Connectopod™

LAPL/Canoga Park HS The Edgar Allan Poe Project- Letter number 4

Mr. Blythe was concerned that his 9th Grade class of IEP* learners were having a hard time engaging with online learning (really who wasn't?!).  Rockstar Librarian Marcia Melkonian and The Friends of the Canoga Park Library reached out to Connectopod because engagement is our game! Part of the Edgar Allan Poe Project, Mr. Blythe had his student write letters from 'Dr. Poe' to the insane asylum about his 'patients' (his characters!). They are as creepy as Mr. Poe's characters themselves! We thought it would be fun to have them read by professional artists.
Letter 4 is narrated by Voice over artist Laz Meiman (of Nickelodeon's Harvey Beaks) soon heading off to college!
We had so much fun with this class and are grateful for their hard work and the joyful spirit with which they took to learning through art. 
 
*Individualized Educational Plan (IEP) is a plan or program developed to ensure that a child who has a disability identified under the law and is attending an elementary or secondary educational institution receives specialized instruction and related services.

LAPL/Canoga Park HS The Edgar Allan Poe Project- Letter number 3

Mr. Blythe was concerned that his 9th Grade class of IEP* learners were having a hard time engaging with online learning (really who wasn't?!).  Rockstar Librarian Marcia Melkonian and The Friends of the Canoga Park Library reached out to Connectopod because engagement is our game! Part of the Edgar Allan Poe Project, Mr. Blythe had his student write letters from 'Dr. Poe' to the insane asylum about his 'patients' (his characters!). They are as creepy as Mr. Poe's characters themselves! We thought it would be fun to have them read by professional artists.
Letter 3 is narrated by  Voice over artist  Betsy Foldes Meiman
We had so much fun with this class and are grateful for their hard work and the joyful spirit with which they took to learning through art. 
 
*Individualized Educational Plan (IEP) is a plan or program developed to ensure that a child who has a disability identified under the law and is attending an elementary or secondary educational institution receives specialized instruction and related services.

LAPL/Canoga Park HS The Edgar Allan Poe Project- Letter number 2

Mr. Blythe was concerned that his 9th Grade class of IEP* learners were having a hard time engaging with online learning (really who wasn't?!).  Rockstar Librarian Marcia Melkonian and The Friends of the Canoga Park Library reached out to Connectopod because engagement is our game! Part of the Edgar Allan Poe Project, Mr. Blythe had his student write letters from 'Dr. Poe' to the insane asylum about his 'patients' (his characters!). They are as creepy as Mr. Poe's characters themselves! We thought it would be fun to have them read by professional artists.
Letter 2 is narrated by Voice over artist and actual therapist Steve Morris
We had so much fun with this class and are grateful for their hard work and the joyful spirit with which they took to learning through art. 
 
*Individualized Educational Plan (IEP) is a plan or program developed to ensure that a child who has a disability identified under the law and is attending an elementary or secondary educational institution receives specialized instruction and related services.

LAPL/Canoga Park HS The Edgar Allan Poe Project- Letter number 1

Mr. Blythe was concerned that his 9th Grade class of IEP* learners were having a hard time engaging with online learning (really who wasn't?!).  Rockstar Librarian Marcia Melkonian and The Friends of the Canoga Park Library reached out to Connectopod because engagement is our game! Part of the Edgar Allan Poe Project, Mr. Blythe had his student write letters from 'Dr. Poe' to the insane asylum about his 'patients' (his characters!). They are as creepy as Mr. Poe's characters themselves! We thought it would be fun to have them read by professional artists.
Letter 1 is narrated by Playwright and film commentator Richard Harland Smith
We had so much fun with this class and are grateful for their hard work and the joyful spirit with which they took to learning through art. 
 
*Individualized Educational Plan (IEP) is a plan or program developed to ensure that a child who has a disability identified under the law and is attending an elementary or secondary educational institution receives specialized instruction and related services.

LAPL/Canoga Park HS- The Edgar Allan Poe Project

Mr. Blythe was concerned that his 9th Grade class of IEP* learners were having a hard time engaging with online learning (really who wasn't?!).  Rockstar Librarian Marcia Melkonian and The Friends of the Canoga Park Library reached out to Connectopod because engagement is our game! Mr. Blythe shared his curriculum and together we came up with the idea to have them narrate Edgar Allan Poe's "The Tell Tale Heart."  The crazed narrator provided the perfect vehicle for the class to become an ensemble of different personalities in his murderous head. Betsy Foldes Meiman directed the piece as if it were a take on Batman's Joker or popular video game homicidal maniacs, some of which she has voiced. The class took up the challenge and dug deep into the text, ingesting and performing Poe's words with deep understanding. Language and literacy barriers were smashed. The shy became killers, and of course Mr. Blythe himself, the poor victim. Recorded remotely by Betsy over zoom over a week's time, the edited files were given to professional sound designer Eric Willhelm who then created an eerie and ever more stressful atmosphere driving the story to its explosive conclusion. 
We had so much fun with this class and are grateful for their hard work and the joyful spirit with which they took to learning through art. We think they will never forget The Tell Tale Heart!
 
