看完北京台《蜗居》已经挺久了，一直想写个观后感，但是不知道从何入手。想不到现在这个片子还听热门。
热门只是因为有个比较好的话题房子而已，而其他什么最流氓的电视剧，这些纯粹是瞎扯淡，难道是仅仅因为宣传的噱头。
这个片子我觉得最混蛋的是海藻的姐姐海萍，为了自己的房子居然把自己的妹妹最终推向了那个火坑。而等有了自己的房子后又像一个救世主一样来进行说教。房子毁了可不仅仅是2个家庭。
现在魔都和帝都的房价已经涨的没人能够看懂了，小时候我们学过国民党统治区物价飞涨，民不聊生，现在都已经活生生的出现在我们面前了。
去年年底是一个房价的低点，由于外部金融危机造成的，就是这个时候国家鼓励大家买房子，现在很多人后悔当时没听国家的没买房子，而现在又涨起来了。其实都是他们自己造成的，到今年2月临涨前其实很多KFS已经撑不下去了，可由于我们的不团结，很多看到低一点就开始抢购了，而人类的从众意识导致了这个一发不可收拾，其实要是我们再坚持1年不买，那现在估计上海内环房价已经4K-6K了。
专家每天都在说刚性需求，然后又出来丈母娘需求，现在又出来毕业生需求，其实都是政府自己定义的需求，我们这些傻蛋都被晃进去了。
所以我们千万别指望国家主动来调房价，无论哪个市长市委书记说，那都是空谈。他们都是同一链条上的。

In the minds of many, the disaster of the Iraq War is paralleled by a corresponding sense of bewildered disappointment with the lack of massive, sustained opposition to the war. What happened to that emerging global civil society? In the United States, why are we not all in the streets, at least as much as during the Vietnam War?  - Emilio Travieso [1]

      Sadly, this single article sums up most of the feelings and thoughts that have run through my mind since the invasion on March 18, 2003 and throughout the occupation until present day. Travieso hits on too many points in his six page essay to properly cover in a single post, and thus the focus will be narrow. Specifically, when the movement fell apart at the start of the occupation where have modifications been made that have shown promise to achieving a set goal?

     After the invasion, the flabbergasted peace movement stood in bewilderment. After the initial shock that nothing, not even a global movement and the UN, could stop Bush’s plans to destroy Iraq wore off, the peace movement underwent some major restructuring. The start of the peaceful war resistance was composed of a few large groups that coordinated massive global protests against the invasion. As soon as the movement began, it ended. The organized hierarchical structure of global resistance fell apart. This was inevitable for many reasons, but most importantly because the large global movement’s goal was to stop an unjust invasion. Obviously, it didn’t work and thus the restructuring began.

     “… The peace movement had no strategy for re-framing the issue to change the public’s mind.” [1] Travieso stated in a single sentence the desperate need for the peace movement’s radical restructuring. As the global resistance fell apart, groups splintered off and began their own local resistance. These small groups began to faction and focus on destabilizing the pillars of war. [1] The three main goals that precipitated were reducing military recruitment, exposing and challenging corporate war profiteers, and influencing the U.S. Congress. These goals varied in focus according to group skills and location. Younger groups are focusing on counter recruitment in high-schools, where groups in Philadelphia and Houston rise against Lockheed Martin and Halliburton, respectively.  

     NAWC is involved in all three of these peace goals. According to Travieso, the success of the current peace resistance is due to the faction-ization and specialization of smaller groups. It may be that NAWC has yet to undergo said restructuring on the local level.  The next post will delve into analyzing NAWC’s position from Travieso’s perspective.

[1] Travieso, E., The u.s. peace movement during the iraq war, Peace Review, Jan-March 2008,vol. 20, issue 1. Retrieved: http://akin.css.edu:2055/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=31255147&site=ehost-live DOI: 10.1080/10402650701873833

I haven’t posted the last couple of weeks because I still didn’t know what specific direction the group, which I also didn’t have a name for, was taking.  Apart from a core group planning meeting a couple of weeks ago, the Duluth chapter had its first meeting this weekend.  The group is called the Minnesota Break the Bonds campaign and their plan of action is to localize a broader movement known as Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions for Palestine (BDS).

The idea behind BDS is that we, as consumers, should cease to financially support the continuing occupation of Palestine.  The BDS campaign, both domestically and internationally, recognizes that writing letters to elected officials and demonstrating are probably not particularly effective means by which to challenge the immensely influential system of power structures that helps to maintain Israeli primacy over Palestinian inhabitants of the country.

The BDS campaign promotes a boycott of Israeli-made products, sporting events, and multi-national corporations that invest in Israeli developement and settlement within Palestinian areas. This is a tactic that was used fairly successfully to help draw public attention to apartheid in South Africa, which is becoming an increasingly apt parallel.

Star Wars Movie Poster

Today there is only one first run movie theatre chain in the whole of Canada, so even the most successful movies only play for a matter of weeks.

But back in the 1970’s there was still competition among Canadian movie theatres so Star Wars actually played on Canadian movie screens for over a year. When the first Star Wars movie was released I was so caught up in it that I ended up going out to see it in a variety of movie theatres thirteen times during that first year.

