Going on a Jog Could be Dangerous

-"Female Jogger Stabbed Repeatedly; Suspect Flees on Bicycle"
-Rick Rojas, Los Angeles Times
-October 24, 2012
-http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2012/10/police-search-for-man-who-attacked-orange-county-jogger.html
Recently, a twenty-eight year old woman was jogging at night at Orange County in the small community of Rossmoor, when she was attacked and stabbed multiple times. After the man stabbed her repeatedly, he jumped on his bicycle and escaped. Even though the woman was able to knock the knife out of his grasp and run away, he was able to catch up to her. She had stab wounds in her arms and hands, and by trying to break free, she was stabbed in the face as well. Thankfully, a person living in the area heard her screams, yelled at the man stabbing the jogger, and the attacker jumped on his bicycle and rode away. Also, the woman was treated for her stab wounds and did not have any life-threatening injuries. The attacker seemed to be angry, which could be the reason he decided to stab this woman rather than attempt to rape or rob her.

And the Sympathy Goes to...

There are reasons for me to be sympathetic for both Roger Chillingworth and Arthur Dimmesdale. However, I probably feel more sympathetic towards Roger Chillingworth. He was away from his wife for two years, comes back excited to finally be reunited with his wife, then figures out that she has cheated on him. I would feel sorry for anyone who had to suffer through hardships like this. Even after Chillingworth passed away, he left a bit of inheritance to Pearl. Pearl was not even his child, but he still cared about her. Yes, Dimmesdale did suffer with his sickness. However, if he had not committed this sin, then he would not have to suffer. Dimmesdale also was supposed to run away with Hester, but him dying before the trip was like his karma. Chillingworth did say he was going to get his revenge, and he did. Chillingworth suffered more, but did not show it as much. In a sense, he stayed strong, not showing emotion towards the events that occurred with his wife, whom he did not even marry because he loved her (which is another reason to why I sympathize for him). Even though Dimmesdale attempted to hide his emotions, Hester noticed that the tone of his sermons were changing, and in my opinion, he was making it seem too obvious that he was the father of Pearl.

The Scarlet Letter

"The effect of the symbol-or rather, of the position in respect to society that was indicated by it-on the mind of Hester Prynne herself, was powerful and peculiar. All the light and graceful foliage of her character had been withered up by his red-hot brand, and had long ago fallen away, leaving a bare and harsh outline, which might have been repulsive, had she possessed friends or companions to be repelled by it" (Hawthorne 112).

This quote is said by the narrator, describing Hester Prynne's feelings towards the scarlet A on her chest. She felt that the letter showed people that she was powerful, and she was flaunting the letter rather than feeling ashamed of it and trying to cover it up. She thought it was odd that committing the crime and having this punishment for it could give her such power and strength. The light in the second sentence of the sentence shows her disguise, that had been ruined by the A. All of the "light" had changed or faded away. All that was left of her was just herself, as if a tree that had lost all its leaves. The A had degraded her, and if she had any friends, they would have been driven away from her due to the letter. Although other people thought the letter made her weaker, she thought it made herself stronger. This quotes importance is that Hester finally realized what the A really means to her.

A Hidden Note, Found

-"Hiker thrilled after note he left on peak in 1972 is found"
-Los Angeles Times
-October 8, 2012
-http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2012/10/hiker-note-mountain-peak.html
A man who left a note on the peak of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, had his note found after forty years. He left the note when he went on a hike with his boy scout group. On the paper, Tim Taylor wrote his name, the date, and for whoever found the note to write back. Forty years later, a sixty-nine year old man hiking with his son and grandson, found the note in the Milestone Mountain area. Sixty-nine year old Larry Wright tried to contact Tim Taylor, but had no luck. Five years after leaving the note, Taylor moved to attend USC for three years, then to Georgetown Law School. Since Larry Wright had no luck finding him in the La Canada area, he published the story in the local newspaper, and Taylor began to receive calls from relatives and friends who lived in that area and read the article. Tim Taylor chose to climb this peak because no one else had before, and it was his chance to have the mountain named after him. The ironic part is, that Wright and his family were traveling to the same river that Taylor had hiked to after leaving the note.

CPR Trained Coworkers

-"Office workers trained in CPR make life-or-death difference"
-Steve Lopez, Los Angeles Times
-October 6, 2012
-http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-1007-lopez-cpr-20121007,0,3749406,print.column
About a month ago, a man remembers being in his office was reading an email when his heart had gone into sudden cardiac arrest. This man, Jerald Gale, had been treated for blockage a few years ago and was said to be healthy and in no danger of suffering any problems. However, he was lucky to have a CPR trained coworker. Another of his coworkers called 911, but Kathleen Weiler immediately knew that she should perform CPR on Gale. She was trained years ago when she was a Girl Scout, and decided she should repeat the training since she had five children along with eighteen grandchildren. The situation with her coworker, was the first time she needed to perform CPR on an actual person. Her and another coworker had to continue the process for about twenty minutes, until paramedics finally arrived. Gale was actually very lucky to survive, considering the amount of time his heart stopped pumping. He went home with a defibrillator implant in his heart, which are said to give people a larger chance to surviving a cardiac arrest. Having CPR trained employees and portable defibrillators stationed at a specific place makes it safer for people, which is why casinos seem to be one of the safest environments. There are cameras installed, defibrillators, and employees trained in CPR all over the place.

Pearl's Biological Father

The Scarlet Letter is most likely one of the most intriguing and mysterious novels we have read in class. We have found out that Roger Chillingworth is Hester Prynne's husband and a doctor, but not Pearl's father. We have also been introduced to a few other characters. The one I predict to be the father of Pearl is either the governor, or Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale. I feel as if it could be the governor because he is very quiet about everything. It is like he does not want to say a word because he might say one wrong word, revealing his huge secret of being Pearl's father. The governor also purchased a pair of gloves from Hester, maybe to have some money to support Pearl. However, the reason I believe it may be the reverend, is because he is too involved in Hester's life. He was the one who was nervous about questioning Hester of who the father was, probably as a test to see if she would reveal his secret. Reverend Dimmesdale and Governor Bellingham both have reasons to believe that they are guilty of causing Hester Prynne to commit her crime.