Caroline in the City

2004-05-07T15:06:00.000-07:00

I forgot to add my links to my final assignment. I have to say meghan made some very good points regarding the use of language and audio and its importance as the main elements of the program. Emily also gives some good advice concerning the time factor; groups need to allot themselves enough time to properly conduct their interviews, editing, etc.

2004-05-07T15:00:00.000-07:00

For this final assignment we have been asked to look back on what we have learned thus far in combination with our personal experiences in communications, to properly create an oral narrative for radio or the information superhighway. I have thought hard about the essentials for this kind of work by reflecting back on my group’s experience. The first few that came to mind were communication among contributors, sense of creativity, awareness of popular issues, and a sufficient amount of knowledge of what is needed for proper audio quality and impeccable editing quality. The purpose of a radio show is, in essence, to bring the same level of entertainment and service to people, that say a television would. The element not playing a role with radio is the visual element. So, to compensate for what some audiences might get from the visual aspects of the program, everything having to do with audio quality, subject matter, and the organization of the material is imperative.
Setting out to complete this assignment, the first thing to decide on was the subject matter. Due to the fact that the subject had to be (at least should have been) geared towards Denison students and topics concerning the Denison campus, this limited our options but at the same time increased our abilities to be creative. College life, campuses, and student bodies breed juicy and inviting topics of discussion; these topics are also more or less contemporary and popular providing an enticing element to the audiences. Another point to mention here regarding the topics of our radio segments is to be aware of the audience. It’s interesting to see the topics of discussion that college students are interested in. Our group decided on a subject matter that is quite controversial among college campuses: student-professor (sexual) relationships.
This topic embodied a few key elements that were sure to get some attention. First of all sex these days, no matter how you slice it, is controversial. Your either discriminated against if you are gay, looked down upon to be heterosexual and alone, a whore if your single and just “having fun”, and especially if…you are sleeping with your professor; God forbid if two adults (regardless if one is 21 and the other 45) take a liking to each other in a mature and privileged environment such as the college campus. This interview topic proved itself to be one of interesting feedback, brutal honesty, and the sexually charged mindsets of college students. It was then our job to create some pinpoint questions in which we would structure our interviews. I thought it would be a good idea to get a general consensus as to the dynamic between Denison professors and their respective students; to get an idea of the relationships that existed on the hill would be a good starting point. I think that a solid background from which detailed stories and events have come, are a helpful way to properly structure the radio program.
The second set of questions we put together were more detailed and to the point. We wanted honest answers, answers that were going to catch the listener’s attention. We asked about their secondary school days and the teachers they may or may not have ever “been attracted to”; right away cheeks turned bright red. I think something I learned was to ask very open-ended questions; I didn’t ever want to give the person a chance to just say “yes” or “no”. To ensure this meant making the person comfortable with what they were being asked. Keep in mind, all throughout this process of interviewing we had to be aware of our audio recording techniques and our equipment; there was an instance when I first started interviewing and I did not hold the microphone properly to the direction of the person’s voice. All I had recorded was background, muffled noise (I learned from that mistake).
As this process continued I began to realize how important it was to have enticing questions, questions that caught the person’s attention was they were asked. Thought provoking questions plus a comfortable interviewee helped to raise the quality of our interviews. For example, I saved some of the “fun” questions for my roommate and girlfriends to answer. In a social environment, which we are usually in, they were relaxed and enjoyed the questions. They were open and honest and felt obliged to indulge me in their opinions.
As people told stories of teachers they had “crushes” on in high school or even elementary school, it was important to get the entire story. As we read in our radios show comic book, is important to have structure to your interview, as the comic said “a sequence of actions where someone says “this happened then this happened then this happened””. In our case, it was interesting to ask people’s opinions of student-professor relationships and then the reasons leading then up to their opinions. It showed a lot about who they were as a person and maybe what kind of background morals and lifestyles they had. I also learned from the experience and the comic that it wasn’t always necessary to follow a strict set of questions; being restrained might have prevented me from getting the best, most candid material.
As of right now, my group has begun to edit our material. There are many different things that go into proper editing. In my opinion as well as what was discussed in our comic, all the material you end up with can seem a bit overwhelming at first. How will you decided what pieces to use? What if in the end you realize that none of it fits with anything and seems choppy? Not to worry, I have decided to take advice from our radio guide comic book. They advise to go back and listen to your material and pick out your favorite parts; soon you will have a downsized version of what you started with and it’s what you really want. Of course quality audio is essential and music. I took it upon myself to get a little creative and select songs that I thought were appropriate for our subject. Songs like “I Want Your Sex” by George Michaels and “If Your Mother Only Knew” by Rhazel. I thought it could be fun to play around with a few different songs from different generations, symbolizing the age differences that most likely occur in student-professor relationships. As Dr. Gilbert has told us, music plays a very important part in putting a program together. Music can often times set the mood for an upcoming segment or tastefully close out a humorous cut. Music also sets the backdrop for the scene in which the interview is taking place. For example in a clip from “This American Life”, a man was talking at a party about whether or not he would want to be able to fly or be invisible. There was fun, hoping bar music in the background that added to his humorous remarks. All in all subject matter, music, audio quality, and proper editing are what is going to pull this all together.
In conclusion, if I was to give advice as to how to create a radio/web show I would have to say that a solid goal/vision is needed. Unless the subject is something you truly feel interested in and passionate about, it won’t end up being anything worth listening to. Catchy subject matter and issues that the interviewer is interested in is what gets attention from the audience. Also, be organized and have superb communication among your group members; no one likes feeling like they are carrying the load plus the final product won’t be a proper representation of all members. And finally, have fun with what you’re doing. It’s not everyday that you get to screw around with awesome equipment and make your own show about whatever you want! Be mature about what you are doing and put effort into it, that’s the only way you will reap the benefits.

