The University of Blog

As part of Society of Professional Journalists executive board, I was able to go to Atlanta for the national SPJ conference. It was worth taking some time off of school and work to attend. When we got there, I first went a program on what to expect in the first five years in the industry as well as how to craft a powerful resume.

My favorite part of the conference was the presentations on narrative writing. There was a Pulitzer prize winning author who spoke about trusting our own voices. If there was a way that we want to tell a story, then the story should be told that way. There was another features write with the St. Petersburg Times. She spoke about ways to search for story ideas as well as how to write a profile that really gets at the true character of a person. They both spoke about the importance of realizing a “universal truth” to each story. This overarching theme allows the story to have more meaning to an audience.

I really enjoyed the sessions on features and narrative writing. It was pretty great to be able to hear from people who are doing the type of journalism that I could see myself liking… a lot. I admire this type of journalism, which is almost like fiction storytelling, but it is all true. This makes the stories resonate with an audience and it is certainly more powerful when the facts are true.

Another supersession that I enjoyed was when Charlayne Hunter-Gault, foreign correspondent for NPR, spoke about integrating the University of Georgia and the state of journalism today.

We explored Atlanta, (or Hotlanta, which actually wasn’t very hot). When we visited Atlantic Station, we happened upon an outdoor arts festival. I bought a homemade necklace, and we ate cheesecake on the patio of the Cheesecake Bistro. We also found a cute Italian restaurant by the Fox Theater as well as had some delicious southern cooking at Mary Macs. It almost was as if we ate our way through Atlanta, which was just fine with me.

So the conference was small, yet fulfilling, and I hope to learn more about the state of journalism at the wonderful Journalism Centennial tomorrow through Friday.

Welcome back Mizzou students. It’s  really exciting to see all of the freshman still carrying their Mizzou maps. Thinking about the fact that I was there two years ago made me feel kind of old. I’ve had a lot of great experiences in those two years, and it’s fun to see all of the new students.

I went to the new Reynolds Journalism Institute. What a building! I will be having class in the futures lab which is  a multimedia newsroom. The building is unparalleled. I am just happy that it is finally done in time for the centennial. My convergence class met there, and it will be exciting. I will be spending time in two newsrooms– Kbia a well as Current TV or the Columbia Missourian. I am excited to do some individual reporting as well as editing and producing.

My other two classes today were Hispanic Lit II and Communications Law. Spanish will be challenging since we will have a lot of essays and in class paper. It seems like my professor knows a lot about analyzing literature, which will be an interesting perspective. Com Law will include a lot of studying, which is totally manageable. For now, I’ll know more about my workload a week or two into classes. So we’ll see.

I actually have an update. After a slow summer full of hanging out, swimming, working and enjoying every moment, I finally have had a real adventure.

I moved in. And it happened to be one of the most stressful experiences of my life. Well, we got the key and entered the door on August 1, and nothing was done. This includes painting, cleaning or any maintenance. We were ready to move. Our parents came in town, and we had rented a truck. I wanted to walk away right then and find the nicest apartment in Columbia. It was really awful. Well, my roommate’s dad decided that we could do the painting ourselves. So we ended up painting, cleaning and moving all in the SAME day.

As I was painting in the kitchen, I hear a scream. Sure enough the scream came from my roommates’ room where her parents were installing a window air conditioning unit. When I got to the room, everyone was gathered around the window. Sure enough it fell out the window and crashed two stories below.

Then our box springs didn’t fit up the stairwell. And our knob to the hot water in the shower fell off. We had to use pliers to get it to work for the past few weeks. I still don’t have a bedroom door.

Now, we are finally moved in and settled. Jimmy the cat joined our little family. I love my room. And once we put some art up, it will truly be a home– with a few maintenance issues that will maybe be resolved in two weeks to a year. Who knows.

Fun times were had at Six Flags on Sunday—big surprise. It was my first Six Flags experience—ever. After buying tickets online for the children’s price, I hopped in a car with my roommates. We jumped right in with our first ride on Batman. The line was minuscule. Perfect weather (not too hot) made it a superb day. In fact, there were very few lines even for the most popular rides like Mr. Freeze. This is the one with a 90 degree vertical incline. It lasted about thirty seconds, but it was the most intense thirty seconds, especially considering the fact that it went from 0-70 mph in about four seconds.

