Addicted to Anderson

Holocaust Memorial/Genocide Awareness Week

2007-01-25T23:40:00.000-04:00

I'm sorry I haven't updated in ages. I've been incredibly busy with classes, and life in general. As some of you may know that in the beginning of the year, I joined a group called SHOUT (Students Helping Others Understand Tolerance). This week, our efforts have finally turned out a finish product. This week was Holocaust Memorial/Genocide Awareness Week on my university campus. It was an amazing week. Absolutely. We had three lectures, one featuring two Holocaust survivors, Sally Wasserman and Philip Riteman; one on Darfur with Norman Epstein, the founder of Canadians Against Slavery in The Sudan (CASTS) and part of the Save Darfur Coalition; and one tonight from Juliet Karughe (I'm spelling her name wrong) who witnessed the events in Rwanda in 1994. The turn out for all three of the major events were fantastic. More than we expected. For the Holocaust lecture, around 300 people showed up. Great, considering seating in the auditorium is only about 200! I spent the day with Philip and his wife, Dorothy. They are both some of the most amazing, sweetest people I have ever met. Wednesday, I made sure I spoke afterwards to Norman Epstein. He is doing such amazing things, balancing a full time career as an emergency doctor and an amazing activism career. He makes me feel like I should be doing more. This evening, as it was the last event, I spoke with Juliet. You would never know to look at her that she saw the horrific things that had happened in her home country. She didn't speak much about it. All of these people have such amazing strength. They make me feel so small. I need to organize myself so that I can do much more. We currently have around 100 letters signed to send to the Prime Minister about Darfur and what the Canadian role there should be. We should have more tomorrow. I'm kind of involved with STAND (Students Taking Action Now: Darfur), well, I'm the main contact here at STU for anything STAND has going on. So I guess that makes me super involved. Not a whole lot is going on though. Maybe when my brain is working again I may be able to do something more. But anyway, this has been a great week. I'm so glad that I got involved this year and didn't wait. I just want to let everyone know, those who helped organize it, that I appreciate everything you've done and all of the amazing things you've helped me learn, about myself and about situations around the world, so much. Thank you for being my friends. To those who came out to the events, thank you for making this week a success. We all worked very hard to make this happen. Kudos to us!

I am a horrible blogger >.>

2006-11-07T21:30:00.000-04:00

So, I've definitely not blogged in like, a month. I'm sorry. University has turned me into a giant ball of slacker. Picture at the side is one I took when I was at home for Thanksgiving. It's Province House in Halifax, the oldest legislative building in Canada. It's a lovely building inside. Anyway... I have many, many a thought. I love, love, love my classes. They're all incredibly interesting, even the math class, LOL. We're doing calculus now. I'm not amused. My political science class is one of my favourites. Well, my favourites are religious studies and political science. It's just so interesting to learn about all of these different things. However, political science has essentially eaten my soul, and this is where I will start.

If you have never read anything in depth concerning globalization and poverty, don't. It will make you feel like a horrible, horrendous human being if you have a heart. I can't even enjoy the (RED) campaign, because I know that because the merchandise is made in China, it's part of the problem. Let's see if I can explain this. You have the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the World Trade Organization essentially in charge of the global economy. The "Bretton Woods trio," with the IMF and the World Bank both housed in Washington. Now, we all know about Third World debt, right? Developing nations borrow money from the IMF and the World Bank in order to do developmental projects in their nation. In order to get these loans in the first place, they have to agree to a set of "structural adjustment programs," which the IMF or World Bank perscribes so they can pay the loan bank. Basically, the SAPs require the nation to slash just about every social program you can think of, health, education, food subsidies for the poor, etc. and in the case of Brazil in the early 90s, even amendments to the constitution. There is another connection to this, which I will go into after in Part Two, but first I want to cover why the merchandise if part of the problem. The IMF and World Bank also stresses exporting goods over import of goods, under the idea if you're exporting goods your making money while if you import you're losing money. Makes sense, right? Now, in order for these countries to start exporting more goods, they must attract foreign companies (multinational corporations) to come and invest (by means of factories, etc.) in their country. So, what do you do to make your country more attractive to multinationals? Lower wages, environmental restrictions, work safety regulations, offer tax incentives, whatever. This is leads to a "cheap labour market," and there are many, many cheap labour markets. The competition between cheap labour markets, like China, India and all of those other places, through processes of (economic) globalization has essentially destroyed the national economies of places like Africa. Africa has tried to make itself an attractive cheap labour market, crippling national economies that can't compete with places like China.

Part Two. Alright, so we have structural adjustment programs instituted by the IMF. That's a good place to start. Now, a large part of the SAPs is slashes in health care. The health centres are no longer state run, but are the responsibility of the town and become reliant on traditional medicine wisepeople and volunteers in the villages. It essentially becomes "privatized" so that the state can redirect the money spent on health care and other social programs to the external debt it owes to the IMF and World Bank. The interest on these loans is also ridiculously high. Often, the country is unable to make enough money in order to meet their loan payments and has to get ANOTHER loan, solely to pay the interest on the last loan. The prinipal of the loan is never repayed, instead more debt is acquired. Here's a lovely, staggering figure: debt in Africa has increased by 400% since the World Bank and IMF started managing national economies. So you can see how it would get worse and worse. The lack of a health care system, as well as education, through the structural adjustments of the IMF and World Bank, has made the AIDs epidemic just that, an epidemic.

The (RED) program is certainly drawing attention to the problem and has the right idea, but it's not addressing the underlying economic issues. Instead, it is actually part of the vicious cycle of globalized poverty, and while there may be money going towards AIDs relief, its participating in part of the reason WHY there is an AIDs epidemic. Until someone calls for the IMF and World Bank to be responsible for the damage they've done to the national economies of so many nations, and to the social degradation they've caused around the world. There's a reason why people protest the G8 summits, which I would like to do by the way. And now you all know why my soul has been destroyed. I can't really enjoy something with good intentions knowing it's part of the problem.

Alright, NEXT! For a slightly more upbeat note!

I've joined SHOUT (Students Helping Others Understand Tolerance) here at STU, and so far, I've really been enjoying it. I've also started going to Amnesty International meetings. I really enjoy being involved, learning new things, meeting new people and getting in on some really great experiences. There's an opportunity to go to Poland to visit the concentration camps there, which I think would be a phenomenal experience. I've met some really great people, and I've really found an interest in human rights, even more so than last year. I think I may minor in human rights, as STU has a great human rights program. I don't know, we'll see! But it's looking excellent. With SHOUT, I'm one of the main members, as I have the strongest background with Darfur. People seem to be rather impressed with it. They're also impressed that I'm a first year, and already I'm involved. Oh well. It's nice.

I am going to New York in March! So excited for that. It saddens me greatly that CNN is offing the Inside CNN: NY tour. I was going to go, for sure!! Gah. They are trying to ruin my life.

I have a fish. His name is Sushi. I had one named Anderson. He died. I was sad. I'm going to get an Anderson II after this weekend, after I come back from being at home. Sushi looks lonely, even though I bought him a castle to make him feel better.

My First Anderson Comment!

2006-10-05T14:53:00.000-03:00

I got my first post on a blog by Anderson!!! *fangirl squee*

Anderson, it is a truly horrendous world to live in where an innocent child can be violated in such a way. I hope that the work you are doing in Congo and the team is doing in Darfur exposing all of the heinous crimes being committed against our fellow human beings will inspire the world to act on a massive scale. Today is DarfurFast, an international day where people may give up an item of luxury and donate the money they save to a charity working in Darfur. We all must do our part to help these people. Thank you for your work, thank you for keeping us informed and showing us what is really happening.
Posted By Chelsea, Halifax, Nova Scotia : 12:58 PM ET
http://www.cnn.com/CNN/Programs/anderson.cooper.360/blog/2006/10/this-is-not-fairy-tale.html

DarfurFast

2006-10-05T13:18:00.000-03:00

Today is DarfurFast.

Give up one luxury item for the day and donate the money saved to a charity in Darfur.

You can find a list of charities currently operating in Darfur here.

2006-10-01T21:06:00.000-03:00

Why can I not get onto the Anderhideaway page. It refuses to come up >< FRUSTRATED.

Nationalism

2006-09-30T23:15:00.000-03:00

Look at that face! So cute, holding his Emmy, all proud. This is not the reason I'm blogging tonight, although I'm watching the live C-SPAN stream online of the Emmys.

This is a question that I think about a lot. Almost obsessively, really. When watching, reading or listening to the news, there is always an emphasis on nationality. I get news alerts in my inbox from CNN, one of which the keyword is "Canada," because being Canadian, I like to know when Canadian news hits CNN. I got an alert a few minutes ago about a story in Thailand, about free shelter for widows of war there. This is the reason why it came into my mailbox:

On September 23, bombings in a tourist town claimed the insurgency's first Western fatality, a 29-year-old Canadian teacher, and wounded an American and a Briton.

So, my question as a person is why does nationality seem to matter so much? It's always reported as "blank killed, this many Americans die." I know as a journalism student, that the answer is because facts matter, and because it hits closer to home if someone from your own country has been killed elsewhere. But as a person, it's always confounded me because we're all the same. Nationality doesn't matter. It's almost insulting to everyone else there that died, and are not addressed in the same manner simply because they don't come from the right place. It bothers me. It always has. It shouldn't matter. We should honour all people the same way, no matter the country they come from. This nationalism, division, only causes problems and differences between everyone. My political science teacher would tell me I'm being an idealistic liberal right now, but can't we all just get along and be from the earth?

I've been blogged again!

2006-09-30T19:30:00.000-03:00

My second comment posted on the 360 blog, partially in response to a comment before mine. Again, it wasn't an Anderpost, but it was about Darfur.

It is too bad that this is all getting in the way of CNN covering the horror in Darfur first hand. The political posteuring on part of the Sudanese government is a convenient excuse so they don't have to let anyone in that may be able to get the message to a huge audience. On another note, I'd like to point out that the genodice in Darfur is not, in fact, Islam-led. It is ethnically based off of territorial disputes between the Arab and African tribes in the area. It is the Arab-led government and janjaweed that is causing this atrocity, not Islam. Islam has a bad enough wrap as it is, no need to make it worse through misinformation.
Posted By Chelsea, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada : 5:49 PM ET
http://www.cnn.com/CNN/Programs/anderson.cooper.360/blog/2006/09/so-close-yet-so-far.html

Happy Birthday to Me!

2006-09-28T12:39:00.000-03:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I can now go vote in the next election, whenever it may be called. YAY!

Early Happy Birthday!

2006-09-26T15:45:00.000-03:00

Andy is looking around to find me. He's getting ready to wish me an early happy birthday. My birthday is Thursday. Someone needs to give Andy some ideas on what I'd like (besides him!).

My brain hurts. Being sick sucks. More later.

Ahmadinejad and the Pope

2006-09-21T15:08:00.000-03:00

I'm so glad that Anderson has finally been on HIS show. I was getting quite sick of JR. The interview last night with Ahmadinejad was incredible. Andy got a little snark in here and there. Ahmadinejad is very, very well spoken and it is entirely obvious that he knows the audience he is addressing. He changes his words, his manner, depending on who it is he is speaking to. He seems very personable and charismatic in the way he talks, unlike some other leaders.

He completely avoided most of the questions Anderson asked, but that is only to be expected. How many politicians give anyone a straight answer? Especially if it's a foreign leader, they're not going to give you a straight answer. I still wouldn't trust him as far as I could throw him.

I cannot decide what I think of the Pope. Yes, he should of known better. He probably did know better than to say what he did. It's kind of obvious that it would be taken out of context. So, I think he knew what he was doing, and I think that all of his moves afterwards have been entirely too calculated. I don't know what he's up to, but I'm sure he's up to something. The irony is that his point was made for him with the extremists reacting the way they did.

