Fess Parker RIP

This morning I heard that Fess Parker died. Of course, for boys raised in the 1950s he was, and will be forever Davey Crockett.

As soon as I heard that he died I remembered my late brother Mike running around the house wearing his coon skin cap and singing "Davey, Davey Crockett, king of the wild frontier...."

Funny how little things will suddenly bring up a remembrance like that. About an hour after I had that thought I received an e-mail from my father who remembered pretty much the same thing. He remembered that my brother like to sing the song for an audience, something I would have never wanted to do.

New mid-Michigan obituary service

Stopped over in Davison last week and found a new printed, daily obituary service was available at a number of locations. It's pretty basic, stapled sheets of 8 1/2 X 11-inches, but it includes color pictures and ads, plenty of ads.

The product is distributed at a number of places, mostly restaurants, stores and libraries, but they also offer daily e-mail delivery of the obituary.

If you want an e-mail copy send a request to bridges.obit@yahoo.com.

The senior citizens at Taecken's Terrace apartments in Davison said they really appreciate the daily printed obituaries.

You know, if these folks are smart they will start putting a little police and government news with the obituaries and, oh, never mind.

A spinning squirrel

Our bird feeders are plundered by squirrels. My wife doesn't mind (squirrels have to eat too, she says), but I want the bird seed to be for the birds. Let the squirrels have what falls to the ground. But it looks like this squirrel has met his/her match in this feeder. There's some pretty funny squirrel videos that will appear when this video is over. Be careful, some of the videos are not funny and show squirrels meeting an untimely end.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

The story of the real St. Patrick is much more compelling than the story of a man who chased snakes out of Ireland.

Actually, that’s one of the things he didn’t do.

Kidnapped as a British boy, Patrick was brought into slavery in Ireland. No time today to tell you the wider story, but he eventually escapes, but is called by God to return to the country of his captors and evangelize Ireland.

As author Anita McSorley writes in “The St. Patrick You Never Knew,” his kidnapping and subsequent work was as significant to his world as the capture and story of Helen of Troy.

So, as a non-drinker, I hope and pray that some folks will skip the green beer today and find out the real story of St. Patrick and his incredible work and grace.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day.

This is why they should never have given the news away for free

A loyal reader sent this link to a survey about how people feel about paying for news online. Of course, the newspapers gave it away for 10 years so it's going to be hard to convince people to pay now.

As I've said before, the brains at Booth/Advance/Newhouse disregarded the opinions of old newsies like me and others who questioned the practice of giving away the news when the idea first surfaced more than ten years ago.

They patted us on the head and said we didn't understand the new realities. Well, as it turned out, we understood it better than them.

Another link about the Great Lakes Bay newspaper

Thanks to a commenter we have another view of the rebranding of the Bay City-Saginaw-Midland area.

A site that looks over the News Media

I haven't started to mine this site, but wanted to put up this link.

Great Lakes Bay announcement

Here's the announcement of Great Lakes Bay.

Kudos to the Flint Journal staff

One thing the Flint Journal has always done well is the coverage of breaking news. On those occasions when all heck broke loose, the staff - big or small -has always found a way to work together to provide first day coverage as well as anyone.

So congratulations to the reporters who were honored recently by Scripps Howard for an online breaking news award. The information about the Owosso shooting of an anti-abortion activist is in the MLive.com announcement.

I know one of those deeply involved in that coverage has left the paper for a more stable career, but she should also be proud of her efforts in that trophy.

If I were publisher of the Flint Journal - or the editor - I would make sure the folks involved in that story received a very nice bonus to pay them for all the overtime they worked and didn't get paid during that story.

A new Michigan online news service opens in Kzoo land

Booth doesn't relish competition so I'm sure a new online news agency in town has folks scrambling to convince advertisers and financial backers to ease up or back out. It appears the new site is targeting Kalamazoo, Battle Creek, Benton Harbor and much of southwest Michigan.

Anyway here's the link to the new site.

Looks like it will be a soft news site, business, arts, that kind of thing. But compared to AnnArbor.com the appearance is much better. Found a few broken links though. Looks like they have some sponsors or ads at the bottom of the page.

The Kalamazoo Community Foundation and Borgess Medical are major players in the Kalamazoo area so this may be a serious attempt at providing a counter to the Gazette. It has a ways to go, however.

My favorite anti-smoking ad ever!

Tuesday print announcement made Sunday

Just got back from Buffalo and didn't open my Sunday Flint Journal until last night and the front page had this announcement.

By the way I think this is a good thing. I hope it is a glimpse of what is to come. It is also an admission that the real money in news comes not from online, but from print.

