Commentaires du blog: le blog rliamo144 par : Liam

Commentaire de dissertation topics

Tue, 01 Sep 2009 10:07:47 +0200

Blogs are so informative where we get lots of information on any topic. Nice job keep it up!!
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dissertation topics

Commentaire de dan

Sun, 25 May 2008 21:09:32 +0200

i'm going through a similar decision-making process right now, and my options are pretty similar to yours: grad school or work/overseas volunteering. most of the people i know who have graduated from university have told me that they think it's better to take time off after school to gain more real-world experience and a clearer sense of what you're going to study at grad school. personally, i would recommend your taking a year off to teach, either in thailand or elsewhere. you have solid experience so you'd probably have more opportunities and fun. good luck in whatever path you decide to take!

Commentaire de Jonas

Sun, 25 May 2008 10:49:23 +0200

If you're looking for input, here's what I can give you. If you feel strongly about doing your Master's, I'd suggest that you do it first, or at least aim for that. The two or so years would go by in a flash, and before you know it, the time will come when you can spend a year teaching. I say this because I suspect that if you teach first, your desire for university will plummet. However, if you get your education over with, I think it's safe to say that your heart will still be burning to get down there. Money and red tape are not something that you should worry about.

Commentaire de Darian

Wed, 07 May 2008 00:12:14 +0200

Well said. I hope you're right -- esp. about possible reforms in Burma that may come as a result of this disaster. I am also curious how the highly superstitious government will take this. A massive hurricane -- the wrath of God -- devestated their country not long after they repressed a protest. Also, not long after they moved their capital FROM Rangoon. I'm not 100% certain what this means, but time will tell...

Commentaire de Darian

Sun, 13 Apr 2008 20:20:51 +0200

Bravo. That was a pleasure to read. I find it particularly revealing that both Yemen and Japan (two countries which couldn't be any more different economically or socially) are at the same level. Makes you think...

Commentaire de Jonas

Sun, 13 Apr 2008 04:10:27 +0200

Thanks for including the ROK :D

It doesn't surprise me in the least that South Korea is at a lower ranking than, well, very many countries (102 of 178). It may have a very high economy and be very developed, but there is no way in the world that most people here are satisfied with their lives. I appreciate seeing this confirmed to a somewhat tangible degree.

Commentaire de Liam

Thu, 21 Feb 2008 16:59:37 +0100

Rosie.... I read and appreciate every comment that people write on my blogue. You raise a lot of great points....

It's true that I'm currently in a different age group. I believe you if you say that middle-school-aged girls are still facing the same pressure to be thin.

But I still think some of my points stand. When I watch movies from the 90s or before, I almost never see female movie starts with muscles.... and I contrast that to the ladies whose pictures I have on this entry. Now, when I watch a movie, I almost expect a woman to be buff. And its not just in hollywood- its in the streets! Walking in the streets during the summer... admittedly, Montreal is a very image conscious and fit city... I notice a lot more buff girls than really skinny girls. That,S just my observation.

I'm not trying to say that eating disorders are gone. Every once in a while I see a girl, even at McGill, who looks like she's starving herself. I believe this shift is gradual, but it is happening. I believe most guys find Jessica Biel MUCH more attractive than Nicole Richie.

And when you talk about Vogue models, I don't know about you, but I prefer the Sports Illustrated models any day... and I think a lot of guys are like that. What I'm trying to say is NOT that a girl MUST be ripped to be hot, but that I prefer a girl to be fit than to be starving. And I think there's a HUGE difference between fit-skinny and skinny-skinny.

And about your last point. We don't know if the last girl is one streoids or not. It's possible, but you'd be surprised how many natural bodybuilders- of both genders- there are out there. I think some of your assumptions are unfair. I have seen girls before with 6-packs. They didn't look ridiculously buff... and they weren't excessively skinny. They were normal-sized and just well-toned. And I think you overestimate how easily guys get 6 packs. A guy can do 50 sit ups every day and still not have a 6 pack. There are a lot of other factors there.... admittedly, its easier for a guy to get one than a girl.... but I don' t think it's as simple as you make it out to be.

Thanks for your thoughts.   Feel free to reply to this if you want to, and you're always welcome to comment on my blog.

