So friends, I took a bit of a hiatus there, WOW. But, with it being the end of the semester and all, during which I love to procrastinate as much as possible, I am back online!

Well, as I like to be honest in my blogging, I will say that I really haven't been paying much attention to the news. Not that I don't want to be informed, I love new information, but I don't want to be depressed either. I mean, REALLY, how can I read the current news and not feel hopeless sometimes? I'm not sure I'm the only one who feels this way either. My point, as always, is that though there are things going on this world that are devastating and frustrating there IS progress, HOPE, and a world of determined people who legitimately want to help their fellow human.

New Meningitis Vaccine Brings Hope of Taming a Ravaging Illness in Africa
What's remarkable is that technology today is being used to produce affordable health treatments for all people. Additionally, it was produced outside of pharmaceutical giants in America and Europe, and specifically for those who need it desperately and could not afford it otherwise. Of course, as a medical anthropologist, I am somewhat critical of biomedicine's globalizing behavior, HOWEVER, I am most excited that technology is being tuned to the greater needs of the world's poor.

Westboro picketers outnumbered at Elizabeth Edwards' Funeral
Alright, anyone with a heart will feel positively enlightened by this story. First, I am proud of the counter-picketers, who refrained from making insulting posters against the westboro group, and instead carried with them messages of love.  This message is much more powerful than any sort of rude retaliation against the group itself.  This hateful group may be protected by the first amendment, but they are powerless against the greater portion of us who choose to love.

Somali radio station wins press freedom award
These journalists have been rightfully awarded for standing up against intolerance and the violation of human rights (this in face of serious threat, no less!).

Small steps for peace still forged in Mid-East
Not long ago, Angela Merkel said that multiculturalism, as an ideology, has failed. Well, I disagree, and here is my proof.  In a village called "the Oasis of Peace," Jews and Muslims live together, play together, learn together; they do so to promote peace and tolerance, to pave a path toward reconciliation. Children learn the values of mutual respect by living amongst each other.  Multiculturalism, or the preservation of different cultures or cultural identities under a unified nation state, is not a failure.  But its success is dependent on the tolerant, unbiased education of the world's children (starting from the bottom with our future generations). Personal opinion: It also requires that people need to stop being so damned selfish.


Well, there you have it, friends, 4 articles to bring a bit of peace to your minds, especially as we near the holiday season. Now go eat some cookies or a latke with applesauce (Chanukah is over now, but man are those potato pancakes tasty).

Hugs and Kisses,

Kelsy

Oh, and here's a cute puppy video! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FpjyCE-R4Y4&feature=related

BE INSPIRED

If you want to end your night on a fabulously inspiring note, or start your day, depending on the time, take the 26 minutes to listen to this : http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p00b1z4h/Heart_And_Soul_06_10_2010/
 

 If you want a little more background about these amazing women, read this article : http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/3672924/...Mourchid...at-Moroccos-female-Muslim-clerics.html, it explains things a little bit more. 

 Basically, these are moderate, muslim, Moroccan women using education and knowledge as a tool to help others ! AWESOME

Hiho, friends ! Positive time is starting again...

ALRIGHT, FOLKS, dang, it's been a while ? I'm sorry ! It's not for lack of positive news, today I'll give you three articles to make up for lost time.

Time for a moment of honesty, like I said before this blog is kind of a project not only for my friends and family, but for me to find the more positive angle on life.  When I open the news, or listen to NPR, it's hard not to click on the negative stuff to learn more, or tune in to a discussion about problems and strategies in the Middle East or Africa or Europe.  Here's the thing, we sometimes can't avoid the negativity, but we can decide what to do with the information, and that certainly is not letting it perpetuate anger or fear or bigotry.  So my word for today is PERSPECTIVE. Putting it all in "_____" that is.


Articles :

1. The first article I found on the Christian Science Monitor, and describes that more and more people are interested in traveling to the Middle East than there have been before in this century.  Well you know what? If there is anything good to come out the massive amount of media attention spent on the Middle East, it's that people are more and more interested in the beautiful places and wonderful people to meet in this spectacular region of the world. Just like the article about bringing eco-tourism to Iraq, the Middle East has a beauty to offer that rivals other beautiful places in the world.  The mantra of this article? : the majority of people and places in this world are good.

http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Middle-East/2010/0930/Who-wants-to-visit-the-Middle-East-Twice-as-many-people-as-in-2000

2.  Well, as I was in Paris for 4 months, I do love to hear about it from time to time, especially when the news is fun and interesting.  If you're in Paris now, or are just a fan of Monet, the Grand Palais (made for the Universal Exposition in 1900) is paying immense homage to Monet.  Oh, Monet, with your potbelly and greying beard, I am not sure anyone can look upon thine's paintings without bursting into some sort of smile.  As the author of the article, Paris Rediscovers Monet’s Magic at Grand Palais, Michael Kimmelman (2010) so excellently puts : "Monet’s visions of places can come to inhabit and even supplant our direct memories of them...He seizes on the way that memory, associated with a place or image, experienced at a certain time and in a certain mood, triggers bundles of emotions and lodges itself in the mind as a kernel of pleasure and pain."  Monet, you genius, and here we thought you were just throwing paint on a canvas all willy-nilly in the 19th century, shame on us !

