A self-satisfied narrow-minded person who conforms to conventional ideals of business and material success.
[After the main character in Sinclair Lewis's 1922 novel Babbitt.]
Today's word in Visual Thesaurus: http://visualthesaurus.com/?w1=babbitt
-Anu Garg (words at wordsmith.org)
"'I've learned to be a merchant without being a Babbitt,' [David Schwartz] told Journal Sentinel book editor." Jim Higgins; Bookseller Sought to Feed the Soul; The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel; Jun 8, 2004.
............................................................................ The truth is that our finest moments are most likely to occur when we are feeling deeply uncomfortable, unhappy, or unfulfilled. For it is only in such moments, propelled by our discomfort, that we are likely to step out of our ruts and start searching for different ways or truer answers. -M. Scott Peck, psychiatrist and author (1936-2005)
Looking for word/quotation archives: http://wordsmith.org/awad/archives.html Unsubscribe, change address, etc: http://wordsmith.org/awad/subscriber.html
The furor over police videos and a report that surfaced late in the legal process directs the spotlight once again on the Spokane Police Department. And, once again, competing stories will battle for public opinion. Critics say the episode shows that the department cannot be trusted. The department says honest mistakes led to the trial delay for a protester arrested at a July 4 rally in Riverfront Park.
The best-case scenario for the department was uttered by spokeswoman Jennifer DeRuwe, who said the delay resulted from "the left hand not knowing what the right hand was doing." The department, she says, takes full responsibility and will investigate how this mishap occurred. A day later, it was revealed that a report citing the existence of the video had not been turned over to the prosecution or the defense.
Sounds like a job for that independent ombudsman the city has been promising to deliver. Unfortunately, formation of the position has been dragged out for months. It is especially frustrating to have to rely on a police inquiry into a situation where possible evidence wasn't turned over in a case involving an anti-police protest.
We've reached the last official day of my vacation. Saturday and Sunday don't count. I've gotten my R-'n-R while preparing Amy Dearest for the real world, which awaits her upon her return to Portland. We'll put her and the relatives on planes Sunday. Then, I have the rest of the day to prepare for my return to work. I'm deeply grateful for the posts by Betsy, Thuy and Andrew that have kept things active here. I haven't read as many complaints about HBO being a dead zone this vacation as I did last one when I took a week off in Denver. Perhaps, we've finally found a way to survive my vacations together? Now, for your last vacation Wild Card ...
Molly started a new job today. Her first official nursing job, having graduated in December and passed the state licensing boards last month. It's an exciting thought for our family, to be moving away from such a tight budget. She has been in school all four years that we have been together.
Juxtaposed to the joy, on this, her first day, Molly experienced a measure of bigotry that is likely a harbinger of what's to come. Two new employees, also in orientation meetings, talked vociferously about "that Oprah show with the pregnant man." One of the colleagues declared, "Don't even get me started on how I feel about that."
Moving into an organization with many hundreds of employees, Molly will be faced daily with a thousand small decisions about how open to be about her family. Even if one person is accepting and supportive, the next person could be precisely opposite.
It's a position most LGBT people are accustomed to, yet I find myself especially empathetic imagining someone else having to endure. I don't mind those daily decisions, I'm used to them. But Molly has been out so many fewer years than I.
Her decision today: Remain quiet. And appreciate the one other person who did the same.
Our man James Pants drops his Stones Throw Records full-length debut at the end of the month and he's getting a fair amount of buzz on the blogosphere.
Spokesman-Review multimedia reporter Nick Eaton visited the WSU women's rowing team during practice on the Snake River to see how they were practicing for next weekend's Pac-10 championships. The Cougars' top boat is ranked fourth in the nation and is ready to take on No. 1 California and the rest for a chance at Pac-10 glory.
This just in from the uber-gubernatorial campaigns.
Dino Rossi has recorded his 32,000th donor. Rossi's campaign is sending out updates every time they hit another thousand contributors, with a name and a little bio data. Rossi also calls to say thanks in person. Currently in the spotlight is Norman Brocard of Clinton, Wash., a retired forester who gave Rossi a "C" note.
