Honor Killing?!

The practice of honor killing is when a female member disobeys or shames the family and either gets strangled or stoned to death. This practice is common amongst the Islamic faith. The most recent honor killing happened last week. A women was strangled and cremated by her mother and father. Their reason for this honor killing is because their daughter has disobeyed her parent's wishes and married the man they did not approve of. The parents were late arrested by the police.

I don't know if it hits you as hard as it hit me that parents would kill there child for this kind of matter. She married the guy already and they must be in love so why couldn't her parents just let them be happy?!. I mean even if you don't agree and decides to cut off all connections with them its fine too...but killing?! isn't it a little bit too extreme. However, this kind of practice is quite common....which hits me even harder because that means these people actually believes that killing in honor is okay. Killing is not okay!! It's totally against human rights. PLus this girls is 22 she knows what she wants and she can decide for herself now. I'm very upset about this news...

I know the faith itself is about peace and tolerance at its basis but honor killing is simply not acceptable. Sure its not a rule or saying in the Qur'an but it's quite common amongst the Islamic faith....You can say nothing is wrong with this religion cause its not directly related but....i don't know ....what do you think?

Citation: http://sify.com/news/rajasthan-woman-strangled-in-suspected-honour-killing-news-national-kkmsOhdidca.html

Papabubble. Written especially for Mr. Smith's Kids.

Papabubble, a store that started in Barcelona. This shop has now gone world wide; Places include Barcelona, New York City, Amsterdam, Tokyo, Taipei ...etc. Papabubble is famous for there creation in merging handmade candy with artistic design. There seasonal collection of candies differ for countries to countries and also personalize orders, however they offer the original selection all year round. Some original flavors in include banana, straberry, kiwi, grape, apple...etc. As for seasonal candies Papabubble would make little candies for Chinese New Years with Chinese letters printed on it or Valentines day candy with hearts printed in them. Papabubble makes little tiny candies thats the size of a eraser on the end of a pencil which is totally suitable for little kids and they also make huge lollipops that would take years to finish. There are other forms of the candy that are made but as far as I am concerned only certain forms of it are sold in Taipei. You may try ordering it online on the website but I would assume that it'll take some time to be sent over. In addition to the delicious treat there is also the bodacious wrapping. There are cute little jars or fancy little zip lock bags. When entering the shop, if you're lucky you may witness the making of the candies. Unfortunately I was unable to find the instructions on how they make the candy. However, I found some pictures of the candies in making.






MR. SMITH IF YOU WANT TO BUY CANDIES FOR YOUR KIDS YOU CAN GO TO:
Taipei City Da An District Jen Ai Road Section 4 Lane 151 # 12
THERE # (02)-8773-0955

BEST HANDMADE CANDY EVER!!!!


My Sources:
http://foodarty.com/papabubble-hard-candy-made-by-hand-made-with-love/2
http://papabubble.com/
http://www.davidlebovitz.com/2008/10/papabubble/
http://newyork.grubstreet.com/2007/10/cult_candy_shop_papabubble_int.html

Eiffel Tower Bomb Threat

According to the article there is a terrorist plot against the UK and france. There has been threats and false alerts such as this one on the Eiffel Tower so therefore the French and British officials have not yet raise the threat level. The warning came from a telephone booth. Soon after the intelligence officials received the calls they evacuated the Eiffel Tower. No bomb was found in the Eiffel Tower but the intelligence officials are claiming these false alarm that has been produce in the last week or two are all Islamist Connections.

I know that bombing and this war on terror is serious and really should be looked at thoroughly but I do think that labeling Terrorism to all Islam communities are unfair. In France, the government have even banned veils/hijabs in public placing insuring the safety of the country. I feel like this is only going to increase the tension between the two culture. I understand that they may be potential threats but veils are there tradition and so far I don't think many parts of the world has given any respect to the Islamic Culture. Not all Muslim are bad. If more time and afford is put into understanding these people that shares completely different culture as us, I think the tension would decrease by a great amount.

But I don't run countries so I don't make big decisions like this.
My Source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100929/ap_on_re_eu/eu_europe_terror_plot

Pole Dancing!

Despite the stereotypical image of naked women pole dancing on stage and pervy old man shoving money wherever there is a place for it, pole dancing is actually now a popular sport that could benefit your health and body shape. Instead of spending time in the gym working on the wrong muscles and sweating in your ugly gym shorts many women have found alternatives to working out and exercising. Pole dancing not only gives you the chance to wear sexy attires such as high heels and hot pants but it also works on abs and your flexibility. Due to the intense amount of stretching a pole dancer needs to do, dancers are usually thing elongated and fit in the right way. Therefore it would be hard to find women whose trying to get fit but turns into hardcore bodybuilders. Im sure bodybuilders chose to be the way they are but if a women is really trying to just get fit and sexy then I think pole dancing is definitely the right option. Unfortunately pole dancing hasn't been widely accepted yet so I wouldn't try to do this in Taiwan.

My Source:
http://www.divinecaroline.com/22176/105055-pole-dancing-health-benefits-body

Lack of Sleep can make you FAT?!

This article talks about the risks of gaining weight due to lack of sleep. At first I thought the article meant that if I didn't sleep enough I would immediately gain weight and if I do sleep enough I would lose weight so I was like "Oh Sweet!" However, after I read the article, i realized it was more about how your hormones function if not enough rest is given. Instead of gaining and losing weight just by sleeping, your body actually releases hormones that will increase your appetite and therefore completely put your body into a mode where it relies on energy from sugary snacks only. The minute I read this I thought to myself, "I could totally elate to this." People like me are the victims in the articles. The lack of sleep not only does it mean we don't have energy to exercise it also means that to keep us awake we have to keep eating. The worse thing is even if you have a healthy diet, if you didn't sleep enough your body weight wouldn't be stable. After reading the article I realize that SLEEPING is the first step to losing weight.


My Source:
http://www.health.com/health/condition-article/0,,20232959_2,00.html

The Sketchbook Project

The Sketchbook Project is an art project funded by the Brooklyn Art Library. Every year thousands of sketch books gets sent out to places all over the world. Every artist who decides to participate will receive the same notebook. Each artist has around 4 to 5 months to complete the sketchbook depending on when you signed up for the project. When the deadline arrives, every artist are to sent out there sketchbook back to the Brooklyn Art Library. These thousands of sketchbooks are then toured around the United States whether it's exhibiting in the museum or galleries. When the tour is finished the artist could either decide to sell, exhibit or take back there sketchbook.

The idea of Sketchbook Project is to bring everyone whose interested in art together. People who has signed up for this project in the past aren't necessarily professional artist; Some of them are housewives who enjoys drawing. To join this project you simply go on there website at arthousecoop and pay $25 to receive the notebook. It's availability and price not only makes it a fun doodling project for people it also helps shape culture.

"Anyone - from anywhere in the world - can be a part of the project."