By Sheila
Lennon
Bottom-up' journalism from the pros
Fair and balanced, too!
June 19, 2004, 7:35 p.m. -- (Last week's weblog)
Listen to Ray Charles's musical funeral: NPR offers audio of Ray Charles's tuneful memorial service and a separate audio commentary.
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June 18, 2004, 9:26 p.m.
Updated to clean up everybody's typos.
Bruce Springsteen vs. George Bush on TV? Would you like to see Bruce Springsteen
play at Giants Stadium -- and on TV -- the night George Bush is nominated?
There's
a petition to make that happen..
Draft
Bruce is an open letter to Bruce Springsteen inviting
him to lead a concert Sept. 1 in NYC during the climactic night of the Republican
National Convention, when George W. Bush will presumably be nominated
for a second term. And
it seeks signatures from others who would like to see this come together.
...I have put Giants Stadium on hold on September 1 in the hope that you
will lead the music industry in coming together and perform in a concert
for change.
Once it is known that you are involved, many other artists will want to perform
with you. Together your collective voices and music will send a clear message
to all Americans that our country needs their vote to create change. The
event is called VoteAid: "Concert for Change" and we think that
it has the potential to become the largest concert in history. We would like
the money
that this concert generates to go to support voter registration and participation
throughout the country, but more importantly your decision to play at exactly
the same time George Bush is being nominated will focus all Americans on
the importance in this election for their future as well as the future of
the world.
I have asked the undersigned to join me in signing this letter.
We need you.
If this were coming from a kid with a bedroom computer, it wouldn't matter
much. But it's from Andrew
Rasiej, who founded or cofounded Digital
Club Network, New York City¹s Irving
Plaza concert venue and MOUSE (Making
Opportunities for Upgrading Schools and Education). He was also chairman of
Howard Dean's Tech Advisory Committee:
I just interviewed Rasiej by email:
|
Andrew
Rasiej
|
Do you know Springsteen?
I don't know Bruce personally.
There were earlier
reports that something like this might happen. Does Bruce
know about/endorse what you're doing?
The earlier reports, I believe, came from some initial buzz when I announced
I put the Stadium on hold. As far as I know Bruce is not yet
aware of this effort.
Although -- interestingly -- he has Al Gore's recent speech posted
to his official site, so I know he is at least politically inclined in
this
direction.
What did it take to reserve Giants stadium?
Putting Giants Stadium on hold is not that big a deal as long as you
are a credible customer to rent it. I founded Irving Plaza, a well known concert
venue in NY, so I have strong music industry experience and lots of professional
support.
How would it be televised? On cable? Live?
If it comes together and Bruce and/or other major act agrees to perform, I
believe other artists will want to come and play too. Once some momentum takes
hold, then finding a cable/satellite broadcast partner will need to happen.
Clearly the major networks will be covering the RNC, but MTV, VH1, and others
will
want to get involved in this project. I bet the BBC might even be interested
which would make the concert something that will be broadcast INTO the US as
opposed to from . . . which politically helps as well.
Anything else I should know?
I'm serious about giving the music industry an opportunity to come together,
have a platform and (stage), and make their voices heard at a particularly
opportune moment in the political process and in history.
How do you foresee it coming together? (i.e., what "sign" are
you waiting for? As I was considering trying to contact Springsteen's people
about
this, I wondered if/when you will do that?)
I don't have any particular "trigger" point in mind.
I also don't believe Bruce would say anything to a reporter at this point
other than he is not available.
I think this is going to take a life of its own as the sign-ups grow.
If this appeals to you, Draft
Bruce seems to be the place to start. The petition
site is savvy enough to offer sensible privacy options -- it won't share your
email address, it solicits comments, and doesn't request your
snail mail address.
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Surprise from Fox: From Doc
Searls,
First I ... say I expect Fahrenheit
9/11 will be nothing more than a long
negative campaign ad for George W. Bush. Then the Roger Friedman of Fox
News,
of all
places,
says
It turns out to be a really brilliant piece of work, and a film that
members of all political parties should see without fail.
and
not seeing "F9/11" would be like allowing your First Amendment
rights to be abrogated, no matter whether you're a Republican or a Democrat.
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Oil
chief: my fears for planet -- Shell
boss's 'confession' shocks industry. In the Guardian (U.K.).
The head of one of the world's biggest oil companies has admitted that the
threat of climate change makes him "really very worried for the planet".
