The Writer with A Thousand Faces

Why, oh why, are the pet stories the worst?

2006-07-31T11:17:00.000-07:00

If you'll recall, my most detested story from last summer's internship was my story about the dog wedding. You know, the wedding that made absolutely no sense except to serve as an excuse to spend Millville's money and bring a bunch of animals together. You know, the story where I wasn't allowed to print that Hannah and Rusty were actually mother and son. I still feel like a story whore for that one.

And apparently, I'm still a story whore, because last week, I got to do this delightful story.

Millville's Annual Pet Show

Okay, let me set the tone for you. This was one of those stories that needed to be in the paper the following day because of the time element involved. It took place on a Wednesday night, and immediately after it finished, I had to phone in my story so that my features editor could type it up and have it in Thursday's paper.

Usually, everybody likes to be done everything by 8:00 pm. This pet show started at 5:00 pm, and judging began at 6:00 pm.

Apparently, The Daily Journal had sent a photographer every year to take pictures of the animals (since many of the poor creatures were dressed in costumes), but many Millville residents were upset because the paper didn't print a list of winners. So that was my job, and it was easier said than done.

There were SEVENTEEN different categories, each with a first, second, and third place prize. My editor said that since there were so many categories, I only needed to get the names of the first place winners, much to the chagrin of the second and third place winners.

Each contestant wore a number. I think I saw numbers as high as the 70's, so there were a lot of contestants. When the winners were announced, they called out numbers, not names, which means after the trophies were presented, I needed to run over and get the name of the contestant (and make sure it was spelled correctly). It soon occurred to me that I not only needed the name of the owner of the pet, but I also needed the pet's name (again, spelled correctly).

Then, the organizers of this pageant went another step further in annoying me. They decided with so many contestants that there would be two or three winners for each prize in each category. That's right: for most categories, I had to get the names of the pets and their owners THREE TIMES.

This is all happening outdoors in a fairly open facility, and there were A LOT of contestants and A LOT of pets, and there were times where I almost went crazy looking for certain numbered contestants (sometimes, the kids would hand off the trophies to their parents and then run elsewhere, or they would change out of their costumes, making it even more difficult for me).

Desperate for some easier way, I went up to the organizers to see if they had the names of the winners. No dice. They only announced numbers and didn't record any information whatsoever. I was on my own as far as getting the winners' names.

My features editor Lori was actually very happy with how the story turned out (I only messed up one winner out of the forty-some names that had to go to print, but it was a sibling of the real winner, so I was very close, especially since they were co-owners of the dog). I was very relieved when it was all over.

There's something magical about writing for small town newspapers...and then there's also something that smells awfully close to the excrement produced by the critters that were the focus of this story.

Time for a reassessment

2006-07-19T16:04:00.000-07:00

It's been quite a long time since I've written a post chronicling my life as a writer. I think it's time for such an update.

Writing for The Daily Journal remains satisfying, even though I'm not churning out stories as frequently as I was allowed last summer. It's really been an incredible opportunity to write professional health stories. I still get a tremendous satisfaction out of interviewing doctors and communicating scientific ideas to a wide audience.

However, NYU's current Science, Health, and Environmental Reporting Program class (SHERP 24, as opposed to my class, SHERP 25) recently launched their own website.

Check out Scienceline!

There's some very exciting things in there that may not be immediately noticeable to you, but as a budding science journalist, I've caught them immediately.

Perhaps the most exciting thing that I saw were interviews with people from the National Institute of Health. There have been many times where I would have LOVED to have done interviews outside of Cumberland County for some of my health stories. In fact, some story ideas that have been thrown at me (like child-onset aphasia) simply cannot be done within the confines of Cumberland County.

However, there are some things that serve as a harsh reminder of my reality...I'm still a student, and a few of the articles focus on NYU faculty. This reminds me of when I couldn't get any interviews for my feature story about Airborne that was published in Unbound.

My Airborne story

This was an attempt by me to achieve something big, something that no one else had really covered...and when I tried to get interviews, I had to tell the truth and admit I was nothing more than a college student. However, since I now write for Gannett, I may have an easier time securing interviews.

But what excites me more than anything about something like Scienceline is that the NYU SHERP students have bonded and collaborated on a project dedicated to science journalism. I really felt like I was on my own as far as generating story ideas and double- and triple-checking my stories for the Science and Health column of The Signal. Now, I will be with a class filled with people as dedicated to this sort of thing as I am.

So the prospect of doing SHERP is extremely exciting. But what about all the other writing that I do?

I'll have probably THE most important thing I've done for Lee's Toy Review published in a couple of weeks. Wait...scratch that. Celebration III was the most important thing I've done for Lee's because that was a phenomenal way for me to feel like a press correspondent. But what I have coming in August is important for it's content. I'm the only one who's going to have this kind of review to my writing credits. AND there's talk that I may get to cover Celebration IV...except that's going to require some advance payment to cover the plane and hotel. We'll see. My fingers are crossed.

Then there's the playwriting thing. I really want to do this again. When I had the opportunity to do it for college, I had a play written in three hours. I'm not sure that NYU will allow me the time to do something like that. There's some secret desire for me to write a "Thundercats" script. Yes, it's extremely ambitious. Yes, it stands no chance of ever becoming a movie or anything. But damn it, I have an idea racing through my head, and I keep seeing it working out! I can see the teaser...a perfect live-action recreation of the beginning of each Thundercats cartoon episode. I can see the plot...a combination of "Exodus," which explains the origin of the Thundercats, and the Anoitment Trials, where Lion-O truly earned the title of Lord of the Thundercats. I'd make the mutants actually pose a threat, and I'd play around with more species than just Monkey, Jackal, Vulture, Rat, and whatever the heck S-S-Slithe was supposed to be. Mumm-Ra would be crazy cool. Panthro would HAVE to be played by Michael Clarke Duncan. Of course, I'd sneak a Lynx-O, Ben Gali, and Pumyra cameo...which would definitely foreshadow the sequel.

This is all just talk. I may make it my escape for when stuff at NYU gets too overwhelming, and I have to prepare myself for that.

I'm pretty happy with where things are right now...as long as I know they are leading to something bigger, I'll be happy.

You can't tell me I'm always ready to write!

2006-07-11T13:33:00.000-07:00

Last week, I was in Vermont for my one and only vacation of the year (whereas last year, I had miniature vacations to Indianapolis and Providence and a big one in California). I got back on Friday night. On Saturday, I covered two stories.

The first was the usual frustrating Health Hotline...frustrating because we only got two phone calls, and only one of the callers had any decent questions for me to write about.

The second was a little more exciting. I covered the Chili Cook-Off that was a part of Millville's Summerfest this year. If you'll recall from last year, I did the advance story about Summerfest, which included mention of the chili cook-off.

Summerfest 2005

This year's Chili Cook-Off Coverage

So everything kind of came full circle. Not only that, I actually tried what little chili was left, a BIG step from last year when I wouldn't have tried chili even if you had forced me! Well...maybe if you forced me...

Medical related stuff is going to put me out of commission for the next couple of days, but MAYBE I can get another story written by the end of the week.

It's been a decent week story wise

2006-06-23T08:23:00.000-07:00

Usually, I have to wait a week, or two, or four...or longer in some cases...but THIS week was different! I got the assignments this week, I did the interviews, and I had stories published on both Thursday and Friday! First, here's one I wrote about sunglasses and what you need to know about UV protection:

Sunglasses Story

This next one is about the garden of the month winner. I loved the fact that the guy had a mid-century modern house and I was able to talk to him about it (my sister is a REALLY big fan of mid-century modern right now).

Garden of the Month for June

Now I gotta hope this trend continues for the rest of the summer!

The next step...

2006-06-21T07:39:00.000-07:00

My profile has been posted on NYU's SHERP's website.

See what kind of students get into this program!

Seriously, being among such a distinguished group of students REALLY makes me feel special. I hope I can live up and possibly exceed their expectations.

All the more reason for me to get off of here and start writing this health story about sunglasses! I'm going to have two stories published this week. You know I won't forget the links!

Sometimes I can be proud of others

2006-06-18T17:41:00.000-07:00

My friend Kristina Fiore, who has been a BIG help in making this decision to go to NYU for Science, Health, and Environmental Reporting, just had her first by-lined article published in Newsday this past week.

Greenpeace Breezes In

What I'm REALLY glad to see is that she is actually getting to write an ENVIRONMENTAL story, which excites me about the kinds of internship opportunities I may have available through SHERP. While it's been a phenomenal opportunity writing health stories for The Daily Journal, I always want to expand my horizons and get more people reading my stories.

Friday's Buy One Ben Leach Story, Get One Free Sale!

2006-06-16T13:27:00.000-07:00

Here's a story about an upcoming Plein Air festival:

Competition draws on beauty of nature

And here's my monthly Health Hotline story:

Callers get help with arthritis questions

For that hotline story, even though there were enough calls to get material for the story, the doctor didn't have a whole lot of information, at least not enough to get a full-length story from (I always run into the problem where the introductory story the previous week covers a lot of what the doctor does). Thank goodness for the National Institute of Health. Not only did it give me some excellent background on arthritis and other rheumatic conditions, it was able to confirm why the caller who suffered from gout complained about pain in their big toe (read the story to find out why that's important).

Once SJ Healthcare puts me in touch with a neurologist, I'll be doing a story about aphasia. I'm very excited to see where that goes.

Yes, I'm back

2006-06-06T16:02:00.000-07:00

It's not even worth trying to explain myself over the last few months. Instead, I will recommit myself to this blog as I continue to have stories published in The Daily Journal. Like this one:

My first published story of the summer

I wrote this one at least three weeks ago. In fact, I think I wrote it before I graduated from TCNJ on May 12th.

I have been accepted into NYU's Science, HEALTH, and Environmetal Reporting Program, and I will start there on September 5th.

I received the Professional Writing Award (one of three journalism department awards for graduating seniors), which came as a shock as I felt in two years I had not had the time to establish myself to the degree of some of my colleagues.

I continue to write for The Daily Journal, at least for the course of the summer. I continue to write for Lee's...when they want me to write something for them. My Battle Beasts reviews have been causing an enormous amount of positive reaction for the magazine, which makes me proud. I am NOT writing another show...unless an idea hits me and I feel the need to write it all down.

And I will keep posting links to any stories I write. This blog currently serves as the best resource for my work, and I intend to keep it that way.

By the way, I am also on Myspace:

Writer With A Thousand Faces on Myspace

That's it for now.

Sorry 'bout that!

2005-10-16T18:38:00.000-07:00

Yeah, I know, that last post was something totally unrelated. This is my creative writing style. When I get an idea, I have to run with it. I have to write something down when inspiration hits. I should probably have a notebook with me at every possible moment.

In all seriousness, with regards to that last post, there are things that we all do that may be a little embarrassing to others. But if you can give a good reason for why you do the things you do, some explanation that can be universally understood, then really, nothing should stop you from doing what you love. Yes, I would call my collecting hobby "obsessive," and sooner or later, I really am going to have to slow it down quite a bit. But for now, it fuels my passion, my desire, my quest for something more. And I guess now that I consider myself an expert in the tangible, now I need to move on to the intangible.

I don't know if I'll get started tonight or not, but I have to write a story about The Gabriel Project. Google it and you will find several different ones. Here's what I'm talking about:

http://www.thegabrielproject.com/index.htm

You know, if I do continue to pursue journalism, and right now, yes, that looks like what I plan to do, I don't care what anyone says...I will be a part of these stories. I don't mean that I am going to place myself into these stories and influence their outcome. That's not journalism. But I am going to really feel what it's like to be the person on the other side of the interview. It's not always easy. How do I place myself in the shoes of a woman who lost her son in a car accident where he was killed by a drunk driver? How do I become the mother of a child who was brought from the Dominican Republic to go through not one, not two, not three, but four major surgeries here in the U.S.? I talk to them. I listen to them. Everyone has a story to tell, and I can find pretty much anything interesting. That's what I try to do every time I have to write a story.

Speaking of writing, I have a small school assignment that I really should do tonight. Have I mentioned how much I LOVE this semester from a scheduling POV?

The Meaning of Love

2005-10-10T15:50:00.000-07:00

I am a collector. For most of my life, my constant goal has been to obtain tangible objects, and whether or not they have to do with Star Wars, Battle Beasts, or Mr. T is completely irrelevant. The rules of collecting are simple: if it exists, you could own it. Sometimes, it takes a lot of searching. Other times, it requires spending a lot of money. The other universal truth of collecting is that it is never, truly over. No collection is ever complete. There is always more to find.

Does this, in turn, mean that, as a collector, my life will never truly be complete? I don’t think that’s necessarily true. Sure, I will never be done collecting, I will always be searching, but if nothing else, it will give my life a purpose when all other things fail. I have learned that already. As mathematical and logical a person as I might be, there is no way to predict the future with 100 percent accuracy. But collecting has been constant. If I can’t find one thing, I move on to something else.

I have cultivated an ability to find and obtain pretty much anything I am looking for. Anything when it comes to collectibles. There has been one thing that has evaded my grasp my whole life, one thing that I can’t seem to find, even though I spend pretty much every waking moment of my life looking for it. The problem is that it’s intangible. It’s exists, but it doesn’t come in a package. It doesn’t cost money. It’s love.

Love is the one thing that many others have that I don’t. I have tried to explain myself in many different ways. I’m looking in the wrong places. I’m setting my standards too high. I don’t have a concept of who my perfect companion is. I’m a nerd. I’m a geek. I’m too skinny. I’m ugly.
Is it time to reassess my lifestyle? No, because I’ve done that too many times. I am not about to give up something that has given me so much drive, so much purpose, so much inspiration in everything I do just so I can get laid. The one for me is not only going to accept me for who I am, but love me.