2004-05-07T03:59:00.000-07:00

I would like to comment on how beautiful the weather was on Thursday. Considering its finals time, that definitley lifted my spirits. Everyday, more and more it hits me that this year is practically over. To Darren, Zechman, Monty, Shawn, Augie, and all the sunset D guys, congratulations on your upcoming graduation...Goodluck with finals everyone

2004-05-07T03:55:00.000-07:00

So its 7 am, haven't slept and I feel awful. I will never be one of those people who can just stay up all night whenever and expect to function normally...the things I do for astronomy. My final is in an hour and of course I am nervous. I practically make myself sick before finals thats how nervous I get. Good luck to Meghan who also has astronomy, Im sure we'll do fine...

2004-05-04T23:09:00.000-07:00

Its 2am, I'm in Fellows and it is hot as hell in here. Why is it that one of the places used the most by students, especially during finals, is one of the most uncomfortable places to work? Anyway, my first exam is tommorow so I am kinda nervous. Its for Spanish because this school likes to inconvenience students and force them to take a language. I think it is ridiculous. Other than that I am feeling pretty good about this week. Its almost like I want it to go on so I can have more time to study but at the smae time I wish it would speed up so it would be over... Only a few more days and then my sophomore year is finished-scary thought. Only two more years... good luck to all those graduating, I can only imagine how anxious and excited you guys must be these days...

2004-05-03T18:57:00.000-07:00

What a great Monday. I did really well on an Astronomy exam which has brought a lot of relief to my week- I thought I was going to have to start from scratch in preparing for my final; even though Darren is doing very well in Astronomy, if he needs help, I would be happy to. This week is going to be very unpleasant as I am sure it will be for a lot of us. I am just hoping I get through it, I am really not into doing work anymore.

I can't stop thinking about summer which is not helping with my concentration for finals...

Good luck on everyone's radio shows...

2004-05-02T21:58:00.000-07:00

It was a pretty quiet weekend for me. Like a lot of people, towards the end of the the week I caught a bit of cold- it sucked. meghan also had a terrible cold. But we are both better now and are getting ready for what will be one of the worst weeks ever-FINALS!!!

Hope everyone had a nice weekend, see you all in class.

