Individual blog #3

For this journal I read an opinion article on, "Contraception Saves Money and Marriages." The author of the article, Christina Page, discusses the positive outcomes of contraceptives and how it has brought changes for our society. Page believes that birth control has saved marriages by preventing extramarital affairs' pregnancy. I think this is interesting, because she is encouraging people to cheat by saying it's okay to do it even more now that their is a solution that will stop pregnancies. In a marriage people should be a 100% faithful at all times. If a person was not ready to handle the responsibility then he or she shouldn't have gotten married in the first place. When people have more freedom sometimes that freedom of will can be taken advantage of.
Page also talked about how women are becoming more educated and more of them have professional jobs as of opposed to the 1950's, where women stayed home and took care of the household and cared for the children. It's great that there are more opportunities for women but women are becoming more independent that some may lose their feminine values. Since most both people in a marriage work, women don't have time to cook so families are eating out or having tv dinners. Quick dinners and outside food can be costly and unhealthy. Women are also becoming more dominant in a relationship which sometimes can lead to problems. I have a friend whose mom made all the decisions financially, because she brought home the bacon while the dad stayed home and watched the children. It brought a controversy between the two because he felt less of a man and he didn't feel apart of the marriage.
I do believe education is important and that anyone should be able to have a chance to go to college. As a women I do feel very fortunate to live in these times where we have more equality and chances of entering the professional world. But I also believe that a marriage should be balanced out. Although times have changed for women and there are more opportunities, it doesn't mean women should try to be more superior than men.

Drinking Coffee Elswhere

ZZ Packer's, "Brownies," had a lot of telling details for all the characters which was what made her fictional story came alive. The story was about young girls from a brownie troop that experience a camping trip for their first time. Each girl had their own special personality and appearance which Packer describes very well. "Usually people were quiet after Arnetta spoke. Her tone had an upholstered confidence that was somehow both regal and vulgar at once. It demanded a few moments of silence in its awake, like the ring of a church bell or the playing of taps." She uses such graphic words like regal and vulgar that helps readers visualize the character more and it also helps them to get a sense of what kind of person she is. You can tell that Arnetta is the leader of the group by her strong and intimidating personality. Another great description, "The belt layered with feathers was uncanny enough, but I was more disturbed by the realization that I had never actually seen a baby pigeon." I thought it was a pretty interesting and at the same time it had some humor to it, coming from a little girl's thoughts. She uses such high vocabulary for her age, as if she's an adult which amazes me, but her humor shows that she is a child. I really enjoyed reading this chapter it got me to reminisce my fun and free- willed childhood experiences.

Individual blog #2

Celebrity Cougars

In the past decade, men have always been known to be older than the women in a relationship or marriage. Some men are even ten years older than the women. But now the tables have turned and it’s becoming more popular in Hollywood. VH1 calls it “Celebrity Cougars,” women who are over 30 and are on the prowl, hooking up with young hot men. VH1 refers to the time when the book and movie “The Graduate” came out. It’s about a rich, married woman who seduced a high school boy. This was the first time Hollywood showed this to the media which shocked a lot of people. Today it seems to be a trend for older women dating younger men. Celebrities like, Cameron Diaz and Justin Timberlake who had 7-9 years age gap. Other celebrities like, Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon, and Jennifer Aniston and John Mayer who have about 10 years difference. The most famous “Celebrity Cougar” of all time is Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher who have a 15 years age difference. VH1’ audiences voted Demi Moore to be the #1 Cougar.

Fish out of water

I attended my friend's wedding whose family is from Guatemala and his wife's family is from Mexico. This social event has definitely made me feel like a fish out of water because their culture background and religion are a lot different from mine. As a Filipina-Japanese Asian American, I come from a Catholic family while their religion is Iglesias.

The wedding was colorful, beautiful and very traditional. The reception was held at the Iglesias church's hall. They had long tables were families and friends from their church sat together for this special occasion. The tables were decorated with lots of red and white balloons, and as center pieces there were white baskets filled with red roses to set the romantic mood. There was music playing softly in the background so that guests can bond together and socialize with one another. Old fashion fans decorated with white and red laced ribbons were passed around as wedding favors.

During the wedding I noticed that most of the guests were from the bride’s and groom’s church who all seem very close with each other. There were a lot of children running around and cheering for the bride and groom. While the bride and groom walked down the rows of tables to greet their guests, little girls were blowing bubbles in their direction and about twenty guests would get up to take tons of pictures as if they were the paparazzi.

For dinner there was a delicious feast which was set as a buffet. They had salad, Spanish red rice, grilled steak fajitas, baked potatoes covered with cheese, and chicken in a mushroom sauce. On another table were buckets of different punch drinks called, horchata. And for an appetizer there were two types of salsa and chips served on every table.

