Sunday, February 22, 2009

The 81st Oscar in 2009

http://cs8a.clearspring.com/u/496e682876b273c0/49a21d4858053d0a

Hollywood's biggest formal party is the Academy Awards. The Academy Awards is the biggest party for celebrities. Some go home with an Oscar and some go home with the experience at the Oscars. Actors, Producers, Editors, Directors, and sound mixers are all sitting together to watch an Annual show. This formal event includes some of the world's most expensive dresses and suits. The actresses have more elegant dresses because the actors and directors just have black suit, tie, and white shirt and black pants. Every year the actress’s dresses are all original. These dresses are rated by TV audiences. Art is a universal language that brings the world closer together. Art means visual art, music, film making, drawing, photography, or painting goes into the big category of art. Art is what brings the world closer together as a universal language.

The 2009 Academy Awards began with an original song. I felt the song was creative because it includes this year's great movies. The movies are divided into several categories. These categories include Sound editing, Best Actor, Best supporting actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting actress, Best Animated film, Best Animated short, Best Short film, Best sound editing, Best film editing, best supporting role, costume design, and Art direction.

Some this year's great movies include Slum dog Millionaire, The Dark Knight, Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Wall-E, Kung Fu Panda, Bolt, and Iron Man. The movies nominated are the movies that have been recognized by the Academy, but it not all the recognized and nominated are awarded because there are exceptional movies in the world. It was said Art was the universal language in the world. The great movies with best sound editing and best supporting actor is The Dark Knight. The Dark Knight had that action in the film. Heath Ledger as the Joker just made this film even better. I may forget the Dark Knight, but I will never forget Heath Ledger as the Joker. The Dark Knight is an example of an exceptional film. There are those films that I do not know why they won. One of those movies is Wall-E. Wall-E was boring and not enough action like Kung Fu Panda or Bolt. Wall-E did show it was an original screenplay and original music.

Slum dog millionaire won 8 Oscars. Slum dog millionaire was about a boy who's from the slums of Mumbai and completes in the competition of who wants to be a millionaire. Then there was the Curious Case of Benjamin Button. It's about a boy who was born an Old man and ages backwards.

The 81st Oscar began well with an original Oscar song, but as it progressed the performance got boring. It was a great show, but it wasn't like last year with songs and scenes from the movie Enchanted. Last years performances were what made the Oscar great. This year the Oscars were just missing decent performances to keep the audience interested.

The Annual West Windsor Library Book Sale.

As I entered the West Windsor Library for the Book sale volunteer, I was surrounded by books. There were all kinds of Books from Foreign Language to Self Help.I could estimate that there were at least 5000 books at the very site.

The 2009 Book Sale at West Windsor is the first year for me to volunteer. I was confused with my job, but I soon as I entered, I was told to read several papers and sign in. My job was carrying the boxes of unorganized books to each category and sort them in to boxes by size. It seems easy , but there were thousands of books in a contained area. If the original organized box is not organized, then I have to organize it. All the spine titles have to face the same direction and the books must be laid down , not standing vertically.

The perks of being the volunteer is buying the books, after your assigned job is finished. The Friends of the West Windsor Library has a kitchen full of snacks and drinks for the volunteers.

I enjoy volunteering at the Book Sale because on Saturday, February 21 I was sorting the Foreign Language books and I learned how to tell apart Hindi , Bangladesh , and Tamil characters apart. I also learned how the Russian characters look, so volunteering is not dull or boring because it is an opportunity to experience an adventure.

Just by volunteering, I learned how to shelf library books, DVD, videos, tapes, and non fiction. I am no stranger to volunteering because I have 65 volunteer hours as of Sunday, February 22, 2009. I have also learned how to teach or take care of Small children. I have also learned CPR through volunteering. Volunteering is fun, exciting, and giving back to the community.

Being a volunteer also have perks that people who do not volunteer have.

Remember to check out the Book Sale on March 3rd, 4th, 5th , 6th, 7th, and 8th.

