WAG - No, Mom.
I'm not zoning out class to write this.

When your Media Basics (online journalism) instructor is in Belgrade, many would think class would be cancelled.

Many would be wrong.

Today, our sub has given us a history lesson on blogging (going back to 1997) and directed us to write stuff on-line.

Thus, this is not slacking off. This is doing real work.

-----------------------------

Above was the initial post written to please the visiting teacher. He started the class with a slideshow of our instructor in Belgrade - showing group photos of people gathered around computers ("they look just like you all; expect they're Serbian"), some bombed out remains left over from the NATO strikes of the 90s, foreign graffiti and advertisements, and bar crawling shots.

Then, after a rundown of the recent surge in online activity, we were all spurned on to quickly start a page - if we hadn't already.

The class slowly, a bit relunctantly, got into gear. I simply opened my existing site and jotted down the previously mentioned text. When it came time for people to show their work, it was quiet. Searching for volunteers, and remembering I'd mentioned I'd had a blog site earlier in the class period, I was singled out.

"What's your site?"

"The World According to Gap."

And after a bit of typing, there my (this) site was standing 8 x 12 feet in front of me.

It's a bit weird seeing your site projected on the jumbo screen of the classroom as an example. Of course, after over 2 years of doing this (sorry for not having a blog birthday post), you'd think I'd have some sort of handle on the subject.

Of course, when asked the question, "Is this journalism?" the class became stumped.

Note: With a sub there often are lots of pregnant pauses, but this was longer than usual.

We were cajoled to speak with comments like "Co'mon! You're jounalism students. You're not shy!" or "You've been going to the J-school all this time and you can't answer this question?"

The debate finally did start, but I'm still not sure of the answer. This site gives me a chance to practice writing, keep family members updated, and let me stand on soap box issues that would never make it in the paper (like, what's up with urban squirrels these days?) - but is any of that news? Is it reporting?

My feeling now, after staring at the screen and copying to churn out a moral after the teacher has left and the computer lab has mostly cleared out (after briefly chastizing myself for the grossly repetitive use of the word "after"), I think the definition of journalism is changing.

Yesterday, for my Brit. lit. class, I was reading about the origins of newspapers (starting with letters, then lists of recent events, pamplets, and later branching out into weekly and daily papers before spawning magazines). In the 1700s, they couldn't have imagined radio, network news, cable TV, satelite broadcasting. Why should I be woried about the fact 20 years ago, people would have had difficulty expecting people to turn to digital zeros and ones to get their news.

Is this journalism?

Yes.

Is this top tier stuff?

No.

Somewhere between the yellow press of the early 1900s and the Pulitzers is where this posting is at. I'm sorry I can't get any more specific than that for now.

If I can narrow it down a bit, though, I'll let you now.

Now I have to split so I don't end up missing the start of my creative writing class, and thus, making the original title of this post incorrect.

'Journalize_this'

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WAG - Link update!

Okay. This is a change I've been meaning to make for a while.

I have a long standing system where if someone links to me, I try to remember to link to them - especiallys if they're a cool person.

Liz is a friend I picked up this semester. This is the younger cousin of my friend Chadwick, who's link now appears just above Liz's in the Blogs section on the sidebar. Chadwick has spent the whole semester in Washington, D.C., but before he left, he charged three people with looking out for Liz.

As you may guess, I was one of them.

It wasn't a hard thing to do, however, and not only because she lived in Cramer Hall and was in Marching Mizzou (tough that certainly made it an easier). I quickly discovered that, like her counsin, she was a cool person and fun to hang out with.

There were times where I'd act as the mentor, with simple things like fitting into college. Other times, I'd be the protege who would just sit back and listen when things were going wacky (which has happened quite a bit this semester).

Liz is here for the J-school, has a killer sense of humor, and an interesting perspective I think people would find... interesting. If you have the chance, check out her site.

I wish I'd posted it earlier.

Granted, I would have done this a while back if Liz had actually mentioned me she had included me on her links page. That's the thing when you post your website on your day, in the way that I do. People can get a hold of the site without you knowing it. I ended up learning she'd learned of it one day when I linked to her site through her cousin's site (yes, I know, small world) and saw my name included.

Anyway, the task is done and I did what I said I would do.

Enjoy reading the Lizard Files.

And for the record, I've linked to the page so many times now you'd think you would have clicked it by now, but if you haven't, your final chance is here now that I've finished writing.

'and_if_that_doesnt_prick_your_attention_I_dont_know_what_will'

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WAG - Can you say Mele Kalikimaka?

For most of the MU football season, I put off projecting possible bowl destinations. Though I briefly daydreamed of spending time in San Diego or New Orleans, I told myself at the start of the season it was too early to be counting eggs. When the team started what is currently a 4-game losing streak, I told myself I need to postpone adding it up some more until I had more data (i.e., more wins to put on the right side of the equation).

Today, I realize this might be the last chance I have to dream about those chickens before - worst case scenario - things get scrambled and I'm stuck holding egg nog.

