OPEN ((VO/NAT))
((Banner))
Building Green
((SOT))
((Denis Hayes, President, Bullitt Foundation))
We talked to a number of developers and said, “Could we build a six-story building that is net energy neutral in Seattle?” and every single one of them said it was not close to possible.
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((Banner))
A Creative Life
((SOT))
((Kazuhiro Tsui, Hyperrealist Sculptor & Special Effects Makeup Artist))
I hope I can use my life and contribute to creativity. I still struggle. You know, I still have some issues or problems but I won't stop learning until I die.
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((Banner))
Wild Heritage
((SOT))
((Tiffany Soechting, Marketing Director, Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch))
When you come here, the animals are roaming freely like they would if they were in their native homeland.
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BLOCK A
((PKG)) GREENEST OFFICE BUILDING IN THE WORLD
((Banner: Building Green))
((Reporter: Natasha Mozgovaya))
((Camera: Aleksandr Bergan))
((VOA Russian))
((Adapted by: Zdenko Novacki))
((Map: Seattle, Washington))
((NATS))
((Denis Hayes, President, Bullitt Foundation))
In a standard office building, with a conventional set of tenants, you can dramatically reduce your environmental footprint. And by dramatically, we use about one fifth as much energy per square foot as a building that is built to code. And we use, maybe, eight percent as much water per square foot as a building that is built to code. It’s not saving a little bit here or there. It’s saving at least half across the board.
((NATS))
((Denis Hayes, President, Bullitt Foundation))
That drove down our energy consumption, drove down our water consumption, forced us to look for things that were non-toxic, non-carcinogenic, non-mutagenic, non-endocrine disrupting. Stuff that would not harm anyone that was a tenant in the building, or anyone that was building the building.
((NATS))
((Denis Hayes, President, Bullitt Foundation))
Buildings consume about three-quarters of all electricity, and (production of) electricity is the biggest source of greenhouse gas emissions. And if we don't want to broil the planet, then we have to dramatically change the built environment.
((NATS))
((Denis Hayes, President, Bullitt Foundation))
You replace about 3% of your buildings in any city in a given year. That means 97% of the buildings that are there next year are already there today. If you want to get savings fast, you have to have a program that makes it possible to finance the retrofitting of the existing structures.
((NATS))
((Denis Hayes, President, Bullitt Foundation))
Super-efficient buildings have to be designed for particular locations. This is a building that was designed for Seattle. It would not work well in Moscow. It would not work well in Rio De Janeiro. It works perfectly in Seattle.
((NATS))
((Denis Hayes, President, Bullitt Foundation))
When we set out to build the building, it was with the hopes that we would prove that it was possible to build such a building, and to do it in a way that was economically feasible. We talked to a number of developers and said, “Could we build a six-story building that is net energy neutral in Seattle?” and every single one of them said that not only was it not possible, it was not close to possible.
((NATS))
((PKG) AMAZON SPHERES
((Banner: A Green Building))
((Reporter: Natasha Mosgovaya))
((Camera: Aleksandr Bergan))
((VOA Russian))
((Adapted by: Zdenko Novacki))
((Map: Seattle, Washington))
((NATS))
((Allison Flicker, Spokesperson, Amazon))
Welcome to the Spheres. They are a relatively new addition to Amazon’s campus. They opened at the end of January, and the Spheres were built out of this idea that we wanted to give our employees an alternative space to work.
((NATS))
((Allison Flicker, Spokesperson, Amazon))
This building is really intended for Amazon employees to use. It is basically a greenhouse. The Spheres are filled with over 40,000 different types of plants from over 50 different countries and six continents. So, not your average plants that you might find in your backyard and throughout the Spheres, there are little work spaces, little tables for folks to bring their laptop, to have a meeting, to come have lunch and just to experience something that feels really different than their typical office space.
((NATS))
((Tim Bomke, Military Program Manager, Amazon))
That takes a little bit of getting used to, but, I think, for me at least, I really enjoy that it adds to the freedom and the creativity that you have. It's the first building that we've done where you don't have a desk. It's just kind of all free spaces, and if you are an early bird, you can pretty much pick where you want to work.
