Sarah E. Binder

What if UI and ISU had better collaboration in research, entrepreneurship, events, etc., instead of being fierce rivals simply because of athletics?

Tue, 25 Sep 2012 22:09:53 -0500

I don’t really have a point here. Just spitballing some end of the day thoughts.

Somehow this queston seems both radical and super obvious.

Friends, thoughts?

"The fight for gay marriage is, in reality, a fight for all of our rights. Without it, we will turn..."

Sun, 26 Aug 2012 09:47:14 -0500

“The fight for gay marriage is, in reality, a fight for all of our rights. Without it, we will turn back the sexual revolution and return to an earlier, puritanical time.”

- Hugh Hefner.

“We’re going to miss her like a front tooth.”

Thu, 23 Aug 2012 20:54:05 -0500

That’s how Barbara Mack greeted my parents, throwing her arm around me, at the Greenlee School’s graduation brunch. That was the last time I saw her.

A few years earlier, she had given me a rather vigorous shoulder rub as I sat hunched over a Daily computer. That doesn’t sound like a memorable experience, but I was taken aback—I was surprised she even knew who I was. Before that, I’d only had her in a large lecture, and a lot of professors never take the time to learn the names of the lecture students who never speak up in class. To me, Mack was a legend on campus, a larger than life figure, wildly admired and more than a little feared. For her to walk up to me, plop down her signature Coach bag and ask about my day made me feel special.

I don’t recall her ever telling me I was “too quiet,” which is something not many of my teachers over the years can claim. Yet, she motivated me to speak up for myself more than any of those other teachers ever did. She was a role model to me, especially as a woman, of strength, intelligence, wit, grace and pure joy for life.

As I progressed through my education, I wanted to be like Barbara Mack. I still do.

As my parents and I were leaving that graduation brunch, she told them she thought I should go to law school—another surprise. To hear those words from the one and only Barbara Mack, and see the resulting look on my parent’s faces, was one of my proudest moments.

Maybe someday I’ll be able to live up to her perception of me.

Reading through all of the things people have said about her today has been kind of comforting, to know that she affected so many. I only knew her for a short time, as one of thousands of her students, but she had a deep impact on me. Clearly hers was a life fully lived.

To butcher her analogy, it feels like the world is missing some teeth.

I’m still having trouble finding the right words, but here are a few other thoughts and memories:

• Hearing an older Daily editor sing “Ba-ba-ba, ba-Barbara Mack” (to the tune of the Beach Boys’ “Barbara Ann”) at a newspaper conference. This was still early in my college career, but it came as no surprise that the legendary professor would have a quasi-theme song.

• One day last year, my fellow Meredith Apprentice Ivy showed up for our usual carpool visually upset. She was the Editor in Chief of a campus magazine, and she had learned that a publication at another university had copied some of their designs. We commiserated for part of the ride, but once she heard from Barbara Mack, our feelings of frustration and helplessness turned to a sort of perverted joy. We knew that not only would everything be totally taken care of, but that we would get to watch a master at work, like a lioness toying with a mouse before the pounce. I wish I had gotten to see more of the lawyer version of Barbara Mack.

• My friends Jessie, Brian and I stayed up late one night to finish a paper for her Ethics class. Although we had frequently complained about her off-track lectures in that very class, we didn’t dare turn in anything but our best work.

• Even though her classes did tend to go off-topic (in a summer version of media law, I remember a lot of music videos and eating pizza) I still learned so much.

• A lot of people have commented on how tough she was, how she would confiscate cell phones and toss students out of class. Which is true. But she was always kind to me. I think she had a knack for knowing exactly what each student needed.

"Expression, contrary to the popular notion, is not a mere overflowing of emotion such as crying and..."

Sun, 19 Aug 2012 11:18:45 -0500

“Expression, contrary to the popular notion, is not a mere overflowing of emotion such as crying and screaming. It is a controlled activity involving the selection and organization of materials of past experience and their fusion with present situations to create new forms.”

- Grant Wood

Mom: Where are we going for dinner?

Fri, 27 Jul 2012 17:07:21 -0500

Mom: Where are we going for dinner?
Grandma (to Grandpa): Where are we going for dinner?
Grandpa: You were supposed to decide!
Grandma: Why do I have to decide?

