UWO now WU - Western University Canada | The Gazette

And now for something completely different...

Economic downturn. Loose change. Climate change. States of Matter. The Question of change. Exchange. Rearrange. Do you freak when you see the new Facebook? Nothing ever stays the same. Logo change alert. Hold fast to Purple Pride. Now breathe through your nose. Here is the old logo (2002-2012):

    "If you look at the logo, it could be a church or something else, we needed to be a little bit more distinct that we are a university—a top tier university in Canada.”

   "But the changes are not limited to a shift from a tower to a coat of arms. They also include a slight shift in the shade of purple, a new font—specially created for Western and named “Hellmuth” after the founding bishop—and a switch from the name “University of Western Ontario” to “Western University.”

Western unveils new branding | The Gazette

   Administrations will be ordering lots of new letterhead and changing websites this week  >_< which, coincidentally, is no longer a larger issue...Now, what about renaming the City of London? Renaming Victoria Park (i.e Tank Place?). Should I notify the Registrar about my name change...come on, everybody's doing it. Remind me to consult my family and friends. Change can be so much fun.

On renaming the City of London by Ian Gillespie, The LFP:

 

The Holy Roller Tank in Victoria Park; rename the park: Tank Place

     "This rebranding trend is great. And London needs to jump on the bandwagon in a big way. As you may know, the University of Western Ontario (UWO) has “rebranded” itself with a fresh new name; from now on, the venerable school will no longer be referred to as “you-dubba-you-oh.” Henceforth, London’s institute of higher learning will be known as Western University. (Or “woo.”)"...read more:

 Western strikes up the brand | Ian Gillespie | Columnists | News | London Free Press

We just might start living up to our potential.

British Museum lifts veil on Muslim ritual | London Free Press

 Oh veils and Muslim rituals. I get it. No, yeah, I do. As a Muslima, should I decide to go to the hajj I would need a 'guardian' (ok got that 'covered'). Evelyn Cobbold was not required a formal signed declaration that she was a Muslim. Unlike today's regulations in the KSA, she was not required to appear in the company of a 'guardian'. Surprisingly, she does not appear in the photograph covered head to toe in black. She was 65 when she embraced Islam.

   "Among the individual tales told is that of Evelyn Cobbold, who wrote that she was the first European woman to take part in the haj. Although never formally converted to Islam, she had long considered herself a Muslim and was granted permission to go on the pilgrimage in 1933".

She stands not behind the men.

   "Lady Evelyn Cobbold, daughter of the 7th Earl of Dunmore, embraced Islam at the age of 65 and in the following year, 1933, achieved celebrity when she performed the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca, being the first British woman to do so".

   "From the ‘Highlands to the Hajj’ is a celebratory look at the life of this extraordinary individual who transcended social norms, not only as a fiercely independent woman, but also as a proud convert to Islam. Although by no means unique in her conversion or as an avid traveller, Lady Cobbold’s achievements nonetheless remain significant and worthy of attention".

British Museum lifts veil on Muslim ritual | Comment | London Free Press

   "Another Briton who earned considerable fame for his involvement in the haj was Richard Francis Burton, a 19th-century soldier and explorer who disguised himself as an Afghan doctor and Sufi dervish to avoid detection.

(Hahaha no way!)

   "He joined an Egyptian caravan to Mecca in 1853 and, despite several close scrapes, returned unscathed and wrote an account of his adventures in A Personal Narrative of a Pilgrimage to Al-Medinah and Meccah".

O Issue Large-Plus: There is something so British about this - the privilege, methinks. Privilege can and usually is so much fun for the privileged. Sneaky guy sneaks into the Kaaba and returns unscathed! But Evelyn? I bet she drove a motorcar in the land where women cannot by law, drive a car.

Facebook free (circa 2010)

   "We are now living in the new reality. It's one in which it all has to start with people. People are products, products are money, and money is power".

Is Facebook run by sociopaths? | Technically Incorrect - CNET News
 
   "Once you have the power, you can even try to tell governments what to do and what to think. And that's so much fun".

What is my larger issue in all this? Come on, it shouldn't be an exhausting exercise to log into a website and see 5500 notifications about everything and everyone - exponentially exhausting users to the 'like'. It is liberating to set free from the chains that bind, the push to pull. My room is for sleeping, not creeping, naa'aa'meen?

"Even if you aren’t a Facebook user (I am not anymore), its impact is inescapable. The world’s largest social network has, for better or worse, made TMI a laughably quaint notion, redefined friendship, and become, if not a verb (like Google), perhaps the most recognizable proper noun of the digital age." Face(book)ing the Music

Shafia just one family of many that would kill, for what? Rana Husseini is a Jordanian journalist who has long challenged the culture of killing.

