Outsourcing the news

Another depressing item marking the decline of newspapers:

The Miami Herald is outsourcing some of its ad production work to India. Starting in January, copyediting and design in a weekly section of Broward County community news and other special ad sections will be outsourced to Mindworks, based in New Delhi. The project is still in the testing phase, so it wasn’t clear if or how employment in South Florida will be affected. Earlier this month, the Sacramento (Calif.) Bee, also owned by McClatchy, announced it would outsource some of its ad production work to India. In May, news Web site pasadenanow.com was widely criticized after editors hired two reporters in India to cover the Los Angeles suburb (WSJ, p.B3; AP).

One rotten apple spoils the bunch: Day 5 (Rome)

I took two bites of this apple and tossed it. There was nothing at all good about it. It was mealy and it was bland. Stay away from it at all costs. It was so bad I didn't even bother taking any notes on it. It's red. And it's bad. That's all you need to know.

My experience with this apple was especially disappointing because I was starving and had brought it with me to eat on my trip home for the holidays. Blah. I'd rather starve. Luckily Continental provided me with a significant snack on the trip. Love live Continental.

Anyway, according to the New York State apple page (not it's official name), it is perfect for frying. I do not eat apples in any form other than raw. I cannot stand almost all cooked fruit, but most especially cooked apples. Anyway, the site also claims it is mildly tart, but I didn't taste tart. It must have been super, extra MILDLY tart.

Anyway, it's an old apple, which originated in Ohio in 1816 but is widely grown in New York State. I think it's time we retire this apple. But I guess that's just me.

¡Oye!

How could I have forgotten to mention that I made a 99 on my Spanish final! A 99!

I actually missed three questions — all verb tenses and two were exactly the same. The past tense conjugation of dar (to give). I actually knew the conjugation, but for some reason kept putting down the first person singular conjugation (I) instead of the third person (he/she/you formal), even though I knew it needed the third and I knew what the third was. I just didn't read back over closely enough. ALWAYS my problem. The third missed answer was because I used the preterit tense where the imperfect past was needed.

Anyway, I wound up with a 99 because she liked my essay so much that I got bonus points for it. Hurray! She said I wrote an amazing essay, actually. I went by her office to drop off a Christmas card and she had already graded all our tests and asked if I wanted to see mine.

So I have an A+ in the class and now, allegedly, I'm an advanced student. I still don't feel very advanced. We'll see how I do in Spain this summer. [Note the assumption here that I'll be doing something cool this summer, as opposed to slumming around Baton Rouge, Chicago or Memphis, as per my usual vacation plans.]

iApple: Day 4 (Cameo)

The Cameo has a red and yellow spotty skin with a yellow meat. It has a sweet, light taste and is crunchy. It's from Washington state and is a fairly new apple, created in the late 80s. They are available from September to January. It's a tasty apple, but at $1.04 an apple, too pricey to add to my apple diet.

The City

I went into the City today. I had the day off, because I have these comp days I wasn't expecting to have and I have to take them by the end of the year and I ain't got a lot of year left. So I went to do some specialty Christmas shopping. That was a very disappointing endeavor. I bought you people some gifts, but don't expect to be wowed by them...actually, Deadman, your gift wasn't bought. As I mentioned in my text message to you, I went to a book signing and the author canceled due to illness. No gift for you. I hope you like cheesecake.

Anyway, I digress. On Fridays from 4-10 p.m. The Museum of Modern Art is free. This is thanks to Target, which sponsors Target Free Fridays. (Did I need more reason to love Target? I love you Target.) I enjoyed MOMA. I've never been before and it's not nearly as bizarre as P.S.1, which I like...sometimes...but at lot of it I find a little pretentious. However, I now have a free entry to P.S.1 to use in the next 60 days because it's included in the price of MOMA entrance, even when that entrance is free. However, I don't know that I'll be making my way out to Queens any time soon.

