ST. AUGUSTINE, FLA. __ After a few days in Concord, Mass., I couldn't help but think about my old pal, Ralph Waldo...
"In the woods, we return to reason and faith. There I feel that nothing can befall me in life, -- no disgrace, no calamity, (leaving me my eyes,) which nature cannot repair. Standing on the bare ground, -- my head bathed by the blithe air, and uplifted into infinite space, -- all mean egotism vanishes. I become a transparent eye-ball; I am nothing; I see all; the currents of the Universal Being circulate through me; I am part or particle of God. The name of the nearest friend sounds then foreign and accidental: to be brothers, to be acquaintances, -- master or servant, is then a trifle and a disturbance. I am the lover of uncontained and immortal beauty. In the wilderness, I find something more dear and connate than in streets or villages. In the tranquil landscape, and especially in the distant line of the horizon, man beholds somewhat as beautiful as his own nature."
MIDDLETOWN, RI __ Was out shopping for media equipment and happened upon a sales display for something called Flo TV. Sitting atop this little shelf was a small flat-panel television about the size of an iPhone, which was airing a live signal from the Food Network.
Curious, I picked it up and began fumbling with it. Like the Apple's iPhone or iTouch, it had a touch screen, which I tapped and a menu of TV networks popped up. Because I'm addicted to CNBC, I tapped the link for that and within seconds I was looking at the stock market news coming out of the financial network.
Here it was: Personal TV or a flat-panel television that actually fits in your pocket. I stumbled up to the clerk inside Radio Shack and asked if she had any units for sale. She pulled one out of the display case and because I needed to, I bought it.
When I got it home, I pulled the small TV out of the box, installed its rechargeable battery and then logged onto the website, FloTV.com and registered. Although the first six months of use is free, I had to put in a credit card number and sign a digital agreement that locks me in for $14 a month.
In exchange, I am subscribed to a small TV network that includes HD versions of ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox News, CNN, the Cartoon Network, the Food Network, the Comedy Channel and so forth. I suspect the unit works like a cellphone: once you get a signal, you get a connection. If you have a good connection, you get HDV resolution: It looks like 720p to me.
Now, the unit was affordable: I paid $250 for it and after a half-day's use, I'm pleased with it... although my signal coverage is a little spotty. I'm on the edge of the Flo TV metro network for Providence, RI. But, if I drive a little north, the signal comes in crisp and clear.
And I'm okay with that, because I suspect I'll be using it for travel, not at home.
MIDDLETOWN, RI __ Frank Sesno, the host and creator of Planet Forward, has posted a new message to the new Planet Forward site. Here's what he has to say:
MIDDLETOWN, RI __ The movie, Capote, turned up on the Independent Film Channel tonight and, while I do own a copy of the DVD, I decided to sit up and watch it. The movie is about Truman Capote, the author who wrote In Cold Blood, a non-fiction novel that changed the face of journalism in the 1960s.
Now, I'd known about the book and the author for years but it wasn't until 2004 that I actually picked up a copy and read it. The delay can be blamed almost entirely upon my Truman Capote. When I was a boy, in the 1970s, Capote used to turn up from time to time on daytime TV game shows and say the oddest things. Those appearances left the strangest impression on me; I mean, I knew he was famous but I had know idea why.
It wasn't until the Spring of 2004 that I began reading the book.
In Cold Blood is about a Kansas family that was murdered in 1959 by two drifters. Capote read a small brief in The New York Times and told the editors of The New Yorker that this murder would be the subject of his next article. That inspiration turned into a full-length book.
To write it, Capote flew to Kansas, studied the community, penetrated the investigation, observed the court proceedings and developed personal relationships with the two murders. The project took several years and ultimately made Capote famous; it also ultimately destroyed him.
What struck me about the book wasn't the story so much as the writing. Capote's writing is lithe, smart, intuitive, sparing and delicate. He retained the potency of journalism but elevated the craft of storytelling to high art.
After reading it, I was so thrilled with the work, I added it to a reading list and made 40 freshman churn through it in a journalism workshop. When we were done looking at the work, I showed them the movie, Capote, and asked them what they thought: They hated it.
I remember thinking that this book changed me. Writing should have that power, shouldn't it? The wonder here is that not every great piece of writing can affect everyone. We have to encounter great art at a time when we're hungry for it. Thus was the case with me and Truman Capote.
MIDDLETOWN, RI __ I shot this photograph inside my girlfriend's kitchen. Outside, Rhode Island had just gotten three-inches of snow, which lasted just a few hours.
This picture, however, has nothing to do with Tiger Woods.
MIDDLETOWN, RI __ So the magazine industry is experimenting with the digital realm finally. In the current issue of Esquire, a men's magazine, you will see a picture of Robert Downey Jr. on the cover. He's sitting on a white box with odd markings on the front of it. This is the conduit for the magazine's "augmented reality."
It works like this: Go to the Esquire website and download the A/R software. Then HOLD the cover of the magazine up to your web camera and watch what happens. First, you will see yourself in this black and white image on your own desktop and then the software kicks in and you begin to see this semi-interactive video featuring Robert Downey Jr.
This is the YouTube example:
For now, the technology is gimmicky BUT it does represent a first step towards true integrated media. Imagine, for example, if other media groups started doing this? Newspapers could put these little barcode icons in the Sports Sections where readers can see play-by-play highlights from the game, for example.
For now, I'm placing this button on the page to see how people react to it. I promise that all donations will go towards digital journalism research and/or adding content to this page.
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