Not that I had anything to talk about anyway, but this morning I barely have time for this quick update for the few of you who actually take the time to read this. All hell is breaking out at the station. Alabama Governor Bob Riley's task force on illegal gambling is, as I type this, in the process of raiding Country Crossing. That means live coverage for the top of both my shows. And since it just started, I have nothing to plug into its place in my rundown. Luckily our new anchor, who's only been anchoring for three days, doesn't seem too nervous. I'm sure the nerves will kick in when we get closer to the actual start of the show and there's nothing there. Keep your fingers crossed (even though I'm sure you're reading this way after the fact) that everything goes smoothly.
So a few months ago, one of my coworkers introduced me to a website - Stuff Journalists Like. It's just what it says: a list of stuff journalists like. And since I have nothing good to write about today I decided to revisit the site and share with you some things this journalist likes.
Free Food - this is just a given. I mean, I'd like free food even if I wasn't a journalist. But for real though, you should see how fast the newsroom empties out at the mention of food in the lobby. It's like a race.
Inverted Pyramids - okay, so I'm a nerd. But this style of writing is really helpful when your space is limited. It's designed specifically so you can cut from the bottom. How convenient is that?
Reporters Notebooks - well, anything to write on really. I especially love post-its. My coworkers hoard reporters notebooks. The news director has them hidden in her office now. They're like crack for journalists!
Police Scanners - actually, I don't like police scanners. They're impossible to understand and our assignment editor insists on having them turned up to the most ridiculously loud decibel. But they do break the silence of the long overnight hours I work.
AP Stylebook - this is like my Bible. Seriously.
Press Passes - they're like a magical ticket to anywhere.
Low Pay - I must. Otherwise I'd have chosen another profession.
Crazy People - without them work would be so dull. A day without at least one phone call from a crazy person just isn't complete.
Firefox - it's just way better than Internet Explorer (as I work in Internet Explorer to write this blog).
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I am so disappointed this morning. I'm browsing around online (Yahoo, of course) while I'm waiting for CBS to upload the last package that I need for my show, and what do I come across? This article telling me how Johnny Depp has dropped down to the number two spot on the favorite actor list. It would have been less disappointing if he had been beaten out by one of my other favorite actors but no. He was beaten out by an actor who hasn't appeared in a film since 2008 - Clint Eastwood.
With that being said, today (since I have nothing news-worthy that's interesting I want to talk about besides this travesty) I decided to put together a list of my top five favorite actors. Johnny Depp, if you hadn't guessed by now, is at the top of my list. The man is a genius. Don't believe me? Watch him in Edward Scissorhands, then watch Finding Neverland, and then watch Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (I don't even like this movie all that much, but he definitely pulled the role off).
James McAvoy
Okay, so I liked him wayyy before I saw Wanted. I fell in love with him (literally) when I saw Becoming Jane where he plays the real life Mr. Darcy. So if you're a fan of Pride and Prejudice (either version), I highly recommend that you watch Becoming Jane. I fell further in love with him when I saw Penelope, where he starred alongside Christina Ricci. He's witty, sarcastic and sexy in a non-conspicuous way. What's not to fall in love with?
Antonio Banderas
This is one sexy Spaniard. Have you seen him in Original Sin? If the answer is no, you should. He and Angelina Jolie are amazing together. And what about the Zorro movies? And of course there's Desperado. All must-sees. I've even seen him in a Spanish film, although I can't remember the name of it just now.
Morgan Freeman
Who can argue with this? He is one of the all-time greats. If you haven't seen The Bucket List, I highly recommend it. It'll make you laugh, it'll make you cry, and it'll make you think. The three ingredients to a great movie. And did you know he's now the voice behind all the introductions on the CBS Evening News?
Frank Sinatra
So I like old-school movies. What? Don't judge me. Actors during his time really knew their stuff. I love Ol' Blue Eyes. Especially in On the Town, Take Me Out to the Ballgame, and Never So Few (which by the way is the only movie he didn't sing in).
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Every week I (along with every other producer, the reporters and the anchors) am required to post a total of 15 stories to my station's website. It's really quite boring most of the time - just a matter of copy and pasting a story from the Associated Press and finding a picture (that part's a real pain). Normally I barely even pay attention to what I post, caring only about meating my quota so my name doesn't make the red list of death (the list our news producer tapes on the newsroom door to show all who enter who did and did not post the required number of stories to the web). And let me tell you, some people don't even post half of what we're supposed to...while some others are over-achievers and post upwards of 50 each week. But I digress...