Note: I'm not saying that's not bad, but it certainly would keep one away from the ocean.

MU has to win its next (and final) two games to be bowl eligible. Currently, with our Big 12 2-4 record (4-5 overall), we could still somehow end up at the top of the North Division Standings if those ahead of us lose two more games to our theoretical victories - but that's a serious pipe dream.

Today, I decided to look at the USA Today Bowl projections for the first time this year and was surprised by what I saw.

Missouri is currently marked down as playing Memphis at the Hawaii Bowl. Granted, this is a long shot - and the asterisk by the entry shows it is counting on the Western Athletic Conference being unable to fill all its berths, but it does make for an interesting dream.

Putting the brakes on, I know MU is not guaranteed to have two wins, nor is it a given we will be extended an invitation ANYWHERE. And if we do, there is no promise the whole band will be able to go (especially when filling a vacated at-large spot, where the university would have less details worked out before hand than usual) and I may not be asked to be one of the special ones.

Last, I'm not sure if I want to spend Christmas Eve in Hawaii. Sure, I know Elvis swore by the island, but after missing most of the family get togethers this year, I'm not so hot on traveling to the land of the volcanoes.

There are lots of what ifs that would have to occur first, so I'm not going to worry about it just yet. I'm just going to get ready for the games, as I usually do, and try not to think about the coulda, shoulda, wouldas.

Though the daydreams, that will probably drift by, may now concentrate more on black beaches than deltas.

Either way, egg nog still applies.

'or_maybe_just_fried_eggs'

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WAG - Invoking the student Marching Mizzou Handbook

Oh how quickly the tides can change.

I remember my freshmen year in college when everyone laughed about the prospects of a bowl game for the Tigers. Our director, Herr... I mean Dr. Schallert, often reminded us to keep our winter schedules clear for a bowl game.

- Insert much rolling of eyes, heads shaken in disbelief, and various disparaging mutterings. -

It was in the buried in the back of the handbook, which was always passed out at the start of the season, that attendance at bowl games would most likely be required, depending on resources.

This was called an early warning.

A couple years later, some people who were in the band, yet not so thrilled on spending New Years in Shreveport, Louisiana, found themselves dragged to the Red River due to that clause in the handbook.

It was a shame, it was a bit funny, but however you looked at it, one had to admit we'd been warned.

This year, will the less than stellar perfomance by the football team, there was a second warning e-mailed to us today by the Marching Mizzou band director:

You may remember at the beginning of the season we briefly discussed our post-season options. There are a few bowl games that the Big 12 has alignments with that do not involve taking the entire marching band. These include the Fort Worth, Houston, and Champ Sports (formally the Tangerine) Bowls. While we may have dismissed the idea of playing in one of these games at the beginning of the season, it is looking like a real possibility now if we win our last two games. If MU is invited to any of these bowls, we will only take a pep band. If MU is invited to the Independence Bowl again, there is the possibility of taking the entire band. All other bowl games would involve the entire band. I wanted to make this clear at this point so that there is no confusion. This is not a decision made by MU athletics, but is a part of these bowl contracts. I was in a similar situation during my years at Georgia where we only took a pep band to the Oahu Bowl. Again, we must win both of our remaining games in order to remain in consideration for these bowls.

This is followed by a note of congratualtions from new MU chancellor Brady Deaton about our year and a reminder we will be recording a new Marching Mizzou cd this winter (we do this every year, though I haven't picked up the cd since my freshman year).

Though I am perturbed by that reminder, I can't help but shake my head thinking that, once again, we'd been warned.

Careful! We might go to a bowl game.
Careful! We might go to a bowl game, but not take everyone.

Always read ALL of the fine print.

I'm in one of the Mizzou pep bands this season, so I'm not sure whether or not it would apply to be. Granted, Mini Mizzou is the flagship band, but it only has 30 members (counting director, due to a change in NCAA rules a few years back). I'm not sure if members of the other pep-bands (Black and Gold, Point Mizzou, and Three Point Play - of which I'm a player) will be combined with Mini to make a super group. It might just be Mini. We still might score a bigger bowl. We might not get anything.

No matter what the end result is, now that my winter plans (which are no longer as wide open as I'd thought they'd be after last Saturday's loss) may end up including, I have this comfort.

I was warned once and then twice.

I hope I don't have to be warned again.

'fine_print____the_devil_is_in_the_details'

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WAG - Enjoying a time out

Life has been on fast-forward all year.

The bad news is that it's November.

The good news is that it's November.

I'm still working on digging myself out from the hole I ended up in after Election Day. I'm almost done - and I mean it this time, despite having made that statement every day since last Thursday. This morning I read "To the Lighthouse" by Virginia Woolfe in almost one sitting (excepting the fact I started on page 23, after having fallen asleep while tackling the book sometime last night, I ran through the 209 pages - filled with paragraphs consisting of run-on sentences, with several shifts in clauses, as well as other subjects, but that doesn't bother me since I'm used to them - I'll wait as you re-read this statement a couple times to shake it all out).

