Saturday, July 12, 2008
Brett to Bills?
Dear Brett, I know it will never happen, but on behalf of the entire Buffalo Bills organization, I would just like to say that you would look fucking great in red, white and blue.
Thursday, July 10, 2008
What I've Been Up To
All right, so I promised to tell you all about what I've been working on, so here goes. I had a smaller shitload of things to do tonight than usual, so I decided I could afford to take a few minutes and blog.
Our first major assignment in my news writing class is to write what they call an "enterprise stoory." Basically, we just have to find something in the news, something that affects the community, and write an article on it. There are a minimum of 6 sources/interviews, and the piece is supposed to be about 1,000 words. This is due July 23rd, but we were encouraged to begin working on it immediately when we got the assignment (which I believe was either Monday or Tuesday of this week). I've already come up with my topic and a list of people I would like to interview for it, but I haven't made any attempts to contact these people yet. It's not that I've been slacking off, I just haven't really had time to get going on it. I'll get started this weekend, at the latest.
Anyway, the topic I've decided to write on is the recent increase in New York State's taxes on cigarettes. Naturally, as a smoker I have my own thoughts on this issue (although they probably aren't exactly what you would expect them to be), but I will strive to keep all bias out of the story. Besides, I can see both pros and cons to the issue, so I wouldn't say I'm exactly biased one way or the other. I intend to speak with members of the state legislature, assuming I can get them on the phone, including the assemblyman who sponsored the bill. I also want to talk to the New York State Smokers' Quitline to see if there has been a marked increase in people attempting to quit since the tax went into effect June 3rd. Then I want to talk to the owners and/or managers of at least two local businesses, the Mallard Tobacconist in downtown Syracuse-- which obviously must comply with the tax-- and the Onondaga Nation Smoke Shop, which does not have to charge the tax, or any taxes at all, on cigarettes because the shop is on a Native American reservation. Lastly, I want to conduct on-the-street interviews with Syracuse residents to gauge their response to the tax. Ideally, I want to speak with at least one smoker and one nonsmoker. Assuming I can even contact all these people, I may not be able to use them all in the story, since it can only be 1,000 words, so my scope is limited. Still, this is an issue near and dear to my heart, so I'm looking forward to the story and I'm optimistic that I can write a damn good one.
Some of the other assignments they've had us do in class have been interesting, as well. One day one of our professors came into class, dressed in a costume and pretending to be a redneck named Jon Smythe, who had just won the lottery. It was as if he were appearing at a press conference about his sudden windfall, and he took all our questions. Immediately afterwards, we went back to the computer labs and had about 90 minutes to write a brief news story about it. It was a cool exercise-- especially since my profess was hilarious portraying a drunken redneck-- and it definitely helped us experience being under the gun of a deadline.
The following day, we knew we were going to have a guest speaker in the class (a real one this time). It was John Batiste, a former Major General in the Army, who abruptly retired in 2005 because he disagreed with the way Bush and Rumsfeld were running the war, and he wanted the freedom to speak his mind. He now does a lot of public speaking about Iraq and writes op-ed pieces for various newspapers. He was a very interesting guy and made a lot of great points. His speech lasted a little over 2 hours, including the Q&A. After the speech, we again went to the computer labs and wrote a news story about it, which was somewhat more challenging because it needed to be longer than the lottery story and we had less time-- about 75 minutes, because the speech had run longer than expected. Even more challenging than the time constraint and the added length was the fact that I had taken about 10 pages of notes during the speech, and I now had to write a 750-word story about it. I honestly don't think my article came out very well-- it took me the entire time we had before the deadline, and I had a lot of trouble deciding which pieces of information to include in my article and how to organize it all. I thought it was by far the most challenging writing assignment I've had so far. But it was still a very cool experience.
My other class, graphics, is slightly less enjoyable than contracting double-lung pneumonia (which I have done. I'm speaking from experience here). Our current project, which is due at the end of the day tomorrow, is to make a one-page resumé for ourselves. This doesn't sound all that difficult, but they want us to do all this fancy graphics stuff with it, including making a "wordmark," which is sort of a logo for your own name. I understand that learning how to use this software and how to make an appealing design are good things to know, and they are things I will probably need to do later in my career, particularly if I go into editing, but I despise this project. Today we had a three-hour graphics lecture, followed by four hours in the lab to work on the resumé project, and the whole time I was in the lab I was wishing I could just leave and go work on something that actually matters-- the cigarette tax story, for instance. Tomorrow we're in the computer labs all day, beginning at 9 a.m., and the project is due at 4:30. I got a good head start on mine today (although I need to do some serious re-designing. My first attempt was sort of an abortion. I am not good with graphics.), so I'm hoping to finish mine well ahead of the deadline and get the hell out of there to work on more pressing matters. Or at least relax for a minute.
That's the thing-- as cool as some of these assignments have been, and as much as I think going to grad school was the right thing for me to do, I have been constantly stressed out all week. I don't think I've felt relaxed in like six days. I start working shortly after I get up in the morning, and I don't stop until I go to bed at night. And the work is never, ever done. Again, I suppose this is why they call the summer term "boot camp." Whatever, I'll survive. Unless the stress causes me to have an utter psychotic meltdown, which I am certainly not ruling out.
Oh, I almost forgot about the other project I'm working on for news writing. They assigned us to three-person teams earlier this week, and each team has to find a person in the area with an interesting/unusual job and interview them. Of course, it's a little more complicated than that. This isn't a standard print story, it's a multimedia story. So when we go do the interview, we will record it using a digital voice recorder (but not mine, a better one, which we can borrow from the University) and take photos. Apparently we'll be working on this multimedia project for quite some time, and the final product will be an online slide show with audio. Basically, playing the interview while pictures we shot of the person and his/her place of business accompany the audio. I think we may also record narration to introduce the piece, provide bits of commentary in the middle, etc. But I'm not sure about that. It might be just the interview. Which will have to be edited, of course, since the final slide show is only going to be like two minutes long. Sounds like a lot of work, but I think it will be pretty cool when we're done with it. Oh, that reminds me, I should probably email the other two members of my team and offer some ideas about whom we should interview, since neither of them has contacted me. No rest for the wicked.
