tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8083515846142541642018-05-27T20:10:17.180-05:00WhirlwindSo friends and family can see what I'm up toCraig Kanalleynoreply@blogger.comBlogger61125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-808351584614254164.post-38215054183460254902013-09-07T17:24:00.004-05:002013-09-07T17:26:21.666-05:00How To Verify A Tweet<span style="font-size: xx-small;">(Note: This post was originally published at <a href="http://twitterjournalism.com/">TwitterJournalism.com</a> on June 25, 2009.)</span><br /><br /><div style="background-color: white; color: #3d3d3d; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px; padding: 0px 0px 15px;">Twitter is the great equalizer. It doesn’t matter if you have 100 followers or 10,000, you can break news. That’s because all tweets are recorded and indexed at&nbsp;<a href="http://search.twitter.com/" style="color: #3d3d3d; font-weight: bold;">search.twitter.com</a>. If someone types the right keyword(s), they can find your tweet.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #3d3d3d; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px; padding: 0px 0px 15px;"><a href="http://www.breakingtweets.com/" style="color: #3d3d3d; font-weight: bold;">Breaking Tweets</a>&nbsp;prides itself on giving many different types of Twitterers credit for breaking news, whether it be someone in Honduras with a dozen followers recording the first “earthquake” tweet or a news organization providing the first details of a major story.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #3d3d3d; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px; padding: 0px 0px 15px;">But how do you know a tweet’s legitimate?</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #3d3d3d; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px; padding: 0px 0px 15px;"><span id="more-110"></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #3d3d3d; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px; padding: 0px 0px 15px;">Here’s some methods I use at Breaking Tweets that you can try too:</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #3d3d3d; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px; padding: 0px 0px 15px;"><strong>1. Timestamp:</strong>&nbsp;Anytime something breaks with hundreds of tweets in minutes, like a natural disaster, it’s good to type various keywords and keep paging back until you find the first few tweets about the news. Unless these Tweeters are psychic, they’re probably among the first to have knowledge something’s up and they may have additional context depending on the story.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #3d3d3d; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px; padding: 0px 0px 15px;"><strong>2. Contextual tweets:</strong>&nbsp;Immediately check the Twitter user’s page for related tweets around the tweet you found. You’d be surprised how often someone posts a follow-up tweet later or precedes the ‘breaking tweet’ with other pertinent info. This could provide additional context for the story, but it can also help verify a person, especially if they’re posting pictures or other content from the scene.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #3d3d3d; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px; padding: 0px 0px 15px;"><strong>3. Authority:</strong>&nbsp;Check the Twitter user’s Bio. Is this a journalist? Is it a random person off the street? Is it a prankster? How about a comedian? Check their Web site or blog if they have one listed. See what you can learn about them here. It’s important to have some idea who the Tweeter is as you assess the validity of any tweet.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #3d3d3d; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px; padding: 0px 0px 15px;"><strong>4. How many past tweets:</strong>&nbsp;Be leery of new Twitter users. If it’s one of their first tweets, it could be anybody starting an account and claiming to have info on a breaking story. The newer the account is, the more skeptical you have to be.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #3d3d3d; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px; padding: 0px 0px 15px;"><strong>5. What are the past tweets:</strong>&nbsp;Check for context by examining the person’s Twitter stream. Go back several pages and see what they normally tweet about. Do they interact with people? Check the accounts they interact with for additional background on piecing together who this person might be. If they say they’re in Paris, are they talking about Paris a month ago? Are they tweeting in French? If not, why not? Evaluate the person and get a feel from them as best you can based on past tweets.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #3d3d3d; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px; padding: 0px 0px 15px;"><strong>6. Google them:</strong>&nbsp;Google their Twitter name because sometimes people use a Twitter handle as their user name on other sites. See if you can find a LinkedIn page, a Facebook page and other sites that add to who these people might be. If they don’t list a full name on their Twitter page, and their user name doesn’t turn up much, you have reason to be more skeptical. The more information the person hides, the harder it is to know who they are. Likewise, the more open they are with info, the more likely they’re legitimate.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #3d3d3d; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px; padding: 0px 0px 15px;"><strong>7. Check for related tweets:</strong>&nbsp;If someone says they heard an explosion in Lahore, what are other people in Lahore tweeting about? Check that and see if anyone else is reporting this. Chances are if a series of diverse people are tweeting about it at the same exact time — and they don’t appear related from looking at their accounts –, something’s up.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #3d3d3d; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px; padding: 0px 0px 15px;"><strong>8. Talk to them directly:</strong>&nbsp;Send an @ reply. Start following them and try to send a direct message. Get a conversation going. Ask for more information and build a relationship as best you can. This will help you create a profile of this person and piece together their connection to the story.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #3d3d3d; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px; padding: 0px 0px 15px;">These are ways that Breaking Tweets works to verify a tweet. It’s all about context, really – the person’s past tweets, other tweets that support their tweet, seeking more information about them specifically, and seeking more information about the topic. &nbsp;And of course the timing of the tweet is critical too. If you stay on top of the tweets and follow these sorts of steps to verify tweets, you’ll be well on your way to finding great story tips and breaking news well before traditional methods.</div>Craig Kanalleyhttps://plus.google.com/103399926392582289066noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-808351584614254164.post-14649729503694001112010-05-16T02:36:00.002-05:002010-05-16T02:37:57.876-05:00Moving To TumblrI'm moving this blog over to Tumblr.&nbsp;<b>You can now find the very latest posts at&nbsp;</b><a href="http://ckanal.tumblr.com/"><b>http://ckanal.tumblr.com/</b></a><b>.</b><br /><br />The reasoning? Blogger can just be tedious and Tumblr is a lot simpler. On top of that, the short format that is stressed on Tumblr (emphasis on photos/quotes/videos &amp; quick write-ups) lends better to my lifestyle and the time I have for a personal blog.<br /><br />I'm hoping that updates can be much more frequent as a result of this switch, and I'd also like to do more professional updates as well, so it is not merely a personal blog.<br /><br />Also worth nothing, I'm not going to migrate all the posts here over there. They are mostly long and again that format doesn't work as well on Tumblr. I will transfer some photos and interesting tidbits from past posts and link back here.<br /><br />Hope you'll keep checking out the blog in <a href="http://ckanal.tumblr.com/">its new format</a>, and as always, thanks for reading!Craig Kanalleyhttps://plus.google.com/103399926392582289066noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-808351584614254164.post-31751314166727610412010-04-26T23:30:00.017-05:002010-04-26T23:47:54.916-05:00Sabres 09-10 Season Ends In BostonTonight's an emotional night for me.<br /><br />The Buffalo Sabres 2009-2010 season came to an end after a 4-3 loss to Boston. It was a first round playoff exit; the Bruins won the series 4-2.<br /><br />It was so nice to be back in the playoffs again after a two-year drought. And as long as the team is exciting on the ice and working hard, I'm generally content, win or lose. That was the case this year and it was a fun ride.<br /><br />But this was particularly tough for me. This whole series has been tough, from the opening day of the playoffs, when I wanted nothing more than to be back home in Buffalo with all the buzz. In fact, the mere idea of playoff hockey in Buffalo causes memories of the good old days to rush through my mind.<br /><br />So among the reasons the last 12 days have been really difficult: This was the second year I had tickets to all the Sabres' home playoff games (every one of them!). Of course, many of these tickets won't be used because we're done now. But the last time I had tickets to every home playoff game was in 2006-2007 and I was going to school in Rochester at the time.<br /><br />Now I'm in New York City. Being so far away, yet owning tickets to all the games, is brutal. I did get to one game this playoffs (Game 2 in Buffalo, a Saturday afternoon game, which we lost sadly 5-3, though it was still incredibly exciting). I was hoping for a much longer run.<br /><br />But it's not just about the missed opportunities to attend games this year...<br /><br />It's a whole bunch of emotions I'm experiencing. Most of all, after an emotional playoff exit like that, it's longing for friends and family, which I was so used to growing up. No one's here. I'm alone tonight in my apartment. It's sad.