Christmas...

It's Christmas...
Time to celebrate family and love.
Merry Christmas and Peace on Earth.

Winter...

It seems that Winter has come...the weather is cold and rainy.

Luckily we are on a short holiday.

I love the "sound" of Winter days, while I can be warm in my bed. The sounds of the rain and the wind outside are a kind of " music" I love.

To all...I wish a Happy Holiday in spite of the rain!!!

Cyberbullying...

LIKE most mobs, the one that pursued Megan Meier was cruel and unrelenting. Its members gathered on the social networking site MySpace and called Megan a liar, a fat whore and worse.
Megan, 13, fought back, insulting her tormenters with every profanity she knew. But the mob shouted her down, overwhelming her computer and her shaky self-confidence with a barrage of hateful instant messages.
“Mom, they’re being horrible!” Megan said, sobbing into the phone when her mother called. After an hour, Megan ran into her bedroom and hanged herself with a belt.
“She felt there was no way out,” Ms. Meier said.

(...)
Cellphone cameras and text messages, as well as social networking Web sites, e-mail and instant messaging, all give teenagers a wider range of ways to play tricks on one another, to tease and to intimidate their peers.
And unlike traditional bullying, which usually is an intimate, if highly unpleasant, experience, high-tech bullying can happen anywhere, anytime, among lots of different children who may never actually meet in person. It is inescapable and often anonymous, said sociologists and educators who have studied cyberbullying.
Even in this town, where Megan’s name is a constant reminder of the danger of the Web, adolescents say they love using the technology — and some do a little bullying of their own.
“I’m sure that every girl at this table has used cellphones or instant messaging to say something mean about somebody,” said Victoria Fogarty, as she discussed bullying with six other adolescents.

Other children are afraid of becoming the next victim.
“Once you’re on MySpace, you’re trapped,” said Jake Dobson, 12, a seventh grader at West Middle School. “You spend all your time online just trying to keep the negative stuff about you from spreading.”

(...)

After a difficult year, Megan’s parents transferred their daughter to Immaculate Conception Catholic School in Dardenne Prairie. The school had strict policies aimed at avoiding cliques. Students wear uniforms, and they are assigned lunch tables so they can socialize with everybody.
“There aren’t really cliques there at all,” said Rachel Garzon, 14, who befriended Megan. “You might be closer friends with some people, but you can walk up and talk to anybody and they’ll be nice to you.”
Megan, who had escaped the old cliques, retained her old MySpace page. “She technically wasn’t old enough, because you have to be 14,” Ms. Meier said. “But I was the only one who knew the password. I read every message she received or sent. I thought I could keep it safe, and Megan could meet some friends.”
MySpace uses algorithms and people to strike harassing or bullying images and content, the company said in a written statement, and the site offers users opportunities to report cyberbullies.
But controlling the Web can be almost impossible, experts on children say, and most adolescents are simply not mature enough to handle the virtual world and its anonymous attacks. For instance, “Adolescents take what is said online as the literal truth,”(...)
Three years ago, before Megan’s suicide, the school system identified cyberbullying as a serious problem, said Kim Carter,(...)
And before and after Megan’s death, the district held a variety of assemblies, meetings and workshops to train students, parents, faculty and administrators how to recognize and react to cyberbullying.
While all the vigilance has helped, students say, cyberbullying remains common.

(...)

This fall an unpopular boy started break dancing at a football game. People took cellphone photos and videos, which they immediately forwarded to hundreds of people. “They were egging him on because they wanted to keep making fun of him, and the photos made him look ridiculous,” said Jake Dobson, the seventh grader.
Even popular kids feel vulnerable.
(...)

By CHRISTOPHER MAAG
December 16, 2007
Read the whole article

Overweight...

My name is ..., and I am a F.A.T. (fabulously active teenage) girl.

