Carded

January 23, 2007


Okay. Sorry for the bad pictures and sorry for the ego-centric post. But I’m kind of excited.

I’ve never before in my entire working life had a business card.

Now I do. I’ve got a whole box of them. It’s taken me 10 months to finally get them, but I’ve got a real business card - one I can hand out and show off and act important with.

So here is my new business card.

The front of the business card

I’d talk about the State of the Union Address, but I didn’t watch it. I went and saw Al Gore instead. He was amazing. I’ll write more tomorrow.

Until then - my business card.

Inside my card

Very good. Go back to the rest of the Internets now.

Tags: Career, Vilhauer |

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Read better

January 22, 2007


“This is a conception of “reading” we rarely hear now. And yet, when you practise reading, when you spend time with a book, the old moral of effort and reward is undeniable. Reading is a skill and an art and readers should take pride in their abilities and have no shame in cultivating them if for no other reason than the fact that writers need you. To respond to the ideal writer takes an ideal reader, the type of reader who is open enough to allow into their own mind a picture of human consciousness so radically different from their own as to be almost offensive to reason. The ideal reader steps up to the plate of the writer’s style so that together writer and reader might hit the ball out of the park.” - Zadie Smith, “Fail Better/Read Better”

I was prepared to write a big long post about how writers should be writing and what mistakes I make when I try to write and how I can correct those mistakes.

But then I read this passage and thought, “Well, maybe I should just let everyone read it themselves.”

Reading is as much of an art as writing. And good reading is as finely honed a skill as good writing.

Check out the entire Zadie Smith two-part article: Fail Better and Read Better. It’s a little heady at times. But it’s a good look at why good writers succeed and false writers fail. More importantly, see how it doesn’t matter, as long as you enjoy and appreciate every word of what you’re reading.

Tags: Books, Literature, Writers, Writing |

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The new sport of racism

January 21, 2007


Soccer is an international game – one that connects hundreds of cultures and strengthens the lives of millions of children worldwide.

Take 50 children of different nationalities, cultures, races, languages and backgrounds and you can find 50 children who understand soccer and can start a game up with just a ball and some crudly carved out goals.

Except in Clarkston, Georgia.

In Clarkston, the mayor has banned soccer from the town park. Because the residents have started complaining about an influx of refugees. Because the park is better used for more “white” games like baseball and football.

I wish I was making this up. But I wouldn’t be so angry about something like this if it wasn’t true. From Warren St. John’s article in the New York Times:
(May have to sign up, but as of now, it’s sign-up free)

Refugees Find Hostility and Hope on Soccer Field

CLARKSTON, Ga., Jan. 20 — Early last summer the mayor of this small town east of Atlanta issued a decree: no more soccer in the town park.

Members of the youngest Fugees team, from left, Jeremiah Ziaty, Grace Balegamire, Qendrim Bushi, Josiah Saydee and Santino Jerke and Coach Luma Mufleh celebrate Josiah’s 13th birthday at the Saydees’ apartment in Clarkston, Ga.

“There will be nothing but baseball and football down there as long as I am mayor,” Lee Swaney, a retired owner of a heating and air-conditioning business, told the local paper. “Those fields weren’t made for soccer.”

In Clarkston, soccer means something different than in most places. As many as half the residents are refugees from war-torn countries around the world. Placed by resettlement agencies in a once mostly white town, they receive 90 days of assistance from the government and then are left to fend for themselves. Soccer is their game.

But to many longtime residents, soccer is a sign of unwanted change, as unfamiliar and threatening as the hijabs worn by the Muslim women in town. It’s not football. It’s not baseball. The fields weren’t made for it. Mayor Swaney even has a name for the sort of folks who play the game: the soccer people.

Most of us will chalk this up as yet another act of not-very-subtle racism in the South, an area that has a reputation of being more redneck than receptive.

Something about it resonated in me today, however. After reading two books that tied in with the immirgrant experience, I’m beginning to understand how frightening it can be to be torn from your home country and placed into a strange land – especially one that makes immigrant-shunning a common practice.

