Archives for : Journalism

Journalism’s RISK-y Future

Posted by :David Manly On : February 13, 2013
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Category: Journalism, RISK, Science Journalism, Science Online 2013

In the weeks since Science Online 2013, a lot of discussion has been taking place over how exactly science is communicated to the public and how we (as scientists, journalists, reporters, etc…) can improve it.

Imagine the game of RISK, the game of world domination, where warring fractions of different colours try to conquer the world through brute force and military strategy. The same can be said to showcase how some people think of the future of journalism.

See, the people in Print Town believe that “print is king,” while the denizens of the Online Realm believe theirs is the fastest and therefore superior method of getting a message across. The citizens of Radio-ville think their way of communication sounds superior, while the folks in TV Land believe they look the best.

Everyone is fighting everyone else for which area is the best and which will be able to survive the longest.

But who is right? Who is wrong? And is there a middle ground?

The short answers are, at least from my perspective: Everyone. No one. And yes

I used to identify myself as a “text monkey,” just science writer extraordinaire Ed Yong stated proudly during the conference. And I still mostly do, as I work in print and have had some success in that realm. However, I took a course during my Masters program that introduced me to online journalism – a field where I blogged, Tweeted and Facebooked regularly, but didn’t give much journalistic credence to.

But I quickly fell in love with it.

A professor once described online journalism as the great mixing pot, taking the best (or sometimes worse) of each discipline and displaying it all for people to see. And I quickly became proficient in it, even doing my Masters thesis in multimedia. I was able to use print, but also radio and TV to supplement what was written, and the resulting product was quite impressive.

I was still ever the resident of Print Town, but my allegiance was quickly shifting.

Despite my reservations about which medium I wanted to use in my future career, I knew exactly what field I wanted to go into – science journalism.

Science journalism, however, is an all-together different beast than straight-up news. Every genre of writing has jargon, experts and a certain amount of background knowledge to understand – but science also has a distinct stigma as being extremely complicated, hard to digest and simply, I hate to say it, boring.

That’s not to say it cannot be done well!

There are plenty of examples of good science writers out there – just look at the work from the Scientific American Blog Network (especially Scicurious and Kate Clancy, who blow my mind on a near-constant basis), as well as Maryn McKenna, Deborah Blum, Maggie Koerth-Baker, DeLene Beeland, Cara Santa Maria, Brian Switek and the list goes on and on and on. Everyone listed here and the countless others I did not name are doing fantastic things in print, radio and multimedia. Every time I read something of theirs, it makes me realize how far I have come and strive to go even farther.

But with the good, there is also the bad.

I’ve given lectures in the past on how to communicate and write about science effectively for the general public. In so doing, I’ve read through countless good and bad articles with the goal of helping advise researchers, public relations people and more on how to avoid common problems associated with science writing. Recalling these lectures naturally lead me to my store of examples, one of which I will share.

This here (http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/the-lay-scientist/2010/sep/24/1) is a piece from The Guardian, which magnificently lampoons traditional science journalism.

What Martin Robbins does so expertly is show how shoddy and Mad Libs-esque science journalism can be when it is done poorly. Take practically any science piece in your local newspaper and you will various methods Robbins described in full view for all to see.

There are a large number of people that struggle for a career in this industry (myself included), and every bad piece placed on the news, read in the paper or put online tarnishes what hard-working writers are trying to achieve.

How can this be solved?

I am no expert, but supporting good science writing and communication is a great way to start. The same can be said for pointing out when science (or really any discipline) is tortured on the rack of bad reporting or writing. Read and share good articles with others, be aware of what constitutes good writing and/or reporting and never stop discussing about the fantastic science that is constantly going on around you.

Take a breath, relax and think to yourself – is this worth the effort?

If so, don’t be afraid to roll the dice and take the risk.

Is the juice worth the squeeze? Source

A Tasting Menu

Posted by :David Manly On : January 26, 2013
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Category: first person, Journalism, narrative, Science Journalism, science online, science writing

In a few short days, I will be heading off to Science Online 2013 – an annual gathering of scientists, journalists, educators and more to discuss science communication in Raleigh, North Carolina. But, it is not your average conference, with presenters reading PowerPoint slides and talking at you. Science online is designed as an “unconference,” where there are no lectures or presentations, but sessions that encourage and are built on discussion.

