J460 Science Writing » TRAVEL DIARY

Sunday, 6:30 pm: How to explain?

Leigh Krietsch Boerner — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 22:30:41 +0000

Approximately eleven minutes after the limos deposited us back in Bloomington, I was at my in-laws’ dinner table, some lovely roast chicken steaming on my plate. After getting up at 3 am (again), two plane trips and a car ride–twelve hours worth of travel–I was wiped. And starving. But the other places at the table were filled by my husband and his parents, all looking at me expectantly.

“Well,” said my husband. “This NASW thingy. What did you do?”

And thus the explanations begin, all over again. I guess even that can be considered a science.

–Leigh Krietsch Boerner

Sunday, 6:20 pm: The craziness of Sky Mall Magazine

Patrick Mundy — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 22:20:51 +0000

I’m on the plane home, and I’m finding myself wishing that we could have stayed a few more days. But for now I’m content to sleep—I think I’ve gotten a combined ten hours or so of sleep since leaving for Indianapolis at 3:30 Friday morning, and it’s Sunday now. Maybe it’s the sleep deprivation, but I’m waxing a little sentimental looking out the plane window at the immaculate looking crops and roads below. (Megan was kind enough to let me annex the window seat).

In three days I’ve gotten to know a dozen people that I might never otherwise have spoken with, had a great time in spite of my initial stress, and learned a lot. The hotel was gorgeous, all of the conference food (not to mention beer and wine) was free, and Palo Alto’s weather throughout the trip has hovered between a tolerable 55 degrees and a sunny 75. After two hours-long flights, I’ve also had ample exposure to the craziness that is SkyMall Magazine, which among other things sells a hot dog toaster, marshmallow blaster, laser-sighted golf club, and a $1000 replica of King Tut’s throne. Megan and I have exchanged some chuckles about the SkyMall contents, and I fear that my faith in humanity might be dwindling just a tad—who are these crazy people who buy all this expensive crap?—but I think it might be time to sleep. It’s been a long weekend—and still maybe a little too short.

–Patrick Mundy

Saturday, 11 pm: My all-nighter with a science writer

Jeffrey Maitland — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 03:00:15 +0000

As I was walking back to my hotel room late Saturday, I ran into a science writer I had met the previous day at the conference. His name was Brandon. He asked me where he could get a drink this late at night. I actually had little idea of where to do this, since all of the hotel bars closed right at midnight. So we decided to stroll down a few blocks to find a bar we had heard about.

We arrived at the bar around 11:30. We were greeted with what any two men would want in a bar, great drink specials, generous bartenders, and motley crew of patrons.

Round 1: I get us the first round and we discuss our family backgrounds. He seems very interested in what I have to say and gets me to go in to further details about my past.

Round 2: He gets the second round and he talks about being an editor for a style magazine but wants to get his graduate degree to pursue a science writing career.

Round 3: We decide to split a pitcher to save the bartender the effort of serving us every 10 minutes. We continue to banter about the conference and our future plans.

In the few hours we had before I had to leave to go back to Indiana — which was at the bright, or rather dark hour of 3:30 in the morning — he taught me some of the inner workings of journalism. He talked about the politics of a magazine room and the hierarchy of a newsroom. I would have never of learned this stuff if it wasn’t for this great conference. More importantly, Brandon told me that if I could tell a story as well as I did at the bar, there was no reason I should be scared of writing.

–Jeff Maitland

Saturday, 9:30 pm: Science in a drum?

Martina Samm — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 01:30:30 +0000

One moment is hard to pick because this trip was one incredible moment. A standout moment for me though was the impromptu drumming jam on the patio at Trader Vic’s. Not only was it fun, in a tribal way, but we sounded great. It started off with base beats on the table with our hands. This was joined by chopsticks (from the Thai restaurant where we had dinner) pulling off rat-a-tat-tats. The high tones were provided by glasses filled to different levels with assorted liquids being tapped with chopsticks. (I won’t go into detail as to what kind of liquids. ) But the topper of this moment was, by far, the vocals….yips and i-eeee’s. We did it so well, that we did it again. Who knows, if Vic wouldn’t have asked us to leave, we would have jammed all night. Just kidding, he didn’t ask us to leave. He kicked us out. Everyone’s a critic.