I am a huge Star Wars fan.

I bought all the Star Wars merchandise that I could afford. In those days there were no DVDs or downloads. VCRs had just come on the market and they were prohibitively expensive.

So at first those of us who were not indescribably wealthy had to content ourselves with purchasing vinyl record albums that ran at 33 1/3rd rpm on an old fashioned machine called a record player. I bought the music in the form of the John Williams Star Wars soundtrack album, as well as a record called “The Story of Star Wars”, a synopsis of the story narrated by C3PO with audio clips from the film. To this day any time I hear the 20th Century Fox music tag I flash on the “real” Star Wars opening.

And today the George Lucas’s Star Wars empire continues to make money in new ways. I don’t have a problem with that. It is a business after all.

I still love Star Wars, particularly the first one. And this article in no way intends any disrespect. I’m telling you about my connection with Star Wars because the incredible success that Star Wars had makes it a good example. That, and because Star Wars was the very first videotape movie I saw played on a VCR in a private home.

What I really want to do today (besides procrastinate from working on my NaNoWriMo novel) is to look at personal use copying as a copyright infringement issue.

The Copyright Lobby makes no distinction between commercial bootleggers who distribute illegal copies for profit and legal purchasers who seek to make a back-up copy or digital format shift for personal use. Because they insist it is all the same thing, the Copyright Lobby has been pressuring governments the world over in an attempt to criminalize personal use copying.

I think there is a problem with the terminology here because calling both things by the same name is horribly misleading. Both activities involve digital copying, but that is where the similarity ends. Just as apples and oranges are both fruit but they are really not the same at all.

apples and oranges

One thing the Copyright Lobby calls “piracy” would be more accurately called “Bootlegging”. Bootleg music recordings have been around as long as audio recording technology has existed. People have smuggled recording devices into concerts and made copies which they have then sold around the world. There have also been professional bootleggers who have copied recorded music and repackaged it to sell illegally. These activities have resulted in lost revenue for music distributors, and in fact should be illegal.

The other thing the Copyright Lobby calls “piracy” is what I call “Personal use copying”. This covers a much wider range of activities, but the chief defining factor of personal use copying is the fact that this digital copying is not for profit. Rather than resulting in lost revenue for distributors, personal use copying relieves the burden of format shifting from the manufacturer to the consumer. When shared through p2p networks personal use copying serves as a means of promoting these commercial products in the same way that radio and television broadcasts have done under the traditional business model. This type of copying should be legal.

The Copyright Lobby’s effort to criminalize this type of copying simply alienates the customer base. Like DRM or SOC methods, it does absolutely nothing to stem the flow of bootlegging.

When did the idea of ownership change?

It used to be that when you bought something you owned it. You were free to do with it what you liked. Even if it was something covered under copyright law… like a book, you were entitled to read that book as many times as you wanted to.

• You could loan it to a friend.
• You could quote from it in an essay
• You could read it aloud to your blind grandmother.

And at the end of the day it was still your book. Unless you decided you no longer wanted it, at which time you could legally sell it to a used book store.

Now lets look at what’s been happening so far in the information age. Manufacturers of recorded music and movies have their materials covered under copyright. They want us to not make copies for our own personal use, even though we have paid them the price they ask.

Personal use copying is not the same thing as bootlegging for commercial gain.

The Problem

Original Star Wars Betamax videotape

If you purchased Star Wars in the Sony Betamax version back then, you would have found yourself out of luck a few short years later when Sony stopped making Betamax VCRs. When your Betamax machine became inoperable, you could no longer buy a new one, which of course rendered the tape you purchased in good faith unplayable. No one warned the unfortunate consumers that invested in Betamax tapes and Betamax equipment. I never heard of anyone getting refunds from the movie companies. Or the MPAA. Or Sony. Etc.

Star Wars on VHS

But.

Now you can’t. So what do you do if you really loved Star Wars?

You go out and buy it again. This time on VHS.

The rest of your life, eh? I know that’s what I thought. Didn’t you?

Did Twentieth Century Fox ever offer to reimburse you for the useless hunk of plastic and tape (that you have now purchased twice for your own use) that is now deteriorating? And suddenly it’s near impossible to buy a new VHS machine because there is yet another new technology– now movies are on DVD. Even if you can find a new VHS machine, we’ve all learned that a VCR will be lucky to last for five years anyway. And of course the VCRs you can find now are far more expensive than DVD players. So what’s a fan to do. Oh right.

You go out and buy Star Wars again on DVD.

Star Wars on DVD

[Of course, this particular example is extra irritating because George Lucas hasn't stopped tinkering with the thing, and since he's vowed to never release the REAL version (the one that actually played in theatres in 1977) on DVD, so I will never have the version I want no matter how many times I've paid for it. *sigh*]

But you’re a fan.

So you go out and buy the movie AGAIN on DVD.

At least you have it in a form that will last.

Now HD is gone too.

Or not.

Because then along came HD DVD.  The media manufacturers were a little surprised that we didn’t all rush out and buy HD machines.

