Category: Grad School

Hip Hop Meets Chemistry

Grad School, ,

An interesting article today in the UW paper, “UW-Madison student mixes passions for science, dancing.” The video that accompanies the article is actually pretty awesome, provided you want to see a guy dance hip hop style covered in glowing chemicals, and really who wouldn’t.

The article explains how UW-Madison student Jeffrey Vinokur combined his love for chemistry and dancing to create the act the Dancing Mad Scientist, which finished in the top 100 out of more than 70,000 auditions for the NBC show America’s Got Talent. Vinokur’s hometown is Montvale, New Jersey, so clearly as a Jersey girl myself, it caught my attention.

I think its great that Vinokur is taking his act to schools and helping people get excited about chemistry, but I do have to point out that in the video where he talks about chemiluminescence he never actually explains what it is. He explains how a glow stick works. This is not at all the same thing as explaining WHY certain chemicals glow when you combine them.

If you do want to learn more about chemiluminescence check out this link:
http://www.chemistryexplained.com/Ce-Co/Chemiluminescence.html

My Atomic Bomb Education

Good Writing, Grad School, ,

I just wanted to share the New York Times’ article The Bomb Chroniclers by William J. Broad. I don’t have too much to say about it analysis wise, but I learned a few things so I thought it was worth mentioning. It is about the first tests of the atomic bomb in the US before we used the technology on Japan to end World War II.

The tests were recorded by videographers, and over the last few years the government has been declassifying the video so that it is now available to the public. The article talks about the experiences of the people who took photos and videos of the tests and also about what has happened to their work, documentaries, books, etc.

In J620 this week we talked about the atomic bombs that were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki from the humanitarian angle, and in J669 we read excerpts of Hiroshima by John Hersey so the topic was already on my mind. Its always good to learn new things and I don’t really know too much about the tests that came before actually dropping the bomb to end the war so I enjoyed reading this article to learn more.

Book Review: Writing For Story

Book Review, Good Writing, Grad School, State of Journalism,

This morning I finished Jon Franklin’s Writing for Story, what I hope is the last “how to” book I’m going to have to read this semester. Textbooks aside, in the first three weeks of classes I’ve read three books focused on how to avoid complete and total blinding failure as a writer. I have found it incredibly depressing that there is even a need for such manuals. Combined with those that I accumulated during my time as an undergrad at Lehigh, I am now the not-so-proud owner of quite the collection of books on how to write.

2272958It isn’t that I don’t find value in these books, I think that there are definitely nuggets of good advice and even a little humor about style, format, the industry, and numerous other aspects of journalism as a profession. However, I find that I get pretty frustrated listening to someone who is considered a “success” brag about how they got there. Congratulations, by capturing the ever elusive combination of financial success, public success, and the praise of your peers you have been deemed worthy enough to hold the distinguished title of being a “good writer.” Good for you.

I think the reason I am annoyed right now largely has to do with the generalizations that Franklin makes in his book. He assumes that all young journalists are a bunch of immature children that need to have rejection beat the desire to write, right out of us before we can accept that we aren’t going to be great artists. Well Jon Franklin, I for one don’t want to be an artist, I’ve never thought of writing as my art, and I hold no misguided feelings of anguish when an editor tells me a piece doesn’t work.
Yes, I’ve struggled to find my way in terms of all the mechanics of writing, to figure out what works and what doesn’t, as my early copy from BioTechniques CLEARLY indicates. But, I just don’t consider myself some downtrodden journalist struggling to find their literary voice. I want to talk in facts, I want to write hard news, sweeping poetic literary statements just aren’t my style, and I don’t like being lumped in with every other young writer afflicted with wanting to write. I don’t like the fact that to be considered “good” I have to unlock some magical realm of literary style that will come only with experience.
Perhaps I just aspire to lesser things than my more ideological counterparts, because I see the value in literary journalism and I think its great, but I just don’t feel some terrible stinging sensation in my soul that I’m not there yet.  I know I’ll get there, every piece I write I see myself getting better. Reading all of these books on how to write and what mistakes to avoid hasn’t left me questioning whether or not I can be a great writer, I know that I can be a great writer, I guess I’m just wondering if I’m not tormented by words that go bump in the night, if my desire to be a writer is strong enough.
Its troubling to me that I’m upset that where I’m at in life isn’t upsetting me. If you follow all of the “expert” opinions contained in these books I should be pulling my hair out, and I’m not. I’m also not disillusioned to think its because I’m so wonderful that I just don’t fit the mould. That’s not it. So why, as a fledgling journalist am I not depressed? According to all these how to manuals I should be.
I feel like  the authors of these books could have really benefitted from a manual entitled: How to enjoy learning how to write. I am enjoying my ride and the twists and turns it takes me on, even the rejection. It might sting but it means I’m still chasing after something, and I find comfort in that. I’m in no rush to be perfect right out of the gate, and I always thought that was a good thing, but is it? Should I be more driven? Reading these books didn’t teach my how to write, all they did was make me question my personality.

