Myrtus

Make me a burqa

My friend Andy wants me to wear a burqa. 

In fact he's been wishing that I would wear one for many years now.  He thinks women who wear them are far more mysterious and attractive to males than those who don't cover.

In fact he's said it to me enough times now where I'm almost gonna start believing him.

What do you guys think? (;

G'd

Here's a question that pops into my head every time I see the word God written with an apostrophe:

How do people who refer to God as G'd in writing refer to him in speech?

Orangina turns kinky

Somebody at Orangina HQ is oviously perverted.

Watching Wales and Others

Yesterday I went out into the Pacific Ocean along California's southern coast to look at whales. It was one of the most amazing experiences to see them up close ... so huge, so graceful, and so peaceful. We were hoping to see dolphins too, but unfortunately, they weren't around. We did see other sea mammals in their natural habitat though.

The next time Myrtus comes to L.A., this is what we're gonna go and do.

   

Here (below), you can see the whale's back in the bottom of the photo:

It's official, I'm pissed off!

My daughter goes to a "white upper class" private school.........and somebody is going to lose their job about this!

Yesterday was my daughter's first day as a freshman in high school.  When I picked her up after school, she obviously looked like she wasn't too happy.

I greeted her with a smile.

Hey baby, how was your day?

Hi mom. 

I am so mad, you're not going to believe what happened!

Oh honey what happened?

I have one of the worst teacher's ever! 

We were all sitting there waiting for this guy to start class and the first thing he said  to us was: 

OK everybody, l want you to look around and tell me what's the predominant color you see all around you.  Everybody looked around, we looked at each other's clothes and we all looked at each other wondering what to look for, but everyone was quiet.  Then most of us looked at the walls, thinking obviously because the walls were white, white was must be the predominant color.

So then the somebody raised their hand and said: White?

The teacher said: That's right! 

White is the predominant color!  You are all white! 

You are all here because you come from white upper class families or at the very least upper middle class.  You live in nice homes, your parents drive nice cars and none of you would even be here if your parents couldn't afford the ten thousand dollar tuition. 

I want you to be aware of that!  I want you to be aware of everything around you wherever you go, whatever you do.  Be aware of everything in your neighborhood, in you town, in your country, in the world.....I want you to be awaaaaaare!   

We all looked at each other shocked.  Is this guys serious?

And the way he constantly pronounced awaaaare was as if he was taking a poo.  He made me sick to my stomach!   He made me so mad, I felt like getting up, tell him exactly what I think of him and walk out! 

You can keep your FINE WHITE SCHOOL, I'm outahere!

Then why didn't you tell him off?  I can't believe this!   This is outrageous!  Why in the world is this guy even allowed to teach?

I can't believe it either mom. 

You know I can take a lot, you can call me names or whatever, but this is obviously going too far.  What bothers me most is not the fact that I'm not from an upper class family and that I'm there only because I got a scholarship.  What really bothers me is that he totally ignored this African-American kid and a dark skinned Italian boy who were sitting next to each other right up front staring him in the face.  Can you imagine how they must have felt?  He keeps telling us to be awaaaaare, but he's obviously too ignorant to be awaaaare of the fact that he's hurting people's feelings.   

What in the world is he thinking?

I said: this man needs to be stopped immediately, he is very harmful!  There is just no way he should be allowed to continue damaging our kids like this.  I'll have to talk to somebody about this!

No mom, don't do anything yet, let me do it.  There is this other teacher I want to talk to about this.  He's really cool and I totally trust him.

She felt like dropping the subject for the time being and asked me if we can discuss it later because she was too tired and hungry and just wanted to go home. I agreed.

   

I still need to find out more about this guy and the entire event in more detail before I proceed, but obviously someone is going to hear from me.

Teachers and staff members to carry guns in school

Those crazy dudes in Texas!

Always coming up with new excuses to carry a gun. ;D

Texas district will let teachers carry guns - CNN.com

HARROLD, Texas (AP) -- A tiny Texas school district will allow teachers and staff members to carry concealed firearms to protect against school shootings, provided the gun-toting employees follow certain requirements.

The small community of Harrold in north Texas is a 30-minute drive from the Wilbarger County Sheriff's Office, leaving students and teachers without protection, said David Thweatt, superintendent of the Harrold Independent School District. The lone campus of the 110-student district sits near a heavily traveled highway, which could make it a target, he argued.

"When the federal government started making schools gun-free zones, that's when all of these shootings started. Why would you put it out there that a group of people can't defend themselves? That's like saying 'sic 'em' to a dog," Thweatt said in a story published Friday on the Fort Worth Star-Telegram's Web site.

What are YOU reading?

I was tagged by my buddies Reda and Une Marocaine at Agora to talk about the book I'm currently reading.

1. Link back to the person who tagged you.

2. Go to page 123 of the book you're currently reading.

3. Quote the fifth phrase on that page and also 3 phrases after that.

4. List the year the book was published, edition, title and author.

5. Tag 5 other bloggers to find out what they're reading.

                        ~~~~~~~    ~~~~~~~

1 - Indiquer le nom de la personne qui vous a taggué avec un lien vers son blog
2 - Prendre le livre que l'on lit actuellement à la page 123
3 - Recopier le texte de la 5ème phrase et des 3 suivantes
4 - Indiquer année de parution, édition, titre et auteur du livre
5 - Choisir 5 autres blogueurs/blogueuses pour leur demander ce qu'ils lisent.

A storyteller.

A fabulist.

A liar.

And the plea that had so moved me - tell me the truth - had been uttered by a man who was not even real.

"The Thirteenth Tale" by Diane Setterfield

First Washington Square Press trade paperback edition October 2007

Was #1 on the New York Times bestsellers list.

My sister Salima recommended it to me recently and now I recommend it to YOU.

Ironically it's a story about someone else's story.......it's a story about a writer and much of it takes place in a library or bookshop, but that's not nearly all.  It's a fun and intriguing tale that reads like a charm and I usually read it when I go to bed.

Now I pass on the torch to my buddies Wine Writer, Ahmed T., Speak Moroccan, La Gatita Gringa, Jillian C York.

Congratulations Michael!

You are GOLD!

Complex Shit

Ananova - Huge blow-up poo causes chaos

A massive inflatable dog poo has caused chaos after it blew away from an outdoor art exhibition - leaving a trail of destruction.

The house-sized replica turd, which was a piece of work by American artist Paul McCarthy, broke free from its moorings outside a museum in Switzerland.

Olympic Fashion

The New York Times > Magazine > Slide Show

To celebrate the 2008 Olympics, Lane Crawford, the Chinese luxury retailer, commissioned 12 fashion designers to each design a uniform for their favorite sport.