If next semester you were to write a story about a place or an event a la Southern, Thompson, or Vowell, what would it be and why? The only restriction is that the place or event must actually be accessible to you. Please respond prior to class on Wed., Nov. 19.
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Since I have to go back to the Netherlands after this semester (unfortunately), I would write a story about Koninginnedag (Queens day) in Amsterdam. We celebrate Queens day on April 30th, the day that Beatrix became queen of the Netherlands.
I most cities and towns Queens day is celebrated with markets where everybody can sell stuff that they don’t need anymore. There are some open stages where people sing and perform.
Amsterdam is crazy this day. I have always been curious about what tourist think of Dutchies when they visit Amsterdam on this day. Amsterdam is so crowded that you can’t walk normal, you always bump into people who are dressed in orange (the Dutch color) and are drunk and high. The Dutchies see this day as an excuse to get as drunk and high as possible. It’s the only day you are aloud to drink and smoke weed on the street.
There are a couple of huge stages where famous Dutch artist perform, if you ask me, they make the worst music ever! Sometimes there are even popular English artists who come and join us on this day. All the parties are free, the beer is cheap. The party starts the night of April 30 and goes on until the morning of May 1.
I have been to Amsterdam once on this day. I went by train and the train was stacked. I felt like a fish in a can, seriously. Amsterdam looked like a ant house, there where people everywhere! I arrived at 11a.m. and they were already (or still) drunk. The city smelled like beer and drugs. My first visit there wasn’t a big success. I didn’t like it and it rained. I left quite early.
I think visiting this event again would make a cool story. It would even be cooler if I would visit it with a tourist. Because I’m really curious about his or her reaction.
There are several places that come to mind when I think of writing a story like this. One of the places which would be easily accessible and great for a story similar to Thompson's is the ball drop in NYC on New Year's Eve.
Thousands of screaming drunk people on one of the biggest party nights of the year, each with hopes of the new year being better than the last. People spouting resolutions they'll never keep. Not to mention it's at the tail end of the holiday season when everyone is in that transitional stage between holiday cheer and their normal, less than cheerful attitudes.
It just seems like it would be a great place to get a story capturing a portrait of people on the verge of a new year which could be filled with new hope and chances. And also the (mostly) false hope that people have at the beginning of the year.
Instead of reporting/writing about an event or place that has the prediction to be crazy (which will already be heavily reported) I would like to report and find criticism/quirks/etc. in a mundane, everyday event (which I think shows more about the reality of a culture): Dinner at the dinner table.
I've had a lot of dinner at a lot of different houses, and the experience has been worlds apart. There's dinner at my own house, in which my mom eats her weight watchers tv-dinner on the couch in the living room. My brother eats cereal before his football game or wrestling practice. My sister is rarely home. And I usually wait until 9 to eat with my Dad after he gets home from work.
Then there are the forced dinners: christmas, thanksgiving, etc. There are the women who cook and the men who watch football. There is the crazy uncle who chews incredibly loud but ignores me when i tell him so. There is the drunk uncle. And the stressed out mom...the list goes on
Experience at friends houses are always interesting..especially when it's their family + Kimmy. The bad food and fake facial expressions that lend to the lie that the meal is good. The awkward questions. The fear that I will have to pray before eating the first pea.
Like I alluded to before, I think this could be an interesting way to show class distinctions while telling it in a humorous way.
The first thing that popped into my mind is my family's annual tomato sauce making event. It does not seem like that big of a deal but it is a very grueling process that lasts all day. For some families, it lasts even longer because they grow the tomatoes too beginning in May all the way to the end of August. The day starts very early in the morning with what seems like endless preparation. From there, we quarter each tomato by hand and the process begins. It is very detailed and precise. You must truly want to participate because it is evident in the outcome.
Many Italian families make homemade tomato sauce in bulk like my family does. It would be very interesting to compare the different recipes because Italians are very headstrong and have unique recipes that they feel makes their recipes the best. I feel like this would be a good story because it highlights a particular part of culture which I'm sure is overlooked by many.
