Barack and the (Puppy) Bowl System

Well, OK, so I might talk about our president-elect a bit. He's going to do good things. One habit that could get him in trouble, however, is his mixing of light and heavier topics: I love Barack talking hardball in a figurative and literal sense (as in, Go White Sox). When you're president; however, everything you do becomes a political issue -- even adopting a puppy. He says he wants to get a mutt, just like him, but daughter Malia is allergic. Hypoallergenic shelter animals are a bit hard to come by.

I would go with a hypoallergenic Welsh Pembroke corgi. It is well documented that corgis are adorable, playful and intelligent, all traits that I would also assign to our soon to be commander in chief. The corgi, known for its extensive herding ability, would be a fit in any place within the White House, from the West Wing to Secret Service Detail. I can already see the made-for-TV Disney Channel Production, A Barker in the Office.

Gratuitous cuteness.

On Barack's victory (and the frontpages afterward)

Call me old-fashioned, but I'm going to have to say that the Chicago papers. The Sun Times went with a very narrow-focused portrait of the president elect, and I think it works quite well -- but it isn't the home run that the MLK and Obama mirror was, while the Trib cover carrier the "new traditionalism" of the redesign. But let's check out the other regions.

I find it delightful that nearly all are incredibly triumphant, from "Yes He Did!" (Huntsville Times) to the San Bernadino Sun's "HISTORY." Some go with the simple -- (Obama wins) and others choose the superlative (Historymaker). We in the press love a good story, and Obamamania certainly provided it.

Inertia

In response to Amy Gahran's excellent blog, I would have to say that a number of things have to happen within the j-school to remain relevant. I often banter about institutional inertia and its evils -- it's one of the reasons that I became (or am becoming) a journalist. A major project of mine is a story about information science schools -- they call themselves iSchools -- isn't that cute? Information science is incredibly interdisciplinary. GSLIS here on campus is tied to a plethora of departments, each needing its number-crunching, database-building expertise. Am I saying we should be so promiscuous? No, but we do need to reach out.

Madness!

H.P. Lovecraft has been a favorite writer for years now; he is like Ed Wood if Ed Wood was at all respectable. Actually, a better comparison might be Bruce Campbell: You love him for his endearing goofiness. He was the master of the interrobang (a nonstandard English-language punctuation mark intended to combine the functions of the question mark (also called the interrogative point) and the exclamation mark or exclamation point (known in printers' jargon as the bang). The typographical character is a superimposition of those two marks. The same effect is also frequently achieved by using both, for example, "How could you do such a thing!?" or "How could you do such a thing?!") as well at intensely used italics, the guy could simply write, and his imagination was as dark as it was gigantic. For all of his grammatical foibles, he remains a wonderful American artist, whose nature just as our nation's is flawed but beautiful.

Subjunctivitis

The Subjunctive case? What a jerk. I won't be subjunctive to anyone!

OK, I'm sorry, but I really want to talk about the Rays victory. This is good for baseball, believe it or not. Just because all of those NESN jerks love talking about Boston all day doesn't mean that the baseball world is entireley located in the Northeast. It's crap. Baseball is a GLOBAL sport, I tell you.

My pick? The Rays in 7. They head back to Tampa down 3-2, but get going at home, winning in dramatic and historic fashion.

Diagramming Palin

Uh oh, look what's gonna happen to our language when we start droppin' the letter G off of all our words. That governor from Alaska is so adorable, with her colloquialisms and folksy solutions to real-world problems. Who care about politics when you can just make stuff up and wink into the camera to score a victory. That and the fear mongering. In any case, her language is hilarious. Let's consult Kitty Burns Florey's recent piece for Slate, a wonderfully critical essay detailing the diagramming of the G.O.P.'s vice presidential nominee:



I know that John McCain will do that and I, as his vice president, families we are blessed with that vote of the American people and are elected to serve and are sworn in on January 20, that will be our top priority is to defend the American people.

How incredibly frustrating. If she's in office, then I am out of this country.

On The Photos

Would you run these photos? In print, I would not run them, except in. They're all at the most fundamental level revolting; I extend an invitation to anyone who thinks her or she would be able to click through without wincing or gagging? Not a chance.
What criteria did you you use to make a decision? My personal taste, and the understanding of others. I'm a pretty easy to irritate, so I'm sure I would out-offend any Mega-Churching Alpha Moms.
Under what circumstances would you run the photos? If it was of national importance. As in, the capitol would be under threat of nuclear arms. In that extreme case, I would run the photographs. Otherwise we're all good.
Would your decision be different if the events were local? No, this is about not offending everybody in your town. If you don't pander to them, you'll never stay in print. This 2008, people.
Does where or how you play the photo have any bearing on your decision? I would perhaps run them online with a warning; you'd have to only let people with accounts -- who list their age -- to access the images.
With which photo did you struggle the most? The disgusting, foul incident in Seattle.
Why?Images of rape should not be displayed. It's absolutely detrimental to your interests as a publication.