Nashville is Talking » 2005

Man, I’m Tired

By left_blank
July 31st, 2005 - 6:22 pm

It has been fun wearing the WKRN bloghat for the weekend but 24 posts, 40 links, nearly 2,000 words and a handful of images later and my weekend temp job blogging here at NashvilleIsTalking.com is over. I hope you enjoyed it, because I did. And, no, it wasn’t tiring - if you’re a Nashville blogger considering filling in for Brittney some weekend, you should know that this is not a tough gig.

permalink | Assorted | 2 Comments

The Grass Is Greener Under the Sprinkler

By left_blank
July 31st, 2005 - 4:24 pm

My subdivision, and probably yours, is alive with the sounds of sprinklers today. We water and fertilize the grass to make it grow, and then when it does, we cut it. Then we water it some more. It seems a bit illogical.

I fervently hope some of the world’s best bio-engineering scientists are hard at work right now developing a weed-resistant grass that won’t grow taller than 3 inches, and doesn’t need much water. It sure would free up a lot of weekend time for more productive - or more lazy - activities.

By the way, the orange flower is from a tropicana plant.

permalink | Assorted | 1 Comments

Oil Slick

By left_blank
July 31st, 2005 - 1:25 pm

If you’re a member of the military, a veteran, or related to or friends of a current or former member of the U.S. military, and you resent Harold Ford Jr. disrespecting our troops and the world-historical importance of their mission of fostering the emergence of freedom and democracy in the heart of the Muslim world by calling them “oil cops,” you’ll have ample chances to tell him so in person as Chris Jackson has helpfully published the congressman’s campaign calendar for the first few days of August.

permalink | Politics | 1 Comments

Heaton Up The Blogosphere

By left_blank
July 31st, 2005 - 12:34 pm

Terry Heaton, without whom this whole WKRN NashvilleIsTalking.com experiment in fusing mainstream media with the blogosphere, would not exist, is writing today about … this whole WKRN NashvilleIsTalking.com experiment in fusing mainstream media with the blogosphere, based on his survey of Nashville-area bloggers.

Mainstream media that play in this space need to first understand that the blogging community doesn’t need them, and that humbling reality is what needs to guide strategies and tactics as they work to get involved. The Nashville blogosphere is now five times larger than it was when the station first began its involvement, and I think it’s safe to say they’ve played a role in encouraging that growth.

How? Simply by listening. Who knew?

Along the way, station personnel have discovered something they didn’t expect: getting to know the local blogging community is a lot more fun than you can possibly imagine up front. And frankly, folks, fun isn’t a word that’s been associated with local media for a long, long time. How do you put a value on that?

The survey data is fascinating.

UPDATE: I was just on the WKRN home page and noticed a link to a blog by Todd Dunn, a News 2 video shooter who is now blogging his transformation into a videojournalist or “VJ.” His blog introductory post a few weeks ago:

I have started a blog to keep a public diary of the evolution of my career from television news photojournalist into a television video journalist or vj. If you are wondering “what is a vj?” the short answer to that question is a person who works as a one-man band, reporting, shooting and editing a news story. I have worked as a TV news photojournalist working with a reporter and being primarily responsible for shooting and editing daily news stories for eleven years.

I work at WKRN News 2 is Nashville, TN where the whole station is converting to the non-traditional vj format, which is more than a little scary. News 2 will be the first station in the country to completely switch to this format. I guess a lot of the fear is of the unknown, will I be able to adjust, will the vj concept succeed and will I still have a job in six months?! are just a few of the many fears that are knocking around in my head. The management of the station has done a good job of reassuring our staff that the vj concept will work but there are a lot of people who are very skeptical.

I know there will be a lot of people watching the transformation to see how it turns out. I am excited about the new opportunity and hope it goes well.

A few days ago, he had this to say:

I wanted to thank everyone who has taken the time to comment and share constructive criticism. I will admit it is a little strange to have the feedback. I have never had to deal with it before because it has always been a reporters story and I just went home. Please keep it coming though, and with your advice and some hard work on my part I will be able to get better.

A journalist discovers the power of listening.

permalink | Weblogs, Television | 0 Comments

Shop ‘Til You Blog About It

By left_blank
July 31st, 2005 - 12:28 pm

Sugarfused writes of life, liberty and the pursuit of bargains at OpryMills.

permalink | Assorted | 0 Comments

Does Networking = Notworking?

By left_blank
July 31st, 2005 - 12:00 pm

Paul Chenoweth wonders about social network site overload:

Just this week, I received invitations to join two social (business) networking sites that I have never heard of. The individuals who invited me are terrific people, people whom I admire for their business skills. I am beginning to wonder, however, do these people ever have time to actually transact any business? Do the math: let’s say you spend an hour or two each day on a couple of networks like LinkedIn, Ecademy, Orkut, Friendster, Ryze, SoFlow, Hi5 (warning), Facebook, (and there are at least 50 others listed on Wikipedia among YASN’s). Add to that an hour or two to respond to email, make a few phone calls, sort through each day’s snail mail, and perhaps post a story or comment on a blog… I could see a whole day blown away without much productivity to show for it!

