Mind Soup

“The JCI Academy is the best JCI experience that you will ever have” is a statement that I frequently heard from past national presidents. “It will probably be in the top experiences of your life.” And indeed, it was, without a doubt, as memorable as they described it. I could not have thought that one can create as many memories, learn as many lessons or make as many friends in the span of 10 days. Last month, I had the pleasure of attending the 2017 JCI Academy in Kumamoto, Japan. The JCI Academy is an annual event that is hosted in a different Japanese city every year where upcoming JCI national presidents and leaders are invited to an empowerment academy to prepare them to be future leaders. This year, we were celebrating the 30th edition of the academy, three decades of evolution and experience had culminated in a wonderful experience for everyone involved. Under the slogan “Who Changes The World? It’s Us!”, JCI Japan had prepared an intensive program with JCI Past Presiden...

What I donated on Cityville As you might know A massive 8.9 magnitude earthquake hit the Pacific Ocean nearby Northeastern Japan at around 2:46pm on March 11 (JST) causing damage with blackouts, fire and tsunami [ google ]. And I'm sure a lot of you would like to help, no matter how small the contribution. Here's a way that I found that you can donate to Japan through social games (and for free). Zynga is a social network game developer located in San Francisco, California, United States. The company develops browser-based games that work both stand-alone and as application widgets on social networking websites such as Facebook and MySpace. [ wikipedia ] They are now offering 100% price donations when you buy premium items that are designed for this purpose. And yes, I am saying "buy", but in fact you won't be spending a dime (well real ones anyway). Zynga's "Save the Children" Campaign If you are like me, you would have probably played...

MIND SOUP : Yet another lawsuit launched against a middle-eastern blogger. But this time, the suing side is not a politician or an official, but a restaurant; a restaurant with very bad PR and marketing skills might I add. Mark is a Lebanese blogger who wrote a review of Benihana Kuwait on his blog 248am  after visiting the restaurant a few days after its grande  opening. I have done a huge deal of research on Benihana last summer for a course and I know well that Benihana distinguishes itself from other restaurants by two aspects: The unique layout where customers sit and watch while a chef cooks their food in front of them in a live display of culinary skills. The quality and freshness of their foods, most importantly their meats. In his review, Mark complains of the quality of the food being served, and I quote: ... [T]he Hibachi chicken which is basically grilled chicken, that was the worst. The chicken was very chewy (I could swear it was und...

Map of the Bermuda Triangle SALEM NEWS : Oceanographic surveyors of the sea floor in the area of the Bermuda Triangle and the North Sea region between continental Europe and Great Britain have discovered significant quantities of methane hydrates and older eruption sites. According to two research scientists the mystery of vanished ships and airplanes in the region dubbed "The Bermuda Triangle" has been solved. Step aside outer space aliens, time anomalies, submerged giant Atlantean pyramids and bizarre meteorological phenomena ... the "Triangle" simply suffers from an acute case of gas. Natural gas—the kind that heats ovens and boils water—specifically methane, is the culprit behind the mysterious disappearances and loss of water and air craft. The evidence for this astounding new insight into a mystery that's bedeviled the world is laid out in a research paper published in the American Journal of Physics. Professor Joseph Monaghan researched the h...

Forget 3D TV, Japan is promoting the idea of ultra-realistic holographic broadcasts and the ability to zoom a virtual camera in behind players on the pitch if it secures the 2022 World Cup. Japan proposes expanding the World Cup to all 208 FIFA member nations through fan-fest events that will feature live, holographic coverage of the games. Fans will gather in stadiums thousands of kilometers from the action and watch the games as if they are taking place in front of their eyes.

This is a nice trick. The Japanese are always coming up with cool and weird stuff.

SANTIAGO, Chile (Reuters) - A massive magnitude-8.3 earthquake struck near Concepcion, Chile, early on Saturday, the U.S. Geological Survey reported, shaking buildings and causing blackouts in parts of the capital of Santiago. A tsunami warning was issued for Chile and Peru by the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, and a tsunami watch was issued for Ecuador. The earthquake struck 56 miles northeast of Concepcion at a depth of 34 miles at 3:34 a.m./1:34 EST. It's magnitude was reported at 8.3 and 8.5, then fixed by the USGS at 8.3. People streamed onto the streets of the Chilean capital, more than 200 miles north of the epicenter, hugging each other and crying, a Reuters witness reported. Buildings shook and there were blackouts in parts of the city. The Reuters witness reported very strong shaking lasting for 10 to 30 seconds. A national emergency official told local radio the government was evaluating damage in and around Concepcion. In 1960, Chile was hit by the world's...

