Thursday, January 17, 2013

EOC Week 1: My background


My name is Anthony Munoz and I am 26 years old. I come from a military family and I too have served in the military. I was born in San Antonio, TX. But as a military brat I moved all over. By the time I was one the family and I was stationed in Germany at a base called Zweibrucken AFB. I can remember those times vaguely but some memories are crystal clear. Such as my love for The Beatles, I was four when I really appreciated their music. They inspired me to start playing the drums myself. I can remember getting my first drum set at the age of four.
We would be back in the states by the time I was five and we would go onto live in several states in a matter of a few years. By the time I was eleven I got my first real drum set and I already new how to play beats. By the time I was 16 we were in Newport News, Va. That is where I met by best friend Thomas who was a guitar player and we formed our first band called West Gate. We played punk and rock n’ roll. By the time I was nineteen the family and I again moved to Las Vegas this time. I had picked up the guitar and started create tunes on it. By this time I had gotten acquainted with using my father’s old tape cassette 4-track to record my music. After a couple months I had recorded my first album. I was in Vegas for a year till I joined the USAF as a C-17 Loadmaster in January of 2006.
As a C-17 Loadmaster I traveled the world delivering cargo and passengers to their destination, combat and non-combat destinations. I had a great time in those four years I served. I traveled to many exotic and exciting locations such as Zanzibar, Africa and Okinawa, Japan. I had accumulated over 1200 flying hours and had over 150 combat missions. I had deployed twice to the Middle East and spent plenty of time in Iraq and Afghanistan. My deployments weren’t very long but we were constantly flying almost everyday. Needless to say I thoroughly enjoyed my job even though it seemed like I hated it at times as well. During this time I bought a digital recorder and recorded my send album with it. After my four year contract with the USAF I decided to go to school for business management.
After a few quarters of schooling I decided to change my degree into Audio Production and to attend the Art Institute of Las Vegas. The main reason I switched course is that I realized I needed to be doing something with my life that I love. Music was the answer and always has been. I've been a musician since I was 11 and I've been a performer since I was 12. I've been recording on my own since I was 19. Music is my passion in life and I want to be able to understand all aspects of music, which is why I am here now. Since my days recording on a tape cassette four track I learned a lot about recording music. I typically record my own since I am also a songwriter and musician. I am more of a guitar player nowadays playing and creating Indie Rock. I've thoroughly enjoyed this school so far and I have learned alot and have met some really cool people that I enjoy being around. Someday I want to professionally record music as a career, that is what I love the most.

EOC Week 2: Erin Brokovich


Erin Brockovich's case against PG&E is  largest settlement ever paid in a direct action lawsuit in US history. $333 million was the given settlement and Brockovich's law firm received 133.6 million dollars and Brockovich herself received a two million dollars. Brockovich's boss told his clients that he wanted 40% of whatever the settlement would be, they agreed. I think that his 40% cut was a fair deal for the clients. If he didn't win the case he would get nothing, not to mention the expenses it would cost him to work on the case. Erin's $2 million cut was fair also, since she was the one who researched and proactivley dealt with the victims. It seemed like some of the victims were very unaware of how bad there water really was. They happened to get sick in many ways to include tumors, cancer and various other illnesses. Though PG&E tried to settle the case with a couple of the victims, they’re settlement price was nowhere near what these victims deserved. In one case PG&E wanted to pay $250K to a family, but that price was way to small to handle whatever medical charges that would be burdened on the family.