My prompt for this entry was to write about something that I know nothing about (but would maybe like to know). I’ve chosen to write a story about astronomy, a subject that has always interested me but that I really don’t have a lot of knowledge on. I’ve taken the perspective of an astronaut in this story.

Day 112. I’m not sure exactly where we are on the schedule, I think a little behind, but we’ve been moving at a good pace for a few weeks now. We have yet to find any indication that our research is supported. I’ve just woken up to the smell of fresh oxygen and aluminum.  I am not sure how long I slept. The funny thing about time when you’re in space is that its nothing like ‘time’ at home, on Earth. Depending on where you are, it can be faster, slower, or seemingly unmoving. Time is a manmade concept, and I’ve detached from that concept quite a bit over the last few months.

After making sure everything is order on board, I relocated to the meal room. Going through an assortment of pre-packaged, vacuum sealed foods to choose from, I began to miss home again. It comes and goes, happening randomly, this deep ache I have to be back with my family again. I questioned again, my reasoning for agreeing to this excursion. I sighed.

Moments later, I heard a faint ticking coming from the dashboard of our screens on board. I looked up. Could it be…? The ticking continued. I stood up, walked over to the screen.

“Mark, come take a look at this, would ya?” I called into the next room.
Mark walked in and began to hear it himself. His eyes widened. He quickened his pace over to the screen and glanced down.

Both of us could not really believe what we saw. Light years away, our radar detected a force so powerful that the equipment we had could not measure it, and began to go haywire. Dials going up and down, our electromagnetic radar became inconsistent and bouncy. It had to be.

“There she is” I couldn’t believe my own words out of my mouth.
Mark said nothing.
We turned on the infrared monitor and zoomed in on the source of the extreme energy. Very faintly, we could see it. A small dot in the cosmos, emitting absolutely zero light, and a force that could not be measured.
“I don’t believe it,” Mark said softly.

I ignored him and continued shifting around the detection equipment and the infrared camera so that we could take a picture of what we were experiencing. After saving a few screens of the detection to our hard drive, I programmed the radar to zoom in even further. I had to be sure.

But yes, there it was. It couldn’t be anything else. There is no other explanation for an area in space to produce such energy an emit no light alongside it. It had to be, a black hole. This is what we had been searching months for, after observing abnormalities in our astronomical scans from Earth, this is what I had been sent to find.

And we actually found it.

I picked up the radio.
“Houston…we’ve located the source.”

To Gain the Upper Hand, Amazon Disrupts Itself
(NY Times: 12/1/2014)

This title stuck out to me initially because of its contradictory fashion. As an Amazon shopper, I am aware of what it is as a company and business, thus I am immediately intrigued by familiarity with the subject. But to also see it being described in a self destructive manner makes me concerned for the business and also curious as to what might have caused this problem. This title works for this article especially because it explains both what “gaining the upper hand” and “disrupting itself” mean in terms of Amazon as a company and what they are currently experiencing.  Leaving this unspoken in the title, it makes the reader want to read more about the subject.

The Mazerunner
(Film: September 2014)

This is a title of a film that was released in September of this year based off the novel “The Mazerunner” by James Dashner. I had not read the book before seeing the movie title, and the title is what sparked my interest in reading the book. It is both confusing and foreign to its audience because in our society, we do not have things called “mazerunners” and thus are not familiar with them. But it captures both excitement and action in the sense that Maze-runner could be interpreted as someone running in a maze. This title is successful in that it does not fully reveal its definition, but introduces the noun in an exciting way.

Information Doesn’t Want to Be Free
(Boston Globe: 2014)

Information is a very popular concept in modern America, as our lives revolve around it. However, this title takes a different perspective on the side of information – as if it is the equivalent of a person – and its preferences on being free. It is instantly catching because of this unique perspective and also the irony behind “free information”.  Based on the title, one can assume the articles contents as a number of things: and all interesting to the modern reader.

These titles were all successful in the way that they immediately interested a wide variety of readers as well as leaving out information that could spark curiosity. I would like to include information in my title that many people can relate to.

The multimedia content of “Bulger on Trial” by Wbur greatly influenced my interpretation of the content of the article and successfully maintained my attention and curiosity. The first few sentences are brief but informative. The author is revealing important information that the reader may not have known about the subject while also keeping the reader curious and wanting to continue reading to learn more. This serves as an effective “hook” that immediately grabs the readers attention.

When Wbur goes into further detail about Bulger and his life, he includes more personal information such as the 100 autobiographical pages he was writing about himself when he was arrested. Again, contributing facts that the audience may not have been aware of. Thus, the author has obviously done research about his subject.

Wbur develops a personal relationship to the subject and includes his preference of what he likes to be called or named: “Jim” Bulger. This humanizes and familiarizes the character – in this case “criminal” – of the article. He goes further to describe Bulger’s activities and hobbies in prison, such as writing to his former cellmates and neighbors, indicating again that the author has done extensive research, and possibly even personal research, with the subject.