Commentaire de Rosie

Thu, 21 Feb 2008 04:46:03 +0100

Oh Liam O. I don't know about SOOO much you just said here. And you don’t have to debate if you don’t want to, cause either way I know you could.... OK, so firstly, you said "When I was in middle school, I think it was more common to see a teenaged girl who was disturbingly thin, then it was to see one who was buff. Now, it's the exact opposite. I think it's quite rare to find a girl with a visible eating disorder." FINE, but dude, you are not in middle school anymore; neither am I, and I remember what you are talking about, but I work in a shop where I am around 9-15 year old girls all the time, and I will say for sure sure that there are way more scary thin things around now that when I was in grade 7! It may be true that there are more famous ppl who are workin' out and becoming all fit, but seriously, people like Nicole Richie and MK have been in the tabs in the past year or two, getting serious coverage (like, almost as much as Britney is these days) ONLY because they were so so so tiny.... there was no other reason for them to even be famous at those times: no recent movies, or secret affairs or anything, just for being so anorexic. I'm just saying, there were no major headlines like "whoa look how fit Jennifer Garner is", because no one would care. If people can get so much attention for being so thin, girls pick up on that. You are in university, and while there would still be lots of kids there suffering from eating disorders there, I'd say university level people who are 18-25 are a lot less easily influenced than a 12 year old girl, so you won't be seeing as many scary thin girls as someone who is still in middle school - and anyone who is in middle school today is probably seeing way more anorexic kids than you did when you were there. At birthday parties we host on weekends at my store, I see so may girls I just want to force feed a bagel or something, like "EAT". And their parents might be there and just don't even realize, or their sister might be just as tiny, or half of their friends are obviously way too skinny. They all take after each other, and definitely after the celebs. You won't find little muscly girls, haha. I think parents notice even less also because of the media. And there's so much news about being obese they are probably just relieved their kids aren't overweight... I don't know. Like when I was going into grade 7, I lost 20 pounds (NOT because I had a disorder, but I was diabetic and I didn't know it yet, so I wasn't trying to lose weight, it was super embarrassing, and none of my clothes fit, it sucked), which at the time was 20% of my body weight, and my mom might have said only once "Rose, have you lost some weight?" I just said "I don't know" and that was that. So if other parents react in a similar way, I can see how girls can become super thin with no intervention from their rents, and maybe they think it’s ok, or they still aren’t thin enough or something. Like one of my friends has a younger bro who was always way overweight. He came back to school the next year all thin and fit, like WHOA, and my friend said "he just stopped eating sweets!" FALSE, they discovered WAY later on, major eating disorder going on there. So it went on for a lot longer before anything happened. So, I don’t know, that’s my take on that one item, geeze :P, basically I just don’t think this problem is getting any smaller. Even if you say it is a ‘new’ trend in Hollywood to be fit, not sticky, fine, but you have to look elsewhere too, brother - - - ever watched AMTN, or A Model Life, or so many other shows, or opened a Vogue in maybe the past 100 years?! Any muscly model will so be deemed too heavy, or be classified as a “Sports Illustrated” type model (which is fine, but that is mostly a guys’ mag I’d say). In high fashion, designers only want people who have that “willowy” look, AKA way thin, especially taking into consideration their height. I know there are plus sized models, but those ladies are overweight. And high fashion models are way underweight. There isn’t an average size in the fashion industry for girls to look at. Even the women you listed as fit, yes yes, they are fit for sure, but they are still much thinner than the average woman, and if a young girl were to look at Cameron Diaz and say “I wanna look like her”, they aren’t going to start going to the gym 5 days a week; they will start eating less. So I’d say it probably doesn’t make any difference whether they are fit-skinny or skinny-skinny (and I am not trying to say they are a bad role model or anything; it’s really good they are fit, but I think that’s the way it is). And oh man! The media calling people like Britney Spears fat in her MTV music awards performance (bullshit, I’m WAY fatter than that, but I don’t think I’m overweight), or when Sporty Spice stopped being anorexic, the tabs calling her overweight - - - obv. this sort of thing doesn’t help, but it is all around baby. OK, I have been talking WAY longer than I meant to. I thought this would take a couple sentences; any ways..... Finally, WHATEVER about that body builder woman you put there. Liam, WAKE UP! OK, I have zero evidence to back this up, and I haven’t looked it up yet, but I am just SO certain I am right that I am going to say for sure, 100%, woman NEVER look like that naturally - - - she is on STEROIDS! Have you ever even seen a woman with a 6-pack? No? That’s because woman don’t build muscles in the same way men do! A girl could barely work hard enough for a 6-pack, and I bet a guy w/ a beer gut could do sit-ups for a couple months and manage to get a 6-pack. Also, do you see her face muscles? What the hell?! Are you thinking “oh, maybe she just eats a lot of super-well-done steak and chews gum the rest of the time”? I don’t think so! She is so on steroids. And obviously she must work out very hard on top of that, cause that’s her job for sure, but she’s at least taking male hormones, bro. As for men who look like that, it’s definitely more possible, still a little weird though. Like I’d say if they are more built than Arnold was back in the day, it just isn’t for real. No way. Was he on steroids? I don’t know, either way, it’s just crazy, and you know what, probably not even that healthy! Hahaha, so so sorry, you don’t have to read all this! OK, so I think the moral is: it really doesn’t matter how fit we are sonny, cause if we don’t die from heart disease or starve to death, we’ll die of cancer any ways? Yup

