A baby during Christmas needs a Miracle!

An article on nwitimes.com is a heart-tugging story about a parents’ fight for their infant’s right to live a normal life.  Seth Petreikis is less than 6 months old.  And at just 2 ½ weeks old, Seth underwent a successful heart surgery.  However, it was later that he was diagnosed with a rare and fatal condition called Complete DiGeorge Syndrome.  To put it plainly, Seth’s body is no longer able to fight off infections or viruses.  As a result, the only way he can be touched or held, is if people where masks and gloves.

The good news is that Complete DiGeorge Syndrome can be treated.  Seth would have to live with shunts in his heart his whole life, but at least he would not live in a hospital.  He would be able to play as an average everyday boy. 

But the problem is that the treatment is an experimental procedure.  Furthermore, it is not covered by Seth’s parents Medicaid.  And it can only be performed by one doctor in one hospital in the country.  Without the help of insurance, this surgery would cost an estimated $500,000. 

Now the parents are looking for help from Gov. Mitch Daniels of Indiana.  Daniels’ spokeswoman, Jane Jankowski said that the case will go under “review.”  Come on!  There is a boy’s life hanging in the balance here; and the sad part is, Seth does not have the luxury of time.  He needs this experimental procedure done right now!  The Governor of Indiana needs to step up and use his position in office for the benefit of possibly saving a child’s life.

In my opinion, anyone who is trying to fight for their life, and an experimental procedure is the only way to increase their chances, then no insurance, no financial instability, no state should be able to stop them.  The Petreikis family just wants their boy to be healthy.  And it is absolutely wrong that the state Medicaid is denying them of that right to pursue their happiness.     

Obviously these experimental surgeries need people to experiment on.  So why not the people whose lives could be positively changed, and who actually want to do the procedure.  In the words of Seth’s mother Becky, "We're not fighting for a life in a hospital, we're fighting for a normal life."               

If anyone else feels that Seth is being wrongly denied by Medicaid, and the state’s Family and Social Services Administration, then write to the Gov. Daniels of Indiana.  Email, write letters, use Twitter and all social medias to evoke change for Seth.  In addition, anyone can donate to help Seth’s parents pay for the procedure.  Being able to afford this experimental procedure would be the ultimate gift to Seth’s parents on Christmas day!   

http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/lake/dyer/article_7a7a152f-3230-512c-8e6b-881082fc1221.html

On the Journey of Jane Austen

On The Journey of Jane Austen:

Films based on Novels

When a person’s ear hears the melodious sound of the name, Jane Austen, one identifies her with classic novels, and an ingenious style of writing.  But when I hear the sound of the classic and famous name, Jane Austen, I hear “timeless”.  She was born in 1775, and yet to this day, 235 years later, her name is still resonating in the ears of her fans.        

Jane Austen is considered one of the most memorable and famous writers of her time.  Her satirical, romantic, and elegantly written novels have transported Austen’s works into our present era. 

At the age of 14, Austen had written her first novel, Love and Friendship, and then A History of England by a partial, prejudiced and ignorant Historian. 

Overall, Jane Austen wrote Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, Northanger Abbey, Persuasion, Emma, and Mansfield Park among others.  Three of which she wrote in her early twenties.  Gosh! I’m in my early twenties, and I’m just trying to graduate from college.

At the age of 41, Austen passed away from a kidney disease.  But her memory, her works, and her notion of love, still penetrate the heart of today’s society.  Jane Austen’s novels have not only touched the hearts of the older generation, or of the baby boomers, but also of the younger generation.  

Films and TV shows dedicated to the remaking of Austen’s novels, have brought her back to life.  She now lives with the young girl who dreams of love, with the broken-hearted, with the man who has lost faith in ‘forever’, with the unrequited lovers, and with those who just need a laugh.        

I have seen multiple versions and types of films and TV shows dedicated to Jane Austen.  The Jane Austen Book Club, for instance, was a film about four women and one man in search of love and happiness.  They started a book club and decided to read one Austen novel every month.  The lives of these film characters were chaotic, complex, and confusing.  But in the end, all they had to do was ask, “What would Jane do?”

Follow me on my journey as I adventure on watching as many movies and TV shows that are related to Jane Austen’s novels. 

The first movie I have started is Pride and Prejudice 1995 (TV mini-series) and 2005 (film).  10 years separate these two versions.  Comment on which one is your favorite.