((NATS))
((Allison Flicker, Spokesperson, Amazon))
These, right here, are your modern age phone booths. There’s actually no phones in them. You would just bring a cell phone but it’s a quiet space in case you really needed to focus on your work or make a personal call because a lot of times our offices are open spaces. So, these are just a good quiet spot but they’re very new age, very modern.
((NATS))
((Allison Flicker, Spokesperson, Amazon))
So, behind me is our community banana stand. We have two of these on Amazon’s campus and they’re really just a fun way for us to say, “Hey, we love being in this neighborhood. We love working in Seattle. Anybody passing through the neighborhood, please grab a banana, on Amazon.” The folks who work at the banana stand are called banistas. They arguably have the greatest job at Amazon and they hand out thousands of bananas to passersby every single day.
((NATS))
((Allison Flicker, Spokesperson, Amazon))
There’s been a lot of scientific research that shows that when you are surrounded by green, surrounded by nature, your brain works a little bit differently, maybe it thinks more creatively. So, we’re really excited to give our employees this opportunity to come in here, to work in a place that feels a little bit different, that feels really refreshing, and also to educate them on all of the different types of plants that are here from all over the world.
((NATS))
((Allison Flicker, Spokesperson, Amazon))
Because the Spheres were really exciting for this entire community when they opened, a couple weekends a month, we open the Spheres to the general public, and folks can sign up online to come visit and see inside and just see what this space has to offer.
((NATS))
TEASE ((VO/NAT))
Coming up
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Freedom in Art
((SOT))
The film job is all about waiting, waiting for something to happen, but art is quite different.
BREAK ONE
BUMP IN ((ANIM))
BLOCK B
((Banner: Changing America))
((PKG)) PIA—KAZUHIRO TSUJI / PART 2
((Banner: Art and Life))
((Executive Producer: Marsha James))
((Camera: Kaveh Rezaei))
((Map: Washington, D.C.))
((NATS))
((Kazuhiro Tsui, Hyperrealist Sculptor & Special Effects Makeup Artist))
Since I had a really bad childhood, I always had the kind of feeling of anxiety and guilty because my parents never praised me and so, I never had the feeling of accomplishment. But I had this passion of I need to prove myself. I could do something amazing.
((Kazuhiro Tsui, Hyperrealist Sculptor & Special Effects Makeup Artist))
After I started to work in the film industry, I felt like my body started to fall apart and also my mind too and I felt like I'm almost trapped. That was a moment I felt like okay, I need help, I need to change.
((Kazuhiro Tsui, Hyperrealist Sculptor & Special Effects Makeup Artist))
So, when I start to create a large size portrait, my feeling changed a lot. The big difference was the film job. It's all about waiting, waiting for something to happen, but art is quite different. I need to be the one to make something happen everyday.
((Kazuhiro Tsui, Hyperrealist Sculptor & Special Effects Makeup Artist))
Beginning of 2016, (actor) Gary Oldman, he wrote to me and said there is aproject he wants me to work on. He said, okay, this is about Winston Churchill. I know you are retired but I really want you to do a design on it. I wasn't sure if I should do it. If I take film job right away, I felt like I'm betraying my life decision. But I never had a chance to work on the film with the main character has makeup on, portraying a historical person. I felt like okay, if I say no to this, I will regret. So, I came back to Gary and said okay, I would like to take this job.
((Kazuhiro Tsui, Hyperrealist Sculptor & Special Effects Makeup Artist))
The whole process to create the Churchill makeup was, it took about almost five months. By the time that the film was ended, I was like, oh my God, I worked on this amazing thing. I was a part of it. I never felt this way in my whole career.
((Kazuhiro Tsui, Hyperrealist Sculptor & Special Effects Makeup Artist))
I wanted to make sure that everybody involved will be nominated because there's sometimes in the past, I was, kind of, knocked out from a group of nominated people.
