tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4773042252626173576Tue, 29 Apr 2008 21:25:38 +0000http://www.joshshear.com/groundlevel/JoshBlogger61125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4773042252626173576.post-3578814153718836655Tue, 29 Apr 2008 21:17:00 +00002008-04-29T17:25:38.524-04:00corporate challengeexerciserunningWeek 2 was a bit of a setback – with a chest cold, I couldn't get my lungs to carry me past three-quarters of a mile. But this week so far is much better. I eked out a mile and a quarter last Friday, but yesterday I did 1.56 miles (that's half of a 5K; it's not just some weird number I picked), and today was the first day I tried to run two days in a row. I extended another tenth of a mile, for http://www.joshshear.com/groundlevel/2008/04/learning-to-be-runner-weeks-2-3.htmlJoshtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4773042252626173576.post-4366880078096412303Tue, 29 Apr 2008 12:29:00 +00002008-04-29T08:33:51.166-04:00great lakesweathergreat lakes wikicitizen mediaI don't really think of myself as a member of a Great Lakes community – at least not until winter rolls around and we hear the dreaded works "lake effect" every 10 minutes. OK, so maybe that's a slight exaggeration. My favorite public radio station does the weather every 20 minutes. But apparently, folks on the other side of Lake Ontario do have a community, and an important one. They've http://www.joshshear.com/groundlevel/2008/04/great-lakes-wiki.htmlJoshtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4773042252626173576.post-1327734799014852916Fri, 18 Apr 2008 15:19:00 +00002008-04-18T11:24:02.001-04:00joshexerciserunningOK...I successfully did one mile, three times, and feel OK about it. Pretty good about it, actually. It turns out if you listen to songs that are about 5 minutes long, you can warm up and then run a mile over the course of three songs. That seems to make it not bad at all – run for two songs and then you're done. I've got a bit of a cold right now, but I'm getting on a train shortly, and headed http://www.joshshear.com/groundlevel/2008/04/learning-to-be-runner-week-1.htmlJoshtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4773042252626173576.post-5782772732654074941Mon, 14 Apr 2008 17:26:00 +00002008-04-14T13:43:18.787-04:00exerciserunningOn Thursday of last week, I took advantage of the lovely weather to wander over to Fleet Feet, the local running shop. I'd been there before, and been very impressed. They come over to you, they introduce themselves, they measure your feet, they put you on a treadmill and videotape you running so they'll know what to do in terms of shoes. Outstanding, right? Yeah. That was a little over two http://www.joshshear.com/groundlevel/2008/04/learning-to-be-runner-day-1.htmlJoshtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4773042252626173576.post-4486621169306691186Sun, 06 Apr 2008 20:28:00 +00002008-04-06T16:29:53.677-04:00piMarch 14 was, of course, Pi Day (hint: the number starts 3.14). Harvard had its annual celebration, and this year, BC senior James Niles-Joyal recited the first 3,141 digits (hint: the number starts 3.141). My favorite part, though, is the way the Harvard kids rag on him (listen to the last clip on the page). Apparently, memorizing the first 3,141 digits of pi isn't an entirely useless http://www.joshshear.com/groundlevel/2008/04/jealousies-of-pi.htmlJoshtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4773042252626173576.post-3471395300736837605Fri, 04 Apr 2008 14:01:00 +00002008-04-04T10:08:17.924-04:00martin luther king2008 presidential raceracismraceMartin Luther King, Jr., was shot and killed 40 years ago today. He was 39 when he died, so he has now been dead longer than he lived. I don't know if that has any extra significance. What would King think of America in 2008? I guess it depends on how he got here – I'm sure if he'd seen the pace of progress since then, he'd be disappointed, but if he just showed up after a 40-year absence, http://www.joshshear.com/groundlevel/2008/04/40-years-and-still-wandering-desert.htmlJoshtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4773042252626173576.post-6129150230493459643Wed, 02 Apr 2008 20:22:00 +00002008-04-02T16:39:22.375-04:00photographynational securityphotosmediacitizen mediaIn case law enforcement ever tells you to delete a photo from your digital camera – or demands that you hand over your film in the name of security – here's what you're allowed to do. If you are in a publicly accessible place – a sidewalk outside a stadium, for example – you're allowed to photograph anything you can see with reasonable equipment (that said, don't set up a giant telescope in the http://www.joshshear.com/groundlevel/2008/04/yeah-ask.htmlJoshtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4773042252626173576.post-7213034849159369905Mon, 31 Mar 2008 11:15:00 +00002008-03-31T07:16:30.873-04:00joshwinterweatherbaseballWinter has defeated me this year, more than any winter since that of 2003-04, when I first moved here. That year, I was not only unprepared for things like lake effect snow and the perpetual grey that is a Central New York winter, that winter was the coldest the area had experienced since they started keeping records. It was also the second-snowiest. This year, it just seems like it's been coldhttp://www.joshshear.com/groundlevel/2008/03/opening-day.htmlJoshtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4773042252626173576.post-8066648934367515945Mon, 31 Mar 2008 11:14:00 +00002008-03-31T07:15:23.702-04:00the lostjudaismdaniel mendelsohnmemoirnon-fictionbooksreligionI've been writing about The Lost for the past several months. I did finally finish the book, and it turns out that once you're past the first 50 or so pages, it's an emotional drain. The whole way. I'm glad I wove some fluffy fiction in throughout the book. I'm also very glad I read it. In the end, Mendelsohn finds his family. He even stands in the spot where his grandfather's brother and hishttp://www.joshshear.com/groundlevel/2008/03/what-were-reading-lost-by-daniel.htmlJoshtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4773042252626173576.post-5214703506051498992Mon, 31 Mar 2008 11:12:00 +00002008-03-31T07:13:50.189-04:00the lostjudaismdaniel mendelsohnmemoirnon-fictionbooksreligionI have promised myself never to see the film Schindler's List again. This is not a statement on Steven Speilberg's amazing interpretation of Thomas Keanelly's rather dry – though ultimately interesting – tome. It is not a statement on the girl in the red sweater – the only piece of color in the film. I saw the film twice in the theater. Once was with a group of fellow Jewish high school http://www.joshshear.com/groundlevel/2008/03/lost-update-how-to-tell-story.htmlJoshtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4773042252626173576.post-5204244529642816143Fri, 21 Mar 2008 11:12:00 +00002008-03-21T07:13:15.776-04:00prostitutionsexeliot spitzermediapoliticsSince I work in media, I try to steer away from politics on the blog. A little Web search will point you to my true feelings on politics, but it's all about the appearance of neutrality, right? Anyway, New York made some history last week, with a governor famous for bringing down things like corporations who liked screwing investors and prostitution rings got caught with his pants down and http://www.joshshear.com/groundlevel/2008/03/what-were-reading-different.htmlJoshtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4773042252626173576.post-2860230977745845798Fri, 21 Mar 2008 11:10:00 +00002008-03-21T07:11:23.827-04:00zz packerjudaismshort storiesothernessdrinking coffee elsewherebooksreligionfictionraceSometimes I judge books by their covers. I was checking out the new DeWitt Community Library. It's lighter and airier, a lot more space now. Wandering the aisles, I came across this book, Drinking Coffee Elsewhere. Drinking coffee elsewhere, I thought, it's kind of what I do. And the cover had a photo of an old-fashioned empty booze bottle (capped) on an empty street, under a gray sky with a http://www.joshshear.com/groundlevel/2008/03/what-were-reading-drinking-coffee.htmlJoshtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4773042252626173576.post-4403090078219579457Fri, 21 Mar 2008 11:08:00 +00002008-03-21T07:09:20.711-04:00christopher mooreyou suckbooksfictionbloodsucking fiendsLet's back up minute. From where? Well, here. I guess if I'm going to write a brief review of a sequel, I need to mention the original. In Bloodsucking Fiends, we meet C Thomas Flood, a recent high school grad from Indiana who drives to San Francisco for romance and a writing career. His car burns to the ground the second he parks it in San Fran, and he winds up finding work as a night manager http://www.joshshear.com/groundlevel/2008/03/what-were-reading-you-suck-love-story.htmlJoshtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4773042252626173576.post-3989700954137525320Wed, 12 Mar 2008 13:13:00 +00002008-03-12T09:14:49.960-04:00movieskevin smithinternettim couchpoliticsThanks, Kevin Smith, for reminding us of that. Tim Couch, thanks for trying to make the Internet useless.http://www.joshshear.com/groundlevel/2008/03/thats-what-internets-for-slandering.htmlJoshtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4773042252626173576.post-1666110010771860911Mon, 10 Mar 2008 20:01:00 +00002008-03-10T16:02:04.244-04:00newselliot spitzermediaLife goes on, but, well, wow. I guess that's why I'm a news junky.http://www.joshshear.com/groundlevel/2008/03/wow.htmlJoshtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4773042252626173576.post-2422755988116010552Mon, 10 Mar 2008 16:07:00 +00002008-03-10T12:16:49.415-04:00drugswal-martSorry about that. Someone had to, so it might as well