I don't know exactly which Sufi teaching this is...

“Past the seeker as he prayed came the crippled and the beggar and the beaten. And seeing them...he cried, 'Great God, how is it that a loving creator can see such things and yet do nothing about them?'... God said, 'I did do something. I made you.' -Sufi Teaching

Okay Fine!

After receiving countless e-mails from y'all I want to say that you, my friends know who you are! So stop fretting and making snarky comments, cuz I will post them and then laugh at you and your insecurities! ( wait...don't go away!!! I won't I promise! =D)

Nothing much going on this week. There is a guerilla ad campaign going on for Serenity the sequel or the re-launch of Firefly.

Of course most of you heard about the building in NY. How can you hate a person that much that you would destroy not only yourself, but play with the lives of others just to get revenge? Then there were the bomb blasts in Mumbai. The group has 'loose connections' to Alquaida. What does that even mean? I have 'loose connections' to Warren Buffett because my computer runs on Microsoft Windows.

I know that it seems that the world is going to Hell in a handbasket, but we have a tendency to sensationalize the scandalous, because that sells. We haven't heard about the people that help in homeless shelters or who donate their time to free clinics, because who cares about philanthropy?
But don't despair the world has gone on and it will continue, we just have to continue not to fight the good fight, but to help as many people that we can.

Friends, Romans, countrymen

Did anyone else have to memorize that soliloquy from "Julius Caesar"? I was sitting in class today and drifted off into a daydream and all of a sudden I was in the play as Marc Antony.

Ever meet people who you think you'll be life-long friends with, but they just end up as "some person I hung out with in college" and then you meet people who you think will just be " some person I hung out with in college", but they become dear friends? Isn't it strange the sorts of people TPTB bring into your life. Some people you're grateful to have gotten the chance to have known and others, when you think about them you wonder what you were thinking when you spent so much precious time with them. Just musings...that's all this is.

I've been in a contemplative mood of late. Looking back, I could have done a lot differently, but your experiences make you who you are right?

An ode to Cadbury dairy milk fruit and nut chocolate bars

(Okay, so it's not really an ode)

Cadbury fruit and nut bars are the best candy bar in the world. I'm talking about the ones you get overseas or from the duty free shops in airports. The Cadbury found in the US does not compare to the chocolately goodness found in the original.

Okay, now that I have shared my love. I can sleep in peace.
My living room is complete today. I can now officially have guests over. Yes the dining room chairs look like old office furniture, but it is still a place to sit and all. And it's all about the family and friends and stuff right? Right? Fine, be that way, but I'll still be hospitable even if you sneer at my furniture.

de-Motivated

I have so much to do. Papers to write, languages to learn and I simply cannot motivate myself to actually sit down and start. I love the idea of finishing things before deadline, but I always do things last minute, just because I can't get motivated early enough to finish things.

For those of you wondering the table tennis tournament was a success, snaps are up.
Happy belated fourth to all. We missed the fireworks this year due to technical difficulties that I will not go into, because it will just upset me.

ugh...MOTIVATION? ARE YOU OUT THERE?

Shukar Al-Hamdullillah

I finally got my car back. By the grace of God it wasn't too damaged. My pocket book is lighter, but because I have wonderful parents who offered to pay half it's not so much lighter. It was indeed the radiator, but what can you expect from an eleven yo car.

I've been mulling over some things for the last few days. I'm delighted that Warren Buffett has decided to give a large chunk of his fortune to charity to fund education and public health. My two main causes (equality and empowerment for women is also one, but I believe that if you give women education and good health the rest will come naturally). So it makes me smile.

And....(edited to add: Yes it is a huge rumor!)
Y'all also know that I'm a huge Joss Whedon fan and have been eagerly awaiting news on his Wonder Woman script and casting. In addition to being a Joss fan I also love Bollywood films (That's Indian film musicals for those of you who don't know what bollywood is. Do a google search to find out more. I'm sure there's a wiki somewhere.) So imagine my surprise when I found this.
I understand that it could just be a huge rumor. In fact it probably is. When I first saw it I was against it, because the girl's beautiful and all, but can she act to the satisfaction of the Whedonverse? Then my bollywood fangirl jumped up and started squeeing 'cuz a desi Priyanka Chopra in a Hollywood film!

Enough of this I better get back to studying.

tales from the ER

The next time a cockroach crawls in your ear while you are sleeping, be sure to stick your finger in your ear and plug it so it can't get out then run to the ED for us to take it out. Then, as I squirt viscous lidocaine into your ear canal, tell me how gross that feels!
~Courtesy of SDN

Something similar happend at HFF...or was it ER?

