How can someone be so obsessed with something so materialistic? I really cannot understand how someone can be so infatuated with the Nike corporation that they would be willing to change their lives and move across the country, just to be closer to it. Better yet, I wish I understood why I don’t have a passion for anything that much in my life. Maybe I have a problem?
At this time in my life, I find it hard to concentrate on anything-- let alone allow myself to be emersed in something such as a clothing and athletic shoe company. I don’t think it’s a matter of not caring, its more that I just don’t have time to sit there and find out every single detail about the Nike empire or something similar. Do they not have anything better to do with their lives? If they don’t then they should pick up a hobby that is a little more constructive, rather than wasting time and money on something that can never be achieved. Think about it. What they are really trying to do is to own every single type of Nike product and clothing that was ever on the market.
Moreover, discovering the level of infactuation that people have with Nike makes me want to question myself even more. Did I ever have something in my life that I loved that much? In discovering the answer, I cant help but think about my childhood, when I was obsessed with pogs. Who didn’t love pogs back in 2nd and 3rd grade? I wanted to have every single type of pog on the market, just like the Nike followers want every single type of Nike product on the market. The problem with Pogs was, once you played someone and lost, your pogs were gone forever and the only way to get them in return was to win them back.
I can remember going to the local craft store every other Wednesday after school and waiting in line to purchase the new pogs with my Grandmother and older sister. But these were not just any new pogs. Every other Wednesday, a new special edition pog was released. Looking back on it, all the pog company did was change the color from magenta to blue or add a hologram on one side of the pog to make it a “special edition”. It was actually a great marketing strategy. By calling one pog a “special edition”, they were able to charge 50 cents more, thus enhancing their overall value and selling more at the same time. Pure genius.
Overall, I would have to say that I estimate that I probably had over 300 pogs, maybe 10-20 “slammers”, and three gigantic tubes that kept my pogs and slammers safe while I rode the bus from school to home. But I always wanted more. I wanted to have every single pog ever made, I was obsessed.
Wait, was I just as crazy as the Nike people?
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Craft Talk
After attending Joseph Bathanti’s craft talk, I began to think as a Pittsburgh writer too.
I have grown up in this area all of my life, but was always unsure what is appropriate to write about? For instance, is it appropriate to write about the Steel workers who used to inhabit most of the downtown area, even though it was many years before my time? Also it it a sore subject because the steel industry leaving Pittsburgh was considered one of the worst events in the history of Pittsburgh? Better yet, is it appropriate to write about Bill Mazeroski’s World Series game winning home run if my parents were only five years old?
I was truly inspired when Bathanti spoke about how he has written a piece on Bill Mazersoki’s game winning home run from the opposing pitchers perspective. But also, I was a little confused. How can Bathanti accurately describe the moment Bill Mazersoki hit the game winning home run if he wasn’t there to experience it? How do you go about attempting to capture a moment in time like that if you’ve never had a chance to experience something like that since? (There has been no walk-off-game-winning-home-runs in a Pirates world series since.) I understand that you can do research and interviews with fans who were there, but to accurately describe a moment like that, I personally believe that you have to be there.
On the other hand, I think that if Bathanti ever decided to write a piece on how most of the steel industry left Pittsburgh, he would be able to do research and accurately describe the feeling of the city at that period because he can look at such things as statistics of home prices, the unemployment rate, and cost of living. Plus, this is very easy to write about because we are now just beginning to see people moving back to Pittsburgh.
I have grown up in this area all of my life, but was always unsure what is appropriate to write about? For instance, is it appropriate to write about the Steel workers who used to inhabit most of the downtown area, even though it was many years before my time? Also it it a sore subject because the steel industry leaving Pittsburgh was considered one of the worst events in the history of Pittsburgh? Better yet, is it appropriate to write about Bill Mazeroski’s World Series game winning home run if my parents were only five years old?
I was truly inspired when Bathanti spoke about how he has written a piece on Bill Mazersoki’s game winning home run from the opposing pitchers perspective. But also, I was a little confused. How can Bathanti accurately describe the moment Bill Mazersoki hit the game winning home run if he wasn’t there to experience it? How do you go about attempting to capture a moment in time like that if you’ve never had a chance to experience something like that since? (There has been no walk-off-game-winning-home-runs in a Pirates world series since.) I understand that you can do research and interviews with fans who were there, but to accurately describe a moment like that, I personally believe that you have to be there.
On the other hand, I think that if Bathanti ever decided to write a piece on how most of the steel industry left Pittsburgh, he would be able to do research and accurately describe the feeling of the city at that period because he can look at such things as statistics of home prices, the unemployment rate, and cost of living. Plus, this is very easy to write about because we are now just beginning to see people moving back to Pittsburgh.
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