouted suddenly.
I told myself not to be distracted by the commotion that erupted behind the scenes. Nightline was an important show, and I didn't want to blow it.
As the clock ticked and the commotion continued, a decision needed to be made: Should we go with the pretaped show? Or did we dare go for the live show in the hope that the problem--whatever it was--would be fixed in time? One way or the other, we needed to be on the air at 11:30 p.m. eastern standard time sharp. With less than a minute left, Rick announced, "We're a go! Stand by everyone." That evening we made history; the live shot went off without a hitch.
Afterward I asked Rick what the last-minute problem had been. He told me a mother seal had leaped out of a breathing hole in the ice and plopped herself right in the line of sight of a laser beam that was part of the complex communication chain that carried our live signal from the ground up to the TDRS. At the very last minute, our engineering crew had managed to lure her away with fish.
Now, that's excitement!
--Dr. Michael Guillen
Email: info@michaelguillen.com Say hello, he's waiting to hear from you, and when you send your email you'll be entered in the drawing to win a copy of Amazing Truths.
More About Dr. Michael Guillen:
Dr. Guillen is the host of the History Channel series,Where Did It Come From? and producer of the award-winning family movie Little Red Wagon. For more information, go to, www.michaelguillen.com.
Thanks for reading with me. It's so good to read with friends.
Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com
AUTHORBUZZ: TRANSFORMED: San Francisco (Fiction) by Suzanne Falter & Jack Harvey
Charley McElroy is a transman spy benched for not paying his taxes. Electra is a socialite-turned-dominatrix rebuilding her life after a messy divorce. Together they uncover an extremist out to destroy the 'hedonists' of San Francisco. Can they get anyone to listen to them...or are they on their own? That's the premise of our new book, a funny, quirky spy novel. We wrote it because we believe even unusual underdogs CAN save the day.
Go to: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader click on TRANSFORMED to read more and to the email authors, you'll get a reply.
KIDS BUZZ: Loads of book fun and buzz for kids and teens. Meet new authors--send an email, ask a question and they will reply. Plus enter to win a free copy of PEEP AND EGG: I'M NOT HATCHING by Laura Gehl; and JAZZ DAY: THE MAKING OF A FAMOUS PHOTOGRAPH by Roxane Orgill. For a chance to win, say hello to the authors and more, see http://www.authorbuzz.com/kidsbuzz.
* This month's Penguin Classics book is IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT by John Ball. Start reading now and enter to win a Penguin tote bag:
http://www.supportlibrary.com/bc/v.cfm?L=drclassqqxqZ1AFE3FA77E3&c=CLASSICS
Comments