Sex or Fireworks: the Choice is Yours

Men in Naples,the original Italian Naples that is, were caught between a rock and a hard place as they marked the turn of the year this time round.

Neapolitans normally celebrate in that world wide, time-honoured waste of money - the firework display, and they tend to be extravagant, excessive and hyperactive in their chosen method of celebrating. Cheap, illegal fireworks flood the market and even the youngest of children have access to them, leading to the injury of handlers and spectators, and (more significantly) to much annoyance and lack of sleep for all those citizens who, like me, fail to attribute any special merit to the movement of the hands of the clock.

In Naples 2008 was heralded with 1 death and 473 injuries resulting from home made bangers, and that was after police had managed to confiscate a massive146 tonnes of the things beforehand, but how do you stop young men from letting off fireworks?

The answer to the problem comes in the form of Naples housewife, Carolina Staiano. Carolina's father was seriously injured handling illicit fireworks as a young man and suffered from epilepsy for the rest of his life as a result.

Carolina's method of pyrotechinic reduction is simple and even more time-honoured than the firework displays she intends to wipe out. She has persuaded hundreds (it is clamed) of women in Naples to give their men a choice on New Years Eve: fireworks in the street or fireworks in the bedroom, but definitely not both. And it seems that even the city fathers (who may be too old for either it must be admitted) appear to be persuaded, urging the authorities to adopt the slogan “Make love, not explosions”, advice that might be taken the wrong way by some lusty young stallions.

So I wonder which was the more lit up this year - the Naples sky or the bedrooms of Naples? Which do Neapolitan men prefer - fireworks with their men friends or fireworks with their women? And why was the part of Belfast I live in devoid of fireworks this year (the gunpowder kind)? And what choice did the redoubtable Carolina's husband make? He wouldn't dare!

Way to go Carolina.

Sex or Fireworks: the Choice is Yours

Men in Naples,the original Italian Naples that is, were caught between a rock and a hard place as they marked the turn of the year this time round.

Neapolitans normally celebrate in that world wide, time-honoured waste of money - the firework display, and they tend to be extravagant, excessive and hyperactive in their chosen method of celebrating. Cheap, illegal fireworks flood the market and even the youngest of children have access to them, leading to the injury of handlers and spectators, and (more significantly) to much annoyance and lack of sleep for all those citizens who, like me, fail to attribute any special merit to the movement of the hands of the clock.

In Naples 2008 was heralded with 1 death and 473 injuries resulting from home made bangers, and that was after police had managed to confiscate a massive146 tonnes of the things beforehand, but how do you stop young men from letting off fireworks?

The answer to the problem comes in the form of Naples housewife, Carolina Staiano. Carolina's father was seriously injured handling illicit fireworks as a young man and suffered from epilepsy for the rest of his life as a result.

Carolina's method of pyrotechinic reduction is simple and even more time-honoured than the firework displays she intends to wipe out. She has persuaded hundreds (it is clamed) of women in Naples to give their men a choice on New Years Eve: fireworks in the street or fireworks in the bedroom, but definitely not both. And it seems that even the city fathers (who may be too old for either it must be admitted) appear to be persuaded, urging the authorities to adopt the slogan “Make love, not explosions”, advice that might be taken the wrong way by some lusty young stallions.

So I wonder which was the more lit up this year - the Naples sky or the bedrooms of Naples? Which do Neapolitan men prefer - fireworks with their men friends or fireworks with their women? And why was the part of Belfast I live in devoid of fireworks this year (the gunpowder kind)? And what choice did the redoubtable Carolina's husband make? He wouldn't dare!

Way to go Carolina.

Poverty in Egypt

Many factors in today’s society contribute to Egypt's constantly growing poverty rate. While the country is home to some of the wealthiest people in the world, it also contains some of the poorest.

Many people assume that the only reason people don't make it in today's society is because of lack of ambition or unemployment. While this is often true there are many other contributors as to why some people are poor and others are not. In a country where equal opportunity is emphasized so greatly it is shocking to see how many people live below the poverty line, for reasons other than just laziness. Some of the main causes of income inequality are lack of education and training, single parents, discrimination, inherited wealth, and luck.

Lack of education is perhaps the greatest contributor to poverty in Egypt today. Generally with education comes life skills and knowledge. Without an education it is extremely hard to make it in today's society. As Egypt is a third world developing country it is assumable there would be a large number of people in poverty. The job market is highly selective these days. With transcripts needed to obtain a job, many people will be looked down upon because of their education status.

