Ubiquitous

O Canada! No Canada

// August 13th, 2008 // 13 Comments » // Academic, World for the Week

While China is counting how many medals they’re getting on the first day of Olympics 2008, Canada is trying to figure out how many days they’ll have to wait before getting their first medal.  I mean, our athletes try really hard and good for them! But it’s slightly amusing that Canada is behind Azerbaijan, Togo, and Kyrgyzstan. Zimbabwe is way ahead of Canada with three medals XD. In a situation such as this, it’s so much more exciting cheering for China (and Michael Phelps)!

So these past few days, I’ve been watching the Olympics on TV and on NBC and CBC online (my family are huge Olympics fans haha), writing scathing reviews pointing out all the bias in my local newspaper against Beijing, sneaking online to check medal standings at work… haha good times!

Sadly summer’s slowly coming to an end and all my friends are gradually scattering to all corners of the world. It’s a strange feeling because with my record of ten different schools in the last twelve years of public education (my family moved around a LOT), I was always the one leaving, heading off to somewhere exciting. Now I’m going to good ol’ University of British Columbia with my parents as roommates (don’t even get me started on those bus trips I’ll have to take every morning, the very ones I swore not to be a part of last year after seeing all the worn out UBC students on the bus). Despite all the great events I can look forward to, I find loneliness setting in =[

Oh well, no time to wallow! Now taking bets on how many days it will take Canada to get a medal, ANY medal! My money’s on Day 10-11. Laaaaaaame.

Popularity: 6% [?]

Praying for Sichuan

// May 14th, 2008 // 18 Comments » // World for the Week

A magnitude 7.9 earthquake struck the Chinese province of Sichuan on Monday afternoon, with the epicenter at Wenchuan country. Death toll has risen over 14 000, and I expect it to hit 20 000 soon. I think the most devastating part about this whole ordeal is that thousands of children - both in elementary schools and high schools - were killed because school was still in session.

The end of this video from CNN made me cry. The reporter was interviewing the Party leader for one of the worst-hit counties. The guy has been running the rescue efforts for the entire area and seemed like a capable leader. When asked how many has died, he becomes emotional and the reporter tells us that the earthquake killed the guy’s parents, wife, and two children. “In the midst of his anguish, there is a call over his radio. He’s needed again, and he runs off — with apologies — to go back to work.” It’s amazing that a man who has lost everything still has the energy to save his community. Bless him.

I hate mixing politics into everything but it’s heart-wrenching to see individuals out there insisting on standing in opposition to China in all matters. So Prime Minister Wen went to Sichuan personally within 48 hours to reassure the people that help is on the way (pfft, what the hell did George Bush do after Hurricane Katrina?!). So HOW. DARE. PEOPLE. reprimand Wen from joining in all the relief efforts? FYI, the author apparently sees no reason for the PM to go there other than for propaganda purposes. Dude, Sichuan is not “thinly-populated”. The “small” county at the epicenter has 30 000 people. It takes a truly ignorant person to think that a 7.8 magnitude earthquake isn’t going to leave a mark. I think the author in question retracted words in a later post after I left a rather scathing comment. Bastards. Thins like this show the worst of people, and the best of people. This is an excerpt from an article by CNN’s John Vause, very powerful.

There is a Chinese adage: “Eat bitterness.” Or as Americans would say: “Grin and bear it.” The Chinese we saw practice that well. We’ve had some of the nicest people help us out. There was a guy who had a packet of cookies and wanted to share them, because we were reporting the quake story. (Source. All the wonderful comments below the article are also really inspirational and reflective of how people’s attitude have changed since CNN’s biased reports earlier this year)

They say after 72 hours, the chances of survival will be slim. My cousin has friends in Sichuan. I’m praying for their safety and the safety of hundreds of thousands trapped or out there bearing the cold. There are also ways we can help the relief efforts in both China and Myanmar.

Popularity: 4% [?]

Tibetan Terrorists and American Hypocrisy

// March 18th, 2008 // 28 Comments » // World for the Week

Free Quebec! Free Texas! Actually just give the whole lot back to the natives! What? That’s a little extreme you say? How can Canada remain Canada without a huge chunk of Quebec? What happened to all the history they shared together? If the public and the media continue to condemn the Chinese government and side with those bloody Free-Tibet protesters, I say our next step is to release Quebec from the evil grasp of the Canadian government and return USA soil to the Amerindians who got there first.

UPDATE: titled changed, yay.

For those who don’t think this is exactly headline news, here’s to quickly fill you in.

Free-Tibet Supporters: Free Tibet! Human rights abuse! Let Dalai Lama go back! No Olympics!
Tibetans: *burn stores* *harrass citizens* *threaten police*
Chinese government: LIES! ALL LIES! I’m giving you a deadline to stop burning things.
North American human rights groups: The Tibetans are suffering! Free Tibet! Shame on the Chinese government!
CNN: HEINOUS ACTS HAVE BEEN COMMITTED IN TIBET, PEOPLE DIED, SENSATIONAL STORIES, OMFGZ!!

