7" of Separation

I’m pretty sure, if asked, I could pinpoint the fourth layer of hell on a map.

I would place the push pin just outside Eugene, in Elmira. There, on the grounds of Elmira High School, home of the Falcons, is a special place. Welcome to Schwartz Field, where the fans are rude, the parents bitchy and the mud plentiful.

Now, I”m not 100 percent on this, but I’m going to say the fourth level.

Shooting the game in the rain — with wet socks — was fun, sure. That part was great. It got better though.

Whilst making my way around the field, a woman, a parent I assume, asked me if I was affiliated with the West Lane News, or sister paper.

“Yes,” I answered, and went back to shooting.

“Good,” she clipped. “There hasn’t been one word about the boys team in the last two weeks. Not one word.”

Now, she is right. We lost a writer on the Elmira soccer beat and it has taken a little time to get back on top of things. In fact, we still aren’t, as I was there only because Junction City was playing Elmira. The fact the there will be Elmira coverage is only happenstance to me being there for JC. Anyway, it wasn’t so much what she was saying, but how she said it. It was a tone thing.

She looked at me, waiting for a reply. Many were running through my head. But, wanting to avoid unneeded tension, “I’m just the photographer,” is all that came out.

“Well, yeah. But you can pass it along,” she yelled back.

“I’ll do that.”

So, wet, cold, tired, and bitched at. That was great. Thanks Elmira.

Anyway, not really a big deal. But, it feels good to vent.

I just wish people could be civil. Is that too much to ask?

Things are getting pretty wet over here. Also, windy.

Shooting soccer is going to blow today.

So, one of my interns, Kate, is from North Carolina. This is her first winter in Oregon. She is sitting next to me, staring out the window. She just asked, “Is this what it does all winter? It seems like everyone is pretty shocked.”

“No,” I assured her. “We just forget how bad it can be. This won’t stop.”

Also…

Hey kids, why isn’t there more blogging going on?

I’m all alone here. Help me, help me. Keep me informed of your inner monologues.

Overall, the gig went well. I had about 90 kids — 6 or 7 really got engaged, one was a smart ass, 2 fell asleep and many stared at me blankly. I would say 2/3 took notes. I did end up talking the whole time, even though I was hoping for more of a discussion. But, the thing I didn’t realize was these kids were all over the board. Some were serious student journalists, while many were just kids, looking to get out of a day at school to go to OSU. Either way, it was pretty fun.

Along with me, the Cheesus and Mr. Bonczijk were on hand. It made for interesting company. Apparently, the crop of Baro students is pretty young, so I might do some gigs with them, lecturing as part of a series. Man, my ego couldn’t get more inflated. Well, it could…

Overall, a success. More than anything else, it made me think about how I write. A good exercise, in any event.

Meanwhile, on the home front, not much is new.

I was chatting with my girls’ soccer coach, and he too owned a 1983 VW van. So we bonded. He told me to go to Mexico for the surfing and to Canada for the hot springs. So, my America trip is slowly starting to tempt me into international waters.

A quote from him: “If you drive around America without a job you are a bum. But the second you cross an international boarder, you become a world traveler. That has a lot more weight to it, don’t you think?”

I do think. I do.

Oh, and in the interesting links category: Learn words. Buy rice.

I did it! I did it!

I listened to the new Radiohead album.

Yes, In Rainbows has finally spun on my iPod’s hard drive. And, while it was only a first listen, and I didn’t get too deep into it, I loved what I heard. I think I will have a full review up soon, but I just wanted to say something about it.

To me, this is a good side of Radiohead — not that there is a bad side. It reminisces with some OK Computer-era sounds. It is fresh, at times — dare I say — beat-tastic. I can’t wait to listen again.

And, if you must know, I am a consumer, I spent the $80:

Oh, hey, and I liked this mainstream media take on the whole free download thing.

