Anti-CNN Protest at Olympic Park (with video)

You can take the reporter out of the newsroom but you can't take the newsroom out of the reporter.

I was on my way to The World of Coca-Cola Saturday, just beyond Olympic Park in Atlanta, when I noticed a big crowd of people holding signs directed against CNN.

And some of them were pretty direct.

Immediately I thought, "Oh ... this is going to be fun."

Then I got out my camera.

Seems as though CNN's Jack Cafferty made some remarks against the Chinese a few weeks back as Beijing prepares to host the Summer Olympics. So in return, most of Beijing showed up at Cafferty's doorstep with signs demanding his being fired.

For those who missed it, here are the exact words:



To be fair to Cafferty, he didn't even get to the issue of human rights violations : )

Some footage from Saturday's protest



Check out this footage from a protest held April 19 in Southern California.

A Trip to the Zoo

Back with more photos of this weekend's trip to Atlanta.

Today: Zoo Atlanta

The main draw for the zoo, as it has been for years, are the pandas.

For more on Zoo Atlanta, check out the website here.

'The Boss' live in concert (with video)

Just got back in town late last night from a fantastic weekend trip to Atlanta. Of course the main draw was seeing Springsteen and the E-Street Band at Philips Arena but the highlights went far beyond Friday night's concert.

But that's where I'll begin.

The set list:

Reason To Believe

Out In The Street

Radio Nowhere

No Surrender

Blinded By The Light

Tour Premiere - Your Own Worst Enemy

Trapped

Murder Incorporated

Prove It All Night

She's The One

Livin' In The Future

The Promised Land

Bobby Jean

Point Blank

Devil's Arcade

The Rising

Last To Die

Long Walk Home

Badlands

Thunder Road

Born To Run

Rosalita

Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out

American Land




Definitely a great time and worth every penny I paid for the tickets. And if the photos didn't help put you in the scene, here's a little video to go with it.



Check back throughout the week for photos from Zoo Atlanta, the CNN Center, the Atlanta Aquarium, a protest, a bicycle race and more.

The Playlist: Springsteen Round 2

This weekend I’ll be heading down to Atlanta. But it won’t be for the food of The Varsity, the tour of the CNN Center or a pass to see the pandas at Zoo Atlanta; though I’ll be sure to partake of each. The main reason I’ll be in town is to see Bruce Springsteen & the E-Street Band perform at Philips Arena.

I profiled Springsteen in The Playlist back in August by mentioning my five favorite songs. To quickly recap – and in no particular order – “Born to Run,” “Downbound Train,” “Streets of Philadelphia,” “I’m On Fire,” and “The River.”

On the verge of my first Springsteen concert, here are a handful of notable mentions. Agree? Disagree? Shoot me an e-mail at grahamcawthon@shelbystar.com and your comments might end up featured in a future column.

Glory Days

Album: Born in the USA (1984)
Peak position on the charts: No. 5
Bet you didn’t know: Springsteen performed the song on the final NBC airing of “Late Night with David Letterman” on June 25, 1993.

Radio Nowhere

Album: Magic (2007)
Peak position on the charts: No. 102
Bet you didn’t know: The song earned Springsteen two of his 18 Grammy awards.

The Ghost of Tom Joad

Album: The Ghost of Tom Joad (1995)
Peak position on the charts: N/A
Bet you didn’t know: The album, named after the character from “The Grapes of Wrath,” was an acoustic throwback to the Nebraska album and earned Springsteen a Grammy for Best Contemporary Folk Album.

Atlantic City

Album: Nebraska (1982)
Peak position on the charts: N/A
Bet you didn’t know: Among those who have covered the bleak song in concert are Eddie Vedder, Counting Crows, Chris Cornell and country singer John Anderson.

Jersey Girl

Live/1975-1985 (1986)
Peak position on the charts: N/A
Bet you didn’t know: Springsteen’s live performance of the song, written by Tom Waits, was featured in the closing credits of the 2004 Kevin Smith film of the same name.

That’s what I got for this week. Suggestions, comments or concerns? Shoot me an e-mail at grahamcawthon@shelbystar.com.

Playlist Preview: Springsteen Round 2

This weekend I’ll be heading down to Atlanta. But it won’t be for the food of The Varsity, the tour of the CNN Center or a pass to see the pandas at Zoo Atlanta; though I’ll be sure to partake of each. The main reason I’ll be in town is to see Bruce Springsteen & the E-Street Band perform at Philips Arena.

