Posts filed under ‘Penn State alumni’
A Lesson in Tintypes from Cody Goddard
Cody sets up the shot with grad student Alicia Brogan. A wooden brace helps keep her head steady during the 15-second exposure.
Cody Goddard came to Penn State prepared to study computer engineering. And he did, for a year—until he attended a photography workshop as a sophomore. In the workshop, Goddard ’10 not only discovered a love for photography, but became particulary interested in old wet-plate techniques, like tintypes, which create images on sheets of metal.
On Friday, Cody, who now works on campus for the College of Arts & Architecture in the e-Learning Institute, set up a makeshift studio in the Visual Arts Building, where he offered to make tintypes of anyone who showed up, preferably in Halloween costume. Our graphic designer, Jessie Knuth, and I stopped by Friday morning to check it out.
The tintype process is fascinating. Cody was nice enough to walk Jessie and me through the making of a tintype, and his explanations were so clear, even a photography neophyte like me could understand.
He begins in the darkroom with a plate of aluminum.
Artful Clocks—or, You Might Say, Timely Art
'Flying Toaster Time,' by Randall Cleaver
One of the fun things about this job is discovering that some Penn Stater I never heard of before is doing something really cool. I got exactly that kind of surprise the other day when a woman at the National Watch & Clock Museum (I mean, who even knew there was such a place?) called to tell me about an art exhibition they’re running right now. The museum is in Columbia, Pa., and the artist is a Penn Stater: Randall Cleaver ’81.
'Dance,' by Randall Cleaver (click to enlarge)
Cleaver studied sculpture as an undergraduate; officially, he was an art major. He now lives in Takoma Park, Md., and has a pretty interesting niche in the art world: He creates clocks out of found objects.
As just one example, in 2001 he did a six-foot-tall piece called Carousel of Time out of a bicycle wheel, copper toilet floats, a trash can, some tin cans, and so on. He’s got clocks made from old heaters, clocks made from globes, clocks made from waffle irons.
The National Watch & Clock Museum is showing 30 of his pieces in an exhibition called Found Time, which runs through next May. You can learn a bit more about it by watching this video shot by a local TV station—or by taking a little road trip to the museum, located on 514 Poplar St. in Columbia, Pa.
Tina Hay, editor
A Very Penn State Wedding
The bride and bridesmaids on the Old Main porch. Click to see a larger, crisper version.
We’ve written about Penn State weddings before—here, here, and here, for example—but this past weekend was the first time I was actually involved in one.
I had a bit part, really. My brother Chris was the wedding photographer, and I served more or less as assistant photographer—as well as second assistant equipment schlepper.
(Chris’ wife, Paula, was first assistant equipment schlepper; she’s been doing weddings with him for years.)
My brother has all the talent, the experience, and the gear. My role was to fill in the gaps by taking whatever candid shots seemed to present themselves.
It was a Penn State wedding through and through: Both the bride and groom—Cameron Klementik ’07 and Daniel Ertley ’07—are Penn Staters, as are the bride’s parents, Judge David Klementik ’70 and Ruth Whalley Klementik ’70, and so were many of the bridesmaids and groomsmen.
Over the course of about 12 hours, Chris shot photos at a host of campus spots: the Nittany Lion Inn, the alumni center, Old Main, the Pasquerilla Spiritual Center (where the ceremony was held), the Nittany Lion Shrine, and Beaver Stadium (where the reception was held, in the Mount Nittany Club). We were also scheduled to do shoots at the Obelisk, the Joe Paterno statue outside the stadium, and other spots, but it was rainy and we just plain ran out of time.
If that’s not Penn Statey enough for you, (more…)
Steven Leath’s Mom has Reason to be Proud
On any given day, I’m likely to get a phone call from someone who thinks they have a story idea for the magazine. Some of the ideas are genuinely good; some aren’t.
When someone starts off by saying that the story idea involves their son or daughter, I tend to be, shall we say, a little skeptical. But the proud mom who called me this morning, Marie Leath, was right: Her son is newsworthy.
