hard deadlines

Tech-savvy journalist Scott Rosenberg, co-founder of Salon.com, has a new book on the history of blogging, Say Everything, coming out this week, and judging by the two sample chapters posted on his Web site, it's a must-have.

I loved Rosenberg's previous book, Dreaming in Code, which was a Geertzian thick description of a software development project. This time, he's turned his journalistic skills and geek's eye for detail on the rise of blogging, a brash undertaking when the medium is still evolving, but Rosenberg provides a critically important look at where we are and how we got here.

In the first chapter, Rosenberg describes proto-blogger Justin Hall and how blogging began to fork off from the static shovelware pages common in the early days of the Web. Not just the tech, Rosenberg gets inside Hall's head and tells a great story with insight and sensitivity, and in so doing, provides an important lens into the medium.

Rosenberg's other online sample is chapter nine, "Journalists vs. Bloggers" and it is an absolutely brilliant crystallization of the various debates that have been swirling around pro and citizen journalism for years. If you want to get up to speed, read this chapter. Here's a typical chunk:

The rise of blogging exposed just how porous the line between “journalist” and “non-journalist” really was. Some observers began to use the term “citizen journalism” to describe the resulting profusion of new forms of amateur reporting and experiments in community-based information-gathering. The label was embraced by journalists and educators like Dan Gillmor and Jay Rosen, a professor at New York University, who defined it thus: “When the people formerly known as the audience employ the press tools they have in their possession to inform one another, that’s citizen journalism.” Walt Mossberg, the Wall Street Journal’s popular personal technology columnist, liked to make fun of citizen journalism by likening it to “citizen surgery,” and the joke always won him a laugh. But it was a poor analogy. It suggested that journalism was a field like medicine, one that required an elaborate training regime and rigorously policed professional standards. That has never been the case. And if it were, if our lives really did depend on the quality of journalists’ work, then in recent years much of the profession lay open to charges of malpractice.
— Chapter Nine

Heh heh. Citizen surgery. You're soaking in it.

If you want the wiki page on the phenomenon of blogging, I highly recommend this book. And for those with a particular interest in the journalism part of the story, I'd also suggest checking out Rosenberg's blog and following him on Twitter. Who knows — maybe you'll end up in his next book.

Resources:
Say Everything Web site
Scott Rosenberg's Wordyard (blog)
scottros on Twitter

Annoyed footnote: Thanks to the RI Legislature which pissed off Amazon with their dumbass referral tax idea, I no longer have the ability to link directly to the book: Amazon cancelled my affiliate account. The link above IS NOT A REFERRAL. It is a CONTENT LINK to Scott Rosenberg's site. He doesn't live in Rhode Island, so you can click thru to Amazon from his site if you want to buy his book. Thank you ever so much, legislators. What a totally stupid idea.

The Golden Dragon is the new Chinese kitchen at the Beach House on Park Ave in Island Park, and after getting grand opening fliers in the Sakonnet Times, we tried it out tonight, and were not disappointed. While it's not really a sit-down kind of place — it is, after all, a rocking local bar — the take-out option and online menu make it easy to swing by and pick up an order.

The standout, by far, was a General Tso's chicken that was the best I've had locally. Not the typical fried mystery bits breaded beyond recognition, the dish offered sizable chunks of white meat in a tangy sauce. Seriously, if you're partial to General Tso's, there isn't a takeout place within driving distance that's better.

We had a shrimp lo mein which offered a nice balance of vegetables and full-bodied soba noodles, and a chicken with cashew where the fresh carrot and celery added a great crunch, though perhaps a bit heavy on the hoisin sauce. YMMV, as I've said before, I'm no food critic.

Of course the rest of the Beach House menu is also available for takeout, so we got a plate of peel-and-eat shrimp to go for our 9-year-old, although he tried and liked the Chinese options as well.

Prices are reasonable, with appetizers from $3-7 and entrees $6-10.