So you want to take healthcare away from children?

Yup, you read it right. Some California lawmakers don't want to make healthcare available to any immigrant not matter what his age...because you know they're all felons and breaking the law by being in this country.

What next? Are we going to stop allowing them in public schools? Or...gasp...will we make them pay for education? So much for pursuing "the American Dream".
What happened to
"Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore,
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

Are we taking it back? Or was that only for those that came via Ellis Island?

Two A-holes at a Crime Scene

Here is the latest Two A-holes skit. I normally don't like Kevin Spacey (except for the Usual Suspects), but he did a good job here. I now tune in to watch this skit. My sisters and I pray that it will be as big as the Spartans, Coneheads, two guys, etc. Hi-larious!

Got this as an e-mail...

and thought to post it rather than e-mail it to everyone I know.


As you might know, the head of a company survived
9/11 because his son started kindergarten.


Another fellow was alive because it was
his turn to bring donuts.


One woman was late because her
alarm clock didn't go off in time.


One was late because of being stuck on the NJ Turnpike
because of an auto accident.


One of them
missed his bus.


One spilled food on her clothes and had to take
time to change.


One's
car wouldn't start.


One went back to
answer the telephone.


One had a
child that dawdled
and didn't get ready as soon as he should have.


One couldn't
get a taxi.


The one that struck me was the man
who put on a new pair of shoes that morning,
took the various means to get to work
but before he got there, he developed
a blister on his foot.
He stopped at a drugstore ! to buy a Band-Aid.
That is why he is alive today.

Now when I am
stuck in traffic,
miss an elevator,
turn back to answer a ringing telephone...
all the little things that annoy me.
I think to myself,
this is exactly where
God wants me to be
at this very moment..
Next time your morning seems to be
going wrong,
the children are slow getting dressed,
you can't seem to find the car keys,
you hit every traffic light,
don't get mad or frustrated;
God is at work watching over you.

May God continue to bless you
with all those annoying little things
and may you remember their possible purpose.
Pass this on to someone else, if you'd like.
There is NO LUCK attached.
If you delete this, it's okay:
God's Love Is Not Dependent On
E-Mail !!
(that's the cool part)AMEN
I get a lot of these and rarely post them or forward them, but this caught my attention.

I sometimes have the same thought that even though I didn't plan on ending up where I am today it probably means something and that it is the best place for me to be right now.

I won't give up the good fight. I know in my heart what I really want and I'll achieve that goal. Who'll stick it out with me?

On a similar thread

Okay so after my early morning rant on fanfic I came across this article which talks about how the author of "Everything Bad is Good for You: How Today's Popular Culture is Actually Making Us Smarter" states...well just that. So I guess fanfic is just a what you get when you have increased mental capacity and a lot of time on your hands.

Fan Fic

Have any of you read fanfic or filk? I don't really know what filk is, but fan fiction make me squint my eyes and shake my head in confusion. Now, I'm not talking about something I know nothing about. I admit that I have read my share of fanfic. I know certain people (you know who you are) that absolutely love the stuff and they are always sending me links to the newest story that they just loved because it "captured the characters so well". I wonder what some people are thinking when they decide that it would be a good idea to have a "Honeymooners/Battlestar Galactica" crossover (No, I haven't actually read such a cross-over, but you get my point).

From the considerable research that I have conducted. I have found that most fanfic writers are teenagers with a lot of time on their hands. They write for their friends. They write for themselves. They think they are talented. They want to put various pairs together i.e. Simon and Jayne from Firefly. Some writers like to insert themselves into the story, become the hero or love interest.

There are fanfiction contests out there. There are entire databases. You can find comedy, drama, angst (there's a lot of angst), parody. Some are a few paragraphs long. Others would rival War and Peace for length. There are ratings, just like the movies. G through the adult content that's mostly well...smutty. Most of it is ridiculous.
I'm sure that there are some great writers in the webverse that like to write about their favorite characters, and I recently, reluctantly read one that was recommended to my by a friend that wasn't half-bad. For the most part though...meh.

Now this isn't is quite a rant against fan fiction, because..hey...whatever floats your boat, but put your creativity to some good use. If you want to be a writer make up your own characters, your own universe, etc. If you insist on writing fanfic, take a writing class, stay true to characters...heck you can get a list of fanfic rules out there on the web. Be sure that you have someone (good) edit your story and be sure to remain consistent and coherent. But most importantly please, please, please, don't ask me to edit. Please?

Also, who thought up fan vids?

