Assigned Entry #6. My Blogging Experience.

    I found the experience of blogging very interesting and fun. This was my first time having a blog and blogging. I see it as very useful for different opinions on ideas and topics, as well as easy to do. I took the blogging experience seriously and I really did enjoy the experience. I took it seriously because I wanted to get as much as I could out of it and to complete all of my blogging assignments.
    I learned a few things while doing the assignments for this class. I learned how to create a blog, make posts, and design a blog. As well as the set-up, such as, a common rhythm throughout like voice.
      I think that blogging for class was very useful and beneficial because we ( the class) were able to discover how blogs work, especially since they are so big in society, and it was a little more engaging than a paper,  as an example, for the comments we had to leave for other people and how we had the opportunity to blog about something else, besides the assigned entries, our free entries.
I do not really have any advice for Mr. Nielson regarding the blog assignment because I thought that it is running smoothly.

The Boston Bombing

The media always presents the most impacting events to their audiences. Recently the Boston bombing took place and that is the main event on all news channels. Every broadcast has it included and throughout all show times.
Aside from repetition in new events, most of the events broadcasted about are all negative situations. There is never a positive point or situation talked about on the news. All of the situations discussed are depressing and shocking events. The public is always only being informed of the negative events that happen in the community.

Entry #5. Media.

My view on media has changed a little because I started to analyze the views and points tried to be made. I also analyze the way the media tries to become credible or get people to follow them: they accomplish this with repetition and using things that are popular at the moment to get peoples attention and then throw in their view so others will see it as true. Especially what is broadcasting through t.v. and the internet, since they are the main media outlets used today.

I believe in behavior being linked to media outlets and what they present as good and even cool. I have seen peoples' behaviors changing because of media and for the views they see and might or actually do start to believe. I have seen someone who started to watch a t.v. show and started to imitate who/what was pretty and popular. 

It could just be linked to products too. When a product is widely marketed and seen as something that HAS to be bought. That is an influence being made, which works. People don't usually say, "Oh, wow another phone. Well the phone I have now still works, so I don't really care about this." No, everyone usually runs to the store to buy it and to have the new and impressive.

For me it just depends on what it is, but mainly all that has resulted is excitement. I believe certain things, but not all.

Twelve Angry Men

Two weeks ago I also watched the movie "Twelve Angry Men" in my comm class. When we were first told that we were going to watch this movie, I was not very sure of what I would think of it. Now that I have finished watching it I think that it was a really good movie. It was very interesting and basically it has to do with a jury of  a court are debating whether or not an 18 year-old is guilty of murdering his father. At first eleven out of twelve said he was guilty. There was one man who voted not guilty because he had a doubt. The eleven men who had voted guilty try to convince him the whole time that he was wrong and the 18 year-old was guilty. In the end the doubts spread and the 18 year-old ends up being declared not guilty. The movie ended there though, we were not able to see what had happened with the 18 year-old after he was released an why the witnesses had declared the way they had (thinking they had seen the 18 year-old without a doubt). 

The whole process that the jury goes through and how they end up at the decision of not guilty is very interesting to watch. This is because their methods in which they use to decide guilty or not guilty changes throughout the movie. The reactions of the different members of the jury are very interesting and really shows how nonverbal communication works and sometimes is more clear than words.

Entry #4. Capitalism by Moore.

In the film Capitalism: A love Story by Michael Moore there were several recognizable rhetorical elements. The audience for this film were all  people who live in the U.S. and are interested in the big events that had occurred and were occurring, for all of the situations discussed all took place in the U.S. The purpose of the film was to inform and alert that capitalism could seem good at first, but it leads to disaster not too much farther down the path. The tone and voice varied throughout the film; the tone at times was serious and informative, when the facts and testimonies were being given and others a little more jokingly, while staying to the point. For example, when he went to the banks to make a "citizens arrest" of all of the directors, etc. of the banks and surrounding the banks with "crime scene" tape, Moore was still portraying the negativity that had happened and with his actions showing that they were serious matters. As well as the audience seeing the actions of those who were in the banks and their reactions, which were to get Moore to leave as quickly as possible.

