ha haha hahaha
what a lame stupid video. but i know you love this song!!!
ayyoooo
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
how do you like my new look
this photo takes my breath away!!! looking at it is exhilarating because heights scare the shit out of me.
and so does this song (takes my breath away, not scare the shit out of me): the organ - let the bells ring
might be the most underrated band of all time. they only have a handful of songs and it should be considered a crime. whoa and i just rhymed!
sounds eery and dark and depressing but light at the same time.
"i live under a bell-shaped curve for being average"
and so does this song (takes my breath away, not scare the shit out of me): the organ - let the bells ring
might be the most underrated band of all time. they only have a handful of songs and it should be considered a crime. whoa and i just rhymed!
sounds eery and dark and depressing but light at the same time.
"i live under a bell-shaped curve for being average"
eat pray love
reminiscing about Victoria with Kimmy, watching eat pray love which was more like eat cry cry for us. with an incredibly noisy but good-for-the-environment chip bag.
the ocean is toooo beautiful.
This will be me in a few months!!!! on a journey of self-reflection and discovery
Also missing beautiful Victoria, my future home city
Also missing beautiful Victoria, my future home city
the ocean is toooo beautiful.
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Friday, August 27, 2010
mind = blown
past present future which do you live in??
i might be a present oriented hedonist. certainly NOT future oriented!
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
my horoscope...
has been right on target lately
Let friendship be your focus today. If you have noticed recently that you seem to have the same problems or challenges with making relationships work, this is the perfect time to study and perfect your communication skills. If a particular relationship is troubled right now, you should really address your concerns so that you don't allow this person to fall through the cracks. If you don't nurture and maintain your friendships, they cannot continue to grow and thrive. Someone important in your life needs your attention.
and yesterday:
Don't let fatigue get the best of you. If you're falling-down tired then it is only logical to remedy the situation. Whether you've been hard at work burning the candle at both ends, or indulging in a bit too much social activity, you really need to adjust your habits. You may feel as though you're fitting in as much work or fun as possible because you want to seize the day, but over time it could be getting to you, and it could begin to affect your work and your relationships. Take better care of yourself.
Let friendship be your focus today. If you have noticed recently that you seem to have the same problems or challenges with making relationships work, this is the perfect time to study and perfect your communication skills. If a particular relationship is troubled right now, you should really address your concerns so that you don't allow this person to fall through the cracks. If you don't nurture and maintain your friendships, they cannot continue to grow and thrive. Someone important in your life needs your attention.
and yesterday:
Don't let fatigue get the best of you. If you're falling-down tired then it is only logical to remedy the situation. Whether you've been hard at work burning the candle at both ends, or indulging in a bit too much social activity, you really need to adjust your habits. You may feel as though you're fitting in as much work or fun as possible because you want to seize the day, but over time it could be getting to you, and it could begin to affect your work and your relationships. Take better care of yourself.
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
revealing biases
here is an interesting Harvard study, and the related implicit association tests that anyone can do.
These tests try to reveal biases people have towards race, gender, sexuality, skin tone, age, weight, even countries (US vs. Canada). It is not hard to believe that when the results from this study were compiled, it was found that most people automatically prefer white over black, thin over fat, and straight over gay, as well as holding some pretty stereotypical views on which gender is better at science or humanities.
I've only done the weight test myself, and surprise! The results are in and I slightly prefer thin over fat. These tests prove that racism, sexism, fatphobia and homophobia, among others, are structural problems and are not a matter of individual opinion or choice. Everyone has ingrained biases that are extremely difficult to get rid of because of the constant messages we are fed by society.
These tests try to reveal biases people have towards race, gender, sexuality, skin tone, age, weight, even countries (US vs. Canada). It is not hard to believe that when the results from this study were compiled, it was found that most people automatically prefer white over black, thin over fat, and straight over gay, as well as holding some pretty stereotypical views on which gender is better at science or humanities.
