Lyme Disease Studies

Dr. Maria Diuk-Wasser of the Yale School of Public Health and her colleagues spent over three years running pieces of cloth through forests collecting ticks. With the information that they gathered, they were able to create a map that shows which areas of the country are most affected by Lyme Disease. This disease is transmitted by the bite of a deer tick. Although antibiotics usually cure people, some victims develop arthritis, meningitis, and other serious illnesses. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that the latest data available is that there were 30,000 cases of Lyme Disease in 2010. They also say that "more then 90 percent of those cases were in 12 states: CT, DE, ME, MD, MA, MN, NJ, NH, NY, PA, VA, and WI" (huffingtonpost.com). This data coincides with the map below very well. 

The author of this article, Holly Ramer, provides some good background information on Lyme disease, stating that is was originally named after a small Connecticut town. However, I think she does not place this information in the appropriate or best place. She places this information right in the middle of the passage. I am not sure of the technique, but I think it would have been better if she discussed Lyme disease towards the beginning so that the reader could then understand the rest of the article. Maybe she wanted to add suspense. She does make good use of logos, though, when she says "About 1 in 5 ticks collected were infected- more than researchers expected- and that percentage was fairly constant across geographic areas" (huffingtonpost.com). Overall, I am glad that I read this article. 


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First Anniversary Trumps Super Bowl.. rough

Stacy Tavor Merwin is putting her foot down, and I am not so sure that I would do the same. Would you? Here is the situation: Her husband, Josh, is a freelance sports photographer for Sports Illustrated and ESPN. They were married on February 5^th of last year, which at the time was the day before the Super Bowl. Now it is on the day of the Super Bowl. Stacy, insisting that their first wedding anniversary trumps the Super Bowl, has made dinner reservations for 8:00 pm… right in the middle of the game. But trying not to be a very controlling wife, she is allowing her husband an hour and a half of the game. Personally, I think they could’ve celebrated their anniversary during the day and enjoyed watching the game together. Clearly, sports are a big part of her husband’s life. But hey, who am I to give marriage advice?

Merwin appears to be on the defense throughout her article. She has to know that so many men and women sports fanatics are out there judging her marriage and her demeanor. She says, “But before you judge me as a demanding, insensitive wife, I should explain: It's our anniversary. Our first anniversary” (huffingtonpost.com). She uses the repetition of, “It’s our anniversary. Our first anniversary,” to add dramatic effect and importance of the phrase. Merwin is trying to get people to take her side on this issue. She then goes on to say that, “Before you start throwing rotten tomatoes, know that I make my fair share of sacrifices for my husband” (huffingtonpost.com). But is it really about an eye for an eye? Should Merwin make her husband miss the game?

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Memoir #2

For my second memoir, I will be reading "Running With Scissors" by Augusten Burroughs.

The Police Are Crackin' Down

        Uh-oh oreo, Hingham teens. The police are on the hunt for you! Officer Heather Mendes is aware of teen drinking and parties, and has made it very clear that she will do everything in her power to catch these teens in the act. After a rowdy party in Milton that resulted in teen stabbings, police in Hingham, Milton, Norwood, and Westwood are really cracking the whip on parties. Mendes admits to patrolling the town, looking for groups of cars and trying to ambush teens in the woods or outside of houses. Hingham Police Chief Michael J. Peraino, says "Part of the issue now is the social attitudes. There are many parents out there who condone it and provide the alcohol" (boston.com). It is a no-brainer that parents should know better than to give their children alcohol. It can harm their health as well as their future. Peraino also states, "We have zero tolerance for underage drinking in Hingham. If officers are called to a house party, and they see alcohol when walking around the house, they can run the plates, call parents, tell them to come pick up their kids… or they can arrest them. And even if they're not arrested, we notify the schools, so there's an impact on their athletics or club activities" (boston.com). So, for all you Hingham teens out there and teens in general, keep your eyes out or stop what you're doing.

       The writer of this article, Meg Murphy, did a great job researching on her topic. She presented quotes from Officer Mended and Chief Peraino, as well as information regarding a Milton stabbing. The stabbing situation, although an extreme case, helped to bring out the pathos and ethos in the article. The pathos is that teens were stabbed and hurt, and the ethos is that they shouldn't have been in that situation to start with. The ethics of this is also that parents should not be giving alcohol to their children. As a teen, the last thing I want is to be involved with the police and I would not want my friends involved either. But when it comes to my safety and the safety of my peers, I agree that the police should do everything they can to stop these parties.

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Some News Close To Home!

