Jaybird's Jottings

Blogger of the Decade: Honorable Mentions

Here are the other top bloggers who I enjoy reading.  We thank them for all their writing and sharing. 

 

We Love DC

Proving for another year that a good news site can be interesting and compelling.     

 

El Lefty Malo

Excellent writing, creative and smart insight, don’t follow Los Gigantes without following El Lefty.

 

Biz of Baseball

If it happens outside the lines, Maury Brown knows about it.

 

Nats320

Criticized from time to time for his “rah-rah” approach, but where’s your blog?

 

JD’s Near Southeast DC

The City is trying to figure what will go on updated signage for the Navy Yard Metro stop.    One idea is “Navy Yard/Capitol Riverfront/Nationals Ballpark.”

They should just call it what it really is, “JDLand.”

 

 

 

Holiday Blizzard 2010

Ebenezer Scrooge sure got his wish this past weekend.    Many snow lovers on the East Coast didn’t get the lighter White Christmas they hoped for on Saturday.   Instead, it fell heavy on Sunday, causing countless travel and event disruptions and delays.

The major exception was here in the Washington area, where the dusting to a half-inch we got seemed so surreal after watching the news.    If there is such a thing as “snow survival guilt,” some Washingtonians have had it this week.    Sure it was cold and windy on Monday, but the sun came out and by noon, the dusting was gone.   

Unfortunately, many folks in the Northeast had to endure nightmare problems.  To them, we hope for a speedy recovery.  Washingtonians remember last year’s sore backs and frayed nerves.

For snow lovers in and around the nation’s capital, Sunday brought nothing but frustration.    On radar, it looked like some hidden force field was blocking the snow from entering Northern Virginia, DC and the Maryland suburbs.     A map provided by NASA and CWG would reveal the dramatic difference.   The snow's no-show was dubbed "No-mageddon" by CWG reader Walter in Falls Church.         

The day culminated one of the most topsy-turvy snow trackings in recorded history.  As winter storms go, the path of the one skirting up the East Coast on Sunday was one of the hardest to predict in recent memory.    Even as the oblong-shaped mass of precip approached the Mid-Atlantic, the experts at the Capital Weather Gang and the NWS in Sterling, Virginia, were confounded by the system.  Snow lovers here were holding their breathe.   “Snowmaggedon” had spoiled us rotten. 

Advanced technology and super-computing have changed the weather business.    My father and mother never heard of a seven-day forecast.    But now, if you so desire, you can hop on sites like the Capital Weather Gang and gaze into their crystal ball a week or more ahead of time.    If Joe Bastardi trips your trigger, he can tell when it’s going to snow weeks in advance.  Meteorologists monitor potential storms even before they have formed.  

Early last week, East Coast snow lovers were on full alert.   The storm had dumped excessive rain on California and parts of the Southwest before heading to the heartland mid-week.   After being promised it could produce some snow, possibly a lot, snow lovers were given the bad news on Thursday.   It appeared the low pressure would track more to the east, thus giving Washington a brushing at best.   

Reading that, a few posters at CWG lashed out at the forecasting team, accusing them of hyping the snow.    But on Saturday morning, here came the Calvary.   New models put the track closer to the coast, bringing a 70% chance of accumulation.  Snow lovers rejoiced.

Predicting weather has gotten better over the years.  We tend to forget, but forecasters nail many of the snow totals and timing.   But as we saw this past weekend, weather can be as mysterious as ever.    

 

The Revolt Against Lengthy Sub-Titles

By Jaded Roberts

Special from The Garlic Times

In a world where Google can reach across the centuries in a matter of seconds, and tweeting and texting promote brevity, the book publishing industry is headed in the opposite direction.     Book sub-titles have become ridiculously long.

Bibliophiles have been talking about this problem for several years, but the pushback has finally begun in earnest.    Talk show hosts and booksellers have joined together in an effort to appeal to the publishing industry for shorter titles.  

“Our listeners may not know this,” said a radio talk show host in the nation’s capital who asked to remain anonymous, “but we are required to say the entire title of the book several times during author or guest appearances.   I had Dick Morris on recently.  The title of his book is, “Fleeced: How Barack Obama, Media Mockery of Terrorist Threats, Liberals Who Want to Kill Talk Radio, the Do-Nothing Congress, Companies That Help Iran, and Washington Lobbyists for Foreign Governments Are Scamming Us ... and What to Do About It.”   Needless to say, I started screening potential guests after that.”

In the digital world, the length of a book title does not pose much of a problem.   Morris, however, has a different take on that.    “I tried tweeting to promote my book,” he quipped, “only to discover it didn’t fit.”