<br /><br />I'm OK and all. You could kind of see the end coming. But in December when I first moved to New York City, the Sabres 09-10 campaign was alive and well. I watched as the Olympics took place, and Ryan Miller led Team USA to the silver. And these playoffs were supposed to be extra special, with Miller leading the way -- the league's best goalie (possibly MVP, we'll find out soon enough).<br /><br />Just tough, that's all. I had a <a href="http://sabres2010.tumblr.com/">Sabres Playoffs Tumblr blog</a> too, documenting all the action. And it's sad that had to end so soon too.<br /><br />Of course these are all temporary emotions. And time will heal them. And the Vancouver Canucks (my second favorite team since I was a kid) are still alive and well in the playoffs, and now I root for them. And there's always next year.<br /><br />Here's a pic from that game I went to just 10 days ago:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_g4ylvenaNGM/S9ZoPkS3A_I/AAAAAAAABC8/e5d1lFkEInw/s1600/25417_1448984389399_1376880002_1229110_3232941_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_g4ylvenaNGM/S9ZoPkS3A_I/AAAAAAAABC8/e5d1lFkEInw/s320/25417_1448984389399_1376880002_1229110_3232941_n.jpg" /></a></div><br />And Melissa and me on Game Day:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_g4ylvenaNGM/S9Zoa4YOmhI/AAAAAAAABDE/P0RKvqyhBiE/s1600/25417_1448984429400_1376880002_1229111_5688619_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_g4ylvenaNGM/S9Zoa4YOmhI/AAAAAAAABDE/P0RKvqyhBiE/s320/25417_1448984429400_1376880002_1229111_5688619_n.jpg" /></a></div>Craig Kanalleyhttps://plus.google.com/103399926392582289066noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-808351584614254164.post-87931714498291210682010-03-07T23:09:00.009-06:002010-03-07T23:23:21.250-06:001st game at Madison Square GardenI've been in New York City for three months now and apologize for not updating again since the move!<br /><br />I've been busy, settling into the new place and the new job (which I love!) and I wasn't really sure what my next blog should be about. But this is definitely worth posting about...<br /><br />I was fortunate to witness this one, as my hometown Buffalo Sabres came into New York and beat the Rangers at Madison Square Garden tonight 2-1 in overtime.<br /><br />The win snapped Buffalo's miserable eight-game losing streak on the road. It was also just my second time ever seeing a Sabres road game - the first was a 5-1 loss at Chicago.<br /><br />Here's the game-winning goal, scored by Buffalo native Patrick Kaleta. I caught it on video via digital camera from my seat -- Section 115, Row 13.<br /><br /><object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/g76HaagR9m0&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/g76HaagR9m0&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object><br /><br /><b>I posted PICTURES from the game on Facebook. <a href="http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=31618368&id=64800350" target="_blank">Find those here.</a></b><br /><br />And here are my observations from this one:<br /><br />-Ryan Miller: With 35 saves, sensational as usual. The Sabres definitely helped him out with great D, limiting the Rangers to mostly perimeter shots and letting Miller see the puck. The lone goal came off a rebound; Ryan had no chance with New York on the power play.<br /><br />-Adam Mair and Patrick Kaleta with the goals. Great to see them on the scoresheet, they were physical, won battles and put in countless second efforts. Kaleta's game-winning goal came off a second effort and some old-fashioned hard work and getting the puck to the net.<br /><br />-Thomas Vanek had a great game. Very noticeable tonight, all over the ice, great defensive plays as well as scoring chances. Strong effort.<br /><br />-In his second game as a Sabre, Raffi Torres (love the pickup, by the way) seemed a little out of place. A few bad plays, missed passes and other mishaps. One line change confusion involving Torres nearly led to a Rangers goal. That said he made some nice plays too, a few big hits and you can tell he's trying. Great to see that.<br /><br />-Sabres hit the Rangers stride for stride tonight and were ready from the get go, perhaps taking advantage of the fact New York was playing for the second straight night. All around great effort and an impressive road win -- that's how you do it on the road too, just keep hanging around, hanging around. Solid.<br /><br />-Rangers fans are very knowledgeable of the game and respectful, at least those around me in Section 115.<br /><br />-Nice to see Rangers fans cheer Ryan Miller getting second star; there was a solid "USA, USA" chant then and just prior to the game. They booed the first star though - Kaleta - no surprise there.<br /><br />-MSG is a very loud and fun arena. There was lots of energy in the building.Craig Kanalleyhttps://plus.google.com/103399926392582289066noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-808351584614254164.post-8990163158803003512009-12-05T18:28:00.048-06:002009-12-05T22:03:32.398-06:00Hello New York, farewell ChicagoThe last three months are hard to boil down into one post, but I'm going to try.<br /><br />Since my <a href="http://blog.craigkanalley.com/2009/09/making-transition.html">last update on Sept. 7, 2009</a>, when I made the transition from graduate student to undergraduate professor and celebrated one full year in Chicago, so much has happened.<br /><br />It's been such a whirlwind that I haven't had time to update. Until now.<br /><br />The class I taught was a great success; America's first <a href="http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2009/09/twitter-101-a-college-class-all-about-tweets.html">Twitter journalism college class</a> (not to be confused with the <a href="http://techflash.com/seattle/2009/09/the_first_twitter_class.html">first Twitter class</a> by Kathy Gill) engaged the students, sparked many great discussions, and it was a thrill for me, as I found I really enjoy teaching. But in the midst of that class, something funny happened.<br /><br />I was interning at the Chicago Tribune with <a href="http://www.chicagonow.com/">ChicagoNow</a> at the time and before I get into what happened this October that threw my life for a loop, some more background on my choice of grad school and what's happened since.<br /><br />I started grad school at DePaul University in September 2008. My primary goal was to set myself up to "work with a Web-savvy news organization full-time." That was stated clearly on my Web site from the start of that ride. We'll come back to that...<br /><br />So at grad school, I jumped into contributing to local news sites like <a href="http://www.windycitizen.com/">Windy Citizen</a>, <a href="http://www.chitowndailynews.org/">Chi-Town Daily News</a>, and <a href="http://www.depauliaonline.com/">The DePaulia</a>, and I worked on other reporting projects including going to D.C. to <a href="http://blog.craigkanalley.com/2009/01/view-of-downtown-chicago-while-landing.html">cover Barack Obama's Inauguration</a>. I met everyone I could and did tons of networking.<br /><br />Shortly after returning from D.C., I started <a href="http://www.breakingtweets.com/">Breaking Tweets</a>, which took me through the ride of a lifetime <a href="http://blog.craigkanalley.com/2009/02/new-web-site-covering-world-news.html">since it began Jan. 31, 2009</a>. I watched it <a href="http://www.breakingtweets.com/2009/07/31/letter-from-the-editor-breaking-tweets-turns-six-months-old/">grow exponentially</a>, it allowed me to <a href="http://blog.craigkanalley.com/2009/02/meeting-with-guy-kawasaki.html">meet Guy Kawasaki</a> and it was even blocked in Iran at the height of the <a href="http://blog.craigkanalley.com/2009/06/breakingtweetscom-blocked-in-iran.html">Iranian Election dispute</a>.<br /><br />But as I operated Breaking Tweets, and watched it flourish, I kept asking myself, can this continue to operate independently? Can it ever make money? Can this be my full-time job?<br /><br />All too often I found myself saying "no" and that scared me. The 30-40, even 50, hours a week I was putting into the site helped me elevate my online presence, and boost my Twitter followers, but not exactly fond of the spotlight, it also made me uncomfortable at times. I've always preferred to be someone behind the scenes, getting the work done and doing it well, but have never enjoyed getting too much attention. Still feel that way. (And the site was bringing me <a href="http://newsroom.depaul.edu/newsreleases/showNews.aspx?NID=1998">a lot of attention</a> at DePaul, in Chicago, and even <a href="http://www.uwire.com/content/UWIRE100/craigkanalley.html">nationally</a> and internationally.)<br /><br />I eventually realized that even though the site never brought in money directly (other than the small amount from Google Ads), and even though the spotlight sometimes bothered me, it did lead to amazing opportunities: numerous speaking engagements at conferences and universities, an internship with the Chicago Tribune, the chance to <a href="http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2009/09/01/twitter-101-depaul-universitys-social-media-prof-gives-his-syllabus/">teach an undergraduate class</a> (and <a href="http://gawker.com/5350415/twitter-investigative-journalism-101-the-syllabus">get mocked for it</a>), and then... after a crazy October... the opportunity to work with <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/">The Huffington Post</a>, a Web site I've long admired for its leadership and innovation.<br /><br /><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">How did it all transpire? Here's the story...<br /></div><div><br /></div><b>The Shift to New York</b><br /><br />I never thought for an instant I'd be anywhere but Chicago for the foreseeable future after officially finishing grad school in August.<br /><br />I had the opportunity to teach, I had my internship at the Tribune, and I knew I had a number of other potential opportunities if either of those didn't pan out long-term.<br /><br />So I got an apartment by Wrigley Field, signed a one-year lease in mid-August, and was set until summer 2010.<br /><br />The change of plans went like this...<br /><br />I mentioned above my frustration with dedicating nearly all my energy to a Web site that wasn't making a sustainable income. I met with several entrepreneurs and journalists in the Chicago area to get their input. One talk, with Eric Olson, founder of Tech Cocktail, stood out. He said talk to larger media organizations, try to forge a partnership. Think bigger.