Adrio's website
Health Magazine's Website
Libraryman
Moonglow
National Institute for Mental Health
This links you to the prompts to which I am responding.
WebMD Health
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A major physchological disease called depression has become more and more widespread throughout the world. This condition affects people of all ages, and many times if left untreated progresses into extreme depression and sometimes suicide. Depression is defined as, "a mental state of depressed mood characterized by feelings of sadness, despair, and discouragement. Depression ranges from normal feelings of the blues through dysthymia to major depression." (Online MD) Depression usually has to do with a chemical imbalance in the brain, but sometimes it can be triggered by losses, setbacks, or major trauma. Examples of these would include but not be limited to loss of a loved one, loss of a job, or molestation. Depression is not set to one specific age limit, however, studies show that the most affected group seems to be elderly adults. The older adults also have the highest related suicide rate associated with their depression.
The good news about this widespread condition is that it is treatable. The National Institute for Mental Health suggests that treatments could include, "selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), are generally preferred over the older medications, including tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs) and monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs), because they have fewer and less severe potential side effects. Both generations of medications are effective in relieving depression, although some people will respond to one type of drug, but not another." Other effective treatments include psychosocial or cognitive behavior therapy. Sometimes just going and talking to someone offers the most relief. Depression is a horrible disease that seems like there is a never-ending cycle, but there is help.
Ok, so the prompt for this week links us to a website, http://www.eginitiative.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=17&Itemid=50. This site deals with globalization issues and how they relate to the ethics of certain countries. The specific article I chose to take a peak at had to do with migration policies. The article focuses on the unfair regulations put on people who immigrate into another country, in particular the more wealthy countries like America. The policies focus on excluding immigrants and keeping them away, or they make the process of becoming a resident and moving into the countries a very hard process. The website states, "states are unprepared to deal with recent developments in the area of international migration and generally make decisions related to migration in a closed manner without the benefit of considered dialogue."
Now, after sitting down and letting this article absorb into my head, I reached the conclusion that the solution is somewhere between the two extremes of letting anyone immigrate easily and making the procedure hard and unbearable to undertake. It is true that there are many people coming from countries that are trying to make better lives for themselves, or become a free person. There are many very talented and gifted singers, artists, scientists, amongst other professionals who benefit a country because of what they have to offer. Many people are brought into America on Work Visas as laborers for landscape companies or construction. I feel that bringing this abundant amount of cheap labor is damaging to an economy, and regulations need to be made more strict to favor American citizens so that cheaper workers can not be brought in to the United States. Regulations in this case are a good idea.
In conclusion, we should not close our doors to everyone and anyone, but we should make sure that the people who are coming into America are valuable, dependable, and beneficial people to not just our government or big companies, but to all of America as a whole.
The showers, the afghans, the pink and blue. These are all of the wonderful things of pregnancy. But we must not forget the moodswings, the weight gain, and of course the food cravings! Pregnant women have the strangest food combination cravings in the whole entire world. From yogurt and shrimp, to pickles and watermelon, the range of cravings is endless. So what brings on these strange cravings? WebMD Health explains these strange wants and needs of pregnant women. They suggest that the cravings are the pregnant woman's body asking for a specific nutrient, such as sodium, iron, calcium and others, that the body is lacking. Pregnant women have growing beings inside of them, so they must essentially double their intake of nutrition to support he growing fetus. When they mother has not had enough, the cravings occur to fix the low levels of the specific nutrient.
A condition called pica arrives when a mother craves nonfood, non nutritional items. Mothers are known to consume substances like, "dirt, laundry starch, crayons, ground up clay pots, ice scraped from the freezer." Some experts believe that this can be due to an iron deficiency. This type of habit is much more dangerous to the mother and the baby. As WebMD explains, "Among the most dangerous aspects of pica is the consumption of lead -- particularly when women eat dirt or clay. This can lead to infant and child developmental problems with low verbal IQ scores, impaired hearing and motor skill development. Other research has shown an increased risk of learning disabilities and attention deficit disorders in infant exposure to lead before birth."
So the next time that a husband is sent out to the store in the middle of the night for chocolate pudding and cheese puffs, he needs to hurry. Not only his wife, but also his baby are experiencing low levels of nutrients and these cravings need to be filled!
