Wednesday, December 1, 2010

That's About It...

Ohhh...that's my 40th post...I did it!!! The semester is almost over. Overall I enjoyed blogging. There were some times I had problems with coming up with a good idea...sometimes my thoughts were kinda stuck somewhere or even if I had an idea it was difficult for me to express it in an interesting and creative way in the language that is not my mother language...and sometimes it was just hard to find a time for it. Will I continue blogging? I don't know yet...maybe... I mean...I don't know if anybody else is reading my posts. I wish I didn't have to write it only to myself...but we'll see... ;)

Female Chauvinist Pig - Yep, That's Me

There is a book written by Ariel Levy called Female Chauvinist Pigs I read some time ago that I would definitely suggest to read. Everything she talks about in this book I was able to relate to myself. She talks about modern culture that she calls raunch culture. She criticizes that women have become sex objects and that women themselves don't mind that. Moreover they enjoy it. Levy is concerned that sex is everywhere and that the situation is extremely oppressive to women. She calls women who don't mind being viewed as sex objects female chauvinist pigs. Women who make sex objects of other women and of ourselves. They enjoy going to the strip clubs, they don't mind doing it as well, they laugh at sexist jokes, read Play Boy, enjoy watching TV shows like Girls Gone Wild etc. Having "friends"...with benefit. Well...I disagree with her. I do not see a problem in it. It's our own business what we wanna do or watch. Nobody forces to do that. Obviously she would put me in this category. I do like going to the strip clubs, I do prefer men's magazines to women's magazines...there are more interesting things to read...because I am tired of seeing articles about dieting and shopping, make-up and other nonsense. I don't mind sexist jokes...I laugh if they are funny. I enjoy dressing up and looking good. But that is my own choice. I do not feel disempowered. So yes...if that's the case...I am a female chauvinist pig.

Subliminal Messages In Disney Cartoons

One day we talked about subliminal messages in ads. I found it a really interesting topic so I decided to find out some more about it. I looked for more examples on YouTube. And I was pretty surprised about the stuff I found. Namely it is claimed that W. Disney used a lot of subliminal elements in his cartoons for kids....and not very innocent ones. After seeing this I really started thinking if in the future I want my kids to watch o-so-praised Disney cartoons. Even though it is said there are no real evidence found that subliminal messages affect us I still think they do. Our brain is smarter than we think...it can see things that we think we don't see.

Well, that's only one example...if you are interested in finding out more about it, YouTube has a lot of information about it. And not only there...there's plenty of it on line in general...
I don't know why would they put such things in cartoons for children...I don't even want to guess...

Tea In My Kitchen

I don't know if I can call myself a tea freak, but I could definitely open my own little tea shop. I have a tea shelf in the kitchen and couple of days ago I got 3 more different packages of tea from my mum. So I decided to go through my collection and here are the results:
Chamomile-mint tea
regular green tea
Herbal mix tea
Ayurvedic detox tea
Wild strawberry and maracuja black tea
Chai flavored black tea
Green tea with ginger and lemongrass
Milk oolong green tea
Chai flavored green tea
Juniper berry tea
Cherry black tea
Ginko leaf tea
China oolong Se Chung green tea
Green tea with ginseng
Georgian black tea
Lapachi herb tea
Indian spiced chai tea
Chamomile tea
Energy herb tea with marigold flowers
Aeura Lanata herbal tea
Peppermint tea
Mango apricot black tea
Rose marzipan black tea
Wild strawberry black tea
Green tea with aloe vera
Rosehip tea
Chocolate hazelnut black tea
Herbal tea with cinnamon and ginger
Salvia tea
Primula tea
Rowanberry tea
Nettle tea
That's about it I think. What is that all for? Well...I like to experiment with all those herbs and teas. I mix different teas to see what's the result gonna be. I usually make the tea in a huge teakettle cool it down and drink it during the practice instead of Powerade or any other sports drink. No sugar no artificial colors, preservatives...100% natural. Adding a spoon or two of natural honey makes the drink even better.

Embroidering - Ain't I a Nerd...

Love love love it!! It's my "secret" hobby. Like working out or playing any kind of sports it also opens the door to another world for me. I totally get lost in this world and forget all the problems and concerns of the real world. The process itself is a reward...it is so calming. Plus I can enjoy the results later. It's like a double reward. The only problem is I don't have the time for it as I used to. Most examples of my creation is back home. Here are some of them:
A simple white cotton bag for shopping. Had nothing on it...totally plain. I decided to make it a bit more fun.