Commentaire de Liam

Sat, 16 Feb 2008 17:19:11 +0100

Britian,

I appreciated the way you stood up for "Mr. France". Unfortunately for him, he specifically asked what their honest thoughts were... and I don't know if I can fault the two women so much for being honest. I more think it was a topic that should have never been entered... at least not beyong the point of the magazine.

More importantly, I think "Germany" had serious insecurity issues. As a psychologist, I would think this individual would interest you. Personally, I look to her more with pity than with anger.

Anyway, thanks for your comment.

Commentaire de Britain

Sat, 16 Feb 2008 06:55:44 +0100

In retrospect, I really admire your way of looking at things. I hope I didn't sound condescending when you spoke them. If anything, the way you look at women, trying to take their most attractive features and focusing on them, is quite admirable -- something I think is a good thing.

In any case, I agree that one should never, ever, call someone else ugly. This is part of the reason I disagreed with the two savage girl's opinions of Mr. France's physical appearance (plus the fact that I don't see him as bad as they do).

I agree that the conversation was something that, at least looking back upon it, was something very unsettling. In any case, there is nothing wrong, in my opinion, with being nice. Even "too nice", if you will. Girls, at least in the long term, are looking for that type of person. Perhaps even moreso, people in general admire that. And I do too.

Commentaire de Liam

Sat, 22 Dec 2007 02:37:43 +0100

I\\\'m always delighted to hear from you Jonas. Your commentary is always appreciated. I agree that creative gift certificates CAN be decent, especially in exceptional circumstances. Like if there\\\'s someone that really loves to fly and you get him a flight lesson.... or if there\\\'s someone who is really into movies, and you get him movie rental gift cards. If there\\\'s thought put into it, I don\\\'t think it\\\'s so bad. But when you give a generic bank gift certificate, or something that doesn\\\'t really relate to the person, to me that shows a lack of thought and creativity. I think the perfect Christmas gift is something that someone wants, but doesn\\\'t know it. Admittedly, it\\\'s really hard to find this for most people.

Commentaire de Jonas

Sat, 22 Dec 2007 02:29:46 +0100

Well, I'm not usually into the commenting thing, but since you mentioned it, I thought I'd add something. About gift certificates.

I'm not sure I'd agree with completely forsaking the idea of gift certificates as legitimate Christmas gifts. It's true, in several cases they can serve as a thoughtless, obligatory gift. However, they can also yield what other gifts sometimes cannot: quality time with friends and family. Who's going to go to that restaurant (or wherever) alone? If you give a couple a gift certificate a nice restaurant, they will make time for something they may not always do: enjoy a fine night out with each other, without having to worry about the bill. Give someone a gift card for a coffee shop or something, and they have a game excuse to grab some friends and chill. I've even seen something as seemingly unsocial as a book gift certificate turn into a fun social event.

I think that's all. Peace from the East, and Merry Christmas!

Commentaire de me

Wed, 19 Dec 2007 04:28:44 +0100

"When has ANYONE heard of a suicide bomber coming from Malaysia or Brunei (or Indonesia for that matter?)"

are you fucking kidding? for someone who apparently immerses himself in non-us news sources, you're woefully ignorant. haven\\\'t you ever heard of the 2005 bali bombings committed by malaysian and indonesia terrorists against australian tourists? stop pulling random facts out of your ass

Commentaire de Darian

Sun, 09 Dec 2007 01:50:05 +0100

That is a good essay. You should seriously consider editing it a little bit and submitting it to the Daily or something.

Commentaire de Darian

Sun, 02 Dec 2007 22:30:36 +0100

Amen.

Well said, well said. I couldn\\\'t agree more. Let\\\'s here it for moderation!

And to make a quick joke in response to your dog reference: "In the USA, you walk the dog. In Korea, you wok the dog."

Commentaire de Darian

Sun, 21 Oct 2007 06:05:41 +0200

Yeah, a couple of these suprise me too. Oman and the UAE aren't a big shocker (they both are really rich countries with small populations), but Saudi Arabia and Colombia? Woah. Never saw those coming.

