Hurricane Sandy Takes Over NYC

     The article, "NYC Evacuations Begin Over Hurricane Sandy; Public Schools Closed", was written by Jennifer Peltz in The Huffington Post on October 28, 2012. Each day, more than five million New York city residents use the city's subway system and buses to get to work, school, and around town. As of today, Sunday October 28, 2012, the city's transit system, subways and Metro-North and Long Island commuter trains, will shut down beginning at 7 p.m. , with the last city bus ending at 9 p.m. Along with the city's transit system, the city's school system, which serves about one million students, will close Monday. Both these systems are our nation's largest, and the impact of their shut downs will greatly effect the city in a negative way. Hurricane Sandy, which is expected to have an impact on cities ranging from the Great Lakes to the East Coast, was headed north from the Caribbean, and is expected to hit a cold front along with a snowstorm. If the storm hits a high tide, the effects on low-lying areas, especially the subway systems who are expected to be flooded by next week, will be much more severe than Hurricane Irene. The Tropical Storm Irene last year also forced the city's transit and school system to shut down. Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced that a storm surge of about six to eleven feet was expected, which was followed by his announcement of ordering residents in low-lying areas, such as lower Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Staten Island, to evacuate immediately. However, The New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq OMX Group still plan to open Monday, which will cause many problems for employees who arrive to work using the city's transit system. 

The Scarlet Letter #3

     The Scarlet Letter was truly a fascinating novel. It managed to take us through an emotional journey by encompassing the emotions of all the major characters in each page. The sympathy for Hester Prynne was clearly established midway through the book, but what about the other two major characters: Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale and Roger Chillingworth? Who are readers more sympathetic towards? It is true that both characters have their points. Chillingworth comes to America to find his wife evolved in a public cheating scandal with a child that is not his. However, he vows to seek revenge upon his wife for the rest of his life, which eventually turned him into an evil man. Dimmesdale decides to betray God's rules and turn against his own beliefs by sinning. He chooses to allow Hester to receive all the punishments, along with the guilt and shame of the sin, instead of being a man and sharing the responsibility equally. However, I choose to feel more sympathetic towards Dimmesdale. Yes, he committed a sin and kept it a secret from the community. However, I believe he justifies his sin with the power of love. His secret love for Hester overcame him to the point that he could not be without her. Although he chose to not take the responsibility of bearing the punishment with Hester, he suffered in another way. Dimmesdale had to endure the guilt and shame by not being able to share his secret with anyone, not being able to be with Hester publicly or privately, and lastly not being able to fulfill the duties of being a father to Pearl. When one keeps a problem internally for a long period of time, eventually they burst. This is what happened with Dimmesdale. He could no longer keep his secret, and decided to confess his love for Hester and the fact that he was Pearl's father, before he died. It is hard to sympathize with Chillingworth, because he is the cause of all this. He chose to take revenge on Dimmesdale, keeping Hester away from her true lover, and depriving Pearl of her father.

The Scarlet Letter #2

     " 'Never!" replied Hester Prynne, looking, not at Mr. Wilson, but into the deep and troubled eyes of the younger clergymen. "It is too deeply branded. Ye cannot take it off. And would that I might endure his agony, as well as mine!' "(47) This quote was said by Hester while she was standing on the platform in front of the entire community as part of her punishment. During this punishment, she was being pressured by the town leaders, who included Reverend Dimmesdale, to confess the name of Pearl's father. Mr. Wilson had urged Reverend Dimmesdale to convince Hester to confess, as she was part of his church, and therefore, his responsibility. In his attempt to do so, he says to Hester that she should say the name, so that the father can stand by her side, as he is equally guilty, so that he does not have to live with a guilty heart for the rest of his life. Mr. Wilson adds that if she were to confess, then they might consider removing the scarlet letter. She refused by saying that the 'A' was far too attached to her to have it be removed. She is committed to enduring her pain, as well as Pearl's fathers'. While she said this, she was looking directly into Reverend Dimmesdale's eyes, which showed signs of deep pain from the guilt he was keeping in. This quote is of significance because it shows how first, although Hester comes off as if she was proud of wearing the scarlet letter. However, by saying that it cannot be removed because it is "too deeply branded", she truly understands the eternal scarring her action has bestowed upon her. Second, her refusal to betray her lover shows Hester's strong-willed character and compassion. She chooses to suffer the consequences by herself, rather than be selfish and have the consequences equally shared by her lover. Hester shows compassion by caring about Reverend Dimmesdale's position in society. If she were to confess, Reverend Dimmesdale, a vital religious role in the community, would cause corruption among the citizens. They would think that it was tolerable to commit sins, since a Reverend had committed one of the "deadliest" ones. This quote is significant because it portrays a lesson, which is that no matter what life hands you, you must remain true to yourself and withstand all troubles without using any form of evil. This is shown when Hester decides to not leave Boston, and later helping the citizens in different ways, rather than being angry at them for the cruel remarks they made everyday to her and Pearl. This is why the later 'A' was later interpreted as 'Able' rather than 'Adulterer.'

