The promise of Arab Spring has turned into the heat of the Arab summer.  World attention has now swivelled from the citizen revolts in Tunisia and Egypt to the bloodshed in Syria and Libya.

In Libya, Western nations have intervened on behalf of the citizens , supplying military assistance, possibly even targeting Col. Qaddafi himself.

In Syria, the world is watching as the Assad regime cracks down on rebellious parts of the country. The Assad family has a history of brutality. Hafez Assad quashed a similar rebellion in the Syrian city of Hamaa in 1982. He allegedly massacred between 10-30,000 of his own people in the onslaught.

Should Hafez’s sons Bashar and Maher embark on a similar campaign, should western nations intervene in Syria like they have in Libya?  (cartoon by KAL)

Need some inspiration this Monday? Coming right up!

The Mountain from TSO Photography on Vimeo.

What about some humor? We’ve got that too!

Registration for the Maryland Cyber Challenge and Conference (MDC3) is now open. MDC3 will provide an opportunity for students and professionals to network in a fun environment while participating in exciting games and learning about computer safety and cybersecurity skills.

MDC3 teams up to six players who will compete in one of three categories: high school, college and university, and industry professionals. High school teams will focus on cyber defense techniques whereas college, university and professional teams will compete in a capture the flag match.

Students must be enrolled at a Maryland high school, college, or university. Professionals’ employers must have an office in Maryland and must be either a company or government agency. Teams can register during a day of an orientation session or online if they are unable to attend in person. The next orientation session will held between 4:30pm and 7:00pm on Tuesday, 21 June 2011 at the UMBC Technology Center, 1450 South Rolling Road. People interested in the professional league should come between 4:30-5:30pm and students should come between 6:00pm and 7:00pm.

The sessions will give contestants and coaches insight about the event as well as tips and tricks to prepare for the competition. After registering and orientation, competitors will be able to attend practice challenges during the summer to prepare for the qualifying rounds in September and finals on October 21-22 at the Baltimore Convention Center. Scholarships and prizes will be available for winning participants.

1 Corinthians 1:1-9

¹ Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and our brother Sosthenes,

² To the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be his holy people, together with all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ—their Lord and ours:

³ Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

⁴ I always thank my God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus. ⁵ For in him you have been enriched in every way—with all kinds of speech and with all knowledge— ⁶ God thus confirming our testimony about Christ among you. ⁷ Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed. ⁸ He will also keep you firm to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁹ God is faithful, who has called you into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

Reflection:

We see how Paul viewed the Corinthians and the hope he had for them.  In many ways, the way Paul describes and hopes for the Corinthians didn’t seem to match the fact that he had to address so many issues throughout the Corinthian letters.  This shows that Paul’s vision, hope, faith didn’t depend upon the Corinthians, but upon the calling that he had received from God.

Response:

Perhaps because of what’s happening or not happening, we can get side tracked and lose sight.  But just as Paul held on to his calling, let’s also hold on to the calling God has given us. Let’s pray that we will remember each day the calling we have received and that this calling daily defines our vision, hope and faith as we live.

As part of her Independent Studies in the New Media Studio, Fulbright Scholar Meri Collazos Sola developed a multimedia project using digital digital storytelling to explore identity and culture shock. The project website, www.cultureshockstory.com is based on Meri's research in the Intercultural Communications program.

"This project contains the materials I will focus on for my scholarly paper. The scholarly paper should be related to some of the topics that we've done for the core courses. The main topics of the research will be intercultural competency, creativity and two up and coming new media formats: digital storytelling and personal documentary film."

Back in May, it was reported that a robot explorer sent through the Great Pyramid of Giza discovered mysterious hieroglyphs in the 4,500-year-old mausoleum behind one of its mysterious doors. The images transmitted by the robot showed hieroglyphs written in red paint that had not been seen by human eyes since the construction of the pyramid.

This week, the reports are that the three red ochre figures painted on the floor of a hidden chamber at the end of a tunnel deep inside the pyramid are just numbers. The builders of the pyramid simply recorded the total length of the southern shaft from the Queen’s Chamber: 121 cubits.

While not exactly graffiti, it reminds me that when I’ve worked on an older house, I’ve often found notes left by the original workers who built it, like sketches with dimensions on the plaster covered up by wallpaper.