Share Our Strength's "Operation No Kid Hungry"

Another bit of serendipity happened today - I had bookmarked a recent Operation NICE blog post about this innovative campaign to end childhood hunger with the intention of doing a reposting here on Sublime Goodness to help spread the word. And then today, I received an email from Kari at the organization behind the campaign, Share Our Strength, asking if I would...help spread the word. So consider it done!

Here is the info:

Share Our Strength has launched a brand new campaign to raise funds to help end childhood hunger. "Operation No Kid Hungry" responds to President Obama's call to action to end childhood hunger by 2015.

Share Our Strength has partnered with AT&T to offer an easy way that you can support and participate in "Operation No Kid Hungry": Just Text "SHARE" to 20222 on your mobile device to donate $5. AT&T will match all text donations up to $100,000. Find out more at
http://strength.org/get_involved/text_donation/

For more information about "Operation No Kid Hungry" and how you can help
end childhood hunger, visit Share Our Strength's website:
http://strength.org.

There are also more ways you can help get the word out, including banners
for your blog and social networking pages here:
http://strength.org/get_involved/spread_the_word/

Beautiful Desktop Wallpaper

I came across a blog post recently that really wowed me - a collection of 45 vibrant desktop wallpaper images.

Wallpapers can serve as a nice source of inspiration, The more beautiful and elegant they are, the better they can provide some fresh perspective and creativity in a rather tedious work flow, I bet most of the designers are a wallpaper changing addicts. one can never have enough wallpapers, However changing wallpapers frequently will give you a fresh feeling and thought..

There are a few oddball ones posted, but they are the exception - almost all are beautiful, bright and wonderful to look at.

> View 45 Really Fantastic Desktop Wallpapers (at dzineblog)

Here are some more great examples - change them often!:





Don't know how to change your desktop wallpaper? After you save the image on your computer (right click image and choose "save image as..."), then click here for step-by-step instructions.

Mother & Son Reunite via MySpace...After 32 Years!

Thanks to the internet and a faulty keyboard, a mother and son reunite after 32 years.

Terri Fuller said her then-2-year-old son was adopted 32 years ago by a childless California couple acquainted with her aunt after she made the decision to give him up, KSL-TV, Salt Lake City, reported Tuesday.

Fuller said she began trying to reconnect with her son years later, but was unable to locate him. She said she eventually created a MySpace profile explaining her desire to find her long-lost child, but she mistakenly misspelled his new last name, Hawver, as "Haver."

However, Rustin Hawver said he chanced upon his biological mother's MySpace page while he was searching for his blog and accidentally left out the "w" in his last name.

"She had my name misspelled. If it wasn't for Google or that keyboard being messed up, I would have never have found that," Hawver said.

Mother and son said they are delighted at having reconnected and are currently planning to meet in March for the first time in decades. (UPI)

It's a heartwarming tale for sure - I can't even begin to imagine the warmth and stories when they finally meet!

Watch a video recap of the story here from CNN:

Passage - A Video Game with a Heart

Can a video game be art? I came across this game reading Esquire a few months ago and it intrigued the heck out of me. The game takes about five minutes to play, it's small, rudimentary...but yet it's beautiful. This little game (that is a screenshot above) might actually make you cry. It was created by one person, Jason Rohrer.

I think the reaction to the game is pretty amazing:

Some players didn't know what to make of Passage. The video-game blog Kotaku wrote, "It's a weird little game, but sweet, and worth spending a couple of minutes with. But weird." For others, though, it was a revelation. Games don't have to be bloated and huge and violent. They can be small and quiet and deep. Writers struggled for metaphors; to the tech blog Boing Boing, Passage was "a pregnant, forlorn sentence" of a game, while a reviewer from Wired opted for "a superb and tightly crafted sonnet," gushing, "More than any game I've ever played, it illustrates how a game can be a fantastically expressive, artistic vehicle for exploring the human condition."

