Friday, 20 June 2014

The Boston Tea Party

We're still taking a break from the Bucket List!
And I wanted to present my Culture Project: The Boston Tea Party.

 
In 1773, a major event happened in America leading to two results:
      - the relationship between the British and the Americans became tenser
      - the colonists became more united than ever before

The reason for this was because the Parliament passed several acts, such as the Stamp Act of 1765, which did not appeal to the Americans. The Stamp Act was passed in order to raise money for the military defences of the colonies during the French Indian War and it required a stamp to be affixed on many more documents than before (posters, newspapers...). This lead to riots and protests with the Americans chanting "NO TAXATION WITHOUT REPRESENTATION", fore they were not represented at Parliament. This whole situation was considered as an economic and political failure for the British.

However, Britain led the Americans to organize further colonial protests and helped form a group of protestors called "The Sons of Liberty". This group resisted the Tea Tax of 1773 by dumping secretly £100,000 ($1 million in today's money) worth of tea in the waters of the Boston Harbour. Naturally, they did it disguised as Indians.
The Sons of Liberty was organized by Samuel Adams, who entered politics to coordinate efforts against British-imposed taxes on American colonies. He was considered as a master of propaganda, was an official of the Massachusetts House of Representatives and, most important of all, was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States of America.

In order for his cause to be carried out, he asked John Adams - his cousin and President of the United States - and John Hancock, who was a wealthy merchant at the time, for help.
Samuel's beliefs in independence and his successful efforts in persuading others earned him great respect. He was given the name of "Father of the American Revolution".

This incident remains one of the iconic events in the history of America, and political protests still refer to it today! It was basically a political protest and an accumulation of a resistance movement against the British. It was a Key event on the growth of the American Revolution.

Thursday, 19 June 2014

Culture Project: My ranking of the Presentations

I choose YOU!
Right, lets take a small break from all the bucket list tasks and become a little more serious.

At the university I go to at the moment, the Karl-Franzens University of Graz, in one of the classes I attend, we had the "Culture Project Day". What it was? A day to present a topic about culture, something to do with the country our teacher comes from. What we had to do? Not only did we have to present our project, but we had to attend 10 other ones aswell! So here is my ranking of the ones I saw:

1st place: The Reinvention of Malcom X
2nd place: American Indian boarding schools
3rd place: Monica Loughman - The ballet dancer
4th place: Homeland
5th place: Oliver Cromwell - Irish vs British perspective6th place: Media violence
7th place: Obama's legacy: drones and secrecy through the eyes of contemporary artists
8th  place: The Role of the US in the Korean War
9th place: Irish Intelligence at its peak
10th place: The Ku Klux Klan


Saturday, 17 May 2014

FUZZY VOX - MAN OF SOLUTION

Just something I wanted to share, a video that can bring a smile to anyone's face just by simply watching it. It's a catchy song, stays in your head for a couple of hours and honestly makes you feel happy!
 
The reason why I actually posted this video is because the lead singer is a friend of mine. I only met him last year and what is more interesting for me is the fact that I correct his lyrics (you may have noticed that he doesn't sing in French but has gotten ridden of the accent!) This young group has already gone far, and is already on tour. Their song 1789 is being used for the Hollywood Chewing Gum advert at the moment and they are starting to play alongside big well-known groups in France. Their last album was mixed by a musician rom the group The Hives and I'm probably sure they will go far.

Go check them out!

Saturday, 10 May 2014

Do a good deed

My Bucket List: Task #5

This task, I must say, made me feel a better person. I recommend strongly that each and every one of us do this. Either it be on a bucket list or not. This is THE thing to do and restores faith in humanity.

I spent a good amount of time thinking what for a good deed I could possibly do. At that time, there was this trend going about on Facebook, a challenge where one would have to jump into water and then choose three other people to do so. Those three people then had 48 hours to film themselves getting wet, otherwise they would have to pay for a lovely meal in a restaurant for the one who nominated them. A nice and friendly challenge. Yes, yes, I was one of those people who jumped into a lake in order to not pay for a meal (but it didn't really count, it was too hot that day, so that person did me a huge favour actually).

But then I saw this video on YouTube, of a man saying that his challenge was to help someone in need. He went up to a homeless person and asked if they would like to eat something. Just to mention, in France, in some jobs, you receive food vouchers which can pay for any food or meals. So he gives this homeless person a ticket per day for him to buy food and keep himself well nourished.

I thought of that to be a good idea and decided myself to do something similar. I took a blanket that I had, made two big baguette sandwiches and put 3 apples, a yoghurt with a plastic spoon  and a bottle of water in a plastic bag and went to give it to a homeless man whom I have walk by several times since I have been here in Graz. I gave him the bag and to be honest, I have never seen someone with so much gratitude! I felt awkward and happy at the same time. I felt good to have been able to help someone for the day. I knew I had done something for someone who was in need. I didn't film myself doing this, a sign of respect towards this man. But I strongly advise everybody to do the same.

