Through the semester I have seen a lot of articles, but this one really sums it up.  The first one listed is “Set the tone.” “The rapport between a bartender and guest is set by the bartender.”

This might sound obvious but it goes into further detail about what this means.  It basically says that it is the bartenders responsibility to make sure the customer is having a good time. The second commandment says to be observant. This is really important and it doesn’t pertain soley to the surroundings, but to observe people. They may be going through a tough time and just want to be left alone. They made need someone who will listen or give advice.  It happens all of the time, a bartender can only gauge the patrons mood by observing and listening. This will make for better interaction and a desired response for both parties.

 The third commandment was to know your recipes. There are always new products and ingredients being released by distributors, so it is impossible to memorize every single drink.  However, the fundamentals and basic mixology should be applied and every bartender should know how to make popular drinks.  My favorite point made is when she says, “I strongly believe that ten percent of bartending is the drinks. The other ninety percent is the bartender’s personality. Anyone can memorize and learn to make drinks, but it take a special someone to keep the customers coming back for more, night after night. So just keep that in mind.”

 The forth one is to perfect your craft. “A bartender is most definitely on stage, so expect to be scrutinized down to your fingernails.”

 This is always in the back of my mind while bartending. Especially if I have a bad day and know that I’d better not show it.  People pick up on little things because the bartender is the true source of entertainment no matter how many televisions are on or how loud the music may be.  It is really strange that people that do not know me, besides being my customers, can tell when something is wrong.  “You aren’t yourself today,” or “what’s bothering you,” are not statements that you want to hear from people that may not even know your full name.

 Perhaps the last one is better off reading then giving my opinion about it.  This commandment basically incorporates my multimedia package for the class. 

Exude Gravitas
“A bartender’s skill and cleverness in being many things to many people is one of the most compelling and challenging aspects of the job.”

Bartenders don’t just make drinks for their guests. There are many different “hats” a bartender must wear while working behind the bar. Bartenders have to be a wealth of knowledge for their guests when asked about current events, sporting events, where to eat and go out. Bartenders also have to play the recess monitor when trying to keep the peace at the bar between other rowdy guests. Bartenders are the therapists that must listen to their guests when they want to talk. Bartenders must make sure to deal with even the most difficult situations in a professional manner such as when having to cut a guest off from alcohol.

            She says that you have to be social and talk to everyone, even if you are having a bad day.  I have watched co-workers and other bartenders pick and choose who they interact with. I think that Kelly makes a good point; you really do have to talk with everyone who walks in. Sometimes the most intimidating people can be the best conversationalists.  There are always “sketchy” people in bars, it’s something that you get used to and learn to deal with.

            I used to work at Hamilton tavern (before the people who own Brewer’s Art bought it and made it presentable) and it was an absolute nightmare at times.  The people who came in that joint were more than a little sketchy! After treating some of these people like my equal instead of judging them, I found that a lot of them had enough brain cells left to hold a decent conversation. 

            Kelly also states that she creates her own martinis. “I just kind of search through different ingredients that we have and kind of mix and match what goes good with each other. Lots of practicing, which isn’t always a bad thing,” says Kelly.   I agree that it’s not always “by the book” a good bartender should be able to mix up a drink that is their won creation. 

            I enjoyed the fact that she doesn’t mind working sise-by-side with her sister and refers to her as her best friend.  I have seen so many people who work for or with family who absolutely despise it.  I think its great that these two can appreciate one another, work for long hours together, and still remain sane and positive.

Looking back, there are many things that I wish I could improve and there are a few things that I am not completely satisfied with. I can walk away from this experience knowing that I tried my best and gained knowledge that will change the way I view journalism.

For example, I had never blogged before and understand the importance and usefulness of this tool. I enjoyed reading about the status of my classmates and how their projects were forming. I plan to keep up with blogging and hope to stay connected to how classmates are doing in the future.

The multi-media package was an assignment that seemed overwhelming and intimidating. In the end, I created something that I can learn from. It was less than perfect, but I feel like it was the best I could have done.

For starters, I would get rid of the buzzing sound that has tainted the slideshow that I worked so hard to create. I know everyone had time management issues and many ran into problems, so I will not complain about those tribulations. However, with my topic I found it difficult to find quality footage and get pictures and interviews that made sense. The people I chose to interview work on busy nights and many of them were unavailable during regular hours. There were nights that I would arrive for an interview and the bartender was unrepentantly too busy to have an in depth conversation. I wanted to delve into more of their personal lives and how they became interested in bartending and.