My boyfriend and I have this exact conversation on a regular basis. Somehow, it's calming to know that no matter what happens, we'll keep on having this same simple debate.

Also, my grandparents are celebrating their birthdays! They are such an inspiration.

An ethical question and 6 other things, July 22

Sun, 22 Jul 2012 21:28:00 -0500

“If you don’t want to propagate more mass murders, don’t start the story with sirens blaring. Don’t have photographs of the killer. Don’t make this 24/7 coverage. Do everything you can not to make the body count the lead story. Not to make the killer some kind of anti-hero. Do localize the story to the affected community, and make it as boring as possible in every other market. Because every time we have intense-saturation coverage of a mass murder, we expect to see one or two more within a week.” —Park Deitz.

I haven’t been closely covering the Aurora coverage, on purpose. It was horrible news to wake up to 700 miles away, I can’t imagine the pain of those affected. And, I don’t think the media generally helps things with wall to wall coverage.

But, I did happen across the video above, where a forensic psychiatrist talks about the impact of media coverage of shootings. It’s pretty thought provoking. (Sidenote: anyone know if there’s a longer version? An academic paper on it?)

Looking at this collection of front pages in that context is a little scary.

But, on the other hand, a long-form GQ story about last year’s Norway shooting has also been making the rounds over the past week. I’ll be honest: I haven’t had a chance to read it all yet (I will, though). But, I’ve heard from others that it’s really good, and if it’s anything like the magazine stories that followed the Zanesville Zoo disaster, I don’t doubt it. Those stories were chilling, masterfully told, and they raised important questions. (On a lesser note, these types of stories tend to win awards and praise from other journalists).

So, how can these two ideas coexist?

Something to consider. I have a lot more thoughts and feelings swirling around the issue, which I haven’t totally sorted through yet. I’ll end with one more link: Poynter’s 7 tips for covering the Colorado Theater Shooting. Good things to remember when covering any disaster.

Awww:

Ok, after that, here’s a cute thing: A Romance for the Ages.

Writing:

Found Poetry: Rejection Letters. This is awesome. And makes me wish I wasn’t so familiar with rejection letters.

Journalism:

How Long Should a Media Property’s Homepage Be? I don’t know if I totally agree with this guy’s conclusion (that you should keep it going until no one is still clicking), but at least he provides a data-driven approach to the question, which I find interesting. Looks like the channel has some other interesting videos too.

Design:

What Colors Mean in Different Cultures. Cool.

Fan-shaped Family Tree. I want to make one!

Food:

Lunch Studio. These two architects go out every day for lunch in NYC (and meticulously document it on their blog). Because they believe a break from the office to eat and enjoy each other’s company is important, and, presumably, because they are fabulous. I want that life.

Note: If you’ve been following along the past few weeks, you’ll notice my reading list is much shorter this week. Next week it may be non-existent. I’m preoccupied with one of my least favorite activities: moving.

9 things, July 15

Sun, 15 Jul 2012 20:40:44 -0500

Here are a few of my favorite things from the past week on the interwebs:

Design:

Prints by Obvious State on Etsy (above). Literary quotes, beautifully illustrated.

Developers Asked to Design [New York] City’s Smallest Apartment. Live small.

Feminist rants:

How to Make a Rape Joke.

“When did “not censoring yourself” become a good thing? We censor ourselves all the time, because we are not entitled, sociopathic fucks. Your girlfriend is censoring herself when she says she’s okay with you playing Xbox all day.”

Great read from Jezebel on the Daniel Tosh controversy.

Entrepreneurship:

How Jeff Slobotski Turned The Midwest Into The Silicon Prairie. My boss getting a shoutout in Fast Company, no big.

6 Ways Young Treps can Make Time for a Vacation. Ideas for how to sneak in a mini-cation? Love it. Also: Treps?

Journalism:

The Ad Agency Bloodline. History of advertising in one massive infographic.

Why the New York Times eschews formal social media guidelines.

“We’ve been concerned that if on the one hand you tell all your reporters and editors “Social media is great, you really should be experimenting and getting the benefit of this great tool,” but on the other hand, “Here’s 27 rules that you better not violate or you’re going to be in big trouble” — that’s not necessarily the most effective way to encourage your journalists.”

