Oct. 31 Busy plots: Here's something I haven't wrote about much: writing and stories. I've been too busy with my job search.
Flashpoint: I was thinking about that Flashpoint ep "A Day in the Life." There were 3 emergencies going on in one day, Valentine's day. I remember reading an article in the National Post about the situations that occur; they're something that would only occur once in a cop's career.
First there was a man that was going to jump off a bridge because his wife died three years ago on that day. I got a little teary-eyed there. They have to talk him down.
Then they have to go to a strip club because a woman has held the strip club manager hostage. They have to prevent a mom from killing the manager because her daughter works as a stripper there, and she's only 17. It was very rushed, because I want to know how this mom manages to get that guy's hands tied up if she's holding a knife. Maybe she got someone at the club to tie his hands up for her.
Then the team has to run over to this business building because a gunman Oliver wants revenge. It's about Rena (Sonya Salomaa who was on Durham County and Flash Gordon. Flashpoint star Hugh Dillon was also on Durham County). This is the biggest plot.
It turns out Oliver is in love with Rena. O is looking for her. R is talking to the SRU team and gives info: "He sent emails, bought gifts. I rejected him gently. I then fired him. Now he's back." R then shows herself to O so he won't shoot co-workers.
O then proposes to R. I jumped when O got shot in the head when he was about to hurt R. I did like the line: "Words, not weapons."
What they should have done was maybe have two plots. Keep the gunman in the business building plot, and maybe use one of the two smaller plots. You need some time to develop stories.
Scary Movie: This wasn't even that good of a movie. It was way too busy, because they were making fun of everything. I did like Scary Movie 3, because it was funny, and it didn't seem really busy.
The Sick Sense: I mentioned watching this short film on the internet. It was making fun of two movies. They took Bruce Willis's character from The Sixth Sense and paired it up with Patch Adams from Patch Adams.
The Baby- sitter's club movie: I saw this movie when I was like 10. I've been reading this book for a few years and I was really excited to see the movie. Now that I think of it, it's not really that good of a movie, but it's clean and wholesome. There were plots going for different characters, but it wasn't really busy.
We got Kristy's estranged father whom she haven't seen in years, he comes back into her life. Alan keeps hitting on Dawn. Mary Anne has to keep Cokie from hitting on MA's boyfriend Logan. Stacey falls in love with a 17 yr old guy, and she's 13. Claudia has to pass summer school. Jessi and Mallory don't have plots. They all run a summer camp together. I totally remembered the movie, without looking it up. It came out in 1995.
Flashback: I'm getting a flashback. I remember it was in like 1995 or 1996. My friend Leslie was in my room and there were these Baby- Sitter Club collages I made. L said she saw the movie and her favorite character was Stacey. As a kid, my favorite character was Dawn. I guess because she's from California, and she didn't really have any big problems.
Nov. 1 Work: Today was kind of a rough day for me. I go to work, and it was so quiet. Very few people came, and the other workers left an hr early. I made very little in tips. One of the servers told me that at the old restaurant, bussers usually didn't even work on the weekdays, and only the weekends. The good part is that I got to leave on time to get to my job interview that afternoon.
Job interview: I went to the interview and it was a group interview with 4 other people. There was supposed to be a 5th person, but he didn't show up. The interview was a group one, and then later they asked us each individual questions in another room.
I was with 2 other people waiting, and we talked. I advertised my restaurant and the prices. These 2 may or may not show up to the restaurant. I got a phone call from the office and I was rejected. That's fine.
I was going through my notes from one of the hotels I was interviewed for last week. They said they would make a decision by Sat. and will call by Mon. Well it's Tues, so if they really wanted to hire me, they would have called by now.
Part-time: At today's interview, they said they're looking for a couple part-time people. It's to see if they're good, and then they can get full-time. They have hire one full-time person before, and it often doesn't work out, because it's a stressful position.
I was talking to my dad about the hotel interviews. It's good to hire a few part-time people, because if one doesn't make it to work, there is someone else you can call to work for you.
Sad news: You have to keep a perspective on things. I was on Yahoo news, and you know the Filipino singer Charice? She was on Glee. Her dad was stabbed and died yesterday. The article said she was estranged from her father for years, but wanted to reconcile.
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/glee-singing-star-charice-very-sad-dads-stabbing-202103446.html
Celeb news: I'm sure you heard by now that Kim Kardashian filed for divorce after 72 days of marriage to Kris Humphries. There are a lot of short celeb marriages like Jennifer Lopez's 2nd marriage to her dancer Chris Judd. They were married for 9 months. There was the One Tree Hill's Chad Michael Murray and Sophia Bush, who were married for 5 months.
Shopping: I stopped by City Centre. Did you know that the GAP closed down? ARJ Imports sells jewelery, bags, handcrafted furniture, and cushions that are $11. That's a good price.
Revlon: My mom got this as a gift, and I was allowed to use it. Revlon has this body wash called Flirty Bouquet. It smells so sweet and good.
Charity: At the interview, I was talking to one of the applicants. He has worked in a charity where he fund raise for homelessness. There are a lot of charities like Hope Mission, Bissell Centre, Youth Emergency Shelter, etc. There's the Edmonton's 10 yr plan to end homelessness. He thinks it's very helpful because 75 people got homes, and they're building their lives.
Nov. 2: I went to another interview today. It was 15min long, by these two women asking questions. I felt nervous and stressed in the interview. I've done 7 interviews last month, and 1 yesterday. I've had a lot of practice, but I guess the impression I'm getting is that the job seemed very difficult. I flopped a couple questions. There were 35 applicants. I don't know if they're interviewing all of them.
I guess the only thing I shined in was talking about my writing a blog post about how they're 7 billion on the planet.
Me: When I was in school, I was told that we won't get this high because of of war, murder, natural disasters like earthquake and tsunamis.
Interviewer: I read that we would get to 8 billion by 2000 and uh-
Me: 2025.
Interview: Yes.
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
Monday, October 31, 2011
Urgent: Canadian faces 5 years in prison for peaceful protest in Bahrain
I got this from Amnesty International. Please sign the petition.
Naser al Raas: Canadian could face 5 years in jail in Bahrain
Join Amnesty International in standing up for his right to freedom of expression, association and assembly
October 27, 2011,
Dear Human Rights Supporter,
Facing 5 years for participating in a protest
Naser al Raas, Family photo
Naser al Raas speaks to us from Bahrain
Watch a skype message from Naser | Take action
In three weeks, a Canadian citizen could begin a lengthy and unjust jail term in Bahrain. He has already been tortured, held in solitary confinement for one month, released, and has now been sentenced to charges that could lead to 5 years in a prison in Bahrain.
Naser al Raas's crime? ... participating in a peaceful protest.
What Bahrain is calling a "crime" is the internationally recognized right of freedom of expression, association and assembly. It is a universal right (Article 20) of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, that protects you, me and people like Naser from tyranny and repression from governments.
