Speeding Asshole

We all have that same routine that we’re very familiar with before we go to school or work every morning. We take a shower, brush our teeth, comb our hair, eat breakfast, and then leave the house. The comfort of morning routines relieves us.

Today, I did all of these things, but it wasn’t a change of routine that had me shell-shocked.

After I got ready for school, I walked there from my house, as usual. It took about 20 minutes to get there. As I reached the first crossing, a car was passing near me. I was about to walk past it, and everything seemed normal, but then, it happened.

When the car was just a meter away from me, another car sped up from behind me to my left and then hit the front of the first car. Honestly, it was as if the front just had a baby car or something and it's water just broke. In this case, the fuel.

It wasn’t something spectacular, obviously. I was shell-shocked until I actually got to school. But how could somebody be so careless as to speed up right in front of a person? I don’t even understand why you’d speed and risk your life to begin with, but to risk nearly killing somebody just because you need to get somewhere is selfish, careless, and most of all, pretty much almost killing somebody because of those reasons that make you an asshole.

What exactly are your rights?

I recently got into a nice little heated discussion at work with a couple of my co-workers/friends. It was very interesting.

Here is some background: In October of this year, a Maine school board approved a plan to make a full range of birth control fully accessible to a certain middle school. This made contraceptives readily available to students in grades 6-8.

Some of my friends were beyond appalled. One of them said, "So they have to get parental consent to get an aspirin, but they can walk out with the pill in their pocket and not even have to tell a parent? That is ridiculous."

When I asked them what they thought should be done someone brought up the abstinence angle. Basically, no sex-ed. No birth control. Just tell them not to have sex.

All of this brought us straight to a Californian law that was enacted last year.
Under this law, minors do not need parental consent to receive abortion services. The same people that were against the middle school birth control were openly against the abortion rule.

What it all came down to was that they all believed that all of those types of decisions should be made aware to parents. Minors, teenagers, children, etc - none of them should not be allowed to make those decisions.

So I am bringing this question to you: is it ok to be in charge of your sexual decisions as a minor? As a teenager? As a middle schooler? As a child? Are you the only one who should be responsible for your actions and decisions?

Or is this really something that should only be discussed and decided with parents?
Perhaps minors are too young, immature, and just plain not ready to be making these kinds of decisions?

What do YOU think?

NOTE: Please DO NOT turn this into a pro-life vs pro-choice discussion.

Cosmetic Surgery - Yay, Nay, or Don't Care?

Personally, I don't believe in cosmetic surgery, but I make a case for a few exceptions: burn victims, those who were in some accident that altered the way they looked (and that accident can't be unnecessary forms of cosmetic surgery causing them harm), or for health reasons.

To begin, plastic surgery (a form of cosmetic surgery, as you know) was first made to help restore the look of Russians after the cold war, since many of them attained really bad facial injuries including burns. That explains why I made burns and accidents not created by cosmetic surgery an exception.

Another reason why I make an exception to cosmetic surgery is for health reasons. Some people have problems where the air canals in their noses are deformed, and thus, that needs to be fixed so they can breathe properly. Also, big breasts can cause serious back problems (like they've caused me in the past), so a breast reduction is a good option in that case.

How do you guys feel about cosmetic surgery?

Greetings from sunny Southern California!

Hello there! I am happy to introduce myself as one of the latest writers for ATWKS.

My name (or at least the one that I will go by in this case) is Cari, but I will sign my posts as Cali. I am the daughter of Zairean immigrants who met here in California. I was born and raised here in the suburbs of Los Angeles and as far as I'm concerned its a wonderful place to be.

I'm an aspiring model, coach, business woman, and possibly journalist. Those three things actually say a lot about me so I'll explain them a bit in an effort to show you who I am.

I was bitten by the acting bug at about 10 years old. My parents took me to a talent search at about 11 which picked me up and tried to place me with an agency. I signed to a modeling/talent agency here in Los Angeles and it didn't take me long to realize that what I actually really loved was modeling. Unfortunately, my parents pulled me from the agency as soon as my contract was up and urged me to concentrate more on school. I was heartbroken, but now that I am a legal adult I'm jumping right back in to the modeling industry, much to my parents dismay.

