Blogs vs Twitter II

Posted on 23 January 2009 by JC

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Had an A-Ha! moment on the Blogs vs. Twitter debate this week, late in the day Thursday catching up on the day’s twitter traffic after a mildly productive afternoon.

I’m thinking of Twitter like a stream and the blogosphere as lakes and oceans.  Fishing moving waters requires different techniques than still waters.  You have different gear, different approaches.  It would never occur to me to try to catch every fish that swims by.  Just the one that happens to be in the pool that i can reach.  just. right. then.

I am also a slow learner.  So I’m going to give an example.  The material is political, but my point is about the social media tools.

  1. First, I noticed a tweet by a Brit I follow re: a muslim cleric spouting off in support of spousal abuse.  Political topic, trying to stay away from that on this blog for now.  A quick retweet @JohnShepard, don’t think much about it.
  2. Over on JohnScout, I had written a post touching on the newly inaugurated president’s time as a Cub Scout in Indonesia.  This islamic nation has the largest number of Scouts in the world. I had referenced @JoshuaGodinez‘s blog  in that post, then saw him tweet about muslim Scouts in Scotland and their special Oath.  Hmm.  Maybe a topic for a follow-up post, so a quick retweet.
  3. Then, I noticed another headline on Geert Wilders.  For a few months I’ve seen the Dutch parliamentarian in the news.  He made a film, Fitna, about the dark side of Islam.  Many people are unhappy;  Thursday there were several tweets about charges filed by Dutch courts.  Again, at face a political topic, but Freedom of Speech and cultural issues—this is getting closer to what I’m willing to tackle at jcshepard.com.  However, by this time I was late for dinner.  So I did the re-tweet thing.

It’s not about the ends but the means. 

Perhaps the world is a better place for me not taking time to blog this political topic.  Who knows, perhaps we averted a new Crusade.  Either way, the Twitterverse is good for quickly bringing in data and sharing it.  Not alot of processing is going on in 140 words let alone 140 characters.  This blog is about 400 words, more or less.  It takes time to process data into information.

I used twitter like a stream.  Topics come, topics go, here’s the link, read it and see what you think.

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News I Use

Posted on 22 January 2009 by JC

My first job was delivering the Fargo Forum and I have had a daily newspaper delivered most every day of my life from then until I moved to Minnesota four years ago.  We were renting a farm place out in the country beyond delivery service.  So I came to rely even more on web-sourced news.

Recent bankruptcies of major daily newspapers should surprise no one, given the troubles of mainstream media.  Plenty of people have wasted many electrons babbling on about the future of ‘news’.  Today I offer a simple annotated bibliography (linkfest) of some of my current favorite online general daily news sources.

Places I’ve lived this century:

  • Bozeman (MT) Daily Chronicle.  Snapshot from the Greater Yellowstone region.
  • Denver (CO) Post.  I prefer the Rocky Mountain News‘ editorial page, but I never got used to the tabloid format.  The Post is a bad habit from days gone by.  Following @denverpost on Twitter.
  • Fort Collins (CO) Coloradoan. Smaller daily from up the Front Range.  I stopped reading the website when they changed to a fancy black design.  Started reading again when I found @coloradoan on Twitter.
  • Headwaters News is a daily digest from the West put together by the Center for the Rocky Mountain West at the University of Montana.  Many years ago I worked on a project with Larry Swanson, director of the Center.  Smart guy.  The rest of everything I want to know, from here to the Left Coast.
  • Minnesota Public Radio.  One downside of my present 3-block commute is no time for NPR in the morning.  So I check out the local version online.  See what the chattering class is up to.  Following @MPR on Twitter.
  • Twin Cities.com.  I check the St. Paul Pioneer Press’ online page for news of Minnesota, because we do get the STrib daily at work but I don’t look at it until lunch time.  Did I mention I”m following PiPress political blog @PolAnimal on Twitter?

