August Means For Me…..

My thoughts are still the same regarding the month of August which is reflected on this blog which I wrote last year.

josiesvoice

The month of August is here and we practically are now  within the halfway time mark of summer. The days are slowly getting shorter, the heat wave is still ongoing though there’ll be sprurts of random showers in between  and  summer activities to celebrate the season.

A sign that autumn is coming is with the start of back-to-school sales  with the stores hoping to entice all parents to part with their paychecks this early so as to stock up on school supplies,fall clothes,etc. I wonder if the kids’ mindset are already on back-to-school mode at all? Nah. I bet you that they’re still enjoying their summer .

Another sign of upcoming fall weather is the changing of the colors of the leaves but it’s still quite early  yet for that to happen,mon ami. When it does, it’s a sight to behold, I assure you.

Thirdly, there’ll be a gradual nipping of…

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Christmas in July(i.e. July 25)

It’s that time again for me! I’ll make the most of today because it’s my special day. Think also about it once your special day comes along too!

josiesvoice

Whenever July 25 comes around, it means a few things for me. First, folks call it Christmas in July,specifically exactly 5 months before December 25. Second, it will be the birthday of the world’s first test tube baby Louise Brown which happened in the UK in  1976, thirdly, it’s the feast day of Saint James and lastly ,it’s my birthday, mon ami. It also heralds the mid-year timetable. If you had read my previous blog on July 5th titled Half-year mark,et al, you’ll know what I mean. Saint James by the way is the patron saint for laborers and also the patron saint of Spain(known also in Spanish as San Santiago).

Like I had always been saying,make the most of each day and one’s birthday is no different. The only additional point in terms of one’s birthday is to make it as memorable as possible.

Bon jour!

Josie

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A Royal Prince Is Born!

Today,July 22,2013 will go down in British history as the birth of a baby boy who is considered as 3rd in line to the British throne. Born to Prince William(2nd in line to the throne) and wife the former  Kate Middleton, he was born on 4:24 pm British time and weighing 8 lbs,4 oz . He will be called  His Royal Highness,the Prince of Cambridge since his parents’ official titles are the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. His birth is the first since the British Parliament had already made gender succession law changes to ensure that any first-born boy/girl becomes a future British monarch. He’s Queen Elizabeth II’s 3rd great-grandchild and the first grandchild of Prince Charles(1st in line to the throne) and the late Diana,Princess of Wales.

No name has been decided yet at this time and since both his parents decided by choice not to know the baby’s gender beforehand, it’s expected that it’ll be a matter of weeks before we know the baby’s names. I say names because heirs to the British throne are supposed to have 4 or 5 names. Also in Britain, parents are given up to 6 weeks to decide what name(s) to give to their newborn.

He will eventually  be dealing with the ongoing spotlight from the press just like his parents. It will be up to his parents as to how to prepare him and even shield him as much as possible from it until he’s ready to do so.

One thing’s for sure. He’ll grow up to be a very handsome fellow since he has very good-looking parents to begin with. Talk about winning the genetic lottery!

Congratulations to the new parents! It’s a joyous event indeed!

Josie

Mass Shootout at a Movie Theater in Aurora,Colorado,USA

Tomorrow will be the 1st anniversary of the mass shootout at a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado. The gunman was eventually apprehended and identified as James Holmes who at this time, through his attorneys had pleaded guilty by reason of insanity so as to avoid the death penalty. No actual trial date had been set yet but it appears that it’ll occur sometime this year. I’ll be reblogging this article of mine so as to enable any reader to reminisce and ponder in retrospect ,the events of that fateful night. My thoughts and prayers are to the victims and their families and friends.

josiesvoice

It was supposed to be a scheduled advanced movie screening of a much awaited Batman series franchise film called “The Dark Knight Rises”. Folks would come in droves with their tickets,decked out in various Batman character-related costumes, all supposed to be having a great time. The movie promises a lot of action scenes and special effects. Everything was moving along until hell broke loose last night in a movie theater located in Aurora,Colorado,USA(a suburb of Denver).

As of this moment, initial reports stated that a lone shooter in full combat gear quietly came out from the sides inside the theater while the movie was going on. He then  slowly climbed up onto the stage and facing the audience began shooting away in all directions,resulting in a mass shootout.

Initially, not everyone had  caught on with the firing since the movie itself had very loud special efects so in a way, folks…

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Cory Monteith’s Final Act

Cory Monteith, a 31 year old boyish-looking guy who hit big-time stardom by playing singing quarterback Finn Hudson on the hit TV series “Glee’ had died on July 13,2013 in his hotel room in downtown Vancouver,Canada.

