So, I met up with some friends downtown to watch what we hoped would be the final game of the World Series - Game 5. We stayed at the bar until the top of the 7th, at which point we headed over to Busch Stadium. We thought they might open the gates to let people in. No such luck. So we watched from the street in the outfield - we actually could just hear stuff happen and watch the scoreboard for pitch counts, replays, etc., but it worked just fine.
After the game ended, they did open the gates and we were able to get in. Fans still hung around as Cardinal players randomly came back onto the field to celebrate with them. After reveling in this for a while, we headed back into the street and went over to Paddy O's, where we partied until 3am. And let me tell you - a lot of people were still there at that time. I don't think anyone realized, nor cared, how late it was. I know we didn't - we were amazed to look at our watches and see the time. It was just the euphoric nature of downtown that seemed to make time stop, but of course, all good things have to come to an end. So, we finally hit it and headed home.
Without going into every intricate detail, that's pretty much my Game 5 experience. And what a game and night it was - except for actually being in the stadium for it, there was never a better feeling then seeing the third out displayed on the scoreboard and everyone in the street cheering, high-fiving, and hugging strangers. It was pretty cool. The best part? The riot police were prepared for the worse, and nothing happened. That's a testament to Cardinal fans - we know how to celebrate championships without rioting.
(Now about that Stanley Cup . . . )
©2006 Steve Sagarra
Journalists are thought to be impartial purveyors of current events and topical information, their journalistic integrity imploring them to report the news objectively rather than promote sewing-circle gossip. Like anything in life, this is not easy. After all, we are all only human. However, countless journalists have put forth their own agenda over the reporting of the news, and it is nothing new – since the first scribe put stylus to papyrus, reputations have been built and ruined on innuendo and rumor rather than the truth. Ever since the Nixon administration, however, it has become common sport to skewer anyone in the public eye in the pursuit of a story, no matter the facts or ramifications.
For some journalists outside the United States, this is the way of journalism. In a June 2003 interview with National Public Radio, Jeremy O'Grady of Britain's The Week, expressed that "the Brit is less afraid of opinion and more naturally embraces slant and agendas as part and parcel of the journalistic, historical process surrounding the recounting of events." In his estimation, this has given international media a more irreverent tradition with an inherent bias than its American counterpart. Thus, foreign journalists are not afraid to state opinion as fact in reporting a story.
Nonetheless, if a journalist has an ax to grind and uses a media forum to express it, they have become, in essence, a lobbyist for the formation of public opinion. They are no longer upholding journalistic principles of presenting the facts and allowing readers to form their own opinions. The belief in attaining objectivity in journalism may be theoretical futility, as O'Grady describes it, but it is a necessity for journalistic integrity. Without reverence for the facts and truth, journalists will become nothing more than advocates for a certain perspective – their own.
Of course, that's just my opinion . . .
©2006 Steve Sagarra
Ok, right up front I'll tell you this will sound crazy . . .
For the past few years, I have encountered some strange occurrences. It all started with the clock, and the time. Whenever I looked to see what time it was, and being completely unaware of the time, it would read either 2:22 or 3:43. It's actually hard to explain what exactly I mean by this, but it's sort of like that "every time I look at the clock it reads 11:11" thing. For example, I'd be sleeping and suddenly wake up, looking at the clock to see the time. And it would read 2:22. Then the next day, or maybe a few days later, I would wonder about the time, and it would be the same as the previous day/night - in this case 2:22. The first few times this happened I simply dismissed it as coincidence, pure happenstance that both times I looked had the exact same time. But then it kept repeating, occurring over and over again. So, I began wondering if there was some meaning to these numbers, perhaps a cosmic/karmic connection and/or sign (yeah, I know . . . crazy!). I still don't know, but it does freak me out to think that maybe there is something more to it than just coincidence (or maybe I just watch too much "Lost," which deals with such mysterious "coincidences").
Anyway, akin to this numbers situation is one that involves movies. I'll be talking about a movie, sometimes one that I have not seen in a bazillion years . . . and later that day/night it will be on! Seriously, one night I was flipping channels and this old movie that never, I mean NEVER, gets shown was on one of the classics channels . . . and I had just been wondering about it earlier in the day! Just yesterday I was talking to my sister about James Bond movies, specifically "Die Another Day." Without a doubt, it was on later that night. Is this just some bizarre coincidence?!
If that's not enough, I have more. A few weeks ago, I was in the car with some friends. And let's be honest - it was late, we had been drinking. That said, I made a sarcastic comment about maybe hearing some Nelly, or even some Kelly Clarkson. Not even a second later, what comes on the radio? That's right . . . Nelly. The next song? You guessed it . . . Kelly Clarkson. I mean, right after I make a joke about it, both Nelly and Kelly Clarkson get played one after the other on the radio. They are not even in the same music genre! How did my "friends" (and they know who they are!) react? Completely dismissed it, as if it were an everyday occurrence. Well, that was it for me. I freaked out, mostly due to the circumstances already described above. I couldn't dismiss it so easily.
As I've said, I really don't know if any of it means anything. It could just be bizarre coincidence, or it could be something beyond current understanding. Or maybe I'm just crazy, imagining it all in my head by putting value on something that has none. Does anyone have an idea?
Alright, I've shared my weirdness . . . now I'm going to go find a doctor to get some pills before someone calls the men in white coats that have rubberized rooms for such things.
©2006 Steve Sagarra
