Individual Blog Post #2

Why Newspapers Will Continue to Milk Their Current Business Until They Die

Newspapers have been around seemingly forever. Just like how radio had its existence threatened when the television came around, newspapers are having a similar scare too because of the internet. In this case, newspapers will have to start putting their stories online as well. This will regain the percentage of readers that turned to online news instead of buying a newspaper. Newspapers have to decide whether or not they want to move partially or fully to online resources. Some smaller newspapers can not afford to do this, so they will continue printing out newspapers until they eventually loose so many readers to the internet that they will go out of business.

Individual Blog Post #1

Don't Steal Music, Pretty Please

This article is a kind of older one from when iPods were first coming out. The issue at hand is music being stolen, and how it would be encouraged even further with MP3 players. It’s kind of funny to see how it was such a big deal back then, people being sued for using Napster and other programs that allowed free downloading of music. Now, several years later, the problems are solved a little bit. I don’t think that they’ll ever get rid of every program, but now there is iTunes and other online music stores to give people an affordable opportunity to “do the right thing”. It is also more convenient for people to download using iTunes since it automatically puts it on the device.

Japanese Internment Memorial

All is Well.

The first thing that caught my eye was the scene towards the beginning of the piece. It includes a ship with people getting off it, going through the immigration office, and then sitting in a large kitchen with many family members eating a happy dinner. I liked this scene because it reminded me of my family. I have a pretty big family and we always eat a lot at every occasion. The last part of this scene just seemed very realistic and like something that I could personally relate to. The part that I can not relate to, however, is that of the people getting off the ships. Both sides of my family have been in the United States since the early 1800s, so I never got to see the bright faces of family members and friends, hoping for a new beginning. This scene is important because it gives the main background that people are coming over to a new country, when everything is good and peaceful.

Advertising in Art.

The second thing that I noticed was that there was a scene of a downtown area with all kinds of shops selling things. I also found it kind of interesting, especially since I am an advertising major, that on the shop’s windows were signs for Coca-Cola and Pepsi. I wouldn’t have expected to find brand names on a piece of artwork like this, but it just goes to show that strong brands go through everything and at the end of it all and decades later, they are standing strong. In this same scene there are busses loading people to take to the internment camps. You can tell that this was probably somewhere that used to be fun to go to and perhaps spend some free time, but it was so quickly turned in to a place that many of those people would never want to see again. This scene is important because it is the place where their whole journey started. It also portrays the shock and utter disappointment the people had.

Push for an End

Finally, the last couple of feet of the piece were my favorite. They had gotten used to this lifestyle in a sense, and it seemed like it didn’t really bother them as much as it should have. They were also gracefully shown accepting an apology and depicted as the bigger people out of the whole situation. I was amazed that they still kept up some of their regular activities that they participated in before going to these camps, such as the Boy Scouts. I love the fact that they set up classes to both keep them entertained and learn. This scene is important because it shows a little bit of how life still went on for them while they were in the camps and that there was finally and end to it all.

I think that we as a nation are constantly learning and have become very careful about using politically correct terms that are constantly improving. The whole reason we study history is so we don’t repeat the mistakes that we have made, and to learn from them. I like to think that this day in age we have come to accept all people, no matter race, age, gender, or sexual orientation. I think if something like this did happen in today’s age, the country, if not, the world, would be in an uproar.

Despite being trapped in prisons for which they did not deserve, they still smiled, laughed, and played. Despite this, they still strived to learn. And most of all, despite all of this, they still saluted this flag.

Extra Credit: Personal Obituary

Hot and cold was her life. Having divorced parents usually does this to children. One weekend would be spent with her dad in the hot hills of Carnegie dirt bike riding, and the other would be on the icy slopes, snowboarding with her mom. She spent a lot of time on extreme sports, always looking for a new thrill. Skydiving fulfilled a small part of that desire, but was an expensive one-time-only adventure.

Cooking was another field that interested her. She always tried new things to make for dinner, usually with somewhat success. Her secret wish was to own her own bakery after attending culinary school.

Since the cost of culinary school is so high, she attended San Jose State University full time instead. She majored in advertising because she took a few classes in high school and loved it. Finally in college, she discovered that the advertising classes were not quite what she had been hoping for. There was a lot more business than she was expecting, and not nearly enough of the creative aspect that she was expecting.

