April 22, 2013

Some Housekeeping Questions

  • For our peer review on Thursday, I would find it most helpful to work in groups of three. Sometimes, I don’t always get the advice that I want from just one partner, so it is always helpful to have more than one person review a project. I also think it is helpful to have the reviewer guess what appeal you are using and who your audience is. It just lets me know if my message is being translated or not.
  • I kind of have two favorite graphic novels for two different reasons. First, I really enjoyed reading Maus again since I had already read it in high school. It was a totally different experience and I think I have a whole new appreciation for the text that I didn’t have as a younger student. I also loved Josh Neufeld’s novel though for its use of color and the unique look on an event that occurred during my lifetime. I thought that I knew a lot about Hurricane Katrina, but his text really opened my eyes to new perspectives and the true horror that those people went through. Palestine was probably my least favorite for his style, although I came to understand why he used that style as I finished the text. It just wasn’t “my cup of tea,” but I can appreciate his talent! I’m not really familiar with graphic novels, so I’m happy that we looked at the texts we did and I think they will be great additions to my classroom!

April 17, 2013
I chose to look at these two panels from the middle section of Palestine because I thought that it was interesting for Joe Sacco to include a large picture without any text on it.  So much of what we talked about in class on Tuesday was about the fact that Sacco’s thoughts were often so overwhelming and intrusive. Seeing these two panels though make me think that Sacco really had a purpose in his “organized chaos” because they are contrasted with this landscape snapshot. This is incorporated in the section titled “Refugeeland” and I think it’s a perfect way to represent this section. When you are looking at a place such as Palestine there often aren’t words to describe what you are seeing. I think any sorts of opinions or thoughts would have been overwhelming and we wouldn’t have received the full effect. So although I am still confused by a lot of what Sacco is talking about I am beginning to appreciate his style a little bit more. I at least can understand why he is doing what he is doing, whether I enjoy that style or not.  I think a big issue that we are neglecting too is the fact that this text is made up of a lot of smaller comics. That aspect has a lot to do with my struggles in understanding exactly what is going on. I would appreciate a little bit more transition between the sections…maybe Sacco could have added some background between each chapter and titled section to help it move along a little more smoothly. 

I chose to look at these two panels from the middle section of Palestine because I thought that it was interesting for Joe Sacco to include a large picture without any text on it. 

So much of what we talked about in class on Tuesday was about the fact that Sacco’s thoughts were often so overwhelming and intrusive. Seeing these two panels though make me think that Sacco really had a purpose in his “organized chaos” because they are contrasted with this landscape snapshot. This is incorporated in the section titled “Refugeeland” and I think it’s a perfect way to represent this section. When you are looking at a place such as Palestine there often aren’t words to describe what you are seeing. I think any sorts of opinions or thoughts would have been overwhelming and we wouldn’t have received the full effect.

So although I am still confused by a lot of what Sacco is talking about I am beginning to appreciate his style a little bit more. I at least can understand why he is doing what he is doing, whether I enjoy that style or not. 

I think a big issue that we are neglecting too is the fact that this text is made up of a lot of smaller comics. That aspect has a lot to do with my struggles in understanding exactly what is going on. I would appreciate a little bit more transition between the sections…maybe Sacco could have added some background between each chapter and titled section to help it move along a little more smoothly. 

April 15, 2013
So far this graphic novel has been significantly harder for me to follow than the other texts that we have taken a look at for this course. I’m not exactly sure why? Maybe it is because it is a style that I am just not used to.  As with the image above, a lot of his pages are extremely chaotic. There are numerous characters all on the same page and they are always overlapping although they may not all be talking at the same time. I do appreciate the fact that his speech bubbles move down the page in an orderly fashion, but there is never really any pauses or breaks.  Often, numerous conversations can occur in the same page without any indication that the speakers have switched. The speech bubbles also criss-cross toward their speakers, but it isn’t always clear who is saying what.  There is just a lot going on without very much explanation. I do love Sacco’s drawing style…his artwork is amazing! I am simply just waiting for things to be a little bit clearer. I think once I move into the second half I will be able to follow the plot line much more closely. 

So far this graphic novel has been significantly harder for me to follow than the other texts that we have taken a look at for this course. I’m not exactly sure why? Maybe it is because it is a style that I am just not used to. 

As with the image above, a lot of his pages are extremely chaotic. There are numerous characters all on the same page and they are always overlapping although they may not all be talking at the same time. I do appreciate the fact that his speech bubbles move down the page in an orderly fashion, but there is never really any pauses or breaks. 

Often, numerous conversations can occur in the same page without any indication that the speakers have switched. The speech bubbles also criss-cross toward their speakers, but it isn’t always clear who is saying what. 

There is just a lot going on without very much explanation. I do love Sacco’s drawing style…his artwork is amazing! I am simply just waiting for things to be a little bit clearer. I think once I move into the second half I will be able to follow the plot line much more closely. 

