my landlord sent me an email the other day informing me that one of my neighbors had complained to her about some of my behavior during the late night. no, i wasn't having some wild kegger where some frat boys passed out on their lawn and puked on their stoop. and it wasn't me blasting music in the wee hours in the morning. my transgression: leaving the porch light on overnight a few times.
apparently, the blinding light rays emanating from the 60-watt fluorescent bulb is disturbing the beauty sleep of my millionaire neighbors. they didn't pay a million and a half for their two bedroom, one bath so they could be disturbed by some punk student who disturbs the complete blackness of their suburban night. i can't believe they've put up with my antics for this long. good thing, they're so understanding.
Friday, June 30, 2006
Thursday, June 29, 2006
my prefontaine moment
suffering from a moderate hangover this past sunday, i decided on the traditional remedy: sit on the couch with the television on. and after the completion of the day's second world cup match, i started flipping channels and came to a track and field meet. normally, the steeplechase is about the least interesting race to me, but one of the competitors' names caught my ear: steve slattery, reigning national champion.
using the power of google, i got the relevant info on him. yes, it was the same steve slattery that i ran against in a state sectional cross country meet while in high school.
nowadays, i struggle jogging to the mailbox and almost collapsed last week after an hour of banging around the tennis ball with my kid brother. but back then, as a senior in high school, i had just cruised through a 16-minute 5k a couple weeks earlier and in the best shape of my life (including the next 50-odd years). slattery was just a fresman then, but was already being timed sub-4:30 in the mile. he had talent, but i had experience and the drive to go out on top.
slattery opened the race with his typical sprint, racing out to the lead while i took it out at my normal measured pace. i knew my strategy, run even splits, and pick off the runners one by one. halfway through the race, the plan unfolded to perfection. i had moved into the top-10 and could see the runners in front of me starting to break down. steadily, i gained ground on the few remaining competitors in front of me until slattery was squarely in my sites.
a moment later, i spotted my coach who exhorted me keep moving up. "slattery's 10 yards away. get him"! he screamed. then i said "slattery, you're mine" either out loud or chanted in my head.
by this point, we were all alone. everyone else must have been 30 seconds back with less than a mile to go. i could easily let slattery pull me along to the finish line and try to outkick him in the quarter mile. second place would be guaranteed that way.
but if we ran hundred races and left it to the last 400 meters, he'd win 100 of them. slattery had too much speed. if i wanted to win, i had to break him over this final mile. make the move now and decide the race before finishing speed came into play. so that's what i did.
i put in a burst and caught slattery seeing if the kid could hang with the upperclassman. i kept pushing the pace, pressuring him to break.
he didn't. i did. i went the way of prefontaine.
even casual track fans know the story of prefontaine's 5k race in the '72 olympics. he had the silver medal in hand with a lap to go and did something either foolish or brave. he went after the gold by challenging lasse virren early knowing he couldn't outrun him late. the reward for his ambition was a big pile of nothing: a 4th place finish and no medal.
my story was infinitely less dramatic, but thematically similar. i knew slattery was a better runner at that point than i could ever be. i knew i couldn't beat him in a sprint. i probably couldn't beat him in the mile either. but there was, however small, a chance -- at least in my mind, and that made it worth the risk.
it didn't pay off. i completely fell apart. two people probably made up 200m on me in the last quarter mile. by then, my coach was just urging me to finish the race. it barely happened. i tripped over the finish line and a couple people who i'll never know carried me out of the finishing chute and lay me in a grassy area. i remember closing my eyes, apparently i didn't move for about 45 minutes.
like pre i finished fourth. it sure would have been nice to say i beat a national champion, but at least i tried.
using the power of google, i got the relevant info on him. yes, it was the same steve slattery that i ran against in a state sectional cross country meet while in high school.
nowadays, i struggle jogging to the mailbox and almost collapsed last week after an hour of banging around the tennis ball with my kid brother. but back then, as a senior in high school, i had just cruised through a 16-minute 5k a couple weeks earlier and in the best shape of my life (including the next 50-odd years). slattery was just a fresman then, but was already being timed sub-4:30 in the mile. he had talent, but i had experience and the drive to go out on top.
slattery opened the race with his typical sprint, racing out to the lead while i took it out at my normal measured pace. i knew my strategy, run even splits, and pick off the runners one by one. halfway through the race, the plan unfolded to perfection. i had moved into the top-10 and could see the runners in front of me starting to break down. steadily, i gained ground on the few remaining competitors in front of me until slattery was squarely in my sites.
