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Archaeologists in Egypt have Unearthed the World’s Oldest Known Beer Factory, Thought to Date Back 5,000 Years

By
Andy Corbley
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Archaeologists in Egypt have discovered the remains of a 5,000-year-old megabrewery— thought to have once supplied thousands of gallons of the golden stuff for royal rituals.

Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities

Unearthed at the ancient site of Abydos, one of the oldest discovered cities of ancient Egypt, it’s being called “the world’s largest beer factory.”

The brewery consisted of eight large rooms each 65 feet (20 meters) long, in which lay 40 clay pots resting in decorative cisterns arranged in two rows, where grains and water would once have been heated to make beer.

Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities

According to the Supreme Council for Antiquities, the brewery likely dates back to the reign of King Narmer, a lesser-known name in Egyptian history, who nevertheless made an enormous mark in the land of the Nile as founder of the First Dynasty and then-sole unifier of the country.

The brewery “may have been built in this place specifically to supply the royal rituals that were taking place inside the funeral facilities of the kings of Egypt,” mission co-head Matthew Adams of New York University has stated.

Abydos in its heyday would have been filled with temples and tombs, and even today, the Temple of Osiris, the royal necropolis of the First Dynasty, and the Temple of Seti I are all still intact and able to be visited.

MORE: Egypt Just Discovered 27 Sealed Coffins in An Ancient Cemetery That Were Buried 2,500 Years Ago

The brewery, a new addition to one of Egypt’s most important cultural sites, is thought to have been able to produce 5,000 gallons of beer in a single batch, and unsurprisingly, “evidence for the use of beer in sacrificial rites was found during excavations in these facilities,” a statement from the Egyptian tourism ministry has said.

Featured image: Brewery site—Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities; Beer—Pradnyal Gandhi

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Mardi Gras Becomes ‘Yardi Gras’ When Float-Making Company Gets Orders For Porch Floats After Parade is Canceled

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Good News Network
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A New Orleans couple who normally spend this time of year building fantastical floats for the Mardi Gras parade has done something a little different for the pandemic—creating porch floats so people can party safely at home.

The NOLA parade may have been canceled this year, but that hasn’t stopped husband-and-wife team Inez and Rene Pierre from creating, for example, a Dolly Parton-themed float to pay tribute to the country singer’s $1 million donation to coronavirus vaccine research.

SWNS

Adapting their colorful floats to fit around porches, balconies, and even on front lawns—the pair have been inundated with orders: not just from their home city, but as far afield as Alabama, New York, and North Carolina.

Inez, who with her husband owns the float-building business Crescent City Artists, said:
“I was heartbroken when the mayor canceled Mardi Gras, but I also understand that life is more important.”

SWNS

The talented couple—who usually construct carnival floats made of steel, wood, and muslin for around $45,000 each—worried that the end to the party meant difficulties for their financial future.

CHECK OUT: Dolly Parton Quietly Gives Away 100 Millionth Book for Her Child Reading Program

Then Inez heard someone on a news show suggesting porch floats as a way for the city to still celebrate.

The couple put in their first order just before Christmas. From there, the orders never stopped. Their website ended up crashing, they were getting so many hits. Two weeks ago, they even stopped taking orders because they were so overwhelmed.

“We are up to 52 porch floats,” says Inez, “we have maybe 10 more to complete and we have a waiting list for next year.

MORE: Cardboard Artist Creates Mirror Surrounded By Black Legendary Heroes to Inspire Next Generation of Leaders

It sounds like it’s time to get your float orders in for 2022, stat.

Check out the gallery of the artists’ work below, and let us know your favorite?

Eclectic porch floats have been going up in NOLA this winter…

SWNS

With an Alice in Wonderland-themed porch float for this home…

SWNS

And one that brings lions and rich sunsets to life for another…

SWNS

And… an owl in a police call box for this one? Because why not!

SWNS

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Paris is Turning Its Dark Underground Parking Lots into Organic Mushrooms Farms

By
Andy Corbley
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Cycloponics

What can you do with a dark underground parking lot that isn’t being used anymore? Think fungus.

Cycloponics

Unused parking garages around the French capital have been turned into organic mushroom farms, thanks to a company called Cycloponics.

Allowing an extremely nutritious crop to be grown and sold directly in Paris, the initiative is part of a number of renovation projects the City is encouraging and sponsoring.

Along with shitake, oyster, and white button mushrooms, Cycloponics grows chicory—a French delicacy that can grow in the dark—as well as microgreens like mini broccoli. These are delivered via bicycle to local organic grocery stores.

Their location in Paris is called “The Cave,” and it’s one of three such converted garages that have been co-founded since 2017 by the coincidentally named Theo Champagnat.

“70% of people live in towns today, and in this population there is a demand for local and organic products like ours,” says Champagnat.

In a BBC video news report on the operation, Dougal Shaw details how during the 1960s and ’70s, large apartment blocks were almost always built with underground parking garages. Now car ownership is dwindling, and many of the garages are becoming derelict haunts for illicit activity.

Cycloponics

in the mid-2010s, Parisian Mayor Anne Hidalgo launched Reinventing Paris—The Subterranean Secrets of Paris which offered designers, architects, and others a chance to help transform abandoned underground lots into cultural spaces, gastronomic eateries, and other civic-minded projects.

MORE: Stanford Designer is Making Bricks Out of Fast-Growing Mushrooms That Are Stronger than Concrete

One such project turned an old metro stop into a market/food court on one side of the platform, and the other into a cocktail bar, featuring luminous light and trendy designs.