I am not going to settle for less. That’s not me. It never has been me. There is a lot of depth to me. It has given me the ability to make friends with so many different people with different backgrounds and different personalities. I think many people consider me a friend. Not their best friend, but a friend all the same.

I don’t need someone who is exactly like me. I need someone who is at least a little different, because if I am truly in love with that person, it is going to encourage me to do and discover new things. No one has any idea of how motivated I get when someone shows the least bit of care or affection towards me.

What does this boil down to? Collecting action figures has taught me a lot about how relationships work.

Each person is an action figure. When a person is single, he/she is still mint in package. No one has ever touched him or her. No one knows what it’s like to play with that figure. Sometimes, people are intimidated by an action figure that’s still in its package, wondering why something is steal sealed and never touched. Is there a reason? Should that person be left in the package?
When two people get involved in a relationship, the packages are open. They are loose figures now that can be touched and played with. Once a person is out of the package, they never go back in, except in the rare case that they become resealed (however, they have been opened and played with and that can never go away).

Some figures get played with...a lot. It’s okay at first, they’re being enjoyed by a lot of other figures. But when they get played with too much, they become worn down and undesirable. Sure, some might want to own that figure because it’s cheap, or because it’s simply a rare figure. But more often than not, these heavily worn played with figures are just not valuable to anyone.
Then there are figures that are loose but remain in remarkably clean condition. They can be enjoyed, but the owner seems to have found the right balance between enjoying the figure and leaving it alone to appreciate it. Usually, when the figure has one owner who will never let go of the figure, those figures are the most special.

Love is the hardest intangible object to define. To each individual person, it means something different. This definition is just one way in which I view love. Of course, this is coming from someone who is viewing love from inside the package.

I want to be opened.

Graduate School...One Step Closer

2005-10-08T13:37:00.000-07:00

Before I begin, here's a story that appeared in TDJ about the Commercial Township Harvest Festival, which most likely got completely rained out:

http://www.thedailyjournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051006/LIFESTYLE/510060308&SearchID=73222748343465

And here's my "Geek" story, about weird vintage Nintendo games:

http://www.signal-online.net/media/paper771/news/2005/10/05/Entertainment/Nintendo.More.Than.Just.Mario-1008717.shtml

Even though I don't update as much as I did over the summer, I'm still glad that I get to usually put up a link per post, and I'm usually posting a couple of times a week.

I have scheduled my GRE exam for October 26, right after a whirlwind weekend in NYC.

By the way, as a journalist, I would highly recommend picking up John Berendt's The City of Falling Angels. Berendt is a journalist and former editor of New York magazine. He also wrote the best-seller Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. It's a very engaging work of non-fiction, and all of the sudden, I want to go to Venice (though I doubt that City will do for Venice what Midnight did for Savannah). I haven't actually sat down and read anything cover to cover since America: The Book over the winter semester break. Anyway, it's a good read. Do yourself a favor and pick it up.

October Fest

2005-10-04T21:38:00.000-07:00

Article-palooza! The online version of the Signal seems to have FINALLY updated with the two articles that I couldn't post earlier. This one is about the new WB cartoon, Loonatics:

http://www.signal-online.net/media/paper771/news/2005/09/14/Entertainment/HighTech.Cartoon.Lowers.Standards-983333.shtml

And this one is about the new feature film, "Serenity":

http://www.signal-online.net/media/paper771/news/2005/09/21/Entertainment/Cancelled.Show.Tries.For.Film.Success-991387.shtml

AND, if that wasn't enough, here is my story about an upcoming evening of opera in Vineland:

http://www.thedailyjournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051004/LIFESTYLE/510040327&SearchID=73222376613423

Because I'm not going in to The Daily Journal every day like I was this summer, sometimes, I don't know what happens when I submit a story. The Daily Journal will usually include a picture to accompany any article I do. Unfortunately, a picture for an event that hasn't happened is kind of tough. The professor quoted in the article, Sal Scarpa, was SUPPOSED to deliver pictures to The Daily Journal. Not digital pictures, just regular ol' photographs. It's possible that TDJ got them and none of them were really good enough to print. But I'm betting that he never dropped them off even though I stressed that he needed to do it last Friday. Oh well. I'm getting paid either way because of its publication.

Now, I am in the position where I have to start choosing which stories should be in my portfolio. Here is a short list that I can think of and reasons why I chose them:

1) Lee's Toy Review #130 - Battle Beasts article - My first published work, and to this day, one of my most important stories. It got the real word about Battle Beasts to the masses.

2) Lee's Toy Review #152 - Star Wars Celebration III coverage - I was the only member of the press for Lee's when I did this story, and it turned out to be an amazing experience, not just from a Star Wars fan's point of view, but from the POV of a journalist. Covering this event as a member of the press was not easy but was VERY rewarding and unforgettable.

3) TCNJ Unbound Spring Edition - Airborne article - I just looked at this article that I wrote last spring for Magazine Writing, and it is really, really good, AND it is a health related story. It shows a lot of research from many different outlets.

4) The Daily Journal - Alternative Medicine article - This was an extensive look at alternative medicine practiced in Cumberland County. I learned a lot, and I think people who read the story learned a lot about how these treatments weren't just "quack" practices.

5) The Daily Journal - Enormous Omelet Sandwich article - This is another health story, believe it or not. It is shocking, interesting, and informative. Plus, I need these health/science clips.

6) The Daily Journal - Foot Doctor article - This article proves that I am capable of deciphering doctor jargon and getting to the important stuff that people really care about.

There are several other stories that I am very proud of that were published in The Daily Journal. Of course, I've had several good stories published in The Signal as well. And let's not forget the other articles that I have written for Lee's. But now, if I am indeed going to try and become a science or health journalist, I need to make sure I use health related clips. However, I still insist on including the Lee's articles for a couple of reasons. First, very few journalism students, even the cream of the crop, can say that they've had their stories published in a magazine that is sold nationwide with subscribers worldwide. Second, it shows an ambition and an ability to research something that has never been properly reported. Finally, concerning the Celebration III coverage...press conferences are very important in the science and health related fields of journalism. There are press conferences held all the time to promote new drugs or new technologies, and knowing how to handle big events like that is a crucial part of being a credible journalist.

I'm still looking for answers, but I do not feel like I am lost in a sea of ignorance yet.

The times, they are a-changin'

2005-09-28T20:50:00.000-07:00

Check this out!

http://www.signal-online.net/media/paper771/news/2005/09/28/Entertainment/Looking.For.An.Old.Alien.Ebay.Delivers-1000042.shtml

I've gotten a lot of really positive feedback on this article so far. Maybe my column will catch on. I sure hope so. For some reason, I can't get links to my last two "This Week in Geek" stories on signal-online.net's search engine. I'll make more of an effort to make sure I get the links in here.

I will be visiting NYU next month to investigate their graduate program. They have one geared toward science and environmental reporting (which one of my professors, Kim Pearson, helped create). It seems like science writing is my destiny, at least for the moment.

I received my first pay check as a stringer today. I was surprised that The Daily Journal didn't take any money out for taxes, especially since almost a third of my last paycheck from them went towards it (that money was reimbursement for gas). So I guess I am now officially OFFICIALLY a freelance journalist! Though I've kind of already been a freelance journalist since I started reporting for Lee's Toy Review when I was 14. Except now I'm making REAL money!

Well, "Lost" comes on in 10 minutes, so I'm not missing that anytime soon.

Robot Opera Singer...FIGHTS CRIME!!!

2005-09-24T23:31:00.000-07:00

You can tell that it is late at night with a title like that. But here it is, the teenage opera singer story, over a month and a half in the making!

http://www.thedailyjournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050924/LIFESTYLE/509240322&SearchID=73221384602486

"Clouded, this boy's future is."

2005-09-23T10:19:00.000-07:00

Wow, two updates in one week. I'm going to need a nap after this. Anyway, here is a story that I wrote earlier in the week:

http://www.thedailyjournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050922/LIFESTYLE/509220313&SearchID=73221236409820

The story was due Wednesday at noon, and since I had a class from 9:00-11:50, I had to write it, at the very latest, on Tuesday night. I made the first call on Monday night and I thought I had hit a dead end. I was supposed to include reactions from regular people who had gone to the festival before. However, I had no numbers and needed this person (the coordinator) that I was calling to give me numbers. However, for privacy purposes, that's a lot to ask. She said that she would call people and have them get back to me. At that point, I figured I had no chance in getting real-person reactions, but about three minutes after hanging up, I got three phone calls in a row, and two more the next morning (actually, two more than I really needed). So I'm thankful that worked out.

Hopefully, I can give you the link to the teenage opera singer story soon. It has been held off for over a month and a half. It appeared in the Bridgeton Journal this week but it should appear soon in The Daily Journal (in other words, A LOT of people will see it).

Oh, by the way, I found out that the circulation size of The Daily Journal is between 17,000 and 18,000. A small paper, yes, but nothing to sneeze at.

I am really starting to wonder where my future lies, especially concerning graduate school. I will say that I will probably go, but I don't know where, and I don't know why.

Terrible, just terrible

2005-09-19T22:31:00.000-07:00

I've been terrible at keeping up with this thing! Anyway, for your reading pleasure:

http://www.thedailyjournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050916/LIFESTYLE/509160302&SearchID=73220880618328

It's a story about an "animal communicator" that leads into an advance for Pet-A-Palooza. I swear, if I have to do one more animal-related story...

...well, unless it's about my two new kittens, Snickers and Skittles. We got them last Thursday, and they've been very distracting! After the loss of Swazy, it's very refreshing to have them around, though they are never really a replacement.

I WOULD have posted a link to my article about "Loonatics" that appeared last week in the Signal, but they didn't put it on the web yet. So here it is in its unedited glory!

Okay, if you read last week’s edition of "This Week in Geek," you’re probably left wondering "What the HELL is he talking about?"

Well, thankfully, my second article coincides with the release of Loonatics, a new show on Kids’ WB that premiers Saturday, September 17.

I don’t expect you to watch the show, much less actually like the show. Loonatics, set in the year 2772, takes the classic Warner Brothers cartoon characters (Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, etc.) and makes them into sharp, anime-styled superheroes with special powers who combat the forces of evil. Danger Duck is able to teleport and create magical, projectile eggs. Tech E. Coyote creates gadgets for the team to use, and Rev Runner has super speed. Slam Tasmanian has super strength and the ability turn into tornadoes. In other words, the Warner Brothers cartoon characters use their classic comedic abilities to presumably fight evil.

So rather than set the standard for animation like they did forty and fifty years ago, Warner Brothers is simply lowering its standards to make these classic cartoons more like the cheap stuff like Yu-Gi-Oh! And Pokemon to stand a small chance at grabbing the attention of today’s youth.

Sound crazy? It is crazy, but even Warner Brothers could not have anticipated the shear animosity that this show experienced when it was announced. Thousands of loyal Warner Brothers cartoon fans were outraged at what had been done to their childhood favorites. Even crazier? Warner Brothers actually listened. I TOLD you that geeks had power!

The "extreme" look of the main character, Buzz Bunny, spawned all kinds of parodies, including a very popular satire on Newgrounds.com called "A New Bunny."

Of course, this proves that the research team at Warner Brothers didn’t do their research. The name had already been copyrighted by a UK-based company called Taboo. So when the show would have premiered, thousands of wide-eyed youth would have googled Buzz Bunny, only to discover that Buzz Bunny was...wait for it...yes, a vibrator.

Sadly, Taboo has since removed their Buzz Bunny from their website, most likely at the request of Warner Brothers. But by the same token, Buzz Bunny’s new name is Ace Bunny and his looked has been toned down substantially. However, a decision like this definitely cost Warner Brothers lots of money. They would have to push back the show’s premiere, they would have to start animating episodes again from scratch, and any merchandise that would have been developed for the show would have to be scrapped. In other words, Warner Brothers spent quite possibly millions to make us geeks happy.

I wouldn’t call it a feeling of happiness, but I must admit, I’m a little happier. Looking at the original design of Buzz Bunny would be enough to give anyone nightmares for a week. The truth of the matter is that a show like Loonatics is geared toward one thing: merchandise. I will bet that, if the show simply does okay, by Christmas, we will be seeing Loonatic action figures, posters, trading cards, candy, etc. In other words, Loonatics is not about a good cartoon that kids (or adults still living with their parents) will enjoy. It’s about merchandise.

Although I’ll bet money that Taboo sold a whole lot of Buzz Bunnies before Warner Brothers got to them. Now THAT’S merchandise!

Taboo’s Website: http://www.taboo.co.uk/

Loonatics Unleashed Website: http://kidswb.warnerbros.com/web/stuff/stuff_display.jsp?id=LON

Newgrounds’ "A New Bunny": http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/223809

I'll do this more often if I have to in order to get my stories on the web.

Also, I'm toying with the idea of another play, this time, a one-act play performed by college students. It is unlikely that I will direct, but hopefully, I will be involved in the creative process a bit. More on that as it develops.

No excuses!

2005-09-08T19:25:00.000-07:00

I have to apologize for the lack of updates lately. The truth of the matter is that I haven't had any stories published in a few weeks. That has since changed:

http://signal-online.net/media/paper771/news/2005/09/07/Entertainment/Geeks.Unite.Its.Your.Time.To.Shine-977722.shtml

I must admit, it seems weird posting a link to a story I wrote for the school newspaper when I have had many articles published in a local newspaper that has a much larger circulation. This piece is the start of a column, "This Week in Geek." It is definitely an entertainment column, a little different than the normal stories I'm used to writing.

This column will be a weekly thing. I am starting again at The Daily Journal and The Bridgeton Journal within a week. And I will have another toy review story published in the November issue of Lee's Toy Review. So as far as getting back into the world of journalism as a published writer, I'd say I'm doing a pretty darn good job.

