Thursday, July 12, 2007

The Sad Lives Club.


"So let's start the sad little lives club. We won't invite folks whose lives are even sadder for they have nothing better to do than point out how sad our lives are." George.

Whew! I was beginning to get worried there. After Lisa Wilson wrote to me it crossed my mind that maybe, just maybe, the 1200 to 1500 readers who visit this blog every day were only doing so to get a glimpse of the "sad little life" that I lead. Fortunately, many of you wrote yesterday to set me, and Ms. Wilson, straight.

I have appreciated your insights posted regarding the very sad state of affairs of our local newspaper. Some of the attraction may indeed be train wreck scandal nature of this affair but I am grateful that you have not "let it go" as some of your "fans" have suggested. You might offer to move on if Ms. McCaw made a similar gesture by recognizing the union vote results. Until that time this is very active, and important news, or at the very least, another view of the situation. Tom Buhl.

+ + +

Please do NOT stop writing about the News-Press and the antics of the blond(e?) queen and her baron consort. Santa Barbara might lack a mayor who plays around and a city attorney whose wife is embarassingly accident prone as Los Angeles does. We are not experiencing a Summer of Love as L.A. is. But at least we have the antics of Wendy and Von Weaselburger to be amused by. Unfortunately in all the above cases, innocent people are suffering. The Santa Barbara community as a whole -- not to mention N-P staffers who have lost their jobs and seen themselves smeared in print -- is much worse off by not having a daily newspaper that actually reports the news with integrity and accuracy. P. Gilbert.

+ + +

There are a lot of us that look forward daily to seeing Wendy McCaw's national embarrassment being held under the light of truth by Craig Smith. Ultimately, who's life is it that is being waisted; humm? The probability of being watched is directly proportional to the stupidity of your act. Wendy McCaw is being watched! Train wreck, indeed! Bill Neubert.

+ + +

(Lisa Wilson's) letter made me angry.
The News-Press mess is not local news; it's national. Our federal government is, as you read this, gathering evidence and prepping witnesses to bring a hailstorm of charges against a bully the likes of which Santa Barbara, and journalism in general, has rarely seen.

Dozens of people's livelihoods have been squashed, people who up until now had devoted themselves to keeping locals like Ms. Wilson informed about their community. Now they must spend their days trying not to get unjustly sued by someone with unlimited resources.

Your coverage of this community crisis is more than warranted; it's compassionate, courageous, intelligent. And those of us embroiled personally in the muck are grateful.

If we've learned anything from our experience, it's this: Don't let ignorant people tell you how to do your job. Starshine Roshell.

+ + +

I really wanted to sit down and take the time to respond to Ms. (or is it Miss?) Wilson and her comments on your obsession with the Newspress (sic) and what a sad, silly, pathetic trainwreck of a life you must have to waste all your time on the story. Specifically, I wanted to note to her that your fixation over the past year not only provided thousands of readers another POV from what Travis and Wendy would have given us, but also, on a more personal level, allowed you to have tremendous fun, both personally, and professionally, among with sharing a heavy load of moral outrage and grief with the direct participants. So go ahead and take the time to do some "shameless self-promotion" and defense of your work...list your accomplishments...defend thy honor, Sir! Jeremy Lape.


Nah, I don't think so.

* * *

On another topic several of you wrote to assure me that Jim Farr, former owner of the Goleta Valley Voice, is a very nice guy and a decent fellow. Cheerfully noted.

* * *

Today's last word comes from Tim Buckley of the Montecito Journal.

A reasonably reliable source has informed MJ that Montecito' s newest celebrity resident/s is/are Tom Cruise, Katie Holmes and family. Reports are that Mr. Cruise recently purchased Rob Lowe' s ocean-view estate in the Golden Quadrangle, and that Lowe and family will relocate to their beach cottage, at least for awhile. If true, this may serve as a final good-bye to the labor conflict saga that began when Mr. Lowe' s address was printed in the Santa Barbara News-Press, setting off a chain of events that culminated in an election that threatens to bring in the Teamsters Union, a mass exodus of News-Press employees, and a local boycott of the paper spearheaded by former employees. The News-Press is looking much better these days and ad revenue appears to be on an upswing, so this sale, if true, may signal the beginning of the end of the boycott and the revival of the grand old Santa Barbara newspaper.

Just what News-Press is he reading?

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