The good networkers that I talk to get really defensive when I ask about productivity…most claim that it is a matter of prioritization, working efficiently, and making the best of the connections they make online.That is well and good for a person with self-discipline, but I suspect that far too many people place their emphasis on the social aspects of networking and less time on the actual business networking aspects.

Chenoweth, btw, is one of my LinkedIn contacts…

permalink | Web/Tech | 1 Comments

Eminently Dumb

By left_blank
July 31st, 2005 - 8:30 am

I can’t tell if Larry Daughtrey is for or against the Supreme Court’s recent decision in Kelo v. New London, but it’s rather obvious from The Tennessean columnist’s latest commentary that he doesn’t fully understand the decision. If he did, he wouldn’t write a sentence like this:

In essence the court upheld the status quo since it said states and cities can use eminent domain however they wish.

No, Kelo most certainly did not uphold the status quo.

Before Kelo, states and cities could take private property for “public use” or “public purpose” - or for redevelopment if the property was “blighted.” What Kelo did was strip those phrases of all meaning - “public purpose” can now mean anything the state or city decides it wants it to mean. And your property does not have to be “blighted” to be taken.

In the Kelo case, the city of New London, Conn., decided that increasing tax revenue by taking several well-maintained middle class homes and giving them to a private developer who would build something else on the site and pay higher property tax was a “public purpose.”

The fallout of the ruling is that your local or state government can now auction off your property to the highest bidder, with the blessing of the Supreme Court.

Lance Frizzell emails to note, too, that Daughtrey managed to slip a “whopper” into his column, when he wrote the following:

As usual, when the legislature rushes into things to curry public favor, it risks the law of unintended consequences. No one wants to condemn someone’s farm to give Wal-Mart more space, but what about industrial parks? And, in a time of diminishing tax revenues, public-private developments (such as Nashville’s new ballpark) are increasingly common.

Of course, tax revenues aren’t diminishing. Tennessee is on the verge of racking up a $200 million surplus this year. And Nashville isn’t hurting, either. Tax revenues are rising even without the recent property tax increase.

One other problem with that paragraph: the proposed Nashville Sounds ballpark that Daughtrey uses as an example of a “public-private” partnership did’t involve eminent domain. The plan would redevelop the site of the old Nashville Thermal Transfer plant - land the city already owned.

permalink | Politics | 0 Comments

Coasting

By left_blank
July 31st, 2005 - 7:25 am

My wife and I ate at Granite Falls last night, the same restaurant we went to five years and 15 days ago on our first evening date. The food was good - I had their signature Rattlesnake Chicken pasta dish - but the restaurant seemed to be coasting just a bit on its reputation.

permalink | Food | 0 Comments

Ask and Ye Shall Receive

By left_blank
July 31st, 2005 - 7:05 am

Yesterday I remarked that I found it a odd that there was not much commentary on the local blogs about Sen. Bill Frist’s stem cell research announcement. Today: Matt White has a long, detailed and very thoughtful post. You’ll be shocked to know that the MSM’s portrayal of Frist’s announcement was not quite as nuanced, detailed and thoughtful as Frist’s announcement was.

Talking heads have been all over every media outlet in America handicapping how this decision will affect Sen. Frist’s presidential future. Perhaps my idealism is getting the best of me, but I can’t see how risking alienation from an important segment of Republican primary voters makes for good presidential politics. Bill Frist made this decision as a physician; as a leader. And isn’t that the absolute best we can ask of a politician? For four years, he has debated with scientists, ethicists, advocates and anyone else who had a viewpoint. He applied his training and his instincts to heal to a problem of enormous signficance and difficulty. In the end, he made a hard decision that, if anything, will be a tall hurdle in the run to the White House. To my friends who would change their view of Senator Frist in light of his announcement, I ask you, since when did we ask our leaders to check their intellect at the door in favor of blind ideological purity? Forgive me if I don’t join in as you try to throw him under a bus.

Matt closes by saying, “Be sure to read the full text of Sen. Frist’s remarks before making up your mind.”

That’s good advice, especially with an issue as complicated as this. The media - newspapers and broadcast - are rather unable to fully convey the complexity of the issue or of Frist’s remarks, so they focus mainly in the political implications for Frist’s 2008 presidential run, and the conflict between his position and that of the president. Doing what bloggers do well, Matt delves much deeper into the issue.

permalink | Politics | 0 Comments

Planetary Blogging

By left_blank
July 30th, 2005 - 7:05 pm

There’s a tenth planet in our solar system. They say it’s probably a chunk of dark, icy rock, bigger than Pluto. It isn’t new, of course - it’s been out there all along, but we’re only just now finding it so it is “new” to us. So, it appears, there are ten planets, not nine as you learned in grade school. Or maybe there are 11, or more than that. Despite all that we know, there’s much we don’t know, and we won’t know that we didn’t know it until we know it.