But this offering in Paris wasn’t the first time Cycloponics took to the dark and dank in the heart of a French city. Their first project, built in an old German bunker dating back to 1878, is located in the city of Strasbourg, while their most recent mushroom project is centered in Bordeaux.

RELATED: Student Who Grew Her Own Canoe Out of Mushroom Thinks Fungus is Our Best Ally in Climate Change

These days? Champagnat and the 10 people who work with him are able to harvest around 100-200 kilos of mushrooms from their lots per week. Not bad for a bunch of college-age basement dwellers.

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110-Year-old Has Turned Into a Singing Sensation on Social Media, Fulfilling Life-long Dream Thanks to Great-Grandson

By
Judy Cole
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Hannah Freeman

Some dreams take longer to come true than others, but with the help of 21st-century social media and her Gen Z great-grandson, at the age of 110, one British woman is realizing hers at long last.

Hannah Freeman

At the end of World War I, Amy Hawkins was a 7-year-old child who loved nothing more than to sing and dance. As a teen, Hawkins set her sights on becoming an entertainer.

Hawkins was on her way, touring the country with a dance troupe—until her ambition to tread the boards was cut short by her mom who didn’t see it as a respectable occupation for a young lady.

All these years later, the supercentenarian chanteuse lives at home in Monmouth, South Wales, surrounded by her loved ones. The four-generation family unit includes her granddaughter, Hannah Freeman, and Freeman’s 14-year-old son, Sacha. Even though she’s no longer doing it professionally, Hawkins has never stopped singing.

“She’s like a clock, once you wind her up she won’t stop,” Freeman said in an interview with the BBC. “She just keeps asking, ‘Would you like another one?’.”

While others were not so fortunate, Freeman’s family felt blessed to be together throughout the course of the COVID-19 lockdown. Especially, Freeman notes, since the tight-knit arrangement has allowed Sacha and Hawkins to form a deep and loving bond.

On Hawkins’ 110th birthday, Sacha videoed his great-gran singing one of her favorite WWI tunes, It’s a Long Way to Tipperary. When Freeman jokingly suggested Sacha post it to TikTok, neither of them could have imagined the overwhelmingly upbeat response it would receive, reaching 100,000 views and a bevy of emotional accolades in just days.

@sachafreeman0

My great grandma enjoying her birthday #fpy #foryoupage #old #supergran #uk #1911 #birthday #song #music #old #oldestontiktok #wales #celebrate #tea

♬ original sound - Sacha Freeman

“Reading the comments, people have been in tears, because they miss their family or [think] about family they have lost,” Freeman told the BBC. “I think that has been a real lesson for Sacha too and has restored my faith in humanity in such a difficult time for everyone.”

MORE: Postman Who Started the Online Craze for Sea Shanties has Now Quit his Job to Pursue a Career in Music

Some journeys take longer than others. Sometimes, we’re detoured along the way. But dreams can and do come true every day. While it’s been a long time coming, Amy Hawkins is entertaining a whole new generation of fans.

RELATED:  Idaho Potato Worker Becomes Internet Sensation and Sends Fleetwood Mac Sales Soaring With ‘Dreamy’ Video

Admittedly, “It’s a long way to Tipperary,” but when Amy Hawkins sings, our “heart’s right there.”

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“Perhaps the feelings we experience when we are in love represent a normal state. Being in love shows people who they should be.” – Anton Chekhov

By
Good News Network
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Quote of the Day: “Perhaps the feelings we experience when we are in love represent a normal state. Being in love shows people who they should be.” – Anton Chekhov

Photo: Jéssica Oliveira

With a new inspirational quote every day, atop the perfect photo—collected and archived on our Quote of the Day page—why not bookmark GNN.org for a daily uplift?

 

Instead of Responding With Cops, Denver Sends Health Care Teams to Non-Criminal Calls — and It’s Already Saving Lives

By
Andy Corbley
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Denver Police Department

A pilot program where teams of social workers and paramedics respond to certain non-criminal complaints in Denver is showing early success.

Denver Police Department

The Support Team Assisted Response (STAR) program was launched in June to help ensure the vulnerable get the help they need.

Over the course of six months, 748 calls relating to low-level incidents—such as mental health crises—were responded to by mobile teams of STAR health care workers instead of police officers.

Six months after it began, STAR’s first progress report has now been published, and it shows the innovative program is working.

According to Denver Police Department (DPD) chief Paul Pazen, none of these low-level calls ended in arrests or jail-time, and no police officer needed to be called to the scene. “This is good stuff, it’s a great program, and basically, the report tells us what we believed,” Pazen told The Denverite. 

Foundation for success

The majority of the STAR-eligible calls were for trespassing/unwanted persons, welfare checks, and from uniformed officers asking for assistance in ongoing matters.

In fact, of all the incidents STAR responded to, 34% were assist calls from officers already engaged in an incident, which program member and strategic initiatives coordinator for the DPD, Dr. Matthew Lunn, says is a good sign: It means police officers believe in the program and want to utilize it.

“I think it shows how much officers are buying into this, realizing that these individuals need a focused level of care,” said Lunn, who authored the report.

Indeed, 61% of individuals encountered by STAR were identified as perhaps having a mental health issue based on initial contact and behavioral assessment, with 33% also having co-occurring conditions, such as homelessness or substance abuse.

MORE: Inmates Are Earning Free College Degrees Behind Bars, And Their Recidivism Rate Plunges to 2%

Lessons learned suggested that the STAR van should be stocked with more supplies, especially blankets, clothing, cleaning supplies, and food, which would allow the team to quickly address immediate issues.

