I’m on the Internet constantly and have read several blogs, so I have a general idea of how they work. Most seem to be a mixture of fact, opinion and speculation. I’ll fit in there somewhere, with an emphasis on facts to bolster any opinions and with information I hope will be interesting. I’ll be writing about any number of subjects, but will try to stay away from politics.

There are a couple of reasons for that. One is that my opinion, as informed as I hope it is regarding issues and current events, is not more relevant than yours. You could
say that about practically anything, but right now this country seems to be split right down the middle on a number of things and the political dialogue has tended to be much more heat than light with many firmly set in their views on either side, despite what the facts may be. In short, the subject can be very divisive.

Secondly, the position I occupy calls for objectivity and a straight down the middle approach. I think I have a reputation for objectivity and fairness, a reputation I hope to hold onto. Please feel free to ask any questions about any subject and if I feel I can answer it without jeopardizing that objectivity I will certainly do so. I believe my knowledge of news, history and current events would compare favorably with any reporter in town and I hope that knowledge will make this blog interesting. In practical terms, I see very few questions I wouldn’t answer.

As for things in our local headlines now.

I was sorry Frances Haithcock was not given the chance to be the superintendent, but she probably was sacrificed for the greater good. That survey by former governor Jim Martin’s group showed that people were upset with the leadership of the school district. As professional head of the district, she had become a symbol of the public’s anger. I would hope, however, that the school board did not miss the much larger point that they are responsible for the district also and that public anger was also directed at them. So far, the outlook has not been encouraging in that regard.

I hope it can be worked out for a new baseball stadium in uptown. In other Triple A cities with new stadiums such as Toledo, Oklahoma City, Louisville and Buffalo, the new stadiums have been a major help in bringing people to uptown. That should be the case here. The stadium was part of that original bundling concept voted on a few years ago. That speaks to a lack of political courage I will talk about in a moment. Had city leaders stepped up to the plate then, the stadium would not now be an issue.

I hope light rail succeeds and certainly already it has been a boon to the South Boulevard corridor in terms of new construction. I still have some doubts as to how many people will ride it, and that remains the big question.

I will probably write a lot about movies, sports and books and hope you will comment on what you like and don’t like.

I have been a fan of movies all of my life and I see more than anyone I know except for Lawrence Toppman, the Observer’s movie critic. I see more than 100 a year in the theatre and watch dozens more on television and DVD. I particularly like the old ones. Many, of course, are pure entertainment, but many more, if done well, can illuminate and highlight the human experience in ways that even the best books cannot. I will, from time to time, give mini critiques on some that I see and hope to highlight some of the older ones that are worth seeing.

From the time I was young, I wanted to be a sportscaster and I was for about 20 years at a fairly high level, doing college football and basketball, and covering the Olympics and other big events as a network reporter. My knowledge of NASCAR is spotty, at best, but in terms of how college and professional sports works, the Olympics, drug testing and sports history I am certain I could compete with any of the sports reporters in our area.

As for books, I read more than 100 a year, mostly non-fiction, mostly history, biography, sports and current events. I have read all the major works you are supposed to read when you are in school, but, for the most part, I now read very little fiction. I know who all the major current fiction writers are, but would rather read about things that have actually happened.

A number of surveys have shown that our knowledge of history, particularly of our own history, is very poor. That lack of knowledge has always been a pet peeve of mine. I have always found it fascinating what people who went before us accomplished and what they went through. It’s infuriating to me that many younger people today have no idea of the Civil War and World War II. Those were long before my time too, but a working knowledge of both those subjects should be an absolute minimum for getting out of high school, not to mention knowledge of the revolutionary war, the presidents and many other things important in American History.

We live in a wonderful city with great people. My view is that a lot of mistakes have been made when it comes to zoning and dealing with growth and the debacle over the arena is the worst example of leadership I have seen since I’ve been here. It was, in my view, political cowardice, but the pluses of living here far outweigh the minuses, and it has been one of the great experiences of my life.

I will be writing about people I have met and done stories on, whether it’s older war veterans or veteran ballplayers or young people battling diabetes.

I hope to make this interesting, but just because it’s interesting to me may not make it interesting to you. That’s where I will need your input and your questions and comments. We accept criticism here at WCNC (and also praise if you feel it’s warranted). Because that criticism will let us know what we need to do better and praise now and then will let us know if we are on the right track in certain areas. I expect to learn a lot.

Thank you. I look forward to this very much.

Movie of the Week

I’ll try to highlight one movie every week, either a new release or an older one I think worthy of mention. I start with my personal all-time favorite and one of the greatest movies ever made.

“CASABLANCA” was released in 1942.

It has everything: courage, honor, love, sacrifice, good guys, bad guys and a heroic ending.

My feeling has always been that it’s a bit tougher for younger, 20 something’s to relate to because they have not seen enough of life. It’s great entertainment on its own terms, but if you have seen a bit more of life, perhaps loved and lost, faced tough decisions and been around a bit, it may mean more to you. Also, I think knowledge of that time right at the start of the Second World War is also helpful. There are some references in there that add to the enjoyment if you know something of that time.

In a nutshell, the movie involves a man who loves a woman deeply, but she left him to return to her husband, whom she thought was dead, but turned up alive. They show up at her former lover’s nightclub in Casablanca and there are choices that have to be made against the backdrop of a world at war.

The three leads are played superbly by Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman and Paul Henreid. But the supporting cast is as good as any you will find. In addition, the script remains of the best written in Hollywood history with more famous lines out of this movie than any other.

If you haven’t seen it, you should. It is that simple.