Despite his name, this column doesn't blow

Pick a column, any column.

This week's assignment was one that caused me to search for a type of idol I had never imagined I would be looking for. I was used to admiring fashion models I wanted to be like or actresses whose roles I would love to have. Never had I thought I would be in search of a column writer who I wanted to emulate...until about a month ago when I enrolled in this course.

After searching the web for columns that would hopefully catch my attention, I stumbled upon a few that outright had me dozing off as well as some that made me want to email them this course number along with my professor's name in hopes that they realize they are in dire need of a refresher course.

Some time later, I ended up on the New York Times website and began scrolling through the lists of current columnists. These were politically based columns and ones that I was not used to reading.

"Rise of the Fallen?" was the column that caught my eye out of the exhaustive list of the most recent editorials.

This editorial was about president Obama's speech on September 3 to the joint Congress. Typically, I would click the back button on my browser right after learning that the topic was yet another "monumental speech", but the fact that the author felt the same way intrigued me.

He wrote about what a great speech the president gave and how inspiring everything sounded. He praised his delivery and passion then had a moment of deja vu...

"So why does it feel as if we’ve been here before? Why does it feel as if we’ve heard him “give it to them” before only to have him lighten up and give in later? Because we have, that’s why."

Yes! How did he know that's exactly how I feel? That is the reason why I cannot watch those speeches or read many articles on them! This column is one that I would recommend to anyone who has felt or is feeling like all that glitter and confetti that was surrounding Obama in 2008 has lost its luster.

Take a look: Rise of the Fallen?
If you want to see more of his columns, they are published every Saturday.

So who is Mr. Charles M. Blow? Well, for starters he has been writing for the New York Times since 1994. He is currently the visual Op-Ed columnist for the paper. When he first joined the paper he was a graphics editor and achieved many things in that position.

From winning a best of show award for his graphics coverage of 9/11 to becoming the graphics director, this man has learned the ins and outs of this trade. 

As for education, has a B.A. is mass communications which he received from Grambling State University. What was most interesting to me was the fact that he is so involved in graphics as well as the writing aspect of journalism.

I watched some of an interview he had with C-SPAN about his journey as a journalist and found it rather hopeful. He talks about some of his current topics and what he has encountered over the years. Here is a link to the interview: http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/298466-1 (It is almost an hour so seeing bits and pieces was the route I took when watching it).

Overall, this column helped me see that politics do not always have to be stale and even if you have a stale topic to write about, it is possible to bring life back to something that appears expired.