Peace

Well this is it...Final post. I just wanted to say that it was a great way to end my college career. Final class here at CSUMB and it's a little crazy but it feels good. Thank you to Prof. Dave for a great semester and good luck to everyone in the future. I'm out! Finally. Peace.

The Economy!

Well, today I had one my associates come to me and tell me how his house was getting foreclosed and that he has nowhere to live. I felt so bad for him because he lives with his whole family and has to support them all, and now they don't even have a steady roof under their heads....What is this country coming to, seriously? Once Bush is out of office hopefully things will take a turn for the better, but seriously, gas is almost at $4. I remember when people were saying that they would stop buying gas once it hit $3...Yeah right! I don't know what it is, but it sure is making me think twice about who is in power and what is going to happen once he is out.

Mass Media

Well one of my first blogs was about the subject of Mass Media. Last semester I took 307s which is the social impact of mass media where I had to teach media literacy to young kids. I gotta say that it was not an easy task. Kids these days are surronded by advertising and media everywhere from the shows on tv, food places, cell phones, video games, movies, internet, pretty much everywhere. The kids didn't know really how to comprehend what we were teaching them but we got it through their heads what advertising and media even is, which was an acomplishment in itself. At the start of our teaching, we only had about 2 kids and towards the end a lot more wanted to come, we probably had about 15, so it felt good that they started to take an interest in learning about media. It's not an easy subject to explore and I don't think there is any way of regulating it because pretty much only one dude runs the whole corporate media, and he has the money to do it, so who is going to stop him? I don't even watch the news anymore, unless it's Sportscenter, and even then I bet Rupert owns that too. It's pretty damn horrible nowadays, that's for sure.

Damn!

Well, I was wrong....UNC played like SHIT!! Kansas just came out on top of everything, playing great defense, executing every time down the court on offense, and just completely shutting down North Carolina. Oh well, I lost ten bucks but it has still been fun to watch it all, and now I gotta say that i'm shooting for Memphis to win it all, but after that win Kansas has the momentum, we'll see.

College Basketball

Ok, I know that this is a free speech class and all but I have to make a post about college basketball during March Madness, I just wouldn't feel right if I didn't. Seriously though, four #1 seeds in the Final Four, What?!?! That has never happened, and I love it. These are going to be some great games coming up with Memphis and UCLA. I think that Memphis is on a roll and has been throughout the whole year and they want this one too, but UCLA with Kevin Love and Darren Collison may have something to say about that. On the other side, you got Tyler Hansbrough, who is about to be player of the year with UNC who are playing Kansas. I am going for UNC for sure in this one, this is one of the best seasons in school history so far and like I said they got Hansbrough. Plus Coach Roy Williams is playing against his former school that he coached at and won championships in Kansas but is now with is Alma Mater in UNC. I gotta give this one to North Carolina. As soon as the championship is set, i'll make another post, sorry but it's March Madness, I gotta do it.

Are Hate Speech and Campus Speech Codes a Violation of Free Speech?

Well, after reading the piece abut the hate speech codes, I was a little torn. I think that on one hand that hate speech of any sort should not even be tolerated to any extent, but at the same time I believe that everyone has the right to free speech. I'm not saying that hate speech is good or should be allowed but I am a firm believer in the whole aspect of free speech. I mean no matter where you go there are going to be some forms of discrimination and racism, I hate to say it but that is the reality. I guess this goes back to the infamous question of where the line should be drawn on the boundaries of free speech. I remember in the threshold essay that I said that if the free speech disrespects any person that it shouldn't be allowed as free speech, but then I read this article and have gotten to have more of a grasp on free speech over the last few months. Now I would have to say that to regulate someones opinions, especially on a college campus where we are encouraged to be opinionated, is a violation of free speech and the First Amendment. What do you think?

Graffitti, art, and the such...

