Sharp with the "Sharpies"- SC State's Avery Daniels

Outside his job as the library archivist at South Carolina State University Avery Daniels has an interesting hobby.

It involves axes, hatchets and knives. 

A regular at Orangeburg's Black Water Axes & Ales, Daniels in about a year and a half has become a world-class thrower of these "sharpies." 

Check out my video (below) about his expertise. In September my students and I met Daniels at Axes & Ales and saw firsthand his blade-throwing precision.

Good luck Avery Daniels at the big tournament in Appleton, Wisconsin. We hope you bring home the gold and some of the prize money too! 

This is a fun photo Avery Daniels took of us. Thank you sir for a great experience with you at Black Water Axes and Ales! 

Archivist/Ax Thrower Avery Daniels- Check Out My Audio Report!

 

In a relatively short time SC State library archivist Avery Daniels has become a world-class thrower of knives and axes. 

You and I may visit one of these increasing popular places to have some fun and maybe a drink or two. But Daniels has taken his throwing skills to the next level and will soon compete in a world championship tournament. 

Click here to listen to my report about Avery Daniels who has refined his skills at Orangeburg's Black Water Axes and Ales.

Thank you Avery Daniels for letting us interview you. We wish you the best of luck in your upcoming competitions. 

This is a fun photo Avery Daniels took of us. Thank you sir for a great experience with you at Black Water Axes and Ales! 

And thanks to the owner of Black Water Axes and Ales for letting us come in and even try out a few throws ourselves. 

The business is located in the Orangeburg Mall at 1128 Orangeburg Mall Circle. 

SC State's Archivist is Sharp with the Knives and the Axes!

 

By day Avery Daniels is the mild-mannered archivist at SC State's Miller F. Whitaker Library. 

His third-floor office is packed with more than 130 years of the school's history. 

Daniels helped my students with a research project a few years ago. 

Thanks to a recent University Relations feature story I learned about a passion of Daniels outside the library. The Orangeburg Times & Democrat has also featured Daniels and his world-class skills in throwing knives, hatchets and axes. 

The coverage headlines say how he is aiming for national and world titles in a sport that is growing in popularity around the globe. 

Daniels has honed his throwing at his home "court" you could say. This is at Black Water Axes & Ales located in the Orangeburg Mall, a short drive from campus. 

In an interview recorded for both my video and audio production classes, Daniels says he finds the sport therapeutic...this after the loss of a loved one two years ago. 

SOT: Avery Daniels :25
In: Yes, absolutely
Out: competitive drive going 

Listen to his response here.

If you watch Daniels throwing you may notice he uses both hands. Is he naturally ambidextrous? 

SOT: Avery Daniels   :20
In: I was in a car accident
Out: my left hand 

Listen to his response here.

Daniels is earning a name for himself in throwing competitions locally, nationally and internationally. 

Next month November 9-11, he will will be in Appleton, Wisconsin for the inaugural World Ax and Knife Throwing League Pro-Am Championships. 

In an interview my students and I had with Daniels at Black Water Axes and Ales, he was asked about the challenges of competition. 

SOT: Avery Daniels   :57
In: The challenge is nerves 
Out: it comes second nature 

Hear his answer here.

We wish Avery Daniels great success at the upcoming world competition in Wisconsin! May he bring home the gold and prize money too. 

As if ax and knife throwing wasn't enough of a passion hobby for him, Daniels told us he also plays pickleball several days a week. 

"Me in 30 Seconds" Video Project

This semester I'm teaching Basic Television Production and it's a very hands-on class. Students have been quickly exposed to the tools of the trade: cameras, microphones, lights and tripods. 

As a first project I asked them to be in front of the camera sharing "Me in 30 Seconds." Just talk briefly about yourself: where you are from, your major and year, hometown, hobbies, ambitions, what you like about SC State- things like that. 

The students rotated from in front of the camera to behind it. They operated the camera, some held the boom microphone and others held up a stopwatch so the length would be a close to 30 seconds as possible. 

Here are some of the videos that the students will post on YouTube, then there own blogs. 

Patrick Jenkins

Getting Basic in Basic Television Production Class

 

We've hit the ground running in Basic Television Production. In just our third class... It's lights, camera, action! 

Click here to listen to this post. 

I call this project "Me in 30 Seconds." 

One by one students go in front of the camera and talk about themselves...giving their names, hometowns, interests, hobbies and aspirations. And also maybe what they like best about going to SC State. 

This is Nia Smith speaking in our classroom in Turner Hall. 

Paying Respects to the Orangeburg Massacre Victims

 

On the eve of the 55th annual Orangeburg Massacre memorial event at SC State, my students and I visited this sacred site on campus: the Smith Hammond Middleton Legacy Plaza. 

This is named for the three young men who perished on that tragic day, Feb. 8, 1968. 

These three young men were shot to death by highway patrol officers when hundreds of SC State and Claflin students gathered around a bonfire. Two days prior the students protested a segregated bowling alley. 

Killed, from right to left, were Henry E. Smith, 18, Samuel Hammond Jr. (both SC State students) and Delano Middleton, 17, a Wilkinson High School student. 

The three bronze busts were sculpted by one of SC State's own: Dr. Toulupe Filani, chair of the Department of Visual and Performing Arts. 

He is pictured here shaking the hand of school President Alexander Conyers. This was at last year's Feb. 8 commemoration when Filani's creations were unveiled. 

Filani, who goes by Tolu, signed each bust that he crafted from clay. Curiously, he completed them in 2014. So why did it take eight years for them to be bronzed and displayed like this? 

In an interview I conducted with Filani at last February's event, he admitted to having trouble getting the backing of SC State's leadership to fund the bronzing, which he says cost $30,000. 

Listen to his comment here.

Fortunately, Filani didn't give up! 

In this next soundbite, he modestly responds to my question about how pleased me must be that his creations are finally on public display.

Listen here.

In this third comment, Filani says how his vision of creating art for the SC State campus dates back to when he came here for his job interview back in 2006.      Listen here.