The Associated Press has officially launched its database of Guantanamo Bay detainees today.  The flash interactive features a sortable database, an estimated timeline of Gitmo populations, chart based on country of origin, and information pages for most of the detainees.

I can’t get enough of hockey right now.  These Stanly Cup Playoffs have D.C. in a tizzy.  As of right now, the Caps and Pens are six games into an exciting series that will end on Wed. night.  I bought tickets for game 7 and paid more than I have ever paid for a single sporting event.  Which got me to thinking of my hockey roots.

I grew up watching the Rochester Americans in western N.Y., but I didn’t begin to really love and understand hockey until I went to school in Toronto.  In Toronto, the Maple Leafs are bigger than the Red Sox in Boston.  The Leafs are the true #1 home team.  Because of this love of the leafs, tickets to the game are hard to come by and are usually reserved for those who can afford them, or are connected to the companies that by boxes and blocks of seats in large swaths.

For the rest of us, there is the Ontario Hockey League.  The OHL is fast, hard-hitting hockey by young players eager to prove they have the stuff it takes to play in the NHL.  And most importantly, tickets are plentiful and affordable.  It’s hockey for the common man.

This video gets right to the heart of that and does so with strong storytelling.  This video’s strength (like most good videos) comes from its audio.  LOTS of good natural sound.  Personally, I want every hockey video to start with the sound of the stick handling the pick and the pull of hockey tape.  The sound just takes you there.

The use of music is also sparing and fitting and isn’t used as a crutch to fill gaps where no natural sound was obtained.  My only complaint would be that I would have liked some audio from the ice, but I understand how tricky this can be.  Not every crew carries a parabolic mic in their kit.  I certainly dont.

The video is definitely worth checking out whether you love hockey or not.

If you’re like me, and you need to get both photos and videos when you’re working on assignment, then you are watching the development of hybrid cameras very closely.

Well, the world of hybrid cameras just got a little bit better with Panasonic’s GH1 which includes auto focus.

Now if they only upgrade the audio handling and the stabilization on these hybrids, there is no way Ill be able to stay my hand from reaching for my wallet.

See David Pogues review here.

and Prof. Kobre’s thoughts here.

I would also add:

Audacity to the audio section

and

MPEG streamclip to the video section