This comment slid past my twitter stream and caught my attention:

Journalism schools should not be teaching students how to get a job. They should be teaching them to tell stories.

Wha-what?

Now I don’t want to get into a pissing match with this particular dude. He gets particularly touchy about his newspaper background. So I respond politely with:

I think stories means made-up. Maybe they should teach them to state the facts in an interesting way.

To which he replies:

That’s your bias. Stories can also be truthful and accurate. A good journalist is a storyteller.

So I look it up.

sto⋅ry

–noun
1. a narrative, either true or fictitious, in prose or verse, designed to interest, amuse, or instruct the hearer or reader; tale.
2. a fictitious tale, shorter and less elaborate than a novel.

Fine, technically a story can be truth or fiction. I still think the word story implies fiction and I’m pretty sure I’m not alone.

But after the steady declining of journalistic integrity and the news being taken over by businessmen, where are the real journalists? Should so-called journalists be telling stories?

I want real news back. I want straight facts, very little educated guessing and no fireworks and glitter. Can you imagine Walter Cronkite making shit up? Huntley or Brinkley taking sides on an issue? Or any of them spending hours gossiping about the private lives of reality show attention whores? I DON’T THINK SO!

And I don’t want to know if they ever did. I want to remember trusting the guy in the box. We need more guys in the box to trust. We need more men and women with integrity to go out and find the important news and give it to us straight with no frills, no filling and no corporate agenda.

Not tell stories.

I can get stories everywhere else.

—————

And I say guys in the box, because I think newspapers are dead. Yesterday’s paper can’t compete with 24 hour news channels and the Internet. I realize newspapers can go more in-depth with a subject than the local news can, but they don’t stand a chance. We’re so disenchanted with ALL journalists that we’re leery of more than the quick facts. The more I read, the more I wonder how much is fudged. I have friends in the news business and I don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings, but you’re owned by the stockholders. I don’t trust you anymore.

Which has no basis in fact at all. Most of my theories have no basis in fact, but isn’t that what most faith is based on? And I have faith in my theories, so there.

Anyway…

Doesn’t it seem to you that everyone’s general health is going to hell? Growing up, do you recall this many people having asthma or mental health issues or autism or whatever? My parents both came from fairly large families and I don’t remember there being this many health issues among us kids until we all grew up. I mean, I have asthma, two of my kids have asthma, my friend has asthma, another friend and both her kids have breathing issues, etc. I’d say 7 out of 10 people I know have breathing issues. And I’ve heard a surprising amount of the people I know mention being on one sort of mental stabilizing medication or another.

In the generation before mine, everyone smoked. Everyone ate fatty foods and drank alcohol in a normal fashion. Sure, there were a few health problems here and there but NOT to the extent there are now.

Which is why I think with all our wonderful modern conveniences we’re poisoning ourselves. All those chemicals and additives, plastics and fumes are leeching together and making us all weaker. Product A is tested and product B is tested, but are ABC and D all tested together? From my shampoo and conditioner this morning, the additives in the food I ate today, the bug spray they used outside while my windows were open, the plastic water bottles I drink from, the carpet cleaner I used yesterday… times the last 17,000 days.

I wonder at the rates of asthma and autism in the Amish community or among those deep jungle villages in South America. Or worse, cancer and other debilitating diseases. Not that I’m some tree hugger, but geeze shouldn’t we pay more attention to the price we might be paying for the conveniences of plastics and synthetics? Are chemicals killing us?

Or should I up my mental stabilizing medication?

(Screw you, I don’t take any!)

This is interesting. What an elaborate and completely bizarre way to mine your credit card information! Props to the person who thought this up and heads up to those gullible idiots who will fall for it.

I got an Care2 eCard from Secret a minute ago. My first thought was bullshit but then I figured what the heck, let’s check it out. I clicked the link and there was a beachy painting with lovers at the bottom, followed by this note:

Debbie

Hi Debbie… This is difficult for me to do because Im shy..but I have a crush on you. Ive never been able to tell you for reasons which you would quickly identify as obvious if you knew who this was. With that said I want you to guess who I am and approach me yourself.

To help you out with your guessing I made a few pictures and videos with Debbie written on my body. Theyre kind of risque photos so I had to made a profile at www.newsafesecure.com (copy & paste or type www.newsafesecure.com into your web browser). My username in the members area is DebbieandME09. Its a free website but you might need a CC or Debit to verify your age because I had to. Sigh.

