Blog & Twitter

When we were first told that we had to make our own blogs, I must admit I was a tad skeptical. Blogging is not something I would ever picture myself doing. On the other hand, this blog does not consist of irrelevant information about my life, but is full of school-related articles I have written in class and at home. The whole idea of having a blog is something I now find fun and useful, as it is exciting being able to share your work with others, and comment on other people's work.

Checking out the statistics, I see that I have 228 visits the last month, and a total number of 376 visits since I started blogging! Most of the people who have visited my blog are from Norway, but I have also had people from USA, Alaska and Russia who have stopped by.

In addition to writing a blog, we have also started using Twitter. I have earlier tried making an account, but could not come up with a name that was not taken, so I gave up. Today I ended up with the name "Sarismas".  Follow me! I have linked a "follow me" twitter-button on this blog.

I am exploring Twitter, and I'm trying to understand the concept of it. Currently I have 20 followers, and I am following 28 people myself. If you have any tips to fun people I can follow, please leave a comment!

To promote my blog, I'll link it on Twitter, and see if I get some more visitors, and maybe comments!

Cash is King..News of the World 1843-2011

With 7,5 million readers, the newspaper "News of the World"  was known for writing about celebrity-based scoops. At one point it was one of the biggest selling English language newspapers in the world. That is how the competency goal "Analyze and assess the role of some English-language media in international society" can be related to News of the World. It was a national newspaper, published in the United Kingdom.

In 2011, the 7th of July, the newspaper printed its final edition, with the headline "Thank You and Goodbye". The reason for this headline was that their secret had been revealed. For nearly a decade, the newspaper had gained information and juicy stories illegally. To outdo their rival newspapers and increase sales, they had hired private investigators to hack mobile phones owned by people considered as interesting subjects for the paper.

Rupert Murdoch

The owner of the newspaper was Rupert Murdoch, and this is how he was described by an editor he used to work with: "All Rupert cares about is getting the story, getting it first, and getting it right. He doesn't want to know how the sausage is made." In other words, Murdoch was fully aware of what was going on, but decided to ignore most parts of it. He was very manipulating and demanding, creating internal rivalries within the paper. In one case the rivalry  was so serious that the features desk and the news desk were just as likely to hack one another's phones, as if they were the phones of the subject of some story.

But how did the police find out the newspaper was committing such a crime? A police investigation was instigated in 2011 when it was revealed that the newspaper had hacked into Milly Dowler's phone. She went missing in 2002. Investigators and reporters from the paper had deleted messages from her phone, to make room for more. This had misled the Milly Dowler’s family and friends into believing she was still alive, and the deleted messages were also potential evidence for the police.

Although this was the first major revelation in the scandal, it turned out that Milly Dowler's phone was not the only one they hacked. In November 2005, the paper wrote a story about how Prince William was suffering from a knee injury, something that was not known by many people, apart from his family and doctor. This lead to suspicion in the Buckingham Palace, and they were soon convinced that the prince's voicemail has been hacked.

After a lot of investigation, the police had found that over 7000 phones were hacked by News of the World, these phones belonging to crime victims, celebrities, sport stars and politicians. Hugh Grant and Sienna Miller being two of the celebrities who were hacked. Also, some families of those who died in the terrorist attacks in London, had their private voice mails hacked.

The newspaper broke all media ethics, and invaded other peoples’ private life. This is a serious violation of the law, and three journalists were arrested. It is shocking that a newspaper will actually go this far, just for the money. At the end of the day, that is what it’s all about. Cash is king.

 "I realized the extent to which phone-hacking paranoia had spread when my lunch date sat down, turned off his cell phone, removed the battery and laid the dismantled device before him on the table, like a small but dangerous animal he had temporarily stunned". 

This is what I read in an English magazine published last month, and it shows how some people in the UK where really affected and frightened by the hacking.

After reading several different websites, I've understood that this whole case was pretty complex, as there are years and numbers that aren't the same all places. A countless number of allegations have been put forward, but not yet confirmed. Many different people were involved, and questions about whether everyone working in the paper knew, are being raised.  It has obviously been a challenging and difficult job for the police to investigate the hacking, but luckily News of the World was stopped. 