Kindergarten was when she first got in to art. She loved all the art projects they got to do, and coloring was always her first choice during free time. Her parents and family praised her crayon pictures and encouraged her drawing to blossom.

She worked for many years, but only held a few jobs. Her first job was at an ice cream shop, where she eventually became manager. Since her favorite food was always ice cream, this was probably the best job she could hope for. When she grew out of that job, she became a nanny. This helped prepare her for what having kids would be like, and made her decide that she should wait a little longer to do so. When the family moved to another state, she got a job at a restaurant as a server. When she proved her good work ethics, a bartending position was offered by her managers, which she greatly accepted.

She led a full, exciting life, always trying to find the positive side of all situations.

Coffee Shop Exercise

The espresso machine whined a high pitch scream into the air as the hot chocolate inside the metal tin reached its boiling point. The dimly lit café was drowned out by the screeching sound, and the other occupied table halted conversation and glared at the annoyance.

Once the decorative porcelain cup was placed on the smooth stone surface of the tabletop, the details could be seen. Yellow and blue ribbons patterned the white of the cup and matching saucer. A nugget of sweetness, a piece of biscotti, garnished the drink.

“I can’t believe he’s backing out of plans with your family!” a young woman at the nearby table says. “Hasn’t he had these plans for almost a month?”

“Well, you can’t exactly plan for a funeral, you know” the other woman says over the rising steam of a cappuccino. “I have such mixed feelings. He’s such a nice guy, and I understand that he wants to be there for her, it is very hard loosing a grandparent after all. In turn I want to be there for him, and give him the freedom to do what he feels is right, without getting a guilt trip from me. I’d feel selfish asking him to not attend the funeral, whether he knew this lady or not.”

“But he didn’t know her. And besides, you are his girlfriend, not her. He should be putting you before everyone, especially his ex-girlfriend.”

The two women continued to analyze the pros and cons of this sticky situation for a staggering 28 minutes before the yellow and blue ribbon laced cup ran cold and empty.

Copy Edit the World: Movie

I was watching a movie the other night that had subtitles. One line said,

"No, No one should know of this."

The second "No" should not be capitalized.

Drinking Coffee Elsewhere

I read the short story “The Ant on the Shelf” by ZZ Packer first. I felt like I was right there sitting in the car with Spurgeon and Ray Bivens Jr. all the way from jail to the March. I loved the details used, from the bird’s personalities, to the way Lupita spoke. On the other hand, I was disappointed by the ending. I felt like the story was climaxing with Spurgeon at the train station having no money left to get home, and then it just ended without telling me what happened next. Anything could have happened to him. I decided to try another story in hopes of a good ending.

The second story I read was “Every Tongue Shall Confess”. This story did an excellent job at using flashbacks. They were appropriate and purposeful. Packer was successful in making the flashbacks flow in and out. I felt like I really got to know Clareese Mitchell through the background information in the flashbacks. The ending was not quite fulfilling enough for me. I felt like I had a pretty good idea of where Packer saw the story going with Cleophus attending Clareese’s church, which I didn’t get with the previous story.

I feel like I didn’t get much from reading these stories other than a reminder of using details more frequently and that flashbacks work well every now and then. I was frustrated by the lack of endings and they made me feel like I read all those pages to not even get a conclusion. It was nice to have the endings open so that the reader can decide what happens, but I would like to have read more and heard Packer’s view on what she thought would happen. However, I did like the way I was “shown” not “told” details.

Word of the Week #8

Nicole Decker
Mass Com 100W T/Th 10:30 a.m.
Word #8

Word: koan
Source: Choke, by Chuck Palahniuk, page 69
How it was used: “My life makes about as much sense as a Zen koan.”

