Monthly Archives: June 2009

Yet another place for me to write

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So yesterday I posted that I am writing for the Philadelphia Examiner – it’s about time I mentioned my new blog: Orangeliners.com, a blog about Philly sports.

One thing that I noticed here is that the readership I had cultivated wasn’t as much interested in sports talk, but I wanted to write about it. I figured it would help me to have the two distinct sites. I haven’t quite found my voice there, but I’m hoping to grow that site into an interesting destination covering all Philly sports.

If you’re interested in writing for the site – let me know either through the contact form or leaving a comment here. Kristen will stop in every once in awhile to provide the woman’s point of view. Also would love for to  subscribe to the blog or it’s twitter feed.

Or just stop by and join into the conversation.

The Philadelphia Examiner now featuring me

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I’ve been attempting to re-envision  myself as a writer. Part of that re-envisioning or reinvention is my current position, writing for the Philadelphia Examiner. The Examiner is a part of the very popular San Francisco Examiner website. They’ve expanded to include many local metros across the country. For the Examiner I will be covering the Conshohocken community.

It’s funny that I have to re-envision myself as a writer; yesterday was the 3 year anniversary of my WordPress site, and it’s been over 4 years total writing this blog. That’s approaching almost 800 posts in that time frame. I might actually be a writer, an unpaid writer, but a writer none the less.

So for all my Conshy friends, family, and peers – please add this page to your daily reads. Also, if you have article ideas for me, let me know.

Spencer’s Conshohocken Community Examiner Page

Old News: Tennessee GOP appears to be full of bigots

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Yesterday I read a comment from a friend that stated – “since when was the “new” optional in “news?” I raise that point because from a state where the GOP Party Chairman Chip Saltsman sent the infamous”Barack the Magic Negro” song, it’s clear that the KKK – err, I mean the Tennessee GOP condones and fosters this type of language.

The story that raises my ire today is one that’s gaining momentum (home page of CNN will do that).  It’s about Republican legislative aide Sherri Goforth who sent a racist email out in her capacity as an aide, about President Obama.

Here’s the image (link opens in a new window)

The image is very offensive and maybe that should have been enough to have the woman fired. Actually, initially I was fine with her being rebuked – then I read her explanation.

From Christian Graham of Nashville is Talking:

When I asked her if she understood the controversial nature of the photo, Goforth would only say she felt very bad about accidentally sending it to the wrong list. When I gave her a second chance to address the controversial nature of the email, she again repeated that she only felt bad about sending it to the wrong list of people.

“I went on the wrong email and I inadvertently hit the wrong button,” Goforth told NIT. “I’m very sick about it, and it’s one of those things I can’t change or take back.”

First off – great job by Graham to get her to address the root problem. Given a second chance, Goforth did not. I’d like to know who the right list of people would be? The fact that she didn’t dissociate herself with the statement made by the image says it all. How can any politician even be seen with her?  The fact that she wasn’t fired says that this behavior isn’t toxic enough to affect our image, otherwise she would have been fired just give an appearance of outrage.

Cats and Dogs can live together – it’s the humans that fuck things up

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There are people out there that simply do not have any right to live. As bad as Michael Vick’s behavior was, this is worse. In South Jersey someone tied a pit bull to his bumper (yes he, only a man would do this) sorry, I digress, he tied his pit bull to his pickup truck and dragged the dog through a South Jersey neighborhood. The dog was found on a neighbor’s porch the next morning – horribly mutilated, but alive, and treating it’s handlers better than its previous experiences with humans would demand.

More than any thing that happens in the world – it’s things like this that sadden me the most. This isn’t just violence – this is sociopathic. Of course it was also last week that Miami police arrested a man for the mutilation attacks on up to 30 cats.

It just seems that we should be putting this type of behavior behind us. In all the sci-fi movies we evolve past this kind of violence. Where’s the future where we’d be have no wars, murder would be a thing of the past, and money wouldn’t exist – ok, that one may be coming true.

Where is the future we were promised?

The new iPhone 3GS keeps it’s worse feature: AT&T

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The new iPhone 3GS (the “S” stands for speed) was introduced today along with the next  iterationphotos-hardware-01-20090608 of the iPhone OS 3.0 to be released June 17. On whole I like what I read about the new phone and definitely can’t wait to upgrade my 3G to OS 3.0.

It’s a shame that I can’t upgrade m network from AT&T to someone else. On of the things that became very apparent is that AT&T is holding the iPhone back.

  • Finally Apple announced that the new operating system will support multimedia messaging – with the new phone adding video to the service. But AT&T will not add MMS until late summer. Even worse, there are rumors that AT&T might charge more for the service.
  • Of the networks that were listed as supporting tethering, AT&T wasn’t one. If you’re not  familiar, tethering allows  you  to connect your laptop to the internet using your phone’s connection. The problem is that AT&T can’t figure out what to charge for the service. I don’t expect that this would be free, but there’s no reason for AT&T not to know by now how to provide this service to their customers.

As far as the new phone, I think it seems to be the natural evolution of the iPhone 3G, adding video recording, a 3MP autofocus camera, voice control, gads of speed, increased battery life, and a load of other improvements. While the difference between the original iPhone and the iPhone 3G was massive and important to the usability and usefulness of the device, the difference between the 3G and 3GS seems more about refinement – and that’s what was needed.

It’s also important to note that the iPhone 3G is still available at the drop dead low price of $99 with a two-year contract. Of course you’re still stuck with AT&T as your service provider, but the phone is worth it if you’re in the market for a smartphone.

I’m not going to run out and buy a 3GS – I’ve still got a year on my contract and I truly believe the iPhone is the best phone I’ve ever owned, and the upgrade is all I need.

Of course I can’t wait to see what Apple has in store for us next year when they release the next iteration of the iPhone.

Juliette Lewis can’t lose – Daytrotter sessions

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If you’re a indie or alternative music fan, and aren’t acquainted with Daytrotter, you need to acquaint yourself. Daytrotter is an indie music site like no other. They convince many up and coming and emerging artists to stop by their studios to do sessions with them.  They record these sessions and then offer them on their website for free. Their charge is to feature one new band a day, everyday, and to present 28 Daytrotter Session songs a week.  The list of artists is impressive: Aimee Mann, Death Cab for Cutie, Grizzly Bear, Spoon, Bon Iver, Juliette Lewis (more on her later) and the list goes on.

Recently Daytrotter posted a session with Juliette Lewis – yeah, that Juliette Lewis. I’m not used to actors actually being any good at music. Usually the best you can hope for is that thejuliette-lewis-daytrottery not embarrass themselves. Zoey Deschanel should have changed my mind about that, but it really hasn’t. Anyway, Lewis’ Daytrotter session is actually one of my favorites. It’s loose, spirited, and fun. Reminds me of Maria McKee in spots – that jangly, southern rock thing that started with Janis Joplin. I know I’m throwing out some big names there, but over the course of 4 songs – it’s easy to keep up appearances.

Plus it’s free but for the cost of your time to download and listen.

Juliette Lewis – Daytrotter Session

Aimee Mann – Daytrotter Session

Spoon – Daytrotter Session

Death Cab for Cutie – Daytrotter Session