Democrats and Their Nobel Peace Prize

I haven't had the courage to watch the hand-wringing, whining and bitching I'd expect on cable TV and talk radio today in light of Barack Obama's Nobel Prize, but let me assure those who are surprised that they shouldn't be. There's plenty of precedent and very good rationale.

Three recently elected Democratic presidents have won Nobel Peace Prizes: Obama, Al Gore and Jimmy Carter. (Bill Clinton should have one one for keeping the Repubs at bay for eight years. Almost as soon as he left office, we went to war and in the case of Iraq, optional war.) Seems to be a trend following Woodrow Wilson and Theodore Roosevelt (a modern Democrat with an "R" after his name) being named early in the 20th Century.

Roosevelt was never officially a Democrat, but certainly was a liberal. He was thrown out of the Republican Party in 1912, forming the progressive (much more progressive than either mainstream party at the time) Bull Moose Party. That's when the Repubs took a hard right turn from which they have yet to recover.

My impression of Obama's prize (which he doesn't yet deserve, I'll agree, but will before his term is over) is that it's a middle finger extended to the Cro-Magnon international policies of the Bush Administration. Bush was so awful--so thoroughly out of touch with any kind of reality--that you could feel international relief with Obama's first utterance about multi-lateralism.

Let Me Clarify the Record Here ...

Competition in any business sometimes brings out the worst in us and I'm afraid that the lovely people who remain at the Blue Ridge Business Journal are telling those who'll listen a distinct untruth about those of who used to run it.

The word being spread (I have a written copy of what's being said) is that when Tom Field and I were at the BJ, we gave away news space in trade for advertising. That is not true. It never was true. We fought those requests daily, lost a number of advertisers over the requests during our years there and never regretted our stand that editorial was separate and independent from advertising. Some publications in this region regularly trade editorial content for advertising revenue and advertisers use those examples to demand the same treatment from those of us who do not do that.

This is slander and it is intentionally misleading in order to degrade the product we built over the years, one that was respected and held in enough regard that we won many, many awards from our industry and the community for our efforts.

I will say distinctly and without reservation that our policy of keeping advertising and news separate remains strong at Valley Business FRONT. Our direction is slightly different and our emphasis is not the same as it was, but our integrity is intact and we intend to keep it that way, regardless of what's being said by those without a clue.

Climate Rallies Taking Shape in Region

This region of Virginia will be quite active in the 350.org climate rally scheduled Saturday, Oct. 24. There are four localities--Roanoke, Floyd, Lexington and Blacksburg--that will have events around the rally, which is intended to familiarize people with the threat of global warming.

You can get full information about who/what/why/when/where here. In Roanoke, people will form "the Valley's largest-ever aerial photo" subject, spelling out 350.org at the site of the former Victory Stadium. Granola Central--Grandin Gardens in Raleigh Court--will also hold a harvest festival in conjunction with the rally.

In Blacksburg, ground zero will be Town Hall. Floyd will hold its rally on Black Ridge Road and Lexington's rally is scheduled on the front lawn of Washington & Lee University. All the sites will have photos taken to post in the Web site.

The Chickens Next Door

This little beauty is waiting for visitors^

Here's the harvest, the urban harvest^

Happy chickens (including that gorgeous rooster in the middle) all around^

Dewey and Sheila have about a dozen chickens in a pen he built a couple of months ago, next door to our house in Raleigh Court. When Dewey started the project, I thought maybe he was building a utility building, like the one he and I put together a few years ago in the back yard of my house--the one Christina calls the "Taj Ma Tool."

But no, Dewey was investing about God knows how much money and time into a lovely little building and fenced area to take care of fewer than a dozen of what I take to be Orpington chickens, pretty little gals who are brown, shiny, friendly and not especially loud. Their rooster pal was pretty vigorous, but I haven't seen him for a couple of days, so I figure Dewey has taken him to the property in Craig County for a breather. That boy could cock-a-doodle-do all night long--and did.

I hadn't thought much about chickens in a while--live ones anyway--until we saw "Food Inc." a couple of months ago and got the impression that what we were eating when we were avoiding beef was these poor, miserable, genetically altered beasts that could have started out as chickens, but didn't end up that way. Their breasts were so outsized by breeding that their legs couldn't hold them.

Dewey's chickens aren't even the same species as those poor devils, I'd guess. They are genuinely happy little creatures who chirp and always seem happy to see me when I go over to vist. They cluster at the front of the pen, sticking their heads through the wire as if they want a pat on the head. I like them. My wife loves them. My grandkid can't wait to run next door when she comes by. The neighborhood kids drop by to see them, which delights Dewey and Sheila, both in their 70s.