<br /><br /><b>Sept. 28:</b> I wrote a 10-paragraph email to Arianna Huffington, trying to keep it as brief as possible while at the same time elaborating on my background, Breaking Tweets, and my admiration for The Huffington Post, and asking about the potential for a partnership or some other arrangement, noting I was "open-minded to what that could be."<br /><br /><b>Oct. 3:</b> To my surprise, I got a reply from Arianna in my inbox. She connects me with HuffPost CEO Eric Hippeau so we can discuss possible opportunities to work together.<br /><br /><b>Oct. 12:</b> I talk with Hippeau for a good 30 minutes during a break at my internship. He says it was a great initial conversation and he'd like me to follow-up with CTO Paul Berry on ways we might work together.<br /><br /><b>Oct. 22:</b> I talk with Berry, also for a good 30 minutes. He suggests I come out to New York City to discuss further. He isn't kidding...<br /><br /><b>Oct. 26:</b> I arrive in New York City (talk about making plans on the fly) after an Amtrak train ride all the way from Chicago. I meet with several editors and executives of Huffington Post about a possible job that would have me doing similar work to what I've done with Breaking Tweets.<br /><br /><b>Oct. 30: </b>I receive word from HuffPost that I might be offered the job "Traffic and Trends Editor." I tell them I would accept....<br /><br /><b>Nov. 3: </b>I get a phone call from Arianna Huffington herself --- bringing the whole thing full circle --- and she welcomes me to the team.<br /><br />Just one month after that first response from Arianna, all of a sudden, I was set to be moving to New York and joining HuffPost full-time.<br /><br />It was a dramatic and unexpected series of events. I gave DePaul notice, finishing the term for my class (which ended mid-November), and worked like crazy to get my Chicago apartment subletted and find a new place in New York.<br /><br />I was unsuccessful finding a taker for my Chicago place, despite a ridiculous amount of tweets (sorry all, I felt like a spammer), but I got luckier in New York, finding a place in Brooklyn on my very first Craigslist try (first person I called, first place I saw).<br /><br />I began working remotely with HuffPost on Nov. 9. I left Chicago after breaking my lease on Nov. 30, and I drove a Budget truck (with my mom's help) to New York, arriving Dec. 1. My first day at the HuffPost office was Dec. 2, and first full day Dec. 3.<br /><br />And here I am. Sitting at my apartment in Brooklyn. Still somewhat mesmerized by what's transpired. Extremely grateful, very excited, and hopeful for what this next chapter of my life will bring with a full-time job at a "web-savvy news organization" in the Big Apple - just across the state from where I grew up in Buffalo.<br /><br />(NOTE: One big question I do have is what to do with Breaking Tweets, and would love to hear people's thoughts. I clearly don't have the time and resources to update it personally anymore, yet I'd hate for the domain name and Twitter account with 13,000 followers to remain idle. Thoughts?)<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_g4ylvenaNGM/SxsCR-mt4oI/AAAAAAAAA-Y/VkYCR_G1UZ4/s1600-h/njdriving.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_g4ylvenaNGM/SxsCR-mt4oI/AAAAAAAAA-Y/VkYCR_G1UZ4/s320/njdriving.jpg" /></a><br /></div>Craig Kanalleyhttps://plus.google.com/103399926392582289066noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-808351584614254164.post-71518429524797333192009-09-07T23:24:00.010-05:002009-09-07T23:52:02.519-05:00Making the transitionIt's been a year since I first arrived in Chicago, almost to the date (<a href="http://blog.craigkanalley.com/2008/09/im-here.html">Sept. 6, 2008</a>), and my, what a year it's been.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">September: </span>Started DePaul M.A. Journalism program (online/new media focus)<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">October:</span> <a href="http://blog.craigkanalley.com/2008/10/whats-this-redesign-business-all-about.html">Redesigned my personal Web site</a><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">November:</span> <a href="http://blog.craigkanalley.com/2008/11/one-in-70000.html">Attended Barack Obama's Election Night Rally at Grant Park</a><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">December:</span> <a href="http://blog.craigkanalley.com/2009/01/my-holiday-break-from-to-z.html">Spent the month at home with family</a><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">January:</span> <a href="http://blog.craigkanalley.com/2009/01/view-of-downtown-chicago-while-landing.html">Attended Obama's Inauguration in D.C. and covered it for Sun-Times</a> and <a href="http://blog.craigkanalley.com/2009/02/new-web-site-covering-world-news.html">launched Breaking Tweets</a><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">February:</span> <a href="http://blog.craigkanalley.com/2009/02/meeting-with-guy-kawasaki.html">Met Guy Kawasaki</a><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">March:</span> Busy fininshing classes for the winter quarter and starting the spring<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">April: </span><a href="http://blog.craigkanalley.com/2009/04/trip-to-tribune.html">First saw the Chicago Tribune newsroom</a><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">May: </span><a href="http://blog.craigkanalley.com/2009/05/my-first-game-at-wrigley-field.html">First game at Wrigley Field</a><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">June:</span> <a href="http://blog.craigkanalley.com/2009/06/world-cup-qualifier-at-soldier-field.html">Sat in press box for World Cup Qualifier at Soldier Field</a> and started internship at Chicago Tribune<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">July: </span><a href="http://blog.craigkanalley.com/2009/07/taste-of-chicago-and-crazy-fight.html">Attended Taste of Chicago and witnessed a crazy fight</a><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">August:</span> Finished my Masters degree in Journalism (3.95 final GPA), moved into a new apartment north of the city (Aug. 20), and here we are...<br /><br />I remain an intern at the Tribune, and absolutely love being there, primarily working with the site <a href="http://www.chicagonow.com">ChicagoNow</a>. And I'll still be in the classroom too, making the shift from student to teacher.<br /><br />I've always thought about teaching and toward the end of my undergraduate career, I really wanted to give it a try. The perfect opportunity presented itself at DePaul and I'll be an adjunct instructor starting this Wednesday (Sept. 9) teaching a course called Digital Editing.<br /><br />The course should be a lot of fun, and quite unexpectedly, in the last week it got me a phone call from the Wall Street Journal and email from the Los Angeles Times. Those improbable interviews led to <a href="http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2009/09/01/twitter-101-depaul-universitys-social-media-prof-gives-his-syllabus/">this Q&A</a> and <a href="http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2009/09/twitter-101-a-college-class-all-about-tweets.html">this post</a>. The media attention didn't end with those two outlets, but those were definitely the highlights. <a href="http://gawker.com/5350415/twitter-investigative-journalism-101-the-syllabus?skyline=true&s=x">Gawker even wrote about it</a>.<br /><br />All in all, I'm really excited about this transition. A little nervous, but mostly ready and willing to get started. So here we go!Craig Kanalleyhttps://plus.google.com/103399926392582289066noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-808351584614254164.post-56237818886723653762009-07-26T22:50:00.009-05:002009-07-26T23:27:44.470-05:00Rocky Mountains well worth the tripIt's not Chicago, but it's worth making this blog anyway. It was actually the complete opposite...<br /><br />Rather than people all around you, rapid-fire transit, and recurrent noise 24/7 -- such is life in Downtown Chicago --, it's open space everywhere you look, wildlife and nature at every corner, and near silence.<br /><br />I was only there for a tad more than 48 hours, but my trip to the Rocky Mountains this weekend was one I won't soon forget.<br /><br />Anyone who hasn't been to the Rocky Mountains needs to go at some point. I was unsure about the place going into the trip but once I was there, wow...<br /><br />Best part -- we stayed in a lodge in a valley surrounded entirely by mountains -- 360 degrees.<br /><br />You'd wake up in the morning to a fresh, forrest-like smell, and every direction you look would be like a postcard.<br /><br />It was God's creation all around you, hardly any sign of man-made constructions, and the whole trip was filled with inspirational and dramatic sights.<br /><br />Pictures just don't do it justice, in my opinion. You have to be there to experience it, and experience all the outdoors have to offer. And there's so much. I could have spent weeks there if I had the chance. And I'd love to go back.<br /><br />But here's a few pictures anyway. One of a few mountains near our lodge, one of my sister and I in the Rockies, and one of buffalo we saw on the side of the road in Wyoming.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_g4ylvenaNGM/Sm0mwDJtMdI/AAAAAAAAA9k/eOxmZA-of8U/s1600-h/IMG_2420.JPG"><img style="margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_g4ylvenaNGM/Sm0mwDJtMdI/AAAAAAAAA9k/eOxmZA-of8U/s320/IMG_2420.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5362985338189722066" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_g4ylvenaNGM/Sm0oU83a2DI/AAAAAAAAA90/IwlOc7Si7hY/s1600-h/19340950.jpg"><img style="margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_g4ylvenaNGM/Sm0oU83a2DI/AAAAAAAAA90/IwlOc7Si7hY/s320/19340950.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5362987071669196850" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_g4ylvenaNGM/Sm0mwVi1yDI/AAAAAAAAA9s/lDRuCepr6o0/s1600-h/IMG_2466.JPG"><img style="margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_g4ylvenaNGM/Sm0mwVi1yDI/AAAAAAAAA9s/lDRuCepr6o0/s320/IMG_2466.