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Two-faced ... or multi-faceted?

Two-faced ... or multi-faceted?
Behind that mask...

I think. Therefore, I AM

I am, I said; To no one there
And no one heard at all; Not even the chair
I am, I cried; I am, said I
And I am lost, and I can't even say why
Leavin' me lonely still
It's said that when a tree falls deep in the forest it makes no sound unless someone (ostensibly, a human being) is near enough to notice. But I'm pretty sure the TREE is aware of its demise and that other living things upon which it lands no doubt take notice.

Those who may happen to come within earshot of this blog are free to observe and welcome to participate (with comity, please!); it's about my life and times and I'll try to write like nobody is listening -- and like everyone is...



Tuesday, April 26, 2011

All the news...

 Back in the day, Johnny Carson presented a recurring bit on The Tonight Show. After Carson provided information on a topic, his sidekick Ed McMahon would comment along the lines of "It's amazing how that report contains absolutely EVERY bit of information on the topic ... EVERYTHING that is known about that topic was included in what you just read."
 The late night star, of course, then corrected his pal and presented another list of items that the Tonight Show staff had generated -- a list intended, naturally, to put the audience in stitches.
 In this information age, we're able to find just about everything -- if we phrase our search criteria carefully. But we have to sort through a lot of chaff to get to the wheat -- and even the best information isn't always made clear.
 But the "Grey Lady," as newspaper lovers sometimes refer to the New York Times comes through seven days a week with clear, concise and in-depth coverage of "all the news that's fit to print."
 With most stories, readers know they can read just the first few paragraphs and move on, confident that they've been given the "nuts" of the story. Those with more interest are offered more and more and more until even those few with huge appetites are satiated as talented writers squeeze just about EVERYTHING that is known about the topic.
 I grew up reading the San Diego Union/Tribune, which is a pretty classy -- though clearly (at least at the time) biased paper. I remember the front page photos that appeared following the 1960 Kennedy-Nixon presidential debates. The caption below the Nixon frame read, "Vice-President Nixon makes a point during last nights debate;" while the Kennedy cutline was, "Senator Kennedy shuffles through his notes."
 When I ended up in Los Angeles County about 20 years later, I began a love affair with the Los Angeles Times. It's a world-class publication -- unarguably the newspaper of record for the west coast (as the NY Times is for the east). I'm proud as can be of the unlikely fact that my first paid job as a journalist was working as a stringer for the Times' Orange County edition.
 Another 20-some years later, I arrived in Merced, California and subscribed to the local newspaper -- best described, perhaps, as "light" (so light that Nolan Ryan couldn't throw it from the curb to my porch). I eventually wrote for that paper as well -- received better billing as a columnist, but didn't hold my head quite as high when telling strangers about my employer.
 One fateful morning, as I searched the high grass for my little sliver of a newspaper, I heard the THWUMP of a major daily hit the pavement next door. My neighbor appeared in his bathrobe and scooped up what seemed to be too much newsprint for any central California publication.
 "Is that the New York Times?" I shouted.
 My neighbor confirmed my guess and, when he noticed that I was salivating and weak in the knees, offered to share each day's paper with me once he was done with it.
 Well, nobody can actually read the entire New York Times in a single day (a slight exageration, but only a little), but my new best friend began depositing his only slightly disturbed treasure on my drive every day.
 Then he moved across town and my halcyon days were ended ... until now.
 I've decided to cancel my cable television and am replacing it with a daily subscription to the New York Times!

The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded, and continuously published in New York City, since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization. Its website is the most popular American online newspaper website, receiving more than 30 million unique visitors per month.

—Wikipedia

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