That moment you catch yourself saying those words

Parades ... sometimes just about as exciting as it gets.

That moment when you think to yourself, "Gee, I really do love community journalism," is a moment to stop and realize what you just said.

If you are truly and honestly saying that, well, my friend, you are where you're meant to be.

What's your preferred sensationalism?

Sir Michael Caine as Scrooge

I admit it: I have been viewing peoples' Christmas preparations with a lot of cynicism this year.

With trees that are set up on Black Friday and the incessant blasting of music completely unrelated to Christ's birth ("Baby It's Cold Outside," "Santa Baby," or "Christmas Shoes" ... need I go on?), I guess I did have some support for my grumpy crusade.

The missed photograph

We were standing in a circle, holding hands, all half-dozen or so of us.

I had my camera slung around my neck after pausing in snapping some pictures to accompany the story I was working on. At the moment both of my hands were in the possession of the two people on either side of me.

We were praying together.

Thoughts on completing "Dracula"

After putting it off for far too long, I recently finished reading the original "Dracula" by Bram Stoker.

My quick opinion is that as a piece of literature it was excellent ... but since you can already find plenty of literary commentary on this book/character, that's not the reason for my bringing it up. If you're looking for actual literary criticism feel free to visit Google.

Reading this 19th-century story that essentially formed the modern understanding of the vampire figure is fascinating.

Follow-up stories and human interest

I recently spoke with someone about the scenario of doing "follow-up stories." Those are, naturally, stories that follow an earlier story, a "what are they up to now/the plot thickens, etc" sorts of articles.

Our conversation really led me to reevaluate how I as a reporter should address these types of stories.

City of fear

I've found that this city has a lot of fear.

"Well, yes," you might say. "That's typical of big old broken cities."

Granted, there is a lot of goodness growing here. There is a lot going on in the community, with people coming together and building it back up. There is positivity, and there is hope. Many natives of this city tell me it is definitely on an upswing.

... and then there's reality (Part 2)

Interestingly enough, a few days after I wrote my first half of this post, Verily Magazine online provided a similarly-oriented article, basically discussing the addictiveness of online shows.

I was particularly struck by some of author Lacy Cooke's commentary on comparing addictive TV shows to books you can't stop reading:

Kermit the Frog, reporter

I don't know why this made me laugh so hard. 

I think it might be because we get to see Kermit lose his cool. I think it's kind of inspiring - even frogs can have bad days. 

The end of an era

Sigh. 

There are many thoughts to be had, but on a personal level, I've greatly enjoyed this column ever since I encountered it as a wee journalism student.

And having more recently been covering actual religion news ... well, this was quite an inspiration to me in what I was doing.

... and then there's reality (Part I)

After a long day in the office spent squeezing information out of my brain and through my fingertips into the keyboard and ultimately, onto a Word document, I need a good mental break.

And since I just spent about seven hours of my waking day staring wide-eyed into the white glow of a computer screen, the most natural thing to do, obviously, is to spend another few hours curled up on my couch staring into a computer screen again.

Paying attention when covering stories

Sometimes you're writing that one story that you couldn't care less about. It is of no personal interest to you, and you need to get it done by the quickly-approaching deadline... but you just can't get it to "move along."

But in these instances it's good to think about the people you interviewed for this story. (If you didn't at least try to obtain any interviews for the story, you did something wrong, but that's a whole other issue.)

Seeds of a smile

By Chivalries as tiny,

A Blossom, or a Book, 

The seeds of smiles are planted - 

Which blossom in the dark.

On being un-presentable, or, how I was caught in the rain

It rained yesterday.

I sensed that it was raining near the end of my Monday work day, and I reflected mildly on the fact that I'd forgotten my umbrella. I figured I'd manage. As has been said by many wiser than myself, I'm not made of sugar, so I wouldn't melt.

Holmes & Brown, and the faces on the streets

"Do not look at the faces in the illustrated papers; look at the faces on the streets." -G.K. Chesterton

Benedict Cumberbatch as Sherlock Holmes

I just watched the pilot episode of the TV series "Sherlock." It features Martin Freeman and Benedict Cumberbatch, set in modern-day London, and though I only saw the one episode, I enjoyed the mildly unnerving quirkiness of a modern Holmes, and the endearing qualities of the uncertain-but-curious-to-expand-his-boundaries Watson.

Those people who restore my hope in humanity

Covering community/religion-related news, I've come across a lot of fundraisers, "movements" and well-meaning people doing stuff to help the common good.

All of these stories are fairly different, but over the past few weeks I noticed a common theme: all of these people are working in their respective little niches to make their small corners of the earth a better place.

Things that I liked about today

It's fun to reflect on and be grateful for those random sparks of beauty throughout your day.

I thought I'd make a list of some particularly wonderful little things I experienced today.

"The best-laid schemes of mice and men..."

Sometimes life doesn't go the way you expect.

Of course, that does not mean we should view the result with quite as dreary an attitude as Robert Burns in his poem "To a Mouse, On Turning Up Her Nest with the Plough."

In the poem, the narrator discovers that he accidentally uncovered the nest belonging to a mouse family, and laments that despite the resulting hardship for the mice, at least mice can only experience the present moment. In the narrator's case, however, he can always look back on his life's dreary prospects, and look forward to possible future fears and distresses.

The angst gauge

Ok, so life can be hard. Things don't work out that were supposed to work out; you fall out of touch with people you had promised to keep in contact with; you have an old-fashioned rough day at work.

Sometimes life can just be that dismal, with no positive end in sight. Cue the angst.

Don't forget your story

I recently attended a day-long event that involved touring a bunch of old, historic churches in the area.

I was mainly focused on getting photos and quotes from the event. I would have enjoyed a leisurely walk around the buildings, but I didn't really have time to do that, and I didn't mind since I still got to see quite a lot.

Why I'm doing this

Some years ago, an Italian journalist arranged to interview the pope in person, on television. Unfortunately, the pope's busy schedule did not allow him to ever meet with the journalist, despite the detailed questions sent over by the journalist to help the pope prepare.

Casino sign revelation?

Today was one of those days I really just wanted to dress up. That was my mere request.

Of course, it couldn't be that easy. (At least I got the iron to work this morning; it had been giving me some trouble for the past few days, limiting me to non-ironable clothing... I discovered today that I'd been putting it in the outlet upside down. Problem solved.)

Off on a new adventure

I'm starting off on a new journey as I begin this blog.

This new journey is intimidating, but I have hope. It's daunting, but I want to be courageous. It is a whole new world I'll be entering, full of new tasks, surprises, and goals.