Tuesday, December 16, 2008
The Odyssey Blog 6
The last time that i posted, i had just finished book 9 and now i have just finished book 10 and am beginning on book 11. The question that i had at the end of book 9 was whether Odysseus would tell the King and Queen who he was and what his story was. It turns out that he not only tells them his name, but he also told them the complete story of his adventure. Odysseus' journey with his troop to the witch-goddess, Circe, was my favorite. I thought this story was really interesting because the goddess tried to poison Odysseus and his troops so that they would never want to leave her island and return home: "But into the brew she stirred her wicked drugs to wipe from their memories any thought of home" (237: 259-260). Odysseus did not allow her to take control over them because he was confronted by Hermes, who gave him a plant that would protect him from Circe's drug. Odysseus listens to Hermes and is able to overpower Circe and becomes her lover and they stay there for a long time. But eventually, his men convince him that they need to continue on their way home, Odysseus and his men leave Circe's island and continue on their journey. The next place that they voyage to is Hades where, the blind prophet, Tiresias, lives.
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
The Odyssey Blog 5
I haven't had much time to read, so i have only gotten to book 9, but the book is getting more interesting as i read on. Just to give a recap as to what happened, Odysseus is staying with this royal King and Queen and they have offered to get him a ship so that he can continue on his journey to his homeland. Then, Alcinous calls a feast and a game to honor Odysseus. Odysseus originally was hesitant to fighting in the game, but then he is insulted by Broadsea who says: "I never took you for someone skilled in games..." (196: 185). After Broadsea says this to Odysseus, Odysseus quickly changes his mind about not participating in the game and decides to play the games. After they play for a while, Odysseus is invited back for a feast and receives many gifts from the people of the city to take with him on his journey. While they were at the feast, Demodocus, a blind man, began singing about the Trojan War and this made Odysseus very sad. So, Alcinous told Demodocus to stop playing his song because their guest was unhappy. Then, Alcinous asked Odysseus what his name was and to tell him why he became so upset when he heard about the fall of Troy.
This ending is a cliffhanger because i don't know whether Odysseus will tell them the truth or not and how the people will react to his response.
Sunday, December 7, 2008
Ethics Research 1
Research question:
Is it appropriate for teenagers to get plastic/cosmetic surgery?
Shulman, Matthew. "Teens Getting Plastic Surgery: Be Cautious." U.S. News & World Report 1 July 2008.
The author of this article from the U.S. News magazine was Matthew Shulman. Shulman has written many articles for this magazine before, but the one he wrote about teens and plastic surgery is very interesting. In this article, one of the many questions that is asked is when is the right time for teenagers to get plastic surgery. The president of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, Richard D'Amico, said that if the teen is over 18, then they should have the right to make the decisions for themselves according to the law, but if the teen is under 18, then they need a parent's or guardians consent as to whether or not to get plastic surgery done. The doctor also stated that the teen needs to be in the right frame of mind to have the surgery done. This means that they need to be doing the surgery for themselves, they need to understand the procedure and the risk factors of it, and they need to have realistic expectations of the outcome of the surgery. If the doctor feels that the teen isn't quite ready for the surgery, he will talk with the teen and their guardians to make sure that it is something they are sure about and if it isn't, then the doctor tells them to wait and make sure they really want to go through with the surgery. One last fact that i learned from this article is that teenagers should not get liposuction because it can be a very dangerous procedure and it is better to just diet and exercise because their bodies are still growing and developing.
Peres, Judy. "Doctors Reminded Patients That Cosmetic Surgery Carries Risks." Chicago Tribune. November 13, 2007. SIRS Researcher. SIRS Knowledge Source. Edina High School. 07 December 2008 http://www.sirs.com/.
In this article by Judy Peres, who is an author for the Chicago Tribune, she is saying that doctors have been trying to convince their cosmetic surgery clients that plastic surgery is a risky action to make. Doctor David Song, a plastic surgeon from the University of Chicago, says that people interested in plastic surgery need to check with their insurance companies because most companies only support reconstructive surgery and they don't support the cosmetic surgeries. This is something to look into because people are normally too interested in fixing the problem that they have with themselves that they don't do research to find a trustworthy surgeon. Dr. Song also said that surgeons can say no to any surgery that someone asks them to do if they don't feel like that client is prepared enough for the surgery. According to to a study in the Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery journal, only 1 in 50,000 people die an accidental death from surgery, but it doesn't mean that its impossible and Dr. Song said that the more surgeries that a person tries to get done at the same time, the more risk that person is putting on their life.
