Log for November 29th

I have decided to use Option three - I need three small pictures on the top of the first page, perhaps a graph on the bottom of the second page.

First page, above the title:
Malcom, Justin Chenette, Linda Valentino

second page, bottom:
Graph depicting how the youth vote has been going up since 2000

Plan of Action and Checklist

Checklist:

• Final Edit of feature
• get 3-5 amazing photos
• complete extra story and save w/ images in folder on server
• Complete design: 1-4 pgs for feature

Plan of Action:

At Home: Work on text of feature story: Find some statistics about young voters

November 29th: Visual: story doesn't lend itself well to photographs, so find interesting graphs online and perhaps small pictures of the two politicians. 

December 3rd: Finish transcribing West Side Story audio: Whip up into more concise article. Put photos and story on server.

December 5th: Lay out feature story on Indesign - if necessary just use template

December 7th: Work with Sam on deciding what will be on Artsy Spread. Hopefully have Murray's photo's by then?

Page #s: 28-29 West Side Story, Pepperell Squares, other artsy stuff
              44-45: Teens and Politics
              48-49: Issues you should know about - quad box, other fun stuff

The Second Presidential Debate

Unopinionated piece:
The second debate has been widely hailed as more confrontational and aggressive than the first. Obama, who lost the first debate by general consensus given his easygoing and weaker manner, stepped up his game by making a point of addressing Romney directly - as opposed to the first debate in which he mostly spoke to the moderator or the audience. The town-hall style setting allowed for the two candidates to interact more with each other, as well as interrupt one another on a regular basis. It felt significantly more charged than the previous debate.

Romney and Obama discussed the September attack on the U.S. Consulate in Libya for the first time face to face. Romney accused Obama of taking too long to refer to the attack as a terrorist strike, and of flying to Vegas for a political fundraiser the day after rather than responding to the incident. Obama, visibly upset, said that neither of those things were true, claiming that he denounced the attack as an act of terror right away, and went to the Rose Garden the day after the attack to meet with the grieving families. ". . . .the suggestion that anybody in my team, whether the secretary of state, our U.N. ambassador, anybody on my team would play politics or mislead when we've lost four of our own, governor, is offensive," he said. That's not what we do. That's not what I do as president, that's not what I do as commander in chief."

The candidates were both clearly vying for female supporters, and this was especially clear when they were asked a question about pay equity for women. Obama cited a piece of legislation he'd signed when he first took office that made it easier for women to seek equal pay as men. Romney cited work he'd done as governor of Massachusetts to hire women to leadership positions, which led to his soon-to-be viral comment about "binders full of women." Obama claimed that Romney wanted to cut funding for Planned Parenthood, a plan that Romney had outlined earlier in the campaign, but Romney vehemently denied this, saying "I’d just note that I don’t believe that bureaucrats in Washington should tell someone whether they can use contraceptives or not, and I don’t believe employers should tell someone whether they could have contraceptive care or not. Every woman in America should have access to contraceptives."

The most harrowing topic, however, was that of energy policy. Romney denied that Obama had increased production of American oil or coal in the past four years, but the president gave several examples to the contrary: an example of this is when the republican cited an incident where Obama had revoked an oil-drilling company's license. Obama claimed that the oil company simply hadn't been using the land and so it was going to waste. The president also stressed that renewable energy resources were the way of the future, a point that Romney largely ignored in rebuttal. 

Overall, Obama came out on top, with an altogether more self-assured air. He delivered several zingers that left Romney stuttering and caught off guard. Both candidates ended the debate, however, with confidence in their own plans for America and their chances of winning.


Opinion piece:
When watching this debate, the thing that bothered me most was how disparate the two candidate's views of the reality of the current state of America are. Obama painted a picture of steady, if slow, improvement - that he was currently in the middle of a long-term process to carefully restore America to its former glory, and that the effort was going well so far. Romney painted an entirely different picture, depicting his opponent's administration as well-meaning but dysfunctional, constantly setting forth plans that simply didn't work and were hurting America. Romney even said at the end of the debate:

Actually, that's not so bad in and of itself. They're bound to - and supposed to - disagree on the way to go about solving our issues. But in addition to disparities in philosophy, they seemed to have a plethora of disagreements on the solid facts. Romney kept saying that Obama was shutting down domestic oil, but Obama kept claiming that he was actually increasing American drilling. Romney said that he supported insurance for female contraceptives, something that Obama (and me, for that matter) vehemently denied was in the governor's policy. Romney said Obama hadn't implemented immigration reform; Obama said he had.

