Aw, damn

So pretty much since the first day I've lived in Northern California, people have been throwing echinacea at me.

"Got a cold? Echinacea!" "Sick to your stomach? Echinacea!" "Ooh, shattered arm? Who wants some echinacea?"

Inevitably, a big medical study has revealed that *gasp* echinacea doesn't do crap, at least in terms of fighting a cold. I might as well have been drinking tea made with hemp seed or hippy sweat.

Here's a piece from The New York Times:

But the investigators found that those who took echinacea fared no differently from those who took a placebo: they were just as likely to catch a cold, their symptoms were just as severe, they had just as much virus in their nasal secretions, and they made no more interleukin-8.

Did you hear that, people?! No more interleukin-8! I'm about to rumble with that koala bear wrapped in a blanket on my tea box. But he does look cute....maybe I'll just buy one more box...

I know what's going to happen next. Earthy types are going to say that you can't trust the Western medical establishment. Then they'll keep taking it for every ailment, until someone at their yoga class says, "Oh man, the best thing for that cold is tincture of mungseed oil. Yeah, it totally clears up anything, man. Nature's cure-all, dude."

A few months later, you'll be seeing mungseed oil herbal teas flooding the mainstream market.

You know my health secret? Coffee. Tons and tons of black, strong coffee. Sure, it ramps up your stress level and loosens your bowels, but it seems there's a new health study every month that says it prevents something... diabetes, colon cancer, boredom in the hood.

So I'll keep chugging coffee while hippies tell me to drink seaweed pressings. And I will live forever.

Liftoff

I realize this isn't much of an update, but I thought you folks would get a kick out of MSNBC's interactive feature on what they've done to the shuttle since the Columbia accident.

It's been frustrating me lately that most of the news coverage has been "It's set to launch!," "It's delayed!," "It's set to launch!," "It's delayed!" For those of you who've tried to watch a shuttle launch, you know that it's ALWAYS delayed. So a few days didn't really surprise me. What I really wanted was a recap of all the work NASA's been doing.

So check it out, and let's hope that it's enough to keep this thing flying a few more years.

OMG, someone bombed Egypt?!

For those of you nonjournalists out there, you might not know about a great, addictive Web site. The Newseum hosts a daily display of hundreds of front pages from across the country, and the world.

It's a great place to see some of the most innovative designs and headline ideas out there, but it's also an easy way to see how many papers are still falling into the same trap.

You can actually make a game out of it. Oooh...maybe even a drinking game. OK, here are the rules.

* Top story is yesterday's big newsin present tense ("Bombers strike Egypt!") -- Take a shot.
* Top headline too small to be read in the thumbnail -- Take a shot.
* The dominant color is gray - Take a shot
* The paper's name has a hyphen - Take a shot
*Centerpiece headline is a cliche ("Two to tango!") - Take two shots
* Centerpiece headline makes no sense ("Tango to too!") - Take two shots
* Everyone pictured on the page is white - Sip
* The only black guy pictured is a pro athlete - Sip
* The only black guy pictured is in jail - Take a shot
* The only black guy pictured is a pro athlete in jail - Slam
* The only thing interesting is a pop culture tease in the bottom corner - Take a shot
* "Bush" is in a headline - Sip
* "Bush" and "stay the course" are in a pull-quote - Sip
* Any of the following words/phrases are in a headline: "OK," "up in air," "strike," "peace talks," "Gaza," "economy," "recovery," "on hold," "man," "woman." or "city" - Sip for each

Play responsibly.

Heading east?

Things are moving a bit faster than I last predicted. Instead of late August, the Norfolk folks want me to come out at the beginning of the second week.

On the one hand, that's great, because it means I'll know my fate all the sooner. On the other hand, it's scary, because I'll know my fate all the sooner.

They still haven't told me what the job is, exactly, which I'm taking as a good sign. A friend out there said they're good about hiring talent and finding a spot for them. It sounds like they're doing some restructuring and will have a few openings to work with.

I talked to my boss the other day, so he knows what's going on. I'll probably tell my staff Monday. In such a small office, you can't keep these kinds of secrets too long, so I think it's best to be out in front.

The logistics of picking up and leaving are probably what's haunting me most. We've done it before with relatively short notice, but this time we have twice as much stuff and a dog.

Yeah, I realize I'm getting ahead of myself, but if this opportunity doesn't materialize, one of them will. I'll miss California in a few ways (the wine....oh, the wine), but I think I'm ready to give urban living a shot. Plus, I feel like I've wandered pretty far from the intensity of daily metro newspapers, so it will be good for me to get back in my old field.

One bit of good news with my current job is that there are several people in line to take my place. When I interviewed for city editor, there was only one local candidate, and he was really just doing it to take a stab at management. Now I think there will be three people at The Union interested, and probably a handful of folks from other papers in our chain. It makes me realize what a lucky break I got with this job. Not many folks get trusted managing a staff of seven at age 25.

