I spent much of yesterday afternoon reading coverage on the shooting of Arkansas Democratic Party Chairman Bill Gwatney. I can’t make sense of the senseless tragedy, and I’m very saddened by it.
Constantly updated, almost instant coverage of news events like this makes the reader/viewer feel somewhat part of the story, and I found myself really pulling for Gwatney to make it through, then heartbroken when news broke that he died, about four hours after the shooting.
I very rarely watch TV news, and in fact did not watch any coverage of yesterday’s events. However, I did find that the Web sites of TV news stations were much quicker to offer the latest information. That’s not surprising, but the fact that the state newspaper of Arkansas was constantly scooped by CNN and other media outside the state is very bothersome. In fact, the newspaper’s online story this morning is much less detailed than the articles of many national publications, and it includes several typos and other mistakes.
It’s well known that newspapers around the country are in trouble, finding it difficult to compete in the internet age. While I don’t expect the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette to be the first with the story, I do expect the local newspaper to be the most accurate and in-depth. So far, I’ve been disappointed, at least with the paper's online coverage.
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Fly-by post
We’re busy, busy, busy. Nina’s first day of kindergarten is tomorrow, and we’re all prepping for the big change in her life and ours. She’s excited, and I’m thrilled for her.
We’re also tuning in to the Olympics daily, especially enjoying the swimming, gymnastics and beach volleyball. (Daddy digs basketball). The U.S. men’s gymnastics team made us especially proud (ignore the naysayers, just believe in yourself and show the world what you can do).
As far as writing, I’ve turned in two stories to the newspaper in the past week and I’ve got two more assignments, both business profiles. I’m also working on a few entries for the Ozark Creative Writers conference, which I need to mail in next week.
And we’re vacation planning for the fall. Looks like we’ll take a camping trip Labor Day weekend, then Daddy and the girls are going camping with my mom, sisters and family in October while I’m in Eureka Springs. Daddy has a weeklong work trip in early November, then we’re headed to Hilton Head for Thanksgiving to see Grandaddy and Grandma Terre and the rest of our South Carolina family. Both my sisters and their families are going as well, plus maybe a cousin or two. Looks like we’re lining up a big family reunion on the beach. I can’t wait.
We’re also tuning in to the Olympics daily, especially enjoying the swimming, gymnastics and beach volleyball. (Daddy digs basketball). The U.S. men’s gymnastics team made us especially proud (ignore the naysayers, just believe in yourself and show the world what you can do).
As far as writing, I’ve turned in two stories to the newspaper in the past week and I’ve got two more assignments, both business profiles. I’m also working on a few entries for the Ozark Creative Writers conference, which I need to mail in next week.
And we’re vacation planning for the fall. Looks like we’ll take a camping trip Labor Day weekend, then Daddy and the girls are going camping with my mom, sisters and family in October while I’m in Eureka Springs. Daddy has a weeklong work trip in early November, then we’re headed to Hilton Head for Thanksgiving to see Grandaddy and Grandma Terre and the rest of our South Carolina family. Both my sisters and their families are going as well, plus maybe a cousin or two. Looks like we’re lining up a big family reunion on the beach. I can’t wait.
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Learning a new reporting lesson
My BookCrossers story is in the paper today.
Unfortunately, it didn’t go as well as I hoped. Like the “observer effect” in psychology, I think my presence and that of the photographer changed the behavior of the article’s subjects. They usually do things very much on the sly, and I anticipated them lurking in the shadows and stealthily placing books throughout the plaza, then watching to see their books being “caught.”
I tried to avoid “observer effect” by interviewing the organizer on the phone a couple of days before the event and then meeting and talking to the participants before they left for Graceland. But they beat me to Graceland by a few minutes and the photographer was already waiting for them, so when I walked up all the books had been placed on a table for the photographer to take shots, and a crowd of tourists had gathered to select some of the books.
