journal Entry #8

The two bottles serve a similar purpose but are unique in their shape and grip. The Snapple bottle is firm and rigid. Its structure is a rounded shape with no sharp edges. There is no structure built into the bottle for you to grip it. On the other hand, the plastic bottle gives when you squeeze it. It can make you feel powerful holding something so easily deformed in your hand. The color has a pale blue tint, created this way so that the water inside looks more appetizing than regular water. The structure has a unique shape and has a place to make it fit seemingly perfect in your hands. The Snapple bottle has a unique design on the top but otherwise has no ridges. However, the plastic water bottle is full of ridges creating a fun and unique design on the bottle. Both bottles can be detrimental to our planet without the correct recycling. The Snapple bottle is more pleasing to the eye with its creative design and calm, refreshing color. The water bottle is plain and simple without a logo to specify which brand of water that it is. It could be any of the various brands but I think that this shape indicates that it is Aquafina. The shape of the bottle is unique to that brand.

Journal Entry #7

I am evaluating the novel Play Dead by Harlan Coben, who is a New York Times best selling author. This novel merits evaluation because Harlan Coben is a popular author. His books are my favorite and Play Dead is his first book that he recently released but wrote at the age of 20. Play Dead is a mystery novel which is functional because you can read a book. The novel is a lot like other mystery novels with suspense and action. However, I chose to write about this novel because Coben just released the book. He decided not to change anything in it because he is proud of his first book. The book is about a pro-basketball killer who gets killed while walking on the beach during his honeymoon. Laura, his wife, refuses to give up until the mystery of her husbands death is solved.To evaluate the novel I will need to establish the value of the book and why I chose to evaluate it. I will introduce the novel as the first book written by Harlan Coben and suggest that it needs to be evaluated because he is known for his mystery novels. Again, the category of the object is a mystery novel. To evaluate the novel I will first evaluate based on the criteria of the character development. Developing characters in a mystery novel is important because it is hard to follow the plot of a mystery novel if the characters are not easily remembered. I think Coben does a good job of this in his novel. Laura, a female supermodel is very well developed in the story. She, along with her husband David are the main couple in the story so it is important to know a lot about them. Personally, I believe a mystery novel should be suspenseful. I will also evaluate the novel based on the criteria of being suspenseful. In this aspect, the novel does a good job in bringing you in and keeping you hooked. Thirdly, I will evaluate the book based on the criteria of a successful climax. A defining moment needs to be present in every mystery novel. I haven't gotten to the climax in Play Dead, because I am still currently reading it, so I can't evaluate that part until I have completed the novel. Another criteria that the novel can be evaluated on is the resolution. Again, I can't evaluate the book's resolution until I have finished it but I think every mystery novel should have somewhat of a closure unless there is going to be a second novel. Readers are not satisfied with a novel if it leaves them confused and seems unfinished so evaluating the resolution is a big part of evaluating a novel. Lastly, the opinions of the reader are obviously important in evaluating novels so I could evaluate the book based on the reviews it received. A book can not be considered successful unless it is popular among readers so evaluating the reviews of the novel is important.

Journal Entry #6

1. The scene = student bookstore

Students quicken their pace as they get close to the door. The sign above them read Penn State Student Bookstore. Before they look around the store, three students hand over their backpacks to the employee who stows them away in the cubbies behind her. The tiles on the floor displayed a blue and white pattern, which matches the theme of the entire store. Everywhere you looked the shelves and racks are full of clothes, blankets, stuffed animals, and even shot glasses bearing he Penn State label. People of all ages are browsing through the clothes section. The sweatpants and sweatshirts seem to be the most popular during this time of the year. The bell on the door constantly rings as people enter and exit the store. Most people who enter buy at least one item. For the short time I was there everyone who bought an item of clothing paid with either a debit or credit card and quickly went on with their day. Even just outside the door you can see people strolling by sporting clothes or hats with the Penn State logo. Our school has a lot of school spirit. After all "We Are" Penn State, but do students really know how much sweat really goes into making those clothes?

2. Four Facts

-Gunawardana, a woman, had a personal experience in the factories and said that the workers were motivated to change the situation that they are in.