Oh, sweet mother of glory! New Cat Power covers record details from the Matador blog:

CD/LP – January 22, 2008

1. Theme From ‘New York, New York’
Written by Fred Ebb/John Kander, published by EMI Unart Catalog, Inc. (BMI)
2. Metal Heart
Written by Chan Marshall, published by Dormat Music/Mattitude Music (BMI)
3. Ramblin’ (Wo)man
Written by Hank Williams, published by SONY/ATV Acuff Rose Music (BMI)
4. Song To Bobby
Written by Chan Marshall, published by Mattitude Music (BMI)
5. Aretha, Sing One For Me
Written by J Harris/Eugene William, published by Happy Hooker Music/Irving Music (BMI)
6. Lost Someone
Written by James Brown/Bobby Byrd/Lloyd Stallworth, published by Jadar Music Corp. (BMI)
7. I Believe In You
Written by Bob Dylan, published by Special Rider Music (SESAC)
8. Fortunate Son
Written by John Fogerty, published by Jondora Music (BMI)
9. Silver Stallion
Written by Lee Clayton, published by Resaca Music Publishing Co. (BMI)
10. Dark End of the Street
Written by Chips Moman/Dan Penn, published by Screen Gems-EMI Music, Inc. (BMI)
11. Don’t Explain
Written by Arthur Herzog, Jr./Billie Holiday, published by Songs Of Universal, Inc. (BMI)
12. Woman Left Lonely
Written by Spooner Oldham/Dan Penn, published by Embassy Music Corp./Dan Penn Music (BMI)

Recorded in New York, Dallas and Miami, 2007, with the Dirty Delta Blues and Stuart Sikes. Full credits and details to follow. Much like real life, everything’s subject to change.

Looks like it’s not totally final. But, really, Cat Power could sing just about any song and I would pay to here it. I can’t wait.

I finally — last minute, as always — sat down and did a lesson plan for my lecture tomorrow. I think I got some good stuff. Anyway, it’s below, in a mess of word vomit. But, I think it will guide me through the hour.

What is a feature?

* A feature story is an article in a newspaper, a magazine, or a news website that is not meant to report breaking news, but to take an in-depth look at a subject.
• A feature takes an in-depth look at what’s going on behind the news. It gets into the lives of people. It tries to explain why and how a trend developed. Unlike news, a feature does not have to be tied to a current event or a breaking story. But it can grow out of something that’s reported in the news.
*Feature writing is placing the reader into the story by brining your revelations back with you. You get to be personal with the reader in a feature.

Compare news and feature stories.
• Inverted pyramid vs. the kite.

Where to find a feature.
• Features are everywhere.
• Features often present themselves in the form of a tiny, sometimes unnoticeable blip — a bullet point on an email, one sentence in a board meeting.
• Places to find features:
Secretaries, assistants, anyone you chit-chat with before meeting with a regular source.
Localizing a larger issue — but you better have a good peg.
Deeper into a ongoing story. This could be a profile by featuring one person behind a larger story. Focus on the problems of one principal in a district with a growth problem.
Audience members of newsworthy events. A resident at a city council meeting, a parent at a sporting event.

Interviewing. “You can’t write it if you don’t come back with it.”

Make calls, lots of calls.
Meet face to face.
Get physical descriptions in notes. Explore. Take a picture. Let the subject know you might wander around, if the mood is right.
Capturing mood.
Anecdotes.
Go on a rant about interviewing.
Get the dates. Put them in order.
Clarify. Clarify. Clarify.
Jargon of the scene.
Process.
Roots and motivations.

Secondary sources

Don’t let them overshadow the focus.
But you must have back up.
Do multiple calls, interviews to build at least a small trust.

Writing
My style:
I do not write drafts. Unless on deadline, never force it. THINK. THINK. THINK. THINK. WRITE. READ. WRITE. READ. FINISH. FIX. THINK. FIX.
Like clay, I shape the story one paragraph at a time, sometimes going back and smoothing out the transitions as I go. I don’t write all the way through and then rewrite. It is a fluid process.

General tools:
“Verb Patrol” — obviously, the old saying is right, good writers avoid adjectives.
Gathering thoughts.
Leads. Or ledes, if you’re a jerk. Gotta have a good lead.
Really, the lead can be a fifth of the whole damn thing.
CONFLICT?!?
Always avoid stereotypes.

Look at old work to find what worked and what didn’t. Read it again a day after, a month after and a year after publication.

I want a smoke brake.