I cannot wait to attend and meet up with people that I met last year: collaborators, Twitter friends, fellow writers and more. As cliche as it is to say, we are all like a big family at this conference. Everyone is respectful, kind and absolutely cuckoo for science (I even think that’s a requirement on the registration form).

Last year, I did a session with @DrRubidium, where we made people laugh (and think) using Mel Brooks movie clips to inspire and improve blogs. We heard nothing but good things about our session, which spawned numerous conversations with other attendees about future sessions – one of which came to fruition.

This year, I’m teaming up with @jeannegarb to discuss a very specific style of writing and storytelling: first person narrative. She is a fantastic person and writer, and I could not choose a better person to co-moderate with.

For those of you that follow my blog and my other writings, you will know that I’ve experimented with this format a bit.

When I was doing my Masters of Journalism, we were told to avoid using “I” in a piece of reporting, as we are supposed to be objective and not become part of the story. “We are storytellers, not story-makers,” my professors would say. In fact, the only time we were told to use first-person was during two specific assignments – one where we had to use first or third-person, and when we had to write an editorial. And it was hard to break the format that had been drilled into us over the course of the program. But, I found I enjoyed it.

After I graduated, I experimented with the format a bit more in my writings for Scientific American, using my voice to talk about black-footed ferrets, growing up as a twin and more. And those quickly became my most popular articles – the article about being an identical twin even got published in a book entitled “The Best Science Writing Online 2012” (you can order your very own copy here).

And what do Jeanne and I have in store?

For that, you’ll have to attend our session entitled “Scientific storytelling: Using personal narrative to communicate science” on Thursday January 31 from Noon – 1 pm in room 4. But if not, rest-assured that I will do a conference wrap up post, just like last year (which you can read here and here).

I hope to see you there!

News Night

Posted by :David Manly On : August 31, 2012
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Category: HBO, Jeff Daniels, Journalism, news, Quebec, Refferendum, The Newsroom, the nightly news

As part of the journalism industry for a few years and being a constant digester of the news before that, I’ve noticed a distinct change in my opinion of the “news.”

As a child, I would not watch the news very much. My parents would call me in if there was an interesting story, usually about animals (no surprise there), but usually I wasn’t that interested. However, I would read the paper every morning, so I would know the bullet points of the big stories happening in the world.

It was not until the big referendum in Canada back in 1995, when residents of Quebec voted whether or not to separate from Canada and become its own sovereign entity. I remember staying up late and watching the little progress bar swing back and forth from YES to NO. And, at the end, it was a nail-biter: 49.42% “Yes” to 50.58% “No.”

That was the first time I really realized that the news was happening all the time and such stories could have wide-reaching consequences. After that, I began to pay attention during elections. Not that I was a political junkie, but I was relatively informed.

And when I could vote, I considered it my patriotic duty to voice my opinion through my ballots.

Does one vote ultimately matter? Can one vote really make a big difference and make my voice heard?

Not really, in my opinion, as 1/191,000 is not even remotely significant. But I thought of it this way: It is my right to vote democratically, and by expressing my opinion, I have a right to complain. You do not vote, you did not have a right to complain about the electoral process or the results of it.

I have since come to realize the errors in that statement, but it was a while ago, so forgive the touch of ignorance in that statement.

I began to pay more and more attention to the media, outside of election time and during big events, once I began my time pursuing my Masters of Journalism. I figured that while I was learning how to be a journalist, I should watch and listen to the pros.

After about a year to 18 months, I stopped watching the nightly news on a regular basis because of the content. I was angry that most of the newscast was devoted to either scaring the audience or simply telling them what to feel. Be wary of this, be scared of this happening, etc…

It just became far too depressing.

I still read numerous newspapers every day, but I stay away from the standard nightly newscast.

And this clip, from HBO’s The Newsroom (which is one of the best shows I have ever seen), perfectly encapsulates why:

If only the real news were more like television, and isn’t that just sad?

