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The 'Pay it Forward' Edition...
Michelle Obama, in her debut as a commencement speaker, encouraged graduating students at the University of California - Merced to use their newfound skills to help lift up those around them.
She said, "...Remember that you are blessed. Remember that in exchange for those blessings, you must give something back. You must reach back and pull someone up. You must bend down and let someone else stand on your shoulders so that they can see a brighter future."
Do you volunteer your time and/or donate from your resources to help those less fortunate than yourself?
Mer40bk, a new voice, was first with...
I alternate Sunday mornings with another volunteer. At 6:45 Sunday morning, I visit two supermarkets and pick up their day-old or expired bakery goods, usually about four grocery carts full, and deliver them to a migrant workers village about 18 miles from my home. Migrant farm workers from all around the county share the goods.
(Migrant farm workers deserve all the help we can give them. A harder working group of people does not exist. Good on you!)
Anonymous, the Good Neighbor, wrote...
I don't go to extremes but I generally help any in need who ask. I help my widow neighbors by mowing their lawns, watching their pets when they go out of town, and by taking them to doctor's appointments when they need me to. I've also volunteered for a Hearts and Hammers event this month. Not completely altruistic since I'm using it to get my business name seen. It's time better spent than earning money to pay advertisers.
(I have an affinity for elderly people and applaud you for your efforts to make life easier for them!)
SallyP(al) is as emphatic as always...
And, I respond: Absolutely! Probably not as much as I could do, or should do, but (for instance), "World Vision" has had my number (and address) for a long time. I also like to do what is more commonly referred to as, "Random Act's of Kindness," such as the, "quarter and smile" for the homeless guy, donations for, "the coat project" (coats for the homeless), collecting book for the incarcerated, and so on. I might also note, that I have received much kindness in my day. Only last week, my neighbor in back (an electrician) installed a much-needed plug in for me and refused to take any remuneration for it. WO a car, I would be stranded without other neighbors/friends taking me shopping, etc. I suspect that in life, we end up getting that which we deserve - and more. I would encourage everyone to give freely that which you have - even if only a crust of bread for the birds...
(I, too, am a believer in random acts of kindness to strangers. It's part of my belief in 'what goes around, comes around'.)
I currently volunteer regularly at the local VA hospital on the long term care and nursing home wards as a 'friendly visitor'. So many of the elderly vets haven't any family nearby to visit (or any at all) and they are starved for companionship. I enjoy talking with them and leave the topics and flow of the conversation up to them. Their life stories are fascinating! Some like to play cards or board games and I'll organize such matches and participate as well. We also do craft projects together. I really enjoy being there for and with them...
Also, during the Yule Season, I cannot pass by a 'red kettle' without dropping something in. Say what you will about Christians, but I have a high regard for the Salvation Army and their efforts to help the 'untouchables' of our society...
Finally, this article appeared in the Detroit Free Press Sunday and I felt it was relevant to the issue.
I find this remarkable and encouraging. Ah, the audacity of hope! Thanks to all, Yer the Best!
BadToTheBoneBob
New Question
The 'Guilty TV Pleasures' Edition...
Are there any TV programs that you secretly feel sheepish about watching regularly, but do so anyway because you REALLY like them? C'mon now, fess up! I will!
I double-dog dare ya, haha!
Send your response to
Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Gina Trapani: "In Her Teens, Coming Out Meant Finding New Friends" (womensenews.org)
In an excerpt from "Out With It: Gay and Straight Teens Write About Homosexuality," Gina Trapani recalls her own difficult days as a teen trying to reintroduce herself to family and friends.
Michael Moore's Financial Collapse Documentary Gets Release Date
Michael Moore's documentary about the economic crisis will hit theaters on Oct. 2. The announcement was made Thursday by Overture Films and Paramount Vantage. The film is not yet titled.
Martin Scorsese: 'The movie that plays in my heart' (independent.co.uk)
The director Martin Scorsese explains why Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger's British classic 'The Red Shoes' is so special, and reveals that it inspired other film-makers including Francis Ford Coppola and Steven Spielberg.
Anthony Kaufman: From Porn Star to Soderbergh Muse, Sasha Grey Means Business (villagevoice.com)
In these tumultuous days of economic collapse and publishing meltdowns, there's nothing like a porn star to increase eyeballs-and Sasha Grey is in especially high demand.
Roger Ebert's Journal: "I got in!" and other tales, and the great beauties of the festival
Michael Barker is not only a prime moving force in indie film distribution, but one of the funniest raconteurs alive.