Lastly, I want to share with you a piece that I wrote in (I think) April, shortly after I heard about the cigarette tax increase. This is-- obviously-- satire, and it would suggest that I strongly oppose the tax (even though I'm saying the exact opposite-- ain't irony great?), but that is not exactly true. I was just feeling bored and caustic one day, and for some reason I started thinking about Jonathan Swift, so I wrote this. I think it's somewhat amusing. Enjoy.
-Niz
My Modest Proposal
By Nick (Swift) Roberts
Recently, the New York State Legislature approved an increase in the tax on cigarettes from $1.50 to $2.75 per pack. New York was already one of the most expensive states in which to purchase tobacco, and this newest tax hike will make us number one with a bullet. The thinking behind the new cigarette tax says that higher prices on cigarettes will deter teens from becoming smokers, encourage current smokers to quit, lower health care expenses in the long-term by reducing the rate of smoking-related illnesses, and bring some much-needed revenue into the state government from those people who choose to smoke, despite the increased cost. So the government will simultaneously discourage the use of an addictive, deadly substance while selling that same addictive, deadly substance for a profit. I wholeheartedly support this plan. In fact, I see this as only the first step in a process that will ultimately increase the overall health and wealth of our fine state.
I propose we apply the same principle to other products that cause harm to the people who use them. Alcohol, for instance. True, alcohol does not cause nearly as many deaths as tobacco, but excessive consumption of alcoholic beverages may result in a number of health complications, including cirrhosis, liver cancer, birth defects, even gout. That’s right, gout. Alcohol also causes a number of societal ills. Alcoholism breaks up marriages, leads to child abuse, and causes easily preventable motor vehicle accidents. With that in mind, I suggest what I am calling the Six Pack Tax. This would be a fee on the sale of each and every alcoholic beverage in New York State, whether purchased at a store or in a bar, as well as a 75% increase in the cost of obtaining a liquor license. Undoubtedly, this will lead to a more temperate New York, and a much more profitable one.
I believe that once the revenue from tobacco and alcohol sales begins pouring in, our legislators will get even more creative. What argument could anyone make against legalizing all narcotics and other currently illicit drugs and imposing steep taxes upon their sale? Making narcotics so expensive that only the wealthy can afford them may be the only way to win the war on drugs in our nation’s impoverished and crime-ridden inner cities. And if our citizens insist on using narcotics, hallucinogens, and various other harmful substances, we might as well profit from it.
My proposal can be extended beyond just substance abuse. While tobacco, alcohol, and drugs cause many problems, the leading cause of death in the United States is heart disease, and the leading cause of heart disease is poor diet. We should encourage people to eat well by heavily taxing the sale of unhealthy foods. I hail from the Buffalo region, and we would surely benefit from a Chicken Wing Tax. Taxes on pizza, pasta, steak hoagies, burritos, and all types of confections wouldn’t hurt, either. I recommend imposing a $2 tax on every item purchased from the McDonald’s Dollar Menu. I’m sure our residents would embrace these measures, knowing they would lead to a healthier, thinner, happier and, of course, richer New York.
You hear an awful lot of talk these days about the environment and “going green.” Automobiles are one of the leading causes of air pollution and the current environmental crisis, so driving should obviously be discouraged. The cost of gasoline in New York is already 20 cents per gallon above the national average. This is a good start, but it is not nearly enough. We should raise the price of gas to $5.00 per gallon (and when the national average begins catching up with us, raise it to $7.00). People will drive less, our air will be cleaner, and our State Treasury will be fuller. And what a sense of pride and love will grow in the hearts of our residents, knowing they pay much more for gas than anyone else in the country, and are therefore doing more to combat global warming.
You see, the average person simply cannot be depended upon to make choices that are in his best interest, and in the best interests of those around him. That is why our elected officials must protect the people from themselves, by making it unreasonably expensive to make the wrong choices. And, since some people can always be counted on to make poor choices, regardless of unreasonable cost, the state will continue to turn a tidy profit as a result of our preventative measures.
The New York State government, which has always held itself up as a paragon of propriety, a chapel of chastity, a temple of temperance, and a model of wisdom and fine moral conduct, will now inspire other state governments, perhaps even the federal government, to follow our lead and pick up the mighty sword of taxation and wield it as the ultimate weapon against the problems of modern society.
As you may already be aware, the population of this great state has been falling in recent years. Many of those who leave cite the state’s economic problems, including taxes they perceive as too high, as reasons for their departure. We too often view this as a problem; I choose to see it as a benefit to the state. If these people are either unwilling or unable to pay the price for a cleaner, healthier, better standard of living, then good riddance. In fact, the more people who leave New York, the cleaner our air will be, the emptier our hospitals, the lower our crime rate. We could turn this state into a beautiful paradise, if only all the people would leave. And if they insist on staying and procreating and increasing our state’s problems, well, I suppose we can always eat them. Excelsior!
Our first major assignment in my news writing class is to write what they call an "enterprise stoory." Basically, we just have to find something in the news, something that affects the community, and write an article on it. There are a minimum of 6 sources/interviews, and the piece is supposed to be about 1,000 words. This is due July 23rd, but we were encouraged to begin working on it immediately when we got the assignment (which I believe was either Monday or Tuesday of this week). I've already come up with my topic and a list of people I would like to interview for it, but I haven't made any attempts to contact these people yet. It's not that I've been slacking off, I just haven't really had time to get going on it. I'll get started this weekend, at the latest.