Bahrain's cruel treatment of Naser is a violation of his fundamental rights and a clear demonstration of the path of repression, a path Bahrain has taken repeatedly in reaction to the Arab Spring.
Amnesty International is standing behind Naser al Raas. The charges should be dropped. The sentence should be quashed. He should not go to prison. It's as clear and simple as that.
Please join us in calling on Bahrain to drop the case against Naser.
Naser al Raas' story
Naser is a 28 year-old Canadian engineer, currently working in Kuwait. He was visiting his in-laws in Bahrain when he was arrested at the airport on his way home on March 20, accused of participating in the waves of Arab Spring protests taking place in Bahrain. He spent a month in Bahrain's notorious Al Qala prison, where he says he was beaten daily, and witnessed the ongoing torture of others in the prison. He is currently with his fiancée in Bahrain, awaiting a ruling on an appeal, and is unable to leave the country.
"Thanks to Amnesty and the international community who care about human rights. And that's it. That's me. I am here."
- Watch a skype interview with Naser recorded October 27, 2011.
The right to freedom of expression, association and assembly
In 1948 almost every country in the world - including Bahrain - signed the 30 articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. These are the rights that protect human dignity and protect each of us - no matter who we are, or where we live - from arbitrary, repressive acts of governments. Bahrain's brutal crackdown on its own citizens throughout the Arab Spring, and its treatment of Naser al Raas, is why we need to stand up against state violations of freedom of assembly.
Amnesty International's influence comes from the many voices of people like you who draw the line when our rights are violated, as they have been in so many ways for Naser al Raas.
All governments also have the responsibility to protect their own citizens. Amnesty International has raised the case with the Canadian government to urge that Canada use the weight of its highest offices to ensure that this trial does not go forward and that Naser be free to leave Bahrain.
Help us now urge Bahrain to drop these charges immediately and allow Naser to leave the country.
Thank you for your steadfast commitment to human rights. It's your support that enables us to be a powerful and effective voice for people like Naser.
Sincerely,
Alex Neve
Alex Neve,
Secretary-General
Amnesty International Canadian Section
Naser al Raas: Canadian could face 5 years in jail in Bahrain
Join Amnesty International in standing up for his right to freedom of expression, association and assembly
October 27, 2011,
Dear Human Rights Supporter,
Facing 5 years for participating in a protest
Naser al Raas, Family photo
Naser al Raas speaks to us from Bahrain
Watch a skype message from Naser | Take action
In three weeks, a Canadian citizen could begin a lengthy and unjust jail term in Bahrain. He has already been tortured, held in solitary confinement for one month, released, and has now been sentenced to charges that could lead to 5 years in a prison in Bahrain.
Naser al Raas's crime? ... participating in a peaceful protest.
What Bahrain is calling a "crime" is the internationally recognized right of freedom of expression, association and assembly. It is a universal right (Article 20) of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, that protects you, me and people like Naser from tyranny and repression from governments.
Bahrain's cruel treatment of Naser is a violation of his fundamental rights and a clear demonstration of the path of repression, a path Bahrain has taken repeatedly in reaction to the Arab Spring.
Amnesty International is standing behind Naser al Raas. The charges should be dropped. The sentence should be quashed. He should not go to prison. It's as clear and simple as that.
Please join us in calling on Bahrain to drop the case against Naser.
Naser al Raas' story
Naser is a 28 year-old Canadian engineer, currently working in Kuwait. He was visiting his in-laws in Bahrain when he was arrested at the airport on his way home on March 20, accused of participating in the waves of Arab Spring protests taking place in Bahrain. He spent a month in Bahrain's notorious Al Qala prison, where he says he was beaten daily, and witnessed the ongoing torture of others in the prison. He is currently with his fiancée in Bahrain, awaiting a ruling on an appeal, and is unable to leave the country.
"Thanks to Amnesty and the international community who care about human rights. And that's it. That's me. I am here."
- Watch a skype interview with Naser recorded October 27, 2011.
The right to freedom of expression, association and assembly
In 1948 almost every country in the world - including Bahrain - signed the 30 articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. These are the rights that protect human dignity and protect each of us - no matter who we are, or where we live - from arbitrary, repressive acts of governments. Bahrain's brutal crackdown on its own citizens throughout the Arab Spring, and its treatment of Naser al Raas, is why we need to stand up against state violations of freedom of assembly.
Amnesty International's influence comes from the many voices of people like you who draw the line when our rights are violated, as they have been in so many ways for Naser al Raas.
All governments also have the responsibility to protect their own citizens. Amnesty International has raised the case with the Canadian government to urge that Canada use the weight of its highest offices to ensure that this trial does not go forward and that Naser be free to leave Bahrain.
Help us now urge Bahrain to drop these charges immediately and allow Naser to leave the country.
Thank you for your steadfast commitment to human rights. It's your support that enables us to be a powerful and effective voice for people like Naser.
Sincerely,
Alex Neve
Alex Neve,
Secretary-General
Amnesty International Canadian Section
job search/ child labor/ charity
Oct. 27 Job search: I called the medical office yesterday to see if I got hired. They didn't return my call. I can assume if they wanted to hire me, they would have called by now. They said to get a call by Mon. of this week, and start at the end of Oct.
I called the postal office yesterday, and they didn't return my call. I can assume they hired someone else. That's fine.
Oct. 29 Jenny Hyun: This is a Korean-American singer/ songwriter. Here's her website, where you can listen to her pop/ dance music: http://www.onlinejenny.com/
It turns out some of her songs have been produced and sang by an Asian girl group called Girl's Generation. I thought that was so cool and inspirational that she's being recognized for her work. I know how that feels when my two short stories got published.
Email:
Hi
I'm Tracy and I have been following your blog here and there since 2001. I have also emailed you from time to time. I just wanted to congratulate you on being recognized for your song writing efforts like "How great is your love (Spring Day)":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yuOlnLwA3Cc
And "Mistake":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCYjOmEyqCg
I was looking for the song on your site to hear you sing it, but it's not here.
Well congrats.
Email:
Thanks Tracy, I really appreciate your message. I'm glad you enjoy my music and thanks for remembering me!
Jenny
Stay motivated: I got this from an Alberta Job Centre newsletter. It's about getting rejected for jobs and to stay motivated is: To network, talk to a career coach, make small goals each day like research 3 companies, etc.
http://www.albertajobcentre.ca/content/index.cfm?objectID=D53F3C4B-2219-80B4-5334E9A1789D7D05&utm_source=Albertajobcentre.ca&utm_campaign=6018f48e9b-AB_Career_Oct_05_1110_5_2011&utm_medium=email
Guerilla job search secrets: This is from Alberta Job Centre too, but I really like this article. Do you remember the Youtube sensation Ted Williams? He was a homeless, black guy who had the voice of a radio station DJ. He got a job that way.
