Visit Nebraska: America's Great First Step

Nebraska marked the first steps of young America, stepping out into a frontier that would double the size of our fledgling country.  Nebraska wears that rich history on her sleeve, honoring the history that made her and its contributions to American culture before and since its inception.  Despite being once part of The Great American Desert, Nebraska's natural beauty and geographic diversity are unrivaled in the Midwest and makes for a scenic home for it's many landmarks.

Fort Robinson State Park

History On Its Sleeve

Only ten years after being made a state, Nebraska's Fort Robinson saw the defeat of General Armstrong Custer and the surrender of Lakota Chief Crazy Horse.  Located in northwest Nebraska, Fort Robinson State Park now stands as a monument to that time in American history with impeccably maintained buildings and frontier artifacts.  A testament to American history, Fort Robinson State Park stands as Nebraska's most frequented landmark, attracting more than 350,000 visitors this year.

Scotts Bluff National Monument

The Ancient Face of History

Scotts Bluff served as the gateway to the new west through the Oregon Trail, seeing more than 250,000 travelers.  Now this 800 ft bluff greets a new kind of traveler and stands as one of Nebraska's most treasured landmarks.  A museum marks its historical significance and honors our west-bound ancestors, but the real attraction is the bluff itself.  Scotts Bluff can be scaled by car and on the right day its spellbinding view can be a time machine, sharing a sight with our brave pioneers.

Arbor Lodge State Historical Park & Museum

The Legacy of a Great Man

In 1872 J. Sterling Morton founded the national holiday Arbor Day and left behind not only that noble legacy but his beautiful mansion, The Arbor Lodge, as well.  Juxtaposed against the man made is a 65-acre arboretum littered with the natural beauty of more than 250 species of tree and shrub, most of which were planted by Morton.

Carhenge

A Little of Column A, a Little of Column B

Located near the town of Alliance is Carhenge, an unusual sculpture made out of automobiles. The site is modeled after England's great Stonehenge.

Stuhr Museum of the Prairie Pioneer

Place of the Pioneer

The Stuhr Museum pays tribute to several types of towns that emerged on the Nebraska Prairie, but its main attraction stands as Railroad Town.  Recreated on a 60-acre site, it shares its grounds with dozens of authentic 19th-century buildings.  While the museum has a strikingly modern main building, nearby Plains Indians and Old West artifacts are exhibited alongside antique cars and farm machinery.

Buffalo Bill Ranch State Historical Park

An American Legend

Historical icon William F. "Buffalo Bill" Cody displayed his prowess as a marksman, and earned his Buffalo Bill nickname, as a buffalo hunter.  Tales of his skill spread, and before long, Cody's theater act made him a wealthy man.  Buffalo Bill Ranch, in North Platte, Nebraska, is where he developed and displayed his famous Wild West Show.  Today, visitors can marvel at his many treasures and memorabilia inside his barn and 19-room home. 

Interrogating Texts

We are travelers when we choose to engage another man's idea; we take what we have and we leave with more.  This creates a dichotomy, a division between objective and subjective; however, neither are truly separate.  We carry the subjective with the objective even as we attempt to keep them a part.  It's difficult to separate the idea from the way it was expressed.

Who Are We?
I've always expressed great admiration for the critical style of Roger Ebert.  He brings so much of himself into every review, leveraging his own Catholic upbringing, his politics, his life to further illustrate his admiration or contempt for a film.  While emulating traditional review formats is likely a recipe for disaster when attempting to constructively critique our peers - we're close to their projects and ideas, in a place where what we'll say can be heard - it speaks to the fact that who we are and where we've been not only inform our reactions but offer those reactions credibility, oftentimes a necessity when wading through others' sweat and tears.


So What Then?
I had a teacher in high school who told me that, especially in the era of psychology, that we as people often look at each other as glorified computer programs, built out of if-then statements that differ from person to person.  If a man punches me in the face, then I punch him back.  If a man punches me in the face, then I flee. If a man punches me in the face, then I could really go for some chocolate.  This is all enforced by that classic truism: "Actions speak louder than words."  His issue was that it then discounts the third dimension:  Why? We have justifications for the things we do and we should have justifications for the things we say.  Why?  Why?  Why?

I'm inclined to agree with him.

When we're in a position to critique, we should always attempt to do so constructively.  So we ask why of ourselves and the author.  Did you find their idea disrespectful?  Why?  Do you believe there are concern due to it being a long term project?  Why?  We can't just say it won't work, nothing is gained.  It's not construction because nothing is gained, moved forward, built.

So...What?
We have to be ourselves when we critique something; it's what makes our viewpoint special.  But we also have to be fair; objective and subjective in the same sentence.  If we had an emotional or any kind of reaction really to a piece or an idea, we need to explain why we had it, in a way that the other person can learn something.  We need to be fair to the idea and true to ourselves.


But maybe I'm wrong.  If I am, tell me why.

Introductions May Be In Order

Evening everyone!  This will be my WWB for the Fall 2010 semester of  Web Writing taught by Jeff Schiff.

What You Can Expect

Here you'll see WWB assignment posts covering a variety of subjects (i.e. whatever Professor Schiff assigns).  You'll be able to experience the magic of a fiction writer trying to write well in an essay sort of way who will likely crash, burn, and then get better (I hope).  There will be links to my Personal Writing Project - henceforth called a PWP - and plenty of work to critique and enjoy.

Thanks for looking