Passage was sad, it was sincere, it was personal, it was mysterious, it was existential, and for all these reasons, it was new. The big boys of gaming, a universe away from Potsdam, e-mailed it to one another. Clint Hocking, a designer at Ubisoft best known for Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell, was so blown away by Passage that he made it a focus of his Game Developers Conference talk earlier this year. In front of an audience full of the industry's most influential game designers, Hocking growled, "Why can't we make a game that fucking means something? A game that matters? You know? We wonder all the time if games are art, if computers can make you cry, and all that. Stop wondering. The answer is yes to both. Here's a game that made me cry. It did. It really did."

He put up a slide of Passage. (read the full piece in Esquire)

Intrigued? Click here to download Passage

Not a gamer? You are in luck - some nice person has already posted a video of them playing the game with captions:

The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch

Randy Pausch's lecture is already a certified phenomenon, but came to my attention recently (again) when glancing at the top-selling books of last year - this was #2 on Amazon.com, which is pretty inspiring in and of itself. If you didn't know, the best-selling book is basically a hard-copy version of his widely-popular lecture he gave in late 2007 at Carnegie Mellon.

If you haven't seen it, it's an hour well spent. It would be a disservice NOT to include it on this blog at some point. Here is the lowdown:

A lot of professors give talks titled “The Last Lecture.” Professors are asked to consider their demise and to ruminate on what matters most to them. And while they speak, audiences can’t help but mull the same question: What wisdom would we impart to the world if we knew it was our last chance? If we had to vanish tomorrow, what would we want as our legacy?

When Randy Pausch, a computer science professor at Carnegie Mellon, was asked to give such a lecture, he didn’t have to imagine it as his last, since he had recently been diagnosed with terminal cancer. But the lecture he gave—“Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams”—wasn’t about dying. It was about the importance of overcoming obstacles, of enabling the dreams of others, of seizing every moment (because “time is all you have...and you may find one day that you have less than you think”). It was a summation of everything Randy had come to believe. It was about living.

And here is the "Last Lecture" in full. Enjoy:



“We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand.”

—Randy Pausch

"Love & Happiness" by Al Green

In what is starting to become a regular Sunday feature purely by coincidence and not design, I bring you another sublime song. People that know me personally won't be surprised as I'm an avid fan of music and have been since I was a wee boy. One of my earliest memories is being mesmerized listening to the Beatles, watching the "green apple record" spin around and around (I found out later it was Abbey Road I liked so much, particularly the intro to "Come Together").

"Love & Happiness" by Al Green is one of my favorite songs of all time. When it comes on the radio or finds it's way onto my iPod or CD player, I turn it up and smile. I absolutely love it - there is something about the pure energy of the recording that makes me feel alive. Whether it's Al Green's smooth voice, the bass and the groove of those amazing drums, or just the message itself, this song is pure sublime goodness.

Hear for yourself:

PS - If you love this song too, you'll be happy to know that Al Green's new album, Lay it Down, is pretty close to genius as well. It's easily one of my favorite albums of last year.

Flight 1549's Good Luck Charm - Passenger Maryann Bruce

Just when you thought the amazing stories to come out of last week's "Miracle on the Hudson" plane crash were over...there is this - turns out that one of the passengers had already escaped death six times before!

Maryanne Bruce knew her number wasn't up when Flight 1549 was ditched in the Hudson River.

The reason was simple: It was only No. 7 out of her allotted nine lives.

At 48, the business executive, who lives in North Carolina, has already survived a tsunami in Hawaii, a plane trip through a hurricane off Long Island, an earthquake in California and an avalanche while skiing in Colorado.

She also worked in the twin towers during the 1993 terrorist attack, and was midflight from Charlotte, N.C., to Boston on 9/11, and watched the two buildings smolder from the jet's window.

Can you believe that? Her relatives call her a jinx, but she says she's a good luck charm. It's hard to argue with that. My favorite piece of wisdom is this:

Bruce kept her hospital tags as a memento and flew back home Friday, having no qualms about stepping onto a plane again.

"I'm the type that just figures you've got to get back on the horse," she said. "You never think it's going to happen again, you gotta live life, and I don't want to live life being afraid."

> Read More at the NY Daily News

Back-to-Back Heroic Acts by a Transit Officer

This is an unbelievable story. Houston Metro Officer Eliot Swainson was in Washington, DC this week, deputized to help with the large crowds for the inauguration. On Tuesday, he saved a 68-year-old woman woman who fell on the subway tracks, by quickly tucking her under a platform seconds before a train arrived.

