gracefacewhaaa

Artists Find Backers as Labels Wane

2009-07-22T04:52:45Z

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/22/technology/internet/22music.html

Tuesdays with Morrie

2009-07-14T05:24:35Z

He wrote bite-sized philosophies about living with death's shadow: "Accept what you are able to do and what you are not able to do"; "Accept the past as past, without denying it or discarding it"; "Learn to forgive yourself and to forgive others"; " Don't assume that it's too late to get involved."

I absolutely love reading this book. It really teaches me some amazing life-altering lessons.

Oh miss Kaki King

2009-05-04T02:37:00Z

you sure how to work those fingers tocando la guitarra <3

THE ‘WORKING GIRLS OF QUETTA’

2009-03-24T23:52:02Z

QUETTA, Pakistan – The 11-year-old girl blushed as she walked into the car dealer’s showroom on Quetta’s Adalat Road in southwest Pakistan. Her 17-year-old cousin, eyes fixed to the ground, followed her. When the younger girl asked the owner for five rupees (6 cents), he pointed to the back room and told both girls to follow him.

A stocky man in his mid-forties with sallow skin and puffy eyes, he told the girls to lift their shirts – he wanted to see. "Very nice," the owner said. "They are getting bigger," he told the 17-year-old as he touched her.

The 11-year-old was excited as she told us the story; we had followed them inside the showroom pretending to be customers interested in renting one of the Land Cruisers parked inside. The owner had given them 10 rupees (12 cents), the girls told us, more money than they had asked for. Then, giggling, they ran away.

It’s dangerous to be seen following these girls – some of their clients are wealthy feudal land barons and powerful politicians, others are ordinary shopkeepers who will give money to the poor, but want to get something in return.

The girls are part of an alarming problem that gets little attention in Pakistan.

"Prostitution is rampant in all the big cities throughout the country," said Senior Superintendent of Police, Raja Shahid, who heads the police investigation unit in Rawalpindi, a city close to the capital Islamabad.

"There are loopholes in the laws that need to be changed. For example, in order to nab the culprits, we need to conduct a raid – but we cannot conduct a raid without permission from a magistrate. By the time we get the permission we have missed our chance," he said.

Calls for Islamic law
Others in the country have targeted the police’s inability to protect children as a reason to rally the people against the government.

"This is exactly why all the religious parties are campaigning for Shariah law," said Maulvi Noor Mohammed, a hard-line Islamic cleric, known for his ties to the Taliban.

Mohammed preaches "jihad" against the West to young boys in his sprawling madrassa (religious school) on the outskirts of Quetta. In an hour-long interview with NBC News, Mohammed argued that prostitution in Quetta is the perfect example of the corrupt morals of the secular, pro-Western Pakistan government and why it showed the need for a worldwide Islamic revolution.

"What these men are doing is against Islam and they must be punished accordingly," he said. "Islam guarantees protection for these young girls."

The last study on child prostitution in Pakistan was conducted by the government's Federal Bureau of Statistics more than 10 years ago. At that time, the study concluded that an estimated 20,000 to 40,000 children were involved in prostitution.

Today, there is no reliable data or updated figures, perhaps because it is a national shame.

Poverty increases problem
Fathers often send their young daughters out on the streets to earn money for the family. The girls begin by begging – some as young as 3-years old – and as they grow older, they become part of the flourishing sex trade in this deeply conservative city in southwest Pakistan.

"The fathers of these girls are usually drug addicts or alcoholics and the family is impoverished," said Fauzia Baloch, a coordinator for the Aurat Foundation, an NGO that works for women’s rights in rural Pakistan. "We can act, often only when a member of the family comes forth and complains, usually of domestic violence, and then we provide shelter for the girls and their mothers."

On a recent afternoon, we sat outside a tea shop on Quetta’s Adalat Road and watched young girls move easily in and out of the crushing traffic – a chaotic scene of rickshaws, donkey carts piled high with bathtubs, rainbow-colored trucks decorated with gaudy paintings and men on bicycles. The girls made contact with the shopkeepers and with the men sitting in parked cars who were waiting for them.

"We know this is going on," said Inspector Malik Durrani of the Quetta police. "Even though prostitution is illegal in Pakistan, the police cannot arrest anyone without first lodging a case in the courts," he said. "[President Pervez] Musharraf changed the laws in 2007 to give women more rights but the laws are now so complex that unless the woman complains the police are powerless to act."

Life on the streets
One 30-year-old woman with piercing light blue eyes said she has worked the Adalat Road for 25 years. She goes by the name of Shin Khalai.

