Signs I’d Arrived in Missouri/on the Mizzou Campus: + The potholes that were there when I left 4 years ago were still there…and had grown in size. + Rain lasted longer than 15 minutes. + Banners for Boulevard served as wallpaper in the local bars. + Half the business establishments had “Tiger” in their names. + Coeds were wearing flip-flops, jeans and t-shirts instead of high heels, miniskirts and tube tops on campus. [see: Arizona State campus] + The trees were tall! And green! + There was significantly more community support for the local Cardinals.
Terp talks about his fondest J-School memories
What’s Remained the Same: + You can’t cross campus without being diverted by construction blocking your path somewhere. + The J-School still enjoys patting itself on the back (and rightfully so, of course). =) + Nothing beats toasted ravioli as an appetizer. + The red washcloths used as napkins at Shakespeare’s Pizza are still way better than paper napkins. + The Shakey’s on the north side of town still has the “y” in their name! + The joy of rivalry when a communal roar erupted downtown CoMo (I still feel weird trying to call it The District) when South Florida made the field goal in the final seconds against kU. + Lee Hills Hall still smells like stressed students, newsprint and overworked computers, and the hallway that has the bathrooms at the Artisan still smells like the building where I went to dance class throughout my elementary years. + There are way more eager student journalists than there is news to cover. + Johnny’s presence is still felt in FARC.
3-minute tour of the Reynolds Journalism Institute. You've gotta check this place out!
What’s Changed: + They have Macs! + And flat-screen TVs! Everywhere on campus, but in particular in the J-School. + The new Reynolds Journalism Institute has a coffee and sandwich shop. + The main lecture hall in the RJI has two outlets and an Ethernet plugin for every seat, very comfy chairs and a skylight. + McDavid has A/C and conspicuously lacks a computer lab (who needs a lab when all the students have laptops?). Students enter their dorm rooms using a magnetic card rather than a metal key. + The national park-style signs outside each building on campus have been replaced with fancy metal ones. + “Save the Ground. Walk Around” signs on the Quad are missing! + Students oh-so-disrespectfully talk, laugh and shout while passing through the Memorial Union archway. Kids these days! + The Missourian newsroom is painted green and has a “Convergence” desk, the function of which was never really explained to Dan and me. + The J-School library looks like a hip place to hang out. However did they manage that?!?! + D@rwin Hindm@n still has big ears.
Don Ranly talks about his favorite J-School memories
Highlights from the Conference: + Truman rappelling from the ceiling of the Mizzou Arena during the opening ceremony. + “It’s hard to change. Change is a bitch.” –John Byrne of BusinessWeek.com + The big buzz words: aggregation, context, iPhone, crowd-sourcing, widgets, horizontal (as in content, advertising and planning), mobile, simplicity, loyalty. + Journalists/editors should think of themselves as the curator of news and information. + The tenants of journalism as outlined by the great Walter Williams in the Journalist's Creed aren’t what’s the matter with media today. Rather, the advertising model that has worked for over a century needs fixing. + The more specialized you are, the more protected you are from advertising cuts. + More and more journalism is going to be done by freelancers rather the news outlets themselves [see editor as curator above]. My concern is that if this is true, then the J-School needs to go beyond teaching students how to compile sources, write a great story and work with editors on fine-tuning their pieces. The school needs to start teaching their graduates how to write a winning pitch, handle their taxes, find health coverage and set up a personal 401(k). + Debate over the phrase: “Context, not content, is king.” + Dean Dean semi-jokingly extended Mayor Hindm@n the title of adjunct professor for all that he’s taught student reporters in his city government offices. Pay for his new position will be the same he’s been receiving. =) + Apparently there’s talk about phasing out the brand-new convergence sequence and instead incorporating the lessons taught in those classes into every sequence. + Overall excitement for all the opportunities now awaiting the media as technology grows in leaps and bounds…as long as the industry stalwarts don’t dwell on the past.
10.09.2005
go CoMo, go CoMo, go! An excerpt from "Making the Band" by Erin Byers in this month's issue of Boston. There's a particular smell that comes from a rock band at 4 in the morning--the semll of too many guys crowded into a small space littered with too many pizza boxes, too many cigarttes, and too many empty beer bottles. This is the smell wafting through a room at the Regency Hotel downtown in Columbia, Missouri, where the Boston band Apollo Sunshine is crashing for the night. For the past five days, all that the band members had talked about was the marathon party they were going to have after they played a gig at Columbia's Blue Note club. It would be an all-nighter for the record books, the Perfect Hangover. Yet there we all were, slumped in a stinky haze--them, dazed; me, confused. [...] Groupies today are not the sex-crazed females portrayed in so many movies. Forget Kate Hudson in Almost Famous;* think John Cusak in High Fidelity. [...] We finally arrive in Columbia. The band has visited nearly every city between Boston and San Diego, but to the guys this college town is Vegas and Gomorrah combined. "Last time I was in [Missouri] I slept with two women," Gallagher boasts...
