Who's looking at this? I have 50 viewposts, which is about... 45 more views than I expected.
Well, then. How about we post something, eh?
This blog started as a project for my writing seminar class, thus explaining my previous posts. I'm not much a blogger, personally. I consider myself a very private person and I don't want anything traced, so to speak. I'm extremely shy and not very outspoken.
I kinda wish I was more talented so I could turn this into something entertaining. Posting screenshots while I review Boardwalk Empire, post anything interesting I happen to come across in Pokemon... but alas, I am a simple person with an unused blog.
Maybe in the future I can turn this into something. Who knows?
Saturday, December 20, 2014
Thursday, March 29, 2012
My e-mail address
If anyone ever needs to contact me...
robynsiac@hotmail.com
This is a poor excuse for a blog post. Ha.
robynsiac@hotmail.com
This is a poor excuse for a blog post. Ha.
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Angry post-its on the New Yorker and Ross
It's not entirely fair to compare a website in 2012 to a magazine that lived in the 1930s (and yes, I do mean to use the word "live"). If I had to make a comparison...
They both have satirical writers who are not afraid of stepping on people's feelings. I think the satire that Thurber made in the magazine was better than what one can find in The New Yorker. Everyone and their brother has lampooned politicians and celebrities, some more than others. It's come to the point where I just shrug and move on instead of taking the time to think about it, as opposed to the satire that was present in Ross' magazine.
Availability is also an issue. Magazines cost money back then and not everyone could afford to buy one, especially when the Great Depression hit. While one could subscribe to The New Yorker, the website is available to anyone who has access to a computer. The audience for The New Yorker is much broader, and it knows it. Ross had the blessing of having a limited audience.
Thursday, March 8, 2012
On Superbowl Ads and Reaching an Audience
Meant to publish this earlier and I never did...
Even though I'm not a communications major, I look at Superbowl ads from a communications point of view. I look to see what kind of audience they want to reach, how they do it, and how effective it potentially is.
Well, this year was about the same as last year. Reaching out to dog lovers with doggy-esque commercials. Let's face it, America loves dogs. I personally favor Boston terriers (which aren't really terriers, but I digress). Even last year's leading companies led the ads this year: Doritos and Bud Light, along with the same ol' teams playing against each other. More of the same. No surprises (although that salsa dance is parodied quite a bit).
The ad I especially liked that people surprisingly didn't pay that much attention to was the audi ad (I would post it, but frankly I'm too tired to imbed videos right now). Okay, yeah, vampires are overdone, but I think it was the most clever of all the ads (which, frankly, were a little bland). Yeah, not saying much, but it made me smile.
So, Audi reached me. No Doritos (bad experience with them, I'll never eat a bag again--ever), no Bud Light (I don't drink), no M&Ms (I'm trying to diet), no... uh, what else was there?
Oh, yes! The one I hate the most!
Chevy came out with a few commercials this year, but the one I detest the most involves a college graduate.
It starts with him being led--blindfolded--by his parents. His gown looks like a garbage bag, and frankly, I wouldn't be surprised if the director of this commercial dressed him in one and called it done. The blindfold is taken off for the intended present--a mini fridge. Really? This is what you give to a high school graduate when they head off to college!
Well, he's more excited about the yellow Chevy in front of him, as he thinks it's his. And when I mean excited, I mean he goes apeshit. He screams and carries on, calls his friends, his girlfriend, and they all act the same. I try not to let this stuff offend me. I know it's all in humor. But this is a pile of horse droppings. When you go through college, when you go through four years of agonizing under the rule of professors, getting everything done (illness be damned), and being stripped completely of your pride to learn the submission of your profession, you do not carry on like a hyperactive four-year-old because of a car. True facts.
Even though I'm not a communications major, I look at Superbowl ads from a communications point of view. I look to see what kind of audience they want to reach, how they do it, and how effective it potentially is.
Well, this year was about the same as last year. Reaching out to dog lovers with doggy-esque commercials. Let's face it, America loves dogs. I personally favor Boston terriers (which aren't really terriers, but I digress). Even last year's leading companies led the ads this year: Doritos and Bud Light, along with the same ol' teams playing against each other. More of the same. No surprises (although that salsa dance is parodied quite a bit).
The ad I especially liked that people surprisingly didn't pay that much attention to was the audi ad (I would post it, but frankly I'm too tired to imbed videos right now). Okay, yeah, vampires are overdone, but I think it was the most clever of all the ads (which, frankly, were a little bland). Yeah, not saying much, but it made me smile.
So, Audi reached me. No Doritos (bad experience with them, I'll never eat a bag again--ever), no Bud Light (I don't drink), no M&Ms (I'm trying to diet), no... uh, what else was there?
Oh, yes! The one I hate the most!
Chevy came out with a few commercials this year, but the one I detest the most involves a college graduate.