I've been blogged!

2006-09-16T00:14:00.000-03:00

I have made my first ever comment on the 360 blog to be posted! It wasn't an Anderpost, but still, it's an incredibly important topic to me.

I'm so glad that 360 decided to take on this story when no one else in the media will. It truly is tragic that it requires the invovlement of a celebrity in order to gain the attention of normal people, people who have an obligation to try to protect those who have no protection. Every time something like this happens, we say that we will never let it happen again. Yet, here we are, three years into a government supported genocide. Let's not ignore the pleas of George Clooney or Elie Wiesel, like we ignored the pleas of Romeo Dallaire during the genocide in Rwanda. Show your support by wearing a blue hat to signify the blue helmets of the UN on the Global Day for Darfur, September 17.
Posted By Chelsea, Halifax, NS, Canada : 11:15 AM ET
http://www.cnn.com/CNN/Programs/anderson.cooper.360/blog/2006/09/helping-darfur.html

George Clooney and Elie Wiesel

2006-09-14T21:53:00.000-03:00

I feel so bad for letting the blog fall into disarray. Seriously. I didn't think that it would get this bad. My classes have been keeping me pretty busy. My poli sci and journalism classes are so far the most interesting of all of them. My math class is fairly interesting. It's going to be a blend of history, which I enjoy immensely, and problem-solving, which I don't enjoy at all. I can't wait to go home to find Mark and bug him about math. My math prof is totally quirky and interesting. I enjoy him.

Today in journalism, we spent a lot of the first half discussing the coverage of the shootings in Montreal yesterday. We were looking at why, and how different networks have gone about covering it. We watched some video from the CNN website. A lot of the things raised, sensationalism and right to know what the extent of something is, were things that I've thought before. So, my mind is being molded further into thinking of stories and how to tell them. I think that having my lit course while I have this is going to be a big help. A lot of that course is dealing with structure and connecting things.

I've really slipped up at trying to keep my opinions on things and my snarky comments in order as pertaining to news stories. I've been watching Andy every night with my roommate, but most of the time I have something else to read or to write, so I can't pay a lot of attention. I will say this though: I am incredibly disappointed that Anderson did not mention the role of Canadian troops in Afghanistan. Canadian Forces have taken over all allied troops in southern Afghanistan, and there is Canadian presence in Afghanistan. Not to mention, he didn't bother to even touch the issue of friendly fire. That's a story I think the press is simply ignoring, especially the American press.

I am incredibly excited for the interview with George Clooney. I hope that Clooney talks extensively about what's happening in Darfur, because no one seems to care unless it comes out of the mouth of a celebrity. We always say that we will never let anything like this happen again. Here it is, happening right in front of our eyes, and yet there's no news stories, no real coverage, most people have no idea what's happening over there! No one cares. These people are being slaughtered by their own government, and there is no passionate plea from the majority of people. I'm disgusted, and I know there are many other people like me who are equally disgusted. I hope that it really is Anderson doing this interview tonight, and he asks really good questions and hits home to his viewers what's happening. Someone just needs to pay attention.

Actor George Clooney and Nobel Peace Prize winner Elie Wiesel appeared before the United Nations Security Council on Thursday to make an impassioned plea for immediate UN intervention in Sudan's Darfur region.
http://www.cbc.ca/story/world/national/2006/09/14/clooney-wiesel-darfur.html

Elie Wiesel! Elie Wiesel is making a plea! Not just George Clooney. This man lived through the Second World War, he lived through Auschwitz. Read his book Night. It will make you cry. This man should be an inspiration to all of us, and this story got a tiny headline at the bottom of the CBC page. No one cares. Show someone you care, sign a petition write your member of parliament or congress, write your local paper, and wear blue on Sunday.

Global Day for Darfur

2006-09-11T21:49:00.000-03:00

Unfortunately, the violence in the Darfur region of Sudan has continued despite the signing of a peace agreement on May 5th, 2006. People are still be raped, killed and displaced every single day. The Sudanese government still refuses to allow a UN Peacekeeping force into the region even though the UN has passed a resolution authorizing a force in the area, and has said that the African Union troops will have to leave at the end of this month.
To continue placing pressure on the international community to do something about the acts of genocide occuring in Darfur, September 17th has been designated at the Global Day for Darfur. Events are taking place all around the United States and in Canada in protest and support of Darfur. If you cannot make it to an event, you can wear a blue hat or the colour blue to represent the blue helmets of UN soldiers. Sign a petition and get involved.
http://amnesty.textdriven.com/home/index_darfur.php?lang=ing
http://www.dayfordarfur.org/index.asp
http://www.genocideintervention.net/index.php

At University

2006-09-06T21:14:00.000-03:00

Yaaaaay! I've made it to university! My roommate is really nice and fun. I've met a lot of the other international students through her because they all arrived almost a week prior to the rest of us. I've also met up with everyone from my school that came here too. It's been pretty awesome so far. The first day of classes is tomorrow, so we'll see how that goes. I only have Journalism and Lit tomorrow. I have nearly 10 hours between my classes tomorrow. So tomorrow I'll go out between classes and get some errands done.

Sabrina and I have of course, been watching Anderson. We've been flooded about the death of Steve Irwin, which truly does sadden me. My brother and I always used to watch The Crocodile Hunter after school when we were younger, so I have some really fond memories of that. Jeff Corwin was on both LKL and AC360. He just happens to be from where I'm from, which is pretty awesome. I should be the one who is on AC360 from Halifax though, LOL!

Last night, AC360 addressed that a Canadian soldier, Pte. Mark Anthony Graham, was killed by American friendly fire and more than 30 soldiers were injured. Because Afghanistan isn't dangerous enough, Canadian soldiers have to be worried about American friendly fire! This soldier was not the first to be killed by Americans. Four other Canadian soldiers were previously killed in a single Afghani friendly fire incident by Americans. So why is it that Canadian soldiers, who are carrying the majority of duties in Afghanistan, have not killed any Americans, and there has been only one incident, in which a child was killed, that has been called into question and is under investigation (rightfully so), but so far 15% of Canadian casualties have been caused by American soldiers? I just don't understand. I mean, I would assume that they would be under relatively the same amount of stress, have the same amount (or lack thereof) of sleep. It just has been bothering me. I wonder what the difference in training is.

So, that's all for now, folks. I probably won't be able to blog at nearly the same pace as I used to, which was pretty scattered anyway. Still no new fic to update. Sorry everyone! I've been so tired, Welcome Week has been pretty hectic. I haven't slept in past 9 since... God knows when! As soon as I have something, I'll update, I promise! Toodles!

Farewell to Nova Scotia

2006-09-01T22:29:00.000-03:00

I leave first thing in the morning, around 8am, tomorrow. I've been so busy this week, running around, visiting and eating my mom's cooking before I have to live off of cafeteria food. Unless I can find someone who lives off campus and has a full kitchen, so I may cook for myself. Which I would enjoy all too much. So, I bid Farewell To Nova Scotia, The Seabound Coast (anyone from here will know that of which I speak). I will update as soon as I can.

Adieu.

I'm sorry!

2006-08-28T20:50:00.000-03:00

I'm so sorry that the blog has fallen into dishevelment, you guys. I've got lots of stuff on my mind, but no time really to post it. I've been getting ready to go off to school, I move on Saturday which is exciting and frightening all at once, and I've been doing things with my friends before they all leave too, and doing things with my family before I leave. Everything has just been so busy lately, and next week will be all of the Welcome Week events. I may get a chance to post in the evenings then. I don't really know. My schedule has been pretty erratic and will continue to be for the next couple of weeks. Unfortunately, I don't have a new chapter of the Anderfic to tide you all over, either! I've been so busy, and so tired that I don't have the time or energy to come up with what will happen next, let alone write it down! But I do have a few things to say before running off to watch a biography on the Vanderbilt family which just happens to be coming on the Biography Channel tonight. I love that channel. Yesterday, they re-aired Salvador Dali, Jackson Pollock, Frida Khalo and Deigo Rivera (sp?), which are so infinitely interesting.

So. John Mark Karr has been cleared. Good for him? I guess. He'll be extradited to California for child pornography charges. He is so, so creepy. Maybe after this the media circus surrounding the case will finally pack up and go home. I, for one, am absolutely sick of hearing about it. It's also one of those cases that makes me wonder what it is exactly that makes a story like this one so huge. Just think about it. How many other children have been murdered in their homes, and the cases unsolved? We rarely hear about these cases, especially to the extent of the Ramsey case. So, what was it that made this one particularly special? The parents being suspects? The parents are probably suspect in many cases when a child in murdered. Was it wealth? How many children from a wealthy background are murdered, I wonder. Was it the fact that she was white? I'd really like to see the stats on murders reported in the news media vs. the ones that aren't and what the racial majority is in each case. Was it that fact that she was a beauty queen? Which is so strange and creepy that you really can't look away, much like a car accident. I think it's a combination of the three, wealth, colour and the beauty queen thing. Now, just so people don't go off saying I'm playing the 'race card,' I'd like to clarify that I'm white, and that from my own personal observation I've seen a lot of the cases reported extensively have mostly to do with people who are white. Just think about it. Think about the cases we here nothing about, and the ones you hear so much about it makes you want to vomit. Think about the reasons why.

The Andershirt

2006-08-23T15:27:00.000-03:00

I started this last night with AC360 on in the background. I finished this afternoon and cannot wait to wear it absolutely everywhere.

Chapter Twelve

2006-08-22T22:55:00.000-03:00

Because some of you have no patience or sense of suspense :P I will warn you all however, that this will actually be the last chapter until I can find the time to write some more. I don't have a chapter after this. I do have some rants and stuff about last night, but as the show starts in 10 minutes and this is pretty much the first time I've been home all day, it will have to wait. I have no notes, so if I forget everything, you all will have to deal with a little less snarkiness in your day. But, I know you all come here for the fic anyway, so my rants are of little to no consequence. They just amuse me immensely.

Warning: Marco... Polo... Marco... Po-FICTION!

“Anderson,” called a recognizable voice from down the hall.
“Mother…” his voice was so small and quiet.
“You’re mother? I’m in your bed and your mother, Gloria freaking Vanderbilt, is here?” the words rushed out of my mouth in shock.
“She comes over occasionally for lunch and to catch up. She has her own key to the apartment. I asked her to come today to meet you.”
“And you didn’t bother to tell me?”
I was touched that he wanted his mother to meet me but extremely annoyed he hadn’t warned me. I was no where near being appropriately attired for such an occasion and my clothes were in the other room.
“Her first impression of me can’t be like this! I can’t be the girl slinking out of her son’s room with a bad case of bed head and pyjamas. Go distract her so I can get into the guest room and get dressed properly,” I shoved Anderson to get out of the bed and go distract his mother.
He pulled on a pair of worn-in jeans over the shorts he’d worn to bed and a navy blue t-shirt over his well-defined chest. He rushed out of the room to find his mother and keep her busy until I could get to where my clothes were.
I cracked open the door looking for any sign of Gloria and Anderson. When I had made sure that it was clear, I made my way quickly to the guest room. I shut the door quietly behind me and began to wonder what I should wear. Anderson had worn only a t-shirt and jeans out, so I concluded that it would be best to wear something similar.
I took out my favourite jeans again, always reliable, and searched for a top to wear. I found a simple black polo and a long green t-shirt to layer underneath to wear. I put them on and then began to do my hair. I pulled it back into a loose ponytail and braided it, pinning it underneath into a low bun. With some simple studs in my ears, I evaluated my appearance and left the safety of my room to find Anderson and Gloria in the kitchen making lunch.
Anderson turned away from the counter as he heard my steps, beaming as he faced me. His eyes were alive with something I couldn’t quite define. Gloria turned as well, looking at me and then the look on her son’s face when I entered. There was a calculating air about her, as though she had some sort of system to grade me against. Anderson had taken advantage of the silence in the room to stand beside me. He took my hand and led me to his mother. She examined me further as the close range. He held my hand, squeezing gently, trying to tell me it would be okay.
“Mom, this is Chelsea,” the tone of his voice was seeking for her approval.
She smiled politely; I couldn’t tell if she was being truly sincere. I assumed she’d met many women Anderson had brought home, some of which she didn’t approve but still had to be nice to. I did still return her smile with me own, trying to be as sincere as I could. Anderson had changed positions, his arm heavy and comforting around my shoulder.
“It’s nice to meet you,” I wasn’t sure if I should call her Ms. Vanderbilt, Cooper or Gloria and so didn’t mention a name. I reached my hand out to her, “It truly is an honour to meet you.”
Sensing my nervousness, she softened her posture and spoke in a smooth voice, “Please, call me Gloria.” She shook my hand, firm, but elegant as one might expect.