My project focused on their individual styles and how they apply it to work in their favor. It seemed like a great idea until I realized that it would not impact the readers unless they were there to see it for themselves. This brings me to my next point, the way I put my slideshow together. I should have had a video of “a night in the life of… in may have told the story better.

I also would have tweaked my focus early on. Instead of being so general, I would have captured these bartenders in action. The night that I had my first interview with Lea, I was completely absorbed in everything she did. Her style was different and she was in tune with her surroundings. She passed a pen to a guy who was trying to sign his receipt before I realized that his pen was out of ink. She didn’t seem like she was paying attention because she was serving other customers so I was impressed. I wrote in my blog about this night and got positive feedback. Yet, I never really focused on these aspects in my module. Recording her sarcasm and energy behind the bar would have been a good idea.

I guess I feel like I had really great information and a lot of interesting people, but my work doesn’t reflect all of the experiences that I had during the semester. I wanted to create something really great, at the time; I thought that I had nailed it. To look at my finished product, I see that I fell short and lost something “really great” somewhere along the line.

In the future I will be working on this same project. I want to create what was in my mind when the topic of bartending was suggested to me. I enjoyed working with Dreamweaver and think that I’ve done a pretty good job using it. I also have enjoyed taking my own photos and using them effectively.

This class has taught me to look at journalism from a new perspective. All of the sites that we were told to view were helpful and useful. There are a few that I will take a look at, not because I have to, but because I want to. The time constraint was expected for a summer class, but I didn’t think it would be so intense. If I had been familiar with the technology aspect of the class prior to taking the class, I may have produced something that I was completely satisfied with. For now, I can say that I know my work is not publication quality and I know it needs improvement, but I am proud of what I have accomplished.

I am excited to grow from this experience. I will have time to learn more about all of the tech stuff and focus on the content of my multimedia package. I feel like this was a stepping stone that allowed me to see the importance and impact of technology. I feel confident that I can learn how to perfect my project and no longer feel like I am limited to tell a story using only words.

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 “I have never been coordinated enough to play sports. I couldn’t catch a baseball if you paid me, why would I try and catch something breakable?” says Tim.  Tim feels that if bartenders focus on throwing bottles around than they are actually disconnected to the crowd.

 I can see his point in this theory, a bartender may get caught up in doing tricks and the hospitality aspect of bartending may suffer. However, if a bartender knows when to use flair it can’t hurt to add a memorable experience for the patron. 

 Tim says that he has been in the business a long time and knows the difference between bartenders who use it to enhance their bartending skills and those who use it because they have no bartending skills.  “You can probably train a monkey to do some flair bartending, that doesn’t mean you want him serving you drinks,” says Tim.

 Tim has a point and I do see that some bartenders probably use flair to hide behind the fact that they may not have had a lot of experience behind the bar.  Either way I still am impressed by it and think it looks cool. 

 Tim makes a point to ask if I would care if a drink that I ordered was not “up to par” because the bartender made a show out of it.  I had to think about this for a minute, until I met Tim I would have never really put much thought into it. 

 I guess this interview shows me that bartending really is about individual preference and personal style behind the bar. I thought everyone loved flair!

 However, I can see that some areas could be altered or improved.  For starters, the first page that you see when the site opens is a little overwhelming.  There is so much going on and I really did not know what to look at first. The heading sounds simple enough to understand, “A rising voice: Afro-Latin Americans.” I was ready to navigate through the project but I didn’t know what I should do next.

 Then, I am given almost 10 choices of places I can visit within the project.  A huge map takes up most of the room on the page and a bunch of dots and numbers on it makes it interactive for me to delve into another aspect of the project.  I think if the map was not on the first page I would feel more comfortable about all of the links to the stories that are listed.  The map is a really nice feature and gave me a lot of information, but I don’t think it belongs on the first page.

 I think the overview should probably be the opening page. If I was visiting this site on my own and not for class work, I may get bored and not so to other places on the page because the map page is a little time consuming and I feel like it should not be the focus of the page.

