here's to a New Year?

I keep saying 2009 has got to be better. My friends and family only inform me that life, the economy and everything else will get worse. What optimistic people they are.

On that happy note, I'll leave y'all with some crazy OTHER ways to celebrate New Year's Eve, ... other than the Times Sq. Ball and other than thinking about the recession. Yeah economy!

Check out this story,... it might just make you laugh...


*Allen Sullivan/The giant peach for Atlanta’s New Year’s Eve celebration is hoisted at the Underground.

Tough times

I never thought I'd work on Christmas Eve, actually I never really put much thought to it.

I don't think it's a reflect upon tough times, I think it's the nature of the beast. Often I feel people blame things on some external force that actually has no impact on them, the news is happening at all times, that's why we work on the holidays. The news is life, it's what happens and life happens on holidays.

That all being said, of course the news industry has been affected by the economy. It was already suffering. The industry got kicked while it was already down.


That doesn't mean that people don't want the news. People strive more than ever before to know everything without doing anything... and that is what journalists provide. We give summaries, pictures and videos of what happened without you having to do more than click a button. Now why would people not want to support that type of industry?

Because people are doing it for free...

*Picture from HERE

Shoes and monarchy?

So by now everyone has seen the Bush/shoe incident. What amazes me is how fast President Bush is. I mean really, I guess all those years of baseball finally helped his presidency. So maybe he can't successfully lead a country into war, but he can successfully dodge a shoe. See Bush duck HERE.



Caroline Kennedy is hoping to land Sen. Clinton's Senate seat. Between the Bush's, the Kennedy's and the Clinton's - we might as well have royal families?

The Kennedy's fascinate me. In spite of all the terrible things that have happened from JFK to Bobby to all the issues the family was forced to face in the eyes of the public, it amazes me that they still pursue politics.

*APTN/AP photo

Running is in the job details

Very few jobs require you to actually run. Yesterday it struck me how different journalism is from other jobs. While I was trekking out to Bayonne via PATH and Light Rail the photographer got held up in court fighting a parking ticket. I'm running late, he's running late,... great.

He calls me and says "I'm literally running." (Running to his car).

I sat on the Light Rail and laughed because I'm sure he actually was running. It's so important to be "there" when something is happening, especially when you are a photojournalist.

Then I found myself in a similar predicament. After exiting the lightrail and walking in the wrong direction I finally managed to point myself in the right direction. Then, I started to run. Wearing my pink puffy Northface coat on top of a furry Northface fleece and snow boats, I started to sweat. So then as I was running I started delayering, stripping off my coat and fleece.

Long story short, I made it, I felt disgusting, but I made it. In fact, we both made it.

So I guess there's even more motivation to go to the gym. My training is starting to pay off...

so it's been a while

So after the election I've been pretty bad about posting.

Let me start out by saying that Election Day was the craziest day of my career and it was wonderful. So many people combining efforts to tell one story,... very cool.

So what's new in the world? The economy still sucks, there are even more layoffs and it's colder outside. Things are pretty bleak. Today's New York Times quote of the day is

"In the last year, I’ve put in for more than 100 jobs. I stopped counting after 110. It’s just so defeating."
PAT WEBER, a construction administrator in Fennville, Mich., who was laid off.

In the news:

Clinton as Secretary of State....

I'm actually happy about that role. For a while I critisized Obama for not picking Hilary as VP because I thought it would have made him unbeatable. But now he's given her a role that actually maters - a role where she can make a difference.

Check out this slideshow from the Los Angeles Times on the wildfire devastation. It's hard to believe this actually happened.



The Huffington Post has a pretty amusing feature up, the 100 greatest April Fool's Jokes of all time... their number one?

"In 1992 National Public Radio's Talk of the Nation program announced that Richard Nixon, in a surprise move, was running for President again. His new campaign slogan was, "I didn't do anything wrong, and I won't do it again." Accompanying this announcement were audio clips of Nixon delivering his candidacy speech. Listeners responded viscerally to the announcement, flooding the show with calls expressing shock and outrage. Only during the second half of the show did the host John Hockenberry reveal that the announcement was a practical joke. Nixon's voice was impersonated by comedian Rich Little."

I don't really understand why it's posted in November, but whatever. I guess not all news can be serious. When I worked at a broadcast network the anchor once said, "Remember the summer of the sharks?" (Everyone thought that reporting on all the shark attacks was really silly and repetitive.) Then he followed up with, "that was the summer before 9/11, so be thankful for the funny stories." It always stuck with me.

With a lack of good news I can, and do, appreciate the features.

*fire photo taken by Brian Vander Brug/LA Times pulled from here

ELECTION BLOGGING

Today I blogged for other blogs... here are my stories...

interview with jersey city mayor: http://www.nj.com/hudson/index.ssf/2008/11/healy_casts_his_ballot.html

Interview with United States Senator: http://www.nj.com/hobokennow/index.ssf/2008/11/menendez_and_hoboken_democrati.html#more

my other posts throughout the day.....

http://www.nj.com/hobokennow/index.ssf/2008/11/free_coffee.html
http://www.nj.com/hobokennow/index.ssf/2008/11/after_voting_its_time_to_canva.html
http://www.nj.com/hobokennow/index.ssf/2008/11/grassroot_efforts.html
http://www.nj.com/hudson/index.ssf/2008/11/journal_square_and_the_polls.html

Check out Rockefeller Center tonight as NBC lights up states according to their political orientation.

Mock vote

T minus two days. America is excited, ...even the underage.

Mock the Vote- See who young Americans are voting for HERE.

Looks like the blonde got it right in this scenario.

*Reed and Lily Zimmermann