Chapter Eleven

2006-08-21T16:15:00.000-03:00

I'm home now. Spent a lovely weekend away. I'm exhausted. Bah.

Warning: Fiction.

I spent an hour lying in the dark staring at the bright red numbers of the digital clock on the night stand before giving up. I slid my legs off the side of the bed, letting my bare feet fall flat on the cold hardwood. I walked slowly as I found my way to Anderson’s room in the dark. His door was partially open. I pushed it gently as it swung back on its hinge.
I could make out the silhouette of the bed, Anderson in it, against the dim light coming in through the window. I made my way to the bed as silently as I could. I lifted the covers and crawled in between, moving closer to Anderson until the bare skin of his legs brushed against mine. He woke with the gentle shock of contact, unsure of what was going on. His eyes opened slowly as he lifted his head up a little to look around.
“What are you doing in here? I thought you were sleeping in the other room,” he said groggily.
“I couldn’t sleep in there,” I whispered in response. “You woke me up and I couldn’t get back to sleep.”
“Why?”
“I just want to be beside you…”
We both grew silent and he pulled me close to him. We were facing one another, my head tucked safely in the space between his neck and shoulder. His arm lay lightly over my side, our legs tangled together, feet touching. I could hear the beat of his heart and felt the rise and fall of his chest as he inhaled and exhaled. It took only a few minutes for me to fall asleep next to him.
I woke the next day, still in his arms. I took a long, deep breath and stretched myself out a little. The sun came streaming into the room in broken rays. According to the clock on the wall, it was nearly noon. I looked at Anderson’s sleeping face, soft and serene, before touching his nose lightly. He twitched, closing his eyes tighter. I kissed his closed eyelids gently.
“Wake up, sleepyhead,” tracing the outline of his lips with my index finger.
He shook his head in protest, pulling me closer and tightening his hold on me. I pushed on his shoulders playfully, trying to escape him. He smiled and laughed, one eye open, and held me tighter still. He was incredibly strong, so I pushed harder, joining in his infectious laughed, just as we both heard the apartment door close. Anderson’s eyes shot open and he looked at the clock. He looked back at me, his face contorted into a mix of nervousness and apology.
“It’s my…”

Chapter Ten

2006-08-17T14:29:00.000-03:00

This'll be my last post for a couple of days. I don't have much to say, or much time. I'm going way tomorrow until Monday evening. After that, I don't know how busy I'm going to be. There will be various going away parties going on, I have to go school shopping and I also have to start packing for school. And so, I leave you all with another installment of The Anderfic.

Warning: Olly olly oxen.... FICTION!

The rest of my time in New York was spent mostly with Anderson. We ate dinner at his favourite restaurants, took Molly to the park and spent time at his apartment in the city. He had insisted that I check out of my hotel and stay with him my last two nights in New York. He would be gone during the evening to tape the show, but it was certainly more comforting than my faceless hotel room.
It was impeccably decorated, again the work of his mother; the style very much open and lofty. All of the colours were bright and airy. The mood in the apartment was incredibly relaxed.
He showed me to the guest room where I had chosen to stay. I unpacked my belongings, putting my clothes in the dresser and everything else organized neatly on top. The room was decorated in soft greens and blues. It was a nice contrast to the warmth and vibrancy in the other house. The bed was high, a large pine sleigh bed covered in numerous pillows. It afforded a magnificent view out of the tall window facing all of New York.
He showed me around the apartment, giving me the full tour. I was given all access to the entire place, free to do and to go where I wanted. He only asked I didn’t go into his room, which he had shown me repeatedly just encase I needed something in the middle of the night, while he wasn’t home. He didn’t need any of his things showing up on eBay, he joked.
On the first night, I crawled into my bed after watching the broadcast. It would take about half an hour for Anderson to get back from the studio and I would be able to see him in the morning, a rather enchanting thought.
I hadn’t quite fallen asleep when I heard the sound of Anderson’s muffled footsteps coming down the hall towards my door. A small sliver of light made its way inside my room, dancing along the floor and wall as he peeked his head inside.
“Are you awake?” came a hushed voice out of the dark.
“Barely. Why?” I tried hard to not sound annoyed by being disturbed, always my first response.
He came inside and slowly made his way to the bed. I was roughly in the centre when he crawled up and lay down beside me. He placed a suit-clad arm around my shoulder, the cotton sheet I’d pulled over me creating a thin barrier. He kissed me delicately.
“I wanted to say good night.”
He kissed me again before slipping off the bed and leaving me alone in the dark. After he left, I became painfully aware of how alone I really was in the room and how badly I wanted to fall asleep in his arms.

Paula Zahn is crazy..?

2006-08-15T13:05:00.000-03:00

I can't decide if Paula Zahn is crazy. The commercials for her show always make me go "WTF?! Are you on crack?" Either she really is crazy, or CNN just gives her the nuttiest stories because they think it's funny to make her LOOK crazy because she's not actually crazy, unlike Glenn Beck and Nancy Grace (whom they make fun of on This Hour Has 22 Minutes all the time and it is HYSTERICAL). So what is it that has made me question the sanity of Paula Zahn? With the beginning of the crisis in Lebanon, it was the commercial on evangelical Christians thinking that it was the apocalypse. Well, is IT the apocalypse? No. It's not/was not. But more recently it has been her questioning of civil liberties. Should we give up our civil rights for security? It makes me twitchy and want to scream at the tv "NO, WE SHOULD NOT, PAULA!" Now, I will tell you why.

They who would give up an essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.
-- Benjamin Franklin

I do believe that some people may recognize the name of the man to whom that quote is attributed. I hear he's a big wig in the States, founded something they say. Seriously, Paula, giving up freedom for security is crap. Freakin' crap. I'll take my freedoms instead of having them taken from me to create a false sense of security. Because that's all it is. Nothing is truly safe and secure. No matter how many protective layers you wear, or how cautious you are, there is a risk involved in everything you do. Life is a risk. It's a big risk, one I rather enjoy taking and enjoy having the liberty to take. So please, let me keep my freedoms.

Chapter Nine

2006-08-14T15:21:00.000-03:00

Warning: Fiiiiction.

“What time is it?” I whispered as I kissed his earlobe.
“Nearly five. Are you hungry?” he faced me, his eyes filled with what appeared to be concern.
I hadn’t eaten since early that morning. I hadn’t noticed how hungry I was until he has mentioned it. I nodded in response. He smiled sweetly, with a glint of mischief in his eye.
He loosened his arms begrudgingly and began to put the finishing touches on our meal. He told me to wait in the kitchen while he went into the separate dining room to prepare. With the food ready, he brought the plates in.
When he returned, he motioned for me to follow him. The room was decorated with art deco furniture. An ornate chandelier hung from the ceiling and emitted a low light. The walls were a deep shade of burgundy. As my eyes followed Anderson, they were led to the table set in the centre of the room. On the table was a small, elegant bouquet of red roses cut short so we would see one another. Place settings were out, candles lit around the room adding to the ambiance. In a silver bucket was what I assumed to be a chilled bottle of wine.
Anderson stood waiting for me, holding out a chair. I ran my fingers delicately along the back of the chair, savouring the sensation of wood on skin, before purposefully brushing against him as I passed. I had as much power over him as he did over me. Slowly, I lowered myself into the chair, making sure I made contact with his stomach as I went.
“Thank you, Mr. Cooper,” a hint of poison deep in my voice.
After he seated himself, he leaned in on his elbows, his chin nearly touching the rose blooms. He looked directly at me, his gaze intense and heated once again.
“Tease,” he hissed at me.
I laughed, pleased and amused. I could tell it bothered him that he couldn’t just have me. I was new, difficult and stubborn. I’d become a challenge he was determined to conquer. It was written all over his face.

Andervacation

2006-08-14T14:33:00.000-03:00

It looks like we're going to be Anderless for an entire week T_T In USAToday yesterday:

CNN's Anderson Cooper, who flew from Israel to London Friday, has been putting off his vacation "week by week, like kick the can," and plans to finally take this week off, CNN chief Jon Klein says. CNN's Miles O'Brien spent his planned vacation "dodging Katyusha rockets" in northern Israel, while Soledad O'Brien spent hers in Jerusalem and Cyprus, Klein says. "This summer has kept us on our toes."

But, Andy does certainly deserve a break. But at least now I don't have to feel like I'm missing something when I go away, or if I'm out late with my friends. The blog is going to be fairly random this week as a result of the Andervacation.

Only 19 days until I move into residence and start university life. I got my Welcome Week pack in the mail this morning, and also received an email from my roommate. She's from Bucharest, Romania. I'm incredibly excited.

More Anderfic on the way this week!

Autograph

2006-08-13T22:52:00.000-03:00

Mmm, pretty Coop autograph. It came in the mail from CNN a few days ago. It's framed nicely in my room right where I can see it.

Ceasefire -- August 11th, 2006

2006-08-13T16:26:00.000-03:00

The UN resolution finally agreed upon in the security council deserves a big, giant Andersmile.

Andy looks like he's chilly in London. He's wearing a jacket and polar fleece, and he pulls his shoulders up like he's trying to cover his ears to keep them warm. Too cute. I just checked the forecast for London. It's 16°C (60°F), so that is pretty cool, especially after having been in the Middle East for the last month where it's 30°C+ everyday.

Christiane's yellow trench was awesome. I would've liked to see it full length, and then try it on, LOL! I don't know how much I liked it on her, but I loved the jacket.

Okay, onto the big news! A UN resolution! At last! I know that this doesn't mena the fighting will stop, but is certainly is a step in the right direction. Of course, Israel is now taking the time they have left before it's put into effect to hit as many Hezbollah positions as possible and has expanded the ground campaign, but we're on our way. Israel has okayed a ceasefire, Lebanon is bound to, and I think, if I read correctly, that Nasrallah has accepted the resolution and ceasefire. So once it is in effect, hopefully all the fighting will stop. I find it unlikely, but I'm left to cling to hope. Neither side is gaining anything from this attack, especially Israel. Lebanon is left with approximately $2 billion in infrastructure damage and Israel looks like a civilian killing-machine.

During the broadcast, they talked a lot about the underlying causes of terrorism and extremism because of the "homegrown" terror suspects. Christiane and Peter Bergen have been working on that CNN Presents special "In The Footsteps of Bin Laden," or something and so she was kind of given the job of explaining. There was a lot of interesting information in the segments she did. Like the man, a cleric I think, who said that Bush doesn't really understand what terrorism is all about. He said that Bush says it is a war on the western way of life, but really it's about American and British foreign policy and how they effect the regions these people come from or where they feel their roots are and where their people are from. A religious "jihad" is a cover. The use of jihad itself is a perversion of the word by terrorists and the media. Jihad stems from a word that literally means "strive." Jihad is not a "holy war," but rather an inward struggle to practice one's faith. Something I find particularly interesting about the Islamic faith is the principle of ijtihad, which also comes from the same root as jihad, but means to make a decision based on personal interpretation of Islamic law in the Qur'an. It encourages the idea of personal faith, instead of being told what to believe and not questioning. I love that idea. Go read The Trouble With Islam by Irshad Manji. Absolutely amazing and eye-opening to more of the underlying causes of violence in the Middle East. She explains it better than I could ever hope to.