Definition:
Noun

1. a nonsensical or paradoxical question to a student for which an answer is demanded, the stress of meditation on the question often being illuminating
2. A puzzling, often paradoxical statement or story, used in Zen Buddhism as an aid to meditation and a means of gaining spiritual awakening
3. a paradoxical anecdote or a riddle that has no solution; used in Zen Buddhism to show the inadequacy of logical reasoning
4. A Zen teaching riddle. Classically, koans are attractive paradoxes to be meditated on; their purpose is to help one to enlightenment by temporarily jamming normal cognitive processing so that something more interesting can happen (this practice is associated with Rinzei Zen Buddhism). Hackers are very fond of the koan form and compose their own koans for humororous and/or enlightening effect.

My sentence: The English teacher had her students write a journal entry on what they thought of a traditional Zen koan.

Journal #3 - NPR Radio Interview Analysis

For this assignment, I downloaded a podcast of Fresh Air with host Terry Gross interviewing Stephen Waldmen, who recently wrote the book Founding Faith: Providence, Politics, and the Birth of Religious Freedom in America. This is a book about the role religion had when America was being founded.

To prepare for this interview, Gross had obviously read the book beforehand. She also had to do some research on religion, as well as some history of America. The history most likely had to include the founding fathers, their beliefs, and documents from this era. Gross knew what he did outside of writing this book, such as founding a website called beliefnet.com, which is about several religions.

The questions asked in this interview were mostly about the book, and how different things influenced Waldmen’s beliefs about religion’s role in founding our country.

Gross had a lot of follow up questions. She built up questions by first asking one, and Waldmen would respond, for example, with a fact about the Quakers. Gross would respond to this answer with a question directed to the Quakers. To transition, she would say “Another myth you’re your book debunks is…”, quote the book itself, or simply reintroduce Waldmen and change subject completely. To me, it didn’t seem like she had a particular strategy for this interview.

If she asked a question but didn’t quite get the answer she wanted, she would summarize what he said, and then ask something along the lines of, “What’s an example of that?”, “What does that say to you?”, or “What guides your opinion?”.

The relationship seemed purely professional. It didn’t seem like they were great friends or anything, but they weren’t arguing and interrupting each other. When the interview ended, there was a quick and dry “thank you for coming. Goodbye” ending.

From this interview, I learned that you have to have your research done to ask questions on the spot, as well as expand on comments. You also have to have many questions lined up so you don’t run out of things to say, especially in a forty minute interview.

Word of the Week #7

Nicole Decker
Mass Com 100W T/Th 10:30 a.m.
Word #7

Word: acumen
Source: Nanny Diaries, by Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus, page 261
How it was used: “‘He was telling me by the barbecue that he’s managed to expand into twelve new markets this year-’ Mr. X is impressed with Jack’s business acumen.”

Definition:
Noun

1. keen insight; shrewdness
2. Quickness, accuracy, and keenness of judgment or insight
3. a tapering point
4. shrewdness shown by keen insight

My sentence: The woman surprised her older male coworkers with her acumen to solve the business’ problems.

Mystery Character

This male doesn’t say a whole lot but everyone can predict the low pitched words that will come out of his mouth. Kids especially love him, as he is always happily offering a cool refreshing treat on a warm day. He always has an enormous grin on his face, and like most of us, he is filled with red liquid. However, when he moves around, this red liquid spills out from the top of his head. What’s unique about him is that he is made of glass. His large round belly is the first to crash through a wall to get everyone’s attention.

Copy Edit the World: Sushi

When I went out to sushi I noticed they had a misprint on a sign. It's kind of hard to read it since I took this picture with my phone, but it says:

"This space is for your servers. Please, do not remove this one. Thank you, Sato"

This sign doesn't refer to what "this one" is. The phrase "this one" is vague, we don't know what it refers to. It could refer to the "space" or it could refer to the sign.

Word of the Week #6

Nicole Decker
Mass Com 100W T/Th 10:30 a.m.
Word #6

Word: melee
Source: The Nanny Diaries, by Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus, page 234
How it was used: “She tosses her hair to the other shoulder and walks back to the cake melee.”

Definition:
Noun
1. a confused hand-to-hand fight or struggle among several people.
2. confusion; turmoil; jumble: the melee of Christmas shopping.
3. a group of diamonds, each weighing less than 0.25 carat.
4. Confused, hand-to-hand fighting in a pitched battle.
5. A violent free-for-all. See Synonyms at brawl.
6. A confused tumultuous mingling, as of a crowd: the rush-hour melee.
7. a noisy riotous fight
8. A fight in which the combatants are mingled in one confused mass; a hand to hand conflict; an affray
9. A cavalry exercise in which two groups of riders try to cut paper plumes off the helmets of their opponents, the contest continuing until no member of one group retains his plume

My sentence: The band tried to make their way through the melee after their concert.

