One of the hottest topics in journalism is the future of the craft itself. Newspapers are laying off reporters at a rapid clip at the same time that technology has made “citizen journalists” out of any blogger willing to take up the handle. What is the future of a profession that appears to be in such decline? Like many careers, journalism is clearly going to change in ways that are hard to predict right now. The future may lie in a bit of the past and a bit of innovation, as shown by the excellent new aggregator of Minnesota blogs, Newsbobber.
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Category Archives: Writing
The musings of someone who picked it up on the streets.
Anime
What do you do when you’re stuck in a rut? Is doing the same, old same-old really good enough? The answer can be found in entertainment, at least if you’re willing to go along with the flow and accept something very different. In a world that seems like it’s full of very similar knock-off movies and teevee shows based on proven formulas, there is one place where creative people found themselves uninterested in just doing the same things over and over, and that’s in animation. There may be a lesson there for everyone who finds that what they’ve been doing for a long time may not be good enough anymore.
Awfully Artificial
Words mean things, or so the saying goes. Unfortunately, things change so words have to change. That’s where it gets interesting.
Craftsmanship
Woodworking is a strategic craft. It often starts with a plan, but it may start with a irresistible chunk of raw wood that seems destined to be an expression of beauty. In either case, the goals are formulated, the steps outlined and the tools sharpened. Perfecting the craft itself isn’t much different. The woodworking his or her self is the block of uncut wood, molded and shaped through years of practice, mentorship and gobs of quantity time with other devotees of the art. Together, it is the Way of the Craftsman – patient yet active, contemplative yet expressive.
It’s also the way that I approach writing. I believe many others do as well, but I very much wish that this view was universal.
Sarcasm
I try to make myself understood as plainly as possible. That’s not always easy since I like to write about topics that matter to me, many of which are a bit difficult. Add to that a bent to use colorful images that I hope will stay with the reader, and my work often gets a bit dense. I realize all of this, even when I do accidentally use a dollar word where a dime one would work. What I rarely do, however, is use sarcasm to make a point. Strangely, my lack of sarcasm and irony has probably gotten me into more hot water than anything else.