Archive for December, 2006

The headline on Page 7A of Thursday’s paper made me smile.
“Sentence Upheld: Saddam ordered to be executed within 30 days?
That means sometime between right now and the Super Bowl, somebody in Baghdad is going to tie a rope around this old bastard’s worthless neck and hang his sorry ass.
But thanks to another headline one page earlier, I really can’t celebrate this hanging like I would like to.
That headline on Page 6A Thursday said:
“Heavy Toll: Military deaths in Iraq exceed 9-11 mark?
As much as I want to see Saddam Hussein hang, the price to do it was way too costly.
On Christmas — of all days — our military death toll in Iraq, surpassed 2.973.
That was the number of people killed when the terrorists attacked us on Sept. 11, 2001.
And the number has risen since then, and it will keep rising until somebody puts an end to this stupid, stupid war.
I was happy to see that former President Gerald Ford took an opposite view of this war than that of most of his Republican Party friends.
Ford, who died this week, did an interview with Bob Woodward of the Washington Post back in July of 2004, before Iraq really got out of hand. The interview was embargoed until after his death.

(more…)

Hope you all received something from Santa you really wanted this year.
Since this is my last Christmas as just a guy, not a dad, or when the good presents stop, I’ll let you know a little of what I got.
The best gift was a camcorder. It’s basically a “be able to record baby moments” gift, but its awesome, so no complaints.
I got some cool threads and some kicking socks – thanks mom. I also got Talladega Nights. Probably one of the films of the year.
I’ll be disappointed if Ferrell doesn’t get an Oscar.
Anyways here’s your forum to list the coolest, worst and gift you wish you’d gotten list:

(more…)

They say all of us have a double — somebody who is the spitting image of us.
In this town, Harold Hawkins must be mine. Although I know I am much, much prettier than the former city councilman, I have been called him, and he has been called me more times than either of us want to remember.
Some women here at work found a Web site where they compare facial features from your picture and tell you which celebrities have the same features as you.
Sharing my face were Elton John, Dick Cheney and Colin Powell.
Personally, I think I look much more resemble maybe Matthew McConaughey or Brad Pitt or maybe a white Denzel Washington.
OK, it’s Christmas — a time to fess up and be honest.
When I was a kid, I looked like Ralphie Parker.
Don’t remember Ralphie?
Well turn on your TV to the TBS network at 7 p.m. on Christmas Eve and you watch 24 straight hours of Ralphie.
He’s the star of “The Christmas Story.?
(To all of you who have been living on another planet and don’t know what Ralphie looks like, go to http://www.celebritynooz.com/images/peter_billingsley_then.jpg and compare him and me.)

The photo on this page of little Nicky Gholson sitting on the lap of a Sears store Santa is living proof that I was once Ralphie Parker.
Since I came out of my mama’s womb wearing nerdy glasses, I’m not sure what age I was when this picture was taken.
Actor Peter Billingsley was 11 when he played Ralphie — a bit old to believe in Santa Claus.
I was 9 when a kid at school told me there was no Santa Claus and laughed at me for believing there was.
He then proceeded to whip my butt and — nothing like Ralphie when he fought the neighborhood bully Scut Farkus.

(more…)

I saw one of the most humane and sincere events this past Sunday.
As I was going to the base to watch a day’s worth of football I stopped at the main gate entrance.
And as usual a man was selling the Sunday paper.
And I don’t know why but it always seems like the people with the hardest luck end up selling the Sunday paper.
Half the time they don’t look like they’ve bathed in a week, but the are willing to risks about as much as a mailman to sell you a Sunday paper.

(more…)

In the past 3 days I have sat through 21 hours of the trial Byron Outlaw.
It was my first official trial story I was responsible for covering, and the charge Outlaw was sentenced and found guilty of was murder.
It was an emotional rollercoaster. For a second I though he was guilty, for a second I knew he was innocent and for the majority of the other times I didn’t know what to think.
I listened to about 16 witness, cops and criminals, tell their side of the story and how it would impact the jury’s decision.