Replacing our entire video library. AGAIN.

Oh… you were one of those suckers who got conned into converting to bought into HD? Ooooops!  Didn’t anyone tell you that the technology you were supposed to back was Blu-Ray?

I could go through the same process to look at the parallels in the music industry: piano rolls, gramophone cylinders, ’78’s, LPs, 8 track tapes, cassette tapes and CDS… all over the course of a single century.

Funny, I have a working gramophone older than I am which will play ’78’s. Yet our modern day electronic equipment will be doing well to work after a decade.

I don’t know about you but I am tired of buying the same movies over and over again.

Copyright is an agreement between the creator/manufacturer and the consumer.

The media distributors have NOT kept their part of the bargain, expecting consumers to pay for the same material over and over again. It should be legal to be able to watch the movie you have purchased in good faith as many times as we want to, for the rest of our lives.

Consumers have not been given any protection by governments the world over.

At the very minimum customers need to be given the right to copy the products they have purchased onto the piece of technology needed to play it.

We believe we own what we have purchased.
They want us to believe that we don’t.

Fortunately our government representatives are in an excellent position to look out for the Canadian consumer interests as they redraft our copyright law for the benefit of Canadians.

Thanh Long Yển Nguyệt Đại Đao. Quan Công.

Đao ngắn hộ thân, kiểu sỹ quan đeo súng ngắn

Thương, nhớ đến Triệu Tử Long bách chiến bách thắng.

Kiếm, đôi song kiếm này lấy ở mộ Lưu Bị.

kích, cây Thiên Phương Họa Kích này đào được ở mộ Lã Bố.

Phủ, nhớ đến Từ Hoảng

Song Phủ, nhớ đến Lý Quỳ Lý Quỷ.

Việt. Búa của tướng thời đồ đổng, sau được dùng như biểu tượng của Tổng chỉ huy quân đội, dùng kèm với Tiết.

Câu, cái này bắt sống Ô Mã Nhi đây.

Xoa, là cái đinh ba dầu ăn. Ai ngày xưa dùng xoa nhỉ, à Huy Phúc Nguyên Soái xửa xưa ở Giảng Võ Hồ đánh bọn Mè Ngư Phi Ngư.

Thang. Thang này không dùng để trèo.

Côn. Còn nghi ngờ gì nữa, Hoa Quả Sơn đại quân theo Tề Thiên Đại Thánh. Đây là vũ khí cổ nhất của con người đã dùng.

Sóc. Không tìm được ảnh nào hơn. Sóc là thương 4 mặt.

Bổng. Lang Nha Bổng.

Tiên của Lực Vân Tiên

Giản. Của thằng mả mịe nèo hùi Tàn Đường.

Chùy. Chùy, chùy …. ai dùng chùy.

Trảo, nhớ đến Mai Siêu Phong.

Quải tử. Cái này rất khó đánh

Lưu tinh. Cái này còn đánh khó nữa.

Since Loaves & Fishes works with impoverished people, the homeless, and provides bicycles for people, I thought this article on a homeless man who wants to open his own bicycle shop would be appropriate.

Nat, a man without a home in Fredericksburg, Virginia, use to be a truck driver. He lost his job and subsequently, his home. He has been working with a place called Micah Ministries, which is a ministry that works with the homeless and does volunteer work around the community.

Nat has been working on people’s bicycles for sometime. He would like to open his own shop but feels that without a degree he would not have much room for growth. Micah Ministries is working to help Nat raise the tuition cost ($4,000 a semester) in order to attend the United Bicycle Institute, in Ashland, Oregon.

Nat declined to give his last name in the article since being referred to as homeless in a previous article had cost him some jobs he had applied for. In the article they mention that when the homeless are using the address at Micah Ministries to apply for a job they will be turned down once the prospective employer finds out the address used is a local shelter or the Micah Ministires day center.

The original article can be found here.

Many people believe faith in a higher power improves an individual’s overall health. By including any aspect of faith into a person’s daily life, it provides people with something the government cannot— deep, committed support.

The Catholic Worker Movement was founded upon the values of communal living in a supportive environment. They strive to help the poor and homeless by forming deep, committed relationships with everyone who comes knocking at their door. They believe in the Catholic foundations implemented by Dorothy Day and Peter Maurin and as a result consider including faith in social assistance programs one of the best ways to truly help someone.

When President Bush was elected to office he also believed faith in a higher power improved social circumstances. It not only improves the lives of those negatively affected by issues such as poverty, but shows positive affects for the fortunate as well. As a result, President Bush hoped to incorporate government into faith based organizations during his time in office to help built and support social programs for the unfortunate.

In December 2008, faith-based initiatives were incorporated into the federal government as an “effort to increase federal support for smaller social-service groups, particularly religious ones” (Lew). From 1990 to 2007, welfare-to-work grants rose from three to eleven percent. President Bush believed this is an important use of federal grants because it is “addressing human need” for governmental support of faith-based social organizations. (Lew)

Even though the Catholic Worker Movement doesn’t rely on governmental grants, faith-based initiatives have opened the door for other faith affiliated social organizations that were unable to succeed due to the lack of resources. If the government continues to provide grants for these social programs, social issues will continue to help the unfortunate by providing a community of deep, committed support grounded in faith.