Hayden Panettiere's Misspelled Tattoo (PHOTOS)
"Heroes" starlet Hayden Panettiere likes to show off the tattoo she has running down her left side, but it seems to have been misspelled.
Sylvia, by Nicole Hollander
Dr. Johnny Fever was fired from a big LA radio station and ended up at WKRP in Cincinnati. What word got him fired?
replied:
From The Creator of 'Avery Ant'
Purple Gene Reviews
'Tyson'
Mike Tyson was barely 20 years old when he became the heavy weight champion of the world….soon after he won a second belt by knocking out his opponent in 8 seconds of the 1st round. Tyson looked viciously invincible…like a tiger fighting house cats….every win increased his harrowing reputation as unbeatable beast…..fight after fight….would he ever lose? Then Cus D'Amato died….and the monster came out of the cage….Mike married movie star Robin Givens and he is publicly humiliated on a Barbara Walters special….Mike gets a divorce…..then Mike get accused of raping a black beauty pageant queen…he spends 3 years in jails…..when he finally gets back in the ring to fight Evander Hollyfield (2nd time) mike ends up biting his opponents ear off……Mike has finally gone ballistic for the last time.
The remarkable thing about this movie is that Mike Tyson narrates the whole time…we only hear his descriptions, reactions, analysis and ultimately his admission that he only has himself to blame….pretty powerful stuff…considering the impact this man had on boxing and athletics in general….the saddest part is hearing Mike Tyson talk through his uncontrolled tears about when he lost Cus D'Amato and how all his childhood fears took over. Whether you like Mike Tyson or not, this movie is an incredible expose of an ultimately tragic human being….who really was as wild and vicious as he looked….but also, in the end, a broken man/child.
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Marine layer hung around til late afternoon.
Visits Alma Mater
Hillary Clinton
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton has made a surprise return to her law school alma mater. She picked up an honorary degree 36 years after getting her law degree from Yale University. Graduates celebrating commencement Monday erupted in cheers as Clinton was introduced.
In keeping with Yale tradition, the names of honorary degree recipients are a closely held secret.
Clinton says the graduates should "use every creative gene you have" to work for the public good. She also urged them to apply for work in the Obama administration and the State Department.
Sculptor Richard Serra and writer John McPhee are among the others receiving honorary degrees from Yale this year.
Hillary Clinton
Influence Dads
Daughters
Research has found that the more girls a man has, the more likely he is to be Left-wing.
Daughters have such a profound effect on their fathers that they can switch their political viewpoint, a study suggests.
The study, carried out by Professor Andrew Oswald from Warwick University and Dr Nattavudh Powdthavee from York University, also found that a predominance of sons can make a mother more right-wing.
The researchers even suggested that well-known Left-wing politicians and personalities owed their beliefs to the high numbers of daughters in the family.
Daughters
Rare Stamp To Auction
Audrey Hepburn
A collector stands to make a tidy profit after discovering a rare stamp portraying movie star Audrey Hepburn smoking - one of a series that should have been incinerated by the German government.
In 2001, the government printed 14 million Audrey Hepburn stamps as part of a series featuring movie stars including Charlie Chaplin, Marilyn Monroe and Greta Garbo. The print run was destroyed after Hepburn's son, Sean Ferrer, objected to the cigarette holder dangling from the actress' mouth and refused to grant copyright.
But the Finance Ministry had already delivered advance copies of the Hepburn stamps to Deutsche Post for approval. Thirty of these proof copies escaped destruction when an unknown employee pocketed them and used them to send letters postmarked from Berlin.
Audrey Hepburn
Poet Quits
Ruth Padel
The first female Oxford Professor of Poetry quit Monday after admitting publicising old allegations of sexual harrassment against her rival, in a row which has scandalised academics.
Ruth Padel resigned after just over a week in the prestigious post after she admitted tipping off journalists to an allegation levelled 27 years ago against Nobel laureate Derek Walcott, who also sought the coveted Oxford post.
Walcott pulled out of the race for the job after anonymous letters were sent to more than 100 professors at Oxford University reportedly detailing an allegation made by a former student against him in 1982.
Padel admitted Monday that she had told journalists of the allegation against Walcott after a student expressed concern, prompting newspaper coverage of the issue, but insisted she knew nothing about the letter campaign.
Ruth Padel
Sets Record Price
Sanyu
A minimalist painting by renowned Chinese artist Sanyu fetched a record $5.4 million at Christie's Hong Kong auction, a positive sign for the Asian art market which has been battered by the global financial crisis.
The 1950s oil on masonite "Cat and Birds" by Sanyu, a China-born artist who spent many years in France, was sold for HK$42.1 million to an anonymous buyer at the Sunday evening sale, setting a world auction record for the artist.