Anyway, the topic I've decided to write on is the recent increase in New York State's taxes on cigarettes. Naturally, as a smoker I have my own thoughts on this issue (although they probably aren't exactly what you would expect them to be), but I will strive to keep all bias out of the story. Besides, I can see both pros and cons to the issue, so I wouldn't say I'm exactly biased one way or the other. I intend to speak with members of the state legislature, assuming I can get them on the phone, including the assemblyman who sponsored the bill. I also want to talk to the New York State Smokers' Quitline to see if there has been a marked increase in people attempting to quit since the tax went into effect June 3rd. Then I want to talk to the owners and/or managers of at least two local businesses, the Mallard Tobacconist in downtown Syracuse-- which obviously must comply with the tax-- and the Onondaga Nation Smoke Shop, which does not have to charge the tax, or any taxes at all, on cigarettes because the shop is on a Native American reservation. Lastly, I want to conduct on-the-street interviews with Syracuse residents to gauge their response to the tax. Ideally, I want to speak with at least one smoker and one nonsmoker. Assuming I can even contact all these people, I may not be able to use them all in the story, since it can only be 1,000 words, so my scope is limited. Still, this is an issue near and dear to my heart, so I'm looking forward to the story and I'm optimistic that I can write a damn good one.
Some of the other assignments they've had us do in class have been interesting, as well. One day one of our professors came into class, dressed in a costume and pretending to be a redneck named Jon Smythe, who had just won the lottery. It was as if he were appearing at a press conference about his sudden windfall, and he took all our questions. Immediately afterwards, we went back to the computer labs and had about 90 minutes to write a brief news story about it. It was a cool exercise-- especially since my profess was hilarious portraying a drunken redneck-- and it definitely helped us experience being under the gun of a deadline.
The following day, we knew we were going to have a guest speaker in the class (a real one this time). It was John Batiste, a former Major General in the Army, who abruptly retired in 2005 because he disagreed with the way Bush and Rumsfeld were running the war, and he wanted the freedom to speak his mind. He now does a lot of public speaking about Iraq and writes op-ed pieces for various newspapers. He was a very interesting guy and made a lot of great points. His speech lasted a little over 2 hours, including the Q&A. After the speech, we again went to the computer labs and wrote a news story about it, which was somewhat more challenging because it needed to be longer than the lottery story and we had less time-- about 75 minutes, because the speech had run longer than expected. Even more challenging than the time constraint and the added length was the fact that I had taken about 10 pages of notes during the speech, and I now had to write a 750-word story about it. I honestly don't think my article came out very well-- it took me the entire time we had before the deadline, and I had a lot of trouble deciding which pieces of information to include in my article and how to organize it all. I thought it was by far the most challenging writing assignment I've had so far. But it was still a very cool experience.
My other class, graphics, is slightly less enjoyable than contracting double-lung pneumonia (which I have done. I'm speaking from experience here). Our current project, which is due at the end of the day tomorrow, is to make a one-page resumé for ourselves. This doesn't sound all that difficult, but they want us to do all this fancy graphics stuff with it, including making a "wordmark," which is sort of a logo for your own name. I understand that learning how to use this software and how to make an appealing design are good things to know, and they are things I will probably need to do later in my career, particularly if I go into editing, but I despise this project. Today we had a three-hour graphics lecture, followed by four hours in the lab to work on the resumé project, and the whole time I was in the lab I was wishing I could just leave and go work on something that actually matters-- the cigarette tax story, for instance. Tomorrow we're in the computer labs all day, beginning at 9 a.m., and the project is due at 4:30. I got a good head start on mine today (although I need to do some serious re-designing. My first attempt was sort of an abortion. I am not good with graphics.), so I'm hoping to finish mine well ahead of the deadline and get the hell out of there to work on more pressing matters. Or at least relax for a minute.
That's the thing-- as cool as some of these assignments have been, and as much as I think going to grad school was the right thing for me to do, I have been constantly stressed out all week. I don't think I've felt relaxed in like six days. I start working shortly after I get up in the morning, and I don't stop until I go to bed at night. And the work is never, ever done. Again, I suppose this is why they call the summer term "boot camp." Whatever, I'll survive. Unless the stress causes me to have an utter psychotic meltdown, which I am certainly not ruling out.
Oh, I almost forgot about the other project I'm working on for news writing. They assigned us to three-person teams earlier this week, and each team has to find a person in the area with an interesting/unusual job and interview them. Of course, it's a little more complicated than that. This isn't a standard print story, it's a multimedia story. So when we go do the interview, we will record it using a digital voice recorder (but not mine, a better one, which we can borrow from the University) and take photos. Apparently we'll be working on this multimedia project for quite some time, and the final product will be an online slide show with audio. Basically, playing the interview while pictures we shot of the person and his/her place of business accompany the audio. I think we may also record narration to introduce the piece, provide bits of commentary in the middle, etc. But I'm not sure about that. It might be just the interview. Which will have to be edited, of course, since the final slide show is only going to be like two minutes long. Sounds like a lot of work, but I think it will be pretty cool when we're done with it. Oh, that reminds me, I should probably email the other two members of my team and offer some ideas about whom we should interview, since neither of them has contacted me. No rest for the wicked.
Lastly, I want to share with you a piece that I wrote in (I think) April, shortly after I heard about the cigarette tax increase. This is-- obviously-- satire, and it would suggest that I strongly oppose the tax (even though I'm saying the exact opposite-- ain't irony great?), but that is not exactly true. I was just feeling bored and caustic one day, and for some reason I started thinking about Jonathan Swift, so I wrote this. I think it's somewhat amusing. Enjoy.
