Pope of the Promo

You ever wonder where those station marketing image spots that appear on the airwaves during your regular scheduled program come from? They are usually the brain child from the crack staff of your company's marketing/promo department. That's where my buddy Chris Blades comes into play. Known to many as The Pope, no it was NOT self proclaimed by him, he's the one who grabs a pen & pad, sketch out an idea, then makes it happen with a few shoots and some news file from the archives of the Asylum. He's pulled off some magic in a matter of minutes after some big stories turned to help sell some of the hard workers at the Big Raggedy. Think about it, it he can put yours truly in one of his epic spots then he must have some great powers, DYK?

Fueling The Hype Machine

As we draw closer to the "Biggest Game Ever", version 2.0 I might add, it’s time for the obligatory meet and greet of the players from both LSU & BAMA to play nice in front of the media. No need for unwarranted bulletin board material this close to game day. Wonder what questions were asked and how many of them were recycled from the last time. Just have to watch what the small army from the Big Raggedy sends back since I couldn’t make for any of the festivities. There’s always next time even though that maybe four years from now.

New Year's Resolution

With 2011 officially in the rear view and no plans to put the brakes on in 2012, I like many all over have a New Year's Resolution. Nothing fancy, nothing outragous, just the same one I've had for some time now. What is it you ask?

Just be a better person.

Simple. Happy New Year. Make 2012 yours, DYK?

Hello MMXII

While putting the final touches of some good television at the asylum I start to think…

2011. My how the time flies. Even more reason to enjoy and reflect on moments that helped molded the past year. Some memories you want to forget about it. While others you relish. Those you hold on to. Those you will have a special place in your heart. Events where you kept eyes in the back of your head while walking backwards. Or the time you got to hang out with your favorite roller derby team for the whole season. Then there was the instance where you had to deal with all kinds of weather events. There was the return to an old haunt to go with the debut of another. You got to sit and listen to one incredibly strong young lady. But sadly had to say farewell to a couple of icons that left the business. Plus the day when you had a certain, “Holy crap did this just happen?”, moment. I’ll blog more about that one later. But the most important thing, I got to spend it with some from very good people inside and away from the walls of the asylum.

There was a lot that happened that made 2011 into 2011. So let’s sit back & enjoy some pictures, Happy New Year everyone.

Home For The Holidays

It’s no secret that I have a lot of admiration for the men and women of the Armed Forces. My grandpa served. My aunt served with her two daughter following suit. Those brave souls who were willing to make the sacrifice of being away from their loved ones and those who had made the ultimate sacrifice. Now after a nine year trek, the war in Iraq is coming to an end and our brave men & women are making their way home. Just in time for the holidays.

So it’s nothing for me to go and capture the emotion of loved ones with an insatiable anxiety to hold their sons, daughters, husbands, wives, brothers, & sisters in their arms once again. To the men & women who have served and those who are serving abroad, thank you for what you do. You have not only earned my respect but the respect of people living in the greatest country in the world.

Those of you have returned enjoy the return home and the love from your family and friends. Those of you still on active duty, my prayers for your safety and a speedy return are with you. God Bless you all and God Bless the United States of America.

30 Rock Solid

In live television anything, and usually everything, can happen. No safety new, no reset button, no second take. Those in front of the lens have to develop and maintain a sense of calm and composure. Even though something out of the ordinary is going on during live television you have to just roll with the punches. It happens to everyone even to NBC’s Nightly News Anchor Brian Williams. Recapping the day’s events throughout the world a sudden an annoying sound just started to blare through the surround sound of viewer’s sets across the country. Was the lead guy caught off guard? Maybe. Did it stop him? No way. Just kept his cool and continued to present the news as if nothing was going on. Think about it, this dude has been through every kind of war zone, convention, and natural disaster that most wouldn’t dare go through. No wonder they’ve dominating the ratings for some time now.

If there is someone for the young and aspiring journalists to look towards, they may want to take a few notes from the guy who leads at 30 Rockefeller Plaza.

More Than A Job

The life of a News Photographer is a unique one. One that can usual goes around in circles if you manage to do this long enough. Go to one place to shoot a scene and a few years later you will experience total recall of what happened that day. The same could be said for people. We met a lot of them while roaming around in a news unit with cameras ready to go at a moment’s notice. But it’s the people that we get attached to when we first meet them that have lasting impressions on us. It’s those events that affect our friends that can put emotional implants on our psyche. That’s what happened to my friend Rick Portier, known as The Turdpolisher in the photographer circles. Yesterday it seemed like another rash of random madness where we were hoping for a quiet lead in to the holiday weekend. It was anything but.

He got me into this whole blogging thing but sometimes you have to when to take a step back and let someone better tell of his experience to an awful event. After reading say a prayer for that family, that neighborhood, and the Polisher. They’ll appreciate it.