Within the last week, the New Yorker and a marvelous little North Carolina magazine called Our State, have had long feature articles on urban chickens, pointing out that raising them has become trendy and it's been since maybe WWII that we've had chickens so close and in such numbers. Could be the move to local food, the economy, the realization that nature's getting away from us. Anyway, the trend is going the right way.

Most localities--Roanoke included--limit the number of chickens you can have at home to 10 (and most ban roosters for obvious reasons; you think a barking dog is annoying, try a rooster at 4:30 a.m.). But they seem to be catching on. And I don't mind it a bit.

Wiley Drive Bridge To Be Replaced; No Car Traffic Allowed

Debris which accumultes (left in photo) at the hydraulic openings in the Wiley Drive low-water bridge in Wasena Park after almost any rain is a significant problem that a new bridge should help alleviate^

UPDATED OCT. 7

Those of you who use Wiley Drive in Wasena Park for exercise are in for yet another adjustment to your schedule. The low-water bridge, built by contractor Wiley Jackson many years ago in order to take his construction debris to a dump in what was to become the park, will undergo a reconstruction and will be out of service until March.

The park was down for about a year recently when flood control measures were taken.

Beginning on Monday, Oct. 12, construction crews will begin replacing the Wiley Drive low-water bridge. There was no word from the City of Roanoke whether the proposed greenway bridge just west of the low water bridge would be constructed during the down time. The bridge will be for pedestrians and bikers and will connect with the former mobile home park on the other side of the river.

The cost of the project is $850,000, of which $750 will be paid for by the USDA, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and Fish America Foundation. Only one of the two low-water bridges will be replaced, says City Engineer Luke Pugh. The second bridge, at the center of Wiley Drive, does not limit fish passage and was not eligible for a grant. Pugh also says automobile traffic into the park will be stopped during the work. The traffic lane in the park will be closed until March.

The bridge will split access to the park in half. Wasena will be accessible from the Memorial Bridge end of the park and Smith Park will be accessible from the River's Edge end of the park. Essentially, three parks are connected by Wiley Drive.

The purpose of the low-water bridge project, according to a city news release, is to promote wildlife biodiversity along the Roanoke River through fish passage restoration. The new bridge will eliminate the concrete bottom and create a mud line for fish to progress up and downstream.

The bridge will also be constructed with larger hydraulic openings to minimize its footprint within the water. Funding is from the United States Department of Agriculture, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Fish America Foundation. For more information, please contact Luke Pugh at 853-5208.

Business Journal Selects Schnabel Editor

Megan Schnabel>

UPDATE

The Roanoke Times has named one of its metro editors, Megan Schnabel, editor of the Blue Ridge Business Journal, replacing Elizabeth Parsons. Parsons has said her departure from the BJ was characterized to her as a "layoff," which generally implies a temporary loss of job. According to an internal memo, Dwayne Yancey will be in charge of the Journal's overall news operation.

Schnabel has held several positions with The Times and has been a metro editor in charge of public safety since 2004, according to a story in the paper this a.m. At one time she was a technology reporter at The Times. She is married to Neathawk Dubuque & Packett executive John Griessmayer.

Her first day with the Journal will be Oct. 19. Publisher Debbie Meade is quoted as saying that "the business journal, which until recently operated separately from the newspaper, will be integrated with core newspaper operations." There was no word on whether the publication would continue to be delivered to a subscriber list separately or would be a physical part of the morning paper. The Times has a circulation of 89,283, according to its most recent Statement of Circulation.

Megan is an accomplished newspaperwoman and a genuinely nice person. I welcome her to the fray.

Carter Turner and the Debate Ahead

Carter Turner prepares for Thursday's debate*^

Carter Turner gets a marvelous opportunity to show voters what they're voting for on a personal level Thursday at Bent Mountain Elementary School at a debate sponsored by the Bent Mountain Woman's League. It runs 8-9 p.m.

This will be a heavily-Republican forum favoring incumbent Morgan Griffith, but don't discount the impact of that boyish, gap-toothed smile of Turner's before the fact. Griffith will know more about the inside-baseball of the issues (and he's wrong on nearly all of them), but my money goes to Carter when it comes to charm, likability and good sense. He is not a policy wonk and will offer more philosophical differences than specific individual detail on some of these arcane issues.

I'm not sure that most debate audiences want to hear Clintonian detail on complex issues, in any case. Seems to me they want a chance to shake the candidate's hand, to make eye contact and see if they like him on a personal level. That makes it far easier to vote for the new guy and Griffith is so devoid of anything resembling an attractive personality that he finishes second in that area before Turner opens his mouth.

This election is more about Griffith's failure as a delegate (and it is complete) and Turner's positive, upbeat attitude and the idea that maybe the Salem area can actually take part in state government as something other than a "no" vote on every issue.

(*I'm not sure where I got this photo, but I think the Turner campaign furnished it. I didn't take it. If Valerie Garner took it, I'm sure she'll let me know and I'll pass it on to you.)

