TRUTH

“Chase after the truth like all hell you’ll free yourself, even though you never touch its coattails.”

            - Clarence Darrow

Search for the truth in everything even if you'll never come close to finding it, because even if you don’t, it will free your mind knowing that you are trying to live a truer life.

People seem to find happiness in truth, which is where the expression “the truth will set you free” comes from, because it literally sets people free. It will set you free from your worries and your struggles, if you have an understanding of why everything that’s happening, is happening. Even if what people find is only a fraction of the truth, it sets your mind at ease, and leaves you content with what worldly knowledge you acquired; because understanding a fraction of the truth is more satisfying than living in ignorance.

The “truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth” is impossible to attest to. Everybody has different biases on what the truth looks like, which makes finding the whole truth absolutely impossible. However, if you endeavour the challenge of opening your mind to the truth, it will leave your mind at peace.

The Importance of a Good Vocabulary

People assume how an individual carries themselves attributes to their class, money, work ethic, education, dependability, honesty and upbringing. Perceived class is based off of a person’s appearance and how they carry themselves. An individual’s clothing, hygiene and language all fall under this. Perceived class will determine how much respect you receive from people before they know you personally. People will instantly assume and relate your behaviours to judgmental stereotypes without even realizing it, because it’s human nature.  The vocabulary and language you use will relate to your education. Your education degree will relate back to your class. If you use profanity when speaking, people will relate that to violence, which relates to a criminal record. So pick your words wisely.

So why is a good vocabulary so essential to success?  Well, to be frank, if you sound like an ass, people will treat you like one. The English language has in between 500 000 and 1 000 000 words and to have a successful vocabulary you only need to know about 10% of those. Having a colourful vocabulary will always be a handy tool to keep in your back pocket. Along with having a larger vocabulary your ability to communicate your thoughts will improve. Your ability to understand information, your comprehension, will develop greatly as well. Having a fuller vocabulary will help your verbal communication flow. It will help to eliminate those “uhh” and “umm's.” Most importantly it will help to project a more intelligent image.

A tip to keep in mind: Look up unfamiliar words as you encounter them, as you are more likely to remember the meaning of that word that way rather then memorizing pointless lists of words.

Lastly don’t get caught up misusing complex words trying to impress other with your extensive vocabulary. It is best to focus on using what words you know effectively, because if you sound like an ass people will treat you like one!

"You miss 100% of the shots you don't take."


 - Wayne Gretzky

TOP 10 MUST HAVE ART SUPPLIES FOR KIDS!

1.       Crayola Washable Markers. Have regular and thin tips. Both kinds wash out of clothes easily which is key. Aside from the paper itself, these markers come off just about everything, from tables to walls to clothing!

2.       Coloured Construction Paper. Construction paper is great to have because it is versatile. The quality and price will vary a lot. Normally the more you spend the brighter and sturdier the paper is. However if you aren’t looking to spend a lot, you can pick this item up at your local dollar store.

3.       White Drawing Paper. It is safe to say that white drawing paper will be used in one craft or another. You can buy this at any art supply or dollar store, and it comes in many sizes. This can be used for drawing, painting with tempera paints and collages. Another handy paper is watercolour paper. If you use watercolours on sketching paper it tends to buckle too much.

4.       Collage Materials. Making a collage is one of the most entertaining crafts for kids and the best thing is you can use just about any material you want. Rice, tiny pasta, items from nature, cotton balls, stickers, sequins, pipe cleaners, tissue paper, pompoms, googly eyes, glitter, popsicle sticks, beans, flat back gems and of course white school glue that goes along with all of these materials. Many of these items are free or can be bought at the dollar store. This can become a little messy, so if you are working with younger children put newspaper down for an easy cleanup. Also if you are working with glitter which is very messy, put the craft in a shallow box before you apply the glitter. This way the mess can be easily dumped outside afterwards and not on your floor.

