Thursday, September 30, 2010
A Twittersation with Len Bernardo
Feel free to add your two cents, or to give me two cents, or a dollar, or two.
Banned or challenged books - a report
Here's a crazy report featuring books that were banned or challenged at schools or libraries in 2009 and 2010. Here are my favorite nonsensical challenges, because, apparently ...
... there's no need to know about the Holocaust:
"Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl" (Doubleday)
Harper Lee, "To Kill a Mockingbird" (Lippincott/Harper; Popular Library)
Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary (Merriam-Webster)
Stephenie H. Meyer, Twilight series (Little)
Aland Moore, "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Black Dossier" (America’s Best Comics)
Full Report follows:
2010 Banned
... there's no need to know about the Holocaust:
"Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl" (Doubleday)
Challenged at the Culpeper County, Va. public school (2010) by a parent requesting that her daughter not be required to read the book aloud. Initially, it was reported that officials have decided to stop assigning a version of Anne Frank’s diary, one of the most enduring symbols of the atrocities of the Nazi regime, due to the complaint that the book includes sexual material and homosexual themes. The director of instruction announced the edition, published on the fiftieth anniversary of Frank’s death in a concentration camp, will not be used in the future despite the fact the school system did not follow its own policy for handling complaints. The remarks set off a hailstorm of criticism online and brought international attention to the 7,600-student school system in rural Virginia. The superintendent said, however, that the book will remain a part of the English classes, although it may be taught at a different grade level.... classics suck.
Harper Lee, "To Kill a Mockingbird" (Lippincott/Harper; Popular Library)
Removed from the St. Edmund Campion Secondary School classrooms in Brampton, Ontario, Canada (2009) because a parent objected to language used in the novel, including the word “nigger.”... nobody needs words.
Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary (Merriam-Webster)
Pulled from the Menifee, Calif. Union School District (2010) because a parent complained when a child came across the term “oral sex.” Officials said the district is forming a committee to consider a permanent classroom ban of the dictionary.... vampires not having sex are no fun.
Stephenie H. Meyer, Twilight series (Little)
Banned in Australia (2009) for primary school students because the series is too racy. Librarians have stripped the books from shelves in some junior schools because... awesome graphic novels turned into bad movies must be bad.
they believe the content is too sexual and goes against religious beliefs. They even have asked parents not to let kids bring their own copies of Stephenie Meyer’s
smash hit novels — which explore the stormy love affair between a teenage girl and a vampire — to school.
Aland Moore, "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Black Dossier" (America’s Best Comics)
Challenged at the Jessamine County Public Library in Nicolasville, Ky. (2009). A petition with 950 signatures was presented to the board to overturn its collection policy. The petition specifi cally asked for the removal of four works on the grounds that they “offended me in that they depict sexual acts and/or describe such acts in a way that in my opinion are contrary to the Jessamine County public opinion” of what should be in a public, taxpayer-supported collection. The petition concluded the works constituted a public safety issue in that they encourage sexual predators. In addition to Moore’s graphic novel, the other works challenged were Snuff, by Chuck Palahniuk, Choke, a DVD based on a novel by Palahniuk; and the DVD Ron White:
You Can’t Fix Stupid. The graphic novel eventually got two employees fi red for breaching library policies, the library director was threatened with physical harm, and the book was recataloged, along with other graphic novels with mature trends, to a separate but unrestricted graphic novels section of the library.
Full Report follows:
2010 Banned
Paladino vs. New York Post's Fred Dicker: Round 1, FIGHT!
Capital Tonight's Kaitlin Ross scored this awesome video of professional candidate-person Carl Paladino and professional writing-person Fred Dicker.
Both are doing very professional things, in front of a whole bunch of mean reporters, who are using their cameras, phones and notepads, to report, on mean things and such.
So this thing's going viral now. It might have been the "I'll take you down!" part.
Or the fact that one of them goes with a "mad as hell" slogan.
Maybe is a dual plot to actually get people to pay attention to the Business Council’s annual meetings. Who knows?
Round 2 is Dicker vs. Michael Caputo, Paladino’s campaign manager.
Double KO, all around. Their lack of decorum makes it so that mean people like me get to have fun with this, but then the issues get buried.
What issues? Exactly.
Both are doing very professional things, in front of a whole bunch of mean reporters, who are using their cameras, phones and notepads, to report, on mean things and such.
So this thing's going viral now. It might have been the "I'll take you down!" part.
Or the fact that one of them goes with a "mad as hell" slogan.
Maybe is a dual plot to actually get people to pay attention to the Business Council’s annual meetings. Who knows?
Round 2 is Dicker vs. Michael Caputo, Paladino’s campaign manager.
Double KO, all around. Their lack of decorum makes it so that mean people like me get to have fun with this, but then the issues get buried.
What issues? Exactly.