A Weekend With My Buddy Maddy

Saturday was portrait in Highland Park day^

She loves mugging in the rainbow tights and purple sneakers^

Maddy found a round piece of wood and played soccer with it^

Launching her new foam airplane ...^

... and watching it fly^

Eating lunch ribs with her dad^

Posing with the nice lady who painted her face like a butterfly at the Harvest Festival^

Wishing Granny a happy birthday^

Indulge me if you would. My granddaughter was up for the weekend and we thoroughly enjoyed it. Madeline brings a little sunshine with her wherever she lands.

BRBJ Dismisses Editor, Office Manager; Will Become Part of Roanoke Times

Elizabeth Parsons>

UPDATED Sunday, Oct. 4:

The Blue Ridge Business Journal continues to make radical changes as it searches for a market niche. I got a call this a.m. from a Times middle manager telling me that BRBJ editor Elizabeth Parsons and office manager Susan Cousins were laid off Friday. They were told they wouldn't be needed any more, and that the Journal was being "reorganized" (again), said the source.

A second source said the publication is "recruiting one reporter and one editor--sounds like it's fulltime from within" to fill Parson's position. An internal memo from Publisher Debbie Meade said veteran editor Dwayne Yancey will direct coverage as another part of his job and apparently he will add a reporter. The publisher's memo said The Times "will envelope [the Journal] into core operations." The Journal's general manager has also been reassigned, according to the memo.

Since Tom Field and I left a summer ago (to found Valley Business FRONT), virtually the entire staff has turned over and what I'm taking away from the changes is an admission of failure that has been obvious for months. Susan was one of two people left on staff who worked with us. Only Michele George Crim remains. She is the Journal's designer who has apparently been retained as a designer in The Times' newsroom.

Elizabeth didn't finish a year as an employee. She was brought in several months after we left. The editorial had been handled by a part-time copy editor from The Times.

The man who is in charge of the Journal, Marc Vosskamp, had told Tom Field after I left that "one of our girls" (as he called them, at the Laker Magazine and Laker Weekly) could easily--in a part-time role--do what I did as editor. He is publisher of those Roanoke Times-owned publications (which are ghastly, by the way).

The BRBJ recently moved into The Times offices from its separate quarters in a building across the street.

The elephant in the room remains advertising sales, though the memo says the Journal will get an accomplished ad manager. Advertising has been down significantly the past year. We have estimated the drop to be 70 percent. Could be a little less or a little more, depending on the deals being offered. The publication itself has been stuck on a small 28 pages per issue for more than a year and most issues have not supported even that size (if a 60 percent news hole is the goal).

Elizabeth is a competent editor who was probably miscast as a business editor, but she worked hard at it and had some successes. Susan Cousins is one of the best office managers I've ever been around. She is thoroughly competent, leads well and has high standards (which tend to annoy less dedicated employees).

Stay tuned. I don't expect this is over yet.

(Here are some responses from the Facebook post. Sharyn McCrumb: "Hmm... you sound like the guy who got off the Titanic when it docked in Cork." Lori White: "yup. called that one around a lifetime ago." Marie Hodge [former Roanoker editor]: "Please tell Elizabeth how sorry I am that this hasn't worked out. She should not feel that she contributed to this situation at all. I'm sure she was never given adequate direction, and she's the kind of writer/editor who needs to be nurtured. [Don't we all?] In the end, that's the best kind of editor to have, if you know how to appreciate her/him." David Perry: "Does Dan Snyder run the RT too?" From one "who couldn’t post this for obvious reasons”: "what on earth is the matter w/ the times? ... the writers who knew something about the valley are gone and the replacements seem to know or care little about their subjects."

(And there was this from Elizabeth Parsons: "Hi Dan (& friends): I prefer "lay off," as that's how it was presented to me. With that slightly persnickety correction aside ;), I wish to extend my earnest thanks to you and to everyone else for the supportive comments I have read and received since Friday. Although I'm not in a position to address any of these comments in this quasi-public forum, please know I do appreciate the concern. On to bigger and better endeavors, right?")

A Lesson in Consistency from the ACLU

Conservatives love to hate the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and its meddling in things like public expression of religion. So now we have this instance at Gate City High School:

The ACLU asked Gate City High to stop broadcasting prayers in Jesus' name before its home football games on Friday nights. Those prayers--wrong as they are, since it constitutes a state (the school) endorsement of a religion, which is strictly prohibited by the constitution--are as much a part of that culture as cornbread and beans and my guess is that a bazooka wouldn't change that. But the ACLU is trying.

