We endorse, you decide

So, there are two stories this week that are kind of enthralling to me from a journalistic perspective.

This week, we learned that MSNBC host Keith Olbermann has been suspended for breaking his employer's ethics code.

The line for what constitutes unbiased journalism is hazy and always moving. Each news organization decides for itself where that line is - as Olbermann's colleague Rachel Maddow points out in this clip.



The other story is, of course, about Cook's Source, the cooking magazine whose entire business model appears to be based on the assumption that "the entire Web is public domain." This would be hilarious if it weren't so infuriating. NPR's Monkey See blog has a pretty good roundup of the situation.

People believe ridiculous things about content on the Internet - everything from "if I change some of the words, that makes it my own original work" to "if you didn't want it stolen, you shouldn't have put it somewhere where I could copy it and remove all the Creative Commons invisitext." (For an example, let's turn to Cleolinda, who writes funny things on the Internet and is sometimes paid to do so - and therefore runs up against this issue ALL THE BLOODY TIME.)

The truth is that "copyright flows from the pen," which means that your original content is yours from the moment you create it, whether it's on the Internet or not. Isn't that comforting? (And it's so much more cut-and-dried than whether journalists can contribute to political campaigns!)

Fall fun

Peripatetic

per-i-pa-te-tic (adj) : of, relating to, or given to walking

So last weekend I did the Reggae Run, and having dealt with the crazy traffic surrounding that event, I decided to just walk to the starting line. Cati came with me.

We forgot that, while we live close to Ault Park, once you actually enter the park you have another mile or so to walk in order to reach the pavilion where the race festivities were taking place. Good thing Cati suggested getting an early start!

The Reggae Run is a 5K that goes downhill for the first half and uphill for the second half. Another way of saying that is, "The Reggae Run is a 5K where I run for the first half and walk for the second half."


Everyone in this photo is like, "I hear that."




And everyone in this photo is all, "Exactly."

But the real reason you do the Reggae Run is for the after-party! Free food and copious drink tickets!


Notice the number of people with hoods up, huddling over their beers and grilled corn? That's because it was chilly and drizzling the entire evening. Too bad - usually the first weekend in October is still pretty warm before sunset.

At one point, my friend Danae came up holding a tiny cup of Yagoot. I concluded that she was crazy. She came to the same conclusion after about five minutes of clutching a freezing dessert in her bare hands.

At another point, Cati said, "You know, we could just go somewhere warm and I'll buy everyone drinks."

But hey - it was an adventure, right? And Cati and I even got Danae to drive us home!

Sunday dawned, which meant it was time for Cati's and my weekly walk to the farmer's market. But this week was special - it was the Hyde Park Art Show, which meant we also spent some time wandering the booths and browsing ceramics and photography.



It also meant that the square, and several roads around it, was closed to car traffic. So Cati and I got to see some crazed drivers acting in a way you just wouldn't think necessary for a Sunday morning. The chill in the air persisted, but we were pretty glad we chose to walk anyway, because it would not be fun to try to navigate that mess.


Crepes for breakfast! I love how they have a little squeegee for the batter.

I walked home with my haul of produce and a reminder that once I get my current poster stash properly framed, I should consider new artists.

That evening, I headed over to Chele and Stacie's place for their weekly walk around their neigborhood and through the park across the street.

(No pics of this, so instead please enjoy this photo of Stacie and Chele pretending to fall off a bridge in Canada.)



(Corrie came too, but I don't have any photos of her falling off a bridge in Canada.)

What a fab weekend of friends and walking!

Jane Lynch should win all the Emmys y/y?

Happy Breast Cancer Awareness Month!

Are you aware yet?

What Wyld Stallyns can teach us

This week I tweeted:

"I basically just want everything to be very awesome all the time. Who's with me?"

(Why, yes - I did steal that philosophy from a Television Without Pity recap of a Gossip Girl episode! What's it to you?)

And hey, it turns out that a lot of people want things to be very awesome! So ... how do we do that?

I have an idea.



Be excellent to each other.
Be kind. Be honest. Don't assume a hidden agenda, and don't adopt one. Help people - heck, not even people who need it, but just people who could use it.

Party on, dudes.
Be happy. Be grateful. Be joyful. Have fun. Don't be afraid.


If we all woke up each morning vowing to be just a little more excellent to each other than we were before, and to party on just a little more than the day before?

It would be most outstanding.

Thursday

An oldie but a goodie - from the week I brought her home.

Reversal of expectations

I expected Mr. W to love dinner and despise the show.

Dinner was at Maribelle's, where my friend Cati and I had previously had a fabulous, transcendent dinner. (You can read all about it here.)

The show was Janelle Monae. (A few weeks previously, he had heard some songs from her newest album and, upon hearing one of them segue into "Clair De Lune," remarked, "Finally - something I can enjoy.") She was the opening act for Of Montreal, so a crowd of hipsters was guaranteed. Mr. W does not suffer crowds or hipsters gladly.

But he had said he would go. So off we went.

And at Maribelle's, the service was slow and the sandwiches fell apart.

And after an hour of crazy-amazing Janelle Monae tunes, Mr. W pronounced the show awesome.

I guess you never know.

Thursday

I know I hate how tough it is to paint in the tub