Tim Russert

The news that Tim Russert, NBC's extraordinary newsman and political commentator, died yesterday, is still radiating through my house, as my wife and I - both avid Russert fans - sit on our couch in disbelief. We can't seem to stop watching the replays of NBC's special tributes, commentary on MSNBC, and reruns of old programs and interviews Russert had done.

This is the kind of news you don't expect to hear. The guy was 58. He is on TV all the time, seemingly daily in this, an election year, and he has looked healthy. Russert had a professional and personal energy that not only made him interesting to watch and easy to understand, but it allowed millions of viewers think he was their friend. Think of how much the casual watcher might know about Tim Russert - that he was from Buffalo, his dad was a garbageman, his son recently graduated from Boston College. Russert moderated Sunday morning's "Meet the Press", the longtime political program, and he was the NBC Washington Bureau Chief, but he seemed to so down-to-earth that, he was more like a friendly next-door neighbor, or the favorite uncle.

Russert passed away yeterday afternoon at his desk while writing for this Sunday's program. He died of a sudden heart attack. He had just returned from Italy, where he vacationed with his wife and son. He flew back before they did. What a horrible flight back to United States for them.

I remember, as many viewers do, when he broke out a dry erase white board during the 2000 election between Bush and Gore, trying to point out to people how many electoral votes were needed for each candidate to win. His early morning analysis of major political events put otherwise complicated or boring news into simple, understandable and entertaining terms.

NBC has lost a great journalist, and Americans have lost a dedicated and warm personality. Hearing anecdotes from his colleagues about how special he was has been moving, particularly Campbell Brown's story of when she gave birth to a son and Russert sent a note to the little boy saying how lucky he was to have such wonderful parents and to seek him out for an internship when he was old enough. He celebrated people's triumphs and shared in their grief. There just aren't a lot of people like that around.

A loss so many. His impact was profound. One commentator said journalism will not see another Tim Russert because of the time that Russert grew up, the 1950s, in a blue-collar city and neighborhood, with parents who instilled values. That commentator was right. It is even more a shame that Russert died on the eve of Father's Day weekend, during an election year that cries out for expert commentary and analysis. Russert's pastor said he "went home to God."
Russert, a devout Catholic, is, as colleague Matt Lauer said, writing on his white board right now, lining up interviews with notables in his new dimension.

Russert's passing leaves a gaping hole for NBC, on Sunday mornings, and in many households across America. Tuning into Nightly News, or the Today Show, or to a political debate, many of which he hosted, will not be the same.

Women singers

It occurred to me that, generally, I don't listen to women singers very much. This realization came when I shuffled my mp3 player and hit about two female musicians. This is unintentional. But I think there are more men music artists than female artists, no?

Anyway, there are some females who I can stand performing. Some, I actually like.

Top 10.

1. Norah Jones
2. Sheryl Crow
3. Dido
4. Carole King
5. Bonnie Raitt
6. Alicia Keys
7. ABBA (half-girl)
8. Faith Hill
9. Anita Baker
10. Natalie Merchant/10,000 Maniacs

As for female singers I REALLY dislike.

1. Madonna
2. Cyndi Lauper
3. Britney Spears
4. Melissa Etheridge
5. Alanis Morrisette
6. The Wilson Sisters (Is that their name?)
7. Heart
8. Stevie Nicks
9. Any American Idol woman singer
10. Michael Jackson

Cancelling the Courant

The big news here, if you can call it big news, is that we've cancelled the Hartford Courant, the self-proclaimed oldest continously published newspaper in America, blah, blah, blah...

This was a significant move, I felt, especially since I was a journalism major, interned there three times, freelanced for them from 1999 to 2005, and was/am a journalist.

I guess I can boil it down to this: The paper stopped being relevant to me. This is common for papers, now. Newspapers are an old technology, and, besides, who has time to read them every day?

But it's beyond that, and this is why we cancelled our subscription. The Courant's writing is not remarkable. The story choice on prominent pages is uninteresting. Breaking news coverage is weak. The Sports section is decent, I have to say. (More sports stories should hit Page One, especially here in CT) The paper has sizable resources and should cover local, Connecticut and regional news better. Page One is often formulaic, and very predictable. The paper takes few risks. It is rare that I've seen a provocative human interest or investigative story on the front page. I am sick of reading about politicians in our state legislature being mired in stupid squabbles. It really doesn't matter to me.

The paper needs to focus on statewide, regional and national trends. Once in a while, reporter Rinker Buck, definitely the paper's best reporter, writes good pieces. But he writes infrequently. There is no one else on Broad Street whose writing is memorable. The columnists stink, which is unfortunate. This goes for the oped columnists, the CT Page columnists, and the alleged humor columnist. The paper is, generally, a bore. The most interesting feature for me in the last year or so has been the real estate ads on Sunday. This is a sad statement.

So where will I get my news? From the Internet - not the Courant's site, which is horrendous (way too cluttered and too tiny of a font), but from boston.com, nytimes.com and npr. I watch TV at night for local stuff. I don't think that I will miss the Courant, only the act of walking to the curb to get a paper on weekends.

