"The Autumn of the Multitaskers"

When I first began reading Kirn’s “The Autumn of the Multitaskers” I struggled to identify what exactly the article was about. Was Kirn commenting on the small town he grew up in? The inventions of the thirty-something brothers? The political action in the Middle East? It all seemed a little confusing to me. When I turned off my itunes, logged out of Facebook, and focused on the article, I knew EXACTLY what he was talking about.

Kirn’s article is closely linked with our society today. As a college student, I regularly see my peers eating while studying, watching television while studying, and listening to music while studying. Growing up my parents always reminded me to focus on the homework in front of me and leave the distractions for later. Now in college, it is rare to find a student JUST studying.

However, Kirn doesn’t put himself above the multitaskers he is commenting on. Instead he categorizes his self as one. Including his personal experience with a car accident caused by a cell phone gives Kirn authority to comment on the topic. He has seen the negative side effects it can cause and hopes through his article, to inform others.

I enjoyed the quotes Kirn embeds in his article from actors and politicians. It proves that multi-tasking isn’t only done by students trying to complete a homework assignment. It is done by Bill Clinton, Jennifer Connelly, Robert Pittman, and Rudolph Giuliani…just to name a few. Everyone is guilty of trying to get as much done in the shortest amount of time possible, It just doesn’t always give us the best results.

Kirn concludes his article by mentioning the Microsoft software he introduced in his lead. He reminds the reader to get away from the hustle life brings and reminds us to get away, and think clearly.

"Obama's Moment"

I found “Obama’s Moment” by Matt Tabbi to be a very entertaining article. Even though I didn’t agree with his position, I found his writing to be engaging. At the beginning of the article, Tabbi reaches out to his audience. He doesn’t want to appear to be the typical uptight political analyst who usually writes about the presidential race; instead he wants to seem like an average American. He begins his article by relating to Americans frustrations with the presidential race:

“People don’t want to feel this way, but the attitude everywhere is the same: What choice do these assholes give us? And it’s that grim prejudice that has pervaded this process for a generation, forcing the public to choose from an endless succession of lesser evils and second-raters of the Kerry-Dole genus, stuffed suits who offered nothing like a solution to the main problem of feeling like shit about the American civic experiment."

Tabbi is obviously fed up with the way the American political system is run and like his audience, is ready to see change. To him, that is exactly what Obama embodies. Now that he has connected with his audience, Tabbi feels free to give his comments on the election.

Tabbi remains connected his audience by directing his commentary and language to the average person. He is obviously sick of the status quo and believes Obama represents a fresh angle to politics. He says Obama is “a stark contrast to the bloated hair shitbags we usually elect to positions of power in this country."

As a commentary, it is appropriate for Tabbi to give his negative opinion of certain politicians. (Which he freely does while bashing Republican candidates Mitt Romney and Rudi Giuliani claiming they are vengeful and greedy). However, as a commentary he is not attempting to write facts. It is his personal opinion and comments regarding the presidential election. The reader doesn’t have to agree with him.

Have a GLEEful day!

(A Review)

Fall is filled with television season premieres. Meredith and McDreamy are still struggling to make it work, House is in rehab, and Serena, Blair, and the rest of the gang have moved on from graduation. There is one new show however, that you absolutely cannot miss. The FOX comedy “Glee” attracts a diverse audience from middle school tenny boppers to middle aged empty nesters. Everyone is entertained!

The show portrays the life of a group of high school underdogs coming together in a Glee Club. With their motivational teacher, Will Schuester, the group learns to believe in themselves. The show does have its fair share of drama; an unplanned teen pregnancy and temptation to commit adultery are major contributors to the plot. Regardless, this is no sappy television show. The witty characters and sarcastic tone make the hour long episode the highlight of anyone’s day. The characters glee “performances”, which randomly appear throughout the show, are sure to put a smile on your face. The creative use of pop culture as an expression of the student’s beliefs is a light-hearted and fresh approach to the traumatic four years that high school can be.

Glee airs Wednesdays at 9/8 central on FOX.

Scully's Profile on Mike

It seems that every time we turn on the news we hear some sort of criticism of the Bush administration. When I began reading this article I thought it was going to spotlight one of Bush’s top speechwriters and commend him for his work. The article cites credible newspapers praising Mike Gearson as a powerful and articulate writer.

The deeper I got in to the article the more I realized that the profile was not praising Mike Gearson, but was actually attempting to break his glorified reputation. The article, at times, made him appear like an attention grabbing evangelical.

