My glamorous hood=Newton, Mass

I come from a boston suburb called newton, located about 5 miles out of boston, which is considered one of largest cities in the state with around 80,000 people (or so it used to be).It once used to be part of cambridge one of the oldest parts of boston and derived its name from"New Town" what it once was. though most would consider newton center to be its main center, newton is so big, it sprawls over what are known as the "13 villages" or different districts of newton. My house has the zip code for chestnut hill 02467, one of the  newton villages, but it also borders newton center district.

an affluent suburb known for its great public schools/private schools it was voted #1 safest city in the country when i was in high school 2004-2005 (which we found pretty random but cool). it;'s referenced by some as "jewton" for its large jewish population but has representation of many ethnicities and religious affiliations.

The natural landscape and layout of the city is beautiful- very well groomed and preserved . It houses has many public parks, ponds, rivers, forest reserves, historic landmarks and many a golf clubs. Charles river which is a river that stretches through the city of boston has sections that meander through newton's parks and hiking trails. A well known natural landmark in the city is crystal lake alongside a historic site echo bridge which has been around since the 19th century known for its mysterious echos and pedestrian walkway atop it. Different sections of the city depending on the local of the village were developed at different points in time, therefore a result in various architectural development are rather visible. Sections of the city are lined with old historic victorian mansions, colonial homes, or completely newly renovated or constructed modern creations.

The layout of the city perhaps  represents the settlers inhabiting the region during colonization. Some of the different boroughs i believe developed throughout the mid-late 19th century like much of new england, and came to mimick colonies and the architecture in england from which they came. The villages and boroughs i previously discussed all have different feels to them, depending on the time in which they developed. Waban and Newton Highlands house some of the oldest homes in newton many of which are victorian and there are areas which have many old tutor homes. 

Also random fun trivia we also share the city with some noteworthy inhabitants: a long list of nobel prize winners, Jim from the office- john krasinski who went to my highschool, Howard Zinn, Matt Damon and a whole lota red sox players like the big papi ortiz:-)

bill maher on rotten tomatoes

here's another necessary link to shows people great reactions both good and bad to this film. He has sent some religious communities into complete uproar while groups of new yorkers seeing it opening weekend beside me seemed rather entertained by some of the absurdities.

bill maher's religulous links

here's a link to the interview of bill maher on larry king live.... the clip with the senator interview i referenced.... it's absolutely absurd.

Bill maher's religulous genius

After anticipating the release of Bill Maher's new documentary for over three months, i was rather excited when it was finally released on october 1st. i could barely contain myself from going to see it immediately during the opening weekend on october 2nd the day right after it got to the Angelika. i literally texted half of my contacts to see who would respond to me the fastest with availabilty and enthusiasm, to join the viewing endeveour.

below is a you tube link when bill maher appeared on larry king live to discuss the film,and they showed a clip where bill maher is interviewing a U.S senator about necessary intelligence for the position.

additionally there's also a link to the movie reviews on rotten tomatoes.com where one of the commentators stated: which i entirely agree with. it seems as though orthodoxy and fundamentalism are increasing throughout the word alongside secularization where the gap between religious polarities is rapidly increasing. The danger in this as with all extremities, is that if people are so steadfast in upholding their fundamental ideologies especially when they're rooted in God, then perhaps a clash is generated.

As i argued earlier in my papers on the clash and Orientalism, i think both are cultural constructs and mentalities that can be eliminated or at least redirected on a new trajectory. However when the issue of faith and GOD particularly, gets brought into the picture, which in this case it does, the circumstances become a lot stickier. a believer versus a non-believer (in this case it was bill Maher the atheist versus almost everyone he interviewed) is a difficult juxtaposition, because an atheist views religious people as absurd, and the observors find those who question the existence or necessity of faith by doubting GOD as blasphemous. How can the clash of God versus no God be eliminated? this clash dealing with belief is one that i think leads to many of the wars which have plagued history. there will always be those who don't believe "in need of savior" but can religious people be ok with their non-belief. In that answer lies the solution to the religious clash- in my opinion the only clash there really is.

if extremism is eliminated in all forms- i always support moderation of all sorts- then everyone can co-exist in peace one day until another fanatic, dictator, power hungry extremist of another sort arises yet again.

Orientalism Fuels the Fire

Does the clash Inevitably Exist?