Thursday, October 18, 2007

That blows ... or does it?

Jean Godden, city councilwoman and former newspaper columnist, sober and fully underclothed, as far as we know

It's been a while since our last morning news meeting. I've been a bit under the weather.

The big story around here all week has been a giant windstorm forecast for today, Thursday. "Batten down the hatches!" screamed the Seattle P-I. The Times, ever one for precision, put it this irresistible way: "A high-wind watch has been issued for Thursday, meaning forecasters are about 50 percent certain that strong winds will blow through the region."

Sheesh. Well they got it half right.

Turns out, of course, that "the big blow" won't be that big after all. The stupid storm's not even here yet and already it's fallen short of expectations. First in a winterlong series of maybe-it'll-snow-no-never-mind articles.

Ah well, something's gotta fill up all that newsprint. As every reporter dreads but every editor knows, people love the weather stories.

In other blowing news: I don't know what blood-alcohol-content level she blew, but a local City Council candidate, Venus Velazquez, was cited last night for drunk driving. Second one of these here this year; King County Councilwoman Jane Hague also was busted a few months back. And City Councilman Richard McIver just pleaded not guilty to fourth-degree assault after being arrested for choking his wife. It's like Hollywood Northwest around here. Someone stop the madness before Jean Godden gets out of her Town Car without panties.

...

Finally, it's fun sometimes to finish the news meeting with a cautionary tale, someone else's scary correction. Check this one out, from the LA Times, as spotted on that terrific blog LA Observed. Extra points for screwing up a guy's name in his obit. No, that wasn't a boy named Sue.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Funnnnny!!

Glad the funky fog is lifting.

Anonymous said...

Hows the wind out there?

Mark said...

After mocking the wind I have to admit it's pretty windy out there.

A big bamboo plant uprooted and landed on my car -- no damage, but still, impressive. And the wind knocked out power on a bunch of streetlights and at the Roxy, our little neighborhood card room.

Kate Cohen said...

The Bamboo of Near Misses, driven by the Winds of Perpetual Skepticism ... a heart like a darkened card room.

Mark said...

ha.

Anonymous said...

I'm so glad to see our "50 percent certain" sentence made your morning news meeting. I gave a pretty long speech in our real news meeting this morning about how terrible that was. Along with the phrase "significant wind event." Um, as in, storm?

That said, and thanks to karma, I got hit by a flying pebble as I walked to my car tonight after work. I guess it might have been something else, but I'm 50 percent certain it was a little rock.

Mark said...

a significant pebble event, to be sure. that sucks. sorry mich.

Anonymous said...

Remember the Gold Rule:

It's not officially a scary storm until you see KING-TV's Jim Forman tethered with mad glee to the top of the Space Needle, shouting into the camera.