It turns out that on Tuesday, Steven Leath ’79 was named president of Iowa State University.
Leath was a plant-science major at Penn State, went on to get his master’s and doctorate, and spent some time working in plant pathology for the U.S. Department of Agriculture before joining the faculty of the University of North Carolina in 2001. Since 2007 he’s been that school’s VP for research and sponsored programs—and on Feb. 1 he’ll become a college president.
You can read the Des Moines Register’s article about his appointment here.
Ironically, the man he’ll replace at Iowa State also has Penn State ties. Gregory Geoffrey has been ISU president since 2001; before that, he was dean of the Eberly College of Science at Penn State, and before that, he was head of the chemistry department here.
Tina Hay, editor
We Are… “Linebacker U”? It Sure Looks That Way
It’s not that Penn State ever stopped producing great linebackers, but enough other schools have turned out really good ones in recent years that some fans and media observers have tried to reassign the Lions’ unofficial title of “Linebacker U.”
Well, enough of that.
On Wednesday, Dallas Cowboys’ second-year linebacker Sean Lee ’09 was named the NFC Defensive Player of the Month. Through three games, Lee—who wasn’t guaranteed to be a starter this season—was the NFL’s second-leading tackler. Fourth on that list? Another second-year linebacker, Navorro Bowman ’09 of the San Francisco 49ers. This after a 2010 season in which two of the league’s top-three sack leaders were linebackers Tamba Hali ’06 of the Kansas City Chiefs and Cameron (formerly Derek) Wake ’04 of the Miami Dolphins. (In fairness, Hali played defensive end in college, and Wake was something of a “tweener” between ‘backer and end while at Penn State.) And the NFL’s third-leading tackler last season? That was linebacker Paul Posluszny ’06, now of the Jacksonville Jaguars.
There are a couple more linebackers among the 31 ex-Nittany Lions on current NFL rosters. You can keep up with all of them with weekly updates on gopsusports.com.
Ryan Jones, senior editor
Paul Levine Brings Back Jake Lassiter
When I want to relax, I read. So it was a good day when the new novel by Paul Levine ’69, Lassiter, showed up in the office. I mean, who doesn’t like to curl up with a tale of thugs, crooked politicians, porn moguls, strippers, a grieving woman who’s slightly bananas and hell bent on revenge … and a lawyer who’s got some rough edges, but whose heart is always in the right place?
I can’t imagine.
Lawyer Jake Lassiter—a washed-up Miami Dolphins special teams player, by way of Penn State—was the star of Levine’s first book, To Speak for the Dead, and was the centerpiece of five novels to follow. It’s been 14 years since Levine wrote about Jake (although it doesn’t seem that long to me; I’ve read all of the Lassiter books in the past year or so), and it’s worth the wait.
It has a look at Lassiter’s past—and his regrets. All the twists and turns mystery readers love. A courtroom showdown. A strangely sympathetic ex-pornographer. (There’s a sentence fragment I never thought I’d write …) And the usual cast of terrific of supporting characters: Granny, who raised Lassiter and makes a mean plate of fried catfish; Kip, his slightly awkward nephew, who’s pretty clever with a computer; and the city of Miami, which is beautifully, accurately, and entertainingly portrayed. If you don’t want to take my word for it—I didn’t live in Miami that long—click here, and you’ll get the view from a more reliable source.
For bonus fun, note the Penn State references. My favorite: Lassiter gets key information from the jail by gifting his contact with a case of wine from the Eberle Winery. I am hoping, though, that Levine had better sense than his protagonist, and didn’t place a “sentimental bet” on the Nittany Lions against Alabama.
Lori Shontz, senior editor
A Famous Dog’s Life
Rennie Dyball ’02 has spent nearly a decade as a writer for People magazine. So it’s more than a little ironic that the focus of her latest book is not people—as in, human beings—at all.
Dyball co-wrote A Famous Dog’s Life, the story of Gidget, the female Chihuahua better known as the “Yo quiero Taco Bell!” dog. Gidget, who passed away in 2009, also starred in a handful of TV shows and movies, acting alongside Reese Witherspoon, Clint Eastwood, and Brad Pitt.