It's Been Awhile

2005-08-28T16:05:00.000-07:00

I'll be brief.

http://www.thedailyjournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050822/LIFESTYLE/508220330&SearchID=73218657603207

Yes, my internship has basically been on hold for the entire month of August, and yet, I've had more than a fair share of stories published.

If you have been keeping up with the blog, then you are fully aware of why I haven't been here in the past couple of weeks. While I would like to tell you about my play and my wonderful vacation to California, this is not the place to do it. I must remain as professional as possible.

The fall semester begins this week, but I will be a paid freelance writer for...who knows? And I do have to investigate getting this play published. And I have to start thinking about my education after TCNJ.

Whatever the case, "WWATF" is the place to find the latest news on...me.

Another Quickie

2005-08-09T14:06:00.000-07:00

I'm actually at The Daily Journal today. This will probably be my last day as an intern. I have to go cover a story about back to school fashions at the Cumberland Mall. I'm leaving for that in about 10 minutes. Here is a link to an identity theft conference that was held in Mauricetown, oh, I don't know, over a month ago.

http://www.thedailyjournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050809/LIFESTYLE/508090326&SearchID=73216749329446

Not the most exciting post, I know.

Catching up big time

2005-08-08T07:06:00.000-07:00

Wow, let's start with the links.

Here's the five-second rule story. I hope you're entertained:

http://www.thedailyjournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050804/LIFESTYLE/508040313&SearchID=73216636332621

That appeared on Thursday. On Friday, they printed my story about adult-themed cartoons, specifically, Family Guy.

http://www.thedailyjournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050805/LIFESTYLE/508050301&SearchID=73216636548633

And today, my story about a legally blind woman who sewed her own dress finally made it in. I told you my stories were being stockpiled!

http://www.thedailyjournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050808/LIFESTYLE/508080302&SearchID=73216636667506

WHEW! I guess that's what happens when I don't update for nearly a week.

I guess I should comment on the death of Peter Jennings. I would be lying to myself if I didn't think this pursuit of journalism could lead to a career as a TV anchorman. They are among the most respected people in the world. In my lifetime, the image I will always remember of Peter Jennings is when he started crying during 9/11. Here was a man who had a duty to report several horrific tragedies (and also a fair amount of fantastic triumphs) and who was expected to always keep a straight face during his delivery, and as the World Trade Center collapsed, he, like everyone else, knew that the world would never be the same. He showed that even our most important, respected, and revered individuals are still human beings.

The loss of Jennings was somewhat sudden, though he did announce that he had lung cancer in April. This is another price of fame. When you're as respected as Jennings, everyone who works for you will make sure that you appear healthy and perfect because that's what the public expects. Only when things are VERY BAD and basically irreversable does a story come out. When the lung cancer announcement came out, that probably meant that it was very serious and that death could have been in the near future. If I ever become famous for anything, I'm being very up front with my Crohn's disease. It's not a bad thing to admit you're not perfect, it makes you more human.

Jennings will be missed, and if I ever achieve anything on the level he did...let's face it, that's never going to happen. He was one-of-a-kind.

The Most Important Post...EVER!!!

2005-08-02T11:16:00.000-07:00

Well, at least up until this point. First, a few other things.

http://www.thedailyjournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050802/LIFESTYLE/508020301&SearchID=73216036719528

This story about the Buddy Gale Band was written, oh, I don't know, about a month ago. The fact that is hasn't been published until NOW is a little scary, especially since the purpose of the article was to promote a performance they had in late July (thankfully, they also have one in late August, so I guess I'll have to look at it that way).

Also, I was compensated for my Celebration III coverage by Lee's last week. This is preparing me for some of my future freelance writing experiences.

Now, onto the important part, which is strictly about journalism and not, dare I say it, my show, which is preoccupying about 80% of what I think about, with the other 20% being evenly distributed between my internship (which is winding down), my job at Eckerd's, locating new Star Wars toys, planning a NJSWCC picnic, going to Macungie, PA, for Das Awkscht Fest (NOT a Faith No More song), getting ready for a week long vacation to California, and wondering why I can't get a girlfriend (though I'll probably cite the fact that I'm a huge nerd).

I mentioned in another post that I received the latest issue of Quill, the magazine published by The Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ from here on out). The issue focuses a lot on what should be done during college, what should be done after college...basically, the whole issue pertains to the kind of things I'm doing right now. So let's get to my all-important take on it.

Joe Skeel, Editor of Quill, wrote a column titled "We all share the blame when students aren't prepared" (some title, Joe). Anyway, here are some quotes interjected with how I am handling the situation and how TCNJ's journalism program is handling the situation.

"Student publications and internships are usually looked at as extracurricular activities outside of required classes such as journalism law, ethics, convergence, mass media, diversity, etc. If J-schools want to prepare students for the real world, why not make the classes secondary to required internships and involvement with student publications."

TCNJ's journalism program is one of the only ones that makes one semester of professional experience a requirement for completion of the journalism/professional writing major. The professors do an excellent job at providing students with opportunities to find internships. Writing for The Signal is not required but is highly encouraged, and most of the best J-students are actively involved with it's publication. Correction: In Intro to Journalism, at least two stories for The Signal are required.

"J-schools shouldn't exist to make sure every slacker finds a job in the field. They are there to help those who are really serious about the job of journalism. If you don't take advantage of the opportunities, that is your own fault."

Perhaps I haven't become as jaded as other J-majors, but considering I spent my freshman and sophomore years as a chemistry major, and after only a full year as a J-major, I'm ahead of many of my other colleagues, that should say something. Before I had even applied for my internship at The Daily Journal, I had been published in Lee's Toy Review three times, and I had written several articles for The Signal. What's the point of being a journalism major if you don't get yourself published? Seeing my name in the by-line is very gratifying.

"Maybe if [working journalists] all worked together to better train our students, young journalists would understand their jobs and not resort to making up quotes or falsifying information to cope with the pressure. Maybe they would have a better grasp of how to apply sunshine laws every day and how that can turn into story ideas. Maybe they would know what editors and news managers expect, instead of being overwhelmed when arriving for that first day of work."

Now, with my personality, I knew I would not be overwhelmed, and I knew I would not resort to unorthodox and unethical practices. But the staff at The Daily Journal, even though they've basically let me do my own thing when providing me with story ideas, have been really great at training me. I write for Gannett, and that "real people, real news" is stressed for every story I write, because that is their policy, and that is what they (and their readers) expect. Since Nancy Monahan, a founder of USA Today, is our publisher, it is REALLY stressed at TDJ. And once I learned to do it, I have done my best to include those "real people" angles in every story. Sometimes it's tough, but somehow, I find a way.

Let's look at Patrick Beeson's story, "Bringing blogs into the classroom."

In the article, Beeson encourages the use of blogs to teach classes. One of my professors, Kim Pearson, keeps a couple of her own blogs, and some are strictly for the purposes of teaching or providing students with resources. However, Pearson has also encouraged students to blog. I must admit, if Pearson did not make an important case for blogs in ALL of her classes, I would not have blogged this summer. But seeing how this blog has helped my journalism experience, I am so glad she instilled these beliefs in me.

Beth Haller has a story in there, "Editors, call professors to get the scoop on recent grads."

The story focuses on unqualified graduates that make it into the real world and land real jobs. In essence, even though you may list a journalism professor as a reference on a resume, it is unlikely that the editor will actually call or contact that professor to make sure that the student is qualified to handle the responsibilites of being a real-world journalist. Knowing some of my fellow students at TCNJ, that SHOULD be a requirement for editors.

I totally agree with her, but I think TCNJ does an excellent job at keeping in touch with current and former students and finding out what they are doing. Pearson keeps a great record of what former students are doing and puts them in touch with current students so that they can provide real-world angles that J-professors simply cannot.

Karon Reinboth Speckman wrote an article, "What students can do to be more valuable in the job market."

Speckman basically quotes pros in the field.

"The person who is an exceptional editor, the person who is an exceptional writer or photographer, or the person who has exceptional IT skills, there will always be places for them," says Steve Klein, coordinator and professor of the Electronic Journalism Program at George Mason University. "But not all of us are exceptional. One way to balance that is by being multi-talented and having a variety of capabilities."

A few of my stories have required me to take pictures as well, because if a story just happens, and all of your photographers are out on assignment, you may be required to take pictures. Some of my pictures have been published, but not all. It's a learning experience, and according to Klein, an important one.

"Reliability is a big factor," says Elizabeth Hansen, professor at Eastern Kentucky University and faculty advisor of The Eastern Progress. "Is this someone I can count on? Will they do what their employer needs?"

I've met every deadline on every story, usually days in advance, and that's usually after being given several different assignments, and considering all the things I am doing outside of the internship, I think that speaks volumes of what I am capable of.

"I'm not too impressed with someone who comes in and starts talking about, 'What am I going to get out of it?'", said Bob Priddy, Missourinet news director and two-time chairman of the Radio Television News Directors Association board. "I'm more interested in what they can give me. If you're good enough to work for me, and if you can give me what I want, then I'll talk to you more. But first of all, you have to convince me that you're good enough to work for me."

Knowing that I wasn't going to get paid at all for my internship, this really wasn't an issue. But I did get right to work and only after I had written plenty of good stories did I approach my editor about the possibility of staying on as a stringer in the fall, which is what I will be doing. But obviously, I gave him what I wanted, and therefore, I have proven that I'm worth keeping around for a little while longer.

The issue only reaffirmed that I am doing what I need to do, the staff at The Daily Journal is doing what they need to do, and the professors at TCNJ are doing what they need to do to ensure that I succeed in this field.

And it's a really good feeling.

A Change of Plans

2005-07-29T10:24:00.000-07:00

If today was what I was hoping it would be like, I would be writing about how I received my latest issue of Quill (The Society of Professional Journalists' newsletter/magazine) and how I am doing everything I should to succeed and TCNJ's journalism program (though small) is preparing its students to succeed.

And I could talk about my foot article:

http://www.thedailyjournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050728/LIFESTYLE/507280301&SearchID=73215635867035

But sadly, I can't. Something happened at rehearsal last night that has me completely dumbfounded.

This post has been edited to protect the identities of the parties at fault. Not that many people read this, but it is in my best interests not to blog about the situation. This blog will return to normal as soon as possible.

Gotta Blog

2005-07-27T11:17:00.000-07:00

I'm running into one of those classic newspaper reporter situations where you can be working on a bunch of different stories and no one is calling you back.

I'm working on a story on the "five second rule" (food drops to the ground, you have five seconds to pick it up before it's unedible). I got local opinions, I got an opinion from a dietician, but now I need a physician or a pediatritian (a local one, too) to comment. I tried two different sources and I don't have anything.

Then, I'm supposed to do some stories about local Bridgeton businesses. There's a new Hair Cuttery in Bridgeton, and while I talked to someone there, I have to wait until corporate approves that I can talk to these people (a common problem with large chain businesses). There's also a new music store in Bridgeton. I had to leave a message with them. I'm hoping that I can do interviews and take pictures tomorrow and be done. I won't know definitively until later.

AND THEN, I'm working on two back to school stories. One requires me to talk to the Style Squad at the Cumberland Mall about back to school fashions (because everybody knows I am the epitome of high fashion...when it comes to Mr. T and Simpsons t-shirts). I had to leave a message there. AND THEN I'm working on a story about back to school lunches. I'm supposed to get five parents with children and rate their lunches from a nutritional standpoint. I managed to get two parents, but that's out of several phone calls. I would probably have better luck in the evening, I don't know, and I kind of want to see how these pan out before doing any more.

So there you go. FIVE stories and I can't do anything more with them until I get some returned phone calls. D'oh!

I also had a very cool networking experience yesterday. I listen to Preston and Steve on 93.3 WMMR in Philadelphia. I listened to them previously on Y100, but as anyone in the tri-state area knows, they folded in February. I wrote a story about it in The Signal back in the spring, and you can find that story here:

http://signal-online.net/media/paper771/news/2005/03/30/Entertainment/City-Feels.Loss.Of.Last.Alt.Rock.Station-905604.shtml

So they came back on the air on MMR in May, and they are just one of the funniest and most entertaining radio shows in existence. I've been listening to them since about 2000, and I finally decided to send one of my patented crazy Ben Leach e-mails. But on the air, they said something about putting down your phone number and they would call you if you did. I didn't think anything would come of it, but sure enough, Preston Elliot called me on my drive home yesterday. It was such a cool, exhilirating feeling. I have admitted on this blog that I was star struck when I met David Rago from the Antiques Roadshow, so when a semi-famous Philadelphia personality takes time out to call me personally and thank me for the kind words, that just BLOWS MY MIND! But hey, here is another example of networking with people who are in the know and have more connections themselves. If more people know my name, it can only aid my chances of making it big.

Revamping TV Guide

2005-07-26T10:32:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure how much attention this will get, but since I like SOME entertainment reporting (more the "Obscure Entertainment Stories You Won't Find Anywhere Else" types of stories than the "Let's Give Paris Hilton and Lindsey Lohan Even MORE Attention" types), this news interests me.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050726/ap_on_en_tv/tv_guide_revamp

Long story short: TV Guide is ditching the digest format and moving into a magazine format. They're getting rid of the TV listings and moving towards more articles about television shows and entertainment. And so one of the oldest magazines around is changing to get with the times.

It's not the first time this has happened. Mad Magazine set records (believe it or not) for being one of the only magazines not to include advertisements. They finally let ads into the magazine a few years ago. Reader's Digest also is a host to advertisers. That's where the money is.

The unusual thing is that TV Guide is reducing its distribution to about 3.2 million, almost a third of the 9 million readers it guarantees to advertisers right now.

Will this succeed? I don't know. I know personally that I usually use the TV listings that are in the newspaper week after week. Most of my favorite shows are always on at the same times day after day. The only times I have bought TV Guides are for the covers (which, for some reason, coincide with the releases of new movies).

