The Light at the End of The Tunnel

So the end of the semester is finally approaching and the last minute stress is approaching
It seems like all I have been doing is sitting in front of my computer for hours, writing papers and making the last finishing touches to assignments and portfolios. But aside from the procrastination and the panic to get everything done and turned in on time, it still seems like this semester has flown by. It seems like just the other day I was walking into my classes after Christmas break and thinking how long it was going to be until Summer. But now it's here, and I am only one semester away from graduating.

I am super stoked that I will finally be done with college next fall, but It seems so crazy that 4 1/2 years of my life have gone by so fast. I have met so many people and made some really good friends in my time here at CSUMB. I guess the saying holds true that don't take it all for granted because it will pass you by. I feel that I have taken advantage of what has been offered to me here and I am ready to finish next semester with a bang! I am excited to get started on writing my capstone paper and getting ready to celebrate all my hard work and determination. I know that it is not over yet, but I am just looking for that shining bright light at the end of the tunnel.

Prank Wars

This video is soo funny! I heard about it at my work and I watched them as a break from projects and studying for finals. Hopefully you guys will find it amusing in light of all the stress we are under at this point in the semester.

so the first video is prank that took place a couple of years ago between these two friends who run the website collegehumor.com. The second video is the revenge from the first prank and it takes place a year later. Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WMHidjDB_Uk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bI7AUgp5fPI

Perfect Night

Tonight was one of the best sports nights I think in a long time. The San Francisco Giants took the second game of the three game series with the Cardinals, with Barry Zito dealing on the mound tonight and the save by Brian Wilson, awesome. Then, an hour after the start of the baseball game, the San Jose sharks were on the way to winning the first round of the playoffs in Colorado. With the score tied 2-2 after the second period things were getting pretty intense. Joe Pavelski gets the go ahead goal in the third to take things to the next level. Colorado leaves an empty net to try and tie things up in the last remaining minutes of the period and the sharks close it out 5-2 to clinch the win!
It was so great, Giants and Sharks in one night! Man you gotta love the bay area sports action! I just hope that this kind of energy keeps up for the remainder of the playoffs for the Sharks and in the games to come for the Giants.

Is Free Speech Really Free?

Last Tuesday I went to a Giants Game and where I was sitting we were close to the visiting teams bullpen.
When the pitcher started to warm up some of the fans in our section began to yell rude things to them and make fun of their pitching abilities. Most of the comments were just in good baseball rivalry fun, but the guy sitting behind me and my group of friends took it to the next level. He started using foul language and personally attacking the pitcher from the other team by talking about his mom and saying things that some members in the crowd found "obscene". A few minutes later the ballpark security came to our section and asked the guy to step outside with them. He got very upset and started saying that he hadn't done anything wrong and that he had the right to say those things. The security guard thought otherwise and after some very loud confrontation between the guy and his group of friends and the security, he was escorted out of the section and ejected from the game. This got me thinking about is Free Speech really free? Other fans were poking fun at the pitcher too, but because foul language was involved with the other guy he was the only one ejected from the game. But people use foul language and profanity in public all the time, so why is it ok to do it on the street, but if you do it at a baseball game you can be ejected?
He was being very loud and distracting the other team's pitcher, but that is common in the major league baseball environment. It just doesn't seem right that he was the only one punished, when there were numerous other people doing pretty much the exact same thing. Something else that I thought was interesting is that security didn't even give him a warning, like " hey some of the things you are saying is offensive to other fans, so if you don't stop we will eject you from the game". Instead they didn't even give him a chance to explain himself or defend himself they just told him that he could take it up with the police outside.
This event just put some things into perspective for me that not all speech is free and that there are consequences for the speech we choose to say.

 

Baseball is democracy in action: in it all men are "free and equal," regardless of race, nationality, or creed. Every man is given the rightful opportunity to rise to the top on his own merits...It is the fullest expression of freedom of speech, freedom of press, and freedom of assembly in our national life.
~ Francis Trevelyan Miller

New Discovery

On Wednesday I went to a concert at the Rio Theatre in Santa Cruz. I went to see a band that I had heard a couple of songs from before, but hadn't bought any of their cds or anything.The band is called Rogue Wave. Their song "Your Eyes" appeared on the soundtrack for the movies Just Friends.

