Topical Blog Posts

Topical Post #1
"Holiday" Trees vs. Christmas Trees

Last year, Target department stores started selling "Holiday" trees instead of Christmas trees. Is it really so necessary to give such a distinguishing title to a popular, commercialized event to avoid offending the masses?

In recent days it has become increasingly hard to bring up controversial or even important topics without someone calling out or finding offense. It seems impossible to be able to resolve topics that need handling.

Abortion, for example, is a heavily-debated topic that many people find offensive. Each person has a unique opinion, and yet it cannot be discussed because any person will put their foot down and claim that such an idea is inappropriate, to the point where women are going to underground abortion centers and dying because of unsterilized utensils or improper procedures.

The situation in recent days has become out of hand, and needs to be taken care of. If a commercialized holiday with Christian roots has not held any complaints for the people who trade gifts on a yearly basis, why should the name change just because the voices have become louder?

People have the right to voice their opinion, but the consequences of their actions must also be considered if it is to effect those who have not previously held grudges.



Topical Blog #2
Wii Wish You A Merry Christmas...

Or maybe we can't. Nintendo has been pumping out Wiis for months, and have even had to open new factories to help speed the shipment process. However, the inability for customers to purchase Wiis may not be at fault with Nintendo.

Many companies that carry and sell Wiis (such as Target, Wal-Mart, and Circuit City) also have employees that keep the popular gaming console hidden away in the stock room for themselves, and purchase it just after clocking out.

Although these employees are customers, they are preventing people who have taken them time out of their day to purchase it in the appropriate fashion. Some companies don't allow customers to pre-purchase or keep the console on hold at all to allow other customers (or perhaps employees) to purchase the Wii.

It is not Nintendo's responsibility but the managers and owners of these companies to keep their employees in check. The employees also have rights to purchase it... as long as they haven't kept one in the back. Perhaps these stores should implement a law that does not allow employees to purchase any game console from their branch.

Whatever happens, customers should be priority and should be able to purchase what they are looking for.



Topical Blog #3
"Your or You're - Which is it?"

In recent years it seems as though students and teachers alike have forgotten their homophones. I can't remember the number of times I've read over my peers' work and finding atrocious grammar and spelling mistakes. I was frustrated to the point where I created a blog on MySpace and linked to a Wikihow site that showed the difference between the two words. The title of my blog? "How to use English!"

It is utterly disappointed to see such inept writing, professors and high school teachers giving students' papers only a cursory glance without really looking into literally what is being written. This laziness is and will always be the downfall of students' writing skills.

The Writing Skills Test required by all students at San Jose State University is one of the biggest wastes of time. The test requires a written portion and an objective portion. In the second half after the essay, students are required to read passages with underlined words or phrases. If incorrect, the test-taker must bubble in the correct answer. Some of these questions contained some of the most basic elements of the English language. It was laughable at how easily students were able to pass it.

The standard for good English-writing needs to be set at a higher pace, or American students will fall behind.



Topical Blog #4
"The Golden Compass"

The "His Dark Materials" trilogy written by Phillip Pullman has been given a lot of press coverage due to the recent movie release of the first in the series "The Golden Compass" What many movie-goers don't know, however, is that the entire series is based on a lot of strongly anti-god and pro-atheist thoughts.

Because the movie is marketed towards children, however, many of the anti-god comments and ideas have been removed. Parents, however, may not like the idea what the book trilogy suggests. Many are unaware that the book series is now being translated to the silver screen. I had never heard of the series, but once I found that the series was based on controversial ideas, I was intrigued and picked up the trilogy from a department store. Although the story is based around a young girl, there are many people she meets along the way that parallel to religious people (who are deemed evil) versus those who are not religious.

Overall, the series has been given a lot of attention. Despite the negative connotation this book denotes towards the religious, it still has value and can be beneficial if viewed in the proper aspect.