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September 28, 2007

One Day Removed and Moves

So, one day removed from my tenure as editor of The Pulse and what did I do? I went to a surprise birthday lunch for a co-worker at The Pulse before stopping by my former office for a bit to check on a couple things. The newspaper business, as Chicago once sang, is a hard habit to break.

Tonight's Office premiere was solid, even if it was a tad more subdued than I'd expected. Thanks to my handy-dandy DVD burner, I've already watched it twice.

My new, Word Press-powered blog is nearing completion. In addition to a blog, the NEW BillColrus.com will feature an extensive PDF archive of my written work and (eventually) assorted audio and video clips. My dad has already sent me some sketches he did for the banner header.

I am carving regular, weekly book writing time into my schedule. If I can commit to doing nothing but working on the book for, say, a mere two hours each week, I should make some decent progress. All my literary-type acquaintances should expect regular requests to "look this over, will ya?"

In case you didn't know, I am now live on Facebook. Look me up. MySpace? Not so much anymore.

Posted by colrus at 03:37 AM | TrackBack

September 26, 2007

Goodbye and Thanks: My Farewell Column

(From this week's issue.)

For the longest time, I never imagined that I’d have to write a piece like this. When I was hired to be the editor of The Pulse prior to its launch in the fall of 2003, I had visions of editing this paper forever. I figured the paper would get better and better, its circulation and revenue would increase, and maybe, just maybe, we’d find ourselves, say, mixing it up at national industry functions alongside the papers that inspired us to launch The Pulse in the first place.

And all of those things happened.

Well, except for the part where I edit the paper forever.

While I’ll likely still be poking my head in from time to time, this week’s issue marks my last as editor. Pulse co-publisher Michael Kull is taking over my chair.

My time at The Pulse has been equal parts exciting, frustrating, challenging, rewarding, and exhausting. I’ve worked with more talented people than I can name, have received more than my fair share of both praise and flack, and have watched our paper go from being nothing more than an idea on a notepad to being voted in as a member of the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies in less than four years. It has been everything—and nothing—like I expected it would be. Most of all, it has been incredibly fun. I will be forever grateful to our publishers, Zack Cooper and Michael Kull, for entrusting me with their paper. It has truly been an honor. And while I am leaving The Pulse for a new and exciting opportunity in the world of custom publishing, there will always be a soft spot in my heart for the alternative press.

Looking back over 196 issues, the memories are voluminous and varied: Interviewing scores of interesting people. Receiving tear-filled thanks from grieving parents. Discovering amazing underground talent. Laughing uncontrollably while putting together our April Fool’s issues. Trading notes and talking shop with local media folks. Spending two full days explaining to people from coast to coast that, no, we didn’t actually kill any cats. I could go on for days.

This paper has been devoted to digging for bits of truth buried in mountains of dishonesty and spin, and I’ve been glad to man the shovel. As I leave, I am confident that The Pulse will continue its mission to give a voice to the voiceless, go deeper on stories when a superficial snapshot is not enough, and strive to tell the stories nobody else will tell.

To my fellow Pulsers, you are some of the most talented, funny, creative, inspiring, and caring people with whom I ever could have hoped to work. Even in our busiest moments, work never seemed like work. I am honored to have been part of such a great team, and I will miss seeing you every day. (The bossing you around part, I’ll miss that, too. The not seeing you part, though. That’ll be the hardest.) I will always look back with pride at what we’ve accomplished together, and will look forward to all the exciting days to come for you and The Pulse.

To our readers, you are the reason that we kill ourselves to do what we do. What you have to say about our work—good and bad—keeps us going. You deserve better, and that’s what we’ve tried to give you. Without you, this paper would simply not exist, and I am proud to say that I am now one of you.

See you around.

Posted by colrus at 12:08 AM | TrackBack

September 19, 2007

My Interview with Ken Burns

Read it here.

Kind of a dream, really.

Posted by colrus at 10:11 AM | TrackBack

September 14, 2007

OJ Simpson Questioned in Break-In

Read about it here.

Perhaps he was looking for the real killer...

Posted by colrus at 11:43 AM | TrackBack

September 12, 2007

Video: My Brother-In-Law Is Home from Iraq!

Click here to see the story.

Posted by colrus at 04:42 PM | TrackBack

September 11, 2007

I Am Leaving The Pulse

While I will elaborate futher later -- both via private communication with many of you and in a farewell column in our September 27 issue -- I can officially announce that I have accepted a managing editor position at True North Custom Publishing, and am resigning my post as editor of The Pulse, effective September 26.

The past (almost) four years have been a blast. To our readers and my fellow (past and present) Pulsers, I offer a deep, sincere, and heartfelt "thank you."

Posted by colrus at 11:43 PM | TrackBack

September 07, 2007

Baby Tigers and Other Sights

I just finished uploading four months' worth of photos to my Flickr account, including photos of our recent trips to Charlotte and my hometown of Madison, Connecticut.

Posted by colrus at 01:19 AM | TrackBack

September 04, 2007

"The Office" Season 3 DVD's Out TODAY!

In case you care, Target and Best Buy have differing special edition gift sets. (I think Target's "Nifty Gifty" edition is probably the better version.)

Anyway...

Yes, I am that much of a dork.

Posted by colrus at 02:10 PM | TrackBack

September 02, 2007

My Day in Sports

1. Attended today's Braves/Mets game in Atlanta. Mets starter Mike Pelfrey, who was 0-7 coming into the game, dominated the Braves with a combination of 96-mile-per-hour fastballs outside the strike zone, and 82-mile-per-hour sliders also outside the strike zone. Mostly in the dirt. The Braves got two hits all day.

(Highlights: Watching Jose Reyes steal -- and then get picked off -- second base. Watching Carlos Beltran homer and, later, FLY around the bases for a triple. I love home runs, but triples are more fun to watch.)

2. Saw that Michigan lost to Appalachian State. Laughed repeatedly. Then got out my calculator to figure out how badly Appy State is going to beat UTC.

3. Watched some of the Vols game at Cal. If the Vols' defense had actually been able to attend the game, UT might've had a shot.

4. Caught the last inning of Clay Bucholz's no-hitter against Baltimore. It was only the SECOND START of Bucholz's big league career, the Red Sox won 10-0, and they maintained their five-game lead over the Yankees. I always sleep better when the Sox win.

Posted by colrus at 12:28 AM | TrackBack