Alan_H's Blog

I love mom & pop shops.  Local business owners who fight the good fight and usually survive because they work hard and treat people like they're actually glad to see you.

We're losing one such place next week with the closing of BB's Compact Discs in Greensboro's Quaker Village.  

A few years after they opened, I bought my first CD player.  The next year, my goal was to find my favorite albums on CD.  Many a weekend afternoon was spent going through BB's used CD's and occasionally finding a rare treasure.    

Duncan Dunn (the pop, in this case) kept the old album store ambiance alive for a long time.  Anytime I came back to the Piedmont, I always tried to fit in a trip to BB's.  Thanks for adding to my life's soundtrack Duncan.  Good luck.  

Here is a chance for you to pass along your good thoughts and prayers for Matt Gfeller and his family.  Matt suffered a serious brain injury during Friday night's football game between Reynolds and Page high schools.

John Edwards now admits to ABC News he had an extramarital affair, but denies he fathered a now six-month old baby girl.

Details are everywhere on the Web, we want to hear your reaction to the news.

I think basic answers will fall into three categories:

• How could he?
• In your heart, you knew this would eventually come out
• Why is this such big deal?
  

Let the discussions begin!

This is a topic a former colleague of mine describes as 'low hanging fruit," because it's easy picking.

The National Alliance for Youth Sports, a Florida based group founded by Fred Engh, believes all-star games for children are "ridiculous and self-serving."

Dray Clark at FOX8 in Cleveland reported on a situation in Beachwood, Ohio, where after 20 years, the city has disbanded the annual July 4 Little League All-Star Game for children ages 9-12.

A league letter was sent home to parents that read, in part:  "It is not our desire to diminish our program.  The games belong to all of the children, not just a select few."

Is this political correctness gone horribly wrong or a valid point?  Watch the story then share your opinions.

"I have the right to remain silent."  As the joke from comedian Ron White continues, "I just didn't have the ability,"

Reviewing our blogs in recent days, there is a lot of negative feelings out there.  It borders on hate, a word I am careful to use.

My parents used to tell me 'if you can't say anything nice about someone, don't say anything.'  I thought that sentiment was assumed by everyone, but obviously the memo did not get around.

One blogger writes about how their children are greedy, waste money and never return borrowed things.  Another railed about 'illegal Mexicans' are bleeding America dry.  Then there's the "Barack Obama Swears on the Koran He'll Drown All Puppies and Won't Wear an American Flag Lapel Pin Because He Killed Dale Earnhardt" post ... okay, that's not in one blog, not yet anyway.

I'm still relatively new to blogging.  I had hoped after the novelty wore off, blogs could be a springboard to actual conversations.  There are some of you out there, and I appreciate your contributions.

Words mean things to me.  Without words, we'd just be a bunch of creatures with vowel movements.  When did the fourth grader who never got their way gain control?  If you agree with me, please share your thoughts.  I'm sure I'll hear from those who don't anyway.

How do you like your words, plain and simple or multi-syllabic and vocabulary stretching?

The subject came up today in our afternoon editorial meetings.  Before going over the 6:00 news rundown, someone asked if it was okay to use the word "exponentially."  The response from the room was almost unanimous.

Words are our tools.  When I produced newscasts, I preached the less is more mantra.  I prided myself on being able to describe many stories in three sentences.  Writing for the Web was not an easy transition for me, after spending all those years writing short, zippy, declarative, active voice sentences.

When blogging, like when I wrote for broadcast, I don't want to waste your time.  I also don't want you to think I'm dumbing down my thoughts.  I occasionally use quirky, descriptive words because I can.  One of the reasons I wanted to write for the Web is because there's a lot of content out there, but the quality is lacking.  I won't go all high fallutin' on you, but you deserve content that communicates and hopefully makes you think.

Oh, most believed "exponentially" should not be used on-air.  Guess who didn't agree.

Nothing is ever easy.  Those 'easy buttons' really don't work.  An entire infrastructure has been built on making things more complicated.