2004-04-30T00:22:00.000-07:00

Today was an extremely productive day,I actually got a lot work done. I was tempted to pull an all nighter but I backed out. Fellows just wasn't as appealing as it usually is. Today's weather was beautiful so I managed to get quite a bit of work done outside which was nice for a change. Its a shame class was cancelled, see you all on Monday.

2004-04-27T12:27:00.000-07:00

So today it really hit me that this year is over and summer is here! I have to say I am very excited. This summer I will be living on Nantucket with the greatest girl of all time, Kate Davis Evans. Kate, also known as Polly Pocket, is one of the funniest people you will ever meet. She has rosy cheeks and short brown hair and you can usually recongnize her in her white vest.

Kate and I are living in a house with about 5 or 6 other people and we are working in The Juice Bar, a really popular ice cream shop on the island. I am really looking forward to it because Nantucket is such a beautiful place.

Unfortunatley for Kate (but good for me), she will have to say goodbye to her hamster, Doody. There is no way that thing is coming anywhere near me, it stinks and probably carries around tons of bacteria. Sorry, Kate you know how I feel about rodents. I do think it is kind of cute, I'll give it that much.

So if you are going to be on Nantucket, definitley look us up, its going to be an awesome summer!!!

2004-04-27T12:22:00.000-07:00

Ohio weather sucks, well maybe just this damn hill that Denison is on sucks cause it gets so much wind. I don't really get pissed about a lot of stuff but the wind today was truly pissing me off. I couldn't take it; I found myself literally cursing at the wind as I walked to the library. Why does it have to be so aggressive. Its like it is your own personal, invisible bully that follows you wherever you go, pushing you around and making you miserable.

Ok enough complaining, at least the sun is out. That makes me happy.

2004-04-26T19:25:00.000-07:00

Here is my attempt to make up for the few blogs I have missed. Its not that I purposely don't do them its just that when I come home from the library and get ready for bed( which is when I usually do my blogs) I just forget and pass out. I am truly apologetic. To be honest, I kinda think that what I have to say isn't too interesting so I never really remember to blog about it.

But, to humor myself, and you Gilbert, I'll try.

I have a very acclectic group of friends. We are all very different from each other yet similar in many ways too. We are alike in that we are friendly and compassionate towards others and love to have a good time. Some of my friends are humorous, others not as much. Some are somewhat quiet, others make it a point to be heard. All in all, we are a very interesting group a girls and I am lucky to have them as friends.

Seeing how this blog is going I think for my next few I will tell a few stories of the adventures my friends and I have gotten oursleves into this past year. With the end of our sophomore year approaching, there is much too tell. Stay tuned.

2004-04-26T19:13:00.001-07:00

Ok so after Gilbet's brutally honest class today, ( all about his grading and how he can't give out A's and if you really want the A you're gonna have to really want it...) I have decided that I am going to be one of those poeple who REALLY wants the A and who also REALLY NEEDS the A.

To be honest I have had a tough time keeping up in this class- ironically because Gilbert barely asks much of us. Anyway, I would really like to finish strongly but I am having a hard time. I am not good with comuter software programs to make radio show, I get nervous interviewing people, I don't think our groups toipc is that interesting, AND, I have a shit load of work. This combination makes for a very stressed Caroline in the City.

With that I have set out to complete this class with flying colors. I may not have a great radio show but I will try my best and see what happens. To compensate I will make up for missed blogs, and finally try for the 75,000th time to link to another person's blog.

So Gilbert I hope this promise is worth something to you, I definitley need your help.

See you all on Friday with very, very rough material from our project.

2004-04-26T19:13:00.000-07:00

2004-04-18T22:30:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone,
I have not blogged in a while and I feel terrible. Its weird how the smallest, easiest tasks become the ones you sometimes negelct. Sorry Gilbert, no hard feelings. I am swamped with work as I am sure everyone is so thats is the excuse I have.

This past weekend, my sorority Tridelta had our spring formal. It was at a nice golf club about 40 min. away. Needless to say it was a night full of drunken craziness, it was a great night. Pretty much all I remember is dancing the night away with my friends so I can't complain. I take pride in the fact that I am not one of those people who gets terribly ill and has to go home and doens't remember a thing from the entire night. Thats all for tonight. Do we have class tommorow?