  

Gran Torino

The 18.10 we watched the movie "Gran Torino". It is directed by, produced by and starring Clint Eastwood as Walt Kowalski.  It is an American drama film, released in 2008. The movie was chosen as one of the Ten Best Films of 2008. Eastwood also received an award for Best Actor from the National Board of Review. 

The film covers the following curriculum goal: "Elaborate on and discuss aspects of multicultural societies in the English-speaking world". In the movie we meet Walt Kowalski, an old cranky Polish man who's wife has just passed away. In general, Walt is negative towards other cultures, ethnic backgrounds, and religion, and uses a lot of racial slurs and cursing words. Walt does not have a close relationship with his son and his family, they clearly do not know each other well.

A new people move to his neighbourhood, replacing a polish family who lived there before. These new people are called "Hmong people", and Walt is not liking them.  Walt used to be a Korean War veteran, and at first he links them to the coreans who were his enemies. When learning that these people actually were on his side of the war, it does not change the way he acts towards them. All Walt wishes for is to be left alone, but these new neighbours keep interrupting his peace and quiet.

The Hmong family consists of a mother, the daughter Sue, and her brother Thao.  A Hmong gang is trying to force the boy Thao into joining them, creating a scene outside their house. Walt has no choice but to get involved, and acts out of selfish reasons rather than wanting to help someone out. He scares the gang away. 

After this, Walt is looked upon like a hero to the Hmong people. This is exactly the opposite of what Walt wishes to happen. They show their gratitude by giving him gifts and homemade food. Being the grumpy man he is, he still shows no kindness towards them. The person who is especially nice to him, is Sue.  What amazed me, was that no  matter how harsh or rude Walt was towards the Hmong people, Sue never stopped being kind, and trying to include him. 

Sue, Thao and their mother giving gifts of gratitude

Through the movie, you are dwelling on several questions. What is really Walt's problem? What has happened to him, that could have made him this angry? And last but not least, does he actually care about anyone but himself? Like mentioned, he is clearly not very close to his family, but there are several things you notice Walt values. He is a handyman, and likes maintaining his house. He also cares a lot about his Labrador Daisy, and maybe he feels she is the only one he can really talk to? Referring to the movie title, the car in his garage is also something that is precious to him. Walt wishes to spend his time on his veranda sipping beer. But something seems to  be missing in his life.

This "something" ,he finds in the Hmong people. In the beginning of the movie, Thao is forced into stealing  Walt's Gran Torino. He does not succeed, and according to the gang, he has blown his first "initiation". His family are very upset with him for trying to steal the car. This leads to him having to pay up for it by working for Mr. Kowalski. After some time, Walt sees something in the young boy. He sees that he is dutiful, willing to work, kind and polite. Walt starts trusting the boy, and wishes to help him in avoiding the harassment from the gang members.  A friendship between the old man and boy has evolved. At one point in the movie, Walt says he has more in common with Thao's family than his.

The ending was really surprising and touching. Walt has turned into a completely different person, and made a choice that might have saved Thao and his family's life. He actually shows affection for other people. More importantly, he has accepted a different culture, and learned that they are good people. He is finally at peace. Accepting other societies is not something he would have done before. In the end he has become the Hmong peoples "protector" and close friend. I think it was a really beautiful movie, because it describes the process Walt goes through, from being introverted to kindhearted. There were also a lot of humor in the movie, keeping it from being too serious and sad.

Social Media

Last Tuesday, we listened to lecturer Cecilie Staude. She works at the college BI, but also travels around and holds presentations. Sometimes her audience will be students like us, sometimes pensioners, politicians, artists or companies. She lectures us all about the same thing: social media. It has become such an important platform for marketing, and a lot of companies need help with marketing their products through social media.  Pensioners need help with being introduced to these sites, and for us students being the ones who use it the most, it is very interesting to learn things you never thought over before.

Facebook is the website that is used the most. 98% percent of people in Norway from the ages 14-24, are on Facebook, including myself. Through this website, we receive information quicker than ever. We add friends, post statuses, upload pictures, and comment other peoples' activity. If something interests or shocks us, we will often "share" it on Facebook, this way spreading the information or news with just a click. This can both be positive and negative for the marketing of companies.

