Entry 75



" A witness, Iraqi Judge Munir Haddad ... said Hussein appeared 'totally oblivious to what was going on around him. I was very surprised. He was not afraid of death.' ... But Munir Haddad's description of Hussein's demeanor before his execution contrasts markedly with another witness, Iraqi national security adviser Mowaffak al-Rubaie. ' He was a broken man,' al-Rubaie said. 'He was afraid. You could see fear in his face.' ...

From:
http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/12/30/hussein/index.html

During the time I was watching him standing still at the gallows, being surrounded by the masked executioners & listening to one of them describing the process of his execution, I was wondering what was running through his mind ... I remembered what I had heard about "Marie Antoinette", the Queen of France ...
On October 16, 1793 while she was being taken to be guillotined, she was looking for some gloves to be matched with her clothes !!!
When one becomes nothing except "POWER", they can never think of "DEATH" ...

Entry 74

The other day I watched "The Truman Show" with "Jim Carrey" having the leading part in it ...



Unlike his other films, this film attracted me a lot ... it was great ... It's really worth watching, not once, but more ...
During the time I was watching it, I was confused & I tried to understand what he does & what the others around him want from him ...
When I finished watching it, I began to understand what he did & what the others around him wanted from him ...
I don't know how much & how well I've understood, but I thought the whole film wanted to show us the bewliderment & the agitation of man in this mad mad world ...
Truman is followed everywhere, he has no tranquility in his life, whatever he does is watched & recorded, and he can't feel the enjoyment of " freedom " ... , but at the end he is the winner, and when all the ways are closed, he turns around and with a slight bow shows everyone that he has not surrendered !
By the way, surfing the internet, I found this link about the film which I think is interesting :

http://www.transparencynow.com/trusig.htm

Entry 73

Will he be hanged ?!!!!

Entry 72



The other night the electricity had gone off ... I was going to make some food remained from lunch warm; I put it in a plate and wanted to put it in the microwave oven that I suddenly remebered there was no electricity and I had to make the food warm on the stove, for a few minutes I really didn't know how to do it on the stove (something that I easily did in the past when we didn't have microwave ! ) ...
I put the food in a pot while thinking how it would become warm without being burned ... in the past it never burned, but I didn't remember what I did that it didn't burn !
Besides all the advantages of the modern technology, I think it's caused lots of damage to our creativity !
There is no doubt that modern technology has helped us a lotttt ...
In the past we used to wash the dishes ourselves: now the dishwasher does it for us & we can use that time for doing what we're interested in ...
We used to sit beside the telephone set & talk with others: now we do our work while talking on the cordless phone ...
But sometimes when we look back at the past, don't we think those times despite the lack of the modern technology were more enjoyable than now? ...
Don't we say to ourselves, " We didn't have anything, no cell phone, no satellite, no microwave, no Internet , but we enjoyed life more ... " ? ...

Entry 71

I was watching a program on VOA the other month, it was about a clinic which has been established in the US for the children addicted to computer games ...



The speaker said that some of the children are addicted to cocaine so that they can stay up late & continue playing the games ...
Later on that program when the speaker was talking to the psychotherapist who was invited to discuss the subject, she told him, " I hope I haven't become addicted to the internet myself, because everyday I am in a rush to check my emails ! "
Anyway, while surfing the net, I found the two following texts on this subject :

Question: Can spending too much time playing video games hurt my child?

Answer: Yes. Excessive video-game playing can have a negative effect on a young child for several reasons:

* Kids who spend too much time at the computer are missing out on other activities fundamental to their physical, social, intellectual, and emotional development. Time spent in front of the computer or game console is time taken away from playing with friends, reading or a doing a project with you, or playing outside.

* Kids often play video games alone, and too much time spent alone can cause social isolation. • Children who watch more than ten hours of TV a week don't do as well in school as children their age who watch less. When setting limits, it's important to consider the total amount of time your child spends in front of electronic screens, including TVs, computers, video consoles, and movie screens.

• Bad habits can become ingrained and are more difficult to change as children get older. (According to research, the average American 4th-grade boy spends 9.5 hours each week playing video and computer games — in addition to other screen time.)

• Research shows that if your child regularly plays games with plots based on violence and aggression, he's at risk for increased aggressive behavior. In addition, some games promote gender bias and irresponsible sexual behavior.

It's important to remember, however, that video and computer games aren't all bad. Quality games give children the opportunity to practice problem-solving and logic skills. They increase fine motor and coordination skills and encourage an interest in information technology. And, if you are playing the games with your child — something I highly recommend — they provide an occasion for you to do something together. Your best bet is to limit video-game playing now while your child is still young. In addition, be a smart consumer and choose video games for your child that aren't sending the wrong message.

-----------------------------------------------
Effects Of Video Game Playing On Children

Positives

* Video game playing introduces children to computer technology.
* Games can give practice in following directions.
* Some games provide practice in problem solving and logic.
* Games can provide practice in use of fine motor and spatial skills.
* Games can provide occasions for adult and child to play together.
* Players are introduced to information technology.
* Some games have therapeutic applications with patients.
* Games are entertaining.

