Ampersand Reflection

Various traits I learned through the magazine project consist of stronger sentence writing, layout designs, and editing. I learned to become a stronger writer during humanities due to the audio tips that Randy played during class. The little tips showed pointers that strengthen writing by making it flow smooth and precise. Layout and designs was simple enough to me. It felt natural to work with in design and complete a spread in the matter of 20 minutes.

Learning the basic steps I didn’t know from fellow class mates, I had all the knowledge I needed to complete the layout but not to perfection. This is where I learned better editing skills. Reviewing the spread looking for little errors that didn’t match the rest of the magazine was harder than it seemed. Catching little grammar mistakes or not having a drop cap can be a noticeable mistake to the consumer.

Individually writing, layout, and editing are important, but together they are of the most importance, because structure needs to be developed within the layout design, especially with a spread in a magazine. When designing a spread you can’t design it one page at a time, but both together to make it appear as one wide page. Creating balance with a picture and text can be some what difficult but is possible. This is where developing skills in structure take into affect. Editing the layout to make sure balance is in place allows the spread to show structure.

Reflection

Overall when I look at my writing and see what has improved I notice the length has grown as well as the actual writing itself. For example the text into the point and the sentence structure has developed over time. In my opinion it developed because it went through 5 drafts.

Improvements that could be made to my writing are made through drafts and critiques, because I feel the writing isn’t as strong as it could be. When reading each paragraph it almost doesn’t flow together as if it jumps between different topics.

Initially when staring this writing it was only 3 paragraphs long. The problem with this is it was to short. So to expand on the writing, I added an additional paragraph. This final paragraph ties in the writing as well as concludes it.

A few things I learned about writing during this project was cut down on the ING words, because all it does is diminish the meaning of the words appearing after them. Another example would be cutting out useless words when writing. This allows for shorter more precise writing.

Magazine Reflection

Areas that went well when creating the magazine was the simplicity in my article. I didn’t have as much work creating a spread since mine was only 2 pages long. I noticed that students who chose to do a photo essay had more work in terms of resizing pictures and having to work on more than 1 spread. I had only one critique and the advice that was given to me was used to the fullest extent.

The only real difficulty throughout the project was extending my article to at least a page, because it was so straight to the point I didn’t know what else to add. I went through about two drafts before adding the final 2 paragraphs which concluded the article.

A road block that got in the way of me not nearly completing the layout was time management when it came to designing the first draft. It wasn’t complete in time to critique but I did finish it within an hour after the deadline.

Magazines I looked at for ideas would be National Geographic and The Atlantic. I found the style of layout was very professional as well as simple. Choosing to follow it allowed for better time management as well as a professional look and feel.

Socialism and Obama

Article

When googling “Obama Socialism” the only results that I found interesting is a news article revolving around a book meeting. In the picture Obama is shaking hands of a man named Chavez. I found this interesting when I searched Google news the first result turned me on to another article about the same topic.
People saw this picture and immediately assumed Obama is a socialist.

In some areas I found the label socialism to make some sense and others not. I agree with this article I found mentioning the first 100 days of service and how people say one thing and it carries around fast due to the Internet, it talks about how most of his plans are long term ideas not short term and by a few decisions he makes now doesn’t show the good side but some socialist ideas doesn’t mean he is a socialist.

Internship Photo Essay

One of the two language acquisition and research center (Larc) labs located at San Diego state university, teachers often have students complete assignments here during class due to there being thirty Mac computers

My mentor Trevor and I discussing what is going to be taught to the students getting ready to use Skype for the first time. Trevor is clarifying how we are going to go over the program showing the basic principles as well as what appeal the program has.

Inside lab 410 during the start of class, students are getting their notes out awaiting for the teachers direction, some notice Skype already open questioning what specifically it is they will be doing.

Spanish teacher Franco, explaining to his students they will be using Skype, a chat program with video. In the background I’m overseeing checking for any problems students might be having as well as controlling what is displayed on the classroom monitor.

