Save the world! We can do it. YOU can do it!

Guys.
This is important, please listen.
We live our lives every day as if nothing bad will ever happen to us. We go to school, we go to work, we read our books, we tweet our thoughts, we eat our cake.
The world is going to end, guys.
It might not look so bad right now, but things are going seriously downhill in terms of the health of our environment. I know you already know this, but the truth is, it seems secondary to all of us at some point. But it shouldn't be. It's DEFINITELY our business. To each and every one of us.

What I am talking about here today is the Arctic disappearing. It's disappearing because oil exploiters want to access the oil waaay beneath the Arctic waters, the oils which will make the ice melt. It's disappearing because giant fishing companies are starting (and have started) exploiting the Arctic Ocean, which is destroying the icebergs. And it's disappearing because countries are fighting over the Arctic. Yes, that's right: the five neighboring countries are advancing their pawns to try to extend their territory. I quote Greenpeace:

"Countries are spending billions on Arctic weaponry, threatening the long-term peace of the region. Nuclear-powered ice-breakers, submarines and fighter jets are being purchased by Arctic states with overlapping claims on the area around the North Pole."

And why should we care about this? Because the health of the ice determines OUR health. No ice, no life.

"The ice at the top of the world reflects much of the sun’s heat back into space and keeps our whole planet cool, stabilising the weather systems that we depend on to grow our food. Protecting the ice means protecting us all."

This video also explains it.





SIGN THE PETITION TO PROTECT THE ARCTIC HERE: http://www.savethearctic.org/en-US/
Tweet it! Facebook it! Pin it! You can do so from anywhere it the world! We can stop this mistreatment of our earth! Our goal is 6,000,000  signatures and we've already gotten 5,162, 223! Sign now!

Let's save the world. :)

This will change your life. I'm not kidding. Best Speech You Will Ever Hear - Gary Yourofsky.

Guys.
GUYS.
I want you to stop what you're doing and watch this speech. RIGHT. NOW.

I present to you Gary Yourofsky, an amazing and brave animal rights activist who changed the lives of many, many animals... AND people.

This guy is RADICAL. He has has given 2,495 lectures to more than 60,000 people at 180 schools in 30 different states AND in several Israeli cities and schools. The lecture below has been translated into more than 30 languages and has received over 7 million hits on YouTube. He has been legally (and unjustly) punished for random acts of kindness and compassion. He's been banned from entering several countries because of trying to serve justice towards animals. For example, in 1997, in Ontario, Canada, he liberated 1, 542 minks from being slaughtered on a fur farm... which led to him being kicked out of Canada.

This speech will completely change your beliefs about meat consumption.
Yes, it's one hour long, but I can assure you that it's totally worth it. This guy is a pure GENIUS. I promise that this will be a good use of your time. It's not just a good use of your time, it's an IMPORTANT, LIFE-OR-DEATH implied use of your time. Please watch it. It's all I ask of you.

So go on, click on play.

How do you feel after watching this? Did you know about Gary Yourofsky before?

It could have been me- Thoughts on shootings in Kenya

Most of you probably don't know that I was born in Nairobi, Kenya.
My middle name is "Makena" which, in Kikuyu (a Kenyan tribe), means joy.

Me at seven months

I lived in Nairobi until I was one month old, and then we moved to Uganda, but we went back to Kenya many times.

The truth is, I don't remember anything from the first two years of my life spent in Africa, but my mom took tons of pictures of me as a baby, so I know that it was real. I really did live there.
I know it was fourteen years ago that we lived in Nairobi, but as my mom, heart-stricken by the horrible news of this shooting, types anxious messages to her friends currently residing in Kenya, I can't help but Wonder:
Why am I so lucky?

It could have been me, enjoying a frozen yogurt with my friends at the Westgate Mall.
It could have been me, at the movies with my brother for a weekend treat.
But it wasn't.
What if our life as a family had gone differently and my dad had continued working full time as a doctor in Africa? We might still have been living in Nairobi, Kenya.
One of us might have been in that mall yesterday when the Islamist terrorists started shooting their AK-47 guns.
I do know our life in Kenya is waaaaaay in the past, but I still feel like I missed this attack by very, very close.
I feel so powerless when I look at the pictures of those poor victims lying dead on the floor. Why are humans SO cruel? Why can't we all just leave each other alone?

My thoughts today are directed to all the Kenyans and residents of Kenya who are most likely terrified.
Lets give a prayer to all those people, regardless of which religion we follow, or how we pray, if we pray at all. Lets just hope with all our hearts for those people to be safe and recover.

Is it really worth it?

My friend was shocked when she discovered it takes 4 gallons (15 liters) to produce a pair of jeans. Although that is a lot, I would like to point out that it takes, according to the UN water use statistics, 1850 gallons (7000 liters) to produce 1 pound of beef. Yes, you read it right, 1850 gallons per pound, when it takes just 264 gallons (1000 liters) to produce a pound of rice.

