For future interns,  some advice:

1. The company cars (or some of them) are very… flamboyant. You’ll be representing the paper throughout the summer but you’ll really be representing whenever you drive one of those cars.

2. You’ll probably get lost at least once going to the cafeteria. I think it took us about a week or so before we got used to it. Or you can just go to Sala Thai which was our favorite lunch spot (we still got lost going there too).

3.  Get to know people outside of your department. I did and I had a lot of fun conversations and got to provide input for things outside of what I would normally do. And they tell you about the good stuff (free food/book grabs etc.).

4. CCI is crazy. And crashes a lot or freezes or is otherwise troublesome. Get used to it.

5. Features and news are two different worlds. However, we do NOT have siestas on the ninth floor.

6. Never blog about bone marrow. Ever.

7. Work for other sections when you can. I think I hold the record for the number of different sections/editors I worked for.

8. There’s always something to do somewhere. Just ask.

9. Run people through the court system.  My editor advised me to do so for some “model citizens” who were not quite upstanding after all.

http://www.oscn.net/applications/oscn/casesearch.asp

10. Use Twitter. Most people at the paper have Twitter so that will keep you briefed on most happenings.

All the professionals who took me under their wing, thank you so much! I have learned so much from you and you all are great examples of the profession!

I can’t believe it is over but all the same, I’m excited to go back to OU and put what I learned into practice at The Oklahoma Daily.

The car’s packed. The iPod is charged. The cooler is full of drinks and snacks. And the road is clear.

I’m Detroit bound.

This experience has been incredibly unique. Completely on a whim, I applied for The Oklahoman’s newsroom internship, hearing it was a tremendous opportunity, but never really knowing what Oklahoma City entailed or what news it brought. Sure, it had the devastating Oklahoma City bombing and loads of tornados rip through it that made national news, but other than that, I was clueless. With a few dailies and a weekly under my belt, it was time to tackle a paper that was sent out to more than 250,000 people everyday.

Ten weeks later, I feel like a pro.

I’ve covered city council, cops and courts, national health care reform protests, debates, U.S. citizenship ceremonies and in-depth feature stories that helped me truly dive into peoples’ lives, digging deeper and deeper with every experience. I have city officials on speed dial and felt the relationships I created were genuine. The Oklahoman, at least in my two months, doesn’t baby or treat you like a newbie. You’re a reporter. The trust is there and they faith you can produce. This isn’t a college newspaper or small little daily that says, “Eh, give it your best shot and we’ll see what comes of it.” You’re brought here for a reason. They’re not just hopeful for you, they expect you to produce.

You’re a part of this team. It’s the fourth quarter and The Oklahoman’s down by 1. With four seconds left on the clock, the ball is inbounded to you.

The game is in your hands — what are you going to do?

That’s how it should be. Every idea I pitched came through and was turned into a story. I’m proud of our intern class because I felt that as if a day never went by without hearing a least one praise about one of us working hard.

It’s been a pleasure, guys and gals. Time to exit stage right, but keep in touch and keep showing your talents.

Time to hit the road.

New Song #1 – Silver Trembling Hands

NEW SONG #2 – Convinced of the Hex

Coyne and company also played a couple rarities that probably won’t be seen live anytime soon. Check out the videos below.
Enthusiasm For Life Defeats Existential Fear…
Bad Days

And many other classics…

Fight Test and Yeah Yeah Yeah Song and Race for the Prize

Photo courtesy NPR.com

Andrew W.K. is set to be the keynote speaker of Dfest, and I couldn’t be more pumped to hear what the heavy metal musicain has to say about anything music related. I stumbled upon a very interesting NPR recording where W.K. cites Sebastian Bach as a big influence. I want you to draw your own comparisons. Click here to give the story a listen.

