“You’re going to the Outer Banks tomorrow.” From my boss.

Less than 24 hours later, I was en route to Chocowinity, a small town in eastern North Carolina. CBS19′s sister station, WITN, needed a few extra hands to cover Hurricane Irene as the storm prepared to make landfall. Within one week, I covered a national headline-grabbing earthquake, and now I’m reporting on what’s supposed to be the strongest hurricane to hit the U.S. in a few years.

I left Charlottesville early Friday morning to embark on the four-hour drive to North Carolina. Upon arriving, I was almost immediately sent to interview the interim county manager for Beaufort County. And then I shot a quick story on the supermarket running out of milk, bread and eggs as people began stocking up on supplies.

I left my hotel room shortly before 6 a.m. Saturday, apparently just minutes before it lost power. Hurricane Irene was in full force. I was first sent to a car wreck that was 20 minutes away from the station. After an hour and a half of navigating rural roads I’ve never seen before, I still can’t find the scene. I hit many roadblocks (literally) in the form of downed trees and power lines, flooded roads or some sort of combination. By the time I get close, a firefighter tells me the scene was cleared, but I interviewed him on the condition of the roads. The rest of the day was spent covering the storm itself before spending 12 hours in a powerless, humid motel room.

The busiest day by far was Sunday. The town of Washington, just north of Chocowinity, was covered with water the day before. I covered the damage — a toppled gas canopy, a few missing roofs, countless trees and power lines in the roads — before searching for the Belle of Washington. For that remarkable story, check out the video below.

After three days of 12+ hour shifts, I took had one final sleep in my air condition-less motel and headed back to Charlottesville. It was an eye-opening weekend spent in Mother Nature’s wrath, and I managed to return home relatively dry and with experiences many reporters dream of. (And yes, I did shoot a standup where I am getting dowsed by Hurricane Irene’s heavy rains while trying to maintain balance with the winds. You have to check that one out here.)

From the epicenter of the earthquake to the eye of the hurricane. Maybe the Weather Channel has an opening… (Kidding.)

I looked around, and no one seemed to react. I wasn’t sure what I had just felt, so my natural reaction — I tweeted. “Did I just feel an earthquake!?” My phone then exploded with texts from my brother and friends asking if I was OK or alive.

I rushed home, saw the CNN coverage and tried calling work. Couldn’t get through.

I swapped my shorts for jeans, put on my newly purchased Old Navy flip-flops and ran out the door to work. Within 30 seconds of stepping into the newsroom, I was sent to Mineral, Va., the epicenter of the earthquake.

What amazed me most about covering the earthquake was how eerily normal everything appeared. Sure, there was damage from the earthquake — two homes were destroyed, many others heavily damaged — but you had to look hard for the damage. Still, it was very easy to empathize with those who lost a lot, like the Brunson family I interviewed (in the video below).

Mineral is a small town between Charlottesville and Richmond. There aren’t many tall buildings, if any at all. That might not provide much comfort to those with damaged homes, worrying if insurance will cover the cost of repairs, but should something have happened closer to a metropolis like Richmond, there might have been more than the zero fatalities or serious injuries Central Virginia saw.

As far as news goes, it was exciting to cover a major event in our own backyard that had a national impact. But even one week after the quake, the cleanup continues.

A side effect of this is temporarily being short staffed. Such was the case on Saturday, in which I obtained video for seven separate events. Fourteen hours later, I was ready for bed.

The day started with an emotional tribute to those who died in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. People gathered outside the Albemarle County Office Building at 8:30 a.m. It was a very musical event, as you can hear below.

Following the memorial was the 2010 Memory Walk for the local Alzheimer’s Association, then the Midtown Festival, then the 2010 Beer Fest. When I finally think there’s time to rest, there’s a gun found outside an elementary school. As I head to shoot exteriors of the school, I find the road is closed. Turns out the house directly across from the school is on fire. So I got two birds with one stone.

The good news here — no one was injured in either incident.

I get back to the station with 20 minutes before the anticipated start of the 6 p.m. newscast. At 6:30, I leave to cover my final event of the day — a 7 p.m. black tie affair for the Jefferson Scholars Foundation at the University of Virginia. When I return back to the station after the event, I learn the 6 p.m. show never happened, thanks to the U.S. Open.

While I had no lunch break and got to bed immediately after returning home, it’s days like this why I love what I do. You never know what’s coming up next.