Daly, Lew. “What Bush got right: keeping the ‘faith’ in faith-based initiatives. ” Commonweal. 136.5 (March 13, 2009): 8(2). Expanded Academic ASAP. Gale. College of St. Scholastica. 19 Nov. 2009

     I have been searching for another piece of solid evidence for a long time now and I believe I have found it.  Many people believe that those of us who are questioning the events of 9/11 are not experts in areas that would allow us to be credible sources.  I, however, have something that will change that stereotype.  There are those who are questioning these events who are in fact experts in the field of structural engineering.

     This article, found on the website of Architects and Engineers for 9/11 Truth, is something you should consider taking the time to read.  I strongly believe that this is the evidence that some of you need to see so that you may begin to see the truth. 

     The article, which can be found in its entirety here, starts out by giving mutiple questions posed by engineers and architects about the collapse of the three buildings on 9/11.  It goes on to give multiple examples of how each one of these buildings could not have collapsed in the manner that the official story claims.  It also gives us a number of side notes, such as the molten steel in the basements of the towers after the collapse, that support the theories of the involvement of explosives on 9/11.  It provides us with many theories from different engineers and strutural experts. 

These people are experts in their field.  They are stepping out on a limb and presenting this idea at their own risk because they feel very strongly about it.  At one point in the article, William Acri states that in the engineer’s oath it is said to, “Hold public safety above all else,” and this demands that they raise these questions.  The article then goes on to say, “If three modern steel highrises really underwent total progressive collapse in less than two hours of fire, merely because of the fires and some damage to the fireproofing, “we need to understand WHY!”

     I feel that these engineers and architects have solid points that cannot be simply discounted or ignored.  Take the time to read the article and see for yourself.

Where sending greeting cards becomesIn a very busy world, we understand the need to reach out to family, friends, even business associates in a quick and convenient way. That experience should be fun, creative, and personal. For this reason we’ve developed the SOCBox, your doorway to an online system that we like to callcard sending bliss. After activating your SOCBox, you’ll have the ability to send10 greeting cards on us. We’ll print them, put them in an envelope with a real stamp and quickly mail your greetings cards!

creative, convenient and cost-effective!

Domestic violence is a serious problem that affects people of all backgrounds. Although physical violence is most commonly thought of, domestic violence may also be emotional or psychological. There are serious consequences associated with domestic violence, including both emotional and physical injury and death, and it is important to prevent those occurrences. The article below provides a step-by-step guide to preventing domestic violence.

How to Prevent Domestic Violence

Domestic violence is a serious crime that thrives on the use of emotional, psychological and physical abuse to control and isolate the victim. It is enacted by both men and women across all socioeconomic classes, ethnicity, culture and race. Domestic violence is often fueled by stress, substance abuse and repeating the cycle of learned behavior. Children that witness domestic violence suffer and have the haunting memories to live with. Domestic violence can end in serious injury and death. Because of the seriousness of this crime, it is extremely important that we learn how to prevent domestic violence.

Teach and educate about domestic violence. This can be most effective by educating young people to help them understand that violence is never an acceptable behavior.

Step 2

Promote domestic violence awareness. When people become aware of the statistics and effects domestic violence has on lives and communities, it keeps the issue alive and important.

Step 3

Speak out against domestic violence. Talking about the seriousness of domestic violence amongst friends, family and other community members also helps to keep the importance out there.

Step 4

Take a stand against entertainment, music and jokes that might trivialize domestic violence. Also, stand up against comments that blame the victim.

Step 5

Organize fundraisers to support the local efforts behind domestic violence prevention and awareness. The better funded the programs are, the more reach they can have.

Step 6

Encourage communities to establish centers for domestic violence. Those that are being domestically abused will go get help when they know that it is readily available.

Step 7

Support local laws and legislation aimed at supporting and protecting against domestic violence. When stricter laws and legislation are in play, abusers tend to think twice, while those that have been abused feel more secure with turning to law enforcement for help.

Step 8

Demand that local social service workers and law enforcement is properly trained in domestic violence. For many years, women who were domestically abused refrained from reporting it or seeking out help because they were often re-victimized by those same people that were supposed to help them.

Step 9

Volunteer with domestic violence organizations. Many of these programs that are aimed at assisting domestic abuse victims are poorly funded and can use all the help they can get. Plus, it can be a positive way to give back to the community while reaching out and touching the life of someone in need.

Step 10

Support the development of after care programs aimed at assisting the psychological needs of families and individuals that lived through domestic abuse.

Step 11

Report suspicions of domestic violence to the proper authorities. Domestic violence is still a very secret crime, and it often sits silently within any given home in any given neighborhood. Sometimes, it takes that one person to make that call and report the suspicion to help a person out of a situation they may not be able to get out of on their own.

