just thought me something...: 2011

Monday, May 23, 2011

lol

<div style="width: 400; text-align: center; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">Militant Vegans Circle I LimboSeth Rogen, FMod Cars Circle II Whirling in a Dark & Stormy WindPT Cruiser owners Circle III Mud, Rain, Cold, Hail & SnowRiceboys Circle IV Rolling WeightsPETA Members Circle V Stuck in Mud, MangledRiver StyxGeneral asshats Circle VI Buried for EternityRiver PhlegyasScientologists Circle VII Burning SandsCreationists Circle IIX Immersed in ExcrementNAMBLA Members Circle IX Frozen in Ice<a href="http://www.gaydeceiver.com/misc/hell/" style="color: red;">Design your own hell</a></div>

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

They Obsessively Cover the Auto Industry So I Don't Have To

AutoBlog.com is one my favorite websites to visit. Their tagline, "We Obsessively Cover the Auto Industry," pretty much sums up exactly what they do; they write reviews, perform tests, and report on news that is prevalent to the automotive world. What I like about AutoBlog, though, is that the articles are written from the perspective of the car enthusiast rather than just a consumer or reporter. The people writing these articles are passionate about cars, so the consumer advice they are giving or news they are reporting on is extremely relevant to them, not just a topic to talk about. The way the articles are written, then, are very different from a column you might find in the newspaper or in a consumer magazine.

One of the sites latest reviews, written about the 2012 Nissan GT-R, is a perfect example of this. First of all, many of you reading this won't know what a Nissan GT-R is. The car made big waves in the automotive world a few years ago when it debuted because of its intense technical engineering and immense performance ability. For example, each engine is tailor-made for its transmission and cannot be used with any other transmission, and vice versa. There are hundreds of other figures and statistics I could go on about, but you get the idea. The typical consumer wouldn't know or care about any of them. But AutoBlog's writers know that their readers aren't the typical consumer and can write their articles with the assumption that, because you're reading this article, you know that the Nissan GT-R is a pretty big deal in the automotive world. They then go on to talk about performance figures (0-60 acceleration, horsepower and torque numbers, etc.) that make the hearts of only AutoBlog's car-enthusiast reader's flutter.

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Let's Take a Gander at Gawker.com

Gawker.com is a gossip website. That makes it sound pretty unappetizing, doesn't it? The fact that it is a gossip website (as advertised by themselves) makes it's credibility questionable right off the bat. So why the hell would a college-age male save it in his bookmarks and visit the site multiple times a day (between checking Facebook and e-mail, of course)? Hear me out.

Gawker is just one of many sites that are a part of a family of sites that also include Gizmodo.com (tech news), Jalopnik.com (auto industry news), Jezebel.com (news about...women?), and a few others. Each specializes is a specific area, and Gawker's is general news and gossip about pretty much anything in the world. Just for a quick taste, right now on the home-page are headlines about a man who was stabbed to death by a rooster at a cockfight (oh the irony), Facebook founder Mark Zuckerburg's stalker, a review about the movie The Roommate, and a story about how Christina Aguilera botched the national anthem at the Superbowl. Between the 7 main writers for the site, they cover pretty much everything. These writers use mostly a combination of anecdotal, empirical, and textual evidence to discuss the topics they choose. Depending on the post, they'll sometimes interject their own opinions, but not all the time.

What makes Gawker worth reading, in my opinion, is the way the articles are written. There are a team of writers that post multiple articles a day each. While each writer has a unique style, the articles all have a very evident underlying theme; cynicism. The writers know what they're writing about doesn't really matter, and write accordingly. So instead of writing as if the latest famous-for-nothing being in trouble was the most important thing happening in the world, they might put a quick blurb in the weekly update post about how pathetic that person is and move on. They take pop culture for what it is.

Here's a good example, from the article on Christina Aguilera's interesting national anthem performance. The writer is making fun of the fact that, if you didn't know the words yourself, you wouldn't be able to figure out what words she was actually singing. In this case, "the twilight's last gleaming."

"Personally, I prefer her rendition, and propose using the new verse, "Twilight's last reaming," to describe the [sex] scene in the fourth and final Twilight movie." -Maureen O'Conner here.