-Niz
My Modest Proposal
By Nick (Swift) Roberts
Recently, the New York State Legislature approved an increase in the tax on cigarettes from $1.50 to $2.75 per pack. New York was already one of the most expensive states in which to purchase tobacco, and this newest tax hike will make us number one with a bullet. The thinking behind the new cigarette tax says that higher prices on cigarettes will deter teens from becoming smokers, encourage current smokers to quit, lower health care expenses in the long-term by reducing the rate of smoking-related illnesses, and bring some much-needed revenue into the state government from those people who choose to smoke, despite the increased cost. So the government will simultaneously discourage the use of an addictive, deadly substance while selling that same addictive, deadly substance for a profit. I wholeheartedly support this plan. In fact, I see this as only the first step in a process that will ultimately increase the overall health and wealth of our fine state.
I propose we apply the same principle to other products that cause harm to the people who use them. Alcohol, for instance. True, alcohol does not cause nearly as many deaths as tobacco, but excessive consumption of alcoholic beverages may result in a number of health complications, including cirrhosis, liver cancer, birth defects, even gout. That’s right, gout. Alcohol also causes a number of societal ills. Alcoholism breaks up marriages, leads to child abuse, and causes easily preventable motor vehicle accidents. With that in mind, I suggest what I am calling the Six Pack Tax. This would be a fee on the sale of each and every alcoholic beverage in New York State, whether purchased at a store or in a bar, as well as a 75% increase in the cost of obtaining a liquor license. Undoubtedly, this will lead to a more temperate New York, and a much more profitable one.
I believe that once the revenue from tobacco and alcohol sales begins pouring in, our legislators will get even more creative. What argument could anyone make against legalizing all narcotics and other currently illicit drugs and imposing steep taxes upon their sale? Making narcotics so expensive that only the wealthy can afford them may be the only way to win the war on drugs in our nation’s impoverished and crime-ridden inner cities. And if our citizens insist on using narcotics, hallucinogens, and various other harmful substances, we might as well profit from it.
My proposal can be extended beyond just substance abuse. While tobacco, alcohol, and drugs cause many problems, the leading cause of death in the United States is heart disease, and the leading cause of heart disease is poor diet. We should encourage people to eat well by heavily taxing the sale of unhealthy foods. I hail from the Buffalo region, and we would surely benefit from a Chicken Wing Tax. Taxes on pizza, pasta, steak hoagies, burritos, and all types of confections wouldn’t hurt, either. I recommend imposing a $2 tax on every item purchased from the McDonald’s Dollar Menu. I’m sure our residents would embrace these measures, knowing they would lead to a healthier, thinner, happier and, of course, richer New York.
You hear an awful lot of talk these days about the environment and “going green.” Automobiles are one of the leading causes of air pollution and the current environmental crisis, so driving should obviously be discouraged. The cost of gasoline in New York is already 20 cents per gallon above the national average. This is a good start, but it is not nearly enough. We should raise the price of gas to $5.00 per gallon (and when the national average begins catching up with us, raise it to $7.00). People will drive less, our air will be cleaner, and our State Treasury will be fuller. And what a sense of pride and love will grow in the hearts of our residents, knowing they pay much more for gas than anyone else in the country, and are therefore doing more to combat global warming.
You see, the average person simply cannot be depended upon to make choices that are in his best interest, and in the best interests of those around him. That is why our elected officials must protect the people from themselves, by making it unreasonably expensive to make the wrong choices. And, since some people can always be counted on to make poor choices, regardless of unreasonable cost, the state will continue to turn a tidy profit as a result of our preventative measures.
The New York State government, which has always held itself up as a paragon of propriety, a chapel of chastity, a temple of temperance, and a model of wisdom and fine moral conduct, will now inspire other state governments, perhaps even the federal government, to follow our lead and pick up the mighty sword of taxation and wield it as the ultimate weapon against the problems of modern society.
As you may already be aware, the population of this great state has been falling in recent years. Many of those who leave cite the state’s economic problems, including taxes they perceive as too high, as reasons for their departure. We too often view this as a problem; I choose to see it as a benefit to the state. If these people are either unwilling or unable to pay the price for a cleaner, healthier, better standard of living, then good riddance. In fact, the more people who leave New York, the cleaner our air will be, the emptier our hospitals, the lower our crime rate. We could turn this state into a beautiful paradise, if only all the people would leave. And if they insist on staying and procreating and increasing our state’s problems, well, I suppose we can always eat them. Excelsior!
I haven't forgotten you!
Sorry about the lack of updates the past few days. I'm more swamped with work than I have ever been in my life. As soon as I get the time, I plan to post here describing exactly what it is I've been working on, because some of it is pretty cool, and I think people might be interested in it. But right now, I need to head off to class from 9 to 5, and possibly stay in the computer lab until it closes at 9 p.m. to work on a project. Christ.
Monday, July 7, 2008
Another busy day (I think this is going to be a recurring theme)
Due to time limitations and the fact that I said pretty much all I had to say about the movie in my last post, there will be no full-lenth review or in-depth analysis of Hancock. Go see it for yourself, it's a good time. And, if it's as hot where you are as it is where I am, it's worth the cost of the ticket to sit in a dark, air-conditioned room for a couple hours. Oh, I did have one funny thing to add about the moviegoing experience, though. I went to see the movie alone, since none of my friends responded-- at least not in the affirmative-- to the invitation I texted them. Even though I realize that going to the movies alone could be seen as sort of sad or depressing, I've got no problem with it. I think it's because, when I took all those film criticism classes in college, there were a lot of times when I didn't really have any close friends in the class, so I would be sitting next to people I didn't really know and/or had no intention of talking to.
