"Lipitor, Best-selling Drug Ever, Goes Off Patent"

     "Lipitor, Best-selling Drug Ever, Goes Off Patent", is an article in the LA Times, written by Shari Roan on November 30,2011. Lipitor is the top-selling drug that reduces LDL cholesterol "will cease being Pfizer's cash cow." The big drug will still be available, but there will be a less-expensive version called Atorvastin. Lipitor has mad more that a  hundred billion dollars, since it has been approved in 1997. Some of the patients fear that Atorvastin will not be as affective. But in 2010, there was a study conducted by Clinical Therapeutics. Patient received Lipitor in an eight-week study and had a 48 percent reduction of LDL and the patients that took the Atorvastin had a 44 percent reduction of LDL. Lipitor costs one-hundred sixty dollars each month, and and Atorvastin costs ten dollars per month.
       I think this topic is very important, because patients are paying so much for this pill, when there is another pill, which can have the same affect for a less price. Today, many people are not doing financially well. If they have this cholesterol problem, and could not afford to buy this expensive medication, now there is a solution.

MY Favorite Scene

       Our first novel of the year, was the "Scarlet Letter". Personally, I do not like reading books, but this one was not as bad as others. Sometimes, it had a couple of pointless parts, but it is fine, because it made it up after with a surprise. There were many scenes that I really liked, but my favorite was when Dimmesdale died and Pearl kissed his hand. Throughout the story Pearl did not like Dimmesdale. She knew that he was her father, but she did not like the fact that he would not come by them in public. He was keeping them a secret.
        For example, Dimmesdale kissed Pearl's forehead in the forest and she wiped it on. She did not like it. She always kept away from him. At the last scene (my favorite), after Dimmesdale fell, she kissed him, finally proving that she really believed he is her father. I think this mad him very happy. He felt wanted and his daughter finally showed that she cared about him. I just wish she had done it earlier. It makes me wonder, if he was not dying, would she still do it or would she keep torturing him?
        I also had another favorite scene ( I could not choose). The meteor in the sky was very interesting, because it left an A in the sky, showing that Dimmesdale was a sinner.

Chillingworth or Dimmesdale?

      We are reading the amazing "The Scarlet Letter". Throughout the story we are introduced to many characters. Hester, Chillingworth and Dimsdale. I think I would be more sympathetic to Dimmsdale, because Hester was very lonely and they were in love. Even though he is a priest, and he is supposed to be "holy", no one can escape love. Throughout the story he is suffering for seven years, because of this one mistake. He can not even see his daughter, because he has to keep his reputation. On the other hand, Chillingworth who is supposedly Hester's "husband" does not need any sympathy, because they were not in love, he left her. What did he expect?
   "Hester Prynne was now fully sensible of the deep injury for which she was responsible to this unhappy man, in permitting him to lie for so many years, or, indeed, for a single moment, at the mercy of one, whose purposes could not be other than malevolent"(Hawthorne 315). This quote explains everything. Hester let Dimmesdale suffer for seven years. She did not tell him the truth about Chillingworth, who had been torturing him. Even though Dimmesdale is a sinner, he payed his debt. He engraved a scarlet A on his chest, give the man a break. He was in love with a girl who was "married".