Tips & Warnings

It is unfortunate that most of domestic violence prevention begins after the violence has started. However, it cannot be reiterated enough that teaching young children that violence is not a way to handle anger and emotions, will go a long way in preventing violent behavior when they become teens and adults.

Remember, the longer a person stays in a domestically violent relationship, the harder it becomes to get out. Also, when children are witness to the behavior it can pattern their future behaviors. Meaning, little girls that watch their mommy get abused often wind up being abused, while little boys identify with their daddy and grow up to emulate the way their daddy treated their mommy.

Cast, J. (2009).  How to prevent domestic violence. Retrieved from http://www.ehow.com/how_2222947_prevent-domestic-violence.html

“Boost in U.S. Aid to Israel Vital Amid Increasing Threats”

By: The American Israel Public Affairs Committee

Photo By: AIPAC

The United States has a vested interest in supporting and securing a strong Israeli militarily, for Israel, and its own interests in the region. According the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) the self-proclaimed “pro-Israel lobby”, it is vital for the U.S. to bolster support for the Israeli Authority to counter the impending threats. With the increasing and ever-changing global terrorism threat it is imperative for the U.S. to support its allies in their mission and interests in the region.

In the brief for congressional staffers AIPAC explains that with the passing and allocation of funds, the U.S.-Israeli security agreement would be implemented in 2007. The agreement “pledged to provide Israel with $30 billion in military assistance during the next decade, [and] is vital to ensuring that Israel maintains its qualitative military edge over those adversaries that threaten the Jewish state and actively work to undermine U.S. interests in the region” (AIPAC). It is in the interest of AIPAC and the U.S. to supply the Israeli Authority with generous amounts of military aid, and arms in order to protect the world from these unprecedented threats. The stance of AIPAC is that the Arab world is a major threat to Israel and the U.S., and therefore, the U.S. must continue efforts to support Israel (AIPAC).  As military costs spiral  higher and higher, Israel needs more US military aid and US arms and aircraft to bolster fight against the “hostile” Arab world (AIPAC).

In the end the AIPAC mission is to secure U.S. military aid to Israel. The claim used to support this mission is as follows: The U.S./Israel special relationship in the MOU [Memorandum of Understanding] represents a vital U.S. “investment in peace” and that “a secure and strong Israel is in the interests of the United States. Both countries have long recognized that their mutual interests in deterring war, promoting stability and eventually achieving peace are only possible if the United States continues to ensure Israel’s qualitative military edge over its potential adversaries (AIPAC).

While this is an interesting congressional brief, it is so bombastic and utterly saturated with fear that its message never appears. In order to support U.S. military assistance to Israel it would be advantageous to delineate why Israel ‘needs’ said aid , and how Israel will benefit from this aid. It does not suffice to just fill a piece of literature with fear mongering jargon of the Arab world, buttressed by fear of terrorism. This diatribe finished with reminding the reader that this is in their interests to support Israel and its domination in the region. According to AIPAC it is integral and just to support Israel in its total victory in the region resulting in peace. This stance is perverse, wrongheaded, and unjust. Peace can not be found in the region through increased military assistance and arms packages. Peace cannot be found by building up walls, check points, and artificial borders. Peace cannot be found by bulldozing Palestinian family homes for the ‘manifest destiny’ of the Israeli State. Peace will manifest in the region though dialogue, compromise, and immensely hard work, but never through the barrel of a gun.

Work Cited:

AIPAC.” Boost in U.S. Aid to Israel Vital Amid Increasing Threats”             http://www.aipac.org/The_Issues/index_11073.asp

Deci nu, deci da, deci nu, deci știu că nu se începe o frază așa dar… dar nu-mi vine să cred că… că… of, Doamne, NEMIRA, te iubesc, o să îți rămân cititor fidel până la moarte și dacă cumva o să mi se întâmple un accident pe munte și o să intru în comă o să îmi pun niște prieteni să îmi citească din cărțile scoase de tine până îmi revin, cum cică s-a întâmplat – acum nu știu dacă King și-a bătut joc de noi, nu am verificat – în nu știu ce țară și un tip se rănise pe munte și i s-a citit din LOTR până s-a trezit.

Nu cred că pot pune emoția și frenezia care m-a cuprins în aceste rânduri. Spre deosebire de Doru, eu nu sar prin casă (cel puțin nu încă, nu știu ce voi face dimineață), doar țip, la masă, sau râd de fericire, sau scot onomatopee și chicoteli. Acesta poate fi un lucru rău, pentru că presiunea nu are unde să se ducă altundeva decât în mâinile care îmi tastează… bucuria omoară mai degrabă decât tristețea. Morbid? Și nici nu pot pune zece mii de AAA-uri pentru că ar fi inestetic. Nici nu pot umple articolul cu o, Doamne-uri pentru că aș plictisi. În momentul în care scriu aceste rânduri am un zâmbet asemănător cu acela de acum o săptămână când s-a supărat Ohara – 9 B-ul știe – și nici nu am citit tot articolul de pe blogul editurii NEMIRA pentru că știu că odată terminat îmi voi petrece două minute admirând coperta, pe care o țin ascunsă acum într-un tab, doar așa, de masochism.