        Nancy Smith was inducted into the Northeast-10 Conference Hall of Fame during halftime of the women's basketball game on Saturday. Growing up in Quincy, MA, Nancy was schooled by her older sisters, Susan and Diane, in many sports. Basketball took hold of her and she says, "It became pretty much my passion" (boston.com). Scoring over 20 points a game, she earned a scholarship to Stonehill after graduating from Archbishop Williams in Braintree. Averaging 5.6 assists per game at Stonehill, her 604 assists ranked her 6th in conference history. She says this is "bittersweet because Susan died of cancer on Jan.6" (boston.com). Susan was her sister.

The writer of this article, Lenny Megliola, uses logos and pathos in his article. He has many statistics of game point averages and rankings, which help bring out the logic in the article. His pathos comes in when he uses a quote of Smith talking about her sister passing away. Although this is a happy time, it is obviously bittersweet because it was her sister who taught her how to play the game. Megliola also brings in the use of background information to keep his article valid and interesting. Some things i thought he could've improved on were his explanations of universities and high schools. Yes, most of us know that Stonehill is Stonehill College and that Archbishop Williams is Archbishop WIlliams High School, but if someone were to read this article who didn't I think they might be a little confused. 

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Don't Get Senioritis!

Senioritis sucks, let me tell you. I was out all last week because I had my wisdom teeth removed, which also sucked big time, and now that it is Sunday night and I want to watch AT LEAST another 5 episodes of Grey's Anatomy, I have to finish my physics lab and math homework. Yes, this is every high school student's problem on a Sunday night, but when you're a senior and have already been accepted to schools... you'll understand. Trust me. I have come up with a pro's and con's list of senioritis... here it is.

Pros:
Sleeping in helps reenergize the body and mind
Mental Health days preserve and/or repair mental health
A Grey's Anatomy marathon becomes an option!
A long shower or even possibly a bath is possible
You get to take your time eating breakfast
There is time to day-dream about college
You don't stress out if you get an 89.9 because it wasn't that 90 you were hoping for

Cons:
You become extremely lost in school and find it almost impossible to catch up
Your teachers lose some respect for you
Your parents might get upset if your grades drop
WORST CASE SCENARIO you get senioritis so bad that your college takes away your acceptance
You miss out on all of the fun inside-jokes that happen in class... wait never mind there aren't any...
I'm out of con's

As you see, there are more pro's than con's. But, let's be honest here. I am me, and if you know anything about me you know that I am going to fight that 89.9 until my last day at HHS. Why? Because I set goals for myself and I work as hard as I physically can to make them a reality. And when that is done, I set a new goal. The big big goal that is always hovering over me is one that I set when I was only 3 or 4 years old. I want to become a doctor. Regarding the speciality, I am thinking surgery or trauma but that I am comfortable in leaving for a later time. Anyway, so that is my goal and doctor-dreams and senioritis make for a bad, bad relationship. So yes the pro's may weigh out the con's, but I am still going to try.

Think about this... You get on a treadmill (think of the treadmill as life itself, goals if you will) and start walking at 2 mph. Everyday you increase your speed by a small amount, but years later you've reached a speed that you are satisfied with. If you were to get "treadmillitis" and take a break for a couple of minutes, you would surely feel relieved. But when it is time to jump back on, and that time always comes back around, it is nearly impossible to start where you left off... you'd fall smack on your face. So don't get off the treadmill. Keep going until you find the speed that YOU want, and then stay there.

That is why I am going to fight senioritis and just keep rambling about it.

Something needs to be done about unsafe abortions

Abortion has always been and always will be a controversial matter, however, I hate to think that all of those pro-life people out there wouldn't want an abortion to be done right, if it were to be done at all. Between 1995 and 2003, the abortion rate per 1,000 women dropped from 35 to 29, but remained the same (28) in 2008. Alarmingly, the percentage of unsafe abortions rose from 44% in 1995 to 49% in 2008. An unsafe abortion is defined by the World Health Organization as, "a procedure for terminating a pregnancy that is performed by an individual lacking the necessary training or performed in an environment that is not up to minimal medical standards" (cnn.com). Dr. RIchard Horton says, "Condemning, stigmatizing, and criminalizing abortion are cruel and failed strategies. It's time for a public health approach that emphasizes reducing harm – and that means more liberal abortion laws" (cnn.com). I agree, people are going to have abortions one way or another no matter what the law says. This does not mean I am pro-life or pro-choice, it means that I am a realist and I understand what people are going to do. It is unavoidable, so I think it is more important that these laws focus on the safety of the mothers rather than punishment. Birth control and other methods of contraception need to be available. 

The author of this article, Val Wadas-Willingham, seems to be a realist as well. The writer included many statistics that pointed to the increase in unsafe abortions and the increase in improper laws. The logos was there in the statistics and quotes, however, I believe that Wadas-WIllingham was lacking in the ethos, which is so easy to insert in this type of article. She could've shed light on the mother's stresses of how to go about an abortion or the affects of having an unsafe abortion. I liked this article but there could've been a little more fluff to it. 

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