Hotel’s Devotion to Service Includes Delivering Nic Cage on Guest’s Pillow

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Feb 13, 2015

Hotel Indigo delivers Nic Cage photo on pillow

Hotel Indigo in San Antonio is trying to be one of those great hotels with a staff that goes out of their way to meet every need a customer might have.

A series of text messages posted online in late January documents the lengths to which the hotel’s concierge created a memorable experience for one lodger.

The Current reports, the guest received a message from the Riverwalk hotel by text messaging after check-in saying if there was anything they could do to assist, simply text.

What happened next began as a lark and ended in over-the-top customer satisfaction involving Hollywood superstar Nicolas Cage.

Posting photos online at Imgur, FreePsychicReadings wrote:

”For giggles during my boring work conference,” he texted back, ‘Can I please have a framed picture of Nic Cage in Con Air on my bed by 6?'”

“When I got an affirmative response, I thought it was auto generated and went about my day.

Hotel Indigo Front Office Manager Ramon Rangel followed through by having a framed photo of Cage’s character in Con Air sent to the room, with a sticky note saying, “Sweet Dreams. Enjoy” The guest found it “resting on the pillow, like a tiny chocolate, only a million times better.”

Rangel told the Current that this was not the weirdest request he’s had from a guest, “but it was definitely fun.”

(READ the full story from San Antonio Current)

Story tip from Julia Frerichs, LMT / Photo via Imgur

Humble Powerball Winner

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Feb 13, 2015

One of three winning tickets in the Powerball jackpot was purchased in Shallotte, North Carolina by a humble 26-year-old mother of four.

Marie Holmes said she had quit working at Wal-Mart and McDonald’s and was caring for her four children, one of whom has cerebral palsy.

She said the first thing she’s going to do with her $188 million is tithe to her church because, as she puts it, “I wouldn’t have any of it if it wasn’t for God.”

(WATCH the video from WECT or READ the story from WTVR)

Story tip from Frank

Dog Tracks Owner to Hospital 20 Blocks Away and Walks Right In

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Feb 13, 2015

Sissy, a 10-year old Miniature Schnauzer, escaped her house and walked nearly 20 blocks to a Cedar Rapids hospital where her owner was recovering from cancer-related surgery.

“She was on a mission,” owner Nancy Franck told KWWL-TV.

Surveillance cameras showed her marching right into the hospital lobby. She walked through the hallways searching for her owner.

The hospital allowed the dog to visit with Nancy, giving much needed comfort, before a family member took her home.

(WATCH the video below or READ the story from KWWL)

Photo from Mercy Medical Center / Story tip from Kim Campbell

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Protein Treatment Protects Against Alzheimer’s Disease Symptoms

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Feb 12, 2015

A protein called klotho has been shown to protect against learning and memory deficits despite the accumulation of Alzheimer-related toxins in the brain, according to a new report in the Journal of Neuroscience.

Scientists from the Gladstone Institutes and the University of California, San Francisco tested klotho’s protective capacity by creating a mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease that produced higher levels of this protein throughout the body. Ordinarily, Alzheimer’s-model mice have cognitive deficits, abnormal brain activity, and premature death, but raising klotho levels ameliorated these problems. The cognition-enhancing effects of the protein were powerful enough to counteract the effects of Alzheimer-related toxins, whose levels were unchanged.

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“It’s remarkable that we can improve cognition in a diseased brain despite the fact that it’s riddled with toxins,” says lead author Dena Dubal, MD, PhD, an assistant professor of neurology and the David A. Coulter Endowed Chair in Aging and Neurodegenerative Disease at UCSF. “In addition to making healthy mice smarter, we can make the brain resistant to Alzheimer-related toxicity. Without having to target the complex disease itself, we can provide greater resilience and boost brain functions.”

Klotho’s benefits may be due to its effect on a certain type of neurotransmitter receptor in the brain, called NMDA, that is crucially involved in learning and memory. While Alzheimer’s impairs NMDA receptors, the mice with klotho elevation maintained normal receptor levels.

