25 Days: San Francisco and The Canyon: Joyce in The Canyon.
It is a beautiful sunny day and I am going to meet Joyce outside the Glen Park BART station without a clue as to ...
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Sunday, August 21, 2011
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
By: Rebecca Skloot 4.5/5
WOW what a story, what an unbelievable turn of events! First and foremost, I feel that in my days as a student I have heard about HeLa, but never, like many thought anything about it. No one tells you what these cells are, no one questions anything that professors tell you to take for granted – except Rebecca Skloot.
Ms. Skloot works for years - after first hearing about HeLa cells in her class – to get to the bottom of the story. She explores the story of Henrietta Lacks, a black woman in the 1950s whose cervical cancerous cells were taken (the norm at the time). She explores the roles proprietary laws of one’s own from the 1950s to today.
I learned all sorts of information, including the horribleness of medical life for African Americans in the 1950s.
SPOILER ALERT
I found Deborah, no matter what tragedies she had, to be selfish and self pitying, the same with the rest of the family. They are not the only ones with problems, and issues and it happened. To be rude and to stay uneducated about a subject is LAZY. If the family felt wronged, they should have worked themselves to be better educated on the subject. Yes there are circumstances, lack of money, but even in the 90s there are non-profits and government agencies that can help.
I found family to be unappreciative of anyone who is trying to do something good, like the ladies group and their ignorance and lack of desire to get past that disgusting. This is not to take away from the fact that the family was wronged – due to practices of the time. This is not to ignore the fact of lack of information and miscommunication on the cells, or the fact the story is truly phenomenal and changed the science world completely.
I loved learning how HIPPA came into play, and how different government agencies came about. I love to know where we are today with science and the role that we, all individuals play. How do I feel about a database of my blood somewhere that they might or might not test diseases on me? I don’t know.
Great book for a discussion group.
WOW what a story, what an unbelievable turn of events! First and foremost, I feel that in my days as a student I have heard about HeLa, but never, like many thought anything about it. No one tells you what these cells are, no one questions anything that professors tell you to take for granted – except Rebecca Skloot.
Ms. Skloot works for years - after first hearing about HeLa cells in her class – to get to the bottom of the story. She explores the story of Henrietta Lacks, a black woman in the 1950s whose cervical cancerous cells were taken (the norm at the time). She explores the roles proprietary laws of one’s own from the 1950s to today.
I learned all sorts of information, including the horribleness of medical life for African Americans in the 1950s.
SPOILER ALERT
I found Deborah, no matter what tragedies she had, to be selfish and self pitying, the same with the rest of the family. They are not the only ones with problems, and issues and it happened. To be rude and to stay uneducated about a subject is LAZY. If the family felt wronged, they should have worked themselves to be better educated on the subject. Yes there are circumstances, lack of money, but even in the 90s there are non-profits and government agencies that can help.
I found family to be unappreciative of anyone who is trying to do something good, like the ladies group and their ignorance and lack of desire to get past that disgusting. This is not to take away from the fact that the family was wronged – due to practices of the time. This is not to ignore the fact of lack of information and miscommunication on the cells, or the fact the story is truly phenomenal and changed the science world completely.
I loved learning how HIPPA came into play, and how different government agencies came about. I love to know where we are today with science and the role that we, all individuals play. How do I feel about a database of my blood somewhere that they might or might not test diseases on me? I don’t know.
Great book for a discussion group.
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Four to Score
By: Janet Evanovich 4.5/5
Finding Maxine has proved to be difficult. First she sends very cryptic silly clues that lead from one Clue to the other, and I am working with her arrogant, but not bad looking, ex boyfriend of hers. Things of course turn deadly as one of my points of contact is found dead, her friend lost a finger and her mother was scalped. Stephanie Plum has a new car, which she manages to get blown up along with another car, her apartment gets torched and has the sexiest scene we have seen in books with Joe Morelli!
