Looking back at it, I could see the signs, although I didn’t see them in context.  I have received and still receive coupons in my email for all sorts of discounts, especially those tempting 30% coupons.  Throw in another 10% for having a member discount and I’m walking away with a book for 40%. For a hardcore bibliophile like me, it’s a way to feed my deep addiction to books.  However, I never sat down to think why I was getting coupons practically every week.  Now, I think that I have my answer.

Truth be told, now that I know, I’m not at all surprised about B&N’s troubles.  For one, when I have ordered their books online, it seems like their orders take forever much longer than the faster shipping that I’ve paid for, though not for my last few orders.  Also, when I was living in an apartment, it seemed that when UPS came to drop off my B&N purchase that it was always during work hours.  The only solution was to have it shipped to the nearest UPS shipping center.  For this reason, I pretty much don’t buy online from them but go to the store.

Another reason that I’m not surprised is their e-reader apps.  Now, I have an iPhone and so, sometimes, use e-reader apps to read books on the go. B&N’s app was the first e-reader app that I used on both my phone and laptops.  I would download my books and begin to read them.  I would bookmark pages, highlight text and makes notes.  However, every single time that e-books would sync, then everything that I had annotated would get jumbled up.  Basically, I had to delete everything and start over again.  Yes, they beat Borders and Amazon to putting out an e-reader app.  However, it never seemed to be any good.

Lastly, when I would look into buying a book online, even with a coupon and my membership, sometimes Amazon would beat the price, including shipping.  So I found myself asking a very important question, “If Amazon can beat B&N’s price and probably get me my book when I want it….who should I go with?” It was a no-brainer.

Believe me when I say that I’m not at all celebrating B&N’s woes.  For the record, I prefer B&N to Border’s.  Nonetheless, they will not survive unless they can, first of all, stabilize themselves.  Granted that the only offer to purchase it has come from Burkle, at least it shows that somebody is interested.  Lack of interest would be its death knell. Honestly, its future will lie in embracing new technology such as e-readers and be at the cutting edge not playing catch up. If they can supply readers electronic whims while doing so at a lower price, then I think that B&N will be back in business.  Don’t write them off quite yet.  I certainly haven’t.  Instead grab a bowl of popcorn, sit back and watch the show.  I’m as interested in the ending as you are.

Author: José A. Rodríguez

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Although Facebook can be a great tool, I believe that many people are misusing it.  While it can make life easier, it is often used to cause drama and problems.  Facebook was not meant to be a personal journal or diary where you vent your relationship problems and curse your mother-in-law.  It was meant to join professional adults in common interests and goals.  I have seen great things such as Amber Alerts, fundraising benefits, class reunions and job listings.  However, I have also witnessed some horrifying posts containing profanity, sexually explicit material, and just plain negativity.  Guess what? Nobody cares.  This personal drama should be kept just that….personal. Some Facebook users may be compelled to respond to this negativity just as they are addicted to soap operas or telenovelas. However, Facebook is not real life because in real life we have to deal with these people and solve these problems. You have to eventually deal with your problems.

People have come to believe that the solutions to all of their problems is to X people out.  If someone pisses you off, you simply X them out.  “Ah, ha, ha….I removed them!” And? So what? You may have deleted your ex-boyfriend from Facebook but guess what? You’re probably going to run into him at the club or simply just walking down the street.  What does the X prove?

I will tell you what it proves.  It proves that you are an immature person unable to deal with real issues.  Don’t get me wrong.  If someone is completely disrespectful, becomes a stalker, or simply uses undesirable language on your profile, they should be removed.  Then again, maybe you should have never accepted them in the first place? However, I am not talking about that kind of deletion.  I am talking about the people who continually delete family members and friends only to friend request them the very next week.  I see this every day.  One of my friends has deleted the same guy over seven times. Why? Guess what? You can delete someone but that doesn’t mean that they are dead.  When you turn off your computer and go to the store, you’re probably going to run into your ex-Facebook friend.  You’re going to have to acknowledge the de-friended church lady.  Delete does not mean erase.  Instead of pushing that button in anger, grow up, deal with the situations and start using Facebook as a tool instead of a weapon.