As a potential future magazine writer, I should probably be happy because TV Guide will dedicate more space to its reporting and its features. But it's also disconcerting that one of the most recognizable publications out there is in trouble and has to revise its format that has been in place for decades.

Almost There...

2005-07-25T10:28:00.000-07:00

I have 26.5 hours left to do before my 200 required hours for my internship are complete. As has been said from the beginning, I will be staying on as a stringer (freelance writer) and continue writing stories ($$$FOR MONEY$$$), but with my uber-busy schedule coming up, that likely won't start until September.

And while I'll be taking an extended break from writing for The Daily Journal, I'll still have stories being published in it. My features editor has stockpiled a handful of my stories to run while she is on vacation in August, so it's very likely that's when they'll appear. Of course, I'll need to find a way to get a hold of copies of these newspapers so I can keep them in my scrapbook (although I haven't updated my scrapbook in over a month, and my car is filling up with newspapers that have my stories in them, so I should really go through those).

The play has really been testing my patience. I lost it at Thursday's rehearsal, after the kids did a poor job of performing a song we've been rehearsing since the second week of rehearsals that I had SPECIFICALLY asked them to go home and study between rehearsals. I have decided to institute a "no yelling" policy after this instance. If I am tempted to yell, I am just going to wait for the kids to get quiet and pay attention. One of two things will happen. Either they will like this idea, get quiet, pay attention, and we will achieve a lot more during rehearsals...OR we will lose a lot of valuable time and I will have to go back to yelling to get attention.

HOWEVER (and this is a big HOWEVER), I had not only lost patience with the kids, but others at rehearsal were really, REALLY getting on my nerves. I have made it completely clear that I am not doing the show next year. This internship is going to open doors to a bigger career, and I simply cannot dedicate another summer to the show. Plus, I haven't written anything (I began writing this year's show by this point last summer). So the girl who is directing next year, another former cast member, two years older than me, has been helping me, and while I really didn't want her help, since I'm so limited with help this year, I'll take whatever I can get. Fine. Well, the septagenarian producer of the show brought in a box of scripts for this girl to look through, and I know that this gave her an inflated head and sense of importance that she was "directing" at some moments (and her style of directing is yell, yell, yell, and nothing else), and she since she is also choreographing a couple of numbers (which are super basic and could have been done just as well by me), she informs me that I should call an EXTRA rehearsal so we can get through these dance routines. It doesn't help that my other choreographer is going through a divorce and hasn't been there half the time. So what I'm getting at is that, sure, she's directing NEXT year's show, but not this year's show, and she needs to step back and do my thing.

But the one who really is stressing me out is the producer, the woman who founded Starliters twenty seven years ago. She served as the director for many, many years, but she has progressively been trying to let others direct. HOWEVER, she created this organization, and like most producers, she likes to take all the credit. Sure, I WROTE the show this year, the first time it has ever been done in the group's twenty seven year history, and sure, I'm DIRECTING the show with almost no help, but she will take all the credit. This is basically the same thing that happened when my friend directed the show back in 2001 and 2002.

I spoke with this friend recently, who ran into my producer recently, and he informed me that she said that I shouldn't have to do everything. She's right. I shouldn't. But guess what? I don't have a choice. I BARELY have one pianist per rehearsal. In the past, the pianist would also direct the music. HOWEVER, I wrote this year's lyrics, and therefore it is up to me to instruct them on how the show needs to be sung. We don't have anyone doing costumes, so the producer is just pulling things out of her attic for me to look at and approve. And I wrote this show using costumes that I KNOW we've used in the past, and yet I still have to go over every little, unimportant detail with the costumes. And since no one can do anything themselves, I've had to secure a few costume pieces myself. I also wrote the show recycling the same sets we use basically every year, and yet over, and over, and over again, I'm told by the producer that I'm not telling her what I want, when over, and over, and over again, I'm telling her EXACTLY what I want, and even if she can't figure it out, she can watch the videos of old shows and find EXACTLY what I'm talking about.

And I really don't trust anyone (except my sister) with actually directing the kids, because even though the producer approved the script, A LOT of the humor is WAAAAAAY over her head. I think everyone who sees this show, or has anything to do with it, will really connect with this show and find it hilarious, EXCEPT her. She expects corny PUNCHlines. If the shows we've done in the past were televised with the best production values possible, no one would watch because truthfully, they aren't that funny. They're "cute." They're an excuse for kids to get onstage. And I'm finally arriving at the underlying reason why I'm getting annoyed.

I really, truthfully believe that she does not want me to succeed. She has had it in her mind that I'm taking on too large a task and that I will fail. She knows that I have Crohn's disease and she's worried that I will have a flare-up and I won't be able to direct. She might even realize that my show is really pretty clever and that I'm actually directing the kids, rather than just "learn your lines" and "smile." Oh sure, she can say that it's great that a former cast member wrote the show and is directing it, but in her mind, this is just a matter of getting us through one more year. The group really cannot go on much longer. Next year, the show will be directed by a girl who famously had NERVOUS BREAKDOWNS before every show. And she trusts her more than she trusts me! And what have I done? I only spent a year putting together a really, really awesome script, a full-length musical that came solely from my head. I only worked with my sister to design the image for the poster, and the t-shirts, and the program, but we don't get any credit, because someone else is printing the posters, and someone else is ordering the t-shirts, and someone else is putting together the program. And I'm only directing the show in a year where we have less help than we've ever had before. And I'm balancing this on top of a really awesome UNPAID internship and a pretty decent but LOW PAYING part-time job. Maybe others who would be in my position, which is no one, would fail. But gosh darn it, I will succeed. And it's so stupid that the annoying parts of rehearsal are not directing a bunch of young kids, but dealing with a couple of people who just can't let go to a dying tradition that, for crying out loud, I am potentially reinvigorating for at least another couple of years.

I've ranted long enough.

My Favorite Lead

2005-07-20T10:08:00.000-07:00

Warning: This story is a little corny.

http://www.thedailyjournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050720/LIFESTYLE/507200301&SearchID=73214735497756

I'm sure I'm not the first person to say something similar in a story about corn. But hey, I thought it was pretty clever. I really enjoyed this corn story. New Jersey fresh sweet corn is really some of the best corn you'll ever eat. And now I know for myself.

You see, before I wrote this story, (I'm ashamed to admit this) I had never tried corn. Oh sure, corn-related products, like corn muffins, popcorn, corn flakes, I've had those. But before this story I had never had actual corn. Rich Ingraldi was nice enough to pick some of his "secret weapon" corn right from the field (I watched him pick it). People rave about it, so I figured this was as good a time as any to try corn.

And of course, I liked it. My parents have only been telling me to try corn for YEARS, since three of the four members of our family all enjoyed corn on the cob. Well, I have been swayed. And it was thanks to this story.

You may have noticed that I accepted free corn from doing this story. I have mentioned how journalists should not accept gifts or freebies of any kind...except food. Dr. Bob Cole, my illustrious journalism professor, has a saying. "Don't accept freebies unless you can eat it or fuck it." And while there might be some really, really disgusting people out there who have other ideas of what to do with a cob of corn, I decided that since I was going to eat this stuff, it was perfectly okay. Plus, it helped to inspire me while writing the story. I always write better stories if I have a personal interest in them.

One thing I'm very proud of as far as this blog goes is that it's about me. That may seem a little narcissistic, but I look at other blogs, and they basically are comments about what others are doing, not what they are doing. I'm glad to say that I'm doing enough interesting stuff to consistently post about my writing experiences.

And one month from now, Starliters will be giving the final performance of my show. A month to go! AAAGGH!

"My" Story

2005-07-18T06:40:00.000-07:00

I hesitate to call this Glass Weekend story my own story. I would say about half of it is my own work.

http://www.thedailyjournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050716/LIFESTYLE17/507160301&SearchID=73214534873203

It seems like my introductions need the most work. I tend to disagree. Introductions need to capture the reader's interest, but at the same time, it needs to let them know what the heck the story is about. In the case of an event like Glass Weekend, mentioning when it is taking place and where and what's going on in that first paragraph, at least to me, seems crucial.

Think about it. The purpose of this story was to let the public know that they were invited and what they can expect. It's about what any average Joe or Jane can expect if they go. If I were to focus on the galleries themselves, or the artists (who are not local), or general art glass history, would people be able to relate at all? In essence, I'm just following Gannnett's orders: Real people, real news.

Maybe I should explain the concept for those of you not immersed in the world of journalism. For every story, Gannett expects us writers to relate it to real people. If I talk to a doctor who does some special practices in Cumberland County, I'm expected to get insight from a local patient. If it is a larger story, like the recent Harry Potter book, I would be expected to talk with local readers and get their reactions. In other words, if the story itself is not about a local resident doing something extraordinary, I'm expected to talk to a local resident and get their reaction to the story.

A Quickie

2005-07-14T10:25:00.000-07:00

I have to leave soon to cover an assignment, but I FINALLY have some stories to share!

Here's one about Millville's Summerfest, which took place last weekend:

http://www.thedailyjournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050708/LIFESTYLE/507080320&SearchID=73214136377559

I'll admit, my editor played around A LOT with that one, but it was basically my responsibility to just find out what was happening and where and when.

Then, there's my Satellite Poker League story:

http://www.thedailyjournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050714/LIFESTYLE/507140315&SearchID=73214137093401

That's a good one. Poker is HUGE right now.

Of course, the post that is getting the most attention on this blog is my Antiques Roadshow post from 6/19. However, I was thinking about the writing/reporting aspect. No one I know of has actually written a detailed account of how the Antiques Roadshow works. In fact, I think I got to experience a lot things that members of the press do not. Being a member of the press does give you privileges much of the time. Covering Star Wars Celebration III is proof of that. But I think in my case, to report as a witness but to have the journalistic knowledge to PROPERLY write about it, that's an important feature of my little (well...not so little) post.

Transitions

2005-07-06T09:45:00.000-07:00

My cat is dying.

We adopted Swazy (the name he came with, we can only assume he's named after Patrick Swaze) on November 2, 1991 after seeing an ad in the Gloucester County Times. I think the name intrigued us more than anything, and my sister and I had never really had a pet up until that point.

I won't give you a long list of Swazy's accomplishments (mainly because there isn't much to list in that regard), but I will tell you that without Swazy, it's hard to say who I would be today, and I mean that. I have truly considered my pet a member of the family, a creature who, no matter what happened in my life, good or bad, would always be there for me. This was especially important when I was first diagnosed with Crohn's disease. At that point, I felt like I was dying. It was almost as if Swazy understood that I was going through the roughest period in my life, and he was there to comfort me. See, even though he was a cat, I talk about him like he was a person. He meant that much to me.

Why am I mentioning all of this? Because in everything I'm doing right now, I have to put all personal issues aside and plug ahead with what I've been asked to do, whether it's write stories for the paper, handle customer service and prescription drugs at Eckerd, or direct my show. However, in the future, I have no doubt that Swazy's impact, just like all the events that have impacted my life, will influence my future as a writer. If I can have this much compassion for a cat, it is likely I can have that much compassion for any of my projects. Take my play for example. It is very much based on my experiences with writing and directing (well, assistant directing), while at the same time incorporating my sense of humor with dialogue and situations that make me laught (although I have to keep it appropriate for a church setting, so not everything I find funny made it into the show).

Swazy will likely be put to sleep either today or tomorrow. While I have difficulty putting a living being asleep, seeing Swazy is his current condition is just as painful as making that decision. He does not move on his own free will. Almost nothing gets his attention. His stomach has become bloated, most likely due to some kind of intestinal cancer. He is in a lot of pain, and since he is a part of my family, it is putting me in a lot of pain.

And I have to put things in perspective. In my lifetime, I have lost very few family members or loved ones. Those that I have lost have passed away because of old age. Three of my four grandparents died before I was born. I know that my situation is probably unique, especially for anyone who is 21 years old. I know people that have lost one of their parents by this age.

As I end this post, I will get back to work, because the more I dwell upon this, the more pain I feel. Truly, 2005 is a year of transitions for me.

Where did all the stories go?

2005-07-01T10:02:00.000-07:00

Greetings, true believers.

I have written a couple of stories this week, and I thought they would be published this week, but apparently, that ain't gonna happen. Or at least not until tomorrow, maybe. My features editor is taking two weeks vacation in August and she said she will be giving me stories that will mostly likely fill in spaces when she is gone. Of course, by the time August arrives, I will be as good as gone.

Please realize that while the goal of this blog is to talk about my experiences with writing, I am bound to talk a lot about the play that I'm directing. Why? Because I wrote it, and the writing of any television show or movie is just as important as the final product.

So last night's rehearsal was a very tough one to say the least. It very well could have been the result of finding out their parts, it could have been the hot weather, it could have been the fact that the rehearsals are quickly becoming more of a social gathering than actual rehearsals. Que sera sera.

The other difficult thing, something that I'll be dealing with the whole time, is not compromising my original vision. I have a small cast, and I want to give everyone there as much of an opportunity to shine as possible. Now, when you're dealing with kids as young as 8 years old, you're doing to inevitably run into problems. The good thing is that I have parents of these children who really want to help them out, and I'm going to have to take advantage of that. If a little kid wants to have a one line solo, fine. But they need to be able to sing it. I assigned six one line solos last night. Some were okay, some completely messed up. But we've still got plenty of time, and that's why they got their solos last night, so that they'll have PLENTY of time to work on them.

Well, I have a couple of days before the next rehearsal, but I doubt my mind will ever be off Starliters for too long.

Advantages to my role as a journalist

2005-06-29T09:43:00.000-07:00

With the kind of stories I write, the truth of the matter is that most of these people WANT stories written about them. Take yesterday's assignment for example. It was a presentation about simple things that anyone can do to prevent identity theft. The presenter, Tony Esposito, a postal inspector, wanted members of the press there in order to get the information out to the public. In a way, with that story, I'm doing a service for the American public.

