Category: Uncategorized

Just last weekend was the 59^th anniversary of Buddy Holly’s death—when he and his fellow rock and roll musicians were killed in a plane crash over Clear Lake, Iowa. Twelve years later, singer-songwriter Don McLean would write a song called “American Pie” that referred to that ill-fated day as “The Day the Music Died.”

For this class, I’d like to run a blog that covers everything that’s happened since The Day the Music Died (to be more specific: a rock music blog). Because I often go to newsworthy concerts—tributes, benefits and anniversary shows—my major focus will be these events. However, I’d also like to feature small blurbs of classic rock history and listicles (“On This Day,” and “10 Best Soundtrack Albums,” etc.) on the side.

Also, the spring semester falls on Record Store Day, which is like Christmas for music nerds. All over the country around daybreak, fans line outside independent record stores, eagerly awaiting doors to open to buy special releases, participate in activities and meet music celebrities. Taking place in mid-April, I’d love to do a feature on this event in which I interview record store owners and collectors.

Another option would be coffee. I’ve been working in the industry for the last ten years and have watched it grow exponentially. I assistant manage Blue Bottle Coffee, in which I train baristas and facilitate brew classes to the public.

I could have a blog in which I cover different specialty coffee companies in the city and write features on events, like latte art competitions and lab tastings. I could also do Q&As with higher-ups at shops like Noble Tree, Counter Culture and Variety. I could interview “green buyers” in places like Hawaii and Guatemala to inform readers on different coffee varietals and climates. Lastly, it would also be fun to take videos of baristas explaining how to do latte art.

Crazy shakes and the restaurant atmosphere — nowadays, everything is on social media in one form or another. Instagram is arguably the most-used platform for showcasing the latest food creations and through this it generates buzz for the newest trends. Crazy shakes took the country by storm last year, and since then they’ve only grown in popularity and the options are endless.

Should this become my blog topic, I would look at some of the most talked-about crazy shake hotspots in Manhattan. I wouldn’t just look at the shakes themselves–I would analyze the atmosphere inside the restaurants and talk to the manager (or owner) about the design choices that were made when the restaurant was established. For one of my pieces, I could have the server order what they think is the best shake at the establishment. Another idea for a piece would be a “behind the scenes” look at how the most popular shake at a restaurant is made. A different aspect of the crazy shake phenomena is how these businesses market their products. Black Tap, for example, is one of the more famous options and they are constantly posting photos and updates on their social media accounts (specifically Instagram). I could talk to them about how they plan their posts and how it affects business as well.

Unions in 2018 — Unions have been around since the Industrial Revolution. As students, we learn the basics about them in high school history class and we may someday become a part of one, although membership is on a steady decline. I’m an intern at a retail union that represents over 16,000 people across Long Island, NYC and Westchester County. Something I’ve realized during my time at Local 338 is that people my age don’t realize the benefits of having a union. Before I worked at Local 338, I was actually a member in one of their stores, and so was my father.

If this were the topic of my blog, I could interview members of the union about how Local 338 has helped them in the past. If possible, I would do a Q&A with some of the leadership at my job about what it’s like to run a union and what it means to represent one. I could also cover some of the efforts being made by my union and the international UFCW to unionize Best Markets in their “Do Better Best Yet” campaign. I would have to get permission from my boss and the leadership at my job before I do any of this, because press (even if it’s something for a class) is something that they’re pretty strict with.

1. My first idea of what I would like to blog about is the boxing/mma scene in NY. With the legalization of mma in NY not too long ago, there have been an explosion of events that have been happening throughout ny. Boxing, on the other hand,  has always been a staple of the city. I would like to cover different events, both regional and the upper tier leagues (if I can afford to go) , interview amateur and pro fighters, interview people who go to these gyms just to stay fit, coaches, etc. Questions could range from their training regimens, what they eat in preparation, weight cutting, nerves before a fight, etc.
2. My other idea was to create a blog about different student’s journey through college. We all know college isn’t easy and I’d like to give readers a glimpse into the life of a college student. I would interview all types students (freshmen, sophomore, junior, senior )  to see the differences and similarities between students from different years. I would want to know about their struggles, success stories, classes, crazy professors, etc. I’d possibly even interview someone who has graduated from college and find out what advice they would have for the struggling college student.

