Lost 4.5

Sorry I’m late with this, but because of the ceremony Thursday night, I had to watch Lost at home today (convenient, as I’m home sick with the mini-flu).
Since watching it, I’ve read a few reviews on this week’s Desmond-centric episode, “The Constant,” and I have to disagree with the people upset that all the time travel was confusing and getting away from the story.
This was one of my Top 5 favorite episodes of Lost, and Desmond’s other flashback episode ranks up there too. The Desmond-Penelope love story has me more interested than Jack and Kate or Sawyer and Kate. I’d rather learn how Desmond finally gets back to the love of his life than learn who the other two Oceanic 6 are.
This week’s episode found Desmond and Sayid on the chopper back to the freighter, which they think is there to either rescue them or kill them. Along the way, the chopper hits turbulence, and Desmond’s mind reverts to 1996 Desmond, a soldier in the royal army. Go to Lostpedia for the full plot rundown, I’ll just tell you that 96 Desmond and 2004 Desmond must both contact Penelope, which 96 Daniel Faraday (the new guy on the island) calls Desmond’s “Constant” and the only thing that can keep his mind and body from succumbing to the ill effects of time travel.
The ending was heartfelt, and it further moves along the plot … as I now think it really will be Penelope who ultimately rescues the islanders.

What else we learned:
• Time isn’t the same off the island as it is on the island. We were given hints about this in previous episodes, but the writers went out of their way to make it a point this week. This will, of course, explain Walt’s accelerated growth and why some of the Others don’t seem to age.
• Ben’s “guy” on the boat is quite possibly Desmond and Sayid’s “friend,” the guy who left the door open for them. I’m guessing it’s Michael, but that would be too obvious, right?

Trivia (from Lostpedia)
• This episode features the smallest number of original characters of any episode to date – only Jack and Sayid appear.
• According to the calendar on the wall, as well as Desmond, the real-time events of this episode take place on Day 94 (Christmas Eve) when Sayid, Desmond and Frank left the island. This means that while it is Day 94 on the Freighter, it is actually Day 96 on the Island.
• The dog seen at Oxford university when Desmond finds Daniel Faraday seems to be the same dog used for the picture in Jacob’s cabin.
• Faraday says that while Desmond was in a catatonic state in his room at Oxford, 75 minutes had passed. Desmond perceived the same amount of time as 5 minutes. The ratio of 75:5 is equivalent to 15:1. At the auction, Widmore is bidder number 755, the same numbers as the time ratio.
• Frank is told by Daniel to follow a bearing of 305, which is a Northwest direction. Eko’s stick bore the inscription “Lift up your eyes and look north – John 3:05″.

Jennifer wants to add that the episode was Desmond-rific.
I want to add that Lost is by far the best show on TV, and my one television “constant.”

Herald second in ‘General Excellence’

Well, it was a surprising night, to say the least, for The Herald at the annual North Carolina Press Association Awards.
In addition to the six awards we knew we were getting, the surprise of the night came when it was announced we were chosen second out of nearly 30 papers in our circulation division for ‘General Excellence.’
General Excellence is the “biggy” and it grades your newspaper as a whole — News, Sports and Features. I’ll admit, we expected a better showing in the individual awards (we were possibly overconfident), but getting the group recognition makes up for everything. First place went to fellow Paxton newspaper The Henderson Dispatch, so we offer them congratulations (and a “watch out” for next year).
This year’s award was The Herald’s first GE award since 1989, when we won third place. I’m not sure how we did before that.

As for the ceremony itself, I almost left mid-way through. I have developed a mini-case of the flu, and last night, I did my best to stay alert through the whole thing. They save the General Excellence announcements for last, so the rest of the ceremony seemed to drag on (note, journalists aren’t the best speakers … remember that next time you ask me to speak to a crowd).
You’ll be happy to know that when they did announce The Herald, we were one of the few papers to actually “WHOOP!” it up. Even R.V. Hight got into it with his famous “twist” dance afterward.

Congratulations to the entire news staff at The Herald – Kevin Degon, R.V. Hight, Alex Podlogar, Jamie Stamm, Jonathan Owens, Gordon Anderson, Chelsea Kellner, Randy Quis, Brooke Wolfe, Kim Edwards and Marie Webster. There’s definitely a celebration in order.