 Expanding on the rhetoric Moore used throughout his film was negativity towards capitalism. Capitalism left people homeless, unemployed, robbed, and endlessly upset by certain people or companies who were a higher authority. Pathos was mostly and very strongly used in the film. Every instance used had emotional appeal, including the specific words portraying the negativity. Logos was also included with the information given through the interviews showed, which strengthened ethos.

The Grand Canyon

While reading the article at http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/20110222arizona-state-university-shorter-classes.html, I went to the front page of the Arizona Republic to see what other interesting stories had been reported about. I found another article which looked pretty interesting, "National Park Service attempts to undo trout damage at Grand Canyon". I was completely unaware of this problem that was occurring and has been occurring up to the point to where now they are considered endangered. The Grand Canyon is always an admired place and a spot where many tourists visit. This article interested me though because it does not talk about pleasurable facts, but about a problem and people looking for a solution at the Grand Canyon.

The problem being reported is that there were trout brought to the Grand Canyon, which are now huge predators for the native species there. The National Park Service along with volunteers, are dedicating their time to remove all of the trout from those waters, therefore letting humpback chubs, while bringing some more to the Grand Canyon, seize to be considered endangered.

Entry # 3. Shorter Classes.

My response to the article "Arizona State University to offer more short classes" in the Arizona Republic is not very concrete due to me seeing and agreeing with the two sides of the argument. I think that the university implementing the option for shorter classes is something very good and that it should stay. It is something that is optional, so it is not mandatory, but accessible for those who are interested in taking 7.5 week classes. As stated in the article, " By squeezing just as many class hours into a 7 1/2-week course, students could finish a course faster, graduate faster and pay less in tuition", those who decide to use this opportunity can benefit from it in several ways.

There is one main factor that is the main determinant in taking those types of classes: the type of person and the learning habits of each person. I personally might not want to take all of my classes in that style, but it would depend on the type of course that it is. Some I could see easier to take than others and others that I would not take in that manner. A course with several projects or in something that I would think of being classified as a more challenging class, I would take in a face-to-face classroom setting, also because I feel like I get more out of classes like that and it would be easier for me to fully understand everything for that course. The fast pace being needed for those type of course could become difficult as well.

In the article comments I saw a few off topic comments, but those specifically about the topic seemed very interesting. When something new is being implemented, there are always concerns, especially when it has to do with something as important as people's education. There was a specific person who was sharing his/her concerns with the new classes being offered, along with their analyzing of their ability and opinion on taking the shorter classes. I agree with what that person was saying as I see myself being more of  a face-to-face learner and hands-on type person.

Deerter (Deer + Daughter)

 

While I was searching for an article or video to post/link to in my Entry #2, I went through a few videos and articles. There was a video that I found pretty interesting. It is a report about a family who found and rescued a deer about two days old from a ditch. http://www.cnn.com/video/?hpt=hp_t2#/video/us/2013/02/15/dnt-in-family-raises-rescued-deer.wsbt . I found it interesting how they described the deer to be very similar to a dog, as well as one particular thing it liked to eat: mint. I have heard several stories of people who become closely related to certain types of wild animals, but this is the first time that I can actually see it. In my personal experience, the deer that I have encountered have always had to be watched from a distance and (in my opinion) not the type of animal who would become as involved as in this video with people.

I do have an explanation for this situation though. In my opinion, this situation has become what it is because the deer has grown up and always been around the family that it also seems to like. In the deers eyes, it does not encounter a threat around them, therefore, only security and comfort is displayed around the family.

There is also something very interesting that I find about the family in the video. That after raising the deer and caring for it, they are okay with letting go and they have reality very present in their minds. They know that even though they do compare the deer to a dog, it is not really a dog: meaning that they know that there is always the possibility of it leaving and possibly never coming back. The family knows that the deer can get hit by a passing car and they also know that it can just run away and not come back to their calls anymore.

At first the video title and topic do not seem very interesting, but as the video reaches an end, it can have pulled some more people for its unique details.

Entry #2. Slanted Reporting.

Everyone is informed through news. Whether it is through newspapers, magazines, the news on t.v, etc. What is not always considered though, is if the news source is providing the whole story. Most of the time because the source is viewed as a form of news, the thought is that all of the information shared is all correct, but that is not always the case. Most news stories have a reporter, a person, who has their own opinion on the situation they have to encounter, and sometimes they add some into their report. It is not always obvious, so not always noticed. Slanted reporting is often found, where it is not directly stated as an opinion, but the report as a whole revolves around one specific side of an issue.

