iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Media Burn Archive @mediaburn.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

Thanks for coming to October Learn With Media Burn! We learned that babies, dogs, and jump cuts are the secret formula for funny home movies and we learned that makeup artist extraordinaire Dick Smith made all of his creepiest and most incredible looks in his basement. See you next month!

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Media Burn Archive @mediaburn.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

🎃TODAY Learn With Media Burn! Spooky Edition🎃 📆10/8 ⏰ 5pm - 7 pm 📍Media Burn Archive, 348 N Ashland Ave, Chicago, IL 60607 💸 FREE 💌RSVP via link

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Media Burn Archive @mediaburn.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

Happy Frappe Day! If frappes aren't your thing, visit Al and Ben Kohn's storefront coffee shop circa 2001. This footage was captured by Celeste Neuhaus for an experimental student documentary about Maxwell Street while Halsted was being converted into UIC student housing.

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Media Burn Archive @mediaburn.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

On this day in 1985, Chuck Kleinhans and Julia Lesage explored Chicago's Humboldt Park, camera rolling.

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Media Burn Archive @mediaburn.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

Famous playwright Harold Pinter recounts an experience with British fascists in his youth and how fascist societies regard reading and education. This is an excerpt from a longer 1989 interview by Chuck Olin.

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Media Burn Archive @mediaburn.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

Happy Vodka Day! Travel to Moscow and cheers with a group of "unofficial artists" - artists not sanctioned by the state -in this excerpt from a 1990 documentary by camcorder correspondent Skip Blumberg. Watch the full video on our website, and remember that you're supposed to clink!

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Media Burn Archive @mediaburn.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

Happy Boyfriend Day to all the boyfriends who are as nice and easy to be around as Michael! In this short excerpt from footage shot for Chicago Slices in 1993, Karen Hutt interviews Marianne Kurtz, a white suburban Palatine teen.

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Media Burn Archive @mediaburn.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

We are pleased to have played a small part in this project by digitizing 20 videos submitted by community members at History Harvest in April! Today, you can get a sneak peek of the digital map.

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Media Burn Archive @mediaburn.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Happy Lincoln Square Ravenswood Apple Fest 2026, Chicago! We hope you enjoy the fest as much as Spice the dog enjoys ignoring an apple in this excerpt from the 1999 short film Inner Spice produced by Jacqueline Stewart.

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Media Burn Archive @mediaburn.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

🎃NEXT WEEK: Learn With Media Burn! Spooky Edition🎃 📆10/8 ⏰ 5pm - 7 pm 📍Media Burn Archive, 348 N Ashland Ave, Chicago, IL 60607 💸 FREE 💌RSVP via link

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Media Burn Archive @mediaburn.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

In this short excerpt from the 1990 documentary Palestinian Diaries, one young man describes how watching tapes helped him get through the boredom of the Israeli-imposed curfews. Watch the full video on our website.

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Media Burn Archive @mediaburn.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Happy World Heart Day! Take a look at this heart-and-lung machine featured on The Bill Veeck Show . Hosted by major league baseball team owner Bill Veeck, the talk show ran from the late 1950s through early 1980s and covered a wide range of topics.

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Media Burn Archive @mediaburn.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Show your love for preserving video history! Attend a cool virtual event next week by being either a member of Experimental Sound Studio or (ideally and) Media Burn! secure.qgiv.com/for/mediaburn

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Media Burn Archive @mediaburn.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Announcing the 1st World Poetry Slam Day!!! 📅9/26 ⏰2-4pm 📍Newberry Library, 60 West Walton Street, Chicago, IL 60610 💸 FREE, though a $10 donation is suggested 💌RSVP via link in comments Join us as part of an international celebration of the Poetry Slam featuring founder Marc Kelly Smith.

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Media Burn Archive @mediaburn.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

We loved meeting so many SAIC students and other artist-run organizations at the fair this afternoon! Thanks for chatting with us, and enjoying our stickers and temporary tattoos! Here, Executive Director Sara Chapman enthusiastically explains our collection and our preservation process.

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Media Burn Archive @mediaburn.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Oscar Trujillo, a queer Cuban-American, offers insights on navigating the intersection of his identities. in the 2007 documentary Tal Como Somos which focused on the experiences LGBTQ+ Latinx people. Produced by Judith McCray and Juneteenth Productions. Watch the full video on our website.

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Media Burn Archive @mediaburn.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

Take a v virtual tour of the Media Burn office and hear some words on the importance of video preservation from Senior Archivist Dan Erdman!