My name is David, and I Am Science (AKA my origin story)

Posted by :David Manly On : January 30, 2012
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Category: acting, careers, Dinosaurs, Journalism, musicals, Science, Science Journalism, Science Online 2012, zoology

In the week since Science Online 2012 ended, there has been a lot of discussion over different social media platforms about the experience, what could be done differently, the highs and lows and most importantly, what could be discussed next year.

I’ve made a lot of new friends since the conference, and have already started discussing topics for next year.

But, this post isn’t going to be about that. This will be about something that came up after the conference by Kevin Zelnio.

Kevin wrote a post on his blog here about how he ended up in science and called it #IAmScience. In the post, he outlined how he ended up where he is today, and that not everyone takes the standard A – B path to end up involved in science. This one post spawned a whole host of other people online to share their stories, and this is mine.

I’ve talked on my blog before about how, as a child, I was obsessed with dinosaurs. That was my first real exposure to science and that there were cool jobs involved in the study of living (or extinct) things.

I was always a smart kid, and this gave me an outlet to channel my love of information and learning. I would consume books about dinosaurs by the bucket-load, and would beg my parents to take me to the museum again and again, just on the off-chance I’d see something new or learn a cool tidbit.

My parents obliged more often than not, and bought me books, videos, wooden fossil duplicates and more.

This passion for paleontology sustained me for many years, but it eventually gave way to something else: acting.

All the world’s a stage

My family, especially my dad and older sister, are movie buffs. We have seen just as many classics as current movies, and I grew up with this love of film and theatre. So, it really came as no surprise that I eventually stumbled into acting.

And boy, did I love it, especially acting in musicals.

My first role ever was in a summer camp production of Beauty and the Beast, where I played Belle’s horse, Phillipe. Those of you who know your Disney movies know that it was not a major role, but it was enough.

The following few years, I acted in a bunch of musicals in school, camp and beyond, even landing the main roles in a few of them. For more on my acting, you can see my post on LabSpaces here.

But science was always there.

Throughout middle school and high school, I continued to be fascinated by science. I’d do experiments, learn whatever I could, absorb knowledge like a sponge and tell everyone I met about all the cool things I learned. My aptitude was in biology, specifically, animal biology.

I loved learning everything I could about animals, from weird facts to behaviors to ecology and diet.

However, like all things, my love for biology was almost extinguished.

In grade 10 Biology, my teacher was horrible and sucked all the fun out of science. He gave the class so many problems that parents complained, but nothing ever changed.

Once, during a group lab, one of my friend’s aunts passed away, so he went to Vancouver for the funeral. Unbeknownst to us, he took all the lab material with him, so we could not hand it in.

We all got a zero.

After much hubbub and calls by all of our parents, the teacher eventually relented and gave us all what we deserved. But, the whole experience with that class made me realize that science just wasn’t fun anymore.

My parents, however, convinced me to take grade 11, just to “keep my options open,” and I am glad they did.

The teacher, Mr. T, was fantastic. He was funny, energetic, passionate and not afraid to answer complex questions. And my marks skyrocketed along with my interest.

I still remember, after getting 100% on our genetic test, I asked him about variation in sex chromosomes from sex-linked disorders. And, after class, using nothing but a pencil and paper, he explained to me about “crossing over” (where chromosomes occasionally touch and exchange whole portions of their genomes with each other).

That one explanation opened my eyes to a world of science that I never even thought about.

It was then my future was decided: I was going to be a vet, combining my love of animals and passion for science.

The times, they are a changin’

Veterinary school was never really an option, though, after a visit to the allergist.

My sister was allergic to fish, so we never had any in the house. But, when she went backpacking through Europe, my parents thought it was the ideal time.
And, let’s just say it didn’t go well.

The allergist said I was allergic to fish and needed to carry an Epi-Pen, as well as dropped the bomb that I had a mild allergy to dogs and cats. It was nothing serious, but enough that could warrant medication and potentially wear off.

“And I don’t know about you,” he said in a somber tone, “but I wouldn’t want someone operating on my dog or cat who had watery eyes and was sniffling.”

So, as quickly as the dream popped into my head, it was gone.
But then, my dad mentioned pursing a PhD, becoming an expert in a field and working in that area.

