AL's Blog

Long time, no write.

2011-05-12T11:34:00.001-04:00

Hello all!

I have started a blog for Morgan Reynolds, as a way to link current events with our books— a marketing tool to illustrate via blog posts just how timely our books are.

So you should hop on over and check it out:

www.morganreynoldspublishing.wordpress.com.

Rehearsal Dinner

2010-10-01T15:18:00.014-04:00

The rehearsal dinner was lovely. We did, however, unfortunately find that the weather was going to be a bit chilly that weekend. And here we were wearing short dresses.

We practiced walking down the aisle and the "I dos" twice, to make sure Caroline and Jared didn't blunder and we didn't crash and burn in transit. Knowing my ability to trip over my own feet, it was probably very wise of the wedding directors to have us do the routine a couple of times.

Caroline looked stunning in her grandmother's shoes and hat (she was wearing a dress too, not JUST shoes and a hat). And Jared looked... well, goofy in his cowboy groom's hat. But then, we all looked goofy-- we were all commanded to wear different colored sailor hats so that we were color coded with the person we were meant to be skipping down the aisle with. Apparently there were too many of us to keep all of our names straight, so the directors color coded our hats for their convenience. Mine was black and had a maid of honor pin on it. I love it. It sits on my bed post I love it so much.

We had dinner courtesy of Mr. and Mrs Nenninger (senior) and enjoyed getting to know the groomsmen who had come into town for the occasion. And then... we danced. (We had to see if the dance floor was nice and sturdy.) It was a very fun night. Cold-- I pretty much sported goose bumps the entire evening-- but the dancing helped with that. I think we were all pumped for the next day. . .

Bachelorette Party

2010-10-01T15:18:00.011-04:00

Yesterday was the... wait for it... bachelorette party (dunna na na na naaaaaaaaaa) *cue Chip-n-Dales. Just kidding, we are too classy for rock hard abs and bow ties (ha..haha...ha).

Ashley (bless her) helped me plan this as I had no idea how to throw a successful "last day of singledom" fiesta. We went shopping and went a little splurgy on the decorations, but hey this only happens once, right? I planned for the bridesmaids to meet at Nail Studio and Spa on Hanes Mall Boulevard to get manicures and pedicures, and then from there we had a reservation at Bleu.

I made Caroline wear a ridiculous ensemble.... because I could. I'm evil, what can I say?

Check out that hotness

We enjoyed getting pampered at the nail salon, and then Ashley and I raced to the restaurant to scurry around and finish setting up the back room. We had a purple and black theme going on as purple is Caroline's favorite color. It turned out really very snazzy if I do say so myself.

This was a lingerie party, so everyone brought little lacy things to give to Miss Thang for her honeymoon. Oo la la.

Dinner was awesome, watching Caroline open the presents was amusing, and there was good company all around, including one spectacular waitress (thank you SO much Casey).

I'm pretty sure Caroline had a blast, which makes me feel like we did our job well. :)

Photos courtesy of Ashley Pope

The Bridal Shower

2010-07-19T10:45:00.006-04:00

The shower invitation

I have been delaying posting this entry because I wanted to wait on the pictures... but I'll be leaving town soon for another wedding, so I figured--- on with it. Y'all will just have to deal with an almost picture-less post.

I decided to take the theme from the shower invitation and run with it... Caroline and her Prince Charming.

Mrs. Long helped me with the decorations (bless her). She cut out little frogs and crowns to put on the tables. She even decorated the cake with little frogs. Amazing.

I cooked for 40-ish people. Huan told me I should go into catering. The serving table included 100 chicken wings (thanks to my angel of a boyfriend), spinach dip and chips, pasta salad, fruit, pickles (just for the bride), cookies, and a cake. I sent the groom home with the leftover wings-- much to his excitement (they were delicious).

It was a flowing shower, so me (being the MOH and the one with the notebook for the thank you cards) and the happy couple would go up to the gift table whenever someone brought a gift by. It was a lot of ups and downs, opening presents, and paper and g l i t t e r everywhere (the glitter literally got everywhere... including on the groom, who was not pleased-- oops). I asked the party-goers to sign their names and addresses in a notebook to help Caroline out when it came time to write the thank you notes.

It was a lot of fun. Caro and Jared seemed really happy with the way it turned out, and they got a van-load of presents, so who wouldn't be thrilled?

It was worth it to make the bride happy :)

Wedding Shower

2010-07-01T10:57:00.015-04:00

This summer has been anything but boring.

Last weekend was Caroline's wedding shower, and this past weekend I had a wedding to go to with Huan in Raleigh, NC. WEDDING mania. Yikes.

Anywho...Caroline's shower was really nice. Very small. Very quaint. Yummy food. It was a Pampered Chef shower, where we were all shown how to make a taco ring using PC products. (And although I do not own any PC, I made my very first taco ring last night... really REALLY good). We signed an apron for Caroline and a lot of the ladies were sneaky and got a hold of Caroline's wish list (she's registered with PC).

I met the future in-laws too. What nice people! It was really a pleasure talking to Mrs. Nenninger and meeting Mr. Nenninger at the end of the party.

I came away from the shower with a full belly, a desire for Pampered Chef EVERYTHING, ideas for the bridal shower, a smile, and some cute pictures:

Chatty girl

Caroline's corsage

Pretty bride-to-be

The fam

Goodies

I reached my goal!

2010-06-11T11:39:00.002-04:00

I have run a total of 7 miles this week. Hoorah! 2 on Tuesday, 3 on Wednesday, and 2 today (Friday). I passed my record BIG time on Wednesday, as the farthest I had gone prior to that was 2.3 miles. Again hoorah!

Pilates kicked my butt on Monday. Note: even taking a week off from the workout will knock you off your game. I was beyond tired. The beach ruined me.

And finally, Caroline's wedding shower is next week! It will be a Pampered Chef party, so I will actually learn to cook some yummy things (people who know me know this is a big deal). Stay tuned for pictures!

Bridesmaid dress is in!

2010-06-02T12:20:00.002-04:00

I have retrieved my bridesmaid dress from David's Bridal. Actually, I picked it up about 3 weeks ago, I have just been remiss in updating the blog as of late.

It's really a very pretty color, although I hope I can keep a tan until October so I don't look incredibly white and/or washed out.

I don't know if it's just the way this particular dress is cut, or if it's the pilates and running I've been doing, but the dress is a bit large on me. In fact, I'm going to have to get the entire thing, from the top of the zipper to the bottom of the dress, taken in. Le sigh. Being petite costs $$$$.

Ah well, I'll look GOOD when all is said and done ;) I'll try to take pictures at the alterations place to document the process ha. I'm sure there are plenty of ladies out there who are just like me and would like to know what exactly altering a bridesmaid dress entails (how long, where they will stitch your dress up, how MUCH). So look forward to some tips in the near future!

Daily Mile

2010-06-02T12:10:00.004-04:00

Daily Mile is an online networking community for runners. Sort of a way to motivate yourself to MOVE. Huan and Billy are both members, and as soon as I feel I'm making good progress with my own running, I will join as well. But it's cool because I can create my very own running routes. Yesterday, I ran 2.34 miles around my neighborhood, which may not seem like a lot, but believe me, just a few months ago I would have laughed if someone told me I'd be running M I L E S instead of feet.

So onward with progress! My goal: this time next week, bump up the mileage to an even 3 miles.

And an extra tidbit... check out the OBX race. I know half a dozen people running it.

Pilates Round 2

2010-05-19T11:47:00.006-04:00

Monday, I had my second pilates class. I was a bit more in sync this week with the rest of my classmates as we went through the positions. But there is one thing that I've already noticed during the two classes: I can't lift my waist off the floor when I'm on my stomach. Sounds difficult, anyway, doesn't it? I thought so too, and I thought it might just be my newness to the workout, but then I saw other first timers coasting through that part of the session. So what's wrong with me? In short, my ridiculously long torso. Sigh. Long body, short legs. It's my curse. It also gives me lower back problems and a unique stride. After the hour was over, I asked Tonya what I should do. What did she tell me? Basically, to suck it in (or as she put it, "engaging your core"). Sucking in, apparently, actually works out your abs, and you are more likely to sit up straight when you suck it in. It's all about strengthening the core.

So I've been sitting at my desk, walking around the office, sitting in my car, and running (I ran a mile and a half yesterday, go me)... all the while, sucking it in as best I can. Not so I can look thinner, but so I can work out my mid-section.

I'll let you know how it turns out...

Pilates. Oy.

2010-05-11T16:54:00.003-04:00

Yesterday, I decided to try pilates for the first time. There is a cute little studio on South Elm Street, a couple of blocks from where I work. Originally I had planned to go with a co-worker, but she had to back out last minute. So I jogged down the street to my first class, alone.

Mind you... I have been fighting a cold/severe allergies/SOMETHING that makes me hate my head. But I was determined to go to this class.

The studio is small and narrow. Tonya, the owner, has several professional mats (what I'm learning on) and reformer machines (which I'm not allowed to use yet since I'm a newbie.) The class was an hour long, and by the end of it, Tonya sounded to me like a drill sergeant. She would chant words like "again, and again, and again" or "now now now" whenever she wanted us to move faster or switch limbs. We worked out and stretched every part of the body, down to our fingers and toes. And as one of my fellow classmates said at the end of the class, "I feel taller." The work out is designed not only to strengthen your core, but to stretch you out... to work on your flexibility. Today, I hurt. But it's not necessarily a bad thing... it's that good ache after a work out that makes you aware you are slowly improving your body.

The goals I hope to reach by attending these classes are to improve core strength, endurance, flexibility, and my posture so I don't have a back that aches all of the time. And maybe to get a little taller... (ha*)

Race for the Cure

2010-05-05T14:51:00.014-04:00

Since there isn't anything to tell on the wedding front at the moment, I thought I'd switch gears.

Lately, it seems people have been slapped with the running bug. My friends are frenzied. That being said, last weekend, Billy and Huan decided, on a whim, to run the 5k Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure in support of breast cancer awareness. Guess who got to play cheerleader?

So I got my butt up at 6:30 Saturday morning to go cheer them on and take pictures, because it was definitely for a good cause. Just fyi--- there were 11,000 people at the event this year.

Stretching before the race

More stretching... the whole crowd was stretching

About ten seconds from the finish line!

The finish line

Billy and *Bertie* ran a half marathon and marathon, respectively, only one week before the 5k. And the week before that, Billy and Cindy ran a 10k.

The running craze has left me feeling like the lazy bum in the group. To remedy this, I too have started running. It is a struggle, because I do NOT like running. I get cramps in my sides and shoulders and turn a rather splotchy pinkish color. But, it's good for me, no? So I have started running a mile a day.

As this blog has become a sort of catch-all for my thoughts, I've decided to add my fitness activities to the list of things you get to read about when visiting (lucky YOU). I will incorporate my health and fitness endeavors as sort of a sidebar to the wedding planning--- after all, exercising releases stress. Plus, if you are ever asked to be a bridesmaid or the maid of honor or even a groomsman, guys, don't you want to look good standing at the alter?

So maybe the theme for this part of the blog can be: looking good and feeling good in the dress/tux

The tent

2010-04-13T14:57:00.006-04:00

I thought I'd save myself time and just share this with everyone:

my eHow article on wedding tent decor

my OTHER eHow article on how to hang lanterns

So now, thanks to my mad researching skills, I might actually be of assistance when it comes time to deck the canvas.

Dresses galore and calendar marking

2010-04-01T13:06:00.018-04:00

Last week, Caroline invited me to come to David's Bridal and meet some of the other bridesmaids. When I got there, our bridal party had pretty much taken over the back corner of the store. There was a lot of conversing and giggling going on. And I, having already ordered my dress and being the crazy camera girl that I have become, found a seat by the dressing rooms and busted out my camera to snap some shots of the girls figuring out which dress fit them best.

Jessica (left) and Katie (right)

Ashley; more affectionately known as "lil Ra-Ra"

Amy (left) and Blair (right) discuss switching dresses

Marilyn? Is that you?
I can tell Blair is a fun person-- can't you?

Perfecto! She found her dress.

The bride talking to her 'maids and matrons

Caroline, Ashley, and I went for a cup of coffee at Barnes and Noble after figuring out the dress situation. Three hours later, we got around to talking about bridal shower plans and dates for various events.

The date for the bridal shower is July 10 (that means get a move on, 'maids). It's going to be held at Caroline's church, which conveniently for me, is right at the end of my parents' road. My mother doesn't know it yet, but her fridge will be full of finger foods that weekend. I think we are going to do a mixture of dips, desserts, and maybe some cheese? Still working on the food. We WILL have s w e e t t e a, though. It ain't a southern party without the tea.