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Media Burn Archive @mediaburn.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

Thanks for learning how to use the internet with us last evening at our September Learn With Media Burn event! And for enjoying some low stakes betting with imaginary money while playing along with a VCR remote controlled game of roulette (patent possibly still pending)! See you next month?

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Media Burn Archive @mediaburn.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

TODAY! 🎈 Media Burn Archive will select a surprise vintage educational video from our collections to screen. 📆 9/17 ⏰ 5pm - 7 pm 📍Media Burn Archive, 348 N Ashland Ave, Chicago, IL 60607 💸 FREE 💌RSVP via link in comments

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Media Burn Archive @mediaburn.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

The introduction to a 1975 rendition of “For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Enuf,” filmed before the iconic choreopoem would go on to Broadway. Featuring poet Alta Gerrey, playwright Ntozake Shange, and Paula Moss. Watch the full video on our website.

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Media Burn Archive @mediaburn.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

Happy Maxwell Street Market day, Chicago! In 1994, the market was relocated by the city to Canal Street to much outcry from vendors. The market reopened at its historic location in 2024, and is now operated by the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE).

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Media Burn Archive @mediaburn.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

Happy Video Games Day! 🎮 This tape features a demo for the 1983 television show "Wired In." Sadly, the program never came to fruition, but would have explored themes of emerging technology in the 1980s. Enjoy cameos from Bill Murray, Lily Tomlin, and footage from a vintage arcade.

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Media Burn Archive @mediaburn.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

#onthisday twenty-five years ago, the Twin Towers fell, killing 2,977 and changing the American approach to security and counterterrorism efforts. This newsclip reported by Elizabeth Brackett documents the effects of the terrorist attack on downtown workers in Chicago.

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Media Burn Archive @mediaburn.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

NEXT WEEK! Happy September! Another month, another Learn With Media Burn! Each third Thursday, Media Burn Archive will select a surprise vintage educational video to screen. 📆 9/17 ⏰ 5pm - 7 pm 📍Media Burn Archive, 348 N Ashland Ave, Chicago, IL 60607 💸 FREE 💌RSVP in comments

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Media Burn Archive @mediaburn.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

Opening September 4: Histórias Latinoamericanas at MASP! We are proud that "Chicago Boys" by Juan Downey is included in this major international group exhibition. Watch the full documentary on our website: loom.ly/FYX1q6s

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Media Burn Archive @mediaburn.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

Over 2026? Travel back in time to a day in New York City in 1973, shot by Videofreex members Skip Blumberg with David Cort. Blumberg described the clip as "... the Seinfeld show of video art: it's about nothing. I was practicing camera moves, following action, and editing in camera."

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Media Burn Archive @mediaburn.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

Happy Star Trek Day! #onthisday sixty years ago, the original Star Trek television series introduced viewers to space, This tape is from a special effects reel for Apogee Productions, showcasing VFX from the movies Battlestar Galactica, Star Trek, and Caddyshack

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Media Burn Archive @mediaburn.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

Happy Labor Day, Chicago! Watch the full documentary by Tom Palazzolo on our website.

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Media Burn Archive @mediaburn.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

Happy Read a Book Day! Listen to American Major League Baseball franchise owner and promoter BIll Veeck discuss sports history literature with TV sportscaster, host and producer Mike Leiderman at Powell's in 1983. Come for the vintage bookshop footage, stay for the digs against court tennis.

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Media Burn Archive @mediaburn.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

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Media Burn Archive @mediaburn.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

Chuck Kleinhans (1942-2017) was a scholar and filmmaker, who, often with his partner Julia Lesage, was a foundational figure in modern film studies. Read and watch more in our current online exhibition on our website "Chuck Kleinhans : Dictatorship of the Proletariat."

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Media Burn Archive @mediaburn.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

Thanks for your question - we are working on some new exciting virtual public programs that will be in that same spirit! Stay tuned!

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Media Burn Archive @mediaburn.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

Last Wednesday, Media Burn gathered at the Chicago History Museum for our first-ever staff retreat. These experiences reinvigorated our commitment to our preservation work and reminded us of the continued urgency to save works on video. Long live the archive!

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Media Burn Archive @mediaburn.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

Happy September! Another month, another Learn With Media Burn! Each third Thursday, Media Burn Archive will select a surprise vintage educational video from our collections to screen. 📆 9/17 ⏰ 5pm - 7 pm 📍Media Burn Archive, 348 N Ashland Ave, Chicago, IL 60607 💸 FREE 💌RSVP via link

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Media Burn Archive @mediaburn.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

Fresh from the archive: This 1990 documentary directed by John Reilly follows “Twin” James and “Happy” Wilson, who portray Vladimir and Estragon respectively in an all-inmate production of Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot in San Quentin.