Old Man In Nursing Home Comes Alive Hearing Music From His Era (WATCH)

“The next step will be to identify and test drugs that can elevate klotho or mimic its effects on the brain,” says senior author Lennart Mucke, MD, director of the Gladstone Institute of Neurological Disease and the Joseph B. Martin Distinguished Professor of Neuroscience at UCSF. “We are encouraged in this regard by the strong similarities we found between klotho’s effects in humans and mice in our earlier study. We think this provides good support for pursuing klotho as a potential drug target to treat cognitive disorders in humans, including Alzheimer’s disease.”

(READ more at the Gladstone Institutes)

Photo by elaine faith (CC) / Story tip from Joel Arellano

The 9 Orphan Siblings Who Raised Themselves Rather Than Split Up

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Feb 12, 2015

When their mother Mary died during childbirth in a Charlotte, North Carolina hospital there was no one left to raise her nine children. “The only realistic option appeared to be to divide up the siblings and ship them off to relatives or foster parents.”

A senior in high school, 19-year-old Kayle Mingo decided not to allow that.

Together with Karen, Kathy, Kelda, Kaiser, Kasper, Karla, Kertis and Kemuel, they fought for the opportunity to raise themselves. Miraculously, the Charlotte Housing Authority who ran the low-income housing project where they lived, allowed them to stay.

Last week, 35 years later, Mary’s kids reunited at Charlotte’s Veterans Park to honor their mother. “The first-time family reunion surely exceeded their mother’s wildest dreams,” the Charlotte Observer reported. “Eight were able to be there – an artist, two shop owners, an attorney, a contractor, two college students and a former professional boxer who was a one-time Olympic hopeful.”

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“Their story is amazing,” John T. Crawford, 77, told the newspaper. He is the retired Charlotte Housing Authority staffer who convinced that agency to let the Mingo kids stay after their mother’s death.

Together they raised the newborn baby, cleaned the house, cooked, made sure homework was done, and enforced rules for behavior. Neighbors, who had often received help from Mary, paid back the favor whenever they were needed.

(READ the amazing story from the Charlotte Observer)

Photo of Mary with 4 oldest children via Kayle Bernadete Mingo’s Facebook Page/ Story tip from S. Ghent

People Refuse to Take Free Cash on the Street…Would You?

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Feb 12, 2015

In a new campaign, an online lotto company in the UK tries to give away free money on the streets of cities like Newcastle, Edinburgh and Sheffield.

Many people keep walking as the GeoLotto representative approaches asking if they want some cash. “No catch,” he assures them. But they are either too busy or too wary.

To fulfill his mission to finally find someone who will accept the big prize in Newcastle, a woman tries to hurry past saying her mum was sick. When he heard that, the GeoLotto guy pushes extra hard to get her to take it. When Mrs. Neal finally opened the envelope, she found £1000 ($1500).clover

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“I really can’t believe it. I’ve never won anything in my life,” said the woman, who wants to share it with her married son and mother. “I’m absolutely delighted.”

Others were just as thrilled to get a simple five pound note. It changes their whole day.

(WATCH the videos below)

It is fun to watch people breaking into grins and disbelief, but also interesting to see how many people will refuse to take money being waved in front of them by a friendly stranger.

QB Tom Brady Gives MVP Truck to Super Bowl Hero Malcolm Butler

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Feb 11, 2015

Rookie cornerback and last-minute Super Bowl hero Malcolm Butler picked up a new Chevy truck yesterday, courtesy of his Patriots teammate, quarterback Tom Brady.

Brady was named the Most Valuable Player following the game and was given the 2015 red truck, but he told the once-unknown Butler to pick up the keys and said ‘Congrats on the big play’.

From Fast Food Fail to Unlikely Super Bowl Hero: Malcolm Butler’s Story

A parade is waiting to honor him in his hometown of Vicksburg, Mississippi.

(WATCH the video above, or READ the story from the Boston Herald)

Digital Jobs Drive Hollywood Employment to Highest Level in Decade

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Feb 11, 2015

A surge in digital entertainment jobs for new streaming programming on YouTube and other new-media outlets has re-energized the Hollywood employment scene.

