Michael Jordan’s Nike commercial heralds (in a whisper) the inspiring message that failure is the path to success.
Although this advertisement is not new, the message is as relevant today as it has ever been: Just do it!
(Thanks to DarynKagen.com for the link!)
The last survivor of the sinking of the Titanic in 1912 is getting a hand from Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet. The “Titanic” stars, along with director James Cameron, have contributed to a $30,000 fund for Millvina Dean, 97, to help pay her nursing home bills.
Dean was the ill-fated ship’s youngest passenger — only nine weeks old upon being carried unto the Titanic from Southampton, England — and is now its last remaining survivor.
Women who take folic acid supplements for at least one year before they become pregnant may cut their risk of having a premature baby by half, according to research published this week in the online journal, PLOS Medicine.
The study links pre-conceptional folate supplementation of at least one year to reduced early premature delivery rates of 50 to 70 percent, regardless of age, race or other factors. Of particular note is the drop in very early premature births, those babies who are at the greatest risk of complications such as cerebral palsy, mental retardation, chronic lung disease, and blindness.
The study is an observational analysis based on the self-reporting of folate supplementation by 38,033 participants in an earlier trial sponsored by the National Institutes of Health (NIH.) The current study only examined singleton pregnancies and excluded pregnancies with medical or obstetrical complications such as preeclampsia, chronic hypertension, or other abnormalities.
“The NIH provided highly accurate evidence of gestational age which enabled us to determine that folate supplementation for at least one year is linked to a 70 percent decrease in very early preterm deliveries (20 to 28 weeks gestation) and up to a 50 percent reduction in early preterm deliveries of 28 to 32 weeks,” said Radek Bukowski, M.D., Ph.D., assistant professor, Obstetrics and Gynecology, at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, the lead study author.
“We already know that folic acid supplementation beginning before pregnancy and continuing into the first trimester helps prevent serious birth defects of the brain and spinal cord, such as spina bifida,” said Alan R. Fleischman, M.D., senior vice president and medical director of the March of Dimes. “Dr. Bukowski’s research makes us optimistic that taking folic acid for at least one year before pregnancy also may greatly reduce the risk of premature birth and reinforces our message that every woman of childbearing age should consume 400 micrograms of folic acid daily.”
The March of Dimes honored Dr. Bukowski’s study in January 2008 during the annual meeting of the Society for Maternal Fetal Medicine. “Preconceptional Folate Supplementation and the Risk of Spontaneous Preterm Birth: A Cohort Study ” by Bukowki, is available online.
Evidence is piling up that the worst part of the recession has ended…
A better-than-expected unemployment report Friday — job losses declined to the lowest level in six months — capped a week of encouraging news, including firmer home sales, a revival in consumer spending and fresh optimism about the biggest U.S. banks.
That doesn’t mean the pain is over, but confidence is building that the recession, the longest since the Great Depression, will end this summer or fall, setting the stage for a slow recovery.
U.S. journalist Roxana Saberi walked free from a Tehran prison Monday, one day after her sentence on spy charges was cut to a suspended two-year term.
Saberi left Evin prison, where she had been held since January. Her lawyers had appealed her original eight-year sentence on Sunday. (Photo, right, Roxana Saberi in a 2004 National Press Photographers association file image)
Her father, Reza Saberi, was waiting outside the prison. He said he hopes to return to the United States with his daughter in the coming days.
An eight-year effort by thousands of grassroots volunteers resulted in a new 44-cent stamp featuring the great thoroughbred racehorse, Seabiscuit. Its debut today from the U.S. Postal Service is significant for one reason: We, the people, accomplished it — thanks to the inspiration of “the people’s horse”.
You may think we don’t have any power in Washington but, when there are enough of us, we can do anything.
The stamp shows “the people’s horse,” Seabiscuit, beating the horse crowd’s favorite Triple-Crown Winner, War Admiral, in their famous match race, still regarded as the greatest horse race in history. Here is the story…
In 2001, when Laura Hillenbrand’s best seller, Seabiscuit: An American Legend, was published, millions of readers were inspired by the true story of “an undersized, crooked-legged racehorse named Seabiscuit,” who beat all odds to win and became a pop-culture phenomenon.
