Mothers

Introduction

      Imagine this, having a job to do all year, 24/7. You have absolutely no pay or vacation days. All the cooking, cleaning, shopping, and everything you do provides no living. During holidays, your job is twice as hard. Instead of earning money, you loose it. You are a maid, driver, shopper, cook, etc. You are everything. Sometimes, you want to quit, but you accepted responsibility and care too much to leave. What job is this? It is being a mom.  

Opinion

        Moms are like the strongest people, ever. They make great sacrifices to raise their kids well. Good moms at least. Without moms, we would be nothing. For all the work they do, there isn't a price you can put on it. The only thing to do is to pay them back with love and kindness. You really can't replace them. If you tried, you probably wouldn't find one. Seriously, don't even try. Just please, don't.

Final Thoughts

         This post was for Mother's Day. Moms should be acknowledged for their hard work. What are your thoughts on moms? Answer in the comments below.  

Down A Dark Hall: Overview

Introduction

      The story follows a girl named Kit. Her mother and Dan, her stepfather who just married to her mother, applied Kit to a school, Blackwood. Upon arriving, she was amazed at the school's appearance. However, as they explored she started to feel it was, evil. A mysterious series of events follows, and Kit finds herself unable to settle into the boarding school. She only finds herself wanting to leave. However, someone or something doesn't want her to leave. What will Kit do? 

Opinion

        I think the book is wonderful. I have never read anything like it, but I plan to read more. The book kept me hooked with its unique style. I would recommend this to a friend. The reason for this being it is very well executed. Like the fact that it doesn't only carry utterly simple sentences throughout the whole book. I am also a sucker for suspense and mystery. Though, the horror aspect might not be for everyone I know. 

Final Thoughts

     This particular style of book is Gothic. I have never read a Gothic book before in my short lifetime. Would you read this book based on this information? Have you? If yes, what were your feelings on it?

 

Dangerous Sunscreen, Again?!

Introduction

     This is going to be a kind of branch off/follow up to a previous blog post. Vitamin A. One of those vitamins that our bodies need to function. Well, sunscreen companies have started to add a form of Vitamin A and not just a little, a lot of them. They did this because they believed it would help to slow skin aging like sunscreen already does. However, it can be dangerous when you use it on skin that's open to sunlight. Though there is debate on whether this is true or not.

Opinion

      When I look at all the research done I think," Man, I'm so confused." The EWG believes it is bad. A federal research of the vitamin's carcinogenic properties heighten the fact that this vitamin might make cancer tumors grow faster and all that bad stuff. However, another thing I read says that it is only for beauty purposes. Also, an FDA study mentioned in the article used more Vitamin A in its sample. Like, a lot more than the amount in today's. Some doctors and other researchers say that Vitamin A does not harm our health. More studies need to be done on sunscreen. For now, people are pretty much divided on if it is dangerous or not.

Final Thoughts

     Since nothing is set in stone, use whatever sunscreen you want. I, personally, would steer clear of it anyways. Better to be safe than sorry. To get effective sun protection you want a sunscreen of at least spf 15 with broad spectrum and/or UVA and UVB protection. What are you thoughts on this controversial topic? Answer in the comments below.

Sources:

• http://www.sunscreensafety.info/?page_id=18
• http://www.ewg.org/2013sunscreen/the-problem-with-vitamin-a/

 

Edgar Allan Poe

Introduction

      Edgar Allan Poe was born on January 19, 1809 and died on October 7, 1849. Edgar Allan Poe was born in Boston as one of David and Elizabeth Poe's three children. Poe's writings are inspired by his tragic life, the portion of time he lived in, and his brain. Something that a lot of people probably do not know about him is, after his mother and father separated, he was adopted by John and Frances Allan. The not (well) known fact is, he was disowned by John when he went to West Point. Another is he loved cats. He owned a very loyal one named Caterina. When he was away, she was depressed and died only two weeks after Poe's death.

Poem

Annabel Lee

It was many and many a year ago,
In a kingdom by the sea,
That a maiden there lived whom you may know
By the name of ANNABEL LEE;
And this maiden she lived with no other thought
Than to love and be loved by me.

I was a child and she was a child,
In this kingdom by the sea;
But we loved with a love that was more than love-
I and my Annabel Lee;
With a love that the winged seraphs of heaven
Coveted her and me.

And this was the reason that, long ago,
In this kingdom by the sea,
A wind blew out of a cloud, chilling
My beautiful Annabel Lee;
So that her highborn kinsman came
And bore her away from me,
To shut her up in a sepulchre
In this kingdom by the sea.

The angels, not half so happy in heaven,
Went envying her and me-
Yes!- that was the reason (as all men know,
In this kingdom by the sea)
That the wind came out of the cloud by night,
Chilling and killing my Annabel Lee.

But our love it was stronger by far than the love
Of those who were older than we-
Of many far wiser than we-
And neither the angels in heaven above,
Nor the demons down under the sea,
Can ever dissever my soul from the soul
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee.

For the moon never beams without bringing me dreams
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;
And the stars never rise but I feel the bright eyes
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;
And so, all the night-tide, I lie down by the side
Of my darling- my darling- my life and my bride,
In the sepulchre there by the sea,
In her tomb by the sounding sea. 

