TOW #22: Day by Elie Wiesel (IRB Part 2)

            Every day must come to an end; but in this case I mean the conclusion of the book, Day, by Elie Wiesel. The book main focus is around the accident of Wiesel. After being struck by a cab, Wiesel is hospitalized for weeks in a full body cast, so close was he to meeting his life’s end. He has so much to live for, but Wiesel only cares about one thing, Kathleen.  Much of the book revolves around Wiesel’s experiences with Kathleen and the others he has encountered through his life. All of these people are from different events of his existence, both past and present.

            Wiesel wrote Day to continue to tell his saga. All readers of his book can easily become addicted to the text due to its interesting topic and brilliant author.  One way Wiesel keeps his readers hooked it through the organization of the book.  He is constantly switching between different points in his life. He could go from his recover time at the hospital with Doctor Paul Russel to the years of complicated love him and Kathleen have for one another in one chapter alone.  He also switched between dialogues with the people around him to conversations he has with himself in his head. His organization keep readers hooked to the end because all the events he recollects come together in the end.

            But one cannot help but feel sorry for Wiesel and all he has had to overcome throughout his life. Fans of Wiesel’s memoir Night already understand the struggles he faced as a child in Nazi concentration camps; but Day allows his readers to see that his struggling at yet to cease. Appealing to his reader’s emotions is just another way that makes Wiesel’s book impossible to put down. The whole book revolves around him being struck by a cab. But, Wiesel’s story is far from over, and one can tell just from the end of the book that thing are finally starting to turn around for Elie.

TOW #21: Inside the Pixar Braintrust by Ed Catmull (Article)

           Pixar is known for its endless amounts of animated successes, but none of these movies would have made it big if it wasn’t for Pixar’s Creativity inc. and their Braintrust.  Ed Catmull, a Pixar employee who emphasizes the importance of candor while collaborating, recently wrote an article explaining the importance of the Braintrust. The Braintrust is a meeting that occurs every few months at Pixar studios to help improve the up-and-coming movies. At theses meeting, people from all areas of the company come to evaluate, criticize, and help movies become a beloved classic.

            Catmull stresses the importance of candor throughout the entire article. Candor is the quality of being open and honest in expression and is what makes Pixar’s Braintrust so successful. By including the idea of candor at the beginning and end of the article, Catmull is able to show how candor is not only important for Pixar, but for any form of collaboration. He emphasizes how candor is the reason why Pixar is triumphant in what it does and is what keeps Braintrust functional. Candor is also brought up many times through out the article, especially after Catmull gives examples of how Braintrust works.

            To fully allow his Pixar loving readers to understand how Braintrust works, Catmull uses examples from meetings about old and new Pixar movies. His first example was about a new movie entitled Inside Out (which is planned to be released in 2015). In the Braintrust meeting, Catmull recalls how the creator of the movie, Pete Doctor, starts by introducing his idea and plays a short clip; after it is finished, other members begin questioning parts and brainstorming what the audience should get from viewing the film. Other examples of how the Braintrust works including helping write a new ending for Wall-E and creating a reason for the Big Baby to turn again Lotso The Bear in Toy Story 3.

            Pixar movies are well known around the world, but would they be as successful as they are if Braintrust did not exist?  Catmull reveals the importance of candor and how it helped make Braintrust tell unforgettable stories.

http://www.fastcompany.com/3027135/inside-the-pixar-braintrust?src

TOW #20: Miley Cyrus Wreaking Ball Music Video (Visual)

Writing Goals:

     1)   Make stronger word choices

     2)   Summarize less in the beginning (I usually use more than 100 words!)

     3)   Focus more on the analysis than the summary

            When most people think of Miley Cyrus they think of the innocent Disney Channel star who has turned into a poor role model for children today. One of the most controversial topics involving Cyrus is about her music video for the song "Wreaking Ball". Many see it as inappropriate and scarring, but underneath all the nudity and hammer licking is powerful story.  

            Cyrus wrote the song Wreaking Ball about her break up with ex-fiancé, Liam Hemsworth. The video’s purpose is to express the distress of her loss love. Each individual element incorporated in her video reveals a deeper feeling of Cyrus’.

            When fans first tuned in to watch the Wreaking Ball video, many were anticipating the appearance of an actual wreaking ball. But what a good deal of people do not know is that the wreaking ball is meant to reveal the destructive nature of love. Although love is not always destructive, Cyrus uses this piece of construction equipment to express how wreaked she felt after the collapse of her relationship.

            One of the most questionable props in the video was the sledgehammer. Cyrus begins the video by licking, kissing, and caressing the hammer and concludes the video by using it to smash the concrete walls that hold her emotions in.  This may come across as strange, but with a closer analysis of the item, one can see that Cyrus uses the sledgehammer to represent how she is in love with the pain of her break up.  The use of the hammer is a unique way for Cyrus to express how her love for Liam is still present even through her suffering.

            Why is she naked? This is a question that has been asked by many viewers. What comes across as unnecessary and scandalous is actually a way for Cyrus to show how stripped and naked she truly feels after her break up.  Her nudity also indicates how exposed her personal life is to the public. Media has exploited her heartbreak for everyone to see.  If one takes a second to realize the true intentions of the music video, they will agree with me when I say that Cyrus was able to achieve her purpose in a unique, revealing way. 

TOW # 19: Day by Elie Wiesel (IRB Post)

The Holocaust is a topic everyone will come across at least once in his or her lifetime, but author Elie Wiesel actually lived through it. The third and final book of Wiesel’s Night Trilogy is titled Day.  Day is about life after living through one of the most devastating events in history. The book begins with the narrator being struck and drug by a taxi in Time Square and the plot only grows from there. Wiesel uses Day to display his search for the answer to his thought: will it ever be possible for a holocaust survivor to create a new life for himself or herself after experiencing an unforgettably haunting event?

