Archive for February, 2009
Still More Wide Shots
I went onto campus this afternoon and played around with my wide-angle lens some more. Here are some shots; click on any of them to see it larger.
One of the units in the graduate housing complex that opened a few years ago, on what used to be part of the White Golf Course.
Same unit, just giving you a little more sense of the housing complex on West Campus.
Reber Building, along Burrowes Road across from the power plant.
Reber (and part of Deike), along with some of our doomed elms.
Ihlseng Cottage, along Curtin Road between Pattee Library and West Halls.
One of the elms outside Burrowes Building.
“I Thought Football Season Was Over?”
38 points, none for style...
So texted a friend of mine this morning, upon seeing the final score of Penn State’s road upset of No. 16 Illinois last night in Champaign. The reason for his feigned confusion? When the Nittany Lion football team beat their counterparts from Illinois in Beaver Stadium last fall, the final score was 38-24. Last night, the men’s basketball team won with 38 points of its own.
Ugly? You could say that. The AP reports that the 38-33 win is the lowest scoring Division I game in four years, and it’s Penn State’s lowest scoring output in a victory since a 24-9 win over Pitt — in 1952. Hard as it was to watch (and if you missed the Big Ten Network telecast, you can see the, um, “highlights” here) , the result is a thing of beauty for Penn State hoop fans. With their third win over a top-20 team this season (and second on the road, after a 72-68 upset of then No. 9 Michigan State in East Lansing three weeks ago), the Nittany Lions improved to 19-8 overall, 8-6 in the Big Ten. Three wins in their (at least) five remaining games — four regular-season games, plus at least one more in next month’s Big Ten tournament — should be enough to get Penn State into the NCAA tournament for the first time in eight years.
For now, they remain firmly on the tournament bubble, meaning the only guarantee is that every game left is a big one.
Ryan Jones, senior editor
THON Weekend is Upon Us
A colleague down the hall sent me the link to this year’s official IFC/Panhel Dance Marathon video, which is a minute-and-a-half long and well worth the time. According to YouTube, it’s been viewed more than 13,000 times already!
This morning’s Centre Daily Times has a short op-ed piece by a faculty member who was skeptical of the whole THON phenomenon when he first arrived on campus 10 years ago—but whose 5-year-old daughter ended up benefiting from THON in a way that completely changed his perspective. He makes a point that I had never thought about before:
“Beyond the wonder that is Four Diamonds,” he writes, “the students of Thon act as role models for all three of our daughters…. These undergraduates set an example of selfless commitment to a cause, of the volunteering spirit, of the joy of working together as a team toward a noble goal, of the obligation that we as adults have to help others—especially children.”
THON starts tomorrow in the Bryce Jordan Center.
Tina Hay, editor
Losing John Beard
A lot of us on campus were shocked and saddened to hear of the death of John Beard, distinguished professor of nutrition, who collapsed while teaching a class last Friday and died shortly afterward. He was just 61 (and I actually would have guessed he was a good bit younger).
I met John when he first started at Penn State back in the mid-1980s, when I was working in the then-College of Human Development. I remember doing a story on his research on iron deficiency—a story that involved my sitting in a tank of chilly water up in Noll Lab; the research had to do with the role of iron in your body’s ability to regulate its temperature. John eventually became one of the world’s most respected researchers in iron deficiency, yet he was always one of those guys who wasn’t at all full of himself—he was friendly, approachable, unassuming, and just really likable.
At his memorial service on Tuesday, I listened to colleagues, friends, one of John’s two sons, and a former grad student talk about John, and I came away with an unmistakeable sense of a guy who worked hard, was a tough mentor (“He didn’t just expect your best,” said the former grad student, “he forced it out of you”), and had a life outside the office too. His son told of losing “my hiking partner,” and a longtime running buddy told of how their conversations while running often focused on John wondering how to be a better father and a better husband.
John’s passing really makes me think about how random death can be. Here’s a guy who was healthy, took good care of himself, had just been named a Distinguished Professor, was full of life, was full of plans … and all of a sudden it’s just: “Sorry, time’s up.” It’s very sobering.
Tina Hay, editor
Those Students are Blogging Busily
If you haven’t checked out Onward State, a blog run by Penn State students, you might want to take a look sometime. They’ve been at it for three months and are doing a great job, with multiple posts every day, a sharp design, and lots of fun and varied information. Today’s Collegian reports that “Onward State” won a US News & World Report contest as “Best Alternative Media Outlet.” Not bad for a bunch of beginners. :-)
Tina Hay, editor
More Wide Views
We had a nice sunny day on Sunday (here in central Pennsylvania, you notice those rare sunny days) and I took my new ultra-wide-angle lens out for some more experimenting on campus. I’m still feeling my way—you get very different results depending on whether you’re shooting from a standing, kneeling, or lying position, and depending on how you tilt the camera. Anyway, here are a few shots from Sunday.