Unfortunately, most of what is considered "hard news" deals with death, crime, things of that nature. Look at some of the top news stories in the past week: the missing girl in Aruba, the three Camden, NJ boys found dead in the trunk of a car, etc. I think a lot of the people close to those who are dead/presumed dead really don't want to talk. Don't get me wrong, sometimes they do. The mother of the missing girl recently spoke out about how certain people know more than what they are telling the public. I may cover stories like this...someday. But to tell you the truth, I'm pretty comfortable with my role right now the way it is.

And I hope that my cast is comfortable with their roles when they find out on Thursday night. I must admit, some kids proved me wrong, and I made some changes to the original casting plan that I had made up on Sunday night. I really, REALLY think the show will work well. Of course, things aren't perfect. I was hoping to get a 17-year-old back to not only help, but to also play a medium sized role in the show. He called me up yesterday to inform me that he will help out, but he doesn't want to be in the cast. He cited being "on call" at work as the reason, but I think he really just doesn't want to do it. And that's fine, I was really going out on a limb to ask him to come back in the first place. A solution immediately popped up in my mind: give another guy two roles. The two characters are not on stage at the same time, and the person holding both roles is very dependable (and I kind of felt badly about not giving him the lead, even though he really deserves to have it). Then, the 17-year-old pianist I asked to help out last night called me yesterday afternoon and told me she had a babysitting job. Apparently the words "I REALLY, REALLY need you tomorrow night" didn't sink in. On top of all this, there are some personal issues with some of the cast members that I will not discuss here just in case someone from the cast stumbles upon my blog when they google 'Ben Leach.' Somehow, this show is going to happen, and I really hope it blows everyone away.

Prime Time to Reprioritize

2005-06-27T09:51:00.000-07:00

The title of this post comes from the title of the speech given by the valedictorian of my sister's graduating class. While his speech was loaded with words that maybe 3% of the audience could understand (that includes me) and didn't have any bearing whatsoever on his own life, I thought that title was very appropriate for the feelings I have this week.

You see, this is the first week this summer where I have to juggle my internship here at The Daily Journal, my job at Eckerd's, and my play. I've been plugging away at my hours (I think I've definitely hit the 120 mark, I may even be as high as 130, and I have to complete 200 by the end of the summer). I have eight weeks left before my vacation, and that last week will be completely taken up with the play. So essentially, I have seven weeks to complete 70-80 hours. That means I have to complete between 10 and roughly 11.4 hours per week. That is not a problem at all. I usually put in about four hours a day. However, I think I'm going to have to reduce the internship to four days a week, even three in some cases. Still, if I put in at least four hours a day, I'll be fine.

When I think about it, 200 hours for an internship is quite a lot compared to the amount of hours spent in class. A semester is usually fourteen weeks, and classes take up three hours per week (not counting anything done outside of class). That only adds up to 42 hours for a whole semester, less than a quarter of the time necessary for an internship to count. I'm not about to complain. 200 hours is quite manageable, but it is unlikely that anyone else who has to complete an internship for TCNJ this summer is nearly as busy as I am.

I've already got a few assignments on the table for this week. Here's a story that appeared today (even though I was under the impression that the deadline was last Thursday when I covered the press conference):

http://thedailyjournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050627/NEWS01/506270319&SearchID=73212434980698

I will be casting my play tomorrow night. I had a long discussion with my sister last night (one of hopefully a small group of assistant directors) about who we can cast in what roles. As you can imagine, I want the best show possible, but I have a limited cast, and therefore, I am forced to make some changes to my script to accomodate the cast. Also, when casting the kids, there are several factors that have to be considered. Age is not necessarily the same as experience. And experience is definitely not the same as talent. And talent comes in several different forms. And above all else, I'm working with children, so the last thing I want to do is upset them. I think the decisions I made last night will leave most of the kids satisfied and will also give me a pretty decent show.

Whatever happens, after tomorrow night, it's a whole new ball game and it gets A LOT more serious.

This is only a test

2005-06-24T09:56:00.000-07:00

I hope what I've experienced in the last few days has been a test to see if I really want to pursue journalism as a major.

Let's talk about my long day on Wednesday. I went to cover the Kelly Miller Circus that came to Bridgeton. I wanted to get a personal angle, so I tried talking to kids. Big mistake, at least as far as these kids were concerned. They just didn't want to talk. I know, I know, asking a question like "Are you enjoying the circus?" or "What's your favorite part?" are really tough questions that elicit the wide-eyed, "mommy make the bad man go away" kind of response. Somehow, I survived. I wish I had gotten a picture of when the circus staff scooped up horse and camel dung in the middle of an act, making it painfully obvious to even the little kids. Eww, poopie!

I also covered a poker tournament that night. Now, this Satellite Poker League is not for money, it's for points. You accumulate points, you get ranked, you make it to higher levels of tournaments, then you play for money. However, not a lot of people wanted to talk and even less would allow to have their picture taken. Many of these people were leading double lives, and this was an escape from their normal routines. I can respect that, especially in some of the cases. Thankfully, most of these people made it clear before I even started taking pictures, and that made my job a lot easier, because I want to avoid mistakes.

Which brings me to this story:

http://thedailyjournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050623/LIFESTYLE/506230301&SearchID=73212134639220

On the surface, it looks like a nice, informative health story about treating acne. However, when the story was published on Thursday (the corrections have already been made to the internet story), both the pharmacist's name and the dermatologist's names were misspelled. Now, as you know, I made this mistake once already, so for every story I do, I ALWAYS check the names. And that's exactly what I did for this story. So how did I mess up both names? First of all, when I talked to both sources, both conversations were over the phone. If an interview is done in person, you can show the person what you've written down for a name to check if it's right. For the pharmacist, his attention was divided between me and several customers, and even though I tried to confirm the name, and he said that I had it right, he probably was not paying complete attention. The dermatologist was talking to me on her cell phone while she was driving (I know this because I heard her paying for gas during the conversation). So while I did make mistakes, I did my job properly.

But that's just the beginning of the problem I have with this story. I NEVER SUBMITTED THIS STORY FOR PUBLICATION. I began writing it a few weeks ago, I did my interviews, I was waiting to hear back from a patient so that I could include a "personal" story about someone who had dealt with acne in real life. I had saved the research that I had done, in a story format, in my personal folder here at The Daily Journal. My features editor went into my personal folder, pulled out the story, and printed it in the paper, with the mistakes. Now, maybe my editors simply have the authority to do this and I was just unaware, but I was never asked "Is the acne story ready to run?" or if it was asked, I absolutely said "No."

Of course, what sucks about all this, to the casual reader of the paper, is that I get all the blame for the misspelled names, because that's my name on the byline (even though I didn't write the introduction).

Oh, yeah, there was this story, too.

http://thedailyjournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050623/LIFESTYLE/506230310&SearchID=73212135316521

No problems in that one. Honestly, I've had an overwhelmingly positive experience at The Daily Journal. I should have perhaps called back to get the correct spellings or perhaps done some research on the internet, but I didn't. So in that respect, I'm at fault. But running a story when it's not even finished? That seems wrong, and hopefully, it will be the last time that it ever happens. I guess I'm going to not write my stories until I've conducted all of the necessary interviews and done all of the necessary research.

Oh, and here's my dog wedding story.

http://thedailyjournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050624/LIFESTYLE/506240301&SearchID=73212135541818

Here's a word of advice to aspiring journalists. If your editor asks if you'd like to do a story about a dog wedding (or a cat wedding, or a hamster wedding, or a zebu wedding, or any kind of animal/reptile/bird/insect/fish/mollusk/plant/living creature other than humans wedding), for the love of all things holy, DON'T DO IT!

REALLY Back to Work

2005-06-21T09:55:00.000-07:00

I asked my editors to load me up with new assignments, and boy did they ever! In fact, this week is completely plotted out.

Today, I'm going to do an interview concerning the Landis Title Company which received the 'Best New Construction' award from the Greater Vineland Chamber of Commerce. That shouldn't be too hard, but I have to write the story immediately after I cover it, because...

On Wednesday, I'm covering two things: The Kelly Miller Circus that is coming to Bridgeton and a local satellite poker tournament. I will do both in a matter of a couple of hours, and I'm snapping pictures for both.

On Thursday, I'm covering a press conference for an award being received by the Elmer Hospital. Then I have to write the story the same day (and work at Eckerd for six hours that night).

On Friday, I have to write the story about the Kelly Miller Circus, and I will probably also write the story about the poker tournament. And if I can manage it, I need to interview this local band that is made up of three generations of musicians. AAAGH!

Today, I was HOPING to write the dog wedding story, but it seems that I have misplaced the notebook that had BOTH interviews in it. I have an idea of what happened to it. You see, last Sunday was my sister's graduation party and my parents went on a mad cleaning rampage, and I get the feeling that the notebook got scooped up in the chaos and quite possibly could have been thrown out. I could POTENTIALLY do it tomorrow morning from home before I head out to cover the circus and the poker tournament.

How am I NOT getting paid for this?

One of the good things that happened is that James Jefferson Duncan sent a letter of gratitude to the PUBLISHER, Nancy Monahan, who then forwarded the letter to my features editor, Lori Jarvis, who then gave it to me. The fact that the publisher saw it is a very positive thing. I get the feeling wherever I go from here, I'm going to get a pretty decent recommendation from the people at The Daily Journal.

Back to Work

2005-06-20T10:07:00.000-07:00

Hopefully, last week will be the longest absence I will have from this blog for a while. I'm back at The Daily Journal waiting for an editor of some section to show up so that I can get a few more assignments under my belt. Unfortunately, because of my absence, I don't have links to the James Jefferson Duncan story or the stock market game winners story. In fact, I don't even have a copy of the Duncan story for myself, which is a shame because I was really proud of that story. Maybe I'll pull a few strings today and get a copy.

One of the biggest developments in my life right now is that Starliters has officially begun. I am completely in charge, which is a good thing. This really needs to be the last year. I thought that maybe I would have a big enough cast to have a chorus and make this show a bigger production than what it's really going to be. Instead, not only did I struggle to get kids back, I've had to ask a few seventeen year olds to come back. At least they will be helping me out.

However, even though I have a small cast, I seem to have a good crop of kids. And I think that they see the motivation I have, the dedication I have put into this whole project, and they get it. One of the most satisfying things was having the kids reading the script for the first time. They were laughing out loud at what I had written. This has NEVER happened before in all of the years I've been associated with this group.

Because of my small cast, I'm going to have to make a few changes to my script that I was hoping not to make. We've done it in the past, but basically, even though my producer told me that we needed more parts, we don't, and the small parts I added will have to be cut completely or made into fewer parts. For example, I had originally intended to have a "tech crew" of four kids doing behind-the-scenes stuff for the show (on stage, but to convey to the audience all of the work that goes into a kids show). Well, those parts are really pretty small. There's some good lines in there, but the parts are far from the leads. So what I'm going to do is combine all four parts into one and have a stage manager who is in charge of all the set stuff. Now I go from having four small parts to one medium sized part.

I also have to make some gender changes, which is funny because I have a part about that happening in the show. Basically, I'm going to have an all female outlaw gang. The girls outnumber the guys about three to one. The guys I have are pretty good (really good in some cases), and I need them to play certain roles that I simply cannot change (I purposely wrote more female roles into the show because I examined last year's cast and knew that I would have more girls than guys).

Of course, my producer keeps telling me that I have to take all responsibility for casting. There are bound to be some disappointed kids this year, but hopefully, I can convince them to make their parts shine. I hate making changes to a script that has been almost a year in the making (it would have taken much less time if I hadn't had two semesters of college thrown in there), but it wasn't like I wasn't prepared for it.

I've had to struggle to find pianists to fill in over the course of the summer. I made some progress last night on that issue, taking care of some of the dates I need covered. It looks like I will have to ask one of my sister's friends to fill in at least some of the time. My producer assured me earlir this year that this wouldn't be a problem, but guess what? Not only is it a problem, but it's my problem. Sure, I guess we could go a few rehearsals without music, but my show is a surprisingly music heavy show, and the singing is almost as important as the dialogue (keyword: almost).

Anyway, I already have a week off from the play, which gives me a little time to think about casting. If you know about all of this, feel free to pop in on a rehearsal and check out what's going on. I think things are going well, but it's always nice to have a second opinion.

ANTIQUES ROADSHOW!!!

2005-06-19T11:41:00.000-07:00

Don't worry, I haven't forgotten about this blog. I usually update at The Daily Journal, and since I wasn't there at all last week, and since I've been about as busy as I'll ever be in a week's time, I needed to take a break from the blog. BUT I update today with a truly amazing post that really has nothing at all to do with writing. It's all about yesterday, and the Antiques Roadshow in Providence, Rhode Island.

I should start off by saying that I have seen every episode of Antiques Roadshow since day one, and this year is the tenth anniversary of the show (they began taping in 1996). My family is made up of Roadshow junkies. We can't wait for each new episode. We know most of the appraisers by name, like most people would know characters from The Simpsons or Seinfeld. Yeah, you might know who the Soup Nazi is, but do you know who Wendell Garrett is? Of course, we have wanted to go to the Roadshow for a while. Unfortunately, it hasn't come anywhere near this area in a long time. It stopped in Philadelphia in 1996, back when nobody knew this show would become what it is today. Then, in 1997, it stopped in the Meadowlands, but we couldn't arrange to go. The show has made a few stops not TOO far from southern New Jersey, like New York City and some city in Maryland whose name escapes me (its not Annapolis or Baltimore or anything like that), but even so, those shows were taped at least five years ago.

We ALMOST went to the Savannah edition of the Roadshow back in 2003. We were taking a trip to Florida and we would be staying in Savannah the day they taped the show. However, this is when we learned how hard it is to get tickets for the Roadshow. Ticket requests must be sent in ahead of time. You are only allowed two tickets per household (we sent in two separate requests, one from our home address, one from my dad's office's address). Neither went through. It is totally random, not first come, first serve. When all of the requests have been sent in, they randomly draw out requests and send out tickets. Neither request got through.

