Keira Brigit Pauline

I read this book in 2007 when I traveled to Venezuela. It was a good companion to have on the airplane ride. The book is about the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago. I never realized how much the fair changed things. Some products were introduced at the fair such as Cracker Jacks, Juicy Fruit Gum, Aunt Jemima's Pancake mix, and the hamburger was introduced to the USA. I found it to be very interesting that a few of the buildings from the fair that stand today are part of the Museum of Science and Industry. I went there in 2000. I didn't know about the history of those buildings until I read the book. The book is about the World's Fair and also about a series of murders that were committed by a serial killer during the time of the event. He went by many pseudonyms. H.H. Holmes was his most popular one. He came from the East and moved into Chicago where he wasn't known. He was a good con-artist, making business deals with people and later refusing to pay his loans...

The anti-vaccine debate is something that has been raging for over a decade.  The debate started in 1998 when British doctor Andrew Wakefield published a study that said vaccines may cause autism in toddlers.  The result was that millions of parents refused to vaccinate their children, decided to space vaccines out, or also selectively vaccinate their children.  The result was that many children were sickened by vaccine-preventable diseases and some died.  There were people who were vaccinated and came down with the illnesses because their vaccines weren't enough to give them full immunity.  Some diseases that were almost non-existant in some areas made comebacks among those unvaccinated populations. This anti-vaccine debate boils my blood.  First, the risks of vaccinating are low.  They are so low that in fact, when someone does have a reaction to a vaccine, doctors are not sure if the vaccine caused the distress or something else.  Even then, t...

The issues of adults with intellectual giftedness are something that isn't brought up often among psychological circles. Giftedness in child development is something that is talked about, yet still isn't addressed enough. After all, only a small part of the population is gifted. It is an important topic because people with giftedness have unique needs. They are often misunderstood. Many gifted people have heightened sensitivities, emotions, drive, imagination, and creativity. Having relationships with other gifted individuals is essential so they can have people with whome to relate. I decided to read this book so I can understand myself better. I know I was an outsider in school. I was one of the students with good grades and never joined any groups. I was a non-conformist and I never felt that I was like the other students. I often didn't know what to talk about when they talked about things. I just didn't find their topics to be interesting. Of course I got ...

By James T. Webb, Edward R. Amend, Nadia E. Webb, Jean Goerss, Paul Belian, Richard Olenchak This book is a very interesting book about the subject of intellectual giftedness. It is about how gifted people often get misdiagnosed with disorders such as Bipolar, AD/HD, Asperger's, and Obsessive Compulsive. It also mentions how gifted people can have these disorders along with their giftedness. Psychologists are realizing now that gifted traits can mimic certain disorders because of the overexcitabilities and drive of people of high intelligence. Gifted individuals with learning disabilities and other psychiatric disorders are known as "twice exceptional" and they are a challenging group of people to understand. I have noticed that many children are diagnosed with ADD or ADHD and and many other disorders. They are being put on drugs like Ritalin at a high rate. Many of these children are very bright kids. I wonder how many of them really neeed that medication. Hi...

Some  names I thought would be great for hybrid plants if I were a botanist: Ice Princess, Snow Queen, Emerald City, Kaitlin, Gracie, Zephyr, Shianna, Shayla, Desert Queen, Taehan, Jinju, Paek-Jangmi, Cham Sarang, Cloud's Silver Lining, Pink Frosting, Villanelle, Moonbow, Po Eun, Cheyenna, Georgia O'Keefe, Angeline Grace, Sugarplum Fairy, Boston, Geumgansan,  Baekdusan, Jet Black, Tharaya, Dali, Picasso, Sheena, Silver/Gold Jubilee, Mulled Cider, Pot of Gold, Ariel, Silver Bells, April Showers, Double Rainbow, Philos, Aristotle, Lauralee, Christmas Candy, Clear Joy, Confetti, Sepia, Peaceful Breeze, Zephyra, Zephaniah, Crystalline...

I have had old friends and family members in the United States asking me when I'm going to stay in the country and settle.  They see my wanting to live in other countries to work and explore as "immature" and think I need to get a "real" job and be "stable".  I know what they think would be best for me: a great job where I can make lots of money and have prestige, a house with a big yard, a few children with names like Mackenzie and Aidan, and a golden retriever.  A bonus would be a white picket fence and a SUV.  It is considered "success" to fit into the typical suburban lifestyle and have lots of things people will envy. I have decided to opt out of the "American Dream".  I have realized it's not worth it to chase after it.  Having a home would be nice, but that would also mean having to pay a mortgage and keeping the home up.  I would like to own a home, yet it's not something necessary.  I also don't want to have a ...