CHRIS STOVER
Editor in Chief

Attending Temple was a “last resort” for Kendrick Davis.

“But when I was faced with making a decision after high school graduation, I took a second look at it,” he said.

“I thought, ‘Maybe this is a good place for me. I could fit in. There are opportunities for me to grow and plenty of things to get involved in.”

Davis, a senior mechanical engineering major, took advantage of the opportunities at Temple, prompting a panel to choose him to represent the graduating class as Temple’s student commencement speaker on May 14.

Having one person speak for the 4,270 graduates is no easy task. But Davis is up for the challenge.

“My goal is to take a look at where we are as a nation, as a world and as a university and bring those things together to come up with something optimistic, something that gives a promising tone to the graduates as you sit there wondering, ‘I spent these four or five years here, what is my degree worth?’” he said.

Davis grew up in an inner-city, low-income section of Pittsburgh.

“That’s why it was more important for me to get out and try to expand and broaden my horizons,” he said.

He was valedictorian of his high school graduating class and became interested in Temple because of his brother, Cornell, a 2005 alum.

Though he has pride in his hometown, Davis said it’s not the most ideal place to root yourself or start your career.

“My mom told me this since I was young,” Davis said. “She said, ‘Once you leave here, don’t come back.’”

He has kept busy during his years at Temple. In his freshman year, he was the chairman of the judicial panel in his residence hall. That led to becoming a resident assistant, which he has been doing since his sophomore year.

Last year, he got involved with Phi Sigma Pi, the national honors fraternity, and he was vice president of Temple’s chapter of the National Society of Black Engineers in his senior year.

Going through the process of applying to be commencement speaker allowed Davis the chance to introspect. Being chosen, he said, has been a “humbling experience.”

“[I thought] if I’m chosen, based off my experiences here at Temple, based off my outlook on the Temple community and the potential we have as graduates, that really speaks to maybe I did the right thing, maybe I took the right steps, maybe I influenced the right people,” he said.

Davis said many people at Temple have influenced his time here, including Honors Program Director Ruth Ost.

“I know what commitment and achievement look like. Kendrick could serve as the prototype,” Ost said. “Beyond his scholarly expertise, Kendrick is a major inspiration around these parts. He models excellence and involvement.”

Dean of Students Ainsley Carry, who helped Davis structure his speech, called Davis “an outstanding student and member of the Temple community.”

“He has separated himself inside and outside the classroom through his commitment to service, academics and leadership,” Carry said.

Davis’ efforts paid off. Last year, he won a Diamond Award, the highest recognition for an undergraduate at Temple.

Through his speech, Davis said he wants the graduates to do some introspection of their own, similar to how he did when preparing the speech.

“Think back to what people you touched, what people touched you, what experiences you had,” he said. “No matter what discipline you’re in, you have the ability to do great things and touch the people around you.”

Davis will start graduate school at Washington University in St. Louis next year, and he said Temple has given him the necessary experiences to transition into the next phase of his life.

“There’s time for you to grow in other places,” Davis said. “Once you’re done in that place, move on to the next. The world’s out there.”

Chris Stover can be reached at stover@temple.edu.

CHRIS STOVER
Editor in Chief

At a time of change and excitement for the Tyler School of Art, its interim dean announced her resignation.

Therese Dolan, the interim dean of Tyler, made the announcement Thursday. Her resignation will be effective June 30. Dolan assumed the position in January 2008.

“We are extremely grateful to Terry Dolan and wish her well as she returns to the faculty,” said Lisa Staiano-Coico, provost and senior vice president for academic affairs, in an e-mail interview. “She is a respected art historian and a beloved teacher.”

Perhaps one of the biggest accomplishments during Dolan’s brief tenure as interim dean was overseeing the move of the art school from its Elkins Park campus to its new $75 million home at 12th and Norris streets.

The building, which had been in the works for years, is one of the Temple’s biggest selling points.

“Terry Dolan did a superb job guiding Tyler through the challenging transition into its fabulous, new, state-of-the-art facility on Main Campus,” Staiano-Coico said. “And, as President [Ann Weaver] Hart said, she did so with grace.”

Dolan, who was unavailable for comment by press time, has been a faculty member with Temple’s art history department since 1980. Her specialties are 19th-century French art and contemporary art.