I appreciate this twist in Scully’s writing. He wanted to create an accurate portrayal of Mike’s character and dispel the myth that he is the sole contributor to Bush’s speeches pointing out specifically that he didn’t create the famous line “Axis of evil” that he often takes credit for.

However, Scully does not use his article as an opportunity to bash Mike. Instead, he paints the picture of the men working together and collaborating on speeches. He points out their individual strengths and makes them appear as a team. He goes on to say that he likes Mike as a person and admires him.

After reading Scully’s article I hope to imitate his ability to write a truthful and accurate profile. He writes a compelling article that keeps the reader guessing what he will say next. which is crucial when trying to hold a readers attention.

"Underworld"

Growing up in Dallas, Texas I know little about the life of a coal miner. In fact, pretty much all I know comes from the movies. October Sky, written in 1999, initially comes to my mind. In the film the workers are portrayed as blue-collar hero’s struggling day to day just to make a living the only way they know how. The characters are simple and don’t have many luxuries. They get up early every morning and walk like zombies towards the elevators that will take them underground. They are stern, unhappy, and strictly focused on their jobs. This is my interpretation of what life is like in a coal mining town.

After reading Jeanne Laska’s “Underworld” my opinion regarding the life of a coal miner changed drastically. She doesn’t glorify her characters in to being home-town heroes. Coal mining is a job that pays the bills, it doesn’t define them.

Throughout her writing it is clear that Laska’s did extensive research and did her best to submerge herself into their lifestyle. “I spent months trying to position myself and my world around these people”. In order to accurately represent the coal mining industry, Laska knew it would take more than just one trip down to the mines. In addition to putting on a hard hat and making several trips down to the underworld, she socialized with them off the clock. In one trip to the local strip club Laska spoke with a group of men about the stereotypes of coalminers. “Look at these poor, stupid rednecks who work these awful jobs. Trapped! Suffocating! Buried alive!” It was an out of date interpretation of their lives and portraying them this way would only show her ignorance. She explains the impression that all coal miners are poor and struggle economically is false. Including the fact that coal mining is a $27.6 billion dollar industry allows the reader to realize that coal mining is a profitable. Workers aren’t all stern faced, depressed, poor people. They have friends, family, and a social life.

I enjoyed reading “Underworld” and hope to imitate aspects of Laska’s writing in my feature article. They research she did for this article clears up the myths of Hollywood’s heroic coal miners and makes the characters real. I’m not saying that these men wouldn’t step up and save a life if the situation didn’t call for it, I’m sure they would but it’s not an everyday occurrence. Through research, establishing credibility and descriptive writing, Laska grabs the attention of the reader and writes a compelling “real-life” feature article.

"Betrayed"

In the United States, when reading about the Iraqi war we usually find stories about the heroic soldiers who are fighting for our freedom. George Packer takes a different approach in his feature article, “Betrayed”. Packer uses descriptive writing to point out the injustices done to the Iraqi’s by the Americans. The reader really feels like they are reading a firsthand experience of a person’s time in Iraq. Instead of glorifying the American soldiers, Packer points out their unfair treatment to others.

“Betrayed” tells multiple stories of these injustices but Firas’s story made the biggest impact on me. Firas asked to be issued a green card in order to bypass the long lines before entering the Green Zone. (He was translating for the Americans). His request was denied because the card also gave permission to carry a weapon. This story illustrates that despite efforts to prove their loyalty to the United States, safety and security from the American embassy did not extend to them, if anything they contributed to the threat just because they look different.

Americans tend to feel obligated to prove how patriotic they are and refuse to speak poorly of American soldiers. George Packer takes this risk and by doing so informs the readers of the wrong doings taking place in Iraq. By strategically writing this article in a way that reaches the readers heart, perhaps people will be motivated to put an end to this unjust treatment.

Feature Articles

As we begin the unit on feature articles I have tried to understand what makes one article more entertaining than the next. After reading three articles for class I have realized that while some topics are more interesting to a person based on their ability to relate to it, the best articles reach a wide variety of audiences and effect everyone on some level.

I was immediately drawn to the article “You Have Thousands of Angels Around You”. From the very beginning I was intrigued by the lead female character and wanted to hear her story. When she finally explains the reason she is seeking asylum in the United States it would be difficult for any reader to not feel sympathy for her.

After reading “Specialist Town Takes His Case to Washington” I also realized that the topics relevancy to current events attracts readers. It seems that almost every day we hear about the war in Iraq, but it is not everyday that we hear about a person’s struggle when they return home from battle. This unique article gave me a different perspective on a topic I hear about regularly and easily had my attention.