One thing you always find from the friends, family and neighbours of those currently being investigated for any crime is that they will always say that they were so quiet and the last person to ever do something like that. The London plot is no different. But, I think the reaction of many of those close to the people who've been arrested is very indicative of a larger social problem. The father of one of the suspects said that "they went to pray" and because of this, they were guilty. Whether it is actual or perceived, I think a lot of those who are of Arab descent or are Muslim feel persecuted by the larger population. They feel alienated from the rest of society. A comment like that, saying that it was their faith that made them suspect, shows a much larger problem. I see a lot of hatred directed towards Muslims and Arabs within my own community, so I can only imagine how it would be in a much larger city with a large populatuion of immigrants. This is something that needs to be fixed before it gets worse. If we allow the discrimination and hate directed at Arabs to continue, I think that things will get much worse for everyone. If you treat someone as second-class, they will rise up. Maybe that's what we're seeing now.

London -- August 9th & 10th, 2006

2006-08-13T15:29:00.000-03:00

First, I just have to say that I am so glad that Anderson is finally out of the Middle East. Although, I'm sorry, I'm gonna miss the vest. I thought it was sexy.

Second, I'm sorry I haven't actually updated for realz in forever. I finally got myself a social life one month before I have to move away to university >.>

Third, when Peter Bergen said "If it quacks like a duck, walks like a duck and looks like a duck, it's not the ALF" I nearly fell out of my bed laughing. Oooh, the ALF.

Four, saving entries as drafts rules. Hence why I've been working on this for about five days.

Five, I really truly do feel bad for those of Arab descent who are getting caught up, or may get caught up, in the "ARABS ARE BAD THEY WANT US ALL DEAD AND HATE OUR LIVES" attitude. You know, like this one from my favourite hatemonger:

"Not all Muslims may be terrorists, but all terrorists are Muslims."
Ann Coulter's syndicated column; Sept. 28, 2001

Gotta love Ann Coulter. She makes me want to vomit. The whole "Islamofacist" thing is truly frightening. This has nothing to do with Islam, or with skin colour and nationality and to define people in such a way is truly despicable. Evil has no definition. To say that all terrorists are Muslim is not only prejudice and disgusting, but it's a blatant lie. The first act of modern terrorism as we know it now happened in 1875 in Bremerhaven, Germany by a man who went by the alias of William King Thomas. His real name, Alexander Keith, Jr., was born in Scotland but moved at a very young age to Halifax, Nova Scotia. His uncle was the famous brewer Alexander Keith, whom he was named after. He had concocted a plot to blow up steamliners to collect insurance money. What happened in Bremerhaven was a primitive timebomb planned to go off onboard the Mosel exploded on the dock, killing 80 people. It was the "crime of the century." Find The Dynamite Fiend by Ann Larabee and read about it. That wasn't his first crime.

Another non-Muslim terrorist: Timothy McVeigh of which Ms. Coulter says:

"My only regret with Timothy McVeigh is he did not go to the New York Times building."
New York Observer article; August 26, 2002.

She's lovely, isn't she? I'm just going to write up an excerpt from my own personal journal that is relative to all of this. I wrote it after starting Walking Since Daybreak by Modris Eksteins.

Feb. 8, 2006
Someone telling their own story is so powerful and can enlighten a person to the struggle that has played out in our own history, what is playing out now in the Middle East. Too many parallels between the present and the past. There's always a bad guy and the good. Usually it is some power in the West versus some other 'evil,' [defined by us of course]; Germans and the Nazis, the Japanese after Pearl Harbour, the Communists, [actual and perceived,] Russians, Vietnamese, [Chinese] and Cubans, and not it's Arabs and Muslims. Our media, and their media, portrays the other side as the bad guy and we're all painted with the same extreme brush. Our generation has been so lucky. Despite all the conflict abroad, we've remained relatively untouched here at home, but if the powers that be continue on the path we're on, we'll end up right back where we were in 1945, if we're lucky. We need to do more than read about the past, we need to look objectively and find the mistakes because those mistakes are being made again. You can see the lines being drawn, the division in nations, ideologies, races, cultures and the world. [...] Intolerance is rising. [...] The global community really needs to stop sugar-coating and address the serious underlying issues in oppression, poverty, hatred bigotry and intolerance, because it's there more than we care to admit.

Terror and evil has no ethnicity, no political affiliation, no religion or gender. But right now, we need an enemy to fight, an enemy with a face, an image to focus on. Unforunately, there is a link of ethnicity and religion among all of those who have plotted serious terrorist attacks and have carried them out, giving an image to fight against. Now a whole new breed of racists and bigots, like Coulter, has surfaced. I feel oh-so-comforted.

Chapter Eight

2006-08-12T14:58:00.000-03:00

I'm bribing you all again. I'm sorry. I've been so busy lately!

Warning: Fiction.

His fingers moved nimbly to unbutton my top from where they were closest. I placed a hand over his, squeezing his hand tightly.
“Stop,” I whispered almost inaudibly. It was so hard to say that single, small word.
“What do you mean ‘stop’?”
“I don’t think we should do this,” I closed my eyes and inhaled deeply. “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I don’t think that us doing this is a good idea. I mean… I want more than just sex from this. I’m not that kind of person.”
He blinked and started blankly at me, not moving, his fingers still entangled in my shirt.
“You’re serious?” He searched my expression for an answer. “This has never happened before… You want more?”
“I want to really get to know the person you are, not just tv-interview-celebrity Anderson Cooper. I want emotions, ideas, conversations and dreams. I don’t want to be thrown away. I don’t want to be left broken and used.”
“You don’t think I do this all the time, do you? I don’t just pick up girls and seduce them,” he sounded defensive and grew quiet before continuing. “There’s something about you. Something familiar, something exhilarating and amazing,” his voice was soft. He kissed me on the forehead and leaned against my lightly, his face resting against my own. “Alright, what do you need from me?”
“Come home with me please,” I said meekly. I didn’t want to sound demanding or needy.
I curled up against him, tucked tightly into the cavity beneath his chin and the curve of his shoulders.
“Why there? Why do you want me to come home with you?”
He wrapped his arms around me, his hands locked together in the small of my back, holding me close like one might hold a frightened child. I relaxed in his embrace and leaned my head on his shoulder, closing my eyes.
“I’ll have more control there. I have no control with you here. I can’t just let you seduce me so easily in a city where you know all the tricks. You’re going to have to work outside your element.”
“I had a feeling. You’re not going to make this easy for me,” I could hear the smile on his face as he spoke, his voice vibrating in my ear.
He breathed in deeply, smelling my hair. He held me, squeezing me gently into his chest. I could smell the cologne he was wearing, a subtle smell of citrus. I fingered the fabric of his shirt, running my hands along his shoulder blade and back. I felt a small shiver run through his body.

Chapter Seven

2006-08-11T17:05:00.000-03:00

I'm bribing you all with stories until I can get back and actually blog. Have fun.

Warning: Fiction. So much fiction it hurts.

I started to move towards him, but he motioned for me to stop.
“Stay where you are.”
“Why?” My voice felt small and nervous. I only wanted to be in his arms again.
“You’re beautiful. I don’t want to ruin it with movement.”
I could feel his eyes roam over every square inch of my body. It was such a strange sensation, a mix of comfort and fear. I didn’t know what to expect, what he was after. I wanted to hide, but I wanted him to see every part of me. I wanted him to tell me what I didn’t know.
“You remind me of myself when I was younger; so delicate and innocent, full of wonder and amazement. I can see the thirst in the shadows of your face. The same thirst I had for knowledge, for danger; the need to make a difference.” His voice grew quieter as he spoke, reflecting on years gone by, on the person he'd been.
He moved towards me as quickly as he’d left. He cupped my face in his hands, his grip more forceful this time, angling my face to his. He kissed me, eagerly and hard, as though he were searching for something, some comfort, in me.
We stood together in the kitchen, the lines separating us blurring, reality blending and becoming soft and malleable. I could feel the beat of his heart in his chest, the rhythm of his breathing as his scent mixed with mine, mingling in a heady perfume surrounding us. There was nothing left to interrupt us, we were completely alone.
His fingers held my face, the tips of them caught in my hair. My arms wrapped loosely around his neck and shoulders, the collar of his shirt pressed sharply against my skin. He moved. His hands moved slowly along the line of my jaw and down my neck, small touches filled with something unknown and mysterious. The hairs on my arms and neck raised, my skin tingled.
My entire body ached and pulsed with life, with anticipation, with need for him. I knew he was feeling the same. We hurt together.
With his hands on my hips, he pushed me against the island where I’d been chopping vegetables. The edge of the counter hurt as it pressed into my flesh as he pushed hard against me, pinning me to the spot. A soft mix of pain and pleasure escaped my lips as he slid his hand inside of my shirt. His thumb traced my belly button and the soft contour of my hip bone. I bit my lip as his kisses moved along my neck and what was exposed of my shoulders. His mouth was warm and moist against my sensitive skin.

We got our wish! Sort of!

2006-08-10T12:47:00.000-03:00

I've been watching CNN roughly since I woke up. I just saw a commercial on CNN for AC360. Anderson is going to be in London tonight because of the foiled terror plot. He's out of the ME, finally! Who knows how long he'll stay, if he's going home after or back to the ME, but he'll be safe for today and tonight.

Thursday's show
No liquids are now allowed in carry-ons.
An alleged sophisticated terror plot uncovered. Are travelers safe? Anderson is live in London with a look at the alleged plot and the suspects. Tune in at 10 p.m. ET.

Chapter Six

2006-08-10T12:14:00.000-03:00

Warning: Fiction. Don't believe a lick of what you read.

With his back turned to me, I was able to sneak behind him, close enough to angle my head above his shoulder. He didn’t move, his body became tense with the proximity of mine next to him. I placed a hand on his shoulder blade, to steady myself on my toes, as though I had known him for years rather than two days. I could hear the sharp intake of his breath as we made contact, I could feel the filling of his lungs beneath my open palm.
I whispered softly into his ear, “What are you doing?”
He turned slowly, ignoring the question, to face me. His face only inches from my own, my hand still raised slightly, now in line with his chest.
“I think a better question would be what are you doing?” he asked, his voice deep and husky.
I retreated a small distance from him, lowering my hand to my side and dropping my gaze from meeting the intensity of his.
He stepped forward, using one strong hand to tilt my head so he could look directly into my eyes. I looked to the side, unable to deal with the scrutiny in his look.
“Stop,” he used his hand to brush a strand of hair out of my eyes.
“Stop what?”
“Avoiding me. I want to look at you. I want to see you.”
His hand had found its way to my shoulder, exerting a small amount of pressure almost caress-like. I stopped avoiding his gaze and allow him what he wanted to see. I knew I was unable to hide what was written on my face and in my eyes from him.
“There’s something so familiar about you…” a quick movement and his hand brushed my cheek and ear.
His face lowered, our noses touched briefly as we tilted our heads and our eyelashes fluttered against each other in anticipation. I angled my face towards his, watching the muscles under his skin filling his face with emotion. Our mouths met softly, not sure what to expect. His lips were tender and smooth against my own. He pulled me even closer, his arms wrapped tightly around my waist. I could feel the strength in his arms as his held me, warm and private. His elegant body was so firm underneath the fabric of his clothing.
My fingers dug gently into his shoulders as our kiss grew in intensity, the heaving of his chest quickened beneath my open hands. We stayed together, savouring the moment and the feel of one another until a hissing sound brought both of us back to reality.
Anderson looked over his shoulder, still holding onto me tightly. I could feel each individual digit as he pressed them into my back, unwilling to let me go.
“Fuck,” he grumbled under his breath.
He continued to look at the pot boiling over on the stove, reluctant to loosen his grip. He turned to face me again and smiled in a way I’d never seen before. His entire face looked at me, bright and alive; his eyes were an unreal shade of blue. He touched me again, brushing his thumb along the line of my cheek bone before letting go.
In two large strides, Anderson covered the distance between where we stood and the stove. He turned the burner off and moved the pot onto another, away from the heat. A playful smile darted across his lips as he looked back at me. Lips that just seconds ago I had felt.