It starts with him being led--blindfolded--by his parents. His gown looks like a garbage bag, and frankly, I wouldn't be surprised if the director of this commercial dressed him in one and called it done. The blindfold is taken off for the intended present--a mini fridge. Really? This is what you give to a high school graduate when they head off to college!
Well, he's more excited about the yellow Chevy in front of him, as he thinks it's his. And when I mean excited, I mean he goes apeshit. He screams and carries on, calls his friends, his girlfriend, and they all act the same. I try not to let this stuff offend me. I know it's all in humor. But this is a pile of horse droppings. When you go through college, when you go through four years of agonizing under the rule of professors, getting everything done (illness be damned), and being stripped completely of your pride to learn the submission of your profession, you do not carry on like a hyperactive four-year-old because of a car. True facts.
Editing Outside of Class
So, I was asked during the weekend to edit a letter my mother was writing. Aside from my fiance's stories that he asks me to look over, that's the first time someone outside of class asked me to edit something for them. It made me realize that this class is teaching me something about editing.
The reading I've done, particularly with The Subversive Copy-Editor, has given me good tips on editing, especially since I'm also a writer. It made me realize that I might inadvertently piss off someone who is editing my work by being stubborn about what stays and what goes, and it relates to the stress I feel when it comes to arguing with someone about a change I've made.
Though I mostly write fiction, I have a keen eye for grammar and sentence structure... except for my own work, which has been proven by my fellow students and my teachers. When it comes to my own work, I fall victim to the age-old concept of seeing what I want to see. When my own work is on the screen, my brain tells me what I want and I end up seeing what I want to see--and consequently, missing mistakes. My article has pen ink all over it, but I'm glad it does. I need someone to call me out on my own mistakes so that I become a better writer and a better editor (I need to look for this stuff in other people's work, after all).
Okay, enough typing. The medication is wearing off and my arm hurts.
The reading I've done, particularly with The Subversive Copy-Editor, has given me good tips on editing, especially since I'm also a writer. It made me realize that I might inadvertently piss off someone who is editing my work by being stubborn about what stays and what goes, and it relates to the stress I feel when it comes to arguing with someone about a change I've made.
Though I mostly write fiction, I have a keen eye for grammar and sentence structure... except for my own work, which has been proven by my fellow students and my teachers. When it comes to my own work, I fall victim to the age-old concept of seeing what I want to see. When my own work is on the screen, my brain tells me what I want and I end up seeing what I want to see--and consequently, missing mistakes. My article has pen ink all over it, but I'm glad it does. I need someone to call me out on my own mistakes so that I become a better writer and a better editor (I need to look for this stuff in other people's work, after all).
Okay, enough typing. The medication is wearing off and my arm hurts.
Thursday, February 2, 2012
Whoa, I have a blog?
After reading John's blog I got to thinking about the progression of the class myself. The closest I've come to a class project such as the one we are planning is a newspaper class I briefly had in high school that consisted mostly of the popular kids who got all the stories and all the credit (and I certainly wasn't part of that crowd).
Like John, I'm growing restless. I want to do more than sit and talk, I want to do something. I have some short stories and poems in my flash drive that I bring to class everyday (since it's on my keychain) and I suppose I can have some people look at the "pictures" that are on here, too. I'm hardly a graphic designer, so my art in this area is mediocre at best. Give me a date of when stuff needs to be done, what you're looking for, and I'll get on it. With the files I already have, I could save time with poetry and prose if that is what is needed. As far as other things go, such as TV reviews or even some movie reviews if I ever get a chance to get out of the house and pay for a movie ticket this spring, I don't have such files ready for someone to proofread and help me steer it on the road of editing to perfection. I am, however, ready to write such articles.
Reading over that last paragraph, I sound lazy for not writing these articles out right now. Truthfully, yes, some procrastination is involved. However, other classes and an upcoming test beckon my attention as well. I will get it done, but without a set date for when it will all be due, I cannot accurately say when.
Like John, I'm growing restless. I want to do more than sit and talk, I want to do something. I have some short stories and poems in my flash drive that I bring to class everyday (since it's on my keychain) and I suppose I can have some people look at the "pictures" that are on here, too. I'm hardly a graphic designer, so my art in this area is mediocre at best. Give me a date of when stuff needs to be done, what you're looking for, and I'll get on it. With the files I already have, I could save time with poetry and prose if that is what is needed. As far as other things go, such as TV reviews or even some movie reviews if I ever get a chance to get out of the house and pay for a movie ticket this spring, I don't have such files ready for someone to proofread and help me steer it on the road of editing to perfection. I am, however, ready to write such articles.
Reading over that last paragraph, I sound lazy for not writing these articles out right now. Truthfully, yes, some procrastination is involved. However, other classes and an upcoming test beckon my attention as well. I will get it done, but without a set date for when it will all be due, I cannot accurately say when.
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