Wednesday, May 23, 2012

I rescued a human today

I RESCUED A HUMAN TODAY by Janine Allen



Her eyes met mine as she walked down the corridor peering apprehensively into the kennels. I felt her need instantly and knew I had to help her.

I wagged my tail, not too exuberantly, so she wouldn'
t be afraid. As she stopped at my kennel I blocked her view from a little accident I had in the back of my cage. I didn’t want her to know that I hadn’t been walked today. Sometimes the overworked shelter keepers get too busy and I didn’t want her to think poorly of them.

As she read my kennel card I hoped that she wouldn’t feel sad about my past. I only have the future to look forward to and want to make a difference in someone’s life.

She got down on her knees and made little kissy sounds at me. I shoved my shoulder and side of my head up against the bars to comfort her. Gentle fingertips caressed my neck; she was desperate for companionship. A tear fell down her cheek and I raised my paw to assure her that all would be well.

Soon my kennel door opened and her smile was so bright that I instantly jumped into her arms.

I would promise to keep her safe.
I would promise to always be by her side.
I would promise to do everything I could to see that radiant smile and sparkle in her eyes.

I was so fortunate that she came down my corridor. So many more are out there who haven’t walked the corridors. So many more to be saved. At least I could save one.

I rescued a human today.


Written by Janine Allen CPDT, Rescue Me Dog's professional dog trainer. Copyright 2012 Rescue Me Dog; www.rescuemedog.org

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

"You Are Here" by Carl Sagan

This excerpt from A Pale Blue Dot was inspired by an image taken, at Carl Sagan's suggestion, by Voyager 1 on February 14, 1990. As the spacecraft left our planetary neighborhood for the fringes of the solar system, engineers turned it around for one last look at its home planet. Voyager 1 was about 6.4 billion kilometers (4 billion miles) away, and approximately 32 degrees above the ecliptic plane, when it captured this portrait of our world. Caught in the center of scattered light rays (a result of taking the picture so close to the Sun), Earth appears as a tiny point of light, a crescent only 0.12 pixel in size.



This made me tear up... sigh.

Monday, May 21, 2012

Marley - Discover the Man We All Know...


Watched this amazing documentary by Kevin Macdonald on Bob Marley. Was waiting for this with great anticipation since I saw the trailer several months back. Given the director and the publishers (Magnolia Pictures) I had a feeling this was going to be a great documentary. Magnolia Pictures in particular have produced and released some great documentaries. This is surely something I would strongly recommend anyone to watch and if you liked his music then this is a must watch! 

The documentary takes a more in-depth look into Marley’s life and helps you understand more about this one of a kind human being who with his music changed the lives of many across the world. I have embedded the official trailer though you can find around 8 different trailers and an extended trailer on youtube( they are also in the link below).

Official Link : http://www.bobmarley.com/marley_the_movie.php



"Interviewer: Are you a rich man? do you have a lot of possessions?
Bob Marley: Possession make you rich? I don't have that type of riches, my riches is life"



Monday, May 14, 2012

real women

Since we just passed the Mother's Day weekend, I thought of sharing this. An awesome read... from Hanne Blank's blog.

Excuse me while I throw this down, I’m old and cranky and tired of hearing the idiocy repeated by people who ought to know better.

Real women do not have curves.    

Real women do not look like just one thing.

Real women have curves, and not.   They are tall, and not.  They are brown-skinned, and olive-skinned, and not.  They have small breasts, and big ones, and no breasts whatsoever.

Real women start their lives as baby girls.  And as baby boys.  And as babies of indeterminate biological sex whose bodies terrify their doctors and families into making all kinds of very sudden decisions.

Real women have big hands and small hands and long elegant fingers and short stubby fingers and manicures and broken nails with dirt under them.

Real women have armpit hair and leg hair and pubic hair and facial hair and chest hair and sexy moustaches and full, luxuriant beards.  Real women have none of these things, spontaneously or as the result of intentional change.  Real women are bald as eggs, by chance and by choice and by chemo.  Real women have hair so long they can sit on it.  Real women wear wigs and weaves and extensions and kufi and do-rags and hairnets and hijab and headscarves and hats and yarmulkes and textured rubber swim caps with the plastic flowers on the sides.

Real women wear high heels and skirts.  Or not.

Real women are feminine and smell good and they are masculine and smell good and they are androgynous and smell good, except when they don’t smell so good, but that can be changed if desired because real women change stuff when they want to.

Real women have ovaries.  Unless they don’t, and sometimes they don’t because they were born that way and sometimes they don’t because they had to have their ovaries removed.  Real women have uteruses, unless they don’t, see above.  Real women have vaginas and clitorises and XX sex chromosomes and high estrogen levels, they ovulate and menstruate and can get pregnant and have babies. Except sometimes not, for a rather spectacular array of reasons both spontaneous and induced.

Real women are fat.  And thin.  And both, and neither, and otherwise.  Doesn’t make them any less real.

There is a phrase I wish I could engrave upon the hearts of every single person, everywhere in the world, and it is this sentence which comes from the genius lips of the grand and eloquent Mr. Glenn Marla:

There is no wrong way to have a body.

I’m going to say it again because it’s important: There is no wrong way to have a body.
And if your moral compass points in any way, shape, or form to equality, you need to get this through your thick skull and stop with the “real women are like such-and-so” crap.
You are not the authority on what “real” human beings are, and who qualifies as “real” and on what basis.   

All human beings are real.

Yes, I know you’re tired of feeling disenfranchised.  It is a tiresome and loathsome thing to be and to feel.  But the tit-for-tat disenfranchisement of others is not going to solve that problem.  Solidarity has to start somewhere and it might as well be with you and me.

How did the JVP insurrection in late 80s impact current Sri Lankan society?

Well this is just a thought that came up. ; the second JVP insurrection in the late 80s claimed more than 60,000 lives most of whom were in thier youths. The bloody carnage claimed policitians, undergraduates, artists, journalists and activists from all walks of lives. Many of those who were killed would have been in thier early/mid 40s if they were alive today. So how has this vaccume impacted the current Sri Lankan society?

Will we be more more conservative or open minded about various issues? For example when taking the entertainment industry and cinema i feel that the 70s society was less conservative compared to our current society? And we seemed to have lost something in the 80s and mid 90s But it can be due to various reasons. And also regarding may other socio-political issues will our thinking be different? and i feel that there is some gap tha needs to be filled by the current genration...

Kolamba Sanniya ( 1976) Comedy/Sinhala

Friday, May 11, 2012

The Police Torture Epidemic in Sri Lanka - A Must Watch Documentary

Came across this amazing 20 minute documentary produced for Aisan Human Rights Commission, which i think every Sri Lankan regardless of their own opinion about human rights should have a look at. The documentary is deeply disturbing and takes a very insightful look at the "torture epidemic" that has gripped the Sri Lankan Police system.

Mr.Basil Fernando of Aisan Human Rights Commission rightly puts it, this is not something the international community will understand properly, and the change should come within from our society itself. Community awareness and strong advocacy against police torture is needed. When you look at the video you will notice several torture victims who have gone through much trauma due to these activities, and today it may be them but tomorrow it can very well be you or one of your loved ones? Have a look share your thoughts and spread the word.

Link: http://www.humanrights.asia/resources/videos/AHRC-VID-002-2012