Blog 1-RIchard Baba

1. Observe

Amanda Petrusich relies heavily on visualization of the environment that surrounds her. Petrusich interprets her surroundings in a way that would enable us to see what Petrusich is seeing at that very moment. As a reader I am able to imagine what she is describing and it gives me a more vivid view of the world she is living in. " At the end of my block, I watch residents of Gowanus Houses, one of New York's largest housing projects, trickle into the street, slicing fruit and pumping hot summer jams, gathering around local bodega, nodding their heads at passerby" (Page 14-Paragraph 1). This gives a great amount of detail and gives the reader a good representation of what the author is trying to display. However, Petrusich goes on to say, "Regardless, possibly the biggest upside to living in New York is that nearly everywhere else in the country feels easier" (Page 14-Paragraph 2). Such an observation like that may cause arguments relating to the topic of whether or not it is easier to live else where.

2. Examine issues from multiple points of view.

As Petrusich continues on she states " To some, Alan Lomax was an unapologetic imperialist, selfishly scouring foreign cultures for fight songs, making a career out of capturing and lionizing and publishing and picking apart indigenous anthems that did not belong to him, exclusively- but Lomax also saved hundreds of folk songs from grim, untimely deaths, offering each subsequent generation a tiny, mysterious bit of art" (Page 14-Paragraph 3). At this point of the story, Petrusich is giving us two different points of view on a controversial topic, forcing us, the readers to make a decision on how we should look at Alan Lomax. The way Petrusich wrote it gives us the ability to scrutinize the issue and make an assessment based on the information she provided us.

3. Engage with the ideas of others.

Petrusich seems to this specific concept more than the others I mentioned. Petrusich is always open for discussing ideas and engaging in conversations relating to those ideas. For example, she says "I would rather discuss what the weather was like in Portland the month a band was recording" (Page 16-Paragraph 2). Again this is complete relation to engaging with the ideas of others. Petrusichs wants to fully comprehend the minute details that take place behind the whole organization of a particular subject. By doing this she is asking questions and understanding how people arrive to what the believe and why they feel a certain way.

RB