They were one of the best bands I have ever seen live. Their music is fun and the lead singer has an amazing voice. They sound similar to the band Death Cab for Cutie, but infused with their own unique sound. 

Here are a few songs from their new album "Permalight"  provided by Youtube






these are just a couple of good songs, also check out "destroy", and "I'll never leave you". I was happy to discover this band that has actually been around for a while, but hasn't received much attention.

So check them out and see what you think!



I would also like to acknowledge that the San Francisco Giants are currently undefeated in the NL West, may this be a preview of whats to come this season!

One Year Older

Over Spring Break I had my 22nd birthday. I was excited about turning one year older, and it was cool to turn 22 on the 22nd day of the month of March, because it only happens once. I kept getting the question "so do you feel older?' and I honestly didn't know how to respond. I feel like 21 whizzed by in a flash, it was fun at first, but it got old real fast and people tend to not take you seriously once you tell them that you are 21.

So ya in a way I guess I do feel older.  I hope that being one year older is full of fun, friendships, and new adventures!

Baseball Season!

Yes! It is finally here, the moment that I have been counting down for. Tomorrow at 4:00 pm the Giants officially start the season with the opening game against the Astros! I love this time of year, the loud crowds, the crisp air in the ball park, the sea of orange and black blanketing the crowd, sunflower seeds, hot dogs, beer. It is just awesome. And to top it all off, my favorite player Tim Lincecum will start things off on the mound.

With baseball season starting, it means that hockey is coming to a close. The San Jose Sharks just lost tonight against the Colorado Avalanche, which comes as a low blow with the playoffs right around the corner. Hopefully it won't turn out like last year's debacle. The Sharks entered the playoffs with the best lead in hockey and end up loosing in the first round! Heartbreaking. But with leading offensive man Joe Thornton back on the ice from a previous injury, hopefully the Sharks will gain momentum and come out strong in the next ten days leading up to the playoffs.

This month is filled with sports action. I get to watch my favorite baseball team battle it out on the field, and witness my other favorite team, The Sharks, in the playoffs. Here's to the start of a great season and and a hopeful clinching of the Stanley Cup!

Spring Training and It is Freezing Outside!

So it is now less than a month away, this is my personal countdown, until the first game for the 2010 Season for the SF Giants and the best time of the year, baseball season! I have already bought my first ticket and will be right there ten rows up from the first base line on April 13th! With the season changing and the time moving one hour ahead it seems like the weather would realize the change as well right?

Well, I guess not considering that it has been either raining or sunny with 25 mile an hour winds! What is that about ! It is almost Spring Break and there has not been any warm weather, how am I supposed to get a tan and sport my new bikini?, Ok that was a little exaggeration. But seriously is ever going to get warm? Granted I know this is Monterey and it is never really warm, but I can recall around this time last year it was getting warm enough to wear shorts or skirts and spend an afternoon at the beach, without getting pummeled by the flying sand. I hope that it gets here soon, I am sick of the rain and the freezing cold wind and crappy days.... I need some sunshine and a relaxing day at the beach!

New Hobby-

Ok, so on to something new.  I have recently taken up the sport of tennis. I was pretty excited about this because it one of the only sports that I have never learned to play. I have had a little bit of practice hitting the ball around, but I didn't know the rules or any of the basic routine of the game. One of my friends, who is pretty good agreed to help teach me how  to play. So today after work I met up with him and  we decided to play. This was now my third time playing, so I am starting to get  the hang of things and am finding it  to not only be fun, but a great work out too, which is an added bonus :) So we start playing and I am doing pretty good for only my third time, I am hitting the ball back and we start a small rally across the net. I loose the first game, so now it is my turn to serve. The last time I had played I picked up on serving pretty quick and was getting over the net and in bounds,.which was an accomplishment (my first serve ended up in the pool).

