Half a Million

Approximately half a million is the number of women and children who have  been raped over the last ten years in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The war in the DRC is still going on. The January 2011 issue of Marie Claire magazine has said:

One of the most dangerous places for women, it has been named 'the rape capital of the world'.

I was disturbed and shocked by the rape stories mentioned in the article. My first thought after reading the article was that I wished I could transport all the women and children of the DRC to a place where they will not have to live with the constant threat of being raped or violated in some other way.

On 1 January, a film called Unwatchable will be released. Made by British film company Dark Fibre Films, it shows soldiers breaking into the home of a British family, raping the teenage daughter, and killing the parents in front of the six-year-old daughter. The idea behind making the film is that it will make people fully aware of the atrocities happening in the DRC. Imagining  such a thing happening to my family makes me feel as if I'm about to throw up. It's too horrific to fully comprehend. I don't know if I could face watching Unwatchable.

Worldpress.org has a concise yet thorough article on the war in the DRC.
Women for Women International  is an incredible programme that is helping to empower female survivors of war with skills to earn a good living, as well as counselling. Even if I can't make donations, I hope that telling people about what is happening in the DRC will help in some small way.

Superfreakonomics is blowing my mind

Superfreakonomics is the sequel to the incredible book Freakonomics (by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner).

Chapter 5, titled What do Al Gore and Mount Pinatubo have in Common?, has blown most of what I thought I knew about global warming and saving the environment right out of the water. For example: when I first read about being a ''locavore''(a person who eats only locally grown food), I thought it was a great idea. But - being a locavore can be worse for the environment than eating imported food. According to a recent study by Christopher Weber and H. Scott Matthews, buying food grown close by ''increases greenhouse gas emissions.'' The reason? Almost all the greenhouse gas emissions that come from producing food come about during production. Smaller farms are less efficient than bigger farms, and ''transportation represents only 11 percent of food emissions''.

I don't believe that I should stop eating locally grown food - instead, I think that I should try to find out how the food is produced (I know this might be difficult to find out), and how the production process affects the environment.

One of the most beautiful pieces of music I've ever heard

Recently I listened to  Finnish band Apocalyptica for the first time. They play cellos metal-style, which creates an incredible sound. This song is a cover of Metallica's Nothing Else Matters.

Injustice

This story appeared a few weeks ago, but it's stayed on my mind. A Pakistani woman may be hanged for blaspheming. I think that this punishment is far, far too harsh. Saying something objectionable does not justify the possible execution of Asia Bibi, who is a wife and mother. Read the full story here.

Magical Madness

This was a piece I wrote for school a few months ago.

Adolescence is, in some respects, not a calm period in life. It is more like river rapids - confusing, even a bit dangerous, but at the same time, exciting. There have been pieces in the media on why it is important for people to go through certain life stages before they move on to the next stage; adolescence is one that is to be savoured for its moments of beauty, and remembered for the important lessons learned.

Adolescence can be seen as a staggered trial period for adult life. Teenagers are gradually introduced to aspects of adult life - such as making independent and well-informed decisions - without the full set of responsibilities of living as an independent adult. While it is expected that teenagers gradually become more mature, they are also afforded the freedom to be whimsical and child-like. In this way they have a chance to find the balance between the elements of the mature adult and the playful child.

This stage of life is also a trial period for various selves. Teenagers try on different outer selves (e.g. fashion) as well as inner selves (personality). Through trial and error, teenagers find an inner and outer self which rests on a solid base yet is open to new ideas and is thus flexible as well. They (hopefully) find a self which is solid enough to proclaim ''This is who I am and this is what I stand for'' yet flexible enough to say ''Maybe this new idea is more beneficial than the idea which already exists.''

The pre-adolescent years only last twelve years. Adult life passes quickly in a haze of family, friends, work and socialising. It seems a shame to miss out on seven years of making cherished memories and learning valuable lessons (albeit often the hard way). The ways of a child and the ways of an adult are vastly different in so many ways; it makes sense to have an in-between stage. This in-between stage should not be viewed as some inconvenient tollgate on the highway of life, but rather as a journey - a journey that takes us out of the child phase and gradually into the adult phase. The child years place limitations on what we can do - imagine the average ten-year-old having to travel solo to a foreign country and spend three months there - but the adult years can place limits on our time. As we grow up, it becomes harder to travel, play sports, participate in cultural activities and community service, and still keep up-to-date with work, as teenagers do in high school. This is not to say that teenagers have unlimited time for everything, but are more often than not free from the obligations of a full-time career, parenthood and looking after aging parents.

Adolescence allows for the silliness which is often frowned upon in adult life, yet allows for the development of a mature, independent person. Adolescence is an important bridge between two very different life stages. The idea of deleting adolescence seems, in some ways, cruel and cold, and also stifling. Youth is a candle flame that is blown out all too quickly by the winds of time. It is therefore fitting to savour this time of learning and beauty.

Another fork in the road

I have  three days left until I'm finished with school.

That's scary. So much change is a-coming. But I can definitely say that I'm glad to be done with school at last. Yet I'll miss school - the people, the routine.

Keeping in contact with friends will be harder now - more effort. But it's an effort well worth making. Friends are treasures.  As we all go swirling off on mostly different paths, it's nice to know that there is still something solid to rest on.