C-line is considering making the shower a co-ed deal, so the theme and decorations have not yet been decided on. Not to worry, though-- I'll share the details as soon as I know what we are doing.

Ashley and I were also told that we are having a bridal luncheon on September 25. I had to ask Caroline what the heck a bridal luncheon was, as I was getting slightly nervous that I was in charge of planning another event (my brain is scattered as it is). But apparently, this party is in honor of ME (and the seven other lovely ladies that will be beside me). Presents!!! **I'm just hoping Mrs. Long will bake one of her fantastic cakes.

Slowly but surely whittling down the to-do list...

A brief break from the bridal bonanza

2010-03-30T10:08:00.015-04:00

To bring you: SPRING IN PORTLAND, OREGON.
I recently went on a business trip to Portland to attend the Public Library Association (PLA) Conference. As luck would have it, one of Portland's famous gardens was located directly in between my hotel (which was awesome) and the Convention Center.

The Lan Su Chinese Garden is located at the entrance of Portland's Chinatown. It's history is a rich one, and part of a much larger picture. Portland is the sister city to China's Suzhou. As such, Portland wanted to bring a piece of China's culture into the city. Thus the idea for the garden was born. Here is the Web site if you want to know more about it.

Really, though, I just wanted to use this post as a way to wish you all a HAPPY SPRING!

I went to a Mary Kay party

2010-03-04T10:20:00.011-05:00

I am not one of those lady's who spends ample amounts of time applying make up. I have many flaws, but I am comfortable with them. However, for the fanciest of occasions, even the likes of me have to look as flawless as humanly possible.

And so, there are those small sacrifices we all have to make when wedding season rolls around regardless of whether we are those kind of girls. It's called the Mary Kay party.

Caroline and Mama Long attended a bridal show in January, where there were a number of door prizes for brides-to-be to win. Caroline won the Mary Kay party, or rather she won the privilege to host the party, and the more people she got to come to her shin-dig, the more free stuff she got.

And so, being the good little MOH that I am, I drove out to Midway to learn how to make myself look the best I can look, or at least to try.

Grandma, Amy, Mama Long, and Aunt Jean were also there. Our party thrower's name was Christine, a mom of two who decided to start bringing in some income into her household by way of taking on the life of a saleswoman. She was perfectly groomed: straight hair, not a stray to be seen; manicured PINK nails; just enough make-up on to look like she didn't try hard to look fabulous, but she still did. She was the perfect MaryKay lady.

We had lip balm and hand balm. We went through face cleanser, moisturizes, sun protection, and night cream. We applied foundation, bronzer, eye shadow, mascara, and lip gloss. By the end of the lesson, I was ready for a night on the town.

It was a fun night, although I was exhausted by the end of it. I ended up buying a face mask and some mascara (because, apparently, my eyes are my best feature). Christine talked to each party-goer one by one, so after Caroline and I were finished, we migrated to the kitchen for some much needed caffeine.

By the end of the night, I had my products and looked gooooood. Caroline had free stuff and the idea that this might be a good side job. So if anyone is interested in hosting a Mary Kay party for whatever reason, let me know.... Caroline is on it!

Caroline is excited about her first Mary Kay party.

Amy and Grandma

Aunt Jean and Mama Long

My fellow bridesmaids

2010-03-04T10:19:00.004-05:00

The lovely ladies Caroline has chosen to be her bridesmaids:

*Jackie Harman* (Jared's older sister)

*Emily Nenninger* (Jared's little sister)

*Ashley Pope* ("Lil' RaRa" from high school)

*Jessica Reaves* (high school)

*Blaire Goodale* (work friend)

*Katie Powlas* (work friend)

*Amy Gardin* (cousin)

This is C-line's list, thus how I know their names. I have not had the privilege to meet everyone yet.

S'WONDERFUL NEWS

2010-03-04T10:00:00.004-05:00

Jared's DEPLOYMENT got canceled. Wedding is on for October again!

That is all :)

My first planning session

2010-03-01T11:03:00.013-05:00

One lazy Sunday afternoon, I headed over to pick Caroline up from her parents' house. It is a long standing Long tradition to have a family lunch after church on Sundays. So, in order to get our first planning session underway, Caroline invited me to join, and I was excited because I hadn't seen her parents, her aunt and uncle, or her cousin in years.

When we got to her Aunt Jean's house, the counter was full of goodies, and the table full of dessert.

And may I say: there are just some things that are fan-flippin'-tastic about living in the South-- like the cuisine.

Some background on the reason for this get-together: the day before, Caroline called me all sad and melancholy sounding. Her wedding date had been set for October 2 (and who could blame her, fall weddings are beautiful), but Jared had been scheduled to deploy to the middle east unexpectedly. So, Carline had two choices-- wait until he got back, or move the wedding up. She decided to move the wedding up, all the while hoping the deployment would be canceled.
The wedding was moved up to JULY 10 (insert hyperventilating bride and maid of honor here), so we had some planning to do.

While sitting at the dinner table after piling our plates, wedding talk commenced (Caroline told me this had become a weekly tradition since her engagement).
Napkins, invitations, bridal events coming up. Mrs. Long went rifling in the computer room for coupons to Michael's. At one point, Caroline pulled out her handy-dandy wedding binder to show Daddy Long what she wanted for the landscape of her wedding. Caroline has decided to get married outside--- more specifically, at her grandmother's house. Her grandmother owns a farm and a LOT of land, and Caroline has always dreamed of getting married there. (I picture a five-year-old wrapped in toilet paper playing dress-up when someone tells me they have a "dream wedding.")
Caroline wants sunflowers (which will go beautifully with the gold motif) and green fields. Not a lot to ask for, right? But if any one can do it, Daddy Long can--- he's got a knack for making things GROW.

After dinner, Caroline and I headed up to her grandma's house so I could try to share her vision. Kinda hard to do in the dead of winter, but with a little imagination, I saw her dream, looking out on the rolling field and standing under what will be shady trees in just a few months.

But then we were off-- to do our to-do list.
First order of business was to order my dress. Oy-- David's Bridal was PACKED. 'Tis the season for satin and taffeta.

I had originally picked a dress from the catalog, but when I tried it on, of course, I looked like a sack of potatoes with arms and legs. No good. So, I tried on another, which, thankfully, fit me perfectly and had STRAPS so I won't be falling out of my dress on my way down the aisle.

I would show you a picture, but David's fails and does not have it on their Web site.
While there, Caroline got her garter belt ;) Ooo lala. It's an army garter belt.

At some point that afternoon, we discussed boutonnières and bouquets. The bridesmaids will carry yellow Calli lilies. Caroline will have a mix of yellow and mango, and I will also have a mix, because I'm SPECIAL. Her bouquet will look something like this:

Image courtesy of www.bride.net

From David's, I chauffeured Miss Bride-to-be to Michael's, where we looked at invitations for the wedding and the bridal shower, and party favors for the BaChElOrEtTe party. I gotta say, party favor shopping is going to be fun (I think a trip to Spencer's will be in order). We went to Marshall's after that to look for shoes, and then to A.C. Moore's for more goodies. My lesson for the day: weddings can be EXPENSIVE.

After our gallivanting was done, I took Caroline back home to Midway, and I got a sneak-peak of her BEAUTIFUL dress (again, Jared-- be jealous... but I promise, it'll be worth the wait!).

So far, even with the bump-up, everything is looking good... now I just have to start figuring out how to host a BRIDAL SHOWER.

Kerley's BBQ

2010-02-22T18:15:00.006-05:00

Image courtesy of www.zazzle.com

Caroline and I decided to go to dinner one night in January at Kerley's BBQ in Welcome, North Carolina. (YUM)

It was the first time I saw her since the big P, so I was excited to hear the story and gawk at the shiny thing on her hand. We sat there for 2 hours catching me up on the news, and then she asked me... to essentially be her slave (MoH), and I said YES (again-- no surprise-- I'm happy to be a slave haha). I proceeded to bounce up and down in the booth like an ecstatic five-year-old on a sugar high. Caroline laughed-- I'm sure I was entertaining to watch.

I suppose she expected I would say yes, because she just so happened to conveniently have the dress catalog with her. She is going to have 8 bridesmaids, including me, and each of us will be wearing a different style of a knee length dress (the wedding is going to be in July in North Carolina--- God bless Caroline for thinking of short dresses).

The dress color is persimmon-- a pretty orange-pink-red color. Jared will be wearing his dress blues, so Caroline wanted the ladies' dresses to accent the gold in his uniform.

And of course, there is Caroline's dress. She had already found and bought it, the shoes, and the veil before dinner that night. I've SEEN it since then (go ahead and be jealous, Jared), and it is possibly one of the prettiest things I have ever laid my eyes on. (I promise to post pictures of her in her dress AFTER the wedding) We are going to be one *swish* wedding party.

I think Caroline is digging this whole planning a partay in her honor... as she should. I think her family is digging it even more-- which is awesome.

The Big P

2010-02-22T17:58:00.011-05:00

Caroline went to Texas with Jared for New Year's. Jared is from Texas, and his family still lives there. On New Year's Eve, Jared's sisters took Caroline to get manis and pedis (manicures and pedicures). That night, the family and their friends had a barbeque to bring in the new year. Jared, Caroline noticed, seemed on edge. The closer to midnight it got... the more nervous he got.
As the ball dropped...

Image courtesy of Art.sonorika.com

Jared got down on one knee... and popped the question.

And, obviously, she said yes. (Jared-- why were you worried?)

Caroline conveniently had nicely manicured hands to show off her bling. (good going, sisters)

NOTE--- This is Caroline's side of the story :)

Made of Honor. (ha)*

2010-02-22T15:25:00.016-05:00

I have been chosen. I will be the girl at the alter holding two bouquets... immediately to the left of the one in the white dress (excitement and panic ensue). My dearest dixie girl, Caroline (see my post on Midway), is getting hitched (that's her with her sweetie above), and I am her maid of honor.

As a way of keeping record of the plans, I'm going to start using this blog as sort of a laundry list of things to do and things to avoid. And hopefully, I'll have some insight on how to do these things with grace, poise, and honor (bahaha!)

Tales of the bridal shower, the bachelorette party(s), the day before and the day of the wedding, and everything else that involves the blushing bride will be posted here as well.

So wish me luck and stay tuned.

The District of Columbia

2009-12-17T18:47:00.008-05:00

Demand STUDIOS!

2009-11-03T10:57:00.003-05:00

I have recently become a freelance writer for Demand Studios. Writers contribute to sites like eHow, livestrong, golflink, and trails.com. So go check out my first article! There will be plenty more to come.

Three cheers for freelance work!

The Dixie Classic Fair 2009

2009-10-13T20:49:00.006-04:00

The Dixie Classic Fair is unique to Winston-Salem, and has been an annual event here since 1882. Back then, the fair gave the town's economy a boost. Not much has changed. This year, 323,000 people came to enjoy the attractions, and in doing so, poured much needed funds into our city's pockets.

The Dixie Classic is a family affair where kids can gorge themselves on sweets galore and go nuts on the rickety rides, while the parents can enjoy wine tasting from North Carolina vineyards and enjoy the history, art, and farming exhibitions as well.

When I was a kid, I used to ride every ride at least twice. My favorites were the Himalaya, the Rainbow (which, sadly, is no longer a part of the fair), the swings, and of course, the Ferris wheel. This year, though, I forwent the rides in order to truly indulge in the unique cuisine that is fair food.

You know you are in the South when most of the foods at the local fair are deep-fried. Here is a mini run down of some of the more interesting foods:

Fried pickles
Fried twinkies
Fried candy-bars
Fried oreos
Fried butter

Of course, there were the usual candied apples, cotton candy, funnel cakes, and elephant ears, too. I tried some fried Reeses cups. It was like eating a candy-coated heart attack. Southerners like our food SWEET and greasy.

After enjoying the food, I took my fair-going buddy to watch the rodeo. Yep. We have our very own rodeo at the fair... complete with bucking broncs, angry bulls, and one crazy clown (whose job it was to distract the animals from their riders once the cowboys got pitched off their saddles).

It was a good time. It was a wholesome time. It threw me back into my childhood. It's something that every Winston kid, no matter how old, looks forward to every year. And it's definitely a tradition that has held strong for over 100 years and counting.

Community Garden Adventure

2009-09-30T12:49:00.013-04:00

A few weeks ago, I went to the Second Harvest Food Bank's Community Garden with the BME (Biomedical Engineering) students from Wake Forest University. It was a beautiful day to be outside.

