some enlightenment on journalism

Found a journalism quote the other day and it led  me to another one and ya... there's only a dozen there but says it more eloquently than I could say it as I'm no expert :P but I love writing.

To reflect on the reason I studied this for so long was an English teacher pointing out how words could change minds with ideas.

Journalism has been a way of communicating ideas and events over the past 500 years (since Gutenberg's press). Writers do so in hopes people keep thinking outside the box about the world outside their

doorstep. Though cynically viewed, do remember with a single story, a  journalist can empower his interview subjects to speak out -- initiate change to make the world a better place. Pretty cool for some ink on

recyclable paper to bring to light the things that need to be exposed and changed. Never stop writing truth.

Anyhows.....

Put it before them briefly so they will read it, clearly so they will appreciate it, picturesquely so they will remember it and, above all, accurately so they will be guided by its light.

--Joseph Pulitzer

News Corporation, today, reaches people at home and at work... when they're thinking... when they're laughing... and when they are making choices that have enormous impact. The unique potential.. and duty..

of a media company are to help its audiences connect to the issues that define our time.

--Rupert Murdoch

Publish and be damned

Print the news and raise hell

--Traditional newspaper credos

The public have an insatiable curiosity to know everything. Except what is worth knowing. Journalism, conscious of this, and having tradesman-like habits, supplies their demands.

--Oscar Wilde

Fiction is a bridge to the truth that journalism can't reach.

--Gonzo Journalist Hunter Thompson

USA Today, March 26, 1998

on the other-hand

If I have to do all this superficial crap you've assigned me, I need time to do it in depth.

--Jon Carroll

San Francisco Chronicle, Feb. 16, 1987

quoting a fellow newspaper writer

Too strong a media emphasis on death and violence can lead to despair.

--Dali Lama

Dealing with the media is more difficult that bathing a leper.

--Mother Teresa

Anonymous sources are to journalism what silicon enhancements are to the feminine figure; they look impressive to the gullible, but something doesn't feel right.

--Larry King, an American journalist in London, August, 2005

On behalf of the newspaper industry (new, cost-cutting motto: ``All the News That'') I wish to announce some changes we're making to serve you better. When I say ``serve you better,'' I mean ``increase our profits.'' We newspapers are very big on profits these days. We're a business, just like any other business, except that we employ English majors.

--Dave Barry

Miami Herald, May 20, 2001

Terry Pratchett quotes from his book The Truth

copyright 2000, published by HarperTorch, New York.

William reckoned that no matter how big [the new office] was, it would never be neat. Newspaper people thought the floor was a big flat filing cabinet.

This is a newspaper isn't it? It just has to be true until tomorrow.

[defining news]

Go out and find things that people want put in the paper.

And things that people don't want put in the paper.

And interesting things.

Like that rain of dogs a few months ago?

There was no rain of dogs two months ago.

But...

One puppy is not a rain. It fell out of a window. Look, we are not interested in pet precipitation, spontaneous combustion, or people being carried off by weird things from out of the sky...

Unless it happens.

Well obviously we are if it does happen. But when it doesn't, we're not. Okay? News is unusual things happening...

And usual things happening...

And usual things, yes. But news is mainly what someone somewhere doesn't want you to put in the paper ...

Except sometimes it isn't.

...News all depends. But you'll know it when you see it. Clear? Right. Now go out and find some.

to sum it up....

THE DAILY FISH wrap. A 19th century Irish immigrant named O'Reilly called the newspaper ``a biography of something greater than a man. It is the biography of a DAY. It is a photograph, of twenty four hours' length, of the mysterious river of time that is sweeping past us forever. And yet we take our year's newspapers -- which contain more tales of sorrow and suffering, and joy and success, and ambition and defeat, and villainy and virtue, than the greatest book ever written -- and we use them to light the fire.''

--Adair Lara

Columnist, San Francisco Chronicle, December 30, 1999

ridiculously bad punny-ness for those who love words

found this in email so props to my friend for passing this on, this is like a copy writer's worst nightmare of headlines that the typically self-infatuated editor wrote and thought were so brilliant which ended up on page one....


