Writing...

Feb.'s come quickly.
I have an editorial and an article to write for The Brew.
I also volunteered to write four devotionals for my church's Lent Devotional book; and they're due on the 1st.
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Kevin's blog inspired me to share a recipe of my own.
This is a dessert you can get at that one coffee shop. The name has slipped from my memory for the moment but here's the recipe.

Gold Coast Tiramasu Wannabe
Get a French press of the Gold Coast Blend.
Get a slice of Marble Pound Cake.
Get a barista (who tows the company line of "Just Say Yes") to pour a shot of espresso over the pound cake.
Sip the Gold Coast and notice how well it pairs with the drenched pound cake.
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The film "Paradise Now" is intense, heartbreaking and beautiful.

Read this Kiekegaard quote this morning and couldn't stop thinking about it.

"It was said of Christ that he would reveal the thoughts of many hearts, and this he did. How? Simply by proclaiming grace. He who proclaims the law forces a person into something. People try to hide themselves when faced with the law. But grace, the fact that it is grace, makes them completely unconstrained. Face to face with grace a person really learns to know what lies deepest within. Tell a child to do something--this does not mean the child does it, nor do you really get to know the child's nature. No, but to say, "You are free, you may do as you please"--then you find out what lies deepest in the child." - Soren Kierkegaard's Notes and Journals.
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Beck's 'The Information' rocks the catskills.
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I posted my article on ending my newspaper career on The Brew. It's the first article I've posted to ever contain profanity.
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Beside the Oscars nominations being announced, the Razzie's were announced, too.

Subtle Nachos...

I watched "Nacho Libre" over the weekend. I was mildly surprised. All fart jokes aside, there was an odd subtlety that reminded me of the style of movies like "The Royal Tenenbaums". If you can believe it, the style and soundtrack were subtle, making it seem more than a little indie.
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I'm thinking of doing a Chicago vs. Dallas post.
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I posted a new author on The Brew: William Fortenberry writes on The Death of Ivan Illych. Check it out.

New Brew

I posted Dan's article on rethinking how one does church on The Brew.
I was hoping to go Chicago for Founder's Week this year but I ran out of money. Alistair Begg is preaching and that was the big draw for me. I can just taste a traditional Lou Malnati's slice. I can taste the smoothest mocha from Intelligentsia. Anyone's who still up there should grab one for me.

Winter in Texas

t's finally gotten into the 30s and 20s down here. I'm hoping for snow during a weekend-long rain storm. But everyone keeps laughing at me or saying, 'Keep hoping.'
Instead of snow, Texas only gets ice; making Southern drivers who don't know how to drive even worse. And I also find out that because of the inclimate weather, my church might cancel their services on Sunday.
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I posted my article on the end of Arrested Development on The Brew today. If you've never heard of the show, check out the article to get a glimpse.
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Another great waste of time is www.willitblend.com. The site it pretty self-explanatory an simple fun. The machines used in the videos are what are used to make Frappaccinos at the one coffee shop. You know the one.

Getting Busy

I'm starting to get busy again. It's been a while and I almost forgot what it was like. Gauging your time and seeing what you fit into a given day. I'm in a book club at church; helping lead a movie night and discussion for the college group at church; writing articles and organizing the magazine; etc. etc. It's almost like I'm back in school again.
Something that's taken up some of that time is www.freeshow.blogspot.com . Don't visit the site unless you want to waste some time.
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There's plenty more Brew articles coming for January. I just posted Jamie's article on losing a parent today. Many more are to come more frequently.

La Villita Drive-By - Real Crime Series

School had just let out in the Little Village neighborhood of Chicago and kids were walking home or taking buses. I was working in the press room that City News had at the Chicago Police Headquarters on the South Side. I had a computer monitor in front of me and two police radios squawking to my right.

Little Village, also known as La Vallita to it’s many Mexican residents, had many gangs, one of which reared its head that afternoon when someone shot a high school student walking with his girlfriend.

One of the police radios squawked up when the report came into Chicago’s 9-11 center. Person shot in the 3100 block of South Kedvale. I wrote down the address and then got online to check out the address at whitepages.com, a sort of online phonebook where you can put in a generic address, such as 3100 South Kedvale, and get all addresses and phone numbers to match.

I punch in the numbers and get around five addresses and phone numbers. I pick one that seems to be in the middle of the block and call them up. A middle-aged man answers the phone.

In as understanding a voice as I can muster, I tell him that I am a reporter from the City News Service of Chicago. Then I say that a shooting had occurred on his block and ask if he had seen or heard anything.

He pauses and then tells me that a kid was shot on his front lawn.

I can’t believe my luck. Sometimes people hang up on you or say they didn’t see anything. Or they answer the phone with “Bueno,” giving you the signal that they probably don’t speak English.

So I keep talking to him, asking questions and catching a great news story that just fell out of the sky.

Some vehicle drove down his street and shot the boy (what you have to call males under 18 in news copy) who was walking with his girlfriend. The boy fell onto the lawn of the homeowner, whose kids saw the shooting and then went outside to help. The father grabbed some towels and blankets to help the boy until the paramedics arrived.

Police and the fire department (which sends the paramedics and ambulances) came to question witnesses and help the boy. They talked to the girlfriend, the homeowner, his kids and other neighbors.

I asked the homeowner if his kids would be wiling to talk and, luckily, they were. I put on my “Sorry-to-have-to-do-this” voice and heard from a son and daughter what they saw. They heard a couple loud pops from a gun and then looked outside to see the boy fall into their yard. They told their dad what happened and were outside to help the boy and his girlfriend, who escaped unharmed.

The kids’ voices wavered while trying to tell me about all the blood. I held my bulky phone between my head and my shoulder while scribbling down all I could on some paper at my desk.

The dad was put back on the phone and told me about the girlfriend’s bookbag, which cops initially took as evidence but then tossed away near some garbage cans. He had picked this up to take it back to the girlfriend, who has since gone home.

Thinking quickly, I asked the dad if there was an ID card in the bookbag. He found one and read me the name and address of the girlfriend. I double checked this info with him and thanked him for all his help. To make me seem more caring of their situation, I told them that their info, which included a description of the vehicle the shooter rode in, would hopefully help catch the people who did this.

I then used the White Pages website to get the girlfriend’s phone number. An elderly lady answered and I gingerly asked if the girlfriend was there. I did another slow introduction and then asked if the girl could answer a few questions about the shooting. She declined, which I was fine with, having been able to talk to an eyewitness to the shooting.

This was one of around five times when a story fell in my lap or I was able to put together a great story.

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On a different note, I think I'm addicted to Facebook.

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The newest Brew article will be posted tomorrow; Lonnie wrote another amazing, beautiful and raw article. Check it out on Monday.

I'll putting together two articles for this month: one on the end of Arrested Development and on the end of my journalism career.

Add Another One To The Lists...

So I got a Facebook site today. It's pretty shnazzy, technologically speaking. So whenever I post here, it will automatically post the same thing on Facebook. Pretty cool, huh? I'd link to my site but I guess you have to have a Facebook to look at other's page. So if you have one, look me up.

As promised, the Real Crime Story is coming.

And I'm thinking of putting together a satire issue of The Brew in the near future. Any takers? Let me know. I'd like the issue to be sharp, and smart. Writing that is both of these is not easy to produce; nor does it come quickly. If interested, email me and let me know.

The inspiration for this is a book I'm reading: Serrated Edge. It's a biblical defense of satire. So all those who don't think this kind of writing appropriate, I stick my tongue out at you.