Through bleary eyes and lack of sleep, I just spent a great day at CopyCamp, a barcamp-style event hosted at the Mercury News building in San Jose. There were about 40 participants, including several Mercury News reporters and editors. We had a couple of group discussions and 4 breakout sessions. The discussions centered around the Mercury News’ style, tone, and technique in its coverage of race, immigration policy, the work of non-profit organizations and activism groups, technology, and business. The discussions were passionate and eloquent. I was moved by the obvious impact the Mercury News has in all of the diverse communities of the Bay Area

I am very grateful to the Mercury News reporters and editors who participated. As representatives of the paper, they were asked pointed questions. I thought they did a great job of listening to critiques of the paper’s performance and explaining the philosophies and realities that govern their jobs. At this moment in time, it is impossible to discuss print news without getting into the topics of staffing cuts, the move from printed paper to the web, and the pressures of being in a for-profit, corporate environment. In my previous discussions of those topics, I had rarely considered the people in the newsroom, instead thinking of the Mercury News as a single entity. Sitting down with the journalists from the Merc and members of the public, it brought home to me the reality that the Mercury News is employing people. Real people who are trying to bring important information to my attention. I may disagree with the content or the tone of the Mercury News sometimes, but I have never been more certain of its importance in the Bay Area, here in Santa Cruz, and all over the world.

The beauty of CopyCamp’s open format (and BarCamp in general), it encouraged discussion among participants. I’m always inspired by what people are doing and it is often quite striking what is going on in your community that you don’t know about.

I learned a great deal about the Merc’s online setup from Randy Keith, the Merc’s online editor. I briefly talked to Goro, who helps Japanese start-ups relocate to the Bay Area and blogs about Bay Area news in Japanese so recent Japanese immigrants can read about local news in their native language. I also chatted with Jorge Zavala of TechBA, who works with start-ups in Mexico and Canada to help them relocate to the Bay Area.

I had some excellent post-camp discussions with CopyCamp’s organizers, Chris O’Brien of the Merc and (Digi)Dave Cohn, a recent Knight News Challenge grant winner (along with Margaret and Quiddities), who’s creating a non-profit for local investigative journalism called Spot.Us, Chris Amico, a freelance journalist (and UCSC alum) recently back from China and Rex Pechler (also a UCSC alum), a future Google-ite who’s working on a citizen journalism start-up. Here’s a video of Rex, Dave and I recorded by Chris Amico as we left CopyCamp:

Update 6/30, 10am PDT: Chris’ video goes along with his blog post about CopyCamp. I recommend the post and the video, so I’ve removed the video so you can see his post and the video together.

Note: I think I came off kind of harsh in my description of my “ownership of the newspaper.” In my rambling, I was attempting to address the newspaper industry in general, where I feel coverage tends toward the broad, sensational story and not get to the details and underlying “meat and potatoes” of a community involved with the story. I think that directive comes indirectly (via staffing cuts and profit-motive) from the higher levels of the media industry as a whole and not from a conscious effort on the part of the newsroom staff. So, you could say I pretty much blew it on that question.

I want to thank Chris O’Brien and Dave Cohn for organizing CopyCamp, the Mercury News for hosting and everyone who came on a Saturday to participate in the discussion. I had a great time and I will carry many of the ideas and concerns I heard today with me into the discussions I have here in Santa Cruz about newspapers and citizen journalism.

Update 6/30, 10:03am PDT: Dave Cohn has written about Saturday’s CopyCamp.

If you’d to participate in the ongoing discussion we started today at CopyCamp, go to MajorityofNone.com.

Last night, Keith Olbermann delivered the monologue I had hoped to write. I can finally point people to something that truly expresses how I feel about this president.

Thank you, sir.

I have thought numerous times about closing down my blog and simply redirecting you to my Twitter page. I’ve spent most of the last year posting my thoughts in the form of 140 character “Tweets”. Fun to look back on, but not the same as blogging.

I miss writing. 2008 finds us in an presidential election year. It was 4 years ago that I started blogging (Not my first post, but the oldest I have). I had been sending my thoughts on the 2004 election via email to friends and family. After losing a couple of friends to my political rants (I’m pretty sure they were on their way out anyway, maybe I just gave them a push), I decided to just let people read at their discretion by blogging instead.

So this marks my 4th year of publishing my thoughts. I spent some time over the holidays thinking about this site and my presence on the web in general, which has drastically increased over the last 12 months or so. I have more thoughts on that I’ll save for another post. Needless to say, I’ve got some goals for this site in 2008 and what better way to get going on them than to state them here so I can hold myself to them in 12 months.

2008 Goals for This Site

• I will be redesigning this site. Adding some things, subtracting some things (like the banner, ick).
• Add video. I’ve done plenty of video work and I plan to bring it here.
• Add audio. Can you see a theme? You may not know this, but I am 1/2 (the other half being my favorite new dad, Rick Corbal) of the rock/folk/metal/acoustic band Massive Shovels. We have a decent sized catalog of quite awful songs that I’d like to share with you.
• Add my resume and professional portfolio. I’ve been fortunate enough to develop web sites professionally for 16 months and I’d like to share what I’ve done and what I’m doing.

So, you can see this site will continue to be about me. After all, it is named after me. It’s just that I’ve become quite spread out on the web amongst social networking sites, photo sharing sites, video sharing sites, and everything else in between. I’d like to maintain one spot that exists to help you find all the others should you so choose. Additionally, I’ve set a writing goal of 50 posts. This, of-course, pales in comparison to the writing volume of my favorite blogger in the whole world. But I wouldn’t even try to take her out.

