How Election Night Looked

Editor Todd Franko used one of our nifty video cams to capture Election Night '08 behind the scenes in The Vindicator newsroom. Here's what it kinda looked like...



Our talented Designer Dan edited the video down to about six minutes (which still contains way too much of me). In watching it, I was struck once again by how many smart people work at the Vindy. A lot of talented people contribute to the print and online news efforts.

More later,


Mark

Thanks, But No Thanks...

... to your offer to help bring credibility to journalists. Perhaps you should begin bringing credibility to politicians with a zeal for designer clothes.

This does make me laugh, however...



Please, Sarah, understand that you only served as a 60-odd-day joke that began "Two old miserable, conservatives named Limbaugh and Dobson walked into John McCain's campaign and warned him that if he picked Lieberman, Pawlenty or Ridge as his running mate there would be a floor fight at the Republican convention and that fracas would extend deep into the election season and end with conservatives staying home on election day..."

Ba-dum-bah.

Now, go back to Alaska and let us never hear from you again...

More later,


Mark

'Change Has Come'

It was an exciting night in the newsroom as U.S. Sen. Barack Obama was elected the 44th president of the United States.

The Vindicator team was busy on both Web and print fronts and the results of our ambitious plan were pretty amazing. The night for the editors ended when we set and e-mailed the news assignments for the Wednesday day shift at about 2 a.m.

I went home, got caught up on some TV coverage, had a beer and am about to go to bed.

Check out our lead story here:

Change has come

Our election page with our moment-by-moment ticker of the race in Ohio is here:

www.Vindy.com

More later (maybe a lot later),


Mark

VOTE!!!

Finally: Election Day!

I am going in to work at about noon and I told Mary that I had no idea when on Wednesday morning I'd be home. The Vindicator has an ambitious game plan for print and Web featuring a couple of late press runs and video stand ups in the newsroom on top of the typical election fare. If you want to know how Ohio is going, check out:

WWW.VINDY.COM

Meanwhile, I do have some early election results for the great state of Ohio:



As you can see, it is too early to call...

Mary and I voted a couple of weeks ago. After hearing there could be problems for new voters in Ohio, we decided it was best to vote early. I'd rather try and resolve any issues 10-days out then on Election Day. As it turns out, it was a breeze.

So, regardless of how you vote today, just get out there and demonstrate that democracy works and vote!

More later,


Mark

Some Ads Just Confuse Me...

I am sure John McCain knows what he's doing, but this ad seems very odd...

Make your own Attack Ad

More later,

Mark

Today is Her Birthday!

If you see Karen Roth in the next day or two, ask her: What is 51 minus 48?

Three!

My three-year older sister hit the big 5-1 Sunday and she doesn't look at day over ... well, YOU be the judge:



It hardly seems like it was an entire year ago that we all conspired to surprise her as she celebrated her 50th birthday. This year, for her 51st, she celebrated it quietly with her daughter, Angela and the new grandbaby, Kaleb. It was not as grandiose as a year ago, but something tells me she enjoyed it just as much...

Me? I still remember her as a mixed up kid back in Kankakee, Ill.

Happy Birthday, Karen!

More later,

Mark

The Youngstown Effect

Shameless plug: The Vindicator gives readers a taste today of how other media has portrayed the importance of Youngstown area voters in terms of the Campaign Trail '08 and you can find it right here:

The Youngstown Effect

It's been a wild ride and it is kind of hard to process that it will all soon be over...

First, of course, we must survive election night and a very ambitious print/Web project...

More later,


Mark

The Latest Endorsement

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Mark

BOO!

Happy Halloween!

More later,


Mark

Jon Stewart on 'Going Rogue'

A long clip from Wednesday's "The Daily Show" features the insipid "Joe the Plumber" and the his views on international affairs that will make you, at first, laugh, and then, tremble with fear that the McCain-Palin campaign has put such a dimwit on the campaign trail. Joe's views on Barack Obama are so incredibly wrong-headed that Fox News is forced to come to Obama's defense.



Fresh from his late-night appearance with Obama in Kissimmee, Bill Clinton hits town today for a campaign appearance. And our staff will provide pool coverage for John McCain's Youngstown appearance on "Good Morning America" Friday.

More later,

Mark

The Socialist Running For President

On Tuesday, Stephen Colbert interviewed Brian Moore, the Socialist Party candidate for president who, it turns out, does not back that "capitalist" Barack Obama. Shocking news (for the McCain campaign)!

Meanwhile in Youngstown, Ohio, the frenzy is getting whipped up as we hit the homestretch in Election '08. Tonight is the "Rock the Vote" concert featuring the Beastie Boys and Sheryl Crow and others at the Chevy Centre. Bill Clinton is here Thursday and John McCain will be live on Good Morning America a couple of blocks from The Vindicator office downtown Friday.

We know there will be more candidates and surrogates before Tuesday.

More later,


Mark

What You Get When You Combine Election Week and Halloween

Well, it's a little dated (might be from last Halloween) but I hope you at least find the casting inspired in today's video

It's another ditty from the fine folks at Jib Jab who allow users to put various people's real heads into comical creations. For me, it's a perfect opportunity for all kinds of mischief...

Hence, this is my attempt to combine Election Week with Halloween, two of my most favorite times of the year...

Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!

More later,


Mark

A Simple Message

Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!

I think it'll be kinda political around here for the next week or so...

More later,


Mark

Sammy's Growing!