Fast forward to 2005, and Dr. Bob Cole's Three Dot Column. Dr. Cole is one of my journalism professors at The College of New Jersey, and he is in the process of retiring. He was giving one final talk about his experiences at TCNJ. I attended to show my support, and who walks in but none other than David Rago. To you he might be nobody, but to me, he is one of the regular appraisers on the Roadshow, having appeared on EVERY season of the Roadshow. He appraises art pottery, and his gallery is located in Lambertville, New Jersey (not far from TCNJ). When the talk was finished, I went over to him, and we struck up a nice little conversation. It turns out he was one of Dr. Cole's first students, back when TCNJ was Trenton State College. He was surprised that I recognized him from the show because not many people pick up on it. Frankly, I was star-struck. I told him about how we had tried to get tickets and how difficult they were to get, and then he OFFERED to get tickets for my family. We shared a little e-mail correspondence (believe it or not, he does NOT collect art pottery, he only deals in it), and sure enough, he followed through and got us our tickets.

The show was taped yesterday, June 18th, and it's only held one day in each location (they will make five stops this summer, which begin airing January 2006). Since we were coming from Mantua, New Jersey, we needed to have Friday, June 17th open in order to make the approximately six hour drive up there. This was a little nerve racking because my sister was graduating from high school on Thursday, June 16th, and if it rained, it would be postponed, which means we would have to cancel this trip entirely. Well, sure enough, it rained on Thursday, but it stopped off a little before 6:00 p.m. when the graduation started, so they got it in and things were good to go.

This little outing was kind of a mini-vacation, which is nice because our family vacation will be a lot later this year due to my busy summer schedule. Some cool stuff happened on Friday (we went in this dingy, half-closed mall, only to discover that it was the home of The Toy Vault, one of the largest collectible toy dealers in the country), we had a nice meal at 99 Steakhouse (there are none in this area, which is a shame), and we were in a really nice hotel suite. But you don't want to hear about any of that. Let's get to June 18th and the Providence Roadshow.

We arrived at about 8:45, loaded down with stuff (we were each allowed to take two items, though I took three and called two of them a "pair"). The producers of the show have it down to a science. There are six hour and a half blocks that can get you in, from 8:00 in the morning until 3:30 in the afternoon. The tickets evenly distributed for each time bracket to control crowds inside the room where the show was taped. The volunteers running things were really great people.

First, you get to a "general appraiser" table, and they give you slips so that you can go to the appropriate "specialist" appraiser for your item(s). We figured it would be easier if we took related items. We know a lot about antiques, but we tried to take items that we truly, honestly did not know the value or origin of. I took two old presidential campaign prints (one for Polk, one for Lincoln), and an unusual little print showing President and Mrs. Washington. I was directed to the prints and posters table. My sister took an old Beatles poster that was sent to my mom back in 1964 from my uncle's Swedish pen pal, and she also took an original Peanuts comic strip (the original artwork that was sent to papers to reproduce), so she was directed to the Collectibles table. My mom took an old, wooden, painted box and what we believed to be a small bucket made by the Shakers, and she went to the Folk Art table. My dad took a Staffordshire bust of George Washington, which went to the Pottery and Porcelain table, and a very old Michelin man advertising figurine, which went to the collectibles table.

I would say my experience was the biggest letdown, and I think it's because I went to the wrong table. Sure, I took prints, so it seems natural that I should go to the Prints and Posters table. However, these were presidential campaign prints, and campaign memorabilia (which my dad specifically collects) is a completely different category. As old prints with interesting subject matter, the little Washington print was worth about $80-$100 (my dad paid less than $20 for it many years ag0), the Polk print was worth between $500-$700 (I paid $134 for this last year as a gift for my dad), and the Lincoln print was worth between $800-$1200. Here's why we disagree with the values of the latter two. The EXACT SAME Lincoln print recently sold at auction for $15,000. Yes, I'm serious. It had a better frame, but it was the exact same print. And at a political items collector show we attended in the fall, the concensus seemed to be that the Polk print was worth between $1000 and $1500. My appraiser was Donald Cresswell of the Philadelphia Print Shop.

My mom did a little better, though one snuck by without an appraisal. The painted box, which she paid $3 for, was worth between $600 and $800. Not bad at all! The little bucket was most likely Shaker, it had all the characteristics of a Shaker-made item, but more research would have to be done to prove that it's a Shaker piece. So that didn't get an appraisal. These items were appraised by Nancy Druckman of Sotheby's. When my mom said that our family always watches the Roadshow, Nancy admitted that she has never seen it because she can't stand to see herself on television!

My sister did great. We really, truly thought that the Beatles poster might get on TV. Gary Sohmers of Wex Rex Collectibles appraised both of her items. Gary likes rock and roll memorabilia, so we knew we would be getting an accurate appraisal. He said the Beatles poster is very rare and worth $500-$700. We were thinking more since Beatles stuff is among the most collected in the world and we have a very rare poster from before their American debut which even shows Paul McCartney holding a cigarette! Still, considering it was a gift from my mom's brother's Swedish pen pal, we can't complain. The big surprise was the Peanuts strip, which was bought many years ago for less than $20. Apparently, the Schultz family is trying to buy back as many original strips as possible. We think it's because they want to start a museum or something. This means that less of these are in collectors' hands. The appraisal? $5,000-$7,000! WOW! Why didn't this make it on TV? Well, a Peanuts strip was appraised on the Roadshow a couple of years ago, and they don't like to repeat similar items (even though that one was appraised at $2,000-$3,000).

My dad's George Washington Bust was appraised by David Lackey of David Lackey antiques for about $200-$300. Not bad, a lot more than what was paid. But then there was the Michelin man. Let me give you some background if you haven't seen this piece before.

The Michelin man (his real name is Bibendum) is one of the oldest advertising characters around, having been created in 1898. And, of course, he's still around today. About twenty years ago, my mom picked up this plaster advertising figurine of the Michelin man at a yard sale for $7 and gave it to my dad for his birthday, since he likes old advertising pieces. He didn't think much of the figure at the time, until we did research on it...and realized that not only couldn't we find it anywhere else, but that our figure seemed to be older than any other Michelin man related collectibles out there.

So my dad brought it up to Gary Sohmers at the Collectibles table, and he said, "Okay, it's the Michelin Man." Then, Noel Barrett, the toy appraiser, comes over from his table and starts looking at it. A good sign. Noel spends a lot of time inspecting it, and then he tells my dad, "Take a seat, I want to talk to the producer."

WE'RE GONNA BE ON TELEVISION!!!

Now, let me tell you, the odds of getting an item appraised on television are very against you. Thousands of people (they give out about 6,000 tickets for any given event) come into the show, and based on what we observed, between 30 and 40 items actually get a televised appraisal. And they only pick the cream of the crop. Every appraiser wants their chance to get on TV to add to their credibility as appraisers and auctioneers, but they need items worthy of getting on TV to get their shot. Noel Barrett has been appraising toys and advertising pieces since the very first season, but the kind of stuff he appraises is never going to be as valuable as some of the furniture and paintings that are brought in. So Noel needs to choose items that are not only very valuable in these categories, but also very unique. The fact that we brought an item that warranted this kind of treatment is nothing short of a miracle, because people were bringing in a lot of great stuff, especially at the toy table.

So after Noel talked to the producer (they keep the description and value a secret to add to the element of surprise), our family was escorted to the green room. My dad had to get make-up done (and I'm amazed this didn't get his allergies flared up), and we had to wait quite a while before our item could be appraised (they only tape one item at a time). Of course, one of the most interesting parts about all of this is that you get to meet the other people who are going to be on TV and see the items that they brought. They even have televisions set up so that you can watch the appraisals as they're happening, a whole half a year or more before they're actually broadcast!

We got to see some of the regular appraisers in the green room, including David Rago, who I got to thank in person for getting us these tickets and potentially getting us on television (by us, I mean my dad). We also met the new host of the Antiques Roadshow, Mark Wahlberg. No, not Marky Mark with the third nipple. This is the Mark Wahlberg who has been a game show and talk show host. I knew him from Game Show Network's Russian Roulette, but he was also the host of Fox's Temptation Island back in the day. If you still don't know who I'm talking about, here's his IMDB profile:

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0906919/

He was very nice, shook hands and autographed our Roadshow scrapbook. So where did Lara Spencer go? Well, she's the co-host of The Insider with Pat O'Brien now (and she had to take over during Pat's battle with alcohol and explaining that explicit phone message), so she's a little too busy for a PBS program. Ah, I miss Dan Elias and Chris Jussell.

So what were some of the items appraised? I can't publish any of them here, they keep the items a close guarded secret, and chances are this post would have to be deleted if I did tell you what items were appraised. I will tell you that values on the items ranged from $20,000 to $75,000 in the portion we saw, which made us wonder what the heck we were doing there with our Michelin man figurine.

And we come to our appraisal. I'll risk publishing the details here. I thought my dad conducted himself very well. Noel Barrett admitted that he personally liked Michelin man collectibles. Michelin is a French company, and there are some very early French advertising pieces, but as far as figurines go, that is something strictly American. And the reason it was on TV? He had never seen one quite like it before. Noel Barrett is one of the leading experts in the field of advertising collectibles, so if he has NEVER seen something before, it is RARE. He said that he had seen some papier mache figurines, but never a plaster figurine in this size. And it's early, probably from about 1905, which explains why it looked older than most of the ones we had seen. The value??? Tune in next year to find out, or ask me personally. I don't want to spoil the surprise.

Now, all of this comes with a disclaimer. Yes, my dad was taped for television. However, they tape more appraisals than they actually use. The guy filming my dad said they tape about 80 items per stop. When we were there, and we were there for quite a while, they seemed to average about 4 or 5 items per hour, and over 8 hours, that makes for between 32 and 40 items. They will make three episodes out of this one stop, and they seem to do about ten appraisals per show, but I really think our chances of getting on TV are pretty good.

So we got the full Roadshow experience, and it was everything we could have hoped for! I can't wait to see the episode some time next year. I've wasted enough of your time. Thank you for bearing with me.

Happy One Month Anniversary!

2005-06-09T11:58:00.000-07:00

Can you believe it? I've actually kept up with my blog for a whole month! I can't stand when couples in high school and college celebrate their one month anniversary. Seriously, if you're celebrating it like it's some sort of milestone, we have a problem, especially if you exchange cards and stuff like my roommate did in my freshman year of college.

You'd think with that kind of introduction I'd have something good for you. No, I don't. I'm actually trying to finish up assignments since next week I will be very busy. Don't believe me? Have a look at my schedule:

Sunday: My sister's graduation party (big deal, largest gathering of family and friends since...my graduation party three years ago)
Monday: I have to wake up early to pitch Starliters to middle school students in a last ditch effort to bring in some more reliable talent. Then I will be working later in the day, quite possibly an 8-hour day.
Tuesday: Work in the morning, the first Starliters rehearsal in the evening.
Wednesday: Work in the morning, the second Starliters rehearsal in the evening
Thursday: Work in the morning, my sister's graduation in the evening
Friday: Leave for Providence, Rhode Island
Saturday: Providence and the Antiques Roadshow!

Our family has known that next week will be quite possibly our busiest week of the year for at least a little while now, though I expect the week of the show, combined with preparations for our California vacation, will be equally as hectic. Still, it's not like it's hectic in a BAD way. The reason I'm keeping my sanity through all of this is that everything that's happening right now is good.

Oh, and a little rant. You know what I hate? I hate people from my graduating class who try to compare their lives to mine. If you're doing things that warrant that kind of comparison, I could understand. Just because you have an unpaid internship somewhere doesn't mean you and I are on the same peg. Here I am, at The Daily Journal, loving my internship, really establishing my credibility as a journalist, getting my name out there, not just sitting at a desk but getting out there, writing INTERESTING stories about INTERESTING people. I have a friend who had an internship at Microsoft and got to meet Bill Gates at his estate last summer. Now, I would say he's ahead of me in the successful internship department. But just because you have an internship doesn't mean a damn thing!

Oh, and did you write your own show? And did you write all the lyrics to the music? And this all came out of your head? And it's actually GOOD? And are you dedicating at least two nights a week to direct the show? No? Are you doing any outside, creative work? No? THEN DON'T COMPARE YOURSELF TO ME...unless it's like, "I wish I was living my dream like Ben Leach."

My life is amazing right now, in the year of the final Star Wars film, no less, so don't feel the need to bring me down to your level, or even worse, bring me down to your child's level because we graduated together.

And yes, something happened at work yesterday that caused me to rant. I'm out.

2005-06-08T11:07:00.000-07:00

Unfortunately, I can't give you links to my two latest stories about local antique car owners Betty Testa and Frank Martini. Their stories ran in a special section of The Daily Journal today called Memory Lane, which promotes the upcoming 15th Annual Landis Avenue Car Show. They turned out pretty well, and my first photo credit comes with the Betty Testa story.

My second photo credit will appear sometime next week. This Saturday, I'll be covering a local poker league tournament (after a six-hour day at work), and unfortunately, by 8:00 at night, I can't exactly schedule a photographer, especially since this is a story for the features section. I just hope the guy who is running it doesn't expect me to stay through the whole tournament, because it's going to be a long, uninteresting day for me.

Also, a stringer pulled out of a story for The Bridgeton Journal, so now I have that one to work on. Thankfully, it looks like it will be taken care of today (my deadline is Friday). It's about a circus that's coming to Bridgeton later this month.

With the Starliters rehearsals less than a week away, preparations are really getting under way. It looks like the scripts will be done later this week, which is excellent. What's even better is that it's only going to cost about $1.30 for each script. I'm thinking of charging the kids either $2 or $3 to cover future expenses of running off paper things like lyrics separate from the script. That's still less than the $5 that they charged in previous years.

