Category → Society
A Sweet Way To Make A Difference
It would be a sweet reward to find a cure for pediatric cancer and other life-threatening diseases that affect children-and ice cream fans now have a way to help.
Fans of ice cream-whether it’s on a stick, in a cup or on top of a cone-can visit Icecream.com to “stick up” for kids with cancer.
For every virtual frozen pop stick message sent from the site between May 15 and Dec. 31, 2006, Nestlé Ice Cream will donate 25 cents to City of Hope Cancer Center, where the money will be used for pediatric cancer research, treatment and education.
Visitors to Icecream.com are invited to write some words of inspiration, a favorite joke or simply a message of hope on a virtual frozen pop stick that will be shared with kids who are currently undergoing treatment.
At the end of the program, the number of virtual frozen pop sticks will be counted and an equivalent number of real-life frozen pop sticks will be used to construct a sculpture. A talented artist will design a kid-friendly, whimsical sculpture that will be placed at City of Hope to remind children that people throughout the country are wishing them well.
The sculpture will be erected in spring 2007 and an image of the sculpture may be placed on selected frozen treat packages to support and grow the program.
“Nestlé Ice Cream is proud to partner with City of Hope to support research and treatment programs that will benefit kids with cancer,” said Maggie Hughs, senior manager, Nestlé Ice Cream. “We hope enabling ice cream fans across the nation to send a virtual message of hope will not only help this worthwhile cause, but also inspire both the sender and recipient of each message.”
City of Hope is one of the world’s leading research and treatment centers for cancer, diabetes, HIV/AIDS and other life-threatening diseases. Named by U.S. News & World Report as one of America’s best medical centers for cancer treatment, City of Hope is a Comprehensive Cancer Center, the highest designation bestowed by the National Cancer Institute, and a founding member of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network. Founded in 1913, City of Hope is a pioneer in the fields of bone marrow transplantation and genetics.
City of Hope’s scientific knowledge is shared with medical centers locally and globally, helping patients battling life-threatening diseases.
A Sneaker Evolution
Those shoes that you just can’t live without, that you use for working out, doing yard work, walking, running or just hanging out – the sneaker – has a fascinating history.
The sneaker has been around since the 1800s when the Industrial Revolution took hold on America and rubber began being produced. Sneakers were once called plimsolls when they were first made in the 1800s as a plain rubber soled shoe. Goodyear, now a tire manufacturer, began as a rubber shoe company and in 1892 introduced Keds Ò to the world. The word “sneaker” was also introduced to the world about a decade later when an advertising agent gave these rubber soled shoes the name sneakers because the soles were so quiet and didn’t make any noise on any surface.
Converse was the next company to release a sneaker to the world in 1917. They called it the Converse All Star and it was the shoe worn by basketball players. This shoe – the Converse All Star – later became the Chuck Taylor All Star and became a necessity to basketball players, kids and others for more than 50 years.
Adi and Rudolph Dassler introduced the first shoe used for tennis, or the tennis shoe, in 1931 and the brand name Adidas was born. Soon after Rudolph Dassler teamed with Puma Schuhfabrik to produce the Puma brand shoe for football.
It took until the 1950s for sneakers to be the preferred footwear of teenagers after James Dean was photographed wearing his jeans and white sneakers. Girls and boys wore their sneakers as a symbol of rebellion.
In 1968 the sneaker giant Nike enters the sneaker scene after Phil Knight and Bill Bowerman partner to create Blue Ribbon Sports shoes which was later changed to Nike after the Greek Goddess of Victory. In 1971 the famous Nike swoosh was bought from a graphic design student for a mere $35! In 1979 Nike created the first Nike Air sole shoe claiming a revolutionary air-cushioning shoe. They introduce the first shoe using this technology called the Nike Tailwind. However, one of the most memorable shoe lines that Nike released was the Air Jordan which hit the markets in 1985.
Since then Nike has captured the athletic shoe market. In 2001 they introduced their Nike Shox advanced support technology. This system uses columns of engineered foam to give runners and athletes superior cushioning and support. This was a new revolution in shoe design.