February 12, 2013 • 1 note
1. How do you see ethos, pathos, and logos working so far in Burma Chronicles? Is there a particular appeal that stands out in this first part?
2. What do you make of pages 48-50 where there is not text to support the drawings? Does it help you? Hurt you? Was it easy or hard to follow?
3. How are the images and words working together? Has the author been successful at this point?
4. What emotions/reactions are you having to the material so far?
5. Does the fact that you may not know all about what happened in Burma in 1988 hinder your reading at all? Or is it interesting to be learning as the narrator learns?

These are some discussion questions that I supplied for Thursday’s class, so the following is a discussion of some of my own thoughts:

1. For me, I saw ethos and pathos as the most evident appeals in this first part of the text. I could really see the author attempting to develop a narrator who was lovable and personable…someone that we could relate too. I also found myself laughing along with the characters which is certainly an aspect of pathos. The narrator was just so awkward sometimes and had a very dry sense of humor, which pulled me in. I felt confused when he felt confused and exhausted when he felt exhausted. 

2. I was honestly a little bit lost in this section of the novel where there was no text. I got the general idea of what happened, but I think a lot of the humor and relatability that I felt in the rest of the text was lost without words. It may just be personal preference, but I’d much rather see the images and text together so I can see the whole picture. 

3. As I said in number 2, I think the words and images have been working really great together up until this point. Either on their own would still convey the same plot, but we really wouldn’t be able to understand the characters without both. The humor really comes out when we can see the whole picture. 

4. As far as emotions and reactions, I am really enjoying the novel. I really enjoy experiencing these historical events along with the narrator. I had to refrain from reading about the situation because I don’t want to ruin that feeling!

5. I already sort of answered this, but I really find it interesting that we only know what the narrator knows. Of course, some people may be more familiar with this conflict than I am, but I find it easier to relate to the character when I have the same level of knowledge as he does. 

May 3, 2012 • 48 notes • siphotos
siphotos: Rangers players celebrate after their triple-overtime 2-1 victory over the Capitals last night. The victory gave New York a 2-1 series lead. (Mitchell Layton/Getty Images) DATER: Rangers perservere in triple overtime for victoryHACKEL: Hunter-Ovechkin truce is on thin ice at best

siphotos:

Rangers players celebrate after their triple-overtime 2-1 victory over the Capitals last night. The victory gave New York a 2-1 series lead. (Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)

DATER: Rangers perservere in triple overtime for victory
HACKEL: Hunter-Ovechkin truce is on thin ice at best

March 29, 2012 • 88 notes • sports.nationalpost.com

nationalpostsports:

Sidney Crosby was bloodied after being struck in the face by a puck shot by New York Islanders defenceman Dylan Reese.
The Pittsburgh captain, playing in the ninth game of his second comeback of the season after recovering from concussion symptoms, was hit 1:43 into the second period. Reese was trying to clear the puck out of the lower left corner in the New York end when he hit Crosby, who was standing a few feet away from him.
Photos: Bruce Bennett/Getty Images, Shannon Stapleton/Reuters

March 29, 2012

Post #9: The Staff

The masthead inside of issues of Sports Illustrated is actually pretty huge! I was really surprised by the number of in-house writers listed, which made me think that there isn’t much room for newcomers at SI. There are 28 Senior Writers listed, 1 Senior Contributing Writer, 6 Staff Writers, 7 Writer-Reporters, and 3 Reporters. There was even a list of special contributors who don’t always write for the magazine but are most likely the only outsourced writers that they accept. Looking at the table of contents, all of the writers featured in the issue were in-house writers for SI. As for editors, there is Editor-in-Chief John Huey, Senior Editor Richard Demak, and a number of other editors underneath. Christopher Hunt is the editor in charge of possible contributors, so I would probably contact him should I send a query letter. It seems like the SI staff is pretty close knit and continually produces great work so there isn’t usually any need for outside sources.

March 29, 2012 • 22,981 notes • -heat
-heat: LeBron & Wade’s pregame ritual. Personally, I am not an NBA fan. I guess I can respect their talent, but the game seems to just be a lot of showing off with unnecessarily high scores. The players are just too good that there is no excitement.

-heat:

LeBron & Wade’s pregame ritual.


Personally, I am not an NBA fan. I guess I can respect their talent, but the game seems to just be a lot of showing off with unnecessarily high scores. The players are just too good that there is no excitement.

(via sbnation)

March 29, 2012 • 54 notes • siphotos
siphotos: Red Sox outfielder Ted Williams gives hitting advice to fans and fellow players during spring training in 1956. Williams retired with a .344 batting average, tied for seventh all time. (Hy Peskin/SI) GALLERY: Classic Spring Training Photos

siphotos:

Red Sox outfielder Ted Williams gives hitting advice to fans and fellow players during spring training in 1956. Williams retired with a .344 batting average, tied for seventh all time. (Hy Peskin/SI)

GALLERY: Classic Spring Training Photos

March 29, 2012 • 90 notes • siphotos

siphotos:

This week, SI has three regional covers as fans prepare for this weekend’s Final Four. The cover boys are Ohio State’s Aaron Craft, Kentucky’s Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and Kansas’ Tyshawn Taylor. (OSU: Damian Strohmeyer/SI; Kentucky: Greg Nelson/SI; Kansas: David E. Klutho/SI)

CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE OHIO STATE COVER | KENTUCKY | KANSAS