His chin raises with every glance at the computer screen, trying to the find the typed letters as they appear one after the other on the blank white page, some faster than others. The typing continues, at least until someone sparks a conversation. The clicking from the keyboard ceases and the intermittent noise is immediately replaced with words. Mostly just a quick comment at first for whatever was said or asked: one, two, three, maybe even four words at most—something we all could offer—followed by a more specific response, much more in-depth and knowledgeable than imaginable—that’s where the difference is made.
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Christmas Reading List
So here are some books I'm thinking about reading over Christmas break...
The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach
Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace
11/22/63 by Stephen King
Those Guys Have All the Fun by James Andrew Miller and Tom Shales
Click on the titles for more info!
Photos Galore!
I was going to search online for some of my favorite photos, but I decided against it. Instead, I give you five pictures from the lens of my own camera. These are the inspiration for a piece I'm writing about a Florida trip with my Dad.
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
A Sight of Ira
Found an Ira Glass interview on Letterman. Pretty interesting seeing rather than hearing.
Monday, December 5, 2011
21
"When I put on my uniform, I feel I am the proudest man on Earth."
- Roberto Clemente
This quote is something that I surrounded myself with when I used to play baseball, but its use didn't end there. Still this quote hangs on my door, serving as a reminder to be proud with what I have in my life each and every day. Boy he had a hell of an arm.
Sunday, December 4, 2011
You've Outdone Yourself, Stephen.
If you're a fan of Stephen Colbert at all, please watch this clip I found on Gawker last month.
An absolute ridiculous story about how some teens abuse alcohol, retold in a way that only Colbert can.
Saturday, December 3, 2011
The Days We'd Mostly Like To Forget
Everyone should check out the "This American Life" broadcast centered around different middle school experiences. It's sure to create some laughs and at times will definitely make you cringe. Six stories go back in the past to relive many awkward moments, including one about school dances. Click here to start listening now!
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Saturday, November 19, 2011
Addressing the Situation
You may or may not have noticed my new gadget on the top right corner of your screen. Enter your email address and you can receive each post as an email immediately after I add them to the blog. Quick and easy!
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
A Little Fun
If you haven't heard of Dom Mazzetti yet, you should introduce yourself. Here's a pretty funny video concerning party life in college by Dom himself.
Let's Tweet It Up
I posted some tweets today featuring some columns specifically about turning 21. There are two from The Pitt News and one from the Central Michigan Life.
zjharr Zachary Harr
Another column from The Pitt Newspittnews.com/newsstory/azza… #topicsinnonfiction
zjharr Zachary Harr
Turning 21 from our own newspaper, The Pitt Newspittnews.com/newsstory/turn… #topicsinnonfiction
zjharr Zachary Harr
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
It's About To Get Creative Up In Here
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Genius, Niemann. Genius.
Christoph Niemann just continues to surprise me with his out-of-the-box ideas. Niemann recently participated in the NYC marathon, but didn't just run the allotted 26.2 miles. He chose to illustrate his time spent running, and kept his fans up to date by tweeting the pictures at different mile markers.
Here's an example at mile 23.8, which he labeled, "Hallucinating."
Follow Niemann at @abstractsunday!
Byliner Authors
Here are three of the authors I have started to follow on my Byliner account:
Skip Hollandsworth -- Skip's Still Life continues to be one of my favorite pieces of nonfiction I've read ever since I became a writing major. I have never read another text by Skip, so I am excited to have the chance to read some more.
Taylor Branch -- Branch has written a lot about college sports lately, particularly about the question as to whether or not student-athletes should be paid by the institutions they raise so much money for. Any writing that deals with pressing topics in today's most popular sports is alright by me.
Michael Solomon -- Ever since we read I Hope Like Heck for class a few weeks ago, I was hooked. I'm interested to see how the rest of his writing compares and contrasts when put up against his Palin poetry.
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Tell Me a Story
Story Idea: How people are immersed with Christmas when it's still months and months away...
Let me tell you this story, not including print, in three different ways.
I'm imagining a radio broadcast where the host describes this story by highlighting three different subjects, each with their own story. The broadcast will offer most of the information through clips of interviews given by each subject. I want to offer this world only through audio.
Then I'm thinking about a visual representation, specifically in photography. I want the subjects to offer us into their homes and show us just how crazy they are with Christmas not in the month of December. I'm thinking these people have Christmas-themed rooms in their houses dedicated to the jolly holiday. In a perfect world, I would have these people simply sitting in their rooms while I snap these pictures. They would be from all different angles, offering many vantage points into how much they are dedicated to celebrating the holiday in the middle of the summer.
Another awesome possibility to telling this story could be from the subjects alone. I would hand them a blank sheet of paper with only a question at the top saying: "What does Christmas mean to you?" I would give them a box of art supplies and let them loose. I'm thinking I would be able to get some cool visuals from that as well. I would offer this project to them twice, once in the middle of summer and another during the actual Christmas season. I predict some changes to the drawings during that simple switch in time.
I'm starting to realize just how crazy this story idea may be. The story is there, it's just up to me to tell it, even if I just started thinking about it for this recent lab assignment. If I did this project in May, then decided to perform it again in December, the difference would be great, but that difference is something I'd be willing to tell.
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Our 48-hour Magazine
What I've Learned
Cover:
It will be styled to look like a notebook with handwritten font.
Content:
Some smaller articles to begin coupled with essays about a wide range of topics dealing with lessons learned (ex: 'What I Learned in College?').
Classrooms
Teaching
Personal stories
Talents
Family/Traditions/Crafts
Feature Article (sponsored?) - an in-depth piece on the educational climate in Homewood, a neighborhood in Pittsburgh. It would include commentary on schools in Pittsburgh (Did you know there's a Barack Obama Elementary School in Homewood?)
Art: for an article such as the Homewood piece, it would be more aesthetically pleasing to have graphics of the neighborhood (gritty, raw photography). And for the lighter articles a mixture of cartoons, photography, and assorted quotes about what they have learned. These articles would round off our magazine.
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Links on Links on Links
Longshot/RadioLab RT's
wendymac wendy macnaughton
The making of Longshot Magazine told through drawings and tweetsnewyorkmade.me
ExhibitionistSF SF Weekly Arts Blog
Three lessons learned from @longshotmag, that magazine whipped up in just 48 hours http://bit.ly/nEsyg8
wnycradiolab Radiolab
New short--a king in need of a miracle hires a clockmaker, & Jad heads to the Smithsonian to visit their creation: http://ow.ly/5iqEf
wnycradiolab Radiolab
New short--Ian Frazier on the joys of clobbering a 6-yr-old at tic tac toe, & listeners help us map the game's reaches: http://ow.ly/6nc7z
I was surprised at how much I enjoyed the two RadioLab posts. Hearing a story is so much different than reading it. The sound, particularly the music in the background during certain aspects of the story, really kept me listening and focused. I'll be listening to more.
As for Longshot, it was pretty cool to see a magazine be built from start to finish in only a 48-hour period. I strongly suggest to check out the tweet from @wendymac. It's a very cool, modern way to illustrate the inside work done to complete such a feat.
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