1. The first topic that I would like to talk about involves the art of storytelling in American films from the 70s to now, and how they have evolved. The art of storytelling through films have been going on in the states since the late 19th century, however it has grown since then and is more accessible to those who have always dreamed of making films or starring in them. But what about films makes everyone so attracted to them? And are they just purely for entertainment or a reflection of the culture at the time? I am very into decades and seeing how things evolved to how they are now. I can talk about genres, to the music used, to messages and topics talked about, the way that they dressed, situations that were presented. Though the lines here are pretty blurry and I’m not particular with what angle I am going in, this is an idea so far that I believe is interesting and relevant to today. It also contains the age old complicated question, “what decade do you believe had the best movies?” I could ask people of various ages where did they go to see films before, where do they go to see it currently, and how do they think this will change in the future? I could ask people how do they think the art of filmmaking and its components changed, what does movies mean to them, how do they think the world would be if there was no such thing.
2. The second topic that I am very interested in is social constructionism and how it affects appearance pertaining to beauty, personality, individualism, and outlooks on life. Everybody views things differently but is it truly because its just how they see things, or are they viewing things some type of way because it’s what they were taught? It is no secret that growing up in today’s culture is much more harder because of the involvement of social media and its idolization of the “perfect life”. But when we break down what is truly a perfect life, we realize that most of it is what we were taught by peers, parents, teachers, magazines, television, celebrities, etc. about what we need to do in order to obtain perfection. I feel that once again I should narrow this focus down, maybe try to tailor it to a specific age group (one that has not been represented), but I love this topic because it is relevant at anytime. This would have even been relevant 20 years from now even though there is no social media. I feel that this topic can be brought up at any function or celebration and make people think. Some questions that come to mind would be, what does beauty mean to you, would you date someone shorter than you, what do you find attractive, what makes someone worthy of respect, what truly leads to joy, etc. This whole thing is just a series of questions that people overlook.

NYC Speed Dating  ❤︎– My first topic that I am interested in blogging is NYC speed dating. Love is a scary thing. Especially in the big apple where people come and go constantly. Luckily, Manhattan is the place to be single and find love. But how can someone find love in Manhattan? People are always in a rush and never have time to meet up because of crazy work hours. Speed Dating is the answer. Its quick, its fast, and easy. There are numerous speed dating events for straight and gay singles to find love. EventBrite is a great source to check out speed dating events. EventBrite also entails the date, the time, and place on where to go in Manhattan. The great thing about EventBrite is that it tells customers about the theme of the event. For example, one day it can be Gay Millionaire Matchmaker,  or  Jewish Singles Speed Dating, or even Speed Dating for only 30-50 year old. Love is all around the big apple. Especially in the month of February, where everyone wants to have a lover to kiss for Valentine’s Day. I can also interview the host of the event and ask why do people still speed date, is it worth it the time and money? I can also blog about what questions to ask on your first date, what to wear, what drink to have and most importantly can you really find love in only 5 minutes?

NYC Comedy Shows – My second topic that I am interested in blogging is NYC Comedy Shows. If you want to have a great time in Manhattan then a comedy show is for you! But which one is worth seeing? Are they free? What makes someone a stand up comedian? Luckily, EventBrite has got you covered on free and paid comedy shows! Everyone wants to laugh and have great time with friends. This is a great way to meet new people, enjoy good food, and laugh your problems away. I can create a comedic blog that entails different types of humor. Do we all find the same joke funny? What makes our humor different from others? Does it reflect on our personalities? For example, I find Whitney Cummings hilarious. I would love to see her on stage performing her skits. Her sex and dating jokes are beyond hilarious. But not everyone finds my humor funny. I can also blog about different comedians joke styles, short skits, and weird gestures that makes the crowd laughing more. I can also interview the comedian at the event and talk about his style of jokes and his secrets on what makes people laugh.