In the United States, we celebrate our ancestory. But we want our immigrants and refugees to stay in our past. We’re quick to tell stories of our ancestors – of the people who fought to get out of the bad situations they were in and brave a New World with next to nothing. We praise the ingenuity. We honor the old customs. We cling tightly to the fact that our family roots are stationed firmly in another country.

That’s all fine in the past. But keep today’s immigrants out, thanks. We live in a culture that tolerates cultural diversity, but prefers to keep it an arms length away. The only good immigrant is a historical immigrant.

The lineage of every white resident of Clarkston can be tied to immigrants. Not one person of non-Native descent can consider themselves free from that fact. A good majority of those immigrants – all the way back to the Revolutionary War – found themselves under tremendous strife in their home countries. Religious persecution. War. The same things that are driving today’s refugees to the United States.

These aren’t illegal immigrants. They’re refugees. They’re legal, and they’ve chosen Georgia as their home. And now they’re being treated as if they’re third class citizens.

The residents of Clarkston are forgetting that the immigrants in their own family tree were also persecuted for being different. They hated it. They fought to gain ground in a culture that didn’t want them.

Instead of righting the wrongs that their own history brings to light, they simply turn their backs.

It doesn’t matter that the local soccer program is helping shape these children’s lives by making them better students and giving them a support system the city itself would never bother considering. What matters is that the Good Ol’ Clarkston residents are too afraid of a different way of life – one that includes putting aside their irrational biases and blatent racism and living in harmony with their brothers and sisters.

I’d be willing to guess the Christians among them support this claim. And it’s always amazing how many of those Christians draw a line as to who they treat as they would like to be treated. For a highly religious area of the country, it’s disheartening to see so many go against one of the basic principles of The Bible – love everyone.

The mayor should be ashamed. Every citizen that fought to rid the town of a soccer league should be ashamed. But it won’t happen. There’s no way they’d even consider what they’re doing to be wrong. What’s the point?

After all – these immigrants are around today. They’re insufferable. They’re not historic, and they’ve got a long way to go before they’re held up on a pedestal – an example of the American Dream and the lengths some go to live it.

And what a Dream it’s turning out to be.

Tags: Journalism, Politics, Soccer, Sports |

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A hero’s wish list

January 20, 2007


I apologize. I just keep thinking about it.

No. Not the Argus Leader Five-Part Drama.

Guitar Hero. In my case, Guitar Hero II. It’s addicting. It’s fun. It’s the perfect video game.

For those of you who are clueless as to what Guitar Hero entails, I’ll quickly fill you in. It’s a game based on timing and repletion, a puzzle game of sorts. You press buttons and strum a guitar shaped controller to the time and pitch of the music. It seems silly, but the game has been designed so well that it truly feels as if you’re playing along with the music – like you have suddenly become a guitar virtuoso in just a matter of minutes.

It’s strangely realistic, actually – from the feel of the controller to the sound of missed notes, everything is timed and created to fuel everyone’s dream of being front and center at a rock concert – to be a rock god. Best of all, both games are filled with a great selection of guitar rock songs. You’ve got Van Halen, Mötley Crüe and Warrant for the cock-rockers. You’ve got Pantera, Megadeth and Anthrax for the metal heads. Motörhead? Black Sabbath? Red Hot Chili Peppers? Bad Religion? Yes. All of them.

Even Spinal Tap. Even “Freebird.”

Of course, I’m never content with what I have. Few of us really are. So I’ve been thinking over the past few days about the songs I wish were included. Call this my Guitar Hero III wish list – the ten songs that no future Guitar Hero should be without.

One rule – I decided not to pick songs bands that are already featured in the game. So no “Paint it Black” by The Rolling Stones, no “Only” by Anthrax and no “White Room” by Cream. Also, no “Voodoo Chile” (Hendrix), “I’m Broken” (Pantera) or “Big Bottom” (Spinal Tap). Though all six of these would make me very happy.

1. Metallica – “One”
This is a no-brainer, really. They could create a Metallica version of Guitar Hero and I’d be perfectly happy. But this one song, with melodic, complicated intro and metal-as-hell chorus, would be the best Metallica song to choose (with “Master of Puppets” a close second.)