Daze's website, http://daze.motime.com/post/432056, is random rants and scribbles. Sometimes Daze will offer great insite, and sometimes offer a long strand of blocks and symbols just for the heck of it. Daze's publishing on Sunday March 20th offers a short blog on being yourself. The blog itself is tons of inspiration shoved into a tiny box. Although the words were few, she said much.
Daze says, "You may find yourself really feeling like the black sheep today, Daze. Don't let this get you down...Yours is a distinct and unique personality, much to the envy of those around you (even if they don't openly say so). Celebrate who you are. After all, you can't be anyone else."
Could you get more insightful than that!?! Daze also offers a little humorous relief at the end reminding the reader that there is no use in glorifying others or hating yourself, because you can't be anyone else. So true. So true. Sometimes I even too get sidetracked by others lives, yearning to be either rich, or famous, or popular to the world. I then realize that is their life, and this is mine. If I were meant to be these things, it would have happened, and as long as I focus on myself now, who is to say it will not happen for me in the future. I was put where I am for a reason, and so was everyone else in the world. Daze has got it right by telling us to celebrate who we are.
The prompt for this week deals with our experience in English Comp II. We are supposed to analyze what tools that were presented throughout the course helped us to grow as a student, a learner, a writer, and maybe even a person.
Looking back over my English Composition experience, I must say that I have learned much and gained new skills to help me write more clearly and more professionally. Through the unique combination of readings, projects, and new technology, I have been able to develop as a more experienced reader, writer, and researcher.
Throughout the course, we were presented with many readings to facilitate learning and to help us with our projects. Most of the sample readings were real-life publishings on current affairs. They not only pertained to what is going on today, they also offered interesting opinions which could be debated in class. The projects assigned during the semester provided a chance for me to employ my newly-learned writing skills and revise and refine them. I saw a definite progression in my work, and this progression also reflected upon my grades in the class. The roles of other students as peer reviewers helped me to not only make my papers better, but it also made me more receptive to constructive criticism and eased tension between unfamiliar classmates.
I found the use of technology like the blogs and library databases to be the most helpful and beneficial to me of all aspects of the composition course. The blogs allowed me to develop my writing on a weekly basis. The best part of doing a blog is the chance for anyone to read your writing, and add their comments. Using the library databases like CQ Researcher and Lexis Nexis greatly aided me in finding information for my projects. The databases also provided me with a whole new realm for researching my projects.
The Denimfairy writes on her blog about a condition much common to writers throughout the world, writer's block. She speaks of it very eloquently though, using phrases like, "I feel like I am in a cloud," and, "I am paralyzed...". She expresses her anguish very well and begs the reader the worry for her paper. One can tell that the Denimfairy is a very experienced writer because her thesis is not just for some Comp 2 paper, but for a Ph. D.
I have not had much experience with that kind of paper, but I know that they have to be long and full of detail, and they need to be material of the highest calibur. I recently have had the same kind of problem on my fourth paper, the one on globalization. I am just not sure what I want to write about, and I am worried because I desperately need an A. It seems almost impossible to attain an A on a paper, and I try and try, but to no avail. This added stress of a much needed A does not help my creativity and I find myself in the same boat as the Denimfairy.
I believe that the key to my problem lies in some rest and relaxation. I need to let all of my worries go, if even for a few hours. This will break the damn of anxiety and my creativity will burst through and flood out of my brain. I am going to follow the Denimfairy's mantra and, "Today, I feel like I am not interested in anything. I just want to be. I don't feel like doing anything advanced. I don't feel like competing with anyone.
I just want to be me and enjoy it. "
There is a killer on the rampage. It is one of the top murderers of people throughout the world. It severely affects the physical health of each and every person it can get its hands on, and most of the time it takes no prisoners. It will kill over 50,000 people this year in the United States, and it kills someone every eight seconds. What is this natural born killer, and how can we stop it? Surprisingly, when unmasked the murderer shows itself as a lifestyle, a choice, and an addiction. This killer is called tobacco. Tobacco is a legal drug that tends to ease ones mind, and becomes addicting soon after the first try. The sad thing is that we can control this. The only thing that can make a person start smoking is themself, and thats the same person who can make them stop. However, tobacco is a very addicting drug and the Big Tobacco companies go even farther to add more chemicals to make its powerful effects full force. "In as little as 2 weeks nicotine changes the brains chemistry and addiction can begin," is one of the many facts that The Truth website offers. This powerfully addicting drug captures the lives of about 2000 teens a day, and the addiction follows them to the grave. Of the population that smokes, "70 percent of smokers want to quit. Only about 5 percent actually succeed every year." (The Truth). The key to beating this is never starting and by saying no to peer pressure. Although we have done much to supress the power of the Big Tobacco execs, there is much more to be done. By spreading the information on the harmful effects of tobacco like The Truth, this occupational killer can be eliminated forever.
