Exercise 4.7 Paraphrasing

February 18th, 2010

Quotation 2: Marilyn Wall, president of the local tire manufacturer Walls Tire Co., said that this year was very beneficial to the company and their employees. Their orders increased 20% from the last year and they recalled many of their laid off employees from previous years. The company was also able to add about 20 new jobs to their factory.

Quotation 4: Jerry Butts, a member of the city council said that they could have either raised property taxes to grant the police with raises, or denied the request for a pay raise and maintain the taxes as they have been. Although the police deserve a raise, the public would not be happy raising taxes to grant them.

Quotation 5: Anita Keller, president of the local Mothers Against Drunk Driving has attended plenty of meetings to reiterate that the laws against drunk driving in this state are too lenient. She believes legislators have not understood the severity of this issue because they are influenced with money from alcohol industries and forgetting that people are dying every day because it.

Quotation 7: Bruce Hill, organizer of an antique automobile show emphasizes how interesting and fun the old cars in the show will be this weekend. His 1929 Packard has been in tiptop shape since the day he left the dealership with it. A majority of the cars in the show will be British cars that can really be of interest to attendees. The shows on Saturday and Sunday will be great and no one should miss out!

Description

February 16th, 2010

Photo courtesy of Flickr user thePhotoZoo.

This young, pale girl is sitting on the floor with her knees bent to her chest and her arms holding them close under her thighs. She is looking up at the camera and her messy hair is pinned back on the right side of her head with what looks like a bow, and her lips are painted with black lipstick. The black lipstick however is centered in the middle of her mouth, almost making her resemble a mime. The dark make up surrounding her top eye lids accentuate her dark eyes and give off an “emo” vibe. The black and white checkered tile she is sitting on also helps with the emotional aura because it’s almost as if she blends in with it. The black tile closest to her left leg minimally reflects the light of the room. Her black dress matches her black boots with her shoe laces not very neatly tied. Her blank stare can make viewers feel sorry for this young girl, making her seem lost or scared. This photo has a vintage look to it. It is not blurry, but also not clear. It looks old with some faded areas and what appears to be scratches on the floor.

Olympian dies after final practice round

February 14th, 2010

On Friday, the Georgian Olympian Nodar Kumaritashvili passed away during his final training round as a luger. A luger is defined as “A person who rides a small sled in a supine position as a recreational sport / hobby and for competition,” according to the Examiner article regarding the tragedy. After the two announcers, Bob Costas and Matt Lauer announced the Kumaritashvili’s tragedy, the coverage was handed over to NBC’s Brian Williams who gave a much lengthier report on the incident. After millions of viewers watched Kumaritashvili’s crash, many questioned whether or not NBC should have broadcasted it. Because of this significant and tragic event, the news organization in fact shared the Olympic footage with other news organizations which they do not usually do.  I do not blame NBC for broadcasting the footage. I believe that if people want to see what happened, they will be sure to find a way to get a hold of it. I do believe however, that NBC should have contacted the Olympian’s family to ask for their permission to air the footage. I have already seen different posts on YouTube showing the incident so people could definitely find their own ways to find the accident online. My thoughts and prayers are with Kumaritashvili’s family during this tough time.

Weekend Snow Report

February 8th, 2010

This weekend, Northern Virginia experienced a snow fall they have not seen in years, maybe even decades. Almost every news channel, radio station, website and even blogs were filled with information on the snow. Live footage was shown of car accidents, snow-burried cars, traffic and blocked off roads. This weekend, the most original news broadcasting relating to the snow I heard was on Hot 99.5 when the host asked listeners what they would do with a few more, or a few less inches of snow. After the host informed his listeners how many inches fell in different pats of the Metropolitan area, he also asked listeners their predictions on “how many babies were made between the beginning of the snow fall to when the roads started clearing up.” I thought this was original (and hilarious) because the majority of the news consisted of reported snow fall in inches, what they advise you to and not to do, and how to keep yourself entertained yet safe during the days of potential cabin fever. Listeners were also asked to call in and say what they were doing with all the snow and how they were having fun. It was really funny listening to some of the things people actually did! (I.E go streaking in 2 feet of snow!)

Washington D.C. Welcomes MoKi Media!

February 7th, 2010

This summer I had an internship in our nation’s capital with a freshly started PR agency called MoKi Media. The firm was started by my 25 year old cousin, Dannia Hakki and ex-Editor in Chief of Capitol File, Sherry Moeller. The duo came together at the beginning of the summer to combine forces  and already have 7 clients under their belts. At the end of my freshman year, I was torn deciding what I wanted to do with my life, and interning with these two confirmed that PR is exactly what I want to spend the rest of my life doing. This ongoing internship is teaching me more than any text book could ever teach and reassuring that my career will be an amazing and fun one. Last Wednesday, MoKi Media had their launch event at Lebanese Taverna in Bethesda, Maryland and was highlighted on many websites, in magazines and newspapers. Celebrity guests included R&B singer Ginuwine and wife ex-rapper, Sole, as well as CBS’s Angie Goff and Andrea Roen, jazz musician Marcus Johnson and more.

Movie Review: “Nine”

January 28th, 2010

“Nine” is a musical highlighting the many love affairs of Italian movie director Guido Contini, played by Daniel-Day Lewis. Every character in the movie plays a distinct and original role in Contini’s life and their stories are explicitly told through songs. Three stars.

Wordiness Assignment

January 26th, 2010

There was never a doubt that Hannah would become an international jazz sensation in her singing career.

In the relatively small town Midville, safety and security is offered to all of its residence, focusing especially on those raising families with children.

Paying high tuition to a college that was offering only adequate education seemed absolutely pointless to Erin.

For most of February, Laura stayed cooped up in her room and tried to fight off the effects of a very bad and debilitating cold.

Hello world!

January 23rd, 2010

Welcome to onMason. This is your first post. Edit or delete it, then start blogging!

Update: It turns out this post is uesless! This is in fact our third post. Sorry.