Oct 2007
It's Been Awhile... Lots Of Stuff To Follow
10/30/2007 04:23 PM Filed in: General
Posts
Busy, busy, busy
getting ready for a bunch of upcoming events, travel
and other goodies. WP.com has been updated, too, with
a few new items. To wit:
> New Tunes page. With iTunes reviews and a last.fm playlist, the page is a bit livelier.
> Updated Seattle page. The Seattle Pollocks are successful, multiplying and extremely photogenic.
> More clips added, with Hanson videos to follow.
More soon...
> New Tunes page. With iTunes reviews and a last.fm playlist, the page is a bit livelier.
> Updated Seattle page. The Seattle Pollocks are successful, multiplying and extremely photogenic.
> More clips added, with Hanson videos to follow.
More soon...
|
The Crush Grows, As If I Needed An Excuse
10/29/2007 04:26 PM Filed in: YouTube
| Cool Events
A Return To Depth And Understanding...
10/25/2007 08:29 PM Filed in: Quotes 2
Remember | YouTube
John Amaechi, speaking on
Oprah's ""
program this week, was asked about why he came out
of closet.
"There's something incredibly powerful about people who are genuine or authentic," he said, "not just in terms of their sexuality, but in every regard. There is something almost transcendent about it."
If you haven't heard him speak, watch it on , or below. And if you don't think we still have a problem, just look at the user comments on YouTube -- they'll change your mind about how much work's left to do.
Alert The Media: I'm Officially Switching Allegiance To NBC News
10/23/2007 09:56 PM Filed in: Ascribe.net
Preview
I'm back from my
first-ever Yoga session, and as I limped home, I
crawled into bed to watch , as I do every night.
Tonight, our Southern California friends are facing arguably the worst and most destructive, disruptive fires in their history. Keith Olbermann interviewed NBC Nightly News anchor at the top of the broadcast - Williams hung around to give viewers a more intimate and casual yet confident, personal view of what's going on there.
I used to worship , and his ABC News field reporters. But today, after living through "The Path to 9/11" and other seemingly odd GOP influences at ABC, I have fully gravitated to the NBC and MSNBC nightly broadcasts. (My TV is, of course, tuned squarely on CNN throughout the day, culminating in .)
I highly recommend them, although Keith's new set doesn't give him enough room to throw his papers.
Tonight, our Southern California friends are facing arguably the worst and most destructive, disruptive fires in their history. Keith Olbermann interviewed NBC Nightly News anchor at the top of the broadcast - Williams hung around to give viewers a more intimate and casual yet confident, personal view of what's going on there.
I used to worship , and his ABC News field reporters. But today, after living through "The Path to 9/11" and other seemingly odd GOP influences at ABC, I have fully gravitated to the NBC and MSNBC nightly broadcasts. (My TV is, of course, tuned squarely on CNN throughout the day, culminating in .)
I highly recommend them, although Keith's new set doesn't give him enough room to throw his papers.
Eleanor Roosevelt Was A Cool Chick
10/23/2007 04:51 PM Filed in: Quotes 2
Remember
Crusty Gives Thumbs-middle To Shaun's
A group of us, including Chris "Crusty" Haddle, went to on Saturday night. His is spot on:
"While I admit that Shaun Doty is a talented chef, it's too bad that talent didn't get transferred to the operation of his eponymous restaurant. I made a reservation 2 weeks in advance for 8pm on a Saturday night. It was apparent that the hostess didn't have a good handle on the seating because it took us 45 minutes to be seated, even with a reservation. She showed us the table, then walked off. Is it too much to expect a little apology for the wait? Our waiter was apathetic and only mildly efficient. The food was OK, but I was hoping to be "wow-ed," especially by a chef of Doty's caliber. The best part of the meal was the dessert of sticky toffee pudding, but even that was a small portion. Basically, Shaun's is just OK, but I would suggest going during the week. I must say it baffles me why the AJC continuously puts mediocre-to-mildly decent restaurants on their Top 50 List (see Trois...ugh!). This city has so much more to offer."
They really did seem to be in over their heads... but I still think the joint has a lot of potential.