Students at the high school were apparently so stirred up by the ACLU demand that they determined they'd wear protest T-shirts saying, in essence, that they'd pray wherever they want to pray (and if they do it silently, I don't have a problem with it either; do it myself, in fact). School officials directed the kids not to do that. The ACLU jumped right on top of that one, telling school officials to mind their own dang business; students have a right--guaranteed by the Constitution--to protest whatever they choose, including the ACLU.

I just love these guys.

Big News for The Big Read

Lucy Lee, who is heading up the Roanoke Valley issue of The Big Read, got some good news yesterday. I'll let her tell it:

"We got such an exciting piece of news that I want to share it with all of you. Roanoke City Schools is going to have 1,450 students participating in The Big Read Roanoke Valley! More specifically, the book will be taught at Noel C. Taylor Academy, Forest Park Academy, William Fleming (9th grade), Patrick Henry (9th grade) and the Center for the Humanities.

"Many thanks to Deb Landgraf, member of the Roanoke County Friends of the Library Board and the Planning Committee, for her tremendous efforts in working to get Valley schools on board."

The Big Read is an effort to get as many people in this area to read and discuss a single book--Ernest Gaines' 1993 Lesson Before Dying--in as many forums as possible. Read an earlier blog entry explaining what's involved here.

A New (Purchased) Name for the Roanoke Civic Center?

OK, class, here are some choices. Pick from among them or suggest your own.

• Carilion Coliseum
• Norfolk Southern Palace
• General Electric Square Garden
• Areva Arena
• Kroger Circus
• CRC Gymnasium
• Luna Hippodrome
• Cysco Stadium
• First Citizens Dome

The point of this little exercise is to try on some possibilities for the Roanoke Civic Center's new name. Seems the powers that be there want to sell naming rights--as has been done in a number of arenas, including the baseball stadium in Salem, which is now Lewis-Gale Field at Salem Memorial Ballpark..

The City of Roanoke and Civic Center manager Global Spectrum have hired Sponsor Hounds (at 18 percent commission) to search for an overall sponsor (not to mention a lot of little ones whose ads will appear throughout the building).

The rights for the Civic Center naming, as well as sponsorships for the Performing Arts Theatre and Special Events Center will also be on the table. Kroger and Pepsi are already on board at this point, but not for the biggie.

It hasn't been determined how much the new Civic Center name will go for, but it's not likely to be cheap.

They're Piling On Carilion Again (and This One Looks Pointless)

I'm still trying to figure out exactly the point of The Roanoke Times' 2/3 of a page look Sunday--without an overall story--at Carilion's finances. Standing alone this easily-available public information looks like an orphan. My wife asked me where the piece "jumped" from. That generally means there is a big story on Page 1 and what she was looking at was a continuation of that story. I told her there was none. Her reaction was very similar to mine: Huh?

If this piece had been juxtaposed with similar information on HCA-Lewis-Gale, it would have made some sense. The lack of anything to compare it to left it almost meaningless and, in fact, appeared to be another in a long series of attempts to embarrass Carilion (though I didn't see anything at all embarrassing in the information that ran; it was the stuff you can find on any public company by Googling it). To my mind, Carilion is one of the best run companies in our region. It has considerable courage and a great deal of vision in its attempts to get costs under control and provide outstanding medicine.

Just about anybody who's dealt with hospitals in the past 30 years or so can point to shortcomings, and Carilion is not immune to that kind of criticism--a fact its executives will discuss at length with you. But this is a non-profit health care organization with an obligation to accept patients who can't afford its care. It does not flinch at that responsibility, even though those acceptances have a troubling impact on the bottom line.

What's annoying the crap out of me lately is what appears to be the intention of wrecking any credibility Carilion has with a series of non-stories meant to harm. Carilion is an essential part of this region's economic vitality and future.

As my partner, Tom Field, pointed out in an e-mail this a.m., the criticisms have included "improper land acquisition; monopolistic practices; price gouging; lack of fire sprinklers; bid rigging; doctor/patient interference; employee dissatisfaction" and more. The evidence in these accusations has been thin--at best--and when you get past the surface, you often find one of those physicians who was let go in the past year at the heart of the complaint. Their howling is tiresome and juvenile. It's time to let it go, boys, and get back to treating your dang patients. Grandstand plays are for clowns.

I'd love to see this attack stop, but I won't bet my first-born male child that it will anytime soon. Seems to not only come with the territory, but to be the territory.

The Party Hat Version of Journalism

Doug Cumming making his presentation this a.m.^

When Doug Cumming mentioned that there were 300,000 magazines, I made a note to ask him about it, following his lecture. Later I said, "Does that mean just the Roanoke Valley or is it for a wider area?"

It was for the whole world and it was for last year, said the Washington & Lee Journalism assistant professor, following his talk to a room packed with students this morning. Doug, an old newspaper guy with a couple of nice lines in his resume for magazine experience (his dad--about whom he is finishing a book--was the southern bureau chief for Newsweek magazine as Doug was growing up), made a dazzling historical presentation that had me transfixed for nearly and hour. I almost didn't say anything. The hour of quiet would have been a record. But, alas ...

