I was tickled to discover my What’s it Like to go Blind segment up on The Good Stuff channel this week.
Check out “The Good Stuff”
Funny thing, though. I can’t see the video!
I can hear the show on YouTube, though, and, really, all you have to do is listen to know how much fun my Seeing Eye Dog Whitney and I had earlier this month when four guys from The Good Stuff spent an afternoon with us taping this week’s segment. Friends and family members who have seen the finished product on The Good Stuff this week have written me and posted links on Facebook – they all give the What’s it Like to Go Blind segment a hearty thumbs-up.
Craig Benzine, the guy who conducted my interview on The Good Stuff, is very familiar with YouTube: he already has an uber-popular vlog there called Wheezy Waiter that has half a million followers. In a blog post on Wheezy Waiter, he explained why he decided to start The Good Stuff channel now, too:
“There’s this type of entertainment I enjoy that I can only really find in podcast form, specifically from the shows Radiolab and This American Life. They take a topic and delve into it from all sides. That could be short stories, news stories, stand up comedy, interviews, etc. These shows give me a certain feeling when I’m done listening to them that I really don’t find much on YouTube. I guess it’s sort of a feeling that everything’s connected and you can find interesting things and people everywhere you look. With The Good Stuff, we’re attempting to get at that feeling, at least a little, and do it with video.”
The theme for the show I’m on this week is Senses. Before shooting a single frame for my segment, Craig and fellow Good Stuff staff members Sam Grant, Matt Weber and David Wolff spent nearly an hour figuring out the ideal way to film inside our apartment, which angle to shoot from and where the lighting would look best. From what my husband Mike Knezovich says, their fussiness was worth it. “They make our apartment look great!” he marveled. The Good Stuff puts tons of time and scientific research into all its video segments, and this one does not disappoint. A graphic of the inside of an eyeball shows up on screen while I explain retinopathy (the disease that caused my blindness), they got down on Whitney’s level to film shots of her working outside, and they fade to black at appropriate times while I try to explain how I picture things I can’t see.
The video sounds good, too. Mischievous music that sounds like it’s from a Three Stooges episode plays while I take Whitney out to “empty,” and if you listen closely you’ll hear me playing Duke Ellington’s C Jam Blues on the piano for a few seconds, too.
But wait. Why describe all this to you? You all can check out the What It’s Like to Go Blind video yourself. If you like what you see/hear, I hope you’ll consider donating to The Good Stuff. The videos on The Good Stuff are all available free of charge, staff members fund their work with day jobs: waiting tables, doing other film work, and one guy works at a family shoe store. Craig says they feel fortunate and extremely grateful to have received a grant from Google earlier this year, but that money will run out soon, and it sure would be swell to keep The Good Stuff going. Just think. With our help, The Good Stuff can get even better.
Wonderful interview! Congrats, Beth.
I love “The Good Stuff” starring beautiful Beth Finke!!
Hi Beth,
I watched the video..and have read your book! I am very much looking forward to meeting you and Mike on Sunday!! As I was reading your book our kids got the biggest kick out of all the pictures of Gus when he was younger…they too are excited to meet you guys! See you soon. Bobbie and Melissa.
Ps…I even got Bobbie to read your book…the first book he has read since kindergarten I think…tee hee
So fun to think of your kids getting a kick out of seeing photos of “Baby Gus” in my memoir. Loved meeting you all Sunday —
Absolutely great video, love it!!
Beth when you described a beautiful person you were holding a mirror up to yourself. All the beauty you send out makes people feel good when they are around you. Great interview!
P.S. And you’ve also got the great haircut, clothes and natural beauty too!
Nancy, you are buttering up your memoir-writing teacher. I’d up your grade, but how can you improve on an A+?! THANKS for the compliments, and see (okay, hear) you in class.
Beth, this is one of my favorite blogs of yours. You’re so relaxed and informative and — well, beautiful.
Catherine Rategan
That’s a great video and very informative for people who have little knowledge of blindness. And you looked great. Keep wearing red.
Judy Roth
Will do. Wear red, I mean.
After I watched the video, I read the comments on the good stuff page and so many people said it was their favorite in the series. How amazing is it that people can get a sense of what an uplifting and incredible person you are from a video. Congrats on a beautiful interview! Thank you for posting this! 🙂
Reblogged this on taraisarockstar's blog and commented:
An amazing blog post/video from the woman who helped me to become a published author!
Tara, you give me too much credit. *You* did all the work to become a published author, just glad I was able to be by your side while that was all happening. And how flattering to have you repost my story on your blog. THANK you.
Very nice piece.
-Bob Ringwald
I usually don’t look at internet comments (except yours) but looked at the video comments and they all say what a wonderful video it is and comment about your presence Beth. One in particular was funny: “This woman has a string bass! I love her!!” 13,000 views and counting. Everyone I’ve sent it to loves it. Also, I looked at Craig’s Wheezy Waiter stuff….Obama follows him on twitter 🙂 haha! What a cool guy.
Ah, Nancyb, your comment motivated me to look at the comments to the Good Stuff, too. What fun, and some very thoughtful ones, too. I particularly liked the guy who said my last few sentences in the video almost made him feel jealous of me. Now, that’s a first.
PS: Last I checked, there were 16,000+ hits. But hey, who’s counting?!
Oh, Beth. I loved it! It makes me miss you, though. Fondly, K
Come visit us in Chicago!
I hope the self-promo leads to off the charts sales of both your books. You look and sound relaxed and terrific and I cannot wait to visit next month.
What a coincidence — we can’t wait to have you and HB come. Oh, and others have mentioned how relaxed and natural I look in the video, all credit goes to Craig Benzine and staff, it was obvious they did their homework before they arrived, he had good questions prepared and they were all so friendly and encouraging and sincere. They made it very easy to be myself.
Beth – I was completely thrown for a loop when I saw this! I have been a YouTuber since 2007. I recently went to VidCon and have met many people like Craig, but unfortunately, I have not met Craig in person.
AH – this just blows my mind. Love it.
Ah, Sarah. Had I known you were a Craig fan, I would have invited you over for the interview! Tell me, can you see well enough to make out the videos, or do you just listen to them? If you can, please spread the word to your fellow YouTubers about The Good Stuff — I’d love for it to be a hit on YouTube, these guys work so hard producing their videos.
Beth,
Just watched your interview and it really gave me a different perspective. Loved it!
I shared this with my husband Randy and his family. Do you remember the Bronge’s on your old block Colfax? I’ve heard some interesting stories about you and your family and the “old gang”
~Jeanne Bronge
Oh, Jeanne, who could ever forget the Bronge boys?! And I went to high school with you, too, right? Great to hear from you, and thanks for finding (and especially taking the time to comment to) my blog. Give my best to Randy, Bruce and Jeff — —
You look great and so relaxed and cute! A very good episode.
Aw, shucks.
This video was so cool!
I’m going to share it on twitter and link to it on my blog soon. I’m looking forward to watching more of the videos Craig has done already.
You seem like such a smiley happy person just talking during your interviews.
Good work to all involved.
You know, it hadn’t occurred to me that you’ve never heard my voice before, Jen. It feels like we know each other so well via our blog posts. Thanks for sharing the link to the video, I’d love for a lot of people to link to it so these guys feel rewarded for their hard work.
I loved this video. I have to say it again – YOU ARE AMAZING.
Hugs and love
Hugs and love to you, too, Barbara. Know what? You’re beautiful!
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[…] visit by watching our wonderful What’s it Like to Go Blind? video – that’s the YouTube the guys at The Good Stuff put together for us. With all that advanced research under their belts, the kids were armed with some very well […]
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