A test for social media

Getting ready for my Community Emergency Response Team class tonight and watching the coverage of Hurricane Sandy, and I had a few thoughts.

During the first week's class, our instructor, who really did help "write the book" that the feds now use for CERT training, stressed over and over that people need to get on Twitter -- they don't even have to tweet -- so they can keep tabs on things whenever there is an emergency. It's a thought I passed along to a few recalcitrant friends, although at least one who also refuses to join Facebook was a bit snarky in his response (which makes me think he'd have an even BETTER time doing the back-and-forth on Twitter).

Of course, social media is only as good as the people who are posting make it. And in the early hours of the storm, it has been a bit bumpy.

We've already had a bit of an online tussle about a photo at the Tomb of the Unknowns. Taken during a storm last month, some have retweeted or shared it stating that the three soldiers are out in hurricane conditions right now. While it is true soldiers are out there, the Old Guard quickly noted that what is circulating is not a current photo, and put some up at http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.515517068472407.121621.109701809053937&type=1  They are no less dramatic than the ones making the rounds, and have the added benefit of truly reflecting what's going on.

This actually is not what I'm most concerned about. We have seen in the past that some people will retweet, repost or forward stuff without regard to its veracity. These are powerful tools that social media puts in the hands of everyone. While almost everyone uses them responsibly, do think twice about what you are hearing or seeing before hitting send. It is important that everyone remain vigilant and correct those who would misinform. If someone says you need to evacuate or boil your water, retweet from the official source, not your neighbor's dentist.

The next couple of days are going to be rough in the East. Facebook and Twitter are going to be valuable resources to keep people informed and in touch with each other, at least as long as they can hit a cell tower or their ISP. But if people clog these channels with half-truths or outright lies, their value is diminished.

It's an old saw, but no less true today: Just because it's on the Internet doesn't make it true.

Clincher

Did my first game with playoff implications last night. It was also at a location as convenient as they will get for me traveling from Torrance to Orange County for work. Westminster is only a mile or so off the 405, and just an exit past the 22, so I made it home in 32 minutes. Don't ask about the 70 minutes it took to get there.

http://www.ocvarsity.com/sports/westminster-34120-loara-playoff.html

High praise for the running clock

Another Friday night, another high school game for The Orange County Register.

I got my first district game, an Orange County League tilt between Saddleback (of Santa Ana) and Costa Mesa, which was 2-5, but lost each of its last two games by two points. You can get some of the play-by-play from my story at http://www.ocvarsity.com/sports/costa-33983-mesa-yard.html, but what that won't tell you about is the 45 minutes that featured one play or how the "running clock" rule saved my bacon.

With 36 second left in the first half, Saddleback lost one of its leading rushers (one minute after another went down) to injury, and it took a bit of time to set his dislocated arm get take him off the field. Then Saddleback let the clock run down and took a penalty before punting to end the half. That was followed by 25 minutes of halftime for Costa Mesa's homecoming. That put my 10:30 deadline in danger.

But Costa Mesa was able to get a 35-point lead late in the third and boosted it to 42 points before the fourth quarter started. Several of the writers at The Northern Virginia Daily had told me about the Virginia High School League's running clock rule, and I knew California had a similar regulation, but this was my first time to see it in play.

After the start of the fourth quarter, if the lead is 35 or more, the clock runs except for scores, changes of possession or injuries. Incomplete pass? Keep that clock running. Out of bounds? Out of luck (if you wanted the clock to stop). That speedy fourth quarter got me out of Jim Scott Stadium in time to get my stats in on time, and I wrote my story in 13 minutes. Still missed 10:30, but not by much.

High schools have had this rule for baseball and softball for years. It is usually 10 runs in baseball and 15 in softball, and can end a game after five innings (instead of the regulation seven). Reporters sometimes call it the "slaughter rule," although the official name is the "mercy rule."

I won't tell you what I called it Friday night, but I was glad the CIF had mercy on me. Whoops.

