in honor of the world cup 2010.

I'm not a soccer fan at all (though Popsicles is pretty gung-ho about the sport), but I have to say that this Nike ad is prettyyy sick in that epic sort of way. And y'all know how I am with 1) well-done advertisements and 2) epicness.

Check it out below.

insane/amazing: kids on russia's got talent.

Thanks, KP for the vid!



Kids do the darndest things...?
I'm wowed.

what. the. $#@&. [is wrong with japanese game developers].

Irate is not adequate enough to describe my feelings right now after reading this CNN article about Japanese video games promoting rape.

Here is their video:


I'm in complete disbelief that anything like this even exists, and the fact that it does leaves me...well, let's just say that the words running through my head are not kosher.

I can't even write because I am fuming. My stomach actually hurts right now.

What pisses me off even more are the comments left below the article. I'm baffled at the ignorance and stupidity of some of the people who live in present day America. Besides the fact that some people clearly do not understand the magnitude of video games (or ANYTHING) promoting rape, some of those comments are just plain stupid. And y'all know how I feel about stupidity. Couple that with ignorance and apathy on a topic like rape and you will have one ANGRY Asian female named Gabrielle who is ready to !$%# up some Japanese game developers.

givology: what would you buy with $50?

So this weekend was the opening of The $50 Campaign for Children in Uganda. Sadly, I couldn't go to the Friday night opening party (or after party) since I was here:


(Sadly, I did not have my dSLR with me)

But Saturday, Mark and I got a chance to visit The Station Gallery on Franklin St. I loved it and even made my first art exhibit purchases! (This is a big deal because I am super broke and have been quasi-fasting in order to save up for a new Macbook -- I am now slightly set back but it's worth it!) I will be sure to post pictures of my two prized photographs once I get them in the mail next week.



I definitely recommend checking it out! It's a small exhibit but it took me some time to read the many descriptions posted up. Some are endearing and hilarious! Mark and I were even fortunate enough to get a "private screening" of the video they showed opening night, which featured the artists/children of Circle of Peace School in Uganda.

It just makes me want to be there :) Love it. Plus, I met some pretty awesome people.



It's opened until Thursday so try to check it out!! It's really great! AND all the money raised goes to keeping The Circle of Peace School opened for kids to go to, and hopefully to bringing more of the children in the outside villages into the education system! Go support changing lives :) Hehe.

OH! And even if you can't make it down there, you can purchase a drawing or painting, or support a child, through the Campaign's website!

international women's day: march 8th.

International Women's Day is coming up in less than a week (Monday, March 8th). In light of that, join the IRC in its petition to stop violence against women.

1 out of 3 women in the world will experience rape or abuse in her life. That's beyond scary and disturbing.

flash mob in vancouver.

Nifty flash mob, dancing for Ethiopia; utilizing the Olympics to create awareness.
Thanks, Garland, for the link!

The 3:18 Movement.

The 3:18 Project is finally starting.

http://the318movement.org

Check it out! :)

npr debate: the united states & israel.

This past Tuesday, Dainty Danit & I went to a Think Twice debate hosted by NPR (Intelligence Squared) at NYU's Skirball Center.



Debate motion: The U.S. should step back from its special relationship with Israel.

Was really interesting...I think you can watch the debate online now?
Sadly, I forgot to get a picture with Danit! :(


Also, May 11th is the debate on Obama's foreign policy. Very interested in hearing that one.

this sunday: brooklyn concert for haiti.

VulpesVulpes and Green Street are both performing -- for a cause.
Make it happen.

haiti earthquake.

This morning, some of us interns gathered around my computer to watch Obama address the earthquake in Haiti.

Please continue to keep the people of Haiti and their families elsewhere in your prayers.

The IRC is accepting donations for crisis relief in Haiti.
Or you can text "HAITI" to 25383 to donate $5 to help the IRC rescue lives.

ishmael beah, live.

Present: Jo Becker, Children's Rights Advocacy Director for Human Rights Watch; Ambassador John McNee, Permenant Representative to the UN; Ronnie Harleston, Lieutenant Colonel and Military Adviser of the Permanent Mission of Sierra Leone to the UN; and Ishmael Beah, former child soldier and author of A Long Way Gone.

WOTDs.

English:
Triskaidekaphobia \tris-ky-dek-uh-FOH-bee-uh\ [noun]:
Fear or a phobia concerning the number 13.

Yiddish:
Mensch \men(t)sh\ [noun]:
Good-natured man; man of honor and integrity.

Hebrew:
Saba Sababa \SAH-buh\ [noun] \suh-BA-buh\ [adj., exclamation]:
"Groovy Grandpa," as Kara says; Grandfather, "It's all good."

French-creole:
Mwen Renme'w \mweh\ [pronoun] \rehn-MIOW\ [verb]:
"I love you."

Russian:
Kot and Koshka \kot\ and \KAHSH-kah\ [nouns]:
Male cat and female cat.

Cantonese:
Tong \taung\ [noun]:
Soup or broth.

Spanish:
Huella \HWAY-yah\ [noun]:
Fingerprint.

Bengali:
Uttor \OOT-taur\ [noun, adj., adv.]:
North.


I believe that is all.

officially back.

completely exhausted
& totally blessed.

bbl.

(updated version)

walk with a purpose.

[I wrote this in my journal a number of months ago but felt like sharing again]

26 october 2008
So earlier today, I attended Gulu Walk 2008, a march from downtown Manhattan to the front of the United Nations, to bring awareness to the 22-year war in Northern Uganda and the child soldiers that are plagued by it. 'Twas a fun and really great experience, but there was one thing in particular that struck me this afternoon.

We gathered at 12pm in Washington Square Park, where we had two speakers before we began the walk -- a man who was born and raised in Gulu, Uganda before he came here to become a lawyer, and Melissa Fitzgerald from The West Wing.

When Melissa was speaking, she mentioned how she worked with 14 teenagers in an internally displaced persons camp in Gulu. Before she left, one of the boys asked her for a favor. He didn't ask for money or food or a ticket to America, but he asked her for a book. I waited in anticipation, hoping that Melissa would say that he had asked for a Bible. Instead, he said he wanted a book on Gandhi. He said how he had heard that Gandhi was a great man of peace, and in all the war and suffering that this teenager had seen in his country, he wanted to one day become a man of peace as well.

Most people know that I am a huge Gandhi fan. Gandhi is my boy. I love him like crazy. But I couldn't help but think, why hadn't the boy asked for a book on Jesus? I thought Melissa was going to say that that one, single book that he asked for was the Bible because he had heard of great stories from it about hope and peace. I don't know exactly why he didn't ask for anything about Jesus and I can't even say if he does or does not know if such a book exists, but my mind did wander to the thought that maybe he doesn't know Jesus. Maybe he's one of those 2 billion in the world who have never heard of this name before. And I became pained a bit. Then a worse thought occurred -- what if he had heard of him before but we, as Christians, have not portrayed him very well so that other leaders of peace and revival, such as Gandhi, seem to be a better model or answer to look towards? Regardless of whether he has heard or not, the point is that he didn't say anything about Jesus.

And when those present today heard this story about this boy looking to Gandhi and desiring to be more like him, they were touched at how influential this man was in this boy's life. People nodded, people applauded, people teared up.



We aren't doing enough of whatever it is we are meant to do as Christians.

Africa's first Fashion Week ever.

exciting!



& fabulous.
Johannesburg, South Africa.
check out more at BBC.