Do you want to know how I just came up with those examples? I found a transcript of the debate. I pressed Control+F and found out how many times a candidate used the word "true." In every instance, it was one denying something about what the other had said.

I frankly find it disturbing how truth, in politics, have become increasingly fluid. It's one thing to present facts in a misleading way; it's another to just make stuff up.

As a sort of political agnostic, I find it morbidly fascinating how liberals and conservatives live in completely different worlds. We paint the other side as evil and mystify over how our 'enemies' could possibly believe what they believe and think the way they do. All over the country, there have been instances of friendships ending and families being torn apart over these two conflicting realities.

And I don't buy the whole schpiel about how politics ultimately isn't that important and we shouldn't let it divide us. Because these issues are important, and their effects on our lives are more immediate than we might think. And SOMEBODY has to be right. I don't know who it is, because I'm a 17-year-old who doesn't intend to research this stuff until he can actually vote. But the straight-answer-dodging and the fact-distorting that this debate exemplifies sure isn't helping.

InDesign Practice

In which we practice designing.

CARPE

C - The contrast in this spread is easy to identify, with the left page depicting a healthy marsh and the right depicting one that's mostly evaporated. But the ingenuity of this contrast actually lies between the relative similarity of these two pictures: both sights are still beautiful - the grass in the distance is the same shade of green, and both skies are of only slightly variable sharp shades of blue. The tiny aesthetic contrast coupled with the huge conceptual contrast serve to stress the idea that climate change really sneaks up on us.

A - In terms of alignment, both the title and introductory paragraph are focused around the line between the two pictures in an effective way. Also, the way the title works its way downward, having three distinct lines of text and aligning the differently sized words across them, is incredibly cool.

R - The aforementioned contrast of the two pictures is a good example of repetition - the exact same location, with one key factor drastically changed. In addition, the color scheme of the title is effectively repetitive, with the transitional phrases "between" and "and a" in gray and the more important, topical phrases in white.

P - The introductory paragraph at the bottom left is grouped with the main text of the article at the bottom right. This proximity separates the title from the rest of the article, giving the spread's central information a coherent primary-ness.

E - As this spread incorporates photographs as its entire background, the issue of an eye-line of white space is not really relevant.

Vocab-news-lary story #3 (Blog Post 11): Humans and Computers

http://www.cnn.com/2012/11/01/tech/innovation/computers-humans-science/index.html?iid=article_sidebar

Humans, Robots, and the Relationships Between Them
Balthasar Salazari

Humans are weird when it comes to technology: We assign our GPS's and phones personalities give them names - and get angry at them, blaming them of iniquities using them as scapegoats for our technological problems.

For example: a recent smart thermostat (the Nest) was designed to use energy as abstemiously as possible. It was set on a pre-programmed sequence, but most users despised it. They saw it as patronizing, and vehemently defied it by changing the temperature themselves, often using more energy. The designer had to return to his atelier and make a new version which had no defaults plugged into it but rather let the users make their own pattern.

In another instance, a researcher rigged two different sets of automatic doors to open differently. One set, when a person walked toward it, would shoot open in a peremptory fashion, while the other opened slowly and vacillated slightly. People perceived the slower door as more perspicacious because it looked like it was pausing and thinking before it opened.

Scientists have made strong leaps forward in the field of self-driving cars over the past few years. While the idea of going places without ever having to drive may sound practically dulcet to your ears, it's unlikely that the conventional car will ever become archaic. People don't trust self-driving cars: there is too much of a cultural awareness of fictional robot uprisings. No, really. The idea that robots will usurp us once we trust them too much, while ludicrous, is a commonly accepted axiom.

In the ultimate step in humanizing technology, one researcher is designing a robot designed to realistically resemble a human head that displays pellucid emotions. Ideally, the robots would be so lifelike that a human could form an actual relationship with them. Needless to say, this level of intimacy with a robot wouldn't be for everyone, and would probably have some people reaching for their talisman.

You make is sound like the robot uprising has begun! This is so %$#@ing creepy I can't even. Rewrite it, maybe make it so I won't have nightmares.
-Autumn

Autumn, please! Expurgate yourself! You do realize this is going on my blog, don't you?
-Balthasar

What?
-Autumn

Final Draft

Why Politics Should Matter to Teens

By Aaron Lockman

Blue = depends on election

In a world of ever-increasing frenzy and teenage angst, politics is slowly slipping down the average teen’s list of priorities. Statistically, most teens intend to vote when they come of age, but what about in the meantime? Should high school students really care about politics?