“And what do you love?” he said.
“Animals!” I responded enthusiastically.
“Well, that would be zoology then, wouldn’t it?”

Animal obsessed

So, that was my goal.

I went to university for biology and zoology, and loved it (even when I said I didn’t, which was often).

In my second year, I took the “Animals” course, and met a new professor called Dr. K. He was bright, engaging and really funny, so he was perfect for such a dense subject.

As the semester went on we got talking about our likes, dislikes, the course, my future, etc… and he became a mentor of sorts. He introduced me to different professors, encouraged me to take a variety of courses and helped steer my education in the way I wanted.

I even took his fish biology class in fourth year (luckily, there was no lab component).

To boost my resume, also in second year, I also started writing for the school newspaper. Nothing permanent, but I would write on occasion about cool research at the university, interesting things that were happening in biology around the world, and more. My favourite piece I ever wrote was an In Memorium piece to a hero of mine, Steve “Crocodile Hunter” Irwin, who perished in an accident with a stingray.

But the writing was always secondary to biology.

Then, during my fourth year, Dr. K approached me about doing research work in his lab.
But how, I asked, since he worked in a fish lab and I was deathly allergic?
As it turned out, he was looking to branch out to other animals, and would start up a whole area of the lab, just for me, using frogs as test animals.

How could I say no?

So, for a year, I worked there, adapting fish procedures for frogs, under the guise of an amazing grad student named H, and I loved it.

THIS was what I was meant to do, I said.

But once the experiment was over and the analysis began, I became listless. I didn’t like the sedentary being I was slowly becoming, by being attached to the lab bench every day performing the same chemical tests on tissues again and again. I loved the science and what I was doing, but I felt that what I was doing was not what I wanted.

A subtle shift

I realized this, as fate would have it, around Christmas of that year, when my grandfather passed away.

There was a moment, sitting in a chair at the retirement home where he had been living, where I asked myself “if I don’t want this, what else can I do?”

And then my sister did something.

She pulled out the latest article I had written for the school paper, and said that I’ve greatly improved as a writer.

“Huh, a writer,” I said to myself. “No one ever called me a writer before.”

Sure, English teachers and professors had complimented me on my writing, and my lab reports were always well done, but I figured that was because I read a lot.

So I thought about it while I continued to work at the lab.

Writing was something I never considered before, so I spoke to some professors, relatives and parents about it, and “journalism” kept popping up.

I could still learn about science, which I loved with a passion, and share it with others, which I had been doing ever since I was a little kid in the museum – science journalism seemed like a good fit.

So, crossing my fingers, I applied to some journalism schools in Canada for the Masters program, and got accepted by the most reputable one in the country.

It was a struggle going from science writing to writing about science, but I learned a lot and never strayed from my love of science.

Even though I am no longer attached to a lab bench, I am still tethered to science. I read copious amount of material, I blog and I share my love of science with an enthusiasm that knows no bounds.

I Am Science.

I Am Science from Mindy Weisberger on Vimeo.

Four Months later … and I’m still alive

Posted by :David Manly On : December 4, 2008
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Category: finished, Journalism, portal, Sleep, Still Alive, thesis

Well, I finally did it.

I survived the first term as a Journalism Master’s student! It was tough, both mentally and physically, but I survived.

If you have been following my blog, you know that this term has been exceptionally hard for some of us in the Master’s program. You know the ones. We are the ones with no real experience, we possess degrees that give us unique knowledge, but don’t help us in journalism. We stare blankly when people talk about ethics or the law and we always need serious help thinking up story ideas.

I have enjoyed my first term here in Ottawa. But, things could be better.

For instance, I live in an area densely populated with young families and the elderly. Seriously. Not a single person in my program lives relatively close to me.

Therefore, it is a real pain in the butt for me to meet anyone anywhere. I must always take the bus for at least 30 to 40 minutes to get anywhere, not that I mind too much. It just that sometimes, I just wish I could walk for like five to ten minutes and be there. Sometimes, in battle in my head, my tiredness or impending workload overtakes my need to be with my new friends. But, I still go out, just not as much as I would if I could.

