Staceinurface's Weblog

Q-ness

staceinurface — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 20:51:20 +0000

Thomas L. Friedman wrote an op-ed piece in the New York Times entitled ‘Generation Q.” He states that he views the current youth of this generation as being the quiet Americans. He expresses a concern for the fact all too many find themselves blogging instead being active in their opinions. That certain issue need to be met with actions not merely text. It is somewhat ironic to be writing a blog about how much my generation communicates through blogs rather than truly trying to have their point of view heard. My generation has just as much to be excited about as almost any other, yet so few have put themselves past their user names to speak what they believe in. Have we become too quiet for our own good? If we are the future’s hope and we have given up hope on the future then what will the world be like when we are the leaders? When we will stop blogging and start acting?

The New Governor of Louisana

staceinurface — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 20:28:45 +0000

In the New York Times, Adam Nossiter published “In a Southern State, Immigrants’ Son Takes Over.” The article is about how Bobby Jindal became the first Indian-American governor of Louisana. While some view his embrace of Christian faith and American ideals such as football to illustrate that he doesn’t have the same issues in mind as many other Indian-Americans, it is still refreshing to see some movement away from the ‘A’ typical old rich white guy in office. Unfortunately, in the wake of Katrina, Mr. Jindal will have plenty to prove himself with which was hardly even addressed during his campaign. He did however claim that he is determined to “show voters and the entire country that we are serious about changing our reputation.”

Rx Cocktail

staceinurface — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 19:57:11 +0000

I am not a fan of prescription or over-the-counter drugs. When I am in pain or when I feel ill, I try to avoid using medicine because I know that all types of drugs harm the body. I also don’t like to experience the side-effects that go hand-in-hand with any type of drug. I feel that if you keep yourself fit and healthy early in life and continue it through adulthood, then you may find yourself not having to take prescription drugs or over-the-counter drugs at all when you are older. I read an article in the New York Times called, “The ‘Poisonous Cocktail’ of Multiple Drugs.” It was about a seventy-eight year old woman with many cardiovascular and hypertension problems. She is taking so many drugs to treat her diseases, yet she finds that she is experiencing more problems because of the amount of drugs she is taking. She is one of the many Americans that mix a variety of prescription and over-the-counter drugs together thinking that it will increase the effectiveness of the drugs. Doctors call this ‘poisonous cocktail,’ polypharmacy. When different drugs are mixed together, they interact dangerously, causing far worse side-effects than the disease they were treating. Older adults process drugs differently than younger adults because of the fact that their bodies are aging. Also, major organ systems function less effeciently in older adults. This is why older adults need to stay well informed about the drugs they are taking and the hazards involved in mixing a multitude of pills.

Language, where art thou?

staceinurface — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 19:27:44 +0000

In New York Times, of course, a provocative article called “Languages Die, but Not Their Last Words” was written by John Noble Wilford. The work presents a startling fact that every two weeks a language disappears from usage. Some might not realize what an issue this is. Many Americans find themselves hardly caring about English let alone languages from elsewhere. To some extent, the natural progression of a language is to be expected. So why should someone care about one language that only one man hardly even recalls when there are about 7,000 languages in the world today. Well, it isn’t just about the specific from of communication. It is about the culture that developed it that gave life to it. The culture that creates a language embeds all the knowledge acquired through the generations. Wisdom, not merely one paticular, language is lost. As much as some try to dilude themselves into believing, English is not always the ‘best’ language for expressing ideas and thoughts. Language is developed to fill roles in that culture and is our best tool for understanding one another. The more languages we lose, the more and more ancestral knowledge is lost.

Colbert ’08

staceinurface — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 19:10:09 +0000

“Colbert Consulted Parties Before Announcing Run,” by Jascques Steinberg recently appeared in the New York Times. The article as one might guess from the title is about how Stephen Colbert from the popular Colbert Show is attempting to run for president in his home state of South Carolina. As far as now, it seems as if this will occur. He is running up against certain obstacles since he is trying to run both as a Republican and a Democrat. While most officials are not taking him to seriously, he has enough momentum and support to get past the objections. The main problem he faces is the fees for getting on the ballot as both. The fee for running as both is $35,000. Apart from that it seems it will be difficult to not allow Colbert to run. I know that if I was a South Carolina voter he would have my vote. This just goes to show that anyone can run for president as long as they have money to back them.

