yanked head[lines]

I opened my paper this morning (translation: I turned on my computer at work and hit the link for SF Gate). I know that SF Gate has stumbled upon hard times -- they write by proxy now more than anything to avoid those pesky overhead costs of having employees, and they spawn ill-conceived notions for series like 'Scenesters,' a trainwreck photo series that pretty much documented people partying and lead to interesting comments like "I just caught an STD from this photo."

So, I'm not sure if what I observed on the front page is indicative of SF Gate's current dogma proper or a broader reflection on news media entirely, but the following were the top news links:

• Girl, 5, killed when school cabinet falls on her 7:23 AM
• Dead deer in clown suit left on Iowa porch 7:48 AM
• Marin couple pays $27k to sleep at Hearst Castle 8:12 AM
• Prop. 8 rerun is headed for Maine 8:18 PM
• Herta Mueller wins 2009 Nobel literature prize 8:05 AM
• Gun-toting soccer mom, husband found dead 7:18 AM
• Tennis star's father on hunger strike in prison 8:11 AM
  

Are these twittered news (ergo time-stamp)? Are these the top visited stories on the AP (oh the sad ramifications)? Who chose these, and why are they the first listed stories on a Bay Area newspaper when only one event even occurred in California? SF Gate is not a gossip site (not entirely) or a spoof site or even a dedicated 'random' news site. Where is the news????? A majority of those stories listed above are sensational, morbid, and not anything really informative. Apart from the Prop 8 article and the Nobel prize nod, they are sadistically entertaining, playing on modern fascination with weird death and gratuitous living. And I daresay, the Prop 8 article likely plays on people's love of controversy, because even if the article is actually legit and informative and --- newsworthy--- wedging it between extravagant hotel lodging and gun-toting soccer moms is ridiculous and cheapens the topic.

Oh soapbox, I greet thee. The online version of the SF Chronicle news is completely rubbish. I am disappointed and feel like I have been cheated on --- but suspect that there are a lot of SF Gate readers out there unsurprised, checking out the Daily Dish and the curmudgeon comments, and then cruising over to NPR or BBC for actual news of the world.

Unexpected

Unless you have been under a really freaking huge rock, you know today is election day. And you know you should vote. There are a ton of issues on the ballot (not just President!) that deserve our utmost attention...and people are coming out in droves. In the inner sunset, a little old Irish lady has the neighborhood polling station in her garage every election. There are old historical photos of San Francisco and Ireland on every wall surface that isn't covered in books. She gives us "I Voted" stickers, and usually there are cookies. Today, no cookies, but a line all the way to the corner that was just as satisfying.

I have my opinions. I know today is important. But what surprised me was the amount of intensity I felt when filling out my ballot this morning. I was overwhelmed. I wanted my little black line connecting the arrow ends to be capital letters, to be a howler, to yell at the scanner machine and somehow make my little mark louder and more impacting. Even now, I can feel it in my chest, the passion for some things to happen and the fear that others will. And I become thankful. And hopeful.