New Topic + Sexy Short

Although I thought my first idea would make for a nice presentation, I felt another topic directly correlated with the idea of visual rhetoric. My only problem is that I have so much to talk about, and five minutes is not nearly enough time. Anyway, here’s the “sexy” short:


As a former Communication Liaison for QVC’s celebrity clientele, Mark Chalmers interacted with personalities such as Lebron James and Rachel Ray and incorporated self-representation techniques in his daily interaction to garner their attention—even when their inner diva reared its angry face. Mark resurrects the idea of visual rhetoric through body language and self-representation to employ a powerful communicative tool.

Urban Exploration: A Visual, Artistic Form of Preservation

There are those of you who may be aware of my fascination with Urban Exploration, and some of you may not be. For those of you who aren’t, or don’t know what it is, it is what I have chosen as the topic for my TED talk.


Urban exploring is the art of exploring relics—abandoned factories, sanitariums, theme parks, and other colorful landscapes. These remnants litter the landscape of our country, yet most people know nothing of them. That is where I come in.

As a former member of an Urban Exploration team, I investigated ruins and decaying buildings and probed them for personal intention— the hellish scare, sheer joy of discovery, to capture a photograph, or to simply say to other Urban Explorers, “Yeah. I was there.”

For my TED talk, I plan on exposing the world of Urban Exploration with a few personal encounters and preservations, and enlightening you with the vast visual presence this art form has on the internet. The entire carnival of exploring a ruin revolves around its history and preserving it. Like I said before, many are abandoned and decaying, and in time, they will eventually die or be torn down with the growing expansion of new properties.

So we as Urban Explorers make it a point to capture these places with photography. For those who have the chance to visit, photograph, and then post their findings on the internet, they have now exposed and educated an audience on something they might have never known before.

A motto among explorers: if you go somewhere, bring something back.

For more information on Urban Exploration, check out Weird New Jersey.

Pictured above: The entrance to a satanic temple, The Paulinskill Viaduct

Simply Awesome

Awesome. What else can I say? Every project presented was simply awesome. I say this because everything was fresh, outside our realm of knowledge, and enjoyable to watch/listen. And to top it off, everything related to the all-important theme of visual rhetoric. Each of us told a story through our images, and to me, we each effectively conveyed a message or story with the use or little or no words.

A few projects that are still lingering in my mind...

Julie's Story of a Writer, which should earn her an A in the class by itself. It was professionally executed, and resembled the example videos we watched prior to completing our assignments.

Sara's video montage of the 9/11 Teardrop Monument was a respectable, emotional timeline of the construction and appearance of an incredibly unknown tribute to those who died in the 9/11 attacks. The mix of music and images caught my eyes and ears and hooked me from the very beginning.

Though Matthew didn't believe his Meaning Making photos had the flash of some other projects, his theme of random things not often noticed or seen around Philadelphia was different from others, and some of the images were strange or odd enough to capture the essence of things we often miss everyday in our busy lives.

The Path of Estro

I've always had this odd dislike for corporate branding, and at some point years ago, I knew it was just a matter of time before it infected something important to me, such as running. It's not just an activity anymore though-- it has spawned a "lifestyle" of activewear clothing. No longer is a Nike headband used to soak up the sweat exerted during a draining exercise or sport-- it's part of a lifestyle of clothing, and it's now acceptable to where whenever.

Truthfully, there's nothing wrong with it, but for some reason, it just bothers me. Perhaps it's because the branding of myself isn't something I look to do while running. I don't need to show off a swoosh or set of stripes or Underarmor "U" because it doesn't help me-- what gets me to the finish line is my passion.

Coincidentally, the last photo of my essay reads the word, "estro"-- Greek for passion. It wasn't something planned, but as I laid on the gravel, and the shirt laid in front of me, I noticed just the estro of livestrong displayed. It was a pure coincidence, but fit the scene just right.

Below is my photo essay in full.