But ANYWAY, these two guys walked in shortly before the movie started and began looking for seats. Which was not a difficult task. I would estimate the theater was only at 30% capacity (even though the flick made a ton of money. I would guess the poor attendance at my theater was because it was sort of a late show, and I was seeing it at a mall theater where almost all the stores were closed, so there weren't a lot of people around). For some reason, these two gentlemen decided to sit in my row and, specifically, one of them took the seat next to mine. There were enough seats between me and the aisle that they could have spaced themselves out and not sat next to me or each other if they chose to do so, but I guess this guy enjoys the camaraderie of fellow moviegoers. Anyway, it didn't bother me all that much because he wasn't an excessively large person and he wasn't infringing on my elbow room. Things were okay.
But it turned out this guy was the sort of person who likes to make loud, obvious comments about the movie while watching it. Not in an obnoxious way; he wasn't yelling at the screen, or making bad jokes, or anything like that. He would just sort of narrate what was happening on screen in a normal tone of voice. Not all the time, but enough that it was aggravating. Example: Hancock, who at this point in the film has been trying to keep his drinking under control, gets very upset about something and responds by walking into a liquor store. The guy next to me enriches the scene by saying, "Oh... no... he's gonna get drunk." Thanks, Peter Travers.
Okay, so today I had my normal Monday class schedule (9-5, with a one-hour break for lunch). I also got up earlier than usual this morning, because I wanted to get my oil changed before class. This project was a failure, as I could not find a mechanic near me who was open and did not already have appointments (I wound up finding a place after I got out of class this afternoon). Then, the classes today were pretty intense, or at least busy. We had a few hours of lecture, we had to write a news story in class, we took a quiz, we did some other activities, we got a new out-of-class assignment to start working on, etc. So I'm pretty tired. But there's still quite a bit I need to do tonight, so it might be another late one. I'm starting to see why they call the summer session of my program "boot camp."
Don't take this to mean I'm complaining. I'm still really enjoying the program, and I'm becoming more and more pleased that I decided to do this. But yeah... it's a lot of stuff. Also, they recommend that we read both the local Syracuse paper and the New York Times every day, so I've been trying to keep up with the news as much as I can. This is time consuming, but I don't really look at it as a burden, since I like reading the news anyway. There are usually at least a few very interesting stories, although it can be frustrating to read the same stories over and over again. I mean, really, the gas crisis is a serious problem and an important issue, but there hasn't been anything new or interesting to say about it in roughly a month. Yet it's still in the paper and on the TV news programs every day. All the time. It's killing me.
I got my first major assignment back today, the personality profile I wrote about one of my classmates. I got a B on it. Obviously, I would have preferred an A, but I'm more or less satisfied with a B at this point. Based on the professor's comments, I think he was a tough grader on this assignment, and he gave a brief speech about not freaking out if you got a bad grade. So, presumably I did better than quite a few others. I was more pleased by the way he started his comments at the end of the article: "You're a good writer. You're a very good writer. But you need to work on your reporting." Of course I need to work on my reporting-- I just started doing it. And I will work on it, and I will get better. A lot better. I believe I am eventually going to be very good at this. More than anything else, I was pleased that he considers me a good writer (enough to say it twice, even). So, yeah, off to a solid start in the news writing class, and I'll nail that A next time out.
All right, I guess I should go be productive now. Perhaps I shouldn't even be taking the time to blog, at least not as extensively as I do, but I enjoy writing the blog and for some reason I still feel really dedicated to it, unlike some previous blogs and journals I started in the past. So for now, there's no reason to worry. No matter how busy I get, the blog's not going anywhere.
-Nick
But ANYWAY, these two guys walked in shortly before the movie started and began looking for seats. Which was not a difficult task. I would estimate the theater was only at 30% capacity (even though the flick made a ton of money. I would guess the poor attendance at my theater was because it was sort of a late show, and I was seeing it at a mall theater where almost all the stores were closed, so there weren't a lot of people around). For some reason, these two gentlemen decided to sit in my row and, specifically, one of them took the seat next to mine. There were enough seats between me and the aisle that they could have spaced themselves out and not sat next to me or each other if they chose to do so, but I guess this guy enjoys the camaraderie of fellow moviegoers. Anyway, it didn't bother me all that much because he wasn't an excessively large person and he wasn't infringing on my elbow room. Things were okay.
But it turned out this guy was the sort of person who likes to make loud, obvious comments about the movie while watching it. Not in an obnoxious way; he wasn't yelling at the screen, or making bad jokes, or anything like that. He would just sort of narrate what was happening on screen in a normal tone of voice. Not all the time, but enough that it was aggravating. Example: Hancock, who at this point in the film has been trying to keep his drinking under control, gets very upset about something and responds by walking into a liquor store. The guy next to me enriches the scene by saying, "Oh... no... he's gonna get drunk." Thanks, Peter Travers.
Okay, so today I had my normal Monday class schedule (9-5, with a one-hour break for lunch). I also got up earlier than usual this morning, because I wanted to get my oil changed before class. This project was a failure, as I could not find a mechanic near me who was open and did not already have appointments (I wound up finding a place after I got out of class this afternoon). Then, the classes today were pretty intense, or at least busy. We had a few hours of lecture, we had to write a news story in class, we took a quiz, we did some other activities, we got a new out-of-class assignment to start working on, etc. So I'm pretty tired. But there's still quite a bit I need to do tonight, so it might be another late one. I'm starting to see why they call the summer session of my program "boot camp."
Don't take this to mean I'm complaining. I'm still really enjoying the program, and I'm becoming more and more pleased that I decided to do this. But yeah... it's a lot of stuff. Also, they recommend that we read both the local Syracuse paper and the New York Times every day, so I've been trying to keep up with the news as much as I can. This is time consuming, but I don't really look at it as a burden, since I like reading the news anyway. There are usually at least a few very interesting stories, although it can be frustrating to read the same stories over and over again. I mean, really, the gas crisis is a serious problem and an important issue, but there hasn't been anything new or interesting to say about it in roughly a month. Yet it's still in the paper and on the TV news programs every day. All the time. It's killing me.