Mmm, donuts

2006-08-09T13:14:00.000-03:00

Andy is so cute. Last night when Tom Foreman was doing the 360 Bulletin and the story about Krispy Kreme in China, Andy went "mmm donuts." It was a sad impersonation, but nonetheless cracked me up and was sooo cute. Can't wait for some screencaps to show up. He's such a funny guy.

I'm slightly amused by how Anderson always, always, always specifies that the shooting going on is outgoing, for his mother and for those of us crazy Anderfans. Last night he said something along the lines of "which is why I'm not running in fear." I think it was an attempt at some light-hearted humour. I laughed. But maybe I'm strange.

Israel was to meet and discuss a major escalation of the ground operation. Crap. I'm going to pretend I don't live on earth and people don't suck.

I have been listening to too much crappy music. I know it's bad, but nonetheless, I can't help but listen to it. Sexyback by Justin Timberlake and Deja Vu by Beyonce are currently my two favourite songs. Well.. Beyonce can do no wrong. Justin has been my guilty pleasure for years. So they're not that bad. But, I've been listening to Pussycat Dolls and that London Bridge song by Fergie. I want to gag with my bad taste in music lately.

Slacker.

2006-08-08T20:35:00.000-03:00

I'm such a slacker. I've been on all day, wandering around the interwebs, looking for various Coop-related things, and I haven't even blogged. So bad, am I.

I honestly have started to become bored. I think I'm all ranted out for now. I've said all I really have to say on this issue, which is being harped upon so heavily. So, when Coop comes home maybe I'll have some more to say. Until then, I will post randomly about random things that catch my interest.

Finished!

2006-08-07T21:13:00.000-03:00

TADA! This took me about 6 hours to finish. I'm rather pleased with it. His right eye bothers me a little, I think because it's darker than the left, but that's the way it is in the photo too. I'm just too OCD for my own good.

Posted in my deviantArt as well.

Chapter Five

2006-08-07T16:49:00.000-03:00

I'm too exhausted to even consider trying to formulate a proper blog entry. I'll play catch up tomorrow. But I will leave you instead, with another installment of the Anderfic. I want to say thank you though, to everyone who leaves comments on the blog. I really appreciate it, even if I don't answer all of them (depends on my mood). They always make me smile.

Warning: Definitely fiction. If it were true, do you think I'd be here blogging for you?

As we drove out of the city, he asked more about me. He asked things that were rather trivial, like my favourite movie, to what my family was like and why I’d chosen to go into journalism. I gave him my answer and then asked him a question in reciprocal. As we drove, I gazed out the car windows as buildings blurred past and turned into trees and expanding lawns.
We entered what appeared to me to be a residential neighbourhood, slowing and pulling into a cobblestone driveway. The car came to a stop and I looked around trying to find anything that may suggest it was some type of restaurant. Nothing. We were completely alone. When I got out of the car, Anderson asked if I could help him carry some things inside. I obliged and went to the rear of the car to help. I was surprised by what I found.
“Groceries? You’re planning on cooking?”
“No, we’re planning on cooking.”
I couldn’t help but smile. I loved to cook, but I loved even more a man who could cook. I looked at the array of fresh vegetables and spices, trying to put together an idea of what might be on the menu.
“What are we going to cook, Anderson?”
“I’m not really sure. At least, I don’t think. We’ll see where this takes us.”
I continued to ask questions as we walked towards the house. It was his; a place to get away from the hectic pace of the city, a place to reflect and relax. Very exclusive, I smiled to myself thinking about what he’d said.
The outside of the house was very Victorian, architecturally. It was set far back from the quiet road, a vast expanse of neatly kept grass and shrubbery surrounding it. The inside was an elegant blend of modern minimalism and elaborate traditional decoration. The floors were all rich oak wood, warm and inviting; the walls varied from calm pastels to bold jewel tones setting the atmosphere of every room individually. I made mental notes in my head of the paintings and other pieces of art lining the walls as we walked toward the kitchen; a Pollock, Renoir, Mucha, a large Ansel Adams print all mixed among pieces done by his mother. I gazed in bewilderment, impressed by it all.
“My mother helped decorate,” he scratched his head with his free hand. “I’m fairly useless when it comes to design.”
“It’s gorgeous. The art… How did you… Are they all originals?”
“Mostly. Some are numbered prints. I have more upstairs if you’d like to look later.”
I nodded that I would, still astounded by what I had seen of the collection. I’d forgotten to mention during our talks that I was a bit of an artist myself; one without motivation, but still an artist.
We entered the kitchen, a room that in itself was a work of art. Growing up with a cook for a mother and a family that always gathered in the kitchen, I had learned to appreciate the importance of a good kitchen. It was incredibly spacious with immense marble countertops. A butcher’s block stood near the centre island. An oversized flattop stove and an oven were built into one side of the countertops. After unloading the groceries, I placed a hand on the marble enjoying the smooth texture of the cool stone. Anderson had begun pulling out pots and pans while I stared aimlessly.
“Are you ready?”
He looked at me as though he could read my mind. I felt so vulnerable, so naked beneath his eyes.
“Sure,” the word came slowly from my mouth in a distracted tone. “What do you want me to do?”
“Start chopping some vegetables. The ones you like, I’m not picky. I’ll do everything else. I want to leave you guessing, a surprise I suppose.”
I smiled at him and began looking through the vegetables; onions, mushrooms, zucchini, tomatoes, peppers and some others. I busied my hands while I let my mind wander to think about what all of this was supposed to mean.
Anderson was busy cooking up something that smelled delicious. The kitchen was filled with the mixing scents of peanuts, coconut and something I couldn’t quite place. It was all very Asian in nature, something I enjoyed.

Preview!

2006-08-06T12:44:00.000-03:00

This is the drawing so far. This is about 3 and a half hours of work. I still have a lot more to do!

I'm sorry!

2006-08-06T00:05:00.000-03:00

I'm sorry I haven't blogged all day. I was out all day long, literally, with my friends. I know. I have friends that take precendence over the blog. It's unbelievable. But, what can I say? We went to see the Natal Day fireworks (for those who don't know, it's Halifax's birthday on Monday!). There is also to be an intense amount of partying tomorrow, as Chase, one of the guys from the States who showed up at my house driving a car that runs on "the vegetable oils" (HA! Fronz), is turning 21 on Monday too, so we're celebrating tomorrow (they're leaving Monday to go to Cape Breton, wtf? Halifax rules all). And Monday, I think there are more fesitivies which require me to attend (I must check with my handler, J. Stoffer, pfft), and Thursday I think is the AIDS vigil. I'm going to be busy this week! Blogging may be hard! But, don't worry. I'll try to find the time.

And to be slightly on topic, I started a drawing of Anderson. The picture that I used in two of my wallpapers, the one where you can see his adorable freckles. It's going to take a while to finish. But, you will all see it! Maybe I'll give you sneak peeks :P That's all for now. It's after midnight. Sleeeeeeeeep.

Chapter Four

2006-08-04T12:12:00.000-03:00

Warning: Still very much fiction.

As he looked over the three pages of notes I’d taken, I searched his face for a sign, some signal to show me what he was thinking. I swore I saw a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.
“You like me in blue? Oh, and pinstripes? How insightful,” he smirked, clearly amused.
“I have to please my female readers,” I answered back quickly, dripping with an equal amount of sarcasm.
He laughed, handing me back my notes and pulling out of the parking lot. He asked me the address of my hotel, turning onto the street. We engaged in small talk along the way, asking him a little about himself. He asked me how long I was planning on staying in New York. I answered just as the car came to a stop and I recognized the façade of my hotel building. I looked back at Anderson, my hand on the door handle ready to leave.
“I’ll see you again before you leave.”
With one of my legs still in the car, the other on the sidewalk, I turned at an angle to face him.
“What?”
“I want to see you again. Tomorrow. Stay here. I’ll pick you up,” a mischievous twinkle in his eyes.
“Alright. Any particular time I should expect your highness?”
A chuckle and an answer of noon-ish. I rolled my eyes and thanked him for his company and kindness before shutting the door. I ran quickly up the hotel stairs and into my room. Behind the safety of the heavy wooden door, I sunk down to the floor thinking about what had happened.
Exhausted, I picked myself up and sorted everything to prepare for bed. I folded down the sheets and slipped between, enjoying the sensation of the cotton sliding against the bare skin of my legs. I lay in bed savouring every moment of what had happened before falling into a pleasantly dream-filled sleep.
I woke earlier than usual, not sure when to expect Anderson to arrive. I had to shower and get ready. I was still unsure what to wear, I had no idea where he planned to take me. I settled on my favourite jeans and a simple but elegant top which would probably be practical for most of New York. I threw a pair of comfortable walking shoes in my bag encase there was any amount of walking planned.
The knock on the door was confident, three heavy taps. As I walked across the room to answer, I made sure to catch my reflection in the mirror. I didn’t want to look at though I tried too hard, but rather as though this was normal for me. I noticed the time was around 20 past 12; about noon-ish.
I breathed in deeply with the movement of the door along its hinge, preparing a bright smile for who I knew was on the other side of the door. When the door had opened completely, I saw a flash of silver as the light from the window at the end of the hall glinted off of grey locks. Blue eyes looked at me, studying the rather dramatic difference in my appearance since yesterday. I’d only word a loose t-shirt and jeans with my hair in a ponytail out walking.
He smiled, apparently pleased by how I’d cleaned myself up. I asked if he wanted to come in or if we would be leaving immediately. He looked at his watch and then at me.
“We should be going now. Our reservations are in half in hour and it takes a while to get there.”
“Reservations, hm? Where might they be?”
“No where touristy, if that’s what you’re thinking,” he smirked with the hidden knowledge of where we were going, “very exclusive.”
“Fine then. Don’t tell. Let me grab my purse and we’ll go.”

My two favourite men

2006-08-04T11:41:00.000-03:00

Jon and Andy, all together and cute and in suiiiits. And the world is a better place for it!

Okay, I didn't watch last night. I was drinking with my mom, brother, dad, nephew and two Americans ho showed up (my dad knows one of them) after driving from Chicago in a beat up Benz stationwagon on FRENCH FRY OIL. Honest to god. The car runs on friggin' vegetable oil. They say there's no difference in the way the car would run on diesel than on the vegetable oil. They converted the engine of course. So, here's my question: If two 20-somethings can convert a diesel engine to run on old french fry grease, why the hell do we still need fossil fuels?

Loosen Up My Buttons...

2006-08-03T16:25:00.000-03:00

Someone please explain to me WHY I can't get Buttons by the Pussycat Dolls out of my head? Seriously. I want to hurt something. It's the Middle Eastern/East Indian sounds on the track. Love that stuff.

Last night, they kept talking about how Bush hasn't spoken to Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. They also brought up on last night's broadcast Snow saying that the US has not given Israel the greenlight. I blogged on that yesterday. Shimon Perez, the Israeli vice Premier and former Prime Minister, has said that there is no pressure from the American government to stop. The absolute bias the government shows Israel is certainly going to hamper diplomatic efforts, and is not in the best interest of either Israel or the United States. The United States is alienating itself from the entire region by showing unbending support for Israel. Excellent idea, what with Iraq and Afghanistan already under their belts.