a moment later, i spotted my coach who exhorted me keep moving up. "slattery's 10 yards away. get him"! he screamed. then i said "slattery, you're mine" either out loud or chanted in my head.
by this point, we were all alone. everyone else must have been 30 seconds back with less than a mile to go. i could easily let slattery pull me along to the finish line and try to outkick him in the quarter mile. second place would be guaranteed that way.
but if we ran hundred races and left it to the last 400 meters, he'd win 100 of them. slattery had too much speed. if i wanted to win, i had to break him over this final mile. make the move now and decide the race before finishing speed came into play. so that's what i did.
i put in a burst and caught slattery seeing if the kid could hang with the upperclassman. i kept pushing the pace, pressuring him to break.
he didn't. i did. i went the way of prefontaine.
even casual track fans know the story of prefontaine's 5k race in the '72 olympics. he had the silver medal in hand with a lap to go and did something either foolish or brave. he went after the gold by challenging lasse virren early knowing he couldn't outrun him late. the reward for his ambition was a big pile of nothing: a 4th place finish and no medal.
my story was infinitely less dramatic, but thematically similar. i knew slattery was a better runner at that point than i could ever be. i knew i couldn't beat him in a sprint. i probably couldn't beat him in the mile either. but there was, however small, a chance -- at least in my mind, and that made it worth the risk.
it didn't pay off. i completely fell apart. two people probably made up 200m on me in the last quarter mile. by then, my coach was just urging me to finish the race. it barely happened. i tripped over the finish line and a couple people who i'll never know carried me out of the finishing chute and lay me in a grassy area. i remember closing my eyes, apparently i didn't move for about 45 minutes.
like pre i finished fourth. it sure would have been nice to say i beat a national champion, but at least i tried.
Thursday, June 22, 2006
body control
while sitting outside arizmendi bakery enjoying the sun and a couple of slices of their designer pizza, a woman who looked to be in her mid-20s exited the bakery and went running up the street.
since she was just average looking and not in possession of any special gluteal qualities, i normally would have shifted my gaze to other things. however, in the crotch area of her jeans i noticed that there was a somewhat round area darker than the rest of her jeans.
now it's possible that she chose an unfortunate wash for her jeans; or that she bought something off the irregular rack at marshalls and didn't notice where the irregularity took place
or that she lost urination control in the bakery and was now rushing home to change out of her piss soaked jeans and panties, hoping to avoid the notice of any percpetive onlookers.
mission failed.
since she was just average looking and not in possession of any special gluteal qualities, i normally would have shifted my gaze to other things. however, in the crotch area of her jeans i noticed that there was a somewhat round area darker than the rest of her jeans.
now it's possible that she chose an unfortunate wash for her jeans; or that she bought something off the irregular rack at marshalls and didn't notice where the irregularity took place
or that she lost urination control in the bakery and was now rushing home to change out of her piss soaked jeans and panties, hoping to avoid the notice of any percpetive onlookers.
mission failed.
Tuesday, June 13, 2006
disclosures update and irony
well, i've now spoken to 20 newspaper ombudsman for my story and Mike Needs is still the only one to support the idea of an online webpage for reporters, which provides details about their backgrounds and involvements that affect the perspective -- not bias! -- they bring to all their stories.
i've found one thing so ironic about all the interviewing i've done with newsroom employees. over and over i've been told the reporter's job is to listen to all the sides and then make a judgment on the facts -- that's what makes them a professional. no argument there. apparently though, a majority had the earplugs in because som many were clearly not considering one question i raised.
makes you wonder how well this whole professionalism works in practice...
i've found one thing so ironic about all the interviewing i've done with newsroom employees. over and over i've been told the reporter's job is to listen to all the sides and then make a judgment on the facts -- that's what makes them a professional. no argument there. apparently though, a majority had the earplugs in because som many were clearly not considering one question i raised.
makes you wonder how well this whole professionalism works in practice...
Sunday, June 11, 2006
un-star struck
a friend and i were debating the fashion merits of tapered jeans at the boy least likely to show last week. my friend took the position that no one could succed being stylish while wearing a pair of jeans that ended tight as they approached the ankles. i countered the arg, but was envisioning females as the rare exception. regarding tapered jeans, they can never work for men.
this all reminded me of when i was in nyc over christmas. after dinner, i happened to cross paths with matt dillon. lo and behold he was sporting the tapered jean, and true to the rule he looked straight outta the 80s. my theory is he was trying to relive the outsiders glory days.
the white bomber jacket and black sneakers provide a bit more proof.
this all reminded me of when i was in nyc over christmas. after dinner, i happened to cross paths with matt dillon. lo and behold he was sporting the tapered jean, and true to the rule he looked straight outta the 80s. my theory is he was trying to relive the outsiders glory days.
the white bomber jacket and black sneakers provide a bit more proof.
