Thank You for a Great Class!

Grades are in. I hope you survived finals. Thank you again for a great class.

Enjoy your break. And please keep in touch!



Go out and enjoy California!

-D

Week 17: Pasadena

Pasadena's luxurious Spanish Mission Revival-style Langham Huntington Hotel was built in 1907

Week 17: Pasadena
Sec. 22: Meets on Mo 12.15 from 8:00 – 9:30 AM
Sec. 28: Meets on Tu 12.16 from 9:45-12:00 PM
Class: Informal research paper presentations; Class review
Due: RESEARCH PAPER (FINAL DRAFT)

Week 16: Palm Springs

The Parker Palm Springs Hotel originally opened in 1959 as California's first Holiday Inn

Week 16: Palm Springs
Tu 12.09/Th 12.11—NO CLASS
Class: Writers workshop; Multimedia presentations
Due: RESEARCH PAPER (UP TO PAGE 8; BRING 1 COPY); REFLECTION 7

Upcoming:

Week 17: Pasadena
Sec. 22: Meets on Mo 12.15 from 7:15 – 9:30 AM 
Sec. 28: Meets on Tu 12.16 from 9:45-12:00 PM
Class: Informal research paper presentations; Class review
Due: RESEARCH PAPER (FINAL DRAFT)

Golden State News 12.05.14

• FOLSOM: 12-year-old boy commits suicide after being bullied for being a cheerleader (KGO)
• SAN JOSE: City demolishes "The Jungle" homeless encampment (KQED)
• LOS ANGELES: First conviction in state's new "revenge porn" law happens (Huffington Post)
• SAN DIEGO: Steve-O cited for anti-SeaWorld stunt (Los Angeles Times)
• SAN JOSE: Investigation confirms SJSU donor did make offensive remarks about Latinas (San Jose Mercury News)
• SAN FRANCISCO: San Franciscan's facing a bike theft epidemic (ABC News)

Reflection 07: It's a Free Country—Life in the Independent Nation of California

How would you feel about California leaving the Union to become an independent nation? Can you envision switching your citizenship from American to Californian?  What would we gain (and what would we lose) if the Republic of California existed? Likewise, how would you feel about living in the state of Santa Clara or Riverside or Alpine? Which counties would be winners and losers if converted to states? Though it is not likely to happen anytime soon, if ever, speculate what life would be like as a citizen of the California Republic.

Cite at least two of the following in your reflection:

• "Would California be More Successful as an Independent Country Rather Than as a State?" (Quora)
• "The Case for California Succession" (AlterNet)
• "What If California was an Independent Country?" (TopListVideo)
• "California Leads All States (And All But 2 Countries) with 111 Billionaires" (Forbes)
• "Would California be more successful as an independent country rather than as a state? (Reddit)
• "California Really Could Secede from the Union" (Medium)
   

Requirements:

• Must be in MLA Style
• Must be one full page in length

Due: Tu 12 16

Week 15: Mendocino

Russian Gulch State Park is named for the Russian fur trappers who occupied the region in the 19th century

Week 15: Mendocino

Tu 12.02/Th 12.04

Class: Writers workshop; Multimedia presentations

Upcoming:

Week 16: Palm Springs

Tu 12.09/Th 12.11—NO CLASS

Class: Writers workshop; Multimedia presentations

Due: RESEARCH PAPER (UP TO PAGE 8; BRING 1 COPY);
REFLECTION 7

Week 17: Pasadena

Sec. 22: Meets on Mo 12.15 from 7:15 – 9:30 AM

Sec. 28: Meets on Tu 12.16 from 9:45-12:00 PM

Class: Informal research paper presentations; Class review

Due: RESEARCH PAPER (FINAL DRAFT)

Golden State News 11.29.14

• OAKLAND: Days of Ferguson protests take their toll (San Francisco Chronicle)
• STATE: Here comes some much needed rain (KOVR)
• SACRAMENTO: Mother to be charged with child endangerment after abandoning her four children (KOVR)
• SAN LUIS OBISPSO: Three tons of marijuana seized off Central Coast (KTLA)
• STATE: Proposed bill would mandate double Thanksgiving and Christmas pay for workers (Sacramento Bee)
• SAN FRANCISCO: Parents of man killed over his cell phone ask for the public's help (KGO)

Research Paper Hacks

Below are three "hacks" to guide the writing of your research paper:

• EQs and EUs
• Finding Peer Reviewed Sources 
• Research Paper Outlines
 

Week 14: Sacramento

A $20,000 bronze grizzly bear statue, purchased by Gov. Schwarzenegger, guards the Governor's office at the Capitol

Week 14: Sacramento

Tu 11.25/Th 11.27—NO CLASS: Thanksgiving

Class: Writers workshop; Multimedia presentations

Due: RESEARCH PAPER (UP TO PAGE 4; BRING 1 COPY)

Upcoming: 