OK, enough bragging. Back to being sick.

Pictures to come later

The following story appeared in today’s Herald.

CARY — The Herald was winner of seven North Carolina Press Association awards handed out Thursday night at the NCPA’s Winter Institute including second place in the general excellence category.
The seven awards are The Herald’s most in a single year since 2000.
Each year, newspapers are judged in a number of categories, ranging from news reporting to sports photography, and winners are chosen in specific circulation categories. The Herald falls under the 15,000-or-less daily circulation category and competes each year against nearly 30 other newspapers annually.
Herald reporter Jonathan Owens received two awards Thursday, one second-place award for headline writing and a third-place award in sports writing for a story on Tobacco Road being named the 10th most difficult golf course in the nation.
Community Editor Jamie Stamm won second place in the criticism category for her book reviews. Brooke Wolfe received a third place award in news photography for a photo she shot of a family that had just escaped a house fire in Sanford.
And Herald movie critic Neil Morris won first place in the criticism category for his reviews, including “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford.”
The Herald news staff received a third-place award in the feature writing category for a series of stories it did about cancer survivors for the Relay For Life event.
The highlight of the evening was the general excellence award, which honors the newspaper as a whole.
“Our newsroom was pleased with the recognition, and we’re hoping to increase our numbers in the coming years,” said Herald Editor Billy Liggett, who joined the paper in February 2007. “Our individual awards show we have a talented staff here, but the general excellence award shows we work well as a team.We’re very excited about that.”
The NCPA Winter Institute awards ceremony was held at the Embassy Suites Hotel in Cary. A complete list of winners from all North Carolina newspapers in all categories can be found online at www.ncpress.com.

N.C. Press Association Awards tonight

We’re not allowed to say how much we won until midnight tonight, but I will say The Herald had a decent showing at this year’s N.C. Press Association awards. The ceremony is tonight, and I’ll be taping Lost and leaving here early today to head over to Cary for the presentations.
We’ll have how we did in tomorrow’s Herald. I know you’re all at the edge of your seats.

A Sanford celebrity … for reals

UPDATE (Thursday, 10:45 a.m.): OK, so Dana Hamm really IS a celebrity with apparently many, many fans.
I had a whopping 21 comments to my post last night questioning her celebrity status. Dana herself even commented (or it could be a 47-year-old man claiming to be her … you never know these days).
Here’s her comment:
Hi Billy,
Just Googled my name and came across your blog. Periodically, I do this to make sure no one is improperly using my images or likeness. Anyway…I stumbled onto your page and just wanted to say “hi”. Yes, I was born in Sanford, and the rest of my family still lives there. In fact, I visit from time to time.
I have done several stories/interview with the Sanford Herald. They are also so generous and kind!!!
Well, if you ever want to ask me anything you now know where to find me
Thanks!
Dana

Well, next time she visits, I hope she drops by and lets us do a story. And I’ve also learned the lesson that any time I want my site visits to dramatically increase, I’ll just type “Dana Hamm” again.

My original post, Wednesday 4 p.m.
So according to Wikipedia, Sanford, N.C., was the birthplace of a famous model. I say she’s famous because I’m taking her word for it, but I’ve never heard of her.
Dana Hamm was born in Sanford and got her degree from Campbell University. She even has her own site, www.danahamm.com.
Her Web site says she’s a mix of Angelina Jolie and Raquel Welch. I’m not saying I agree or disagree, but you can decide.
She has appeared in numerous body fitness magazines, and she seems to be a pretty popular Internet model. She also appeared on Jenny Jones a while back to give an “in your face” to a guy who picked on her for being skinny in high school. How about that.
I’m told The Herald did an article on her in 2006, but that was before my time, so this is all new to me.

Pictured: Hamm, I’m guessing, during flight school before her modeling career. Maybe?

Best designed newspapers

SND29: The 2007 World’s Best-Designed Newspapers
from Society for News Design on Vimeo.

The video linkedabove is from the Society for Newspaper Design, and each year, they choose what’s the best of the best out there. Each year, it seems, it’s all foreign newspapers.
And alas, The Herald didn’t get a mention.
Oh well, there’s always never.