After getting up at 7 a.m. to read sports copy — Yay, an extra hour of sleep this morning — all I want now is to take a break. But look at it outside! Really, the stuff is falling sideways. Big, wet globs drop slowly from the edge of the roof, too. It’s just wet.

So, tomorrow I make my glorious return to OSU. I will be a guest speaker at Fall Press Day, a one day conference for high school journalism teachers and students. I am teaching feature writing at 9:30. It should be fun, and it is my first speaking gig in this field. Whoops, I didn’t get a hair cut. Oh well.

Needless to say, I have feature writing on my mind. I have never really had a solid, learned foundation for my writing. I am very much a “natural,” I guess. I took one creative writing class in college, one poetry class — hella not fun — and a copy editing class. I have never taken a reporting or journalism writing class ever before, and here I am tomorrow, teaching one. Pretty cool.

I’m not worried about it, I know I can do it. I just don’t have my own routine to writing. My style and routine changes every week. I write when I feel like it, or when I’m under pressure, so I don’t really put a lot of thought into it. So, basically, what I’m saying is that I have had to take notes on my own process so I have something to present. Let me tell you, my process is strange.

And that’s what I fear — strangeness. I once went to a presentation at the Seattle NW Writers Conference. The presenter was a tool, a biographer of rock stars Jimmi Hendrix and Kurt Cobain. All he did was talk about himself and how great he was and how one time, he had to pee in a jar because he was on the phone with Courtney Love. Why not pee in the toilet and not flush? Why not that, tool?

So, my fear is that I will talk about myself for an hour, leaving these kids with nothing positive.

That is the worst-case scenario. Really, I think it will be fine.

Although, I did once pee in a bottle after leaving an interview at a winery. It was a long drive home, and I had a lot of wine! What do you want from me?

So, today I am taking a second to post on one topic I don’t write about enough, the environment. That’s right, I was sucked into some sort of blog pyramid scheme to promote a cause — it’s blog action day.

What is there really to say? Sure, I’m an Oregonian. I recycle. I cut down on my trash as much as possible. I drive a Honda civic with it’s 33 mpg. I own a bike, and ride it when applicable. I conserve energy, sit in the dark, keep the heat low. Basically, I live a pretty low-impact life. (Save the black cloud that spits out of the VW’s tailpipe from time to time.)

One place I don’t act like the environmentalist I truly am is at work. I print anything that looks interesting from my email so I won’t have to read it on the screen. Instead of making a one page print from many small emails, I print them all. Really, now that I look around, the amount of paper this office uses is atrocious! We all do it. Printing willy-nilly seems to be the standard around here. My boss does it. Production does it. Ad sales does it.

And you know what? I’m not going to do it anymore. From this day on, I will read things on the screen. When I have to print, I will combine multiple emails into one document. Then, to top that, once used once, I will try to reuse all printed paper before placing it in a file or tossing it into the bright yellow bin under my desk.

Just last week, we made the decision that our copy reader should work on the screen, saving us 100 pages or more of printing each week. So that was a first step. Today, I take the next step in cutting down on paper waste.

End narcissistic rant…

Also, I really love trees. I think that this is one of the first years that I have really fallen in love with trees. Yesterday, I saw a tree that was so orange, it was almost hard to look at. The color was fantastic.

This season makes me so glad to live in Oregon because the trees draw attention to themselves, reminding us how many of them there are. If the trees decided to take over the world, Oregon would be in trouble. For sure. Trees, all walking around on their root feet, using their long branches to swat us humans into walls and such. Man, it would be a massacre.

So really, that’s why I should use less paper, to keep in good standing with the trees, who quite possible will rule us all someday.

What?

BEAVERS WIN!

5… 4… 3… 2… 1… And the Beavers Have it!

Sometimes, just sometimes, you leave a game six minutes into the 3rd because the score is 57-7. A rough day for WSU and their quarterback, Alex Brink (3 interceptions, a fumble and a lot of hits). So much for a happy homecoming.

And holy crap! As I type, LSU lost in triple OT!

Also, as I type, the Beavers are holding their own against Cal, who I’m sure will be on top of the rankings on Monday. Unless, of course, Canfield and the troops can pull of another Pac-10 mid-season upset.

Cross your fingers kids!