Anyway, no use crying over spilt milk, but I will try to figure out what I could have done differently and try to avoid “observer effect” in the future.
Unfortunately, it didn’t go as well as I hoped. Like the “observer effect” in psychology, I think my presence and that of the photographer changed the behavior of the article’s subjects. They usually do things very much on the sly, and I anticipated them lurking in the shadows and stealthily placing books throughout the plaza, then watching to see their books being “caught.”
I tried to avoid “observer effect” by interviewing the organizer on the phone a couple of days before the event and then meeting and talking to the participants before they left for Graceland. But they beat me to Graceland by a few minutes and the photographer was already waiting for them, so when I walked up all the books had been placed on a table for the photographer to take shots, and a crowd of tourists had gathered to select some of the books.
Anyway, no use crying over spilt milk, but I will try to figure out what I could have done differently and try to avoid “observer effect” in the future.
Saturday, August 9, 2008
Thoughts on the opening ceremonies
Geez, what am I doing awake at 3 a.m.? It’s not the hives and sneezing fits that roused me, but they are making it impossible for me to get back to sleep. I think I woke up a little worried because I never heard Kevin come in last night, so I had to make sure he was in bed. Now, if I had been in bed and needed only to roll over to verify his presence in the house, I might have been able to go right back to sleep.
However, I was on the couch in the living room, having fallen asleep watching the Opening Ceremonies of the Olympics. The girls and I decided to have a slumber party last night, and we all piled up in front of the TV, watching NBC in the dark, me on the couch, Nina on the love seat and Amelia on the floor (her choice). It was fun, something we’ve never done before, and since Daddy had gone to Jackson for Aunt Debbie's 50th birthday celebration, it seemed like the perfect opportunity. Nina and I fell asleep around 9, but Amelia and Hope (our beagle) continued to play until close to 10, which I know because they woke me up every 10 minutes during that first hour I tried to sleep.
Anyway, before we all eventually dozed off, we were enjoying the ceremonies. I had been telling the girls most of the day that we were going to watch the Olympics, and they seemed excited. We had taken our baths/showers, put on our pajamas and set up tray tables to eat in the living room, another rare treat. Once we were all settled, I turned on the TV on and started the show, which I had recorded on DVR. It didn’t begin well, as Nina and Amelia both began clamoring for their favorite movies instead of the Olympics. Can’t say that I blame them, as the show started off with a little too much history, background and narration. I found myself chiding Tom Brokaw and other members of the NBC team: “Show, don’t tell.”
Once they finally began showing the actual ceremony, though, we were all rapt. It was beautiful, spectacular, breathtaking—in short, brilliant. I think it was the single-best opening ceremony I’ve ever seen, though I probably say that each time I watch the Olympics (much like our latest Christmas tree is always the best one ever). Still, this ceremony is going to be hard to top, especially considering that the most impressive part was the synchronicity of thousands of performers.
Was it just me or did the broadcast team talk entirely too much? There were moments where it would have been nice to just watch and listen to what the obviously incredible producer of the on-field show wanted the audience to see and hear, but Matt Lauer, Bob Costas and Joshua Cooper Ramo—who was as times very interesting but even more often long-winded—seemed determined to share every bit of information they’ve gleaned on China in their years of research. But hey, maybe they, like me, were in awe.
It’s hard for me to pick a favorite part, but I know what the girls liked best—the Budweiser commercial with Hank the Clydesdale and his Dalmatian trainer. The beauty of the DVR is that you can start a show about an hour after it’s begun and then skip through the commercials, but I remember that ad from the Super Bowl and knew they’d love it, so I didn’t fast forward. Then they begged me to watch it over and over again.
They’ll almost certainly ask to watch it again when they wake up, hours from now. I decided to embed it here, so maybe they’ll find my blog a little more interesting.