The Scarlet Letter

         The Scarlet Letter  was written by Nathaniel Hawthorne. In this novel, he is depicting the life during the American Romantic Era. He had found a manuscript of the non-fictional story about the adulteress and by adding fictional aspects he created The Scarlet Letter. Hawthorne incorporates the dark and gothic American Romanticism in this story. An example can be when he described the prison door. "Like all that pertains to crime, it seemed never to have know a youthful era"(Hawthorne 43). The prison door is old, scary and gothic. It has spikes in it. It does not belong in that area. The prison door looked like it belonged in another era. This description puts the reader into a dark and mysterious mood. It presents the Gothic theme perfectly.
          Another example that goes along with the American Romantic Era theme is when the judges give the penalty to Prynne. "The penalty therefore is death. But in their great mercy and tenderness of heart, they have doomed Mistress Prynne to stand only at a space of three hours on the platform of pillory and therefore, for the remainder of her natural life, to wear a mark of shame upon her bosom"( Hawthorne 54). At this moment, the reader is thinking, they are going to kill her. Instead, they made her stand on a platform, all eyes on her. She had to wear a scarlet letter on her chest. She had become an outcast.  I think she is very brave, because she stayed and she is living through this harsh situation. But what does not make sense to me, why not kill her? Did someone stop them or the did the reverend feel guilty? This give a sense of a dark, yet twisted romantic story. I can not wait to read on. (which is our homework, which of course I am going to do :} ).

Synthetic Marijuana Linked to HEART ATTACKS in TEENS!

            "Synthetic Marijuana Linked to Heart Attacks in Teens", is an article in the LA Times written by Shari Roan, on November 8,2011. Three teenagers in Texas had heart attacks cause by smoking synthetic marijuana. Synthetic marijuana is a psychoactive herbal and chemical product that mimics the affects of cannabis. It is best known by the trade names K2 and Spice. Both largely recognized by teens. While smocking marijuana, it affects the heart rate, but synthetic pot, causes more damages.
              All three sixteen year old boys, who had heart attacks had smoked K2. If they had not smoked it, they were all healthy and had no signs of cardiovascular disease. Right after smoking K2 they all said that they had chest pains. Now, people, nationwide are trying to make the sale and possession of K2 illegal. Even though they are trying, it has already been concluded that K2 and Spice has already spread like wildfire.
             I think that these drugs should be banned. Seeing teens loose their lives just because they smoked this STUPID drug, to get a high feeling does not make sense to me. All three teens were healthy, they could have had a long life, with a family. Instead they lost their live in an instant. This should be a wake-up call for everyone. STAY DRUG FREE. :)

" To My Dear and Loving Husband"

             This week we read two poems. My favorite was "To My Dear and Loving Husband". The speaker of the poem is Anne Bradstreet. She wrote it during the Puritan times. She specifically wrote it to her husband to inform him about her love. Her tone is loving, emotional and romantic. Throughout her poem, she writes about love and her emotions. During puritan times, poems were supposed to be religious, you could not incorporate emotions. She broke the rules, to show her love to her husband. She also compared herself, to  a woman who is extremely happy with her marriage. She loved her husband. She made it very clear that no amount of land, or a whole mine of gold ( A LOT of money) could buy or change her love toward her husband.
              I truly love this poem, because Anne expresses her true feelings. She is like a rebel. She went against the rules of Puritan writing. I think that she is very brave and courageous. Her love was unique and pure, and no one or no amount of money can change her love. That kind of relationship is rare today. Her husband was lucky.

            

Pride

           Pride: the state of being proud. This amazing feeling is considered as one of the seven deadliest sins. I think that I have committed this sin uncountable times. When I was young, I was very competitive, especially considering grades. I know this sounds bad, but when I used to get A's I used to keep it on my desk so all of my friends would see and be jealous. I would keep my  head up and say "It was easy, I did not even study." In reality, I would study for hours.
              As an athlete you need self-confidence. It has been said that too much pride is bad. When a player scores a goal, or makes a basket and runs back with his head high, yelling in his opponents face is considered having to much pride. I have done this many times. It boosts my self-confidence. It puts me into this world, where I am superior to others. Even though, at that moment  it is an amazing feeling, a couple hours later, I realize that i made that person feel low and self-conscience.
               If I had a "P" put on my shirt, just like in the "Scarlet Letter" I would feel ashamed. Everyone would look at me like I am a cocky and mean person. I would try to hide and stay away from people. Instead of having pride, I would have no confidence. It would degrade my reputation. I now realize that maybe I should just keep my comments and reactions to myself, because I do not want to make anyone feel lower than me. That is just not right.