Random stuff...need to clear my head

First - Stephen Hawking, the brilliant physicist most famously known for his breakthroughs in cosmology and quantum gravity, has been admitted into hospital on account of serious illness. He is a genuis when it comes to black holes and his work has shed light on this area, among others, in ways that cannot be described nor forgotten. Hawkings contribution to the human species and to science is absolutely incredible and his work will help generations to come to continue on a path towards greater knowledge regarding our world and the universe that surrounds us. I hope he makes it out of the hospital and feels better soon. We still needs minds like him.

Second - I watched Poltergeist III on Sunday (I wasn't in the mood to do much else and I needed a break!). The movie was great, as expected since I've already seen it. lol. But this time I watched it more carefully and picked up on some of the best quotes in the film, especially quotes said by Tangina - the psychic. At one crucial point she says: "You see innocence is the only gift we're given. All else must be fought for. In that gift is purity. In that purity lies strength." This quote sent a chill down my spine, but it is so true. Movie was made in 1988, so you can imagine how crappy the tech stuff would be, but still they do a good job. There's nothing like these old horror films. It was less on the technical crap and more on the story, quotes, and acting. 

Third - Susan Boyle may have met her match in 'Britain's Got Talent'. A 12 year old boy has taken the spotlight with his amazing vocals. Should be an interesting season on that show.

Fourth - A former astronaut who was part of the Apollo 14 mission to the moon says that aliens do exist and that the U.S. government, along with other world governments are hiding the truth from people. He's a Roswell native and he claims that the infamous Roswell crash landing of an alien spacecraft did occur. The more this guy talks the more he sounds like a real-life "Mulder". I'm wondering when "Skully" is going to show up. Seriously though, he's got some serious claims so it will be interesting to see how this pans out. He's got national attention already.

Fifth - I'm still waiting for the "Do Not Call List" to kick in for me. I registered a few months back, but I'm still getting a shit-load of telemarketers that wake me up from my naps, disturb me while I'm eating, and just plain annoy me regardless of what I'm doing! I told one man to give the phone to his manager. He said "okay Ma'am." Less than a minute later someone picked up and said "Hello". And I swear it was the SAME GUY! Only he was pretending to be the manager. So I told this guy to own up to it, but of course he wouldn't. I just don't know what it's going to take to tell the same dude that I don't need duct cleaning... [sigh].

Afghan Women Protest

Women protest against "barbaric" laws

 

Finally, Finally, Afghan women stepped out and protested against the insane laws that have passed through both houses and been signed by President Karzai. Although only applying to the Shiite minority, the laws are an outrage and impact every woman in this world. If they are allowed to exist in law then they set a tone for women everywhere and they lessen the worth of a women to nothing but a sex-slave. Now, I have been raised to be respectful and sensitive to the ideas and cultures of others. Further, I understand that people are the products of the historical traditions they grow up in. Yet I say this with strict confidence: These laws are brutally barbaric.

Three particular provisions have drawn fire from leaders, human rights groups, and people all around the world and especially strong-willed women in Afghanistan. One provision sets out that permission is requried from the husband if the woman is to work outside the home or go to school; a second provision makes it illegal for a woman to resist her husband's sexual advances; a third makes it illegal for a woman to refuse to "dress up" if requested to do so by her husband.

Can I just stop here and say: "WTF?!"

I'm not a stranger to laws in Afghanistan, nor to what women were put through when the Taliban had control. I remember back in 1998 when I had my little kit and I was trying to make people listen to the horrors that women were being put through in Afghanistan, but no one cared to listen. But, enough is enough now. Especially with a new President and with international attention.

However, the protests that 300 strong-willed Afghan women made against these laws struck a cord with women all around the world and with the International Community. President Karzai has agreed to review these laws and he has already stated he will repeal the one which gives the husband the right to demand sex every 4 days.

