Sunday, November 29, 2009

Potato casserole fills the hole


Looking for a scrumptious side to go with that honeybaked ham or turkey?

Here's how to create a delicious potato casserole:

1. One bag of frozen shredded hashbrowns

2. Cup of sour cream

3. Can of creamed chicken soup

4. Chopped onion

5. Cup of shredded cheese

Mix all of the above in a glass baking dish. Bake uncovered @ 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Enjoy! (I had this dish over the holidays this week; definitely a big hit with everyone on Thanksgiving Day.)

Thursday, November 19, 2009

Children of Rock Hill

Who are the children of Rock Hill, S.C.?

Who's responsible for them?

Ran across this beautiful video from Rockthrill.net.

Says it all.

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Dreamweaver



Students in the mass communication department at Winthrop University are getting their feet (and hands) wet with Adobe Dreamweaver software as they construct Web packages.

Winthrop mass communication major Debra Seth brought this 1976 song, by Gary Wright, to my attention in class today.

Name of the song?

Dreamweaver.

Sunday, November 15, 2009

Sermon hits home


Scott Carroll (pictured with this blog post) says that people should learn how to worship before they actually worship.

He says no church should automatically assume that its members know how to worship.

Carroll, speaking to the congregation this morning at West End Baptist Church in Rock Hill, S.C., gave several pointers for effective or meaningful worship, including:

1. Get pumped BEFORE you set foot in the Lord's house. Meaning get psyched up. Get excited. Get in the proper frame of mind (and for goodness sakes open your mind!) to learn something new that will change your life. Whatever you do, don't dread going to church. Don't view church as another Sunday morning of polite drudgery. Doesn't have to be that way. Shouldn't be that way, Carroll says.

2. While you're in the sanctuary and at the worship service, don't detract from others. Don't write your grocery list or to-do list. Don't yawn or fall asleep. Don't frown or sigh or be a nuisance...

3. After you leave church, focus on the positive of what you learned, heard or experienced in the worship service. Find something good and helpful (from that worship service) that can boost others and bring them closer to God.

Good, engaging food for thought from Carroll.

Friday, November 13, 2009

Magazines go with "augmented reality"


Who could imagine that you could see a video by opening a magazine?

That's what Esquire magazine is doing, thanks to a new technology called "augmented reality."

Learned about this from Aubrey Gillespie, who sent me this link of Esquire magazine and the video.

Aubrey is a student in my Media Writing class at Winthrop. Thanks Aubrey!

Monday, November 9, 2009

Dorothy, Patrick and Joelle and baby

Dorothy, my oldest daughter, and her husband Patrick live in Durham, N.C.

They've been praying for a baby.

Now they may have found one--from Joelle, who lives in Ohio.

This past weekend, Joelle drove to Durham to meet Dorothy and Patrick for the first time.

She is the birth mother. Dorothy and Patrick will be the adoptive parents.

We wish them all well.

Turn up your sound and click on the slide show (with music) at this link to see what happened when a young woman from Ohio connected (finally in person) with Dorothy and Patrick.

Powerful anti-abortion trailer

Don't know what side of the abortion debate you are on, but an independent film maker has just created "Blood Money."

Definitely powerful and moving and food for thought.

Click on the hotlink boldface headline above to see a trailer to "Blood Money."

Thursday, November 5, 2009

Magazines alive and well


When you think of struggling media, do magazines come to mind?

See magazines as on a downward spiral?

Think again.

Ellen Geer, a Winthrop University alumna, sent me this intriguing video, "Twenty Tweetable Truths About Magazines," of how well mags. seem to be doing in 2009.

To access the video, turn your sound up and click on the hotlink boldface headline above.

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Tom Sorensen connects with Winthrop students




If you're been reading the Charlotte Observer very long, you've encountered stories or columns by long-time Observer journalist Tom Sorensen.

I had especially gotten interested in Sorensen after reading one of his columns (about the Carolina Panthers) a few months ago in which he shared that he had cancer. At that time, he called himself "the cancer columnist."

He asserted in that particular column that he could get away with writing a lot of stuff that others couldn't, because he's the cancer columnist.

That aside, read Sorensen if you want the true skinny about the Carolina Panthers. He has a sort of self-deprecating style that immediately appeals to a lot of Observer faithful readers.

So how did Sorenson and Winthrop University students cross paths?

We had wanted for several weeks to have Tom as a our special guest at a session of the Winthrop chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. We actually had him booked a few weeks ago to come to one of our meetings. But then he had to beg off because of undergoing chemo and suffering from lack of energy.

We understood and wished him the best. We still liked him.

Then I had a thought (a scarey thing, I know.)

If Tom couldn't come to Winthrop, we'd come to him.

That's what we did last night at Shoney's at exit 90 on I-77 (Carowinds.) A group of Winthrop students (and Judy Longshaw and her husband), and yours truly shared a few bites with Tom Sorensen. We all swapped lies with one another and had a good time.

I should mention that Tom had just arrived back from Phoenix, Ariz., where he watched and reported on the Panthers crushing of the once-mightly Arizona Cardinals. We appreciated that he could join us and give us some of the stories behind the stories that grace the sports pages of The Observer.

He seems to be feeling well, and we are thankful for that.

Keep writing, Tom Sorensen. You've got a gift--for covering sports and for inspiring others.

Did I mention that he's working on a book? Bet it will be an engaging read.

(Thanks to Kathleen Brown and Judy Longshaw for snapping the pictures that accompany this blog post.)