(Belated) Weekend Update: Beginning Of The End

The Mouse and the Shoe Box

I am not exactly sure what was done that night was the right thing, but this is what happened. It was during my sophomore year of college back in St. Louis during the spring when I and two of my friends, Mandy and Angela went out for a walk through Washington University’s campus one night.

It sat directly across the street from us with lights and black gates surrounding it like the jewels of an oversized crown. I tended to go along because it was the size of a small city compared to ours and I think I just liked to be part of something bigger than myself. I always felt like that place was consciously trying to swallow up as much space as possible.

I can’t recall what was said in particular during our walk, but something stifled our habitual chatter that was our nightly ritual. This was when we saw the mouse. It mustn’t have been any bigger than a golf ball. Its tail bent at an almost perfect 90 degree angle and uselessly dangled at the broken joint.

Upon noticing our presence, it tried to flee as one would when one finds three giants of unknown species lumbering towards you at night. But without the aid of a working tail for balance, its intended trajectory towards a nearby bush fell apart. It slowly and involuntarily drifted towards its left. Constantly it tried righting itself only to veer off course away from the apparent safety of the shrubbery. It looked to me like a ship trying to dock only to be pushed back out by the tide. The frustration from its little ruddy brown frame was palpable.

My two companions went into a frenzy of compassion for this creature as they stooped closer to examine it. I stayed behind, watching the scene a few steps back. Soon they concocted a plan to save this unfortunate thing.

For we all thought, in its present state, it was easy prey for something bigger and faster than itself. Mandy kept watch over the mouse as Angela ran back to her dorm room to grab an old converse shoe box. I slowly let out a sigh of resignation for the night.

When she returned, the two of them tried coaxing the now equally confused and frightened mouse inside.  As the two finally managed the task by lightly shoving it inside with the shoe box lid, I couldn’t help but feel embarrassed by the whole thing unfolding before me.

To this day I’m not sure if my embarrassment was for me or the mouse - maybe for the both of us. When we got back to our campus they tried feeding it leaves of lettuce. Hoping that by tomorrow it would be able to fend for itself. Angela volunteered to keep it in her room to supervise their furry refugee.

The mouse was dead by morning. I don’t know exactly when but from what she told me when she went to check on it, it was motionless in one corner of the box, its lettuce untouched in the opposite end.

Even now, I still remember it trying so desperately to get to that bush, and away from us. I wonder what would have happened if we never found it: Would it have really died? Would it have eventually made it to the bush? Would it have mattered either way in the grand scheme of things? I think in the end, I will never know for we intervened or, more aptly, interrupted nature’s course. We know no more than the mouse in that respect.  

Nothing says high-fashion like a T-Rex in a top hat. Nothing.

Elegance (by mathiole)

Be a dear and check me and many other fine writers out at Game Podunk! 

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Weekend Update: Breakthroughs and Tribulations

This week has been a true practice in journalism's highs and lows. In the scant couple of years I've been pursuing journalism seriously, I've learned that journalism is, at its root, a practice in masochism. 

The project focus of returning veterans at the outset was a great topic to work on. The people and sources are rich with details and insights...whenever we managed to find someone willing to talk. 

I would say the main challenge is just getting past that wall that appears to be erected throughout our pursuit. Thankfully, we got a huge break through in finding not one but two subjects. So it appears the gods of journalism are smiling upon us once again.

As for what is to come, setting up a time to meet with these guys and then compiling enough material to work with will be the key element obviously. And since we got our potential main characters, the hard part is over. 

The Wit and Wisdom of Tyrion Lannister

On Knowing Yourself: “Let me give you some advice, Bastard. Never forget what you are, the rest of the world will not. Wear it like armor and it can never be used to hurt you.” (Episode 1, “Winter Is Coming”)

On Disability: “If you’re going to be a cripple, it’s better to be a rich cripple.” (Episode 3: “Lord Snow”)

Read more of Tyrion’s pro-tips and life advice here.