Of course these women didn't protest in peace. They were met with an angry group that was reportedly 3 times as large as theirs. Here's a clip of them:

 

Of course there were women that agreed with these men that the laws were "right". Let's not blame them entirely; instead blame the environment they've grown up in. There is a change approaching. I mean here in the West, women did not achieve equality right away. We put up with some insane rules and traditions as well, but things evolved, as every thing is meant to evolve eventually. But defiance in the face of inequality is crucial in helping this come about.  It's happening in Afghanistan. These women are pushing back now, but they need our support.

Life...in a moment

I spent the day listening to music, well listening only to Adele, okay I admit I listened to only 3 songs all day long "Chasing Pavements", "Make you feel my love" and "Hometown Glory". These three songs by Adele are absolutely remarkable and contain within them the energy to move you to tears, inspiration, or glory -- depending on where you are in life right now. 

Someone very dear to me told me last week that I am someone who sees each day as a new day. And that wonderful person was right, very right. I blame that tendency on watching Gone with the Wind one too many times. But the past few days, something strange happened. Every day seemed like a continuation of the previous day. The same mood, the same environment, everything just continued to be...well the same.

 

I'm starting to think that this day -- April 13th -- is always going to be quite unpredictable for me. Last year all I wanted was to be around people, this year all I wanted was to be alone. Have I lost you?

You see 2 years ago today, my father passed away. A person who did nothing but encourage me to take risks in life, to face things head on, to enjoy it, to smile, to live, passed away in my arms on April 13th. That was the day that I saw life in the span of one moment.

It is absolutely true what people say about "your life flashing before your eyes before death". Only technically it wasn't my life, it was my father's, and yet I saw it flash before me. It turned out that a part of me died that day as well. The part that died was the part that saw life ignorantly, narrowly, and selfishly. Nothing was ever the same since that moment.

When my father passed, I felt his heart beat stop, I felt the warmth of his body fade and turn cold, and I saw his eyes close. One moment he was there, the next he was gone.

Moments like these will shake you up and give you a new outlook; a new perspective; a new journey. I'm still trying to figure it out. Still trying to figure out how to move away, or if there is anything I need to move away from; still trying to figure out how to remember him; still trying to figure out why it happened so soon.

However, one thing that I'll never be confused about is who my father was. He was an incredible human being. His wide smile (that I've been left with) defined him. His courage (that my sister's been left with) took him on an incredible journey; and his patience (that my brother has been left with) gave him his wisdom.

I can't say these things out loud - - but I can feel them through music and I can express them through writing. I just wanted to say that it's important to pay attention to the moments in your life, because they teach us many great things. It is only through this process that you can finally understand your life as a journey; as an illuminating journey -- just as my father did at age 48.

Living a full life to the age of 48 --- tell me just how rare is that? Answer: Very Rare.

I consider myself to be very lucky that I spent the time that I did, that I learned the things that I did, from a father such the one I was blessed to have. It is only because of his steadfast dedication as a father and his relentless pursuit to understand the word of God that he was able to depart this world at such a young age and still leave me with the realization that one can truly see life in a mere moment.

Age has nothing to do with it -- only wisdom.

 

Just a note

After midnight, when you're driving home from a good night out - the best place to hear good music truly has to be Edge 102.1. Tonight as I drove home, I was instantly reminded of this fact. They air some of the best rock music. It's just the best selection for that time. I've always been a fan of Edge, but again I'm amazed at how well they know their listeners. They really get what people want to listen to at that time of night. It's a good end to the night.

What's been going on?

• Britney Spears walked off the stage in Vancouver. The reason: weed. It appears fans in the stadium were smoking and it 'interfered' with the crew and Britney. So the show was stopped for a half hour. Fans complained the rest of the night and still are complaining. My take: Britney had every right to walk off stage. Can you imagine having to huff and puff (no pun intended) as you dance and sing while people are smoking up or just plain smoking?

