Sparkwood & 21

Live from the Newsroom (on a Sunday)

City where I live! Put the ball in that big H!

"Life is not a porno," and other observations.

Highlights from another sojourn through the tubes:

Sun shoots a fastball at Earth, but minimal impact expected

Sun glob cleans up space trash. Badass. 

Eating Taqueria La Cumbre's Nacho Burrito

This is eating dirty at its finest. I'm going to get on this post-haste. Veggie. With beans.

"Both Heather and Jon, who have built a business around broadcasting their lives publicly on the internet, have asked for privacy and understanding as they work through this."

No, they didn't. No, they fucking didn't, you shitty, shitty snark machine. I'm not saying pity them, I'm saying putting words in their mouths is wrong and weak and lazy and shall I go on?

All 117 Things That Leslie Knope's Campaign Ad Says She Supports

Vote Knope

The problem with reassurance

This is true and good and important to remember. 

Mimi Smartypants 4-ever

"Life is not a porno." 

Net Consumed: Link Dump + Commentary

Today, like most days, I took a trip around the web. These things stuck out:

The Top 1 Percent: What Kind of Jobs Do They Have?

I love this kind of interactive graphic journalism, and it's only possible on the web. As an aside, social media editor is not a 1% kinda gig.

The Sexual Manifesto: On the Other Side of the Peep Show Glass

I've been to a few strip clubs, and Lusty Lady was by far the best experience. Always been curious to know what it takes to be a girl in the glass fishbowl at this unionized peep show place, and now I know. 

I've been reading Four Four since Christ was a child. There is a tinge of shame, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a straight-up sucker for Toddlers & Tiaras who would skip Sunday service for a TLC marathon. Add Rich from Four Four as a judge on Toddlers & Tiaras, and I can barely contain my raw joy. Here's his highlight reel:

BONUS! Rich's "Shit Gay Guys Say To Their Cats"

Facebook Timeline Tips for Writers

Good little first-timer checklist for journalists looking to make good use of Facebook Timeline.

Cruise ship's cook says captain ordered dinner after crash

This dick! I mean, saving yourself is one thing, but ordering yourself and your date a shrimp cocktail and beef bourguignon is taking it a step over the line. Mark it zero.

SUV in Tunnel Delays MUNI Trains

Every time I drive in the city, which is rarely, I fear this will happen to me. This is my fate, I can feel it. That it hasn't happened yet is my and Zipcar's good fortune.

Internet Commenters

Today, for work, I wrote this on the TV station's Facebook wall:

Hikers Spot Mountain Lion near UC Santa Cruz -  If you are confronted by a mountain lion, do not try to run away, face the animal, appear as big as possible, make loud noises, and report the incident to the Santa Cruz Police Dept or Fish and Game.

Someone responded with this in the comments:

 I'm gonna shoot it with my weenie juice

Calming Constant

How splendid it is that no matter what, no matter how, no matter when, there is always writing.

Inelegant

“That day I carried the dream around like a full glass of water, moving gracefully so I would not lose any of it.” ~Miranda July

Because We Know Not What Lies Ahead

It is easy to get sad about what you had in mind, the plans that never unravel because you had no business making them in the first place. 

It is easy to miss something you created in gray matter, even though it was never yours to begin with. 

It is hard to smile because it happened, instead of frown because it ended. Still, I bare my teeth.

A.M. Consumed: Link Dump + Commentary

Twitter Users Are More Likely to Follow Journalists Than News Organizations [VIDEO]

This makes sense. News organizations are big and bulky, and as a whole, move much more slowly than a nimble, single reporter. Twitter users know where to find a news org's published stories: on their website, linked in the Twitter profile. But Twitter users seeking new news, perhaps unreported, yet unsubstantiated news, are going to seek that out from reporters with Twitter presences before looking to the news org as a whole.

It's also further proof that people prefer engaging individuals on social networking sites, not monolithic brands.

How and why news orgs should answer critics on Twitter

Trolls and critics are not the same. Ignoring trolls works (most of the time). Ignoring valuable input from your audience is fatal. 

One Year of Backpacking All Around the World in Just Five Minutes

Gorgeous. Surefire way to induce wanderlust.

New Twitter formalizes news wire service function

Would love to explore "Discover" in New Twitter, since this might be a way for news organizations to better take the reigns of Twitter as a reporting and engagement service. Alas, I still have Old Twitter. 

Coincidences are awesome

It's the little things.