CULTURAL CURIOUSITIES

•Ninety percent of engagement rings in China are made of platinum (travelchannel.com).

•The United Arab Emirates has the highest rate of diabetes in the world.  Moslems there love sweets and smoke a lot.  Alcohol is not allowed, so what else is there? (ameinfo.com).

•Coffee first came to Vienna in 1593 when Mohammed IV left sacks of it behind after the Siege of Vienna.  By 1830, there were 130 coffeehouses in Vienna and its suburbs (web-books.com/Classics). 

•It is considered rude not to keep your hands on the table when eating in Germany.  Japanese women are expected to serve the men drinks first, then each other, in a mixed group. 

•There are more than 100 offenses that carry the death penalty in Iran.

(Cultural Curiosities courtesy of RoadLovers.com unless there are other attributions)

Is Lens X better than Lens Y?

Is Lens X better than Lens Y?

If we presume that it is the same focal length or the same zoom range (or at least really close), this question can be answered thoroughly. Not all lenses are created equal.

A 35mm f/1.4 lens from one manufacturer can outperform the same lens made by a different manufacturer. The first generation of the Canon 35mm f/1.4 L lens is inferior when compared to the new Sigma 35mm f/1.4 Art lens, in almost any aspect, whether price or optical quality etc. However, the second generation of the Canon 35mm f/1.4 L II is slightly optically better, but the price is more than double.

When comparing lenses, you should take note of:

• the focus motor and accuracy,
• optical quality (sharpness, vignetting, chromatic aberration and distortion),
• build quality,
• common issues,
• And of course, price.
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Send your questions to JKMcCrea@gmail.com

Thank you!

Here is a cultural difference

We can see a clear cultural difference between peiple from Germany, who like order, and people from South America who might tolerate some mess or disorder or different activities in a classroom.

Iran “Marriage Crisis,” India and China Need Women

RoadLovers Presents

CULTURAL CURIOSITIES 

Iran “Marriage Crisis,” India and China Need Women

Iranian ministers are worried that there’s a “marriage crisis” in the country.  The average marrying age has climbed since the Islamic Revolution in 1979.  The government is discussing taking a huge leap and legalizing matchmaking websites to nudge singles to get married at an earlier age.  The reason for the panic?  Officials are afraid delayed marriage will lead to a loosening of social mores.  The average age at which Iranian men  marry has risen from 20 to 28 in the past three decades.  Iranian women typically now marry between 24 and 30, five years later than a decade ago (also almost spinsterhood in this society) (Chicagotribune.com).  China and India head the list of Asian countries where the ration of males to females has remained stubbornly and artificially high.  The birth sex rate in China is now an “alarming” 1.13.  Unfortunately, sonograms are being used in Asia to identify female fetuses, which are then aborted in large numbers (discovermagazine.com).  U.S. Factoid: A 2010 U.S. study by research firm Chadwick Martin Baily claims 17% of those married in the past three years met online; other studies go as low as nine percent (washingtonpost.com).

Posted by JKMcCrea@gmail.com

Lanikai - The Most Enchanted Beach on Oahu

The view from a beachfront home in Lanikai.  Notice the color of the water.  It's for real!

6 a.m. and even the sunrise is special in Lanikai

Photos taken in Havana in 2012

See a blog about photos taken in Havana in 2012

Click here

I hope my students will watch these videos... and then interview their relatives.... IF ONLY FOR A SECOND

Look what a book project can do for a person.




Or a group of people.



People who were ignored.

I like how books can change people's
lives and grab the public's attention

People who felt that the best days of their lives were behind them.



People who felt trapped by their illness.




People with cancer who had lost their hair.



If only for a second, can they forget that they have cancer?




This series of photos comes from a video that has over 16 million hits.   I hope that my students will take time to interview their relatives, to ask their older relatives to tell stories... so that "for only a second" their relatives can be the center of attention.




I want my students to touch history.   Ask your parents, your grandparents, your uncles and aunts to tell you about "what life was like 30 years ago."




If only for a second, can my students live in the past?



At my school, several teachers have aunts and great0aunts and grandmothers who are OVER NINETY YEARS OLD.  Imagine what those people have seen!!




I hope their stories can be captured.





I encourage you to look at the videos below and think about your relatives.  Ask, "What do you remember?  What should I know about?"





Then call me and let's get those memories into a book.   Then you can give those stories in a book to your grandmother or other old people in your life.

SEE THIS DOCUMENTARY

THE MIMI PROJECT



Here is a documentary about veterans who contributed to the victory in Europe.

SEE THIS DOCUMENTARY

SEE THIS DOCUMENTARY

SEE THIS DOCUMENTARY