However, I was on the couch in the living room, having fallen asleep watching the Opening Ceremonies of the Olympics. The girls and I decided to have a slumber party last night, and we all piled up in front of the TV, watching NBC in the dark, me on the couch, Nina on the love seat and Amelia on the floor (her choice). It was fun, something we’ve never done before, and since Daddy had gone to Jackson for Aunt Debbie's 50th birthday celebration, it seemed like the perfect opportunity. Nina and I fell asleep around 9, but Amelia and Hope (our beagle) continued to play until close to 10, which I know because they woke me up every 10 minutes during that first hour I tried to sleep.
Anyway, before we all eventually dozed off, we were enjoying the ceremonies. I had been telling the girls most of the day that we were going to watch the Olympics, and they seemed excited. We had taken our baths/showers, put on our pajamas and set up tray tables to eat in the living room, another rare treat. Once we were all settled, I turned on the TV on and started the show, which I had recorded on DVR. It didn’t begin well, as Nina and Amelia both began clamoring for their favorite movies instead of the Olympics. Can’t say that I blame them, as the show started off with a little too much history, background and narration. I found myself chiding Tom Brokaw and other members of the NBC team: “Show, don’t tell.”
Once they finally began showing the actual ceremony, though, we were all rapt. It was beautiful, spectacular, breathtaking—in short, brilliant. I think it was the single-best opening ceremony I’ve ever seen, though I probably say that each time I watch the Olympics (much like our latest Christmas tree is always the best one ever). Still, this ceremony is going to be hard to top, especially considering that the most impressive part was the synchronicity of thousands of performers.
Was it just me or did the broadcast team talk entirely too much? There were moments where it would have been nice to just watch and listen to what the obviously incredible producer of the on-field show wanted the audience to see and hear, but Matt Lauer, Bob Costas and Joshua Cooper Ramo—who was as times very interesting but even more often long-winded—seemed determined to share every bit of information they’ve gleaned on China in their years of research. But hey, maybe they, like me, were in awe.
It’s hard for me to pick a favorite part, but I know what the girls liked best—the Budweiser commercial with Hank the Clydesdale and his Dalmatian trainer. The beauty of the DVR is that you can start a show about an hour after it’s begun and then skip through the commercials, but I remember that ad from the Super Bowl and knew they’d love it, so I didn’t fast forward. Then they begged me to watch it over and over again.
They’ll almost certainly ask to watch it again when they wake up, hours from now. I decided to embed it here, so maybe they’ll find my blog a little more interesting.
Friday, August 8, 2008
The Olympics are coming! The Olympics are coming!
I took my girls and two of my nieces to the mall today and we released a few books into the wild. It’s part of BookCrossing.com, a unique book-swapping club and subject of my latest newspaper story.
Check out the BookCrossing website or the Sunday CA for more info, but basically we registered on the site, entered information about the books we were going to release, wrote journal entries about our contributions, put identifying labels in the books, then took them to the mall and left them in various places for others to find. Hopefully, when our books are “caught” (found), the recipients will log onto the website, write their own journal entries, then read and rerelease the books.
BookCrossing books end up all over the world, so this was a bit of research into what happens to our books. We’re all eager to hear about the travels of our tomes, and this was/is a fun project for me and four book-loving kids.
In other Eason news, we reconnected our cable today, which makes me a little nervous. As some of you know, I’ve enjoyed a “writing rebirth” since disconnecting our cable for the summer. I had become one of those lie-my-lazt-butt-down-on-the-couch-and-watch-TV-as-soon-as-the-kids-get-to-bed moms, but I vow not to fall back into that very bad habit again. I’ve been writing nearly every night for the last few months, so I haven’t missed cable at all. In fact, I’ve watched a grand total of about four hours of TV since pulling the plug on cable. It’s been pretty liberating, and I sure am having a blast writing every day and night.
