The timely literary journalism pieces that we've read this quarter have definitely been my favorite reading assignments, but as much as I love the readings, they make me more and more aware of my own insecurities about my own writing. It was comforting to read that the most-published writers are the most persistent (Kramer 263). Although my articles are hardly as smooth and intriguing as I'd like them to be, I can do persistent.
Writing my final profile about Emma was all about persistence and putting myself out there. I really enjoyed writing the piece; I spent many afternoons at Las Juanitas talking to her when business lulled, and I even went to Pizza Hut with she and her daughters one evening. More than that, I think I found the type of narrative journalism that I like most, the "Narratives Revealing News Trends" (Banaszynski 217). I really like trying to find personal stories that speak to larger social trends... because I know that as a reader, when I'm brought the experience of a struggling, real-life individual, I get a better understanding of the real implications of a given social dilemma.
Realizing this has also led me to be more thoughtful about what type of publication I would like to write for some day. Magazines are always my favorite (I love working with graphics/photos, too,) and as confirmed by Jim Collins in his "Think Small" advice (pg 267-268), magazine stories publish the narratives that show social trends. He says that magazine editors, "..are simply interested in stories that tell the reader how the world works, how people see the world and make their way through it." Me too.
Still, I'm most-interested in writing for grassroots publications with a greater social purpose. Even this is probably too large-scale, but my dream-magainze is GOOD magazine, a magazine out of southern California. What is GOOD? "GOOD is a collaboration of individuals, businesses, and nonprofits pushing the world forward.
Since 2006 we've been making a magazine, videos, and events for people who give a damn."
I think a small community magazine, or even newspaper, would suit me well, so long as I was able to meet people and share their stories. I'm eager for class to talk about freelancing and writing opportunities in a world of journalism that many wrongly perceive to be crumbling. I don't see good journalism going anywhere; what's decending, I think, is the opportunity to be paid for writing it.
Slouching Towards Bethlehem
Didion's article was really a step into a world I know nothing about. Hash, meth, peyote acid,--the resulting "trip"--I have no idea the extent of what these drugs really do to a person. How one can think that the blue detergent soap on dirty dishes is something I doubt I'll ever understand--unless I'm Sharon, having a "real trip."
This is one "social trend" I would have been very uncomfortable covering, yet Didion talks about it all so casually. She doesn't muddle her writing with lots of adjectives, but rather employs active verbs and blunt adjectival clauses. Instead of writing that there are horny high school kids outside the Avalon, she says there are "high-school kids trying to look turned on (104)".. these subtleties are brilliant.
After reading it a second time, (because I'll admit that the first time many of the characters' individual stories definitely ran together for me)I was most-struck by how young they all were. Lots of teenagers; lots of drugs; no money; some have toddlers. What a world! Can't wait to talk about it with all of you...
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Reading Responses to group members
Austin
Sounds like there is a really good story coming, and I'm sure it will be as witty and well-stated as your others, but I'm just sad that we don't get to read the first draft this week. I'm especially interested in the part about your "surprise performance." Would you do a "surprise performance" for our class, to make up for the missing draft? My only concern for the draft is that it's pretty long... not the 15 word-er we've been coached on... and it contains tons of ideas to squeeze into 1,100 words. But, I suppose at the same time it shows that there are many angles and dimensions to your up-coming story.
Martin
Overall, it's well-written and your voice throughout is descriptive and distinct. :) I have a soft spot for environmental pieces anyway. I think one part you could improve comes here:
"Multimillion-dollar homes are sprouting up all along the shore, destroying sand dunes with their foundations, and fragmenting ecosystems with half-mile long driveways. All Terrain Vehicles and happy hikers and picnickers are increasing the rate of erosion of the dunes. Century old formations of prehistoric sand are being pushed into the ever-receding waterline by dirt bikes, kite-flying toddlers, and endless hordes of college students on weekend camping trips."
You're speaking in first-person for most of the piece, describing the way you see the dunes. But here, you step back from this, and instead of describing your personal observations of the dunes' erosion and destruction, you turn to generalities about the dunes. This only needs a little tweaking, I think. Describe the homes, all terrain vehicles, and happy hikers as YOU see them... in what ways have you witnessed the destruction? Or even, taken part?