Nike continued to lead the market in 2003 and acquired Converse, Inc. The Chuck Taylor All Star is reintroduced and is again a fashion staple in the lives of teenagers across the country.
Sneakers have come so far that they are not strictly for athletes anymore. In 2004 Reebok formed a partnership with music professionals to create their Sound and Rhythm line. This was done on an attempt to grow and heighten sales and to recognize the growing popularity of the music industry and it’s effect on today’s youth.
Whether you are a professional athlete, casual athlete, music enthusiast or lover of fashion only, there is sure to be several pairs of sneakers in your wardrobe to fit every facet of your life. But did you ever know that this staple item had such an interesting history behind it?
3 Reasons Why Inner Game Will Help Your Love Life
Have you ever had great success in one venue, maybe house parties, but were unable to succeed with women you met other places, like perhaps Clubs?
Often it is easier for you to be cool and social in one venue than another. This is your `comfort zone`. You know what to say, how to say it, and who to say it too. But outside of that zone, you are toast! This is because we often use certain external techniques and social skills that do not really apply to every venue we might find ourselves in. When you have deep set beliefs that you are a high status male, and that no matter where you are, that you are among the elite males, then all these anxieties and problems fall away.
How? Because your strength and resolves makes other people change THEIR mode of behavior to suit yours. If Bill Clinton walked into a raging rock concert or hip hop concert, this one man, would have everyone in a completely different frame of mind, all begging to appease HIS way of interaction. The people bend to YOU.
Inner Game Positively Influences Your Body Language
* Fifty-five percent of the communications signals we send results from how others see us
* Thirty-eight percent flows from the way they hear us
* Seven percent comes from our words
Having solid Inner Game allows your body language to accurately communicate. This is called `congruence`, when your words are matched by your attitude and body language. If you say Super Man things to a woman, but feel like Clark Kent inside, she WILL know, and you will get nowhere with her.
Inner Game Improves Every Aspect Of Your Life, Making You More Attractive
I saved the best for last. Inner Game development need not be limited to confidence and belief setting with women. It can apply to everyone, and life in general. You can rethink previous ideas, like you’ll never be able to get into a good college, or you’ll never make a good XYZ and then your subconscious will begin helping you to change so that these things can happen. What is best is that being successful in life ( and I don’t mean being rich ) will make you doubly attractive to women, and that will raise your confidence even more. It is cyclical.
Conclusion
Not learning proper Inner Game techniques can lead to ALOT of frustration AND embarrassment too using seduction tactics that seem incongruent. Without Inner Game, no amount of “negging”, or “cocky funny” will allow you to have lasting success with women.
A Noble Mission
Over 25 years ago, a fellow named Don Shoendorfer was traveling in Morocco and witnessed a sight that inspired him to make a difference in the world. To bear witness to the sight of a crippled Moroccan woman dragging herself across a dirty road in the middle of town proved too much for him. Her image haunted him for many years to come, until he decided to put his education to use for those less fortunate. He has undertaken a task of great importance, which has the potential to change lives.
In 1999, Don established the Free Wheelchair Mission as a non-profit organization and set to work giving mobility and dignity back to disabled people in developing countries. With his PhD in Mechanical Engineering and an absolute heart of gold, Don has achieved what so many well intentioned organizations strive for. He has given thousands of people the renewed opportunity to live and experience life. And with that, he has given them hope for the future.
The initial challenge facing Don was that of developing a wheelchair that was safe and functional, but also relatively inexpensive. He set about doing research and development and, over time, came up with a design that has virtually eliminated the cost burden generally associated with wheelchairs and wheelchair production. The Free Wheelchair Mission has developed a wheelchair that sells for approximately $50.00 USF, which includes the costs of manufacturing, shipping, and distribution.
The second major challenge facing Don and his organization was the ability to provide these low cost wheelchairs to disabled persons in developing countries at no cost. To overcome this challenge, they have established partnerships with a number of charitable organizations. To date, they have provided wheelchairs free of cost to over 70,000 people in 46 countries. Their mission is to provide 20 million wheelchairs by the year 2010. This is a noble mission, indeed. The Free Wheelchair Mission has generated a lot of positive press for their amazing work, and they were recently acknowledged by the American President, George W. Bush, for the wonderful work they are doing. If only there were more people like Don Shoendorfer.