Both talk show hosts and booksellers recognize that subtitles have become longer due to “search engine optimization,” but they want some trimming of the fat.

“When I’m on the phone listening to a long sub-title,” a bookseller said, “I sometimes think about Hemingway.   What was it he called it, a bullshit detector?”

 

 

2010: Snow, Strasburg, Rally for Fear, and The Giants

2010 is fading fast.   Here’s four stories I found fascinating this year.

“Snowmaggedon” 

Snow lovers in the Washington DC region live with the fact that the area averages only about 15 inches, and that the best they could hope for in any given year is the occasional season like 2002-2003 that brings about three feet total.   

All that changed last February, the beautiful bounty piled on high.   December brought 16 inches officially, followed by another half foot in late January.   Then came “Snowmaggedon,” 17.8 at National on the 5^th and 6^th with many parts in the region getting much more.   Another 10 inches fell on the 9^th and 10^th. The total reached 58.1, setting a new record.  Dulles also broke a record with 63 inches.    

Debut of Stephen Strasburg  

“Strasburg.”  

To Washingtonians, that used to mean a small city in the Virginia mountains.   That changed forever more with the debut of one Stephen Strasburg this spring.  

Washington has had its fair share of spotlight games, but nothing compared to the media coverage for the debut of Stephen Strasburg.   And that was just his minor league debut.

In order to see the DC debut of the phenom, Nats fans and scalpers pulled their hair out trying to figure out when that would be.   When it did happen on June 8, the game was the most exciting sports event in Washington since who could remember when.   The game won this year’s GIBBY award for best MLB game as the young fireballer fanned 14 in seven innings and picked up the win in front of a sellout crowd of 40,315. 

Stewart and Colbert Invade The National Mall

Could a humorous approach work to a political rally?   Was it actually a political rally?   Mongo don’t know, but he had good time - nice weather, clever signs and funny jokes.      

 

 

 

 

 

 

Story of the Year -  The Giants Finally Win the World Series

The Giants have played over 20,000 games in their long history, and none were sweeter as the one they played on that November Monday night in Texas.    That’s saying a lot but the Polo Grounders never had to wait anything even close to 56 years and San Francisco so much deserved the treat.

And what exciting style they did it in.  The “torturous” pennant race with the Padres featured more than a handful of lead changes, before they clinched it on the final day of the regular season by beating them in San Francisco.    Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain pitched their way into history, as the Orange and Black then clinched each series on the road in Atlanta, Philadelphia, and Texas.   

What can we say, except thanks to the players and the organization.    2010 is a year we will never forget.

 

 

 

Season's Greetings

Season’s Greetings dear readers.   Hope you are having a great day.   Looks like Santa is bringing the fluffy stuff to North Carolina, snow lovers there must be thrilled.

Here there are still small patches of snow on the ground from last week’s 2 incher, and we’re getting flurries mid-morning.   For tomorrow, they’re saying we could get some snow. 

Anyway, snowy or note, have a good one!   

 

 

 

Blogger of the Decade: Bronze Medal

It was the perfect storm, so to speak, and in a good way.  Gathering energy since their January 2008 debut, the Capital Weather Gang blog was fast becoming the place to go for weather news in the Washington region.   

Then the heavy snows of December 2009 and February 2010 came.   Weather geeks, snow lovers and commuters needing real-time updates and in-depth analysis couldn’t get enough of CWG’s reports and maps for the storms that had passed, and the charts and predictions for the next storm.  Commenting reached triple digits, as people shared snowfall totals and stories.   Science had met Sally.   A star was born.

With all their coverage, the Capital Weather Gang have helped usher in a new era of weather monitoring in the nation’s capital.  Meteorologists like Doug Hill now have some serious competition.   Weather news seekers who turn to their TVs and are frustrated by hearing, “I’ll tell you more in a few minutes,” now have a better and quicker option.

There's been weather reporting on-line before, but CWG shows the blog format works perfectly.   Jason Samenow and the team of experts post often and engage their audience.   They ask us things like “Help Us Create a New Weather Index.”  They provide Photo Galleries and Historical Data.   The CWG reached new heights when the Washington Post started linking to them on their home page.   They haven’t looked back.

 I’ve been a bit critical of the CWG, but it’s with the knowledge that their operation is ever-evolving.   On the whole, I think they are great.

For providing a better and more honest option, and all they have done to inform and educate the public and their readers, the Capital Weather Gang has earned our deepest respect and appreciation.  We salute their efforts and award them our Blogger of the Year, Bronze Medal. 

