Individual blog post #1: Attacks+ World

After learning of the attacks in Mumbai, India this past week it caused me to question the safety of the world. I mean how safe are we? The thoughts were also fueled by the on campus demonstration by Indian students that I saw on my way to class. They called to stand in observance for ten minutes in memory of the attacks and the ongoing problem that has plagued India. I witnessed as students of all races stood there and gave their respect and looked at the poster boards that displayed facts and pictures about the events. It is a true tragedy that has bestowed that country and obviously the hearts of many people go out to them.

The current state of this world is not in good shape with wars, famine, drought, disease, and crime ravaging many of the countries. Although we are sheltered to a large extent here to the struggles of the people outside America we still due experience some of these things with our nation’s borders. Our populous is no stranger to the AIDS, poverty and crime however we have no been effected to the degree as Africa. When the Middle East, Eastern Europe, and parts of Asia are still feuding when will enough be enough.

Fish Out of Water Experience

Recently, I accompanied my friend back home where the household language was Mongolian. It was quite an experience when trying to communicate with most of his family members who know very little english and rely so much on their native language to communicate with one another. Tanslating was one of the tasks that my friend had to do in order for his grandparents and I to have a conversation. Being that I had little knowledge of the Mongolian culture I did feel slightly at a loss on how to act when I was in his household, however I knew it be a great experience for me to visit his family.
When I got past the initial barriers I was like visiting any other one of my friends whose households are primarily english speaking. The visit taught me that I do wish to visit the country of Mongolia when I am in Asia next summer because I left wanting to learn more about the culture.

Word of the Week (8)

word: Militant

Definition:
Adjective

engaged in warfare or combat : fighting
or
aggressively active (as in a cause) : combative

Sentence:
The general's militant mind was very important for coming up with a swift counter strategy against the other soldiers.

Bianca De Rose: Chasing the Night

Her true story begins 3 years ago when a young naïve catholic schoolgirl stepped out of the comforts of Morgan Hill and onto San Jose State University’s campus. There she was met with decisions that will directly affect her life experiences to come. She quickly learned that life outside of her town was mysterious and dangerous which she found quite enticing.

Not completely on her own in the city, Kristin her long time best friend was there to share in what was to come. Together they embraced Greek life joining in sisterhood under the same sorority, Delta Zeta. A place that introduced the pair to opportunities and experiences they never imagined.

Vote or Die!

The rally for the "vote for change" event that occurred on the lawn between Dwight Bentel Hall and Clark Hall boasted a array of performances, powerful speeches and representatives from both the Democrats and Republicans. The thing that stood out the most is the crowd of faces that were comprised of all ages, races, and genders there to support a very important part of the being an American citizen. Members of the local high school were at attendance on campus at the event which made the message of the power to vote/make change that more important because here on campus we see voting pressure everyday but for them to see first hand through speeches and such is a important thing. We truly are the future of this country and one day the reigns will be passed on to us and events like this that promote voter registration, education, and active participation are perfect for reaching our demographic. Monday, October 20th was the last day; hopefully the message got to everyone in attendance.

NOVEMBER 4th= VOTE!!

Word of the Week (7)

word: infrastructure

definition:
noun
1. the basic, underlying framework or features of a system or organization.

2. the fundamental facilities and systems serving a country, city, or area, as transportation and communication systems, power plants, and schools.

3. the military installations of a country.


where: WSJ
"It is proposing increased tax rebates for textiles and labor-intensive products, expanded bank lending to small businesses, reduced taxes on housing transactions xand speeded-up infrastructure construction."

sentence:
"The current ideologies of greed and power that make up our government's infrastructure is bring us into a recession."

Mystery Character: Who is it?

His unmistakable chuckle can be recognized by both children and adults alike with much ease. From his appearance in 1928 people around the world have come to recognize him over presidents, popes, and even Jesus. From his unchanged outfit and huge ears he embodies youth, innocence and imagination. His iconic image transcends cultures, nations, and borders with much acceptance. He has been a steamboat operator, military spokesman, explorer, apprentice, and a cowboy. With a band of easily recognizable friends including girlfriend he and them have will be written in the history books as being both influential and significant.

