Word of the Week #4

1. Quintessential
2. A quintessential Hollywood Moment: a star on a soundstage, the focal point of every person and every piece of equipment in the room. Source: The Hollywood Treatment by Frank Rose from Mass Media Textbook
3. Adjective: being the most typical
4. His quintessential outfit let him blend in to his new school without being noticed.

What Makes it News?

The news story that I selected was about two teenagers at a Colorado middle school getting injured by a school shooting. I got this article from Yahoo news at http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100224/ap_on_re_us/us_colo_school_shooting;_ylt=ArqskxB92fxEbzpsrWC0RPtvzwcF;_ylu=X3oDMTJvbnE0MXByBGFzc2V0A2FwLzIwMTAwMjI0L3VzX2NvbG9fc2Nob29sX3Nob290aW5nBGNwb3MDMQRwb3MDMgRzZWMDeW5fdG9wX3N0b3J5BHNsawMydGVlbnNpbmp1cmU-. This news story is newsworthy because it involves the shooting of children which is something our society needs to prevent and this news story sheds some light on that issue. Some news values associated with this news article are the values of timeliness and conflict. Also it has the news values of unexpectedness and negativity. Too make this story more localized the writer might say something like it what is to stop this event to happening at a local middle school and calling for more gun protection laws.

Word of the Week #3

1. Cacophonous
2. For two centuries before the arrival of television America had a wild, cacophonous, emphatically decentralized media culture taht mirrored society itself. Source: The Massless Media by William Powers from Mass Media textbook
3. Adjective: having a harsh or discordant sound.
4. The old piano sounded cacophonous, making the song being played on it very hard to listen to.

Fly on the Wall

For this assignment I decided to go to Patxi’s Chicago Pizza, a small restaurant that serves Chicago style pizza. The first thing I noticed was that this place had eight different tables. Four of them were lined up on the right side of the restaurant and seated four people each. The other four were meant for two people and were lined up in the middle of the restaurant. All of these tables were made up of a darkish-brown wood. On the left side of the restaurant there was a bar with five seats. At the backend of the restaurant there was a kitchen that was open for all to see. Since it was 1:00 PM on a Monday the store was not busy. I sat and heard the waiters talk on the phone behind the bar. They were asking a customer on the phone if they wanted takeout or delivery. I also heard three kitchen workers talk in Spanish about something. The smell of the place was also interesting because it smelled like a mixture of wood and buttered bread. There was also a hint of tomato sauce smell. I decided to order a slice of pizza. The pizza I ordered looked more like a pie. It had tomato sauce on the top with a layer of cheese under it mixed with pepperoni, pesto, and onions followed by a layer of baked crust. It was very good and all the ingredients complemented each other in my mouth. After I finished eating I decided to touch the tables and see what they felt like. They were extremely smooth but had some hints of pizza crumbs. Some of them even stuck to my hand as I lifted it off the table. Overall this was a good experience and I enjoyed eating and being there.

Word of the Week #2

1. Gamine
2. She is undeniably pretty-- flowing black-coffee hair, sparkling eyes, gamine physique, broad smile-- but beauty alone can't account for her celebrity. Source: Almost Famous by Jason Tanz from Mass Media textbook
3. noun: a diminuative or very slender girl, esp. one who is pert, impudent, or playfully mischievous
adjective: of or like gamine
4. Her gamine look allowed her to look good in her new small dress.

Word of the Week #1

1. Waft
2. Strains of Martha and the Vandellas' "Dancing in the Street" waft thinly from Rambin's iPod speakers. Source: Almost Famous by Jason Tanz from Mass Media Text Book
3. Verb (used without an object): to float or be carried, esp. through the air.
4. The slow music wafted throughout my house providing me with a chance for relaxation.

My Favorite Writing

One of my favorite pieces of writing is Dr Seuss's Green Eggs and Ham which was written by Dr. Suess and was published in 1960. It was one of the first books that i read by myself when i was a child and has been one of my favorites ever since. It showcases writing that is simple but interesting and can hook readers at any age. Here is an excerpt from the book which i got online.
"I do not like them in a house.I do not like them with a mouse.I do not like them here or there.I do not like them anywhere.I do not like green eggs and ham.I do not like them, Sam-I-am."
I think that this is a good example of writing because it has a lot of rhyming and word repitetions which makes it interesting to read as well as entertaining which is why I liked it so much as a child. I think this piece of writing is a classic that every child should have the chance to read. Though it is made for children it still showcases good writing style which should interest the average reader. Even though I am not a child anymore this piece of writing still interests me today.

About Me

My name is Alexander deLeon. I am an advertising major and and a third year student. On my free time I like listening to music and hanging out with friends. One of my favorite shows is Family Guy because it is funny and always entertaining. My favorite color is red and i will occasionally play basketball or football. I like Thai food alot and since my mother is Thai I get to eat a lot of it. I also like filipino food and since my father is filipino it works in my favor.
What i want out of this class is to improve my grammar and to learn to write better. Having a blog is also cool because I never thought I would have one. I am not good at putting together essays so hopefully this class will help me with that. I usually have good ideas, but i have trouble writing introductions. Once i get an introduction written i can usually make my essay flow together well. I thought my grammar was good but after taking the grammar assessments test realize i still have much to learn. I look forward to learning new things in this class and hopefully i will get a lot out of it.