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October 29, 2005
Chapter 6
It Ain't Necessarily So (Ch 6 & 7) -- News Writing (EL 227)
Chapter 6 discusses how the wording of questions affects the results from surveys. So far in the book, the authors have mostly pinned mistakes in newspapers on the jornalists who don't do background research on how those stats were obtained. Sometimes the questions asked can only produce the answers that the organizations asking those questions want to hear.
In this chapter, the authors show a rare example of someone not having a bias and giving the readers a fair chance to decide for themselves. On page 101, Jeanne Allen, director of the Center for Education Reform, is quoted. Instead of only critiquing the two anti-choice polls, Allen also added that, "One can easily object that our group is biases too, since we favor school choice."
It's reassuring to see positive examples of how we as jornalists are supposed to approach controversial issues. I admire how Allen was honest to her readers and admitted her bias. I think what we read about Allen shows us how we want to tackle situations such as these.
Posted by AndrewLoNigro at 08:45 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
October 28, 2005
Not doing homework
It Ain't Necessarily So (Ch 4 & 5) -- News Writing (EL 227)
I found the readings of Chapter 4 and 5 interesting. The one point that I found very important was on page 75 of chapter 4. The authors talked about how the questions that they ask for the surveys cause problems with the results. One of the questions was,
"Did any of your children ever go to bed hungry because there was not enough money to buy food?"
The families had to answer saying "yes" or "no". 33% of the families said "yes" to the first question. The next question,
"have you relied on a limited number of foods to feed your children?"
recieved 98% of "yes's."
The one common thing however is that none of these answers say anything about why there wasn't enough food.
The MOST interesting thing though is that 87% of the news stories covering the report "simply relayed the findings of the FRAC study to the public without negative criticism of any kind." No one did their homework
Posted by AndrewLoNigro at 02:24 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
October 27, 2005
"If I could turn back time..."
Ives, "Sure Thing" -- Drama as Literature (EL 250)
Bill: What's the book?
Betty: The Sounds and Fury.
Bill: Oh. Hemingway.
(Bell.)
What's the book?
Betty: The Sounds and Fury.
Bill: Oh. Faulkner.
I really enjoyed this play. It had a trial and error approach which I thought was very interesting. As we see in the above quote, Bill says the wrong thing. But, as soon as he does, he gets to start over and change his answer.
I think what Ives is trying to get across to the audience is the idea of how hard it is to say all of the right things. You just can't do that. It's hard to be perfect and make a good impression on someone that you just met, don't know anything about, and would like to start a conversation with. Most people focus so much on trying not to be rejected that they forget to just be themselves.
Also, Ives may be showing that people never stay the same. Everyone is always changing in the course of their lives. Ives just seemed to cram all of the changing that takes place in one's life time into one conversation at a table in a smalltown diner.
Honestly, I think it's everyman's dream to have a little bell there with them that could turn back time. From personal experience, I know it's not easy to go up to a stranger and talk to them. I know tI've said so many wrong things and sometimes I just wish that I could change them. But you know what, you just can't do that!
Posted by AndrewLoNigro at 07:42 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
October 26, 2005
"A whole new world"
Bohannon, "Shakespeare in the Bush" -- Drama as Literature (EL 250)
Bohannon really does a great job of telling this story despite how she thinks her story-telling skills are. The one thing that struck me was the comparison between her attitude of people's reaction to "Hamlet," and the attitude of the old man's by the end of the reading. At the beginning she said, "I protested that human nature is pretty much the same the whole world over; at least the general plot and motivation of the greater tragedies would always be clear."
Well, she definately found out that she was wrong. These people coudn't even comprehend the motives of the characters in the play. However, by the end of the play, we see that the African's feel that same way. The old man says, "but people are the same everywhere; therefore, there are always witches and it is we, the elders, who know how witches work. We told you it was the great chief who wished to kill Hamlet, and now your own words have proved us right."