Washington Democrats, meanwhile, are contrasting Rossi's stand on global warming with that of apparent GOP presidential nominee John McCain. Rossi is far more lukewarm, so to speak, than McCain, who has a commercial saying climate change is real and it's time to fix it. The Ds are likely to warm further to this difference in the next week, when McCain comes to the state.
One question today at the 4:30 design meeting: Should Eddy Arnold's death be a story on the front page? here's the story from Reuters.com.
"My mother would love you," said city editor Addy Hatch to an editor who suggested it should.
Copywizard Tom Green said there are many others of Arnold's genre whom he would not consider front-page news. Other editors argued that perhaps... those people have already died. Or, others may have thought Eddy Arnold had already been dead for a while, said long-time copywizard John Kafentzis.
Internationally known architect Tom Kundig, a Spokane native, will add another national award to his resume.
The Smithsonian’s Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum this week announced Kundig will receive its award for architecture, one of nine annual categories. A principal in Seattle firm Olson Sundberg Kundig Allen Architects, he’s known for projects ranging from a cabin on Hayden Lake to high-rises (check out a portfolio image gallery here).
“Recognized for his seamless integration of architecture and landscape, Kundig’s projects are unique in their meticulous attention to detail and in the materials used, which are often left in their natural, raw state,” according to a museum news release. “His ingenuity is evident in the experiential nature of his work, in his use of kinetic architectural features and in his reinvention of structural elements that are often overlooked, such as doors, windows and stairs.”
Kundig has won five national AIA Institute Honor Awards and received a 2007 Academy Award in Architecture from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. In Spokane, he was the principal architect for the Railside Center condos, according to RenCorp LLC.
TorrentSpy slapped with largest fine ever for copyright violations
A now-defunct site that allowed users to download copyright music and video was hit with a $111 million penalty in a federal court after a two-year trial.
The now-dark TorrentSpy service was slapped with the penalty for facilitating the infringement of thousands of copyrighted works.
U.S. District Judge Florence-Marie Cooper in Los Angeles, ruling in a case brought by the Motion Picture Association of America, said site operator Justin Bunnell and associates must pay the maximum $30,000 for "each of the 3,699 infringements shown."
There is a big, fat problem with lying in our culture.
The Washington Post sees prevarication as so prevalent, it has devised a scale, or continuum to distinguish its varying degrees. One Pinocchio signifies some shading of the facts, two Pinnochios is selective telling of the truth, and three Pinocchios is characterized by omissions and exaggerations, but no outright falsehoods. Four Pinocchios is the pinnacle – the Big Whopper.
There's so much discussion nowadays over whether teens are overloaded and overwhelmed with school and preparation for college, I thought I would just remind you all it could be worse.
SEOUL, South Korea — It is 10:30 p.m. and students at the elite Daewon prep school here are cramming in a study hall that ends a 15-hour school day. A window is propped open so the evening chill can keep them awake. One teenager studies standing upright at his desk to keep from dozing.
Kim Hyun-kyung, who has accumulated nearly perfect scores on her SATs, is multitasking to prepare for physics, chemistry and history exams.
“I can’t let myself waste even a second,” said Ms. Kim, who dreams of attending Harvard, Yale or another brand-name American college. And she has a good shot. This spring, as in previous years, all but a few of the 133 graduates from Daewon Foreign Language High School who applied to selective American universities won admission.
...
Both schools seem to be rethinking their grueling regimen, at least a bit. Minjok, a boarding school, has turned off dormitory surveillance cameras previously used to ensure that students did not doze in late-night study sessions. Daewon is ending its school day earlier for freshmen. Its founder, Lee Won-hee, worried in an interview that while Daewon was turning out high-scoring students, it might be falling short in educating them as responsible citizens.
State Rep. Barlow: Recovering from heart surgery...
State Rep. Don Barlow, D-Spokane, says he's doing well after recent heart surgery at Sacred Heart hospital in Spokane.