Thursday, February 19, 2009

New York Post in racism row over chimpanzee cartoon | World news | The Guardian

New York Post in racism row over chimpanzee cartoon | World news | The Guardian

Recently , there has been a Chimpanzee attack in the United States of America. New York Post decided to report this attack and show it on the news , but they also created a rasist cartoon. This cartoon is portraying President Obama as a Chimpanzee. Then two police cops shot the chimpanzee. One of the Police said, " They'll have to find another person to write the Stimulus Bill. That is insulting the President and the African American Race. You can not dislike the president in a cartoon that portrays an ape being shot. They just means you wan the President assinsinated.
This is unacceptable New York Post.
The News Media can not portray Racism through a cartoon because it still hards. America is a Nation full of Cowards. I am begining to believe this because statistics show that 50% of white americans live in subarbs and 50% Blacks live in Cities. Some white americans don't be social with blacks, but as Obama said, " There is no white america, no black America, no liberal america, there is the United States of America."
This photo also shows there freedom of Speech and Press, but this is not the right way to show it. This is just like the shoe throwing incidents. There are then one way to show dislikes and hatred. If one country hated another country, should they just go to war? No , because they know and Presidents know that we need Peace. To establish Peace is to creating firm relationships with other countries.
The same goes to the photo, they can't show the photo like this. President Obama is a hard waorking man. He went from a average high schooler to a graduate in Harvard Law. He is currently focused on his Stimulus Package.
The photo just proves that the New York Post is not worth reading.

Sunday, February 15, 2009

The 58th NBA All Star game

Where have you seen the greatest players in the NBA play in one night? When have you seen Shaq, Kobe , and Yao play together?
The annual NBA All Star Game brings the NBA's top players to one arena. NBA's Top Players include the World's Top Players as well. Kobe Bryant, Dwayne Wade, and Lebronon James are Olympic Gold Medalist in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. This game gives the players and the fans an opportunity to see all these players play together or play against each other. I enjoyed seeing Shaq and Kobe playing together because They haven't play much together since Shaq left the LA Lakers.
This NBA All Star is no different than any other All Star, but this is Shaquille O'Neal's 15th All Star Game.
This NBA Game started out with the East on offense. Dwayne Wade started the game with a 3-pointer shot. He took this 3-Pointer minutes after the beginning of the game. It goes into the West taking the lead and Kobe Bryant shooting 23 Points and Shaquille O' Neal shooting 17 Points.
My favorite part of this All Star Game is how Shaquille O'Neal passed the ball underneath his opponent. Then Shaquille O' Neal makes a Dunk. His dunk is NBA history. In history, Shaq once made a dunk that broke the backboard. He has amazing strength and energy.
Kobe Bryant has a record of making 80 points a game. He could be the next Michael Jordan.
Chris Paul made a nice dunk 2 minutes 11 seconds left for the game. Chris Paul is on fire, he made another dunk at the last minute of the game.
The East can't win because they have 119 and the West have 146. They were behind 27 points in the last few seconds. Not even an miracle could save them.
This proves the West is stronger than the East. The West has Chris Paul, Tim Duncan, Yao Ming, Kobe Bryant, Tony Parker and Dirk Nowitzki.
The East has Kevin Garnet, Lebronon James, Dwayne Wade and Allen Iversion. No wonder the East can't beat the West because the West has one of the strongest player, Kobe Bryant.
Congratulations Shaquille O' Neal and Kobe Bryant for winning the Co- MVP of the 2009 All Star Game.

Pink Panther 2 Summary

Pink Panther 2 starts out with stolen artifacts in Rome, London, and Tokyo. They started out with a global and moving from England, Italy, and Japan to France. I enjoyed how they started the movie with a globe. It's a nice visual. All three artifacts were stolen by Les Tornado. Then they move to France where Dryfess talks to other Inspectors. They want to solve the case worldwide with an International Dream Team. France has asked Jacques. Monsieur Jacques Cousteau has been assigned to Parking duty. Dryfess assigned him to that job after his win of the Medal of Honor. He was reassigned to the dream team to solve the case of the missing artifacts around the world and find Le Tornado. On his parking duty he has cross referenced the tickets by writing down the date of the ticket given, license plate number and when was it given. This cross referencing was important in the case. As Clouseau was about to leave France, the Pink Panther Diamond was stolen. Now the dream team is starting in France. The Pink Panther diamond that was stolen was a fake. Clouseau switched the replicated given to him in a case with the real diamond. Clouseau knew it would be stolen, so he switched the real and replicated one before anyone would know.