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Media Burn Archive @mediaburn.bsky.social · 30/08/2026

Happy Birthday, Mary Shelley! Born #onthisday in 1797, the English novelist continues to inspire across the ages and across art forms, like this song by John Battles called "Frankenstein Created Go-Go Girls." This Chic-A-Go-Go episode originally broadcast on July 16, 2002.

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Media Burn Archive @mediaburn.bsky.social · 29/08/2026

On this day in 1968, a historically tense and highly protested Democratic National Convention wrapped up in Chicago. The gathering was marred by police violence against protestors who opposed the Vietnam War. This impressionistic view of the convention was directed and produced by Tom Palazzolo.

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Media Burn Archive @mediaburn.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

Happy Panda Fest, Chicago! 🐼 Travel back to Chicago's Chinatown in 1980 through this excerpt from the short documentary Wah Hong: A Medicinal Herb Store by Barbara Sykes. Find the full documentary on our website. 🐼 Credits: production by Barbara Sykes

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Media Burn Archive @mediaburn.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

Happy Chicago House Music Festival! Watch a bit of history in the making as club goers warm the dance floor of Power House on opening night at the club in 1985, featuring Frankie Knuckles and J.M. Silk. Produced by Phil Ranstrom.

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Media Burn Archive @mediaburn.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

Happy Dog Day! 🐾 Enjoy this excerpt from a cute canine romp captured by a student videographer for Pat Lehman's college course in 1975. 🐾 Credits: Director of 'The Dog', Susan Jarosiewicz Producers: Pat Lehman, Susan Jarosiewicz

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Media Burn Archive @mediaburn.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

😎😎in this excerpt from the short documentary Hollywood Comes To Chicago. John Landis goes around Illinois looking for the perfect places to film scenes in The Blues Brothers, including the historic Aragon Ballroom. Credits: Produced by John Davies

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Media Burn Archive @mediaburn.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

Happy Taste of Greektown, Chicago! Take a cruise down 1998 Halsted Street in this riveting, kaleidoscopic road movie by David E. Simpson and narrated by Studs Terkel. Credits: Produced, Directed, Written, & Edited by David E. Simpson. Photographed by Tsuoyoshi Kimoto. Narrated by Studs Terkel.

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Media Burn Archive @mediaburn.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

Congratulations to all Chicago Triathlon competitors! 🌊🚲👟 Celebrate and commiserate with these participants in the 1993 Downers Grove Bud Lite Mini-triathlon. Credits: camcorder correspondent, Doug Sawyer ; produced by TWTV 🌊🚲👟 Josh, are you an Olympian now??

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Media Burn Archive @mediaburn.bsky.social · 22/08/2026

Happy Eat A Peach Day! 🍑 This clip from Chic-a-go-go's 200th episode features an interview with Canadian musicians Peaches & Gonzales. Much more is available on the Chic-A-Go-Go YouTube page. More episodes will be made available on Media Burn as they are re-digitized and catalogued. 🍑

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Media Burn Archive @mediaburn.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

Happy Poet's Day! 🪶 Enjoy this student reading hosted at Latino Youth High School in Chicago's Pilsen/Little Village neighborhood in 1978. 🪶 From the Community TV Network (CTVN) collection.

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Media Burn Archive @mediaburn.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

Thank you for coming out for our inaugural Learn With Media Burn! Remember, the advice and exercises in these videos are intended to be used only in conjunction with the advice of your own personal physician. We hope you'll join us on this gentle, stretchy journey again next month!

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Media Burn Archive @mediaburn.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

🚨⚠️TODAY!⚠️🚨 📆 8/20 ⏰ 5pm - 7 pm 📍Media Burn Archive Join us each third Thursday for the screening of a surprise vintage educational video from our collections.

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Media Burn Archive @mediaburn.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

Today is World Photography Day! Enigmatic photographer Vivian Maier captured over 150,000 scenes of everyday life. Her work remained completely unknown until after her death. This 2011 documentary by Tom Palazzolo maintains the mystique of Maier's singular approach to recorder her world.

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Media Burn Archive @mediaburn.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

🚨⚠️NEW PUBLIC PROGRAM ALERT!⚠️🚨 📆 8/20 ⏰ 5pm - 7 pm 📍Media Burn Archive Join us each third Thursday for the screening of a surprise vintage educational video from our collections.

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