The group parked next to the small but abundant garden, and the volunteers were handed clippers, baskets, and gloves to pick broccoli, tomatoes, greens, and bell peppers.

The head volunteer told them how to collect the vegetables, and then set them loose to play in the dirt.

As the volunteers got to work, they amiably talked about school, robots, and the size of the produce they were harvesting. I mean, the broccoli was huge!

An hour later, the volunteers had accumulated several baskets full of veggies.

This is a great place to be an active part of the community. The Community Garden grows fresh veggies for the Food Bank, which supplies 18 counties with food for the hungry, and relies entirely on volunteers to do the gardening and the harvesting.

According to the Community Garden blog, Jim Holmes Jr. established the Community Garden 11 years ago after he had a discussion with his son about how it was a crying shame that the city didn't cultivate any of the land in its city limits for the hungry. Soon after, the garden was cultivated.

Since then, the volunteer coordinators in charge of the garden have invited all kinds of groups, churches, and organizations to pitch in and help out the Food Bank. It's a great way for families and friends to give back to their community, and it's actually kind of fun. As the volunteers packed up to go home on Sunday, it seemed there was a sense of accomplishment in the air. And who doesn't feel uplifted after volunteering for a good cause?

Winston-Salem, NC AIRSHOW!

2009-09-16T21:36:00.006-04:00

There were hundreds of people scattered on the tarmac at Smith Reynolds Airport on Saturday watching pilots from all walks of life show off their wings. The smell of turkey legs and exhaust fumes permeated the field around the runway. Everyone was looking up at the Carolina blue sky where the pilots were performing their aerobatics and poking holes through the clouds. Children cooed at the planes' dips and dives. Fingers pointed at the patterns from the jet exhaust.

It was breathtaking to watch a plane free fall, dance, and right itself in less than 60 seconds.

Sailing on the Charles-- MIT Sailing

2009-07-29T22:40:00.005-04:00

Luke Boelitz started sailing when he was eight years old, which, he says, is not unusual for kids who grow up on the Cape.
When he talks about sailing, he talks with his hands. The explanations come in explosions: one sentence right after the other.
I didn’t expect anything but to stand on the deck and watch the kids from MIT day camp hop into the sail boats when I walked into the MIT boathouse one hot, sticky Tuesday afternoon. But after Luke pushed off all the boats out to the open river, he turned around and asked me, “Wanna go sailing?”
Yes, yes I did.
I put on a hunter green life-jacket, tried to gracefully step into the boat, failed, and instead stumbled my way into the vessel. Luke and another MIT sailing employee, Andrew, nimbly joined me.
Once we got situated and out onto the river, with a light wind at our backs and Andrew steering the tiller, Luke started telling me his story.
“I started sailing in Falmouth at the Falmouth Yacht Club which is actually run by the Head of Harvard sailing. I stopped going to Falmouth and started working at the Courageous Sailing Center in Charlestown. It’s free sailing for kids from the city of Boston. They’re not super competitive but they definitely teach kids how to sail, and I was the racing coach there last year. But I decided I didn’t want a coaching job this year because I needed to be able to go and do my own regattas, and so here I am.”
The longer we were out on the water, the stronger the wind got. I subconsciously tried to melt into the side of the boat to keep from being dumped out as the boat tipped and rocked. To keep my mind off of the inevitable drenching and my heart from racing, I asked Luke how he would describe learning how to sail.
“I mean, it’s pretty complex,” he said. “To really understand it and be able to do it takes a lot of time, I think. At MIT we teach people to sail really fast, but they don’t exactly get what’s going on. Learning to steer is most important, and learning the points of sail. You need to know what your relationship to the wind is to make the boat go correctly.”
What I learned in my crash course, one hour sailing lesson is to duck when you hear, “I’m gonna tack.” Luke chuckled at me when I slouched into the bottom of the boat to keep from getting my head whacked by the boom, a bar extending from the mass to hold the sail upright. According to Luke, the kind of boat we were in is called a tech dinghy, which is quite small and forces you to get cozy with your comrades in a hurry. It made it that much more difficult to move around the boat when it tipped or when Andrew tacked.
By the time we got back to the deck, my legs were rubbery and I could feel the adrenaline pumping. But for Luke, it was just another day on the job, another day in the sun, and another day on the water.

Faneuil Hall entertainment

2009-07-29T22:35:00.001-04:00

The internet can be a scary place...

2009-06-22T10:22:00.003-04:00

Especially for teen girls.... check out the newest Bodimojo article!

Bodimojo

Coffee loving nerds

2009-06-22T10:20:00.001-04:00

Brew Nerds, home of “the world’s smartest coffee,” opened on February 28, 2008 in Winston-Salem, NC.

Looking at the shop from the outside, the building looks like a cube of glass and steel.

Upon walking in, the aroma of freshly roasted coffee floats around the air, softening the shop’s industrial modern look.

The coffee shop has a sort of geeky décor.

The menu is designed like an algebra composition notebook. As for the menu items, choices range from cold smoothies such as the Brew Nerds’ signature Swirly, an icy beverage perfect for hot North Carolina summers, to hot coffee and pastries.

Brew Nerds micro-roasts their coffee on-site in order to be able to tout the city’s freshest coffee, according to the shop Web site.

“It’s coffee for smart people,” the shop declares.

The baristas are very friendly and adhere faithfully to the nerdy theme with their uniform suspenders and zeal for caffeinated beverages.

The shop is very clean, and the furniture is simple.

While waiting on their beverages, customers can play the old school-style Ms. Pacman arcade game in the corner.

Even the coffee cups are unique, each sporting drawings of the Brew Nerds logo—a geeky guy with a pocket protector and calculator and a warning, “Hey genius, it’s hot!”

Customers can sidle up in one of the chairs and enjoy their beverages inside the shop or go out on the patio where there is seating and shade.

Wherever they decide to sip their drinks, they will look smart drinking Brew Nerds C8H10N4O2 (that’s the molecular formula for coffee).

Girl Power

2009-06-08T13:22:00.001-04:00

Women have irrevocably impacted the newsroom... in an incredibly good way, and they are there to stay.

http://seapubs.com/eBulletin6-4-09/stories_women.htm

Gateway to the West

2009-06-05T22:24:00.008-04:00

I went to a wedding in St. Louis, Missouri last weekend (May 29-31), and while I was there I experienced the obligatory tourist attractions such as the Mississippi River and the Gateway Arch.

The river is incredibly BROWN.

The arch, however, is beautiful.

With four other people, I braved the tiny Jetsons-style tram to the top of the arch where I looked out over the river and St. Louis.

According to the tour guide, it is the tallest national monument in the United States... at a whopping 63 stories high (that's 630 feet). It's no wonder my stomach flip-flopped when the tram shuttered to a start.

It's really magnificent. See for yourselves...

I love my camera.

Bodimojo

2009-05-26T20:45:00.004-04:00

I am interning as a blogger at Bodimojo.com this summer. Bodimojo is a health/wellness/nutrition Web site for teens by teens (technically I'm not a teen, but I'm considered young enough to pass for now).

So check out my first published post!

Bodimojo

For love of the craft

2009-05-13T15:01:00.001-04:00

Ros Thompson spends most of her days drawing. She’s even had a few chances to draw on skin with an ink-loaded tattoo gun.

Thompson is an artist and a 2006 graduate from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts. She’s also a tattoo lover, and during the past year and a half has been apprenticing under Ramadan Hannan, the owner of Fat Ram’s Pumpkin Tattoo Parlor in Jamaica Plain.

As an apprentice, Thompson practices drawing tattoo designs on paper often, but she has not had the opportunity to tattoo Hannan’s clientele. She has, however, worked on some of her friends, but, she says, they weren’t her best designs.

“I did a couple of little hand tattoos on friends which I really hope they’ve had covered by now. Just little tiny zodiac tattoos that they could probably use to black mail me,” she says, “When first tattooing, you aren’t very experienced and your first people you tattoo aren’t going to be your best. But Ram has really high standards and he’ll be like, ‘You’re not going to do a bad tattoo. It’s not possible.’ I will improve but you have to get people who know where you are in your career, and most of those people are friends.”

For Thompson, a lot of hard work means finally becoming the artist she wants to be and working with the medium she loves: ink and skin.

“I log a lot of hours watching Ram tattoo. And drawing. And listening to Ram critique my drawing,” she says, “The more people Ram teaches, the more he learns about effective ways of teaching. It depends on what student he’s teaching, what his student’s strengths and weaknesses are; and that’s going to vary from student to student.”

Over the past decade, the tattoo industry has grown out of its underground counter culture reputation and into a form of expression for more than just bikers and beer guzzlers. People who would have never set foot into a tattoo parlor 15 years ago have caught the “ink bug.”

According to a 2006 Pew Research Center survey, 36 percent of 18 to 25-year-olds have at least one tattoo and 40 percent of 26 to 40-year-olds have at least one.

As more people embrace the art of tattoo, apprenticeships have evolved with the tattoo industry over the years to keep up with the industry’s growth and accommodate its consumers’ demands, according to Angus Vail, co-author of the book Customizing the Body.

Vail says, “The tattoo world for artists is changing really rapidly and dramatically. Suddenly every 16 year old kid who has doodled wants to become a tattoo artist because of shows like Miami Ink. It can be lucrative for the artists to take on apprenticeships. They can take a percentage of what the apprentice makes as well as a flat fee for apprenticeship.”

It is important, therefore, that master tattooists weed out the doodlers from the serious artists and be thorough in teaching the techniques apprentices need to become skilled artists.

Vail also says that it was not common for apprentices to be graduates of art school 20 years ago. But now that the amount of different tattoo designs has grown exponentially, more students from an artistic background have turned to the craft.

After she moved to Boston and graduated from the School of the MFA, Thompson says she got into tattoo art a lot more.

“Seasons were just so distinct here, and I became obsessed with the way the trees looked when the leaves fell off of them. I would go to the arboretum and sit and draw trees all afternoon and eventually designed my back piece,” she says.

She had a consultation with Hannan and he ended up doing the drawing she designed of the leafless tree on her back. “We got to talking. I told him I was an artist,” she remembers talking to Hannan during the consultation, “The more I learned about tattoos the more I realized there were a lot more possibilities than I thought if I just learned how to do it.”

Although Thompson has her own style, she says she likes Hannan’s approach to tattooing.

“He wants his tattoos to be whatever the client wants. He wants to be a prolific enough artist that he can make it to be whatever they want it to be or better,” she says.

But, while she enjoys her work, Thompson has had to devote her life to her craft.

“I spend more time here at the shop then I do at home. But I’m really lucky I get to spend time here,” she says, grinning.

Thompson learns from all the artists in the parlor, she says. She lifts her sleeve up to show a tattoo on her shoulder, which three different artists contributed to. The tattoo is of an owl that morphs into a castle and then into an octopus with the tentacles capping the design three quarters of the way down her arm. Thompson learned techniques such as shading and detailing by talking to the artists while they were working on her. The tattoo is so detailed that the skin does not look like skin, but canvas.

In addition to learning about the craft, Thompson sits at the front desk of the parlor answering phone calls over the din of metal music and the buzz of tattoo guns. When Thompson isn’t working front desk duty, she hangs out in the back of the parlor learning the ropes. She cleans the shop and the artists’ tools as part of her other duties.

***

The art of tattoo, as Margo DeMello states in her book Bodies of Inscription, started as a working class symbol when the craft first came to the states. But during and after the 1970s, DeMello says that tattooing became appropriated for the middle class.

“When it first hit it was a perfect storm of social phenomena happening all at once. It was the ‘me’ generation, and what more perfect symbol for this generation to embrace. It was almost an accident,” DeMello says, “It all happened at once. You had an audience—the middle class—who was craving to express their personal growth.”

Recently, the youth culture has also embraced tattooing. DeMello says that youth will always take anything hip and edgy to express themselves. They get the most unconventional designs on new and different areas of the body, like the face or neck.

“It’s a permanent part of the culture now,” DeMello says.

Apprentices have to gain a more rounded knowledge of design and the body because of these new demands. If they do not, they will never be proficient artists.

Like Thompson, many apprentices attend art school before starting their careers as tattoo artists.

Ann Kirchner, an information specialist at the Art Institute of Boston, says, “We certainly don’t offer a field in tattoo. However, we have and illustration major and a fine arts major. Both of those could then apply to the tattoo field.”

MaryEllen Schroeder, director of Career Services at Mass Art of College and Design, says that although there are no statistics, several graduates go on to become tattoo artists, including the artists at Pino Brothers Ink, a popular parlor in Boston.

