On April 25, 1976, the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Chicago Cubs in a game that was overshadowed by an act of patriotism by Cubs’ centerfielder Rick Monday. Monday saved the U.S. flag from being burned on the field by protesters. This heroic act catapulted Monday into the national spotlight.

On June 10, 2008, my friends and I were in Los Angeles for a game between the Cubs and Dodgers. I took the opportunity to interview Monday, who ironically became a broadcaster for the the Dodgers. I used that interview to produce a GT blog during the week of July 4th. Much to my surprise, the blog was read on the air by David Stein of Sporting News Radio.

Last Thursday, I was in New York for GT’s annual awards event. Midway through the night, my pants zipper broke. I returned to my room to try and fix the problem. After a few futile minutes, I gave up and put on jeans. I figured it was dark in the party room and I wasn’t the main focus anyway.

As I re-entered the party, I heard publisher Fran Gallagher make a comment about a blog, followed by a recording of Stein reading my blog on Rick Monday. I had no idea what was happening when Kim Krol (GT wunderkind) summoned me to the stage.

I arrived at the stage just as Fran announced me as the winner of the Globility award. Then I promptly tripped going up the stairs, only to have actor (and awards presenter) Terrence Howard save me from tumbling off the stage.

If you see any pictures of the moment and I look a bit stunned and disheveled, I was. Two weeks ago I wrote about meeting Terrence Howard. I had no idea it would be under these circumstances.

Fran Gallagher defines globility as: the quality of being open to world of cultures and experiences. I can honestly say, writing this blog has definitely given me plenty of wonderful experiences.

In a former professional life, Laurie encouraged me to take opportunities when presented with them. I took her advice in getting the interview with Monday. The experience turned out to be magical, ending with me accepting the Globility award.

I admit, Fran has been open to some of my offbeat blogs, although he ribs me incessantly about them. I hope I have rewarded his trust. I plan on continually seeking out interesting stuff. I am grateful for every reader and all comments.

– John Wroblewski, distribution specialist, blogger and Globility award winner

Earlier this week, my favorite publisher, Fran Gallagher, discussed Hawaii’s questionable marketing strategies. It is a bit surprising that marketing for something as important and big as Hawaii would be so misguided, but I have seen many inept plans on a smaller scale.

When I worked at (the now defunct) Lerner Newspapers, one of my responsibilities was the distribution of Visitor Guides for certain areas. These guides were jointly produced by Lerner and various Chambers of Commerce or Tourism/Visitors Bureaus.

I would think these guides were meant to attract others to these areas. Instead, most times, The Powers That Be felt the guides should be distributed only in the areas covered. This certainly made distribution easier and quicker, but I doubt it did anything for the economy of the area. Ironically, The Powers That Be would often complain afterward that they didn’t receive any response from the guides, nor did they see any spike in tourism.

Another failed project involved a shopper publication. The newspaper consisted entirely of ads for local stores, many including coupons. I was shocked to learn that The Powers That Be wanted the entire run of the publication to be delivered to local businesses. After a few minutes of this pointless exercise, the project was abandoned based on the lack of consumer response.

How does this happen? I understand there are knuckleheads in every walk of life, but why didn’t someone see the silliness in these two examples?

Of course, on their resumes and in their minds, these projects were probably classified as successes. They probably bragged about their brilliance in promotion and marketing. They might even have parlayed these experiences into better jobs, like maybe at the Hawaiian Visitors Bureau.

– John Wroblewski, distribution specialist

I was driving around running errands yesterday and pondering, among other things, what book I should read next. Just a few days earlier, fellow GT blogger John Wroblewski had written about some of the books and authors he enjoyed. He mentioned some which I had not heard of before but which sounded like the kind of thing I would like. I can get in a bit of a rut with what I choose to read — same genres or authors or subject matter – so I like getting a nudge in a new direction now and then.

I had my radio tuned to the local public radio station (if there is a decent local news/talk radio station in this valley, I have yet to find it) and only listening with half an ear when I realized the current interview was with an author . . . of a graphic book. Now, that’s definitely a subject I know next to nothing about. They’re basically comic books, right? Mostly about superheroes or science fiction/fantasy subject matter, biggest fans are kind of nerdy young men? I vaguely was aware that several had given rise to some very popular recent movies (V for Vendetta, The Dark Knight, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, The Watchmen). As a former English teacher and avid reader, I’m all for anything that will encourage kids — and older folks, too — to get away from a screen and read, but this format has never enticed me personally.

Having a healthy imagination, I’ve never felt the need to have pictures help tell a story when well-chosen words will do (although I greatly appreciate, even now, a beautifully illustrated children’s book). And as I said, action/science fiction/superhero stories as a whole aren’t very high on my list of preferred genres. But I’m always open to something new and decided it’s high time I checked out these graphic novels. Listening to the NPR interview, the first thing I learned is that not all of these books are fiction. The author of the one under discussion, Michael Keller, just completed a graphic interpretation of Darwin’s On the Origin of Species. As I listened to the interview, I began to understand that presenting information or a story in the graphic format could allow a writer to present ideas and demonstrate concepts or theories in a way that the written word alone could not — much as there are certain things one can do or show in an animated film that are impossible or at least fall short in a live-action movie. Seems so obvious, yes?

