If you had unlimited resources, what would you research?

Hello All,

Thank you so much for your responses. After reading everyones thoughts, mainly the similarities and differences, I started to think if you had resources to research a particular topic, what would that research topic be?

As many researchers know, they have limitations to what and how they can conduct their research. Put yourself in a researchers position and assume that you have no limitations such as funding for your research.

What would you say?

If you had a microphone in your hand and the world could hear what you had to say for a moment, what would you say? You would only have time to address one issue or make one short comment.

Jean Augustine wants to know!!!

Hello All,

Jean Augustine wants to know from girls the following: If there were a
building/structure in Toronto for young girls, what would YOUwant to see
in it and what would they want to use it for.

Please let us know in a few words or more. Your thoughts can have a bigger impact than you think.

Hope to hear from you soon.

To be honest I don’t have a specific favorite book, it depend on the story and how I feel reading them. When I was thirteen I loved the Twilight series but then I realized the reason why I was reading it was because of peer pressure. Most people I knew read Twilight and Twilight was the biggest thing young girls could read. After two years I lost my interest in Twilight and lost interest in Fantasy except for the book Beastly. Beastly was the only fantasy book I could read because the book‘s message really interested me. It was about the true image of beauty. I loved the fact that the main character, who was a “jerk”, got punished by becoming a beast for two years until he found his true love. What I don’t like about this book now, and as I was reading it, is that the expectation of how to find love is unrealistic. Although all fantasy has unrealistic expectations of love and happy endings, this was the only part of Beastly I didn’t like. I don’t think any one could fall for a hideous beast, especially if he kidnaped you and if he force you to live with him against your will. How could you fall in love with him in the end?

Another genre I like which is really odd in my behalf is one of those teenage drug addict diary stories. I hope you know what I mean, one of those diary entries where a young girl document herself experimenting drugs just like the books Crank and Go Ask Alice.  I find it odd for me to like this type of genre because I am what people might call a “prude”. A person who is not into the whole drinking, drugs, and other peer pressure things that teens are doing these days. Basically I’m really lame from some teenagers' perspective. Though I really like Go Ask Alice because it is the type of book that I can read through a perspective that is nothing like me, it’s like seeing a whole different world. Another experience that I could see without taking the risk of actually taking crack or speed. The stories are real and very suspenseful which I also like about this genre.

I read few adult books which I started reading them last year. Most of the teens books were either fantasy romance or up coming of age where the girl finds a way to get her first kiss or loose her virginity which really bores me.  Two of the adult books that I really liked was The Color Purple and The Bluest Eyes. The Bluest Eyes was the second adult book I read and the most complicated one. Half of the time I have no idea what was going on and sometimes I feel stupid just reading it. Though I was only sixteen at that time, so I guess it was understandable that I was confused. I couldn’t tell if I’d like the book or not but the story line was both interesting and confusing. It was uncomfortable for me to read the book at that time because the narration was both graphic and vulgar. What I loved about the book was that it explains about the struggles of African American's image and beauty where they see beauty as having blond hair and blue eyes. Even now it is difficult to see yourself beautiful if beauty is define by one culture instead of by verities of different cultures.  This book can relate to a lot of the audiences, because the story line is real and the structure of the book is confusing so you would never get bored of reading it again. 

Books, novels and journal articles...

This weeks discussion topic is one of my favourite activities. . . reading. I have always been an avid reader. Devouring books from the library and taking a step into someone elses reality is something that has always intrigued me. The most wonderful thing about fiction is that it allows you to visit another space for a short period of time, it takes you into the author's mind, and into the lives of the characters they have created. As we step into September, I feel myself reading less fiction and more educational journal articles as the school year ramps up. I don't mind this transition, as it feels natural and exciting. Every fall, my love of reading is transferred from fiction to non-fiction, and in the process I continue to learn.

What do you enjoy about reading? What are your favourite books/articles/series to read?

I'm passionate about...

...well it's probably not time-keeping because I'm a little late to this blog post.

I'm passionate about music. If I could teach a university course, I could probably lecture for a full year on mid-00's pop punk and Canadian indie rock. I also play violin but more occasionally than I used to. I go to concerts as often as possible and my dearest wish is to attend the Polaris Prize Gala.

I'm passionate about literature. I try to read 100 books a year, and although I haven't done it yet, I'm always scoping for something good to read and giving recommendations. On the flipside, I also write prose and poetry over here.

I'm a political science major and that's because I'm also passionate about how things work, how you can make change, how to deal with the complex and multilayered issues that societies face and how to plan for the future. Because I like history and theory and language. I'm most passionate about foreign affairs and diplomacy.

I'm passionate about the idea that you have to feel a drive for something. That idea that human beings are profoundly passionate and any person should have a list of things they are passionate about that can't be confined to just mere curiosity but drives you to stay up late and work. I'm also passionate about the city, social media, sustainable living, sleeping in, creative spaces, Androids, scarves and the news.

In Love with writing and Obsessed with organizing

Writing has always been part of me. I am very passionate about it. I love exploring the meaning and origins of words. Growing up I used to immerse myself in books which earned me the name "bookworm" I had my own challenges due to my trilingualism. My journey with those three languages has been a roller coaster. I started of with German but when I moved to Ghana at the age of four, I completely forgot how to speak the language. Some years later when I returned to Germany, I was speaking two Ghanaian languages and English. In the course of re-learning German, I lost one of the Ghanaian languages. My first attempts in writing were mostly in English with a few works in German but I quickly realized that English was the language I felt most comfortable with. I must admit that there is a therapeutic occurrence woven in my writing process but generally speaking I write with the intention to share my experiences, observations and insights with others as a way to elucidate and capacitate. Strangely enough or maybe not, I don't like to present my works in front of a large audience. Public speaking is certainly not my strength. I am capable of handling a small group. In a way I'm critical of the modern/21st century approach to publicizing literature. I might share some of my personal thoughts on the productization of authors at a later point.

Then I have this other obsession, my second love, which is organizing. I utterly detest chaos! A lot of people appear to be irritated with my fixation to arrange things and create order. The truth is I simply cannot help it.