In any case, I had addressed a class of Doug's first thing this a.m. and we talked for an hour about niche publications and what's next for journalism (and, oh, hell no, I don't know). They were an attentive bunch, obviously interested in what would be next after college.

For me, though, the highlight was Doug's presentation. His newest book, The Southern Press (Northwestern University Press) is a riveting look at the history of journalism in our region and answers a lot of questions about why Southern writers are often so good. His presentation this morning, though considerably truncated, was no less fascinating, especially when he waved around a 1748 copy of "Gentleman's Magazine," a very early British publication that was about 15 years old at the time. It had followed on the heels of Daniel Defoe's 1704 "Review" as the first magazine in the world. (I was surprised, by the way, when Doug asked if any of the students knew Defoe and none did. They weren't familiar with Robinson Crusoe, either.)
In short order, Doug talked about the birth of magazines in America: Andrew Bradford's "American" in 1741 and Ben Franklin's "General" a bit later the same year. Neither lasted a year.

The history lesson went on and included Doug's definition of a magazine (I think he picked this up somewhere along the way in printed form): "Periodical targeting a general but uniquely defined group of readers, publishing non-fiction, features, news, advice, fiction, poetry, art and photography. Magazines express and sometimes shape pop culture through design and a relationship with readers."

And, given the relationship I have developed with Valley Business FRONT during the past year, his best observation of the presentation was one I could not have put better: Magazines are "the party hat version of journalism."

The Big Read Is a Big Deal

Lucy Lee (right) addressed a room full of readers this afternoon at the Higher Education Center in Roanoke^

The Big Read is underway and not much is going to get in the way of this tidal wave, if the first meeting is any indication of its energy. While the Roanoke Valley went semi-ga-ga a couple of weeks ago over the announcement of a marathon on the Blue Ridge Parkway, my guess is the Read--which will exercise a different part of your physiology--will outrun the marathon by a full lap, when it comes to numbers of people participating.

Organizer Lucy Lee, a voracious reader, called a couple of weeks ago and asked if Valley Business FRONT (my magazine) would support the Read and I told her of course we would, not realizing that Lucy was going to make this thing big. And big it will be. The premise is that as many people as we can gather together will read Earnest Gaines' 1993 A Lesson Before Dying, which has become something of a late century classic. It deals with "justice" in the 1930s and has strong racial overtones (not unlike the To Kill a Mockingbird).

The Big Read (a national franchise) will make a Big Deal out of this book with hundreds reading and discussing it, movies, plays being presented about it. An art show concerning it. Children and adults will be involved. People who don't normally read a lot will love the camaraderie of involvement.

We met this evening to discuss ideas for events sorrounding Read and even this early in the process, the ideas were running wild. This dealie is going to give us a new understanding of what it means to read and I'm for that. As one who couldn't read until after I'd been writing professionally for several years (a touch of dyslexia, I'm told; I could also dive before I could swim), I fully appreciate a good book and find them as enjoyable to share as good cooking (mine).

Go to the Web site here and see what it's about. Get involved. This is networking, socializing, reading, discussing and getting to know your neighbors with a book at the middle.

... And Sarah Palin on Russian Literature

Just got this press release from former Gov. George Allen's people:

"Governor George Allen, Chairman of the American Energy Freedom Center, will be live on Fox Business News' "Money for Breakfast" at 7 a.m. tomorrow to discuss the President¹s speech to the U.N. Conference on climate change and the G20 Summit, which kicks off tonight in Pittsburgh."

George Allen on climate change? He'll be followed by Larry Flint talking about bicycle riding for weight control.

Shoot 'Em Up: Me 'n' My Gun

Me and my favorite gun^

Dan Casey, the best Roanoke Times columnist since Mike Ives left in the 1970s (and I say that as a close reader of these guys) has just run a blog photo contest called "Gun lovers and their guns." I entered it with a photo of me and my favorite gun (uh ... my ... uh ... only gun), but I missed the dang deadline.

This hot little number is the one I shoot the cats with when they start to pee on the television set. Sets them off; they go straight up in the air every time. Nice blast from this little green lugar and every time I pull the trigger my testosterone level elevates to dangerous numbers. I just love it. Turn on Rush Limbaugh every time I pick the dang thing up.

Now the Casey case: If you doubt his value, read this morning's column on the 4th Ammendment. It's typical of his questioning, insightful look at issues that might slip past. I didn't much like his column on Liberty University and the campus Democrats (almost everybody was unfair on that one), but that's one in six months or so. The rest are very good.

