AWOL - Election Response

I HONESTLY do not mean to sound like an ass in this entry...

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On November 4th, 2008 History was actually made when Barack Obama was elected President of the United States for the Next four years. It did not surprise me, then again, it did at the same time only because I thought the same thing that happened years ago with Al Gore and then four years later with Kerry would happen AGAIN with McCain, since both Bush and McCain are both republican.

Not to offend those who support Obama, but I feel that this year's election has gone way out of hand. Of course there weren't any riots of such against each candidate however, I feel that ever since Obama was recognized, he's been some kind of icon where his face is on every wall, every t-shirt, pin, bag, pencil, you name it. Of course there is nothing wrong with that, but in my perspective, i feel that it has been some kind of popularity contest where everybody is only voting for the person who everybody is voting for.

I knew two republicans in our school, even during Bush's eight years of presidency, they both still supported him---I mean they seriously supported the guy. And ever since Obama came along they had surprisingly switched sides, and support Obama. I guess its a good thing, but from what I see, I think they only did that because 99.99% of their friends are Obama supporters. They could have still supported McCain... he hasn't done anything quite as dramatic as Bush, but he still is a republican, yet they still changed their Vote for Obama.

"For many of these Americans, the explanation was rather simple... the news media, completely enamored with Obama, simply refused to do their job."
(http://www.howobamagotelected.com/)

Regardless of who was going to win, it should not have been a popularity contest--people can agree that they did have some similar changes they wanted to make, but its all about who is going to ACTUALLY make that change and clean up all the mess that Bush has made for the past eight years? Either Obama or McCain would struggle to try to fix that up, but because the U.S. is already messed up, I assume that Obama [in this case] is just going to leave things the way they already are and just tweak things up--just a bit.

The race has not only been some kind of popularity contest, but as wel
Bottom line, Its great that Barack Obama is President-elect, but I do not think that people had the right reasons for voting for him, majority of the people at least.

AWOL - Ebay

My 'Ebay experience' was actually annoying. This was the first time I used the site to bid on something. At first I didn't know what to bid on, so for the hell of it, I bid on a pair of ballerina flats that were $19.99 (plus shipping).

I started to bid on the item on monday of last week. The bid was coming to a quick end, in about two hours. At first the shoes were being bid for $5.99-i bid higher, just in case someone were to overcome that bid. LITERALLY, one mintue later, I was out-bidded by some random person. I bidded again, 2 dollars higher than the previous bidder, and once again I was outbidded by the same person. I honestly was not going to wait around to hope that I win the bid, so I stopped trying to out-bid the person and went looking for the same pair, for just $19.99. I was the first bidder, and the aunction was going to last two days later.

To my surprise, after the two days, I won the bid. At the time I did not use any stategy to try to win a bid. I asked Tyler what he does to win bids, since he's been buying and selling off of Ebay since 8th grade. He told me to wait til the very last minute to place a bid, however when I tried doing that, somebody was still out-bidding me. It was annoying to the extent where I had to try to out-bid other people to get this one item. But after realizing that its a website where people actually get items for cheap, it hit explained to me why people spend some much time trying to find bargins--not that its a bad thing of course.

In my opinion, Ebay is one big analogy of capitalism and how little and big comapanies work. Within Ebay, there are sellers who are, I would say, have the most bidders and least amount of bidders-more demand than other 'companies', which plays a big role on how successful a person can be with selling their product. All of what people actually do to the product is cause inflation by constantly raising the price in the matter of hours. In any given situation of buying and selling, one can agree with the phrase, 'time is money'.

AWOL - Constituion Assignment Part A

"We the people of the United States, in order to form a perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquillity, provide for the common defence, promote the general welfare and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this constitution for the United States of America."

The purpose of the constitution is to create a "stable and just society", which is clearly stated in the Preamble. The goals listed in the Preamble are:
-> ESTABLISH justice
-> INSURE domestic tranquillity
-> PROVIDE for the common defence
-> PROMOTE the general welfare
-> SECURE the blessings of Liberty
-> DO ORDAIN & establish this Constitution

In the Preamble, the statement explains that the people of America; the U.S. citizens, came forth to put together a set of rules known as the U.S. Constitution which was created "for the people and by the people". The Preamble goes in depth about the suppositions made in the constitution such like establishing justice: making everything fair through the court of law. The constitution helps maintain peace within the American community and to also support those who decide to go to war. It benefits for what the government can provide; a republic and not a monarchy. These decisions are made by the separation of powers: The Legislative, Executive and Judicial Branches. Through the three branches, they are given checks & balances where they set up mechanisms to restrict each branch of what they can do.
->In the Legislative Branch, the Congress is split up into two groups: the house of representatives which include 435 members, and the senate, 100 members. The Congress has a total of 535 members who are responsible for the people and have the power to make laws, control money, declare war, ratify treaties and Amend the constitution.
->The Executive Branch, which includes the President and Vice-President, is responsible for giving a State of the Union address; judgment to the congress. He/She has the power to grant pardons for offences against the United States, appoint treaties, and veto.
->The Judicial Branch involves the Supreme Court which contains 9 judges. The court has the responsibility to declare a law constitutional or unconstitutional by using the judicial review as their weapon. They have the power to "declare the punishment of treason" where the court can estimate the charge of a convict.