"I started begging when I was 5 years old," Khalai said. "My father was a drug addict and my mother sent me and my seven brothers and sisters out on the streets to beg. I am married now – my husband is a gambler and he knows I sleep around with other men but he wants the money I earn so he can keep on gambling."

Haji Naseem, another car dealer on Adalat Road, blames the city’s politicians and religious leaders. "Everyone knows what is going on with these children," he said. "No one bothers to stop it because our leaders have forgotten their duties to the people and are only after their own power and their own riches," he said. "We are being destroyed from within by moral corruption and greed."

"Look at them," Khalai pointed out three girls, as they walked down the street, dressed in colorful shalwar kameez – the term for traditional baggy trousers and long tunic shirts.

"They are the working girls of Quetta – those little children. What life do they have? This is no life for any of us," she said as she walked away – to go back to work.

It is sad that this article gets so little attention. We pretend that this is happening just in places like Pakistan when it doesn't take too much research to find it is happening throughout the world. The use of women and children in the sex trade simply doesn't raise the ire of enough people. It is sad and until we reach the point where the dignity and value of each human life is important to us we don't deserve the luxuries we seek.

I LIVE HERE

2009-03-22T00:00:26Z

A very real... very moving book. Reading this made me miss those trips to Mexico and Russia. There are too many untold stories out there. And even in the midst of chaos and economic crisis, we are so fortunate to live HERE. I've realized that sometimes I take waaay to much for granted.

Mia Kirshner... is truly a gem.

The GREAT MODERN PHILOSOPHER

2009-03-12T02:26:50Z

NEITZCHE, the man whose chief purpose in writing was to restore the quality of any individual's life.
I just started reading Thus Spoke Zarathustra... very exciting if you ask me :]

gracefacewhaaa @ 2009-02-27T23:47:00

2009-02-28T07:47:13Z

Hold her in your right hand.
And guide her safely home.
Brush away all the thorns.
Find all the stones.
You're my angel without wings.
When i was crying you never left my side.
When i was dying you never left my side.
You're always there for me.
You're my angel without wings.
You were always without wings.
Without wings.

Vicky Cristina Barcelona

2009-02-20T05:29:24Z

such a good movie.

spain is now at the top of my places to travel. barcelona is a place out of my dreams.

i'll leave you with some good tunes.

nighty night <3

esa época del mes!

2009-01-27T05:00:22Z

I have been so self destructive tonight to the point where I am not sure if even having all the right tools to succeed in life would even be enough for my craziness. I am so hyper sensitive right now it's as if the world has gone against me and I don't want to bother with any of you. The most ideal situation I can imagine myself in would be on the river thames with a pint of strongbow on my way to an audition (yes, with drink in hand) then having enough time after the audition to go to work and get my PHD or Pharm D. in pharmaceutical science.

It seems as though tonight I have become as some might say a real 'meanie' but I suppose that it is a direct result of my overwhelming amount of stress that it is to be a young-full-time working mommy who is trying to prepare for the next steps in life... transferring to a new pharmacy and moving out amongst several other minor things.

I have a headache from crying tonight. It's very painful and it's also quite annoying. Hopefully my nightly reading or strumming of the old guitar fix will help.

Planeta Marte

2009-01-25T19:22:30Z

Y le mostraron una casa hermosa en el planeta Marte.
Y dijeron: "Ven a vivir aqui para siempre."
Y la niña dijo: "Ah, Marte es un planeta donde la vida es diferente:
Segura, limpia, y linda."
¿Pero, cómo llegas alli?
¿Dónde encuentras un taxi?
¿Cuál autobus tomas?
¿Y cómo sabes que llegaste y cuándo llegaste?

enemigo

2009-01-23T05:44:55Z

Your worst enemy cannot harm you as much as your own unguarded thoughts. Develop the mind of equilibrium. You will always be getting praise and blame, but do not let either affect the poise of the mind: follow the calmness, the absence of pride. - Sutta Nipata

listen here's the clever one who speaks before his thoughts are done.

2009-01-17T07:34:05Z

shut your mouth, burn your bridges
throw your words like an attack and stab me in the wait a second wait a second what's that i just heard nevermind
it's obviously worthless...
watch your mouth, hold your tongue
somethings are better left unsaid.
now i hope you're pleased,
you got your prize and tongue
i dance between your words,
right before you fall....