"I'm feeling much better than I or anyone else expected at this stage," he said in a press release.
Barlow had the surgery to repair a congenital defect in a heart valve. He said he's known about the condition since he was a boy "and it was finally time for a tune-up."
Barlow, elected two years ago, is running for re-election this year. He said he'll take things easy for the rest of this month, but will be back in action in June. He's staying in touch with his legislative duties by phone and e-mail, and said he's eager to hear from folks while he's on the mend.
One of the students in the journalism class that I taught this past semester at Gonzaga University said he wished that I had handed out a must-see list of movies, which I thought was a good suggestion.
But my first love is, and always has been, reading. So before I tackle the Movies You Should See Before You Die, I thought I’d come up with a list of 15 Books That You Everyone Should Read At Least Once.
I offer them in no particular order:
“The Prince,” “The Dissertation,” “Mandragon” – R.M. Koster’s “Tinieblas Trilogy” is a mostly undiscovered American classic. Set in a fictional Latin American country, it is a powerful and evocative look at characters trying to retain their humanity in difficult circumstances.
“Slaughterhouse-Five” – The late Kurt Vonnegut’s best novel is one of the most gently devastating looks at the horror of war ever written.
“The Sparrow,” “Children of God” – With this two-book series, Mary Doria Russell created a new genre: Jesuit science fiction. It also is a knowing look at the workings of culture.
“The Catcher in the Rye” – J.D. Salinger’s coming-of-age novel is, no secret here, one of the most influential works of fiction to come out of the mid-20th century. And, if you want to know the truth, it’s a great read.
“The Great Gatsby” – F. Scott Fitzgerald’s small, poetic novel is perhaps closest thing to a perfect book ever written. And those closing lines are dream-like.
“Huckleberry Finn” – This best of Mark Twain was, according to Ernest Hemingway, the very basis of all American literature. He wasn’t wrong.
“East of Eden” – John Steinbeck’s “Grapes of Wrath” is more famous, and arguably better, but this one captured me in 10th grade and refused to let me go.
“A Farewell to Arms” – A graduate-student friend of mine at UC-San Diego used to use this Ernest Hemingway novel to teach students about World War I. Despite his up-and-down reputation, Hemingway remains a worthy read.
“1984” – You’re living aspects of this George Orwell novel, so you might as well understand the references.
“The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter” – Along with Truman Capote, Harper Lee, Flannery O’Connor and others, Carson McCullers represented the best of America’s Southern literature.
“Lord of the Flies” – Ralph and the boys, creations of British Nobel Prize winner William Golding, let us know just how close we are to the jungle
“A Clockwork Orange” – Brilliant and fiery, this Anthony Burgess novel of the future/here-and-now was made into a brilliant movie by Stanley Kubrick.
“The Stranger” – The ultimate existentialist, Albert Camus demonstrates the meaning, er, meaninglessness, of it all.
That’s a beginning. There are many more, some of which might even include a play or two.
Below: Kurt Vonnegut makes the list on the strength of his novel “Slaughterhouse-Five.”
Idaho Attorney General Lawrence Wasden today announced an agreement between Facebook and Idaho, along with 48 other states and the District of Columbia, to provide new safeguards to protect children on the popular social networking site from sexual predators and inappropriate content. “I look forward to working with Facebook on developing industry-wide practices to ensure a safe online environment for children,” Wasden said, adding that the agreement – similar to one reached earlier with MySpace – will result in “deterring and prosecuting criminals who misuse the Internet to prey upon children.” Click below to read Wasden’s full press release.
I was wrong – so deliciously wrong – about Luna’s delice.
In this space three weeks ago, I wrote a short item about Luna’s new morning pastries and espresso. After talking to new executive chef Anna Vogel about an unusual offering, I described the delice she’s introduced from her native Switzerland as pretzel-shaped rolls. They are not.
The oval buns are made from a pretzel dough and sprinkled with coarse salt. Vogel, who hails from Vevay near Lake Geneva, promises you won’t find a similar roll in this part of the world.
