Will Staney contacted the rock band, Foster the People, via Twitter, asking if he could ‘pop the question’ to his girlfriend on their stage during an upcoming show.
Mark Foster was happy to oblige, and gave backstage passes to Will and his friends for the June 5 concert in Austin, Texas.
His girlfriend of two years, Mallary, had no idea why the singer suddenly called out to Will to join him onstage.
A blog started by 9-year-old Martha Payne of western Scotland document in photos the daily lunches she was being served in her public primary school, and it has led to sweeping changes.
“Payne started blogging in early May and her lunch photos went viral in days,” reports Wired. “She had a million viewers within a few weeks; was written up in Time, the Telegraph, the Daily Mail; and got support from TV chef Jamie Oliver, whose series “Jamie’s School Dinners” kicked off school-food reform in England.”
Yesterday, Martha was called out of class, and though her school officials had been very gracious about her food blog, the higher-ups in officialdom had had enough. She was forbidden from taking any more photos of her dinner plate.
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Her delightful blog, Never Seconds, is still racking up dozens of views every minute. It also features full plates from other schools around the world, the photos having been emailed from students in Vietnam, China, Taiwan and America.
EDITOR’S UPDATE: Just hours ago, following widespread anger over the decision, and in response to a request from Scotland’s education minister, the local council reversed their ban on Martha taking pictures of her school lunches. [Great news, because I’ve become addicted to her clever writing.]
(READ the full story from Wired)
Thanks to Sandy DeBoice for sending the link!
For the past two months, one of my favorite reads has been a blog started by 9-year-old Martha Payne of western Scotland to document in photos the daily lunches she was being served in her public primary school.
Payne started blogging in early May and her lunch photos went viral in days. She had a million viewers within a few weeks; was written up in Time, the Telegraph, the Daily Mail; and got support from TV chef Jamie Oliver, whose series “Jamie’s School Dinners” kicked off school-food reform in England.
A new national art exhibit launched by DC Entertainment will shine a light on the company’s efforts to raise awareness and money for the hunger crisis in the Horn of Africa.
The exhibition, Darkness & Light: Art Inspired by Heroes & Villains, Hope & Heroism, opening this month in Portland and traveling to other cities this summer, features new contemporary art inspired by the DC Comics’ superheroes paired with real world photography that depicts the everyday heroes fighting hunger in Ethiopia, Somalia and Kenya. From the Super Heroes that fight for justice in the comic world, to the human heroes who make a difference every day in the real world, Darkness & Light tells the story of those working tirelessly to help the people of the Horn of Africa fight the hunger crisis.
German solar power plants produced a world record 22 gigawatts of electricity – equal to 20 nuclear power stations at full capacity – through the midday hours of one Friday and Saturday last month.
The solar power that fed the national grid on Saturday met nearly 50% of the nation’s midday electricity needs.
A former landfill in a Rio de Janeiro slum has been turned into a park thanks to a group of dedicated volunteers.
“People came here to get rid of old refrigerators, stoves, tires and even their dead dogs,” said Mauro Quintanilha, a musician and craftsman who started the initiative to create a green oasis out of the pungent garbage dump.
Together with a group of 20 volunteers, he spent a year cleaning up the area, and recycling anything that could be reused or repurposed.
Rhode Island’s governor is expected to sign into law the first “Homeless Bill of Rights” in the United States as early as next week, formally banning discrimination against homeless people and affirming their equal access to jobs, housing and services.
A hiker in the hills found a Pablo Picasso lithograph worth tens of thousands of dollars. It had been missing since teens broke into a California mansion, home of a Ukrainian diplomat.
He handed it over to police with only one regret: he never took a picture of the lovely woman in a gold frame.
A hiker in the hills found a Pablo Picasso lithograph worth tens of thousands of dollars. It had been missing since teens broke into a California mansion, home of a Ukrainian diplomat.
He handed it over to police with only one regret: he never took a picture of the lovely woman in a gold frame.
She started body-building at age 71 and begins every day with a ten-mile run.
At 75, this Baltimore grandmother has made it her mission to teach others how to to be healthy, happy and prosperous.
“Age is just a number,” Miss Ernie tells the class at her church. “Age is just a number,” they call back with enthusiasm.
She started body-building at age 71 and begins every day with a ten-mile run.
At 75, this Baltimore grandmother has made it her mission to teach others how to to be healthy, happy and prosperous.
“Age is just a number,” Miss Ernie tells the class at her church. “Age is just a number,” they call back with enthusiasm.
A dream 17 years-in-the-making came true for a California boy when he got out of his wheelchair and walked to accept his high school diploma.
Patrick Ivison, a senior at Scripps High School in San Diego, was just 14-months-old when he was run over by a stranger’s car, leaving him paralyzed from the waist down.
Ivison’s can-do attitude helped him learn to kayak, ski , hand-cycle marathon-length distances, play rugby and even surf.
Three years ago Ivison focused in on another goal, walking across the stage to accept his diploma at his high school graduation.
(WATCH the video below, or READ his story from ABC’s Good Morning America) – Note: You can skip the ad in the video by clicking after a couple seconds.
With almost a thousand newly trained government troops, augmented by thousands of African peacekeepers, Mogadishu, the war torn capital of Somalia, and former jewel of the Indian Ocean, has a newfound sense of liberation these days, since al Qaeda-linked rebels were forced out last year.