I'm a little ashamed that Canada didn't score any higher. I'm sure with a little bit of work they could make their way into the top 10. France and Italy as one and two I see as a bit... dishonest, considering the other nations of the top 5 are microscopic countries. In countries with 60 million and 55 some million people with stagnant economies, I have a hard time believing they can maintain 1 and 2. Good positions, I no doubt, but not the tip top. Perhaps a little nepotism is at play here.

Commentaire de Liam

Sat, 06 Oct 2007 16:18:39 +0200

Of course China is acting in its own interests.... China has a lot to gain out of trading with Myanmar. Myanmar is a resource rich country, and if no one wants to trade with it, who's to stop China from coming in and picking up the pieces for its own benefit (just like in Sudan). Doing so, benefits the Chinese economy, and in theory benefits the Burmese economy. The unfortunate thing (which is not Chinas fault) is that the benefit to Myanmar's economy remains within the ruling party... it doesnt beneftit the people. but what I'm trying to say that its not China that created the regime in Myanmar. Nor did it create the regimes in Zimbabwe, Sudan, and all these other countries. China is just opportunist: just like the US has always been (remember how the US supported/supports totalitarian regimes in Africa and the middle east???) While I don't believe China has a very good human rights record, they are not the antagonist. What happens in Myanmar is because of the Burmese government, not the Chinese government. While China is in a position that could give it a lot of influence, boycotting the country would be, in my opinion, childish.

Commentaire de dan

Sat, 06 Oct 2007 07:16:07 +0200

i find your comment on china very disturbing. supporting myanmar is not in china's interests any more than its support of other totalitarian regimes: iran, zimbabwe, sudan, it's support of milosevic in the former yugoslavia, etc.. in all of these cases, china is ensuring that any institution that could be used to criticise it's own dismal human rights record is kept impotent. beijing doesn't give a damn about yangon, it cares about protecting its own interests.

i reccomend this article for a much better articulation than i can provide:
http://www.slate.com/id/2175047/fr/flyout

Commentaire de Liam

Sun, 09 Sep 2007 22:39:43 +0200

Thank you Dan. Your intellectual input is always appreciated. I agree with you that whatever side you do choose, you should do it in such a way that isn't blind and closed minded. I admit that this issue is not really the most important issue. Theoeretically, it is possible to believe completely in Darwinian evolution and still believe in God, and that He was behind the evolutationary process.... however, what would that say about Genesis? Where does that leave Genesis? A skeptic would use this logic: if we can cherry-pick what is useful in Genesis, then why not the whole Bible? That leads us down a slippery slope. Yet, besides simply having faith, there is no real physical proof that makes a literal interpretation of Genesis any more valid than a literal interpretation of Darwin's theory. It is for that reason, and becauase none of us were actually there, that I believe that what really happened is known by no one but God, and that it is too complex for human understanding. Darwin is probably not 100% wrong, while Genesis is not to be disregarded.

Commentaire de dan

Sat, 08 Sep 2007 17:58:05 +0200

excellent entry! one of the better discussions of this subject i've heard. your comment about academics being just as bad as christians really says it all. i think blind devotion to any dogma, whether it be Jesus, Mohammed, or Darwin, is dangerous and the very definition of "bad faith". your theory on genesis as a simplified version of events is one that i haven't heard before but that makes a lot of sense to me. i've always leaned more towards evolution and natural selection, but i've never been concerned about these being contrary to my faith and i can't understand those who think it is.

Commentaire de dan

Thu, 02 Aug 2007 08:04:48 +0200

i hope your toe has improved. gangrene in a foreign country is never fun. it sounds like you\\\'re having a great time. i hope you continue to enjoy yourself for the last few weeks!

cheers,
dan

Commentaire de Sulin

Sat, 07 Jul 2007 04:28:50 +0200

That's a very exciting change of plan!

Commentaire de Jae

Sun, 24 Jun 2007 01:28:15 +0200

Wow, everything sounds so exciting! I remember you talking about wanting to see Burma like two years ago - it's awesome that you were able to follow through with that so soon!

Good luck with the classes and such, and again, don't get dead or kidnapped or anything!

Commentaire de Sulin

Sun, 17 Jun 2007 18:25:38 +0200

I'm glad to hear that you are somewhat adjusting and making some friends. I think I agree with you on choice of lessons...it's a good idea to challenge them if they can pick it up and are interested. Best of luck with your students, and keep well!

Commentaire de dan

Sun, 10 Jun 2007 04:56:05 +0200

best of luck! sounds like your classes are going brilliantly. it's interesting that the other volunteers are from france. we all miss you here in montreal (and everywhere else that your friends are).