CHECK OUT: Global Nonprofit that Trains African Prisoners to Become Lawyers is Featured on 60 Minutes

The city of Denver has allocated $1.4 million to expand the service, and the Caring for Denver foundation has matched those funds. This will help the program expand to having multiple supplied vans—with enough professionals to work 8-hour shifts covering all hours of the week.

RELATED: Former Prisoners Use Skills Learned as Inmates to Help Firefighters Battle Blazes–And Give Jobs to Ex-Cons

“I want the police department to focus on police issues,” Pazen told The Denverite. “We have more than enough work with regards to violent crime, property crime, and traffic safety, and if something like STAR or any other support system can lighten the load on mental health calls for service, substance abuse calls for service, and low-level issues, that frees up law enforcement to address crime issues.”

Given the Black Lives Matter protests of 2020, it seems likely that increasing numbers of police departments around the world will follow in Denver’s footsteps—turning inward to see what can be done to improve the relationship between their officers and their communities—so everyone feels safe.

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Hikers Brave Miles of Icy Mountain Trails After Rescuing Dog That Was Stranded For 2 Weeks

By
Judy Cole
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@jeanfrancoiswillem/TikTok

There’s almost no agony worse for pet parents than when a beloved fur baby goes missing. While this tale might have had a more tragic ending, fate was certainly looking out for a pooch that went missing in Ireland’s Wicklow Mountains this past January.

@jeanfrancoiswillem/TikTok

Neesha, an 8-year-old Golden Retriever, is one lucky dog. After spending a fortnight on her own without food or real shelter, the plucky pooch was serendipitously spotted by a couple, who in spite of the wintry weather, was hiking the range and happened upon her.

Two weeks earlier, Neesha’s owners had taken her and their other dog, a German Shepherd named Harley, for some outdoor exercise. Startled by a deer, both dogs took off. Harley found his way back to the parking lot the next day, but Neesha did not.

The family made a thorough search. They left a laundry basket of unwashed clothing near the spot they’d last seen Neesha on the chance she’d home in on the familiar scent marker.

They even resorted to drones and took to the Internet to ask for help in finding Neesha—but there was still no sign of her.

“We went on social media and posted it out. Then a weekend later, we were still looking for her, we were starting to give up hope,” pet mom Erina O’Shea Goetelen told The Irish Times.

Eventually, the family began to accept that Neesha might not be coming home. “We just thought she was 8, it’s been two weeks, there was no way she could survive that.”

Doctors Ciara Nolan and Jean Francois Bonnet must truly be dedicated hikers to have braved the elements on the frigid day the pair decided to summit one of Wicklow’s peaks. As they neared the top, Nolan was shocked to see a dog shivering in the snow curled up next to some rocks.

“She was petrified, freezing cold. She didn’t have enough energy to bark or stand,” Bonnet said in an interview with Eastcoast FM. “We tried to get her to walk, she couldn’t stand. So we covered her in our spare clothes, we gave her some food.”

Nolan lifted Neesha onto back Bonnet’s back for the 10-km (6.2-mile) trek back down the mountain. After dog and man fell several times in the icy conditions, Nolan engineered a way to strap Neesha to her partner’s backpack with her scarf.

@jeanfrancoiswillem

#dog #lostdog #rescue #mountain #pet #ireland #lost #dublin @ciaranolan05

♬ Surrender - Natalie Taylor

As soon as they reached level ground, Nolan and Bonnet brought the dog to Ash Animal Rescue. She’d lost a great deal of weight and was dehydrated, but other than a few cuts and scrapes, the resilient pup was in surprisingly good condition.

CHECK OUT: Watch Fishermen Risk Walking on Frozen Lake to Rescue Exhausted Baby Deer

“When Ciara rang us Saturday evening I got very excited when I realized they had found Neesha,” the Ash Animal Rescue’s admin posted to Facebook. “When I saw the video clip I couldn’t help getting emotional. The weather had thrown all sorts at us in the past 2 weeks, for Neesha to have survived it all is a miracle.”

MORE: Man Saves Elk After it Was Buried in an Avalanche – With Only a Nostril And One Eye Peeking Out of the Snow

Neesha’s owners could scarcely believe it when they learned her dog had been found alive.

“We were so, so relieved and happy,” O’Shea Goetelen told Irish Central. “We have no words to thank them both for what they did to bring her back home. They are just absolutely amazing and unbelievable. We just can’t thank them enough.”

RELATED: He Thought it was a Kitten Lost in the Snow – But it was One of The Most Endangered Mammals in Europe

They say all dogs go to heaven, but due to a twist of fate and two determined rescuers, that’s a trip Neesha won’t be making for quite some time. The luck of the Irish, it seems, extends to their canine companions—and thankfully for Neesha, somebody up there was listening.

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70-Year-old Grandpa Becomes Oldest Person to Row Across the Atlantic – And He Raised $1.4Mil for Alzheimer’s

By
Andy Corbley
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Alzheimer's Research

A 70-year old grandfather has successfully rowed a boat unassisted across the entire Atlantic Ocean—and he did it for others.

Alzheimer’s Research UK

As part of a challenge to raise money for research on Alzheimer’s treatments, Frank Rothwell dedicated the extreme feat to his brother-in-law Roger, who succumbed to the disease during Frank’s crossing.

A little more than £1 million ($1.39 million) was raised by almost 10,000 different donors, including a doubling of the first £500,000 ($695,000) from Iceland Foods Charitable Foundation.

Requiring 18 months of hard training, the entire row took eight grueling weeks for Rothwell to travel from La Gomera in the Canary Islands on December 12 to the finish line 3,000 miles away in Antigua on February 6.

