Analyzing an interview

In an interview between Britney Spears and Matt Lauer of Dateline NBC, Britney Spears mentioned many important facts which were not evident to the public before the interview occurred. Although I have always been a huge Britney Spears fan, lately, I have been disappointed by her actions. I believe that celebrities are attacked by the paparazzi too much and that leads them to either hide from publicity or long for more. In Spear’s case, she couldn’t get enough.
It started with the intimate kiss with Madonna on stage at the awards and led to a marriage, shaved head, losing her children to another marriage.
The interview I watched and got the text for as well occurred after the incident in which Britney Spears was caught with her son on her lap while she was driving. Though the interview was strong, I feel as if Lauer became uncomfortable towards the end when Spears began to cry. Lauer seemed confident and in a way, did not care if Spears was offended by his questions. Although, at one point he said, “I don’t mean to make you angry,” he asked her questions that were somewhat personal and embarrassing to ask someone you don’t know. It also seemed like Spears felt uncomfortable at specific times. For example, when asked the question, “Living on the main floor,” in reference to her husband sleeping with her or in the basement, spears answered, “He’s, he’s… yes of course;” almost unsure of herself and didn’t want to let the public know.
The best question Lauer asked Spears would be the one referring to the paparazzi at the end. He asked if she could say anything to them as individuals, what she would say. This question is a very good one because it allows Spears to let out her true feelings and let the public and especially the paparazzi know that she is hurt by their publicity and hopes they stop. It shows that Spears, just like anyone else, needs her privacy and to just live her life.
If I had to rate this interview, I would give it about an 8 on a scale of 1-10. I think it was a well rounded interview but there were a couple of mistakes and questions he could have asked. For example, when Spears answered some questions, instead of Lauer remaining on the same topic, he switched it to what her answer involved. Additionally, I felt as if Lauer should have asked Spears if she feels like her fans are disappointed in her and if she had the chance to take back anything what would it be? Does she regret doing certain things? What are they? Does she think her parents are proud of her? Is she influencing her little sister to be the same way or is her sister different than she is? There are many questions Lauer missed out on but he hit a vast amount of important points.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13329706/

Provosts, deans and presidents.

Before being given this assignment, I never even knew a provost existed. A provost happens to be the person in charge of activities around the school; not only in one department but in the entire university. Additionally, the provost is responsible for funding these activities as well as managing them.
A chancellor however, is different from a provost in that a chancellor is the head of the university as a whole as opposed to being head of just the activities.
The president of the school has more power than a provost. The president and the chancellor have very similar tasks. Sometimes, the chancellor is mistaken to be the president. A dean is in power as well. However, there are many deans because every department has one. Deans are responsible for one department in the university.


http://www.provost.umich.edu/about/what.html

http://www.cam.ac.uk/cambuniv/pubs/works/chancellor.html

Marc Parry

Although guest speakers usually manage to make most students "zone out" or fall asleep, Marc Parry did the opposite. It was interesting to listen to what he had to say due to the fact that hopefully, one day I will be a journalist just like him. While listening to him talk about how to approach people when interviewing them, I found it interesting when he mentioned that he still gets nervous at times. I could relate to that. When we were told to go out and interview a stranger, I did not know how to start; I was afraid of rejection and believe it or not, people thinking I am a freak. It helped when Parry said, “Generally people are really open.” That gave me confidence for my future interviews.
After reading Parry’s article about the mosque, Parry probably asked Kobeisy where he got his degree, what he plans to do when he leaves the mosque and when he plans to leave. Additionally, Parry probably asked others what they thought of Kobeisy and how he influenced their lives.

Interview with a different person

In class, the students were asked to interview a person who was completely different than them. Although I had a difficult time finding such a person, Adina Feldman made my worries disappear.

Adina Feldman is a 28 year old, special education teacher for four year olds. She went to Touro College and lives with her parents in Queens, New York. However, although it may not seem as if we are different, we live entirely different lives. Adina Feldman is a Jewish, orthodox, religious woman. She decided to become religious during her senior year in high school and has worn skirts and long sleeves ever since. “One of my teachers inspired me to become religious, she told me about being ‘shomer’ and to dress modestly.”
Feldman does not touch men unless it is for professional reasons, such as shaking their hand during an interview. She states, “I feel that a guy would respect a girl more if they got to know the girl and not deal with the psychical aspect of the relationship.” She meets men through her friends and they then go on dates. After the date, both then man and woman tell the mutual friend what they thought of the other person and by that, they decide whether or not to go out again. She mentioned that she is waiting until she is married because her first kiss and her first time is something she wants to remember forever. Judaism does not allow for it to happen before marriage.
Additionally, she keeps the Sabbath in which she relaxes, meets friends, reads, prays and sleeps. She said, “I am completely thankful I have Shabbos.”
Moreover, after she eats meat, she waits six hours to eat dairy and cannot eat any non kosher foods. She has two sinks in her house, one for meat and one for dairy and different silverware as well. After she eats, she thanks God for the food she ate.
Adina Feldman stated,” I am happy with the way I am, if anything, I would like to become more religious.” She hopes to get married and have kids whom she will raise to be religious as well.