Anyway, it's really not that big of a museum. There was a special Seraut exhibit of his charcoal sketches, which were really cool. Plus I got to "Birth of A Nation" by Joan Miro, which I wrote the paper on in my Spanish Class. I saw more Picasso. (Yawn) I am very much OVER Picasso, since my jaunt through the exhaustingly extensive Picasso museum in Spain. There were water lilies and "Starry Night" and some Jackson Pollocks and Andy Warhols, including the Campbell Soup Cans.

I went and saw the tree too. It's very nice this year. I was impressed by it's giantness this time around. I was not the only person who thought so. There was a lot of chatter on the non-tourist side of the tree (the side that isn't viewed from across the skating rink) about the tree and how pretty and full it was. "Not THAT's a tree," someone next to me said.

"It came from Connecticut," said someone else in a tone that clearly denoted that only New Englanders knew how to pick the Rock Center tree, and that it should never EVER again be left to Northwest.

Oh, and I almost forgot the best part of my day. I saw Stanley Tucci on Lexington Avenue. Yeah! Finally, a celebrity sighting. I wanted to run up to him and declare my undying love, but there were some stern looking me with clipboards following him and they seem to be discouraging me from doing so. I'm not sure they were even with him, but they were discouraging nonetheless. Plus, I would have my New York driver's license revoked for such behavior. Alas, next time, Stanley, next time.

Update: Stalker & Snow

So yesterday we got this massive snowstorm. (Thanks Midwest.) I woke up early — an hour before the snow was supposed to arrie — to try and go to the dry cleaners but it was snowing already. So I went to do laundry, and it was like an office Christmas party in there. There was a line of people waiting to use the machines. This one woman, Jane (her real name, not made up to protect her identity), says "Everyones staying home. Everything's closed. Even the mall."

"Not the newspaper," I said. "I gotta go to work."

Then Jane says, "I have someone who is really interested in you. A GUY. Do you know who it is?"

I was confused at first, but then she started to describe him and I knew immediately it was my second stalker, the one that works here.

"He wants to ask you out," Jane said.

"He already has," I said.

"I know," she said. "But he asked me to put in a good word for him." Then she started extolling his virtues. Then she added, "You should think about it."

I did not do laundry.

I had to go to work. So I walked to the train, took the 17 minute ride north, walked from the station to the newspaper. Work was fine. About 8 inches fell near work...less here where I live. When I got home I noticed something odd: my car was not covered in snow. In fact, someone had dug my car out. At first I thought, "Maybe someone dug my car out thinking it was there." But there are no cars that look like mine and my car had been brushed cleaned. So no one mistook my car. I realized with some dread that it was Stalker 2. It was double dread, actually. That he had actually de-snowed my car, but also that he knew which was my car.

This morning as we were all out moving our cars so they could plow the lot, he drove up on his golf cart and said, "I'll give you one guess who dug your car out."

"Oh that was you? Thanks. I thought someone cleaned my car by mistake." It was not a very good response. Later I realized I should have said that I thought it was my boyfriend who did it as a surprise. I've got to learn to think on my feet faster.

An Apple a Day: Day 3 (Granny Smith)

I don't think you really need my impressions of a Granny Smith apple, but I'm trying all of them. So this list wouldn't be complete without the ole' GS app. This apple has a green skin and a green meat. It is crunchy and tart, which I like. This apple, however, had a particularly thick skin. I don't think that's normal, but it really put me off this particular apple because it was like chewing throw plastic to get to the apple. If I hadn't been at work, I would have peeled it.

This is a very old apple, created in something like 1850 by Maria Ann Smith. She and her husband orchardists in Australia. The apple now grows wild in New Zealand.

That's all I have on Granny Smith. I'll try to pick a more exciting apple for tomorrow.

Apple of My Eye: Day 2 (Gala)

So I actually ate this apple yesterday and I'm a day behind, but we'll just pretend this is Day 2 and go on with the illusion from here.

