2013 in 10 Events

Ten events in 2013 that made headlines in Australia. 

Image by Simon

1. Benedict XVI resigns as Pope, being the first since 1415 and the first to do so voluntarily since 1294. 

Image by Catholic Church (England and Wales)

2. Margaret Thatcher, the longest serving British Prime Minister, died at 87 years.

Memorial outside The British Embassy in Santiago.
Image by Rivera Notario

3. Edward Snowden was given temporary asylum in Russia.

Street art portrait of Snowden
Image by Thierry Ehrmann

4. Prince George of Cambridge was born. 

Image by Christopher Neve

5. Australia had three Prime Ministers in one year: Julia Gillard, Kevin Rudd and Tony Abbott. 

Tony Abbott, the current Prime Minister of Australia.
Image by Troy Constable Photography™

10 reasons to learn Auslan (BANZSL)

En español

Auslan or BANZSL (British, Australian, New Zealand Sign Language) is a sign language which originates from a deaf sign language used in Britain during the 19th Century. Contrary to a common belief, not all sign languages are the same. For example, ASL (American Sign Language) is very different to BSL (British Sign Language). Also, signed languages are not just word for word spoken language signed but they have their own syntax, grammar and word origins. Also, some countries actually have sign language as one of their official languages, for example: New Zealand. 

I'm going to give you ten reasons to learn Auslan (the sign language in Australia).

Creative Common by Deaf Action 

Creative Common by Wycliffe South Africa

10 iconic songs of 2012 in Australia

As this year comes to an end, reflect on the year by listening to 10 iconic songs of 2012. 

10. Pumped Up Kicks - Foster the People

Every time I hear this song I think of the beach, maybe because I heard in February. 

9. Wild Ones - Flo Rida ft. Sia

I'm pretty sure Dubai sponsored the video... and Sia doesn't even appear in the video. She must feel ripped off. 

8. We Are Young - Fun. ft Janelle Monáe 

Because we are...

7. Call Me Maybe - Carly Rae Jepsen

The first song meme of the year... sung by a Canadian.

6. You Won't Let Me - Karise Eden

If you're not from Australia, you probably didn't know that Karise Eden was the winner of Voice 2012 with the help of Seal (the singer, not the animal). 

5. Anywhere in the World - Mark Ronson, Katy B

I included this song because it was the promo for the Olympics.

4. One More Night - Maroon 5 

She even took the fish!

3. Boom Boom - Justice Crew

Finally a dance song that's not American but by an Australian and New Zealand boy band.

2. Battle Scars - Guy Sebastian ft. Lupe Fiasco

This song was number 1 in Australia, number 2 in New Zealand and Norway and... number 73 in US Billboard Hot 100. 

1. Gangnam Style (강남스타일) - PSY 

This was the first K-Pop song to become popular internationally, Psy has been to many countries 
for interviews and performances. With more than 1 billion views, this is without a doubt, the biggest song 
of 2012. 

I wish I could include more but I had to stick to 10 songs. What's your opinion? What songs would you change?

Comparing politician signatures with Greek and Hebrew Letters

Recently I've noticed that many politicians of high importance have Greek and Hebrew letters in their signatures. This is what I've noticed: 

USA –

Barack Obama: The 'O' is a 'phi'.

George W. Bush: The last two letters resemble the Hebrew letters: 'kof' and 'shin'.

Joe Biden: The ‘e’ looks like the cursive Hebrew ‘gimel’ and ‘B’ looks like a ‘kof’.  

Mitt Romney: The double 't' resembles the Greek letter ‘pi’ and ‘R’ resembles a stylised version of the Hebrew letter ‘he’.

UK –

Tony Blair: The ‘B’ resembles the Greek letter ‘beta’ and ‘l’ resembles the cursive Hebrew letter ‘tzadik’.

Prince William, Duke of Cambridge: The ‘w’ resembles the Greek letter (lower case) ‘upsilon’ and ‘y’ resembles a stretched out cursive Hebrew ‘bet’.

France – 

François Hollande: The top of the signature resembles the Greek letter ‘pi’ and the two 'l' look like two ‘tzadik’-s. 

François Fillon: The 'O' looks like the Greek letter ‘phi’, ‘the second last letter in the first half of the signature resembles 'omega’ and the 'i' resembles cursive Hebrew letter ‘gimel’.

Nicolas Sarkozy: The 'N' resembles the cursive Hebrew letter ‘chet’ and the 'l' and 'S' resemble two ‘pe’-s. 

China – 

Hu Jintao: There are the Greek letters ‘phi’ , ‘omega’, ‘tau’ in it. 

Wen Jiabao: There are the Greek letters ‘phi’, ‘omega’, ‘theta’ in it.

Australia – 

 

Julia Gillard: The 'u' resembles the Greek letter ‘iota’, the 'l' looks like ‘lambda’ and the 'G' resembles a ‘zeta’.

Kevin Rudd: The 'K' looks like a crooked Greek letter ‘sigma’ and the cursive Hebrew letter ‘shin’. 

If you can see more Greek or Hebrew letters in the signatures or if you want me to write one about the politicians from a country I haven't mentioned, please comment in the comment section.  

Does your signature have Greek or Hebrew letters in it? 

Links: 

Greek Language and Alphabet 

Hebrew Language and Abjab