TOW #12: NYC Landmark Law

Create an argument TOW

Choose and read an article/visual for a TOW.  Instead of treating it as an “analysis,” turn it into an argument by answering any of the following questions, or one of your own.  

1. To what extent do you agree with the main argument?
2. What do you think the author would think of X today?
3. What evidence challenges the author’s position and how?
4. To what extent do we fulfill the author’s vision (in this time/this context)?
5. If you could design/mold/create a new X, what characteristics would it have?

While scrolling through the New York Times Editorial page, I came across a piece with an extremely mundane title: “New York City’s Landmarks Law turns 50”. Wondering if the piece would match the utter dullness of the bolded heading, I clicked to read with much caution. Surprisingly, I actually found this editorial incredibly interesting and it enlightened me on an issue that I had never considered before. The NY Times Editorial board argues the ineffectiveness of the Landmarks law in NYC, thanks to the lack of aggression of the Landmarks Preservation Commission. I think that the main argument suggests a great point that not many people are aware of or consider. For example, the article discusses the Landmarks Preservation Commission, which sounds like a prestigious and important organization, but in reality, it is the city agency with the smallest budgets, $5.7 million, which I guess in government works isn't a large sum, and with the smallest staff. This examples shows how unpopular the commission is, which results in their inability to utilize the landmarks law effectively. What I find so incredibly interesting is that I think that this law is actually a great idea because it will helps preserve many historical places throughout the city. However, I think that the commission should attempt to find a balance in landmarking buildings or letting old ones go for the sake of efficiency. According to the article, they have already registered 1,700 landmarks in 2015 and 27% of buildings in Manhattan have landmark status. But with their small budget, do they have the capability to add more? The head of the Commission, Meenakshi Srinivasan, who was appointed by Mayor de Blasio, attempted to strike off dozens of buildings from their list of landmarks, for the sake of efficiency and to enable the commission to focus their energy on more important buildings. After much disagreement, it didn’t work out, but I think that Srinivasans idea was a good one. Why waste time and finances on so many buildings that potentially are similar to others in the city, when you can designate the truly important and architecturally remarkable buildings and landmarks to be remembered?

TOW #25 - Words Don't Mean What They Mean

In the excerpt, Words Don't Mean What They Mean, from his book, The Stuff of Thought, Steven Pinker discusses the various meanings of words in different conversations. A psychologist, author and linguist, Pinker uses his background in cognitive studies to delve deeper into words and their different implications. To essentially everyone who speaks English, because this subject applies to those who are learning the language as well, he compares anecdotes from pop culture and utilizes metaphors to emphasize the importance of the intricacies of language and how misleading it can be. Throughout the excerpt, Pinker often returns to his examples from the movie, Tootsie, and the TV show, Seinfeld, while discussing the convolutedness of sexual relationships. He says, "It is in the arena of sexual relationships, however, that the linguistic dance can be its most elaborate. In an episode of Seinfeld, George is asked by his date is would like to come up for coffee. He declines, explaining that caffeine keeps him up at night. Later he slaps his forehead: " 'Coffee' doesn't mean Coffee! 'Coffee' means sex!" The moment is funny but it's also a reminder of just how carefully romantic partners must always tread. Make too blatant a request, as in Tootsie, and the hearer is offended; too subtle, as in Seinfeld, and it can go over the hearer's head." Though this example is long, it really gets the authors main idea across: that words often have an implied meaning, which can convolute one's ideas and actions, much like George in Seinfeld. Pinker also utilizes metaphors to emphasize his point of the importance understanding the various meanings of language. In the conclusion of this section, he says, "Language is a window into human nature, but it is also a fistula, an open wound through we're exposed to an infectious world." This comparison is incredibly important because it states the benefits and draw-backs of language. It allows us to communicate and understand each other but it can also be potentially harmful. Overall, I thought that this piece was incredibly interesting. I love reading about language and Steven Pinker did a fabulous job delving deep into the details of it.