HOWEVER, the Olympics start today, so I’m giving myself permission to watch a little TV daily for the next couple of weeks. I’ve loved the Olympics since I was a little kid, and I hope to give my daughters the same fond memories of this ultimate athletic and patriotic experience. I’ve been hard at work today on my various writing projects so I can take the night off and relax on the couch with Nina and Amelia as we watch the Opening Ceremonies. I just know they’re going to love it as much as I do.
Happy Olympic opening day to all, and to all a good night!
Check out the BookCrossing website or the Sunday CA for more info, but basically we registered on the site, entered information about the books we were going to release, wrote journal entries about our contributions, put identifying labels in the books, then took them to the mall and left them in various places for others to find. Hopefully, when our books are “caught” (found), the recipients will log onto the website, write their own journal entries, then read and rerelease the books.
BookCrossing books end up all over the world, so this was a bit of research into what happens to our books. We’re all eager to hear about the travels of our tomes, and this was/is a fun project for me and four book-loving kids.
In other Eason news, we reconnected our cable today, which makes me a little nervous. As some of you know, I’ve enjoyed a “writing rebirth” since disconnecting our cable for the summer. I had become one of those lie-my-lazt-butt-down-on-the-couch-and-watch-TV-as-soon-as-the-kids-get-to-bed moms, but I vow not to fall back into that very bad habit again. I’ve been writing nearly every night for the last few months, so I haven’t missed cable at all. In fact, I’ve watched a grand total of about four hours of TV since pulling the plug on cable. It’s been pretty liberating, and I sure am having a blast writing every day and night.
HOWEVER, the Olympics start today, so I’m giving myself permission to watch a little TV daily for the next couple of weeks. I’ve loved the Olympics since I was a little kid, and I hope to give my daughters the same fond memories of this ultimate athletic and patriotic experience. I’ve been hard at work today on my various writing projects so I can take the night off and relax on the couch with Nina and Amelia as we watch the Opening Ceremonies. I just know they’re going to love it as much as I do.
Happy Olympic opening day to all, and to all a good night!
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Hope you voted today
Good news! Another contentious election in Memphis is over. Kevin almost forgot to vote, despite the fact that I called three times to remind him. He got there five minutes before the polls closed.
Looking at the numbers and based on what I saw at my polling place, it looks like many Republicans voted in the Democratic primary to sway the outcome in the Ninth Congressional District race. Doesn't look like it mattered, as Steve Cohen garnered nearly 80 percent of the vote. Memphis made national news today due to the racial overtones of this race, with Barack Obama repudiating the ads of Cohen rival Nikki Tinker.
Looking at the numbers and based on what I saw at my polling place, it looks like many Republicans voted in the Democratic primary to sway the outcome in the Ninth Congressional District race. Doesn't look like it mattered, as Steve Cohen garnered nearly 80 percent of the vote. Memphis made national news today due to the racial overtones of this race, with Barack Obama repudiating the ads of Cohen rival Nikki Tinker.
The prevailing emotion on the CA comment board is pride in our citizens for rejecting the racism of this campaign and voting for the most qualified candidate. A white, Jewish man won in a landslide over a black, Christian woman in a heavily black, Christian district. Cohen obviously had support from all segments of the community.
Some really good news: Trip Advisor named the Memphis Zoo best in the country in its annual top-10 list. The top two aquariums in the country are also in Tennessee.
So it's been a pretty exciting day for our state, and now we're all exhausted from the excitement.
Nighty night.
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Whew! I'm tired...
...so excuse my rambling, please.
It's been a long few days with Kevin out of town, and I'm really glad he'll be back tonight, even though we won't see him much until the weekend. The kids miss him, which is why they've been driving me crazy, I guess.
I wasted much of the day trying to find a source for a newspaper article, looking at the web site of pretty much every real estate agent in Memphis. Finally found what I needed, so I'll spend most of tomorrow on that job.
