NFL player's Ferguson post on Facebook goes viral

I caught this on Facebook this morning. It says everything I've wanted to say about Ferguson but couldn't find the words to articulate.

I sat saddened, angered and embarrassed Monday night as more violence broke out after the announcement of a grand jury's decision not to indict a police officer involved in the shooting death of a young man last summer. 

Thank you, Benjamin Watson for your words.

Here are some excerpts from his post ...

I'M ANGRY because the stories of injustice that have been passed down for generations seem to be continuing before our very eyes.

I'M FRUSTRATED, because pop culture, music and movies glorify these types of police citizen altercations and promote an invincible attitude that continues to get young men killed in real life, away from safety movie sets and music studios.

I'M EMBARRASSED because the looting, violent protests, and law breaking only confirm, and in the minds of many, validate, the stereotypes and thus the inferior treatment.

I'M SYMPATHETIC, because I wasn't there so I don't know exactly what happened. Maybe Darren Wilson acted within his rights and duty as an officer of the law and killed Michael Brown in self defense like any of us would in the circumstance. Now he has to fear the backlash against himself and his loved ones when he was only doing his job. What a horrible thing to endure. OR maybe he provoked Michael and ignited the series of events that led to him eventually murdering the young man to prove a point.

I'M OFFENDED, because of the insulting comments I've seen that are not only insensitive but dismissive to the painful experiences of others.

I'M CONFUSED, because I don't know why it's so hard to obey a policeman. You will not win!!! And I don't know why some policeman abuse their power. Power is a responsibility, not a weapon to brandish and lord over the populace.

I'M INTROSPECTIVE, because sometimes I want to take "our" side without looking at the facts in situations like these. Sometimes I feel like it's us against them. Sometimes I'm just as prejudiced as people I point fingers at. And that's not right. How can I look at white skin and make assumptions but not want assumptions made about me? That's not right.

I'M HOPEFUL, because I know that while we still have race issues in America, we enjoy a much different normal than those of our parents and grandparents. I see it in my personal relationships with teammates, friends and mentors. And it's a beautiful thing.

 

Awesome of the week

A couple things I saw on the interwebs during the last week that I thought were kind of awesome ...

29 Parents Who Are Clearly Way Better At Texting
Than Their Kids

And this. A brief look at this gal's YouTube channel shows she's got some real talent ...

In the first place ...

My social media feeds are blowing up tonight on three subjects, and nothing else.

A few minutes before 6 tonight I had one of those jaw-dropping, take-your-breath-away moments that come every so often when a piece of shocking news pops up on my TweetDeck ...

#BREAKING Actor Robin Williams found dead at home in Tiburon. Watch NBC Bay Area News at 5 for the latest: http://t.co/sifLTrKhwU
— NBC Bay Area (@nbcbayarea) August 11, 2014

I was introduced to Robin Williams as a kid through reruns of "Mork & Mindy." This scene was one of the first I remember. ... It remains one of my favorites and still makes me laugh to this day ...



Here's the entire pilot episode, which also included the hilarious crossover bit with "Happy Days'" Fonzi and "Laverne & Shirley's" Laverne. ... YouTube is loaded with this stuff.

Then came "Good Morning, Vietnam."
"Dead Poet's Society."
"Aladdin."
"Mrs. Doubtfire."
And of course, "Good Will Hunting."
Among a load of others I'm thinking I should see.

There also was his hilarious turn with Billy Crystal on "Friends." Another classic.



In college, I listened to a cassette tape of "A Night at the Met" for the first time, and I laughed so hard I cried. 

And I whenever I saw he was appearing on the "Late Show with David Letterman," I was sure not to miss it, knowing I was guaranteed a solid 10 minutes of laughter. ... I'm sad none of those nights are left.

Rest in peace, Robin.

Good reads (Updated 08.13.2014) ...
= Robin Williams, Oscar-Winning Actor, Dies at 63 in Suspected Suicide 
= "Mork & Mindy" and the Tireless Dervish That Was Robin Williams
= Conan, Jimmy Fallon, Seth Meyers Pay Tribute to Robin Williams'
= Steve Martin, Ellen DeGeneres, more react to death of Robin Williams
= Watch Robin Williams' 13 Funniest Impressions

* * *

I had one of my longer board meetings tonight and arrived home in time to say good night to the girls. I read stories with Faye and put her to bed while Kates did the same with Phoebe. Then Kates went back to her classroom to work, and I retreated downstairs in time to catch the last two innings of the Royals game.

The Royals were up 3-2 as I watched them send down the A's in the eighth inning and then hold on in the ninth. The Kauffman Stadium crowd was chanting "Let's go Royals" so loudly and so in unison -- I didn't know Kauffman Stadium could be so loud. It was so awesome and it gave me chills. ...

There are only goosebumps where my skin used to be. #1stPlaceRoyals
— Royals Nation (@RoyalsNation) August 12, 2014

So steady, Greg Holland put a cap on it, getting the final batter to fly out to Jarrod Dyson ... Who caught the ball, paused and then did a black flip as the crowd erupted. ... A fantastic win.

Jarrod Dyson just caught last out of Royals win in CF.. And did a back flip.. KC has won 8 straight, 16 of 19.. They're in 1st place!!
— Rob Carlin (@RobCarlinCSN) August 12, 2014

Cue the old-time ball player to come out and post the W. And tonight he brought the Royals South Korean super fan with him, who jumped and celebrated on the deck like a maniac. ...

