Monday, June 7, 2010
Process Writing for Final
Narrative Journalism was an unusual and sometimes difficult class for me because I had difficult discerning what set this apart from other types of journalism in the beginning of the course and how my pieces should be styled differently than they would from a piece submitted in another course. As the course went on, however, and I read from more of the texts, I began to gain a firmer grip on what I was doing and hopefully, improved. Revision is something that I have struggled with throughout the entire year. I had never really encountered it prior to this year but from the choice of courses that I took to writing my SIP, I was now bombarded by it. Hopefully, at the end of the year, I am now a more conscientious and competent reviser than I was when I started the year off. The chance for revision in the course was a good one.
Writing for this course has made me firmly realize that I think my strengths lay in writing more pointed pieces such as opinion articles or reviews rather than more literary pieces. I’m not the best person to tell heart-wrenching stories or illuminate a forgotten facet of culture. Interviewing, at least broadly, in the sense of trying to figure out someone’s story, is not my idea of a good time at all. It is a skill that I either do not have or need to more fully develop. Hopefully, I can become better at it.
The comments on the blog were useful, at least in sparking new thoughts that I would take in different directions. They gave a different perspective and while I may not have always used the suggestions, they showed when perhaps something wasn’t as clear as I had thought that it might have been or when I needed to elaborate on something.
Overall, I think it was a good course for me to take. I enjoyed a lot of the readings and even if I don’t go into journalism as a career, it enriched the reading that I do in my daily life. When reading articles in The New York Times or The New Yorker now, I have a greater understanding of how they were composed and constructed. I also will have a deeper understanding of what they are saying and their messages. It was worth the frustrations.
Writing for this course has made me firmly realize that I think my strengths lay in writing more pointed pieces such as opinion articles or reviews rather than more literary pieces. I’m not the best person to tell heart-wrenching stories or illuminate a forgotten facet of culture. Interviewing, at least broadly, in the sense of trying to figure out someone’s story, is not my idea of a good time at all. It is a skill that I either do not have or need to more fully develop. Hopefully, I can become better at it.
The comments on the blog were useful, at least in sparking new thoughts that I would take in different directions. They gave a different perspective and while I may not have always used the suggestions, they showed when perhaps something wasn’t as clear as I had thought that it might have been or when I needed to elaborate on something.
Overall, I think it was a good course for me to take. I enjoyed a lot of the readings and even if I don’t go into journalism as a career, it enriched the reading that I do in my daily life. When reading articles in The New York Times or The New Yorker now, I have a greater understanding of how they were composed and constructed. I also will have a deeper understanding of what they are saying and their messages. It was worth the frustrations.
Final Revision
Brrrrring! Brrrring! Brraaaaai! This is the sound (not the most pleasurable) of a Telecaster guitar strummed by an extreme novice. “That’s not the way to play. Here let me show you how to do it. You have to feel the music in yourself.” With this, Alex, slender and scruffy, amply clothed in flannel, takes the guitar in his hands and begins to play lucid, swooping notes that while ephemeral sonically, linger in the mind’s ear. Asked to categorize his music, Alex, nearly blanched, stares incredulously, before responding, “post-punk samba with a hint of bluegrass.” This obviously sarcastic remark shows The Oaks’ clear refusal to be placed in any particular genre and their caustic sense of humor. The name of the group may seem a bit particular but Alex, the lead singer and lead guitarist, explains it as deriving from “a desire to make songs that would be sturdy as oak trees and also able to blow around and be done in different ways.” The songs of The Oaks can only come from musicians who are compelled to make music for the sheer joy of it, and are determined to create a path in the hard and often cutthroat world of coffeehouse bands and the larger music industry.
This is a new band. In fact, the name isn’t even a permanent one; but rather it is one that they needed in order to play gigs and book studio time. There is even the suggestion among the four members that the band name could be constantly in flux and changing. This is a band that does not take seriously the hope for widespread fame. Changing your name every few months or so is certainly not the way to be the next Beatles. But even more important to the essence of a band than its name is its music, and what exactly is The Oaks’ music? It’s very hard to describe music that seeks to be as free of genre restrictions as this band’s, but it certainly comes from folk and jazz influences. “Some of our most recent songs came around after listening to a lot of Mississippi John Hurt, Django Reinhardt, real authentic stuff like that. We tried to be authentic and maybe we got a bit of that ‘Rolling Stonesy’ rich white boy act goin’ on.” While the comparison to the Rolling Stones doesn’t seem the most appropriate because of The Oaks’ less propulsive and sexually driven material, the connection to “rich white boy[s]” trying to act down and out is something that can be seen throughout music of the past half-century and indeed, Jake, the drummer of the band, comes from a very affluent family and helps to pay for much of the band’s expenses.
The band members will excitedly tell you about music and musicians that they enjoy, but they are extremely reticent to proclaim that their music is clearly influenced by these artists. In fact, the only artist that each of the band members claims to love is the soul singer Sade who would seem to have little in common with the music that The Oaks play. Zach, the bassist of the band, posited a remarkable manifesto that “Bands today hold too much to the past and care way too much about the past. Sure, cover songs and listen to older music but not to where you lose creativity.” This fascinating statement cuts to the changing dynamics of the music industry. Bands, especially small, mostly unknown ones such as The Oaks, are formed usually either as cover bands or primarily serve as them until their own songs become well known enough. The Oaks, however, strive to perform mostly their own songs and only include a cover in their set on a special day.
The Oaks, comprised of twenty year olds, have been playing and writing together for nearly two years, but only within the past half year, have they begun to take paying gigs in Kalamazoo and Ann Arbor and record. One fascinating fact that differentiates The Oaks from other bands is that record demos are required to obtain gigs at many small venues, as the venue owners want to ascertain the likely demographics for the music the band plays. Getting these record demos can be quite pricey, as studio time needs to be rented and to do this, the band has to go through a variety of hoops. The first time, they attempted to enter the studio, they weren’t allowed to record but having changed their name since they applied, the studio didn’t realize that it was the same band that had already paid for the time. The Oaks have been managing to score some gigs without recording but now are beginning to prep ten songs for studio time. The sheer amount of preparation that is necessary for recording is daunting for the novice musician and seemingly involves nearly as much time as the recording and learning of the songs itself.
It’s a hard life trying to be a professional musician. The struggles are many while the profits may often seem to have little to no fiscal reward. There is certainly a romanticism to it, however, that actively appeals to many young men and women who try their hand at it. Alex has a peculiar way of putting his reasons for being in music “Everyone wants to be great. Every little kid with a guitar or a piano wants to be Mozart or McCartney or Jay-Z, but how many really are? The ones who succeed are the ones who have confidence that they are geniuses and that their music is worth listening to and being replayed for years.” This belief is one that Alex certainly seems to hold constant in The Oaks’ music. Each of the members has great confidence in the music that they have written and are continuing to write. Zach, tugging at his striped polo shirt, describes a song currently in progress as “complex and catchy and crazy good.” As The Oaks prepare for what they are considering “The maiden show of our new incarnation,” they continue to evolve but in less shallow ways than simply changing their name; they are a band that consistently flouts industry conventions and seeks to challenge the audience’s expectations. There are not many bands that create works that linger in the mind over time but this is absolutely one.
This is a new band. In fact, the name isn’t even a permanent one; but rather it is one that they needed in order to play gigs and book studio time. There is even the suggestion among the four members that the band name could be constantly in flux and changing. This is a band that does not take seriously the hope for widespread fame. Changing your name every few months or so is certainly not the way to be the next Beatles. But even more important to the essence of a band than its name is its music, and what exactly is The Oaks’ music? It’s very hard to describe music that seeks to be as free of genre restrictions as this band’s, but it certainly comes from folk and jazz influences. “Some of our most recent songs came around after listening to a lot of Mississippi John Hurt, Django Reinhardt, real authentic stuff like that. We tried to be authentic and maybe we got a bit of that ‘Rolling Stonesy’ rich white boy act goin’ on.” While the comparison to the Rolling Stones doesn’t seem the most appropriate because of The Oaks’ less propulsive and sexually driven material, the connection to “rich white boy[s]” trying to act down and out is something that can be seen throughout music of the past half-century and indeed, Jake, the drummer of the band, comes from a very affluent family and helps to pay for much of the band’s expenses.
The band members will excitedly tell you about music and musicians that they enjoy, but they are extremely reticent to proclaim that their music is clearly influenced by these artists. In fact, the only artist that each of the band members claims to love is the soul singer Sade who would seem to have little in common with the music that The Oaks play. Zach, the bassist of the band, posited a remarkable manifesto that “Bands today hold too much to the past and care way too much about the past. Sure, cover songs and listen to older music but not to where you lose creativity.” This fascinating statement cuts to the changing dynamics of the music industry. Bands, especially small, mostly unknown ones such as The Oaks, are formed usually either as cover bands or primarily serve as them until their own songs become well known enough. The Oaks, however, strive to perform mostly their own songs and only include a cover in their set on a special day.
The Oaks, comprised of twenty year olds, have been playing and writing together for nearly two years, but only within the past half year, have they begun to take paying gigs in Kalamazoo and Ann Arbor and record. One fascinating fact that differentiates The Oaks from other bands is that record demos are required to obtain gigs at many small venues, as the venue owners want to ascertain the likely demographics for the music the band plays. Getting these record demos can be quite pricey, as studio time needs to be rented and to do this, the band has to go through a variety of hoops. The first time, they attempted to enter the studio, they weren’t allowed to record but having changed their name since they applied, the studio didn’t realize that it was the same band that had already paid for the time. The Oaks have been managing to score some gigs without recording but now are beginning to prep ten songs for studio time. The sheer amount of preparation that is necessary for recording is daunting for the novice musician and seemingly involves nearly as much time as the recording and learning of the songs itself.
It’s a hard life trying to be a professional musician. The struggles are many while the profits may often seem to have little to no fiscal reward. There is certainly a romanticism to it, however, that actively appeals to many young men and women who try their hand at it. Alex has a peculiar way of putting his reasons for being in music “Everyone wants to be great. Every little kid with a guitar or a piano wants to be Mozart or McCartney or Jay-Z, but how many really are? The ones who succeed are the ones who have confidence that they are geniuses and that their music is worth listening to and being replayed for years.” This belief is one that Alex certainly seems to hold constant in The Oaks’ music. Each of the members has great confidence in the music that they have written and are continuing to write. Zach, tugging at his striped polo shirt, describes a song currently in progress as “complex and catchy and crazy good.” As The Oaks prepare for what they are considering “The maiden show of our new incarnation,” they continue to evolve but in less shallow ways than simply changing their name; they are a band that consistently flouts industry conventions and seeks to challenge the audience’s expectations. There are not many bands that create works that linger in the mind over time but this is absolutely one.