Usually I post three stories a day, unless I get really ambitious (i.e. I get finished with my rundown really early and have nothing else to do) and post all my stories at once so I don't have to worry about it. So while I was randomly selecting my three stories for today, I came across this bizarre article about a bicycler who was charged with driving under the influence.
Now, I've heard of being charged with a DUI for driving a vehicle while intoxicated, but never a bicycle! A Tampa man was stopped while riding his bicycle without any lights. Deputies say his eyes appeared bloodshot and he smelled like alcohol. They found two cans of beer in the bike's front basket.
The man was arrested - charged with DUI, refusing to submit to a DUI test, having an open container of alcohol in public and refusing to sign a citation. His bail came out to $7,000.
That's all fine and dandy, but what I want to know is this: since when is a bicycle considered a vehicle? Maybe it's always been considered one, and I've been unaware of that fact. I guess I should look up all the legal stuff surrounding the issuance of a DUI just so I'm clear on the terms.
So as most of you probably know Anna Faris is Cosmo's Fun, Fearless Female of 2010. She's gutsy and funny and absolutely gorgeous. I love her in House Bunny, but my absolute favorite scene she's ever done was the "toothpaste scene" in Just Friends with co-star Ryan Reynolds.
That makes me laugh every time I see it! And just for kicks, here's my favorite scene from House Bunny.
She plays the good-hearted dumb blonde roll so well. Anyway, here's a behind-the-scenes look at Anna's cover shoot with Cosmo. It's just a little two-minute interview with her (in her bathrobe).
She plays the good-hearted dumb blonde roll so well. Anyway, here's a behind-the-scenes look at Anna's cover shoot with Cosmo. It's just a little two-minute interview with her (in her bathrobe).
And if you haven't bought the latest issue of Cosmo, I certainly suggest that you go out and buy it right now!
So I was surfing the internet after I was finally satisfied with my rundown (even though we all learned yesterday that they're merely suggestions and the producer should never fully believe things will go off exactly as she plans), and I came across an article - Dating 101: What Do Men Find Romantic? Of course I clicked on it, thinking it would be worth a good laugh if nothing else.
It turned out being a versus article. You know, comparing one thing against another and seeing which one most guys would prefer. I'm not sure how exact their science was when putting this together, but some of the things on the list were, although not necessarily surprising, interesting. Here's some of my favorites:
1. Love Letters v. Romantic Texts - same concept, right? Apparently not. According to the article, if a guy actually sits down to write you a love letter on paper (that's the key) he's trying to impress you (and of course we'll be impressed...who doesn't like getting a love letter?), but if he spur-of-the-moment sends you a text saying he's thinking about you it's because he can't help it (maybe he's not trying to be impressive but these kinds of things tend to be endearing and impressing by default).
2. Picnics v. Cook-Outs - Of course the cook-out wins this round. It's literally playing with fire. What guy is going to pass that up?
3. The Smell of Your Perfume v. The Smell of Your Hair - According to the article (which was written by a guy I've just noticed), guys would much rather catch a whiff of your "clean-yet-flowery girl-hair smell." Greatest adjective phrase ever.
4. Make-Up Physical Intimacy v. Not Fighting in the First Place - So I've been told that make-up physical intimacy is amazing, but believe it or not it wasn't the winner of this versus. Come to think of it, all the people I've heard profess the greatness of such acts have been female...
5. Ballroom Dancing Lessons v. Surfing Lessons - This should be a no-brainer. I mean, the answer is so obvious. The reason the article gives, however, isn't exactly what I would have guessed, but it is pretty funny: "Most any guy would love being active and learning new things with you. But if he has to worry about his footwork and balance, he'd rather not have to be wearing shimmery shirts while doing it."
5. Ballroom Dancing Lessons v. Surfing Lessons - This should be a no-brainer. I mean, the answer is so obvious. The reason the article gives, however, isn't exactly what I would have guessed, but it is pretty funny: "Most any guy would love being active and learning new things with you. But if he has to worry about his footwork and balance, he'd rather not have to be wearing shimmery shirts while doing it."
