Word of the Week #4

Behemoth

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090222/ap_on_re_us/army_s_stingy_charity_abridged_1

How it was used: "Between 2003 and 2007 — as many military families dealt with long war deployments and increased numbers of home foreclosures — Army Emergency Relief grew into a $345 million behemoth."

Definition: Noun 1. Any creature or thing of monstrous size or power.
2. An animal, hippopotamus from Job 40:15-24.

My Sentence: My new Ford F-150 pickup truck is a behemoth compared to my tiny sedan.

Telling Details

For this assignment, I observed/eavesdropped on 2 people talking while waiting in line for frozen yogurt at Red Mango.

Sight: Both are dressed in heavy jackets. One is wearing a hood and the other is wearing a beanie. Both are females and are of Asian descent. One girl is wearing red rubber boots, and the other is wearing white sneakers. Both have black jackets on. They speak to each other very closely and I can tell they are good friends.

Sounds: They are speaking Japanese. Fergie is being played in the store. They must be cracking jokes because they are smiling and laughing as they talk.

Touch: One of the girls is holding the arm of the other.

Because they are speaking in Japanese, I am unable to make any specific conclusions on what they are talking about. However I can tell they are speaking of something comedic as they laugh quite often. I can also tell they are close (possibly sisters) because they are linked at the arms. Just from looking at their clothes, I can infer that the weather is rainy. They are dressed in thick jackets, hoods, and boots. Though I can't understand what they are saying, I can tell they are discussing another person. I can tell this because one of the girls keeps repeating the name, "Maria" as the other listens and smiles. I can also tell they are exchange students, because they both have De Anza College folders in their bags.

Word of the Week #3

Disparity

Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/16/us/politics/16czar.html

How it was used: "The chief vowed to address the disparity, and it has decreased."

Definition: Noun 1. The condition or fact of being unequal, as in age, rank, size, etc.
2. Incongruity, unlikeness.
3. Inequality or difference.

My sentence: The disparity between the two applicants was obvious. One was experienced and the other was not.

Word of the Week #2

Stodgy

Source: http://editorial.autos.msn.com/article.aspx?cp-documentid=718524

How it was used: "Even though the basic structure has remained essentially the same throughout the years, the 911 can never be called stodgy or behind the times."

Definition: adjective: 1. Dull or uninteresting.
2. Of a thick, heavy as food.
3. Old-fashioned.
4. Dull, graceless, inelegant.

My sentence: The fashion-forward executive had no intention of hiring anyone wearing a stodgy outfit.

My Favorite Writing

Wit and rhyme are the writing devices that appeal to me most. With that in mind, my favorite writing is a piece entitled, Narcissist, by Sage Francis. Sage is signed to Epitaph Records.

Sage Francis is an incredibly talented poet, MC, and spoken word artist. Narcissist, is my favorite piece simply because of the wit and rhyme of the composition. Sage starts the piece by proclaiming he's not a narcissist, he only likes to watch himself exist. This is contradictory because his watching himself in the mirror in fact is very narcissistic. However he uses this contradiction to make the point that all of us deny being narcissistic when in fact we really are.

He then begins to weave a web of clever punchlines that compare designer clothing brands to shackles that imprison people to their superficiality. He ends the piece with an absolutely jaw-dropping observation. Obsessing over his new Nike hat, Sage realizes the Nike swoosh logo is nothing more than a whip in mid swing. Sage uses crisp metaphors to get his point across.

His point in this piece is that narcissism is a norm in today's society. Sage Francis warns not to become infatuated with material possessions. In the end you will end up a slave to your superficiality. I believe in the message of this piece. Sage's ability to expose humanity is uncanny.

Word #1

Jason Yang

Mass Com 100W M/W 3pm

Word #1



Anomalies

Source: http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_11599340?IADID=Search-www.mercurynews.com-www.mercurynews.com (Mercury News Website)

How it was used: “The examination revealed anomalies in the cargo that turned out to be 816
packages of the drug.”

Definition: noun plural 1. A deviation from the common rule.
2. Someone or something anomalous
3. An odd, peculiar, or strange condition.
4. An incongruity or inconsistency.
5. Astronomy. A quantity measured in degrees.

All definitions apply except for # 5. (noun)

My sentence: The foreigners were viewed as anomalies because they were unfamiliar with the native tongue.