I wonder if I know either of those two women...
Also, Columbia was mentioned on NPR last week in a story about a guy (in CoMo) who started a Save Fiona Apple club and helped to convince her lable to go through with producing her latest record. I gave a little, "Woot woot!" in my car when I heard them mention Columbia.
*Penny Lane was not a "groupie." She was a Band-Aid! Get it straight!
6.30.2005
last weekend i: - watched as Myndi became Mrs. DeVore(!) - was overwhelmed by the number of friends and acquaintances who made an appearance in my weekend (after my year of scant social interaction) including former fellow camp counselors Ryan and Joe, high school classmates Megan and Monica (who came as dates to the wedding - woah!), an entire table of former FARCers whom I hadn't thought about in a year (Channing, Shiraz, Adam, Danesh, Jeff, Wilson...) - and those are just the people I wasn't planning on seeing. - twirled my skirt on the dance floor. - made a gastronomic tour of Columbia's great downtown cheap food (Ernie's, 9th Street Deli, Panera). - spent most of an entire day in the Artisan. - disucssed the finer points of the use of lines in magazine design with Erin.
today i: - will see Après Vous for the first time since the Phoenix Film Festival.
this weekend i: - will post pictures from the wedding. - will begin house-sitting for a friend of the family. - will float in said friend's pool with visiting Emily. - will wish Megan "happy one year anniversary of living in London" by trying to immitate the explosion of fireworks over the trans-Atlantic phone line. - will write a post about purchasing a hybrid car. (Look for it.)
[myfirstname] . [mylastname] @ gmail . com I got a Gmail address this week, so I could be like all the cool kids. Actually, I wanted it because it's pretty and I can send disgustingly huge attachments to myself.
6.26.2005
obligatory dateline post Columbia, Mo. - Hello from the remodeled Ellis Library. More later.
6.21.2005
last weekend: - Got new A/C. Whew. Just in time for the heat wave. The past couple of days have been so hot that you almost have to remind your lungs to expand because the heat presses in on your body. It's also been humid. What? I thought this was supposed to be a dry heat here.
- Went to a local band's CD release party. Lisa and I were the only ones not buddy-buddy with one of the four bands there. Opening band lead singer's eyebrow movements cracked me up. Sang a song with lyrics like, "(first stanza:) There's a tree in a forest and it doesn't know what to do... (second stanza:) There's a drop in the ocean and it doesn't know what to do..." Guitarist tried hitting on us. Drummer of the third band looked like my eighth grade life sciences teacher, including the paunch and the balding head. Didn't seem to fit with the other younger members of the metal band (not my type of music, honestly). Ten Dollar Outfit (the band we went to see) was quite enjoyable. Lead singer reminded me of John Mayer, guitar faces included.
- Saw Phantom of the Opera for the third time in my life. Performance in San Francisco was still the best ever, but watching those candles rise through the stage floor always amazes me. Some day I'm going to inspect the stage and figure out how they do that.
- Watched The Life Aquatic. It was O.K. I like The Royal Tenenbaums better. But, wow, was the color gorgeous.
next weekend: - Meeting up with Emily in KC.
- Myndi's wedding(!!!!!)
- Columbia-bound in a rental car. Meeting up with Kate, JDub, et al. for breakfast at Ernie's. Hanging out with EZP. Visiting old haunts on Campus. Grabbing a mocha chai at the Artisan. Lunching with Crowley (now Gibson) and Ann (possibly Luke and Jeremy as well). Returning to KC with Kate and Adam in tow.
5.17.2004
last post from como Jack is the last to be packed. Good-bye Columbia.
1.27.2004
i want to be just like sarah I, too, almost ran over Mark Haim tonight. His time must be running short or something.
A guy came in to interview for a student job at work today. I approve.
vampire cat The new residence comes with a cat. After living with Cassie the psycho cat this summer (see 7.27.2003) I was a bit hesitant. But Gus and I are getting along pretty well - except for the fact that he likes to nuzzle necks. I'm not a fan of teeth near my jugular.
berg update Sources say that the new and improved (fire-proof) Berg will not be completed until June, thus missing the graduation festivities.