Brethren Christian redux

I finally got to see a team for a second time, and it was quite a different game. Just a few weeks after a penalty-filled, clock-stopping-for-incomplete-passes, three-hour game that then included the guy at Starbucks in Lakewood turning off the internet on me, Brethren Christian looked like a different team, running the ball most of the time and dominating Fairmont Prep. Here's a link to the story.

http://www.ocvarsity.com/sports/christian-33696-fairmont-brethren.html

"Mike & Molly" & Me

On Wednesday night, Christina and I did a very "tourist-in-LA" thing, driving out to Burbank to see a taping of a sitcom.

Having already done "Jeopardy!" and "The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson," I was interested in how a sitcom is put together. The answer is "somewhat haphazardly, but very carefully."

We arrived at Warner Brothers as requested just after 5 p.m., and within an hour we were being seated with about 200 other people at Stage 14, which was home to "Friends" before "Mike & Molly" began to tape there in 2010.

The warmup guy was OK, although Christina and I both said we liked Chunky B from the Ferguson show better. Of course, Chunky gives everyone candy, tells a few bad jokes and then the taping begins, and both times we saw Ferguson they pretty much kept the cameras rolling and were done in little more than the time it takes to watch the show at home.

For "Mike & Molly" the warmup guy had to keep us entertained for about 3 1/2 hours. The first half hour we watched an old episode to get into the right mood for that night's show. Then came the time for the cast introduction. While they were getting ready to film live scenes, we watched two pieces of the show that had been taped earlier so they could record the audience's laughter.

The first of the live scenes took place in the restaurant that Mike and Carl always hang out in. They get a surprise visit from their captain, who was played by special guest Gerald McRaney. The scene was funny and went off flawlessly, although the warmup guy said they would do it a second time just to make sure they had a copy in case something went wrong in post-production. While it was tough to laugh as much the second time, hearing and seeing the same stuff, the audience did its best.

After they moved to the other side of the stage, they did a second scene in the kitchen of Molly's house. That created a little more difficultly. After the first take went flawlessly, the writers spent a few minutes working on new lines, which ended up being funnier, but also required several takes because Swoosie Kurtz and Katy Mixon had a little trouble with them. It was the kind of stuff you'd see on a bloopers show, and at one time Billy Gardell (Mike) even exclaimed, "We DO have rehearsal."

Eventually that scene was done and they moved on to another live scene at Mike's mother's house. After similar line-changing and several takes, the actors were able to complete the scene and the audience was fed (a slice of pizza and a bottle of water).

All the while, the warmup guy tried to keep the audience distracted with bad jokes, magic tricks and getting people to dance, or perform odd talents or talk about where they were from. He also gave out a ton of gift bags and mugs, trying to get the audience to compete for them.

Christina and I were more interested in watching the action on the set, with all of the production people going about their jobs and new lines were tried out. In a way, the rewriting helped, because when the audience thought it had heard everything, some new line caught us off-guard and actually made the scene better.

Following the pizza break, things went a little more smoothly, with a live scene, a taped piece and two more live scenes presented in their proper order so the audience could follow the story. The final bit was also taped, and after the laughter was recorded, the cast did a curtain call and we were on our way.

The total time commitment was close to five hours, so I couldn't see this being a regular thing, but I'm sure I'd go again with someone visiting from out of town, or if there is a sitcom we just HAVE to see in person.

The episode, by the way, is titled "Mike's Boss," and is scheduled to air on CBS at 9:30 p.m. Eastern and Pacific on Monday, Oct. 29. I'm sure Christina and I will watch with particular attention to see how everything is sewed together.

More from the gridiron

Spent another Friday night under the lights, this time at El Segundo for a game against Laguna Hills. In Virginia, teams routinely travel 50 miles to play someone else, but around here this is pretty rare. Turned out to be a great game, which Christina also enjoyed. Here's a link:

http://www.ocvarsity.com/sports/segundo-33512-second-laguna.html