tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37659192008-05-15T15:40:15.333-04:00A cynic journalistBrianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12107058458747030063noreply@blogger.comBlogger527125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3765919.post-7018789711938806892008-05-07T18:41:00.002-04:002008-05-07T18:44:47.231-04:00A Way to Help Out the Working Class
How about, if instead of Sen. Hillary Clinton continuing to fight fate, mathematics and reality, all of the working-class people she is constantly pandering to just stop sending her funds. That'd be $20, $50, $100 and up that could stay in the pockets of the people who need it most.
In fact, it'd be more money for them to keep than they would supposedly get Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12107058458747030063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3765919.post-17235432349205738162008-04-30T12:58:00.002-04:002008-04-30T13:14:16.050-04:00Don't Be Fooled by the 2 Worst Candidates
So Sen. Hillary Clinton, a Democratic presidential candidate, and Sen. John McCain, the GOP-nominee in waiting, both want to cut the federal tax on gasoline as a way to help Americans this summer.
The idea doesn't sound that horrible, but when you put politics aside and listen to the economists and the people who aren't trying to be elected, you'll findBrianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12107058458747030063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3765919.post-20459571007156004092008-04-25T11:23:00.003-04:002008-04-25T12:03:00.954-04:00Uncle Brian
My sister went for her regular check up and to find out what the sex of her baby is ...
It turns out she's having a boy, which is a great relief to her (easier to raise and less money spent on dresses and girlie things, she says).
So now they must decide on a name. They had it picked out for a girl, but that's gotta change. And actually there is some relief from the family, I'm Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12107058458747030063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3765919.post-87547298525119920252008-04-22T12:31:00.002-04:002008-04-22T12:39:40.830-04:00Did you Barack the Vote?
That was the question from a copy editor today once I made it in to work. And yes I did.
I was No. 84 today and as I stood in line at the polling station, just a few minutes after waking up at 8:48 a.m., a camera man came through doing location shots and whatnot. The man was from the BBC. The BBC was at the Old Pine Street Community Center getting footage for its Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12107058458747030063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3765919.post-27893139260985406432008-04-20T14:28:00.003-04:002008-04-20T14:59:32.012-04:00A Weekend in Philadelphia
So this weekend was spent in Philadelphia. It's been awhile since that last happened, what with Miami the weekend before, the shore house before that, Lancaster next weekend and the shore house after that ...
But, to celebrate, I went on a 25-mile bike ride from home in Society Hill to the Schuylkill River Park entrance, along the river to East Falls and along the Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12107058458747030063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3765919.post-2912274265526399792008-04-16T11:39:00.002-04:002008-04-16T11:58:42.918-04:00History Repeats Itself
My former newspaper, The Times Herald's owner, Journal Register Co., is in the news and it's not for anything good. The little company that thought it could owned 22 daily newspapers and about 300 only publications, but couldn't manage to stay afloat, and so the stock is being delisted from the New York Stock Exchange.
What I learned in the story is that this isn't the Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12107058458747030063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3765919.post-48253329779093849302008-04-15T15:56:00.002-04:002008-04-15T16:01:25.753-04:00Back at Work
I'm back at my desk, catching up at work. It turns out I didn't miss too much, but I did get a jump start on my Sunday section planning for the rest of this month and most of May, so it seems my time away was just what I needed.
It also turns out that my return was just in time, because a little cold snap has hit the southeast portion of the U.S.
So tonight after yoga and grocery Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12107058458747030063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3765919.post-12356802463292304952008-04-11T21:14:00.003-04:002008-04-12T12:10:54.542-04:00En Miami
Day 1 is coming to a close, sort of. I'm inside after being on the beach for 5 hours and then dinner and a stroll through the shopping district and a few drinks while the lights went out, but I haven't yet made it to the clubs ...
But, after the 1st day, we did hear, "You guys look fabulous!" from a chick on the beach while on our walk up and down the beach.