A lot of things were done differently in this wedding than weddings that I have been to. Since Inglesians don’t drink alcohol they had bottles of apple cider placed on each table. Instead of sounds of silverware clicking on glasses there were loud noises of cheering and clapping going on to get the bride and groom to kiss.

Although I didn’t understand Spanish, I felt touched by the expressions of joy and laughter from their guests and the couple’s mothers’ heart warming speech that seem to have taken a great impact on everyone.

The guests were very friendly and hospitable towards my friends and me. They made us felt welcomed, asking us if we needed anything as they brought cups and cake to our table. It was more of a family party rather than a wedding which was quite comforting. There were no rules or judgment on wedding behavior, just warm and loving average people having a great time.

Individual Blog #1

The media influences many females to dress, act and physically look a certain way with: Celebrity endorsements, shows, movies, magazines, and advertisements. I have to admit that I am one of those females. I use to always buy People's magazine to read the latest gossip on celebrities. After browsing and reading it I would end up finding myself at the mall looking for the same outfits that celebrities wore. Even though they weren't brand name clothing it still cost me a lot of money to dress to like them. MTV's show, The Hills is another example of the media having a great impact on young females like myself. The Hills is a reality show involving a rich twenty-two year old girl, LC from Laguna Beach, who is trying to make it in the fashion world in LA and at the same time balancing it out with her guys and friends. The girls in the show are slim and are always wearing the latest fashions. They go to upscale night clubs and live in nice condos. Every time when I watch this show I start to feel insecure about my physical appearances and the need to shop or change my image. I have noticed a couple of my friends would style their hair the same way as LC. I have also seen plenty of young women and girls who buy overly priced handbags like, Coach and Michael Jacobs. And women who change their hair color and style to fit the appropriate trend. Women are always visiting the spa for a manicure or a pedicure, or getting a body wax. It's interesting how the media has the power to affect people in many ways.

Mystery Character

He lives his life on the sea, along with his love which he named after a shiny, white round jewel. People are always after him because he knows the sea more than anybody else, with the help of his crafty compass. This unique compass that he holds onto as if it were sacred, takes him to wherever he desires.
He acts and speaks as if he was unintelligent, but don’t let him fool you, he can be very witty and deceitful. He is known for his numerous great escapes from the British soldiers and other enemies of the sea.
He walks in a swaying manner as if his body was malfunctioning, probably because he’s always drunk. Many times people can’t understand him because he speaks of fast-paced gibberish. His teeth are stained and chipped as if he hasn’t brushed them in years. He accessorizes his frizzy unwashed dreads with colorful beads and a piece antique jewelry that dangles. He may be unappealing, but for some reason he still attracts the ladies.
If you’re hanging out with him you’re not only in for trouble, you're also in for quite an adventure.
Who is this weird character?

Word #8

Imperceptible
Source: The Secret Sharer

How it was used: To the left a group of barren islets, suggesting ruins of stone walls, towers, and blockhouses, had its foundations set in a blue sea that itself locked solid, so still and stable did it lie below my feet; even the track of light from westering sun shone smoothly, without that animated glitter which tells of an imperceptible ripple.

Definition: very slight, gradual, or subtle.

Sentence: The last detail of his portrait was an imperceptible touch of oil paint.

Word #7

Provincial
Source: The Management of Grief

How it was used: With a stroke of the pen, they will have a provincial trustee to pay their bills, invest their money, send them a monthly pension.

Definition: Having or showing the manners, viewpoints, etc., considered characteristic of unsophisticated inhabitants of a province; rustic; narrow or illiberal; parochial.

Sentence:
She came from a small town which was why her provincial views were not considered by her colleagues.

NPR Analysis

For this journal assignment I analyzed Terri Gross, from Fresh Air. Gross discusses the issues of Chalabi and the CIA funding in Iraq with the help of her interviewee, Aram Roston. Her interview had to do with how Chalabi was using CIA’s funding to launder money for terrorist acts. When going over the topic Gross highlights Roston’s points and then leads it into a question, which I found it to be quite clever of her because it got Roston to explain the topic in more further details and provided more information than needed. It also helped him to be more open to the topic while feeling comfortable with talking about the issue. Although her questions were simple they were good open ended questions that kept Roston talking:
-Were the Chalabis goals different from the CIA’s goals?
-How credible was he...he left Iraq in 1958?
-After the monarchy was grown and his family was banking…correct me if I’m wrong…after the CIA funded him he was charged for embezzlement with this bank what was he charged for?
What else helped were her excellent listening skills. While keeping her questions short she listened very well to Roston’s information without adding her own opinions which is very hard to do. Many people sometime forget to focus on the interviewee by bringing in their own opinions or information towards the subject.
I thought that Gross was well prepared for this interview and it worked out smoothly because she knew what she was talking about by having some background information on Roston and her topic. The relationship she had with Roston was professional. Gross was an excellent reporter who I enjoyed listening to with her calm and soothing voice.

