web_producer_whitney's Blog

For some reason, the big stories always come when we least expect it - on the weekend. There's something about major news... You remember every detail of how the coverage came together. Who was standing where in the newsroom, live from what location, editing, working the desk, etc. It's frantic, but it's a rush.

These are all stories I put in that "memorable" category:

• The Ward Parkway shootings were on a Sunday afternoon. Executive Producer Jeff Mulligan struggled with the decision to interrupt the NASCAR race with the breaking news. We interrupted, and viewers really didn't appreciate it.
• The Porter children's bodies were found on a Sunday. Paul Stewart caught wind of the search near Sugar Creek early that morning and we followed the story all day.
• KCK Police called for an Amber Alert during the Super Bowl this year. Toddler Seth Guerrero was missing after his mother was found murdered. Anthony Guerrero, Seth's dad, was arrested in Texas a few days later.

Another weekend story was the Greensburg tornado - though it was on a Saturday. Covering this was different, because though the destruction was far away, it was jaw-dropping all the same. The video below makes me feel that way again.

I went to a Kentucky Derby-themed benefit for CCVI on Friday with a couple of friends. There was some gambling (I owned the blackjack table), prizes (I won a two-night stay at the downtown Marriott with free breakfast at Lilly's!) and... GERBIL RACING!

Ramsey video blogged it. Take a look:

I hope this guy is weeded out of the gene pool asap.

EASTAMPTON -- A 47-year-old township man sustained severe burns to his legs and groin areas Wednesday night when he accidentally ignited rubbing alcohol he was applying to his body with a cigarette that fell into his lap, a township police clerk said.

Idiot.

An angry beaver went on a rampage in Russia, plowing through a shop window and destroying several bottles of vodka (sad!)

Apparently, the wild and crazy guy was trying to flee from danger:

"The saleswoman saw a large animal near a store room and called the local emergencies service," a spokesman for the Ozersk administration said. "The animal was apparently frightened by nearby forest fires, and decided to get assistance from people," the spokesman added.

Authorities returned him to a safe part of the forest.

The article adds that Russia is experiencing some of its worst forest fires in 30 years due to long dry spells.

Hey family - remember when I made the carrot cake and then Cookie (R.I.P.) jumped on the counter and ate the ENTIRE thing while we were gone?

This is kind of like that, but without the two days of dog vomit and a trip to the vet.

The Jayhawks were featured on the CBS Early Show on Wednesday. Professor of Architecture Dan Rockhill talked about building green, and Danny Manning and some of the 2008 Miracles honored the Greensburg high school basketball team in their brand new gym. Video below!

Google is collaborating with 70 different artists around the world to give us customized iGoogle home pages.

It's like having cute outfits for your home page!

"The iGoogle personalized home pages have been graced with new flair thanks to the introduction of iGoogle Artist Themes, a way for Google members to do digital interior decoration."

"Google has pulled out the stops, with contributions from artists and architects like Jeff Koons, Michael Graves, Philippe Starck, and Yann Arthus-Betrand, as well as fashion luminaries like Diane von Furstenberg, Tory Burch, Oscar de la Renta, Marc Ecko, and Dolce & Gabbana. A few music artists like Coldplay, the John Butler Trio, and the Beastie Boys also are present, as are pop-culture figures like BoingBoing's Mark Frauenfelder, Jackie Chan, The Wiggles, and...Lance Armstrong."

I picked Diane von Furstenburg.

There's a fancy youtube video you can watch, too.

On a side note, here is the pic I took of Jeff Koons' sculpture at the Guggenheim in Bilbao, Spain!

For a couple that's "on relationship vacation," they sure know how to make me vomit during photo ops:

Hottie Scarlett Johansson released the video for her first single. My ultra-hip sister compared her to the lead singer from Velvet Underground. It's an OK song, but I don't think it'll be radio friendly.

Check out Ramsey's latest v-blog. Super cool.

Also, the championship banner looks good in any artistic style - you should try pointillism next time, Nick.

Now that Cubans can own computers, many are finding their way to the Web. Some are even starting blogs, and giving us an inside look at what daily life in Cuba is like.

Yahoo! News reports on a woman whose blog grabs over a million page views a month. Yoani Sanchez (pictured to the right) writes the "GeneraciónY" blog, and she goes through a major process just to post:

Sanchez dresses like a tourist and slips into Havana hotels with Web access for foreigners. It costs about $6 an hour and she can't afford to stay long given the price and the possibility someone might catch her connecting without permission.

I'll definitely be bookmarking.

A recent study found that 68 percent of Swedish high school students don't know where the EU headquarters is located, 75 percent can't find Tehran on a map and 96 percent can't name two Swedish national parks.

Do you think this happens in the U.S. America, too, Miss South Carolina?

Attention Web voyeurs and Whitney fans...

You can now follow my every move via Twitter. Have fun.

I'm not on the Twitter train yet, but where would this Cal-Berkeley student be without it? (what's Twitter? Learn about it.)

James Karl Buck was taken into custody with his translator in Egypt while covering an anti-government protest. On his way to the police station, he grabbed his cell phone and sent out a tweet:

The message only had one word. "Arrested."

Within seconds, colleagues in the United States and his blogger-friends in Egypt -- the same ones who had taught him the tool only a week earlier -- were alerted he was being held.

Read about how Buck finally got out of jail.

I know Twitter sounds strange but if it helps you get out of jail in a foreign country... maybe I should finally sign up this week?

I'm wearing a polo shirt today, so this story goes with my outfit.

Some guy hit a 139-yard hole-in-one on a Par 3 in Niagara Falls the other day. But he isn't just any guy - he's a paraplegic! Frank Peter uses a special cart designed to help him swing a club:

Itching to get on the course after a long winter, Peter made an impromptu call to his 17-year-old nephew Jordan, inviting him to a game.

The pair were enjoying their day on the links when Peter used a 22-degree Wilson Staff hybrid on the 14th hole and hit the ball just short of the green on the right-hand side of the flag stick.

The ball took a bounce up and rolled onto the green and Peter heard the distinctive "ting" of the ball hitting the flag stick.

Read the rest of the story.

Long story short, his golf game is better than mine.