Happenings

This is one of those "when it rains, it pours" weeks. My good friend who moved last summer is visiting for two weeks. She isn't staying with us but I'm sure I'll see her frequently. TBF is coming in today for a week long visit. He isn't staying with us either but we will get to see him at least once. We have planned a get-together with TBF and Michael! Yes, we finally get to have our first meeting face-to-face with a fellow blogger friend. I'm so excited! And finally, we have a dinner with The Morgan's planned on Thursday. We're going to an all-the-lobster-tails-you-can-eat meal. I can probably manage two, The Swede probably about four but The Morgans -- well, they EAT. The last time they went, Mr. Morgan ate twelve. Yup. You heard me right. TWELVE.

Lobster tails.

TWELVE.

On top of all that fun stuff in store for us, I've been buried in work. My job as a freelance graphic designer has a very unpredictable workload. I recently had a full six months of almost no work at all. This week is making up for that.

Since having our first child almost 10 years ago, I have been working at home on a part-time basis. I work, on average, 12 hours a week. Monday, I worked 12 hours straight. I am not used to sitting for so long. I am used to working in two hour increments so 12 hours of sitting in front of a computer was grueling on my poor tailbone.

The Swede recently installed Slingbox on my laptop. So, while I'm working on my desktop computer, I've had the television on beside me via my iBook.

I've been glued to what's been happening on the Virginia Tech campus; Monday, being the unfolding events and yesterday being the media's clamoring for the best story they can get.

It's despicable how the media handles these events. I repeatedly heard the reporters and anchors on CNN asking these poor college students who witnessed the carnage to recount "in as descriptive detail as possible" what they experienced. If they were lucky enough to get one of these kids to say "brutal" or "frightening", inevitably, the anchor would repeat the word and then ask them to go back and detail that portion of their account.

I think the media bears a big part of the responsibility of these rampage shootings in their obsessive coverage and exploitation of the crimes. I have to believe it is the notoriety that the shooter knows will follow that leads him to choose this way of acting out his psychosis.

In addition to the exploitation, each media outlet has come up with their own logo and the accompanying music for the tragedy.

I suspect on the other end of this, there is a producer who is glad to see these horrific events occur, knowing they can go into full-scale production. It has truly become a production.

In 1988, Lori Dann went into a nearby school, shot and killed innocent children. I believe, although I'm not certain, that she was the first person to choose a school as the place to unleash her sickness. Of course, the usual media coverage followed.

Later that year, the media awards were televised. The Lori Dann coverage won one of these awards. Steve Dahl, a local DJ of whom The Swede and I are big fans, pointed out the media's exploitation by playing the audio from these awards on his show.

It would make you sick to hear it.

There is the presenter up at the podium reading the category. Then the annoucement of the winning story. There is a burst of noise as the crowd cheers and applauds along with loud, upbeat, victorious music.

Lost in all of that was the emotion and realization of what happened that day and those poor forgotten families whose innocent children were killed.

Sadly, the extensive media coverage is all about boosting ratings, gaining sponsorship and making money.

Whatever happened to simpler times where Walter Cronkite took off his glasses, wiped his eyes and choked back real emotion over the loss of a human life.