Islamic Center at "Ground Zero"

Many of you have probably heard about the dispute in New York City about this Mosque that is in the process of being built 2 blocks from Ground Zero. I AM SO SICK OF IGNORANT PEOPLE! Oh my god, this situation has gotten way out of hand. I was watching an interview on TV yesterday between the head of the Islamic Society of Long Island and I can't remember who else, but the other guy was so disrespectful and ignorant it actually scared me. The leader of the Muslim society had this very eloquent speech on why the Center has every right to be built and the other guys response to it all was "Well... it's still disrespectful."

Now, how is it disrespectful for a group of people who have done nothing illegal and nothing wrong to have a place where people of the same faith can mingle and take cooking lessons or play some basketball after work. Jews and Christians have places like that.

We are all forgetting that muslims were killed in the world trade center on 9/11 too. And terrorist groups have killed more Muslim civilians here and around the world than they have Americans. We cannot group all muslims into the same violent-killing demographic. The percentage of muslims in this country that actually harbor violent ambitions are probably less than 5%, but if we continue to treat them like dogs and take away their rights that every other american has that percent will surely grow. Hatred only breeds more hatred.

I had an idea this morning of a T-Shirt slogan to support the Islamic Center. A picture of a muffin and the words "Muffins of Mass Destruction". I want to try to get a support movement for the Center going, and I think this would be a fun way to do it.

It's Kind of a Funny Story...

Well it's kind of a funny story cause I used to play "words with friends" (the app where you play wireless scrabble) on my little sister's iPod touch. And my friend gave me our teacher's (the one who I described in the previous post about the Renaissance) username so I could play vs. him. Well my username was not my name, it was "Lola the Dinosrawr", so I kept thinking to myself that I should tell him that it was me. All the while we were playing each other. This went on until the end of school (a total of about a month), and I had never told him that I was "Lola the Dinsorawr". My little sister's iPod sopped letting me play because it wanted me to upgrade the system and every so often I would think back on how he never knew that it was me he was playing.

Now, here is the funny part. I work at my school, and it being August the teachers are coming back on campus. So a few moments ago I was walking out of the office into the lobby of the building and I see him on his laptop. So I said hi and kept walking, and he returned the greeting and added on "Hey, Kiss (He calls me by my last name) it's your turn to play." Without looking up from his laptop screen. I stopped short and spun around, laughing to myself and astounded.

"You knew it was me? I kept forgetting to tell you."

"Yeah, who else would I think it was..." He replied. Well I guess the teachers know me better than I thought...

And to add on to the post before on my trip to Florence, my mom changed her mind and doesn't want me to spend the money so I won't be going... :'( *tear. I told my teacher after the little episode recorded above and even he was sad for me. He spent 2 weeks there this summer and when I asked him how it was his face lit up and he replied "oh, amazing!!", way to make me jealous. lol

A Pleasant Day and Firenze, ITALIA

In my previous post I explained that I was going to try to end things on a good note. Well on Friday I did just that and I had a very pleasant day. One of those days where nothing that special happens to you but there are just little happy episodes periodically throughout the day that make you feel... well... happy!

I had slept at my friends house the night before and her house is on top of a hill where you can see the ocean over the trees. The sun was rising as we were eating breakfast and the view was breathtaking. It reminded me how huge the Earth is and how small I am, but without the endless-universe feeling that makes you feel as though you are falling into a bottomless pit. Plus it made me feel peaceful, the ocean usually calms me. It is a place where I can go and any afflictions in my life wash away for an hour or two. I guess that's why my favorite song is "Beyond the Sea" (which, coincidentally, I am listening to right now). Sailing does the same thing, I always feel so much better when I am on the water. I get mesmerized by waves and the ripples, because no matter what happens to me, no matter how my life changes, the water's movement is constant.