New Job

So, now I'm officially looking for a new job. Even though I have hope for this one I think that looking won't hurt. I think that now I want to work at a hospital, maybe as a unit clerk or something to that effect.

It's surreal, but what can I do about it? This isn't the first time in history someone has lost a job through no fault of her own and it won't be the last.

On another topic...
Ding Dong the witch is dead... after two bombs were dropped on him. I wonder if the flying monkeys will be able to regroup. I hope not, but with the situation as it is who really knows anything. I notice how the admin isn't declaring victory and popping champagne corks as they did before. It's heartening when people learn from their mistakes.

And the FIFA World Cup starts today in Germany.
Even though I want the US to win Brazil's got Ronaldhino

Until next time

so I can add a pic

The Hero of Canton

As I sat here at my wonderful job completely bored out of my mind (yes, I know there aren't boring situations only boring people...) I answered the phone. The person on the other end asked for info and I gave her the regular we help-you-get-medication spiel. She asked for an application and went on to give me her address. When she got to her city (Canton) it took everything in me not to start singing "He robbed from the rich and he gave to the poor/Stood up to the Man and he gave him what for/Our love for him now ain't hard to explain/The Hero of Canton, the man they call Jayne!"
But I was giggling and I'm sure that potential client thought me quite mad.
I had to get this out or else it would have just looped in my mind all day.

The Plight of Models in Milan

Models Strike

This week models, photographers and other fashion industry workers were striking against lack of government control of the Fashion Industry in Milan. What is the world coming to when even the fashionistas aren't getting what they deserve? We really must begin setting things right. This is unacceptable! Never mind child labor in developing countries, the war in Iraq, immigration issues, the bird flu, Madonna's new tour, healthcare in the US, or the atrocities in Darfur...no, no, no get the fashion industry in Milan under government regulation! STAT!!!

Crossroads of life

You don't have to live in the big city to see that the world is a terribly small place. We people mix with each other and are constantly taking and learning from other cultures and societies.
It may seem that in the world today we become more and more isolated as our fear of the unknown grows.

We are human beings and that of which we have little or no knowledge scares us ...a lot. We lash out like wounded animals, but we aren't merely animals. We are human. Being human we are very resilient and very flexible. We take what works for us and leave the rest.

I have been working at the mall lately filling in while the owners are away. I look across the counters and see that even though at an international level we seem to be isolated we are very much connected at a local level.

Upon entering the mall you see South Asians working side-by-side with North Africans. Actually its a veritable rainbow. You see everybody. I met a Ukrainian the other day. He was walking around the mall with his Vietnamese girlfriend.

Interracial couples are everywhere. It's no big deal. Goths and preps share the same table. Rich and not so rich shop at the same retailers. People from all walks of life (what does that really mean) love gyros.

Some people you will see in the mall every weekend. For others a trip to the mall is an event that they plan. I talked to a family who had driven 'in from the country' to shop for a prom dress.

All that said ,this is just an observation of what I'll call the microcosm of the mall. An ecosystem, of sorts. Self-contained.

It's not much, but looking out into the mall across the counter I feel a sense of hope that not all is lost. We still have a chance. No matter what happens people will figure out a way to stay people. We all have our ups and downs, but in the end no matter what our color or nationality we are people. We deal. We learn. We adapt. The unknown won't stay that way forever, especially with all the mixing we can't keep ourselves from doing.

We'll be alright. The world may not become a better place, but we human beings will keep the monsters at bay.

More Firefly/Serenity Love

Even now people are discovering one of the best television shows ever made. Seriously people if you haven't seen the show and the movie you have to get going! Time's a wasting!

SNL- Two A-holes

I've been watching Saturday Night Live intermittently for years, but the 2000 elections made me a true fan. They have some awesome skits and digital shorts. Everyone loved the "Narnia" Lazy Sunday short with Chris Parnel and Andy Samberg. You can't forget Sean Connery parodies on Jeopardy, Debbie Downer, Two Wild and Crazy Guys, the Coneheads...I could go on and on.
I would like to add Two A-holes to the favorites. They are a married couple played by Kristen Wiig and Jason Sudeikis. The two have a tendency to be completely removed from reality. What makes the skits hilarious isn't necessarily the situations or even the writing. It's all in the delivery. Jason and Kristen know how to deliver. Here is a link to the skit with Jack Black ( second from last). You'll need a Quicktime player.

The last skit with Matt Damon wasn't as funny as the initial one with Jack Black, but it wasn't because of Jason or Kristen. I can't wait for more of the Two A-holes.

Students Turn to ADHD Drugs, Caffeine to Study - News

Students Turn to ADHD Drugs, Caffeine to Study - News