Nelson Algren's "Chicago: City on the Make"

"Chicago.  City on the make.  A tangle of hustlers, gangsters, corrupt politicians.  A city of nobodies nobody knows, the ginsoaks, stew bums and shell shocked veterans who lurk in the alleys and linger in the weedy wastes underneath the L tracks and a town that sells out its dreams and disappoints its dreamers, but once you've become a part of this particular patch, you'll never love another.  Like loving a woman with a broken nose, you may well find lovelier lovelies, but never a lovely so real."



Nelson Algren's 12,000 word lyrical essay, written in 1951, captures "an aspect of Chicago that still applies today" (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago:_City_on_the_Make).  He touches on major events which have shaped the city's 120-year history:  the Great Fire of 1871, the Chicago World's Fair of 1894, the White Sox Scandal of 1919, the political corruption of the 1920s and Prohibition of the 1930's.  In fact, in the 1920's and 1930's, "many Chicago policemen earned more money from pay-offs than from the city" (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_history_of_Chicago).

Author A. J. Liebling takes credit for dubbing Chicago "The Second City" in 1952.  The Windy City always felt like it was in the shadow of New York City.  Carl Sandburg, in his famous poem "Chicago", asks "who are those who sneer at my city?", referring to New Yorkers.  What a coup it was for Chicago to win the bid to host the World's Fair in 1894, outbidding New York City.  That's how it acquired the name "Windy City", after the long-winded representatives from Chicago who made the fair bid.  The competition between the two cities persisted.  In the 20th Century, Chicago and New York City outraced each other to the sky, building the biggest and the best skyscrapers.

While Nelson Algren's Chicago may have been full of corruption and suffered from an inferiority complex, Algren "did indeed love the city and held high hopes for it, not in spite of its imperfections but because of them." (http://www.dwrl.utexas.edu/orgs/e3w/volume-12-spring-2012/contested-cities/susan-quesal-on-chicago-city-on-the-make)  For example, the Great Fire which struck Chicago led to its rebuilding, bringing in the country's best architects and leading to a city now known for its beautiful buildings.  Algren's "second hand sea", now much less polluted since the rerouting of the Chicago River, has become a playground for Chicagoans; it's one of the most beautiful waterfronts in America.  The White Sox scandal was taxing, but the team, and the fans, remain.  Algren was a diehard fan until his death.  Prohibition was repealed, slowing down, although not eliminating, the criminal activity in the Windy City.  In the 1920's and 1930's, the Chicago Police Force was known for its corruption.  Forty percent of police officers were killed in the line of duty.  In 1942, the force   established the first Human Relations Section in the nation, and in time, its image improved.

Algren could see the potential that his hometown had.  That is the undercurrent of the "definitive prose portrait of the city of Chicago" (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago:_City_on_the_Make).

Chicago:  City on the Make author, Nelson Algren, courtesy http://www.nwitimes.com/niche/shore/entertainment/arts-and-theatre/city-stage-classic-stories-of-chicago-writer-nelson-algren-brought/article.

E. B. White's "Here is New York"

One writer claims that "there is no more quoted piece of prose" than E. B. White's essay "This is New York".  Before the famous author wrote Charlotte's Web and Stuart Little, he penned an essay for Holiday magazine.  It is the perfect example of an essay filled with the elements of fiction, including foreshadowing.   Who would have thought that he would predict 9/11?

"New York is to the nation what the white church spire is to the village," explained White, commenting on how New York was filling with skyscrapers.  Early in the essay, White maps out his location by explaining how many blocks he is away from certain events in history:  Rudolph Valentino laying in state, Nathan Hale's execution, Ernest Hemingway punching Max Eastman, Walt Whitman writing editorials and Marceline clowning on the boards at the Hippodrome.  History is on every corner of New York City.

When White went downstairs to eat at the cafe, he found himself sitting eighteen inches away from Fred Stone, star of the Wizard of Oz.  "The eighteen inches were both the connection and the separation that New York provides for its inhabitants."  He uses the eighteen inches analogy to highlight the proximity of everything and everyone in New York.

White points out that since he's arrived in town, a number of "splashy events" have occurred, almost unnoticed:  a man killed his wife in a jealous rage; the world's two largest ocean liners arrived and departed; the greatest air show on earth took place.  It's all part of a normal day in the city.

"New York is peculiarly constructed to absorb almost anything that comes along," observed White.  The author says there are three types of New Yorkers:  the native, who gives the city solidarity, the immigrant, who gives the city passion, and the commuter, who gives the city restlessness.  On any given day, you might have a farmer arriving from Italy to set up a grocery store, a girl from Mississippi trying to escape her small town and a man with a manuscript from the Corn Belt (the latter could describe Theodore Geisel who did just that in 1957, later called Dr. Seuss).

White points out those who have moved up in the world in New York:  Irving Berlin's journey from Cherry Street to the East Side.  He reminds us that New York "reached it highest point in the sky at the lowest moment of the Depression".  Irving Berlin was one of the city's 2 million Jewish residents; at the time it also had 700,000 Blacks, half a million Irish and half a million Germans, along with 230,000 Puerto Ricans.  "In New York Smolders every race problem there is but the noticeable thing is not the problem but the inviolate truce."  How fitting that the United Nations would be built in such a city.