When 1 out of 9 people in the world don't have enough water to live, is this really a smart way to use our earth's water resources? Is a steak that will be eaten in a matter of ten minutes, then digested, and finishing as poop and clogged arteries really worth it?

Like John Robbins said, "you can save more water by not eating a pound of beef than you will save by not showering for a year". Now isn't THAT shocking?

And don't get me started about how much grain is needed to produce a pound of tasty beef, and how many starving people it could feed.

I guess the message I want to pass is that if the world doesn't stop consuming meat in such an excessive and unhealthy way, well, we're all doomed. Just saying.

First World Problems

Yesterday, as I walked in the door, I exclaimed: "I HATE this bag! It is SO impractical!", throwing my bag onto my bed.
And at that second, FIRST WORLD PROBLEM flashed in my mind.
As Ryan Higa so cleverly pointed out in his extremely funny video (see below), we all complain about such stupid things, while at that moment kids in Africa are starving, and kids in India are exploited for child labor (they probably made the stupid bag, as a matter of fact).
Have you been dreaming of a new computer for a while, and been so frustrated when your parents won't buy it for you? Have you had a fit of rage when a web page was taking ages to load?
Have you been ashamed of your shirt with a stain on it?
Or been envious and mad at the fact that your hair is less fabulous than your neighbour's?
I've got three words for you: FIRST WORLD PROBLEM.

Hier, quand je suis rentrée chez moi, je me suis exclamée: "Ce sac est HYPER incommode! Je le déteste!" en jetant mon sac sur mon lit.
Et à ce moment précis, ces mots ont flashé dans ma tête: PROBLÈME DU PREMIER MONDE.
Comme Ryan Higa à si intelligemment souligné dans une vidéo hyper drôle (en bas), on se plaint tous de choses tellement stupides, alors qu'à ce moment précis des enfants en Afrique meurent de faim, et des enfants en Inde sont exploités pour le travail (ils ont probablement fabriqué le sac, en fait.)
Fait-il un moment que vous rêvez d'un nouvel ordinateur, et avez-vous été frustrés quand vos parents refusent de vous l'acheter?
Avez vous déjà été enragés quand une page web à pris des heures à charger?
Avez vous eu honte de votre t-shirt qui à une toute petite tache dessus?
Ou même été envieux du fait que vos cheveux sont moins beaux que ceux de vos voisins?
J'ai quatre mots pour vous: PROBLÈME DU PREMIER MONDE.

 

When we put things in perspective, we sound like whiny spoiled brats.

Now aren't you happy this isn't your reality?

 

Quand on met les choses en perspective, on a l'air de gamins gâtés pleurnichards...

N'êtes vous pas contents que ceci n'est pas votre réalité?

 

Book review: Never fall down, by Patricia McCormick

Mes excuses aux lecteurs francophones, aujourd'hui je n'écris qu'en anglais, car je fais une recommandation d'un livre que j'ai récemment fini de lire, et il n'a pas été traduit de l'anglais. Peut-être un jour il le sera! :)

I recently finished reading this book, and I recommend it to all of you, especially you humanitarians.

Never Fall Down

In this book, Patricia McCormick, the author of Cut (another great read) tells the story of Arn Chorn-Pond, a poor child in Cambodia whose life changes dramatically when the Khmer Rouge arrive in his hometown and evict everybody, separating him from his little brother, aunt and sisters. He is forced into working the long days under the blazing sun in the rice paddies. Every day he sees and hears people dying of sicknesses and starvation. He saves his own life when he volunteers to play an instrument, regardless of the fact that he's never touched an instrument before. But doing that pulls him into the centre of the killing fields, and he is forced to become a soldier, and if he wants to survive, he will have to be very brave...

This book is wonderfully written, and very informative. You will be shocked at how far cruelty can go, and how inhumane humans can be. You will be even more shocked about the fact that this is a true story. That all of this stuff actually happened and it is still happening
Arn is brought to do things he would have never in his lifetime imagined himself doing.

I read this book quite fast. I think that the content of this book is very important, and it is necessary that everyone reads this to be more aware of the problems in the world. The end is very inspiring, and brought tears to my eyes.
So add it to your reading list.
I give it five stars.
Happy reading! :)

What the fudge is this?

There are so many beautiful, wonderful, amazing things in the world, so, my question is... Why this?
See this picture? See the number of people out there on my street?

Manifestation

Well, they are protesting. They are making a big ruckus, and a LOT of noise.
Why?
They are protesting against gay marriage and adoption.
...
...
...

What is the matter with people?! Where is the world going?
If you are gay, you're born like that and you should have the same rights as everyone else! How can these people try to deny gay people the right to have a child, or to get married? Any of those people out there, protesting against justice and human rights, could have been gay, or even their children. Then how would they have felt?
Even someone I respect, a very nice, correct and polite person, admitted to wanting to go out there and protest as well. People can be so disapointing!

