Heart disease rates have been falling for decades due to healthier lifestyles, but now death rates after severe heart attacks have been cut in half over the last six years, thanks to new treatments and anti-clotting drugs. Death rates of patients in 14 countries fell from 8.4% to 4.5% between 1999 and 2006, a study showed.
Fight Fashion Snobbery, Don’t Give Up Your Hi-Tops
I used to love the TV make-over shows. A team of stylists transform a country bumpkin into a sexy sister unrecognizable by her own family whose jaws are dropped open in glee with the rest of the audience. Often the admiration the new look brings is wholly new for the woman and she’s grateful for the transformation. That’s what I love about these events, the sweet self-approval that blossoms when others recognize you as gorgeous.
The problem arose for me when people were asked to stop expressing their own uniqueness and give up their own style just because some TV personality had decided that it was totally unacceptable for adult women to wear hi-tops…
Illusion, the Must-See Movie of the Year (Join Spiritual Cinema DVD Club and Get Film Free in May)
“What if I could do my life over again?” This is the tantalizing question at the heart of ILLUSION, a new film starring the legendary actor Kirk Douglas. The award-winning movie tells the story of a once powerful but now ailing film director, who is visited by the ghost of a dear, departed friend. He plays movie scenes from the director’s life (called Akashic records), convincing him of the need to set things right after a lifetime of rejecting his only son. On his deathbed, he receives the gift of redemption… Very cool movie. My husband and I both thought it was fabulous. Just watch the trailer below.
During the month of May, you can get the Illusion DVD for free, along with nine other excellent films, just for joining the Spiritual Cinema DVD Club’s risk-free trial offer. (details follow)
More About Illusion
Michael A. Goorjian stars as Kirk Douglas’s son and also directs this movie. The plot flips and turns, offers suspense and true love. Douglas, the celebrated star of more than 80 films including SPARTACUS, gives the performance of a lifetime at age 88, despite suffering a stroke in 1996. Now age 90, Douglas says, “ILLUSION appealed to me because I found something spiritual in it. The man I played was not a very good guy throughout his life but he felt the need to do something good before he died. Playing this role was a great privilege.” Watch the Trailer below.
What is The Spiritual Cinema Circle?
It’s a DVD club specializing in uplifting, inspirational films. The Circle acquires features, shorts and documentaries from film festivals around the world. The Circle’s editors pick films that “stir the soul, expand the mind and help you feel better about being human”. Read an earlier review of the movie club here, in which I described some of the short films included in the monthly package. Subscribers never return DVD’s. The disks are theirs to keep and share with friends. The cost after the free-trial month, is $21 plus shipping for four films each month.
Free Trial Membership
Sign up in May and you’ll receiveyour first month of movies for free (Illusion and three short films) plus the bonus Soulmates Collection, featuring 6 heartwarming short films about the many faces of true love. That’s 10 films in all, a $50 value, as a gift for trying the service. They do require that you cover the cost of shipping ($6.95 for domestic orders, $9.95 for international orders).
The Soulmates Collection includes:
PAPER ROSES: Examines the circle of life, loves lost and loves found
DANCE WITH ME: Explores the key to lasting love
JILLIAN’S VANTAGE: A favorite spiritual love story here at the Circle
FLIRTING WITH DEATH: A man meets death, and she’s gorgeous!
BICYCLES AND RADIOS: Healing and love come when least expected
SANTA’S LITTLE HELPER: A magical love story… with a fun twist
To learn more and start your risk-free trial membership today, visit the Spiritual Cinema Circle.
Watch the film trailer of the must-see movie of the year, Illusion
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Video Shooter Game Hooks Kids on Shakespeare
A new space shooter online video game developed by a Canadian University uses lush graphics and challenging quests into outer space to teach a little Shakespeare. Gamers become pilots of an elite squadron of ships whose mission is to guard an ancient text called Romeo and Juliet.
The game, called Speare, is available as a free demo, upon registration with a company set up by the university.
Speare was tested on 100 sixth graders but only after game designers specifically devised a game that will not run kids off with its ‘educational’ label:
“They had a blast with it!”
Palestinian and Israeli Doctors Join to Improve Kids’ Health
"Well aware that children on both sides of the divide have long suffered from the Arab-Israeli conflict, 300 Israeli and 100 Palestinian doctors and other professionals convened and ate together during an unprecedented conference" created to discover methods that help kids with chronic diseases "reach their full potential." (Jerusalem Post) Thanks to new GNN member Daniel for the link!
Miracle Baseball League Helps Disabled Kids Play the Game They Love
Thirteen-year-old Justin Clemens loves baseball. Though born premature and covered with bruises after complications at birth, he’s more mature than most boys his age, has a great sense of humor and an outgoing personality.