The Beta Theta Pi house on Burrowes Road. I'm not sure in what month they actually take down their Christmas wreaths. Click on photo for bigger version.
Phi Delta Theta. Currently embroiled in a dispute with the University (http://live.psu.edu/story/36338/rss30).
The IST Building, which is definitely funky, but not THIS funky. Some of it is distortion from the wide-angle lens.
The plaza at the intersection of Shortlidge and Pollock. The two-story building in the center of the photo is Ritenour; to its right, the new Chemistry Building.
Schreyer Honors College headquarters, in the former Atherton Hall, along College Avenue.
Tina Hay, editor
Track Talking
My Alumni Association colleague Jayson Jackson ’99, who used to be on the Penn State track team and who still pays far more attention to track than any normal person should, 
called my attention to this video of Nittany Lion track coach Beth Alford-Sullivan. She’s one of only a handful of female coaches nationwide to coach not just the women’s team but the men’s as well, and she talks a little in this interview about what that’s like.
The video runs about five minutes and is one part of a three-part conversation; links to the other two segments are on the same page as the first part.
Tina Hay, editor
Rock On
Richard Alley is well-known as an expert on glaciers (in fact, he was one of the authors of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report in 2007). He’s less well-known as a singer, but that may change now that the videos for GEOSC 10, “Geology of the National Parks,” have hit the Web.
In some of the videos, Alley decks himself out like Johnny Cash to educate students about geologic processes (“Subduction scrapes off mud ’round a burning ring of fire, / takes water down, / drives the volcanoes higher”). The Beatles get the same treatment in a couple of songs.
The campy videos manage to get some fundamental geosciences concepts across, and Alley’s droll screen presence is a hoot. (One comment overheard in our office: “I wonder why he doesn’t use a capo? Or maybe singing so low is part of the shtick.”)
GEOSC 10 aims to help students—and members of the public—learn about geologic processes as illustrated at sites of the U.S. National Park system.
Chas Brua, contributing editor
Pink Everywhere
Today was the Lady Lion basketball team’s third annual “Pink Zone” day, an event to raise awareness for breast-cancer research, and I think I’ll be seeing pink for the next three days at least. The Bryce Jordan Center was just a sea of pink today—the fans wore pink, the Lady Lion players wore pink, the Iowa players wore pink, the refs used pink whistles, the game ball had a pink Nike swoosh stripe … you get the idea.
There was a very impressive halftime ceremony honoring breast-cancer survivors and their families, and a bunch of money (exact amount to be announced later) was raised for breast-cancer-related charities.
The Lady Lions lost, 63-57—they blew a 20-point lead, which was frustrating. And some of the players in tears after the game; they’ve just lost far too many close games this year. But despite their disappointment they stuck around to sign pink T-shirts and pink ballcaps for the fans.
Below are some photos I took during the game. I’m the PA announcer for women’s basketball games at the Jordan Center, so my seat at the scoring table gives me a great view … I don’t usually bring my camera, as I’m usually too busy during the game to shoot photos, but today was special.
The Lion mascot joined breast-cancer survivors at halftime.
Players from both teams wore pink uniforms. This is Mashea Williams with the ball.
Penn State coach Coquese Washington
Even the refs got into the pink act.
Brianne O'Rourke was one of a number of Lady Lions who stuck around to sign autographs after the game.
Oh, and after the game I stopped into Faccia Luna for a quick bite to eat, and the place was packed—with at least a third of the patrons wearing pink.
Tina Hay, editor
Thanks for the Meadow
I just saw a news release today that James and Lynn Ramage of Ford City, Pa., have given a $120,000 gift to Penn State’s Arboretum—and that Penn State will name a marsh meadow at the Arboretum in their honor. How cool is that? Some people get buildings named after them; Jim and Lynn get a grassy expanse instead.
Jim and Lynn Ramage, in Leiden, the Netherlands, 2006
I met Jim (Penn State Class of ’63) and Lynn when I hosted an Alumni Association trip to Holland and Belgium in 2006. They are both Pennsylvania Master Gardeners, and I can’t imagine that anyone on the trip enjoyed the visit to the lovely Keukenhof Gardens on the last day more than they did. And I have a fond memory of conspiring with Lynn midway through the trip to organize an unofficial side trip to the University of Leiden—so we could see the botanical gardens there—while most of the other passengers were doing the official tour of the city of Leiden. Here’s a photo I took of Jim and Lynn just outside the University of Leiden that day.
Thanks for the cool gift, Jim and Lynn! I look forward to visiting your meadow.
Tina Hay, editor
Subscribe
