I'm Brandon Sneed. This is my blog. It's basically an online notebook where I highlight good writing, storytelling, journalism and other acts of creativity, and explore how such things are made.
I'm an author and journalist who writes about people, sports, science, nature, and more. I love learning, adventures, life, and stories. I've covered everything from a guy who played Division I basketball while battling cancer ... to golf courses that eat golfers ... to turkey vultures invading a town. You can read all those and more below.
More about me and the blog: here.
The Prospect: Montaous Walton Just Wanted to Play Ball, So He Made Up a Fake Online Persona, Fooled the Media, Signed With an Agent, and Ended Up in Handcuffs
(SB Nation Longform)
The Good Hurt: How Ray King Lives and Plays Basketball with Cancer
(SB Nation Longform)
Golfer Swallowed By Golf Course
(Outside)
How A Tiny Southern Town Handles A Turkey Vulture Invasion
(Outside)
Blind Ambition
(ESPN The Magazine)
Mad For Carolina
(GQ)
Nobody Walks Alone
(ESPN: The Magazine)
The First Legend
(SLAM magazine)
The other night, Karl Dimachki performed on the Australian version of "X Factor." He won't win it, and to be completely honest, I'm surprised the judges voted him on to the next round. But what Dimachki did is one of the bravest things I think I've ever seen anyone do.
Some days, like today, I get feeling down about things. Then I remember people like Felicia, the 47-year-old homeless woman I met last week.
Cooper wrote a blog. He wants to start doing that again. I decided to let him. That said, I assume no responsibility for the following.
"How far would the God of the universe go for his children?" My mom, Karen Sneed -- vice president of All Jesus Ministries in Greenville, NC -- explored this question in her monthly newsletter's devotional. It is featured here today at brandonsneed.com.
Every once in awhile, I just get tired of the Internet and everything--Twitter, Facebook, blogging--that comes with it. Today, I call on the help and insight of some of today's more prolific bloggers, asking if they ever feel the same way and how they cope with it.
I'm starting to do more first-person experience features for the Wilmington StarNews. My first one is this one, about me trying to learn how to surf. As usual, it involved mass amounts of failure.
Some days, like yesterday, writing is hard. And some days, like yesterday, I really need writing to come more easily. This post explores five things I sometimes try to break out of writer's slog.
From an upcoming short blog I wrote for HalogenTV.com:
Cholera-afflicted patients in early July overwhelmed a health center in Taveng, Cambodia, after an outbreak of the disease that was part of a wider epidemic in the Northeastern Ratanakiri province. Since April, the outbreak has killed 36, but could have become much worse had it not been for the efforts of some groups of Christians in the area.
I’ve recently learned the power words have.
This probably comes as a surprise to many of you. “Only recently? Like, aren’t you a writer?”
Like, yeah. And some days, I’ve even a smart writer.
But some days, I can be pretty dumb.
Today I was introduced to the Icelandic band Sigur Ros. This is their song "Untitled 1", also known as "Vaka." It's my new featured music.
The music video could seriously depress me if I let it, but the music itself will probably go on repeat for the day.
Enjoy.
Notebook