Take oil prices.  We should be paying around $60-70 dollars per barrel, based on the physical demand for fuel.  Prices are inflated because of the paper demand for oil.  This demand is fueled by people who guess how basic products (gold, sugar, coffee, rice, soybeans, etc.) will cost from one day to the next.  

The speculation game makes a lot of money for money market, retirement and other investment funds.  Oil has become the hot commodity because the world's dependency is so strong.  There is supply and demand, and then there is fear.  Anxiety over doing without creates a false sense of demand.     

The first Tickle-Me-Elmo dolls dropped in value two weeks after Christmas, because the demand ended December 25.

Fear of waking up one day without gasoline keeps oil prices artificially high.  

What Won't Happen:  Outlaw oil futures trading (in the U.S.) until dependable fuel alternatives are available.  

Why:  It's un-American to stop anyone from making money.  It is also hard to put the genie back in the bottle.  Remember the Golden Rule:  Those with the gold make the rules.  I guess it is that simple, which is why it'll never happen.

You probably don't know Earle H. Hagen by name, or would recognize him if you saw his picture. But everyone in the Piedmont knows him by his whistle.

Hagen wrote and performed "The Fishin' Hole," the official name for the song used as the theme for "The Andy Griffith Show."

"Andy" was one of more than 3,000 television shows for which he composed for television episodes, pilots and TV movies.

Thanks to Web sites like www.televisiontunes.com, you can hear a great number of Hagen's work, including:

The Dick VanDyke Show
http://preview.tinyurl.com/6h3z75

Mike Hammer
http://www.televisiontunes.com/Mike_Hammer_(The_New).
html

The Mod Squad
http://www.televisiontunes.com/Mod_Squad.html

Gomer Pyle, USMC
http://www.televisiontunes.com/Gomer_Pyle_USMC.htmla>

I Spy
http://www.televisiontunes.com/I_Spy.html

Eight is Enough
http://www.televisiontunes.com/Eight_Is_Enough.htmla>

and of course
The Andy Griffith Show
http://www.televisiontunes.com/Andy_Griffith_Show_(The
).html

Hagen and Lionel Newman co-wrote "Harlem Nocturne" in 1939. Most recognize the song as the Mike Hammer theme, but 'Nocturne' is an American jazz classic.

During his long musical career, Hagen performed with the top bands of the swing era, composed for movies and television and wrote one of the first textbooks on movie composing.

Despite the breadth of his career as a composer and musician, Earle Hagen will be forever known as the guy whose whistling tells us it's time to watch Andy.

No one is better at spending other people's money than the federal government. "World class," as Ross Perot would say.

I understand the importance of improving the country's economy. But giving people cash (or checks), hoping they'll go out and spend money sounds like giving drunks keys to ABC stores.

We got into this problem, in part, by spending money we didn't have on things we probably could've done without. Banks and mortgage companies handed out loans to people with no business owning, much less affording a home. So you and I will end up bailing out the bad loans, just like we bailed out the savings and loan industry in the early 80s (ancient history in today's short-term memory society).

The tax rebate idea sounds like the government's going to a pay day loan office so we can spend money now on iPods, HDTVs and dream vacations. Hasn't the government been telling us we need to stay away from pay day loans?  

When will we learn "do as I say, not as I do" is never sound fiscal policy? When I heard the stimulus package announced Thursday, the first words I thought of were "recession dividend." Maybe, as Strother Martin, the warden in Cool Hand Luke would say, I just "need to get my mind right."

I am not so sanctimonious that I will refuse my rebate. The money will go towards bills and hopefully some for savings.  We're interested in hearing what you plan to do with your tax rebate.

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We have a new feature on our politics page and I want to tell you about Candidate Matchmaker.

You begin by registering your opinion on 20 issues (individual rights, domestic, economic, defense and international issues). When you finish, the matchmaker ranks the candidates most in line with your beliefs.

