Daren Wang reports over on Verb.org that Terra Elan McVoy’s “Pure” is now on sale at Little Shop of Stories, a full week earlier than first reported.

So run, don’t walk (while obeying all traffic laws and crossing in designated crosswalks) to the Square and get your copy!

And in case you missed it the first time, Wang as already predicted that “Pure” will be big.  And who can doubt a man that came up with the idea to sell a beer for over $2,600?

Not me.

Daren: I tried to figure out a way to incorporate “He hate these cans!  Stay away from the cans!” into this post, but came up empty.  Oh well.

The battlelines between journalists and bloggers have long been drawn with all the old, familiar criticisms.

Journalists pshaw bloggers lack of journalistic cred, while bloggers scoff at journalists meager understanding of the online medium and all that it offers.  This furious “why I’m important and you’re not” argument is indicative of any medium in transition.   Its a fight for professional survival.

But in my opinion, there’s a much more interesting conflict out there that isn’t getting nearly enough attention.

Newspapers have long gnashed their teeth regarding the frequent blogger action of using “fair use excerpts” from their articles in postings.  At their best, these excerpts give bloggers a jumping off point where they take a recent topic discussed in a paper and use it to steer the conversation in another direction, providing a different and often more critical point of view.  At their worst, “fair use” is interpreted too liberally, resulting in excerpts that are anything but, leaving the blog reader with little reason to click-over to the actual article.

This issue has long put thoughtful bloggers on the defensive, with each having to personally reconcile this reliance on a disapproving host.   My own solution includes cutting out most “fair use excerpts” from my posts and instead I provide general summaries in my own words.   Its not a perfect, guilt-free methodology.  I acknowledge that if I “over-summarize”, I pose the same risk as the liberal “excerpter” and veer into those dangerous waters where the click-over becomes unnecessary.

But it is on this point that I wish to turn the tables on newspapers and provide a long overdue counterpoint to the “fair use” rage. Read the rest of this entry »

Carl tipped me off to this, but The Decatur Minute pointed me to the full list of streets.  That’s teamwork for ya!

From the city’s website…

Public Works is gearing up for the 2009 Neighborhood Association Spring Cleanup Days with up to eight employees and four trucks on the following Saturdays in April and May, from 8 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. All items to be collected should be placed at the curb no later than 7:30 a.m.

Yard trimmings, building materials (that are not from the work of private contractors), tires, appliances (not containing Freon), and trash that would not normally be placed in pay-as-you-throw (PAYT) bags will becollected.

Please do not include any liquids, dirt, bricks, blocks, stone, rocks, concrete, or motor vehicle batteries and parts.

To determine what day pickup will occur on your street, click here!

Carl looks to clarify to the masses:  Jazz @ Scottish Rite actually begins NEXT Thursday, not tonight.

All the smooth and soulful details can be found HERE.