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Response to Andrea's Piece
Nice piece, Andrea! This was a heart wrenching yet essentially positive story. You did a great job of including all the details that one could possibly want to know-age, descriptions, background, where these characters came from and are trying to go. You also did it in a non-ostentatious way. My biggest question is what exactly are you trying to impart with this story? It’s a great a story but what is the piece signifying or what is the reader supposed to get from it? Also what are we supposed to get from the ending of the story? It seemed like it was leaning more positive earlier. Maybe figure out another way to end the piece. Pulling Mira and Lisa’s story into a larger picture and also connecting it to statistics would increase the sway that your piece could have over readers and would make what the reader gets from the piece, that much more fulfilling. Looking forward to the final draft!
Response to Steven's Piece
Good job, Steven! This piece is filled with information. The information is great and it would be a very interesting piece for someone who knows a bit about the Orthodox faith. Maybe include a little bit more explanation for people who don’t know as much about the Orthodox faith. Who is the audience that you are aiming this piece at? This seems like it would make a good magazine piece. Also, what type of piece are you trying to write? Is this just you encountering the Orthodox faith or are you trying to make a point about it? Flesh yourself out in this piece or maybe take yourself out of it because you are very present in it without doing too much. The amount of detail included in here is staggering, I’m just not sure of what you are trying to say or impart onto the reading audience. Perhaps talk a bit about how the church interacts with the community around it? You talk about needing a conclusion, which is true, but I’m not sure that I understand the final paragraph that you have either. What does that mean? Why does the priest not think that you will bring it back? Where does martyrdom fit into the picture? I look forward to your final draft! Good luck.
Response to Simona's
Nice job, Simona! Also, great use of dialogue. When I first read it, I was slightly put off but I realized that it is really quite good and helps to further the story and also is the way you use to tell the story. Perhaps try to put a little more of your voice into it though so that you don’t get lose in all of the quotations. I think you have a great choice of topic here and something is certainly timely. How is the situation with migrant workers unique to Michigan? Is it even? What is your audience for your piece or where are you trying to pitch it? I think it’d be best in a large newspaper like the Detroit Free Press or a magazine. The quote that you end with is good but maybe try to end a little more definitively, the piece just sorta seems to abruptly end. Explaining a little more of what the migrant camps are may also help people who are not familiar with them. This has the makings of a great piece. Great job.
Response to Marina's Narrative
Marina- This is a really fascinating piece and seems like it would be perfect for a feature in the Index or the Gazette. You have an obvious interest in your subject and it shows in the quality of enthusiasm that you put into it. One thing that I might be careful about is calling The Tempest, Shakespeare’s most male-dominated play because he has a lot of other ones that are as comparable in the dearth of male roles such as Julius Caesar or Macbeth. It’s a really broad statement that might not be supportable. Nice job, however, weaving in the different perspectives of feminism across different majors and how they incorporate it into their work. What exactly are you trying to say with your conclusion? It sounds nice but perhaps it wraps things up a little bit too neatly for an issue that still seems to be going on- expanding feminism at Kalamazoo College. This is a very interesting draft and I think you have a really great piece here. I look forward to seeing the final piece!
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Process Writing
Writing this, at least compared to my profile, was much less like pulling my teeth out through my ears and more like something that could be said to be approaching enjoyable. The interviewing process itself: the asking of questions, spending time with the interviewees and simply getting acquainted all seemed to flow much better. I felt more comfortable and also was able to think of (what I found to be) more intelligent questions. The actual process of writing it was also much simpler and much enjoyable for me than the other two pieces where I constantly felt like I was wildly grasping. There are some things I know that I didn’t include in my piece thus far and I hope to get them in later revision and ask some other questions to the band that I have thought of. I also was going to see if I could talk to some of their friends or new fans. Hopefully it should be a good piece.
I’m trying to also blow the piece up beyond simply a profile of this band into a larger comment on the music scene in general and small bands that are simply trying to make ends meet and play music for the small joy of it. I was thinking that the larger story would be able to come out of this and it would say something that would be timely in light of the massive changes coming about in the larger music industry and the economy having disastrous effects on musicians.
I’m trying to also blow the piece up beyond simply a profile of this band into a larger comment on the music scene in general and small bands that are simply trying to make ends meet and play music for the small joy of it. I was thinking that the larger story would be able to come out of this and it would say something that would be timely in light of the massive changes coming about in the larger music industry and the economy having disastrous effects on musicians.
Response to Myles' Piece
Myles- Nice piece! I think you did well in making yourself a character in the narrative much as Claire did and that you did a good job integrating yourself well into it. I never felt like you were intruding into it. You were like an investigative reporter a bit in it. Your descriptions of being in the abandoned factory is very visceral with detail such as the shards of glass “intermingling with the weeds and shrubs that force their way through slabs of broken concrete”. My suggestion would be to instead of simply presenting the plethora of details that you do, try to form more of a progression with it or try to decipher the story there. Do you think it would be possible to get any interviews with any of the former workers or managers of the plants in Parchment? That would be a really great get. Maybe also try to connect the decline of Parchment on a larger level to the rest of southwestern Michigan. Also, since you are so much a part of the piece, try to explain what spurred your interest in Parchment and its eponymous paper mills. This should be a really fascinating article. Looking forward to reading it.
Response to Anna's Piece
Anna- Good job! I just need to say that I loved a lot of your word choices. “Nurturing creative dreams”, “Camaraderie”, “snakes its way”, these are all really emotive phrases that help to give your piece a lot of narrative drive and power. I think you had a great idea to concentrate on the Park Trade building as it just appears to be fascinating place with a ton of different stories waiting to be told. You do a great job of describing the place and the work that is being done there. My biggest suggestion would be to perhaps add some more quotations. I’m sure that can be done as you interview more people. If you have time to do some interviewing there during the Art Hop, that would be fantastic material, I’m sure. You also have a great grasp of the history of the place, maybe try to show how that connects to the work that is being done inside of it now and even a connection with the larger community? This is the beginning of a really fascinating piece and it certainly made me want to go back and check it out more fully than I had before. Good job!
Response to Claire's Piece
Claire- I liked how you put yourself so strongly into the piece. That can be a difficult balance to figure out and I think you did a really great job of deciding to insert yourself into it and then also finding the right amount that you should figure into the piece. I also enjoyed your bookending the piece with trips to Fourth Coast. Maybe the piece could even be strengthened by focusing more primarily on Fourth Coast because while it is a strong piece now, the topic that it focuses on is quite broad. Your topic certainly appeals to the times and you are dealing with something that has been all over the news in Michigan. Perhaps, if you maintain the broader focus, you could talk to a medical professional or someone who had a hand in implemented the ban at large and discuss the reasoning behind it. Also were you able to talk to any of the people who were smoking on the patio at the Strutt? They could have been helpful in giving you their viewpoint. Overall, great job!
Response to Jessica's Piece
Jessica- You have a really fascinating piece. The subject matter is something that is definitely important today with the constant changes in college admissions. Were you interested in describing the students who got into predominantly Ivy League schools because they are so selective or was there another reason? Overall, I think you have a really insightful piece and this will develop into something that will be really instructive for people, especially parents of middle school or high school children. My biggest suggestion is maybe to try to cut up some of the large blocks of quotations that you have. They’re good but they really take up much of the piece and the sheer size of them can be a little distracting and take away from your voice. How does Mr. Streeter compare to others who do the same job or how does this fit into the larger picture. I think you have the start of a really great piece here, good luck!
Monday, May 24, 2010
Meeting the Band: Draft
Brrrrring! Brrrring! Brraaaaai! This is the sound (not the most pleasurable) of a Telecaster guitar strummed by an extreme novice of the guitar. “That’s not the way to play. Here let me show you how to do it. You have to feel the music in yourself.” With this, Alex takes the guitar in his hands and begins to play lucid, swooping notes that while ephemeral sonically, linger in the mind’s ear. Asked to categorize his music, Alex, nearly blanched, stares incredulously, before responding “post-punk samba with a hint of bluegrass”. This obviously sarcastic remark shows The Oaks’ clear refusal to be placed in any particular genre and also aptly shows their caustic sense of humor. The name of the band may seem a bit particular but Alex, the lead singer and primary guitarist, explains it as deriving from “a desire to make songs that would be sturdy as oak trees and also able to blow around and be done in different ways”. The songs of The Oaks can only come from musicians who feel the music in themselves and are determined to create a path in the hard and often cutthroat world of coffeehouse bands and the larger music industry.
This is a new band. In fact, the name isn’t even a permanent one but rather, one that they needed to be able to both play gigs and to book studio time. There is even the suggestion amongst that the band members that the band name could be constantly in flux and changing. This is a band that does not take seriously the idea or the hope for wide-spread fame. Changing your name every few months or so is certainly not the way to be the next Beatles. But even more important to the essence of a band than its name is its music and what exactly is The Oaks’ music? It’s very hard to describe music, especially music that seeks to be as free of genre restrictions as this band’s but it certainly comes from folk and jazz influences and impressions. “Some of our most recent songs came around after listening to a lot of Mississippi John Hurt, Django Reinhardt, real authentic stuff like that. We tried to be authentic and maybe we got a bit of that ‘Rolling Stonesy’ rich white boy act goin’ on”. Here, Alex describes some of the artists that the members listened to before composing some of their recent material and while the comparison to the Rolling Stones doesn’t seem the most appropriate because of The Oaks’ less propulsive and sexually driven material, the connection to “rich white boy[s]” trying to act down and out is striking and something that can be seen throughout much of popular music over the past half-century.