        I believe this poem is about the theme of love. It is delivering the impression that love never dies. I chose this poem to include because the title caught my eyes. I do not usually come across poem under the name of a person. It was different, in a good way. The poem turned out to have a wonderful message. I can't relate to this poem. I haven't experienced the death of  a loved one, yet. I wonder what  will happen when I do. I think Poe was quite the sad person. Reading a fragment of his life's story has revealed the tragedy in it. I don't  think he would have been able to stay happy for too long. h

Evaluation

     Alliteration-sounding sea, demons down, who were, cloud, chilling

     Personification-A wind blew out,  the wind came out of the cloud, our love it was stronger
     Repetition-kingdom by the sea, beautiful Annabel Lee
     Style- mostly free verse with a few rhymes here and there

    These elements do make the poem more interesting. If it were devoid of them, the message would not have as much impact. The overall mood is an happy sadness with them in there. In my mind, while reading it I would've called it extremely boring without them to add difference. A bit of variety to be interesting. I like it.

Final Thoughts

         I dare you to read more poems from Poe. See what you think of him. You could go to http://www.poemhunter.com/edgar-allan-poe/. What do you think of the poem featured in the post? Answer in the comments below.

Sources

• http://www.personal.psu.edu/kmb5425/Assignment3.html
• http://www.huffingtonpost.com/lynn-cullen/11-things-you-didnt-know-_1_b_4059140.html
• http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/annabel-lee/

Formaldehyde

Introduction

     Ever heard of this ingredients? Formaldehyde. It also goes by the name methanal, and has been mentioned very briefly in a past post. Yes, before parabens came this ingredient for preserving things. So far, it has been used less in everyday products and companies will, hopefully, never look back. However, you can still find it in many, many places. It can catch fire, doesn't have color, and has a strong smell. It has been grouped as a carcinogen for people. Right now I am just shaking my head in disbelief, how many are there! Want to find out more about this terrible thing? Just read on.

Opinion

     I hate formaldehyde with a passion, and am kind of scared of it. It can cause cancer, and I'm sure nobody wants that. The thing is, people usually recognize formaldehyde, but not its other name. Methanal. That is quite un-notable compared to formaldehyde. It can be found in anything from nail polish to your home through urea-formaldehyde foam insulation. If your open to 10-20 ppm of this stuff, you could have eye irritation and burning sensations in the nose and throat. Studies have proposed that there is a link between being exposed to methanal and roughly seven types of cancer.

Final Thoughts

    I forgot to mention, formaldehyde is also used to embalm dead bodies. Yeah, I would seriously avoid it. That is just gross. So,  what is your opinion on this chemical? Answer in the comments below.

Sources

•  http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Risk/formaldehyde

• http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/idlh/50000.HTML

Uh...So Many Bad ingredients

Introduction

     Okay, unless you have it sulfate free, look at the ingredients list on your shampoo bottle. A bunch of what is there probably looks like gibberish, if you don't have the most "safe" and "natural" shampoo. There are two ingredients in particular this post will focus on, sodium laureth sulfate and its relative known as sodium lauryl sulfate. The immediate difference is the -eth and -yl. The shampoo label thing in the beginning is because these two ingredients are quite common in shampoo. However, they may be contaminated with ethylene oxide. It has been noted has being a, not possible, but known carcinogen for people. That is not good not an variety of levels. Want to learn more? Just keep reading.

Opinion

      I basically hate these two ingredients. They are also found in household cleaning products, dish soap, cosmetics, and a load of other things. They are foaming agents. What irks me the most about them is, almost every shampoo will have them, and they're dangerous. I mean, the ethylene oxide it can have could harm your nervous system, and the California Environmental Protection Agency categorized it as a potential developmental toxin for the reason that  it has the possibility to disrupt development in people. SLS( sodium lauryl sulfate) is able to irritate your skin, eyes, and respiratory tract. I don't want to chance any bad things happening to me because of these sulfates. Going for sulfate-free products is a pretty good way to avoid these things.

Final Thoughts

      Sulfates can also dry out, strip, and damage your skin. Remember, for every thing you buy there will always be a downside, nothing is perfect. Just be the opposite of careless. So, what's your view on sulfates? Answer in the comments below.

Sources

• http://davidsuzuki.org/issues/health/science/toxics/chemicals-in-your-cosmetics---sodium-laureth-sulfate/
• http://www.natural-health-information-centre.com/sodium-laureth-sulfate.html#axzz2y3DwP0AC

A Preservative

Introduction

      Do you own any lotions or creams? If you do, check the ingredients list. There are probably a lot of ingredients, but there is one in particular that I will be talking about. Parabens. The most used types are methylparaben, ethylparaben, propylparaben, isobutylparaben, butylparaben, and benzylparaben. Quite the mouthful. The point is, they all end with paraben. There has been some controversy on whether or not parabens are safe. It is true that things can be preserved naturally by rosemary extract and other things. However, there has been no way to naturally preserve lotins or creams, yet. Who knows? By the time you read this the information could be out of date. If it is not, read on.

   

Opinion

    I have to admit, I had a really bad opinion on parabens before doing my research. They are in a literal ton of things. Though, the preservative before the paraben was much worse. Formaldehyde. Parabens are much safer than synthetic preservatives before it. They are found in anything from sunscreens to shampoos. I guess I don't mind though. The FDA and European Union figure, after testing, that they are safe. Avoid them if you can, though. Synthetic preservatives aren't the safest thing ever.

Final Thoughts

   The source for the information is http://www.care2.com/greenliving/parabens-easy-greening.html. Be careful when choosing a product for personal care. Learn the good and bad ingredients, and try to avoid the worst ones. So, how do you feel about parabens? Good? Evil? Angel? Demon? Answer in the comments below.