Back in the Thirties, as many spectators attended Seabiscuit‘s races as today attend the Super Bowl. Those who couldn’t squeeze into the track hung off lampposts, stood atop their cars, and climbed onto roofs just to catch a glimpse of him. When President Obama appeared on the Tonight Show March 19, ratings rose higher than they’d been in years with 20 million viewers. When Seabiscuit raced, 40 million people listened on their radios.
Impassioned by the book, I took a guided tour of the Biscuit’s home, Ridgewood Ranch, in Northern California and, at the showing of an old 8mm movie of his greatest races and life at the Ranch, I spoke with another tourist, a man from New Orleans. Over time and telephone, we became friends and he suggested we try to get Seabiscuit on a California coin. That idea evolved into the possibility of attempting to get the horse, an American cultural icon, on a U.S. stamp.
Fat chance, right? We had no money, no lobbyists, and no Washington connections. We had only passion, and a belief that the word “No” really meant, “Try harder.”
We learned about the Citizens Stamp Advisory Committee, whose primary goal is to select subjects of “broad national interest for recommendation to the Postmaster General that are both interesting and educational.” To give you an idea of the odds we were up against, merely 25 subjects are selected each year out of many thousands of submissions. Only one other horse in history (Secretariat) had ever been so honored, and he had big financial backing and Washington lobbyists.
Undaunted, we started a grassroots movement, beginning with local book clubs, then book clubs nationwide. Their members not only signed our petition to the Committee, they circulated it to all their friends, who sent it to everyone they knew. We put the petition on the Internet to be printed and mailed by anyone interested. We trolled the streets for signatures; promoted the idea on sports news TV; haunted Santa Anita for signatures; and returned to Ridgewood Ranch for the premiere of the movie, Seabiscuit, getting signatures from attendees. We did everything we could think of and then some. Thousands of people pitched in, like an Arkansas soybean farmer, a Louisiana pharmacist, a Kentucky woman who cans hams for Hormel, a Massachusetts landscape designer; racetrack people; book lovers everywhere; and folks from all walks of life.
Despite times of discouragement, disillusionment, and distress, we never gave up. If Seabiscuit himself never gave up when faced with insurmountable odds, how could we? If his fierce determination to win got him to the finish line to inspire Americans in the throes of the Great Depression, we intended to match his persistence.
We may not be able to see the Biscuit run again, but we can all share in his heritage of beating the odds to achieve a goal.
Give yourselves a round of applause and, when you hold the Seabiscuit stamp in your hand, remember that together, we the people can do anything.
The gourmet dining is lovely in a 16th-century fortress overlooking the medieval Italian town of Volterra in famed Tuscany. But the fortress is a high-security prison, and the meal is prepared, cooked and served by 30 of its 150 inmates.
“My aim is to create working opportunities for the inmates outside, and in return offer real services,” says Maria Grazia Gianpiccolo, the prison’s director.
In fact, 25 inmates work outside the prison during the day and come back in the evening; eight of these, Gianpiccolo says, work in restaurants as a result of their experience inside the penitentiary.
(Continue reading in Ode Magazine w/ photo)
Also, watch the CBS video, prepared in the prison 2 years ago…
U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Steven Chu last week announced a list of 53 wind energy projects that will receive up to $8.5 million in DOE funding. These projects will begin to address market and deployment challenges that need to be met in order to achieve the federal department’s goal of “20% Wind Energy by 2030.”
Secretary Chu made the announcement by video at the WindPower 2009 Conference in Chicago this week: “Wind energy is one of our most promising renewable energy sources. By continuing to make investments in renewable energy we can cut our dependence on foreign oil and invest in a clean energy agenda that creates jobs and puts money back into the pockets of consumers.”
The grant winners competed for funds last year and are still eligible to compete for $93 Million more pledged in this year’s Recovery Act for wind projects.
Derek was 16 when he landed in a juvenile detention facility after “getting mixed up with the wrong crowd”. Today he’s 24, finishing his degree and headed for medical school. It’s a monumental turnaround.
It is thanks to the Second Chance Foundation, a group of judges, attorneys, police officers, athletes and citizens who provide scholarships, guidance and inspiration for kids who end up in the criminal justice system. Scholarships are given to those who express a desire to change their life and who agree to give back through volunteering.
