Culture

I read an article from New York Times about the actresses gowns at the Oscars.  It talked about all the different dresses and what the red carpet fashion experts thought about each one.  They talked about how much free advertisement clothing and jewelry companies got from the women wearing dresses and accessories that they don't even own.  The article also said how people made conservative fashion choices but branding and logos decreased.  Ryan Seacrest was even criticized for not asking the actresses where their gowns were from.  

I thought the article was fun  to read about all the different outfits people wore and what people thought of them.  I also liked to look at the pictures of the dresses since i missed the Oscars on TV.  I think it's funny how the movie awards focus more on the dresses and fashion than the actors and actresses themselves and their talents.  I think it reflects our modern American culture perfectly.  I know in other parts of the world fashion is big too, but here where it's about the expensive dresses and million dollar diamonds, i think it's kind of funny.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/23/movies/awardsseason/23fashion.html?_r=1&ref=fashion

Change

I have been reading The Secret Life of Bees.  In the book a young girl named Lily ran away from her cruel dad in order to find out about her dead mom.  She and her house keeper moved in with 3 bee ladies.  They farmed bees and produced honey.  In the book her life changed drastically.  Instead of living with her abusing, narrow minded, prejudice dad in a very white community, she moved in with many black women who were very kind and smart.  Even though the change was huge, Lily handled it well and it improved her life.

I think change is fun.  Most of the times it is unavoidable and hard to adjust to.  Some change is hard.  During Hurricane Katrina many people's lives changed drastically.  That was hard change.  But some change is for the better.  When i moved to MN from CA i was sad.  It took a year to adjust to but in the end i was happy i moved.  I have better friends here and i enjoy the snow.  Change can go either way, it can be devastating and it can also be for the best.  In lesser situations i think it depends on the person.  Change depends on if the person likes it or hates it.  For example moving to a new house or ordering a different meal at dinner.  I personally like change but i also know many people who dislike it.

http://www.suemonkkidd.com

Hope

I just read an article about how the deaths in Afghanistan increased about 40% in 2008 due to war-related violence between American and Taliban forces.  There have not been that many deaths since 2001 when the Taliban were driven out.  According to the United Nations survey, fatalities rose in almost every month last year due to fighting in the winter season, which had usually been the calmest time of the year.  Most deaths were causes by suicide bombers and roadside bombs from the Taliban and other anti-government revolt groups.  The United Nations report also said how there were most likely going to be more struggles and deaths because the insurgents purposely plan attacks in civilian areas.  Many people have died and there is still a lot of struggle in Afghanistan.  

I think what's going on in Afghanistan right now is horrible and needs to end as soon as possible.  I think there is still hope to end the violence.  But in Afghanistan it is not as easy to fix as it is to talk about fixing.  Many people have lost hope.  Many civilians have died and many American troops have died as well.  But many people do have hope, even the people who have lost everything.  Obama plans to help and hopes to make a difference.  I think in our country many people who are well off hope for, for example, an ipod for their birthday or hope that the teacher wont collect their math assignment the day they didn't do it.  We are very fortunate living in America that we don't have to hope we don't get shot on the way to school or bombed on the way home.  Just like in Nectar in a Sieve, Ruku hopes it rains one day so the crops grow and her family can eat another meal.  I think we don't experience hope the way people in other parts of the world do.  Many people rely on hope for their futures and hope is necessary to survive.

I read this article at: 

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/18/world/asia/18afghan.html?ref=world

Religion

I have been doing a project in latin, and when I was researching i came across a reading about religion, and how the Romans conquered Brittan and tried to convert the native people.  This reminded me of Nectar in a Sieve because just like the Britton were conquer, so was India and Ruku's village.  In both cases they were taken over and colonized.  They were also taught new ways of life and new beleifs.  The Britons learned about Roman culture and their polytheistic religion of worshiping the gods.  Ruku was introduced to modern civilization and Christianity from the Europeans.  I think it is interesting how history repeats itself.   I also think it's ironic that at one point the Britons were conquered by the Romans and then the Britons conquered the Indians.  I think its all very interesting.

http://www.cambridgescp.com?page.php?p=clc^oa_book3^stage21

Gender Roles

I read an article about how there are more more women in the work force than there are men.  Because of the recession there have been many layoffs.  Women have more jobs in healthcare and education, while men have more jobs in construction and manufacturing, which are less needed.  Women have never before been the leading gender in the workforce, but now they are.  The article also said that women's jobs tend to have less benefits.  They may have less healthcare than mens jobs, which may cause there families to have difficulties if the man has no job.  I thought the article was interesting.  I don't think it is good or bad.  Just because there are more women working right now than men, it doesn't mean they have gained even more equal rights, it just means more of them are working.  I don't have any opinion to this article at all.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/06/business/06women.html?scp=4&sq=women&st=cse

Culture

I read an article about a riot in China.  The short article its self gave a lot of insight into Chinese culture.  Every year there is a huge celebration in the streets.  Many people come to see the dancing dragons and fireworks.  The celebration is very important in Chinese culture.  It brings people together and is enjoyed by all ages.  At the time there was a lot of social unrest in china as well.  At one of the celebrations this year the fire works fell down on the spectators.  It caused chaos and a riot broke out.  The celebrations were then banned for safety purposes, but many people believed it was to tighten control of the citizens.

This article tells us about the different aspects of culture in China.  It showed some of their celebrations.  It also told us about the unrest in China and hoe there are a lot of strikes and revolts.  Lastly it also showed how the government is stricter than the american government.  I like reading about different cultures and i think it is interesting to learn about the differences and similarities.

 http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/10/world/asia/10unrest.html?ref=world

Struggle to Overcome

I just finished reading the last Harry Potter book.  In the book, Harry went on a long journey to find Voldemort's horcruxes.  Horcruxes are pieces of the soul that make people immortal.  Harry must find them all and destroy thm in order to kill Voldemort.  Harry had a very difficult task in front of him, and many times he felt like giving up.  He worked hard and believed in himself, and he ended up succeeding with the help of his friends.  Even though some times were tough Harry had his friends to help him.

I thought the story had a very good mesage.  It reminded me of the time when my dogs escaped and I couldn't find them.  I searched around the neighborhood, but I couldn't find them.  Later my friend came over and we both searched for my dogs.  We searched for over an hour and finally we found them on the other side of the creek that is near my house.  It reminds me of the Harry Potter story because we both had a hard task to overcome and we did it with the help of our friends.  It also reminds me of Animal Dreams.  Just like Harry Potter, Codi has the task of finding herself.  She finally found herself after a long struggle with the help of a friend, Loyd.  I like both the books Harry Potter and Animal Dreams and how I can compare them to my own life.

Natural Disaster

I read an article about the Northridge Earthquake in Los Angeles, California in 1994.  I chose to look up this article because I was in that earthquake.  At the time, I lived in California and when I was 18 months old the earthquake happened.  The article was written by the Earthquake Engineering Research Center at the University of California Berkely.  It gave the major details of the natural disaster.  At 4:31 am on monday, January 17, 1994 the earthquake struck.  57 people died,  and there were at least 5,000 injuries.  There was more than $20 billion in property damage.  This was the costliest seismic disaster in U.S. history.  I think it is a very interesting natural disaster, and even more interesting that I was in it.