Alexandra Bogdanovic's Blog: That's life... - Posts Tagged "competition"
Wish me luck...
Let's be honest. We creative types don't exactly have it easy. Everyone's a competitor. Everyone's a critic.
Personally I wouldn't have it any other way. It drives me to work harder. It drives me to do better. It drives me to reach goals I once thought unimaginable. It also drives me crazy.
Given that, I can't stop thinking about Tuesday. This coming Tuesday -- July 15, 2014 -- to be precise. It promises to be a banner day. I'll find out more about a paralegal certificate program I'm interested in taking to jump start the next phase of my career. Perhaps just as importantly (if not more so) I'll learn whether I'm a finalist in a national literary contest, and how I fared in a national short story contest.
There's money at stake in one case, and major street-cred up for grabs in the other. My pride's at stake in both.
I'm not ashamed to admit it. I'm competitive. But I'm also realistic. The judging in creative contests is a largely subjective exercise. So my "banner day" may end in disappointment. If it does, it won't be the first time.
And it won't be the last.
Until next time, "That's life..."
Personally I wouldn't have it any other way. It drives me to work harder. It drives me to do better. It drives me to reach goals I once thought unimaginable. It also drives me crazy.
Given that, I can't stop thinking about Tuesday. This coming Tuesday -- July 15, 2014 -- to be precise. It promises to be a banner day. I'll find out more about a paralegal certificate program I'm interested in taking to jump start the next phase of my career. Perhaps just as importantly (if not more so) I'll learn whether I'm a finalist in a national literary contest, and how I fared in a national short story contest.
There's money at stake in one case, and major street-cred up for grabs in the other. My pride's at stake in both.
I'm not ashamed to admit it. I'm competitive. But I'm also realistic. The judging in creative contests is a largely subjective exercise. So my "banner day" may end in disappointment. If it does, it won't be the first time.
And it won't be the last.
Until next time, "That's life..."
The other side of the story
I have got to stop watching the evening news. And listening to the radio. And reading the newspaper.
Twenty-first century journalism -- or should I say, what passes for journalism these days -- isn't good for my blood pressure. In fact, as a former reporter, it makes my blood boil.
You see, when I began working at a daily newspaper as a high school freshman back in the 1980s, journalists still believed in fairness and objectivity. That meant getting both sides of the story. No matter what.
Throughout a career that spanned more than two decades, fairness and objectivity weren't just words I lived by -- they formed the philosophy and ethos I tried to embody.
That's not to say I didn't have strong personal feelings about the issues that I covered, or that I didn't form friendships with sources. It simply meant that I worked twice as hard not to let personal feelings or personal relationships influence the way I did my job.
As I saw it, it was my job to present "Side A," "Side B," and even "Side C" and "Side D," when necessary. It was then up to the reader to decide what to believe.
It was a philosophy I embraced not only as an award-winning reporter, but as the author of my memoir, "Truth Be Told: Adam Becomes Audrey."
Sadly, that philosophy has fallen out of favor not only in the world of mainstream, corporate journalism, but in community journalism as well.
The only news that matters these days is the news that "sells." Sanctimonious, self-righteous and self-important "journalists" no longer care about getting the story right, as long as they get it first. They tell the world what to think in 10-second soundbites and Internet blurbs. And the world laps it up. There is no such thing as critical thought.
You don't believe me? Then just pick up a newspaper... or listen to the radio... or watch the evening news. And tell me what you think.
Until next time, "That's life..."
Twenty-first century journalism -- or should I say, what passes for journalism these days -- isn't good for my blood pressure. In fact, as a former reporter, it makes my blood boil.
You see, when I began working at a daily newspaper as a high school freshman back in the 1980s, journalists still believed in fairness and objectivity. That meant getting both sides of the story. No matter what.
Throughout a career that spanned more than two decades, fairness and objectivity weren't just words I lived by -- they formed the philosophy and ethos I tried to embody.
That's not to say I didn't have strong personal feelings about the issues that I covered, or that I didn't form friendships with sources. It simply meant that I worked twice as hard not to let personal feelings or personal relationships influence the way I did my job.
As I saw it, it was my job to present "Side A," "Side B," and even "Side C" and "Side D," when necessary. It was then up to the reader to decide what to believe.
It was a philosophy I embraced not only as an award-winning reporter, but as the author of my memoir, "Truth Be Told: Adam Becomes Audrey."
Sadly, that philosophy has fallen out of favor not only in the world of mainstream, corporate journalism, but in community journalism as well.
The only news that matters these days is the news that "sells." Sanctimonious, self-righteous and self-important "journalists" no longer care about getting the story right, as long as they get it first. They tell the world what to think in 10-second soundbites and Internet blurbs. And the world laps it up. There is no such thing as critical thought.
You don't believe me? Then just pick up a newspaper... or listen to the radio... or watch the evening news. And tell me what you think.
Until next time, "That's life..."
Game on
As many of you know, a challenge is issued on goodreads.com each January. Members are invited to join an annual reading "competition" in which they estimate the number of books they think they can read in a calendar year and then try to meet that goal.
This year I'll be participating for the first time. Given the demands of my day job and writing my second book, I set a rather lofty goal of 100 books. I'm hardly a math major, but I believe that means I'll have to read a little less than two books per week. Coincidentally, I've also got 100 books on my Goodreads "to-read" shelf.
To be honest I probably won't get around to reading all of these. I'll be reading some that I haven't bothered to shelf. For example, I am currently reading The Sigma Protocol by Robert Ludlum, which isn't on the shelf.
Here, in no particular order, are a few books from my "to-read" shelf that I do plan on tacking this year:
- Critical Condition by CJ Lyons
- The Empress of Australia by Harry Leslie Smith
- Playing Dead by Allison Brennan
- The Prey by Allison Brennan
-Smoky Mountain Tracks by Donna Ball
-No One Left to Tell by Jordan Dane
-Cry Wolf by Tami Hoag
-Where There is Evil by Sandra Brown
-The Arsonist by Sue Miller
-The Light Horseman's Daughter by David Crookes
What about you? How many books can you read in a year? What do you like to read? Do you follow recommendations from friends, base your choices on reviews, or just on what's popular? Do you prefer fiction or non-fiction? What is your favorite genre?
Let me know in the comments below, on Google + or on Twitter.
I'm looking forward to hearing from you.
Until next time, "That's life..."
That's life...
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