Um, yes. Why don’t more orgs take this approach?

Rumors that Murdoch may kill ‘The Daily’. The author gives a couple of theories on why the tablet darling isn’t turning a profit, that I think are pretty insightful.

Personality:

10 Habits of Remarkably Charismatic People. I like the idea that charisma can be learned, and that it’s more based on listening than projecting. Some things for me to work on.

Vegitari-win

Fri, 13 Jul 2012 08:26:00 -0500

Vegitari-win:

The tone of this post is a little (ok, more than a little) self-righteous, but it kind of encapsulates some of my thoughts on vegetarianism and the conversations I have with people about it. A good read if anyone is curious.

Things that reinforce people's stereotypes of Iowa.

Wed, 11 Jul 2012 10:00:31 -0500

Things that reinforce people's stereotypes of Iowa. :

Read the comments. Sigh.

11 things, July 8

Sun, 08 Jul 2012 18:34:00 -0500

As I float along in the the ocean of online information, these links have managed to hold my attention over the past week or so.

Lead Read: The ‘Busy’ Trap:

“Busyness serves as a kind of existential reassurance, a hedge against emptiness; obviously your life cannot possibly be silly or trivial or meaningless if you are so busy, completely booked, in demand every hour of the day.”

Journalism:

The new role of today’s front page as a third draft of history: This article looked at how newspapers laid out their fronts to showcase the healthcare ruling:

“Why did our headlines seem to presume that most readers hadn’t been anywhere near Twitter, television or the radio at all during the preceding 20 to 24 hours?”

How to make boring things interesting on video: Five tips, plus a “Should you really make that video?” flowchart.

Creativity:

Make your team more innovative, instantly: Explains an office exercise that can help create a culture of innovation. Would be interesting to see this in play at the Daily; as the article says, “brainstorming meetings” aren’t the way to come up with creative ideas.

Entrepreneurship:

Feminist rants:

Art/Design:

Giant Monopoly game: Awesome street art in Chicago.
True Colors, Branded Colors.

Cats:

News Cat Gifs! Every journalist’s new favorite tumblr.

(Note: This blog has been pretty vacant lately, but I’m going to try to bring it back to life. This type of list is a format I might play around with. Love it? Hate it? Let me know.)

Sugary-sweet sentimentality

Wed, 25 Apr 2012 09:03:29 -0500

I’m not usually the type to use music to help me know how to feel about things. But for some reason, I’ve been feeling extra sentimental lately. Probably the whole graduation thing.

Also, for some reason, I feel like sharing it with the internet. So here you go, internet, a couple of the songs I’ve had on repeat lately.

“I never thought I could love anyone but myself. Now I know I can’t love anyone. But you, but you make me think maybe I won’t die alone.”

Also: Recently discovered Ingrid Michaelson will be in Des Moines this summer.

“I love you more, I love you more. I dont know what I knew before. But now I know I wanna win the war.”

“There is a wait so long, you’ll never wait so long. Here comes your man.”

katrat: I surf the Internet on occasion (quite frequently), and...

Mon, 23 Apr 2012 07:09:53 -0500

katrat:

I surf the Internet on occasion (quite frequently), and I stumbled upon this video on Youtube. It’s a promotional video for GetUp!, an Australian advocacy group that encourages Australians to be more involved with important issues. This video in particular is part of the organization’s campaign to end marriage discrimination.

The video is shot in a first-person perspective, in which the viewer sees and hears what the narrator sees and hears. Essentially, the video shows two gay men spending their lives together. They go to the beach, an amusement park, one of their parents’ homes and many other places.

The power of the video lies in the fact that it shows two people in love. It doesn’t focus on the people’s sexuality. It focuses on the fact that they enjoy spending time together. And, in the end, one of them proposes to the other, in the company of their friends and family. They’re with each other and they’re in love — that’s what the video is about. That’s what matters.

Check the video out. It explains things better than I ever could.

VEISHEA in my pocket. There’s been a ton of buzz about...