After finding someone in need of assistance, I show the individual the correct method necessary when logging into Skype as well as communicating with another student at the other end of the room.

What I'm Bringing to the Magazine

What I could contribute to the magazine in the form of writing would possibly be an article because the photo essay I feel would be as strong as a regular piece of writing. So instead my writing could be about art or I could possibly creat an art piece that would be featured in the magazine maybe a two page spread with the artist statement overlapping on the bottom right of the picture. This is just one idea which is the pain idea I have for the magazine.

Usually when it comes to creativity and thinking of names I have one ready for every occasion but for once I don't have any ideas on what the magazine title would be.

A topic of an article that would most likely catch my attention would have to be something fascinating or for example a creative hook in the title. the topic how ever would have to be the wildest thing that happened at internship, for example while going to lunch you saw Bigfoot run across the street saying "I exist so do aliens don't buy into fake stories or cover ups by the government..." that would be something I definitely read.

Internship Immersion...

answering question 1: What did you learn during immersion? How did you learn it?

what I learned during internship immersion is an average day for a staff member of a lab isn't that much work. I found it to be actually quit relaxing and calm compared to all the work we need to do in class. the deadlines are made by themselves as long as it gets done in a reasonable time. I found this to be a good idea because there isn't any stress put on anyone causing them to become nutcases.

a key experience I will take away is within the internship i was placed in i found that the things I was being taught in class weren't really being applied to the work being done, with the exceptions of a few things, for example learning about the recession and budget cuts the hours they stayed open changed from ten hours to 8 hours every other day.

school made internship a.k.a, job without pay come off as a challenge and high expectations of me as an intern. but that was not the case, instead the staff was flabbergasted that my partner and I knew how to do everything that was thrown at us. giving us basic tasks and saying it was due the next day was pretty simple, but the fact we accomplished things an hour or 2 later just startled our mentor. I personally felt excited I was able to have someone amazed at the work being done so fast and giving me feedback on what to change and tell me good job.

Immersion Weeks...

What I’m most excited about for upcoming immersion would have to be not coming to school and having to go to a job site were it would be similar to a real work scene. I look forward to this because I will be gaining experience in working a full time job and gain an upper hand allowing me to have some experience for future references when I am applying for a job.

What I’m most concerned about would have to be contributing something to my internship for example sheets explain how to use a program on a computer when I don’t fully understand what I am working with at times. With there being a deadline needing to get things by adds some stress to the equation but I think it would force me to work harder. if i work harder i could accomplish many more tasks. if this turns out to be the case than I will just have to do the tasks at hand and focus on internship for the upcoming to weeks.

Outstanding Blogs!!!

when it comes to outstanding blogs I cant really say I've read every blog between the two classes. From the ones I have read I will attempt to give you examples of students I feel have outstanding blogs in humanities class.


The first blog I found related to economic advice given to Barrack Obama would be Amanda's blog. It being filled out well do to everything being cited as well as flowing smoothly between paragraph and information for example

"I found is that the government is cutting back on giving money to things that deserve to get money. In an article I found by Paul Krugmen it states "The original plan also included badly needed spending on school construction; $16 billion of that spending was cut.

I found this to be a good example because in the blog it also had foot notes to back up what she was saying not just the quote.




Looking for blogs that show god literary analysis i found Sydney's blog to show good examples of this.

"Through his detailed and descriptive writing, John Steinbeck uses imagery to show you what is going on in the book. In the first part of this story, " the gift," the setting of the story is displayed using description. "The cowpumkpins were green and small yet. He went on to the sagebrush line where the cold spring ran out of its pipe and fell into a round wooden tub. He leaned over and drank close to the green mossy wood where the water tasted best ( Page 6.)" In sentences like these, John Steinbeck provides words that appeal to the senses. Instead of saying vague sentences, such as, He drank the best water, John Steinbeck provides background knowledge of the area without using filler words."

I chose this part of her blog because not only does she quote the book and tell you exactly where it is but she breaks down a sentence to show how she is able to analyze the writing and give an in depth answer as to why the John Steinbeck is a good writer.



