Denise Perdomo

Wallstreet Journal

2009-12-09T08:31:00.000-08:00

The Wallstreet Journal was a great "textbook." The fact that it offered up-to-date

information because it is a newspaper was a great advantage. Textbooks are usually out of date

or even relevant to the market conditions that are currently on-going. The Wallstreet Journal

was a cheaper alternative that provided great knowledge. I use information I've read in the

Journal in everday conversation with my boss and district managers. They are usually

impressed and look forward to talking to me when they visit. Although, I must say I offered

great conversation before anyways.

The Wallstreet Journal offers a comprehensive look at what's going on in the business market,

stock market and world news. All of these aspects are important for our generation to start

becoming more informed on. We will be running the world on day; we should know what to

expect in our future and not go into in blindsided.

Overall, The Wallstreet Journal was a great guide for the classroom. I definitely plan on

renewing my subscription.

The Road

2009-12-02T05:58:00.000-08:00

The Road was definitely a whole new experience for me as a reader, and the movie did not

lack in living up to the stupendous novel.

I really did think the movie was going to be some exaggerated Hollywood production.

Surprisingly, it stayed true to the novel and only embellished a few things. The part where the

father and son go down into the cellar with the naked people showed a relatively large group in

the movie versus the couple in the book. They also ran (kind of) after the characters in the film,

which I do not remember happening in the novel.

Also the movie had a few more happier moments as the father has multiple flashbacks of his

wife as the were at the beach or laying outside on the grass. The book had no such memories. I

assume they wanted to give audiences brief moments of happiness in order to not overwhelm

them with the multitude of depressing moments in the film.

Other than a few minor details, the movie and novel were comparable. I, however, enjoyed

book more. I tend to like the range a book gives a reader. The author can only do so much when

he describes scenarios; the left is up to the reader. In the film, audiences are subjected to the

filmmaker's take on the novel.

I also enjoyed the challenge of reading the novel. The lack of proper punctuation and

grammar in general made the book a completely new experience for me. Yet, this same horrible

structure made the book simplistic. It stripped the English language bare of its rules in the way

this post-apocalyptic world stripped some humanity from its morals.

Social Networking Sites

2009-11-10T16:57:00.000-08:00

Denise Perdomo

MMC 1000

November 10, 2009

Social networking sites are the dawn of the end of man. Maybe I'm being a little dramatic. I

myself have succumb to the addiction of facebooking. I tried MySpace and Twitter, but neither

appealed to me as did FaceBook.

FaceBook has an easy layout, great for any computer illiterate like myself. It has its pros and

cons. Through Facebook I have been able to reconnect with friends that I grew up with but

lost contact with when I moved to Orlando. There, I also get to network (hence the term

networking site) with people who are interested in the same things as I. For example, I am a

member of Air Force Girlfriends and Nationwide Tax Day Tea Party groups. It makes the world

a bit smaller and creates communities that have no borders. Another great thing about

Facebook is that it is where I met my current boyfriend while he was stationed in Iraq.

Facebook has its drawbacks. Sometimes people are too open, updating their status messages

every 15 minutes. It has also created problems in relationships. Many people start misunder-

standing what friends may leave written on the walls of their boy/girlfriends. It also keeps

changing its look so often that you can get lost in the multitude of things you see on your home

page or newsfeed.

I don't believe that if Facebook began charging for its services I would pay. I can live without

it. Yes, it's a great way to keep in touch, but so is a phone (and I already pay for that). I just

think that Facebook is another fad that will eventually pass as did MySpace.

Moviegoing Experience

2009-10-19T08:16:00.000-07:00

Denise Perdomo

MMC 1000

October 19, 2009

I would have to say my movie viewing habits have changed substantially over the past

few years. The excitement of going to the theatres has dwindled. The preference to wait an

extra 3 months before it comes out on DVD has reigned.

When I was younger, and often nowadays, going to the movie theatre was pure joy.

The popcorn, the big screen and the freezing theatre added to the movie-going experience.

However, as I’ve gotten older and valued the Dollar a bit more, going to the movies sometimes

seems like a waste of money. Ten Dollars for a ticket, six Dollars for popcorn, four Dollars for a

drink seems a hefty price to put on a movie, especially when I can never finish even the small

popcorn and drink.

Unlike 15 years ago, we no longer have to wait a year before a movie comes out on

VHS; we simply have to wait about 3 months for it to be released on DVD. Nowadays, I’d much

rather stop by my local Target (a simple jog from where I live) and purchase a DVD. By that

time, most of my friends have seen it; I’ve heard reviews and noticed which ones made an

impact on the box office. This all adds to being a little smarter when deciding what movie to

purchase.

Like many people, I started working at the age of 16. I began to learn what a Dollar

meant. The reason I prefer the DVD to the theatre is simple economics. Why waste money on

a movie that might not be that good? How many hours did I have to work to pay for the not so

good movie (tickets, food, gas, etc.). Hence, the DVD is the most practical choice. By then, I’ve

heard enough about the movie to make a sound decision as to whether I should spend 17 Dollars

on it.

The one thing I will never do is download movies illegally. Many people my age, and

often older, have resorted to this detestable method to watch movies. Personally, I could never

enjoy a movie I have stolen. To me, downloading a movie for free is just as bad as grabbing it off

the shelf at Best Buy and not paying for it. The people that took all those months to make the

movie (cast, crew, etc.) deserve to get paid for their work.

Ultimately, I think that it is much more reasonable for me to wait the extra time to be

able to watch the movie from the comfort of my own home at my leisure.