Chapel Hill Murder Victims: Their Beautiful Life

Three young adults were victims of a hate crime. On Feburary 10, 2015 Craig Stephen Hicks (46) broke into a home and killed Deah Shaddy Barakat, 23, his wife, Yusor Mohammad, 21, and her sister, Razan Mohammad Abu-Salha, 19 execution style. They were known for their love and kindness towards other. Deah and Yusor were newly weds that had their future stolen from them in a violent rage of hate. Craig Stephen harassed them before but nothing was done about it, in some cases his gun in clear view.

One of the last posts made by the victims was one were they were feeding the homeless. A funding page for Syrian Dental Relief was made with Deah Barakat as one of the organizers that would benefit Syrian refugees in Turkey.

In memory of Deah, Yusor, and Razan and the goodness and light they brought to this world I would like to help spread the word of this fund. Here is the link to the page:
http://www.youcaring.com/medical-fundraiser/syrian-dental-relief/206249

Watch the video below to hear in his own words what this meant to him.

Deah Barakat - Dental Relief in Tulkarem from Abdelfattah Nimer on Vimeo.





An interview Yusor had with StoryCorps:
http://storycorps.org/listen/yusor-abu-salha-and-mussarut-jabeen/

#chapelhillshooting #StopHate #OurThreeWinners

A Project to Raise Awareness and Self-Esteem of Those Inflicted By Bullying

There are many awareness campaigns, however this Project is a little different. I am talking about the I Am Beautiful Project.

This Project was started by a simple post in a photography group on FB by Tiffany Finely Moon in South Carolina (USA) that soon exploded within a few days.

The general idea is that people can send in their nominations to a participating photographer for a child (male or female 18 or under) that has been dealing with bullying. The photographer reads through the nominations and selects one child to be an IAB Project Ambassador. They will receive a free photo-shoot, as well as a token amount of free photos on USB, or CD.

Photographers from all over the world have joined in to do what they can to help a child that is struggling with bullying. Spreading like wildfire from the USA to Germany, Paris, and Palestine this Project has picked up speed and continues to do so. I am happy to be a part of this to do what I can to help when and where I can. If you would like to read more about the Project and any of their updates please like and follow their page on Facebook. If you are unsure what photographer in your area is involved in this Project send a message to their facebook page and they will let you know!

Sometimes all that is needed is a boost in self esteem to help a child going through bullying to hang in there. With the advancement in technology bullying is no longer within the walls of school... social media makes it easier for children to get bullied even at home.

• Bully victims are between 2 to 9 times more likely to consider suicide than non-victims, according to studies by Yale University
• A study in Britain found that at least half of suicides among young people are related to bullying

To read more about the correlation of bullying and suicide as well as more statistics check out Bullying and Suicide - Bullying Statistics.

USB Flash Drive Woes

Because my husband has a habit of "borrowing" my flash drive tends to return with a free gift. A gift that keeps on taking. Viruses and God knows what else. By the time I "finished" multiple virus scans and malware removal programs I estimate that well over 400 threats were removed. I don't know how he got so many on there. Did he dip it into a virus vault as one dips a cookie into milk? I am unsure. Anyways, onwards we shall march.

So. I disabled auto-run so the USB doesn't automatically open to show the files (some viruses simply VIEWING files on the USB activates them). Then I tried to right-click to scan with my anti-virus and that's when "My Computer" file explorer froze up insanely... to the point I just tried to close the window which resulted with the desktop disappearing. I restarted. I got a windows error saying the USB was corrupt. Error checker would keep freezing up. After failed attempts I got to the anti-virus scan screen for it to lock up again. If this sounds even remotely familiar keep reading.

Then I found UsbFix. A great little program that helped do wonders. It asks you to disable your anti-virus since it could hinder the process. I got a warning that all NON-vital processes would be stopped... it found over 100 threats.

I restarted my computer afterwards, and ran my anti-virus program. Yes it lagged a bit (right-clicking on the drive in My Computer) but my system didn't lock up as before. So far my virus scanner has hit 90% and has taken an insanely long time to reach that far. Be patient. If you have other things to do and want your computer to NOT go into sleep mode or shut down due to inactivity mute your volume and select any song let it play in a loop. However, mine did stop at 93% but another drive that had the same issue was resolved and the "locking up" issue was handled.

Researching Made a Little Easier

I just started my Master's program.. it is a much welcomed challenge. However, I haven't done much research during my time at home other than the odd curiosity based inquiries. I have found a wealth of knowledge online.. but find it tedious to say the least to read pages upon pages of documents online on my laptop. Here are a few things that I'm doing to make the best of it.

• Most people have a tablet of some sort, either an iPad, Nexus, or Kindle. Get your tablet out and get it charged. Holding a tablet rather than sitting in-front of a computer screen is less strain on your body and eyes.
• Many older books have been put into PDF format. Search for them and you shall find. Many are for free!
• When conducting your search limit your search to PDF files. Even if it is 100+ pages it isn't so bad since now with your charged tablet ready to go... transfer your files and read away!
• Jot down notes. I find reading and trying to pick out the most important and relevant parts of the PDF is more worth while when I can go back to my notes. That way instead of trying to remember things after skimming/reading so much text.. I can look back at what I wrote down and it'll be much easier. 

These are the basic 4 ideas I have when it comes to making reading additional select text easier and less of an exhausting task. Each person has their own learning style. Mine is repetition and visual learning.. so I read, write, and re-write a "less messy" version of my notes (the repetition portion).

I found it much easier to read text in PDF format on a light tablet compared to on a laptop or on a desktop computer. If you have any other ideas/tips comment below and I'll add them!

Just a hello

I have a few ideas for some upcoming blog posts. However, simply wanted to give an internet hellooo to anyone who reads this blog. My blog is a loner... no one likes it or comments on it. It feels unappreciated the poor thing. But it is stubborn. When you least expect it a post will pop up.

So...

Helloooo!

Oh and please do check out my website!

http://nedaazayed.wix.com/saowsaowingstudio

I used to exclusively post on Facebook at this page:
www.facebook.com/saowsaowing

However, since their Terms of Use changes I've taken to updating my website and working on it. These are links to my photography related pages.

January is almost over and it is starting to warm up... but I am weary. Mother nature teases us releantlessly with warm stints to lull us into a false sense of security. I worry what "HAHAHA GOTCH YA" awaits us when we are plungged back into the icy cold clutches of reality :(

Help the less fortunate

A new year and the start is a chilly one! Freezing temperatures have claimed lives of those less fortunate around the globe. If you have the modern day blessings of heating, warm clothing and a roof over your head pass it forward by showing some goodwill to the following fundraising drive a friend of mine is putting forward. He is aiming to raise funds to help the homeless get warm jackets also to help orphans in Indonesia.

My friend John Mcardle wants to help the less fortunate and so can you. If you are unable to donate then at least share his page in hopes of helping spread the word around!

Please visit his GoFundMe page and show some support!