They are served spread with butter or as the base for delicious mini muffuletta sandwiches. The savory, deeply browned crust serves as the perfect platform for ham, salami, Swiss and olive tapenade.
There are other delights to tempt morning appetites, all served near the bar and overlooking the blooming espalier pears on the patio: beignets dusted with powdered sugar and served warm with whipped mascarpone and blackberry jam; delicately glazed bearclaws, with a sweet dough surrounding hazelnut and cinnamon filling; pain au chocolat, plain and ham croissants; apple turnovers; yogurt with granola and fresh fruit.
On a recent morning, the scone offerings were white chocolate and lavender or chocolate orange.
The only problem is choosing from the gorgeous spread. Our server took the time to bring cinnamon and freshly grated nutmeg to a dining companion who asked whether they offered spices to dust his cappuccino.
The next time you’re tempted by a morning pastry, stop before you drop your three dollars on an overgrown, dried out muffin and head to Luna. Then, linger in soft morning light over a treat they made for you that morning.
Morning Latte at Luna is served from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. Monday through Friday. Brunch is served on Saturday and Sunday mornings from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. (Sorry, Mother’s Day brunch is booked.)
Luna is located at 5420 S. Perry St., the corner of 57th Avenue and Perry. For information, call the restaurant at (509) 448-2383.
Actually, it's early morning in Sweden. But I have a few minutes available to get back to the Better Business Bureau "Naming Names" discussion.
In the earlier thread, there are several comments from readers of Jan Quintrall's column who take issue with the editing decisions we made in her first-of-the-year column identifying the worst offenders in local business. I also received several e-mails and have read a great deal of Jan's correspondence. Yes, the reaction was nearly universally supportive of Jan's complaint.
But, as always, there is another side in support of our editing decisions. The purpose of this blog is to explain why we do what we do, and then let readers judge.
In the past, we have published the BBB's top 10 list. We have done so even though some of those named were advertisers in the newspaper. At no time did our business-side people or the publisher complain about that to me or suggest we no longer run the list.
This isn;'t about advertisers. As I've said before, our business is different from most others. Even though I'm an executive in the newspaper company, I am allowed to make decisions all of the time that cost the company money. That is the way most mainstream daily newspapers operate. Trust me, months of Jim West coverage cost the newspaper. Sometimes, a decision as innocent as not shooting a sports photo in such a way as to highlight an advertiser's arena sign can lead to a significant loss of advertising.
So the BBB case isn't about that.
Instead, we have a very interesting clash of equally valid procedures and values.
The cyclone responsible for more than 22,000 in Myanmar is front-page news today in a wide range of U.S. newspapers.
The Washington Post and the Virginian-Pilot in Norfolk are among those who made it their lead stories with large headlines and centerpiece photos. Others playing the disaster on the front page include the Dallas Morning News, Los Angeles Times, the Louisville Courier-Journal, the Kansas City Star, the Omaha World and the Wichita Eagle.
The Times-Picayune in New Orleans only contained a reference to it in the front page skybox, those little teaser items at the top of the page. The Indianapolis Star, the Detroit Free Press and the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel did not play the story on the front page. The Times-Picayune decision is a little surprising given that city’s Katrina experience, which might make their readers more interested in the story. The Indianapolis Star’s decision is certainly understandable because it gave dominant play to the Hoosier state’s important Democratic primary taking place today.
We had decided at our 4:30 news meeting to put only one wire story – about the increase in voter registration across the country – on the front page. We routinely put local news on the front page on the theory that local news is our franchise and that national and international news is easily available on television and the web. However, after the meeting, editors began suggesting Myanmar belonged on the front page, so we changed course and put it out there instead of the election story.
Disaster stories occurring on the other side of the world are not always easy calls for newspapers like ours. Proximity and familiarity are important criteria for deciding which stories make the front page and Myanmar is not one of those countries that many of us relate to. Nonetheless, the cyclone is the biggest natural disaster since the devastating tsunami that hit Indonesia in 2004 and the world is paying more attention by the hour. Associated Press reports today that in addition to the known deaths, another 41,000 people are considered missing.
