Slusher: Are you tired of being experienced?
Random thoughts:
• My favorite phrase published in the Daily Herald this week was in a wire story about the dangers of "talking to your car." Included in the story is this quote from a car-company spokeswoman: "Access to music and access to calls is now a critical part of the driving experience."
The driving experience?
I accepted the Jimi Hendrix Experience. It was the '60s, for goodness sakes. But that was 45 years ago. Have we not moved on? Now everything that used to be a simple verb is an experience. The shopping experience. The voting experience. The dining experience. Yes, even the newspaper experience. Certainly, the online experience.
Bleucch. I'll be glad when we upgrade the writing experience.
• But seriously, that Associate Press story - or more to the point, the two studies it reported - is an important piece of information in the growing discussion of just how much multi-tasking we can or should do in our cars.
It used to be that the only potential distractions we risked while driving were to fiddle with the radio knobs and light a cigarette. Now the cigarette lighters are used as virtually universal electrical outlets, and our cars are wired to bring in GPS mapping and directions, Bluetooth device links, cellphone connections, smartphone connections, yes, and even radio - satellite, HD and AM/FM stereo, with row upon row of one-touch channel selectors.
Strengthening the laws to permit only hands-free cellphone use by drivers has been a signature issue for the Daily Herald the past few years, and we closed a comprehensive series of editorials on the subject more than a year ago with the warning that the ultimate safety solution may be to permit no cellphone use at all. In the context of newspapers as history's rough draft, it's interesting to note these stories, one by one, building a case for more comprehensive action on what we allow, or at least what we're willing to do, behind the wheel.
* I love the "alpha and omega" rhythms of sports coverage, especially in a vital, engaged sports town like Chicago. The World Series is rapidly advancing to signal the end of the baseball season, with, sadly but not unusually, no Chicago teams to put on the front pages. But the Blackhawks kick off an exciting hockey season tonight, and the Bulls follow close behind on Oct. 29. Whether it's the beginning of one sports season or the end of another, the Chicago sports experience always gives us something exciting and timely to write about.
• Tuesday was National News Engagement Day, as declared by a national journalism education group. Teresa Schmedding, deputy managing editor for online news, was a tireless promoter of the, sigh, experience in the print and online pages of the Daily Herald. I hope you found a way to get involved with us or with others in the community on issues you care about. And remember, actually every day is engagement day for us. We always welcome the chance to hear and share what you think about what's happening in the news.
Jim Slusher, jslusher@dailyherald.com, is an assistant managing editor at the Daily Herald. Follow him on Facebook at facebook.com/jim.slusher1 and on Twitter at @JimSlusher.