Between Editions

Google has a great new service available free of charge. While I don’t normally promote the services of other businesses on this blog, this is just too good not to share.

If you’ve never used “Goog 411″ let me enlighten you.

Simply dial (800)-GOOG-411 on any phone. You’ll hear a prompter ask you for a city and state. Say your city and state, then tell the computer what you are looking for, like pizza, chinese food or an auto repair shop. You can also give it the exact name of a business, like, say, Walgreens.

The service will not only hook you up with the number, but if you are on a cell phone, it will give you the option of having directions sent via text message. ***NOTE*** text fees do apply if you opt for the text directions option; however, having them connect you directly to the business via your telephone is absolutely free.

I can’t tell you how awesome I think this service is. Click here for more from Google about Goog 411.

You may want to read this first to avoid a lemon. Click here.

See ya Monday. Feel free to leave complaints, comments, suggestions or anything else in the comment box below. Have a good weekend.

I’m heading to Henderson State University in Arkadelphia tomorrow to be a “guest lecturer” for communications career week. It’s my alma mater, so I’m especially excited. Don’t expect any posts while I’m gone — just wanted to let you know.

If this picture doesn’t make you say “aww” then you just don’t have it in ya. Deborah Parker holds Angel the dog, Monday, March 31, at the Avon Lake Animal Clinic in Ohio. A developmental quirk caused one of the dog’s legs to split, making her look like a five-legged pet.

(Bruce Bishop, Elyria Chronicle Telegram/AP Photo)

For a good time killer today, check out The Spirit Seekers web site and read all about their investigation of the Rialto Theater. There are videos and audio clips to browse through.

By John Worthen
For Between Editions
I took this picture on our back dock here at the News-Times. A forklift had just rolled through, leaving tracks in the blanket of pollen. You can’t go outside these days without getting covered in green guck. I’ll be glad when we get a nice, soaking rain to wash this stuff away.

By John Worthen
For Between Editions
Yes, it’s true, we now have another Chinese restaurant in our fair city. Great China is located in the old Sam Goody building in the Northwest Village shopping center.

Being the adventure-seeker that I am, I tried it today. It was very good, as Chinese buffets go. I’ve eaten at dozens, if not more than 100 of these types of buffets in my day, and this one ranks up there with the better establishments.

The decor is cheerful and bright, and the food is hot and flavorful. I think this will be a nice addition to our local dining scene. In addition to the “super buffet,” which offers the standards like spicy chicken and broccoli, beef and broccoli, fried rice and the like, Great China also has full lunch and dinner menus.

For another Between Editions film? I’m always seeking ideas.

By John Worthen
For Between Editions
I drove down to the Felsenthal/Crossett area on Tuesday for the Ouachita River Commission’s quarterly meeting. It’s always a joy to drive around Union County, for one because it’s so diverse, for another, I’m not stuck at the office in front a computer monitor.

In today’s paper you’ll see the article I wrote concerning dangerous moss and other plant life that’s choking off fish populations in the Felsenthal reservoir. This is an important issue, folks, and it’s costing our county untold amounts of dollars.

Fish are dying, and fishermen aren’t heading to Felsenthal as much as they used to. As the article explains, there are ways to combat the rogue vegetation. Problem is, it’s gonna take a load of money to do it.

In the coming days, I will be writing an article explaining this issue more closely, and we’ll also be telling you how you can help.

In other news: Can you believe how bad the Hogs lost to North Carolina? I won’t repeat the score here, just because it hurts too much. All I’ll say is that the game looked like one of those setup jobs between the Harlem Globetrotters and the Washington Senators.

Whew.

Oh, and I know I preach this time and again, but since I am basically the only one running the blog, posts will be slow now and again.

Click here.

If you see a long-haired guy around town with a video camera, he’s with the Arkansas Educational Television Network. They’re filming a documentary on the SPARTA Aquifer. Look for it sometime later this year on AETN.

By John Worthen
For Between Editions
In the news business, people sometimes think that we write or photograph things just to offend them. In reality, all we do is report what we hear and see. We don’t make news, we report it. But this photo, which appeared in the News-Times Tuesday on page 6A, offended many.

Shortly after the day began, calls and e-mails poured into the newsroom from people who thought the picture was inappropriate. Other callers thought it was humorous or ironic. Here’s an account from the man who took the photo, Larry Singer, who describes his journalistic reasons for taking it:

“When I took the picture, which shows a crude hand painted sign warning that people could go to Heaven or Hell, and which ironically was located across the street from the Hillsboro Street Church of Christ, I thought the irony of the proximity of the hand-painted sign and church just had to be documented.

“After all, on one corner was a sign telling people they had to make a choice between the burning pit of Hades or an eternity with the angels, and right across the street was an institution whose primary responsibility is helping people make the moral decisions so that they wind up in the right place. I did not imply in the caption below the picture that the church put up the sign.

“My only goal was to show it was ironic that here was a sign telling people they have to make an important decision, and all they had to do was go across the street and the church would help guide them on the proper path.

“Little did I know, or even suspect, that the hand painted sign had been a sore spot for many of the church’s members for a long time. And taking a picture that showed the two signs near each other might give some of our readers the incorrect impression that the church was in some way responsible for the hand painted sign.

“When the picture was published, I was surprised at the controversy, which was generated mainly by people who belonged to the church.

“Now, people as far away as California have seen the picture, heard the controversy and added their comments. If nothing else, this proves that in this computer-generated digital age, a wide variety of ideas and opinions can travel faster and farther than ever before.” — Larry Singer, News-Times photographer.

By Larry Singer
For Between Editions
One of the first historical facts I discovered about the greater metropolitan El Dorado area after recently moving here was the role the first big oil hit in Smackover played in making this area a boomtown in the 1920s.

I was amazed at the size of the hole that first strike left in the ground, and upon visiting Smackover, I was impressed with the history and discarded equipment the oil business left behind.

Always on the prowl for “found” art, I took notice during a recent trip to Smackover of the abstract that comes with age that is perhaps ignored by those people closest to it and now take it for granted.

I feel the six images that accompany this blog entry show how beautiful age and history can be.