Has anyone started a @kickstarter campaign to move @Koreanfan_KC & his family to KC? I'm serious.
— Andrew Zimmerman (@AndyZKCTV5) August 12, 2014

All along I had been following the Tigers-Pirates game on AtBat. The Tigers lost, which means the Royals are back in first place. ...The Tigers are stumbling, and Justin Verlander's durability is now a question.

Your new 2nd wild card team, Detroit Tigers.
— Blair Kerkhoff (@BlairKerkhoff) August 12, 2014

It's August and MO has a baseball team leading their division. That's normal, right? Oh, wait....which team? #Royals
— Ryan Silvey (@RyanSilvey) August 12, 2014

Meanwhile, the third story blowing up my Twitter feed is the riots burning up Ferguson after the shooting of Michael Brown. ...

Nat'l Media stuck on Robin Williams while Police is Ferguson, MO are shooting tear gas & rubber bullets at protesters. #TVJOURNALISMFAIL
— Donnell (@SoKo504) August 12, 2014

Hello, iPhone

So I think my iPod is showing its age. A thick black streak showed up on the screen a few weeks ago, and it doesn’t seem to be disappearing anytime soon. … It was only a matter of time. I’ve worked the little white device hard during the last – let me think about this – seven years, playing it for hours almost daily in my office and home.

Remember when I was so obsessed with simply owning one?

And that brings me to the newest addition to my gadget family. …

I am now an iPhone user.

Remember when I hated the idea of a cell phone being more than a device to simply call people?

The fact that I’m now equipped with an iPhone came about from a lucky turn of events connected to my work. I had been working the last three years with a Blackberry Curve … Yes, some days I fantasized about having an iPhone, but the Blackberry was working just fine for me. I didn’t know anything different, and the thought of trying to type on the iPhone’s touchscreen intimidated me.

Nonethless, I was awarded an opportunity to work with an iPhone – an iPhone 3 – on a trial basis and see how I liked it. … I liked it all right. And, after about a week, through another lucky turn of events, I was upgraded to a brand spanking new iPhone 5.

Cue the angel chorus.

I received it during the morning hours and refused to remove the packaging before I had all of the accessories. I’d seen so many of my colleagues traipsing around with cracked screens that I wasn’t even going to try using my new phone without protecting first.

So, during my lunch break, I went on a search for a case and eventually ended up at the AT&T store, where a perky young woman came to my assistance. I picked out a case I thought would work and the woman offered to put it on for me.

She seemed to share my lust for the high-tech phone. Though I suppose she’s paid to do that.

“Ooooh, you haven’t even taken it out of its packaging yet,” she said.

“No, I wanted to make sure I had it protected first.”

“Absolutely!” she said as she removed the plastic wrapping. Then she began bathing the screen and encasement.

“Have you had an iPhone before?”

“Yes,” I said, totally not acknowledging that I’m still an iPhone newbie and I had just been transformed from being a loyal Blackberry user.

“Which one did you have?”

“An iPhone 3.”

“Ooooh, you’re going to like this!” the woman said.

Having experienced some of the outdated-ness during my trial run with the iPhone 3 and having some knowledge of the upgrades in the newer models, I didn’t doubt she was right.

I smiled. “I can hardly wait.”

Fast forward to a few weeks later and – yes, yes, I am liking it.

I feel like I have my whole world in my hands. Literally.

I can access my email – work and personal – with the touch of the screen, no matter where I am. And all of my social media accounts. I could only access Facebook on my Blackberry.

I can blog on my iPhone.

I can access all of my favorite news and sports sites. At lightning speeds.

I can get instant weather updates with the Weather Channel app.

I can snap pictures and upload them immediately to my Flickr page, or Facebook – although I much prefer Flickr. … The photo part is a good thing because my digital camera had begun showing its age recently, too. Most of my pictures came out blurred on the left side, no matter the lighting or settings with which I was working.

And I have officially joined the Instagram community. …Yeah, Instragram. I have a love-hate relationship with Instagram. …

(Why must people take every photo with Instragram and run those same photos through one of the vintage-styled, sepia-toned filters so that you can suddenly pretend to be some hip, artistic photographer? I believe there are certain times and places to use Instagram. Not all the time. There are photos that are perfectly captured and displayed in their array of colors and don’t deserve to be diluted by Instagram. Respect the art of photography, people.)

Sort of like the love-hate relationship I have with Facebook photo albums …

(Why must people post every blurry, out-of-focus, close-up they take to Facebook? Delete the poor photos, people! And no matter what you post, they all seem to end up in a disorganized mess, never to be looked at again – because you’d have to spend hours trying to figure out where they ended up. Seriously, good luck finding those photos from that one night you and your buddies went to the corner pub that one summer.)

Which all goes back to my preference for Flickr, its ease of use, privacy settings and wonderful ability to organize and display photos.

I’ve digressed.

Now, with my iPhone, I can listen to any radio station I want, wherever I want. … One weekend, I was doing some work in Phoebe’s room and wanted to listen to the Bearcat football game. I downloaded the Public Radio app, and – bam! – I could listen to the broadcast loud and clear on my phone. Later, I downloaded the app for WTMX – the Chicago radio station that Kates and I have faithfully listened to for a decade now; we've regularly accessed it online since moving to The ‘Ville. … And just think about the possibilities from there! I can restore my summer pastime of working in the yard while I listen to Cubs game on WGN or Brewers games on WTMJ, or classic rock on WDRV.

When we made our move to The ‘Ville, Kates and I discussed one of the advantages being that the world was becoming a smaller place and becoming more mobile. But I never imagined this!