My apprenticeship, where I am working at a prestigious science and medical journal, begins on Tuesday. This will be the TRUE test of if I can mesh two things:
my love for science and my improved (?) journalistic skills.

But, I am DONE for the year!!! A special song will be low this post, and I suggest everyone listen to it. It is called, “Still Alive.” It is from the ending credits of a video game, and even if you don’t get all the references, it is still absurdly funny.

Now lastly, I will address a request of a friend of mine.
She asked me, “David, why don’t you blog about your thesis work last year? You totally should.”

First off, to properly blog about it, it would take me a LONG time. However, a brief overview of my intense thesis work can easily be provided.

WAY back in second year university, I took a course about animals and I became friendly with the professor. I would sit outside the lab and read what out labs were about before we did them, and the professor would always walk by and we’d chat for a few minutes. Quickly, I learned a lot about him, and how we shared many similar interests. This was good news for some of my female friends, as they had MASSIVE crushes on him, and would giggle and swoon for any new piece of information.

Through our conversations, I mentioned to him that I wanted to become a Herpetologist. That is NOT the biology of Herpes, ok? NOT ABOUT STD’S!
It means the study of reptiles and amphibians, because I absolutely love reptiles.

I would continually seem him throughout third year, and in fourth year I took his fourth year course during the fall.

Then, over the Christmas break, I received an email from him. He said that he knows I am taking a fifth year to do my thesis, and that he would really like me to work with him. HE roughly came up with experiment, and through further conversations, I flushed it out and here it is.

I would be working with a species of frog known as Xenopus, AKA the albino clawed-frog. They have little claws, no pigment, mouths that look like they belong to Muppet’s, and translucent skin. Yes, you did read that right, translucent skin!
That means that when I would feed them, I would see the food going into their bellies and stuff … it was kinda gross.

My experiment was based off of salt on the roads. During the winter months, Ontario over-salts the roads to reduce ice, but when the surrounding snow melts, the water (with a lot of salt) flows into our rivers and streams. We wanted to test how high the salt concentration would have to be before the frogs died. Because, frogs are an ‘indicator species,’ if they die, others die.

I would examine a few things: The ion content of various organs, their protein content, their blood and muscle moisture, as well as examining different cell properties under the fluorescent microscope.

I already have a picture of one of the slides I made up on a previous post. Here is the link:
http://davidmanlysblog.blogspot.com/2008/11/biological-lament-and-realization-of.html

And now, I am going to sleep in and NOT set my alarm. That will be the first time since I got here in September when I did NOT have something to do … pity it won’t last!

And without further ado, here is the song:

A Day in the Life

Posted by :David Manly On : November 28, 2008
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Category: day-in-the-life, Journalism, time-wasting

The first term of my new school in my new city in my new life is coming to a close. I have three more essays left to finish before I am free. However, there is no real break for me, as I begin a two week apprenticeship immediately after my last assignment is handed in.

So, before this term is done, let me describe for you a day in the life of a first year Journalism school Master’s student.

