Wall Street Journal.

I greatly enjoyed reading the Wall Street Journal in class instead of a text book. A text book does have important information of course but the newspaper keeps you in the loop of current things and all the many changes going on in society. I believe reading the newspaper was an effective learning method for being informed about mass communication. I really enjoy the odd ball stories in the front page because some of them were really entertaining. I also like to learn about new technology and the new innovations and changes taking place in the media. During the course of the semester I stayed on top of what was going on,every time I turned on the TV and they mentioned something I have read before it was a good feeling to know what they were talking about and learn about the new developments in the stories. I also like the Internet access option because you have the opportunity to find out more about the stories because online the content is bigger and includes more details that may not have made it to the printer. I think it was a good learning experience for the students because sometimes reading a text book can be really boring but reading the newspaper it gives you a variety of topics that you can relate to. In my case I think old habits die hard and even if we are done with the paper I still open it and look through it and read some of the stories, when it comes to renewing my subscription I think that if I have the means to it I would do it. I enjoy reading and I like the paper so yes more than likely I will try to renew.

The Road, The movie or the book

I love to read, and I'm one of those people that if I enjoyed the book I will be at the movies at midnight the night before a movie based on that book comes out. I have had the opportunity to do this in various occasions. The latest opportunity I had was with The Road, written by Cormac McCarthy. The book itself can be a little tedious at times but underlies the human qualities and issues in a post-apocalyptic world where canivalism and pain are the main courses for the few survivor's left. The book for me was not a very easy read or an enjoyable one. In my opinion despite the human qualities it portrays like the survival instinct and the great love between a father and a son, it was very sad and it lack a true ending. I might be a constant optimist but I believe with all the bad things going around in the world maybe something that can bring people a little happiness and hope ought to be written instead of books that depress a person. When I went to see the movie well if the book is depressing the movie is a killer. When I read it I was sad but reading it was not as bad as seeing it. Yes I cried like a child in the company of both of my next door movie neighbors which were crying as well. It is a little different for a parent I believe to watch something like that because you put yourself in the position of the people and wonder if you would have the guts to not give up for you and for your child. In conclusion in my case I did not honestly enjoyed either the book or the movie, however I much rather read it than see it again.

Social Net-Working Services

In today's society the most popular net-working sites are Facebook, followed by Twitter and Myspace. From them Facebook stands out with the majority of subscribers in a fast growing community. Currently I have profiles in all three however the fastest way to reach me using the sites is the Facebook way. This is due to the fact I update my page more than 3 times a day on occasions. My second mostly used site is Twitter, in where I created an account just to try it out and where I mainly follow celebrities just for fun. I also have a Myspace account however with all the applications and features in Facebook I never use it. I bumped into it a couple of days ago after not checking it for more than 4 months. The fact is Myspace regardless of its many attempts to reinvent itself and get in the radar cannot compete with Facebook. Everyone I know has a Facebook account and you can follow your friends, upload pictures, chat, and communicate all over the world because everyone uses it. I also like Twitter however it does not offer as many things as Facebook and sometimes it gets on my nerves, and unfortunately Myspace for me is ancient history. I think that if it came to that I would probably pay a small fee for Facebook services. I think of it as if I had a home phone line, because I can reach people faster this way than on the phone most of the time. I believe if it came to paying I would probably pay no more than $10 a month for the service factoring it into my budget and also comparing it with the other services I get or want.

Who's better to you, a magazine or a book?

I for one am not a big fan of magazines per say. The latest contact I had with magazines besides a project for school was when I bought a book at Books a Million and they offered a free 30 days subscription to People and Entertainment magazines. Of course when you put the word free in it anyone would considered it so I did and the clerk told me not to worry about it that after the 30 days I would received something in the mail asking me if I wanted to subscribe and giving me the price I had to pay. What was the catch on it, well she said none but as it turns out two days ago I found my bank account to be 60 dollar's short and when I checked well I had two 30 dollars charges for People and Entertainment magazines. Well I was mad of course so I rushed to Books a Million to be more angry when I found out they had gone out of business. Surprise surprise well now all I can do is fight my way to a cancel subscription and maybe in the future read between the free lines. On the other hand I would gladly spend 60 dollars in a good book, but unfortunately for me every time I enter a bookstore the bill is well above 60 so I tried for my financial well being to stay away. However I enjoy reading very much and I have my own collection of books that I hold dear and they have their own special place in my bookshelf. What I like to do is read the books and then watch the movies made about them. I believe that the books will always be better than the movies but I enjoy the thrill of rushing to the movies like I have done in the past even at midnight the night before because since patience is not one of my virtues when I like something I cant wait and seeing the movie brings joy to me. My latest victim is the Twilight series from which I'm expecting the next movie eagerly and also a movie said to be in production from a book I read in high school called Lovely Bones from Alice Seabold. This nice little book that I greatly enjoyed and after all this years I'm looking forward to watching the movie and remembering of a worry free time, lived to the fullest and greatly cherished.

Fair Tactics or Abuse of Power:

I am not one for gossip or for spreading rumors about others to get back at them when a wrong has been done to me; however a recent experience I had made me questioned the quality and true nature of leadership in the workplace. I believe leadership takes character and unfortunately in some individuals that quality is in very short supply. Well on to my story I work for a big company that employs a lot of people yearly, and I am what it is considered “the little guy” at the bottom of the food chain, in other words underpaid and overworked. On one of my recent work shifts and to my misfortune I was not feeling to my full capacity due to the fact that I hadn’t been feeling very well the day before what I mistook as a regular head cold. When I arrived to work that day I was able to talk and even if a little under the weather I was perfectly fine to perform my job. After almost two hours I began to feel worse, my throat closed, I could not speak, and I was in a lot of pain. Since there was no means of communications because there was no phone, no radio, and no one near my location at work I could not let anyone know I was not feeling very well. After a while I was able to approach another coworker and in a piece of paper write her a message asking for help and telling her what was wrong with me. When my leader arrived to the scene not only he looked disgruntled and upset he began to lecture me on my bad judgment and even told me I would get a notation on my record for showing up to work sick when I knew I could not speak. Since I was not able to talk because of my throat I couldn’t even defend myself at the moment. Once I left work that day I went immediately to my doctor and he diagnosed me with bronchitis and tonsillitis. Nevertheless I got my performance notation on my record and in the report there were even included misleading and untrue statements about me that never took place. Needless to say I have never been able to look at that person the same way, first because of the way I was treated, second because of the unfairness of it all when others have been in my position and have gone about their business consequence free, and third because I thought there was more consideration for others and unfortunately I was sadly mistaken. Consequently I have been paying a lot more attention to my surroundings and by coincidence not too long ago I was the receiving audience in the tale of two other incidents involving the same individual. The first one happened to an elderly coworker that after being on the clock by mistake was 5 minutes late to the morning announcements which in no way affect his job performance because work itself had not began yet. He as well as me got a notation on his record which not only affected his perfect record for several years but has left him in such an emotional state that now he rushes for the morning announcements disregarding everything else for the fear of being punished again. The other incident happened to a coworker that had been addressed about her appropriate foot wear which she failed to correct and even if it was her responsibility this same individual disregarding any tactful approach and in front of others addressed her in not a very nice way and sent her home which in turn force her to wait the remaining of her shift outside waiting for her ride to finish. Of course I have tried to get statements from this people but in reality in the current economic recession everyone is afraid of losing their source of income and security so I am left with the unfairness of it all and what I think about it. What do you think, Tell me your story?