Summary

I feel with the first article that it is a good thing that technology is making knowledge easier to obtain. The Internet is making things easier for people, and no longer does a person have to go to the library in order to research something. Yes, people are less inclined to work hard for knowledge, but this is not all that bad. Technology is making people adapt, and people are now able to share their ideas. People must cope with the fact that times are changing, and must adjust to that.
With the second article, I do not feel it is a bad thing that newspaper companies are losing revenue. Yes, they do keep the public informed about many important issues. However, why shouldn't the public use what is easier for them. It is survival of the fittest, and if the Internet is a better source than a newspaper, I feel as if the public should use it. Blogs, texts, and Internet websites make it easy to learn information with just one push of a button, and it is all free. Both arguments are valid in my opinion, and I agree with both.

Article 2

The newspaper industry is struggling due to the Internet. People are no longer buying newspapers, and are instead following the news via the Internet. According to the article, a person could take 7 minutes to skim through and a story on the Internet, while it takes 45 minutes to read a newspaper. However, by reading the articles through the newspaper, they are getting a more factual story, and are able to understand stories and events much better. Newspapers are constantly losing revenue due to the advancement in technology. Writers and newspaper distributors are getting layed off, and it is a tough situation.

Article One

The internet has changed the way people think and obtain knowledge. The time where people would read a book to learn information is dead and gone. Back in the day, people used books as their sources, and would read a whole book to learn one idea. People today are now spoiled by the internet, and are able to type in one word to obtain information. The internet slowly changed the way people handle learning, and technology truly changes the way people act. The human brain could change as an adult. If a person does something over and over, the brain will adapt to that action. The use of the internet has made it hard for people to concentrate during reading, and people have adapted to the change in technology.

Football Player Watches His Replacement While In Prison

Giants wide receiver Plaxico Burress was convicted of carrying an illegal firearm after shooting himself in the leg. He was sent to Riker's Island, and Mario Manningham toook his spot as the Giants wide receiver.

In the game last week against the Dallas Cowboys, Plaxico Burress called Mario Manningham before the game. He told Mario that he liked the way he was playing so far, and that he should try to win the number one play on sportcenter's top plays. The giants wide receivers are always up to no good. Eli Manning threw a perfect pass to Manningham, and Manningham bobble it on purpose to make an acrabtic catch instead of a routine one. He got the number one play on sportscenter. Mario tried to call Plaxico but it is against the rules of the prison for an inmate to have a cell phone, but Plaxico saw the play on television an approved.

The Onion

TheOnion.com is a website that takes important situations and inserts some humor into them. The media is constantly bringing negativity into the world, and it is good to see that there are some people out there who still have a sense of humor. The writers on this website use satire in their writings, and it makes the reading more entertaining and enjoyable. One of the articles I read was about Derek Jeter passing Lou Gehrig as the all time hit leader as a New York Yankee. This is a remarkable feat, however the article talks about how Derek Jeter was being applauded by the fans for not passing Harold Baines, a lesser known player. The article tells about how Jeter was honored to be behind Harold Baines on the all time hit list, and how he is one of the 675,000 players who is behind the designated hitter in hits. I found the article funny because Harold Baines is irrelevant to the story, yet the author made him the main focus of the article. Instead of focusing on the issue on hand, and giving facts, the author used satire to make the article comical.

The Bernardo Times

Baseball game represents difference

Published September 20, 2009

Staten Island-When a group of kids from the South Shore played a baseball game against a group of kids from the North Shore, the difference between the two was shown. Last year, a single baseball game showed the difference between two social classes in one borough.

"The kids from the South Shore had fancy cars, and all the best baseball equipment," said Staten Island resident Robert Bernardo. "The kids from the North Shore had only the basic equipment and did not dress in expensive clothes."

The South Shore in Staten Island is an upper class area. It is located between Eltingville and Tottenville. The houses are very large and the residents reflect this wealth. The residents are mostly of the italian heritage.

The residents of the North Shore are of the lower middle class. The ethnicity is mostly irish, and they do not have many unnecessary material goods. They work hard, and take pride in their area.

The Baseball game took place at Miller Field approximately one year ago. The North Shore was the first team to score, yet the South Shore ended up winning the game. That was not the main point of the exhibition game. The message was that even through teenagers playing a game one could tell the difference between the two different parts of the Island. A difference between social classes is present, and this event portrayed it.

Rob Bernardo, The Bernardo Times.