((Kazuhiro Tsui, Hyperrealist Sculptor & Special Effects Makeup Artist))
The day of the Oscar, I don't remember much because I was so nervous and my goal was just go there and finish speech and be done with it. I wasinterviewed after receiving Oscar, how I feel about receiving this as Asian. I don't think that way. I received this as one human being. It's not as an Asian and as soon as I start to think I'm Asian, I will fail. I think it's each person's responsibility to live as one human being and not to be conditioned by the label you put on the color of your skin. All people who succeeded, they go beyond that. You know, it's not what the outside look like. What's inside really matters.
((Kazuhiro Tsui, Hyperrealist Sculptor & Special Effects Makeup Artist))
I hope I can use my life and contribute to creativity. I still struggle. You know, I still have some issues or problems but I won't stop learning until I die. Youknow, that's the way it is, I think.
TEASE ((VO/NAT))
Coming up
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Animal Therapy
((SOT))
Think about it. Where do you have in the city to go and just have a personal connection with animals?
BREAK TWO
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BLOCK C
((Banner: Wild Life))
((PKG)) TEXAS WILDLIFE REFUGE
((Banner: Connecting with the Wild))
((Reporter: Anush Avetisyan))
((Camera: David Gogokhia))
((VOA Russian))
((Adapted by: Zdenko Novacki))
((Map: San Antonio, Texas))
((NATS))
((Tiffany Soechting, Marketing Director, Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch))
When you come here, the animals are roaming freely like they would if they were in their native homeland, and you can touch them. If they decide, they can come up to you and eat. And you have that connection with seeing that animal, and, I think, it makes that connection, and in that animal being endangered, more important to every person.
((NATS))
((Tiffany Soechting, Marketing Director, Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch))
The only continent that we do not have represented is Antarctica. Every other continent has a species that's from here. People wonder, “Well, how did you get those?” Well, we were very blessed that we do not have any animals that we imported from their homeland, from the other country.
((NATS))
((Tiffany Soechting, Marketing Director, Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch))
For the most part, the majority of them are born and raised here. And even if we bring them in, like, if we bring a new male in, the whole rest of the herd is comfortable with what's going on. These are Scimitar-horned Oryx, totally extinct in the wild. There are none left. Here at the ranch, obviously with the babies that you can see, their breeding program is very, very successful, very proud of that. And there, we have over 60.
((NATS))
((Tiffany Soechting, Marketing Director, Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch))
The ranch is established on a Texas Land Heritage property. It's been in the family for over 100 years and had cattle and goats on the property.
((NATS))
((Tiffany Soechting, Marketing Director, Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch))
In the early 80s, my mother and father-in-law decided they wanted to do something different. They loved animals and so they decided to pull animals (originally) from all over the world and give them a safe home away from home.
((NATS))
((Tiffany Soechting, Marketing Director, Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch))
My husband is the fifth generation. We raised both of our boys on the ranch. Now, my oldest son had a son just this last night. So now, the seventh generation lives on their wildlife range as well.
((NATS))
((PKG)) KITTY CAFÉ
((Banner: Tame Life))
((Reporter/Producer: Eve Unshin Lee))
((Camera/Producer: Sanghoon Lee))
((VOA Korean))
((Adapted by: Phillip Alexiou))
((Map: Washington, D.C.))
((NATS))
((Brian, Customer))
It’s great that you can interact with the cats for a lengthy time and get to see their personalities.
((NATS))
((Kanchan Singh, Founder, Crumbs and Whiskers))
There’s 25 kittens here. They’re all up for adoption, all safe from euthanasia, and as they’re adopted, we’re able to save more.
((NATS))
((Kanchan Singh, Founder, Crumbs and Whiskers))
All of this started when I was in Thailand and I came across a cat café there, and then I was like, why don’t these exist back in the United States? So, I came back to the US from Thailand, quit my job and started the cat café. And as we were doing cats, people always asked us about kittens.
And then our partner rescues, you know, talked about a problem that they had which was, during ‘Kitten Season’, shelters would be overflowing with kittens. This is actually perfect to create a whole new space that’s dedicated to kittens.
((Kanchan Singh, Founder, Crumbs and Whiskers))
So, we will be able to adopt out all these kittens while they’re still kittens, but if we’re not able to, we actually will still hold on to them.
