Them on Us: Former JH scribe on web

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

By Jake Nichols

JH Weekly’s recently departed Senior Reporter Ben Cannon surfaced in cyberspace with a video tutorial on how to properly read the latest issue of Sueddeutsche Zeitung. Issue 33 (on shelves in Germany August 20) is the first magazine in the world to be enriched with bonus attractions and capabilities only available when the print mag is read ‘through’ a smart phone using a free downloadable application.

Cannon walks SZ readers through the process [www.youtube.com/watch?v=LRceOYbrVzc] which will allow users to view material embedded and hidden in the print material. Cannon called the multimedia enhancement the first of its kind, adding that it was the result of a cooperative effort with Augmented Reality.

A consensus from the comments at the YouTube site seemed less interested in the stunning new design and more skewed toward wondering what was living underneath Cannon’s nose. Apparently, his stache doesn’t play well with the blogosphere.

LA finds 18 reasons to visit Wyo.

Christopher Reynolds’ video essay on Wyoming begins rather suspiciously – dissing Yellowstone traffic and unpredictable weather – but the LA Times journalist manages to come up with “18 arguments in favor of Wyoming by the end of the four-minute spot.

“It looks empty, but there’s a lot up here,” Reynolds said of the area between Cody and Jackson.

The video footage begins with the crash-and-burn of a paraglider team trying to launch off of Rendezvous Mountain. Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks had their respective features highlighted among the 18 things worth checking out. None were a surprise except maybe the bungee jump at Teton Village – really?

Park stupidity blamed on gadgets
The Boston Globe carried a story on the increasing number of accident incidents at our national parks – now, if only tourists will read it.

The piece began by recalling the story of Utard Cathy Hayes. The Farr West, Utah resident videotaped her up-close-and-personal run-in with a Yellowstone bison. The footage was originally aired by CNN doing a story on the goring. In it, Hayes jokes, “Watch, we’ll get a shot of Donald getting gored by a buffalo.” Her companion was all too eager to make this prediction come true. He reportedly threw sticks at the beast until it charged both he and Hayes.

The tale might be humorous if it wasn’t so true and that’s what has park authorities concerned with the growing number of dumb moves made by folks with electronic devices. While some national park visitors put gadgets to good use, others get themselves into trouble.

“People with cell phones call rangers from mountaintops to request refreshments or a guide. In Jackson Hole, Wyo., one lost hiker even asked for hot chocolate,” the story read. “Last fall, a group of hikers in [Grand Canyon] called in rescue helicopters three times by pressing the emergency button on their satellite location device. When rangers arrived the second time, the hikers explained that their water supply ‘tasted salty.’”

“Because of having that electronic device, people have an expectation that they can do something stupid and be rescued,’’ GTNP spokeswoman Jackie Skaggs told the Globe. “Every once in a while we get a call from someone who has gone to the top of a peak, the weather has turned, and they are confused about how to get down and they want someone to personally escort them. The answer is that you are up there for the night.” JHW

Courtesy Ben Cannon/youtube.com
Ben Cannon shows off German glossy.

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