"Freakonomics" My Favorite Writing

One of my favorite books is "Freakonomics" by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner. The reason I enjoy this book and this style of writing is because it is straight forward and to the point. This book analyzes economics today and asks important questions that make you think. Some of the chapters have clever titles such as "What is more dangerous a gun or a swimming pool?" "What kind of impact did Roe v. Wade have on crime?" and my all time favorite "Why do drug dealers still live with their mothers?" These simple unasked questions may seem far fetched or irrelevant but they do provide insight into society and in some cases involve life-and-death. This book helped me to redefine and re-examine the modern world and how it actually works. Even the books cover makes you think. It is a picture of an apple with an orange inside. Strange, but at the same time intriguing. The writing in this book is candid, succinct, cunning and innovative which all play a role in driving home the main theme and purpose, thinking outside the lines. Here is an excerpt from the book that relates to the school of journalism:
"Advertising too is a brilliant tool for creating conventional wisdom. Listerine, for instance, was invented in the nineteenth century as a powerful surgical antiseptic. It was later sold, in distilled form, as a floor cleaner and a cure for gonorrhea. But it wasn't a runaway success until the 1920s, when it was pitch as a solution for "chronic halitosis" -a then obscure medical term for bad breath. Listerine's new ads featured forlorn young women and men, eager for marriage but turned off by their mates rotten breath. "Can I be happy with him in spite of that?" one maiden asked herself. Until that time, bad breath was not conventionally considered such a catastrophe. But Listerine changed that. As the advertising scholar James B. Twitchell writes, "Listerine did not make mouthwash as much as it made halitosis." In just seven years, the company's revenues rose from $115,000 to more than $8 million." To read more excerpts from this book, click on the link here. As you can see from the excerpt, this book is interesting not only because of the topic but also because of the writing style. I highly recommend picking this book up and seeing for yourself.

All About Me

All about me? Where to begin...I guess I will start with basic information. My name is Marta Weissenborn and I am a 24 year old student at San Jose State University. Currently I am in my Junior year and majoring in Public Relations with a minor in Communications. I transfered to SJSU a year ago from Ohlone College in Fremont, California with my Associates Degree.

Currently I am living in Fremont with my parents and my wonderful Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, Sophie. Sophie just turned 2 this summer and definitely keeps me on my toes. Sophie follows me around everywhere I go. I often refer to her as my "Dog-ter" because I treat as though she was my daughter.

While in school, I am working at P.F. Changs in downtown San Jose. I have worked at this location for 2 years starting out as a server and worked my way up to bartender. Currently I am the head bartender at this location which comes with a lot of responsibility. I enjoy the people that I work with and the regular guests I serve but I really love my job of making drinks for people. So many interesting people come in and talk to you and not only that it as though you are entertaining them as a bartender.

My life is always busy. There is always something booked for me. I find it hard to schedule anything more than what I already have going on. I like to keep busy and I do not like being idol for too long. My boyfriend often tells me I need to learn to say the word "no".

I have been dating my boyfriend Leo for a little over a year now. Between my busy schedule and his it is hard to find time together. He lives in Discovery Bay which is an hour away from San Jose. You might be thinking, "when do you ever see each other" but we do and we have to schedule and plan time together to make it work. It actually is better than if I saw him everyday because then we value the time we spend together.

I hope you enjoyed getting to know me a little better!