Vail and co-author Clinton Sanders state in their book, “The career of the tattooist is similar to that seen in other work activities that involve providing a skilled service with marginally artistic features. The fine art tattooists, on the other hand, typically were pursuing commercial art careers or were attempting to ‘succeed’ as serious artists. They saw themselves as being creatively stifled or as having limited chances of success in the highly competitive fine art world.”

Thompson adds, “You still have to be a specific kind of person to tattoo. This is a job but it’s also a school. It’s like an old world trade, an old world craft.”

Vail says that there is a lot of grunt work in addition to waiting on the chance to work on actual skin for apprentices.

“There are purposes to that. Apprentices learn how to deal with the frustration that comes along with the job and annoying people and questions that they define as kind of stupid,” he says.

Another purpose is so that apprentices gain the capability they need to give quality service to clientele as artists.

Rachel Davies, a resident of Windsor, N.H., got tattooed by an apprentice in 2003 in Kennebunk, Maine. The result ended badly. Davies’ tattoo is the side profile of a blue butterfly on her ankle with stars around it.

“And the stars look like crap,” Davies says, “I’ve had to have it redone twice. It was really fuzzy and it didn’t look professional.”

The artists at the parlor did not tell Davies that the person working on her tattoo was an apprentice until it was done. Davies says that some of her friends got the same exact tattoo from legitimate artists and the tattoos look great.

Shoddy craftsmanship and customers’ disappointment is the risk of allowing an apprentice to work on skin before he or she is ready, and it is a risk a master tattoo artist must not take lightly if a parlor is to remain in good standing with its clientele.

***

After all of the practice and education about the craft, apprentices become artists. But that doesn’t mean they are done learning.

Every year, Boston Tattoo Convention invites artists to come explore new techniques. Siobhan Creedon, an artist at Dark Wave Tattoos and an active participant at the convention, says that it is a gathering of a lot of different shops, and that although there is a maximum capacity at the convention, more and more of these types of gatherings are springing up to sate the demand of tattoo enthusiasts.

“It is pretty well documented that tattoos have become more popular over the past five years,” she says.

As part of their training, after apprentices gain the title of tattoo artist and learn the safety procedures for tattooing, they must earn their license to legally “ink” clients.

Ruth Jones, a licensed public health nurse in Quincy, has taught a skin course for tattoo artist licensure every year at the Boston Tattoo Convention since 2000 when tattooing was made legal in Massachusetts.

“The course I teach is for licensure for all tattoo artists and apprentices. It is a substitute for Anatomy and Physiology I & II at an accredited college, which is required in most cities' and towns' body art regulations,” she says, “It covers all aspects of the basics of the skin, and is geared to body artists.”

The course includes anatomy and function of the skin, antimicrobial agents, common complications of tattooing, common diseases of the skin, and chronic diseases exacerbated by tattooing.

Alex Dawes, Ram Hannan’s former apprentice, has gone through the entire process of apprenticeship and licensure and is now building his own clientele at Hannan’s parlor. He even has his own “office”: a small room with a chair that looks like a barber’s chair, a counter where his tattoo tools are neatly stored, several tattoo designs on the walls, and a curtain for privacy.

Dawes was also an artist before he got into the tattoo business. A 2004 graduate from the Art Institute of Boston, he focused his studies on print making.

Dawes says he has loved tattoos since he was a kid living in the Virgin Islands. He got his first tattoo of a dragon when he was 18-years-old.

Six months after he graduated from the Art Institute, Dawes started apprenticing at Fat Ram’s. He had been looking for apprenticeships at several parlors, but he says Hannan’s place gave him the best vibes.

“I came here and I got a more positive reception than anywhere else. I was working at a house around the corner doing handy man work. S maybe every once a week for about three or four months I’d stop by here and say hi so they’d know I was serious about it. It kind of snowballed from there,” he says.

Dawes apprenticed for two and a half years. During that time, he scrubbed a lot of equipment, drew constantly, watched people get tattoos, and even tattooed himself, he says. He has a frog in a hula skirt on his ankle that he drew while apprenticing, and though it has no special meaning, Dawes says he likes it.

But even though he is no longer an apprentice, Dawes says he still learns something new about tattooing every day.

“This is my career and I want to get the most out of it now while I have the opportunity to learn. It is harder work now but it’s worth it,” he says.

Dawes is not only continuing his education as an artist, but he is also exploring his own strengths and focusing on his own artwork. For Dawes, the apprenticeship was just opening the door to the world he is now living in and learning about. It was the foundation he needed to begin to hone his craft.

“I’m focusing more on my own art work and trying to push my craft and figure it out. I’m trying to get better and better at drawings. I also work with other people here who have a huge amount of experience and different strengths,” he says, “Ram is my mentor and my teacher, but I learn a little bit from everyone. I just want to get good at everything. After drawing something you learn a different appreciation for it on another level.”

His past and his future

2009-05-08T16:40:00.002-04:00

H sat on the stone ledge of the fireplace in my living room laughing at the dog jumping up and down in front of him. He always has a smile on his face.

It was a week before Christmas. To his right, the Christmas tree emitted a soft glow, adorned with ornaments and twinkle lights. Presents lay neatly stacked underneath. To his left, my parents sat on the couch. I sat in my grandmother’s antique rocking chair facing him. He began to tell us what was going on in his life, mindlessly petting the top of the dog’s head.

We sipped eggnog and listened.

***

When H turned 21 on November 15, 2006, his world flipped topsy-turvy.

“After my 21st birthday, I became illegal. They make it complicated when it’s something very simple,” he said.

He was born in Mexico, and came to the states when he was a child. As a minor, his future was protected. But becoming an illegal adult got in the way of that future.

H attended Greensboro College in Greensboro, N.C. for 1 year. It was the only college he applied to. He received two small scholarships, one from the college and one from the Hispanic league, and a state grant.

But after the first year, it was apparent that H would not be able to afford tuition for the next three years, and so he was forced to leave school because of his expenses.

“It covered a third of my tuition, but since I didn’t have my paperwork for my green card in place I had to pay the rest out of pocket-- $8,000 more or less. I can only go to private schools because they don’t have to deal with immigration, but they don’t give a lot of financial aid,” he said.

In 1996, a federal law was passed barring illegal aliens from receiving in-state tuition rates at public institutions of higher education according to FinAid.

The law states, “Notwithstanding any other provision of law, an alien who is not lawfully present in the United States shall not be eligible on the basis of residence within a State (or a political subdivision) for any postsecondary education benefit unless a citizen or national of the United States is eligible for such a benefit (in no less an amount, duration, and scope) without regard to whether the citizen or national is such a resident.”

North Carolina is one of the most restrictive states when it comes to immigration laws.

According to USA Today, in May, 2008, “North Carolina's community colleges ordered its 58 campuses to stop enrolling undocumented students after the state attorney general said admitting them may violate federal law.”

***

H stood at the taped line three feet in front of the red, white and green dart board on the dingy bar wall in the upstairs room of the bar. He shuffled his feet for a more comfortable stance.

He casually lifted his right arm and lined the dart level with his eyes. He squinted, pursed his mouth, aimed, and threw it. It landed on the board with a thud. H sauntered over to the chalk board to tally up his points.

He walked back to the table where his beer was sitting, picked the frosted glass up, and took a swig while I walked up to the line with my set of darts. He started to tell me the story of how he came to the states.

***

H was born in Michoacan, Mexico in a town called Buena Vista on November 15, 1985. He lived in a four-room house. His family owned a plot of land around the house where his mother had three rose gardens. They had guava trees, lime trees, papaya trees, and a mango tree in the yard. They owned cattle and horses. A maid took him to school.

H went to Catholic school in Mexico. “I got in trouble for talking a lot in school. The punishment was a pair of donkey ears—which meant the wearer was a dumbass. I had to wear them sometimes.”

H’s father was in North Carolina working for a year to make some extra money because private school was very expensive and public school was not safe.

“Kids in the public schools were getting kidnapped, so my mom decided to bring us to the states,” he said.

***

We moved downstairs to the pool table. I stood at the corner with my beer in one hand and the pool stick in the other. H circled the table, focusing on his next move. He called it, “Eight ball. Corner pocket.” He leaned over, aimed the wooden stick at the cue ball, and struck. The eight ball sunk into the pocket with a resounding thud. He looked up at me, winked, smiled, took a sip of his beer, and continued his story.

***

H, his mother, sisters and brother drove from the southern pacific coast of Mexico up to Tijuana. His uncle, who lives in California, drove his sisters and brother across the border.

“My brother and sisters crossed the border in a car with my uncle because the border police thought they were white and let them through,” H said.

H has a fair complexion, but his hair is jet black, and his mother worried he would be in more danger of getting caught. So she took him with her to cross the desert on foot.

“We call the guys who take us across the border coyotes. You pay them $3,000. You have to do it at night or you’ll get caught. We walked at least 8 hours the first night,” he said, “You trust the coyotes with your life because that’s the only way to do it.”

H said that when they heard planes over head the coyotes told them to hide in the bushes, but when he heard the drone of the engine, he stood in shock looking up. He got them caught.

He said, “They took us to jail. We stayed there for a day. They let me stay with my mom in the women’s jail because I was too young to go to the men’s.”

The next day, they tried a second time. This time they crossed a bridge over a river.

“We were supposed to wait until no cars were around and then run across the bridge to the other side and hide. My mom jumped over, sprained her ankle and rolled down the bank almost into the river. I started yelling. It was just scary,” he said.

After walking all night, they stopped under some pine trees where they found sodas hidden in the branches. They were told at this point to wait on a grey car to come pick them up. When they got in the car they laid down flat in the backseat so that the police couldn’t see all of their heads.

They were dropped off at an abandoned house where a tractor trailer picked them up and the group of twelve was forced to pack into the cab. H, being the smallest, was on the bottom.

“It was hot, and I felt like my legs were going to fall off from all the weight. We were then moved to the back of the truck and it stunk. A lady splashed my face with water. I had a major headache after the truck ride,” he said.

The truck dropped them off at a ranch where an American family was waiting to help the immigrants out. “When we got out of the truck, I ran to the kitchen because I was dying of hunger. I hadn’t had anything all day except soda and grape fruit,” he said.

A few days later, they met H’s uncle and siblings. They drove to Washington, and then to Chicago, where his uncle dropped them off without any papers at the bus station. From there, they took the greyhound to North Carolina. The whole process took a month and a half.

When they arrived in North Carolina, they got a hotel room. They stayed there for a week and then got a two bedroom apartment for six people, where they lived for two years. After that they rented a larger apartment for a year, and then moved into the small house they have lived in since.

“I was actually well off in Mexico, compared to here where we started at zero,” he said, “We just dealt with. You adjust to it. We were little. When you are a young person you just sort of deal.”

***

He’s always talkative and friendly. He’s a smooth dance partner; the kind that leads strongly and knows all the tricks to twirling a girl across the floor. He always pays the tab when he’s quick enough to grab it before I do. He always calls back if he doesn’t answer the phone at first. He says he never forgets a face, and when he walks into a place, he usually knows someone there.

***

When H first moved to North Carolina, he was very shy.

“I would not say anything. I would watch cartoons. I didn’t know anybody when I got to school,” he said.

But the more he learned how to speak English, the more outgoing he became. Eventually, he was fluent. This did not help him fit in with the other Spanish kids in school, though.

“My freshman year the Hispanic kids didn’t really want to talk to me because they thought I was stuck up. Normally if you are light skinned you are well off. In Mexico we weren’t rich but we had money. They thought I was white for the longest time.”

But a year later he became involved in the Hispanic club at his high school. He said, “Some of my close friends now didn’t like me at first, but sophomore year I joined the Hispanic international club and started to make Hispanic friends.”

***

H’s resonant voice sounded tired over the phone. He was watching his brothers while his mother was cooking dinner. It was his day off. While the twins were screaming two-year-old gibberish in the background, his voice became strained as he was telling me what he wanted to do with his life. I heard clicking and rustling as he balanced the phone on his shoulder and separated his brothers. His voice immediately became soft and gentle when he spoke to them.

After calming them down, things were quiet in the background. He was talking to me again. “Where were we?” he said. “Where you were headed,” I replied.

***

After he stopped making payments to Greensboro College, they sent his bill to collections. In order to get school credit and to be able to go back to school, he needs to pay off his debt first. But since he left GC, his mother has had twins whom he helps support. He also has a car payment, so he hasn’t been able to make payments until recently.

H works in a Mexican restaurant in the Triad area.

“That’s the reason I’m working—to pay off the first year of college,” he said.