Online Jihad

staceinurface — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 21:50:27 +0000

“America needs to listen to Shaykh Usaamah very carefully and take his message with great seriousness,” he wrote on his blog. “America is known to be a people of arrogance.”

Excuse me? America is known to be a people of arrogance? To who? Islamic extremists that enjoy terrorizing people all over the globe making them believe in what they have to say? Terrorists hi-jacking our airplanes, and crashing them into buildings (the first eye-opener to the American public) to send a message to Americans that they mean war? Bombing other contries because they disagree with their political, social, religious views (to name a few) is okay? So what does that make them? Perfect? Far from it. So to claim that American people are known for their arrogance, is quite bold. Let’s analyze the word arrogant:

Arrogant- adj.

Having or displaying a sense of overbearing self-worth or self-importance.
Marked by or arising from a feeling or assumption of one’s superiority toward others: an arrogant contempt for the weak. See synonyms at proud.

America may be the superior of all the countries, but to threaten and blow up a country doesn’t make the problem justified either.

At least America has class.

It’s amazing to me that Islamic extremists will stop at no end to spread their message, even if it comes to posting blogs on the Internet. Everything is on the Internet. It’s probably not suprising to find some extremist trying to threaten and target millions of Americans by making websites, videos and blogs to sway the audience into believing their message. After all of those Bin-Laden videos, I became bored. What else are the going to do? Make two-hour long movies?

Don’t take another bite!

staceinurface — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 19:54:29 +0000

I am very watchful when it comes to eating food. I also like to eat healthy foods. I am not the type of eater that goes out and buys South Beach Diet heat ‘em ups nor am I the type of person that counts calories and carbs. I am more for balancing my meals. I want to become a Dietitian when I’m older so I want to start practicing right away. I read the article ‘For the Overweight, Bad Advice by the Spoonful’ by Gina Kolata from the New York Times, and I can say that people in the U.S. are becoming more and more fatter (not that I didn’t know that already). There is just so much variety in the American diet. People in other contries have restricted diets because of food shortages, what is avaliable or just that certain foods can’t grow in certain climates. American’s have so much food, that they take it for granted. They can eat when they want and where they want. There are fast food restaurants on every corner!

People are educated about their foods, they just don’t know it. It’s not that hard to turn over the candy bar and read the nutrition label. It’s there. The facts are there. People think that eating pizza, hamburgers and chips are bad. We should be able to eat what we want, but the thing people miss is how much you should eat of something. People tend to indulge and smother their faces in what ever they eat. They even tend to go a little overboard. At the end, they beat themselves up, telling themselves that they will be fat forever and that they are unhappy. There is this great thing called taking a walk, which will give you a jump start on losing weight. People that live sedentary lives also have higher risks in well, everything! Heart disease, diabetes, colon cancer, breast cancer, you name it! So exercising would be a good habit to pick up in order to lower the risk in getting diseases. So what’s my recommendation? Eat! But don’t over-eat. Also, don’t deprive your body of food. That’s bad too. Last but not least, get off your butt and do something!

Cancer death rates falling in the U.S.

staceinurface — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 19:31:32 +0000

That’s a relief. I hate hearing about how many people in the U.S. are dying from so many diseases. In the article, “U.S. Cancer Death Rates Are Found to Be Falling,” by Denise Grady, it talks about how “years of nagging and pleading by health officials are finally beginning to pay off, experts say, in smoking cessation and increased use of mammograms, colonoscopies and other screening tests for colorectal and prostate cancer.” Sometimes, listening to your doctor pays off. Doesn’t it? It also seems like people are become more educated about diseases and what they can do to prevent it. I think that if people just did a little research on the computer, it could probably save their health later in life.

Spice Girls reunion tour

staceinurface — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 19:22:01 +0000

Yes, they were at the top of the charts back in the ’90s and young girls new all the lyrics to their songs. I myself am one of them. Lawrence Van Gelder’s short article in the arts section today was compiled with ticket sale stats of the Spice Girls world tour reunion concert. It’s no wonder that this is what Spice Girl fans have been waiting for for nine years. Concerts are being held in cities around the world were sold out in a matter of seconds after the girls released their last concert tour decision to the public. I am one of those people who crazily started planning a trip to L.A. in December to see them at the Staples Center. I bought two tickets a few days ago and the total came to eight-hundred and sixteen dollars. Just for good seats! I know I will definitely be broke by Christmas. Phew! The things crazy fans will do!

