In Wonderland

Altruism

2011-04-10T15:58:00.000-07:00

On this beautiful, sunshiney Sunday, I was listening to an episode of Radio Lab on my roof while waiting for my clothes to dry. The show was on the science of doing good: for all of Charles Darwin's bleak, formulaic 'survival of the fittest' theories, how could science explain why people risk their lives for others? It was a good episode to take in with a healthy dose of vitamin D. It seems absurd and sterile to break down our altruistic instincts to science, but hey, that's science. Sometimes, after all, we just want to know why.

A scientist in the 70s created a formula relating why we're willing to risk our own survival for others. It breaks down, essentially, to Darwin's same theory: I'll risk my life for my sister because she's carrying 50 percent of my same genes. If she survives but I don't, 50 percent of my genes will still be carried on. So I'm four times more likely to help my sister than my cousin, and so fourth. It really all comes down to us trying to help ourselves out. Obviously that doesn't explain a lot of actions -- why strangers risk their lives for people they don't know. But it does give us a nice, clean answer. I guess that's what science is. And, along with my extreme distrust of bunsen burners, one of the reasons why I was never too interested in science. I love the magic of not knowing. Chalking it all up to goodness, or faith, or magic. I'm fairly certain magic is the only way to explain the Shazam app and microwave ovens.

I do think there have been a lot of dramatized, or even sitcomitized (stick with me) stories around whether all good deeds are truly selfish. I, for one, am not sure I think it matters. Does it matter if the only "real" reason I would do anything to protect my little sister is because of some deep desire to pass on my superawesome genes? Or if the reason I help a stranger with their luggage is so I feel better about myself? I mean, karma is a pretty selfish way of looking at things, in some ways, but its net result is a good one. Just because it all comes down to selfishness and science, doesn't mean it's any less valuable. Love, sex and family might all be about passing on my genes for future generations, but they're also what make this life worth living.

140 Characters

2011-03-16T21:36:00.000-07:00

"I think the modern journalism today has made a bet economically on very quick, very short and very fast. And I think what we'll see over time is that people will realize the economics of that are not so good. if everyone tries to be short, quick and fastest ultimately the reader goes someplace else." Pro-Publica's Steve Engelberg

I just listened to an amazing interview discussing longform journalism on WNYC, which I'm including above.

In the interview, they talk about our shortened attention spans -- a result of the Internet: status updates and 140-character tweets. Is this the end of longform journalism? the interviewer inquires. It's amazing how much this question relates to something I wrote a couple of years ago on here (and this was the days before Twitter was as ubiquitous as it is now). I am by no means anti-blogging -- wouldn't that be an ironic stance to make in a blog? Nor am I anti Twitter, Facebook, Gawker, Huffington Post, nor any other aggregator or blog out there. At least not officially. I think a lot of blogs, reporting in real time as events occur, are doing important, amazing work. And it's not easy work, either. But the bottom line for me is my heart belongs to longform. To the in-depth, literary-style pieces you find in the New Yorker. The articles written by Atul Gawande or Susan Orlean or Joan Didion or Jon Krakauer... those are the pieces I'm drawn to. And they're important. A lot has been written about the 24-hour news cycle and its impact on the future of journalism. But what if this "what's next. what's next. what's next"-style causes journalism to lose all analysis? All reflection? What if it's all reduced to a tweet: "Statement of Event. Snarky reaction. #Categorizing hashtag." in 140 characters.

After the revolution in Egypt, I saw several blog posts (several is an understatement here) giving themselves a big old pat on the back for their great work. This was the great victory of the Internet! While newspapers still had the stale front page headline that Mubarak was refusing to resign, Twitter and the blogosphere knew he'd stepped down. All hail the great Internet.

But while this was true - while the bloggers hashed out every last breaking detail - I saw very little analysis in any blog pieces written. And how could they? These are writers who are being paid for each click and page view and to pump out as many stories as they can (at least in most cases). They are working so quickly and so diligently to cover the news as it happens that they can't reflect on what it means. There are also blogs that are all analysis and editorial -- the aggregators. But to invest in both the extensive reporting and analysis of an indepth piece is an entirely different beast. Longform journalism is expensive. In the interview, they talk about some articles costing a half a million dollars. Research and time are real investments, and someone has to pay for them. Otherwise I believe the loss of longform journalism will come at a real cost to our society. Or at least to me at the 40 other luddites out there.

The Hot Spotters: Thesis

2011-01-30T16:59:00.000-08:00

"The critical flaw in our healthcare system...is that it was never designed for the kind of patients who incur the highest costs. Medicine's primary mechanism of service is the doctor visit and the E.R. visit. (Americans make more than a billion such visits each year according to the Centers for Disease Control.) For a thirty-year-old with a fever, a twenty minute visit to the doctor's office may be just the thing. For a pedestrian hit by a minivan, there's nowhere better than an emergency room. But these institutions are vastly inadequate for people with complex problems: the forty-year-old with drug and alcohol addiction; the eighty-four-year-old with advanced Alzheimer's disease and pneumonia; the sixty-year-old with heart failure, obesity, gout, a bad memory for his eleven medications, and half a dozen specialists recommending different tests and procedures. It's like arriving at a major construction project with nothing but a screwdriver and a crane."

- From Atul Gawande's "The Hot Spotters", The New Yorker 1-24-11

Truth and Objectivity

2010-12-15T22:09:00.000-08:00

Truth is a funny thing. When you’re young, it’s pretty simple -- you’re telling the truth or you’re lying. Despite our penchant for fibbing even at a young age (yes, Mom, I lied about not eating the Cherry Chapstick), the concept itself is easy to grasp. When you’re older, truth gets more complicated. It becomes more tied into Truth. With a capital T. I think I was around sixth grade when all this came into focus for me - the grays of life versus the simple black and white. As an anxious and thoughtful kid, this kept me up at night. Were there universal Truths? Was it really as simple as a fib versus a lie? How could something that one of my friends knew to be The Truth ring so false to me? I mean, some things had to be true. Gravity, science, history - those things you learned in school. At least those were true and concrete. Right?

As I got older, figuring out the Truth was less likely to cause sleep deprivation, but it was still something I grappled with. In journalism, objectivity is one of the most basic principles. And why shouldn’t it be? Each article should be unbiased and objective, naturally. And when you're uncovering and reporting on facts, why would anything else get in the way? But when truly prodded, the idea of true objectivity seems suspect. Obviously a journalist should try to remain objective, but it's hard to imagine not being swayed by your own perspective and lens. I don’t mean lying about a fact, or intentionally taking someone out of context. But your view of the world is going to affect your interpretation of everything within that. It will affect your telling of the story.

I wrote a story for my senior capstone about student loan debt and its impact on society. This was not a biased article - everything I wrote was truthful and accurate and researched. But even the topic reveals my beliefs. Let’s be honest: would someone who did not believe in the value of education and the importance of economic equality write that article? Um, probably not. I don't think this makes it any less valuable as a piece of journalism.

Life is not so simple. It’s full of squishy unknowns and countless question marks. “We hold these truths to be self evident...” hell, we can’t even agree on what those truths are.

I just read an interesting piece in the New Yorker “The Truth Wears Off” by Jonah Lehrer (sorry non subscribers, it's not available in full online). The article is about a phenomena, sometimes referred to as the shrinking effect, that reflects the tendency for the effectiveness of a study to decrease over time. Meaning scientific results become less scientific and more ...chance as they’re repeated. Initial data surrounding a study might appear robust and supportive, but it will decay over time. So even “truth” -- even science - isn’t so infallible. To quote Arrested Development, skewering the absurd: “I hear the jury’s still out on science.”

Of this disturbing decidedly unscientific shrinking effect, Leherer wrote: “If replication is what separates the rigor of science from the squishiness of pseudoscience, where do we put all these rigorously validated findings that can no longer be proved? Which results should we believe?” He added “It’s as if our facts were losing their truth: claims that have been enshrined in textbooks are suddenly unprovable.”

In the article, one scientist, Michael Jennions, who has studied the decline in the truth of these studies explained his hesitancy in discussing the matter: “This is a very sensitive issue for scientists,” he said. “You know, we’re supposed to be dealing with hard facts, the stuff that’s supposed to stand the test of time. But when you see these trends you become a little more skeptical of things.”

I get that. Who are scientists without Truth and facts? Who are journalists without objectivity?

I think rather than denying it, it's important to acknowledge that nothing is infallible and a hard truth, and try to pursue the best truths we can. Keep testing the scientific data. Keep questioning everything. In the end, isn’t truth really about who you choose to believe?

Global warming seems so obviously true to me - it is the “Inconvenient Truth” after all (even though I actually never saw that movie. Oops). It’s been proven by scientists. By scientists. But what if I’m wrong and science is wrong. ….these people who don’t believe in global warming, aren’t just pulling my leg (which, honestly, sometime it feels like) they believe it to be the truth. Maybe evolution really is a lie and someone is just planting dinosaur bones to throw suckers like me off course. I guess bully for all those folks who have been tsking the idea of evolution. I’m going to have some apologizing to do in the end.

