Dark Jedi spared from jail? Do or do not, there is no sparing!

Thank the Gods that I remembered my blog password...
It's been far too long, and the rumors of my death have been greatly exaggerated.
So to get things "blasting off" (ed: so to speak), we shall start off with the essential worldly happenings so far in 2008: the recently released Iron Man film and an AP story about dark Jedi.
*See other posting for the film review.

To start, what truly merits a news story? Is it the headline? Is it the content and density of a story, deserving to be published in a paper (or papers)? Or is it the simple execution of selling more papers?
I want to look closely at the AP story of the drunk Welsh guy who attacked the first Welsh Jedi church dressed in makeshift dark jedi garb.
An interesting enough story, but how is it relevent in the media world?
More importantly, does it warrant the Associated Press to report on the event with a 400+ word story?
The story, essentially boils down to a drunk guy brutalizing (without inflicting any serious injuries) a bunch of harmless nerds for their religious beliefs.
This story does not warrant local paper coverage.
So, if the story deserves some coverage, where does it belong?
The answer, lies in word-of-mouth, sheer oddness and the ability to attract other nerds to something so outlandish, the subject matter deserves to be retitled "Someone's Believe It or Not."
This is the fourth time I've heard about this story in less than a week.
For one, I saw it running along a real-time news blog on a comic book Web site (If you must ask, it was in research for my movie review), I saw it on yahoo news the same day, MSN news and just recently, giving it a six-day run, in my email in an encouraging e-mail to encourage more blogging.
So does this make it a successful news story, in essence, for being circulated so widely that there is no escaping the long-reaching grip of a drunken Welshman?
Or is it simply me noticing the story so many times on a variety of online news sources?

Film in review: Iron Man

There's a part in the Iron Man movie where after being knocked out of the sky by a tank, we see the metal faceplate up close. With scratch marks and paint melted off, the image reminds the viewer that Iron Man is nothing more than a man in a metal suit.
He clearly hasn't done this before. He barely knows what he's doing, and everything happening to him is new and unexperienced.

The 2008, now grossing over $276 million (according to boxofficemojo.com) film tells an updated classic yarn of young industrialist billionaire playboy Tony Stark and his march towards redeeming his military arms company and family's legacy by building a high tech suit to fight for good and the American way.

This film also marks the first self-financed big box office venture by comic book company Marvel Comics.

At first glance, the film seems to be in the same vein as rival comic company DC Comics' 2005 Batman Begins in terms of grounded grittiness.

However, after contemplation, there are differences that keep both films, updated origin stories with room for upcoming sequels, and characters, non-super-powered industrial businessmen, from simply being cut and paste skeletons of existing movies or even the comic books that they were based upon.

However, someone unfamiliar with the comic book source material (not me) can still appreciate this film.

One of the aspects Director Jon Favreau crafts into the mythos behind the Iron Man character is, in essence, Stark as a high tech sci-fi James Bond.

However, Stark is much more fleshed out then any Double-O agent adaptation (maybe aside from 2005's Casino Royale).

Robert Downey Jr. excels at playing a comic book character that oddly enough seems to be a living embodiment of Downey himself. Reports from production, Favreau allowed his star talent to improvise their lines to allowing more fluid delivery.

Gwyneth Paltrow feels like a nice fit for Stark's loyal assistant and ambiguous love interest Pepper Potts, who can do anything from inserting a new piece of tech into Stark's chest to dispensing with his one-night stands the morning after.

Despite some debate over various Internet fan blogs, Jeff "The Dude" Bridges pulls off convincing and realistic villainous businessmen Obadiah Stane, one of Iron Man's most early foes in the comics. While maintaining an icy exterior, Stane puts an arm around Stark following his return from the Middle East while secretly filing an injunction to dismiss him from his own company.

Some might argue that Bridges is not menacing enough, the change from sly businessman to the Iron Monger suit at the end of the film is too sudden.

Rounding off the main cast, Terrence Howard as Stark Industries Air Force liason Col. James Rhodes provides one of the goose bump-inflicting comics nerd moments in the movie, foreshadowing the introduction of War Machine in sequels (the first, of which has already been announced by Marvel for an April 30, 2010 release date).

Other aspects that keep the average Joe or Jane Popcorn in his or her seat for the two-hour running time is the neat gadgetry, interesting non-powered characters and action scenes.

While each action sequence only clocks in at a relatively short 10-15 minutes, the longest segment of the movie is the beginning, where we see Stark captured by Afghani terrorists who demand he build them one of his own missiles.

Instead, he builds a walking tank-like early version of the Iron Man and essentially blows up the terrorist camp in his escape.

With the lowest tech scenes in the movie, we are once again reminded, that, through the duration of his captivity, Stark remains undeterred in his resistance of evil, and in that sense Tony Stark is the Iron Man even without the red and gold suit.