*Individualized Educational Plan (IEP) is a plan or program developed to ensure that a child who has a disability identified under the law and is attending an elementary or secondary educational institution receives specialized instruction and related services.

Changing the Narrative: Unhoused Youth- Still Grateful and Still Aiming High

Formerly homeless Bianca Palmer is now a medical professional. Music helped her cope through the tough times she related in her interview. So when it came time to do her episode, it was an easy choice of subject matter for her. Here she interviews two fellow TAY (Transitional Age Youth) who have reclaimed their lives with the resources of the Village Family Services drop-in center. 
Connectopod music producer and professional musician Joe Foldes helped Gayle Alvarez complete her brother DJ's last song left unfinished before his suicide. "Find me Next to You" is a gift of love. 
Phillip Hargo processed the challenge that was this last year through his hip hop piece '2020.'
You can feel the energy and determination as we move into a new beginning!
 
Thank You to our professional musician mentors Joe Foldes who transcribed, played, and mixed DJ's "Find Me Next to You," as well as the entire episode, and Kevin Stevens who ran our recording session and drummed on "Find Me Next to You"
If you are struggling with homelessness tap the DiC.
6801 Coldwater Canyon Avenue  
North Hollywood, CA 91605Phone: (818) 755-8786
 
Produced by Betsy Foldes Meiman
 
 

Changing the Narrative: Unhoused Youth- Bianca Palmer

Today you’ll meet Bianca. She is truly a kid you would never have expected to be homeless. She excelled in high school, participating in ROTC, trekking across the San Fernando Valley every day to attend El Camino, a school she advocated to get into on her own. She got good grades, and participated in extracurriculars. And she was doing it all on her own. But what she thought was support in a new romance, became the undertow that brought her down. But not for the count. 
 
 
 
If  you need a place to turn to help you prevent homelessness or help you if you are experiencing homelessness go to  The Valley Family Services  
 
Produced: Betsy Foldes Meiman
Theme Song 'True' by Haunted Horses NYC  
Sound Engineering: Joe Foldes
 

Changing the Narrative-Unhoused Youth:Christopher Martin

We continue the Stories of the TAY* with Christopher Martin. Healing your life from childhood trauma takes a strong person, and what if you have to  navigate the world with social anxiety as well? Christopher is on his way to stability and figuring out how move his life forward by facing his past. We're rooting for you Christopher! 
*Transitional Age Youth
If  you need a place to turn to help you prevent homelessness or help you if you are experiencing homelessness go to  The Valley Family Services  
 
Produced: Betsy Foldes Meiman
Theme Song 'True' by Haunted Horses NYC  
Sound Engineering: Joe Foldes
 
 
 

Changing the Narrative-Unhoused Youth: Stories of the TAY Phillip Hargro

Big dreams come with big risks. Phillip Hargro grew up comfortably in Indiana with hardworking parents and loving grandparents. He was a part of an active creative arts community.
He came to Los Angeles to pursue an acting career.  When pre-arranged plans fell through, he was left to figure it out. In his words, he was “humbled” by the challenges that came his way. He could be working on a set in Malibu by day and searching housing the very same night, never letting on about his situation to fellow cast members and employers.  He earns money in between dancing on the subway and hustling sales jobs. He utilizes the resources at The Village Family Services. Committed to his dream, he creates his own opportunities.  Here are a beautiful dance number,  his recent actor reel , and two shorts- Ambition ( about homelessness) and Conflict of Interest ( a thriller set in the BLM movement). And there's a pilot shot in Atlanta that we can’t tell you about yet.  It’s been a long humbling journey since 2017, but Phillip’s determination is starting to pay off. 
If  you need a place to turn to help you prevent homelessness or help you if you are experiencing homelessness go to  The Valley Family Services  
 
Produced: Betsy Foldes Meiman
Theme Song 'True' by Haunted Horses NYC  
Sound Engineering: Joe Foldes

Changing the Narrative: Unhoused Youth-The Greatest Christmas Story Ever Told

 At our zoom holiday party last night, The great Gabe Evans, Connectopod collaborator, friend, and one of our professional media mentors for Changing the Narrative shared his holiday creation.  So for a Christmas, Chanukah and Festivus gift we present: 
The Greatest Christmas Story Ever Told Part 1: The Siege (follow link for the rest!)
The world's number 2 toy factory in the world is trying to take out Santa.
Hilarious fun for the whole family! 
You
Happy Holidays! Peace, Joy, and Love to you all. -Love Connectopod, The TAY, and The Village Family Services drop in center