Publicly, I am here to cover to Olympics for 11Alive and a handful of NBC affiliates across the country.
Privately, I am on a separate mission.
The Vancouver area has the third largest Chinatown in North America; many say the area where we’re staying, the city of Richmond, has a particularly amazing collection of Asian cuisine.
If I haven’t mentioned this before, I love food. LOVE food. And I really love Chinese food. REALLY LOVE it.
Last night, after getting off work “early” at 9 PM, I found myself with a rare bit of “down time” (read: two hours before going to sleep). So I began a side mission: to find the best Chinese restaurant in the Vancouver/Richmond area.
My first taste? Richmond’s Fisherman’s Terrace, recommended by no higher authority than the mayor of Richmond himself, Malcolm Brodie. It didn’t hurt that the restaurant was right across the street from our hotel — and open till 10 PM.
And even at 9 PM, it was quite busy.
I found it amusing that a restaurant this highly regarded was on the third floor of a shopping mall. But I soon discovered, location be darned, this place was absolutely for real.
I ordered the minced chicken and cream corn soup to start, then ordered the sauteed sea bass with vegetables as my main course. The service was a bit slow — it took about 20 minutes for the waiter to come by to take my order – but the food made it all worth it. Delicious, exquisite, savory — these would all be words to describe it. In fact, they might not even do it justice.
As time permits, I will continue to sample other Chinese restaurants in the Vancouver/Richmond area. But let’s just say this: it’s gonna be tough to top my first stop.
Fishermen’s Terrace: 9 out of 10 Forks!
My dish, only after 2/3 of it was eaten because I just then realized I should photograph this exquisite meal ...
Clayton State University accounting students will offer free tax preparation on a first come first served basis Saturday from 9am to 1pm. Those who need help with their taxes should report to the School of Business. The tax preparation assistance will be offered throughout the month of February. For more information call (678) 466-4527. Clayton State University is located at 2000 Clayton State Boulevard, Morrow, GA 30260.
The Dr. Perricone skin care line is offering free samples when you sign up to receive email news about Perricone anti aging products. Go to blog.erriconemd.com to sign up.
Six month subscriptions to Thriving Family magazine are available at Focus on the Family’s website, focusonthefamily.com. There is a banner at the bottom of the home page where you can click to get a subscription.
Lowe’s is holding a Build and Grow Workshop for kids on Saturday, February 13th. This week’s project is a wooden jewelry organizer. The class is recommended for first graders and up.
Clayton State University is offering free tax preparation assistance every Saturday in February and on March 20th and 27th from 9am to 1pm.
Accounting students who have studied all the tax changes in the past year are volunteering their time on a first come, first served basis in the School of Business building.
Shoppers have several President’s Day sales to choose from. Filene’s Basement has a winter clearance sale with prices of up to 90 percent off the original prices. Filene’s Basement is located at 3535 Peachtree Road Northeast, Atlanta, GA 30326. (404) 869-4466. It is across the street from Phipp’s Plaza.
The North Georgia Premium Outlets in Dawsonville are also having a Presidents Day sale. Shoppers who join the outlets’ V.I.P Club get additional coupons and discounts. Go to
www. Premiumoutlets.com.
TJ Maxx is having a sale on baby items.
There are many upcoming consignment sales: Kidsignments, which is one of the biggest, starts Tuesday, February 16th and runs through Saturday the 20th. More than 1000 consignors will be selling toys, clothing, books, dvd’s, maternity clothing, baby equipment and furniture. Make sure to bring a container to carry your items in. Many shoppers use a large trash can on wheels. No children, infants or strollers are permitted until after 2pm on Tuesday the 16th due to crowded conditions.
The All4 Kids Sale in Acworth will be held on February 25th-27th at 5500 Bells Ferry Road, Acworth.
To find out about other upcoming consignment sales and yard sales, check out thebargainwatcher.com
As a fan, this is where I get excited.
I have some great access out here in Vancouver, but I don’t have clearance for the actual Olympic venues themselves. We can’t film them, period, and since Ted and I are doing more “slice-of-life” stories, we generally don’t have any need to interview the actual athletes.