“I like a challenge!” explains Frank on his fundraising site. “In 2017, I spent five weeks on a deserted island for the Channel 4 program, The Island with Bear Grylls. Before that I was only the 10th person to ever circumnavigate North and South America.”

Alzheimer’s Research UK

In a statement, Hilary Evans, chief executive of Alzheimer’s Research UK, said: “We’re honored to have such amazing support from Frank. His courage and determination helped him to complete his epic challenge and raise £1 million for dementia research.”

RELATED: This 10-Year-Old Walked 1,700 Miles With His Dad from Italy to England For a Hug With Grandma

“This incredible amount will be a huge benefit to the groundbreaking research we carry out here at Alzheimer’s Research UK, as we continue our mission to bring about life-changing treatments for people affected by dementia.”

MORE: Footage Captures the Moment a Skydiver Leaps From Plane Sitting in an Inflatable Water Raft

Crossing the finish line was a euphoric and emotional moment for Rothwell. He said: “I am on cloud nine! I set out in December wishing to raise £1 million for Alzheimer’s Research UK but I never thought I’d actually achieve it. The challenge was incredibly tough at times, with rough seas, huge waves, and missing my wife, Judith. But as exhausting as it was, it was all totally worth it.”

CHECK OUT: Greek Athlete Carries Disabled Woman Up Mount Olympus, Fulfilling Her Lifelong Dream

“Having received hundreds of messages from people who, like me, have witnessed the heartbreak of dementia, I am proud to have raised such an incredible amount in honor of Roger, and everyone else who has experienced the devastation it causes.”

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400 Years After Being Wiped Out by Hunters Britain’s Wild Cranes Make a 
Comeback

By
Andy Corbley
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Вых Пыхманн, CC license

Extinct for more than 400 years, common cranes are finding homes in the UK’s wetlands and waterways once again.

Вых Пыхманн, CC license

Because of conservation efforts that began in 1979, the common crane (not seen since the 1600s) now numbers almost 200 individuals in the country, with more than 60 breeding pairs.

“It is always great to get the opportunity to celebrate a real conservation success story and UK cranes is one of these,” said Andrew Stanbury, a Conservation Scientist at the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB).

Organizations like the RSPB and the Wetlands and Wildfowl Trust (WWT) have formed The Great Crane Project, aimed at a massive translocation of birds from Germany into breeding sites in UK wetlands.

Famous for their loud and joyous courtship displays, the common crane, or Eurasian crane, was driven to extinction in the UK through hunting and wetland loss.

There’s a new attitude about wetlands, however, and conservation groups and governments the world over are implementing stringent protections on the special ecosystems that are more biodiverse and hold more carbon than forests.

The Great Crane Success

Harsha Jayaramaiah, CC license

Between 2010 and 2014, the project saw 93 birds transported into southwest England. The latest survey results recorded 64 breeding pairs across the UK in 2020, inside the nests of which squawked 23 chicks.

MORE: Everyone in England is Planting Wildflower Meadows After Prince Charles Replants 60 of Them to Honor Queen

In 2018, the WWT estimated that the current rate of reproduction would see cranes reach 275 breeding pairs within the next 50 years.

Unidentified cranes, once a rarity in the Somerset Moors breeding site, now regularly arrive, and even mate with the resident birds with tracking rings around their legs. Scientists have no idea if these foreigners are from the Scottish population or the continent, or if they are Somerset cranes that migrated and returned. Since a generation has now been reared without ring tags, it’s impossible to tell.

RELATED: UK Prioritizes Climate Crisis By Supporting Sustainability in Developing Countries With $4 Billion Plan

It’s a sign that genetic diversity is flowing through the new UK cranes, ensuring they remain healthy and resistant to disease and genetic defects—both major challenges in the population restoration of any species.

The next challenge is to ensure there is enough suitable wetland available for them to breed safely. Conservationists are looking to restore whole landscapes, so that areas of habitat are bigger, better, and connected—benefitting cranes and other species.

CHECK OUT: UK Debuts Geothermal Plant Using Heat From the Earth to Power 10,000 Homes

“Thanks to a successful conservation partnership,” boasts Stanbury in a media release, “we are welcoming a charismatic species back in our countryside following a 400-year absence.”

Fly This Hopeful Birding News to Nature Lovers on Social Media… 

Company Develops ‘Sound Beaming’ to Enable Digital Listening in Your Own Sound Bubble – A Cone of Near-Silence

By
Andy Corbley
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Noveto

An Israeli tech startup has developed a speaker system that creates a “sound bubble”—essentially meaning you get all the privacy of headphones without the physical requirement of wearing them.

Noveto

The truly sci-fi tech uses ultrasonic waves beamed into pockets next to your ears. The aptly named “SoundBeaming” technology means you hear the noise coming from behind, below, and around you, while others nothing at all.

If you’re still not clear about what Noveto’s product does, even CEO Christophe Ramstein finds it hard to put the concept into words. “The brain doesn’t understand what it doesn’t know,” he said in a statement.

“I was thinking… is [SoundBeaming] the same with headphones?’ No, because I… have the freedom of doing what I want to do. And I have these sounds playing in my head as there would be something happening here, which is difficult to explain because we have no reference for that,” he said.

The applications of this product are nearly endless, from being able to listen in on conference calls and other work-related audio without disturbing your neighbors, to removing the risk of losing, tripping on the cord of, or damaging, expensive audio headsets or earbuds.