11.06.2003
what's up with the "district? Two days ago, I saw a six-car police chase on Broadway. Yesterday, our house mom witnessed a bank robbery at Commerce Bank downtown.
it's cold I broke out the pashmina today.
I miss London.
10.18.2003
in memorium The sign outside the Heidelberg says reconstruction will be done by Spring 2004. Just in time for graduation celebration, J-School-style.
where in the world... We used to have an old-school computer game of "Where in Time is Carmen Sandiego" when I was little. One of the notorious criminals was named Justin Tyme. ha.
6.28.2003
sometimes a week in which nothing spectacular happens can be a spectacular week There wasn't one specific thing that made this week good. Nothing too exciting happened. I didn't accomplish any great feats and I didn't solve any foreboding problems. But it seemed like nearly every minute went well. To keep your interest from waning by making you drudge through paragraphs of mundane details, I'm just going to list some of the highlights.
friday (a.k.a. Harry Potter Day) That says it right there. Finally got to see Miss Tuttle at the 9th Street Bookstore book release.
the weekend Chilled in Shelter Gardens with Lucy. We made friends with a squirril we named Fredrick and got in trouble with the park security guard for climbing a very sturdy willow. Met up with Emily and George in Westport at an Irish pub called Kellys that bared no semplance to anything Irish or any pub Em or I had visited.
wednesday A Vox-ful day. This was double production week as we put together two issues, allowing us to take the weekend of the Fourth off. I began to really feel like part of the magazine staff: for the first time, my name was added to the masthead as a designer; at the pot luck dinner that night we got to see that Thursday's issue coming off the press; Andrea and I joked about the Lionel Richie cake she brought ("Vox does it all night long..."); and Carolyn and Astrid and I gossiped about a certain former TA we'd all had last year. The best part of Wednesday came when Carolyn gave me an unfinished 4th of July page to work on for the July 3 issue. I worked on it for about an hour and was getting really frustrated, convinced that there was no possible way to arrange all the elements on the page without sacrificing some of the most important design principles. Just as I was about to give up and send layout convention to the infernal realm, everything clicked. Ahh...the joy of design.
Oh. And I finished Order of the Phoenix Wednesday as well.
thursday Again, nothing all that exciting. Scott ditched our plans to go to the last Twilight Festival of the summer. (Something about a job interview. Hey, I understand that it's your top choice and they're putting you up for the night and everything, but you put that over handouts from the Peace Nook and free samples of strawberry milkshakes from Cool Stuff?) So May-gun and I joined Felicity, Ben and Mark in strolling along Broadway. I discovered a London store. It was closed. I'll be back.
friday I spent the evening surrounded by engineers. The only non-engineer at the BBQ was a pathobiology student. I felt unqualified to be in attendance. The food and the sand volleyball made for a good time despite the fact that I didn't join the conversations about statistics and the difference between inversion and reversion...or something like that.
'till next time, yo.
6.20.2003
the entry about books
by day, one of those slimy PR people Yesterday, I helped write a quote for Chancellor Wallace to say at some Columbia One Read program. You wouldn't think it'd take two of us a half an hour to string together three sentences promoting To Kill A Mockingbird. All for a quote that no one will blink at. Next stop: "President" Bush's 2004 campaign speeches.
speaking of books Do you have any? In particular, Aldus Huxley's Brave New World? I'm beating the system for my summer session Sociology I class and not buying my books at the bookstore. I have two already (Lord of the Flies and 1984....I think all I'm going to have to do for this class is copy my book reports from middle school) and I ordered my textbook online for $8. Now if only I can find someone with Huxley's masterpiece, I'll be great. $8 or $51 from the MU bookstore? No contest. *I do have "Brave New World" the British pop song on my Brits Hits compilation CD...does that count?
i think this makes me an official member of the columbia community I got my Daniel Boone Regional Library Card in the mail a couple days ago. Old movie nights are about to become a regular event at the Chateau, thanks to the power of free movie rentals at the modern artwork that is the Columbia Public Library. I think this makes me a Columbia resident, right? So I should only pay in-state tuition, right?
6.19.2003
the priorities in my life As I was driving to work today, I had to stop quickly at a light and did the soccer-mom-arm-save. To protect my sack lunch from sliding to the floor and squooshing my strawberries.
a wordy release Two nights ago I unloaded my jumbled thoughts into my personal journal. Eighteen pages later I realized that there were some very interesting thoughts down on paper. Because I am too lazy to write new material for this blog, below is an excerpt.