I believe in science and the scientific method as a Truth. But I’m sure some people believe just as strongly in religion.

We sort of just form lots of small truths around a few big truths and stick to it.

The main reason these scientists were found to get these positive results in the beginning with a decline later on, is simply because we like proving ourselves right and hate to be wrong. On the one hand, I feel like I was raised with the belief that science was above that. But at the same time, it’s kind of a “doi!” statement. Everyone likes to be right. Sure some of us are more stubborn than others. (Ask my family, I fall on the “...as a mule” side of this coin.) But in general - who likes to be wrong? No one likes to be wrong when they’re arguing a point. I mean, how many times have you gotten out your iPhone to prove on Wikipedia that a nectarine is not a peach and plum combined? But more to the point, no one wants to be wrong on something they truly believe. One of their tenets. A scientist who has spent their life trying to find ways of preventing heart attacks is going to find that daily low dose asprin is effective. Not because they are lying but they’re going see the pattern. They’re going to pursue their truth.

I was listening to a recent This American Life, “Last Man Standing”. On it, a young Mormon woman talks about her crisis of faith. When she believed in God, so many signs pointed to His existence: a perfectly-timed shooting star, or clearing of the clouds. Now, without the faith, she remains unswayed by the same occurrences. She spoke to a man who believed he’d had a UFO encounter. He, too, believed every day things were supporting his truth. Sometimes there’s science to back it up, sometimes we write and article and sometimes there’s just a shooting star. The Truth May Be Out There, but it also might just be each one of our own, slightly slanted truths. For the record, I’m still siding with science, though.

Welcome back.

2010-12-15T06:18:00.000-08:00

The last post I wrote was over a year ago. Now that my job requires extensive writing every day, there’s less incentive to come home and write more. Plus, why write an entire post analyzing an article, when I can simply post it to Twitter with a hashtag, succinctly and wittily summarizing my feelings about whatever I’m sharing. You know, like: http://www.xtranormal.com/watch/8045747/ #lolz.

In the past year, nearly everything has changed for me: new job, new city, new cat. OK, maybe that last item is not on par with the other two -- but essentially my life has taken a 360, or 180, or some significant turn.

I work in PR now, which is either the exact opposite of working as a journalist or just a different slice of the same pie. I go back and forth in how I think about it. This move does really mean an official exodus from journalism for me. While on some level there’s relief about escaping a sinking ship, I still sometimes get the feeling I really still belong at sea. While journalism is still in an incredibly shabby state, things seem a bit less dour at this point compared with a year ago. For one thing, compared with 2009, when 596 magazines folded (including Gourmet and a number of other Conde Nast titles), 2010 actually saw more magazines launching than folding (193 to 176, respectively). I also woke up this morning to find a Groupon for a New York Times subscription in my inbox. $24 for eight weeks of the Sunday Times -- maybe that’s going to save the newspaper industry?

Quarterlife

2009-08-03T13:15:00.001-07:00

The other day my good friend informed me she had found her dream job. Before I successfully got any details about said job, however, she modified her statement: this was a job that she would never, ever, actually have. Not because she wasn't qualified or couldn't get an interview - she simply couldn't afford to think twice about even applying for a job with such a low starting salary. Entering her third year of law school, she's looking at a graduation present of about $1000 a month in owed student loan payments. She explained that the mere fact that she'd attended law school was essentially locking her into the profession indefinitely. "Now I have to be a lawyer just to pay off the stupid loans," she said, matter-of-factly.

Three years ago, before I'd graduated and entered the "real world" of student loans and credit card debt and unpaid internships, I wrote an article about the problem of student loan debt for my journalism capstone. For the article, "The Real Cost of Education," I interviewed a handful of experts as well as actual students facing seemingly insurmountable debt. After talking to my friend last week, I went back and re-read the article. Sure enough, her sentiments were exactly the same as those I had typed into my paper a few years back. "Many students go to law school right after getting their undergraduate degree, with little or no experience to allude to the realities of being a lawyer," I wrote. "But bridled with $80,000 or more in loans, they have little choice but to practice law in order to repay their debt, even if this means sacrificing their happiness."

It was funny reading over the article. I had poured months of my life into researching, writing and editing the piece. And yet, because my own student loans seemed such a far-away reality (it would be nearly 4 months before I made my first payment), I didn't really conceive of the impact its subject matter would have on my own life or my friends lives. Sure, the numbers were shocking and the experts' arguments were compelling, but the article was about adults: people who had the letters MD typed neatly after their names, or had completed the bar exam - people who were making grownup decisions about buying houses and having kids.

But now I don't have to scramble to find people to attest to the impacts of student loans. These are my friends. I could rewrite the entire article quoting my friends from our gchat conversations or summarizing sentiments expressed over beers at happy hour. Even now, as I find myself grappling with the decision of whether or not to go back and get my masters in teaching, it's hard to absorb the realities of being saddled with significant loans. I know full well nearly half of all teachers leave the position within the first five years. And that the degree will land me with loan payments amounting to much more than the $100 a month I pay right now for my undergrad. But while there's the potential that going back to school will be a mistake, really no amount of research can answer that for me. Fifty percent of teachers quitting still leaves 50 percent who stick it out - some, I'm guessing, even like it. For most of these jobs there's no real trial run. You can volunteer in a classroom, but you won't know what it's like to deal with the administration or standardized tests. You don't get to try out being a doctor for a year before you commit to the four (plus!) years of medical school. And how are you supposed to know at 25 what you want to do with the rest of your life?

Healthcare

2009-07-13T17:38:00.000-07:00

I came home the other day to an invoice from Qwest Diagnostics. The bill – for just shy of $200 – baffled me: I have insurance, surely this had to be some kind of mistake. As someone who’s constantly reminded that I really shouldn't qualify as a grown up, I pored over the document. Sure enough, the $185 was the remainder from the test that had not been covered by my health insurance plan. The test itself had consisted of a "medical professional" taking my blood and a phone call a week later from my doctor informing me that I was, indeed, healthy.
I had visited the doctor after my health insurance from my job finally kicked in, to deduce whether or not I was gluten intolerant. Both my younger sister and I have had chronic stomach aches for well over a decade. She found that by eliminating gluten (adios, delicious carbs!) her stomach issues had been greatly diminished. Having far less self control and patience than a 19-year-old, I opted to take the easy way out and ask my doctor if he could just tell me whether or not gluten could be blamed for my stomach. Which is how I landed with a $200 bill and the advice (once again) to “stress less,” as that was probably the cause of all my problems. I guess here’s where I throw in the obvious ‘how can I stress less with $200 doctors bills?’ but I digress.

Obviously this does not even rate when it comes to the problems associated with our healthcare system. It's incredible how many people I know who have disaster-only insurance, or none at all. None of them would get that bill because none of them go to the doctor.

Since starting my new job, my free time for reading has shrunk significantly. After numerous recommendations to read an article on the state of healthcare in The New Yorker, however, I sifted through my ever-growing stack of ‘to-read’ magazines and found the June 1 issue with The Cost Conundrum by Atul Gawande.

So now it’s my turn to make the recommendation: you should read this article.

I don’t pretend to know a lot about the many nuances of the healthcare system. Even when (especially when?) I covered the health beat for the Free Lance, I consistently found myself baffled by its many complexities. This particular article looks at a city in Texas with one of the most expensive health-care markets in the country. In looking at one of the most expensive cities, Gawande posits, maybe we'll figure out what makes our countries health care the most expensive in the world. The article really doesn't give any easy answers, although it's incredible thought provoking. I attempted to summarize parts of it initially and, in the end, decided that a summary is actually doing disservice to the article. So I'll just leave it at that. Read the article and please feel free to comment.

Apologies (Again)

2009-04-25T05:03:00.000-07:00

I'm starting a new job, so I have been pushing 12 hours each day at work. The result has been me coming home to crash - not write - each day. Please enjoy these videos, until my return.

New York and DC

2009-04-19T11:08:00.000-07:00

I spent last weekend in Washington D.C. with my parents - a trip comprised of patriotism and history - Americana-style, not nearly enough cherry blossoms to sate my yearly quota, and bookended by two long rides on the Chinatown bus.

While I appreciate a good monument as much as the next person, I have to say, the Newseum was really the highlight for me - albeit a bittersweet one (gosh, how many times have I paired some form of the word 'news' with 'bittersweet' on this blog). Having a museum for news in itself evokes images of an archaic field, but the museum did a nice job of acknowledging the history and importance of traditional newspaper forms and looking toward the future, whatever it might hold. So if anyone has plans to visit DC at any point, this is my plug for how you should spend a good half day.

