Our Responsibility of Genocide Recognition Across the World

In the past couple of months I have been asking certain individuals if they are going to be attending the Ottawa, Canada Armenian Genocide Centennial Commemoration on April 24, 2015 from everywhere? As well as people across the world to participate in their local Genocide Centennial Events.

The response was, I went many times, some said I am not going to go, because nothing is changing and what is the point?

My response to them was, 1.5 Million Armenians were massacred, displaced from their homes, families destroyed, valuables and memories all gone, our lands were stolen, our landmarks and Mount Ararat was taken from us from Turks, and they are saying what is the point? Some are saying they are not going to go? You are not willing to sacrifice some of your time in memory of your ancestors?

Well, this is the kind of attitude and negativity that is not welcome. I get very angry when some people say those things. This is especially for those who cannot just sit and do nothing about it. Be true to your heritage, be Proud of who you are, We need to be about it, This is our Armenia, This is our Armenians, This is our Heritage, Culture and our being and existence in the world. We need to stand up against Genocide denial, we need to form unity and we have that important responsibility to prioritize, take a stand and join together to combat denial, to raise awareness. We need to take care of each other, and help each other out. This is including all races, cultures..

In the past month or so, we have gotten so much media coverage, the world knows about us now, and non-Armenians are always discussing us now. It does not matter if you are Armenian or not. This issue of Genocide is universal. All that matters is that all genocides combined that have happened needs awareness, needs recognition and we need to work hard and make sure that Genocide is never repeated. We are responsible for taking care of our Human Identity, Existence and everything else. There is no excuse and no reason in the world, that we cannot take time out of our lives and protect our every being. This is not just us, but everyone.

We have advanced so much in the world right now and this is such an awesome thing to see Armenia, Armenians and the Genocide getting so much media attention. Millions and Millions of people know about us now and that is something so incredible. Thank you to Mrs. Amal and MR. George Clooney, the Kardashians, Kanye West, Pope Francis, Countries that have recognized the Armenian Genocide, those who are on the verge of doing so, and US States that have also. Thank you to everyone who supports us and who took a stand against Genocide. That is what its all about. Love and take care of each other. Nothing is more beautiful than love, support, friendships, and unity. God bless us all and prevent from genocides from ever happening again.

Thank you Kardashian West Family and Pope Francis

What an incredible week it has been for us Armenians around the world. The Kardashian/West family made a memorable trip to Armenia which we will never forget, They also visited the Armenian Genocide Memorial to lay flowers and pay their respects to the 1.5 Million Armenians that were killed by the Turkish Ottoman Empire and our lands stolen from us, Kim then found out an elderly woman wanted to meet her, so she went and met up with her and gave her a hug. That was very nice of you Kim, Then we see that Kanye West performed in a concert for free, and then jumps into Swan Lake in Yerevan, then Pope Francis Recognizes and uses the word and term “Genocide” in his mass, then followed by Armenian Church songs and prayers.

This is huge recognition that we all needed and it was a long time coming, but we got it. With Millions and Millions of people around the world know our country of Armenia now, know who we are, know about The Armenian Genocide which occurred on April 24, 1915 and with almost 10 days to go until the Genocide’s 100th Centennial, this really made a big difference.

Thank you to Pope Francis, The Kardashians/West families, and all those across the world that helped us raise awareness and also acknowledging us and our beautiful Country of Armenia which made Kanye West smile and made him feel like home. That is something that is so incredible. What a great feeling. I am blown away by it all and how we were trending on Social Media and so many NON-ARMENIANS which have been tweeting, hashtagging, instagraming, and more. That is whats important for people to know about us. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!

Pasta Lovers Unite – Loving All Kinds

I have been loving pasta for as long as I can remember. I remember when I was 8 years old. I made my very first pasta dish with of course the supervision of my mom. She started getting me in the cooking mode since I was 7 years old and she taught me the basics from making pasta sauce from scratch and how long to boil the pasta for and then as I got older when I was 14 years old, I began to do it all myself without supervision anymore and they love my pasta’s I make. Now I do an assortment. I do lasagna, fettuccine Alfredo and a whole bunch of other styles of Pasta. I love tortellini, rigatoni, fuccilli, elbow macaroni, linguine, and among other really awesome styles. For all those connoisseur’s for pasta, I am sure you can all relate to the passion. I think all of us pasta lovers have this different type of food passion and I am sure all of us can eat this everyday. 

Too many carbs though, but I do not care, Pasta is good for you. You may not believe it, but it really is and a good nutrition factor. There are some people who go overboard and go to extremes when dieting, I believe that nobody should diet. All it is, is to watch your portion control and who cares if you have a little more, but pastas have durum semolina, and all kinds of nutrition packed into it.  God bless this food. Spaghetti, Penne Rigate, Tagliatelle, Cannelloni. I have come up with so many recipes, and different styles of how to create and make that perfect sauce, and that perfect blend of tastes. Some can be done with Veggies, an array of meats, Seafood pastas, cheese pastas, pasta salads, Olive oils, vinaigrette,  I would love to get the accessories to make pasta from scratch for my Kitchen Aid stand mixer, but its so expensive to buy, So for the time being I want to try and do different pastas on my own and get the dough recipes and then cut the dough into Tagliatelle Nests, and get them all pretty. There are also small shells, linguine, and so many several types.

In the world, mostly Italy and few other places, pasta, spaghetti is very well know around the world, and different people make it different ways. what are some of your favourite pasta dishes? What do you work with? I would love to venture off to Italy and go on a Food Trip tour and taste and get the feel of how important Pasta is to those regions and to the cultures. I would love to go on a culinary adventure and get more personal with top chefs, Pasta Experts and so much more. The possibilities are endless and its such a beautiful thing.

  P-A-S-T-A …. yum yum yum. Bon Apetit…..

The Costa Concordia Cruise Ship Tragedy, Hit Me Really Emotionally…

As I had woken up, I decided to do my regular daily routine by getting on the computer and checking my e-mail, but I decided to check out the news, and I saw a headline that a Cruise Ship had capsized, and I right away clicked on it, and I was just in shock, I could not believe what I was seeing on the computer. I thought it was something out of a movie, but unfortunately it is real. I cannot even begin to describe how I am feeling for the Costa Concordia Cruise Ship tragedy that happened on January 14, 2012 off the coast of Italy in the Mediterranean Sea. My heart feels heavy for all those people involved in such a terrible ordeal. I am glad 4000 people were evacuated and are safe, but I feel for those who have not been found yet and unfortunately those who lost their lives. I have not stopped thinking about this since I heard about it. I started to cry and my emotions on this was on the rise.

Having been on the same Cruise Ship Company on another Cruise Ship called Costa Atlantica, and among other Cruise lines in the industry, this news even hit me harder as I have been on these huge ships before. I cannot believe how scared and eery I have been feeling the last 24-48 hours since this terrible tragic thing that happened. Now I am thinking about how all these people are going to go home without travel documents, how they will be salvaging peoples belongings, how they will even raise this enormous and a 135,000 ton ship. I know this may put a big scar on the cruise ship industry and now people may not travel with cruises anymore, and I wouldn’t blame people who are looking to travel. I know this is a very scary thing, but I really enjoy cruising and visiting so many countries all at once. This definitely will not deter me from cruising again as I have had a passion from cruise ships and cruising and for several years this has been part of my life.

My thoughts and prayers go out to all those and all the families.