Onward State is finally writing about Onward State. How meta. But really, we are pretty awesome. Even the Chronicle of Higher Education approves!
The Chronicle ran a story about us on Monday and posted a supplementary video on Thursday. You can read the article HERE and watch the embedded video on this page.
The story praises the budding genius of our founder, Davis Shaver, and also emphasizes the importance of assigning editor Eli Glazier (Sadly, my favorite editor, Evan Kalikow, ended up on the Chronicle's cutting room floor, save for a shout-out in the video) (Editor's note: Awwwwwwwww).
Although our editors pave the road, let's not forget our writers and photographers, the vehicles that ride this road to journalistic success. We have all earned this honor. In that spirit, we'd like to announce a series of profiles that should hopefully help you put a face on your favorite Onward State writers.
For now, check out the Chronicle article and continue enjoying Onward State, one of the nation's most exceptional blogs.
Penn State grad Dan Shemesh has been named Director of Grounds for Major League Soccer's New York Red Bulls. Shemesh graduated in 2003 from the College of Agricultural Sciences with a degree in Turfgrass Management, which covers both the scientific study of grass and also the business side, like running athletic complexes or a golf course. Basically, the Turf School grads are the biggest grass gurus this side of the Mississippi. Except maybe Willie Nelson.
Shemesh will head all operations pertaining to both the field at Red Bull Arena, set to open this year, which is one of the few, new soccer-specific stadiums in the U.S. He will also be in charge of the planned massive six-field training facility. The field surface of the Arena is a natural Kentucky Bluegrass, as opposed to artificial AstroTurf or FieldTurf surfaces that seem to be the prevailing trend with newly-constructed as well as existing stadiums. The team played in Giants Stadium through the end of the 2009 season.
Shemesh has already racked up an impressive résumé to this point. Not only has he served for the past seven years as the Sports Field Director for the Philadelphia Eagles, but he has also worked for the Phillies and the denizens of Gillette Stadium, the New England Patriots and New England Revolution.
So maybe this will give you all a reason to actually watch the oft-neglected MLS for once.
This weekend ten improvisational comedy groups are coming together for RAWR - Penn State's first improv festival. The headliners are the Upright Citizen's Brigade tonight and Baby Wants Candy tomorrow night. All performances are at the Pavilion Theatre.
When most people think of improv, they conjure images of Whose Line It Anyway? or Nick Cannon's Wild N' Out. But the reality is that there are a wide variety of styles, with each group performing their own variant. Of course, the one thing they all have in common is that everything is completely unscripted and unrehearsed. We've got the festival's schedule laid out just so you know what to expect.
The nice folks at Activision were kind enough to send us a copy of DJ Hero for the Xbox 360 to review. Having devoted hours upon hours to Guitar Hero and Rock Band over the past few years, I jumped at the chance to see what the latest had to offer.
DJ Hero's interface is similar to that of Guitar Hero (which isn't surprising, since it's published by Activision, the company that currently owns the Guitar Hero franchise). The menus all have a slick, graffiti-looking aesthetic, and it's easy enough to navigate through the menus to select songs. The core of the game has you, the player, rising the ranks of the DJ culture by performing at various venues. You can also play as Grandmaster Flash, Daft Punk, DJ Jazzy Jeff, the late DJ AM, and a handful of others.
In this year's Major League Soccer 2010 SuperDraft, FC Dallas selected Penn State forward Jason Yeisley in the third round. He was the first Big Ten player taken and 38th overall selection of the draft. You may remember Yeisley for his blog, in which he chronicled coming back from two blown-out knees to play for the Nittany Lions. His career in MLS is not only inspiring in demonstrating that athletes can overcome critical injury, but to definitively prove that at least one of us bloggers does not spend all of his time in his mother's basement.