A little Music to End the Year of Blog Posting

A Summary of A book I read A little While Ago that I just Reread Part of Again :)

 Some Reviewing of The Man Who Mistook His Wife For A Hat

Oliver Sacks discusses neurological diseases within this composition, splitting the illnesses into four different subcategories: losses, excesses, transports, and the world of the simple. Throughout the book, Sacks makes the point that “the patient’s essential being is very relevant in the higher reaches of neurology” (viii) and suggest that the only way one can truly begin to embark on neurological studies is to observe the patient fully and all forms of symptoms, including how their thinking and feeling is affected. A doctor cannot merely say that the arm is covered in splotches, rather that the woman is reminded of her childhood during her seizures. Cases take on a much more personal level, which Sacks calls the “neurology of identity” (viii), which is why all these studies explain the patient’s case as a story, more than just facts and figures. No one neurological case is the same.

            The first section is titled losses, specifically emphasizing on “an impairment or incapacity of neurological function” (3). Sacks decides to focus on only right hemisphere syndromes, which is used to recognize reality. These illnesses are seemingly rare and understudied at the time this book was published (1985), which leads to more questions than answers. Right hemisphere sicknesses are hard to be imagined as normally people have never thought of not recognizing a human as a human or feeling as if their leg is not their own. A lot of the time, the person who is diseased does not even recognize it themselves. The key story in this section was the story of Dr P., also known as the man who mistook his wife for a hat. In the average neurological damage case, the patient loses sense of all things categorical and logical, making patients rely on emotion. With the case of Dr. P., a severe case of agnosia was inset. This disease is due to right hemisphere damage, which gradually made the man lose all sense of emotional, concrete, representation and reality. When looking at people, he sometimes mistook them for objects as he did not take in the person, rather features. Looking at a glove, all Dr. P. could see was geometrical shapes and called it a “container of some sort” (14). There is no emotion related to things, as he could not visualize things as a whole or establish a sense of importance to them. The other stories within this chapter showed similar stories of deficits and told many stories of people rejecting their own body parts as they did not feel like they were their own.

            The second section discusses excesses in neurological function, meaning there is extra activity of the body or mind that actually leaves the person with negative effects. These illnesses leave people feeling “dangerously well” and sometimes offer a bit of seduction to the side effects of the illness. This is best shown by 88 year old Natasha K. who has cupid’s disease, also known as cerebral syphilis. This caused her to become frisky and lively, a showing of disinhibitions. Natasha was very fond of these new symptoms and had a hard time choosing to be treated with penicillin as she enjoyed the illness so much. However, the most common of these excesses was Tourette’s syndrome, with the self-proclaimed Witty Ticcy Ray being the prime example. This man was fully functional and very intelligent, but the disease caused vocal and physical tics that impeded his work and his marriage from being successful. After being prescribed Haldol, which suppresses the involuntary outbursts, Witty Ticcy Ray found himself unhappy with how sluggish he was and unmotivated. Both extremes led him to only taking the medicine during the work week, allowing himself to “roam free” on the weekend.

            Transports is the third section, which is composed of people who find themselves almost “transported” back in time with memories, reminiscences, and a state of dreaming. A large majority of these people have temporal lobe over-stimulation, usually through strokes, seizures, or migraines. A lady named Mrs. O’C. who was somewhat deaf woke up one morning and heard her childhood music playing (traditional Irish tunes), but discovered it was only in her head. The music continued for many days, reminding her of her childhood and sometimes she saw visions of her mother during these outbreaks of music. After going to see Sacks, it was proven she was having temporal lobe seizures that were causing these transports. As the consequences of the stroke on her brain started to heal, the music started to go away.

            The final section is the world of the simple, dealing with the mentally retarded. The stories emphasize how concrete their world is as it is not convoluted with abstraction. The defectiveness of the mind of these people with regards to the “conceptual and abstract” (176) can cause a sort of compensation in other areas of mental ability. For example, Sacks talks about the twins John and Michael, both of which are severely autistic. The twins can however say what day of the week any date will fall on in any year (using an unconscious algorithm), and can remember hundreds of digits with no trouble. However, their IQs are 60s and do horridly at calculating for other things. They can also tell the weather and events of any day in their lives since they were four, showing how their memory is limitless. The most peculiar thing the twins can do is count unnaturally high numbers of things in seconds, saying they “just ‘saw’ their number, as a whole, in a flash” (200). Many cases like this have been found among the mentally retarded.

