Blog #8 Drinking Coffee Elsewhere

In "Brownies," the short story from the book "Drinking Coffee Elsewhere" by Z.Z. Packer, Packer uses quotes to personalize what is going on at Woodrow Wilson elementary. She uses anecdotes to describe whey all the girls were laughing so hard. They laughed hard because they thought the use of big words that they didn't know was funny, especially the word Caucasain.
Packer sets the scene in the first few pages piece by piece. Instead devoting a page to explaining the situation, she strings the reader along. She put in a bit about the troop girls, follow it up by talking about religion, and then she goes into how Woodrow Wilson is a school in South Atlanta that is almost entirely African American.
She uses dialogue to show what the group of girls of thinking of doing after someone of non-African American descent called another girl a nigger. The girls all give their ideas of what to do in a round robin discussion.
I like how I don't know the protagonists name after the first few pages. The only way we know the protagonist is as "snot," the name a fellow-girl gave to her when she was in the first grade, which was another anecdote.

NPR Interview

Terry Gross interviewed Jon Stewart in September.
Terry definitely did her homework. She told Stewart what he said at one moment in his life and asked questions about it. She asked questions about Stewart's Jewish background, his view on politics and his TV show.
She would ask a general question and follow it up with a more personal question. For example, she asked a question about Stewart becoming more political through his show and followed it up with one of his serious moments on the show. Some questions were serious and some were humorous. At one point, she stopped Stewart to ask a specific question about the war in Iraq.
Terry clearly had a strategy. She kept the interview fairly fun despite many questions being very serious. Asking a question about Stewart being voted the most funny person in high school was definitely an example of asking a question to keep a light feel on the interview. Also, making fun of Stewart's athletic ability, or lack there of, kept the interview fun. Gross's job is to conduct an entertaining interview so her audience is satisfied, and I believe the mix of quesitons helped entertain the crowd.
Any evasive meaning to a question was answered with humor, which isn't surprising because Terry was interviewing a host of a comedic show.
The relationship between Terry and Jon appeared to be comfortable. Both seemed to have a lot of respect for each other.
Terry Gross taught me that you can never do too much homework for an interview. She was prepared, and that's the most important thing. Terry also listened closely to Stewart and asked several follow-up questions. These follow-up questions enhanced the interview. No amount of preparationg can replace being inquisitive and looking for moments to get a deeper, richer answer. I will look to be more attentive in my interviews.

Copy Edit the World Part 2

But Florida (4-3, 2-3 SEC) can still get to the SEC title in Atlanta if it wins its final three conference game.

Game should be games.

He's completed just 42 per cent of his passes and was missing badly on deep balls before he was benched.

per cent is one word. Percent

Word of the Week # 7

The Denver Post
Then again, the Obama administration's preposterous attack on the U.S. Chamber of Commerce does nothing to help Democrats and everything to reinforce the moderate voter's perception that the president's party has gone bonkers.

Dictionary definition
Contrary to reason or common sense; utterly absurd or ridiculous

My sentence
The ending to "Fight Club" was preposterous because it made no sense and it boggled my mind.

Mystery person

I was a four-sport star at UCLA in the early 1940s, playing football, basketball, baseball and track. I am the only player to have my number retired by every single major league baseball. I played most of my baseball career for the Brooklyn Dodgers. I broke the baseball color barrier in 1947.

Word of the Week #6

Tiger Woods' annihilation was key to Super Sunday, says Europe captain Colin Montgomerie

annihilation- total destruction

The atomic bomb caused annihilation of Hiroshima.

News release assignment

Scholar Series focuses on economic crisis

SJSU sociology Professor Scott Myers-Lipton will discuss his most recent book on Oct. 13 as part of the University Scholar Series.

Myers-Lipton’s book, “Rebuild America: Solving the Economic Crisis through Civic works,” focuses on ways the government can increase employment and gives readers a history of public works in America, according to the SJSU events website.

The events of the University Scholar Series, which are co-sponsored by the Office of the Provost, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Library and the Spartan Bookstore, are free of charge and open to all members of the public.

According to its website, the University Scholar Series provides a unique opportunity for showcasing the important research and scholarly activities of SJSU faculty members.

Myers-Lipton is the second of three speakers, with history Professor Mary Pickering scheduled on Nov. 17.

The event will take place from noon to 1 in Rooms 225-227 of the King Library.

For more information, contact Gina Marin in the Office of the Provost at 924-2404 or Elisabeth Thomas in King Library at 808-2193.