As I thought back on this moment, I began to ask myself questions. How does the brain translate sound vibrations ? How does social group interaction contribute to a person’s state of physical well-being? What recent scientific studies are available to help answer these questions? Where can I find the research and who wants to know? These are just a few of the questions that came to mind.

This wasn’t my first tribal experience. My perception of this one was directly influenced by the experience of being at the science writer’s conference. Writing about science for a non-science audience is only limited by the subjects that science can be applied to. Our impromptu jam proved to me that science writing is limitless. Pick a subject, event or phenomena. Look around and bring science to people who may think it only belongs in the laboratory. Science is everywhere.

Saturday, 1:04 pm: Sex, jewels and a kindred spirit

Kathryn Middleton — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 17:04:16 +0000

Kathryn Middleton

Upon posing for a picture with Wallace, I said, "Cheese," and she said, "SEX!"

Saturday, 1:04 pm (Pacific Time)

Born on a small farm in Montana, Betty Wallace attended a local college and then traveled far North into the snowy depths of Alaska where “all the men were,” the ones who hadn’t been shipped abroad in World War II. To hear her tell it, she had a lust and love for two things — men and precious jewels. After moving to a naval base in Anchorage she married. From what I was able to piece together, she did live in New York for a number of years, working at Tiffanys & Co. on 5th Avenue while attending night school for a masters degree in gemology. She traveled the world time and time again, and as fate would have it, I ran into her at the Cabana Hotel in Palo Alto, California.

I bumped into Wallace, 89, in the marble foyer of the hotel where she was living. As I was there for the National Association of Science Writers convention, co-sponsored by Stanford, she found me wearing a Stanford logoed canvas bag. She envied it at first sight especially since the ladies at the welcome-table had "slapped her prying hand" and turned her away. Well, she wanted one, and I had an extra. She then moved to speak of the “dashing fellows” roaming the premises and how if she where my age and had my body well…

Wallace gave me more than a brilliant aquamarine and gold ring for my kindness; she gave me a glimpse of her amazing life. In the hour I was honored to speak with her and listen to her story, I cried, I laughed, and attained some peace of mind, for I had traveled thousands of miles and found a kindred spirit.

I conclude that Betty Wallace, of Swedish descent, is one of the most hilarious and hornacious wits I’ve ever met. She was a hoot!

Saturday, noon: Dining with scientists

Stephanie Pascarella — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 16:00:11 +0000

The clock strikes noon as hundreds of science writers gather at tables under the piercing Palo Alto heat. As the suns rays attack my black cardigan, I make a B-line towards the shade. I sandwich myself boldly between two strangers at a table conveniently under a large tree. Normally, your mother tells you to avoid talking to strangers, but given the circumstances, I decide to be daring and talk to the friendly faces next to me. Doing so, I meet two graduate students; one from New York University, and the other from Ohio State. After several minutes of casual, “chit chat," I ask the NYU graduate student why, out of all the areas of writing, he liked science the most? Just as I end the question a loud voice comes over the speakers. It is time to start the “Diane McGurgan Celebration Lunch."

As the luncheon comes to a close, the graduate student leans in my direction. The great thing about science writing, he says, is it’s new; it’s ever changing, and always needs reporting on. But this resonanates the most: “You could take any story out there and make it about science, and that’s the beauty of this job"..

–Stephanie Pascarella

Saturday, 3:30 am: Que fais-je ici?

Megan Meyer — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 07:30:29 +0000

I woke up with a jolt at 3:30 am after Friday’s reception. Thoughts had been condensing in my mind while I was asleep. The discomfort I felt over food and fermentation the night before had worked its way to the surface of my skin and made it twitch and curl. I felt so out of place, even amongst my fellow students. Why would an undergraduate in French attend this conference? Que fais-je ici?

