Quote of the Day: “Let us read and let us dance, two amusements that will never do any harm to the world.” – Voltaire
Photo: by Moody Fotografi, CC license
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Drag queens and old people may not be a conventional pairing, but Tacky and Paris have proven the two go together like fun and fabulous. Hear The Good News Guru tell the happy story (from the August 31, 2018 Ellen K. Morning Show on KOST-103.5 radio in Los Angeles).
WATCH the Video, and Read More at Good News Network…
Tributes are pouring in today for Burt Reynolds, who died at age 82 with his family by his side this morning. He’d been dealing with heart problems for nearly a decade.
Arnold Schwarzenegger tweeted, “Burt Reynolds was one of my heroes. He was a trailblazer. He showed the way to transition from being an athlete to being the highest paid actor, and he always inspired me. He also had a great sense of humor.”
Ben Mankiewicz, host of Turner Classic Movies, tweeted, “For those my age, #BurtReynolds was for a time the biggest movie star in the world. When the picture was good, he was great – charming, self-depreciating, tough, and sexy. I think if he’d believed in his own talent more, he’d be considered among the screen’s finest actors.”
The Hollywood star and romancer might never have become an actor had he not been injured as a star football player while a student at Florida State University. An English teacher later convinced him to try out for a play based on his reading of Shakespeare in class. Reynolds got the lead and won the 1956 Florida State Drama Award for his performance.
Over his long career, the actor, director, and producer starred in, and won awards for, many television series and feature films, such as Gunsmoke, Deliverance, The Longest Yard, Smokey and the Bandit, and The Cannonball Run.
Reynolds was once turned down for a film in 1957 because he looked too much like Marlon Brando. He later grew his trademark thick mustache to solve that problem. Reynolds’ 1972 breakout performance in Deliverance made him a star, and his role in Smokey and the Bandit made him wealthy. Lucky for Harrison Ford, Reynolds turned down the role of Han Solo in Star Wars.
He said in his 1974 memoir that he never would have had the same career without Johnny Carson, the host the “Tonight Show”, who frequently invited him as a guest or stand-in host. “From my first appearance in the late sixties, we were captivated by each other.”
Reynolds underwent a quintuple heart bypass in February 2010. Yet, still in 2017, he acted in four film projects… Check out his latest memoir, But Enough About Me.
WATCH an interview conducted in his ‘man cave’ at home broadcast in February on TODAY…
SHARE the tribute today…
Starbucks has just opened up the first ever café that is staffed entirely by people between the ages of 55 and 66.
The branch, which opened in Mexico City, is now run by 7 older employees, all of whom are guaranteed insurance for major medical insurance and at least 2 days off per week.
The positions have been adapted for the older workers, too – work shifts will run no longer than 6 and a half hours, and the store shelves have been lowered so that they are more physically accessible.
RELATED: Starbucks to Pay Employees to Spend Half of Work Hours Volunteering for Charities
The staff members are currently being trained by younger baristas – and the seniors have been quick to praise their youthful counterparts for their courtesy and respect.
The hiring initiative was facilitated between Starbucks and the National Institute for the Elderly as a means of providing more work opportunities for seniors.
According to WPXI, Starbucks hopes to hire at least 120 more senior adults by the end of 2018.
(WATCH the video below)
Thanks A Latte For Sharing The Good News With Your Friends – Photo by WPXI
A successful businessman has offered to pay for an entire graduating high school class… again.
With 35 branches of his bank operating across Wisconsin and Minnesota, Dennis Frandsen is a self-made financial success – and he wants to share that success the youth of his community.
Frandsen will be paying for at least 2 years of technical college for all 34 prospective high school graduates who have finished at Luck Public Schools in Wisconsin.
LOOK: Hundreds of People Bring Backpacks Instead of Flowers to Woman’s Funeral
This is the second time that Frandsen will be picking up the tuition tab for the town – and it will reportedly not be his last.
“I thought it was the right thing to do,” Frandsen told Boyd Huppert of KARE 11 last year when they covered his story. “I was able to do it and why shouldn’t I.”
Superintendent Cory Hinkel told the students about Frandsen’s gesture on the first day of school, and “the look on the kids’ faces was priceless,” he told KARE 11. “I really think this is going to make a huge impact on a lot of our kids’ lives.”
(WATCH the video below)
Pay The Kindness Forward By Sharing The Good News With Your Friends – Photo by KARE 11
Quote of the Day: “When the dark is at rest, the light begins to move.” – The Secret of the Golden Flower
With a new inspirational quote every day, atop the perfect photo—collected and archived on our Quotes page—why not bookmark GNN.org for a daily uplift?