7 a.m. – Alarm goes off, turn it off
7:10 a.m. – Second alarm goes off, and get up
7:13 a.m. – Bleary-eyed, begin the morning ritual (shave, shower, etc…)
7:15 a.m. – Make breakfast
7:17 a.m. – Read the paper
7:30 a.m. – Brush teeth and get changed
7:45 a.m. – Leave the house and walk to the O-Train in the snow, whilst listening to my iPod
8:03 a.m. – Catch the O-Train straight to Carleton
8:18 a.m. – Arrive in class, read another newspaper and prepare for the onslaught of the day
8:30 a.m. – MORNING CLASSES BEGIN
8:35 a.m. – BORED
8:42 a.m. – Start falling asleep
8:53 a.m. – Begin doodling to stay awake
9:07 a.m. – Actually pay attention
9:47 a.m. – Buy a drink for something to do to stay awake
10:10 a.m. – Class resumes, and am bored again
10:22 a.m. – Begin reciting lines from TV shows in my head to stave off boredom
10:36 a.m. – Daydream
11:01 a.m. – Daydream
11:06 a.m. – Pay attention
11:08 a.m. – Ask an insightful question to give the illusion that I’m paying attention
11:10 a.m. – Bored again
11:25 a.m. – CLASS ENDS
11:26 a.m. – Talk to class mates about life
Noon-ish – LUNCH, followed by work
2:00 p.m. – Make way to afternoon class
2:15 p.m. – Arrive at afternoon class, talk to people
2:30 p.m. – CLASS BEGINS
2:33 p.m. – Contemplate life
2:36 p.m. – Think about science
2:44 p.m. – Contemplate next blog entry
2:47 p.m. – Doodle
2:53 p.m. – Look across the room and marvel that everyone appears just as bored as I am
3:00 p.m. – Daydream
3:04 p.m. – Daydream
3:12 p.m. – Feel the world crashing in upon myself
3:16 p.m. – Mini-heart attack
3:19 p.m. – Brain crashes……..re-boot…………re-boot…….re-boot…..
re-boot…………re-boot…….re-boot…. system restore….
4:05 p.m. – Eat a snack to keep brain on life-support
4:07 p.m. – Ponder the mysteries of the universe
4:08 p.m. – Ponder the greatness of cheese
4:11 p.m. – Solve the world’s energy crisis, but cannot find a pad of paper … vow to remember
4:12 p.m. – Forget
4:15 p.m. – Think about girls
4:18 p.m. – Think of random movie quotes
4:19 p.m. – “With meditation, there’s no limit to what you can … imagine”
4:20 p.m. – “Do or do not, there is no try”
4:21 p.m. – “My. What a clever girl”
4:22 p.m. – “I am a leaf on the wind, watch how I soar”
4:23 p.m. – “Ray, if someone asks if you are a God, you say YES!”
4:24 p.m. – “The lord tells me he can get me out of this mess, but he’s pretty sure, you’re fucked”
4:25 p.m. – “Are you telling me, you made a time-machine … out a DeLorean?”
4:26 p.m. – “The dude abides”
4:27 p.m. – “60 per cent of the time, it works all the time”
4:28 p.m. – “Don’t touch that please, your primitive intellect wouldn’t understand things with alloys and compositions and things with… molecular structures.”
4:29 p.m. – “I’ll give you a winter prediction: It’s gonna be cold, it’s gonna be gray, and it’s gonna last you for the rest of your life”
**BONUS POINTS FOR ANYONE WHO CAN NAME THEM All!!! NOT INCLUDING DANIEL 😉
4:30 p.m. – Sleep
5:25 p.m. – Class ends
5:33 p.m. – Dash to the O-Train
5:36 p.m. – Walk home
5:57 p.m. – Arrive home
6:02 p.m. – Turn on laptop and do work
7:45 p.m. – Make dinner
7:53 p.m. – Eat dinner and watch some TV, followed by work
9-12 a.m. – WORK MORE
12-2 a.m. – Work and doze off a little
2-2:30 a.m. – Do some readings
2:30 a.m. – Get ready for bed
3:00 a.m. – Read for pleasure
3:30 a.m. – Try to sleep
3:30-4:15 a.m. – Dreading the next day
4:15-4:30 a.m. – Plan the work to do for the next day
4:30 – 7 a.m. – Sleep

Well, there you have it, an average day in the life of me, a lowly Journalism student. Keep in mind, I did not include:
– Deadline assignments
– TA duties
– Various internet activities
– Interviews
– Shopping, haircuts, cleaning, etc…
– Actual FUN activities

As you can see, I do not have a lot of free time on my hands, but I make the most out of it. And now, I need to do some work before the whole process starts anew. Ain’t a Master’s of Journalism program GRAND?

A Biological Lament and a Realization of Thought

Posted by :David Manly On : November 15, 2008
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Category: alcohol, Biology, Journalism, Life Change, Potluck

A few words will sum up the end of my week nicely:

Pot-luck. Professor’s house. Alcohol. David. Talking.

As you can imagine, some of these ingredient’s do not bode well together and cause a rather volatile mixture. The potentiality of disaster just increased exponentially with every passing minute, as I was constantly in conversation while I kept imbibing alcohol.

Some stuff was taken out of context of what I meant, and that is all. I explained it to those who got worked up, and I believe all is well in the world. Let’s just chock it up on the list of “Embarrassing things David has done.”