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/05/arts/design/05monet.html?_r=1&hp

3. Love to see people from my own school doing amazing things, so I had to put this article up that my mom sent me in the mail.  It details an awesome story of UM business school students inventing and marketing a device to make it easier, safer and more efficient to retrieve potable drinking water in Africa.

http://www.bus.umich.edu/NewsRoom/ArticleDisplay.asp?news_id=20303


Here's hoping these articles bring some light to your day, and if you want an extra boost, check out this page : RALLY TO RESTORE SANITY.  I feel like this plays into my message of putting negative media into perspective quite well.  Even though Jon Stewart makes his career in witty jokes, sarcasm and silliness, he raises a good point.  I'm sick of all the tomfoolery in this year's campaigning, I want to know the real issues and beat past the anger-mongering, fear-mongering drama; it's time to bring it back to reality ! In addition this rally is open to everyone, from republican to democrat, independent to moderate, we're all in the same boat.

Kels

"making a difference"

In talking with my grandfather the other day about my new project to stay positive, he suggested I go to the Christian Science Monitor for articles.  Based on the name, and being rather non-religious, I was curious if it was only Christian or was geared toward Christian scientists, wrong ! Once again, my 90 year old grandfather proves he is still the smartest man I know.  So...here's the scoop, I went to the CS Monitor page and noticed a wholly different approach to front page news, a mix of good and bad, positive and negative, whoo !  It seems like I struck gold in finding positive articles more easily than digging through the dredge as I was before. I even found a whole page reserved for articles about people making a difference, THIS is my kind of news source.

Now I have a project for this post today, I'll be giving you my top choice article from what is presented on this page, but I want your feedback, too ! Check out the various articles, glance over their content, and tell me how they made you feel inspired or brought a smile to your face!

Let me give you the generic page as to check out the articles : CS MONITOR - MAKING A DIFFERENCE

My fave article : In Syria, the fight for women's rights means helping both genders, Sarah Birke

I love all articles about the education and empowerment of women.  Reiterated by "Half the Sky," and the amazing story of the 29 new female lieutenants in Afghanistan, women are an incredibly ignored resource in many countries... think of all the changes economically, socially, politically that would be brought about if half of a country's entire population wasn't deliberately neglected. This article indeed shows that a more empowered, more educated, and more free population of women is in fact a key factor in the success of nations dominated almost entirely by men.  How could I not have a smile on my face for advancing women's rights ?

Now it's your turn, send me some feedback !

News for the soul

Hello friends,

Sorry for my lack of post the other day, I have made up for it by finding two spectacular gems of positivity. I must be honest, and my mom can vouch for this, recent news headlines have really been getting to me, it's hard for me to not feel irritable and stressed when reading the most popular articles. But I ask, who wants to hear about conflict all day and all night ?  Welcome to a plaguing problem for smart people everywhere, drama and negativity are attractive.

Courtney and I discussed this the other day, but think of television shows like the "Real" Housewives...first, they are not really that "real", let's acknowledge that, and second, their sole purpose on these shows is perpetuate drama for an hour a week ! I am passing no judgement on anyone for watching these shows, I am just as guilty as anyone else; it's so easy to get caught up in the negativity.  So let's be positive this week, and try and cut out as much of this kerfuffle as possible.  The journalists writing about positive-outcome issues, about success and not failure, are so, so important, let's take a look at some pieces that highlight this talent !

First, from the Detroit Free Press : Detroit students get new school options by Peggy Walsh-Sarnecki

Any good news about Detroit is wonderful news, especially for us Michiganders.  It's always a big question, how do we help Detroit ? Here we are presented with an excellent option : Education.  Like the article about post-apartheid schools in South Africa, opening these new, smaller schools in Detroit will allow students to get the attention they deserve, and with high hopes for graduation of both high school and college students, how could you not get excited ?  There is nothing quite as empowering as a good education, and all children have the right to it.  It will be so exciting to see how these programs work for students and to watch a new generation of Detroit students emerging.

