Give me a sign.

There is nothing I love more than covering stories that make me happy. This student at the University of Miami, named Kemy Joseph, walks around campus with homemade signs to promote his message of peace and love. They say positive messages like: smile, have a good day, you're perfect, you're awesome, etc.
Now, as much as I want to keep my bias out of this, how can I not? I love this story!
The fact that anyone wants to spread joy in the world makes me happy. And even better to be creative about it.

I approve. :)

clouds with the sliver line...

Heyyy!!
Okay so back to yesterdays biting off a little too much topic. Today I finally finished my article about this man from Kendall who had a hemorrhage three years ago. He got saved by these firefighters, from station 37, and went to a union meeting to thank them.
Sweet story from there right... well there is more.
Turns out, the guy, Edward Rodriguez, had a daughter who passed away a few months before this happened to him. Her husband was in the Army and they got into an accident while driving over there. She was in a coma for 45 days, and her family went to be by her side, but she never woke up from the coma so they never got to say good-bye.
Needless to say they were heartbroken at the time of the hemorrhage, Nov. 7.
But what saved Edwards life is that his wife, Lizbeth, got an e-mail a few months before telling her how to spot a stroke victim. She somehow remembered what she read, and made sure he was having a stroke before calling 911. And apparently that saved a lot of time for the firefighters who saved Edward because they would have spent time finding out what the problem was.
Interesting no?

I'll post the story when I am done.

Don't bite off more than you can chew, there are things out there the devil himself wouldn't do...

Okay, so I did just that.
I think I bit off more than I can chew this week. I let myself get four articles to write and I feel so drained I cannot even think about writing number 2 of 4. I know, in the real world this would be nothing, but I am a firm believer that extended and longer deadlines make an article harder to write because you get lazy.
Hey there is always tomorrow!

Don't worry... I'm starting it now.

I thnk it's safe to say we're all here for a game of FOOTBALL!!!!!!

There is nothing in the world I hate more than parents who push their kids into doing anything for their own sense of self satisfaction. It's just annoying and frankly, it's cheap.

Case in point a youth football clinic I covered this weekend at Florida International University. It was put on by the NCAA Youth Sport Initiative, Orange Bowl and the Miami Dolphins. Story is coming out on Thursday but until then can I tell you how annoying parents are who put their kids in sports? These parents clearly see their kids as a pay check and hope that one day their little running back will grow up and play for the NFL, and buy them a car and house along the way.

Kids should play a sport because they love it, and because they find it fun. When I was interviewing for this story not a single one of the kids I spoke to could tell me what they wanted to do with their lives if the NFL didn't work out. No wait, I lied. They did have an idea of what they wanted to do - play basketball. Not be a doctor, lawyer, teacher. sports agent, nope a basketball player.

Tell me this isn't sad!

been gone for a while. nearly a month

I am so sorry for not updating this in such a long time. I have been so caught up with the Iranian elections that everything else has been on the back burner for me. I don't think I have seen much of my friends since everything began.
But as anything in life I think there is a great lesson upcoming journalist, such as myself, can take from what is going on in Iran. And no I am not talking about using Twitter and other alternative news sources when there is a media black out. Although all that stuff is important.
The lesson I am taking from all of this is how to stay composed during a crisis.

I am Iranian. I was born there, my family still lives there and I am very proud of my background and culture. That being said, watching my people killed on TV is not something I can watch without crying or feeling anger towards those doing the killings.

One of the greatest lessons I have learned is how to turn the human side of you off and the journalist on while covering something emotional. I used to think this would be easy, but as I have been sitting here reading Tweet after Tweet and seeing photos and videos from my country, it is hard to become that robot. It is hard not to want to cry, and it is hard not to think of the worst.

Of course, I am saying this as an Iranian, but these feeling can come from anyone and anywhere. Imagine 9/11 and the feeling of helplessness then. How those journalist went on air I have no idea.

I think it is fine to have some feelings while covering something like Iran. Feel what they are feeling, it's hard not to. But don'tn forget that your job is to get the truth out and let the world know everything about the situation the best you can. Journalist aren't helpless, they are the ones who inform and get help to those who need it!

blame it on the rain...

So I go out to do a story today in Richmond Heights and on my way over I notice the sky keeps getting darker. By the time I make the 45 minute drive it's black. And of course, they don't cancel the event, even though it's an all day outdoor event with no alternative to move inside. The event was to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the city, which is the first community made for black veterans who came home from WWII.
No one came to the event, but hopefully someone will show up tomorrow.

McGovern

Here is the link to the story I did about George McGovern:
Click Here

This had to be one of my favorite stories to write just because of the personality of McGovern. He is friendly and approachable but you can tell he still very upset about not winning the election in 1972. The whole speech he at the book signing was a big, "I told you so," to those who came.
Apparently only winning two states isn't enough to win the presidency but it is enough to tell everyone that we could have avoided Nixon's second term had the other 48 states come to their senses.