I got my first major assignment back today, the personality profile I wrote about one of my classmates. I got a B on it. Obviously, I would have preferred an A, but I'm more or less satisfied with a B at this point. Based on the professor's comments, I think he was a tough grader on this assignment, and he gave a brief speech about not freaking out if you got a bad grade. So, presumably I did better than quite a few others. I was more pleased by the way he started his comments at the end of the article: "You're a good writer. You're a very good writer. But you need to work on your reporting." Of course I need to work on my reporting-- I just started doing it. And I will work on it, and I will get better. A lot better. I believe I am eventually going to be very good at this. More than anything else, I was pleased that he considers me a good writer (enough to say it twice, even). So, yeah, off to a solid start in the news writing class, and I'll nail that A next time out.
All right, I guess I should go be productive now. Perhaps I shouldn't even be taking the time to blog, at least not as extensively as I do, but I enjoy writing the blog and for some reason I still feel really dedicated to it, unlike some previous blogs and journals I started in the past. So for now, there's no reason to worry. No matter how busy I get, the blog's not going anywhere.
-Nick
Sunday, July 6, 2008
Busy Sunday
I intended to write a pretty lengthy post today, including a review of Hancock, but I've been working on stuff more or less since I got up this morning, and I still have more to do before I can relax. For now, suffice it to say that I liked the flick. It sure wasn't the best movie I've ever seen, but it sure wasn't the worst, and better than average by the standards of superhero movies. It was very funny at times (but it seemed to have trouble transitioning between funny parts and serious parts, making the whole thing feel a little uneven). There was one big plot twist that took me by surprise, and you might love or hate that twist, depending on your own personal taste. It worked for me. You get into the origin of Hancock midway through the film, how he got his powers, where he came from, etc., and the whole story is pretty ridiculous, but the origin story of any superhero is pretty ridiculous. I had two primary complaints about the movie; the villain was not developed nearly enough and wasn't really menacing at all, and I think the movie actually needed to be longer. I rarely say that, but it only clocked in around 90 minutes, so they easily could have made it a half hour longer without seeming excessive, and I think the movie would have benefited from a longer running time. Felt very rushed at times. Still, an enjoyable movie, just the kind of mindless, action-packed entertainment you would expect from a midsummer blockbuster. Might write more about it later, but not a lot of time to spare at the moment. Might be back tomorrow, depending on how much I have to do when I get out of class.
Saturday, July 5, 2008
Voice recorders are awesome, going to see Hancock tonight, etc.
Yesterday was a pretty fun holiday, all around. The barbecue at the dean's house was cool and the food was solid (but not great, considering it was catered. One of the items served was chicken grilled with Chiavetta's sauce, which was vastly inferior to what I make. I rule). Last night I went out to a bar downtown, Al's, which I'd never been to before. Definitely my favorite bar that I've been to in Syracuse (well, with the possible exception of the Bills/Red Sox bar, for obvious reasons). It was a tad pricey, but definitely worth it. A good mix of music on the sound system-- mostly jazz, with some rock thrown in, and they didn't play it so loud that it was impossible to have a conversation; I hate it when bars do that-- and they had probably the most well-stocked bar I've ever seen. And the bartenders knew what they were doing. One guy made me an excellent shot of Liquid Cocaine, and another bartender served up a Long Island that tasted great but still packed a powerful punch. And the place had some awesome leather furniture you could sit on while drinking and chatting with friends. Overall, just a great place.
I slept in pretty late this morning (by my standards, anyway. I think I got up around 9), since I didn't get home until 2 or 2:30 last night. After the breakfast-shower-coffee routine, I drove out to the Onandaga Indian reservation to buy some tax-free cigarettes. This was a bit of a disappointment. Their prices were way lower than in regular stores, where you can pay up to seven bucks a pack these days, but they were not nearly as cheap as the cigarettes sold on the Seneca reservation back home. So I just bought one carton, and I'll probably go to the Seneca reservation when I come home next weekend for Darren and Kate's wedding.
This afternoon, I went to Target to pick up a few things I needed. One thing that I bought there was a digital audio recorder. The professor in my news writing class sent out an email yesterday or the day before recommending that we buy one of these to use during interviews. The particular model he recommended runs about $120, he said. I found a Sony recorder at Target for $40 and bought that (there were even cheaper models, but I didn't want the bottom of the line). Considering the low price, I wasn't sure how well it would work, but when I got home I busted it out of the packaging and played around with it a little bit. This thing rules. The first time I tested it I was sitting on the couch in my apartment. Since I am lazy, I didn't get up to turn off my music before testing out the recorder. When I played back the message I had recorded, you could hear my voice pretty clearly, and you could also hear the music in the background well enough to tell I was listening to Muse. Then I did another test without any background noise in the apartment, and my voice came through clear as a bell. You also don't have to talk directly into the thing to get good quality. When I'm doing an interview, I'll be able to set it on a table or whatever and just let it record, and it should be fine. You can also adjust the sensitivity of the microphone and the quality of the recording as the situation dictates. I'm so fascinated with this thing. I want to take it everywhere and record random conversations. But people might find that suspicious.
Tonight I'm going out to the Regal theater at the closest mall to see Hancock. I texted a few of the people I've been going out with since I moved to 'Cuse to see if they'd be interested, but I'm going either way. Even used Fandango ahead of time to ensure I don't get shut out. If I'm feeling ambitious when I get home tonight, I might write a review and post it up here.
So yeah, that was my day. Tomorrow will probably be much less active. I have quite a bit of stuff I need to do for class on Monday, so I imagine I'll spend most of the day at the apartment working. Oh, and watching the Wimbledon final. Federer-Nadal, baby. It's strange, considering I've never played tennis in my life, but it's a sport I really enjoy watching. All right, take it easy.
