Book Talk

"Hefner doesn't know what he doesn't know." -Mizzou professor Steven Watts, author of Mr. Playboy, commenting on Hugh Hefner's large ego. And yes, I did read this book for school.

p.s. Is tomorrow April already?!

Kids at Play

"Hey Everyone!! So as you all well know, Mike and Katie had a cute little baby boy last week, Jack Andrew Denehy!! As a way to welcome Lil' Baby D. to the world, Alex and I thought it would be a great idea to take him on a little road trip. Plus we could give Mike and Katie a well deserved break. Click on this link to see Lil' Baby D. cruising around Missouri!!" -Nate's describes his babysitting adventure.

Coffee Run

"Even if you are a regular coffee drinker, if you have a cup of coffee before a workout or a race, you will do better." -the best NYT article I've ever read.

By The Way...

"What do those letters mean?" -my mother, confused about the "BTW" in yesterday's Quote of the Day.

Inquiring Minds...

The Rules

"Rule No. 325: You can do a lot for your diet by eliminating foods that have mascots. Rule No. 334: No digging into the bag of popcorn during the last third of the movie. Rule No. 376: Bed and breakfasts require more socializing than either 'bed' or 'breakfast' would imply. Rule No. 380: You can do that thing where you kind of make out with your own dog but not with someone else's. Rule No. 390: Men don't call it peeing." -from the April issue of Esquire, which we're critiquing for my magazine editing class.

Today and Beyond

As seen in Bluestem Missouri Crafts.

Going Green

As seen on a T-shirt yesterday:

Dear Mr. Senator

Jack tells me about his letter to Senator Mark Warner.

The Road of Life.

"Life, as they saying goes, is a marathon. Thank goodness for that. I am not a fan of sprints. The marathon is indeed an apt metaphor for all we do. The 26.2-mile race demands discipline, perseverance and luck. It rewards the crazy, but still celebrates the plodder. Of all the sports that I have covered in my seventeen-year journalism career ... no event more than the marathon best capture the whole of the human experience. Or, for that matter, the book-writing experience." -Liz Robbins, in her acknowledgments in A Race Like No Other.

Ran the Sedalia Half-Marathon yesterday. Not quite book material, but still a pretty good race :)

Spring has Arrived

"It was one of those March days when the sun shines hot and the wind blows cold: when it is summer in the light, and winter in the shade." -Charles Dickens

Use Your Brain

...something I've done a lot of this week. Looking forward to spring break starting tomorrow.

Zeus Says...

Happy Belated

"Feliz cumpleanos atrasado! Pardon me for the delay. Sure imagine your celebrations were filled with euphoric shouts of unbridled merriment!" -Xavier wishes Tricia a happy belated birthday. Quite possibly the best birthday message ever (but would you expect anything less entertaining from the man who once recorded Faded on an answering machine?).

St. Patrick's Day

"May your pockets be heavy and your heart be light; may good luck pursue you each morning and night." -Irish Blessing

NYC Sign

The Write Career?

"I have good news for you. It's not too late to attend law school." -advice to j-school students from Mizzou alum Chad Garrison. He spoke to my Magazine Editing class on Thursday about his work at the River Front Times and the future of print journalism.

Not All There

"No one reads or writes history in a fit of total absentmindedness, though a fair amount of history has been written by people whose minds seem in part to have been on other things." -Professor G.R. Elton, as quoted in Historians' Fallacies. Hopefully no one at my conference (including myself!) falls into this category.

Presenting this morning, wish me luck!

East Coast

"One belongs to New York instantly, one belongs to it as much in five minutes as in five years.” -writer Thomas Wolfe.

Let's hope this is true as Matt and I head to the Big Apple for the Joint Journalism Historians Conference. I present my paper tomorrow morning, and the rest of the weekend will be filled with NY-style fun :)

PETA Alert

"I do have a lot of fur coats ... but they're all occupied by my dog and my guinea pigs. Don't worry." -continuing with the theme of professor jokes.

I guess that means I have afur coat, too. It's extra-fat, kitty-sized.

Feline Frenzy

"You're not going to get an entire student body to do anything; it's like herding cats." -another professor makes a joke. The best part is that she included this - word for word - in her lecture notes.

Top Heavy

Excuse me...

Random British Man (excitedly running across the street toward me): What is the significance of your shirt?
Whitney (thinking that if he really is British, then he should know the significance of the shirt. Also thinking this must be the one British person in the entire state of Missouri): Um, Jack Wills is a popular British clothing line.
Random Man: I see. It's been a while since I lived there.
Whitney: Oh. Well, it's kind of like the Abercrombie of the UK.
Random Man: Jack Wills is also my son's name.

What are the odds?!

The Writer's Almanac

"You have yourself a book publishable by the University of Minnesota Press ... or Garrison Keillor." -a judge comments on my presentation at yesterday's Research & Creative Activities Forum.  I presented my work on the Swedish immigrant press (yes, again) and  mentioned that one-fifth of Swedish immigrants settled in Minnesota.

En Vogue

"Pocket-squares are the new necktie." -you heard it here first. Actually, I heard it from Esquire's Tom Junod yesterday afternoon (he was wearing a black & yellow one during his keynote speech for the Missouri Association of Publications Annual Publishing Summit.

Take It Off

-Now that the weather's getting warmer, Lauren finds some motivation to get up at 5 a.m.

Deep Down

Check out my latest Vox article here.

My College Towns

"One of the more picturesque college towns in the country, Charlottesville and the University of Virginia are famous for their American Colonial architecture, particularly founder Thomas Jefferson's Monticello residence." -Forbes ranks Cville as the #9 Top College Sports Town. The other great thing about this list? Columbia is #8. Article here, slide show here.

Deep Breath

"Can you really love a man whose VO2-max is only 59?" -Matt, disappointed with his test results. I'm still not quite sure why he feels that way; I think he is "superior."

Be Who You Are

"Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind." -Dr. Seuss :)

Picture: Friday's True/False parade. So sad the weekend is over :(

Watch Out for Piranhas

-description of Slovenian endurance swimmer Martin Strel. Strel's world record Amazon swim was documented in Big River Man. Definitely worth seeing.