Many Digital Journalists are working hard to publish well-written on-the-ground reports. Often the leader of the pack is KJ Mullins, and here she displays her adventurous spirit by snapping pics of a car accident in downtown Toronto. She captures the paramedics at work at angles truly capturing the chaos and calamity. Another great Toronto story, KJ!
Ken Wightman makes a splash (pun intended) by reporting on a fascinating talk in London, Ontario, by Bob McDonald, host of CBC radio’s Quirks and Quarks, on “how little of the earth’s water is actually available for human use.” It’s worth a look if you’ve ever been interested in drinkable water, the economics of water conservation and what this means for Canadians. Comment on the article if you have an opinion on this issue not going away anytime soon.
Ever heard of a “senior prom”? Carol Forsloff introduces us to the concept by with a tender feature about the elderly and youth learning from each other in Natchitoches, Louisiana. She writes, “These young people in Natchitoches gave to patients at a nursing home what science says is critical for emotional and physical health of the elderly and those with disabilities and received many of those same benefits themselves.”
Kay Matthews attends an author signing with a famous writer: Sapphire, author of the book Precious, recently made into a feature film. Kay not only reports on what Sapphire said to the audience, but also included illustrative pics of the event. More than one commenter found the article “inspiring.”
Other stories gaining attention on DigitalJournal.com include:
• Iceland’s volcanic eruption threatens nation’s agriculture by Stephanie Dearing: Won’t someone think of the farmers? Iceland’s ash cloud threatens more than just international airspace, Stephanie reports, but also kills crops in Iceland. “The ash is contaminated with fluoride, making any ground water contaminated with the ash dangerous for animals.” She also writes about evacuations in the area, and describes what scientists believe caused the volcanic activity.
• Scientist issues warning over next Winter Olympics, flees Russia by Lynn Herman: “A senior scientist has fled Russia over fear of arrest after having warned Russian authorities of possible disasters before or during the next Winter Olympics.” The intro reads like a thriller movie, and the rest of the story doesn’t disappoint. Check out Lynn’s article on the problems plaguing Sochi as the city prepares to host the next Winter Olympics.
• Migraines give English woman Chinese accent by Laura Trowbridge: In the most WTF story of the week, Laura tell us about a 35-year-old woman from Devon county in South West England adopting a Chinese accent after suffering from serious migraines. Apparently, she has Foreign Accent Syndrome, of which there are 60 recorded cases. Check out the embedded video to hear the strange accent.
• Lane Bryant lingerie ad that Fox, ABC refuse to air by Kim I. Hartman: Kim reports on a plus-size lingerie ad deemed too saucy for network television. Fox and ABC aren’t airing a slightly salacious Lane Bryant ad where a woman wears only lingerie under a housecoat on the way to meet a lover. Laura opines in the comments section: “I agree it’s no different than the Victoria Secret ads we have been subjected to for many years…”
• Nude Models Feeling The Pinch at New York’s MoMA by Laura Trowbridge: Laura is everywhere on DigitalJournal.com this week, isn’t she? In this report, she relates the weird story of nude performance artists getting inappropriately groped at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. What is the art performance? Laura writes about several exhibits including, “In ‘Imponderabilia,’ two naked performance artists are facing each other in a narrow doorway where visitors have to squeeze between them to get to another room.”
• The German beer called ‘F**king Hell’ by Vlad Bourceanu: Anywhere else, the beer label with a couple expletives wouldn’t make it to shelves. So why this beer brand? Vlad explains: “‘Hell’, in fact, means ‘light ale’ in southern parts of Germany and Austria. And ‘F**king’ is the name of a small village in Austria that has inspired this particular brand-name.” Will this beer sell because of its name or flavour? Time will tell.
• Rapper Guru of Gangstarr dies of cancer by Gordon K. Chan: In obit news, a hip-hop pioneer passed to the Great House Party in the Sky recently. MC Guru, formerly of the group Gangstarr and Jazzamatazz, died from a long battle with cancer. Read Gordon’s thorough profile of Guru to learn how the MC influenced hip-hop and what he wanted to pass along in his final letter before his death.
The Top Blog Post of the Week is awarded to Gemma Fox for her woeful (but humourous) tale of being carded for ID when tried to get some wine at a store near her home. What she faced was a customer disservice story at its most frustrating, and it’s worth reading the comments to see what similar stories Digital Journalists offered. Well-written blogging once again, Gemma!
