Chemotherapy

I did my research paper on the effects of Chemotherapy on the body, and there is almost an endless list of side effects.  It affects everyone completely differently.  The only common side effect is hair loss, and to some patients that does not even happen.  Chemotherapy also is not only one drug, there are over twenty different drugs.  They all have their own purpose, and sometimes doctors have to try different ones if the first dose does not produce the result that they were hoping for.  In most cases, Chemotherapy works great, and it does its job correctly, but there are those mystery patients out there who cannot be ridden of their cancer, and have to try alternative treatments.

Another piece of information that I found intriguing was the fact that Chemotherapy can cause infections.  Chemotherapy destroys the bone marrow, so white blood cells are not produced.  This is a major problem.  White blood cells are the cells that help fend off infections, and without them, the body cannot fight infection.  If the body cannot fight the infection that has entered the body, then the infection can spread, and this is potentially fatal to the patient.  Chemotherapy has devastating side effects, but the benefits that it can deliver are worth the risk.  This is why many patients take the risk.

Romantic Poem Reflection

The most interesting poem that we read during our Romantic Poetry unit was Old Ironsides.  I really liked this poem because it was about the history of a ship that never lost a battle.  That is amazing to me because there have been so many ship battles throughout history, and I think that Old Ironsides is one of the only ones that has not lost a battle.  I also like how the writing of this poem saved the ship from being turned into firewood or even a house.  This peom really showed how poetry can affect the lives of many people.  I would say that Old Ironsides is the best poem I have ever read because it showed that the will of one man expressing his view  through writing, could save a major piece of American History.

Connection to Nature

Today I went out and looked at an evergreen tree, and it really made me think about life.  Trees can help us learn many lessons in life, they are big, strong, and they can brave the harshest elements.  I wish that I could have the srength of a tree, because no matter what comes their way, they always stand up to it.  This lesson applies to almost every aspect of life, whether you are being made fun of at school, or criticized by coworkers.  If we all strived to be as strong as trees, we could rid this world of the feeling of being let down.

End of the Pit and the Pendulum

As the walls were closing in on me, I realized there was only one way to go, and that was down.  As the walls drew nearer, I noticed that there was a small crack underneath some portions.  I knew what I had to do, I jumped down into the pit as the walls singed the edge of my cloak, and I grabbed onto the edge where I saw the fissure in the wall.  It took all my strength and I was only holding onto the edge with only one hand.  As soon as they had started moving, the walls retracted.  I saw a small crack of light at one end of the room, and I made a dash for it, since it was as dark as night, the guard could not see me.  He bellowed loudly, "No one expects the Spanish Inquisition!"  He obviously say my torn cloak on the ground.  I made my way through a series of twists and turns and I ended up outside.  I was free! I dashed into the woods and moments later I heard the trampling of hooves, and then I fell asleep.  I woke in a bed looking up at a thatch roof, as I turned my head I saw my rescuer, a woman in her forties.  I had escaped the Spanish Inquisition!

Irony in the Crucible

I loved how ironic this story was from start to end.  There were small bits and pieces here and there but throughout the whole thing, there was a whole entire ironic plot happening that many look over.  It is the fact that they are performing a witch hunt in a Puritan community.  Puritans are among the most strict of the Christian branches.  They have to dress modestly, wear mostly black, and even their writings had to depict God in some way.  I think that it was funny that Salem was a Puritan community and they were accusing people of compacting with the devil.  This makes no sense to me at all, but I also like how the Crucible tied in so tightly with the Joseph McCarthy story.  This story was a very interesting one to read and I enjoyed it very much.

Joseph McCarthy and Communism

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_swO7Z2Vso
I think that this video accurately describes the extremist views of Joseph McCarthy.  He was so bent of finding traces of Communism in anything he could get his hands on.  He even attacked the Democratic Party and accused them of working with the Communists.  He would go door to door and ask if people had any ties or knew of anyone who had any ties to the Communist Party.  This would cause people to get scared and turn in someone that they did not like.  If a name was mentioned, there was almost nothing that person could do except for accept the consequences, such as loosing their job.  Joseph McCarthy even attacked the U.S. Army about Communist cover ups.  The actions of Joseph McCarthy struck terror into the hearts of many, fortunately the actions of other leaders in America at the time helped resolve the unnecessary terror that had spread throughout America.

Fire and Brimstone

May the Lord have mercy on your souls. Just as you think nothing of gathering up leaves and burning them in a fire the Lord just as easily throw you into the pits of hell.  We are lucky that we are not all at this very moment descending into the depths of hell, for it is the Lord's unfailing mercy that keeps our rotten souls on Earth.  Our souls could be in eternal separation from God at the cost of what, a few pleasurable moments on this earth?  Repent ye, and your soul shall be saved from the grasp of Lucifer.  For it is by the grace of God that we can be saved.

Squanto

When the Pilgrims came over on the Mayflower, it was the dead of winter, and they were low on food rations.  Many pilgrims did not make it through the winter but the ones who made it through the rough times found help in the Native Americans.  There was one Native American in particular who was very helpful in helping the Pilgrims establish a corn crop and his name was Squanto.  Squanto taught the Pilgrims how to plant corn, and what time of year to plant it.  I think that Squanto was the "crutch" that the Pilgrims could lean on until they had a thriving community.  Squanto was undoubtedly the greatest contributor to the Pilgrim colony.

http://www.themoralliberal.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/squanto11.jpg

Pilgrims Landing

I think that this picture accurately depicts the Pilgrim's landing in Cape Cod for many reasons, one is that it shows them setting up their settlement on a small brook.  This is significant because when colonists first came to America, they had to find a source of water so they had something to cook with, and they needed something to drink.  I also like how this picture depicts the washing of clothes.  Some may overlook this detail, but after a long journey from England, I am sure that the cloths needed washing.  Finally there is a small army in the background and that is interesting because when the colonists came over, they had probably heard stories about savages that had been exaggerated.  I think because of these stories, the colonists formed a small army to defend themselves against attacks that they thought were going to happen.  This is also slightly ironic because the Pilgrims eventually made friends with the Native Americans.

Native American Mound Cultures

This week when we saw the video on the mound cities and I was immediately awestruck.  When I saw the mounds at Cahokia the engineering that had to be present was phenomenal. Also the amount of dirt that the Native Americans had to move to make some of the big mounds took many years to complete.  This showed that the Native Americans were not only engineering geniuses, but they also accelerated greatly at teamwork.  It is amazes me that most of these mounds are still around, and someday I hope to visit them.