Last night, I had to do something that I was hoping NOT to do, but, well...I did it, it's done, and there's no going back. In my show, two of the upper echelon main characters need to be played by girls. They are fairly large parts (about 60 lines each) each with a couple of solos. It's not a matter of having people who can sing, I have them. It's not a matter of having people who can learn lines, I have them, too. It's a matter of ACTING, of bringing the right attitude and personality to the characters I've created, and based on the people who were coming back...I am lacking in the kind of girls I need to bring my main female characters to the stage. So I asked a girl who is technically too old for Starliters (age 17) to come back to do the show. Now, she will not just be a cast member. She will also be helping me with choreography and assisting me in directing the kids. In essence, she will transcend her role as a cast member, but I need her in the cast, because her abilities as an actress will (hopefully) rub off on the other actresses and make for a better show. One thing I have to keep in mind is that I'm the director here, and I will give the kids much more direction than they've had for the past couple of years.

Well, I've got to get back to work, friends. Catch you on the flip side, dudemeisters!

Killing Two Birds with One Stone

2005-06-07T13:30:00.000-07:00

Isn't that an awful expression? I'm sure PETA has been trying to make uttering those words a criminal offense.

Anyway, what I was able to do today was do one interview, and then stop at the Cumberland Mall for another interview I've been trying to do for a couple of days now. The latter one concerns the Patriots' Progress story that I've been working on for a couple of weeks.

The good thing is that I'm definitely keeping busy as far as my Daily Journal work. The metro editor, Jason Alt, pulled me aside and told me that I'm doing a good job, and how when interns are hired, since they really have no professional background, you're never really sure what you're going to get. I have to agree. When I see some of the other journalism majors at TCNJ, and realize that every single one of us has to do an internship to graduate, I can see that other papers or publications probably won't be as lucky as The Daily Journal.

Look for stories about antique cars tomorrow, and expect a couple more stories to be published by week's end.

Get Down With the Sickness

2005-06-06T13:45:00.000-07:00

You must not get up, come on, get down with the sickness. Ah, the lyrics of Disturbed. How relevant they seemed on Friday when I was sick in bed for the majority of the day, and I had to miss both my internship and working at Eckerd. The illness really did a nice job of screwing up my life that day.

Thankfully, I got caught up most of the way today, assuming I make a phone call tonight. I FINALLY got in touch with one gentleman who I've been playing phone tag with for about two weeks. That story will appear in the Bridgeton Journal in a few weeks (it's an affiliate paper that I write for occasionally). I also took some photos today of old cars that will show up this week in The Daily Journal, along with stories I wrote about them.

The biggest news for me, as a journalist, is that my Celebration III coverage was printed up in the latest issue of Lee's Toy Review. It's issue #152 and it's on sale now. The article is basically everything I wrote, and the pictures turned out really well, but it REALLY bothered me that whoever put the pictures in the magazine completely ignored the captions I wrote and consequently got some of the captions COMPLETELY wrong. The biggest mistake was that they called the M & M-Pire figures "plush", and anyone will plainly see that they are NOT plush toys. Still, that's not my fault, it's a mistake I have no control over, so I can't complain too much. They actually divided my coverage into TWO stories, both of which got by-lines, so I'm really happy that I'm getting to see the fruits of my four days in Indianapolis in April.

I was at Wizard World Philadelphia this weekend, but I wasn't doing press like I was last year. That was fine by me, because frankly, other than Mezco and Palisades, there wasn't a whole lot of "new" stuff on display. NECA was downright disappointing, hopefully Randy Falk brought some better stuff down late Saturday or on Sunday. For a $5 increase in admission, it didn't seem worth it. Of course, I wasn't feeling all that great, still recovering from my illness on Friday, and I didn't go to Seth Green's Q & A panel (though he mostly talked about his comic book, The Freshmen, instead of talking about stuff that people would actually care about, like the Austin Powers films, Buffy, and Robot Chicken).

It's hard to believe, but rehearsals for my play start in eight days. Honestly, I really need to spend more time mentally preparing for this thing. I'm sure I'll do fine, and I'm not so much worried about the kids as I am the people I will be FORCED to work with because they have nothing better to do this summer.

Next week is going to be super busy, so don't expect as many updates as usual.

Double header!

2005-06-02T09:51:00.000-07:00

Today is really a great step for me. Not only do I have two stories in the same issue of the paper, I have two LARGE stories! Here is one about alternative medicine in the Vineland area:

http://www.thedailyjournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050602/LIFESTYLE/506020301&SearchID=73209934319196

And here's another one about the events that are taking place during Delaware Bay Days:

http://www.thedailyjournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050602/LIFESTYLE/506020311&SearchID=73209934461977

Now, here's the really interesting part about the Delaware Bay Days story: THAT was the first story I wrote for The Daily Journal, WAY back on May 10, 2005. It's kind of funny that it took over four weeks to get published, but it makes perfect sense because Bay Days are this weekend. Bay Days are a big deal here in South Jersey, and they should get a good turnout because the weather sounds great this weekend.

The alternative medicine story started a couple of weeks ago but was only recently completed. I'm really proud of this one and will likely use this as one of my clips for any future employment opportunities, especially if I am a health writer for a newspaper or magazine.

Yesterday was a complete frustration. I came in early, as always, and made phone calls concerning no less than four stories that I'm working on right now. And not one person was available. Either they were out for the day, or they were coming in the afternoon. And I didn't want to get any more stories piled up when I'm already working on so many. So I went home, and that was DEFINITELY the right move. Two people on two different stories called me back yesterday afternoon, and I gave one a call last night for a third story. So I can at least get started on three different stories today, and that will certainly keep me busy. Of course, my dad wants me to mow the lawn, something I wasn't figuring on doing this summer because I'm so busy and he was paying someone to mow our lawn, who all of the sudden decided to not do it anymore for absolutely no reason.

Anyway, things are going well on the play. I got in touch with a person who will do the printing of my script for my show this summer. I'm making a music book for the pianist that basically is all music with no lyrics as to not confuse her. I will be doing the music with the kids, since the lyrics do not fit exactly with the rhythm of the original scores (I'm rewriting lyrics to old songs, if you weren't aware). Rehearsals are twelve days away!

2005-06-01T10:02:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I went over to the home of James Jefferson Duncan, author of Patriot's Progress, a book about the history of his family over seven generations. As somewhat of a history buff, his home held many, MANY fascinating artifacts. I will not mention them here, nor will I mention them in my story. While I was quick to tell my family some of the items he had, I know that readers of the paper could use this information the wrong way.

I also encountered a situation that we had talked about in my ethics class, and that's the problem of freebies. Dr. Cole always had a saying, "Don't accept any gifts as a journalist unless you can eat it or fuck it." The gift in question yesterday was a copy of Mr. Duncan's book, which retails for $19.95. He wanted me to have a copy, and I told him that as a reporter, I'm not supposed to accept gifts. He said something very profound in return: "Don't take this as a reporter, take this as a friend." Keep in mind, I had never met this man prior to yesterday, save for a couple of phone conversations. The truth is that I don't think he would have given this book to just any reporter. I think he gave me the book because he could see that I really appreciated the stuff that he had. And I did! I wasn't faking any enthusiasm while I was in his home, and I certainly wasn't faking enthusiasm to get a copy of his book.

I'm sure I will run into other ethical situations in the future, and hopefully, I will be able to do the right thing.

2005-05-31T10:28:00.000-07:00

Here's yet another story for your reading pleasure:

http://www.thedailyjournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050528/NEWS01/505280306&SearchID=73209736689699

It's not terribly exciting, but let's talk about how it happened. On Friday, I didn't have much to do. Everybody wanted to get out of work for the holiday weekend. That made it difficult to get sources for stories. I was caught up on all my other assignments, and so I asked the metro editor if he had anything for me to do. So basically, within one hour, I whipped up this story and left for the day, a fun-filled weekend of working at Eckerd. But hey, that's one more clip that I can add to my file.

Progress is being made on my play, and considering the first rehearsal is two weeks from today, it darn well better be! I pretty much know everybody who is going to be back, although there are a few older kids that are on the fence and so I can't be certain they'll be back. The script is done, all the lyrics for all the songs have been completed. Basically, what I have to do in the next two weeks is get the scripts printed and compile the music book for the pianist. For the music book, I have to copy and past new lyrics over the old ones in the original songbook, and frankly, since this involves musical lyrics that have to be put to notes, I'll be doing it the old-fashioned way with paper and glue, not with a computer. Still, it's pretty exciting!

I have to make sure I record my experience with one customer I dealt with at Eckerd on Sunday morning. This has nothing to do with writing, but the tale must be told. This older woman comes up to the register. She has about seven coupons for three different items. She wanted to get hearing aid batteries. However, the coupon she had was only good for the 6 or 8 packs, and not the 12 packs that she had picked up. We only had one 8 pack left, and she said it would probably take us another twenty years before we got any more in. But we had one, so it wasn't a total waste for her. Then, she wanted to get shampoo. It was on sale for $2.99. She had two coupons, one that took $2.00 off the price, and an Eckerd coupon that would further reduce the price to $1.99. In other words, she wanted to get the shampoo absolutely free. I told her that it doesn't work that way, but what I could do use use the $2.00 manufacturer's coupon to get the price down to 99 cents. Of course, she wasn't interested. So she bought one 8 pack on hearing aid batteries and one box of soap, and used four coupons for the two items. Her total came to $4.36. She handed me a $100 bill. She was very , very fortunate that I had enough for change in my drawerr. But then if THAT wasn't enough, she had the nerve to ask if she could go through the quarters in my drawer so she could pick out the state quarters she needed for her collection. I refused, saying I didn't have any. HOW CAN PEOPLE LIKE THIS EXIST?

2005-05-27T10:57:00.000-07:00

Here's yet another story:

http://www.thedailyjournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050527/NEWS01/505270319&SearchID=73209337424745

This one was interesting. I was assigned this story only about an hour before I had to cover it. Since I've been writing mostly for features, I haven't encountered too many of these "Do this story now because we're running it tomorrow" kind of stories. But I did it, and I did it well, and I was sure to double and triple check the names of the people in the story. It's a shame I couldn't have talked to one of these uninsured women to get a more "real person" type of story, but HIV testing is supposed to be confidential, so it wasn't really worth it.

The newsroom is basically empty at about 10:30. It's Friday, and I've had an exhausting week myself, but since this is everybody's last day in the newsroom before the three-day weekend, I would have expected at least one of the editors (besides the EIC) to be here. Looks like a good day to leave early and attend to other matters, like my play.

And that makes a nice transition into something I mentioned in my first post that I haven't mentioned since. The rehearsals for my show begin on June 14th. However, a lot needs to be done before that time. I need to add just a little more to my script (it's about 98% finished), but after that, I need to get the script printed, and I have to make certain that I allow enough time so that the scripts are printed and ready to be handed out during the first week of rehearsals. Then, I have to do the grueling task of counting each character's lines. I know who the leads are, this is more for the sake of the other people in charge of Junior Starliters. Then, I need to make song books for the pianist and the kids, which means I have to do a lot of old fashioned cutting and pasting (since I just rewrote the lyrics of songs from previous shows). And I basically have two and a half weeks to do all of this! I'd also like to have more reliable people in my cast. I'm not expecting Oscar-worthy performances, but I have some fairly large parts, and GOOD parts, and I need kids who can handle those parts. However, because I'm in charge, I truly feel that I will get the performances I need from the kids.

An ENORMOUS story...with a little mistake

2005-05-26T13:41:00.000-07:00

Here it is! The story you've been dying to read!

http://www.thedailyjournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050526/LIFESTYLE/505260301/1024

While I am pretty proud of this story, I did make a fatal error. The name of the Burger King manager I quoted is wrong. How did I get the name? I asked one of the employees. I asked for a spelling and everything. It's not a huge error, but we did get a call about it this morning. I really hate to make mistakes (as evidenced by my stellar academic performance), but thankfully, this certainly isn't libel. It was an innocent enough error. I'm not making excuses. I accept full blame for this mistake. And as long as I LEARN from my mistake, I'll be fine.

I also completed my really long alternative medicine story, which I'm also quite proud of.

Yesterday, I met the publisher of The Daily Journal, Nancy Monaghan. To those that have been immersed in the study of journalism for several years, you may recognize her name. She was one of the creators of USA Today, easily one of the most influential publications as far as the current look of newspapers (much to the chagrin of classically trained journalists). It is an honor to be in the presence of a journalist who, in my opinion, achieved something big. In a way, this is kind of what I want to achieve. I want to do something that will involve a change in the system. I'm not sure where newspapers can go from here (obviously, putting newspapers online has been the biggest change in recent years).

Anyway, I've got several stories I'm working on, so next week, my name should be in the paper quite a few more times than it has been this week.

UPDATE: The name of the manager was wrong according to a staff member who has a relative that used to be married to the guy. We did not receive any phone calls about it. In fact, I could have sworn I double checked the name with the guy. It may have been right and the staff member's relative could have been wrong. It's hard to say.

2005-05-25T13:35:00.000-07:00

The Burger King Enormous Omelet Sandwich story will be in tomorrow's issue of The Daily Journal. I really am behind on the Star Wars toy collection, maybe I'll stop by and have one.

I've got a pile of stories that I'm working on. The BK one may be the only story I have published this week. Still, I can't complain. I've said it before, I'm amazed at how many fascinating people live in this fairly small area of South Jersey.

In my race to get to my internship yesterday, I put on two different shoes, a black slip-on and a bulkier, brown shoe. I didn't realize it until someone pointed it out to me. Thankfully, my feet were under a desk most of the day. Hopefully the EIC didn't catch me on that one! Just a little bit special...

