Had a curious experience watching television the other day. I was sitting there on the couch with a friend, switching through the channels without any real interest when we stopped on an HBO documentary called Hard Times for an American Girl: The Great Depression, though we didn't know that was the title at the time. … Continue reading An American documentary
More thoughts on Roseville
Having lived here now two weeks, and having seen a lot more of the burb since this recent blog post (which was constructively criticized by a longtime resident), I can definitely say my thoughts on Roseville, California have moderated. I still think the whole place is a model of the auto-centric, gasoline-addicted urban sprawl that's … Continue reading More thoughts on Roseville
Awesome!
Congress is trying to make it legal once again to carry a loaded gun into national parks! Isn't that fantastic? And by gun, I of course mean pistol, revolver, automatic, hunting rifle, shotgun, whatever. You know, there just aren't enough places in this great nation of ours that allow a person to carry a loaded weapon. … Continue reading Awesome!
The "public" side of Roseville
So I've spent the last few days adjusting to life in the greater Sacramento area. Sacramento is a fine city, with a great urban core full of life and public spaces, all serviced by public transit, which includes light rail. Virtually everything in the city center is within walking distance. But for a variety of … Continue reading The "public" side of Roseville
The future of Maui
That sufficiently dramatic for you? Good reporters stick to reporting, but I'm going to draw from my nearly six years of living on Maui and make some pretty big conclusions about the future of this island. I'd like to say this place has changed dramatically since I arrived, but it really hasn't. And that's a … Continue reading The future of Maui
Leaving Maui, Part III: Things I didn’t do
Editing Maui Time Weekly was the best job I ever had. It was tough (I usually put in around six days a week getting the paper out the door) but it was also fun. I got to be snide, I got to play pundit and I got make the rich and powerful (or, at least … Continue reading Leaving Maui, Part III: Things I didn’t do
Leaving Maui, Part II: Things I did
I arrived on Maui on Aug. 28, 2003 as something of a misfit. Rather than spend my life working so that I could move to a tropical paradise, I had actually rarely given living in Hawaii any thought. Instead, moving to Maui meant a promotion–in this case, from a general assignment, sometime investigative reporter at … Continue reading Leaving Maui, Part II: Things I did
Leaving Maui, Part I: Things I’ve seen
Since I'm moving to Sacramento May 13 (booked my flight and everything) I've decided to write a give a kind of retrospective look at my nearly six years on Maui, before this blog starts commenting on more California-centric topics. Today I'll write about how much Maui has changed since I moved here Aug. 28, 2003. … Continue reading Leaving Maui, Part I: Things I’ve seen
Reason #138 why journalism is dying
Euphemisms and cliches. They're strangling journalism, you know. Clogging up the sink like tea leaves is how I believe George Orwell put it in his essay "Politics and the English Language." I choked on more than a few this morning while listening to this Associated Press story about U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates on NPR. … Continue reading Reason #138 why journalism is dying
Happiness at the DMV
And no, I'm not being either ironic or sarcastic. This morning, I had a great experience at the Kihei office of the County of Maui Department of Motor Vehicles. I was there to get a copy of my truck's Certificate of Title (I accidentally shipped off the original with a bunch of books last week) … Continue reading Happiness at the DMV
Anthony Pignataro 