5.       Tempera Paint. Tempera paint is washable and non-toxic.  This paint is great because it will last on any craft surface your child will paint it on. It comes in your basic colours and again, can be purchased at any art supply or dollar store.

6.       Paint Brushes, Foam Brushes and Mini Paint Rollers. When we paint we always have a variety or brushes to choose from. With younger children it is better to have plastic handled brushes rather than the wooden ones. Paint may be hard to remove from wooden handles, plus leaving them in water too long will result in the wood warping. Foam brushes and mini rollers are also great for smaller children because does not require a lot of skill. These are great for collages because of their texture.

7.       Play dough. This is great because it is something all ages can enjoy, it’s reusable and you can make your own. Homemade play dough is very easy to make and is reusable just like store bought tubs. It can be stored in anything from old food containers to zip lock baggies as long as it’s air tight. 

THINGS YOU’LL NEED

- Large bowl

- Measuring cups

- 1 cup flour

- ½ cup hot water

- ½ half cup salt

- Food colouring

 

                                1. Combine your flour and salt in the large bowl 

2. Pour your hot water and any food colouring you are using in. Make sure to only add a few drops in at a time, the colour is more potent than you think.

3. Mix the ingredients together and start kneading until the mixture becomes pliable dough. If your kids are making this with you this is a good step for them to do because it will be a bit messy. They will love getting their hands dirty and it saves you having to.

Your play dough will be ready to use directly after making it.

8.       Chalk and Chalkboard. No matter what you do with chalk it is always washable, which is a must for parents with young kids. In the spring/summer/fall it is much easier to take sidewalk chalk outside, but for those winter days a chalk board is something handy to keep inside. This is convenient for parents because there is no supervision required you can leave your children with a piece of chalk and a brush, and not have to worry about a mess.

9.       Watercolour Paints. For parents with younger kids using liquid watercolours that comes in tubes is ideal. You just put a little bit into each bowl and mix in plenty of water, or in our house we use left over cream cheese containers. This makes for an easier clean up.  Traditional watercolours come in a pan with a little cake of every colour. Dipping your brush in every colour which most kids do, will leave every colour a muddy brown. Separate dishes solve that problem.

 

10.   Crayola Crayons. If you’re doing a craft with smaller children the chunky crayons may be a better fit. There is no paper wrapper around them and they don’t break like the fine crayons do. Plus the colours are a bit more intense than the thin version. These are great for any toddler learning how to draw. For older children the thin crayons may be better, seeing as detail can be draw easier with a finer point.

From 9/11 to 2/11

After a 30 year dictatorship, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak finally gave in to the demands of the protesters, who called for an end to his agonizing reign over Egypt. Mubarak and his family quickly evacuated their palace to their personal complex in the Red Sea resort city of Sharm el-Sheikh.

Although Egypt has seen some economic progress over the years of Mubarak’s control, the masses of poor were left behind to only become poorer and the middle class had actually disappeared. His control left the poor to be forgotten and the few, elite rich to become wealthier. He fell because he could not deliver the prosperity he preached, with over half of Egypt living on $2 a day or less. After an excruciating 18 days protesters waved flags and set off fireworks to celebrate a new and hopefully democratic chapter in Egyptian history.

“If we get Egypt right, it could be the best medicine to get rid of radicalism,”

Within 18 days Egypt has proved to be the solution to the unsettled 9/11 debate. The Muslim world is fighting for democracy, human rights, and a better economy; all of the things we here in North America hold near and dear to our hearts. These protesters only want what we have. Hopefully these cruel cultural stereotypes can be unravelled by the knowledge that Egyptians are people, people with responsibilities, with families, with children just like us. They are not terrorists, only citizens protesting for a better quality of life. If North American society can fathom the idea that they are ordinary people the harsh racial stereotypes of the Middle Eastern population may disappear.