Paying off his debt will take another year and a half.

His next step is to go back to school, but, in addition to paying his debt, he has to wait on one of two things. He is either waiting for his papers to finally be processed or on the DREAM Act, which, if passed, will give him the opportunity to earn conditional permanent residency. If neither of these happens, than he plans on seeking an education in Canada.

“It’s easier for me to become a Canadian citizen. It would be faster. I’ve looked at New Brunswick College, which would only cost me $2000 per semester. I can afford that. It’s still an option. I’m going to give it one more year, but if nothing happens, then Canada it is,” he said.

And so, at least for another year, H’s future lies in the hands of the United States government.

Serving others

2009-03-27T15:10:00.001-04:00

Charities for under served populations are feeling the monetary strain of the economic downturn and cutting back on spending, but individual volunteering and donations have increased despite the crisis.

Although charitable organizations for the needy are cutting their budgets as a result of the unstable economy, demand for the services they provide is increasing at a stable rate. People are still volunteering often and donating any spare money they have to the missions of these organizations.

Sarah Fujiwara, chief programs officer at Horizons for Homeless Children in Boston, Mass., said, “It’s obviously uncertain economic times for all of us, but the ends that cause our programs to exist aren’t going away, they are only increasing. It’s a compelling mission.”

The number of homeless families in Boston has definitely grown, according to Fujiwara. Shelters are now serving over 600 families in motels. Horizons for Homeless Children provides childcare at no cost for these families while the parents work toward self sufficiency, but recently low income housing and jobs have been hard to come across.

“Finding housing has been a problem so families have stayed in shelters longer because there just isn’t subsidized housing,” Fujiwara said.

Habitat for Humanity of Greater Boston noticed the effects of the economy on their organization this year when corporate donations started decreasing.

Greta Pemberton, communications director at Habitat for Humanity of Greater Boston, said, “Some donors have been tightening their belts visibly. Corporate group budgets have been cut, this winter especially.”

Non-profit organizations are cutting their spending in an effort to save money. Many are merging administrative staff and curbing spending on office supplies.

Pemberton said that Habitat is trying to save money because of the monetary pressure on the organization’s up-keeping, but that production has not slacked.

“We’re tightening our own belts. We’re looking for ways to cut our budget. We’ve had to cut some staff. We’re looking at everything on the balance sheet and seeing how we can save money, but in terms of production, we’re pushing through,” Pemberton said.

Bridget Snell, director of marketing and public relations at Catholic Charities Archdiocese of Boston, said that her organization is doing anything from watching spending on office supplies to installing energy-efficient light bulbs.

Lynn Gibson, director of community relations at The Philanthropy Roundtable, an organization in Washington, D.C., that measures philanthropic activity, said, “I think what is actually happening is people are reassessing everything they are doing. Folks are really looking at their missions and seeing how people respond, but there’s not one size that fits all, and an economic situation like this forces people to evaluate their organizations.”

But even though these organizations have had financial difficulty, volunteerism and donations have in many cases increased during this time of crisis.

Snell said, “While charitable donations are down, we are actually experiencing a higher dollar value per gift. It seems that in times like these, there are individuals who understand that they could be the ones choosing between a meal or paying a bill, and make a gift to organizations like ours in recognition of that.”

Pemberton said that Habitat’s volunteers are consistent in helping out, especially during times of trouble, when those who are homeless need help the most.

“I get 80 volunteers signed up twice a month. I see a lot of people who are laid off that volunteer. I think it’s because we are really addressing the root problem of the crisis,” Pemberton said.

Bill Connolly, director of Globe Santa, a program that provides Christmas for families in need, said that the program experienced one of its best years since it started in 1956.

Connolly said, “We had more donors this year than in the past three years, and raised a total amount of $1.3 billion—the fifth highest year Globe Santa’s had.”

Globe Santa does not get corporate donations, but instead is a more grass roots program, according to Connolly. Many donors, such as Boston public schools, raise money by sponsoring coin drives. Because of the state of the economy, this year, people donated not only some but all of the change they had in their pockets.

Connolly said, “We’re a local charity that people have known about for 52 years with a great reputation for really staying to the principles and mission of our charity which is giving gifts to needy kids. I think people respect and honor that. I think it also speaks to the circumstances this year when the community says ‘If it’s bad for us, it’s even worse for those that need help.’”

Representing The Philanthropy Roundtable’s perspective, Gibson said she thinks the charitable sector will be stronger as a result of the economic pressure because organizations will come together to combine services.

“Necessity is the mother of invention, and people are thinking of creative ways to serve others,” she said.

Spring!

2009-03-25T23:28:00.003-04:00

Over the hills and through the woods to Grandmother's house we went

2009-03-25T23:23:00.000-04:00

We used to go to Grandma’s house for Christmas Eve every year. Early in the afternoon, Mom, Dad and I trudged through Grandma’s front yard, where mole tunnels made it a challenge to walk on the ground because my heels would sink into the dirt. We stumbled up to her evergreen porch and rang the door bell. We never just walked in, and Dad always let me ring the door bell.

The front porch had a bay window that looked in on the living room of the house. The Christmas tree stood in the center of the window. Grandma and I would decorate it together a few weeks before Christmas. It was a plastic tree. It was tall and skinny, and fit perfectly into the nook we created for it every year.

We always made the tree colorful. Grandma owned bobbles from when she was a little girl and newer, shinier ones that she had bought that season, because she could never have enough. We put multi-colored twinkle lights and silver ribbons on the tree with the ornaments, and on the top we placed what looked like a revolving disco ball: light shined out of it to reflect all the colors of a rainbow on the walls like when the sun shines through a crystal.

Once we got past the tree then surrounded by red, green, and gold presents, we’d go into the den where the smell of biscuits and gravy wafted from the kitchen. Grandma always used to burn the biscuits. Eventually when my two cousins and I got old enough, we took over biscuit duty.

Dad would go outside to smoke his pipe and talk to his brothers, Uncle Wayne and Uncle Joe. Mom and I would help out in the kitchen. My mouth watered when I saw the spread on Grandma’s counter. There were biscuits, hopefully unscathed, homemade brown gravy, candied yams, mashed potatoes, turkey, green beans, cranberry slices, corn bread, and devilled eggs. My Uncle Wayne and I used to fight over the devilled eggs; they were my Mom’s recipe. And then there was always some freshly brewed sweet tea to cap the meal off.

We’d all sit in the den with our plates piled with food, and then three brothers would start their stories.

My dad is the quiet brother, the middle child. Uncle Wayne is the oldest, and the most colorful. He always wears cowboy boots, jeans, and a belt buckle that covers a third of his waste with some sort of western design on it. When he’s feeling particularly ‘country’, he’ll even where a cowboy hat. Uncle Joe is the youngest. All three of them have deep southern drawls.

They’d tell stories about when they were teens and twenty-something’s. They were usually about girls and bar brawls. And often the stories ended with one brother beating the other up. They’d tell us about how Uncle Joe used to sneak out of the house to go drink with his buddies, and how Dad and Uncle Wayne use to run liquor across county lines when they were fifteen and living in Atlanta. Grandma always learned something new during story time.

After several helpings, the brothers would start nosing around for dessert.

We had to put the dessert on the garden porch because there was never room for it in the kitchen. Grandma always made the brothers’ favorites: fruit cake for Uncle Joe, fudge for Uncle Wayne and coconut cake for Dad.

After dessert, we’d move into the living room to open presents. Grandma always stuffed three large Christmas stockings for me and my cousins with goodies like chocolates and twenty dollar bills. Grandma always got the most presents, though. That was how it should be in our eyes. She was the matriarch of three rowdy boys and three prissy granddaughters, she deserved to be spoiled. It was a time when we laughed with Grandma, because she loved to laugh, especially on Christmas Eve.

At the end of the evening, after all the presents were unwrapped and we sat around sluggish from food comas, we’d grab our coats and hug and kiss Grandma a Merry Christmas. The last thing I remember from those nights is seeing Grandma’s grey eyes crinkle as she smiled and waved to us from her front door.

Midway, North Carolina: midway between...

2009-03-10T10:56:00.006-04:00

Midway is a dinky southern town about 30 miles south of Winston-Salem, North Carolina. I grew up in a place called “Possum Town” But nobody knows why it has that name, and nobody calls it that anymore. Midway is home. But the old name is fitting. One day when I was younger, my dad found a baby opossum hanging upside down from our grill on our back porch. Our house is in the sticks—that’s what people call the country in North Carolina.

My friend Caroline lived at the end of my road and across the horse pasture. We would go on adventures around her farm every weekend. Caroline is a county girl with a freckled face and a southern twang. Where I’m from, most people have that twang. Caroline’s family owns roughly 200 acres of land in Midway, which is not uncommon. Farms are mile markers, a way to mark the distance between wherever here is at any given moment and over yonder.

From my house, I would walk up the pot hole ridden road to the dead end where blackberry and honeysuckle bushes grow wild. I’d often pick a branch of honeysuckle to suck the honey out of the blossoms while I walked.

Caroline’s farm had stretches of corn and tobacco fields. It also had prairie-like pastures with tall, golden grass swaying in the breeze dodging the horses’ mouths when they were put out to graze.

Caroline’s horses were big yellow-gold Belgian horses—or what her dad called “work horses.” They looked like peaceful giants when they were calm. Most of the time they were more curious than calm. Sam, one of the colts, would trot up to the barbed wire fence nickering and shaking his bright blond mane as I tried to carefully slide through it to gain entry into the pasture.

It was exciting to watch the giant horses gallop but it also made me want to dash for cover. Caroline told me they could smell hesitance and fear. So I’d always walk straight up to them and say hello—stroke their necks and let them smell my hand. Some days that still didn’t work, and Sam and his mom would rear back on their hind legs, towering above my head. That was my cue to sprint to the corn field where they couldn’t follow.

The cornstalks were tall and thin with vibrant green leaves that were sharp enough to cut skin. The stalks were planted a foot apart from each other, and the ground was uneven and lumpy where their roots spread underneath the dirt. The cornfield was a great place to play hide and seek. The rows of corn led up to the barn, where the Longs kept round bales of hay. They also kept Caroline’s pony, Bob, up at the barn, away from the other horses.

Bob was a short pony with a pot belly. He liked to bite, kick, and throw his riders. Caroline and I used to taunt him by changing the words to the Beach Boys song “Barbara Ann” to Bob-ar-ann and belt it at him. He’d flick his ears back at us.

Play time on the farm always seemed to happen in slow motion. I remember the hottest days the best, when even the bumble bees were slow enough that I could see their wings beating. When it was that hot, we'd take baseball bats and swing at the bees. They were easy targets.

On my way home, I’d make sure to pick some blackberries and carry them in the pouch of bottom of my shirt. Mom would make the best desserts with them. By the time I got back home, I’d have scratches all over my arms and legs from thorns and the barbed wire fence, and my hands and knees would be smudged with dirt from crawling on the ground underneath the fence. I never paid attention to my appearance, but instead I’d pop some blackberries in my mouth and daydream about the next adventure on the farm.

North Station

2009-02-19T21:44:00.000-05:00

"The 12:20 p.m. train to Andover is now boarding at Track 8," announces the woman with a thick Boston r-less accent over the station intercom. Everything at North Station is in slow motion until the time comes to board a train, and then there is a flurry of movement and a mad rush for the sliding glass doors to the track.

My first time in North Station, the race to the trains left me bewildered and lost in the bustle of big city life. I was with my parents trying to navigate the Boston subway system for the first time, and I felt overwhelmed by the fast paced foot traffic whirring around me.

But a year later, I know I can keep up with the pace even if I get lost along the way. I walk up to the train schedules looking for the Lowell departure times. At the ticket counter, I wait in line behind five other people to buy a one way ticket to Lowell.

The elderly man ahead of is talking to the man behind the glass. "I get confused with the new system. It was so much easier when it was just a token in a box. I've been around too long," he says. So I'm not the only one who still gets lost in the maze that is the MBTA.

When I get up to the counter, I ask the man how long it takes to get to Lowell. "About 50 minutes," he says, and hands me the schedule. The one way ticket costs $6.75.

People waiting on trains are usually in their own worlds: listening to their mp3 players, reading newspapers, eating, or talking to traveling companions. It isn't until you look them square in the eyes that you get an acknowledgement of an outside world and a response such as a smile. Everyone I look at smiles down at me as they walk by.