A Woman Who Knows Value

Gwen Mason and her Goodwill find^

I'm standing in front of about 100 people scattered loosely, left to right in front of the new Goodwill retail store at East Market Square in Roanoke at this morning's ribbon-cutting. Roanoke City Councilwoman Gwen Mason, who's running for the Virginia General Assembly, eases over beside me. She leans over and nudges me with her shoulder as the speakers change. She whispers, "I'm shopping for my campaign wardrobe."

Take that Sarah Palin! A few minutes later, I'm taking a photo of Gwen holding up a nice black dress (basic, conservative, white collar). "Oh, this is good," she says and prances off to try it on. Woman of impeccable taste, I think. And good sense of value.

Morgan Griffith and Heart Attacks

A couple of new studies just released have confirmed something we already strongly suspected: smoking in public kills a whole lot of people every year. One study found that smoking bans in public places cut heart attacks by 17 percent in the first year and "by as much as 36 percent over three years," according to a Reuters news report. Another revealed that they cut the rate of heart attacks by 26 percent and could help avert 154,000 heart attacks a year.

That's a lot of health care money and lives saved improved. In the U.S., 32 states have smoking bans, Virginia not among them, though it will join the crowd in December ... years after it should have.

One of those primarily responsible for Virginia's lack of a public smoking ban (bills get killed in committee consistently so the creepoids who oppose them won't have to publicly express their opposition) is Del. Morgan Griffith of Salem, the Majority Leader in the Virginia House of Delegates. He is adamantly opposed to the ban, saying restaurants can post signs saying they'd rather you not smoke if they want to, but that it's not the government's business.

He's running for re-election. It's time to run him off and replace him with somebody who is concerned about the health of those of us who choose not to breathe other people's smoke.

'North By Northwest': A Tale of Cars

The 1959 Lincoln Premier was the star of tonight's version of "North By Northwest"^

My wife and I just watched Hitchcock's 1959 "North by Northwest," she for the first time, I for about the 20th, and I found myself concentrating this time on the makes and models of the various cars that I grew up with.

I was 13 when the movie was made and a common pastime for boys my age was to recite the make and model of as many cars as we'd see in a day. They were distinct designs and each fall we eagerly awaited the new model year, created by Misters Sloan and Kettering of General Motors in 1939.

The cars were marvels of design, some with huge fins, others with holdover art deco fender effects. There were fender skirts, removable hard tops, diagonal double lights, and grilles that looked like shark teeth. Still others featured that newfangled push-button drive or power steering-windows-brakes.

They had white sidewall tires (some "port-a-walls," which pealed off to reveal black tires), indented safety steering wheels (but no safety belts or air bags) and most of them--even the taxicabs--came in at least two tones of color: green on green, black and pink, blue on blue, yellow and black (cabs).

"North By Northwest" was a wonderland of cars (the white 1959 Lincoln Premier was to die for), all big enough for the whole family, pets and a few in-laws to drive up at the Dairy Queen and order a large chocolate-dipped cone.

The movie is always as I remember: just as perfectly sculptured as the cars with the dashing Cary Grant and the lovely Eva Marie Saint, the sinister but suave James Mason and the always watchable Leo G. Carroll. Martin Landau, as a junior grade bad guy gave my wife the creeps. She loved the movie, but missed the opening scenes--stolen by Jessie Royce Landis as Cary Grant's society-occupied mother.

The one thing I've never figured out: what in the hell does the title mean?

A Million Seller, But Is It Literature?

Those of us who find it enourmously satisfying to sell 1,000 or 2,000 copies of a book will take special note of Dan Brown's new sizzler, The Lost Symbol, which sold a million copies its first day out (this past Tuesday), setting a record.

Knopf Doubleday immediately printed another 600,000 hardcovers. There were 5 million already in print. The million sales includes e-books, the NYTimes says in its report.

Brown, of course, wrote The Da Vinci Code and re-issued Angels and Demons (remarkably similar to Da Vinci, but written years beforehand) to capitalize on Da Vinci's success.

Brown is generally noted as a pedestrian writer who tells a good story--as was The Bridges of Madison County phenom Robert James Waller. I have had to hide my admiration of his books (which I enjoyed much as I enjoy shopping at Big Lots or watching a snake eat a rat) from more literary friends lest they show either outrage or pity at my total lack of literary sophistication. But, hey, I grew up poor and stupid. I can't be expected to be sophisticated.

Sometimes It's Simply About the Effort

The view from our seats was swell^

Often breaking the routine is the best cure. For years, on the third weekend of the football season, I've either been in front of a TV showing the Florida-Tennessee game or in the stadium in Knoxville watching it. Most often the game ended with disappointment. Today, it ended with a loss, but no disappointment. Maybe that's because I went to Lexington to see Washington & Lee play and get a little perspective on this thing.

Tennessee-Florida, at least for a UT fan, is where football sits when it reaches the top. Lately, our guys have been knocked off the top more often than they've thrust a saber skyward when the final whistle blew.