Working as a ghostwriter for Gidget’s trainer, Sue Chipperton, Dyball spent hours interviewing Chipperton to capture her voice and Gidget’s quirky personality. The book is part tongue-in-cheek celebrity memoir, part heartwarming animal story—with lots of practical tips on dog training in between. A few good ones:
—Treats are key, especially in a time crunch. When Chipperton had only minutes to get Gidget to look or walk a certain way, off-screen food was always an effective motivator.
—Keep training sessions short and sweet. Quit before your dog starts to lose interest, so he’s excited to train next time.
—Socialize your dog as early as possible. There’s a small window when puppies can learn to interact with people and other animals, and adult dogs won’t adapt as easily.
—Give your dog plenty of time to explore new surroundings; dogs need to sniff around before they can feel comfortable and safe. Gidget always arrived on set early to check things out and meet her costars. Suspiciously, she arrived even earlier to meet Brad Pitt….
Mary Murphy, associate editor
Two New Views of Hemingway
Two books released just this week—both with Penn State connections—offer new insights into one of the most analyzed writers ever: Ernest Hemingway.
Cambridge University Press has just published the first volume of The Letters of Ernest Hemingway, 1907–1922, edited by Penn State English department faculty member Sandra Spanier ’76g, ’81g.
Our upcoming Nov-Dec issue includes a feature-length interview with Spanier on what it’s been like to track down Hemingway’s unpublished correspondence—thousands of letters, telegrams, postcards, short handwritten notes—and what those writings tell us about a very complicated man. That next issue won’t be out until the end of October, but in the meantime you can also hear Spanier talk about the letters in this four-minute video, which also includes a conversation with Hemingway’s son Patrick.
Here’s a news release from Penn State that offers more on how Spanier became interested in Hemingway (this is a career project for her—she tells us that there could be as many as (more…)
Penn State Night at the Emmys
He was nominated for an Emmy Award last year, but this year Ty Burrell ’97g actually won the thing.
Burrell captured an Emmy last night for Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy, for his role as the dorky dad Phil Dunphy on the ABC sitcom Modern Family. The show itself also won for Best Comedy, and Ty’s on-screen wife, Julie Bowen, won for Best Supporting Actress.
You can see the entire list of Emmy winners here. Note that it includes another Penn Stater: Don Roy King ’69, director of Saturday Night Live, won an Emmy for Outstanding Directing. Not a bad night for Penn Staters, huh?
By the way, King will be speaking at Penn State next spring.
We did a profile of Ty Burrell in the magazine back in Jan-Feb 2010. That story got its start when I was trying to recruit Vicki Glembocki ’93, ’02g to write a story for us on some other topic, and she wrote back: “How about Ty Burrell??? Are you watching Modern Family? I can see the subhead: How does a guy become the most lovably annoying dad in America?”
Vicki usually knows what she’s talking about, so I took her up on the offer, and I’m glad I did.
You might enjoy reading Vicki’s tale of what it was like to meet Burrell, and that’s also where you can download a PDF of her story in The Penn Stater about him.
Tina Hay, editor
Look for the Pink Hardhat
A year ago in our Class Notes section we profiled Lynda Tollner ’84, an architectural engineering grad who’s overseeing the construction on 1 World Trade Center, being built where the twin towers once stood.
Not surprisingly, Tollner has been in the news a good bit in the past week or so, in conjunction with the 10th anniversary of the terrorist attacks at that site.
She’s quoted in an Inside Edition story about the project, also known as the Freedom Tower. You can also read about her at ABC2 news—and be sure to watch the video at that site; she’s featured prominently in it.
When you watch that video, be sure to note not only her hot-pink hardhat, but also the small blue sticker on it. It’s a Penn State sticker. You can see it even better in this photo at the New York Times site—if there’s any doubt as to where Lynda’s school loyalties lie, just click on that photo.
Tina Hay, editor
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