Findlay, Steven. "Buying the perfect body." U.S. News & World Report 106.n17 (May 1, 1989): 68(8). Expanded Academic ASAP. Gale. Edina High School Library. 8 Dec. 2008 http://find.galegroup.com/ips/start.do?prodId=IPS.
In this article, written by Steven Findlay, who is a writer for the U.S. News Magazine, i decided to take the part of the article that talks about "Deciding Whether to Cut". In this section, the writer speaks with many doctors and psychologists about who is the correct candidate to go under the knife. Most of the doctors said that people first need to know that getting plastic surgery isn't going to change their social life and it really doesn't make that much of a difference in the way that people view you. They also said that the client needs to be in the right frame of mind and needs to be getting the surgery for themselves and not to please anyone else. Overall, the doctors believe that getting surgery is not worth the risk, even though there is only a slight risk of something going wrong, it is still dangerous.
Perestman, Natalie. "Making the cut: as plastic surgery becomes more accepted, experts warn teens of the risks involved.(LIFE: BODY SYSTEMS)(Cover story)." Science World 65.5-6 (Nov 10, 2008): 14(5). Student Resource Center - Gold. Gale. Edina High School Library. 8 Dec. 2008 http://find.galegroup.com/ips/start.do?prodId=IPS.
In this article written by Natalie Perestman, who is a writer for the Science World Magazine, there is a story about a teenage girl named Stephanie, who was perfectly healthy, but decided to get plastic surgery done. This girl died from the surgery due to the reaction her body made to the anesthesia that was given to her. Although these deaths are rare, the doctors in this article remind people of all ages that plastic surgery is not reversible and it does have real consequences. Another interesting fact in this article is that only about two percent of teenagers 18 and under have gotten surgery because most surgeries that teens get are reconstructive to fix a birth defect or injury. In the state of Queensland in Australia, they have banned unnecessary cosmetic surgery for teens under 18 and many people around the world agree with the fact that teens should not be able to get cosmetic surgery done. If the teen wants to get surgery and they are not fully developed, then the surgeries affects could end up being reversed or the problem could get worse as the person develops. But the main concern that doctors have with performing plastic surgery on teens is that they are not mature enough to handle the effects of surgery and they don't realize that plastic surgery will not make all of the problems in their life go away.
Is it appropriate for teenagers to get plastic/cosmetic surgery?
Shulman, Matthew. "Teens Getting Plastic Surgery: Be Cautious." U.S. News & World Report 1 July 2008.
The author of this article from the U.S. News magazine was Matthew Shulman. Shulman has written many articles for this magazine before, but the one he wrote about teens and plastic surgery is very interesting. In this article, one of the many questions that is asked is when is the right time for teenagers to get plastic surgery. The president of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, Richard D'Amico, said that if the teen is over 18, then they should have the right to make the decisions for themselves according to the law, but if the teen is under 18, then they need a parent's or guardians consent as to whether or not to get plastic surgery done. The doctor also stated that the teen needs to be in the right frame of mind to have the surgery done. This means that they need to be doing the surgery for themselves, they need to understand the procedure and the risk factors of it, and they need to have realistic expectations of the outcome of the surgery. If the doctor feels that the teen isn't quite ready for the surgery, he will talk with the teen and their guardians to make sure that it is something they are sure about and if it isn't, then the doctor tells them to wait and make sure they really want to go through with the surgery. One last fact that i learned from this article is that teenagers should not get liposuction because it can be a very dangerous procedure and it is better to just diet and exercise because their bodies are still growing and developing.
Peres, Judy. "Doctors Reminded Patients That Cosmetic Surgery Carries Risks." Chicago Tribune. November 13, 2007. SIRS Researcher. SIRS Knowledge Source. Edina High School. 07 December 2008 http://www.sirs.com/.
In this article by Judy Peres, who is an author for the Chicago Tribune, she is saying that doctors have been trying to convince their cosmetic surgery clients that plastic surgery is a risky action to make. Doctor David Song, a plastic surgeon from the University of Chicago, says that people interested in plastic surgery need to check with their insurance companies because most companies only support reconstructive surgery and they don't support the cosmetic surgeries. This is something to look into because people are normally too interested in fixing the problem that they have with themselves that they don't do research to find a trustworthy surgeon. Dr. Song also said that surgeons can say no to any surgery that someone asks them to do if they don't feel like that client is prepared enough for the surgery. According to to a study in the Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery journal, only 1 in 50,000 people die an accidental death from surgery, but it doesn't mean that its impossible and Dr. Song said that the more surgeries that a person tries to get done at the same time, the more risk that person is putting on their life.