1) Ted got out of the house and met people
2) Ted didn’t use an ordinary resume
3) Ted didn’t interview, he performed
4) Ted kept a positive outlook
http://www.albertajobcentre.ca/content/index.cfm?objectid=9C0414D2-2219-80B4-53DCD13C47716A89
Child labor: I was watching Tropic of Cancer which is a documentary series on BBC World News. They go to Bangdelesh where kids as young as 9 yrs old work at a glass factory. The kids need money. The factory says they like to hire kids, because they're cheap labor, they have nimble fingers, and complain less than adults.
They showed one kid who has his arm burned. There are men there, and they're in their 30s and have worked there since they're kids. They like kids to work there because if the kids don't, they will go out and beg and steal. So work is good.
However, the factory does let the boys leave for a few hours a day to go to this place run by Unicef. The place is for kids to have a free lunch, take a shower, play games, just simply be a kid. So please donate to Unicef, because it's a good charity.
Charity: Yesterday I got a phone call to donate to charity. Well it was for my dad, but since I picked up, I got the spiel. It's to pay to see a show, and the proceeds will go to charity. If you don't go, then the tickets will be donated to less privileged children so they can watch it. I turned them down.
Hungersite: Let's just say I don't have much money to be able to donate. I can only afford to go towww.hungersite.com and click to give free food. There are other charities there to donate by clicking. The sponsors pay for it. You can buy merchandise from the website, and the money will go to charity.
Amnesty International: I also get newsletters from Amnesty International and then I forward it to you guys, and put it up on my blog. It's informative to know what's going on in the world. I also sign petitions because I can't afford to donate money.
Oct. 31 Celebrity philanthropy: What a coincidence, the Globe and Mail are having this week all about charity. There's discussions about celebrities that are philanthropists like Brad Pitt and Angelina donating millions of dollars to help 3rd world countries, Oprah building schools in Africa, and Bill Gates foundation.
There are the average celebrity donors like Nelly Furtado. She performed for Moammar Gaddhaffi and then donated her proceeds to charity. Madonna is kind of eh, when it turns out her brother has been homeless for over a year. I did read that Madonna tried to get him help by signing him into rehab, but it didn't work.
Wasting food: I found this good article on Yahoo about how to not waste food and money. Things like buy less food so it won't spoil, freeze food, etc. The tips are good. One comment was that it was obvious. I would like to mention one tip they forgot: Buy food that won't spoil like canned foods and cereal. It lasts longer.
http://ca.finance.yahoo.com/news/15-Ways-to-Stop-Wasting-Money-usnews-4047759464.html?&mod=pf-sp14b
New friend: I made a new friend last week at work. Her name's Shannon, and she and I have the same sense of humor. We both like Summer Heights High, MADtv, and Arrested Development.
Comparisons: I was thinking about that Summer Heights High joke about the kid Jonah who falsely accused dad of touching him to get out English class. My writer's imagination thought of: "What if you can't fake sick or skip class? You can't skip or you'll get detention. You can't fake sick, because you were caught at the mall when you're supposed to be at home. You have to get out of class because there's a big test that's worth 20% of your mark that you didn't really study for. What would you do?"
I have raised the stakes. I thought of maybe starting a fight with another kid, then you can be sent to the office and miss class. But that's a consequence and you may get suspended and/or hurt in the fight. I then thought: "Pull the fire alarm."
Pulling the fire alarm to get out of a test: Then I thought, that's actually been done before. On The Secret World of Alex Mack, in the first season. It was a TV show in the early 90s. This girl pulls the fire alarm, and AM proves it's her. The Girl always wore these silver bangle bracelets, and AM then hung the bracelet on the fire alarm.
It was done on Degrassi. Spinner didn't really study, and his friend Jimmy pulled the fire alarm in the middle of the test to buy S some time to study. It was done again years later on the same show, but Claire puts a stink bomb to prevent a school fight, but it was during exam week.
It was kind of done on The Simpsons where Bart falls in loves with Jessica Lovejoy. J pulls the fire alarm.
Groundskeeper Willy: If I don't save the wee turtles, who will?
GW enters the room. He comes out with the turtles biting on him.
GW: Ah, save me from the wee turtles!
lol.
I called the postal office yesterday, and they didn't return my call. I can assume they hired someone else. That's fine.
Oct. 29 Jenny Hyun: This is a Korean-American singer/ songwriter. Here's her website, where you can listen to her pop/ dance music: http://www.onlinejenny.com/
It turns out some of her songs have been produced and sang by an Asian girl group called Girl's Generation. I thought that was so cool and inspirational that she's being recognized for her work. I know how that feels when my two short stories got published.
Email:
Hi
I'm Tracy and I have been following your blog here and there since 2001. I have also emailed you from time to time. I just wanted to congratulate you on being recognized for your song writing efforts like "How great is your love (Spring Day)":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yuOlnLwA3Cc
And "Mistake":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCYjOmEyqCg
I was looking for the song on your site to hear you sing it, but it's not here.
Well congrats.
Email:
Thanks Tracy, I really appreciate your message. I'm glad you enjoy my music and thanks for remembering me!
Jenny
Stay motivated: I got this from an Alberta Job Centre newsletter. It's about getting rejected for jobs and to stay motivated is: To network, talk to a career coach, make small goals each day like research 3 companies, etc.
http://www.albertajobcentre.ca/content/index.cfm?objectID=D53F3C4B-2219-80B4-5334E9A1789D7D05&utm_source=Albertajobcentre.ca&utm_campaign=6018f48e9b-AB_Career_Oct_05_1110_5_2011&utm_medium=email
Guerilla job search secrets: This is from Alberta Job Centre too, but I really like this article. Do you remember the Youtube sensation Ted Williams? He was a homeless, black guy who had the voice of a radio station DJ. He got a job that way.
1) Ted got out of the house and met people
2) Ted didn’t use an ordinary resume
3) Ted didn’t interview, he performed
4) Ted kept a positive outlook
http://www.albertajobcentre.ca/content/index.cfm?objectid=9C0414D2-2219-80B4-53DCD13C47716A89
Child labor: I was watching Tropic of Cancer which is a documentary series on BBC World News. They go to Bangdelesh where kids as young as 9 yrs old work at a glass factory. The kids need money. The factory says they like to hire kids, because they're cheap labor, they have nimble fingers, and complain less than adults.
They showed one kid who has his arm burned. There are men there, and they're in their 30s and have worked there since they're kids. They like kids to work there because if the kids don't, they will go out and beg and steal. So work is good.
However, the factory does let the boys leave for a few hours a day to go to this place run by Unicef. The place is for kids to have a free lunch, take a shower, play games, just simply be a kid. So please donate to Unicef, because it's a good charity.
Charity: Yesterday I got a phone call to donate to charity. Well it was for my dad, but since I picked up, I got the spiel. It's to pay to see a show, and the proceeds will go to charity. If you don't go, then the tickets will be donated to less privileged children so they can watch it. I turned them down.