Afterwards, they moved to Rome, Italy. They will interview the person that is a suspected suspect. Clouseau did not follow the crew instead he went digging around for information. He said, “The Tornado is in there. I can sense him."

The scene that followed showed the Tornado talking inside the mansion. Clouseau was correct. The funny part was when the Pope's ring was stolen and he dressed up as the Pope to act out what the pope did that night.

The crime of finding El Tornado was shortly solved when they found the key. El Tornado committed suicide and left all the stolen artifacts except the Pink Panther diamond which was burned. Clouseau consulted a geologist about how it could have burned and he said that El Tornado had to know it was a replica.

At the awards ceremony, Clouseau was the only person to realize that El tornado did not steal the pink Panther diamond. It was the girl who solved the case with them. (Not Nicole)
She destroyed the replica, but the real diamond stayed with Clouseau and no one knew until the ceremony.

He used the cross reference book to figure out that El Tornado did not steal the diamond because he went back to the day before the Pink Panther was stolen. He gave that car a ticket.
The rest of the Dream team all confessed that Clouseau's mind is sharper than them all.
The case was completely finished with Jacques Clouseau. He always finishes the case at the last minute.
To conclude the movie, Nicole and Jacques got married and Daryfess accidentally shot the security camera. The secret security came with big guns. The past word was hamburger, but it was changed. Cloyseau's gadget ran out of battery, so Clouseau and Nicole secretly sneaked out. At the end the movie was finished with the animated Pink Panther.

Jacques Clouseau succeeds in finding the Pink Panther again. Case Closed

Monday, February 9, 2009

Bad economic times for certain stores

2009 is going to be a bad year for stores and retailers. Linens and things and Circuit city have both gone down. Many lay offs occurring. Housing companies like Beazer Homes has tremendous lay offs. They have shut down the site in Maryland and closing departments. In New Jersey, the accounting and fiance department is already down to its last few people. Beazer Homes is a housing company that is doing the worst. They laid off 500 employees nationwide in January 16, 2009.
More and more employees are claiming their unemployment benefits and State unemployment benefits. New Jersey is considering giving those benefits as a loan. States like Michigan and Rhode Island have the highest unemployment rates. They've reached double digits. Our national unemployment rate is 7.5%.
Wall Street wasted the bailout money. President Obama calls it Shameful. They are going to bring out the artillery. That's a metaphor for the government's stepping in because unemployment funds are about to go bankrupt.
I predict that 2009 might be a downfall for Beazer Homes. By 2011, Beazer Homes might close many sites. New Jersey office is definitely one of those sites. The office is basically empty.
Construction is slowing in the housing industry. Not many buying new homes because of the bad economy. This is close to being the highest unemployment rate since the 1920s. We need another big government funded project like Hoover Dam back in the 1920 to get the economy back on track.
I've been watching the stocks and its not doing good. The majority of the stocks are going down.

Tuesday, February 3, 2009

Shoe throwing incident again Shameful act

Seven weeks after President Bush’s visit to Iraq, Premier Wen JiaBao was hit with a shoe. President Bush was hit with a shoe by an Iraqi Reporter and now Premier Wen Jiabao of China was hit by a shoe in Cambridge University.
Shoe throwing has causing a lot of political conflicts in high government positions. The protestors threw an Athletic shoe that missed Premier Wen jiabao by 30 feet. Premier Wen was giving a speech at the Concert Hall of Cambridge University. The man was in his 20s and 30s of European descent. He threw an athletic shoe. The New York Times recorded, "Some in the audience said he called the protest “despicable.” Others said that when he resumed the speech, to an audience of Chinese government ministers, university officials and students, he assured them that “the relations between Britain and China” would not be affected by the protest. A police spokeswoman gave no other details about the protester, Reuters reported."
The man said, “How can you listen to his lies."
I think that this man and the Iraqi reporter was proving a point, but done the wrong thing. They can use their freedom of Speech, but throwing a shoe is over using your freedom of Speech. The Iraqi reporters made not have damaged Former President George W. Bush, but he damages the former president emotionally and mentally. What If I threw a shoe at the Iraqi reporter or the European man? How would they feel? Political government helps build an public image, but President Bush was misguided by his administration. He has a nice personality and we should all respect that. Premier Wen was probably hurt emotionally, but does not show it to the media. The public needs to be more careful of these incidents. I am extremely disappointed at those two.
Two protestors proved a point, but could have used a smarter way to show it. Those two are idiots, ignorant, and inconsiderate jerks. That is how I feel.

