Is there a link between school shootings and domestic violence? Or school shootings and ethnic backgrounds? The jury is still out, but I am, thinking the verdicts will be a resounding ‘yes’ to the former and ‘no’ to the latter questions. Many researchers and practitioners have pointed out significant connections between domestic violence (DV) and school shootings. There isn’t a single cause of school shootings; however, domestic violence frequently appears as a risk factor.

The Bechdel test is a simple, but not entirely foolproof, measure of women’s representation in a film or other work of fiction. It is based on three criteria: it must have at least two women whose names we know; the two women must have a conversation with each other; and that conversation must be about something other than a man.

Kikkri simili imma differenti li jirrakuntaw l-istess storja. Mela darba kien hemm mara li kienet iġġemma’ il-kikkri u plattini antiki. Ftit minnhom kienu jiswew ftit ċenteżmi, iżda kellha uħud li kienu jiswew il-mijiet ta’ €wro. Kull meta tara Charity Shop, jew ħanut tal-antikitajiet, jew House Sale, kienet tmur tara issibx xi kikkra – imma jekk ma jkollhiex il-plattina pariġġ, ma toħodhiex!

Minn bejn ix-xquq tal-blinds kien beda’ dieħel id-dawl tal-għabex. Iżda t-tewmin kienu ilhom imqajma, għax illum kienet ġurnata speċjali. Kienu diġa ħadu tazza ħalib u sandwich. Il-jum ta’ qabel kienu marru jġarrbu l-ħwejjeġ li kienu ser jilbsu għar-reċta tal-Milied, u llum kellhom imorru jiġbruhom. Kien ser isir presepju ħaj fil-ground tal-football ta’ Fleur de Lys, u huma kienu ntagħżlu bħala paġġi tas-Slaten Maġi.Kemm kienu ferħanin u kbirin biha din-il ħaġa.

Il-Kap tal-Iskola dejjem kienet tagħmel fiera għall-ħabta tal-Ewwel tas-Sena. It-tfal kienu jġibu kotba, ġugarelli, fajjenza… u din il-fiera tant kienet saret popolari li saħansitra nies minn barra Fleur de Lys kienu jiġu bi ħġarhom. Il-qliegħ kien imur għall-karita. Sebaħ jum sabiħ minn dak li jaf jagħmel Jannar. Anzi, biex inkunu għedna kollox, kienet ser tkun ġurnata mill-isbaħ għax… …din is-Sena, Miss Marija kienet ftehmet man-Nanna Kitty biex ikun hemm banka tal-ikel magħmul mit-tfal stess, bl-għajnuna tagħhom.

Think; why does someone want to burst your bubble? When someone wants to burst your bubble ...maybe they see you as a threat. Maybe they are fed up of being on the outside, looking in, and seeing what is going on inside your bubble. Perhaps they’re uncomfortable with the way your happiness reflects their own unhappiness back at them. Sometimes, people try to burst your bubble not because of anything you’ve done, but because your light makes the shadows they’re carrying feel more obvious.

Meta kienet għadha tifla n-Nanna Kitty, kienu ‘moda’ il-penfriends. Kellha wahda miċ-Ċzechoslovakia, pajjiż li ma baqax jeżisti mill-31 ta' Diċembru, 1992, ‘l quddiem, għax inqasam fi tnen - is-Slovakkja, u r-Repubblika Ċeka. Imma Zuzana Kováčová u n-Nanna Kitty baqgħu ħbieb, tant li dan l-aħħar giet taraha, u ġabitlha ikona ta’ San Pietru u San Pawl. Meta rawha, Fleur innotat is-simetrija u d-dettalji, u Lee beda’ jgħadddi l-kummenti dwar id-dehra tal-qaddisin.

