A favorite 'holiday' for this Girl Scout

Today is a Girl Scout holiday and it's the one I love best.

Online friends made years before Bebo, MySpace and FaceBook helped me learn more about being a sister to every Girl Scout and Girl Guide in about 150 countries.

Those same online friends help make the celebration of today special. Feb. 22 is World Thinking Day, a day to think about Girl Scouts and Girl Guides around the world. Although the day was created in 1926 at the fourth Girl Guide/Girl Scout International Conference in New York, I don't remember celebrating it much as a girl Girl Scout.

I hope that the Girl Scouts I volunteered for in the 1990s and early 2000s remember what we did. They have the patches like the ones in this post to serve as reminders of some of the events created by WAGGGS-L, an email list that continues today.

WAGGGS-L once was the biggest Girl Scout/Girl Guide list. The text-only list was a way for many English-speaking adults involved with Girl Guides and Girl Scouts to exchange ideas. It was a busy list and, like many lists, some questions came up over and over. That led to one of the first hosts of the lists creating a Thinking Day resource to help Girl Scouts and Girl Guides with activities. The host wrote:

"Especially in the United States, Thinking Day is celebrated with internationally-themed events, and troops often pick this time of year to learn about cultures from other nations and Scouting or Guiding in other countries. "

The resource was "prepared in an attempt to limit the posts to WAGGGS-L that request information about other countries."

We also started creating our own ways of marking Girl Scout/Girl Guide occasions.

I think 1997 was the first time the girls in my troop used IRC (Internet Relay Chat) to talk with girls involved with the Girl Scout/Guide movement. That was at my house.

In other years, the Flint Public Library and the Genesee District Library opened their computer labs to give girls in what was Girl Scouts Fair Winds Council a chance to participate.

Another year, our troop went about 25 miles to partner with another Cadette Girl Scout troop to host a Thinking Day event at a school. Of course, one station was devoted to participating in the chat.

My troop would help girls from other troops communicate on the chat services. And by chat - remember this was in the late 1990s - I mean the girls showed others how to type in their words and choose and send simple icons.

I'll never forget the Brownie Girl Scout who started crying after finishing a chat with a Brownie in London. A Girl Scout volunteer showed her Flint, Michigan, and London on a map in one of the many reference books the libraries provided. The girl cried because she knew she couldn't swim that far and would never meet her new friend.

I also loved watching as the girls learned that how time worked - that it might be lunchtime here but time for dinner elsewhere. Maybe a day earlier or even a day later. The girls loved sleepovers on Thinking Day so that they could talk with girls from other countries throughout the night.

Several years, we exchanged postcards with other troops. Each troop would send a postcard from their area and write about favorite activities. One year, we exchanged cards only with troops with girls the same age.

The majority of troops lived in the United States, so when an exchange between international troops could be arranged that was a bonus. Now, some countries post official postcards online.

The exchange continues and this year 3,196 US Troops and 861 international units from 52 countries participated.

• 2008: 2,961 US Troops, 1,057 International Units from 49 countries
• 2007: 3,145 US Troops and 675 International Units from 43 countries
• 2006: 2,458 US Troops and 445 International Units from 38 countries
  
• 2005,: 2,399 US Troops and 438 International Units from 29 countries
  
• 2004: 2,443 US Troops and 422 International Units from 31 countries
  
• 2003: 1,,734 US Troops and 487 International Units from 28 countries
• 2002: 2,214 US Troops and 428 International Units from 34 countries
  
• 2001, 1,200 US troops; 175 International units from 22 countries
  
• 2000, 795 US troops; 127 International units from 21 countries
  
• Also held in 1998 and 1999, but no statistical data
  

The Feb. 22 date was chosen because it was the birthday of Lord Baden-Powell, founder of the Boy Scout Movement, and his wife Olave, who served as World Chief Guide.

So it's not surprising that the idea of birthday gifts would be added to the celebration. At the 7^th World Conference in 1932, a delegate suggested girls could contribute to the World Association. Olave wrote to all Girl Guides and Girl Scouts after this idea was adopted asking them to help support the Movement by donating just a penny per girl . The money helps spread the Movement.

One year, we based our donation on the number of post cards received by a particular date. Another year, it was a penny per every inch of girl's height.

Like many things in the Girl Scout Movement, service sweetens the activity. WAGGGS-L members used the theme of Service in Blooming in 1998. Girls participated in activities such as fashion shows featuring Girl Scout uniforms to spark shared memories at nursing homes; creation of centerpieces for shut-ins and sharing of international fairy tales at library story hours.

The World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts, the official center of Thinking Day activities for all Girl Scouts and Girl Guides, sets a different theme each year. For instance, this year the theme is girls worldwide say “Stop the spread of AIDS, malaria and other diseases”. The topic links to the Millennium Development Goal 6: ‘Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases’ and WAGGGS’ Global Action Theme.

Important work and a reminder that each of us has a role to play.

As the Old Goat said in one of the many virtual greetings that spread this year:

"I am a link in the Golden Chain of World Friendship.
I will keep my link strong and bright."

(And I pass my candle to my right. We have already sung "The World Song." We will sing "One Little Candle", "Oh, Beautiful Banner", and then "Taps.")

I'm off to get my place in the cirlce. Have a Happy Thinking Day!

My house became a home 26 years ago today

Enough boxes had been unpacked. Enough furniture was bartered, begged and bought to fill at least some of the space in the two-story pink house. Enough money was saved up to buy food and drink for invited guests and to host a grown-up party.

It was time for a party to celebrate my purchase of my very own house, to celebrate my independence and willingness to live on my own unafraid of stalkers, to celebrate my decision to stay in Flint, Michigan, for at least five more years.

Three months earlier, I found a house I could divide and sublet to help cover the monthly mortgage. It was within walking distance of my employer in a neighborhood I already had spent nearly four years in. Friends, museums and music were nearby.

In 1982, few single women bought houses in Flint, Michigan. But I was determined to invest in the city and listen to my grandfather who preached that renting was like throwing your money in the garbage and move on with the lifestyle I chose. Only a year earlier, I acknowledged it would be a bigger mistake to continue a six-year marriage and divorced the man I fell for during the dreamlike days of college. We had already spent three of those years living apart; it was time to sever the last ties.

It took a year to recover emotionally and financially from the official action of separation. But I was ready and started looking for the right house.

I checked the house closely with a friend who knew a lot about electricity, plumbing and carpentry. I looked over the city inspection records (and later learned why it's important to check the relationship of the inspector and property owner). I reviewed property assessment records to make sure I offered a fair price.

With the help of a last-minute loan to pay unexpected costs, I signed the papers that tied me to real estate payments for 30 years. With the help of a few friends and family, I moved in shortly before Christmas.

The next weeks were spent removing features I hated - gold wallpaper with black flocking, for instance, - and getting things comfortable.

I was also getting comfortable with something unusual - a steady relationship with one man. In fact, since I left one date to go on one with this guy in early December I'd spent at least part of every day with him. That was unusual for a woman who dated many or none since moving out in 1979 and divorcing in 1981.

Still marriage was not on my mind - been there, done that.

I picked the date for the open house, ready to celebrate my independence with family and friends. The invites were out, RSVPs started coming back, and I was ready to share my new home with all.

I don't remember the exact date this new guy and I started talking about the possibility of a more permanent relationship. We kept talking, meeting each other's families, talking, exploring and talking.

Then one day, we slipped from someday to now. In fact, we decided let's get married and tell everyone when they come to the open house. It would be a simple exchange of wedding vows followed by an already planned celebration.

In a moment of sanity, we told our parents, brothers and sisters. Suddenly, the plans expanded to include a wedding day breakfast following the ceremony in our living room. The 30 or so members of our immediate family from the Detroit area, Ohio and Flint-area communities wanted to witness the marriage.