Where Egypt heads from here is unclear. The expectation is that a real democracy will finally emerge, however matters don’t always go as expected. History itself can attest to that one. The past will dictate that it is possible for a country to fall back into a dictatorship after overthrowing the original one. At the moment the army is in control of the country and elections are in September. Nevertheless there is still a possibility that another undesirable party may gain control through elections. 

“This nation has been born again, these people have been born again, and this is a new Egypt,” said Ayman Nour, the only man to ever run against Mubarak in a presidential election.

It is astounding how the citizens constructed a union that overthrew Mubarak. If Egypt transcends into a fully democratic government it proves that there is potential in people power. This development will discontinue oppressing racial stereotypes. It is a precious opportunity for the middle class to be reborn again. It’s an unbelievable demonstration of the possible to additional Middle Eastern countries suffering the equivalent fate, and what can be achieved by communication. But most importantly it is hope. Hope for a brighter future, hope for a new life, but most of all hope for a new Egypt. Now the world will just have to hold its breath and wait.  

Stuff White People Like, a Book by Christian Lander

The book was the subject of a conversation on a trip to Toronto a few months ago. I of course, being the only one in the group yet to read the book. As my friends raved about scarves, Eco-friendly tote bags and vegan diets I found myself laughing and nodding along in agreement. They insisted that I take a peak at the book in the future.

Lander’s list has narrowed it down to 150 items that range from hummus to the concept of vintage. “I’m writing about the white people,” he says “who think they’re absolutely unique and individual. I’m calling them out and poking fun at myself. The things I post are all the things I like, too.”

The book itself is hilarious and extremely accurate. It encompasses everything that is true about white culture. It’s defiantly worth a look considering how stunningly accurate of a representation of white culture it is.

“By having at least one vintage, unique piece of furniture in a room full of Ikea, white people can still tell themselves that they are unique and cooler than their friends.

When you enter a white person’s home, you should immediately search for anything not made by Ikea, Crate and Barrel or Athropologie. Upon finding such an item, you should ask “where did you get that? It’s really cool.” The white person will then tell you a story about how they acquired it, allowing them to feel cool and giving them a reminder about their fantastic taste.”

So here’s a paperback that will help guide you through the awkward social antics of Caucasian association. An easy, must read that will have you laughing from start to finish.

TOP 5 THINGS I WILL ALWAYS KNOW

1. I know I will always push those closest to me away, even though I should treasure them the most.

2. I know I will always want the best for my brothers and sisters. Even though it is not something I had or will ever have, I am not envious, only hopeful that they will have better.

3. I know I will always have a hard time trusting people around me because of what's happened. I know I will constantly need to work on this if I ever hope to have personal connections with people.

4. I know that my love for someone or something will never last. This is why I have learned to let go of things so easily. This is also why I have a hard time getting attached to people in the first place.

5. I know I will always continue to be artistic and athletic throughout my entire life. Both are some of the few positive outlets in my life. They help me to express my emotions, clear my head, and give they me something constructive to focus on.

Make Your Mark!

Sometimes the simplest scrap booking supplies can give your page the biggest creative boost.

Colour your pages! There are lots of products that are made to be hand coloured. Use pencil crayons to energize the background paper or tile letters. Colour coordinate: when embellishing your layout make sure to take hues from your photos. Try to take hues that compliment the person/people in the photo.

Use puffy velvet markers to make your page pop with funky texture. Make sure you shake these well before use, then apply them like any other marker. Wait until the ink is dry, the to make them puff up move your heat tool back and forth over top until the design pops up.

For a creative twist on stamping, stamp with markers!  Carefully run your markers along the ridges of your stamp’s image. Make sure you go from lightest to darkest so you don’t end up with dark ink on your light marker. Be speedy. When stamping with markers apply the colour quickly so they don’t dry out before you press them on the paper. Stamping with markers will make the monochromatic look of stamp pads disappear!

