Sitting On a Bench

   My visit to the park was tremendous. It was the perfect day to visit a park since the weather was beautiful. It was both hot and sunny which made the visit a bit amazing. It was around four o’clock when my friends and I both went to the park. We had to walk down the trail for about five minutes. There were trees, bushes and flowers all around us making the view breathtaking. I was on a journey looking for adventure searching for a bench.  As we were walking through the trail, we saw a little pond or I think it looked more like a ditch with water than a pond with some life form in it. The ground was pure wet from the night before which was raining. It made the trip a bit uncomfortable since I could feel the water and mud going into my shoes which made my feet wet. As we approached further and further into the trail, we couldn’t see a single bench in site. At that point I was disappointed since the trip to the park would have been a waste. As we kept on walking further and further in the trail we came upon stairs. Then we decided to walk all the way to the top and it wasn’t easy since the rain from yesterday made the stairs a bit slippery. As we walked up the stairs, it gave me an amazing view of the park. It was such a tremendous scene. At last we came to the top of the stairs .There we saw three benches all aligned up perfectly with one another to a beautiful scene. I came upon to a bench which said “John Warner April 1923- July 1964”. I chose this bench because it was interesting in how the family and friends have dedicated this bench to this person. I believe this person must have been really important to his friends and relatives as he done something great to have a whole bench dedicated to him. To show my appreciation and my respect to this person, I’ve chose this bench as a way for me to show how much respect I have for people who have benches dedicated to them. Also to show that people who have benches dedicated to them will not be forgotten. I believe it’s a big way for family members and friends to show that their loved one is getting the attention they need and deserve. As I sit on the bench which I have chosen, I could both feel and hear many things around me. It gives me a sense of pride when I’m sitting on bench that is dedicated to a person that must have been important to a family. When I sit on the bench it gave me a great view of the city around me. It’s as almost as if I could see the world. Since my bench is located on a higher ground, it gave a great bird’s eye view of the city. I could see the different types of buildings all stand up tall like a giant, the waves in the bay, the bridge which connects the cities and cars lined up traveling both ways from Vancouver to North Vancouver.  I could see the different kinds of roads which all leading in different kind of pathways.It made me realize how my English teacher was correct about roads which symbolizes one’s life. Roads can represent ones attitude, ideals and hopes about life and the journey of life and on howmany possibilities there are. It is interesting how going down different types of path can have a meaning on how one chooses to live a life. For example when one chooses to take the straight road means that one’s trying to live life as easily as possible while the one that’s taking rocky roads means that there are obstacles around that person which they will need to overcome. But as I sat on that bench and saw a great view of the roads and the different pathways it lead to, I understood those meanings in a figurative and metaphoric  way and I come to realize how one’s life  they have different choices on the way they want to live. From the bench, I could see a great view of the park. I could see the different types of trees and bushes, with the sun shining down on my face. At this point, I actually wanted to have my drawing book and just wanted to paint this extraordinary scene. After a while, both myself and my friend walked down the stairs, and walked down the trail where my so called journey of finding a bench ends. 

     If a bench was ever dedicated to me, I would like my inscription on the plate to say "treat the ones you love with care and respect". It is just a saying that I always thought of and I also want other people to think like that too. I believe that every single soul that reads my inscription should be able to understand it because it is intended to show them how important the people who are close to me. There are times during life when one dose not realizes how important their loved ones are until there is an issue where such as ones ego gets in the way or is gone. Maybe that person doesn’t realize it yet, but at least in time they might regret how they treated that person and how realize how much they love them. I believe that people do not realize how important their loved ones are until complications occur between them like an argument or a fight. I’m hoping that after someone reading my inscription, at least one person would learn something from it and hopefully will not a make the mistake on how they treat their loved ones and they will realize how important their loved ones are.

     There are many purposes to a park. There are different kinds of parks for different kinds of purposes. National parks have large areas with beautiful landscapes, plants and animals. It’s just a great for people who enjoy the outdoors the most and who like to adventure around. These kinds of parks are great way for those who appreciate the outdoors the most and for people who mostly love nature. Regional parks, which are mostly located near big population, are for the natural beauty, the historic interests and recreational fun and cultural opportunities. These parks are great for tourists who want to enjoy the fun. I believe it’s a great way to get to know both the history and the society of one’s country. Theses parks are usually intended to attract tourists and it’s usually under the control of the local government. Community parks also known as neighbourhood parks which are located all over in a community. It’s a place where families, friends and kids spend some time together. These kinds of parks usually have small gardens, playgrounds, and etc for people to enjoy. I believe it’s a great place for families to get together and bond. When I was young kid, I always enjoyed the visits to these parks with my family. It was a place where I always played sports, did fun activities like play tag and I always looked forward to the next visit. When I think about it now, visiting these kinds of parks is one of my childhood memories. Actually visiting parks would always be childhood memory for anyone. It’s just something a person or a child would never forget. Another purpose of parks is to remember people from the past. It can be soldiers, famous celebrities, heroes of one’s country, star athletes and etc. They can be remembered in any kind of way in a park. It can be on benches, statues, or they could have a tree in there honour. For example Stanley Park in Vancouver has hundreds of benches, which are in honour by one’s family and friends. It’s just a way to show how much they loved that person. There are also statues and gardens for those forgotten people. I believe it’s a great way to attract people to a park. One would learn on how important the person was and have a great view of the scene on how that’s person wants to be remembered. Some parks have attractions such as aquariums, swimming pools such as in Stanley Park. Another purpose of a park is just a place where you go to relax. One would just forget about all the problems in their life and just enjoy the peaceful time in the park.

