Sarah Vowell-How do you organize your research?

Sarah Vowell reads excerpts from her latest book, "Unfamiliar Fishes", to a packed house at Town Hall Monday night.

Author Sarah Vowell recently visited Seattle's Town Hall to read from her latest book, Unfamiliar Fishes. Those unfamiliar with Vowell's work may know her from This American Life or as the voice of Violet from Pixar's The Incredibles or from her numerous appearances on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. It was with great admiration I came to hear her read and to ask her some questions about work as a writer who delves into history, as well as personal stories. Vowell's writing has brought to life some of history's most unknown quirks in an approach that Seattlites—and Republican fathers—can laugh at and find informative.

Here Vowell answers my question about how she compiles her research. Which, as you know, I'm knee-deep in right now. Maybe somebody can comment on how they organize their mountains of research. Excel sheets, index cards, hanging folders? I'm really curious. Note, I recommend listening with speakers. Not suprisingly, she answers with her trademark wit and sarcasm e.g. "I use paper." I'll try and get a better transcript out later. 

Sarah Vowell Town Hall Seattle by Clarissa Leon

Raw Food Trending in Reno?

My latest for the Reno News & Review looks briefly into the raw food diet and how it's helping Reno locals reach their true nutrition potential. Something I didn't have a chance to add-- the USDA recently released new nutrition guidelines, promoting a diet with a "half plate of fuits and vegetables" for your meals. For raw foodists, this standard is nothing new. Eating more fruits and vegetables (in addition to a diet rich with grains, leafy greens and sprouts) has given them more energy, greater mental clarity and overall better health.

Photo by Audrey Love.

Here's the story...

Last Christmas, Rob Fuss received a handmade gift certificate from his daughter, Heather Fuss. As River School Farm director, Heather recently finalized the Raw Food 30-Day Challenge class and gave her father a certificate to enroll as a student. Rob had heard about raw food diets but didn’t know much about them. Before the first day of the challenge, he drank a few glasses of wine and joked it was his “last supper.”

“My vision of raw food was just eating carrot sticks and celery sticks,” he said. 

Click to read more ...

Andrea Pitzer on 2011

Andrea Pitzer, editor of the Nieman Storyboard, shares what 2011 will bring for narrative and storytelling. For one, the shift to visual storytelling will pick up the pace. For us aspring writers I think she's dead on. 

Aspiring storytellers will get less personal coaching, even as a broader range of people will be able to access information on craft via YouTube and writers’ networks.

Lastly, 

Still, this new storytelling will likely be pretty messy through 2011. Telling a story depends on building a compelling arc, but it also relies on an audience finding a way to engage with the narrative. Quality work may fail to connect to audiences; other new-style narratives that have innovative, exciting aspects may not yet work as a whole.

Remember that, "Quality work may fail to connect to audiences; other new-style narratives that have innovative, exciting aspects may not yet work as a whole."

The Year of the Internet

Will 2011 be the year when the media industry goes all web, all the time? A recent survey by the Pew Research Center finds that more and more people have turned to the web for news. Is this all that surprising?

Let's look at the numbers. 

41 percent say they get most of their news about national and international news from the internet, which is little changed over the past two years but up 17 points since 2007.

Although the survey cites that television remains the biggest source for national and international news (66 percent) television's popularity has kept dropping. 

(TV) is down from 74% three years ago and 82% as recently as 2002.

But in the case of people younger than 30, the internet has finally taken television over. The 2010 year marked the first time the internet beat out television as the main source of national and international news for people younger than 30.

Pew Research Center. Dec 1-5 2010. Figures add to more than 100 percent because respondents could volunteer up to two main sources.

Since 2007, the internet as a main source for those under 30 went from 34 percent to a whopping 65 percent—nearly double from three years ago. Likewise, television as a main source dropped from 68 percent to 52 percent. 

Predictions?

Among those 30 to 49, the internet is on track to equal, or perhaps surpass, television as the main source of national and international news within the next few years. Currently, 48% say the internet is their main source – up 16 points from 2007 – and 63 percent cite television – down eight points.

Is anybody really surprised? This year it will become even more apparent that the internet can become print, television and radio all in one. It's time to look past what's obvious and move to what's not so obvious—a business model to rebuild the journalism industry and move it forward. 

Seattle Rally to Restore Sanity-Slideshow

Here is a gallery of some of the signs from the Seattle Rally to Restore Sanity. I purposefully did not do much brightening to the photos because the day was raining and cloudy--just like Seattle.