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There’s an abundance of annoying crap in every issue of the News and Observer but I read it every day. I don’t envy publicly traded companies trying to survive a dying industry. The most annoying features of the N&O are the “personalities” they employ to entertain and and convey snarky attitude without offending anyone. Well, it offends me. I think they’re trying to compete in a game they can’t win and it’s painful to watch. The Vice Magazine DON’Ts once displayed a photo of a guy playing saxophone while riding a skateboard and the caption was something like; “This is what your aunt envisions when you use the word “cool”. She’s not thinking of swimming on acid or having anal sex while listening to Black Flag.” Vice can write that. We just wrote about that. The N&O cannot and has to appeal to the boring Aunt. They fail when they try to sell “attitude“.

But here’s an area where they excel: The obituary. The Life Stories feature of the N&O is consistently great. Nowhere else in the N&O will you see writing as compelling as this:

Cora Mae Teander lived 10 years with the circus, adopted a son as a single mother, drove a taxicab and ran an arcade back when that meant balls pitched at milk bottles rather than neon-lit video games. She was 95 when she died May 14 in Cary.

Or this:

Dietrich von Haugwitz loved animals, and he loved sausage.

The Willie “June” Watkins and Hazel Watkins (probably not related) stories are exceptionally good. The Life Stories are interesting because they’re concerned with writing a short and interesting piece about a life and not about failed attempts to entertain with affected attitude or folksy musings. And yes, I realize how uncool it is to mention Vice Magazine but being uncool is a privilege of writing without an editor who wants your company product to seem “cool”.