• A G-20 protester died in London after he was apparently knocked down. Reports allege that a video shows the man being knocked down by police. yeah I know this is old news by now.

• Kal Penn was infamously killed off from House, much to the dismay of loyal fans. However, it turns out that the reason for his departure is that he's taken up an Associate Director's job at the White House! He'll be helping with Arts programs in communities and schools and so forth. It's quite a pay cut, but it's stories like these that prove that some stars actually are telling the truth when they say they want to "give back".

• A rally took place in Baghdad to mark the anniversary of the fall of Saddam Hussein - only thing is, they're not celebrating, instead they were protesting against the U.S., chanting that President Obama should withdraw U.S. troops.  I wonder when they'll hold a rally for catching Osama...oh wait...they haven't caught him yet :s

• Closer to home: A lot of unions and pensioners are expressing outrage at the Ontario government, stating that Ontario "ought" to have enough funds to cover their pensions. For example, Premier announced that Ontario won't be able to cover pensions for GM employees should GM go bankrupt. Honestly the question is should my tax dollars cover their pensions, if their tax dollars won't cover my pension or my mom's pension, or others who work in other firms or labour positions and are not part of GM? That's the question that Ontarians and Canadians will have to explore because it dips into a larger ideological issue: Just how Socialist is Canada? Or better yet, can we afford to stick to our "socialist" okay fine "welfare" tendancies? I only use the word socialist, since our neighbours down under always like to throw that at us. But I've always been very proud that our government takes a positive approach to our country by adopting such socialist policies, such as regulations, public programs, etc. But covering one industries pensions during a recession that's quickly tipping towards a depression?? Really? 

Back from the UK

It's been quite some time since I last blogged. I spent 2 weeks in England drowning in law books. Coming back to Toronto actually feels like a vacation compared to the stressful 2 weeks I spent in England studying. I am glad that I went for my revisions, however. Cambridge University is absolutely gorgeous and the law professors that drilled me with information were amazing. It's a real treat to learn from great minds and so the days that I spent there will not be easily forgotten.

The best part about England, this time around, had to have been the G20 Summit 

protesters. When I ventured into the city early last week, there were only a scattered few, but the next day as I turned on BBC News, there were thousands. It made for an interesting atmosphere in London. The protesters broke windows of Banks and threw the PCs into the streets. They spray-painted the walls of banks that had been outed for scandals or deceptions to the public and they fought with police. The most hilarious shot was when the police was desperately jumping over the fence, getting caught in it and helping to heave one another over it, as the protesters closed in.  Have a look at the picture to the left. It's a protester complaining about poverty and he's receiving a ticket from the police. My cousin is posing next to him so I could get this. Another cop (not pictured) was glaring at me, because he knew what I was attempting.

A few more pictures of protesters:

  

So besides this bit of protester-stalking and trying to be a tourist -- all I really did was study. But upon my return in Canada, I realized that one of my most beloved characters in the British soap, EastEnders, was killed off! Oh the tragedy! Oh the betrayal! How could the writers do that?! For months I waited, along with other die-hard fans, to see if Danielle would finally confide in Ronnie the secret that she is her long-lost daugther; the daughter that Ronnie believed to be dead. Oh the reunion would have been so memorable, so amazing, so incredible -- but what did the writers do??? Just when Ronnie calls out to her daughter and says "baby..." ever so softly because she's crying and is just so happy and relieved that her daughter is there, in the flesh, WHAT DO THE WRITERS DO?? THEY HAVE DANIELLE RUN OVER BY A CAR! I screamed! I screamed at the television, but though, "Oh, she's still breathing". Ronnie runs to her daughter and cradles her and all Danielle can say is "Mummy"-- and then she DIES!

Ronnie of course screams, as does the rest of Britain! Oh the shock, the betrayal, the lunacy of such a concept. What were the writers thinking?!

That's all I got for now - I'm still in shock over this outcome.

:o