The wedding was a surprise to most friends who came to the open house. Many said they were not surprised we had tied the knot, just that we would do so after knowing each other less then four months.

The weather was another surprise that day - warm enough that people did not need a jacket to stand outside on the porch. Somehow, a spring day snuck into a Michigan winter.

Another surprise was the birth of our Leap Day baby a year later.

Surprises continue to come into our lives. But I wasn't surprised that roses came today with a note that says "the honeymoon isn't over yet."

Neither is the making of our home together.

Caught my eye: Police blotters

Could ex-journalists who once covered the crime beat make money with their own online crime report? It's an idea Jim of L-Town and some other mid-Michigan boughtout journalists explored and rejected.

I think that's why this paragraph jumped out in the Baltimore Police Blotter turns 30 article:

"What is suprising to me is that the while newspapers shed features once thought sacrosanct, such as stock tables, the blotter remains one of the most popular items in both print and web formats. People complain when it's not in the paper, and the words "police blotter" are among the most searched for terms on our Internet site."

The writer, Peter Hermann, noted:

"Few newspapers have blotters anymore -- the New York Post still does -- and even fewer send reporters out to station houses to compile crime. Such lists typically come from headquarters, and are usually sanitized and contain only the most serious incidents, the incidents that command cares about and thinks everyone else cares about as well.

Community and neighborhood newspapers publish blotters. The one in the Baltimore Guide is very popular among residents, and I thought it was great timing when this week the New York Times wrote a brief sketch of a reporter for the Brooklyn Paper who still walks to the 94th Precinct in Greenpoint to compile a weekly blotter. The headline: "The Dying Art of the Crime Blotter."

I know that one of the first questions I want to know when my husband returns from his monthly board meeting for the neighborhood is what's interesting from the police log.

Sure, the Grand Blanc News and the Grand Blanc View post some police items. The Flint Journal will print the big crime news - a fatal accident, a possible murder.

But unless you know the officers and the meaning behind what's written in the police log, you don't get items like ones featured in Offbeat.

Unless you know the area, you can't spot a trend by neighborhood.

Unless you know the courts, you won't suspect the neighborhood crime spree ended because someone is back in jail.

I'd rather have a person involved with the reporting, but I'd settle for something like Everyblock - a news feed for your neighborhood. So far, Everyblock is limited to

• Boston
• Charlotte
• Chicago
• Los Angeles
• Miami
• New York
• Philadelphia
• San Francisco
• San Jose
• Seattle
• Washington, DC

The grant funding the program is ending soon and the idea of the parent company of the Journal's internet site picking up Everyblock is floating around the Internet. Founder Adrian Holovaty wrote about the program's future, prompting Metaprinter to suggest:

1) Gannett or Advance Publications buys the services of the entire EveryBlock team to incorporate EveryBlock into their news sites. Most importantly the team is tasked with creating logical, simple, cheap ad placement on news sites.

Doubt it would happen - even MetaPrinter gives seven more ideas. But it would help make the web sites go-to news sites.)

Inside view: AF1: A novice's account

The first flight captured

I could have written these words about Air Force 1:

"AF1 was something I'd romanticized since childhood, a symbol of motion, internationalism and national pride and power that transcends whichever plane – or president – is in action at the time.

There was a time when I was sure I wanted to be on that plane as a press reporter, wanted to be on the bus on the presidential campaign trail, wanted to be inside the White House and sharing what I had learned in print.

But my earlier dreams of covering the president of the United States or any politician have been replaced with newer dreams. Still it was fun to read what it was like Feb. 5 aboard Air Force 1 on President Obama's first official flight.

The post, AF1: A novice's account, on Planet Washington, a McClatchy blog opens:

After a year and a half of dragging my laptop and bags on and off of candidate Barack Obama's campaign buses and planes, I wondered if my first trip on Air Force One might feel sort of ho-hum.

The adrenaline kicked in as I drove from downtown Washington into Maryland last Thursday afternoon, cleared the gate at Andrews Air Force Base, went through the Secret Service security sweep and got a special ID tag to wear on my lanyard.
Ahead, I saw a gleaming 747, white with a sky-blue stripe and the words "United States of America" down its length and an American flag painted on the tail."

XXXwas the traveling print pool reporter for half-hour flight each way,to Williamsburg, Va. She wrote five reports that night, so didn't get much time to see much or eat much. Obama did come back to the press area, something the "regulars" said was unusual. But I suggest go read the entry to get more details of the inside.

The post gives details such as this:

The pool serves as the eyes and ears when there isn't room for the full press corps. The White House travel- and in-town pools, with representatives for wire services, networks, news magazines, radio, photography and print, are determined on a rotating basis, and news organizations pay their way.

Just don't expect to find easily who wrote the piece . Guess you are supposed to be a Washington insider to know that.

If you want some more details, including some "historical" info on the first flights of other presidents then check Mark Smith's piece.

What would you tell a college student today? Michigan State seeking talking alumni

Yesterday I was invited to join the annual Michigan State University Student Alumni Networking Luncheon to talk with current students how attending MSU has benefited me in my professional career.

I know what I learned at Michigan State University - in class and out - contributed immensely to my career. I still believe in the journalism program. But there's no way I could tell a student to expect to follow a career path like mine.

Jane Briggs-Bunting, dean of the journalism school, says today's "college students will be tomorrow’s innovators and leaders in reinventing the news business."

The school's web site continues:

"Storytelling is now done in a variety of formats using text, photos, video, sound slides, hyperlinks, graphics, maps, databases and more. Deadlines are 24/7, 365 days of the year. J-School students are learning the skills needed to thrive in this warp speed news environment. We call it Journalism 3.0."

So let's see - text and photos would have been on the list when I went to MSU. Storytelling, too.

So if I could go to the lunch, I would share this advice with students:

• Keep learning. When I started, computers filled rooms, not pockets. Phones were attached by wires within something solid - a phone booth, a house or a business. Publishing a book required a printing press, not just determination, skill and knowledge. We don't know what others are creating and what tools will become available so it is important to find a way to learn what's happening outside the newsroom and your closest community.
  

• Be flexible. There's no way to know where you will end up because the jobs you may do may not be invented yet.
  

• Love telling stories. There are all types of stories to be told. Some hide in data. Some hide in process. Some hide in people. Storytellers enjoy drawing out the pieces, making the connections and replacing their findings with a tale others can remember.
  

By the way if you need another reason to go you can hear MSU gaduate Bob Fish, CEO of Biggby Coffee, speak. (His first store was in East Lansing, earned his degree from MSU in 1989.)

The event is open to all Michigan State alumni:

When: Saturday, February 28, 2009, 12 p.m. doors open
Where: Spartan Club in Spartan Stadium Tower
Guest Speaker: Bob Fish, CEO & Co-Founder Biggby Coffee
Price: No cost for Michigan State Alumni

Interested? You can register online.

Nothing new in news business

A search on Google last night reminded me there isn't anything new in the news business.

A comment in the Rent-A-Journalist post over on Free From Editors sent me searching for more on Dorf Feature Services. Like, what does Dorf mean?

That led to a sidetrack on news reporting services because mantra said there are 483 such services in the United States. I checked out some of the 14 with Michigan ties. (At least one is extinct, the Press Row Sports hasn't written anything for a few months and Associated Press bureaus counted for 4 services, confirming one of my Anonymous commenters that the Rent-A-Journalist idea is like a wire service).

That led to another sidetrack - in 1911, the news was delivered by telephone for $18 a year. Yes, folks could call the Telephone Herald. Check it out. (and to think some thought audiotext was new)

Oh, and Dorf? It was named by the founder based on his name. Sid Dorfman took over the news syndication firm he was working for in 1938 and renamed it a year later. By the way, the link will take you to a 2006 New Jersey Jewish News story, where I learned the agency supplied "life cycle stories" like weddings, obituaries to area newspapers. And, in 2006, he had 50 full-time and 40 part-time employees.

