Review of Wealth and Poverty: Predatory Lending (deleted)
While I think that predatory lending is a topic that would be of interest to many, especially home owners or potential home owners, I think that this was just a plain bad sample picked for this interview. If someone showing up at this woman's doorstep with blank papers in hand for her to sign did not throw up red flags, then that is unfortunate for her, but not something that a reasonable person would have to worry about so much. I believe that bait and switch tactics, as well as high pressure tactics, can be abused by lenders everywhere and victimize the elderly, financially unstable and immigrants. At the same time, I think this story is very misleading, as many people choose to get interest only loans for personal reasons, and it is not always the result of a scam. Horror stories like these are not a fair representation at all, especially when the person is the victim of circumstance in such an unfortunate chain of events that include the words "car accident," "broken hip" and "homeless." I think it would be more fair to say that whenever someone is dealing with a stranger and with such large sums of money and important accounts, it is always necessary to do some research and homework.
I agree that with better organization, this piece could be much larger than the blurb the narrator has made it. Poor transitions and a weak commentary do not do justice to the provacotive, well-rounded information and interviews from every angle of this story. The conclusion rubbed me the wrong way as well -- I thought it to be somewhat bold to state that this is a "problem is likely to plague the state for many years to come."
I think the concept of the IPod is an extremely interesting one. Though I consider myself technically savvy, I have not yet embraced this foreign, somewhat intrusive piece of equipment that reminds me all too much of the tiny bug-like pieces that were pierced into the ears of the protagonist's wife in "Fahrenheit 451." Instead, I too have a hard time understanding why anyone would want to block out the sounds of life, to substitute the often surprising or unusual sound effects or conversations around us from our environment and out neighbors in it. Why can't the whistle of the leaves and a playful argument between schoolchildren be the soundtrack to our lives instead of My Chemical Romance? While we lose the sense of hearing and awareness of the world around us, we gain something of a presence, as the speaker describes as the sudden belief that the environment has become a reflection of "me." Only in an egotistical world as this one would the IPod become so rapidly and broadly popular.
Comment for
"Baltimore's Spoken Word Underground" (deleted)
Review of Baltimore's Spoken Word Underground (deleted)
At first this piece puts us inside Red Maple Night Club, a contributor in the crowd nearly drowning out the monetary voice with cheering and applause as a slippery stream of words spills through the mic. But as the segment continues, we begin to feel more and more like outsiders, less a part of this movement. And at the end, though we have a vast sample of the poetry, we don't have a great understanding of the scene or what drives the speakers of these divine words. The interviews give some insight, but as the dominant voice of the narrator disappears within the first few minutes, we find ourselves swimming through the metaphors and lyricism of these poets identified by their monikers, and at the end find that though the "broken English" is articulated so sternly but adeptly, and though the lively jazz and drums with the rhythmic throb of the words attempt to draw us back into the night club, we dejectedly find that there is too much content and not enough substance to this piece.
What a beautifully drawn portrait of the person that Muriel was to this documenter, of the person that our own Muriels are to us. The young speaker's voice is soft and reflective, painting her grandmother as a "storyteller," a trait that has ironically been passed along to our narrator and yet seems unlikely by the informal labels on her audiocassettes, which have emerged from a long forgotten box. The voices in the background, both old and small, along with the elastic sounds of the piano, create a dreamy sequence that not only flood Muriel's granddaughter with emotions, but the listeners -- of this eerily familiar voice looping over and over on magnetic tape. Telling the listeners that she will call them back, though it is too late for that anymore. The speaker tells us this is "not quite the revelation I'd imagined," and yet it is somehow soothing for her to listen to over and over. I think this is a wonderful story that is simply and tidily told in just a few short minutes, and the stories and knock-knock jokes paired with the sweet squeaks of innocence, we envisioning a child wrapped up in her grandmother's furrowed and weathered arms, are undoubtedly familiar, a story of loss and remembrance we all know too well.