The band members will excitedly tell you music and musicians whom they enjoy but they are extremely reticent to proclaim that their music is clearly influenced by these artists. In fact, the only artist who each of the band members claims to love is the soul singer Sade who would seem to have little in common with the music that The Oaks play. Zach, the bassist of the band posited a remarkable manifesto that the band may hold “Bands today hold too much to the past and care way too much about the past. Sure, cover songs and listen to older music but not to where you lose creativity”. This fascinating statement cuts to a fundamental of the changing dynamics of the music industry. Band, especially small, mostly unknown ones such as The Oaks are formed usually either as covers bands or primarily serve as them until their own songs become well-known enough. The Oaks, however, strive to perform mostly their own songs and only include a cover in their set on a special day. The Oaks have been playing and writing together for nearly two years but only within the past half year, have they begun to take paying gigs and record. One fascinating fact from speaking with the band is that record demos are required to obtain gigs at many small venues, as the venue owners want to ascertain the likely demographics for the music the band plays. Getting these record demos can be quite pricey as studio time needs to be rented and to do this, the band has to go through a variety of hoops and needs to be recognized by the studio, hence, the necessity of a band name as shown before. The Oaks have been managing to score some gigs without recording but now are beginning to prep ten songs for studio time. The sheer amount of preparation that is necessary for recording is daunting for the novice musician and seemingly involves nearly as much time as the recording and learning of the songs itself.
It’s a hard life trying to be a professional musician. The struggles are many while the profits may often to seem to have little to no fiscal reward. There is certainly a romanticism to it, however, that actively appeals to many young men and women who try their hand at it. Alex has a peculiar way of putting his reasons for being in music “Everyone wants to be great. Every little kid with a guitar or a piano wants to be Mozart or McCartney or Jay-Z but how many really are? The ones who succeed are the ones who have confidence that they are geniuses and that their music is worth listening to and being replayed for years”. This belief is one that Alex certainly seems to hold constant in The Oaks’ music. Each of the members has great confidence in the music that they have written and are continuing to write. Zach describes a song currently in progress as “Complex and catchy and crazy good”. As The Oaks prepare for what they are considering “The maiden show of our new incarnation”, they continue to evolve but in less shallow ways than simply changing their name; they are a band that consistently flouts industry conventions and seeks to challenge the audience’s expectations. There are not many bands that create works that linger in the mind over time but this is absolutely one.
This is a new band. In fact, the name isn’t even a permanent one but rather, one that they needed to be able to both play gigs and to book studio time. There is even the suggestion amongst that the band members that the band name could be constantly in flux and changing. This is a band that does not take seriously the idea or the hope for wide-spread fame. Changing your name every few months or so is certainly not the way to be the next Beatles. But even more important to the essence of a band than its name is its music and what exactly is The Oaks’ music? It’s very hard to describe music, especially music that seeks to be as free of genre restrictions as this band’s but it certainly comes from folk and jazz influences and impressions. “Some of our most recent songs came around after listening to a lot of Mississippi John Hurt, Django Reinhardt, real authentic stuff like that. We tried to be authentic and maybe we got a bit of that ‘Rolling Stonesy’ rich white boy act goin’ on”. Here, Alex describes some of the artists that the members listened to before composing some of their recent material and while the comparison to the Rolling Stones doesn’t seem the most appropriate because of The Oaks’ less propulsive and sexually driven material, the connection to “rich white boy[s]” trying to act down and out is striking and something that can be seen throughout much of popular music over the past half-century.
The band members will excitedly tell you music and musicians whom they enjoy but they are extremely reticent to proclaim that their music is clearly influenced by these artists. In fact, the only artist who each of the band members claims to love is the soul singer Sade who would seem to have little in common with the music that The Oaks play. Zach, the bassist of the band posited a remarkable manifesto that the band may hold “Bands today hold too much to the past and care way too much about the past. Sure, cover songs and listen to older music but not to where you lose creativity”. This fascinating statement cuts to a fundamental of the changing dynamics of the music industry. Band, especially small, mostly unknown ones such as The Oaks are formed usually either as covers bands or primarily serve as them until their own songs become well-known enough. The Oaks, however, strive to perform mostly their own songs and only include a cover in their set on a special day. The Oaks have been playing and writing together for nearly two years but only within the past half year, have they begun to take paying gigs and record. One fascinating fact from speaking with the band is that record demos are required to obtain gigs at many small venues, as the venue owners want to ascertain the likely demographics for the music the band plays. Getting these record demos can be quite pricey as studio time needs to be rented and to do this, the band has to go through a variety of hoops and needs to be recognized by the studio, hence, the necessity of a band name as shown before. The Oaks have been managing to score some gigs without recording but now are beginning to prep ten songs for studio time. The sheer amount of preparation that is necessary for recording is daunting for the novice musician and seemingly involves nearly as much time as the recording and learning of the songs itself.
It’s a hard life trying to be a professional musician. The struggles are many while the profits may often to seem to have little to no fiscal reward. There is certainly a romanticism to it, however, that actively appeals to many young men and women who try their hand at it. Alex has a peculiar way of putting his reasons for being in music “Everyone wants to be great. Every little kid with a guitar or a piano wants to be Mozart or McCartney or Jay-Z but how many really are? The ones who succeed are the ones who have confidence that they are geniuses and that their music is worth listening to and being replayed for years”. This belief is one that Alex certainly seems to hold constant in The Oaks’ music. Each of the members has great confidence in the music that they have written and are continuing to write. Zach describes a song currently in progress as “Complex and catchy and crazy good”. As The Oaks prepare for what they are considering “The maiden show of our new incarnation”, they continue to evolve but in less shallow ways than simply changing their name; they are a band that consistently flouts industry conventions and seeks to challenge the audience’s expectations. There are not many bands that create works that linger in the mind over time but this is absolutely one.
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Reading Response 8
I really enjoyed the Orwell piece. I had read it previously in a book of his essays and liked it but reading it now after many of the pieces that we have already read and in light of the writing and research that I’ve done for this course, I feel that I gained even more from it. Everything, in some way, does becomes political and all writers ARE “vain, selfish and lazy”. There was a strong, dry English wit throughout the essay, which made me miss London as well, so perhaps I was a bit biased. He also doesn’t romanticize the creative process, which is something that I never have any inclination to do, as I seem to find it wrenching and enormously difficult. I appreciated his candor there.
I was also really taken by the Didion piece. “Slouching toward Bethelehem” gave me a really strong sense of the times with their drugged-outness and wantonness. I also felt her political connections strongly linked her piece to the Orwell piece. The sheer fact of her connecting this lifestyle to politics, which I agree with is positively Orwellian and something that I would argue is not a stretch. Didion also has a dry and often ironic tone which you can find in some of her other work such as “The Year of Magical Thinking” and I would say that she doesn’t have a single word out of place or that is unnecessary. She finally does a great job of linking it with past and present movements and I think it would interesting if she revisited this today and wrote about how today reflects the turmoil of that time.
I was also really taken by the Didion piece. “Slouching toward Bethelehem” gave me a really strong sense of the times with their drugged-outness and wantonness. I also felt her political connections strongly linked her piece to the Orwell piece. The sheer fact of her connecting this lifestyle to politics, which I agree with is positively Orwellian and something that I would argue is not a stretch. Didion also has a dry and often ironic tone which you can find in some of her other work such as “The Year of Magical Thinking” and I would say that she doesn’t have a single word out of place or that is unnecessary. She finally does a great job of linking it with past and present movements and I think it would interesting if she revisited this today and wrote about how today reflects the turmoil of that time.
Profile Final
It’s a quiet Tuesday evening and the sunset can clearly be seen shining in through the tinted windows of the Union in downtown Kalamazoo. From the bar, it is very visible how the light shines onto the stage and it becomes clear in one’s mind, the significance of the Union in Kalamazoo. The Union is a place where big-town elegance and cosmopolitan charm is presented to Kalamazoo in the form of a bistro and performance space. Part of the Union’s name contains the words “Cabaret and Grille” and this phrasing clearly places the Union apart from many of the other restaurants around Kalamazoo. The Union becomes a place where citizens from all over the area mingle freely and share their experiences.
Sharon, a bartender at the Union for the past four years, describes the place as one that “unites different parts of the ‘Zoo together to have an enjoyable evening and be out with friends or family”. Indeed, the crowds that gather at the Union draw from a very mixed, crowd, running the gamut from older, middle-class couples to young, affluent-looking singles. What is it that would draw such a cross-section of the Kalamazoo/Portage community together across gender and racial barriers? A customer, Lesley King, who described herself as ‘a regular visitor’ summed it up thusly: “People come to the Union because it is a place that they feel welcome and [where] they see what Kalamazoo has to offer”. What King is describing here is how the Union presents many of Western Michigan University’s artists who perhaps would not be seen off of the university campus by many of Kalamazoo’s denizens. During an event such as the monthly art hops, the Union, with its central location on Kalamazoo’s outdoor walking mall, becomes a nexus for passing traffic and a vital hub of Kalamazoo’s artistic community. The Union presents a performance space for artists, whether they are musicians or chefs to show their wares in front of an appreciative audience. Ms. King’s point from earlier becomes further elaborated as she continued “People come here and they can exchange experiences if they choose to. You really see the different kinds of people that Kalamazoo has to offer”. King also has a gregarious personality, which becomes quite obvious as she warmly begins conversation with many of her fellow restaurant patrons who are near her. People like King make the Union unique.
“I’ve been coming to the Union for the past few years because they make me feel less like just another customer and sometimes, they treat me almost like a friend”. King who describes her love for the Union’s burgers as “Something perverse” finds herself drawn to the restaurant precisely because of the mix of class and candor that the Union provides. The waitstaff bustles around, maneuvering past tables with an agility that is eye-opening for those of us who have never worked in dining before and yet these waiters and waitresses are still able to notice and pay attention to the customer who requests another glass of wine or some ranch with their appetizer. This is a skill that the relatively upscale dining establishment must nurture and it is one that the Union holds in spades. They also must learn to deal with customers who because of their age, gender or purpose in attending the Union may have phenomenally different needs. According to Sharon, “The Union has customers who come in at least once a week, often times, two, because they so value their experience here”.
This customer loyalty can only be granted after great service and over a long time. Indeed, over my few visits, I believe that I noticed a few familiar faces, particularly in the singles crowd that is primarily concentrated around the bar. One of these singles, a man named Steve described the dating scene around the Union as “A bit upscale, [it] sort of brings a big city atmosphere to what kind seem like a small town dating scene for the after college crowd”. The Union does strike one as the type of place, that while enjoyable for people not yet legally able to drink, those who would have the best time are the 21 and up crowd. There is not the type of party atmosphere seen in a normal restaurant and bar such as Harvey’s or the sports bar type atmosphere of Wayside but rather a jazzier and more refined ethos surrounding the Union. The décor of the Union contains a lot of wood paneling and brick, both of which project a cultured air for the space. The proprietors of the Union seek to present an urbane public space in which to present Western Michigan University’s Gold Company singers along with other cabaret type acts. This allows them to draw an extraordinarily diverse crowd of people to both their events and daily to dine. On any random visit, one may find a nosily rambunctious crowd of senior citizens drinking margaritas to a group of college students excitedly celebrating the end of their exams over an appetizer of flatbread pizza. This multiplicity in ages and class is a definite positive in any downtown area such as Kalamazoo and helps to present a microcosm of the multitudes included with Kalamazoo and Portage society.