     If I could dedicate a bench to anyone I would like the inscription on the bench to say “I will rise
and stand even more tall”. This quotes is from a poem called “Rise” which is written by Sagar Yaday that inspired me. I came upon this poem when I was researching a topic for this bench project and as I read this poem, it gave a much greater meaning of life and to live it. It inspired me on how I can overcome tough challenges in my life and how I can better myself. The great thing about this inscription is that one it would make one think about life and it should better my understanding on how to live it. As they read both the first and the last line of the poem on the bench, it should give them a good understanding about life. It should inspire a person to overcome all the challenges they face in life and to show how challenges in life shape you. I believe that all people, at least at one point of their life question themselves what is the meaning of life? Life is journey and it is what you make it. 

Rising // Rise

I will rise
After every fall 
I will rise
and stand even more tall 

I will rise
over the wall 
I will rise
above them all 

Like the sun
which never dies
though sets every night
every day it does rise 

Like the ocean
whose tides
many times they are down
but invariably they rise 

Like the trees
from seeds they arise
and heights great
they rise and rise 

After falling once,
twice and thrice
Again and again
I will rise and rise 

I will rise
after every fall 
After every fall
I will rise

By Sagar Yaday

Poem About My Bench

In the Bench of my mind

I feel the bench on my behind

How do I do this math question?

Soon I will sit here again 

Honour Killing in Pakistan

 
      In Lahore, Pakistan on May 27th,2014, a pregnant woman was stoned to death by her family. She was killed while she was on her way to court for the abduction case her family filed against her husband. Immediately after the crime, the woman’s father was arrested for the murder charges. Arranged marriages are in the norm in the South Asian region, where “honour killings” are carried out by relatives as a punishment for adultery. The death of this woman took place in front of a busy court house in downtown. The public stoning was in front of many onlookers in broad daylight. The slain women Farzana Parveen who was 25, married against her family’s wish to Mohammad Iqbal who is 45. The woman’s father filed an “abduction case” which the couple fought. Around 20 of Parveen’s relatives waited outside of the courthouse to snatch her from Iqbal. When she resisted, her family beat her with bricks. The father “killed [his] daughter because she insulted all of [his] family” for marrying a man without his permission. He has no regret for doing this act.

     I can relate to the story because arranged marriages are high on my dad’s side of the family. There has not been any “honour killing” in my family but there has been disapproval for my dad marrying another race. In a world of rapid progression, it is disgusting this kind of stuff still happens. The father has no regrets for killing his own daughter. It is not acceptable to kill someone for marrying without their consent. It does not make sense that it is degrading to marry someone your love, but it is acceptable with your family’s reputation to murder your own offspring. There have been over 869 honour killings in Pakistan alone. The worst thing is that most of the crimes are often given light sentences. The world is progressing there is no room for outdated traditions. 

http://bigstory.ap.org/article/pakistani-woman-stoned-death
Picture from http://allshabelle.com/?p=22442

Racism in the NBA

       Donald Sterling said he will not pay 2.5 million fines for his racist comments about Magic Johnson. On April 25, 2014 a recording of Donald Sterling was released saying to his mistress that she should not associate with black people and not  bring them to games. Several weeks after his racist comments, Donald had an interview with CNN where he personally attacks Magic Johnson. The commissioner Adam Sterling said he is trying to get rid of Sterling as quick as possible as he is “cancerous” to the league. The coach of the clippers, Doc Rivers, said he will not work for the team next season if Sterling is still head of the team. Many sponsors had dropped from the clippers organization such as State Farm.

        Donald Sterling seems to be a delusional man living back in the stone ages. His views on people should not be acceptable anymore. It was ironic that he was going to receive the lifetime achievement from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People(NAACP). It is disappointing that this has been the main story of one of the best playoffs of my recent memory. I am glad that he will be banned for life from the NBA, but he will make over a billion dollars from the sale of the Clippers. He is making a large sum of money from being racist which should not make sense. In a league where over 70% of the players are of African descent, I do not know why he would want to be part of the NBA. He is the owner of a team in Los Angles, a city where most of the fans are minorities. This is a good way for not having people come to your games. Donald Sterling has tarnished the reputation of the NBA and he does not represent the values of what an owner should have. He had previously reports of racism and the league did not do anything to him. This has been Adam Silvers first true test of being the commissioner of the league and seems to be handling it well. “NAACP forgives, I don’t”- Adam Silver

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-27446755
Picture from http://www.businessinsider.com/donald-sterling-anderson-cooper-interview-2014-5

E-Cigarettes future

       In London on May 29^th 2014, 53 leading scientist have warned the World Health Organization to not classify e-cigarettes as tobacco products. Scientists see this as a major decrease in diseases and deaths caused by smoking. The scientist say that e-cigarettes are “part of the solution,” not a part of the problem for fighting smoking. A total of 178 countries would be obliged to follow these rules and would restrict demands to e-cigarettes. E-cigarettes are battery powered cartridges which produces nicotine vapour to help get the need of nicotine. Within the past two years the industries boomed with 3 billion in sales in 2013.  E-cigarettes are controversial due to the fact that they are new to the market. There have not been any long term studies of the health on people caused by e-cigarettes.

