Book Review ~ Mao's Last Dancer by Li Cunxin

Mao's Last Dancer is a really good read in my opinion. It was very fascinating to peek into the Chinese culture and into the development of Li as a ballet dancer. His rags-to-riches story is incredibly uplifting.

I had great pause to consider the reality of nationalism. We are indoctrinated early in life to see our own nation as The Best Nation in the world. Of course, we all know that Canada IS the best nation in the world, right? But in countries we see as not-so-great like China (pollution, overpopulation, poverty and so on), the people like Li who are born and raised in them feel the same way about their nation as we feel about Canada. It is very startling to realize the whole world doesn't revolve around us (Canadacentrism?). I found this also in Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea by Barbara Demick.

Grab Mao's Last Dancer for a quick and inspiring read.

Comments

Week #2 Challenge: Paper . . . and I mean ALL of your paper.

Annual Organization Challenge Week #2 How did you make out with last week's challenge? Did you find your work table? Here's this week's challenge: Your challenge this week is to S.P.A.C.E. your paper - - and I mean ALL of your paper: cardstock, patterned paper, specialty papers, and all those SCRAPS! SORT: Bring all of your paper to one area. Sort it all into piles: KEEP, SELL, DONATE, TRASH PURGE: bag up, and assign a price to paper bundles that you want to SELL at a garage sale or online, and put the bags in the garage sale box. Throw out the TRASH pile. Bag up the DONATE pile and immediately make arrangements for drop-off/pick-up or put in your vehicle. ASSIGN: separate your paper into categories that make sense to you. For example, you may want to divide it simply into cardstock and patterned paper. If you have a huge stash of paper, you may want to divide it by colour, theme, or manufacturer. **Another way to...

Journal Prompt ~ One Thing You Do Really Well

Name one thing you do really well . . . One thing I do really well is solve crossword puzzles.

Craft Space Get Organized Challenge #2

How did you make out with last week's challenge? Did you find your work table? Quite a few people sent me photos over Facebook and email. Thanks so much! I'm glad you are all enjoying playing along. Here's this week's challenge: Week #2 Challenge: Paper . . . and I mean ALL of your paper . Your challenge this week is to S.P.A.C.E. your paper - - and I mean ALL of your paper: cardstock, patterned paper, specialty papers, and all those SCRAPS! Step 1 SORT: Bring all of your paper to one area. Sort it all into piles: KEEP, SELL, DONATE, TRASH. Step 2 PURGE: bag up, and assign a price to paper bundles that you want to SELL at a garage sale or online, and put the bags in the garage sale box. Throw out the TRASH pile. Bag up the DONATE pile and immediately make arrangements for drop-off/pick-up or put in your vehicle. Step 3 ASSIGN: separate your paper into categories that make sense to you. For example, you may want to divide it simply into cardstock and patterned ...

In My World

Search This Blog