So when it comes to actually watching the events, we’re just like you — watching ‘em on TV.
(One difference: in our broadcast center, we have access to about eight different Olympic stations and feeds … which, all things considered, is still pretty darn cool …)
But having a front-row seat in front of the television doesn’t diminish any of the joy in actual watching the events. Take tonight, for example. The press room practically burst out in applause when Apolo Ohno blew past the competition in a preliminary speed skating heat.
That’s right, a preliminary heat.
Sometimes when a guy is that good at his sport, it’s spellbinding to watch no matter the circumstance. Another example: Jen Heil in the women’s moguls. The point is, the Olympic Games bring the world’s best to the same stage; they do it in a variety of events; and sometimes, the best times, they allow you to watch greatness unfold.
Which is all a grandiose way of saying: they’re a heckuva lot of fun.
I was shooting a story on an Atlantan here in Vancouver at what’s probably the fanciest hotel in town, the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver.
The questions from the Royal Canadien Mounted police officer and the Secret Service agent about what I was doing there got me curious. Apparently no one was supposed to know but it was pretty obvious someone special was coming into the lobby. Who? They wouldn’t tell me.
Rumors spread…the Canadien Prime minister is coming…it’s Wayne Gretsky…
When the crowd came in from the Big Black SUV’s I just shot…if you ever get a chance to see my fantastic video…the white speck in the middle is the dignified hair of Vice President Joe Biden.
I’m a heck of a photojournalist.
THE SCENE: 10:45 PM, Thursday night, 2/11; a hotel in Richmond, BC. A lone reporter places a call to the front desk …
Me: Hi, I’d like to request a wake-up call for tomorrow.
Front Desk: OK, what time, sir?
Me: 2 AM.
Front Desk: (laughing out loud)
(15 seconds later …)
Front Desk: (still laughing out loud)
END SCENE.
(By the way, isn’t it funny that when I actually need to write the phrase “laughing out loud”, I *don’t* shorten it with LOL … discuss …)
When you’re on an assignment like this — on-site at the Olympics for three weeks — moments like these are going to happen. And usually, if you’re getting up as early as 2 AM, there’s probably something pretty amazing waiting for you when you do.
In this case, that was definitely true.
My executive producer and I went up to Grouse Mountain, where we were given behind-the-scenes access at the Today Show. It was their first show from their brand-new Olympic set, and we followed along the whole time. Between breaks in the show, I conducted interviews with just about all the main players — Matt Lauer, Meredith Vieira, Ann Curry, Al Roker, Natalie Morales, as well as executive producer Jim Bell. And, in perhaps my favorite moment, I filmed two performances by — and then got the chance to interview — Michael Buble.
The whole thing was a whirlwind — moving from outside set to inside set, from indoors back outdoors, from one interview to the next, all in a span of two hours. We were both pretty much surviving on adrenaline; I had worked 14 hours the previous day and only got three hours of sleep, so energy was somewhat at a premium. But when you’re running around on a set like that, it doesn’t take much to sustain that adrenaline and enjoy the heck out of what you’re doing.
In short, it was a blast.
Here’s a link to the story: http://www.11alive.com/video/default.aspx?menuid=149#/Behind+the+Scenes+of+the+Today+Show/66385658001
And check out my Twitter page for photos!
As for me, I woke up today at 7 AM — still pretty early, but it feels like I slept till noon …
I’m watching the opening ceremonies right now, are you proud of your nation or what?
This morning I found some people who live that pride in Canada…it was simple but it touched me.
The Stephens, husband and wife, she in a wheel chair…he a quiet patient man who helps his wife navigate through the big city of Vancouver, finding the route that will give them the most excitement on this big night.
They drove 450km, a couple hundred miles, to be here in time for the opening ceremonies and they spent a lot of money for tickets. They’ll go to a womens hockey game and some skating for 21-hundred dollars…the years vacation budget…on tickets alone.