Lee’s shoelace had come undone again – for the third time. He scowled at it, kicking his foot against the sand, as if that might magically re-tie the knot. Fleur rolled her eyes and crouched down, fingers already working the lace into a tight, double-looped bow. “You’re hopeless,” she said, grinning up at him. “In any case, we’ll soon be taking off our shoes…”

Il-pupi tal-kaxxa kien ikollhom bott imdeffes f’hofra f’dahrhom. Meta xxaqleb il-pupa, kien joħroġ ħoss li suppost kien ta’ tarbija tibki, iżda iżjed jixbaħ lil nagħġa tinbee. Wara gew ġugarelli li meta tiġbdilhom spaga, ‘jitkellmu’, u oħrajn li jirrepetu dak li tkun għedt. Oħrajn kont iddeffsilhom diska ħoxna tal-plastik, u jkantaw. Il-ġugarelli li jagħmlu l-ħsejjes, jew li jitkellmu, m’humiex xi ħaġa ġdida.

The only time I ever utter the words “Quiet, Piggy” is when Matilda, my Vietnamese pot-bellied pig, decides to serenade the entire neighbourhood with her squeals of impatience, because lunch isn’t ready the moment she thinks it should be. If you’ve ever lived with a pig, you know exactly the kind of performance I’m talking about; an operatic blend of outrage, anticipation, and dramatic flair that somehow manages to be both demanding and endearing.

Fleur was the first to notice it… she always was. Lee insisted it was only because she walked faster, and looked down when she walked, but Nanna Kitty insisted it was because Fleur had ‘eyes that see, not eyes that look’; eyes that saw not just what was there, but what might be. Either way, that morning at Wied Għammieq, while Nanna Kitty went off toward the cemetery with flowers, and candles, and a sigh that belonged to some private part of her, the two children lingered at the tideline.

Għandna niffokaw wisq fuq id-dehriet esterni... Pauline insistiet li t-tpinġija ġġib is-saħtra, u min jagħmilha jkun qiegħed jagħmel dnub mejjet. Kienu bosta li qalulha li l-Knisja Kattolika ma tipprojbixxix espressament it-tatwaġġi, u li m’hemm l-ebda silta speċifika tal-liġi kanonika, jew fil-Katekiżmu li tipprojbixxihom għal kollox. Il-gwida morali tal-Knisja iżjed tiffoka minflok fuq l-intenzjoni u t-tifsira wara t-tpinġija, kif ukoll jekk tirrispettax id-dinjità tal-ġisem, it-tempju tal-Ispirtu s-Santu.

The children of Miss Marija’s class made over-the-top snuffling and sniffling noises. “I smell vanilla!” exclaimed Jael. “I smell almond, too, though,” said Marla. “I smell furniture polish,” commented Fleur. “I smell musty, decaying, paper…” sighed Lee. Miss Marija smiled… until she noticed the beady eyes of the Librarian upon her, wordlessly asking her to tell them to stop. So Miss Marija clapped thrice, which was the signal for the class to be quiet.

According to The New York Times, women are ruining the workplace. But since fairness is fashionable, let’s talk about how men are perfecting that very art; one coffee cup, aftershave cloud, and midnight email, at a time. The Mansplainer-in-Chief Every office has one. He’s the man who believes that every woman in the building has been waiting all her life for his pearls of rehashed wisdom.

If I were coffee,you’d say I was too strong —too bitter,too stark.The kind that tells the trutheven when you’d rather it didn’t. You’d flinch at the aftertaste;that moment when what I saidsinks in…the words you can’t unsay,the truths you can’t unhear. I’d answer in monosyllables,like a ristretto;short, sharp,leaving more silence than sound.

-        A penny for them?-        What? Oh, erm, sorry. How may I help you?-        I’m looking for a book…-        Yes?-        A book. I mean, can you suggest a book for me?-        Well, it depends.-        I won’t take up too much of your time, promise. I can see that you’re busy.-        It’s not that. It’s that I don’t know you.

  As soon as I saw the tunnel, I knew that it just had to be mine. I knew why and wherefore I wanted it – I knew I would even sell my tiara to obtain enough funds, if I had to. But f course, I wouldn’t have to. Of course not. My mother had always told me about “the light at the end of the tunnels” and she was being her usual ambiguous self.

