Statistics

I found these interesting statistics about graduates in communication.
http://www.natcom.org/nca/Template1.asp?bid=352

Interviews

My friend Eric sent me an email asking if I've googled myself lately. I haven't, so I did to find out if there's anything out. I had googled my name a long time ago when they first constructed the site. I didn't find anything. A little disappointing, but that's about it. Now, a few years later, I tried again. This time, it was a little different. They have some stuff I did in school. They also had a quote I made for a weekly magazine in Baton Rouge. I had completely forgotten about that. Then I remembered my big disappointment!
In my first year of school, I took an undergraduate class about minorities and news. I must have expressed my opinion about racial matters in one of the sessions, because a girl in that class asked if she could interview me for a piece she is writing. She asked simple questions. I gave her simple answers. Then I found out that she had misquoted me. Ugh, I hate that! It really is easy to write what someone else said. Why do some feel the need to twist the truth?
I've worked in media for close to nine years. I was the one interviewing always. One thing I always made sure is I understand what people say and just say it. It gets a little more challenging if you interview in one language, then write in another. This girl asked her questions in English, got her answers in English, wrote her story in English. But, somehow, she managed to misquote me! It's pretty annoying, I can tell you that much!
Journalists (including myself), please be careful. You are somebody else's voice. Make sure you speak gracefully.

Finally!

The chef has started cooking on his show. Hallellujah!

Information as a commodity

I am not an expert in technology. I do not use the latest technological inventions, but I enjoy what technology has made possible, mostly the spread of information. For me, that is a valuable commodity. There are very simple steps people can take to lead them to great solutions. Why some do not think about them is beyond me. Simple steps, not rocket science.
I am looking at the TV set right now, it’s a cooking show. The chef sits in front of the camera and talks to it. Behind him there is a kitchen with nothing in it. The counter is clean and empty. Not a single appliance. This is supposed to be a cooking show, but he doesn’t cook. All he does is answer phone calls. Callers ask for recipes, which the chef gives out. Now, why on earth, would you need a cooking show for recipes? Wouldn’t it be easier to just put them up on a cooking Web site for example? Or if you are going to have your cooking show, then at least cook. I even doubt the show has a producer or a director. From what I can see, this show needs the chef who gets all the recipes himself, one still camera without a cameraman, a sound technician for potential problems… and that’s all. This is just one show. There are several others, and none have their recipes online. We don’t have a DVR at home, so we cannot rewind TV. If you miss one ingredient, you miss the whole recipe. If they put them online, they can guarantee a lot of visitors to their page, hence, good advertising, and finally, good money.
My point is that information should be more readily available to the public. I don’t think that in this age of technological developments, a person should suffer to get something as simple as information!

Reflections

Sorry guys. Especially you, Manoraf. I started writing for my blog, but it came out too long (and I’m not even done writing). So now, instead of posting it here, I think it’s wiser to leave it as a chapter of the book I intend to write.
However, since I’m here, let me tell you a few things.
I am now in my home country, Lebanon. I’ve been here for two weeks. And I am a little confused about my feelings. It’s a little tough to put in words. This is a place I’ve lived in most of my life. I know it very well. I am used to it. I have most of my memories in it. But I do not feel any connection to it. No emotional bonding. There have never been any emotions to tie me to this place. I am not too happy with that, but it is true, and denying it is impossible.
I am not fond of the infrastructure, the streets, the buildings, etc., but I love the people here. It is really a very special place in that sense. The people here make Lebanon so much prettier and more valuable than it really is. Of course I am not talking about shop keepers and people walking in the streets. I am talking about personal acqaintances. I enjoyed meeting everybody I know, even my manicurist. The sense of community in Lebanon is best to nothing. And it is what I missed so much when I was in the US. Life felt almost not worth anything without people to share it with. People there were preoccupied with their own lives. Lebanese people too have their own lives. And trust me, it is tougher than the American life. But somehow, there is this understanding that friends brighten things up. No matter how busy you are, you always find time to enjoy yourself. I missed that in the US. Whether the problem was in me or not, I just didn’t have that kind of life. I could name a few people in Baton Rouge who chipped in to give life some meaning, but they are no more than five. Even less. Maybe it was meant to be like that.