Archive for July, 2011

Photography: Nature’s Best Storyteller

{ July 18, 2011 @ 6:22 pm } · { Uncategorized }
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Today’s post is a little bit different than normal.

I saw this amazing time lapse video at El Tiede posted on Darren Rovell’s twitter account this morning. Be sure to watch the video below and share it with a friend.

With Lance Armstrong’s retirement from competitive cycling, I haven’t tuned into the Tour de France this year. However, after completing my daily routine of blog checks, I found this image courtesy of The Atlantic.

The backdrop is simply amazing. With the exception of maybe Pebble Beach or Augusta National, you won’t find many backdrops like this in the United States and you certainly won’t find a backdrop with this sort of architecture and history. That is what it makes the Tour such a unique event.

Lastly, I recently started following Ron Garan on twitter. For those that are unfamiliar with Garan, he is a Colonel in the US Air Force and an Astronaut that is currently based on the International Space Station. Garan has provides a very unique perspective for his followers: he often sends out images of the Earth, the Space Station and the Shuttle from orbit.

The images that he takes are breathtaking: French and Italian Riviera, ISS and Sandy Point.

The Information Age

{ July 12, 2011 @ 9:51 pm } · { Journalism }
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Just two days ago I wrote about social media changing the way that we seek and obtain information. As a PR professional, seeking information is imperative and how that information is distributed is critical. While browsing through my daily list of blogs, I stumbled upon a quote that speaks volumes to the era of new media:

“I wouldn’t read a newspaper now unless you put a gun to my head and even then I would really try to negotiate with you. It’s not that I reject the content, it’s that I reject the format.” – Dylan Ratigan

If you have a moment, I’d highly recommend reading Mr. Ratigan’s column here. It truly is amazing how much we rely on technology to seek information and news.

Journalism: Taking New Shapes By the Decade

{ July 10, 2011 @ 11:21 pm } · { Journalism }
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Social Media has changed the way that we seek and obtain information. With print publications falling in numbers this past decade due to the growth of the internet, development of social media platforms and a lowly economy, many newspapers have become almost irrelevant in today’s society.

Courtesy: Rural West Initiative, Bill Lane Center for the American West, Stanford University

It’s amazing to think just 60 years ago that Americans routinely learned of “Breaking News” each morning when the paper was delivered prior to the crack of dawn.

That has all changed.

With the rapid growth of social media platforms such as twitter and Facebook, news breaks as it happens. Look no further than just two-plus months ago when the United States spearheaded a raid on the compound of Osama Bin Laden. Before President Obama had the opportunity to address the nation to report that “Geronimo” was “EKIA”, the news broke on twitter.

Perhaps what is even more amazing is the story of the Pakistani national who unwittingly live tweeted the raid in Abbottabad.

News is imperative and how we seek that information is constantly changing. For further proof, check out this study to show how print media has evolved over the past three centuries in the United States. The information is simply remarkable.

Atlantis: The Final Journey

{ July 2, 2011 @ 9:53 pm } · { Politics }
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I am almost certain that every child growing up in my generation had some aspirations of traveling into space as an Astronaut. I had the path all carved out. Following my hall of fame worthy career with the Astros, I was going to become an astronaut. It sounded simple enough, right?

While I wasn’t alive during the tragic Challenger incident in 1986, there will always be two moments in the space shuttle program that will forever be ingrained within my mind.

First, in the late 1990s, I had the opportunity to watch the shuttle fly over Texas and the city of Houston during a night landing. The view was outstanding. An orange glow surrounded the base of the shuttle as it entered the Earth’s atmosphere.

The second memory occurred on the morning of February 1, 2003. I was driving just east of the Kingwood, Texas area when I noticed some sort of debris in the skies. I had no clue what it was at the time. About an hour later I received word that the Space Shuttle Columbia had disintegrated over the state of Texas.

On July 8th, STS-135 is tentatively set for launch, marking not only the final space flight for the Space Shuttle Atlantis, but also the final manned space flight for the shuttle program. Just six days from now an era that change the culture of American lifestyle will come to an end.

With that being said, enjoy the following photo gallery which depicts the history of the space shuttle program, courtesy of The Atlantic.

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