National News

  • The Economist is technically a weekly British publication but I have found more insight from their perch in London than most any publication stateside.  I got hooked in high school econ class, read it in the library in college, subscribed when I got a real job.  Then stopped my print subscription when I got a family—never enough time or money.  Still get the weekly email digest.  Haven’t found a Twitter feed yet.
  • Wall Street Journal.  I subscribed to the print edition in college and when I worked in economic development.  Then, also, I moved beyond daily delivery range and subscribed online.  For awhile.  I detest paying for online content.  Hate it.  So I stopped reading WSJ.com… until now I’m being tempted by @WSJ Tweets of subscriber-restricted content.  Sigh.
  • Yeah, yeah, I admit it.  Now and then I check out the Chicago Tribune, New York Times,  Washington Post, and International Herald Tribune.  Just not regularly.  Certainly not daily.  Too much clutter.  Plus they just tick me off.  Who needs the aggrevation?  Then again why do I follow @NYTimes on Twitter???

Blogosphere

  • Planetizen and the blogs are usually on my noon-time schedule, catch as catch can.  Planetizen is a good national aggregation of planning and develoment headlines & commentary, often with a sceptical (even contrary) perspective.
  • First ran across Politics in Minnesota at the 2008 MN GOP convention and I’ve been hooked since.  Links a couple times a week to what folks are blogging/printing left-center-right, or completely beyond the pale. @PoliticsMN on Twitter.
  • True North aggregates many interesting right-of-center blogs across or concerned with Minnesota and the Upper Midwest.  @LookTrueNorth on Twitter.  Politico.com offers an interesting assortment from a national perspective.  Kind of hit and miss at the end of my morning news fix–don’t get to this source much since I got on Twitter.  Which is why I’m NOT following @thepolitico on Twitter.

There are also several other amusing political & scouting blogs I haunt, just not on a daily basis.  Many of the blogs—policy and technology in particular—are too flashy and annoying to bother with.  I don’t hang out on TV media sites much either (e.g. FoxNews, MSNBC, CNN).  Call me old fashioned but I’m not into video.  Heck, I hardly do podcasts. I’m stuck on dial-up at home and they’re too distracting at work.

There are several other news sources that might seem obvious that I either a) tried and gave up on, b) tried and never got around to bookmarking, c) tried and was quickly bored silly, or d) haven’t found and dismissed yet.  Suggestions?

Posted in Economy | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

A Chicken in every pot, Broadband in every home.

Posted on 21 January 2009 by JC

Saw this @NYTimes twitterfeed related to an earlier post on broadband in the stimulus packages. Yes, I admit it, I subscribed to the New York Times feed.  I don’t like the Yankees, I don’t like TIME magazine, and I don’t read the Yankee Times, not even the Sunday Times.  I even hold it against other unrelated newspapers that use the word ‘Times’ in their names.   But I’ll follow links like a puppy chasing a bone.

“This also seems to be a rather sound policy choice because, as I look at it, the noise about a broadband gap is hooey. With new cable modem technology becoming available, 19 out of 20 American homes eventually will be able to have Internet service that is faster than any available now anywhere in the world. And that’s without one new cable being laid.”

Does Broadband Need a Stimulus?

Is that broadband for 19 of 20 they say?  Blandin Foundation is tracking a broadband mapping project that the State of Minnesota is contracting to complete.  Results are due out 2 Feb 09.  It will be interesting to see how ubiquitous broadband really is here, right now.  It may be more interesting to see if people trust the results.

I am all for choices and competition.  Yet I have some major trust issues with the incumbent local exchange carriers (and I use the term loosely to include entrenched cable as well as telephone-based corporations).  Just because they HAVE the technology, doesn’t mean they will offer it broadly or equitably.  This is one reason I get really excited about projects like services provided by the City of Windom, Minnesota.

Did I mention I have some trust issues here?

The first post in this NYT series addressed the imminent DTV changover. Digital Television. yawn. Don’t get me started on the wasteland of television.

Posted in Economy, Policy | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

The Executive Power

Posted on 20 January 2009 by JC

Today we witness an orderly transition.  Those judged to have lost do not take up arms.  Those judged to have won do not round up the opposition before firing squads.  Americans all, we live to fight another day.

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

Article II, Section I. The President.
The executive Power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America. He shall hold his Office during the Term of four Years, and, together with the Vice-President chosen for the same Term, be elected…

 Amendment 20. 
1. The terms of the President and Vice President shall end at noon on the 20th day of January, and the terms of Senators and Representatives at noon on the 3d day of January, of the years in which such terms would have ended if this article had not been ratified; and the terms of their successors shall then begin.