Making the Leap into Yachting
For many people, if you truly love the ocean and can’t get enough of it then yachting is the next step. The great thing about buying a yacht is that if you have enjoyed other forms of boating such as fishing or going on a leisurely cruise, you can do all of those things and more from the deck of your luxury yacht. Yachting adds a whole new level of pampering because unlike a smaller boat, it can serve as a home away form home so you can totally relax and let the stresses of life disappear. You will be amazed how even personal problems can be left on the shore for even a few hours out on your yacht. And when you return to the concerns of life and business, you will come back with a fresh view on the world and be able to tackle those problems with a new energy and vigor.
When you do even something fairly routine but you do it on your yacht, it takes on a feel of the extraordinary and the elegant. A business dinner at your home is warm and intimate and effective. On your yacht you can have the identical business meeting and it becomes supercharged because just being out on the water in a luxury environment adds a feel of success and power to what you are discussing. The yacht can close the deal when that final push is needed and in doing so pay for itself in one evening.
A fallacy about yachting that keeps a lot of people from taking that big step into becoming a yacht owner is that they have to know all about sailing and how to manage a boat on the open sea. There have been plenty of movies and news stories about yachting disasters to scare you out of owning your own boat if you think you have to be an expert seaman and manage every technical detail of the voyage yourself.
This is simply not the case. Most yacht owners engage at least a captain if not a full yacht crew who are skilled in managing that sea craft and are also highly trained in what to do in the event of an emergency while you are away from port. Your friends who already enjoy yachting and the venue that is going to sell you your yacht can recommend services that provide such crews on an as needed basis so you can focus on simply enjoying your yachting experience to its fullest.
Another approach to making the decision whether to buy a yacht all your own is to “try before you buy”. Of course you no doubt have been out on yachts owned by your friends or businesses with whom you are associated and that may be what has gotten the wheels turning on making this step into yacht ownership yourself. But you know from other areas of life that ownership is completely different from being a guest and just as owning a home is wonderful, you cannot understand it just from being in someone’s home.
A middle ground is to charter a yacht for a few weeks and go ahead and take a step at being the skipper of that big luxury boat. You can go ahead and engage a pilot and crew who will be there to make sure your wishes turn into commands and to manage the ship because of their specialized skills. But because this is your yacht for this period of time, you not only will make all of the destination activities and what kind of things to offer your guests onboard, you will do all the planning and preparation for the trip. Your level of responsibility goes up as does your feeling of empowerment. As you stand out on deck watching the waves break over YOUR yacht, you can enjoy the feeling of power and success and ponder if you want to make the step to make this feeling permanent.
Divorce – Are You Feeling Cheated?
Are you feeling relieved after divorce or cheated? After many divorces people feel happy while in many rather more cases they feel cheated. Why? Divorce it self is a very painful process and the times that lead to divorce are more painful. The question is why get the sense of feeling cheated after getting divorce? Let us talk about this.
Relationship demands giving – People give a lot to their marriage; most of them do it except few. Right from the development of relationship, a lot of time, emotional energy and physical resources are given to make it work. During marriage the investment goes higher. Most of the partners want the marriage to work. There are exceptions that unbelievably want to destroy because of psychological problems. When cracks develop in the marriage, lot more effort is made to save the marriage and when the marriage breaks after putting in so much effort, one feels cheated.
Is this true for all? This is not true for all. There are few individuals who don’t give anything in marriage. They ask for it. The demand and contribute nothing. That is the game of selfishness played by them. So these people will never feel cheated. They will only feel bad that they lost an easy victim.
What should you do? The only way out is to forget the losses. Try to erase the past as much as possible. This will be difficult, but break the pain bit by bit. Work on it and it will go away one day. Try to forge another relationship and forget what went wrong. Cut your losses as soon as possible.
Donate A Car To Your Charity
Making charitable contributions is a wonderful way to help out your fellow man, but it is also a good way to get some tax breaks. One really good method is to donate a car to charity. However, there are some things you will need to do in order to donate a car to charity and claim the donation on your tax returns.