“What’s politics?” said Ari Lavoie, freshman. “Is that, like, birth control or something?”

“I just don’t have much time,” said slightly more serious freshman Kaylee Burns. “I mean, I care about who’s president, but not much else. I just have more important things to worry about.”

Both Lavoie and Burns raise an interesting point: the teenage schedule is stuffed to the brim with homework, extracurricular activities, and relationship woes. There’s just no room around the edges for knowledge of a realm that is beyond their control. And the question of whether that is a bad thing remains: if high school students cannot vote, what is the point of following the political scene? Why should teens care?

“Because,” said Linda Valentino, current Maine state representative for District 134 and hopeful state senator, “it’s your future that we’re deciding up there.”

Valentino then immediately went to fetch an article from the Portland Press Herald from the recycle bin to further her point. The article detailed a vote by the University of Maine System’s board of trustees to extend the current tuition freeze (a government mandate restricting colleges from raising tuition). They did this, however, on the condition that the state provide $176 million a year for education and general operations at the University of Maine.

Sounds boring. But, as Valentino goes on to point out, what this signifies is that the money that you will have to cough up in order to continue your education is usually decided by people like Linda Valentino: elected officials, often at a state level. The only reason many University of Maine students can still afford to attend this year is because of a vote from the Maine senate and House of Representatives.

Even if you don’t plan to go to college, politics still influences major factors of your life. The government is in charge of the wage you get at your job, how many hours you can work there per week, the age you need to be to get your drivers’ license, and many other aspects of teen existence.

“There isn’t a thing that doesn’t affect you,” said Valentino.

True enough. But at this age, when the right to vote is still out of grasp, how can the average teen possibly affect the outcomes of these decisions?

When 2009 TA graduate Justin Chenette was attending high school here, he interviewed many significant political figures on The Issue, TATV’s news and politics show. After one interview, he remembers that a woman running for office asked him his age. When he responded that he was 17, she replied, “Oh, you’re under eighteen. Your opinion doesn’t matter.”

Chenette was justifiably indignant and went on to become the youngest current member of the Maine state legislature.

“As young people, we have to make ourselves heard,” said Chenette. “You need to be informed before you turn 18 - whoever you want to be, you need to figure that out at this point in your life.”

The teen population is growing up fast - making up a third of the American electorate by 2015  - and will soon be inheriting all the political issues that are so easy to ignore now. Staying informed is the best way to insure that those issues don’t come as a surprise. And it seems to be working: according to the U.S. Census, the past decade has seen a steady rise in young voters - especially in the 2008 election. That’s one of the remarkable things Obama did with his campaign in 2008, remarks Chenette: He made young people feel like they had a voice.

Indeed, looking back at the election four years ago illuminates a stark contrast with the wildly negative campaign this fall, another major factor in pushing teens away. “It’s all just bashing,” said senior Richard Crowell. “And [the candidates] both kind of stink.”

“They always seem to kind of just go back on their word and promise what they can’t deliver,” said Hayley Hogan.

The endless negative sniping from both parties across the country has aggravated all demographics, not just teens. Has government become just another catfight?

In response to this, Valentino tells a story of a local election several years ago, in which her opponent spent a considerable amount of money on an extensive negative ad campaign against her. In local politics, however, voters don’t just get their sources from ads and debates. A large number of the constituents knew Valentino personally and immediately recognized the ridiculousness of the ads - and many who’d been considering voting for her opponent were dissuaded enough to switch sides. She won the election in a landslide.

While it is true that Washington has become increasingly negative this year, the cutthroat methods that work on the big stage don’t easily transfer to a local level. As with the University of Maine example, local politics is far more likely to influence issues that have a direct impact on you - not to mention that you’re more likely to be able to have an influence on local politics. Volunteering or interning with a campaign you support, besides being a huge resume builder, is a simple way to uphold your duty as a citizen to make your voice heard even if you can’t vote yet.

The best thing you can do, however, is simply to stay informed. Just being aware of what’s going on and what affects you will have a positive impact - even posting on your Facebook about an opinion you have encourages political discourse. “Social media can be a tool to learn to talk back, and to interact with your extended community,” Chenette noted. “And it provides a safe environment for teens to make their voices heard on issues they care about.”

In the end, the larger issue isn’t even politics. It’s about being immersed in the world around you, finding something you’re passionate about - and, if you don’t like something, changing it.