But I don't look at people's faces often. Instead, I watch their feet. One girl sitting across from me when I sit down has on a pair of flat silver Maryjanes. Others that walk by have on high heels that clack across the cement floor as they half skip and half dosie-doe to the track in an uncomfortable gait. Still others have winter boots to cover their feet. One older man with narrow glasses and a black beret is wearing a pair of Uggs, popular name brand boots. I chuckle because when I think of Uggs, I think of the multitude of young girls that sport them around the city.

I am sitting on one of several wooden benches scattered around the station. I have my green notebook on my lap and a chicken and feta sandwich to my right that I bought from a bartender with a tattoo of a fish on his left hand working at the station bar. Beside me is a young red headed girl with a pair of Air Jordans on eating a bagel from Dunkin Donut's.

She says her name is Kate, and that I wouldn't remember her last name. Kate is an undergraduate student at the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences. She is a daily commuter and is living in Haverhill with her parents while she is going to school in Boston because she didn't feel like getting an extra loan so she could live in the city. Kate is a veteran of using the MBTA. She knows all about the colored subway system.

Kate says that the orange line is often dubbed the gold line at night because if you are wearing any flashy jewelry, it's likely it will get stolen right off your body.

Kate is also an experimental photographer. She says she takes pictures of things rather than people, but she would like to take pictures of people one day. "Behind every story there's a picture, and behind every picture, there's a story," she says. I look around at the people waiting in North Station, and picture their feet through the lens of a camera. Each scuff mark on their shoes tells a story about where they've been and where they are going.

Kate gets up to run to the track of the train leaving for Haverhill at 1:10 with the rest of the crowd hustling toward the doors.

Every person in North Station is waiting to go somewhere, and most are in a hurry to get there.

The Frog Pond

2009-02-18T22:31:00.000-05:00

I've always thought of ice skating as one of the most enjoyable and exhilarating activities I've ever done; gliding around on the ice with friends who will laugh at you when you stumble and fall, but who will help pick you back up every time. It's a time when adults can reminisce about their childhood, and children can laugh and feel free to go as fast as they can.

My mother gave me my first pair of ice skates when I was seven. She told me it was something she loved doing at home in New Hampshire and she wanted to pass it down to me. We have ice skating rinks in North Carolina, and I would go every winter. But none of them were outdoor rinks.

On President's day, my friend Colby and I ventured to the Frog Pond at 84 Beacon St. with the rest of the school kids out to play. We waited in line with families and groups of friends. We paid $4 to get in, $8 dollars to rent skates, and $1 to rent a locker.

When we got past the gate, we went up to the skate rental desk. I asked for figure skates, and Colby asked for "whatever is easiest to skate on," so she got hockey skates. I had never skated on hockey skates.

When I put the skates on, I was surprised to see that they only came up to my ankle. My mother later told me they were foot skates. They were old foot skates. The leather uppers were worn down to the lining. The grommets were rusted. Only the blades seemed to be less than 20 years old. When I inched out onto the ice for the first time, it hurt. My ankles turned out. I wobbled around the rink, staying close to the edge.

I decided I needed to exchange my skates for hockey skates. Colby continued to skate. I waited in line again in my socks, trying to discreetly hop around in a feeble attempt to keep my feet warm. When I got my hockey skates, I sat down and started to lace them up. While I was working on my laces, a woman next to me lacing her child's skates was talking to a friend. "I just wanted to get the kids out of the house, so I thought, why not the Frog Pond?" As I gazed around at all the parents with young children at the rink, I had a feeling that she was not alone.

With new found confidence, I slid back onto the ice in my hockey skates. It was easy to find Colby in her bright blue coat. I glided as gracefully as I could manage up to her. Even though the sun shown down on the gleaming ice, it was cold while we skated.

Colby was struggling to keep her balance just as much as I was. "Aren't all New Englanders supposed to be poised on the ice," I chuckled as I watched her slip and slide. "Hey now, I moved to California, remember," she laughed back, and then almost lost her balance again.

The ice was pocked with holes from other people's toe picks and scratched from other people's blades. Every ten seconds I felt like my feet were going to fly out from under me.

We had to dodge kids coming at us from every direction. Colby explained it was the first day of winter break. The kids were faster than we were. They kept darting in front of us like little lizards. "I think these kids are falling on purpose," I said, narrowly missing one who had just tumbled. "I think they are trying to make me fall on purpose," Colby yelled back as she clumsily bypassed another fallen youngster with a huge grin on his face. As we rounded the next turn, she cried out with her hands above her head, "Danger averted! Super skaters!"

We noticed the sun sinking down past the trees. After two hours on the ice, my hands were red and numb. We returned our skates and retrieved our belongings from the locker. As we walked away from the Frog Pond, I laughed at how shaky I was on my own two feet. The last thing I heard was the sound of children's laughter and the friction of blades and ice.

Merry Christmas from Brookline

2008-12-10T14:53:00.008-05:00

Click on the photo to see others from the festival

I'm writing a feature piece on Massachusetts festivals that are having to cope with the feeble economy.

Brookline's First Light Festival, however, is doing just fine. In fact, they were up 30 percent in their fundraising this year. Congrats Brookline!

Adam Gaffin of Universal Hub

2008-12-04T16:03:00.003-05:00

I've been really interested in Universal Hub and Adam Gaffin's work since I began this class. I've figured out that as a fledgling journalist, I'm going to have to know quite a bit about new media journalism. Which is why I decided that for my final project, I'm focusing on how New England newspaper reporters are fairing on the new media front, specifically blogging, and what they think of it. Mr. Gaffin seems to be a great model to follow.

I really enjoyed listening to what he had to say, as a new blogger and journalist.

His reasoning behind starting Universal Hub was to post about things that were not getting into the daily papers, he said. A "slice of life" from other people in the area writing about the goings on of their communities.

"If something weird happens on the T, I'm gonna link to it, because papers don't cover it."

It seems as though Gaffin uses what would be considered "anecdotes" in news stories in the big dailies as his slice of life pieces, which I think is a great way to be inspired for blog posts (and actually the things I see when I'm walking around Boston are what inspires me to write most of the time.)
For example, he told us about the man shot to death in Roslindale, and he knew something was wrong in the neighborhood when he and his wife were in their living room when they heard helicopters flying overhead.

Bloggers should always pay attention to the comments on their posts. "People talk about things. It's become an interesting way for people to talk about the news and add interesting stuff."

Universal Hub, according to Gaffin, is a community driven site.

Gaffin said the main way to make money on the site is through advertising. I understand this, since I have google ads which indeed make me money when people click on them (SO CLICK ON THEM!).

Gaffin said that in order to write a successful blog, you have to have a focus. "One of the things you want to think about if you get into something like this is what is your niche?"

This is so that you can get a following, a loyal audience.

I think because I've become so interested in Treehugger, my focus is becoming environmental journalism. However, I do have other interests, which I plan on writing about as well when I feel inspired.

All the little birds on J-Bird St. Love to hear the robin goin' tweet tweet tweet

2008-12-01T20:06:00.004-05:00

Twitter has made a cameo appearance throughout the semester in class, but I never really understood what it was until today. Before the power point presentation, I just thought it was used to alert its users to breaking news, and depending on who's twitter feed you are following, it can.
When I visited twitter.com, the first thing I saw were testimonials about it on the bottom of the Web site. One member, point_chevalier, said, "When I first started doing it, I thought, 'geez, not another website to worry about updating and checking', but now I'm glad I did it." A concern many of us had in class.

Twitter says:

Twitter is a free service that lets you keep in touch with people through the exchange of quick, frequent answers to one simple question: What are you doing?

But that isn't supposed to be considered its main reason for being.

Ideally, I think it's supposed to be something that promotes citizen and professional journalism alike, and provides instantaneous sharing of information about breaking news.

I have issues with Twitter though... to me, it's like a delayed chat, where people can say pretty much anything they please and not have to do the work to back up what they say with evidence.

I don't deny that some of the "tweets" can be highly entertaining, for example Fake Rahm Emanuel's twitter feed, which I started looking at yesterday after class, is hilarious. However, it's vulgar, and it's not exactly news worthy for the most part.

I really like Grist's twitter feed though. Grist is a news publication on environmental news. It doesn't just copy and paste it's headlines as tweets, but it does give a short bit about what it is reporting on. I think I'm slowly starting to be compelled toward environmental journalism, so this particular twitter feed is a winner in my eyes.

And last but not least, I think twitter is a great place to exploit celebrity news, which Jezebel does on her twitter feed. However, she does also tweet about legit. news such as Hillary's new post. Because much of celebrity news can be crude and crass... keeping it short and sweet is probably for the best, and twitter forces the messages to be short, if not sweet.

Newstrust

2008-11-20T17:58:00.002-05:00

As a Newstrust newbie, I was actually a bit nervous to submit and rate stories. Maybe it was because of all the talk of being rated yourself by others. Self-consciousness is never a good ingredient in journalism, however, so I got over it and visited BBC's website to find some interesting stories involving the global economy.

The first story I found was on the fine wine industry. The story said that wine prices are declining because demand is going down and people are purchasing less expensive wine to protect their wallets. I gave it a 4.2. Side note, not 20 minutes after I submitted the story, someone else reviewed it. I think Newstrust is awesome in that it seems to create its own community by allowing everyone to review each other's submitted stories.

The second story I submitted was on the bee industry. Go figure bees are actually a really important part to the European economy. But according to this story, Europe is concerned. I gave it a 3.4, and I didn't like the fact that it didn't really have any sources, never mind quotes. But I did find the story interesting and informative, which is why it's scored higher, and it did include some enlightening statistics.

The third story I found was on crude oil prices sinking below $50 dollars a barrel for the first time since May 2005. As a driver, and traveller in general, the story caught my eye (and made me a little bitter that for the first time since I could drive I don't have a car.) It did include a quote, and a graph to illustrate its point, but other than that it wasn't very well sourced. I gave it a 3.4 as well.

Obviously I'm a little nicer than my fellow graduate students, but I think that's because I'm new to reviewing. Give me time as a member of the Newstrust community, and I'll be just as critical and dogged as everyone else. I think Newstrust is a great place to learn how to edit pieces. Although it's a relatively general reviewing tool, the different areas it asks members to review are the same areas editors look at in the pieces they are working on. To make itself even better in this aspect, I think Newstrust could go even further in depth with its review questions.

Although originally nervous about doing this, I enjoyed the experience, and plan on frequenting the site from now on.

Coffee and college: coffee shops at or near Northeastern University

2008-11-12T16:10:00.003-05:00

On a cold, incredibly windy day in downtown Boston, I found myself hoofing it down Boylston Street in search of caffeine, and lunch.

Rebecca's Cafe is a chain cafe based solely in Massachusetts. The particular location I found was in a small corner of an enormous building on Boylston. 500 Boylston.

I hit lunch rush hour, so it was crowded with suits on their lunch hour and people taking a break from being buffeted by the wind outside over a cup of joe. The employees, however bogged down in orders they may have been, were still very polite and friendly to their customers. They chatted with people in line as they prepared orders, and genuinely acted happy to be serving them. The lines moved quickly. I purchased a small house blend coffee and a blueberry muffin, both of which were very good, and just sat in a corner of the cafe to watch the world go by.

People seemed to relax once they sat down at the tables with their lunch (I mostly saw soup and crackers). I did as well. After I took my notes, I read a book and enjoyed the atmosphere. All in all, it was a nice experience, and I love coffee.

To see the location of Rebecca's Cafe, and for more coffee shops in the Northeastern University area, see our collaborated map: Caffeinated Campus.

Maps

2008-11-10T16:14:00.004-05:00

I found the New York Times' map of the Tour de France a worth while piece because it puts the distance of the race in perspective (88.9 miles or 143 km). It also puts the geographic terrain in perspective as well. These racers are riding bicycles over steep mountains, which is illustrated on the map.

I really like the photos that are presented with map as well. Each photo of each stage captures the elation of the athlete in their moment of victory. The other photos that are included with the map are pretty incredible. I just think it's nifty to map out a race. It helps show just how hard the athletes had to work to travel as far as they did.

Another map I personally found interesting was the trails.com, because I really enjoy the outdoors and hiking. The topographic maps show where the more challenging trails are in each state. However, trails.com does charge after a two week trial. And if that's the case, I'll just do it the old fashioned way and pull out a paper map of state parks.

It seems as though google maps mania has very interesting and convenient maps to look at. Like Bud bars in the area. Who wouldn't want to know those locations?

Spikey Em

2008-11-07T08:52:00.006-05:00

My favorite video of Emily Sweeney's hands down was the 1-2-3 Party coverage, just because it was so outrageous and funny.

Emily said it was always a dream of hers to work at the Globe, and now because of her new media knowledge, she has made herself a valuable employee for the Globe South.