((NATS))
((Brian, Customer))
I had two cats. Four months ago, Rex passed away. Should the right cat come along, I would love to adopt and I think I might have found some.
((Julie, Employee))
I want to thank you guys so much for coming and contributing to our cause of trying to save 500 kittens.
((NATS))
((Kanchan Singh, Founder, Crumbs and Whiskers))
I remember when I was 17 and my favorite cat that I would hang out with allthe time, and I heard that she got euthanized, and I cried and I told myself that when I got older, I would do something to change that.
((NATS))
((Kanchan Singh, Founder, Crumbs and Whiskers))
Between our cat cafés, which have been open for LA (Los Angeles) for two-and-a-half years and (Washington) D.C. for three-and-a-half years, we’ve adopted almost one thousand cats.
((NATS))
((Kanchan Singh, Founder, Crumbs and Whiskers))
And one of our rules is that if a cat’s sleeping, you don’t wake that kitten up. We actually also do daily health tests on them where we check their nose, their ears, their teeth. We’re always making sure they are eating.
So, we have a lot of systems and protocols in place, and we have a vet that comes in weekly, who checks in on them.
((NATS))
((Kanchan Singh, Founder, Crumbs and Whiskers))
Think about it. Where do you have in the city to go and just have a personal connection with animals? It’s really nowhere. In zoos the animals are in a captivity, shelters the animals are in cages. It’s stressful. There’s nowhere to just go and connect with animals.
((NATS))
TEASE ((VO/NAT))
Coming up
((Banner))
Soul Fried Chicken
((SOT))
Definitely the fried chicken. So, being from Texas, we ate a lot of soul food – fried chicken, waffles, green beans, corn bread, everything. But the fried chicken’s awesome.
BREAK THREE
BUMP IN ((ANIM))
BLOCK D
((Banner: Sharing Cuisine))
((PKG)) INDIAN FOOD
((Banner: Next Generation Indian))
((Reporter/Producer: Eve Unshin Lee))
((Camera/Producer: Sanghoon Lee))
((VOA Korean))
((Adapted by: Phillip Alexiou))
((Map: Washington, D.C.))
((NATS))
((Rahul Vinod, Co-founder, RASA))
Rasa is a venture that was started by myself and my friend Sahil, and we both have known each other since birth.
So, our story actually began with our fathers who both attended catering college in India, and studied there, and worked for some of the top hotels there, before they actually both separately came to the U.S. in the D.C. area1985.
((NATS))
((Sahil Rahman, Co-founder, RASA))
When we thought about what we wanted to create, we wanted to bring that authenticity and excitement of Indian culture and Indian cuisine but do it in the way that feels welcoming to people as well.
((NATS))
((Rahul Vinod, Co-founder, RASA))
In the North, they have the traditional Chicken Tikka Masala, Saag Paneer, Aloo Chole - all those, kind of, more of those popular curries that you’ve tried with the breads. There’s a lot of abundance of rice and coconut and wheat and different things like that in the South, and they are close to the water as well. So, that’s where the seafood component comes in.
((NATS))
((Sahil Rahman, Co-founder, RASA))
What we’ve done here is, Tandoor is difficult to operate. It’s a little bit dangerous as well. So, we’ve created a custom-built 1,000 degree oven, which we actually slap the naan into. Our shrimp is a traditional South Indian style shrimp, and we marinate it with turmeric, ginger, shallots and green chilies.
((NATS))
((Rahul Vinod, Co-founder, RASA))
There’s common misconception that no one in India eats beef, but in the south, they do eat beef because there’s a huge Christian population. There are Indian Christians. So, we’ve actually taken that and put that as one of the proteins on our menu here at Rasa.
((NATS))
((Sahil Rahman, Co-founder, RASA))
In the early 90s, Indian food, Korean food, a lot of these different foods were put into this ethnic category, and a lot of people were scared to try them. And it’s been incredible to see today how far we’ve come, where people are really excited to try something new.
