Herald.com | 12/12/2004 | Can't we all just get along?

The nation suffered a wound during the recent presidential election as a result of the rift between the red states -- defined as 'states where `foreign cuisine' pretty much means Pizza Hut'' -- and the blue states, defined as ``states that believe they are smarter than the red states, despite the fact that it takes the average blue-state resident 15 minutes to order a single cup of coffee.

After you read this column, be sure and check out Dave Barry's Gift Guide

Check it out. The picture's not moving but it sure looks like it is.

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If you were wondering whether you could buy 50 AA batteries for $10, the answer is yes.

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Cole responded to my call for testimonials about the high school paper. This is very well said. I should point out that Cole, a junior in college, already has a blossoming career in journalism. He writes for his university paper, the Maryville paper, and he's even worked with the Kansas City Star some.

I can still remember when I first walked into the AHS journalism room for the first time.

It must have been around August 30, 1998 and there I was a freshman with no clue where I was going or who I was. First, a little background on the position I was in at the moment. I had just decided that playing for the dear old Blackhawks football team wasn't for me. In addition to that I can officially say I felt lost and it was then that I swung by my old reading teachers room to try and relive my junior high days.

It was then that Mr. Sears told me I should sign up for journalism. I had nothing to lose, so I joined in. What initially was a one year deal took flight from there. I went from being whipping boy to some power-hungry seniors to editor-in-chief and learned an awful lot in the process.

Was the Drumbeats responsible for teaching me all of my journalism skills that I know so far? Of course not. What did happen there was that my love for journalism was cultivated. I realized in JH03 that working for a newspaper was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. Now to see the paper being taken away in such a manner like this
really hits home. Not only does it anger me but it makes me sad. I cannot help but wonder what would have happened had this decision been made in 1997 and not 2004.

If I would have never had this opportunity, I don't know where I would be. I don't want to complain about the town of Adrian, but lets be honest. The town has zero opportunity for kids the way it is. Now to see the esteemed staff take it away puzzles me. Now I could understand if the Board of Education had voted to cut it because of some reason that makes good sense I would have had no problem. Instead, when I contacted a board member, they did not even know what was going on. If things aren't resolved in a proper manner, I think its time to rally behind these kids. Heavens knows we would if it were the football team, there shouldn't be any difference anyway. By the way, the Drumbeats has produced more scholarship winners in the last 7 years than the football team has.Nevertheless, if things progress, lets let the board hear our concerns.

December 16, 2004.

Cole

More on the school newspaper shutdown: Click here to read the thoughts of one of the many AHS alumni who benefited from their experience on the paper. If any others want to send me an email, I'll be glad to post it. Mike? Cole?

We pushed our luck pretty hard when I was a writer for my high school paper, The Drumbeats, but I heard that today the paper was actually shut down. An administrator didn't like some of the recent content and decided to put an end to it. It was announced this morning and by noon almost all of the students had signed a petition protesting the decision. I hope this is reversed and reversed quickly. How can you send kids to a civics class, teach them about freedom and the first ammendment, and then send them to newspaper class and tell them that they can't publish a paper because they might offend some people? What are we trying to teach our kids here? I'd like to offer my services to the students. If you want to set up an underground school paper on the web (like this) then I can help. If you're interested, email me: personman2 at gmail dot com.

Update: Matt, AHS journalism teacher and Brendoman.com blogger, has his reaction to his paper being shut down here

Also, I was going to post this in the comments, but I'll put it here because I can:

I think an underground paper is a good idea even if the school paper starts up again. It gives the kids a place to run stories that would be censored. I think it would also teach the kids a valuable lesson, one that needs to be learned by everyone in journalism (so listen up, Cole). Media can be more fair and honest when it's not controlled or supported by those in power. That goes for school papers under the thumb of a school district, and major papers and tv networks owned by huge corporations. Journalist are supposed to be on the front lines of protecting our freedom, so they must be free to tell the truth, even if (no, especially if) the truth reflects poorly on those in power. [end of rant]

This article (and this one) are making the very sad prediction that TiVo's days are numbered. This is the device that set the standard for DVRs. I don't understand why they can't make any money. Their product/service is a beautiful thing. I hope the company lasts at least until I switch from DirectTV or my TiVo dies. I know my next DVR will integrate better with my computer network. I want to be able to record a Simpsons episode and then send it to Brendan in China. There's no reason for that to be illegal or impractical.

More from my Gmail inbox:

Respected Sir,

I am student and require a gmail account because i
love to see the gmail. Please send me the invitation
email. God knows when we Google will open up this
service to users.

Hope you understand my feeling.

Best Wishes,
Muhammad Adeel

Sadly, I just gave away my last Gmail invite. If you have an extra one, email Mr. Adeel. Thanks.

This was in my inbox this week in response to all the email I sent to G4TechTV:

info@g4media.com

Dear Concerned Viewer,

Thank you for getting in touch with us and sharing your concerns regarding "The Screen Savers." We appreciate your thoughts and value your feedback.

"The Screen Savers" is an important part of G4techTV and will remain our featured daily live show. Please keep in mind that the evolution of programming is a very normal part of the television business. We will continue to work to make "The Screen Savers" the best show possible for all our viewers, and we hope you'll be pleased with the direction the show takes.

"The Screen Savers" will be back live on Monday, November 29. We hope you will remain a loyal viewer. Thanks again for your input.

Sincerely,
G4TechTV Viewer Relations