Found on Facebook: NY Times plagarism story

This was an interesting read about a NY Times reporter caught stealing stories from the Wall Street Journal.

Great Lakes Bay: A quiet start

With all the buzz in the various newsrooms about "Great Lakes Bay" I have been watching MLive.com for some news or other announcement. So far I haven't seen it, but I could have missed it because I don't go there everyday.

I did use the MLive.com search function and found a "Great Lakes Bay" site with stories going back to last month. There is also a Facebook page, but you'll have to be a member of Facebook to look on. And then there was this 2009 link. But so far no "Great Lakes Bay" tab on MLive.com although if you click on the "Great Lakes Bay" logo at the top it takes you right back to MLive.com.

So far the news is very light, fluffy and entertainment-centered.

What's wrong with newspapers: Listen to this (well not anymore)

The publisher of the Bay City-Flint - Saginaw newspapers describes how he plans to save newspapers and his new venture. I looked on MLive.com and either can't find any public announcement or it hasn't been posted yet.

The audio of his announcement about the new "Great Lakes Bay" edition was on line, but has been removed.

Flint launches a new Tuesday edition on March 23. Apparently this new venture includes Midland, which, according to insiders, will include some financing by Dow Chemical and is set to take on the Midland Daily News. The Great Lakes Bay edition begins on Tuesdays starting March 30.

The publisher got scattered applause when he announced the new Tuesday editions.

My favorite part: "We need to change the way people think about newspapers." How about changing back to the old model of writing actually news stories that people want to read and change their hearts and minds. The problem for this faux publisher is that he seems to really believe that people will buy his product even though the public knows they are getting crap.

"Gotta get off our heels and on our toes." This is his comment on going after WNEM-TV and taking back market share.

Good luck, though.

My new lesson in economics and government

I'll probably get an earful from faithful FFE reader Inky, but I received a not-so-free lesson in running my own business yesterday at the office of our tax man.

Two years ago this month I started a small venture - jlsmediaservices - so that I could do a little part time writing work after I left the newspaper business. I picked up one client and in 2009 made a whopping $19,000. After business deductions (losses) I show a profit of about $16,000.

During 2009 I made estimated $900 quarterly tax payments to Uncle Sam. My wife and I each have retirement income for our careers so it was time to pay the piper on Wednesday.

As a "small businessman" I ended up paying a 25 percent federal tax, a 4 percent State tax, a .5 percent city tax and then had to pay both ends of my Social Security - 15 percent - on the profit.

I have to pay the Social Security even though I am receiving my benefits and any more money that I pay into the system will not change what I already receive. It's my little gift to the federal government.

To be honest, I was planning to lighten my work load this year because you can only make $14,000 a year if you are drawing Social Security without paying a penalty.

So, thanks to the government, I will be shutting down my business in June. All done, finished, not going to work anymore. I was mad enough that I was ready to shut it down last night, but I have a responsibility to finish work for my one and only client.

The fact that the government confiscates 45 percent of my profit means that 25 minutes of every hour I work is for the government. Just not going to do that.

Remember, Almighty God only asks for 10 percent.

Looks like my real retirement will begin in June. Thank you, Uncle Sam.

It is no wonder that unemployment is as high as it is.

Your turn Inky. Tell me how wrong I am not to want to give the government 45 percent of my labor.

A tale not told, but a sentence anyway

While I was out of town a sentencing came down in the Kurt Heintz case.

In case you don't remember, this was the story I basically couldn't get past the timid editors and wimpy lawyers 2 1/2 years ago.

So I guess I'm vindicated, but in the meantime an important story was squeezed off the pages at a time that it would have been a significant scoop and a window into the coming housing meltdown.

It was a piece that screamed to be reported and published. Shame on those who squashed it like a bug.

I did have one editor ally in that battle for that story. By the way, she was also "downsized."

Found this on the Internet, a little smile for a Sunday

Rumor: Is it true?

Looking for a little help here. I received the following comment and wondered if anyone could verify this information:

"Jim, unrelated to any of your posts, but word on the street is that a representative of The Flint Journal/Community Newspapers appeared at a Clio Chamber of Commerce board meeting this week with an announcement that this Sunday's editon of the Clio Messenger will be THE LAST one printed, period. Henceforth, the "paper" reportedly will be available on-line only. No knowledge as to whether others in the Community Newspapers group would be similarly dumped in their dead-tree form, but, if true for one, that would seem likely. Have you seen one lately? Scary bad example of "community" journalism at best. Oh, and here's the kicker, I'm told that this announcement was somehow presented to this particular group of local business owners as "good news." Supposedly, this was already reported on MLive, but I have not been able to find it?"