Blogging

Blogging is present in the world today, and is a major part of the news. Blogging presents many ideas, and does contribute to making the public more informed.This article points out that the writings in newspapers are a more informative way of telling about a particular subject. The author feels as if anyone could write a blog and not be well informed about the situation. Bloggers have no particular obligation to the situation, and it is not their job to write about something. The author feels as if bloggers just want attention, and do not relay the facts to the reader. The blogs are too opinionized, and bloggers do not go through all the troubles newspaper writers do. The author tells about particular struggles that newspaper writers went through to obtain facts of a story, and how much more persistent they are than bloggers. This author favors newspaper journalists, for the fact that they reveal the truth and back that up through facts.
The two authors both feel as if blogging is changing the world today. Everywhere you go you can see a blog, and blogs relay much information. Blogs are going to become even more popular, as portrayed in both pieces. However the two blogs differ. The author of the piece we read in class feels as if blogging gives a more personal view of a situation. Blogs do not give half facts, and the opinions are often informative. The other piece however describes journalism as more informative, and how it involves less made up truths.The author feels as if journalists fight for the truth, and bloggers just want attention. The two pieces are similiar because they show that blogging is very popular, yet each has their own opinion about blogging.
I agree with the writing we read in class because it is a more personalized way of telling about something. The writer is not telling about half of the facts, and is not trying to impress his boss. The piece of work is not changed by editors and publishers, and I like the fact that the author gives his or her own view on the subject. Just giving facts could be a boring way to convey a message. Anyone could use a blog, and it is beneficial to society. This is how I feel about blogging in the world today.

I Remember

I remember when a group of kids were playing a game of baseball at Miller Field in Staten Island. One of our friends was from Tottenville High School, and said that kids that his school wanted to challenge us to a game. Most of my friends were from the North Shore at that time, and we decided to play against the kids from the South Shore. This one baseball game illustrated the dinstinction of two social classes in Staten Island.
The kids from the South Shore in Staten Island have a stereotype of being a rich, italian, guido type person. They drive the fancy cars, and say the word "bro" in every sentence. They live in huge houses, and dress in a particular way. They where a fitted yankee hat, a jordan basketball shirt, a pair of expensive jeans, and jordan shoes to match the shirt. They also where a big chain that is too big, A North Shore kid is typically a lower middle class resident. They are mostly irish and italian. They dont drive expensive cars, and live in smaller houses. They dont get as many girls as the kids from the South Shore, and dress in a particular way. They wear cargo shorts or jeans, a plain t shirt, and reebok or nike shoes. There truly is a distinction between the two groups.
I remember when the kids from the South Shore started to show up to the field. They all had the white infiniti car, with the tinted winfows. They had the fake tans, and were saying "bro" the whole time. The kids from the North Shore showed up and had old beat up cars, and wouldn't talk to the kids from the South Shore. During the game, the two groups argued about every single call, and wouldn't just play the game. The team from the South Shore won the game eventually, but that was not the big picture to me. The big picture was that Staten Island is a place of division, and a separation. This is what I remember about Staten Island.

The Staten Island Idea

By: Robert Bernardo

The borough of Staten Island can be described as a world within its own. This island contains many towns and neighborhoods in which people affiliate themselves with. On one side of the Island is Tottenville, and on the other side is Saint George. Between these two ends of the island, all of the other neighborhoods exist. The geography of the Island is simple, yet the lifestyle of each person differs, and is complex.

Stereotypes go hand in hand with living on Staten Island. People from other states or even boroughs have a certain picture in their head when they hear a person is from Staten Island. People often think that a person from Staten Island is Italian, or tries to be Italian. They feel that we are often loud, try to have a brooklyn accent, and are selfish or full of ourselves. This is true for some people, and they tarnish the reputation of an entire borough. For example, my summer baseball team went to a tournament in Aberdeen Maryland. This was a legit tournament, with many top teams from the east coast participating. The umpire made a call that could go either way. A player on my team threw his helmet, and cursed at the umpire in front of an entire stadium. The player was ejected from the complex, and whenever the officials of this tournament hear a team is from Staten Island, they have instilled in their minds that all people conduct themselves in this manner. This shows how the action of one person further instills a stereotype in the minds of others about Staten Island.

On the contrary, many people from Staten Island are hard working people who live in the middle class. Staten Island is divided into the North Shore, and the South Shore. Some of the people from the South Shore are the people who promote the stereotype previously mentioned. The people from the North Shore are often people of lower economic stature, who conduct themselves in a more presentable way. They are less flashy, and do not need the expensive cars or the big house to be happy. Having lived in the middle of the Island, I have seen the difference between the two different lifestyles, and their truly is a distinction. The Island is a place where everyone knows each other. Each group of kids has their own clique, and everyone is involved in each others business. Staten Island has its own stereotype, and is all about being divided into groups. With all the criticism about the Island, I am still proud to have lived there for eighteen years.