Plugging In

Well, this comes a little earlier in the month than normal, but hey, while I'm still widdling through some thoughts, this will get you started in a month dedicated to love.

**News Blues~
-Regardless of your views on the topic, you would have to note that the new commercial from CatholicVote.org is fairly brilliant from an advertising point of view. However, it was rejected for a Super Bowl spot by NBC. The network claimed they were not looking to advertise anything "political" during the game. Of course to combat this- CommonSenseMedia.org did a study of over 50 football games through out the year and found intriguing results.

-So what exactly did President Obama do in his first ten days at the Chief? The UK Telegraph has a simple layout that goes day by day. And this is something I need about every 10 days continuing. It's much easier to keep up when the media bullet points it.

-Recently I pointed out an article from the New Yorker about the decline in Newspapers. This past week, a blog fan emailed me an article about how the economic downturn and technology is also affecting College newspapers.

**Flicks~
-Last night, I watched the film, "Burn After Reading." The indie comedy storyline takes place in Washington DC. After two fitness trainers discover a "high profile" disc with sensitive information on it, they decide to use it as blackmail to get paid. Stars include Brad Pitt, George Clooney and Frances McDormand. I thought the movie was hilarious and got a good laugh from the infamous dry humor. Plus Pitt had the best role for being a gum smacking clown. Netflix it...or whatever you do, it's great for a fun date night.

**Photography~
-My dearest friend, Kate, finally got a Flickr account. Now you can browse and swoon over her beautiful artwork a little bit easier.

-A photographer, by the name of LJ, recently took a great shot of a homeless man in L.A. He writes his story in the caption of the the picture and I vouch that it's completely touching. The photo itself is raw and colorful.

**Blogs~
-Harry Rud discussed, in his blog, an unflattering picture of dogs in Afghanistan and what it's like to be called a "dog-washer" in a struggling society.

-Tyler from Man of Depravity wants to know if we're all REALLY friends. This blog buddy-o-mine wonders if social spaces have diluted friendship at it's core. The answer? Probably yes. Thanks ol' chum (or is that young chum) for keeping us all in check!

-And, Brett McCracken has an interesting perspective on the "hipster" generation & Obama. While the young counter culture, "hippies at heart," were a great number among the Obama fans (and if not split b/t libertarian and anarchist attitudes); did they really get what they bargained for? This is a great blog touching that point.

For now, my dearest readers...carry on. Until next time....

Documenting the World, Wk 11, Shadows

 

These Just In...

I've read a number of headlines this week and thought, once again, I just have to share. At the start of this new year, there is a lot going on in the world, NOT to keep w/ it would be detramental to your health. So, fellow blog buddies and readers, take your pick on a topic. This is the good stuff.

News You Can Use~

Freakonomics recently wrote an article about how the Recording Industry Association of America has finally stopped campaigning against suing digital music sharing.

The New Yorker discussed the dying industry of newspapers, or wait, do they rise again? The article goes through the history of the newspaper as well as suggests that while newspapers have had a number of ups and downs since the start of the country, they won't completely die out.

Outside Magazine has some great notes from, none other, than Lance Armstrong. You remember him, right? He's the guy that holds 7 coveted yellow jerseys. And he's back in action, Competing currently at the Tour Down Under in Australia.

Daniel Hamermesh, also, of Freakonomics, thinks that it's ludicrous for Universities to consider dropping sales of bottle water b/c of plastic bottle pollution. I agree.

Finally...Bobby Kotick, arguably the most successful video game publisher, thinks video games are more or less, a waste of time. Then again, Forbes magazine is calling him the ultimate "Guitar Hero." This is definitely a great read.

Documenting the World, Wk 9 &10

I believe that I am a week behind on these so to make it up to you, here are two weeks worth of the world around me. Enjoy!

Wk9:
When this man passed me on the beach, Ernest Hemingway came to mind and for what reason, I don't know. But this man was solemn, like he was taking in the sight, like this was what he needed. He gave me a weak smile when he walked by, and that was all. I wonder what was on his mind or why he needed to walk out by the beautiful ocean that day. I call this- "The Old Man and The Sea."

Wk10:

You rise in the East,
Manipulating color
Your beauty profound,
over the deep waters.
Graceful assent
& Massive with power
I breathe it all in
Crisp
in the morning hours.
~Sunrise

Plugging IN

Hey Everyone- Here are you links to check out this month's plugging in! There is pretty interesting stuff going on around the world.

