NewsTools 08
Wow — I wonder who came up with the idea of kicking off a conference with a moment of silent mindfulness. Asked to contemplate our reasons for attending Journalism That Matters, I was startled to discover that I had none. So it turned out to be a fruitful exercise, as I figured out what I was doing there.
I’ve also never been to a conference where people were so friendly. It made that whole networking thing, which is always excruciating for me, so much easier. Highlights: meeting two of Maria’s Guatemalan journalist friends, running into Ellin, and having time to yack with our DNA Files programmer, Stephen.
The events of the day were widely documented. Just about everyone toted a laptop, and everywhere I looked there were cameras aimed hither and thither. I joined the fun.
El Rancho
I spent two exceptionally relaxing nights at The Rancho, which Lulu says is one of her two favorite places in California (the other being Anza Borrego). Here’s another contest for you. Open up these two photos side by side and find the differences (there are seven of them):
If you guess them all, you really do deserve a prize. Often in life, I’ve found, we don’t get what we deserve. After you post your guesses here, I’ll e-mail you the answers.
I’m tired. After leaving The Rancho I got to see Lulu for a few hours. She was unhappy with me because I fell asleep on her dorm bed while she played on the computer. Then I went to dance class in Sac’to and learned a new two-hand reel. Goodnight.
By mentioning ____ in this post, you up-ended your usual nomenclature.
What did you learn at the conference? This post seems to be entirely devoid of that.
O-leg,
Will you be my editor (and my neighbor)? I corrected the nomenclature issue you noticed. I want to be consistent in my protection of his/her identity.
Oh, yes: what did I learn at the conference? Well, I learned that you should never get a dog, because if you do she will somehow get out of the house and start running in traffic during the most interesting discussion of the day, and you will start getting frantic cell phone calls from people who have found your number on your dog’s collar before she raced back into the busy street again, and you will hear cries of “Oh my God, that car almost hit her” and “She just pooped on my lawn,” and so you’ll have to leave the conference immediately and get stuck in Friday afternoon rush-hour traffic between Silicon Valley and the Bay Area, and then you will have to take flowers to the neighbor who rescued your dog, and when you deliver them you will be invited in to hear the heartwrenching story of the middle son’s murder, and two hours later you will emerge into the evening feeling as though your soul has been sucked out by a Dementor.
Hope that clarifies.
Maybe I shouldn’t have asked. :O)
I’ll be your neighbor if you find me a job up there that pays enough to continue the extravagant life I’m privileged to live here in sunny Los Angeles.