Sincerely Sydney

Resumes and how to Fix Them

I am so tired of having to correct people's bad resumes. I mean honestly, how hard is it to present yourself proffessionally? Since I am now becoming to the age where you have to have a resume, I have researched how to do a good one. This is what my findings tell me:
Quick Key: the red is bad, the blue is an explanation, and the green is what I would change it to. All Hypothetical, so please don't try to contact the addresses.

crazy4catz@aol.comThis email address is bad because it is unprofessional and may turn off employers. A better email address would be carl.hoffer@aol.com

OBJECTIVE: To find a gig.This is a bad objective because it is self-focused, generic, and it does not tell the employer your skills or the kind of job you are seeking. Also, it is not professional. A better objective would be:

OBJECTIVE: To apply the knowledge acquired through a bachelor’s degree in Marketing and Communications and two summer internships at a public relations agency to an entry-level position on the marketing or PR team of a major financial institution.

Summary of Qualifications: My last client called me a god. This is bad because it tells nothing of qualifications and it doesn’t show how this skill will help the company, though it definitely sets the applicant apart. Also, it is questionable why the applicant was called “a god” and too short to be called a summary.  A better summary of qualifications would be:

Summary of Qualifications: Accomplished loan and credit underwriter with nine years’ experience in commercial and retail banking and a proven record of profitable lending transactions. Adept at combining in-depth knowledge of industry practices and legal requirements with analytical expertise, strategic negotiation, and skillful relationship building to secure new and repeat business. Earned top underwriter or runner-up status in Northeast region for past four years.

Work Experience: Let's meet, so you can ooh and aah over my experience.This is a REALLY bad work experience as it tells nothing of your work experience and probably offended the person who is looking at your resume. A better work experience listing would be:
Senior Commercial Loan Underwriter
September 2005 to Present
Money Trust, St. Louis, MO

• Processed $10 billion in commercial construction loan applications for the top commercial lender in Eastern Missouri
• Managed a team of five junior underwriters who exceeded departmental goals consistently for past six months
• Facilitated professional training on loan research methods to shorten learning curve for new hires
• Applied professional team-building skills to development of successful company softball team, resulting in higher corporate visibility in local community and enhanced employee morale

Education: While I've never quite gotten a degree, I am quite close to several. This is a bad education section as it doesn’t show your strengths, doesn’t tell where you went, and makes you seem very wishy-washy. A better education section would be:

University of Boston, 1998
Boston, MA
Bachelor of Science, Finance

References: References available upon request. This is a bad reference section as it all it tells the employer is that you have references and makes the employment process much longer. Also, it makes the employer work harder than he will want to, lowering the likeliness that you will be hired. A better reference section would be:

John Smith

123 Cress St.

Janesville, WI 53785

Cell phone: 13456788989                                  

Sincerely Sydney

Susan Boyle

I’m sure all of you have heard of this wonderful singer: Susan Boyle. Her Britain’s Got Talent audition went viral for more than just her voice; it so perfectly shows the day old saying “don’t judge a book by its cover”. I mean, let’s be honest: she is obviously not the most beautiful woman in the world based on the standard skinny, big boobed women. However, as soon as she opens her mouth, the audience is awestruck and captivated. I mean, it is truly a gift to have such a big enveloping voice. It is so sad though, to see the original reaction of the audience, and how they obviously are waiting for her to fail. Just goes to show how we immediately judge people within the first minute of meeting them. If they look and act like us, they are accepted and sure to be successful in whatever they wish to do. If they don’t, then they are a freak and questionable at best. Everyone says they aren’t judgmental of others, but look at what happens these days. Racial profiling, discrimination, making fun of others. It is a bit ridiculous. Anyways, you guys should check out her website and songs she has put out. She even got a makeover, if it makes you feel better.

Sincerely Sydney

Come on guys, Take a Hint from Black-Eyed Peas: Where is the Love?

I feel like a lot of the time my posts are about how I don't understand how somebody could be so stupid. Or so cruel. Or so disgusting. Maybe I am an optimist or like to see the good in humanity, but I am genuinely shocked at every killing, every abuse. I just don't see how somebody could do that to another human being, even when mentally ill. Yes, sometimes I get mad or frustrated or offended. Yes, I am competitive and (at least in soccer) aggressive. But I would never be able to physically mutilate a person's body in such a scarring way.

Nonetheless, these acts keep happening and today's story brings us to Mexico. Incase you don't know, there are some turf wars going on down there between different drug cartels. The Jalisco New Generation gang, allied with the Sinaloa cartel, are fighting for control of land against the Zetas drug cartel. The gangs kill mass amount of people, disembody them, and then leave little notes to the other side, pretty much saying that they are winning. What a disgusting game. But anyways. Yesterday, police in Mexico found 18 bodies stuffed in vans (dismembered and beheaded) by a very popular vacation destination, Lake Chapala. This killing was supposedly a response to a killing that happened earlier (last Friday) of 23 people in Nuevo Loredo.

I know that this is more than just an argument over land. Its an argument over clients, over jobs, and ultimately over lifestyles. But honestly, killing victims just to prove a point that your group is stronger than the other is just revolting and not solving the problem. Quick Question: Where is the Mexican government? The Judicial System? The humanity? And how do we solve this problem quickly, to prevent the loss of more lives in Mexico?