Huaxia zhiye Performance 华夏之夜

This post is dedicated to the performers who travelled from Beijing to New Brunswick, New Jersey. They put up a great show in the State Theatre.

Today, 1/31/2009, I am travelling to New Brunswick to State Theatre to watch a Chinese New Year performance by 华夏中文学校 or Huaxia Chinese School. They have put up a performance by bring dancers, singers and popular Chinese figures to New Jersey. The performers have travelled 3,000 miles from Beijing to perform at the State Theatre.One of the performers called Jing Tan performed At the Eastern Mountain. She has also performed at this year's China Central Television Spring Festival performance two weeks ago.
The Huaxia Chinese school choir began the show with three encores to warm up the crowd. The intro was memorable, but my favorite was the Beijing Opera and the Talk show for a New Year's blessing. Of course this the talk show was in Chinese.There were two comedians and they would act out famous people's voices and entertain the crowd. Their entertainment was the best part of the 华夏之夜 performance.
The Beijing Opera was also entertaining because I got to enjoy an excerpt of Madam Mu Guiyang. It was a famous story of a female general in China. I loved their costuming because I always wanted to see those shows.
The singing was also entertaining because the singers had the most beautiful voices. One of the singers was Jing Tan. She conducted a successful solo concert in 2006 in the Viennese Gold Hall. She is considered one of the best soloists today in China.
This show was shown every year in New Jersey. Last year it was in the Trenton Memorial theatre and this year in New Brunswick State Theatre. I really enjoy the show and I know that any who understands the Chinese language will understand it as well.