On days like today when severe weather threatens the lives of our viewers (I'm only semi-serious about the life-threatening...) show rundowns are only suggestions. It becomes a question of what can you stand to kill. And boy did we kill a lot of stories this morning. In the second hour two entire blocks got the axe in lieu of weather. It was exciting and frustrating and even confusing (trying to recalculate times on the fly is not exactly easy), but out of the few things that did make it on the air this was by far the most interesting... in my opinion anyway. And yes, I'm referring to the strange but alluring picture at the top of the page.
That, my friends, is an ad for NOH8 - a gay rights group that is protesting the banning of same-sex marriage in California. Pictured in the ad is, believe it or not, Cindy McCain... wife of Republican John McCain (you know, the 2008 Republican candidate for president). Now, Senator McCain, R-AZ, is 100% against gay marriage. He believes marriage should be reserved for members of the opposite sex.
Maybe the fact that Cindy McCain is the face of the ad isn't what's all that interesting. Maybe it's the fact that she's the face of the advertisement in spite of her husband's opposition to the cause the ad supports. Maybe it's not all that interesting at all. Maybe it's just intriguing.
While I work through the night to get the morning show ready to be aired, I'm usually at least listening to a television set. Tonight it happened to be on CBS so at first I suffered through a couple late night talk shows (I was too lazy to get up and change them, you see.), and then Entertainment Tonight came on. Normally I don't really listen to their stories because I find them really shallow, i.e. Heidi Montag's 10 plastic surgeries in one day. But while their prattle was serving as background noise, something caught my attention. The words "The Choking Game" inevitably turned my attention away from the script I was editing to the television.
Apparently children/teenagers or as I prefer to think stupid people have been video-taping themselve playing what is called the Choking Game and then posting the videos on YouTube. Personally, I didn't search for or watch any actual Choking Game videos (I literally shuddered just listening to a kid explain the game), but if you're curious all you have to do is type in The Choking Game in the search bar and you'll get loads of hits.
The video below explains the specifics of the game and says basically what I was thinking when I first heard about this horrible game.
You've heard of What Not To Wear. Well this is "What Not To Say."
To your boyfriend.
I found this article on, where else, Yahoo. It's called "10 Things You Should Never Say To Your Boyfriend."
And since I don't actually have a boyfriend, I thought my comments on what they have to say would be completely appropriate.
1. My ex did the exact same thing!
First of all, you don't want him to talk about his ex-girlfriend. Why on earth would you think he wants to be compared to your ex-boyfriend? That's like saying he's going to become your ex as well.
2. *Insert Friend Name* is pregnant. Shhh!
Can you say TMI? Guys don't care about that kind of thing. Straight guys at least.
3. When we're married/have kids...
This one I don't understand unless you're in a new relationship. Obviously you don't want to start planning a family with someone you've only been out with once! But for all you guys in serious relationships, it's perfectly normal to talk about your life together if indeed the two of you plan on staying together.
4. Do you think she's pretty?
This just isn't fair. If he says yes, he's in trouble. If he says no, we automatically assume he's lying. Just don't put him in the situation to start with.
5. "I'm fine" or "Never mind" when something is wrong.
Hopefully if you're in a real relationship - not one of those middle school oh-em-gee-I-love-you relationships - you're mature enough to talk about your problems with your significant other, especially if it's something to do with them. Putting it off doesn't do anyone any good. In fact, it just makes the inevitable blow-up worse.
6. I just let one go.
First of all, why would a female EVER say that?! Do parents not teach their little girls to be ladies anymore? I mean, honestly. That's just gross.
7. I'll try anything once.
Anything? You sure about that? You better be before you make that statement.
8. Are you sure you're okay? (repeatedly, even after he's assured you multiple times)
Are you crazy? You're just going to start a fight for no reason and ruin everybody's day. Move on already!
9. I hate my *insert body part*.
Unless he's a total jerk, he wouldn't be in a relationship with you if he didn't find you attractive, and I'm pretty sure he gets tired of hearing you over-criticize different aspects of your appearance. Guys are pretty simplistic about looks - no makeup is a good thing; messy hair looks wonderful; and they don't even notice if your lipstick doesn't perfectly match your nail polish.
10. I hate your relative(s)/best friend(s).
Think about it. You'd get pissed if he said he hated yours. It's the same principle.
So yesterday I had this really interesting idea for a blog topic, but that idea was killed when all of a sudden I was put on assignment in a city two hours away from my desk. Now don't get me wrong. I had a lot of fun out in the field yesterday (I'm a dork, I know), but my post wasn't very interesting as a result. It was hurried and brief and just blah.