Bohannon was in a totally new and different world. However, everyone has their own opinions, beliefs, and values, which brings up an interesting point. It seems hard to tell a new story to someone and keep your own opinions out so they have a fair shot at interpereting it for themleves. There are so many things in "Hamlet" that are up to the readers interperetation and Bohannon really found it a challenge to give an honest account of the story and at the same time, let the listeners decide if Hamlet was really crazy or not.
P.S. There's nothing wrong with the way Americans interperet Hamlet. So if there are any of our classmates out there from England who are reading this blog, you just leave us alone!
Posted by AndrewLoNigro at 11:54 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
October 25, 2005
Can we trust tomatoe statistics?
It Ain't Necessarily So (Ch 2 & 3) -- News Writing (EL 227)
In chapter 3 of "It Ain't Necessarily So," the authors talk about how we can't trust surveys that have been taken on rape, spousal abuse, and abduction. They say that people can always lie, and that it ends up being the investigator's opinion on how broad the crime is. They feel that when surveys are taken, the statistics are often higher than they should be.
However, I don't understand how a survey could ever be taken that is fullproof. The authors of the book call statistics that are higher because of a broad sense of the crime, "tomatoe" statistics. I feel that the only way to know exactly how many people are lying or not is to be inside their heads, which is impossible. So I disagree with the authors by realizing that surveys are the most accurate way of getting statistics, even though they may not totally be accurate. I think that reporters should be able to trust the statistics that they recieve. However, it is smart for a reporter to not take information for granted. It's a good habit to always check out the information that you recieved and make sure that it's factual.
In the last section of the reading, the author's point out once again the energy that it takes a journalist to make sure that their information is substantial. It says, "In other words, it would have taken a certain effort to determine that a "bait and switch" tactic had been used."
Posted by AndrewLoNigro at 09:35 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
Snowball effect
It Ain't Necessarily So (Ch 2 & 3) -- News Writing (EL 227)
Once again, as we read these chapters we realize that a small slip, or a tiny mistake, isn't just something that gets looked over; it can realy cause a bug problem.
The authors of this book are obviously criticizing journalists in every aspect of newswriting. However, they do make their point. The stories that were told in chapter two, the Yucca Mountain Explosion, the drop of sperm counts, the day care story, and the butterfly story, really show what I was talking about above. I think the author's chose great examples to show us really how careful we must be as journalists.
The big reason that I think stories get blown out of proportion, or stories that make the front page yet don't deserve to be there, become popular is because the American public is too gullible. The average American believes what they hear or read. When something is published that really isn't true or isn't totally factual such as the Yucca Mountain story, we tend to blow up the situation and really intensify it. Americans don't want to have to check things out and make sure that the story is true. So before we do a background check on the subject, we tell our friends, or call our mom's and spread the word.
This goes to show you why we as journalists need to be so careful. One tiny mistake and the next thing you know, a little snowball turns into an avalanche. We must always be cautious.
Posted by AndrewLoNigro at 12:44 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
October 24, 2005
Having fun
AP Guide to News Writing (Ch 11) -- News Writing (EL 227)
In chapter 11 in the A.P. Guide to newswriting, it seems as if the writer can let loose a little and express themsleves rather than just giving straight facts.
Like Chera talked about on her blog, it's a more creative style of writing which brings interest to the author and the reader. Another thing that I'm excited about is that a feature article deals with human interest. In my opinion, the most interesting things to read are stories or articles that affect other people's lives and that someone can benefit from.
This chapter also talks about the writer capturing mood and atmosphere. I think that this will be a challenge to pursue while writing my article. Another difference is the CHRONOLOGICAL APPROACH. It's not that I don't enjoy writing with the inverted pyramid, however, my natural tendancies are to write in chronological order and now we finally get a chance to do that.
The most important thing, though, as the text talks about, is making sure that you are accurate when you write a feature article. Yes it is a chance to express yourself and to charm everyone with your crative writing abilities, but we've got to make sure that what we're talking about is accurate! As Cappon says, "remember, there's no poetic or litereary license when it comes to facts. Repeat that to yourself every morning."
Posted by AndrewLoNigro at 10:40 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
October 23, 2005
News... objective reality?