Even as everything else has been speeding up, I am blessed to find life at the copy desk moving like molasses crawling out of an overturned jar in Maine during a snowstorm.

At an institution where the Missouri method is practiced, giving students as much hands-on practice as professors can give them, having a glut of journalism students can work in your favor. This is the time of the year where those enrolled in the beginning copy editing class are asked to shadow people at the copy desk before riding solo while reviewing articles.

I went through the same requirements and try to be kind to the the people who work next to me for an hour or two. Many of them are less than confident and only seem to poke through a handful of pages before their time is up - often to their elated relief. Though the individual impact may be sparse, putting over a hundred extra people through the copy desk can lessen the load of those who come in the afternoon.

For the first time in months, I haven't had anything to do. No stories to glance over, no editorials to cut, no proofs to look over, no nothing.

It's great.

It has been benefiting a lot of people. The 110er, or whatever number represents that editing class, who signed up for this afternoon hadn't done anything in nearly an hour when I arrived. After flipping through Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, pocketbook version, he started going through the "blue book" or "Official Manual of the State of Missouri 2003-2004" and looking up his professor's salaries.

"How much does your Japanese professor make?"

"About $17,000."

"I hope they have a good medical plan."

"She and her husband are leaving the university."

"I guess we know why."

When we looked up the salary of the managing editor of the Missourian. We couldn't look up the regular editors, despite our great interest, because they aren't officially recognized at employees of the state of Missouri. When we found the amount to be $70,000 for an associate professor position, it was noted that it wasn't enough. That observation was quickly followed with the belief that "it not being enough" would apply to any randomly selected salary of MU officials. We'll... maybe not all the athletic positions, but you get the idea.

Not much is going on right now, and even if it is only meant to last for a few hours, that makes me happy. Band practice is also cancelled this week and all of this might add up to just enough to catch up.

Worst case scenario, I can try the same thing again tomorrow.

'copy_desk_repieve'

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WAG - The rundown...

Okay. It's Election Day, finally!

Here's my game day predictions. I’ve bolded five key states to watch.

Alabama - Bush
Alaska - Bush
Arizona - Bush
Arkansas - Bush, Clinton's last minute campagin stops won't do much
California - Kerry, but Arnold will make it closer than in 2000.
Colorado - Bush
Connecticut - Kerry
Delaware - Kerry
Florida – Bush, though lawyers may contest this one
Georgia - Bush
Hawaii – Kerry, only slightly
Idaho - Bush
Illinois – Kerry, thanks to the Chicago political machine
Indiana - Bush
Iowa – Bush, barely. This is a change from 2000.
Kansas - Bush
Kentucky - Bush
Louisiana - Bush
Maine - Kerry
Maryland - Kerry
Massachusetts – Kerry, it’s his home state, duh.
Michigan – Kerry, though by less than he’d like
Minnesota – Kerry, same as above
Mississippi - Bush
Missouri – Bush, expect the Presidential victor to have a governor to match.
Montana - Bush
Nebraska - Bush
Nevada – Bush – though what happens in Vegas, doesn’t stay in Vegas
New Hampshire – Kerry, a slight turnover from 2000
New Jersey – Kerry
New Mexico Bush, a key turnover from 2000
New York – Kerry, never mind that convention
North Carolina – Bush, Edwards never had a chance
North Dakota - Bush
Ohio – Bush, though this will be another gathering place for litigation
Oklahoma - Bush. And Poor Jud will be daid (couldn't help myself).
Oregon – Kerry, but very slightly.
Pennsylvania – Kerry, but only due to recent suppressing of absentee military votes
Rhode Island - Kerry
South Carolina - Bush
South Dakota – Bush, and probably not Daschle
Tennessee – Bush, Gore loses again.
Texas, heh, heh, heh, - Bush
Utah - Bush
Vermont - Kerry, though Dean will do well in the write-in category.
Virginia - Kerry
Washington – Kerry
Washington, D.C. – Kerry, who else? Definately not Nader.
West Virginia - Bush
Wisconsin – Bush, in a tight race
and finally
Wyoming – Bush

I expect Bush to win 4 out of the 5 to-watch states. Truth be told, Missouri has been solidly Bush for some time, but if things get tight, St. Louis is another place where lawyers may crop up.

This is playing very conservatively… no pun intended. I am tempted to give Bush Oregon, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, and even Hawaii as well, but I have not seen any pattern in the polls that would prompt me to confidently swtich them from the blue side to the red.

I have the final Electoral College vote down as 286 to 252 – besting Bush’s 278 finish in 2000. I do not expect to have picked every state correctly, but I’m still leaning toward a Bush victory in this election. I'm also stating my belief this election won't make it to the Supreme Court; though some lower courts will get mixed up in some minor skirmishes.


We’ll just see what 24 hours says.

'Vote_today___2004'

Note from 2005: If you double check the stats, you'll find I mis-called Wisconsin, though the electoral college count was spot on. Good for me.

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