Monday, June 05, 2006
changing people's minds, one story at a time.
for anyone who stumbles upon this blog, you'll have no idea that i'm working on my journalism master's project. and if you've read some of the writing on this site, you might be wondering what they're teaching me in the program. that's beside the point.
the point is that the big minds of academia (read: me) are having an impact on the real world out there. and don't worry, i got evidence.
this past friday i spoke to mike needs, the ombudsman for the akron beacon journal, about his feelings toward creating bio pages for reporters that listed all sorts of background info, such as organizational affiliations, educational background, community involvements etc.
and to my surprise he said yes. at that point i had spoken to nine ombudsman, and none thought this was a good idea. since then, i've interviewed seven more. so far, he still the only one who advocates taking this step (karen hunter, the ombudsman for the hartford courant, was ambivalent).
two days later, needs wrote about the very topic in his weekly column that appears on sundays. here's the article. i'm the stanford student.
http://www.ohio.com/mld/ohio/news/columnists/mike_needs/14738618.htm
it even made it onto romenesko.
http://www.poynter.org/column.asp?id=45&aid=102368
one small correction to needs' article though: a newspaper, the greensboro news record, is planning on taking this step. and for the record, i agree with needs, which might suprise you given my reaction in the article. but i'm aware that it could backfire too. so what i'd like to see is some midsize newspapers like the akron paper plunge forward and see what the results are.
i'm guessing that the conspiracy theorists and media bashers out there wouldn't change one bit -- they might get even louder if that's possible (michelle malkin is already pretty loud). but a few skeptics would change their minds for the better, and the ones who are grateful for the work that reporters do, myself included, would grow closer. i'm also certain that it would help journalists figure out where their biases and conflicts of interests lie.
the point is that the big minds of academia (read: me) are having an impact on the real world out there. and don't worry, i got evidence.
this past friday i spoke to mike needs, the ombudsman for the akron beacon journal, about his feelings toward creating bio pages for reporters that listed all sorts of background info, such as organizational affiliations, educational background, community involvements etc.
and to my surprise he said yes. at that point i had spoken to nine ombudsman, and none thought this was a good idea. since then, i've interviewed seven more. so far, he still the only one who advocates taking this step (karen hunter, the ombudsman for the hartford courant, was ambivalent).
two days later, needs wrote about the very topic in his weekly column that appears on sundays. here's the article. i'm the stanford student.
http://www.ohio.com/mld/ohio/news/columnists/mike_needs/14738618.htm
it even made it onto romenesko.
http://www.poynter.org/column.asp?id=45&aid=102368
one small correction to needs' article though: a newspaper, the greensboro news record, is planning on taking this step. and for the record, i agree with needs, which might suprise you given my reaction in the article. but i'm aware that it could backfire too. so what i'd like to see is some midsize newspapers like the akron paper plunge forward and see what the results are.
i'm guessing that the conspiracy theorists and media bashers out there wouldn't change one bit -- they might get even louder if that's possible (michelle malkin is already pretty loud). but a few skeptics would change their minds for the better, and the ones who are grateful for the work that reporters do, myself included, would grow closer. i'm also certain that it would help journalists figure out where their biases and conflicts of interests lie.
Thursday, June 01, 2006
source crushes
a girl i know who works for the la times was telling me about someone she worked with at a small paper with. her friend had taken a personality test and the results had been definitive: she wasn't going to make it far in the journalism business.
now i've never taken that particular personality test, but as someone who knows myself pretty well, i'm fairly certain i'd fare similarly. ironic, because like this hopeless soul i'm aspiring to break into the same business. here are the facts.
it's hard for me to cold call sources. sometimes i feel the need to reach down and make sure my body hasn't sucked up my balls like a frightened dog. then i dial. approaching strangers at an event for comments isn't exactly my forte either. for that matter, i'm not a great writer either. pretty good compared to just about everyone i meet, but not exactly a standout around people trying to do the same thing i am for a living.
yet i try. and it's because even i have those occasional days where interviews will stop being uncomfortable and the interviewee just keeps saying interesting things. i still trip over questions, but they don't seem to mind and send something witty, insightful or both back anyways.
that i enjoy. i want to tell friends about the great conversation i just had. and yes, if i were a 12-year old girl i'd probably draw a big heart with an arrow through it with my name and the sources printed inside.