Pretty cool, eh?


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Content of their Character

Posted on 19 January 2009 by JC

“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.
I have a dream today!”
-Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr, 28 August 1963

Martin Luther King did some amazing things. If those things should be elevated to the ranks of George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, or those who fought and died in the Civil War or World Wars—those others whom we honor with national holidays—you have to decide that for yourself.

Rev. King was killed before I was born.  Today, I am not amazed that we will have our first President who has color of skin closer to Rev. King than George Washington.

I am amazed that the son of an immigrant can make his way through the ivy league, back to the streets of Chicago, and on to the White House.

I am amazed that every few years, we peacefully pass the reigns of the most powerful government on earth.

I am amazed that despite America’s many troubles, our children may yet be able to rise above the sins of their fathers.

(Full text, audio and video of Rev. King’s speech.)

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School Sports are a Luxury

Posted on 18 January 2009 by JC

They’re called “Extra-Curricular” sports for a reason. The bankrupt Minneapolis Star-Tribune stirs up trouble with an article in Sunday’s paper:

School sports now a Minnesota luxury?

“Cut from the team” means something different in these economic times. Extracurricular activities are hurting.

The economic crunch is coming to high school sports.

Faced with budget problems, some schools are raising fees while cutting back on equipment, transportation and other expenses. Others are voluntarily cutting back on the number of games their teams play.

In early February, the Minnesota State High School League could decide to make reduced schedules mandatory starting in the 2009-10 school year as a way to save money.

Administrators use words like “bleak” and “troubling” to describe the outlook for high school activities….

My wife disagrees with me vehemently on the role of sports in school. She is quiet persuasive. For kids that are not on the Honor Role, eligibility for sports can be an incentive to sit through the drudgery of a public school education.

And truth be told, yes, I do agree that rising activity fees means it can be very difficult for middle class kids to participate throughout the year. My wife’s kids play softball, baseball, basketball, and football; they participate in cheer leading and choir. On top of their hefty activity fees, parents are expected to pay to get into games and concerts (yes, they charge for high school and junior high choir concerts, too).

I also agree: a well-rounded education requires a broad exposure to the arts and sciences in addition to core academics.

I am a long-time participant and advocate of Scouting for youth. It is a game with a purpose. However, it would never occur to me to ask the taxpayers of Minnesota to help pay for our Scouting adventure.

Scouting isn’t cheap, but there is value in Scouting and a Scout is Thrifty. We try to work with families to give our young men the opportunity to earn their way. We sell popcorn and wreaths. We work during the County Fair. Our parents dig deep to send their own sons to summer camp each year and the community supports our Council programs with Friends of Scouting.

In difficult times, we may have to say No. Sorry, not this year. I would love to send our Scout to the centennial National Jamboree next year. That’s not likely to happen no matter how much popcorn he sells. In times like these, we need to work harder, plan better, save more. Get back to basics. Do your best.

(Cross-posted from JohnScout)

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Far & Away 2008

Posted on 17 January 2009 by JC

Each year the DJs on Third Coast Music‘s Freeform American Roots (FAR) chart vote. Thanks to editor/publisher/chief bottle washer John Conquest down San Antonio ways for compiling the monthly FAR charts, 113 months and counting.

I’ve posted the entire list over on last.fm.  Here’s some highlights:

ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Miss Leslie: (aka Miss Leslie & Her Juke Jointers) is an FAR fav.  Here’s Conquest giving her intro at NotSXSW ’07:

Miss Leslie wins Female Artist of the Year, Songwriter of the Year, and Album of the year for Miss Leslie: Between The Whiskey and the Wine (Zero Label).  Want a copy?  Visit her website and ask.  Nicely, of course.

DEBUT ALBUM
#1 Justin Townes Earle: The Good Life (Bloodshot)
Last.fm Free Download Who Am I to Say

I was slow to sign on to J.T. Earle. With the Townes in the middle and the Earle at the end he’s got alot to live up to.  Bloodshot Records has links to some free live tracks.  After listening to these I’m convinced he’s got potential.  Guess I just needed to hear the package—we forget in this day of digital downloads a good album is more than the sum of it’s individual parts.  New album Midnight at the Movies due out 9 March 09.  Earle and Neko at the same time?  Start saving coin now.

