Thursday, July 9, 2009

Ahmadinejad vs Obama



SHALL WE COMPARE THE COMPETENCY OF BOTH LEADERS?

Friday, July 3, 2009

Are you blood thirsty?

Remember the days when Buffy the Vampire Slayer was the 'IT' show. I sure do. HBO has taken on "True Blood" , a show, based on the "The Southern Vampire Mysteries" series of novels by Charlaine Harris. It's been on HBO since September 2008. The context is placed on the premise that vampires have been "accepted" into our society. I have "accepted" in quotes because obviously not everyone agrees on this, and there are religious right winged conservatives who consider the acceptance of vampires as blasphemy. Go figure. The show is HOT HOT HOT, and a sure eye-opener.

Fighting for fundamental rights

If you have been following the news since mid-June you are probablly well aware of the voting scandal which has rocked havoc in Iran. IF not, click here, for an interactive time line crafted by the New York Times describing the contentious issue. This one election could have potentially changed Iran's civil society toward a more liberalized nation, only to find itself in complete turmoil as massive numbers of people protest against the outcome of the current elections.

There are many Iranians, especially the younger generation, who not only disagree with the outcome of the election but are disillusioned by the highly conservative regime. They are outraged with the lack of freedom within their society, lack of connection with the outside world and refuse to continue with the current mandates which infringe on their rights as individual human beings. These individuals have come out in numbers protesting their government, as they continue to exercise what they believe should be considered fundamental rights and freedoms. However, the reining power that holds in Iran deems these actions as unacceptable and will go through any measures to halt these massive protests. And that includes violence. This violence has cost the lives of many, and especially Nida, a peaceful activist who in particular made headlines world wide.

New York Times Interactive Time Line

Thursday, July 2, 2009

You're a Jerk



The New Boyz

Do you google your name?

Sometimes I like to google my name and see what comes up....Do you? DONT LIE! I know ya'll do it. LOL
Anyways, I stumbled upon an article which I was summoned to write by my English teacher. While I was reading it, I had no recollection in my memory ever writing this article. Mind you, I wrote it three years ago, while I was in grade 12 and since then I've written endless essays regarding topics which blow my mind. So a humorous article such as this one didn't stick out. Needless to say, as I was reading it I realized, YES I would have written something like this. It's just that I forgot about it because I remember the assignment was assigned in April and it didn't get published till July! I'm so happy I googled my name because I would have never known my article was published. Anyways, here it is.....It's a book review about one of my favorite books, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time.

Click here -BOOK REVIEW

CIAO

I've been in Rome for just over a week and half and I am having such a splendid vacation. My brain mind been enriched with so much Roman history. It's incredibly overwhelming but I think that I've learned alot in the last few days and hopefully I'll be able to retain all this new knowledge in my head. There is just so much to see here. Rome is literally an open museum. Everywhere you look there is sculpture, monument, bridge , arch and so on which has some historic significance. Yesterday I went to Galleria Borghese which houses artwork by Caravaggio and sculptures by Bernini. I've always liked art but I've never really been completely amazed by what I've seen. I mean apart from the Sistine Chapel, which is unbelievable this gallery is a gem. The gallery is small and intimate kind of like the Frick in NYC but the art work this gallery holds is just extraordinary. So many sculptures and paintings dating back from Ancient Rome have been restored to its original splendor. It's truly astonishing and very interesting learning the history of this artwork. I was completely amazed by all the great works this gallery has acquired over the years. This particular gallery made me have a new appreciation for art.

19 is the number of days that I'm in Rome for and right now it is Day 11. I chose to stay here for almost 3 weeks, partially because staying here for that amount of time was the cheapest, and from my last post when I was talking about spontaneously and perhaps irrationally booking my ticket it was the best deal! When I got here, I was regretting it because I was a little homesick and this was the first time I was traveling by myself without any friends or family. But I mean, I think it's good that I'm staying here for almost three weeks because I've gotten a better sense of the the city, and not everything is rushed as many tour groups plan. I feel like I live here, but not really. I've learned how to take the bus and train all all by my lonesome. I've got my map in one hand and guidebook in another. Also, I was getting really irritated because everything was written in Italian. I had the worst time when I was at the post office because I didn't know what line to go too and well long story short...Italy is a foreign country where english is not the native language...so Why should they have to make bilingual signs?
So here a couple photos that I've taken since I've been here. I'll fill you in the next couple days..until then. Enjoy!