And then there's the access to my music library. After a couple weeks of using the iPhone, I warmed up to the idea of testing how it could work with iTunes and my music library. That night, I was walking through our house with the sounds of “Abbey Road” echoing through the hallway. And the next night we were dancing around to Fun. In our kitchen. … My music library grew beyond the capacity my iPod long ago, but I’ve figured out the iPhone has nearly double the capacity – not that I’m going to load my entire music library on the iPhone. Only the really good stuff will go on the iPhone; the iPod remains my preferred music listening device.

I’m just skimming the surface here. But life is definitely good with the iPhone.

Dang it, Nationals

Oh, the baseball gods have not been kind to me this fall.

First, the Braves last weekend.

Then the Reds went down.

The Orioles couldn’t break through against C.C. Sabathia and the Yankees last evening.

And then the Nationals.

From this morning’s New York Times …

The first round of baseball’s postseason unfolded spectacularly into a full week of high and prolonged drama.

Each of the four matchups lasted the full five games, and one after another the unlikely moments came: The Oakland Athletics overcame a two-run ninth-inning deficit Wednesday against the Detroit Tigers to stave off elimination for another day. Raul Ibanez of the Yankees bashed a pair of late, dramatic home runs against the Baltimore Orioles during an unexpected pinch-hitting cameo for Alex Rodriguez. The San Francisco Giants won three straight games away from home to advance past the Cincinnati Reds.

And the final moments of the opening round, which played out just past midnight Saturday morning in Washington were perhaps the most unbelievable.

We successfully put Faye down for the night after we finished dinner – which last night was, after a long and hectic week, Applebee’s takeout around our coffee table and in front of TV as the Yankees finished off the Orioles. Then Phoebe made a cozy spot for herself to watch the game from the floor; about midway through the Cardinals-Nationals game, I noticed the unusual silence in the room and looked down to see Phoebe zonked out. Kates was fighting sleep, too, gave in and headed to bed some time in the seventh inning.

Meanwhile, I was determined to stay awake to see the Nationals move on to their first league championship series and continue to warm the hearts of Washington, D.C., and baseball fans everywhere.

Or not.

I dozed off for the seventh and eighth innings and into the ninth as well. The Nationals had led the game by as much as 6-0, and it appeared they were going to survive another feisty comeback effort by the Cardinals.

Later, the Nats were up 7-5 and needed just one more out to eliminate the Cards. I was fighting hard to keep my eyes open long enough to witness the celebration.

Then Carlos Beltran doubled for the Cardinals. Nationals pitcher Drew Storen had two strikes on Yadier Molina and David Freese, and he walked them both. The bases were loaded.

Now I was having flashbacks to the heartbreak of last year’s World Series when the Texas Rangers twice had the Cardinals down to their last strike and eventually lost the game and the series.

Now I was wide awake.

Daniel Descalso hit a hard shot up the middle that skipped off shortstop Ian Desmond’s glove. Two runs scored and the game was tied.

In another blink of the eye, Peter Kozma singled, knocking in two go-ahead runs.

The Nationals went quickly in the bottom of the ninth inning. And it was over.

I laid on the couch in shocked disbelief. Again.

From the Packers-Seahawks game to the Braves-Cardinals game to last night’s saga, it’s been a disappointing fall in the sports department.

From here on out I'll be rooting for the Detroit Tigers, a team that's had a hold on my heart since they hired Jim Leyland and nearly won it all in 2006. If only those dang Cardinals hadn't stepped in their way that year, too. ... Now our boy Prince Fielder is with the Tigers, which gives us more reason to root for them. Those dang Cardinals got in Prince and the Brewers' way last year, too.

Nevertheless, social media in these situations never fails to fascinate me with the ways it brings millions of people from throughout the globe together, all of them caught up in the moment of whatever cultural moment is playing out.

It was fun to watch last night as the Cardinals mounted their comeback. A wave of social media barreled to a crash of contrasting tweets dependent on allegiances by the time the game finished. At the climax of the comeback, the tweets and status updates were appearing so fast, I could barely keep up.

Here are some of my favorite tweets of the night …

#Cardinals have taken the lead in the 9th. RT if you saw this coming! (... Yep. I retweeted this.)

You cannot kill the Cardinals unless you have a wooden stake and an iron hammer, dressed in garlic.

this is like watching a baby being eaten by a wolverine

For those just joining us in Washington, it began when a rolling boulder almost crushed the Cardinals. Then, a lot of snakes...

This is one of the most crushing meltdowns in memory for a DC sports team -- up 6-0, twice one strike away from NLCS, and....done.

Moral of the story is if you ever think you've killed a Cardinal you should rip its head off and run the body over with your car to be safe

So for 12th time in last 14 years, the team with best regular-season record won't win the World Series.

Good reads ...
a An Exhausting Series With Little Rest in Sight
a Maximum LDS great for game but tough even for winning teams
a One Among Many
a Bernie: Cardinals familiar with must-win situations
a Is Dusty done in Cincinnati?
a Bochy, Posey calmly lead Giants' rally past Reds and into NLCS
a Nationals' Werth quiets critics, forces Game 5 with epic at-bat
a No surprise Yankees-Orioles to be settled in winner-take-all fashion
a Often, the Best Plays Are About What Isn’t There
a Bernie: Cardinals are in a good spot
a Showalter baseball's biggest difference-maker of 2012
a Athletics Become Hot Ticket but Keep Lower Capacity and Cozy Vibe

Fair or not, UW’s image takes hit over Uthoff ‘scandal’

I've only followed this whole University-of-Wisconsin-Jarrod-Uthoff thing from afar this week. And 99 percent of what I know about it comes from the seemingly unfair rants and opinions I've seen in the Twitterverse. Mostly from the likes of national media types who cover college basketball.