What do you think? Are you following the disaster in Myanmar? Does it belong on the front page again tomorrow?
I was amazed when they told me I’d been delirious for 18 days. They had made up a cot in the back of the wagon once owned by Michael Dawson and that’s where I’d stayed ever since Mary discovered I was feverish the morning the company was leaving the fort. Because the two doctors who had traveled with our train along the Platte had both left the company at Fort Laramie, it fell to the fort’s company clerk to do what he could for me before our wagons again hit the trail. The clerk, half-French and half-Sioux, assured the rest of our company that he had seen others with the same disease as me.
Publishing STA and Crimecheck editorials side-by-side?
Question: Wonder why the Spokesman-Review didn't consider running the Pro&Con editorials about the STA and CrimeCheck ballot issues side by side in today and yesterday editions. I know as a long time reader that the Spokesman-Review has done this similarly with syndicated columnists. The readership I believe would have been better served in this type of format.
--Mark
Answer: Thanks for your feedback. The decision was influenced largely by layout considerations. Putting the columns side by side would have crowded out too many letters to the editor, in our judgment. To make sure readers understood the pro & con balance intended by our presentation, we made it a point to include information boxes explaining the publication schedule. Unfortunately, that box was removed by mistake with the first column on the STA proposal. Next time we go through this, however, we'll reconsider your suggestion. Thanks for sharing it.
An eBay killer? Online matchmaker Wigix wants a piece of the buyer-seller business
There is something about eBay that inspires a deep and visceral hatred among a rising tide of online buyers and sellers.
If you’re unfamiliar with the auction site’s many detractors, just Google the phrase “hate eBay” and you’ll get the picture. (At first, the profanity is jarring; I found hearing it in my head in the voice of William Shatner to be neutralizing).
With numerous ill-wishers among eBay’s buying and selling minions — most of them slamming the fee hikes, padded shipping charges, fraud, scams, and so on — it’s little wonder new sites aiming for a piece of the online auction pie are cropping up almost daily.
True, many of these alternatives are short-lived ventures, often with only a few hundred auction listings at any one time. They tend to vaporize once their operators confront the magnitude of regulating and managing a live, online marketplace.
I’ve been out of the TV biz full time for nearly five years now. But there are things that bug me just as much today, as they did back then.
I’m talking about television “sweeps.” Maybe you’re not familiar with what they’re called, but you know what they are. It happens four times a year, including the month of May. Your TV guide gets thick, there are “very special” episodes of your favorite shows on (and no re-runs), and our local TV news stations start using scare tactics to grab your attention i.e. “ Spokane’s worst pot-holes, “ or “are restaurant lemons safe?”
The idea of course is to get more viewers to watch, so more $$$ can be charged for ad time. Unfortunately bad news seems to attract more people to their TV sets than good news. And yes, stations across the country have tired the “more good news” approach. The result…fewer viewers tuned in.
I’ve never been a big fan of this kind of journalism. Heck, I thought when I became a “weather anchor” I wouldn't have to worry about it. That wasn’t the case. In Southern California, if we received so much as a drop of rain, I was told my news director go on “STORMWATCH.” When I came to Spokane, if we had a quarter inch of snow, I was told to do a live shot from outside…even if the snow had melted hours ago! TV is a visual medium after all…even if there’s nothing to see.
So, that said, what bugs you about local TV news...and what do you enjoy the most?
I figured out one of the things that I hate about reality television. I made this discovery while trying to watch "The Salt-Pepa Show" (yes, THAT Salt-N-Pepa.)
"Blog" is an all-purpose term that describes a format for publishing on the web. A blog generally consists of short entries displayed in reverse chronological order, which often include links to other sites. If you have any questions about our blogs or blogging in general, email us.
Looking for bloggers from the Inland Northwest? We're keeping a list, as well as some featured bios. If you live in the Inland Northwest and are a regular blogger, email us and tell us about yourself.
