I wrote the cover story for the Fall 2011 Temple Review (Temple’s Alumni Magazine) on the Innocence Project, which works to free prison inmates who were wrongfully convicted for various reasons. Here’s a link to the article:
http://www.temple.edu/temple_review/2011_fall/f1_TrialsandConviction.html
Philadelphia’s first Poet Laureate, Sonia Sanchez, and best selling author Jonathan Maberry will be the headline speakers at the Philadelphia Writers Conference, June 8th-10th at the Holiday Inn in downtown Philadelphia. The conference features many writing workshops and lectures in fiction and nonfiction genres, such as Poetry, Short Stories, Novels, Nonfiction Books, Magazine Writing, and Memoirs. Many of the people attending the conference are beginning or aspiring writers who love to write and would like to get published. The conference provides opportunities to meet with agents and editors to pitch book ideas. It typically draws between 150 and 200 attendees. For more information about the conference, go to www.pwcwriters.org .
I interviewed New York Times best selling author Rachel Simon for the How I Write column in the December 2011 issue of The Writer Magazine. Here is more information:
http://bulletin.arcadia.edu/2011/11/the-writer-atkins-interviews-bestselling-author-rachel-simon/
Time to catch up on posting. Here is my latest Huffington Post article on older college students, which ran a few months ago.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/larry-atkins/adult-college-students_b_954199.html
Unlike the past few meetings between these teams, this game was no contest, as Temple clawed past Villanova 42-7. There were many positives in the game, most notably the strong play of Junior running back Bernard Pierce, who had been hampered by injuries throughout his college career. Pierce rushed for 147 yards on 20 carries and scored three touchdowns. Quarterback Mike Gerardi had a solid game, completing 14 of 20 passes for 235 yards and two TDs. Temple’s defense dominated the game, holding the Wildcats to 275 total yards and forcing four turnovers. Next weekend, the Owls go to Akron to face the Zips. Two weeks from now, they take on Goliath, Penn State. Hopefully, Penn State will beat Alabama next week and then come to Linc taking Temple lightly. Temple hasn’t beaten Penn State since before World War II. This might be their best chance. Photo from the Associated Press.
According to several news reports, Howard Eskin will no longer be hosting his daily sports talk show on 610 WIP. He will continue to work for WIP on Eagles broadcasts and pregame shows. I stopped listening to Eskin’s show several years ago. Obviously, he’s knowledgeable about most sports, but his obnoxious approach with callers was too much to take on a regular basis. What was your opinion of Howard Eskin? Are you glad that The King’s reign is over? Was he an obnoxious nitwit, or was he an informed host who did good reporting and broke major stories on a regular basis? This might be a good time for WIP to bring in some new blood for a change of pace. Comment below. Photo from almightyphilly.com
While Michele Bachmann won the Iowa Republican Straw Poll this weekend, it was Texas Governor Rick Perry’s Presidential announcement that stole the show. It appears as though Bachmann and Perry will now compete for Tea Party support in an attempt to upset frontrunner Mitt Romney. Not only does Perry sound like Bush, but his conservative policies would be similar. In the last couple of years, he suggested that Texas might consider seceding from the United States due to President Obama’s policies. His recent prayer service in Texas featured a host of kooky preachers who had suggested that the Statue of Liberty was a demonic idol, that Oprah Winfrey was a forerunner to the harlot of Babylon and the antiChrist, and that the Catholic church was the great whore. While Perry will brag about his economic record, Texas still has an 8.2 % unemployment rate and is tied with Mississippi for having the highest number of people with minimum wage jobs in the United States. The scary thing is that he has a great deal of appeal in the Republican party and that he has a very strong chance of beating Romney. Then, if the U.S. economy continues to stall, he could conceivably beat Obama. At that point, we’ll really need to pray. Photo from the UK Telegraph.
Here’s a link to my latest Huffington Post article: Media And Consumers Must Be Careful In Relying On Twitter For Breaking News. Please comment below.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/larry-atkins/twitter-reporting-pitfalls_b_914873.html
Here’s a link to my latest Huffington Post article: Borders Closings Are Another Step Towards Community Isolation
Please comment below
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/larry-atkins/borders-closings-bankruptcy_b_916522.html
It was a big week off the field for the Philadelphia Eagles and Philadelphia Phillies. The Eagles traded backup QB Kevin Kolb to the Arizona Cardinals for All-Pro Cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie and a second round pick. Unless Kolb turns out to be the second coming of Brett Favre, this looks like a great trade. Then, to corner the market even more, the Eagles pulled off a stunner by signing All-Pro cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha as a free agent. Then, to avoid a Kafkaesque situation at backup quarterback, the Birds signed former Pro Bowl quarterback Vince Young. Earlier this week, the Eagles signed Pro Bowl defensive end Jason Babin, wide receiver Johnnie Lee Higgins, and tight end Donald Lee. Not to be left out, the Phillies made a big trade, getting All-Star rightfielder Hunter Pence from the Astros for four minor leaguers. This move will bolster an already strong lineup and could put the Phils over the top. So which move is your favorite? Do you like all of these transactions? Do you have any concerns about any of the deals? Has Joe Banner shed his image of being cheap? Comment below. Photo from Philly.com.