Noveto

3D facial mapping software continuously keeps track of where your head and ears are, and the speakers actually adjust where they must beam the soundwaves. This means that for those not remaining in a fixed position, for instance on exercise bikes, at L-shaped desks, or in the kitchen—the sound still follows you wherever you go.

MORE: Researchers Are Testing Smart Headphones That Could Warn Pedestrians of Impending Dangers

However, unlike headphones, the sounds of your environment can still be heard. If someone calls your name from another room, it’s clearly audible.

“Most people just say, ‘Wow, I really don’t believe it,’” SoundBeamer Product Manager Ayana Wallwater said from the Noveto offices in Tel Aviv.

“This is what we dream of,” she added  “A world where we get the sound you want. You don’t need to disturb others and others don’t get disturbed by your sound. But you can still interact with them.”SHARE: Startup Turns 32 Million Discarded Chopsticks Into Gorgeous Decor And Furniture

Noveto’s speaker system, though already launched, isn’t available now, but the company plans on releasing a smaller version by Christmas 2021.

(WATCH the video showing the technology in action below.)

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“Winter is the time for comfort, for good food and warmth, and for a talk beside the fire: it is the time for home.” – Edith Sitwell

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Good News Network
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Quote of the Day: “Winter is the time for comfort, for good food and warmth, and for a talk beside the fire: it is the time for home.” – Edith Sitwell

Photo: copyright 2021, GWC

With a new inspirational quote every day, atop the perfect photo—collected and archived on our Quote of the Day page—why not bookmark GNN.org for a daily uplift?

 

 

From City to Countryside, Study Suggests Wisdom Can Protect Against Loneliness

By
Good News Network
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Photo submitted by Lauri Qwilt

Over the last few decades, there has been growing concern about loneliness across all ages, particularly in middle-aged and older adults, but a new study suggests one type of intervention that wouldn’t involve relying on other people.

Submitted photo

Feeling isolated or not having an adequate number of meaningful personal connections, is consistently associated with major risk factors for overall health, and there are now many efforts worldwide to address it.

In a recent cross-cultural study, researchers in California and Italy teamed up and found that there was a significant correlation between wisdom and not being lonely.

“People with higher scores on a measure of wisdom were less lonely and vice versa,” said Dilip Jeste, MD, senior associate dean for the Center of Healthy Aging and Distinguished Professor of Psychiatry and Neurosciences at UC San Diego School of Medicine.

Moreover, the study examined middle-aged and older adults in both an urban environment, San Diego, California, and a rural one, in Cilento, Italy.

“Loneliness was consistently associated with poor general health, worse quality of sleep and less happiness, whereas the reverse was generally true for wisdom,” said Dr. Jeste, the lead investigator of the team, which involved the University of Rome La Sapienza.

Using the UCLA Loneliness Scale and San Diego Wisdom Scale, the researchers examined four groups: adults age 50 to 65 and those older than age 90 in each location.

LOOK: ‘Raves’ for Seniors Fight Loneliness With Partying

Wisdom has several components, such as empathy, compassion, self-reflection and emotional regulation. Researchers found that empathy and compassion had the strongest inverse correlation with loneliness. People who were more compassionate were less lonely.

“It is remarkable that the findings related to these two traits were largely similar in two markedly different cultures — a rural region of southern Italy and an urban/suburban county in the United States, both with different native languages and unique historical, educational and socioeconomic backgrounds,” said Salvatore Di Somma, MD, PhD, lead Italian investigator and professor of emergency medicine at U. Rome La Sapienza.

The Cilento region in southwestern Italy is a relatively isolated, rural area believed to have a high concentration of individuals older than age 90. The present study was born out of the Cilento Initiative on Aging Outcomes (CIAO) study launched in 2016.

“Both loneliness and wisdom are personality traits. Most personality traits are partially inherited and partially determined by environment,” said Jeste.

POPULAR: Woman Reads to Shelter Dogs to Ease Their Loneliness—And Her Own

“If we can increase someone’s compassion, wisdom is likely to go up and loneliness is likely to go down,” said David Brenner, MD, vice chancellor of UC San Diego Health Sciences. “At UC San Diego, we have considerable interest in enhancing empathy and compassion to reduce levels of stress and improve happiness and well-being.”

Jeste said studies that examine how to decrease loneliness as people age will be critical for effective interventions and the future of health care.

RELATED: Lonely Widower Puts Up a Poster Asking For Friends—And is Flooded With Messages From New Pals

“Routine assessment of loneliness with evidence-based, compassion-focused interventions for prevention and management of loneliness should become an integral part of clinical practice. So how do you increase compassion? Utilizing approaches like cognitive behavioral therapy or writing in a gratitude diary can help someone become more compassionate,” he said.

The study was published in the October 1, 2020 edition of Aging and Mental Health.

Jeste noted the next step will be to test an intervention to increase compassion for reducing loneliness.

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Wisconsin Chick-fil-A Worker Who Won a Car in Company Raffle Gives it to Co-worker Who Bikes to Work

By
Good News Network
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She had only worked at the restaurant for five months, yet her co-workers had become like a “second family” for this 17-year-old.

And, when Haley Bridges won a new car in the Christmas raffle organized for Appleton, Wisconsin Chick-fil-A employees, she knew just what she would do.

She gave away the car to her new ‘sister,’ who had been cycling to work in frigid Wisconsin weather.

Yup. 19-year-old Hokule’a Taniguchi, from Honolulu, was commuting to the Grand Chute restaurant using only two wheels.

“I was biking here every morning, so it was a little rough,” the 19-year-old told
WLUK News. “Because I’m from Hawaii, I was like, ‘It’s kinda cold!’”