It Ain't Necessarily So (Prologue, Intro & Ch 1) -- News Writing (EL 227)
In Chapter one of "It Ain't Necessarily So" it talked about editors having blind spots. It said "'News' is not an altogether objective reality; instead, it is brought to you through the subjective decisions of reporters and editors who necessarily have blind spots, because they are only human and therefore fallible."
What I've learned so far in this class is that everyone can pick something wrong with an article or even a newspaper. Everyone has "blind spots" and only now that I've been in this class do I understand how hard it is to please everyone. As Abraham Lincoln said, "you can please everyone some of the time, and you can please some people all of the time, but you can't please everyone all of the time."
Later in the reading it says, "Some of their choices, inevitably, are better than others." Well, I'm sure the editors feel that the decisions that they made are the best ones. However, everyone will always have a different opinion. It's a no win situation!
Posted by AndrewLoNigro at 10:41 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
Puppet man
Shakespeare, Hamlet (Acts 3-5) -- Drama as Literature (EL 250)
POLONIUS
It shall do well. But yet do I believe
The origin and commenement of his grief
Sprung from neglected love.-How now, Ophelia?
You need not tell us what Lord Hamlet said;
We heard it all.-My lord, do as you please,
But, if you hold it fit, after the play
Let his queen-mother all alone entreat him
To show his grief. Let her be round with him;
And I'll be placed, so please you, in the ear
Of all their conference. If she find him not,
To England send him, or confine hime where
Your wisdom best shall think.
On my previous blog, I talked about how Laertes and Polonius were looking out for Ophelia. That brought up the point of how everyone thinks that Ophelia is just a puppet and has no backbone and does whatever other people tell her to. Well, this may be true, but I think that the true puppet is Polonius. We talked in class about how he is the raissioner (I think that's spelled right) in this play. It seems to me that Polonius is just looking out for the well-being of himself. He is trying to get on the good side of Claudius and really isn't taking into account Hamlet's side of the play. His death is interesting however and something even more interesting may be Hamlet's reaction himself just killing Polonius. Maybe since Polonius didn't care about Hamlet, Hamlet didn't care about Polonius.
Posted by AndrewLoNigro at 03:57 PM | Comments (6) | TrackBack
October 20, 2005
Walking on Eggshells
AP Stylebook (p. 338-68) -- News Writing (EL 227)
Man, this stuff is really intense. One mistake and you could be in a lot of trouble. I never realized how serious libel can be. It's even more difficult considering that there isn't one set definition of libel in the United States. The text talked about how Illinois, had a different definition from New York, and New York had a different definition from Texas. It's like reporters are walking on eggshells no matter where they go.
It's also even more scary since the text explains that libel isn't just involved with crime stories. It's attatched to birth notices and even wedding announcements.
Like Lorin said on her blog, Law is extremely complicated! Especially when you get into the priveleges and Defenses. Who is to determine what is opinion and what is not. Another one is, a Fair Report.
Posted by AndrewLoNigro at 08:28 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
October 19, 2005
Brotherly Love
Shakespeare, Hamlet (Acts 1 & 2) -- Drama as Literature (EL 250)
LAERTES
For Hamlet, and the trifling of his favor, Hold it a fashion and a toy in a blood, A violet in the youth of primy nature, Forward, not permanent, sweet, not lasting, The perfume and suppliance of a minute, No more.
I find it very interesting that Laertes is being a good big brother to Ophelia. It's nice that he's looking out for her and warning against Hamlet possibly being dangerous to her. Ophelia is also very respectful to her brother and tells him that she is going take what he says to heart.
Polonius also gives Ophelia some advice about Hamlet. He advises her to take heed of him as well. She takes this to heart like she does with Laertes. This show the respect that Ophelia has because she takes the time to listen to others who are looking out for her.
Posted by AndrewLoNigro at 11:13 PM | Comments (7) | TrackBack
October 12, 2005
B 1-2: Blogging Portfolio
This is my blogging portfolio. I've included blogs about the readings, comments on other's blogs, and a few interesting thought of my own.