1. A bicycle can't stand alone; it is two tired.

2. A will is a dead giveaway.

3. Time flies like an arrow; fruit flies like a banana.

4. A backward poet writes inverse.

5. In a democracy it's your vote that counts; in feudalism, it's your Count that votes.

6. A chicken crossing the road: poultry in motion.

7. If you don't pay your exorcist you can get repossessed.

8. With her marriage she got a new name and a dress.

9. Show me a piano falling down a mine shaft and I'll show you A-flat miner.

10. When a clock is hungry it goes back four seconds.

11. The guy who fell onto an upholstery machine was fully recovered.

12. A grenade fell onto a kitchen floor in France resulted in Linoleum Blownapart.

13. You are stuck with your debt if you can't budge it.

14. Local Area Network in Australia : The LAN down under.

15. He broke into song because he couldn't find the key.

16. A calendar's days are numbered.

17. A lot of money is tainted: 'Taint yours, and 'taint mine.

18. A boiled egg is hard to beat.

19. He had a photographic memory which was never developed.

20. A plateau is a high form of flattery.

21. The short fortuneteller who escaped from prison: a small medium at large.

22. Those who get too big for their britches will be exposed in the end.

23. When you've seen one shopping center you've seen a mall.

24. If you jump off a Paris bridge, you are in Seine.

25. When she saw her first strands of gray hair, she thought she'd dye.

26. Bakers trade bread recipes on a knead to know basis.

27. Santa's helpers are subordinate clauses.

28. Acupuncture: a jab well done.

29. Marathon runners with bad shoes suffer the agony of de feet.

Around the world in 80 clicks

From Forbidden Kingdom to the Whitehouse, this is a cool panorama toy Mr. George Eastman never dreamed of when he started Kodak (though his company made this satallite mounted digital camera).

Geek-out specs numbers: taking 16inch mono-chromic images & 1.65-meter color images at 423 miles (681 kilometers) up and moving at a speed of about four-and-a-half miles (seven kilometers) per second, the satellite camera can distinguish objects on the Earth's surface as small as 16 inches in size according to the press release. That's just fricken sweet! GeoEye1 = Ultimate Creeper Tool for some people I know.

If you're wondering what else it can do other than creep Wreck Beach in BC, check out the case studies in the media room. Due to US (paranoid) regulations, you can only get a 0.5m image printed, apparently they are helping Google Earth do their updates.

Commercially, the camera has been used it for crazy stuff from tracking open water channels in Antarctica and searching for Ghengis Khan's tomb to assessing floods & tornadoes wreckage and finding the Arab freighter booty by Somalian pirates.

If nothing else, there's some amazing galleries of natural beauty, structures like airports & sports arenas, and modern/ancient cities from around the world. Worth a gander but be warned, other than previews in the flash slideshow (with a dozen or four dozen images each) the full high rez images are 1-2 megs each and totally awesome.

From Area 51 to the Thames to Golden Gate Bridge to Casablanca to Venice, it's quite the road trip. Everywhere from Midway Island to a wind-farm in Palm Springs to Machu Piccu above the clouds to the Pyramids, it's gorgeous stuff.

I mean this is way cooler than Derek Zoolander Center For Children Who Can't Read Good And Wanna Learn To Do Other Stuff Good Too for the ants. The earth is like three times bigger at least! Just couldn't resist putting in that quote cuz I feel small looking at those photos.

so ENJOY Planet Earth ^_^ yes it's Earth Day on April 22 so think of stuff you can do to celebrate/clean up.

http://www.geoeye.com/CorpSite/gallery/

Editorial on Second Life

Second Life boasts that a person start over again and create a fantasy island to indulge in for everything ever they wished.

CBC's Fifth Estate documented a relationship which was developed and maintained for eight months before a lady left her husband of nine years.

So romantic was her English lover that she left her four children and life here in Canada.

These two hadn't even gone for coffee together face to face.

Without body language, communication won't be effective in working out a problem.

Not that there will be any issues to argue over in a fantasy.

Cyber adultry is nothing new as the internet chatrooms have been around for over a decade.

Romantic novels have existed for much longer and still Jane Austin's novels are read and loved for whimsical escapism.

It may be natural to want to start over again in life when situations get rough, however, it isn't the way to come to terms with regrets of life in the real.

Under cover where news extrodinaire pt 2

According to a tow-truck driver, a pair of girls phoned AMA last week saying they were stranded on the Deerfoot flat car tire.

This call requires two tow-trucks during rush-hour as one needed to block a lane so the second tow truck driver changes the tire safely.

This would be fine in theory if there had actually been a flat tire.

As the tow truck driver inspected all four tires with the two girls were tripping out still.

It was doubly apparent they were quite stoned when they explained they ran into bumpy sludge on the outside lane and thought the car had flat tires.

The tow truck drivers weren't impressed at all.


In Safeway news, a man dressed to the nines as Santa Claus came early to Kennsington stumbled around Safeway and had to be escorted off the premise. Love asking that question in line-up to learn about the weirdos that come into buy groceries.


Still confusion reigns to why girls are wearing short skirts in -37C wind chill. A woolen coat doesn't help keep your knees warm for the sake of fashion get some 80s ballerina socks if you must. I feel cold just seeing them.