Going to bed disappointed in humanity tonight :(



Il y a tellement de choses magnifiques, merveilleuses, fantastiques dans le monde, donc ma question est... pourquoi ça?
Vous voyez cette photo? Le nombre de gens dans ma rue?
Et bien, ils protestent. Et ils font BEAUCOUP de bruit.
Pourquoi?
Ils protestent contre le mariage homosexuel et leur droit d'adopter.
...
...
...
C'est quoi leur problème?! Où va le monde?
Si tu est homosexuel, tu est né comme ça et tu devrais avoir les mêmes droits que les autres! Comment accepter le fait que tu ne peux pas te marier, ou adopter un enfant...? N'importe-qui dans cette manifestation contre la justice et les droits humains aurait pu être né homosexuel, ou même leurs enfants.
Même quelqu'un que je respecte, quelqu'un de très sympa, correct, et poli a exprimé l'envie d'aller protester. Les gens peuvent être si décevants!

Je vais me coucher déçue en l'homme ce soir :(

 

Be cool, not cruel

I want to tell you about how it is just impossible to find cruelty-free shoes. I have been searching for months. With no luck... until the other day.

I was looking for little black boots that would look cute with skirts, jeans, anything really, and I wanted it to be synthetic material, because I just hate the idea of walking around with the skin of a dead cow on my feet. You can order cruelty-free shoes from the internet, like from vegetarianshoes.com for example, but the shoes, with all the extra shipping costs, would cost more than 120 euros. Not happening!
I searched in all the nearby boutiques and stores, and found nothing of what I was looking for. No-one sells synthetic boots, because everybody wants real leather. I find that really dumb. Synthetic leather costs sooooo much less, it looks exactly the same, it is waterproof, AND cruelty-free. So who needs leather?!
Determined, I did not want to give up on my shoe quest. Then, somebody suggested that we try Pinka+, a shop that I had always ignored, because it looked junky from the outside. So I went in, and guess what? They had a large variety of fashionable, affordable, high-quality, synthetic "leather" boots! I then had a hard time choosing which boots I wanted! There were so many! So, the message is, never judge a book by its cover. Or never judge a store by the way its store front looks! ;)

Also, I just finished reading Choker (by Elizabeth Woods), and now I'm not sure what to read. Any suggestions?


Je tiens à vous dire à quel point c'est impossible de trouver des bottes qui ne sont pas en cuir. J'ai cherché pendant des mois, sans chance ... jusqu'à l'autre jour.
Je cherchais des petites bottes noires qui iraient avec des jupes, jeans, en gros tout, et je voulais que ce soit en matière synthétique, parce que je déteste l'idée de me promener avec la peau d'une vache morte à mes pieds. Vous pouvez en commander sur Internet, à vegetarianshoes.com par exemple, mais les chaussures, avec tous les coûts supplémentaires d'expédition, coûteraient plus de 120 euros. Pas question! 
J'ai cherché partout, et j'ai rien trouvé. Personne veux vendre des chaussures en faux-cuir, car tout le monde veut acheter du vrai. Je trouve ça bête. Le synthétique coûte tellement moins cher, a le même aspect, c'est imperméable, et, le plus important, pas de cruauté impliquée. Qui a besoin de cuir?!
Déterminée, j'ai continué à chercher, et quelqu'un nous à dit d'aller à Pinka+, une boutique que j'ai toujours évité, car l'extérieur est un peu moche. Alors j'y suis allée, et ils ont une grande variété de jolies bottes, pas chères, de bonne qualité, en en matière synthétique! J'avais même du mal a me décider. Il y en avait tellement! Il ne faut pas se fier aux apparences. ;)

Aussi, je viens de finir un livre, et je ne sais pas quoi lire maintenant. Des suggestions?

Vote for Hope

Today is the day of the US elections.... Fingers crossed for Obama!
I will be heartbroken if he is not re-elected.
I can't believe it was already four years ago that Obama became president. Time flies! I remember watching CNN on the couch with my mom in Paris, and how we both started crying whan he was elected. What a happy memory.  :')
I hope, with all my heart, that it will be the same this year. Here's a video that we watched repeatedly four years ago around the elections:

 

Aujourd'hui, c'est les élections présidentielles aux États-Unis... Croisons les doigts pour Obama!

J'aurai le coeur brisé s'il n'est pas réélu.

Je n'arrive pas à croire que cela fait déjà quatre ans qu'Obama est président. Le temps passe tellement vite! Je me souviens du soir des élections il y a quatre ans: J'étais encore à Paris, et avec ma mère on regardait CNN sur le canapé. On avait toutes les deux pleuré quand il était élu. Quel beau souvenir.  :')

Je souhaite de tout mon coeur que ce sera pareil ce soir. La vidéo juste au-dessus, on l'a regardé en boucle au temps des élections il y a quatre ans.