 After I clicked on Part 1, I felt a little distracted by the yellow ad on the top of the page as well as my options on the left side.  I wanted to read the story but I didn’t know if I should watch one of the two videos to the left first.  Again, it was a little overwhelming and when I am reading a story on the internet my attention span is slightly different than when I am reading a book or magazine.  My attention span when I am viewing web pages is a lot shorter, I want to know what is going on and why I should be investing my time in the content. 

 The following parts were similar. They were so detailed and were rich with information, culture, and facts.  I would have paid attention to every word of this project, had it been in a magazine or in a documentary.  The work here is phenomenal, all of the video clips, pictures, and stories within stories.  There is so much information here that it is a shame, in my opinion, that it will never be fully appreciated.

 I think that a story is told better through video sometimes and in this case I think that this would make an excellent documentary. 

 At the end of this project there were over 100 comments posted by readers.  So obviously people are reading these stories.  I am simply stating my opinion, I could not get through each and every fact and that I thought the layout could be changed to be a little less overwhelming.  I think that if this was published as a magazine people may miss the experience that the video clips give. Music, voices, and background all play a key part in the experience. I think that the video clips that were used in this project were necessary in connecting with the culture and surroundings.  I thought that the videos and pictures were excellent ways to keep my interest.  The text could have been shortened.  Although it was accurate and informative information, I think that the long blocks of text on the page is one of the reasons I may wander away from the site.  I think that it this project could be more appealing by getting rid of some of the text.  Like I said earlier, I know that people, including myself that would love to read all of these stories, in a different format, like a magazine, not online.

It is a story that I found to be cute because it is something that you don’t hear very often.  People become bartenders for many reasons, usually involving their knowledge of alcohol, interest in the hospitality industry, or passion for entertaining.  This week, Marisa Gonzalez has a different answer.

Marisa became a bartender because of a crush that she had on the head bartender in the restaurant she was working as a waitress at the time. She explains that all she had to do was ask her manager if she could be a bartender and he put her behind the bar.  This usually does not happen with such ease, so I found it interesting that the manager gave her a shot and trained her to be a bartender. 

 The story continues to say that her ploy worked and she began dating the object of her affection.  The relationship between the two ended, but her relationship with bartending grew stronger. She says, “I quickly grew to love it behind the bar. It’s so much more fun than waiting tables. You have such a deeper connection with the people that come in, and to the other workers. Everyone wants to be the bartender’s friend.”

 I feel like the statement is true, when you have a deeper connection with your customers that is when you truly enjoy the hospitality side of bartending.  When you wait tables your guests are usually in a hurry or on some sort of time restraint and there is no relationship established. I agree with Marisa in saying that when you bartend everyone wants to be your friend. People will sit and talk about their personal lives for hours; they will ask for advice and expect you to listen, like a friend. 

Marisa describes her ideal customer at one point in the article, I agreed with who she described and think most bartenders would.  “One who is open and friendly; not just to me but to others around the bar. I love it when customers who don’t know each other at the beginning of the evening start talking, and talk throughout the night to each other. I also appreciate it when people understand the service industry, and understand that sometimes a bartender might get backed up and it might take an extra minute to get your drink. I like it when these type of people come in, and they a smile and have an open attitude. It’s also nice when people don’t end up falling asleep at the bar,” says Marisa.

 Marisa goes on to tell a story about her most memorable patron and also mentions some of the celebrities who have visited the restaurant where she works.  Since she works in Texas it was no surprise that she has met some of the Dallas Cowboys and a few of the Dallas Mavericks.

 It is interesting to read about bartenders’ stories of how they became a bartender and what they experience on a daily basis.  I like to compare other bartenders’ views and how they feel about their jobs.

            My co-worker agreed with me but was scared that it may have been the wrong thing to do, “maybe we should have just let it go,” she said.  This doesn’t make sense to me, if you go in to any business you can not make up your own price.  If I went to the mall after a sale and haggled over a price, I would be escorted out of a store by security and would not get my way. Should bars be any different just because there is alcohol and poor judgment involved? 

            Now that I have provided you with background information, you can see why I enjoyed “The sleazeball’s guide to ordering a drink,” by Kate Liebers.

            The article provides a guide to ordering drinks that I found to be comical but true.  Rule number 1 states that you should know what you want.  I find this funny because at least 30 times a week I hear “I don’t know what to get, what’s good?” or “can you just surprise me?” These are true statements that people make on a daily basis; I couldn’t make this up if I tried.  Usually I just smile and nod, make them something that I think fits their fickle personality and carry on with my night.  However, there are times that they catch me in a sarcastic mood and I make a joke about what it may contain (like bar mat liquid or worse) and tell them they are better off not leaving it up to me. 