I am an aspiring writer, working on some journalism pieces. I play the double bass and sing. I am in choir, and I volunteer at my temple. I am especially active in sports. I am on a competitive swim team, I go to an aerobics class, and I take part in yoga, sometimes with my sister (who I absolutely adore despite some of her teasing), sometimes with my mom, who is helping me in my struggle to lose weight. No matter how much exercise I get or dieting I do, my weight keeps coming back.
Many people view school as a cruel, dark place where the teachers are out to get you--its sole purpose is to make your life a living hell. In some ways, that's true. There are certainly too many cruel people and comments that follow me around. With all the teasing, I often turned to my favorite class, English, taught by the amazing Joel Ronkin. That was the one place at school where I could express myself, through writing.
I hear some of my acquaintances talking, and here's a question that comes up: Would you rather be skinny but not be able to eat, or be fat? Everyone said they'd rather be skinny, because if you're fat, you never go anywhere. If you're fat, you're ignorant, lazy and dumb as a doorknob. That, I can proudly say, is not true.
Being overweight is hard, especially at the great age of 13. If you are one of the "popular types," you have nothing to worry about: you're perfect and adored by everyone. But I'm basically at the middle-to-end section of the scale. There hasn't been a day since I entered middle school when I've not heard whispers behind my back. Or, in the case of one of my P.E. classes, "At least I'm not as fat as you!" said by a sore loser. But I have learned to deal. I know other people going through the same thing. Having friends makes it better.
With all the stress that school gives you, as well as the high expectations of your parents for you to be perfect in every way, I often turned to food for comfort. The sweet taste of candy always brought my spirits up, until I realized what I was doing. But then I would just eat more. Even though food is a major comfort for me, I'm learning to channel some of my anger and stress into sports. Whether I'm kicking my sorrows away in a magnificent breaststroke, slamming that anger with my tennis racket or whamming that big stress ball at batting practice, my teenage problems find an outlet.
But being a teenager is not all bad. I'm old enough to see a PG-13 movie without a parent, I am able to go places with my friends, I can constantly call my favorite radio station, K-Earth, and request that they play Kokomo, and I finally get to move on to high school.
The upcoming school years will be the best of my life because I have finally decided to deal seriously with my problem, so I don't have to face the sadness again.

in Time , by Rose Buchberg

He is 95...

Congratulations!...

Another year has gone by.

I wish you a longer and happier life.

Your loving daugther.

Body Customising...

The word ‘Art” is an expression of feelings, emotions which are often expressed by symbols. A symbol is defined as a picture or image that tells a situation without words. Symbols, such as cave paintings and carvings were mankind’s earliest form of communication. In due course, Tattoos became the symbols that are known to have expressed man’s deep passions, beliefs and identity.
We have many ways of modern communication in our present time. However, symbolism still plays a very significant role in our daily lives. Some symbols have deep significance to us or to others, depending on beliefs and personal lifestyle.
The word is full of symbols – ancient, religious, Patriotic, and various others. A popular trend in our present days is to have is getting a Chinese symbol or even a Mickey Mouse, tattooed. When other people look at such symbols, they may not be able to make a meaning of it, but the wearer of such symbols will attach a special meaning and significance of these symbols for them.
Many people may be interested in knowing the historic symbolism behind a particular picture and sometimes we want to make sure we avoid designs that portray something we do not believe in or imparts a negative meaning.
Celtic tattoos and Dragon Tattoos indicate Valor, supremacy in the world. Cross tattoos and Flower tattoos (Lotus flower), indicate a religious expression. Angel tattoos and Fairy tattoos show optimistic belief, benevolent objectives. Butterfly tattoos and Flower tattoos signify artistic bent of mind, peaceful expressions and friendly culture. Lower Back Tattoos are an expression in sensuality, eroticism, especially in a woman’s body. Tribal tattoos are associated with History, Identity culture etc.,
Man, in his quest for more identity has reached in recent years an era of customizations. His dress is customized. His jewels are customized. His style is customized. But as an extension of this customization, he has been trying to customize the body itself, the home of the soul. The body is seen as an object to be improved, enhanced and modified. Thus decorative body mutilation, body piercing and tattooing have several things in common. They are major commitments in that they are irreversible and involve pain.
Though tribal mutilation of the body was prevalent earlier, it was intended to fit a traditional pattern to fit into a cultural template. Modern mutilation is intended to signal individuality and to symbolize the position of the outsider, although that is difficult in a society that consumes.
Thus, body piercing signifies Man’s attempt to challenge the creator – By mutilating the body, he takes the job of a creator, thus challenging the very creator himself.
in I Love Piercings.com

...

AIDS...affects all, regardless race, religion or sex. It knows no frontiers.

Don't turn your face away, face it and defend yourself so that you do not become another anonymous victim.

Aids I...

World AIDS Day 2007
On 1 December, people around the world celebrate World AIDS Day.

This year, World AIDS Day focuses on ‘leadership’, the theme set by the World AIDS Campaign under the five-year slogan “Stop AIDS, Keep the Promise”.

Marking the day, the United Nations Secretary General, the Executive Director of UNAIDS and UNAIDS cosponsors and key partners speak out in special World AIDS Day statements.

Aids...

The Global Coalition on Women and AIDS, on World AIDS Day, 1 December 2007

On this World AIDS Day, the Global Coalition on Women and AIDS remembers the women whose lives have been touched by the epidemic - women living with HIV, women who have lost their spouses, children, family members and friends to AIDS, caregivers both young and old, women and girls who find themselves distant from the halls of power, but who nonetheless are powerful leaders in their own families and communities.