According to Global Issues, nearly a billion people entered the 21st century unable to read a book or sign their names. It is almost impossible for people to get any sort of decent job, if they are illiterate. In a recent study I did for a project, I interviewed homeless people, asking them their reasons for living on the street. About 90 percent of them had not graduated from even high school. Having an education allows people to learn common Math and English skills, however also provides them with preparation for the real world. The more educated on is, the more attainable high paying jobs are. It is much easier to obtain a job, having graduated college or even high school.

Another big factor of poverty is the ever-growing single parent's population. With more divorces now days, more mothers are being forced to be the sole care takers of their children, making it harder to get full time jobs. If parents are not able to leave their children unattended they either have to pay for childcare or work less hours, settling for less of an income. “The divorced mother of a 16-year-old daughter, Azza Hemdan has worked for the Giza Municipal Social Solidarity Sector for 12 years, earning exactly LE 240 a month” (el-Jesri). This issue is also a large contributor to poverty in today's society. Throughout recent years there have been several discussions of one more classification for a cause of poverty.

Discrimination also plays a large role in poverty. People can be discriminated against due to their age, ethnicity, and even physical appearance. Now if English is not someone's fluent language the jobs available decrease an extreme amount. Another important factor in today's poverty line is the amount of people who inherit their wealth. If someone is born into money, as opposed to someone who must work their way up, the person with the wealthy family will most likely be rich. For some people it is necessary to work for their money, while for others it is handed down to them.

Finally another factor, which is often overlooked, is the matter of luck. If one happens to be naturally smart it will inevitably be easier to succeed in life, over someone who has to work much harder to gain knowledge. Luck is also very important in inherited wealth. Some people just get lucky and get money handed to them by their parents, and some people happen to have connections at high paying jobs. Luck is the one thing that cannot be changed in relation to poverty. All of the previous factors listed contribute greatly to our increasing poverty rate, and unless people step up and start making education a priority not much will change within our lifetime.

Poverty in Egypt

Many factors in today’s society contribute to Egypt's constantly growing poverty rate. While the country is home to some of the wealthiest people in the world, it also contains some of the poorest.

Many people assume that the only reason people don't make it in today's society is because of lack of ambition or unemployment. While this is often true there are many other contributors as to why some people are poor and others are not. In a country where equal opportunity is emphasized so greatly it is shocking to see how many people live below the poverty line, for reasons other than just laziness. Some of the main causes of income inequality are lack of education and training, single parents, discrimination, inherited wealth, and luck.

Lack of education is perhaps the greatest contributor to poverty in Egypt today. Generally with education comes life skills and knowledge. Without an education it is extremely hard to make it in today's society. As Egypt is a third world developing country it is assumable there would be a large number of people in poverty. The job market is highly selective these days. With transcripts needed to obtain a job, many people will be looked down upon because of their education status.

According to Global Issues, nearly a billion people entered the 21st century unable to read a book or sign their names. It is almost impossible for people to get any sort of decent job, if they are illiterate. In a recent study I did for a project, I interviewed homeless people, asking them their reasons for living on the street. About 90 percent of them had not graduated from even high school. Having an education allows people to learn common Math and English skills, however also provides them with preparation for the real world. The more educated on is, the more attainable high paying jobs are. It is much easier to obtain a job, having graduated college or even high school.

Another big factor of poverty is the ever-growing single parent's population. With more divorces now days, more mothers are being forced to be the sole care takers of their children, making it harder to get full time jobs. If parents are not able to leave their children unattended they either have to pay for childcare or work less hours, settling for less of an income. “The divorced mother of a 16-year-old daughter, Azza Hemdan has worked for the Giza Municipal Social Solidarity Sector for 12 years, earning exactly LE 240 a month” (el-Jesri). This issue is also a large contributor to poverty in today's society. Throughout recent years there have been several discussions of one more classification for a cause of poverty.

Discrimination also plays a large role in poverty. People can be discriminated against due to their age, ethnicity, and even physical appearance. Now if English is not someone's fluent language the jobs available decrease an extreme amount. Another important factor in today's poverty line is the amount of people who inherit their wealth. If someone is born into money, as opposed to someone who must work their way up, the person with the wealthy family will most likely be rich. For some people it is necessary to work for their money, while for others it is handed down to them.

Finally another factor, which is often overlooked, is the matter of luck. If one happens to be naturally smart it will inevitably be easier to succeed in life, over someone who has to work much harder to gain knowledge. Luck is also very important in inherited wealth. Some people just get lucky and get money handed to them by their parents, and some people happen to have connections at high paying jobs. Luck is the one thing that cannot be changed in relation to poverty. All of the previous factors listed contribute greatly to our increasing poverty rate, and unless people step up and start making education a priority not much will change within our lifetime.