It's interesting hearing from larger papers who aren't interested in hiring someone from a small paper, even if it got me management experience. If I had stayed at my old paper (circ. 70,000 daily), I would probably get an audience with just about any paper short of The New York Times, Washington Post, etc. But I would still only have experience as a reporter -- maybe with some time filling in as a night editor.

Instead, I went to a smaller paper and got some amazing experience as a manager, doing stuff I wouldn't have gotten to do at larger papers until my 40s, probably. I launched new sections, served as an interim editor, hired about 10 people (yeah, turnover's a bitch), and fired two. Yet most larger papers just look at the circ numbers and don't really care what experience you picked up. I've worked at every size of paper now, and they're all the same. The only difference is the number of people and the amount of money they have to throw at stuff. The personalities, the day-to-day stress, is exactly the same.

That's why I'm so excited a paper like Norfolk is willing to give me a chance. Even if it doesn't work out, I think it says a lot about them that they were willing to fly me out for an interview.

As a closing note, I've been watching the paper out there pretty intensely, and they're just finishing up a great series, if you're a history buff like me. Check out their 14-part series on how yellow fever devastated the town 150 years ago.

I'll obviously keep you all posted as the trip nears.

The luxurious sounds of ... me

On the off chance anyone actually wants to hear me talking for half an hour (show of hands?), the Newspaper Association of America has posted the audio clip of my speech in Chicago.

It's a huge file, and I'm the second speaker. So fast forward to the 15th minute. That's about the time they introduce me. It's a little strange not having the slides with the audio, but you can download those, too. Check out some of the speech before mine, though. You might notice a subtle difference between us.

Just FYI, I'm having trouble writing more blog updates, because it's hotter than hell in our study these days. Yeah, I've got a laptop, but you know, I'm lazy.

Some exciting news

I'm trying to keep my excitement in check, but I did get an e-mail today from one of the top editors at the Norfolk Virginian-Pilot, asking if I'd like to come out and interview in late August.

For those of you outside journalism circles, the Pilot is largely considered one of the best newspapers in the country, if not the world. What's great for me is that it's known for its highly visual, intelligent design, and it's the lead design editor who wants to interview me.

The situation's a bit different for me. I've never interviewed without really having a job opening ... she just thinks I'd be a good fit, and they have a few openings coming up.

In a nice twist, Karen heard from a magazine in Norfolk that wants her to free-lance if we move out there. Things seem to be falling into place.

So I'll keep you all posted, but I wanted to let you in on the news.

Racism in the paddy wagon

Two recent news stories got me thinking about the shelf life of racist and other derogatory terms. How long do we use them before they cease having any shock value at all -- or arousing any ire from the targeted group?

This week, a mayor was accused of insensitivity when she used the phrase "paddy wagon." Then, there were a few stories about the plight of Dykes on Bikes, a lesbian motorcycle group that can't get its name trademarked because federal officials say their own name is an offense against their own people.

So at what point does an insult just become adopted into the vernacular, stealing its potency? I couldn't find many examples where that's happened ... there are a few religious ones. Quakers and Methodists took on the insult names of their critics and have kept them ever since.

Poking around, I found this staggering list of slurs on Wikipedia. I mean, good god, it goes on forever. The Eskimos (wait, is that offensive?) ... the Inuit may have all those words for snow, but do they have 700 racist epithets? This is truly a mind-blowing accomplishment of human insensitivity.

So let's all try to help by finding positive uses of terms like Chug, Fig eater, or Jewgaboo. It might just make the world a better place.

Returning home to war bonds, dog hair, etc.

A few strange things awaiting me when I returned from Alabama on Monday:

1. A 1943 war bond that was never redeemed. It's a $25 bond in perfect condition that my great-aunt sent from St. Louis. People seem to be selling them on the Internet for about $200. I'm just surprised anyone held on to one. Hard to turn down $25 bucks in 1953. We'll probably frame it as a keepsake. This is the actual scan of the bond, in case you're curious.

2. My dog has picked up a new hobby: Shedding. Apparently, after a year of no-shed bliss, he's ditching his winter coat in favor of a more flattering, form-fitting ensemble. And like a drunken sorority girl, he's leaving pieces of his old outfit on pretty much any surface available. Yaaay! Luckily, I learned about rubber pet brushes, which apparently work a ton better than traditional brushes. Sure enough, it works like a pro.

3. My paper won first place in feature writing, second place in investigative reporting, and second place in front page from the California Better Newspapers Contest. This is the big contest for papers our size. The cool thing is, I worked directly and intensely with each of the winners. As an editor, you don't get much notice, so these kinds of awards are great.

4. My office is almost completely remodeled. After a few weeks of funneling everyone through an employee entrance, we actually have a cool entryway now. On Friday, we rip out the carpets and replace ALL the furniture. Meaning, for the first time in a few years, my computer won't have to sit on a pile of plywood. I know this doesn't interest you guys much, but in case you've never seen my office, it's a total cave. Now they've raised the ceilings, expanded the building, updated the AC (just in time), etc.

Sorry for the time away, but I should be more consistently posting now.