Now, on to the true purpose of this post.

The first term is almost done, and it has been an interesting, intriguing, stress-filled and whirlwind of an experience.

In the last term of my undergraduate degree, I decided to change everything. I stepped back from the world of Biology/Zoology, and took a clear look at myself.

I LOVE Biology, I really and truly do. I felt that I was put on this planet to learn, study and teach it to others. I also love animals, as they are a constant source of amazement and inspiration to me. They are something I enjoy immensely to learn about, as anyone who knows me well can attest to.

I miss Biology and Zoology. I miss it very much. I miss the lab work, the experiments, the thrill of a test working out properly, of understanding a difficult biological concept … all of it.

I loved learning about the subjects that interested me. Biology, Zoology, Ecology, Microbiology, Physiology, and many more. Not many people know the excitement of getting a slide JUST right, perfecting an enzymatic assay and getting results that show something you cannot explain and having to solve that puzzle.

I don’t miss a few things, but we all look into the past with slightly rose-tinted glasses.

And yet, I decided to pursue a different path. One that was drastically different from anything I have ever done before. It was, and still is, a drastic life change.

It is not an easy thing to do, to change the direction you thought you were going to head in life. Believe me, it is harder than you think.

A recent conversation with another person in my program really highlighted this for me. I had not thought about it too recently, as I had delegated it to the back of my mind, until she brought it up. This conversation made me think about the changes that I have made in my life, and if I still would make them.

Science is what I love, it’s the field that I believe I was born to work in. Writing is a past-time, something that I have enjoyed doing since I picked up a pencil and started creating my own stories. The mixture of these two concepts into a possible career path, into scientific journalism, was a revelation, and the closest thing to an epiphany that I have had in my life so far. I want to do this, I am going to do this. This is what I want, this is what I am going to do and I am going to do EVERYTHING I can to make this a reality.

So, to the person I had this conversation with … thank you.

It made me really think about the vastness that I, and everyone else in the program have accomplished in the short time we have been here. We should all be very proud and excited for what happens next.

To the future…. and come what may.

Below is a picture I took from one of my slides when I worked with frogs. This is a cross-section of a kidney. The blue stain represents DNA, the green is an ion pump and the red is for the proteins that glue cells together. Not many people have seen this, and I thought it would share it. I did everything to make that slide what it is, and I know it is not the best that it could be, but I’m very proud of it, as it was one of the last things I did.

That Which Does Not Kill You, Makes You Stronger

Posted by :David Manly On : November 11, 2008
1

Category: cold, environment, Journalism, Remembrance Day, Veterans

*PHEW*

It has been a busy few days over here! Let me catch you up.

I had a 3,000 word essay due on Monday about the Species at Risk Act (or SARA) in Canada. I was very, very, very worried about it. I mean, I had all my research and everything, it’s just that I don’t know the first thing about environmental politics, and I’ve been in the course for a few months!

A bunch of my friends in Ottawa were going out on Friday night, but, I wanted to stay home and do work.
“Come on,” they said. “Leave the work for the weekend,” they PLEADED.
I was stoic and firm… I said, “I’m going to stay home and do work, no matter how much I’d rather go out.”

SO, I did. I stayed home and starting writing the essay. It took me a long time to get my thoughts organizes and I had only written about 600 words before my mind shut off at like 10 p.m. In hindsight, I could have gone out… and MAN, do I wish I did. I like having fun with my Ottawa friends. And besides, the essay is unbelievably boring, long and I pity anyone who has to read it 😛

Saturday was also spent on the essay, and at about 5 p.m., I finished it! It was over 3,500 words, but it was DONE! I took the night off and caught up on some of the TV I had been missing.

Then, Sunday, I re-read it and made changes. THEN, because I had to present it on Monday as well, I made a handout and drafted my presentation outline.

My brain was essentially all tapped out, but, because I am a glutton for punishment, guess what I did next?