Another interesting event to write about would be New Paltz' Garlic Festival that takes place every year. It draws in many visitors who share a unique passion. I feel like it would make an interesting story because it sparks more story ideas about other events that one couldn't even imagine occur.
At the risk of throwing myself under a bus that some of my classmates may be riding on, I would have to say that something I find foolish that I'd write about would be one of the numerous protests and rallies some students (and the organization NORML)have to change the two-strike policy for marijuana. I get it; I'm underaged and still drink, and I don't look down upon anyone if they do drugs. However, I think it's futile and stupid to work to change a campus law-a generous one-that expells students after finding them with marijuana twice when you get zero strikes in N.Y. State law. This may sound bitter, but I don't enjoy being accosted while walking to class by a boy wearing a cape with a marijuana leaf asking me to "come smoke his magical hookah." I guess I could understand that these students believe in their cause, but New York isn't going to magically change their law because SUNY New Paltz does. I love Malibu and Pineapple, but when I lived on campus, I didn't go around screaming, staging protests in front of the SUB or disrupting class with marches (such as our class was in the beginning of the semester) in an attempt to have campus legalize alcohol use when I was forbidden by state law to use it. I'm going to be in trouble for this, aren't I?
I think I would want to write about Saint Patrick’s Day in Savannah, Georgia. I used to attend school there, and being one of the very few people from the Northeast, was often ridiculed for my “Yankee” status. This culture clash would be a big part of the essay. But specifically, I would focus on St. Patty’s Day because in Savannah it is a BIG deal. They shut down every street, people dress up as if it were Halloween, and they even dye the fountains and river green. I’ll never forget my roommate’s angst over not being able to find green shoes at the mall. She was so distraught! Yet when she flunked a core class requiring a grade of a B or higher, she barely made a fuss at all.
That night was one of the most fascinating and chaotic things I’ve ever experienced. The extremes people went through to celebrate were shocking, and for a quiet (Irish) girl like myself, it was all very new. I’ll always remember that night, mostly because it was the night I learned NEVER to order a Mexican beer at an Irish bar.
I would love to attend any of the numerous rallies that will be held across New York during the day of Obama's inauguration as president in January. People will be celebrating Bush's last day in office and the dawn of a new administration. I am excited about this because I strongly disapprove of the job Bush has been doing, which makes me similar in that regard to the vast majority of the population. I am also looking forward to see Obama being inaugurated because I voted for him and want many changes to be made.
Many of the rallies will have tons of people who will be full of emotion, so it would be very interesting to write a story about this. The reactions of various people in the crowds will be particularly exciting to watch. Also, seeing the image on CNN of Bush handing over the presidency to Obama will be a special historical moment that will be remembered for years.
I do not know if there is a rally planned on campus that day, but if there isn't there should be. I was at the election night rally on campus, which I considered to be one of the most amazing things that I have ever seen. A similar kind of rally would be great and I think hundreds of students would attend this. Having a rally on campus the day of inauguration would be a great way to unify much of the student body just like the election celebration did.
If I were to write about a particular place and event, I would write about the events that take place in Binghamton NY during November 14-16 every year.
Every year the State University of New York at Binghamton host its annual carnival which is called BINGO. This is like mock celebration which takes place amongst the Caribbean Islands. Students from all over the New York state as well as out of state, flock in to the town of Binghamton for endless parties, after parties, hotel parties, day shows, and concerts. Some people even go as far as pretending they are Caribbean just because it’s “cool” to be and it seems to get them more “play” amongst the other Caribbean college students. The event entails a great deal of partying and not a lot of sleeping, overall just a lot of fun.
If I were writing this story a la Thompson, Southern or Vowell style, I would also tie in a story about immigration and how it is to live in the US. I would also talk about different peoples struggles with adapting to the US life style as well as the many cultural differences.
