New York Groove

My extremely talented wife, Kathy goes to New York and takes snapsphots that look like this:

View of Central Park from the Lincoln Center.

I go to the big city and take snapshots that look like this:

This may explain why she brings home Emmy statues while I bring home...... well, I get to carry the Emmy statues for her. It's true - Kathy and her colleagues at The Detroit Free Press were nominated for two *National* News and Documentary Emmys this year. And they won them both!

There is a lot of talk and speculation about the future of photojournalism and the death of newspapers. But if you want to see where photojournalism is heading and new approaches in visual storytelling, just go to freep.com. They are leading the pack.

You can see the story here and the two Emmy winning pieces here and here. Way to go Kathy!

Untitled.

© Brian Widdis

© Brian Widdis

The Fall

The New Family Next Door

A family of bobcats has taken up residence at a foreclosed home in Southern California.

Karen Brown/Special to The Press-Enterprise

"One home in the Tuscany Hills area of Lake Elsinore has all the marks of a foreclosure: a dead brown lawn, neglected flowerbeds and notices on the front door.

And one more thing: bobcats.

A pair of the wildcats and their young appear to have taken up residence in the backyard, animal control officials say.

Karen Brown, a nearby resident, said a neighbor came to her door last Wednesday evening and told her there were "mountain lion cubs" across the street from her Vista Palermo home.

Stepping outside, Brown caught sight of two cats, which turned out to be full-grown bobcats, resting on the back wall of the property.

"They were just lounging there," Brown said. "They were literally just lying on the wall looking at us." Read the full story here.

BLDGBLOG: "But is this really the way the wild will reclaim our world? Starting with foreclosed homes and moving inward, to the centers of cities, from there. Soon ivy crawls across the well-polished tables of New York boardrooms, as the suburbs fall prey to nests of field mice."

Maybe the bobcats are not really squatters at all. Maybe they got a great introductory rate from Countrywide and just moved in...... Here in Detroit, we don't have bobcats, but as portions of our city are reclaimed by nature, we've had plenty of unusual wildlife sightings including pheasants, coyotes, wolves, and even bald eagles.

"I Lied Under Oath"

"Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick has pleaded guilty, ending a nearly eight-month drama that has transfixed the region, paralyzed much of city business and halted a political career that once held such promise.

In a courtroom this morning, Kilpatrick pleaded guilty to two felony counts of obstructing justice by committing perjury. He will spend four months in jail, pay up to $1 million in restitution, and serve five years' probation. He also agreed not to run for office during that five-year span."

See the story here.

© Brian Widdis