Lastly, I'm just not sure how this is a "distinctly American" sort of irony. What else can you draw from to back up this claim?
Elizabeth
You chose great, provocative subject matter for the K College audience! At the same time, there seem to be two conflicts that shout out to readers: students disrespectful attitudes towards security, and the possible presence of racism. The piece might be stronger if you choose just one of these and dig a little deeper? If it's about the students' lack of respect, I think you need more quotes from students about their perceptions of campus security. (The one quote from Amanda Geer is good, but being that there is no transition into who Amanda is and why you chose her as a character in the story, it seems a little random.)
On the other hand, if you're going to tackle the issue of racism.. well, I'm wondering if Tim Young has specific examples of how students have acted racist towards him, or other members of the staff? This would definitely lend some validation to your claim. It's so sad to hear that he feels discriminated against, but I want to know why?
Regis
I want to know more about Noah--who is he; why is this project so important to him; when/where did he get the idea? Making this story could become more a profile on him than just a story about his failed experiment could lend depth. Some sentences are very vague, and although they hint at deeper meanings, and I'm not quick to understand their meanings? Still, you use some really great descriptions throughout; just make sure you stick to showing us the scenes instead of telling us. (For example, when you said that there is "nevousness" in Noah's voice.. well, what does nervousness sound like?) Lastly, watch what tense you're speaking in. Sometimes you use great active voice: "he talks, grinning..", but other times you switch to passive: his father "has flown out..."
I have to say though, as an obsessive-compulsive comma-user, I do appreciate your short, concise sentences. :)
Jackie
Wow, so many ideas in one story. First, I think that you should determine your audience. If the story is aimed at Kalamazoo residents, and you're assuming they've heard of the Kalamazoo Promise, then you can probably take out certain details... like the city's proximity to Detroit. (At the same time, I'm not sure about the Kalamazoo Promise part. As far as that scholarship goes, there are very, very few students at K College that have it, and I'm not sure how it relates to a theme of liberal arts vs. community college education?)
Also, I'm concerned about the reliability of some of your statements. How do we know, beyond what other news outlets are reporting, that "The job market has reached mythical status for recent college graduates"? And how does the job market fair better for KVCC graduates, if that is your claim? I think it would be most helpful to go to KVCC and talk to people. Maybe you can incorporate stories and quotes from job-seeking students at both K College and KVCC?
Still, I'm intrigued by the subject matter, and it's obvious that you are too! You definitely have a story here; I think you've just got to work on focusing it!
Sounds like there is a really good story coming, and I'm sure it will be as witty and well-stated as your others, but I'm just sad that we don't get to read the first draft this week. I'm especially interested in the part about your "surprise performance." Would you do a "surprise performance" for our class, to make up for the missing draft? My only concern for the draft is that it's pretty long... not the 15 word-er we've been coached on... and it contains tons of ideas to squeeze into 1,100 words. But, I suppose at the same time it shows that there are many angles and dimensions to your up-coming story.
Martin
Overall, it's well-written and your voice throughout is descriptive and distinct. :) I have a soft spot for environmental pieces anyway. I think one part you could improve comes here:
"Multimillion-dollar homes are sprouting up all along the shore, destroying sand dunes with their foundations, and fragmenting ecosystems with half-mile long driveways. All Terrain Vehicles and happy hikers and picnickers are increasing the rate of erosion of the dunes. Century old formations of prehistoric sand are being pushed into the ever-receding waterline by dirt bikes, kite-flying toddlers, and endless hordes of college students on weekend camping trips."
You're speaking in first-person for most of the piece, describing the way you see the dunes. But here, you step back from this, and instead of describing your personal observations of the dunes' erosion and destruction, you turn to generalities about the dunes. This only needs a little tweaking, I think. Describe the homes, all terrain vehicles, and happy hikers as YOU see them... in what ways have you witnessed the destruction? Or even, taken part?
Lastly, I'm just not sure how this is a "distinctly American" sort of irony. What else can you draw from to back up this claim?
