My first real (albeit unusual) feature story at Newsweek.com is a Choose Your Own Adventure story based on a hypothetical oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, inspired by the BP spill. How would you handle things as an oil tycoon?
Check it out!
May 14, 2010
More Newsweek blog posts
It’s been an extremely busy week and I’ve been forced to choose one task in my life to neglect. Of course, I chose updating my blog.
Why? Because excepting the cases of paid bloggers, self-obsessed celebrities, and unpaid self-obsessed people who wish they were celebrities, blogging is always the first thing to go when life gets busy. This is single most life-affirming thing about the social media world we live in. (For the record, the single least life-affirming thing about the social media world we live in is ChatRoulette.)
Anyway, here’s what I’ve been doing at Newsweek:
If Utah elects its first Democrat to the U.S. Senate in 40 years, thank the Tea Party
Is Beau Biden too young to have a stroke? Sadly, no
Moderate Republicans continue getting fenced in
Fabrice Tourre’s new street cred (I actually just did some research for this one, but it’s definitely worth reading. Very interesting.)
May 8, 2010
MormonTimes.com: Making the ‘ward family’ a reality in Harlem
When I was in Primary, I had a bishop who always referred to our Mormon congregation as a “ward family.” He used the term so frequently that it became a family joke, and my siblings and I would giggle every time he said it during sacrament meeting.
I quickly came to learn, of course, that his rhetoric was not unique; almost every bishop I’ve had since then has, in the pursuit of Zion-like unity, urged members to treat their fellow congregants like family members. But nowhere have I seen this ideal so successfully achieved as the Harlem 1st Ward in New York City…
May 8, 2010
Newsweek.com: Is the NRA Really Defending Gun Rights for Suspected Terrorists?
The short answer is yes. An ominous headline on the National Rifle Association’s Web site reads, “Bloomberg and others call for denial of gun rights based on error-filled watch list.”
The mistake-riddled, rights-suppressing document in question is, of course, the FBI’s terror watch list.
Also, you can read my post yesterday providing an update on the movement of the oil slick in the Gulf of Mexico: OIL MAKES LANDFALL AS BP PREPS CONTAINMENT DOME
May 6, 2010
Newsweek.com: When and Where Will the Oil Slick Come Ashore?
Even as crews work around the clock to contain the oil slick creeping toward the coast, speculation abounds as to when and where it will finally wash ashore.
Referring to recent projections, BP’s chief operating officer Doug Suttles told reporters yesterday that landfall wasn’t expected for another three days. If he’s right, the slick will reach the coast sometime on Friday. But where?
May 6, 2010
Newsweek.com: Red Lobster Faring Just Fine in Post-Spill World
It remains unclear exactly how much damage BP’s oil spill will do to the aquatic life in the Gulf of Mexico, but if you’re worried about one of the worst environmental disasters in decades cutting into your $11.99 “festival of shrimp,” you can rest easy. It turns out some of the country’s most popular seafood restaurants have placed more emphasis on the second syllable of “seafood” than the first…
May 6, 2010
Newsweek.com: Will Hair, Fur, and Pantyhose Really Stop the Spread of Oil?
As BP spends millions of dollars a day on efforts to contain the oil slick in the Gulf of Mexico, environmental organization Matter of Trust is doing its part by soliciting donations of hair, fur, and nylons. But will this stuff really stop the oil from spreading? How does it work? …
May 6, 2010
Newsweek.com: Christopher Hitchens vs. the Pope: Blogs Respond to the Idea of a Papal Arrest
Last week, NEWSWEEK published an essay by Christopher Hitchens calling for the pope to be subpoenaed or even detained for questioning in the Catholic Church’s child-abuse scandal. His argument—which he has made loudly and often in the past few weeks—has drawn no small amount of attention. Not content to rest on his rhetoric, he and scientist Richard Dawkins have approached lawyers about producing a case against the Holy See…
May 6, 2010
Newsweek.com: Arizona’s Immigration Law May Become Model for Other States
Read my first post on Newsweek.com: Arizona’s Immigration Law May Become Model for Other States.
Critics throughout the country are decrying Arizona’s tough new immigration law as “misguided,” “racist” and just plain “stupid”—but not everyone hates it. A voter poll in Utah published Thursday shows that a whopping 65 percent of Utahans would support their state modeling its immigration laws after Arizona’s. With such strong support, it’s not surprising that a local politician has already pledged to craft a bill and bring it to Utah’s 2011 legislative session… CLICK HERE TO KEEP READING
March 21, 2010
MormonTimes.com: A call for Facebook civility
While skimming Thursday’s edition of The New York Times, one headline caught my eye: “I need to vent. Hello, Facebook.”
The article, written by Douglas Quenqua, focuses on couples who use Facebook to make their arguments public, allowing friends to weigh in, keep score and, in probably most cases, feel awkward.
“For most couples, the temptation to publicly slander each other is overpowered by the instinct to prove to their friends how happy they are, reality notwithstanding,” Quenqua writes. “But for others, arguing in front of others comes as naturally as slamming doors.”
Personally, I can’t relate to the concept of waging spousal feuds via social networking sites. In fact, I’m pretty sure I haven’t posted on my wife’s Facebook wall since we got married. I do live with her after all, and when I have something to tell her, I don’t need to use a virtual bullhorn so the neighbors can listen in.
More generally, however, I have noticed a tendency among otherwise polite, reasonable people to blast away at their acquaintances via Facebook and Twitter when they read something with which they disagree. In fact, I’m as guilty of this as the next guy.