Some 8,000 new jobs were added to the motion picture and sound recording sector in Los Angeles County last year — a 6.5% growth from the previous year.

January Produced Great US Jobs Report “Across the Board”

“The dramatic recovery of the entertainment sector is crucial,” according to the L.A. Times, “because it pumps billions of dollars into the region’s economy.”

(READ the story from LA Times)

Photo by Rego Korosi (CC license) / Story tip from S. Ghent

5 Side Effects of Kindness on Health: It’s Random Acts of Kindness Week

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Feb 11, 2015

This week (February 9-16) is the tenth annual Random Acts of Kindness Week in the United States. Do something this week (see a couple ideas here) to take advantage of the benefits that kindness bestows on health and well-being. Dr. David R. Hamilton looked at the mind-body science and offers this summary of the five positive side effects:

1) Kindness Makes us Happier

When we do something kind for someone else, we feel good. On a spiritual level, many people feel that this is because it is the right thing to do and so we’re tapping into something deep and profound inside of us that says, ‘This is who I am.’

On a biochemical level, it is believed that the good feeling we get is due to elevated levels of the brain’s natural versions of morphine and heroin, which we know as endogenous opioids. They cause elevated levels of dopamine in the brain and so we get a natural high, often referred to as ‘Helper’s High’.

2) Kindness Gives us Healthier Hearts

Acts of kindness are often accompanied by emotional warmth. Emotional warmth produces the hormone, oxytocin, in the brain and throughout the body. Of recent interest is its significant role in the cardiovascular system.

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Oxytocin causes the release of a chemical called nitric oxide in blood vessels, which dilates (expands) the blood vessels. This reduces blood pressure and therefore oxytocin is known as a ‘cardioprotective’ hormone because it protects the heart (by lowering blood pressure). The key is that acts kindness can produce oxytocin and therefore kindness can be said to be cardioprotective.

3) Kindness Slows Aging

Aging on a biochemical level is a combination of many things, but two culprits that speed the process are Free Radicals and Inflammation, both of which result from making unhealthy lifestyle choices.

But remarkable research now shows that oxytocin (that we produce through emotional warmth) reduces levels of free radicals and inflammation in the cardiovascular system and so slows aging at source. Incidentally these two culprits also play a major role in heart disease so this is also another reason why kindness is good for the heart.

Woman Celebrates 34th Birthday with 34 Random Acts of Kindness

There have also been suggestions in the scientific journals of the strong link between compassion and the activity of the vagus nerve. The vagus nerve, as well as regulating heart rate, also controls inflammation levels in the body. One study that used the Tibetan Buddhist’s ‘Loving Kindness Compassion’ meditation found that kindness and compassion did, in fact, reduce inflammation in the body, mostly likely due to its effects on the vagus nerve.

4) Kindness Makes for Better Relationships

This is one of the most obvious points. We all know that we like people who show us kindness. This is because kindness reduces the emotional distance between two people and so we feel more ‘bonded’. It’s something that is so strong in us that it’s actually a genetic thing. We are wired for kindness.

Couple Cancels Traditional Wedding to Give Back to Others

Our evolutionary ancestors had to learn to cooperate with one another. The stronger the emotional bonds within groups, the greater were the chances of survival and so ‘kindness genes’ were etched into the human genome.

So today when we are kind to each other we feel a connection and new relationships are forged, or existing ones strengthened.

5) Kindness is Contagious

When we’re kind we inspire others to be kind and studies show that it actually creates a ripple effect that spreads outwards to our friends’ friends’ friends – to 3-degrees of separation. Just as a pebble creates waves when it is dropped in a pond, so acts of kindness ripple outwards touching others’ lives and inspiring kindness everywhere the wave goes.

People Turn-up the Kindness During Govt Shutdown

A recent scientific study reported than an anonymous 28-year-old person walked into a clinic and donated a kidney. It set off a ‘pay it forward’ type ripple effect where the spouses or other family members of recipients of a kidney donated one of theirs to someone else in need. The ‘domino effect’, as it was called in the New England Journal of Medicine report, spanned the length and breadth of the United States of America, where 10 people received a new kidney as a consequence of that anonymous donor.