News~

--New Mexico is the first to offer marijuana for medical use. With a great number of restrictions they are allowing non profit organizations to grow the plant.

--The Freakonomics blog from the NY Times discusses how greeting norms change around the world. To kiss or not kiss is the question...AND how the old ways may even be offensive.

--Google is NOT ruining the planet. According to Wired Magazine, the numbers that calculate the energy from your Google searches are barely a fraction considering the amount of gas the U.S. uses in a day. These facts are contrast to a claim made by Harvard physicist.

--AND, a 107-year-old woman in China has decided it's time for her to get married. Having never vowed under holy matrimony, this lovely lady would like to take the burden off her nieces and nephews and take to being on her own w/ a husband.

Blogs~
--Tyler's newest blog on Man of Depravity discusses the idea of Churches acting like Clubs. There is an isolated "join us" or "stay away" attitude that many churches carry and then there are those that seem to move toward one goal whether or in or "out" of that particular club. It's an interesting topic, nonetheless.

--Leah, from A Little of Me, recently completed a week's worth of blogging observing a week in her shoes. She took pictures of her feet through out the day w/ the various activities she's participated in. She has challenged ME to do so as well. I told her she might not get a week out of me, but certainly I will do a day. SO- look for a blog, coming soon, entitled "A Day in My Shoes."

Recommended Read~
--I just finished Into the Wild. It is a beautiful story about Chris "Alex" McCandless, who wandered for two years and after spending 4 mo. in Alaska, he died. The book is written from the perspective of the journalist who covered the story. Hopefully, I might watch the movie soon.

--Currently I am reading a book called Ishmael, recommended to me by blog buddy, Amos. The writing is fascinating and thrilling and I can't put it down. I will share some thoughts on this soon.

Finally~
A note on Gaza: Obviously this is a distressing situation. Knowing what the absolute best solution is can be tough. Both Hamas and Israel are responsible for the destruction of so many people. It's un-nerving and wrong. Hopefully a complete cease-fire will occur soon. At this point, it is probably best the President-elect has not said much on the subject. And politically, there is a fine line b/t becoming an outside "police force," and an "ally"- only b/c what ends up happening is a friendship with the Government rather than really assisting the suffering population. In the mean time, and despite all the descruction happening, I posted a recent story from Current TV...there is a movement and cause among the youth in the Middle East of both persuasions coming together. So make sure to check out Peace Going Green and be encouraged, at least for a few minutes.

Peace Going Green

Despite a war in the Middle East, this is a breath of fresh air.

This Just In

Top 4 stories I thought you should chew on today~

"Paging Dr. Gupta"~
The official announcement has been made: Dr. Sanjay Gupta, neurosurgeon, CNN and Time Magazine Contributor has been chosen to be the Surgeon General under President-elect Barack Obama. This is a fine choice and certainly one of Obama's best. Gupta, in addition to his media appearances, was known to still scrub-in on various surgeries as Chief Associate of Neurosurgery at Grady hospital, serve as an assistant Professor at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta and even preformed emergency surgery in 2003 in Iraq while reporting for CNN. Gupta is well respected and a common media face. His contributions to his local community, and his information contribution on a global level will serve him well in the term to come.

Cholera is Killing~
It's been reported by the WHO that the number of deaths in Zimbabwe have reached just over 1700 due to the cholera sweep. They also report over 34000 cases have come to light and the powers that be cannot come to an agreement on cabinet posts. I find it sad and disheartening that the government is more concerned w/ their cabinet picks and differences than they are jumping and helping their own people...people who are dying, fleeing and getting sick every day.

Tetris for Trauma~
According to scientists at Oxford University, playing a game of Tetris following a difficult event could lead to positive mental health. They theorize that using the analytical side of the brain vs. the sensory side when a person experiences tramatic events will help relieve symptoms of PTSD. I am a bit skeptical as only 40 volunteers were tested after being shown distressing events, rather than indication that they'd been through them. But hey, maybe all that sneaky playing in your office might help you get through a "case of the Mondays."

Elementary Eloping~
Two German children decided to get married. The packed their honeymoon necessities and took for Africa. But they were caught and sent back home. Oh what stories they will tell their children. It's seriously cute!

Weekend in Pictures: Long Road

This is the "official" beginning of Long Road...a project I've long awaited...enjoy.

