“South of the Border, West of the Sun,” a novel

“South of the Border, West of the Sun” is a book by Japanese author Haruki Murakami, one of my all-time favorite authors. First time looking at the cover, it makes me wonder, so where is the south of the border? And where is the west of the sun? It turns out that the book title refers to a song by Nat King Cole describing a trip to Mexico. That may explain why even though the short novel was written in Japanese and set in Japan, it doesn’t at all seem foreign to English speakers. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gDpTxrj3Fps&spfreload=10

“Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” a Christmas carol

I don’t think they’re anyone in this world who hasn’t once listened to the classic Christmas song “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.” The song was written in 1939 by Johnny Marks, based on the story of a fictional male reindeer with a glowing red nose, commonly known as “Santa’s 9th Reindeer.” Rudolph has a nose so shiny that it illuminates the team’s path through any severe winter weather on Christmas Eve. The title of the song itself has become so popular that, just by looking at it, anyone could hear the melodies going in their minds.

“500 Days of Summer,” a romantic comedy

The movie’s tittle might make you think it tells a story about an endless summertime, but in fact, it’s about a clinically realistic girl named Summer and how she makes an average guy with an average life fall in love with her. But before I figure all of that stuff out, it’s the tittle that makes me want to sit down and watch the movie. (okay I also want to see Joseph Gordon-Levitt.) I wanted to know why were there 500 days in summer and what happened during that time.

As I skimming through “Bulger on Trial” by David Boeri, what really caught my attention right the way were the animated GIF images taken from surveillance footage of Bulger. It’s just plain great to see professional uses of animated GIFs once in a while. Instead of cliché of showing goofy clips of random celebrities or cats, these GIFs were actually used as a powerful way to enrich the story. They weren’t as qualified as a video clip, but they did help in putting on view a little of Bulger in his nature. On my article, I will definitely try to display some GIFs if I could manage to get some.

The pictures weren’t at their finest pixel; however, I found them very effective in showing the intensity of the subject individual, particularly the mugshot-like picture of young Bulger. It’s a great way to get reader’s attention to continue to the end of the piece because in this technology era that we’re living in, it’s clear that you mostly have about 15s to impress anyone. And I’d like to think that Bulger’s quote placed right after the mugshot also help also with that first impression,

“Every Sunday I have gone to Chapel and have done my best to make a good record for myself,” he wrote. “I am no angel but as you know I’ve got a twenty year sentence and I know if I don’t help myself … I will have no future. I can only help myself by an education and forming good habits and a sensible outlook on life.”

He didn’t.

Audio was also a highlight of the article. It compliments the whole piece by adding to it a moment of reflection, underlining the individual experience.

Though the design for this multimedia piece seemed simple, I think it did its job of helping to bring the readers’ imagination closer to the reality of the actual event. I’m also fascinated by the fact that the piece wasn’t too long, but long enough to display what the author was trying to tell.

Throughout the piece and until the very end, Orlean uses personification to describe Biff’s behaviors and gestures in a very hilarious yet intellectual way. For instance, when giving a close up description of Biff’s appearance, she writes “Someone once told me that he thought Biff looked a little bit like President Clinton. Bill’s face is his fortune.” Or on his hobbies, she writes, “What Biff likes most is food and sex. This makes him sound boorish, which he is not-he’s just elemental.”

She succeeds in personifying Biff as somewhat of a good looking workaholic, who follows a rigid schedule, exercises to maintain body weight, and soon to retire from successful career. Biff the person is egotistical, self-centered, and selfish, “He thinks he’s very important and special. and he doesn’t like to share.” He is always on a schedule, traveling to shows around the country almost every weekend of the year, and doing something that prepare him for the competitions. But we never get to see much of his animal side until the very end.