TOW #24 - Paris to the Moon 2

For my third IRB, I read Paris to the Moon by Adam Gopnik, a popular staff writer for the New Yorker, and I must say I was pleasantly surprised. Originally, I believed that Gopnik was going to be sharing short stories and various memories from his time spent in Paris with his wife and son, something that I still found interesting and was excited to read about. However, Gopnik not only delves deep into describing the various cultural phenomenons of France, but also analyzes and compares them to American culture. I absolutely loved the book and his drawing of lines between the two made it all of the more enjoyable. To his dedicated readers, Adam Gopnik uses both imagery and cultural comparisons  to relate his life in Paris with his life back in New York and to paint a vivid picture for his audience of his experiences while in France. The author uses imagery to help the reader understand his experiences in France. His son, Luke, loved the famous Luxembourg Gardens, and every day, he wanted to ride the carousel. Gopnik describes, "He rides the carousel, the fallen leaves piled neatly all around it, and though bent-up it is a beauty. The animals are chipped, the paint is peeling, the giraffe and elephant are missing hooves and tusks, and the carousel is musicless and graceless" (38). Gopnik includes many descriptive sentences such as this to talk about things that were significant to his experience in France. His use of imagery helps him bring the reader along with him on his day to day life. Gopnik also often makes comparisons between various aspects of French and American Life. One day, he had ordered a turkey from a rôtisseur, but due to a major labor strike, its delivery was delayed. He says, "When the turkey arrived at last, a week after the strike began, I got an excited call inviting me to come see it, and when I arrived, the rôtisseur, showing ti off, pointed out to me how different it was from any bird in an American supermarket. It wasn’t frozen, pumped full of cooking oil, or raised in a shed" (34). By using this example, Gopnik illustrates how something as basic and familiar as food and the process of growing and cultivating it can vary between different places. I also think that this comparison does an excellent job of showing the true nature of the food industry in France. Freshness and quality are emphasized there, while in America, almost everything we consume is processed. Overall, I believe that Gopnik did an excellent job at achieving his purpose. This book really spoke to me and I was able to relate with many of the authors ideas. An extremely well written book about the daily life and culture of an American in France, Paris to the Moon has something for everyone and is one of the best books I've read in a long time. But let's be real; a book about France could never be bad!

TOW #23: Yes, I'm in a Clique!

In the article featured in the New York Times, "Yes, I'm in a clique", Nathan Black describes the dynamics of the high school social scene, particularly cliques. Black was a freshman in high school when this essay was published in 1999 and not only is he incredibly eloquent while making his point, but he also has an in-depth understanding of what really goes on in the social aspects of high school. (For only a freshmen, he had a lot going for him.) To his audience of both high schoolers and parents alike, he essentially states that cliques are not necessarily a bad thing, contrary to popular opinion. Though his use of a blunt tone while describing personal experiences and figurative language, Nathan Black illustrates his firsthand knowledge of the topic and makes the claim that cliques are a natural part of high school social life. While describing the dynamics of a clique, he uses a simile to make a comparison. He says, "Each of these groups is as autonomous as any sovereign nation. The members sit together, eat together, go out together and, in this time of sorrow, often grieve together." This quote illustrates his understanding of the loyalty clique members feel towards one another, much like that of loyal members of a country. He also indicates with the word, "autonomous", that each does their own thing. Nathan utilizes a blunt tone through a majority of the essay, while describing his experience and ideals when it comes to cliques. He says, "That is not to say I think it's right to ridicule the people I think are nerds. While some cliques may go to extremes that border on outright discrimination, by high school most exclusivity is much more subtle; if I don't like someone, I ignore him. That way, he'll never even want to belong to my group because he doesn't know what we're like." This blunt description of the common philosophy held by many high-schoolers indicates that Nathan is incredibly educated on the subject. Through his use of words, like I, he makes his ideals and concepts more tangible for his audience. Overall, I think that Nathan wrote an excellent essay and did a great job achieving his purpose. Through his use of figurative language and a blunt tone, he claims that cliques are not necessarily a bad thing. In "Yes, I am in a clique", Nathan Black explains how cliques are a natural part of the high school social scene his eloquent description is truly one to remember. 

#22: International Womens Day

In honor of International Women's Day, this cartoon was drawn by Victor Ndula from Kenya in 2012. Though it is not extremely recent, it is still incredibly symbolic of the current struggle of women and it was awarded first place in the United Nations political cartoon contest in 2013. I think that while drawing this, Ndula did not was not targeting a specific group of people; this cartoon was intended for everyone's eyes. He is reaching out to women, indicating that various people, including himself, understand their current struggle. But he is also reaching out to men, by illustrating the daily strife of women. Through his use of subdued coloring and various symbols, Victor Ndula attempts to shed light on the lack of equal rights for women, despite their hard work, and that their struggles should be addressed. The entire cartoon is lacking in color and is very dull and monochromatic. This allows the audience to focus more on the subject matter, the working woman, with her various tasks at hand. There are also many important symbols in the cartoon that really stand out. First, the most obvious, is the large female symbol being dragged by the woman. Its sheer size, the symbols indicating its movement, and the small rocks and dirt being moved illustrate that the fight for women's equal rights is significant and not an easy one. However, the women in the picture does not appear to be phased. Her facial expressions appear to be determined while carrying this large issue on her back. The fact that she is also carrying a baby and a bundle of sticks along with her indicate the many jobs of a woman and how on top of all of these tasks, they have a larger one at stake. Ndula does an incredible job of illustrating the willpower and determination that many women all over the world have though picturing just one women, in particular. Overall, I believe that Victor Ndula really did a nice job in attempting to achieve his purpose. It is quite obvious that a lot of thought went into what was going to be pictured, in order to portray his message in the best possible way and he definitely deserved to win the United Nations Political Cartoon Contest. He shed light on an incredibly important issue of our time and did so in a very appropriate and powerful way.