Coverage:
AP Guide to Newswriting Chpt 5-7
AP Guide to Newswriting Chpt 5-7
Elements of Journalism Chpt 6-8
Elements of Journalism Chpt 9-10
Tribune Review Article
Depth:
Elements of Journalism Chpt 9-10
Spurlock Article
Interaction and Xenoblogging:
Comment on Lorin's blog
Comment on Chera's blog
Comment on Dave's blog
Timeliness:
AP Guide to Newswriting Chpt 5-7
Elements of Journalism Chpt 9-10
Discussions:
Tribune Reviews article
Elements of Journalism Chpt 6-8
Wildcard:
A comic experience
Posted by AndrewLoNigro at 09:18 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Money Money Money
The Elements of Journalism (Ch 9 & 10) -- News Writing (EL 227)
On page 156 of "The Elements of Journalism," Kovach and Rosenstiel compare journalism to cartography. They refer to it as a social cartography: "If we think of journalism as a social cartography, the map should include news of all our communities, not just those with attractive demographics or strong appeal to advertisers. To do otherwise is to create maps with whole areas missing."
This passage relates to the conversation that arose in class today. The topic of newspapers changing was brought up. The Tribune Review has undeniably changed within the last two months to reporting on more Pittsburgh news than local news. Jay, felt that this was because newspapers will report on news that will sell. The biggest stories are happening in Pittsburgh, (a bigger city)and the Trib is competing with the Pittsburgh Post Gazette. Referring to the passage above, newspapers should have a broad selection of articles from all of our communities, and not just appeal to advertisers, which is what the papers above are evolving to. It's all about money.
A few paragraphs below it says "Newspapers sell each paper at a loss. The twenty-five cents or even a dollar paid roughly only a fraction of what it costs to report, print, and deliver each copy. The rest is made up in advertising revenue." This once again shows how important the advertising has become in newspapers. Without all of the advertisments, it would be difficult to keep your company above water. But, how did they produce all of the papers years ago, when advertising wasn't as big as it is now. There must be a way to keep newspapers to inform people and not to sell products.
Posted by AndrewLoNigro at 09:10 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Director aims 'to take Greensburg to the next leverl'
This is an article in the October 11, edition of the Tribune Review. It occured in the local section. What I found interesting about this article isn't a bad thing at all. I found that the author really used the inverted pyramid method in his writing techniques. It's usually hard for me to use this because I unconsiously try to put events in some kind of order, either chronologically, or whatever. However, this author put the information about the lead towards the front of the articlce. Then preceded to talk more about the background of Gifford and his family later in the piece.
The only question I have is did the author talk too much about his background? At the end it seemed to get a little off topic. However, it still pertained to the hiring of the man named Gifford.
Posted by AndrewLoNigro at 10:31 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
October 11, 2005
Seven
Marlowe, Faustus (Finish) -- Drama as Literature (EL 250)
Pope.
Is not all power on earth bestowed on us?
And therefore though we would we cannot e'er.
Behold this silver belt whereto is fixed
Seven golden seales fast sealed with seven seals,
In token of our seven-fold power from heaven,
To bind or loose, lock fase, condemn, or judge.
Resign, or seale, or what so pleaseth us.
I find that the number seven is significant for some reason in this play. The Pope in the dialogue above talks about the seven-fold power from heaven. Isn't it ironic that there are also seven deadly sins? Perhaps the seven-fold power that the Pope refers to is the opposites of all of the seven deadly sins. For example, instead of having pride you have humility. I'm not too familiar with the Catholic religion so if this has something to do with it please let me know.
Posted by AndrewLoNigro at 09:33 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
October 10, 2005
EL 227 Weblog Portfolio
Posted by AndrewLoNigro at 07:24 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
A comic experience
While I was in the process of writing a news article on Morgan Spurlock visitin Seton Hill, I had some very interesting experiences. The overall assignment was a pleasure to me because I not only wrote a news article, but I did so much more.
From this assignment, I got to watch two documentaries by Spurlock: "Super Size Me" and "30 days." Super Size Me was really interesting to watch. I learned so much that I didn't know about McDonald's food as well as learning some key points to Spurlock's character. 30 Days was just as useful. Instead of just being about him trying to live on minimum wage, he involved his wife as well.
