Tuesday evening: InDesign is a harsh mistress . . .

1. Actually, it's not all that bad. Today the boss's computer was being cranky, while I was cranking out pages. It was a lot of fun. And I ran a cheerleader photo on the sports page. Yeah!

2. I just read a logo on the New York Times eb site as "nerdiest cases." I am thinking, "I know them."

3. I love women who can quote Ivanova.

4. One of the neat things about having a drive of 40 or so minutes to and from work is that it has led me to commit to listening to as many books on tape as possible.

The first one was "Champlain's Dream." Oddly, the town I cover is on the southern tip of Lake Champlain, but he never got this far south, I don't think.

It was amazing stuff, though a bt of hero worship. Also, and excellent primer for anyone who days later-period French.

The one in now is "The Bug Burn," about a major forest fire that may well have saved the US Forest Service. Teddy Roosevelt and Gifford Pinchot. Neat stuff.

The plan is non-fiction, mixing biographies and histories mainly. The next one, if it comes in when I am ready, is Nathanial Philbrick's "The Last Stand," the latest Little Big Horn book.

5. There are a wide variety stories on the Internet about the commanding officer of the USS Enterprise getting removed for lewd videos he made and distributed in the past.

Here's the top to the Washington Post story, which has 800+ comments.

The captain of the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise was permanently relieved of his command Tuesday for making a series of ribald and offensive videos aired on the ship's closed-circuit television system when he was the second-in-command several years ago.

The Navy cited a "profound lack of good judgment and professionalism" in relieving Capt. Owen Honors, who stars in the videos. The recordings, reportedly shown as a way of relieving boredom and boosting morale, include skits laden with sexual innuendo and barbs aimed at gays and the politically correct.

Needless to say, it's a firestorm. Lots of yelling and screaming from both sides.

Here's my deal: When I read that the guy said there were complaints but from people "too gutless" to tell him in person, that hung him for me.

Dude, you were an XO and CO. You can destroy someone's career with a couple well-placed lines in a personnel report.

No one's gonna tell you they're offended. You're a leader. You should know better.Who can respect you after that.

6. And, while it's on a much lesser scale, an ESPN announcer of 20+ years experience should know better.

ESPN fired the announcer Ron Franklin on Tuesday, four days after his remarks to a sideline reporter before the broadcast of the Chick-fil-A Bowl caused him to be suspended from calling the Fiesta Bowl on radio.

“Based on what occurred last Friday, we have ended our relationship with him,” Josh Krulewitz, a spokesman for ESPN, said.

During a conversation the reporter, Jeannine Edwards, was having with another ESPN announcer at a production meeting, Franklin said, according to the Web site SportsByBrook.com Listen to me, sweet baby, let me tell you something.” When she protested that his tone was condescending, Franklin reportedly used an obscenity. Franklin subsequently said he deserved to be taken off the radio broadcast.

This was not the first time Franklin had said something similar, which might be the reason ESPN dismissed him. During a Notre Dame-Purdue game in 2005, the sideline reporter Holly Rowe lauded Purdue’s defensive strategy despite Notre Dame’s big lead.

“If the coaches are giving up, what does that say to the players?” Rowe said.

Franklin said, “Holly, it’s not giving up, it’s 49-21, sweetheart.”

While you could argue that being rude is not necessarily a firing offense, if you say something and someone says they are offended, apologize and/or shut up!

7. I am sorry if I sound cranky. I do not mean to. The job is great, but I really am working hard. Takes a lot of thinking. Liam is better at doings.

 

OK, this is wicked cool!

Meet Clarkie!



Plane belonging to Capt. Sidney H Hewett. 361st Fighter Squadron. P-47D 42-74702 QI-F "

Capt. Hewett was shot down and imprisoned in a German POW camp.

He came back and had a great life.

He eventually went to Germany and met the man who shot him down.

They called him Capt. Hewett. Before he passed away, my wife called him "Graddad."

Please edit me?

This is Thursday's editorial.

It has to be on the page by 9 tomorrow morning.

I know it may be a bit shrill -- and I know I us long dashes too much -- but I would like to hear what you think.

*****

Sixteen years of teaching will convince anyone that bullying is everywhere.

It’s in every school, in the classrooms, in the hallways, in the locker rooms, and on the Internet. It can scar students for life and can lead the bullies to lives of more bullying.
It’s not just the kids, you know. Almost any one of us can tell a story about being bullied. We see the stories in the newspapers every day, and we hear them from our fiends.

That’s why it’s so important that you be at Whitehall Central School at 7 tonight – Thursday, Jan. 6 – for Bullying Prevention Night. You’ll hear what the school is doing about bullying and you’ll hear what surveys reveal about the problem. You’ll hear from guidance counselor Topher Montville and dean of students Gregg Chappell.

Most important of all, you’ll hear from the kids. Students are going to get up and tell their stories.

If you are a student, you need to be there, too. Bring your parents, but if they won’t come, get yourself there. This is important for everyone, but if you are a school leader of any kind – National Honor Society, Student Council, an officer in any club, a captain in any sport, it’s important for you to be there, and it’s important for you to get others to come.
You’ll learn something.

Principal Kelly McHugh is not afraid to talk about bullying. She’s an educator and a mother, and she knows it happens. She is adamant that her school will do everything it can to reduce it as much as possible. She is not afraid of bullies.

But she – and the teachers and the students and the rest of the folks at the town’s two schools – cannot do it alone. They need you to be there tonight.
They need you to listen, then talk to your kids – they’re welcome, too. Actually, do more listening than talking. Listen to what they say and really try to hear them, too, There are messages in there. Keep listening. It’s important.

Here’s another for parents, students, faculty and staff and everyone else in the community to circle on the calendar – Wednesday, March 23.
Internationally known author Jodee Blanco will be spending all day and a good part of the evening at Whitehall, speaking to students, faculty and staff and to anyone from the community who wants to hear about bullying.

She is a bullying survivor, and she will tell her story. Blanco will be doing an evening parent/family seminar from 7 to 9 p.m. Plan a family dinner, then head over. After hearing her during the day, your students are probably going to want to drag you there anyway. Blanco is the author of “Please Stop Laughing at  Me . . .!” She has a critically important message for you, as do all tonight’s speakers.

Blanco, who has also recently written “Please Stop Laughing at Us . . .!” and will present a seminar called “It’s NOT Just Joking Around.”
Her stop at Whitehall is part of a nation-wide tour, which includes visits to a number of suicide prevention programs and a wide variety of schools and colleges. She’ll give the keynote at the national convention of  the American School Counselor Association.

Is there a bullying crisis at Whitehall Central School? No, it doesn’t seem that way.

Is bullying happening there? Yes, it happens everywhere.

There are two steps you can take to lessen the chance of bullies taking advantage of your kids, your students, your friends and yourself.

One step is tonight. The next is March 23.

*****