But anyway sign up at www.newsafesecure.com and once you are inside search for me. I want you to guess who I am and then approach me yourself. Im shy and this is the bravest thing Ive probably ever done but you need to do the rest.

Kisses
Secret Admirer

Pshaw. There’s no way in hell I’m going any further. Oh sure, you might need to enter your credit card information so they can charge you $X-amount for the next 6 months until you get it killed, just to find out you’ve been suckered.

And on the off-chance that this is legit (hahahahahaHAHAHAHAHA) Secret should just send me a regular email so I can slap the shit out of you for being so scared of me. I’m looking for someone to admire me! And in the meantime, look up when to use an apostrophe.

Kisses

Debbie

P.S. I don’t pay for my porn, thanks.

My friend Elizasea posted this on twitter today and I wanted to share.

The hulu commercial where Alec Baldwin says they are aliens and want to eat our brains? PEOPLE BELIEVE THAT IS TRUE WTF http://is.gd/ssvv

So of course I go to see what she’s talking about.

HuLu, A Quantum Leap in Electronic Mind Control & Manipulation

ahem

All right, points 1-3 seems to be factual. I’m sure if I cared I could research them I’d find them to be relatively true. #4 is a bit tilted, though.  I’m starting to giggle.

5. These “electromagnetic fields” are capable of MIND CONTROL PROGRAMMING of specific individuals. It is even possible to cause PHYSICAL ILLNESSES by this method — including flu symptoms, heart attacks, or strokes.

6. A specific digital frequency can be customed designed to be sent to the end user of HuLu to produce a specified physical event. All that is needed for the computer to design this frequency is a sample of the victim’s DNA.

Muahahahahhahahahhaha.

Conspiracy theorists.

I cannot imagine living my whole life in such fear of EVERYTHING. Although the header on that site says:

Educate-Yourself
The Freedom of Knowledge, The Power of Thought ©

If you look at the titles of the articles underneath the header, you’ll see they’re a bunch of … nutsos morons whack-jobs unfortunate crazy people.

But funny!  They’re goddamn funny!  And I’m not even talking about their atrocious spelling and grammar.

Holy Crap! I haven’t really been paying attention to my friend JC Hutchins’ latest project. Not due to a lack of any talent on his part mind you, just my own busy not paying attention to anything kind of life. I missed all the lead-in to this! Shame on me.

Go to JC’s website to get more information. I will now.

I feel so stupid.

MUCH BETTER!

Second episode was way better then the pilot I talked about last week.  In fact, you don’t even have to bother with the first episode as all the important points are covered in this one.

Everyone is much calmer and although there still is absolutely no chemistry between Castle and Beckett, she may eventually grow a personality.

I’m beginning to have real hope for this show.  And that’s not just because I’m a huge Nathan Fillion fan.  I don’t even consider myself a huge fan.  I really like him both as a person and as an actor.  I want him to move in next door and hang out.  He’s not the Firefly actor I want to attack.

Really!

I’ve always preferred this store.  Well, since moving to AZ.  If I recall correctly it’s gone through quite a few corporate owners and store names over the years.  Even so the same stores always seems to keep the same basic cleanliness and excellent sales no matter who’s name is over the door.

I’ve been broke a lot lately, so I seriously depend on Fry’s sales.  I stopped in yesterday to stretch what money I had left and came out way ahead.  I spent $31.27 and (between my coupons and the ones the store mails to me) saved $29.46.  That’s a 48% savings.  Everything I bought I both needed and was on sale.

I don’t understand the brouhaha over club cards.  So they keep track of everything I buy? So? Gee, someone somewhere cares that I buy only stuff on sale, I’m not all that picky about which brand name I buy, and that I can’t resist Ben & Jerry’s Chocolate Fudge Brownie when it drops below $3.00.  So they send me coupons for those items. Why is that a bad thing?  AND they keep track of how much I spend and when it gets over $100 I get 10 cents a gallon off my next gas purchase.  Oh darn those nosy marketeers!

Sure, when I need something and it’s NOT on sale it’s usually cheaper at WalMart.  But Fry’s doesn’t carry the specific bagels I like so I have to go to WalMart anyway.