The Real Definition of Love

Love has many different meanings to all different types of people. There are many stages of love at different ages and different types of love. This is all about the real definition of love.

What is the real definition of love? Love has many different meanings to all different types of people. There are many stages of love at different ages and different types of love. My definition of love is caring about someone so deeply that your like would be very different with out them there would always be a little piece of yourself missing if they pass away or leave you. Your life is incomplete when they are away and you would do anything to protect them or to make them happy. When I think of love I think of a couple sitting by the ocean holding hands and kissing. The feeling of love is “that can't eat cant sleep reach for the stars world series kinda stuff”. But this definition and the way that I portray and believe in love differs from yours, the classrooms, and probably many other people. “Love is an incredibly powerful word. When you're in love, you always want to be together, and when you're not, you're thinking about being together because you need that person and without them your life is incomplete” (Sophocles).

My definition of love is what I personally think of it. The definition that I gave is what I think of when thinking of a couple (being in a relationship with another person.) This is my interpretation of love as an 18-year-old female. But when I was a little kid I thought of love in a completely different way, and when I am older and wiser I will probably think of love differently also. As an a teenager I realize that I have not experienced the real meaning of life yet and that I have not seen all there is to see in the world so how could I understand the “real” definition of love? How can anyone really know the real definition of love? I believe that love is one of the hardest words in the dictionary to actually understand and know the true definition.

There are so many different types of love. There is little kid love, teenage love, friendship love, family love, marriage love and parent to children love. All of these different types of love have similar meanings but have a little something different to be unique. Clearly when you're a little kid you don't really know what love is. Yes, you love your parents and your family and your friends but children don't get the concept of actually loving someone. Teenagers and their concept of being “in love” most people think they are crazy because teenagers have no idea what love is. That is usually what is said when people hear of teenagers being in love. Teenagers believe they are in love after possibly being with someone for just a few weeks or months can you actually be in love with someone after just that short period of time? And if you are in love with that person then why do you not spend forever with them? Another interpretation of love for me is having that person in your life forever, and teenagers fall in and out of love all of the time so is it actually love? Who can really tell?

Friendship love is different for everyone; everyone loves their friends and would probably be lost without them. I believe friends are the purity in life and without them every one would be a little crazy. Friendship love is knowing that you will always have someone to call, cry to or just to be there for you when you need him or her most. I think that friendship love is one of the best kinds of love because you may fight and be mad but true friendship will last even if you argue and don't talk for a while you can go back like nothing ever happened.

Family love, everyone has family members and everyone loves there family. But this kind of love is very different then a relationship kind of love because your dealing with a different type of feeling, but it is still love. When people are around their families they are there real selves. No questions asked no one is judging them they can be free to be themselves. “Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind” (Dr.Seuss). Families will always love you for you. No matter what happens, how bad you screw up and the mistakes that you make your family will always be there to have your back. That is true love and an unbreakable bond that no one can really explain or come between.

Marriage love, how do people know that this is where they belong for the rest of their lives, that the love they have for this person will last forever and that they can trust this person to be good to them and make them happy forever, at my age I see it very hard to know this. But that's where love comes in, when you love someone enough to make them apart of your life forever. "The best love is the kind that awakens the soul and makes us reach for more, that plants a fire in our hearts and brings peace to our minds.”(Nickolas Sparks, The Notebook) That said by Nickolas Sparks is what I believe is a deep everlasting feeling of love.

Love to me is always caring about the person not wanting to be without them and not being mad or staying mad at the person. When does this ever happen though? Hardly ever. When people are in love they argue, they fight, they have disagreements and it is usually never as perfect as most people picture love to be. At first they might have a difficult time trusting the person that they love and through out there loving relationship they may have disagreements but it is worth it. Love is worth the trouble and the baggage that comes along with it because love gives meaning to life and without love life would be so boring.

The Real Definition of Love

Love has many different meanings to all different types of people. There are many stages of love at different ages and different types of love. This is all about the real definition of love.

What is the real definition of love? Love has many different meanings to all different types of people. There are many stages of love at different ages and different types of love. My definition of love is caring about someone so deeply that your like would be very different with out them there would always be a little piece of yourself missing if they pass away or leave you. Your life is incomplete when they are away and you would do anything to protect them or to make them happy. When I think of love I think of a couple sitting by the ocean holding hands and kissing. The feeling of love is “that can't eat cant sleep reach for the stars world series kinda stuff”. But this definition and the way that I portray and believe in love differs from yours, the classrooms, and probably many other people. “Love is an incredibly powerful word. When you're in love, you always want to be together, and when you're not, you're thinking about being together because you need that person and without them your life is incomplete” (Sophocles).

