Friday, October 23, 2009

You're bored in ATLANTA? seriously?

     That is a question that I recently heard someone mention at a bus stop. Incredibly enough, I could not help the sad fool with any answers myself. "How could you not notice the many fun activities and places waiting for you in such a shining urban community?" Even Georgia Tech President "Bud" Peterson recently wrote a passage relating to the great number of activities in Atlanta. Thus I decided to rid myself and any Atlantan reader of this crippling ignorance. You're out of the lifeless sprawl ghost towns now.

Introducing an incredible catalog of activities:


     Here is a well-designed Atlanta tourist website. However, the vast information provided goes well beyond a simple tourist itinerary. For example, one page (called "50 fun things to do in Atlanta) leads to a wide variety of places worth visiting - the viewer may even specify which category he or she is interested in, such as a sporting facility or a nightclub.



     One may even sort by a section of the city, such as Midtown, Downtown, or Buckhead. Plus, for the overwhelmed tourist, clicking on "Custom 50 Fun Things" will lead the user to preset visit guides sorted by interests.

For fun seekers who prefer being bombarded by information, there is:
 

     It reads like a news-site, and that is where it shines. Partnered with renowned media outlets AJC and WSBTV, Access Atlanta hosts the latest news, events, and anything else you would expect from a well-established news source. What sets AA apart is the focus it has on the city. The search bar on the top of the page integrates choice, flexibility, and convenience for any city-goer.

     One visit to any of these sites is enough for someone to realize how stupid it is to dub Atlanta "boring". The rich history, culture, and overall community of the city defies the nature of boredom. Atlanta is not suburban sprawl crap, is not worth missing out on, and is definitely not boring.

-Jaron Gao

Monday, October 19, 2009

Georgia Tech Intramurals

In my opinion, one of the most interesting things to do for fun here at Georgia Tech are intramurals. There are so many ways to get involved with intramurals. The intramurals program is divided up into several leagues: fraternity, sorority, co-rec, and independent, graduate student and housing. The entire program is set up, organized, and mediated by the CRC. Several of the sports in which intramurals are available actually take place in the CRC's main building; these sports include: volleyball indoor soccer, wiffle ball, basketball, water polo, racquetball, squash, ping pong, badminton and many more.
Some sports take place outdoors or at other locations these sports include: flag football, outdoor soccer, corn hole, stickball, baseball, field hockey, and many more. Usually, a student can get involved through a Greek organization if they are part of one, a student organization, a residence hall, or just a group of guys interested in forming a team together. There is usually a small fee associated with registering a team into a league, but once the fee is divided up among the team members, it is reduced to a negligible amount. The sports are decided into phases, phase 1 and 2 in the fall semester, phase 2 and 3 in the spring semester, and phase 5 in the summer semester.
In conclusion, intramurals are just one option out of many to have fun at Georgia Tech. It is important to have fun as a means of de-stressing.

-Abhi

Friday, October 2, 2009

Food brings the Community Closer!

SOME PEOPLE THINK IT'S ALL ABOUT THE FOOD!

      Eat Buford Highway is a blog that focus on the many different restaurants and foods around and along Buford Highway. As one explores the blog one must ask why would someone make a blog like this? Why is it important? Most importantly what kind of neighborhood is the author trying to express. What is the author's view of a good neighborhood?

     The author uses food as a connection between the people and it's community. With so many restaurants located right in the heart of the city right next to each other, walking to them is not an issue. This leads the reader to believe that the author supports a traditional neighborhood. Restaurants are viewed as a place were people can discuss and bond while enjoying good food. It supports community fellowship. The author knows that food is something most people are able to connect with.

     What makes a good neighborhood? Well for the author of Eat Buford Highway, a good neighborhood is one where the members of the community can sit and relax and experience something new. Having people sit around a table and dine on good food and allow for people in the same community to bond.

Hungry ???


Food is definitely one of the most discussed issues in university. Initially upon moving into college a student might relish the food, but believe me this feeling doesn’t last very long. They are only a certain number of days that you can regularly eat similar kind of meals. To a college student this can very easily become a reason for depression and a slump in academic performance. Therefore addressing this issue is of extreme importance.

More often than not incoming freshman, or for that matter students who join a university in an environment foreign from their own, are unaware of the whereabouts of restaurants and eating joints. So blissful glutton does the task of assembling various information on several food types and presents all of that in a compact reader friendly manner. Blissful glutton acts as a valuable tool in aiding people finding the whereabouts of their favourite cuisines. The blog’s main goal is to establish a real time based community between restaurants and consumers. Having a guide that will lead you to your favourite restaurant is definitely worth it. It is convenient as it can be accessed online, without wasting much time. 

The blog also consists of pictures that play a role in influencing the readers mind. In other words they are a means by which restaurants can advertise themselves. The multi modal approach is very beneficial as it helps the reader visualize the content of the text. The use of different modes of communication i.e. text, images and videos is also critical because it plays a tremendous role in avoiding the monotony of having to just read tones and tones of text. 

-Abhi


Thursday, October 1, 2009

Clusterf*ck Nation - one view of NOT community

     Clusterf*ck Nation is a blog maintained by an author named James Howard Kunstler. Anyone familiar with Kunstler's works could accurately state the author's views of community before an initial view of the blog. As one may assume from the blog title, James H. K. overtly emphasizes his distaste towards modern suburbia and sprawl. Though Kunstler writes primarily about economic issues in his articles, he manages to point out multiple times that the cause of such problems almost always relates directly to sprawl.
     Rather than explaining what a community should be, the author writes of the opposite. He clearly states that the current status of American housing manages to stray far from being an acceptable community and  that inefficient suburban planning provides a horrible foundation for a down-turned economy.Thus, a good community is one that does NOT include endless pavement, little land value, bad purchase decisions, or a group of people unaware that they are part of a bad community. Most of all, a good community does NOT become born from a single or few greedy, callous "developers".
     The multiple modes the author employs provides a sense of credibility towards his word. The layout of the site tells the reader that Kunstler is a "no-nonsense" speaker who strongly believes his words. At the top of the site is a picture of the author who does not seem to be bothered at all by his leanings. He establishes further credibility from the multiple denotations of his works around his pages. Kunstler takes full advantage of the electronic medium. Not only does he incorporate pictures and links into his blog but his entire blog is a piece of his main site. This method connects his web log with his other electronic accessibility, such as his podcast.
     The blog's recurring themes include Kunstler's analysis of economic downturns, views on updated political matters, and reminders of the absentmindedness of suburban Americans - all revolving around the author's perceived absence of an American community.

-Jaron Gao