Hungersite: Let's just say I don't have much money to be able to donate. I can only afford to go to
Amnesty International: I also get newsletters from Amnesty International and then I forward it to you guys, and put it up on my blog. It's informative to know what's going on in the world. I also sign petitions because I can't afford to donate money.
Oct. 31 Celebrity philanthropy: What a coincidence, the Globe and Mail are having this week all about charity. There's discussions about celebrities that are philanthropists like Brad Pitt and Angelina donating millions of dollars to help 3rd world countries, Oprah building schools in Africa, and Bill Gates foundation.
There are the average celebrity donors like Nelly Furtado. She performed for Moammar Gaddhaffi and then donated her proceeds to charity. Madonna is kind of eh, when it turns out her brother has been homeless for over a year. I did read that Madonna tried to get him help by signing him into rehab, but it didn't work.
Wasting food: I found this good article on Yahoo about how to not waste food and money. Things like buy less food so it won't spoil, freeze food, etc. The tips are good. One comment was that it was obvious. I would like to mention one tip they forgot: Buy food that won't spoil like canned foods and cereal. It lasts longer.
http://ca.finance.yahoo.com/news/15-Ways-to-Stop-Wasting-Money-usnews-4047759464.html?&mod=pf-sp14b
New friend: I made a new friend last week at work. Her name's Shannon, and she and I have the same sense of humor. We both like Summer Heights High, MADtv, and Arrested Development.
Comparisons: I was thinking about that Summer Heights High joke about the kid Jonah who falsely accused dad of touching him to get out English class. My writer's imagination thought of: "What if you can't fake sick or skip class? You can't skip or you'll get detention. You can't fake sick, because you were caught at the mall when you're supposed to be at home. You have to get out of class because there's a big test that's worth 20% of your mark that you didn't really study for. What would you do?"
I have raised the stakes. I thought of maybe starting a fight with another kid, then you can be sent to the office and miss class. But that's a consequence and you may get suspended and/or hurt in the fight. I then thought: "Pull the fire alarm."
Pulling the fire alarm to get out of a test: Then I thought, that's actually been done before. On The Secret World of Alex Mack, in the first season. It was a TV show in the early 90s. This girl pulls the fire alarm, and AM proves it's her. The Girl always wore these silver bangle bracelets, and AM then hung the bracelet on the fire alarm.
It was done on Degrassi. Spinner didn't really study, and his friend Jimmy pulled the fire alarm in the middle of the test to buy S some time to study. It was done again years later on the same show, but Claire puts a stink bomb to prevent a school fight, but it was during exam week.
It was kind of done on The Simpsons where Bart falls in loves with Jessica Lovejoy. J pulls the fire alarm.
Groundskeeper Willy: If I don't save the wee turtles, who will?
GW enters the room. He comes out with the turtles biting on him.
GW: Ah, save me from the wee turtles!
lol.
Saturday, October 29, 2011
Why is Iran locking up its students? (Amnesty International)
I got this from Amnesty International. I signed the petition, and so should you.
Visit Amnesty's virtual Azadi Square - where we're taking a stand for all Iran's peaceful student protesters.
It's called Azadi Square - literally "Freedom Square" in Persian.
For decades, it has been the central point of human rights activism in Iran. Two years ago, when the disputed results of a presidential election compelled many to take to the streets, Azadi Square was the backdrop of countless student protests. Although the protests began as peaceful, protesters were met with violence once riot police were dispersed.
Two students who were swept up in the resulting wave of government crackdowns that followed were Behareh Hedayat and Majid Tavakkoli.
Behareh - an economics student turned women's rights advocate is now serving 10 years in prison sentence for her activism.
Majid - a shipbuilding student turned prominent student leader is now serving nine years in prison for his activism.
We can't think of a better place to take a stand for their rights and the rights of all Iran's peaceful student protesters than in Azadi Square.
Demand the release of all Iran's peaceful student protesters!
Starting today, we're opening up a virtual Azadi Square to supporters worldwide. In the virtual Azadi Square, all human rights are protected - including freedom of expression, assembly and association.
That is why we're inviting you to join us in sending a powerful message to the Iranian government. Even if students are imprisoned for their activism, their calls for human rights can never be silenced!
For every 10,000 signatures gathered on our petition for protecting student's rights in Iran, Amnesty representatives will publicly present your signatures in a new and powerful way. But you'll have to keep checking back to find out what we'll do next!
Visit Amnesty's Azadi Square and stand up for the rights of student protesters in Iran!
Behareh Hedayat and Majid Tavakkoli, like many others, were simply students who spoke publicly about their political opinions. They do not deserve this injustice.
Take action now and give them hope. Demonstrate the power of standing together for human rights!
Thank You,
Elise Auerbach
Country Specialist, Iran
Amnesty International USA
Visit Amnesty's virtual Azadi Square - where we're taking a stand for all Iran's peaceful student protesters.
It's called Azadi Square - literally "Freedom Square" in Persian.
For decades, it has been the central point of human rights activism in Iran. Two years ago, when the disputed results of a presidential election compelled many to take to the streets, Azadi Square was the backdrop of countless student protests. Although the protests began as peaceful, protesters were met with violence once riot police were dispersed.
Two students who were swept up in the resulting wave of government crackdowns that followed were Behareh Hedayat and Majid Tavakkoli.
Behareh - an economics student turned women's rights advocate is now serving 10 years in prison sentence for her activism.
Majid - a shipbuilding student turned prominent student leader is now serving nine years in prison for his activism.
We can't think of a better place to take a stand for their rights and the rights of all Iran's peaceful student protesters than in Azadi Square.
Demand the release of all Iran's peaceful student protesters!
Starting today, we're opening up a virtual Azadi Square to supporters worldwide. In the virtual Azadi Square, all human rights are protected - including freedom of expression, assembly and association.
That is why we're inviting you to join us in sending a powerful message to the Iranian government. Even if students are imprisoned for their activism, their calls for human rights can never be silenced!
For every 10,000 signatures gathered on our petition for protecting student's rights in Iran, Amnesty representatives will publicly present your signatures in a new and powerful way. But you'll have to keep checking back to find out what we'll do next!
Visit Amnesty's Azadi Square and stand up for the rights of student protesters in Iran!
Behareh Hedayat and Majid Tavakkoli, like many others, were simply students who spoke publicly about their political opinions. They do not deserve this injustice.
Take action now and give them hope. Demonstrate the power of standing together for human rights!
Thank You,
Elise Auerbach
Country Specialist, Iran
Amnesty International USA
funny pic/ Wordle/ safety
Oct. 26 Funny picture: Here's the fun email of the week. I submitted my 79 headlines and pictures to Jay Leno today. I have a picture from the Globe and Mail on Sept. 17,2011. The picture is of a young woman talking to people in an office, and an overweight man in a Superman outfit is standing beside her.