I profiled Springsteen in The Playlist back in August by mentioning my five favorite songs. To quickly recap – and in no particular order – “Born to Run,” “Downbound Train,” “Streets of Philadelphia,” “I’m On Fire,” and “The River.”

On the verge of my first Springsteen concert, check out Thursday's Star for a handful of notable mentions. Then come back to the blog for videos of each.

Monday Night in Greenville

I spent the majority of Monday night at the Bi-Lo Center in Greenville for a 3-hour edition of WWE Monday Night Raw.

And while most were content just watching the show, I spent much of my time pretending to be a professional photographer and taking as many shots as I could with my new camera.

Here are a few of the better photos. It didn't hurt to have floor seats.

Expect to see something similar next week. I'm seeing Bruce Springsteen & the E-Street Band Friday in Atlanta - though I won't be THIS close.

Horse Dude in Casar

We have a big dry erase board in the newsroom where we plan out the days and weeks ahead. What story is going when, which will have photos, which will have video, etc.

A few people came in yesterday afternoon to find "Horse dude - Drew" on the board.

"Horse dude?"

The story was about Bill Inman, who has spent nearly a year crossing the country on horseback. His travel has been documented by media around the country - even in Singapore.

Here's the story we have in today's paper about his stop yesterday in Casar.

And video of the stop here.

Our photographer, Jeff, was out sick so I ended up filling in behind the camera. Took about 100 photos - here are some of the better ones that didn't make the cut.

Check out Inman's travel so far on his website here.

CrimeStoppers Minutes

Last month's CrimeStoppers' meeting minutes, sent earlier this week by secretary Karen Rhyne.

The next meeting is scheduled for Monday at noon at the administration building on Marion Street.


MINUTES FOR MARCH 17 CRIME STOPPERS MEETING

The monthly meeting of Crime Stoppers was held on Monday, March 17 2008 at noon in the Alexander Conference Room.

President Gary Staymate called the meeting to order at 12:09pm. Don Allen opened with a prayer.

A great meal was donated by Don's Italian.

Those present were: Gary Staymate, Charles McCloud, Karen Rhyne, Verna McCluney, Kathryn Larson, Mike Putnam, Mike Poage, Marlene Peeler, Jo Boggs, Tammy Endicott, Sam Richardson, Andy Andrews, Shell Byars, Durwin Briscoe, Cecil Burton, Tandy Carter, Don Allen and Bryan Gordon.

Lt. Tammy Endicott reported 7 tips came in since the February meeting. Six were to the Shelby Police Department and one was for the Cleveland County Sheriff’s Office. The tips were for various activities including a larceny, breaking and entering, stolen vehicle, damage to property, drug activity and a robbery. None of the tips were recommended for a pay out at this time.

Treasurer Verna McCluney handed out copies of our financial statement showing the latest pay outs and donations. Our current balance is $15,484.32.

Don Allen gave an update on his involvement with starting a Crime stoppers group in some of the schools. He said he was meeting with Phil Weathers later on during the week.

Andy Andrews announced that Creative Signs would be willing to donate the use of 2 signs for a period of 6 months, but we would need to pay for the paper used. Andrews explained that we could either pay $400 for the paper for each sign, or find a business who would be willing to sponsor the signs. The group agreed enter into an agreement with Creative Signs and will pay for the paper if a sponsor cannot be found.

The members voted to add Sam Richardson to the Board.

Tandy Carter spoke about the Call-In system and how it works. He said they had experienced great success with this and would be having their 4th meeting on March 18. Chief Cater also announced the grand opening of a computer lab at Christ Temple, which is in the Weed & Seed area. The lab is in conjunction with Weed & Seed and Cleveland Community College.

Sgt. Bryan Gordon of the Sheriff's Department shared some stats with us concerning crime and safety.

A committee to upgrade the bylaws was discussed and it was reported that the nomination committee is also looking into this. Cecil Burton said he felt that we needed to add some rules for attendance.

President Gary Staymate adjourned the meeting at 1:05 p.m.

The next scheduled meeting will be on Monday April 21, 2008.

Submitted by Karen Rhyne, Secretary Cleveland County Crime Stoppers

Senior Games

I apologize for not blogging as of late. I used to update this thing multiple times a week - if not day - but I've quickly found that as city editor, your time is easily eaten up.

So this is me trying to redeem myself. Here are some extra photos from yesterday's Senior Games at GWU. You can check out the story and video from the event here.

Again, sorry for the delay. I'll try to do better from now on : )