The statue is outside the main doors of the library. It is quite tall; it towers over me and is at least two and a half or three feet taller than I (I’m 5′ 4). I notice a small plaque alongside the statue. It reads: Obelisk III, Sculptor: Tom Gibbs, Presented by Psi Chi, the National Honor Society in Psychology 1989, Morningside College Historic District, Plaque donated in memory of Jon Langley ’98.

There is a cluster of shapes at the bottom of the statue, and fewer as it goes up. The statue is thin and has mostly square, angular shapes. The only circular shapes are the ones carved into man made objects. There are wheels on a machine, a plumbing pipe, and a unidentifiable cylindrical shape.

I touch the statue. It is not as painfully hot to the touch as I expected. It feels mostly smooth, except for a few spots that have peeled in the blistering summer sun. I get closer to the statue and I smell it. It smells slightly like iron, but the most prevalent smell is fresh mowed grass.

I step back from the statue and walk around it a few times. The shadow is long, and it looks like a gnome wearing a dunce hat, holding several square objects in his hands. I sit down on the grass. In the middle of the statue, there are letter shaped holes that have been cut out. One looks like a “k” and the other could be an “o”.

I look at the ice cream container. The colors inside are brown and white. For some reason, I assume the brown is chocolate. I take the white paper lid off. The smell is reminiscent of frozen food. I put my nose closer,  smelling the ice cream in greater detail. I smell root beer. I am not disappointed that it is not chocolate, just surprised that it is not. I dig in and take my first bite. Instantly, I am transported to childhood. I think of hot summer days, either at daycare or Girls’ Inc. I can almost hear the sound of noisy children, talking and giggling excitedly at the fun idea of getting cold treats on a hot day. When the cup is empty, I am saddened, but I am glad that the ice cream took me back to my “little pink shoes” days.

http://news.yahoo.com/juror-gets-caught-adding-female-defendant-facebook-friends-054205448.html

First of all, I have to wonder why the headline says “female defendant” instead of just “defendant”. Is it because the author thinks readers will assume that the juror is a creepy stalker-ish kind of guy? If the juror had been female and the defendant had been male, would the author have even mentioned the gender of the defendant? Maybe it is just a coincidence, but the headline makes me curious about the author’s ideas on gender perceptions and expectations.

Another issue I have with the story is that the author tells the readers of the name of the defendant. What if people who read the story go on Facebook to find her? I guess I am wondering how appropriate it is to say the name of a Facebook user on a national news site.

I think it is sad that the jurors would be using their smartphones to pass the time. Call me old fashioned or a word nerd, but why couldn’t they bring books to read instead? I think we are too “logged on” as a society.

I think this story is newsworthy.  It raises a lot of questions about the appropriate use of technology, which is very pertinent to mass comm. I think it would be interesting to discuss in class.

Hi. Welcome to my blog! This is my first blog, so I am a little scared about getting used to the new technology, but I’m sure I will come to understand it soon.

I enjoy writing, and I like copy editing-you know, the grammar, mechanics, punctuation, spelling stuff that most people hate to deal with. I was one of the editors for the Kiosk, Morningside’s annual literature and art magazine, last year. I am a grammar geek and I think proofreading is fun.