He had started as a correspondent for a Newark, New Jersey three years earlier. He's still writing a sports column for the Star-Ledger - see NJ Sports. NJ.com has a photo gallery with 19 photos of Sid, including a Dorf press pass from 1938.

Yes, the more I learned about Dorfman, the more I learned just how long NJ's Star-Ledger has arranged for content via agencies. For instance, read this memory of the first SL byline.

I even found a copy of a 2007 article the Dorf Feature Service buying out some employees.

Enough. I've got a Google request from my daughter. Let's see where that goes.

Flint Journal sister paper to hire Local News Service to supplement Coverage

A sister newspaper of The Flint Journal -- Star-Ledger in New Jersey -- will hire a local news agency - founded by a bought-out journalist - to cover news once covered by staff journalists. Here's a link to 'Star-Ledger' to Use Local News Service to Supplement Coverage in trade magazine Editor & Publisher.

Kind of eerie to come home to this in my rss reader as one of the 5:30 a.m. today conversations with my daughter today was getting serious about formalizing my business plans.

One of the proposals we talked about today on the ride to her chemo treatment (2nd of next set of 12, or 6th of 16 total) was Rent-A-Journalist.

My theory is that with severe cutbacks, the flu or a natural disaster - heck, maybe even vacations and 'big' events like election night - could leave a newsroom aching for a way to hire temp journalists. The journalists would be the bought-out or retired ones with some fire in their bellies. Rent-A-Journalist would be the go-between, charging newspapers for developing and covering beats.

I think it would work. It was just surprising to read this tonight:

Just months after losing more than 150 newsroom staffers in a hard-hitting buyout, The Star-Ledger of Newark, N.J. is poised to replace some of the departed by contracting with a new outside news service.

Former Star-Ledger Managing Editor Rick Everett is hiring about 30 reporters, and some college students, for an outside news service that is to provide local and municipal coverage of New Jersey to the paper.

The New Jersey paper hires a similar firm to cover some sports so there is a history.

And, as others in the Advance Publication company know - if it plays in New Jersey there's a chance you'll see it play in Michigan, Oregon, Alabama, etc.

I'm mulling over some other ideas as I am not sure I want to jump back in the news world. But this hiring piece is worth followi g. E&P article - link above - has more.

Dropsies and dogs do not mix

My bedroom got an unscheduled sweeping tonight as the household went in search of the needle piece of my Copaxone shot.

The panic started when my husband got back from his mother's house and spotted a chewed partial syringe on the sofa. That syringe was missing the plunger and the cap with a needle. Let's see, 3 dogs, 1 shot - how many x-rays?

My daughter had returned earlier and was bringing me up-to-date on family news and, of course, the dogs followed her in. I was intent on keeping them out of my wastebasket because I had thrown forbidden items such as used Kleenex and candy wrappers in (one dog will shred, one will eat). I should have remembered that I had dropped the needle earlier and LEFT IT ON THE FLOOR!!!

See, a migrane has kept me in darkness in bed most of the day. I figured bending over - Ouch - could wait until morning. I was wrong.

The family searched, finding pieces but not the actual needle. My husband and daughter were unwilling to take their shoes off during the search. I grabbed a broom as guilt was trumping the allergy to dust (besides, the room had been swept just a few days ago.) My daughter soon joined me. Oh my, the things I found. Lost socks. Dust bunnies. 1 dust-covered slipper. And to the surprise of no one - beads.

In the midst of this treasure hunt in the bedroom, my husband found the needle. After my daughter checked that all pieces were found, she returned to finish sweeping. That led to a conversation reminding me that dogs are like babies, only dogs can't tell you where they hurt. (No, I didn't ruin her rant by telling her babies don't tell you either. Time enough for that.)

She also shared that she had been puzzled by the fact that one of her two dogs had left while we were talking but the other one had been coming in and out the whole time. Now she realized the one was looking for his needle treat - her two dogs always get two of everything.

Me? I realize I need to stick to the rule of no dogs in the bedroom. (Although if you ever heard the three dogs barking/howling/whining you would understand why sometimes I dream of no dogs in the house.)

Oh well, at least I got the Copaxone in before I flipped the needle to the floor. I hate wasting medicine - especially at $30 or so a pop.

And the cleaning service? He comes with fringe benefits and, if asked, I could serve in Mr. President's administration.

Happy Valentine's Day

Isn't this perfect for a journalist?
You'll find many appropriate gifts over on 10,000 Words.

Wired: Too much Martha makes me miss Mary Engelbreit's Home Companion

Mary Engelbreit's Home Companion magazine folded and "they" decided to replace my subscription with one to Martha Stewart Living.

Within two weeks, three editions popped up in my mailbox. January, February and March.

I would rather have Mary. But if that wasnt possibe I would rather have a choice - let me choose the magazine.

But if that wasn't possible I would rather get the magazines over a longer period. I don't need three so quickly.

At least I didn't have a subscription to Martha's.

See I know the customer loses when subscription records merge.

I've been a Wired subscriber since day one.I also like to save money so I bought multi-year subscriptions.

Unfortunately, I also subscribed to other tech magazines, which graciously 'gave' me Wired subscriptions when they folded. Soon, it became a joke that my subscription would outlive me as the magazines folded and my subscription extended.

Unfortunately, I lost track somewhere and missed when a replaced subscription suddenly became my "real" subscription.

By the time I noticed the switch - prompted by a request to pay for an extension - records had blurred. I tried to get records fixed and then gave up.

I'll just read what I want online, picking up a print magazine for the few times I know wired access is unavailable

Talent will outlast jobs, careers

I saw this banner ad - Jobs become obsolete. Talent doesn't - when cruising the 'net and wish I could post it on the computer of every print journalist I know - especially those who are working now but don't know how long their jobs will last.

Folks become journalists for a lot of different reasons, but some common ones are a love for a writing or storytelling, a need to know, and a knack for backing complex things simple.

Folks can stay a journalist or use those skills today. It just takes extra effort.

Former journalist Scott Hepburn shares some ideas to help in A Journalist's Survival Guide. Let me share some of his steps:

Hang Your Shingle and Start Building an Audience

He suggests that every reporter should blog - on their own. He points to Chris Brogan’s “If I Started Today” post as a guide. And Chris has good advice in the post about blogging - buy your own domain, decide on a type (personal brand, something for consumers or one featuring stories and photos of causes you support) but I recommend Brogan's post on My Best Advice on Blogging. It's actually a list and links to 11 other posts, all worth reading.

I also suggest you start reading Pro Blogger. (A post I bookmarked recently is Creating a Blog Plan. One of the most bookmarked-posts of ProBlogger in delicious was 31 days to Building A Better Blog, which is a list of links to 31 posts.

If you want one post on getting started with a blog, start with Mindy McAdams Start a Blog.

If you want to see how one journalist executes a blog on a subject he knows, read this piece from NewsPay on Tom Mangan, who created the Cat Stock Blog. The blog is about Caterpillar Inc., the world's largest manufacturer of engines, earthmovers and mining equipment.

Bill Mitchell's post on How to Make Your Blog a Paying Business looks at Mangan's effort in detail. Mangan, who is still a copy editor and page designer at the Mercury News, works on the blog daily.

Diversify Your Offerings

You're not likely to get by doing one thing anymore. Flint Journal columnist Andrew Heller is a perfect example of this - he's got his newspaper column, supercharging that with blogging, a radio show (weekday mornings from 7-9 on WFNT-AM (1470), and he self-published his own books after The Journal got out of the book business. He taught journalism at the local community college. He makes speeches in the community and he works hard at learning new things.

On LinkedIn, he describes himself this way:

"Columnist, blogger, talk show host, publisher, communications consultant."

He's following advice Scott shares:

You can't do one thing anymore. You have to hedge your bets. Sure, be a journalist, but be a news reporter AND a columnist/blogger. Do some PR work, too. And freelance writing. And…whatever. You’ll need multiple income streams to survive in a decentralized information economy.

