J 109: Comments on Articles # 1 and 2
For my dear LJ friends, you'll be seeing this kind of entries a lot more often during this semester. Here, I get to comment on the articles we J 109 students are required to read. And we have to write comments in 200 words or less. Not per article, but ON ALL ALL OF THEM. This might just be the motivation I need to post blog entries here more often. If only I had my own computer. (I am currently in an internet cafe BTW, cramming articles and such.)
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Comments to Readings Set # 1: On Personal Profiles
I’m not really much of a sports fan - let alone a diehard Manny Pacquiao fan - but I have to admit that I enjoyed reading the GQ profile article on Manny. It showed a side of Pacquiao that TV cameras don’t get to capture, those than can only be described in eloquent words. The article mainly focuses on what makes him tick, what makes him continue to go into the boxing profession despite it obvious dangers. After reading it, I felt as if I knew “The Pacman”personally.
The profile on Saad Mohseni - “Afghanistan’s first media mogul” - piqued my interest more than Pacquiao’s. Perhaps it’s partly because I don’t know the guy, and partly because I’m more of a TV person. I immediately became curious of what it was like to run a radio and TV networks that became the country’s most liberal mass media. Not only does he have to run the complex inner workings of the networks, but he also has to dodge those who accuse his networks of going against the country’s established values and traditions. It goes to show that when the government tries to silence you, you can always count on the free speech clause of the Constitution.
I also found Oprah’s interview of Ellen Degeneres really enjoyable to read. Not only was the article short enough to be digestible, but it was also written in a dialogue style. It made me feel as if actually listening to their conversation. Although the interview only touched a couple of topics regarding Ellen’s life - her talk show, her being vegan, and her sexuality - it was concise enough to get to know Ellen beyond her jolly, fun-filled façade she puts on in her talk show.
Reading the Wired article on what surfing the Net might eventually do to your brain sobered me a bit. This might explain why I find it hard to read long lines of text in photocopied readings and - surprise! - long articles without getting distracted. However, I’m not prepared to accept the theory hook line and sinker. As the article itself declared, a 10 year-long scientific research to confirm the conclusions of the past researches.
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Comments to Readings Set # 2: On Experiences
The review on the Droid X excited me a bit. Writing tech reviews on the latest gadgets is one of the career paths I am seriously trying to consider. This article familiarized me with just how one writes a gadget review article. It clearly detailed what kind of experience one would have if he owns this particular phone. It would feel as if you’re holding the phone in your hands, playing with the phone’s numerous features and analyzing if this is the phone that fits your needs to a T. Yes, the article does serve commercial purposes, but it is impartial enough to show what is “good” and “bad” about the product, since the "perfect" gadget doesn't really exist (I'm talking to you, Apple).
The TIME article also awakened my interest in travel articles. Although the article focused on a form of transportation, it was written in a way that would make you “come along” with the writer on his journey. It also highlighted the history and background of the train station, revealing the diplomatic history between Malaysia and Singapore along with it. Good travel articles such as this one read as if they say, “Wish you were here!”
Since its inception, Twitter has been used to cover almost everything, from major news events to one’s day-to-day experiences. But even I wouldn’t imagine using Twitter to cover an opera! I wondered whether the experience would be lost on those who read the birit-by-birit¬ coverage of the opera. But as the actual tweets would show, it focused more on the writer’s reaction while watching the opera. It’s similar with what a friend might say upon asking how the opera went.
The articles on the Kentucky Derby and the “String Theory” didn’t really capture my interest - I got turned off by the sheer length of the articles (see my comments on the Wired article on the Internet above for more details). But I read the articles anyway - albeit rapidly - and I classified them as the typical “experience” article. They tend to use actual dialogue, become very descriptive of the details of the experience, and highlight the emotions of the writer as he goes though each of their experiences. The String Theory article, which was more of a hybrid of a profile and an experience article, is unique such that it told an experience of another person. It takes such skill in writing to channel another person’s experience and write it as if it was the other person himself who wrote it.