Hmph.

Sincerely Sydney

Movie Review: Pocahontas

Chandler, my boyfriend, and I watched Disney’s version of Pocahontas to compare the true story to the story depicted in the movie. While some parts seemed quite accurate, other parts are so very wrong that it is hard to accept the movie as something that children watch to learn about the “New World”.

            First, we should probably point out the fact that animals don’t talk. Neither do trees. Sorry Disney, but even though the Native Americans were very in touch with nature, they could not talk to other species or inanimate objects.

            Another very important fact is that Pocahontas’ real name is Matoaka; Pocahontas was just a child hood nickname to describe her sense of adventure.

Just to be clear, she was about 10 to 12 when she first met John Smith. Smith was about 30. We realize that Disney had to change the ages around so the romance isn’t pedophilia, but in real life, their relationship was a mere friendship.

There is some debate over whether Pocahontas actually saved John Smith’s life, as he was an avid liar and the only version of the tale that is written is in his journal. However, if it did happen, it was because she was friends with him, not because she was in love with him. Stories say she did cradle his head in her arms though right before her dad almost gave the death blow to stop the killing. So props Disney. Afterwards, however, they didn’t just set him free. Smith had to be a laborer for the tribe until he was trusted enough to be set free.

In case you haven’t already figured, Pocahontas did not marry Smith. She actually married Kocoum, who was her arranged marriage in the movie. During this time, she helped out the British though, teaching them how to live off the land. For the tribe, she was considered their translator, and helped them work out agreements to avoid war. The Native Americans had to resort to this because their population kept getting wiped out by European diseases.

The British saw how valuable this girl was, since she was the reason that the Europeans where having a harder time taking advantage of the Native Americans near Jamestown. The British Crown also wanted to renew fervor in the settlement of Virginia, by showing there is no danger in the colony. So, when she was about 17, the British kidnapped her and tried to convert her to Christianity. While captive, Pocahontas fell in love with John Rolfe, a very rich tobacco farmer, and they married after she converted. This caused peace between the settlers and Native Americans. She then visited Europe and died of a disease after meeting the king and queen.

The movie doesn’t touch on any of that, as that does not shed a positive light on our own European heritage. It did get a few things right though. For example, the British did want God, glory, and gold and were hell-bent on killing some natives. They feared the Native Americans, and did not have any qualms in killing them for their land. It was also correct in the fact that there was very little to no gold in Virginia.

We think the thing this movie does the best is to show the European and Native American perception of trying to share the land. It shows how Europeans didn’t care who currently owned the land or whether others were there first, they just claimed it as their own with a flag and some drums. Even though the Native Americans were on the land first, they were considered the intruders. The movie nicely showed how the British tried to clear their conscious of taking so much by saying that they were helping savages become ready for a high society. The movie kind of lacks in showing the complexity of the Native American societies, however, which is why many Native American Study scholars feels so deeply against this movie. The Native Americans were not cast in a very complimentary light.

PS. The dog of the evil British governor? That was a true fact. A  fashion symbol of the time believe it or not. He was just that cool.

Sincerely Sydney

Octo-Mom

So does everyone remember Octo-Mom?  The lady who in 2009 gave birth to eight children through in-vitro fertilization? Who has 14 children and no job? Ya that is the lady.  Well remember when she said she would never go on welfare? Or do porn? Or any other sketchy thing to take care of these children that she cannot financially support? Well that doesn’t seem to be working out real well for her. Turns out she is accepting $2000 a month from welfare now to help feed those children. But that is not going to pay for everything she needs to do, and so she is doing a few risqué things to get a little bit more cash in her pocket. This includes posing topless for a British magazine for $8000. She even has gone back on what she said about porn, now contemplating how much money she can get for her public sex display. And honestly, she can get a lot of money.
However, the fact that our society allows for this to happen is purely disgusting. Not just the porn to support a far too large single parent, jobless family. But the fact that we allowed a woman to be put in this horrible position. Seriously. It was in-vitro fertilization. It isn’t a natural pregnancy, we aren’t supposed to have eight children at once. Especially by ourselves. Human beings should not be allowed to choose to have children that they cannot care for. It is not fair for the children at all, who now will always be cast aside by society because their mother is a dumbass. They will not have all the opportunities of an average child because there are not enough supplies to spread to all 14 children with the meager earnings of their mother selling her body.
I really hate people who are too selfish to realize that they are hurting others, especially their children. The mother obviously has a need for attention that far exceeds normal people and will do anything for a little bit of the lime light. The worst part of all of this is that the tax payers of America has to pay for this stupid lack of judgment. I don’t want my hard earned money to be spent on helping a lady have 14 children and no job. I just don’t understand how someone could think this was a good idea.
Sincerely Sydney