I think for our class, Emily is a "real life" example of where we might end up in 5 years. As a Northeastern alum having joined the Globe 3 years after she graduated, she had some very sound advice about learning about technology in the field.

I also really enjoyed her piece with her colleague her Billy Baker on Boston slang. As an outsider who notices the accent very easily, I could appreciate the humor and the fun in the clip. She made her work on this particular clip sound very easy. Having a resource like archive.org seems like it would be very convenient to have if one wants to make a fun movie with several different images open to the public.

Emily said that Globe reporters are all encouraged to carry around flip phones when out in the field. She thinks, as do many reporters these days, that having well rounded knowledge of new media can help in getting a job in journalism.

One thing that Sweeney said I found the most interesting is that when she is reporting with a video camera, she has to be wary that people are not just performing for the camera. If they do, it brings up ethical issues for journalists. So where does a journalist draw the line? In the clip on 1-2-3 Party, she said this was a particular concern of hers, however she had learned that these performs acted just as crazy when they weren't in front of a camera.

Sweeney prefers to just let things happen, even if they are not perfect.

Election Day 2008: Boston, MA

2008-11-05T15:28:00.004-05:00

I walked down the street to the polling place for my neighborhood, Moreville House at 100 Norway Street, to see what was going on at the poll.

To my surprise, it was not that busy when I went at 1 pm. I also had a very rude greeting when I walked in brandishing my camera for the poll volunteers to see. Inevitably, I was told to leave, and as I left one of the volunteers whispered to me "Catch 'em as they are coming out."

So I did. And I took some pictures around the poll as well, just to spite them.

Election 2008: Poll pictures.

They are also posted at the Polling Place Photo Project.

For the love of trees

2008-11-03T15:46:00.007-05:00

Since the beginning of the term, I've been continuing to nose around treehugger.com. As a result, I've become a huge fan of the project.

Here's some history on the site.

In 2004, Graham Hill (now Vice President of the project) founded Treehugger with the help of Media Architecture Advisor Nick Aster.

During the last four years, the Web site has been "dubbed," as it states, the Green CNN and the Green Blog God.

The project has 10 staffers and over 50 writers from over 10 different countries covering 8 categories of green news.

The categories are:
1. Cars and Transportation
2. Science and Technology
3. Design and Architecture
4. Culture and Celebrity
5. Travel and Nature
6. Food and Health
7. Business and Politics
8. Fashion and Beauty

Planet Green, is actually a sister site to Treehugger. In its "about" section, it claims to be the first and only 24-hour Eco-lifestyle television network. They are both part of the Discovery Company.

Treehugger has been nominated for several awards during its lifetime, and offers up its virtual trophy case as a testament to that fact.

Some of the new media presentations it provides are podcasts, vlogs, blogs, and a user-generated blog called Hugg.

It even has a job board where it posts available job opportunities in Eco-related fields, much like an environmentally friendly Craigslist.

Here are some of the blogs I personally found interesting and helpful for my own lifestyle:
What girl doesn't like makeup? And who doesn't want to save the world looking their best? This post is about doing both.
And since tomorrow is the big day, this post on carpooling to the polls is festive and Eco-friendly.

I did find the list of contact information. I had a hard time finding it at first because I had to scroll all the way down on the about page to find the section named "How can I contact Treehugger?" It's not a page on its own, which I don't necessarily like.

I think I would really be interested in working for Treehugger in the future. I would enjoy writing about saving the world one green step at a time.

Happenstance journalism

2008-10-24T12:11:00.006-04:00

"The citizen journalism stuff is pretty much a passion," Steve Garfield from SteveGarfield.com said in his presentation in class on Wednesday.

Garfield, a video journalist, practices what he calls "happenstance journalism" much of the time. He carries his Nokia N95 around with him looking for stories to walk into.

Or he takes the opportunity for stories to walk up to him, as happened in his coverage of the electric volt car. As we discussed in class the woman who in the video, whatever her state might have been, seemed to want to be seen and heard. Her questions weren't bad ones either.

When asked about how she was depicted in the video, Garfield said, "This was the best interview I've ever had. I don't think I was holding her up to ridicule. She gave me her name, she was pretty lucid, and she was in public."

This kind of coverage is very different from Garfield's piece on the debate reaction that was featured on the BBC. Garfield and his wife, Carol, record their reactions on the presidential debate from the comfort of their living room couch.

"It was fun to see the next day the BBC featuring us," Garfield said.

Garfield told us on Wednesday that Carol helps him out a lot when he's on the job. "She's used to it. Totally goes with it all the time," he said.

And finally, Garfield even meets and interviews stars on his adventures as a video journalist, such as Dane Cook.

Each of these videos delivers news from three totally different venues. But Garfield practices the advice he gave to our class in all three of these videos: keep the camera as steady as possible, make sure the microphone is where it needs to be to hear who is talking, and include your own unique tag line.

The Head of the Charles Regatta

2008-10-19T19:42:00.000-04:00

Rachel Rosselli
Click here or on the picture to see the slide show of the Regatta

The Head of the Charles, the world's largest two day rowing event sponsored by The Boston Globe among other companies, was hosted this weekend, Oct. 18-19 on the Charles River near Harvard University.

The Regatta was started by the Cambridge Boat Club members D'Arcy MacMahon, Howard McIntyre, and Jack Vincent, with the advice of Harvard University sculling instructor Ernest Arlett, according to the event's Web site.

According to the history of the Regatta, "Winners of each race receive the honorary title of 'Head of the River' or, in this case, 'Head Of The Charles.'"

I visited Reunion Village on Saturday. Reunion Village is set on the Boston side of the Charles, where alumni from different prep schools and colleges can watch the event and "share in the weekend's racing and festivities."

Admittance to Reunion Village required donating a dollar, and the proceeds go to HOCR charities. When I walked into the Village, my first thought was that it looked a lot like a tailgating event: people walking around in jeans and sweaters eating hot dogs and drinking beer and wine. The smell of barbecue from the tents permeated the air. Children ran around playing and dogs dressed up in small doggie sweaters happily trotted along beside their owners.

I entered Reunion Village looking for a specific tent. My friend Dru Carter, a native of Conn., had attended Ethel Walker's preparatory school for girls in Conn. and told me that they would be setting up a tent for their alums at the event. Dru has talked about her Alma mater so much, and having gone to an all girls' high school myself, I decided to stop by and say hello to her friend Rachael Rosselli, who was directing the alumnae gathering at the regatta.

When I found her, Rachael was super nice and cooperative in answering some of my questions about Ethel Walker's attendance at the Regatta. She is the acting Director of alumnae relations at Walker's.

Rachael said that Walker's decided to make the Regatta an alum event last year, when they began attending, on the suggestion of the Vice Presidential Board. "We thought it would be a great opportunity to gather alums, network with alums at other schools, and a chance for marketing."

The Regatta attracts a lot of families, so it's a great opportunity for schools to advertise. "We want to become a household name like Miss Porter's." Miss Porter's is one of Walker's competition.

I also talked to Glen Schwitter, Director of development at Walker's, but admittedly not about Walker's or the Regatta. I spent 30 minutes discussing politics and the debates with Mr. Schwitter, because it was just one of those events: people socialize and talk about present day goings-on.

While I was milling around, 5 alumnae who graduated in 2003 and 2004 walked up to the tent. It gave me the perfect opportunity to interview some of Walker's own.

Three of the girls live in the Boston area, and "spread the good word" as Rachael said she had hoped they would to their two friends still living in Conn.

We had a conversation about their memories at Walker's, one of their best being their "two hour lunches" according to Breanne Evans who just graduated from BU and the "living room" at Walker's said Katherine Hypolite.

As to who she was cheering for in the race, Rachael said, "I'm hoping Yale will win-- they're better."

Oktoberfest in Harvard Square

2008-10-15T19:01:00.005-04:00

Let the pictures speak for themselves...

The 29th annual Oktoberfest and Honk! Festival in Harvard Square was on Sunday, October 12. It included a festival parade with bands from the surrounding area and down South, for example Atlanta, GA. The festivities started at noon and lasted until 6pm.

There were fall decorations, psychedelic costumes, picnics, and of course, lots of beer. This year, the festival included live entertainment on 6 performance stages, 50 international food vendors, and many other retail vendors out on the streets, according to the Harvard Square Web site. The world's longest couch was also a well-liked feature after hours of walking around.

We could here music all the time, wherever we went, and there were so many people, that we had to squeeze through the crowds.

What I was surprised to find was the amount of openly liberal people at this festival. I expected to see lederhosen, I did not expect to see drag queens.

College night at the aquarium

2008-10-14T22:07:00.017-04:00

Click here or on the photo to see the slide show

Last Wednesday, October 8, was college night at the New England Aquarium, and it was free, so Huan and I decided to go. It is annual event, for which all college and graduate students are eligible as long as they bring their college IDs. It included admission into the entire aquarium, plus admission to an IMAX 3-d movie.

We arrived at the aquarium before sunset, and there was already a long line (it started at 5:30). There was a DJ from a popular radio station in Boston there, and lots of loud college kids. Once we got into the aquarium, we had to fight the masses of teens and 20-somethings to get around, all of them with cameras in hand, and flashes were going off everywhere.

We saw penguins, a multitude of different kinds of fish, jellyfish, sea horses, sea anemones, sharks, turtles, and other fauna. It was a small but still impressive aquarium.

After exploring the aquarium until our hearts' content, we made our way to the movie theatre, where we saw the movie Grand Canyon Adventure: River at Risk. The theatre was packed, and it smelled like popcorn, m&m's, and liquor (I think some of the kids decided to have happy hour before showing up).

The IMAX presentation, though it made me a little dizzy and nauseous, was incredible. It was a first for me, so I had no idea what to expect. Things literally seem like they are jumping off the screen. If you ever get a chance to see an IMAX in 3-d, I recommend taking it.

WBUR: Public radio experimentation

2008-10-09T15:58:00.007-04:00

Just because radio is doing well over the airwaves, doesn't mean that public radio and new media can't "make beautiful music together," as Ken George puts it.

Because people enjoy listening to the "high quality" broadcasts of radio stations like WBUR, I think they would be more inclined to listen online while at work, casting a sense of loyalty to their favorite news stations. If they listen online as well as in their car, then the experiments of new media presentation that WBUR and Robin Lubbock, news media director, are trying, in my opinion, would do very well and provide more outlets for listeners to explore.

I believe that using such resources as Twitter and multimedia is key to radio's success in adapting to a new age, in other words, its survival and growth. Just as newspapers are finally adding new media to their Web sites, so too should radio reap the benefits of this endless amount of resources at their fingertips. Mr. Lubbock gave a perfect example as to why these new media sources are already helping radio stations... in California when forest fires were running rampant and took out a radio station there, the station used Twitter as a way to broadcast what was going on and where the fires were headed. In this way, listeners could contribute their own experience and stay informed and up-to-date on a serious threat.

As Mr. Lubbock put it, "What we need in this totally saturated news market is uniqueness." I think this sums up what local radio stations need to make sure they are doing in order to stand out and make an impression.

But WBUR is not the only radio station that is blazing a trail toward technological advancement and listener enlightenment. Minnesota Public Radio has now added to it's Web site a page called Your Voice: a chance for listeners to essentially become part of the staff by submitting opinions in discussions groups, pictures, and being able to contribute to an article stub, according to the Minnewiki.

It seems to me that the whole point of using new media is to reach out to the listeners. In North Carolina, WUNC puts it this way, ""You [the audience] have knowledge that can help us cover the news in greater depth and uncover stories we might not otherwise find."

As it stands now, pushing forward in the fast-forwarded world of technology, seems to be the trick. I don't know much about radio, but I do know that I see iPods every couple of steps I take, and I see everyone using laptops these days, surfing the web. News organizations in general should view this as a resource, not an encumbrance, and they should embrace the new age of media, in one newby's opinion.

Photography 101

2008-10-08T13:31:00.007-04:00

I've always enjoyed taking pictures. There's just something about seeing people and things through a lens, especially if they don't know you are there...

This picture is of two journalism graduate students discussing the second presidential debate at a place called Sweetwater Cafe, where a bunch of J-school nerds decided to hang out, socialize, and debate about the debate!

The other photos I took were at the same place, but one of them was a posed picture of all the J-school kids letting their hair down and smiling for the picture, the other is of some Boston locals watching the debate nearby.

With the exception of my fellow students getting annoyed at the flash, I had fun taking these pictures. It was easy to see, through the lens of my camera, how interested and concerned everyone was about what was being shown on T.V. I love candid shots, they are by far superior, in my opinion, then posed pictures. People seem a lot more real when they don't know they are being watched. However, I thought it would be a good time to get everyone smiling, because we all know we have a stressful, bumpy road ahead.