Word #6

Engendered

Source: Tess of the D'Urbervilles
How it was used: Both had a sense that something had disturbed them, though they could not say what; and the uneasy feeling which it engendered grew stronger.

Definition: To bring into existence, give rise to.

Sentence: After she gave birth she realized how it had engendered her and her husband's life.

Mystery Character

He lives his life on the sea, along with his love which he named after a shiny, white round jewel. People are always after him because he knows the sea more than anyone with the help of his crafty compass. This unique compass that he holds onto, as if it was sacred, takes him to wherever he desires.

He acts and speaks as if he was unintelligent, but don’t let him fool you he can be very witty and deceitful. He is known for his numerous great escapes from the British soldiers and other enemies of the sea.

He walks in a swaying manner, as if his body was malfunction because he’s always drunk. Many times people can’t understand him because he speaks of gibberish in such a fast pace. His teeth are stained and chipped as if he hasn’t brushed it in years. He accessorizes his frizzy unwashed dreads with colorful beads and an antique jewelry that dangles. He may be unappealing but for some reason he still attracts the ladies.

He may be selfish but he still has a conscious that seems to get him to rescue others. If you’re hanging out with him you’re not only in for trouble you're also in for quite an adventure.

Who is this weird character?

Word of the week 5

Declamatory
Source: Tess of the D'Urbervilles, Thomas Hardy

Sentence: "This fixed idea of the rhapsodist was delivered with animated enthusiasm, in a manner
entirely declamatory, for he had plainly had no skill as a dialectician"

Definition: Merely oratorical or rhetorical; stilted.

My sentence: The Instructor motivated and inspired her students but in a declamatory manner.

Word of the Week 4

Incessantly

Source: Tess of the D'Urbervilles

How it was used: "The wind was so drying that the ivy-leaves had become wizened and gray, each tapping incessantly upon it's neighbour with a disquieting stir of her nerves."

Definition: Continuing without interruption; ceaseless; unending.

My Sentence: Her grandmother's nagging was incessantly ringing in her ears.

Word of the week 3

Whimsical
adjective

Definition: Erratic; unpredictable.

My Sentence: She was young and too whimsical which is why she was living the fast life.

Word of the Week 2

Ambivalence
noun
Definition: Uncertainty or fluctuation, esp. when caused by inability to make a choice or by a simultaneous desire to say or do two opposite or conflicting things.

My sentence: Her ambivalence complicated their relationship by causing numerous arguments.

word of week 1

Transcendental
adjective

Definition: Being beyond ordinary or common experience, thought, or belief; supernatural.

My sentence: The characters from NBC's, "Heroes" go through transcendental experiences which is what keeps viewers' interested in the show.

Hanging out at Starbucks

As I sat down the first person who grabbed my attention was a woman on her cell phone, who was sitting to the right of me. The sound of her laughter and the expression of her giddiness were quite distracting, not in a pleasant way but more of an annoying way as she boasted about her Valentine’s Card in a sappy tone of voice, “I really like’m. I’ll hold on to it forever, it’s really nice.” I wanted to laugh but I held it in trying not to be rude.
Her dirty blonde hair was scrunched up in a messy bun as if she hasn’t combed it for days or maybe even weeks. When she got off the phone she took out her hair clip and waved her head around as if she was in a shampoo commercial, but only her hair didn’t move in any voluptuous way because it was frizzy, and it had too many tangles in it.
She looked like she was having a hard time as she was struggling to run her fingers through her course thick hair.
Who ever sent her that Valentine’s card should have gave the poor girl a comb and better lines.

Super Bowl Ads

Is the Super Bowl loosing some of the popular sponsors? And are advertisers becoming more ordinary? Every year when I watch the Super Bowl the first thing that I look forward to are the phenomenal commercials, but this year’s ads weren’t as memorable as the previous. Not only didn’t I see too many Bud light commercials but they were also not as funny and unique as the past Super Bowl ads were. In the previous years Bud Light or Budweiser commercials were always known for their different humorous story lines that focused on getting one main idea out which was “Always worth it.” This year I have only seen two commercial and only one was pretty good but it didn’t get me to laugh as hard as many of the previous years have. I will never forget the frog commercials that have made them famous. The talking frogs were their trademarks, “BUD…WEIS…ER.”

Another commercial I was hoping to see was one of coke’s infamous ads. Coke was always known for their animated characters along with their crafty slogans like, “The Coke Side of Life.” I also don’t remember seeing any hilarious Doritos ads or Taco Bell ads.

This year there were more auto commercials that were ordinary and not entertaining just like the rest of their usual ads. There were very few Bud Light commercials that didn’t really thrill me. When it comes to ads it seems to me Super Bowl has lost there unique touch which was what had made them memorable for.