The economy has recovered somewhat from the civil unrest, and the white-sand beaches, among the most beautiful in the world, are now seeing the return of swarms of swimmers to the turquoise waters.
“It’s like we live in a real city, not a warzone,” Malin, an IT graduate, now 24 years old, told a Reuters reporter.
Old guys everywhere have a little more swagger today. They’re holding their heads a little higher. The reason? Major League Pitcher Jamie Moyer refuses to give up the ghost.
This spring, at age 49, Moyer was the oldest player in the majors, with the most career wins and strikeouts of any active pitcher in the league. On April 17, he became the oldest pitcher in MLB history to win a game. In May, he set the record for the oldest major league player ever to hit an RBI (batting in a run).
Happily, for kids across America, his athletic tenacity matches his generosity in the community.
Since founding his Moyer Foundation 12 years ago, he has helped raised millions of dollars to help support children in distress through educational and recreational programs.
The Moyer Foundation also created Camp Erin, the largest network of free bereavement camps in the country for children and teens who are grieving a significant loss.
Born in 1962, Moyer has won numerous awards for philanthropy and community service, including the 2003 Roberto Clemente Award, the 2003 Lou Gehrig Memorial Award, the 2003 Hutch Award, and the 2004 Branch Rickey Award.
He earned a spot on the All-Star team in 2003, while pitching for the Seattle Mariners, but has also contributed his winning arm as a left-handed pitcher to seven other Major League teams since his rookie year with the Chicago Cubs in 1986.
“He’s given old guys everywhere a shot in the arm,” said sports writer Kevin Cowherd who is happy Moyers has returned to the Orioles, if only in their Triple-A farm team.
(READ his tribute in the Baltimore Sun)
Violent crime in the United States fell for a fifth straight year in 2011 and the number of murders dropped to the lowest in more than four decades, the Federal Bureau of Investigation said on Monday.
U.S. violent crime rates, which include murder, rape, robbery and assault, dropped 4 percent in 2011 from the previous year. In addition, property crime, covering burglary, larceny and motor vehicle theft, edged down by just 0.8 percent, marking the ninth consecutive annual drop in property crimes.
Chinese archaeologists have unearthed 110 new terracotta warriors that laid buried since 210 BC, an official said Monday, part of the famed army built to guard the tomb of China’s first emperor.
The life-size figures were excavated by archaeologists near the Qin Emperor’s mausoleum in northern China, along with 12 pottery horses, weapons and tools.
In the 1970’s, the world was astonished to learn of some local farmers digging a well near the emperor’s mausoleum. They unearthed the first bits of a terracotta army that included 8,000 soldiers, 130 chariots with 520 horses.
Chinese archaeologists have unearthed 110 new terracotta warriors that laid buried since 210 BC, an official said Monday, part of the famed army built to guard the tomb of China’s first emperor.
The life-size figures were excavated by archaeologists near the Qin Emperor’s mausoleum in northern China, along with 12 pottery horses, weapons and tools.
In the 1970’s, the world was astonished to learn of some local farmers digging a well near the emperor’s mausoleum. They unearthed the first bits of a terracotta army that included 8,000 soldiers, 130 chariots with 520 horses.
Reddit.com has done it again. The social media community has once again responded with incredible generosity to a personal story of tragedy posted on their website.
Jake Villanueva, of Canada, was given six months to live after a surprise diagnosis of terminal kidney cancer last year. He wanted to tell his story and “just talk” with people about what it’s like to survive in his shoes. He posted on Reddit, “I am a 23 year old boy with Stage IV Kidney Cancer. I won’t see 24.”
Comments of encouragement started pouring in. When folks learned that he had always wanted to travel, they offered to open their homes to him and his family.
What happened next is the stuff of Reddit legend.
(The online community has previously raised $65,000 in 24 hours for an African orphanage, and brainstormed on how to deliver an amazing gift to dying man’s friend, among other feats.)
Lindsay Minar, from Portland, Oregon, read all these travel ideas that were posted and decided to set up a fund to help pay for his dream of traveling.
By the time Jake Villanueva woke up the next morning after he first posted his story, already $9,000 had been donated. In just 24 hours, more than $30,000 from 1,200 donors had been raised. Jake was blown away.
Meeting Ms. Minar will bring him to tears, he said. “I just want to hug her.”
(WATCH the video or READ the story at Huffington post)
Reddit.com has done it again. The social media community has once again responded with incredible generosity to a personal story of tragedy posted on their website.
Jake Villanueva, of Canada, was given six months to live after a surprise diagnosis of terminal kidney cancer last year. He wanted to tell his story and “just talk” with people about what it’s like to survive in his shoes. He posted on Reddit, “I am a 23 year old boy with Stage IV Kidney Cancer. I won’t see 24.”
Comments of encouragement started pouring in. When folks learned that he had always wanted to travel, they offered to open their homes to him and his family.
What happened next is the stuff of Reddit legend.
Some environmental activists have been labelled “killjoys” for seeking to ban fireworks because, as one campaigner put it, “they spray out a toxic concoction that rains down into lakes, rivers and bays.”
But, thanks to a team of US Army scientists, there may be a solution that doesn’t spoil the fun: green fireworks.