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Greg Giraldo's Twit-bute
Comedian Greg Giraldo died today. He was 44.
"The tragic news of Greg’s passing hits us very, very hard. Greg has been a close member of the Comedy Central family for years, injecting his energy and wicked sense of humor into countless projects. The comedy community lost a brother today. Our thoughts are with his family,” read the statement by Comedy Central, given to the Hollywood Reporter.
His website says that, "Notes of condolence can be left on Greg's Facebook page."
Comedy Central also has a tribute page.
Famous friends of the comedian have took to Twitter to pay respects to the comic, best known from his appearances on NBC’s "Last Comic Standing" and Comedy Central's roasts, "Lewis Black’s Root of All Evil" and "Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn."
Adult language ahead.
"The tragic news of Greg’s passing hits us very, very hard. Greg has been a close member of the Comedy Central family for years, injecting his energy and wicked sense of humor into countless projects. The comedy community lost a brother today. Our thoughts are with his family,” read the statement by Comedy Central, given to the Hollywood Reporter.His website says that, "Notes of condolence can be left on Greg's Facebook page."
Comedy Central also has a tribute page.
Famous friends of the comedian have took to Twitter to pay respects to the comic, best known from his appearances on NBC’s "Last Comic Standing" and Comedy Central's roasts, "Lewis Black’s Root of All Evil" and "Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn."
Adult language ahead.
New World Home Cooking's Ric Orlando: 'F*@#% me'
Champion chef Ric Orlando is now a "Chopped Champions" loser.
The owner of New World Home Cooking in Saugerties, whom the Freeman profiled recently, got the ax from The Food Network's show on Tuesday (he'd won "Chopped" twice, securing his spot for the championship show and a chance at $50,000).
All Over Albany has a nice play-by-play of the whole affair, in which contestants use unlikely ingredients to make tasty dishes.
On Facebook, Orlando had this to say:
Check out this past clip of Orlando doing a desert with papaya, sake, crackers and cheese.
Gross.
And here's Orlando talking to the Freeman about his philosophy and food, which hopefully doesn't involve papayas with cheese.
The owner of New World Home Cooking in Saugerties, whom the Freeman profiled recently, got the ax from The Food Network's show on Tuesday (he'd won "Chopped" twice, securing his spot for the championship show and a chance at $50,000).All Over Albany has a nice play-by-play of the whole affair, in which contestants use unlikely ingredients to make tasty dishes.
On Facebook, Orlando had this to say:
F*ck me--That was the most exhilarating thing ever, except watching my kids get delivered, of course! Que sera--Back to work tomorrow! This experience made me a better person and a better chef, not doubt in my mind.Rock on, Baby!, Rock on! Thanks for all, and I mean ALL of the love! It is the greatest reward one can ask for. Cheers.Rock on, indeed.
Check out this past clip of Orlando doing a desert with papaya, sake, crackers and cheese.
Gross.
And here's Orlando talking to the Freeman about his philosophy and food, which hopefully doesn't involve papayas with cheese.
Did Melissa Leo really say that, 'greed might undo the budding film industry in our area'?
Note to Kingston politicians who want to impose a fee to filmmakers shooting in Kingston: Yes, she did.
The Oscar nominated actress' e-mail, quoted in "Faults found with flimsy film fee," also had, "Sent from my Verizon Wireless Blackberry." But I have a sneaking suspicion she didn't actually write that.
The Oscar nominated actress' e-mail, quoted in "Faults found with flimsy film fee," also had, "Sent from my Verizon Wireless Blackberry." But I have a sneaking suspicion she didn't actually write that.
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
How to get reporters to cover news live (and from the field)
It is an experiment, part of the Journal Register Company's Idealab, in which I am tasked, every month, with finding a problem in our newsroom and try to come up with a solution.
We told you we'll be completely transparent about our progress, so here's the first month's report.
The problem: How to get reporters to break news stories as they happen.
Before September, our website was not what it should have been. Besides a few latest updates, everything else was stagnant and static.
Before, for a breaking news or a latest update, a reporter had to write something and tell an editor - who had to be in the newsroom. Then the editor had to drop everything he or she was doing, edit the item and post it online. If the editor had no time to do this because of workload, the item wasn’t posted. If there was no editor available, the item didn’t get posted either.
How we're measuring our progress
Before, for a breaking news or a latest update, a reporter had to write something and tell an editor - who had to be in the newsroom. Then the editor had to drop everything he or she was doing, edit the item and post it online. If the editor had no time to do this because of workload, the item wasn’t posted. If there was no editor available, the item didn’t get posted either.
How we're measuring our progress
Monday, September 27, 2010
The band that became The Beatles stops by Rosendale
The Rosendale Theatre hosted the band that would eventually become The Beatles over the weekend.
Oh, yes. It did.