-Niz
I slept in pretty late this morning (by my standards, anyway. I think I got up around 9), since I didn't get home until 2 or 2:30 last night. After the breakfast-shower-coffee routine, I drove out to the Onandaga Indian reservation to buy some tax-free cigarettes. This was a bit of a disappointment. Their prices were way lower than in regular stores, where you can pay up to seven bucks a pack these days, but they were not nearly as cheap as the cigarettes sold on the Seneca reservation back home. So I just bought one carton, and I'll probably go to the Seneca reservation when I come home next weekend for Darren and Kate's wedding.
This afternoon, I went to Target to pick up a few things I needed. One thing that I bought there was a digital audio recorder. The professor in my news writing class sent out an email yesterday or the day before recommending that we buy one of these to use during interviews. The particular model he recommended runs about $120, he said. I found a Sony recorder at Target for $40 and bought that (there were even cheaper models, but I didn't want the bottom of the line). Considering the low price, I wasn't sure how well it would work, but when I got home I busted it out of the packaging and played around with it a little bit. This thing rules. The first time I tested it I was sitting on the couch in my apartment. Since I am lazy, I didn't get up to turn off my music before testing out the recorder. When I played back the message I had recorded, you could hear my voice pretty clearly, and you could also hear the music in the background well enough to tell I was listening to Muse. Then I did another test without any background noise in the apartment, and my voice came through clear as a bell. You also don't have to talk directly into the thing to get good quality. When I'm doing an interview, I'll be able to set it on a table or whatever and just let it record, and it should be fine. You can also adjust the sensitivity of the microphone and the quality of the recording as the situation dictates. I'm so fascinated with this thing. I want to take it everywhere and record random conversations. But people might find that suspicious.
Tonight I'm going out to the Regal theater at the closest mall to see Hancock. I texted a few of the people I've been going out with since I moved to 'Cuse to see if they'd be interested, but I'm going either way. Even used Fandango ahead of time to ensure I don't get shut out. If I'm feeling ambitious when I get home tonight, I might write a review and post it up here.
So yeah, that was my day. Tomorrow will probably be much less active. I have quite a bit of stuff I need to do for class on Monday, so I imagine I'll spend most of the day at the apartment working. Oh, and watching the Wimbledon final. Federer-Nadal, baby. It's strange, considering I've never played tennis in my life, but it's a sport I really enjoy watching. All right, take it easy.
-Niz
Friday, July 4, 2008
America-- Fuck Yeah!
Hey gang, and happy Fourth of July to all (random question-- in Mexico, do they celebrate the Fourth of July by getting drunk on shitty American beer and eating hot dogs? I feel like it should be the way Cinco de Mayo is up here).
So, I'm through with my first week of grad school. Granted, it started a day late because Monday was orientation and it ended a day early because of the holiday, but these are just details. One week of grad school in the books! And so far, I've gotta say I'm digging it. There are some things that are sort of tedious (one of my classics is about graphic design, and my first project is to design a resumé for myself, complete with fancy typefaces and a logo for my name. I despise working on my resumé when I'm just using a word processor, let alone when I have to do all this graphics stuff). But my other class for the summer term is an introduction to news writing and reporting, which I think will be pretty cool. They gave us our first assignment on the first real day of classes (Tuesday), and it was due the following morning. So that night when we got out of class, we had to interview one of our classmates to write a profile about him/her, and then contact at least two additonal sources-- friends, family, etc.-- as research. I'm not entirely confident I'll get a good grade on my profile, but I really enjoyed writing it. I did a better job with the interviews than I thought I would, and I wound up with about half a dozen pages of notes for my profile. The biggest problem, for me at least, was deciding what to include and what to exclude in the article, since we had a limit of 2.5 pages. They also suggested that we be descriptive and find good, small details to reveal things about the subject, so I tried to be pretty descriptive in my writing, but then I found that I was quickly running out of room for facts and actual information. So the space limitation was the biggest hurdle for me, and I suspect that will be a recurring theme throughout my career as a journalism student and, eventually, a journalist. As anyone who has ever read one of my NFL previews on Rage Pirates (or this blog, for that matter) could tell you, I like to write at great length. So I guess I'll have to learn to be more succinct.
There was not much of interest to report on in my life this week, outside of class, as I've been quite busy. I did drive out to the Turning Stone casino the night before last, because I'd never been there and I've been meaning to check it out ever since I moved here (it's only a 30-minute drive away). It's a really nice facility, it has both smoking and nonsmoking sections on the floor, free and ample parking in outdoor lots, and a large poker room. I've had the itch to play cards for a while, so after wandering around the casino for a bit, just to see what there was to see, I went over to the poker area and bought into a $1-$2 no-limit game. Things went very well at first, and after an hour or two, I had more than doubled my $100 buy-in to about $220 or $230. Then my cards went ice cold. I feel like I did nothing but fold before the flop for about an hour. I should have walked away with my profit at that point, but instead I got frustrated and started playing hands I shouldn't have, making stupid calls, trying to catch cards, and I lost back most of the money I'd made. I still walked out with more than I had when I walked in, but the profit was minimal. In retrospect, I'm glad that I made any money at all, considering that in the few hours I played, I never had a pocket pair or AK or AQ. My best hand was when I held K-10, and the flop improbably came down 9-J-Q, giving me the nut straight. One of my opponents kept calling me all the way to the river, and I won a big pot (I can't remember exactly what he was calling with. I think he might have had a high two-pair, or he was chasing a flush).
So that was Turning Stone. Cool place. I actually could go back as soon as tomorrow. I think I'm going to drive out that way anyway, to pick up some cheap cigarettes at the Indian reservation, but maybe I won't stop at the casino. I've got plenty to keep me busy this weekend (mostly reading and work for class, but there are some other random errands I want to take care of, as well).