White describes how New York is a big city full of small neighbourhoods.  Within two or three blocks its residents could find a grocer, barber, newsstand, dry cleaner, deli, flower shop, etc.  They could spend a lifetim in an area smaller than a country village.

E. B. White concludes by saying that New York is both "changing and changeless".  He focusses on the willow tree in the East River:  despite the abuse that it takes, it keeps growing upward.

http://www.startsateight.com/2011/11/here-is-new-york-2/

The Power of Branding

"A brand for a company is like a reputation for a person.  You earn reputation by trying to do hard things well." (Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon.com)

Wood can be branded to write a message on a sign; a cow can be branded to show ownership; American slaves were branded, also to show ownership; imprisoned Jews were branded during the Second World War.  Branding, which has been around for centuries, can definitely have a negative connotation.

www.dryheadranch.com

However, it can also have a positive connotation.  Today, business branding is commonplace.  When my nephew Bo was only 2 years old, he would shout out "Donald's" every time his parents drove past the fast food restaurant.  The golden arches are a form of branding.  When I visited Chicago a couple of summers ago, we took an architectural cruise along the Chicago River.  My favourite skyscraper was a jutting silver building with six giant letters on the side of it, "TRUMP".  Donald Trump is a genius at branding:  his name plasters his buildings, his products, even his helicopter.  Visit http://www.trump.com/ to see how the mastermind works.

upload.wikpedia.org

Internet branding is a technique that uses the World Wide Web as a medium for positioning a brand in the marketplace.  Websites, social media, blogs, online press releases and video marketing are some of the medium used to advertise a brand.  Visit http://garinkilpatrick.com/online-brand-building-tips/ for ideas.

whitespace.on.ca

Personal branding is way for individuals to "market themselves and their careers as brands".  It can also be called "self-packaging", a term coined by Tom Peters in 1997.  It is a way to "establish a prescribed image or impression in the mid of others regarding an individual, group or organization". Self-packaging is not a new idea; Napoleon Hill first introduced the concept in his book Think and Grow Rich back in 1937, a bestseller that has sold over 70 million copies.  For more about this book, visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Think_and_Grow_Rich.

ronnicruz.com

Personal branding is a way to identify yourself on the Internet.  It gets your name, your image, your product or your blog out there.  It helps you connect with clients for your company or career.  For tips on how to build a strong personal brand visit http://www.quicksprout.com/the-complete-guide-to-building-your-personal-brand/ or http://www.forbes.com/sites/shamahyder/2014/08/18/7-things-you-can-do-to-build-an-awesome-personal-brand/.

Personal branding helps you stand out courtesy http://www.inc.com/uploaded_files/image/970x450/personality-pano_22382.jpg.

Personal branding is a way to separate yourself from the competition.  Employers increasingly use social media tools to vet applicants before offering them interviews.  They check out applicants' Facebook pages, Twitter pages and personal blogs, to get a sense of what they are all about.

Remember, your brand should be consistent across the board.  Your blog, Twitter page, Facebook page, Pinterest page and any other social media pages should have a similar look.  For more information, visit https://support.canva.com/hc/en-us/articles/202666204-How-do-I-create-a-consistent-brand-image-.

Source:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Branding

Billion Dollar Graphics

"Infographic:  graphic visual representation of information, data or knowledge intended to present complex information quickly and clearly." (Wikipedia)

www.milliondollargraphics.com

Infographics, or information graphics, such as graphs, charts, tables and maps, can be used by bloggers to enhance their blog.  One website claims that if you give an oral presentation, your audience will retain about 10% of what you presented.  However, if you include visuals and written words in your presentation, that figure rises dramatically to 50%.  To read about the power of visual communication, visit http://www.billiondollargraphics.com/infographics.html.

                

                               

                                     Infographic courtesy www.millerbusinesscenter.org.

While we think of infographics as a recent phenomenon, they have their roots in the early 19th Century (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infographic).  Back in 1801, Englishman William Playfair, a political economist, published the first area chart and pie chart in his Statistical Previary.  In 1857, the famous nurse, Florence Nightingale, used inforgraphics to persuade Queen Victoria to improve military hospital conditions during the Crimean War.  In 1861, Charles Minard prepared a complex infographic on Napoleon's disastrous march on Moscow.  

Charles Minard's infographic courtesy en.wikipedia.org.

In 1933, the London Underground was the first to make use of modern maps to sketch out its complicated subway system.  In 2010, an infographic illustrated how buildings have grown over the past several decades, starting with the Empire State Building and finishing with a modern marvel in Dubai (Skyscrapers Through History:  The World is Getting Taller).  Our brains crave infographics as explained by the following infographic http://visual.ly/13-reasons-your-brain-craves-infographics?view=true.  

"The World is Getting Taller" infographic courtesy thumbnails-visually.netdna-ssl.com.

Here is a metro Washington subway map which makes good use of infographics.  

Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest are litterered with infographics.  They not only convey information, but they also advertise your brand and generate more traffic to your blog.  Why not add them to your blog posts?  For tips about creating effective infographics, visit the following website at https://www.visioncritical.com/pretty-and-pretty-useful-how-create-awesome-infographics/.

Ten infographics on Pinterest at dailyinfographic.com.