We are products of our past,

2009-01-12T06:59:20Z

but we do not have to be prisoners of it.

it's saturday

2009-01-04T00:45:51Z

I'm sitting here in my room it's so peaceful and quiet. Tylre is with his dad this weekend & my love is at work right now so I've been sitting here in my room singing and playing some Camera Obscura on the guitarra :] ...

enjoying the isolation for the moment <3

Nylon Jan 2009

2008-12-09T06:00:02Z

"My mum had to work to support us and we lacked the attention we needed as children, which I think is one of the fundamental problems in our society. I'm not saying women shouldn't go and work for a living- that's not the answer- but something has to adjust, because children are being neglected on an emotional level and it's having and effect on the world."

Ms. Allen you're lovely &
I couldn't agree more with that statement!

today!

2008-11-08T17:13:48Z

!!!!!!!!!!!
<3

forgiveness.

2008-11-07T15:29:30Z

"Always forgive your enemies; nothing annoys them so much."
-Oscar Wilde

Alright so I've completed school for the year. 96% on my final exam!!!
Say hello to your new licensed and soon to be certified pharmacy technician.
I'm definitely going places... and next year, woah...I will be very VERY busy.
USC i'm working my way towards you.

Happy living!
Life is oh so beautiful.

Pick up a book and read PLEASE!

2008-09-24T14:53:56Z

The more you read, the more you know.
The more you know, the smarter you grow.
The smarter you are, the longer you stay in school.
The longer you stay in school, the more diplomas you earn and the longer you are employed – thus the more money you earn in a lifetime.
The more diplomas you earn, the higher your children's grades will be in school.
The more diplomas you earn, the longer you live.

So common sense should tell us that reading is the ultimate weapon – destroying ignorance, poverty, and despair before they can destroy us. A nation that doesn't read much doesn't know much. And a nation that doesn't know much is more likely to make poor choices in the home, the marketplace, the jury box, and the voting booth. And those decisions ultimately affect an entire nation – the literate and the illiterate.

The challenge therefore is to convince future generations of children that carrying books is more rewarding than carrying guns.

NO WAAAAY!!

2008-09-18T05:31:21Z

http://news.aol.com/health/article/thousands-of-babies-ill-from-tainted/173688

Sarah Palin will set the women's movement back 50 years.

2008-09-03T23:44:12Z

She does not represent me and I am horrified at the prospect of her in the White House.

Palin Daughter's Pregnancy Spurs Sex Ed Debate
Some Renew Call for Sex Education Reform; Other Remain Firm in Abstinence-Only

--The campaigns of both Republican John McCain, who on Friday named Palin as his running mate, and Democrat Barack Obama have emphasized that the matter should not be exploited for political ends. But even so, the announcement has the potential to make waves as both McCain and Palin have expressed a commitment to abstinence-only sex education programs.

Specifically, Palin has a record of opposing any school-based sexual education program other than those that adopt an abstinence-only approach. During her 2006 Alaska gubernatorial campaign, Palin responded to a question on sex education programs with the answer, "The explicit sex-ed programs will not find my support."

Palin also opposes the termination of a pregnancy in all cases except when the mother's life is in danger.

Sexual health experts overwhelmingly agree that such programs represent an ineffective strategy in reducing teen birthrates, favoring instead what is known as comprehensive sexuality education. Such programs incorporate advice on using contraceptives and safe sex practices to reduce the risk of unwanted pregnancy and sexually transmitted disease.

"Bristol Palin's pregnancy is another illustration of the need for comprehensive sexuality education," said Stephen Conley, executive director of the American Association of Sexuality Educators, Counselors and Therapists.

"It's a reminder of how, even in strong families where youth are taught to refrain from sex until marriage, teens can make poor decisions," he said. "Teens need the reinforcement of school programs that give them the information and skills they need to take responsibility for their sexual health."

Eli Coleman, professor and director of the Program in Human Sexuality at the University of Minnesota Medical School, agrees.

"This is just another case of the countless teens that become pregnant in this country," he said, adding that the United States has one of the highest teen pregnancy rates in the world.

"Armed with one of the most effective educational systems in the world, the nation's policymakers have chosen to invest in a sexuality education approach that preaches abstinence until marriage," he said. "As a consequence, America's youth have been denied knowledge about how to protect themselves and their partners when they do become sexually active." --

Oh yea. Abstinence ONLY works. Right. I have a nice condo to sell you in the 9th Ward with a water view.

We're smarter than they think...