Documenting the World, Wk 7, Concentration

Concentration, 

He thought long and hard

before he made the next move.

It was an intense game

a battle of wits, 

strategy from another era

Fulfillment

from another century-

Which card would choose

next?

Enduring the Pain of Submission

Theo Van Gogh was murdered in 2004 for his role in producing a short film called, Submission. The film was written and proposed by Ayaan Hirsi Ali, a Somali-Dutch woman who grew up in an abusive Muslim home.

Several months ago; I discussed approaching Islam from Benazir Bhutto's point of view. Bhutto was a woman who believed in the goodness of Islam and hoped to bring peace to her country of Pakistan. You can read my thoughts on the matter by clicking the link.

But today, I want to share a few of my thoughts following Hirsi Ali's encounter. She was brave enough to tell the world her story in her book, Infidel. She is also, now, an activist for Islamic women's rights, no longer a follower of Islam, in fact she claims to be an atheist.

The following excerpt explains one of Hirsi Ali's most painful experiences as a child. I will warn you, it is graphic.

"In Somalia, like many countries across Africa and the Middle East, little girls are made "pure" by having their genitals cut out. There is no other way to describe this procedure, which typically occurs around the age of five...After the child's clitoris and labia are carved out, scraped off, or, in more compassionate areas, merely cut or pricked, the whole area is often sewn up, so that a thick band of tissue forms a chastity belt made of the girl's own scarred flesh. A small hole is situated to permit a thin flow of pee. Only great force can tear the scar tissue wider, for sex.

Female genital mutilation predates Islam. Not all Muslims do this, and a few of the peoples who do are not Islamic. But in Somalia, where virtually every girl is excised, the practice is always justified in the name of Islam. Uncircumcised girls will be possessed by devils, fall into vice and perdition, and become whores. Imams never discourage the practice: it keeps girls pure...Many girls die during or after their excision, from infection. Other complications cause enormous, more or less lifelong pain. My father Abeh was a modern man and considered the practice barbaric. He had always insisted that his daughters be left uncut. In this he was quite extraordinarily forward-thinking...Grandma decided that the time was right for us to undergo the necessary and proper dignity of purification. My father was in jail and my mother was away for long periods, but Grandma would ensure that the old traditions would be respected in the old ways...

...the scissors went down between my legs and the man cut off my inner labia and clitoris. I heard it, like a butcher snipping the fat off a piece of meat. A piercing pain shot up between my legs, indescribable, and I howled. Then came the sewing: the long, blunt needle clumsily pushed into my bleeding outer labia, my loud and anguished protests, Grandma's words of comfort and encouragement. "It's just this once in your life, Ayaan. Be brave, he's almost finished." When the sewing was finished, the man cut the thread off with his teeth. That is all I can recall of it. But I do remember Haweya's [her sister] bloodcurdling howls."

This experience happens to so many young girls in the Middle East and Africa. It's a reality and it's wrong. Hirsi Ali has spoken out against the practice. It is one of control and it is demeaning to the God created human anatomy. According to the World Medical Association, female mutilation is practiced in at least 30 countries world-wide. According the World Health Organization, 100-140 million girls experience this operation every year. The WHO includes several long term health problems such as infertility, urinary tract infections, childbirth complication, cysts and even death. Female mutilation is both a cultural and/or religious practice in many places around the world. And it is not an attractive quality for either. If the purpose of religion is condemnation and being damned to hell, then what good will it do anyone to be converted? Justice in Islam may be control and submission, in the name of Allah, but then God is no better than the devil. So then, like, Hirsi Ali, one can wonder about the purpose of a God at all.

This is sad and devestating b/c certainly, I believe God to be mericful and loving, but b/c we were given the gift of choice, men will choose evil, they will choose to inflict pain.

Ayaan Hirsi Ali was fortunate, however, as she grew; she endured abuse from her mother, a father, while most often gracious, was away with other wives, or Somali revolution, and she was forced to marry a man she did not want. But on her way to Canada (to join her husband's family), she escaped that life, hid in Holland and rose to every occasion to be recieve a university education and later become a member of Parliment. Her transformation was extraordinary, and her persistance to change the world, be an activist for women around the globe is astounding. I recommend her book to anyone...for her story, for her cause.

Finally, I am including the short film she produced with Theo Van Gogh. It is a bold statement.