They are that excited that the Olympics are coming to their home. Oh Canada.
When we set out to do something different, something big, I told Jerry Carnes, “We’re going to be best friends by the end of this.”
“Or, you’ll want to kill me,” he said. I gave him a quizzical look. Five days later, I knew what he meant.
Hopefully, he won’t be offended by the comparison, but I think fellow 11Alive reporter, Jerry Carnes, and I have a lot in common. We’re both backpack journalists (AKA one-man bands); which means we shoot, write, edit, and front our own material. We’re both our own worst critics; we agonize over our work and can always find one thing we should have/could have/would have done better. We’re both passionate about what we do. In my case, you can chalk it up to my under-30, single, married-to-the-job kind of life. But Jerry’s been doing this for a long time, and he’s still passionate about coming into work. Every. Single. Day. I find that kind of amazing.
Last week, while digging for a story, we ran into each other and decided to team up.
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (AKA the stimulus bill) is 407 pages long. The reports tracking the money include hundreds of additional pages. As a taxpayer, you have a right to know where that money is going. After all, it’s YOUR money. As a journalist, it’s my job to tell you. As an employee of 11Alive, it’s a given. Last September, we dedicated half of an 11:00 newscast to a stimulus special. Since then, we’ve stayed on top of where your money is going. But Jerry and I still had a lot of questions. Mostly, what’s taking so long?
While going through some GDOT reports, we found a lot of “$0” under stimulus projects. We wondered how we could measure the success or failure of the stimulus bill if half of it hadn’t even started. Following the “two heads are better than one” belief, Jerry and I decided to do a tag-team stimulus special. Our News director liked the idea, and it was slated to run in the 11:00 newscast after the opening ceremonies of the Olympics. Here’s what happened over the next five work days (by the numbers):
-47 stimulus projects reviewed in 6 Metro-Atlanta counties
-21 work sites visited
-600+ pages of paperwork read, scanned, and scribbled on
-4 pages of script written, trashed, and re-written at least five times
Funny quotes that came from the week:
“Someone stole my trashcan. And the worst part is, when my brain turns to mush, I have no way to catch it now.” – Jerry (perhaps this was in reaction to my color-coding, highlighting, post-it noting system that made a lot of sense…. to me)
“It’s like half my day just disappeared into a black hole! (followed by a series of exclamations I cannot post here)” – Me after a brand new tape went “bad” and everything on it was unusable
“News Director: You need to put that in the script. Me: We had it and we took it out. Jerry: We had it? No, we didn’t. Me: Yes, we did. We fought about it. Jerry: We didn’t fight about anything Me: Sighhhh.”
Later, from co-worker: “You sounded like a married couple. Men never recognize a fight.”
“Jerry: Should I lean out or lean in? Kathy (photog shooting stand-ups): Scoonch that way. Jerry: Scoonch? What is scoonch?”
It turns out, a truly collaborative process is harder than I thought it would be. We didn’t always agree on the writing, the shooting, the editing. We didn’t always see eye-to-eye on what to include and what to cut out. As journalists, we have our individual styles. It’s not that one is better than the other. It’s just WHO WE ARE. But in this story, we somehow blended those styles together to craft an important piece of journalism. I’m proud of it. I learned a few things from Jerry. Maybe he learned something from me…. Probably not that color-coding, highlighting, post-it noting system. But he’ll miss it. I know he will.
I remember this feeling. It’s like the first day at a new school. I got into a fist fight my first day at Elementary school in Canada but I also made friends and learned the system…how to get A’s.
This was my first day at TV school even though I’ve been in the biz for 26 years now.
New, still unfamiliar equipment, new work place, new demands but still making friends and learning the system. Who knows…I might even make a few A’s before I leave beautiful Vancouver. (I’d give myself an A for effort for the day)
This right here is the real deal.
Japadog is one of the most popular restaurants in Vancouver — and it’s a street-car vendor serving hot dogs.
I kid you not.
Oh, and did I mention the hot dogs aren’t just hot dogs? They’re topped with all sorts of Japanese sauces and condiments; it’s quite gruesome — until you eat it.