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5362985343126980658" /></a><br /><br />So why was I there? My sister is working at the YMCA in the Rockies (Estes Park) this summer, so I went out to visit her. My parents made the trip too.<br /><br />It was my first time ever in Denver, though I didn't get to see the city other than from a distance landing at the airport. Spent most of the time in the Rockies and also made it up to Cheyenne, Wyoming, for a rodeo and Frontier Days on Saturday.<br /><br />Though short, the trip was action-packed: plenty of exploring; lots of exercise, basketball, swimming, and more; learning about trees, birds, history; the rodeo, which was really interesting; and coming across countless streams, mountains, lakes, etc. Definitely memorable, and again, I'd love to go back there someday.Craig Kanalleyhttps://plus.google.com/103399926392582289066noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-808351584614254164.post-21831807054450184522009-07-03T23:36:00.019-05:002009-07-05T15:05:13.777-05:00Taste of Chicago and a crazy fightI enjoyed Taste of Chicago so much during my first time there last Friday that I went back again tonight.<br /><br />It was also the annual 3rd of July Fireworks tonight. I later learned that this can get a little crazy and a person was killed last year in a shooting after the fireworks -- why didn't I know this ahead of time?<br /><br />Anyway, there was another incident tonight. It was at Congress and Michigan, and I witnessed it unfold as I was leaving the fireworks.<br /><br />An altercation of some kind broke out between a few individuals. In seconds, 10-20 people got involved and it turned into a bigger fight, and this was as thousands of people (a million attended total) were in the streets.<br /><br />So police jumped on this pretty quick. <a href="http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2009/07/cool-crowd-gathers-for-lakefront-fireworks.html">The Tribune</a> reports that about 30 police broke it up, and that sounds about right. They flocked to the scene, from all directions, a few even pushed me out of the way to get there...and they formed a barricade to block people off from the area.<br /><br />The shocking part for me was what happened next - cops started beating people.<br /><br />I was not prepared for that. And it was this huge mob scene, with people starting to jump on top of ledges on Michigan Avenue to get a better look. It looks like police got it under control, but not before there was considerable chaos, shouting and physical violence as I said. Fortunately, no guns, or if there was, nothing happened on that end.<br /><br />Anyway, I got back safe and hopefully all are OK after that. As for the FOOD part of it, the food was great! I sampled a lot of food over the course of the two days. Here's what I had ranked from favorite to least favorite when all was said and done:<br /><br />1. blue raspberry Italian ice from Mazzones<br />2. mozzarella garlic bread from Cafe and Catering at Bridgeport<br />3. nutella crepe with whipped creme from Mazzones<br />4. potato/cheese pierogies from Kasias<br />5. homemade potato chips from Harry Caray's<br />6. thin crust sausage/pepperoni pizza from Home Run Inn<br />7. garlic potatoes from Oak Street Beach Cafe<br />8. turkey meatballs from Tuscany Taylor<br />9. hush puppies from Harold's Chicken<br />10. thin crust sausage pizza from Reggie's<br />11. Oreo Cheesecake with vanilla ice cream and hot fudge from Eli's<br /><br />Also had Pepsi and Mountain Dew Wild Fruit from the beverage stand.<br /><br />And.... I sampled 7 new, never-had-before Mountain Dew flavors at Mt. Dew Labs Tent for free! They were very good. There was an orange, citrus-type drink that was my favorite. Others included a cherry kind, green apple, etc.<br /><br />And at the Pepsi Tent I tried free samples of apple soda and grapefruit soda. The apple soda was actually pretty good.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_g4ylvenaNGM/Sk7hhR28RJI/AAAAAAAAA9c/YpqJ6kqXYFU/s1600-h/15491365-bb5dc243de149e0879cbbded8060a0ec.4a4ee174-full.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_g4ylvenaNGM/Sk7hhR28RJI/AAAAAAAAA9c/YpqJ6kqXYFU/s320/15491365-bb5dc243de149e0879cbbded8060a0ec.4a4ee174-full.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5354464968835875986" /></a> I also caught part of a concert with patriotic tunes before the fireworks, which I saw by the lakefront. Smiley face fireworks were most popular. There was a crazy lady next to me yelling every time someone stepped on her blanket, swearing like mad at everyone, kind of comical (wearing the white shirt on the right in this picture). And the coolest part was the grand finale because at the very end, you could still hear the fireworks echoing off the city buildings.<br /><br />Overall, a fun night and a good time last week at the Taste of Chicago.Craig Kanalleyhttps://plus.google.com/103399926392582289066noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-808351584614254164.post-11581506171807133962009-06-28T02:11:00.015-05:002009-06-28T02:46:03.546-05:00BreakingTweets.com blocked in IranI was going through the stats for <a href="http://breakingtweets.com">BreakingTweets.com</a> today, as I often do, and something popped out at me. A huge drop in traffic from Iran.<br /><br />I took a closer look, paged through past days, and soon learned that's because the site's been blocked in Iran. Here's the details ---<br /><br />We've been covering developments in Iran since the controversial presidential election on June 12. And we've been getting hundreds of hits from Iran every day...up until Thursday.<br /><br />On Wednesday, we had our usual hits from Tehran University and other places throughout the country, per host network stats and other information from Google Analytics.<br /><br />But Thursday, our usual visitors via Google, Twitter, and other sites -- none could get through. The bounce rate all of a sudden began appearing at 100% and time on the site showed as 0:00. This was in contrary to stats for previous days, when the bounce and time numbers were wide-ranging.<br /><br />The same was true for Friday and Saturday. Though Saturday, one person got through. Network location? Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Tehran.<br /><br />It seems the last article BT posted before the block was this <a href="http://www.breakingtweets.com/2009/06/23/updated-iranelection-timeline/">updated timeline of events</a> on Wednesday. Also Wednesday, Poynter <a href="http://www.poynter.org/column.asp?id=31&aid=165635">wrote this article about Breaking Tweets' coverage of Iran</a>. Coincidence? Who knows.<br /><br />It feels weird to know my site has been blocked in a foreign country. Even weirder during the current conflict. And I have to admit, it hurts. One reason I've been relentless with the coverage, posting daily updates, is knowing that this information could get to Iran and inform people whose government is hiding critical info. Now, they can't come to BT anymore.<br /><br />At least Iran can't censor our Twitter account.Craig Kanalleyhttps://plus.google.com/103399926392582289066noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-808351584614254164.post-70459964548860388872009-06-06T23:44:00.014-05:002009-06-07T00:23:30.165-05:00World Cup qualifier at Soldier FieldTalk about being in the right place at the right time. <br /> <br />Soldier Field hosted its first ever World Cup qualifier tonight, on D-Day, 6-6-09, and I was fortunate enough to attend. I was supposed to cover the game for Breaking Tweets, but at the last minute U.S. Soccer told us they didn't want us to cover it for a few reasons. Still, they were nice enough to let me and my buddy Jon go up to the press box to see it all as it happened. <br /> <br />I had my laptop and followed the action on Twitter, watching "Honduras" rise in trending topics, while monitoring the thousands of other tweets and dozens of TwitPics that streamed in during the game. It was a lot of fun. It was also cool watching the many journalists around us doing their thing - New York Times, Washington Post, ESPN, tons of Hispanic media outlets, etc. <br /> <br />I got there a bit early and soaked up the atmosphere before the game. When I got off the El, Honduras fans were everywhere. They swamped the area in front of Soldier Field too, and they were quite rambunctious. Many, I soon learned, came to Chicago from Honduras just for the game. You can tell how much soccer means to them. <br /> <br />Here's a few pre-game pictures I took: <br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_g4ylvenaNGM/SitHoZcQqGI/AAAAAAAAA9M/Rt0Nq2h1-Mc/s1600-h/IMG_2331.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_g4ylvenaNGM/SitHoZcQqGI/AAAAAAAAA9M/Rt0Nq2h1-Mc/s320/IMG_2331.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5344444142154983522" border="0"></a> <br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_g4ylvenaNGM/SitHoWRo6FI/AAAAAAAAA9E/07kWWH0NWDw/s1600-h/IMG_2329.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_g4ylvenaNGM/SitHoWRo6FI/AAAAAAAAA9E/07kWWH0NWDw/s320/IMG_2329.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5344444141305129042" border="0"></a> <br /> <br />The attendance was 55,467 and I'd say 70-80% were supporting Honduras - no lie. So post-game, it was a different mood. As I left the stadium, I noticed most were in tears. As Jon said, this is their Super Bowl, and in a lot of ways it is. <br /> <br />They had home field advantage - clearly - and I had said before the game I hope Honduras scores at least once for all these fans. Well, they scored four minutes in. And half the press box cheered wildly when they did (not kidding). <br /> <br />Here's a video of the Honduras goal from a Spanish broadcast of the game - love the "GOOOOOOL DE COSTLY, GOOOOOOL DE HONDURAS": <br /> <br /><object height="340" width="560"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/T-uhAjSo_zc&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1&amp;"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/T-uhAjSo_zc&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1&amp;" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="340" width="560"></object> <br /> <br />The U.S. bounced back on a penalty kick just before the end of the first half, compliments of superstar Landon Donovan. I was lucky enough to have a great view of it and took the following video: <br /> <br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwTYA2c4LVTKrfG1RsBKHWePwW41a6LqQ7X-LYrrcOtZPCJV4oya4RrLtHrNCv-6W8nYkFT6XHEmLVdXHbx4g' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0' /> <br /> <br />The United States then added a header in the 69th minute and held on despite a late Honduras flurry to win 2-1. <br /> <br />I have to say, soccer's one of those games that just doesn't translate that well on television, but in person, it's electrifying (a lot like hockey, I think). And that's an observation from the press box. (We could hear a good deal from the stadium too, though, because someone had a window popped open.) The excitement of the game is unmatched and the passion of the fans, especially those from Honduras, was remarkable. <br /> <br />A quick shot from the pressbox (and yes, I'm on Twitter): <br /> <br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_g4ylvenaNGM/SitHzQeBI8I/AAAAAAAAA9U/MMPYE48l6EE/s1600-h/IMG_2335.