So for today I'm going back to my original idea for yesterday which is this:
This painting was stolen from the National Museum in Poznan, Poland, in September 2000. At the time it was stolen, Beach in Pourville was valued at $1 million. The thief, a 41-year-old man from the southern city Olkusz, cut the painting from its frame and replaced it with a cardboard copy. Polish police arrested the man, whose name hasn't been reported, yesterday after finding the original painting in his home.
For those of you who don't recognize this painting, it's by one of my favorite painters - French impresionist Claude Monet. He was the founder of the impressionist movement and the most consistent practitioner of the movement's plein-air landscape painting.
The movement was named for this painting - Impression, Sunrise.
So now I'm going to post some of my favorites.
Bridge Over a Pond of Water Lillies
On the Bank of the Seine
Weeping Willow
Woman With a Parasol
So the experimet I was telling you about yesterday was a success. Such a success, in fact, that today I'm out again, this time in Montgomery at a press conference about (you'll never guess) electronic bingo. The conference was held by a religious-based oganization and it was pretty much all gambling is bad and it's up to us to take a stand. Anyway, some of the quotes that came out of it were pretty interesting and I wrote up an article for our website. Go read it here. Shameless plug, I know. Read it anyway!
It's been a crazy week so far, and it's only Tuesday!
Yesterday I came in extremely early, 3:00 a.m., to run the booth for the morning show. I ended up doing more than just sitting downstairs though. I edited scripts (to a degree) and added some stuff in so we wouldn't be more than a minute under on time. A minute may not seem like much, but when you're counting every second, a minute is an eternity.
Today I actually got to do some stuff that's mostly what my degree is in as an experiment with some new laptop editing systems that we just recently aqcuired. I went to my first Dothan City Commission meeting and filed stories to our website as it progressed. There were two major items on the agenda: approval of the new police chief & the revoking of a club's business license. Both were approved, by the way.
So here's what I did. I sent out the text alerts for both of these items. The Dothan Eagle beat me on the police chief story, but only because my computer decided to freeze on the send page.
Then, while the meeting was still going on, I wrote up the police chief article, and then I wrote up the Club Rio article. You should check them out.
And as always, you can find all kinds of interesting stories on our website: http://www.wtvynews4.com/.
Yesterday I came in extremely early, 3:00 a.m., to run the booth for the morning show. I ended up doing more than just sitting downstairs though. I edited scripts (to a degree) and added some stuff in so we wouldn't be more than a minute under on time. A minute may not seem like much, but when you're counting every second, a minute is an eternity.
Today I actually got to do some stuff that's mostly what my degree is in as an experiment with some new laptop editing systems that we just recently aqcuired. I went to my first Dothan City Commission meeting and filed stories to our website as it progressed. There were two major items on the agenda: approval of the new police chief & the revoking of a club's business license. Both were approved, by the way.
So here's what I did. I sent out the text alerts for both of these items. The Dothan Eagle beat me on the police chief story, but only because my computer decided to freeze on the send page.
Then, while the meeting was still going on, I wrote up the police chief article, and then I wrote up the Club Rio article. You should check them out.
And as always, you can find all kinds of interesting stories on our website: http://www.wtvynews4.com/.
If you're my age then you probably remember watching Snick on Nickelodeon Saturday nights. And if you remember that, then you definitely remember watching All That. One of the original cast members is, like me, all grown up now and, unlike me, showing the world a different side of her.
Ms. Amanda Bynes has been named one of Maxim Magazine's Hot 100 Women. You can see all of the photos from her shoot in the February edition of the magazine (you know, if you're interested).
Amanda says some people still see her as a kid but she wants the world to know she's a 23-year-old woman now. I guess this means that all those people who still think of me as a kid should start thinking of me as a woman now, too. (Maybe I should do a photo shoot for Maxim so that people realize that fact faster!)
Amanda says that while she's "not gonna do porn" she would maybe like to do "sexy movies...if they're done the right way." She says that it's time for her to start making her own decisions...and that if the sexy movie involved making out with Leonardo DiCaprio she wouldn't mind (as if any female who's seen any Leo film would!).
We all know that not everyone gets into the holiday spirit, and let's face it - some people can be just plain mean. But a Florida woman takes the meaning of the word grinch to a whole new level.