VARIOUS ARTISTS/TRIBUTE ALBUMS
#1 Ribbon Of Highway Endless Skyway (Music Road)
Woody Guthrie tribute.  Don’t know much about this one.

Featuring Bob Childers, Jimmy LaFave, Joel Rafael, Slaid Cleaves, Eliza Gilkyson, Sara Lee Guthrie and Johnny Irion, Ellis Paul,Kevin Welch, Michael Fracasso with special appearances by Pete Seeger and Fred Hellerman.

Available at Lone Star Music.

REISSUE/HISTORIC ALBUM
#1 Hank Williams: Unreleased Recordings (TimeLife)
Hank’s still better than 98% of everything else that comes out each year.

MALE ARTIST
#1 Alejandro Escovedo Many folks may have heard of Escovedo for the first time with the compilation Por Vida album, put together by friends to help raise money for his medical bills battling hepetitis.  He received a AMA Lifetime Achievement Award in 2006.  Check out his website here.

GROUP
#1 Starline Rhythm Boys These guys may be the best real country band today you will never hear outside Vermont. Their website says:

“The Starline Rhythm Boys evoke the spirited country and juke joint sounds that echoed out of the Tennessee Hills and Texas Honkytonks of the 1940s and 50s.”

I have no reason not to believe.

INSTRUMENTALIST
#1 Gurf Morlix Gurf is just Gurf. You see him on an album, don’t ask questions. Just listen, learn and enjoy a master at work.

Can’t go wrong here, Americana, roots & Texas country fans.

-jc

Posted in Pursuit of Happiness | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Free Neko

Posted on 16 January 2009 by JC

Yup, you heard it right. Free Neko Case promo track.

For a limited time, Anti-Records is giving $5 to Best Friends Animal Society for every blogger posting Neko Case‘s promo track, People Got a Lotta Nerve . Her album Middle Cyclone comes out 03.03.09. I first saw album art & track list here.

I know nothing of the cause—and I’m generally annoyed to downright hostile on animal rights wackos.

Just… it’s Free NEKO so I am spreading the word. Remember: Your tornado loves you.

-jc

***********************************************************

Download:http://www.anti.com/media/download/708

Imeem Player:

 

People Got A Lotta Nerve – Neko Case

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A River Runs… Through a Book

Posted on 14 January 2009 by JC

Gapers Block Book Club blog out of Chicago highlights Norman Maclean today—specifically his book, A River Runs Through It.  You might remember a little Robert Redford film was based on it. 

If I didn’t dislike Redford’s politics so much, this would be my favorite movie of all time.  I have tried to disassociate the movie from the men, and the screeplay from the story. 

When I lived in Bozeman, Montana, I met some of the folks who worked behind the scenes and visited shooting locations.  I tried to imagine the Rev. Maclean preaching behind the same pulpit at First Presbyterian Church in Bozeman many years ago.

Never took.

We only have one chance to make a first impression.  My first impression of A River Runs Through It originated in the movie, not the story.  I visualize an actor, not a writer and professor.  I see the Gallatin River, not the Big Blackfoot.  I see Hollywood under the Big Sky.

I have the opposite experience with Maclean’s also excellent book Young Men and Fire.  A friend who had visited Seeley Lake told me about the event and recommended the read.  I have yet to visit Mann Gulch myself. Yet I can visualize the location in my mind like I lived there.

Someday somebody will put this story on film.  There’s a script in circulation.  They will probably shoot in Canada or Southern California because they have no respect for the role of Place in our lives. The images will blur, but not for me. And not for you if you go read the book now.

Friends don’t let friends see movies before they’ve read the book.

In My Goggle Library:
A River Runs Through It 
Young Men and Fire

Posted in Pursuit of Happiness | Tagged , , , , | 5 Comments

The Intersection of Facebook & MySpace

Posted on 13 January 2009 by JC

The Intersection of Facebook & MySpace

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