Three other works by Zao Wou-ki, another Chinese artist who developed his career in France, also went for several times their pre-sale estimates, suggesting valuations for established artists have strengthened as those of once-feted emergent Chinese contemporary artists waned amid the downturn.
Overall, $23.4 million of Asian contemporary and Chinese 20th century art went under the hammer. While 11 percent of lots went unsold, the tally nearly doubled pre-sale estimates, hinting at improved buyer sentiment in the ailing market.
Sanyu
Iran
'Mrs Mousavi'
Zahra Rahnavard, the wife of moderate presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi, is breaking the mould in Iranian politics by campaigning openly alongside her husband for next month's election.
If Mousavi, a former prime minister, is elected president in the June 12 vote, the Islamic republic may get its first "first lady" in decades who would have a strong public profile like her peers around the world, observers say.
Many Iranians have no clues what their presidents' wives look like, as heads of government, even the reformist Mohammad Khatami, mostly kept their spouses out of the spotlight and shied away from appearing with them at political events or on foreign trips.
But with a prolific academic and artistic background, Rahnavard is to many a household name in her own right, especially those who studied at Tehran's all-women Al-Zahra university, where she was chancellor for eight years.
'Mrs Mousavi'
What A Bitch!
Nigel Lythgoe
Nigel Lythgoe has apologised for comments he made about a same sex dance couple on US TV talent show So You Think You Can Dance.
Usmagazine.com reports that the British judge, who appears on the show hosted by Cat Deeley, sparked outrage with his comments to male partners Misha Belfer and Mitchel Kibel during Thursday night's contest.
"I think you will probably alienate a lot of our audience," he said. "We've always had the guys dance together on the show, but they've never really done it in each other's arms before."
He then followed up his comments on his Twitter page, by writing: "The same sex ballroom guys did remind me of Blades of Glory. However, I'm not a fan of Brokeback Ballroom."
Nigel Lythgoe
Fear Sells!
'Suburban Survivalists'
Six months ago, Jim Wiseman didn't even have a spare nutrition bar in his kitchen cabinet.
Now, the 54-year-old businessman and father of five has a backup generator, a water filter, a grain mill and a 4-foot-tall pile of emergency food tucked in his home in the expensive San Diego suburb of La Jolla.
Wiseman isn't alone. Emergency supply retailers and military surplus stores nationwide have seen business boom in the past few months as an increasing number of Americans spooked by the economy rush to stock up on gear that was once the domain of hardcore survivalists.
These people snapping up everything from water purification tablets to thermal blankets shatter the survivalist stereotype: they are mostly urban professionals with mortgages, SUVs, solid jobs and a twinge of embarrassment about their newfound hobby.
'Suburban Survivalists'
Men's Habits
Crete
Seventeen British men stood trial dressed in nun's habits on the Greek island of Crete on Monday for flashing their bottoms in public, but walked free after no one showed up to testify their behavior was offensive.
Police said they had arrested the 17 men, aged between 18 and 65, early on Sunday at the popular resort of Malia and a prosecutor charged them with exposing themselves in public and offending religious symbols.
"They were dressed like nuns, carrying crosses, but wearing thongs under their skirts and showing people their bottoms and the rest," said a police official who declined to be named.
Apprehended in the early hours of Sunday, the men were taken into custody and appeared in court on Monday in the same clothes they were wearing at the time of their arrest.
Crete
Weekend Box Office
'Night at the Museum'
"Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian" claimed a box office victory over "Terminator Salvation."
The live-action family comedy starring Ben Stiller won $70 million over the Memorial Day weekend, according to estimates from distributor 20th Century Fox. That put it well ahead of the first "Night at the Museum" movie, which had a $30.4 million three-day opening in December 2006.
"It's blown away our expectations," said Chris Aronson, senior vice president of domestic distribution for 20th Century Fox. "We've nearly doubled the opening of the first 'Night at the Museum.' It's an incredibly strong No. 1 that beats out 'Terminator,' which I think most people thought would win the weekend."
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Monday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Hollywood.com. Final figures will be released Tuesday.
1. "Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian," $70 million.
2. "Terminator Salvation," $53.8 million.
3. "Star Trek," $29.4 million.
4. "Angels & Demons," $27.7 million.
5. "Dance Flick," $13.1 million.
6. "X-Men Origins: Wolverine," $10.1 million.
7. "Ghosts of Girlfriends Past," $4.8 million.
8. "Obsessed," $2.5 million.
9. "Monsters vs. Aliens," $1.9 million.
10. "17 Again," $1.3 million.
'Night at the Museum'
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