-Workers didn't eat properly because the work hours were too strenuous in the factories. Sometimes there was barely enough time to be able to use the restrooms

http://www.collegian.psu.edu/archive/2008/04/10/professors_describe_sweatshop.aspx

-Penn State delayed joining the DSP in part because they believed it was a violation of federal antitrust laws

-The USAS accused the manufacturing facility of New Era Cap Company of gender and racial discrimination

http://live.psu.edu/story/28955

3. Two new ideas

- I want to look into how the students tried to gain publicity that angered Graham Spaniard letter to the students. He said in the letter that the he was disappointed in the students way of gaining publicity and it was disrespectful. I think it would be interesting to know what they did.

- I also want to get Graham Spaniards opinion the the whole thing. This might be difficult to do but it would be very interesting to get his opinion on things because the rest of my piece would be in the opinion of the members of the USAS club.

4. The interview

Maura Ryan is a 5th year senior here at Penn State. She is 22 years old and played soccer at the university for 4 years.

Q: How do you feel that Penn State clothes' are made from sweatshops?

A: "I had no idea. I am surprised to hear that, it makes me feel more like now I am going to be more conscious when I want to buy something."

Q: Do you think this will hinder students from buying Penn State clothes?

A: "Yes, I think students would care about this issue and buy less clothes because our students like to be proactive."

Q: Have you heard about the USAS Club?

A: "No, they should speak out about their cause more and become more public."

Journal Entry #5

Part 1 -What makes it a Profile?

1. The writer explains Frank as a very interesting person. She uses many show that you don't know what to expect regarding his mood and outbursts. One one hand he is a polite man that would do anything for one of his friends. However, on the other hand he could quite possibly get into a fight with someone because he didn't like his boots. This creates an interesting person because it keeps you on your toes.

2. Regarding his work, the writer shows that Frank is very hard on himself and takes his job (as a singer) very seriously. For example when he sang for the TV program he had a cold and was so displeased with his performance that he left the studio. The piece also shows how dedicated Frank was because his mother tried her best not to let him become a singer, but he did against her wishes.

3. The writer uses scenes and descriptions to help readers understand what motivates Frank in his professional life. It is obvious that his career is very important to him. When his is at the bar you can tell that he is in some sort of depression just because he has a cold and can't use his prized possession, his voice. The bar scene in the beginning of the piece is a great way to describe Frank. I picture him sitting in a dark corner, sulking and refraining from talking to anyone.

4. The writer uses many personal observations of Sinatra in the piece. The bar scene is a personal observation as well as when he watched him in the studio making his program. He uses quotes from Sinatra's friends and family especially those from his mother and daughter Nancy, that describe him. He didn't seem to interview Sinatra himself in the piece, but with all of his sources and observations of the man he drew concrete details about him.

5. Personally I think the writer lets you make your own opinion about Sinatra. In the beginning I got the feeling that he displayed Sinatra in a negative way. However through the article I got the sense that Sinatra had so much pressure to be a great singer that no wonder a small cold could bring him into a depression. He is a very popular man that lives in the spotlight. It would get frustrating to please all of his fans and friends all of the time. I got the feeling from the piece that he really is just a regular guy.

Part 2 - The Interview Reaction

Gay Talese's piece on Frank Sinatra was a great article. It was an example of a good profile and in the question and answer with Talese he gave some great tips on writing a profile that will be of great help when I am writing my investigative report. Talese made a point to say that you have to gain your subjects trust before you can interview them. It takes time and you have to go cautiously. He learned his style of interviewing from his mom who worked a dress shop. To interview someone you have to gain their trust and ask polite questions. Creating a profile takes time and patience. Talese spent 5 years with a man from the Mafia that he did a profile on just to get to know him and gain his trust. I thought it was interesting that he liked to write about people who were not in the news and not famous. He said that when writing about famous people, you only get publicity because the person you are writing about is already in the news. The people that Talese does profiles on, he still sees today. Because he gets a lot of information in one day of observing his subject, he writes everything he remembered from that day and dates it. Then, when he is done he goes back to all of his dated observations and creates a summary out of it. He then finds important scenes and basically maps out is piece of work. The question and answer with Gay Talese should be very helpful with my interviews. Our piece will be nonfiction just like his piece of Frank Sinatra. He said that an important piece of nonfiction writing is to be able to get inside the head of your subject. You have to get to know them and indulge in your curiosity. This Q and A showed me that doing a profile on someone will take a lot of work. It is important to have patience with your subjects and to gain their trust so that they tell you what you want to know.