I did a READING CRITIQUE for a different class! I read 2 articles, and then responded to them in 4 pages. I didn’t understand them at all, and this is the conversation I had with my brain:
David – “Let’s do this! It’s our last one! We would have done 6/6, and can relax the rest of the term”
Brain – “Are you INSANE! You JUST finished a really long paper, and you want to do more work?”
David – “I wanna be productive!”
Brain – “YOU ARE CRAZIER THAN A MAN WHO WEARS SHOES ON HIS HANDS, SALUTES AND CALLS EVERYONE GOVNA!”
David – “I wanna do work”
Brain – “I hate you. I’ll get you for this!”
David – “What are you gonna do? Think me to death? What a loser.”
Brain – “I’ll think of something”
David – “Hahahaha, brain made a pun. Get it….. think… and he’s a brain?”
Brain – “You’re an idiot”
David – “Owwwww, my head hurts”
Brain – “Told you I’d get ya, you bastard”

And that is why, I believe, I have had a headache since Sunday.

My presentation went fine, and then I came home on Monday and fixed my essay.

Now, Tuesday was Remembrance Day, and we were told to write an article about something going on. So, a bunch of us went to the National War Memorial and saw the service. Stephen Harper was there, as well was the Governor General and Jack Layton. It was a nice ceremony, but it was COLD! Like, wear a jacket, hat, scarf, gloves weather so you don;t get hypothermia kinda cold.

Now, I don’t know if any of you have tried this, but try writing in a small notebook while wearing bulky gloves. Frankly my friends, it just ain’t happening. SO, I abandoned my gloves so I could interview some veterans. They were all really, really nice and were more than willing to talk about their service history.

As soon as I got home, I wrote the article, and it only took me about an hour. It was really quick. Either I’m getting better or I just suck even more and only think I am getting better.

And now, here I am, after being home for about 5 hours, and my fingers are STILL cold. I guess you have to sacrifice things to be a journalist … just never thought it would be my fingers.

Next time, I’m gonna conduct interviews in Hawaii! Think Universities cover that sorta thing? Oh well, maybe just in a heated room with hot chocolate 🙂

I have a personal issues with the saying that’s the title, “That Which Does Not Kill You, Makes You Stronger.” Does anyone actually believe that?

Maybe for like emotional and psychological issues, and small injuries. I mean, I don’t get tears in my eye when I scrape my knee like when I was a kid, I hardly even react now. My issue is with the BIG things.

What if I were to hypothetically jump off the CN Tower and survive? Firstly, it would be a miracle that I wasn’t liquefied on IMPACT and survived. But, I would most definitely break almost every bone in my body. HOW would that make me physically stronger? Anyone care to comment and defend it in this specific scenario?

Fudge, Flask, Finger,Fungus, Feud, Fuse … and other F words

Posted by :David Manly On : October 7, 2008
2

Category: Chemistry, F, hell, J school, Journalism, Ottawa

*SIGH*

Journalism is hell.

Not like real hell, but more like a figurative hell. One with keyboards a clankin’ at all hours of the day, phone calls going unanswered, technological mishaps, pens burst, pencils snap… you know, like nightmare personified, but for J school students.

Well, as much as I thought I’ve learned from the past four-and-a-half weeks, apparently, it is NOT enough. I just got a swift kick in the arse back to reality.

In J school, we hand in a few assignments every week, and we get them handed back to us via email. I got one such assignment today. When I saw my mark, I’m pretty sure that my brain saw it and said: “DAMN! I do suck. I left Biology for THIS? Screw you, but I’m goin home!”

That’s right…. the other, other F word… FAIL

I have never failed anything in my life, except for 2 things.
1) First test in first year Chemistry…42%. But, I worked my ass off in that course from that moment on, and that test ended up being dropped!
2) Yeah, NOTHING ELSE!

The rules state that if you spell a person’s name wrong, you get an automatic F. I did not spell someone’s name wrong. If you misquote someone, auto-F. Not this guy!

I misspelled the name of the election district. I said Ottawa Central, instead of Ottawa Centre. Ottawa CENTRE. Wouldn’t Ottawa Centre be central too? I personally think that’s a better name… less confusion.

Not that it’s a big deal, as we get to re-write our assignments and get them re-graded. I finished the re-write, and I actually think it’s a MUCH better article than it was originally.

So, there you have it. I am a big F. But, if you add one more vertical line to an F?
F + I = A!
Now you ever said math didn’t have it’s uses?