Important Questions:

- How long have you been religious?
- States she has been religious since her senior year in high school.

-What inspired you to be religious?
-“One of my teachers inspired me to become religious. She told me about being shomer and to dress modestly.”

-Why don’t you touch men?
- She mentioned that she feels that the relationship means more.
“I feel that a guy would respect a girl more if they got to know the girl and not deal with the physical aspect of the relationship.”

- Why do you only wear skirts and long sleeves?
- She said it was because she does not want men to judge her based on her looks.

- Do you feel as if you are being held back from getting things done on Shabbat?
- She said no. “I am completely thankful I have Shabbos.”

- Why are you waiting until you are married to kiss a man and touch one?
- She mentioned that the Jewish religion says you have to save yourself for marriage and that way, it makes everything all the more special because it is something she wants to remember forever.

- Do you feel as if being so religious has held you back from doing something you dreamed of you entire life?
- “I am happy with the way I am, if anything I would like to become more religious.”
She said she is upset with herself for not being religious her whole life but now that she is, she would not change it.

Interview a Stranger about the weather

Even in the University at Albany where there are an infinite amount of parties every night, Sarah Edrich chose to stay in on a day such as today. “It looks so gray out, everything is wet and sticky” she said while sitting at the archway of Indian Quad waiting for her friend to arrive. Edrich stated, “It smells like mildew and rain” and unfortunately, she had no umbrella with her. Her shoes were getting wet and as she stood up, I was able to see the water on the back of her pants.
On a day like today, many are hoping summer will arrive soon. Suny students are staying in tonight; "I am not going out in this type of weather" said Edrich, her friend Lea Gordon agreed, adding that she could not wait to get back to her dorm room. With the weather this dull, we are looking forward to a harsh week filled with snow flurries and cold wind; so make sure to zipper those jackets and bundle up.

Compound Interest

What compound interest really means is when you borrow money from a bank and have to pay interest. Interest, is the extra money owed to the bank due to the fact that you borrowed money; like a fee. The concept of interest is so that the bank makes money in the process of letting you borrow it.

Suppose the starting principal was $100.00 and the annual growth rate was 10%, in three years the future value would be $133.00

The website below allows you to enter the annual rate, savings rate, and monthly contributions. After entering those amounts, it shows a graph and explains the interest rate.

http://www.ingnz.com/WEB/webm.nsf/CompoundInterest?OpenForm

6 word biography

Love writing, dancing and my family.

Parents divorced and still happy family.

Have my life and priorities set.

Plagiarism

Although there are people who copy certain sources, it still is illegal. But how does a person know where to draw the line? In my opinion, there is never a wrong time to add quotation or reference to a certain source. Plagiarism is a huge deal. I would not want somoene to copy my work without giving me credit because I worked hard on doing that work. People should always refer to the source because it can lead to a lot of trouble.
In the case of John Merrill, I think that he should have at least mentioned Anna Koeppel in his article; that would have saved him his job and humiliation. For a person who was well known and looked up to, he should have known better than to just use the same sources as Koeppel.
Plagiarism is a huge deal and putting a name of a source is never a bad idea.

How does an idea become a law?

Many people tend to have interesting ideas for laws; but how does an idea really become a law? Well first, someone has to come up with the idea. Then, that person or the senate writes a bill suggesting that idea to become a law. That idea is then introduced to the House or the Senate and is reviewed by the committee. If the House decides to pass the bill, it is sent to the chamber of the General Assembly then to the Governer where there is a meeting and the final version of the bill is passed. The governer signs the bill and the Secretary of State is given the bill which then becomes a law.
I have always had many ideas which I thought would be great laws but never knew how to get it done. Although it takes a lot of time and processing, it can be done. I think that the government opens their horizons for people's ideas because I have heard of laws which I never even imagined could become laws. For example, in Arizona, a man can legally beat his wife but not more than once a month. In Alabama, dominoes are not allowed to be played on Sunday. These are such crazy laws. Turns out anyone can make their idea into a law.

http://crazytopics.blogspot.com/2007/01/craziest-laws-in-america.html

What is the Electoral College?

The Electoral College is the term which describes the 538 Presidential Electors. The Presidential Electors are responsible for voting for the actual Presidential Candidates. They meet every four years to cast their votes for the next President and Vice President. Every state consists of an Electoral College. These Electors meet on the same day and after all 51 meetings are held on the same day, the candidates for president and vice president are decided. There are two electoral votes for each state, similar to the two senates in each state. If the candidate running for president or vice president gets 270 votes or more, it is safe to say that candidate will most likely be elected. Many say there are disadvantages to this process because the candidate can recieve the majority vote from the people but not from the electoral college.