2004-04-08T19:51:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone, I am so sorry Gilbert for not blogging in a while. I have been very busy as Im sure everyone has. This week has been very entertaining so far. We had our housing lottery today, needless to say it was full of drama. My friends and I will be taking over a good portion of Beaver hall next year so I am very excited. My friends and I sitting here with a few bottles of ournew favorite beverage- Andre Extra Dry Champagne. Set us back a whole $4.49ea but its worth it. I just don't feel like doing my Spanish homework, its boring as shit. The damn language requirement is ridiculous... Anyway I'm gonna go enjoy my Andre with the amazing company of my friends...

2004-03-30T17:10:00.000-08:00

Today is Tuesday. I usually love Tuesdays. But today I hate them. I have been in the library doing work since 12:30. It is now 8pm. I have been writing a paper for my Introduction to the New Testament class on the historical and eschataological Jesus. I still haven't figured out who either of them are yet. Not much to say, gotta finish my paper.

2004-03-28T20:46:00.000-08:00

OWU Weekend has come and gone. It was great. There is something about this weekend that is always exciting. Its kinda like a wedding. There is this one big event (the game) that the entire weekend is centered around and all of these graduates come back to celebrate. There are all of these parties and get togethers that are always a good time. Much of the weekend revolves around alcohol which is always good. Some of the older parents say that to see all of us partying like this brings back slight memories of what Denison used to be like back in the day. Even though we lost I think the boys still played their best; they played pretty well from what I hear. That's all from me, no class tomorrow, have a nice day.

2004-03-25T23:32:00.000-08:00

What a day. It seems like the work never ends. I don't have much to say considering I am exhausted, its 2:30 in the morning, and I am completley cracked out from all this work; I need to sleep. I will say though that last night was crazy. My friend Darren and his roomates had a huge pirate party for thier friend Monty-it was a great time even though I lost both of my shoes only to have Darren and his friends find one shoe in a cooking pot on their stove and the other tucked away above the microwave on a shelf ten feet off the ground. No idea what the hell happened last night-story of my life, what can I say.

2004-03-24T12:25:00.000-08:00

Before I do my blog, just a side note: Yesterday I blogged about my spring break and I stupidly did not check my spelling and left the word "flogging" instead if blogging. I am not sure I know what flogging is or if it is even a word but it sounds disgusting. Just thought I would clear that up for those of you that actually read my blog

This is my blog for Monday's episode of This American Life that we listened to, the one about the funniest phone message ever heard at Columbia. I personally thought it was hilarious. I didn't quite get the humor at first but once I continued to listen to the sounds of people'ss voices and their utter amazment at how a woman, let alone a mother, could say such things. Before I caught on I thought to myself these kids must be losers of they can get hundreds of kids to die of laughter at the sound of "you and the little mermaid can go fuck yoursleves". I mean you hear stuff like that everyday, unfortunatley. People's manners these days have gone down the tubes, at least that's what my mother says. Anyway, the radio show began to clearly illustrate the power of various forms of communication. There is the oobvious word of mouth, e-mail, telephone, and of course, VOICE MAIL. It seems weird to me that a university would have such an intricate form of messaging but whatever.

All in all, I though the show was very amusing as well as the side bickering going on between the two hosts, very funny.

2004-03-23T21:25:00.000-08:00

It has been a while since I have blogged, sorry Gilbert I apologize. This was a very much needed vacation. Something about this sophomore year is getting to me. Its like I physically and mentally cannot do work. I hate it. And it isn't even like my work is that hard, its just so involved and so tedious. I hate busy work, except for flogging of course.

Spring break was very nice and relaxing. I flew home to New York to find my entire house being renovated. I mean I didn't have so much as a bed anymore, everything gone so painters could come in and give our house a makeover. Needless to say my mother was stressed so it was awesome to get out of the house and go down to UVA for a few days. I went to visit some friends from home who go there. It was a lot of fun. The bars there are great and the fraternity parties are definitely something to see. Its amazing to watch these beautiful Jeffersonian houses with huge white columns and beautiful entertaining rooms being completely over taken by hundreds of college kids. Rolling kegs, spilling shit all over the place, completely trashing the place. Its a totally different experience then Denison.

