The Young Demographic

11p.m. There’s some hippie action going on at Occupy New Haven. We’ve got a drummer and my friend Ashley hooping among the sign holders. The drummer is Collin Knapp, a student at Paire College of Art. He said he is here because bankers and people who control the Federal Reserve are creating debt the government has to pay back and they profit off of. He said it needs to end. Ashley Jade, 26, of Bridgeport, is the hooper. She said she does not identify as a hippie, rather a free spirit that loves the environment and all of its inhabitants.

10:40 p.m. We arrived at the New Haven green about half an hour ago. Things are pretty quiet. It looks like the protests have wrapped up for the day and we missed most of the action. I’d say there are about 20 tents here.
On the nearby intersection of College and Chapel, a few protesters are holding protest signs and every now and then chanting “We are the 99 percent.”
One woman who looked like a college student just responded, “I am the 1 percent so shut up.”
One protester responded she was ignorant, had bad skin and would probably always be single.

I’m considering participating in Occupy New Haven this weekend. And I use the term participate loosely, because I think my greater aim is really to observe the protest. I want to know what people who participate believe in, what they talk about, and what they plan to do after all the tents are packed up and everyone goes home.
And I’m thinking I’ll live blog it on here. I know it’s technically not Fairfield County, but there hasn’t been a similar movement within our borders yet. And I’m guessing many of the protesters there will be in the demographic this blog covers.
I would like to commit to this fully and stay overnight, but if it rains, that would be a major deterrent.
Anyway, if you’re there and you see a tallish Indian girl lurking around people having conversations or furiously blogging away, it’s probably me. So come over and say hi.

STAMFORD – A team of young professionals from Stamford and Norwalk and produced and released the web series “Love & Comics” earlier this month. They will be at the New York Comic Con this week to drum up support for their project.

Writer and lead actor Micheal Andrew talked to The Young Demographic about how he decided to create his own web series after being told he was uncastable because of his skin color.

TYD: How did you come up with the premise for “Love & Comics”?

MA: The story is loosely based on me. Before, I was an aspiring comic book writer, but I was stalling. Then I met an acting coach in New York and that put me in that direction. But I couldn’t find much work. So I asked my production partner, my cousin, if I wrote something, if he would direct it. The web series is loosely based on what we’re going through, what everyone is going through: trying to make something you love your job. It’s  crazy that in this world, thatcan be considered a crazy thing to try to do.

TYD: What is your day job?

MA: Right now I’m a baker in supermarket in Ansonia. It’s  just paying the bills at the moment.

TYD: Web series have kind of democratized television entertainment in a way. Now anyone can produce a show and put it out there. Can you talk about that?

MA: I feel like there’s this resurgence of creative film making in the web series world. That’s kind of the empowering thing. It’s all on you. We really did this on a shoestring budget (less than $2,000). It was tough and a lot of our cast did this for free,  out of their beloved passion to do it. A lot of people do a web series as a TV pitch, but more and more people are not doing it to get a spot on television. This is the space. You can just do it. I literally did this because I had no other choice.

I asked one of my managers to get me casting calls and he told me he didn’t know what to do with me. He told me I’m too black to play white and too white to play black. (Andrew is multiracial. He is Haitian American.) It didn’t irritate me because I understand. I don’t mean that in a good way, but it is how the industry is. That’s not what offended me. When I told him I would just write my own show, he chuckled. He scoffed.

TYD: Who are the other actors in the project?

MA: We found all of our actors through auditions. The main cast is about five people. They’ve been so patient. It’s been two years since I first wrote the script and we got our first episode online. But they stuck with it because they’re loyal and hung with me.

TYD: What are your future plans for L&C?

MA: I’d like to at least finish two successful seasons and make enough money – I  do believe money in web series – where everyone in the show can be paid. That’s pretty much it. I don’t have any worldwide plans for it. Season one halfway done.

TYD: If the project becomes successful, will you pick up and go to New York?

MA: We pretty much want to stay in Connecticut. We like Connecticut. I love New York, but New York is done all the time. Why not use what you know? The majority of the show is filmed in Norwalk, Stamford and Bridgeport. There are a lot of beautiful parts of Stamford that don’t get shown. There’s a nice scene in the fourth episode of a spot in downtown Stamford, this beautiful waterfall area right next to the fire station. The opening scene of the series is shot in Timeless Journey, a comic shop in Stamford. I’m a frequent goer there.

Almost 1,000 people gathered in New Haven Saturday to rally for stronger efforts to stop climate change. The rally measured up in size to events in Boston, San Francisco, and New York City.

From the Young Emerging Professionals, a committee of the Greater Valley Chamber of Commerce:

“Where has the summer gone – wow!?! As we start thinking about Autumn I wanted to personally invite you to a special evening on Thursday, October 13th. Last year the Young Professionals (YEP) of the Naugatuck River Valley hosted a fundraising event for the Center for Breast Wellness at Griffin Hospital. Because of our success, once again this year, Griffin Hospital has asked us if we would “kick-off” The Valley Goes Pink Week with our Pink Night Event. Always up for a challenge our young professional team has put together another fun evening in support of the new Hewitt Breast Wellness Center at Griffin Hospital. The invitation is attached. If you would like to join me and many others for a few hours over drinks while supporting our local Cancer Center you can visit www.CTYEP.com to register.”