For example, if you are thinking about joining a gym, do you choose Elixia or Sats? You might research a bit on both websites, but of course they will both say they are fantastic and the best. What you then do, is talk to other consumers through social media, and read their opinions about the two different gyms. Maybe someone posted on Facebook or Twitter that Sats wasn't showing good service? This will definitely affect your final decision. What this means, is that companies in today’s society are losing control of what is being said about them. On the other hand, the fact that information now travels fast can also be a positive thing. A happy customer or consumer might share positive things about the product, leading to more people wanting to try it!

To sum it up, it has become unavoidable to not be on websites like Facebook if you are trying to market something. Whether you're a gym trying to sell memberships, a company selling clothes, or a politician trying to gather votes, you need to market yourself.  Consumers today are no longer interested in just receiving information, from TV, brochures or radio. We want to participate in discussions about the products, or reflect over community-related questions on the social media.

Staude also talked about how it can be challenging to avoid mixing your personal life, with the more professional part of you on Facebook. When talking about this, she mentioned how Jens Stoltenberg is a person who does this well. He currently has 279,999 people who have "liked" his page. 

English in Japan

Last class we were given the task to write about different varieties of English. We chose Japanese English, also called “Japlish”, “Japanglish” or “Engrish”. This is defined as a “form of bad translation from Japanese by someone who is decent at translating vocabulary but has a poor grasp of English grammar”. It is called Engrish because the Japanese do not know the differences between the letter “l” and “r”. This means a Japanese person will say “flied lice” instead of “fried rice” and “risten” instead of “listen.” Due to these pronunciation difficulties, misunderstandings and mistakes can easily occur.

Japan was never a British Colony, but they are still using English words in their daily life. It is said that 10% of the words in the Japanese language dictionary are foreign, but the problem is that a lot of them have lost their original meaning, and make absolutely no sense.

When looking for information about this variety of English, we also came across a lot of websites which have posted amusing pictures of Japanese signs in English.

It is the newer Japanese generation who will use English words, so a Japanese grandmother and her granddaughter might not always understand each other. Films in English, music and TV-shows affect the youth in Japan, just like it does here.

We also found sites looking for people who can teach English in Japan. I think it seems like they might need this, in order to learn how to speak and use the language properly. Poor translations from online language translation tools are being used too much, without consulting a native English speaker. 

9/11 A Day We Will Never Forget

Do you remember where you were when the first plane struck? Because I don't. I was probably soon going home, after a regular Tuesday at primary school. I was only 6 years old, and to be honest I don't remember much about this horrible attack when it happened. With this being the worst and biggest terrorist attack the world has ever seen, I have obviously learned and heard a lot about it since the day it happened. 

Last class we watched the "accidental documentary" called 9/11- the Filmmakers' Commemorative Edition", which was supposed to be a film about fire fighter Tony Benetatos,  a newly hired fire-fighter at a firestation in New York. Little did they know that their camera would be the only one to capture the first plane flying into Tower 1, and that this clip would be seen all over the world. 

Searching the net about this terrorist attack, I still can't believe it actually happened. The documentary we watched showed no gruesome scenes, and of that, I'm glad. The camera follows the firefighters as they helplessly try to save as many lives as possible, while risking their own. You could hear the screams, the crash of the second plane hitting Tower 2, and last but not least; the sounds of people hitting the ground. You knew that these people had thought through their options, and decided to jump to their deaths, rather than being burned alive. As many as 200 hundred people fell from the sky that day. 

How can someone be so cruel? How can someone take so many lives? I can't imagine what it must have been like to be trapped in one of the towers, and I can't imagine what it would be like to know that your loved one is in there. That morning, the world froze. The feeling I have about this, is the same feeling I have about what happened at Utøya. It's just not possible to accept the fact that it happened.

"The Falling Man"

What made the biggest impression on me, were definitely the sounds.  It was really awful, but my curiosity about the falling people led me to a short documentary on YouTube, called "The falling man". In this documentary, the attacks are described from regular New-Yorkers side, and several journalists'. One photographer, Richard Drew, captures a photo of a man falling from one of the towers. It really hits you. This photo can be described in so many words;  sad, terrifying, touching, awful, and shocking. You think: Who is this man? They tried to identify him, but it was not possible.