You're like: "What?" The caption says: "Charmaine Borg, 20, centre, spent the summer introducing herself to her constituents in Terrebonne-Blainville." There is no mention of the guy in the Superman suit. I remember reading a letter a few days later with someone asking who that was. lol.
Nice: Yesterday I asked my sister if I could buy a manila envelope from her so I could send in the headlines, she gave me the envelope free of charge. So that was nice.
Ebay: I was watching Jay Leno's segment "Stuff we found on Ebay." The audience guess if it's sold or not sold. There is a pencil drawing of Justin Beiber by a prison inmate. I thought the art was really good because it really looked like JB. I thought "Sold" because it's good and could be considered "outsider art" because an inmate did it. It was not sold.
There was "Skype date with hot woman." She won't show her body, it will be good conversation. The starting bid was 99 cents. Men say: "Sold." Woman say: "Not sold." It was sold for $490. Damn, that's good. I guess there are a lot of lonely people, and they just want to connect with someone.
News: Jay Leno cracked a joke about this in the news.
JL: Men are more likely to say "I love you" first. But they don't mean it!
lol.
Jokes:
JL: NBC cancelled Charlie's Angels. They cancelled it when they realized it was still on.
Audience laughs.
JL: They could bring it back and call it So You Think You Can Act.
Laughing about death: I was watching Desperate Housewives, and Susan is in art class. She tells this Asian woman next to her that she uses the pain from her 9 yr old son leaving for school, without giving her a hug or a kiss.
Asian woman: I'm using my pain from my dad's suicide.
Then in class they're supposed to sketch this naked man, but Susan can't stop giggling.
S (to woman): Quick, tell me about your dad's suicide.
Question: I was reading Seventeen magazine and they asked the question: "Would you take $1000 or go on a date with Justin Beiber?" 75% said they would take the $1000. One girl said: "$1000 would last longer, than one night with someone."
You put any celebrity you want to meet, and my friend Angela said: "$1000, because most celebrities are stupid." I posed the question to my sister, but with Jon Hamm (Mad Men) and she would pick him over the money.
I read about happiness articles in the Globe and Mail Life section, and they say go with the experiences to make you happy. I would probably go on a date with the actor David Anders (Vampire Diaries) over $1000. I can get money, but meeting a celebrity doesn't happen to me very often.
I have met the British boy band Blue back in 2002, and got to hug my favorite member Lee Ryan. I met the singer/ actor Kyle Riabko twice. When I met them, I was very happy. I have fond memories.
Game: My friend Heather put this on her Facebook wall. There's this crossword puzzle. The first 4 words you see in the jumble, describes you. I got: passion, outgoing, impatient, loyal.
Wordle: I found this website called: http://www.wordle.net/
I get Alberta Job Centre newsletters and it lead me to this article about it: "Wordle is a toy for generating “word clouds” from text that you provide. The clouds give greater prominence to words that appear more frequently in the source text."
It's like art and words put together. I've seen it before, but I didn't know it was called Wordle. Check it out:
http://www.albertajobcentre.ca/content/index.cfm?objectid=2221E86B-2219-80B4-5383694FAC6CE51D&utm_source=Albertajobcentre.ca&utm_campaign=89f97517fc-AB_Career_Oct_20_201110_20_2011&utm_medium=email
Oct. 28 Daily silly: I got this through Daily silly. Here's a death joke:
"A man placed some flowers on the grave of his dearly departed mother and started back toward his car when his attention was diverted to another man kneeling at a grave. The man seemed to be praying with profound intensity and kept repeating, "Why did you have to die? Why did you have to die?" The first man approached him and said, "Sir, I don’t wish to interfere with your private grief, but this demonstration of pain is more than I’ve ever seen before. For whom do you mourn so deeply? A child? A parent?" The mourner took a moment to collect himself, then replied, "My wife’s first husband."
Hotel interviews: Today I did two job interviews at two different hotels. They're similar because they use the same computer program, and the shifts are from 7am-3pm or 3pm-11pm.
The first interview was in the morning. I got there and filled out an application. The interview was okay. There are 8 applicants for 1 position. He said there was low turnover and there are only certain days that are really busy. I think they're looking for someone with open availability. They had 3 people who are in school, and they have set shifts that others work around it.
I don't want to work at night. It would be a 15min bus ride from my work to get there. It seems like a lot of effort to get there, and they really want you to work at night. I sometimes work at night, but I leave at 9pm and I like the bus station that's well- lit.
The second interview was okay. They either hire one full-time person or a few part-time people, like most jobs do. I would rather work here because it's easier to get to, and no night shifts.
Rant: This is a mild rant. There's another busser who works here, and he gets full-time hours. That's because he works night shifts, and 3 day shifts a week. I don't resent him or the boss, but I want more hours. Whenever another department needs me, I work there. I did 2 split shifts this month.
Another mild rant is that I was going through my notes, and it turns out I turned down a production company. I never turn them down. But then I checked my email, it's a production company asking to read a 1 page synopsis, and not the whole script. So I didn't really turn them down.
Oct. 29 Safety: I was reading in the Globe and Mail Life section. David McRaney wrote a book called You Are Not So Smart about self- delusions. There's a thing called "normalcy bias" about how people don't rush to save their own lives. People stand around die as their ship sinks or a building is on fire.
DM: When it comes to something scary, or dangerous, or life-threatening, the first thing we want to believe is that things are not dangerous or scary. We really try to convince ourselves that everything is okay. You hear an explosion in your building- you don't immediately jump up and go "Get the hell of here!" No one does that unless they've been trained, which is why it's important to take the drill seriously. They teach you to get pass the normalcy bias.
You're like: "What?" The caption says: "Charmaine Borg, 20, centre, spent the summer introducing herself to her constituents in Terrebonne-Blainville." There is no mention of the guy in the Superman suit. I remember reading a letter a few days later with someone asking who that was. lol.
Nice: Yesterday I asked my sister if I could buy a manila envelope from her so I could send in the headlines, she gave me the envelope free of charge. So that was nice.
Ebay: I was watching Jay Leno's segment "Stuff we found on Ebay." The audience guess if it's sold or not sold. There is a pencil drawing of Justin Beiber by a prison inmate. I thought the art was really good because it really looked like JB. I thought "Sold" because it's good and could be considered "outsider art" because an inmate did it. It was not sold.
There was "Skype date with hot woman." She won't show her body, it will be good conversation. The starting bid was 99 cents. Men say: "Sold." Woman say: "Not sold." It was sold for $490. Damn, that's good. I guess there are a lot of lonely people, and they just want to connect with someone.
News: Jay Leno cracked a joke about this in the news.
JL: Men are more likely to say "I love you" first. But they don't mean it!
lol.
Jokes:
JL: NBC cancelled Charlie's Angels. They cancelled it when they realized it was still on.
Audience laughs.
JL: They could bring it back and call it So You Think You Can Act.