I'm a die hard cheerleader. I love it a lot and it has become a major part of who I am. I am considering transferring to a university on a cheerleading scholarship. After I am done with school, I plan on being a coach and opening up my own all-star gym because I am in love with the sub-culture that is All-Star Cheerleading. It is something that few people know about but many participate in. So you understand just what it is that I am in love with, HERE IS A VIDEO.

I love to write. I came to college with every intention of being a Journalism major but I soon found it all to to be quite tedious. It was sucking the joy out of writing for me and in reality, some of the best journalists have said themselves that they learned few things from the classroom. So I turned to my love of business and economics. The movement of money, wealth, good, services, investements - it all really fascinates me. So now I am a Business major and considering fitting Business Law somewhere in there. I'm also fascinated by law and I love a good debate. ;)

What will you see me write about? Well, just about everything. To be completely and totally honest with you I have quite a big mouth and I am not at all afraid to use it. So look for me to be very open and having no problem with being brutally honest with the things that I run into in everyday life. Feel free to challenge me. There's nothing like a good debate that everyone can learn from, including myself!

Happy reading!

Videos of the week: November 26th - December 2nd

You guys all know the drill - we have a music video of the week, EVERY week, and we have an informative video as well. Please give us ideas for both; and by that I mean tell me which videos you'd like to be on here. We can't guarantee you that they'll end up on here; in fact we guarantee you most of them won't be on here, but we still need help.

The current videos are:
Music: Sleeping Sun by Nightwish
Informative: Eye to Eye: Barry Scheck (CBS News)

ATWKS Slogan

We need help making a slogan for ATWKS, so if you've got any ideas for a good slogan or if you like the current slogan (which is right below the heading at the top of this page), please post here.

Flora's Funny Finds of the Week

I've decided that, every week, I'm going to lighten things up with a post on things that I find absolutely funny. Obviously, they'll all be stuff from the internet.

This week's Funny Finds:
Pokemon Porn Names List that I made in August of 2006
David Blaine Street Magic: Youtube Edition
David Blaine Street Magic: Youtube Edition Pt. 2
ThingsMyBoyfriendSays
Laguna Biotch (Laguna Beach parody)

Enjoy the finds!

Strange Fundraising

Yesterday, I was sitting at my desk as I heard my mom call my name. It was an angry call, and I didn't understand what I could have possibly done to upset her.

As I walked downstairs into the living room, my father was standing strongly with a red face, and my mother was just sitting, with her head tilted downwards, and cut coupons in her hands.

My father started barking at me, along with my mom. "Why did you cut the coupons?," "Samir [who is my brother] was selling them to fundraise with the university wrestling team," and about a million other things. My answers? I was bored, and never in my life had I seen somebody selling coupons to raise funds for anything. I've seen bake sales, I've seen door-to-door chocolate sales, I've seen begging, and I've seen money pledges and donation boxes, but never in my life had I seen anyone selling coupons. Have you?

So anyway, as my dad was in his pit of rage, he yelled to me that I owed them something like $20, because each coupon set (a set was a sheet of paper) which I ruined cost $10 each. $10 for a piece of paper! Rediculous!

What are some of the strange forms of fundraising that you've witnessed?

Longevity VS Popularity

“I feel that what is probably the greatest enemy of longevity is popularity, and most people die of popularity.”
- Anton LaVey

I found this quote, and I thought I'd share it with you all. I believe it holds true to everything that gets popular... fashion fads, artists/bands, books, etc... Some examples:

Fads: retro clothing
Artists/bands: Evanescence. They pretty much died after Fallen.
Books: Dan Brown's famous book... oh shit, what's it called again?

I'd like you to interpret LaVey's words into exactly what you think he meant.

Winter Fashion

Welcome to November. It’s almost the end of Winter Term in school, and if you do first term exams, your exams are fast approaching. Plus, there’s the stress of buying Christmas or Hanukah gifts for everyone you know. I’d say its safe to say that fashion isn’t exactly at the top of your priority list right now.

Well, I disagree. I think fashion should be very close to the top of your list. There’s no better season than winter to debut wonderful trends. Let me give you some help.

