For years, I've sensed a weakness in how I remember my age. I have no memory "device" to help; I haven't bothered to figure out the math to calculate it, on-the-fly, from my birth date depending on today's date; and most importantly, it changes every year. The age I memorized last year is now wrong. … Continue reading I don’t fear 30
Today’s funny conversation
"What do you do outside of work, Brandon?" "Oh, I'm a journalist." "But you're not a journalist anymore, right?" "Well, I write for the Tribune." "Oh shit, I guess you are a journalist."
The James Beard House
...Just proof that I cooked in the kitchen of the late James Beard. Thanks to Monica Wang for the use of the photo. My Chef Edward Kim is to the right. (My left.)
Serious work a-brewing
You heard it here first: a new journalism outlet in Chicago, in collaboration with... CivicLab is a new-ish space in the West Loop for folks who want to innovate in the public sphere--their tagline was recently changed to "Making Democracy." As I understand it—and this is a gross over-simplification—they're piggy-backing on the makerspace/hackerspace movement to … Continue reading Serious work a-brewing
Heard! – A kitchen conversation
A true story, with fairly accurate quotes. Setting: an anonymous Chicago restaurant (not mine) on a slow Sunday evening. Server to line cook: "Hey man, that big bowl o' dicks isn't gonna make itself." Line cook: "I'll get right on that big bowl o' dicks." [Manager overhears conversation from office, telephones the kitchen line] Manager … Continue reading Heard! – A kitchen conversation
Tonight’s dessert creation
Had some friends over tonight. Whipped up a picture-worthy end to the meal. Check it out: avocado ice cream, fresh coconut "sashimi," malort whipped cream, Kix (TM), and freshly ground Sichuan pepper, served with a shooter of coconut water I had drained minutes before.
Leftovers brunch
This was last week's impromptu brunch for four at my house, when the roommate arrived with some farmer's market goodies and I paired it with the junk collecting in our fridge. My favorite dish? So simple: Scrambled eggs, green onions, chevre, and the Vietnamese chili oil naam prik pao. But the mushroom sautee with wilted … Continue reading Leftovers brunch
Radio kit
I'm slowly building a radio reporting kit. Now just to train on some editing software. Any Hindenburg coaches out there? Yes, I work five shifts a week at Ruxbin Kitchen and one at Pleasant House Bakery. What's one more shift of journalism, on my own terms? Or a couple more half days, for that matter? … Continue reading Radio kit
Ate at Green Zebra tonight.
A meal of spectacular mushy peas by colleagues at Pleasant House Bakery; sour "feral" orange; and bran-flecked sourdough from Peerless Bread And Jam. Combo and cameraphone photo by yours truly.The Green Zebra meal was pretty great. It wasn't all perfect, but now that I'm in the industry, I think I'm going to stop calling out … Continue reading Ate at Green Zebra tonight.
Sandy’s landfall
Thrill-seeking spectators at the waterfront, Williamsburg, Brooklyn, as Sandy reached shore. Creative Commons-licensed photo from http://www.thoughtcatalog.com. Tonight I spent a couple hours catching up on Twitter journalism and trying to spread some helpful facts to people who might need them. My feed, which I've posted below, was solely dedicated to the hurricane havoc. For analysis' sake … Continue reading Sandy’s landfall
A little poetry from the northwest side
Going Down, a free-form paean to investigative journalism (and how so-called social media can spread it but not replace it) they say poets can say anything a filched purse's energy for instance comes across or the traffic lights at night downtown that keep blinking when no one's around but the they who do the saying … Continue reading A little poetry from the northwest side
Scandinavian music, riding in the rain, and restaurants
While not much has happened here recently, the same can't be said for my non-digital life. To wit, a list. Been listening to more and more tunes from northwestern Europe. Soaring digitals and orchestration coupled with a hint of nihilism? Count me in. Visited a couple times at FreeGeek Chicago. Getting to know some of the … Continue reading Scandinavian music, riding in the rain, and restaurants
The cadillacs of bike accessories
I'm writing this as much to record my wish list as to tell you about it. Kickstarter helped fund two of these three outrageous-cool bike accessories. From left to right, the Blink Steady rear light; the TiGr titanium lock; the Hövding helmet-as-airbag, which, unless you're in an accident, looks like a punk scarf. The light's all … Continue reading The cadillacs of bike accessories
Julia Child
In honor of Julia Child's 100th birthday this week, I read her 2004 New York Times obituary. From it, a lesson carried on today by a lot of good journalists and, in this field, America's Test Kitchen: Mrs. Child was always a star, never a spokeswoman. She prided herself on not granting endorsements because she … Continue reading Julia Child
New city, new (ad)ventures
It's time I move this site into line with reality. I left Ohio journalism at the end of May, after exactly a year with the Springfield News-Sun and, sporadically, the Dayton Daily News. Since I had accepted an offer to be Springfield's permanent city hall reporter only a month earlier, my colleagues were surprised to hear … Continue reading New city, new (ad)ventures
Gots me an award
People gave this to me on Sunday. Here's the second installment in the series for which I won. (It links to the first part there.) The topic still needs more reporting, actually... It addressed the local effects of a nationwide phenomenon later documented best by Radley Balko. (Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3.) Maybe … Continue reading Gots me an award
Next year, pink slime on fewer school menus
In this followup story to last month's pink slime exposé (see previous post), I show it'll be harder for schools to get their hands on products that contain "lean, finely-textured beef." But not impossible. If a school here doesn't use its buying co-op to order its cafeteria meat, and it doesn't ask the company that … Continue reading Next year, pink slime on fewer school menus
Beef producers not forthcoming about ‘pink slime.’ In southwest Ohio anyway, I put a stop to that.
Lean, finely-textured beef, AKA pink slime. Creative Commons-licensed photo courtesy of Flickr user pennstatelive. Journalism, if anything, is reading documents carefully. Especially when they come from corporations with big public relations budgets. With this story — whose fallout I'll probably continue to report in the coming weeks — I throw a wrench in what, at … Continue reading Beef producers not forthcoming about ‘pink slime.’ In southwest Ohio anyway, I put a stop to that.
For the privilege of saving 6 cents a month, please pay $50
The City of Springfield says no one has applied to its new program to award a kind of tax break to those who minimize runoff from their properties. (The city's often forced to process said runoff as sewage, an expensive proposition.) Like very few others, I read the credit manual from cover to cover. It … Continue reading For the privilege of saving 6 cents a month, please pay $50
Bed bugs on the rise
According to county health data, one out of every 42 homes in Springfield called for help about bedbugs last year. My story corroborates the increase with several sources and describes the real health threat — trying to treat them yourself without knowing what you're doing. An inset box (that only appeared in print) gives some … Continue reading Bed bugs on the rise
Brandon Smith 