Elizabeth
You chose great, provocative subject matter for the K College audience! At the same time, there seem to be two conflicts that shout out to readers: students disrespectful attitudes towards security, and the possible presence of racism. The piece might be stronger if you choose just one of these and dig a little deeper? If it's about the students' lack of respect, I think you need more quotes from students about their perceptions of campus security. (The one quote from Amanda Geer is good, but being that there is no transition into who Amanda is and why you chose her as a character in the story, it seems a little random.)
On the other hand, if you're going to tackle the issue of racism.. well, I'm wondering if Tim Young has specific examples of how students have acted racist towards him, or other members of the staff? This would definitely lend some validation to your claim. It's so sad to hear that he feels discriminated against, but I want to know why?
Regis
I want to know more about Noah--who is he; why is this project so important to him; when/where did he get the idea? Making this story could become more a profile on him than just a story about his failed experiment could lend depth. Some sentences are very vague, and although they hint at deeper meanings, and I'm not quick to understand their meanings? Still, you use some really great descriptions throughout; just make sure you stick to showing us the scenes instead of telling us. (For example, when you said that there is "nevousness" in Noah's voice.. well, what does nervousness sound like?) Lastly, watch what tense you're speaking in. Sometimes you use great active voice: "he talks, grinning..", but other times you switch to passive: his father "has flown out..."
I have to say though, as an obsessive-compulsive comma-user, I do appreciate your short, concise sentences. :)
Jackie
Wow, so many ideas in one story. First, I think that you should determine your audience. If the story is aimed at Kalamazoo residents, and you're assuming they've heard of the Kalamazoo Promise, then you can probably take out certain details... like the city's proximity to Detroit. (At the same time, I'm not sure about the Kalamazoo Promise part. As far as that scholarship goes, there are very, very few students at K College that have it, and I'm not sure how it relates to a theme of liberal arts vs. community college education?)
Also, I'm concerned about the reliability of some of your statements. How do we know, beyond what other news outlets are reporting, that "The job market has reached mythical status for recent college graduates"? And how does the job market fair better for KVCC graduates, if that is your claim? I think it would be most helpful to go to KVCC and talk to people. Maybe you can incorporate stories and quotes from job-seeking students at both K College and KVCC?
Still, I'm intrigued by the subject matter, and it's obvious that you are too! You definitely have a story here; I think you've just got to work on focusing it!
Monday, June 1, 2009
Revitalizing southern Ohio with... wine?
By Toni Skalican
Bristly goose bumps dot the bare arms and legs of customers as they crowd the tasting table, only five-or-so feet in length and attended to by three women with twangy, local accents. The air is chilly, leaking from central air conditioning on high. Kinkead Ridge Estate Winery, located in the Ohio River Valley, is holding their first tasting of the season on a humid Memorial Day afternoon.
"This is an Ohio wine?" asks a stunned customer in a jean skirt and Keds sneakers, sipping a plastic glass of deep red Cabernet Franc.
"Idn't it good?" prods Gretchen, her southern cadence and full-faced smile encouraging as she prepares the next sample of honeysuckle Viognier Roussanne.
The pale yellow, one-room house-gone-winery is kept at cave temperature by-way of the AC, intensive insulation, and cement floor. This is the way a small winery operation is run in Ohio, a state that is home to 120 vineyards of reds and whites routinely rejected by viticulture highbrows. The depressed economic atmosphere of the Ohio River Valley is far from that of California’s illustrious Napa, yet in spite of doubt and criticism, one couple stands firm in their efforts to make fine wine a reality in southern Ohio.
Nancy Bentley was a technical support specialist and Ron Barrett was a bored electrical engineer when they crossed paths in Portland, Oregon many years ago. Both were married, and Ron was a friend of Nancy's husband. Years later, divorced and pursuing new passions--Ron bought land and experimented with vinifera grapes, and Nancy attended chef school, eventually becoming an understudy to a world-famous Dutch chef--they found themselves craving new scenery, challenge, wine, and one another's company.
"I spilled wine on my keyboard," laments Nancy at the tasting, as she chats with visitors. An exuberant "born and bred" New Yorker with strong accent, she heads the winery’s PR. She drives all over Ohio, selling and distributing wine to Ohio vendors and restaurants.