King also fascinatingly uttered that “The Union can also provide a space for people to go when they want to escape their problems or their economic worries and relax, enjoy a drink and listen to some great music”. This is, without a doubt, something that is quite visible from the atmosphere and purpose of the Union. The Kalamazoo/Portage metropolitan area was hit very hard by the current economic crisis and places like the Union, which provide good food; lots of companionship and entertainment at affordable prices are bound to be both popular and important for the well-being of the citizenry. Steve had a fascinating perspective on the way that the Union has attracted people during this down-turn “They seem to have kept their prices pretty steady while not scrimping on what makes the place special”. The entertainment in particular is great for providing an escapist reality for people to grasp. Much of the musical acts draw on older forms of music such as jazz, funk and show tunes (not many Lady Gaga or Kei$ha covers here) and this, like an old-style supper club, brings back the memories of the good old days. This is combined with the fact that there is no extra charge for the collegiate entertainment or bands that appear at the Union, which serves to make this a very attractive destination for the cost-conscious consumer and also a great alternative to paying for a jazz concert at the Chenery or Monaco Bay.
The entertainment here is comparable to anything that could be found at another venue in Kalamazoo and touring bands such as the fantastic FunkTion appear without cost to the costumer. These bands succeed in using the small performing space available at the Union to unite different factions of Kalamazoo and create a space in which they mingle and share a common experience. Without the Union, the cultural capital of the Kalamazoo downtown scene would be greatly lessened and having this unique space truly brings the university and the city together.
Sharon, a bartender at the Union for the past four years, describes the place as one that “unites different parts of the ‘Zoo together to have an enjoyable evening and be out with friends or family”. Indeed, the crowds that gather at the Union draw from a very mixed, crowd, running the gamut from older, middle-class couples to young, affluent-looking singles. What is it that would draw such a cross-section of the Kalamazoo/Portage community together across gender and racial barriers? A customer, Lesley King, who described herself as ‘a regular visitor’ summed it up thusly: “People come to the Union because it is a place that they feel welcome and [where] they see what Kalamazoo has to offer”. What King is describing here is how the Union presents many of Western Michigan University’s artists who perhaps would not be seen off of the university campus by many of Kalamazoo’s denizens. During an event such as the monthly art hops, the Union, with its central location on Kalamazoo’s outdoor walking mall, becomes a nexus for passing traffic and a vital hub of Kalamazoo’s artistic community. The Union presents a performance space for artists, whether they are musicians or chefs to show their wares in front of an appreciative audience. Ms. King’s point from earlier becomes further elaborated as she continued “People come here and they can exchange experiences if they choose to. You really see the different kinds of people that Kalamazoo has to offer”. King also has a gregarious personality, which becomes quite obvious as she warmly begins conversation with many of her fellow restaurant patrons who are near her. People like King make the Union unique.
“I’ve been coming to the Union for the past few years because they make me feel less like just another customer and sometimes, they treat me almost like a friend”. King who describes her love for the Union’s burgers as “Something perverse” finds herself drawn to the restaurant precisely because of the mix of class and candor that the Union provides. The waitstaff bustles around, maneuvering past tables with an agility that is eye-opening for those of us who have never worked in dining before and yet these waiters and waitresses are still able to notice and pay attention to the customer who requests another glass of wine or some ranch with their appetizer. This is a skill that the relatively upscale dining establishment must nurture and it is one that the Union holds in spades. They also must learn to deal with customers who because of their age, gender or purpose in attending the Union may have phenomenally different needs. According to Sharon, “The Union has customers who come in at least once a week, often times, two, because they so value their experience here”.
This customer loyalty can only be granted after great service and over a long time. Indeed, over my few visits, I believe that I noticed a few familiar faces, particularly in the singles crowd that is primarily concentrated around the bar. One of these singles, a man named Steve described the dating scene around the Union as “A bit upscale, [it] sort of brings a big city atmosphere to what kind seem like a small town dating scene for the after college crowd”. The Union does strike one as the type of place, that while enjoyable for people not yet legally able to drink, those who would have the best time are the 21 and up crowd. There is not the type of party atmosphere seen in a normal restaurant and bar such as Harvey’s or the sports bar type atmosphere of Wayside but rather a jazzier and more refined ethos surrounding the Union. The décor of the Union contains a lot of wood paneling and brick, both of which project a cultured air for the space. The proprietors of the Union seek to present an urbane public space in which to present Western Michigan University’s Gold Company singers along with other cabaret type acts. This allows them to draw an extraordinarily diverse crowd of people to both their events and daily to dine. On any random visit, one may find a nosily rambunctious crowd of senior citizens drinking margaritas to a group of college students excitedly celebrating the end of their exams over an appetizer of flatbread pizza. This multiplicity in ages and class is a definite positive in any downtown area such as Kalamazoo and helps to present a microcosm of the multitudes included with Kalamazoo and Portage society.
King also fascinatingly uttered that “The Union can also provide a space for people to go when they want to escape their problems or their economic worries and relax, enjoy a drink and listen to some great music”. This is, without a doubt, something that is quite visible from the atmosphere and purpose of the Union. The Kalamazoo/Portage metropolitan area was hit very hard by the current economic crisis and places like the Union, which provide good food; lots of companionship and entertainment at affordable prices are bound to be both popular and important for the well-being of the citizenry. Steve had a fascinating perspective on the way that the Union has attracted people during this down-turn “They seem to have kept their prices pretty steady while not scrimping on what makes the place special”. The entertainment in particular is great for providing an escapist reality for people to grasp. Much of the musical acts draw on older forms of music such as jazz, funk and show tunes (not many Lady Gaga or Kei$ha covers here) and this, like an old-style supper club, brings back the memories of the good old days. This is combined with the fact that there is no extra charge for the collegiate entertainment or bands that appear at the Union, which serves to make this a very attractive destination for the cost-conscious consumer and also a great alternative to paying for a jazz concert at the Chenery or Monaco Bay.
The entertainment here is comparable to anything that could be found at another venue in Kalamazoo and touring bands such as the fantastic FunkTion appear without cost to the costumer. These bands succeed in using the small performing space available at the Union to unite different factions of Kalamazoo and create a space in which they mingle and share a common experience. Without the Union, the cultural capital of the Kalamazoo downtown scene would be greatly lessened and having this unique space truly brings the university and the city together.
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Week 7 Reading Response
To begin with, I was really taken by the Talese piece. Without Talese ever actually getting the access to him to do a proper interview, I felt like I knew Sinatra as well, if not better than I would have from a more traditional profile piece. Even the sheer fact that the piece deals with Sinatra, the paramount singer of the times, has that most banal of sicknesses, a cold. This humanizes Sinatra, who from what I know of him, was often seen as larger than life. I think this is a big facet of the piece, enough for Talese to name the piece “Frank Sinatra has a Cold”. Sinatra is also squarely in middle-age, the piece identifies the time as a month before his fiftieth birthday and he is trapped in a malaise brought on by the cold. Talese’s word choice is impeccable. When he writes “some men will become aggressive, some women will become seductive, others will stand around skeptically appraising him”, I could vividly picture the scene in my head and I knew exactly what he was talking about. Talese also shows a strong command of Sinatra’s recording history and is able to number his personal staff and also describe the fierce security that surrounds him.
Sometimes it was a bit hard to see the piece as something groundbreaking but I attribute that to the fact that it has been emulated so much by journalism and the writers whom we have already read and it still manages to feel very freshly written and indicative of locating a certain man and time in history while not seemingly stuffy and like a time capsule. The way that Talese even changes the lengths of his sentences is something I want to emulate such as how he opens a paragraph with “Frank Sinatra does things personally” Then returns to long, complex sentences. Great stuff.
Sometimes it was a bit hard to see the piece as something groundbreaking but I attribute that to the fact that it has been emulated so much by journalism and the writers whom we have already read and it still manages to feel very freshly written and indicative of locating a certain man and time in history while not seemingly stuffy and like a time capsule. The way that Talese even changes the lengths of his sentences is something I want to emulate such as how he opens a paragraph with “Frank Sinatra does things personally” Then returns to long, complex sentences. Great stuff.
Monday, May 10, 2010
Profile Defense
The profile that I chose for this week is from the Times of London and can (hopefully) be found here: http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/music/article7117242.ece
I chose this for a variety of reasons, though number one, is probably my great love for the Rolling Stones and for Exile on Main Street. The re-release and with actual tracks from the session from the session that have never been played before makes this 1971 album topical for today. Some of the descriptions for the songs struck me such as describing "Rocks Off" as 'hell-for-leather' which I thought was particularly incisive. I think the interviews with the three main band members were distributed throughout the piece quite well and helped to form a very coherent narrative.
The piece also did a good job utilizing parts of the interviews to poke holes in the Stones' established mythos such as Keith Richards always being on drugs, to the point where it affected his work and Charlie Watts not having any kind of drug problem. The piece also does a great job of establishing a sense of time and history. Through descriptions of the tax situation, you can begin to feel the period in the career of the Stones that this happened. The discussion of Allen Klein's theft of their money also manages to sound more timely and using their descriptions of the situation with him makes it sound more pressing than simply writing about it from a third-person standpoint would have. The writer could perhaps given Exile on Main Street a better sense of where it fits in the full career of the Stones but overall, I think it is a good piece and it shows a lot of the irreverent humor but also fine writing that I associate with British papers. The piece serves to re-introduce one to the Rolling Stones as simply musicians and Exile on Main Street as a still visceral album rather than a bunch of old dudes trotted out as "icons" and the album is some sort of canonical work. It made me want to buy the re-issue and I like to this that I am kind of a hard customer.
I chose this for a variety of reasons, though number one, is probably my great love for the Rolling Stones and for Exile on Main Street. The re-release and with actual tracks from the session from the session that have never been played before makes this 1971 album topical for today. Some of the descriptions for the songs struck me such as describing "Rocks Off" as 'hell-for-leather' which I thought was particularly incisive. I think the interviews with the three main band members were distributed throughout the piece quite well and helped to form a very coherent narrative.
