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Year: 2007

Are Journalists Bloggers?

January 26, 2007 • • 4 Comments

There’s been talk about letting bloggers report from the floor of the Texas lege, an issue that’s coming up in other states as well, which has sparked some interesting posts about whether or not bloggers ought to be considered journalists and granted similar access. I followed the online discussion from Off the Kuff to “Are bloggers real journalists?” on Texas Politics, a mainstream media blog. The post noted that many journalists were taking up blogging and referred to the phenomenon in which old media co-opts new media.

I left a comment under the clever alias of JB (the name my good twin once went by but that’s a post for another time) wondering if journalists should be considered real bloggers. I pondered the wealth of smart ass comments along the lines of mainstream media blogs being nothing but the Green Day of the blogosphere. I thought about how mainstream media bloggers probably get paid to blog, can openly blog at work, still can’t say whatever they want, don’t have to build their readerships from scratch. I wondered if they could post pictures of their pets or throw bling into their sidebars, etc etc.

Seriously (sort of) though, it’s an interesting question. The most exciting thing about blogs, the ones that compete with news organizations anyway, is that they are truly independent voices, beholden to no corporate masters. I’m sure that this is what scares so many people, but I consider that the blogs’ greatest asset.

There seem to be some who think that only journalists have credibility, but the fact is, blogs live and die by their credibility and personal standards in a world that can be far less forgiving than one in which the medium is supported by monthly subscriptions and high dollar ad revenue.

I generally don’t read blogs affiliated with major news organizations. When I want news, I go to newspapers. When I want commentary, analysis, advocacy or humor, I go first to blogs – independent blogs – written by passionate, funny, interesting people who are often working for free (that last is probably the seed that will one day kill off the notion of professional columnists as much as I like my Leonard Pitts and George Will).

The personal and independent voices that are the bulk of online media have a heart-beating-to-that-iron-string quality that seems more honest and also more American (in a Ralph Waldo Emerson sort of way) than corporate blogging. So, to tackle the original question: are bloggers journalists? Yeah, some of them. Are journalists bloggers? Not so much. They strike me as journalists who blog, which is good thing. They should.

Regarding the bigger issue, that of access, this is a no-brainer. The mainstream media under-covers state legislatures. Why not let bloggers fill the void, and why not let those bloggers be people who are willing to bet their personal reputations on the worthiness of what they produce be it commentary, news, analysis, satire or any combination of the above? Blogs represent not just a new technological platform for writing, but a new style that doesn’t necessarily follow the exact traditions of journalism but still informs us about our political process.

With journalists blogging and bloggers journalisting, we all benefit from the increased light shone on our politics.

All of us except perhaps our politicians, but then that’s kind of the point too.

Friday Random Ten

January 26, 2007 • • Leave a comment

And so, the most recent ten, the last track of which had me unplugging the ‘pod and going for the actual CD.

  1. “Trouble” – Bugge Wesseltoft – New Conceptions of Jazz
  2. “Melinda” – Stan Getz – The Artistry of Stan Getz
  3. “Duet Solo Dancers” – Charles Mingus – The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady
  4. “Doctor’s Orders” – Sonic Youth – Experimental Jet Set, Trash, and No Star
  5. “Rainbow Babe” – Luna – Rendezvous
  6. “The Black Five” – Roy Ayers Ubiquity – Mystic Voyage
  7. “Summertime Rolls” – Jane’s Addiction – Nothing’s Shocking
  8. “Until We Have Enough” – Spent – A Seat Beneath the Chairs
  9. “I Walk the Line” – Johnny Cash – 16 Biggest Hits
  10. “A Perfect Lie” – Jerry Harrison – Casual Gods

I’ve always loved Jerry Harrison’s funky Casual Gods album. It’s so underrated, but I think when the Talking Heads broke up, the world was expecting something more, well, more like the Heads. Instead we got a cool little album that wasn’t at all ironic or even very hip. It was – gasp! – kind of sincere. It’s a shame that Harrison hasn’t done more solo work.

And If They Ban Me from Their Gym

January 25, 2007 • • 1 Comment

Just plodding along on the treadmill at the gym listening to the ipod go through the big shuffle, something happened when “Sailin’ On” by Bad Brains came screaming through the headphones. Perhaps it was the speed-of-light intensity of Dr Know’s guitar racing to the end of the world against HR’s vocals, but suddenly, I wasn’t moving.

When the song finished, I reprogrammed the ‘pod to play Rock for Light and immediately I was thrown into that chaotic world of early eighties hard core punk where no band seemed to ever play faster or with more passion than Bad Brains whose punk fueled Rasta love was the hardest, most searing music I’d ever heard. I kept speeding up the treadmill, and extending the time. The music kept me moving, a big takeover, and when I looked down my feet looked like they weren’t even moving so extreme was the disconnect between sound and light in that strange return to Heaven.

Not until I ran out of songs did I want to stop, but I ran much longer and much faster than usual. Good thing I don’t have the whole album on the ‘pod. I could see myself speeding the treadmill beyond all reason and flying off into the ski machines behind me. That would have been so punk rock stage diving cool in a suburban thirtysomething kind of way, but then they might have banned me from their club.

The Wolery

January 22, 2007 • • 10 Comments

Last weekend, we visited Wild Birds Unlimited to see about getting a better home for the guy out front. We got a hanging birdhouse, but on the way out we noticed some pictures of owls looking out of boxes.