Uploading the photos was easy, just like uploading photos on here, or on Facebook. The only thing I'm still kind of learning about is what the appropriate size is for a picture when you upload it. Other than trying to figure out the dimensions of the photos more accurately, I don't think I would necessarily "do anything different." It's a pretty simple process, in my opinion.

I like the idea behind Wired Journalists. Admittedly, I had never heard of it before Monday, but it seems to create a community for those of us who embrace the fact that online journalism is indeed here to stay and want to learn more about all aspects of the profession. Because of our assignment and because, as I mentioned earlier, I enjoy photography as a hobby, I joined the photography group to learn what to shoot and what not to shoot. I'm sure I'll be joining plenty more as I filter through the site.

What's the word in Boston?

2008-10-03T09:01:00.011-04:00

As luck would have it, my immune system decided to putter out on me this weekend, and so I found myself cooped up in my apartment for most of it.

I entertained myself, naturally, by watching T.V.: The Daily Show. Jon Stewart has the healing powers of a shaman the way he makes me laugh. And lately, his target has been Sarah Palin.
Considering that I spent a good bit of my weekend with Mr. Stewart, and that he will be visiting Boston for Northeastern's Homecoming, I decided I would find out if Boston bloggers are talking about his reporting, or at least if they are reporting similar ideas to Stewart's in their blogs on Palin especially now after the first Vice President candidate debate.

For all those poor souls out there who have yet to experience the show, it runs on Comedy Central and goes by the mantra:

One anchor, five correspondents, zero credibility.
If you're tired of the stodginess of the evening newscasts and you can't bear to sit through the spinmeisters and shills on the 24-hour cable news network, don't miss The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, the nightly half-hour series unburdened by objectivity, journalistic integrity or even accuracy.

One blog I found on Universalhub.com (Technorati authority 286) introduced a piece by Jon Stewart with witty rhetoric, but let the video in the post do most of the talking. The video, of course, talks about Palin and her pregnant teen daughter, on which Stewart comments sarcastically "Teen pregnancy is an issue for which judgement is personal and must be withheld." (Enter Jamie Lynn Spears in the video).

Stewart is known for his total disregard of political correctness, and where Palin is concerned, believes that Palin is not right for the job, which he makes clear daily in his show.

But Jon Stewart, though possibly and probably the funniest anchor talking about Palin, adds to the plethora of points about the first woman Vice Presidential candidate.

The author of PunditReview (Technorati authority 66) found something ineresting about Palin in reference to the debate last week. One post, on Friday Oct. 3, said that the author conducted a survey between a male and a female, both democrats. "Both were surprised by how well Palin did. I was surprised by how well everyone was saying Palin did, more than I was surprised by Palin’s performance."

In a post today, the PunditReview adds that, "John McCain’s pick of Sarah Palin has generated such enthusiasm that some on the right are so giddy with excitement, they are spinning so fast and furious they forget what they have stood for or said previously."

In another avenue, the Boston Herald comments on Palin's recent problems with Katie Couric. A woman who compares herself to a pit bull should, one would think, be able to defend herself well and assert her opinions accurately and efficiently, but Palin seems to get tongue tied in every interview with Couric, almost as if she is intimidated. Who's the "lightweight" now?

Cynical-C (Technorati authority 398), a blog by a fellow living in Cambridge, refers to the newest skits on SNL. And with one question, he opens a can of worms, I think, that again questions Palin's experience. "The question is, who has met with the press more, Tina Fay as Sarah Palin or Sarah Palin?"

And finally, to add even more to poor Palin's humiliation, Steve Garfield, author of Offonatangent.com (Technorati authority 50), included in a recent post a reference to collegehumor.com. Hockey mom? I have a feeling Palin's never going to want to see a hockey puck again after this is all over. The video, despite its original source, does entertain a lot of concerns that the people of America have about Governor Palin. She's a really easy target, it seems.

Sarah Palin, for obvious reasons, has been under a good deal of scrutiny, but I think these reporters and bloggers show that in any case around election time, one has to weed out the unnecessary baggage that comes with campaigns and candidates to get to the crux of the issues. Where Palin is concerned, issues are a plenty, and a lot of Bostonians (and Jon Stewart) are worried about it.

Playing the number game as a journalist

2008-09-30T08:56:00.003-04:00

I remember learning how to plug in numbers into databases in computer class when I was in middle school. I also remember thinking how I would never be using it because I hated numbers with a deep passion (not the best math student in the world.)

But I remember, too, that although I had an "aversion to numbers" as Matt Carroll said yesterday that many people do, databases are not that difficult to construct, and neither are they very difficult to understand.

So on to the databases.

The first one I came upon is the MCAS results for 2008. This database allows you to look up information on how students in Mass. schools are fairing. It shows rank of school, rank of district, test results, and patterns on a year to year basis in test scores or grades. The rankings, for example, are placed in columns and rows, like the databases we made yesterday, which makes sense, I think, for this particular kind of information. I think a good story that could be reported on this information would be to interview the teachers at the schools that are doing well, and feature certain activities in the classroom that may be nontraditional, but that help the learning process. This story could be positive affirmation to parents about where they are sending their kids, and it could help teachers elsewhere by sharing tips.

Secondly, not to be morbid, but the homicide database, a map showing where and how homicides happened in Boston color coded to distinguish between stabbings, shootings, and vehicular homicides, is interesting in a merely informative way (I'm not planning on going there to these places to wait and see what happens). I think this is a good way to illustrate this information, because it gives a geographic element to where these incidents are occurring. A good story from this could be looking into reasons why homicides have increased so much in recent years, and what law enforcement is doing about it.

Finally, I appreciate the way the Census results are provided, since we made a point of learning how to do percent change in class yesterday. I think it makes it easy to digest the information when it's broken down into smaller pieces like the different columns. A story from this information would be a local feature story about what is making people want to come to Boston more now than in recent years. Digging into university enrollments, corporate moves, and even the move in of some up and coming dive downtown could be interesting to read about.

Political fact-checking databases: for those of us who don't know what to think anymore

2008-09-24T16:03:00.007-04:00

The following four web sites are helpful for the politically jaded, though there are a few glitches in some of their presentations. Here are my thoughts on each of them.

Factcheck.org:

This site is less a database in the sense that it is a daily check on the campaigns of our presidential candidates in blog form. The headlines give a snippet of what the post is going to dole out as true or false, but visitors of the site have to read the full post in order to get the big picture. I like the site's presentation, though. It's colorful, but it's not difficult to navigate. It also has an easy search engine of its archives that lists results in chronological order, which is convenient.

The posts seem to be relatively even-keeled in the data they provide, as in they call out both candidates (and their running mates) for lying through their teeth. For example, here is an excerpt from its most recent post:

McCain has made multiple false representations of Obama's tax proposals. Obama has made false claims about Mccain's stance on Social Security. Both McCain and Obama have traded some whoppers about their energy policies, about Iraq, and about Iran, and about supporting troops.

But, unfortunately, readers can't comment on the posts, which is something Factchecker may want to try in order to get feedback. One last thing that they need to work on is that some of their multimedia presentations, like their Youtube videos, are not so easy to watch or listen to. I myself am lazy and impatient when it comes to technology, and appreciate convenience. Maybe this is for the tech pros to work on, but if they could just make it easier to get to, it would help.

Politifact.com:

I really like how easy it is to access multimedia presentations on this site. You get all the ads from campaigns they post at the click of a mouse. Its like my very own easy button. I also like how they display their facts about campaign malarky. The attack file is creative (who wouldn't giggle at the visual of a candidate's "pants of fire"?) and still very informative. The only thing I think I would consider adding, as with Factchecker, is a place for readers to respond to the information provided.

Washington Post Votes Database:

Not much in the game with presentation, this database is information central for political candidates of the Congress, both House and Senate, and who is voting for them. It does provide pictures with the names of the candidates for each state, whom some of us may not know (by some of us, I mean myself), and it gives percentages of votes from specific parties. Because this is literally a database of information and not just posts about information, I'm not sure I would change anything. It is very well organized, though maybe a little boring to look at. But go check it out... find out who's running in your state so you can be "in the know."

Project Vote Smart:

"The voter's self-defense system." Aesthetically pleasing to readers, this particular site has a little bit of everything to attract visitors, including a tidy system for finding information on those representatives you might not know. It even has voter registration information for each state. I'm pretty sure, other than a commenting capability (again), that I would find everything I need to about candidates in any state. Unlike the first couple of sites, though, I wouldn't find anything juicy about our future leaders, and what fun is that?

So from this small bit of analysis, my conclusion and suggestion to everyone is this: if you are interested in finding out all you can about the people who want to run your state and country, just go to all four. It can't hurt, and it will definitely help shed some light on some murky issues.

Green should be everybody's favorite color

2008-09-23T22:43:00.006-04:00

At least public shareholders of major newspapers seem to think so. In a time when newspapers are said to be well on their way to crashing and burning, consequently putting professional journalists in a panic and editors in short supply of good talent, the news industry needs to find a new outlet.

OK so this is probably a big "duh" to all of you who read the news, report the news, or edit the news. My point is that there is new media on the world wide web that is reaching out to report on fairly new societal endeavors that have popped up within the last decade and that grab the attention of young audiences, and newspapers should take notes on the types of subjects these media are talking about.

After sifting through blogs on Technorati.com, I found one that illustrates this "new media" ideology. Treehugger.com. It calls itself a "Discovery Company," and the main theme of the site is to help inform readers on how to be as Eco-friendly as possible. Their mantra states that, "TreeHugger is the leading media outlet dedicated to driving sustainability mainstream."

The theme of "going green" is one that has become big talk in recent years. The kicker is that it is something that the younger generation seems to really care about. We may have a short attention span on international news or economic news, but when it comes to OUR well-being and OUR home, we move to action. We are a selfish generation.

Treehugger seems to understand our concerns:

Our environment is currently facing huge obstacles that have the potential to seriously disrupt our future and the future of all our fellow flora and fauna friends. Keeping that in mind, TreeHugger also sympathizes with the fact that most people aren’t willing to compromise their current lifestyle in order to improve our shared environment, so we have created a place where you can discover how to maintain or improve your quality of life while reducing your harmful impact on the earth.

So what's the big deal about big time newspapers buying into this? It generates a lot of interest from an audience that apparently does not make a habit of picking up a newspaper or even following online headlines. And that's all part of what those pesky shareholders are trying to gain: higher profit margins by reaching more (younger) readers. Most journalists would agree that the "money" aspect is not why they became journalists (it's not like a typical reporter at a small newspaper makes loads of cash). They became journalists to report truthful news that will impact the society, and although this is in no way hard news, its goals for the environment are positive and Eco-geeks around the world are eating it up.

Three blogs I fancy

2008-09-17T16:04:00.005-04:00

Though new to the idea of regularly following blogs, I have found a few I enjoy reading that entertain as well as inform.

Unaccustomed to metropolitan lifestyle and specifically to living in Boston, I acknowledge the need to know what goes on in the city. The Universal Hub has everything from police reports to Red Sox replays. The blog features a variety of stories that include pictures and links to other sites and blogs, creating a network of the Boston blogging community. The posts are a nice mixture of reports on newsworthy events, reviews on venues around the area, university life, and other news about Boston culture. It's an enlightening combination of topics with pithy headlines to grab my attention.

While in a city full of opportunity, I've decided it would be wise to start thinking of different career paths within the field of journalism. Although I do not have a specific focus yet, I have considered going on to pursue a law degree and to eventually become a legal reporter. I discovered a blog related to legal media posted by the Carnegie Legal Reporting Program at Newhouse called LawBeat. Mark Obbie, author of the blog, writes on nationwide legal reporting. Blogging about ongoing cases and how they are covered, Obbie's posts break down legal jargon so that anybody reading the blog can understand and appreciate it without having a degree in law or experience in the journalism field.

The third and final blog for this particular list is Rolling Stone. I have always been a huge fan of the magazine, and unfortunately I have never had the luxury of being able to buy more than two issues in a row due to the sad fact that I am a student with a strict budget. The blog gives me the ability to read about what's going on in the world of rock and roll. Rolling Stone's reputation alone draws in readers, myself included. The information it covers in its posts gives its audience some scope about where the music industry is headed, and occasionally adds a post here and there about politics for good measure. Mostly, though, the blog is a reputable source of entertainment news merging generations and cultures, which, in my opinion, makes it worth reading.