This should be good sign, Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12107058458747030063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3765919.post-78371478722674522912008-04-04T00:45:00.002-04:002008-04-04T00:56:56.274-04:00Help Found
Help Wanted signs are hanging around in some shops here in Philly, but the trend seems to be higher unemployment overall.
So what better news than for the glitches forcing Census to scrap high-tech plans for 2010 count, as the headline of the AP story reads.
Hmmm, dismal economy, lost jobs, bankruptcies, etc. etc. and what does the government do to help stave it off? Temporarily Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12107058458747030063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3765919.post-77421108446457677682008-03-26T18:54:00.003-04:002008-03-27T23:19:59.401-04:00Follow the Smear Campaign
Has everyone heard of or seen the snippets of the Rev. Jeremiah Wright's sermons that have taken the Web by storm? How about Sen. Barack Obama's response from the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia?
A column came across my desk at work the other day that squarely puts the blame for the YouTube postings and what not on members of the Republican Party. It's an Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12107058458747030063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3765919.post-58642459520935526792008-03-18T17:44:00.002-04:002008-03-18T18:25:11.835-04:00Paying Twice for a Wrong
So the U.S. government helped JPMorgan buy Bear Stearns by giving them $30 BILLION that U.S. citizens are responsible for.
And who are among these U.S. citizens? Some of the same ones who have lost a home due to the mortgage crisis; some of the same people who are teetering on the edge of foreclosure due to the mortgage crisis.
And how did these banks get in trouble? Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12107058458747030063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3765919.post-17772520253317012812008-03-16T03:26:00.002-04:002008-03-16T03:32:49.144-04:00Monuments by Night
A late night walk worth getting wet over.
Cherries to be
World War II at Guard
Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12107058458747030063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3765919.post-51375896332018833442008-03-14T12:31:00.002-04:002008-03-14T12:33:47.213-04:00Visiting the Capital City
Here in D.C. for a long weekend. Came in by train, waiting for friends to arrive from other corners of the U.S. Lunch is on my mind, work is not.
Then it's off to see some museums, memorials and what not ...Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12107058458747030063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3765919.post-40156625321759067962008-03-11T15:32:00.002-04:002008-03-11T15:42:12.103-04:00Hello Brian. SHOW US YOUR CHEAP. And win!
Thanks CheapTickets.com, but I think you just proved you're a little cheap when it comes to hiring. A copy editor, perhaps?
I think the e-mail blast is supposed to say: SHOW US YOU'RE CHEAP AND WIN!.
But whatever.
And perhaps I'm cheap. I don't know how this election stuff works, but I went to Obama HQ in Philly today on my lunch break hoping to scoreBrianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12107058458747030063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3765919.post-50863896889788530352008-02-27T12:59:00.003-05:002008-02-27T13:07:40.999-05:00Mnemonic
n. A form of words or letters that assists the memory
We used to have just 9 planets in the galaxy, and I honestly can't remember what little phrase they gave to help everyone remember the names, but I was a little science nerd and quickly remembered the names of the planets, constellations, etc. etc.
But now that we've got 8 planets and 3 dwarf planets, it's a little more complicatedBrianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12107058458747030063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3765919.post-34180444370046914922008-02-25T00:36:00.003-05:002008-02-25T01:08:48.174-05:00Decadence?
This Sunday has drawn to a close, and I'm beat. But it wasn't much of a day, and no, I wasn't being lazy, either.
There has been meal preparations, cooking, eating and cleaning up going on for about 12 hours straight. It started with a late brunch, thanks to the late night out Saturday into Sunday morning.
Brunch consisted of avocado and alouette omelets, rye bread, fruit salad, Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12107058458747030063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3765919.post-44118207355095636662008-02-22T10:35:00.002-05:002008-02-22T11:14:49.847-05:00Full Moon Lunar Eclipse
These pics aren't anywhere near quality, I know, but I certainly learned a whole host of new features on my little digital camera just trying to get the pics to come out as they did!
Not that I'd ever have time to do all the settings before taking any sort of pics, but hey, maybe my next camera will be low-level professional grade?
Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12107058458747030063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3765919.post-26143569757547871162008-02-12T12:58:00.000-05:002008-02-12T13:09:59.904-05:00Refreshed
I'm back in Philly, back at work and feeling renewed. A few days on the beach does an amazing thing for the mind and body.
Of course, the 60-something degree difference was startling, but I can't complain, as I love the changing of the seasons, and this winter hasn't been so winter like ... in fact, a good number of trees seems to have some early blossoms forming, which would make forBrianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12107058458747030063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3765919.post-71190001098827435772008-02-10T17:36:00.002-05:002008-02-13T23:32:37.774-05:00Looking Out to the Horizon
Day 3 of Puerto Rico is drawing to a close. It has so far encompassed a bottle of champagne, 2 massages, 2 days full days on the beach, 4 bars/clubs on the "trashy bar tour," 1 new friend, 1 new drink, 1 dinner on the beach, and yes, a clean up Saturday for Obama.
The trashy bar tour is led by Eduardo and his friends who are giving us the "off the beaten path" night Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12107058458747030063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3765919.post-52143164361582718602008-02-07T23:44:00.000-05:002008-02-07T23:58:47.007-05:00Off to Puerto Rico
Sun, beach, ocean, friends, mofongo and much, much more.
It's time for me to cash in my 6-day work weeks from the holidays and step into the exact opposite of what earned me this time off; Stress is out the window!
And it couldn't come at a better time. Winter is setting in after some unseasonably warm days, but I won't be in the cold here for that long. Shortly after the Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12107058458747030063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3765919.post-23584189830790446342008-02-03T16:26:00.000-05:002008-02-03T16:51:24.970-05:00Complain Too Much?
I had a comment left on my last post about my complaining about my jobs and how I should just wake up to the real world.
That's fine and dandy, except that I work in newspapers, and when I sit at my desk at my job for up to 2 hours after deadline (a time when the paper should already be off the presses) still waiting to see pages to send to the presses and nothing is done Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12107058458747030063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3765919.post-16749242591310194482008-01-29T22:14:00.000-05:002008-01-29T22:45:07.333-05:00Yahoo Disappoints[?]
So I'm reading through business stories on CNN and what headline should appear but ""Yahoo disappoints, to cut jobs"
But Yahoo only disappointed Wall Street analysts. It didn't disappoint anyone else. The company saw its profits jump 10% over last year. That's double-digit growth.
And so what is the company doing to react to the fact that investors' expectations were on Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12107058458747030063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3765919.post-69579822802651604842008-01-28T19:50:00.000-05:002008-01-28T19:59:54.502-05:00Scrabble Weekend
Every weekend to the shore house has become a board game fest ever since the beach closed. The first several times it was Risk, which I was getting the hang of and I was pretty happy with all the outcomes, but now that Christmas has come and gone and Santa has left some things behind, the new game is Scrabble.
Being a wordsmith of sorts, I have a bit of an advantage, I suppose,Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12107058458747030063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3765919.post-67301280133302745632007-12-27T22:19:00.000-05:002007-12-27T22:32:28.667-05:00It's Been Forever, I Know
Who knows when this will kick into high gear again. It's been one hell of a month. It'll be at least that long since I last went to a yoga class by the time I do get to one again. Fingers crossed for next Thursday ...
Today was supposed to be the day, but I ended up sleeping until well past class and into the final 30 minutes before I had to be at work. Ooops!
At work Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12107058458747030063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3765919.post-20779491847353693082007-12-06T08:54:00.000-05:002007-12-06T09:01:15.572-05:00St. Peter's Fire?
So St. Peter's Church across from the house in Society Hill was the scene of much attention last night when 6 (six) fire trucks parked along Pine Street ready to beat back any flames.
There was no fire, but the firefighters did have to break through the gate and the side door to determine this. I don't know what triggered the response, be it an alarm or concerned neighbor, butBrianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12107058458747030063noreply@blogger.com