Congrats, and by the way, when’s the next snow coming??

 

 

Blogger of the Decade: Silver Medal Winner

It is a terrific time to be living in Washington, D.C.  The neighborhoods are looking great, the urban core is vibrant, and after a 50-year decline, the population of the District has now surpassed the 600,000 mark.

But was all the growth smart and good for the communities?    Did the city leaders listen to citizen input?   Was historic preservation kept?   How safe are the streets for pedestrians and bicyclists?   And what are the future concerns for the residents?

No one has tackled these issues better than “Greater Greater Washington,” a blog founded and edited by DC resident David Alpert and his team of writers.  Their site is everything a blog should be.   Crisp writing, timely and key topics, helpful tips, links and maps, and visually attractive with a minimum of ads.  

They have also nurtured a culture of commenting that stays focused on the matters at hand.  A wide-variety of opinions are discussed, but the rules of civility and decorum are maintained.

For all they have done to inform and educate the residents of DC and the Washington area, and to carry the banner of Smart Growth and Sustainable Living, GGW earns our continued appreciation and our Silver Medal for Blogger of the Decade.   

Congrats and keep up the great, great work.

 

Dreaming of a White Christmas

With a 50/50% chance for some snow to fall in the DC region on Saturday (Go Euro Model!), snow lovers here are getting all bubbly inside over those prospects.   A big reason for the excitement is that historically, those chances are slim.   As CWG points out, 

There is 1"+ on the ground only about 10-20 percent of the time on Christmas morning. The chance of having snow actually accumulate at any one place around here on Christmas is similar or perhaps slightly lower.

I know some folks don’t like snow one bit, and I can understand why due to the disruptions it can cause.   But I am squarely in the lot that loves it.  I can remember praying for it when I was a kid.    We would stare out the window, waiting for those first magical flakes to fall.  

Didn't get much in North Carolina, but when it did snow enough to pile up, we were outside for snow ball fights, sledding down steep Whippoorwill Drive, making a Snowman, building a bonfire, making snow cream and getting out of school.

Snow falling on Christmas would be magical.   Let’s hope our dreams come true this year!

 

 

 

Our Blogger of the Decade: Ed Stenger

Blogging on my Rushisaband.com blog, I've become much more in touch with the Rush fan community and a more knowledgeable and fanatical Rush fan than I was to begin with! It's also a way for me to "give back" to the band by providing up-to-date news and information to the fans. – Ed Stenger, Blogging to Success

It’s a familiar story for rock groups.   Starve and pay those early dues, find some level of success, and then try and survive the obstacles the rest of the way.   

The Canadian power trio RUSH, 36 years young, took that course.  Unlike most bands, however, they are in the midst of an amazing late career surge.   In the last couple of years, they’ve filled up the pavilions and arenas, garnered awards, topped Billboard’s Hot Tour charts for their “Time Machine Tour,” watched their new single “Caravan” shoot up to number four on Amazon’s most downloaded songs list, signed agreements with "Guitar Hero" and "Rock Band," received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, got inducted in to the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame, helped promote the award-winning documentary about their career, “RUSH: Beyond the Lighted Stage,” appeared on The Stephen Colbert Show, made a cameo in a rom-com flick, were featured on VH-1’s “Classic Albums,” had books written about them and their songs covered, raised money for charity, and saw their name splashed across a t-shirt in a AT&T commercial on TV.

Covering the band every step along the way is Ed Stenger, Founder and Editor of the blog "Rushisaband."   Since 2005, RUSH fans have turned to the Clevelander for all the latest news and information on Geddy, Alex and Neil.   There are other websites that cover the band, but Stenger’s is by far the best.   His site has over 8,000 registered users and averages 10,000 visits per day.   

For all that he has done, and for all that he continues to do to help and inform RUSH fans, Stenger is the winner of our “Blogger of the Decade” award.  

Congrats Ed, and speaking for RUSH fans everywhere, thank you!

 

 

 

 

Baseball in the Garden of Eden

 
If you’re a fan of John Thorn, one of baseball’s preeminent historians of the early game, there’s good news and bad news.

The bad news is his blog, "Thorn Pricks," which he started in 2005, went dormant last year.  

The good news, and it’s real good news, is his new book, “Baseball in the Garden of Eden, The Secret History of the Early Game,” will be out in March.

Beautiful front cover.   It’s Dick Perez’s “The National Pastime, The Polo Grounds, Opening Day 1886.”

Can’t wait for this one, and let’s hope Commissioner Selig reads it...