Queenkv’s Brainpickings

I was tickled to watch Ron Burgundy interview the most distinguished anchorman of our time at Radio City Music Hall during the Funny or Die tour.
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I try to find new recipes to try out on my weekends. I’m thrilled with the huge kitchen space in our Vacaville home. There’s plenty of room to spread out my herbs, veggies, meat and cutting areas. Sometimes I have my PowerBook open to a tasty online recipe. When I’m prepping meals, sometimes I stare out at the backyard and watch my Daisy defend the house against blue jays, squirrels and pedestrians.

After almost a decade of cooking, I still feel like a novice in the kitchen. I think that’s cool because I’ll always find something new and challenging to tickle my taste buds. My love of culinary adventures goes back to my family. I’m happy we had a chance to return to some good home cooking for the P-Day Weekend.

originally uploaded by queenkv.

I loved my dad’s home cooking: fish, laarb, fried rice and more. He’s the first one to teach me how to cook. During my 2nd year at Cal, he showed me how to make chicken adobo in the our tiny dorm kitchen. Little by little, I got more daring in the kitchen. Sometimes I had misses when it came to my cooking. Other times, one bite showed me that it was all worth the time and prep invested in the dish.

I stumbled on this really cool Cal development on a Nashville blog:
UC Berkeley puts hundreds of academic lectures on YouTube. Talking about kicking Fiat Lux to the next level — sharing the intellectual light online.

Here’s a physics class by Professor Richard A. Muller.

The most interesting and important topics in physics, stressing conceptual understanding rather than math, with applications to current events. Topics covered may vary and may include energy and conservation, radioactivity, nuclear physics, the Theory of Relativity, lasers, explosions, earthquakes, superconductors, and quantum physics.

Cal is so frickin’ cool! Go Bears!

Daisy is sleeping in my blue chair. Last year, Mark drove a huge truck and transported that chair and other items from storage back here to Kansas. I imagine the puppy likes to think he brought back that chair for her. Sometimes she gives me an annoyed look when I sit in “her” chair.

Silly puppy.
With Mark gone, Daisy and I have more involved, one-sided conversations. She makes a couple of grunts and moans about her time at Day Care. Apparently it’s a tough job being such a cute puppy. Then I try to explain my work day. She looks at me like she almost understands the stress, adrenaline rush, frustrations and comedic situations I deal with in the newsroom. But I like I said, it’s a one-sided conversation.

So, I’ve also been exploring the world of social networking. Since people keep adding me as a friend in facebook, I’ve pimped out my facebook profile with new applications and pictures. I also started using last.fm this week. If you use either online app — add me please. Let’s dish about music, movies and stuff. It would be nice to have a two-sided conversation through a web site.

Last night, Ted Koppel made a cameo on the Daily Show. The dude rules and I was thrilled to visit the Nightline studios during my last quarter for Medill. It’s always charming to see a journalism giant like Koppel express himself so bluntly. Check out this clip!

The man behind Praire Home Companion has some kind words to share about Los Angeles. Online, I try to defend LA. In true form, Kansas commenters proceeded to dish out disgust for my home town. Sigh. Only a few folks in Kansas have any positive experiences to share about California. Ever since I moved to Topeka (Nov. 2005), a majority of Kansans I’ve met told me I made the right choice to leave California. They said couldn’t imagine anyone, including a sweet gal like me, being able to live in L.A. I just stare at them and try to find a gentle, politically correct way to express my opinion that they have know idea what they’re talking about.

I miss home.

Finally, another cool way to check out my photos. I think you need a flash player to see this album.

A Medill alum posted this link to an LA Times business story: Outsourcing the News: Hiring reporters in India to cover Pasadena, CA.”

When is local journalism not really local? When it’s about Pasadena and written by someone in India. James Macpherson, editor and publisher of the Pasadena Now website, hired two reporters last weekend to cover the Pasadena City Council. One lives in Mumbai and will be paid $12,000 a year. The other will work in Bangalore for $7,200.