Two topics that inspire me the most: Tax and Urban Landscape 

• Tax

As the year of 2017 has spawned new tax laws and regulations regarding tax reforms and reduced corporate tax brackets, I chose this topic to effectively inform people that tax is not a single factor that affects our business. In other words, tax is a form of multiple factors that affect our business in life, in this case an individual tax return which requires us to analyze a W-2 Form, input accurate numbers for each section on the return, and submit the return on time in order to benefit from IRS. For this topic, I also found several tax blogs such as Tax Policy Blog – Tax Foundation, and Federal and Bloomberg Tax, whose mission is “to lead the tax reform debate toward smarter, simpler policy” according to Tax Foundation. However, although those blogs are informative enough to read through articles and understand those, I found them so monotonous and redundant because I can find the information via online newspaper’s platforms like New York Times and Wall Street Journal. Thus, in addition to the point of what I would like to distinguish my blog from either Tax Policy and Federal Tax is VITA (Volunteer Income Tax Assistance). Baruch has re-established VITA service this semester and is recruiting its students and train them to become a vita helping residents and non-residents (foreign international students) file income tax return until April 18. Overall, adding visual aids including videos, photos, and interviews with vita volunteers, I think the idea of tax can lead to a productive blog.   

• New York City landscape – Urban Landscape

What inspires you when you get up at 23rd street station and walk across Madison Square Park? For me, whenever I walk in the middle of the park during the day, it refreshes my mood with greenery air and energizes my condition by watching families with kids, students eating Shack burgers, and professionals talking to their coworkers. At night, however, it is astonishingly different. The park becomes a light that I follow to go home watching moving arts (it’s public arts available at this season). Because I love going out observing  people, architecture, interior design, arts, history, etc, I tend to visit various places at a different location such as The Old City in Pennsylvania, which I made a trip with my friend to explore the city for three days. For this particular topic, I want to deliver a story of new york city’s urban landscapes in terms of a motive of the place, a brief history of the place, inspiration of the place, and things to expect while visiting the place. Overall, I think my second topic for the city landscape can acknowledge people including residents, visitors, and travelers, about the beauty of New York City. 

Finance places great importance in todays world. Before the stock crash of 2008, 62% of Americans owned stock. If people were to understand our current reality that the Dow Jones, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq stock exchanges have all reached an all time high, more Americans would be investing in this potentially great economic boost. Unfortunately, no, this isn’t the case, according to Gallup News only 54% of all Americans own stock and more importantly from 2009 – 2017, only 31% of adolescents from the age of 18-29 now own stocks. I believe having a blog dedicated specifically to Baruch students, letting them know the great opportunity they are missing out on, will increase their financial knowledge and possibly their own wealth many times over.

Travel. It doesn’t always have to be to a new country or across seas. Travel can be to any place near of far, but away from your norm. Some shy away from traveling because they don’t like to fly, or take trains, use public transit, or even taking long road trips. Traveling doesn’t need to be expensive or require lots of planning ahead of time, it can take a day, an afternoon, or even a couple of hours. Travel to a personally unexplored town that can be merely 30 minutes away to see how much different it can be, simply to see what they offer. If you don’t want to travel blind, use resources such as yelp and pick two to three stops you might like to experience or an activity you might enjoy doing.

The first topic I am interested in covering for this class is a blog on the business of fashion. I would like to focus on what is happening in fashion on a daily basis in this industry. I would like to interview people that comes from this world and that are working in different areas to get a better sense of what does fashion mean and who are the people behind it. I would like to create a website where creation and business meets as well as I would like to inform and open this industry to the readers. For what I envision for my blog, I would like to do a “Pick of the Week” where each Sunday I would summarize what happened during the week in the industry. I’d like to do a special rubric for Fashion Week where I could write posts about the upcoming Fashion Shows, the calendar of the shows in Paris, London, Milan and New York. I will also interview people that are working in fashion, at every level and at different position. I want to write article about issues in this industry as well, a more researched type of posts where I could collect data and give facts about what is happening. Regarding the multimedia posts, I would like to produce podcasts and try to create an interactive map too. My goal is to create a blog with nice visuals and an aesthetic to give my readers the best online experience possible.