R.I.P. Myron Cope

I only bring this up because my grandparents (who live near Pittsburgh and are huge Steelers fans) were also huge Myron Cope fans.
Cope had one of the most recognizable voices in not only sports, but all of radio.
And while I’m not a Steelers fan, you couldn’t help but like this guy.
Here’s a bit from the Associated Press story:

Steelers’ former radio announcer Myron Cope dies at 79

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Myron Cope, the screechy-voiced announcer whose colorful catch phrases and twirling Terrible Towel became symbols of the Pittsburgh Steelers during an unrivaled 35 seasons in the broadcast booth, has died. He was 79.
Cope died Wednesday morning at a nursing home in Mount Lebanon, a Pittsburgh suburb, Joe Gordon, a former Steelers executive and a longtime friend of Cope’s, told The Associated Press. Cope had been treated for respiratory problems and heart failure in recent months, Gordon said.
Cope’s tenure from 1970-2004 as the color analyst on the Steelers’ radio network is the longest in NFL history for a broadcaster with a single team and led to his induction into the National Radio Hall of Fame in 2005.
“His memorable voice and unique broadcasting style became synonymous with Steelers football,” Steelers president Art Rooney II said Wednesday. “They say imitation is the greatest form of flattery and no Pittsburgh broadcaster was impersonated more than Myron.”

My musical guilty pleasures

Why am I about to do this?
Why am I about to completely open myself up for ridicule? Why am I about to share my Top 5 musical guilty pleasures when, when it comes down to it, it’s nobody’s business and I could save face by not doing so?
I suppose it’s because I’m here to entertain you. I’m nothing but your yuck monkey, and I thrive off your laughs.
Without further ado, and before I change my mind, here are my Top 5 musical guilty pleasures. If you want to make me feel better, you’ll add your own.

1. Justin Timberlake
Note, I in no way like N’Sync, nor do I care much for anything this guy did before his last album.
But my wife did purchase the album “FutureSex/LoveSounds,” and I will admit it right here, I’ve listened to it without her around. I get the song “LoveStoned” stuck in my head often.
There, I’ve admitted it. I’m a fan. I’m throwing Jonathan Owens under the bus, too. He’s a fan. Ha.
It gets worse.

2. Ace of Base
I have no reason to explain it, other than when I got to college at Stephen F. Austin State University in the fall of 1994, there was really only one radio station that didn’t play country (the rock stations out of Shreveport, La. didn’t always come in well either). It was a Top 40 station, and for some reason, they always played Ace of Base.
“The Sign,” “Beautiful Life,” “All That She Wants” are all too catchy for their own good.
I hate that I like it. I really do.

3. Garth Brooks
Growing up in a country town and going to a country high school in the early 1990s, I couldn’t help but hear Garth Brooks ALL THE TIME. “The Dance” played at my prom. “Friends in Low Places” was on every radio station (country and pop). He had that special on NBC.
He was everywhere, and I couldn’t escape him.
And while I managed to continue to dislike country music throughout high school, I developed a liking toward Brooks. Mind you, I enjoy “classic” country, like Hank Williams Sr. and Johnny Cash, but anything from Reba McIntyre, Brooks and Dunn or Alan Jackson makes me ill.
I’m not sure why Garth was any different. He just was.

4. Cinderella
I’d like to forget the era of the 80s hair band, and for the most part, I have.
Motley Crue was once cool, but listening to them now, they were kind of a joke. Same goes for Poison, Quiet Riot and a number of other so-called “heavy metal” bands from that era.
Perhaps the most Aqua-Netted glam band of the bunch was Cinderella, but for some reason, I chose them as “my band” as a 1980s tween.
I’ve heard a few songs on classic rock stations recently, and I’ll admit they sound dated, but I’m not totally turned off by them.
You may remember “Shake Me,” “Nobody’s Fool,” and “Somebody Save Me” if you’re a fan of that era. And who could forget the ballad “Don’t know what you got (till it’s gone)”
Ahhh, the 80s.
Honorable mention for 80s hair bands that didn’t totally suck: Ratt … uhm, that’s about it.

5. Paris Combo
I actually don’t feel bad at all about liking this band, and if anybody wants to poke fun at me for liking French jazz, go for it.
And while you’re at it, poke fun at the wife too, because she’s a fan as well.
We saw them at Festival Internationale in Lafayette, La., about 8-9 years ago, and they blew me away. We immediately bought the CD, and while I haven’t heard them much in the states (they were actually playing the CD at a restaurant in Dallas once), I hear they’re pretty big in France.
Here’s a sample of their music. I don’t understand a word, but I can pretty much sing along (with a lot of blah, blah, blahs thrown in).