The only thing I don’t like – and it seems to be a trend in most stores anyway – is the whole do-it-yourself checkouts.  Seems to me you should get a discount for doing it yourself, right?  They’re saving money by not paying cashiers so some of that saving should be passed on.  And that I use cloth bags and the do-it-yourself monitor person never seems to be paying attention and there’s no button on the machine to say you have your own bags.  And it’s friggin’ impatient.  I’ve never been a proficient bagger so it sometimes takes me a moment to arrange my stuff and the machine is nagging loudly at you the whole time for the next step.  Shuddup machine.

But 1/2 gallons of milk were 88 cents at Fry’s last week. You can’t beat that!

Do you know you probably throw out cash money every day?  Okay, maybe not every day, but more often than you’d think.

And even if  you don’t have kids or your kids are old or you hate your neighbor kids, you can collect these tiny parts of your daily trash and donate to somebody‘s kid.  Don’t just throw this stuff away.  I know at least three friends (@tsdivadani and @mightymommy and @wendellk) who have kids who collect these things.

First there’s General Mills Boxtops for Education.  You might have noticed these on your cereal boxes, but they’re also on Ziploc boxes, Huggies stuff, garbage bags, everywhere!  So if you come across one just cut/tear it off and toss it into a container/box/baggie and when you have a bunch you can give them to your local kid.  THESE ARE EACH WORTH 10 CENTS COLD HARD CASH to the kid’s school.  And I know you know about Campbells Soup Labels, though now they just want the UPC part.  Schools have been collecting these things for years.

I magnet a ziploc bag to the side of my fridge and toss these things in and when that gets so heavy it starts to slide, I hand the whole bag over to one of my friends.  I even have a razor right there to cut the UPC  and boxtops off before I throw the container away.  It ain’t hard, it just takes a moment of thought to begin the habit.

School budgets have been shaved right down to the quick in most places.  If they want/need anything NOT in the tightest budget they’re screwed.  Every little bit helps and you’re just throwing the stuff away anyhow.

Think about it.  Check out Boxtops for Education and Campbell’s websites to see what other products you might have in your home.

While wandering through Myspace I found out my sister’s step-son’s wife had her baby and they named it Kaydence Renee’ – complete with apostrophe. Yes, my eyes rolled. Why do people feel the need to fuck their kids up forever? She’s gonna need to carry name cards for the rest of her life. Or maybe a tattoo would be easier.

Sister’s daughter Brittany (the only one of that family I actually have contact with) is due in a couple of weeks. Though I’m getting reports that she may deliver earlier as everything seems to be in perfect arrangement for it. She’s planning on naming her son Damien Gabriel. Interesting and yet spelled within normal limits. We laugh that he could turn out either way, evil or good. I don’t know if she’s planning on using her real last name (Stephens) or the one she goes by (Kinney) or the father’s last name (I’m clueless).

Mom was upset she was specifically uninvited to Brittany’s baby shower. Poor Brittany had to chose between her selfish bitch mother or her whiny obtuse Grandmother. What nice people I come from. And her perpetually broke Aunt Debbie wasn’t even mentioned.

Whatever.

_________________________

This Wednesday is Ignite Phoenix. It’s organized by friends of mine and the whole program consists of 5 minute/20 slide presentations of whatever you’re passionate about. As long as you’re not selling something. I think Jeff said there were 18 presentations this time. The last two IPs were at GoDaddy’s local offices but we’ve outgrown that venue and this time it’s at Tempe’s new Center for the Arts. Lots of people have been wanting an excuse to check out that venue so it should be pretty packed.

Friday night #evfn (East Valley Friday Nights) is meeting at Studios 5C Gallery in Tempe. I love #evfn. It’s our local twitter meetup every Friday night at a different location throughout the east valley and it’s expanded beyond twitter people. We’re averaging 45 people so it’s getting harder and harder to find places that can accommodate that many people. Apparently this one is sponsored (free food and drink). A couple of weeks ago we held it at a brand new W hotel called “aloft” and they provided a tour and a drink/bar snacks at their lobby lounge “w xyz”.

(I don’t know about this trendy naming shit with all lower case letters. I feel like I need to show they’re proper names somehow.)

And Saturday night is booked, too. I’m not sure if I can talk about that til it’s over but I have lots to do to get ready for it. I have PLANS. Think Mardi Gras and boobs.

I’ve got Kira today and she’s whining for second breakfast. I’m yelling YOU JUST ATE over her screeching and she ain’t buying it. Pause goes Gullah Gullah – which usually shuts her up. Consequences for whining. Let Grammi finish her stupid post and she’ll get you a snack. Patience grasshopper.