Although I thoroughly enjoyed DC in all its historic glory, it really revealed how much of a New Yorker I have become. I felt strangely out of place in there: repeatedly commenting to my parents how clean everything was (and somehow this didn't seem like a good thing) and noticing how many people were wearing sweatshirts. Most of all though, I just felt like everything was moving eerily slow. Sometimes the pace of New York can be overwhelming, but it's something that I've come to thrive on. New York Magazine just published a piece talking with various famed New Yorkers about their first experience in the city. They also talked to new arrivals to the city. One person interviewed - Kit Schultz - a recent Ohio transplant, reminded me of my own move here just over a year ago:

In some ways, her story could have been told anytime in the last 50 years, and in other ways, it’s very typical of right now. She lost her job as a nanny late last year and found her prospects were dim. Before Christmas, she went out for drinks with some old college friends who are living in Brooklyn, and they invited her to come out and stay with them. So she packed a van, headed east, and arrived in New York on New Year’s Eve. A new year, a new life, she thought. Now she says, “I am having a great time here, but it’s also very hard. I’ve never been this poor in my life. I don’t exactly know what tomorrow’s stories will be or even how I will pay my cell-phone bill. But I am confident this city will continue to open up for me in ways that I cannot even imagine, and I look forward and forward.”

In January 2008, I was laid off from my job at the Free Lance and, serendipitously, Stephanie announced she needed a subleaser in her Bed-Stuy brownstone. I knew I needed a change from the small town in California where I had lived the past year. But I didn't know if I should do the impulsive thing - move to a giant metropolis with no job prospects, or the fiscally responsible thing - move home to my parents house and work at any number or jobs until I found a 'real' job prospect. That night, post-Chinese food, I opened my fortune cookie to find the message "Heads you do it, tails you go home."

Two weeks later I was on a plane with that fortune safely tucked in my wallet. Sometimes I'm not certain what exactly I'm doing here - but I'm glad the coin landed on heads.

Happy Thursday.

2009-04-09T04:25:00.000-07:00

So I apologize for the brief blogging-hiatus. My parents are in town, so rather than write I have been traipsing about the beautiful and engaging city of New York serving as a mediocre tour guide (which basically consists of me trying to explain the difference between local and express trains and that no-I-don't-know-why-the-F-train-is-running-on-the-E-line-it's-just-Sunday-and-weird-stuff-happens-and-there's-no-rational-expression, and getting them repeatedly lost in Fort Greene, et cetera. Until my return, however, enjoy.

Money Trees

2009-03-26T16:55:00.000-07:00

Around 2006, it seemed like every single magazine on the market was publishing ecology-centered issues. The Cosmo/Marie Claire/Allures of the magazine world featured articles on environmentally-friendly beauty products. Bride magazines talked about throwing a green bridal shower - I'm sure even Dog Fancy analyzed your puppy's carbon pawprint. Basically at that point if you wanted a new angle on an old piece, you just had to "green" it.

Well, that era has passed, it seems. And while I'm glad I won't have to see any more plays on "Green is the new [pink is the old] black", I'm not so happy the environment has been eked out of people's minds. Instead, a great multitude of articles now focus on saving money. Eco's been replaced by econ, and I guess saving green is the new black. These penny-pinching issues have become more and more frequent as the nation's economy has looked more and more bleak. Still, I was surprised to open my New Yorker Wednesday and find an article on the both the economy and the environment. The article, a short piece in The Talk of the Town, focused on the inverse relationship between economic prosperity and environmental responsibility. Author David Owen writes:

"The world's principal source of man-made greenhouse gases has always been prosperity. The recession makes that relationship easy to see: shuttered factories don't spew carbon dioxide; the unemployed drive fewer miles and turn down their furnaces, air-conditioners, and swimming-pool heaters; struggling corporations and families cut back on air travel; even affluent people buy less throwaway junk."

Even though the media and individuals aren't focusing on the environment, they're actually doing much more to prevent global warming than they were when it was the actual concern. I've definitely noticed this in my own life - specifically with my work. My company has prided itself on being green for quite a while now - but it's always been quite a battle for me, sometimes feeling like the sole eco-cheerleader (I know, Mom and Dad: you must be so proud/shocked). Getting people to reuse paper or make fewer copies is hard to rally support for, but when cuts are being made and you bring up the cost of all that paper, suddenly there are many more proponents.

While much of the article falls into the kind-of-intuitive-if-you-really-think-about-it category, it also does a nice job of taking things a step further. The article begs the question: if the environment and the economy do have an inverse relationship, how can we fix the economy without losing the footing we've made on the environment? For so long, the U.S. has been such a society of prosperity and excess. While many economists have suggested me may never go back to that level of superabundance (and I personally don't see that we need to go back), there is a happy medium in there. Is there enough money and jobs to be made out of green industries? It seems like now is the time to start looking for solutions that won't have us back to square one if the economy ever does go back to the "normal" of the past decade.

Cold Medicine and Media

2009-03-23T16:10:00.000-07:00

Today Tommy, a friend from work, came in to start his shift and informed me he'd seen something on TV about the death of newspapers the night before. And thought of me. Overhearing this, another coworker looked at me nervously and hastened Tommy to be careful, as I might start crying - again.

He was only half joking. Last Tuesday, when the news officially broke that Wednesday would be the last print edition of the P-I, I sat at my desk reading article after article about the paper's demise. It was not a surprise, but it still was hard to swallow.

Sunday, an editorial ran in The Chronicle - conceivably the next big paper to fold - about the outpouring of ideas for how the save newspapers. John Diaz, the article's author and editor of the opinion page, wrote about how many conflicting ideas people have for what will save print media. On a daily basis, people email and write to tell him they have the answer for how to save the Chron. If the paper leans more to the right it will be saved; if it becomes a vocally liberal progressive paper it will be saved. If it stops publishing/starts publishing news on controversial subject matter...First big-city gay daily! one Gawker commenter suggested. The newspaper also gets its fair share of people writing to extrapolate on the solitary reason the Chron will fail. Diaz writes:

If we fail to run their favorite syndicated columnist or continue to run one they loathe ... "that's why you're losing money." If we are perceived as favoring the Giants over the A's or one political philosophy over the other or give too little or too much space to celebrity gossip ... "that's why you're losing money." My favorite link between personal interest and our financial predicament was the freelance writer who, after having his opinion-piece submission rejected, wrote: "That's why this newspaper is failing."

As much as these letters are amusing and, at times, frustrating, it's good to know that people - not exclusively journalists, editors, and publishers - are brainstorming on how to fix the current and predicament of print media. And that they care. I know many people have thought little about the impact of 'the end of days' for daily newspapers on their lives. And maybe it wouldn't affect them. I think my college journalism professor instilled and particularly romantic view of journalism in me, so I fall hard onto the belief that it will be truly detrimental to society. As a writer at salon.com advised a journalism professor struggling with the guilt at teaching students in a seemingly hopeless profession:

Journalists exercise power. Ideally, they exercise that power on behalf of the powerless...leave it to your students to create new modes for the buying and selling of this information. Their generation will do this. I feel confident about that. Teach them how to find out what is true and what is hidden, and how to say it so others can understand what it means and why it is important. Then you will have done your job and given them the gift of a lifetime.

But then, I've taken a lot of cold medicine tonight so maybe that's why I find that particularly stirring.

Economics for Dummies

2009-03-11T20:04:00.000-07:00

Not to throw two radio shows at you in a row - but if anyone has yet to check it out, last week's This American Life is worth a listen. The show has made a name for itself examining the minute and unexamined - making even the most mundane life seem interesting. But they also do a really excellent job with hard news. Last year, they did the most thorough report on the mortgage crisis - detailing from the very micro to the very macro level about what went wrong. The report, The Giant Pool of Money, is absolutely worth checking out for anyone that hasn't heard it yet. I honestly think it was one of the best pieces of reporting I heard all year, not because it was uncovering anything profound or groundbreaking, but because it really explained something that so many other articles glossed over. With this week's episode, Alex Blumberg and Adam Davidson, who produced the first one as well, do another great job - well, dumbing this whole "economy" thing down for people like me. Just today I was reading a New Yorker article that was talking about toxic assets and balance sheets and liabilities - and while I could generally get the gist of the whole thing before, it was nice to actually really understand it. Give those two a listen. And support public radio.

Finding Plan B

2009-03-08T08:42:00.000-07:00

A lot of my hesitance to initially start a blog came from a stigma I held about blogging from when it first started - at least as far as my experience with it is concerned. The first blogs I knew were live journals. These were essentially a chance for people to post their diaries - complete with indulgent soul searching and melodramatic overshares - with, um, everyone. The voyeur in me would occasionally read these 'live journal blogs,' but not without a lot of tsking and judging. Blogging has clearly morphed and developed and grown up a lot. But it still easily becomes a platform to (over)share Feelings. Capital F. Which is, admittedly, where today's post comes in.

