Grain & Chaff

Mightier than the sord

We don't think we'll be ordering any pens from a certain company in Maywood, N.J., if their samples are any indication of their marketing skills. The sample that crossed the desk of associate news editor Elizabeth Luciano last week read, "U OF MASSACHUSETTS, Amgerst MA 01003." No wonder the pens are just $1.99.

Wired

Karen D. Knight, associate director for Alumni Career Services with the Campus Career Network, has been chosen as the February online host for the graduate school and field experience boards for Monster.com. She also has an article posted for the month on the site.

At the newstand

Along with English professor Nick Bromell's Swiftian send-up of for-profit education, "Summa Cum Avaritia," this month's issue of Harper's Magazine also features a reprint of a poem by English MFA alumnus and Massachusetts Review managing editor Corwin Ericson. "Checked Out OK" is composed entirely from police reports in the Amherst Bulletin and was originally published in the campus-based literary journal Jubilat. ... Poets & Writers, meanwhile, features both English professor John Edgar Wideman and Comparative Literature professor Samuel Delany in an article celebrating African-American writers. Also featured are recent MFA graduates Nicholas Monte-marano, regarding his debut novel "A Fine Place," and Ethan Paquin in a piece on his online publishing venture Slope. Works by alumni Jeffery Allen, R. Shepherd, Joanna Smith Rakoff and Kevin Larimer are also included in the current issue. ... Book magazine's "Newcomers Issue" lists MFA alumnus Tim Westmoreland as one of its "Breakthrough Writers You Need To Know." The magazine also carries "The New Visionary" by alumnus Adam Langer.

Talk the talk

Want to sound like you're in the know on campus? Just drop the techno-buzz phrase "go live" into your conversation and watch your stock go up. Originally part of the hoopla surrounding next month's launch of the PeopleSoft payroll and human resources systems, "go live" is starting to gain a certain cachet with some tech wannabes. G&C is waiting for lunch to go live...

Pöck chasing puck

Sophomore Thomas Pöck has a pretty good excuse for missing classes this week: he's playing on the Austrian Olympic hockey team at the Salt Lake Games. Pöck, who is a forward on the Minutemen, is following in the footsteps of his father who played on three Austrian Olympic squads. The Austrian team is not expected to contend for a medal at the Games, so Pöck may be back in time for some of the Minutemen's final four games of the season. Currently ranked last in Hockey East and contending for the final playoff berth, coach Don Cahoon's team could use Pöck's offensive skills.

Morel ground

He's not on the ice, but that's probably just as well, since Mark Morel, former chief engineer at the Video Instructional Program, is behind the scenes at the Winter Olympics, working on the interface between NBC's cameras and their satellite for broadcasting. Morel was on hand to set up the systems and access points for cameras and is sticking around to make sure everything runs smoothly. Morel is a veteran of NBC Olympic coverage, having worked at the 2000 summer games in Sydney, Australia.