Response to "This Must be the Place"

Focusing on “Hill” specifically --

     I really do love the use of video as it is incorporated in this man’s story. The use of video  helps to also tell the story of the place. We are able to see our speaker, and so we understand him in a different way than we are able to in print. 

     I find it interesting that the video waits until about five-minutes in to tell how the building became abandoned and how the man came to live there. It is still a bit unclear, and maybe that is the point of the video. I also don’t believe his name was every given? This aspect is interesting because while we can see the man’s face, we still know little personal information about him. What a funny twist from the usual narrative pieces we find.

     The man’s story is uplifting in a strange way. I related deeply to when he talked about the ways in which people responded to his living in an abandoned building. I was and still am somewhat taken aback by a man choosing willingly (though we’re not entirely sure of his social status) to live in an abandoned building, but also find it cool because of his positive attitude surrounding his environment.  

CYOA - Elaine C. & Stephanie P.

The Most Dangerous Gamer 

http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2012/05/the-most-dangerous-gamer/8928/1/

This piece, written by Taylor Clark, that profiles a game designer/developer named Jonathon Blow caught my interest despite being a non-gamer. While you read think about the various narrative elements the author employs.

-What are these elements? Are these elements employed effectively?

-What were your favorite parts of this narrative and why? What could have been done differently in this narrative?

-Do you think Clark has constructed Blow's character in an honest and fair way?

-Who is Clark's audience? How does Clark navigate or not navigate his narrative around the non-gamer? 

Profile Pitch --

     I am still interested in writing a profile on Dr. Grossman. I still need to check with the Index and the Kalamazoo Gazette to see what type of articles were written. After the readings for this week, I’d like to try to look at Dr. Grossman’s story from different point of view. With the upcoming memorial/celebration for him - I’m hoping to hear from several different people who had many different relationships with Dr. Grossman. From the little I do know about him, he was an incredibly interesting man who is definitely story-worthy - with a full career as a professor, a practicing psychologist/psychiatrist, and a job at the Kalamazoo State Mental Hospital. I know that he interviewed several interesting people, he came into contact with serial killers, and the list goes on. This story could have so much depth and be written from many different views - I just need to figure out which is best and which hasn't been done!

Spoiled Rotten (Revised)

     People were staring. Was I making it up? My blonde hair and blue eyes couldn’t so automatically make me an outsider amongst Hungarians ... could it? Yet I felt their hard eyes on me as I passed, careful not to utter a word in my native tongue; careful to avoid any extra attention.

     Back at my dorm, as I unloaded my arms of my several grocery bags, uncharacteristically exhausted after a trip to the grocery store, I couldn’t shake the stares. I’d been in Budapest only a few days, but it couldn’t be so blatantly obvious that I was an American student who had come to land in Hungary for a semester, could it? As I pondered, I carefully situated my “essential” grocery items onto my sole shelf (I was sharing the fridge with my three American roommates) careful to stack and shift so everything would fit. With the fridge full, my homesickness faded ever so slightly.

     Still, my mind floated to the helplessness I had experienced as I wandered aimlessly amongst the rows of food items in the corner market. There were only three narrow aisles of non-perishable foods, one short row of freezer doors, and a small section of fresh foods in the front of the store. Everything in sight, except the in-season fruits and veggies, was as foreign to me as the concept of bringing your own plastic bag to the store with you.

     I had studied and written about Hungarian culture for months before traveling to Budapest. I knew about Communism and every battle Hungary had lost. I knew that it was strange to smile at strangers, and not to hail a cab on the street, but rather, call ahead. I was fully unprepared in one crucial aspect of Hungarian culture though - the language.

     Many fewer Hungarians speak English than I had anticipated. No “crash course” in Hungarian had been encouraged through the college I attend, and the academic portion of the program was to be taught solely in English. These feats as well as two visits to a rural French town where many or most spoke English indicated to me that many people in Hungary would also speak English. I was traveling in Europe after all!

     I was crudely shaken from those thoughts upon entering the Hungarian market. While many Hungarians between the ages of 15 and 30 do speak English when necessary, it is not a requirement of Hungarian cashiers. While I was checking out, I had no chance of a warning.

     A large part of learning is through observation. My family at home almost always leaves the grocery superstore with a car load of bags. (Thanks to preservatives for not allowing us to go bankrupt). My first Hungarian shopping experience was no different.