Superman was the ride which I was the most scared. It was a straight drop. The worst part was not knowing when I was going to fall. I ended up really enjoying it, but it was quite intense. I actually really like the ride Evil Knievel despite the fact that it was a wooden roller coaster. My experiences with wooden roller coasters have left me wanting to go to a chiropractor. This as well as Screaming Eagle were well worth it.

One of the best parts was not having to pay a lot for food. We ate lunch before entering the park and then brought a snack bar. When we got hungry, we split a funnel cake. Good deal. Everything was so expensive. I couldn’t believe charging $9 for a bucket of cotton candy or $3 for a soda. Parking alone was $15 and locker rental was $9. Thus, spending as little as possible made it worth it. And the trip overall was worth it despite getting lost on the way home.

Our convergence class hooked us up with some freebies—including a free ticket to Ira Glass, host of This American Life. My friend from Lawrence was in town and we ventured to Jesse Hall together. It was great because he opened with his voice among the darkness. He said that he tried to persuade the producers of the show to have the entire show in darkness. They told him that maybe that would fly in Lawrence, Kans., but not here.

It was one of the most inspiring performances/ speakers that I have ever witnessed. We are just about halfway through the semester, which means that I am incredibly burned out with pretty much everything. Thus, to hear from someone who has the same perspective on journalism and his own formula for making it work, I was enthralled. Journalism can be about people and life, not just hard news.

Glass talked about how he got into radio. And what was really amusing about it was he played one of his radio stories eight years in that was self-admittedly really awful. It is okay to suck, at least initially. And it may take awhile to find that voice. He then shared his formula for a great story, which includes motion. There is always a bigger “thing” in his stories. Everything moves in that story to a greater thing—clues or information or something that is essential to the story. He also mentioned that there can be a little something in a story that is just there purely for the enjoyment of the journalist or highlighting the humor lightheadedness of life.

Among his advice to aspiring journalists, he played some interesting and FUNNY stories. One of his stories that I really enjoyed was when he went to the Oreo cookie factory, he was actually surprised that it smelled, well, like cookies since he was so used to Oreos being a processed food. Who knew that Oreos smelled like cookies. Only Ira Glass.

Living off campus has a wonderful plethora of advantages. Not sharing a small rectangle living quarter with another person is a cause for celebration. Luckily, I did get along with my roommate last year; enough that we are living together again. However, there is nothing like having a space that is all your own. The aspects that make living off campus wonderful include more space, personality through adding decorations and the freedom to dance in the middle of the night to what others deem as “euro-trash” music.

Our apartment is an old east campus house divided into two apartments. The selling factor was the Van Gogh mural in the livingroom. However, we have to deal with everything on our own including utilities, laundry and cleaning. In the dorms, a friendly knock at the door meant a clean mirror and sink, but here a knock at the door could mean anything. Today it meant a man equipped with a net would have to get out the bird that was flapping around in our chimney. A chimney is not the most delightful place for a creature intended to fly. We’ve had a squirrel (we’ve named Franklin) in our attic before. This only became a problem when he wanted to get out and couldn’t figure out how. Otherwise, it was nice to think that we had a pet for a few days.

Laundry is an issue, but only a small issue. There is a coin washer outside and downstairs (only annoying with weather). Recently, the Columbia Appliance delivery truck was a cause for celebration. This would mean no more walks downstairs only to find clothes seeped in half a load of blue water. The only disadvantage is that our new washer does not like to stay in one place. Instead, it wants to be free and proceeds to dance all around making it impossible to open the door to the laundry room. Once we harnessed the strong powers of the machine with a cinderblock to keep it in place, we were set.

These are small issues that of course we can deal with because, after all, we have a space of our own. Which, besides the occasional animal that visits, it is quite a happy house.

The Roots ’N’ Blues ’N’ BBQ festival attracted around 60,000 people to downtown Columbia. Boone County National Bank sponsored the event for their 150th anniversary. There are currently no plans to host another event, but I believe that it was great success. Around 50 vendors shared their crafts as the smoky smell of BBQ filled the air.