Looking for historical writing I found Arrianah blog portray this well because it compares older issues to modern day problems. for example

"It was a big revolution when women were able to vote, because they were very underestimated in the work that they had put into building this country up. In an article written by Orlando Patterson, it explains how the voters progressed over the years. Like slowly over time women started voting even more then men did. In August 1920 the 19th amendment was made that gave women their right to vote."

This excerpt from her writing is a good example because it shows history and how over time things have changed. It also has an article to back up what it is saying.



For the fourth and final part I chose Isaac's blog because it not only has pictures of his pets but videos embedded into the blog to back up his information and i find that to be a very interactive part of a website, which is why I like his blog.

Although when it comes to the blog i found to be the most exciting over everyone in the entire class would have to be Sander Norris's blog which has a classy title saying "Divine moments of Truth." continuing through the blog i also found grade A example pictures of sea life and different ways of taking a picture. for example it focuses on underwater photography. which i find very interesting.

Oval Office...

With thirty minutes to speak in the oval office I would first address the executive pay issue with CEO's giving themselves large bonuses when their company is being ran into the ground. This issue is a problem because the companies that are asking for bailouts are companies that just about every citizen relies on to maintain a normal living. For example John Thain losing 25 billion dollars in the time he was CEO for Merrill Lynch, a bank based in New York that asked for a 50 billion dollar bailout plan.

Letting this continue on lets us believe another great depression could be right around the corner. History does repeat itself and with the recession already happening. Our country has become a step closer to entering the great depression.

This problem can be fixed by passing laws to ensure that the government knows exactly what is being done with the money, essentially the companies needing clearance before they do anything with the money, more importantly stopping one man so he can’t go out and spend 1.22 million dollars on a new office. Some of the benefits from these laws would be that the tax payer’s money would not be thrown away but essentially used to help remove this large debt and bring us out of the recession. It wouldn’t happen right away but over time it will.

with the previous laws basically allowing companies to take the money and run there was a serious issue that fell into place seeing how this was the tax payers money, an issue that truly needs to be addressed by our current government and citizens to take action and stop this.

references: New York Times

What Makes A Good Interview

• Focus on Interviewee while Host is hidden: you do not see the interviewer once in the entire film. but you do hear him asking the questions while the interviewee listens to questions & answers them to his full extent.
• (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ZL304eqveE)

• Flexibility: being an interview host, that is able to transition from a different question and still be able to build upon a question from new the conversation being made at the same time.
• (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=foLT0EnDTi0&feature=related)

• Both individuals shown & flows conversation like: Interview Host and interviewee are clearly visible on screen at least once while the interview flows as a smooth converstaion with the questions being answered with great information and evidence to back up what they are saying.
• (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-8sMH7_4VCI)

20 Questions for My Mentor

what inspired you to take the profession that you have?

is this your dream job? if not what did you want to do?

is your schedule flexible, can you decide when you want to leave?

are you your own boss?

what are your limitations when working?

what is the most exciting thing that has happened while you were at work?

have you established strong connections with other professors that work at SDSU?

what motivates you to want to maintain this job?

is there anything you would like to accomplish within the rest of the time you are working here?

have you ever wanted to switch professions?

when starting this job what did you expect it to be like?

do you have any goals that you try to achieve by the end of the day?

what is your biggest pep peeve when it comes to work?

is there anybody that you wish to maintain contact with from this job?

where do you see yourself in ten years?

have you always been in san diego?

what are your expectations from me?

do you think it is possible to retire at this point in your life? if so why haven't you?

when do you plan on leaving this job?

how hard was it for you to get the point you are at?

First Day on Internship!!!