In January, under Dolan’s reign, Tyler snagged the Jack Wolgin International Prize in the Fine Arts, the world’s largest monetary award for a fine arts institution. The prize represented a monumental highlight of both her one-and-a-half years as interim dean and of Tyler’s history.

“We have such a high-ranked art program, and we have such a high reputation,” Dolan told The Temple News in January. “People only give to success.”

According to U.S. News and World Report, Tyler’s fine arts program ranks 14th in the nation.
Her tenure as dean also saw a small controversy.

In August 2008, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported on alumni donations to Tyler. Dolan was quoted as saying while alumni from the medical and business schools “have deep pockets, ours are still waitressing” and aren’t able to give as much back.

In a response on the Tyler listserv, Dolan said she was “dismayed” that her words were “taken out of context.”

The article struck the wrong chord for some Tyler students, but others are upset to see her step down.
“It’s a shame,” said Liz Schneffer, an undeclared freshman at Tyler. “I liked the way the school was run.”

Robert T. Stroker, dean of the Boyer College of Music and Dance, will perform double duty and serve as interim dean of Tyler. Staiano-Coico said Stroker brings “tremendous expertise and knowledge of the arts to the position.”

Before arriving at Temple, Stroker served as the associate dean at the Meadows School of the Arts at Southern Methodist University from 1996 to 2002.

“Terry Dolan has provided exemplary leadership as interim dean,” Stroker said, “and I look forward to working with Tyler’s outstanding students, faculty, administration and staff.”

Because of the university’s hiring freeze initiated in January by Hart, all searches for deans are on hold, Staiano-Coico said.

Hillel Hoffman, assistant director of news communications, said having other schools’ deans fill in as temporary replacements is not uncommon.

“It is not unprecedented for the dean of a Temple school or college to stand in as interim dean,” he said.
Prior to serving as interim dean, Dolan served as the art history department chair for two terms. She will eventually return to teaching in an art school quickly gaining international acclaim.

“With their wonderful, new building, Tyler is on the rise,” Staiano-Coico said. “We look forward to working with Dean Stroker to ensure Tyler continues to move forward on its current exciting trajectory.”

Chris Stover can be reached at stover@temple.edu.

CHRIS STOVER
Editor in Chief

Shannon McDonald stands by the 22nd Police District headquarters. A story she wrote on an officer recently garnered media attention (Julia Wilkinson/TTN).

Shannon McDonald thought a ride-along with a Philadelphia Police officer would make a good story for her capstone journalism class.

Though she received an ‘A’ on the report, she is now embroiled in a controversy that might not have been worth the grade.

“I just wanted to get some crime specifics and information on [the neighborhood] and … to see how the officer interacts with the community,” said McDonald, a senior magazine journalism major and managing editor of The Temple News.

McDonald wrote the article, titled “Black and Blue,” for the Multimedia Urban Reporting Lab, the capstone course for journalism seniors. The article was published to MURL’s Web site in early February.

In it, she quotes Officer William Thrasher, 24, as using derogatory terms and expletives in describing the district he patrols, which has a large African-American population.

“These people are f—— disgusting,” Thrasher reportedly said per McDonald’s article. “It’s like they’re animals.”

Additionally, McDonald reported that Thrasher allegedly talked with his lieutenant about what they called “TNS,” or “typical n—– s—.”

“I remember being surprised that he was acting so openly when he knew it was being published. I was sitting there with my pen and my pad,” said McDonald, a lifelong Northeast Philadelphian.

The story began surfacing to Philadelphians and media outlets about two weeks ago. Thrasher has since been put on desk duty by Commissioner Charles Ramsey pending an Internal Affairs investigation, said Lt. Frank Vanore of the Philadelphia Police Department.

“If it’s true, [Ramsey is] going to take it very, very seriously,” Vanore said. “He immediately removed Officer Thrasher from street duty. He ensured there was an investigation under way into the comments that were made.”

Thrasher has not spoken publicly about the article since he was put on desk duty more than a week ago.

“I didn’t know he was going to say all these things, so I went in there thinking I was just going to do an article on crime in Strawberry Mansion and how cops go about making the community safer,” McDonald said.

McDonald rode with Thrasher on Jan. 30. She signed a waiver with the 22nd District, which encompasses Strawberry Mansion, for the ride-along. She said Thrasher knew she was doing a report for a class and that the story would be published.

McDonald said she didn’t respond directly to Thrasher’s comments.

“I was there to learn and not to judge,” she said.