Laughing about death: I was watching Desperate Housewives, and Susan is in art class. She tells this Asian woman next to her that she uses the pain from her 9 yr old son leaving for school, without giving her a hug or a kiss.
Asian woman: I'm using my pain from my dad's suicide.
Then in class they're supposed to sketch this naked man, but Susan can't stop giggling.
S (to woman): Quick, tell me about your dad's suicide.
Question: I was reading Seventeen magazine and they asked the question: "Would you take $1000 or go on a date with Justin Beiber?" 75% said they would take the $1000. One girl said: "$1000 would last longer, than one night with someone."
You put any celebrity you want to meet, and my friend Angela said: "$1000, because most celebrities are stupid." I posed the question to my sister, but with Jon Hamm (Mad Men) and she would pick him over the money.
I read about happiness articles in the Globe and Mail Life section, and they say go with the experiences to make you happy. I would probably go on a date with the actor David Anders (Vampire Diaries) over $1000. I can get money, but meeting a celebrity doesn't happen to me very often.
I have met the British boy band Blue back in 2002, and got to hug my favorite member Lee Ryan. I met the singer/ actor Kyle Riabko twice. When I met them, I was very happy. I have fond memories.
Game: My friend Heather put this on her Facebook wall. There's this crossword puzzle. The first 4 words you see in the jumble, describes you. I got: passion, outgoing, impatient, loyal.
Wordle: I found this website called: http://www.wordle.net/
I get Alberta Job Centre newsletters and it lead me to this article about it: "Wordle is a toy for generating “word clouds” from text that you provide. The clouds give greater prominence to words that appear more frequently in the source text."
It's like art and words put together. I've seen it before, but I didn't know it was called Wordle. Check it out:
http://www.albertajobcentre.ca/content/index.cfm?objectid=2221E86B-2219-80B4-5383694FAC6CE51D&utm_source=Albertajobcentre.ca&utm_campaign=89f97517fc-AB_Career_Oct_20_201110_20_2011&utm_medium=email
Oct. 28 Daily silly: I got this through Daily silly. Here's a death joke:
"A man placed some flowers on the grave of his dearly departed mother and started back toward his car when his attention was diverted to another man kneeling at a grave. The man seemed to be praying with profound intensity and kept repeating, "Why did you have to die? Why did you have to die?" The first man approached him and said, "Sir, I don’t wish to interfere with your private grief, but this demonstration of pain is more than I’ve ever seen before. For whom do you mourn so deeply? A child? A parent?" The mourner took a moment to collect himself, then replied, "My wife’s first husband."
Hotel interviews: Today I did two job interviews at two different hotels. They're similar because they use the same computer program, and the shifts are from 7am-3pm or 3pm-11pm.
The first interview was in the morning. I got there and filled out an application. The interview was okay. There are 8 applicants for 1 position. He said there was low turnover and there are only certain days that are really busy. I think they're looking for someone with open availability. They had 3 people who are in school, and they have set shifts that others work around it.
I don't want to work at night. It would be a 15min bus ride from my work to get there. It seems like a lot of effort to get there, and they really want you to work at night. I sometimes work at night, but I leave at 9pm and I like the bus station that's well- lit.
The second interview was okay. They either hire one full-time person or a few part-time people, like most jobs do. I would rather work here because it's easier to get to, and no night shifts.
Rant: This is a mild rant. There's another busser who works here, and he gets full-time hours. That's because he works night shifts, and 3 day shifts a week. I don't resent him or the boss, but I want more hours. Whenever another department needs me, I work there. I did 2 split shifts this month.
Another mild rant is that I was going through my notes, and it turns out I turned down a production company. I never turn them down. But then I checked my email, it's a production company asking to read a 1 page synopsis, and not the whole script. So I didn't really turn them down.
Oct. 29 Safety: I was reading in the Globe and Mail Life section. David McRaney wrote a book called You Are Not So Smart about self- delusions. There's a thing called "normalcy bias" about how people don't rush to save their own lives. People stand around die as their ship sinks or a building is on fire.
DM: When it comes to something scary, or dangerous, or life-threatening, the first thing we want to believe is that things are not dangerous or scary. We really try to convince ourselves that everything is okay. You hear an explosion in your building- you don't immediately jump up and go "Get the hell of here!" No one does that unless they've been trained, which is why it's important to take the drill seriously. They teach you to get pass the normalcy bias.
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Nobel Prize winner still in jail (Amnesty International)
Here's the link to an "Write for Rights Global Write-a-thon" to help human rights for inviduals are being supported.
http://www.amnestyusa.org/writeathon/?c=W0010EAIAR4&msource=W0010EAIAR4&tr=y&auid=9715327
Dear Supporter,
Earlier this month, three women were named recipients of the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize for promoting women's rights and women's participation in peace-building. Yet, the winner of last year's Nobel Peace Prize, Chinese human rights defender Liu Xiaobo, still languishes behind prison bars for seeking to promote peaceful political and social reforms in China.
In the days surrounding International Human Rights Day (December 10), you can shine a light for Liu Xiaobo and for others whose rights have been denied.
We're asking you to take one simple action: Write a letter.
This can be a letter of passion and outrage to a government guilty of repressing free expression and denying other human rights.
Or it can be a letter of solidarity and hope sent directly to someone who needs reassurance that they are not alone.
Liu Xiaobo is just one case featured in this year's annual Write for Rights - Global Write-a-thon - Amnesty's largest global human rights event. Sign up now and let your letters be counted!
Since Amnesty's founding 50 years ago, people throughout the world have joined together in classrooms, coffee houses and community centers to take action. They were united by a simple, yet powerful, tool for change - the letter.
Need proof that written words are powerful? Look no further than Liu Xiaobo - whose words of hope and freedom are seen as such a threat by authorities in China that they have imprisoned him because of them.
Now he and others need you to carry their torch by picking up a pen. You don't need to be a Nobel Prize winner to Write for Rights! Stand with human rights supporters around the world by joining the Global Write-a-thon.
With hope,
Michael O'Reilly
Senior Campaign Director
Individuals at Risk
Amnesty International USA
http://www.amnestyusa.org/writeathon/?c=W0010EAIAR4&msource=W0010EAIAR4&tr=y&auid=9715327
Dear Supporter,
Earlier this month, three women were named recipients of the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize for promoting women's rights and women's participation in peace-building. Yet, the winner of last year's Nobel Peace Prize, Chinese human rights defender Liu Xiaobo, still languishes behind prison bars for seeking to promote peaceful political and social reforms in China.
In the days surrounding International Human Rights Day (December 10), you can shine a light for Liu Xiaobo and for others whose rights have been denied.
We're asking you to take one simple action: Write a letter.
This can be a letter of passion and outrage to a government guilty of repressing free expression and denying other human rights.
Or it can be a letter of solidarity and hope sent directly to someone who needs reassurance that they are not alone.