CNN is a big fan of GoogleEarth. They use it all the time. Last night, they should before and after pictures of Beirut, I think it was. Utterly destroyed. How can this possibly end well? If you destroy everything a person has, it leaves a neverending hatred in their heart. Violence only leads to more violence. There is one person, at least, who has realized this.

Last night, Nic Robertson was in Iraq talking to a soldier, commander, something like that, by the name of Fisher. He had started using different tactics in the area under his control, instead willing to forgive and using gentlier means to gain information. He has started to use discussion, benefits, and rewards, rather than just walk in and use force for everything. With force, he said that innocent people get hurt. Then those who knew them, their families, take up arms to fight in retaliation. So far, it's worked. Attacks in the area are down and the people are more open to American troops in the area. I'm sitting there going, "This man is brilliant." People take up arms in retaliation. Simple, no?

Baalbeck

2006-08-02T16:52:00.000-03:00

The only reaction I could come up with last night as the news came in about the Israeli raid on Baalbeck was, "Crap. We're all screwed." Seriously. This is going to all end so badly, so, so badly. Already today we've seen the rockets going into Israel increase to the highest number yet in retaliation. Hezbollah says that Israel only succeeded in arresting? kidnapping? abducting? civilians, five to be exact, while Israel says that they're Hezbollah officials. Great. Because, it wasn't kidnapping people that started all of this. Nope, it wasn't at all. This is all crap. How many people have to die to prove that violence doesn't work? Ghandi is rolling in his grave.

The one segment that really got to me last night was the segment on children in Israel collecting Katyusha rockets. That is an absolutely terrifying idea to try and fathom. Anything with children always gets to me. The motherly instinct kicks in and I get all mushy and protective. No child should ever have the opportunity to become so familiar with violence and the tools used to inflict it. I am, however, thankful that Anderson has decided not to overlook the plights of children like the family profiled. But, I also see the other side to the reason he is reporting it. Often you hear Anderson talk about the "sliding scale of sorrow," and how you have to pick and choose which stories are sad enough to strike a chord. Children collecting rockets strikes a chord.

New in the 360 blog: White House denies giving green light to Israel. Are they stupid? Or do they just think that we're stupid? Because last time I checked, sending bunker busting missiles and M109s to Israel is definitely a "green light," at least in my book. American diplomacy at the United Nations has the power to make or break a ceasefire. So far, all they've done is break them. American diplomats have rejected all other international attempts to create a resolution and a ceasefire. Now, Condi says they could create a resolution by the end of the week. Why's that? They could have had one two weeks ago. Is it because international opinion is starting to weigh heavily against Israel and the United States that they've changed their tune so durastically? I just want to go smack some people upside the heads, because they're being morons. That is all.

The more time is spent on this story, the more I wonder what it is that really decides what stories get the most coverage. Of course, on the "sliding scale of sorrow" a war is pretty freakin' bad, but there are things that are just as bad going on but don't get barely any coverage at all. While watching last night, along the bottom on the headline scroll, one of the headlines was something along the lines of "Rebels in Darfur rape and murder to try and gain... something something." I only just caught it out of the corner of my eye. Why does Darfur only get a scroll along the bottom, and an occasional 30 seconds news piece?

To put it into perspective, the ME Crisis has essentially had 24 hour coverage for three weeks. Around 550 Israeli and Lebanese civilians have died. So, that's like 26 people a day. The conflict in Darfur has had little to no coverage over the last three years. It has been declared a genocide by the American government and has been called the "world's greatest humanitarian crisis" by Kofi Annan. An estimated 400,000 people have died from the government-supported violence, more die from starvation. Approximately 100 people die a day in Darfur. Women are raped as a means of ethnic cleansing, children are murdered, and entire villages are destroyed. Where the hell is the international coverage on that, huh? I'm pretty sure that scores high on the "sliding scale of sorrow."

So where is the coverage? ER, the NBC primetime drama, covered more of what's going on in Darfur this year than the news media did. If ER can film in Darfur, you can get a fucking news team there, so that's not it. The only thing I can really come up with that seems to make any sense is that it's Africa, and who really cares what's going on in Africa? Not viable trading partners, no oil, the only ones we really need around are South Africa and Egypt. This is why I'm going into journalism. Frustration and disgust.

From the Canadian in me: the Prime Minister has said he is unsure as to whether or not Canada will be able to commit troops to an international force in Lebanon. I've come to realize Harper is excellent at stalling. We're all tied up in Afghanistan. Really? Okay. Well, I'm fine with that. We do have troops there, and we don't want to stretch ourselves too thin. We don't have a huge military, and Canadians are stationed all around the world. My cousin is currently in Holland. But, I hope Mr. Harper doesn't become a two-faced backstabber by sending troops to Lebanon. He has already said that Canada will only commit troops to Darfur if it is an international force through the UN. So, remember that Mr. Harper. If you have to choose Darfur or Lebanon, choose that which came up first, or else you will have a very angry Canadian on your doorstep. The entire country knows where you live.

Thanks to legionpossessed via acoopervision for the screencap.

Chapter Three

2006-08-02T16:44:00.000-03:00

Hmm, I wonder if should put this all in a seperate blog, to keep my fangirliness seperated from my crazy rants. Comment to let me know what you think.

Warning: None of this has any basis of fact. I have never met Anderson Cooper, and have never been to New York. This is all written in fun. It's fiction. Whii ^^

We talked for a while there in the café. I told him I was from Canada, studying journalism and political science. Other than CNN and The Daily Show, I couldn’t give a definitive answer as to what it was that had drawn me here. I didn’t know why.
He glanced at his watch. Quarter past ten, we’d been talking for over an hour. The sun has finished setting and the café had emptied. He asked me how far away I was staying. Honestly, I wasn’t sure. I didn’t know how far I’d walked that afternoon. I told him instead the address of the hotel.
“That’s a long way to walk and an expensive cab ride. Why don’t you come up with me while I tape the show and then I’ll take you back.”
I answered, my eyes I was sure were nearly glowing, that I would be delighted and honoured to be invited to watch him tape the show. I asked though, for only one thing. Well, technically, two things I suppose. I wanted a pen and a notebook. Mine were at the hotel. He gave me a strange look, but didn’t bother to ask why. I suppose that he wanted to save it for later.
When we got to the studio, he had an assistant find a notebook for me while he went to change. I had to keep out of the way, but I didn’t mind I was watching everything that was being done, writing things down while they readied themselves for the broadcast. Anderson emerged from somewhere behind the set and smiled at me in the background. My breath caught in my throat a little bit as I could feel his gaze move across me.
The broadcast ended and Anderson came over to tell me to stay put until he came back. We would leave as soon as he’d changed. I saw him eyeing the notebook I held in my hands and had written in during the show. Curiosity was written all across his face. When he came back out, the same boots and jeans on as before, he asked me what I’d wanted a notebook for.
“Mine is at the hotel. I keep notes during the show and the news to keep track of ideas and statistics to blog about the next day.”
“You… blog about the show?” He sounded perturbed.
“Not the show, really. The show gives me a topic. I write things down or else I forget. I started it as a sort of assignment to refine my writing skills.”
He titled his head to the side and made one of the ‘hmms’ that I enjoyed so much.
“Has it helped?”
“I’d like to think so.”
He approached a small, sleek black BMW. Appropriate, I thought. With his eyes, he motioned that this was his car and for me to get in the passenger side. Only the click of the automatic lock broke the mutual silence. I slid into the car, the beige leather cool against my warm skin. When the car’s engine started, I took a deep breath and pinched myself to make sure I hadn’t imagined everything. I flicked my eyes to the side and he was still there. Relieved, I began to relax again when he asked to see my notes.
“I’ve never know someone who took notes during anything. I want to see what I make you think.”
I knew what he had made me think and I knew what I had written down. I was reluctant to hand them over, but couldn’t deny such a request. I shifted uneasily, not able to predict his reaction as I handed the notebook to the long, slender fingers being held out.

Icons!

2006-08-01T22:10:00.000-03:00

I have a serious problem. Thanks again to colorfilter for the textures. Comment if you take some.

Follow your bliss

2006-08-01T13:42:00.000-03:00

Another wallpaper for you all. Thanks to colourfilter for the texture. This one is now the wallpaper on my desktop ^^

On to last night's broadcast! The focus over the past couple of days on all of the news channels has been the attack in Qana, leaving at least 54 people dead and 17 of those children. Israel is sorry, they didn't target that building and it was a mistake. I don't think I can do anything other than roll my eyes. They keep trying to justify it, keep saying that they told everyone to leave. Not everyone is able to get out. Yeah, it's war, yeah, it's sad and bloody, but seriously, Israel is sounding a little too high and mighty for my tastes. You fucked up, show some serious remorse.

Also, I'm completely and utterly tired of the US blocking all attempts at creating a ceasefire. A sustainable ceasefire is what they want. Well, in order to get a sustainable ceasefire, YOU NEED A CEASEFIRE. American diplomacy is doing jack all right now, and until there is a ceasefire, there is no way to continue the peace process. Stopping the bombs and civilian deaths, generally a good way to jumpstart peacemaking. The US wants a "comprehensive plan" that includes a sustainable ceasefire, the disarmament of Hezbollah, Israel returning Palestinian and Lebanese prisoners, the return of occupied territories/disputed land (Golan Heights), the return of the Israeli soldiers, peacekeepers in the area, the deployment of the Lebanese army in Southern Lebanon and so on and so forth. The only thing that the US refuses to agree on is an "immediate" ceasefire. They have a veto in the Security Council, so if everyone else agrees to it, they can just say, "Yeeeah.... No. Israel, you are free the blow the shit out of Hezbollah/Lebanon." Vetos are the worst idea EVER.

So, Castro has ceded power for the first time in what, 47 years? He's nearly 80, sweet mother of god. Maybe he's a robot like Bob Barker. And you know what? I really don't care a whole lot that he's ceded power while having surgery. Until the man dies, I really hold no opinion or interest one way or another. I'm more interested in what Mel Gibson has to say. Sad, isn't it?

Chapter Two

2006-07-31T21:01:00.000-03:00

To make up for being gone for so long.

Warning: Still a work in progress and still fiction. A big, giant bag of fiction.

When my own eyes met those with a shocking blue gaze, I knew it was him. I could feel the pace of my heart quicken and I swallowed hard. I was sitting across from Anderson Cooper. The Anderson Cooper. What the hell was I going to do now? I couldn’t very well leave, now that I was sitting across from him, but I couldn’t walk back in the dark either.
I decided I would catch a cab back to the hotel; probably a smart idea, seeing as I wasn’t really sure how to get back. I got myself something cool to drink, my mouth inexplicably dry, and picked up my book so I would at least appear as though I were reading. I didn’t want it to be blaringly obvious that I was staring him the entire time. Despite my best efforts, it was entirely obvious that I wasn’t reading at all. Anderson raised his head and looked straight at me, his face showing he knew he was being watched. I blushed before quickly turning to face my book, away from those piercing blue eyes.
I kept my gaze on the pages in front of me, not moving, barely breathing, hoping he wouldn’t notice me as I shrunk into my chair as I heard the footsteps approaching. I refused to look up as they grew nearer and stopped what seemed only inches from me. I could see only a pair of black boots and faded jeans when I heard someone speak to me.
“Do you have a problem?”
It was a genuine question, I couldn’t detect any sarcasm or anger in the voice. I raised my head, confused. Blue eyes stared back at mine.
“What?”
“Do you have a problem? You’ve been sitting, reading that book for the last twenty minutes and you haven’t turned the page once. Either you can’t read or you’re staring at me. I suspect that it’s the latter.”
I blinked and realized that I hadn’t turned the page. I’d been looking at the same sentence for the last twenty minutes, unable to concentrate and too busy staring. I lowered my eyes, embarrassed that I’d been caught.
“So, why were you staring at me then?”
“I was hoping to use my mind powers to draw you over here to talk to me. It worked,” I laughed at myself. “But really, it’s much less interesting than the idea of mind powers. I came here on my summer vacation from university. I chose New York partially because of that building over there,” as I pointed towards the CNN building. “I’ve admired you specifically, Mr. Cooper, for a while, both as a journalist and a person. I’m taking journalism in school and you’ve become sort of like my ideal reporter and given me something to aim for. Not to mention, you’re really not that hard on the eyes.”
A smile crept slowly along his face while he paused to think.
“I figured you weren’t from around here. You smell like tourist. And please, call me Anderson. Mr. Cooper sounds so old.”
“Alright… Anderson,” acknowledging the invitation of familiarity.
“So where are you from? And what really takes you so far from home?”