I have so many thoughts fighting for my full attention right now that I just have to get them out and down on paper. I sit here in a hammock that has become my most favorite part of a house that I have begun to simply love. The night is perfect (as long as the mosquitoes keep their distance) and I feel like just about the most blessed person on this tiny planet right now. I am conflicted, but in ways that only show how God is just too good to me. I sit here in a town that is beginning to feel like home (a year before I am again homeless) totally happy for where I am.
Have I ever felt this? I don't think so. Not that I don't have dreams and things that I desire for my life. I'm just so happy with what I have, happy like I don't think I've been before. I just spent the most amazing semester in a country that I yearn for and have returned to some of the best friends ever; new, old, resurfacing friends. (Is it possible to long to be someplace and yet love where you are at the same time?) I'm finally doing what I want with journalism and loving it. I'm attending a Bible study again...and not one that I have to prepare for. I'm making new friends there and feeling encouraged by their stories and supported by their prayers. I have roommate that are great.
The jobs are going great. The Brady kids can definitely be a challenge. I'd say they are the trying part of the summer. Their adorable-ness, however counter-balances my moments of frustration. just as I feel like I've had it, Amelia will tell me she loves me, or Jackson will crawl into my lap, or Avery will cry out, "Ecka!" with the glee of a child so proud that she can remember my name. Touching. And a real reminder that frustrations are temporary. (Let me just say, thought, that nap time is just lost on twins who sleep in the same room. Their collective energy fits that cliche equation that the whole [energy] is greater than the sum of its parts.)
Business Services would have to be the biggest blessing of the whole summer. I never would have thought that by mentioning the fact that I really needed to find another job, I would end up with a 40 hour work week....just from the University. And what's more, this raise is a promotion that works right with design. I get to promote a university that I love by doing what I love. Who would have thought? I'm working directly under two of the most influential women on campus: J@ckie J0nes (Vice Chancellor of Administrative Services) and Chris Kouko|a (Assistant to the Chancellor). And I have my evenings free!
...those: my thoughts...at least some of them. I of course edited out the more personal thoughts and random sentences that were exceptionally stream of consciousness and that paid no attention to grammar. (Boys are not to be discussed on the Internet, that is my firm belief. Too much like passing notes in middle school: the message could be intercepted by the teacher and read aloud for the whole class --and him!-- to hear.)
there and back again I'm doing another quick trip to Kansas City again tonight. I'm picking up my friend from camp, Lucy. She's coming to spend a couple of nights with me here in CoMo.
and let us not forget Tomorrow night. Midnight. 9th Street Bookstore, population: May-gun, me, Lucy, Tuttle....and a certain Harry.
6.12.2003
all day long i'll have good luck I found a penny this morning. I picked it up.
meanwhile...in mid-missouri... My family is in New York City without me. Here's the Cliffs Notes version of my mom's phone call last night:
Mom: Hi Erica! Erica: Hey! What a coincidence! Billy Joel's "New York State of Mind" just came on my iTunes. How appropriate! M: Talk about coincidence! We saw him open the Tonys Sunday night! E: Get out! M: We were walking by Central Park and saw something going on and the policeman we asked told us that Billy Joel was about to perform an opening show for the Tonys, so we went there and five minutes after, his car pulled up, he got out and played for 15 minutes, talked a bit and then left. We were right there near the front! E: No way! How cool! Megan and I probably just missed seeing you on t.v. We saw Hugh Jackman open the Tonys onstage, but missed the whole red carpet stuff. But I did see you at the Today Show! M: You did?! Ally and I got up at 5:30 for that! Afterward we got to shake hands with Al Roker and Ann Curry. E: No! They're my favorite people on Today! I love Ann Curry! M: Ann [they're on a first name basis now, of course, my mom and Mrs. Curry. ;)] is so nice. She really took time to talk with people. Matt Lauer didn't talk to anyone and Katie Courric was on location interviewing Hillary Clinton in Washington. E: Wow. How neat! M: Monday night Ally and I saw RENT and last night we went to The Lion King. It was amazing! We also went to the Met and I saw my Renoirs and Monets and VanGoghs that I love. E: Oooh!!!! Theatre! And Impressionists! I miss good art! M: Oh! And we saw Barbara Walters! She was getting out of the car outside her apartment as we were passing by. Oh! And when we were at the Today Show, we turned around and Ally says, "Look, Mom, there's Joey from 'NSync!" And there he was! So I took a picture!!! I don't think he even saw me take it! E: HAHAHA! M: So we've had quite the sightings here. I know you really wanted to come with us, so I thought I'd call and let you now how much fun we were having. How's Columbia?