Bo Ryan was playing by the rules, and the whole thing seemed to have been blown totally out of proportion. ...

I thought this Tom Oates column was right on.

Mugger chooses wrong victim

My favorite Tweet of today came compliments of RedEye ...

Mugger allegedly attacks man. Man is an ultimate fighting champion. Mugger probably sorry he was ever born.

Read the full story here.

Ups and downs

This has been a week of extreme ups and downs.

And some days, when the entire world seems to cut you down, a little laughter never felt so good. After all, they say laughter is good for your health.

Thank god for the TweetDeck flashing gems of great, random thoughts at the bottom of my screen every few seconds.

Today I enjoyed some laugh-out-loud moments thanks to these tweets ...

From one of our journalism students who tagged the one and only Overheard in the Newsroom ...

ME: guys it's our first christmas in the new newsroom!

GIRL PUTTING UP DECORATIONS: i'm jewish. @OHnewsroom

From the Fake Ap Stylebook:

Accept/Except - Except for skilled ninjas, HYDRA is not accepting any new agents.

And from the always amusing and often funny AwkwardTweet:

The awkward moment when you're laughing so hard that no noise comes out, so you just sit there clapping your hands like a freak seal.

Ok, it's journalism/social media humor. But it was funny to me.

Another week

This will be known as the week Amanda Knox was freed. Steve Jobs died. And postseason baseball kept getting in the way of other responsibilities that I didn’t find nearly as exciting.

There are dozens of tweets from this week I wish I could re-post. But time’s not on my side.

Like a lot of people, I sat breathless at my desk awaiting the Knox verdict, although I can't be sure why. The case was a compelling one for sure, but it never gripped me as much as it did today. I'm glad for her's and her family's sake their nightmare is over.

Then, I was working in my office Tuesday night, hunkering down for another night of graduate paper writing when I saw the first tweet from a Chicago television station reporting Jobs' death. "Whoah," I said aloud. In another moment it became one of those stories that exploded on the Twitterverse, and tweets were flashing as fast as lightning. ... It was amazing to me how hard some were taking the death of a guy who built computers. And then it wasn't so hard to understand the outpouring when you think of the direct and indirect influence his gadgets have had on our lifestyles.

"Given Jobs’s storied record, the quasi-religious hosannas were predictable. As Walt Mossberg, the Wall Street Journal’s technology columnist, wrote, Jobs rivaled Henry Ford as an industrialist and Thomas Edison as an innovator. In just over a dozen years, he transformed a foundering computer company into a giant of commerce and culture, with a broad influence on movies, music, advertising and retailing." ~ Paul Farhi, The Washington Post

More good reads ...
a Steve Jobs: Thank Him For...
a Steven P. Jobs: His Life, His Companies, His Products ... Cool interactive feature. And it's pretty fascinating to read some of the original reviews of these Apple products, too.
a A Tough Balancing Act Remains Ahead for Apple
a Apple Innovations Include Start of Big-Budget Super Bowl Ads
a Up From Ugliness
a Steve Jobs’ millennial fan club is devoted to Apple, but why?
a Where Have You Gone, Joe DiMaggio?
a Political cartooons

* * *

Meanwhile, the baseball playoffs were screaming for my attention.

My friend Matt predicted all sweeps. But for as talented and streaky as all of this year’s playoff teams were coming in, I expected all the Division Series’ to be close. For as hot as they were coming out of the regular season, I had the Rays -- especially the way they clobbered the Rangers in game 1 of the ALDS -- and Cardinals pinned as the teams every other team should be weary of.

And for the record, I'm rooting for a Brewers-Tigers World Series. I don't deny my love for either team, buut there's added interest this year because my boss is a Detroit native and die-hard Tigers fan, and our respect is mutual for each other's teams.

Dare I say, I'm quite impressed and pleased with TBS's postseason coverage this year -- something I never thought I'd be saying after the way they stumbled out of the gate in 2007. I'm lovin' the banter before and after games of Dennis Eckersley, David Wells and Cal Ripken.

Then, there's the commercials. Joe Posnanski had a great read yesterday about the most-played ads. ... I for one can’t get David Bowie‘s “Changes” (Thanks to commercial of product I can't remember) or the New Pornograhers’ “Moves” (Thanks to T-Mobile) out of my head. I also enjoy the Chevy Cruze commercial featuring a pregnant couple who is looking for a new apartment, passes on the first one and eventually comes back to it after a frustrating run of lesser apartments.

My favorite commercial, though, has to be the postseason commercial for the Brewers run. Oh, to see those images of the '82 Brewers mixed with this year's characters ... so ... cool.



Then, there's the matter of that Rally Squirrel. ... Thanks to late nights in my office and my attention devoted to the Brewers-Diamondbacks series, almost everything I know about the state of the Phillies-Cardinals series has come via the internet, which almost makes this whole thing even more entertaining for me.

This squirrel made an appearance at Tuesday night's Cardinals game, and my friend Erica wrote about it yesterday afternoon, noting the bold squirrel had its very own Twitter account: @BuschSquirrel. Of course, I started following Mr. Squirrel that afternoon -- when he only had a few hundred followers.

Fast forward to last night when I was working late again and I saw a tweet from Erica referencing another squirrel appearance. Then, I clicked on Mr. Squirrel's account to see, simply "SURPRISE!!" I burst out laughing and could only imagine what I'd just missed.

There's the head-shaking photos. And this video made me laugh more. ... Today, the Post-Dispatch conducted a revealing interview with the squirrel. ... Could it be the Phillies' black cat?