((NATS))
((Rahul Vinod, Co-founder, RASA))
For us, we really feel that food is the gateway to culture and we hope that by creating really good food in an inviting atmosphere, we can bring people together. People from different backgrounds, different cultures, different races, they can all agree to a good meal.
((NATS))
((PKG)) SOUL FOOD
((Banner: Traditional Soul))
((Reporter/Producer: Eve Unshin Lee))
((Camera/Producer: Sanghoon Lee))
((VOA Korean))
((Adapted by: Phillip Alexiou))
((Map: Washington, D.C.))
((NATS))
((Oji Abbott, Executive Chef, Oohh’s & Aahh’s))
Soul food is American food. I mean it was born and bred here, it was raised here, it was cultivated here, and it fed, you know, the masses since 1700s and before that.
((NATS))
((Oji Abbott, Executive Chef, Oohh’s & Aahh’s))
It’s fried chicken, macaroni and cheese, collard greens, corn bread, candied yams, potato salad, things of those natures are what we sell.
((NATS))
((Alex Poscente, Customer))
Definitely the fried chicken. So, being from Texas, we ate a lot of soul food – fried chicken, waffles, green beans, corn bread, everything. But the fried chicken’s awesome.
((NATS))
((Oji Abbott, Executive Chef, Oohh’s & Aahh’s))
We have a lot of excellent guests that have come here that might be famous. Jay-Z and LeBron James, Jay Cole, he comes in all the time.
((NATS))
((Jer’mon Walker, Customer))
The story is that, like, down in the South, a lot of slaves weren’t given, like, a lot of options when it came to meal preparation. So, they had to do their best with what they had. So, taking that creativity and allowing it to string over years, it’s pretty cool and being able to enjoy it here is nice.
((NATS))
((Oji Abbott, Executive Chef, Oohh’s & Aahh’s))
Soul food moniker came from, in the 60s and 70s, when we had the Black Power movement. I mean it was about having pride in your style of cuisine, putting your soul in it.
((NATS))
((Oji Abbott, Executive Chef, Oohh’s & Aahh’s))
Black History is more than one month, but we do celebrate one month in thiscountry, specifically for everybody to know something about African American history, and some of the things that we went through. The success stories are more than just a few that you hear about, you know, sporadically.
((NATS))
Oji Abbott: All right, what you think so far?
Customers: It’s good.
Oji Abbott: Mississippi right?
Customers: Yes.
Oji Abbott: All right. So yeah, I know some soul food, right?
Customers: We love soul food.
((NATS))
((PKG)) BUBBLE TEA FOOD TRUCK
((Banner: Bubble Tea))
((Reporter/Camera: Yuyang Ren))
((VOA Mandarin))
((Adapted by: Ailin Li))
((Map: New York, New York City))
((NATS))
((Iris Xing, Co-founder, Bubble Lion))
I make very good bubble tea. I’ve had milk tea from all over the world. Everywhere I go, I try to find bubble tea first. Bubble tea is made of simple ingredients: Tea, milk, sugar and bubbles, but each of them has different ways of cooking, and different methods produce unique flavors. I didn’t find the perfect bubble tea in New York. So, I thought, why don’t I make bubble tea on the wheels? That way I can drink my own bubble tea whenever and wherever. I can also take my bubble tea to places. It’s like promoting milk tea culture. I tell people about it and let people try it, and let people fall in love with the drink. I think that’s great. Strawberry bubble tea from Bubble Lion.
NEXT WEEK ((VO/NAT))
((Banner))
Scaling New Heights
((SOT))
Being a professional rock-climber as a woman is relatively new. I was the first woman to myself to climbing and there was a lot of resistance to that and ultimately all that criticism really inspired me to continue climbing. Alright, good to go!
((Banner))
Joining the Band
((SOT))
I don’t think that I understood the gravity of becoming a member of the military. My role or my idea, my concept of serving has changed over the years. I am nearly 29 years in the army band now and when I joined in 1990, it was, I get to play the euphonia, yeah!!”
CLOSING ((ANIM))
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BREAK
BUMP IN ((ANIM))
SHOW ENDS