Astăzi pe tablă am scris mai mult decât mă obișnuisem în celelalte zile, adică, după ce ASOIAF trona mare, în mijloc, roșu, am luat casele la rând și le-am desenat blazonul cu tot anti-talentul meu fără un desen clar în față. Apoi, în următoarea pauză, am scris deviziile lor. China le-a șters. Apoi Laura a venit la mine și mi-a spus: „Cred că o să o citesc și eu, pare interesantă.” În sfârșiiiiit, de două luni mă chinui să creez această scânteie. De două luni tot scriu valar morghulis înainte de fizică și sunt întrebată ce înseamnă iar eu le spun că este o limbă din cea mai genială serie ever și că înseamnă oamenii mor! La testul de la română unde exercițiu patru suna: „Alcătuiți o compunere-dialog de cel puțin 20 de rânduri pe tema unei cărți preferate” a fost de la sine înțeles că voi scrie despre ASOIAF, deși mă cam temeam să nu o considere carte… pe riscul meu. La proiectul de la română am spus că, deși Quo vadis este printre primele 10 cărți preferate – observație: pe ASOIAF o consider o carte, nu o serie, pentru că altfel s-ar ocupa primele 7 locuri - dar nu este prima: „Prima este pe tablă.”

OK. Aberez. Ăsta a fost un prolog. Capitolul I. Așa cum a spus Doru referitor la SFIDAREA, așa spun și eu acum la… o, zei, puteți să credeți cât de repede se mișcă NEMIRA?? Poți să CREZI??+alte 2000 de semne de întrebare. Citisem un comentariu că A FEAST FOR CROWS nu va apărea la Gaudeamus, asta dacă cititorii nu vor să fie cu greșeli sau alte lucruri de genul acesta. Graba strică treba. Și acceptasem, că doar ce era să fac? La urma urmei, cinci luni, e cam puțin și traducere și corectare și bla bla bla toate lucrurile care se fac pe aici. Îmi amintesc cum mergeam spre Romexpo în iunie, la Bookfest, și mă gândisem că dacă nu găseam Iureșul săbiilor toată bucuria mea avea să se ducă pe apa sâmbetei. De fapt, gândeam mai multe lucruri referitor la acest subiect, dar lasă Cum începusem din spate la standul NEMIRA bănuind că ASOIAF era în față, pentru a gusta acel sentiment care mă făcea să mă simt vie, ceva care semăna cu adrenalina și care îmi făcea inima să bată repede repede repede. Și apoi, când am avut volumele în mâna:X

Mda, și apoi când s-au terminat :-@.

Ăăă… da. Așadar și prin urmare… FESTINUL CIORILOR apare la Gaudeamus. Doru >:D< mulțumesc de două ori, prima pentru știi tu ce și a doua oară pentru anunț, nu cred că mă uitam azi pe blogul NEMIREI. Dar nu neapărat în ordinea asta.

Încă două săptămâni, la naiba, cine știe câte fonduri o să am? Azi, la școală, am făcut o mini listă cu ce vreau eu să iau la Gaudeamus. Renunț la excursia cu Rotea pentru asta! și voiam să merg!, chiar voiam! La Voineasa, nu? Ce ocazie mai frumoasă de a compara ultima excursie, aceea care a ieșit ca vai de capul ei, cu aceasta nouă, cu noua clasă, cu noul liceu pe care nu îl mai dau nici pentru Sava. Revenind. Se făcuseră 26 de titluri. Hyperion, Căderea lui Hyperion, cele nouă rămase din Amber, Ilion, Gazda, Parfumul văduvei negre, Sfidarea, Talismanul, Apocalipsa, Jocul lui Gerald, Mobilul, Evanghelia lui Satana, Blestemul Nobilului Foul, Ucenicul asasinului și încă câteva al căror nume le-am uitat, astea fiind must-urile, să spunem cele mai importante:))

Cine știe câte voi putea lua:-< hai, că sunt puțin mai multe ca la Bookfest…… oh, dream.

A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE

sursa

Update: Martin e un geniu. Un pur geniu. Geniu. Geniu. Opera lui… genială.

NEMIRA RULZZZZ!!!

     I recently recieved a comment on my blog asking me to show how 9/11 was a social issue.  I sat and pondered this for a while and realized that perhaps I needed to do exactly that.  So far, what I have accomplished with this blog is to stir up people’s beliefs surrounding 9/11, which is in itself its own social issue.

     In chapter #3 of Michael Jacoby Brown’s book, Building Powerful Community Organizations, he says that a powerful organization needs a mission statement, a vision of what needs to be changed. 

     I feel that I already have my vision of what needs to be changed.  People need to change their beliefs about what happened on 9/11.  They need to realize that the US government was involved. They need to realize that the story that the 9/11 commission gave us is false.  They need to see that everything is not as it seems. 

     That is my mission: To persuade people to believe that 9/11 did not happen as we were told it happened by our government.  My mission is to persuade people to seek the truth about 9/11 and all of the issues surrounding it and to make people want to educate themselves about this subject.