Negatives

* Over-dependence on video games could foster social isolation, as they are often played alone.
* Practicing violent acts may contribute more to aggressive behavior than passive television watching. Studies do find a relationship between violent television watching and behavior.
* Women are often portrayed as weaker characters that are helpless or sexually provocative. * Game environments are often based on plots of violence, aggression and gender bias.
* Many games only offer an arena of weapons, killings, kicking, stabbing and shooting.
* Playing violent video games may be related to aggressive behavior (Anderson & Dill, 2000; Gentile, Lynch & Walsh, 2004). Questions have been raised about early exposure to violent video games.
* More often games do not offer action that requires independent thought or creativity.
* Games can confuse reality and fantasy.
* In many violent games, players must become more violent to win. In "1st person" violent video games the player may be more affected because he or she controls the game and experiences the action through the eyes of his or her character.
* Academic achievement may be negatively related to over-all time spent playing video games. (Anderson & Dill, 2000; Gentile, Lynch & Walsh, 2004)

Reasons children give for playing video games:

* It's fun
* Like to feel in control
* Releases tension
* Relieves boredom
* Develops gaming skills
* Feel a sense of mastery

You can read the whole texts in these websites:

http://parentcenter.babycenter.com/expert/bigkid/ggames/71259.html

http://www.mediafamily.org/facts/facts_effect.shtmln

Entry 70

The other day I was reading one of my friends' weblog :

http://www.khishtan.blogfa.com/

He had written about the purity of the childhood world where there is no restriction made by the laws in the family, the society, the country, ...
The children enjoy everything , they live in present & do everything for its own sake, not for the advantages it may have or bring ...
What my friend had written reminded me of something which has happened many times in my classes ...
Some of my students are the boys between 8 & 12 years old, I've noticed that sometimes they do something very interesting & surprising, and I've really enjoyed it ...



For instance, I've seen that two of them who really love each other & are really intimate are sitting beside each other chatting happily, suddenly one of them says, " Miss ... , he is eating chips under the desk ... " or they have spelling test & suddenly one of them says, " Miss ... , he is looking at my notebook & cheating ... " or I have told them not to do their homework before I finish reviewing the new lesson with everyone, and suddenly one of them says, " Miss ... , he is doing his homework in secret ... " ...
Anyway, these two very intimate children betray a confidence veryyyyyy easily ... the other child about whom these things have been told becomes angry & sad for just a moment, but very soon he forgets & after a short time both of them behave in a way as if nothing happened at all !!!
But God knows what would happen if the two sides were adults !!!

Entry 69

Every time I see Saddam in the court, my mind becomes completely occupied by what he has done & what the court of justice should decide for him ...



I believe strongly in the laws of the human rights like the one which says that we should treat everyone kindly & sensibly ...
I also believe strongly in their not accepting " retaliation " ... but when it comes to cases like Saddam, I think there is no other choice except " retaliation " in the sense that doing with the guilty person exactly what he has done to others ...
In Farsi we call it " Ghesaas " ...
But why do I believe in " retaliation " or " Ghesaas " for cases like Saddam? , because I think :
1) The guilty person must feel exactly what he has done to others
2) The other cruel & oppressive people in the world should see what has happened to the guilty people like them, maybe this lessens their oppression & cruelty ...
By the way, I know that less than 1% of them may be affected by this, and the sensible way to prevent them from their oppression is teaching them psycologically not to oppress others at all, but I think this is something that needs a long time and by the time it becomes effective, many people in the world will have been tormented & will have lost their lives ...

Entry 68

It was the exam day & one of my students finished his exam, handed me his paper & said, " Now, can I listen to music from my MP3 player ? " !!!



The other week the principal of the institute came to the teacher's room with lots of mobile phones & MP3 players in his hand !
He was so angry & said that he had got them from the students in classes ...
He said they send SMS to each other from the back of the class to the front during class time & they also listen to music from their MPS players ...
It was so funny, the staff all laughed and we were supposed to ask them to put all these things away during class time, or else they will be punished & their mobile phones & MP3 players will be gathered and handed over to their parents !

Entry 67

Last night my praivate student who is very active, sharp, clever, studious & hard_working was so tired that I really felt pity for him; he said on the day before yesterday_ on Friday (which is a holiday in Iran) _ he had been to school from 7 A.M. until 3 P.M. !



When I asked him the reason, he said that they have to attend maths classes on Fridays, because their school wants them to get highmarks in competition with other schools to be the best !!!
Nowadays schools in Iran have become a monster ...
I remember when I was a schoolgirl, I went to school from Mehr (October) to the end of Khordad (June), then studies at school finished and summer holidays started until the end of Shahrivar (September) ... We didn't study during the summer & we just had fun ... and on the last days of Shahrivar (September) I enrolled in the school & on the first of Mehr (October) schools started again ...
But nowadays everything has changed ...
I hear that parents start looking for a school for their children when they are 6 or 7_ I mean one or even two years before their children are supposed to start going to school _ the parents have to study & check lots of schools to make sure which one is the best, then their children have to pass lots of entrance exams in different schools so that they can enroll in one of them ...
This is the beginning of the process of studying:At school from the first years of elementary school they have to study hard, both in school and at home ...
And from the time they start middle school at the age of 12 or 13, they start becoming worried about " Konkoor " _ the entrance exams for being accepted at the university_ they go to lots of different educational classes besides going to school just to prepare themselves for univesity entrance exams, since there is intense competition between the students for entering the university ...
This is not the end: when they are accepted in the university & finish their studies there, they have to look for a job going through another difficult process & God knows whether they get it or not !

Entry 66

My father came into the house & said, " Poopak Goldareh passed away after being in a coma for 3 months " !



She was an Iranian actress and she & her family are our friends, although we used to visit each other more often about 10 years ago ...We didn't have much news of them until 3 months ago when we heard that she had been injured in a car accident in a road in the north of Iran ...I got sooooooooo sad & depressed hearing this ...