PWP grows some more...

 
Since my last post, lots of things have happened--brainstorming, hypothesizing, theory making, experimenting, practicing, I've moved, rescued 5 kittens, gained 43 pounds, cured cancer, the list goes on. Okay, not really. So...

...Where am I?

 

I haven't changed my idea any, just fine tuned it. I am still focusing on documenting my experiences with the people I live with and around. I have decided on making posts for specific rooms of the apartment and the building and connecting certain stories and people with those rooms. When I add a new post about a specific room, I plan on attaching a piece of the layout to that post and they will add up over the course of the semester like a puzzle until you have the plan for the whole apartment. I think this will add to the posts and help the audience understand and connect to what I'm sharing. I still have only published my initial post but plan on adding the next in this future series within the coming 24 hours. I'll keep you updated!

My, Oh My... Interrogating Texts

The Internet world of writing these days seems to be flooded with tons, and tons of just fluff. Everything is so easily accessible via the web that research and recreation of other kinds have been limited.  The Internet, a world of possibilities...You could probably find an article or page devoted to pretty much anything.

Who should we be when we encounter texts?

When encountering texts it is always smart to take information received with a grain of salt. There are no fact checkers when it comes to online publishing so you can never be sure who to trust when it comes to articles and information. Most of what I have encountered on the web doesn't even have sources attached to the claims that are being made. So, who should we be when we encounter texts? BE SMART.

What should we bring to the table when we interrogate texts?

When reading off of the web it is important to have an inquisitive mind. You can't believe everything you read and when approaching other people's opinions, you have to ask questions. Take into account who the author is and have that in mind when reading their work.

It's also important to take notes. If you are reading in a thoughtful state and are looking to get something out of what you're presented on the web then you may want to take notes, bookmark pages or send links to share information with others or to view again in the future.

What questions shall we be asking about texts?
Questions that I often ask when I am doing research or just scoping articles on the web often include at least some of the following:

1. Who is the author?
2. What is their audience? Who is the article aimed towards?
3. Is this information factual? Sources?
4. If it is an opinion piece, do they have a credible title or experience to stand behind their opinion?
5. Is the article still relevant? When was it written?

It's always important to ask questions...

The Begining: Hanna's Personal Web Project.

After sincere attempts at several blogs in the past, I am glad I have been spoon fed the motivation to start another one and (hopefully) maintain it according to deadlines and routine. I put in a lot of effort trying to come up with an idea to focus my writing on and after consideration I am choosing to divulge the stories and secrets of my apartment building and its occupants. I have never been a writer, I don't usually write for fun except for the occasional poem here or there and I have also never kept a diary. I think this project will be very beneficial to me in not only helping to improve my writing skills but also to help establish an online presence that isn't strictly visual, straying from my main focus career-wise.

Our wonderful living/ dining room.

I recently relocated back to the city and moved in with two girls, one who is a friend and another who we met off of Craigslist. It has only been six weeks since the start of our lease and already there are way too many stories to tell. As I mentioned in class, we live above a bar in the Wrigleyville/Lakeview area and just to give you an idea of the building layout, there are 3 floors, the bar and then two apartments on each floor above them making a grand total of four apartments with three residents each. We live on the corner of a semi-dangerous intersection (dangerous in that people take the stop signs as a suggestion not a mandatory, law enforced traffic stop) and the train also passes by our street facing windows. There are bars, restaurants, shops and people every which way you look in this neighborhood. I used to find it fun to visit here for a night out and see the people making drunk fools of themselves on the sidewalks but I must say it is definitely way more interesting being a resident, and talking to others who have chose to live or work here. We have relationships with our neighbors, and the workers downstairs, we have had several incidents of random people walking up the back stairs and making there way into our apartment uninvited and with the combination of our semi-reckless lifestyles I think this blog might actually be entertaining for an audience to read.

One of the reasons I have found my blog excursions to be unsuccessful in the past is because I would write about things that were unrelated to me. I would share my media induced opinions that everyone has already heard about music, books, celebrities, etc. and hope someone would actually care about what I was writing. Quite frankly, I realize that it's boring to touch on what has already been brought to the table and I hope that my new venture will actually prove interesting since I'm forgetting the buffer and going to share very intimate details of not only my life, but my neighbors, roommates, bar employees, strangers and their interactions with each other. For the sake of all involved however, I'm going to hold back on revealing actual names and what bar is located underneath my feet. I'm looking forward to compiling my next post and please feel free to share your thoughts or ask me any questions.