Sun, 22 Apr 2012 16:07:48 -0500

Instagram: VEISHEA parade

Instagram: Petersen Panthers

Edited: Taste of VEISHEA

Unedited: Taste of VEISHEA

Unedited: Kelsey making photos

Edited: Kelsey making photos

VEISHEA in my pocket.

There’s been a ton of buzz about mobile journalism lately, so I decided to do some casual (very casual) experiments over the course of VEISHEA Saturday. Here are some of the sounds and sights captured by my phone (a Samsung Mesmerise, which is the US Cellular version of a Galaxy, if anyone was wondering).

The audio:

The sounds above were captured just walking down Welch Avenue around 11 p.m. I think they could make for some pretty solid b-roll. You get a sense of the chaos of a lot of people, but it’s still layered, not just a mess of sound.

Another encouraging find: Toward the end, my friend Kelsey (who was using more sophisticated equipment to take really, really good photos) started talking (“Actually, I’ve seen a LOT of fanny packs”) and even though I was holding the phone nowhere near her face, you can make the words out over the din.

The photos:

Like about 10 million other android users, I’ve become pretty enamored with Instagram over the past few weeks. I like that I can take a not-so-great photo on my phone, make it look slightly cooler, and easily share it.

But, that’s what millions of others like about it too, so I don’t know if that cuts it for a journalist. At night (which I knew would be dicey anyway) I switched to my phone’s built-in camera.

And, it was dark. No surprises there.

But, I was able to clean the photos up a bit (still on my phone) using the free photoshop express app. They’re still not great, but if it was a breaking news situation, I’d rather have these than nothing.

Next step…video?

I’ve never really tried shooting video on my phone—I’m afraid it would be horribly shaky, and that it’d fill up my memory card. But, I think that needs to be my next experiment.

getoutoftherecat: get out of there cat. i’m pretty sure the TSA...

Fri, 06 Apr 2012 22:08:36 -0500

getoutoftherecat:

get out of there cat. i’m pretty sure the TSA will consider you a deadly weapon.

Gah. This is one of my very favorite tumblrs.

I might have used up my pen doodling during the @1stamendmentday...

Thu, 05 Apr 2012 16:14:07 -0500

I might have used up my pen doodling during the @1stamendmentday meeting. Oops. (Taken with instagram)

isufad: Four weeks to First Amendment Day! That’s right, FAD...

Thu, 15 Mar 2012 17:13:39 -0500

isufad:

Four weeks to First Amendment Day!

That’s right, FAD 2012 is April 12, just four short weeks from today. Here’s a sampling of what we’re working on:

Advertising: Keep an eye out for some thought-provoking statements around campus soon.

Finalizing the schedule: Most things have been pinned down, and final tweaks are being made to locations and topics.

Seeking student involvement: We’re looking for people to march with us, #occupyisu, set up booths at the Feast and generally be awesome and share our First Amendment love. Contact us if you want to know more.

And some things you can do to get ready:

Show your support by joining the event on Facebook. Find that “Invite Friends” button and use it.

Keep an eye out for T-shirt sales, coming soon. (Anyone who took 202 with Bulla knows what a big deal this is.)

We’re pumped, and hopefully you are too — see you in four weeks!

So, I tried making an Indian dish. And (suprisingly) it...

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 20:18:57 -0600

So, I tried making an Indian dish. And (suprisingly) it didn’t turn out half bad.

Different words for the same thing

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 21:20:59 -0600

So, instead of doing homework or applying for jobs or anything like that, I’ve spent most of my afternoon/evening engrossed in major Zanesville Zoo stories from Esquire and GQ (which, oddly enough, were both posted on the same day).

Both are very long, and very good. Either is worth the time for anyone just looking for a good read.

It was especially fascinating (for me anyway) to compare how the two talented writers took different approaches to the same story - what details they included or left out, how they structured time, who became the main characters. There are definitely some teachable moments here. I’m sure I’ll be returning to these stories soon.

23 Orange. I wonder how old these airstream-style busses really...

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 10:15:05 -0600

23 Orange. I wonder how old these airstream-style busses really are.

Shameless plug: The First Amendment Day Blog

Sun, 08 Jan 2012 17:05:01 -0600

Shameless plug: The First Amendment Day Blog:

Hey, ten people who read my blog. Would you also be interested in checking out the First Amendment Day Blog?