At the Christmas party, when the name of the winner was plucked out of the bag, and Taniguchi heard, ‘Haley Bridges,’ she knew what was going to happen.

Haley had vowed to hand over the car if she won.

“I really just started crying, because I was so happy,” said Taniguchi. “I was like, ‘Oh my gosh! I can’t believe this is real!’”

“Now I can go grocery shopping,” Taniguchi beamed. She can also leave five minutes before her shift starts, instead of spending two hours pedaling.

POPULAR: Chicago Man Goes Around Buying All of Vendors’ Tamales in Frigid Temps Then Gives Them to Homeless

This is what happens when you have one, big happy family at work.

WATCH the video below…

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Inspiring Valentine’s Day Horoscopes From Rob Brezsny’s ‘Free Will Astrology’

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Good News Network
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Our friend Rob Brezsny provides his weekly wisdom to enlighten our thinking and motivate our mood. Rob’s Free Will Astrology, is a syndicated weekly column appearing in over a hundred publications. He is also the author of Pronoia Is the Antidote for Paranoia: How All of Creation Is Conspiring To Shower You with Blessings. (A free preview of the book is available here.)

Here is your weekly horoscope…

FREE WILL ASTROLOGY – Week beginning February 12, 2021
Copyright by Rob Brezsny, FreeWillAstrology.com

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18):
I’ve adopted some lines from poet Walt Whitman for you to use in composing a love note. Send it to a person you know and love, or to a person you want to know and love, or a person you will know and love in the future. Here it is: “We are oaks growing in the openings side by side. We are two fishes swimming together. We are two predatory hawks, soaring above and looking down. We are two clouds driving overhead. We are seas mingling, two cheerful waves rolling over each other. We are snow, rain, cold, darkness. We circle and circle till arriving home again, voiding all but freedom and our own joy.”

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20):
“To heal is to touch with love that which was previously touched by fear,” wrote author Stephen Levine. I propose you make this theme a keynote for your best relationships in the coming days. What can you do to alleviate the anxiety and agitation of the people you care for? How might they do the same for you? If you play along with the cosmic rhythms, you will have extraordinary power to chase away fear with love.

ARIES (March 21-April 19):
Author Anton Chekhov made a radical proposal: ”Perhaps the feelings we experience when we are in love represent a normal state. Being in love shows people who they should be.” In accordance with astrological potentials, my beloved Aries darling, I invite you to act as if Chekhov’s proposal were absolutely true for at least the next two weeks. Be animated by a generous lust for life. Assume that your intelligence will reach a peak as you express excited kindness and affectionate compassion. Be a fount of fond feelings and cheerful empathy and nourishing ardor.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20):
Poet and filmmaker Jean Cocteau told the following story about Taurus composer Erik Satie (1866–1925). When Satie died, his old friends, many of whom were highly accomplished people, came to visit his apartment. There they discovered that all the letters they had sent him over the years were unopened. Satie had never read them! How sad that he missed out on all that lively exchange. I beg you not to do anything that even remotely resembles such a lack of receptivity during the coming weeks, Taurus. In fact, please do just the opposite: Make yourself as open as possible to engagement and influence. I understand that the pandemic somewhat limits your social interactions. Just do the best you can.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20):
On behalf of the cosmic omens, I demand that the important people in your life be reliable and generous toward you in the coming weeks. You can tell them I said so. Tell them that you are doing pretty well, but that in order to transform pretty well into very well, you need them to boost their support and encouragement. Read them the following words from author Alan Cohen: “Those who love you are not fooled by mistakes you have made or dark images you hold about yourself. They remember your beauty when you feel ugly; your wholeness when you are broken; your innocence when you feel guilty; and your purpose when you are confused.”

CANCER (June 21-July 22):
For a while, poet Alfred de Musset (1810–1857) was the sexual partner of Cancerian novelist George Sand (1804–1876), also known as Aurore Dupin. He said that after intense love-making sessions, he would fall asleep and wake up to find her sitting at her desk, engrossed in working on her next book. Maybe the erotic exchange inspired her creativity? In accordance with current astrological potentials, I recommend Sand’s approach to you. Vigorous pleasure will coordinate well with hard work. As will deep release with strong focus. As will tender intimacy with clear thinking. (PS: I know your options for pleasure and intimacy may be somewhat limited because of the pandemic. Call on your ingenuity and resourcefulness to work the best magic possible.)

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22):
Leo poet Warsan Shire suggests, “Document the moments you feel most in love with yourself—what you’re wearing, who you’re around, what you’re doing. Recreate and repeat.” This would be an excellent exercise for you to carry out during this Valentine season. You’re in a phase when you’re likely to enhance your lovability and attract extra support simply by intensifying and refining the affectionate compassion you feel and express toward yourself.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22):
I wish the pandemic would give us a short break so we could celebrate the Valentine season with maximum sensual revelry and extravagant displays of joyful tenderness. I wish we could rip off our masks and forget about social-distancing and hug and kiss everyone who wants to be hugged and kissed. But that’s not going to happen. If we hope to be free to indulge in a Lush Love and Lust Festival by Valentine Season in 2022, we’ve got to be cautious and controlled now. And we are all counting on you Virgos to show us how to be as wildly, lyrically romantic as possible while still observing the necessary limitations. That’s your special task.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22):
Author Raymond Carver wrote, “It ought to make us feel ashamed when we talk like we know what we’re talking about when we talk about love.” That seems like a harsh oversimplification to me. Personally, I think it’s fun and interesting to pretend we know what we’re talking about when we talk about love. And I think that will be especially true for you in the coming weeks. In my astrological opinion, you should be discussing love extensively and boldly and imaginatively. You should redefine what love means to you. You should re-evaluate how you express it and reconfigure the way it works in your life.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21):
I’m turning over this horoscope to psychologist John Welwood. His words are the medicine you need at this juncture in the evolution of intimacy. Study the following quote and interpret it in ways that help illuminate your relationship with togetherness: “A soul connection is a resonance between two people who respond to the essential beauty of each other’s individual natures, behind their facades, and who connect on this deeper level. This kind of mutual recognition provides the catalyst for a potent alchemy. It is a sacred alliance whose purpose is to help both partners discover and realize their deepest potentials.”