Throughout the ordeal, professor Christopher Harper, co-director of MURL, has supported McDonald.

“I feel proud with the way Shannon handled herself – reporting the story well, handling the pressure of being in the media’s eye,” Harper said. “I’m proud of how Temple and its faculty and staff stood behind a journalist.”

Harper offered to remove the article from MURL’s Web site, but McDonald didn’t mind keeping it live.

“It is 100 percent accurate,” she said. “Everything I included in the article came directly from my notes, which came directly from my observation and interactions with the officer. Nothing was ever off the record.”

Harper said McDonald’s reporting is the epitome of MURL.

“I think that what Shannon does is representative of what MURL is all about. We have people go out and cover stories in neighborhoods that are under-covered, except when something bad happens,” he said. “We have people out there in the streets of all kinds of neighborhoods, and we come up with good stories.”

As of Monday, Thrasher remains on desk duty in the 22nd District. The Internal Affairs investigation continues.

“If it’s discovered the comments were made, [Ramsey is] going to take the appropriate action,” Vanore said. “That’s up to him.”

The controversy surrounding McDonald’s article is more of a frustration than anything else, she said. Though some have pegged her as a naïve student journalist, McDonald continues to stand by her reporting while focusing on other things in her future.

“I’m graduating in 40 days,” she said. “Here I am, this person who is still very connected to what I’m supposed to know about journalism and trying to start a career. So you’d think I’d be a little more on my game than people are giving me credit for.”

FULL DISCLOSURE: As stated in the article, McDonald is the managing editor of The Temple News. Other than the interview, she played no role in the writing or editing of this story. TTN is committed to accuracy and objectivity in its reporting.

Chris Stover can be reached at stover@temple.edu.

The Temple team who spent Spring Break 2007 sleeping on Fairfax Avenue just to see Bob Barker in 'The Price is Right.' From left, Kaitlyn Kurosky, Courtney Clarahan, Chris Stover, Amanda Laskoskie, Greg Nothstein.

Four years ago today, I experienced a life-altering moment.

I saw Bob Barker live.

So, to reminisce about this experience, my article about the experience which appeared in The Temple News is after the jump.

A ‘Price’-less experience
Published March 13, 2007

CHRIS STOVER
The Temple News

I lived on the streets of Los Angeles for nearly 30 hours during my spring break to hear three simple words: Come on down.

A group of five Temple students, including myself, went to Los Angeles with the goal of trying to get on one of America’s highest rated daytime game shows: “The Price is Right”.

There is an unwritten rule that that Americans are obligated to watch “The Price is Right” when they are home sick from school or work. But when host Bob Barker, 83, announced his pending retirement last October after serving as the show’s host for 35 years, I knew I had to fly across the country to see him in person.

We left Philadelphia en route to Los Angeles Sunday, March 4. As we landed at Los Angeles International Airport, we knew that the process of becoming a part of the show’s live audience was long and tedious, but we were prepared. By 7:30 p.m. that night, we had visited the CBS studio where the show airs to get our bearings. We planned to return to the studio around 3 a.m. to claim our spot in line.

But when we saw a line of almost 75 people already waiting, our plans changed.”Oh, we have to get in line,” I said with hesitance and excitement.

CBS pages told us that despite having tickets for the show, you are not guaranteed a spot in the audience until you are actually sitting in the studio.

The pages also said that prior to Barker’s retirement announcement, people typically did not line up more than 12 hours in advance to see the show.

Sunday at 9 p.m., we took blankets and pillows from our hotel, made a stop at 7-Eleven for caffeine and other necessities and headed back to CBS to take our places in line for a 15- hour wait until entrance to the studio was granted.

“It’s not too bad being homeless in California,” said freshman Courtney Clarahan, one of the students who went along. “I feel like a celebrity. A really poor celebrity.”

We had figured that since we had a lot of time on our hands, we should meet others in line. We talked to the people waiting in front of us and behind us, people from Fort Lauderdale and Sacramento.

We met a couple from Lancaster, expecting their first child in five months. It was nice to see Pennsylvanians while being 3,000 miles from home.

The first woman in line, who had gotten there at 3:30 p.m. Sunday, saw the show live more than 30 times but has never been a contestant.

She said she was going to try some wordplay to get into Contestant’s Row.

“I’m going to tell them, ‘Do you know how long I’ve been waiting in line? When I got in line, I was 67. Now I’m 68.’ Today’s my birthday. We’ll see if it works,” she said.