            My second favorite rule is rule number 4. Rule number 4 states that you should leave the mixing to the bartender; this is also a frequent pet peeve of mine.  People come up, drink in hand and ask, “Can you make this stronger?” You probably should have thought about how weak the drink is when you ordered a Malibu and pineapple! If you wanted something that you can “taste the strength” of, you may have wanted to order a Jim Beam on the rocks. 

            The last rule is also a key point in bartending…to leave or at least prepare to leave at “last call.” There are far too many people who think that they are an exception to this rule.  When the bartender is closing, one should promptly pay there tab, leave a generous tip, and walk out the door.  This does not mean that you beg for one more drink because you couldn’t hear “last call” or that you will be right back, you just have to get money out of your car, or that you can’t leave until your friend comes back. Let me define what these terms really mean.  You “didn’t hear last call” because you were either being obnoxious and screaming louder than the call or you weren’t paying attention because you are already “trashed.” You won’t be right back, you will leave knowing that you owe money and then play it off that you were “too drunk” the next time you see me.  At last the famous friend line, the truth is your friend found someone to go home with or just couldn’t stand to be in your presence for one more second, either way, they are gone.

            It was at this point that I knew that he would make a great story for my first text module (if I am allowed to change my last paragraph and add new content).  Maybe I can use him for my revised story because the whole theme of my last text module is flair bartending!

            Joe told me a lot about the ideas that he has helped create at The Gin Mill.  For example “about a year or two ago everyone was on a Mojito craze. It seemed like if there wasn’t stuff floating in a drink, people don’t give it a chance, says Joe. He went on to explain the creative drinks that consisted of everything from handmade sour mix, simple syrup, and even hand peeled ginger!

            I kept it safe and tried his “blueberry madness” cocktail. It was surprising very refreshing and tasty. It contained Razmatazz, Blueberry Stoli, fresh blueberries, simple syrup and a splash of Sprite. He also created a cucumber and watermelon with Gin concoction, which was the winner of a taste test that he hosted on a slow Monday night. This guy is a lot of fun and has more energy than a six year old, would be an interesting prospect for a profile.

            The second interview was my follow-up with Shawn Clark (and he corrected me on the spelling of his name). I thought he would be a perfect person for my slideshow on flair bartending.  He is also energetic, funny, charismatic, and knows how to gain the attention of his patrons.  He explained that he has always liked to be in the spotlight and has a fun time entertaining people. He has competed in all types of bar Olympics and events and has true talent.  I wanted to use footage from one of his shows and he gave me permission to do so.  However, in reviewing the footage, I found that the quality was lacking.  The video was not too clear, very shaky, and basically gave me a headache. Since I do not want to have anyone else experience that chaos I will be using a slideshow that I will create instead.

About two hours later, I can finally share my thoughts on three of the maps.

 The first map I took a look at was Capitol of Punk. It was awesome, something that I truly did not expect.  I loved how interactive it was right from the beginning.  It started by showing clips of people talking directly to you and had very energetic and loud music playing in order to really grab the viewers’ attention.  Then a map pops up, but not a typical map.  This one is unlike any map I have seen.  It appeared to be hand drawn, like it was a rough sketch of someone’s. The best part is that the map allows you to experience D.C. like a real tour.  You can receive 10 text messages tours that are guided by a downloadable PDF map. I would definitely like to try it one day.

The second map I looked at was zipdecode.  It was an interactive map that allows users to type any zip code in the United States, the map then reveals the intended area of the country.  It looks really cool and I can most definitely see how it can be useful. There have been so many times that I needed a zip code for mailing (yes, some of us still use actual mail in an actual envelope) purposes or even for directions.  Instead of searching for it for hours, this map could show me in seconds. I will be using this map in the future.

The last map I looked at was terraSound. This was another mind blowing map. The map uses sound and direction for a powerful combination.  It creates the sense of walking down a city’s sidewalk while monitoring your position on the map.

I am from New York and still get lost in that city. Any time I visit Manhattan, even though I know my way around pretty well, I still manage to get turned around or forget where streets are located.  This guide is perfect to maneuver your way through any city.  I couldn’t believe the use of sound and how it really made you feel like you were right there on the street.