First day of Spring

Well, it feels like the weather allowed Spring to peak out from the clouds a little earlier this year, but today marks the official first day of Spring 2008, March 20.
What better way to celebrate the occasion by getting free Rita's Italian water ice in Boyertown or visit your favorite park.
Fortunately, today was nothing like yesterday.
This reporter was outside in the chilly rain weather trying to get inside the filled Hotel Bethlehem to see former President Clinton speak to the masses about his wife Hillary's bid to win the democratic nomination for presidency.
When I finally got in, however, Bill was late by an hour!
Not that bad when you've got crowds of people around you, but we members of the media were roped off by bicycle barricades and not allowed to leave the area until Clinton had left the floor!
and fellow journalists can get boring!
No, I'm just kidding of course.
Look for the story on my trip to the Hotel Bethlehem for the Saucon News paper on the berksmontnews.com Web site under breaking news, or in the upcoming issue of the paper.

Everybody works for the weekends

One of the things I've seen through a lot of writers is the ability to constantly work.
Some might argue we have to, a seven-day work week might be a necessity.
I know I prefer working 6 hours for seven days instead of working 9 hours for five days.
Sometimes, generating stories and following leads takes a lot of time.
Even worse, sometimes we're sitting waiting for a crucial phone call.
That's why we keep busy with constantly writing, editing and compiling information.
Another way to work that I prefer, working at night compared to during the morning.
I like to get as much notes during the day or afternoon as possible, then write everything out at night where I can concentrate in silence or with the tv on.
I prefer to write two stories a day from Wednesday to Saturday, but that's if I can get all info during the daylight hours.
Sundays and Saturdays usually are the days I edit my stories for style and flow.
Line editing is done Mondays and Tuesdays.
By Tuesday at 5 p.m., the paper should be completely finished with design and the process starts all over again.
Tuesday nights, I am almost completely exhausted, so I don't usually write stories then, however I have.

'What a day for a peace rally!'

Sunday, I accompanied the Oley peace walkers briefly to gather insight for their story.
While en route on the road of peace, I tried to talk with as many as the intrepid walkers as possible.
Fortunately, it was a bright and sunny day to go out for a stroll.
Especially with Mr. Welter, the convictions were very inspiring.
Welter said
One interesting aspect behind the whole ordeal was the culling of different religions along the walk.
I had thought the walkers were all part of the same congregation, Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Church.
Even better, Courtney McEachern (Westside Weekly editor and photographer for the walk) and I were treated to a complimentary lunch at M & M's Sandwich Shop.
Also encouraging, the amount of drivers that gave a friendly honk while I walked next to Father Bob Daly and co-founder of the walk, Carla Mannix.
Bottom line is, it's something nice to go out and do, to follow your beliefs...

The first day of Feb.!

...And with that, just another two months until this horrible weather stops invading my clear blue skies.

That being said, it is important to mention and understand that when schools, businesses and other communities close down for bad weather, my job becomes italicized in making sure I do not miss any information that could possibly happen on hazardous roads or biting temperatures.
Will there be traffic accidents? Yes.
Is there a chance of burglaries due to the cold weather? Maybe.
Do I have to make sure I survive my drive-time commute so I can hear the police scanner, make contacts for canceled appointments and contact the National Weather Service? Hopefully!

The enlightening info out of this is the forecaster I talked to on the phone from State College said this kind of weather is normally perfect, perfectly normal. "With a mix of every kind of precipitation coming down today, this is classic weather," Victor Cruz said.
What he means, snow, ice, freezing rain, sleet and rain are a good mixture to have on a January day.

Does that make me feel better about my drive-time commute? Not especially...looking out the window, it looks awfully dark and cold to be driving around back to Allentown

Guiding you through breaking a news story

At any point in the day, anything can happen.
If you're a reporter, this could mean either two things. for one, the breaking news could mean a chance to get the story first and really make a name for yourself, or two, it could mean you will be dropping everything you are working on of lesser importance to make sure you get accurate and quality coverage of whatever it is that might be happening.
Here in the office we have a police scanner.
Monday late morning, the unofficial word through the scanner was ammunition fire in Oley Township.
A day before deadline for a weekly paper, proofreading, prelim production and staying on top of readying a paper goes out the window as I try to determine where the shooting is in case I can speak with the police.
There is no exact way to describe what you feel when you drive to the location of a potential tragedy.
Part of you wants everything to be a misunderstanding: neighborhood children setting off fireworks?
Part of you would prefer something news-related without any serious injuries.
Fortunately, the latter happens and I have a well-informed conversation with the Oley Township police.
Voila: I have a news story done an hour after the initial report breaks.
...
Then, I return to the office, where everything else I was worrying about is waiting on my desk in a neat pile.
I am left with a satisfactory feeling that everything went relatively well, and that, true believers, is what makes the job rewarding.