Growing up in a very Catholic household I was forced to attend church every Sunday; the Easter Sunday ones were always the most exciting. The church was always packed from front to back with some people standing by the door throughout the entire service. As a former altar server I knew exactly who never came to church throughout the whole year and it was actually a topic of discussion after mass as everyone gathered out front. It was always fun to watch people in mass who didn’t know if they had to kneel or stand, pray out loud or in silence, say thank you after taking communion or hold it until they got to their seats.
If I had to cover an event it would definitely be Easter Sunday in my neighborhood. I would love to observe people as they enter and leave the church, where they sit and really get into detail about all the gossip surrounding an Easter Sunday mass service. It would be interesting to write about why people feel forced to attend mass once a year and act like they know what they’re doing and what that says about the community or society.
If I had to write a humorous story, I would definitely tell of UAlbany's Fountain Day.
I transferred from SUNY Albany last year (I went there for a year and a half), and attended both the 2007 and 2008 Fountain Days. Fountain Day, for those of you who havent heard of it, is the day in which they turn on the huge fountain (indicating the end of winter) that shoots water at least 20 feet in the air and is surrounded by a pool of water. This is in the middle of the all the classroom buildings/lecture centers.
Fountain Day is held at the end of April, and is known as being the craziest day of the whole year for that campus; everyone gets drunk really early in the morning and goes off to attend Fountain Day and wait for the fountain to come on. There's a DJ, food and drinks, games, and events. Everyone goes crazy and gets wet and throws beach balls everywhere. This day kind of symbolizes the end of the year.
Cops are everywhere because ever since 2004 Fountain Day (when students were actually allowed to bring visitors), some kids got brutally hurt due to falling, I believe. Also, people were rolling kegs into campus and things got too hectic. Last Fountain Day, people decided to sneak in and get too wild, and cops began to smack students with their bats.
Everywhere you look, there's someone really drunk and falling down, people running around in their bathing suits, food fights, arrests, etc. So I definitely think this day could be written about in so many different ways, and would make for a great comedic story.
It's me again. So after reading everyone's posts thus far and re-reading the question, I think I got a better sense of the type of story you are asking for. So to write a story closer to those of southern, thompson, etc. the event I would like to cover would be a cheerleading competition. I think it's obvious why: the 13-year-old wearing, pretty much underwear, waving around pom-poms, cheering for a team that is not there. The team that is crying because they lost and the ones who are screeching because they won. The girls preparing themselves with hairspray and glitter.. sounds great. I think this story works better with the idea of capturing more than the event that is "supposed" to be reported. (I still like the dinner idea though!)
Well, if there was any place that I would chose to write a story about, it would probably be the open mic night at the Cubbyhole in Poughkeepsie, NY. I just performed there for the very first time (went well, fyi) and I was amazed to see the local talent (or, in some cases, lack of) that existed. There were people smacking their guitars in a really cool rhythmic way, people singing songs about walruses, and even a 40ish guy that managed to make me hate Jimi Hendrix's "Hey Joe" with a single error-ridden performance. It would be neat to detail not only the performers, but also the setting of the place. The main lights are low, christmas tree stringlights adorn the makeshift stage, and avant garde pictures mark the walls. In addition, the setting is so left-of-field; just inches from a pilates gym and a sushi place. It's a neat place that definitely deserves a unique write-up from my always unpredictable mind.
Oh, and their Vanilla Chai is off the charts! I could write a whole two stories just on that alone!
If I had to write a Vowell-like story, I would probably write it about the Christmas holiday. I remember being little and being so excited every time Christmas came around, and now being 20, the holiday just isn't the same. Every year we travel to my cousin's house up in Rochester and we do gift exchanges. The older we get, the more gift cards we get, and then just money, and now just a card. We watch our younger cousins getting their presents and being so freaking happy about it. And that after that moment of opening the gift, the actual item isn't even important to them anymore, just that they had a present.
This also brings up the idea, that how many children these days even know what Christmas really is about? Do they just think it's a holiday based around gifts and Santa? The media has taken a religious holiday and turned it into a "Hallmark" holiday, complete with consumerism and greed.
I would write about this to expose the underlying meaning of the holiday, and how the meaning has been lost over time.