In random entertainment, getting into the holiday spirit watching A Muppet Christmas Carol was amusing. It's apparent there is cruelty against puppets as Izzy the rat gets beaten up so much it's sad and predictable at the same time. Michael Caine is a prick of a scourge, but obviously enjoyed himself hanging out with non-furry ewoks. Three thumbs up for random musical fun.

Next up will be Die Hard 2 - airport terrorists can't keep John McClain (not the scary 2nd place winner of nothing in recent president race) from getting home for the holidays. It's a Wonderful Life and Charlie Brown's sad tree are soon to commence. No news happens at -40C unless it's a car wreck so please be careful if you must be out there.

Undercover of Under where? News Brief Extraordinaire pt1

For once someone answered correctly when I asked has anything crazy happened lately? This will start up again ^_^

A gentleman with a sword was escorted out of Safeway in Kennsington last week.

He was all psychotic, stumbling and mumbling around the store according to the eye witness cashier as I paid for my groceries yesterday.

The sword sheathed and he wasn't wearing strange garb so that rules out medieval club activity.

Though he was non-threatening, yet spacey and not in a good way.

Much better entertainment than an old lady yelling at me to get out of the way of her out-of-control 2 mph shopping cart, I kid not.

There was two rent-a-cop posted at the door instead of one.

Now awaiting to hear over the intercom, ninja duel clean-up in aisle three.

Truth is stranger indeed.

surreal ctrain station

(reposting some stuff from my facebook notes because I'd like to fill out my blog a bit more right away so here's some retro stuff)

"everyone's beautiful, see lot of ugly people on the street, with a little love they wouldn't be so ugly, wouldn't be so broken" ~long beach shortbus


Yours truly reporting long after the c-train riders was stuck with an awkward social situation that probably normal everyday life if arriving at the infamous 8th street station.

People milling off the train hesistating and then taking a different route, sighs of exasperation and pity, hedging around to exit down different stairs.

Decency to go around instead of stepping over the passed out guy draped over having tumbled up the stairs.

Surreal how people just didn't know what to do. So they didn't remain around and be bothered. After all, it was after lunch break so they probably had to get back to work, fair enough.

Having to do something, this citizen had to make contact and see if the guy was still alive, and just barely.

Tapping, and then smacking the curled up hand, yelling "are you okay" got no response, so searching and finding a fast pacing pulse, an odd sensation.

While phoning EMS, it was hard to figure out why people were giving a second glance at the odd gesture -- though it seemed a few of his friends came and checked that someone was calling 9-1-1.

A few moments later, the PA speakers came on asking someone to step forward to the emergency button and assist the transit authorities in dealing with an emergency.

The speaker had to ask four times.

Meanwhile, still on the phone with the 9-1-1 operator, this reporter had a guilty thought of not wanting to be late for a doctor's appointment.

Yet stuck around as asked to describe age, gender and location. checking breathing, chance of choking on vomit and if there was any visual response, which there was none.

Wasn't sure what to do if the operator had asked for CPR to be done. Learned lesson of why to carry a resusitation mask but there was no need.

The cop showed up and went about getting this guy's attention.

Not responding to prodding with foot or shaking, so lightly wacked in the solar plex, the guy groggly roll over and tell the cop where he could stick it.

The cop knew him by name.

As he roughly hauled him to his feet, the foul awakening cursing of the cop got him handcuffed and searched less gently.

By this time, paramedics had shown up for another false alarm.

The paramedics knew him by name too.

They reassured him they were taking him for a warm shower back at the shelter, which was what the guy lacked.

It seemed the show was finished and over a dozen people left shaking their heads and muttering about wasting tax-payer resources on the wasted.

At the same time, the rough act of force seemed to contradict as the cop stayed with the paramedics to make sure he was ok to walk while he scolded the guy to look after himself better.

It's frustrating to see a life almost completely gone down the tube, when the guy seemed about the same age as this reporter.

The phrase, "but for the good Grace of God, there am I" rung a little truer.

graduated? thanks!

A piece of paper says my name on the diploma, but the full shock of having finally completed something in post-secondary education is still yet to sink in that I completed something. Extra years of general arts in college were awesome when deciding my path by working the student newspaper.

Emotions of incredibly happily knowing I've finished Journalism school completely thrilling and freaky to be done as a student. Wanted to bust a cartwheel across the stage, but walked and shook hands with the president of the tech school but I busted a move leaving the stage instead.

Was incredibly awesome to have my immediate family come from Victoria for the week and while I wish I could have seen more of extended family and friends, I'll head back to the island this summer and catch up, because they were the ones keeping me sane and they mean so much, the music helped too.