1. Wool
Wool is one of winter’s best trends. Let’s repeat it together: “wool!” There we go. An adorable grey wool skirt with black tights and knee high stiletto boots and you’re pretty much good to go. A nice black or navy wool coat is another staple that you absolutely must have!

2. Cashmere
Ahh, cashmere! I am a firm believer in the idea that everyone should own at least one cashmere scarf, preferably a plaid Burberry, some nice cashmere sweaters, and maybe a coat. Forget diamonds, cashmere is a girl’s best friend!

3. Scarves
Absolutely necessary! Hello, it’s winter, people! My favourites for winter are plaid Burberry, although a silky Coach or Gucci looks wonderful with a wool or cashmere coat. Anything in winter white will look dashing as well.

4. Jeans
Must-have. No ifs, ands, or buts about it. And for winter, they must be dark wash. Light wash looks tacky and very tourist-like, unless you are down South or it’s summer.

5. Shoes
Can you say boots? Ankle, knee high, calf high, I love them all. My personal faves are a pair of alligator skin Peter Fox ankle boots, and a pair of knee high black Bravo Browns boots. Oh, and Uggs are of course a staple item. I have pale pink, but I am really craving a black pair as well. Any colour looks good, so pick one that compliments your wardrobe.

Keep shopping!

xxx

Videos of the Week for November 19th-25th

As you all know, we have weekly music videos on the ATWKS blog. We want you to help give us ideas for next week's music video, and link us to a Youtube video that you find very informative. In the end, I will pick the videos that will be on the site.

So, please post some ideas in the comments. Thanks!

Generational Gaps

For as long as civilizations have existed, the past always sought out to mock the present, and vice versa. We will always have those that said, "Your generation is doing such and such wrong" in every field of life; music, ethics, politics, social responsibility, etc... But have things really sunk, or is the lizard complaining because she lost her ability to adapt?

Perhaps this relates to mainly my family culturally, but 'ere goes... As you all know, I live in a mixed Euro-Arab background. For a few years, my family lived in Lebanon, which is the "France of the Middle-East" due to the Arabic-French cultural mesh that happened some time ago.

In Lebanon; well, back when we lived there in the very early '90's, people were very well dressed for each occassion. In fact, so much that anyone who was deemed "underdressed" would be very looked down upon. I hear it is still very much the same today.

My parents feel that, in North America, people are underdressed, but that's definitely as compared to the Lebanese residing in Lebanon. Okay, that may not relate to the situation in terms of generational gaps; more-so in cultural gaps, but here's another way of thinking...

Imagine the situation of the Lebanese as America in the 1940's or such (even though we all know they're way passed that), and think of America "in-the-now" as... well, America in-the-now! You see, when an American comes to Lebanon, they most likely will clash culturally with the Lebanese because they're 60 years behind (in this instance). Thing is, as new generations arise, new opinions start to form, but the older generations still share the same old opinions they began with, and that's why, even if what the elders say is true, it's mostly because of the generational gap.

How do you feel about the gap? Is it really our fault, or is the lizard being bitter?

Splendid. My First Post

Hello everyone! I am excited to contribute to And The World Keeps Spinning (love the title because it expresses how I view life; an endless mirage of craziness both in postive and negative ways with occasional blessed moments of peace). I will go by Flamenco or FlamFlam or Flammy; the last two, I guess, silly nicknames dubbed by Flora. Like Flora, I don't care much for talking and rambling on about myself. Rather, I like to take my experiences and observations and turn them into reflection, which is why we usually have such great discussions amid "I, me, my, mine" conversations.

Because this is an introduction, however, I feel obligated to say something about myself, which really begins with my username "Flamenco". Both my parents were born in Spain, and met in America. My father is a California representative in the House, and my mother owns and operates homes for people with mental diabilities.

I am a second-generation American. I am also a proud American through-and-through (note: does not mean I agree wholeheartedly with the current administration or fail to question authority), and I also feel a strong connection to Spanish culture. Flamenco is such a powerful, emotional, beautiful dance down to the hand movements, facial expressions, guitar beats that mimick the paces of the heart, and the elaborate yet almost conservative costumes. I am 17 years old, and I plan to go to the college of my choice, and major either in International Relations or Government (perhaps double major, I am crazy, I know).