Friday, July 28th's Show

2006-07-31T20:40:00.000-03:00

I have to admit, I only watched about 10 minutes of Friday night's broadcast. I was at a friend's and since John Robert's was in for Andy, we decided to watch cartoons and celebrity gossip instead. What can I say? I have the attention span of a gnat and I'm sorry but John Roberts creeps me out. Though, I'm glad someone took that man's mascara away. When he's in the studio, he looks like the guy in Clockwork Orange.

One big note I wrote down was "Anderson: MIA. WTF?! Where's Anderson?!"

Thursday, July 27th's Show

2006-07-31T19:58:00.000-03:00

On Thursday's show, the focus was on a new Al Qaeda tape that had surfaced. The second in command for AQ, Al Zawahiri, decalred that Al Qaeda would not stand by while Israel pounded southern Lebanon and offered their help.

Al Qaeda had been trying to recruit in Lebanon and Palestine, but wasn't successful. Hezbollah strongly opposes Al Qaeda and its attacks on America, describing themselves as a national resistance, not a religious one.

There was also a Reporter's Notebook. I really do love hearing Anderson reflect about what it's like to be reporting on the story and getting inside his mind. I'm really bad for people watching and listening to people's conversations on the sidewalk, or in a mall, so the Reporter's Notebooks have kind of become like a private conversation almost. I find humanity incredibly intriguing, the way we think and what we do and say.

Wednesday, July 26th's Show

2006-07-31T19:33:00.000-03:00

I know I've been slacking hardcore on updating, BUT! I have all of notes in front of me, which I'm really rather glad I started taking or I wouldn't have anything to update with now. Hopefully, I will get all of the updates finished tonight. Unrelated mention: Coop has updated his blog.

On Wednesday's show, my favourite part was certainly the interview with Nic Kristof, a reporter and photographer for the New York Times. I became incredibly excited once I heard mention of his name, because I recognized it from his work in Darfur, something that I'm very involved with and unfortunately always takes a back seat. He was there to present the opposing view to Israel's Ambassador to the UN, Dan Gillerman.

What Nic said I completely agreed with. It was like he was talking for me. He said that by killing terrorists, we create more, a sentiment I share and have voiced on more than one occasion. By underestimating the power of nationalism, Israel is hurting its own interests and uniting the Arab world against it, which it really needs no help at doing. It's creating more anti-Israel senitment. That's what I see happening.

The one thing that Nic's opponent, Dan Gillerman, said that really stuck in my mind was that a response shouldn't be measured by Hezbollah's actions, but rather by the threat it poses. Kind of pre-emptive, you know? Very current American administrative thinking. Another thing he said that stuck out as incredibly "George Bush" logic, is that Hezbollah is a slippery slope, they could have biological and nuclear weapons if they're not stopped... This line of thinking frightens me so much. Measure by threat as opposed to action? Really? That's scary. Honest to god terrifying. Threat is so subjective. Who determines what defines being a "threat?" The dog down the street that barks viciously at me when I walk past is a threat, should I kick it or throw things at it? See what I mean by subjective? Not that Hezbollah doesn't pose a threat, because it really does, but the idea that a response should be measured on something so undefined scares me.

Chapter One

2006-07-30T12:35:00.000-03:00

Warning: A work in progress. It is an fanfiction, keyword being fiction, entirely based on my own version of reality and not actual reality. I have never been to New York, I have never met Anderson Cooper, and I doubt I ever will. It is fiction, people, fiction!

I was sitting in a café across the street from my hotel. I had only arrived in New York the previous night and needed to get out of the room for a little while. I hadn’t planned anything for the day, only to situate myself and maybe wander a little bit. I brought my book du jour along with me so I could read while sipping a café mocha and enjoying the atmosphere of anonymity. In the book I was reading, Fury by Salman Rushdie, the main character had come to New York to escape from himself. I wondered if I had come for the same reasons. No, I came to New York to explore, to find something. I wasn’t sure what I was looking for, or if I’d find it there, but New York seem as good a place as any to start.
When I finished my drink, I slipped Fury into my purse and headed to the street to wander aimlessly. I wanted to enjoy the city, not fall into all of the usual tourist traps. I wanted to feel connected, to feel alive and feel the pulse of a city so completely different than my own. I wanted that brief feeling of oneness with a stranger when you brush against one another on a busy sidewalk, because now you’re as much of part of their life as they are in yours. New York was really an ideal place to start.
I walked briskly to keep pace with those surrounding me; contemplating the hurriedness of life, the difference in attitude to home. Home was so slow, so calm and relaxed even at the core. I could walk along a busy downtown street and stop to admire a building, or look inside a shop’s window without feeling as though I were in the way. This was like another world, a world I felt I needed to be a part of for a while.
My little jaunt across the city took me to somewhere vaguely familiar; strange in a place I had never been before. I looked around, searching for a street sign, or maybe a building that could tell me where I was. People rushed by as though I weren't there at all. Eerily comforting as I gazed at my surroundings. I noticed some recognizable features and giant red lettering that declared that I stood in front of the CNN building. Interesting my feet would take me here. Although I had intentions to go inside, today was not that day. I looked along the sides of the street again, this time for a coffee shop to rest at before heading back the way I had come.
I spotted one not far away, taking my book and myself inside to relax for a minute. I sat reading, my drink nearby, as the time passed. I glanced up to notice the sun had begun to sink behind the buildings in the distance; evening was beginning to set it. It was then as I gazed out the window, I noticed something else I recognized.
His head was craned over a laptop, a cup of what I assumed to be coffee not far out of reach. He looked completely engulfed in whatever it was that was keeping him busy, his silver hair the only thing clearly visible. I sat there blinking, thinking to myself that it was impossible for it to be him. I mean, what were the odds? But I knew those lines, that silhouette and I couldn’t shake the feeling that I knew him. Trying not to blatantly stare, I glanced towards him, waiting for that face and those unmistakable eyes to confirm my suspicions.

Wallpapers

2006-07-28T16:42:00.000-03:00

Because I said I would. I made these to use for my own computer, both measure 1024 by 700-whatever. Hopefully they'll tide you over until I can get the time to actually blog again :P It's looking like that might be Monday. I'm not going to be home for the rest of the day, and I won't be home again until Sunday. I may go the beach that day. Ah, summer. Anybody watch The Colbert Report last night? The interview with the Washington DC congresswoman made me laugh SO hard.

Woooah..

2006-07-27T22:15:00.000-03:00

I haven't blogged all day! I'm sorry. I've just been out... It's too late now to start blogging. I'll keep going until the show is on and just well... I'd like to finish my thoughts at one time. So, instead, I'll leave with some little side notes, upon which I may elaborate tomorrow. Also, definitely started writing an Anderfic.

US support for Israel hurting their diplomacy in the region? Yes! Most Arab nations hate Israel, duh!
Sexy, sexy bullet proof vest.
So love him in blue, but he looks exhausted.
Love the faded jeans and boots.
Yates not guilty, insane.
24/7 coverage. Really?
Washington court upholds ban on gay marriage. Are they cracked?
$55,000 net profit per minute for British Petroleum.
The "human problem." Ha.
Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert genius.

Getting personal...

2006-07-26T18:08:00.000-03:00

Anderson has blogged once again. I enjoy reading things that he has written. Apparently, there's a book by Anderson, or at least has mention of his name on it, at Chapters. I must go and check it out soon. I think he has certainly inherited some of his writing talent from both of his parents. This morning I finished reading A Mother's Story by Gloria Vanderbilt. Her writing reminded me of Anderson's. It was so personal. So full of feeling and life. I cried a lot while reading it. It was a sad cry, but also tremendously heartwarming and filled with love.

There was one particular passage that I fell in love with as soon as I read it. It was after Wyatt had been moved into intensive care after his series of heart attacks.

Later, when I was permitted to see Daddy – he was stretched out, his eyes closed, as though dead, surrounded by machines with their chilling staccato beeping, each machine connected to another tube, pounding out indecipherable codes – I took his hand and said, “I love you.” He opened his eyes and looked straight at me. “I know you do,” he said. It was a blessing – the greatest thing he had ever said to me.
There had been times in the sixteen years we had been together, times when we were close, times when I couldn’t break out of the glass bubble when we hadn’t been, times when I thought he didn’t know how much I loved him. But I did. And when he said “I know you do” – I knew that he understood and loved me as no one else ever had.

But enough about Gloria! On to the Coop blog!

I'm always amazed by the simple methods humanity has devised to kill one another.

Something that I have thought about many, many times, Mr. Cooper. I'd elaborate, but that would require me to get my journal from my room. Far too long a walk, now that I've started. So now it's time to discuss last night's broadcast.

The big story last night was the UN observation post in Southern Lebanon hit by an apparent Israeli air strike, and Kofi Annan stating that it was "apparently deliberate." Well, isn't that just interesting? The UN has released that it appeared to be an ariel bomb, those which only Israel possesses. Israel had been conducting air strikes around the area, which has resulted in approximately 14 close calls. A UN general has told the Israeli army about the observation post, about the close calls and to protect the post. That worked really well, didn't it? If it were a rougue missile being shot at from across the border, I could see it hitting the post. But an air strike? When you've been warned about it being there? That seems incredibly suspicious to me. Maybe it is incredibly clever ploy by Hezbollah to attempt making the Israelis look bad in public opinion, I don't know. I still refuse to trust either side.

Another thing that bothers me almost as much as two dead UN observers is why is it necessary for the US to agree to a peaceplan? They're supplying Israel with missiles, for crying out loud! They are outnumbered in international talks, calling for the disarming of Hezbollah before there can be a complete cessation of hostilities. Pretty much everyone else wants a ceasefire to work on the humanitarian crisis, and address the cessation of hositilies. It doesn't make sense to me why the Americans are holding everything back. The US and Britain have already stated that they will not be able to committ troops to an international ground force, though they do support one being deployed, so what is it that is making everyone hold back from going forth with a ceasefire? Is the rest of the world actually, honest-to-god, intimidated by the United States? Are they afraid of what they could do (and I'm thinking more along the lines of sanctions and withdrawing aid than military action) if they disagree and ignore American sentiment? I just don't understand and I'd like to. I think I need to converse with P. Stoffer and J. Stoffer about said issue, and possibly get some insight into the dynamics.

As much as I'm enjoying the coverage on the Middle East crisis, and how intriguing I find it, it's becoming rather repetitive. It seems like they're coming back to the same points, the same people over and over again. How many times can you say the same thing before it's too much? Let's just ask the HeadOn people. They seem to have a formula, which now includes ActivOn.

A sidenote on Iraq: The Tigris River, one part of the Cradle of Civilization, has become a prime spot to dispose of bodies. This reminded me of the Ganges in India, where the people believe in the holiness of the Ganges' waters, and let the bodies go with love. It made me think, has the Tigris become the Unholy Ganges?