Finished despite a 50/50 program drop-out rate and I'm pretty stoked for it: getting through all the set-backs, agonizing decisions, making mistakes and finding faith at midnight to keep going nevertheless. So grateful for friends, instructors, administrators and mentors who helped me along the way at SAIT.

After many assignments written, research and practicums done, a few too many nights partying at rock shows later, I've met so many wonderful people and realized the SAIT chapter is written and finished. However like a hobbit there and back again, there's so much more I'll be writing of adventure.

Don't even know where to begin with shout-outs because it would read like a minor hollywood production crew because I'm so humbly aware of how it takes a village to raise a child and now I'll be passing on and helping other people. Now the road is open and the opportunities over the horizon endless.

to be continued ^_^

clean church jokes (a rare occurance these days)

9 Jokes That Can Be Told In Church

Attending a wedding for the first time, a little girl whispered to her mother, "Why is the bride dressed in white?" "Because white is the color of happiness, and today is the happiest day of her life." The child thought about this for a moment then said, "So why the groom wearing black?"

A little girl, dressed in her Sunday best, was running as fast as she could, trying not to be late for Bible class. As she ran she prayed, "Dear Lord, please don't let me be late! Dear Lord, please don't let me be late!" While she was running and praying, she tripped on a curb and fell, getting her clothes dirty and tearing her dress. She got up, brushed herself off, and started running again! As she ran she once again began to pray "Dear Lord, please don't let me be late...But please don't shove me either!"

Three boys are in the school yard bragging about their fathers. The first boy says, "My Dad scribbles a few words on a piece of paper, he calls it a poem, they give him $50." The second boy says, "That's nothing. My Dad scribbles a few words on piece of paper, he calls it a song, they give him $100." The third boy says, "I got you both beat. My Dad scribbles a few words on a piece of paper, he calls it a sermon, and it takes eight people to collect all the money!"

An elderly woman died last month. Having never married, she requested no male pallbearers. In her handwritten instructions for her memorial service, she wrote, "They wouldn't take me out while I was alive, I don't want them to take me out when I'm dead."

A police recruit was asked during the exam, "What would you do if you had to arrest your own mother?" He answered, "Call for backup."

A Sunday School teacher asked her class why Joseph and Mary took Jesus with them to Jerusalem. A small child replied, "They couldn't get a baby-sitter."

A Sunday school teacher was discussing the Ten Commandments with her five and six year olds. After explaining the commandment to "Honor thy father and thy mother," she asked, "Is there a commandment that teaches us how to treat our brothers and sisters?" Without missing a beat, one little boy answered, "Thou shall not kill."

At Sunday School they were teaching how God created everything, including human beings. Little Johnny seemed especially intent when they told him how Eve was created out of one of Adam's ribs. Later in the week his mother noticed him lying down as though he were ill, and she said, "Johnny, what is the matter?" Little Johnny responded, "I have pain in my side. I think I'm going to have a wife."

Two boys were walking home from Sunday school after hearing a strong preaching on the devil. One said to the other, "What do you think about all this Satan stuff?" The other boy replied, "Well, you know how Santa Claus turned out. It's probably just your Dad."

You don't stop laughing because you grow old. You grow old because you stop laughing! Take heed and pass these along to people who need a laugh.

Dear Planet Earth

I have an apology or two to make about my dorm-hardy rubber plant. I haven't been good to my little plant. Admitting wrong-doing is first step to change and this crazy Earth Hour idea is a step in the right direction for looking after planet.

I admit my little plant has endured far more than it ever deserved when I brought some more life into my surroundings. It can bounce back like a rubber ball and it proved hardy despite falling off the window sill, being tossed across the room by inebriated room-mates and even fed booze on occasion.

Yet through the madness, it's survived almost a year. I water it once a day or so. If I forgot to water it for a few too many days, it doesn't complain. Its leaves make quiet droopy protest, but bounce back if cared for properly.

Not so sure what to do about the rest of the planet if one student can forget so easily about a house-plant. Earth Hour proves how wasteful we are as humans with electricity bills alone. If consumption and power generation can drop by 10-15 per cent in one evening of the year for one hour, why stop now?

If we all lower our house-lights’ wattage, switching off unnecessary lights the other 364 days of the year, it wouldn't be some fancy feel-good one night stand of a demonstration. Though awareness, a billion people in 85 countries made a dent in short-term.

Gives me more hope seeing the small effort my plant is now twice as tall despite occasional neglect.

Within reason, if the population keeps at change and remembers each night to keep the lights down low, the world could bounce back a bit quicker with proper care, to a healthier green glow.