Thanks, Mom. Columbia's quite the cultural Mecca, thank you very much. New York pales in comparison. It's not like it's the city I've wanted to visit the most for years and years (besides Paris which I crossed off my list after middle school). I've had a couple of celebrity sightings myself. I see Stuart Polansky about twice a week. So ha!
5.21.2003
jack the mac is back I'm now logged on here at 1321 Paris Road, Columbia, MO. And here's something new for me: We have two cats. I've never lived with animals before so this is interesting. One, Alley, is just that, an alley cat. But she's great, everso friendly and sweet. The other, Cassie is an indoor kitty. And neurotic. No joke. Ask Pat. She likes to attack you just as you think you've won her over. And for some reason, she likes my room. (Which means she leaves her long, white hair all over the place.) We'll see how this living with felines goes this summer.
the flat, como style My room is the attic. It's nearly as big as the flat I had to share with five other girls last semester. Pretty sweet. I'm subleasing for Chri$tin@ W@t$*n, who is a dear for letting me take over her room for the summer. I'm trying to figure out the balance between respecting her things while (temporarily) giving the room a bit of my personality. I still have many boxes to unpack.
missing you London. Trying to keep myself in check. I'm busy with settling in and trying to figure out how this house runs (do i buy my own milk or is it communal?), so that's keeping me from thinking about the fact that a month ago I was having the time of my life in another country. I'm caught in this dichotomy between falling right back into my Manhattan/Columbia groove which makes London a far distant memory, and thinking about it constantly...to the point where I have to restrain myself from making London the dominant topic in any conversation of which I am a part. At least I have Meg@n Retk@ here. She was in Singapore this semester and we've already shared our re-adjustment griefs.
5.07.2003
a visit to CoMo My trip to Columbia was good. Most of my friends were loaded with tests to prepare for but it turned out to be a good situation. It meant that no one could spend too much time with me, thus letting me see more people. Many thanks to Cassie and Megan for letting me crash at their apartment. Ellen's birthday was fun and I'm glad I was able to spend it with her. After spending time in pubs surrounded by businessmen, it's odd to go to a college bar where everyone is my age.
in the bond Monday night I went to chapter meeting at Alpha Chi to see Senior Wills (the chance for the graduating seniors to say their farewells). I barely said hello to Becky before we had to start the meeting, but she was able to get me bawling during her talk.
my favorite dawg Speaking of people that I can be away from for so long and yet that connection is still there... I had coffee with Tuttle Tuesday morning before leaving town. It was just as usual: me arriving at Osama's 15 minutes late to see Erin relaxing outside with a book, finding a table for two upstairs and falling into conversation so comfortable that it seems impossible that an ocean separated us for the past nine months. Erin was the first person I met at Mizzou and so many of my favorite MU memories involve her. Here's a tribute of reminiscences, Erin:
~Pestering Madelyn with questions by the Warm Little Pond during Summer Welcome ~A U2 roadtrip ~Sitting in Phil's van, heading to DCC '01, you reading Harry Potter book 4, me learning the magic of Harry Potter book 1 ~Planning sleepovers with Dane and Sterling ~Camping out for Harry Potter movie tickets (superfans = us) ~Bible study with S@r@h M@gill when you knew how to steer the conversation to exactly what I was struggling with ~Sitting at a table with you, Kate and Eggers at Sarah's wedding, glasses of champagne in front of us, the Rev. D@ve C*ver and Charles, the Crusade director behind us (gasp!) ~Watching you wrestle with Chickens ~Walking back to FARC from RagTag, arm in arm with you, Clark and Kate after being scared out of our wits by Requiem for a Dream ~Two words: John Nash (he's everywhere!!!!!) ~Talks of parallels between HP and the Bible. (We should write a book: The Gospel According to Harry Potter) ~A rainy night playing in the sprinklers on the Quad and stealthily (ha!) taking a dip in the fountain by Brady ~Talks of crushes on your Mountain Men and 'Jesus' ~Watching you fill out forms to study in London and realizing that maybe I could leave Mizzou for a semester, too.
E-Dawg, much love to you and many more cups of coffee at Osama's this summer.