Comments by Ra Ra
Comment for "Wealth and Poverty: Predatory Lending" (deleted)
Ra Ra
Posted on December 12, 2006 at 05:32 PM
Review of Wealth and Poverty: Predatory Lending (deleted)
While I think that predatory lending is a topic that would be of interest to many, especially home owners or potential home owners, I think that this was just a plain bad sample picked for this interview. If someone showing up at this woman's doorstep with blank papers in hand for her to sign did not throw up red flags, then that is unfortunate for her, but not something that a reasonable person would have to worry about so much. I believe that bait and switch tactics, as well as high pressure tactics, can be abused by lenders everywhere and victimize the elderly, financially unstable and immigrants. At the same time, I think this story is very misleading, as many people choose to get interest only loans for personal reasons, and it is not always the result of a scam. Horror stories like these are not a fair representation at all, especially when the person is the victim of circumstance in such an unfortunate chain of events that include the words "car accident," "broken hip" and "homeless." I think it would be more fair to say that whenever someone is dealing with a stranger and with such large sums of money and important accounts, it is always necessary to do some research and homework.
Comment for "Juvenile Detention"
Ra Ra
Posted on December 12, 2006 at 05:15 PM | Permalink
Review of Juvenile Detention
I agree that with better organization, this piece could be much larger than the blurb the narrator has made it. Poor transitions and a weak commentary do not do justice to the provacotive, well-rounded information and interviews from every angle of this story. The conclusion rubbed me the wrong way as well -- I thought it to be somewhat bold to state that this is a "problem is likely to plague the state for many years to come."
Comment for "Revoking My Citizenship to iPod Nation"
Ra Ra
Posted on December 11, 2006 at 06:10 PM | Permalink
Review of Revoking My Citizenship to iPod Nation
I think the concept of the IPod is an extremely interesting one. Though I consider myself technically savvy, I have not yet embraced this foreign, somewhat intrusive piece of equipment that reminds me all too much of the tiny bug-like pieces that were pierced into the ears of the protagonist's wife in "Fahrenheit 451." Instead, I too have a hard time understanding why anyone would want to block out the sounds of life, to substitute the often surprising or unusual sound effects or conversations around us from our environment and out neighbors in it. Why can't the whistle of the leaves and a playful argument between schoolchildren be the soundtrack to our lives instead of My Chemical Romance? While we lose the sense of hearing and awareness of the world around us, we gain something of a presence, as the speaker describes as the sudden belief that the environment has become a reflection of "me." Only in an egotistical world as this one would the IPod become so rapidly and broadly popular.
Comment for "Baltimore's Spoken Word Underground" (deleted)
Ra Ra
Posted on December 11, 2006 at 05:53 PM
Review of Baltimore's Spoken Word Underground (deleted)
At first this piece puts us inside Red Maple Night Club, a contributor in the crowd nearly drowning out the monetary voice with cheering and applause as a slippery stream of words spills through the mic. But as the segment continues, we begin to feel more and more like outsiders, less a part of this movement. And at the end, though we have a vast sample of the poetry, we don't have a great understanding of the scene or what drives the speakers of these divine words. The interviews give some insight, but as the dominant voice of the narrator disappears within the first few minutes, we find ourselves swimming through the metaphors and lyricism of these poets identified by their monikers, and at the end find that though the "broken English" is articulated so sternly but adeptly, and though the lively jazz and drums with the rhythmic throb of the words attempt to draw us back into the night club, we dejectedly find that there is too much content and not enough substance to this piece.
Comment for "Muriel's Message"
Ra Ra
Posted on December 11, 2006 at 05:26 PM | Permalink
Review of Muriel's Message
What a beautifully drawn portrait of the person that Muriel was to this documenter, of the person that our own Muriels are to us. The young speaker's voice is soft and reflective, painting her grandmother as a "storyteller," a trait that has ironically been passed along to our narrator and yet seems unlikely by the informal labels on her audiocassettes, which have emerged from a long forgotten box. The voices in the background, both old and small, along with the elastic sounds of the piano, create a dreamy sequence that not only flood Muriel's granddaughter with emotions, but the listeners -- of this eerily familiar voice looping over and over on magnetic tape. Telling the listeners that she will call them back, though it is too late for that anymore. The speaker tells us this is "not quite the revelation I'd imagined," and yet it is somehow soothing for her to listen to over and over. I think this is a wonderful story that is simply and tidily told in just a few short minutes, and the stories and knock-knock jokes paired with the sweet squeaks of innocence, we envisioning a child wrapped up in her grandmother's furrowed and weathered arms, are undoubtedly familiar, a story of loss and remembrance we all know too well.