Sunday, August 10, 2008

We've moved!

Well, it's been a long time coming, but Link222 has FINALLY moved to The Times main site.
Thanks for all the love and devotion you've shown us here on our Blogger site.
Now, we we want you mosey on over to our new spot, bookmark the page and continue to join us in the conversation.

Tuesday, August 05, 2008

Your weight in water

So, I think I can safely say I've changed my lifestyle this year. Starting in January, I began calorie counting. It wasn't the easiest thing at first, but I got the hang of it. Of course, having off days to eat what I wanted helped keep me on track. When I started seeing results, the motivation really kicked up a notch. I lost about 20 pounds altogether, and most of that within the first three months.

Two months later, I added exercise to my new routine. While I've had my ups and downs of wanting to wake up in the mornings to get to the gym, it's proven very beneficial.

But there are still areas that need some work in this new 'lifestyle' and my water intake is one of them. I have tried several times throughout the years to adhere to a guideline I'd read a few years back -- drink 1/2 to 1 ounce of water per pound you weigh. Well, for some reason, I have not been able to reach this goal the past few months. It's just A LOT of water! A lot!

But today, victory! I did it, I did it! Granted, it was just about the minimum (1/2 ounce per pound I weigh) but definitely something to build on.

While basking in my glory, I was surfing the Web to see if I could find references to this 'feat' to see why on earth I might need to actually drink an ounce per pound.

CNN had an article from the Mayo Clinic that gave a good amount of information as to why watering down my life may be worth my while. Come to find out, that 1/2 ounce per pound really isn't quite enough since I'm exercising for an hour-plus every day. But, it did tell me that many of the foods I'm eating -- cucumbers -- and some other drinks -- tea -- help with my water intake. But I know it's still not enough.

Ugh, back to the water fountain I go!

Sunday, August 03, 2008

Should journalists clap for political candidates?

A week ago today I sat in an audience of hundreds in Chicago listening to Sen. Barack Obama. This was after waiting in line for about an hour to go through security.

I was in the Windy City for UNITY, a gathering of at least 6,000 journalists from throughout the United States.

There had been talk for months – and some formal announcements and attempts at planning – about Obama and Sen. John McCain showing up for a debate, or something like it. McCain opted out.

Obama was a few days late. You may have heard about his venture into the Middle East and Europe.

It was disappointing not to have both there for an exchange of ideas or a little argument. But that’s something no one outside the candidates’ campaign planners could really affect.

Something we journalists can affect, though, is the way we do our jobs and how we conduct ourselves.

We waited a few hours for Obama, who appeared live on CNN. We were the audience. Before he came on, there was a panel discussion among news managers from throughout the country. One of the questions asked was whether reporters should clap for government leaders or political candidates during speeches or events such as the one we were at.

Almost everyone on the panel said no. I was glad about that.

Now some people think it’s disrespectful. You should respect the office of the president, senator, mayor, etc… But there is a common line of thought among journalists that we don’t want to give even the appearance that we show some sort of favor toward one official or another. That doesn’t mean a lack of respect.

But you wouldn’t have known many journalists think like that last week. During the commercial break, reporters hopped out of their seats, ran to the stage, and snapped photos of Obama with their cell phones. Many clapped or cheered when he spoke during taping.

I could take issue with other things that happened, including that in a room full of hundreds of journalists, we were allowed to ask only four questions, one for each organization at the convention: AAJA, NABJ, NAHJ and NAJA. But that, I think, had a lot to do with planning and organization for television.

But what do you think? Is it silly for us journalists to be concerned with something like applause? Or does it make you trust us less? Or more?