I felt frustrated while reading the Preamble and the three articles of the U.S. constitution, due to the fact that it was written in old engllish. While taking notes, I always caught myself looking back at the blue text. I always did that to get a better understanding of the different branches and how they functioned.

Questions:
How can we support other parts of the word during war when our own country is already a wreck? Where does "insuring domestic tranquillity" come in?

How can the United States citizens benefit the constitution if they are constantly accused of doing something unlawful?

Why is it important to have 435 members in the House of Representatives?

In the next ten years, will the President(s) actually establish, insure, provide, promote, and secure of the citizens for America-in a more different way to what our current President has done for us?

How often is a bill made? Why can't the U.S. Citizens vote/veto a law?

AWOL - Wal-Mart Worker Trampled Analysis

On the 28th of November, Black Friday was a day when Americans across the country made it a priority to buy products for a low price. Every year Americans buy these items to fulfil their needs, in replacement of their (probably) 1 or 2-year-old items they have at home.

On the 28th of November, Black Friday was also the last day of a man who went by the name, Jdimytai Damour. Damour was an employee of Wal-Mart. On the morning of Black Friday, Damour and other workers were assigned to barricade the Wal-Mart doors, until the store opened-which was at 5:00am. Witnesses say that "he was bum-rushed by 200 people" (NY Daily News) which unfortunately lead to his death an hour later when he arrived in the hospital.

It is more pathetic than it is outrageous that the people who were involved with the shopping spree were selfish enough to not realize that they were running over a man. It is explainable that if only one person to stop, and try to help him, then that same person would have been ran over as well--however, that would not be the case if everybody realized what was really going on below their feet.

Shoppers "took the door off the hinges", "Chant[ed] 'push the doors in", and when Wal-Mart employees tried to close down the store, after the death of Damour, shoppers were yelling, "I've been on line since Friday morning!"

The American way of life, based off this incident, shows how much concern Americans have over saving a little over $100 than a life of a person. "Whats funny about this is that they bum-rushed into the store, took the door off the hinges, and in the end did not steal anything" (Ben Sherry)-- which is ironic because that is usually something a robber would do when trying to steal something from a store. The anticipation and the rush of Black Friday show how fiend people are to get 'material items' such like your flat screen TV, or laptops and such--Not even realizing they had killed a person in the past 24 hours.

AWOL - Buy Nothing Day. Black Friday Anecdote & Analysis

On the day after Thanksgiving, most Americans consider that day as a holiday known as "Black Friday". During that time of year, most chain-stores, such as Wal-Mart, sell their products for more than 50% off. On that day, shoppers are obligated to buy whatever they can get, even if they do not exactly 'need' that product. What's frustrating about black Friday is that after buying so many things, shoppers put themselves in a position where they have to pay all these bills after maxing out their credit cards. In the end, most of them are wondering where their money had gone. It comes to show how materialistic Americans have come to be.

With my experience on Black Friday, my family and I spent our time in the Poconos, where we actually did not shop for anything. We live in Reeders, PA which is a five minute drive from the outlet, and 15 minute drive from the mall. Because I had a basketball tournament that same day, my parents actually drove all the way from PA to NY to make it to the game in the Bronx. My cousin also tagged along because she was staying i New York City for the next two weeks. While I was playing in my basketball game, my family toured the city, visiting the Empire State Building.

In regards to 'Buy Nothing Day', if people were to actually follow up on that day, the economy would shift in terms supply & demand. Even though Americans are aware of the consequences for buying an excessive amount of products, people are still go about their way to do something that affects them in a negative way-which in my opinion is ridiculous.

AWOL - Thanksgiving Anecdote

On Thanksgiving, I usually spend the holiday with my dad's side of the family and my mom's side of the family. My parent's, my sister and I would drive to Dumont, New Jersey to visit my dad's side where most of the food is homemade cooking. We would stay there from 12pm-4pm. After four hours, my family, just the four of us, would travel all the way to Nanuet, New York where my mom's side of the family lives. Over there, most of the food was bought from the store, where the food was already made.