(Valentine’s Day_February 14th, 2009_SUNY NEW Paltz). Putting these three factors together would be an interesting, yet disgusting, repetition of yet another day that is “supposed” to exemplify “love”. On this day, traditionally, you are supposed to send a significant other cards, flowers, candy, or anything else to express how you feel about them. It’s a day of reminding someone how much you care about them, “associated with romantic love in the circle of Geoffrey Chaucer in the High Middle Ages, when the tradition of courtly love flourished (Wikipedia’s definition)”. See, when I was younger this is what I pictured this holiday to be like, being full of love and affection that was unconditional.
Well, well, well… going on my second year at SUNY New Paltz I am sure of the outcome that will occur, yet again, on this very day. Conveniently, this holiday falls on a Saturday this year. Therefore, love will be shown in all forms, after 10pm that very night at bars lined along New Paltz village. Coincidentally this is another event posted on this blog that fall under the “drunken” category… but doesn’t it make the event that much more interesting and spontaneous? I think so! During this “holiday”, SUNY New Paltzer’s will gather themselves to “share their love” by grinding up on each other or sloppily professing their “lust” for each other at places like Murphy’s, Cuddy’s, or P&G’s. There will be hundreds of underaged kids dressed “to the T” in luscious red outfits. But here, the traditions are a little mixed up, this crowd has traded some of the common gifts for more “convenient” and “pleasurable” things. In place for flowers that are given to the girls, for free, by the men are (surprise surprise) replaced with beer bottles and beautifully colored shot glasses, sparkly and bubbly. Followed by the “flowers” are most likely chocolate. But instead of tasting lovely sugar you taste the spit in someone else’s mouth, because, for that moment, you “love” them… even though you met them a half hour ago on the dance floor. The lovely hearts are traded for cute colored and flavored condoms. And the only cards handed out, sadly, are freshman’s “V-cards”. This surely will be an interesting holiday… I can only imagine.
So the first thing I should explain, is that my family is incredibly Polish. In Buffalo, there's a huge indoor market in the middle of the East Side of Buffalo (the Polish Section)that sells Polish food, flowers, toys, really anything you can think off. Each year my family, along with just about every single family in Buffalo from Polish descent rushes to this market on Good Friday before Easter. That's what I would want to write about. I've been going to this market every year since I was a kid, I'd like to see how it's changed, how it's the same, what classic booths (there's one called the chicken lady) are still there and how people react in the giant swarm of people. I feel like it would say something not only of people and society as a whole, but of culture in Buffalo, and if the Polish tradition is dying out. Not only do I think it'd be interesting to read, but I'm curious about it myself. The last couple years I've gone I pretty much rushed through looking for stuff on my list, barely even looking at what I was passing by. The story would give me a chance to change that.
I think I'd want to sort of piggyback on Southern's "Twirling at Ole Miss" and stand outside of a Libby Lu's for a day.
Libby Lu's is a store you can usually find in your local mall--they host birthday parties for little girls, basically consisting of dressing the girls up as whores. Glitter and skimpy outfits about, and every time I walk past there my stomach turns over. I'd like to stand there and observe for a day to see what the mother's have to say about this, and how the people who work at Libby Lu's organize these parties. Also, I'd like to get some comments from the girls--hopefully something that makes them sound EXTRA brainwashed.
I'd be very interested in writing about this because I think it shows an extremely negative part of gender roles in our society, and the sexed-up creatures we're trying to make girls become (girls as young as five, mind you).
I would cover an event at my parents' church. They go to a kooky, non-denominational church and they drag myself and my little brothers along eveyr week. I think it's interesting to see how different people do things. There are so many different sects of Christianity that it seems impossible to keep track of each individual practice. Plus there are somereally ridiculous characters in a church congregation. My brother Hunter and I have discussed writing a screenplay based mostly on our observations from the balcony. Steve Carell would play the pastor, Pastor Pete, who seems to always be hawking one of his books and uses crack addiction as a metaphor for too many different Bible teachings.
Nikki, Libby Lui...what a good idea!! That store annoys the crap out of me.
