Long-Weekend Round-Up

TODAY, Canada celebrates (with the exception of Quebec) Victoria Day, which is a federal Canadian statutory holiday celebrated on the last Monday on or before the 24th of May in honor of both Queen Victoria's birthday and the current reigning Canadian sovereign's official birthday. 

FUN NOT-SO-FACT FACT. Speaking of royals, did you know that Princess Cinderella and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart were originally lovers. In fact, they had an offspring who was named "MOZARELLA"! Amazing isn't it?   

BLACKHOLE Discovered. WARNING: Don't try this at home or anywhere ALONE!

Short Film 'The Black Hole' from PHOTOPLAY FILMS on Vimeo.

HAND WASHING. In Amsterdam, Catholic officials including the head of the Salesian religious order have distanced themselves and condemned a Dutch Salesian priest's endorsement of pedophilia and his involvement with a group of pedophiles campaigning for the abolition of the Dutch Government's ban on adult-child sex. READ MORE...

BEST DRESSED FOR CHARITY. Remember this nice lady (pictured below) from the woods who was turned away by security and Royal Wedding officials at Westminster Abbey when she showed up with the best and most creative fascinator (according to the Fashion Police!) in the world? Well, she's back. She's now filing official complaint against eBay and the organizers of the auction of Princess Beatrice's antler-like hat when she lost the bidding, which she claimed was rigged from the very start.  

The newly-hired Lady Gaga costume creative consultant.  

OKAY, okay. In the more serious topic, Princess Beatrice's famous silk bow hat made history over the what-was-supposed-to-be-the-end-of-the-world weekend when it was auctioned off on eBay and reached a whopping $131,648 as the final and winning bid. As long as it's for charity and goodwill, BRING ON the craziness.  

HIV SCARE. In the Land Down Under, Australian Defence (Yes, that's how they spell it.) officials are worried that there may be an unknown number of Australian soldiers who might have been exposed to blood-borne diseases like hepatitis or HIV in what appears to be a breach of medical protocols at the Australian Military's main hospital unit in the Middle East. READ MORE...

END OF HISTORY. One of my favorite social thinkers and intellectuals, Francis Fukuyama has just launched a new book, "Origins of a Political Order."  I agree with him that "Americans are not very good in nation-building."

   

SINGAPOREAN DARK WATER. In what seemed to be an incident that mirrored a horror movie, residents of an apartment complex drank and cooked with corpse-tainted yellowish and foamy water for days until officials discovered that the body of an Indonesian female worker was dumped in the building's water tank. READ MORE...

APOCALYPSE DELAYED. As much as I can, I'd like to stay away from making fun of the rapture believers who flushed their bank accounts, traveled to the West Coast from the East Coast, and many more bucket list to-do's gone awry. Why? Well, ask me later. Anyway, as usual, the now famous Taiwanese animators who did the Tiger Woods incident animation came up with their interpretation of the apocalypse not-so-scary scare. It's sickly funny and outrageously entertaining!     

WHAT'S IN THE NAME? What would you do if your town is named "Crap"? "Hi, I'm from Crap, New York." Or, "I'm going to Crap for the long weekend." Doesn't sound good, right? This is the story of a small town in Australia called "Speed." But wait, there's nothing wrong with speed, right? I think so too. However, the townfolks have gone increasingly worried of the many over speeding incidents in their town's rural roads. So, they've banded together with one unifying aim: change their Town's danger-inviting name. What do you think should be the new name? I suggest "Where Else." Where do you live? Where Else. Where are you going? Where Else.     

Rename Speed 'The Town of Speed' from PHOTOPLAY FILMS on Vimeo.

I want to leave your day on a high note. Watch this empowering video about heroines around the world.

Trailer - Women Are Heroes - English Version from SOCIAL ANIMALS on Vimeo.

Osama's Death Should Not Be Celebrated

In my previous entries, I've been clear that in my opinion, Americans should not celebrate the death of Osama Bin Laden. Hours after the news came out, as it turned out, I was not alone in my opinion. Columnists, a few political pundits, and even the Vatican all spoke against the initial reactions some Americans (or at least those who showed up in Lafayette Park in front of the White House in Washington, D.C. and Ground Zero in NYC) showed during the immediate aftermath of the big announcement. 

I singled out a banner prominently displayed by one reveler in NYC, which read "Obama=1 Osama=0" because of its taunting and provoking tone (or perhaps intent).  And now here comes another shameful play on the news of Osama's death under the hands of US Navy Seals that callously insinuates sex after an enemy's death is highly gratifying. I can't even imagine how this team of yellow paper journalists put sex and the news of Osama's death together. Add to that, why ask your readers about what they think. But of course, it's TMZ.      

Not a cause for celebration indeed. In Pamela Gerloff's article on Huffington Post today, she writes that people should have the decency to caution themselves against any celebration of sorts. Osama may be the biggest threat to Americans when he was still alive and now that he's dead, it doesn't mean that his death should not be afforded at least a little decency or even modesty. Real victors celebrate with humility and complete respect for their defeated enemy. In this case, we may have slain the beast but the poison remains and it would linger far longer than most Americans have estimated.

As I've said, more people are saying that although it's Osama, world's public enemy No. 1 and most wanted, it's not a cause for public display of celebration like it's a major win in the World Series or the Stanley Cup or the Olympics. Caution and decency are the things we should consider.

Here are the other pundits, intellectuals, and writers that speak and feel the same about how wrong it is for us to celebrate boldly Osama's death: Dr. David P. Gushee (Professor of Christian Ethics) ; the celebrity and well-respected Rabbi Shmuley Boteach (Rabbi and writer) ; Jim WallisChristian leader for social change ; and finally, Rev. James Martin, S.J.Catholic priest and author, 'The Jesuit Guide to (Almost) Everyt.