Blog 12_ Black Friday

In the United States and Canada, the day after Thanksgiving, also known as Black Friday, is the beginning of the Christmas shopping season. People fill up department stores and malls in order to get the best bargain. Many wake up at 4 a.m., or earlier, just for special sells. It's the perfect time to find clothes, boots, and electronics. It is the busiest shopping day of the year.
I have never personally experienced Black Friday before because I've always lived in Asia. However, I have heard numerous stories and seen countless pictures of Black Friday. Every single person, from young to old, seems to be out of the house shopping. To me, it sounds like the best day ever. Who doesn't like great discounts? Who doesn't want a day of simply spending money and buying everything you want? I have seen photos of my friends, each holding three big bags of "success," at the very least. I have listened to my friends show off the new cameras they got at a fairly cheap price.
In my opinion, every country should have Black Friday. This would most certainly boost the GDP because of the sudden increase in consumption every year on that day. However, it would be very difficult. It takes a very long time to establish a tradition; it is said that Black Friday started in 1975. Stores may be reluctant be give great discounts because they feel they have nothing to earn. Perhaps the government could give the stores incentives to provide good bargains on Black Fridays, such as lower tax.

Blog 11_The Taekwondo Incident at the Asian Games

I'm sure everyone in Taiwan is aware of the taekwondo incident that happened at the Asian games around 6 days ago. Taiwanese competitor Yang Shu-Chun was suddenly disqualified when she was leading by 9-0, because her socks had extra electronic sensors. The judge who halted the match was a Filipino of Korean decent and the technician who found the sensors was Korean. At the sudden announcement of her disqualification, the Taiwanese people are greatly angered because we had a shot at winning the gold medal for the under 49kg (108lb) division. Since then, the Taiwanese people have burnt South Korean flags, smashed South Korean products like Samsung products and instant noodles, boycotting South Korean goods, and have even thrown eggs at a South Korean school in Taipei. Countless Facebook events have been created and many Youtube videos have been posted in support of the anti-Korean movement.

The reaction of the Taiwanese people surprised me. I did not imagine us to be so aggressive and nationalistic. Mr.Meneses, in class yesterday, pointed out that most Asian countries are nationalistic, in particular China, Japan and South Korea, perhaps due to our past. When something against the entire nation happens, the people unite and turn against their common enemy. This is no different from the United States, whereas when 911 happened, the entire nation turned against the terrorists. In some ways this nationalism can be good, but it can be disastrous as well. It can ignite conflict, which eventually leads to war.

Having joined one of the Facebook events, I understand how the rest of the Taiwanese population feel. However, some of our actions are not justified. Even if the judge was Korean, it does not mean that the entire Korean nation should take blame. It is like accusing an entire school of crazy violent lunatics when only one of them is. Surely we can express our anger and discontent, but we should not go so far that hostility between the two nations build up. Replacing the red and blue ying yang on the South Korean flag with dung is simply demeaning and unacceptable.

Blog 10_Exorcists wanted: apply to Catholic Church

The title of this article was enough to keep me laughing. As I read the entire article, I couldn't stop laughing at the absurdity of the content (I LMAOed, literally). Basically, the U.S. Roman Catholic Church began holding special training workshops for exorcists since Friday. So far, there are only 5 or 6 American exorcists and the demand is on the increase. Therefore, the church has signed up 56 bishops and 66 priests.

Whenever I think of exorcism, I think of movies like "The Last Exorcist" and "Constantine". To be honest, it gives me the creeps because demons and evil spirits are always involved. The reason I refuse to believe in exorcism is because 1) it's ridiculous and 2) it scares me. Perhaps the idea that evil spirits can overtake one's soul is too horrifying for me to accept.

In the last sentence of the article, it reads "Possible signs of demonic possession include scratching, cutting, biting of the skin; profound displays of strength; and a strong or violent reaction to holy water". I wonder why the author put this here-was it to warn us of demon-possessed people around us? So we can inform the exorcists to rid them?

It makes me wonder why there is a sudden increase in the demand for exorcists in the United States, though. Are there more people "possessed" nowadays? Or are people just more superstitious? In temples in Taiwan, there are spirit mediums called tongjis, which are people who can communicate with the spirits. These tongjis are dressed in a funny outfit and they dance in a weird way. Some even go as far as to hitting their heads with a stick with sharp blades sticking out, not stopping until their faces are covered in blood. I always believed these tongjis to be putting on a show. However, I feel great pity for them, having to hurt their own bodies to make a living.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20101112/od_nm/us_romancatholic_exorcists;_ylt=AmqBBsxOOJrBPXmrl1vgVpms0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTFmMDEzcjJhBHBvcwMxODEEc2VjA2FjY29yZGlvbl9vZGRfbmV3cwRzbGsDZXhvcmNpc3Rzd2Fu

Blog 9_The Socialite Network: UK's Queen joins Facebook

What do you know, even Queen Elizabeth II has a Facebook page now. Even though it is merely a corporate page, not an actual personal profile, this is a huge step. This seems to prove the point that Facebook is the new door to the "modern" world nowadays. One of the officials said, "If you are going to have an online presence in 2010, you just have to be on Facebook."
I absolutely agree with that statement, seeing that almost everybody has access to the Internet and over 500 million people use Facebook, ranging from middle-school kids to 80-year-old seniors. It's the newest way to "connect" and fit in. Without Facebook, one would be missing out on the newest event,gossip, and discussions.
In fact, the royal family have already set up an account on Flickr, Twitter in 2009 and a video channel on YouTube in 2007. In almost every country, the government sets up accounts as such to connect to the common citizens. In Taiwan, President Ma speaks to us through recorded videos. The president of Nigeria, Goodluck Jonathan, has a Facebook page also. Even though these websites are not monitored by the actual politician/royalty themselves, but people still feel a sense of connection.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101107/ap_on_hi_te/eu_britain_queen_on_facebook