Strongest Six-year-old

-"'Mrs. Bieber,' Avalanna Routh, dies of cancer at age 6"
-Amy Hubbard, Los Angeles Times
-September 26, 2012
-http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/gossip/la-et-mg-avalanna-routh-died-mrs-justin-bieber-20120926,0,5282471,print.story
Avalanna Routh was a six-year-old girl who had a type of cancer that was said to be specifically for toddlers, and it arises in the brain (known as an atypical teratoid/rhabdoid tumor). Researchers have said that they have had a difficult time searching for a cure to this type of cancer, and Avalanna was lucky to have lived until the age of six. She was diagnosed at the extremely young age of only ninth months. Doctors had to do any treatment they could, no matter how extreme, to cure this terrible disease, by doing "extremely intensive chemo, directly into fluid surrounding the brain and tumor, combined with radiation therapy". Even after this and many other types of chemotherapy, she still had an exciting and optimistic personality, mostly any person would if they had met celebrities such as Justin Bieber. Avalanna's parents had done numerous amounts of fundraisers and trying to raise awareness for their daughters disease. However about two months ago, therapies had come to a halt, and last Wednesday, she had passed away.

Healthy Video Games

-"Some video games can help fight cancer, obesity"
-Mary MacVean, Los Angeles Times
-September 19, 2012
-http://www.latimes.com/health/boostershots/la-heb-some-video-games-can-help-fight-cancer-obesity-20120918,0,497975,print.story
Lately, there has been research about video games helping a persons health rather than harming it. For example, Dance Dance Revolution keeps people moving and can reduce risk of obesity. Even though they are not actually doing the dance moves, they are still constantly moving around and exercising. Another game, Packy and Marlon, educates children about diseases, such as diabetes, and influences them to take care of themselves to not be diagnosed with such diseases. Games for Wii Sports, e.g. boxing and bowling, are helpful to the elderly, keeping them active. These games are said to also help the elderly who have suffered from a stroke, or even Parkinson's disease. Pediatric cancer patients have even tested out a game that is designed to help them return to their state before being diagnosed with cancer, and help them regain their energy by using visuals. Researchers have said that visuals have helped athletes recover after their injuries. Video games have yet to improve in the health area, but these games are produced much quicker than actual treatments are.

Kids and Candy Cigarettes

-"Candy cigarettes and 'Toddlers and Tiaras'"
-Rosie Mestel, Los Angeles Times
-September 15, 2012
-http://www.latimes.com/health/boostershots/la-heb-candy-cigarettes-toddlers-tiaras-20120914,0,1531305.story
There was outrage after Destiny, a four-year-old girl on a show called "Toddlers and Tiaras", pretended to smoke a candy cigarette for one of her performances, trying to mimic the stars in the musical, 'Grease'. Destiny's mother had talked to Nancy Grace about allowing her to perform this, and had said that her daughter knows about the harms of smoking, and the candy cigarette was simply a prop. Amanda Marcotte, along with everyone else had a few thoughts on this topic, and decided to write about it. In this column, she wrote about how pageants have affected society. This show is an example of how one should not raise their children because they are being spoiled and taught that their looks are what matter most, at such a young age. The article continues on to explain that a study in 2007 showed that these candy cigarettes might cause children to start smoking when they grow older. These candies are no longer found in a few select countries, or have been renamed as "candy sticks" rather than "cigarettes".

Sinners are Scared

In the sermon "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" by Jonathan Edwards, many important aspects were discussed. Three that are significant for this speech would be the occasion, audience, and tone. The occasion was during the Great Awakening in the mid-1740's, in Connecticut. The significance of this is that one could tell that the speech will be religious because of the time that Jonathan Edwards presented it. The audience that Edwards was speaking to, were the sinners. By sinners, he meant all human beings, since everyone has sinned. What makes this differ from the other speeches, is that it is speaking to literally everyone rather than a small group of people, or the leader of a specific place. The way he was talking to the audience (his tone), was the same throughout the entire sermon. Edwards spoke in a threatening, didactic, boring, and fearful tone. The way he spoke was for the people to realize that he was attempting to scare them and make them feel like they were all terrible people. Although he spoke with such a tone, people understood what he was trying to point out.

Who Knows About Popular?

-"Popular kids more likely to smoke, research says"
-Mary MacVean, Los Angeles Times
-September 6, 2012
-http://www.latimes.com/health/boostershots/la-heb-popular-smoking-20120906,0,4687714.story

Research shows that teenagers who are popular in high school are more likely to start smoking. A professor at USC's Keck School of Medicine, Thomas Valente, surveyed almost 2,000 students from Latino high schools asking if they had ever smoked, if they had smoked in the last month, how their friends felt about smoking, if people around them smoke, and who they were close with. A few of these questions were used to determine whether that student was popular or not. The percentage of ninth graders who said they had smoked was almost twenty-six percent, but tenth graders were twenty-eight percent. This research showed that the students' peers were the ones who influenced their behavior. Thomas Valente said that in a few high schools, "smoking and popularity go hand-in-hand" and shows that one has matured. However in other high schools, students that are popular do not smoke at all. As previously stated, these students were only one ethnicity, and from an urban area, therefore the results could be different in other areas. 

I scream for Ice Cream!

This may not cross one's mind every day, but what actually is the best ice cream flavor? An IDFA ice cream company had a survey this year, with the results for the most popular ice cream flavor being vanilla. However, I could not be able to decide what my favorite flavor of ice cream would be if my life depended on it. Although, if I were given a gallon of vanilla ice cream, I could eat it, and eat it, and eat it. If I were given another flavor of ice cream, I would still eat it, but it would easily make me sick. For example, chocolate ice cream, or any ice cream with a chocolate base, is a flavor that I cannot enjoy much of due to how strong the flavor is for me. There is an endless amount of toppings that you can add to vanilla ice cream, and have it taste much better than they would with another strongly flavored ice cream. If I had the choice of combining vanilla ice cream with any other topping, my first choice would be cookie dough. Since I cannot decide on one flavor of ice cream being my favorite, another one of my favorites would be cookie dough. When kids make cookies with their parents, they always find a way to snatch a bit of the cookie dough. This ice cream topping is a way for children to have their favorite one of their favorite uncooked treats without having to do it furtively, which is why it is one my childhood favorites. 

Calorie Counting

-"Calorie limits don't extend life span but might keep you healthier"
-Rosie Mestel, LA Times
-August 30, 2012
-http://www.latimes.com/news/science/la-sci-calorie-restriction-death-20120830,0,6696302.story

Scientists have tested on mice that eating fewer calories than normal has lead to them living fifteen to twenty percent longer than they should, leaving researchers thinking that humans have the possibility of living at least an extra day. However, when they had done these tests on monkeys, they had lived on average the same amount of time that a monkey that consumed more calories would. Even if it did not increase their life span, they had a lesser chance of being diagnosed with cancer, and appeared younger. By appearing younger, they meant in metabolic aspects, having lower blood sugar and lower cholesterol. This study "...suggests that what has proven true for rodents and various other animals may not hold true for primates — humans included..." (Rosie Mestel, LA Times). The same research was also done  in 2009 in Wisconsin, but had extremely different results. The researchers do not know how to explain this, but say it might have been because they had served different foods.