Self Assessment

     Through my two years in Journalism class and my own previous experiences I have possessed some of these qualities that a good journalist possesses. Self-direction, self-confidence, communication skills, listening skills, speaking skills, interpersonal skills,  and curiosity and awareness have all been accumulated through various experiences such as having to do presentations, and speaking in front of my peers. I can recall becoming comfortable with this for the first time in my eighth grade speech class. Curiosity and awareness I would say was an innate quality for me. However, among the qualities a good journalist should have, I would need to work on a few. The first would be writing skills. Although, I am a fairly decent writer, I feel I can work on my journalistic writing. To do this I could begin by reading more articles and newspapers to become familiar with other experienced journalist writing. Another thing I feel I can do is simply look at past articles I have written and correct them for grammar. By doing this I would hope it would help me to naturally develop good habits when writing such as proper usage of commas, capitalization, etc. The third and final thing I could do is simply practice. Writing articles is the only thing that will ultimately benefit writing skills. Practice, practice, practice !

i phone

1. Are you or people you know less likely to buy any of the products listed as a result of the development of smart phones?

       Yes, products such as GPS devices and MP3s are definitely being made impractical with new smartphone technology.
2. In general, do you think it is an advantage or a disadvantage to have so many of your technological functions in a single device?
     Ultimately, I think it is an advantage certainly not a disadvantage, however I think it is impractical as smart phones, have many technological problems.
3. How have smart phones improved our lives?
      Making information easier to access at an given point. If you're lost, theres an app for that, need a good restaurant to go to you can find it on your phone.
4. What do you think has been the most important invention of your lifetime? How do your answers compare with the most important inventions of your parents’, grandparents or great-grandparents’ lifetimes?
       I think the most important invention of my life time was MP3 devices, or the idea of storing thousands of songs in a single unit also the idea of electronic files in things like USBs. Compared to important devices in my parents and grandparents lifetimes with things like the television and the computer, i think the inventions of our life time are not as fundamentally changing as those were but rather the icing on the cake.
5. “There are plenty of studies which insist that smart phones will begin to replace the PC as the common vehicle for accessing the Internet.” Do you agree? If so, does this mean PCs are on their way out? Would you ever stop using them?
     I agree that they are a common vehicle to accessing the internet however I do not agree that they will replace PCs because a PC still serves many functions a 4 inch screen can't. For example, writing documents, creating presentations, and the ease of using a keyboard rather than taping buttons on a screen.
6. Do you have any need for TVs, radios, and other devices, rather than just using your computer for everything? Would you ever want to use your phone as a TV or radio? What are the barriers to either of these things happening? 
      I wouldn't want to use my phone as my TV or a radio. I think at times that the real thing isn't around, it is a convenience to be able to watch your favorite show on the go or listen to the radio from time to time. However, Its exactly for the for the convenience when you are not around the real thing. I think we'd all prefer to still use or Televisions and radios, personal cameras and other devices. 

VOTE

 I suppose this goes to the anger people are having, due to conflicting theories in how to run our country. People are angry and upset and I guess this cartoon is saying,  your resolution is to vote. Your voice is the medicine.

PHOTO TIPS>

I would say that the photo techniques I need to work on or perfect would be watching the light and being a director. Many times, I take a picture and looking through a lens it looks good but upon review i realize that the subject is blocked out by the sun or have come out darker than I would like. The other technique would be being a director and practicing having an eye for which poses look best. The things I already do well would be taking different angled photos using flash in the proper range.
The difference between these photos and newspaper photos is that these can be posed and newspaper photos are preferably candid or action pictures.

American Graffiti

Set in the 1950s, this classic coming of age story released in 1973 follows a group of friends freshly graduated from highschool, on an evening out. As the night progresses Curt and and Steve are portrayed as two friends planning on  leaving town in hopes of seeing the world beyond their city limits. Curt appears to be getting cold feet while Steve is ready to leave despite having a girlfriend, Cindy. Side characters add to the various humorous situations which occur throughout the night, including Terry "The Toad" Fields getting Steve's car stolen, and Curt finding himself in the hands of a local street gang "The Pharaohs". By the dawning of day, each of the friends becomes enlightened in their own way, setting the pace for the rest of their lives.

I knew about this in very vague detail. I know that the chilean miners where trapped but i am not sure exactly what happened. Of course, I am glad they are finally out and feel the relief their families must feel. Reading on the situation now, it mentions that the government will be offering each of the miners six months of psychological support which i believe is the least they can do for the poor miners misfortune. 

Valley Violence?

The question of whether I feel safe in the valley can be simply answered, yes. I feel no threat as I leave my house in the morning or as I walk around my neighborhood at night. However, I do recognize the recently increasing violence on the boarder and in Mexico due to the drug war. The incident at Falcon Lake is just another example of the present violence as it escalates. I think safety is up to you. I feel safe in my home, in my town, but you are not going to see me on a lake bordering crazy Mexico.

senior...!