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Crap, it's hard to edit these into 200-word comments without deleting important details. *sigh* Guess I have to leave it as it is, then.
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Comments to Readings Set # 1: On Personal Profiles
I’m not really much of a sports fan - let alone a diehard Manny Pacquiao fan - but I have to admit that I enjoyed reading the GQ profile article on Manny. It showed a side of Pacquiao that TV cameras don’t get to capture, those than can only be described in eloquent words. The article mainly focuses on what makes him tick, what makes him continue to go into the boxing profession despite it obvious dangers. After reading it, I felt as if I knew “The Pacman”personally.
The profile on Saad Mohseni - “Afghanistan’s first media mogul” - piqued my interest more than Pacquiao’s. Perhaps it’s partly because I don’t know the guy, and partly because I’m more of a TV person. I immediately became curious of what it was like to run a radio and TV networks that became the country’s most liberal mass media. Not only does he have to run the complex inner workings of the networks, but he also has to dodge those who accuse his networks of going against the country’s established values and traditions. It goes to show that when the government tries to silence you, you can always count on the free speech clause of the Constitution.
I also found Oprah’s interview of Ellen Degeneres really enjoyable to read. Not only was the article short enough to be digestible, but it was also written in a dialogue style. It made me feel as if actually listening to their conversation. Although the interview only touched a couple of topics regarding Ellen’s life - her talk show, her being vegan, and her sexuality - it was concise enough to get to know Ellen beyond her jolly, fun-filled façade she puts on in her talk show.
Reading the Wired article on what surfing the Net might eventually do to your brain sobered me a bit. This might explain why I find it hard to read long lines of text in photocopied readings and - surprise! - long articles without getting distracted. However, I’m not prepared to accept the theory hook line and sinker. As the article itself declared, a 10 year-long scientific research to confirm the conclusions of the past researches.
=========
Comments to Readings Set # 2: On Experiences
The review on the Droid X excited me a bit. Writing tech reviews on the latest gadgets is one of the career paths I am seriously trying to consider. This article familiarized me with just how one writes a gadget review article. It clearly detailed what kind of experience one would have if he owns this particular phone. It would feel as if you’re holding the phone in your hands, playing with the phone’s numerous features and analyzing if this is the phone that fits your needs to a T. Yes, the article does serve commercial purposes, but it is impartial enough to show what is “good” and “bad” about the product, since the "perfect" gadget doesn't really exist (I'm talking to you, Apple).
The TIME article also awakened my interest in travel articles. Although the article focused on a form of transportation, it was written in a way that would make you “come along” with the writer on his journey. It also highlighted the history and background of the train station, revealing the diplomatic history between Malaysia and Singapore along with it. Good travel articles such as this one read as if they say, “Wish you were here!”
Since its inception, Twitter has been used to cover almost everything, from major news events to one’s day-to-day experiences. But even I wouldn’t imagine using Twitter to cover an opera! I wondered whether the experience would be lost on those who read the birit-by-birit¬ coverage of the opera. But as the actual tweets would show, it focused more on the writer’s reaction while watching the opera. It’s similar with what a friend might say upon asking how the opera went.
The articles on the Kentucky Derby and the “String Theory” didn’t really capture my interest - I got turned off by the sheer length of the articles (see my comments on the Wired article on the Internet above for more details). But I read the articles anyway - albeit rapidly - and I classified them as the typical “experience” article. They tend to use actual dialogue, become very descriptive of the details of the experience, and highlight the emotions of the writer as he goes though each of their experiences. The String Theory article, which was more of a hybrid of a profile and an experience article, is unique such that it told an experience of another person. It takes such skill in writing to channel another person’s experience and write it as if it was the other person himself who wrote it.
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Crap, it's hard to edit these into 200-word comments without deleting important details. *sigh* Guess I have to leave it as it is, then.