Dozens of celebrities and mourners gathered to say a final farewell to Aretha Franklin earlier this week during an elegant funeral that was suited only for the Queen of Soul.
In attendance were Ariana Grande, Smokey Robinson, Tyler Perry, Jennifer Hudson, former US president Bill Clinton, Jesse Jackson, Faith Hill, and funk musician Stevie Wonder, who performed an emotional tribute to close out the Detroit funeral.
Wonder performed heartfelt renditions of “As” and “The Lord’s Prayer” as a part of his eulogy to the soul singer.
LOOK: Rainbow Appears Over Aretha Franklin Tribute in Detroit
“What needs to happen today, not only in this nation but throughout the world, is that we need to make love great again,” Wonder said during his eulogy. “Because black lives do matter. Because all lives do matter … That is what Aretha said throughout her life. Though the pain, she gave us the joy, and said, ‘Let’s make love great again.’”
Thousands of people crowded outside of the city’s Greater Grace Temple so they could pay their respects to the singer.
Franklin arrived in the hearse that also transported her father and civil rights activist Rosa Parks to their final resting places, according to The Guardian.
(WATCH the video below)
Be Sure And Share The Stirring Performance With Your Friends – Photo by WYXZ
It’s been a long time since this high school has had a taste of victory – but after almost a decade of losses, their team finally pulled through.
The Diamond Hill-Jarvis Eagles high school football team of Fort Worth, Texas won their first game in 8 years earlier this week.
In the first game of the season, the players won 40 to 12 against Conrad High School, marking the end of their 77-game losing streak.
When the students returned to class on Friday morning, the school held a spontaneous parade through the hallways so that the players could high five their peers and revel in their success – all while songs from the Rocky III soundtrack were playing over the speakers.
WATCH: When Goalie Loses First Game 11-0, His Dad Posts Clip of His Saves and Prompts Outpouring of Support
“I am glad this did end because all of those coaches and players had worked so hard; I know this weighed very heavily on them,” high school principal James Garcia told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
“But it really wasn’t until the game all over, when it hit me: We had not won here in eight years. That’s when I started to feel for all of those players, all of those coaches, all of the people who had been here before and had never won. That this win wasn’t just for our coaches and our players right now, but for the community and all of the kids who had played here before.”
(WATCH the video below)
Score Big With Your Friends And Share The Cinderella Story To Social Media – Photo by CBSDFW
Researchers have just found a “new breakthrough” to keep bacteria from resisting treatments.
Scientists at The University of Western Australia, in collaboration with researchers in Canada, have developed a new compound that can combat antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
B-lactam antibiotics, better known as penicillins, are widely used to treat everything from skin infections and throat infections to diseases in humans such as pneumonia, tuberculosis, foodborne diseases, and gonorrhea. However, the rise of drug-resistant bacteria in the past decade is threatening their effectiveness.
Lead author and chemical biologist Associate Professor Keith Stubbs, from UWA’s School of Molecular Sciences said one method bacteria use to resist antibiotics is to produce an enzyme, called AmpC b-lactamase, to destroy the antibiotic.
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“Many bacteria produce AmpC b-lactamase only when b-lactam antibiotics are present, and this is controlled by a sensory ‘on switch’ molecule found inside the bacteria,” Associate Professor Stubbs said.
“Previous ways to overcome AmpC b-lactamase was to provide patients with an inhibitor of the AmpCenzyme as well as prescribing them the b-lactam antibiotic, but this approach is quickly becoming much less effective, with bacteria developing stronger and stronger resistance in recent years.”
The UWA-led research team has developed a compound that can stop the ‘switching on’ of the AmpC enzyme.
MORE: When Blueberries and Grapes Are Combined, a Dramatic Decline in Memory Loss and Aging – Study
“If the ‘switch’ is not activated, AmpC b-lactamase can’t be made and then the antibiotic can work to treat the bacterial infection successfully,” Associate Professor Stubbs said.
The researchers tested the compound on a bacterial strain of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, which affects patients suffering with Cystic Fibrosis, and found the new compound makes the bacteria much more susceptible to the effects of b-lactam antibiotics.
Louisa Ho from the UWA School of Molecular Sciences said because the new method could be applied to many b-lactams, older ones no longer on the market were potentially back in the game.
CHECK OUT: Neuroscientists Discover a Song That Reduces Anxiety By 65% (Listen)
“More work is needed but this sets the foundation for a new chemical approach to stop b-lactam resistance,” she said.