Medill School Of Journalism's Reputation Matters. Period. (Vol. 2)
I had a number of factors
converge in the past few days -- a wave of
editorials, e-mails and other news -- so I could
no longer contain myself. I wrote the following
editorial and sent it to the alumni listserv. Here it is:
"I'm thoroughly enjoying our discourse on preserving the name and reputation of our beloved Medill School of Journalism... Seems like it's long been simmering, and it makes me proud to be an alum and a subscriber to this listserv. I'm more convinced than ever that Dean Lavine's truncated name and focus change for his Medill is dangerous for the school's place in the J-school universe -- and is coming at precisely the wrong time.
Why?
We are now well into our sixth full year of seeing the maddening machinations of a wholly neutered D.C. press corps, with polite hand raising and (what appear to be) unnecessary allowances for a challenged ; we are constantly seeing journalists put in the line of fire and, some would argue, have been complicit in advancing a single line of rationale as we charged off to a devastating conflict (I am still, to this day, angered by CNN's "" series in the fall of 2002); and our credibility as a profession as a whole is, shall we say, "peppered" by people of and training.
I'm not writing to make a
political statement, quite the contrary, so
please don't read it that way. Bottom line: Are
you satisfied with the quality of journalism
you're seeing, and if not, does that make
Lavine's change appropriate? The answer is
categorically "No."
I'm not surprised for us to have heard from , one of my most prized and memorable Medill professors, due to her leadership on journalistic ethics and law -- a topic that I found gravely lacking in my Medill education. I want us to spend more time on theory and practice, on the "classics," and not be tantalized by how blogs, news feeds and on-demand e-mail have somehow eclipsed the import of traditional reporter training. It's absolutely preposterous.
We also heard from Abe on how we can thankfully count on *at least* keeping the brand name "Medill," due to donors' displeasure. To say I'm relieved is an understatement. To that I'd also add this: we as alums are donors ourselves, and I'm curious if you would hesitate giving back to a school that is seemingly abandoning the very spirit and letter of the journalism law that we signed up for, that many of us are indebted to, both financially and otherwise. I myself will curb all gifts until we re-shift back to what I see is our true purpose.
I've been blogging/getting the word out about this issue for a number of months now, and just recently picked up a Google alert about , reporter for MarketWatch (where at in D.C.), who posted both a and video editorial on the subject.
The video piece is available here:
http://www.brightcove.tv/title.jsp?title=1260615388
The editorial, here:
http://tinyurl.com/3b9lpc
Friedman refers to Medill as the "Sellout School of Journalism." I agree.
If an alum, a leader in Internet reporting, is impugning Medill's direction and decision-making to lean more in favor of new media, I'd say it's time to rethink what we're doing. Also, the D.C. Rotation for Medill students is a good litmus: What do our news partners -- from MarketWatch to the in Peoria -- think of this rebranding? (Art Janik's "Clairvoyant Journalism" post last month was dead on the money.) Medill's D.C. Web site also has been stripped of any mention of the word, "journalism." Further, Medill's main Web site now looks like it could be a third-rate cable company's Internet splash page -- not one from a storied, respected institution. Hardly any Northwestern purple, and again, no "Journalism."
One last point: Medill needs
the and Journalism arms both
separate and strong. I was part of the Magazine
sequence (Urban
Classroom) at Medill and yet I snagged a
long-term, corporate-writing gig through the IMC
listserv after graduation. I am proof of the
unbelievable connection that both arms of our
school have. Dropping the "journalism" is just
absolutely the WRONG direction -- it will weaken,
and has already weakened, that dual-pronged
strength we have embodied for coming up on 100
years.
Let's dump the Kool Aid down the drain and return back to what we're known for: real-world, feet-on-the-pavement JOURNALISM. In the coming years we will be called to be even better, more seasoned, at-the-ready professionals in an ever-growing definition of what "journalist" means. If anything, we should redouble our efforts in classic Medill training and not go further down this troubling path."
I've gotten a few great responses -- I'll post them later.
Georgia Drought News Conference Ignored By Atlanta Media
10/20/2007 10:44 AM Filed in: Seriously?
| Ascribe.net
Preview
As you know, I get
upset about a great many things... but this is just
unbelievable. The Governor of the State of Georgia,
Sonny Perdue, just gave a news conference this
morning about our state's rapidly disintegrating
water supply -- reason enough to declare a state of
emergency in a number of our counties. We are taking
the Army Corps to court, and Florida and Alabama and
threatening action of their own.
But you wouldn't know it because nobody carried it on the air.
Yes, shockingly, NONE of our local affiliates carried this news conference. NONE. The only local news channel who did, in fact, carry a piece of it, was CNN -- which is not local at all. And even with CNN, based here in Atlanta, with the network's Planet in Peril series coming, they themselves did not stay with Perdue's news conference.