From watching these, I kind of learned a little about Spurlock's character. He has a sense of humor and also has very interesting and strong points of view. His lecture could have been seen as controversial. Well, that's because it was. However, I went in with and open mind and came out learning a lot. The most interesting point for me was how funny he was. He was truly an entertainer and he really invovled the crowd.
He was helped out by Dr. Klapak, who I had the privelege of interviewing before the program. As I talked to Klapak, he said some very politically correct things, and some very pompous sounding sentences. But when he got up on stage to do the introduction, he had the audience rolling with laughter. I though that it was great to learn and have fun doing it. The laughter I feel brings so many more people to focus instead of sitting throught a long boring speech.
Posted by AndrewLoNigro at 07:13 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Chptr. 7 Elements of Journalism
In the Elements of Journalism, Chapter 7 talked about Journalism as a public forum. The example at the beginning of the chapter dealt with Cody Shearer. The incident took place on the show Hardball with Chris Matthews. Her Matthews pressured Kathleen Willey into confessing who it was that threatened her(Cody Shearer). However, Shearer was not the one who threatened Willey. It was all a mistake and now Shearer has to pay the price of an angry public because of a journalist's mistake. I was wondering if this is really journalism? Is it forcing people to say what they don't want to because we want the public to know? And if they are wrong, shouldn't they apologize or let everyone know that it was a mistake?
Matthew's ended up apologizing but not willingly. He did it once Shearer's attorney had gotten invovled.
I think journalism should only be the truth. If something is doubted or not totally true, then people should have the integrity to not go out and publish it. Yes, we want our stories to be the most interesting. Yes, we want our's to get the most publicity. But I feel that the most important thing in journalism is making sure that the facts line up and people aren't getting hurt.
Posted by AndrewLoNigro at 06:51 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Spurlock Fills Open Minds
Spurlock fills open minds
Morgan Spurlock was given the opportunity to share his beliefs and express his opinions to a college atmosphere. The Seton Hill University Lecture Series presented him to the Seton Hill community as well as the public on Thursday evening at 7:30 p.m.
Spurlock entertained the enthusiastic crowd with his witty character and his funny anecdotes. His lecture, “An Inspiring Perspective,” drew out a full crowd in Seton Hill’s Cecilian Hall. The audience was attentive and responsive as Spurlock unveiled his views and opinions on the fast food industry in America today.
Professor at Seton Hill, Kim Pennesi thought it would be a good experience for the teachers. “The faculty here at SHU is open to hearing different perspectives. They will be open to him because as a faculty, that’s what we try to teach our students.”
In his lecture, Spurlock talked about how the consumer mentality of society needs a change. Spurlock had the audience rolling with laughter as he did impressions and incorporated jokes into his speech. “It was so funny,” said freshman Jillian Koweleski. “I didn’t expect it to be like that. He had so many good points of view, I really liked it.”
Not everyone listened to Spurlock with an open mind however. Jeremy Womer, freshman at SHU, said, “I think he really picked on McDonald’s. It’s a person’s choice to eat what they want.”
Spurlock spent most of the lecture talking about his movie, “Super Size Me.” He brought up many staggering facts that drew many different expressions from the audience. “McDonalds’s feeds 46million people a day,” he said. They have 30,000 restaurants in over a hundred countries on six continents all over the world.”
He closed the lecture with a question and answer session. During this time, Spurlock gave many of his ideas to change society. “Schools need to get the junk food out,” he said. “Some schools are even eliminating Phys. Ed. We need to make better habits now.”
Dr. Frank R. Klapak, Professor of Communications and Education, was chosen to introduce Spurlock. He found this to be a more difficult task than he’d expected. “It’s very difficult to find out about his private life,” said Klapak. “It’s always interesting to prepare for a keynote speaker. The assumption is that you know everything about them. I always try to find some unique insights.” However, Klapak broke the ice with a witty approach that loosened the audience with laughter.