The Courant, and other papers, need to drastically change their products, before they disappear sooner than expected. I am less interested in what's happening day to day in a community, and the mundane meetings editors make reporters attend, but I am interested in perspective pieces that are more in depth. The Courant hardly ever does that. And if it's done, the writing quality is poor. I rarely make it past the jump of the Page One or Connecticut page articles.

My former journalism professors, I'm sure, would frown. They might say that I'm not being informed. They may question my loyalty. It's not that I'm losing my faith in journalism -- it's here to stay -- but the mission of a lot of newspapers, especially the Courant, has to change from doing what they've always done, covering what they always have and presenting it in the same way, to examining weekly newsmagazines, such as TIME and Newsweek, and perhaps producing a smaller, shorter daily paper that is more relevant and interesting to its readership. If this does not happen, once-powerful, financially steady papers like the Courant will continue to lose its readers, its advertisers and credibility for the communities they're supposed to cover.

Another reason not to vote for Hillary

Not that it really matters at this point, but...

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/10/opinion/10herbert.html?em&ex=1210564800&en=685d71d85e88ab79&ei=5087%0A

Good reading

I thought this op-ed, by the New York Times' Thomas Friedman, was pretty inspirational.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/04/opinion/04friedman.html?em&ex=1210132800&en=86fe06a3444ab3f2&ei=5070

New favorite beer

Yesterday, we made a family trip to Rhode Island. We biked a little (had to stop when son, Ethan, 3, kept elbowing Alison, 7 months, in our new bike trailer until she couldn't take it), went to Narragansett Beach, where everyone enjoyed themselves, and then headed to the Mews Tavern. Even though the girl who brought our food out dropped my son's pizza and half of my calzone on the floor and on Alison's stroller, we still had a good time. Main reason: I found a new favorite beer.

Flying Dog Doggy Style Pale Ale

It is described this way on the menu:

"Brilliant amber in color and dry hopped with buckets full of Cascades for an unrivaled hop flavor and aroma... this is a true representation of an American-style pale ale, using the finest ingredients. Flying Dog classic pale ale is a multi-award winning product, and is consistently ranked as one of the best pale ales in the U.S. This is what craft beer is all about."

The stuff is very good. As many know, I love Sam Adams, because it is consistently good and has good flavor. But Flying Dog is more complex, more flavorful. I don't know if I can afford to make it my regular beer - it only comes in 6-packs - but it will definitely have a place reserved in the beer drawer in my fridge.


Sad note: While driving through Wickford yesterday, we noticed that Wickford Gourmet, an EXCELLENT little place to grab a sandwich, chowder and chocolate chip cookie or brownie (in fact, its brownie was featured on Rachel Ray's show) has closed. The reason seems to be a mystery, as the Providence Journal could not get ahold of the new owner. The place had a great back porch which sometimes had entertainment, they had a huge case of cheeses and olives, tasty baked goods, and other cool foods. It was a great place to relax and have a beer and tuna melt. I'm pissed. Hopefully, someone will reopen the place and continue making the same high quality food. The place is a landmark. It needs to be saved.

Reflections of Keeping Old T-shirts

Going to shake things up here a bit, and switch genres... My wife's comment about needing new clothes today made me think of this piece, which was written last year and is one poem in a collection I have tentatively titled Beer at the Ballpark (and Other Poems for Guys). I think it has potential to actually sell - at least that's what some people in my writer's group said - if I could manufacture the energy to write more of them. (Right now, I have about 15.)

My wife said she needed some new tshirts - that last year, she threw out a lot of her old ones. It's not that the old ones didn't fit anyone, they were just old, she said. I believe she called them "ratty" and "yellowing."

It takes a lot for me to throw out an old shirt, especially if at one time it had significant value. I wore a tshirt today, for instance, that has at least three small holes in it. It is probably 10 years old. I am not ready to retire it.

I happen to like gray t-shirts. I may have 15 of them. This is a poem about a hypothetical situation in which a woman starts questioning whether a guy's shirt should be trashed.


“His Gray T-Shirt”

Don’t tell a guy that his favorite
gray t-shirt is getting old and has holes
and should be the rag he uses
to check the oil in his car with because he’s
not stupid, he knows this already,
and is seeking therapy about this one
thing right now. Some shrink is making
$80 an hour just listening to the stories
associated with this shirt – how,
for instance, the Red Sox won their
first World Series in 86 years while he wore it
and other sports superstitions –
and counseling the guy to cope with the fact that
the shirt has no collar, and that dime-
sized holes are becoming quarter-sized holes,
and no sober man wants to show off his nipples.

The man is keeping the shirt because he needs to.

If you want to know how to truly help him, you say
nothing, and just permit the ghastly sight until the shirt
disintegrates in the washing machine, which it will, or
suspiciously becomes lost after months of searching,
which you will help him do. He will recover
after a Ceremony of Loss and a new
gray t-shirt to break in.

Numerous times, you will want to express your
disapproval about it and the others
like it. But the trick is to be passive,
accept his attire, because it’s your guy’s
connection to his past, and if there’s one thing
you shouldn’t do, it’s damage that. There’s a larger
purpose for old, torn tshirts than you can realize - even he
doesn’t completely understand it, so don’t
engage him in a conversation about it.
You wouldn’t want him questioning you
about your purses, now,
would you?