But we won’t know until April 4 if it did because she attended a different taping.

Everyone in line had one common bond: We were all there to see Bob Barker in his final season on “The Price is Right”. We all got to know each other and in a way formed temporary friendships, ones we knew wouldn’t last beyond the show but would be fun until then.

The crowd became quiet around 1 a.m. as most people tried to get some sleep. By morning, the crowd was extremely rowdy as people ran down the bleachers in the audience holding area giving high-fives to everyone along the way.

Everyone received their handwritten name tag, which was a lot smaller than you might imagine it to be. For me, receiving the yellow price tag was 20 years’ worth of validation – I was about to see a show and a living legend that I grew up with since I was an infant.

Around 1 p.m., it was time to enter the studio. I expected that it would be much smaller than it appears on television, but
I was still stunned. I estimated that it was about the size of Founder’s Garden on Main Campus.

Rich Fields, the announcer, came out to warm us up for a few minutes, and then the show began. My ears have never had more damage done to them – the audience’s screams were unbelievable.

And then, Barker walked out. The screams got even louder as the audience chanted, “Bob!” He looked good for 83, at least with makeup.

Although no one from our Temple group got into Contestant’s Row, the show was amazing and some of our temporary friends from line even made the show. The camaraderie among the entire audience was so strong that we would genuinely cheer for the contestants.

During the commercial breaks, Barker talked to the audience and answered questions. Though he is hard of hearing, his sense of humor and wit are great.

When the show finished, the audience, speechless and exhausted, filed out of the studio and the CBS lot in a subdued manner.

After recuperating in our hotel for a few hours, we had an idea: “Let’s do it again.”

At 10 p.m. Tuesday, we got back in line for the taping of Wednesday’s show.

I thought the camaraderie was strong for Monday’s show, but Wednesday seemed so much more powerful. Chuck Dukas, the page who acted as a crowd warmer for Wednesday’s show, told us that we were one of the best audiences he had ever seen.

A girl named Laura Stinar from Michigan was behind us in line. She had the purest, most genuine excitement about seeing the show and meeting Barker. We all thought she would be selected as a contestant.

Steiner made it to Contestant’s Row and was selected to play.

When she got on stage, she pointed to Barker and said to the audience, “It’s really Bob!”

The entire audience stood behind Stinar as she played the Card Game for a 2007 Ford Focus. Everyone was pulling for her, giving her advice. Today, Stinar is the proud owner of the Taurus.

The highlight of Wednesday’s show was seeing Plinko in person. A contestant won $3,000 playing one of the most popular games on the show. I thought to myself, “My life is complete.”

Two women from Philadelphia were in the audience. One of them, Denise, got called down to Contestant’s Row. She made her way up on stage after winning some banjos and played the Balance Game.

Though she lost her chance to a new spa, the unexpected experience was still priceless, she said.

“I didn’t go expecting to get on,” she said. “I just wanted to see the show and see Bob.”

I was able to ask Barker what his most memorable moment was in his 35 years of hosting “The Price is Right”. He answered with no hesitation.

“Oh, it’s the tube top,” he said, referring to a contestant who was so excited to get called down to Contestant’s Row that she didn’t realize her tube top had slipped down a little. “She came on down and they came on out.”

I went to “The Price is Right” hoping to be a contestant, but by no means did I leave disappointed. I had an experience that not too many other people will have.

I saw Barker, a game show icon of mine since childhood. I met so many others who camped out on Fairfax Avenue to have the same experience. And I got to hear those three words in person – “Come on down.”

Chris Stover can be reached at chris.stover@temple.edu.

CHRIS STOVER
Editor in Chief

Harvesting caviar in the swamps of Louisiana is just another day on the job for South Philly’s Adam Gertler. In fact, it’s just one of many jobs.

“People are going to be shocked that some of these jobs exist,” he said.

South Philly’s Adam Gertler may not have won The Next Food Network Star, but he blends comedy and his passion for food in his new show, ‘Will Work For Food’ (Courtesy Food Network).

It’s Gertler’s mission in his new Food Network show, Will Work for Food, to showcase overlooked jobs of the food industry. On the show, which premiered last night, Gertler combines comedy with his passion for food to give an accurate depiction of what these jobs entail.