Phone Phobia

Grad School, My Personal Life, ,

When I was younger (say middle school age) I HATED talking on the phone. For some reason it made me really nervous, as if the person on the other end of the phone were going to be constantly judging me. Like I was going to make a mistake, or somehow divulge some dark secret or something… not that I have any. In my line of work, its a good thing I’ve gotten over that (for the most part).

The reason I bring up my phone phobia is that as a journalist I constantly make phone calls, talking to strangers trying to confirm information or score an interview. Today I did the first of three interviews that I have to do for my first article for J800. The article is due next week, but so far this was the only interview that I’ve been able to set up. I decided to write about a recent USGS study on cyanotoxins in lakes in the midwest, so I interviewed the woman who led the study.

It was a good interview, and I got a lot of useable material for my article, so its a step in the right direction. I contacted a UW professor working on toxins in the lakes, and I contacted a local conservation group but got no reply. Tomorrow I’ll have to work on setting up the remaining two interviews — hopefully just by contacting a bunch of people/groups I’ll be able to convince two more people to talk to me.

It would pretty much make my day if this article came together nicely because as soon as its done I have to start on the next one. Oh, the joys of grad school. I always prefer to set up interviews by email first and then schedule a time to talk on the phone. I think it makes me less anxious about calling to know that someone is expecting me. Although cold calling can sometimes be very affective. I suppose in this line of work I’ll have to get more used to it.

Book Review: True Stories

Book Review, Good Writing, Grad School,
Well the good news is that I seem to be fully recovered from my bout of food-induced illness, the bad news is that means I’m back full swing into my grad school work load. Last night, I finished reading True Stories by Norman Sims for my literary journalism class. The book goes through the history of literary journalism, from the reporting of World War I, the Great Depression, World War II, the lull of the 40’s and 50’s, New Journalism in the 60’s and 70’s, Vietnam, and through to the status of literary journalism today.

9780810124691-crop-325x325 In addition to Sims’ take on the history of the literary journalism style, the book also includes: The Long Fall of One-Eleven Heavy by Michael Paterniti, Red Caucasus by John Dos Passos, The Jumping-Off Place by Edmund Wilson, The Old House at Home by Joseph Mitchell, and Family Journeys by Adrian Nicole LeBlanc.

Overall I liked True Stories, it gave me a lot of important background into literary journalism and how writers need to immerse themselves in a topic and strike out on their own a bit in order to get a story that hasn’t been told time and time again. Sims made me want to devour more examples of literary journalism, particularly Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood. I might have to add that one to my to-do list.

Of the samples of literary journalism included in the book, I found Paterniti’s The Long Fall of One-Eleven Heavy to be incredibly powerful. It was emotional for me reading about a plane crash so close to the anniversary of September 11. But despite that, I thought the way Paterniti told the story without naming names added a lot of drama to the way he told the story. It was gripping, and the pages flew by. Unlike Dos Passos’ Red Caucasus which I actually had trouble focusing on and staying involved in the story.

One useful thing (I think at least) that Sims did was to include a historical list of literary journalism pieces. If you had the time, you could go through the pieces and trace the history of literary journalism through the words themselves. Although sadly I know that I, and very few people I know, would actually have the time for so much reading for the sake of curiosity. It is still useful to have the list, so you could go back and pick out select pieces to follow up on.