Some good baseball reads ...
a Long-shot Cardinals earning respect
a Where there's smoke, there's the Tigers on fire
a Strong Second Half Lands Tigers at Yankees’ Door
a Bob Gibson endorses Verlander for MVP as well as Cy Young awards
a In Baseball’s Bronze Age, Statues Are Becoming Bigger Part of Landscape
a Milestones to Lose Signature Touch
a A Career Sustained by Unwavering Faith
a A Lou Gehrig Treasure Trove

For the love of the game

So I recently discovered the wonders of MLB.tv on the Internet.

Let me explain. A few weeks ago I logged on to mlb.com to check some scores and updates when I noticed in the sidebar that the website was offering a free game of the day. I clicked on it -- I believe it was an Arizona Diamondbacks game but don’t remember the opponent -- and, voilà, I was watching the game. It was so great!

So then I began checking the site almost daily, eagerly looking to see what teams were playing in that day’s featured game. Meanwhile, the Brewers were getting hot -- very hot. And I started getting a little bummed I couldn’t watch their games for any greater lengths than the Sportscenter highlights.

Now, I’ve always fanaticized about getting MLB TV -- along with the flat-screen TV we're still hunting for to replace the TV that blew up last fall. But I’ve never been able to back up the need for it. And we’ve invested our money, and time, in other things.

Until last week. When I logged onto mlb.com. Wasn’t interested in the free game of the day. And got desperate to catch the must-watch Brewers-Cardinals series. I plunked down my $25 for a month’s subscription to MLB.tv.

Voilà, I was watching the game. And I haven’t looked back, having watched every Brewers game since.

Two-of-three against the Cardinals. A sweep of the Pirates over the weekend that ended yesterday in the 10th inning with Nyjer Morgan's sacrifice fly heard round the world.

And now tonight’s 3-0 gem against the Dodgers. ‎Home runs by Ryan Braun, Jonathan Lucroy and Corey Hart. Four terrificly-turned double plays. … And a knock-your-socks-off 4-6-3-2 triple play. According to one tweet, SABR said it was the first 4-6-3-2 trifecta since the Montreal Expos turned one in 1972. Bam! The Brewers have won 17 of 19 and are looking really good standing six games ahead of the Cardinals.



Frankly, as I've watched these games during this run of baseball love, I haven’t been able to concentrate on much else. In fact, since that epic Red Sox-Rays game a few weeks ago I’ve probably watched more baseball than I have in a couple years. And I’m talking about really watching baseball -- no multi-tasking. Just putting other things off, escaping and enjoying the game. Which is both a good and bad thing for my work habits, depending on the perspective.

And, yes, some will call me out for leaving my also-beloved Cubs in the dust. For them, I refer to this 2007 post, and remind you the Cubs, although they have put together a nice run lately, haven’t been worth watching since May. And Carlos Zambrano, c’mon dude. For cripes sake, what were you thinking? The punishment was fair, it’s been a great run, but I hope the Cubs get rid of you once and for all.

* * *

This from the Twitter-verse tonight:

After the #Brewers triple play I thought there's the #1 play on @espn_bbtn & @sportscenter, then Thome hit HR #600 #trumpsall #MLB #Twins

Ah, yes. Good ol’ Jim Thome. One of my favorite players of his era.

I seem to remember my good friend Matt and I having a debate at a Cubs game a few years ago about future hall of famers. When Jim Thome came up in the conversation, I said, hands-down, yes. Matt laughed at me.

Tonight, I’d say Mr. Thome sealed the deal.

Tweeted Joe Posnanski: You betcha.

A couple other favorite tweets …

@SeanyGanc: @SportsCenter is Jim thome a hall of famer? Is ed too tall jones too tall? One answer to both questions... YES! #whatkindaquestionisthat

@Kevin_Goldstein: Jim Thome was drafted in the 13th round of the 1989 draft, when the tough signs were Ben McDonald, Charles Johnson and Roger Salkeld.

And this, I think, is just sad. Man, I loved the ‘97 Indians.

@SI_JonHeyman: interesting thome will be in hall (& maybe vizquel). but arguably bigger indians stars belle, lofton and manny probably wont

* * *

Good baseball reads ...
a How Randy Wolf could win the NL Central
a Phillies, Red Sox and Yankees cement status as game's titans

May 1, 2011

(5.09.2011 -- I've updated this post to include
some of the good reads I've found
since the news of Bin Laden's death
broke last week)

We just finished watching our late night television shows. And ate them up. The Daily Show tonight was a classic.

After all, how crazy -- and unbelievable -- have these 24 hours been?!

Up until about 9:51 p.m. yesterday, it had been another Sunday. We went to church and said goodbye to Kates' parents in the morning. Lunch. Kates took a nap. I played with Phoebe. Paid bills. Did laundry. Dinner ...

I was frustrated that it was past 9 by the time I could indulge in Sunday Night Baseball. At around 9:30, I told Kates I was ready for bed but instead got comfortable on the couch and fired up my laptop.

Good thing we didn't go to bed.

A news alert popped on my screen.

U.S. has the body of Osama bin Laden, sources say

I gasped and shared the headline with Kates. In moments, more alerts started popping up. I immediately reached for the TV remote and turned to CNN. Kates reached for her phone and dialed her parents, who had returned to The Farm and wouldn't have known. ...

Twitter and Facebook. Absolutely. Lit. Up. ... My friend Sarah in Chicago posted to her Facebook, simply, "Wow." Those of us watching a computer, smartphone or television knew exactly what she was talking about. Many, many more tweets and status updates like hers quickly followed.