Diversity will count as making money just blogging is hard. Did you read "Hanging Up the Pajamas?" (Susan Mernit pointed me to this "priceless" update.)

Get Closer to the Cutting Edge

Scott suggests you have to "dabble with new stuff," hardware, software, websites. Like others, he suggests you…play around.

One of the commenters on Scott's post started a blog as a way of answering some of the questions she kept getting about new media. Erin even has a list of The Best of Me Media to help you get started. Her "Social Media for non-Techies" blog is easy to read.

Still working in the newspaper business is Gina Chen, the blogging mom who also writes Save the Media. Her series on reinventing journalism is worth a read. Then, follow her advice. If a working mom can find time, almost everyone can.

One of the best resources is Wired Journalists. As the tag there says

"You're a journalist who wants to build your skills, serve your community, and advance your career. We're here to help."

On Feb. 8, 3,269 folks are signed up as members on the network. You'll find tutorials, advice, blog posts, videos - lots to help figure out the future.

Go forth and multiply those opportunities.

Related posts:

• It hurts to laugh; it helps to prepare
  
• Beyond the buyout, beyond the bylines for journalists
• Journalists not first to start over
  
• Buyout journalists, remember this ...
• What every good journalist needs to do, but won't

Ideas on how to change journalism? Then get to Chicago, 2.21.09

Got an idea about what to do about journalism? Ready to move the conversation away from the coffeepot or bar or blog?

There's a series of sessions - barcamps/unconferences across the nation - where your ideas about innovations for news are front and center.

We Media Guru shares some of his enthusiasm, hoping to hear more about connecting technology at BarCamp NewsInnovation Chicago on Saturday, Feb. 21 at Northwestern University's Medill Graduate School of Journalism newsroom at 210 S. Clark St., in downtown Chicago. Register now to take part The Media Guru thanks Northwestern University, the Medill School of Journalism, Rich Gordon and Beatrice Figueroa for their help in making this event happen.

Here's an explanation from the site:

Join this group for a one-day un-conference to experience the creativity and energy that occurs when technologist, programmers, web developers, designers, hackers and information architects teams to do cool stuff with journalists, entrepreneurs, tech business dudes, students, professors and others with interest in news and information.

This ad hoc event will be a place to not only talk about how technology is influencing journalism, but participants will be given the opportunity to brainstorm an idea and hack it out by the end of the afternoon.

Don't go expecting to return home with a bag of goodies.

Do go willing to share and build on the ideas of others.

It is our turn. Leave the suits at home.

Finding Michigan peeps on Twitter

Are you from Michigan? Do you tweet? Introduce yourself here You will find names of other folks from Michigan on the list.

After you fill in your Twitter name, you are asked to send out a Tweet.

PS Find me at http://twitter.com/mcwflint

Thanks to motownmutt and shawnsmith for the headsup

Michigan man a success in MS stem cell study; coverage upsets me

My January issue of MSFYI and several Google Alerts also had good news about a small stem cell study.

Here's what the newsletter said:

"Three years after being treated with an experimental procedure that used their own stem cells, a small group of people with early cases of relapsing-remitting MS appear to have either halted or even reversed their course of disability."

The study, conducted at Northwestern University in Chicago, involved 21 people who had "autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, a procedure in which their own blood-forming stem cells were extracted, and then reintroduced into their systems after each person was treated with chemotherapy to kill immune cells in their bone marrow."

The goal to "reset" the immune system seemed to work with most:

• 17 showed improved EDSS scores,
  
• 16 had no relapses after three years,
  
• none have had a worsening of MS symptoms.

Previous studies using stem cells in people with more advanced cases of MS have not been as successful, and some attempts have been fatal due to methods used to kill immune cells. A new technique, believed to be safer, was used in the most recent trial.

The study's lead author, Richard Burt, a Northwestern associate professor, said in media reports that the therapy may not be effective in late-stage MS because too much damage from immune cells had already been done. On the mean, those involved in the newest study had been diagnosed with MS for five years.

A larger trial, with 55 patients in the U.S. and Canada, is now planned for what the Chicago Sun Times said: 'First time we have turned the tide' on MS - Injecting early patients with own stem cells seems to reverse disability: researcher."

The Sun Times is where I also learned that a Michigan man participated in the trial. And that's where my disappointment with the media begins.

I was surprised that I couldn't find the Michigan connection in any of reports on the study in Michigan media. Surely, I'd learn more in local media. (I live in Michigan.)

Here's what the Sun Times said:

Barry Goudy, of Woodhaven, Mich., was one of the success stories. Goudy was diagnosed with MS in 1995. Since his stem-cell injection in 2003, Goudy said he hasn't had the fatigue, blurry vision and weak limbs he used to experience with every relapse. Goudy noticed improvement in his symptoms within six months.

Now, he's back to working full-time at a car dealership and said he doesn't have to get weekly and monthly drug injections anymore to keep his condition in check.

Except, I don't think he lives in Woodhaven. I know he's not working at a car dealership, if he ever did. But details beyond his participation in the study are fuzzy after watching what four TV stations did with a video report featuring Goudy and reading a number of reports in various newspapers and medical journals.

The Journal of the Medical Association did a video report in April 2008. Here's an abstract: AMA report on how stem cells treat autoimmune (and other) conditions, focusing on Barry Goudy - who celebrates 5 years free from Multiple Sclerosis symptoms after treatment. Clinical Trials ongoing...

From the JAMA site:

Barry Goudy learned he had multiple sclerosis in 1995. He was losing feeling in his left leg, and then his vision began to go.

“I went back to my neurologist and said, ‘Tell me how I can fight this,’" Goudy said.

Goudy enrolled in a clinical trial in 2003.

After five days of chemotherapy to destroy his immune cells, doctors used his own stem cells to rebuild his immune system.

He said it worked wonderfully for him.

“I have no symptoms of MS. I do no treatment for MS. I do no shots,” Goudy said.

Researchers reporting in the Journal of the American Medical Association reviewed the outcomes of about 2,500 patients who had stem-cell transplants. They found that it helped many patients with auto-immune diseases and even helped improve heart function for patients who suffered heart attacks.

“It's a whole new approach to these diseases. Rather than just surgery or drugs that you can use, (it is) a cellular approach that seems in many different studies to be benefitting the patient,” said Dr. Richard K. Burt, chief of the Division of Immunotherapy for Autoimmune Diseases at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine.

Unlike embryonic stem cells that can only be collected after the destruction of an embryo, adult stem cells come from a patient’s own blood or bone marrow or another adult’s.

“There's very low risk – less than 1 percent mortality from the procedure,” Burt said.

Goudy now leads an active life, even coaching a hockey team.
“I've had five years of good life. Five years! If I didn't do the transplant, I would probably be in a wheelchair today,” Goudy said.

Last July, Goudy reached the five-year mark. You can read about some of his early MS treatment efforts.

ABC-12 in Flint was among the stations to pick up the JAMA video last winter, including information about Goudy in a report on stem cell research.

WRAL did a report too, using the video.

In 2006, in a radio show he was working in the automobile industry (read the transcript)

He's testified on stem cell research, where some other details are fuzzied up.

I'm fairly sure he's now a hockey coach at a suburban Detroit high school - contract approved in August. I thought about tracking him down - it's that need to know urge. But then realized there's no reason to intrude on his life. I just need to remember to keep question what I see and read on "news" reports.

Related posts:

If I ask, will questions go away?

Old drugs inspire hope for those with MS

Advance newspapers get warning of closure

Over in New Jersey, employees heard the Jersey Journal and some weekly newspapers may close in spring if finances continue the way they are.

The Jersey Journal is an Advance Publication, like The Flint Journal, Ann Arbor News, and the other "Booth" newspapers in Michigan.