We are introduced to Sally, the sexy cross dresser and code de-coder extraordinaire, with the help of Granda Mazur, Sally, Lula and of course Ranger and Joe Morelli can Stephanie find Maxine before it is too late?
Finding Maxine has proved to be difficult. First she sends very cryptic silly clues that lead from one Clue to the other, and I am working with her arrogant, but not bad looking, ex boyfriend of hers. Things of course turn deadly as one of my points of contact is found dead, her friend lost a finger and her mother was scalped. Stephanie Plum has a new car, which she manages to get blown up along with another car, her apartment gets torched and has the sexiest scene we have seen in books with Joe Morelli!
We are introduced to Sally, the sexy cross dresser and code de-coder extraordinaire, with the help of Granda Mazur, Sally, Lula and of course Ranger and Joe Morelli can Stephanie find Maxine before it is too late?
The Hunger Games
By: Suzzane Collins 5/5
The distopia future of the United States, after an uprising against the government control, cities where closed off and forced under a strict regime. There were 13 separate “Districts” though the 13th was over taken by the government as a show to the other 12 to instill fear in the people. This is the story of a world where youth between the ages of 10 – 18 in each of those 12 districts get chosen to fight to the death in the Capitol city as a show that is broadcast nationally.
Thus is the story of Katniss, the girl who is running her family of her mother and her younger and fragile sister. Katniss is a hunter, more specifically a bow and arrow hunter that she learned from her dad. Katniss chooses to go, which is a rarity on its own, instead of her young and fragile sister. From her district the boy that is chosen is Peeta a boy that Katniss knew from her class.
They go to the State of Panem and are given an entourage that makes them ready for opening ceremonies, and they are a hit. They are paired together, given interviews and given coaching by the District 11 town drunk. They are entered into the staging area of the games that is controlled by a board, and it is every man for himself… or is it?
Surviving is the name of the game, and it is truly based on what human race can do to live. There are bonds that are made that are meant to be broken… and what can Katniss do… killing a human is much different than killing an animal? Or is it?
These games push people to their brink, those that have been training their whole lives from Districts 1, 2, 3, and 4 as Careers to those that had no other choice… like Rue. There are friendships that get formed and lies, and struggle.
This books makes us question what we are capable of doing when your life is on the line… it makes us question how much power can the government have, and will this be the end of society that we know. The society that is so based on multi media they can not function. The society of different levels…. Follow Katniss in her struggle for survival and what she does in The Hunger Games.
The distopia future of the United States, after an uprising against the government control, cities where closed off and forced under a strict regime. There were 13 separate “Districts” though the 13th was over taken by the government as a show to the other 12 to instill fear in the people. This is the story of a world where youth between the ages of 10 – 18 in each of those 12 districts get chosen to fight to the death in the Capitol city as a show that is broadcast nationally.
Thus is the story of Katniss, the girl who is running her family of her mother and her younger and fragile sister. Katniss is a hunter, more specifically a bow and arrow hunter that she learned from her dad. Katniss chooses to go, which is a rarity on its own, instead of her young and fragile sister. From her district the boy that is chosen is Peeta a boy that Katniss knew from her class.
They go to the State of Panem and are given an entourage that makes them ready for opening ceremonies, and they are a hit. They are paired together, given interviews and given coaching by the District 11 town drunk. They are entered into the staging area of the games that is controlled by a board, and it is every man for himself… or is it?
Surviving is the name of the game, and it is truly based on what human race can do to live. There are bonds that are made that are meant to be broken… and what can Katniss do… killing a human is much different than killing an animal? Or is it?
These games push people to their brink, those that have been training their whole lives from Districts 1, 2, 3, and 4 as Careers to those that had no other choice… like Rue. There are friendships that get formed and lies, and struggle.
This books makes us question what we are capable of doing when your life is on the line… it makes us question how much power can the government have, and will this be the end of society that we know. The society that is so based on multi media they can not function. The society of different levels…. Follow Katniss in her struggle for survival and what she does in The Hunger Games.