Wait, it gets better. The next day, after he was leaving an interview about the heroic train rescue, he and two Washington transit officers noticed smoke pouring from a nearby row house. They were the first on the scene, alerted firefighters and then began to help people get out of the building.

> Read the Full Story Here

My favorite part comes at the end:

...he couldn't resist playing along when a reporter asked whether -- like Superman -- he was wearing a shirt with a giant letter "S" beneath his uniform. "Well, it's 'Swainson,' " he said, laughing. "So, it's always there."

It takes a special type of person to impulsively act like that - to jump in harm's way to save another life. Thank you Mr. Swainson for being sublimely good!

Watch Swainson talk about the subway train rescue:

Happiness Habit - Routines to Make your Life Richer & More Productive

Happiness. I came across the following article today that I wanted to share with all of you. It details some great routines you can do throughout the year to "improve your life by creating a few simple traditions that honor your heart and help you connect with people you care about." It seems to be written mostly for women, but the rituals such as the dinner exchange (my favorite idea!), chore team ups, the annual retreats, and the daily habits are ones anyone can enjoy.

> Read it here at MSN Health & Fitness

Bonus link - Tips on Living A Long, Happy Life

READ HAPPY - Here are some links to blogs to read about happiness to help keep you...happy:

• Positive Psychology Blogs @ Alltop
• Inspiration Blogs@ Alltop
  

PS - Relax & relieve stress with these breathing exercises from Dr. Andrew Weil.

Hat tip to Happytweets for the Happiness Habit story

Free Inspirational Book - "Summer's Path" by Scott Blum

FREE! It's rare that something is really "free," but I downloaded it myself first to check it out...and it's legit. From MSNBC:

After many successful years as a technological innovator, a critically acclaimed multi-media artist, and the co-founder of the hugely successful inspirational website DailyOM, Scott Blum is now sharing magic and wisdom through the written word.

Blum's new books, "Summer's Path" and "Waiting for Autumn," are written as a series of parables, similar in style to "The Alchemist," "Way of the Peaceful Warrior," and "The Celestine Prophecy." Through a semi-fictional sequence of events and an archetypal cast of characters, his stories awaken us to new ideas, invite us to explore powerful spiritual and healing practices, and draw us into a mystical world where nothing happens by mere coincidence.

For a limited time, those eager to embark on Blum's transformative trek can download the first book in the series, "Summer's Path," for free -- either as an e-book or audio book -- from Blum's website (www.scottblum.net).

"Summer's Path" centers around Don Newport, an engineer who, after losing his job and his health insurance, learns he has a terminal disease and only a few months left to live. In order to spare his beloved wife the burden of exorbitant medical fees, Don begins to seek a way to end his life that won't further traumatize his wife or cause her undue pain. His answer comes when he meets Robert, a brazen angel of death who offers him a rare and unexpected option.

"Summer's Path" makes history as the first time a major self-help publisher has used a free e-book to launch a new series of books. Publisher Hay House is even offering a chance to win a free Kindle to anyone who downloads the story.

> Download the Book Here (text or audio)

107-year-old: 'Nothing but the Greatest!' Day

Ann Nixon Cooper is 107 and lives in Atlanta. As she watched the inauguration yesterday, she said,"This moment in history marks one of the greatest days of her event-filled life." I can't even begin to imagine. Her grandson was with her too and said "he was proud to share this moment with his grandmother. 'She's gone from oil lamps ... to cell phones, from horse and buggies to spaceships. She's seen it all.'"

At the end of the speech, Jeff Cooper [another grandson] hugged her and kissed her cheek. "Grandma, how does it feel to have a black president?"

"I'm so happy," she said.

She said she remembers the days when she couldn't vote and was subjected to racial slurs and injustices. "There was a time when they thought they could just kick us around," she said. "Now, it has changed."