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21):
Transform yourself with the sweetest challenge you can dream up. Give yourself a blessing that will compel you to get smarter and wilder. Dazzle yourself as you dare to graduate from your history. Rile yourself up with a push to become your better self, your best self, your amazingly fulfilled and masterful self. Ask yourself to leap over the threshold of ordinary magic and into the realm of spooky good magic. And if all that works out well, Sagittarius, direct similar energy toward someone you care about. In other words, transform them with the sweetest challenge you can dream up. Dare them to graduate from their history. And so on.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19):
I invite you to compose a message to a person you’d like to be closer to and whom you’re sure would like to be closer to you. Be inspired by what poet Clementine von Radics wrote to the man she was dating, telling him why she thought they could start living together. Here’s her note: “Because you texted me a haiku about the moon when you were drunk. Because you cried at the end of the movie Die Hard on Christmas eve. Because when I’m sick you bring me fruit, kiss me on the mouth, and hold me even though I’m gross. Because you bring me flowers for no reason but on Valentine’s Day you gave me a bouquet of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups. Because every time I show you a poem I love you’ve read it already.”

WANT MORE? Listen to Rob’s EXPANDED AUDIO HOROSCOPES, 4-5 minute meditations on the current state of your destiny — or subscribe to his unique daily text message service at: RealAstrology.com

(Zodiac images by Numerologysign.com, CC license)

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“Keep love in your heart. A life without it is like a sunless garden when the flowers are dead.” – Oscar Wilde (Happy Valentine’s Day!)

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Good News Network
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By engin akyurt

Quote of the Day: “Keep love in your heart. A life without it is like a sunless garden when the flowers are dead.” – Oscar Wilde (Happy Valentine’s Day!)

Photo: engin akyurt

With a new inspirational quote every day, atop the perfect photo—collected and archived on our Quote of the Day page—why not bookmark GNN.org for a daily uplift?

 

A Valentine’s Day Message for the World: Love Never Fails

By
Good News Network
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This Valentine’s Day, we are living in a world that needs some love—and we need to give it.

Jesse Goll

Loving is the way we wake up from the dream of powerlessness. Love is a game changer.

The Berlin wall fell. Slaves were freed. Someone published the book of their dreams today. Someone else rose up against cancer and booked a trip to Greece. Every single day, there are those who rise up in love. Love in the face of ugliness, defeat, or fiasco.

Love is spirit’s calling card. There are no weapons or conditions that can withstand the onslaught of consistent love. Love never fails.

Love never fails—it’s just that we fail to love.

Believe me, I’m not saying this is easy. After all, I’m the kind of girl who gets thrown off if you choose to visit your dying aunt over sitting with me, telling you about my 137 neuroses—and by thrown off, I mean, I will push the red button, because you’ve pushed my buttons.

We’re all human. We all find it easier to say, ‘I’ll be Gandhi tomorrow’, and meanwhile stagnate in our story about how the world should be.

It’s easy to fall onto the bandwagon of complaining. It’s a loud caravan passing through the streets daily. Ugliness gets media attention. There’s fanfare for foulness. Sometimes, it’s hard to hear anything else what with the noise of discontentment.

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Lovers turn their attention to love. It’s that simple—but it’s not simplistic. It’s not the work of simpletons. It’s the work of those who are committed to freedom, growth and cultivating capacities.

Love is a practice for those who care about how they feel each day and what words they allow to roll from their tongues into the waiting pores of those around them. This isn’t for the lazy. This isn’t for those who want to be right. This isn’t for those who want to feel wronged. This is for those who want to be free. This is for those who wish to be merciful to themselves yet uncompromising with their desires.

This is the Valentine’s Day I wish for the world. I want us to be lovers who use our power of attention to love. Lovers of others. Lovers of ourselves. I want us to do the work. I want us to be the ones who reach like seeds for the sun, because something deep within knows the light is there, even when we’re chilled by darkness.

I want us to be more than we think we can be. I want us to be what we know we can be. I want us to start now.

LOOK: When Black Man Was Afraid to Walk in His Upscale Community, 75 Neighbors Walked With Him

What does it mean to turn your attention to love? It doesn’t mean we turn away from problems. It doesn’t mean we turn away from suffering.

We must tend to pain, especially our own. Because it’s almost impossible to love others, when we do not love ourselves.

We must find a way to rise. And this is what I know about rising. It’s about trying again. It’s about not giving up. It’s falling down 7 times and getting up 8, as the Japanese proverb goes.

Keep fighting despite your own resistance and justifications and the discouraging self-talk that diminishes who you really are.

WATCH: Therapy Dogs Surprise National Guard Troops in D.C. Who May Be Missing Their Own Pets

Of course, love doesn’t mean we don’t stand up against injustice. It means we might. But we don’t do anything out of bitterness. Bitterness eats your strength. Hate can deafen you to the voice or consciousness of the divine. Love is always merciful and yet never a doormat. It’s a firehose of strength. It’s an oracle of new perspective. Real love is a wild force that changes any landscape on any day.