Soooooooo...................one of my senior moments would be my lack of enthusiasm for "school spirit" in the form of skipping the academic pep rally. I slept in which felt wonderful. My blanket was amazingly soft the dim light shining through the window covering me in warmth. I arouse to find my snoozing brother, unaware that i was late to school, asked him for his keys, and "sausage or bacon?" and took off to get something to eat. When, I arrived at my destination Bab's Bagels, I ordered to two, well three, actually because it was my friend Danika's birthday. I got home ate, watched some mind numbing television then set off to school, for my important 2nd, 3rd, and 4th periods like the responsible student i am.

NINCOMPOOP>? YOUcompoop!

I do agree that our generation is being perhaps crippled by technology and has led to a media-fed age of children growing up with less tactical skills and instead knowing what myspace is, or how to tevo their afternoon spongebob episode. However, I don't think its appropriate for this author to pass judgement on our generation as "the dumbest" where I'm sure any other generation has its fair share of ignorant, incompetent, no nothings. 
This very topic arouse in a recent conversation I had with a friend, who had sent me something he wrote. He asked, "what do you think of it?" and I told him, "it is really good, honestly." He then said, "thank you, my friends told me it was good too but what do they know, all they read is facebook statuses all day." This is sad but true. I can also surely say that literature and reading are a dying species as we continue to enter the world of touch screen phones and playaways. But, to each his one and if one is a nincompoop in this generation they would have surely been one in another. 

TV!

I really like the cash cab "its a TV show that takes place right here in my taxi cab, wanna play" as the host ben bailee would say. I like it not only to learn new information but to also test myself with random knowledge. I also really like Fantasy Factory. A show following the life and adventures of professional skateboarder Rob Dyrdek. Another must watch for me, since i was in the seventh grade is Law and Order SVU. The new season premiered yesterday and is still going strong. TV is nice but so is other things so be amused not consumed.

Improve?

I would want to improve the structure of the school. I would raise the ceilings about four feet and add windows. This school definitely needs windows. This place is asphyxiating and needs more natural sunlight. I hate when i see other schools and they have these light and airy classrooms and I think about Beta and our nasty little dungeons. So, in conclusion, that is what i would change or improve, WINDOWS and CEILINGS, and some plants would be nice too. 

Constitution Day

Although, the Fourteenth amendment may be abused by some, specifically immigrants who come and have their children here to gain the benefits of being citizen, it is a constitutional amendment none the less. As such, it must me respected and perhaps it should be other policies in our government that should be amended to help fix the controversy people are having with people claiming citizenship in our country.

First Day

The first day of school had no real impression. Unlike all the other first days of school I was not full with anxiety, or nervousness, or happiness, or anything at all. Perhaps it was because the last three years left me devoid of any future "first day jitters". Beside the introduction to some new teachers, nothing new this year really affected me. The parking lot, i could care less, all other new teachers I could care less than less. So lets have an awesome rest of the year YAY!

Freshman Failure?

My advice to a freshman would be to work hard, while also enjoying school. I think the best advice is trying to balance the best of both worlds. I know that this is hard when you are a  young naive and intimidated freshman coming into the new world of high school. but this is the advice I would want to be given. To not focus on your homework and classes, I think is the biggest mistake freshman make. They don't think that passing English is important or learning how to factor is something they'll need, but what they need to  know is that it is. It is important. I know alot of people who wished now as seniors that they had tried harder as freshman, that their rank could be higher if they had just gotten the As and Bs they know they could have because back then they didn't know they would never be able to make up for that year. They didn't realize, your GPA starts now. This is the advice i would give to most; however there is another spectrum of students one which I fell under as a freshman. I was A petrified straight A student terrified to fail. Working hard in my classes and being responsible was always my work ethic. The advice i needed was failure is a part of life and from mistakes you grow stronger. What i needed was to know that stressing out over a Biology exam wasn't the key. The answer was trying your best, preparing with time, and having confidence in your mind that you were prepared. High school is what you make it out to be. It is a time to grow and a time  to experience a fraction of what the world has to offer. Take every opportunity, try your best, and live because this is  your time.

My best friend Alexxa found me this picture and set it as my desktop. I really love octopi; they're really beautiful and intelligent creatures.

pee pants

I went to my training today at the South Texas Museum, and i was enjoying some snacks that they had given us. So i ask my friend regina to open my water bottle, while my other friend alexxa gave me the kitkat bar i had asked her for i went to put the kitkat bar on my lap with the same hand i had the waterbottle, but like a Dumbie i forgot it was open and turned my hand to drop it on my lap and all the water gushed out on my lap. I had a swamp on my lap and so the whole rest of the day i had to walk around with damp jeans and a huge wet spot that looked like i had peed myself. boo.!