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_g4ylvenaNGM/SitHzQeBI8I/AAAAAAAAA9U/MMPYE48l6EE/s320/IMG_2335.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5344444328724997058" border="0"></a>Craig Kanalleyhttps://plus.google.com/103399926392582289066noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-808351584614254164.post-28478862480743431632009-05-29T02:22:00.015-05:002009-06-04T22:02:00.332-05:00My first game at Wrigley FieldIt didn't take long to size up the place.<br /><br />Small. That was my first reaction.<br /><br />Not sure why I expected it to be bigger than it was. Maybe it's because Wrigley Field to so many is "larger than life" - so I've heard anyway. As a Buffalonian and Yankees fan, I never paid much attention to the Cubs, and I just knew it best as the place Sammy Sosa hit homers and where The Rookie was filmed.<br /><br />As the game went on, I soon saw why the place was so special.<br /><br />First, it's the absence of commercialism. I swear it's like you walk into a time machine because there's no huge video screen, no advertising around the perimeter of the upper deck, hardly any advertising at all - heck, I wasn't getting any service on my cell phone. Without replays, an archaic green scoreboard that took getting used to, and no connection to the outside world -- and the passion of these fans -- I quickly immersed myself in a brand new world.<br /><br />So this is what Wrigley Field is all about, I thought. It was comforting in a way, an escape from the rush of reality and chaos of the city streets.<br /><br />The game was full of treats. I just hoped it wouldn't be as bad as my last Major League Baseball game, a 6-0 thrashing of my beloved Yankees in one of the last games at Yankee Stadium - to the Reds no less. Or one of my last games before that, a 1-0 final, Los Angeles over the St. Louis Cardinals, after eight innings of 0-0 ball.<br /><br />Please, I just want some offense!<br /><br />I got that, and a whole lot more.<br /><br />Eighteen runs in all, the most I've ever seen in my life at a major league game. The 10-8 final, though a Cubs loss, was back-and-forth and anything but a pitcher's duel - that made me happy. It featured home runs, plenty of emotion, a Lou Pinella argument with the ump (always see it on TV, now witnessed it in person), and maybe my favorite, toward the end of the game, with the Cubs down two, Chicago pitcher Carlos Zambrano entered the game - as a pinch hitter! It was a Why Not move because the Cubs had loss seven straight. He struck out, but it was a great series of pitches...I got them all on video, and here's just one of them, which gives a glimpse of the atmosphere:<br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dyFZ9eHG7mZtg5XYhRSZ4n6Mahm22db-JLr3WruryuoAnMFWc9ZD_THYSnn2DoHduwOcBV7lLleTLC-dpUYJQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0' /><br /><br />A few other cool tidbits:<br /><br />(1) It was Memorial Day - there was a moment of silence prior to the game. Cool moment. Very reflective.<br /><br />(2) Newly-arrived Chicago Bears QB Jay Cutler, from the Broncos, was sitting 12 rows in front of us. Nice eye from my friend Jon. Some people chatted with him, got autographs. Funny how he just sat with all the 'normal' fans, no suite or special box. Seemed real grounded.<br /><br />(3) Mr. T. did Take Me Out to the Ballgame. It was hilarious! And a whole lot of fun.<br /><br />I'm in Chicago, I had to go to a Cubs game. It was just a matter of time. This was great, even with the loss, and I highly recommend this venue - the 6th I've ever been to (other games at ANA, BAL, PIT, TOR, NYY) - to any avid baseball fan.Craig Kanalleyhttps://plus.google.com/103399926392582289066noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-808351584614254164.post-17435271926006542572009-05-15T20:25:00.012-05:002009-05-15T20:50:13.986-05:00BT takes leap forward with CMSThose close to me know that I'm a bit of a dork when it comes to content management systems.<br /><br />I'm fascinated by how they put order to a wild World Wide Web - blown away by the fact that an automated system is smart enough to move stories around based on tagging and give a news site an overall finished look.<br /><br />A few years ago, when I was first Online Editor at St. John Fisher College's student newspaper the Cardinal Courier, my buddy John Reade and I used to create every edition by scratch. We had templates, sure, but we'd copy and paste every story and rearrange them accordingly. Nothing to automatically set priorities, nothing to resize images for us; it was hard, tiring work.<br /><br />We looked into a CMS to take the load off of us, so we could focus instead on Web-exclusive content, breaking news, blogs, and so on. We signed up with College Publisher and the rest was history: <a href="http://www.cardinalcourieronline.com/" target="_blank">Cardinal Courier Online</a>.<br /><br />With more than 500 stories posted and 2,000 tweets the last three and a half months, the time was right for Breaking Tweets to implement a serious CMS. And that's just what we did today, moving our site from Blogger to Wordpress.<br /><br />Blogger served us well, but Wordpress brings us to the next level, allowing for section pages, story pages, author pages, and a unique home page. Plug-ins have allowed us to take the site to the next level, automating even more of what used to be the dirty work. Every story has related stories and the site's navigation just improved 100 times over.<br /><br />It's the next logical step for a site that has grown beyond my wildest dreams the last three and a half months. If someone told me that the personal blog I threw together on Jan. 31 - first posting on the Australia Open and Super Bowl - would generate more than 50,000 unique hits and 100,000 page views in such a short time, get reviewed by dozens of blogs and journalism staples like <a href="http://poynter.org/column.asp?id=31&amp;aid=162515">Poynter Online</a> and <a href="http://www.journalism.co.uk/5/articles/534013.php">Journalism.co.uk</a>, get linked to by Sky News <a href="http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/World-News/Car-Careers-Into-Crowd-Watching-Dutch-Queen-Beatrixs-Royal-Motorcade-in-Apeldoorn-Holland/Article/200904415272530?lpos=World_News_First_World_News_Article_Teaser_Region_1&amp;lid=ARTICLE_15272530_Car_Careers_Into_Crowd_Watching_Dutch_Queen_Beatrixs_Royal_Motorcade_in_Apeldoorn%2C_Holland">on a major international breaking story</a>, and receive visits from more than 150 countries - I would have said they were crazy!<br /><br />I don't know where the site will go from here, but this was the next move, an appropriate move. Google News just started indexing us last week and we just named regional editors today who will help recruit and post content. If the next three and a half months are half as exciting as the first, I'll be one happy guy.<br /><br />Have a peak at the new look: <a href="http://www.breakingtweets.com/">http://www.breakingtweets.com</a>Craig Kanalleyhttps://plus.google.com/103399926392582289066noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-808351584614254164.post-64588963734797330802009-05-01T04:39:00.012-05:002009-05-01T05:21:31.488-05:00The day BT beat BBC, CNNI've said this before, I'll say it again. The purpose of Breaking Tweets is not to "break the news"; there are plenty of sources doing that. The point of the site I put together is to chronicle the biggest news around the world each day and put a Twitter spin on it by personalizing the news through tweets.<br /><br />Now I've also said that sometimes we break the news anyway based on the nature of the process. We collect tweets, and if can verify them and the story at a point we're comfortable, we run with it.<br /><br />That happened yesterday, when Breaking Tweets had its biggest ever single day of traffic with more than 6,000 unique hits from 96 countries.<br /><br />Our story on the apparent attack on the Dutch royal family in Apeldoorn, Netherlands, was posted one hour before BBC reported the news and two hours before CNN. How'd we do it?<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">22 minutes</span><br /><br />Here's what happened -- I was just about ready to go to bed when I got this tweet from <a href="http://twitter.com/kazitoshi">@kazitoshi</a> in Singapore: <span style="font-weight:bold;"><a href="http://twitter.com/breakingtweets">@breakingtweets</a> RT <a href="http://twitter.com/mrbrown">@mrbrown</a> Some person just tried to drive a car to attack Queen Beatrix of Holland! There are pedestrians down!</span><br /><br />I immediately searched Twitter for terms like "Queen" and "car," but wasn't turning anything up. I then did a Google search for some context. I found out the Queen was to be in Apeldoorn for a parade. I tried the term "Apeldoorn." Bingo. A tweet.<br /><br />From there, I tried a number of other terms - in Dutch - to find more tweets from near the scene. In a matter of no time, I had a second account, a third account, a fourth account - this looked like the real thing.<br /><br />I compiled the tweets, found a local report from NOS.nl confirming the story, and ran with it. The story was posted just 22 minutes after that first tweet. Twenty-two minutes.