I am not the best writer. I still don't quite grasp my writing style, and I only hope that you will be able to follow along my ramblings interposed perhaps with long drawn-out sentences filled with semi-colons and commas that do not belong. This is my theory: In English class, they tell you to rid your writing of ambiguity, to walk away from being a "talking thesaurus"; they tell you not to use the word "being". Just did. They want you to create your own voice, express who you are clearly, but follow a set pattern, lets say, of deductive or inductive reasoning. I "reason" all over the place. I say "walk away" because it literally takes physical effort to change your habits in writing.

Quotation marks are only for quotes and words you pull from the original text to fit the context you are placing it in. I, however, use it unreasonably, putting quotation marks around almost every word that slightly differs from its original meaning in the way I am using it. I say "yeah" a lot. Forgive me. They tell you so many seemingly contradicting "rules" to follow, that I say.... create your own. . In English they tell you one thing, and in Physics they tell you another. In English they say "do this", but common sense tells you otherwise.

Anyways, I will approach this blog with sincerity, with honesty, and I want to offer some of my own insight, and hopefully you can relate to it on some level. This is such a great way to be heard, to listen, to learn, and I genuinely want you to benefit as much as I want to learn and grow from these sorts of little things in life that help us get through; to try and understand ourselves and the world we live in.

Your fellow blogger,

Flamenco

The First Flurries

It happened.

Today, as I was was cleaning off the boards in accounting class, my teacher looked out the window and announced the official first flurries of the year. You couldn't see them well from the boards, but when you got to the exit door and looked decently enough, you could see them.

Winter is a season that marks quite a few changes. First, there's the obvious winter blues, where our depletion of seratonin causes us to be less peppy than if it were spring, summer, or fall. Second, there's the big cold at the beginning, obviously due to the quick shift of weather that occurs here in Canada. I'm not sure about where you live, but Canada's environment is certainly one of contrasts and quick transitions into new seasons, and commonly, drastic weather changes throughout each day.

How do we fight the winter blues? The answer may or may not surprise you. Though tanning beds are notorious for their cancer-spreading ways, in moderation, they can be good. The heat given off while you're "being baked" contains seratonin, which is an anti-depressant that is great for fighting off any anxiety or sadness you may possess.

Warm up your heart! Canada's "surprise-attack" winters often leaves us very ill at the beginning (and less-so throughout the season), but there are many ways to fight it:

1. Whenever you're feeling even the slightest bit sick, take medicine immediately.
2. Immunity support herbs like Echinacea are a must. Last I checked, it's a popular Swiss herb that you should be able to buy at your local drug store.
3. Drink plenty of hot liquids. I know this sounds like common sense, but as a wise man once said, common sense is not so common.
4. Warm up your heart! Chicken noodle soup has been scientifically proven to help ward off colds.
5. Make sure your hair is always dry whenever you go outside. This also ensures that your hair won't freeze.
6. Instead of getting a regular jacket, invest your money in a coat that goes down to your knees. You'll be glad you did!

More winter tips to come!

Ciao

Recipe for Anorexia

So, you will probably be hearing a lot about eating disorders from me as time goes on. Here's something I found that I thought truly understands anorexia. Maybe it will give you some perspective.

Recipe: Anorexia
Servings: One
Note: The recipe you are about to make is an acquired taste.

Ingredients:
1 cup low self-esteem
2 cup self-control
3/4 cup determination
1 1/2 strength
2/3 cup solitude
2 Tbsp routine
3 Tbsp secrecy and lies
2 tsp jealousy
3 tsp guilt
a dash of anger
and 1/2 cup tears (optional)

Directions:

Combine all ingredients and mix in a fragile soul.
Beat until all feeling is gone.
Place in a shallow bowl and serve with a tall glass of Diet coke.
Dish is ready to enjoy - guaranteed to disappear right before your eyes!!

Cheerio, darlings!

I haven't posted yet, so consider this both my first post and my introduction.

Most of you probably don't know me at all, so I'll start by filling you in. My name is Blair and I'm 100% English, born and bred. Until, that is, last April when my so-not-hilarious parents decided to move to Canada. For five years of my life, I have also lived in Singapore (a small country in South East Asia on the tip of Malaysia).

