http://greasy.com/paa7618/ paa7618's Blog en-us © 00:03:18 Greasy.com All rights reserved. Tue, Dec 00:03:18 2 GMT 30 http://greasy.com/paa7618/alifa_rifaat_distant_view_2.html I can remember the first time I lost a pet. I was five years old and had just woken one morning to find my cat Floyd had been hit by a car during the night. My mother explained to me that he had gone to kitty heaven, but I didn’t believe her. I couldn’t feel any emotion, because I had no idea what death was exactly. I had to see the body of my beloved cat to be sure. Against my mother’s suggestion I was allowed to see the body. Floyd was wrapped in a trash bag in the back yard. As I ... http://greasy.com/paa7618/alifa_rifaat_distant_view_2.html#comments Wed, 16 Jan 2008 02:49:05 GMT http://greasy.com/paa7618/gods_dragons_come_now.html In the beginning of her book “They Killed My Father First”, Loung Ung is a care free five year old Cambodian girl. Her story starts in the city of Phnom Penh in April of 1975. A description of the busy city quickly leads to a restaurant setting where Loung and her family were enjoying a delicious noodle breakfast. Loung mentions her restless behavior in the restaurant and describes her young self as “a daughter who does not act like a girl” (p.2), possibly a sort of ‘tom-boy’ by ... http://greasy.com/paa7618/gods_dragons_come_now.html#comments Tue, 15 Jan 2008 10:43:56 GMT http://greasy.com/paa7618/human_died_night.html From 1948 to 1994 South Africa was governed by Europeans using an apartheid system. The apartheid system segregates people by race. Forcing any non-white people’s in to sovereign nation type situations and stripping them of their right to vote. These sovereign nations are sort of similar to Indian Reservations in the United States. America began relocating Indian Americans almost 100 years earlier in 1851 when congress passed the Indian Appropriation Act. Non-European people in South Afr ... http://greasy.com/paa7618/human_died_night.html#comments Tue, 15 Jan 2008 09:32:05 GMT http://greasy.com/paa7618/soccer_explains_world.html I can remember playing soccer as a child. I was six years old when I joined my first soccer league. The kids on my team were about as knowledgeable about the sport as I was (which isn’t a very knowledgeable at all). My understanding of the sport was basically, I had to either play soccer or take karate lessons. The ultimatum was my mother’s way of “broadening” me. My father and I would practice by passing the ball around in the backyard. At that time I only viewed our practice time ... http://greasy.com/paa7618/soccer_explains_world.html#comments Sat, 8 Dec 2007 06:33:48 GMT http://greasy.com/paa7618/final_blog.html I can remember a while ago when there was that huge controversy about this woman in a coma who was going to be taken off life support by here ex-husband and there was a huge out-cry from Americans to keep her alive. Eventually she was euthanized. Then there was that little Puerto Rican or Dominican boy who got adopted when he floated to the United States and then there was a huge custody battle. I think he ended up getting deported back to his country. These are just two examples of the ki ... http://greasy.com/paa7618/final_blog.html#comments Fri, 7 Dec 2007 17:29:44 GMT http://greasy.com/paa7618/cultural_event_5.html Thanksgiving was a blast this year as it is every year. My mother’s side of the family is fairly large. There are her siblings (her plus six), her parents, several cousins, my cousins and so on. On average there are about thirty people in attendance at the usual Thanksgiving. This year was an exception with a few last minute cancellations, but it was as fun as ever. This year we all gathered at my uncle’s house in San Luis Obispo. The location rotates from year to year so as not to bur ... http://greasy.com/paa7618/cultural_event_5.html#comments Thu, 8 Nov 2007 07:51:01 GMT http://greasy.com/paa7618/cultural_event_4.html It’s not often I get out to see a play, but on Saturday the 11th of this month I attended the Pirates of Penzance at the Paradise Performing Arts Center. I went with my wife and a few friends from work. We were all in attendance to support our co-worker who was playing the Pirate King. I had never heard anything about the play seeing as how I don’t get into theater and the arts that often. My wife on the other hand has been in several theater groups and is knowledgeable about that area ... http://greasy.com/paa7618/cultural_event_4.html#comments Thu, 8 Nov 2007 07:49:22 GMT http://greasy.com/paa7618/cultural_event_2.html It was a chilly Sunday morning and I was awoken by the quiet murmur of the alarm clock radio clicking on. It was only 4:30am. Almost on auto-pilot, I pulled myself out of bed and made coffee to bring me into consciousness. After a cup of java and a quick shower I was ready for the big day. My friend Joe picked me up at my house about fifteen minutes after 5:00am. I could tell he was just as excited about the day as I was. We flew down the interstate as the sun crept into the sky. After a l ... http://greasy.com/paa7618/cultural_event_2.html#comments Thu, 8 Nov 2007 07:42:19 GMT http://greasy.com/paa7618/cultural_event_3.html After seeing the short clip in class from the movie “The Killing Fields” I had to see the rest. I’m a fan of the star actor, Sam Waterston, who plays one of the attorneys on the TV show Law and Order. I had never