Blog #8 IMHO

There was a recent news story written about a 20 year old college student from San Jose State University named Phuong Ho, who was beaten by San Jose Poilice. In early september, Ho was involved in a domestic disturbance dispute, and the San Jose Police were called shortly after. When the police arrived, Ho was unarmed, but after the police were unable to understand Ho, due to his accent, they went into his room to find identification. Shortly after, Ho was slammed into a wall, and was continuously beaten by police with baton's and a taser gun. Ho's was hopeless as his glasses were knocked off his head during the beating and he was rendered unable to see, as well as the language barrier keeping him from fully understanding the officer's orders. There is now a full investigation, and also potential criminal charges stemming from the incident. After watching footage recorded by a cell phone in the apartment during the incident, and reading the statements made by the police, the mayor, and Phoung Ho himself, I feel that the police definitely stepped over the line. This is repulsive, the police reportedly beat Ho even after he was on the floor handcuffed. It's in my opinion that these officers should be prosecuted for beating this young man, and there should also be some sort of new training officers are given in order to deal with people who cant speak the language well. The fact that there were four officers who beat Ho, even after he was handcuffed is awful and unneeded. The video taken during the incident is gut-wrenching, hearing Ho cry for help, and moan out of pain makes the Police seem like the criminals. Hopefully the law will take care of this incident, and mostly, hopefully police can learn from this incident and make better judgement in the future.

This is a link to the original story made by the San Jose Mercury News, this also includes the video: http://www.mercurynews.com/bay-area-news/ci_13635707?nclick_check=1

Just the video: http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid31377651001?bctid=46153271001

Word #8

1. Subdue

2. MercuryNews.com, article - "4 San Jose cops put on leave after video shows student beaten"

3. "...state officer Kenneth Siegel used his baton, and officer Steven Payne Jr. used his Taser gun to subdue Ho, whom the reports describe as violently kicking..."

4. To overpower by superior force; overcome (verb)

5. The hostages were released from the bank, and the perpetrator was subdued shortly after.

Blog #7 Drinking Coffee Elsewhere

I read the chapter "Every Tongue Shall Confess," and I found a few techniques that the author used in their story telling. The author Packer starts the scene off with the description of an Aunt Alma’s room and how it compared to a hospital with the “wheezing” and “snoring”. Packer's descriptions are very complex and detailed, showing emotions and little things from different perspectives.

Packer's story telling techniques in this chapter put as a witness to everything that’s going on, by giving us the descriptive details, like the one about the catheter, and also the phrasing in general. Just the experts about the hospital rooms were so detailed, and the fact that the rooms in hospitals are always being used, and who knows how many people have been in the beds or died in the rooms. It’s like the rooms are wiped with a clean slate, and the memory of any past patient is cleared away. Also, Packer's use of certain quotes are done very well, and placed in places where they are easy to remember. I also noticed the references to the bible throughout the reading, and the words being capitalized by the preacher in order to show that he is talking loud and not softly.

Word #7

1. Cognitive

2. Yahoo News article, "Web Surf to Save Your Aging Brain"

3. "Our study is often referenced as the crossword-puzzle study -- that doing puzzles, writing for pleasure, playing chess and engaging in a broader array of cognitive activities seem to protect against age-related decline in cognitive function and also dementia."

4. of or pertaining to the mental processes of perception, memory, judgment, and reasoning, as contrasted with emotional and volitional processes. (adjective)

5. My grandma improved her memory by playing cognitive training games.

AB 656

Writing a story about the budget situation on education was interesting, and actually really made me realize what's going on. I didn't know that AB 656 even existed, and so the rally on the SJSU campus was surprising. AB 656 made me feel more involved and made me want to be even more active in what's happening to our educational system. Fee increases and furloughs have totally turned the semester upside down, and it really feels like I'm getting short changed as far as my classes are concerned. But, I feel like the rally really opened my eyes, and was a good source of information.

Blog #6: NPR interview analysis

I listened to NPR's radio show "Fresh Air" for 10/13/09

1. The interviewer had a lot of knowledge on the subject, she really seemed to do her research, and even did a brief one minute introduction before starting the interview. She didn't let the research be over powering though, she just helped the interview stay on course by adding information as needed.

2. She didn't ask very many yes or no questions, she mostly asked open-ended questions so the subject could really expand on their answers. There were many "how" and "what" questions that were asked.

3. They didn't really have to build up to questions, she just guided the conversation by what was being discussed, and what the subject was saying. She formed most of the questions as the interview was going on. Not many preconceived questions that were asked.

4. She did kind of have a strategy, there were certain topics she wanted to talk about. But within those topics, there was a lot of room to go as far as questions are concerned, and they didn't keep the subject from saying what they wanted.

5. If the interviewer didn't get what she wanted out of the answer, she would just ask a question that built on the last question. There weren't many inadequate answers, the interview seemed to go very smoothly, and the subject seemed relaxed.

6. It seemed as if the subject had met the interviewer before, but they didn't seem to be best friends, just more of acquaintances. They joked around, so it seemed as if there previous meeting had been enjoyable, or the subject listened to the program before. The subject seemed comfortable, and answered all the questions the interviewer asked.

7. I definitely learned that it's useful to form new questions based on the subjects answers, in order to keep the interview smooth and really get good answers. Also, its good to do a little research, but don't say everything yourself, let the subject reveal information as well.

Pitch Letter: Blind Tech Support

“Clinks” and “beeps” are all that Doug Rose needs to hear, in order to diagnose the problem with customers PC’s. Marvina, a black Labrador, sits at Rose’s feet patiently waiting as he takes technical calls from customers.

Rose has been blind since childhood, growing up in Thousand Oaks,Calif., and now uses special Braille equipment to operate his computer and a voice recognition system to tell what’s on the screen. Doug Rose works for Packard Bell's tech support, and gets customers calls everyday about problems he may not be able to see, but can diagnose by just sounds.

Blog #5 : Mystery Character

Who am I?

Clumsily wadling down the street, slipping and falling over the curb yet still determined. Shirt is wrinkled, coat is dusty, pants are two sizes too large, and shoes hilariously too big. Bumping into citizens, creating confrontation, but sneaking away quietly without any harm. Twirling his cane, and walking away with his awkward penguin-like waltz. One event after another, it seems that trouble always follows.

Word #6

1. Contingent

2. www.Yahoo.com / Y Buzz article "Columbus Day: A Working Holiday?"

3. Why the disparity? Well, among other reasons, a strong contingent feels that the Genoese navigator's sailing the ocean blue in 1492 introduced a dark period of colonization.

4. A group of people united by one common feature. (noun)

5. There were two main contingents that divided advertising class yesterday.

Word #5

1. Myriad

2. NBA.com, "First in line" article by Keith Langlois

3. With Villanueva’s offensive skills and myriad options behind him, the Pistons probably are going to get as much offense out of the four spot as they got from Wallace and McDyess.

4. A very great or indefinitely great number of persons or things. (noun) 5. The boy has myriad options after he gets out of college.