The Sad Bear: June 2011

June 30, 2011

Goodbye, Waynesboro

We're leaving Waynesboro today, Thursday, June 30, 2011. I have some things I'd like to write, but for now all I've got is this photo.

Update: I think I'm sticking with photos.

Labels: moving, photography

June 18, 2011

At my amazing wife's incredible suggestion, we watched "Turner and Hooch" the other night just after another bout with various moving pains. It's been high stress lately.

But it turns out that "Turner and Hooch" is all about a man moving from a small town to the big city. That, plus moving boxes, plus mastiff, (minus Tom Hanks "tighty blackies) and I felt kindred with the flick.

It also taught me where all those classic movie montages go to get a clip of a wet dog shaking off.

Speaking of dogs, my final two stories for the paper were the culmination of a few weeks of kicking a really ridiculous story down the street before finally completing it as my ~~swan~~ dog song.

First, there's "A beagle named buddy," a story that came on the heels of a database workshop I attended in Washington D.C. It seemed like a good way to get some practice playing around with data. And it's about as fun as it gets reporting a small town feature. The people I called were bewildered and happy. As part of the dog package, I also wrote this feature: "Behind the doggles," which has been shared 132 times via Facebook (that's a lot for our little operation). It tells the story of a Harley-riding dog named Harley.

Otherwise, in the time since Chase left the paper, it's been mostly courts and breaking news at the paper -- a full-circle sort of thing, recalling to mind my early days with the paper. My most recent work is all here.

Next, it's off to Nashville to find a place to live.

Labels: dog, journalism, movies

June 13, 2011

Everything's Amazing and Nobody's Happy

Labels: Conan, interesting shit, life

June 12, 2011

Sunday Stories

On second thought, I figured it'd be best to just post these here.

There were some really exceptional stories in today's Sunday Times (not a surprise). I still have to go through the Arts & Leisure and Sunday Magazine sections, but if anyone is interested, I'd suggest checking out the following:

From the front page:

Photobucket U.S. Underwrites Internet Detour Around Censors

"In an anonymous office building on L Street in Washington, four unlikely State Department contractors sat around a table. Josh King, sporting multiple ear piercings and a studded leather wristband, taught himself programming while working as a barista. Thomas Gideon was an accomplished hacker. Dan Meredith, a bicycle polo enthusiast, helped companies protect their digital secrets.

Then there was Mr. Meinrath, wearing a tie as the dean of the group at age 37. He has a master’s degree in psychology and helped set up wireless networks in underserved communities in Detroit and Philadelphia.

The group’s suitcase project will rely on a version of “mesh network” technology, which can transform devices like cellphones or personal computers to create an invisible wireless web without a centralized hub."

For the Executive With Everything, a $230,000 Dog to Protect It

"This 3-year-old German shepherd, who commutes by private jet between a Minnesota estate and a home in Arizona, belongs to a canine caste that combines exalted pedigree, child-friendly cuddliness and arm-lacerating ferocity."

Sports
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The Mets’ Bat Whisperer
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Clemente’s 3,000th Hit Was Muted Milestone in Ambivalent City
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First in Mud at Belmont: Long Shot Ruler on Ice

“At the half-mile pole, I was hearing whips cracking behind me, and I could hear guys chirping to their horses, and all I’m doing is picking up the tempo,” said Valdivia, a 36-year-old from Peru.

A major drama was unfolding behind him with the Kentucky Derby winner Animal Kingdom, who was cut off out of the gate by Mucho Macho Man and became tangled with that colt and another one, Monzon.

24 Hours in Sports: One Reporter’s Quest

Misc.
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Before Reality TV, Life in an Actual Bubble
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Making Room for Art That Really Moves

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Also, photos are emerging of Gabrielle Giffords, which seem to have been released sometime this morning:

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In Facebook Photos, a Smiling Gabrielle Giffords (AP)
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Gabrielle Giffords: First photos reflect Giffords' recovery (Arizona Republic)

Speaking of The Arizona Republic, they've had some great stories on the Wallow Wildfire that's sweeping across the eastern half of the state. They also produced this stunning map, which illustrates the spread of the fire day-by-day.

The map got mention on several national news outlets, as well as by Charles Apple, the former design editor of The Virginian Pilot. And I have to mention another shout out by Apple, who recently praised The Plain Dealer, in Cleveland, for their awesome front page package on Terrelle Pryor.

This is a tangent, but I've been pretty wowed by the design work going on at The Plain Dealer (See: this and this and especially this).

Labels: New York Times, news, newspaper design, sports, The Arizona Republic

June 6, 2011

Florida

I wrote this post two days ago and neglected to publish it to the blog. Then the Gonzalez' beat me to the punch.

It seems kind of silly that it took two weeks to finally get around to announcing this in a semi-official way, even more, while I'm visiting Louisville for the weekend.

I'm a Floridian.

Sort of.

When I wake up in the morning, I see palm trees. The oranges are fresh. The thunderstorms are intense, but brief. People organize massive dog weddings, mysterious donors save helpless people, and the governor regularly rattles his opposition party.

Just a regular day in Florida, I'm told, and I think I'm beginning to settle into the scene.

The beach is about 45 minutes away. The Tigers do spring training five minutes away.

There are several alluring museums nearby: Salvador Dali, Dale Chihuly, Frank Lloyd Wright, etc. Feel free to visit...maybe someone at the welcome center will offer a free bag of oranges.

June 5, 2011

Sadbear kitchen: Recent feasts

We've entered much wiser into our second year participating in a local farmshare with JMD Farm. Less going to waste, more overall cooking, still more new recipes to try out.

Tonight was a simple affair, but a great use of the otherwise question-causing collard greens. Katie found an easy recipe for collard green pesto linguine, which was just like regular pesto, but a tad more nutty and olive-y.

We get tons of greens early in the season, so finding this new use for collards was great.

But last night was the real feast, clocking in at about 2 hours of prep.

We had:
>> Roasted beets with goat cheese
>> Swiss chard boules stuffed with lemon barley 'risotto,' with a
>> roasted red pepper and pinenut coulis (sauce)

The beets recipe came out of one of our go-to cookbooks, Cooking from the Farmers' Market. The second was an amazing find because we got to try out our swiss chard and use our remaining barley.

The roasted peppers and the blanched Swiss chard.

The sauce ingredients.

The meal.

Also deserving a quick mention is the awesome cake (with banners) that Katie made for Chase's going away party a few weeks back.

Labels: cooking, food, kitchen

June 3, 2011

The beast will wear boots

We're moving to Nashville!

Whereas I once would have settled for a city simply because it was home to a single record store (and even cities that didn't), we will soon find ourselves plunged into a place with Mexican popsicles! And other stuff!!! Katie actually knows more about the place than I do, thanks to the DesignSponge City Guide for Nashville, which vaulted her past the two times I briefly set foot there.

But (more) seriously (barely) we keep hearing from friends and Nashvillians that the city will be perfect for us, and just right for a budding bookmaking business. Nashville lured The Black Keys out of the Midwest, so it must be good enough for us too.

As the exclamations can attest, we're excited. With the move comes a new post for me at the daily paper and improved access to good coffee, beer meccas like The Flying Saucer, rock venues, arts, and pretty much everything else. I must admit that the Charlottesville Air Raid Juggling Club will be tough to top, but the crew from Vandy will give it a go with their twice per week club. We should get back into swing too.

We'll hunt down a small house later in June and move by July 1.

At work, we'll park under this bridge!!!

Labels: beer, food, moving, music, Nashville, work