We are three months from our taps running dry, in Atlanta and elsewhere, and ABC (WSB-TV), NBC (WXIA) and CBS (WGCL) *ALL* kept children's programming going. WTF?
We are a city of stations who feel beholden to cover the state of Georgia, instead of focusing more on our great city, so this huge omission. Further, our great TV stations cut into prime time when a mattress falls off a truck on I-85, so WHY in God's name would they not cover this?
Outrageous. Somebody correct me and tell me I'm missing something...
But you wouldn't know it because nobody carried it on the air.
Yes, shockingly, NONE of our local affiliates carried this news conference. NONE. The only local news channel who did, in fact, carry a piece of it, was CNN -- which is not local at all. And even with CNN, based here in Atlanta, with the network's Planet in Peril series coming, they themselves did not stay with Perdue's news conference.
We are three months from our taps running dry, in Atlanta and elsewhere, and ABC (WSB-TV), NBC (WXIA) and CBS (WGCL) *ALL* kept children's programming going. WTF?
We are a city of stations who feel beholden to cover the state of Georgia, instead of focusing more on our great city, so this huge omission. Further, our great TV stations cut into prime time when a mattress falls off a truck on I-85, so WHY in God's name would they not cover this?
Outrageous. Somebody correct me and tell me I'm missing something...
Congratulations To Brenda McMillen For Winning Best In Show!
10/16/2007 07:23 PM Filed in: Cool People
| Cool Events
ARTvision artist Brenda McMillen
recently won Best in
Show at a recent exhibit at . The piece, pictured here, was
purchased by the owner of The Art School in Sandy
Springs.
Brenda will once again be exhibiting in , with at least two pieces. Stay tuned for more. Make sure to send Brenda congrats.
New Stuff Coming Soon!
10/15/2007 08:26 AM Filed in: General
Posts
Stay tuned for:
-- New movie posts to
-- An interactive Tunes page with music reviews and other playlist info
-- News about , totally redesigned this year; sneak peek coming soon
-- The latest Green Machine post, this week
-- Much, much more!
-- New movie posts to
-- An interactive Tunes page with music reviews and other playlist info
-- News about , totally redesigned this year; sneak peek coming soon
-- The latest Green Machine post, this week
-- Much, much more!
Gunn, Pelosi & Ugly Betty Players Lead A Star Parade In D.C.
10/12/2007 10:56 AM Filed in: Cool Events
| Cool People
| YouTube
| New Captures
| Stone Four
Projects
(Washington, D.C. ~ 14 October
2007) - The tuxedos and ball gowns came out in
full force for ,
led admirably by Ted Toon and Sarah Booth. What an
awesome time!
We had the absolute pleasure of sitting with many of Ted's family members, Rolando, as well as other pals Clarke, Sam, Val and Rebecca. The food was tasty, when we weren't glued to the stage -- and since this photog was six feet from keynote speaker and one table from Tim Gunn, I didn't spend very much time eating!
Ken and Dale and Laurice and
Rebecca were all within spittin' distance from
us, too. So much fun to be amongst so many
familiar faces.
The best way to describe the
night is as a "peak experience" - where people
came together to hear how hard Pelosi has worked
from the beginning on representing her San
Francisco constituents in fighting the spread of
HIV and AIDS, as well as many other issues. Even
some surprise war protesters could not dull the
evening.
Once I saw how close I was to
Tim Gunn, I was immediately on a mission to meet
him and have a good story to tell Penny -- who
is a stalker-level fan of . I
treated Pen to a tribute page with a collection of pix from my
meeting with Mr. Gunn, who gave me some props for
my "cream" colored tuxedo. Thanks to Sam for his
great shots of that moment, and to everyone for
alerting me to the many other we had throughout the evening.
Thanks also to Ted and Rolando
for being such spectacular hosts; to Ted's whole
family for being so awesome; and to Rolando and
Rebecca for asking me to . How
in the hell did we keep that a secret??
For more, visit the Kodak Gallery , as well as the page I loaded on . Movie clips to follow...
Enjoy!
Call For Participation In ARTvision 2007; ASP Named Beneficiary
10/11/2007 06:50 AM Filed in: Cool Events
| Charity
ARTvision will return for another
year with a new focus -- and a new beneficiary.