“It takes two to quarrel, but only one to end it.”-Spanish proverb.

Author: Rhonda Gutierrez

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This whole topic came back to me when I was on Facebook (http://www.thetakeaway.org/blogs/takeaway/2010/jul/14/what-acting-white/) and heard about Stuart Buck’s book “Acting White.”  While I haven’t read the book, the title really piqued my attention.  For me, the title brings to mind perceptions of who we are or are supposed to be, what we sound like, what we act like or what we’re supposed to look like.  Truthfully, rarely is being told that you “act white” a compliment.  Rather it is an indictment on your sense of identity.

According to the Pew Hispanic Center (http://pewhispanic.org/reports/report.php?ReportID=115), nearly 9 in 10 (89%) Latinos 16-25 say that higher education is important for success, yet only about half (48%) say that they, themselves, plan on getting a degree.  Only 48%? This is ridiculous.  We, as a community, need to celebrate success, which is heavily based on higher education, and not judge those that wish to get there. Instead of tearing them down, we need to bring them up.

There is a reason that we picked Mi Estilo.  When we gave our idea a name, we wanted to provide a forum to legitimize our experiences as well as those of our readers.  More importantly, we celebrate those people that are trying to do something with their lives and kick things up to the next level. Calling someone “white” and indicting their identity should never be a consideration.  Doing something with your life should be.

Author: José A. Rodríguez

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According to the Christian Science Monitor article, “In Texas, social studies textbooks get a conservative make-over” (http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Education/2010/0522/In-Texas-social-studies-textbooks-get-a-conservative-make-over), the vote was pretty much split along party lines.  Some of the changes that would occur, for example, would include bringing more attention to President Reagan, while hardly mentioning Senator Ted Kennedy.  Also, Senator Joseph McCarthy would be depicted in a positive light, despite the fact that his 1950s witch hunt to root out Communists was largely inefficient and was primarily a grab for power.

What bothers me about this event is that I feel that the board members are letting their personal views get in the way of finding the best possible curriculum to provide Texas children with a balanced education.  According to the CSM article, Friday’s meeting in Austin by education board member Cynthia Dunbar made “in the name of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ … [on behalf of] “a Christian land governed by Christian principles.”  If Dunbar thinks that religious freedom in the United States had to do just with God, then I feel that she’s sadly missing the point.

When our Founding Fathers guaranteed us that our government should not establish a state religion, this didn’t have to explicitly do with God but with each citizen’s right to follow the religious beliefs of their choosing.  In the Declaration of Independence, God is mentioned only once.  Our country wasn’t necessarily intended to be a Christian nation but a free one.

While there’s nothing that can be done to undo this, I feel that the people on the Board of Education that have more conservative views see the curriculum as an all or nothing deal.  Either the curriculum can be liberal or conservative.  If they really wanted a balanced curriculum, they would have given equal attention to Senator Kennedy as they would President Reagan.  I think that the BOE needs to call a spade a spade.  Their changes aren’t about balance but about furthering their own, personal conservative agenda.

What worries me is that, since the Texas State BOE is one of the US’ biggest textbook markets and will effectively dictate what is used by other school districts, figures and events will not be mentioned because of their extreme emphasis on conservatism.  This didn’t have to be an all or nothing proposition.  They made it one.  It is up to us to remember.

Author: José A. Rodríguez

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Fathers try their best to keep their sons’ and daughters’ attention when reading the plaques that hold up the statues of Tiger greats. The blatant over-commercialization that surrounds both casual and serious fans seems to be eclipsed by the way in which the vendors still announce their presence—in the exact same way as yesteryear.

This year, as with many others, the health of the Spirit of Detroit is dependent upon the Tigers winning more than they lose.  The Wings just fell out of the their title hunt.  The Pistons are in the midst of a full rebuild and, the Lions … well, despite the fact that they seem to be moving in the right direction, are still…the Lions.

