Swallow(ing) Pride

April 26, 2013 By 1 Comment
A scene from an interaction between a Tree Swallow juvenile and its mother.

A scene from an interaction between a Tree Swallow juvenile and its mother.

At Spencer Island, an estuary in Everett, Wash., about 20 miles north of Seattle, I walked in, looking as usual for raptors. I eventually did spy an Osprey, but after being distracted for 2 1/2 hours by Tree Swallows. I usually take these birds for granted because they’re using flitting around at warp speed, chasing down insects. However, in a patch of the reserve, they were landing on snags.

I let this pair become acclimated to my presence, then I moved in a little, to get a spot-on view. I had some morning sun, which was a blessing since I always seem to draw dreary, cloudy and usually rainy days when I’m out photographing birds. I may be anthropomorphizing, but the following played out several times and it sure seemed to me a scene right out of human parenting, probably circa teenage years.
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Filed Under: Birds, Photography Tagged With: , , , , ,

When Keeping It Real Goes Wrong

April 15, 2013 By Leave a Comment

Tracie Marcum with Lou Jones on "The Moment."

Tracie Marcum with Lou Jones on “The Moment.”

There’s a certain I-think-I-can-ism that television seems to facilitate with regard to sports. Maybe it’s the angles or the way long shots compress scenes or simply how the sideline reporters just walk up to coaches during a game to discuss strategy. Professional sports now appear so doable on TV that fans are making the leap to participation.

After a TV viewer was allowed to drop a dime on Tiger Woods at the Masters last week, you have to wonder what’s next. I mean, can I directly text Lebron James at halftime the next time I notice that his elbow is splayed a little more than usual on his jump-shot release? Or can I Tweet manager Eric Wedge the next time the super-slo-mo on FOX reveals the grip on Felix Hernandez’s cutter is slightly off?

Actually, I do know what’s next. I watched the premiere of USA Network’s “The Moment,” a show that inflates the hopes and dreams of America’s overlooked mediocrity. The fact that I never was tall enough or talented enough, and am now about 30 years too old, to play point guard in the NBA doesn’t really matter anymore. As long as I have a friend, spouse, family member or even some random TV viewer who will nominate me for a reality show, my dreams maintain their shelf life.
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Filed Under: Media Business, Multimedia, Sports Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Long and Short(-Eared Owl) of It

April 10, 2013 By Leave a Comment
The next frame after this was my best pic of a Short-Eared Owl.

The next frame after this was my best picture of a Short-Eared Owl.

NOTE: CLICKING ON PHOTOS WILL LAUNCH A LARGER VERSION IN ANOTHER WINDOW.

Until the past few months, my only entanglement with any owl was through the classic candy commercial (see below). And since I already know how many licks to the center of a Tootsie Pop, I’ve had no reason to re-engage.

There even are Barred Owls down the street in Seward Park, but they’ve always seemed too elusive and nocturnal to seek out.

I saw a Snowy Owl, wa-aaa-ay far away, through someone’s spotting scope at the Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge. By then, because I’m an Audubon memberI’d known we were enjoying an echo irruption, a repeat of a mass appearance every so often by certain bird species. I’m also a bird watcher who has looked for almost everything but owls, so that distant Snowy was my first sighting of one in the wild.
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Filed Under: Birds, Photography Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

A Tear-Stained NCAA Women’s Championship

April 9, 2013 By Leave a Comment
Moriah Jefferson, an homage to her fallen coach on her sleeve, shares tears with a teammate.

Moriah Jefferson, an homage to her fallen coach on her sleeve, shares tears with a teammate.

I lost it the moment I spied Moriah Jefferson in the post-game aftermath of the Nike Nationals championship. It was the end of a long summer in 2011 and, sobbing, I told her, “Mo, you are going to have to hold me up.” And she did, so we embraced for a long time, crying together.

What moved me so was that Jefferson and her teammates on the DFW T-Jack team out of the Dallas area had delivered on their vow to capture club basketball’s biggest prize in memory of their fallen coach, Marques Jackson, who’d died of a heart attack in April, 2010.

Jackson had been the first big supporter of a fledgling business I started, HoopGurlz, the first media outlet to cover high school girl’s basketball on a daily and national basis. He’d stood up to the sport’s old guard to do so. We’d shared a vision of empowering girls and women by illuminating their work and accomplishments. His death had been a major blow.

It’s because of Mo Jefferson and her Connecticut teammate, Bria Hartley, that I’ll watch the 2013 NCAA Women’s Basketball championship game with a box of tissues. Both lost their club basketball coaches, and both coaches were friends and supporters of mine.
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Filed Under: Hoops, Sports Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,

Citation Journalism and the Blurring Lines in Reporting

April 8, 2013 By 2 Comments
A report that was disappointing in more ways than one.

A report that was disappointing in more ways than one.

Last Saturday, I saw a front-page tease on The Seattle Times that stirred my heart: The newspaper was reporting that one of my childhood idols, Spencer Haywood, had been elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame.

But by the time I went to read the story on the newspaper’s website later that day, things had changed.

“Spencer Haywood not selected for basketball Hall of Fame,” was the only headline I could find.

Huh?
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Filed Under: Media Business Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,
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