     While the corner market, ‘Spar’, was without a cart to fully load, I managed to drag an overflowing basket to the checkout counter. As usual, spending more money than intended, and realizing too late grocery bags and groceries were not a package deal in Hungary, I managed to cause quite the stir in basic English and hand gestures. We communicated “plastic bag” with a pointed finger accompanied with a carrying motion similar to cradling a baby. Another charge of the credit card and I was off with four or five plastic bags full of fresh fruits and vegetables, a few cheeses, a package of what I assumed to be salami, and a few bags of chips with pictures of onions on the front. (I was thankful daily that I have no food allergies!) 

     Three days later everything spoiled.

     Months into my stay, upon opening the refrigerator door in a Hungarian friend’s home, food was scarce. Missing were the many seemingly essential components. Condiments that clutter my family’s fridge were unseen. It was without an individual salad dressing for each house member. It was without ketchup for my hotdog, mustard for my father’s burger, A1 steak sauce for my mother’s steak, and hot sauce for my sister’s french fries. Missing too were boxes of leftover dinners from restaurant outings alongside plastic containers from last night’s home-cooked meal. The shelves were not filled with jars of you-name-it with expiration dates years into the future.

     Hungarian food is not packed with preservatives or chemicals to extend their shelf lives or plump them up. Hungarians rather make several trips to the market per week, buying only what they are sure they will cook within a day or two.

     After that first trip I got better and better at deciphering what was good, what I could consume within a day or two, and names of certain products with the help of Hungarian friends. While proper grocery shopping etiquette made me less of an outsider in my new home, I was also taught an invaluable lesson in wastefulness. Due to the simplicity and resourcefulness of Hungarians I have gained a deeper understanding of the word necessity.

     Comfortably home in my American apartment, I take a tour of my fridge. Empty space is visible on each shelf, and I know my lesson remains. 

Franklin Outline

Complicating Focus --

Stephanie moves abroad [Hungary].

Development --

1. Stephanie grocery shops.
2. Stephanie makes [Hungarian] friends.
3. Stephanie buys less [food].

Resolving Focus --

Stephanie learns [larger] lesson.

Reading Response(s)

“The American Man at Age Ten” --

     I really enjoyed reading Susan Orlean’s piece on Colin Duffy. The piece was fun and light in the beginning, but delved into something much deeper and more powerful later on. Gender socialization was the underlying tone of this article. I have been learning about this topic in my Intro to Women’s Studies course, and so I found this article fascinating. There was example after example of how young boys are taught through their peers and the media about what it is to be a boy or girl. My only issue with this piece, and it may be attributed to it’s audience or the style, was that Orlean used opinionated descriptions on several occasions. Words like “handsome,” “pretty,” and “awesome” don’t belong in a hard news piece. Because this was a narrative piece are these descriptions acceptable?

“Trina and Trina” --

     I also enjoyed reading Adrian Nicole LeBlanc’s devastating article on the young and troubled Trina. The story was depressing and filled with conflict, and had no feel-good resolution. We have been taught many times over in our readings that this is not necessarily the way to keep readers reading. Why does it work in this article? Does it work? Also, I felt that at some points I had trouble keeping up with where and when the story was taking place. It was a bit jumpy.

Telling True Stories --

     I felt that this part of the reading was largely informative, rather than entertaining. At times the information was repetitive, but I feel that I am better for having read it. I feel that I now hold many tools for good interviewing. The examples given via instruction were helpful and at times relatable. I also feel that I have a better grasp of how I want to go about writing my profile.

Response to "Wonder Town"

     I really enjoyed reading this article by Sasha Frere-Jones. “Wonder Town” was fun and engaging, filled with several examples and details that took me further than I had expected. 

     The non-music specific language that we were asked to look for was indeed powerful in the article. I liked the example, “The feeling was a little like being held hostage in a room with someone who refuses to turn on the lights.” (Among several others!)

     I felt that Frere-Jones used the release of the band’s newest album to discuss the nature of their old albums. The new was used to compare and contrast the old and also discuss how the band influenced other groups to work in the same manner.

     I thought the story flowed well. Frere-Jones used both storytelling, in her vivid details, as well as fact to compose to readable and believable article.