For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Thomasina.  I met Jim a few years ago when I ran an art gallery in Mpls.  I had scheduled a photo shoot and couldn’t find anyone to film it.  Jim's card kept magically appearing.  I don’t know where the card came from…It just kept showing up, so I called him.  After the shoot Jim said…'hey you’re pretty good', and asked if we could tape an intro to his TV show.  Well…3 hours and more than a dozen takes later, I still hadn’t announced Search Party correctly, but a new partnership had formed.

Just under a year ago, I began hosting search party on a regular basis, and eventually co-produced a few.  At first I wasn’t sure what it would be like working with Jim, but I came to honor Jim as one of the only men who has respected me on every professional level. Never once, did Jim cross an inappropriate boundary or disrespect me in any way.

We used to talk about our mission here, and we both agreed that we had a common goal – we wanted to stimulate mass awakening.  We saw that society is too often repressed, and hoped to help people break out of that.  We knew one of the best mediums to do this with is television, and so here, we had a strong connection.

Jim was a great force in the metro area.  His show gave many people the chance to be seen who would have never had the chance otherwise.  We often talked about giving the underdog a shot.  There were a few times we had the opportunity to focus on national acts, but Jim always wanted to seek out new talent…find the unknown.  Jim was not afraid of the unknown.  He was not afraid of this.  He always told me he wasn’t afraid of death.  We would spend many hours on a bridge over the Mississippi talking about our gods, and love and light and dark. He ventured into the deepest darkness, hoping to shed light.

I think his searching has brought him full circle.  For his light we can no longer see.  I just hope that this, in his last act of dying, will shed light on and for those in the darkness that surrounded him…and that it will not be in vain.  Jim was a good man.  He will be deeply missed.  But the search will go on.  And he will not be forgotten.  -Thomasina 12/26/98

HEROIN KILLS

 Producer Jim O'Connell

SEARCH PARTY

(Still airing, only on Minneapolis cable)

Channel 32  Monday Nights at 9pm

The show that brings you the shows... featuring videos from local & national artists, hosted by Thomasina.  Jim and Thomasina have been working together since 1997 to improve the overall quality of cable access viewing.  Their creative talents and production skills blend nicely.  This team shares a common goal...to stimulate mass awakening.  Cable access provides an environment conducive to free expression.  The views expressed may not always be agreed upon, but expression itself is necessary for the health of a culture.  We have been repressed for far too long, and there are very few communication tools as effective as the media. May the band-width be with you.