This is the first part of the mission of the organization with which I am working, “TO EXPOSE the official lies and cover-up surrounding the events of September 11th, 2001 in a way that inspires the people to overcome denial and understand the truth; namely, that elements within the US government and covert policy apparatus must have orchestrated or participated in the execution of the attacks for these to have happened in the way that they did.”  If you would like to read the rest of the mission statement of the 9/11 Truth Movement, it can be found here.

I want people to realize I am going somewhere with all of my posts; They do have a purpose.

Movie Poster 27x40

Seed of Chucky (also known as Child’s Play 5: Seed Of Chucky, Child’s Play 5 or SOC) is a 2004 American horror film, which is the fifth entry in the popular Child’s Play series. Seed of Chucky follows the events of Bride of Chucky and stars Jennifer Tilly (who plays herself and also voices Tiffany), Billy Boyd (as the voice of Glen/Glenda), and Brad Dourif (as Chucky). The film features rapper Redman, director John Waters and S Club star Hannah Spearritt. It was written and directed by Don Mancini, who created Child’s Play and has written all sequels to date. With this entry, Mancini marked his directorial debut.

The film, shot in Romania, continues the series’ evolution from the pure-horror genre of the first movie to a hybrid horror-comedy. Besides spoofing other horror movies, the film references domestic dramas and tabloid television. This film also counts as the first film in the series to contain nudity.

Buy this title only $9.99

Jennifer Tilly

Trivia:

• The script was originally offered to Universal in 1998, who turned it down. Focus Features (a division of Universal Studios) finally picked up the movie in 2003.
• Filmed on the largest soundstage in Romania and the second-largest soundstange in Europe where Cold Mountain (2003) was also shot.
• Because Focus Features has a reputation for yielding eloquent, “artsy” independent films, Rogue Pictures was created as an off-shoot to release this movie.
• Jennifer Tilly wanted to lose weight to play herself in the movie, but she and Don Mancini inserted “fat jokes” into the script in case she didn’t make it.
• The TV spots for this movie displays an unusual disclaimer: Britney Spears Does Not Appear In This Movie. This disclaimer was inserted into TV spots because Britney’s management was concerned that people might be lead to believe that Britney actually appears in the movie. It is not her in the movie; but a look-alike.
• The wife of the man Tiffany calls to apologize to is the widow of the cop she killed at the beginning of Bride of Chucky (1998).
• The gender confused child of Chucky and Tiffany is named either Glen or Glenda by his parents. Glen or Glenda (1953) was Edward D. Wood Jr.’s film in which Wood himself portrayed the transvestite known as Glen or Glenda.
• When the floor manager at the beginning of the film shouts “Hey, Tiffany’s left arm is loose again” and then the arm grabs his crotch, this is an in-joke as revealed on the DVD commentary for Bride of Chucky (1998). Jennifer Tilly explains that Chucky’s left arm kept grabbing her breasts during shoots.
• The First film to be made by Rogue Pictures.
• As revealed on the DVD’s commentary the directors and producer had difficulty agreeing on the look of Glen. The director wanted to give him his own look and style but the producer felt that he should have features similar to Chucky because after all Glen is his son. As a result Glen was given blue eyes, red hair, and freckles like Chucky. Glen’s blue eyes and red hair however are a different shade than Chucky’s.
• As revealed on the DVD commentary because of the low budget the crew were unable to shoot the much bigger Chucky vs Glen fight that was in the shooting script.
• Chris Sarandon was approached to reprise his role as Det. Mike Norris from the first film, but turned it down due to scheduling conflicts.

Christianity has been the dominant influence to the personalist movement which began following World War I in the early 1930s. The movement was in response to the devastation of the war and the “root causes of the crisis of modernity: (1) the loss of the sense of the dignity of the person; (2) the domination of the political, economic, and social order by depersonalizing systems; (3) the justification of these developments by the modern ideologies of individualism, capitalism, communism, and fascism; and (4) the overreliance on intellectual theories that abstract from the concrete human person in the construction of closed philosophical systems” (Rourke 801-03). Even though the core reasons for this movement could relate to many people, especially those affected by the war, it failed to become socially relevant.

Not until Dorothy Day and Peter Maurin co-founded the Catholic Worker Movement in 1933 did the personalist movement begin to receive greater attention from a more widespread audience. The founders of the Catholic Worker Movement believed in all aspects of the philosophy of personalism. Most importantly they believed in treating each person as one would treat Christ. Based upon the Gospel of Matthew, they believed in providing to the homeless and the poor. Their mission of charity was unlike any charity organization of the past. Rather, they “advocated Church-related persons and organizations shelter the homeless rather than simply sending them along to some anonymous government bureaucracy” (Gregory 157-58). By providing personal contact with the afflicted, a belief grounded in faith, and with personalism, many Catholic Workers believed, and still do today, that this was the best approach to the issue in order to find resolution.

Gregory, David L. “The Catholic Worker Movement.” Encyclopedia of Catholic Social Thought, Social Science, and Social Policy. 1. Lanham, MD: The Scarecrow Press, INC., 2007. Print.

