For Alex at 21

February 1, 2010

I thought I heard the whoosh of the school bus door this afternoon. I felt the dogs rise from their eternal rest as I turned from my desk, united once more in happy anticipation.

Alex with his arms around Nell

Alex and Nell: With me today as I write

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Adding G-Recorder to my phone interview system

January 31, 2010

So far, so good in experiments with G-Recorder, another system for recording phone interviews via Skype. G-Recorder records both Skype chats and Skype calls automatically into my Gmail account.

screen grab from g-recorder

G-Recorder for Skype calls and chats

I get the option of downloading interviews to my computer plus the safety of “cloud” computing, which also means I get access to the interviews from anywhere. Now I can review chats for links fired back and forth with my First and Union business partners during Skype calls. I’ll update this report at the end of my two-week free trial.

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At last, a phone interview recording system that works

January 24, 2010

I hate to spew a bunch of brand names, but after decades of trying to find a recording system that works for phone interviews, I have succeeded at last.
My system has five parts:
• Skype “call out” to reach regular phones for pennies.
• A double-eared Logitech headset with USB connection.
• Pamela for Skype, which automatically asks if I [...]

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Content as the new oil; how to keep the value high

December 28, 2009

In co-teaching a writing class for financial advisers recently, I expressed the idea that content is the new oil, a “precious resource” with real cost and real value as Gerry McGovern writes in “Killer Web Content: Make the Sale, Deliver the Service, Build the Brand.”
Merriman, Inc., formerly known as Merriman Capital Management, was an early [...]

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Too close to home? The paradox of deeper writing

November 28, 2009

Since I began writing about life issues, or, more specifically “quality” of life issues, for a lifestyle insights blog, I’ve bumped into an old writing emotion that has to do with audience.
It’s an odd reaction. The deeper, I write, the closer I get to real emotion, and the stronger the piece. My first sense is [...]

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Remembering the drama in storytelling

October 16, 2009

A newsletter editor I work with recently handed back a first draft of a client profile. He felt I’d lost the story’s pull by trying to write about a husband and wife equally. And he was right.
The profile was for a “giving back” feature. Both the husband and wife had dedicated a part of their [...]

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Launching storytelling venue for ‘lifestyle insights’

September 27, 2009

In the past two months, I’ve written a dozen blog entries and a dozen bios for the Sept. 27, 2009 launch of “lifestyle insights | real women. real life.”, a division of Robin Avni’s “lifestyle topics, insights and trends.”
Robin is an early escapee of traditional media, where she combined a rare eye for art [...]

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Good timing saves many a photographic weakness

June 15, 2009

My photography has always had one thing going for it – (and one thing only) – I am often in the right place at the right time.
It’s not too hard to catch up on words for the websites I keep updated. But, as would be expected, nothing beats being on hand for photos.
Just ask the [...]

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A sad ending to “Winging My Way Back Home”

May 17, 2009

In April, I wrote here about helping filmmaker Jeri Vaughn rework the narration for a final rendition of the documentary “Winging My Way Back Home: The Stripling Fiddle Tradition.” Within days of my meeting with Jeri, my father’s lung condition deteriorated, and by April 20, Lee Stripling was gone.
Now, as I face this task, the [...]

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The narrative leap from bullet points

May 3, 2009

Molly Martin and I took our blog-and-pony show on the road recently with two goals and a bonus:

To show writing classes and business groups how writing for the web differs from other writing
To show creative non-fiction classes the places for good narrative on the web
And the bonus: Helping our many former journalist friends stay relevant [...]

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