2. Faith No More – “Digging the Grave”
It’s kind of simple – it would be one of the first songs in the game, I’m sure – but this song has enough chord changes that it would be a welcome addition to the chugga-chugga entries like Helmet and Megadeth.

3. Led Zeppelin – “Whole Lotta Love”
Or “Kashmir.” Or “Black Dog,” “Rock and Roll,” or “Misty Mountain Hop.” Any of them, really. Duh.

4. Ween – “Buckingham Green”
Straightforward for the most part, “Buckingham Green” kicks it into high gear with one of the most blistering guitar solos ever.

5. The Darkness – “I Believe in a Thing Called Love”
Is there a more perfect Guitar Hero song out there? This could have been written specifically for the game, for all I know.

6. Fugazi – “Waiting Room”
The songs in Guitar Hero are designed to appeal to any guitar player – from metal to punk. So consider this the punk selection – a fun and historically respected song that isn’t necessarily the most technically advanced song (see: The Ramones).

7. Beastie Boys – “Sabotage”
The introduction alone is perfect for two-player cooperation.

8. The Who – “Won’t Get Fooled Again”
You can use the long version or the short version. It doesn’t matter – it’s an epic rock classic that is without doubt one of my favorites.

9. Night Ranger – “Sister Christian”
Duh again.

10. Tenacious D – “Tribute”
Since “Stairway to Heaven” is frowned upon, apparently, we might as well get the perfect tribute – the album version, of course, for maximum rockage.

I’m sure I’ve missed some. Audience Participation: Which ones would you love to see in Guitar Hero III? No rules – just the songs that were regrettably left out.

Tags: Music |

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Lalley strikes back!

January 18, 2007


Because I’m all about keeping you, the faithful reader, informed on the recent Argus mess I’ve started, here’s the latest response - this time directed more at Tim Gebhart at Progressive on the Prairie.

Finally. Out of the eye of the storm.

From Argus Leader Voices:

Again, I don’t begrudge Mr. Gebhart and Mr. Vilhauer their opinions. Public input is important to understanding our mission to serve the readers. But there are a lot of readers who like the things we’re doing. As I said, nothing is permanent in this world anymore.

Less than a year ago, I attended a seminar at the Poynter Institute in Florida. It’s a media think tank and training center that brings people together from across the spectrum to talk about issues and develop our skills. The seminar was “New Habits of News Consumers.” Again, I won’t bore you with details but rest assured that the changes you’re seeing in the Argus Leader are only a small part of a media revolution of which you’re all taking part.

We’ll keep working. We’ll keep changing. I think it’s for the better

I understand the role of technology, of consumer-generated media and of the power of the populace to force change within an entire industry. And I also understand the changes that the Argus Leader must make in order to survive in the newspaper world. After all - I said myself, the people that newspapers fight to bring in, the next generation of newspaper readers, are progressively ditching the newspaper for better, faster, more gadgety news sources.

The change was going to come. I knew that. My problem is that I still believe in the integrity of a newspaper as a quality work of art - as something that is well written and includes only the best of the best. Making the local newspaper should be an honor - it should be the highest form of recognition.

The Argus has to compete with some major markets for its talent. The Star Tribune and the Omaha World Herald are nationally respected newspapers, and a majority of journalistic talent heads towards those bigger markets. The Argus has some journalists of renown, but the organization is smaller. The staff writes more articles with fewer people. The quality lacks as compared to the Strib. No offense to anyone specific on the Argus staff, of course. After all, they were smart enough not to call me back as a writer.

As I said before, and I will reiterate here, I figured out my main problem was that I was expecting too much from the Argus Leader. I was looking for a Big City Paper and found only a small city newsletter. Local news sells. Maybe it’s not just the Argus’ fault. Maybe it is.

Style goes a long ways, in my mind. I don’t like the new Argus style. A lot of advertisers, business owners, long time subscribers, and personal friends don’t like it either. I’m sure there are some people do. I attempted to find some of these people over the past few days - feeling out the people I knew to see if my initial thoughts were unfounded.

Unfortunately, they weren’t. Not one person I spoke to has defended the newspaper, aside from Patrick Lalley. And that is Lalley’s job - to support his business, to fill us in when we’re wrong, and to defend the ship that keeps him afloat.