First of all, make sure the organization is qualified. You can do this by logging onto the IRS website to check for qualified charitable organizations. If the organization you donate a vehicle to is not qualified then you will not be able to claim the deduction. So you will want to check this out before you make your donation if making the deduction is important to you.
Another question you will need answered before you donate your vehicle to charity is what will become of the vehicle? Will it be sold to make money for the charity or will the charity use it for transportation? Also, the car might be given to someone poor who needs transportation. Regardless of what the car will be used for, you have a right to ask the question and decide if you believe it is a charitable cause. If not, then you can look for another charitable institution that will use the vehicle in a means you approve of.
Make sure you determine the fair market value of the vehicle in order to claim the donation on your taxes. You will not be able to simply claim the Blue Book value for your vehicle but will have to take into account the vehicle’s condition, and accessories you have added, and the like. There are several IRS and other guides that will help you come up with the fair market value of the vehicle.
Make sure you follow any laws required by your state regarding donating vehicles to charity. More often than not laws require you to transfer the title to the charity, if at all possible, and do not leave license plates on the vehicle. This will eliminate liability issues as well.
If after reading all the information on the IRS website and following these steps you still have questions regarding your charitable vehicle donation then you should contact the IRS directly in order to have your questions answered. It is better to have your questions answered before you make a donation than after, so be proactive.
Donating a car to charity is a really good thing to do and it will help you out on your tax returns as well. Just be careful because there are charities that will tell you what you want to hear, which can cause problems for you when you try to claim your donation. Just make sure you have all questions answered by the IRS.
Blinded By The Light
Want to guess the number one reason people install outdoor lighting? So they can see at night, of course. Improving nighttime visibility is what it’s all about. Did you know that often times the lights we install to help us to see at night actually hinder our ability to do so? It’s true. Sadly, improperly chosen outdoor lighting is almost the norm.
Many people choose an outdoor light fixture that’s “pretty” to look at in the daytime, with absolutely no consideration for how it will perform at night. The “pretty” brass & glass fixtures that are so common nowadays often shine more horizontally than down. This means that the majority of the light these fixtures put out is aimed right into your eyes. Think that’ll improve your visibility? Nope, not even a little.
What you’re experiencing, even if you don’t know it, is a form of light pollution known as glare. Glare is the result of an excessive contrast between bright and dark areas. Light shining into the eyes of drivers and pedestrians is glare. Glare is a particularly important issue in road safety, as poorly shielded lights along roadways may partially blind drivers or pedestrians and contribute to accidents.
Wow! The very lights we install to help us see can actually reduce our visibility if they’re not chosen wisely. I’ll come out on record and say it. Lighting manufacturers should not be allowed to sell these vision robbing glare bombs. They are dangerous and inefficient products that can be immediately replaced by better and more efficient designs already on the market.
Fortunately, there are a large and rapidly growing number of attractive, high quality outdoor lights for homes, businesses and communities. These don’t cost any more to purchase and often will be significantly cheaper to operate due to more efficient use of the light produced.
Many communities have begun requiring the use of exterior light fixtures that only shine light down. This significantly improves nighttime visibility while also dramatically improving the views of the night sky as an added bonus. Hopefully, these “night sky friendly” outdoor lighting ordinances will continue to spread. There might even be one under discussion in your community?
Backyard Honeymoons
A small honeymoon budget does not mean you have to sacrifice romance. Nowhere is it written that you must travel to an exotic island and stay in a luxury resort. Maybe your idea of romance is snuggling in the same bedroll while camping out under the stars together.
Who knows? Only the two of you!
For super cheap honeymoons try looking in your own backyard. I don’t mean “literally” your backyard, but I would be willing to bet that not far from you, there is a perfect little honeymoon getaway.
* If you are from a small town, go to the city. Enjoy the hospitality of an upscale hotel for a couple of nights. Be pampered!
* If you are from the city, get away from it all to a secluded little bed and breakfast inn on a lake somewhere.
Having traveled Canada and the United States all my life, I can tell you that the entire coastline of our North American continent is wondrous. Whether you are in Alaska, Maine, British Columbia, California or Florida, the beaches are breathtaking. Each has it’s own special qualities that make it unique and beautiful.