Emergency Alert: Put Down That Soda!

     On October 10, 2012, Michael F. Jacobson wrote the article, "Amputation, Impotence, Painful Dentistry: Soda Equals Sadness", in The Huffington Post. We have all heard how junk food is harmful, how there are statistics to prove it, and the diseases that come with eating them. However, how harmful is soda? In the past, Coca-Cola was served in six and a half or ten ounce bottles. The bottle size has now increased to twenty, thirty two, or sixty four ounce bottles. Coca-Cola promotes itself as a source of happiness, such as having commercials that have vending machines "dispensing happiness". One of these vending machines had a man standing inside, and every time people would insert money to buy a Coca-Cola, a man's hand would stick out of the dispenser, passing out different gifts, which included balloon animals, a pizza box, a six footlong sandwich, and jackpot noise to let the customers know that they "hit the jackpot" by selecting Coca-Cola. Another vending machine did not need money to operate. The front of the machine had "Hug Me" written in ginormous letters, and all customers who would hug the machine received a free coke. However, this creative marketing technique is aimed to hide the disturbing facts about the long-term effect coke can have on a person. These harmful effects include obesity, tooth decay, diabetes, heart disease, and other problems. The diabetes side effect can go so far as to including amputation of infected limbs and erectile dysfunction. In other words, Coca-Cola is causing sadness rather than happiness. "The Real Bears" is an animated short film produced by Alex Bogusky, with a song written and sung by Jason Mraz, showing the negative side effects of drinking Coca-Cola. It includes actual facts, but in a way so that children and adults can fully understand that by not drinking soda, they can prevent harmful effects to their body.

Coca-Cola advertisement: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMOuF8oskRU
"The Real Bears": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=myxwCEGcBYc&feature=player_embedded

The Scarlet Letter

     Although The Scarlet Letter is quite the complicated novel, I will attempt to conjure my "psychic" skills in predicting the outcome of the book. To start off, the father of Pearl will be revealed to be Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale. This predication was the effect of the interrogation at the Governor's house, the day Hester delivered the Governor's gloves. When the men were questioning wether they should take Pearl away from Hester, Hester looked to the Reverend for protection. Up to this point, Hester was a very self-sufficient woman, who did not need the help of anyone but herself. The fact that she is now asking for help, shows that she somehow trusts the Reverend. Also, on the day she stood on the scaffold, the Reverend asked her who the father of Pearl is. After she refused to answer, he did not question her any further, which is odd, especially when they made Hester's crime a ginormous deal in the community. Furthermore, since Reverend Dimmesdale is considered one of the holiest minister's in the community, the truth that will soon be revealed will cause chaos. The townspeople will believe that if a man as holy as the Reverend committed one of the greatest sins ever, then it will be fine to commit sins themselves. This will cause religious conflicts, and soon the town will be run by the witches, who include Pearl. Throughout all of this commotion, Roger Chillingworth will use his medicinal practice to kill Reverend Dimmesdale, and take revenge for what the Reverend has done to his wife. Later, he will realize that he has deprived Pearl of her father, and his guilty conscience will lead to a suicidal death, again using his own medicine to kill himself.

The Original Gangster

     On October 6, 2012 Andres Jauregui wrote the article, "Victor Joseph Espinoza, 425-Pound Gang Member, Allegedly Tried to Kidnap Boy", in The Huffington Post. The rate of kidnapping has shot through the roof in the past ten years. Parents have become more and more concerned about the safety of their children's lives, to the extent that they accompany their children everywhere. On Friday October 4, 2012, a ten year old California boy (whose name was not mentioned in the article), along with his nineteen year old cousin, were walking to a local park in Santa Ana for the ten year old's soccer practice. Victor Joseph Espinoza, a fifty five year old, 425-pound gang member, was accused of trying to kidnap the ten year old boy. Espinoza grabbed the boy by both his arms, pulled him close to his body, and started smelling him. The boy managed to break free and ran to his soccer coach (whose name was also not mentioned in the article), and told him what had happened. The soccer coach, also a parent, found Espinoza by a nearby bike trail. He confronted him about the incident, and attempted to restrain him, but failed. A police helicopter found Espinoza, crouching under a tree in a nearby home, and arrested him. Espinoza has had more than 60 arrests in the past 30 years, some of which include drug possession, assault with a deadly weapon, and attempted murder. Espinoza tried to abduct a young girl that same evening, before he attempted to abduct the ten year old boy in a extremely well-lit park with many parents and soccer players around. He is now being held on $100,000 bail, facing charges of false imprisonment, child annoyance, and other charges since he is a gang member.