Here's the story:
(ATLANTA – 11 October 2007) ARTvision is pleased to announce a second year of its online art and photography benefit, returning in 2007 with a new beneficiary: (ASP). Atlanta's own ASP is a leader in fostering self-empowerment and enhanced quality of life for people living with HIV, working through advocacy, education, peer support and treatment activism.
With a number of other organizations under its umbrella, ASP works throughout the state of Georgia using community-based advocacy and HIV treatment education.
ARTvision is now known as , with the intent on enhancing global awareness of ASP and to bring attention to the philanthropic spirit and burgeoning growth of our great city.
ARTvision Atlanta's sales will open on December 1st, , and conclude on December 31, 2007 - punctuated by Will Pollock's Sixth Annual Gourmet Pizza Extravaganza on New Year's Eve.
ARTvision is now in its Call for Participation phase. If you or someone you know would like to donate a piece for this online art show, or know a potential sponsor, please contact Will Pollock or ASP's Craig Eister via e-mail. More details on artists and sales to follow. - Will Pollock
Busting The Dope Rhymes: Hilarity On A Hillbilly Cartoon Date
10/10/2007 07:36 AM Filed in: YouTube
| The Funnies
Do We Need Science To Compel Us To Take Care Of Planet Earth?
. It's all hooey.
CNN's Rob Marciano a few days ago when he unexpectedly slammed the global view in Al Gore's . Marciano questioned whether or not the strength of recent hurricanes like Katrina could be attributed to global climate change.
CNN apparently got a lot of mail about his comments, and by examining both sides of the argument.
Actually, there's quite a strong
anti-climate-change movement out there -
and .
And my thought for this Green Machine post is simple. We as Americans can only be responsible for ourselves and live by example... And yet we're notorious for living in excess, lacking in the ability to self-police or self examine.
Seriously: this is actually a call for cultural change, underscored strongly by natural signs. Some of this climate-crisis blowback is, at best, misplaced, since we should be lessening (read: correcting) our impact on the planet regardless of where the facts point us.
Some of these folks espouse contrarian views for the sake of being fancy assholes... on the way to fat ratings. But hey, needs a reason for being, too.
With its forthcoming series, Rob's comments are, shall we say, against the CNN grain.
In The Electronic Age, Always Remember The Personal Touch
10/09/2007 09:28 AM Filed in: Articles
in the Sunday about how e-mail can be
misinterpreted... and how a phone call or a
drop-by can be the best cure-all.
E-mail, the article reads, might be behind much of the miscommunication we have with one another:
"This is becoming more apparent with the emergence of social neuroscience, the study of what happens in the brains of people as they interact. New findings have uncovered a design flaw at the interface where the brain encounters a computer screen: there are no online channels for the multiple signals the brain uses to calibrate emotions."
Shows the irony of the "reach out and touch someone" ... although I still think that e-communication can be just as powerful, thoughtful and effective when done with care.
(Illustration by Stuart Goldenberg for the NYTimes.)
New Travel Logs & Captures To Follow Shortly
10/08/2007 08:09 AM Filed in: New Captures
| Travel Blogs
I've got Tim Gunn,
Nancy Pelosi... and a full complement of Pollocks
coming very soon. Movies, captures and all sorts of other goodies.
Check back here later, or check my channel.
Thanks to Ted and Rolando for hosting me once again.
Check back here later, or check my channel.
Thanks to Ted and Rolando for hosting me once again.
Like A Green Neighbor...
10/04/2007 06:48 AM Filed in: The Green
Machine
A Medill student named
Sarah Baicker, working in the position I had
at while at Medill, wrote a piece
recently on the . Since I've started a green
renovation of my home in midtown, here are some
other changes I've made to help ease our impact on
the planet:
-- Kleenex, kitchen towels and other paper products are now 100% recycled
-- Transitioning from standard cleaning products to environmentally sensitive detergents of all kinds (dishwashing, laundry, etc.)
-- Using Atlanta's recycling and reducing landfill waste
If , anyone can.
I'll post with other conservation methods later on. If you have a unique way that you're conserving, let me know, and I'll put it up!
-- Kleenex, kitchen towels and other paper products are now 100% recycled
-- Transitioning from standard cleaning products to environmentally sensitive detergents of all kinds (dishwashing, laundry, etc.)
-- Using Atlanta's recycling and reducing landfill waste
If , anyone can.
I'll post with other conservation methods later on. If you have a unique way that you're conserving, let me know, and I'll put it up!