Bawston: You're my home

Well, not really, but it is the home of my stepdaughter, Elin. We have been there several times and I can attest to many of the things on the following list, which was sent to me by my father, who received it from a friend in Burlingame, California. So, a good source.

"For those of you who have never been to "Bawstin",this is a good guideline.
I hope you will consider coming to "Beantown" in the near future.

Information on Boston and the surrounding area:
There's no school on School Street , no court on Court Street,
no dock on Dock Square , no water on Water Street .
Back Bay streets are in alphabetical "oddah": Arlington , Berkeley , Clarendon, Dartmouth , etc. So are South Boston streets:A, B, C, D, etc.
If the streets are named after trees (e.g.Walnut, Chestnut, Cedar), you're on Beacon Hill
.If they're named after poets, you're in Wellesley
.
Massachusetts Avenue is Mass Ave ; Commonwealth Avenue is Comm Ave ;
South Boston is Southie. The South End is the South End.
East Boston is Eastie. The North End is east of the former West End .
The West End and Scollay Square are no more; a guy named
Rappaport got rid of them one night. Roxbury is The Burry, Jamaica Plain is J.P.

How to say these Massachusetts city names correctly:
**Say it wrong, be shunned**
Worcester : Wuhsta (or Woostah)
Gloucester : Glawsta
Leicester:Lesta
Woburn : Woobin
Dedham : Dead-um
Revere : Ra-vee-ah
Quincy : Quinzee
Tewksbury : Tooks berry
Leominster : Lemin-sta
Peabody : Pee-ba-dee
Waltham : Walth-ham
Chatham : Chaddum
Samoset: Sam-oh-set or Sum-aw-set but nevah Summerset!

Definitions:
Frappes have ice cream, milkshakes don't.
If it is fizzy and flavored, it's tonic.
Soda is CLUB SODA.
"Pop" is DAD.
When we want Tonic WATER, we will ask for TONIC WATER.
The smallest beer is a pint.
Scrod is whatever they tell you it is, usually fish. If you paid
more than $7/pound, you got scrod.
It's not a water fountain; it's a bubblah..
It's not a trashcan; it's a barrel.
It's not a spucky, a hero or grinder,... it's a sub.
It's not a shopping cart; it's a carriage.
It's not a purse; it's a pockabook.
They're not franks; they're haht dahgs;
Franks are money in Switzahland.
Police don't drive patrol units or black and whites they drive a "crooza".
If you take the bus, you're on the "looza crooza".
It's not a rubber band, it's an elastic. It's not a traffic circle, it's a rotary.
"Going to the islands" means Martha's Vineyard & Nantucket.
The Sox = The Red Sox
The C's = The Celtics
The B's = The Bruins
The Pat's =The Patriots
Things not to do:
Don't pahk your cah in Hahvid Yahd .. they'll tow it to Meffa
( Medford ) or Summahville (Somerville) .
Don't sleep on the Common. ( Boston Common)
Don't wear Orange in Southie on St. Patrick's Day.

Things you should know:

There are two State Houses, two City Halls, two courthouses,
two Hancock buildings (one old, one new for each).

The colored lights on top the old Hancock building tell the weatha':
"Solid blue = clear view...."
"Flashing blue, =clouds due...."
"Solid red, =rain ahead...."
"Flashing red, =snow instead...." -
except in summer;flashing red means the Red Sox game was rained out!

Ahtha Impore-int Stuff

Most people live here all their life and still don't know
what the hell is going on with this one:

Route 128 South is I-95 south. It's also I-93 north.
The underground train is not a subway. It's the "T", and it
doesn't run all night (aftaawl, this ain't Noo Yawk)..

Order the "cold tea" in China Town after 2:00 am you'll get a
kettle full of beer.

Bostonians.. . think that it's their God-given right to cut off someone in traffic.
Bostonians.. think that there are only 25 letters in the alphabet (no R's)
except in "idea".
Bostonians.. think that three straight days of 90+ temperatures is a heat wave.
Bostonians.. refer to six inches of snow as a "dusting."
Bostonians.. .always "bang a left" as soon as the light turns green,
and oncoming traffic always expects it.
Bostonians.. believe that using your turn signal is a sign of weakness.
Bostonians.. .think that 63-degree ocean water is warm.
Bostonians.. think Rhode Island accents are annoying.
Bostonians.believe that Connecticut is a suburb of NooYawk.
Send this to your friends who don't live in Boston (and the ones who do!!)