In Wednesday’s Herald: Will Ferrell

Herald movie critic Neil Morris had the opportunity to interview Will Ferrell before the last leg of his Funny or Die comedy tour in Chapel Hill Friday.
In Wednesday’s Herald, we’ll have that interview, which includes Ferrell talking about Tobacco Road Golf Course in Sanford (which he was spotted playing at before Christmas recently) and pokes fun at Sanford itself.

An excerpt:
Ferrell responded that Charlotte was nice, but he preferred Sanford and its ‘amazing trailer parks,’ joking that he had spent six months there during which he purchased a condo and a Bojangles.
Trust us, he has nice things to say as well.

And if that’s not enough Ferrell for you, in Friday’s Herald, Morris will have his review for “Semi-Pro,” Ferrell’s latest sports flick about a struggling ABA basketball franchise in the 1970s looking to join the NBA. The film also stars Woody Harrelson and Andre Benjamin.

Whatever happened to high school?

In today’s Herald, Chelsea Kellner wrote a nice story on Chatham Central High School and how students can go from being a sophomore to a junior, or a junior to a senior in mid-year if they work toward extra credits.
We’ve done stories in the past as well on Lee Early College, a school for students who want to focus on a particular field and earn college credits and a high school diploma all at once.
We’ve also done stories on home schooling, and we’ve done stories on GED programs.
I understand the purpose of it all — to keep students from dropping out, to keep their interest and to help them toward a life where they can succeed after school.
I get it, and I appreciate it.
That doesn’t mean I like it. Then again, I’m sort of old-fashioned in that way.

I think all of these new programs and schools are tearing at one of the greatest parts of being a teenager in the United States — the high school experience. I know it’s not for everybody, and by no means do I think those four years should be “High School Musical” over and over again.
I wasn’t what you’d consider “popular” in high school. I went to a small school surrounded by cow pastures and farms in northeast Texas, but even there, I had a great time. I experienced the ups and downs of dating girls, developing friendships, getting a sense of humor, learning lessons through sports and extra-curricular activities like mock trial and the Science Fair.
And, oh yeah, I learned a thing or two in class as well.

I hear news reports that we’re falling behind other countries when it comes to schooling. Schools in the far east go year-round, and there’s a lot of pressure on these students to succeed. I understand in the world market, it’s important that we’re churning out bright young students to compete globally.
But I’m not a “big picture” kind of guy. I like to look at life on an individual basis.
I’m not an MIT grad who’s developing the next great math formula. Instead, I’m doing a job I love after learning skills in a high school and college that I loved being a part of.
1990 (my freshman year of high school) through 1998 (my fourth year of college … uhm, I went longer) were my “growing up” years.
To me, they wouldn’t have been the same had I skipped out on the social part of high school and went straight into developing my “trade” in college. I had to grow, and I had to develop my own sense of responsibility, rather than have a school system impose it on me.
I’m not everybody, though, and obviously, this doens’t work for everybody.
I’m just worried that we’re de-emphasizing the social skills we learn along the way. Who wants a country full of robot drones?

New blogger: Keith Clark

The Herald has some online competition, but we welcome it.
Keith Clark, a regular contributor to The Herald’s “letters to the editor” section and a man who’s very interested in the political goings-on in Lee County, has begun the E-Lee Dispatch, a blog centered on “governmental, political, educational and economic news and analysis for the citizens of Lee County.”

CLICK HERE TO SEE IT

According to Keith, the purpose of his blog is to “make more information about Lee County to its citizens and supplement (and sometimes comment upon) coverage by the Sanford Herald.” He said he also hopes to encourage more communication among the opinion.
“While any publication has an editorial bias, this one has few agendas,” he said. “Efforts are made to report factual information and our comments invite corrections, addition and criticism.”
Not sure if that’s a shot at us … but if it is, we’re cool.

Clark said he will try to post at least three times a week, again saying, “Blogging is technically easy but intellectually demanding. If you would like help in starting one for you or your organization, we will be glad to share what we know.”