All of these article writing techniques make the overall article more appealing and interesting to virtually any reader. There is a clear purpose for writing the article and the author repeatedly reports on why the subject and his situation is important to anyone, in terms of the government involvement and effect on society that this case has. The writer has broadened the subject and interest of the audience in doing this.

Orlean takes a very unique perspective and narration style during her writing. She is very uncensored and becomes very creative with her point of view. It isn’t until about the second paragraph that we realize she is actually referring to a dog as the subject of her story. She refers to her character with a first and last name, mentions that she would be in love with him, that he is rich and famous. All characteristics we may not associate with a dog normally, but she is not incorrect in doing so. While she is discussing her subject as if he were a person, she does not fail to accurately describe him the same way she would describe another human being. She also refers to the dog and his family as “the Truesdales”, similarly to the way she might describe a human family. She starts to reveal more about his actual personality and activities as a dog during the middle and more towards the end of her writing. Orlean has clearly done a lot of researching relating to her subject and discloses that she has a very close relationship with Biff, her subject. She really gets into her character when she says “While he was napping, “I pawed through his suitcase” using the verb “pawed” as a pun for her relationship with the dog. She is almost describing herself as a dog and taking the perspective that she and her subject are equal and the same. But when she is still reflecting on the characteristics of her subject, she writes “After he appears at the Westminster Kennel Club’s show this week, he will retire from active show life and work full time as a stud.” She maintains normalcy in her tone with little sarcasm but perhaps slight humor in the way she describes the dog. She still takes on the theme of describing her dog as if she is describing a human, but reveals more facts that would lead the audience to infer that it is in fact a dog whom she is talking about. Overall, a very unique way of describing a subject and she makes herself a character in her own story. In my own profile article, this creativity might be useful. Not that I would be describing a dog, but to have the underline sense of humor and relationship with the subject is important for an effective article!

Nicole Holstein

Gregory Woodman is a photographer who I initially discovered from the Instagram app. He takes still photographs usually in nature and there is often a singular person or persons as the subject of the photograph. He captured my attention because I love photographs of mountains and majestic places on earth, as well as bodies of water, and these are some of my favorite themes for photography. Gregory always manages to get the correct lighting for his photos, which is impressive especially since sunlight is the light source for many of his photographs and he has little control over the sunlight. On his website, he has several links to various albums and photo sessions involving different subjects. His subjects range from places in nature to individual portraits and photo shoots to wedding pictures. Gregory places his photos one after another on his website which can sometimes be overwhelming but also has the effect of narrating a story and forming relationships between the photos.

Woodman’s website presents information about himself as well as his subjects and locations he photographs. For each session, he provides a brief synopsis of what the photos are and who the people are within them including his relationship to them. This allows his audience to form a better comprehension of the photos as well as making them more appealing to viewers. I would characterize his tone as intimate and relaxed. Most of his photos are in places that express a tranquil vibe and his human subjects are standing still, usually with soft, relaxed facial expressions. Something successful about this website is its organization and simplistic format. He has three links which lead to the other parts of his website, but the front page is very simple with one photograph that changes every few seconds. His background photo is very three-dimensional and has a lot of depth leading the eye further into the photo and attracting the viewer. This website has inspired me to make my website simple but vibrant and to provide explanations to my audience about the subjects in my photos.

Gregory Woodman: www.gregorywoodman.com

1) Freedom of expression, freedom to paint

2) Drugs on your nightstand

3) Can’t see me but they hear me comin’ through the dark in the night

During this assignment, “Walmart Slumber Party” stood out to me simply from the name. I was unfamiliar that Walmart allowed people to spend the night in their parking lot, and even more surprised to discover that it allowed for a certain type of community and relationships to form. From this photo series, number 5 and number 11 stood out to me the most due to the acts of kindness within them. I will focus on photo 11.

This photo contains a man who appears to be laying underneath a tarp in between a motorcycle and a truck. To me, the post expresses an obvious lack of possessions, whether the man is traveling light on a trip or just simply does not own many materials; this describes a non-materialistic person who clearly has other priorities and values. After reading the caption, I learned that the man was traveling and was invited in by a fellow Walmart-stayer and given a glass of wine. The man then allowed the person in the photo to use his truck as a support for his tarp and evidently his home for that evening.

The expression on the face of the man in the photo is the focus in this photo. He is neither happy nor sad, simply indifferent with slight gratitude, in a sleeping bag with a pillow. It makes me wonder how he goes about his day and other things about his lifestyle. It relates to the overall essay by contributing an example of the casual acts of kindness that go on within the Walmart parking lot and in humanity in general. These acts of kindness demonstrate a positive flowing community and a kind environment. It is also comforting to know that there are people out there who are interested in helping others and will go out of their way to do so. Overall, a refreshing photograph.

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