So goes the world of Detroit professional sports.  We let Curtis Granderson go.  However, Austin Jackson seems to be a surprisingly apt replacement.  Aside from his “Rookie of the Month” honors in April, he is a hard worker.  This is something Detroiters respect immensely.  We also respect those who come back from adversity.  My friends: this team is full of players that have done so.

After three years of injury-plagued ball, Jeremy Bonderman seems to have found his health and rhythm again.  Dontrelle Willis may never live up to the original expectations that we had for him, but, he has adjusted his attitude, worked hard and seems to be—at bare minimum—a pitcher that will make a significant contribution to this team.  Magglio Ordoñez came back to life as a hitter late last season and, despite what long-time baseball experts prognosticated regarding if he’d ever “be back,” he seems to have found his stroke again.

There’s still the consummate hard worker in Brandon Inge.   There’s the awe-inspiring hitting of Miguel Cabrera.  Joel Zumaya has a chance to go above-and-beyond “Comeback Kid” status and reach the potential that has been previous stunted by freak injuries.

Here in Detroit, we don’t get a lot of sunshine.  However, a few extra rays always seem to shine onto Comerica Park.  During such a hard financial time in Detroit, it’ll prove to be a relief to see professional ballplayers that are from the same hard-working, adversity overcoming, naysayer-silencing pedigree.

All inspirational and philosophical stuff aside, the Tigers (as of this writing) have a record of 22-17.  They have talent and they have great coaching.

Play Ball!

Author: Michael Wood II

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Public Insight Journalism (PIJ) is a new mode of news reporting where the Public Insight Network (PIN), a project developed by American Public Media, uses the public through text messaging as sources to be contacted for future news stories. News outlets like Detroit’s NPR station, WDET, could contact people that are participants to get their insights into stories that have to do with them and their community.

In addition to private citizens, local independent media and representatives from the social service sector, there were people from:

• Mobile Commons (developed the texting technology that was used
• Hasso Plattner Institute of Design at Stanford (d.school)
• The Takeaway w/John Hockenberry and Celeste Headlee

Thursday began in TechTown around 8AM. I arrived into one of the conference rooms and saw that it was filled with people. There was a combination of locals representing various sectors and people from out of town. Thursday’s activity consisted primarily of teams of attendees planning, developing and, ultimately, implementing campaigns that used the same texting technology used by the PIN.

According to the facilitator, there was reason for precisely picking groups. Mine consisted of Jerome Vaughn from WDET, Antonio Guevara with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Metro Detroit, as well as Melody Ng and Michael Arnold from the Minneapolis NPR station. After tossing out some ideas, we decided that we were going to develop a texting campaign to showcase the beautiful homes and yards of Southwest Detroit—an excellent way to shine some positive light. We would distribute flyers in Southwest Detroit to get the community to text a number code to WDET and begin the process. Finally, they would then receive a response text where they send the address of the home to finish.

After getting some bilingual flyers (English on one side and Spanish on the reverse) printed up at Techtown, we split up into two teams. Antonio and I both had vehicles so we divided transportation duties. My team started off on the west side of Southwest Detroit, while Antonio’s started off on east side. We peppered as many spots as we could until both teams ended up meeting up at Cafe con Leche across from Clark Park. The other teams congregated there as well, since there was a shuttle that dropped off people and picked them up later to take them to Los Galanes for dinner.

It was at Los Galanes where I would say the Summit had its high point. There were people that I’d seen earlier in the morning or had seen throughout the day but hadn’t had a chance to speak with. Between talking to the people like those on my team or with others that I met later, I ended having some great conversations. What stood out was that the out of town people had a legitimate interest in hearing what we, locals, had to say about the Metro Detroit region. The type of back-and-forth dialogue that we had is the type of conversations that we sorely need.

In the end, I liked the idea of using text messaging technology like what has been developed by Mobile Commons. In editing Mi Estilo, I have had to learn about social media and how to use it to spread the word. I have met people, made friends and found collaborators through social media. However, the downside of Facebook, LinkedIn, etc. is that not everybody has an account. Yet, with text messaging, this is something that is affordable to even somebody on Metro PCS. Only by finding ways of providing further opportunities for the public to have their stories heard will this become a reality.