Today was the start of my awesome internship at SDSU that is amazingly relaxed yet professional manored at the same time. I arrived to wait ten minutes in the wrong room for my mentor. turns out he was int he other work area we are working in. getting familiar was easy, messing with all the programs was the hard part. Byki express 4 which is a language program turns out to actually be helpful I can say what in Vietnamese now. after getting familiarized and meeting my mentor who is a man named Trevor who is really nice. although we have allot on our plate to live up to thanks to the lovely students before us who interned there. so now we have plenty of work to complete. but hay i think my partner and I can handle it.

I got to my internship by the bus which wasn't as bad as i thought i got there pretty fast the same time the other intern got there so i don't really have a problem getting there.

Getting home was fun i just took the bus to my mother's work which is the downtown
Wells Fargo. I though i would surprise her by just showing up which was fine by her and we
went to Albertson's and got cereal. then drove home.

Overall everything was good the day was very good and nothing bad happened so i would say my mentor is found of me and i think i made a good impression upon him seeing how he had no trouble coming up to me and taking, which is what i had hoped for.

Inauguration Eisenhower

President Eisenhower talked about military industrial complex’s controlling the country and warned everybody about them in his farewell address in 1961. “In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex.”
Just recently as of the mid 80’s they started to exist and only became stronger. With every previous president not cutting the budgets on the military funding and taking the advice of lobbyist such as Dick Cheney had President Bush, this made it easier for Cheney to become wealthier due to the war.

Industrial complexes are a form of politics and government military working together. For example Dick Cheney, his family has ties to all branches of war materials such as fighter jets and he is connected to the oil market. He being a politician also allows for him to campaign for things that he wants war being a main priority to him, he advocates for it and with that he basically controls the country even more than the president although I’m not saying the president doesn’t get a portion of what is going on.

The past three presidents George HW Bush, Bill Clinton, and George W. bush didn’t cut military deployments so they didn’t stop the wars then so they aren’t going to now[1]. So this also means they aren’t going to stop buying military weapons, in turn meaning no end to war only leading to the CEO’s of these big companies such as Lockheed martin only get wealthier due to the need of military fighter jets. As it turns out the CEO of this company is Dick Cheney’s wife, Lynne gets more money making the family wealthier[2].

With these factors a military industrial complex can control a country, speaking for everyone due to the fact of them being politicians. Eisenhower’s warning is very true. Him being the highest general during World War 2 he knew what he was talking about.

Military industrial complexes shouldn’t be taken as a joke they are serious business and if people let this continue to happen pretty soon we won’t be able to stop them.

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[1] "Bush failed to heed Eisenhower’s warning : Opinion :." The Buffalo News. 25 Jan. 2009 .

[2] "Lynne V. Cheney Resigns From Lockheed Martin Board." Lockheed Martin - We never forget who we're working for. 25 Jan. 2009

Inauguration Speech Response

"To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history; but that we are willing to extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist"

I chose this section because inside the quote all I felt was forgiveness with what he was saying, enemy’s can become allies and the quote isn’t easily forgotten. With these words it is almost showing the reign of no remorse and doing things for nothing is now over. I feel this way because as Obama’s campaign said, "Change." With a new president the feelings he shares may not be the same as Bush leading to a new beginning and different view points since one was a Republican and he other, a Democrat

This quite connects to my everyday life because in school when we have done something terrible or wrong, the staff or teachers usually give us a second chance and don’t really try to prosecute us to the full extent with the power they have. that’s why this quote show’s a strong meaning, it touched close to home for me to because I have been on the bad side before and have done things I’m not proud of but I have got it together and now I am trying to do better.

Revised

Finding a quote stating “Even heroes know when to be scared,” which was written by Mike Shinoda .The painting was originally found online but altered to fit the expression I was trying to make. If a hero is scared, than the position there in has got to be something terrifying and if we don’t show that it is ok to cry than what kind of people are we to sit at home and criticize them. With a whole new generation of young men growing up playing video games and developing the skill of using a controller. Without actually going to battle and only looking at a screen it wouldn’t be seen as murdering a human being but more of a game.

