Characterization

This is a small characterization of a fictitious villain in a larger piece using the technique of interior monologue mixed with narrative to explain his reactions to the heroine and also his family situation.

Chas watched Tresha walk away and whistled. She was beautiful, smart and…innocent. There was no way around that. She wasn’t the type of girl you partied with, but the kind you brought home to Mom as the girl you were hoping to marry.

He looked at the shortboard and checked the price. Too much. That was his life. Everything was too expensive and sucked. He had finally met a nice girl, but he couldn’t bring her home to his parents.

His old man would be boozing and probably offer her a beer, tequila or whatever his poison of the moment was. Or maybe not, the old man wasn’t exactly known for sharing anything, especially his alcohol.

Maybe the bodyboards would be better. His was all beat up. Sort of like his mother. After years of living with his father she was beaten, worn into the ground. All the physical and mental abuse had taken its toll. Now when she wasn’t working, she was sleeping. That cycle started as soon as he had gotten big enough to hit back.

After that one time, his father hadn’t touched anyone again. Chas felt sick, remembering the feel of his fist connecting with his dad’s jaw and it shattering.

Yeah, his father hadn’t touched anyone again. But that’s when she gave up. Short of the house falling in around her she, the old lady made it clear to her children not to wake her. Especially for something she didn’t consider a good reason. He didn’t blame her, sleeping was better than being awake in their house.

Blog 1

The site I chose to do my blog posting on is DaxMusic. The targeted audience of this site is people needing audio services done in studio, from demo projects to radio jingles, and his fan base leftover from Dax’s days as the keyboardist for the group ‘N Sync. In the about page it lists not only the type of services offered but also the ‘N Sync connection and his professional affiliations from Grammy voters to being endorsed by Peavey Electronics since 1990. There are also demos, endorsements from clients and samples of past projects, including one that was nominated for a Grammy.

The site appeals to reason with the impressive affiliation and past projects list, to the emotions with audio clips of his various work and the ethical sensibilities with the professional affiliations and endorsements. It only takes listening to Dax’s work once to make a lifelong fan and supporter of this multi-talented producer and musician.

Extra

Retelling an old fable and putting your own spin on it was one of the ancient Rhetorical Exercises. In this Exercise I attempt to retell a famous fable.

The Ants and the Grasshopper
by Aesop
Original version: THE ANTS were spending a fine winter’s day drying grain collected in the summertime. A grasshopper, perishing with famine, passed by and earnestly begged for a little food. The ants inquired of him, “Why did you not treasure up food during the summer?” He replied, “I had not leisure enough. I passed the days in singing.” They then said in derision: “If you were foolish enough to sing all the summer, you must dance supperless to bed in the winter.”
The hard working and possessive ants were spending one cold winter day drying their grains they have collected. The ants worked so hard that summer they collected enough grains for two summers. Weary and famished a grasshopper stopped and asked if he could have some grains. Overcome with sympathy for the old helpless grasshopper the ants reluctantly gave her some grains but not without the following advise “next time if you wish to eat our grains you will have to help collect them or next winter you will go to bed hungry"

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10x10

10x10 is an amazing website that hourly presents a collection of 100 images neatly fitted together in a 10 by 10 grid. These images and information are taken from news sources and represent what is going on in the world during a certain hour. The unique thing about the website 10x10 is that it is automated and does not require human interaction for it to operate. This website uses flash and could be a whole new way to check the news. The website is not perfect due to the limitations of computer AI. There may be a few missing links and images. Cognitive Science can only do so much in automating a grid from eternal sources. For a more detailed information of what this website does, click here.

10x10’s core is its visual text accompanied by a few lines of verbal text. It uses visual images to best show what is happening in the world. This could be because “A picture is worth a thousand words.” Although some images are repeats of others, these images are relevant to the topic which it is trying to express. Not only does 10x10's layout display news of the current hour, but it documents and keeps past news so that one may refer back to it. This website is easy to navigate and is keeps everything simple. You are not flooded with text nor are you provided with too few. The images in the 10 by 10 grid are also numbered for navigational purposes. The numbers individually match up with a single word on the right hand side to describe what the image is about. 10x10 provides a different approach to viewing current events in the world today. Whether you chose to use it or not, the decision is yours.