I was able to interview Chris Thomas King for The Maneater. He played Tommy Johnson in “Oh Brother Where Art Thou” as well as a bandleader in “Ray.” King also won a Grammy for Best Album for his work on “Oh Brother Where Art Thou.” Read the article here.

The Missouri Student Association (MSA) brought in Rilo Kiley to perform at Jessie Hall last Wednesday. I only knew a few songs by them, but I was able to get into it. It was not as satisfying as bringing in Ben Folds last year, especially when there was not a huge crowd there, but I was still able to dance and appreciate the music. In a highly glittered outfit, Jenny Lewis dazzled with her vocal and keyboarding talents.

I heard that the band was comprised of all child stars. This is interesting because sure enough, the guitar player Blake Sennett was in Boy Meets World and Lewis was in Troop Beverly Hills. The musicians are not only in Rilo Kiley. Sennetts’ other project includes The Elected, which has some awesome songs. Lewis has Jenny Lewis with the Watson Twins. It is interesting how many connections there are among bands. Everyone who is anyone has multiple projects and bands.

Jenny Lewis sings with Rilo Kiley at Jessie Hall on Wednesday, Sept. 12, 2007.

The sweet smell of kettle corn and smoke from the blacksmiths’ fires filled the air as over 40 crafters and 100 performers demonstrated their skills and knowledge of the 1800s and before during the 30th Annual Heritage Festival and Craft Show.
Thousands showed up to see authentic crafts, enjoy the weather and watch history come alive during the event on Sept. 15-16, 2007 in Nifong Park.
“Everything is traditional,” Public Information Specialist for Parks and Recreation Tammy Miller said. ”We strive to make it a truly historic festival.”
The festival, which takes place during the third weekend of each September, has grown significantly since its birth in 1977. According to the Parks and Recreation Department, many of the artisans return year after year.
Some of the crafts included handmade jewelry, weaving, candles and pottery. During the festival, the artisans showed how they created their works to make it an interactive experience.
“I am teaching my granddaughters a trade,” said Columbia resident Pat Kelley, who brings her eclectic jewelry to festivals around the area.
With the help of her granddaughters, Kelley picks up beads at the festivals that she visits to design necklaces, earrings and bracelets. Kelley saw an ad in the newspaper to be a vendor at this year’s event and decided to participate.
“I really like this festival,” Kelley said. “It’s my first year, but I definitely want to come back.”
Further recreating history, the department also brought in professional performers. Oral historian Jim Two Crow Wallen presented his knowledge of fur trapping as a mountain man. Wallen has prepared 19 different historical characters and presents an average of 300 performances a year.
“This is all I do for a living,” said Wallen who began performing in 1980.
Wallen, who is part Cherokee, grew up with an appreciation of oral history through his grandfather. He has been to 46 states sharing his love of history, educating both youth and adults.
“Festivals like this bring history alive,” Wallen said. “This is an interactive thing. When you can go inside a tepee and feel it, it brings it to life. People come expecting to see history.”
Even on a MU football weekend, many people showed up to experience history by attending performances, participating in interactive drumming or talking to local artisans.
“It is fun and educational,” Miller said. “The Heritage Festival is really well known in Columbia and is a true tradition.”

(left) Man weaving his loom. (right) Mr. Peddlesworth displaying his unique bicycle collection.

I am all moved and excited for my sophomore year. School starts tomorrow and I was enjoying my last few days of freedom. To fully kick my semester off right, I went to get free Shakespeare’s Pizza. It may have been just for freshman, but I will never pass up free food. The rain hovered over the day, but I will not let rain stop me from getting a good deal.

Then came Tiger Walk, which is where the freshman walk through the columns to start their first year at Mizzou. I was tempted to attend for the free tiger stripe ice cream, but living off campus makes getting to those events a little more difficult.

Thursday night was the Midnight BBQ with what else, free food and a DJ. Friday I went to the fall welcome events at Lowry Mall. One of these was a hypnotist. Volunteering for this event, I did silly things on stage. The funniest thing was when one guy was talking in a different language and another translated for him. I don’t think that it worked so well for me, but it did give an excuse to do silly things on stage.