Liu Xiaobo is just one case featured in this year's annual Write for Rights - Global Write-a-thon - Amnesty's largest global human rights event. Sign up now and let your letters be counted!
Since Amnesty's founding 50 years ago, people throughout the world have joined together in classrooms, coffee houses and community centers to take action. They were united by a simple, yet powerful, tool for change - the letter.
Need proof that written words are powerful? Look no further than Liu Xiaobo - whose words of hope and freedom are seen as such a threat by authorities in China that they have imprisoned him because of them.
Now he and others need you to carry their torch by picking up a pen. You don't need to be a Nobel Prize winner to Write for Rights! Stand with human rights supporters around the world by joining the Global Write-a-thon.
With hope,
Michael O'Reilly
Senior Campaign Director
Individuals at Risk
Amnesty International USA
Occupy Wall Street/ Europe economy/ Spooktree Films
Oct. 24 Occupy Wall Street: I was reading in the Globe and Mail about the people protesting on Wall Street. 15% are unemployed and 18% are underemployed. So there are people that don't have jobs to go to. I don't protest things because I just don't like standing around with signs. I'll complain on my blog.
My sister was dissing them when we were talking about it at dinner. There is no clear agenda to what they want to achieve. They want jobs, and hate corporations. Everything they own come from corporations from clothes to food. There's no focus. I remember watching 20/20 about PETA and people splashing red paint (like blood) on this department store for selling fur. I don't care about PETA, but at least there was a clear goal and message.
Take Down Entertainment: I found this on my TV production search. It's about promoting mix martial arts (MMA). Check it out:
http://www.takedownentertainment.com/
Ghostwriter: Does anyone remember this TV show from early 1990s on PBS? It's about a group of kids who solve neighborhood mysteries with an invisible ghost who can only communicate by reading and writing. I was on twop.com and there's an article about it:
http://www.televisionwithoutpity.com/brilliantbutcancelled/2011/10/ghostwriter-pbs-tv-show-the-worlds-most-wholesome-supernatural-series.php
The first season is on DVD on Amazon. I'm not going to buy it, but I just want to say I really like the show. According to PBS, the show ended after the 3rd season due to lack of funding. Damn.
Oct. 25 Prostitution: I was channel surfing to see what's on TV tonight, and I saw a bit of Dr. Drew's Life Changers. It's a 30min talk show and he was interviewing a woman who was a teen prostitute. I sat for 5min. and it was really intense. She talked about being drugged and raped, and left by a dumpster in an alley. She wakes up in hospital.
She was on drugs, and went to jail before. What keeps her going is her nieces. What's interesting was that she and other addicts have talked about how ironically drugs are what kept them from committing suicide.
However, I can't watch this show because it's too much like Dr. Phil.
Job: I guess I would fit into the Occupy Wall Street protestors demographic. I'm underemployed. I work part-time like 24hrs a week. I work 6 days a week, and get paid a bit more than min. wage per hour. I have a lot of free time, but that time is not used for fun. It's mainly filled with unpaid work.
Schedule: My schedule is this. I wake up at around 6am and leave by 6:50am. I take the bus, and the hr I'm on the bus, I'm reading the 24 newspaper. I work from 8am-12pm. I take another hr bus ride home, reading the newspaper and doing the crossword puzzle.
I get home around 1pm, do my job search on the computer for 2 hrs. I listen to music on Youtube as I'm applying to places. Throw in a little dancing as my break. At 3pm, I turn off the computer, and read my newspapers for an hr. Turn the computer back on at 4pm and usually do some more job search, and then pitch my script. I write some of my weekly emails/ blog posts here.
By 6pm, it's time for dinner. I sometimes do the dishes. Most nights, I'd be watching TV. Watching TV and dancing is my fun. I hardly ever use the internet for fun.
Europe economy: I was reading in the Edmonton Journal business section with the headline: "Europe's youth stuck in junk jobs." It's about young professionals only getting temporary contracts because that's what's available. Those jobs don't have job security or benefits.
One woman named Silvia is 24 yrs old and has a master's degree in publicity. She is paid about $420 Cdn a month for the same work as the salaried permanent employees who are in the same company.
Juan Francisco Seller is 27 and has a pharmaceutical degree. He has been working at a hospital for a year for free, doing research for a lab team. He is waiting for a "real" job to come from it. He has turned down paid work outside of his field to keep his resume professional.
I thought that was stupid of him. He should do another job outside of his field to get paid, even if it's a waiter. He can volunteer at the hospital lab on the weekends.
Vision board: Last week I wrote about the Happy Endings sitcom that talked about vision boards. Today in the Globe and Mail Life section, Angela Self wrote about Pinterest.com.
It's where you create online vision boards based on personal or financial interests. There are cost saving ideas. It's a really fun website to check out.
Here's the humor section. There are lots of funny and quirky pictures and sayings:
http://pinterest.com/all/?category=humor
Spooktree Films: I was pitching my script and I found this production company called Spooktree Films. I saw the trailer to Whisper Creek. It's a really good sci-fi/ action story. It takes place at a mental hospital and Jimmy is a patient who doesn't talk. A woman comes to visit him and then transmits a power to him.
Later that night Jimmy starts talking and he gets into a fight and escapes from the hospital. There was good suspense, tension, and mystery involved. Check it out:
http://www.spooktree.com/
Mike Miller: I also found this 5min short film while pitching my script. It's called Oops. It's about CIA operatives tracking down a terrorist for 6 months. There's going to be a review soon, and if they don't show any progress, they will lose funding and their jobs. They decided to doctor pictures that they found the terrorist in these cities. However, the plan kind of goes sideways.
I really liked it and was impressed with it. It could be used as the first five minutes of a feature length film, and the lie gets bigger and bigger. Check it out, it's only 5min:
http://writer-director.com/
Oct. 26 June short film: I was looking for more production companies and I found one called nine40. Here's the short film June. I watched the 2min, 50 sec clip. It was shot so beautifully as a guy tells a story of how he fell in love with a girl.
It starred Kerry James (Caleb from Heartland) as a cowboy. Not too much of a stretch for him. I really liked it, check it out:
http://vimeo.com/channels/nine40
Script pitch: Today was my day off and it was very productive. I looked for a job and I pitched my script. A producer emailed and called me today saying that he wants to read it. So I sent it to him.
Pitching my script is what drives me. When someone shows some interest in my script, I get excited and this rush comes. It's like I'm making progress.
Museums: I got this flier a couple of weeks ago. There's a website called www.museumsofcanada.ca and it sells lots of really nice stuff like clothes, jewelery, stationary, and furniture. Check it out for your Christmas shopping.
Windy wedding: I found this on Yahoo. It's from Good Morning America. There is a wedding held outside, and there's a dust storm. It's windy, and then there's this sand and dirt blowing around, the screen turns brown.