The Power of Documentary Photography

At one time I was an art history major and frequently visited sites like Fifty Crows, which promotes the use of documentary photography to bring about social and political change. Across the banner menu, you may gather information through various modalities: concerned blogs written by the site’s staff, the beautifully sublime photo essays from dozens of talented photographers, and digital video of photographers discussing their works.

A short summary of the documented subjects accompanies each photographic essay as well as a list of links relevant to the topic. Sometimes the photographer decides to add a bit of textual commentary, which enriches the documentary photography even more. The site’s creators and contributors wish to bring attention to certain important issues in the world that generally go unnoticed. They maintain that images consistently inspire people to act, as demonstrated during the Vietnam War as well as shots of Ground Zero following 9/11. The digital videos featured in the hypertext link under TV/New Media are powerful because they incorporate the artist’s voice and passion about an otherwise avoided problem, such as JB Russell’s piece on depleted uranium. The rhetoric here is almost all about visual images and relies on the power of photography to move us to action. Typically the action they are expecting is a donation, membership (through a fee of $35), or the purchase of a print. Usually I’m highly skeptical of any website that asks for money, but I appreciate this one for its combination of earnestness and high drama.

The Revolution of Everyday Life

“Just in time for the holidays, we take a closer look at the inextricably bound subjects of excess and scarcity in the land of plenty.”

The site I chose to write about is ClamorMagazine.com, the digital component to the print version of a publication by the same name. Since its establishment on the Net, I have to admit that the changes to the site, although impressive, have lost some of its appeal from its original intent on promoting awareness of social issues and contributor information to a more commercial and “big business” feel.

Clamor has grown to “indi status” with its full-color cover magazine, mocking the commercial multi-million dollar venture Glamour Magazine, focusing on social issues both at home and abroad. Unfortunately, their Web site does little justice to its captivating covers of its print version or the powerful content within its pages (although some of its articles are posted online as an archive … and a tease to entice future subscribers).

The site focuses on social issues and does a good job from a journalistic perspective. Like most publication sites, this one provides a familiar layout comparative to other independent weeklies or magazines such as LA Weekly for example. Because both the magazine and the Web site utilizes a combination of visual images and textual rhetoric, audiences with visual disabilities would find it difficult to navigate the site (that also brings up an interesting metaphor: the site and magazine is for the opening of the eyes, to get a different glimpse of social issues from different perspectives).

I like the site because it offers so much to its reader base such as an interactive blog bulletin board where discussions on the issues discussed in its print counterpart are expanded to this virtual community where others can get involved and add their two cents. Clamor’s content depends on contributors from around the globe and their site provides a venue for those on the Net to get information on how to submit materials; therefore, its audience is composed of those interested in issues of “social justice” and who want to not only hear different viewpoints on these issues but also want the opportunity to voice theirs as well.

Ironically, for a publication that opposes an irresponsible “corporate America,” its site almost gives off a sense of that corporate America with its professional layout, colorful icons, and neatly packed content focused at raising money for the publication in order to continue its work.

Blog Post #2

The website I chose for this blog assignment is Sephora. The website only uses pictures and verbal words to navigate around the site. A person with visual impairments wouldn't be able to gather informstion from the site since it's based on visual aspects, but a person with a hearing impairment could gather the main message from the site because there's no audio imbedded into the website.

The visual pictures match very well with the words because they show a picture of the product along with a verbal description of what the product is. For things with color, such as lipsticks or eye shadows, they show a sample of what the color looks like next to the name of that specified color. With the website laid out this way, you can see what the color looks like as well as know what the product is called incase you wish to purchase it at the store instead of online.

The only time this doesn't work is when you get to the fragrance section. The pictures conflict with the verbal description in this aspect, especially if they're trying to sell a new perfume. You can't smell something online, so unless you bought the perfume before, you wouldn't know what type of scent you're getting. They do try to let you know if the scent is either floral or musky to help you decide.