Models using drugs to lose weight? Get outta town!

staceinurface — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 19:08:16 +0000

Models of today are becoming thinner and thinner. That’s no suprise to me because everyone is trying to become thin. All the girls that I know what to look like the models or celebrities in the magazines and movies. Basically the overall message that the media sends out to young girls and women of all ages is: thin equals sexy. I’m not saying that being skinny is a bad thing. There are many health benefits for being at the average weight designated for your age and height. When it comes to genetics, there are exceptions. In the article ‘Still Too Thin, and Getting Younger’ by Guy Trebay from the New York Timesfashion section, it talks about how models are using appetite suppressors to maintain their weight or lose weight. Models will use the prescription painkiller Vicodin, which is “a drug better appreciated in the fashion business for its appetite-suppressing powers than for the truly unappetizing truth that it is only slightly less addictive than heroin.” How disgusting is that? I’ve taken Vicodin myself because I had my wisdom teeth taken out and I can say that I didn’t enjoy getting headaches and being nauseous. Let’s see look at the long-term effects that Vicodin has on a person’s body thanks to rx.com:

SIDE EFFECTS

The most frequently reported adverse reactions include: lightheadedness, dizziness, sedation, nausea and vomiting. These effects seem to be more prominent in ambulatory than in nonambulatory patients and some of these adverse reactions may be alleviated if the patient lies down.

Other adverse reactions include:

Central Nervous System: Drowsiness, mental clouding, lethargy, impairment of mental and physical performance, anxiety, fear, dysphoria, psychic dependence, mood changes.

Gastrointestinal System: Prolonged administration of VICODIN® Tablets may produce constipation.

Genitourinary System: Ureteral spasm, spasm of vesical sphincters and urinary retention have been reported with opiates.

Respiratory Depression: Hydrocodone bitartrate may produce dose-related respiratory depression by acting directly on the brain stem respiratory center. (see OVERDOSAGE).

Special Senses: Cases of hearing impairment or permanent loss have been reported predominantly in patients with chronic overdose.

Dermatological: Skin rash, pruritus.

The following adverse drug events may be borne in mind as potential effects of acetaminophen: allergic reactions, rash, thrombocytopenia, agranulocytosis.

Potential effects of high dosage are listed in the OVERDOSAGE section.

If I knew what a drug did to my body, I would stay the hell away from it. I don’t think I would like to have skin rashes or brain problems. Another drug used by models is Clenbuterol. “It is used by athletes, horse trainers and models to reduce body fat (one study of clenbuterol in horses showed significant weight reduction in a matter of weeks). ‘A lot of girls are using it now to keep their weight down,’ said Kelly Cutrone, the founder of People’s Revolution, a fashion production company.” What are the side effects of Clenbuterol? Thanks to http://www.med.unsw.edu.au/NDARCWeb.nsf/resources/NDARCFact_Drugs2/$file/CLENBUTEROL+NDARC+FACT+SHEET.pdf, it will give you an quick overview of what the drug is all about. The side effects include headaches, tremors, cramps, restlessness/nervousness, anxiety, insomnia, sweating, increased appetite (what?) nausea, palpitations and high-blood pressure. Oh, how exciting. What ever happened to eating the right foods and exercising? The article also talks about how young girls or “Little Miss Sunshines” for those of you who have seen the movie, like to mimic models every move they see or do on television or in magazines. So are they going to copy-cat models way of dropping a few pounds? Cigarettes are also another favorite among models. ”It’s pretty common knowledge that they smoke more than long-haul truckers, road workers or Sylvia Sidney in “Beetlejuice.” Smoking to become thin? That’s gross. It’s also kind of ironic because models want to become thin and younger but then smoking restricts oxygen flow to your skin, brain and other organs. That’s why when you see people in their twenties smoking, they have more wrinkles and look thirty or fourtyish (without the make-up and botox). I see it in my family members. I see it in my friends and their families. I see it in the people I meet. Smoking and taking drugs to lose weight? Not my first recommendation, but that’s only if you want fast results and a means to screw up your body.

I just don’t understand why people can’t get off their butts and exercise. There are so many health benefits to exercising, it just boggles my mind why people want to come down with diseases later in life. So what does that mean for your daughter when she finds out that she can lose weight the “model way?” Bad news. It just goes to show that people will do anything to look good. Even if it means harming their bodies.