Second, from the LA Times : Afghan women break barriers in a male bastion: the army by Laura King

To preface this article, I want to share a little blurb about a book I'm reading, called "Half the Sky" by Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl Wudunn.  First, I recommend that all read this book, or at least check out the website : http://www.halftheskymovement.org/.  All you need to do is read the title : "Half the Sky : Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide" and you feel like you've stepped into this eye-opening journey into helping others succeed across the globe.

And thus we turn back to my second uplifting article for the day.  It details the accomplishment of 29 Afghan women in becoming lieutenants in Afghanistan; makes you wanna shout "YOU GO GIRLS" at the top of your lungs, right ?  Laura King explains that Afghanistan was not always such a difficult place for women to excel as it had become about 15-20 years ago.  Well, ladies, you've set a huge example and we're damned excited about it!


Here's hoping your day was half full, if not I hope these articles added some improvement...but just in case :

What's good in the world today ?

Howdy folks, time for today's uplifting morcels of good press. For today, I am going to talk about two articles that have brightened my day, I hope they do the same for yours ! 


First article, TIME MAGAZINE: Tech Pioneers : 10 Start-ups that will Change your Life


I encourage all of you to take a look at each of these 10 smart people doing inventive things.  


For example, we have Andrew Schiermeier, CEO of Medicine in Need.  Where the poor in the world have lack of access to modern medicine and technology, this guy steps in to make it not only available, but as said in the article : "By turning the conventional wisdom of billion-dollar drug development on its head, MEND is creating a market for health care in the places that have always needed it most" (Alex Perry, TIME Magazine).  Then there are the two indian inventors, Lakshminarayan Kannan and Vijay Babu, who created an ATM machine to allow the privilege of taking out money from a machine to all, not just the rich.  In addition, the fear of theft is quelled by a highly advanced system detailed in the article, and as written by Elliot Hannon, "is built to dispense soiled notes without a hiccup in villages where crisp bills are often suspected of being counterfeit," cool right ? Read more at the link posted above ! 

Second Article, BBC NEWS : Northern Iraq : Eco-Tourism wonderland ?

Hey, is this a positive article about something going on in IRAQ ?! Awesome !  So what's the dealio ? Well, in Northern Iraq there is wondrous beauty worth visiting.  Detailed in the article is the new project to install eco-tourism as a new source of income for the country.  Of course, there are setbacks, some of which are detailed in the piece, but isn't it exciting to know that amidst all the negativity, the "uncertainty", that there are people working to transform the image of Iraq of the past decade into a budding new tourist place ? I think so ! 

Sometimes it takes a little searching to find new articles, because frankly, it's much easier to talk about what's wrong, than what is right...we all know that from experience.  But the end result of taking the time is the treasure trove of some really well-written pieces about some exciting people and places -- that's a whole lotta 'right' in my opinion.  

Now, back to real life, keep those positive hats on today, and if...per chance...you feel the buzz of good news wear off, my preferred and tested treatment is chocolate cherry bread with full on chocolate chunks and super juicy cherries...MMM

Hi there !

Well, I decided this project of mine would be better served by making a blog, instead of constantly posting articles on my facebook (you'll just get blog updates now !).  Here's the skinny : I came back from France just over a month ago and was so taken aback at the amount of negative media we pound into people's brains all day long, no wonder we are so stressed all the time ! I knew that there had to be positive news out there, like a recent article in the New York Times about successful post-apartheid schools in South Africa where the success rate of children is 9/10.  Or the fact that humans have evolved to feel pleasure from pain in the heat of a chili.  But it takes the backseat to the big issues, of course, and any other sort of negative media (i.e. anything having to do with Glenn Beck).  This is as much a project for myself as for anyone who chooses to read this blog (which may ultimately just be my mother) because frankly, if I read every single headline on CNN, NYT, Wall Street Journal, I would need an NCIS marathon and a gigantic pile of macarons to lift the weight of negativity off my shoulders.  My goal is to present an article a day, maybe more about something important, interesting, and positive going on in the world today !

This is not to say that following world and nationwide news isn't important, it's good to keep up with the day to day changes, world politics, regime changes, etc., it's a globalizing world and it's important to be involved. HOWEVER, if I see or listen to one more stupid news piece about some idiot trying to deface religious property or burn holy books, or another article about intolerance in general, I am going to stuff my mouth full of habanero peppers and hope I feel better.   Thus I have created, with help from a suggestion from my friend Jesse, Contented News...pun intended (thanks, Jesse!). Here are the last three articles I posted on my facebook for your reading enjoyment (literally, as all of them will hopefully spark some sort of smile on your face!).

1. New Schools in South Africa Serve the Underserved - NYT

2. A Perk of Our Evolution: Pleasure in Pain of Chilies - NYT

3. Lost' frogs found after decades - BBC NEWS