By the way, as a journalist, I guess I should comment on Newsweek's recent problems caused by printing a statement about flushing the Koran down a toilet. How a large, respectable publication like that can publish something so controversial without making sure it's absolutely true is absurd. Sure, I won't be placed in the same position while I'm at The Daily Journal. But with all these recent blunders in journalism (Newsweek retraction, Dan Rather's problems, the infamous Jayson Blair), it really taints the profession I aspire to make a career out of someday. Stan Lee said it best: "With great power comes great responsibility." We as journalists have the opportunity to inform the masses, but at the same time, we are usually granted special treatment in order to bring the news to the masses. I don't care what anyone says about deadline pressures, or attracting ratings, or selling papers...journalism is an art in its own right and you cannot ever sacrifice its integrity to achieve a short-term goal.

An Update

2005-05-24T12:23:00.000-07:00

It's a sad, sad day when I can't think of a creative title for a post. But out of sadness comes happiness.

I'm working on several different and interesting stories at the moment. I completed a health story related to Burger King's Enormous Omelet Sandwich which should be in tomorrow's Daily Journal. For a local story, I think it was as complete as possible. I talked to a customer who likes the sandwich, I talked to a local BK manager, and I talked to a local nutritionist and got her take on this monstrosity of a breakfast sandwich. Believe it or not, it's not so much the calories (760) or the fat (50 g), but rather the cholesterol (420 mg) and sodium (2,080 mg) that are a problem.

I'm also putting together my alternative medicine feature story. I've interviewed an acupuncturist and a hypnotist. I'm hoping to find one more alternative medicine practioner in the area to include in the story. They have a really interesting take on the world of medicine, and for someone who has a chronic illness and works at a pharmacy part-time, this story really interests me in particular.

I also interviewed a man who traced his geneology back to the 18th century, and basically, all of his relatives were directly involved with important events in American history going back to the French-Indian War.

I'll be attending the Providence, Rhode Island edition of Antiques Roadshow this summer. A big thanks goes out to David Rago of the Rago-Perrault Gallery in Lambertville, New Jersey. He is a former student of my journalism professor, Dr. Robert Cole, and a TSC alumnus. He has been on EVERY season of the Roadshow appraising art pottery (he is quite arguably the leading expert in his field). I don't know if The Daily Journal will let me cover the event, since it certainly isn't local, but be assured, I will be writing about my experience, ESPECIALLY if one of our items gets on television (we really believe we have a shot with two pieces that we own, and we're not dummies when it comes to antiques and collectibles).

Hopefully, you'll see a link or two to more of my stories tomorrow, and definitely by the end of the week.

2005-05-20T10:17:00.000-07:00

Here is my published review of Revenge of the Sith :
http://www.thedailyjournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050520/LIFESTYLE/505200302/1024

And here is a story I wrote about an F-18 Hornet pilot who will be flying at Millville's Wheels and Wings Air Show this weekend:
http://www.thedailyjournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050520/NEWS01/505200314&SearchID=73208635935474

First, my review. The first line says, "I'll admit, Star Wars: Episode III: Revenge of the Sith fell a little short of my expectations." Now, if someone were to read only that first line, they would think that I didn't like the film...which isn't the case at all. I LOVED ROTS, I thought it was awesome, but in a critical analysis of the film, it is not perfect. From a critical standpoint, the dialogue between Anakin and Padme was better but still not great. From a fanboy standpoint, I wish the wookiee battle and the duel between Palpatine and Yoda were a bit longer. It's so difficult for any movie like this to meet your expectatations when they are already SO high as to be impossible to meet.

And those are really my only two complaints. The film works great, and I cannot wait to see it again, and again...and again.

Today, I will be interviewing a local acupuncturist, and I'm preparing myself for the worst. I've talked to him a couple of times. He wants to do an interview, but as far as what he says, that's on his terms. Originally, the story was going to be about alternatives to pain relief since prescription drugs like Vioxx and Bextra have been taken off the market. However, since I'm only really allowed this interview if I get a full overview of acupuncture, the article might turn into a story about alternatives to medicine in general (acupuncture, hypnotism, etc.). This acupuncturist has already said to me that he hasn't been happy with our stories that have included him. And our editors said that he has been difficult and wants to use these stories as blatant promotion for his business. There truly are two sides to every story.

I'm also working on an entertaining health piece about Burger King's Enormous Omelet Sandwich, and I'll probably get at least one or two more assignments before today is done.

You've had a busy day!

2005-05-18T11:45:00.000-07:00

Yes, it might be a 30-minute commute. Yes, it might be a small newspaper. Yes, it might be an unpaid internship. But I love this gig nonetheless. The paper has a small staff which means that they're keeping me busy with a constant stream of stories. The opportunities I've had here, even though I've only been here for about a week, are amazing.

Yesterday, I spoke with a survivor of the Holocaust, Rabbi Murray Kohn, who took a group of students from Stockton College to the March of the Living in Poland to see the concentration camps firsthand. Inevitably, the last few remaining survivors of the Holocaust will be gone in a couple of years, but I can say that I actually spoke with one in my lifetime.

http://www.thedailyjournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050518/NEWS01/505180327&SearchID=73208441608406

Today, I interviewed an F-18 Hornet pilot who will be flying at the Wheels and Wings Air Show this weekend. Where else do you get the opportunity to talk to such interesting people...and on a daily basis no less?

Later this week, I will have my own review of Star Wars: Episode III: Revenge of the Sith published in The Daily Journal. I will be seeing the midnight showing tonight. It's hard to believe that this is the last Star Wars film ever. And while Star Wars is moving into the world of television, there will never be any experience like the movies. It's a shame that the first two prequels failed on many levels. This last film actually sounds not only good, but VERY good, and for me, it will be the closest thing to seeing the original trilogy for the first time, since I never had that opportunity. Please, if you're not a Star Wars fan, or if you've been disappointed with the first two prequels, see this movie. One key thing that many reviewers are saying, including director Kevin Smith, is that this movie restores the original glory that was a part of the original trilogy. I can't wait. Twelve hours from now, I will be sitting in a theater waiting to see the last Star Wars movie I will ever see.

My first published story in The Daily Journal

2005-05-17T10:03:00.000-07:00

Here's the link to my story about the 9-year-old pool shark:

http://www.thedailyjournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050513/LIFESTYLE/505130303&SearchID=73208334801361

It's a very nice feeling to get such a large feature story on your first week of the job as an unpaid intern. And while there are some editing changes that I don't necessarily agree with, the piece is very true to my original work, and from what I've heard, the conflict between reporters and editors is a constant force and a sometimes discouraging one. I actually really have to praise Lee's Toy Review for publishing my stories practically word-for-word, and those were nationally exposed articles...about Battle Beasts and Rock Lords.

Ironically, I also experienced my first 'cut' story. Back in February, I covered the Compleat Sculptor's first annual Toy Symposium, where the staff of TCS brought in people from the action figure world to share their wisdom with aspiring toy sculptors (like my sister). I wrote a small piece about it. Unfortunately, it just missed deadline for the March issue, so it was bumped to the April issue. However, I was up against Toy Fair coverage. I got bumped to May. The May issue was just released and my story is nowhere to be found. Why? It's completely lost its timeliness. Who wants to read about some small event that happened in February in a May issue? It's okay, though. As long as I build my experience, I will get to cover bigger and better things like Celebration III, and you will DEFINITELY see my coverage of that in the June issue of Lee's.

Back to The Daily Journal. On Saturday morning, I had to come in and cover our Health Hotline. There is an ever-increasing trend in newspapers to include the community as much as possible, hence the Health Hotline, which allows people to call in about health concerns and get answers direct from a local doctor. This month's topic was skin cancer and skin-related issues. It only took two hours of my time, but it was a little disconcerting that we received NO phone calls for the first 45 minutes. By the end of the two hours, we had received a total of 6 phone calls, which is actually pretty good. At least it was enough for me to write a small story about it. However, the doctor and the PR guy prepared me that if no one calls, or only one or two people call, that I should ask my own questions and have the doctor answer them so at least I have SOMETHING to write about. That's a little scary, but unfortunately, we will have readers expecting to see the results of the Health Hotline every month, and therefore, we need something for them to read.

This morning, I was hoping to make more progress on a story about acupuncture as a treatment for pain, but unfortunately, it looks like the business that practiced acupuncture in Vineland as recently as last year seems to have disappeared. I had left a message at the number I found in the phone book and on the internet, and I received a call Thursday afternoon from the woman I called who said that she and her husband get phone calls about acupuncture all the time and that the number changed. I called 411 information this morning and they had no information about the business. It looks like I may have reached a dead-end, though I may try to drive to the address I have and see what I can find out.

Stay tuned!

He is the chosen one

2005-05-12T10:52:00.000-07:00

As a former multi-talented child, I can appreciate how talented kids can be. I must admit, though, whenever I see kids in commercials or, even worse, talent pageants, it makes me sick to my stomach because you can just sense the pushy parents in the background. You know that the parents are screwing them up for life. How many TV specials have been dedicated to former child stars and their drug addictions, or their attempts to commit suicide? Heck, even Stanley Fafara, who played Whitey on "Leave it to Beaver," recently passed away due to problems with drugs. It's almost impossible to escape.

However, last night greatly reduced my pessimism towards talented children. I met Kyle Lacy, a 9-year-old from Millville, New Jersey, who is, quite simply, an amazing pool player. Last weekend, this kid beat Allen Hopkins, a two-time U.S. Champion at 9-ball. How cool is that? And it's not as though he lets adults go easy on him. I watched him play with his uncle, Randy Beane, and the uncle didn't hold anything back, and the kid STILL managed to beat him (and Randy was an equally amazing pool player). The kid played 7-ball, 8-ball, 9-ball, and was even demonstrating a few trick shots.

Now, from the point of view of a journalist, this is one of those classic human interest stories that's not only very interesting but also has a local connection. It's not the hard journalism that requires more skill and practice. However, this is the kind of story that family and friends are going to clip out of the newspaper and save in a scrapbook, and my name is going to be attached to that story forever, so I need to do my best work. Every time my name was mentioned in the newspaper, our family clipped it out and saved it. Maybe I don't remember all the reporters' names, but I do remember when they took my picture and they asked me questions, and I will always have the stories to remember those experiences (a personal favorite of mine is a picture of me shooting a Revolutionary War-era pistol at age 11, and my expression of pure fear as I'm pulling the trigger).

He wasn't the easiest interview I've ever had, but frankly, I think he was there at Capone's Pool Parlor in Vineland to play pool, and the interview was a secondary matter. This kid lives and breathes pool. And thankfully, his parents answered most of the questions, and they were very supportive of his quest to be the "best pool guy in the world".

I also ran into an off-the-record situation. Actually, it was retrospective off the record, and I will not publish the story here because if something is posted on the internet, someone is bound to read it. The mother told a funny and somewhat embarassing story about Kyle's birth, and Kyle overheard this and immediately asked that his mother not tell the story. I could easier have pictured my mom doing the same thing to me at that age.

All of this will lead to my first Saturday feature story, which apparently is a pretty big deal. I'm glad I'm moving so fast with this internship.

Out of the frying pan...

2005-05-11T15:55:00.000-07:00

The journey has begun...and I handled it quite well. I was remarkably calm during my first day at The Daily Journal. I'm not generally known for being a calm person. Anyone who knows me well enough will tell you that.

I was also given a few small assignments on my very first day. I wasn't expecting this, but I was secretly hoping that it would happen. They weren't any big assignments. I had to get a schedule of events for Delaware "Bay Days", a pretty big event happening during the first weekend in June. I also typed up someone else's recipe for a black-eyed pea salad. Like I said, not very exciting.

But tonight should be exciting. I'm interviewing a 9-year-old pool player who has played alongside professionals and is playing at Billiards on the Green in Atlantic City this weekend for a charity event. I know whenever I watch Matt Lauer or Al Roker struggle through interviews with kids, I pity them, so pity me, because it may not go well. Or it could go very well. We'll see. I know that if I was 9 years old and I had a story written about me, I would cut it out and put it in a scrapbook for preservation, so I'll be sure to put my best effort into this one.

By the way, stay tuned for at least one post detailing my experiences covering Star Wars: Celebration III in Indianapolis. The press badge may be one of the most powerful items a person like me can own.

Prologue: The Calm Before the Storm

2005-05-09T21:00:00.000-07:00

Welcome to The Writer with A Thousand Faces, a.k.a. Ben Leach's weblog. Most students my age have already started their blogs. Why did I choose to start mine now?

Tomorrow, I begin my internship at The Daily Journal in Vineland, New Jersey. This experience will help to bridge the gap between student and professional journalist. Most student journalists can relate to the difficulty I have encountered in cultivating sources, especially well-known, important sources. No longer will I have the stigma attached to my college e-mail address, and no longer will I have to admit that what I'm doing is for a class assignment, or a TCNJ webpage. I don't think I could get more excited about something that I'm not getting paid for.

However, that is not my only endeavour for the summer. I will be directing a musical that I wrote, "Whose Show is it Anyway?" (please don't sue, Drew Carey). It is a satire of my experiences with youth play groups, and I think it's going to go great. Let's see if I'm able to keep my sanity working with 8-16 year-olds, their pushy parents, and directors who don't seem to want me to be in charge.

Why the title? I've made it clear that I want to be a writer. I'm a journalism major at The College of New Jersey, and if I want to follow through with that, I could be a reporter for a major newspaper or magazine. I also have a background in chemistry, and I could also see myself as a science journalist or health reporter. I could also see myself as a broadcast journalist, with my inquisitive nature and background in getting in front of a crowd. And buried among all this, I would love to be a writer for Late Night with Conan O'Brien or Saturday Night Live. Maybe I'll end up scripting my own movies or television shows.

Whatever the case, I truly believe that this summer will be the start of a great many things that will begin to lead me in the direction of my future career. It all starts here. Pay attention. You could be witness to history.