(more…)

Popularity: 13% [?]

Apartheid, Coming to a Toronto School Near You

// February 2nd, 2008 // 21 Comments » // World for the Week

Toronto should open its first black-focused public school in the fall of 2009, says a staff report aimed at improving academic achievement among students of colour. (Source)

The black-focused school is a go. After a heated but civil debate, Canada’s largest school board voted 11-9 last night to open an alternative Africentric school to help fight a 40 per cent dropout rate among Toronto’s black teens. (Source)

The Toronto District School Board approved the decision on January 30th to open a Africentric public school in Toronto, projected for January 2009. The school would be open to students of all colour but will have extra curriculum dealing with African culture and history. This is the school board’s response to the 40% dropout rates among black students.

Okay, does anyone see anything wrong with this? Why don’t we have black-only buses? Black-only fountains? Martin Luther King Jr. should be turning in his grave right now because society is progressing backwards. Many of the articles in The Toronto Star lately have portrayed all black kids to be losers/dropouts/stupid gangsters. Who do you think would go to an Africentric school? The smart black kids would be trying to push their way into the REGULAR schools instead. And what do you have by the end of this? Losers/dropouts/stupid gangsters all grouped in one school, the Africentric one.

The price tag of the recommendation is, are you ready for this, $820 000. This money is coming from the tax payers and OTHER education programs in Ontario. Even some black parents are vehemently against the trustees’ decision. This whole promotion of “Black history and culture” is fine and dandy with me - I wouldn’t mind a few Asian studies course in high school - but it’s the outright labels that bother me. Some advocats of Black Schools are horrified of terms like “segragation” and “civil inequality”, but what else to describe these schools? What happened to promoting diversity, for after all, Canada is known for its multiculturalism! We are one, not divided.

Far from being segregationist, Wilson [supporter] said, the school is about making blacks and other marginalized students feel part of the school system.

It’s important that Africentric schools “are a reality for not just black children but all children of all races,” Wilson said. (Source)

Years from now, can’t you imagine walking down Yonge street and showing a tourist, “And here’s the Black school over here, the Jewish playground here, and Aryan Secondary is just around the corner”. If you’re on the other side of the fence on this one, I don’t blame you. The division on this issue is enormous and several trustees (one of them black) who voted against the proposal were harassed and called names. Thoughts?

Popularity: 2% [?]

CRAM CRAM CRAM

// January 17th, 2008 // 11 Comments » // Academic, Quotables, World for the Week

Ah, so the dreaded IB Mock Exam season is upon us. So are the English Oral Exams. So are a bizallion other things. A lot of people are going out of their minds right now walking around dazed holding a thick package of Yeats poems in one hand, and Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar in the other. Basically, the Oral Exam is a mandatory External Assessment. We’re given 18 poems (Yeats and Heaney), 1 novel (Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf), 1 memoir (Running in the Family by Michael Ondaatje) and 1 play (Julius Caesar, choices depend on the school). During the exam, we randomly draw a 30-50 line package from the available 80 or so choices, get 20 minutes to prepare notes, and then have 15 minutes to analyze the passage and answer questions. Everything is taped on a cassette and sent to the IB Headquarters in Switzerland. Since I’m in Higher Level English, we’re expected to do about 200% more than the Standard Level people in terms of materials to be covered and depth of analysis. What a pain in the ass. I’m presenting tomorrow at 2:50 pm. DON’T GIVE ME JULIUS CAESAR OR ONE OF HEANEY’S OBSCURE POEMS. THANK YOU.

Has anyone seen the new Macbook Air? I don’t care about its functions and whatnot since I rarely buy Apple products, but look-wise, it’s stunning.

And isn’t the slipcover just adorable?

Haha yes, I’m all into the aesthetics and design!

Here’s how my next few weeks look.
Fri. Jan 18 - English Orals, Physics Test, 2 Labs Due, French Performance
Sun. Jan 20 - Youth Parliament Cabinet Meeting
Mon. Jan 21 - History Paper 1 Due
Wed. Jan 23 - Math HL Test on Solids of Revolution (Calculus)
Fri. Jan 25 - NO SCHOOL, STUDY!!
Mon. Jan 28 - University Alumni Interview AHH!
Tue. Jan 29 - Math HL Mock Exam, History SL Mock Exam
Wed. Jan 30 - English HL Mock Exam, French SL Mock Exam
Thur. Jan 31 - Chemistry SL Mock Exam
Fri. Feb 1 - Physics HL Mock Exam, Math Portfolio Assignment (Wow, in one week, about 80% of our term mark is decided!)

Surprisingly I haven’t been over-the-top stressed. Other stressed people are keeping me sane. And to finish off with a quotation…

Math HL Teacher: —–, you’re sleeping in my class again. Did your girlfriend keep you up last night?! *roars of laughter*
Student: *quietly to self* No, I was having a Menage A Trois with Yeats, Mrs. Dalloway, and Julius Caesar.

Ahh… gotta love math class!

Popularity: 3% [?]