Now this is a cover for a small book or organizer or so. This one is actually 100% made by me...not only the embroidery. There is a horse shoe in the middle that should symbolize good luck.

That's my scarf. It was plain white. I don't like plain boring colors...especially white. That's my least favorite color. But it was a perfect canvas for my fantasy. I just let my imagination go and do it's job. It's the second scarf I've worked on. The other is back home...I gave it to my mum. But to be honest this one is not ready yet. I'm still working on it. Planning to finish it during the Christmas break.


What My Socks Say About Me

People always notice my socks and ask where I get them from. Well I have my sources ;)...
here's my collection:































So, what are my socks telling about me? You can all have different thoughts. I would say they are telling you that I'm a happy, open minded, friendly person who loves to have fun ;)

Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Socially Responsible It Is

I found this ad and I thought it is a funny and creative yet scandalous example of socially responsible advertising. It was created by TBWA/Paris in France. I don't know if here in US anybody would find it proper to create an ad like that but I do not have problems with it. It shows what it is. I find it interesting and entertaining. You might not agree with me

It's Not What It's About

One day in my creativity class we were talking about "it's not what it's about" concept and how important it is in creating a successful ad. So I have my own interpretation of that concept. See if you understand what I am talking about here. The story might seem not making sense at all but remember...it's not what it's about...
Sugar - most women love sweets...love sugar. Well...there are some men out there who like it too. But usually they don't want to admit it. They try to hide it. Some of them are brave enough to say it in public that they like sweets. Usually white sugar is preferred. People say it's more universal: it's good for everything. You can't use brown sugar everywhere. Its flavor is too specific and strong. I grew up with the white sugar. I didn't really know much about the brown sugar before coming to US where it is pretty common...more common than back home. Anyway...my mum says we should stick to what we are familiar with. She doesn't really like brown sugar even though she says she has nothing against it. Well...i have a different opinion...now. I switched my regular sugar diet to brown sugar diet :) . Once I tried brown sugar I don't want to go back to the regular sugar anymore. It has so much more flavor. It's almost that its flavor has a character...strong and distinctive...bitter sweet sometimes but never boring. Will I ever switch back to my old diet...that can happen. I might just get tired of brown sugar and return to my universal sweetness. Oh my mum would be happy. However one moment I felt that I had enough...my life was turning too sweet...almost cloying...bitter sweet. I decided I'm done with sugar for a while and went to that sugar free diet. I got rid of all the brown sugar in my kitchen, small sugar packages-to-go in my back pack, candies in my purse. I was done with it! It felt sooo good...so refreshing and freeing. But not for a long time: in a week or two I felt I need something sweet. Since I threw away all the old sugar I went to the store and bought a new one... Actually I bought several brown sugar packages of different brands to see which one is the best. A couple of them I tried I didn't like so I put them aside right in the beginning. I didn't even have to taste it because the smell was bad enough to repel me away.
That was the story...I hope I won't get in trouble for that :)




That's Just Not Cool...Not Cool At All!!!

With all that stuff going on between North and South Korea I found something quite interesting yet disturbing. True or not it really made me think. I really hope it is not true but the facts speak for themselves. There was a woman who apparently could predict the future. She is very well known in Europe. Her name was Vanga. Pandeva Dimitrova. She was born in 1911 in Bulgaria. Vanga died in 1996. She lost her eye-sight when she was 12-years-old after being swept away by a tornado. She was found alive, but blinded. She said it was then that she received her ‘gift’. When she was 16-years-old she began making prophecies and quickly became famous because of the accuracy of her predictions. People from around the world sought her out seeing insight into the future, including Adolf Hitler is said to not have liked what she told him. Vanga claimed her visions were given to her from unknown creatures from another dimension. At times people who had lived hundreds of years earlier and at times aliens from a planet they call ‘Vamfim’ brought the visions to her. (we'd think here she must got hit hard in her head huhh). According to people who knew her, she predicted her own death and that a 10-year-old French girl would inherit her gift and become known to the world. Here are some predictions that actually happened:
  • In 1980, Vanga predicted the accident of the submarine Kursk ‘At the turn of the century, in August of 1999 or 2000, Kursk will be covered with water, and the whole world will be weeping over it.’ The accident occurred in August 2000.