I got a teasing email from the Orpheum (Memphis) today. They wanted to let me know that I could buy advance tickets to "An Acoustic Evening with Lyle Lovett and John Hiatt," two great singer-songwriters. While I say I'm not a fan of country music, I love both of those guys, neither of whom is country enough for country music. They also both have excellent songs that mention Memphis: Lovett's "I've Been to Memphis" and Hiatt's "Memphis in the Meantime." If they added my other two favorite "country-but-not-really" artists--Lucinda Williams and John Prine--I'd just have to suck it up and go.
I made two submissions today: an essay to Work-At-Home Mom Magazine and five children's poems to Highlights. I'm falling in with that bad crowd at AW's JHS (Just Hit Send) freelance forum, so I'm trying to submit at least two ms a week, besides those to the newspaper. But hey, I've already met most of my August goals, and it's only the sixth!
I really need to be working on some entries for the Ozark Creative Writers Conference, but there just seem to be so many other things I need to do first. The next few weeks are going to be quite an adjustment for the Eason household as we all get ready for Nina to head to kindergarten, but I'm hoping we get it figured out soon (and that it gives me the time I need to write).
Speaking of kindergarten, I'm a little worried because I got a message today from someone initialled MP at Nina's new school saying Nina will meet with MP next week, but MP is not one of the kindergarten teachers I met yesterday. I'm really trying not to freak out, but it's just not at all what I was told at registration. My first thought is that they had more students than expected and have to add a kindergarten teacher., maybe someone fresh out of college, a teacher who didn't have a job until yesterday afternoon after the school finished student counts. But really, would that be so bad? Thanks to Gina for the reassurance. My sister is entering her first full year as a kindergarten teacher and has gone through her own registration nightmares the last couple of days.
Just heard the door open, so I'm going to go greet my hubby. Good night, and have a pleasant tomorrow.
It's been a long few days with Kevin out of town, and I'm really glad he'll be back tonight, even though we won't see him much until the weekend. The kids miss him, which is why they've been driving me crazy, I guess.
I wasted much of the day trying to find a source for a newspaper article, looking at the web site of pretty much every real estate agent in Memphis. Finally found what I needed, so I'll spend most of tomorrow on that job.
I got a teasing email from the Orpheum (Memphis) today. They wanted to let me know that I could buy advance tickets to "An Acoustic Evening with Lyle Lovett and John Hiatt," two great singer-songwriters. While I say I'm not a fan of country music, I love both of those guys, neither of whom is country enough for country music. They also both have excellent songs that mention Memphis: Lovett's "I've Been to Memphis" and Hiatt's "Memphis in the Meantime." If they added my other two favorite "country-but-not-really" artists--Lucinda Williams and John Prine--I'd just have to suck it up and go.
I made two submissions today: an essay to Work-At-Home Mom Magazine and five children's poems to Highlights. I'm falling in with that bad crowd at AW's JHS (Just Hit Send) freelance forum, so I'm trying to submit at least two ms a week, besides those to the newspaper. But hey, I've already met most of my August goals, and it's only the sixth!
I really need to be working on some entries for the Ozark Creative Writers Conference, but there just seem to be so many other things I need to do first. The next few weeks are going to be quite an adjustment for the Eason household as we all get ready for Nina to head to kindergarten, but I'm hoping we get it figured out soon (and that it gives me the time I need to write).
Speaking of kindergarten, I'm a little worried because I got a message today from someone initialled MP at Nina's new school saying Nina will meet with MP next week, but MP is not one of the kindergarten teachers I met yesterday. I'm really trying not to freak out, but it's just not at all what I was told at registration. My first thought is that they had more students than expected and have to add a kindergarten teacher., maybe someone fresh out of college, a teacher who didn't have a job until yesterday afternoon after the school finished student counts. But really, would that be so bad? Thanks to Gina for the reassurance. My sister is entering her first full year as a kindergarten teacher and has gone through her own registration nightmares the last couple of days.
Just heard the door open, so I'm going to go greet my hubby. Good night, and have a pleasant tomorrow.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