The study was supported by funding from the Australian Research Council, the Canada Research Chairs Program, Cystic Fibrosis Canada and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.
It has been published in the Society of Chemistry journal Chemical Communications.
Reprinted from the University of Western Australia
Cure Your Friends Of Negativity And Share The Good News
These siblings could be a crime-fighting duo judging by their actions earlier this week.
Aaron Allen and Jolisa Jones, both of whom work at Ashley Furniture in Tampa, Florida, were driving a delivery truck down the highway when they saw a car side-swipe the SUV that was driving in front of them.
The SUV tumbled off the road and was turned upside down into a nearby creek – and without hesitation, the siblings leapt into action.
As they approached the damaged vehicle, they saw that there was water seeping into the passenger area where a couple and their 11-day-old baby were belted in.
Allen failed to break the window open with his fist, so he and Jones hauled the car right-side up before he wrapped his tee shirt around his fist, punched the windshield out, and helped the family to safety.
According to Fox 13, the couple was unharmed, although the baby was taken to the hospital as a precaution.
Meanwhile, Allen says that he was simply doing what he hopes anyone else would do.
“If I was in that situation, I would want someone to come to my rescue, honestly,” he told the news outlet. “I would want someone to help me.”
(WATCH the video below)
Be Sure And Share The Heroic Story With Your Friends – Photo by Jolisa Jones
Quote of the Day: “It’s our attitude in life that determines life’s attitude toward us.” – Earl Nightingale
With a new inspirational quote every day, atop the perfect photo—collected and archived on our Quotes page—why not bookmark GNN.org for a daily uplift?
This hopeful new research out of the UK shows a positive trend amongst one of their most emotionally vulnerable demographics.
A report from the Office for National Statistics shows that male suicides have fallen to the lowest rate it has been since 1981.
The 2017 stats show that 15.5 men per 100,000 committed suicide, which is a praise-worthy decline from its point of 20 men per 100,000 in the 80s.
The female suicide rate has remained stable at 4.9 per 100,000 for the last 10 years.
“We believe that the focus in recent years on suicide prevention to tackle the higher rates in men has contributed to this,” Ruth Sutherland, head of mental health charity Samaritans, told BBC.
“Added to this, reducing stigma around men’s mental health and encouraging men to open up and seek help when they are struggling has been beneficial.
“We must all continue to target expertise and resources at preventing men from taking their own lives and to reduce suicide across the board,” she added.
Save Your Friends From Negativity And Share The Good News – Representative photo by Abdulla Faiz, CC
This compassionate police officer is setting a new standard for how law enforcement can protect and serve.
Officer Jesse Whitten and his wife have adopted the newborn daughter of a homeless woman struggling with drug addiction.
Whitten, who works for the Santa Rosa Police Department in California, would often stop in to check on the woman throughout the year. After a time, the two formed a kind of friendship.
LOOK: Police Officer Insists on Breastfeeding Hungry, ‘Dirty’ Baby, Gets Promoted
Then one year ago, Whitten ran into the woman while he was out with his wife Ashley. When Ashley noticed that the woman was pregnant, the two struck up a conversation about motherhood.
Six months later, the married couple was shocked to receive a call from the woman saying that she personally wanted them to adopt her newborn child.
The woman hoped that – under the love and care of the Whittens – her daughter could have a chance at a normal life.
MORE: When Strangers on a Plane Hear Teacher Talk About Her Students, Everyone Opens Their Wallets
The Whittens accepted the woman’s request, and now, six more months later, they have officially adopted Harlow Masie Whitten as their fourth child.
Though the baby has overcome many challenges after being exposed to drugs while she was in the womb, she has become a beloved part of the Whitten family.
“We were talking and –– I was saying to her — ‘You made this choice for her and that we are so grateful,’” Ashley told CBS San Francisco. “And she said — ‘You’re her mother now.’”
(WATCH the interview below)
Be Sure And Share The Sweet Story With Your Friends – Photo by the Santa Rosa Police Department
Discarded plastic could be used to fuel cars in the future thanks to a ground-breaking process developed by scientists from Swansea University.
They have been able to transform unwanted plastic into hydrogen which in turn could be used to run cars.
Dr. Moritz Kuehnel of the University’s chemistry department explains how light-absorbing material are added to the plastic, before it is placed in an alkaline solution and then exposed to sunlight, which creates hydrogen.
He said this process could be cheaper than recycling because any kind of plastic can be used and it does not need to be cleaned first.