Three to Get Deadly
By: Janet Evanovich 4.5/5
This time Stephanie is out to get the local “Uncle Mo” who owns a candy shop. Turns out it is not so easy as she almost gets kill while breaking and entering in said candy shop. As it turns out, much like her life, she gets involved in another serious case!
Grandma Mazur is there to help, and Stephanie decides she needs a make over. Stephanie is establishing herself and her name as a bounty hunter especially after catching Kenny Mancuso and Joe Morelli. This time she has more friends and has new tactics under her belt, but no loaded gun.
This time Stephanie is out to get the local “Uncle Mo” who owns a candy shop. Turns out it is not so easy as she almost gets kill while breaking and entering in said candy shop. As it turns out, much like her life, she gets involved in another serious case!
Grandma Mazur is there to help, and Stephanie decides she needs a make over. Stephanie is establishing herself and her name as a bounty hunter especially after catching Kenny Mancuso and Joe Morelli. This time she has more friends and has new tactics under her belt, but no loaded gun.
Two for the Dough
By: Janet Evanovich 4.5/5
Stephanie is off on another adventure, this time to capture Kenny Mancuso who skipped bail after shooting his co-worker in the leg. In the meantime more people show up dead and missing. Stephanie gets herself mixed up again in a larger case that the Police Department and the Feds had been trying to track down. There is an investigation on stolen weapons from an Army Base that Kenny Mancuso used to be stationed at.
With the help of ex-prostitute Lula, now sidekick to Stephanie, crazy Grandma Mazur who has a fascination for dead people and funeral parlors, and of course the two leading men in Stephanie’s life Ranger and Morelli, can Stephanie keep herself alive.
Stephanie is off on another adventure, this time to capture Kenny Mancuso who skipped bail after shooting his co-worker in the leg. In the meantime more people show up dead and missing. Stephanie gets herself mixed up again in a larger case that the Police Department and the Feds had been trying to track down. There is an investigation on stolen weapons from an Army Base that Kenny Mancuso used to be stationed at.
With the help of ex-prostitute Lula, now sidekick to Stephanie, crazy Grandma Mazur who has a fascination for dead people and funeral parlors, and of course the two leading men in Stephanie’s life Ranger and Morelli, can Stephanie keep herself alive.
One for the Money
By: Janet Evanovich 4.5/5
Set in the smoggy backdrop of New Jersey we meet, Stephanie Plum, a late 20s, early 30s honest, haphazzard, and ecclectic girl with a hamster. We meet Stephanie's crazy family, including Grandma Mazur who is by far the best comedic relief since the nurse in Romeo and Juliet. Stephanie used to be a buyer in women’s lingerie and the job went kaput… so she blackmails herself a job with cousin Vinny. Cousin Vinny owns the Vinny Plum Bonds Company and she is working on the biggest case yet, capturing Joe Morelli the cop. Stephanie wants Morelli for multiple reasons, not just the $10,000 bond that he is worth, but he is the guy who took her virginity and was “the one that got away”.
Through many turn of events, and funny accolades we learn how Stephanie Plum does on her first FTA that jumped bail… and she goes on to uncover a larger crime than just a cop that is running away from the law.
Set in the smoggy backdrop of New Jersey we meet, Stephanie Plum, a late 20s, early 30s honest, haphazzard, and ecclectic girl with a hamster. We meet Stephanie's crazy family, including Grandma Mazur who is by far the best comedic relief since the nurse in Romeo and Juliet. Stephanie used to be a buyer in women’s lingerie and the job went kaput… so she blackmails herself a job with cousin Vinny. Cousin Vinny owns the Vinny Plum Bonds Company and she is working on the biggest case yet, capturing Joe Morelli the cop. Stephanie wants Morelli for multiple reasons, not just the $10,000 bond that he is worth, but he is the guy who took her virginity and was “the one that got away”.
Through many turn of events, and funny accolades we learn how Stephanie Plum does on her first FTA that jumped bail… and she goes on to uncover a larger crime than just a cop that is running away from the law.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)