A Japanese architecture firm has come up with a neat idea for eco-friendly teahouses — it has little compartments in the surrounding wall that can generate heat via compost, so you don't get cold when you're sitting inside. The best thing about it might be its name: Comploo. From  Inhabitat : To feed the composter, garden waste, food scraps or other compost materials can be dropped in through a door at the top of each bin. A system of sealed ducts runs through each of the bins, and as the air circulates within the walls, the decaying compost warms it. This heated air is in turn emitted through a central vent that releases into the structure's interior. Occupants can comfortably sit along a circular bench surrounding the heat source, and enjoy the ambient natural light permeating through the transparent dome roof above.  [ via ]    

Countries around the world are beginning to hold celebratory events to welcome in 2010. New Year arrived first in the South Pacific. At midnight local time (1100 GMT) fireworks were set off over Auckland's Sky Tower in New Zealand. A massive fireworks display has taken place in Sydney, Australia, with some 5,000kg of explosives sent up around around the famous harbour bridge. An estimated 1.5 million attended the city's dramatic show. Fireworks were launched from the bridge, from boats in the harbour and from buildings around the waterfront. Crowds had been gathering since the early morning, some of them camping overnight to secure the best /vantage point for the 12-minute midnight fireworks display. Police minister Michael Daley warned those attending to avoid excessive drinking. "If you're one of these fools that can't handle their grog and likes to go out and ruin other people's nights, make yourself a new year's resolution to grow up and be...

School buses in Japan School buses in India Can you spot the difference?

The difference between the poor countries and the rich ones is not the age of the country. الفرق بين البلدان الفقيرة والغنية لا يعود إلى قدمها في التاريخ This can be shown by countries like India & Egypt, that are more than 2000 years old and are poor. فمصر والهند يفوق عمرها 2000 عام وهي فقيرة On the other hand, Canada, Australia & New Zealand, that 150 years ago were inexpressive, today are developed countries and are rich. أما كندا واستراليا ونيوزيلندا لم تكن موجودة قبل 150 سنة بالرغم من ذلك هي دول متطورة وغنية. ولا يمكن رد فقر او غنى الدول إلى مواردها الطبيعية المتوفرة. The difference between poor & rich countries does not reside in the available natural resources. Japan has a limited territory, 80% mountainous, inadequate for agriculture & cattle raising, but it is the second world economy. The country is like an immense floating factory, importing raw material from the whole world and exporting manufactured products. لليابان مس...

CAIRO: Controversy abounds at the Toronto Film Festival after Ahmed Maher, the Egyptian directof of “The Traveler” pulled his film from the lineup in protest of the festival’s spotlight on Israel. The move has been received in Egypt with much praise, signaling the ongoing fight against any normalization with Israel, whether political or cultural. First-time director Ahmed Abdallah also withdrew his film “Heliopolis” from the schedule, protesting the presentation of 10 films on the Israeli city of Tel Aviv, which is being featured as part of the “City to City” program. The controversy gained steam after Maher’s decision to withdraw his film, which was produced by the Egyptian ministry of culture, screened and nominated at the Venice Film Festival earlier this month. It is still unclear whether Maher’s decision to revoke the film will force it from the viewers. Festival co-director Cameron Bailey lauded the Egpytian filmmakers for “having a really strong year, addressing tough issu...

Brazil, Australia, France and Italy Switzerland, Japan, Korea & Lebanon India, Greece, Vietnam & Spain

TOKYO, Japan (AP) -- A homeless woman who sneaked into a man's house and lived undetected in his closet for a year was arrested in Japan after he became suspicious when food mysteriously began disappearing. Police found the 58-year-old woman Thursday hiding in the top compartment of the man's closet and arrested her for trespassing, police spokesman Hiroki Itakura from southern Kasuya town said Friday. The resident of the home installed security cameras that transmitted images to his mobile phone after becoming puzzled by food disappearing from his kitchen over the past several months. One of the cameras captured someone moving inside his home Thursday after he had left, and he called police believing it was a burglar. However, when they arrived they found the door locked and all windows closed. "We searched the house ... checking everywhere someone could possibly hide," Itakura said. "When we slid open the shelf closet, there she was, nervously curled up...