Rourke, Thomas. “Personalism.” Encyclopedia of Catholic Social Thought, Social Science, and Social Policy. 2. Lanham, MD: The Scarecrow Press, INC., 2007. Print.

Coalitions have been used for good and bad. The “Coalition Of The Willing” invaded and occupy Iraq. Similarly, the Civil Rights Movement was a coalition movement by diverse groups ranging from pacifists to radicals like the Black Panthers. Coalitions are the strongest when they are composed of many various groups, each group bringing their strengths to the table. In the end, coalitions work when ideas get framed so they ride with already popular thinking.

         “An Inconvenient Truth”, “Planet Earth”, and “Blue Planet: Seas Of Life” are just a few examples of recent popular films that outline current pro-environmental thinking. In , “Tensions, Ties, and Coalitions Among Local Activists In American Peace and Environmental Movements” an article by Betty Zisk, defines the parameters and conditions necessary to facilitate environmental and peace movement coalitions.

There are three contextual conditions that facilitate or impede cooperation among local peace and environmental groups. These are: ( 1) the adequacy of political and economic resources of the community, including the population base, the stance of the media, the laws and political norms that determine, for example, whether the ballot initiative is available or whether demonstrations are acceptable as a political strategy; ( 2) the existence or absence of umbrella groups or centers that can train leaders, offer seed money, or facilitate communications and meetings within and across political causes; and ( 3) the emergence of a concrete, seemingly urgent local or regional issue that cuts across narrow policy concerns. [1]

      NAWC is currently supported by Lake Superior Greens and Nukewatch. Both groups are environmentally focused but see overlap between their goals and the peace movement. Further research into this issue will help reveal if these three factors are in play locally. It is possible, that other, larger green movements can be recruited in such a manner.  

[1] Zisk, Betty H., Tensions, ties, and coalitions among local activists in American peace and environmental movements, National Forum; Winter 1990, Vol. 70 Issue 1

     Before the start of U.S. military actions in Iraq, the world was in an uproar. An estimated 10 million individuals participated in the largest protest in human history. [1] Wow, that’s quite a feat of logistics. Across countries, in difference time zones, on different continents, and the media covered what? If you would have turned on your T.V. and punched in a news network, you would have been met with stories of Columbia or Jackson. The weeks following February 15th were nothing but in-depth coverage of the Columbia shuttle disaster sprinkled with some special investigations of, the now dead, Michael Jackson’s speculated plastic surgeries.[1] Was the media waging their own war?

      Polls taken during the months leading up to the invasion of Iraq indicated that the American people were behind the invasion. [1] I wonder why … If 10 million people across the world couldn’t incur the media’s eye, I strain to find reason for them to pay attention to the dwindling numbers of anti-war protesters in the United States, let alone little ‘ol Duluth. It was almost if the media was a baby who just got a new toy. Now this toy wasn’t just any toy, it was spectacular! It had flashing lights, beeping horns, and it moved to boot! But, little baby media instead decided the box deserved more attention then the toy that it once held.

     Time and time again, the U.S. media shows its immaturity reporting on the most elementary and sensational stories possible. One day it’s the toddler stuck in a home-made air balloon, the next it’s J-Lo slipping and falling to the floor during a national broadcast. I don’t believe there is anyone who would say that the U.S. media delivers worthwhile broadcasts when compared to the BBC or Al-Jazeera. The question inevitably arises, why is it that the U.S. media covers such crap? There are an infinite reasons [3], no doubt, but for the sake of key strokes the two that are most important follow.

     Firstly, the U.S. media is no longer journalism from the theoretical perspective.[2] Proper journalism is concerned with the discovery of the owner of factual information and the delivery of found data to the general public. The media should act as both the detective and conduit of truth. It may be “true” that J-Lo fell on her grass, and it may be from factual sources, but how does this benefit the people? Well, it entertains the masses, but it doesn’t benefit the good of all. More importantly it benefits the broadcast corporation. They get viewers, they get ratings, that means money. Sigh, capitalism wins again.

      Secondly, the media is subject to political pressures [3]. With two political parties to choose from, the American populus finds themselves listening, reading, and watching ads from those multi-million dollar political parties. Just this past election, the Democratic party spent 513,557,218 dollars and the Republican party spent 346,666,422 dollars. [4] Hmm … catching on yet?

     Media for sale, media for sale! Full support to the highest bidder!

[1] Mantilla, K. , april 2003, worldwide peace movement ignored by media, Off Our Backs, Vol. 33 Issue 3, p8 Retrieved from: http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=9414068&site=ehost-live

[2] Cline, R, A., various posts dates, toward a field theory of journalism,  Rhetorica: Press-Politics Journal Web Blog, Retrieved from: http://rhetorica.net/field_theory.htm

[3] Shah, A., october 2009, media in the united states, Global Issues Web Blog, Retrieved from: http://www.globalissues.org/article/163/media-in-the-united-states

[4] Federal Election Commission, summary report search results 2007-2008 cycle, Retrieved from: http://query.nictusa.com/cgi-bin/cancomsrs/?_08+00+PR