That kind of statement is obviously not aimed at bringing in teenage Twilight fans as readers, but a (much) more adult audience. This kind of cynical tone is laid on thick throughout nearly every article on the site, making it perfect for the kind of people who care about pop culture and current events, but only to make them smile - the kind of people who watch The Daily Show or Colbert Report. Given that the site is largely based on gossip, it isn't always the most credible source. But it's as good as any; the majority of postings are to inform readers of facts, and then sometimes give the author's view on the fact. Any speculation is made very clear in the writing, so it's easy to believe what's posted and not be misinformed.

So if you, like me, are as cynical as a 70 year old man, I highly suggest reading Gawker and any of it's sister sites that you might be interested in.

*edit* I went back to edit a bit of the article and my computer had a panic attack - I lost the original post so I'm coming back to post it again.

Monday, January 24, 2011

Just Keep Climbing

Of all the buildings I've been in in my short time at OSU, I've found the Architecture Building and Library, designed by Mack Scogin Merril Elam Architects, to be most interesting. The first thing I noticed my first time in the building was the lack of stairs - for as large a building as it is, there is no prominent staircase anywhere to be found. Instead, a large concrete ramp winding its way up and down the length of the building that wound its way all the way to the top floor. I highly underestimated this ramp, beginning the long ascent thinking it couldn't be that far to the top. As I walked, I noticed that there was something strange; there are not clearly defined stories or floors. Every area that connected off the ramp was freestanding by itself, wherever there happened to be room to put the room. Nearly every room was at a different level from the next, and each was more of a balcony than a room. No walls, just some glass railings and the open air. The lack of walls and defined stories gives the library an extremely open and airy feeling, which not only makes it more interesting to walk through but more relaxing I think.

As I said, I underestimated the ramp and I was exhausted by the time I reached the top floor. The top floor was a bit different, being an actual room separated from the rest of the open-air library. Collections of periodicals, architecture book originals, etc. are kept in this room. But the big attraction is the collection of original chairs from famous architects and designers; these chairs surround the room, each at a window facing outward, and range from enormous, plush armchairs to simple, wooden desk chairs. I felt like I could spend hours in that room just moving from chair to chair, enjoying how each was unique from the last. It was obvious other people felt the same way, moving slowly from one intriguing chair to the next.

I think the Architecture building, and more specifically the library, gives off an inviting vibe. It's a fun place to be and unlike any other building I've personally been in.

Monday, January 17, 2011

Please, just don't make me talk...

What's up, English. In my First Day Writing Assignment, I talked about my experiences with public writing. First off, I think public writing is a piece of cake. Public speaking, on the other hand, terrifies me. Not only do I think I'm awful at it, but the thought of giving a speech is enough to make my stomach churn. Maybe it's because you can't see the reactions of your readers, but you're forced to look your audience in the face when you speak. Or because you can write and rewrite what you want to say until you get it right, but when speaking, you're on the spot; just one chance. Or maybe it's because I actually enjoy writing and sharing my writing. Whatever the reason, given the option, I'd take writing over speaking any day.

This summer before starting college, I wrote an article for SportsCar Magazine, which is the official publication of the Sports Car Club of America. My article covered part of the 2010 Solo Nationals, which took place in Lincoln, Nebraska. Solo Nationals is like the Superbowl for a motorsport known as Solo, or autocross. The events are held at airports or large parking lots across the country on courses made of traffic cones. At the national level, each person gets 3 attempts to drive through the course as fast as they can without hitting cones, so think of it kind of as an agility test. In addition to a writing part of the coverage article, I was also a competitor. In case none of that made sense, here's a video of me in competition.

Every competitor is required to do a work assignment during the event, so the event is run by the people competing in it. Most assignments involve working the course and picking up cones that have been knocked down, but I volunteered to help write the coverage article because I began enjoying writing assignments in high school and thought it would be fun to write about something I'm so passionate about. I was responsible for covering a few different classes in the competition, reporting on things like competitor's times, cone penalties, position in class, and time differentials. To me, this was a dream job - I got to watch the competition, something I'd be doing anyway, and then write about what went on for those who couldn't or didn't see. I got a lot of compliments on the article, both from people reading as informed competitors and people who my parents showed the article off to who had no idea what autocross even was. The best part about writing this article, though, was that I was exposed to something I enjoyed that I didn't have experience with, something that I could see myself doing on a more regular basis. After writing the article and seeing it published, I decided that looking into Journalism might be something I'd be interested in.