The unique layout of the book constantly flips from him in the hospital after his accident to when he first met his girlfriend, Kathleen.  The organization of the book first came across as confusing, but the further engrossed I became in his work the more I understood his reasoning behind this creative style choice.  This layout allows Wiesel to express how life after the holocaust has been effecting in ever situation he encounters; whether that be in the hospital or on a silent walk with Kathleen.

Wiesel’s writing style makes the book impossible to put down. Day reads like a story; it has a captivating plot line, a daunting purpose, intriguing characters, and so much more. The way Wiesel writes is different from so many other writings out there today, which is one of the many reasons I find myself drawn to this trilogy. He takes the well-known topic of the holocaust and makes his readers realize how mystifying his life truly was before, during, and after the holocaust.

At this point, I am haft way done the book and the only answer I see to Wiesel’s question is that he is struggling to forget. He is also no longer scared of death or love. But how could anyone fuller recover from something as life changing as the holocaust?

TOW #18: The Lost Art of the Condolence Letter by Saul Austerlize (Article)

     Goodbye is one of the hardest words to say. The word goodbye can have many meanings that vary from a 'see you later' to 'until we meet again' to 'goodbye forever'. No one ever hopes that their goodbye is forever; but under some circumstances they are. After a death of a loved one or friend, goodbye is that last thing you wanted to say. In his article "The Lost Art of the Condolence Letter", Saul Austerlize writes about how condolence letters are becoming less and less common but should be required. At the beginning of his piece, Austerlize mentions a few losses he has been forced to deal with over the past few months.  He continues by addressing the condolence letter and explains his idea of what the true purpose of this letter is.  A condolence letter may be sent to love ones of the desisted but, as Austerlize states, a condolence letter is his way of “preserv[ing] something ephemeral, endangered. Emotions were pinned to the page like rare butterflies, no longer flapping around indiscriminately, glimpsed only as they fluttered off, but preserved for future study”.

         Austerlize intention of writing this article is to show his readers the true importance of a condolence letter; it is, in a way, a final goodbye. He uses his own personal experiences of writing condolence letters to show his readers his connections to the letters and why he finds them important.

         Rhetorical questions are another element used by Austerlize to support his purpose. During the process of writing a condolence letter after the loss of one of his close friends, he questions,  “How do you summarize a life? A friendship? What words can do justice to the entirety of a person?” These questions help Austerlize tweeze out the memories and transfer his final thoughts to paper.

         Austerlize states how “the letter is a lost art” that has been taken over by email and social media. But the words of a letter will last forever. The article made me understand the true importance of a condolence letter, not only for the dead but also for ones self. The letter is a way to say goodbye.

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/02/10/the-lost-art-of-the-condolence-letter/?_php=true&_type=blogs&ref=opinion&_r=0

IRB Post 3: Day by Elie Wiesel

         After reading Night by Elie Wiesel last year in english class I have been planning to read the sequel, Day. In Night, Wiesel writes his recollections about life in the concentration camps in Germany during the reign of Nazism. The sequel to the book, Day, is about life after Wiesel's escape from the camps. I want to read Day to finally get the answer to my questions: What happened after Wiesel escaped? and What was life for Wiesel like after the Holocaust?  Night was my favorite out of the four core books we had to read last year and many have recommended the sequel to me. Also, I have always thought the Holocaust was an extremely interesting topic and Wiesel writes in a way that makes his books nearly impossible to but down. He makes his life seem like a story; and I can not wait to find out what will happen next in the never-ending saga that is Elie Wiesel's life.

TOW#17: NJ gives NFL Super Tax Break for Super Bowl, and Pays for Security By Ted Sherman (article)

For football fans everywhere the Super Bowl is the most important night of the football season. From finding out who won the fantasy football league to enjoying the game itself, the Super Bowl is a spectacular night for all. But preparing for this extravagant night of football takes time and money. This year the Super Bowl is being held in New Jersey. In the article “NJ gives NFL Super Tax Break for Super Bowl, and Pays for Security” by Ted Sherman, attention is moved from the two final teams to the eight million dollars being exempted from the NFL’s Super Bowl taxes. 

Sherman begins the article by stating that the NFL got an eight million dollar gift from New Jersey because of the major tax break given to the NFL from NJ. This hook grabs any avid sports enthuses and money interested reader attention. 

As the article continues, Sherman uses quotations from important people associated with the Super Bowl/ New Jersey tax exemption issue.  He quotes Christopher Santarelli, a spokesman from New Jersey’s Treasury Department: "One of the standard conditions that the NFL asks of all host communities for Super Bowls is to provide sales tax relief on the sale of tickets to the game and certain associated events as well as parking at those events," and how "New Jersey agreed to provide this tax relief to the NFL". Quotes like these and many others used in this piece helps Sherman achieve his purpose of informing his readers about the tax exemptions given to the NFL from the host state.

         In the end, Sherman again uses quotes to show how even though New Jersey has to pay eight million dollars towards taxes and security for this years’ Super Bowl. This eight million should be easily remade through hotels and other public, NJ owned facilities. "You give up $8 million, but look what you’re getting", said Mitchell Fillet, a professor at Fordham University. Sherman concludes his article with statics that show hoe many find it ridiculous that the NFL is exempted from paying certain taxes. It’s hard to believe that so much drama can erupt from one football game.

http://www.nj.com/super-bowl/index.ssf/2014/02/nj_gave_nfl_8_million_tax_break_and_pass_on_security_costs_to_land_the_2014_super_bowl.html