Blogs List
Gray matter
 Jim Bartholow |
Put me in coach ...Thu, May 1, 2008 @ 2:34PM With the 2008 Marietta Bantam League season in full swing it's nice to see all those fields filled with young ballplayers. The sight takes me back to the days when our two children were young enough to play ball. Lots of memories from those days. Like teaching first-year tee-ball players to run to first, not third, when you hit the ball. I remember watching the other team hit a ball to left field and my left fielder was no where to be found. He decided the pile of sand about 30 away from the left field line was more inviting that standing out ON the field waiting for a ball to he hit to him. Then there was the time the entire team ran after a fly ball to right field. The right fielder was lost in a sea of teammates. Problem is, no one caught the ball, or picked it up as the batter rounded third and headed for home. I remember with my daughter's tee-ball team. So, she wouldn't feel alone on a team with all boys, I drafted every girl who signed up - a total of four I think.
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Upon Further Review
 Evan Bevins |
Invincible 'Iron Man'Tue, May 6, 2008 @ 12:36PM Sometimes when you have high hopes for a movie, it’s easy for that optimism to be dashed. But when a movie lives up to your expectations, especially when they’re over-inflated, that’s something special. “Iron Man” has never been one of my favorite characters, but the casting of Robert Downey Jr. (“Zodiac”) as Tony Stark, Terrence Howard (“The Brave One”) as his confidant James “Rhodey” Rhodes, Gwyneth Paltrow as loyal assistant Pepper Potts (“Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow”) and Jeff Bridges (“Surf’s Up”) as Obadiah Stane immediately caused me to sit up and take notice. The more that was revealed, the more excited I became. Unlike higher-profile franchise entries like “Spider-Man 3” and “Superman Returns,” “Iron Man” does not disappoint. It also clears the hurdle that even the best superhero movies often struggle with - the origin story.
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Editor's desk
 Jennifer Houtman |
Making headlinesWed, May 7, 2008 @ 9:35AM I first met Marc Dann more than 15 years ago. His wife Alyssa and I worked together as reporters and at the time, he had a budding law practice in Youngstown. I didn’t know Marc well, but I remember he liked to take the cases that made headlines. The more sensational the better. Now, Dann is making headlines for all the wrong reasons, and I have to wonder what toll the news of his affair is taking on his wife Alyssa and their children. Alyssa and I were close a long time ago. We’ve maintained a distant relationship but I certainly haven’t talked to her since the scandal at the attorney general’s office exploded in such a public and detailed way. I don’t expect to talk with her. Still, I find myself thinking about her a lot this week. I find myself thinking about our friend Ed Simpson, too. Ed was our editor at the Tribune Chronicle in Warren where Alyssa and I worked as reporters.
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Baby steps
 Erin O'Neill |
Double troubleSat, May 10, 2008 @ 12:23PM And just when I thought life as a parent couldn't get anymore exciting, this weekend I had the unique opportunity to experience what it means to be a single parent of twins! On Mother's Day weekend no less. Only briefly, mind you, did I have two toddlers to take care of by myself but it was interesting to say the least. My sister and her husband decided to take a mini vacation and my mother kept their son for the 4 or 5 days they were going to be gone. On Friday night, mom and my nephew came home from Columbus and we attempted to go out to dinner. I was anticipating screaming and throwing of food but then I remembered ... our kids are awesome. It helped that we went to one of those buffets where they have absolutely everything, the kids ate free and it was noisy anyway so a little toddler babble didn't matter. The kids were pretty well-behaved despite my daughter, who has graduated to the big chair, trying to get down repeatedly.
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It's your internet
 Art Smith |
Take a free flight over MariettaSat, May 3, 2008 @ 7:44AM Google is offering free flights over Marietta. No, the popular search engine has gone completely mad. The flights are not real, they are virtual. Google Earth, a free application available for Macs and PC, provides stunning views of Marietta and the rest of the planet. Google Earth is a remarkable project that takes thousands of photos from aerial photos from around the world and merges them to become one planet. This allows the users to literally fly from global view to a street level one in a few seconds. The program is loaded with features that add to the user experience. A user can add landmarks to the images for instance, you can overlay the current weather on the globe, obscuring areas until you “fly” below the clouds, you can even add terrain to the globe. Terrain puts hill and valleys where they belong allowing the user to dip into the Grand Canyon or explore the rim of a volcano.
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