Cerebral palsy may limit Justin’s use of his left arm and both legs, but he plays his favorite sport on the Montgomery Miracle League. With help from parents and coaches he swings at pitches and scoots to first base with his walker. “When he’s going for home, he feels like a million bucks“…
Girl, 2, Comes to the Rescue after Mother Passes Out
“A two-year-old girl saved her mother after she collapsed by telling the emergency operator their name and address and tending to the woman as they waited for an ambulance. The girl’s mother managed to dial 999 before drifting in and out of consciousness. She heard her daughter calmly telling the operator her mother’s name and address.” (Guardian)
Deaths from Severe Heart Attacks Cut in Half
Heart disease rates have been falling for several decades since we’ve learned how to live healthier, but now death rates for those who’ve entered hospitals after severe heart attacks have nearly halved in the last six years, a study shows. "The international team, which studied 44,372 patients in 14 countries, found that death rates fell from 8.4% to 4.5% between 1999 and 2006, mostly thanks to treatments like angioplasty to unblock arteries and anti-clotting drugs." (BBC)
Pope Issues new Green Message for World’s Catholics
"The Vatican last week added its voice to a rising chorus of warnings from churches around the world that climate change and abuse of the environment is against God’s will, and that the one billion-strong Catholic church must become far greener. Meanwhile US church leaders lobby Bush on global warming." (Guardian)
UPDATED: American Idol Charity Donations Top $70 Million
The American Idol charity telethon called “Idol Gives Back” netted more than $60 million for impoverished children in Africa and America — as well as for Boys and Girls Clubs that keep kids safe and out of trouble after school. Five million dollars was pledged by Fox parent company, NewsCorp, $100,000 was donated by one of the co-stars of the night, Ellen DeGeneres, and 70,000 people joined One.org to help eradicate poverty after a plea on the show from U2’s Bono. – AP
UPDATE: The fund topped $70 million, says Ryan Seacrest on the Ellen show today.
Photo: Flickr
Ex-Foes Patrol Together as Peace Advances in Ivory Coast
"Once sworn foes, government and rebel soldiers in Ivory Coast on Monday began their first joint patrols in a "battle for peace" aimed at reuniting the West Africa state split by a 2002/2003 civil war." (Reuters)
75-Year-Old Man Plans to Walk 720 Miles to Fight Breast Cancer
"Moved into action by the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, George Nummer signed up for his first breast cancer walk at age 70. Now the ambitious 75-year-old plans to take part in all 12 Breast Cancer 3-Day walks this year, criss-crossing the nation and hoofing it across 720 miles." He will suffer some pain, he said, but it’s "nothing compared to the suffering a breast cancer survivor goes through." (Clawson, Michigan – HometownLife.com)
Legendary Custom Guitar Returned After 50 Years
In 1952, Jimmy Luttrell, who first taught Jimi Hendrix how to play behind his back, received a double-neck guitar and mandolin from a master craftsman who wanted to reward the teenager’s talent. Last week, the handmade electric guitar and mandolin combination was returned to Luttrell after being stolen more than 50 years ago. The guitar’s journey ended in Leesburg, Va., where it was shipped to an unsuspecting eBay buyer, who gave it to Lutrell after being informed by the sheriff’s department that it was stolen. (Leesburg Times) Check out Mr. Lutrell’s Web site for old photos and stories of this “Guitar King.”
Baby Crying Behind You on a Jet? Turn a Negative into a Positive
David Pollay has advice for anyone in need of rescue from a situation that is so distracting or irritating that you can’t think of anything else. Try this, and see if it works…
The plane was full. My seat was 22C. To my surprise there was no one beside me and no one behind me. I felt like I had won the lottery of seating charts. You know the feeling. You can spread out. You can recline without bothering anyone. You can even use two tray tables!
The VA Tech Shootings and the Need for Good News
EDITOR’S BLOG — What is one to say after the worst school shooting in history? And on the very same day, the worst bombings in Iraq to date? … I continued publishing positive news even though I felt like an imposter. Like other artists, whose creations feed the soul rather than providing benefits in outwardly practical ways, I felt an inadequacy and uselessness in the wake of the tragedy. Then I remembered the days after 9/11, when I confided to my ten-year-old boy that maybe sharing the good news was pointless in these horrific times. He countered, "Good news is more important than EVER!"
Shooting Victim Tells How to Stop the Violence (Video)
“Before Virginia Tech, before Columbine, there was Paducah, Kentucky. A 1997 school shooting there left Missy Jenkins Smith paralyzed, but not without hope.” … She talks from her wheelchair about how we’ve already got a powerful solution to the violence in the way that we treat people. She carries absolutely no malice for the boy who open fired on her and her friends and is a tremendous spokesperson. She’s got a happy life, born anew with purpose, a new husband, and a baby on the way… Read the full story, produced by Kevin Sites, in the Hot Zone.
U.S. Mining Company Agrees to ‘Green’ Review After Shareholder Pressure
"For the first time, an American mining firm has supported a "social responsibility" resolution put forward by shareholder activists. The move shows the power shareholders hold in getting corporations to address social and environmental concerns." (CS Monitor) Thanks to SG!
A Guardian of Earth’s Treasure Trove of Trees
“For 50 years, Britain’s Peter Ashton has been studying — and trying to preserve — a wealth of diversity in Asia’s tropical forests.” (CS Monitor) Thanks to SG for the link!
Housing Offered by Colleges to Single Moms
"To live independently, single mothers need an education. But to get one, they also need a place to live and child care — needs that colleges are waking up to." (CS Monitor) Thanks SG!
Lenders Act to Limit U.S. Foreclosures
"Major lenders embark on a rescue mission to halt the wave of foreclosures sweeping the nation and delaying a housing market recovery." (CS Montor) Thanks to SG for the link!