Cover Letter - First Application

September 21, 2010

Mr. Carter
Blackville School

Re: APPLICATION FOR REPORTER

Dear Mr. Carter:

I am interested in applying for a position of reporter for The Talon.

I have had past experience as a reporter before in school so I know what the right questions are to ask and how to make the topic as interesting as it can be. I'm active in sports teams and that helps in teamwork, which is critical when working with another reporter. I also understand that being a reporter will mean working on my own time and I am willing to do so.

I would greatly enjoy working as a reporter and am available for an interview at your convenience. Hope you consider my application.

Reflection Entry #1 - First Newspapers

Unlike the newspapers we read today, the historical newspapers contained less images, if any at all. Canada's first newspaper included only two pictures bordering the title at the top. Modern newspapers also include many ads along the side or near the bottom. Since colored ink wasn't used back when the first newspapers were make, the modern ones are very different, using colored ink for images. It's also understandable that the modern newspaper would be longer in length since different ideas and news would have been added over the years.

In a way, i was sorta surprised that Canada's first newspaper was created in Halifax. It makes sense though since it's a smaller community and more people would know each other well enough to help create and share ideas. Also the news would probably travel more quickly, making for more ideas. However, I thought the first newspaper in Canada would of been created near Toronto or a large city since there would of been more ways to get the newspaper around to the people, and more people to read it.

I believe that the government today should have the power to shut down newspapers for being too critical, at least for some topics. If the topic is critical, but it's clear that the writer is not trying to offend anyone and is just making a point, it shouldn't be shutdown. However, if it is clearly wanting to offend the readers, it would be wise to shutdown or people would complain.

The good old days...

5 -an alien from outer space

1 -near a National Forest

2 -after a fight

7 -reminiscing on how things have changed

Confused and lost, Johnny wandered the woods trying to figure out what to do next. He could hardly walk from the fight from earlier and he didn't understand why he was attacked. All he did was ask a couple where he was, and then the girl screamed. The guy with her starting kicking and punching him, and now every step he took was painful. After 30 minutes, Johnny finally understands where he is. In big bold letters, a white sign said, "National Forest, stay out!"
Ignoring the sign, Johnny entered. He started thinking of his family, and friends. The times when he was happy, when he had something worth fighting for. Then...everything changed. He lost his home, and the only one he ever loved, and just like a flash of light, everything came back to him. He remembered running away with his dad's spaceship and losing control. He looked around and saw a fire in the distance. It must be his spaceship! Hopping on one leg, he moved as fast as he could towards it. Maybe he could signal for help there.

PREFECT LIAR

Violent video games, is there really any reason to stop it?

How can scary video games be the same without the blood and horror of trying to survive an unstoppable evil? It's not like they are real life or anything; your not going to grab a gun and shoot an entire mall full of people because they are zombies. It's only for entertainment and the fun of beating the game...but some parents think other whys.

The gore just adds to the fun in the video games, but parents are complaining that there is no need for fighting and blood. They believe that their children shouldn't be shown this kind of behaviour. They seem to forget that there is ratings on this games, however. If they don't want their children playing these games, then buy games that are rated E! There is no gore and it's still fun to play.

Games should include killing and blood since for one, it's not real. I'm sure the people playing the games understand that killing in real life is wrong, and will not actually go out and kill someone just because it was in a video game. Seeing fake blood isn't the end of the world! I mean it's only fun, no one is actually getting hurt.

Video games are getting more and more realistic, and the graphics in a horror game need to be the best they can be. If you shoot someone and there is no blood...it wouldn't sell. The game has to be a life-like as possible; you need to feel the fear, and laugh at how much the game scares you. If you enjoy being scared from playing a video game, a blood-less game isn't going to cut it.

Parents do have a reason to worry though. Gore isn't the best for children, considering that they get scared easily. Even with that in mind, parents can stop their kids from buying or playing these games. It not like they should banned all bloody video games because parents think the their own children shouldn't see this kind of violent.

If people can't understand that these games are just meant for fun, then soon other forms of entertainment will be banned just because they don't seem right. If a large amount of people enjoy something harmless, while a small party don't think it's seem fits, then they're the ones who should change their life style to live without it. Don't make others follow your path, if at the end it only leads back to the beginning.

For Love or Money?

The title of this article is called, "For Love or Money?", and i found it on Teenink, written by Kaleigh L. The opening paragraph does include the thesis, letting the readers know this article is about artificial impregnation. The first paragraph could use some work, but it wasn't horrible, since it gave an example of a popular television series involving it. The article includes 7 paragraphs, and they all relate to the thesis. To back up her opinion, the writer uses an example of a woman and the fact that she had artificial impregnation. The writer includes the woman's reaction and what the news thought about this. The writer is against artificial impregnation, but she also shows the she understands want a mother would want so many children to call her own. The writer does convince me that artificial impregnation is not good, for the fact that it's usually single mothers would can't afford to take care of the children. To improve the article, the writer could have included the mother's reactions to all the gossip and their first reaction when they hear of artificial impregnation. I thought the conclusion was effective because of her last line,"Clearly, the necessary measures must be taken to ensure that parents’ reproductive rights – or media ambitions – do not come before their child’s right to a decent life." I didn't notice any errors. I liked this article since it showed why it's bad for the mothers, but also showed that child services might approve of it because it puts more in their pockets.

Fatkat Animation

I seen the logo for Fatkat's animation before, but thats about all i knew about them. I had no idea that they were from New Brunswick, or that they worked on Family Guy. They're blog was very well done, showing some clips that they worked on. I liked how they included a lot of ads and link, and how they make the blog look like it's always visited and updated. I don't like how plain the background is. The header is the only thing that looks well worked on, but the background is so empty.
A few questions i would like to ask Robbie Anderson on his visit would be if it's easy to learn how to use animation. Also, how long does it take to make a 30 minute animated video.