When she’s home, she’s managing the website and helping Ron in the vineyard. His annual load of manual labor includes cane-pruning, bud-breaking, leaf-pulling, and harvesting. Ron is a thick man with swooping white-gray hair and eyebrows, and an innocent, pastor-esque facial expression. He heads the entire soil-to-vine-to-winery operation.
"People think you just wander around with a glass of wine and your dog," says Nancy, her squinty cat eyes rolling back in annoyance. "Having a winery is not romantic," she laughs, "it's farm work."
In the 1850s, Ohio was America's premium wine state, the vineyard farm work producing nearly 570,000 gallons of wine per year. However, a series of timely, regional dilemmas--the inability to trellis vines, Ohio grapes' susceptibility to mildew and fungal disease, and the Prohibition act of 1920--led farmers to turn to a more profitable alternative: tobacco.
Today, in Ohio's Brown County, just east of Cincinnati, revitalization of anything is welcomed. Ron and Nancy’s house-gone-winery is three blocks behind the McDonalds on 2nd Street, the main drag in a town called Ripley. In a community freckled with rusty doublewides and crumbling buildings, the Dominion home looks pretentious even before reading its front "Kinkead Estate Winery" sign.
In Ripley, a town of 1,700 residents, crooked street signs wear names like "Chicken Hollow Road", the local diner serves corn nuggets, and only 8.8 percent of residents have a bachelor's degree or higher, according to the 2000 Census.
"People are nice, but sometimes they are not very sophisticated," says Nancy of her neighbors.
In the back right corner of the winery room, large wooden barrels are stacked horizontally. This year, the five-acre Kinkead vineyard produced 1,500 cases of seven varieties of wine, a meager quantity in comparison to Ohio's northern wineries some of which produce more than 37,000 cases.
Bentley calls these wineries "entertainments wineries." They give Ohio wine a bad name by producing sweet wine, she says.
Bitterly, she admits, “they are only in it for the money; they're not in it for the quality."
Moreover, land in northern Ohio does not have the grape-growing advantages unique to the natural landscape of southern Ohio.
Wine grapes have two main needs to yield success. The first is nutrient-deficient, porous soil, which forces the grape plants’ roots to go deep into the ground in search of water, absorbing earthy, intense flavors. Secondly, wine grapes need a very specific summer environment, pairing very hot days with cool nights and little rainfall come fall harvest time.
Pristine grape-growing conditions are well-recognized in Napa Valley, however there is still much to be explored as to the promise of southern Ohio's geological anomaly, a 60-mile limestone ridge that runs from Ripley, to just west of Cincinnati. The soil is packed with limestone sediments, making it an ideal growing environment for vine plants. Moreover, the nearby Ohio River lends itself to coaxing down sweltering summer temperatures come nightfall.
"This is world class grape soil," says Nancy, comparing it to St. Emilion, a world-famous wine region in France.
Once cleared of the bushy weed-trees that dot the sloping ridges, Ohio's southern-facing slopes offer vines ideal sun exposure. Trellised diagonally--southwest to northeast--winds sweep up the rows, keeping away the mildew and mold.
"She's not a Riesling person," the man across the table warns Gretchen, after a glass was poured and passed to his wife.
"Well, that's okay." she responds. Turning to his wife, she says, "If you don't like it, that's fine. You like what you like."
Her husband's eyes leery, the woman takes the tiniest sip from a glass handed to her by Gretchen. She smiles. "Not bad," she says, finishing off the floral, white wine with a trustful gulp.
The customers mostly yield from metropolitan areas in Ohio and Kentucky, rather than the surrounding Brown County. “I’m sure that most of them don’t know that we exist,” she says. Explaining that southern towns in Ohio, like Ripley, were founded by Germans, she jokes “They prefer beer.”
Still, they persist to advertise their winery in the center of town. Bottles range from $13-19, depending on the grape variety. Furthermore, they’re bolstering a grassroots, local wine movement.
"We've renaissanced this area and helped several others get started," she says. Getting started is the hardest part for any winery, she says, as it takes wineries seven to eight years on average to turn profit. Kinkead has been profiting now for two years.
Kinkead Ridge’s best defense against criticism—locally and nationally—is that they make good wine.