This year none of that actually happened. This time on Thanksgiving, my family only visited my mom's side, where I surprisingly did not eat as much- which is not common for the 'average American'.

According to the New York Times, "The average American consumes about 4,500 calories and 229 grams of fat throughout Thanksgiving Day". On Thanksgiving day, the most i probably ate was a dollop of mashed potatoes, a small slice of turkey, that I didn't even touch, and a small square of lasagna.

Americans consume a great amount of food that their body cannot handle. One of the major concerns in the American way of living is a person's own weight. By eating so much in one day does not help balance his/her diet. Though the food may be delicious, Americans are ignorant to prevent themselves from eating fatty foods--most Americans at least.

AWOL - Homework October 27, 2008 - How does capitalism work, and what's good about it?

Capitalism is an economic system that involves laborers who help produce and sell the supply that is within the ‘free market’. Three main parts of capitalism is the land, labor and the capital. The land represents the natural world; everything one would use to make stuff—out of raw materials. Labor is the all of the work necessary to produce and sell the product. Capital is the money or tools used to make profit. Supply and Demand play a role in which supply is produced by the laborers, land and capital and is sold for any price, meanwhile the amount of supply stays the same. Demand is the amount of products purchased by the consumer, at all prices. The process of supply and demand is the profit motive to invest money through private ownership where goods and services are distributed.

In society, Capitalism plays a positive role, in most situations, where competition occurs upon certain companies, such like Microsoft and Apple. Although capitalism does introduce free market, competition does not necessarily allow free market, thus it is not exactly capitalism, or is it? Competition creates an opportunity, for most companies, to expand and make money. Globalization, a comparative advantage, is a process that allows companies to trade and work for other countries across seas to make even more money then they would usually make in the states. However, it is kind of a downfall towards the American community for the simple fact it gives American citizens less opportunity of having or job and having money within the American community. Although Capitalism may benefit most monopolies, in some way it creates a disadvantage towards others, especially companies below the monopolies, when trying to make money.

AWOL - Homework October 23, 2008 - I, Pencil

Message:
I, Pencil explained how the natural resources from the land to make a pencil should be left alone and to teach others about 'the act' upon making a pencil. Making a pencil is not only made out of 'wood', 'lead', 'metal' & 'the plug', also known as the 'eraser, but as well with the many workers and the process that the laborers need to go through in order to make a simple pencil. The message is to free those who make so much effort into providing the materials for just one pencil and to allow others to understand the struggle people go through to make the pencil; the 'know-hows compared to the non-know-hows".

Quotes:
#1
"There motivation is other than me. Perhaps it is something like this: Each of these millions sees that he can thus exchange his tiny know-how for the goods and services he needs or wants. I may or may not be among these items."

#2
"I, Pencil, am a complex combination of miracles: a tree, since, copper, graphite, and so on. But to these miracles which manifest themselves in Nature an even more extraordinary miracle has been added: to configuration of creative human energies--millions of tiny know-hows configuration naturally and spontaneously in response to human necessity and desire and in the absence of any human master-minding!"

#3
"Now, in the absence of faith in free people--in the unawareness that millions of tiny know-hows would naturally and miraculously form and cooperate to satisfy this necessity--the individual cannot help but reach the erroneous conclusion that mail can be delivered only by government "master-minding."

Analysis:
In quote #1, I thought it was significant to understand that laborers do not go out of their way just to make a pencil because they want to make a pencil. Laborers go out of their way because they need to make a pencil. Situations like this often has a worker involved in "the dark method" where the laborer works much more, but gains less amount of money for how much he/she has worked. In relation to quote number three, the narrator gave an example about a mail man and his involvement to mailing all of these letters. The narrator tried to compare the workers who make the pencil, to the mail-man in order to explain that government, who is 'on top of it all', that is controlling most of the manufacturing and allowing this kind of labor to happen whether its from making a pencil or delivering all the mail.

AWOL - Assignment #3 - Final Draft

American Way of Life – Final Draft Assignment 3
Melanie Dionisio
October 12, 2008

Is the American way of life fragile or sturdy? For most Americans, and their way of life, find their way of living non-negotiable. One can agree that their American way of life is to strive to be successful and to make money; a positive way of living by benefiting one’s self. However, it is often that people view the American way of life negatively as well. Usually one complains about the government, like Anthony, a middle-class teen, explained that the American way of life is to “stabilize America’s economy and the social issues concerning the war in Iraq.” American citizens go out of their way to not only survive in society, but to also clean up the government’s “dirty work”. In any given situation, “Americans try to help themselves, but by doing so, they are hurting other people in the process.”

