Word of the Week #8

Word: synchronous

"They have eliminated quite a few jobs by limiting housing," said the senior vice president at Republic Urban Properties. "You can't put artificial caps on housing and somehow decide that jobs are more important, when jobs and housing are synchronous."

http://www.mercurynews.com/bay-area-news/ci_19230131?source=rss

adjective

existing or occurring at the same time: glaciations were approximately synchronous in both hemispheres.

The alarm colck went off synchronous with the oven, making the perfect brownies.

Blog 8- Internment Memorial Revised(fact correction)

The Japanese Internment Memorial done by Ruth Asawa, a Bay Area award-wining Japanese American sculptor, can be overwhelming to any passerby. From a distance, her bronze colored wall looks uninhabited, but as one walks closer hundreds of images relating to the imprisonment of the Japanese, two-thirds presumably American appear. Three images stood out to me. The first image showed U.S. guards drawing their guns on Japanese Americans citizens arriving by train to the Internment camps. The second picture showed soldiers at the Internment camps looking down from their stoops, observing the Japanese prison which was patrolled 24/7. The last image was of the family, eating dinner in the wooden cottages, which was a very uncomfortable place to live. They had no beds, no privacy, minimal personal belongings, two windows, one door, and one set of steps. Most Japanese Americans were not angry over this treatment, though they certainly had a right to be. Many just wanted to prove that they were good patriotic U.S. citizens.

In 1942, San Jose hosted their own Internment camp. Japanese American citizens got registered at the Yoshihiro Uchida Hall which is SJSU old gym. The building was used to collect and register Japanese Americans in the area before they were sent off. Many citizens owned business and homes in the downtown area. Among those residents that were sent was Norman Mineta, who would eventually go on to become the mayor of San Jose.

One might ask what did the Japanese do too have this event occur? Well in 1941 the Japanese bombed a U.S. troop station called Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, killing thousands. Because of that, The United States government decided it would be a great idea to incarcerate every Japanese-American in the states because they were threatening our national security—President Roosevelt authorized this with Executive Order 9066 in 1942; based on racial prejudice and war hysteria. Their crime—their Japanese ancestry.

It wasn't until 1988 that President Ronald Reagan signed the Civil Liberties Act--a bill that granted the surviving Japanese-American internees a tax-free payment of $20,000 each along with an apology.

Copy Edit the World

Errors:

Instaled is supposed to spell installed.

Equitment is supposed to be Equipment

Blog 7 – Drinking Coffee Elsewhere

There was two Z.Z Packer stories I found interesting, one was called Drinking Coffee Elsewhere and the other was Brownies. I liked the stories based on the descriptive phrases and examples provided by the writer.

For example the sentences in Drinking Coffee:

"A few seemed to be lolling their heads in slow circles, half purposefully, as if exercising the muscles of their necks, half ecstatically, like Stevie Wonder" P. 7

( I pictured Stevie Wonder, trying to do his famous head turn, but was unable to do so.)

"The stars sprinkled the sky like spilled salt." P. 19

(You can just imagine when you was back in science camp in elementary)

And in Brownies..

"Her hair was a shade of blonde I'd seen only onPlayboy covers..." P. 105

(stereotypically, Playboy only produces front cover female blonds)

"Lettuce and crackers and soup would be bullied into a pulp in the bowl of some bored anorexic..." P. 114

(I will leave it up to your imagination on this one) haha

Ms. Packer, is an outstanding storyteller. Her ability to canvas an image in the readers head with amazing detail is just remarkable. The vivid descriptions, and the strategically placing of words is why its so fascinating. I love the transitions that made every sentence seem so smooth. I look forward to looking at more of her stories, so i can apply it to my writing.

Word of the Week #7

Word:Mum

The Alameda County district attorney's office is staying mum, but we hear prosecutors are still waiting for completion of the coroner's report and other investigative material in the next few days before deciding whether to file charges.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/10/02/BARP1LBTQN.DTL&type=politics

adjective

silent; not saying a word: to keep mum.

The victim was mum when police asked if he robbed the bank or not.

NPR Radio interview analysis

All Things Considered

The Fight to Save The U.S Postal Service--Around the Nation(NPR)

by

RACHEL MARTIN

What did the interviewer appear to know about the subject before the interview?

Before the Interview, host Rachel Martin knew tons of information on Tom Gamble. She had to of previously spoken to Gamble beforehand because it sounded like somebody describing their best friend. She pointed out almost everything in his life within the first three minutes on the radio,making it very interesting to listen to.

What kinds of questions did the interviewer ask?

She asked a lot of who, what and how questions, and with those questions are filled with snippets of research she previously investigated. I like when she asked questions, both the interviewee and audience can understand it clearly. For Example:

How important are U.S. mailman jobs?

What kind of relationships occur on route with the people?

Where does the passion of this job come from?

How did the interviewer build up to questions?

She started off with easy questions then gradually got deeper with the interviewee, making him expose some insightful information that really made the interview great.

Did the interviewer appear to have a strategy?

Strategies are almost always necessary when interviewing someone but I'm not sure her strategy was too apparent in this interview. The main message that she got across to the public was how important it’s to save the half a million jobs post office jobs, that are being threatened to be terminated soon.

How did he or she follow up to questions?

She followed up with questions by sometimes interrupting the subject so he could elaborate on the point. She did in sort of a way that sounded like a smooth transition and it was very professionally done on the air.

How were inadequate or evasive answers (if any) handled?

I heard none, it was a real intimate interview.

What was the apparent relationship between the interviewer and interviewee?

Like I said, it was like she was talking to her best friend or father. Its was a very mutual intimate home dinner type conversation.

What did you learn about interviewing from this interview?

I leaned that you have to do a lot of research on the subject you interview. If not prepared, the audience can tell, so it teaches me to do everything throughly. I also learned that having a script and asking the right questions in mandatory, if you abide by these rules you will have a great interview.

-Christian Ceaser

Mystery Character

His voice oozed with passion, and his fists pounded forward when he spoke about issues that mattered to him. His eyes were the bluest of blues and his hair as white as snow. For the most part, his dress was very business-like. By now, his age was seen through each and every wrinkle on his skin. His roar for American progressivism can still be heard through the white halls.

Who is he?

Word of the Week #6

Word:amorphous

The amorphous and steadily growing Occupy Wall Street movement in the past week now includes Occupy San Jose.

http://www.mercurynews.com/nation-world/ci_19077863?source=rss

Dictionary:adjective

lacking definite form; having no specific shape; formless

The amorphous crowd stopped and listened to the band preforming at farmers market.

p.s. I really hope this one makes sense :)

Word of the Week #5

Word: Cumbersome

It’s too cumbersome,” said Deirdre Macnab, the league’s president. “There is too much red tape and regulation.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/03/us/new-state-laws-are-limiting-access-for-voters.html?pagewanted=2&_r=1&ref=politics

Dictionary: adjective

def: burdensome; troublesome.

The kicker missed a 10 yard field goal to win the game, making the cumbersome fans angry.