The foundation also provides mentoring, training, and literacy and other support programs.
(Read about it in the Toronto Sun)
(photo of Youth Social Entrepreneurs)
The two were homeless and met on the streets in Washington, D.C. nine years ago. They felt instant chemistry.
The couple frequented a weekly Bible study and meal program run by Grace Episcopal Church (right). It was there that Dante White, 28, revealed to a parishioner how much he wished he could afford to marry the woman who had brought light into his life on the streets.
“Everyone at the church feels strongly that you don’t need to have money to get married,” said Margaret Davis. “In good Grace church congregation fashion, everyone got behind the idea: one person managed flowers, I helped with the wedding rings, one woman made the cake, someone helped with the tux…
(Continue Reading the AFP story, w/ photos, at Yahoo News)
300 of the world’s best landscape artists competed for the honor of planting a garden at this year International Garden Festival in the shadow of the castle Chaumont-sur-Loire in the Loire Valley. From reds to yellows, this year’s theme is Garden of Color and 26 winners show off their talents.
The video below may take a moment to load, or view at Clip Syndicate.
The White House Correspondents’ Association’s annual dinner got underway Saturday night. It’s a chance for President Barack Obama to jab at the Washington establishment and perhaps chide his critics, all in fun.
Video below may take a moment to load, or watch at TheNewsRoom…
Long known for its save-the-planet ways, Austin, TX continues to be a national leader in producing eco-friendly homes.
More than 20 percent of homes built in the Austin Energy service area now are being rated green by a city program.
“Even with the downturn, we’re still rating a lot of homes,” says Richard Morgan, Austin Energy’s green building manager.
Worth noting is the number of green-certified homes built in Austin by production builders.
(Read more in the Austin-American Statesman)
Since September 11th, the crown on the Statue of Liberty has been off limits to the public. But that will soon change and tourist will once again be able to go right to the top of Lady Liberty.
AP Video may take a moment to load…
A taxi driver in Argentina, found a bag of cash left on his seat by an elderly couple containing $32,500. A few days later he managed to locate his passengers and return the money.
For Argentines used to corruption at all levels of society, this was an extraordinary story. Two young advertising agency employees decided to set up a website to thank Santiago Gori for his exemplary behavior.
Now thousands of people have accessed the site praising Mr. Gori and donating rewards totaling $14,580.
(Read more in the BBC)
Zach Bonner has already walked farther and done more for charity than many grown-ups. Now he’s about to make good on his vow to walk more than 1,200 miles from Tampa to Washington to bring attention to and raise money for the plight of homeless kids in the United States with his ‘My House to the White House’ trip.
(Read about Zack in this AP story via MSNBC)
Watch Zack tell the story in his own words:
Britain’s “green” job market is thriving despite tough economic times and mounting redundancies in other sectors, environmental recruiters said on Friday.
Acre Resources saw job opportunities in Britain’s renewable energy, energy efficiency, sustainability and corporate social responsibility sectors grow by 58 percent in the past year, but gave no absolute figures on the size of the green job market.
U.S. retailers posted better- than-expected monthly sales results for a second straight month in April, giving fresh evidence that consumer spending is warming up with the spring weather.
Nearly two-thirds of the retailers that reported April sales at stores open at least a year topped Wall Street estimates and a handful said their first-quarter results, which start landing next week, will be better than expected.
Everyone knows the grim news — unemployment in the United States has jumped to 8.5 percent, a 25-year high. Since November, the nation has lost more than three million jobs.
But not everyone knows the brighter side to the equation: deep in the maw of the deepest recession since the Great Depression, millions are still being hired.
So, while 4.8 million workers were laid off or chose to leave their jobs in February, employers across the country hired 4.3 million workers that month, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
US actor Ashton Kutcher has pledged to donate the $100,000 he won in a bet, to help fight the spread of malaria, prompting other stars to chip in more money.
Oprah Winfrey and Kutcher’s wife, actress Demi Moore, gave $200,000 each and television-radio host Ryan Seacrest and CNN gave $100,000 each, according to Ray Chambers, special envoy for malaria to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.
Ted Turner even said he’d have Ashton and Demi for dinner if they raised the money for 100,000 more bed nets.
Kutcher’s Twitter followers–1,000,000 strong–are helping.