I’m a believer — although this photo was taken *before* I ate the hot dog. Afterwards, I was in that rare state of culinary satisfaction — thanks to an all-beef frank with onions, nori (the seaweed in sushi), and teriyaki sauce on top.
It’s the good stuff, attested to not just by me but also by world-renowned “famous people” Steven Seagal and Ice Cube (who, by the way, seem ripe to star in a CIA buddy comedy together, no?). And the folks in Vancouver love it — the main location has lines down the block, and the secondary one (the closer one to me) is picking up steam as well.
The video story aired on The Daily 11 @ 7; when it appears on the web, I’ll let you know!
I’m here in Vancouver now, it feels like Matt Pearl and I stepped into a blender going full speed.
I’m working with a bare bones crew from 4 Gannett stations. Gannett owns us at 11 Alive along with USA Today and a bunch of other tv stations. This crews main job is to find interesting stories for The Olympic Zone show, it will run at 7:30 week nights during the Olympics on Gannett NBC stations like us.
For the first time in years I’m shooting my own video, for the first time ever, I’m editing that video on my computer and feeding it back to Atlanta and whether I have the time or not i get to do live shots during our 6, 7 and 11 pm shows.
Wish me luck and watch a few times to see if I manage to accomplish the job.
Off to hit the rainy streets of one of the most beautiful cities in the world.
This is going to be very cool.
(First thing’s first: “photo essay” in this case means an amalgam of haphazardly collected pictures … please don’t set the bar too high …)
Greetings from Vancouver! Ted Hall and I arrived at the airport a couple of hours ago; we are now at the hotel in Richmond, getting ready to take the train into downtown Vancouver. A few highlights from the day so far:
See that car clock? That's what time I left for the airport this morning. Needless to say, there was a lot of sleeping on the plane ...
The view of Vancouver as we fly in ...
Our first stop? The Vancouver Zoo & Archaeology Center ... oh no, wait, this is STILL THE AIRPORT ... so cool!
I don't know what this is; all I know is it was hanging from the ceiling and almost bit me ...
Aaaaand jackpot ...
Hello from Vancouver! It took Ted and I all of 30 seconds to locate our first mounted police officers in Canada ... always enjoyable, and quite friendly to boot!
There you have it, folks! The first half of our first day in Canada … we’ll keep the updates coming!
Hey there everyone! Just a reminder. The Dr.Oz show about childhood obesity will air on Feb. 19,2010 right here on 11Alive!
All The Best,
Tiger
P.S. - Happy Valentines day!!!
One of my former co-workers in Buffalo is very fond of the following expression when someone leaves for an extended period of time: “This isn’t goodbye; it’s more like, ‘See ya later’!”
(I actually think she stole this from an episode of Fresh Prince of Bel Air – go to 3:35 in the clip – but that’s besides the point …)
Anyway, it’s with that sentiment that I thought about what I am going to miss while in Vancouver for the Olympics. It’s not “Goodbye” to Atlanta for sure; it’s only a three-week “See ya later”, which means the things I’m going to miss are more impulse-based than anything else. If I was leaving for good, I’d talk about the people and the greenery and the wide variety of neighborhoods in Atlanta. But I’ll see all these things — and people — again pretty shortly.
In the meantime, here are the Top 5 Things I’ll Miss About Atlanta during these three “See ya later” weeks (assuming I have time to miss anything, what with how busy we’re going to be out there …):
5. The Hawks — Full disclosure here: I am an NBA nut and a Hawks season ticket holder. While I’m gone, one of the hottest teams in the NBA will take on the Heat, the Mavericks, and three other opponents at the Highlight Factory. The only upside? The March/April schedule is even better, with the Lakers, Spurs, and Cavs all coming to Atlanta.
And, of course, at least I’m not missing the playoffs …
4. Waffle House — Perhaps this is a strange choice to see for Atlanta lifers (or those who live in the suburbs), but I have been hooked on The House ever since I moved here ten months ago. It’s a great, tasty stop when you’re on the go, and I’ll miss it, even while enjoying the sure-to-be tremendous cuisine in Vancouver.