When you think of a war veteran you think of a strong hero who has served our country proudly. But you never know what runs through there mind before they go to battle or enter a terrifying situation. I tried my best to capture that mind state even adding tears to see if I could fully grasp it. Soldiers do the most courageous acts in battle you often times don’t know what runs through there mind before they do them. Reasons for this could be because you are at home, or two you aren’t there with them to see the expressions they make.

With a new generation growing up on video games you can I read an article were it was saying the army created a realistic war game and is calling the attention of the new generation making the game so realistic that they take target practice and have to medically heal friends the same way people do in real life. I find this quite impressive seeing how the military is trying to adapt to the new times. The only problem with this though is it hides the emotions of people and since they see it as a video game it wont be mentally connected as real person they are killing just another character.

The advances that the military are making are so complex that later on in life people won’t have any raw emotion or feelings toward each other if we continue to do everything by computer. The idea of using the computer to stimulate battle is good but you also have to remember if with the picture people need to have feelings that’s what makes us living versus just an object.

artist outline

For my piece of art I have found a quote stating “Even heroes know when to be scared”
And the painting is a sad soldier. What I’m trying to get across is if a hero is scared, than the position there in has got to be something terrifying and if we don’t show that it is ok to cry than what kind of people are we to sit at home and criticize them. With a whole new generation of young men growing up playing video games has the skill to be able to use controllers without actually going to battle and can confidently kill someone with out all the after affects.

When you think of a war veteran you think of a strong hero who has served our country proudly. But you never know what runs through there mind before they go to battle or enter a terrifying situation. I tried my best to capture that mind state even adding tears to see if I could fully grasp it. Soldiers do the most courageous acts in battle you often times don’t know what runs through there mind before they do them. Reasons for this could be because you are at home, or two you aren’t there with them to see the expressions they make.

With a new generation growing up on video games you can I read an article were it was saying the army created a realistic war game and is calling the attention of the new generation making the game so realistic that they take target practice and have to medically heal friends the same way people do in real life. I find this quite impressive seeing how the military is trying to adapt to the new times. The only problem with this though is it hides the emotions of people and since they see it as a video game it wont be mentally connected as real person they are killing just another character.

The advances that the military are making are so complex that later on in life people wont have any raw emotion or feelings toward each other if we continue to do everything by computer. The idea of using the computer to stimulate battle is good but you also have to remember if with the picture people need to have feelings that’s what makes us living versus just an object.

Interning For A learning

What I hope to learn while at my internship is working in a real world scenario where I need to be professional. I also hope to develop some connections with people in a field I hope to pursue when I’m older. If I don’t get an area I want to pursue then the connections I hope to make would be the best thing for me. Maybe even seeing if that could be what I want to have a job in later on in life.

What I hope to discover about the work world is if the rest of my life is going to be bland. No I’m kidding. What I want to discover is what opportunities are out in the work field besides making money to get by. And learning what it takes to maintain a job.

Some goals I have set out for myself is make something that can benefit the company in some way. If not that then develop a relationship with the employees this way I can have connections to a job opportunity after I have completed school and internship.

Busches Reign

Within the two articles I noticed one thing which was the articles were like good and evil.
The article from Washington post talks about how he is building his legacy and the other article is talking about what he has done wrong for the country and condemning him for everything he has done wrong.

Although one is almost just one person’s personnel opinion seeing how the news article bashes him every way they possibly can, while the other article gets opinion based around people who know him personally, for example like his wife Laura Busch. She mentions that he is just trying to build a legacy by protecting the ocean and its inhabitants.

The article from salon.com mention’s how Busch has messed up our country and done terrible things, it is followed by how Obama is going to fix these problems, which is pretty silly in my opinion because he could follow in the footsteps of Busch and continue not trying to fix the problems. After all you can’t expect high standards from him he isn’t our president yet.

With Busch being one of the strongest men in the country he has done something pretty good for our country which is protect our waters. When instating this he earned major points with not only environmentalist but regular people as well. In my opinion when he passed the bill he has taken a lot of the terrible things he has done and turned them around, but it still doesn’t take back what he has done.