Since I don't want to use names and there are multiple women in this story they will from here on be called stun gun lady and victim lady.
Here's what went down.
Victim Lady was picking up a friend on Christmas Day when she saw Stun Gun Lady. Apparently the two were acquaintances and, it being Christmas and all, Victim Lady wanted to extend her holiday cheer to Stun Gun Lady. Victim Lady's method of extending her cheer included hugging and offering a holiday greeting to Stun Gun Lady ..who apparently did not wish to be hugged or greeted.
Stun Gun Lady responded to Victim Lady's holiday cheeriness by giving her a jolt of her grinchy-ness (yes, I made that up). Stun Gun Lady pulled out, you guessed it, a stun gun and shocked Victim Lady.
Merry Christmas, indeed.
Work has been a mad house today. I'm talking phones ringing every two minutes, multiple live shots for every show (including the morning show -- that rarely happens!), and general craziness on every end of the spectrum. And who, you may ask, is the cause for all the chaos? Why none other than Alabama's most recent big headline-maker - duh da da dah! - Country Crossing.
For those of you who aren't from around here, Country Crossing is an entertainment complex that's partially completely and mostly in the works. Among the finished attractions are a couple restaurants, a bar, amphitheater and of course the dreaded electronic bingo pavillion. Alabama's esteemed governor, Bob Riley, is against bringing gambling into the state, and he lumps electronic bingo machines in with slot machines. Now don't ask me to tell you the difference between the two. Just know that there is a difference...even though they look the same and have the same basic operations.
What I do know is that Riley supposedly accepted money from one particular Native American tribe located in Mississippi, and the result of these donations supposedly is that the governor will do anything to keep any form of "gambling" from entering the state.
Now all this is water under the bridge. Country Crossing has been a huge controversy for the past...well, forever. But things really exploded last night just before 9:00 when the station got a phone call about a possible raid at the entertainment complex. So Mark Culver, county commission chairman, scheduled a press conference for right after our 10:00 show started. Needless to say the press conference streamed live through the first part of our newscast.
Then things got really interesting. The governor's gaming task force showed up at Country Crossing at 4:00 this morning...where the leader, David Barber, was served with a restraining order. Naturally, WTVY has had updates all day long - in the morning show, on Live at Lunch, and soon to be on the 5:00, 6:00 and 10:00 shows, as well as online.
Now the governor's office has released a scathing statement in response to Culver's actions. Apparently he barred the door and prevented the task force from entering the pavillion. And, this just in (literally)! Attorney General Troy King has released a statement knocking the governor and his task force.
There have been phone calls from all kinds of people. The last one I took was from a law enforcement guy in Florida calling to pledge the support of three counties. At the end of it he assured me that he wasn't "drunk or nothing."
Whoo. What a day.
And to top it all off, I started my day off with a 20 minute phone call from an elderly widow who thinks her insurance company scammed her and wanted the station's help because she can't afford an attorney. I'm still not sure what she thought we would be able to do for her, short of reporting it.
Okay, so this story isn't about a map...although that could be almost as entertaining as this under the right circumstances. (Honestly, I just thought this particular ransom note was funny.)
Anyway, here's the skinny. Police in Marathon, Fla., seized six large marijuana plants. In place of the plants they left a note - a ransom note.
Thanks for the grow! You want them back? Call for the price.
Want to know the funny thing? It actually worked!
About 10 minutes after finding the note, the grower calls the number and offers $200 for the plants. He and the detectives then arrange a meeting to exhange pot and money.
Of course he was arrested as soon as he paid the detectives.
This guy brings a new meaning to the word idiot.
Obviously this is on the WTVY page.
The world's tallest skyscraper opened today in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
The tower, named Burj Khalifa after the leader of neighboring Abu Dhabi, stands 2717 feet tall (twice as tall as the Empire State building).
The developer says the project cost $1.5 billion.
It boasts four swimming pools, a private library and a hotel designed by Giorgio Armani.
There are observation points in the tower that allow you to look out over the city. It is also equiped with "refuge floors" at 25 to 30 story intervals that are more fire resistant and have their own air supply in case of emergency. The entire building is reinforced by a concrete structure, which developers say makes it stronger than steel skyscrapers.
The tower's opening ceremony featured a laser light show as well as a fireworks presentation.
You can read more about the tower, as well as see more pictures (including photos from the development stages) here.