My definition of love is what I personally think of it. The definition that I gave is what I think of when thinking of a couple (being in a relationship with another person.) This is my interpretation of love as an 18-year-old female. But when I was a little kid I thought of love in a completely different way, and when I am older and wiser I will probably think of love differently also. As an a teenager I realize that I have not experienced the real meaning of life yet and that I have not seen all there is to see in the world so how could I understand the “real” definition of love? How can anyone really know the real definition of love? I believe that love is one of the hardest words in the dictionary to actually understand and know the true definition.

There are so many different types of love. There is little kid love, teenage love, friendship love, family love, marriage love and parent to children love. All of these different types of love have similar meanings but have a little something different to be unique. Clearly when you're a little kid you don't really know what love is. Yes, you love your parents and your family and your friends but children don't get the concept of actually loving someone. Teenagers and their concept of being “in love” most people think they are crazy because teenagers have no idea what love is. That is usually what is said when people hear of teenagers being in love. Teenagers believe they are in love after possibly being with someone for just a few weeks or months can you actually be in love with someone after just that short period of time? And if you are in love with that person then why do you not spend forever with them? Another interpretation of love for me is having that person in your life forever, and teenagers fall in and out of love all of the time so is it actually love? Who can really tell?

Friendship love is different for everyone; everyone loves their friends and would probably be lost without them. I believe friends are the purity in life and without them every one would be a little crazy. Friendship love is knowing that you will always have someone to call, cry to or just to be there for you when you need him or her most. I think that friendship love is one of the best kinds of love because you may fight and be mad but true friendship will last even if you argue and don't talk for a while you can go back like nothing ever happened.

Family love, everyone has family members and everyone loves there family. But this kind of love is very different then a relationship kind of love because your dealing with a different type of feeling, but it is still love. When people are around their families they are there real selves. No questions asked no one is judging them they can be free to be themselves. “Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind” (Dr.Seuss). Families will always love you for you. No matter what happens, how bad you screw up and the mistakes that you make your family will always be there to have your back. That is true love and an unbreakable bond that no one can really explain or come between.

Marriage love, how do people know that this is where they belong for the rest of their lives, that the love they have for this person will last forever and that they can trust this person to be good to them and make them happy forever, at my age I see it very hard to know this. But that's where love comes in, when you love someone enough to make them apart of your life forever. "The best love is the kind that awakens the soul and makes us reach for more, that plants a fire in our hearts and brings peace to our minds.”(Nickolas Sparks, The Notebook) That said by Nickolas Sparks is what I believe is a deep everlasting feeling of love.

Love to me is always caring about the person not wanting to be without them and not being mad or staying mad at the person. When does this ever happen though? Hardly ever. When people are in love they argue, they fight, they have disagreements and it is usually never as perfect as most people picture love to be. At first they might have a difficult time trusting the person that they love and through out there loving relationship they may have disagreements but it is worth it. Love is worth the trouble and the baggage that comes along with it because love gives meaning to life and without love life would be so boring.

Beach

This is paradise. The beach stretches on for what seems like forever before finally in the distance curving into a smooth crescent. The evening air is warm, moist and refreshing. The smells of the ocean and beach surround and engulf me.

The grains of sand are cool and smooth against my feet. The beach is a desert against the canopy of great palm trees. Their bark is like scales, and each leaf is a thousand knives. Glistening in the setting sun. My hammock, although not a natural occurrence, is a necessity. It provides a relaxing and comfortable way to feel at one with my surroundings.

The ocean waves lick the sandy beach foaming as they glide toward me before sliding back down into the graceful sea. The sea is an ocean of ripple glass reflecting, reflecting magnificent yellow and orange. The smooth waves miles away roll like a flag in the wind. Just down the beach the waves thrash against rocks like an angry beast trying to get out of its cage onto land.

The smell of the beach engulfs me in this almost unreal world of relaxation. The air is smooth, not wet and not dry. You could almost touch it, you could feel it all around. It reminds me of a dog kissing its master. My shorts, the only thing I am wearing, are smooth like the layer of silk that seems to sit over the sea and waving slightly in the ocean breeze. Here I can feel the energy living or not, coming from he sea and from the many birds that sit still, not stirring as if in a trance by this beauty, out of sight. I could feel the energy of the people laughing and dancing at the hotel bar. Along with this comes the strong smell of liquor and wine.. The drink I have sitting next to me produces a dry taste that slightly dulls the scene.

As I like here, the sound of waves pound the beach like maracas whose slow thunder glides up and down the shore. I hear the distant sounds of a party: people are yelling at the tops of their lungs as if their lives depended on it. I'm not complaining because along with this and all the other sounds comes the sound and feel of paradise.