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Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Good News From Mary March 18,2009
For Spring Breakers, No Sign of Katrina Fatigue
The staccato banging of dozens of hammers dispelled the morning quiet as college students, lawyers and nurses from Massachusetts clambered about four new houses rapidly taking shape at the hands of Habitat for Humanity and St. Charles Avenue Presbyterian Church.
The staccato banging of dozens of hammers dispelled the morning quiet as college students, lawyers and nurses from Massachusetts clambered about four new houses rapidly taking shape at the hands of Habitat for Humanity and St. Charles Avenue Presbyterian Church.
Meantime, across town, students from the University of Pennsylvania, Syracuse University and dozens of other colleges painted, laid tile and nailed weatherboards on older homes, pulling them back from ruin. And in nearby St. Bernard Parish, 600 professionals gathered by United Jewish Communities plan to transform a gutted Catholic school into a community center.
Click here to read more about this story.
Dream a little dream for better health
If you're like most people, your return to consciousness each morning follows a predictable pattern: You blink awake, still half-trapped in the dream you just had — a high-stakes epic in which you soared over the Grand Canyon or watched as a tsunami engulfed your house. What was THAT about? Within minutes, though, you sweep away the hallucinatory traces like cobwebs, dismissing the dream as just another meaningless, though exciting, sleep-time drama.
Click here to read the rest of this story.
Lightweight metallic glass is strong as steel
As anyone who lives too close to a baseball field knows, glass can be frustratingly fragile.
But a new type of glass, made from opaque titanium and zirconium instead of transparent silicon, is harder and tougher — and weighs less — than stainless steel. The California scientists who developed and tested the opaque glass hope it could one day replace steel and aluminum in a wide variety of products, from golf clubs to airplanes.
Click here to read the rest of this story.
Scientists grow diabetes drug in tobacco plants
Scientists have found a healthy use for tobacco after breeding genetically modified plants containing a medicine that could stop type 1 diabetes.
Click here to read the rest of this story.
Whoopie! Cookie, Pie or Cake, It's Having Its Moment
FOR generations, vacationers in Maine and visitors to Pennsylvania’s Amish country have found a simple black and white snack in restaurants and convenience shops and on nearly every gas station counter: whoopie pies.
Now whoopie pies are migrating across the country, often appearing in the same specialty shops and grocery aisles that recently made room for cupcakes. Last fall, they even cracked the lineup at Magnolia Bakery in Manhattan, which helped turn cupcakes into a national craze thanks to the bakery’s exposure on “Sex and the City.” Under the name “sweetie pies,” heart-shaped whoopie pies showed up in the February catalog from Williams-Sonoma. Baked in Maine with local butter and organic eggs, they sell for $49 a dozen.
Click here to read the rest of this story.
Good News for March 18 (posted by Mary Beth)
Save the Children in Sudan: Our Unwavering Commitment to Children
"On March 4 and 5, Save the Children USA and Save the Children United Kingdom received letters from the Sudanese authorities asking us to suspend operations in northern Sudan. We were among at least 13 international aid organizations to have their registrations revoked. No reason was given for the action."
Read the Save the Children Q&A about the situation by clicking here.
"Hooked": Sex, Science, and Spirituality
"Advocates of so-called 'comprehensive sex education' have tried to convince us that kids should be taught in the classroom simply the basic scientific facts about sex, with no values getting in the way. But a new book tells us that science actually demonstrates just how much we need values in the sexual realm.
In Hooked: New Science on How Casual Sex Is Affecting Our Children, Doctors Joe McIlhaney and Freda McKissic Bush explain how kids are being taught that there are only two major risks that come with sex: pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases."
Click here for more of Chuck Colson's commentary.
In Chicago's 'Loop U,' schools provide economic buffer
"A sprawling urban campus has taken hold in the Loop and South Loop, with close to 60,000 students from 20 institutions of higher learning inhabiting a slice of downtown Chicago and making a significant economic impact.
'Loop U,' as boosters call it, encompasses 1.65 square miles bounded by the Chicago River, Wacker Drive, Roosevelt Road and the Lakefront and includes students from Columbia College Chicago and the Loop campuses of DePaul and Roosevelt Universities. In the last two years, businesses that cater to students have proliferated, especially coffee houses, burger joints and bars."