I have to confess that from watching both versions, my favorite has to lie with 2005 directed by Joe Wright, starring Keira Knightley and Matthey Macfadyen.  It may have to do with the 2005 musical soundtrack performed by pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet.  I especially love the scene when Elizabeth “Lizzy” Bennett is overlooking the cliff.  The music is so powerful that it climbs to awe-inspiring.

The 1995 mini-series starring Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle was a beautiful version of Austen’s novel, but it lacked the essence of passion and intimacy.  The kiss at the end of the series left me feeling “that’s it!”  After all those hours of watching, one small kiss at the end.  Not to mention, the kiss took place in a carriage where it’s bumpy and leaving a huge crowd.  I don’t know about you, but if a man fought for my love as ardently as Mr. Darcy did for Elizabeth, I would not want to share our first kiss in front of a crowd, especially not one that included my family. 

Furthermore, Joe Wright’s version of Pride and Prejudice was like watching poetry in motion.  The film set the scene for love and passion, not for the polite society the characters lived in.  For example, the moment in the rain between Darcy and Elizabeth was poetic, graceful, musical, dramatic, and elegant.  This was evident in their “almost kiss”. 

Fans, including myself, cannot seem to get enough of Jane Austen.     

But wait! There is still many more series and films to cover.  Join me as I take my next challenge into Lost in Austen.  Meet Amanda Price as she screws up everything we came to love about Elizabeth ad Darcy.                

Jane Austen TV shows and Films: http://www.janeausten.org/jane-austen-movies.asp.

See the reviews: http://www.metacritic.com/movie/pride-prejudice

Austen Critic: http://www.mrdawntreader.com/the_dawn_treader/2006/04/why_men_hate_pr.html

Which Austen Character are you? Take the Quiz: http://quizfarm.com/quizzes/jane-austen/Shellsabells/which-jane-austen-character-are-you-for-females-long-quiz/     

         

Homework, What I crock!

            Homework, what a crock! The most hated word in the student language.  Every teacher knows that grueling sigh of “ahhh” following an assignment.  Students hate receiving homework.  I being one of them completely agree.  Teachers hate grading homework.  Parents hate helping their children on their homework (especially when it makes them feel stupid).  So really, if you think about it, all American society loathes homework.  So the real question regarding this ridiculous concept of “learning” is: “Does homework actually help students learn or just memorize?”

            I know from experience that in studying for an exam or reading a book for a paper, I tend to memorize the material.  I do not spend my precious time absorbing all the information being provided.  There is just too much information going on all at once.  And for those in college, watch out! You will encounter books that range from $50 to $500 all for the sake of memorization.  What’s worse, is that after reading textbooks students are left with confusing sentence structure and insane vocabulary.  To a point that you have to re-read a whole paragraph just to grasp its meaning.  What would have taken you 30 minutes to read, now took you 2 hours. 

            Aside from the textbooks, let’s discuss the classes.  Most students do not take one class.  Most register for two to six classes a semester depending on their availability.  That equals out to six or eight textbooks that one has to read in order to pass the class.  So not only do I not want to spend my time absorbing all this information, but I don’t have the time.  Therefore, I am only left with one option—memorize the sucker! 

            What is the difference between learning and memorizing?  They both involve reading and studying.  However, there is one key component which separates them.   No long-term memory.  When I memorize, it’s for my short term memory. Whether some material slips by and gets transported to the long-term memory, that was just an unintended outcome.  The real intentional result I want is to get a good grade on the test.   So when one semester ends and another begins, I have forgotten most of what I memorized.  I think that is somewhat of a good thing, because otherwise, I think my brain would explode.       

            Although I find myself extremely bitter towards the word “homework”, and although I am biased towards research that explains homework doesn’t actually teach, I do find in my own experience, after a semester, that I do feel a little smarter.  I think perhaps that some information I memorized escaped my short-term memory and implanted itself in my long-term.  Or at least that’s what I am hoping for. 

            Furthermore, I do have to argue that homework does more than aggravate me; it prepares me for the future.  Especially now today in the economy, the workforce shows no mercy.  Your boss will give you more work to do over the weekend, and either you do it by the deadline or guess what, bye-bye birdie.  So in a manner of speaking, homework does prepare a student for their future career. 

            Unfortunately, there is a divine purpose in writing endless papers and taking countless exams.  It prepares a student for the workforce.  But who cares about tomorrow, what about today?  I don’t feel like doing homework.  What a crock!