Copy Edit the World: Book

In the book Phenomenology and Existentialism, the line six lines from the bottom of the photo says "is a letter ot Husserl from..." instead of saying "is a letter to Husserl from...". "To" is obviously misspelled.

Journal #2 - Media Audiences

Newspaper Article: New tool for police is a blast of sound
Newspaper: San Jose Mercury News
Author: Sean Webby

The article is about 23 short paragraphs long, in three columns. Four sources: American Technology Corp., University of Texas at San Antonio, Associated Press and McClatchy-Tribune are all quoted in the article. There is a photo of the LRAD (Long Range Acoustic Device) tool with explanations on how it works. In addition to the photo, is a chart of how loud the tool will sound from different distances, which includes decibels.


Television Station: KTVU

The story was about one minute long. It also quoted The Associated Press as its source. The story, like the newspaper article, explained: how the device works, when it will most likely be used (as a less-lethal weapon), and it also described where this tool has been used in the past, such as New York as a crowd control and in Afghanistan against terrorists.


Website: freshnews.com
Article: American Technology Corporation Ships New Commercial LRAD(TM) Order

This article actually focused more on the military use of the LRAD than the newspaper article and television news story, which only briefly mentioned the military’s use of the new tool. This article was only six paragraphs. The American Technology Corporation is sited as it’s source. This article didn’t catch my attention like the newspaper article did, so I would say it is more like a broadcast story. It also gave more hard facts like the television story did, and less of an interview like the newspaper.

(255 Words)

Word of the Week #5

Nicole Decker
Mass Com 100W T/Th 10:30 a.m.
Word #5

Word: cloying
Source: The Nanny Diaries, by Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus, page 163
How it was used: “Consequently, the air-conditioning is on, but that only seems to blow the cloying stench from one side of the apartment to the other.”

Definition:
Adjective

1. Causing or tending to cause disgust or aversion through excess: a perfume of cloying sweetness.

2.	Overly ingratiating or sentimental

3. To cause distaste or disgust by supplying with too much of something originally pleasant, especially something rich or sweet; surfeit.
4. To be too filling, rich, or sweet.

My sentence: I never order pancakes when I go out for breakfast anymore because they are extremely cloying.

(121 Words)

Word of the Week #4

Nicole Decker
Mass Com 100W T/Th 10:30 a.m.
Word #4

Word: Esoteric
Source: The Nanny Diaries, by Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus, page 151
How it was used: “He shakes his head at my shortsightedness and pulls out more esoteric pastes and lotions.”

Definition:
Adjective
1. intended for or understood by only an initiated few
2. difficult to understand
3. secret or highly confidential


My sentence: My friend’s new job is highly esoteric as opposed to his old one as a server.

(82 Words)

Library Scavenger Hunt Question #23

Currently, The Art of Mel Chin, Edmonia Lewis Sculptures, and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Collection are on display at the library. I think that I like the sculptures by Edmonia Lewis the most. She has three sculputres on display entitled, "Bust of Lincoln", "Awake", and "Asleep". Since I am minoring in Spatial Arts I really appreciate how much work, time and effort really goes in to creating pieces like these.

Word of the Week #3

Nicole Decker
Mass Com 100W T/Th 10:30 a.m.
Word #3

Word: Chintz
Source: The Nanny Diaries, by Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus, page 139
How it was used: “Pulling the heavy chintz drapes to the side, I let the streetlight from Park Avenue spill into the room and rest my forehead against the cold windowpane.”

Definition:
Noun
1. a glazed cotton fabric usually printed with a brightly colored pattern
2. a printed or stained calico fabric made in South Asia

My sentence: My aunt gave me a blanket made out of chintz for my birthday.