The Evening Journal Association announced to its employees today that the company would cease publication of The Jersey Journal and a string of weekly newspapers in Hudson County on April 13, 2009, if its revenue is not sufficient to support the papers' reduced expense plan.

Here's some background.

Does anyone from North Dakota read blogs?

Even " competitors" like to help out from time to time. That's why I have been Tweeting, Friendfeeding and just plain begging in search of someone from North Dakota who willl visit Free From Editors just once so Jim of L-Town who is warming up in California can finally say at least one person from each state has read his blog at least once.

His whining, I mean blogging, about this lapse got me curious about some of my stats. I was surprised to find folks are translating me into Dutch (Flemish), Spanish (Castilian), and Croatian.

And though I'm not cross-checking this against a state or country list, I like watching the cities change. I get Flint, Lapeer, Frankenmuth, Ann Arbor, Troy, a few of the New Jersey, Ohio,Louisiana, Alabama, Massachusetts, New York, and Oregon sites that show up. I've worked with people from those places. I am not surprised by Knoxville or Napier or Washington D.C. I'm Internet buds with people from there. Even Phoenix, Nashville, and Miami makes sense - Girl Scouts, you know.

But Australia? Or New Zeeland? How do you find me?

And do you know anybody from North Dakota who could just read this 49 and once to go.

Let's give Jim of L-Town an easy post to write when he returns to reality from the land of the stars.

Equal time for newspaper lovers

Most of what's written about newspapers these days is doom and gloom. But there are some who are enthusiastic about the medium.

Like Ken Paulson, who was from USA Today, and delivered a speech recently that highlights his belief that it's wrong to pick on the "ipods of the 1980s." After all ...

"there have also been huge layoffs at Home Depot, and no one is predicting the demise of hammers."

His speech is on the National Press Club under the headline of Newspapers are Fact-Checked, Hand-Delivered, No Pop-up Ads. What's Not to Love? Paulson Says.

The speech was picked up the Newspaper Project, the website to balance the doom and gloom of others.

"NewspaperProject.org was launched in 2009 by a small group of newspaper executives to support a constructive exchange of information and ideas about the future of newspapers. While we acknowledge the challenges facing the newspaper industry in today’s rapidly changing media world, we reject the notion that newspapers—and the valuable content that newspaper journalists provide—have no future.

"Unlike websites that feature negative, gloom-and-doom stories about newspapers, this website will be devoted to insightful articles, commentary and research that provide a more balanced perspective on what newspaper companies can do to survive and thrive in the years ahead."

(You didn't miss buy a newspaper day because you were busy chasing down the groundhog, did you?

'Mom cooks me ... like a turkey'

A 4-year-old's heart is breaking because her Mom "doesn't love her anymore."

My heart breaks when I read that her mom put her in the oven and "cooks me like a turkey." I had hoped it was a misguided mother's attempt to get her daughter warm during this cold spell.

But that wasn't the goal of the Hamtramck's mom, who also singed her daugter's eyelid with a screwdriver,

I have so many questions. How could the girl stand still long enough for her mother to do that to her face?

How did the mother get her into the oven? Pretend they were acting out a fairytale? Shove her in?

I want to know more. I know that I can't. I fear others will follow the mother's lead.

Why is it still so easy for some to become parents.

It is enough to distract me from the horror of the new mother of 8 babies, who already is mother to six children. It is not the size of this new family or even that all of the kids are under 8. It's the mother and how unlikely it is that she will qualify as a good mother anytime soon.

She's been on disability for at least 5 years - pain from an on-the-job injury prevents her from working and led to her divorce in 2008. (She says depression from pain led to her marriage disolving. Is her ex taking the high road and not sharing his side, or is no one asking him?)

How much did birthing and -- I hope -- taking care of the first six contribute to her disabling pain. Why in the midst of the physical pain and emotional pain of splitting from your husband would you choose to have more children? And what sane medical staff agreed to do the procedure?

Why is it so easy for some to become and stay parents?

It is almost enough to make me want to stop reading the news.

Happy Tweets made me 'pretty' mad

Oops. I learned early this morning two things - I can still jump (to conclusions) and hot buttons stay hot.

It started with a visit to Happy Tweets, where I put in my Twitter name and learned I was "pretty" with a score of 512.

Wait - don't I have the green-haired cartoon as my profile pix? That's pretty? And what's pretty got to do with happy?

See, I am striving to be happy and positive and grateful and even optimistic. I want good health. But pretty stopped being a goal a long time ago. I mean whose defination of pretty reigns supreme? And how come it is usually women who cover up their faces and lips with all those layers.

Now maybe part of the sensitivity is all the hoopla over "He's just not that into you" and Jennifer Aniston's comment on Jay Leno last night that when she was 10, her mom was saying you should never leave the house "without your eyes on." OK - 10? And did anyone ever say that to a male? (iPhone turned Aniston to Boston! and leno doesn't own his own name as an an URL and NBC uses TNT for the address? What does that stand for? The nightly tantrum?)

I digress. How can my tweets reveal that I'm pretty? I went looking for the interpretation, which meant I had to scroll down. That's when I saw the word "happy."

Pretty happy ... on the non iPhone days :-)

Facebook's 25 Things gets noticed by Time, NYT; gives me some attention

Wow, even Time and the New York Times have noticed this 25 things thing which was on Friendfeed -- even has a room there -- and has exploded on Facebook.

The Time article can tell you just how much time - OK, estimated time -- has been spent coming up with these lists. Author says about 10 minutes per list and there's been .... sorry, get that # from Time as I am Iphone blogging tonight so I cannot copy and paste. While you are there, you can also read some of the things the author wishes people would not have said. It's worth a read - and no names are attached, Midgets, why 1 teacher quit, something about middle school - surely that's enough to get you to go look.

Unlike some, I have enjoyed reading most of the lists that I have found on Friendfeed and Facebook. Susan Mernit has helped point out quite a few with ongoing posts that take just one item from each list.

Plus, I have had a grand time just clicking away on lists for folks I barely know or don't know. I didn't realize you could read some notes of non"friends" just by clicking on the word "note" next to their name. The openness depends on how users fix their settings - you can even control access by note. (I'm working on a Facebook privacy post, but that's for a day when I'm using a computer to blog.)

My reading lists of non-friends is fair - Google searches for "25 things you don't know about me" have been sending folks to my January list - the one with the photo of the Japanese bluegrass band. We will see if they come back.

A dozen eggs may make the difference

Sometimes life is not fair. You get yelled at, you want to yell. Or at least get rid of some of your frustations.

In an Everything Changes blog post, Kairol Rosenthal shares "10 truths,"about cancer and includes this:

4. Smash. Put one foot in front of the other, roll with the punches, yell, cry, and break things as needed.

I really liked this recommendation: Smashing a dozen eggs in the shower. She says it is "cheap, satisfyingly messy, yet easy to clean up." I can easily imagine tossing one hard against a shower wall. I can visualize the tension melt away as I plow through a dozen behind a closed door. With the shower running, no one would hear me either.

Yet my family thinks that's a bad idea because they say the eggshells won't go down the drain.

I brought up the idea during a discussion on why there"a a broken glass in the trash. Eggs would be cheaper then breaking glasses or china, I suggest. It is quickly pointed out the breaking was an accidental drop, not a throw. (And if I were an assuming type of gal, I'd say the looks suggest they would never throw china and wonder if I would toss in anger. I only throw when I need more broken china for a mosaic.)

They also don't want me kicking any of the dogs either, even if it is their howling, or yapping or snarling that sends me over the bend.

I guess that leaves blogging and/or journaling. (Yes, journaling on paper and in private so I can keep a few still talking to me. )

You know eggs would be faster. I think I even have a coupon.

Oh, say can you see?

I remember the day being a protective oldest sister changed my world

I accompanied my brother to his at-school eye exam and became quite upset with the doctor who kept asking the same question over and over. Finally, I had enough of the badgering.