3. 11Alive — Yes, score one for the home team here. Let’s just say this … without giving too much away, we have some great stories lined up for February and during the Olympics.
(OK, enough shilling … moving on …)
2. The DeKalb Farmers Market — It’s one of the area’s hidden gems (if you can call a place constantly swamped with customers a hidden gem). Talk about Olympic-like: I have never seen so many foods from so many different cities and nations under one roof. I’ll miss this place immensely.
And the #1 thing I’ll miss about Atlanta while I’m gone:
1. The people! — OK, I know I said I’d only mention the people in more of a “good-bye” setting, but I must include them here. Take it from someone who’s spent most of his life in the North — Southern hospitality is beautiful and very real, and I have appreciated the warm welcome I have received throughout my first year here in Atlanta. I’ll miss it for the coming three weeks … but I’ll be back.
This will be my last entry before departing … see you in Vancouver!
Pardon me for veering off the Olympic train for a second, but there was something very Olympic-like about the Saints’ victory in Sunday night’s Super Bowl.
I think, on a general level, we all understand that a championship for a team means a celebration for a city. The Yankees win the World Series; the team parades in downtown Manhattan. The Lakers win the NBA Finals; Los Angeles revels in their glory.
But rarely do we truly place a city’s glory on par with a team’s title. What do we care if New Yorkers get to celebrate another championship, or if Pittsburgh natives get to rejoice in a Stanley Cup? For the most part, the unbiased sports-fan nation glorifies the team that wins the crown, not the region it represents.
Sunday was different.
Of the many defining shots of celebration, none could beat the revelry of Bourbon Street, packed to the brim with Saints fans going wild. It’s a celebration usually reserved for later in the month and Mardi Gras (although, if you’ve ever been to New Orleans in late January or early February, you know Mardi Gras is generally a season-long event anyway). This was exceptional, and this fan base definitely deserved it.
There’s been a lot of talk about how the Saints’ success has uplifted the city, and how their Super Bowl win — and the city’s fervor about it — proves how football is “more than just a game”. I’m a bit ambivalent about these sentiments, for a few reasons: first of all, the Saints’ victory doesn’t — by itself — get any homes rebuilt or neighborhoods rejuvenated. Secondly, a football team’s success shouldn’t validate a city’s self-worth. I mean, if the Saints had lost to the Colts, would that have tarnished New Orleans in any way? If they had never made the playoffs, would that somehow have been a pock mark on the city’s post-Katrina resilience?
But most importantly, the Saints’ success in some ways overshadows the determination and grit of the people of New Orleans, who have withstood the damage and held their ground amidst terrifying circumstances. I had the privilege of going down to the Crescent City last year at this time; I spent a week helping to rebuild a home through the very impressive St. Bernard Project. Amidst the many emotions I felt that week, I couldn’t help but be amazed at how the character and soul of the city still breathed so effervescently through it. That comes straight from the people — the small-town restaurant owners still making po’ boys, the street musicians rocking Canal St. at 4 pm on a Sunday, and the ordinary citizens who keep their smile and their heart through the worst of times.
It’s a testament to a city that will not be broken; in that respect, the Saints are almost as much of a reflection of their city as an inspiration to it.
(Although, let’s be clear, the Saints are absolutely an inspiration. The work of the players and coaches in the community has been absolutely stellar over the past few years; Drew Brees alone deserves all the accolades he gets for his off-field work. It’s truly impressive.)
And that’s why, ultimately, I’m so thrilled that New Orleans gets to celebrate this championship. It’s not because the city somehow needs it, or that the people are somehow validated by it. And it’s certainly not because a Super Bowl victory somehow makes the challenge of rebuilding any easier.
It’s because a city that has suffered through the worst of emotions now gets a chance to experience some of the best. And it’s because, in this rarest of moments, the joy of the championship team seems secondary to the joy of the city that gets to cherish it.