Yesterday, I sent over the AP wire copy to my Medill alum list-serve and so far, I got about 25 responses…and I suspect more are on the way. Everyone asked: how can anybody cover local news while living 9,000 miles away?

The web editor argues that since meetings are posted online, anyone can simply watch and report what they observe. But what about that local flavor? Digging for more information with face-to-face interviews…writing about more than what the camera let’s you see - like how many people attended the meeting? And what protests, if any, were brewing outside City Hall?
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Other people on the list-serve pointed out that the London-based Reuters has already been outsourcing its business reporting to Bangalore. And other folks wondered:

….”how low can we go” in terms of journalism salaries here.

Overall, a disturbing trend and it leaves me feeling a little expendable.

Yesterday, as I was chilling in Topeka, I was also checking out national news online, on TV and on the radio. CNN, MSNBC and other networks aired some amazing video of a tanker fire on the MacArthur Maze: the interchange connecting the East Bay to San Francisco.

The elevated roadway that fell carried eastbound traffic from the Bay Bridge onto Interstates 580 and 980 and state Highway 24. It draped like a blanket over a roadway below, a connector from southbound I-80 to I-880 that also was severely damaged. - SF Chronicle

Before this accident, it was a pain to navigate the different freeways knotting into each other at this interchange. During rush hour traffic, it took me about 45 minutes to cover the distance between Richmond and San Francisco. Today, I heard on NPR that about 200,000 people use the Maze daily. Imagine where that leaves them for their daily work/school commutes. I hope BART can handle it all.

I’m also amazed and grateful that nobody got hurt.

I found this video via Jade Park’s blog. Um, good luck Bay Area commuters. You will need it.

This Digg post made me break out into giggles during my 10:00 show on Friday night. I tried to justify my online habits to myself, but it was losing battle. I sadly identify with several items on this top 10 list. I am a nerd. Someone needs to save me from my blogging self.

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I can’t explain the appeal of twittering - I whip out my cell phone to twitter a random thought from a party, concert or journalism convention. I don’t know why I’m bullet-pointing topics to touch-on in my work blog, as I’m driving Daisy to Bark Park. And I know it’s not healthy to feel like my Powerbook is a necessary accessory on vacation. The idea: using my Powerbook to download pictures and blog about my vacation antics. Sad, I know.

Last night, after a rockin’ Kill Bill party in Lawrence hosted by my fellow producer Fally, I made an effort to avoid powering up my Powerbook. I spent about an hour on the couch watching mindless TV with Daisy. Then I tucked her into her crate with her Bobo and some treats. I wiped off my make-up, changed into some pajamas and climbed into bed. On my cell phone, I said good-night to Mark in SF.

And at 12:47 AM - I twittered a good night post via cell phone.

Yeah, I’m a blog addict.

Last night, we went into severe weather mode in the newsroom. My boss warned us we could be in for a long night. So I made arrangements with day care for Daisy to spend the night. Daisy and I love the folks at Dog Day Afternoon. They are so helpful, especially with Mark in Berkeley.

Still, no tornadoes touched down in our viewing area. I ended my anti-climatic night at work with an empty apartment.

I can’t wait to bring my baby home this afternoon.

originally uploaded by queenkv.

This weekend, Daisy had her first tasted of lichon. We picked up this roasted pig’s ear from a pet shop in Emporia. She loved it!

originally uploaded by queenkv.

Last week in Vegas, I met Twinkle, Ate’ Gigi’s new baby. She’s eating on top of the counter with Tita Chita, because Twinkle likes to eat out of Freddie’s bowl. She’s about 4 months old and enjoys being picked up and cuddled. She fits in the palm of my hand. Twinkle loves humans and she respects us so much, that she can’t help doing some submissive pee. Twinkle can’t help taking a tinkle every now and then.

Mark mailed over this “romantic” music video by the Aussie comedy group, Tripod.

It’s for any couple who knows how a game system fits into their lives…because sometimes you have to understand when the save points are really to far a part.

“I think this X-box is the best present I ever got for you.”