“People can expect to see me do every kind of job in the food world imaginable, from working on a lobster boat to milking goats to make cheese,” Gertler said. “I have that first day [on the job] repeated and repeated and repeated.”

Gertler, 31, said food was always more of a hobby than a career goal. He grew up on Long Island and went to Syracuse University, majoring in theater. After graduation, he moved west to Los Angeles to give showbiz a try.

“I didn’t really choose food as a career,” Gertler said. “It was my passion, my hobby. I always thought I was going into performing arts. But I made more of a living doing cooking than my job as a performer.”

In 2004, an opportunity arose for Gertler and his brother to open a restaurant in Philadelphia. The Smoked Joint, located at the Academy House near 15th and Locust streets, quickly became a popular destination.

Gertler moved back east to South Philadelphia and served as the executive chef at the Center City restaurant, which served as his “grad school,” he said.

Craig LaBan, restaurant critic at the Philadelphia Inquirer, had few negative things to say about the cuisine in 2005.

“Good barbecue is all the draw an establishment like the Smoked Joint really needs, and it delivers,” LaBan wrote in his review. “Considering the recipes here were conjured by a bunch of childhood friends from Long Island, where, as Adam Gertler says, ‘the only rib places we knew were Chinese restaurants,’ it is not surprising that the food mixes and matches barbecue traditions rather than sticking to any specific regional style.”

The Smoked Joint closed in 2006, however, and Gertler put his food career on hold. It wasn’t until another opportunity arose that he pulled out his barbecue spice rubs again.

Gertler was one of 10 finalists on the fourth season of The Next Food Network Star, a reality competition where contestants vie for their own cooking show.

“It was just very exciting, an enormous amount of fun,” Gertler said. “I’m more comfortable performing than not. In a show like that, you’re asked to be on all the time.”

His cooking chops and personality propelled Gertler to the final three. His demo, called Hungry in Philadelphia, was an interactive show where viewers submitted questions to Gertler while he prepared meals. Ultimately, though, he lost to Camden native Aaron McCargo, Jr.

Gertler returned to Philadelphia after the show and waited tables at Amada in Old City. Shortly after the finale of TNFNS aired, Bob Tuschman, the network’s senior vice president of programming and production, called Gertler to offer him Will Work for Food.

“It was very exciting to hear from them. Imagine your life’s dream coming true in front of your face,” Gertler said. “My expectations were pretty much gone. To be offered Will Work for Food, I wouldn’t have imagined it in a million years.”

Tuschman, who also served as a judge on TNFNS, said the network had been discussing the concept of WWFF internally, and Adam’s “quick humor, guy-next-door quality and willingness to try anything made him the ideal host.”

“We were lucky to find several great new talent during season four [of TNFNS],” Tuschman said. “We wanted to do a ‘food jobs’ show for some time, but we couldn’t move forward until we found the perfect host, which was Adam.”

Now, Gertler travels across the country, exposing the food jobs typically overlooked by consumers. On the show, he has collected truffles in Oregon, created ice sculptures using a chainsaw and harvested caviar from Louisiana swamps.

“I will have varying degrees of success with these jobs,” Gertler said. “It’s the kind of thing where you’re not trying to goof off for the audience in any way, but a lot of humor and fun comes out of the fact that I’m dealing with masters and trying to tackle that job in a day.”

The only difference, though, is that the cameras are always rolling.

“When I make an ass of myself,” Gertler said, “it’s for the whole world to see.”

For Gertler, it’s just another day on the job.

Chris Stover can be reached at stover@temple.edu.

First, I will share on behalf of The Temple News (featuring LeAnne Matlach and Dave Isaac).

And here’s a quote which, in hindsight, truly concludes my thoughts on the holiday season (as told by me to Dave through Gchat, fittingly):

“it’s awful. very boring. i’ve spent the past two days organizing my itunes and adding album artwork. and for those that don’t have album artwork…i’ve created my own in photoshop.”

So as the holiday season quickly approaches and passes, please keep a few things in mind: Google is still going to take over the world at some point, mostly with the help of Wikipedia. The Wannamaker’s/Lord & Taylor’s/Macy’s Light Show runs until New Year’s Eve. And Garnet Valley, Pa., is as boring over break as Lubbock, Texas, is all the time.

Happy Holidays, everyone!

There’s nothing like cutting down your own Christmas tree. I headed to Landenberg, Chester County, to see what draws people to Schmidt’s Tree Farm.