(more…)

It seems like we could just about fill up our paper every day with stories about meth busts and pedophiles.
In fact, they have become so common, they are now boring.
Years ago, I used to always read drug bust stories — mainly to see if my name was in it. If not me, most of my buddies showed up from time to time.
Today, not only do I not know the name of the bustees — I don’t even know the names of the drugs.
Enough of that.
On to sex perverts.
A Catholic priest seduces a 10-year-old altar boy?
It’s barely news anymore.
We learned long ago that abstinence makes the hard grow fonder.
Instant messages, chat rooms and email have exposed much of the male population as being perverts.
Congressmen, Baptist preachers, coaches, teachers –
The butcher, the baker, the candlestick maker –
But a headline in today’s paper make me do a double-take.
“Former editor guilty of sex solicitation.?
My first thought was “Oh, my Lord, they’ve busted Carroll Wilson.?
Then I realized it said “former? editor.?
I know a lot of “former editors.? In fact, “editor? is even in my job title, although I think it is only there so they won’t have to pay me overtime.
The only thing probably keeping me from being a “former editor? is one of these blogs.
But today’s story wasn’t just about any old editor.
The guilty pervert was the former editor of the Weekly Reader.

(more…)

I just finished reading, alright, almost finished reading one of the most insightful and probably the most graphic stories that I’ve ever read.
In the newest Rolling Stone magazine — the one with Snoop Dogg on the cover — writer Jeff Tietz addresses the problems and waste of the Smithfield Foods company.
And to quote Tietz, blame it on hog crap.

(more…)

For the first 20-something years I worked here at the paper, I always received a Christmas bonus.
The first one was for 7 dollars and 50 cents.
The last one was for 750 dollars.
The December bonus was the boss’ way of saying “merry Christmas? and “thank you? to his employees — most of who lived from paycheck to paycheck and really counted on the extra dollars to buy a Christmas present or two.
Every year there was a standing joke around the office at Christmas.
“I heard nobody was getting a Christmas bonus this year. They’re giving us all a ham.?
But then every year — usually on the day we had our annual Times Record News Christmas luncheon — we got that extra check.
Then some time in the mid-90s, the Grinch showed and stole Christmas.
Not only was there no extra check, we didn’t even get a damn ham.
Or membership in the “Jam of the Month Club.?
But God rest ye, merry gentlemen — let nothing you dismay.
We aren’t giving you Christmas bonuses any more but guess what?
We are going to do something even better.
We are going to give out 15 cent certificates to all you good boys and girls.

(more…)

I’ve seen the T-Shirts supporting a potential presidential nomination and to some extent I actually agree.
Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert might have the two best shows on television. The “Daily Show” and “The Colbert Report” should be up there with the likes of most other actual “news” shows.
They keep it fresh and interesting daily, or when they actually run a new air, but they maintain their stance regardless – being funny.

(more…)

How much is too much when you go Christmas shopping?
Do you want the extravagant gift, or do you want to give the extravagant gift.
I don’t know why, but I always got way more pleasure out of giving someone close a really nice gift, opposed to getting one.
It was always a catch 22.

(more…)

With the new year quickly approaching and a lot of my “personal time off? yet to be taken, I will be off for several days the next few weeks.
So for the rest of this year, I will only be writing a weekly blog every Thursdays.
Please keep reading.
And if you need a daily Nick fix, check out some of my archived blogs. There are more than 150 to choose from.
See you Thursday.

During lunch with some ladies at the paper on Thursday, I started talking about the first blogs I wrote while covering the Winter Olympics in Turin last February.
They had me writing them on yourhub.com
Only problem was the paper had not yet launched yourhub.com and nobody knew where to find these blogs.
Here are a couple of them — that I know you don’t remember

(more…)

The moustache, I pinning it all on Charlotte Bobcats Adam Morrison, is making a comeback. I’m not sure I’m supposed to spoil stuff like this or not, but Sunday’s paper has a little article in the Trends section about the comeback of the mustache. Hopefully, you’ll end up reading the article this blog.
The article says its partly Larry the Cable Guy’s fault, but I blame Morrison.

(more…)