I've only done the weight test myself, and surprise! The results are in and I slightly prefer thin over fat. These tests prove that racism, sexism, fatphobia and homophobia, among others, are structural problems and are not a matter of individual opinion or choice. Everyone has ingrained biases that are extremely difficult to get rid of because of the constant messages we are fed by society.
let's talk about tommy douglas...someone has to!
"I don't mind being a symbol but I don't want to become a monument. There are monuments all over the Parliament Buildings and I've seen what the pigeons do to them."
The very-underrated-by-my-generation Tommy Douglas was voted The Greatest Canadian.
And with very good reason. He's the most influential politician Canada has ever seen (especially impressive since he was never prime minister), and a very big reason Canada is so great. Douglas started out as a social activist in Weyburn, Saskatchewan and went on to lead the Saskatchewan CCF, which eventually became the first democratic socialist government in all of North America. Douglas is considered (though sometimes he does not get the credit he deserves) the father of many of the social programs and legislation we take for granted today:
- prime creator of public healthcare in Saskatchewan, which soon spread to the rest of the country with the help of Lester B Pearson and John Deifenbaker
- created several Crown corporations
- created legislation that allowed the unionization of the public service
- helped pass the Saskatchewan Bill of Rights, which protected equality rights and fundamental freedoms for the individual from the government as well as from more powerful corporations and individuals
- creation of the Saskatchewan Power Corp which was publicly owned and helped deliver electricity to rural farms and villages
He eventually went on to become the leader of the NDP until his retirement in 1979.
Douglas fought hard for what he believed in even when no one would back him up; he was the definition of a true activist. He faced enormous struggles in creating public healthcare especially, which is something the majority of Canadians are grateful for today.
The very-underrated-by-my-generation Tommy Douglas was voted The Greatest Canadian.
And with very good reason. He's the most influential politician Canada has ever seen (especially impressive since he was never prime minister), and a very big reason Canada is so great. Douglas started out as a social activist in Weyburn, Saskatchewan and went on to lead the Saskatchewan CCF, which eventually became the first democratic socialist government in all of North America. Douglas is considered (though sometimes he does not get the credit he deserves) the father of many of the social programs and legislation we take for granted today:
- prime creator of public healthcare in Saskatchewan, which soon spread to the rest of the country with the help of Lester B Pearson and John Deifenbaker
- created several Crown corporations
- created legislation that allowed the unionization of the public service
- helped pass the Saskatchewan Bill of Rights, which protected equality rights and fundamental freedoms for the individual from the government as well as from more powerful corporations and individuals
- creation of the Saskatchewan Power Corp which was publicly owned and helped deliver electricity to rural farms and villages
He eventually went on to become the leader of the NDP until his retirement in 1979.
Douglas fought hard for what he believed in even when no one would back him up; he was the definition of a true activist. He faced enormous struggles in creating public healthcare especially, which is something the majority of Canadians are grateful for today.
Saturday, August 21, 2010
heart is finished
trying to pick up the pieces of myself that are strewn about, pick myself up off the floor
i tried so hard
i tried so hard
Friday, August 20, 2010
fear.
"What did the Fascist regimes in Italy, Germany, and Spain have in common? They consisted of a highly militarized state, backed by corporation and a wealthy elite, that rose to power through a false populism that exploited the public’s fear of foreigners and ‘moral degenerates.’”
sounds pretty familiar, doesn't it?
On a related note, this article makes me lose my faith in humanity. Or I should say, the remaining faith I had, since there wasn't much to begin with. Apparently, 25% of Americans (I prefer the term USians, myself) still think that Obama is Muslim. In fact, this percentage has gone up since the last poll, probably due to Obama's support for the Islamic community center in New York City (which is another post in itself). More than two years into his presidency, and the discussion on whether he is Muslim or not is STILL going on?! I fail to see why anyone should care what religion he identifies as? He is not Muslim, and the worst part is that all the hand wringing surrounding this non-issue implies that there is something terribly wrong with identifying as such.