The piece also did a good job utilizing parts of the interviews to poke holes in the Stones' established mythos such as Keith Richards always being on drugs, to the point where it affected his work and Charlie Watts not having any kind of drug problem. The piece also does a great job of establishing a sense of time and history. Through descriptions of the tax situation, you can begin to feel the period in the career of the Stones that this happened. The discussion of Allen Klein's theft of their money also manages to sound more timely and using their descriptions of the situation with him makes it sound more pressing than simply writing about it from a third-person standpoint would have. The writer could perhaps given Exile on Main Street a better sense of where it fits in the full career of the Stones but overall, I think it is a good piece and it shows a lot of the irreverent humor but also fine writing that I associate with British papers. The piece serves to re-introduce one to the Rolling Stones as simply musicians and Exile on Main Street as a still visceral album rather than a bunch of old dudes trotted out as "icons" and the album is some sort of canonical work. It made me want to buy the re-issue and I like to this that I am kind of a hard customer.
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Profile Process Writing
Writing this profile piece was pretty difficult for me, and definitely more difficult than writing the earlier and more personal piece. To begin with, I felt like the interviews I was getting at the Union were not taking me anywhere and I was getting very little beyond “This is the Union. It’s a great place to eat and everyone likes it”. I also was never the focus during any of my interviews which really the interviewer never should be but what I mean is that I would be talking to someone who worked at the Union and then they would run away to help someone or do their job, then return ten minutes later and I’d have to start all over again. I found out that this was a really difficult way to work. A lot of my questions, I also felt were awkward for the people or ones that they really hadn’t thought about before and I felt like that had no understanding of why I was asking them. I tried to explain why and I still felt like they were just humoring me sometimes and I would get dropped at the first sign that the Union got busy.
Trying to fit the quotations into the piece too was also difficult as I learned that I was a decently poor judge of what seemed to be an important quote and trying to fashion a narrative of what appeared to me to be sufficiently disjointed interviews and observations was really difficult. I still have a lot of work to do and while I think the Union is still a good place to profile, I think I may need to change the focus though because I sometimes felt like I was forcing it. Hopefully with some more work, some more interviews and maybe an interview with someone of higher authority, which I have tried to get but so far not been successful would help me get a more unified profile and something that could be really good.
Trying to fit the quotations into the piece too was also difficult as I learned that I was a decently poor judge of what seemed to be an important quote and trying to fashion a narrative of what appeared to me to be sufficiently disjointed interviews and observations was really difficult. I still have a lot of work to do and while I think the Union is still a good place to profile, I think I may need to change the focus though because I sometimes felt like I was forcing it. Hopefully with some more work, some more interviews and maybe an interview with someone of higher authority, which I have tried to get but so far not been successful would help me get a more unified profile and something that could be really good.
Response to Munirah's Profile
Munirah, I think you have the makings of what could be a really great profile here. First off, I guess, have you been able to talk to the proprietor or anyone who works at the Dairy Mart for an interview? The descriptions that you have are really good and I think if you expand upon them, such as talking to the “grandfatherly, old man” or the “men who ride up on bikes”, this would be seriously great. What are their stories? What brings them to the Dairy Mart? Maybe go back a few more times and find out who the regulars are and talk to them. Maybe even see who from K College goes there and talks to them and find out they feel the Dairy Mart both fits into the community and serves it. This will be a really interesting piece because it is not the usual place that people would go to profile but it is somewhere that is essential for the community providing people with gas, convenience foods, alcohol and lottery tickets. Good luck!
Response to Anna's Profile
Wow, this piece didn’t go where I thought it would initially go from your comments in class at all and I think you did a really good job. Not knowing Victor, I became really invested in the story that you were telling. Your descriptions of him gave me such a vivid impression of his physical presence and I really began to think that this could be a good piece for like the Lux Esto magazine as an example of how alumni can continue to give back to K after graduation. You did a really good job of weaving music and gardening together, maybe there would be some way to see if you could catch him singing on the job or something like that? That would be a great moment for your piece. The ending to your piece seemed a little tacked on, I think what you have there is great background and information but it really isn’t an ending. Perhaps, bring it back to the Bach, because they you would have Bach in the beginning, middle and end of the piece. Have you listened to his album yourself? Maybe include a bit more description of it or a little review of it yourself. Great piece though and I look forward to the final draft!
Response to Claire's Profile
First off, good job in showing why this is something that we should care about. I was simply much more entertained than I would have imagined for an article that is ostensibly about organic and sustainable gardening. Your descriptions of Ben Cooper were really humorous and helped give a knowing, but light, tone to the piece and I also thought that you had a really insightful way of getting information out about the type of people that are involved in D.I.R.T. because at least for myself, I didn’t know until very recently that anything like this was going on around here nor did I know where the garden was, which you usefully included.
I also enjoyed how you made yourself part of the narrative as you wrote “I asked…”. Perhaps, it would be neat if you had dialogue with some of the members youself or strengthened your presence within the text, it could be very interesting if you became a larger character in your profile. How would sustainable gardening and D.I.R.T. affect you? Were you able to follow any crops that may already have been grown in previous gardens? That would be interesting to see if you could trace any of that. Overall, great piece and I look forward to the final work.
I also enjoyed how you made yourself part of the narrative as you wrote “I asked…”. Perhaps, it would be neat if you had dialogue with some of the members youself or strengthened your presence within the text, it could be very interesting if you became a larger character in your profile. How would sustainable gardening and D.I.R.T. affect you? Were you able to follow any crops that may already have been grown in previous gardens? That would be interesting to see if you could trace any of that. Overall, great piece and I look forward to the final work.
Response to Marina's Profile
Beautiful opening paragraph! The diction that you use really shows your understanding and history with dance. You use the terminology such as “pirouettes” and how descriptions of ballet and how it can cause dancers to approach their own bodies. Amy Rodgers’ point about the dominance of male choreographers, at least in classical ballet, was something that I had never thought about and it is a really fascinating point. Maybe expand off of that quote more? I’m not sure if I fully get the dialogue between feminism and ballet or the lack of it? Is Amy facilitating this dialogue or just saying that there would be a use for it? Also how does film compare and contrast with ballet as two forms of media? I don’t think Hitchcock personally had much to do with film but other filmmakers certainly utilized ballet or even filmed them like Michael Powell. Maybe question her about these? It’d be really nice to close with another dance image, especially one from perhaps Amy Rodgers’ favorite role that she danced. Overall, this is a really strong piece and one can really gather your investment in the subject. Good job!
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Union Piece
It’s a quiet Tuesday evening and the sunset can clearly been seen shining in through the tinted windows of the Union in downtown Kalamazoo. From the bar, it is very visible how the light shines on to the stage and it becomes clear in one’s mind, the significance of the Union in Kalamazoo. The Union is a place where big-town elegance and cosmopolitan charm is presented to Kalamazoo in the form of a bistro and performance space. Part of the Union’s name is called “Cabaret and Grille” and these word choices clearly place the Union apart from many of the other restaurants around Kalamazoo.
Sharon, a bartender at the Union for the past four years, describes the place as one that “unites different parts of the ‘Zoo together to have an enjoyable evening and be out with friends or family”. Indeed, the crowds that gather at the Union draw from a very mixed, crowd, running the gamut from older, middle-class couples to young, affluent-looking singles. What is it that would draw such a diverse, including gender and race, cross-section of the Kalamazoo/Portage community together? A customer, Lesley King, who described herself as ‘a regular visitor’ summed it up thusly: “People come to the Union because it is a place that they feel welcome and [where] they see what Kalamazoo has to offer”. What Ms. King is describing here is how the Union presents many of Western Michigan University’s artists who perhaps would not be seen off of the university campus by many of Kalamazoo’s denizens. During an event such as the monthly art hops, the Union, with its central location on Kalamazoo’s outdoor walking mall, becomes a nexus for passing traffic and a vital hub of Kalamazoo’s artistic community. The Union presents a performance space for artists, whether they are musicians or chefs to show their wares in front of an appreciative audience.
“I’ve been coming to the Union for the past few years because they make me feel less like just another customer and sometimes, they treat me almost like a friend”. Ms. King who describes her love for the Union’s burgers as “Something perverse” finds herself drawn to the restaurant precisely because of the mix of class and candor that the Union provides. The waitstaff bustles around, maneuvering past tables with an agility that is eye-opening for those of us who have never worked in dining before and yet these waiters and waitresses are still able to notice and pay attention to the customer who requests another glass of wine or some ranch with their appetizer. This is a skill that the relatively upscale dining establishment must nurture and it is one that the Union holds in spades. According to Sharon, “The Union has customers who come in at least once a week, often times, two, because they so value their experience here”.
This customer loyalty can only be granted after great service and over a long time. Indeed, over my few visits, I believe that I noticed a few familiar faces, particularly in the singles crowd that is primarily concentrated around the bar. One of these singles, a man named Steve described the dating scene around the Union as “A bit upscale, [it] sort of brings a big city atmosphere to what kind seem like a small town dating scene for the after college crowd”. The Union does strike one as the type of place, that while enjoyable for those not yet legally able to drink, those who would have the best time are the 21 and up crowd. There is not the type of party atmosphere seen in a normal restaurant and bar such as Harvey’s or the sports bar type atmosphere of Wayside but rather a jazzier and more refined ethos surrounding the Union. They seek to present an urbane public space in which to present Western Michigan University’s Gold Company singers along with other cabaret type acts. This allows them to draw an extraordinarily diverse crowd of people to both their events and daily to dine. On any random visit, one find a nosily rambunctious crowd of senior citizens drinking margaritas to a group of college students excitedly celebrating the end of their exams over an appetizer of flatbread pizza. This diversity in ages and class is a definite positive in any downtown area such as Kalamazoo and helps to present a microcosm of the multitudes included with Kalamazoo and Portage society.
Ms. King also fascinatingly uttered that “The Union can also provide a space for people to go when they want to escape their problems or their economic worries and relax, enjoy a drink and listen to some great music”. This is, without a doubt, something that is quite visible from the atmosphere and purpose of the Union. The Kalamazoo/Portage metropolitan area was very hard by the current economic crisis and places like the Union, which provide good food; lots of companionship and entertainment at affordable prices are bound to be both popular and important for the well-being of the citizenry. The entertainment in particular is great for providing an escapist reality for people to grasp. Much of the musical arts draw on older forms of music such as jazz, funk and show tunes (not many Lady Gaga or Kei$ha covers here) and this, like an old-style supper club, brings back the memories of the good old days. This is combined with the fact that there is no extra charge for the collegiate entertainment or bands that appear at the Union, which serves to make this a very attractive destination for the cost-conscious consumer and also a great alternative to paying for a jazz concert at the Chenery or Monaco Bay.