I was listening to This American Life on my train to work yesterday in a particular mood of frustration with my professional life. The episode that happened to come on my podcast was about life's change in direction and how, more often then not, we don't end up where we originally thought. Our lives don't turn out how we imagined them at 18 or 21 or 25, even. Ira Glass starts off:

There's a short story by the fiction writer Ron Carlson in which a guy loses his job after ten years. His boss tells him 'OK, go to Plan B,' and the guy says 'This was Plan B.'

Which is, I think, how it goes for most of us. We head off cheerfully to Plan A and Plan A turns out to be completely different than we thought it was going to be. And so we switch to a backup - and then the backup plan becomes our life.

Glass continued by telling about a speech he gave to a group of around 100 people. He asked them how many of their lives had turned out how they'd expected. How many of them were still on Plan A. "Out of 100, only one person raised her hand," Glass said. "Everyone else was like, Plan B? what about Plan C and D and F?"

I don't really think there's a lot of narration I need to add to this - especially with my desire to resist complete livejournaliness. With the current state of our economy there's a lot of uncertainty in the future holds. A lot of people that were pursuing jobs that seemed like safe bets are now forced to completely change direction. Journalism never seemed like the "safe bet" job, but right now its future seems particularly shaky. So the question is, at what point do you start to really think about Plan B...

P.S. Are you just mocking me now, Gawker?

2009-03-03T12:40:00.000-08:00

Good thing I'm not in J-School, I guess.

Miss, Can I Take Your Coat?

2009-03-03T09:58:00.000-08:00

My friend Anthony, a fellow reporter at the hanging-on-to-its-last-limb Free Lance, sent me a link to an article lauding his current, far cooler employer, VentureBeat, as one of the 25-most valuable blogs. I'm proud of Anthony for his successful foray into this crazy "new media," a none-too-easy feat. But besides being a nice little bragging piece for Anthony, the rundown of the economically successful blogs was also an interesting read. I do enjoy reading most of the top 25 (Gawker and The Huffington Post, No.1 and No.2, respectively, are both on my quick links tool bar at the top of my screen.)

Still, reading the article was also incredibly depressing. For one thing, the supposedly "most profitable blog" has a listed staff of 7 on its' editorial team (OK, OK, I know this isn't including the staff at Jezebel, etc., but you get my point.) So its' profitability is partially due to keeping costs, such as employing poor, lowly writers, to a minimum while simultaneously making a lot in page views and advertising revenue. They also just had cuts - folding both Valleywag and Defamer into Gawker. So even the most profitable forms of media are making cutbacks and having layoffs, a depressing idea for any unemployed writer. Also, while Gawker is an entertaining and enlightening round up of the day's news with some insightful analysis to boot, there is pretty much zilch original reporting. The Huffington Post, which does have quite a bit of actual reporting, still only has 50 full-time employees. It's hard to imagine, once all is settled with this new media that there will be many jobs for the overabundance of j-schoolers. In the epic game of media musical chairs, we'll be left with hundreds of players and only a handful of chairs when the song ends. Perhaps a friendly reminder that I should get out of the game now. Did you come with me on that metaphor? I'm thinking no, but ah well.

On a completely different note - one that more directly relates to what is paying for my second cup of coffee today. Last week, the New York Times had an article about my second form of income - coat checking. I've been supplementing my shrinking office managing hours at Vento with two weekend shifts where I run up and down stairs (in heels, no less!) carrying piles of perfumed furs and Burberry jackets, praying for $2 in exchange for my efforts. The article notes wealthy New Yorkers' hesitance to part with their precious dollars for someone to hold onto their coats even after eating a $180 dinner. A true and frustrating observation. On an average Saturday night, when I check about 225 coats (450 times up and down the stairs) I usually average about $100 - 45 cents a coat. Keep in mind, there are some people who tip $5 and large groups who tip nothin' (French tourists! I'm looking to you, here.) I find coat checking to be a really interesting experience, mainly because - try as I might to find a rhyme or reason behind who tips me what - there are really no trends. For one thing, I think many people don't realize that that's my job: taking, holding and then retrieving his or her coat. They don't realize that their tips are essentially my only income - I'm not a host making $15 an hour, I'm making $4.85 with the assumption that I'll be making some money for each coat I check. It's interesting how many large, bachelorette-esque parties of girls, each of which checks her name-brand-wool-coat-with-matching-scarf-and-gloves, forget to tip the girl who ran up and down the stairs nine times to fetch each one of their coats individually. Even after they just spent hundreds on carafes of hangover-inducing sugary cocktails.

Internet ADD

2009-02-22T15:37:00.000-08:00

About a week ago, I saved a link to an Atlantic Monthly article, "How the Crash Will Reshape America." I had read a short summary of the article on the Daily Intel, and was interested to read more (to summarize the summary, the author of the article argues that the economic crisis will be good for intellectual/artistic magnets such as New York, but bad for mass suburbs in the sunbelt, like Phoenix). The link was saved to my computer for several days - one of the many tabs I typically have open on my browser. But each time I would start to read it, something else would catch my eye. It wasn't that the article wasn't well written or compelling, but there were so many other distractions at my fingertips. Someone would start chatting with me on gmail, or a new photo would be posted of a friend on Facebook, or an interesting new blurb would appear on Gawker. While I consider myself an expert multi-tasker, I couldn't allow myself to really get into the article fully. Eventually, I broke down and simply purchased a copy of the March Atlantic and finished the article before the end of the day.

Although I had initially intended to blog about the article (it is a recommended read), I find myself more interested in the actual process of me attempting to read the article reveals. While I am not someone to shy away from reading articles online - the Internet is really only an adequate medium for certain types of articles. When I'm reading an article online, I'm generally doing 10 other things at the same time. This makes the short blurbs and links on Gawker and Daily Intel ideal, but anything much longer seem burdensome. If print media really does disappear entirely, there won't be much of an outlet for these in-depth "think" pieces (to quote Almost Famous) and features. When I took newspaper layout and design, we talked about how there are very specific statistics on how much of an article people read: who makes it past the lede, the nutgraf - the minute few who follow the article past the jump. I can imagine these percents are much smaller for those reading articles online. This seems especially detrimental to magazine and feature pieces, which are written to be read from start to finish.

I also can't help but pull a little Psych 101, and wonder what kind of impact this modern consumption of media must have on the brain. OK, OK, I know this is kind of a stupid supposition, and probably one that has had tens and thousands of studies done on it, but I'm nonetheless intrigued. I feel like my attention span has shrunk significantly since I've owned my own laptop. Grant you, I'm a much better multitasker, but I rarely have my full concentration on one thing at a time. Often, I'm typing, reading, talking, and watching an episode of CSI on Netflix's Watch Instantly feature simultaneously. Since I have no television, and watch all my movies, TV, on my computer - I've found that I can rarely actually watch a feature film the entire way through. Otherwise, I get distracted by the other tabs and other things to do. If this has noticeably impacted my attention span, imagine what it would do to a child whose brain was still forming?

Laundry Day Cut Short

2009-02-10T10:15:00.000-08:00

OK, bad bad me I know I haven't written in a while. I had big plans to go to my coffee shop, do my laundry and write today...these were cut short, however, by a call to come into work. So much for them cutting my hours. At any rate, here are a few interesting links to keep you engaged for the time being.

For one, NPR did two short pieces on the current state of the media. One, imagined a city without a daily newspaper, the other, looked more at the future. I recommend checking them both out.

Also, on my new favorite blog - the Daily Intel - they quoted Anderson Cooper telling a elementary school-aged journalism hopeful to try to resist "becoming a blowhard." Priceless.

A Working Journalist

2009-01-29T21:21:00.000-08:00

Initially after getting laid off from The Free Lance, I shrugged off the idea of ever working for a newspaper again. 'It was never my dream to work for a daily,' I told myself, along with the reassurance that I would freelance. For sure. As much as this was really me just trying to assuage my devastation at being let go from my first "REAL JOB," it also was true: I never wanted to work for a daily. Long form, magazine pieces were both my forte and where my interest lied. But after moving on from the Free Lance and into a less-than-academic profession (ahem, job), I've realized how much I enjoyed the daily. For one thing, it's difficult to write a long-form piece without initially writing a short one - after all, how do you go in depth on a topic without becoming initially familiar, as naturally happens when you're following a beat.

At any rate, I have been missing the daily paper world, and in the past couple months I have again begun applying to newspapers. It's been rough for multiple reasons: no one's hiring, I'm hesitant to return after my first experience, and - well, did I mention newspapers are dying and no one is hiring?

On Tuesday journalismjobs.com posted two links for Queens newspapers looking for reporters. These were both weekly community papers, but a real chance for me to get myself writing again. I quickly brushed up my cover letter and resume and sent them out. Surprisingly quickly, I received a response from the editor of one of the papers. In, what I'll assume was a mass email, he requested that those still interested pitch three possible stories they would write while working at the paper. He also cautioned: "First, let's be clear about the position. It is full-time, absolutely requires that you have a car and pays in the low-20s based on numerous factors. This is an entry-level reporter position. Have no illusion of clocking out at 5 p.m. or having your weekends free."