RELATED: America’s Largest Grocery Store Chain is Saying Goodbye to Single-Use Plastic Bags
“There’s a lot of plastic used every year – billions of tonnes – and only a fraction of it is being recycled. We are trying to find a use for what is not being recycled,” he told BBC.
Most plastic bottles are made from PET [polyethylene terephthalate] which can be recycled but often end up being burned or thrown into landfill.
Kuehnel said: “But even if you do recycle it, it needs to be very pure – so only PET, nothing else mixed in with it… and it has to be clean, no grease, no oil.
“Potentially, you need to wash it which is very expensive, and even if you do all of that, the plastic you get isn’t always as nice as virgin material,” he added. “The beauty of this process is that it’s not very picky. It can degrade all sorts of waste.
“Even if there is food or a bit of grease from a margarine tub, it doesn’t stop the reaction, it makes it better.
“The process produces hydrogen gas. You can see bubbles coming off the surface. You can use it, for example, to fuel a hydrogen car.”
However, he warned that rolling out the project on an industrial level may still be years away.
LOOK: He Has Created a Single-Use Bottle That Fully Decomposes in 3 Weeks, and All Profits to Charity
Kuehnel added that the work, funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council and an Austrian petrochemical company, had also shown how the remains of the plastic could be recycled to make new plastic.
Just one part of PET is used to produce the hydrogen and carbon dioxide – the other part stays intact and remains in the solution.
He said: “We get the hydrogen fuel and we get a chemical we can use to make new plastic.
“We don’t make a full new plastic, we use just half of the material to make new plastic and the rest can be recycled – a clean, clear water bottle out of plastic.”
Reprinted from Swansea University
Clean Up Negativity By Sharing The Good News With Your Friends
An 18-year-old Syran refugee is being hailed as a hero after he saved a toddler who was teetering on the edge of a rooftop.
Khalid Tabateb and his father were driving through Hamilton in Ontario, Canada earlier this month when his heart froze at the sight of a little boy in a diaper wandering precariously along the second-story ledge of a building.
The toddler had woken up from a nap and climbed through the window out onto the small rooftop. Neighbors and pedestrians had gathered underneath the ledge to catch the child in case he fell.
Khalid was determined to help, and he yelled at his father to stop the car.
“My dad parked the car and said ‘If you can help him go help him,’” Khalid told CBC through his older sister, who acted as an interpreter. “I was scared. I didn’t want this little guy to go and die. I didn’t want to just watch.”
Without hesitation, the young migrant ran up to the house and started pounding on the doors in hopes that the parents were home – they were not.
Khalid then broke through the screen of a first-floor window, climbed into the house, ran to the toddler’s room and pulled the boy back inside.
MORE: Minutes After Saying ‘I Do’, Hero Groom Jumps Into the Ocean to Save Drowning Teen
The 18-year-old has been praised for his actions – although this is not the first time that he has saved a life. When he and his father were living in war-torn Syria, they both brought a young boy to safety after he was caught in gunfire.
“He loves to help people,” Khalid’s sister told CBC. “He’s so brave. The whole family — we’re so proud of him.”
Though the family initially moved to Jordan to escape the war, they eventually fled to Canada in 2014, and community members say that the family has settled in wonderfully.
(WATCH the quick clip below below)
Navdeep Narula was working at his King St E restaurant when he looked out the window and saw a baby on a rooftop across the road. Listen as he describes the rescue. “Everyone was scared.” #HamOnt https://t.co/rvYDoROpu8 pic.twitter.com/l4OQHAEGoS
— CBC Hamilton (@CBCHamilton) August 10, 2018
Save Your Friends From Negativity And Share This Sweet Story – Photo by CBC
Quote of the Day: “Keep your fears to yourself, but share your courage with others.” – Robert Louis Stevenson
Photo: by Kaptain Kobold, CC license
With a new inspirational quote every day, atop the perfect photo—collected and archived on our Quotes page—why not bookmark GNN.org for a daily uplift?
LISTEN to this story here, as told by The Good News Guru, from Friday’s radio broadcast with Ellen K and the GNN founder, on KOST-103.5 — Or, READ the story below… (Subscribe to our podcast on iTunes – or for Androids, on Podbean)
The residents of an Australian old folk’s home are feeling much younger—now that two drag queens have moved in!
The “Motel Sisters” moved into the nursing facility for a whole month to provide some fabulous fun and color to the residents—a prescription that ended up having a whopping positive effect on the seniors’ health, as well.
Liam Benson and Naomi Oliver – also known as Tacky and Paris – became the full-time party attendants to the residents at the Abel Tasman Village in Sydney, thanks to an arts nonprofit program.