Today, anticipating No. 1 Florida--which was not only good, but also pissed off at UT's new, brash coach--blowing the Vols' doors off, I headed off to one of the prettiest little towns in Virginia to watch a football game in a marvelous new stadium (great views, as you see above) with my friend Doug Cumming, assistant professor in the journalism department at W&L. We saw a dandy (W&L lost in overtime in a game whose lead changed several times and whose last minute of regulation was a whing-dinger) and I started back to Roanoke* feeling better about everything, reconciled to Tennessee's loss.

Then an odd thing happened. Tennessee wasn't being humiliated. It was hanging close; it was belting Florida's storied quarterback. So I hurried on home to catch the second half. The game ended as a 10-point loss, considerably less than the 30 points the bookies predicted Tennessee would lose by (or the 100 some of our brilliant "analysts" predicted) and I was tickled. I have to admit that I was more satisfied watching these UT kids overachieve and lose than I was watching Philip Fulmer's undisciplined, heralded players play at less than their best and win games.

Ultimately, as I mentioned to Doug, it comes down to competitiveness and effort--which we saw a lot of in Lexington. And today, in Gainsville with my Vols.

(* I was on the road back to Roanoke at 4:20 after watching a full game, an overtime and eating a meal. That's 3 hours, 20 minutes, 10 minutes less than it normally requires to play a regulation Division 1 game--with all those TV timeouts and breaks for commercials. I love Division III football.)

400 Posts and Counting

How 'bout that: I just passed my 400th blog post (on this blog anyway; total is 402 now) since it started Oct. 16 of last year. That's a book or more.

Finding Girls Through Technology

Mike Yankaskas (right) talks about the competition submarine^

Mike Yankaskas discovered a year or so ago that science and technology will land girls when nothing else works. "I met my girlfriend at a race," says the Virginia Tech student, who was showing off his human-powered submarine at the NCTC Demo Day & Tech Expo at the Roanoke Civic Center.

Yankaskas, whose father is a judge in the complex races these submarines compete in and Mike's new girlfirend's father is a Navy diver who swims along for safety.

The submarine is, in effect, an enclosed scuba outfit that operates full of water. The diver has a scuba tank, peddals and a plane. Mike says, however, he doesn't use the plane for going up and down because "I just breathe deep to go up and let it out to go down." Ah, nature.

Smart Kids at the Tech Expo

Lelani (left), Keoni and John Dade with their robots^

It is possible that the most interesting booth at the Demo Day & Tech Expo at the Roanoke Civic Center--going on at this minute--is one that doesn't even have a name. Four high school age kids are sitting at a table surrounded by what looks like erector set construction. They built everything you're looking at and they're 15 to 17 years old.

The "sponsors," informal as they are, are First Tech Challenge of Carnegie Melon Institute and First Leggo League at Staunton River High School. Lelani and Keoni Dade (pictured above) are a brother-sister act who built several of the robots and their father, John is in charge of putting it together. Robert's robots are experiments to get him ready for a NASA contest. Contact John here if you're interested.

Irony of the Day: Roanoke Times Advice on Firing People

Oh, my goodness, this one's just too good to let pass. The headline on this a.m.'s lead editorial in The Roanoke Times, long known for running off its longest-serving and best employees at the drop of a profit percentage point, had this advice for Radford University in a headline:

Radford University cuts jobs and morale

The school fired two popular employees without warning. They deserved better treatment.

There was this finger-wagging lecture (and it's classic): "Everyone knew the layoffs were coming, but dropping the ax so abruptly is no way to treat long-time employees." And finally, "This is not like ripping off a Band-Aid. Quick firings leave a lingering sting that undermines morale and the reputation of the university."

Hear! And might I add HEAR!

I hope a copy of the editorial made its way into the executive offices where the futures of talented people now departed were determined in a manner that many would describe as "quick firings [that] leave a lingering sting that undermines morale ..."

Two More Mayors Endorse Carter Turner

Carter Turner gaining ground?<

I'm not quite sure what to make of it, but there seems to be a shift in the tide over in Salem with the unthinkable--on the scale of a Perriello-style upset--in the balance. Carter Turner, the Democratic rookie candidate challenging entrenched Del. Morgan Griffith (16 years entrenched) got a couple of important endorsements today to go with an impressive list that includes the current Salem Mayor. The new endorsements--from Sonny Tarpley and Howard Packett--gives Turner the blessing of three Salem mayors.

Business people have tended to keep a low profile in Salem when it came to endorsing against Griffith. Business people have told me for years that they fear what he might do if they didn't support him. I don't know how legitimate those fears are, but I know they exist. Formers Mayor Tarpley, a retired banker and a Republican, and Democrat Packett endorsed Turner for the 8th District seat. Both were respected business professionals before retirement.

