In my reading of “Soon There Will Be No Survivors”, my experience was only enhanced by the introduction of multimedia. From when I first opened the page I had audio clips playing. This threw me for a loop for I didnt expect it and was caught off guard, but I like how that introduced you to the piece’s tone. The construction was pretty simple, an introductory section, then nine short profiles all accompanied by an audio clip.  Hyperlinks were spread across the page. He used them to cite his sources and to bring the reader to helpful secondary articles and audio clips. I enjoyed the subject matter, it felt kind of fresh (as fresh as you can get with the holocaust) and showed the life after the public eye and attention has all but vanished. Overall, the piece flowed very well, excluding the one slide of pictures featuring Simon Goldsmith, where the picture changed so often I could not read the large block of text until the fourth or fifth time it came around. A little annoying. Otherwise, very good photography. If there is anything I would take away from this piece id the integration audio and visual. The idea was to make it seamless and to more of an “experience” than a story. I would like to use audio in a very similar fashion.

Susan Orlean takes, to some, a very serious subject and brings a dual sense of comedy and serious narrative journalism. She employs a variety of stylistic tactics to create a sense of the characters and make this seemingly boring story very interesting to read. I personal haven’t much experience with profile writing, so I was shocked to see the piece in more of a narrative and set as a “traditional story” than an expose type of style. Less like news, more like literature. This style not only makes it more readable, it can paint a superior picture for the reader.

She starts off by using the dog as the main character, which is very useful, to detail the life of a show dog, instead of profiling the owners/handlers. By creating a “person” out of Bff, we see him less as an object, and more as the actual main character. Her descriptions of him. Were simple, yet disguised so it keeps her intentions for the direction of the story hidden until she wishes to use them. This goes back to the Kathryn Roethel article, “Magazines are like a strip tease” Even the line “He like food and sex” is tricky to take apart.  This make sense when you think it’s a dog or a man (especially one named Biff) but it isn’t painfully obvious until she mentioned the bars of soap. , but the story is set up to make you think that he himself is the complete center, everyone else taking a back seat.

If there is anything I could learn from her, it would be to treat the magazine profile with more of a literary hand and slowly reveal my details in a story-like manner. Also, to do thorough research.

In the art of Profiling, one can say that attention to detail is most key. Imbedding yourself with this person and being the “fly on the wall” while trying to soak up every little detail is what can make or break a piece.

 For Bernie Goetz, the amount of detail on his endeavors before the piece takes the first person, was vital to the overall perception of Goetz throughout.  I, like many, did not know who he was previous, so the first few paragraphs revealing his past lead to see him as someone not to be trusted. Due to well-placed word choices and the negative testimonies from professionals, I saw him only as an unlicensed, crazy person who kidnapped squirrels and didn’t follow the rules for the rest of the profile. It wasn’t until the detail about his care with the baby squirrels that I thought of him as someone who cared above all. The ending threw me for a loop, and returned me to my original diagnosis. This guy is crazy and his portrayal as dangerous to wild animals was intentional.

Unlike Casey, whose detail was pointed mostly at his good nature, business, and community presence, I understood him as a very caring and loving individual. He brings his employees to tears and is everyone’s favorite. These were very well written because they fulfilled the author’s intentions of portrayal and used the details they picked up to say something about that person.

I’m not saying this isn’t true or that the author didn’t intend for these things to happen, just what I learned by reading these is that perception matters. When writing my own profile, I will be careful to always make sure I am getting across the right “vibe “ to my readers and make sure I’m clear and that  they understand what I am saying.

Michael Asmutis

A personal website I chose was that of a D.J I was into about, two years ago. Her name is TOKiMonsta, and she is a native southern Californian “electro/indie pop” artist. Her personal page starts out with a very artsy picture of her with her name. An icon tells you to scroll down, and the now iconic social media selection (Facebook, Twitter, YouTube) list of buttons, which is especially important because that is how she got her start, is on the left and follows as you scroll. A menu button is on the right hand corner, which starts off inactive, but can be toggled so that as you scroll, it will follow for easy access to the various sections. The page is separated into sections “CSS”, that tell different information. (tour dates, discography) The layout is very modern and simple. It is almost minimalist, leaving me wanting more. (her music I guess) The most successful aspect of this site was the ease with which I can access all the info. There are no separate pages, so it all in front of me. I want to take the ease of finding everything one page from this site for myself. I could use the same style or something similar, with scrolling or menu jumping, but make it all on the same page.

http://www.tokimonsta.com/#

A lonely Observatory sits on a hill; yet, Its barren outside does not reflect its busy inside.

In these walls, we will see how mother nature is calculated and put into numbers.

Its really, really creepy up here.

Out of all the essays assigned “Walmat Slumber Party” caught my attention the most. For me it was the most interesting topic because I know so little on the subject. Believe it or not the first photo (1/14)  captures well the overall theme and feeling that the essay is trying to convey.  The first thing I noticed was the picture lacks depth which, surprisingly, is supplemented  by the next few pictures I scrolled through.

What really caught my eye though was the symmetry. The RV is centered in the middle of a close shot. The divider in between the two windows leads the eye to the dual fans at the base and back up to the windshield wipers at the top. A few things break this symmetry. Namely, group of potted flowers at the left hand side. I think these are most important because not only do they conform to the rule of thirds, they show how the RV is a place to settle down, without actually having to “settle down”.

Life on the road must be tough and lonely and these flowers must bring joy into someones life. This picture perfectly captures the feel of the essay. While the other pictures show the people and homes of the travelers. This one doesn’t show people, hell, we don’t even see inside and we can tell this is a happy home. I believe it shows so little and its so quiet, it is actually saying more about the life’s of those living there. The flowers and empty parking lot are all we need.

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2013/09/29/magazine/look-walmart.html?_r=0

ORIGIN: Brockton, Mass.

BEHAVIOR: Football, Video Games, Hiking, Sleeping

HABITAT: If I’m not working, I’m in bed.

CHARACTERISTICS: Chuck Tailor shoes, Goatee, Quiet, good natured

CALL: “Yeah, okay…” “Hold on, what the f**k?”