August 19th, 2011 by Bill Lascher
Today marks the public launch of “Along for the ride,”* a new series of mass transit adventure chronicles on Lascher at Large.
Watch an Audio Slideshow | Explore the Map | See the Photo Gallery
The concept:
Read the rest of Along for the Ride: Going Live on the 75
April 27th, 2011 by Bill Lascher This update originally appeared April 15 on the blog for the Spot.us story I’m working on about seismic risks at Eastern Washington’s nuclear power facilities. Later updates — including news of a petition by environmental groups to stop the NRC from nuclear plant licensing and other proceedings until it completes a review
Read the rest of Plutonium pride on the Mid-Columbia
April 13th, 2011 by Bill Lascher I admit that the story – and this entire series, delayed as it may be – has meandered from its path. Nevertheless, I’m also wrestling with how to respond honestly to my experiences, with what happened in my brain on the journey and whether it’s self-indulgent to serve this soup of thought (it’s a little too stagnant to call it a stream) to you, instead of a straightforward report of the who and the what I saw where and when. Which approach provides the real, honest reporting?
Read the rest of Heart of the Monster: Journey to SEJ 2010, Part 3
January 5th, 2011 by Bill Lascher Before the second day of my trip from Portland to Missoula for the 2010 Society of Environmental Journalists conference I’d hoped to visit Hell’s Canyon. That morning – if I could really call it that – I realized I didn’t want to make the solo trip down a gravel road from Imnaha after a freeze, not the way I felt. Lonesomeness had crept in a little, too, and I didn’t want to experience the gorge alone, knowing then that there was a traveling companion not there with whom I’d want to share the marvel. Anyhow, I didn’t know exactly yet how much time I had to linger. Still, this was my time on the road, my time made uniquely possible by a few key people. I didn’t want to miss this world, knowing how remote this landscape was for me, and how rare my opportunities to visit might be. Though fatigued, it was important to me to let my spirit move me, even if it moved me slowly, even if it moved me differently than I’d expected or hoped.
Read the rest of Day two, part 1: Deer at dawn
January 4th, 2011 by Bill Lascher For the next week or so, each day I’ll recount some element of my October trip to and from the 2010 Society of Environmental Journalists conference. I’ll combine my recollection of what I saw, experienced or learned, tweets I made at the time, photographs and links to some of the cool things I learned. Check back each day for new reflections, tales and reports. At the end of my updates I’ll post a link to read the story as one narrative (and post a complete photo album as well). Be prepared. This series will include a mix of storytelling styles — don’t expect straight journalism, or complete creativity. In fact, don’t expect anything but a journey. More than two months after I’ve returned from one journey, though, I’ve yet to trace its path. I still haven’t traced my trip from Portland to Missoula and back, and I can’t quite express why not. Perhaps I don’t feel like the trip’s over, like I’ve truly returned. Perhaps I can’t record it until I’ve described it, until I’ve wrapped the journey in words and pictures and recollections that I realize are fading with each day. Some of you might not be interested in such ponderings. “Get to the point,” you’ll say. “Tell me about the conference. Tell me what you learned, what you saw along the way, what the latest news is. I only have so much time. Don’t you know attention spans are ever so slight? Haven’t you ever heard of an editor?” Indeed I do, and I have. As I’ve noted elsewhere, as so many have noted before, though, to truly travel you can’t simply move from Point A to Point B. You can’t experience this world’s multiplicity of dimensions through a straight line. The truth is, of course, I did wait to write this down. I let the story fester. I let it fall away and apart. Like anyone might, I’ve been making excuses for months now for not chronicling my trip. My terrible cold on the road. Assignments due just upon my return. Job applications. Novel Writing. Story development. Other conferences to attend as a reporter. Holidays. I could think of any number of reasons why you’re reading this now, today, this very second, and only now, but this is the moment, this is when these words take shape.
Read the rest of Roads traveled, stories unraveled
October 13th, 2010 by Bill Lascher I’ve been driving and fighting off a cold while traveling to the 2010 Society of Environmental Journalists Conference. Now I’m here and diving right into the event. For now here are a few thousand words — in the form of a few dozen photos — describing what I saw.
Read the rest of A few thousand words on the road
May 11th, 2010 by Bill Lascher As I noted last week, I don’t just write:
May 4th, 2010 by Bill Lascher
May 1st, 2010 by Bill Lascher
The day takes shape slowly. Getting out the door just happens. Once you do the bus is ten minutes late. Then so is the MAX, but you don’t mind. You’ve been quietly extricating yourself from time. You wait in
Read the rest of Ducking the Elephant in the Room
February 24th, 2010 by Bill Lascher
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