Reading Log 3/30

I got a job with the AMC for the summer!

Oh, right, reading log, yeah, that...

Times seemed a little light today. Read less than I usually due, and not b/c of any time constraints. I won't hold it against them though. I did like the lead piece in National about the luxury motor home makers and the piece on applications to elite colleges, but otherwise breezed through most of section A.
I was surprised upon reaching the sports section that we're down to the final four already. Haven't really been paying any attention to the tournament. No sports writer ambitions for me anyway, so that's okay.
Business- Hmmmm..... cable is having the same problem as newspapers. "We put stuff online for free, and people stop paying for our service. Why could that be?" I've never gotten into the whole watch shows online thing, but an interesting read nonetheless. Oh, and the SF Chronicle is collapsing. Because we can never go more than 3 days without a newspaper collapse story.
Arts- Skimmed the article about books about current events coming out faster than ever. I can see the advantages and drawbacks. Interesting read.

Reading Logs 3/24-3/26

Ah, such a busy week. Time to catch up on the blog...

Tuesday 3/24

Some good articles today:
-When Economy Sours, a Tootsie Roll Can Still Soothe
-Strip Search of Young Girl Tests Limit of School Policy
-In a City of Landmarks, a Court Case Alarms Preservationists
- A Vow By a Star to Win or Pay Stirs a Sport (I think this is pretty impressive; talk about putting pressure on yourself)
-Students Get a Course in Layoffs
Frequent flier column was as good as ever too.

Wednesday 3/25

For once, I can say the dining section didn't completely dominate my paper reading. I liked the article about selling wine at grocery stores, but the main competition which dominated the section didn't win me over.
Wish I had more time to read the paper today, but between a couple interviews, 3 classes, and Outing Club trip sign-ups, time was a little tight, so I mostly skimmed. I liked the picture of the mexican border wall on page A10. The wall really accentuates the up and downs of the sand dunes. And to touch on an article, I liked the article about cricket in the sports section. I will say, the Times does a good job on touching on a lot of the lesser known sports.

Thursday 3/26
I'm noticing a trend in the Home section. It seems there's been some article on "green" decorating the entire semester. This week it was "Slow, Easy and Green" on page D1. Obviously, I have no problem with this trend. Just pointing it out.
Okay, on to the other sections.
Nice picture on the front page. Says a lot. Hooverville is coming back. Oh, and the flood picture says a thousand words as well. Bunch of good articles in section A. The article about the RealAge website says a lot about how advanced advertising is today. Article about environmental police was also very good.
Very large paper today, and very busy day today. I think I'll continue reading it tomorrow, but just wanted to make sure I got something about it up for the week.

Reading Log 3/23

New Orleans was so amazing...

Really strong front section today. Spent a while reading that, then breezed through the other sections. I'd say I read all or a majority of each of the articles on the front page except for the ones about trade barriers and buying up bad bank assets. Read about the drug violence, the energy secretary, road through the texas prairie, saab. Nice article about the creamery in Cali and I thought the tavern that was half in Slovenia and half in Croatia sounded so cool. Interesting White House memo- cool to read about what Obama does in a day. And the metro diary was great as usual. Oh, and rise in RA applications was very good too. Seriously, it was a freakin' awesome section A today. Way to go, Times.

I didn't read much of the others. Basically nothing in arts, and I've failed to get interested in March Madness this year and lost interest in baseball years ago, and that comprised the entire sports section. Business did have a good piece about a thriving weekly in Austin.

Reading Log 3/12

Seemed to be less interesting articles in today's Times than I usually find. Oh, well.
Of course, I read the article on the downfall of two newspaper markets and the anticipated no-market newspapers. Obviously, that really sucks, but I guess my generation just isn't picking up a paper anymore. Which is a shame, because reading the times is just a nice break in my day, and you can get quite an education from it.
Mostly just skimmed a lot of the paper. Interesting to read about ads creeping onto the front covers of magazines, though I suppose not surprising. Also read about the shooting spree in Alabama- it was a nice summary of the events, as I had just read bits and pieces about the spree, as opposed to a full chronological account of it.
Oh yes, the article about biathlon was really interesting. Wouldn't have thought about combining xc skiing and target shooting.

Reading Log 3/11

Tons of stuff to read in the times today. Of course, it's Wednesday, so there was, as usual, a superb dining section to read, this week complete with the Michelle Obama factor! Seriously though, it was interesting to see how she is advocating healthy eating. Plus, it balanced out the fat and calories in the article about cashew chicken, another highly engaging article.
Some other good articles today:
-As Jobs Vanish, Motel Rooms Become Home (Nice to read about a lot of people)
- At Spring Break in Mexico, Revelry Mixes with New Caution (Really making college students look good here...)
- Two Political Rivals, One Playbook (Wait, I read something in the Arts section for the second day in a row!)
- Madoff's Advocate (Superb profile piece)

Reading Log 3/10

Hey, I actually read something in the arts section today. Might not normally have read an article about a Phish concert, but considering it took place in the town next to where I live (Hampton, Va), I figured I'd make an exception. I actually never knew that the Hampton Coliseum was such a well known amphitheater. Strange reading about/seeing pictures of places I've actually been. Also, thought the pictures that went with the article were superb. The picture on the front of the audience just had so much energy, and I like how the times went with that as the main pic as opposed to one of the band (I mean, come on, they just look like guys playing guitar, nothing unusual...). Also really liked the one inside, with the woman wearing the really weird peacock like tail thing. Showed what type of people were showing up to teh concert and was a really nice picture of the Coliseum. I'm a little confused about all the smiley faces in the picture though- not sure if they were installed for the concert or they're a temporary display or something.