Anyway at work it was my first day as assistant to my old teacher who now works in the administration (I am working as an intern at my school for the summer). The teacher's retreat is coming up this week and everything was happening at the last minute, so it was my job to organize all the groups and compile lists of whoever was coming. It was hard work, but honestly it was the first real work I had all summer so I was content. At least it got the gears in my brain going for the first time in months. Also, it was many of the former senior's last day of work before they left for college. We had a little brunch party with delicious crumb cake and one by one they left. It was bittersweet, but since I was a freshman and they were seniors I could never really be sure if they actually liked me or thought I was just annoying. But each and every one of them took the time to say goodbye to me and it made me feel acknowledged.

I ran into a few of my friends who are working at the summer camp and had some nice chats with them. But the biggest part of my day was when I talked to a former friend of mine. I say "former" because we had a bit of a falling out, but on Friday I finally came to terms with it and now I feel so calm and peaceful. I feel more free than I have in months, like I can do whatever I put my mind to. Before it felt like there was some brick wall in the middle of my brain blocking ambition. Now I think that maybe this one thing caused a blockage with tons of stress building up behind it but now that I have gotten rid of it all that stress can flow away.

I also saw Eat, Pray, Love and I felt like my head was going to explode during the movie, I NEED to go to Italy!!!! So I got home and said to myself "hmm... I wonder how much a plane ticket to Italy costs..." so I went online to Priceline.com and found that a round trip ticket is $712, which is one paycheck for me. So even more curious I checked how much a hotel and ticket cost. Well the cost is about $1300 a person. And I have that plus more from my summer job, so I brought it up to my friend Kyle, and then we began "hypothetically" planning our trip which would take place over thanksgiving break. And over the last 48 hours it has come closer and closer to actually happening!!! I am astounded that my parents were both fine with me traveling without them.

Our destination is Florence, Italy. But I want to be prepared before the trip and our plan is to just get lost in the city every day. Finding the little hidden treasures. So if you have ever been to Florence and ran into something marvelous and unforgettable please tell me!

I know this is cliche but in the words of whoever wrote Eat, Pray, Love "I need to marvel at something!!" and I intend to do that in the heart of the renaissance, Florence!

Gyantse, Tibet - 1904

This Article from the New York Times was one of the most interesting pieces that I have read in a long time.

I find it incredible, how a group of men can invade a peaceful land and slaughter its people just to expand their empire and gain more power. Power is something that every human craves, the need for it is built into our very being. The way we have lived for thousands of years reflects that need. Mankind must always be the best, we must have the best way of life, we must have the best food, etc.

We always need to be in control, or we die. For teenagers we have to get our way or else we feel like we are going to die, it's like the world is crashing in on us. Entire governments have to wipe out countries to obtain enough power just to prove to the rest of the world how powerful they really are, or seem to be.

Perhaps the human species' yearn for power comes from our nature to show off. With money, clothes, and fancy cars defining the hierarchy of our society it is obvious that what we really care about is making ourselves untouchable.

And yet there are people like the Dalai Lama who have closed the door on that part of themselves and made a life where they can be at peace with themselves through embracing the pureness of their core.

"The British reached Lhasa soon afterward. Two months later, the evening before leaving Lhasa for good, Colonel Younghusband rode out to a mountain and gazed down at the ancient city, where he experienced a curious epiphany that inspired him to end all acts of bloodshed and found a religious movement, the World Congress of Faiths. “This exhilaration of the moment grew and grew till it thrilled through me with overpowering intensity,” he wrote in a memoir, “India and Tibet.” “Never again could I think evil, or ever again be at enmity with any man. All nature and all humanity were bathed in a rosy glowing radiancy; and life for the future seemed naught but buoyancy and light.” " -- China Seizes on a Dark Chapter for Tibet, Edward Wong, The New York Times --

Russia's YouTube Whistle-Blower

I just found this on New York Times website, it really appealed to me because this man had the courage to stand up for what he believed was constitutional when he knew there could be negative consequences. I really respect him and what he did for his beliefs. And it is amazing the reaction that he got from the rest of the Russian community through YouTube. It shows how powerful YouTube can be, and how dangerous. No wonder why some countries have blocked it in fear of people organizing against their government.