so courtesy of a story i am reporting about publid disclosures of conflicts of interest, here's who i heart right now:
i called geneva overholser because she's more or less the most qualified source in the world for writing stories about the media. she's been a foreign correspondent on two continents, editor of the des moines register when the paper won a pulitzer for overall excellence, editorial board member of the nyt, ombudsman for the post, and now teaches at missouri. i could list all her credentials but that might exceed whatever memory blogger allocates my humble blog. oh, and she's smart as hell and seems to formulate well thought-out ideas in the time average people need to decide their next word. at one point, she said i haven't considered the issue before so this is off the top of my mind than went ahead and said about five things where i immediately thought to myself, how can i work that into the story? next time i'm hard up for something to write, i may just call her and say what's on the tip of your tongue?
cassandra tate, you may have never heard of. i hadn't either, though she was pretty successful as a journalist, and wrote for cjr and was a nieman fellow before she left the biz to get a ph.d in history. but admittedly, while i was chatting with her, i felt a tinge of envy toward her husband (ombudsman for the seattle pi) who i had spoken to a day earlier. i can't imagine how many great conversations took place in their house. she spoke as if you needed to turn a painting into your editor. i wasn't in lewiston, idaho in april of 1978 but it sure sounded great.
if you haven't spoken to jay rosen about old-school journalists, then you're missing out on many good laughs. rosen's blog, press think, is mandatory for anyone looking to think critically about the media. and he's more or less the guy in civic journalism. to date, he's the only source i've encountered who goes in to character on the phone. without warning when talking about journalists, he goes into the act, a sort of whiny crowing voice paraphrasing the usual complaints about who's going to pay for this or that or how are we going to do the important stories. his message: stop being a bitch and start trying to figure things out. yet, he's not condescending about it, he's right.
now i've never taken that particular personality test, but as someone who knows myself pretty well, i'm fairly certain i'd fare similarly. ironic, because like this hopeless soul i'm aspiring to break into the same business. here are the facts.
it's hard for me to cold call sources. sometimes i feel the need to reach down and make sure my body hasn't sucked up my balls like a frightened dog. then i dial. approaching strangers at an event for comments isn't exactly my forte either. for that matter, i'm not a great writer either. pretty good compared to just about everyone i meet, but not exactly a standout around people trying to do the same thing i am for a living.
yet i try. and it's because even i have those occasional days where interviews will stop being uncomfortable and the interviewee just keeps saying interesting things. i still trip over questions, but they don't seem to mind and send something witty, insightful or both back anyways.
that i enjoy. i want to tell friends about the great conversation i just had. and yes, if i were a 12-year old girl i'd probably draw a big heart with an arrow through it with my name and the sources printed inside.
so courtesy of a story i am reporting about publid disclosures of conflicts of interest, here's who i heart right now:
i called geneva overholser because she's more or less the most qualified source in the world for writing stories about the media. she's been a foreign correspondent on two continents, editor of the des moines register when the paper won a pulitzer for overall excellence, editorial board member of the nyt, ombudsman for the post, and now teaches at missouri. i could list all her credentials but that might exceed whatever memory blogger allocates my humble blog. oh, and she's smart as hell and seems to formulate well thought-out ideas in the time average people need to decide their next word. at one point, she said i haven't considered the issue before so this is off the top of my mind than went ahead and said about five things where i immediately thought to myself, how can i work that into the story? next time i'm hard up for something to write, i may just call her and say what's on the tip of your tongue?
cassandra tate, you may have never heard of. i hadn't either, though she was pretty successful as a journalist, and wrote for cjr and was a nieman fellow before she left the biz to get a ph.d in history. but admittedly, while i was chatting with her, i felt a tinge of envy toward her husband (ombudsman for the seattle pi) who i had spoken to a day earlier. i can't imagine how many great conversations took place in their house. she spoke as if you needed to turn a painting into your editor. i wasn't in lewiston, idaho in april of 1978 but it sure sounded great.
if you haven't spoken to jay rosen about old-school journalists, then you're missing out on many good laughs. rosen's blog, press think, is mandatory for anyone looking to think critically about the media. and he's more or less the guy in civic journalism. to date, he's the only source i've encountered who goes in to character on the phone. without warning when talking about journalists, he goes into the act, a sort of whiny crowing voice paraphrasing the usual complaints about who's going to pay for this or that or how are we going to do the important stories. his message: stop being a bitch and start trying to figure things out. yet, he's not condescending about it, he's right.
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