Well I just read chapter 10 of Outspoken and I was really intrigued by the segment about the graffiti artist. I liked it because the way that they related it to being art. I don't see how someone could not think of graffiti as an art. Ok I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and say that some tagging out there is hideuos and I would never want to see it in my neighborhood but it is still art. It is the only way that some of these youth in the inner city have to express themselves. It kind of reminds me of tattooing because when you think of tats you automatically think gang banger or criminal, right? (I'm doing my capstone on tattooing so I have a lot of opinions on the subject as well). Same with tagging, only someone who is a criminal or a gang banger is going to go spray paint some walls, right? Wrong. I loved the idea that they had about allowing some walls to be tagged up as a way to almost make a mural of various graffiti artists' work. It allows these young people to get out there and showcase their art. It gives them some sort of inspiration that maybe they can get out there and be a true artist and do what they love to do. I think it's tight and should be showcased more.

OK, Check it out...

Well recently i've had a little negative criticism due to the fact that I am a

Lakers fan but have never actually lived in Los Angeles....I think this is kind of B.S. I have moved all around California my whole life, mostly Northern California like of course Monterey and further in land in places like Mariposa, and Merced (not too fun to live there!), but i've been a Lakers fan since the Showtime days with Magic and have continued that all the way through the dynasty days with Shaq and Kobe. I've seen the best of the best and the worst of the worst, so i'm not the type that just jumped on the band wagon when they started winning, I was cheering when they were at the bottom!. I don't know though because i've never really had a "hometown" team I guess, so can you really blame me for choosing a team and

actually sticking with them even though i've never lived there? GO LAKERS! #1 IN THE WESTERN CONFERENCE BABY!

Evolution

Well I just wrote my essay and I have to say that I just don't understand how people can see definite concrete evidence of evolution but some just still don't get it. Our country was formed around Christianity and I think that some just can't give it up...I believe in God or at least a higher power of some sort but I still believe in evolution...what's so hard about that?

Armed Forces Recruitment

Well after last class I didn't really have too much on my mind but the one thing that did come up and make me think about was the idea of army recruiting at high schools.  I've seen first hand how many army recruiters prey around different high schools trying to get these young men and women at the prime time.  A time where thoughts of the future are blurry and stress on what to do with the rest of your life is at its peak.  Then the army comes in and tells you that they will pay you and pay for your education once your out.  For some, it sounds like a wonderful alternative in order to make money to pay to go to college, but is that really what it is?  I've heard that once it is all said and done, they don't give you as much as you expected plus you have to stay in for so long by the time your done, education is not really an option anymore...I was just curios if anyone knew the logistics of this matter....

Just a thought

Ok, so I was reading the piece by Frederick Douglass and I came across a quote that kind of intrigued me, it said: "No right was deemed by the fathers of the Government more sacred than the right of speech." This got me thinking about, ok, well if it was so sacred then how did everything come about with the Sedition Acts and not allowing free speech to so many...Then I thought it's probably a front by the goverment to get you to believe what they want you to by fooling you into it. I think that ever since the beginning of our government, actually even back to when we were only colonies, the government only fools you to believe what they think is right. Seriously, the only reason why Christianity is so big is because the leaders of the colonies made everyone go to church everyday or else they would be punished...Is that a way to make someone believe in something, I mean it will because they don't want to be punished, but it is forcing them to do it. Honestly, we as a whole have been fooled into everything that we believe becasue the government says its right, and we just get used to it being there and being believed by so many. I mean I believe in a lot of things, but I don't know, maybe I should question some of the shit that I believe of think is right, who knows where the hell it came from...Maybe i'm trippin.

Media...

On Wednesday in our seminar we talked about the relationship of early newspapers and how it has had an impact on the present day media. I found it rather amusing that in early newspapers they wouldn't allow them to talk or criticize authority figures. Nowadays you never hear any big time medium criticizing the government, it seems like they are actually reporting exactly what they want the general public to believe. I think that there are some things that the media shouldn't report but they only report the things that the government wants you to hear, especially in war times like we are going through. They want you to believe that the war is good and that every should back them up...I think it's a bunch of b.s. and we'll see how it progresses once Bush is out of office....

I don't have the book yet...

So I don't have the book yet, and haven't been able to do the readings for the first couple of classes. Does anyone know when the bookstore is going to get it in, or if Borders may possibly have it because I heard it is a pretty popular book. Let me know...

First Blog,,,

YEAH!!!

CSUMB HOMEPAGE