Today's apple is a Gala apple. My impression is that this is a good apple. It has a light red skin and a yellow meat. It is very crunchy. (Good!) The first bite seemed very sour and made all those glands in the back of your mouth that water, water and go all crazy. But after the first bite the tartness goes away and is very tasty. It's a very consistent apple. It would make a good addition to a fruit salad too.

According to my New York apple page, this is an apple made for kids. I'm not sure what that says about me. Also, not a NY apple at all, but one developed in New Zealand. Though the site also says it has a mild, sweet flavor and clearly that doesn't go with my first bite impression, but does fit with the rest of my apple experience.

The Big Apple: Day 1 (Empire)

Before I moved to New York, I knew of only three kinds of apples: red, green and yellow.

To be honest, I knew the red ones were called Red Delicious and the green ones were Granny Smith. My parents also had an apple tree that grew little apples that they claim are called "Anna Apples". I have no idea if this is true. Also, I still have no idea what the yellow ones were and mostly they turned up in holiday fruit baskets.

Since moving here, however, I have learned there are hundreds of varieties of apples. I've also learned that apple picking season is in the fall, not the spring/summer like most fruits I know. In the fall, not only are there apples galore, but apple doughnuts and apple cider hit the circuit big time.

My favorite of apple is now The Pink Lady. It is on the shelves for only a very short period of time...maybe two months, starting in September. It is a wonderfully sweet, crunchy apple. Really it's all I could ever want in an apple.

Alas, since it's season is so short, I've decided to sample my through every apple I can fine in New York and report to you my impressions of these apples. I bought six different kinds at the store the other night. One of each. The woman behind the counter looked at me like I was crazy and said, "Are you making a pie?"

"No," I said, "I just like apples. I like different kinds of apples." This sounded incredibly dumb coming out of my mouth.

Anyway, moving along to the point of all this exposition. Today's apple: The Empire. (Pictured above.)

I give this apple a thumbs down. It's a beautiful looking apple with a sort of marbled red, pink and yellow skin and a white meat. But it is an exercise in opposites. It is crunchy to the bite, but soft and mealy to the chew. (I HATE mealy apples!) It is both sweet and sour to the taste. I think this apple would be better served in a salad or a sandwich, not eaten alone.

After writing my impression of this apple, I went to do some research. The apple, apparently was created by the New York State Agricultural Experiment Station in Geneva (Ontario County, not Switzerland) in 1966. And my impression seems to be consistent with its description. You can read more about it here.

A long overdue Spanish update

Somehow six days have gone by since that last entry and I have nothing to show for it. I have spent all my free time this week tutoring Spanish students as finals start on Monday.

My 101 students had oral exams the week I was in Chicago and my 102 students had them this week. I don't know how they all did, yet. Most of them I see again on Monday. Actually all but two of them I see on Monday. One I see on Tuesday and the student who was taking 101 online I'm done with. (In case I haven't stated my opinion on this before, taking a foreign language online as anything other than a refresher course is a VERY VERY BAD idea.VERY BAD.)

I am happy to report, however, that my very worst student - she who falls asleep during class and can't remember basic verbs like escuchar (to listen) or vocabulary like pero (but) - somehow, who knows how, made an 86 on her oral exam. She credits my tutoring. I think it must have been dumb luck.

As for me, this semester has mostly been a review with focus on culture and in-class discussions, so having the same teacher from last semester hasn't turned out half bad. After class on Thursday she told me I was getting really good at Spanish. I think I sound ridiculous when I speak, misconjugating verbs and stumbling over pronunciation. But I think she likes that I try and I'm always willing to answer when everyone else just sits there quietly (even though most of them are much better speakers than I am). I also think that maybe they don't understand what she's asking. Sometimes I don't either, but then I ask her to repeat it or I just through out a "No entiendo su pregunta" and she'll either rephrase it so I understand it or just ask me in English.

Anyway, I'm off to study my baseball vocabulary. Wish me luck!