Known to be laid-back, humble and a good-natured guy inspite of his fame, the Canadian-born native had been vocally outspoken of his ongoing battles with substance abuse since age 13 and repeated stints with rehab,the last one on April 2013.

He was often described as a triple threat—great actor,singer and dancer and as the “next Hugh Jackman” who recently received an Oscar nomination for his role in the musicale film Les Miserables.

Cory had a great showbiz career with great expectations of being a much greater entertainer in the coming years but which was sadly aborted by his untimely death. An autopsy is to be done today to look into probable cause of death.

Cory also had a loving and supportive family and girlfriend, Glee co-star Lea Michele.

My heart goes out to all of them in this very sad moment.

Cory, life had been short for you. If your departure from this world is by means of your untimely death, then it’s your final act.

If you were only given a chance to sing one last time, that would have been one heck of a memorable swan song.

Thanks for entertaining us with your great voice! I’m sure that the angels from above are joining you in chorus right now.

Rest in piece!

Josie

When Bad Things Happen

With the recent news over this past weekend regarding the train derailment and subsequent(and still ongoing) fire at Lac- Megantic,Quebec ,Canada as well as 2 plane crashes(1 at San Francisco Airport and the other at Alaska), one would start thinking …what happened?

There will be ongoing questions of the “what,why,how” in terms of understanding the sequence of such tragic events as well as to how it happened and the precautions that need to be done to prevent any future tragedies.

There’s still the element of fate which I believe is way beyond our control and might be such a bitter pill to swallow, if one would think about it. Things happen for a reason,you know.

One thing’s clear: When bad things happen, it forces us to reexamine our perspective, priorities and purposes in life, not only for change but for the better good.

My thoughts and prayers goes out to the victims!

Josie

Egyptian Revolution 2.0

Two years ago on Feb. 25, 2011, former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak was ousted through people power and the Egyptian military after 30 years of dictatorship. That was known as the Egyptian Revolution.

Now comes Egyptian Revolution 2.0 on July 3.2013 when the same scenario happens but this time to now former Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi after being elected to office through a democratic process 1 year prior. The new interim president right now is Adly Mansour.

There has been endless debates as to whether it’s a coup or not and whether Egypt will still be granted the $ 1.5 B aid from the U.S. in light of this new political situation.

What seems to be lost and which I think that everybody needs to focus on are the reasons leading to this 2nd people power revolution.

I’m no expert on Egyptian politics but I do see a prevailing thought here that all politicians should take note irregardless of where they live around the world.

In spite of the fact that former President Morsi was a duly elected official, he didn’t do his job,meaning he didn’t make sure that the Egyptian people’s needs were being addressed in terms of providing basic infrastructure and services.He didn’t look into the Egyptian floundering economy and try to find solutions for it.

There had been reports that he allegedly was only focused in strengthening his own political party and wasn’t interested in a political coalition with the opposition parties as well as allegedly hoarding weapons from Iran and Pakistan. Sounds autocratic,don’t you think?

People can only endure so much suffering because of government incompetence and bureaucracy. It is very easy for anyone in power to lose touch of other people’s realties when one is shielded within the trappings of power.

Just remember. A political campaign is like an ongoing interview and vote courtship process. It doesn’t mean that once you win the election, it’s smooth sailing all through out. The voters are your employers. If they’re not happy with you, they’ll throw you out and it’s not on  a whim either.

Food for thought indeed!

Josie

Flag Care and Its Eventual Retirement

I had just celebrated Canada Day(July 1)  and the Americans are going to celebrate their Independence Day(July 4) pretty soon.

On both of these days, it involves their respective flags which represent them as a nation and its people. the symbolism is so significant that it’s very important and imperative that the flags have to be taken cared of after all the festivities and celebrations are over for the calendar year.

Frankly, one can hoist their flags all year long as long as they know how to take care of them.

General pointers would be to hoist them at a secure position free from potential falls,critters and vandalism for example. Exposing them to the elements like harsh winter storms , floods and  violent winds would produce considerable wear and tear so it would be great to take them down before it does happen.

Gentle hand wash of the flag with warm or cold  soapy water would do and then air dry.

Once the flag does exhibit considerable wear and tear from constant use, it’s time to retire it from its service. How to do it best would be to consult one’s local war veterans center regarding this matter.

I believe such pointers would apply to other countries’ flags ,not only to both Canada and the U.S.

Food for thought!

Bonjour!

Josie