2008-08-04T19:58:51Z

:D

Why Americans Aren't Dumb
Just because you’re not smarter than a fifth grader doesn't mean you're an idiot. It means fifth graders are pretty smart.
By A.J. Jacobs

You've heard the news. We're entering a new dark age. We're mired in an intellectual crisis. The average American has devolved into a Wii-playing mouth breather. Polls show that 94 percent of high school students don't know that the blue stuff on maps is the ocean. (Or something.) If you read books, you'd know about The Age of American Unreason, the best seller by Susan Jacoby, which argues that we can barely piss our initials in the snow. You've seen the YouTube video of the teenage beauty queen who speaks English about as well as Jin from Lost.

Conventional wisdom says we must return to the good old days, when everyone allegedly debated Stoic philosophy all day (at least when they weren't preoccupied with pogo sticks).

I agree, there's a whole bunch of dumbness out there right now. But it should be noted that there's always been a bunch of dumbness, including Moose Lodge rituals and Uncle Miltie. And I may sound like an idiot, but I say America is getting smarter.

Jacoby argues that a hallmark of the new idiocracy is a disdain for evidence. So let me cite this piece of evidence: The average IQ has increased steadily for decades, at a rate of about three points every ten years. The phenomenon's even got a name: the Flynn effect.

How can this be? Let me go over a few ingredients of intelligence.

The worrywarts say, "Kids today are worse at math." Actually, they're better. Almost every age group of students has shown increased scores over the last 30 years, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. Almost twice as many students are taking advanced math as were 20 years ago. In general, we are just better at solving problems. The huge leaps in IQ have come in areas such as pattern recognition. Intelligence expert James Flynn — he of the effect — explains it this way: We increasingly see the world with post-scientific spectacles. We classify. We think more abstractly. We aren't as handy as our forebears — can't milk a goat worth a damn — but we can think. Flynn says that if you asked a 1908 farmer to explain how dogs and rabbits are linked, he'd make specific and utilitarian points, like the fact that dogs hunt rabbits. But now, we'd say they are both mammals.

"Kids today don't know their facts." Evidence conflicts. The government stats say knowledge of history and geography is actually up slightly.

But even if a teenager knows fewer state capitals, does that have any impact on his intelligence? Or is it simply that our society places more emphasis on scientific problem solving than on rote memorization? In 50 years, memorizing facts will likely be about as important as doing longhand division is now. The important skill will be knowing how to search and evaluate facts on the Internet.

"Kids today fill their minds with junk." We probably read less now, sadly, but I'd argue the number of hours we devote to mental pursuits has increased, thanks to more leisure time. And yes, I use the phrase "mental pursuits" loosely. But as science writer Steven Johnson points out, playing video games actually requires some problem solving. A half hour of Facebook Scrabulous is still more stimulating than a half hour of washing dishes by hand.

"Kids today will never amount to anything." May I present the last five years of these allegedly anti-intellectual times, in which we've seen more scientific advancement than in 50 years of Enlightenment Europe.

I guess it boils down to this: You can interpret the Jeff Foxworthy show Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? in two ways: As an apocalyptic sign of how moronic Americans are. Or as proof that fifth graders are damn smart.

But in case you are stupid!

Here's what we're trying to say, without all the fancy talk: You are better at adding and subtracting and stuff than old people! You know some facts, and when you don't, you can Google them! You spend lots of time on Facebook, which doesn't rot your brain as much as, say, whittling! Also, kids today invented all the cool stuff for hospitals and planes and computers! But you are still dumber than a fifth grader.

<3

2008-06-20T22:42:30Z

"I'm a little insecure, I make mistakes, I'm out of control and at times hard to handle. But if you can't handle me at my worst, then you sure as hell don't deserve me at my best."

-Marilyn Monroe

temps, amour...

2008-06-17T04:03:12Z

I believe love is friendship set on fire!
We have this idea that love is supposed to last forever. But love isn't like that. It's a free-flowing energy that comes and goes when it pleases. Sometimes it stays for life ; other times it stay for a second , a day, a month or a year. So don't fear love when it comes simply because it makes you vulnerable. But don't be surprised if it leaves, either. Just be glad you had the opportunity to experience it...

AQUARIUM!!!!!

2008-05-25T04:19:05Z

I decided to take Tylre and Miss Kucera<3 to the Aquarium in Long Beach and it was GOOD TIMES!

They were getting wet and I DID NOT! :P im no fun!

SHE GOT TO TOUCH THE STING RAY!

Jackie wanted a bird to eat her nectar...

she eneded up getting two :P

BIG FISH!!!!!! weeeeeee

<3

i don't care about the past...

2008-05-05T02:34:35Z

what you did or who you did wrong whether its true or not...

I'm a big girl... i can fend for myself.
:D