Newscoma

What Russ said:

Although his words may have been chosen inelegantly, he was nevertheless absolutely correct. People whose lives have been upended by the loss of good-paying jobs crave some kind of anchoring principle to make it all make sense; they seek any enduring truth or absolute that can give them focus and clarity. History is filled with examples of populations turning to religious fundamentalism and/or nativist chauvinism in times of turmoil. The temptation to rationalize a complex situation (such as the destruction of America’s manufacturing industry) with simple answers is an ordinary human trait, and it’s no great mystery. It is also nowhere close to “elitist” to acknowledge the fact that people whose jobs have been shuffled off to Mexico or China will be left behind wondering why, and they’ll be looking for something solid in their lives to give meaning and context to such an upheaval. Fundamentalist religion, nativism, xenophobia, and anything else that promises to simplify one’s understanding of the problem is a strong attractor for those facing uncertainty.

And there’s more.

This is powerful.

From Cheryl Saban:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JHVHslPtZfw]

The McCain Girls, doing everything they can to help put John McCain into office.

So NSFW.

Seriously. You’ve been warned.

H/T Chez Bez

Jackson Miller wrote this morning about things that got me wondering.

I used to know what my pipe dream was. Until I had kids I held on to the hope that one day I would get the balls to just pack it all up and sail around the world solo on an old 1970’s fiberglass sailboat (they didn’t know how string fiberglass was in the 70s and thus made some boats that are as sturdy as a tank). Once I had kids that dream was no longer a reality.

I love my wife and kids, though I do wonder what life would have been like if I did it. It was within reach if I really wanted it. I don’t have regret per se, but it is a what-if.

I read the post, went and watched some of The Office that I had Tivo’d and then went back to the post again.

I’m in a what-if kinda mood today.

I’m not as open about my feelings on this blog as I used to be. Things have changed a degree and I sometimes get overwhelmed by the fact that a few people actually read it which has come back to haunt me a bit in my non-cyber world. I also have some big fears about trust issues but I find that most people do. The past five years have been an odd mish-mash of hard truths and stepping up the ladder of learning difficult life lessons.

We all go through this. I am not unique.

So what-if is on my mind. What-if I make changes and they don’t work. What-if I take a hard line and it blows up. What-if I do what I want to do and it comes back to haunt me.

Because, like Jackson, I do think about making huge changes. I have taken actions on some of them and then let fear blind me into running back to the starting line. I think of Portland, Oregon, in which I spent several of the happiest days of my life. I think about could I get a job there and live comfortably. I think of East Tennessee and Memphis, where I know I could be more than satisfied if I were to move there. Far away, but not too far. I think of the years I wanted to work in politics, but that now that I’m probably too old and blunt for that sort of life. I think of the east coast, where the idea of being moments from the beach would be such a wonderful thing. I think of the time I was in Amsterdam and how my mind was opened to new and exciting things, or when I was in school in Montreal, Que.

I also think about last night, when I was standing by myself in the wind at the edge of a wet field, devastated by recent rains and lying sadly without the crops that should have been planted three weeks ago, and how my hair flew about my face and how I felt so at peace with everything.

I am not depressed, my friends. I’m middle-aged (although Jackson is far from that) and thinking when it would be best to make a move. A move that would be an adventure. I do not want to wake up at 60-years-old thinking the same things I’m thinking today.

I do not have children, although I do have an overabundance of love in my life, so I realize the only thing stopping me is me.

Part of that ladder we climb I mentioned above. Self-realization is a bitch.

Good Lord! This cat is as big as all three of my dogs put together.

Mabel is afeared.

Image Credit

Image credit: Here

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wMfDX8Q1lGg]

Just see it for yourself.

H/T Trendhunter

On of our homeboys from Hoots is playing The Rutledge in Nashville tonight. His band, Lovers and Liars, is great in all it’s indie glory and I’m quite smitten with them. Jason Stout is in the band and I think you are going to like their music, which you can hear on Facebook and MySpace.

I recommend the song “Hole” because I think it’s just plum groovy. You can hear it over at the MySpace link.

