Columns
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Frank: AI Ain’t So Smart
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Threatened as we are by The Machine, we love it when we can say, “Hah! The Machine is dumber than we are!” Case in point: I had some transcribing to do. I always have transcribing to do, because in my professional life I am often asking people questions and recording their answers. My adventures in…
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Hook: Maybe a Big Ten-SEC Super League Would Be Best for Everyone
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If you’ve been paying even the slightest bit of attention to sports news lately – outside of the current NBA and NHL Finals, that is – you’ve heard that everybody has an opinion on college athletics. The president, Congress, coaches, athletic directors and all sorts of media members have weighed in on the current state…
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Paterno: Why It’s Time for College Governing Boards to Rethink Presidential Contracts
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In the news this week came another story highlighting some of the very real challenges facing higher education in the United States. The president of Michigan State University left the school for Clemson. On his way out he mentioned that tensions with the trustees were part of what drove him to leave the school after…
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Battista: What Really Grinds My Gears
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“Oh Lord, it’s hard to be humble / But I’m doin’ the best that I can!” – Mac Davis My wife and I have put almost 20,000 miles on our new Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid since December. The good news is it practically drives itself, it really does get great gas mileage, is a quiet…
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In the Field: Getting ‘Grounded in Boalsburg’ With Music on the Lawn
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This is the first in a series by Eric Zimmett called “In the Field,” in which he covers stories happening around town through field photography, field notes, and observations, focusing on how people, organizations, and businesses connect in the community. The big tree overlooking the lawn on Old Boalsburg Road provided shade on May 17…
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Local Historia: The Central PA Legend Who Taught America to Sing
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In the era of snap orchestras, swing and the Big Band, one personality rose from the industrial heart of Pennsylvania to captivate audiences across the country and “taught America how to sing”: Fred Waring.
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Frank: Welcome to the End of the World
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Relax. This isn’t about the apocalypse. It’s about a place, specifically the southwest corner of Portugal, whence I have just returned. There are several Ends of the World/ Land’s Ends/ Fim do Mundos/ Fin del Mundos/ Finisterres around the globe. Each is on a coast that juts into the sea. The ones in Europe reveal…
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Inside/Outside State College: Something Is Still Missing Downtown, but I Think It’s Coming
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Inside/Outside State College is a regular column by Jeff Deitrich offering views on downtown and the outdoors within a 30-minute driving distance. State College last month was named the Best College Town in America by USA Today. Congratulations to my favorite town! It’s nice to see it be recognized, even if it may have been driven…
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Hook: Let’s Import Some Irish Driving Habits
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It’s late May in State College, most of the Penn State students are gone, and we locals have the town to ourselves again. It’s also a time when seemingly all the drivers who wouldn’t normally take to the roads of Happy Valley decide it’s OK to go out and cruise around at 10 miles an…
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Paterno: Legislation Is Needed Now for College Sports Reform and Stability
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College sports are a mess. This is the age of uncertainty and instability happening against a backdrop of a financial crisis that no school can outrun forever. Many long for the days when we read only about the glory of young men and women competing for the love of the game and for the glory…