Where do you need to give your love? Who do you need to love—and in what way? Or how can you love yourself more—right now?

Tama Kieves, an honors graduate of Harvard Law School, left her law practice to write and help others create their most extraordinary lives. She is the bestselling author of 4 books including A Year Without Fear: 365 Days of Magnificence and her latest Thriving Through Uncertainty. A sought-after speaker and career/success coach, she has helped thousands to thrive in their life, calling, and businesses. Sign up for your FREE digital fortune cookies and a free copy of her popular webinar Dare to Decide at www.tamakieves.com/dare.

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Watch Therapy Dogs Surprise National Guard Troops in Washington, D.C. Who May Be Missing Their Own Pets

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Good News Network
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In time for Valentine’s Day we bring you a story of doggie love, direct from Washington, D.C. where thousands of National Guard troops will continue to be stationed away from their homes for at least another month.

More than 250 Guardsmen have been staying downtown at the Hamilton Hotel in the nation’s capital since troops were called in from around the country to protect the city after a siege on the Capitol Building one month ago.

Knowing the men and women had been away from their own families and pets for several weeks, the hotel surprised their guests with a visit from a dozen therapy dogs affiliated with the DC nonprofit People Animals Love.

The happy commotion in the lobby two weeks ago, shown in the video below, was designed as a gesture of thanks for the group’s round-the-clock service to their country.

The 12 dogs were accompanied by their owners who stood at various spots throughout the hotel located at 14th and K Streets—and all the pups were eager to extend a two-paw salute to our armed services members.

Photos courtesy of Hamilton Hotel

“Seeing hardened military men and women, roll around on the ground with these amazing dogs, as if no one is watching, truly filled our souls with happiness and gratitude,” Hamilton Hotel director Joe Palminteri told GNN. “It was only an hour, but the smiles and warm embraces will last a lifetime.”

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People Animals Love was founded in 1982 to proved a network of 500 individually-owned dogs and a few cats to provide comfort to people in places like care facilities, libraries, and schools. During the pandemic, the group began offering a virtual program where kids can practice reading to a PAL dog.

WATCH the video below…

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The Empire State Building is Now 100% Powered By Wind, Along With 13 Other Related Buildings

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Good News Network
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Dorian Mongel

The beloved New York City landmark Empire State Building is now run entirely by wind energy—making it a green new year for the 15,000 people working inside.

Dorian Mongel

Empire State Realty Trust, Inc. which owns the 102-story skyscraper along with 13 other office buildings, signed a three-year contract with Green Mountain Energy to power its entire real estate portfolio throughout New York and Connecticut with renewable wind electricity.

According to the federal EPA, it made the company the nation’s largest 100% user of green power in real estate.

More than a decade ago, the iconic building in Midtown Manhattan underwent a groundbreaking energy and efficiency retrofit, as part of the $550 million Empire State ReBuilding restoration program and has already delivered a 40% reduction in energy use and emissions.

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100% of ESRT’s more than 10.1 million square-foot portfolio is now powered by renewable wind energy, which is estimated to avoid the production of 450 million pounds of carbon dioxide—equivalent to the savings if every New York State household turned off all their lights for a month, or the addition of two Central Parks to New York City.

Green Mountain Energy was awarded the electricity contract after a bid process that involved multiple electricity providers and is expected to result in more than $800,000 in savings to ESRT for the first year of the contract.

RELATED: Arkansas Schools Install Solar Panels to Save Millions on Energy and Pay Teachers More

Now the Art Deco decor isn’t the only charm for tenants who can now boast they work in all-carbon neutral offices.

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Zero Rhinos Poached in Kenya Last Year – Better Policing is One of the Keys

By
Andy Corbley
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Vaughn Wright

2020 was remarkable year for rhino protection in Kenya where not one single rhino lost its horn or lost its life last year—a feat not achieved since 1999.

Travel restrictions resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic was just one of the contributing factors. Other interventions include tackling poverty in nearby rural areas and increasing policing efforts to seize rhino horns being trafficked in the last few years.

In a statement, Kenyan Wildlife Service (KWS) Director retired-Brigadier General John Waweru said, “For the first time in 21 years, KWS reported zero poaching of rhinos in the year 2020. The last time this feat was achieved was in 1999.”

Rhinos aren’t the only animal benefiting from more stringent policing and lockdown measures. Elephants with their ivory tusks have experienced a marvelous reprieve in 2020.

Poaching of the two species hit a peak in 2012 and 2013, but since then elephant deaths have plummeted by 97% to a record of 11 nationwide in 2020—the lowest ever in KWS history.

RELATED: With No Male Northern White Rhinos Left, 10 Viable Eggs Offer Hope For the Species Through Embryo Transfer

South Africa, which contains 80% of all African rhinos on Earth, also reported some good news this week for the magnificent species.

Vaughn Wright

The Ministry of Environment reported a 33% drop in the number of rhinos poached in the world-famous Kruger National Park last year.

2020 was the 6th year in a row in which rhino poaching incidents fell there—and since 2017, they have plummeted by 60%.

LOOK: Specially-Trained Dogs Have Saved 45 Rhinos From Poachers in South Africa—And Counting

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“Patience is also a form of action.” – Auguste Rodin

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Good News Network
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Quote of the Day: “Patience is also a form of action.” – Auguste Rodin (French sculptor – The Thinker)

Photo by: Valentin B. Kremer

With a new inspirational quote every day, atop the perfect photo—collected and archived on our Quote of the Day page—why not bookmark GNN.org for a daily uplift?

 

 

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