AM980 News Talk Sports Jury Finds Defendants Guilty Of First Degree Murder In Shafia Case Local News

   "It took only 15 hours for a Kingston jury to find three members of an Afghanistan-born Montreal family guilty of killing three daughters and a co-wife in a so-called honour killing".  - AM980, The Canadian Press.

There is a lot of press about this since it hits close to home and is the sheer reality of some jahilliyya practices - this isn't ignorance, this is killing innocent women and children. A real conspiracy. In the name of what?

  “I'm very upset about the fact that this was played out as “honour killing” and somewhat exotic and strange, instead of the fact that this is femicide, which is the killing of girls and women because men, our patriarchy, thinks that that is OK" - Alia Hogben, Canadian Council of Muslim Women.
Anger, sadness permeate Muslim community | Canada | News | London Free Press

The larger issue still stands taller than those preventing the attitude of subjugating girls and women to man-made 'do this or die' mentality by their own fathers and brothers and extended family. This happens all over the world - not just in the name of culture/religion/non religion. It is rage, deliberate and calculated revenge, avenging the will to live one's own life, is death.

Violence against women and the culture of killing to preserve that which is void of sincerity. I had the honour to interview a woman who has challenged so-called honour killings - risking her life - becoming the first journalist (read: the first person) to bring media attention in cultures that stay silent on this issue:

Rana Husseini: Her website - I interviewed her via conference with my Wonen's Studies group in 2002. -Jen

    "As a Jordanian woman journalist writing for The Jordan Times, Husseini focused on social issues with a special emphasis on violence against women, as well as the brutal crimes that are committed against Jordanian women in the name of family honor".

   "Her coverage of and dedication to ending this unjustified practice against women helped raise national awareness on a topic that is traditionally considered taboo. Until The Jordan Times began reporting on so-called crimes of honour, the local press shied away from addressing the issue. The government responded by introducing legal changes that suggest tougher punishments for perpetrators of such crimes".

This is one of the women in the world who would wear running shoes - just in case.

What is my larger issue in all this? It is a power and control thing executed by the ignorant and insincere against women, against their will to create much needed change and success in their lives and in their families by being resilient against deferred cultural ignorance in the name of their perceived status quo. It would help to see more men belonging to these cultures to initiate change from within. - J.

Feb 4, 2011 - A fatwa (collective legal Islamic ruling) against honour killings

I turn to Mitchell and Webb to begin my homeopathy knowledge with some satire! Enlighten me with stereotypes; humour and fun :)

Sometimes the comments are just as funny ^_^
Larger issue: Start at the bottom, work your way up. 

The Smiths I know it's over

Funny; entertaining; clever; good looking..but why are you all alone tonight? Morrissey knows...
After one is stripped of such endearing qualities, only "triumphs and charms" remain, grasping for survival and they certainly cannot be removed. Its so easy to (watch someone) perform show general emotional qualities, but true impotence of the heart is often one void of gentleness and kindness; qualities held only by relentless strength. Haunting and atmospheric lyrics that begin and end with the same line bring resignation; a dead end; there is no resolve when trying to love one who knows nothing about love; it is not natural or real; it is never the stuff of legends.

What is my larger issue in all this? Sometimes, the only way out, is the way through. Why go through it again? Hallellujah - or Amen? - Jen.




It's so easy to laugh, it's so easy to hate,
It takes strength to be gentle and kind.
Acabou, acabou, acabou...acabouu

What's Wrong With the Teenage Mind? - WSJ.com

Adolescence has always been troubled, but for reasons that are somewhat mysterious, puberty is now kicking in at an earlier and earlier age. A leading theory points to changes in energy balance as children eat more and move less.
  
Children today reach puberty earlier and adulthood later. The result: A lot of teenage weirdness. Alison Gopnik on how we might readjust adolescence.
What's Wrong With the Teenage Mind? - WSJ.com

Which brings me to  Bubble Wrap Kids. Their parents are overprotective

Lenore Skenazy understands that parents are concerned about their children's well-being, but says safeguarding kids shouldn't mean stifling their growth and development in the process.
The mother of two made headlines and generated debate after she wrote a column about allowing her then-nine-year-old son, Izzy, to ride the New York City subway alone.

 

Recons: 1964-73

Were you born between 1964-73? If so, then like me, you’re a member of a lost generation mistakenly called “Generation X.” Members of this misidentified cohort were in their teens and 20s in the Eighties (1984-93, not to be confused with the 1980s); and in their 20s and 30s in the Nineties (1994-2003).




Recons: 1964-73
   
Hazy sense of generational identity, splintery culture — and on top of that, when the 1964-73 cohort were undergrads, deconstructive theory was all the rage in humanities departments. Small wonder, then, that this cohort’s collective disposition is accommodationist — i.e., in the cognitive-development, not the political sense of that term.

Jen X or Recon, Class of '71? Anyone? Bueller?