Thirteen seems a little young to be getting a nose job...

Nicolette Taylor, a 13 year-old girl from Long Island, NY was harassed multiple times a week because of the shape of her nose. Through Facebook, everyone could see Nicolette being made fun of and gossiped about, but she couldn’t do anything to stop it. Months later Nicolette cried, but this time it was not from being bullied. She cried tears of joy when she peeled the bandages off her new nose. Her parents allowed her to go under the knife for a rhinoplasty, more commonly known as a nose job. According to ABC news, 90,000 teens went under the knife in 2007 alone to avoid being bullied. Last April, a 7-year-old got her ears pined back to escape name-calling. As an aspiring surgeon, I cannot fathom cutting a child. They are going to grow! Altering their face now would only cause other dislike later on, and we all know what happens when people get too much plastic surgery. I would advise children to wait until they are done growing to alter anything on their body. You never know how your face is going to change.

            The author, Laura Hibbard, wrote a short and to the point news post. I found this informative and easy to read. I like how Hibbard added in the part about the 7-year-old girl and how 90,000 teens got plastic surgery in 2007. Hibbard helped me to learn about something just ridiculous happening in my society. I do not condone bullying whatsoever, I just believe there are better ways to handle being bullied than paying thousands of dollars to permanently alter your face.

Hibbard, Laura. "Nicolette Taylor, 13 Year-Old Girl, Gets Nose Job To Avoid School Bullying (VIDEO)." Breaking News and Opinion on The Huffington Post. N.p., 12 Oct. 2011. Web. 12 Oct. 2011. <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/12/nicolette-taylor-13-year-_n_1007371.html?ncid=edlinkusaolp00000003&icid=maing-grid7%7Cmain5%7Cdl21%7Csec1_lnk3 

1-0: iPhone vs. Blackberry

           A three-day service outage has tempted once spirited blackberry owners to turn over to the dark side of iPhones. As a regretful blackberry to iPhone switcher, I know how frustrating both phones can be. Personally, I have never experienced a blackberry service outage but I can only imagine how frustrating one might be. I have a different perspective, though. I hastily switched to the iPhone 4 and regret it, big time. I miss the clicky noises and the way it fit in my pocket. I type EVERYTHING wrong on the iPhone, a problem that I never had with a blackberry. So, although blackberry users are being pushed over to the iPhone side because of their service problems, I recommend that they stay with a blackberry. It is quite funny to see how mad people get when they are without sevice for only three days, though. “Commentary on Twitter has shifted gradually from frustrated patience to open anger and has led some to remark that they're now likely to switch to the iPhone, Android, or another platform” (cnn.com). Gosh- how mad can people get over their phones?

            The author, John D. Sutter, used many quotes in his article to engage the audience and support his reporting. He also included blackberry users’ twitter posts, “’#DearBlackberry I can't work, I can't study, please, please come back from that coma! Don´t go into the light!! It´s a baaad light!!’ a Twitter user named @marianaae wrote, ‘What did the one #Blackberry user say to the other?..........nothing....,’ said another Twitter user, @giselewaymes’, ‘And iPhone users everywhere smile smugly and search for the 'I Told You So' app,’ wrote another” (cnn.com). It is funny to see how people are reacting. 

Sutter, John D.. "BlackBerry outage blamed on 'extremely critical' network failure - CNN.com." CNN.com - Breaking News, U.S., World, Weather, Entertainment & Video News. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Oct. 2011. <http://www.cnn.com/2011/10/12/tech/mobile/blackberry-outage/index.html?hpt=hp_c1>.

Be Bold, Feel Beautiful

Terri Shaver, a 56-year-old photographer from Laingsburg, Michican, takes free portraits of women with cancer as a part of her Be Bold, Feel Beautiful campaign. Shaver says, “"When they lose their hair, 99.9% of these women have said that they lose themselves, they lose their identity” (cnn.com). She makes women who have lost their hair feel beautiful and raises awareness of what going bald does to women. Shaver explains that when the women see her photographs they are confident in themselves; some even stop wearing their wigs. Since 2010, she has photographed 100 women between the ages of 20-82. Photographing 10 women in a week, Shaver became emotionally tired. She now lives differently because of the stories of the women she has photographs and the many lives lost. She has a different outlook on life and does not stress out over the little things, knowing that as bad as her day may seam, her models’ days are worse.

            I think that this is a very creative way of raising awareness about the effects of cancer on women. Shaver clearly has a positive influence on these women and on women affected by cancer all around the world. She makes the women feel beautiful and confident, which are both important things to have while going through cancer.

http://theoldhamproject.org/be-bold-feel-beautiful.php

Choi, Meagan. "Breast cancer photographer makes women feel beautiful - CNN.com." CNN.com - Breaking News, U.S., World, Weather, Entertainment & Video News. N.p., 30 Sept. 2011. Web. 2 Oct. 2011. <http://www.cnn.com/2011/09/30/health/terri-shaver-breast-cancer-photographer/index.html?hpt=he_c1>.

Killer Cantaloupes-seriously

            Eating cantaloupe is a regular activity for some, a delectable treat for others, and a deadly mistake for 15. Contaminated with listeria monocytogenes bacteria, these nefarious cantaloupes from a farm in Granada, Colorado have sickened 84 people in 19 states. Last Tuesday 13 deaths and 72 illnesses made this outbreak the worst since 1998. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention said that most of the people who have become sick are more then 60 years old and older adults and people with vulnerable immune systems are the most susceptible. Hopefully by now all of the contaminated cantaloupes are off the shelves.

            It is so sad that these people were just going about their daily lives not bothering anyone and WHAM! - Dead because of a piece of fruit. My thoughts go to their families and friends and to the two pregnant women being monitored after having eating some of the contaminated fruit. This is a reminder to all of us lucky enough to be alive that we need to treat every moment like its our last and to appreciate everything we have.

            This was a short, easy to read article stating the facts and figures of this bacteria outbreak. The author wrote to a large audience and did not use any bias, which made this an informative article whose main purpose was to report information.

CNN Wire Staff. "Deaths from tainted cantaloupes rise to 15 - CNN.com." CNN.com - Breaking News, U.S., World, Weather, Entertainment & Video News. N.p., 30 Sept. 2011. Web. 2 Oct. 2011. <http://www.cnn.com/2011/09/30/health/cantaloupe-deaths/index.html?hpt=he_c2>.