While I appreciate the honesty of the response, it really got me thinking: who can afford to be a journalist anymore? This position would require me taking a pay-cut from my current job and adding the (significant) expense of a car in New York City. The cost of living here alone would not be covered by that salary, and the post makes it very clear that a second job to help cover expenses would be out of the question. So essentially, this newspaper job would require some kind of financial support - probably in the form of mommy and daddy bank. So often life's roadblocks based on socio-economic class are analyzed at a younger age: specifically, money preventing people from pursuing higher education. But what about after you get that degree? My parents are by no means poor, and have helped me pass many of these hurdles with their financial support (OK, and emotional, and every other kind...) They paid for my college and helped me out during my two unpaid internships, and would be there for me if I needed them even now. I am aware of how lucky I am to have that safety net. But they are in no position to be providing constant fiscal support to their almost-25-year-old daughter. Nor do I believe this would meld very well with their beliefs about parenting. So, children of middle class families can't afford to be journalists, clearly no one coming from less can afford it either...but who can? And is this really how newspapers will be saved, by selecting from an incredibly narrow pool of applicants?

Gawker had an article last week about youth paying for internships. As I have looked for jobs on journalismjobs.com and craigslist, I've noticed more and more companies are trying to get by using unpaid interns, banking on the desperation of those freshly out of college (am I still considered "freshly out of college?") trying to get experience. A girl I went to college with told me about a week ago she was forced to lay off her first employee - someone only slightly newer at the job than she. This person was replaced, you guessed it, with an unpaid intern. I'm certain the only reason that jobs are asking for money for internships is that people are willing to pay. Just as someone will not only take the position at the queens newspaper, they will be grateful to have a job as a working journalist.

An Interesting Idea

2009-01-26T17:22:00.000-08:00

France's President, Nicolas Sarkozy, announced this week that he would not only increase the country's financial support of print media, but he would also give out free newspaper subscriptions to french youth on their 18th birthday.

Read the AP article on Sarkozy's announcement here.

The idea is very interesting - although I wonder with how much success it would be met here in the U.S. For one thing, while many other industries are believed to merit financial support from the government, I hardly think that the media fits into this category. Because writing is something most people can do, and no explicit degree is required to be a journalist the profession is often viewed as a joke. There's an ad for some show on IFC that I've seen repeatedly in the subway that says "Now it can be revealed: THE NEWS IS MAKING YOU DUMBER." I understand there are a lot of faults to the media, and - here's where my bias comes in - especially with television news. But every time I see that ad I just want to yell at it, 'Listen! We're already dying! Please don't kick us while we're down!'

Anyway, I think it will be interesting to see what happens with the additional support to the media in France - will the 18-year-olds start reading the paper, now that they have the option of receiving it for free? Will the papers use the additional funding to create innovative new ideas to make the media fresh and interesting? It should be interesting to see. As Sarkozy noted:

"None of the proposed measures ... will be useful in the end if the profession doesn't meet its challenges. The industry has a future to reinvent. ... Time is running out."

Dancing About Architecture

2009-01-19T19:07:00.000-08:00

I just listened to an older This American Life on my subway ride home from drinks with Stephanie in Hell's Kitchen. The episode, Numbers, was about trying to quantify things that are truly unquantifiable. Things like love, relationships, emotions... I thought the whole concept of the story was interesting, primarily because of how much emphasis we do put on numbers. As journalists, any story is better if it's backed with a stat. Sure, I can say 'macs are the computer of choice in Williamsburg' (and feel pretty confident about my statement) but I would have little grounds for a story just based on an inane observation. However, the second I find out that 76% of the electronics delivered to a 11211 zip code were Apples - suddenly I have the fundamentals of an interesting, albeit obvious, story. (Um, by the way: I made that up. But trust me, the hipsters love their Macbooks and I'm uniformly scorned for bringing my Toshiba into my local coffee shop.) I digress.

The piece was really interesting, because it looked at different people who had tried - via various methods - to use numbers or statistics to explain things much too vague for something so concrete. One story looked at a group of scientists who had used polling to try to create the most palatable song and piece of artwork. Another was about a man who, since the 1950s, had written down everything he had done each day of his life: Grocery store x2, talked on phone, etc. He did all this without ever examining the emotion of the day; he never discussed how he felt and what his feelings were. I think there are definitely a lot of things that over over-discussed and hyper-analyzed. Knowing that people like blue in paintings and like to see faces does not mean that you can create a piece of artwork that would stir the same emotions that I felt when I first saw a Van Gogh. Some things are not meant to be quantified. Although, honestly, while I feel much more security behind words, the same can be said for them. This may be why I never felt drawn to criticism; be it film, TV, books or food. While I have no problem holding a discussion about why I liked a movie or hated it, when I truly love something, sometimes I don't want to analyze that. When I go to an art museum - knowing very little about art history or critique - I can only go off what I feel. When I saw La Nuit Etoilee I didn't need to discuss what I was feeling, nor could I really put what I felt into words. I could qualify it by saying, 'I love how vivid the colors are,' or quantify it by saying I rate impressionism as a 10, in terms of styles. But really, all I wanted to say was 'wow' and keep staring.

Some things are really better left unquantified and some feelings can never be fully expressed with words.

What's Black and White and Read All Over?

2009-01-13T10:31:00.000-08:00

There are a few types of articles that I will always read - always flip to first in my magazines, always click on to 'read the full story,' always follow after the jump. Self-examining, naval-gazing "state of the media" articles definitely fall into that category. Sadly, with paper after paper filing for bankruptcy, folding or cutting - these stories now litter gawker.com, slate.com and most daily papers. Who better than the print media to cover its' own demise? (Don't answer that.)

When I opened my browser last week and the Seattle Times (my home page) loaded, I was drawn - not to the story about the mass flooding in Western Washington or the jarring photo of destruction that accompanied it - but to the news of the P-I's impending closure. "Seattle P-I up for sale, but almost certainly it will fold, industry observers say." The headline didn't come as a surprise; the P-I has been in bad shape for almost as long as I can remember. Still, the news hit a lot closer to home than the other laundry list of closures. The orange P-I boxes were the representation of the paper business to me. As a kid, I recall asking my mom why there were two newspapers in one city (if there's one set of facts then there's one set of facts, right? Why don't they just put all the facts in one paper?) This, for me, was a lot of my initial understanding of the paper biz.

In addition to the closure/cuts/buyouts articles of late, there have been quite a few interesting analysis-based ones, as well. Particularly interesting was The Atlantic's "End Times". The article examines the potential that newspapers could fold (at least in their traditional "daily print" sense) much earlier than everyone has been estimating. Michael Hirschorn writes:

"But what if the old media dies much more quickly? What if a hurricane comes along and obliterates the dunes entirely? Specifically, what if The New York Times goes out of business—like, this May?"

Hirschorn cites the paper's significant debt, existing cut-backs and the current state of the economy to back the supposition. He acknowledges the impressive implication of the end of Times - including the ritual of Sunday morning tangible-paper over coffee, but also the role of newspapers as a watchdog for politics and society overall. "Internet purists may maintain that the Web will throw up a new pro-am class of citizen journalists to fill the void, but for now, at least, there’s no online substitute for institutions that can marshal years of well-developed sourcing and reporting experience—not to mention the resources to, say, send journalists leapfrogging between Mumbai and Islamabad to decode the complexities of the India-Pakistan conflict," he writes. Still, the article maintains some semblance of optimism. These cuts and the creation of a web-only Times could mean focusing on the quality. Sure, the T magazine and wedding sections might disappear, but the paper could focus on their best writers and creating the best, most-focused product:

"Journalistic outlets will discover that the Web allows (okay, forces) them to concentrate on developing expertise in a narrower set of issues and interests, while helping journalists from other places and publications find new audiences."

Still, what the article does not address, is what is going to happen to the small, community newspapers. When I think about the news (read: corruption) goldmine that is San Benito County, the prospect of no one covering that once the Free Lance inevitably folds is devastating - not only to my "journalists are an important part of a community" sensibilities, but to the community and its' tax dollars.

Monday's Fresh Air also focused on the future of print media. One interview was with Leonard Downie Jr., the former executive editor of the Washington Post and the other was with John Yemma, editor of the Christian Science Monitor, about their move to web-only content. (Thanks to Megan for pointing these interviews out to me.) I found myself frantically typing up notes as I listened to these two editors talk (embarrassingly, I'm not joking).

For me, the most interesting part of Downie's interview was when Terry Gross asked him about how he talks to journalist-hopefuls. Now that he's retired from the Washington Post, Downie plans to teach journalism. I have often wondered how my Santa Clara journalism professors encourage students, with the paper business looking more dire, even, than when I graduated. To the best of my quick-transcribe ability, here is how he responded:

This profession is a calling and it is so very important to the American people...and it’s not going to go away, it’s going to take different forms.. The work is very long, you have to be very dedicated to it, but it’s very rewarding and it’s worth sticking it out and joining this great adventure in figuring out how we’re going to present news in the future.