Want to read more about an economic bright spot? Click here!
Jumping for bluebonnet joy
"Although part of the country is still experiencing wintry weather, bluebonnets are blooming in Texas. In a delightful slideshow, the Houston Chronicle shares images of pets enjoying the wildflowers."
Click here to view pets and petals.
The pauper and the president
"Retired U.S. Navy Cmdr. Ted Robinson is known locally as a Sacramento County Parks commissioner, but an incident that happened 66 years ago halfway around the world to a man who would later be elected President of the U.S. is what everyone wants to know about.
One night in early August 1943, Ensign Robinson was the radar officer on the lead attack boat in an offensive against the Japanese. It was World War II and a young Lt. John F. Kennedy was believed to have been lost that night when his boat was rammed, and sunk, by a Japanese destroyer."
For more about the historic connection between Robinson and Kennedy, click here.
Dunkin' invites fans to create its next donut
"Sinker buffs, take note. Dunkin' Donuts is calling on all hands to access their inner Rachael Ray and create a doughnut of their own design. (Ray, of course, is the TV uber chef who sometimes promotes the Dunkin' brand.)"
Click here for more on this tasty article.
Understanding Obama's Pastors
"Saturday's New York Times reported that President Obama, in lieu of finding a D.C. church home, 'has quietly cultivated a handful of evangelical pastors for private prayer sessions on the telephone and for discussions on the role of religion in politics.'
Christianity Today has extensively covered four of the five pastors. (Well, we may have articles on Otis Moss deeper in the non-digitized CT archives. We'll keep looking.)"
You'll find insights into the Presidential pastoral partners by clicking here.
"On March 4 and 5, Save the Children USA and Save the Children United Kingdom received letters from the Sudanese authorities asking us to suspend operations in northern Sudan. We were among at least 13 international aid organizations to have their registrations revoked. No reason was given for the action."
Read the Save the Children Q&A about the situation by clicking here.
"Hooked": Sex, Science, and Spirituality
"Advocates of so-called 'comprehensive sex education' have tried to convince us that kids should be taught in the classroom simply the basic scientific facts about sex, with no values getting in the way. But a new book tells us that science actually demonstrates just how much we need values in the sexual realm.
In Hooked: New Science on How Casual Sex Is Affecting Our Children, Doctors Joe McIlhaney and Freda McKissic Bush explain how kids are being taught that there are only two major risks that come with sex: pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases."
Click here for more of Chuck Colson's commentary.
In Chicago's 'Loop U,' schools provide economic buffer
"A sprawling urban campus has taken hold in the Loop and South Loop, with close to 60,000 students from 20 institutions of higher learning inhabiting a slice of downtown Chicago and making a significant economic impact.
'Loop U,' as boosters call it, encompasses 1.65 square miles bounded by the Chicago River, Wacker Drive, Roosevelt Road and the Lakefront and includes students from Columbia College Chicago and the Loop campuses of DePaul and Roosevelt Universities. In the last two years, businesses that cater to students have proliferated, especially coffee houses, burger joints and bars."
Want to read more about an economic bright spot? Click here!
Jumping for bluebonnet joy
"Although part of the country is still experiencing wintry weather, bluebonnets are blooming in Texas. In a delightful slideshow, the Houston Chronicle shares images of pets enjoying the wildflowers."
Click here to view pets and petals.
The pauper and the president
"Retired U.S. Navy Cmdr. Ted Robinson is known locally as a Sacramento County Parks commissioner, but an incident that happened 66 years ago halfway around the world to a man who would later be elected President of the U.S. is what everyone wants to know about.
One night in early August 1943, Ensign Robinson was the radar officer on the lead attack boat in an offensive against the Japanese. It was World War II and a young Lt. John F. Kennedy was believed to have been lost that night when his boat was rammed, and sunk, by a Japanese destroyer."
For more about the historic connection between Robinson and Kennedy, click here.
Dunkin' invites fans to create its next donut
"Sinker buffs, take note. Dunkin' Donuts is calling on all hands to access their inner Rachael Ray and create a doughnut of their own design. (Ray, of course, is the TV uber chef who sometimes promotes the Dunkin' brand.)"
