Hostility, even violence against reporters Permanent link to this item in the archive.

Listen to the story from yesterday's show on Democracy Now -- first-person accounts from journalists who are being bullied by police in New Orleans. Police are brandishing weapons and threatening reporters. Photographers are asked not to record images of the dead or objectionable police behavior.

You can get the daily show as a podcast.

You gotta watch this Permanent link to this item in the archive.

Video compilation of reporters/anchors challenging their interview subjects on Katrina. (Found on the participatoryculture.org news blog.) It's nice to hear the tone in a reporter's question that says "Come on." I haven't heard it much for a long time. That's the Woodward-Bernstein ethic that made me want to study journalism.

Podbat almost ready Permanent link to this item in the archive.

Kosso thinks his podbat podcast maker thing might be ready to distribute to alpha testers this weekend. I wonder if my trial would be any help if I opted not to have it generate the RSS feed for my real podcast. I don't want to mess up my system. Maybe testers will not be using it for their real podcasts, or they'll just be making copies of their current stuff?

Odd combinations Permanent link to this item in the archive.

I had a craving for 7-layer salad yesterday. The mayo and raw peas made me think of peas and peanuts, which I've mentioned here before. Let's see if Bela's super duper OPML search will help me find that entry. I'll be right back...

Yep. Handy, that. Peas and peanuts.

Anyway, peas and peanuts made me think of out-of-the way combinations I've thought up myself. Some are awesome, like Bloody Mary Gazpacho -- before-dinner drink, salad and soup all in one! Some feel so unapproachable I may never try them, like pineapple and dill pickles. And some seem palatable enough to try sometime, like watermelon and cucumbers. Think about watermelons and cukes. Doesn't it almost seem like they may be close cousins though you'd never speak of them in the same breath, let alone eat them in the same mouthful? The skin, overall shape, texture, shape of the seeds? (Actually the texture of a cucumber is more like honey dew melon.)

I've a feeling that to eat them together you might need to make some sort of bridge or liaison between them. Maybe something like an oil-based fruit salad dressing with a little sugar and poppy seeds?

Yikes! I just googled olive oil poppy seed sugar fruit and found this. I wouldn't have thought of this being a Southern thing. This version of it sure looks Southern with all that sugar. I don't think I'd like it with a fraction of that amount of sugar. Fruit doesn't need it.

Maybe I'll try it. Even though watermelons cost $8 in Chicago right now. I balk at paying that much. Anyway the watermelon-cuke combo still feels too odd to want to try it anytime soon! My mom will make food that she doesn't like or can't eat. I can't do that. Or don't. Or won't.

New one Permanent link to this item in the archive.

New passage up in my lit game podcast.