I flew back to Denison on Sunday extremely excited to see my friends, I can't even explain how much fun we have together. I am really looking forward to the next few weeks, a lot of shit is going on. OWU weekend in rapidly approaching and I am kinda nervous to be honest. Last year I made the mistake of becoming best friends with a box of pinkish wine, not smart. I personally don't think there is anything worse than being drunk and disoriented in the blazing sun. The only good that comes from it is getting sick, being hung over at dinnertime, and being miserable. I think this year I will just have to pick my beverages more carefully, no one likes a party pooper.

2004-03-09T09:26:00.000-08:00

So much for a productive Monday. I missed my classes but ended up getting a good amount of work done. My evening turned out to be a lot of fun. A friend of mine, Eric Ruffer, made a delicious meal of Jambalaya! (spelling?) It was one of the best dinners I have had even though I am a vegearian and had to eat around the meat parts, it was still delicious. I then celebrated a bit with my grand-big Ashley Geisheiker whose birthday is coming up this Thursday!

My group and I have our meeting with Gilbert today-very exciting. Hopefully we will finally get organized and get going with our material. Thats all for now, see you all in class tommorow.

2004-03-07T15:49:00.000-08:00

What a weekend. The mere fact that it was painfully freezing this weekend just made it that much more enjoyable. As the weather improves, its interesting to see how people change. Many people seem a lot happier and relaxed. I am a true believer that weather can affect the moods and attitudes of people, I know it does for me. It's a shame that it is gray and miserable here for 4-5 months out of the smester considering denison is such a pretty campus.

Anyway this past weekend was awsome. Friday night my friend Darren and his friends had a party and it was a really good time. It was nice to spend time with him and his friends considering theiir graduation is rapidly approaching. On Saturday night a bunch of people went to a bar in Columbus- needless to say it was a shit show. I did however meet two very nice marines who bought me a beer and let me humor them with my ENTIRE life story-they seemed pretty entertained.

As for my group blog, the interviewing is slowy coming along. I have decided to write up a complete outline of the goals for our show like what our questions will aim at, how we will construct our interviews so that we get the informatiuon we want etc.

Gilbert, hope you had a nice weekend where ever it was that you went and I'll see you all in class.

2004-03-02T16:54:00.000-08:00

Tuedsays are great. I have no classes. I think of it as my 'free day', an exuse to not do anything. Today I was going to help out with some things at my sorority house but to my surprise, when I arrived no one was there. I then decided to go for a walk through town, it was a beautiful day. I ended the say with a nice trip to Easton with friends and I am now here in the dreadful library, blogging.

I am pretty sure my group is in good shape for our radio project, I am going to continue reading the comic book and blog about it a little later.

Thats all for now.

2004-02-29T10:13:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone,
Sorry Gilbert, haven't blogged the last two days, I have been really out of it. With internship applications, a Spanish class from hell, and just a long week in general, I have been all over the place. Anyway, I am back and ready to blog. This past weekend was pretty entertaining. On Friday night, my friends and I decided to get the hell out of here at head over to OSU and see what mischief we could get ourselves into. We ended up having a pretty good time although it took some getting used being outside of the Denison bubble we so dearly love. The parties there are pretty crazy, but my kind of scene, you know a bunch of guys and girls trying to dance with each other in the middle of a sketchy, dark living room of some guys house. It basically came down to a night of a lot of drinking and not much sleep.

So today is my good friend Kristin's birthday! As well as Meg Skorburg's! They're leap babies!!!!! It is so wired to me though, I mean I don't understand how every four years there just happened to be an extra day added to our year. So does that mean that they were really born on March 1st? Or does it mean that they don't really have a birthday except for every four years? Craziness... Well happy birthday to the two of them, I love them dearly. That's all for now, it is beautiful outside today so I think I am going to do the remainder of my work outside. Have a great Sunday everyone.

