This month, I have articles in Your Dog and Ultimate Northwest. The Your Dog story is about the challenges dog owners and veterinarians face in diagnosing and treating dogs with Lupus. For Ultimate Northwest, I wrote about charitable athletic events, like Sail for the Cure and the Donate Life golf tournament. I also recently wrapped up some stories for MyRegence.com and Newsline, the employee magazine for Portland General Electric.

Check out my review of Insomnia Coffee Company on LivePDX.com. I also wrote a bridal registry gift guide and a story on wedding-day hair/make-up for Explore the Pearl’s January/February 2008 issue. Click here to read the magazine online.

Months have passed since I’ve added a new clip to my portfolio page. Lately, I’ve been writing for some print-only publications (like The Portland Physician Scribe) and web-based subscription-only publications (like MyRegence.com) so I haven’t had links to post. If you would like to see a more recent clip, please contact me and I’ll forward something your way.

Just wanted to let everyone know that I am starting to return to work after a two-and-a-half month break. My husband had a liver transplant on August 8th, so I took time off to help him recover. I will still keep my hours limited until he returns to work on January 2nd, but as of this week I am definitely available for assignments and projects. Also, please drop by our liver transplant blog where I have documented our journey for the past several months.

I’ve launch a mini-campaign to try to get as many people a possible to register as an organ donor. I was never a donor until I found out that my husband, Carl, needs a liver transplant. Then I suddenly realized how important it is. If I lose my life in an accident, I want to make sure that someone else — someone like my husband who is loved by many — will benefit. If you are not registered, I urge you to consider doing it right away. FYI — some of you may be registered on your driver’s license. I have heard that that is not official. Go to Donate Life Northwest or Donate Life America to sign up. And if you do, please drop me a line. As a personal challenge, I’m trying to see how many people I can get to sign-up by the end of the month.

Please feel free to forward this to anyone! In fact, please forward to as many people as possible.

Also, please visit our liver transplant blog to read more about Carl’s journey to a liver transplant.

Sincerely,
Dawn Weinberger

By looking at my list of writing credits, it would be a natural assumption that I am on Al Gore’s global warming bandwagon. Let me set the record straight — I am not. In fact, I buy very little of what Mr. Gore discussed in his film, An Inconvenient Truth (yes, I did see it).

Does this mean I deny global warming? Of course not! I just think Al is way off in his interprettion of the data, and I think he has ulterior motives. I don’t believe humans are the only significant cause (or even the primary cause). And most of all, even if global warming is an urgent, serious problem — I don’t believe we can reverse it by driving hybrids, changing our lightbulbs or buying carbon offsets. Also, I am very open to the idea that global warming is nothing more than a political issue based on bad science (yeah, I know people were wearing flip flops in Manhattan this winter — but people were also shoveling snow in Southern California). Remember the global cooling scare in the 70s? Probably not, because the inconvenient truthers never discuss it.

That said, I do care about our environment. I believe in recycling, composting, buying locally-grown produce and supporting local businesses. I try to think green about every choice I make, and I am proud to live in an area where green is a way life for so many people. I especially enjoy writing about sustainability because it helps get the word out on the importance of caring for the earth God gave us. However, I do want to encourage people (no matter where they fall on the political spectrum) to think critically about the information Al Gore and other global warming activisits present. Don’t take their statements as fact just because you voted for Gore and believe the 2000 election was unjust — there are plenty of intelligent, informed scientists who hold an opposing veiw.

FYI to sources, clients or anyone trying to reach me … my Comcast Digital Voice phone is currently not working. I hope to have it repaired by tomorrow (Tuesday) but for now I cannot make or receive calls. If you are trying to reach me, e-mail me and I’ll call you back on my cell phone.

Thanks!

-Dawn

I’m on vacation through January 2nd. Have a wonderful Christmas!

If you’re a magazine or newspaper writer looking to brush up on your interviewing skills, click on over to Portland State University’s Center for Excellence in Writing and register for my upcoming workshop on that very topic. The workshop will cover how to develop solid, leading questions that generate informative answers; how to phrase questions in a way that will yield great quotes, as opposed to “yes” and “no” answers; the pros and cons of in-person vs. phone interviews; where and how to locate sources; establishing good rapport with sources; getting sources to spill the beans (even when they really don’t want to); how to approach difficult and controversial topics; and the importance of taking accurate notes and keeping records of all correspondence with sources.

We’ll also do some in-class exercises, including mock interviews. The class meets from 10am to 1pm on Saturday, December 2nd at PSU. Registration ($50 per student) is handled by the CEW, but feel free to contact me with any questions.

Wondering what I’m working on or what’s up in my writerly world? My brand-new News and Updates blog is the place to find out. I’ll post regularly about projects, achievements, writing-related events and, occassionally, issues of signifiance to freelance writers.

My first postworthy piece of news: My application for membership in the American Society of Journalists and Authors was recently accepted. Also, I’m thrilled to announce that after seven long years in the PC world I’ve finally returned to my Apple roots. I absolutely love my new MacBook!