"How can he tell you what direction something is pointing when it is just one big blob.?"

Whoops! His exam quickly ended and I was on that seat looking at what clearly was not a blob.

Long story short, i needed glasses.


I remember vividly the day I got glasses and saw individual leaves on a tree, spokes on a bike wheel and words on a chalkboard.

But why didn't I tell someone about my poor eyesight? Who knew it was poor?

At age 7 I thought the world was supposed to be a Monet painting, massive blends of color that left details to the imagination or a upclose investigation. I thought the way things looked in books and on television was part of the magic of the products. (Yes, I sat close to the TV.)

What we live with daily is our reality, our normal. With luck, the reality is good.

Or we find change through the right person or tool at the right time so that our world no longer is an Impressionist painting.
ng

If I ask, will questions go away?

It's another sleepless night (and getting to Seattle remains on the bucket list) so if I out the questions that are inside will they go away? Or will I at least get answers?

Who is the Amanda behind the breast cancer donation fund on the Michigan form?

Was the Michigan man in the stem cell study selling cars, working in a car factory or managing something in an auto company when he was diagnosed with ms? Did he get a buyout? Is his career as a high school hockey coach fulfilling a dream? How much did it cost him to participate in the study?

Does a person come with a set number of hours of eyesight?

If so, is it better to ration how long and on what you use your eyes for or just splurge and do as much as you can now?

Did I burn too many hours on books and computer screens? Was it reading by flashlight under the bedcovers?

If you wait, do some cancerous cells heal on their own?

Do MRIs and the other fancy tools tell us too much today?

Is it lying to say you didn't have a fever if you don't take your temperature?

How long will a scale tell you the right weight?

Why do people without children make scrapbooks? What happens to their scrapbooks when they die?

How do they decide how many days you need to take an antibodic?

Why do I still want more hours in the day, heat in the house and friends to be happy?

What is happy?

Do you still need to use drops to make your eyes wet if you are crying?

Why isn't waking up enough?

Old drugs inspire hope for those with MS

Some good news about multiple sclerosis -there are some possible new uses for old drugs -- one used to treat leukemia and another to treat TB or leprosy -- could help with MS.

It also looks like those who can't face shots may be able to take an oral drug instead of shots

Over on the peer-reviewed Ploson (Public Library of Science, you can read about how Clofazimine could be a "promising immunomodulatory drug candidate for treating a variety of autoimmune disorders," including MS.

But for an "in English" explanation, I like what Julie Stachowiak's says over in her Multiple Sclerosis Blog:

"The drug clofazimine was developed in the 1890s as a treatment for tuberculosis. Clofazimine happens to also interfere with a molecular pathway that controls the immune response. Basically, clofazimine prevents signaling from the exterior of an immune cell into the interior (where it can "rev up" a response). They result? An inhibited immune system that is less likely to attack the myelin and cause the symptoms of multiple sclerosis (in theory)."

Wait, an even easier explanation is on the John Hopkins press release, starting with the subhead:

"Leprosy medicine holds promise as therapy for autoimmune diseases"

Johns Hopkins pharmacologist Jun O. Liu is quoted saying:

“We never expected that an old antibiotic would hit this target that has been implicated in multiple sclerosis, psoriasis and type 1 diabetes.

Until now, clofazimine’s presumed target was not human cells, but bacteria. But we discovered the drug has a tremendous effect on human immune cells that are heavily involved in both the initiation and execution of an effective immune response.”

The Johns Hopkins researchers uncovered the drug’s latest potential during an ongoing and exhaustive screening of FDA-approved drugs designed to identify new uses for them, according to the press release.

The Hopkins team was specifically hunting for immune system control agents within the Johns Hopkins Drug Library, a collection of more than 3,000 drugs in pharmacies or being tested in phase II clinical trials.

The press release, under the main headline "Teaching old drugs new tricks," goes into detail about the methods the researchers used. It was a lot of work but I'm glad they were so patient. More work to come.

My latest edition of MSFYI from MS Focus had this item on a possible oral drug from Merck:

Oral Drug Cladribine Reduces Relapse Rates in Trial

Another oral medication for MS may be headed toward the FDA approval process after meeting its end-points in a phase III clinical trial.

Cladribine, a drug already approved to treat leukemia, was tested in two dosing levels, both of which reduced relapses seen over one year’s time in people with RRMS when compared to placebo.

More than 1,300 people participated in the CLARITY study. Those in the “low dose” group had 58 percent fewer relapses, compared to those taking placebo; those in the “high dose” group had 55 percent fewer relapses.

Reported side effects included low white blood cell counts as well as headaches and cold-like symptoms.

The Pharmaceutical Business Review said that Elmar Schnee, president of Merck Serono, plans to apply for FDA approval of the drug’s use in MS in mid-2009.

For those with a fear of injections, an oral medication is good news, as so far the only medication that helps prevent relapses is given as injections. Some can be done by the person with MS; some only at a medical faciltity.

It is still hard for me to believe that the first drug known to help prevent MS attacks was approved by the FDA in 1993 - just a year before I was officially diagnosed. I was lucky to get Betasaron and years later Copoxone, which was approved in 1996. I've had fewer side effects from Copoxone and find it fairly easy to do the daily injection.

My knowledge of injections saved us 100-mile round-trip back to the cancer center for a day-after chemo shot. With coaching, my daughter also has joined "Yes, I Can" corps and can give herself a shot now.


By the way, I learned that there were at least 150 MS clinical trials under way in 2008.

You can stay up on the latest with the electronic newsletter from the Multiple Sclerosis Foundation. My mom discovered the quarterly print magazine MS Focus in her doctor's waiting room. I found the monthly e-updates over on the web site. Both are free.

No roll of blogs, but I read 'em

February 3 is Blogroll Amnesty Day, which started off when one blogger wanted to trim his roll of blogs without guilt. Other bloggers thought that was horrible, knowing that links to other blogs are one of the best ways to help folks find new blogs. They followed the lead of this blogger who turned it into a happy occasion by linking to five blogs that had less traffic than their own. (It goes without saying they had to like each of the blogs.) So despite the lack of a blog roll on the website, I can tell you about some of the ones I'm reading.

Mandy from MS Maze put together MS Bloggers at your Fingertips! picking it up from Lisa Emrich of Brass and Ivory who asked MS bloggers to spread Linky Love!

Traffic isn't a big concern in my decision to list some of the blogs I read. Do check out those two MS ones, plus Access Denied - living with multiple sclerosis and A Place to Scream and My journey with Multiple Sclerosis.

I switch diseases here (to cancer) but get inspired by Everything Changes

I still have a thing for libraries so SuperPatron stays on my favorites as does Ed Vielmetti's Vacuum.

And I'm really happy that Susan Mernit blogs a lot more often than she was for awhile.

And I have no idea why, but I am fascinated by the Junky's Wife.

Mmmm. I still remember when getting some co-workers to blog was a chore so it's nice to "keep in touch" via these blogs by folks who once worked or are working at The Flint Journal:

• David Sullivan's That's the Press, Baby
• Jim of L-Town's Free From Editors
• Pat's Blog
• (Tom )Wickham's World
• Todd Seibt and Michael Robb's TeamBoxer
• Doug Pullen
• Paddywack Designs
• Andy Heller
• Theresa Roach's Girl on the Rocks
• Jared Wadley and a bunch of folks combine on It's Just Sports
• Bill Khan and Chris Machniak still do Runners' Finish Line
• Offbeat, where Bryn Mickle picked up Jim Smith's practice of sharing unusual happenings from the crime beat.
• Brenda Brissettee Mata
• Amanda's Life and Times
• DaBlade's Chattering Teeth

(OK, ex- and co-workers who else has decided that blogging isn't the end of the world and is missing from my list?)

Two of my favorite quilt blogs have Flint-area connections - Michigan Quilts and Joe the Blogging Quilter.

