1 Dead in Attic

I read the blog "1 dead in attic" by Chris Rose. it wasnt really about what was going on as the hurricane was happening, but more as it was over and people were getting back to their life. i think this is a blog that maybe would relate to a lot of readers, in a way he says, his wife questions his decisions to go looking for something, but he doesnt know what. He should stay in the safe part of town but something is drawing him to the other side. Most of us know what thats like, when someone tells us dont, you want to even more.

as he gets farther along he says "I drive around and try to figure out those Byzantine markings and symbols that the cops and the National Guard spray-painted on all the houses around here, cryptic communications that tell the story of who or what was or wasn't inside the house when the floodwater rose to the ceiling. In some cases, there's no interpretation needed. There's one I pass on St. Roch Avenue in the 8th Ward at least once a week. It says: "1 dead in attic."

"It's spray-painted there on the front of the house and it probably will remain spray-painted there for weeks, months, maybe years, a perpetual reminder of the untimely passing of a citizen, a resident, a New Orleanian."

this is just the kind of thing that these people had to live with seeing everyday, as if they didn't go through enough. They have to now drive by these homes and see spray-painted across a house "1 dead in attic". that is terrible.

He then says, and i have to agree, that there should have been some other kind of coding so that people wouldnt have to be reminded of this everyday.

Then he comes up with some other good points that really make you think... "I wonder who eventually came and took 1 Dead in Attic away. Who knows? Hell, with the way things run around here -- I wonder if anyone has come to take 1 Dead in Attic away. And who claimed him or her? Who grieved over 1 Dead in Attic and who buried 1 Dead in Attic? " It at least makes me think, this would just be awful. How long did this person stay in this attic? who found them? why were they in the attic? why didn't they leave? who actually left them there?? just so many questions...

I Saw It All. Then I Saw Nothing.

I read, I Saw It All. Then I Saw Nothing. By Daniel Henninger. I think the last sentence in his opening paragraph is very catching, and very much the title of the piece. "I have, in the past several hours, looked into lower Manhattan, and each time, where the World Trade Center stood, there is absolutely nothing." He talks about working across from these buildings for so many years, and then just in one day, something like this to happen, and then they are just goe forever, and just a memory.

"There is no benefit in being able to watch two 108-story office buildings fall to the ground after two airliners have been forced to fly into them. It all seems very compelling now, and when you are in this business and you are on the scene, it is your job to provide an account. So this is just such an account, because there is something about us that demands that we provide this detail for the record." He knows he has to do his just by writing a stoy, but he is also letting the public know that this isnt the kind of story he wants to write. it is almost like he knew everyone that was there was going to be writing about what happend as well, but he knew he had a job to do as all of this was taking place, so he was catching every detail as it happend.

"As I walked north along the West Side Highway, empty now but for a torrent of police cars and fire engines from distant New York suburbs, racing southward to help, I kept turning around and turning around to look, and look again. I kept looking up at the sky, above the famous old Woolworth Building, where the World Trade Center stood, its two side-by-side towers, so high against the sky. I always saw the same thing, which was nothing." Again at the end, he pulls in the title, of how there is nothing left, how something so strong was brought down so quick and easy.

i think this was a good article, probably a lot like many written around this time. you could feel in placs how scared he must have been, but in others it made you stop and think, how much time did all of this take. and the whole time was he thinking this is going to make a good story? or am i going to make it home? or how is my family? he doesn't mention anything except his colleague from work, getting caught and getting some help. it just makes me think about some of the things he was thinking about when he was writing his article.

Strangers' paths cross, and a boy's life hangs in the balance

I picked the article "Strangers' paths cross, and a boy's life hangs in the balance" by steve lopez, it can be read here

I think he brings the scene together really well. at first, it is kind of confusing on where it is going but it really comes together, and lets the reader know more about the people in the article.

I think this is a very good article for both the point of view and the narrative voice, you can see and hear what lopez is describing. "He was dragging sneakers to slow down at the driveway, but scooted a bit farther than he intended, and the Honda Pilot was on him before he could avoid it," lopez talks about the boy being knocked down by the car, i can just seet his happening and wanted to help, and wanted to keep reading to see whats going to happen.

I think this is a very well written article, and people would want to read it, because it is something that might happen to them, or someone they know. They might be the parent out walking with thier kids, driving the car, or they might be the on-looker. They are going to be more likely to read it if its going to happen to them, rather than some freak accident.

Read this, you @#$%!

