Archive for January, 2009
So I Got This New Camera…
Click on the image for a bigger version.
I have a Nikon digital camera (a D40) and associated lenses that I use for semi-serious photography, but I recently bought a small point-and-shoot so I could have a camera on me at all times. It’s supposed to be a good camera—it’s a Canon PowerShot SD880—and it’s small enough to tuck into my purse or the pocket of my ski jacket. This morning I happened to be driving across campus fairly early and pulled over to take a few shots of East Halls in a magnificent sunrise. This one was shot from the new Dickinson School of Law building—or, for those of you who don’t know where that is, from behind the Flower Gardens, kinda sorta. The big pile of dirt in the foreground at right is, well, a big pile of dirt having to do with the law-school building construction.
Tina Hay, editor
My Kid Needs a New Best Friend
My four-year-old son is fairly obsessed with superheroes, and that obsession fairly dictates how he spends most of his free time — and, being four, pretty much everything outside of sleeping constitutes free time. That obsession also helped determine his closest playmate at the wonderful daycare he has attended for the past two years: another four-year-old who shares his love of Superman, Batman, Spider-Man, Iron Man and all the capital-M guys who dominate their thoughts. They are, as much as four-year-olds can be, best friends, to the extent that one usually pouts when the other is picked up first in the afternoons, and that my son occasionally looks sad in the morning at the thought that his buddy MIGHT not be at school that day.
So I was really, really bummed when one of my many Google News Alerts, assigned to tell me anytime “Penn State” appears on the Web, informed me that Salima Rockwell ’94 was leaving her job as an assistant coach for the women’s volleyball team to take a similar position at the University of Texas. Salima (then Davidson) was an All-American setter during her playing days, and we were in school at roughly the same time. A few years ago, Salima came back to Happy Valley to join Russ Rose’s staff; she helped guide the team to the past two NCAA championships, including 2008′s remarkable unbeaten run.
Did I mention Salima’s little boy is my son’s best friend?
I can only wish Salima and her family the best of luck—but she really should’ve run this by my son first.
Ryan Jones, senior editor
Wow, That’s a Lotta Students
Penn State Public Information/Greg Grieco
I was searching for something just now at the live.psu.edu site and stumbled across this photo of Penn State students and staff crammed into the HUB to watch the presidential inauguration on Tuesday. You can click on the photo to see a big—and I mean BIG—version of it.
You can see a gallery of other Inauguration Day photos from University Park here.
Tina Hay, editor
Let’s Put Joe on a Postage Stamp…
Click on the image for a bigger version.
…oh, wait, somebody already has.
My uncle collects canceled stamps for some reason—he gives them to a charity and somehow they turn into money. I’m fuzzy on how that works exactly, but nevertheless I cheerfully save up canceled stamps to send to him. On my desk I have a little dish (a Fiestaware ramekin in evergreen, to be precise), and coworkers tear off the stamps from incoming letters and put the stamps in my dish.
Yesterday I noticed a picture of Joe Paterno in my dish! Upon closer inspection, it looks like the reader who sent this letter to us had gone to www.endicia.com to get some of those custom-made stamps—you know, the sort where you might upload a picture of your 1-year-old daughter or your beloved golden retriever. I don’t think it would have occurred to me to use a picture of Joe. But this reader is clearly a fan.
Tina Hay, editor
Meena Bose on Obama’s Speech
A few weeks ago, I interviewed presidential historian Meena Bose ’90 for a piece in our next issue — she’s got a new book out, which our editor, Tina Hay, blogged about last month. Meena’s name came up yesterday, for obvious reasons, as we wondered about her take on President Obama’s speech. Wonder no more: She liked it, calling it “energetic” and “beautiful.” Not surprisingly, she also caught the speech’s factual error:
“Meena Bose, chairwoman of the Center for the Study of the American Presidency at Hofstra, said Obama erred in his inaugural address when he said 44 Americans have been sworn in as president. She said the number is actually 43, because Grover Cleveland served two nonconsecutive terms – making Cleveland the 22nd and 24th president.”
Details, details.
Ryan Jones, senior editor
Penn Staters at the AP, Covering the Inauguration
In addition to Ben Feller, mentioned earlier, there’s also this elegant piece on the Inauguration from Associated Press correspondent Ted Anthony ’95, who talks about the “strands of the national tapestry that Obama recognized and teased out in his words” today. Another Penn Stater, Jerry Schwartz ’77, who usually is in New York (he’s in charge of AP news features), is in D.C. today, helping cover the Inauguration, along with Anthony, Feller, and two other Penn Staters: Carole Feldman ’74 and Jim Kuhnhenn ’76.
Lots of Penn Staters at the AP!
Tina Hay, editor
Oh, and Joe Biden Became Vice President Today, Too
In looking on the Web at some of the news coverage of today’s historic presidential Inauguration, I was curious to see which part of the day’s events Ben Feller ’92 is covering. Ben is the Penn State journalism grad who has been White House correspondent for the Associated Press for a number of years. Looks like poor Ben drew the short straw today; the story he filed is about Joe Biden becoming the nation’s 47th vice president.
Maybe Ben will get to attend some fun inaugural balls tonight or something.
Tina Hay, editor
What’s With All These Big Ten Pilots?
I was just reading another account of the events surrounding Flight 1549 and discovered that, in addition to the pilot being a Purdue grad, the co-pilot is a Wisconsin grad. What are the chances of that?
I found that article as a link from yet another article that talks about who the flight attendants were—the basic gist of the piece being that, between the pilots and the flight attendants, there was a lot of airline experience on board. The pilot was 57, the co-pilot 49, and the flight attendants 58, 57, and 51. Since the story named the flight attendants, I checked the alumni database to see if by chance any are Penn State grads. They aren’t, alas.
Tina Hay, editor
Fascinated by Flight 1549
I don’t know about you, but I can’t get enough of the miraculous story of the USAirways jet that landed in the Hudson River last Thursday. I’ve read the online stories, looked at the slide shows, watched video of the plane landing on the water as if it were a runway, looking so natural and effortless that you’d think planes landed on the water like that all the time.
I just thought I’d share with you a link to one of the many stories written about the event. It’s from Penn State grad Ben Mutzabaugh ’97, who has a blog about air travel for USA Today. Ben is someone our senior editor Ryan Jones has known for many years—Ryan called him to our attention last year and encouraged us to feature Ben’s expertise in the magazine in some way. So we ran a feature-length Q&A with him on the subject of air travel in our November-December 2008 issue.
And wouldn’t it be great if Captain Sullenberger happened to be a Penn Stater? What a great story for the magazine that would be. No such luck—he’s a Purdue grad.
Tina Hay, editor
More on LJ’s Decision to Stay
Our senior editor, Ryan Jones, called my attention to this story by Dave Jones (no relation to Ryan!) in today’s Harrisburg Patriot-News about Larry Johnson Sr. deciding to stay at Penn State. Johnson, the Nittany Lions’ defensive line coach, reportedly was offered an assistant coaching job at Illinois for potentially a lot more money, and evidently he went back and forth many times in his own mind before deciding yesterday that he belongs at Penn State.
As Ryan points out, you can tell by reading the story that Dave Jones asked a lot of good questions when he interviewed Johnson. The story is a very interesting and detailed look at how Illinois coach Ron Zook recruited Johnson, how Johnson ultimately decided not to go, and how Johnson told his Penn State players the news. I don’t know Johnson personally, but he sure comes out sounding like a heck of a good guy.
Tina Hay, editor
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