The picture that i chose

The picture that I chose is from the new york times about the flood that occured in Swat, Pakistan on August of 2010. I chose this picture picture it depicts the entirety of the situation and the ray of light that shown from above for me represents hope for people who lost everything. What makes this picture influencial is the scenery shown in the background and it illustrates what these people have lost, not just a home but a home in such a beautiful place and they stand queued in line waiting to be rescued while the militarty officer stands infront of them. Even though huge damage has been done, this photo represents hope and beauty in a uniquely defined way.

The Drive To Drive

Many of us might have the desire to race cars and crave the adrenaline rush that comes with speed and danger.  But car racing without having the needed skills can be quite dangerous. However, there is an alternative that is not only safe, but is fun. The monthly DAMC Karting Championship at the Dubai Autodrome allows car lovers and racers alike a chance to enjoy the action all year long (except summer). The first race of the year took place on Friday, 20th January 2012, when petrol-heads came together to get their fix. Hussein Ali, an Emirati racer, said, “I have been involved in karting for the past 4 years, it’s a part of my life and I have no intentions of ever leaving it”.    To take part in the monthly karting event, one can join in any of three categories: First, the professional championship for which the participant must bring along a kart and a karting license. Second, participation in all the races – usually reserved for professional racers - and earn cumulative points to determine their position in the UAE national karting championship. Lastly, racers can opt for the rental kart race. For this category, participants are not required to have their own car and they do not need to participate in all the monthly races. It is the cheapest category.

“Karting is active. It not only improves learning skills but also is extremely safe,” said Darrel Smith, a 40 year veteran of auto racing and karting. “Parents gets their

kids involved as young as the age of 8 since karting improves concentration and helps develop precision in car control, quick reflexes and decision making skills”, added Smith, who is also a karting instructor at the Autodrome.  Karting, he said, “can also lead to a career path. Many racing champions had to master karting, before progressing to car racing”. Smith said that karting can help build friends and social skills too. “It helps build bonds between friends and family so it has a social aspect to it as well”, he said. Mr. Jonathon Mowatt, a finance analyst from London moved to Dubai 2 years ago. He races regularly at the DAMC karting championship. He said karting has been a source of new friends in the city. “Dubai is difficult to crack but most of the friends I made here are through karting”. ‘Speed kills’, we’ve heard this so many times. But it doesn’t seem to have an impact on Dubai’s motorists. Despite numerous safety campaigns, the UAE has the highest rate of road deaths. 80% of the accidents that occur are due to speeding. Students were involved in 46% of total accidents, according to an article, “UAE students still ignore warning” published in 7days. Last year 184,745 speeding tickets were issued in the UAE. The Ministry of Health revealed that road and traffic accidents are the main reason for childhood/children’s death in the UAE and a traffic offence is committed every five seconds. When driving, one is required to multi-task. For many, this is a daunting fact. One can easily lose focus on the road. Choosing karting as a sport can help improve one’s cognitive ability and hence help him/her become a more alert and a safer driver on the road. Karting is an interactive activity and it gives people a chance to spend time outdoors. Events like DAMC encourage friendly competitions, especially among the younger generation who have the desire and the energy to see who is faster. Unfortunately, this ambition usually reveals itself when teens race on the highway, putting their lives as well as others’ in jeopardy. Check out the race date for DAMC 2012 on the link below http://www.dubaiautodrome.com/calendar/

Comparing and Contrasting two short videos

‘Linking Gaza to the outside world’ and ‘Barbers tales’ the two have very different way of telling a story and for obvious reasons. Linking Gaza to the world addresses a serious topic, mainly because it talks about the problems the Palestinians face and after the hostile occupation of Israeli settlers on their land they have found desperate ways of survival. The tunnel in the title refers to the tunnel linking Gaza to Sinai in Egypt as a means of getting in products of everyday use and how Israeli consistently bombards as it sees it as a threat to the security of Israel. Construction material has been banned by Israel to reach Palestine because it sees the reconstruction of Palestinians as a threat to their security, each sees the other as the demon meanwhile the Palestinians suffer and are left with no choice but to continue smuggle in products from Sinai as a means of survival. Since the story is serious, emotional and represents the hardship of one group of people the tone used by the narrator is to the point and significantly serious and without the use of music, instead natural sounds are used. For example, the sound of footsteps of the tunnel workers while the camera follows them and shows the hostile conditions they have to work in everyday and the threat of death that is always lingering. In such a story the reporter has to abide by the facts and cannot represent in a way that takes away the seriousness of the story. On the other hand, Barbers tales has a very soft approach of representing the story. The title gives a sense of what the story is about, ‘Barbers’ ‘tales’, the reporter takes us to barber shops from London to Honk Kong and the interviews these barbers from these from diverse backgrounds. Each has a unique story, each has a unique way of running their business but we clearly see how important their profession is to them and that they truly believe in the concept of a barber shop. The video just discussed has a very light hearted content so therefore the use of music, the voice of the woman narrating makes the documentary even more soothing which is completely different way of using the camera, lighting and story telling from ‘Linking Gaza to the outside world’ documentary.

Comm222 1st Blog