At fine dining restaurants throughout Ohio, “it pours like candy," Nancy boasts. Several metropolitan vendors have coveted Kinkead wine ever since the honeysuckle Viognier Roussanne's was rated one of the "Top 100 Exciting Wine Finds in the World" in 2003, by the New Sotheby's Wine Encyclopedia.
Nancy dreams of converting Ripley's annual Ohio Tobacco Festival, in which a tobacco spitting contest is one of the best-attended events, into a local food and wine festival.
And it may not be such a distant dream. Six small vineyards are now in the business of revitalizing wine culture in southern Ohio. “We're convincing people that premium wine can be made in Ohio," she says.
Bristly goose bumps dot the bare arms and legs of customers as they crowd the tasting table, only five-or-so feet in length and attended to by three women with twangy, local accents. The air is chilly, leaking from central air conditioning on high. Kinkead Ridge Estate Winery, located in the Ohio River Valley, is holding their first tasting of the season on a humid Memorial Day afternoon.
"This is an Ohio wine?" asks a stunned customer in a jean skirt and Keds sneakers, sipping a plastic glass of deep red Cabernet Franc.
"Idn't it good?" prods Gretchen, her southern cadence and full-faced smile encouraging as she prepares the next sample of honeysuckle Viognier Roussanne.
The pale yellow, one-room house-gone-winery is kept at cave temperature by-way of the AC, intensive insulation, and cement floor. This is the way a small winery operation is run in Ohio, a state that is home to 120 vineyards of reds and whites routinely rejected by viticulture highbrows. The depressed economic atmosphere of the Ohio River Valley is far from that of California’s illustrious Napa, yet in spite of doubt and criticism, one couple stands firm in their efforts to make fine wine a reality in southern Ohio.
Nancy Bentley was a technical support specialist and Ron Barrett was a bored electrical engineer when they crossed paths in Portland, Oregon many years ago. Both were married, and Ron was a friend of Nancy's husband. Years later, divorced and pursuing new passions--Ron bought land and experimented with vinifera grapes, and Nancy attended chef school, eventually becoming an understudy to a world-famous Dutch chef--they found themselves craving new scenery, challenge, wine, and one another's company.
"I spilled wine on my keyboard," laments Nancy at the tasting, as she chats with visitors. An exuberant "born and bred" New Yorker with strong accent, she heads the winery’s PR. She drives all over Ohio, selling and distributing wine to Ohio vendors and restaurants.
When she’s home, she’s managing the website and helping Ron in the vineyard. His annual load of manual labor includes cane-pruning, bud-breaking, leaf-pulling, and harvesting. Ron is a thick man with swooping white-gray hair and eyebrows, and an innocent, pastor-esque facial expression. He heads the entire soil-to-vine-to-winery operation.
"People think you just wander around with a glass of wine and your dog," says Nancy, her squinty cat eyes rolling back in annoyance. "Having a winery is not romantic," she laughs, "it's farm work."
In the 1850s, Ohio was America's premium wine state, the vineyard farm work producing nearly 570,000 gallons of wine per year. However, a series of timely, regional dilemmas--the inability to trellis vines, Ohio grapes' susceptibility to mildew and fungal disease, and the Prohibition act of 1920--led farmers to turn to a more profitable alternative: tobacco.
Today, in Ohio's Brown County, just east of Cincinnati, revitalization of anything is welcomed. Ron and Nancy’s house-gone-winery is three blocks behind the McDonalds on 2nd Street, the main drag in a town called Ripley. In a community freckled with rusty doublewides and crumbling buildings, the Dominion home looks pretentious even before reading its front "Kinkead Estate Winery" sign.
In Ripley, a town of 1,700 residents, crooked street signs wear names like "Chicken Hollow Road", the local diner serves corn nuggets, and only 8.8 percent of residents have a bachelor's degree or higher, according to the 2000 Census.
"People are nice, but sometimes they are not very sophisticated," says Nancy of her neighbors.
In the back right corner of the winery room, large wooden barrels are stacked horizontally. This year, the five-acre Kinkead vineyard produced 1,500 cases of seven varieties of wine, a meager quantity in comparison to Ohio's northern wineries some of which produce more than 37,000 cases.
Bentley calls these wineries "entertainments wineries." They give Ohio wine a bad name by producing sweet wine, she says.