The photo gives the impression that the man is falling straight down, but a series of photos taken of him show that he was tumbling through the air. The picture is so strong, and peaceful in a way. It alone gives a true sense of the horror that day, the day we will never forget.

Erin Brockovich - capable of greatness

This English class we watched the biographical movie "Erin Brockovich"(2000), with Julia Roberts in the leading role. Before watching the movie we had some time to do research, and read a bit about the real Erin and her story. We also watched a short clip about her. To be honest, I had never heard of Erin Brockovich before, and I didn’t really understand what it was she had done that was so amazing. I decided to let the movie enlighten me on this, instead of a ton of different websites.

Julia Roberts as Erin Brockovich

Julia Roberts plays the role of Erin, an unemployed woman, divorced twice and with three kids under the age of 10. In other words, she has not got her life sorted, and is struggling to find a job. The problem is that no one will hire her, as she has no former work experience. As to any mother, her children mean everything to her, and she is in a state of desperation. The feeling that she is not able to properly take care of them is awful, and matters are only made worse when Erins’ babysitter moves from the neighborhood.

Despite having all odds against her, she keeps trying to make her situation better, showing how determined and tough she is. Driving home from yet another job interview, a car slams into her, injuring her neck. She hires the law firm Masry and Vititoe to represent her in trial, because she is, quote :"gonna make the shithead pay for it". Unfortunately luck isn't on her side, and the "shithead" in the other car gets away with it, and she fails to win the case. It is during the scene in court you see the feisty, rude and smart-mouthed side of Erin. The lawyer who had promised her that they would win the case is Ed Masry, and little does he know that he will be seeing a lot of Erin in the future.

A short time later, she is in his office, demanding a job. She says: 

"I'm smart, I'm hardworking, I'll do anything and I'm not leaving here without a job. Don't make me beg." Masry, who feels he's indebted to her for losing the case, gives her a job as a file clerk in the company. This is the start of a long collaboration. I read on a website that their actual relationship was very stormy, and Ed and Erin were known for their loud arguments and use of inappropriate language. The film does depict this kind of relationship between them. In the office Erin quickly becomes unpopular with the girls, because of her brash personality and inappropriate clothing. Brockovich could not care less, and continues on with her work.

A little later, Erin uncovers a case involving water pollution caused by the utility Pacific Gas & Electric in a small desert town called Hinkley. She finds out that there is a connection between the toxic chemicals that have leaked into the underground water and the health problems of the residents in Hinkley. The water is polluted with chromium six which is highly toxic, and was resulting in cancer, nose bleeds and rare diseases for the residents.  Erin becomes very devoted to the case, both professionally and personally as she fights for the justice of the inhabitants. 

The real Erin Brockovich

During the investigation, Erin has missed her little daughter’s first word, and her son is missing her at the dinner table. At one point she says: "Not personal!? That is my work, my sweat, my time away from my kids! If that's not personal, I don't know what is!" Problems keep occurring, like the financial ability of Masry's small law firm to take on such a complex case, but after around 11 months, they succeed. The firm wins a 333 million dollar settlement from PG&E.

This story is really eye-opening and amazing.  A person, who is looked at as a "nobody", was able to make a big difference to a lot of people’s lives. It is about fighting for people’s rights, and revealing corruption. I find this film extra interesting because it was based on a true story, but it is important to keep in mind that everything might not be entirely true.  For example, did the real Brockovich really memorize all 634 plaintiffs and their cases? In fact, she did. Erin once explained that since she suffers from dyslexia, the way she learns is through memorization.

Erin Brockovich's appearance in the film

Another interesting fact is that the real Erin Brockovich actually makes an appearance in the film. When Erin in the movie takes her kids to the restaurant, Erin Brockovich is the blonde waitress. At times I also found the film hilarious. Erin's cheeky remarks and brilliant comebacks spice up scenes that could have been boring, and when she said "We had that water brought in special for you folks, came from a well in Hinkley..", that actually did happen, but in a different context! Today, Erin Brockovich lives in a mansion near Malibu, and runs her own environmental consultancy. She has never had any plans to become a lawyer, and she has no plans to change her attitude or appearance.