Pause,

A moment of pause for photography that causes you to

What evokes more unfiltered human emotion than death, love and sacrifice?  One of Boston.com’s recent “The Big Picture” photo galleries featured all three, in highlighting something that often gets lost in the big picture of a war: the people.

The photo gallery, titled Armstice Day Remembrances and posted on Nov 13, includes images you might expect to make the front page, and might not expect to leave your memory anytime soon:

…A shriveled hand dropping a red poppy on The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

…A triple amputee Afghanistan war veteran gazing upward  during a memorial ceremony, in a wheelchair and still in full uniform.

…The President of the United States walking stoically through section 60 of Arlington National Cemetary.

These are photos you inspect closely because you want to stay those extra few seconds…it’s that interesting, that artful. Most importantly, this gallery was one that makes you pause, and think. 

One of it’s predecessing galleries, however, makes you gaze.

“Launch of the Ares I-X” , another boston.com Big Picture gallery of late, was admittedly the most NASA gear I’ve seen since I watched Tom Hanks & crew sweat it out in the 1995 Ron Howard film Apollo 13.

But the most memorable picture had nothing to do with landing gear, thrust or simulator crew modules.

In a photograph sure to make you pause, photographer Bruce Weaver captures a perfect example of earth’s distant, curious relationship to whatever’s up there in the stars-a beautiful and wordless example that either my autistic 10 year old little brother or the NASA astronauts themselves could appreciate-could crack a smile at.

What is it, you ask?

I’ll phrase it how my 10 year old brother would: “An alligator swimming next to a rocket ship.”

What do all of these photos have in common? They make you pause. They make you think. I imagine the cliche “a picture’s worth a thousand words” may be mentioned-either explicitly or, more than likely, implicitly-in our class discussion tonight. The cliche is too true to die, and the best pictures are the ones that don’t make you say anything at all.

For a moment, just a moment before you go about your day, you are immersed. Then it’s time to blink, and you’re changed, a tiny bit.

Those are the best photos.

2nd intermission: midseason thoughts on the hockey beat

Taking a breather to look back the UM hockey beat this year

As a scraggly-legged 7th grader playing junior high basketball, each year after  tryouts the coaches gave us that expected, tired speech:

“You know, cuts aren’t always what they seem. When Michael Jordan was about your age, he was once cut from his basketball team.”

Even as pre-teens, we all heard that old spin machine on Little Susie getting cut loud and clear.  Cuts are tough, and initial impressions don’t always turn out to be correct. Tryout again next year.

False initial impressions, however, have substantially manifested in unexpected fashion after my early choice of UM men’s hockey as my Masslive.com blog beat.

Initially, I thought I would love it, but initially, Hitler was named “Man of the Year” by Time Magazine, in 1939.

Some choices you wish you could edit, right?

4 reflections on my beat thus far:

Reflection #1: Press Box decorum

When you’re on press row, sportswriters pretend to have no soul, and they’re really good at it. After spending a few games up there, I’ve learned to mimic their stoic decorum, but then again, I wasn’t on Press Row for Friday night’s Casey Wellman game-tying goal with 11 seconds remaining in regulation.  I probably would’ve discreetly cracked a smile.

Reflection #2: BUMP. Watch your head on the subject matter ceiling

Maybe I have an originality complex, but sometimes sportswriting feels a little robotic-a little like biking 5 miles at the gym on an easy level of a fitness machine: you can do it and feel feint accomplishment afterwards, but it wasn’t all that interesting or stimulating.

As much as I jokingly tool on the Daily Collegian, they really do an excellent job of covering the Western Mass niche of UMass sports.  The problem is, is AP style sportswriting really that interesting or relevant anymore?  In this internet age of twitter updates from the athletic department, and mobile internet applications that give diehard fans score updates and box score info, who wants to sit down and read a 600 word stat summary or team notebook? Maybe someone, if it has an awesome lede or they’re the right wing’s girlfriend.

But how long will the average American read on for? Does the average American do anything other than scan the headlines?

My opinion is a straight up no. Which is why I set out this semester with the intent to cover hockey in an offbeat way.  However, my usually fluid writing arsenal hit an unusual block with this subject matter.

It was a little humbling, and I, after finding I’m no Bill Simmons, am glad. As much as I would’ve liked to believe it, the UMass hockey team isn’t the Boston Red Sox, either. My offbeat, student/fan perspective crossed awkwardly with a subject matter of less overall fan interest, less media access and assumed increased restrictions on what you can/can’t report on the players’ personal lives, as they are students and not celebrities.

3.) If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, and why repeat it?

Having sincere trouble flexing my writing muscles with offbeat UM hockey content, I turned to the pillars of sportswriting: game summaries and stat analysis.

The issue here was something Jeff Jarvis touched upon- the issue of repetitive content- last semester in his blog, Buzz Machine.

After participating in this hockey beat, I have to agree with Jarvis on the issue of repetitive content.