That's right, I actually wrote about the Arts section. As usual, plenty of other interesting articles too of course. Have to mention the nice profile piece about the owners of the cash register store, since we talked about profiles in class today.

Class Assignment 3/11 Part 2

As you look into the leopard exhibit at the Durham Zoo, you’re not getting the full picture. Part of the cage is obscured from view from the walkway. It’s rarely used by the animal, according to zoo keepers, but on some days, the pile of straw is a tempting spot for a morning nap.

But this isn’t a case of out of sight, out of mind. When rare spotted leopards are out of sight, they are most certainly on your mind, particularly if you’re a member of the Durham Police, State Police, National Guard, and New Hampshire state wildlife department, all of whom were called to the Durham Zoo, when the potentially dangerous animal was reported missing.

But potentially dangerous, rare spotted leopards, it turns out, are quite deep sleepers.

Through all the chaos that ensued in the Durham zoo following her reported escape, Fluffy was just napping under a pile of straw in the cage, out of sight of the zoo visitors and officials who inspected her cage. Her presence was discovered early yesterday afternoon, after several hours of intensive search within the zoo and the residential communities neighboring it.

Class Assignment 3/11

“Extremely Dangerous” Leopard on the Loose in Durham

A rare, potentially dangerous spotted leopard is missing from its cage in the Durham Zoo, and officials are unsure of its whereabouts.
Fluffy, as the leopard is called, was noticed to be missing when the zoo opened this morning, according to Gerry Durrell, the director of the zoo. The door of the cage was shut and did not appear to have been tampered with, and the fencing was unbroken. Alarms rigged to the cage did not sound during the night. The leopard was last seen in her cage when the zoo closed last night at 9 p.m.
Zoo visitor James Petronkis, 36, of Newmarket, has a different account of the morning, saying zoo officials were slow to react to Fluffy’s disappearance. He said he arrived at the zoo at 7:30, as he does every day to see the leopard. Upon noticing Fluffy’s disappearance, he spoke to the guard and was told “Mind your own business.”
“I couldn’t believe it,” he said. “So I pulled a fire alarm and that got their attention. They said Fluffy was inside her little house and not to worry. I waited and half an hour later I told them again. This time they checked the house, and then all hell broke loose.”
Police cars arrived within minutes, and officers shepherded visitor to the exits. The crowds of distraught parents and crying children were, not surprisingly, quite disturbed by the news.
“I want my money back, and then I’m never coming back here again,” said one man as visitors streamed out the front gate. “This place is out of control.”
“We have no idea what time Fluffy escaped or where she went,” said Gerry Durrell, the director of the zoo, at a news conference held at 9 a.m. “We are searching the grounds of the zoo but so far we haven’t a clue. She may have left the area and could be walking around Durham at this point. We just don’t know.”
Police Chief William Blair detailed the plans for the capture.
“If possible, Fluffy will be shot with a tranquilizer gun,” he said. “But if necessary, we will shoot to kill.”
Kitty Smith, the zoo’s chief biologist, says Fluffy is “extremely dangerous” and that the animals have been driven to the brink of extinction primarily because of their appetite for young children.
The zoo’s location makes a timely capture of the essence.
“We are concerned because this is a residential neighborhood with an elementary school and we don’t want Fluffy wandering around after the kids get out of school,” said Blair. “We have got to find her before 3 p.m.”
Durham Police are being assisted in the search by New Hampshire State Police and the state wildlife department. The National Guard will be supplying five helicopters with infrared sensors as well.
“We’re gonna find this cat if it kills us,” said Blair.
According to Smith, Fluffy is a 10-year-old Romanian spotted leopard, one of only five such animals in existence, and the only female. She is black with white spots, weights 146 pounds, and can run 60 miles an hour. She was a gift to the city from Durham’s sister city in Romania.
Smith has careful instructions for those who may counter Fluffy.
“We urge anyone who encounters Fluffy to get slowly to the ground and lay still,” she said, adding that it is important to avoid eye contact. “Unless she senses fear she’s not likely to react violently.”
Despite the threat posed by the animal, zoo officials see a softer side to Fluffy.
“We love that cat, and we don’t want to lose her,” said Durrell, his eyes getting teary and his voice beginning to choke.