In Obama's victory speech in November, he praised Cooper's fight. "She was born just a generation past slavery; a time when there were no cars on the road or planes in the sky; when someone like her couldn't vote for two reasons -- because she was a woman and because of the color of her skin. (from CNN)"

Amazing. This woman has lived a long and fruitful life - she even knew Martin Luther King, Jr. when he was a boy! She also co-founded a Girls Club for African-American youth and taught community residents to read in a tutoring program at Ebenezer Baptist Church, where King preached. Read about her here.

You can also watch her:

Kids' Letters to President Obama

Amidst all of the inauguration coverage the last few days, this story was a hidden gem.

One of my favorite independent publisher's, McSweeney's, released a great book today Thanks and Have Fun Running the Country: Kids' Letters to President Obama. The title is self-explanatory - "A few days after the election of Barack Obama, kids around the country were asked to provide advice and guidance to their new president."

The letters are funny, sincere, surprising...and a joy to read. The New York Times recently reprinted some of the letters. Here is a sampling:

Dear Sir Obama,

These are the first 10 things you should do as president:

1. Make everyone read books.
2. Don’t let teachers give kids hard homework.
3. Make a law where kids only get one page of homework per week.
4. Kids can go visit you whenever they want.
5. Make volunteer tutors get paid.
6. Let the tutors do all the thinking.
7. Make universities free.
8. Make students get extra credit for everything.
9. Give teachers raises.
10. If No. 4 is approved, let kids visit the Oval Office, but don’t make it boring.

— Mireya Perez, age 8, San Francisco

Dear President/Mr. Obama,

The best thing about living in the White House would be running around like a maniac. The thing I would like least is the work.

— Holly Wong, age 9, San Francisco

Dear President Obama,

Here is a list of the first 10 things you should do as president:

1. Fly to the White House in a helicopter.
2. Walk in.
3. Wipe feet.
4. Walk to the Oval Office.
5. Sit down in a chair.
6. Put hand-sanitizer on hands.
7. Enjoy moment.
8. Get up.
9. Get in car.
10. Go to the dog pound.

— Chandler Browne, age 12, Chicago

Dear President Obama,

If I were president, I would tell people to not talk too much. It wastes time. I’d also say to war: no more, no more, no more!

— Catherine Galvan, age 6, Chicago

Dear Pres. Obama,

Good job on winning. I heard about Area 51. I wanted to ask you if there are any U.F.O.’s there. I think that you should tell people in public the truth about Area 51. You would just maybe say, “That we will take care of it.” And do it.

— Edwin Jara, age 9, New York

Dear President Obama,

Could you help my family to get housecleaning jobs? I hope you will be a great president. If I were president, I would help all nations, even Hawaii. President Obama, I think you could help the world.

— Chad Timsing, age 9, Los Angeles

> Read More - Including Photos of the Letters & Multimedia (Drawings)

Honoring MLK, Jr.

Today, we remember the late great Martin Luther King, Jr.

The late King is one of my personal heroes and he continues to be in inspiration to all Americans in pursuit of truth and justice. Everyone should own A Testament of Hope: The Essential Writings and Speeches of Martin Luther King, Jr. - It's a book that I'll often pick up for a quick read and then find myself an hour later, buried in a passionate sermon when I should be sleeping. CNN has posted some of his writings here in an interactive gallery. I like how he had a worn Gandhi quote that he carried with him at all times. I also recommend the moving "Interruptions" sermon that he was working on at the time of his death, that references both the bible and Coleridge.

Take a second to watch the last minute of his last speech, prophetic in its tone as he was killed the next day:



Have you ever seen anyone else speak like that? It gives you chills and fills me with such awe, it almost feels like you are listening to a higher power - at the end, you can see, it looks like he just collapses into a chair, spent from delivery.

"And I've seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the promised land!
And so I'm happy, tonight.
I'm not worried about anything.
I'm not fearing any man!
Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord!!"