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">First English report</span><br /><br />What happened next was overwhelming. I watched the live stats through a service I use called "getclicky" (it's fantastic) and instantaneously saw the traffic numbers skyrocket in seconds. We had 50 visitors, then 100, then 150, then.. 200! Here's a screenshot when it hit 203; it got up to 219 at one point.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_g4ylvenaNGM/SfrGBSUp9ZI/AAAAAAAAA6I/tlPMRCqnboQ/s1600-h/poynterDutch043009.png"><img style="margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 279px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_g4ylvenaNGM/SfrGBSUp9ZI/AAAAAAAAA6I/tlPMRCqnboQ/s400/poynterDutch043009.png" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5330790834347046290" /></a><br />Just as interesting as the numbers was where people were coming from, and we were getting most hits from the Netherlands as shown above. It was really exciting, and the numbers remained high for hours. I couldn't go to sleep until about 8 I was running on so much adrenaline.<br /><br />I noticed the links people were coming to our site from. It turned out, we were appearing all over Dutch forums and the Dutch blogosphere, with many heralding our report as the first in English. I wouldn't doubt it because I did all the work in translating the tweets and the initial local media reports.<br /><br />Then I realized Sky News <a href="http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/World-News/Car-Careers-Into-Crowd-Watching-Dutch-Queen-Beatrixs-Royal-Motorcade-in-Apeldoorn-Holland/Article/200904415272530?lpos=World_News_Carousel_Region_0&lid=ARTICLE_15272530_Car_Careers_Into_Crowd_Watching_Dutch_Queen_Beatrixs_Royal_Motorcade_in_Apeldoorn%2C_Holland">got a report up</a> --- with this as part of its main story on its award-winning Web site: <span style="font-weight:bold;">"People have been <a href="http://www.breakingtweets.com/2009/04/car-attacks-queen-beatrix-on-queens-day.html">tweeting about the crash</a>, saying the royals saw what happened and were shocked."</span> That's right, they linked to us.<br /><br />Just a little bit exciting. It's a night I'm sure to not soon forget - the night I beat BBC and CNN to report a story that dominated international headlines the rest of the day.<br /><br />Oh, and by the way, <a href="http://www.poynter.org/column.asp?id=31&aid=162515">Poynter wrote an article about us</a> yesterday too. I knew they might do a write-up, but it came as a surprise. Fun timing.Craig Kanalleyhttps://plus.google.com/103399926392582289066noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-808351584614254164.post-10874970299230918162009-04-16T02:11:00.004-05:002009-04-17T22:51:01.617-05:00A Trip to the TribuneThere's plenty of perks to going to journalism school in a major city, even if the media industry is going through some tough times right now.<br /><br />One such perk is the "field trips." These aren't your typical field trips: Chicago History Museum, Election Night rally at Grant Park, Washington D.C. for the Inauguration, and last week the Chicago Cultural Center and a photography history museum downtown. Not bad.<br /><br />Being a history buff, I can't get enough of all this. Tonight was another memorable trip.<br /><br />After <a href="http://blog.craigkanalley.com/2009/01/dc-trip-officially-in-past.html">touring the Sun-Times newsroom on Jan. 30</a>, tonight I had the opportunity to tour the Chicago Tribune. It's funny, because when I first set foot in this city in September, and walked around the river, the parks, etc., I pointed to those two buildings and said they were two places I'd never get to see. For a kid from a small town, they just seemed so unattainable at the time, so out of reach. And since then, it's been amazing to see what a few connections can do.<br /><br />Connections can generate a view like this:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.craigkanalley.com/blog/uploaded_images/Picture-1-717145.png"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="http://www.craigkanalley.com/blog/uploaded_images/Picture-1-716808.png" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br />That's from the 22nd floor of the Tribune Tower. Taken from my iPhone - still blown away by the quality. Here's what makes the picture really interesting: I'm standing on a balcony, hanging the camera over a ledge, scared out of my mind I'm going to drop it and just being extra careful, with wind swirling in the background. I only had one shot to get the pic; not only did I get it, but it turned out great.<br /><br />I was at the Tribune for class. One of my instructors works there as a photo editor, so we met there for a tour, as well as the actual class in none other than the 1A Conference Room with historic editions like Nov. 5, 2008, on the walls around us. Pretty cool place.<br /><br />It was great to be there, but the timing was a bit odd. <a href="http://www.upi.com/Business_News/2009/04/13/Chicago-Tribune-to-cut-newsroom-20-percent/UPI-90071239669610/">As reported by United Press International just three days ago</a>, the Tribune Co. announced it is going to cut 20 percent of jobs at the Chicago Tribune to save money as the recession continues. Granted, we went in the evening, and I don't know how busy the place usually is, but there were a lot of empty seats, and some very stressed faces.<br /><br />I overheard one guy in sports on the phone with someone say, "I'm sorry, so sorry, just absolutely swamped tonight, five calls in a row, can't keep up." He was seated in an isolated area, and the only one on the phone, so I wonder if he was doing two or maybe three people's job.<br /><br />Tough to see, real tough. But these are tough people too, you could tell, and it was interesting to see how professional they were going about their business. Well, except the guy I saw playing Yahoo Games.<br /><br />Just, overall, a really fascinating excursion. A fantastic place to be, and history's all around you there, from the bricks outside the building (imported from famous buildings/landmarks around the world) to the walls inside.<br /><br />Trips like these? Fantastic educational experiences. And they're a big reason why I came to Chicago in the first place. Hopefully, the Tribune Co. get things turned around soon, and the company can start growing again rather than cutting back; it's hard to see any business the way they are right now.Craig Kanalleyhttps://plus.google.com/103399926392582289066noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-808351584614254164.post-45212490886121732922009-02-28T02:14:00.001-06:002009-02-28T02:15:22.827-06:00Meeting with Guy Kawasaki<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.craigkanalley.com/blog2/uploaded_images/kaw-764532.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 303px; height: 320px;" src="http://www.craigkanalley.com/blog2/uploaded_images/kaw-764526.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />The way things progressed was surreal.<br /><br />At 1:24 a.m. Monday night, I sent this message to Guy Kawasaki through Twitter: "<a href="http://twitter.com/guykawasaki">@guykawasaki</a> you should do an Alltop page for <a href="http://twitter.com/breakingtweets">@breakingtweets</a> with the different regions and topics <a href="http://www.breakingtweets.com/">www.breakingtweets.com</a>."<br /><br />A few friends of mine sent a similar message to him moments after in an effort to catch his attention.<br /><br />Forty-eight hours later, not only had we heard from him, not only had he agreed to put Breaking Tweets on Alltop, he gave it an entire page on the popular "online magazine rack" site: <a href="http://breaking-tweets.alltop.com/">http://breaking-tweets.alltop.com</a>.<br /><br />Late Wednesday night, Guy wrote this: "'Breaking Tweets' is 2nd to only Mac.Alltop today in traffic, and it's only been live for 9 hours." And shortly thereafter, he announced Breaking Tweets was the top traffic getter of the day.<br /><br />No. 1 on Alltop on its first day there, not bad.<br /><br />That's when things really got crazy. I received a private message from him through Twitter that he was coming to Chicago Thursday. He asked if I'd be up to meeting him for breakfast Friday and asked to meet some of the other editors.<br /><br />And this morning, we met.<br /><br />The experience at the Hyatt Regency McCormick was just awesome. Guy was so personable, and he took an hour out of his schedule - a whole hour - to meet with us. He gave us tons of great feedback on the site - what he liked, what he thought could be improved, how we could market it, how to promote it, how to effectively use Twitter, and how the content could be improved. I feverishly took notes and have a bunch that I'll type up later so we can start implementing some of his suggestions. And they were fantastic suggestions.<br /><br />Oh yeah, and he treated us for breakfast.<br /><br />You know, Forbes.com named him the No. 1 Most Influential Twitterer recently. Now I know why. He tweeted about Breaking Tweets not once, not twice, not three times - six times - to his 72,000+ followers between Wednesday and Thursday. Those tweets were retweeted more than 150 times, and we saw our traffic go up like crazy. He's going to plug us a bit more and we're going to help promote the Alltop page. It's a great connection to have for a site like ours, just getting started.<br /><br />And if you read this, and I wouldn't doubt you might, thanks again Guy. Really appreciate it.Craig Kanalleyhttps://plus.google.com/103399926392582289066noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-808351584614254164.post-52853310867810161672009-02-18T03:51:00.004-06:002017-06-19T21:35:45.147-05:00Buffalo plane crashHere's "my story" on the Buffalo plane crash that killed 50 people last week and made international headlines. Everyone in the Buffalo area has one, and I figured this would be worth documenting.<br /><br />It was really ironic because the night this transportation nightmare occurred, I was en route to Western New York from Chicago via Amtrak.<br /><br />Here's how I found out...I was on the phone with a friend around midnight, somewhere in Indiana or Ohio. I asked her to check the <a href="http://www.bbc.com/">BBC.com</a> headlines for a possible update on my new Web site <a href="http://www.breakingtweets.com/">www.breakingtweets.com</a>. When she said, a plane crash in Buffalo was the main story, I couldn't believe it.