have been me, right? They built a new Wal*Mart north of here and at the opening this weekend, they arrested some guy for masturbating in his truck in the store's lot. The man also had some pot and some hydrocodone pills – although he could have gotten the same effect by drinking the tap water, it turns out. In other new Wal*Mart news, a http://www.joshshear.com/groundlevel/2008/03/build-it-and-they-will-come.htmlJoshtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4773042252626173576.post-9222031294057713825Wed, 05 Mar 2008 18:53:00 +00002008-03-05T13:54:23.555-05:00Wait. Is Scott Adams living in my chimney?http://www.joshshear.com/groundlevel/2008/03/sometimes-i-laugh-at-wrong-times.htmlJoshtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4773042252626173576.post-684100873860339904Tue, 04 Mar 2008 17:50:00 +00002008-03-04T12:51:47.361-05:00weirdLike three right feet wearing size 12 running shoes? Nope, me neither.http://www.joshshear.com/groundlevel/2008/03/find-anything-floating-ashore-lately.htmlJoshtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4773042252626173576.post-1968937682581777097Sat, 01 Mar 2008 20:14:00 +00002008-03-01T15:54:28.396-05:00wanting seedthe lostdaniel mendelsohndeathbooksanthony burgessI mentioned in my brief review of The Wanting Seed this week that it's a bleak book. I live in Central New York, which is about the bleakest of places – not for the economic troubles, which I realize a lot of mid-sized cities are stuck with, but for the weather. We have positively lovely summers. Two months of sunshine spattered with a couple of thunderstorms. The thing is, this area gets http://www.joshshear.com/groundlevel/2008/03/living-it-out-lost-and-interviewing.htmlJoshtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4773042252626173576.post-958948769371572791Fri, 29 Feb 2008 14:02:00 +00002008-02-29T09:04:25.503-05:00joshstorephotosThursday you say? But, Josh, it's Friday... Yep, right. We went ahead and launched the store last night. You can buy photos directly from the artist (me!), all from the comfort of your living room. You don't even have to put pants on.http://www.joshshear.com/groundlevel/2008/02/update-store-launches-thursday.htmlJoshtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4773042252626173576.post-4026357005113570922Thu, 28 Feb 2008 20:27:00 +00002008-02-28T15:32:47.443-05:00wanting seedbooksfictionanthony burgessAnthony Burgess is best known for A Clockwork Orange. The Wanting Seed also falls into the dystopic category – my favorite – and it's just as bleak. Overpopulated futuristic world? Check. Government have an eye on – and a hand in – everything you do? Check. Love triangle? Check. Population limitation by killing all the stupid people? Check. Really smart main character who figures everything out http://www.joshshear.com/groundlevel/2008/02/what-were-reading-wanting-seed-by.htmlJoshtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4773042252626173576.post-2785626838931478448Mon, 25 Feb 2008 21:14:00 +00002008-02-25T16:18:13.614-05:00wayne barrr.e.m.I've come across a couple of blogs lately you should read. My former co-editor at The Westerner Wayne Barr writes about family at The Rag & Bone Shop. Our biggest fight at the paper? Monster vs. New Adventures In Hi-Fi. Nuff said. The other comes thanks to someone in the tech department at my current job. It's called Passive-Aggressive Notes, and really, nothing else needs to be said about http://www.joshshear.com/groundlevel/2008/02/two-new-to-me-blogs.htmlJoshtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4773042252626173576.post-1542617116690894545Sun, 24 Feb 2008 20:15:00 +00002008-02-24T15:17:45.790-05:00joshphotosWe're counting down to Sunday, the 2nd of March. That's the day photos go up for sale – in plenty of time to order for Mother's Day. More later.http://www.joshshear.com/groundlevel/2008/02/store-drops-sunday-2-march-2008.htmlJoshtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4773042252626173576.post-2532502071993937858Sun, 24 Feb 2008 16:20:00 +00002008-02-24T11:24:36.491-05:00joshYou may have noticed a slight change in the color scheme. Just a slight one, mind you. It took a lot longer than I thought it would to figure out how to integrate PayPal seamlessly into the site, but I think I've got it now. There will be some sort of announcement later today as to when you can expect the store to be up.http://www.joshshear.com/groundlevel/2008/02/v20-update.htmlJoshtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4773042252626173576.post-1133756327667910637Sat, 16 Feb 2008 15:24:00 +00002008-02-16T10:26:50.407-05:00joshphotosNew colors are just the beginning. Better readability? Check. More stuff? Check. Ability to order photos online? Check. Wait, what? That's right. Order photos online from JoshShear.com. Coming soon.http://www.joshshear.com/groundlevel/2008/02/countdown-to-v20.htmlJosh