The entertainment here is comparable to anything that could be found at another venue in Kalamazoo and touring bands such as the fantastic FunkTion appear without cost to the costumer. This combination of affordableness, class and escapism allows the Union to continue to shine amongst the competitive Kalamazoo dining and entertainment scene and there are no signs of this abetting. The Union showcases a fine evening spent out in downtown Kalamazoo without opening the purse too much or needing to go to formal. Check it out.
Sharon, a bartender at the Union for the past four years, describes the place as one that “unites different parts of the ‘Zoo together to have an enjoyable evening and be out with friends or family”. Indeed, the crowds that gather at the Union draw from a very mixed, crowd, running the gamut from older, middle-class couples to young, affluent-looking singles. What is it that would draw such a diverse, including gender and race, cross-section of the Kalamazoo/Portage community together? A customer, Lesley King, who described herself as ‘a regular visitor’ summed it up thusly: “People come to the Union because it is a place that they feel welcome and [where] they see what Kalamazoo has to offer”. What Ms. King is describing here is how the Union presents many of Western Michigan University’s artists who perhaps would not be seen off of the university campus by many of Kalamazoo’s denizens. During an event such as the monthly art hops, the Union, with its central location on Kalamazoo’s outdoor walking mall, becomes a nexus for passing traffic and a vital hub of Kalamazoo’s artistic community. The Union presents a performance space for artists, whether they are musicians or chefs to show their wares in front of an appreciative audience.
“I’ve been coming to the Union for the past few years because they make me feel less like just another customer and sometimes, they treat me almost like a friend”. Ms. King who describes her love for the Union’s burgers as “Something perverse” finds herself drawn to the restaurant precisely because of the mix of class and candor that the Union provides. The waitstaff bustles around, maneuvering past tables with an agility that is eye-opening for those of us who have never worked in dining before and yet these waiters and waitresses are still able to notice and pay attention to the customer who requests another glass of wine or some ranch with their appetizer. This is a skill that the relatively upscale dining establishment must nurture and it is one that the Union holds in spades. According to Sharon, “The Union has customers who come in at least once a week, often times, two, because they so value their experience here”.
This customer loyalty can only be granted after great service and over a long time. Indeed, over my few visits, I believe that I noticed a few familiar faces, particularly in the singles crowd that is primarily concentrated around the bar. One of these singles, a man named Steve described the dating scene around the Union as “A bit upscale, [it] sort of brings a big city atmosphere to what kind seem like a small town dating scene for the after college crowd”. The Union does strike one as the type of place, that while enjoyable for those not yet legally able to drink, those who would have the best time are the 21 and up crowd. There is not the type of party atmosphere seen in a normal restaurant and bar such as Harvey’s or the sports bar type atmosphere of Wayside but rather a jazzier and more refined ethos surrounding the Union. They seek to present an urbane public space in which to present Western Michigan University’s Gold Company singers along with other cabaret type acts. This allows them to draw an extraordinarily diverse crowd of people to both their events and daily to dine. On any random visit, one find a nosily rambunctious crowd of senior citizens drinking margaritas to a group of college students excitedly celebrating the end of their exams over an appetizer of flatbread pizza. This diversity in ages and class is a definite positive in any downtown area such as Kalamazoo and helps to present a microcosm of the multitudes included with Kalamazoo and Portage society.
Ms. King also fascinatingly uttered that “The Union can also provide a space for people to go when they want to escape their problems or their economic worries and relax, enjoy a drink and listen to some great music”. This is, without a doubt, something that is quite visible from the atmosphere and purpose of the Union. The Kalamazoo/Portage metropolitan area was very hard by the current economic crisis and places like the Union, which provide good food; lots of companionship and entertainment at affordable prices are bound to be both popular and important for the well-being of the citizenry. The entertainment in particular is great for providing an escapist reality for people to grasp. Much of the musical arts draw on older forms of music such as jazz, funk and show tunes (not many Lady Gaga or Kei$ha covers here) and this, like an old-style supper club, brings back the memories of the good old days. This is combined with the fact that there is no extra charge for the collegiate entertainment or bands that appear at the Union, which serves to make this a very attractive destination for the cost-conscious consumer and also a great alternative to paying for a jazz concert at the Chenery or Monaco Bay.
The entertainment here is comparable to anything that could be found at another venue in Kalamazoo and touring bands such as the fantastic FunkTion appear without cost to the costumer. This combination of affordableness, class and escapism allows the Union to continue to shine amongst the competitive Kalamazoo dining and entertainment scene and there are no signs of this abetting. The Union showcases a fine evening spent out in downtown Kalamazoo without opening the purse too much or needing to go to formal. Check it out.
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
5th Week-Reading Response
First off, the essays that we read, I enjoyed and think that I was able to discern some things that could help my writing. With my own writing, it seems like a lot of times, I fill it with superfluous detail and I often try, willingly or perhaps not so much, to emulate the progression of thoughts in my mind through my writing style. This sometimes creates really long sentences and makes it easier to confuse the reader. I felt that the essays managed to show a few characteristics that have helped my writing such as my lack of reliance on dialogue while also containing information that could be useful to improving my writing and moving from a “telling rather than letting the reader see it” kind of mentality in my writing.
I was not much of a fan of “First Family of Astoria”, as many people seem to concur. I never really felt like I gained any entrance into the scenes described or felt any affinity for the characters. From what I know of Astoria from New York Magazine or the Times, it is a really fascinating place and at the cross-section of Manhattan and Brooklyn and I felt this quality could perhaps have been exploited more. Trillin seemed to be putting the family in contrast to the neighborhood but I was never really sure if I got the whole thing?
I was not much of a fan of “First Family of Astoria”, as many people seem to concur. I never really felt like I gained any entrance into the scenes described or felt any affinity for the characters. From what I know of Astoria from New York Magazine or the Times, it is a really fascinating place and at the cross-section of Manhattan and Brooklyn and I felt this quality could perhaps have been exploited more. Trillin seemed to be putting the family in contrast to the neighborhood but I was never really sure if I got the whole thing?
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Reading Response on Orlean
I had a bit of trouble with Orlean's piece on "The American Man at Age Ten". First off, the structure of it sort of threw me and I was wondering where exactly, she was aiming this piece. Was it a magazine profile type of piece or some kind of sociological study wannabe? It felt sort of contrived to me and I wondered if she was trying to make some kind of statement on the socialization of males through video games and candy and if so, what were they exactly? Also, of course all boys are not like this and I know, I certainely was different. She had an immense amount of detail, however, and really knew how to showcase it, though I never understood if she was actually doing anything with it.
Revised Outline
Complication: Joel always procrastinates.
Development:
1)Joel makes plans.
2)Joel underdevelops plans.
3)Joel takes off.
Resolution: Joel continues to procrastinate.
Development:
1)Joel makes plans.
2)Joel underdevelops plans.
3)Joel takes off.
Resolution: Joel continues to procrastinate.
First Piece Final
Catching the 6:45
I breathe harder and harder as I run down the avenue clutching my well-worn leather band, straps held together by copious amounts of packaging tape and curse myself for procrastinating as much as I do. This needed to change and what better time than study abroad to do it.
My friend Rachel and I had been discussing a trip to Barcelona for a while and we decided to finally go the weekend before Halloween. Rachel, who was studying in Milan, would meet me at the airport and we managed to find two flights that would arrive within fifteen minutes of each other. We were understandably pumped. Spain wouldn’t be able to handle this. However, before I could even make it to Spain, I had to make it to the airport.
Looking for flights from London to Barcelona on the internet, I decided to set a few criteria which I would work by: I would find the cheapest flight that I could and I would try to stay with EasyJet which I had always heard great things about. I soon found a roundtrip flight for 27 pounds, which was a fantastic deal. However, there was one drawback which was that take-off was at 6:45 A.M. and therefore I would have to arrive at this Luton airport at around 5:00 A.M. or at least 5:45 A.M. I may be many things, but one of them is certainly not an early morning person. My consternation was ample but supplanted by the fact that I would be going to Barcelona and it was costing me very little. Now where exactly was Luton Airport? It says ‘London Luton Airport’ so it obviously must be in London but London is a gigantic city and it could be on the other side of town. I decided that maybe a half hour or forty minutes before the time that I wanted to arrive at the airport would be an appropriate time to leave. Big mistake.
I had decided to just stay up the whole night because I knew that there was no way that I would be able to wake up at 4:00 A.M. and be ready to leave for the airport so at about 1:00 that morning. I would simply lie about and listen to Sam Cooke with my flat mates while drinking wine but then I decided that maybe I should look and find out precisely where Luton airport was exactly. This was a miraculous compulsion for reasons that will become evident soon and its sheer existence serves as proof that if there is a God, then sometimes he does look out for me. I quickly discovered that Luton was bloody nearly two hours away from my flat and actually was in an eponymous town that could scarcely be called a “suburb” of London. My horror was further heightened as I realized that this gave me only about twenty minutes to pack before I needed to run my procrastinating scrawny self out the door and to the airport before I missed my flight.
I threw myself into packing as quickly as I could, throwing clothes and toiletries into my bag and feeling elated that at least I was just going for a long weekend instead of a long trip. I discovered to my ever-increasing horror that I needed to take a special train to Luton and that I could only get it from a certain Blackfriars station which sounded as if it were the last place in the world that I would want to be at 3:30 in the morning. Also, if I was to catch this train in time to make my flight, I needed to get the nightbus that would be arriving at the nearest stop in three minutes or else I would have to wait nearly an hour and would have no chance of catching my flight. I proceeded to hurry as fast as I possibly could out of my flat, though not before seeing one of my kitchenmates from K, Georgia, arriving home for the night and drunkenly mumbling something at me that I could not understand but took as her wishing me “Godspeed”. I flew down the street, running side by side with the double-decker for about a block and barely making it on.
I rode the bus for about a half hour, filled with a strange calm that registered oddly with me even at the time and praying that my neurotic fear of a double-decker tipping over as it takes a corner too fast would not occur tonight. I proceeded to get off the bus when I heard “Blackfriars” announced over the loud speaker but soon find out that I have mistakenly exited at the bridge that apparently shares a name with the train station. I stop and turn with a horrified look to see the bus drive nodding in what seems to be a peculiarly maniacal fashion and speed off. I begin to sprint as fast as I can across this bridge in the middle of the night, seeing as I only have minutes to make the train. I arrive at the station and find out that my credit card will not work in the machine but finally manage to make a debit card work. The train has now arrived and I essentially leap over the barricades, launch past (and slightly over) a family with two small children and throw myself onto the train. The remainder of my journey to the airport happily transpired without any incident but as I arrived at the main Barcelona airport and called my friend Rachel to ask where she was, I quickly found out that she landed at the smaller airport that was an hour and a half away from the city and the cycle began anew. One would think that I would have learned something about procrastination from all of this but, hey, hindsight and success make it seem less stressful than before and it makes it all much more exciting.