David R Hamilton earned an honors PhD, specializing in biological chemistry in England. Fascinated by the placebo effect while working in the pharmaceutical industry, he studied mind-body interactions in his spare time. He is now a bestselling author of 7 books, including Why Kindness is Good For You and How Your Mind Can Heal Your Body. He offers talks and workshops that use science to inspire others toward self-improvement. Learn more at drdavidhamilton.com.

Photo (top) by Ed Yourdon, via CC license

Customers Flock to Bakery to Thank Hero Who Rescued 3-year-old Girl

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Feb 11, 2015

The hero owner of Mini’s Cupcakes in Salt Lake City has been inundated with customers showing their gratitude after her quick-thinking rescue of a toddler from a stolen car.

Leslie Fiet received an Amber Alert on her phone last week reporting a missing child. Hours later, she saw parked outside her shop a black SUV with license plates matching the alert. Seeing 3-year-old Bella Martinez sitting in the backseat, but no one else in sight, she scooped up the girl and brought her into the shop to call police.

Over the next few days, Ms. Fiet was suddenly overwhelmed by a grateful community lining up to support her business. She really needed the support, too, having struggled since recent break-ins at the shop. She said she was overdue for some good karma and is thrilled to have received it.

ABC reports, “Bella’s family presented Fiet with a gift in appreciation: a gold necklace, with the date of Bella’s recovery (Feb. 4) inscribed.”

The little girl’s father left the child in the car with the engine running while he stepped inside a 7-11 store. The woman who stole the car is now in police custody.

(READ the story, w/ photos from ABC News)

Photo credit: Leslie Fiet / Story tip from Kelly Harrington

Everyone Rescued When Float Plane Goes Down in Pacific Northwest

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Feb 10, 2015

A float plane went down shortly after take off in the southern gulf islands of Canada. Within 15 minutes, everyone was rescued from the top of the floating, but submerged plane.

The joint response to the distress signal was swift and thankfully no one was injured.

(READ the story in the Times-Colonist)

File Photo credit: Canada search and rescue (Canadian Armed Forces) / Story tip from Alina Fisher

Hubble Captures Giant Emoji in the Stars

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Feb 10, 2015

A galaxy cluster in the shape of an emoji appeared to smile down on Earth, with the grin formed by the distortion of light from strong gravitational lensing.

The unique picture was found by Judy Schmidt, an amateur astronomer who submitted the image to the Hubble Telescope’s Hidden Treasures competition.

In the center of this image, taken with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, is the galaxy cluster SDSS J1038+4849.

(READ more at CNN)

SHARE the Smile with your Friends! / Story tip from Sarah Lawton

Car Wash’s Secret to Success? 35 Autistic Employees

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Feb 10, 2015

The Rising Tide car wash in Parkland, Florida has hired 35 employees whose stellar quality is that they have autism.

“We view autism as one of our competitive advantages,” said the company’s COO Tom D’Eri. “They have a great eye for detail.”

“There are really important skills that people with autism have, that make them, in some cases, the best employees you could have.”

Tom’s father, John D’Eri, started Rising Tide so his 24-year-old autistic son, Andrew, could have a purpose and live independently into the future.

“I don’t want him to sit in a room, taken care of by others once I’m gone,” John says in the video below. “I want him to have a job, I want him to have friends.”

CHECK Out: ‘Doctor Who’ Sends Heartwarming Message to Grieving Fan With Autism

The business, located at 7201 N. State Road 7, is not only giving jobs to a population segment with 90 percent unemployment, it is changing people’s perceptions of autism.

(WATCH the inspiring video below)

Photo from Rising Tide FB Page / Story tip from Erin

Teen’s ‘Free spirit’ Heart Lives On Through 70-year-old Florida Man

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Feb 10, 2015

While on his bicycle Jesse Gamble was hit by a drunk driver, but through his death, the 19 year-old art student from Lexington, South Carolina, saved the lives of seven other people.

On February 2, exactly six and a half years later, Jesse’s mother got to hear her son’s heart beating when she held Henry Wyman Harris in a warm embrace.

