Segregated Prom

Listening to NPR this morning on my way to work, I heard about a movie called Prom Night in Mississippi. The movie is about Charleston High School in Mississippi. Though the public school was integrated in 1970 they continued to hold segregated prom's, privately funded, until 2008!

Actor Morgan Freeman is a native of Charleston and has been offering to pay for the school's Prom since 1997--if it was integrated. Finally, in 2008 his proposal was accepted and Charleston had its first integrated prom. The event was documented by a film crew and the movie is an official selection at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival.

http://www.emergingpictures.com/prom_night.htm

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=91371629

I was in shock when I heard about segregation today in the U.S. Our country has made great strides towards equality. Honestly, I have never truly felt racial segregation existed in 'my world'. Granted, I hear individuals, even family members, use racial slurs (not without hearing me comment on it, though) but I haven't seen racial segregation with my own two eyes. Without seeing it, I guess I was naive to it--thinking it was a thing of the past, before I was even born into this world. I'm moved by the substance of this documentary and am eager to see it.

Goodbye, Brock

Myself and all who knew Steve Brock have lost a great friend. Brock was compassionate to others, selfless, passionate about his work (in news and racing), and always made time for those he cared about.

I quickly became close friends with Brock at NBC 4 when I started in 2003 and we continued our friendship well after he left for WBNS. He always had great stories and solid advice for his young friends making their way through this crazy news business. Brock was very inspirational, as well. He made it through a number of battles with cancer with a smile on his face. He was always the first to call to see how a friend was doing with the bustle of daily life and wouldn't allow his friends to have to deal with his health problems. When he opened up about it, you could tell it was hard. Life is hard. But Brock never let anything, including what Dr's told him or his body told him, hold him back from living life and enjoying everything and everyone around him.

Brock, I can't believe that I will never get to see you again. I can't believe I will never get to look at my ringing phone and see 'Brock calling'. I will never get to meet up with you again at DiMarco's or Roosters and complain about the news business and share stories about stupid things people have done. I miss you so much already. I learned so much from you. You are a wonderful person and a loyal friend. I love you and will always hold you in my heart.

Your Dream Job Awaits!

A coworker pointed this out to me today. You can apply for a legitimate job that pays $105,000 for one to live in a gorgeous 3 bedroom beach home with a plunge pool and golf cart for 6 months on a paradise island in Australia. The applicant just has to blog about the wonderful island, as well as take care of a 'few minor tasks'. Other needed skills: 'must be a good swimmer, excellent communicator and be able to speak and write English.'

My resume is in the mail.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20090113/od_afp/lifestyleaustraliatourismoffbeat_20090113032028

Truth for Sanity 1.10.09

Truth for Sanity put on an awesome show at Oldfield's on High Saturday night.















...I had video, but it didn't turn out very well. I'm still learning how to use the new thing :(

Sidwell rocked the mic. He's got an awesome stage presence. Tony & Bill were hot on the guitars.

Check them out!
http://www.myspace.com/truthforsanity

High Ratings for the Fiesta Bowl

TV viewers across the U.S. were tuned to the Fiesta Bowl Monday night. Check out the ratings compared to the past 2 years.


From Mediaweekonline:

Fox dominated on this first Monday of 2009, with Ohio State versus Texas on the annual Fiesta Bowl at an approximate (and above average) 11.5 rating/18 share in the overnights for the prime-time portion from 8:30-11 p.m.

For comparative purposes, take a look at how The Fiesta Bowl performed over the prior two years:
The Fiesta Bowl (Fox)Wednesday 1/02/08: 8.3/13 (West Virginia vs. Oklahoma)
Monday, Jan. 1, 2007 (Boise vs. Oklahoma): 8.9/15

Do the math, and last night's performance was an increase of 39 percent from 2008 and 29 percent from 2007. Earlier in the evening on Fox was The Fiesta Bowl Pre-Game at an estimated 6.4/10 in the 8 p.m. half-hour. Don't forget that results for any live sporting event are always approximate.

http://tv.yahoo.com/news_print?id=urn:newsml:tv.mediaweek.com:20090107:primetimemeteredmarketmondayratingsthefiestabowlleadsfoxtovictorycompatibletruebeautyonabc__ER:360

Let Go

When God leads you to the edge of the cliff, trust Him fully and let go. Only 1 of 2 things will happen--either He'll catch you when you fall or He'll teach you how to fly!

Revelations 3:8