Words on news reporting ...

What's Good for GM is Good for Toyota

Dec 12-- McConnell and Shelby wrecked the auto bailout. They gave a litany of reasons, the basic gist being the Big 3 can't compete with Toyota. It's a valid concern. But, well, what about Toyota? Unlike the Big 3, foreign automakers have plants throughout the South. So do Southern GOP Senators somehow think they're voting for their region's "long-term viability," as the new "domestic" auto industry? If so, their badly mistaken. Toyota put out a statement today saying "the U.S. auto market is shrinking rapidly," and "a major bankruptcy would exacerbate an already difficult environment for Toyota and the industry." It seems counter intuitive: a global corporation calling for its closest competitor to receive government aid. Are they just posturing? George Magliano, Automotive Analayst for Global Insight, doesn't think so.

"Nobody benefits from a bankruptcy," he said. "It's just gonna be too disruptive for the industry. A bankruptcy by Detroit hurts the supplier base, and everybody uses that supplier base. That's the issue."

Seems logical. In fact, Jeffrey Liker, author of "The Toyota Way," agrees. He also notes that:

"GM is a partner of Toyota through [thier joint venture NUMMI] as well as a competitor."

"And if the American auto companies go under or are shadows of what they were, and the foreign automakers like Toyota are still strong, there could be a political backlash."

It seems that backlash has already begun. Grassroots campaigns like BoycottAlabamaNow.com are calling for "true Americans" to support "true American industries, not foreign companies that assemble products in the U.S." This site joins prominent blogs in suggesting someone "look into whatever contributions these Republican Senators have gotten from these transplant companies."

Oh, dear.

By slashing the tires of the auto bailout, Shelby and McConnell have undone decades of image building by Toyota. They've revived protectionist, anti-Japanese sentiment and endangered their suppliers. They have a funny way supporting their states.

Alabama on Obama: 'A New Day To Believe In' or 'The End Of The World'

Nov. 6-- My cousin is a student at Auburn University in Alabama. He's fairly apolitical, but naturally curious. For that reason I figured he'd be a good citizen journo. I needed to know what the mood was like in a dyed-in-the-wool red state after the Obama win. And boy was it interesting. Here's what he shared about the celebrations, "bickering," sometimes murky facts and ominous prophecies he heard before and after election day:

"We have a tradition here at Auburn of rolling Toomer's Corner after the football team wins. The morning after the election I walked by and saw that Obama supporters rolled it for him.

The African American students were really happy and really proud. One girl I saw had a cardboard sign around her neck that said 'We Did It! Obama 08.' And when Obama supporters saw each other in the halls they cheered and high-fived each other. There were students cheering all day -- it was crazy. Groups gathered with signs like 'a new day to believe in.' They were really happy about the outcome. That's not something you usually see here from politics.

A lot of the conservative crowd has been bickering about it, saying 'I cant believe he won.' I overheard a group of guys talking about gun control. They said:
'Has he started taking away guns yet?'
'He's not taking mine!'
'I don't trust a Muslim in office.'

Lots of people have connected Obama's victory to Revelations, Chapter 13 -- the part of the New Testament about The Rapture. They say it talks about a man who will take power for 48 months. They say on the internet, it says the Antichrist will be a Muslim man in his 40s.

In my bible it doesn't sound like Obama. It talks about a great beast from the ocean! The only similarity is perhaps the 40 months thing. But different bibles are translated in different ways. And people take things literally when they want to, and not when they don't. It seems to me that lots of people are making that connection, though. Picking and choosing parts of Revelations to say he is bad and the end of the world will come. I've seen it in people's facebook statuses: the rapture will come ... This is the end of the world now ...

Also stuff like 'Are you ready to kiss the next four years goodbye? Get ready to lose all your money.' One student at my school said 'I'm not doing my homework anymore because I believe my test grades should be spread around everyone else,' (Laughs) People are saying pretty interesting things down here ... They think it's gonna be a socialist government. I'm sure none of them make over $250 thousand a year. (Laughs) These are the ones who'd be getting a tax cut from Obama ... It's amusing sometimes what you hear.

I overheard a group say that 95 percent of his voters were minorities, and that they just voted on race and not on the issues. How could a minority group win a majority election? From most conservatives I've seen lots of disappointment, pessimism, gripes and bad facts."

Ok, so not much of a shocker for the most part. What did take me aback though was the whole rapture thing. I had to google it. And, Dios Mio, "Obama anticristo" popped into my search bar before I could spell it.

It's a theory floating way beyond the Bible Belt, and our borders. Newsweek acknowledged it this week, writing that a 2006 study by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life stated that one in three white evangelicals believe the world will end in their lifetimes. E-mails are coming from around the world, they said, to RaptureReady.com. "These mostly conservative Christians believe a great battle is imminent."

Obama's clearly got his work cut out for him if he's gonna unite the country. Not orchestrating the apocalypse will be a start. Though I know it wont be the end for the doomsayers ...

* Fortunately Snopes.com is on the case, debunking the claim near the top of the first page I found on google.

The Way The Internet Works

Nov. 1--

I had a real "The World Is Flat" experience the other day. It reminded me what a socially inclusive tool the internet is, despite the fact that it leads me to spend endless hours, like these, slumped over a laptop by myself... Heheh, yeah, anywho, here's what happened:

I was on the N-Train, on the above ground tracks through Astoria on the way to work. Normally I read on the train, but I just got an iPhone (which is amazing) and use my commuting time now to check my email.