After they said "I do", they kiss, and hug. The groom then gives a thumb signal for them to get out of the storm. They're given an umbrella, but the umbrella is blown up and wrecked. lol.
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/video/us-22424932/gma-play-of-the-day-windy-wedding-27057771.html
Switched at birth: There are these two 12 yr old girls who were switched at birth. They were born on the same day, and the name tags of the babies were switched. It was found out when one dads wanted a paternity test because the daughter didn't look anything like him.
One of the mother-in-laws remembered that another woman was going into labor the same day. Both girls stay with their non-biological families and the families are close.
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/video/world-22186928/switched-at-birth-two-families-meet-27052620.html
My sister was dissing them when we were talking about it at dinner. There is no clear agenda to what they want to achieve. They want jobs, and hate corporations. Everything they own come from corporations from clothes to food. There's no focus. I remember watching 20/20 about PETA and people splashing red paint (like blood) on this department store for selling fur. I don't care about PETA, but at least there was a clear goal and message.
Take Down Entertainment: I found this on my TV production search. It's about promoting mix martial arts (MMA). Check it out:
Ghostwriter: Does anyone remember this TV show from early 1990s on PBS? It's about a group of kids who solve neighborhood mysteries with an invisible ghost who can only communicate by reading and writing. I was on twop.com and there's an article about it:
http://www.televisionwithoutpity.com/brilliantbutcancelled/2011/10/ghostwriter-pbs-tv-show-the-worlds-most-wholesome-supernatural-series.php
The first season is on DVD on Amazon. I'm not going to buy it, but I just want to say I really like the show. According to PBS, the show ended after the 3rd season due to lack of funding. Damn.
Oct. 25 Prostitution: I was channel surfing to see what's on TV tonight, and I saw a bit of Dr. Drew's Life Changers. It's a 30min talk show and he was interviewing a woman who was a teen prostitute. I sat for 5min. and it was really intense. She talked about being drugged and raped, and left by a dumpster in an alley. She wakes up in hospital.
She was on drugs, and went to jail before. What keeps her going is her nieces. What's interesting was that she and other addicts have talked about how ironically drugs are what kept them from committing suicide.
However, I can't watch this show because it's too much like Dr. Phil.
Job: I guess I would fit into the Occupy Wall Street protestors demographic. I'm underemployed. I work part-time like 24hrs a week. I work 6 days a week, and get paid a bit more than min. wage per hour. I have a lot of free time, but that time is not used for fun. It's mainly filled with unpaid work.
Schedule: My schedule is this. I wake up at around 6am and leave by 6:50am. I take the bus, and the hr I'm on the bus, I'm reading the 24 newspaper. I work from 8am-12pm. I take another hr bus ride home, reading the newspaper and doing the crossword puzzle.
I get home around 1pm, do my job search on the computer for 2 hrs. I listen to music on Youtube as I'm applying to places. Throw in a little dancing as my break. At 3pm, I turn off the computer, and read my newspapers for an hr. Turn the computer back on at 4pm and usually do some more job search, and then pitch my script. I write some of my weekly emails/ blog posts here.
By 6pm, it's time for dinner. I sometimes do the dishes. Most nights, I'd be watching TV. Watching TV and dancing is my fun. I hardly ever use the internet for fun.
Europe economy: I was reading in the Edmonton Journal business section with the headline: "Europe's youth stuck in junk jobs." It's about young professionals only getting temporary contracts because that's what's available. Those jobs don't have job security or benefits.
One woman named Silvia is 24 yrs old and has a master's degree in publicity. She is paid about $420 Cdn a month for the same work as the salaried permanent employees who are in the same company.
Juan Francisco Seller is 27 and has a pharmaceutical degree. He has been working at a hospital for a year for free, doing research for a lab team. He is waiting for a "real" job to come from it. He has turned down paid work outside of his field to keep his resume professional.
I thought that was stupid of him. He should do another job outside of his field to get paid, even if it's a waiter. He can volunteer at the hospital lab on the weekends.
Vision board: Last week I wrote about the Happy Endings sitcom that talked about vision boards. Today in the Globe and Mail Life section, Angela Self wrote about Pinterest.com.
It's where you create online vision boards based on personal or financial interests. There are cost saving ideas. It's a really fun website to check out.
Here's the humor section. There are lots of funny and quirky pictures and sayings:
http://pinterest.com/all/?category=humor
Spooktree Films: I was pitching my script and I found this production company called Spooktree Films. I saw the trailer to Whisper Creek. It's a really good sci-fi/ action story. It takes place at a mental hospital and Jimmy is a patient who doesn't talk. A woman comes to visit him and then transmits a power to him.
Later that night Jimmy starts talking and he gets into a fight and escapes from the hospital. There was good suspense, tension, and mystery involved. Check it out:
http://www.spooktree.com/
Mike Miller: I also found this 5min short film while pitching my script. It's called Oops. It's about CIA operatives tracking down a terrorist for 6 months. There's going to be a review soon, and if they don't show any progress, they will lose funding and their jobs. They decided to doctor pictures that they found the terrorist in these cities. However, the plan kind of goes sideways.
I really liked it and was impressed with it. It could be used as the first five minutes of a feature length film, and the lie gets bigger and bigger. Check it out, it's only 5min:
http://writer-director.com/
Oct. 26 June short film: I was looking for more production companies and I found one called nine40. Here's the short film June. I watched the 2min, 50 sec clip. It was shot so beautifully as a guy tells a story of how he fell in love with a girl.
It starred Kerry James (Caleb from Heartland) as a cowboy. Not too much of a stretch for him. I really liked it, check it out:
http://vimeo.com/channels/nine40
Script pitch: Today was my day off and it was very productive. I looked for a job and I pitched my script. A producer emailed and called me today saying that he wants to read it. So I sent it to him.
Pitching my script is what drives me. When someone shows some interest in my script, I get excited and this rush comes. It's like I'm making progress.
Museums: I got this flier a couple of weeks ago. There's a website called www.museumsofcanada.ca and it sells lots of really nice stuff like clothes, jewelery, stationary, and furniture. Check it out for your Christmas shopping.
Windy wedding: I found this on Yahoo. It's from Good Morning America. There is a wedding held outside, and there's a dust storm. It's windy, and then there's this sand and dirt blowing around, the screen turns brown.
After they said "I do", they kiss, and hug. The groom then gives a thumb signal for them to get out of the storm. They're given an umbrella, but the umbrella is blown up and wrecked. lol.
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/video/us-22424932/gma-play-of-the-day-windy-wedding-27057771.html
Switched at birth: There are these two 12 yr old girls who were switched at birth. They were born on the same day, and the name tags of the babies were switched. It was found out when one dads wanted a paternity test because the daughter didn't look anything like him.
One of the mother-in-laws remembered that another woman was going into labor the same day. Both girls stay with their non-biological families and the families are close.
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/video/world-22186928/switched-at-birth-two-families-meet-27052620.html
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