During their stay, the performing drag queens taught Zumba classes, taught Zumba classes, hosted tea parties, spa days, aromatherapy sessions— and, most heartwarming, they orchestrated elaborate room makeovers for those who were confined to beds.
One day they orchestrated a treasure hunt during which the seniors got to help the Motel Sisters find their possessions, after an imagined crazy night out.
RELATED: This Doctor Broke The Law To Engineer a Better Nursing Home, And the Death Rate Plummeted
According to the clinical care manager of the home, the performers had an incredible impact on the residents’ health: There was less agitation and wandering among those with dementia. Additionally, many fewer calls were logged to the geriatrician that might normally increase someone’s medication.
Though such an idea of diversity and inclusion was approached with caution, knowing some residents might shake their heads, the experiment produced no detractors.
“There was some caution taken right from the beginning because we were sensitive to people’s needs and also people’s perception,” Tacky told ABC Radio Sydney. “We understand that popping a couple of drag queens into your everyday environment for some people can be a little bit discombobulating.”
But after spending a few days in the facility, they were welcomed with open arms.
“They’ve added a breath of life to the place,” one of the nursing home residents told ABC. Another said: “They’ve been so kind to me, I can never pay them back for their kindness.”
The residency, which was facilitated by the arts nonprofit Information + Cultural Exchange, is not the first example of unusual therapies having a positive impact on dementia patients and seniors.
A string of night clubs in London started hosting “rave parties” as a means of fighting loneliness in older people. Years ago, one New York-based doctor broke the law to engineer a better nursing home by bringing in dozens of animals and plants that were in need of care, and the death rate plummeted. Finally, this Seattle preschool opened up inside of a nursing home and all heaven broke loose – for both young and old.
(WATCH the video below)
Share This Fabulous Story With Your Friends – Photo by ABC
An inexpensive new kind of solar power has just been launched in Australia and it could signal the start of a groundbreaking new market for renewable energy.
Professor Paul Dastoor has created organic solar panels that can be printed using conventional printers.
By using electronic inks that are printed onto sub-millimeter thin plastic sheets, the panels can be produced for less that $10 per square meter and installed by a few people within a single work day.
RELATED: Book-Sized Solar Panels Could Power a Whole Home in New Breakthrough
Since the University of Newcastle professor developed the panels back in May 2017, they are now being tested in a 6-month pilot installation on a pallet repair facility in Australia.
The 200-square-meter installation on the building is the first commercial application of the technology in Australia, and most likely the rest of the world. If the pilot is proven to be efficient, the solar tech will likely move into the more widely-available commercial market within the next few years.
According to The Guardian, the development of such a cheap and easy-to-install material could make signing up for energy accounts as easy as signing up for a new phone plan.
MORE: 15-Year-old Creates Simple, Revolutionary Device That Can Generate Electricity From Rainwater
“This is the first commercial uptake of printed solar in Australia, most likely the world,” said Dastoor. “It’s an historic step in the evolution of this technology and another example of private enterprise and community leading the charge in the adoption of renewables.”
“Our printed solar cells are now considered to be at the ‘top of the technology readiness tree’,” says Dastoor. “Those working in technology development use a NASA developed Technology Readiness Level or ‘TRL’ system to determine how evolved our solutions are, with 1 being the lowest and 9 the highest. We are now rated TRL 8 and essentially considered ‘green lit’.”
Power Up With Positivity And Share The Good News With Your Friends – Photo by University of Newcastle
These heroes aren’t just limited to fighting fires – they are also being hailed for rescuing a tiny hummingbird.
Firefighters from the Richburg Fire Rescue in South Carolina found the little critter outside of their fire station earlier this week.
According to the department’s Facebook page, the bird was lying tired and dehydrated on the pavement.
The crew members filled a bottle cap with water and stayed with the animal until it had drank enough water and was strong enough to stand and fly away.
LOOK: Family Was Filling Up Swimming Pool Using Only Pots and Pans Until These Firemen Came Along
“You can teach almost anyone how to be a firefighter, a medic or just about anything imaginable. What is virtually impossible to teach is compassion,” writes the department. “We are fortunate that we have a tremendous group in our department that has passion and desire to help, regardless of the situation.”
“This isn’t the first time this has happened and knowing our members, it will not be the last!”
Be Sure And Fly This Sweet Story Over To Your Friends – Photos by Richburg Fire Rescue
Quote of the Day: “Love is the poetry of the senses.” – Honoré de Balzac
With a new inspirational quote every day, atop the perfect photo—collected and archived on our Quotes page—why not bookmark GNN.org for a daily uplift?