Week 15: Mendocino

Tu 12.02/Th 12.04

Class: Writers workshop; Multimedia presentations

Due: REFLECTION 7

Week 16: Palm Springs

Tu 12.09/Th 12.11—NO CLASS

Class: Writers workshop; Multimedia presentations

Due: RESEARCH PAPER (UP TO PAGE 8; BRING 1 COPY)

Week 17: Pasadena

Sec. 22: Meets on Mo 12.15 from 7:15 – 9:30 AM

Sec. 28: Meets on Tu 12.16 from 9:45-12:00 PM

Class: Informal research paper presentations; Class review

Due: RESEARCH PAPER (FINAL DRAFT)

 

Golden State News 11.19.14

• SAN JOSE: Introducing Avaya Stadium, new home of the San Jose Earthquakes (Silicon Valley Business Journal)
• ANAHEIM: Megabus bus service from Anaheim to Bay Area to begin  (Los Angeles Times)
• ALSO—ANAHEIM: Did a gated Anaheim community have a Sasquatch sighting? (Orange County Register)
• STATE: California Attorney General: Legal marijuana is "inevitable" (RT News)
• SANTA MONICA: Shuttered Japanese restaurant pleads guilty to serving whale meat (Santa Monica Lookout)
• OAKLAND: Is Oakland really California's most crime-ridden city? (KNTV)

Selected articles from Travel and Leisure

Below are various travel writing examples from Travel and Leisure. When reading them, consider their themes, styles, and structures. Also, think about how they each evoke a sense of place. Consider those techniques that allow you, the reader, insight into these places.

• "Andalusia's Journey"
• "Cozy Inns of New England"
• "Navigating Thailand's Mountain Roads"
• "Vancouver Rising"
• "A Foodie’s Guide to Valencia, Spain" 
• "The Stylish Beaches of Tulum, Mexico"

Week 13: San Jose

The Circle of Palms, between The Fairmont Hotel and The San Jose Museum of Art, is the site of the state's first capital

Week 13: San Jose
Tu 11.18/Th 11.20
Class: Reading discussion; Multimedia presentations
Due: RESEARCH PAPER (UP TO PAGE 2; BRING 2 COPIES); REFLECTION 6

Upcoming:

Week 14: Sacramento

Tu 11.25/Th 11.27—NO CLASS: Thanksgiving

Class: Writers workshop; Multimedia presentations

Due: RESEARCH PAPER (UP TO PAGE 4; BRING 2 COPIES)

 

Reflection 06: Shaking Things Up—Living in Earthquake Country

California is earthquake country. We all know it. We should all be prepared. We all expect "The Big One" to come ... someday. But aside from the occasional tremblor, it's sometimes easy to forget about just how perilous the place we call home can be. Yet, as we have recently witnessed in places, like Japan, living in an earthquake-prone area can have devastating impacts. Here at home, the East Bay's Hayward Fault, called the most dangerous urban fault in America, sits under two and a half million residents. In fact, all of California's major cities lay on or near potentially catastrophic fault lines. And yet, we stay put. Why? Why do we put ourselves at so much risk to live here—and why are so many others still clamoring to live here? Is California worth the risk? How often do you think of the dangers of earthquakes? Do they impact your life on a daily basis? Finally, are you prepared for a major quake?

Requirements:

• Must be in MLA Style
• Must be two full pages in length

Due: Th 11.20

Golden State News 11.12.14

• SOUTH LAKE TAHOE: Park rangers warn against selfies with wild bears (ABC News)
• BODEGA BAY: Boy miraculously survives 230-ft fall from cliff (Associated Press)
• OAKLAND: San Antonio, TX officials sniffing around the Raiders (San Francisco Chronicle)
• SAN JOSE: SJSU again engulfed in racial controversy (KCBS)
• LOS ANGELES: Thursday declared worst traffic day in LA (LAist)
• SAN FRANCISCO: Baby gorilla accidentally killed at SF ZOO (KNTV)

Week 12: South Lake Tahoe

The largest alpine lake in North America, Lake Tahoe is 1,645 ft. deep.

Week 12: South Lake Tahoe
Tu 11.11—No Class: Veteran’s Day/Th 11.13
Class: Writers workshop; Multimedia presentations
Due: RESEARCH PAPER OUTLINE (BRING 2 COPIES)

Upcoming:

Week 13: San Jose
Tu 11.18/Th 11.20
Class: Reading discussion; Multimedia presentations
Due: RESEARCH PAPER (UP TO PAGE 2; BRING 2 COPIES); REFLECTION 6

Golden State News 11.05.14

• STATE: California (mostly) defies wave of Republican victories (Los Angeles Times)
• BERKELEY: East Bay city passes nation's first soda tax; San Francisco initiative fails (Time)
• SANTA BARBARA: Fracking bans pass in Northern California, fail in Santa Barbara (KPCC)
• HERCULES: Man finds Meth in daughter's Halloween candy (ABC News)
• STATE: California is the real star of the world's first drone porn (GQ) [NSFW]
• SAN JOSE: SJSU hosts international conference on Grateful Dead (KGO)