Auburn « Kenny Smith | A remarkable thing happens …

Auburn

“I’m not that interesting”

And if you go outside in the right time of the evening, you’ll see a scene like that. Life is good.

Did a lot of writing today, finishing a project that needed finishing. A lot of rewriting had gone into it, none of it especially inspiring, so it just dragged on and on. The next time that project comes up, though, it will be much better.

Alan Mutter has a read on an important new Pew report on a disconnect between younger and older consumers in perceived newspaper value.

When asked by researchers to identify their preferred source for crime news, 44% of those in the 40-plus category named newspapers, as compared with just 23% for the younger cohort.

[…]

In what may be a sign of the desperation of the population in this time of high unemployment, the only area where young and old alike turned with equal frequency to newspapers is hunting for information about jobs. Even there, only 17% of each age group considered newspapers the first place to look.

Pew also found this sobering statistic: Fully 69% of respondents said it would not “have a major impact” on their ability to keep up with news about their community if their local paper no longer existed.

That last one is more of a perception than anything and, I suspect, a misplaced one. Yes, more news now stems from personal networks, word of mouth and social media than every before, but there is still a significant amount of that information that originates in traditional newsrooms. That indirect impact, I believe, often goes undetected.

A federal judge upholds most of Alabama’s controversial immigration law:

Section 11 (a), which makes it unlawful for a person who is an unauthorized alien to knowingly apply for work, solicit work in a public or private place, or perform work as an employee or independent contractor in this state.

Section 13, which prohibits concealing, harboring, transporting, etc., of unlawfully-present aliens.

Section 16, which concerns the taking of a state tax deduction for wages paid to an unauthorized alien employee.

Section 17, which creates a state “discrimination” cause of action based on the retention or hiring of an unauthorized alien.

I posted a little something about both of these stories on the journalism tip blog I write. I invite you to read it if you find these sorts of things mildly interesting.

Still here? Good. I also changed the URL of that blog, and fixed the links on this site. Speaking of the site: I haven’t mentioned it, but I added a rotating piece of code to the top and bottom images on the blog. Hit reload a bunch. Fancy, huh?

Speaking of journalism, check out the Crimson’s site for the latest news from campus. Included is this cute little profile of the famous Ms. Dot.

I saw her at lunch today, just another face in her long line of a day.

I read about you in the paper!

“You did?”

Yes. It was very good! I think you should be in the paper every week!

“I don’t. I’m not that interesting.”

I think there should be a little According to Ms. Dot section in each issue of the paper. Just a little box with some wise saying.

Need a scarf? The original Toomer’s Corner tradition is now a fine accessory. It only costs $17.16 for the neckwear which is made of “scarf like” material. Not sure what that is. As for the price:

I guess they thought $28.27 was over the natural scarf price point.

Ahh, football season jokes.

Auburn / football / photo / weekend — Comments Off
25
Sep 11

Catching up

We had a full moon of course, recently. I took pictures and promptly forgot about them, doomed to sit on my camera for days and days. Here’s one now, though:

Did a little photo feature of children at Tiger Walk. Here’s one of them now:

Nova in flight before the FAU game:

The game was so flat even the cheerleaders were having to work hard to keep up their spirits:

Corey Lemonier, left, and Angelo Blackson greet FAU’s Graham Wilbert:

Wilbert was 20 of 31 for 191 yards and threw a touchdown, FAU’s first TD of the season. He also threw three interceptions, which were a big part of the game.

The Tigers, while flat, emerged with the win. And the fans and flags cheered:

Even more pictures here.

Auburn / football / iPhone / video / weekend — Comments Off
25
Sep 11

What is love?

These kids know.

Auburn / football / photo / weekend — Comments Off
24
Sep 11

Gameday – FAU

Nova flies before the Florida Atlantic at Auburn game.

Auburn has struggled a fair amount this year, and FAU is one of the worst teams in football. So naturally the Tigers would have their hands full with the Owls. Most of the things Auburn hoped they could improve upon they did not. Many of the starters were forced to play late into the game.

They were sluggish in the first half, perhaps because a few starters sat out the game, taking a 10-6 lead into the locker room. An early interception returned for a touchdown in the second half finally helped bid some momentum. Flat was the word of the day, but Auburn did win 30-14, though it should have been an absolute blowout. Mike Dyer had 72 yards on 14 carries:

There’s a lot of improvement to be made before Auburn returns to their SEC schedule next week on the road at South Carolina. More pictures tomorrow.

adventures / Auburn / cycling / Friday / iPhone / photo / Samford — Comments Off
23
Sep 11

Clever and witty title

Trying something new for my bike rides. Since we live on the hilliest part of the coastal plains (despite being 180 miles from the coast and about 120 miles from the nearest mountain foothills) you can’t leave the house without pedaling up and down something.

Since I’ve noticed it takes six or eight miles for my legs to warm up, and since the hills here hurt when my legs aren’t ready, and since I’m not a very good cyclist anyway, I’m looking for somewhere flat to start.

Problem: there’s nowhere flat to start.

I have found a two-and-a-half mile loop with just two hills on it. So I’m riding that a few times before the actual ride begins. Those five miles make one of our standard routes 31 miles, which I can do without too much trouble, despite the hills. (I’m a wimp.)

All of this to say, if you have a good topographical map you can share, I’d love to borrow it for a while.

Productive day today. Did a bit of research, fired off the many important emails. Read a lot and booked hotel rooms for an upcoming conference.

The conference is in February, but it is one of those college towns where there’s not much there besides mountains and woods. The locals told us to book early, because if you aren’t in one of the two establishments in town you’re staying at a tavern 13 miles out of town. After that you’re looking at 20 and 30 mile commutes from Super 8s.

So I called the local Hampton Inn and asked for their policies and their availability for hotel rooms in February. (And felt an immediate sympathy for people working the phones at hotels. Oh the questions they must hear, over and over again.) They had something like 10 rooms left. In addition to this conference which will bring several hundred undergrads, there’s also softball, equestrian and men’s and women’s basketball in that tiny town that weekend.

Glad I booked early.

Did an interview today. I’m accustomed to conducting the interviews, but today I was the subject of one. The experience is a different one. This is in response to an idea that a lot of people had and the subsequent little essay I wrote about Unrolling Toomer’s a few weeks ago. It got re-printed on The War Eagle Reader
and picked up in one of the fan forums, too. Online this idea has taken on a life of its own. In practice it is growing a little more slowly. But there’s another interview to be done this weekend, too. So maybe we’re on to something.

So, naturally, I treated the interview like a stand-up, saying everything I could to one open-ended question. Only took two takes, but it worked out well. We’ll see the finished product next week.

Waiting for pizza.

Mellow Mushroom is the best pizza place in town, and one of the busiest places in town. I wonder how things would go if they had a second pizza oven. Maybe folks wouldn’t have to wait an hour for a table, and then the better part of another one waiting on the food.

Dining out on a Friday before a home game is tough. Life is hard, right?