Sadly, many only remember King for his wonderful "I have a dream" speech. He is so much more than that. I'd agree with Michael Eric Dyson and propose a moratorium on the speech for ten years - take the time and read the wide breadth and depth of his other writings, such as "A Time to Break Silence." Or his other oft studied work is "A Letter from Birmingham Jail." And for good reason - here is one of my favorite passages:

We have waited for more than 340 years for our constitutional and God-given rights. The nations of Asia and Africa are moving with jetlike speed toward gaining political independence, but we stiff creep at horse-and-buggy pace toward gaining a cup of coffee at a lunch counter. Perhaps it is easy for those who have never felt the stinging dark of segregation to say, "Wait." But when you have seen vicious mobs lynch your mothers and fathers at will and drown your sisters and brothers at whim; when you have seen hate-filled policemen curse, kick and even kill your black brothers and sisters; when you see the vast majority of your twenty million Negro brothers smothering in an airtight cage of poverty in the midst of an affluent society; when you suddenly find your tongue twisted and your speech stammering as you seek to explain to your six-year-old daughter why she can't go to the public amusement park that has just been advertised on television, and see tears welling up in her eyes when she is told that Funtown is closed to colored children, and see ominous clouds of inferiority beginning to form in her little mental sky, and see her beginning to distort her personality by developing an unconscious bitterness toward white people; when you have to concoct an answer for a five-year-old son who is asking: "Daddy, why do white people treat colored people so mean?"; when you take a cross-county drive and find it necessary to sleep night after night in the uncomfortable corners of your automobile because no motel will accept you; when you are humiliated day in and day out by nagging signs reading "white" and "colored"; when your first name becomes "nigger," your middle name becomes "boy" (however old you are) and your last name becomes "John," and your wife and mother are never given the respected title "Mrs."; when you are harried by day and haunted by night by the fact that you are a Negro, living constantly at tiptoe stance, never quite knowing what to expect next, and are plagued with inner fears and outer resentments; when you no forever fighting a degenerating sense of "nobodiness" then you will understand why we find it difficult to wait. There comes a time when the cup of endurance runs over, and men are no longer willing to be plunged into the abyss of despair. I hope, sirs, you can understand our legitimate and unavoidable impatience.

I fight back tears everytime I read that part about his kids, picturing him in his cell, full of such indignation and passion while the world outside the jail is full of tension and confusion.

Celebrate the Legend. Celebrate Humanity. Celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.

"Somewhere Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World" by Israel Kamakawiwo'ole

You are probably looking at the title of this post right now and saying "Huh?" But I assure you, once you listen to the song below, you will immediately nod your head in recognition. It's a beautiful take on an already sublime song and heard everywhere from commercials to television to movies. It's unbelievably soothing and I never get tired of it. It was released in 1993.

Close your eyes and listen:



> Download the Song (mp3)

Interestingly, when I googled for information on posting this song, I came across the a blog post about the song that I think is wonderful and worth reading:

A young engineer named Milan Bertosa sits in his recording studio, waiting. He was planning to go home, until some Hawai'ian guy with a lot of letters in his name called up and wanted to record something right away. It's late, Bertosa is tired, but the voice was insistent, saying he only needed half an hour. A knock at the door, and there stands an unimaginable sight. De Mello (Israel's music producer), whom Bertosa recognizes, stands about five foot two and 100 pounds. Next to him, the largest man he's ever seen, a gargantuan six-foot-six Hawai'ian carrying a ukulele. De Mello introduces the two, they get Israel situated in a chair, and Bertosa starts rolling tape.

Israel leans into the microphone, says: “Kay, this one's for Gabby,” and begins gently strumming the uke. His beautiful voice comes in, a lilting “Oooooo,” then slips into the opening words of “Over the Rainbow,” from “The Wizard of Oz.” Bertosa listens behind the glass, and within the first few bars knows it's something very special. He spends most of his time recording lousy dance music. This is otherworldly. An incredibly fat man, elegantly caressing a Hollywood show tune, breaking it down to its roots, so sad and poignant, yet full of hope and possibility. Halfway through the tune, Israel spirals off into “What a Wonderful World,” the George David Weiss/Bob Thiele hit made famous by Louis Armstrong, then melts back into “Over the Rainbow.” He flubs a lyric, and tosses in a new chord change, but it doesn't matter. It feels seamless, chilling.

Israel plays five songs in a row, then turns to de Mello and says, “I'm tired and I'm going home.” “Gets up and walks out,” says de Mello. “Ukulele and a vocal, one take. Over.” Israel never played the song again.