What else is new... I'm hoping to see Hancock this weekend, even though the reviews have been pretty bad. I normally don't get excited about these big summer blockbusters (I saw Indiana Jones, but had no interest in Iron Man, and I don't give a shit about The Dark Knight. Batman Begins sucked, and no one will convince me otherwise) but everything about Hancock looks cool to me. I'm also interested in seeing where they take the story, because I once came up with a similar idea about a reluctant, apathetic superhero. The only other movie I'm really looking forward to this summer is The X-Files: I Want to Believe, because we all know I'm a huge geek. Oh, and Choke, although I'm not sure when that's coming out. Definitely going to see that one, as Chuck Palahniuk's novel of the same name is one of the best books I've read in the past few years.
So today I'm going out to a barbecue for students and faculty of the communications school at the Associate Dean's house. I'm wondering if they're going to have alcohol at this thing, but it's a moot point since I committed to be a driver for some fellow students who don't have a car (damn you, lack of foresight). Should be a decent time. Tonight I'm not sure what I'll be doing. I'm always a fan of fireworks, so I might try to get somewhere to see a display, but I also might go to the movies or do something else entirely, if somebody suggests something at the barbecue.
All right, I guess that's all for now. Enjoy the holiday, and remember:
Freedom isn't free,
no there's a hefty fuckin fee.
Freedom isn't free,
freedom costs a buck-oh-five.
So, I'm through with my first week of grad school. Granted, it started a day late because Monday was orientation and it ended a day early because of the holiday, but these are just details. One week of grad school in the books! And so far, I've gotta say I'm digging it. There are some things that are sort of tedious (one of my classics is about graphic design, and my first project is to design a resumé for myself, complete with fancy typefaces and a logo for my name. I despise working on my resumé when I'm just using a word processor, let alone when I have to do all this graphics stuff). But my other class for the summer term is an introduction to news writing and reporting, which I think will be pretty cool. They gave us our first assignment on the first real day of classes (Tuesday), and it was due the following morning. So that night when we got out of class, we had to interview one of our classmates to write a profile about him/her, and then contact at least two additonal sources-- friends, family, etc.-- as research. I'm not entirely confident I'll get a good grade on my profile, but I really enjoyed writing it. I did a better job with the interviews than I thought I would, and I wound up with about half a dozen pages of notes for my profile. The biggest problem, for me at least, was deciding what to include and what to exclude in the article, since we had a limit of 2.5 pages. They also suggested that we be descriptive and find good, small details to reveal things about the subject, so I tried to be pretty descriptive in my writing, but then I found that I was quickly running out of room for facts and actual information. So the space limitation was the biggest hurdle for me, and I suspect that will be a recurring theme throughout my career as a journalism student and, eventually, a journalist. As anyone who has ever read one of my NFL previews on Rage Pirates (or this blog, for that matter) could tell you, I like to write at great length. So I guess I'll have to learn to be more succinct.
There was not much of interest to report on in my life this week, outside of class, as I've been quite busy. I did drive out to the Turning Stone casino the night before last, because I'd never been there and I've been meaning to check it out ever since I moved here (it's only a 30-minute drive away). It's a really nice facility, it has both smoking and nonsmoking sections on the floor, free and ample parking in outdoor lots, and a large poker room. I've had the itch to play cards for a while, so after wandering around the casino for a bit, just to see what there was to see, I went over to the poker area and bought into a $1-$2 no-limit game. Things went very well at first, and after an hour or two, I had more than doubled my $100 buy-in to about $220 or $230. Then my cards went ice cold. I feel like I did nothing but fold before the flop for about an hour. I should have walked away with my profit at that point, but instead I got frustrated and started playing hands I shouldn't have, making stupid calls, trying to catch cards, and I lost back most of the money I'd made. I still walked out with more than I had when I walked in, but the profit was minimal. In retrospect, I'm glad that I made any money at all, considering that in the few hours I played, I never had a pocket pair or AK or AQ. My best hand was when I held K-10, and the flop improbably came down 9-J-Q, giving me the nut straight. One of my opponents kept calling me all the way to the river, and I won a big pot (I can't remember exactly what he was calling with. I think he might have had a high two-pair, or he was chasing a flush).
So that was Turning Stone. Cool place. I actually could go back as soon as tomorrow. I think I'm going to drive out that way anyway, to pick up some cheap cigarettes at the Indian reservation, but maybe I won't stop at the casino. I've got plenty to keep me busy this weekend (mostly reading and work for class, but there are some other random errands I want to take care of, as well).
What else is new... I'm hoping to see Hancock this weekend, even though the reviews have been pretty bad. I normally don't get excited about these big summer blockbusters (I saw Indiana Jones, but had no interest in Iron Man, and I don't give a shit about The Dark Knight. Batman Begins sucked, and no one will convince me otherwise) but everything about Hancock looks cool to me. I'm also interested in seeing where they take the story, because I once came up with a similar idea about a reluctant, apathetic superhero. The only other movie I'm really looking forward to this summer is The X-Files: I Want to Believe, because we all know I'm a huge geek. Oh, and Choke, although I'm not sure when that's coming out. Definitely going to see that one, as Chuck Palahniuk's novel of the same name is one of the best books I've read in the past few years.
So today I'm going out to a barbecue for students and faculty of the communications school at the Associate Dean's house. I'm wondering if they're going to have alcohol at this thing, but it's a moot point since I committed to be a driver for some fellow students who don't have a car (damn you, lack of foresight). Should be a decent time. Tonight I'm not sure what I'll be doing. I'm always a fan of fireworks, so I might try to get somewhere to see a display, but I also might go to the movies or do something else entirely, if somebody suggests something at the barbecue.
All right, I guess that's all for now. Enjoy the holiday, and remember:
Freedom isn't free,
no there's a hefty fuckin fee.
Freedom isn't free,
freedom costs a buck-oh-five.
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