The “new” planet hasn’t been named yet - well, not by the inhabitants of our planet, at least. Any suggestions?

permalink | Assorted | 0 Comments

A Hooker You Can’t Help But Love

By left_blank
July 30th, 2005 - 4:55 pm

John Jay Hooker is refusing to back down.

permalink | Politics | 0 Comments

Questions

By left_blank
July 30th, 2005 - 4:22 pm

In the wake of the latest suicide terror bombings, Ray Waddle wonders: Why do people do bad things in the name of religion? Meanwhile, Scene writer John Spragens is trying to use the local blogosphere to find out: Where do Nashville’s college kids hang out?

permalink | Religion | 0 Comments

It’s All How You Look At It

By left_blank
July 30th, 2005 - 2:41 pm

Japanese Beetles have been ravaging the trees in my neighborhood, but occasionally they also leave behind something of strange beauty.

permalink | Assorted | 0 Comments

444 Days

By left_blank
July 30th, 2005 - 2:14 pm

Greg at Toe In The Water thinks Jimmah Carter should stick to talking about things he understands. I agree. The one thing Carter’s history proves is, he doesn’t have a clue as to the roots of Islamist terror, nor how to effectively deal with it.

permalink | Politics | 0 Comments

Backflips

By left_blank
July 30th, 2005 - 1:33 pm

Roger Abramson wonders, who flipped? - and commenters discuss bloggers’ ethical responsibilties to be factual and correct errors when they’re found. In other words … it’s a slow news day in the blogosphere.

permalink | Weblogs | 3 Comments

A Lucky Man

By left_blank
July 30th, 2005 - 12:21 pm

Ryan at Emerson Street Tavern, writing about his three-year-old, among other things: “I’m thinking of taking Emerson to the zoo tomorrow—on a visit, not as a donation.”

permalink | Assorted | 0 Comments

Didja get that on video?

By left_blank
July 30th, 2005 - 12:16 pm

Brittney Gilbert sez “You can’t beat that with a stick.” ~~Film at 11.~~Video at 10.

permalink | General News | 0 Comments

The War Outside The Door

By left_blank
July 30th, 2005 - 10:55 am

For some of us, the war is a distant thing, something to be argued about in the grand game of political football. But for other Nashvillians, the war is a 24/7 thing. Lance Frizzell, blogging from Iraq, where the war zone is right outside the door and always there noon, night or dawn, has a few thoughts today about the cost of being an unreliable ally or an untrustworthy soldier.

Related: Donald Sensing, for whom the war is a flesh-and-blood reality, has more good posts up today about al Qaeda, Islamic jihadism, and such.

permalink | Politics | 0 Comments

What Are You Talking About?

By left_blank
July 30th, 2005 - 8:17 am

What are Nashvillians talking about today? Some are probably talking about the nice weather, or why there are people in Santa hats at Opryland in July. Others - especially the one in four on TennCare - are probably talking about the latest court ruling on TennCare clearing the way for the Bredesen administration to cancel the healthcare coverage for a few hundred thousand old, sick, poor and elderly people. Sharon Cobb is the go-to blogger on that subject.

Katherine Coble is blogging about religion. So is Eric Coomer. Oddly, I haven’t run across a Nashville blogger talking about Sen. Frist’s new stance on stem cell research.

It’s certain that lots of Nashvillians are talking about the Titans, with training camp now under way and the season just a few short weeks ahead. I can’t believe there isn’t a local blogger who blogs exclusively or primarily about the Titans, but I haven’t found one yet.

permalink | Assorted | 0 Comments

On Moving, and Movies

By left_blank
July 30th, 2005 - 8:09 am

Chris Wage has some thoughts about moving in July. But if you aren’t moving into a new house or apartment today, you might want to take the kids to see March of the Penguins, says John Mora. If you have kids, of course. Don’t take someone else’s kids. At least not without telling them.

permalink | Assorted | 0 Comments

Pages (23): [1] 2 3 4 NEXT PAGE ... LAST PAGE

Man, I’m Tired

The Grass Is Greener Under the Sprinkler

Oil Slick

Heaton Up The Blogosphere

Shop ‘Til You Blog About It

Does Networking = Notworking?

Eminently Dumb

Coasting

Ask and Ye Shall Receive

Planetary Blogging

A Hooker You Can’t Help But Love

Questions

It’s All How You Look At It

444 Days

Backflips

A Lucky Man

Didja get that on video?

The War Outside The Door

What Are You Talking About?

On Moving, and Movies

Giving good blog since 2005.
-Ginger

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Giving good blog since 2005. -Ginger
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