So the prompt for this week deals with project 4 in my English class. I have to write 100 to 250 words on my thesis and introductory paragraph. I have spent much of the last couple of days contemplating what I am going to write and it must deal with globalization. I have not yet reached a final decision on what I am going to do, so making my true thesis and introductory paragraph by the end of this week is highly doubtful. I have being toying with the topic of the people of the United States losing jobs on behalf of US globalization of job oppurtunities. The paragraph is gonna go a little something like this:
The United States of America has a five percent unemployment rate. Some may say that this stat is very good, but what most do not know that there are 118 out of 258 total countries that have lower unemployment rates, and that 77 of those countries have a zero percent unemployment rate. These countries include Cuba, North Korea, Iraq, Haiti, among many others. So what is it that makes a top dog country a middle of the road statistic? Is it the freedom offered to its citizens? Is it the mass amounts of aid for jobless Americans? No, the answer lies in the export of American jobs to other countries. The list of big name companies that chooses to employ cheap, shipped in labor, or to send out jobs to other countries to run business at smaller prices, seems endless. By examining some of the ways cheap labor workers are being shipped in and jobs that are being shipped out to cheaper countries, a viable solution to absolving America's unemployment rate can be found.
Sound good? Any suggestions? Let me know, please please please.
How often are you on the go, and need something, anything, just to tide you over? For most of the busy Americans, and a large portion of them college students balancing school, jobs, and a social life, the answer lies in a quick trip through the drive-thru of a nearby fast food restaurant. What most people dont know however, is how damaging fast food can actually be. The fast food industry thrives on grease and fat and calories, but there must be some sacrifices for getting a whole meal in four minutes, right? Wrong, these foods are terrible for one's health, and have a very great contribution in the overall fattening of America and increase in type II diabetes.
The fat and calorie content in just one meal from a fast food restaurant is equivalent to the amount needed for a whole day in some cases, and the build-up of all this excess fat does not just cause weight gain, but also contributes greatly to heart disease. New research, as told through OCA (the Organic Consumers Association), shows that consuming the high fat foods of fast food chains leads to abnormal functioning of metabolic hormones and, "experiments show that exposure to fatty foods may quickly reconfigure the body's hormonal system to want yet more fat...What's more, early exposure to fatty food could reconfigure children's bodies so that they always choose fatty foods." (OCA 5) This could prove that fast food may even be addicting! The goal to maintaining a healthy body weight and metabolism lies in the limited intake of fast food. In some cases, it is very hard to take time out of the day to stop and eat a meal prepared from home, however fast food restaurants are beginning to offer more healthy alternatives to their menus, and although not as nutritous as a home cooked meal, it can still help to keep an individual more healthy.
Adrio posts on the blog Insert Clever Pun/ Title Here a song about being sick. This song has to be one of the funniest songs I have ever heard! It's more of a poem, but I could see it set to a little jingle. He rhymes words that don't even make sense, and inserts rhetorical questions to emphasize wit. He goes on to cite his inspiration as being his one hundred and two degree fever and lack of food (besides a brownie). The poem goes as follows:
I'm sick
It sucks
I'm in a creative muck
I can't believe my luck
I...want a pet duck?
F**k!
Is there such a word as cuck?
There's a deer buck-
ing on my head, it sucks.
How funny!!! I want a pet duck! Well actually, I sort of do have a pet duck, make that two. This duck couple has decided to become friendly with me and the other inhabitants of my townhouse. Every morning when we walk outside, they are sitting in our front yard with their heads buried in their feathers. They then see us and get up and start quacking at each other. I think they like me the best though, mostly because I feed and talk to them. But anyways...back to Adrio and his song. It's humorous, and witty, and I think if he set it to a jingle, it just might get somewhere.
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