Word of the Week (6)

word: ensnare

Definition:
verb
to capture in, or involve as in, a snare: to be ensnared by lies; to ensnare birds.

Where: MSNBC
"The move comes as the U.S. financial meltdown’s tendrils have ensnared banks in Britain, the Benelux and Germany."

sentence:
The defense attorney tried to help his client by making sure he was not ensnared by false allegations from the prosecution.

Work of the Week (5)

word: Contemplate

Definition:
verb
1. to look at or view with continued attention; observe or study thoughtfully: to contemplate the stars.
2. to consider thoroughly; think fully or deeply about: to contemplate a difficult problem.
3. to have as a purpose; intend.
4. to have in view as a future event: to contemplate buying a new car.

Where: MSNBC
"McCain announced a brief suspension of his campaign last week to return to Washington and become involved in negotiations on the bailout but would not say whether he was contemplating that again."

Sentence:
Sarah and Roger contemplated whether or not they should skip their last class and head to the beach instead.

Journal Entry #2: Media Audiences

Television News:

Kron 4 news coverage this morning had an covered the stock market mega drop that happened recently. The title “Bail Out Bill Fails”, blazed the television causing me to stop changing the channel immediately. This story which ran for approximately five minutes 30 seconds compiled a an interview with a Australian native to show the international effect and online poll to provide viewer participation while the story was running. Other information related to the story about the lawmakers failure to make a decision, effects, etc where put into a ticker stream that rolled on the bottom of the television scene. The story provided by Kron 4 tended to focus on strong opinion views and not so much on provided in detail the facts of the story unlike the more detail oriented news articles.

Online News:

The New York Times article titled,“ Bush Urges Congress to Bailout”, provides a lot of information and some background on the stock market fall issue that is affecting congress and Washington political struggle between the Democrats and Republicans. The story written over three online pages provides input on over seven reporters and provides quotes from many related political figures. I would say that the article on line is most related to that of print/newspaper style with more text reliance and less on that of visuals. The information on the NY Times site are very current and up to date however the story is very new and still unraveling which mean more details will be able to be provided throughout the day and week at which the medium as the fasted to post rate.

Word of the Week (4)

word: concede

Definition:
verb
1: to grant as a right or privilege
2
a: to accept as true, valid, or accurate
b: to acknowledge grudgingly or hesitantly

Where: BBC
"Arsenal were coming under more pressure and conceded a penalty which appeared more than generous in favour of Kiev."

Sentence:
Although reluctant at first over whether or not to join the army Tim finally conceded to the idea of joining due to his fathers constant insistence.

Word of the Week (3)

Word: Ergonomically

Definition:
Adverb
1 : an applied science concerned with designing and arranging things people use so that the people and things interact most efficiently and safely —called also biotechnology human engineering human factors
2 : the design characteristics of an object resulting especially from the application of the science of ergonomics

Where: CNN.com
"He believes his glasses are becoming a hit because people appreciate how scientifically and ergonomically they are designed so wearers barely feel their presence."

Sentence:
Being that Mike was most efficient in carpentry placing him in the word carving station made the most sense ergonomically.

Word of the Week (2)

Word: Reprieve

Definition:
verb/noun
1 : to delay the punishment of (as a condemned prisoner)
2 : to give relief or deliverance to for a time

Where: Forbes
"Ailing Washington Mutual Inc. moved into a better position to find a reprieve or rescue from its mounting loan problems Wednesday after a major investor removed a potential stumbling block to a sale or another infusion of capital."

Sentence:
The convicted murder got a 20 day retrieval until the paperwork for his execution was finished being reviewed.