A brief non-musical interlude

If I weren't so tired from my 9 p.m. delayed to 10 p.m. flight from O'Hare to Newark that got me home over icy roads and foggy, mere feet in front of me visibility at 4 a.m. this morning, I'd have a lot to talk about. Chicago. Snow. Planes. How snow and planes don't mix. LSU Football (now appearing in a national championship near you). How hard it is to explain the subjunctive mood when exhausted.

But all of that will have to wait because I'm in no condition to type and stay awake. I will report that I am healthy and have no cavities according to the recent doctor and dentist appointments I've had. Next stop, eyes. Full report tomorrow.

Hopefully all of this is spelled correctly. And makes senses. And is in English. Stay tuned.

Tree lightings, ice skating — the holiday tourism season must be on its way

The big tree lighting in Rockefeller Plaza is set for Wednesday night. I thought, for some reason, they did it right after Thanksgiving; that weekend. But I guess it's a week later. Obviously, as I will be in Chicago, I won't have a report from the tree lighting ceremony. (I know you will all be heartbroken.) But I will try to make it down there before Christmas and give you a report on how it compares to previous years and perhaps I'll have some crappy camera phone pictures to share.

In the meantime, I give you ice skating at the plaza:



What's amazing about the skaters is that while some are you obvious tourist, many of them are regulars and some of those people are even expert level. The night we went and watched these skater, my friend and I had created a whole backstory for these expert skaters. One of them was really cracking us up because he wasn't skating so much as dancing...and it was bad 80s-style-would-have-made-Michael-Jackson-proud dancing. If you ever have free time to kill in NYC in the winter, you should spend a little time watching the skaters. It will crack you up.

Blog Blahs

I haven't forgotten you, Dear Blog. I've just been too depressed to write. Plus I haven't had any adventures lately, nor travels of any kind....just travails and of the boring, lonely variety. However, if you like, I'll blog all about my exciting Thanksgiving to come. It will involve Rice-A-Roni and the inability to remove myself from the futon where I will be watching the whatever-a-thon that USA has chosen to air this year. And if you think THAT'S exciting, just wait till we get to Christmas....

Oh, but wait, maybe you can help with this. I have Tuesday through Monday off of next week. I was supposed to have vacation plans. They fell through. This comes as no surprise to anyone, probably not even me, if I were being truthful. Anyway, any last minute, single girl travel suggestions?

Spanish Art

This week in Spanish class we had to write papers on an artist. Thus the painting to the left. I wrote about Joan Miro, who I mistakenly though was French, but who in fact is from Barcelona. At least he lived in Paris for a long while. That makes me feel a little better about it. His art amuses me. This one is called "The Birth of the World" ("el nacimiento de mundo"). I used it in my paper as my example of the work he's most famous for. It was also a nice illustration of the type of work that at first glance people (like certain Spanish instructors at community college) might a 5-year-old could do, but which has a more complicated technique (note the background looks like a mix of trees and swamps and evokes the feeling of a primordial ooze from which the world crawled out of) and also a meaning, which is not childlike at all (note the giant orange balloon/sperm that catches the eye). Anyway, that's what I've been tied up with later. We'll see what my nemesis the Spanish Teacher says when the papers come back on Thursday.

Where do we live again?

Saw this headline on Yahoo tonight:

"US among worst in world for infant death"

What is wrong with us?! We have no excuse for this. We don't have a guerrilla war going on, we don't have a lack of doctors or access to medicine.

"The United States ranks near the bottom for infant survival rates among modernized nations. A Save the Children report last year placed the United States ahead of only Latvia, and tied with Hungary, Malta, Poland and Slovakia."

Good news, though. We're still ahead of places with famine and total abject poverty.

"A 2005 World Health Organization report found infant mortality rates as high as 144 per 1,000 births — more than 20 times the U.S. rate — in Liberia."

Another reason to love Illinois

COLUMBUS, Ohio, Nov. 10 — The meltdown happened a few weeks earlier this season for No. 1 Ohio State.