Sobbing through the night Tiny slave girl, working hard Bought for a pittance.// Party till you drop; Drink, drugs, sex are all you have Your life is empty.// A child on crutches, Soldiers bleeding, houses bombed... Images of war.// Photograph album; Children in an orphanage; Who’ll be adopted?// Hush don’t fuss and fret Mother has new lover now Baby’s needs come last.//

Friday, 28th January 2011 In December, 1972, Carly Simon spoke of a vain man who walked into a party as if he were walking onto a yacht. Speculation had the man named as Cat Stevens, Warren Beatty, Mick Jagger, or Kris Kristofferson. Last year, Simon said that the reissued record, which when played backward revealed the name “David” some three minutes into it.

Kienet waslet l-aħħar ġimgħa tal-iskola. Miss Marija bdiet taqla’ l-armarji. Kellha drawwa ħelwa li kull nhar ta’ Ġimgħa, din tagħti ktieb lit-tfal tal-klassi. Kellhom għażla – jew iżommuh, jew iġibuh lura biex jerġa jitqassam. Taċ-Charity Shops u tal-Bażarijiet kienu drawha, u għalkemm ma kienux jgħidulha biex ma tħossiex tistħi, jien naf li kieku jerfgħulha l-isbaħ kotba li jidħlu. Bir-riħ t’hekk, saħansitra Olivia u Marla kienu saru jħobbu jaqraw – fejn qabel jekk imissu ktieb, dan kien ikun biss biex jaraw l-istampi.

Frar 23, 2013 09:23   Ħuti Maltin, kif tafu, jien għandni ġejn minn Kolorado. Issa hemmhekk, in-nies huma progressivi u ultra-liberali, mhux bħalna hawn, għadna ta’ wara l-muntanji.Ngħidilkom is-sew, qed inħossni kburi li lili għażluni bħala r-rapreżentant liberali-progressiv t’hawn Malta, għax kieku għażluni bħala rapreżentant liberali, ħeqq, għal raġjunijiet ovvji ma kontx inkun nista’ naċċetta.Alemnu, hekk, barra li se noħrog bħala indipendenti, issa għandi wkoll partit barrani kbir u b’saħħtu li żgur għandu jżidli l-fens tiegħi għax jafu li jien bis-serjetà qed noħodha din l-elezzjoni, mhux bħal xi uħud li aħjar ma nsemmihomx għax jieħdu għalihom (u tant huma vavi li jagħmluli xi libell daqs tazz’ilma),.

We noticed a login to your account @manna_nectar_ambrosia from a new device. Was this you? Well, actually, it was, and it wasn’t. I hate to break it to you, but when you read this, I will have gone back to where I came from. You know the double statue of Nyuserre? You know Nimrud’s Striding Sphinxes? You know The Sanxing ?

Tanja Cilia Don’t do that. Stop that. Enough. Stop. Put that book away or you’ll throw up. How naughty you are. Push back your hair. That’s not nice. Stop fidgeting. Hold your bag properly. Stop playing with your hair. Close your mouth when you chew. Stop picking your nose. Drink some water. Stop moving your legs. Stop making faces.

Il-Ħaggis ‘Ara, Tfal...’ qalet Miss Marija, u bħas-soltu, it-tfal tal-Klassi waqqfu widnejhom, għax kienu jafu li ġejja xi aħbar speċjal. ‘Miss Yvonne qaltli li issa li dalwaqt waslu l-vaganzi tal-Għid, qed jitħabbar il-Programm ta’ Skambju Kulturali Internazzjonali, għal min hu interessat. Hawn lista ta’ sitt destinazzjonijiet fl-Ewropa fejn tistgħu tmorrru. Jien ser intikom il-formola, u min jixtieq japplika, għandu jġibha lura mimlija sal-aħħar tax-xahar.’