I’m looking to jump on some of these goals soon. I’ll see you soon with a rant or two. It is an election year and I get all excited and mouthy every 4 years (some would argue I get mouthy every 4 minutes).

Cheers, Rob

The Bridge School was started by Peggy Young, wife of Neil Young, and is “dedicated to ensuring that children with severe speech and physical impairments achieve full participation in their communities.” The annual benefit concert provides the school with funding. It is without a doubt my favorite music event of the year and Saturday was my 9th trip to see Neil Young and friends rock out for The Bridge School.

Overall, this was a rather subdued show compared to past years. The last show I saw, in 2003, featured Billy Idol, so it was unlikely to be more energetic than that. Still, it was more calm and the music was more relaxed, even the headline appearance by Metallica.

Regina Spektor

She was awesome. An amazing vocal talent, her first song was just her and a microphone singing to The Bridge School students; who, as always, were seated behind the artist’s area of the stage. A good vocal presence is always rewarded at Shoreline, where the sound seems to fill the entire venue beautifully. [Video of Regina performing Fidelity]

John Mayer

I used to hate John Mayer. I admit that. But that dude can play guitar. And he can play well. He was stellar. Backed by two other guitarists, he played mostly stuff from his latest album, which I have to admit to enjoying quite a bit. His set felt too short, and I found myself wishing he could have played a few more tunes. He ended with a easy-does-it version of Tom Petty’s Free Fallin that I got on video. [Waiting on the World] [Free Fallin]

Tom Waits & Kronos Quartet

Holy shit. I haven’t seen Tom Waits live since he performed at The Bridge School show in 1999. To say his performances are unique would be a gross understatement. He was illuminated by red light and growled an amazing set, invoking dark moods and scary places. Watching Tom Waits perform really makes you feel like you are living in a Tim Burton film. I’m not sure how else to describe it.

Jerry Lee Lewis

Jerry Lee started off slow with some of his more mellow tunes, then got everyone on their feet with Whole Lotta Shakin Goin On. It was the first time all night we were on our feet, which gives you an idea of how mellow the show had been up to that point. He finished with Great Balls of Fire, which totally rocked the house.

I’m almost ashamed to say that my entire impression of Jerry Lee Lewis was formed by my dad’s jokes about Jerry Lee’s marriage to a 13 year-old. After skimming Jerry Lee’s entry on Wikipedia this morning, I realized that he is a rock legend and brilliant musician. Mental image revised, I’m real glad I got to see Jerry Lee perform. He was awesome.

Metallica

I have to respect Metallica for “playing to the venue.” They showed up with a polished acoustic set. They opened with several covers, including a pretty nice cover of Only Happy When It Rains by Garbage. Notice I said nice. The early set lacked the kind of energy you expect from Metallica. On an otherwise mild evening of music, I think the crowd (especially the dudes with beers wearing Metallica/Guns N’ Roses tour shirts from 1992), wanted some dive bar thrashing on acoustic guitars. They didn’t get it until the very last song, when Metallica played Nothing Else Matters. After that, they were gone, and everyone was screaming for more. As much as the set might have been a bit too mild, watching Lars rock out on the drums was worth it. And James Hetfield’s voice sounded crisp and rested. I can’t wait to hear the next album.

Summarized

At a Bridge School show, you’re always reminded of the power of music and the power of the art form. The Bridge School students benefit from this show and the artists play these shows with that in mind. While this show lacked the rare music moments that sometimes come when you gather so much talent in one show, it was still a treat and an experience I will hold dear for the next 12 months until the next show.

In my office, we have a new type of break: The Roman Break.

Roman breaks start without you even considering that it was time for a break. You were just working peacefully when all of the sudden you heard an adorable giggle or squeal. Without knowing it, you’ve just started a Roman break. You are compelled to go see what all of the fun is about. Work life comes to a complete halt as you walk over to see what is going on in Roman’s little world. This may be construed as unproductive; those “construers”? would be mistaken. Once you pop your head into the bassinet and Roman pops you one of his trademark squinty smiles, the rest of the day is a happy, productive time for all.

In all seriousness, having a 5 month old in the office has been so much fun. I haven’t been around newborns very much in my life, so at first I was a bit afraid. Babies seem so fragile it can be scary to hold them because you feel like they might break (I don’t know how, just indulge me here). That all faded away the first time I picked him up after a diaper change and he smiled at me. Now, it doesn’t feel right when he isn’t in the office. He has been instrumental in keeping our office light–hearted during some stressful days (and nights) over the past couple of months with his loud giggles and gas. We’ve all been “sploogedâ€? on (spit up) and enjoy Roman’s post-feeding burps.

Best of all, though, is that we get to watch a new life flourish right before our eyes. In just 5 months, we’ve witnessed so many milestones: smiles, laughs, assisted rollovers (and just today, an unassisted one), adult sounding farts…the list goes on and on. For me–planning to enter into fatherhood at some point in the future–this is the best kind of training one could hope for. I am privileged to work with Roman in the office. It also says a lot about the evolving workplace. This is Office 2.0. Collective productivity is enhanced when you have an unlimited source of cuteness to draw upon.

Above is a short video of Tracy on a Roman break. Enjoy.

You can find the other episodes on askaninja.com.