When Israel and de Mello began piecing together his 1993 album Facing Future, they added the demo tape of “Over the Rainbow.” Upon release the song took on a life of its own. The familiar melody played in hotels and on rental car radios, in restaurants and bars. Many were moved to tears. If it didn't give you “chicken skin,” you were legally dead. The song resonated even more for locals. Some heard its kaona, or hidden subtext, to reflect the sadness Hawai'i felt about having its lands illegally annexed by the United States in 1898. Those who had seen him in concert knew he ended each show with the words, “My name is Israel Kamakawiwo'ole, I am Hawai'ian.” Israel was one of only 1,500 full-blooded Hawai'ians left in the world. He was pure, and so was the recording. It bounced around the islands for the next three years.

And then one afternoon, Santa Monica KCRW radio host Chris Douridas cued up “Over the Rainbow” as part of his program “Morning Becomes Eclectic,” to cheer up listeners on a rainy day. After it faded out, Douridas announced the 800 phone number on the back of the Facing Future CD. In two days, Mountain Apple received over 2,000 calls from southern California, people crying and asking about the music, many of them stuck on the freeway when they heard it.

Movie producer Martin Brest bought the rights for use in his film, “Meet Joe Black.” As the end credits rolled, movie audiences stayed in their seats to listen to “Over the Rainbow.” One of America's most recognizable melodies, first made popular by Judy Garland, the tune had always embodied optimism, depicting a world where dreams really do come true. Israel's version was something else entirely: haunting and delicate, stripped down to a lone voice and a ukulele, an unexpected minor chord contrasting, almost unconsciously, against the happy lyrics of wishing upon a star. After the film's premiere in Hawai'i, people were sobbing in the theater.

Producers bought the very same song for “Finding Forrester,” “Made,” “The Big Bounce,” and “50 First Dates,” for episodes of “ER,” “Providence,” “Charmed,” and “Party of Five.” It aired in an eToys ad during the Super Bowl, and then commercials throughout Japan, Europe, Australia, New Zealand. Although most listeners couldn't remember the name of the artist, it didn't matter. The music was most important, that raw, perfect-pitch voice that hit people right in the heart, touched their emotional core, reminded them how fragile life can be. You heard it once, you never forgot it.

“Rainbow” came to personify Hawai'i to the outside world. Celebrities publicly announced their love of Israel's music: novelists, actors, directors, baseball players, sumo wrestlers. Bruddah IZ was the state's first artist in history to have an album certified gold. Posters and calendars of his face decorated record stores around the world. “Over the Rainbow” became the No. 1 bestselling song downloaded from the World Music section of iTunes.
Israel had produced the most recognizable and beloved Hawai'ian song in 50 years. And he didn't live to see any of it. (Jack Boulware)

Chesley Sullenberger is My Hero: Facebook Edition

A lot has happened in the last day. It is rare that one person can become so universally beloved in such a fractured society we supposedly live in ("red-state, blue-state,etc"). It seems that there is one thing we can all agree on - Chesley Sullenberger is a hero and let's show our gratitude!

Already, when I logged onto Facebook this evening there is a growing number of grass-roots "Chesley Sullenberger" pages for Facebook members to become fans of and "Chesley Sullenberger" groups for members to join. What touches me more than seeing literally about 100,000 people (by my count and growing rapidly) become public supporters of this man from all corners of the earth is to see the overwhelming number of emotional words of thanks. Here are just a few:

I am so impressed at such a wonderful and heroic job. I am planning on getting my pilots license and I would be happy if I could be even half as brave and knowledgeable as you are. You are my hero.

You are a true hero. I haven't flown in since 2000, but you...you my dear man have given me hope. You have done a remarkable thing. My faith has been restored. I just might take that short flight to Hawaii with my family after all....

Sully, you are a true hero. I hope that people will teach their children that people like you, your co-captain, flight staff, the ferry boat staff, and first responders are the true heroes...

I am still awestruck.

hi im gabi and im 8 years old I am very proud of you. P.S. this is my dads facebook but email me back!!!!!!

Amazing job Sully! America loves you!

Your actions yesterday not only saved 155 lives they also impacted millions of lives. God Bless YOU!

