As Netflix split it’s services today into two separate arms (Streaming under the same company name & DVD under Qwikster), many news sources jumped to cover the announcement.
Of all the articles out there, one stands out the most. The one on the Christian Science Monitor under the title of : Five Alternatives to Netflix. The list reads as such:
Amazon Prime
Blockbuster
RedBox
Hulu Plus
Getting a Life
Seriously, how much of your time on Earth do you want to spend staring blankly at a glowing rectangle? Here you are doing it right now, hoping to discover a service that will let you do it some more. How about just canceling your Netflix subscription using the money to do something else? Phone up an old friend, play a board game, go out for ice cream, or save up for a trip somewhere.
Both culturally & historically, tattoos have been a prominent mark of cultural-representation and self-expression. However due to its ‘foreignness’ in the western culture, it is not seen as something meaningful or worthy of marking your body with.
Here, two boys had me draw their initials in their arms – OC & BT. “of course” with a washable pen only.
Every so often a group of young men and women gather around to see how they could empower an age group that the world thinks of as problematic, and these guys, powerful – this age group is your average teenagers.
Below are some committed hands; aka, the Animators
We are about action. By providing Americans the ability to vote on bills in Congress we create a measurable repository of citizens sentiment towards each bill.
For example you could vote on these current bills:
This past June marked the 150th Anniversary of the American Civil War. Here are two interesting documents that were displayed at one of the exhibitions commemorating the event.
Slavery – A Divine Trust (book)
To The Drafting Office (poster title) “Do you see the Point” (caption)
Although not exactly ‘feminist’ by the definition of the popular images of ‘feminism’ you may have in mind, the list of books below are written by or about some key female figures of the Baha’i Faith. Each text examines the life, experiences, spiritual stations and perspectives of these women who were in the forefront of action since the inception of the Babi/Baha’i faith.
A cumulative study of these books, in the light of the teachings of the faith, while considering the role and responsibility of women within it, will perhaps provide any interested party a solid ground to form a Baha’i perspective on feminist theories and women studies in general.
1. Asíyyih Khánum (Navvab)
Here is a biographical essay of the wife of Bahá’u’lláh, the Founder of the Bahá’í Faith. Her story, little known, is one of strength, patience, long-suffering and devotion to One who was her ‘husband, the Lord of Hosts’, whom she accompanied through all the vicissitudes of exile and imprisonment.
2. Prophet’s Daughter: The Life and Legacy of Bahiyyih Khanum, the daughter of Baha’u’llah.
During the mid nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, when women in the Middle East were largely invisible, deprived of education, and without status in their communities, she was an active participant in the religion’s turbulent early years and contributed significantly to its emergence as an independent world religion.
3. Munirih Khanum: Memoirs and Letters
Recollections of the wife of Abdul-Baha: including her familys association with Bahaullah and the Bab, her marriage to Abdul-Baha, and her experiences as a member of Abdul-Bahas family.
4. Rejoice In My Gladness The Life of Tahirih
The definitive biography of a woman born into a deeply fanatical environment in nineteenth-century Persia, who spent her life denouncing the second-class status of women and who sacrificed her life for her beliefs.
5. Portraits of Some Baha’i Women
Short pen portraits of seven such women whose services to the Cause of Bahá’u’lláh have spanned the twentieth century. Emogene Hoagg, Claudia Coles, Anna Kunz, Amelia Collins, Kate Dwyer, Ella Bailey, Ella Quant – some well known, others less so – all devoted their lives to the promotion and development of the Faith they loved.
6. Lua Getsinger, Herald of the Covenant
The voice of Lua Getsinger as heard through her diaries, letters and talks between 1898 and 1916.
7. The Diary of Juliet Thompson
This diary is a love story. It is the day by day account which Juliet Thompson, one of the early Bahá’ís of New York, kept of her many hours with ‘Abdu’l-Bahá–first on pilgrimage to “Akká in 1909, then in Europe in 1911, and finally in America in 1912.
8. Her Eternal Crown: Queen Marie of Romania and the Bahá’í Faith
The first monarch to accept the teachings of Bahá’u’lláh, she struggled against the political bonds that tie every ruler to proclaim the new religion.
9. Corinne True: Faithful Handmaid of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá
Few realize that the Hand of the Cause of God, Corinne True, long honoured for her major role in the erection of the first Bahá’í House of Worship in the Western Hemisphere, was not only ‘Mother of the Temple’ but, before all else, a mother, devoted to the care of husband and four daughters and four sons.
10. Compassionate Woman The Life and Legacy of Patricia Locke
A captivating biography of Patricia Locke, a Lakota Indian, who dedicated her life to righting injustices on behalf of indigenous people, as well as all of humanity.
11. Legacy of Courage: The Life of Ola Pawlowska, Knight of Bahá’u’lláh
Here is the story of a remarkable life that began in the Austro-Hungarian Empire of Franz Joseph, spanned two World Wars, and played out on three continents.
12. Lidia: The Life of Lidia Zamenhof, Daughter of Esperanto
Lidia Zamenhof was the youngest daughter of Ludwig Zamenhof, the creator of the international auxiliary language, Esperanto.
13. Maxwells of Montreal, The Early Years 1870–1922
The book draws on over 1,600 personal letters between May, Sutherland and Mary Maxwell (Amatu’l-Bahá Rúhíyyih Khánum), together with about 1,400 letters which the three Maxwells exchanged with their relatives and some of the early Bahá’ís.
14. Sarah Ann Ridgway
Set against the backdrop of a world moving from an agrarian society to an industrial one, Sarah Ann’s story gives us a glimpse into the lives of ordinary working people, their households, factories and schools. But there is a story within this story: the determined quest of one Bahá’í woman to unveil the life of another.
15. Ethel Jenner Rosenberg:
The Life and Times of England’s Outstanding Baha’i Pioneer Worker.
To conclude, allow me to point out to some previous writings on this subject:
Awhile back, I posted about a book that was probably not a good idea to have children read or gain knowledge from. But just the other day, I found another book that doesn’t need a “keep away from children’s reach” sign on it.
Title: Conversations With My Father"One generation plants the seed. Another gets the shade."Content-full table of contents
There are many “facebook clones” out there. But this website – V-kon-tak-te (trans: in touch/contact), is a successful one. Started in 2007 in Russia, it has gained much popularity within the ‘iron curtain’ region. Recently, it broke the ‘Berlin wall’ and began to offer its website in many more languages to people as far – well, look at the list below.
VK has kept it simple, like facebook from the founder’s dorm room.