Is Dick Baker’s Springfield Republican hockey game summary really all that different from my summary on Masslive? Is Matt Vautour of the Gazette’s game summary really that different from the hockey beat writers down at the Collegian? To me, UM goaltender Paul Dainton’s 42 saves are Paul Dainton’s 42 saves are Paul Dainton’s 42 saves.

After attending post-game press conferences in the Mullins Center, I wonder if these beat writers go home and cross their fingers hoping the others won’t use the same dynamite player or coach quote they themself  just submitted to their editor in their game wrap.

Maybe I have an originality complex, but game wraps make me yawn, including ones I write. Bring on the features.

Reflection #4: “Where we gonna go from here?” …Plans for potential future hockey entries

* Behind the scenes photo blog tour of th Mullins Center?

Got this idea after organizing a volunteer Registered Student Organization postgame clean-up of the arena for a mock trial team fundraiser, and watching the operations crew change the hockey ice to the basketball court.  I’d have to do some legwork to get permission from the appropriate athletic dept./Mullins Center personell, obviously, but this could be a fresh content idea.

* Player Q&A – Definitely want to squeeze in one of these before the semester is done.  They sometimes sit behind me in geology class and I awkwardly bump into them in the dining hall, but I’ll opt for the more formal/professional UMass athletics Media Relations interview request.

More TBA…

Why Harvard makes you show a student ID to get into the library

“Excuse me, could you tell us the way to Emerson Hall?”

The student we’d asked was leaning up against a tree I wasn’t rich enough to lean up against, reading a book I wasn’t smart enough to read.  He was helpful, but the stoic frown on his face indicated this sort of thing happened all the time.  We were, after all, right outside of Harvard Yard on an afternoon so nice it looks photoshopped in the pictures we took.

 

My UMass mock trial co-captain and I started walking in the direction the helpful Harvard student had pointed.  We were visiting his campus as competitiors at one of the most reknown academic competitions on the east coast, and he was probably studying for an exam Monday.  He was a student, we were tourists.

Tourists, in fact, were all around. 

“This would be obnoxious,” a freshman teammate had joked during our impromptu lunch in Harvard Yard, “Can you imagine tour groups of 50 people with video cameras coming through to make sure they captured the moment they first saw the W.E.B. DuBois library? While you’re laying out studying?”

I thought back to the dozens of university tours I’d given here at UMass over the summer while working as a freshman orientation counselor.  I could not imagine this.

Depending on your level of extreme pride and/or denial, you might say we were underdogs that weekend.  The full roster of teams included Brown, Harvard, Yale, Dartmouth, Cornell, Boston College, Boston University, Villanova, Princeton, Wellesley and various other schools attended by Presidents, First Ladies and various cast members of Harry Potter.  This is why one our other freshmen quipped, “When you saw Brown in the captains’ meeting, was Emma Watson there?”

This is also why, as eye-roll worthy as it’s going to sound, we were glad the tournament directors listed us in the event program as “The University of Massachusetts at Amherst” instead of “UMass.”

Good thing we weren ‘t the only underdog in town-there was a team there from Illinois’ Elgin Community College as well.  You’ve never heard of it, but you have now.  I bet it was no coincidence they were listed in the tournament program as, simply, “Elgin,” and I bet they were glad, too. 

What I didn’t bet, before the weekend, was that by the time Elgin Community College left Cambridge that weekend, they’d have defeated teams from both Yale and Princeton. I found this little nugget out here, where I also discovered that Elgin Community College President David Sam flew to Boston to attend the tournament.

Well, well, well.  We here at UMass (understandably) didn’t get quite that big of a response, but we were grateful enough for an article in the Daily Collegian  and financial support from a university grant we’d waited 3 weeks to hear about-to see if we’d get the chance to stand toe-to-toe with the Ivies. 

3 weeks where we practiced every weeknight for 3+ hours after classes, known affectionally by the team as “Hell Weeks.”

3 weeks of strategizing, balancing practice with academics and telling friends, parents and professors, “Sorry I smell, I haven’t had time to do laundry. Yeah, the Harvard tournament.”

In the past 3 weeks, I think UMass football kicker Armando Cuko and I had more in common than we probably ever will again, because mock trial fully morphed into the academic equivalent of an NCAA division 1 sport.

 As team co-captain and a founding member of UMass mock trial, I was usually an attorney, which in mock trial is like being the the closer,  the point guard, the quarterback, the goalkeeper.  But this weekend, the team needed a witness…A witness in mock trial is like the kicker in football.  You only get noticed if you screw up or break a statistical record. A veteran college mock trial attorney being a witness is like Tim Wakefield coming in to pitch the 8th inning of a playoff game where the bullpen is spent. 

 So I did. We went 4-4, beating Villanova and BC.  People are saying “Congratulations,” but as far as I’m concerned, we only went 4-4.  The work has just begun.

College journalism + objectivity: a match made in fiction

Much like P. Diddy once performed at the Nickelodeon Kid’s Choice Awards, I used to write for the Daily Collegian Sports section.

But all mediocre things must come to a screeching halt, and nothing sours a morning’s bowl of Cocoa Puffs more than waking up to discover some random staffer has lazily made the lede under your byline look like it was written by a 6th grader.

