The first Friday in December was very eventful, Bloggee -- even without the excited anticipation of Saturday's Saluki athletics contests.First, Kathleen Shaffner had her art show at Art Lover's Trading Company gallery, and many people came, including Sheila Simon's campaign manager, Tom Redmond, who said his candidate would not be blogging, or authorizing a blog, during her campaign.
As a blogger, this is hard to understand, since she(ila) never expressed an opinion in her old blog that could get her into trouble. Mostly "this is happening, what do you think?" which is fine, but not so controversial as to be off-limits in a mayoral campaign, where issues should be discussed, and voters informed.
At the end of the evening, Kathleen gave a command performance of a couple of tunes she sang while a member of the 'locally legendary' acoustic trio For Healing Purposes Only. I captured a minute or two of video (view .mpeg file).
Afterwards, I traveled a short distance down Washington Street to the second semi-annual "Art Over Easy" Art Auction at the Glove Factory-Surplus Gallery. It was fantastic! So much diverse art, good food, and SPACE!
This is the second year the auction was done -- or rather Dunn, as in Linda Dunn, wife of the interim Chancellor (a regular guy, who goes to the Farmer's Market in shorts. Why don't they just give him the job, instead of wasting $100,000 to "search" for a replacement for Walter Wendler. That's alot of money.
Can't the search committee just go to Monster.Com? Or find someone within the university? or within the ranks of the local blogging community, someone like, say, oh, I don't know . . . Peter the Great?).I should have asked my new adminstrator friend, SIU President Glenn Poshard and his wife, Jo, who were given a special award in recognition of their "art advocacy." (That's Glenn in the tie with a guy whose name I didn't ask.)
Now that's a way to insure a big crowd. Great art. Great food. Great people. Great cause. Great idea!
As it turned out President Poshard may also deserve a special award for "blogging advocacy." He told me he believes that blogging is the next level of journalism. He's right, but so few people realize this. A visionary, he must be.
4 comments:
I know a guy in the business ... and if he has anything to say about it, blogging (and citizen journalism, writ large) WILL become a big part of journalism, here in SI in the very near future.
The relative dearth of bolgs coming out of Southern Illinois is really puzzling to me.
You folks involved in this bolg and its relatives should be commended for doing your part. This is good stuff and I enjoy reading it.
And, yes, I realize I misspelled "bolg." It is a thing with me.
I can think of at least two reasons why Carbondale hasn't quite "caught on" to the blogging medium. One reason is the local "alternative" media don't blog because the publisher thinks people won't pick up his free papers at the local grocery store.
Another reason: writing classes offered by the English and Journalism Departments do not teach blogging. (Not that it has to be "taught" much (a minute to learn, a lifetime to master), but could be encouraged with requiring a class blog or giving "extra credit."
What is the "alternative" media these days anyway?
I like your second point...a lot. I have a kid in the fourth grade. Every week the teacher makes the kids write a one page paper on any subject they choose. The papers are not really "graded" by the teacher as much as looked at to assess how the students are progressing with writing skills.
The idea is the the writing itself is the important thing, the skill comes from practice.
Bloggers get to be better writers by writing. Seems simple enough, doesn't it?
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