I think J.S. Bach’s music stands among humankind’s greatest accomplishments. For me, Bach’s music is not only as good as music gets, but also as good as it gets, period — as good as existence, reality, life and the world. “

Randy Crouch, right, tunes his guitar with fellow flute player and bandmate at his side at the Brick Street Cafe during Woody Fest in Okemah, Okla. Photo by Ashley McKee, The Oklahoman

Will Anderson of Haslet, Texas gets hung up in the rigging during bull riding during the first go-round of the International Youth Rodeo at the Expo Center in Shawnee, Okla. Monday, July 13, 2009. Photo by Ashley McKee, The Oklahoman

Band mates Jack White and Alison Mosshart make playing music look cool, but apparently that wasn’t enough. They had to make a music video where they make walking look cooler than shooting thousands of bullets into your favorite leather jacket. Take a look at the video for “Treat Me Like Your Mother.” I am hoping it will become a promotional video for the NRA. Also, tomorrow is the release of the Dead Weather’s debut album “Horehound.”

The Dead Weather – Treat Me Like Your Mother

Los Angeles Galaxy midfielder David Beckham chases the ball during an exhibition match in Hong Kong Sunday March 9, 2008. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

“The Beckham Experiment” comes out tomorrow.

In case you don’t watch ESPN or follow soccer, “The Beckham Experiment” is book by Grant Wahl detailing David Beckham’s first few years in America playing for the Los Angeles Galaxy.

Beckham, arguably the world’s most popular, recognizable and marketable athlete, starred for European icons Manchester United and Real Madrid and served as captain of the English national side for five years.

In 2007, he headed to America. Wahl, an award-winning sports writer for Sports Illustrated and SI.com, followed all of it, on and off the field. An excerpt from his book, in which the United States’ all-time leader in goals and assists and Galaxy captain Landon Donovan had some controversial comments about Beckham’s professionalism, was released last week.

I’ll be picking up the book tomorrow, but for now, here is a list of the top five soccer books I’ve read, in no particular order.

“Fever Pitch” by Nick Hornby

Part biography, part explanation of England’s obsession with the beautiful game, Hornby’s quasi-diary is a must read. The book is filled with humor as it explains and describes clashes between the police and hooligans, the first time Hornby saw Arsenal play, and the why 22 guys on a field takes priority over girlfriends and jobs.

The movie “About a Boy” was based on one of Hornby’s books, so fans of  romantic dramedies might be drawn in with that.

“The Fix” by Declan Hill

Hill is an investigative journalist, and he put “The Fix” together after snooping around the world’s gambling scene. Hill details the world of match fixing in soccer by organized criminal groups and the desperation some poor players, especially those in impoverished African nations, that lead them to participating. Match fixing is something a lot of people don’t want to talk about, but Hill provides a rather shocking account of not only soccer’s problems with organized crime, but also how it affects other sports like basketball.

“Soccer(Football) Against the Enemy: How the World’s Most Popular Sport Starts and Fuels Revolutions and Keeps Dictators in Power” by Simon Kuper

If there is a book out there that better explains why soccer means so much to people outside the U.S., then I haven’t heard about it. Kuper explains political turmoil in the Ukraine, Croatia, South Africa and many other places and how the sport has affected it. For those not familiar with Scottish soccer, the city of Glasgow has long been a hotbed for violent activity. One of the sources of it? The two teams in Glasgow, Rangers and Celtic, have centuries old religious prejudice on their side. Rangers is long a team associated with Protestants, while Celtic is strictly Catholic. A must read. Nothing explains the sport’s impact on lives better than this.

“Ajax, the Dutch, the War: Football in Europe During the Second World War” by Simon Kuper

Another great work from Kuper. This time, the book focuses on how the world’s game operated in Europe during World War II, but perhaps more importantly, focuses on Amsterdam’s Jewish population and the role Ajax, a popular Dutch soccer team and European soccer legend, and the Dutch played in the resistance against the Nazis. This isn’t just one of the best soccer books I’ve read, but many World War II historians say it’s a masterpiece as a book about world’s most widespread conflict in history.

“The Thinking Fan’s Guide to the World Cup” by various authors

Thirty-two chapters, 32 teams in the 2006 FIFA World Cup. Each chapter talks about soccer as it relates to the country. Highlights? England’s love-hate relationship with its national team and the globalization of English soccer, Saudi Arabia’s view of playing soccer as training for jihad, and all the accounts of small nations like Togo and Trinidad & Tobago.

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