Improvement

Over this past semester my focus as a writer has been organizing thoughts, procrastination, and entertaining an audience. At the beginning of the semester my blogs consisted of choppy word jumble and obvious and procrastinated assignments. However, being able to have peer comments and constructive feedback I realized it was time to step up my game and put forth a little effort.

Only a few writings into the course and it was obvious my lack of efforts and organization had been improving. Starting with the essential post of Organizing Thoughts where I asked for advice on how to improve the flow of my writings, and was suggested to use the free writing method, with each posts to follow I showed more and more improvement. I also found with free writing my post increased in length every time. Although each post built off one another in improvement, by the very next post I Have to get This Done!...Tomorrow showed immediate improvement. Finally, after several post to practice Shitaintclear and Into the Future showed the most improvement. With each post it is apparent that I had also improved on procrastination. Each showed improvement on length and value to suggest more thought and time had been put into the assignments.

After improving and the two main issues of presenting my ideas and giving my writings more thought and value I really wanted to turn my focus to entertainment. In several of my posts I wanted to capture my readers and keep them coming back each week. Shitaintclear and Into the Future again are the two best examples of fun and interesting posts. I would also add One for One as a great post even though it was a picture assignment. In this particular post there may not be a written story however, I believe to layout and contrast of the photos make the post a fun and vivid post.

With all the positives I have gained in each writing I am still falling victim of poor editing and proof reading skills. For example, there is probably evidence of this problem in this very post. I do proof read and edit each writing, but my brain knows what I thought I wrote and I am oblivious to the mistakes each time. Although, I have tried proof reading after taking a break and that has helped a little I still have miss used commas and silly mistakes. I would like to keep working on this problem by practicing with commas more. However, proof reading I feel I will always need the extra read through by a peer.

One for One

Today I was inspired to go the day without shoes to raise awareness and money for Toms. Toms is a company that would match every pair of shoes purchased with a pair of new shoes given to a child in need. One for One. Today April 10, 2012 Jacksonville State University held a campus wide awareness down for One for One. This event consisted of walking around everywhere barefoot to obtain a better understanding of what children without a way to protect their feet have to endure on a daily basis. As the day of fun and festivities ended it was time for the long walk around University/Trusties Circle, barefoot of course. This is when the reality kicked in. With the asphalt almost unbearable and the rough rocks rubbing blisters on the balls of feet, it was a real challenge to make it to the finish line.

This picture was inspired by today’s events. I used Photoshop.com (online version) to increase the contrast, brush the toenail polish glair, and made the blues really pop. I found this assignment exciting and what a great way to involve my experiences of today in my blog.

 

 Yes those are blisters.

Sunset

Sunset

I wonder why when you say goodbye
beautiful colours paint the sky.
Shades of orange, yellow and pink too
all come out because of you.
And although I hate to see you go,
I really do enjoy the show.
I've seen you leave so many times
and still it's a favourite sight of mine.
There'll be no sadness, be no sorrow
because my sun, you'll come out tomorrow.
I won't feel hurt, I'll feel no pain
because on your way down, your colours will reign. 

- Adoni Marcano

Book Club?

“If daily reading begins in infancy, by the time the child is 5 years old, he or she has been fed roughly 900 hours of  brain food! Reduce that experience to just 30 minutes a week, and the child’s hungry mind loses 770 hours of nursery rhymes, fairy tales and stories. A kindergarten student who has not been read to could enter school with less than 60 hours of literacy nutrition. No teacher, no matter how talented, can make up for those lost hours of mental nourishment.” (USDOE, 1999)

Have you ever heard the phrase “if you don’t use it you’ll loose it”? So if you do not use your skills, like reading. You may not loose your ability to read, but may struggle with higher literacy. Think about the brain food quote. If this is proven true think of all the educational hours we have lost. In CliffNotes I brought up the statistic that 25% of Americans will not read a single book in a year. After some thought on the matter I have decided I would personally like to change this.

As of today I am setting myself a personal goal to read as many books as I can by the end of the year. (20+) However, I do not only want to read the books, but I also want to find ways to interact with them. For example in high school I had found a few authors my friends and I really liked and we would take turns reading the books. One book I remember reading is The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky. While reading we would jot down our thoughts as side notes, and then pass the book on to a friend to read and add their thoughts. Finally after the book made it around the circle I would go back and reread the book. This was such a great experience, because every time reading was like reading a whole different book.

With all the hype over The Hunger Games movie what better book to start with then The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. What a great opportunity to read the book then watch the movie and be able to compare the two. My second book I would like to read is The Rum Diaries by Hunter S. Thompson. I have seen the movie and can not wait to read the book. Hunter S. Thomson is my journalist/writer hero and I would like to eventually read all of his works including: Fear and loathing in Las Vegas, Hell's Angels: The Strange and Terrible Saga of the Outlaw Motorcycle Gang, and Where the Buffalo Roam. I would also like to read The Perks of Being a Wallflower again to see how my thoughts have changed over the years. Those are only a few and I have a lot of catching up to do on my reading. So if anyone has any ideas for books I MUST read please let me know.