An example that I found of slanted reporting is the video http://video.foxbusiness.com/v/2168082445001/wal-mart-shares-fall-on-sales-concerns/?intcmp=obnetwork . In my opinion this is an example of slanted reporting because many of the words used to describe this situation/ event that occurred were negatively connotative and all expressed through the reporter.

There was never a time when a share holder nor someone directly being affected with the reporter, stating their opinion on what had happened or anything. The reporter was basically just stating what had happened with some graphs showing the falls that had occurred with the present state of the shares for Walmart. Along with that she was including in between her reporting a few words like, " terrible, etc.". The audience once in the more analytical perspective could say that the report could be leaning to a slanted view.

Along with the word choice used in the video, it is also evident that there is only one side of the story being told. There are not to  many details on how and why the stocks were falling, as well as only the negative side being shown. For example, it was never stated in the video that there could be someone benefiting from the shares falling, nor if everything was all only as "terrible" as stated.

Crafts: fun, educational, and more!

Crafts serve many purposes, all in which people benefit from. Something to do when bored or looking for something fun to do is one of the functions. Doing crafts is very fun and entertaining, as well as having the WIDE variety of different crafts that can be done. And in the end, the result is never quite the one expected, as well as the new techniques and skills learned and gained from the work put into creating and finishing the craft. As well as the ending appearance of the craft, especially when it is very similar in appearance or maybe even better than that of the model.

 

 Aside from doing crafts for entertainment, they are good for expression. Creating crafts, painting, etc. can help relieve stress as well. Painting with bright colors and different designs can help cheer anyone and everyone up. The pride and accomplishment of finishing up a project can also help with someone's mood/ confidence. When someone is not in too much of a good mood, the crafting can serve as a distraction and path for better emotions. Such as these crafts shown below.

  

 

Entry #1. Perspective.

   Today that technology is really big, everything that has to do with technology also increases in  popularity. One of the big pieces of technology are blogs. Each day more and more arise, as results to many different types of reasons of course. Mainly for sharing though. What is shared with the rest of the world is what differs as the pages and websites do, but each blog is either to share advice, ideas, discoveries, etc.

   As the topics start ranging, each blog has a purpose to attract a certain group of people. I have read several blogs and like in everything else that I do, some I enjoy more than others. I was able to narrow two down that I enjoyed reading and another, which wasn't necessarily of too much of my interest.
   The first blog that I liked was called "Cupcakes and Cashmere"  http://cupcakesandcashmere.com/. I enjoyed reading through this blog because it contains and discusses several topics that interest me, such as: clothing, makeup, recipes, and crafts. The blog was also entertaining because the language was more casual than formal and it felt as if receiving tips from a tasteful friend.

   The second blog which was of my interest was "The Pioneer Woman" http://thepioneerwoman.com/. This blog was interesting because it has many craft ideas, cooking, home and garden, and the entertainment world. There is a lot to look through and learn about, as well as getting experiences with the ideas presented and results. The blog also has a very friendly tone, which enables the reader to be able to connect more easily and be in a comfort zone.

   Lastly, the next blog was not very interesting to me, alike to several others, http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/. This blog is more for someone who really has an interest in cars. I appreciate them and can say whether I like the appearance of a car, but I am not very into names, brands, and very much that has to do with them. Therefore this blog is not one that I read too far into.

  Overall blogs are for all types of interests and can expand ones knowledge, as well as inspire sometimes. All blogs are positive additions for society, starting with who starts one and shares what interests them and includes others.
 

My Introduction!

     My name is Johana Betancourt and I am in my second semester of college. I am attending GCC right now to get all of the prerequisites done and then after another year, move on to either ASU or a university in California. But as well as advancing in my academics, I look forward to fully enjoying my time at GCC: one way is by looking forward to joining several clubs on campus.
    My main hobby would be dancing. I danced through high school and I enjoyed it very much. There is not a certain technique that I like over any other, as I have learned to appreciate and enjoy them all.