2004-02-26T22:16:00.000-08:00

Radio 17-23
These pages of the comic book were really helpful in that they gave us some insight as to how to properly edit our material. It discussed how toput appropriate pauses, breaths, and then actual material int he right places. It also showed me a bit about taking out what is not important and what will in fact ehnace our interviews.

Other Key points to remember:
-Proper microphone use: always hold the mic appropriatley away from the speaker and point it back to yourslef when you begin to speak.

-Editing: keeping in mind the rythm of speech

Thats it for now, I am really enjoying the illustrated guide for our radio project- it is very helpful.

2004-02-24T18:24:00.000-08:00

Ok so yesterday was my 20th birthday and I feel like an old maid already!!! I can't believe I am not a teenager anymore. I had a great night. My friends threw a surprise party for me at my boyfriend's apartment and we had a awesome time. I highly recommend strawberry flavored Champaign- I think I cleared about three bottles. I knew I had a great night when I woke up with red Champaign stains all over my shirt and random bruises adorning each leg. Nights like those make you realize what awesome friends you have and how much fun we all have together.
I am pretty sure I won't be drinking for a while, today I was not feeling my best to say the least; but it was definitely worth it.

See you all tomorrow in class.

2004-02-19T22:18:00.000-08:00

Ok so here goes my blog for Friday. As I read the next ten pages I became more educated on the structure of an interview. The point they were trying to get accross was that the format of an interview is crucial. I think that it is important to emphasize the importance of the subject and their mannerisms-these might enhance their personal sotry and reveal a lot about their personality simply through words. After a complete story is conveyed accross to the audience by the speaker and their "play by play" account of their sorry.

"Writing:Getting Your Story Staright" discussed how to get a hold of an entire, full story. Once you have listened to the story in full, you are then able to pick out the pieces you favor and create a flow that is pleasing to you. They mention something about how thisis the zen part of your radio recording experience. But by being able hear all that you have collected you can in a sence "pick and choose". They go to discussing the important techniques of recording an interview i.e. the proper way to record with a microphone, where to hold your interview, etc. It tells us how to then usethe information we have collected to create the perfect interview. That's all I have for now fromt he girl in the city, see you all tommorow in class.

2004-02-17T22:45:00.000-08:00

Tonight I read the comic book about "This American Life". I thought it was nicely illustrated but quite random. I did however learn a little bit about how to properly structure and format a radio show. There are various ways to entice the listeners and particular story topics that are not so interesting. They talked about how it is good to use structures like "this happened, then this happened..." and so on. I understand that point. We are automatically interested in "play by play" stories; the listener will be most likely intersect in what is going to happen next. This assignment made me even more excited about our upcoming project. See you all tomorrow in class.

2004-02-15T22:34:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone, just small post before I go to bed. This past weekend was nice and relaxing, I made a pretty big point of doing absolutley nothing on Saturday, resting up for my sorority's big Valentine's Day party with the awesome Theta's. It was a huge success, from what I remember. I am looking forward to tommorow's class and hopefully I will finally et some help with getting the damn web browser to work on my computer, sorry Gilbert for the delay, I am trying. Well thats it for now, see you all in class.

2004-02-11T08:33:00.000-08:00

The second episode of "Living Without" was more of a humorous piece. A woman who is allergic to wheat speaks out about a specific magazine that id dedicated to those 'living without'. She has a funny tone in her voice, almost like she is a comedian. It is just her talking with some background piano music. The music remains at the same pace throughout and defintiley adds more humor to the piece. She comments on how, if you really think about it, a magazine dedicated to people's unfortunate mishaps that they were dealt is really quite dpressing. Being allergic wheat has filled her live with inconcienances; now she has a magazine to that rubs it in her face as to how hard her life must be. It wasa clean cut piece with just her talking at her own pace, never really answering any specific questions. A funny quote I picked up...
"the magazine called "Living Without" bills itself as a lifestyle guide for people with allergies and food sensativities whcih sounds straight forward enough but the name living without is so depressing, so forlorne, such a beligerent refusal to accentuate the positive thatr I don't understand why its publishers don't just come clean and call it loser"

She goes on to desribe that it is lonley being a person with an abnormality and how others have a hard time understanding her lifestyle. It was a nice piece with enough humor in it that I didn't take it too serioulsy, becuase she wasn't either.

