"Shark Life: True Stories About Sharks & the Sea" contains a plethora of happy and informative stories about Peter Benchley and his encounters with various sea creatures. The book also presents sharks as neither the kindly king of the oceans nor the misanthrope of marine life, but rather as a group of elasmobranchii who view the world much differently than land-based mammals.
When I first started reading this book, I only knew Peter Benchley as the man who wrote "Jaws". By the end of the book, I realized that Peter Benchley truly cares about the oceans, has worked hard to educate people about sea creatures, and is a talented writer. I also learned that I am ashamed at how we as humans have treated the ocean animals, and I wish we could change our ways before sharks join the dodos on the extinction list. But I'm not holding my breath.
This weekend, I received a direct message through Twitter from a friend of mine. "Wow! I guess you didn't realize that they were watching you. {insert URL} " read the generic but intriguing message. But when I clicked the link, the URL first went to Facebook, then to a copycat Facebook page with a different URL.
Ugh! I had just been targeted by the Twitter Virus!!!
This particular virus sends direct messages from a Twitter account to people who follow that account, telling the recepient that he or she appears in an interesting video. The message also helpfully includes a link to the suspect video. But the video link goes to an imitation Facebook page where you are prompted to enter your Facebook login information.
Also, as soon as you click the link, the virus begins trolling your followers list, resending itself to continue the hack.
If you get one of these messages, DO NOT OPEN THE LINK. I would also let the sender know that their Twitter account seems to be hacked. That's how I found out later that my Twitter account was hacked - a very nice person told me about a message that I supposedly sent them.
If you do click on the link or your Twitter account is otherwise hacked, I suggest you take the following steps:
Change your Twitter and/or Facebook passwords.
Delete any direct messages that contain the virus sent from your Twitter account.
Check any application linked to through Twitter. Do you recognize all of them? Do any of them use the same password? If so, change the password.
Check any application linked to through Facebook. Do you recognize all of them? Do any of them use the same password? If so, change the password.
Change the password on any account that shares the same password as Twitter or Facebook.
Check your Facebook security settings to ensure that nothing has changed.
This past week, I received an email from the pediatrician's office, telling me that the flu vaccine is now available and remind me to schedule an appointment for my children. The email spawned some questions:
Do I want to schedule an appointment?
Do I want my kids to get another vaccine?
I know that vaccines do not directly cause autism, because I read and believe all of the research surrounding thimerosal. And I have relatives who died or were permanently disabled from polio, so I also believe that vaccines do good.
But I also know that the over use and misuse of antibiotics has created several new super bugs, including new strains of both tuberculosis and gonorrhea that resist almost all available antibiotics. If we get an epidemic of either disease, we would be hard-pressed to respond in any way other than to let the infected die while protecting the healthy.
So I wonder, do vaccines exasperate the problem?
After research, my answer is no, vaccines do not exasperate the super bug problem. In fact, by removing certain viruses from the living population, vaccines help us eradicate certain diseases, creating a stronger populations.
I then looked at arguments against the flu vaccine, or vaccines in general:
Vaccines hurt the immune system, as evidenced by the sudden expansion of auto-immune diseases.
The flu vaccine doesn't work because the scientists merely guess what to put into it.
We don't know that vaccines are effective.
My child is not in an at-risk group, and therefore does not need the flu vaccine.
Vaccines use thimerosal, which causes mercury poisoning.
More research ensued, and this is what I learned.
Auto-immune disease, such as arthritis, have been documented for centuries, and there really is no "sudden expansion" in the area. In fact, vaccines help to exercise the immune system in a world filled with antibacterial soap and obsession with cleaning products.
Okay, the scientists are guessing what flu will emerge each winter. But the amount of hard work put into that "guess" outweighs the amount of fancy or fantasy in it.
Proving a positive is quite difficult in science. But circumstantial evidence solidly and strongly supports the effectiveness of vaccines.
In the beginning, the medical community recommended the flu vaccine only for at-risk groups (such as people with weakened immune systems or with respiratory problems, like asthma). But these days, everyone is eligible for the flu vaccine because it is better for everyone if no one gets the flu.
Thimerosal is a preservative for multi-dose vaccines that helps to prevent deaths from vaccines gone bad. In 1928, 12 children died from a staphylococcus infection given to them through a vaccine without preservatives. Several groups researched thimerosal after someone supposedly linked it to autism, but no one has credibly supported that link. In response to public opinion, the CDC removed thimerosal from almost all vaccines. The flu vaccine is an exception, and still contains a small amount of thimerosal, but there is a non-thimerosal version available if you ask for it.
In the end, I would rather my kids not get the flu, so I will be taking them to get the flu vaccine in the next week or so. My husband and I will also be getting the flu vaccine. The question now is, will you?
* The video is a song about the flu, composed and sung by the amazing Tom Lehrer.
I checked this book out of my public library, but immediately lost it to my son, who read the entire novel in three days. Then he bugged me to read it quickly because he wanted to talk to me about it.
I must say, I completely understand his enthusiasm. "Article 5" captures your attention and holds on, from the first chapter until the very last page.
The story follows a typical teenage girl, Ember Miller, as she tries to adjust to life under a new, strict theocracy. Ember keeps her head down, draws little or no attention to herself, and studies hard in school because she fears that girls will not be allowed in certain classes soon.
Then, disaster strikes, as soldiers show up at her house to arrest her mother for breaking Article 5. Ember also gets taken away, not officially "arrested" but now government property; Ember must find a way to reunite with her mother, at all costs.
The strength of "Article 5" relies on well-defined characters and believable action. The most defined character is Ember, as she grows and changes through her experiences. I expected this. But I did not expect the complexity of Chase Jennings, Ember's old friend/boyfriend. Ms. Simmons reveals his character slowly, building it piece by piece so that the reader learns about Chase at the same time Ember does.
As for action, well, let's say I had trouble putting the book down. Ms Simmons writes wonder action scenes that convey the confusion, the violence, and the moments of clarity experienced by Ember.
I almost rated this book 5 stars, but it still have a rough around the edges feeling to it. But I am waiting with bated breath for the sequel.
I had no idea what to expect when I picked up "The Automatic Detective", by A. Lee Martinez. I read a review of "Emperor Mollusk versus the Sinister Brain" that sounded quite interesting, but our local public library only had "The Automatic Detective" and "The Nameless Witch". I check both books out, and found myself pleasantly surprised.
"The Automatic Detective" follows the story of an robot named Mack Megaton in Empire City, a futuristic place where weird and unusual science experiments bring hope and radiation to mankind. Mack is just trying to get by as a cab driver when his next-door neighbors get kidnapped. In a sudden move of compassion, Mack decides that he needs to find and protect these people.
I love this novel!! Martinez pulls elements from the standard pot-boiler detective novel, interject some science fiction, and raps the entire thing in mutated tape. All of the characters come alive, even if they seem a bit two-dimensional, because really, people you meet only once or twice are two-dimensional to a certain extent. Mack grows as a character in an uncharacteristic way; after all, he is a robot built to destroy the world. The villains are a necessary evil, but they help Mack out a time or three. The government conspires; the conspirators govern; and everyone wonders what to do with Mack.
And who doesn't like a talking gorilla?
I hope that Mr. Martinez writes more novels in this universe. Lots more.
Shark Life: True Stories About Sharks & the Sea by Peter Benchley