The only people that care are the ones who need to assess why they're so terrified of a religious faith that has millions of followers around the globe. Islam is not the problem here, it's your own special mix of fear, hate, willful ignorance and privilege that keeps the cycle of hate and violence churning. It is not the duty of the millions of peaceful Muslims who practice their faith every day across the globe (the majority of which live in Indonesia, by the way, NOT the Middle East) to prove to YOU, white ignorant right wing American, that they are not violent or radical. It is the duty of the racist, white ignorant American to check their privilege and read a goddam book.
This issue at its deepest level boils down the fact that the current president of the United States is not white. In other words, in the eyes of racist white Americans, he is not one of "us". He is not on "our side". Because of this, and because, as we know, radical right wingers only have straight, cis, able-bodied, white, male interests in mind, the radical right wing media and "politicians" will do anything to discredit and smear him, create all kinds of impossible barriers and obstacles to prevent him from making any progress, (like, umm, accusing him of being racist or a Muslim radical) and then call him out for not making any progress. They do this because they are really, truly angry that a black man is president of the United States, and they really, really want him to fail. Because, how dare he, right? How dare he think that he's allowed to lead the GREAT United States of America?
The racism and Islamophobia coming out of the United States is not just American's problem. This is the entire Western world's problem, because this reflects poorly on every nation with Western ideals. This is a matter of oppressor vs oppressed, in which we, being richer, more powerful, and overwhelmingly white, are the oppressor. Which is why it so important to show the rest of the world that we overwhelmingly welcome diversity and freedom of religion.
- Sean Donahue
sounds pretty familiar, doesn't it?
On a related note, this article makes me lose my faith in humanity. Or I should say, the remaining faith I had, since there wasn't much to begin with. Apparently, 25% of Americans (I prefer the term USians, myself) still think that Obama is Muslim. In fact, this percentage has gone up since the last poll, probably due to Obama's support for the Islamic community center in New York City (which is another post in itself). More than two years into his presidency, and the discussion on whether he is Muslim or not is STILL going on?! I fail to see why anyone should care what religion he identifies as? He is not Muslim, and the worst part is that all the hand wringing surrounding this non-issue implies that there is something terribly wrong with identifying as such.
The only people that care are the ones who need to assess why they're so terrified of a religious faith that has millions of followers around the globe. Islam is not the problem here, it's your own special mix of fear, hate, willful ignorance and privilege that keeps the cycle of hate and violence churning. It is not the duty of the millions of peaceful Muslims who practice their faith every day across the globe (the majority of which live in Indonesia, by the way, NOT the Middle East) to prove to YOU, white ignorant right wing American, that they are not violent or radical. It is the duty of the racist, white ignorant American to check their privilege and read a goddam book.
This issue at its deepest level boils down the fact that the current president of the United States is not white. In other words, in the eyes of racist white Americans, he is not one of "us". He is not on "our side". Because of this, and because, as we know, radical right wingers only have straight, cis, able-bodied, white, male interests in mind, the radical right wing media and "politicians" will do anything to discredit and smear him, create all kinds of impossible barriers and obstacles to prevent him from making any progress, (like, umm, accusing him of being racist or a Muslim radical) and then call him out for not making any progress. They do this because they are really, truly angry that a black man is president of the United States, and they really, really want him to fail. Because, how dare he, right? How dare he think that he's allowed to lead the GREAT United States of America?
The racism and Islamophobia coming out of the United States is not just American's problem. This is the entire Western world's problem, because this reflects poorly on every nation with Western ideals. This is a matter of oppressor vs oppressed, in which we, being richer, more powerful, and overwhelmingly white, are the oppressor. Which is why it so important to show the rest of the world that we overwhelmingly welcome diversity and freedom of religion.
trouble in paradise
"i just heard a foghorn I'm sure. we're back on the island. just me and you. a beach. an ocean. and an eternity to spend."
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