one less human

I was very sad to hear about the assassination of Benazir Bhutto; maybe she shouldn't have gone back ...

Since very early this morning the news channels are showing the same scenes over and over and saying that there is disruption in Pakistan. I don't know if I am sure that Parviz Mosharaf had a direct hand in it; nevertheless, they were opponents in the upcoming elections which didn't look too good for Mosharaf and ...

She did many great things for her country, may she rest in peace ...

taking chances

What do you say to taking chances,
What do you say to jumping off the edge?
Never knowing if there's solid ground below
Or hand to hold, or hell to pay,
What do you say,
What do you say?

Don’t know much about your life
And I don’t know much about your world.

recycle

Starting January 1st some new items have been banned from the garbage bin:

• Vehicle tires


• Oil, oil filters and empty containers


• Yard trimmings and green waste


• Blue box recyclables


• Beverage containers (all except milk cartons)


• Medications/ pharmaceuticals

to you all

donate prepared food

Since it was a question to many friends where I take the left over food from the party, I am listing a few places with phone numbers and addresses below. Hope it helps.

• Food Runners, 1150 Raymer Avenue, (604) 834 7457


• Dugout, 59 Powell Street, (604) 685 5239


• Living Room, 528 Powell Street, (604) 255 7026


• Bridge Women's Emergency Shelter, (604) 681 8480 ext 221

Of course all these places are in Vancouver and they usually require you to drop off the food.

Merry Christmas

A Sikh art teacher in Burnaby had his students make a very long Christmas card to display in city hall this year; and yes, it said Merry Christmas on it all along. A Santa with an Indian accent even stopped by!

I really like the attitude; I've kept my parents' tradition of putting up a Christmas tree ever year. And especially since Christmas no longer has a great religious weight, I think it's important for us all to share in the happy times ...

so proud

We had over 140 people; I recycled all the water and beverage containers, and the cutlery. I am also taking out the left over food for donation tomorrow. I am very happy that we did our part in having a green party.

i just learnt

• Vancouver has the most fit population (fewest overweight) and we have the lowest density in fast food stores; however, they still haven't figured out if it's the people who attract the stores or the stores that make people fat!
• Hummingbirds bread in the lower mainland in January and February. Hummingbirds are my favorite bird, so yepee!
  

تولد

دقت کردین چقدر تولد هست این روزها؟ 9 ماه بعد از عید است!؟ به هر حال، تولد همشون مبارک

intro to the holidays

Who am I kidding! I don't want to work and I really feel like going out. What the heck, I haven't done much in the last few days anyways!

somewhere under the rainbow

I have always been one to believe in fairytales. I sing and dance whenever I want and I know that true love is something we can all find. I went to see Enchanted tonight; amazing is the only word to describe it. And it wasn't just me, everyone was so happy walking out of the theater; it was the grown up version of all the princess tales we knew when we were kids ... you just have to go and see it! Take a look at some of the trivia.

I've been dreaming of a true love's kiss
And a prince I'm hoping comes with this
That's what brings ever-aftering so happy
And that's the reason we need lips so much
Four lips are the only things that touch
So to spend a life of endless bliss
Just find who you love through true love's kiss

common?!

"Common sense is not common enough anymore." - Dr Phil

like Xmas

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas everywhere you go;
Take a look in the five-and-ten, glistening once again
With candy canes and silver lanes aglow.
It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas,
Toys in every store,
But the prettiest sight to see is the holly that will be on your own front door.

- James Pierpont (1857)

don't drink

In the past week a series of reports came out confirming that water bottles and such plastic products are not as safe as we would like them to be. Bisphenol-A (BPA), a chemical in the mix, is thought to mimic the effects of the hormone estrogen in cells and in more than 100 independent studies has been linked to increased incidence of cancer, obesity, and early onset of puberty in humans and developmental, neural, behavioral and reproductive harm in animals

... many people reuse disposable PETE plastic bottles, a study published in the Canadian Journal of Public Health in November 2002 confirms reused water bottles also make good breeding grounds for bacteria since thorough cleaning is difficult. Also, in one Italian study, the amount of DEHP, an endocrine-disrupting phthalate and a probable human carcinogen, in bottled spring water was found to increase after 9 months of storage in a PET bottle. However, it is unclear whether the levels detected could harm people drinking the water.