Hand draw letters. Give your computer a rest and draw your letters out by hand. Use ink to fill in your letters instead of manipulating them on a computer. For added impact you can shade one edge or the outline with a marker.

Use watercolour pencils. Using water colour pencils will brighten up plain chipboard pieces. Always remember that water will soften up their hues so try them out first before you commit a colour to your page. Colour in certain parts of your image and then run a wet paint brush over the pencil lines and brush the colour into empty areas. You can also use two colours for a stronger blended effect.

Glitter Jitters

You can add a dash of pizzazz to your layouts with these quick tips and tricks using glitter!

Spray it on. Translucence glitter spray paints add playfulness to plain chipboard letters or flowers. Several thin coats of glitter provide more consistent coverage than one of two heavy coats. To minimize your mess place you project inside a shallow box before spraying. This will help keep the glitter from getting on the surrounding surfaces.

Contain loose glitter. Watch crystals filled with loose glitter and backed with paper make delightful embellishments. Apply wet glue to the rim of the watch crystal to secure the paper without gumming up the glitter. For easy clean up use disposable dust cloths to wipe up stray glitter.

Cover a masked image. Create any masked image such as stickers to card stock cover the entire surface with wet glue and sprinkle glitter over the surface. When dry take tweezers and peel off the stickers. Again to save a mess place your project in a shallow box beforehand. The more details your mask the finer glitter you will need. If your mask has tiny elements and ultra-fine glitter is the best choice so your mask stays crisp.

Seal it up.  Cover your chipboard letters in glitter and cover with dimensional adhesive to make sure those glitter flakes stay put. Camouflage the gaps between the glitter by pre-painting the chipboard letters the same colour. Using a foam brush, Brush the glue onto the chipboard letter then sprinkle dry glitter overtop. Again, doing so in a shallow box to avoid a mess. Once everything has dried make sure to apply dimensional adhesive to prevent the glitter from flaking. You can also spruce up your paper or patterns by accenting with glitter glue.

Stamp with glitter. Forget the ink pads and use glue when stamping your pages with your customized glitter print. Go monochromatic. To keep large applications of glitter from over powering your page borrow a colour from your background when stamping bold designs. Brush glue over the stamp and stamp the image onto your page. Work quickly so the glue doesn’t dry. Sprinkle glitter over the stamped image while glue is still wet. For best results allow your glue to fully dry before brushing off any excess glitter off. Use a long bristled brush to remove unwanted glitter without disrupting the other elements of your page.

Highlight details in a photo. Use a glue pen to draw over specific details in a photo and cover the adhesive with glitter. This will make the details of the image pop out. Pick a colour. When accenting a busy portion of a photo keep other colours and pattern to a minimum. Repeating the same colour of glitter elsewhere on the page will also direct your eye around the page. Work quickly so the glue doesn’t dry. Sprinkle glitter over the design while glue is still wet. For best results allow your glue to fully dry before brushing off any excess glitter off. Use a long bristled brush to remove unwanted glitter without disrupting the other parts of your page.

Little Taco Monkeys - Group Writing Assignment

Today he decided he was going to pick up the package.

The package was making very loud noises.

Loud noises that made his ears bleed, it was a horrible noise.

Anyone who walked by thought he was crazy for having such a loud package.

This loud package attracted all of the ladies, who worried about his bleeding ears.

No one would go near the man to mend his bleeding ears.

But then a nice young girl came up to see what he had in the package, and to make sure his ears were okay.

She was very nice to him and called an ambulance to come and help him.

The ambulance took him to the hospital while police investigated the package.

It continued to make ear piercing noises, until they cut it open.

It was nothing like what they would have expected to find.

It was a taco filled with really little monkeys screaming and shouting through microphones.

It was his 21st birthday. SURPRISE!