Sunday, February 1, 2009

Pearl Sydenstricker Buck

Pearl Sydenstricker Buck
(塞珍珠)
(1892-1973)
Taking a Stand in History

It was the year 1892, one of America’s best selling authors was born. Pearl Buck was more than just an author, even a great one. In her lifetime, she was recognized as a noted humanitarian, particularly concerned with the rights of women and children. During her time she was one of the first to write about China. Her childhood in China and birth in America might confuse her nationality, but she said, “I feel more Chinese than American.”
From a baby born in Hillsbough, West Virginia and raised in China, Pearl Buck grew to become a Nobel Prize for Literature winner, the most successful writer to promote cross-culture understanding between Asia and the United States during her lifetime, and a noted advocate for human rights.
Pearl Bark’s parents were Christian missionaries, stationed in Zhenjiang, China. They brought Pearl to China when she was only three month old. Since then, Pearl lived most of the first forty years of her life in China. During her 40 years of living in China, Pearl Buck was unlike other Americans of her generation because China was her world and America was like a dream. She loved China and stated in her speech, “China is more than a part of me. She is in my heart and soul and mind. I was fed by her foods and drank of her waters. Born in my own country, the United States of America, of Pre-Revolutionary ancestry, it was China who nurtured me.” She spent her childhood and adolescent years learning about China. At age 15, Pearl Buck believed that China is an ancient civilization with a rich history, culture, and tradition that deserved to be closely examined and respected. The American Girls she met at Mrs. Jewell’s Boarding School bred on the notion that whites were more superior and the Chinese just seemed less human. When she told those girls the similarity between Buddhism and Christianity, they reported her to Mrs. Jewell as a heretic. She was punished with a strong dose of religion. It was because of her experiences in the boarding school that strengthened her belief about Chinese culture.
Pearl Buck was a pioneer who appreciated Chinese life and culture as few Westerners had done before, and she shared her provocative insights with the world. Her most famous novel, The Good Earth, had been awarded with the Pulitzer Prize, American Best seller list, and the William Dean Howells’ Medal for the most distinguished fictional novel in 1935. The Good Earth turned into a Hollywood Blockbuster film in 1933. To study the impact of Pearl S. Buck, a sociologist named Isaacson did a survey asking Americans where their Chinese impression came from between the years 1931 to the mid-1950s. Two-thirds of people surveyed said their knowledge about China was from the books of Pearl S. Buck, or more specifically, from "The Good Earth". This was a unique achievement in United States history because Americans had never been so inspired by a single book. The Good Earth was translated into more than 30 foreign languages. She had also written dozens of other fictional and nonfiction books because they explained China as a country with rich history, culture, and traditions as compared to the stereotypes most Americans knew at the time. Pearl Buck’s countless novels included the perspectives of women who lived and experienced everyday hardships. As a result of her writing, Pearl Buck had changed the perspective of how Americans saw China. Pearl Buck’s writing led her to become the first American women to win the Nobel Prize for Literature. The Nobel Prize for literature council stated, “For her rich and truly epic descriptions of peasant life in China and her biographical masterpieces.”
Pearl Buck loved China, but she was deeply concerned about traditional Chinese attitudes toward women. Foot-binding was then a common practice on girls, because it was believed the women with small feet were beautiful. Women were treated as ‘beasts of burden’ by their farmer husbands and as servants by their sons. Pearl Buck’s once worked at a charity called the Door of Hope in Shanghai and heard lots of horrible stories from the girls supported by the charity. For example, Pearl heard of how the slave girls’ mistresses would torture them with cigarettes and burning coals. Pearl Buck’s commitment to women’s rights was obviously originated from her experience and observations in China.
Beyond her career as a famous author, Pearl Buck became a devoted human rights activist and founder of an international adoption agency. She believed that "the test of a civilization is the way that it cares for its helpless members."
Buck was a vocal supporter of the Equal Rights Amendment during a time when most organized women’s groups opposed it. As a novelist she gave voice to the experiences of women in different cultures, and as child welfare activist she showed particular concern for female children, who were among the especially vulnerable.
She had taken an early leadership in the Urban League and the NAACP. Pearl Buck was also dedicated to the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom.
Pearl Buck’s firm belief in the equal dignity and value of all human beings and her commitment to empower and aid the most vulnerable and helpless members of every society inspired her to campaign for minority’s rights. She wrote a letter to President Franklin Delano Roosevelt to demand equal treatment for African Americans and Indians.
Pearl Buck ran a national and political campaign against the notorious Chinese exclusion laws, which prohibited Chinese to enter the United States. She was also the founder of the East and West Association which was responsible for improving mutual understanding Asia and America.
Pearl also defended Indian freedom against England. She published an article in the Asia magazine. She used the example that India pressed into the service of an allegedly democratic government, but no democracy was given to them. The British imprisoned the foremost leader for Indian democracy, Jawaharlal Nehru.
Years after working at the Door of Hope, Pearl returned to the United States and created her own Charity. This charity was the first international adoption agency called Pearl S. Buck International. A branch of Pearl S. Buck International is called The Welcome House, which was dedicated to help illegitimate children left behind by U.S. Servicemen serving in Asia during World War II. So far the Welcome House has placed more than 5,000 Asian children in American homes in forty five years. Pearl Buck once stated that the purpose of her foundation was to help children suffered by injustices and prejudice because of their birth, are not permitted to enjoy the educational, social, and civil privileges.
Pearl S. Buck International has another branch called the Opportunity House. The Opportunity House has helped Asian children in five countries. Not only has it placed more than 5000 Asian children in American homes for 45 years, but it had impacted 20,561 children. These impacted children received medical care, school support, scholarships given, and HIV/AIDS vaccines given. The 2006 to 2007 Pearl S. Buck International report stated that 85 children were placed with American families in one year. The report also stated that 1,908 children and families received services in a year. Pearl Buck once said, “Whatever way you choose to help, let it be now, I beg you. The years between birth and adulthood are swift and few, the earlier a child can be helped, the better his chance for a normal life.”
From a child born in a missionary family, Pearl Buck grew up to be the founder of the first international adoption agency, a Nobel Prize for literature winner, and an author that introduced Asian characters to Western readers to reduce stereotypes on Asia. Her international adoption agency continues to help China, Korea, Vietnam, Thailand, and the Philippines. She has been recognized in society today as the first person to write about China and is also known as a translated writer (in more than 60 languages). Her novels are read by students in schools around the country and recognized with Oprah’s Book club. Pearl Sydenstricker Buck died March 6, 1973 in Danby, Vermont. Her ashes remain on her estate at Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Her Green Hill farm was bequeathed the Pearl S. Buck International in 1964. Today her International Adoption agency continues her legacy.