I breathe harder and harder as I run down the avenue clutching my well-worn leather band, straps held together by copious amounts of packaging tape and curse myself for procrastinating as much as I do. This needed to change and what better time than study abroad to do it.
My friend Rachel and I had been discussing a trip to Barcelona for a while and we decided to finally go the weekend before Halloween. Rachel, who was studying in Milan, would meet me at the airport and we managed to find two flights that would arrive within fifteen minutes of each other. We were understandably pumped. Spain wouldn’t be able to handle this. However, before I could even make it to Spain, I had to make it to the airport.
Looking for flights from London to Barcelona on the internet, I decided to set a few criteria which I would work by: I would find the cheapest flight that I could and I would try to stay with EasyJet which I had always heard great things about. I soon found a roundtrip flight for 27 pounds, which was a fantastic deal. However, there was one drawback which was that take-off was at 6:45 A.M. and therefore I would have to arrive at this Luton airport at around 5:00 A.M. or at least 5:45 A.M. I may be many things, but one of them is certainly not an early morning person. My consternation was ample but supplanted by the fact that I would be going to Barcelona and it was costing me very little. Now where exactly was Luton Airport? It says ‘London Luton Airport’ so it obviously must be in London but London is a gigantic city and it could be on the other side of town. I decided that maybe a half hour or forty minutes before the time that I wanted to arrive at the airport would be an appropriate time to leave. Big mistake.
I had decided to just stay up the whole night because I knew that there was no way that I would be able to wake up at 4:00 A.M. and be ready to leave for the airport so at about 1:00 that morning. I would simply lie about and listen to Sam Cooke with my flat mates while drinking wine but then I decided that maybe I should look and find out precisely where Luton airport was exactly. This was a miraculous compulsion for reasons that will become evident soon and its sheer existence serves as proof that if there is a God, then sometimes he does look out for me. I quickly discovered that Luton was bloody nearly two hours away from my flat and actually was in an eponymous town that could scarcely be called a “suburb” of London. My horror was further heightened as I realized that this gave me only about twenty minutes to pack before I needed to run my procrastinating scrawny self out the door and to the airport before I missed my flight.
I threw myself into packing as quickly as I could, throwing clothes and toiletries into my bag and feeling elated that at least I was just going for a long weekend instead of a long trip. I discovered to my ever-increasing horror that I needed to take a special train to Luton and that I could only get it from a certain Blackfriars station which sounded as if it were the last place in the world that I would want to be at 3:30 in the morning. Also, if I was to catch this train in time to make my flight, I needed to get the nightbus that would be arriving at the nearest stop in three minutes or else I would have to wait nearly an hour and would have no chance of catching my flight. I proceeded to hurry as fast as I possibly could out of my flat, though not before seeing one of my kitchenmates from K, Georgia, arriving home for the night and drunkenly mumbling something at me that I could not understand but took as her wishing me “Godspeed”. I flew down the street, running side by side with the double-decker for about a block and barely making it on.
I rode the bus for about a half hour, filled with a strange calm that registered oddly with me even at the time and praying that my neurotic fear of a double-decker tipping over as it takes a corner too fast would not occur tonight. I proceeded to get off the bus when I heard “Blackfriars” announced over the loud speaker but soon find out that I have mistakenly exited at the bridge that apparently shares a name with the train station. I stop and turn with a horrified look to see the bus drive nodding in what seems to be a peculiarly maniacal fashion and speed off. I begin to sprint as fast as I can across this bridge in the middle of the night, seeing as I only have minutes to make the train. I arrive at the station and find out that my credit card will not work in the machine but finally manage to make a debit card work. The train has now arrived and I essentially leap over the barricades, launch past (and slightly over) a family with two small children and throw myself onto the train. The remainder of my journey to the airport happily transpired without any incident but as I arrived at the main Barcelona airport and called my friend Rachel to ask where she was, I quickly found out that she landed at the smaller airport that was an hour and a half away from the city and the cycle began anew. One would think that I would have learned something about procrastination from all of this but, hey, hindsight and success make it seem less stressful than before and it makes it all much more exciting.
Monday, April 19, 2010
Profile Pitch
I am interested in doing my profile about the local downtown hotspot The Union. I fully believe that the Union has managed through their long-standing association with Western Michigan University to able to connect the downtown area and much of Kalamazoo with the college campus atmosphere and to present many of their best artists. Many of Western’s best singers and bands and also their jazz troupe the Gold Company hold regular performances in this restaurant and bar. They are Kalamazoo’s only entertainment venue that features college acts in an official role which differentiates it from places such as the Strutt. They also attract local and touring bands such as Funktion, that promise a good time. Even the name of the place highlights this college connection and I would like to explore that connection in my piece and how The Union positively serves the community by presenting the collegiate artists and connecting them to the community at large.
I have spoken to the manager already who thought it would be a great idea for a piece and was very willing to help. She gave me the email of one of the higher-ups but he has not responded yet to me. I have been a long-time patron and I have always found it to be a refreshing alternative to much of the “Scene” around Kalamazoo. I have had meals during the middle of the day with no entertainment, gone to the bar at night and also attended concerts that were held there. I even monitored the guests there once for an anthropology project that extensively detailed the people who frequent The Union. I think each of these makes me a viable candidate to write a piece about the venue. The Union takes a town that may easily be seen divided between its university self and the regular town that co-exists sometimes uneasily next to it and presents a place for a type of dialogue, expressed through the arts and alcohol. My piece will explore this.
I have spoken to the manager already who thought it would be a great idea for a piece and was very willing to help. She gave me the email of one of the higher-ups but he has not responded yet to me. I have been a long-time patron and I have always found it to be a refreshing alternative to much of the “Scene” around Kalamazoo. I have had meals during the middle of the day with no entertainment, gone to the bar at night and also attended concerts that were held there. I even monitored the guests there once for an anthropology project that extensively detailed the people who frequent The Union. I think each of these makes me a viable candidate to write a piece about the venue. The Union takes a town that may easily be seen divided between its university self and the regular town that co-exists sometimes uneasily next to it and presents a place for a type of dialogue, expressed through the arts and alcohol. My piece will explore this.
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Reading Response for Franklin
I was apprehensive immediately reading Franklin since I had always been hesitant to really follow anyone else’s advice about altering my writing style as I had always felt this was something that should be unique to each person and left to them to finesse and manipulate over time. Perhaps this view was wrong but Franklin’s book ended up not being as worthless or boring as I had initially worried. I thought some of his theories could be helpful to one’s writing though not entirely necessary. I’ve always been the type who tries to write very intuively: just sitting down and typing, not really any brainstorming or anything yet his formulation of an outline did not sound as anathema as they often seem to me. It was more like something I could use, “The conflict has to fit with the ending, make sense”.
I feel that he also put maybe too much emphasis sometimes on the story as opposed to the writer. Why the story takes developments and goes beyond sometimes what the writer can even imagine- the writer is always behind it and inevitably, in control. Much of the time, I enjoy the search for the story as opposed to the story seeking me out and while as much as I might like to think of myself as some of conduit, we all know that inspiration is not constantly striking us. I think it might be interesting to apply his outline to my piece and see how it fits, though I’m a little worried that all of my writing would look pretty shoddy under Franklin’s constructs. Franklin’s book can be useful as advice for another writer but I think to take it as some kind of authorial Scripture would be taking it a bit too far.
I feel that he also put maybe too much emphasis sometimes on the story as opposed to the writer. Why the story takes developments and goes beyond sometimes what the writer can even imagine- the writer is always behind it and inevitably, in control. Much of the time, I enjoy the search for the story as opposed to the story seeking me out and while as much as I might like to think of myself as some of conduit, we all know that inspiration is not constantly striking us. I think it might be interesting to apply his outline to my piece and see how it fits, though I’m a little worried that all of my writing would look pretty shoddy under Franklin’s constructs. Franklin’s book can be useful as advice for another writer but I think to take it as some kind of authorial Scripture would be taking it a bit too far.
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
My thoughts on the writing process
I had a hard time writing this assignment and when I had finally pinpointed what it was that I wanted to write on, it wasn’t too bad. Actually, I soon discovered that I was then about four hundred words over the limit. There we go again. I became more stresses as I debated that maybe mine was not going to be profound enough and that I had perhaps written too flippant of a piece but I decided not to worry about it. Looking at my piece now and comparing it to what my classmates have written, I am not that pleased with it. I knew it needed work after I finished my initial writing of it but after cutting out about three hundred words, I decided that since it was a draft, I would let it alone and see what my peers had to say about what I had already done. My SIP was lurking at me anyway. Now, I think that I want to summarize less and get more of myself as a character rather than say “Then this and then this and I was like ‘oh no!’”. I want to make it more literary and less child-like.
Response to Marina's Piece
Wow, that woman sounds awful. I think this was a great topic for you to write about. You can tell that it is something that is still clearly on your mind and you captured the turning point in Simone and your relationship. In fact, I even got angry along with you especially as you detailed your attempts to learn the language and culture and to befriend your host mother. Your use of French in the piece lends it a verisimilitude that it probably wouldn’t have without it and details such as your description of her dog bring to my mind, a scene that is just so ineffably and stereotypically French. One thing that could maybe help your piece is a little bit is to expand upon the device of you being felt that you were being treated as an elementary schooler. You could maybe add a little bit more to the end of the first paragraph or just draw a few more comparisons. I definitely think it works, however. Also maybe, draw out longer, what led up to your eruption rather than “finally, I erupted”. Overall, really well done! It’s nice to be back in America sometimes.
Response to Claire's Piece
Great piece, Claire! This is something I’ve been dealing with my mom and I’m glad that your parents are seemingly dealing with it better than my mom. As to your actual piece, I think you did a great job illustrating the development of what could probably be called forming your intellectual autonomy? You’re always going to be influenced by your Roman Catholic upbringing but you’re not going to make decisions that won’t be directly influenced by those beliefs. Firstly, this piece is really timely in lieu of all soul searching done by Catholics these days because of the issues seen in the press and also you are able to illustrate the difference between an American Catholic and these European, often, “Catholics”. I find that fascinating because it is so often, we are seen as the ones who have the problems, especially by the Church. The way that you opened with your Victorian class and continued with your reading of Camus’ absurdist novella was also quite ingenious as you were able to then frame yourself within a continuum that has occurred periodically over centuries. This takes it beyond the purely personal and helps to show you as part of a larger group of people struggling with these issues. Again, great job.
