Darkness and Light

"My friend calls fireplaces 'cave man TV'." -part of a professor's explanation of how settling down in front of a fireplace can be inspirational. Agreed.
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On A Big Truck

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Teaching Philosophy

"No man can be a good teacher unless he has feelings of warm affection toward his pupils and a genuine desire to impart to them what he himself believes to be of value." -Bertrand Russell
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Office Hours

"I don't know if my new office will have space for my couch ... which I count on for my nap." -my creative writing professor (maybe this is an English department thing? Never seen a couch in the journalism school!).
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Chuck

His mother told him some day you will be a man,

And you will be the leader of a big ol' band.

Many people comin' from miles around,

To hear you play your music when the sun go down,

Maybe some day your name will be in lights

sayin 'Johnny B. Goode' tonight

-Chuck Berry at last night's Summerfest ... probably the only 85-year-old who can pull off a sequin shirt and sailor hat combo.

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Less Ordinary

"I blame myself for not often enough seeing the extraordinary in the ordinary. Somewhere in his journals, Dostoevsky remarks that a writer can begin anywhere, at the most commonplace thing, scratch around in it long enough, and lo! Soon he will hit upon the marvelous." -Saul Bellow (another gem from Prof. Hudson's class).
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Academia, again ...

"Respect. Responsibility. Discovery. Excellence." -banners on the columns - a sure sign the academic year has started again (but did it ever really stop?!). Here's to another first day of class, and my second year of grad school.

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Little Things

"Life delights in life." -William BlakeAnd we delighted in lamb kabobs and fried okra last night -- all ingredients purchased at the lovely Columbia Farmers' Market!
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Go Forth

"Teachers open the door. You enter by yourself." -from yesterday's TA orientation.
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Care Free

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Back to School

"An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest." -Benjamin Franklin

Let's hope so, especially since fall semester is already kicking my behind...
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Separation of Church & State

Amazing bumper sticker.
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Road of Life

"When I was a child, my mother said to me, 'If you become a soldier, you'll be a general. If you become a monk you'll end up as the pope.' Instead I became a painter and wound up as Picasso." -Pablo Picasso

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Reporting Call

"She's like my mom, she has a 'phone voice'." -a Vox editor comments on another editor's interview style.
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Family Time

"A mother is the truest friend we have, when trials heavy and sudden, fall upon us; when adversity takes the place of prosperity; when friends who rejoice with us in our sunshine desert us; when trouble thickens around us, still will she cling to us, and endeavor by her kind precepts and counsels to dissipate the clouds of darkness, and cause peace to return to our hearts." -Washington Irving

Looking forward to a visit from my mom and aunt this week!
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Show Me State

"I come from a country that raises corn and cotton, cockleburs and Democrats, and frothy eloquence neither convinces nor satisfies me. I'm from Missouri, and you have got to show me." -1899 speech by Congressman Willard Vandiver.

Today marks the 1-year anniversary of my first full day in Missouri!

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Brassiere Blues

"I tried to strap myself into a bra, but I just couldn't do it." -Mo. Life's free and easy secretary describes her night out on the town.
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Keep on Truckin'

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Matthew + Me = Sustainability

"I’d always heard love makes people do crazy things, but unplugging the coffee maker after my morning caffeine fix and religiously toting canvas bags to the farmers’ market weren’t exactly what I had anticipated." -excerpt for my Vox editor's letter. Check it out on newsstands around Columbia or read more here (and ignore that tacky Club Vogue ad).
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Scootin' Around Town

"Every single white person on earth either owns, has owned, or is dreaming about owning a Vespa Scooter. And why not? They are Italian, feature vintage design, low emissions, make the rider look more sophisticated, and they carry a little bit of risk." -and now we own one :) Read more here.
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Popular Mechanic's Magazine, 1954

"Scientists from the RAND Corporation have created this model to illustrate how a 'home computer' could like in the year 2004. However the needed technology will not be economically feasible for the average home."
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Rhymes with Mean

"#@!%*: cliché color synonymous with the sustainability movement. We sympathize with Kermit the frog: it's not easy being #@!%*, and it's not easy creating an entire issue without #@!%* either." -excerpt from the glossary that will grace the TOC page of Vox's "Sustainability Here & Now" issue (published Thursday).
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Grin and Bear It

"Pain is a big fat creature riding on your back. The farther you pedal, the heavier he feels. The harder you push, the tighter he squeezes your chest. The steeper the climb, the deeper he digs his jagged, sharp claws into your muscles." -Scott Martin

Recovering from yesterday's 22-mile run.
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Well Thought

(not that there are lobsters in Missouri, but you get the idea...)
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Another Reason I ♥ Sparky's

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Pants Problem

"Sorry about my unprofessionalness; I forgot a belt." -a boy handing out fliers for a rap concert apologizes for his humongous jean shorts sagging off his hips.
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Public Speaking

"If I am to speak ten minutes, I need a week for preparation; if fifteen minutes, three days; if half an hour, two days; if an hour, I am ready now." -Woodrow Wilson, 28th president of the United States and UVA law student.

What about speaking for 20 minutes at the AJHA conference in Birmingham in October?! (my Swedish immigrant press research strikes again!).

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Creepy Car

"It'll be the only time you'll get to ride in a hearse — alive." -an editor encourages our reporting students to tackle a story on the ancient hearse parked outside the funeral home on Ash Street.
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Technology Trauma

"You called them? That's sooo retro!" -a professor teases a student who picked up the phone to contact a source rather than getting in touch via e-mail, Facebook or texting.
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Getting Things Done

"Give me a laundry-list, and I'll set it to music." -Gioacchino Rossini.

Pretty much sums up the moving/unacking process (in a good way!).
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Food, Inc.

"The irony is that the average consumer does not feel very powerful. They think that they are the recipients of whatever industry has put there for them to consume. Trust me, it's the exact opposite. Those businesses spend billions of dollars to tally our votes. When we run an item past the supermarket scanner, we're voting." -Stonyfield Farm founder Gary Hirshberg, as quoted in Food Inc. (a film that will make you think/gag about food production in this country).

On a related note, looking forward to Taste of the Market this evening!
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