I don't know if this is too much like Southern, but I'd like to cover a cheerleader competition or something obnoxious. Maybe a dog show! Or some rifle shooting contest (whatever its called). I would like to see how people prepare, the quirky rituals, the obscenities. Or maybe some kids place like Chuckie Cheese. I want to see how kids play, how the families interact.
I think what I would want to write about is a simple high school graduation. I would follow one family around and watch their interactions. Usually, graduating students think they already know everything and that they can do anything that they want. They come off with a sarcastic tone in their attitudes, shoving the fact that they're leaving for college (maybe not so intentionally, but it's still there) in their parents' faces making it seem that they're no longer needed and they'll never be home again. Also, when parents are to take pictures or make a big thing out of a momentus occassion, the students react with hostility and annoyance when 30 years from that moment they'll be happy that they have the memories. Meanwhile, the parents are sobbing in the crowd and feel left behind by their children. They're happy for them that they're moving on and they're going to make something of themselves but at the same time they're secretly wishing they'll just decide to stay at home forever. There's also that crazy havoc about the day where nobody really knows where to go or what to do and everyone gets mixed up somewhere on the lines. The chaos of the situation would be great to capture in a story. I always think parent/child relationships are interesting to see and it would be fun to write a story like this.
When I originally read this post I immediately thought about my high school courtyard. It is a ridiculous mix of cliches, ethnicities, races etc. It is a hub of diversity that always reminded me of the scene in "Mean Girls" where Lindsay Lohan imagines her cafeteria/mall is a watering hole in Africa. This explains my high school courtyard perfectly. The people often remind me of animals and the people unknowingly are fitting into the stereotypes that people commonly place on high school students. The jocks are being typical, the latino girls are speaking quickly in spanish, the step team is being obnoxious again by doing their routine to get attention, there are the daily fights that have the courtyard chanting "ohhh" like idiots and people standing on benches to get a look. The administrators aren't doing a very good job at their job and then there are those students who are in a corner reading or eating alone. It would be interesting to do a piece that allowed for personal commentary and interaction with all the groups. Kind of like a look into society and how the younger generations reflect the path our culture is taking.
I would love to write about college graduation weekend. I've stayed up here for the past two years to celebrate with my friends during their graduation weekend festivities. It's always entertaining to see them revert back to their freshman selves and get sloppily drunk, not getting any sleep, and then sit through the graduation ceremony the next day while their parents sit there taking pictures and beaming. Even better than watching the graduates behave like this is the bouncer's and bartender's reactions to these people. I would then follow them to graduation the next day watching the awful faces they make in pictures as they're about to vomit, and their families reactions. It could shed some light on the whole idea of the "last night of partying" before they enter the "real world."
The 4th of July. I think I would cover 3 events particularly, one in the hectic bustle of NYC, one in my hometown Newburgh, and one in a quiet time upstate. I think at the time America itself will be going under a vast transformation because of the new president and any changes he plans to make nationally and abroad. I would want to see how small towns and big cities contrast in their social and political viewpoints of this typically drunk event occurs. (By and by, I wonder if every country celebrates good and bad alike with copious amounts of booze?) I think the city would provide a giant energy to the piece and could be a good contrast to a slower, upstate celebration. Celebrations typically bring out the worst and best in people, I'm sure these events would say a lot.
If I were to write about an event similiar to Vowell and Thompson I would write about the election night party of Kirsten Gillibrand, a U.S. representative I canvassed for. We talked in class about how the event is not only a physical journey but an emotional and psychological journey. I think this would be a fitting event because it did change my outlook on politics and social class as it relates to politics. It also has some entertainment value to keep a reader interested because some of the things that took place at the event were humorous. I had conflicted feelings about the night because I came feeling very hopeful and proud of Barack Obama's election win, feeling very much a part of the movement he began and yet the party convinced me taht many people are excluded from politics as well. I came to the party expecting things to happen a certain way but the night turned out to be completely different than I had ever imagined. It would focus on the people who surround the politicians instead of the politicians themselves.
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