Response to Munirah's piece
First off, class at seven? That’s disgusting. Your piece, however, is not. I feel like when your description of what it is like to be young and playing a sport while your parents cheer on you regardless of what you do, is very incisive and the comment about how the look of the uniforms was most important is something that resonated with me strongly as it reminded me of how my friends and I used to dirty up our baseball uniforms before the game so as to look more intimidating and like the great players we watched. One question I have is, what exactly is the focus of the piece? Your perfectionism and your love of basketball both come through very strongly in it and I was just trying to figure out if they go together, which it seems that they do, or if one is supposed to come out more strongly in the piece. Regardless, you really manage to tie these things all up and compare them quite well to how you operate at Kalamazoo College which is also a small place and obviously very competitive. This piece is something that deals with emotions and feelings that all of us have experienced and I think you really hit on something here. Good job!
Response to Anna's Piece
Wow, this was a really moving piece. While, this is clearly a work of journalism, I found myself becoming very involved in the story of Eva and your retelling of the story. Your use of details is great, especially in the third-to-last paragraph where details such as “A5272” and “flesh-colored bra and underwear” really gave me a visceral impression of the scene and it was almost like I had been there myself. The opening of your piece is good in the way that we are thrown into this story just as you, yourself, were thrown into the role.
Another good thing about your piece is that you really succeeded in getting it to flow and in a manner that isn’t totally linear which I really admired and might try emulating myself. The one paragraph has a great use of repetition of the word “how” and that illustrates the terrible monotony of nearly unfathomable horrors that Eva had visited on her and also serves to highlight her ability to survive all of them. The penultimate paragraph where, on stage, you internalize Eva’s struggles is also very powerful and well-written. Overall, this is a really great piece. Good job!
Another good thing about your piece is that you really succeeded in getting it to flow and in a manner that isn’t totally linear which I really admired and might try emulating myself. The one paragraph has a great use of repetition of the word “how” and that illustrates the terrible monotony of nearly unfathomable horrors that Eva had visited on her and also serves to highlight her ability to survive all of them. The penultimate paragraph where, on stage, you internalize Eva’s struggles is also very powerful and well-written. Overall, this is a really great piece. Good job!
Monday, April 5, 2010
Draft of Personal Essay
Catching the 6:45
Flying by oneself for the very first time can be a daunting experience for anyone but when you can make the situation: flying by yourself for the first time and it is in a foreign country and in the middle of the night, the magnitude expands drastically. Sure, I had flown without my parents before but it had always been for school trips or with friends, never me simply getting on an airplane and jetting away. I had been fine on the seemingly interminable transatlantic flight that took me from Detroit to London but I was not as apprehensive as perhaps I should have been regarding the numerous smaller trips that I was planning to take.
My friend Rachel and I had been discussing a trip to Barcelona for a while and we decided to finally go the weekend before Halloween. Rachel, who was studying in Milan, would meet me at the airport and we managed to find two flights that would arrive within fifteen minutes of each other and we were understandably pumped. Spain wouldn’t be able to handle this. Firstly, however, before I could even make it to Spain, I had to make it to the airport.
Looking for flights from London to Barcelona on the internet, I decided to set a few criteria which I would work by: I would find the cheapest flight that I could and I would try to stay with EasyJet which I had always heard great things about. I soon found a roundtrip flight for 27 pounds, which was a fantastic deal. However, there was one drawback which was that take-off was at 6:45 and therefore I would have to arrive at this Luton airport at around 5:00 or at least 5:45. I may be many things but one of them is certainly not an early morning person and my consternation was ample but supplanted by the fact that I would be going to Barcelona and it was costing me very little. Now where exactly was Luton Airport? It says ‘London Luton Airport’ so it obviously must be in London but London is a gigantic city and it could be on the side of town. I decided that maybe a half hour or forty minutes before the time that I wanted to arrive at the airport would be an appropriate time to leave. Big mistake.
I had decided to just stay up the whole night because I knew that there was no way that I would be able to wake up at 4:00 and be ready to leave for the airport so at about 1:00 that morning, I decided that maybe I should look and find out exactly where Luton airport was exactly. This was a miraculous compulsion for reasons that will become evident soon and its sheer existence serves as proof that is there is a God, then sometimes he does look out for me. I quickly discovered that Luton was actually nearly two hours away from my flat and actually was in an eponymous town that could scarcely be called a “suburb” of London. My horror was further heightened as I realized that this gave me only about twenty minutes to pack before I needed to run my procrastinating scrawny self out the door and to the airport before I missed my flight.
I threw myself into packing as quickly as I could, throwing clothes and toiletries into my bag and feeling ecstatic that at least I was just going for a long weekend instead of a long trip. I discovered that to my ever-increasing horror that I needed to take a special train to Luton and that I could only get it from a certain Blackfriars station which sounded as if it were the last place in the world that I would want to be at 3:30 in the morning. Also, if I was to catch this train in time to make my flight, I needed to get the nightbus that would be arriving at the nearest stop in three minutes or else I would have to wait nearly an hour and would have no chance of catching my flight. I proceeded to hurry as fast as I possibly could out of my flat though not before seeing one of my kitchenmates from K, Georgia, arriving home for the night and drunkenly mumbling something at me that I could not understand but took as her wishing me “Godspeed” and as I flew down the street, running side by side with the double-decker for about a block and barely making it on.
I ride the bus for about a half four, filled with a strange calm that registered oddly with me even at the time. I proceeded to get off the bus when I heard “Blackfriars” announced over the loud speaker but soon find out that I have mistakenly exited at the bridge that apparently shares a name with the train station and begin to sprint as fast as I can across this bridge in the middle of the night, seeing as I only have minutes to make the train. I arrive at the station and find out that my credit card will not work in the machine but finally manage to make a debit card work. The train has now arrived and I essentially leap over the barricades and throw myself onto the train. The remainder of my journey to the airport happily transpired without any incident but as I arrived at the main Barcelona airport and called my friend Rachel to ask where she was, I quickly found out that she landed at the smaller airport that was an hour and a half away from the city and the cycle began anew. One would think that I would have learned something about procrastination from all of this but, hey, hindsight and success make it seem less stressful than before and it makes it all much more exciting.
Flying by oneself for the very first time can be a daunting experience for anyone but when you can make the situation: flying by yourself for the first time and it is in a foreign country and in the middle of the night, the magnitude expands drastically. Sure, I had flown without my parents before but it had always been for school trips or with friends, never me simply getting on an airplane and jetting away. I had been fine on the seemingly interminable transatlantic flight that took me from Detroit to London but I was not as apprehensive as perhaps I should have been regarding the numerous smaller trips that I was planning to take.
My friend Rachel and I had been discussing a trip to Barcelona for a while and we decided to finally go the weekend before Halloween. Rachel, who was studying in Milan, would meet me at the airport and we managed to find two flights that would arrive within fifteen minutes of each other and we were understandably pumped. Spain wouldn’t be able to handle this. Firstly, however, before I could even make it to Spain, I had to make it to the airport.
Looking for flights from London to Barcelona on the internet, I decided to set a few criteria which I would work by: I would find the cheapest flight that I could and I would try to stay with EasyJet which I had always heard great things about. I soon found a roundtrip flight for 27 pounds, which was a fantastic deal. However, there was one drawback which was that take-off was at 6:45 and therefore I would have to arrive at this Luton airport at around 5:00 or at least 5:45. I may be many things but one of them is certainly not an early morning person and my consternation was ample but supplanted by the fact that I would be going to Barcelona and it was costing me very little. Now where exactly was Luton Airport? It says ‘London Luton Airport’ so it obviously must be in London but London is a gigantic city and it could be on the side of town. I decided that maybe a half hour or forty minutes before the time that I wanted to arrive at the airport would be an appropriate time to leave. Big mistake.
I had decided to just stay up the whole night because I knew that there was no way that I would be able to wake up at 4:00 and be ready to leave for the airport so at about 1:00 that morning, I decided that maybe I should look and find out exactly where Luton airport was exactly. This was a miraculous compulsion for reasons that will become evident soon and its sheer existence serves as proof that is there is a God, then sometimes he does look out for me. I quickly discovered that Luton was actually nearly two hours away from my flat and actually was in an eponymous town that could scarcely be called a “suburb” of London. My horror was further heightened as I realized that this gave me only about twenty minutes to pack before I needed to run my procrastinating scrawny self out the door and to the airport before I missed my flight.
I threw myself into packing as quickly as I could, throwing clothes and toiletries into my bag and feeling ecstatic that at least I was just going for a long weekend instead of a long trip. I discovered that to my ever-increasing horror that I needed to take a special train to Luton and that I could only get it from a certain Blackfriars station which sounded as if it were the last place in the world that I would want to be at 3:30 in the morning. Also, if I was to catch this train in time to make my flight, I needed to get the nightbus that would be arriving at the nearest stop in three minutes or else I would have to wait nearly an hour and would have no chance of catching my flight. I proceeded to hurry as fast as I possibly could out of my flat though not before seeing one of my kitchenmates from K, Georgia, arriving home for the night and drunkenly mumbling something at me that I could not understand but took as her wishing me “Godspeed” and as I flew down the street, running side by side with the double-decker for about a block and barely making it on.
I ride the bus for about a half four, filled with a strange calm that registered oddly with me even at the time. I proceeded to get off the bus when I heard “Blackfriars” announced over the loud speaker but soon find out that I have mistakenly exited at the bridge that apparently shares a name with the train station and begin to sprint as fast as I can across this bridge in the middle of the night, seeing as I only have minutes to make the train. I arrive at the station and find out that my credit card will not work in the machine but finally manage to make a debit card work. The train has now arrived and I essentially leap over the barricades and throw myself onto the train. The remainder of my journey to the airport happily transpired without any incident but as I arrived at the main Barcelona airport and called my friend Rachel to ask where she was, I quickly found out that she landed at the smaller airport that was an hour and a half away from the city and the cycle began anew. One would think that I would have learned something about procrastination from all of this but, hey, hindsight and success make it seem less stressful than before and it makes it all much more exciting.
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
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