Said Tarpley, “I have known and respected Carter Turner for many years. His long-term connection to the people of this community coupled with an even temperament and intelligence are exactly what we need to get meaningful communication started again in Richmond.”

Packett is the former owner of The Packett Group (now Neathawk, Debuque & Packett), the region's largest ad agency. He says, “It’s time to get new ideas and common sense back in Richmond. Carter Turner’s approach to bipartisan coalition building and problem solving is precisely what we need representing the citizens of Salem and Roanoke County.”

(Roanoke Free Press photo of Carter Turner; modified with Photoshop)

Hmmmm. What's Missing Here?

Could it be? Yes! It is! The sign's gone. That distinctive Blue Ridge Business Journal sign in its lovely native blue has vanished from Business Journal Towers, a sign--so to speak--of changing times.

The carved metal sign was put up about three years ago by Kinsey Sign Company (at a cost of roughly $3,500) when the Journal moved into BJ Towers, as it came to be known. BJ was given permission to use the indented space at the right for what had the effect of a billboard. When I was editor of the Journal, the joke--when I'd run into a Roanoke Times employee from across the street--was, "Ours is bigger than yours. So's our sign."

Ah, the good old days. The Journal has been absorbed by The Times and is operating out of the RT building, almost anonymously, these days.

Writer Advice: Get It in Writing

Lawyer David Paxton addresses Arts Council's Writers Workshop^

Gentry Locke Rakes & Moore employment lawyer David Paxton's advice to the Arts Council's monthly workshop last night was pretty much what you hear consistently from the legal profession: get it in writing.

Paxton, the first lecturer in the series who is not a professional writer or writing teacher, filled an hour with legal advice that detailed freelance writers' rights and responsibilities, leaving them with the strong sense that there is both protection and vulnerability in contracts, depending on how and whether they are negotiated.

Paxton stressed that everything a writer writes as a freelancer belongs to the writer until he signs the rights away, even if the story is the result of an assignment from a publication. Paxton told the group that a written assignment belongs to the issuer, but the work turned in based on that assignment belongs to the writer--unless a contract says otherwise. The lesson: negotiate and don't sign anything you don't agree with just to get a gig because you may not ever be able to get any further mileage from that specific story for hire.

Paxton told the writers that rewriting a story using the same interviews and data that was used for the initial assignment could be problematic unless the entire thrust of the story is different. A warmed-over re-write, in short, is a no-no. "Copyright," he stressed, "does not apply to ideas. What you produce from that idea is what is copyrighted."

Paxton also pointed out that the copyright is automatically assumed for a writer's work, but it is limited in scope and if the writer wants the full coverage of the law, it is best to go through the formal copyright process (not expensive for a single work, but costs can mount on multiple stories or photos). The value of a copyright, he says, lasts a lifetime plus 70 years.

A publisher's willingness to deal with individual freelance writers, Paxton said, "depends on who you are and how badly they need you. A publisher, in general, will want to treat writers consistently, though."

Liability law is one of the most problematic areas for freelance writers--especially those who sign a contract with an indemnity provision that, in essence, relieves the publisher of responsibility and places it all on the shoulders of the writer. Most publishers, he stressed, "will stand behind the writer" in normal circumstances, but the indemnity clause is used in order to make the writer aware of his responsibilities to be as careful as possible.

Liability insurance for individual writers, said Paxton, generally costs about $2,000 to $2,500 a year, but writers associations or groups "can negotiate that down."

Paxton said that if he were looking at publishing a piece in a legal journal he'd do the following:

• Ask "Will I get paid? How much and when?"
• "Refuse to indemnify the publisher."
• "Ask if I will retain rights to the story after it is used because it could generate additional income."
• "Ask what additional use the publisher might make of the story--the Internet, for example--and if I would be paid additionally for that use."

Roanoke Named Best Place (Ballot Box Stuffed)

For those of you who keep up with this sort of thing, Roanoke has been named the best city in the country, according to a Kiplinger poll in which 18,725 people voted. Roanoke edged Louisville, Ky., for the title 3,229-3,048. We stuffed the box better'n they did, is my guess. Lynchburg finished fourth at 2,194.

This note appeared at the list of the top cities:

"On June 10, we noticed that a peculiar pattern of ballot stuffing had skewed the top 25 vote count in our best cities poll. So we reset the voting tally to where it had been 48 hours earlier. (Thanks for the heads up, tweeters.) Louisville, Lexington, we feel your love. Please vote again --just once a day, please. To the person (or people) who stuffed the ballot box, come on, let people express the excitement they feel for their favorite city. This is a reader's choice poll. No prizes. No deadline. Thanks."

By the way: I agree it's a good place to live. Wrote a long recommendation to somebody considering moving here the other day and I think it was convincing.