Is he insulting his readers, or giving them a sly pat on the back?

- i think it just depends on how you would want to take this, you might be offended if you read it that way, or you could honestly care less. i personaly care less. im not the kind of person who would really pay that much attentoion to something like this if i saw it, but i could see how some readers might take it very offensive.

(2) What things about Morford's style of writing appeal to you, and what things turn you off?

-I dont really like his style of writing, i almost feel like in some parts of the article, he is yelling. that is probably the point he is trying to get across, but if i want to get yelled at im sure i could find a real person to yell at me and not have to read about it and imagine someone yelling at me from a newspaper article.

(3) How well suited would you guess his style is for readers in San Francisco? For online readers irrespective of location?
- i guess it would be fine? i dont know i have never been there, or dont know anyone from there, so i guess it would be alright? i couldnt really say.

(4) How would Morford's column fly in a conservative, Midwestern town like Springfield? With older readers? With people in your demographic? Could it be toned down without losing its appeal?
- i dont think his article would go over very well in a place like springfield. Not a lof of younger people read the newspaper, they get most of thier information online, and the older people get read the newspaper, so they would be the ones reading this article and i think they would take it very offensive. I think it would lose something if some of the violence was taken out.

feature

Don't Google My Girlfriend

I found this artice on People.com, and i think it's a very good feature article. If i didn't read it i wouldn't be out a whole lot, but since i have read it i do know that Jenny McCarthy has a son with autism, and her and her boyfriend are raising awarness for it. Jim Carey, isn't only raising awarness for autism, but is helping for caner as well.

the line

the line: i think the line was the interviews, home movies, photos, whatever they could their hands on to help get more information. they didnt know what they would find but maybe in the middle of that huge mess would be the key to their story

the tension: they didnt go to the books for the information they went to the people and places who lived through it and knew it best, and could show and tell what they knew

observations

1. smoke breaks
2. no work getting done
3. talking
4. happy moods
5. everyone snacking
6. radios/music
7. frequent breaks
8. talking about weekend plans
9. leaving early
10. lots of yawning
11. "is it time to do yet?"
12. no boss
13. on internet
14. bad mood for weekend workers/troopers
15. people talking on cell phones

surprise

"it takes a great deal of energy to pay attention and listen well while appearing casual and relaxed. you have to listen to what is said and how it is said. listen to what is not said." -murray

you have to be ready for a surprise at any time, even if you are about ready to fall asleep in your chair, bored out of your mind, trying to act like you are paying attention. But you cant put words into someones mouth, or really put too much of your opinion into it, so take a tape recorder so if you do happen to drift off, you can save your butt, and not lose your job, for a 10 minute nap.

writing tips

when i write i always write everything down on paper, if it is due typed up, printed out, on a blog, whatever it may be. I think that is because that is how the high school teachers always had us do things. old habits die hard. so i think it's very important too use a rough draft.

i also think it is a good idea, even though i don't always have time to do so, but have someone look over your work. they might see something very simple and stupid that you are just looking over.

another thing is take time to sort out the ideas. i always know what i want to say, but getting the point across isnt always easy. or sometimes i get thinking about one thing, and completely forget the other, so take your time and faster isnt always better.

these rules might not work for everyone, but i find they are helpful for me when i am writing.

Still Singing Those Post-Katrina Blues

I would say by reading this article, the write, Teresa Wiltz, had to be there to write it. There are so many emotions that she puts into the article that the reader can feel. When she talks to the musicians from New Orleans, and some of them feel there is no reason to come back, because they have lost everything, you can almost see the look on thier faces. While Teresa is sitting in the "mid-city joint" and describes the people in the bar, and you can see almost hear the music playing, people comming in the door, it's almost like you are sitting there with her her details are so descriptive. But they are not too much into detail, you know just what is going on, and aren't bored with reading it. I think she did a great job on the story, it gives another look on what's really going on, instead of what you might see on CNN.

Click Still Singing Those Post-Katrina Blues

Donald Murray

Donald Murray was 82 years old when he did. Is there anything in his last few columns that you can learn from in your own career as a professional writer?

I think everyone could learn something from Donald Murray, even if their occupation doesn't involve writing, but find a job that you like, and it will make life worth living. If you have to go to work and hate what you do everyday, what's reall the point besides the paycheck? Donald loved what he did, and everyone that knew him knew that, he wrote right up until the time of his death, his last piece was placed in the paper after he had died.

Murray's last few columns