Poking around the Internet last night, I found that, indeed, the format has been dominated by adventure and sci-fi stories, but that’s not the whole story. Back in 1992, the Pulitzer committee gave a special award to Art Spiegelman for his graphic memoir Maus: A Survivor’s Tale, about his father, a Holocaust survivor. In 2005, Time magazine included Spiegelman in its list of 100 Most Influential People in the world. There are graphic books for kids, tweens, teens and adults, and the subject matter can be light or very heavy. Though fiction dominates, one can find subjects from biography to science, history to philosophy. A recent publication, The Book of Genesis Illustrated by Robert Crumb (anyone out there old enough to remember Fritz the Cat?),  gives what one reviewer calls “a new perspective on this ancient work” and says the detailed artwork makes the text (from the King James Bible) more accessible to all, no matter their religious background or beliefs.

I have to say, reading some of the reviews on graphicnovelreporter.com’s website has me eager to check out this genre and some of the very intriguing-sounding titles listed there. I’d be curious if anyone reading this blog has delved into the graphic novel world and has any comments/recommendations to make.

– Patty Vanikiotis, proofreader

Last week I wrote about taking part in a quintessential American experience — attending a big-time college football game. Last night I witnessed another event which I feel also helps to define our American identity, though on a much smaller scale. It was the Homecoming football game for our Rogue River High School, and though attendees numbered in the hundreds instead of the tens of thousands as at the OSU game, you can be sure that their pride in and enthusiasm for their team was no less than that of the Beavers’ fans.

I would imagine that the vast majority of GT readers who attended a U.S. high school have memories of their own homecoming festivities. They no doubt vary depending on the size of the school and when and where you attended. Both my husband and I attended large suburban high schools in the late ’60s and early ’70s, and the game was the focus and highlight of a week that included pep assemblies and spirit competitions between grade levels, but there were no parades or floats. It wasn’t until we moved to Southern Idaho for Harry’s first administrative job at a small, rural high school that we saw how an entire community got caught up in the excitement of homecoming.

Well before homecoming week arrived, each class (numbering perhaps 80 kids each) spent time plotting the construction of its float. In the days leading up to Friday, every afternoon was spent at a secret location (someone’s family barn or shop) decking out the flatbed truck or trailer donated for the event by someone else’s willing relative. Guided by that year’s theme, limited only by their imaginations and materials readily available, and fueled by the desire to create the winning float, the students put a lot of time and effort into constructing rather elaborate entries. The excitement level would reach a fever pitch by Friday, and you can be sure that very little studying was done that morning. Shortly after noon, seemingly the whole town turned out to view the homecoming parade trailing down the main drag, complete with antique cars, the band, a firetruck and a few patrol cars and, the highlight, the class floats carrying their royalty. Later that night the king and queen would be announced at halftime, and the stands would be packed with students, alums, boosters and family members hoping for a win from the team. 

Many years later, we once again find ourselves in a small town where community pride, activities and interest center on the local schools. With the football team having lost only one game this season (after winning not a one last year), the student body and the town are experiencing a resurgence in pride and spirit not seen for some time. Shopkeepers and townsfolk lined the parade route yesterday afternoon, and the stands were full last night, despite a persistent light mist turning to heavy drizzle turning to light rain (we Oregonians have as many descriptions of precipitation as the Eskimos reputedly have for snow). Sadly, our Chieftains, perhaps thrown off by the first wet game of the year and certainly by the absence due to injury of their star player for much of the game, lost 41-3. Nevertheless, the crowd remained and cheered loudly for their boys throughout the night, led by the ever-sunny cheerleaders, and one of the senior-class princesses along with her escort, were crowned this year’s Homecoming Queen and King.

Despite the damp weather and the disappointing final score, I was left with a warm sense of community and an appreciation for the ability to take part in such a unique and special American experience. “Homecoming” seems to be truly the most appropriate word for it.

– Patty Vanikiotis, proofreader 

This summer in the city has been hot! As I deal with the summer heat, outdoor beer gardens are the last thing on my mind. I consider myself an outdoors type. During the summer, I think about beaches and bike rides, kayaking and fishing. I’ve had to make one big adjustment since moving to the city — learning to deal with spending time indoors in the summer.

A short trip to Massachusetts, Connecticut or upstate New York is sometimes enough for me. I get my outdoor fix over the long weekend away. On the weekdays, however, I feel a strong desire to move to an apartment with central air. I love the outdoor beer gardens scattered throughout Brooklyn, but with the extremely high August temperatures, my favorite city commodity has quickly become useless.

Museums, movies, shopping, dining out and Broadway musicals are some of the best ways to beat the heat during the city summers. Broadway offers great discount prices, and museums offer discounts and, in some cases, free admission! The Museum of Modern Art hosts Target Free Fridays from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. After reading Alex’s blog on Tuesday, I think I may have to look up some more great shows on Broadway.

–Courtney Centeno, account executive