Author: José A. Rodríguez

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“without a warrant, to arrest a person if the officer has probable cause to believe that the person has committed any public offense that makes the person removable from the U.S.”

To do this legislation justice, you really need to read all of the verbiage (SB 1070 Fact Sheet).  There are things in there that do need to be addressed such as the hiring (exploitation) as well as the smuggling of illegals.  It is absolutely wrong for criminals (coyotes) to charge exorbitant amounts of money to hard working people for the slim chance of crossing into this country.  It is even worse for employers to hire illegals for a wage lower than anybody else would be willing to accept. Why is it okay for this exploitation to exist?

I think that, unless you have your head under a rock, we can admit that we need to revamp the immigration AND the citizenship processes.  However, this legislation is going about it completely the wrong way.  The language is just too vague.  Let me offer an example.

Under the first enforcement provision, it says that SB 1070 “requires a reasonable attempt to be made to determine the immigration status of a person during any legitimate contact made by an official or agency…if reasonable suspicion exists that the person is an alien who is unlawfully present in the U.S.”  I’d like to know what the hell this means? Does this mean that everybody will be required to carry their birth certificate? What is enough to remove this “reasonable suspicion?”

I’m sure that there are some smart legislators in Arizona.  If they’re smart, they’re really going to consider doing something different to accomplish their goals, which is to start addressing immigration issues.  Nothing good will come out of this legislation.  I watched the news tonight, as I thought long and hard about what to write for this piece.  There is serious talk about boycotting Arizona.  Truth be told, after I heard about SB 1070 being passed, it gave me practically no reason to return to Arizona.  I’ve never felt like I would ever have to carry documents to prove that I was born here.  It’s bad enough that people like me have travel issues and don’t know why (Not So Random Searches).  We don’t need this.  We need a law that clearly and justly addresses the issues that, truthfully, have been very poorly addressed if at all.

Author: José A. Rodríguez

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Let me put this into context.  Textbook companies can’t afford to make many different versions of textbooks for different states.  Since Texas is one of the largest textbook purchasers, what they choose is what most of the rest of America gets.  The decisions that they make will likely have an effect on your family.

The following is what the board decided in their debates:

Thomas Jefferson: The board decided that Thomas Jefferson, the man who wrote The Declaration of Independence and was the  first head of the census bureau, would be replaced by theologians and philosophers St.St Thomas Aquinas or John Calvin.  This is outrageous on two levels.  First of all, acting like Jefferson was  no big deal and minimizing his influence on our country is an insulting to both him and to our country.  Secondly, isn’t church and state supposed to remain separate? Why, all of a sudden, do they think that teaching about religious leaders in public school systems to this degree is okay?

This country was founded on the notion of freedom of religion meant not pushing one religion on all citizens.  Even the Treaty of Tripoli stated that, “the Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion…”

Forgetting Latinos: In a state that was part of Mexico and where more than half the population is Hispanic, it was a huge slap in the face from board members who made it a point to try and remove many of the important Latino figures. They tried to remove any mention of Cesar Chavez! Even Bobby Kennedy referred to him as “one of the heroic figures of our time.”  Mention of Hispanic artists, leaders and historical figures has been significantly reduced, if not removed.

Glossing over the Civil Rights movement: the Civil Rights movement was about getting equal rights for all minorities.  Board member, Don McLeroy, had the nerve to try to say that it was the result of the white male voter getting it to pass, since minorities couldn’t do it by themselves.  Luckily, he was just voted out of his office.

Members of the board found it necessary to remove the children’s book Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do you See? They mistook author Bill Martin, Jr. for another author by the same name.  The other author wrote Ethical Marxism, which they wanted gone because it was critical of capitalism.  Even McLeroy said, “Well, it was embarrassing.”

While everything has already been voted on, there are still further conferences to happen in May before finalizing the board’s curriculum.  So, if you’re as disgusted as me by this gross misuse of power, call your own school board’s office.  Please do all that you can to make your dissatisfaction heard so that we can stop the rewriting of American history.

Author: Crissy Zamarron

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