Artist: Estelle
Song: Back In Love
Album: Shine

I know nothing ever stays the same / We all grow / Even if our love should change / You should know that I don’t ever want you to leave

azspot:

Residents of this upscale community are suburban pioneers, going where few soccer moms or commuting executives have ever gone before: they have given up their cars.

Street parking, driveways and home garages are generally forbidden in this experimental new district on the outskirts of Freiburg, near the French and Swiss borders. Vauban’s streets are completely “car-free” — except the main thoroughfare, where the tram to downtown Freiburg runs, and a few streets on one edge of the community. Car ownership is allowed, but there are only two places to park — large garages at the edge of the development, where a car-owner buys a space, for $40,000, along with a home.

As a result, 70 percent of Vauban’s families do not own cars, and 57 percent sold a car to move here. “When I had a car I was always tense. I’m much happier this way,” said Heidrun Walter, a media trainer and mother of two, as she walked verdant streets where the swish of bicycles and the chatter of wandering children drown out the occasional distant motor.

Photos released for first look at Tim Burton’s Alice In Wonderland with Johnny Depp (The Mad Hatter), Helena Bonham Carter (The Red Queen), and Anne Hathaway (The White Queen). To be released March 5, 2010.

globaltrends:

Barack Obama is most commonly referred to as the new FDR, laying out a stimulus to save the failing financial institutions and offering a New Deal that saved the country from certain calamity. This begs the questions; however, are Mr. Obama’s actions more comparable to that of the late FDR or his predecessor Herbert Hoover. In history, Hoover gets a bad rep for seemingly doing nothing to curtail the effects of the depression, instead relying on the free market to fix itself. This isn’t entirely true though, because Hoover actually attempted something very similar to our current stimulus package called the RFC with disastrous effects that are hauntingly ominous to our own predicament.

Look into the details of the plan for yourself here.

poortaste:

Ron Paul on MSNBC talking about Obama’s New Regulatory Reforms (6/18/09)

Responding to the Obama administration’s new regulatory reform plan, which will officially hand the Federal Reserve complete dictatorial control over the U.S. economy, Congressman Ron Paul told MSNBC that the Fed was now more powerful than Congress.

“That’s like saying, you can take care of a drug addict by just giving him more drugs. And that’s what we do here in Washington. We spend more, we tax more, we print more, we regulate more, we don’t have any belief or confidence or understanding of how the federal reserve created the problem and how the free market ought to work.”

globaltrends:

I’m writing this blog in response to an article written in the Economist with which I totally agree.

“The Underworked American: Children are Exceptions to the Country’s Work Ethic”

The average American student spends less time studying, less time in extracurricular academic ventures, less time reading, and less time actually in school than most other advanced countries in the world (pardon my parallelism). Malcom Gladwell in his bestseller Outliers states that the average person needs to spend 10,000 hours on a certain subject or skill in order to master it, and from personal experiences I don’t think he’s too far off. Taking that into consideration, I’d argue how much time American students spend studying does play a major factor in how competitive they’re going to be in the job market and how successful America will be in the long-run.

I’ve spent the last three years working in the public sector as a tutor and student teacher, so I’d like to share a little of what I believe plagues the public school system. I know a lot of people like to argue that racial handicaps or uneven income levels are the main problem, but honestly (and you’re free to disagree) they’re not. America is a nation of immigrants, and there are opportunities in the form of grants, scholarships, and legislations, i.e affirmative action, for those who look hard enough. I hate to sound too much like Samuel Smiles, but the key is hard work, motivation, and a healthy support system. The ambition should be coming from the students, but the parents need to help keep their children stay on the right track. Try a little less MTV and BET and a little more Discovery and History. I understand that income maybe tight with mortgages and credit card payments but it all boils down to basic money management; don’t buy your kids iphones or Air Jordans before you save up for their academic future. They may ask for it, but its your job as a parent to differentiate between needs and wants. As far as students go, American kids need to learn what opportunity cost is; if you want something it may mean that you need to study harder, not go out, or save your money.

However, my main gripe are with the teachers because the other factors are far more extenuating because, as I’ve noted, many times they are out of the individual’s control. Working with Californian state faculty, at least, I find that most teachers are idealists, naive, and impractical. Some teachers are great, don’t get me wrong, but I’ve met more than a few that preach subversive doctrines, that may hold some validity but really doesn’t benefit the students. I also find it ridiculous that teachers are arguing for higher pay and tenure because quite frankly they have not been doing their job. In any other field the employee is held accountable for their work, despite the resources that maybe allotted; therefore, why would teaching be any different. Teachers already enjoy comfortable salaries, great benefits, and 1/4 of the year off. Finally, teacher’s unions and summer school programs lobbying against Obama’s proposed initiative to increase the school day and decrease summer vacation are setting the bar far too low.

The most truthful and disturbing aspect of American education is listed in a response I found to the article, written by an American who went to primary school in the U.K.

Below I’ve listed an excerpt.

“Conversation is another casualty of our utter lack of interest in serious education for youngsters. I have found my fellow citizens incapable of having a conversation that can include well-educated individuals from other countries. This is not due to a language barrier of any kind. It is related to the substance of conversation: if you cannot discuss the current American TV or sports season, your chances of having a rich conversation with the average American are slim. We generally know little about issues that bind humanity: literature, global political and social developments, history, and non-televised culture are not among the topics we are capable of discussing. Worse, if you should try to steer a conversation away from the topics we usually discuss, you will be seen as a snob - or socialist. To tell an American that you do not watch TV is often taken as a personal insult by your interlocutor… and assumed to be a lie.

I paint a dire picture, but I don’t feel that I’m exaggerating. The increase in misspelled words found in edited text and publications is breathtaking. The lack of knowledge about how the rest of the world operates is dangerous. Ignorance of our own history is embarrassing, especially when discussing it with better-informed foreigners. None of these can possibly serve the US’ interests.”

Definitely. Parents should pay special attention and get more involved with their children when it comes to their educational development.  Do more than just tell them to finish their work; Stay in touch with their teachers on their performance, interact about their school work, spend money on tutoring, etc. School is an investment in your child’s future and not to be made lightly.

globaltrends:

I can’t believe I’m saying this, but it looks like our governor is finally taking the correct course of action. With the deadline running up at the end of July, California has precious little time to pass a new budget before the state goes bankrupt. Its been decided that California will live within its means: cutting state funding, limiting short term borrowing, and privatizing infrastructure. This is going to lag development and hurt public schools tremendously, but its the right choice given these circumstances. Honestly, I don’t even blame our state legislators entirely but instead Californian residents who refuse to pay higher taxes, while demanding more funding for schools and better public transit.

robot-heart: enjoli:sade:

These works by Vancouver photographer Dina Goldstein place Fairy Tale characters in modern day scenarios. In all of the images the Princess is placed in an environment that articulates her conflict. The ‘…happily ever after’ is replaced with a realistic outcome and addresses current issues.

“I began to imagine Disney’s perfect Princesses juxtaposed with real issues that were affecting women around me, such as illness, addiction and self-image issues.”

Click through for the rest of the set.

* On the website, click on “Fallen Princesses” to view the set.  Princess Jasmine’s photo is so badass.

The Cinematic Orchestra - Work It! (Man With The Movie Camera)

This album is feeding my appetite for awesome music right now.

Q-Tip - We Fight / Love (feat. Raphael Saadiq)

She want the ease that come after pain
She fights for love, thats her campaign
We fight, we love

Can never go wrong with Q-Tip or Raphael Saadiq.