In regards to the MTV series “Jackass,” Klapak said, “maybe Morgan Spurlock is the intellectual jackass.” On a serious note however, Klapak said “Morgan demands that we look at ourselves and define the American Dream.”
Posted by AndrewLoNigro at 06:38 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
October 09, 2005
Marlowe, Faustus (to end of Act II) -- Drama as Literature (EL 250)
Faustus
How am I glutted with conceipt of this!
Shall I make spirits fetch me what I please,
Resolve me of all ambiguities,
Perform what desperate enterprise I will?
I’ll have them fly to India for gold,
Ransack the ocean for orient pearl,
And search all corners of the new-found world
For pleasant fruits, and princely delicates.
I think that there are so many similarities between the personalities of Lucifer and Faustus. Faustus really shows his power hungry attitude, whether it's for good or evil. Lucifer, in the York Corpus Christi Cycle, had the same ambitions. He wanted to be like God.
Another interesting thing was that in the part of the play where Lucifer and Beelzebub come to Faustus, it seems like they are college coaches trying to recruit him to come to their school. It just struck me as funny that they take time to come, talk to him, and try to persuade him to join their side. They are trying to offer him things so that he'll go with them. haha. I had to relate something we read to sports... sorry.
Posted by AndrewLoNigro at 09:03 PM | Comments (2)
October 06, 2005
Ironic connections
Various, York Corpus Christi Background -- Drama as Literature (EL 250)
I see many connections between the incident that has taken place in "A Christ Taken Prisoner" and the real betrayal of Christ.
Judas the actor and the real Judas both get paid to betray Christ. There is no doubt that the man playing Jesus was anything like Christ, however the prinipal still applies. Christ was taken a prisoner in both instances. St. Peter played the same role in the play as he did in real life. When Jesus was in the garden, Peter cut off the ear of a Roman soldier attacking him. In the play he took pity on the regugee playing Jesus and almost cleft the Aguazil's head in two.
The only difference (irony) is that this time, the Lord was set free and the Merchant, the Aguazil, and Judas were all punished. Irony once again.
Posted by AndrewLoNigro at 09:05 AM | Comments (1)
Fatal Irony
Anonymous, York Corpus Christi Plays -- Drama as Literature (EL 250)
1 SOLDIER:
My sholder's out of joint
My pain is far too great.
This play show so much irony. It's amazing how the whole time they never realize who they're crucifying. They keep referring to Jesus as a fool, they called him a traitor, and they said that he'd die because of sin. Well they were right but totally wrong at the same time. He was a fool for not following the worldly rules, he was a traitor because he loved God more than other people, and he did die because of sin, their sin. They were mocking the one who was saving them.
I think that this was really what it was like during that time. People probably didn't know Jesus that well, he looked like a common man. They probably did see him as some evil person who committed a crime.
The other ironic part was when the soldier said that his sholder was out of joint and the "pain is far too great." Yet they're nailing someone's hands to a cross! Imagine the pain that Jesus is taking. It's amazing how much people look out for themselves and I think that this play really shows how ignorant we can be, and how we can take things for granted as humans.
Posted by AndrewLoNigro at 08:40 AM | Comments (2)
October 04, 2005
What's wrong with Mexicans?
Lindsay-Abaire, Fuddy Meers -- Drama as Literature (EL 250)
HEIDI. Jesus, I'm sweating like a Mexican whore!
I would just like to say that I don't appreciate the derogatory remarks from Heidi! Mexicans are people too! That's all!
Posted by AndrewLoNigro at 05:26 PM | Comments (2)
K.I.S.S.
AP Guide to News Writing (Ch 5 to 7) -- News Writing (EL 227)
K.I.S.S. stands for Keep It Simple Stupid! Chapter 7 talks about attributive words and loaded words. As a novice newswriter I've found it hard to come up with different words to say the same thing. I don't mean synonyms, I mean not being repetitious. Cappon says in this chapter that "said usually says it best." What a relief! I find myself using other words in it's place, such as exclaimed, stated, declared, or added. Cappon says that these words are loaded meaning, it changes the tone of what's being said.