I do appreciate that this is being aired out in a public forum. I also appreciate that the Argus Leader is listening, even though I don’t expect any changes (and why would there be? I’m just one person.)

I’ve made all of my points, and I’m happy to let the rest of the SDBlogOSphere duke it out. Epp will be thrilled to see this matter back in the spotlight. Thanks to Mr. Lalley for passing some airtime along. I’ll be posting the conversation as it winds along, but I’m going to try to keep my nose out of it. I’m being bested on both sides now.

In the meantime, I’ll go back to watching my hit-counts drop as I move my attention to books and Indiana Pacers basketball.

Tags: Blogging, Journalism, Sioux Falls |

2 Comments

More backup?

January 18, 2007


I should have mentioned this yesterday, but I didn’t want to bury my other post so soon.

Tim over at A Progressive on the Prairie has a nicely (and much better worded) view and critique of the recent Vilhauer vs. Argus three-part discussion. And because I always want to get my name out in the public, I’m giving you the link and instructing you to go READ READ READ!

From A Progressive on the Prairie:

Still, the problem from my perspective — and Vilhauer’s, I think — is that I get the Argus to read a newspaper, not because the paper wants me to look at its web site. The “Web first, paper second” seems antithetical to the reason most people get newspapers. If I wanted to use my laptop to read the news while I’m drinking coffee (and doing “other things”) in the morning, I wouldn’t subscribe to begin with. Maybe I am too old, but to me the purpose of a newspaper is to put “news” in the reader’s hands, not send them elsewhere to get it. And why go online for more photos of strangers’ dogs and anonymous comments on message boards?

Still, kudos to Lalley and Villhauer for feudin’ respectfully about something I know has been a topic of a lot of discussion in this area. And there is one unquestionable benefit of the change in format. I have more free time in the morning as it now takes me about five minutes to read the paper once I get past Section A.

Thanks for the kind words! (Though I notice Black Marks on Wood Pulp is missing from your blogroll. You might want to check that out - someone may have accidentally deleted it!)

In all seriousness, however, I’m glad to see I’m not the only one with these opinions. I think the approval rating of the paper has gone down significantly, especially since the recent change. I understand Lalley’s point - business first, decisions based on readership, etc. - but it still saddens me.

Enough of this. Doesn’t anyone want to complain about the most recent Pacers trade? Ew!

Tags: Blogging, Journalism, Sioux Falls |

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One year ago

January 17, 2007


One year ago today.

I can’t believe I nearly forgot.

A year ago, today – in fact, at almost the time I’m posting this – Kerrie and I bundled up, hopped into the car, and drove to my mother’s apartment to tell her that my grandfather – her father - had died.

It was a year ago today that, after some final words, a warm nuzzle from the family dog, completely surrounded by family and prepared with two week’s worth of hospice, that Donald Wayne Boyer, a namesake and hero, passed away. He spent a year and a half surviving cancer before finally succumbing to it. He snuck off into the night alone, shouldering the dark, braving his last adventure, building his last character, teaching us one final lesson about life.

About love.

One year. Since then I’ve done numerous things that would have made my grandfather proud. I’ve done hundreds of things I’d have loved to tell him. He left a legacy, one that I attempt to follow each day, one that believed in character, hard work, love, intelligence, and continuing to fight and dream for your place in the world, no matter what.

It was a year ago today. I picked up the phone and my grandmother told me that he had died. We had just visited him for Christmas. For the last time. He had barely been lucid when we left. But he knew we were leaving. And somehow – somehow – he knew he wouldn’t see us again.

When she called, when we got up and left and delivered the bad news to my mother, just like someone had delivered the same bad news to my mother almost 20 years prior when my great grandmother Etta Johnston died, I kept thinking how surreal it was. He was our rock. He was the solid ground that the family had been built. He was the first stable thing that had appeared in generations. And now…

Now he was gone.

One year ago today, my hero turned from human to legend. One year ago today I had to realize what it was like to let go. One year ago today all I could do was stare. Was to try to feel. Try to cry.

One year ago today.

Tags: Grandpa Boyer |

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