Beer Truck- 2/24/2008

Emily Belding

Mcom 100w M/W 1:30

Beer Truck

Word Count: 173

Bay Area drivers faced a major traffic jam on the Bay Bridge just after 1 p.m. today when a refrigerator truck caught fire due to a tire blowout.

Eastbound traffic was at a complete standstill for 45 minutes, stranding drivers and clogging Bay Area freeways. Drivers were out of their vehicles and craning their necks searching for the cause. The fire shutdown all of the bridges eastbound lanes and part of the upper westbound deck for at least an hour.

According to California Highway Patrol Officer Shawn Chase, the tractor of the refrigerator truck carrying Coors beer blew out a tire, but the driver failed to notice and kept driving. Officer Chase stated, “ The fire was set off by the tires metal rim scrapping against the roadway.” Luckily, no one was injured in the fire.

Firefighters extinguished the flames shortly after 2 p.m., when all westbound and some eastbound lanes were reopened. Crews worked through the afternoon to clear the burned truck from the road, which was finally removed at 5:52 p.m.

Telling Details- 2/17/2009

Emily Belding

Mcom 100w M/W 1:30

Telling Details

Word Count: 393


On Tuesday night, I went out to dinner at Cafe Cruz in Soquel. The upscale Cafe Cruz is a restaurant that is full of energy, buzz and at the same time carries a very romantic, casual ambiance with it. The white walls, with the white table clothes and the sound of jazz and Sinatra filling up the dimmed lit rooms always makes it for an enjoyable, relaxing dining experience. The waiters are dressed in white with black pants and walk with a professional swagger in their step; while the hostess girls are dressed in black cocktail dresses always waiting to seat the next table with grins and giggles. When my family and I stepped foot into Cafe Cruz, I immediately was drawn to the elderly couple that was seated next to our table.

As my family and I sat down, I watched with captivating eyes as the elderly man, roughly in his early seventies, held out the brown, antique wooden chair for his wife. As he walked over to his chair, and took his seat, the love this couple had for one another was so evident and axiomatic that anyone in the restaurant could feel the essence of love this couple was illuminating. Throughout dinner, I was drawn to them. I was fascinated at the way the elderly lady looked at her husband with the most endearing, beautiful baby blue eyes I have ever seen. The lady was wearing a silvery top with black pants and the silver made her glow almost like an angle. The aroma of Blue Grass perfume and prime rib filled the area around us. The couple held hands and smiled to one another throughout their dinner- and the sound of the Sinatra music playing in the background fit perfectly for this couple.

All around the restaurant, people were laughing, talking and enjoying their time together. As my family’s dinner came to a close, I got up from my seat and walked by the couple for the last time I would probably see them. I had to smile at the sweet man and the love of his life one last time before they would be just a memory. The experience I had from just observing my surroundings at a family dinner, taught me the importance of that love is truly all around you and can be felt- whether you may realize it or not.

Word of the Week#4- 2/23/2009

Emily Belding

Mcom 100w M/W 1:30

Word #4



Word: Deplorable

Source: I read this word in Indigenous Peoples, Ethnic Groups, and the State by David Maybury. It was reading homework for my Anthropology 146 class.

How it was used: This sentiment was criticized by the Narmada Control Authority as a deplorable attempt to create a rift among scheduled castes, scheduled tribes, and the rest of Indian society.

Definition: Deplorable-adjective

1. causing or being a subject for grief or regret; lamentable: the deplorable death of a friend.

2. causing or being a subject for censure, reproach, or disapproval; wretched; very bad: This room is in deplorable order. You have deplorable manners.

My sentence: Throughout the inner city, I noticed a lot of deplorable housing conditions.

Word of the Week #3- 2/16/2009

Emily Belding

MComm 100w M/W 1:30

Word #3



Word: Circumvent

Source: I read this word in Indigenous Peoples, Ethnic Groups, and the State by David Maybury. It was reading homework for my Anthropology 146 class.

How it was used: Their rights to land and resources are protected by a maze of legislation, but the elites and their political allies regularly find ways to circumvent the laws and to seize or otherwise use tribal lands.

Definition: Circumvent-verb (used with object)

1. to go around or bypass: to circumvent the lake

2. to avoid (defeat, failure, unpleasantness, etc.) by artfulness or deception; avoid by anticipating or outwitting: He circumvented capture by anticipating their movements.

3. to surround or encompass, as by stratagem; entrap: to circumvent a body of enemy troops.

My sentence: The animal circumvented it's capture by anticipating the hunter's step.

Word of the Week #2- 2/9/2009

Emily Belding

MComm 100w M/W 1:30

Word #2


Word: Malleable

Source: I read this word in Indigenous Peoples, Ethnic Groups, and the State by David Maybury. It was reading homework for my Anthropology 146 class.

How it was used: Perhaps the most sensitive and malleable criterion is the sense of common history.

Definition: Malleable- adjective
1. capable of being or shaped by hammering or by pressure from rollers.
2. adaptable or tractable: the malleable mind of a child.

My sentence: Gold is very malleable and suitable for making jewelry.

Journal Writing #1 – My Favorite Writing

Emily Belding

Mcom 100W- MW 1:30

Journal Writing #1

Word Count: 311

The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair
And having perhaps the better claim
Because it was grassy and wanted wear,
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I marked the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I,
I took the one less traveled by,
And that had made all the difference.

Source: http://famouspoetsandpoems.com/poets/robert_frost/poems/528
Author: Robert Frost
Title: The Road Not Taken

This poem is one of my favorite pieces of writing of all time. Robert Frost is one of my favorite poets and his writing is so inspiring. Frost writes in a way that makes you dig deep into the lines of his poetry to unviel the meaning. Everytime I have read this piece I have always got something new out of it. His writing is so beautifully written in a way that makes the reader feel something. When a writer can allow their audience to feel, imagine, inspire and provide emotion it is usually because of the effect of good writing. The Road Not Taken is a poem about not following, where others have led but instead going down the path that you chose in life. Their are so many great lessons within the lines of this poem and it truly is one of my most favorite pieces of poetry.

Word of the Week- 2/1/2009

Emmy Belding

Mass Comm 100 W M/W 1:30

Word #1


Word: Autonomy

Source: I read this word in Indigenous Peoples, Ethnic Groups, and the State by David Maybury. It was reading homework for my Anthropology 146 class.

How it was used: These were not to enjoy any local autonomy and the resources of their regions were to be developed by the central planners in Beijing for the good of the country as a whole.

Definition: Autonomy- noun, plural
1. independence or freedom, as of the will or one's actions: the autonomy of the individual.
2. the condition of being autonomous; self-government, or the right of self government; independence: The rebels demanded autonomy from Spain.
3. a self-governing community.

My sentence: The people from the village ran their community as an autonomy.