Journal Seven: Lede and Graph of the Week
Source - The New York Times
Date - Oct. 23, 2012
Lede - "It is afternoon in a hardwood forest on the edge of the Cumberland Plateau, and the cicadas are singing."
This lede comes from a story titled "Finding Zen in a Patch of Nature." The article is about a both poetic and science-driven scientist and author. David Haskell, biologist, explores one specific opening of a forest in Tennessee and documents everything he observes in a new, and unique, less data-driven way. I like this lede because it's simple and to the point. It's very descriptive and metaphorical.
Graph - There are a few lines from this article that I just loved. It's really well written, by James Gorman. I also loved this story because it takes place in Tennessee!
"But to him, the noise is biological alchemy, sunlight into sound."
"He thinks like a biologist, writes like a poet, and gives the natural world the kind of open-minded attention one expects from a Zen monk rather than a hypothesis-driven scientist."
The next sentence describes his wife: "...Ms. Vance, a biologist, artist, goat keeper and soap maker." I think Gorman describes her in the way that Haskell probably would have, picking out things about her that he loved and drew him to her. She sounds like a sweet and fun person.