I am a competitive synchronized swimmer at a National level, and I love it. I used to do gymnastics and ballet as well.

I just spent summer oh seven living in the hospital for depression and an eating disorder. Don't feel sorry for me, though. I'm fighting every day and I'm determined to beat this.

Basically, I'll post about what I see happening in the world, along with somewhat useless things that I know you all love to hear about.

xxx

Watch out!

Some writers are going to post introductions of themselves very soon. Watch out for them, and as I said, please welcome them with kindness!

What was the best CD you ever bought?

I'm sitting here at my desk and it's 6:12PM. What to do? Write on Blogspot, ofcourse! So, I want to know from you... What was the best CD you ever bought? Why?

Personally, the best CD I ever bought was Disclaimer 2 by Seether, and not for the musical skill it took to write the music, but the lyrics really connected with me. You see, when I got that album, I was going through a lot in my life that nothing could help me with. But when I played Disclaimer 2, and when I really listed to what Shaun (Seether's lead singer and lead guitarist) had to say on that album, I just thought, "man, that guy really understands what's going on in my life. Now I know what to do and what not to do to change things." And here I am, remaining in better condition than I was prior to hearing the album.

Howdy!

I know I forgot to introduce myself, and I've already made 5 posts on here since yesterday before doing so, but what the Hell? I'll do it anyway!

As you all know, my name is Flora. I was born in Batnayah, Iraq, which is a Chaldean-Assyrian village. No, I'm not Muslim (I don't have a set religion), and no, I do not wear burkas, nekabs, hijabs, or any of that stuff. For useless information on me, check out my profile under the "About Us" section. It's really not important stuff.

What will I discuss here on ATWKS? Probably music, politics, and any little "game" where I make you guess where I was that day or something. But I promise to never leave anything narcissistic. I'll definitely leave some reflections for you guys (as I already have in "In a world where God does not exist"). News about the site will be constant.

Really, that's basically what's in store for you guys in the future.

Ciao!

The Bengali Woman's Room

A big, rectangular prismatic room. The sides are a light yellow, smiling above at the mushroom-coloured tile floor. Up above them hails a big white cover; as white as snow. From it hangs a set of fifteen thirds of lights, forming a swingset of sabers.

Big squares are standing on pairs of gigantic metal staples. The squares are a harmonious honey brown with hairy brown circles being overpowered by black ones. Straight dark chocolate lines cut through them like knives, but yet again, their clone in black overpowers them. Other black and brown straight lines choose to just separate themselves from the circles. The jet black staples allow all of this to happen thirty times over; two for fifteen.

Look across. There's a silver circle within a forest green circle, containing the numbers 1-12 in Roman numerals. Over them, 2 black lines leave and return to them in a never-ending fashion. This set relies on the hollow orange rectangle behind it, which contains more black ahead.

Strange... the black behind her is covered in white clouds, and neighboured by pure white to the left of it. But who is she?

She rests on her black leather chair, accompanied by more squares; this time resting on silver, mirror-like staples. From this angle, blackness lies in front of her. But in the set next to her, the first brown and black combination returns.

To the left, there's an inner prism fronted by a black-bordered orange square. What's inside? Only she knows.

Where was I?

ATWKS Writers

There are 2 guaranteed writers for ATWKS - Flammy and tinkerbelle. Look forward to their introductions and posts very soon, and welcome them kindly.

However, if you yourself want to be a writer at ATWKS, send me an entry on a topic of your choice that is at least 250 words long. Depending on the content of your entry, you'll either be accepted or not.

Ciao!

In a world where God does not exist

I thought about this the other day, and asked some people a question regarding the issue, but I didn't get many good answers. So now, I ask you, if it were proven that God does not exist, how would that change your life and why? How do you think that would change the world?

Please don't respond to this post saying "but he does exist!" or your comment will be deleted. Thanks!

Hello!

Flora here to tell you that ATWKS has moved from Freewebs (our site was www.freewebs.com/ladyneedlez, which will be deleted soon) to Blogger! It's just much more convenient for me to do this in such a nice package. We will also have several talented writers posting up on here that I picked out myself. I'm in the process of selecting them. I already have 1 in mind, and she's a good dotcomrade of mine, so I'm sure we'll get her on.

Ciao!