<br /><br />I thought she was joking and asked several times, are you sure? Buffalo is sometimes in the national headlines, but never international. A---what?? Plane crash? It was shocking to me, just as I'm sure it was to many other Western New York natives.<br /><br />To hear about the 50 lost lives was heart-wrenching, and for it to happen in Clarence Center really blew me away. A home was destroyed, just a few miles from my home. My heart immediately went out to the family. Thinking about it more, I couldn't imagine a plane going into a house in Clarence..just couldn't! It's such a nice little neighborhood.<br /><br />But what happened the next day was even harder to take. First, I found out that one of those dead, according to a preliminary list by the Buffalo News, was Alison des Forges. She's a Rwandan genocide researcher who lived in Amherst and worked for the University at Buffalo. I saw her speak once at St. John Fisher College, and we read a lot of her work for my class Rhetoric of Hate at Fisher. I really admired the work she did. To know somebody who died in the crash hurt a lot. But for something like this to happen to her, someone who devoted her life to raising awareness about the deaths of innocent people in Africa, it just blows my mind.<br /><br />Then, I was driving on the Thruway (I90) that night when I passed the scene. I saw helicopters flying around and a bunch of lights in the area. It was really disturbing to see...a very emotional sight. Clarence should not get this type of attention, ever. It just didn't settle right in my stomach.<br /><br />And finally, when I went over to my parents' house to visit - I learned that someone my mom works with lost her best friend in the crash. There were stories like this everywhere in the Buffalo area. If you didn't know someone in the crash, as I sadly did, you knew someone who knew someone in the crash. Really, just two degrees of separation. That's the type of tight-knit community Buffalo is.<br /><br />Thoughts and prayers go out to all those who lost their lives and their families.Craig Kanalleyhttps://plus.google.com/103399926392582289066noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-808351584614254164.post-65886122279782771702009-02-06T03:50:00.002-06:002009-02-06T03:55:44.354-06:00Here's my card!I now have a "business card" for the World Wide Web.<br /><br />Saw this somewhere else and I think it's really cool. Here it is...click around to explore!<br /><br /><iframe frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" width="360px" height="300px" src="http://www.retaggr.com/Embed/ckanalley"></iframe>Craig Kanalleyhttps://plus.google.com/103399926392582289066noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-808351584614254164.post-70111489514311495232009-02-03T03:37:00.005-06:002009-02-03T03:48:17.569-06:00New Web site covering world newsI have a new Web site: <a href="http://www.breakingtweets.com">http://www.breakingtweets.com</a>.<br /><br />If you want to see the latest in world news from a very personal point of view, it's a great place to go. Basically, I scan the popular and ever-growing social networking site <a href="http://www.twitter.com">Twitter.com</a> for comments on the latest news. I piece them together and form stories, posted only hours after news breaks.<br /><br />The best part of these initial reactions...I try to select them in the geographic area the news actually broke. For example, a few moments ago I posted a story on Iran launching a home-made satellite. I scanned for messages within Iran itself first. When I noticed nobody was talking about it there (strange but true), I checked elsewhere in the world and pieced together a story.<br /><br />One thing I'm stressing in this project is interactivity. I'm growing a network of followers from all over the world through the Breaking Tweets Twitter account (<a href="http://www.twitter.com/breakingtweets">@breakingtweets</a>), and send messages back and forth with many of them. I think far too often the media ignores those who actually consume their news.<br /><br />I've had this idea for a while, and reading over the Australian Open "tweets" (messages on Twitter) the other day finally put me over the top. The fact it was Super Bowl weekend didn't hurt either.<br /><br />It was going to start as a personal blog. But it seems to be growing into something more. People keep following. Of course that makes a lot more exciting, so we'll see where this goes...Craig Kanalleyhttps://plus.google.com/103399926392582289066noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-808351584614254164.post-90821827088518716252009-01-30T17:44:00.004-06:002009-01-30T18:15:01.504-06:00D.C. Trip officially in the pastLater tonight, The DePaulia's Inauguration coverage in D.C. will be removed from the <a href="http://www.depauliaonline.com">home page of DePaulia Online</a> and replaced with a series of fresh stories.<br /><br />It's not disappearing completely. It will be archived. It will be accessible through the Search bar in the upper right hand corner by typing a single word: Inauguration.<br /><br />But it's the end of an incredible journey, an independent study of a lifetime. It's an experience I'll always be able to look back at fondly and one I'll of course want to play up on my resume.<br /><br />Just completed the last few chapters of this experience. Yesterday, John Kristoff and I presented to DePaul's Alumni Office on our trip; we showed photos, videos, maps, tweets, and other content thanks to a handy laptop projector and answered plenty of questions. And today we stopped at the Sun-Times newsroom for a tour from Web Editor Kirsten Miller and sat in on a few editorial meetings.<br /><br />You know, Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski says it best: "If what you did yesterday still looks big, then you haven't done much today." And with that, onward!<br /><br />This weekend, I'm working on a 10-page research paper on Twitter and a new media paper on film. Should be fun (no sarcasm - I like writing, and the topics are interesting).Craig Kanalleyhttps://plus.google.com/103399926392582289066noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-808351584614254164.post-64463933476907700202009-01-27T03:04:00.004-06:002009-01-27T03:16:35.340-06:00Aurelio's review, new Web portfolioOn Saturday night, I went to a pizza place called Aurelio's with my roommate Ericc and some of his buddies.<br /><br />It HAD to get in here; it was just a matter of when as I've been pretty busy the last few days with schoolwork.<br /><br />So far, it's the best pizza I've ever had in Chicago, hands down, no competition. Maybe that's because their specialty is thin crust? What can I say -- I'm from New York.<br /><br />We ordered a Fiesta-sized (18-inch) pepperoni and sausage pizza. It was fantastic and the perfect size for the four of us. We finished it yet all left quite satisfied.<br /><br />They use a sweet sauce with crispy bits of pepperoni, tasty sausage, and a crunchy crust. Am I making you hungry yet? It is really good, and I don't say this often, but it goes right up there with the best of Western New York pizza.<br /><br />In other news, I threw together a Digital Portfolio on WordPress tonight. My Web site already has a nice sample of my professional work on it, but as I wrote on the portfolio itself, it's "an easy (and alternative) way for a quick overview of my journalistic endeavors." It certainly can't hurt, that's for sure.<br /><br />For those who want to take a peak, the new Digital Portfolio can be <a href="http://ckanalley.wordpress.com/">found here</a>.Craig Kanalleyhttps://plus.google.com/103399926392582289066noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-808351584614254164.post-9778554419738057012009-01-24T00:59:00.011-06:002017-06-19T21:33:52.318-05:00Back from D.C. Trip<a href="http://www.craigkanalley.com/blog/uploaded_images/IMG_1728-749737.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://www.craigkanalley.com/blog/uploaded_images/IMG_1728-749277.JPG" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 240px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;">View of Downtown Chicago while landing at O'Hare Airport on Wednesday, Jan. 21. It officially ended my trip to D.C. to cover the Inauguration for <span style="font-style: italic;"><a href="http://www.depauliaonline.com/">The DePaulia</a></span> and <span style="font-style: italic;"><a href="http://blogs.suntimes.com/inauguration">Chicago Sun-Times</a></span>.</span><br /><br />A journalist's dream: my assignment was to cover the Presidential Inauguration for the first African-American President in United States history.<br /><br />As if that wasn't good enough, the dream got better. I was told wireless cards would be provided, along with HD Flip Mino cameras. I used my new media/social media imagination and spearheaded an effort to Twitter while there, and one thing led to the next. The Sun-Times contacted the Twitter account I had set up (<a href="http://twitter.com/dannythedemon">@dannythedemon</a>) and asked us to blog for them while in D.C.<br /><br />Our Twitter endeavor was a huge success, as <a href="http://media.www.depauliaonline.com/media/storage/paper1414/news/2009/01/16/Inauguration/Danny.The.Demon.Takes.Off.On.Twitter-3595894.shtml">we amassed more than 400 followers in just 14 days and numerous replies</a>.<br /><br />The <a href="http://blogs.suntimes.com/inauguration">Sun-Times blog</a> worked out great too. In fact, one of our blogs - on presidential historian Lonnie Bunch - became the main story on the front page of the Sun-Times site for a good 30 minutes or so on Inauguration Eve. Here's the screenshot (click to enlarge):<br /><a href="http://www.craigkanalley.com/blog/uploaded_images/-1-783161.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://www.craigkanalley.com/blog/uploaded_images/-1-783012.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 320px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />It was a memorable trip. As a journalist, as a student and as an American citizen, I can pull so much from it.