My favorite tweet of the night as the world waited for President Obama to adress the nation:

At this rate U.S. President Obama
may come on and just say
"Check Twitter."

A couple others from some of my journalism colleagues ...

Ooh. Just got goosebumps hearing the U-S-A chants

bleeding over the NYM-PHI game on @espn. Imagine if the game
was being played in NY?

This is amazing, but newspapers

everywhere are on deadline.

You can bet A sections

all over America are on hold.

As the updates continued to flow and we started seeing images of people gathering in city streets, cheering and chanting U-S-A in front of the White House -- and getting reports of people shooting fireworks in celebration -- it was apparent very quickly that the night would be one none of us will forget. Years from now we'll be asking the question, "Where were you when ... "

As the social media chatter continued, another thing struck me: How far our communication has come in the 10 years since 9/11. ... Think about it: On that day most of us were crowded around television sets to get the latest information from newscasts. There were no iPhones or smartphones to help you get breaking news mobily. And there was no Facebook or Twitter to share the news when you got it. The communication was primarily one-way. And here we were now, a mere 10 years later, learning --and sharing -- the latest details about the developing story via our vast internet networks long before the television media interuptted our regularly scheduled programming. Mind-blowing.

Good reads regarding the use of social media ...
a Sohaib Athar’s Tweets from the attack on Osama bin Laden
a Paste has a great post with some of the best Tweets of the night.
a So how did you hear about Bin Laden’s death?
a Twitter breaks record as news of bin Laden’s death spreads
a Turning to Social Networks for News... 3,440 per second from 10:45 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. Eastern time!
aFirst bin Laden reports came in tweets, as media scrambled for confirmation
a Martin Luther King, Jr. misquoted after Osama bin Laden killed... I found this amusing because I saw several status updates and tweets with this quote. I'm not a fan of the practice.
aObama’s TV Audience Was His Largest
a How 4 people & their social network turned an unwitting witness to bin Laden’s death into a citizen journalist

I had another thought, now having firsthand knowledge of the speech-writing process and the thought that goes into finding just the right words. "Can you imagine the conversations that were going on in that room, crossing out words and rewriting phrases?" I told a communication colleague this morning.

Eventually we turned over to NBC's coverage. And when President Obama himself delivered the news, I got chills. To hear him say the words out loud ...

"Tonight, I can report to the American people and to the world that the United States has conducted an operation that killed Osama bin Laden, the leader of Al Qaeda, and a terrorist who’s responsible for the murder of thousands of innocent men, women, and children ... "

Whoah.

As the news settled, I got back to my Sunday Night Baseball. The Mets and Phillies were now tied at 1-1 in the 12th inning. At 11:30 p.m. I went to bed.

More thoughts ...

Here's a good read from a Christian perspective.

On releasing the photos ...
As a media relations professional with a journalism background, I understand both sides of the debate and the philosphy that the Bin Laden photos represent "the very definition of news." But I respect and commend President Obama for taking a firm stance, saying “We don’t trot this stuff out as trophies — that’s not who we are.’’
a The Boston Globe published an interesting editorial pushing for the release of the photos.
a Eugene Robinson also had an interesting view in favor of releasing the photos.
a And Now, the Search for the bin Laden Death Photo

How it all went down ...
I find it -- the years of intelligence gathering that started with finding Bin Laden's courier, and the stealth descent on the compound -- absolutely fascinating. The New York Times has an excellent graphic and timeline. Also ...
a Bin Laden discovered ‘hiding in plain sight’
a Detective Work on Courier Led to Breakthrough on Bin Laden
a Behind the Hunt for Bin Laden
a In Long Pursuit of Bin Laden, the ’07 Raid, and Frustration
a Death of Osama bin Laden: Phone call pointed U.S. to compound — and to ‘the pacer’
a CIA spied on bin Laden from safe house
a The Force of the Deed

The infamous Situation Room photo ...
I started following the White House Flickr feed shortly after President Obama was elected ... Fascinating.
a White House photo viewed as often as it is parodied
a Breaking down the Situation Room -- A fascinating tour of the room, and the photo, from the Washington Post.

Other good reads ...
a Newspaper front pages capture elation, relief that Osama bin Laden was killeda The Most Wanted Face of Terrorism
a After Killing of Bin Laden, Official Reaction Pours In
a Bin Laden’s death: a moment of unity
a 13 Strangest Ways People Found Out Bin Laden Died
a The Long-Awaited News
a Osama bin Laden changed us in ways minute, monumental
a Bin Laden’s Secret Life in a Diminished World
a Adm. William McRaven: The terrorist hunter on whose shoulders Osama bin Laden raid rested

Stories related to 9/11 ...
a Resilient New York takes grim satisfaction in bin Laden’s death
a The Interrupted Reading: The Kids with George W. Bush on 9/11
aConstructing a Story, With 2,982 Names

Twins discuss important matter

So I kept seeing this image of two diaper-clad boys popping up on my TweetDeck and news feeds today. I had no doubt there was some new, big viral hit sweeping across the interwebs.

Tonight, when a relative became the latest person within my social media circle to post the link, I finally took time to watch.

It's no wonder the video has become such a hit.

I realize I'm like the 3 millionth person to post it, but just in case you haven't seen it yet -- or you want to watch it again -- here it is ...

Flickr, don't fail

As a devout user of Flickr and a fan of its infinite art galleries filled by like-minded photography enthusiasts, I shudder to think about an Internet without it.

I much prefer the mantel-caliber display of Flickr photos to the countless blurry and frivolous photos that fill Facebook. Plain and simple.

I also shudder to think about losing all of my photos. The horror! ... Though, I've backed them up on stacks of CDs.