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Shtaintclear

Am I a great writer? No, in no means am I anywhere near being a perfect writer. However, I do pride myself with having common sense, and being a pretty “darn good” typographer. (Typography, in print journalism, is the detail of layout of the newspaper, magazine, flier, exedra; that is the key to what makes the text appealing to the eyes.) So yes, I do know a little something on what is news worthy and appropriate. That is why sometimes when I am reading smaller papers I really would like to call up the editor and ask “WHAT!?!”.

If you have attended Jacksonville State University then you have surely heard or read the notorious Chanticleer. In the latest publication there was a lengthy opinion article on Rick Santorum. After reading this article this defiantly made me say out loud, WHAT!? But, before I go into the errors of the article itself, let me just touch on this page. First, the filler the paper uses are atrocious. Second and the font in a paper is ALWAYS justified. Third, this slandered article should have never had a full page. However, all of my newsy pet peeves aside lets move on to the article.

How many times have you written an essay and said “I am writing this essay about...” or “This essay is about…”, only to have your essay returned inked to death. Well this article starts out just that way. I quote, “I am so blessed to have the opportunity to write a political opinion article,” which translates to “I am writing an opinion article about…”.  I do not believe this line should have ever made it to the final cut. Later on in the piece the writer also mistakenly says, “Now with that quote in mind,” but never addressed a quote, only his thoughts on what NPR (National Public Radio) had to say on the matter. There were several other “no no’s” in the article, but the one that stood out to me the most was in the last paragraph. “…a cheating, selfish, b----, who wants to colonize the moon.” WOW, when did the writer ever feel it was appropriate to use the word bitch (even though the last four letters where blanked out) in a new article! Internet, okay but this is like turning on abc 33/40 and James Spann saying “you is a dumb bitch if you don’t take cover now”. Even if you are writing for a college newspaper using profanity is never okay.

However, do not get me wrong I am not for Rick Santorum nor do I believe any of the “santorum” spewing out of this mans mouth. I am just frustrated as a journalist and writer at the nonsense and errors that actually get published in Newspapers and magazines. I know I do not have the best grammar skills or am the best editor, but my fondest memories were always on Thursday’s when my old advisor would bring in a few big named papers and we would spend the class period giving it the red ink of death. Maybe this is why little things in articles irk me more then others.

CliffNotes

In a world with internet access and cliff notes, the amount of reading the average person does is decreasing with each generation. In a 1993 National Assessment of Adult Literacy, the largest government-funded national literacy survey to date, stated that the average American reads at an eighth grade reading level. Also, that 25% of Americans will not read a single book within a year. For me I find this very true.

I remember in elementary school when we had such programs such as STAR that would reward kids with prizes for the amount of books they read within the school year. However, even then I could hardly tell you how many I actually finished. For me, starting this habit of only reading part of a book to retain enough information to pass a quiz has followed me into my adult life. To be honest I could not even tell you the last book I actually sat down and read all the way through. Yes, we as students have always had books assigned to us to read, but of course I would procrastinate and end up reading the cliff notes the night before the test. I have always wanted to broaden my interest in books and reading, but I always find myself staring endlessly at the TV or monitor screen. I would really like to work on ending this problem for myself. I feel that if I could make myself set down and read (and finish) I could grow myself greatly as a more intellectual person. But, how do I change a lifestyle of a bad habit, and why is it that over the years we have distanced ourselves from literature?

Into the Future

For many years now the film industry has played fantasy on virtual vision. For example the one I can think of off the top of my head is the Terminator films. In these films director James Cameron introduces the 80’s to “cyborg vision”. This vision is a virtual computer based vision equipped with face recognition and commands. Fast forward 28 years into 2012 this once farfetched vision is more realistic then one might have thought.

Earlier this week information from Google X Lab was leaked the release of the android powered Google Glasses. Essentially these sunglasses will be a virtual interaction with your smartphone. The glasses like Bluetooth will be synced with your phone and will allow the user to interact with their phone with out looking at it. How do Google Glasses work?  The glasses will be equipped with one computerized lens and built in camera. The camera records and assesses what you are looking at and portrays the content on the computerized lens overlaying it on reality. For example, say you are at a historical landmark, the glasses will recognize the landmark and display facts and comments on what you are looking at. For more of a social example, don’t you hate when you run into someone and they obviously know you, but you are not sure who they are or how you know them. Well Google glasses can help, because the glasses have face recognition. It will be able to access your accounts (Facebook) and show you who they are and maybe how you know them. How do you command Google Glasses?  The glasses are operated by head nods and side-to-side motion.

Other Features

• GPS
• Apps
• Motion Sensors 

Wow, who knew this technology would come so soon? Personally this excites me to think how advanced everyday technology has come. However, I can see the cons this product may bring about. Don’t you hate being around someone with a Bluetooth set on and the awkward moment you realize they were never talking to you? Well now you’re going to have that and someone who is head-bobbing coming toward you. (Talk about awkward)  Also, as if our generation is not already dissocialized enough with texting, tweeting, Facebook, and angry birds the Google Glasses take this to a whole new level. Now you can do these things everywhere at anytime. I also could see the threats users could cause. We already can see the issues with texting and driving, but now Google Glasses make this easier and could possibly cause even more of a distraction than before. With that being said, think about the phrase “the government is tracking us”. Well now that your every move will be recorded this could be more true then ever.  As exciting as this new product is I find it just as scary.