Jesse made the decision to be an organ donor just a few years before his death. Now it helps his mother to cope with her grief, knowing that Harris and others are carrying on, thanks to her free-spirited and strong-willed son.

Register to be an organ donor in the US, at DonateLife.net or OrganDonor.gov.

(READ the story from WIS-TV)

Photos from family via WIS-TV / Story tip from Kelly Harrington

Shi’te Lebanese Cleric Offers Olive Branch to Jews, Christians in Non-violence Campaign

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Feb 9, 2015

Sayyed Muhammad Ali Husseini, a moderate Shia cleric with a doctorate in religion from Iran, called for inter-faith tolerance in a Facebook messages. He uses the Koran and the Islamic religion as the basis for an alternative vision of peace.

“We call on rabbis, priests, cardinals and Muslim clerics, Sunni and Shia, to play down the verses, the scriptures, the traditions and the religious texts that call for violence, because they are more dangerous than nuclear weapons.”

Husseini fills his Facebook page with messages in Arabic, Hebrew, English and French preaching non-violence.

(SEE his post below or READ full story in the Jerusalem Post)

Post by ‎العلامة السيّد محمّد عليّ الحسينيّ‎.

Story tip from Deborah

Single Dad Couldn’t Do Daughter’s Ponytail, So Went To Cosmetology School

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Feb 9, 2015

Colorado single dad Greg Wickherst had no idea how to make a ponytail for his 2-year-old, so he asked for help from a co-worker in charge of the cosmetology program at the trade school where he works.

“She put him in touch with one of her best students,” according to Today, “and today Wickherst is schooling everyone else on how to fix girls’ hair.”

He has posted photos of his creations on Facebook and attracted praise across the country.

(READ the story from TODAY)

Photos by Greg Wickherst

Caroline Kennedy Had Played With Japanese Dolls, Now Meets 92-yo Sender

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Feb 9, 2015

cele

A mystery has been unraveled for U.S. Ambassador to Japan, Caroline Kennedy, who has been searching for the sender of a set of Japanese hina dolls that were sent 53 years ago to her father, U.S. President John F. Kennedy.

For years the identity of the sender had remained unknown. But on Feb. 6 it was learned that they had been sent by 92-year-old Tsuyako Matsumoto, who had exchanged letters with him while in her 30s.

The year before President Kennedy was assassinated, she sent him the set of 15 hina dolls to thank him for replying to her letter. Caroline has fond memories of playing with the dolls as a child and now displays them in her Tokyo residence.

CHECK Out: There’s a Secret to Japanese Longevity and Youthful Skin

For a thousand years, the Japanese people have celebrated a special day on March 3 called Hinamatsuri (Doll’s Day or Girls’ Day). Platforms are covered with red cloth and used to display a set of ornamental dolls representing the Emperor, Empress, attendants, and musicians in traditional court dress of the Heian period.

(READ the story from Asahi.com)

Photo credit: Nesnad (CC license) / Story tip from Janet Pearlman

‘Lost Boy of Sudan’ Joins US Army to Thank and Serve His Adopted Country

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Feb 9, 2015

“As one of the ‘Lost Boys of Sudan,’ Peter Kuch was torn from his parents during the Sudanese Civil War. At the age of 8, he and thousands of other children were forced to trek across the desert on their own.”

Peter was one of the lucky ones who reached a refugee camp alive. Even luckier, he got to come to America to live.

The grateful and hardworking young man eventually joined the U.S. Army as a way of thanking his adopted country.

Now 36, Kuch got the chance to go back to Sudan to see his parents for the first time in 28 years.

(WATCH the inspiring video (2 sources) or READ the story at CBS)

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6 Quran Quotes That Teach Love, Tolerance and Freedom of Religion

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Feb 9, 2015

Islam, according to the Quran, teaches love and compassion for every human being, no matter their religion, says author Adnan Oktar whose television show is watched by millions in Turkey and the Arab world.

He believes the problem for the majority of Muslims is that some groups are following traditions and superstitions invented centuries after the Quran was first sent and the Prophet lived, and these have gotten more radical over time.