This chapter really helped me out. But, is it really that bad to use those words. Yes, technically they are incorrect, but I'm asking; are the readers really going to pick up on the different tone of the quote if they're are skimming throught the article, as most readers do?
Posted by AndrewLoNigro at 05:07 PM | Comments (2)
Stay out of it!
AP Guide to News Writing (Ch 5 to 7) -- News Writing (EL 227)
In Chapter 5 of the A.P Guide to Newswriting, Rene Cappon quotes Wilson Follett. Follett said, "In general, journalese is the tone of contrived excitement. When the facts by themselves do not make the reader's pulse beat faster, the journalist thinks it is his duty to apply the spur and whip of breathless phrases. Since these exsist only in finite numbers they get repeated, and repition begets their weakening, their descent into journalese."
Guilty! I don't know about you but this passage describes me perfectly. All my life I've been creative writing. I'd throw another adjective in here, or add some more colorful words in there. I've found so far that newswriting is facts, facts, facts! An article doesn't need any of my "helpful" adjectives to convey the story. No, I need to keep my "two sense" out of it. I've found that so far in this class I've been really watching what I write and it's amazing how many words aren't necessary.
I know there are a lot of Literature and Creative Writing majors in that class. Do you guys fee the same way? I think I just have to train myself and get used to writing in different ways.
Posted by AndrewLoNigro at 04:59 PM | Comments (1)
Are you therious?
Lindsay-Abaire, Fuddy Meers -- Drama as Literature (EL 250)
LIMPING MAN. You're thafe, Claire. You don't need to get all worked up about who'th who or whath what. You brother hath taken you away from the bad man. Thath all you need to know. I'm gonna take care of you. From now on, it'll be nothing but eathy chairth and warm baked goodth. Okay?
How comical ith thith lithp? Haha. I think that It's very interesting that the protagonist, usually feared or a scary character is seen as defective in this play. This passage is from early in the play, in scene 5. To this point Limping Man is building up all of this intimidation. I think that's it's funny when he threaten's Gertie, by saying that he would cut her head off and bury her in the back yard. It's not funny that he threatens to kill her, but how can you take anything that this man says seriously. I mean, he says, "I thwear to God, I'll cut off your ****'n head and bury you in the back yard." It should be scary but to me, I keep imagining somebody trying to yell seriously at someone else, spraying them with the spit flying out of their mouth.
I agree with Amanda and Lorin, I really can't wait to see how the actors portray things like this in their own way.
Posted by AndrewLoNigro at 12:36 AM | Comments (4)
October 02, 2005
Death - a servant?
Anonymous, ''Everyman'' -- Drama as Literature (EL 250)
Death: Almighty God, I am here at your will,
Your commandment to fulfil.
God: Go thou to Everyman,
And show him in my name
A pilgrimmage he must on him take,
Which he in no wise may escape;
And that he bring with him a sure reckoning
Without delay or any tarrying.
I think that the role that Death plays in this story is very interesting. For someone that Everyman is so afraid of, you'd think that he could control himeself. I love how this play portrays Death as a servant to God. I know that many people think that life is a constant battle between the Lord and Satan, and to me Satan represents death. Everyman even offers Death money and riches to let him off the hook, however Death is so devoted to God that he doesn't waver at all.
Posted by AndrewLoNigro at 11:09 PM | Comments (1)
October 01, 2005
Reflection of "Dead Man Walking"
PREJEAN: …But you have dignity now and no one can take that from you. You are a son of God, Matthew Poncelet.
MATT: Ain’t nobody never called me no son of God before. (smiling) I’ve been called a son-of-a-you-know-what lots of times but never no son of God. I just hope my death gives their parents some relief. I really do.
PREJEAN: Maybe that’s the best thing you can offer that Delacroixs and the Percys, a wish for their peace.
Throughout the entire play, Matt has kept up a wall to all outsiders. He’s never shown any sorrow or taken responsibility for any thing that he’s done. It seems like these deaths really didn’t affect him and maybe he is some type of animal. But I feel that this quote really shows that he’s changed. He’s now thinking about others than just himself.
