Thanksgiving column roundup

So you know what I’m thankful for, but this is still a journalism blog, dammit, so here are a couple of Thanksgiving articles by my favorite columnists.

Bob Welch lives in Eugene and is the epitome of a great columnist. The man has a knack for making just about everything interesting and his Lane County Q&As can’t be beat. We also share the same mechanic. Go figure.

Anna Griffin lives in Portland with her partner and two children. I love the way she presents her logic: snarky at times, but always full of soul and passion.

These are the two columnists I’d like to model my own writing after. Enjoy!

Many thanks to the people in my life

Everybody has problems in their lives. I know I do.

But when you dedicate a few moments to taking stock of what you have, you realize that there’s plenty to be thankful for, even when it may not seem like it.

I hit a few rough patches these last couple of months.

There were a few things that just weren’t going the way I wanted them to. Hell, some of them still aren’t. Those who know me can recall lengthy conversations over the phone or in person that led to much soul-searching and recovery.

It was during one of these conversations that I realized just how much I had to be thankful for.

Review: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt. 1

Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint reprise the roles of Harry, Hermione and Ron, respectively in "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1."

It’s been three years since J.K. Rowling’s epic Harry Potter series came to a close in print, and the first half of Warner Bros’ final entry in the film saga opens in theaters today.

For die-hard Potter fans, Deathly Hallows Part 1 is sure to satisfy.

All of the big moments from the novel are present, some even tweaked to great effect by director David Yates. If you’re only vaguely aware of J.K. Rowling’s seven-part epic, you might want to take a crash course in the overall story before attending a screening.

November news roundup: Week 2

Here it is: your weekly news roundup for the second week in November. I should have had this done yesterday, but better late than never, right?

Last week, Facebook earned rights as a water cooler, video games come one step closer to world domination and a once controversial project in my hometown breaks ground after the dust has finally settled.

So, without further ado, here are my favorite stories from last week. What are some of yours? Feel free to post in the comments.

Impressions: The Huffington Post’s new section

 

The Huffington Post’s newest section will focus on an issue that one in every two married couples in America faces.

Divorce.

That’s right, the Huffington Post’s newest section deals with broken families. Or should they even be called that?

November news round-up: Week 1

Elections are finally over. I decided to abstain from featuring anything related to the midterms because I’m pretty sure you’re just as burned out on them as I am. And there were plenty of other things going on in Oregon and the rest of the country.

Women made it out of abusive relationships. Google stonewalled Facebook (only kind of.) And the USDA engages in a campaign to promote cheese.

Here are my three favorite stories from this week:

Educational opportunity: Keith Olbermann’s suspension from MSNBC

Keith Olbermann

Earlier this week, MSNBC star anchor Keith Olbermann was indefinitely suspended for donating to three different Democratic campaigns during the midterm elections.

So what can we learn from this?

Where do you get your news? Let’s share

We often ask ourselves this question in the newsroom.

“So where do most people get their news?”

My news and editorial adviser maintains that most people get their daily fix from places like Yahoo! and MSN. And, of course, there’s places like Fox News and Comedy Central — specifically The Daily Show and Colbert Report — where folks like to be entertained and informed at once. But does anyone get their news from one place and one medium? I sure hope not.

Welcome to my world

There are literally millions of blogs out there, so why start one for myself? That’s a good question, one which I plan on answering by typing and not looking back.

Dudley visits LCC campus

LCC President Mary Spilde explains the college's downtown campus plans to Republican gubernatorial candidate Chris Dudley as Board of Education chair Tony McCowan (right) engages Dudley's wife -- also a Chris -- and board member Pat Albright (left) listens in.

“That’s either Chris Dudley’s bus or somebody really likes him,” said LCC dental hygiene student Marie Madison when she spotted the bright red and blue campaign bus on Thursday.

Five days before giving Oregon Governor-elect John Kitzhaber a run for his money, Dudley toured Lane Community College’s main campus with college president Mary Spilde, student body president Mario Parker-Milligan and board members Pat Albright and Tony McCowan among others.