Sending out a search party for our masslive blog…

Very glad I checked Brad Durkin’s most recent class blog entry before posting this.

Had I not, you might’ve tabbed me for plagiarism, because I was just thinking  the exact same thing as Brad regarding Masslive. An excerpt from his recent post:

Thought # 1

Alright so I think I have blog posts on masslive, but I cannot find them. And if I am looking for them and can’t find them then how is someone else supposed to find them?

Seriously, if I’m stuck rummaging through my backpack to find that random sheet of paper from class with the web address for our blog, instead of finding it easily on the site’s own search feature, what makes Masslive think anyone else will accidentally pluck the blog out of obscurity?

Not trying to bite the hand that’s feeding us a cool opportunity to write for the company. Just sayin’

I am one of the approximately 89 people in America still willing to purchase the paper version of a magazine.

I repeat: I am one of the approximately 89 people in America still willing to purchase the paper version of a magazine.

Saturday, on a whim after seeing Scott’s post on the class blog, that’s just what I did when I paid $5.99 to read a magazine feature article not on my laptop screen. Yes, I may be extremely stupid. Yes, I am aware of the ‘internet.’

How to fix journalism: don't try to fix journalism

And yes, I enjoyed Mark Bowden’s take on hyperpartisan media battles of late and perhaps, so will you. Here’s why.

Only from the overly paranoid co-captain of the mock trial team would you see this in our class blog, right?

An ice resurfacer at the Mullins Center during a fall 2008 hockey intermission. Were you about to call it a Zamboni® ? 'Cause it might not be.

What’d you guys do on Saturday afternoon? Order Wings? Make love to your significant other?

I emailed the CEO of Zamboni® , begging the company to let me reference its legendary hockey invention in my Masslive blog title without getting sued.

Hey, Scott told us to brainstorm blog names, and what’s more appropriate for an offbeat student/fan hockey blog than the original intermission legend itself?

So I did what any lazy child of our generation would do and Wikipedia searched Zamboni®, to find an un-cited claim that the company was a little Prince-like in its copyright sensibilities. Rightfully so.  A quick search of the official Zamboni ® website turns up this explanation…

Attending your first UMass Hockey games: Do’s & don’ts

Any socially adept UMass freshman would do well to attend a varsity hockey game at least once this coming season -even if said freshman hates sports.

The view from the Mullins Center student section as the Minutemen trounce last season's eventual national champs, fall semester 2008.

Backed by a primal student section straight out of Ridley Scott’s Gladiator, occasional free t-shirts and the simple fact that hockey games often turn into a Friday night “who’s who on campus” destination for undergrads, the Mullins Center has something for everyone .

So with less than two weeks until the first home hockey game, it’s time to dish out some fan tips for new UMass students. Class of 2013, read on…

Gather round, children: brewing some story ideas for the new semester

Hockey beat story ideas coming at the beat from a very blog-friendly angle of writing as both a student/fan of the team and subjective journalist injecting real game analysis.

1.) Goalie round-up: Look, chicks dig goalies. We’ve all heard of the rabid nature of college hockey fans in general, and sometimes, we’ve all heard about their occasional quests to “poke” opposing goaltenders via Facebook. But for this potential blog entry, I was thinking of going more basic: a statistical and categorical preview of Hockey East goalies (and potential Hockey East goalies, if any positional battles are currently ongoing) this year. It would be a pertinent game analysis that would potentially draw in more (for lack of better word) “serious” readers to the blog than just those looking for a more funky/offbeat student/fan perspective.

2.) Do’s and Don’ts for freshmen of attending your first UMass hockey game If it’s a party foul to spill a beer, it’s a UMass hockey foul to show up at a free t-shirt game, grab a free t-shirt and immediately leave.  Great way to get booed voraciously upon your freshman arrival at the Mullins.  This story would include other tidbits freshmen may or may not be privy to off the bat (ex: ability to use flex meal plan swipes at Mullins Center concession stands)

3.) Team notebook Styled similarly to sports notebooks in major newspapers.  Something you kind of wish The Collegian would do more of (for the hockey team specifically), with random/interesting mini storylines and stats rather than forced/elongated sidebars.

4.) Rookie round-up Previewing all of those lovely freshmen hockey recruits from the US and abroad, that I got the pleasure of meeting this summer while working for New Students Orientation. Pretty basic story idea…familiarize fans with the newbies.

5.) Spotlight on UMass hockey players in the NHL Could be an ongoing feature dependent, of course, on availability. The LA Times had a great feature on former goalie Jon Quick recently (can you tell I love goalies yet?)

Young Turk rising to fall?

For a news outlet that hails itself as “rebel headquarters,” criticism is
probably eaten up like cake.

When one YouTube commenter opined that the studio set of The Young Turks’ daily webcast “looks like it was built in [host Cenk Uyger’s] garage,” it’s easy to imagine a hypothetical response from TYT, a particularly sarcastic, left-leaning production catering to the college crowd…