Crime is down again. Worth sharing. Too often it seems only negative stories about Redding go viral.
Lower crime rates. It’s ReallyRedding.
Turning off the comments at redding.com
I discovered this by accident. Recently, redding.com switched using Facebook to host their reader comments. For a while, I saw no comments on any article. It was a revelation. I really don’t care that much what a random group of strangers thinks about everything written at redding.com. It was nice.
But then I saw others commenting on Facebook about the comments at redding.com (negative comments, of course). So I began to wonder if it was just me who couldn’t see the comments. Sure enough, it was just me.
I use Chrome. I had previously installed a privacy plug-in named https://disconnect.me/ It was not letting Facebook requests into my browser, effectively shutting off the comments.
I like this plug-in. The free version lets you see who is tracking you and making requests at various websites, and you can turn them on or off with a software switch. So the default setting turns off the comments at redding.com. And several other things as well. The plug-in counts 66 things at redding.com at my browser:
Obviously you can leave the comments available, and choose not to read them for the same refreshing experience. But just like the ever popular car-wreck-rubbernecker analogy, I just always looked. And doing so, I was nearly always disappointed. The rare insight gained was not nearly valuable enough to offset the barrage of negativity I could not un-see.
So now they are simply switched off.
I suppose I’d forgotten just how pleasant it can be to simply read an article, and move on. No rubbernecking the wreckage. As revelations go, this one wasn’t earth shattering. But it’s been a change for the better.
Bear sighting creates a buzz
The bear photo I captured the other day from out my front door generated some local media attention. I was interviewed by KHSL TV Action News Now reporter Charlene Cheng.
I enjoyed chatting with Charlene as she worked. The life of a modern multimedia reporter is complex. You must master video and audio production along with journalism.
White balance, sound check, b-roll, good questions. And in the rain.
Impressive. Not at all just a talking head.
“Bear stories are always interesting,” she tells me.
You can follow Charlene on Twitter @charlenecheng and catch her work at http://www.actionnewsnow.com/home/
I was also interviewed by reporter Clay Duda of the Record Searchlight, and my photo made the front page, below the fold.
You can follow Clay on Twitter @clayduda_RS. It’s often fascinating to see Clay report the news via Twitter as it is happening. The tweets are somewhat cryptic, and then you can read the fleshed-out story later at redding.com. Or in the newspaper, as above.
An interesting (to me) Twitter side note.
I was pretty excited at 1:00 am when I snapped the bear photo.
I decided to tweet about it.
To my surprise, almost immediately I got a response from @jennyespino_RS, also a reporter for the Record Searchlight/redding.com.
This exchange of tweets took place almost immediately following the bear sighting, at an unexpected time of day.
Such is the nature of Twitter and our present culture’s near instantaneous news cycle.
Reporters sensed the bear story would be interesting to their audience.
It’s easy to see why that is true. Bear Spirit is well established in our species.
From SpiritAnimal.info:
“In the kingdom of spirit animals, the bear is emblematic of grounding forces and strength. This animal has been worshiped throughout time as a powerful totem, inspiring those who need it the courage to stand up against adversity. As a spirit animal in touch with the earth and the cycles of nature, it is a powerful guide to support physical and emotional healing.”
Also, Bear Stew. Bears are tasty.
“Recipe by Kyle”
“If you kill a bear, you better have something good to make out of it! This stew is delicious! Serve with a crusty bread!”
The duality of bear. Both Spirit and Entree. That’s Really Redding.
Our Italian travel photos in the Record Searchlight
Big fun! Jessica Skropanic featured a couple photos of me and the lovely Karry in Naples in their Sunday Edition. Here’s the link:
Below is the actual image I sent her. I thought it funny because we were unwittingly photobombed by the waiter’s buddy at the outdoor cafe. She said they couldn’t run it that way because we didn’t know his name. I explained that I was certain his name was Luigi Bomboni, but she was evidently unconvinced. Here’s the original image:
And if you are not completely bored by other people’s travel photos, you can see my images of the Vatican here:
https://reallyredding.com/2014/03/23/my-images-of-the-vatican/
And of Valencia here:
https://reallyredding.com/2014/03/17/a-european-city-with-a-redding-flavor/
Record Searchlight goes retro to celebrate anniversary
If you haven’t seen it, today’s local newspaper looks pleasingly retro. The Redding Record Searchlight is formatted to look like an older version of itself in celebration of their 75th year of publication.
Click to enlarge slightly. What they really needed to do to get authentic was put some kids on the street waving the issue around in morning traffic.
Our community needs a strong daily. Our civilization requires an informed citizenry. Happy 75th, Record Searchlight. Carry on.
Beer Boats Bullets and Booze Inc.
David Benda’s article today about local foreclosures declining in number was in stark contrast to the numerous Notices of Default in legal notices section of the paper. The back pages also featured a long list of property tax delinquencies.
Glancing at the list, one company name stood out.
Cool name, and mission statement, all in one. I’m sure it won’t take them long to catch up on their property tax. But if I were Tax Collector Lori Scott, I’d be hesitant to go after it in person. 😉
Feeding trolls as a business model
The Cognitive Bias Song
Unintentionally ironic RS headline
My printed paper arrived totally soaked today. Obviously the carrier didn’t bother reading the headline! Perhaps he thought he was delivering the online version.
At least we were able to enjoy the Alliteration of the second header, Pot Plantations Problematic on Private Property. Good one, fellas.
Apology for yesterday’s Record Searchlight expose’
Sorry readers. Turns out my “discovery” yesterday that RS has been running and re-running the comic strip of the long dead Charles Schulz for years was not any kind of scoop at all. Several of you informed me that it was a well known fact, and is done intentionally. Of course, that’s even sadder. Like the movie Groundhog Day, except it’s neither funny nor poignant. Maybe surrealist. Anyway the good news is that while researching the post, I discovered a couple of interesting comics by actual living artists. One actually plays on the comic in question:
Done more in the style of the underground comix I remember from my misspent youth, they imagine a post apocalypse Chuck Brown, exploring the classic male adolescent themes of revenge and heavy weaponry.
Folks, you can’t make this stuff up.
I also discovered Garfield minus Garfield:
Finally, a reason to read Garfield. And a new way to see the strip as an art project. Brilliant really. Click on either image to go the the artist website. Warning, you will never view a Garfield strip the same again. OK, maybe that’s a good thing.
Five years in the future, will we see the RS still running dead artist work, over and over, caught in a deathspiral timewarp? Look how easy it is to find better material. Meanwhile, vibrant living art and culture move on, sadly leaving the RS behind….
(Edit) Well I guess we know the answer to that question. 5 years and beyond…