Other than the government, a middle-class Asian mentioned how the way of living in the city alone is different, in comparison to those who live in the suburbs. “The American way of life in the city is career oriented, while in the suburbs, the way of living is more family oriented.” Geographically speaking, a person’s way of living is different in a certain household. And their way of living is the way he/her survives in American society. He says that “in the past, the American way of living was for families to immigrate to the states and to live freely.” Now, “Most people are working hard for money, usually taking the money they make for granted.”

One of the good aspects about the American way of life is the “opportunities one has when trying to pursue a career, or dream.” In comparison to those who live in third world countries, the American way of living would consider to be a ‘great’ way living, in terms of having a job and providing for him/her self. The Asian male added that he “feels lucky, in a way, to be able to walk outside freely.” With that being said, he added that “people sometimes abuse the American way of life by taking advantage of the materialistic things”. People do not realize how gifted they are in America, while others are actually struggling in other parts of the world, which would consider to be a bad aspect of the American way of life.

Another bad aspect about the American way of life is the way Americans are “fueled by the media”. The same Asian male argued that the American way of life “is relied on the media, and how it is sudden that hip-hop became a new ‘culture’ opposed to being Asian, Hispanic, or other ethnicities.” In each culture are certain morals, while in the new culture of hip-hop persuades one to ‘brand’ his/her self with expensive clothing. The ‘moral’ of the hip-hop culture is to think about how you carry yourself, to impress others of what you have, while other cultures are morally involved with family and religion.

A person familiar with the hip-hop culture is a Hispanic teen who explains that the American way of life involves three things, “Money, power and respect.” In his opinion, he finds that having respect by gaining a ‘title’ in society, or among friends, will help one survive for being known for what they do. Money and power are similar in ways that the more power one has, the more money he/she receives for having that kind of power. The Hispanic teen adds that it is some what of a privilege to have the power, the ability, to do something he/she is good at and get paid for it, and it is likely that after one gets paid, it is priority to provide for others whether it is for family or friends, before one’s self. In most cases, in society, money does buy happiness, only when it involves food, shelter and education—a good aspect about the American way of life.

However, the Hispanic teen leaned more toward the bad aspects of the American way of life by explaining how it is more of a racial issue to survive in America. He said that the ‘white man’ in society usually is viewed to have more power than the ‘black man’ who strives to be as successful as the ‘white man’. It is difficult in most situations when a black-male, or female, is underestimated for what he/she does, because of the color of their skin. Though laws have been passed against discrimination, unfair judgment still exists today, even outside of working class citizens.

Aside from defining the American way of life, I asked the same people whether or not they lived the American way of life. Among the three people who answered the previous question, two of which agreed that they do while the Asian male said he would like to distant himself from living the American way of life. He felt that although he has many privileges in America, the way of living does not seem to be as ‘great’ as most people may view it. He thought that it does not seem to be a great way of living when people in America are taking the things that are easily given to them, for granted.

Meanwhile, both Anthony and the Hispanic teen feel that they do live the American way of life for the simple fact that they are young adults living in the country. Who is to deny the American way of life, while living in America? America has opened a wide range of jobs for people to work and places for people to live. There are many organizations, public and private, that provide for those who need help, which supports one’s needs.
Though America does have a bad image when it comes to the media and America’s concerns with Iraq, the people living in the country are living the American way of life which has benefited them by providing him/her with plenty of opportunities—as cliché as that might sound.

AWOL - Assignment #3 DRAFT

American Way of Life – Draft 1
Melanie Dionisio
October 7, 2008

Is the American way of life fragile or sturdy? For most Americans and their way of life, Americans find their way of living non-negotiable. One can agree that their American way of life is to strive to be successful and make money; a positive way of living by benefiting one’s self. However, it is often that people negatively view the American way of life as well. Usually one complains about the government, like Anthony, a middle-class teen, explains the American way of life is to “stabilize America’s economy and the social issues concerning the war in Iraq.” American citizens go out of their way to not only survive in society, but to also clean up the government’s “dirty work”. In any given situation, “Americans try to help themselves, but by doing so, they are hurting other people in the process.”

Other than the government, a middle-class Asian argued that the American way of life "is relied on the media, and how it is sudden that hip-hop became a new ‘culture’”. He mentions how the way of living in the city alone is different, in comparison to those who live in the suburbs. “In the city, you have kids trying to have a fresh look, trying to impress others with labels and such, meanwhile in the suburbs, the way of living is more family oriented.” Geographically speaking, a person’s way of living is different in a certain household. And their way of living is the way he/her survives in American society.