  • In 1989 she predicted the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. ‘Horror, horror! The American brethren will fall after being attacked by the steel birds. The wolves will be howling in a bush, and innocent blood will be gushing.’

  • 2008 – Assassination attempts on four heads of states. Conflict in Indonesia. That becomes one of the causes for the start of WWIII.

  • What's the scariest : Among her predictions is that World War III will start in early November 2010 and last until October 2014. According to her prophesy, the war will start out like any other war, but quickly escalate into chemical and nuclear warfare that will have devastating consequences on the Earth and people for years to follow. Those who follow what's going on in the world right now see some connections. The situation in Korea has always been kinda shaky. Now things got even worse. For those who don't know what I am talking about (and I know there might be several out there especially here...) check the news and you understand.
    sigh*..I just wish there was no such thing as hate, war... We here are so far from it that we think it doesn't concern us. It hasn't reached us so we just close our eyes and ignore it. But it has been going on in my mind for several days now. Why do people want to destroy themselves? Is our human nature that egoistic and arrogant that we can't stand anything around us?
    Anyway...there are some more predictions from Vanga...enjoy!
  • 2011 – Due to the radioactive showers in Northern Hemisphere – no animals or plants will be left. Muslims will begin chemical war against Europeans who are still alive.

  • 2014 – Most of the people in this world will have skin cancer and skin related diseases. (as a result of chemical wars)

  • 2016 – Europe is almost empty

  • 2018 – China becomes the new world power.

  • 2023 – Earth’s orbit will change slightly

  • 2025 – Europe is still barely populated

  • 2028 – Development of a new energy source. (Probably controller thermonuclear reaction) Hunger slowly stops being a problem. Piloted spaceship to Venus deploys.

  • 2033 – The world’s oceans rise as the polar ice caps melt.

  • 2043 – World economy is prosperous. Muslims are running Europe.

  • 2046 – Any organs can be mass produced. Exchange of body organs becomes the common method of treatment.

  • 2066 – During it’s attack on Rome (which is under control of the Muslims) U.S.A. uses a new method of weapons – has to do with climate change. Instant freezing.

  • 2076 – No class society (communism)

  • 2084 – Nature restores herself.

  • 2088 – New disease. – People are getting old in few seconds.

  • 2097 – This disease is cured.

  • 2100 – Man made Sun is lighting up the dark side of the planet Earth.

  • 2111 – People become robots. Think ‘The Terminator’.

  • 2123 – Small countries are at war and the larger countries don’t get involved.

  • 2125 – Signals from space are received in Hungry. An interest in Vanga will be renewed.

  • 2130 – Colonies are built under water with advice from aliens.

  • 2154 – Animals become half-humans.

  • 2167 – A new religion is formed.

  • 2170 – World-wide drought.

  • 2183 – Colony on Mars becomes nuclear nation and asks for independence from the Earth.

  • 2187 – Two volcano eruptions are successfully stopped.

  • 2195 – Sea colonies are fully supplied with energy and food.

  • 2196 – Asians and Europeans are no longer distinguishable from each other.

  • 2201 – Thermonuclear reactions on the Sun slow down. Temperatures Drop.

  • 2221 – Humans engage with something very frightening while in the search of Alien life.

  • 2256 – Spaceship brings a freighting new disease into Earth.

  • 2262 – Orbits of planets start to change progressively. Mars is under threat of being hit by a comet.

  • 2271 – Physic properties are re-calculated because of changes.

  • 2273 – A new race emerges that is a mix of Asian, European and African.

  • 2279 – Energy can be made out of nothing (probably from vacuum or black holes)

  • 2288 – Travel through time. New contacts with the aliens.

  • 2291 – Sun cools. Humans make attempts to fire it up again.

  • 2296 – Bright flashes on the Sun. Force of gravity changes. Old space stations and satellites begin to fall to Earth.

  • 2299 – In France, there is a guerrilla uprising against Islam.

  • 2302 – Important new laws and mysteries about the universe are uncovered.

  • 2304 – The mystery of the Moon is uncovered.

  • 2341 – Something frightening is approaching Earth from the space.

  • 2354 – An accident on one of the man made suns will result in drought.

  • 2371 – World-wide hunger.

  • 2378 – New and fast growing race.

  • 2480 – Earth is dark when two man made suns collide.

  • 3005 – War on Mars. Trajectory of planets changes.

