Calculated Pi

First, I am here in class, participating. Gold star.

Okay, I don't like this article.
It tastes bad.

Bleh. There was an extended characterization of Obama; it was well-done... nice imagery, color, all that. Since it was so well done, it probably made me like the article less.

I guess the part that's getting to me is what Obama said to the business owner. I'm not saying it wasn't a good point, I'm not saying it wasn't a perfectly framed media moment. He just sounds like a snot, and that makes me bristle.

Normally, when I'm reading political material, I try to keep an open mind and give the benefit of the doubt. Since the author certainly wasn't aiming for objectivity, I'm not going to bother to stifle my irritation.

Potential Markets

http://chefmom.com/ Chef Mom magazine

http://www.relishmag.com/aboutus/index.html#contact Relish magazine

I didn’t see anything right away (on the freelance writing site) that looks like it would want a version of my “bucket list” article.
But, I’m working on a cookbook, so I could probably whip up a foodie piece. And I have some great quality photos that could go with it.

Many Travels of the Swastika

We were talking about swastikas in class thanks to Claire's discussion of reading her girl-power Grandmother's diary (yay for swastika club?!).

Some people mentioned how swastikas were a symbol of peace and power. Here's another weird way a swastika came up in another culture.

This is a Roman encaustic (painted with wax) funerary mask. Some Romans down near Alexandria practiced mummification for a period. There are tons of these nice paintings, so one day I was scrolling through and spotted a swastika on the sleeve of the guy on the left.

Creepy? Kind of.

Check out other masks at http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/mport.htm .

THE LINK:

The link to the good topic/bad writing style article I was looking at:

http://adage.com/digitalnext/post?article_id=130971&search_phrase=use+crowdsourcing

An explanation of how to walk and breathe at the same time (for humans):

Walking: to move along on foot: advance by steps

Allow yourself to fall forward without smashing your face into the sidewalk. Gravity will help you. It’s a piece of cake.

This is as far as I have progressed, so it is important to know that practice doesn’t necessarily make things better.

Some people actually make walking look good. This may be a result of genetic mutation, and is most often found in individuals in the entertainment industry and foreign militaries.

There are lots of exciting variations on walking: tiptoeing, marching, skipping, running, and breakdancing. Become comfortable with walking before trying any of the more advanced forms of locomotion.

Breathing: to take in oxygen and give out carbon dioxide through natural processes

If you are alive, chances are good that your brainstem is already taking care of this one. I wouldn’t worry about it. You’ll know when something goes wrong if you pass out.

So you see, it’s really quite simple. Just follow these suggestions, and soon you’ll be walking and breathing all day long.

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About my writing style: I can't live up to word counts. I say what I mean and tend to be concise. The rest is fluff and filler.

Times v Sullivan

1. What is the significance of Times v. Sullivan:
· In American history? Opening up civil rights reporting, due process, actual malice.
· To lawyers? Get to argue more; but some more restrictions
· To working journalists? Get to say some negative things (as facts) without fearing as many lawsuits
· To you? Not much.
2. What were the rules of libel law for working journalists before Times v. Sullivan?
Restricted reporting of civil rights cases in southern U.S. And it was easier to claim defamation or libel for whatever reason.

3. What is "actual malice," and how did it change the rules?
During time of trial, didn’t have to prove actual malice to collect damages… so made it feel like publishers had to check all the facts in everything they published.
4. How could you cover Illinois statehouse politics if Times v. Sullivan hadn't been decided the way it was?
Wouldn’t be any reporting about politics in IL… since you pretty much couldn’t say anything bad.

Tradition, tradition. (Did I just plagiarize "Fiddler on the Roof"?)

I definitely don't spend a lot of time listening to political speeches, but since when do people expect speakers to cite sources? Informative academic lectures are clunky because it's all "according to", "Dr. Famous So-and-so says", blah, blah, blah. Academic writing and lecturing is drastically different than political speaking (or motivational speaking).
Political speeches are supposed to be persuasive. Regardless of your views on Obama, you have to acknowledge what an engaging speaker he is. He has an oratory style similar to black southern preachers. One common trait in that tradition is to weave quotes and phrases of popular culture into the speech.
I guess I don't get what the issue is here. This has decades of historical precedent. This is tradition.