Response

I chose This American Life, because we will be making a map of our drift and I wanted to see what kind of maps these map making people make. I wanted to get ideas for making my own map and wanted to see if any of the article relates to me going on my drift. I was hoping it would give me ideas.

I think that it is pretty amazing how Ralph Gentles makes a map of every crack and pothole with ignoring everything else. To do something like this you couldn’t have anything else around bother you. The article says, “Mapmaking means ignoring everything in the world but the one thing being mapped, whether it's cracks in sidewalks or the homes of Hollywood stars.” This got me thinking about the map that I will be making for my drift, I will not be including everything around me such as the people walking on the street, but just where I go and what I decide to record, leaving out unnecessary details. Denis Woods maps his own neighborhood, with the power lines and sewers. This reminded me of going out with my group of fellow sound recorders and putting our ears to the sewers. Other map makers in this article made their maps using only their sense of taste or touch.