...today is the last day of my internship.

It's sad, but true. Today's the day. It has been an absolute blast, but I'm exhausted. As much as I will miss all of the friends I made this summer, I can't wait to have a break. Heading home to Hudson tomorrow.

...I mixed things up a bit at the paper.

I am attending Chautauqua Theater Company's final production of the season tonight, a performance of William Shakespeare's "The Winter's Tale." I've been looking forward to going since I designed the front page of the opening weekend's paper (above). Stacey Federoff, the theater reporter, did a phenomenal job running with a story idea proposed by CTC. The play's major plot twists apparently come off as a sort of scandalous, soap opera-esque series of events: a friendship torn apart, accusations of adultery, an illegitimate child, etc. The theater company thought it might be fun to interview the actors and actresses in character about the plot's twists and turns, creating a story as outlandish and sensational as the play itself. Think tabloid trash, Shakespeare-style.

My idea was to "expose" the seedy sister paper of The Chautauqua Daily, otherwise known as The Sicilian Post (Sicilia is the fictional setting of the play). I really loved the teaser page turn at the top, right-hand corner, but I wish I had spent more time on the rest of the page. To be honest, I kind of threw it together. Below, is the teased page with the fake stories. I thought it turned out pretty neat.

...I was on a boat.

This boat (steamship, rather), the Chautauqua Belle. It was my first time on the lake, in fact. We were all supposed to go as a newsroom at the beginning of the season, but due to inclement weather we had to take a rain-check. Last week we finally made it, and it was a beautiful evening. We even had dinner aboard and enjoyed a few beers from the bar. Here are some more photos from the trip around Chautauqua Lake. 

Some Daily coworkers: Allison, James, Regina and Christina.

This is Grady, Jordan's golden retriever puppy. He enjoyed the boat ride as well, minus the occasional ear-piercing steam whistle. After we docked, he showed some interest in the waves lapping against the shore. Before we knew it, he had jumped right in. And being his first water encounter, it was pretty freakin' adorable.

...I get to experience the Ken Burns effect.

Ken Burns, iconic documentary filmmaker, is coming to Chautauqua tomorrow. He is known for, of all things, his use of panning across still photographs — something called "the Ken Burns effect." Tough I've yet to watch any of his documentaries in full, I can certainly appreciate his work from the clips that I've seen. Here's a nice montage that was aired when he received a Lifetime Achievement honor at the News & Documentary Emmy Awards in 2008.

(Photo from purplecrayon.wordpress.com)

...here's an oldfangled way of keeping in touch.

I once heard that before the Internet and e-mail, people would engage in a strange activity entailing ink, paper and sticky flat squares that tasted funny. It was called called writing and sending a letter. I was reminded of this quaint notion yesterday at work when I was asked to scan a couple dozen vintage postcards depicting various sites around Chautauqua. I couldn't help but admire the sturdy cards for their artwork and age, as well as the notes penned on the other side — perhaps haphazardly at the time, unknowing of future eyes that might peruse them.

I especially enjoyed the one above, which reads: "The most remarkable thing about this place is the absence of skirts. All the girls wear knickers. I hope to see you in them some day. I'll bet you'd look cute. Ten girls here to every man. Best regards. Max Henrici." And with the magic of the Internet, I found his obituary and discovered that when Max wrote that postcard in 1924, he was 40 years old and a newspaper man working for the Pittsburgh Sun (and clearly must've sent the card to a rather cute coworker).

Here are some more...

1933.

1946.

1906. "Have received your letter. Will answer at once. We are having a good time. O how we wish you were here to hear the beautiful music."

Unknown.

1952.

1957. "This is a wonderful week filled with music, inspiring talks, educational films, forums, etc. Gladys and I have enjoyed some programs together. yesterday we stopped at the lakeside to watch a program for the birthday of a dog!"

1920.

1945.

1908. "I just acknowledged my assignment pretty late, for I got it the 4. I must bother you whenever my summer activity takes me to a beautiful place. The circumstances have been kinder that I expected, and I am busy with intellectual enjoyment and camp life. German was too easy, so I took French — Balzac. H.G. Griggs is lecturing here. I cannot half take in all that is offered."

...the body can do amazing things.

Wednesday night I attended a performance in the Amphitheater that left me in utter amazement (and wishing that I was in better shape). Cirque Sublime is a Toronto-based act and is familiar to Chautauquan audiences. I'm not sure how many times it has wowed a crowd here on the grounds, but it has been touring internationally since its inception in 1997. The show was a series of gravity-defying gymnastics, acrobatics, and feats of strength set to pulsing music and a stunning light show. I got to put together a page in the weekend's paper that features some pretty amazing photos from that evening. As a designer, I feel so privileged to work with our staff photographers, who are a talented lot. Kudos to photographer Katie Roupe for snapping this round.

...this week is Harry Potter madness.

The sixth Harry Potter movie, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, comes out this Wednesday, July 15, and I'm going to see the midnight premiere Tuesday night! I simply cannot wait to see the latest installment of the series. Though I've read all the books (and multiple times), I'm still giddy at the prospect of seeing what Harry, Ron and Hermione will get into this time around. My own school mates, Seal and Kara, are coming visit me that night, as well as to see the film. Huzzah! Unfortunately, my boss isn't the biggest HP fan and was kind enough to remind the newsroom that we still have a meeting at 9 a.m. the next day. Wednesday is going to be rough.

Also, I took this Harry Potter quiz and am ashamed to say that I only got 13 out of 15. Beat that, you Muggles!

(Poster from Scienceblogs.com)