So this time I thought it was going to be a piece of cake, well I was wrong. I couldn't seem to get the ball over the net, and when I did I hit it too far and out of the serving square. I started to get frustrated and the harder I tried the worse I got. I was upset since I had just lost three games in a row, you get two chances to serve  and if you mess up then it is the other persons point. I just couldn't figure out why I was having such a hard time and I have to admit that my competitive edge was getting to me, I was tired of loosing. My friend was starting to tell that I was not having a good time and then gave me a little pep talk. He said " Carly, It is only your third time ever playing, and you are hitting some really great shots! I know you want to win and play your best, but your not going to just walk out onto the court and be a Maria Sherapova! You are doing way better than most of the beginners that I have worked with, so quit giving yourself such a hard time, and have some fun!".

I had to take a deep breath for a moment, he was so right. I had just started to learn the game, how can I expect to serve like the pros on tv or even play the game like I had been doing it all my life. I guess growing up playing sports, you just automatically assume that because you are good at other sports, this new one shouldn't be any different. Well the pep-talk put some things into perspective for me. I have decided that I am just going to take it step by step and enjoy learning how to play tennis. I am not going to let my competitive side get the best of me and I am going to see where this new hobby takes me.

Censorship at Work

Dealing with the general public can be somewhat exhausting. I work in the pro-shop at a golf course so I see a variety of people. Most are nice and sometimes like to share their experiences from their round or ask where they should go out to dinner that evening. But then there are always those few who are..well lets just say not the friendliest in the world. So a few nights ago I was closing with another co-worker and this gentleman walks up to the counter wanting to exchange two windshirts. Well one of them has a logo that does not belong to our golf shop, so my co-worker and I are trying to find out where it may have come from. The gentleman was starting to get aggravated and insisted that he had purchased the jacket from our store earlier that morning. We were trying to do our best to assist him but we needed to make sure that we had the appropriate information in order to do a return and the exchange. As we were explaining this, the gentleman started reomoving the items from his bag and throwing them around at the windshirt display, so now we are completely confused as to which items he originally had and the ones that he would like to exchange. He is also giving us attitude and treating us like we do not know what we are doing and that we are in some way wasting his time...hmm now is about the time when I would really like to mutter something unkind under my breath....but I hold my tongue. So we return the jacket that belongs to a course related to ours and give him a credit so that he could purchase the same thing in the size he needed at the other store the next day... and he leaves with a jacket from our store that he had exchanged...yeah it was a nightmare. So the debacle is over but my coworker and I are still confused and hope that we did the process correctly, and we are stuck having to straighten up the display that this disgruntled man just destroyed. So the point of this crazy story is that it got me thinking about Free Speech and consequences. So we all have the freedom to say what we want, but then we must realize the consequences that could arise.  As I was getting flustered and upset with the treatment from this guest, I had to remind myself that this is not the first time something like this has happened nor will it be the last. I knew it was in my best interest not to sink down to his level and risk loosing my job over not being able to self censor my speech. It was a good lesson for me in how we determine the limits and boundaries to assgin to free speech and how that can play into the workplace environment.

A Country Divided

I just finished watching a documentary in my Race and Gender Justice class on Hurrican Katrina and its effects on the black community in New Orleans. I remember when Katrina happened and everyone was talking about it through the hallways of my high school, but it felt so far away that I didn't really take into consideration what was going on and the devastation that was occurring in these peoples lives.
In this documentary a 24 year old named Kim and her husband film what it was like to go through the hurricane and live to tell about it, while also showing the poverty and racial struggles that the African American community faces, especially in the 9th ward. From the media coverage the refugees were portrayed as bandits and thieves who were "looting" and stealing anything that they could find in shops and stores. In reality, this was not the case, sure things were stolen, but it was out of survival. Most of the relief efforts went to upper middle class neighborhoods, and rebuilding of downtown and the French Quarter. So many people in the 9th ward were left with nothing, no belonging, food, shelter, and many of their neighbors and friends had passed away in the turmoil.
I traveled to New Orleans last summer and could still see signs of the damage and destruction of Katrina and that was about four years later. I could see how hard the city spent on rebuilding, but only in the areas where the tourists go and places that would generate money.  I didn't venture into the 9th ward, but from what I saw in the film I am sure not much has changed. It just seems like the city doesn't care about the less fortunate and want to just cast them aside like an old pair of shoes. It just makes me so angry to know that these unjust things are still occurring in this day and age. That the people in our country who really need are help are being treated like they are un-American or that they don't deserve our help. It just goes to show that the "Rich get Richer while the Poor get Poorer". It is just a vicious cycle, will it ever end?