Reporter's Notebook 1

2006-07-25T12:41:00.000-03:00

I know this picture has been making the rounds, but the more I see it, and the more I watch the show, the more worried I get. Coop is getting seriously thin. Unhealthy thin. Borderline Calista Flockhart thin. It frightens me a little bit. It's time for him to come home. He looks tired, unhealthy and he's started stuttering an awful lot. He stuttered and slurred his words a lot last night. Not to mention, he said that Nic was in Baghdad instead of Beirut. Maybe that was just Freudian slip, but Coop looks like he needs some sleep. And maybe a Big Mac and fries. Last night, I started taking notes and ideas down while I was watching the show. I ended up with five pages of notes, two front and back and one front. I also took down a headline which caught my eye.

I enjoyed the Reporter's Notebook last night. I like listening to Coop's voice juxtaposed with images. He's incredibly reflective during them, which makes me wonder when he has time to think. I've also come to the conclusion that Coop is an adrenaline junkie. He talked about the adrenaline during Reporter's Notebook. While most people get their fix BASE jumping, Coop gets his in war zones. But whatever works. When they went Inside Hezbollah this time, the look on Coop's face was priceless when the ambulances began. He looked entirely amused by the show and I can only imagine the thoughts going on in his head.

Something that frightens me was the mention of white phosphorus in Israeli weapons. Hezbollah claims that Israel is targetting civilians, but Israelis say that Hezbollah forces are in civilian residences. So how do we really know who's right? It's a propaganda war on both sides. You have to pick through and discern for yourself which side is telling the truth, and honestly, I don't think I trust either side that much. One thing that General Marks mentioned that caught my attention was that Hezbollah may withdraw from the advancing Israeli troops in order to recoup and "survive another day." They may do that, though I don't see them surrendering.

Condi still frightens me. Her trip essentially did nothing. Just showed us what a horrible fashion sense she has. That suit? Complete disaster. She's a tall, thin lady, but that suit did nothing for her figure (which I'm not even sure she has because her clothes are just bad). The suit coat honestly looked like it was designed for a man. It came down far past her hips, and was wide enough to fit a line backer in. Seriously, Condi, get a taylor for the love of god.

The headline that caught my eye: Israeli missile hit two Red Cross ambulances in Southern Lebanon. Really? I bet the Arab media are having a field day with that one. I watched CNN this morning, and there was no mention of it. Last night, it was only on the scroll along the bottom. That's seriously like a BIG thing. You don't just accidentally hit Red Cross ambulances and get away with it. You can see the pro-Israeli spin in the American media. No matter what Israel or Hezbollah does, there's always this "but..." afterwards that spins it appropriately. And am I the only person who finds it odd, and strinkingly scary, that the United States is giving $30 million dollars in aid to Southern Labanon, but then providing the Israelis with "bunker busting" bombs? Isn't that a conflict of interest or something? You don't give people bombs to blow up others and then help those on the receiving end of your bombs.

I'm fired

2006-07-24T17:24:00.000-03:00

Ha, I love this picture.

Okay, I have to admit something to you guys. I went out yesterday. I went out, and I didn't get to watch all of AC360. I know, I know. I'm fired. Too bad I'm my own boss, huh?

So the war on my whites has ended. The only casualty was my brand new, white linen skirt >.> I only wore it a few times and already, it's dead. The bleach ate the fabric making it so thin it tore. It seems every thing else is okay though, which I suppose is good.

So, Condi has finally made her visit to the Middle East. MSNBC is calling it a "surprise" visit. Really? It's a surprise? Because I recall CNN reporting that it was planned for Sunday. I suppose that it was on Monday was the surprise then. But whatever. MSNBC is best for celebrity fashion watch, which I enjoy far too much, much like the girls at Go Fug Yourself.

Anywho, Coop is going to be reporting from Haifa, Israel this evening, according to the AC360 site. I'm glad he'll be out of Beirut, not that Haifa is much better. But, it does say to me that they're getting ready to head out of the area. Hopefully, he'll be either in the Congo or New York by the end of the week.

He does wear the same shirt

2006-07-23T15:50:00.000-03:00

Andy was definitely wearing the same shirt last night as he wore on Friday night, so I'm not imagining it. Olive coloured, two pockets and little button things on the shoulders.

I need to start keeping a notebook of all of my thoughts and things while I watch the show. I have a lot of things that run through my head, different ideas and opinions, and things that just catch my eye. This blog I think will become sort of like a practice ground for some journalistic/political ranty stuff and may come in handy when I go to declare my major in my second year. It's nothing formal, but will give me a place to stretch my wings, so to speak.

I watched last night's show in the living room with my parents, completely fawning over Anderson. I usually don't watch it with them, usually in my room by myself, because they talk a lot and I actually like to hear what's going on. That way I can start to formulate roughly what I may want to write about in here. My dad also has a tendency to say things that just... Well, it almost sounds like he doesn't think through what he's saying but I know that he is. I guess we just have different thought processes.

Last night, dad asked why all Anderson covers is the war in the Middle East, which was easy enough to explain. But then, when they started speaking about Hezbollah and the high amount of civilian casualities, my dad had to throw in that the Lebanese brought it upon themselves, and if you harbour terrorists, what else can you expect? He doesn't understand why you wouldn't inform and give these people up to the government. Dad and I have had discussions like this before. People don't inform on terrorists or the "bad guys" for the same reason we all turn our heads when we know someone is stealing, or let's say selling drugs. They're not hurting us, so what does it matter? To the Shi'a Lebanese, Hezbollah has built schools, hospitals and taken care of them above and beyond that of the Christian and Sunni government. Not only is Hezbollah not hurting those who harbour them, they're helping them, essentially buying their support. And honestly, how is that any different than what governments and organizations do here? I'm pretty sure that $400 tax rebate given out in Alberta was a huge support buyer/mainstayer.

I have a hard time discussing things with my father. I know how he was raised, at least the attitudes of the time, so I can understand some of why he thinks the way he does. But a lot of the time you can see and hear in his words the lack of understanding, the lack of wanting to understand, other cultures in comparison to our own and his belief in our superiority. He always compares the actions of one nation with an entirely different set of cultural customs to the one that we live in. This morning we were talking, again sparked by CNN, about the differences in culture and what he deems to be "civilized." He said that "In a world situation, there is something as being civilized." Well, who determines what civilized is? Because you know what, Western society is the odd one out. The majority of the world's population doesn't live as we do, and don't hold the same values. He referred to if you steal, they'll cut your hands off. Again, we're the odd ones out. The majority of the world still abides to laws similar to those of Hammurabi's Code.

You can't look at another culture through the eyes of your own. The only leads to the idea of superiority and racism. If you look at our past, even our recent past, Western civilization hasn't been all that civilized. We still murder, still suffer from the human condition. McCarthyism sure as hell wasn't civilized. Up until the 1960s, the southern United States were still segregated. We still bastardize our own who disagree with us. Colonialization was not civilized. I just don't understand the superority complex of a lot of people in North America and Europe. Sure, we live great lives, enjoy amazing freedoms and live without fear. But how does that make us more civilized, more moral, than those who act within the customs and structures laid out before him?

No man ever looks at the world with pristine eyes. He sees it edited by a definite set of customs and institutions and ways of thinking. -- Ruth Benedict

If we justify war, it is because all peoples always justify the traits of which they find themselves possessed, not because war will bear an objective examination of its merits. -- Ruth Benedict

No human race is superior; no religious faith is inferior. All collective judgments are wrong. Only racists make them. -- Elie Wiesel

Thanks to bcfraggle for the screenshot from last night's show.

WWIII?

2006-07-22T11:28:00.000-03:00

That is the look I should be giving you right now, Mr. Cooper. World War III? Really? Please don't jump on the Fox News/NBC, overreacting bandwagon just yet, Coop. For those of us that actually like CNN, and don't refer to it as "the Communist News Network" (because I've heard people call it that, and I shake my head in disbelief), actually report what's going on instead of blowing thigs out of proportion?

Condi, just so you know, you scare me. Seriously. She reminds me of a dog, but I can't quite pinpoint what breed. Maybe a chihuahua... No, that's Penelope Cruz... I don't know. Maybe she just looks like a ferret (I know it's not a breed of dog, people). Or a beaver... I'm looking forward to seeing the results of her visit. Part of me is asking why we depend on the United States to do everything, but with their close links to Israel, closer than most at this point I think, it's probably a viable option. They sure as hell aren't listening to anyone else at this point.

Uncanny?

2006-07-21T22:24:00.000-03:00

Only slightly. Looking through the picture section of Dispatches, I continually come back to this one. The similarities between Andy and his dad are un-freaking-canny.

Washing machine, eff you

2006-07-21T16:12:00.000-03:00

Okay, first let me start off by saying that my washer has declared WAR on my whites. Rust sucks, just incase you all weren't aware. And it's a bitch to get out of clothing, particularly white clothing. I'm tempted to throw said washer out the window. Alright. Rant done.

Yesterday, I bought Dispatches From The Edge. I'm incredibly excited to begin reading it. I rushed through the last 100 pages of Midnight's Children so I could start it. I started reading it even before I finished Midnight's Children, which normally I try avoiding because I have the attention span of a gnat.

Andy wore a different shirt last night. Of course, right after I mention it looks like he's been wearing the same shirt for like a week. I think he knows we all talk about him, and I think he enjoys to play games with us. Anywho, about last night's broadcast. I have come to truly enjoy Nic Roberson and his British accent. I also enjoy how when Coop has somebody on camera with him, he has a tendency to smile at them. What also catches my attention is how ADD Coop is. He'll be in the middle of a big spiel, something will catch his attention and he'll go off on that, and then go right back to what he was talking about. It makes me laugh a little bit. On Reporter's Notebook last night, Andy was talking about his trip to Syria last year. I really love how he doesn't hide his reaction if someone says something that he wasn't expecting. In Reporter's Notebook, someone said that they considered Syria more of a democracy than the United States, and Coop was just like "Really?" And the little "hmms" he makes after watching a video segment from one of the other reporters.

The professer they had on last night, and the night before, I must say, makes incredible amounts of sense. By destroying the infrastructure of Lebanon, Israel is undermining the Lebanese government. I couldn't gleen a whole lot else to remember as I was half asleep, and he talked really very fast. I'd like to hear him speak more though, because I do remember being intrigued. I should really start taking notes.

Is it just me?

2006-07-20T20:58:00.000-03:00

Is it just me, or has Anderson been wearing the same shirt for like a week? I actually paid serious attention to it last night so I could compare it to what he wears tonight, because he's either been wearing the same shirt, or has the same shirt in very similar colours.

Also, watching the sunrise behind Anderson is really very captivating.

Going to Beirut

2006-07-20T13:04:00.000-03:00

It looks like Anderson is on his way to Beirut now. This gear is going to be extremely fitting, once again. I'm a little frightened that Anderson is going to Beirut, but if the British anchor can do, whose name I cannot recall, then Andy is up for the challenge! I'm still nervous... Please come back in one piece.

Last night's show was awesome. I've really come to enjoy Anderson's style of reporting both sides. Unfortunately, when they report the Lebanese side of the story, the attitude of a lot of the people is one that I was afraid would start to show itself all too soon. The minute Israel moved into Gaza, my reaction was "Crap. This is going to backfire on them so hard." Now it looks like the time has come. One woman on the show last night, who was in Syria after fleeing Lebanon, said that she didn't escape, she left to protect her children. When her children grew up, she would send them to be part of Hezbollah to fight Israel. This is what I've been afraid of. Instead of liberating the Palestinian and Lebanese people, Israel is driving them further into the arms of groups like Hamas and Hezbollah. No matter what they do, there is no way that this is going to end well. If they destroy all current members of Hezbollah, there will only be more to pick up the pieces and start anew. And that sucks.

Charmingly Snarky

2006-07-19T19:10:00.000-03:00

The Anderson Cooper Fanlisting. Go! Set yourselves free!

2006-07-19T16:49:00.000-03:00

I've got to stop getting blog space I don't need. I barely use what I have. But, now I have my own space dedicated to the man that is Anderson Cooper.