> Read More on Facebook

Miracle on the Hudson - Chesley Sullenberger is My Hero

The lead story on the news across the country is no doubt the emergency landing of a US Airways plane in the Hudson River today. Apparently a few birds crashed into the plane, causing it to go down. It could have been terrible and tragic...but it wasn't. Before today, Chesley Sullenberger was a pilot. Now he's a hero.

In the aftermath of the crash, the pilot, Chesley Burnett "Sully" Sullenberger III, was praised for his efforts at landing the plane softly on the river's surface, allowing rescue crews to get to the passengers before the plane sank.

"It would appear that the pilot did a masterful job of landing the plane in the river, and then making sure everybody got out," New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said at a news conference late today.

What cinched it for me was this - he walked the aisle of the downed US Airways jet twice looking for passengers before exiting the plane he safely ditched in the Hudson River, saving the lives of more than 150 people onboard. What an amazing man.

> Read More about the Heroic Landing & Sullenberger

World's Oldest Person

Gertrude Baines turned 114 (!) recently and became the oldest person....in the world. I can't even begin to imagine the stories, the memories... the life and love she has known. I love this about her:

These days, Baines’ heart is strong. Her lungs are clear. She’s healthy, except for some arthritis in her knees. Her main complaint? That the bacon isn’t crisp enough at breakfast.

> Read More about Gertrude Baines and her Long Life

Watch a Short Video:

Don't Quit Poem Video

Two minutes of uplifting goodness:



...Success is failure turned inside out;
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt;
And you never can tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems afar;
So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit;
It's when things seem worst that you mustn't quit.

> Watch a Hi-res Version Here

> Read the Original Poem

National Day of Service

So what are you doing next Monday?

In 1994, Congress transformed the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday into a national day of community service to further commemorate a man who lived his life in service to others. As a tribute to that legacy and the very real needs of our nation, the President-elect and Vice President-elect have launched a national organizing effort on the eve of their Inauguration to engage Americans in service. This national day of service will fall on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, January 19, 2009 and, unlike past calls to service, President-elect Obama is calling on all Americans to do more than just offer a single day of service to their cities, towns and neighborhoods. He is asking all of us to make an ongoing commitment to our communities. Never has it been more important to come together in shared purpose to tackle the common challenges we face.

> Find an Event Near You

> Host Your Own Event

Let Michelle Obama tell you more:




> Visit www.usaservice.gov for More Information

"If I Can Dream" by Elvis Presley

It was Elvis' birthday last week, so he's been on my mind (my wife is a huge fan of his, so I know stuff like this).

This is one of my favorite Elvis songs. It floors me too because like much of his material, it has the potential to be a real cheesy song...but it doesn't - it totally works. Both for its message and emotion.

When you listen to it, you can tell his heart is in it. He gets it. He feels it.

Below is his famous performance of the song during his 1968 Comeback Special. I love the end especially - he's singing it like it's the last song he'll ever sing.

Happy Couple Celebrates 70th Wedding Anniversary

A love that has endured for seventy years:

Helen and Curtis Howland got hitched on Jan. 7, 1939 in Wayland. They first met at a roller rink in Marlborough. "We've been going around together ever since," said Helen.

Nine children, 21 grandchildren and 20 great-grandchildren later, this bride and groom are still going strong. "I just keep saying we made it another year, dear," said Helen. "Want to try for another one?"

The happy couple says compromise makes a marriage last -- and spending time with family. "You don't see many who can make it to 70," said Helen and Curtis' daughter Maralyn McGillivray. "They live a long life, but to make it 70 years ... is amazing."

> Read more and watch a short video of the happy couple here

* Hat tip to happytweets for the story

Beautiful Examples of Tilt-Shift Photography

Tilt-Shift miniature faking is a creative technique whereby a photograph of a life-size location or object is manipulated to give an optical illusion of a photograph of a miniature scale model. Purists take these types of pictures using a special lens, but regular images can also be manipulated using Photoshop or similar program.

Either way, the results are striking and wonderful to look at. I first saw them in a magazine recently and then the other day, I came across the following blog post and highly recommend it:

> 50 Beautiful Examples Of Tilt-Shift Photography (Smashing Magazine)

Want to make your own pictures like these, but don't have a tilt-shift lens or a Photoshop novice? No worries!