I have seen reports like this before, take a look at this part: In 1999, the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) found that tap water is often better regulated than bottled water and has to meet more stringent standards at both the federal and local levels. In any case, among the thousand bottles tested by the NRDC, about one-fifth contained chemicals such as toluene, xylene, or styrene, known or possible carcinogens and neurotoxins ... One of the more surprising findings from the study is that a city's tap water cannot have any E. coli or fecal coliform bacteria, while bottled water is allowed a certain amount of these bacteria.

I've never been a big fan of bottled water but I do carry my water in a plastic bottle. I am going to go down to Mountain Co-op to see what they are suggesting to replace the plastic bottles now that they are pulling those off the shelves. I guess stainless steel would be the best solution ...

- source 1, source 2

back to culture

I just bought myself a couple of books online, and I'll get them before Christmas. They are part of my New Year's resolution: get fit, physically and culturally!

Which reminds me ... a few weeks back I got really fed up with my weight gain and decided to do something serious about it. The reason I gained weight was that I have moved to a new apartment which is on a hill and it's too dangerous to go jogging on wet days. And no thanks to the weather, most of what we have had in the past year has been wet days and so ...

I hate working out in a gym and my dance classes weren't frequent enough to get me into shape; all of which ultimately lead me to the really cool workout place I go to now. But that's not what I was getting at. While I was looking around for a solution, I would talk to people and tell them that I have gained weight and I need more exercise. The answer would usually be, really? you don't look different though! Very bad answer people, very bad! At that time it sounded to me as but you've always been like this! See my point?

my gingerbread

It took me about 2 minutes standing up in the middle of a bunch of kids!

a thought

I have no idea if it's ignorance or a hostile approach to a simple problem; but honestly, who cares ...

the singer

I never would have guessed!

آن دلبر من

گفتم چه شود، گر لطف کنی، آهسته روی ای سرور من

آن دلبر من، آمد بر من، زنده شد از او باغ و بر من

not me

There is a reason I don't have pets; I just get too attached. Although I had a great workout today, I have an extremely tense neck because of the stress from loosing the little cute fish. I have found a dozen different reasons to blame myself for it ...

good morning sunshine

Believe it or not, those are two towers; the rest of the city was in the fog this morning. You can click on the image to see it full size.

paparazzi

I knew that walking around after celebrities had become a growing occupation but I had no idea about the money they made; many of them of course belong to an agency but none the less. Take a look at these numbers:

• the highest-known selling price was the famous Diana and Al-Fayed photo which sold for $7,000,000
• after that there is a vague photo of Anna Nicole Smith in a bed stretch that sold for $1,000,000
• a simple video footage of Britney Spears dipping into the water sold for $50,000
• of every $5 that is spent on magazines in the US $3 is spent on a celebrity gossip magazine

Amazing, we make them rich, and then get excited that they are so rich! I love the speech George Clooney gave in Diana's memory about how they killed the people's princess; nobody sees the line any more ... on the right, the statues that Mohammad Al-Fayed dedicated to Diana and Dodi.

money

I know that it's not good for our economy, the farmers and the people who own small businesses and trade with the States; but I have to admit I am sure liking the par dollar!

getting rich the simple way?

After chasing round and round we have come to the point where simple ideas win; here's the proof.

رقص و سماع

تا به حال سماع ندیده بودم؛ خیلی هیجان انگیز بود ... کلا از ایده های رقص و شادی درویشها خیلی خوشم میاد. درست برعکس ایده همیشه غمناک بودن آخوندهاست.

عکس: داوود آزاد

first snow

strength

Never underestimate your power to determine the situation ...