Archive for July, 2008
reunion in the rain
Thursday, July 31st, 2008Old guard, new guard and
older guard converge to swap
newsroom war stories.
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did you hear …
Thursday, July 31st, 2008evening summit
Thursday, July 31st, 2008On the mountain, the
city seemed at peace with the
world and with itself.
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dry, dry again
Wednesday, July 23rd, 2008No one noticed the
rains came less and less, leaving
an untamed desert.
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the waiting room
Tuesday, July 22nd, 2008Loved one treated in
back room. Can’t surrender to
simple helplessness.
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blazing around
Tuesday, July 22nd, 2008Green Eyeshade Awards: Second to one
Tuesday, July 22nd, 2008Several Alabama media outlets won at the 58th annual Green Eyeshade Awards on Saturday, including WBHM (90.3 FM) winning first place overall in the radio division for its series, “Searching for Safetown,” after winning its category, Public Affairs Reporting.
More Alabama winners, plus the award for this blog, after the jump …
how to draw a princess
Monday, July 21st, 2008Make the hair long, with
a flowing gown. Or have a
four-year-old draw it.
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navigating by heart
Monday, July 21st, 2008Heads up: No quo like the status quo
Friday, July 18th, 2008Music reporter and columnist Mary Colurso would like you to know that running a festival like City Stages is very, very hard work, and that it’s probably too complicated for average folks to understand:
Bear in mind, I have no interest in perpetuating the status quo. Clearly, something isn’t working and has to change in the City Stages formula.
But every time I begin to delve into the festival’s guts — to discuss what a sponsorship entails, for example, or ask how the event’s footprint is configured — I realize that average concertgoers have no idea what it’s like to prepare an event like City Stages and make it happen.
Angry observers can grouse and complain, but they’re not the ones doing the work every year. Nor are most of them in a position to offer practical, effective advice on what City Stages might do to resolve its financial struggles and begin to thrive.
She also mentions that $533,000 in taxpayer money went to the 2008 festival, which will end the budget year around $250,000 in debt.
If we the citizens aren’t able to offer practical advice on how the festival can improve its financial situation, the newspaper of record shares the blame. After all, shouldn’t its music reporter of 11 years — who has access to organizers and documents, who has a master’s degree in journalism — be able to explain such a complex affair as projected revenues and shortfalls to you and me?
Understanding what makes a successful music festival tick in the 21st century, then revamping City Stages in such a model … well, that’s a tougher and more extensive task.
Help us understand, Mary, help us.
If, say, the City Hall reporter were to suggest that average citizens couldn’t understand or weigh in on Birmingham’s operating budget (which passed Wednesday) because of its size and complexity, then the newspaper would have failed in its mission to hold officials accountable while insulting its readership. Hmm.
• Birmingham News: Grousing’s not the way to build a better City Stages
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composed at a keyboard
Friday, July 18th, 2008pastoral inhabitants
Thursday, July 17th, 2008Farm roll call: goats, cats,
peacock, chickens, puppies, cows,
llamas, pigs and worms.
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yin and yang
Thursday, July 17th, 2008Much is given, much
is asked. Somewhere, the harvest
matches the hungry.
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Wade’s 101: Haiku retrospective 10
Tuesday, July 15th, 2008- litter rally
Rubbish! Unkempt room
surrenders to posse of
garbage bags. Rubbish! - firefly serenity
They blink across the
deep blue darkness, heralding
winter’s departure. - pollen on hard times
The yellow coats are
coming. The yellow coats are
coming. No escape.