        E-cigarettes only contain nicotine to help to fight the need to smoke. By giving restriction to these products, it will put many lives at risks. Many people who have used these thought quitting smoking was not an option, but with e cigarettes it is. Many people in the world smoke a pack a day to keep up with their smoking addiction. Using e cigarettes is a good way to stop these addictions. There will not be anymore rancid smells from smokes and no more butts on the floor if everyone switches to e-cigarettes. 

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/05/28/health-ecigarettes-idUSL6N0OD3ZE20140528

Picture from http://www.eco-electroniccigarettes.com/electronic_cigarette_accessories

The French Rail Road Mistake

         French Rail Road company ordered 2000 wrong sized trains for their platforms. The company SNCF in France said on May 20^th 2014 that 2000 trains for the regional network were too wide for the tracks. They figured out this problem but it is too late and “[they] will accept responsibility” for their actions.  They ordered the wrong trains when faulty dimensions were giving by the RFF.  The RFF gave dimensions on platforms that were made thirty years ago, but over 1200 were built more than 50 years ago. The cost for reconstructions of the old play forms is estimated around $110 millions. The French transport minister Frederic Cuvillier blamed it on an “absurd rail system”, where the rail system is operated by the RFF and the users are the SNCF.

          It’s funny that one little mistake can lead to millions of dollars going to waste.  This is why you should always double check your work. There are now 2000 useless trains that will have the rail system being built around them now. On the bright side, now all of the platforms across the country will finally be the same size. Simple measurements can mess up everything. This reminds me of the time when NASA engineers built the Mars orbiter using imperial measurements but it was in metric. Next time I buy something by accident I will just think at least i did not order 2000 useless trains. 

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/05/20/us-france-trains-idUSKBN0E021720140520
Picture http://transweb.sjsu.edu/MTIportal/research/publications/documents/High-SpeedRail.htm

Obesity on the Climb

      As of May 28th, 2014 early a third of the world has expanded its waist line. Almost 30 percent of people on earth are overweight; this rounds out to 2.1 billion people. All over the world, obesity rates have increased. In developed worlds, the obesity rate for men is higher than is for women. The opposite is true in developing countries where women’s obesity rates are higher. The obesity rate has risen nearly 50 percent since 1980. Within 1980-2013, no country has been successful in decreasing obesity rates. Notably, higher rates have been found in the Middle East and North Africa among girls.

      It’s a strange world where over 700 million people are starving while another 2.1 billion people are overweight.  There is a big gap in inequality of people around the world. The food around the world has become more calorie dense than the food of before. People are most likely to get fat when they eat as they desire. It makes sense that obesity rates are higher in areas where people cannot afford healthy foods. It will cost nearly twice as much to eat healthy than eating processed and premade frozen foods. There is a point where an individual is in control of their own health, there should be a system where it helps to curb the prices of junk food. I think junk food in the future will be the equivalent of smoking where we know it causes many diseases and the price will be higher. We are just another two thirds away from becoming a civilization similar to Wall-E, where people are everyone is obese and immobile. 

http://time.com/134206/a-third-of-the-world-is-now-obese-or-overweight/
http://www.med-health.net/Fast-Food.html

The Popes Visit to the Middle East

          Pope Francis, on May 24^th 2014 , visited the Middle East in the hopes of improving relations between religions and easing tensions in the Middle East.  He was welcomed by the Jordan King, Abdullah II and he stretched the urge for solution of the Syrian Conflict. Jordan is the host of almost 600,000 people who are fleeing from the Syrian conflict. The pope called for more respect for “religious freedom” as it is a “fundamental human right”.  He will begin his two day travel within the West Bank and Israel. The pope will be accompanied by his friends from Argentina who is a rabbi and an imam. He does this to help improve relationships between Muslims, Jews, and Christians in the Holy land. Pope Francis will be the fourth leader of the Roman Catholic Church to visit Jerusalem.

          Regardless of your beliefs, it is beautiful to see people in the world to help improve relationships between religions. Pope Francis is genuine person who appeals to everyone. Pope Francis is the type of person you want to be the head of a religion because he is accepting of everyone. No matter what religion, gender, or sexual orientation, Pope Francis cares. If everyone was like him and respected one another, there would be no conflicts. It does not matter what religion you are into, but what matters is how you tolerate others. 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-27551843
Picture http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/mar/14/pope-francis-doctrine-emphasis-poverty