The good aspects about the American way of living are the “opportunities one has when trying to pursue a career, or dream.” In comparison to those who live in third world countries, the American way of living would consider to be a ‘great’ way living, in terms of having a job and providing for him/her self. The Asian male added that he “feels lucky, in a way, to be able to walk outside freely.” With that being said, he added that “people sometimes abuse the American way of life by taking advantage of the materialistic things”. People do not realize how gifted they are in America, while others are actually struggling.

AWOL - Assignment #2

TYLER:
Hey ty ty,
first of all, I love the way you transitioned [if thats how you spell it] your video from the city to your country house. I find it kind of funny how you were on your tractor too haha. Anyway, I like how you showed a persepctive of country side that most people in the city do not understand. I mean, I know you are in PA most of the time, so i thought it was great that you showed what you do.. well except the rest of your house like your attic haha alright-- ttyl!!!

MAGGIE:
I think its interesting how you portrayed your 'way of life' as a video game--assuming that you do play this game on the internet. It shows quite a difference from how ppl [in general] interact in real life, in comparison to those who talk on the internet.

MASSIEL:
What questioned me about your video was the pictures you had. While i was watching your video, i was waiting for pictures of you, though you did have a few untill the very end. I thought your video was unique in a way that you showed pictures that you did not necessarily take, but are a part of you in a way-- your way of living. I also noticed you had pictures of people in poverty which i thought was intersting. Not many people would show that as their way of living, but im assuming you believe to help those in poverty and to stop things that arent right like 'racism'. A lot of pictures showing the person you are--pretty cool.

DYLAN:
I think your video shows a lot of who you are. I liked how you had pictures of family, and friends--majority with your friends-- and your BAND!! lol . Knowing how you are in school and watching your way of living makes me think that you balance your social life and school work well =]

ESTHER:
Being your sister and all, Not only do you sing.. you sing WAYYYYYY to much-- which i thought you could have showed, videos from random moments b/c i personally think thats your way of living. Anyway, I like how you put RB & Angela in your video b/c it shows how close you are with family.

& by the way, I like how the song says "every little past frustaration" and then you see me constantly trying to turning off the TV haha

AWOL - [Video] Project #1

Melanie's Way of Life from Mel Dionisio on Vimeo.

Title: Melanie’s Way of Life
By: Melanie Dionisio

Description:
In my video, majority of my pictures and clips are of my family, friends and myself in different situations taken place in the past. I included specific clips, such like my sister and I when we were four and five years old to show that even from young to old we act the same way, in terms of hanging out and goofing around at times. I would have to say that my sister is a major part of my way of living for the fact that I not only live with her, but she has been around for literally everything. Of course there are my friends and other family members who have seen me in my ups and downs, but my sister has always been there for every waking moment.
In my video I included another clip of me in class and how I explain that I was tired. The pictures and the following video that comes after it explains why I am tired; playing basketball, studying in school and hanging out friends is basically what I do on a daily basis that gets me tired.
Nothing is necessarily bad in my way of living. What seems ‘good’ is the opportunity to be around friends and family who accept me for who I am. As corny as that might sound, it is true. Few people have friends or family that actually accepts him/her for what they do, whether it is relatively something so small, or big. I am pretty satisfied with my ‘way of living’, though if I were to fit my entire way of life in a 5 minute video, I would have liked to include the other side of me: my personality. I am sure a few students have done this project to show what he/she does physically, such as hanging out with friends. It would probably have been better if I included a segment of me talking directly to the camera explaining who I am as a person and how my way of living is a bit different from everybody else.

Analysis:
Currently my way of living is stressful. It is only stressful because I put a lot of pressure on myself when it comes to school work and trying to maintain an A- in all my classes. I also have the habit of trying to maintain time for everything else that does not involve school, which includes my social life. Juggling the two main aspects of my life is not as hard, though when it comes to the massive amount of homework given in one night, including college class AND basketball, is quite a handful.
The good, ‘bad’, and the neutral all fit together in my way of living by helping me understand life and the way it is. There is no doubt that people have their own perceptions about life, but in relation to what I have gone through in the past, including the bad experiences I have encountered—but would not consider ‘my way of living’, has helped me through many other rough times that I have gone through. I personally do not think that my way of living is the ‘typical American way of life’ for the fact that my way of living includes the person that I am. The way that I come out to people is oddly enough my way of living as well. The way I respond, communicate, and react to other people is different compared to most people. Like the saying goes “all people are different in many ways”, and it is true. I find myself different from other people, especially for being and Asian-American; people usually underestimate me for that. My way of living includes myself not necessarily proving to others that I am different compared to most Asians who are shy and quiet, but show the real, outspoken side of me that likes to get her point across in any given situation.