Last season, the undefeated Buckeyes were blown away by Florida in the national title game. This season, the flop came sooner, and perhaps more spectacularly, for the again undefeated Buckeyes.

Behind a relentless defense and four touchdown passes by quarterback Isaiah Williams, unranked and enigmatic Illinois stunned the Buckeyes, 28-21, before 105,453 fans on Saturday at Ohio Stadium.

The loudest roars from this upset may have come from Eugene, Ore., as Oregon will likely leap to No. 2 in the Bowl Championship Series standings. That will mean that the Ducks, who were idle this weekend, would play Louisiana State, the likely new No. 1, in the national title game if the season were to end this weekend.

Wisconsin’s victory takes the Big Ten out of the title race, much to the relief of college football fans in the West and South, who have been skeptical of the caliber of the league all season.

I don't know. I was cheering pretty loud.

Strike or not to strike

What I'm wondering today is: As a writer should I feel solidarity with those striking (mostly in LA and NYC) right now? And if so, why then do I feel so indifferent?

I feel a little sad, I guess, but mostly because I'll miss new episodes of Heroes and some other TV shows I'm embarrassed to admit I like.

Maybe the reason I find it so hard to sympathize or, really even care, is because of how little WE get paid. It makes the TV/Film writers seem a little whiny. Then again, maybe I'm just the one being whiny.

Grand Central

I'm exhausted from work, so I'm just going to post a couple pictures of Grand Central Terminal. (Note: NOT station — a common mistake and one that really angers copy editors) This is my view from the floor, where I'm often forced to sit because I JUST missed the previous train home and the next one isn't for another hour or two and inevitable all the shops and Starbucks have closed so there's nothing for me to do but sit and wait. Oh the money Starbucks would make if it would just stay open all night.

Oxi Day

Today is a big civic holiday in Greece. (By today I mean Sunday.) It is/was Oxi Day, which translates to No Day. It's the day we celebrate the country's refusal to let Axis powers stroll through the country and use it as a base of operation during the war. So instead Italy attacked us and thus we entered World War II. It happens every Oct. 28.

Also on Oct. 28, Dick Cheney arrived in Dutchess County to do a little hunting and Porter Wagoner died and The Red Sox won the world series.

It's been a busy day.

Today also marks the seventh day in a row that I have work. This is because, just as George Bush did on this same weekend back in (when was it Deadman? 2003? 2004?), the veep has rolled into my life on Halloween weekend when a friend was visiting from out of town and thus said friend had to spend the weekend exploring the city alone. And I didn't even have a Philosophy Student Party to take her to!

That is also why this blog is woefully out-of-day. I can't wait for Nov. 6 to come and go. I hate elections. Actually, I need to rename Election Day as my own personal Oxi Day.

Your weekly stalker update

I'm happy to report that downstairs stalker has seemingly made friends with most of the people in this building and the next and thus I don't see much of him. The downside of this is that he has everyone over to his apartment until all hours and they play loud (bad) music and talk even louder. The entire building reeks of cigarette smoke and there is often vomit in the hallway and half-empty cups, which slowly grow mold until I get completely grossed out and throw them away. I know it's seems like I live in a frat house, only the people involved are in their late 40s/early 50s. This seems a small price to pay, however, for my freedom.

The other stalker, however, has stepped up his stalkerness - as if he has to cover both stalker shifts on his on since the neighbor-stalker has slacked off. Most mornings, he's driving his little golf cart by my apartment, picking up nonexistent garbage from the yard. Inevitably when I go out to walk the dog, he finds us. On Thursday or Friday — I can't remember which now — he passed me once and said hello and then circled around and stopped just in front of me and got out of his cart, so I couldn't avoid him. He says, "So are you and your boyfriend still together?"

"Yes."

Disappointed "oh" response and then, "I was just asking because, like, you know, I really like our conversations." [He sounds like someone mocking a California surfer accent.] "They really stick with me." As he said this last part, he sort of tapped his chest where the heart is with his fingers.

My stalkers can't just be scary. No. They have to cheesy too.