"I am a writer because writing is the thing I do best." -Flannery O'Connor

Weekend Update

Well, after a bit of a rough start of lacking interview subjects, my partner and I finally nailed our first (of now many) interviews! Our first subject was Domenick Cimino, an Afghanistan war vet who did two tours. He was pretty open and candid about his time there and especially about how it felt like to be back home after being gone for so long.

Overall, with this being our first time working on a video, I was pretty satisfied with it. My only gripes are the jump cut in the middle and possibly could put up more of a dynamic background next time. But as far as first forays into video recording and video editing go, not too shabby.

We got another set of interviews slated for this week and we just wrapped up the rough footage of our second subject Jonathon Shay, a leading researcher in the field of Post Traumatic Stress in soldiers and its effects. He was a definite font of information and the whole interview took two battery packs and two memory cards to complete. All in all, we got a lot to work with. 

Developing Ideas: Notes & Observations

To be honest, I was never one for public affairs or even public speaking. The very thought of it filled me with such dread. That is why I liked writing so much, the words on the page would speak for me, and I was safe to sit aside far and away from the crowd. And now, oddly enough, I'm working to be a journalist. A job where one of its primary tenants is talking to strangers. But here I am, and here we are. 

I took to print over broadcast because for much of the same reasons. The words would speak for me and I was protected from the eyes of the camera and the viewers. However, using video and images also afford certain strengths that words cannot express. A poignant interview or video package can form a development far more striking than lone words can convey at times. So using them together can create very powerful journalism.

In the reading Developing Ideas, the focus was on forming a focus for documentary film making. However, the core ideals can still resonate with developing a video piece. Aside from the technical things like "B roll" (footage to keep the scene rolling along), it also gave some nuggets of advice that really stuck with me. 

The Idea is only the Catalyst

You must keep a curious mind, a sharp eye, and a listening ear to the world around you. The thing that may trigger within you a thought or idea may come from the most infinitesimal thing. Many times "[the] inspiration...can come from anywhere" (pg. 7). 

Taking it Beyond Curiosity

Be prepared to watch your initial idea change and shift right before your eyes as you develop it. Sometimes it's because of what a subject said or did, a certain fact you discovered, or your present idea just isn't working out as you wanted it to. There is a chance that your focus can morph into something utterly unrecognizable. The key is to be adaptive to any change. Stubbornness is the killer.

Do you have a Passion for the Topic?

A professor of mine once said in order to grasp something you're working on you have to "go to school on it." In order to better understand the subject you're working, you must be willing to do the research, the homework, the interviews to really get it down. But in order to do that with any quantum of effectiveness you have the desire to dive right into it and dig deep into the foundations of your topic. You must "...assess how deeply this topic touches you" (pg. 7).

Thoughts and observations: Slash and Burn

I didn't go into college with the aim of being a journalist. My major was English. I read all the classics: Shakespeare, Dickens, Sinclair. My writing was largely influenced by their huge sweeping prose. When I wrote, my hands flew all over the keys like a drug-addled bird. Word count? What is that? Run-on sentences? I'll put whatever I want for however long I want! I was mad with power. 

Then I started writing for my college's newspaper. I still remember the first article I sent to the editor. He took it and in about fifteen minutes, I got it back with a over half of the damned thing covered in red ink. Whole grafs wiped out. Sentences, cut off at the knees. 

But after the initial shock and gnashing of teeth, I realized something -- the article got a lot better.

The reading followed that same discipline to a greater degree. What was most fascinating, was the sheer amount of information she had. Mountains of notebooks, notes, interviews, research, and more transcripts I could barely fathom. Amassing such a trove of information is both inspiring and absolutely horrifying when you realize you actually have to make sense of all that stuff afterwards. 

A lesson in organization is a key method for any journalist. Not only does it help make things easier to sort, but also subconsciously sorts it all out in your head. Slowly but surely, it all comes down to the twofold "about." What is the story about? and what is the story really about. Anything you include, anything you write or fashion should be towards making that core of the story come to light. Anything that impedes that light you must ruthlessly cut away. Show no mercy to fluff or extra wordage. 

Your writing will be the better for it.