Bitterly, she admits, “they are only in it for the money; they're not in it for the quality."
Moreover, land in northern Ohio does not have the grape-growing advantages unique to the natural landscape of southern Ohio.
Wine grapes have two main needs to yield success. The first is nutrient-deficient, porous soil, which forces the grape plants’ roots to go deep into the ground in search of water, absorbing earthy, intense flavors. Secondly, wine grapes need a very specific summer environment, pairing very hot days with cool nights and little rainfall come fall harvest time.
Pristine grape-growing conditions are well-recognized in Napa Valley, however there is still much to be explored as to the promise of southern Ohio's geological anomaly, a 60-mile limestone ridge that runs from Ripley, to just west of Cincinnati. The soil is packed with limestone sediments, making it an ideal growing environment for vine plants. Moreover, the nearby Ohio River lends itself to coaxing down sweltering summer temperatures come nightfall.
"This is world class grape soil," says Nancy, comparing it to St. Emilion, a world-famous wine region in France.
Once cleared of the bushy weed-trees that dot the sloping ridges, Ohio's southern-facing slopes offer vines ideal sun exposure. Trellised diagonally--southwest to northeast--winds sweep up the rows, keeping away the mildew and mold.
"She's not a Riesling person," the man across the table warns Gretchen, after a glass was poured and passed to his wife.
"Well, that's okay." she responds. Turning to his wife, she says, "If you don't like it, that's fine. You like what you like."
Her husband's eyes leery, the woman takes the tiniest sip from a glass handed to her by Gretchen. She smiles. "Not bad," she says, finishing off the floral, white wine with a trustful gulp.
The customers mostly yield from metropolitan areas in Ohio and Kentucky, rather than the surrounding Brown County. “I’m sure that most of them don’t know that we exist,” she says. Explaining that southern towns in Ohio, like Ripley, were founded by Germans, she jokes “They prefer beer.”
Still, they persist to advertise their winery in the center of town. Bottles range from $13-19, depending on the grape variety. Furthermore, they’re bolstering a grassroots, local wine movement.
"We've renaissanced this area and helped several others get started," she says. Getting started is the hardest part for any winery, she says, as it takes wineries seven to eight years on average to turn profit. Kinkead has been profiting now for two years.
Kinkead Ridge’s best defense against criticism—locally and nationally—is that they make good wine.
At fine dining restaurants throughout Ohio, “it pours like candy," Nancy boasts. Several metropolitan vendors have coveted Kinkead wine ever since the honeysuckle Viognier Roussanne's was rated one of the "Top 100 Exciting Wine Finds in the World" in 2003, by the New Sotheby's Wine Encyclopedia.
Nancy dreams of converting Ripley's annual Ohio Tobacco Festival, in which a tobacco spitting contest is one of the best-attended events, into a local food and wine festival.
And it may not be such a distant dream. Six small vineyards are now in the business of revitalizing wine culture in southern Ohio. “We're convincing people that premium wine can be made in Ohio," she says.
Thursday, May 21, 2009
a so-called final draft
I think we've all come to understand that first drafts are always crap.
And unfortunately, I don't feel as though I've made it to a second draft yet this quarter. Every piece I write is a "first draft." By my third visit to Juanita's I'd been inundated with a cascade of conflicts, which led to five completely different word documents about Juanita's family. The so-called "final draft" that I dropped in Marin's box on Wednesday (not realizing that she would extend the due date) is about Emma, Juanita's 44-year-old daughter, drowning a sea if problems, while one lone seagull, a third daughter named Victoria who has a full ride to WMU, floats adrift the surface.
What a dorky metaphor. The bottom line is that I have a story, but lack ... oh, I don't know, the ability to make it all flow coherently?
On the bright side, I'm really loving documentary. I am not the clever wordsmith I wish I were, and its a refreshing challenge to piece together stories visually. If you're bored, here's the second film I made this quarter, about Kudzie from Zimbabwe: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GuMwYvcys30
I'm onto my fourth this weekend, documenting my grandma...:)
And unfortunately, I don't feel as though I've made it to a second draft yet this quarter. Every piece I write is a "first draft." By my third visit to Juanita's I'd been inundated with a cascade of conflicts, which led to five completely different word documents about Juanita's family. The so-called "final draft" that I dropped in Marin's box on Wednesday (not realizing that she would extend the due date) is about Emma, Juanita's 44-year-old daughter, drowning a sea if problems, while one lone seagull, a third daughter named Victoria who has a full ride to WMU, floats adrift the surface.