“Whoa!” I exclaimed. “You can get owl houses?!?”

The store manager nodded and pointed to the owl nest boxes above the counter. I learned that the eastern screech owl lives in these parts, and that they eat mostly bugs, spiders and small mice. My wife and I looked at the picture and quickly decided that a home isn’t a home without some owls.

Getting it mounted in the tree was a bit of a challenge requiring a ladder and some contortions, but it’s there now. Hopefully some homeless owl will stumble on it. If not, I’m sure the squirrels will enjoy it.

While searching for screech owl info, I came upon Chris’ Eastern Screech Owl Nest Box Cam, a site dedicated to the goings on in a nest box here in Austin that’s been tricked out with cameras and other gadgetry.

Mine’s just a box, so hopefully a few Austin owls won’t mind living in something so archaic.

Incidentally, the title of this post refers to Owl’s house in The House at Pooh Corner. Owl, you’ll remember, spells his name W-O-L, but has a great deal of trouble with more difficult words like measles and buttered toast.

Weekend Hound Blogging: Ice, Ice, Phoebe

January 21, 2007 • • 2 Comments

Phoebe discovered her new favorite treat last week: fresh icicles.

I broke one off to see what she would do, and she carried it off a few feet and then bit it into a rain of shards. Then the real fun started, namely trying to pick the pieces up again. She kept working at it until she figured out how to do it at which point she ate all of them.

I broke another off for her and she ate that too. It wasn’t long before the porch was littered with icicles and Phoebe was shivering from the cold as she ate them. Eventually, I got her inside where she warmed up and then wanted to go back out to eat some more.

Icicles, the ultimate dog treat. They’re free, non fattening, provide a challenge, aren’t a choking hazard. Your pup will love ’em.

(This edition of Weekend Hound Blogging sponsored by the American Icicle Association.)

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Friday Random Ten

January 19, 2007 • • Leave a comment

Today we start off with The Mermen whose song titles are generally some of the best ever. Jim Thomas’ guitar playing is pretty awesome as well. We discovered them on the trip that was the subject of last week’s Old Photo Friday because the guy we stayed with in Albuquerque had hosted them just a few days earlier. He talked them up so big I had to buy A Glorious Lethal Euphoria, which stayed in my CD player for quite a while.

I once saw their sound described as Sonic Youth meets Hendrix in a psychedelic surf band. We finally caught them at the long gone Electric Lounge in Austin where I bought the CD that gives us the first track, which at twelve minutes is the most shreddin’ surf jam I’ve ever heard. It even segues into “Paint It Black” for a few incredible minutes.

Here’s the ten…

  1. “The Whales Are Coming and Boy Are They Pissed” – The Mermen – Live at the Haunted House
  2. “Here” – Pavement – Slanted & Enchanted
  3. “Missing” – Everything But The Girl – Amplified Heart
  4. “Cum On Feel the Noize” – Bran Van 3000 – Glee
  5. “Relative Ways” – …And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead – Source Tags & Codes
  6. “Babylon” – David Gray – White Ladder
  7. “Plateau” – Nirvana – MTV Unplugged in New York
  8. “The Boy in the Bubble” – Paul Simon – Graceland
  9. “Night Train” – Bruce Cockburn – Anything Anytime Anywhere – Singles 1979-2001
  10. “Leif Erikson” – Interpol – Turn on the Bright Lights

The rest of the set is pretty pop. Bran Van’s Quiet Riot cover is wonderfully subversive and still every bit the party song it was meant to be. “Boy in the Bubble” reminds me how great Graceland is and why it’s still in my top albums of the ’80s list.

Monday Movie Roundup

January 18, 2007 • • Leave a comment

I was off Monday for Dr King and then on Tuesday and Wednesday for Dr Freeze, so this is kind of a Monday.

Sort of.

It’s also Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, but because of that Mondayesque quality, and because this is a blog, I’m pretending it’s Monday and rounding up movies.

Battlestar Galactica (Michael Rymer, 2003)

Holy Frack! How did I miss that Battlestar Galactica had returned, been reinvented and spun off into a new killer series? The “miniseries,” which plays on DVD like a three hour movie had me hooked.

Much has changed. Starbuck is a woman, but still plays cards and chomps cigars. Baltar is, well not exactly evil, but certainly self-centered and instead of sitting on that throne (what did he do up there all day?) he’s totally in lust with a sexy Cylon who looks just like a human.

The new twist on the Cylons was my favorite part. I love that just before destroying the twelve colonies of man, the Cylons created artificial humans. Creepy as the old robots with the buzzing red eye were (and are) this is scarier in a more existential way.

The miniseries sets up the basic plot from the 1978-79 TV series about the Galactica leading a ragtag fleet in search of the legendary thirteenth colony: Earth. Cmdr. Adama’s revelations about Earth at the end of the show carry a great twist and are wonderfully handled, altogether indicating that this is a show for these times. I can’t wait for Netflix to deliver season one.

The Night Listener (Patrick Stettner, 2006)

Billed as a thriller, The Night Listener sets the viewer up for something, well, thrilling. What we get, though, is a very interesting film about hope and the lengths we will go to know that we matter to someone.

Robin Williams’ performance as an aging radio raconteur is compelling, and I found myself hoping that he would find what he sought, the one listener who understood him. Someone to whom he mattered.

In short, a beautiful film.