We took advantage of the Bears bye week to tear out a toilet and take new pictures of Sammy. He seems to grow a couple of inches every day and he's already learned to beg for treats like his brothers/mentors Louie and Clyde. He's into EVERYTHING which makes it kinda fun ... for Mary.

Above, he's modeling for us in preparation for one of his many, famous, long naps. Below, we caught him in midst of one of his famous, long naps clutching one of his favorite toys.



That toy mouse has seen a lot of the house as Sammy carries him from room to room. Usually, he piles all of his toys on our bed, for reasons we cannot comprehend.

The other night he was upstairs with us in the bedroom when he decided he needed to use the litter box. So, he grabbed his mouse, ran downstairs, did whatever he had to do and then came back, still clutching the mouse. We presumed he had put the mouse down to use the litter box because to imagine anything else made us feel yucky.

More later,


Mark

Opie, Richie are Pro-Obama

See more Ron Howard videos at Funny or Die

Regardless of the politics, it's kind of fun watching Ron Howard dig deep into his acting roots to pull off reprisals of his "The Andy Griffith Show" and "Happy Days" roles. Of course he needed the help of Andy Griffith and Henry "The Fonz" Winkler. And both he and the Fonz needed the help of some wigs and makeup (although ol' Ang seems pretty au natural).

So, if you wanna catch up with Opie Taylor and Richie Cunningham, click above...

More later,


Mark

All-New Celebrity Wall of Fame

With all of the autographs we scored this weekend, we've augmented the old Celebrity Wall of Fame from the old Illinois Rat Pack Bar with cool new folks for a soon-to-be unveiled project.

Looking from left to right, from the top to the bottom, here's who is now featured for permanent display:

• Adam West and Yvonne Craig
• Yvonne Craig
• Burt Ward
• Julie Newmar (in color)
• Julie Newmar (in black and white)
• Lee Meriwether
• Malachi Throne
• Noel Neill
• Robert Vaughn
• June Lockhart
• Don Adams
• Rose Marie (to block)
• Steve Allen
• Dawn Wells
• Alan Young and Connie Hines

On hiatus are Jim Nabors, Robert Stack, Harry Morgan, Donna Douglass and Pat Priest.

More later,

Mark

One More Bat-Related Video

Here's Adam "Batman" West discussing his role among 1960s icons during the Adam West Banquet which kicked off the Screaming Tiki Comic and Pop Culture Convention last weekend.

Of course, sadly, I missed shooting his "live" rendition of "The Adam West Song." Holy Amateur Videographer!

More later,

Mark

Screaming Tiki Hits YouTube!

I found a couple of fan videos from this past weekend's Screaming Tiki Comic and Pop Culture Convention on YouTube.Com. Above, a group of Batmen pose for a picture with Catwoman. Below, the Batcopter takes off!

Enjoy!



More later,

Mark

For My Sister

ERIC AND MARK!

My sister Karen writes "I was really hoping for a photo of my 2 brothers reliving the good old days with bath towel capes safety-pinned around their necks!"

Well, here is the next best thing: Eric and I hanging out in the Rat Pack Tiki Bar after the Screaming Tiki event with our Bat-shirts on enjoying Bat-Tiki Punch.

More later,

Mark

One Great Bat-Time!

Yes, that's me and Yvonne "Batgirl" Craig, during one of the many memorable moments from this weekend's Screaming Tiki Comic and Pop Culture Convention in nearby Niles, Ohio at the Eastwood Expo Center.

I am going to really let my geek flag fly today. This was my first-ever con (a fact that amazes long-time friend Brad who still maintains that I have done much weirder things) and I was literally a kid in a celebrity candy shop all day Saturday.

Some observations:

• Julie Newmar is wild! I could not tell whether she was in character or just a character in general. Unlike the other stars, she sat on her table and beckoned fans over. She even dared them. Here's the original Catwoman with Eric and me.


PURR-FECTLY PHOTOGENIC.

• Brad and I got to sit in the perfect recreation of the TV Batmobile. For $20, we also got a nice 8-by-10 of the moment that we pretended to drive the streets of Gotham City in search of evil-doers.


ATOMIC BATTERIES TO POWER! TURBINES TO SPEED!

• Adam West is funny and polite and accessible, which means he is everything that his manager Fred is not. Fred was the one person at the con who seemed to rub absolutely everyone the wrong way. Fans told me of how he interrupted conversations, of how he was rude to those taking pictures (including The Vindicator photographer), of his general kill-joy nature in general. But I will still always cherish the fun times with Adam.


WILD, WILD WEST

• The biggest bargain at the con was at Tiny Titans booth where genius artist Art Balthazar would do a drawing of you as any superhero for $1! He did me as the Incredible Mark Hulk, Eric as Batman and Brad as Kid Flash.


MARK SMASH!

Here are some other images from the day (many shot by Mary who, oddly, was not photographed at the event).


DANGER! DANGER! BRAD AND MARK MEET THE ROBOT!


BRAD MEETS MALACHI "FALSE FACE" THRONE ... OR DOES HE?


BRAD MEETS YVONNE "MARTA" CRAIG ... SECURING A STAR TREK AUTOGRAPH FOR HIS WIFE KATHY


ADAM TRIES TO KEEP UP WITH JULIE DURING A PANEL DISCUSSION

Actually, I have a snippet of video from the panel. Here, Julie has just complimented Adam as the best Batman ever and he returns the compliment...



More later,


Mark