I had a new message from the Foreign Press Center. It was a list of upcoming events: a couple of the usual boring conference calls with ambassadors, election pollsters and the lot. One event intrigued me, though -- a quirky photo-op right down the street from my office.

"Join the Radio City Rockettes," it said, "as they welcome the animals of the Radio City Christmas Spectacular to the music hall. Camels, donkeys and sheep report for their first day of rehearsals. The furry 4-legged stars are featured in 'The Living Nativity,' which has been performed since 1933."

Camels in Midtown! I couldn't miss it. I figured forget the stock markets. News could wait. This had to be seen, and, more importantly, photographed. I was lucky I read it when I did, too, because as I got off the subway I realized I only had a half hour to make it there. I hurried to our place at 1 Rock, dropped my stuff off and snagged my camera. I headed straight to Radio City.

Of course when I arrived to the scene, I met the usual suspects: the wire photographers, reporters from the dailies and the rest -- my competition for camera angles and attention -- the folks I hate, whose work I love. I jumped in the fray and gave and took a couple elbows as I followed and was nearly trampled by a camel. Then, under the Radio City awning, I snapped these beauties:

This one was my favorite:

I'm not sure why. Probably because the girl on the left looks amazing.

So anyways, I showed the pics to the bosses late in the day and they liked 'em but didn't seem interested in writing an article about it. Not newsy enough for Japan. Only workable as a tourism feature, and we only do those when things are quiet (which lately they ain't). Funny thing happened that night though. I put the photos on flickr and got a nice comment on this one:

It said, "GREAT SHOT!! The blonde one holding the sheep is my little sister. :o) It's her first year as a Rockette, & she loved seeing all your photos! Thanks for posting them!"

Isn't that sweet? I replied that it was the best thing I could have heard. I wished her sister luck, and took a look at this "Everyday History Photographer's" pics. She's a portrait photographer in Oklahoma it seems. The state where I was born. So I helped make the day of a fellow Okie -- how bout that!

But wait. There's more. A day later I checked my flickr stats, which gives me a rundown of where my photos are turning up online, where they're searched and downloaded. One link was from Facebook. I clicked it and landed on a photo album called "It's sinking in ... I'm really a Rockette." Yep. My pics did get published after all, in blonde Rockette's Facebook. Her new profile picture is cropped from this one above. And she's got this pretty endearing photo journal including all of mine, her first costume fitting, head shot and rehearsals. Funny how you can go from browsing emails on the train to snapping photos of dancers and animals, and contributing to the Facebook profile of a person you've never met. That's the way the internet works I guess. And I like it.

Where Dirt Meets Water

Sept 30--

The late Bill Hicks, one of my favorite stand-up comics, didn't much care for the beach: "The beach. The beach! The beach! What the f**k's the deal with the beach? I don't get it," he said. "It's where dirt meets water..."

"Everyone at the beach has beautiful tan skin and pearly white teeth. Then there's me. I got white skin and tan teeth..."

Oh, Bill Hicks. How we miss you. Here are a few pics of mine, as summer ends, from that magical place where dirt meets water...

September news dump--

It was the last game at Yankee Stadium ...

Yankee Stadium. The house that Ruth built and Mantle, Gehrig, DiMaggio, and all the rest made into a modern day Roman Colosseum is officially done. The last game there was Sunday. I attended it for my paper. We had an early deadline, and for the first couple hours or so, I had to scurry around interviewing fans in those dreary concrete corridors where you buy beer and hotdogs. It was fun though. Yankee fans are a special breed. Here's what they had to say about the Bombers last night in "the cathedral":

"I had to be here. I've been coming here for 31 yrs -- it's the end of an era!"
"It's tough to let go. When I heard about the new stadium I felt terrible. It's like losing a good friend."
"I'm hoping in the new stadium the ordinary guys don't get priced out. I want to bring my kids. Right now it's cheaper to bring the family to Baltimore and get a hotel and see the Yankee's play there."
"The Yankees mean a lot to a lot of people. They meant a lot to me after 9/11. The Yankees are always there when the city needs a boost, and we need a boost now ..."

We barely made deadline, sending our copy to Tokyo right at 9. I grabbed a hotdog after that. Then another. I texted my brother: Last hot dog at Yankee Stadium! and I drank a beer at a bar. I caught the rest of the game with a big pool of press in the stadium's basement. At the end, as the players were celebrating history with a victory lap, they let us walk through the locker room and onto the field. The players were waving to the fans, hugging each other and talking about Yankee pride and the honor of wearing pinstripes. We got to take pictures, ask 'em questions and soak it up for ourselves.

It was too fun. Jeter, Rivera and Giambi were all taking pictures with point-and-shoots with their families. Andy Pettite and his kids were collecting dirt from the mound as a souvenir. Some of the most jaded TV crews were even taking pictures together like they were on a family vacation. Myself, as cliche as it sounds, I really enjoyed the smell of the grass and bright lights. And seeing the players acting like kids with their families. It was just incredible. I felt like the luckiest reporter on the face of the earth.

Is This Thing On?

9/24-- Ok. So this is how it'll work: No format. No categories. No theme.

Just a pile of anecdotes, thougths, (occasional misspellings), excerpts from reporting, photos, sketches, and anything else i throw on my scanner, every new piece of kitsch sitting on top last with only a vague time stamp. Like an hourglass, filled up.

Nice and ugly and simple.

And, We Have Lift Off!

Every day till today, 9/24-- The technical difficulties ("Nope, not today") page:

Ink and water.