In an interview in today's Guardian Life section, Ron Oxburgh, chairman of
Shell, says we urgently need to capture emissions of the greenhouse gas carbon
dioxide, which scientists think contribute to global warming, and store them
underground - a technique called carbon sequestration.
"Sequestration is difficult, but if we don't have sequestration then
I see very little hope for the world," said Lord Oxburgh. "No one
can be comfortable at the prospect of continuing to pump out the amounts
of carbon dioxide that we are pumping out at present ... with consequences
that
we really can't predict but are probably not good."
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The
Techno Maestro's Amazing Machine: A maverick inventor's breakthrough
electric motor uses permanent magnets to make power -- and has investors
salivating. At Japan.com.
Nobue explains to us that this and all the other devices only use electrical
power for the two electromagnetic stators at either side of each rotor, which
are used to kick the rotor past its lockup point then on to the next arc of
magnets. Apparently the angle and spacing of the magnets is such that once
the rotor is moving, repulsion between the stators and the rotor poles keeps
the rotor moving smoothly in a counterclockwise direction. Either way, it's
impressive.
The physics -- while throughly explained -- is beyond most of us, but here's
my favorite part of the story:
His US experience came after playing the piano for a living for 15 years.
He began tinkering with his invention in the mid-70s. The idea for his magnetic
motor design came from a burst of inspiration while playing the piano.
But Minato decided to drop everything in 1990 to help his daughter Hiroko,
who at the age of 20 decided that she wanted to be a rhythm and blues star
in the US. Minato is a strong believer in family: If Hiroko was going to find
fame and fortune in the US, Dad had better be there to help manage her. He
suceeded in helping Hiroko to achieve a UK dance chart number one hit in 1995.
In 1996 Minato returned to Japan and his magnetic motor project. The following
year he displayed his prototypes to national power companies, government officials
and others at a five-day conference in Mexico City. Interest was palpable,
and Minato realized that his invention might meet a global need for energy-saving
devices.
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Weekend links:
Garage Rock
Radio streams and archives '60s songs. The
mp3s are wonderful,
many I've never heard, a few that were almost famous (I Had Too Much to
Dream (Last Night) by the Electric Prunes, Evil Hearted You by the Yardbirds).
Thanks to my colleague Steve Smith for the tip.
Bilderberg
photo archive: Not related to the conspiracy theory, this archive
hosts stunningly beautiful photos in many categories. That's one of its industrial
photos.
Kite Aerial Photography: Just what it says.
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Thanks, Ray, and goodbye...
June 17, 2004, 6:47 p.m.
As promised, I've added links to the work of more columnists at the New
Orleans NSNC conference, links to other coverage of the conference and some
notes from readers at the bottom of yesterday's item.
That way the pieces will stay together as one item when your great-grandchildren
find
it in Google. Please scroll down to read it, or use your browser's search
function to find "Updated 6.17"
Bill
Clinton rises again: Blogger
Jeff
Jarvis went to the screening
in New York of the film The
Hunting of the President last night:
: "I don't wake up in the morning hating Kenneth Starr. I wake up in
the morning feeling sorry for people who believe they are in possession of
the whole truth... And I think you should, too," President Bill
Clinton told a large crowd tonight after the premiere of The
Hunting of the President. "If
you want to be forgiven, you have to extend forgiveness, even to people who
aren't smart enough to ask for it."
It was an angry -- at last -- yet calm and philosophical Bill Clinton who
stood on stage at NYU tonight, at an event sponsored by The
Week, as he lectured
the audience about the "historical context" of the film they had
just watched. The film was based on a book that connected the dots about
the -- yes -- vast, right-wing conspiracy that tried to bring Clinton down.
It rehashed the troopers and Paula "with the hair and the nose" and
Gennifer and Whitewater and the McDougals and Vince Foster with the bullet
and, of course, Monica and showed who was behind it all. Just watching Ken
Starr, that destructive prig, brought up the taste of bile again. But Clinton
doesn't hate Ken Starr, remember. He said that Starr et al "were not
independent agents, they were instruments of a grand design."
...I found it odd, maybe sad, perhaps distasteful, no, maddening to see
Clinton -- whom I admire, let me be clear (or as we say, transparent) --
coming out after the rehashing of all that, even if it was done by his defenders.
Yet Clinton saw it as an opportunity for a history lesson....