Nike’s Sweatshop Factories

In 1972 when Nike was founded they contracted with several factories in Taiwan and South Korea. These factories were to manufacture shoes and other Nike related goods. The workers from these factories spend the next 20 years fighting their governments for the right to form labour unions and better wages. When workers acquired this new liberty to coordinate unions and wages rose, it left Nike to relocate most of their production to other countries such as China, Indonesia, and Vietnam. Countries where there is ample amount of cheap child labour and protective labour laws are not imposed. Within these countries it is illegal for workers to form independent trade unions. This is still apparent in China and Vietnam, and was in Indonesia until 1998, which is why Nike relocated there.

By the 1990’s stories of Nike’s sweatshop factors had hit the media. Many human rights groups took an interest after hearing stories of child labour, forced overtime and wages well below the poverty line. Other stories told of physical abuse from factory overseers, exposure to dangerous chemicals and poor air quality. Within the first two years that Nike was in Vietnam one factory overseer was convicted of physically abusing workers. Another management official fled the country in reaction to a police investigation due to sexual abuse charges. Plus a third was under investigation for abusing workers. These human rights activists hoped that media attention would bring about change from public pressure.  Education for Justice, Global Exchange and Students Against Sweatshop Labour were just a few of the major organizations fighting against Nike. Within the shoes manufacturing industry Nike is not the only company to partake in sweatshop use. However, Nike’s contracted workers filed more wage violation complaints than any other shoe company, plus it is one of the leading roles in the industry, thus all of the organizations focused their energy on Nike. The organizations hoped that global pressure would motivate Nike to change, and other smaller companies in the industry to follow.

Well into the 90’s it was no longer organizations protesting, but workers had jumped in on the action as well. Year after year Nike had gained government approval to pay employees much less than minimum rate. Factory officials convinced the government that it would be “hardship” for the factories to pay full wages. Nike went one further and gave new employees an apprentice rate for several months into their employment, which was even less than what they were paying everyone else. In Nike’s Indonesian factory in April 1997 more than 10 000 workers went on strike to protest low and unpaid wages.  At the same time 1300 workers at Nike’s Vietnam location went on strike hoping for a one cent an hour raise.  In China the next year over 3000 workers protested extremely low wages and dangerous working conditions. All of the workers from Nike’s locations protested even though they put themselves at huge personal risk. Protesting would result in losing their job and blacklisted from additional jobs. Moreover it could result in interrogation and imprisonment. 

Increasing public pressure persuaded Nike to improve their factory standards for their contracted workers. In 1998 the company replaced petroleum based chemicals with less dangerous alternatives. In 1999 the Indonesian locations had their wages raised above minimum rates. After this Nike agreed to let the Fair Labour Association conduct random inspections. Nike also set up independent factory monitoring with United States and international organizations. Nike deployed its own staff team. One hundred workers who were accountable for inspecting the company’s partner factories. These inspections rated the locations on many aspects. These varied from employee safety to humane working conditions. After inspection they would meet with factory administration to attend to any new problems. The organization’s approach has become successful. Reebok and Adidas have improved their overseas factories out of fear of involvement with the Nike occurrence; even though neither have been major targets of the campaigns.

By 2002 a company Code of Conduct was released to all Nike factories which regulated the working conditions and safety requirements. In 2004 labour and health standards were improved even more reported the company’s Responsibility Report. This report went on to describe Nike’s monitoring plans and intended upcoming advancements. This report was seen as a huge win for the many workers and human right organizations. With the report Nike included a complete list of worldwide factories and their addresses. This allowed for any third party organization to monitor and investigate their factories at any given time. Even though all of the improvements have been seen as a step in the right direction the movement against Nike hasn’t ended. According to the Education for Justice organization Nike still has their contracted workers working hours longer than those acceptable by the Code of Conduct. They also state that in up to 50% of their locations workers are still forced to work a 7 day work week and earn less than minimum wage.

This image symbolizes that there are still sweatshops and child labour present in third world countries today. This also represents how big corporations, such as Nike or Dole, will exploit these third world countries without a concern for the people who reside there.