I wish a few of the questions were worded differently. For example, on domestic issues, one of the questions is:

Drug use is immoral: enforce laws against it
Drug use is against the law. If you don't agree, work to change the laws. The fact it is immoral (according to this question) is a judgement.

That's one of the questions Jason and I talked about when we took the test. By the way, both of us were surprised with the matchmaker results. We've each taken the quiz three times. It is definitely a talker.

Have fun with the matchmaker and blog about your experiences.

You'll find Candidate Matchmaker by going to http://election.myfoxwghp.com. It's on the top of the page.  Or, you can click here.

Heaux, heaux, heaux!

Alan_H

There is great weeping and gnashing of teeth over Wake Forest University changing the name of Groves Stadium to BB&T Field.

Technically, the university says Groves Stadium will keep its name, but in all public references between now and 2017, the place where the Demon Deacons play home football games will be referred to as BB&T Field.  Which means 'Groves' becomes the word 'you' in a sentence.

I don't have a problem with the name change.  It is the way things are in college athletics these days.  I would like to know how much the bank paid the university for the naming rights.  Wake Forest is a private university, but I've always been a stickler for transparency.

Those opposed to the change, remember this:  If it were not for a group of influential citizens (and their money), Wake Forest University would not have moved to Winston-Salem in 1956.  It's the same principle, just not as in-your-face.

I still hold my breath when NASA Control says those words.  I know the space program has had far more successes than failures (Apollo 1, Challenger and Columbia).
 
The images of Challenger's explosion rank with President Kennedy's assassination and 9/11 as my generation's "where were you?" moments

Using the same words for each lift off may comfort those in Mission Control (the shuttle program is bigger than the astronauts).  Still, I will always associate those four words with what happened in a split second on January 28, 1986.  For those of us raised during the space race, an expanded vocabulary would be appreciated.

 

 

Deena Hayes, District 8 Guilford County School Board member made the following comment at Thursday's (May 24) board meeting.  At issue was the formally naming a new elementary school in the Reedy Fork Ranch area  

"I'm really torn about whether or not Ronald McNair's name on that school would be valued in that community and in this county."

The comment followed debate over whether to name the school in honor of Dr. Ron McNair, one of the seven astronauts killed when the space shuttle Challenger exploded shortly after liftoff on Jan. 28, 1986.

Deena Hayes' comments offend me on many levels.  McNair was an American hero.  He is no less (or no more) a hero because of his skin color.  The thought that people living in any Guilford County neighborhood could not appreciate McNair's name and his contributions is offensive, misguided and shows an utter lack of respect.

It is the job of citizens as well as journalists to hold elected officials accountable for their words and actions.  I rarely express opinions (publicly) about the stories we cover, because that is not by job as a journalist.  Blogging grants me that option and Hayes' comments have touched a nerve that compels me to respond.

It turns out cooler heads have prevailed.  

The attorneys for two of the six Guilford College football players confirmed to FOX8 News their clients have apologized to three Palestinian students for their part in an on-campus fight January 20.    

The attorney for the Palestinian students told us he is discussing what to do next with his clients' parents.

All that is left is for the criminal charges against  the football players to be dropped.

Thursday, a Guilford College judicial board announced it completed its investigation of the fight.  The school would not release the results of their findings, citing privacy laws.

As an aside, privacy laws did not stop Winston-Salem State University from announcing Wednesday it had suspended a student (Keith Carter) after he was arrested and charged with the murder of Winston-Salem Police Sgt. Howard Plouff.

Back to the Guilford College story, we will now wait to see if the criminal charges to be dropped against the football players.  If that happens, despite all best intentions, it will not be the end to the story. 

Attorneys for the three Palestinian students attacked during a January fight at Guilford College say their clients will drop charges if the football players involved will apologize and shake hands.  

The offer sounds almost too reasonable to be acceptable.  I am not, by any means  diminishing what anyone went through that night.  My parents always taught me to take responsibility for my actions.  I also understand once attorneys are involved, options are usually not this simple (not a slam on lawyers, just stating reality).