Quick-Take Friday

Too much to do today, and not enough time to write. So I'll let some links do my talking for me. It's a mish-mash round-up of stuff I've stumbled over lately and found interesting. Hope you will too.

A Document to Consider. Here's a legal document customized especially for writers--a will that protects your copyright for the benefit of your heirs after you've become worm food. I think I'll run this language past a good attorney or two and see if it's worthwhile executing myself. If I get the green light, I'll let you know, in case the writers among you might want to do the same.

Roldo and Jay: The Human Encyclopedias. My pals Roldo Bartimole and Jay Miller were part of a four-member panel that recently helped WCPN's Dan Moulthroup assess Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson's first year in office. The pair, with something like a combined 70 years of closely observing and writing about the town, are marvels to watch and listen to. They're both sublime amalgamations of journalist, historian, teacher, witness, institutional memory and more. Along with former Cleveland Mag editor Mike Roberts, they form a trio of journalistic elder statesmen who are nothing less than a collective civic treasure. Listening to the show, you almost had to feel sorry for PD City Hall beat writer Susan Vinella and some poor young Call & Post junior writer whose name I don't recall. They were both more than a little overwhelmed by R&J's immense knowledge and sense of historical context on the subject, all served up in pithy fashion (no small trick). If you missed it, you can listen to the podcast here.

Wolcott Carves Up the Pajama Brigade. Vanity Fair's James Wolcott, owner of one of the most wicked pens or set of typing fingers known to the English language, is always worth reading, whether it's his column in the magazine, his book or on his blog. Here, he memorably shreds Pajamas Media, a bizarre confederation of mostly right-wing blogs. His devastating conclusion: "Pajamas Media it is a vanity plate for the upwardly servile, a patsy that thinks it's a player." Ouch.

Hold These Dates! And finally, don't forget to keep next March 1-3 open on your calendar. You'll not want to miss this year's installment of the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), the annual lovefest of the loony political right. After the results of the last election, this one should be quite a doozy. Get your reservation in now.