On Tuesday we have our Matric Dinner  with our teachers. People say that the ones who proclaim the loudest that they won't miss school will cry the hardest. Maybe they'll be dry-eyed for the whole thing, who knows. A teacher chosen by the matrics will give a speech that looks back on special moments we shared over the years. Each girl got a sheet asking her to fill in memories from grade 8-12.  I'd love to read all of them...All the different perspectives on shared memories...

And the next day is the Valedictory. I wonder if we'll all be cried out, or release another flood of tears...

Go well, Class of 2010. Go forth and shine.

P.S. I make no apologies for any cheesiness. None whatsoever.   :)

Bad Karma?

Yesterday (28 August), I read an article which said that Zimabwean President Robert Mugabe is losing his fight against cancer. My immediate reaction was ''Yay!'' Then I felt a bit bad about being happy about somebody's suffering. After all, karma's a bitch...Yet, I can't help but feel that Zimababwe will be better off without Mugabe. We can only hope that Mugabe's successor will turn Zimbabwe into the 'breadbasket of Africa' it once was.

Women who rock

One day in June, I came across one of the most exciting blogs I have ever seen -  Jukebox Heroines.

Blogger and musician Emily writes about women in the music industry. She writes reviews of new releases, analyses issues relating to female musicians such as sexism, reviews albums and new artists, and writes other interesting and relevant articles. Two articles I've really enjoyed so far are Female Guitarists and Why Lady Gaga is a Feminist. As a beginning guitar player, I look to guitar greats such as Santana and Clapton for inspiration to keep on playng. I was very excited to find more female musical role models (my previous mental list was a bit short) like Jennifer Batten and arena rock band Jaggedy Ann. Jukebox Heroines has exposed me to a huge number of female artists whom I never knew about until recently, and made me more aware of the difficulties that face female musicians and the history of women in the music industry.

Jukebox Heroines deserves a 21-guitar salute for all the excellent work that has been published on the blog.

The 'Pelican Angels'

 Reading articles on the oil spill have made this topic consistently wash up on the shores of my mind, so here goes a rickety reporting effort!

Dedicated volunteers have been working hard to save pelicans who were oiled by the Gulf of Mexico oil slick.

Some background: the Louisiana Wildlife Rehabilitators Association recruited Nancy Torcson, of Clearwater Wildlife Sanctuary, Covington, to direct the response to the disaster. Clearwater is caring for two pelicans at a school, and teaching the school's children about wildlife at the same time. That's two excellent projects in one: Saving oil-affected wildlife and making children more environmentally aware.

More recently, 62 (other sources give the number as 72) pelicans were released at the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge in Texas (as reported by the Associated Press on usatoday.com). So far, it is the largest release of rehabilitated pelicans. The Refuge has ideal living conditions for the pelicans.

Volunteers have been rescuing pelicans from the coasts of the Gulf Coast states. Large areas and large numbers of pelicans have been affected. Numbers of pelicans have already died, and no doubt many more will die, but it's heartening to see that the 'Pelican Angels' have swooped down and rescued as many pelicans as possible from death by oil.

Here's a much better-written article on some more 'Pelican Angels'.

Photo source: The Huffington Post

Sources: http://www.nola.com/news/gulf-oil-spill/index.ssf/2010/06/oiled_pelicans_get_plenty_of_a.html
             http://content.usatoday.com/communities/greenhouse/post/2010/06/pelicans-texas-oil-spill/1
             http://www.kristv.com/news/more-pelicans-released-here/

Italian hearts are broken

The Italians are going home. Today was a sad day for Italian football, and Italian football fans. Kudos to Italy for answering back with two goals! But I can't help  feeling that their overall performance in this World Cup was mediocre. There were definitely some good moments in their games, which helps to ease the disappointment a bit. I believe that the Adzzurri will definitely be back on form come the next World Cup. Forza Adzzurri!

Is it time to introduce the Television Match Official to soccer?

This is probably a much-talked-about topic. But since it's one I feel strongly about, I'll add my thoughts to the debate.

Sometimes during soccer matches, yellow or red cards which seemed undeserved have been given. A yellow or a red can have a profound effect on a game. Seeing Brazilian Luis Fabiano's two unnoticed handballs during the Brazil vs Ivory Coast Group G match made me decide that I am definitely for TMOs in soccer. I can understand the referee's missing the ball that touched Fabiano's shoulder, but the forearm ball was a clear handball (I know Fabiano's back was facing the ref, but it was still unfair). A penalty against Brazil was in order there.

While I am for TMOs in soccer, there are some reasonable points against them. One of the opposing reasons for soccer TMOs I've come across is that it might slow the game down. As a compromise, TMOs could be used in matches that determine whether a soccer team reaches the next round in a competition, for example, the 'Round of 16' stages of the World Cup.

I think it's safe to say that introducing TMOs will be expensive. Perhaps they could create a divide between which leagues can afford them and which leagues can't. However, I would very much like to see TMOs introduced at the World Cup if they are introduced at all. Another (mostly personal) doubt I've had about TMOs is that their introduction would be a confirmation that soccer is, at times, a dishonest game that needs extra policing (by dishonest I mean play-acting, diving etc.). No TMOs in soccer provide a fragile bubble in which my romantic idealist side can hide, safe in the knowledge that soccer is 'the Beautiful Game' in every way.

Whatever washes up on the shores of my mind

 My writing speed can't keep up with all the ideas and thoughts in my head, but my typing speed can. Thus, another blog joins the blogosphere!

Anything goes here. Politics, fashion, the environment, design, sports...variety is the word.

Constructive crticism is always welcome! :)