Annapolis Peace Settlements

This Tuesday 40 nations will arrive at the military base in Annapolis, Maryland to discuss possible war ending solutions to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. This will be the first time the United States has stepped in and organized a conference since 2000, at Camp David. Every nation will be expected to arrive except the Hamas, a military group controlling the Gaza Strip, and no one from Iran will arrive either. I think this hopefully will be a step in the right direction. Experts believe that in 2000 neither Israel or Palestine were honest in their real expectations/wants for peace. This Tuesday, hopefully the discussion of who will control Jerusalem, the Golan, Gaza Strip, and the West Bank will have, even slightly, been made more peaceful. Hopefully countries will understand where each other are coming from and we will be one step closer to peace.  

This is the link to the BBC article 

The hidden Chicago

Last weekend our class went on a field trip downtown to sample some of the 'forgotten' art. Everywhere i turned some carving on the side of a building, statue or mural seemed to actually mean something, rather than just be nice to look at. I began to critically examine works of art i wouldn't even question before. I really feel this was s turning point in my education because i was able to take the questioning we have done in class and relate it to even artwork. It just shows the connection to our first topic of the year, secret messages. Everything has a secret message, but its up to you to find it. 

I wonder if other cities have as much 'undiscovered' history and significance in their everyday artwork? What are some examples?

" The New" New Orleans

Last weekend i went to New Orleans to visit a few friends. I was freaking out because i didn't know what i was getting my self into. Going to a city so effected by Katrina, not that long after its effects, could be pretty intimidating. I was picked up at the Air port and taken to a suburb 5 min outside the city called Metarire. With about 130,000 people living their, this was more of a city than a suburb.

The whole layout of the town was so foreign. While their are a few strip malls in our area, but everywhere you looked their was one there. It was like they were just building for the sake of building. Bridges were being build in most places as well. All the homes in the area seemed to be livable by now though. I was just wondering why take the money and time to build a bridge, where it would just be a convenience, not a necessity. While their are people still living in homes taken over by mold and bacteria.

It doesn't seem like a good plan to save time and money to me.