This news comes several weeks after Yahoo announced its plans to shut down my beloved Delicious -- which is another one of those fascinating I could waste hours browsing other users' posts kind-of-website -- not to mention reviewing all the websites I've tagged. But, sadly, it apparently hasn't caught on with a whopping majority of Internet users.

Dang.

Snow days, fun days

Monday started like any other day.

Kates' alarm went off about 5:30 a.m. She rolled out of bed and started getting ready for school. My alarm went off about 6:15 a.m. I hit the snooze button, and then got out of bed when the second alarm sounded about 10 minutes later. Phoebe could be heard, crying, "Mom-MEEEE!" from her bedroom downstairs. Kates went down to rescue her from the darkness, and I began getting myself ready for work.

Just another morning.

But after I'd been in the shower for a couple minutes, my phone started ringing with some urgency. I ended my shower, returned my messages and learned -- insert triumphant music -- our campus was closing for the day!

In the hubbub of getting ready for her day, Kates hadn't even thought to check her phone for any messages ... Yep, the K-12 schools were closed also.

Fast forward to this morning. My partners in communications just finished dispatching messages to our students, staff and media that our campus is closed for the third consecutive day. ... Kates's school is closed, too, for the third consecutive day.

Today I was supposed to be heading to the capitol for a legistlative trip. That was called off Monday morning.

Monday, the schools closed because of a thick sheet of ice covering everything. Tuesday, it was because of the predicted snowstorm that eventually came roaring through midday yesterday. And today it's because of wicked wind chills, winds and drifting snow.

My task of getting out Monday's weather alerts was a little bumpy because of some problems with our remote email system -- I made three trips to campus between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday to deal with it -- but after three days, we've got our system working like clockwork. The last two mornings, the University police chief called me by 4 a.m., I sent a text alerting the others -- within 20 minutes we had nearly 8,000 e-mails going out, phone calls into the regional media, and postings on all of our social media, website and calendar.

Check out my home weather center ...

And we're not just talking about a simple "Classes are canceled" message. We have to coordinate with a multitude of other campus services to make sure our students are aware of what's available -- campus dining, the library, athletics events; last night we inserted a message urging students to check their university email frequently because faculty are trying to communicate with them about class schedules and assignments.

Monday night and last night, I had our school closing messages drafted and ready to go, just in case ... A scroll through the call and texting log on my phone provides a fascinating look -- to me at least -- at the processes and timelines of these last three days.

Unbelievable is one way to put it. No one, it seems, can think of any time a storm of this magnitude has occurred. ... Yesterday morning, after the latest closing alerts went out, a friend asked, "Do you love your job today?" I answered, "Of course, I love my job today! We didn't get snow days in newspaper world."

Seriously. Look at this satellite picture I pulled from a tweet I received yesterday ...

Have I mentioned how much I love watching social media, especially during major events like this? Snowmageddon, snowpocalypse and snOMG hashtags are trending on Twitter. ... On Facebook, faculty colleagues have taken bets each night on when the university would announce the next campus closure, and students are posting a variety of amusing messages, from imploring our university leadership to cancel another day to random musings like this ...

Instead of trying to scrape off the snow, you should surprise us with no classes and an awesome ski resort in the middle of the practice fields. oh and Snowboards for everyone.

One of my favorite status updates -- not from a student or faculty  member -- came from a Facebook friend in Kansas City Monday afternoon ...

State of emergency has been declared ahead of the storm. All Missouri residents are instructed to report immediately to their nearest Wal-Mart.

From a televison friend of mine ...

... putting us up at a hotel near the station tonight to make sure we have all hands on deck for continuing coverage of the winter storm. Chris dropped me off - our drive here was crazy - could barely see because windshield wipers froze and low visibility. Now I'm snuggled in to get some zzz's to head in at 2 a.m. tomorrow.

I've been watching the photos, status updates, story links and school closings roll in nearly non-stop. From Lawrence, Kan., to Wauwatosa, Wis., to Boston. ... The Kansas City airport was closed for much of yesterday. Interstate 70 is closed -- statewide.

I'm not about to break out the shovel. Yet.

And still, we don't have it near as bad as what our friends in K-Town are dealing with. Snow forecasts there are calling for as much as 2 feet, they were dealing with snow thunder last night, my former newspaper suspended delivery this morning and some staffers were stranded there overnight ... Is it wrong that I'm kind of missing experiencing all of that? Check out this video.

And oh by the way, there's a pretty big football game this weekend and some kind of crisis in Egypt.

Then again, these snow days have yielded unending fun and bonding time in our household. ... With all we've been through in the last year, this snowstorm is a welcome adventure. Kates and I wonder often what effect all of this uncertainty is having on Phoebe, but she is absolutely loving staying home with Mom and Dad these last three days.

When all the chaos of Monday's closing announcements settled, she was pulling me to a sheet of bubble wrap she placed on the floor. "Jump wit me, Daddy!" she shouted, and we spent the next several minutes jumping on bubble wrap to the beat of some pop music we'd turned on the iPod.

We've laughed and danced. A lot. ... Kates made muffins. And Chex mix. Last night we roasted marshmallows over the oven burner and made s'mores. ... I've given piggy-back rides. We've stacked blocks and created animal cut-outs with Play-doh. We moved all of her friends to the couch so she could sit and read with them ... I figure I've had some pretty darn good workouts with all the running, jumping and lifting I've done with Phoebe.
 

During afternoons and evenings, when I haven't been working on other things and Phoebe's asleep, Kates and I resumed our "Friends marathon" -- the one we started last July that slowed during the fall. We've finished Season 3 and started Season 4 last night.