seen him in anything else and the movie would most definitely be powerful. I had no idea just how powerful it would actually be. It started with the first explosion in the very beginning of the film, when the motorcyclist rides by. Suddenly there are screams and dead bodies ... http://greasy.com/paa7618/cultural_event_3.html#comments Thu, 8 Nov 2007 03:59:56 GMT http://greasy.com/paa7618/sports_patriotism.html What is an affinity? It was defined in the Encarta Dictionary as “a natural liking for or inclination toward somebody or something, or a feeling of identification with somebody or something.” It seems that in the case of the book How Soccer Explains the World, by Franklin Foerr, the affinity is soccer. Millions of people internationally take part in what is practically the worship of the wonderful sport of soccer. The games draw fans from all over and in numbers that dwarf the attendan ... http://greasy.com/paa7618/sports_patriotism.html#comments Wed, 7 Nov 2007 20:21:26 GMT http://greasy.com/paa7618/people_fear_governments.html A few weeks ago I saw a movie called “V for Vendetta”. Some of you may be familiar with it. I don’t remember all the details to the movie, but I do recall the basic message. It’s a politically charged film that’s set in the not so far off future. In the movie an oppressive government controls and manipulates its citizens through scare tactics. “V” is a righteous rebel who exposes the corruption of the government and overthrows their powerful regime. One of “V’s” many cl ... http://greasy.com/paa7618/people_fear_governments.html#comments Wed, 7 Nov 2007 09:22:24 GMT http://greasy.com/paa7618/alifa_rifaat_distant_view.html Alifa Rifaat’s book “Distant View of a Minaret” starts off in a sort of interesting way. As I began reading, I realized the book opened into a sex scene! Not a very passionate sex scene, but sex none the less. The brief escapade is described from the woman’s point of view. The act bores her as she stares at the ceiling and considers the condition of her toe nails. She describes the situation to be entirely one sided, simply meant to please the man. There is a total lack of connecti ... http://greasy.com/paa7618/alifa_rifaat_distant_view.html#comments Sat, 8 Sep 2007 03:28:03 GMT http://greasy.com/paa7618/joe_sacco_loved_war.html After reading “How I Loved the War”, by Joe Sacco, I had to sift back through the pages and absorb Sacco’s thoughts and images. The sarcasm was there, as usual, but there was a definite message. The message was that Americans were essentially apathetic toward the “war” in Iraq. The bombings and door to door terrorist hunts in Iraq were less than an interference for Americans in their every day lives. They didn’t have to worry about one of the world’s largest militaries restri ... http://greasy.com/paa7618/joe_sacco_loved_war.html#comments Fri, 7 Sep 2007 17:04:43 GMT http://greasy.com/paa7618/good_taste_chico.html It was a beautiful day in the north state on Sunday, September 10, 2006, the perfect setting for the Taste of Chico. I have been to many previous Taste’s of Chico and taken several different roles in experiencing what the event has to offer. In past years I have worked for restaurants that were serving food during the event. My jobs have ranged from cooking the food, to serving the food, and also serving drinks as a bartender inside the restaurant while the festivities carry on outside. ... http://greasy.com/paa7618/good_taste_chico.html#comments Fri, 7 Sep 2007 16:37:21 GMT http://greasy.com/paa7618/yesterday_.html Yesterday was the worst day I've had in a long time. It started out like any other week day. I was up early and attended my first two classes at CSU Chico without any problem. My mind was focused on my Customer Relations test later that day and the minor errands I needed to run during my mid-day break from classes. After my second class let out I retrieved my mt. bike and proceeded to run my errands. At 2pm I had another class and locked my bike up using the same lock I always had. Unfortu ... http://greasy.com/paa7618/yesterday_.html#comments Fri, 7 Sep 2007 16:24:51 GMT http://greasy.com/paa7618/graphic_narrative_not.html When I started reading the book “Notes from a Defeatist”, by Joe Sacco I had a hard time following the storyline. It seemed there was barely even a story to be told, but after the first twenty or so pages I came to better understand the interesting medium of the graphic narrative. In part one, ‘A Cartoon Genius’, you are introduced to Joe Sacco as a starving artist who has nothing but the deepest personal integrity. He doesn't’t care about the art world or the ‘market’. Joe S ... http://greasy.com/paa7618/graphic_narrative_not.html#comments Fri, 7 Sep 2007 15:55:45 GMT http://greasy.com/paa7618/rumis_love_stranger.html Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Rumi lived to the age of 66 during a time in history that was fairly dangerous. The value of life during the 13th century was far less than it is today. Rumi has been worshiped by many people of many different faiths his compassion and understanding of love. His teachings were “essentially about the concept of Tawheed (unity) and union with his beloved (the primal root) from which/whom he has been cut and fallen aloof, and his longing and desire for reunity”(Wikip ... http://greasy.com/paa7618/rumis_love_stranger.html#comments Fri, 7 Sep 2007 07:31:17 GMT