Findlay, Steven. "Buying the perfect body." U.S. News & World Report 106.n17 (May 1, 1989): 68(8). Expanded Academic ASAP. Gale. Edina High School Library. 8 Dec. 2008 http://find.galegroup.com/ips/start.do?prodId=IPS.
In this article, written by Steven Findlay, who is a writer for the U.S. News Magazine, i decided to take the part of the article that talks about "Deciding Whether to Cut". In this section, the writer speaks with many doctors and psychologists about who is the correct candidate to go under the knife. Most of the doctors said that people first need to know that getting plastic surgery isn't going to change their social life and it really doesn't make that much of a difference in the way that people view you. They also said that the client needs to be in the right frame of mind and needs to be getting the surgery for themselves and not to please anyone else. Overall, the doctors believe that getting surgery is not worth the risk, even though there is only a slight risk of something going wrong, it is still dangerous.
Perestman, Natalie. "Making the cut: as plastic surgery becomes more accepted, experts warn teens of the risks involved.(LIFE: BODY SYSTEMS)(Cover story)." Science World 65.5-6 (Nov 10, 2008): 14(5). Student Resource Center - Gold. Gale. Edina High School Library. 8 Dec. 2008 http://find.galegroup.com/ips/start.do?prodId=IPS.
In this article written by Natalie Perestman, who is a writer for the Science World Magazine, there is a story about a teenage girl named Stephanie, who was perfectly healthy, but decided to get plastic surgery done. This girl died from the surgery due to the reaction her body made to the anesthesia that was given to her. Although these deaths are rare, the doctors in this article remind people of all ages that plastic surgery is not reversible and it does have real consequences. Another interesting fact in this article is that only about two percent of teenagers 18 and under have gotten surgery because most surgeries that teens get are reconstructive to fix a birth defect or injury. In the state of Queensland in Australia, they have banned unnecessary cosmetic surgery for teens under 18 and many people around the world agree with the fact that teens should not be able to get cosmetic surgery done. If the teen wants to get surgery and they are not fully developed, then the surgeries affects could end up being reversed or the problem could get worse as the person develops. But the main concern that doctors have with performing plastic surgery on teens is that they are not mature enough to handle the effects of surgery and they don't realize that plastic surgery will not make all of the problems in their life go away.
Zuckerman, Diana. "Body Image: Teenagers and Cosmetic Surgery." Our Bodies Ourselves. Mar. 2005. 9 Dec. 2008 http://www.ourbodiesourselves.org/book/companion.asp?id=1&compid=102.
This article is written by Diana Zuckerman, who is the President of the National Research Center for Women & Families. In this article, Zuckerman talks about teens considering plastic surgery and all of the steps that need to be taken to make sure that a teen is ready for plastic surgery. Zuckerman talks about some of the risks of teens getting breast augmentation and some of these risks are scarring and infections. Another surgery that causes a lot of risks is liposuction and some of these risks include infections, blood or fat clots, damage to vital organs and nerves, and major fluid loss that can result in death. One of the main causes that makes teens want plastic surgery is seeing it being done on the television and seeing pictures of celebrities with "perfect" bodies. One tip that Zuckerman says will help parents determine whether their child is ready for cosmetic surgery is psychological testing. Another interesting fact that is in this article is that a study of patients age 11 to 18 showed that their body image satisfaction rates were highest at age 18, so this shows that teens under 18 should at least wait until they are 18 to see if they really want to get cosmetic surgery done.
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
The Odyssey Blog 4
I have finished book number seven and a lot has happened since i last blogged. The book has been mostly about Telemachus and his adventures, but in book six, Homer focuses toward the journey of Odysseus. Odysseus is still on the Island, but all the gods get together and they tell Calypso that even though she loves him, she needs to let him go back to his homeland. As Calypso is telling Odysseus that he may leave her island, she knows that he will face great struggles on his journey home: "But if you only knew, down deep, what pains are fated to fill your cup before you reach that shore, you'd stay right here..." (158-159: 228-230). Although she says this, Odysseus is determined to go home, but on his journey, Poseidon spots him and causes a lot of difficulties for him in the ocean. But Odysseus is saved by the gods and gets to an island and quickly falls asleep. Once he wakes up, he sees these beautiful girls who lead him to the palace to feast with the king and queen. While Odysseus is there, he begs them for a ship and shelter so that he can get home, and they give it to him. The king also asks Odysseus to marry his daughter, Nausicaa, but Odysseus knows he has a wife waiting for him at home.
Overall, i really enjoyed this reading because it was interesting to read about Odysseus and his journey and it is getting a lot easier for me to understand what is happening in each of the books.
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