Click here for more on this tasty article.
Understanding Obama's Pastors
"Saturday's New York Times reported that President Obama, in lieu of finding a D.C. church home, 'has quietly cultivated a handful of evangelical pastors for private prayer sessions on the telephone and for discussions on the role of religion in politics.'
Christianity Today has extensively covered four of the five pastors. (Well, we may have articles on Otis Moss deeper in the non-digitized CT archives. We'll keep looking.)"
You'll find insights into the Presidential pastoral partners by clicking here.
Wednesday, March 18,2009 Good News Stories
Made-to-order magazine lets readers choose (AP)
"Time Inc. is experimenting with a customized magazine that combines reader-selected sections from eight publications as it tries to mimic in printed form the personalized news feeds that have become popular on the Internet.
Called 'mine,' the five-issue, 10-week experiment also aligns readers with the branding message that its sole advertising partner, Toyota Motor Corp., has for its new Lexus 2010 RX sport utility vehicle: It's as customizable as the magazine carrying its ads."
Click here to read how you can get you copy of "mine".
Religion's Impact on End-of-Life Care
"Terminally ill cancer patients who relied on their religious faith to help them cope with their disease were more likely to receive aggressive medical care during their last week of life, a study shows.
Patients who engaged in what the researchers called positive religious coping, which included prayer, meditation, and religious study, ended up having more intensive life-prolonging interventions such as mechanical ventilation or cardiopulmonary resuscitation.
The study is published in the latest edition of The Journal of the American Medical Association."
Click here to read more.
Alaskan Catholics in remote villages share special bond during Lent
"Two full days after Ash Wednesday this year, Catholics in remote Alaskan villages were walking around with freshly drawn ashen crosses on their foreheads.
Receiving the traditional Ash Wednesday ashes on Friday might seem odd to those who have never experienced being a Catholic in the far reaches of the Anchorage Archdiocese.
In the frontiers of Alaska, however, the simple presence of a priest on Sunday can be cause for celebration and Catholics have to be willing to adapt to the unusual realities of rural Alaska."
Click here to read more.
New Hope for Pollen, Milk Allergies
"Whether you’re allergic to pollen or food, help is on the horizon.
Doctors report early success with a new approach that shortens the course of allergy shots for people allergic to ragweed and grass. Other researchers found that an experimental skin patch may help children who have milk allergies."
Click here to read more.
"Time Inc. is experimenting with a customized magazine that combines reader-selected sections from eight publications as it tries to mimic in printed form the personalized news feeds that have become popular on the Internet.
Called 'mine,' the five-issue, 10-week experiment also aligns readers with the branding message that its sole advertising partner, Toyota Motor Corp., has for its new Lexus 2010 RX sport utility vehicle: It's as customizable as the magazine carrying its ads."
Click here to read how you can get you copy of "mine".
Religion's Impact on End-of-Life Care
"Terminally ill cancer patients who relied on their religious faith to help them cope with their disease were more likely to receive aggressive medical care during their last week of life, a study shows.
Patients who engaged in what the researchers called positive religious coping, which included prayer, meditation, and religious study, ended up having more intensive life-prolonging interventions such as mechanical ventilation or cardiopulmonary resuscitation.
The study is published in the latest edition of The Journal of the American Medical Association."
Click here to read more.
Alaskan Catholics in remote villages share special bond during Lent
"Two full days after Ash Wednesday this year, Catholics in remote Alaskan villages were walking around with freshly drawn ashen crosses on their foreheads.
Receiving the traditional Ash Wednesday ashes on Friday might seem odd to those who have never experienced being a Catholic in the far reaches of the Anchorage Archdiocese.
In the frontiers of Alaska, however, the simple presence of a priest on Sunday can be cause for celebration and Catholics have to be willing to adapt to the unusual realities of rural Alaska."
Click here to read more.
New Hope for Pollen, Milk Allergies
"Whether you’re allergic to pollen or food, help is on the horizon.
Doctors report early success with a new approach that shortens the course of allergy shots for people allergic to ragweed and grass. Other researchers found that an experimental skin patch may help children who have milk allergies."
Click here to read more.
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