Flint Expatriates is in my Flint rss folder because I love learning about this city's yesterdays.

I'd like to tell you about more blogs, I have to go do more research on how a twenty-somethings pays the outrageous price of beating cancer, what can be done with glaucoma and how to kick the blues without seeing another doctor.

Oh yeah. I did write about some of my word-related blogs before, remember Blogs replacing need for editors, talk

What you didn't know I had in common (or not) with 25 who agreed to be FB friends

I twisted and turned and finally spit out another 25 things by looking at what I had in common with Facebook friends who had already a 25 (or more) list because I didn't want to add to anyone's to-do list.

1) Like Norma Z., I love coffee (before noon)

2) Like MBW, I asked my husband out first ... if you count asking "You don't want to go out with me, do you?" because I didn't believe the guy I was with was right about why Larry was suddenly around so much.

3) Like Jim of L-Town, I was the editor of the State News at Michigan State University. My "year" started early and ended late and had lots of ups and downs but taught me lots about running newspapers.

4) Like MWG, I reluctantly did the buyout thing. But it is turning out to be the best thing in the world as it is giving me a chance to mother my cancer-fighting daughter, work virtually with new people and organizations and rediscover passions buried by workaholic tendencies.

5) Like MB, I believe open communication is the best way to solve problems

6) Like EC, I worry a lot about food and believe that health care could be forever changed if we fed people right.

7) Like IC, I find being a parent challenging yet rewarding.

8) Like SC, I spend way a lot of time on news sites (and those dealing with journalism and writing and ... You get the idea... a lot of time)

9) Like CW, I love(d) to take baths to relax, then curl up with a good book. But I only do the book part now because hot baths (and weather) make me limp. (thanks ms).

10) Like AR, I believe democracy is not a spectator sport.

11) Like JWJ, I love bluegrass music. (I didn't know that until I moved to Flint, Michigan.)

12) Unlike BE, I was never fired from a job.

13) Like MH, I booked (and organized) concerts and I can’t go to a show now without picking apart the lighting, sound, stage presence, musicianship, etc. Like, had I been in charge of this weekend's 32nd Ann Arbor Folk Festival, I would have ....

14) Like JR, I sometimes need a hug.

15) Like PB, I sometimes try too many Facebook applications (but it's OK for folks to ignore them.)

16) Like MLJ, I am an Internet junkie.

17) I learned a lot about coaching writrs from Bruce DeSilva, Jack Hart and Don Fry.

18) Like RS, I will copy edit anything and everything before me, which is why I really hate it when I get a brain burp and can't find the perfect words.

19) Like VC, I can read type upside down. (These days, it needs to be large print though)

20) Like GG (who is on Facebook, but I discovered through his Life, Work and the Pursuit of Excellence blog I want to learn something new every day.

21) I learned a lot about Flint and Irish music from MK while producing and hosting a music show on Flint's former public radio station.

22) Like RJW, I'm not crazy about talking on the phone. I thought once I left the newsroom, I'd enjoy it more. I don't.

23) Like CC, I started drinking coffee with cream and sugar. I cut both out the first time I successfully lost 100 pounds.

24) Like SH, I don't have a mousepad.


25) Like SM, I enjoyed looking at this meme. My twist was picking out facts in common with people who posted 25 (or more) things about themselves.

(and almost everyone I named here has already produced a list of at least 25 things so I haven't added to anyone's To-Do list. There are two exceptions - one had already been tagged by others so peer pressure would guarantee a finished list as soon as the home repairs are done, I'm thinking; the second has sent me a zillion or more application invites and I miss our early morning or late night chats)

This post first appeared as a Facebook Note, where names, not initials, are used.

Zig-zagging through changing priorities

The marked-up table

A yell for Mom from the kitchen ended a recent nap rather abruptly. Imagine the wild thoughts that ran through my mind as I made it from the bedroom to the kitchen where I found my daughter - a daughter who knows not to put a glass of liquids or hot food directly on the cherry table once owned by her late great-grandmother and now loved by her mother .... a daughter who knows the table pads are less then 3 feet away, placemats even closer and a bagful of read newspapers just across the room.
The crafting whiz was putting together another fleece flower kit and needed to expand a pattern by using wax paper and a printed paper. She carefully traced the basic outlines and then cut out her material. The yell came when she started cleaning up for the day and saw her "light" etching.

A few questions later and I discover she and her boyfriend discussed just covering the etching with a placemat or two, returning to Tennessee and a few other options. But she decided to tell the truth and face me.

She knew I had tried protecting the table over the years. She was the one who broke the thick glass that once covered the table. She knows no meal is served directly on the wood. She has watched me cover the table before using a rotary cutter on the my latest batch of fabrics or clays.

What she didn't expect was me laughing.

At first, I was amazed that a 24-year-old forgot basic lessons of crafting. But then, I was amused at her reaction. After all we've been through lately, a few more scratches in the table hardly matter. Yes, I like nice things and I like them to remain nice.

But I enjoy more the days she has the energy to create fleece flowers, crochet hats, and make her creatures from pom pons.

Besides, there is always a bottle of Old English polish under the sink. She could - and did - make the lines almost disappear with some elbow grease.

Breast cancer search leads to YouTube

A change in the planned treatment of my daughter's stage three breast cancer led to a recent midnight research search to try to understand why. The second surprise of the day is that YouTube just joined on my list of "good" resources for medical research.

We had celebrated being half way through chemo and the success of the treatment so far - you can't feel the lumps anymore. We were surprised by the recommendation for weekly treatments for 12 weeks instead of four biweekly sessions.


We had been warned to be flexible, especially when getting treated at an institution known for its treatment. (The University of Michigan Breast Care Center is one of 21 institutions that make up the National Comprehensive Cancer Network).

And every medical person I've met has cautioned against researching medical conditions on the Internet. But I have a list of sources and, with 30 plus years in the news business, the skills to evaluate information.

But medical videos on YouTube were a first. It was inspiring to watch a video of the chemotherapy drug taxol killing breast cancer cells. Check it out.

Meanwhile, I'm checking out articles like this one in US News and World Report on weekly doses of Taxol Early research says the new routine increases a patient's long term survival.

Oh, and the other good news? Once we get through chemo and surgery, my daughter will be able to get the radiation treatments closer to home ... that's the daily radiation for six weeks - under the current plan.

OK, enough of an update as I need to get back to this week's post treatment distraction: Sex and the City. I'll post more later on my daughter's effort to update me on the 1998-2004 series that aired during my workaholic years.

Blogs replacing need for editors, talk

I'm into reading my feeds the RSS way, but sometimes I love visiting the original sites. The venture can lead me to new places, new ideas and new ideas. So a hop over to Dave Winer's Scripting News then led me to Word Wise's One (Isn't) the Loneliest Number. He gives us 25 phrases to replace with one word. Example:  Replace at all times:with always. I really like these blogs about language and words because I don't often get the chance to talk about this now that I've left the newspaper.

Plus some of the blogs give us the headlines that could easily be featured in Jay Leno's Headlines on Mondays.

So Dan Sartow's Word Wise joins the other "word" blogs I follow:

• Editrix is "for those who think grammar is hot," which is nice when it is cold.
  
• Headsup is self-described as "thorts and comments about editing and the deskly arts." Expect to learn about headlines such as "Patient buried before Cherry filed report to pathologist" in posts with headlines like When zombies handle the paperwork."
  
• Languagehat is about language and I like it just because I never know what I will be reading.
  
• That's the Press, Baby is the only blog I know of that talks about copy editing and department stores. Author David Sullivan and I once worked on the same copy desk so I knew of his fascination with department stores and his skill at copy editing. These days, he also writes often on the future of newspapers.
  
• The Engine Room is by a sub editor (what we in the U.S. call a copy editor) in the UK. I like getting a non-U.S. viewpoint from time to time. Plus he led to me to a book: Grumpy Old Men, the official handbook. Who knew.
  