Good stuff.
Related: As last week's portraits of Bill and Hillary Clinton were unveiled
in the White House last week, the former
President noted that we need to "return
to vigorous debate about who's right and wrong, not who's good and bad." Jarvis
quotes Clinton repeating the concept last night.
I'll say Amen to that. I'm weary of hearing political partisans call each
other "haters." I'm tired of manufactured outrage.
We're all in this America together. We can disagree about our course, but
polarizing attacks on those who don't think like you swears at the idea of
the melting pot, of living together peaceably based on our common interests.
Demonizing others in the name of God or country diminishes us.
Stirred up by talk radio for ratings and profit, our meaner instincts are
a lousy set of values on which to base a fair and just society.
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Web newspaper registration stirs debate: AP,
Imagine if a trip to the corner newsstand required handing over your name,
address, age, and income to the cashier before you could pick up the daily
newspaper.
That's close to the experience of many online readers, who must complete registration
forms with various kinds of personal data before seeing their virtual newspaper.
The requirement has irked some readers and privacy advocates, led to the creation
of Web sites to foil the system, and could be failing to provide the solid
demographic information that the system was intended to capture.
Link
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Who's
Seeding the Net With Spyware? At PCWorld,
It's tough enough sometimes to figure out where you picked up that spyware,
but have you ever wondered who planted that digital parasite?
It's likely a young man, maybe a college student, just making a few bucks
spreading pop-up ads that contain a package unwelcome by many. And it's a growing
cottage industry....
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Kudos
to another blogger: Liz Donovan (Infomaniac)
is a news researcher at the Miami Herald, and the paper wrote a story about
her award:
Herald researcher Elisabeth Donovan has been awarded the prestigious Agnes
Henebry Roll of Honor Award by the Special Libraries Association News Division.
Donovan, who began working for the Herald in 1981, was honored for her ''wisdom
and expertise'' in the field, according to the chairman of the awards committee....
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Worthy links:
Look-back day: These two seem to go
together: Poster
Glory:
Antique American Posters & Electronic
Musical Instrument(s) 1870 - 1990
Wilco - A ghost is born: Stream the band's new CD.
Why You Should Dump Internet Explorer: At Lockergnome.
State
Sets Standard for E-Voting: At Wired. And, by Dan Gillmor, E-Voting
Turning a Corner
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June 16, 2004, 7:55 p.m.
National
Society of Newspaper Columnists
Conference
2004
|
Outgoing NSNC president
Mike
Leonard
Bloomington (Ind.)
Herald-Times, |
|
2004 Columnist
of the Year
Dorothy
Brush
Crossville, Tenn.
Chronicle |
Dave
Lieber
Ft. Worth
Star-Telegram |
|
Writing, Rhythm & all that Jazz
June 10-13, New Orleans
Photos
by
Sheila Lennon, projo.com
|
|
|
Gibbens Robichaux
The Daily Comet
Thibodaux, La. |
Keith
Woods
Poynter Institute |
|
|
Bill
Tammeus, Kansas City Star, and his wife, Marcia.
Sheila Stroup opens the conference. 2004 Columnist of
the
Year Dorothy Brush is in the foreground.
NSNC at the House of Blues Sunday morning gospel brunch.
NSNC webmaster Jim
Boughton is in the foreground clapping.
|
|
Music, to my ears: The
National Society of Newspaper Columnists gathered for its annual
conference last weekend in New Orleans, and elevated it.
In contrast to powwows of big-media managers, movers and shakers, NSNC's journalists
are the salt of the earth: Many labor a lifetime at the same paper, writing
two or three columns a week for readers who feel they know them personally,
and probably do.
They already understand accountability, so their concerns range from the meaning
of fairness to wondering if a columnist from a smaller paper -- or one who
doesn't play the game -- could ever win a Pulitzer.
Privately, in the hallway, one spoke to me of struggling with how much to
speak his mind. He loses readers if he pushes them in a strong voice, he says,
and loses others if if he pulls his punches by writing humor or sports.
These journalists put themselves on the line all the time, pure writers writing.
They aren't bemoaning the state of the industry, worrying about ad sales or
bucking for promotions. They think, they write, they connect with readers in
their own voices, and take the lumps that go with it.
If I have one suggestion for this group, it stems from that conversation in
a hallway: Encourage columnists to write such concerns anonymously on a piece
of paper and slip it into a box, to be read and discussed by the entire group.