The second topic I am interested in for my blog would be to cover feminism. These days, being feminist is something that is very important and that raises questions and interrogations within our society. I would like for this blog to raise awareness and answer questions for people that aren’t familiar with what it is to be feminist or that are afraid of what it might be. I would like to expand this topic and connect it to other issues in our society. Each week, I’d like to do a “Pick of the Week”, summarizing what happened during the week around the subject of feminism. I would also like to interview people that aren’t in a feminist association and have their opinion as well as interviewing people that are part of a feminist movement. I would also like to have the point of view of a sociologist on the evolution of our society. What I would like to do is to produce podcasts as multimedia posts. I will also approach all kind of subjects, such as harassment or women rights and create a deep and research content. I’d also create posts explaining the history of feminism, women rights, and how much work and effort it had to take to be where we are today. As my first topic, I want to create a blog with great visuals so the readers will have an enjoyable experience.

Veganism – The first topic I’m interested in covering is veganism. The plant-based movement is taking the world by storm, and New York City is in the vanguard for the rising vegan scene. Adhering to a cruelty-free diet is a recent passion of mine, so covering these events to broadcast the key message of veganism is especially close to my heart. There are several vegan events and festivals coming to the city in the months to follow; the Brooklyn “Vegan Shop-Up” in March is one that I’m particularly eyeing.

I imagine that many vegan restaurateurs and vendors would be happy to talk about why the event was organized or what inspired them to start a vegan restaurant, and what they hope they hope their customers will get out of it. Delving deeper into these interviews, I envision writing stories on what inspired them to turn to a green lifestyle – whether it’s out of compassion for animals, health benefits, helping the environment, or a mix of those reasons.

Coffee – I’m an avid coffee drinker and aspire to open my own café one day, so coffee is another topic I’m interested in exploring. Like the evolving vegan culture in New York City, I’ve observed that the coffee scene is also becoming trendier. Coffee shop design is becoming more minimalistic. High-quality roasts are in demand, as evident by the influx of coffee bars like Bluebird Coffee, Gregory’s Coffee and Stumptown Coffee Roasters.

The types of stories that I would concentrate my coverage on are emerging small businesses and established coffee bars alike. For the new class of start-ups, I’d cover what makes them standout in a city where there is certainly no shortage of coffee shops. Baristas would be interviewed about how much more sophisticated their role behind the counter has grown over the past few years, in direct correlation with an increase in coffee zealotry. For the coffee shop veterans who have made a name for themselves – take Blue Bottle Coffee, for instance, I envision writing stories about how they personalize their marketing. This includes how they make their brand not only recognizable but loved, and the importance of design in their cups and stores.

One of the topics I would be interested in covering for this class would be local artists on Long Island. I live on Long Island and there is a large, somewhat underground local art scene. This ranges from drawing and painting to photography, sculpting, jewelry making, and music. I could cover fundraising events where local artists come together for a good cause. I could do features on different types of artists, and multimedia posts would be fun to do as well as to listen to/view. As far as aggregation roundup is concerned, there are a few small zines around as well as artists’ websites and other sites that revolve around up and coming artists. Reported stories could be about upcoming art shows or a musician’s new album that is waiting to be released. I also know of some art classes around the island that could add to the blog. I can collect lists of upcoming music shows and art shows, and interview anyone who runs common venues. I also know people with connections to “more important” people in this scene that could be very beneficial to talk to.

 

Another idea would be to host an environmental blog based on Long Island. (Like I mentioned above, I live on Long Island.) There are plenty of places and organizations on the island dedicated to helping and preserving the environment. There have been investigations of illegal dumping in Roberto Clemente Park in Coram, which would be extremely interesting to cover, if there are any breaks in the story soon. There are also talks of offshore wind resources and an article published very recently about Governor Cuomo working on plans. There are multitudes of organizations across the island dedicated to helping and preserving the environment, and I work in one of many state parks across LI. The park that I work in is home to a farm that raises chickens, farms bees, grows their own fruits and vegetables, and that’s just the beginning.

I could write news stories about any organization’s new projects, feature stories on anyone that farms bees and sells their local honey, features about certain organizations, and lists of events across the island. Heckscher State Park hosts an Earth Day weekend each year that would be nice to cover as a newsworthy event, and multimedia projects could be very interesting with this topic. There are countless articles and websites about the environment on LI that would be easily accessible for an aggregation roundup.

A few places I could contact for stories include Keep Islip Clean, Seatuck Environmental Association, Long Island Green Homes, any recycling facility, any state park, and a bunch of other groups or people I could easily find with a quick google search.