Check out the Film trailer here!

Kimberly Roberts also has recorded a CD where she has released her feelings about New Orleans and her life experiences through hip-hop, check it out.....Black Kold Medina

14 year old Conservative

Article from Herald Tribune


I was reading some articles on MSN and came across this one about a 14 year old who has already published 2 books on conservatism and recently gave a speech to the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC). This is a video of that speech Video

His name is Jonathan Krohn and he is an 8th grader living in Atlanta. Afer giving his speech, news organizations and radio talk show hosts wanted to interview him and he quickly turned into a celebrity amongst the political world. Jonathan claims that his inspiration to write the book came from hearing people misuse the terms "Conservative". So he spent his entire summer writing an 86 page book on his ideas and definitions of what it means to be a Conservative. Many people were sending his family hate mail, saying that they were brainwashing their son. Jonathan's dad claims that his sons passion for politics is strictly his and they avoid influencing him in any way.

I just think that it is interesting how Jonathan used his ablility of Free Speech to write a book on political issues he is passionate about. The next amazing thing is that he is only 14 years old, and published two books on the topic! It seems that he is trying to inform the public that there are new ways to think about conservatism and it is awesome that he is able to get those ideas out into mainstream media. I also wonder why some people always have to criticize anything that has to do with politics and our government. When Jonathan spoke at the conference, within a few days his family was already recieving hate mail criticizing them as parents. Then again, those composers of the hate mail have their right to free speech to speak out against Jonathan's ideas and to criticize his thinking, but is it still fair to give these people "Free Speech", when they are directly attacking a 14 year old and his family?

These are the two books that Jonathan has written:

Crazy

Ok, so this story probably has nothing to do with the readings, but I was completely shocked when I heard it, so I felt that I needed to share with all of you.

So the other night I went to dinner with one of my really good friends to catch up because we have not seen each other in a while. So we are eating dinner and talking, and I asked her if she was seeing anyone right now. She replied with well I went on this crazy date last month that made me want to just lay low for a while. So of course I wanted to know more. So she explains that she went on a date with this guy that she has known for a while, he picked her up things were going well and then the date started going downhill. They didn't really have anything in common and the conversation was getting dry, so they finish dinner and head home. As she gets in the car the guy asks "So how would you introduce me?" My friend is caught off guard, especially since it is their first date. She hesitates then replies "Well, I guess for now I would just introduce you as one of my friends." He comes back with "oh, because I would introduce you as my fiance." My friend starts laughing because she thinks that he is just joking around, and he says "No, really I was looking at rings the other day and I found one that I think would look great on you!". Ok, so by this time my friend is really freaking out and says that she just wants to go home. So needless to say she never went on a second date with him!
I was shocked that this guy was dead serious about wanting to marry her after a first date.

What about you guys? Any crazy first date experiences?

Introduction/ What is Free Speech?

My name is Carly and I am a senior this year hoping to graduate in the fall! I am an HCOM major with a concentration in journalism/media studies. I enjoy sports and am a HUGE SF Giants fan. I like going to the beach, going to hockey games and baseball games. So far from what we have read and discussed in class, I feel that free speech is any speech regardless of the form that it takes. There are parameters on when and where speech can be used, especially if it is offensive, but all speech is free. You can not deny someone the right to say what they want, even if you do not agree with what is being said. I am interested in finding out what all the exceptions to this rule of “Free Speech” are. I would like to know how you decide, or who gets to decide when speech is considered free and when it is not. I am also curious how free speech would be defined if what you are saying can hurt of cause harm to other individuals. I also want to know where the fine line is drawn with music, because you can cuss, talk about drugs, murder, and prostitution in songs, and rappers even use the term “nigga”. The whole idea of “Free Speech” is so vague, so who holds the authority to tell you what you can and can not say?