A word in your ear: Don't be put off by the exterior. Yeah, it looks like a bar. Yeah, there's usually a couple of bikes out front. Trust me on this one. Portsmouth hasn't had a local Chinese option this good since Tak Pao City closed. (Sigh. They had the best wontons in hot sesame...)

Resources:
Golden Dragon at the Beach House, 506 Park Ave, Portsmouth. (401) 293-5700
Sun-Thurs 11:30am-10pm, Fri-Sat 11:30-11. Visa, MC, Discover
Take out menu
Beach House web site (MySpace)
Google map

Sunday at the turbine!

This will be a busy weekend here in the East Bay. I'm sure everyone is hoping for a break in the weather this weekend, especially those aiming to attend the world-famous Bristol parade. And if you haven't read the Sakonnet Times story on two of the the special guests, it's worth a peek. Hint: They were in Times Square on August 14, 1945.

Looking for activities? Aquidneck Moms Town has put together a list, as well as the always helpful OnAquidneck.com. I find both of these sites essential for keeping up with happenings around here.

Hope everyone will also turn out for Energy Independence Day on July 5, which will be celebrated with a clean energy fair at the Portsmouth wind turbine from 1-4pm.

Sponsored by Cool Aquidneck Island, Newport's Channing Memorial Church, the RI Council of MoveOn.org, and the RI Chapter of the Sierra Club, the event will "feature tables, booths, activities, awards, and educational information about how your family can save money with clean energy." Want ways to reduce carbon emissions? Want to help Congress put some teeth in ACES? Support renewable energy at National Grid? C'mon down.

Free admission, really loose agenda (i.e., none) so bring chairs and a picnic lunch, kick back, and get an up-close look at Portsmouth's newest landmark.

And hey, the flyer sez you can "win a prize if you come without using any carbon — on foot, by bike, teleporting, whatever."

More info on the Cool Aquidneck Island Web site.

Full disclosure: Personally, I believe that teleporting may have a larger carbon footprint than suspected. The amount of energy (the tension, "t") required to pry open a wormhole between two points in spacetime is proportional to the diameter of the throat:

Cite
Morris, M.S. and Thorne, K.S., "Wormholes in spacetime and their use for interstellar travel," American Journal of Physics, 1988, Vol. 56 (May), pp 395-412. Cited and modified for English units in Time Machines, Paul Nahin, Springer-Verlag, NY, 1999, p. 501.

Lt. Governor Elizabeth Roberts has decided not to run for Governor, opting instead to seek re-election, she announced on her blog today. While most commentors on her Facebook page supported her decision, a few expressed disappointment that she was not going to be seeking the top spot on the ticket.

In a statement, Robert said, "I’ve spent the past few months exploring a run for governor, and I want to thank all of my supporters and let them know that I will continue to work to turn the page on politics as usual in Rhode Island.”

Roberts pledged to use a second term to continue her work on affordable health care for Rhode Islanders. “I will continue to fight for quality health care for all; a stronger, more diverse Rhode Island economy; and honest, open and effective government," said Roberts. "These have been, and will continue to be, the focus of my public service.”

Resources:
ElizabethRoberts.org
ElizabethRoberts on Facebook
LtGovRoberts on Twitter

The Portsmouth School Committee tonight voted to recall all the teachers who had been sent layoff notices, according to chair Dick Carpender, who said that budget numbers received today from the state made the difference.

"We don't know what will happen in the future," said Carpender, "But for now, it's enough."

This will be good news for parents (and friends of the schools) who had been concerned about art and music.

The Minnesota Supreme Court has declared Democrat Al Franken the winner in the long-contested Senate race, the New York Times reports.

While the budget on Governor Carcieri's desk may or may not be the final word, Portsmouth's school department is still working to calculate the bottom line impact, according to School Committee Chair Dick Carpender.

"As of noon when I talked with [Finance Director] Chris Tague we still did not have any info from the Rhode Island Department of Education or the Association of School Committees," Carpender said when contacted by e-mail this afternoon.

Last week's meeting of the committee — during which decisions about calling back additional teachers were deferred — will continue tomorrow evening shortly after 5pm at Town Hall (following an executive session).