  • 3010 – A comet will ram into the Moon throwing a belt of rocks and dust around the Earth.

  • 3797 – By this time, everything living on Earth dies. But humans are able to put in the essentials for the beginning of a new life in a new star system.

  • 3803 – A new planet is populated by a few humans. There are few contacts between people. The climate on the new planet causes people to begin mutating.

  • 3805 – Humans go to war over resources. More than half of people dying out.

  • 3815 – The war is over.

  • 3854 – The development of civilization virtually stops. People live flocks like animals.

  • 3871 – New prophet tells people about moral values, religion.

  • 3874 – New prophet receives support from all segments of the population. Organized a new church.

  • 3878 – along with the Church to re-train new people forgotten sciences.

  • 4302 – New cities are growing in the world. New Church encourages the development of new technology and science.

  • 4302 – The development of science. Scientists discovered in the overall impact of all diseases in organism behavior.

  • 4304 – A cure for any disease is discovered.

  • 4308 – Human mutations result in people using their brains more than 34% and losing notions of evil and hatred.

  • 4509 – Getting to Know God. Man reaches a level of development that can communicate with God.

  • 4599 – People achieve immortality.

  • 4674 – The development of civilization has reached its peak. There are about 340 billion people living on different planets. Assimilation begins with aliens.

  • 5076 – Humans find the universe boundaries.

  • 5078 – The decision to leave the boundaries of the universe. While about 40 percent of the population is against it.

  • 5079 – End of the World.

  • Well...the good thing is the world won't end in 2012 :)
    

    That Just Hit Me Today...

    My mum had me when she was 23...I am 23!!!!! Yeah, I don't know why but it hit me today...and it hit hard... I realized that, compared me to her. It feels kinda weird...funny...because I thought about it and tried to imagine myself in the situation of starting a family at the age of what I am now...and it just felt soooo so so strange and funny. I just can't picture myself in that kind of situation right now. I don't know what's wrong with me..maybe I am just not mature enough. Not only that...I can't see myself as a mother and a wife even in the near future...not like in the next 5 years. Is it wrong? Maybe...maybe not...
    I have set specific goals right now for the future but family is not of them. I've always been independent, I hate to rely on somebody...wait for somebody. I like to move in my own speed, my own rhythm. And I think it's not easy to find somebody who would be able to keep up and not slow me down. That's why sometimes I rather do things by myself than ask for a help. So, that's why one of my goals is to achieve the level where I could be financially totally independent. A great education, finding a desirable job, working myself up - that will get me to that level. This is what is on my mind now. And...when that goal is achieved...I can think of the next important thing: family. So, said that comparing myself to mother when she was at my age doesn't feel so strange anymore. The times have changed, the society has changed. There is no right or wrong thing to do. It's more about what you want to do. ''We walk the same path, but got on different shoes. Live in the same building, but we got different views.''

    Monday, November 29, 2010

    Never Go To Bed Hungry...

    Yes, that's what I learned one time when I got home so late and I was so unbelievably tired that I didn't even care if I was hungry, thirsty or cold. Sleep was all I needed, so I went straight to bed. Well, apparently my body or my brain or they both did not agree with me or maybe they just changed their mind, because I had this crazy nightmare. I remember I was sooo hungry in my dream...I felt it so clearly. I got this opportunity to become invisible. Guess what I did...I went to the grocery store and realized that I can eat whatever I want as much as I want. I felt like a little kid in the toy store. Of course I used the chance and started going aisle to aisle eating everything I desired. Mostly it was the food I usually I don't allow myself to eat because being an athlete I have to choose what I eat. Yes, there is forbidden food for us. I guess the dreams are the only place we can enjoy some things that in real life we don't let ourselves to enjoy. Anyway...after I was done with stuffing myself with all that food I felt incredibly bad...guilty. I couldn't believe I ate that all. I felt a real concern...frustration. Suddenly a dream turned into a nightmare for me. You can imagine the relief I felt when I woke up...the feel you get when you wake up from the nightmare. I remember waking up and my first thought was if that was just a dream or was it reality. So...not a good experience. Yeah...after that I never went hungry to bed.

    Sunday, November 28, 2010

    Colours...

    Those are the things that first came to my mind when I thought about different colors.


    pink


    green


    yellow

    red

    black

    blue

    gray

    beige

    orange


    purple

    light blue

    white

    brown