As I listened to the backgrounds of established science writers, it seemed that the most had received degrees in some discipline of science. I resigned myself to asking questions and answering those posed to me with as little fanfare as possible. Well-meaning friends introduced me to others, perhaps thinking that a mere wave of shyness had overcome my normal chattiness, but they didn’t know that each time they told someone I am a French undergrad, I felt as though they were telling everyone that my slip was showing.

Am I an imposter here?

The next day Holly informed us that these feelings awkwardness and misplacement are completely normal. We don’t know the protocol of "hobnobbing" in the professional world, and that can be a little intimidating. I overcame my fears for the rest of the convention, met some great people, and had a wonderful time!

–Megan Meyer

Friday 10 pm: Forging a lasting bond

Jeffrey Maitland — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 00:30:36 +0000

Imagine if you will a relatively small journalism class. The students are friendly, but really don’t go out of their way to make conversation. Well, this is pretty much the type of class we had before we left for our trip to California. After the meet-and-greet dinner for the conference, a number of us went to one of the hotel rooms to hang out a bit, before going out and exploring Palo Alto’s night life. It took but a brief moment before we started half-joking about how we had already turned into family. The night went on and we all remained tight, looked after each other, bought each other cocktails, danced, and shared our experiences. This comaraderie lasted throughout the weekend and beyond.

–Jeff Maitland

Friday 8:30 pm: A new perspective on writing

Theresa Bradtke — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 00:30:11 +0000

As a journalist, I’ve always liked reading other people’s work because it has helped me understand the various angles for a story. Unlike most hard news, the science beat involves finding new areas to scope out, new discoveries to show audiences … and for me a fresh view on a community with vast opportunities and a plethora of stories to take on.

At the opening reception, I met many writers who from different fields and areas of their lives. There were students, freelancers, public relations members, scientists, teachers, and more…

When I met Mr. Waldrop, the co-editor of Editorials for Nature magazine, he was quick to ask me questions and not take my ignorance for much of science as an insult. Open and friendly, he also revealed a drive to get information out to the public. I found this same drive as I spoke with professionals from Discovery Kids, JAMA, the Wall Street Journal, MIT, and WIRED; I learned everyone is in this field because they are passionate about it.

I’m not a lowly college “wanna-be” science writer as long as I have the passion they do.

I had only been there a few hours, and I felt like I could really pursue this route. Science writing is really open to anyone who wishes to be a part of it and put in the time and effort to enhance their craft.

-Theresa Bradtke

Friday, 7:35 pm: The science (and art) of second impressions

Lauren Younis — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 23:35:31 +0000

I’ve worked at a big laboratory before. I’ve been at dinners with science writers (and out for cocktails with them), I’ve mingled at parties with them (and played drinking games with them), and I’ve talked about career possibilities with them (and about how things are going with the family). I know many on a professional level and quite a few on a personal level. So the pomp and circumstance of an all-expenses-paid two-day trip to California, membership into a national organization, and the chance to chat with magazine editors and MIT astrophysics-turned-science writers was nothing I hadn’t dealt with before. But I still loved it. Let’s face it, free food, sunny California, and a conference full of job opportunities at big-time magazines could make writing about anything sound appealing.

I walked into the conference meet-and-greet and saw a former editor, and after he took a half-second to recognize me in my modest clothes and untamed hair, we exchanged hugs and started catching up.

When I had walked into his office over a year before — then a rather fashion-forward college sophomore in what I now realize were trying-too-hard heels — I’m not sure he would have expected to see me here, at a national science writing convention, seriously pursuing a job in science communication. And I realized that it was incredibly easier to talk to him now that I cared less about impressing the higher-ups with contrived pleasantries and perfect clothes and more about the reason I was here — science, journalism, and the union of the two. I had called him earlier in the week to ask if I could interview him for our required Q&A, but politely let him know that evening that I had found someone else to talk to.

And it was his “Believe me, I’m sure you did” that made me think I might be cut out for this job after all, fabulous heels or not.

–Lauren Younis