India

2009-01-11T14:41:00.000-08:00

Last week India, the little girl I babysit, told me - with the sincerity that only a 3-year-old can muster:

"Alice. We just have to keep finding ourselves over and over again."

Grant you, India was talking about our hour (and climbing) long game of Hide-N-Seek. But sometimes her wisdom can be baffling.

Culture Binge

2009-01-07T20:46:00.000-08:00

I had a truly incredible past weekend full of museums and museums. The city of New York is full of exciting activities if you just look for them. Saturday, after cooking dinner with some friends, we headed over to the Brooklyn Museum for First Saturday (technically "Target's First Saturday. Gotta have a sponsor, right?) The museum was open and free until 11pm with music, ballroom dancing, DJs and wine. There was an incredible turnout and it was a good chance to finally check out my local museum. There's a permanent feminist art collection which I thought had some especially interesting pieces. The picture is taken looking in on a DJ'd dance party at the museum. Sunday, I went to the Met for the second time. The museum is so large that I managed to spend a good couple of hours exploring without going into any of the exhibits for a second time. Overall, a great (and free!) weekend.

A New Year

2009-01-03T12:49:00.000-08:00

It's been a while since my last post, which I apologize for. The holidays brought an abundance of egg nog, credit card debt and - in Washington this year - snow. But what they did not bring was time and especially not time for writing. But that's just me making excuses.

The New Year (yes, I'm capitalizing it), as per usual, has left me questioning where I am, and what I should be moving toward. This time last year I was laid off from my first "real job" and made the decision to move across the country to what I had deemed the exact opposite of San Juan Bautista. Replace feral chickens with high-strung New Yorkers, sub mission-style architecture with skyscrapers and brownstones...then see what happens. The results have been somewhat mixed. Especially because I'm not doing what I came here to do: write. But I don't think my time here has been a wash. And I'm saying that now in spite of the fact that my apartment is currently without running water for the fifth time in my 3 months living there. Ah well.

While I don't love my current job, by any means, I do think it has been a good experience. Now, I can cite real office experience when applying to editorial assistant positions. I spent New Year's Eve at my restaurant monitoring the inflation of 5,000 silver and black balloons - and don't think that didn't go on the top of my resume. But seriously. I've been applying to more jobs recently and have broadened my search to even positions vaguely related to writing (if it requires crafting carefully worded emails, I'm there). New York Magazine had a feature chronicling "My Laid-Off Life" for several New Yorkers (out of the 33,000 who have been laid off since August.) The article is a nice reminder for anyone who needs it (don't we all?) of how grateful we should feel to have jobs in the current economy. And I say this knowing full-well that my position is somewhat superfluous at my restaurant and risks being eliminated if the covers remain low. Who knows where I'll be in 2010 - what coast, what profession, what coffee shop - but I'm excited to see what happens in the next year.

Christmas Dance Moves

2008-12-20T16:12:00.000-08:00

Happy Holidays all! I'm getting ready to head home tomorrow to celebrate Christmas with the family. Enjoy the below video - it'll help you come up with some bitchin' dance moves for the various holiday parties.

The One-Two Punch

2008-12-16T11:05:00.000-08:00

New York City is a coy mistress. This is certainly not a profound statement - realistically, it probably lands somewhere between old New York adage and screenwriter's cliche (which is worse? You decide). But while I'm aware of this, it still surprises me when she hits.

I spent the week in a very "over New York" slump. I finally succumbed to a stomach bug this weekend, spending nearly the whole of Saturday and Sunday in bed. Also, my parents' Christmas card - harmless and honest - which summarized my year succinctly, stating: "she’s in a different apartment now with one roommate, and she’s still working the restaurant job" led me to question what exactly I was doing here. I felt tired of the city and ready to head home.

Then came the one-two punch. And yes, I can use sports analogies, thankyouverymuch.

First came New York Magazine's year-end "Reasons to Love New York" issue. The article was littered with reasons why I do love living here. And why I feel at home in a big city. Second, as I sat in my favorite coffee shop in Williamsburg this morning, writing Christmas cards and waiting for my laundry, mammoth-sized snow flakes began to fall. Everyone in the small cafe became giddy and several employees and patrons went outside to capture the giant flakes on their tongues and look up at the sky. There is nothing like snow to make you love a city again.

Briefly going back to the "Reasons to Love New York" issue - the reason that stuck out most to me was one a reader had emailed in. Eric Greer wrote that he loves New York "because I moved to LA almost two years ago, and I've read six books in the time since. In New York, I'd read on the subway and finish a book in a week (at least!). There are millions of reasons to move back, but I'd do it just for the books."

Amen.

I have expounded to friends, family and, um, strangers, on multiple occasions about the amazing partnership between public transportation and literacy here in New York. Living in Bed-Stuy, especially, where my daily commutes were at least 45 minutes each way, I was never behind on a New Yorker subscription. It's so refreshing to have that forced separation from technology (excepting, of course, the equally transit-friendly ipod) for that bit of time each day. It was also always so reassuring to see people from all walks of life reading. And reading all types of newspapers, books and magazines. It's so apparent what a strong correlation there is between public transportation and literacy. Clearly, stronger public transportation systems are the answer to nearly all of societies woes, right? Literacy, the fall of print media, the environment - um, those are all of societies woes, correct? But absolutely without any irony or cheekiness, I really do believe that it could solve so much. So someone needs to start digging out there on the West Coast.

Discuss.

2008-12-08T17:54:00.000-08:00

My penchant for ordering take-out Thai has been duly noted here (although to be fair, I think it's just that I mention what I'm eating when it's Thai - today I ate a Waldorf-esque salad and kept mum about it because it wasn't all that inspiring). However, equally high on my "things Alice adores" list is New York Magazine. I read this magazine nearly cover to cover every week and, of course, complete its' crossword puzzle. I know it's crazy from a financial standpoint, but I don't actually subscribe to this magazine. Every Monday, on my way to the bank to make the deposits for work, I plunk down the $3.99 for my copy. The articles provide a good distraction while Narissa at Chase bank counts the tens of thousands of dollars spent at Vento and Level V over the weekend. I think that magazine does a beautiful job of matching the "intellectual" with the light and fun. I find the writing to be some of the best, because it's rarely lofty and pedantic (which, you really can't say without sounding lofty and pedantic - ah, irony); opting for honesty and even employing the use of first person. Anyway, longest intro ever. The moral is: read New York Magazine.

That whole big windup was for an article that I'm not entirely sure how to respond to. I will say it evoked an extremely strong emotional and intellectual reaction for me. The article is called "Gender Bender" with the stirring subhead: "More women are drinking, and the women who drink are drinking more, in some cases matching their male peers. This is the kind of equality nobody was fighting for."

This is an article that was written about my peer group of women - or at least the peer group I'm growing into: Young, educated, professionals. The woman who wrote the article is herself a part of this group:

"Most of [my female friends] do drink - and not just in a glass-of-wine-with-dinner way. Drinking is our go-to activity. Meeting a friend implies going to a bar. Having a meal implies a round of cocktails beforehand. A party implies a serious hangover. Drinking feels like our prerogative - if we want to get blasted at the company Christmas party or nurse a bottle of scotch through the holidays, no one should, or can, stop us."

What the article incited in me, besides a lot of terrifying self-reflection, was a desire to discuss its' contents. Perhaps this is the true indication of a great article. So, here it is: my feeble attempt to turn the naval-gazing of my blog into a discussion board. I would love it if people read this article and could share their thoughts, if any, here. This may be wholly unsuccessful, but here's my attempt. If nothing else, I really encourage everyone to read the article.

(Photo stolen, without permission, from Stephanie Layton. Check out more of her work here.)

A Blank Sheet of Paper

2008-12-07T16:32:00.000-08:00

New York Times guest columnist today, Timothy Egan, wrote about Joe the Plumber publishing a book this month. Egan is, justifiably, incensed by the mere prospect of JTP (like Jonathan Taylor Thomas!) being paid to write. "I have a question for Joe:" he writes, "Do you want me to fix your leaky toilet? I didn’t think so. And I don’t want you writing books. Not when too many good novelists remain unpublished."

I am not quite as outraged by JTP's book deal as Egan; when I read about it, my first reaction was to laugh and shake my head - similarly to when I found out Brody Jenner has a show, "Bromance," airing on national television. But when I read this column, I did find myself saying "yeah! so true!" outloud and shaking my head, although this time more angrily. Although I fully understand we live in an era of celebrity, it's still frustrating to be a struggling writer - watching those who aren't even really interested in writing take a book deal for granted. Just as struggling actors, I'm sure, are frustrated to see celebrities floundering through a leading role in a Broadway show. We're living in a time when Tila Tequila will star as Roxie Hart in Chicago and publish a popular-but-panned memoir before qualified individuals. But I don't think that means the rest of us should give up on the pursuit.