2004-02-11T08:24:00.000-08:00

What an assignment. At first I found myself very confused as to whether I should take these people seriously or if it all was justa big joke. But anyway, here is what I came up with. First I listened to an episode titled "Living Without". It began with a focus on a nam named Nubar Alexanian. This man had a unusual syndrome that affected his hearing. For most of his life he has lived with several pitches of ringing in both of this ears. The episode demonstrates what Alexanian hears and it is just awful;at first I thought my speakers were broken that's how terrible that sound was. These high pitched, as well as sometimes low pitched rings would overtake his head and cause him great pain. He was unable to continue his career as a musician, the traveling was too much for him. Eventually in the episode, Alexanian's daughter joins in the show. Right from the start you can hear in her voice that she has a hearing problem. She sounds like she is somewhat deaf with a bit of a speech impediment. Anyway, the story goes on and Alexanian talks about how he might not be able to imagine his life without the tones; he has somehow incorporated a terrible thing into his life simply because that's the way it is, he must survive. They story makes a nice connection between son and daughter when she comments on how she can't imagine what it must be like for her father to hear things so clearly such as tones when she has never heard anything clearly in her life.
The story at times included sentimental music in the background adding a heartfelt tone which of course made me really sympathize with these people. The interview is structured with more freedom rather then question and answer. Alexanian just talked on and on as freely as he wanted, adding in his daughter at some points. Overall it was a nice piece, a bit sad at times but it was also full of reality.

2004-02-10T11:24:00.000-08:00

Just thought I would post up a few thoughts before I complete our assignment for tomorrow's class. I love Tuesdays. No classes. I feel like I actually have 24 hours to myself to get so much shit done; doesn't usually work out that way though. I thought yesterday's class was very interesting. But the whole popped collar thing sting bugs me. I never thought it was such a big deal until I came out to Ohio; where I'm from its alomst as popular as wearing it down. I don't understand why it can't be written off as simply a fashion trend or a matter of preference. Forget the ideas of it being a mark of economic status or social class, bullshit. I personally think its looks flattering on people. Involving social and economic issues with two pieces of fabric either being folded down or turned up is ridiculous. All it accomplishes is that it provides yet another outlet for our society's social anxieties, insecurities and criticisms. I don't know where all of these thoughts came from, I guess I am just tired of hearing about damn popped collars. I think there are other symbols and trends (not neccesarily regarding fashion) in our society that do have social implications that are far more interesting to analyze. That's all for now. -Caroline

2004-02-08T21:32:00.000-08:00

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2004-02-05T19:49:00.000-08:00

I looked through some of the adds hoping to find some ridiculous entry but ended up pretty much finding normal, up-front adds from people honeslty looking for a friend or partner. Some of the guys were more "handsome" and some had many more interesting things to say but...to each his own.

One guy who I particularly thought sounded nice and sincere was Jack Rock. Although he claimed to be a lot funnier and wittier than he actually was (at least in my opinion) none the less, he was worth looking into. Here are some to the things he had to say:

Most humbling moment:

Any spanking my parents have ever given me

The only family reunion I've ever been to.

Any time an elder gives me a piece of good advice

The time Jay Heff drove into oncoming traffic and we were about to die. Life didn't flash before my eyes, but faded out like a song that was about to end.

No matter what I say, you're going to laugh.

Because I am not afraid of telling the truth about myself and others.

My spanish is perfect when I'm drunk.

I'm tougher than pleather, even while wearing $5 Old Navy tees.

That is all for now, Caroline

2004-01-26T18:40:00.001-08:00

Denison University

2004-01-26T18:40:00.000-08:00

2004-01-26T18:38:00.000-08:00

2004-01-26T18:29:00.000-08:00

I am from Westchester, New York which is a suburb of Manhattan. I am a sophmore at Denison University and a member of Tridelta, a sorority at Denison. I enjoy photography and painting as well as modern dance which I have been involved with for 15 years.