<br /><br />And on top of it all, I also got to give being an interviewee a try. CBC/Radio-Canada did a write-up on me in <a href="http://www.radio-canada.ca/nouvelles/international/investiture_obama/?id=113367">their Inauguration blog</a>, and Catholic News Service wrote about me in <a href="http://www.catholicnews.com/data/briefs/cns/20090121.htm">their news briefs</a>. It's the type of trip I'll never forget as long as I live.Craig Kanalleyhttps://plus.google.com/103399926392582289066noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-808351584614254164.post-58924009273395580822009-01-15T17:17:00.005-06:002009-01-24T00:16:00.401-06:00Taking in a roadieLast night, I attended my first ever Buffalo Sabres game on the road.<br /><br />It was right here in Chicago, and why wouldn't I go to this game? Actually got the tickets back in September. I've been looking forward to it for a while.<br /><br />I proudly wore my Jason Pominville jersey around town throughout the day and to the game. The great irony: I was also wearing Chicago Blackhawks gloves. Was actually asked about it while waiting for the El after the game - "Kind of clashes, doesn't it?" Nope... :) Got them for free at a Hawks-Wings game last year, and I have a great deal of respect for the Hawks. Doesn't hurt that Patrick Kane is from Buffalo and that I also blog about them (<a href="http://hawkeycentral.windycitizen.com">Hawkey Central</a>).<br /><br />Probably the best part of this game was that my sister flew in from Buffalo last evening for it, and she flew back this morning really early. To be exact, she got in at about 6 for the 7:30 game. It was cutting it close, but it ended up working out OK and was a ton of fun.<br /><br />Sabres lost 4-1 but it was a fun game. Tons of Sabres fans in our section and plenty of Let's Go Buffalo chants. And I happened to get video footage of the Sabres only goal. Here it is:<br /><br /><object width="425" height="264"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/wuKvy3v9O6k&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/wuKvy3v9O6k&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="264"></embed></object>Craig Kanalleyhttps://plus.google.com/103399926392582289066noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-808351584614254164.post-38626802991274134122009-01-12T00:12:00.006-06:002009-01-12T00:21:47.059-06:00About a footWe got about a foot of snow in the city this past weekend.<br /><br />My reaction? Hardly fazed me. We've lived through this before - so many times back home in Buffalo. Some others panicked - literally.<br /><br />It was in some ways comical to watch people get all worked up as the storm approached and hit downtown. Many of these people were from southern states and had never seen so much snow; others were Chicago natives who kept saying it was a "major storm." To me, again, it didn't seem like much. I've experienced far worse.<br /><br />I'll admit there was heavy snow at times. There were some whiteouts. One night, you couldn't even see the Sears Tower. But again, I grew up with this white stuff all my life. And I've grown to love it. Winter, after all, is my favorite season.Craig Kanalleyhttps://plus.google.com/103399926392582289066noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-808351584614254164.post-84461169593802741732009-01-06T23:25:00.003-06:002009-01-06T23:30:36.884-06:00First SnowfallIt may have snowed in Chicago a few times already, but this is the first time I've been in the city when snow has fallen.<br /><br />I was home in Buffalo for the holidays from Thanksgiving to my birthday (Jan. 4). It didn't snow prior to Thanksgiving. Once in November there was a wintry mix, but it didn't stick. Maybe global warming? Maybe not.<br /><br />But it snowed today; in fact, quite a bit. It came down heavy at times, big fluffy flakes that stuck. Here's the look from the DePaul campus in Lincoln Park earlier tonight.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.craigkanalley.com/blog/uploaded_images/IMG_1363-715189.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://www.craigkanalley.com/blog/uploaded_images/IMG_1363-714505.JPG" border="0" alt="" /></a>Craig Kanalleyhttps://plus.google.com/103399926392582289066noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-808351584614254164.post-40495845237912768402009-01-05T23:48:00.003-06:002009-01-05T23:51:47.711-06:00My Holiday Break from A to ZI'm now back in Chicago, but you're probably wondering, where've you been the last month? I had such a great Holiday Break in Western New York that I have no clue where to start. Rather than assemble a chronological review or try to sort events from most memorable to least, I threw together this collection of memories from A-Z.<br /><br />A is for Applebee's, where Mom, Dad, Melissa, and Nicole took me for dinner for my 23rd birthday. I ordered a cheeseburger with fries and it was good.<br /><br />B is for Buffalo sports, as I was able to take in a Sabres-Penguins game (4-3 overtime loss on controversial Sidney Crosby tip-in) and the Bills' season finale against the Patriots (13-0 loss in 50+ MPH winds, fun game to go to despite the result).<br /><br />C is for Church, attending Cantata at my parish to hear a great rendition of Christmas songs and see my mom sing and hearing some great homilies, reminding me of what the Christmas season is all about.<br /><br />D is for Dentist, not my favorite thing in the world but I got it done and over with at the end of December. No cavities, so that's a plus!<br /><br />E is for Engaged, Nicole and I's new Facebook status as of Dec. 23, 2008. The proposal happened after a treasure hunt ended where we first met - in front of the Cardinal Courier office on the St. John Fisher College campus.<br /><br />F is for Freefall, as I saw the Bills complete their end-of-the-season collapse in December. It was grueling to watch, minus the upset win over the Broncos in Denver. The loss to the Jets ending with a pair of J.P. Losman turnovers were particularly tough to take.<br /><br />G is for Gift Cards, particularly Subway Gift Cards, as I got $75 of them between Christmas and my birthday. Also some Panera Bread, Tim Horton's, and Olive Garden, gotta love it!<br /><br />H is for Home-Cooking, mmm. Personal favorites were my mom's special meatloaf, homemade mashed potatoes, Peanut Butter Pie for Christmas and Thanksgiving Dinner! And can't forget the Christmas cookies that Mom made, especially those Peanutty Gems!<br /><br />I is for Ice, which there was plenty of during my stay in Western New York. That included some brutal black ice, which I slipped on in the driveway my last night there (don't worry I was OK).<br /><br />J is for Jokes, and there were plenty of these exchanged among my family and friends while I was home. Always good to have a good sense of humor!<br /><br />K is for Kimmelweck, as in Roast Beef on Kimmelweck rolls! One of my favorite Buffalo treats and I had three or four such sandwiches while in town.<br /><br />L is for Late-Night Chats, with my parents, Melissa, Nicole and Aunt Colleen, all at different times, but each interesting in their own way. Just good ole conversation about life and the like!<br /><br />M is for Mac Games, as I got Civilization IV and Scrabble for Christmas. I previously had no games for my Mac.<br /><br />N is for National Hockey League, and I didn't just watch the Sabres in my time home. I got to see Hockey Night in Canada doubleheaders again on Saturday nights (it's been a while) and thanks to the NHL Network I saw plenty of highlights.<br /><br />O is for Olive Garden, where I went three times during break. Once with my mom, once with Melissa and Nicole, and once with just Nicole. That last venture involved parking in a snow bank; long story!<br /><br />P is for Pizza, and there is no pizza like Buffalo pizza! From John's and Just Pizza to frozen pies, I had my fair share of this great Italian dish.<br /><br />Q is for Quiet, nice peace and quiet back home compared to the never-ending buzz of downtown Chicago. The silence was so relaxing and quite welcomed!<br /><br />R is for Rochester, which I was able to visit a few times, including on Christmas Eve. No one was happier to hear of Nicole and I's engagement than her grandparents when we visited them that morning to share the news.<br /><br />S is for Slingbox, the highlight/surprise gift from my parents. I can now watch Buffalo-area TV from Chicago. Also allows me to DVR! Already tested it out; works great. Will come in handy for Sabres games so I can hear R.J. again.<br /><br />T is for Turkey Day, as I gobbled down some great food on Thanksgiving, including my personal favorite (cranberries)! There was much to be thankful for and I was so glad to spend that day with my family - even happier that Nicole could be a part of it.<br /><br />U is for Un-Bull-ievable, what the UB Bulls were as they captured their first MAC Championship in school history with an upset win over nationally-ranked and previously-unbeaten Ball State. They lost in the subsequent bowl game vs. UConn but they sure did take Buffalonians for a ride!<br /><br />V is for Valkyrie, a really interesting historical movie about Nazi Germany that Melissa, Nicole and I saw at the Elmwood Regal Theatre. I just love history, so I found it really fascinating. Tons of stuff in there I just never knew before!<br /><br />W is for Wii, which I played often during the break. Besides my addiction to Wii Bowling (my high was 256), I worked in a heavy dose of Wii Fit, Game Party, and NHL2k9.<br /><br />X is for X-Rays, among the tests done on my grandma after she was taken to the hospital just after Christmas. She's still at the hospital now, and we're taking it one day at a time. I'm glad I was able to visit her a few times while home and I hope she gets better soon!<br /><br />Y is for Year 2008, which my family, Nicole, Aunt Beth and cousin Kathy said goodbye to in style with Chinese food and pizza. Nicole and I actually saw the 1st Annual Tonawanda-North Tonawanda New Year's Celebration at the Canal - Ball Drop at Midnight with fireworks - was REALLY cool, both fun and freezing!<br /><br />Z is for Zzz...let's just say I caught up on my sleep over break. It was really nice to relax and get some extra shut-eye.Craig Kanalleyhttps://plus.google.com/103399926392582289066noreply@blogger.com0
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