P.S. Photo credit for the picture in Wednesday's post goes to Michael Gacetta. Check out his daily photography, along with Stephanie Layton's at http://365.nickgaswirth.com/

Who wants to ride the subway alone?

2008-12-03T19:28:00.000-08:00

On the ride home from drinks with Stephanie tonight, I finally opened my much-neglected New York Magazine from last week. There was an article in it about the myth of loneliness in New York that I had been interested in reading. I know about the cliches of being alone in a city of millions - but for me, I rarely feel lonely here. In stark contrast, when I lived in the small town of San Juan Bautista,with a population of just over 1000, I often felt much more isolated. Perhaps this was because despite the fact that it was one of those places where "everyone knows everyone," I didn't know everyone.

The article talked about new research indicating that people are actually less lonely in large, urban areas. Although many New Yorkers live alone (1 in 2), they go out, socialize, and establish complex networks of mere acquaintances. The article has multiple grafs talking about the importance of these so called "weak ties." I, for one, have always found these daily interactions invigorating and humanizing. While having a deep conversation with a close friend is incomparably wonderful, the "hi, how-are-yous" with the bank teller and "what-are-you-doing-for-the-holidays" with the barista aren't vapid small talk, they also help you feel a basic human connection.

"There is even evidence that weak ties simply make us feel better...the advice your mother gives you when you’re depressed—Get out of the damn house, would you?—turns out to be right. For most people, being in the simple presence of a friendly person helps us reregulate our behavior if we’re feeling depressed in our isolation. We are naturally wired not just to connect with them but to imitate them—which might be a good idea, if our impulses at that moment are self-destructive."

It was nice to read the article as I rode home from hanging out with a good friend. Although they are scattered around the U.S., I know I'm very lucky to have as many close friends and family members I do (according to the article, on average Americans feel they have 2 people they can discuss important matters with). But I also feel lucky to be living in such an invigorating city. I've always loved the subway, because it gives a sense of togetherness. In the movie "Crash" they discuss how LA is inherently lonely because it's a city where people live in their cars. They are constantly encased behind glass and metal. It's a metaphor, get it? Juxtapose that with New York, a city where we are consistently shoved together creating a shared community - whether we want it or not.

"{Living in New York] shows us, in trillions of invisible ways every day, that people are essentially nothing without one another. We may sometimes want to throttle our fellow travelers on the F train. We may on occasion curse our neighbors for playing music so loud it splits the floor. But living cheek-by-jowl is the necessary price we pay for our well-being. And anyway, who wants to ride the subway alone?"

Magic!

2008-11-30T17:47:00.000-08:00

Today on the subway, a man came on pushing a decorated cart. I assumed, correctly, it was performer and continued listening to my This American Life podcast. But when I realized he wasn't orating, singing or playing an instrument I glanced over: he was performing magic tricks. I've always loved the kitsch of magicians. I find their illusions at once both hilarious (G.O.B. on Arrested Development encouraged this idea) and fascinating. In Elementary School, Dana had a magic kit and we spent many hours reading through and practicing the tricks. This man on the train was slightly more advanced than I ever became. He was by far one of the most entertaining performers I've seen on the subway. He did about 9 quick tricks (illusions!) between the 1st Ave. and Bedford stops. One involved a dove and the other had a disappearing rabbit. It was fun to see everyone smile and, in the end, open their wallets. If nothing else, the man deserved a few bucks just for juggling live animals on a moving subway: no small feat.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2008-11-27T21:29:00.001-08:00

I know I haven't posted in forever - my little sister has been in town. For now, enjoy some lovely Thanksgiving pictures put together by Slate.

Today, I'm thankful for my family and friends, the New York Times 'Modern Love' column, Thai food (predictably), Portland coffee available in Brooklyn, New York Magazine on Mondays and New Yorker on Tuesdays, gchat, crunchy fall leaves, Arrested Development, little kids in rainboots and my orange wall.

Fuerzabruta

2008-11-20T21:17:00.000-08:00

Tonight my friend Anna got me comp tickets to go see Fuerzabruta in Union Square. I had heard about this play/theatrical experience before from other people, but I didn't exactly know what to expect. I was blown away. You stand for the full 70 minutes of the show while the action happens around you, in front of you and on top of you. It was kind of a Cirque de Soleil meets...I don't even know! At one point this thick, plastic ceiling is lowered and these women are swimming and moving through this shallow water - all above your head. The ceiling is lowered so much that you can actually touch it and feel their bodies through the plastic. It's an insane experience. Here is a preview for the show, but it doesn't even begin to describe the experience of seeing it live.

It's nights like this that I feel so grateful to be living in such a vibrant city full of culture and excitement - and great friends to hook you up with free tix!

Prop. 8

2008-11-19T20:59:00.000-08:00

I can't begin to talk about how distressing I find the passing of Prop. 8 in California. I found it particularly disheartening the fact that San Benito County - where I used to live and report from - voted for Prop. 8. For taking away a basic, human right.

The Daily Show, as always, recognized the absurdity of opposing gay marriage in a 2005 episode. Watch and enjoy... then go out and do something, anything to show your support for the rights of all to get married.

Mochas and New York Magazine

2008-11-17T17:37:00.000-08:00

A few random rants to start off my Tuesday morning post:

First of all, why does iTunes make it so easy to spend $17 on songs in the same number of minutes? Has anyone else discovered iTunes MyGroove playlists? Pre-selected songs are grouped as "study rock" or "90s memories" or "bachelorette parties." Last night I found myself downloading songs from their "Autumn" playlist (I told you, I'm on a fall-in-New-York-City-bender.) Gah, I could spend hours - and hundreds - reminiscing over old songs and discovering new ones.

Secondly, I'm convinced I'm going to be attending the presidential inauguration this year. I was never too much of a sucker for raffles. I’m usually able to rationalize that there are tens of thousands of people out there with the same odds of winning as me. Plus, beyond winning a giant, stuffed Sylvester cat in fourth grade I’ve never been that lucky. That was, until New York Senator Charles Schumer announced a lottery to win tickets to the presidential inauguration. I’m convinced my luck will change for this, and I’m bound to win. Tell you what: if I win, I’ll take you, as long as you promise you’ll take me if you win. Deal.

Lastly, the real reason I even wanted to post this morning:

I read an interesting article in New York magazine last night. I’m not going to tell you what food I was eating while reading it, but I’ll admit it does start with a t and end with an i and yes, Megan, I have an addiction. The article, The 'Bitch' and the 'Ditz', was about what women lost, not gained, from the 2008 election season.

There was a lot to celebrate with the election of Obama this month. But I found there were also a lot of tough moments during the entire election season for me, as a woman – as a feminist – to swallow. First was the realization that the country was not ready to elect a female president. I say this with a simultaneous counter that I was no Hillary supporter. But the blatant sexism that shadowed her campaign, not only from conservative pundits, but also from male friends of mine, made me sick and frustrated. People I knew and thought respected women, clearly did not believe one was capable of running this country. The introduction of Sarah Palin to the scene seemed to reinforce the belief that many had that a woman could not handle this position. The article did a really articulate job of highlighting how Clinton and Palin were played as caricatures of women in power:

"Among the darker revelations of this election is the fact that the vice-grip of female stereotypes remains suffocatingly tight. On the national political stage and in office buildings across the country, women regularly find themselves divided into dualities that are the modern equivalent of the Madonna-whore complex: the hard-ass or the lightweight, the battle-ax or the bubblehead, the serious, pursed-lipped shrew or the silly, ineffectual girl."

To be fair, I think SNL did a really good job of mocking the two stereotypes, thanks – no doubt – to the witty female minds of Tina Fey and Amy Poehler.

The article ends: “Many will say we’ve come a long way this year. The truth is we have a long way to go.”

I couldn’t agree more.

Print is Over (If You Want It)

2008-11-16T13:43:00.000-08:00

The New York Times had an article Saturday about how industries survive change - but specifically looking at how newspapers could overcome the current trend toward becoming obsolete. The article cites the example of bicycles and radios - both of which have reinvented themselves over the years to remain something people desire, despite new technologies (cars, TV...) Still, the article doesn't really answer HOW newspapers will remarket themselves successfully. I think this is the problem: no one knows exactly what changes will help and what will harm print media.

Although much of the article was a downer (um, incidentally most articles about the current state of journalism are), the last graf left me with some hope:

"... Perhaps the destruction will lead to more creativity. Perhaps the people we now know as journalists — or, for that matter, autoworkers — will find ways to innovate elsewhere, just as, over a century ago, gun makers laid down their weapons and broke out the needle and thread. That is, after all, the American creative legacy: making innovation seem as easy as, well, riding a bike."

The answer is not going to be cutting everything and eliminating creativity, it's going to be up to editors and journalists to create a product that people want and are interested in.

