Besides, I remember when I moved in Calgary a few months ago. I was completely disoriented because I missed my family and friends. I still miss them, but now I am so much stronger, and I can cope with that.
Saturday, April 12, 2008
EAP III FEEDBACK
Saturday, March 15, 2008
GLADIATOR
I watched a movie named Gladiator on TV. Gladiators are men that are chosen according to their physical strength to fight in an arena. They have to fight against each other in order to kill each other. The survivor is the winner. Sometimes wild animals like lions are included in the fight. Those cruel fights are set up in order to entertain people. At that time, the nation was very fond of violent battles and gladiators were popular in Roma. It takes place in grandiose theatre called the coliseum of Roma. The emperor, Commode or Cesar, they call him both, is a character with a disturbed personality. He killed his father in order to succeed him and it seems that he wants to have an intimate relation with his sister. Since their father died, she has been living in fear of her brother. Russel Crowe is the main gladiator. His name is Maximus, and he also is called The Spanish. He was a successful general in an army, before being forced to be a slave and a gladiator. It is a very deep movie with such themes as death, bravery, slavery, relationships, loyalty and political power. It portrays the culture and the traditions of the nation of Roma at this time. This movie made me feel a little nostalgic about Niger and my life before leaving Niger, because we discussed this movie in Latin class in Niger. It was part of the course. My teacher’s name was Assemat. She came from Italia I think. She is an outstanding teacher, very passionate. I wonder if she still teaches in Niger. It was an option that I took because my parents wanted to. On the long run, I learned to like it. But Latin is a dead language. It means that people don’t speak Latin. They just study it. At that time, I did not see the importance of learning Latin. Later, when I passed my Baccalaureat in Paris, I was happy that I studied Latin because it allowed me to have extra credit. Words in Latin look like amicus, amicae, amicum, bella, nostrum ect.. Lots of words in French come from Latin. Sometimes I miss those classes because it was so interesting to decipher the meaning of Latin words and because my classmates and my teachers were amazing. I wish I could take this course again.
To go back to the main point, gladiator is really a good movie. The complexity of the character of Cesar is very surprising and interesting in this movie. Also, gladiators really existed in the history of Roma. It is not a fiction.
Friday, March 14, 2008
Sunday, March 9, 2008
ARTISTIC BREAKTHROUGH
Alexandre Gustave Eiffel is the great mind behind the Eiffel Tower. He was born on December 15, 1832 in Dijon, in France. Gustave Eiffel is considered as a creative genius because he applied innovative ideas to the construction of great buildings, and also because of his avant-garde design of the Eiffel tower, which is considered as a breakthrough in architecture and art.
I/ PROFESSIONAL PATH
A/ Gustave Eiffel was an intelligent scholars and finished brilliantly his studies.
- Graduated with degree both in Sciences and Humanity
- Graduated from the Engineering school Ecole Centrale des Arts et Manufactures in 1855
B/ Gustave Eiffel’s first job revealed his talent and his creativity, then he started an outstanding career in a business specializing in metal structural work in 1864
- Engineer on a project for a railway bridge, in Bordeaux, France.
Work considered great by critics; complete success
- Built great number of metal structures of all kinds all over the world
- Was renown for precise industrial installations
- Worked on the Porto viaduct over the River Duro in 1876, one of his most outstanding building
- Worked on the Garabit viaduct in 1884
- A mountainous barrier was an obstacle to reach Southern France in the late 1800
- For years, engineers tried to find a solution to the problem
- innovative idea of Eiffel: build a huge wrought-iron arch with a minimal amount of material to create a route
II/ THE EIFFEL TOWER: THE APOGEE OF EIFFEIL’S CREATIVITY
A/ By the end of his projects, Gustave Eiffel was a master of metal structural work, which lead him to the project of the Eiffel Tower
- spent the last thirty years of his life on the project of the Eiffel Tower
- wind resistance experiments
- innovative approach to the problem of wind loads
- studied an innovative solution to give resistance to the tower against wind
- imagined the Eiffel tower’s elegantly curved silhouette
- meteorological observation
B/ The elegantly curved shape of the Eiffel Tower reflects Eiffel’s creativity
- At that time, shape of the tower was impressive
- Eiffel’s purpose: to give impression of strength and beauty by the silhouette of the tower
- People shocked by such avant-garde work
- Shape reveals strong artistic temper
- Similar work never seen before
- Curve of the tower: result of mathematical calculation created by Eiffel
- Created a balance between aspiration to beauty and mathematical constraint
- Creativity help him struggling with natural conditions to build it
Sunday, March 2, 2008
SUCCESS IN BUSINESS
Sunday, February 24, 2008
LAW
“The Association of Women Lawyers ("AWL") is an organization committed to promoting the advancement, equality, interests and well being of women in the legal profession”.
Ø the committee was expanded and AWL was launched in June 1999. It was inspired from The Calgary Women Lawyers Association (CWLA) which was launched in the 1960s under the leadership of Mary Hetherington.
Ø The new minister of Human resources Anne McLellan and the Dean of law of the university Dr. Sheilah Martin contributed as guest speakers. They talked about the unique challenges which women lawyers face and shared their own experiences as well as giving encouragement to the new organization.
Ø At its debut, the association received funds from Calgary Law firms
Ø "Lunch and Learn" program twice a year: speaker with expertise is invited. A wide range of topics, such as financial planning, investment strategies, alternative career opportunities and gender issues in the workplace are covered.
Ø Fundraising event in the form of a spring luncheon: celebrity speaker is invited. This year, Madam Justice Louise Arbour, Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada delivered a speech. She spoke about "Justice in a Safer World".
Ø Complimentary luncheon event : honour women lawyers admitted to the Calgary Bar in the past year. “It a networking opportunity to the newly admitted women lawyers”.
Ø The AWL Annual General Meeting is held each year in December: occasion to electe new board of directors, review past activities and discuss upcoming events.
Sunday, February 17, 2008
I HAVE A DREAM
The word dream makes me think about Martin Luther King’s speech “I have a Dream”. It was delivered on August 28, 1963 at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. It is a message of peace, equality, solidarity, unity, democracy and hope. Martin Luther King wanted a united nation where all races and all social classes would join together. Furthermore, he wanted a world of tolerance and freedom. The following extract of the speech is my favourite part.
Ø I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal."
Ø I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.
Ø I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.
Ø I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the colour of their skin but by the content of their character.
Ø I have a dream today!
Martin Luther King was only 34 when he galvanized the nation with his inspirational speech “I have a Dream”. He received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964. Undeniably, Martin Luther King was a remarkable individual that had an extraordinary life. Besides, I do not want to compare Martin Luther King with another individual because to me he is unique. Yet, when I watch Barack Obama on television, he reminds me Martin Luther King because they have the same irresistible charisma.