Today, the fun continues. Snowmageddon 2011.

Good reads ...
a Boston Globe: Even children have had enough
a USA Today: Major storm wallops nation's midsection
a The New York Times: Storm Stops Travelers as It Moves Across U.S.
a Time: Midwest Buckles Under Storm

Football, snow and stuff

I spent a good portion of my weekend teaching and advising. Journalism students.

Sharing the wisdom and experiences I’ve gathered during the last decade. … Talking philosophies on news story structure. Leads. Sources. The importance of beat reporting. Leadership. And my new favorite -- convergence.

I never quite imagined being in this place. And yet it’s a place I always wanted to be.

* * *

How ‘bout them Packers!

Of course I couldn’t contain myself when Tramon Williams intercepted Michael Vicks’ final pass in the end zone and the Packers clinched the game yesterday. I was tearing from one end of the living room to our bedroom and back, pumping my fists and shouting in celebration. ... James Starks was good, too.

Out of fear of jinxing their run, I’ll say no more. … But here’s hoping.

And the Seahawks beating the Saints!? ... Wow.

And this video, Tecmo Bowl geeks, of Marshawn Lynch's winning touchdown is awesome! ...

* * *

I couldn’t care less about the BCS championship game tonight. Between the stupid BCS system and seemingly endless violations and greed, I lost interest in Division I college football a long time ago.

* * *

As I write this, The ‘Ville is getting slammed with snow.

Fun. At least it’s the huge-snowflake-fluffy-pretty kind of snow.

I was outside and shoveling within minutes of getting out of bed this morning. Didn’t miss that last winter. Kates’ school was closing at 11 a.m. And at 5:30 p.m. -- my school wasn't canceled -- I was returning to my car and scraping the pile of snow from it.

The forecasters are saying we’ll have 11 inches by tomorrow morning.

I learned Kates’ school was canceled tomorrow before she did -- via one of the local newspaper’s Twitter accounts. Her phone rang about five minutes later with the official word.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to you and yours ...

In honor of 2010 and my affection for social media, I give you the Story of the Nativity 2.0 ...

Stuff n' fluff

Once again cleaning my desktop of meaningless, but entertaining and worthy, reads and links I've come across the last few weeks ...

The title of this post, by the way, comes from the latest buzzword to dominate our household these last couple weeks, thanks to Phoebe's incessant viewing of her Winnie the Pooh video.

First up, this geekalicious "Star Wars" video I picked this week from a Twitter feed. It's a montage of every lightsaber ignition -- and retraction -- in the galaxy far, far away ...

* * *

This one is called "16 Stars' Most Embarassing TV Ads" ...

I was surprised by how many of these TV commercials I remembered.

* * *

Here's two Onion reads that really had me laughing out loud recently ...

First: God Hinting At Retirement

Second: Local Family Homeless After Tornado Destroys White House

Maybe it's my years of crime and spot news reporting. Maybe I was in a loopy mood. But the latter delivers so many great lines, I was laughing uncontrollably.

"As of press time, several items of sentimental value to the family remained unaccounted for, including Mrs. Obama's wedding gown, both daughters' baby books, David Axelrod, and an antique portrait of George Washington that had been in the home for generations."

* * *

On its photo blog the Denver Post recently published a series of color photos taken between 1939 and 1943.

Simply beautiful.

* * *

The Old Spice campaign is one of the best marketing and advertising stories of the year. And I've enjoyed reading about it.

Check out this "making of" video of the iconic Super Bowl commercial.

* * *

Finally ... Think social media is a fad? Watch this video.

Lebron James: Taking Heat

So LeBron's going to Miami.
Wonderful. Now we can carry on with the rest of our summer.

The whole dramatic hour "Decision" shindig on ESPN aside ...

Seriously? Leave it up to ESPN to promote something so small -- in the grand scheme of life -- to epic proportions, and then draw it out and analyze it to boring bits ...

This from USA Today ...

Long ago, this got out of control, a circus fanned by a communication age that can't pause long enough to tell the difference between perspective and endless prattle. Or understand that some people — a lot of people — don't live and die with where a basketball player's next $100 million will come from. Not live and die 24/7, anyway.

Pretty much.

As I watched my Facebook and Twitter feeds leading up to the decision, at least through the first half of the show, there was a sense that everyone was watching ... Seriously, everyone. My favorite quip of the night goes to my friend Emiko, who wrote in her Facebook status: "hey lebron, brett favre called. he wanted me to tell you to stop being so dramatic."

Back to my original point. Deep down I was rooting for him to stay true to his hometown and stick with the Cavaliers, although I would have loooved to see him move to Chicago. But once he announced his decision to head to Miami, I couldn't fault his reasons.

New challenge. New opportunity. Happiness. ... Not to mention he and his Heat teammates are going to be quite the team to watch next season.

Though I get the arguments that LeBron is trying the easy road to a championship, as Lebron talked about his reasons for the move and the discussion he shared with his mother, I looked at Kates, who was sitting with Phoebe on the couch, and said, We know that feeling.

Good luck, LeBron. I'll be watching.

Good reads (Updated 07.11.2010) ...
aCleveland is left at a loss
aJim Gray's LeBron James interview draws criticism for its soft questioning
aMiami Heat fans reach out to welcome new superstar trio of James, Bosh and Wade
aLeBron James's exit strategy leaves much to ponder
aMiami’s Hoops Cartel
aMeanwhile, Back in Cleveland...
aAwaiting the Call Outside an Unlikely Epicenter
aThe LeBron Angle to Everything