• Watch Yer Language is from an editor at The Billings-Gazette and led me to
  
• You Don't Say, is by John McIntrye, a "mild-mannered copy editor."
• Words at Work often reminds me of loaded words such as entitlement that a copy editor or editor once helped with (we all need some help, right?)
• Writer Way is written by Karen Anderson, who knows her way around the web so includes posts about wise web practices as well as advice on writing.
  
• Writing Tools.
• A Capital Idea by a Dallas Morning News copy editor talks about commas, grammar and newspapers.
• Mr. ReWrite whose last entry was about Canada geese.
• Words to the Wise has cleared up a number of food-related words for me recently and shared why -0 wasn't wise to use in a headline near math students.

The advantage of leaving RSS behind is I can see the blogs the writers are reading. Here are some from the blogs above that are about words, writing and editing.

• Common Sense Journalism
• Conjugate Visits
• Grammar Police
• Language and Grammar
• Language Log
• Motivated Grammar
• Talk Wordy to Me
• Testy Copy Editors
• The Editor’s Desk
• The Grammar Vandal
• The Slot
• The Word
• The Word Whisperer
• Triangle Grammar Guide
• Word Porn
• Wordfeeder
• Mike Billings' Copy Editing Corner

This fascination with words must be why the family still won't play Scrabble with me. (and yes, I've shared how many games I've lost on the Internet.)

Shut up, listen, and receive ... with grace

I've been thinking a lot lately - all these questions and conflicting answers bubbling up. But the real question should be why am i surprised that answers to the thorniest questions pop up just in time

Today's inspirational reading answered a mess of questions that boil down to two: Should I go to my daughter's chemo treatment and do I accept an unexpected check given for "appreciation."

We don't know where I got the dreaded MRSA infection or the orbital cellulitis. Did it evolve from a sinus infection? Bronchitis? Did I pick up the germs from the hospital where my daughter is being treated for cancer?

The latest medicines seem to make a difference. But then a three-hour yarn and wig shopping trip exhausts me and I don't leave my bed for nearly 30 hours.

Dueling doctors are little help; one reminds me to always avoid hospitals as with multiple sclerosis my immune system is already weak. The other says we will never know where I picked it up from so go and use sanitizer frequently (We buy by the gallon and refill the various packages)

He reminds me to be the mom of a newborn - sleep when they do, eat when they do and accept help from all who offer.

He also also reminds me of my skills of asking questions and how important that is to a 24-year-old fighting cancer
The daughter? She tells me she "has people." (some of those people are lined up for later in the week when I slip away to the 31st Ann Arbor Folk Festival.

A midnight comment shows she's hoping I will be there for the planned celebration of part 1 chemo being done. Look out IHOP.

I waver. I justify going. I justify staying home. But then this quote greets me in my morning reading.

[God] comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with which we ourselves are comforted by God.
II Corinthians 1:4

Even before I read the short story, I know I am going - armed with my sanitizer.

Then, the author ends with this prayer:

Lord, I also know how difficult it is to accept help. Give me the grace to set aside my pride and receive the assistance offered by the people you send as channels of comfort
- Alma Barkman

And that short prayer is a reminder to me that the only response to an unexpected check given in appreciation is thank you ... to accept it in the spirit it was given, to accept with grace.

Now, I'm off to write the thank you and pack the "mom bag" of goodies that help distract us from the blood red chemo.

Saying goodbye in public

I think it's classy to say goodbye publicly and Paul Keep, the editor of the Muskegon Chronicle in Michigan, does just that.

A lot of newspapers these days seem to let long-time reporters and editors fade away, never acknowledging they left.

Cookies are safe, kosher, less fat - find the news on Myspace, Facebook and Internet

You'll be happy to know Girl Scout cookies are still kosher even though the label is missing from some boxes- the New York Times reported that. And the peanut butter used in your favorite Girl Scout cookie is safe to eat - the Girl Scouts and the two bakeries quickly rushed out press releases on that. Have you ordered yours yet? (details below)

If you know your ZIPcode you can find Girl Scout cookies.

You can read the press release on the peanut butter warnings and talk to Michele Tompkins at GSUSA if you have questions. Or read the statement from ABC bakeries or Little Brownie Bakeries. Want more proof? Then read what the peanut butter supplier said.

Enough about peanut butter. Thanks to BoyandGirlScouts.com, I can tell you about "Rising costs bite into Girl Scout Cookie portions. Actually, The Dallas Morning News reported:

"Fewer cookies were packaged into Thin Mints, Do-si-dos and Tagalongs boxes this year, and the Lemon Chalet Crème cookies were resized to compensate for the rising cost of baking staples. "

Why? Michelle Tompkins, a Girl Scouts spokeswoman, said:

"In the last year, the cost of flour has jumped 30%, cocoa rose 20% to 30% and baking oil has soared between 40% and nearly 200%. Transportation expenses are up 30% to 40%."

By the way, Girl Scout cookies are found online in plenty of places this year. There's the Girl Scout Cookie Group on Flickr for a variety of photos related to cookies.

There's an application over on Facebook that lets you send virtual cookies to friends. There's the Myspace page authored by a "92-year-old woman from Georgia" for the organization founded in 1912 in Georgia. You can watch video of older cookie ads on the page that's been up a few years.

Girl Scout cookies is more than a fund-raiser. Here are a few of the benefits listed over on the official Girl Scout site:

• Girl Scouts practice life skills like goal setting, money management, and teamwork—and they have fun!
• Customers get a great product and get to support girls in their own community.
• All of the proceeds support Girl Scouting in the local community.

Did I make you hungry?


Want more about Girl Scouts? Try these posts:

• Lifetime commitment gets them talking
  
• Who is leading Girl Scouts now?
  
• If you look, you'll find support

'Lifetime commitment' gets 'em talking

The WAGGGS-L list has been a bit quiet these days as one active participant spent some time in the hospital and others are wrapped up in getting Girl Scout cookie sales started. When I saw this image in the I'm a Girl Scout blog, I thought I'd share it with the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts List. I put on a post headline of "Lifetime commitment" and introduced the link by saying a Tattoo for Girl Scouts.

I thought it was good for a smile. I didn't realize it was going to be so good for discussion too.


I know some folks followed the link because this remark riled a few:

Katie is yet another superstar Girl Scout. Today she came by the office to show off her tattoo (and get a Girl Scout Cookie order form). I'm thinking maybe GSUSA could consider partnering with tattoo shops to offer discounts for lifetime members!

And the next thing you know we're off discussion who has tattoos, was this a "real" tattoo or a temporary one, what they mean, how they hurt to get and a whole lot of other spin outs including motorcycle mamas, lesbians, and piercings.

Some folks speak their minds plainly:

"Just FYI --- I will think less of you if you have tattoos and piercings."

Some ask questions

"....but I don't think I will be adding a tattoo to her collection of Girl Scout things right now. Am I the only one who finds this terribly inappropriate? When did we become Hell's Angels?"

Someone thinks there could be a legal issue:

"The only real issue is the trademark. Will they (GSUSA) make her take it off?"

And some think a Girl Scout trefoil in a discrete place would be the perfect tattoo.'

"Nothing defines me better than Girl Scouting. I have spent more time and been a member longer than any other commitment. Not my marriage, my kids even my profession."

Silly me. I thought it wonderful that an "older" girl was so proud of being a Girl Scout she got a tatoo.

(By the way, I put older in quotes because in Girl Scouts that means someone who isn't a Daisy, Brownie or Junior Girl Scout and is still a girl Girl Scout. You can be a girl Girl Scout until you are 18 years old and to me anyone who is under 19 isn't old. )

Want more about Girl Scouts? Try these posts:

• Cookies are safe, kosher, less fat
  
• Who is leading Girl Scouts now?
  
• If you look, you'll find support