Thoughtful people aren't teflon-coated; there are insecurities and dilemmas
only another columnist understands, and this would be an opportunity to raise
them without embarrassing yourself.
This gathering should be overflowing with columnists -- from larger papers,
from alternative weeklies, journalist-bloggers and freelancers -- but it's
not as well known as it should be for an
organization that's been around since 1977.
If you're a columnist, check these folks out. They're a friendly, funny bunch
who laugh a lot and aren't consumed by their own importance, or anybody else's.
The speakers were
smart and interesting, the accommodations excellent,
they feed you very well at fine restaurants,
do a "parade of states" at which every columnist introduces him-
or herself and tries to say something funny about their states, and
they stage a very funny scholarship auction with items ranging from original
editorial cartoons to cookbooks, wine and gag gifts. There's also time to explore
the town and the nightlife.
The "goodie bag" -- the schwag -- was fine in New Orleans: Tabasco
sauce, Southern Comfort, music CDs and tickets to the House of Blues topped
the treasures. The bag itself was emblazoned with the logo for Boudreaux
Butt Paste, and contained some.
Next year,
they'll be in Grapevine, Texas.
Awards: Steve
Lopez of the L.A. Times presented awards to the winners of
the society's 2004 column writing contest. Mike
Kelly of the Hackensack (N.J.) Record won the top honors among general
interest columnists for larger papers.
The online division winners are all bloggers:
1st Place – Tim Hanrahan and Jason Fry, The Wall Street Journal Online,
WSJ.com (Real
Time is available only to subscribers, unfortunately)
2nd Place – Tom
Regan, The Christian Science Monitor - CSMonitor.com
3rd Place – Cynthia
L. Webb, Washingtonpost.com
Honorable Mention – Sheila
Lennon, projo.com
Yes, that's really me up there, name in "lights."
Columns: Here are links to some of the members' columns. I would never
have found their work without this weekend. Time is short before this blog
goes out as a newsletter tonight, so I'll continue the list tomorrow, and add
links to some of the other coverage of this event.
Samantha
Bennett
Larry
Cohen
Ernesto Portillo, Jr.
Maggie Van Ostrand
Barbara Madden
Rae
Burchfiel (wine)
Ron Jackson
Rick Horowitz
Phil
Reisman
Peter
Rowe
Michele
Marr
Amy Eason
W. Bruce Cameron
Stuart
Bykofsky
Suzette Martinez
Standring
David Chartrand
More tomorrow, and a catch-up blog after a week away.
Updated 6.17: More columnists' work.
Michael Argento
Dan Bernstein
Joe Blundo
Jeanni
Brosius
James E. Casto
Don Corrigan
Danny Gallagher
Ed Grisamore
Mike Harden
Robert Haught
Phil Kadner
Frank Kaiser
Mark Lane
Patricia Lawson
Tony Messenger
Tony Norman
Lauri Orloff
Joe Rodriguez
George Smith
Wally Spiers
Peggy Treiber
I Googled everyone on the attendees' list. If your columns are online and
you're not listed here, please send
me the url -- especially if you're behind
a registration wall.
Coverage of the conference:
Dave Astor of E&P has spun a bunch of stories out of his notebook. So far:
Columnists 'Honor' Rumsfeld With Sitting Duck Prize
Lifetime Award Winner: Columnists Should Get Out and Report
Columnists Honored at NSNC Conference
Columnists Elect New Prez and Nix Online Prize
What Makes a Pulitzer-Winning Column?
Columnists Discuss Branching Out From Newspapers
Making
Your Columns More Lyrical
Also:
Rumsfeld Edges Limbaugh in Close Vote
Memories of two great men converge in city that loves life
Write on! City charms scribes
Reagan got his moment of silence at NSNC convention
Bob Welch: Trip reveals East Coast peculiarities
Columnists ' group gives a hand to Footnote writer
Tribune writers win honors in contests
Sheila runs down a newspaper confab
Notes from readers:
-- "Look forward to checking all those other bloggers out...you have introduced
me to a new world..." -- Pat Cleary
-- "Looks like Little Rhody's little blogger secret is out. Good for you!!
Keep up the good work. After the headlines, you're still the next place I look
when
I go to projo.com" -- Bill Marsland
-- I also got a nice note from Journal publisher Howard Sutton.
That's all, folks...
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