I stated in my blog that this shows tremendous strength for his character. It’s not that I agree with him but it’s how he does not waver no matter what is thrown his way. This is what I admire about his character. I wish that in certain situations in my life, I could hold strong to my beliefs and not waver just like Matt does.
Another thing that this quote shows is the strength of Helen. On Chera Pupi’s blog, she said “How much strength and love it must have taken for Sr. Helen to rise above all of this, and be there for Matt on his road to death. This woman is certainly one to admire.” Helen has her own level of strength as Chera pointed out. When you think about all of the persecution that Helen is going through you ask yourself, why is she doing it? To me that is the most admirable character to have. She is all alone in her representation of Matt and no one knows why. In the play she evens doubts herself. Helen is standing alone for something that she can’t justify to others or to herself. But, deep inside, she knows that she’s doing the right thing.
That reminds me of the bible story of Noah and the ark. Noah was building an ark because God told him to. To the rest of the world it made no sense. That shows the kind of strength and will power that Helen had to have as well. What if Noah didn’t build that ark? What if he would have used common sense and compromised with the people who were calling him crazy? What if Helen would have listened to those outside voices? Would Matt have gone to his death bed a changed man like he did?
Posted by AndrewLoNigro at 09:34 PM | Comments (0)
Reflection of "The Jeweller's Shop"
ADAM:
… Sometimes human existence seems too short for love. At other times it is, however, the other way round: human love seems too short in relation to existence – or rather too trivial.
In my opinion, this statement is so true, who one loves, seems so trivial to the existence of man kind all together. Don’t get me wrong, without love, everyone feels alone. In a sense we need some type of love to survive. However, in the great scheme of things, the intimate love of another human being, which I think Wojtyla is referring to, isn’t necessary in order to live a full life.
What he says at the beginning of this quote though is interesting as well. “Sometimes human existence is too short for love.” This statement may mean that in one’s lifetime they may not have a chance to experience true love. They may go through life without really loving another person.
Another view could be that the author is inferring that love is always going on between someone somewhere. In Teresa’s case, her husband died and their love was cut short. In Anna’s case, Stefan seemed to find that he never loved her in the right way and maybe he won’t have enough time to get back to where they once were. Amanda Nichols said, “I love how Wojtyla shows everlasting love…” I feel that he could indeed be showing everlasting love.
I wondered in this play what Adam’s role was. I think that maybe he is an angel sent to bring the whole situation together. He seemed to fix the situation in Anna’s life and in Teresa and Christopher’s as well. The author doesn’t give much background on his character so maybe he’s leaving up for interperetation.
Posted by AndrewLoNigro at 09:31 PM | Comments (0)
Oral Presentation
Andy Lonigro
Prof. Jerz
EL 250
9-26-05
The oral presentation on Friday was an enjoyable experience for me as well as many of my classmates. I really enjoyed talking openly with my peers about different topics. The best part was learning how other people think and seeing how many issues are present in the text that I didn’t pick up on.
The five minute presentation taught me more than I thought it would. Earlier in the week I found it difficult to think of a topic that argued a similarity between the two plays. Once I took some time and looked at my favorite plays, I found a few interesting topics. I learned that sometimes it takes a little more effort than you want to give but once you do it, you really feel good about yourself.
I found that my peers taught me as well. As I said, they brought up points of interest that I never though about before. The great thing was that it wasn’t just a presentation about what they thought; it was open for discussion as well. I could ask questions if I didn’t understand and I could even add some input if it was worth bringing up.
In tenth grade, I took a public speaking class. I feel that it helped me with my speaking skills and instead of fretting as most people do. I was kind of excited to actually get to talk about something interesting in front of my class mates. I feel that my “speech” went very well. I think that I was calm and I had enough to talk about, and most of all I liked the atmosphere that we were in. Everyone was equal. We were sitting in a group of friends discussing literature rather than classmates doing work. It was really relaxing and I think that we should have class in that kind of environment more often.
Posted by AndrewLoNigro at 09:28 PM | Comments (0)