Telling Details

As the rare feeling of a breeze blew by and touched my arm I noticed two students here on campus enjoying the warm sunny weather while skateboarding. The pair both wearing plaid shorts and similar black t-shirts were seemingly enjoying life and not worried about the screaming Christian activist who was preaching of our need of Jesus. The smell of orange chicken and rice brought me to notice a black haired Hispanic girl sitting to the left of the two skateboarders, who by the look of concentration on her linguistics textbook was studying for some assignment or examination for the class.

Favorite Writing

Title: The Kite Runner
Author: Khaled Hosseini

Excerpt:
"One day last summer, my friend Rahim Khan called from Pakistan. He asked me to come see him. Standing in the kitchen with the receiver to my ear, I knew it wasn’t just Rahim Khan on the line. It was my past of unatoned sins. After I hung up, I went for a walk along Spreckels Lake on the northern edge of Golden Gate Park. The early-afternoon sun sparkled on the water where dozens of miniature boats sailed, propelled by a crisp breeze. Then I glanced up and saw a pair of kites, red with long blue tails, soaring in the sky. They danced high above the trees on the west end of the park, over the windmills, floating side by side like a pair of eyes looking down on San Francisco, the city I now call home. And suddenly Hassan’s voice whispered in my head: For you, a thousand times over. Hassan the harelipped kite runner..."

Thoughts:
The Kite Runner, is an excellent story of family values, friendship, survival, suffrage and redemption. The book that was given to me to read my sophomore year here at San Jose State University was among one of my favorite class assignments that semester during English 1B. The author, Khaled Hosseini, wrote the book quite masterfully in order to draw you into a part of the middle eastern culture very different in aspects to that of what you might know. The story of a young boy’s struggle to find his place in a society where status defines everything and stepping outside your caste is often rare and frowned upon. Not to frequent will a book come along that will cause me to sit down, ignore phone calls and move chapter to chapter with great ease but I would have to say this book did just that. With stage plays and even a motion picture done about this book it can be said that The Kite Runner, is truly going to reach many people and will hopefully become a classic read for whomever likes it.

Word of the Week (1)

Word: conservatorship

Definition: OTAC
A legal process in which an adult is appointed by the Court to make financial decisions for another person who is determined to be financially incapable to make these decisions. A Conservator may be appointed when it is determined that the protected person has money or property that requires management or protection.

or

Wikipedia:
is an entity established by court order or regulatory authority, in the case of business enterprises, that some property, person or entity be subject to the legal control of another person or entity, known as a conservator.

Where: New York Times
"While no lawmaker has yet offered a specific proposal on how to reshape the companies, this camp in general favors restoring them to health and then returning them to the way they were before they went into conservatorship, but with safeguards to prevent another crisis."

Sentence:
Due to Tom's vegetative state his wife Samantha has assumed full conservatorship duties until he has come out of his coma.

About Me

What is up everybody? My name is Ramon and I am a senior at San Jose State University right here in Northern California. I am currently a Public Relations Major and International Business Minor, which is a switch from Psychology, which was my first choice when I was a freshman.

I was born and raised in California and couldn’t picture myself permanently living anywhere else. I guess you can say I got my start in this world November 8, 1987 at Alta Bates Hospital in Berkeley, California. The people I belonged to was Josephine Ann and Armando Orozco who ever since I started to talk I called Mom and Dad.

After I reached that age to attend that hell known as school, I knew immediately it wouldn’t be the same thanks to a great invention called homework. But as I got older and left St. David’s Elementary Middle School and entered Salesian College Preparatory things began to get interesting. High School was filled with all the typical stereotypes yet somehow I managed to get along with all of them. Those days flew by like people older then me said they would.

The freshman year of college is in fact one of the most pivotal years in your life. Its when I managed to learn I am not a kid anymore and that thing called responsibility is real, its when you choose whether or not to “Go Greek,” whether or not to study for next weeks midterm or join the latest display of social interaction known as a kegger. I managed to keep a good balance the last 3 years here at SJSU that is important because after all we are here to get that diploma.