Reading Logs 3/5-3/6

3/5 (Wednesday)

Free throws on the front page? Very interesting article. Sometimes it's not the hard news that attracts one's attention at first. It's a sports phenomenom I never would have even thought about, so I'm glad they brought it to light.
Ads directly targeted to specific consumers? I'd like to think I'm a bit more mature than my peers. Can you bump me up an age group?
Ebay finds it's been green all along- Yeah, you're definitely behind on this one, ebay. Really behind.
A+ dining section. I don't even eat red meat for the most part, but I still want to read hundreds of words about cube steaks. I guess that means it's good writing. But the analysis of organic products was interesting to. I definitely think the label lost some of its clout when it starting appearing on processed foods. Organic pop tarts just sort of ruined it for me.

3/6 (Thursday)
Lots of time to read the paper today. Hooray!
Read about Obama's gray hair first. I, like everyone else, just want to read anything about the guy. And I learned that he gets his hair cut every two weeks. That's important, right?
I balanced reading that by following it up with "For Some Troubled Borrowers, Plan Offers No Hope of Relief."
The article about Pontiac, MI in National was quite good. As I mentioned before, I usually find the top article in National to be very good writing, with a nice balance of focus on hard news and the people affected by it.
Thursday Styles- WHY IS THERE SO MUCH FASHION NEWS IN THE NEW YORK TIMES? EVERYTHING THEY WEAR JUST LOOKS HIDEOUS!!!

Okay...just had to get that out there.

Home- Started reading "Carbon Neutral on a Shoestring", but lost interest when it got too decoratingy. But it was in the home section, so I was forewarned, and will not complain.

Sports- Tour of Citi Field was interesting.

Catching up on Reading Logs 3/2-3/3

3/2 (Monday)
Some interesting articles today:
"Well Regarded Public Colleges Get a Surge of Bargain Hunters"
"Facing Counterfeiting Crackdown, Beijing Vendors Fight Back"
"No, Not the Rolls, My Good Man. These Times Demand the Audi"
"Food magazines Begin To Consider Cooks' Budgets"
"In Denver, Residents Lament the Closing of a Newspaper"

3/3 (Tuesday)

Love the picture on the front. Like the one with the monks last week, for some reason a largely white picture just seems to work on a black and white dominated page. Enjoyed the citadel article on the front page. Hadn't heard of the author, but it was interesting to see how the school eventually came around to accept him, and vice versa.
Doctors in Maine learning dentistry- who knew?
Also thought the article in health about how commercials might actually improve our TV viewing pleasure was interesting. Definitely didn't see that coming. Most scientific studies it seems, come to fairly obvious conclusion.
Both articles on flying in the itineraries section were good reads, with the one on the writer who took flights just to work being particularly weird.
Oh, and interesting to read about the controversy surrounding the baseball memoir. Indeed, sounds a little fishy.

Class Assignment 3/4

School on Saturday Could Be in Future for Portsmouth Students

Students in Portsmouth Public Schools who have disciplinary problems may find themselves going to school on Saturday occasionally next year.
The policy, proposed by School Board Member Tim Steele at yesterday’s meeting of the Portsmouth School Board, is an effort to reduce the number of in-house suspensions, which require students to spend a school day under close supervision of a faculty member in an empty classroom. In 1995, 154 students received in school suspensions.
Under the proposed policy, instead of the suspensions, students would show up for special sessions run from 8 a.m. until noon on select Saturdays. The project would cost an extra $3,000 a year to pay for staffing.
The majority of those present voiced opposition to the proposal. Parent Peggy Bacon went so far as to say she wouldn’t enforce it.
“I know my son isn’t perfect, and I know he’ll probably wind up on the Saturday list at some point, but I’m not going to force him to go,” she said. “I just don’t think it’s going to make any difference, and the parents are going to pay for it- in higher taxes as well as in ruined Saturdays.”
However, the proposal did gain some support. Resident Bob Farley of 64 Elm St. spoke in support of the proposal.
“Parents aren’t teaching their kids any discipline, so the kids have no respect for the rules,” he said. “Maybe if they have to miss a few Saturday morning cartoons they’ll start wising up.”
The issue even drew 5 high school students to the meeting.
Senior Lisa Gallagher noted that she’d never served a detention and didn’t intend to break her streak, but was against the proposal anyway.
“I don’t like this idea,” she said. “I think it’s just being done to make life easier for the faculty, so they don’t have to deal with detentions during the week.”
She also noted that students would likely just skip the session. Steele made it clear that that behavior would not be tolerated.
“If a student skips Saturday school, he or she will not be allowed to return to school until the detention has been served,” he said.
One of the largest disciplinary problems at the school is smoking, according to Steele.
“There are other problems,” he said, “but smoking is by far the biggest one.”
After 30 minutes of discussion, the board voted 5-3, with one member abstaining, to table the issue until the School Board’s next meeting on March 7. The Board requested that Steele return with figures on the number of in-school detentions so far this year.