What a dorky metaphor. The bottom line is that I have a story, but lack ... oh, I don't know, the ability to make it all flow coherently?
On the bright side, I'm really loving documentary. I am not the clever wordsmith I wish I were, and its a refreshing challenge to piece together stories visually. If you're bored, here's the second film I made this quarter, about Kudzie from Zimbabwe: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GuMwYvcys30
I'm onto my fourth this weekend, documenting my grandma...:)
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Feature for class--Week 8!
http://nymag.com/news/features/56606/--Truth and Consequences at Pregnancy High, by Alex Morris
Morris writes provocative story, in simple language, about Grace, a young teenage mother in NY, NY... who represents the greater culture of teenage pregnancy.
Definitely worth your time. I can't wait to discuss it!
Morris writes provocative story, in simple language, about Grace, a young teenage mother in NY, NY... who represents the greater culture of teenage pregnancy.
Definitely worth your time. I can't wait to discuss it!
Gazette article
I've been reading like a maniac this week--and loving every minute of it-- in the pursuit of a story that you'll all find interesting... aka--one that you won't give up on by page three, and one that we can have a real class discussion on. I can recommend some good ones: --The Mountain that Eat's Men, UTNE Reader --What Makes Us Happy, The Advocate, --In Ecuador, Resentment of an Oil Company Oozes, The New York Times.
But I didn't pick one yet..and in the back of my mind is an article that I read on the front page of the Sunday Gazette last weekend. http://www.mlive.com/news/kalamazoo/index.ssf/2009/05/van_buren_county_judge_has_his.html--Van Buren County judge has his own mandate for adoptive parents. It's a short, one-page read if you're interested.
It addresses a timely, local controversy, but it's disappointing. As someone who wants to adopt kids one day, but can't see herself being a stay-at-home mom, the subject matter is engaging and worrying. But the story lacks depth; there aren't any captivating sensory details.
Unfortunately, this is characteristic of all Gazette articles. So I think there's great promise for pieces from our class, right?
Lastly, it's around the length of our final profile piece... and I can't help but wonder...what would Marin give it if it were one of our stories? ;)
But I didn't pick one yet..and in the back of my mind is an article that I read on the front page of the Sunday Gazette last weekend. http://www.mlive.com/news/kalamazoo/index.ssf/2009/05/van_buren_county_judge_has_his.html--Van Buren County judge has his own mandate for adoptive parents. It's a short, one-page read if you're interested.
It addresses a timely, local controversy, but it's disappointing. As someone who wants to adopt kids one day, but can't see herself being a stay-at-home mom, the subject matter is engaging and worrying. But the story lacks depth; there aren't any captivating sensory details.
Unfortunately, this is characteristic of all Gazette articles. So I think there's great promise for pieces from our class, right?
Lastly, it's around the length of our final profile piece... and I can't help but wonder...what would Marin give it if it were one of our stories? ;)
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Pitch
There's a WMU fraternity on the corner of Small Street and Long Street in the Vine neighborhood, and rumor is that the neighbors are pissed. Apparently the conflict was recently brought to the attention of the Vine Neighborhood Association...
I found out about this story from a teacher at the Montessori School on Howard, at the edge of the neighborhood, who says that some of her elementary students live near the frat, and their parents are fed up with loud music and college kids puking in their front yards.
I see lots of potential... and I'm sure there are many underlying stories here. What do you see?
(If this does not work, I think several books could be written about the family that runs Las Juanitas and the greater Mexican community in Kalamazoo...)
I found out about this story from a teacher at the Montessori School on Howard, at the edge of the neighborhood, who says that some of her elementary students live near the frat, and their parents are fed up with loud music and college kids puking in their front yards.
I see lots of potential... and I'm sure there are many underlying stories here. What do you see?
(If this does not work, I think several books could be written about the family that runs Las Juanitas and the greater Mexican community in Kalamazoo...)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