His dad, I know, I know, I hang with his dad, is a longtime friend and an awesome fellow if you ask me.

Way to go Jason. You guys are great.

I haven’t been blogging much this week as I’ve been as stressed as an individual could be. There is so much I want to catch up on and I’ll get to that, but first of all I want to discuss the power of stress.

First of all is saying it out loud, “I Worry Too Much.” My name is Newscoma and I am stressed. Admitting it is the hardest part I hear.

There, I said it.

The last few years have seen my stress levels go through the roof. I’ve been working on about a few different things simultaneously to make sure my future is not spent in a barn drinking jungle cat crap coffee, which apparently you need a lot of money to do.

Stress is a weird thing. I think you have to look at the causes of stress and dissect what you have control over, and what you don’t.

Let’s break it down:

1. I think the nature of the economy and it’s impact on all of us individually can create stress. Jobs are lost, work performance is being watched more heavily and with downsizing, there is the stress of whether or not having a job, will totally mess with your good life.
2. Back in the fall, I was sent to get a “stress” test that my health insurance denied. The 10 minutes I spent with the cardiologist cost me $900 dollars, which health insurance also didn’t take care of. Needless to say, this has gone untreated. I could have gone to any blogger I know or the guy at the convenience store I see every other day. They could all tell you that I was, indeed, stressed. I’ve decided to use Pagan means in the future where people can just give me a glass of catnip tea and tell me to listen to some Beethoven to destressify. This would, in this day and age of modern medicine, be just as effective as being stressed over medical bills. I am considering cancelling my health insurance and just getting a major medical/cancer policy and leaving it at that.
3. Thinking of making major changes due to outside influences is probably the route I’m headed. It’s the only thing I can think of to do.
4. I have developed an invisible twitch in my eye. Homer and Squirrel Queen says you can’t see it but it’s happening non-stop. I said I had stink-eye in the past. Apparently it’s true.
5. Self-medicating one’s stress is not a healthy thing to do.
6. Actually, blogging doesn’t stress me out. I like blogging. Panicky news people stress me out, but blogging doesn’t. I find it invigorating.
7. Over at Lifehacker, I read this sentence. “Know when to quit: Don’t stand for employers, friends, or lovers who treat you badly. Decide how much of yourself you’re willing to put into a relationship, job, or activity; when you cross that line, walk away and don’t look back.” I’m putting a lot of thought into that right now.
8. I’ve taken on two additional jobs recently. I’m wondering if freelance work is the way to go. I’ve freelanced in the past. I liked it. It didn’t stress me out too much. I’ve always worked on deadlines. I actually am okay with them.
9. I get this.
10. Make sure that “people” who deliberately try to stress me out and are “drama queens” are now excised from my life. Not needed, not wanted and take it somewhere else. Mabel has never bitten anyone but I can train her to do it.

So, bear with me, kind readers. I’m making some changes. Hopefully it will be a blessing. I’m not going to kill myself by being so stressed. And I’m looking at ways to deal with it.

If you have any suggestions on how to destressify, leave them in the comments or shoot me an email at newscoma at gmail dot com.

In the future newspapers might actually be able to pay readers for subscribing. Maybe filling out the bare essentials of a survey would garner someone a free print and Web subscription, but filling out extra questions, or visiting a certain number of advertisers’ Web sites would give them a cash rebate? People are willing to overspend on their credit cards to get ‘cash back’ or other rewards. Why wouldn’t they jump at the chance to read and make money doing so?

The possibilities for profit, performing a valuable service and growing readership are just around the corner. It will take visionary leadership to get there, but history indicates that with great risk comes great reward.

The end?

Times are tough indeed. An ailing economy does not make life any easier for the industry. All that remains to be said is that perhaps some of these ideas will work. Maybe none of them will. But this is a dialog that the industry needs to have amongst itself and with the public often.

Every day that real innovation is passed over to maintain the status quo, every day that the industry fails to innovate, is one day closer to the temporary or permanent failure of one of the cornerstones of a healthy democracy: a free and balanced press.

From Wired Journalists. Believe me, everyone is talking about print media these days. Well, those of us in the news are at least.