The flyer:

YEP Pink Night invitation 2011

NEW HAVEN – (press release) This Saturday hundreds of citizens, educators, government officials, energy industry representatives, churches and farmers from around Connecticut will bike, walk and take the bus to the New Haven Green for “Moving Connecticut,” a rally in conjunction with events around the world highlighting the need for a swift and responsible transition to lower-carbon fuels and a more sustainable way of life. Elected officials and agency representatives will speak, and a statement of support from Governor Malloy will be read. Bicyclists will make a mass tour of the city, and the day will be rounded out with music and a showing of the film Wall-E…powered by bicycle!

Where:             New Haven Green

Elm and Church St, New Haven, CT

When:              Saturday, September 24, 2011

4 p.m. – Critical Mass bike ride around New Haven

5– 7 PM – Rally on the Green with speakers, elected officials, presentations and group photo

The events in New Haven are part of a worldwide day of action calling for a fossil fuel-free world.  Hundreds of thousands of people are expected to participate in 2,000 events across the globe, including five-mile hikes and 350-hour bike rides, symbolizing a move towards solutions to climate change. In Connecticut, additional events are taking place in Hartford, New London, Cheshire, East Haddam, Hamden, Middletown, Mystic, New Canaan, Trumbull, Wallingford, Watertown, West Hartford, Willimantic, Wilton and Woodbridge. Please visit http://350ct.org/move/events for more information.

NEW HAVEN — (press release) The Nature Conservancy has released a new nationwide poll that reveals America’s young people are unhappy with the condition of the environment and lack faith in adults to address it. The findings also show strong evidence that more time spent in nature directly correlates with a commitment to protect it.

Nearly three-quarters (73 percent) agree that “previous generations have damaged our environment and left it to our generation to fix it.” Only one-third of youth believe that government leaders are doing a “good job addressing major problems facing our country.”

The research confirmed that youth are not spending a great deal of time outdoors.

• 88 percent of America’s youth spend time online every day.

• 69 percent said they play video games or watch TV every day.

• Conversely, just 11 percent reported regularly spending time outside every day.

“This research is a wake-up call for parents, leaders and the conservation community,” said Mark Tercek, Nature Conservancy president and CEO. “Today’s youth do not believe we are doing enough to address the mounting challenges facing the environment. It is critical that we take more proactive steps to protect our lands and waters for younger generations and engage them in efforts to carry the environmental movement forward.”

Key Findings

• More time spent in nature directly correlates with a commitment to protect it: The survey showed that 66 percent of youth who reported having a personal experience in nature that made them appreciate it more were twice as likely to view themselves as strong environmentalists. And of those who reported they were frequently in nature were also significantly more likely to express concern about water pollution, air pollution, global warming and the condition of the environment.

• There is great potential to mobilize American youth around issues related to the environment and nature: Roughly 76 percent of youth today strongly believe climate change can be solved if action is taken now. They also think safeguarding important lands and waters should be a priority regardless of any ancillary benefits and the struggling economy.

• Peer pressure is a good thing too: The research found that friends are among the most powerful influencers to get kids off of the couch. An overwhelming majority, 90 percent, said that if their friends encouraged them to spend more time in nature, they would listen.

• Nature is an Rx for Stress: Youth have a lot on their minds – sizable majorities rate bullying, crime and the quality of public education as “extremely” or “very serious” problems. But the results indicate that spending time in nature could help them cope with that stress. Nearly three-quarters associate being in nature with being peaceful, free, calm and happy.

The research was conducted by Fairbank, Maslin, Maullin, Metz & Associates (D) and Public Opinion Strategies (R) and funding was provided by The Toyota USA Foundation and The Foundation for Youth Investment.

“Today’s youth are going to be the innovators of new solutions to ensure a sustainable future, and we are proud to support this critical research by The Nature Conservancy to illuminate how youth across the nation value nature in a rapidly changing world,” said Pat Pineda, group vice president of philanthropy at Toyota Motor North America.

“The Foundation for Youth Investment (FYI) was proud to sponsor this research that sheds light on why our youth are spending less time outdoors,” said Steve Hagler, executive director of the Foundation for Youth Investment. “Unlike previous generations where parents simply said, ‘Go outside and play!’ kids today need more encouragement, and we must give them the opportunity by providing outdoor programs and safe open spaces and parks.”

To learn more about the poll and The Nature Conservancy’s work to engage youth with nature, visit http://www.nature.org/youthpoll.

Methodology: From July 28 to August 4, 2011, FM3 and POS completed 602 on-line interviews with American youth between the ages of 13 and 18. Quotas were established to ensure representativeness of the sample by age, gender, geography, and race.