If you can't help someone by sparing them a coin, give them at least a meal.

Saturday, 3 May 2014

Vacuum the lawn.

My Busket List: Task #4

Now this task might seem stupid, but I guarantee you that it was the one that made me laugh the most. What I had to do was vacuum the lawn, because when people walk or drive by, they look at you in a strange manner.

I managed to fulfil this task beautifully because I live in a neighbourhood with lots of old folk who love to stare into other people's gardens. Especially my garden, bizarrely. So this task fitted the situation per-fect-ly!

I got vacuum cleaner out, an extension cable to make sure I could go up near the front of the garden where people could see me, and of course, it was one of those lovely days when people decide to go for a walk around where I live. Wouldn't it seem too tempting for you too?
So, I started hovering and that's when I started to get the looks. Oh those looks! Ooh how wonderful it was to get those weird looks! I laughed internally, but boy was it hard to stay serious!
The best remark as "Youth nowadays... They've completely lost their minds and now I'm seeing things!" I just smiled and continued with my duty. But someone must have complained to my neighbour, fore she came around quickly and unplugged my hoover and said that I have gone mad. That was until I explained to her what I was doing. She laughed and told me to write this down immediately. Not to forget, I've left my footprints in that neighbourhood, to the point that no one will forget "the girl who vacuumed the lawn".

Saturday, 26 April 2014

Write an article about 'bla'

My Bucket List: Task #3

So my third task was to write about 'bla'. But what is 'bla'? Then I figured out that bla bla blablabla bla bla bla blablabla bla. Bla bla bla bla. Blablablabla? Bla bla bla blablablablabla bla bla blabla bla bla. Bla... bla bla blabla bla blablablabla bla bla! Blablablablablablaba. Blaaaa blablabla bla bla bla. Blabla bla, blablablabla. Bla! Blablala!

Bla blablabla. Bla bla bla bla blaaaa bla bla bla. Bla, blablabla. Blabla! BLAA! Blablabla, bla blabla.
Bla bla blablablabla. Blablablablablablablablablabla, bla, blabla, blablabla, blablablabla, blabla bla, blabla.

Saturday, 19 April 2014

Walk up to a small child that ressembles you, and tell them that you are them from the future

My Bucket List: Task #2

Once you get started with a bucket list, you will find that you will spontaneously start doing things that you would have never imagined before. The best part about it? You start doing them without even thinking about any tactics whatsoever!

My next task was to walk up to a small child that looked like me when I was young, and tell them that I am them from the future. Of course, when I came up with this idea, I thought to myself 'how on earth will I manage to do this one?!'
It may seem like a tough task, but believe me, it was easier than I thought! It's one of those tasks where you must absolutely not search to find a child that looks like you but do it on the spot when you do happen to land on one.

It all happened in Marks&Spencers (for those who know the shop), in Paris, in the 15th arrondissement. It was the day before I went to see Justin Timberlake in concert. I was, again, with my parents. But this time, it was my mother who pointed this little girl out to me - this might seem wrong when you first read this, but trust me, it turns out well and gets better. This little girl's mother was wondering if she would like some hot cross buns, and strangely, she was asking her in English, but with a French accent. So obviously, this little girl was learning English. All the better! So, she didn't know what a Hot Cross Buns were and my mum quickly popped her head over her shoulder and said "Yes please!". This poor little thing didn't know what was happening. That's when my mum quickly turned around to me and said "you're in." I didn't get it at first until my mum asked me if I hadn't noticed that that little girl looked just like me when I was young. BINGO! It was a hint!
So I hoped that I would walk past her again, and  luckily I did! In the sweet section. Moreover, she was looking at my favourite sweets. So I guess we did have something in common.

This was the quick little conversation I had with her:
"Why didn't you say yes to the hot cross buns?"
She looked at me, startled.
"You know, I once made a terrible decision like that when I was young, for the same reasons. I wasn't quite so sure what a 'hot cross bun' was at first but they looked sooooo yummy!"
"And what did you do?"
"I quickly turned around and asked my mummy to buy them eventually."
"And did she?"
"She did. And I'm so happy that I changed my mind."
Her face started to look confused.
"You know something?", I asked her, "the reason why I'm telling you this is because later on you will regret it."
"How do you know?"
"If I tell you, will you promise to keep it a secret?"
"Yes."
"It's because I am you. Yes, I am you from the future. But now that I have told you, I must go."
And the little girl looked amazed. The next thing I heard were her footsteps running away.

What happened then? We saw her mum buying her a packet of hot cross buns.

Mission accomplished.