“He wanted to go out, so Tina opened the back door, and Biff ran into the back yard. After a few minutes, he noticed a ball on the lawn. The ball was slippery and a little too big to tit in his mouth, but he kept scrambling and trying to grab it. In the meantime, the Truesdales and I sat, stayed for a moment, fetched our­selves turkey sandwiches, and then curled up on the couch. Half an hour passed, and Riff was still happily pursuing the ball. He probably has a very short memory, but he acted as if it were the most fun he’d ever had.”

In this moment, Biff the dog gets to enjoy the simplicities of life that most dogs experience on a daily basis. Retirement seems to be a good thing for Biff; he deserves a break from his ridiculously busy life. It’s this last paragraph that actually triggers the whole point of the article: let a dog be a dog. In fact, this is the only time where Biff seems normal. Since the very beginning, Biff has always doing something on the schedule that his owners already plan ahead of time for him, which makes it seem so weird when he actually does something that’s dog-like. To a certain extent, the whole concept of Biff, or the concept of Truesdales’s show dog business in general, seems ridiculous. I mean, they’re dogs.

Blog Post #5

Writing about people is never easy, but always rewarding. To me, the hardest part and the best part is getting people to start talking. Why? Because your interviewees’ own words will always be better than yours. Therefore, the number of quotes is the key to keeping the audience and yourself awake. But in order for that to happen, there will need to be a series of questions that are able to elicit answer about what is most vivid in the interviewees’ lives. In the story of Bernie Goetz, the Squirrel Vigilante, we can tell that Molly Socha successes in getting Mr. Goetz talking.

“I took the test; I don’t know how many years ago,” … but “They can come to your apartment any time they want,” Goetz says. “Now I say, ‘screw that.’ I just told them that I’m not going to do that and they said, ‘Well then you’re not getting the license. You’ve got the wrong attitude.’”

Bernie’s words also carry his enthusiasms for the squirrels, something Molly Socha or any other writer could never master to the same level.

“Does the mother do that?” Somers asked Goetz.

“No, the mother doesn’t do a lot of the things I do,” he responded.

Though it might not be a surprise, but the person you interview has a lot to do with whether you’ll come out with a good profile. Your roommate might be an amazing person to hang out with, but he or she probably doesn’t have many interesting things to say. You’ll have to push yourself out into the real world and choose someone who can touch the readers’ lives in whatever aspect. Nika Knight chose Sean Casey, a pet rescuer to draw a profile on. A pet rescuer’s life is something that most people want to know about but don’t see on the news every day. “And I realized that whether it’s a cause or effect of his life’s work, Casey’s stoic personality suits it: every day, all day, he has no control over what the next moment will bring. He can only rise to meet it.” And those are the people who should have other write profiles about.

William Zinsser becomes my favorite nonfiction writer after I was introduced to his most praised work, “On Writing Well.” I don’t know if Zinsser himself actually wrote the information on his website, but it was also “written well.” The site is everything you expect it to be: simple and professional.

The front page consists of a small portrait of his and a concise biography. There are also links to his blog, picture gallery, passages, and music (yes he plays the piano too!) All the information is organized in a way that emphasizes simplicity and identity. There are no unnecessary words or circular constructions; the information you need is right before your eyes, “that, finally, is the life-changing message of On Writing Well: simplify your language and thereby find your humanity.” The language seems effortless as if Zinsser verbalizes interpersonal, expressing himself clearly and simply through good words, “September the college sent me back to my unit and I was given six certificates listing the courses I had taken and the grades I received. But only I knew how much they certified.” The layout and design are also simplicity as its best: black font on a white canvas.

Everything on the page supports each other with so much care and originality; it’s so well edited that you almost can’t find anything that shouldn’t be there. I’m hoping my site to be something like this, simple but informative and elegant. William Zinsser never taught in any of my class, but through his work, he had guided me on writing in a way that no teacher ever had.

Link: http://www.williamzinsserwriter.com/index.html

Loneliness is underrated.

“There’s no such thing as love, it’s a fantasy.”

A ticket to Frozen!