> Use the tiltshiftmaker.com Tool







> View 41 More Amazing Pictures like this here

Cute Things Falling Asleep

This will make you smile.

There is a blog out there called "Cute Things Falling Asleep," where short videos are posted of (mostly) babies, puppies and kittens...falling asleep. Videos are rated from 1-5 both for cuteness and sleepiness.

> Visit the Cute Things Falling Asleep Blog

CNN recently did a short piece on it too - with some good clips. I like the part where Nick Malis (the owner of the blog) talks about rating a baby video "2" for cuteness...but the mother of the baby thought the baby was a little cuter than that!

Twins Born On Different Days, Years

That's right - A Detroit mother gave birth to twin boys on different days and in different months of different years.

Tangernika Woods and her husband welcomed their first twin, Tarrance, at 11:51 p.m., Wednesday, New Years Eve 2008. Their second twin, Tariq, made his entrance 26 minutes later at 12:17 a.m. Thursday, the first day of January 2009. (from MSNBC)

What a great story that these twins will tell the rest of their lives!

Gardening Helps Man Put Life Back Together

"A simple therapy that is down to earth yet uplifting..."

Gardening helped Gavin McCabe to rebuild his confidence and social skills after he had a nervous breakdown.

Here is my favorite quote from the article:

A garden is a sheltered environment and it builds up your general ability and general competence. Not everyone who comes here is going to want to go into work. For some it just keeps them fit and mobile and in touch with people. For me it’s been a basis for developing work skills and it’s helped to put my life back together.

> Read the Full Story at The Times

"Love" by John Lennon

This was one of the first songs I remember listening to somewhere in my pre-teens and being completely mesmerized. Covered in goose-bumps, I played it over and over.

There is something about the song's combination of beautiful words, soft piano melody, emotional singing and haunting thoughts of John's lost life (and love) that make this a sublime classic.

Close your eyes and listen:


(The song fades in so be patient...)

Reunited Siblings Were Living Only 300 Yards Apart

Amazing!

A brother and sister who have been reunited after nearly 40 years discovered they had been living only 300 yards from each other.

> Read the full story here @ Telegraph.co.uk

Snowy Surprise for Toddler

This is such a profoundly moving story.

A 4-year-old girl who is fighting for her life got her Christmas wish a little early: Despite living in Georgia, a state that doesn't get much snow, Sophia awoke to see a winter wonderland.

A cancerous tumor was found in Sophia's brain just before her third birthday.

She has gone through months of chemotherapy and radiation, undergone four brain surgeries and lost some of her sight and most of her hearing.

In October, she was given two weeks to two months to live.

Employees from a state park heard about the girl and her story and wanted to do something for her. They used a snow machine -- and 30 pounds of snow and four dump trucks -- to give Sophia a gift of snowy white.

Best of...2008

Many of the year-end articles I read in the last few weeks lament that, overall, 2008 was a year with more misses than hits. Let's look on the bright side, shall we?

This is the most comprehensive "best of" list so far - you will notice many of the "best of" compilations manage to wrap-up some of the more negative moments (just skip the "top 10 crime stories", "scandals", or "fashion faux pas" for example...and do we really need a "top 10 breakups" category?):

> Top Ten Everything of 2008 - from Time Magazine

Enjoy! I especially like the arts and entertainment lists (if you haven't seen Wall-E by now, do it! Who knew a animated movie about robots could be so touching?), top green stories, and the top medical breakthroughs.

And Republican or Democrat, it's hard not to overjoyed at the thought of finally overcoming a racial divide in America with the election of Barack Obama. He's the magazine's "Person of the Year."

How to Keep Your New Year's Resolutions

Happy New Year!

If you are like most people, the start of a new year brings a personal commitment to change yourself for the better. It can be done!

Here are some resources from the Happiness Project:

> New Year's Resolution: Four tips for writing your personal commandments

> The secret to keeping your New Year's resolutions -- is there a magic formula?

A short CNN Video:


Oh, and my proudest new year's goal realized? Quitting smoking in January of 2000....haven't smoked since.