TOW #21: How Should We Eat?

On the opinion pages of the New York Times, Mark Bittman talks of is current issues of the modern food industry. In his essay, How Should We Eat? Not only does he critique food processing companies and those that consume their products, he attacks the modern reports sent out with recommendations based on nutrition and health and the lack of enforcement of these recommendations by Americans. To his audience of Americans, those of the country renown for increasingly shocking food issues, he uses facts and statistics and words like "our" and "we" in an attempt to shed light on the importance of remodeling the food industry and how it majorly affects our country. While reciting various facts found within a report released by the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee, Bittman said, "At least some of the 117 million Americans who have "preventable, chronic diseases" (the reports number, and phrasing) do so at least because of the failings of recommendations like these." This strategic use of a direct statistic directly from one of these specific reports themselves illustrates the fact that Bittman is incredibly well-informed of this current situation. His implementation of logos increases his credibility, thus supporting and strengthening his overall argument. He also uses words such as "our" and "we". Towards the end of the essay, he says, " At the risk of sounding like a broken record, I think it would help if we had an overarching statement defining "food" and our rights regarding it, something like "All Americans have the right to nutritious, affordable, sustainable and fair food." Bittman's inclusion of such small, seemingly unimportant words have a major impact on his essay. It makes it appear to be less of a lecture and it makes him apart of his own audience. It relates him to his audience and supports the idea that his argument is applicable himself also. This increases his ethos because they serve as a disclaimer. Overall, I thought that this essay was extremely well written and that Bittman did a remarkable job of addressing this increasingly prominent issue. In How Should We Eat?, Mark Bittman sheds light on the issue of the modern food industry, something that all Americans should definitely be concerned with.

#20 - Paris To The Moon #1

In Paris to the Moon, Adam Gopnik compiles various journal entries and short stories from his time of living in Paris. Gopnik, a staff writer for The New Yorker and a Philadelphia Native, had been infatuated with the City of Paris for a majority of his life and finally moved there with his wife and son, Luke in 1995. To his readers, in various instances he uses humor and imagery in order to tell his story of life in Paris and experiencing their culture. His use of humor makes his writing more relatable and enjoyable. On page 20, he writes, "For most of those months in fact, Juppé has probably been the only person more preoccupied with apartments on the left bank more than I was, though he and I approached the matter from opposite ends. I was trying to find one, while he was trying to explain to the French people why he had so many and what all his relatives were doing in them." This strategic use of humor, regarding the French prime minister of the time, Alain Juppé, shows the fact that Gopnik has a lot of knowledge of French Culture and was really involved in what was going on while he lived there. Humor also has the tendency to make writing more enjoyable and its various quips like this that help make his writing more entertaining. Gopnik also uses imagery throughout the book, in order to describe his life in Paris and to seemingly bring the reader along with him. On page 17, he writes, "..when I think of Paris, I think of Them: Martha and Luke in matching fur hats at the Palais Royal; waiting with Luke in the courtyard of our building for Martha to come downstairs; waiting with Martha in the courtyard of an odd building on the boulevard Raspail for Luke to come from his gym class, peering through dirty windows and the cage like grill, one child among many, and then getting a Coca-Cola, five francs from the machine." Throughout this excerpt, he uses imagery in order to provide some examples of experiences he had with his family, while also experiencing French culture. In a sense, it brings the reader with him and helps them truly grasp what happened to him. So far, I think that Gopnik has done an excellent job in attempting to achieve his purpose. There are so many instances that I feel as though I am right there next to him in Paris. Although I am not too far into it, I already love this book and so many of the author's thoughts are similar to mine. In Paris to the Moon, Adam Gopnik does an excellent job describing the true essence of the amazing city of Paris.