Jan. 1
Newspapers: This feng shui has an effect on me. I hardly ever
buy things, but I have collected a lot
of newspaper clippings since 2010. I have cut out articles prior to
that year, but only here and there. In 2010, I was laid off and
unemployed for months. I spent a lot of time looking for a job, and a
lot of time
reading the newspaper.
I have collected all these clippings and
I've been going through them. I wanted to keep a lot. I also realized a
lot of them I just want to write about in my emails/ blog posts, and
then recycle it.
Funny news: The Edmonton Journal
used to have this Insight section where it had these funny news, and the
I write about it. Afterwards, I send it to Jay Leno and his
"Headlines" segment. The the
Journal stopped printing the funny news.
Quotes: The Globe and Mail has
a Life section, and there's a "Thought du Jour" which is an
inspirational quote. I cut out all these little bits of paper and now
I'm typing it all up for my "Inspirational quotes" blog posts.
Jan. 3 The Year of: I found this in the business section of the Globe an Mail.
The article is "12 Questions to get a jump on the year ahead" by Eileen
Chadnick. She is a work-life and career coach. One of her questions
is: "If there were a theme for me in 2012, what was it?" She delves on
to say: If you were to name this year, it would be "This was the year
of _____."
Another question is: "What will by my theme for the coming year?" "This will be the year of ______."
Oh, that's cool that she thinks like me. I got that from Futurama, with the Chinese New Year Parade: "Hey, what is
this? The Year of the Jerk?"
I have asked my friend Angela that
question, but she says: "I don't title my year, because then it focuses
on only 1 thing and not all the other things that happened that year."
She's
got a point. I guess it's about a balance. You can title your year,
but you can also add: "In brackets, I want to throw in some other
subtitles to it."
Jan. 10 Consumer culture: This is "The price of always wanting" by Katrina Onstad in the Globe and Mail,
Nov. 30, 2012. It was about how there was that fire in Bangladesh
garment factory that killed more 700 workers there. They made clothes
for Wal- Mart and Walt Disney.
"The average American buys 64 items of clothing a year."
"Consumption
consists of people spending money they don't have to buy goods they
don't need to impress people they don't like." -Clive Hamilton,
Australian economist.
This reminds me of
something I have heard on either Oprah or Dr. Phil. Something about:
"You drive this car around to impress people you don't even know."
Here is something I haven't written in awhile, writing about current events.
Sandy Hook: When
I heard that mostly 6 yr old kids were murdered in the school shooting,
that was so sad. There are school shootings in colleges and high
schools, and it's scary. However, with teens and young adults, they
have all experienced some of life. They were also able to run away and
call to get help.
As for 6 yr olds, there wasn't really much of a chance for them to survive. I got an email from Amnesty
International to sign this Arm Trade Treaty petition. I put it up on my blog and Facebook status.
http://badcb.blogspot.ca/2013/01/the-nra-and-you.html
India gang rape: I read about this in the National Post first, and then 24, and a piece in the Globe and Mail.
It was about this 23 yr old woman in New Delhi who was gang raped on a
moving bus. The bus had curtains so no one could see what was
happening. She later died of her injuries.
She was going to be a
doctor, and she was engaged. There have been protests and this news
has reached internationally. Prior to these articles, I have read about
how women in India are often sexually harassed and assaulted.
Alfonso Cuadra: I read in the Edmonton Journal on
Jan. 5, 2013 about this triumphant story. It was by Peter O'Neil.
Teacher Lisa Allen read a magazine in 2009 about Alfonso Cuadra. He was
a refugee and moved to Canada with his mom Vida, when he was five.
Vida was a journalist, human rights activist, and former political
prisoner in El Salvador.
Cuadra had dyslexia, and was frustrated
with school and authority. He was using and selling drugs and
panhandling. When he was 17, he met his newborn daughter Thalia and
vowed to change. His dad ran off to Mexico when his mom was imprisoned.
Cuadra: I'm not going to run away. I wanted my daughter to say "My dad owns the building," not, "My dad cleans the building.
He
quit using and selling drugs, went back to school and got his diploma,
worked as a dishwasher for a bit, and then raised $2,700 from friends to
start his own
business. He rented a ground floor apartment and opened Ottawa's first
urban wear store called Rugged Culture. It was baggy jeans and
hoodies.
He and his partner Alfredo Lovera drove to NY, spent $5 a
night to pitch a tent in a Long Island campsite. In the day they drove
to Manhattan to buy hip hop clothing and put in the trunk They barely
had enough gas money to get back to Ottawa. They sold all their stock
in 2 days. They worked 18 hr days and slept at the store and they did
it for 6 months.
They moved their store to Rideau Street closer
to downtown and more foot traffic. He knew competition was going to
come, so he sold his franchises to people with his similar socioeconomic
background.
He is now a branding and market specialist for his
company High Impact Media.
He also has SolveProProperties Inc. that helps homeowners in Ontario
and Quebec sell their properties without incurring high commissions. He
is now a professional motivational speaker and talks to youth groups.
He published a autobiography/self-help manual called From the Ground Up.
This brings back to the teacher Lisa Allen who photocopies and uses the
magazine article to her gr. 8 students at Queen Elizabeth public school
in Ottawa. It's a low-income class. 3 other teachers at the school
used Cuadra's story in their gr. 7 and 8 classes.
Most of the
kids are recent immigrants from the Middle East and North Africa. They
discuss challenges in social studies about Canadian history. "What
would Alfonso do?"
One student was so inspired, he quit his
gang. Another student who was a victim of domestic abuse for years,
contacted authorities and was able to leave her home. Cuadra then
went to the school and did a 90 min motivational talk to them.
Another
student Andrew Campbell was struggling in school: "But when I heard him
talk about his life I thought to myself that I should change. Now I
try my best to do my homework instead of just playing video games." His
teacher says he has improved his grades.
Jan. 11 Brooke Greenberg: I
found this on Yahoo. It's an interesting story of how a 20 yr old is
trapped inside an infant's body. Seriously. Brooke has the body and
mind of an 11 month old. She gets older, but she doesn't really grow.
Her family says there's nothing wrong with her. Scientists are studying her because it could help humans live
longer.
http://ca.shine.yahoo.com/blogs/shine-on/brooke-greenberg-20-old-trapped-inside-infant-body-202218086.html |
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