You may be the type that enjoy polar bears, harp seals and whale watching in Alaska. Perhaps you are the outdoors type. Check out the lazy sea lions and try salmon fishing in British Columbia. While you are there, turn around and look at the mountains! They are amazing! Here in Georgia, you can watch and actually feed the dolphins that frolic in the ocean with you as you swim. If you are lucky, they will let you touch them.
A “beach” doesn’t necessarily have to be on the ocean. There are some fabulous lakes that offer spectacular views – The Great Lakes for example.
If you can’t get near water, choose a hotel with a great pool.
The point is, depending on your personal style, there is a “beach” for everyone!
Too often we are so busy looking for something better that we miss the obvious beauty right under our noses.
Choose that spot within driving distance from you and go for it! Remember, cheap honeymoons are where you find them. They don’t have to cost thousands of dollars to be intimate and romantic.
By the way, while you are honeymooning – tell the world! You will be surprised at how many little perks and extras come your way once people know you are newlyweds! Use it!
Are You Attracted To The Wrong Sort Of Man
How often have you said to a your friends, ”I always seem to pick guys who are bad for me.”
According to Hypnotherapy specialist Roderick Piggott, women who experience a series of broken and unequal relationships, are often suffering from issues of low self-esteem and poor self-image. This causes them to choose the wrong partners again and again.
Low self-esteem can really impact negatively on a persons quality of life, making them feel that they don’t deserve love and respect and are not fit to enjoy a proper, fulfilling relationship. Motivation levels can sink, leaving them feeling low and robbing them of any enthusiasm.
If you suffer from low self-esteem, you blame yourself for things that aren’t your fault; you underestimate your abilities, and you expect things to go wrong for you. Often, low self-esteem is associated with a range of other problems, such as lack of confidence, depression, anxiety, stress and jealousy. If you feel that your opinions and thoughts are worthless, you will find yourself unable to connect or communicate effectively with others, which can become a real issue. This can be picked up by partners, leading to a shift in the balance of a relationship, turning it into something that is unequal and disadvantageous to the weaker partner. Frequently this leads to an abusive relationship and often the cycle is repeated many times.
It simply may not be the “wrong” man that you choose, it is very probable that a partner will become frustrated and lose respect. Attitudes then change taking the relationship off course.
There are many things that might happen in life that can cause low self-esteem. It could be a traumatic childhood, maybe a respected figure in your life belittled you, perhaps failure at a career or at school, or even a lack of social life or friends. Whatever the causes, it is important to try and get your life back on track and get over these feelings of worthlessness for the sake of yourself and those around you. These negative emotions can reflect in everything you do and say, and can start to affect your whole life.
Women who realize that they need self-esteem help are often too embarrassed to admit to anyone that they have a problem, however many sufferers of low self-esteem are benefiting from hypnotherapy treatments at home, which can literally change peoples lives for the better.
Even though you may want to change the way you feel, to be confident in your thoughts and ideas, to have a sense of faith in your own abilities and know consciously that you are worthwhile and respected, your emotional subconscious mind knows different. Your mind goes back to your deepest insecurities, together with the emotions that are held alongside those memories. Your beliefs are accessed. Your conscious and subconscious mind is in conflict. The subconscious mind wins, every time because your emotions rule. You can change your beliefs by changing your emotions. Hypnosis can do this. And it is easy.
Hypnotherapy treatments work in a very natural way, People are constantly capable of change, which can happen more powerfully in an altered state. In this altered state, which we call hypnosis, suggestions to the sub-conscious mind can supply us with the feelings and emotions that go with imagination and creativity to bring about changes within your feeling system, your emotional system, and this can change your values, perceptions and beliefs. It’s what makes hypnosis an incredibly powerful means to achieve your dreams.
Your subconscious mind has the power to end your struggle with your low self-esteem. Your life will improve if you begin to believe in yourself and your abilities, you will feel respected, giving you that extra boost to increase motivation, and your enthusiasm will increase noticeably. Some people say it feels like magic because it is so easy to make powerful changes. Hypnotherapy simply allows you to access the resources you already have in your subconscious mind.