Fall in the City

2008-11-15T19:48:00.000-08:00

It's days like today that make me think I could live in New York for the rest of my life. Don't worry parents, around mid-February when it seems there's no end to the sub-zero temperatures and again at the end of July when "lip sweat" has re-entered my vocabulary, I'll be looking to more temperate climates. But right now, in the heart of fall, I can think of no place I'd rather be than New York City. This morning, I walked to my local coffee shop (which serves Stumptown coffee. No one does caffeine better than the PNW!) with my jacket unzipped and New Yorker in tow. The second I stepped outside my apartment I was immediately in a great mood. The sun was out and the air was crisp and autumny (yes, I'm using it as an adjective). There were leaves EVERYWHERE: littering the sidewalks, crushed in the streets and a few clinging to the near-barren tree branches.While Washington definitely has seasons, with all the evergreen trees, you just don't see the same amount or caliber of leaves. Red and orange are everywhere here and make me crave glasses of red wine and egg nog lattes.

On an entirely separate note, for those of you who either share my love of icanhascheezburger or just don't get it, today salon.com had an article about how the best posts on icanhascheezburger depict basic human emotion. It also explains why the sad ones are always my favorite. Enjoi. Kthxbai.

Greenpoint Rite Aid

2008-11-11T12:16:00.000-08:00

Today I took a jaunt over to Greenpoint's Rite Aid to pick up some much-needed shampoo and garbage bags. My itty bitty apartment (which I love!) is on the border of the Williamsburg and Greenpoint neighborhoods in Brooklyn. I'm also nicely sandwiched between Italian and Polish enclaves...with a healthy smattering of hipsters throughout. The short stroll to Greenpoint transports you to a Little Poland complete with storefronts in Polish and old men cursing at you in Polish (true story.) It also reminds me of the New York from movies - 1960s, pre-gentrification New York. But despite this, it still has a Dunkin' Donuts and a Rite Aid - what doesn't?

I walked in to find that the hair dyes and contact solution were not housed in your typical Rite Aid store. I had actually walked into what appeared to be an old ballroom. The heart of the store is in a large, sunken room with a vaulted ceiling with ornate detailing along the side. The best part was the giant disco ball in the middle. The whole scene made me legitimately laugh outloud and desperate to know the history of the place. The second I got home I hopped on the Internet to do a little research on the place. Turns out I wasn't the only person who found it hilarious/interesting. Apparently it was originally the Meserole Theater before it was transformed into a skating rink (hence the disco ball, I suppose) and finally a drug store. Anyway, while it made me sad that it's not still there as either of those things, I'm glad they've at least maintained the building.

Also, next time I need shampoo I'm definitely bringing my roller skates.

Laser Cats!

2008-11-09T11:33:00.000-08:00

Today I ordered Thai food (my fridge is broken so it's been a lot of take-out lately) and have been watching old episodes of The OC on hulu. God, I love that site. I also re-stumbled upon one of my favorite SNL moments.

Enjoy.

Brunch, etc.

2008-11-08T14:44:00.000-08:00

I've never been ashamed to admit how little I know about economics. My grasp of the subject is very elementary - sure! supply and demand! got it! I think a younger me, who remembered the rules to Pit, may have understood stocks better than I currently do. I for sure never thought I would see the day when I would be discussing the current state of the economy and it's impact on my life. I was naive enough to believe if I didn't think about the economy, it wouldn't affect me. Ah, 2008. How amazing to learn that what goes on Wall Street and with that guy-who-shouts-at-me on CNBC and with the housing foreclosures Anthony was writing about at the Free Lance would impact my life. But it does, and it has, and suddenly the economy is something I think about on a daily basis. In terms of my life, mostly it's caused me to feel a little stuck. I'm at a job that doesn't even hint of the industry I want to be in - but I don't foresee myself leaving any time soon. In fact, I'm more concerned about getting laid off and being forced to leave sooner than I can afford. But I know I'm not the only person in the situation. It's scary for those of us who are fairly fresh out of college and trying to find ourselves and a career that is challenging and engaging. Because, really, what is out there? And can I afford to leave what I have now to find out?

A recent article in The New Yorker tied a lot of the current challenges with our economy to the health care system:

"American businesses often can't afford to hire as many employees as they would like because of rising health-insurance costs; employees often can't afford to quit to chase their better-mousetrap dreams because they can't risk going without coverage. Add to this the system's moral failings: about twenty-two thousand people die in this country annually because they lack health insurance. That is more than the number of Americans who are murdered in a year."

This, to me, was one of those chopstick-dropper quotes (I was eating Thai food at the time). Who knows if a restructuring of our current health care system would solve all or any of the current financial crises, but it definitely is something worth thinking about.

On a completely different note, I ate at Chez Oskar in Fort Greene today. I braved the G-train and the rain to meet up with my friend Dinelle, who shares my love of the weekend brunch. Anyone living in the Brooklyn/New York area should really familiarize themselves with this restaurant. I'm convinced they have the best eggs benedict I have eaten ... perhaps ever. And I feel pretty knowledgeable on the topic, as I will eat this pretty much any time it's on the menu. Their bloody marys aren't anything to scoff at, either: cilantro-y and spicey-tastic. Which leads me to wrap up my blog post with a question: Has anyone heard of putting salt on the rim of your bloody mary? Please. Share your thoughts/feelings.

Looking Forward

2008-11-06T18:48:00.000-08:00

So I'm still a little too stuck in the post-Election euphoria to have much to say. On Wednesday, New York almost felt like a different town. There was an understood collective feeling of joy and pride and it felt really good to be a part of it. After work, I went to meet up for dinner/drinks with Stephanie to celebrate her birthday (Happy 25, my friend!) I stopped to pick up champagne and while I was at the store a woman came in looking to buy a celebratory bottle. She was bedecked in Obama paraphernalia and just started chatting with everyone there about how it was a day to celebrate. The response was not 'who's this crazy??' (as it typically would be in Manhattan), but instead people were really receptive - sharing their own feelings and enthusiasm. I left the shop smiling, walked out and looked up to see the empire state building, which had been red & blue for the election on Tuesday, all blue. What a beautiful image.

Anyway, my concern Tuesday for the sanity of Obama volunteers should he lose did not come true. But I am certain there will still be a sense of let down for those who contributed so much for the cause. The Onion, apparently, was certain too. Check out the video and watch for my friend Moses, who does their video editing.

Yes. We. Can.

2008-11-05T19:52:00.000-08:00

Watching the returns last night, I truly felt like I was a part of history. When the projected win and McCain's concession were announced, I couldn't do anything but cry and grin and think to myself : I never, ever, imagined we would be electing a black president in November 2008.

More tomorrow, once I've had a chance to digest. These are pictures at the party I attended 11/4/2008 right after Obama was introduced as the President Elect. We ran to the porch to shout at cars and passers-by on the Williamsburg bridge. I think everyone here is shouting OBAMA! View other reactions to the win here.

The First Post - Election 2008

2008-11-04T04:33:00.000-08:00

The idea for starting a blog has been rattling around in my brain for a while, now. Above all, I wanted something to push me back into writing, but I was also looking for a way to get back into critically consuming and thinking about media. It's amazing what you don't do when you're not prodded by college professors. Somehow a blog seemed like the best - and most appropriately self-indulgent - outlet. I woke up this morning, unable to sleep in despite having the day off, and thought 'what better time to start than now.'

The idea of this is nothing too profound. It's a chance for me to share interesting things I read, watch or see throughout my day. It's also a lesson in sticktoitiveness for me: to see if I actually write more than one entry. So bear with me.

At any rate, I decided to write today because of (cross your fingers) the importance of this date. I've been thinking about the election a lot and while many people are extremely confident, I can't fight off the air of dread. Gawker had an article yesterday on liberals going through this exact feeling. The article chalked it up, essentially, to superstition and misremembering the past:

"Basically we've all psychologically collapsed the entire last month or so of the 2004 campaign into that tiny window between polls closing and results coming in, when the "exit polls" looked great. That was just a couple hours of false hope, after weeks of superstitiously hoping "undecideds" would magically break to our guy even though he was down in the polls. In other words, it was like being a John McCain supporter, this time around."

I'm not saying, on a rational level, I don't disagree with this. Clearly, my fear does have a lot to do with watching Bush steal the election in 2000 and then win yet again in 2004. Despite the optimistic results the polls are projecting , I just can't shake the feeling of dread. But doesn't it make sense for me to feel this way? After all, all of my experiences with elections as a voting, semi-functioning adult have been let downs. But I'm not denying that 97 percent of my fear of a loss is superstition.

But also, I'm just thinking of how much we have to lose. What if the results come in tonight and trickling back tomorrow and Obama is not, in fact, a victor? I think the impact would be devastating. Last Tuesday's This American Life made me choke up on the train yesterday. The episode looked at all these people who had worked so tirelessly on the campaign. In a magazine journalism class in college I wrote about post-election depression for those young people who had worked on the Kerry campaign. I just can't help but wonder what will happen to these people's feelings about the electoral process if Obama - a candidate who people put so much of their hope into - loses.