(95 Words)

Telling Details

Rigid lines stripe the side of a dingy quarter as it spins down the slot and lands on top of a pile of fellow quarters making a small muffled “clink” sound. The faded white machine beeps and begs for just three more quarters. After the deal is made and the quarters reach the pile, searing water gushes out in a miniature water-fall style to fill the basin below. The smell of the water is slowly altered by an acidic chemical smell. The calm ripple of the filling basin is now suddenly changed by an added scatter of thick blue liquid that creates small white bubbles. The scent of the water will soon be changed again to add a hint of melon and lotus flower that will slowly disperse from a cylinder. Clothing from the week gone by is added, the lid is shut and the basin begins to turn.

(150 Words)

Word of the Week #2

Nicole Decker
Mass Com 100W T/Th 10:30 a.m.
Word #2

Word: Chignon
Source: Fight Club, by Chuck Palahniuk, page 199
How it was used: (I forgot the book at home! I'll fill this part in ASAP)

Definition:
chi·gnon (shēn-yŏn', shēn'yŏn').
Noun.
1. a large, smooth twist, roll, or knot of hair, worn by women at the nape of the neck or the back of the head.
2. A roll or knot of hair worn at the back of the head or especially at the nape of the neck.
3. a roll of hair worn at the nape of the neck.

My sentence: The woman sitting at the table rolled her hair into a chignon to keep it out of her face while she read.

(124 Words)

Late Breaking Assignment

Being an Advertising major, you'd think that I would eagerly watch the superbowl for the infamous commercials. I never grew up watching football, so I'd never even seen a superbowl until I started college. Each year, at least one class assigns me to watch it for the ads and write some sort of a paper on which ads were successful and which ones weren't. I only saw enough of this year's superbowl to do my homework assignment for another class since I had to rush off to work. Most of the ads I'd never seen before since I don't really watch television. I was glad that most of the commercials were pretty funny since that's my goal when I do start making ads. I want to make people think "Another commercial break? That's fine by me" and actually watch the commercials, instead of thinking "aw man, another commercial break?" and getting up while the commercials play.

(156 Words)

Journal Writing #1 – My Favorite Writing

Book: The Nanny Diaries
Author: Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus
Page Number: 83
Date of Publication: 2002

"I lean forward to catch a glance at the cabbie's clock and the glowing green letters read back 10:24. Go, go, go! My heart starts to race and the adrenaline sharpens my senses considerably; I feel the bump of each pothole and can smell the last passenger's cigarette."

I like this passage because it's very descriptive. I can totally picture the environment that the main character is in. I can see the road ahead packed with cars, red tail lights glaring back at me. I can smell the smoky air, and I can almost feel the squeaky leather seats underneath me. The couple pages that come before this passage are very climactic and you can feel the tension and anxiety the character is going through. While reading, I could relate to her, knowing how when you're in a rush, every minute, every second counts towards your being on time, or late. I think that my writing can use some work on description, so this will be a great piece to look back on for inspiration.

(192 Words)

Word of the Week #1

Nicole Decker
Mass Com 100W T/Th 10:30 a.m.
Word #1

Word: Glavanized
Source: Fight Club, by Chuck Palahniuk, page 43
How it was used: "The Vidal hall clock made of galvanized steel, oh, I had to have that."

Definition:

gal·va·nize /ˈgælvəˌnaɪz/ [gal-vuh-nahyz]
–verb (used with object), -nized, -niz·ing.
1. to stimulate by or as if by a galvanic current.
2. Medicine/Medical. to stimulate or treat (muscles or nerves) with induced direct current
3. to startle into sudden activity; stimulate.
4. to coat (metal, esp. iron or steel) with rust-resistant zinc.

My sentence: The steel of my new kitchen sink is galvanized.

(101 Words)

All About Me

I'm a full time student majoring in advertising, on the creative track. I recently decided to minor in spatial arts which has absolutely nothing to do with my major, but is just something that I think is fun to do on the side. When I'm not at school, I'm usually at work. I am a server at The Olive Garden and am approaching my one year anniversary there (yay bonus check!). I plan to keep working there until I'm done with school.

In the rare times that I'm not in school or at work, I spend time with my family. Usually we go snowboarding or ride dirt bikes if the weather is in our favor. I also like to cook, and even more, I love to eat, so working at a restaurant is a definite benefit.

(136 Words)