The Quarrymen, which formed in Liverpool in 1956 and reunited in 1997, came to the area on Friday to celebrate the Oct. 9 (you guys!) 70th birthday of the late John Lennon.
Below, in a photo by Ted Dixon, the surviving members of the band, from left, Rod Davis, Colin Hanton, a poser congressman who is not in the band but who is running for re-election so his name won't be mentioned here, and Len Garry, enjoy a moment together in Rosendale.
Oh, yes. It did.
The Quarrymen, which formed in Liverpool in 1956 and reunited in 1997, came to the area on Friday to celebrate the Oct. 9 (you guys!) 70th birthday of the late John Lennon.
 |
| The Quarrymen perform in Rosebery Street, Liverpool, on June 22, 1957. From left are Colin Hanton, Eric Griffiths, John Lennon, Len Garry, Pette Shotton and Rod Davis (Wikipedia photo). |
Hey, Kingston city council! Laurent Rejto of the Hudson Valley Film Commission will shoot you IN THE FACE!
If you are a vampire, that is.
Rejto, co-founder of the upcoming Woodstock Film Festival, director of the Hudson Valley Film Commission and vocal opponent of stupid Kingston fees for filmmakers, has a small role in "Stakeland," a movie that was shot in the mid-Hudson Valley because THERE ARE NO FEES FOR FILMMAKERS.
Just sayin'
Trailer below:
Rejto, co-founder of the upcoming Woodstock Film Festival, director of the Hudson Valley Film Commission and vocal opponent of stupid Kingston fees for filmmakers, has a small role in "Stakeland," a movie that was shot in the mid-Hudson Valley because THERE ARE NO FEES FOR FILMMAKERS.
Just sayin'
Trailer below:
So what was up with that upside-down van at the Garlic Festival?
"Corner of Washington Avenue and Finger Street, Saugerties, van knocked upside down on impact, with minor injuries to a very lucky driver."
That was the somewhat cryptic message on Saturday from Hope Farm & Bookshop's Richard Frisbie.
On Facebook, What's the big Idea's David Radovanovic, posted some very nice photos of the festival.
And among them, this:
So if you were wondering what happened on Saturday, the answer is: don't ask me. I wasn't there.
That was the somewhat cryptic message on Saturday from Hope Farm & Bookshop's Richard Frisbie.
On Facebook, What's the big Idea's David Radovanovic, posted some very nice photos of the festival.
And among them, this:
So if you were wondering what happened on Saturday, the answer is: don't ask me. I wasn't there.
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Gov. David Paterson on SNL
On state government being like the show: "There are a lot of characters, it's funny for 10 minutes and then you just want it to be over."
Friday, September 24, 2010
Stephen Colbert in Congress talks about work at Gill Farm in Hurley
Also, at the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship and Border Security, he aims submit video of his colonoscopy into the Congressional record.
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
A twitterview with Kingston Alderman Tom Hoffay
I decided to do a drive-by interview today, via Twitter, with Kingston Alderman Tom Hoffay about the proposed fee that would be imposed to filmmakers who want to shoot in Kingston.
What follows is the twitterview.
And then he called. Because, man, is it hard to have a twitter interview or what?
By the way, we spoke for a long time. And I just checked my copious notes.
No word on who supports the measure, other than the council.
What follows is the twitterview.
@tomhoffay, Enlighten me, who supports the movie fee in Kingston?
ivanlajara
@ivanlajara seeking enlightenment? from a politician?
tomhoffay
That's neither an answer or enlightening RT @tomhoffay: @ivanlajara seeking enlightenment? from a politician?
ivanlajara
@ivanlajara neither/nor...either/or...???
tomhoffay
Yes, thank Autofill for that RT @tomhoffay: @ivanlajara neither/nor...either/or...???
ivanlajara
@ivanlajara anyway....we all pay fees to go to the movies, unless you know one of the ushers...
tomhoffay
@ivanlajara I use to be an usher, before I was a politician...
tomhoffay
But who supports this measure? RT @tomhoffay: @ivanlajara anyway....we all pay fees to go to the movies, unless you know one of the ushers
ivanlajara
@ivanlajara every council member would support free movies....where can we find these free movies?
tomhoffay
@tomhoffay You're dodging the question. Who, besides council members, supports the proposed film fee in Kingston?
ivanlajara
@ivanlajara dodging? what is this dodging?? are we having a real conversation on this subject...in Twitter?
tomhoffay
@ivanlajara shouldn't we at least be in facebook?
tomhoffay
@tomhoffay Nope. I like my beer cold and my public conversations public. Anyway, who supports the measure?
ivanlajara
And then he called. Because, man, is it hard to have a twitter interview or what?
By the way, we spoke for a long time. And I just checked my copious notes.
No word on who supports the measure, other than the council.
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