After the attacks of September 11, 2001, Oktar published a book, Islam Denounces Terrorism. He argues that violent and intolerant beliefs about Islam go against the teachings of the Quran. Here, he presents six quotes that support his claim.

Peace is the Cornerstone

The word “Islam” is derived from the word meaning “peace” in Arabic. Islam is a religion revealed to mankind with the intention of presenting a peaceful life where the infinite compassion and mercy of God manifests on earth. God calls all people to live by the moral values He sets so that compassion, mercy, peace and love can be experienced all over the world.

“O You who believe! Enter absolutely into peace (Islam). Do not follow in the footsteps of satan. He is an outright enemy to you.” (Holy Quran: 2, 208)

In the verse above, Islam intrinsically calls for peace and fosters a life in absolute sincerity and honesty before God. Therefore it is vitally important for an individual to believe in God with his own will and aspiration, and observe God’s commands and advice through personal conscientious contentment.

CHECK OUT: 20 Muslim Inventions that Shaped Our World

No One Should be Forced to Believe in Islam

“There is no compulsion where the religion is concerned.” (Holy Quran: 2/ 256)

As stated in the verse, no one can be compelled to live by Islamic morals. Conveying the existence of God and the morals of the Qur’an to other people is a duty for believers, but they call people to the path of God with kindness and love and they never force them. It is only God Who guides people to the right way. This is related in the following verse:

“You cannot guide those you would like to but God guides those He wills. He has best knowledge of the guided.” (Holy Quran/28: 56)

Freedom of Thought and Religion are Paramount

The Quran provides an environment where people can fully enjoy freedom of thought and freedom of religion and allows people to live by the faith and values they believe in. According to Islam, everyone has the right to live freely by his beliefs, whatever they may be. Anyone who wants to support a church, a synagogue or a mosque must be free to do so. In this sense, freedom of religion, or freedom of belief, is one of the basic tenets of Islam. There is always freedom of religion wherever the moral values of the Qur’an prevail.

That is why Muslims also treat Jews and Christians, described in the Qur’an as “the People of the Book,” with great justice, love and compassion. God says in the Qur’an:

“God does not forbid you from being good to those who have not fought you in the religion or driven you from your homes, or from being just towards them. God loves those who are just.” (Surat al-Mumtahana, 8)

Compete With Each Other in Doing Good

Muslims who share these basic values believe in the need to act together with Christians and Jews. They therefore strive to eliminate prejudices stemming from provocations by unbelievers and fanatics. Jews, Christians and Muslims should strive together to spread moral virtues across the world.

SEE: All the Good News Stories About Muslims on GNN

God explicitly states that the existence of people from different faiths and opinions is something that we have to acknowledge and welcome heartily, for this is how He created and predestined humankind in this world:

“We have appointed a law and a practice for every one of you. Had God willed, He would have made you a single community, but He wanted to test you regarding what has come to you. So compete with each other in doing good. Every one of you will return to God and He will inform you regarding the things about which you differed.” (Surat al-Ma’ida, 48)

In acknowledgment of this fact, Muslims have an inner love and compassion for people of all faiths, races and nations, for they consider them as the manifestations of God in this world and treat them with an heartfelt respect and love. This is the very basis of communities administered by Islamic morality.

The values of the Qur’an hold a Muslim responsible for treating all people, whether Muslim or non-Muslim, kindly and justly, protecting the needy and the innocent and “preventing the dissemination of mischief”. Mischief comprises all forms of anarchy and terror that remove security, comfort and peace.

“God does not love corruption”. (Surat al-Baqara, 205)

Photo credit (top): Ali Mansuri (CC license)

Capitals Rally Around 6-year-old Fan Injured in Sledding Crash

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Feb 8, 2015

The Washington DC pro hockey team is rallying around a young fan who was critically injured in a sledding accident.

The NHL Capitals have sent six-year-old Bensten an autographed jersey, a hand signed card from the entire team, along with signed a puck and stick.

“Every given night, we’re fighting for him,” player Tom Wilson said on WUSA-TV. “There’s a couple guys that have been aware of what’s going on, and we just want him to know that we’re playing for him.”

(WATCH the video below or READ the story from the Hockey News)