Good morning!

I love finding interesting tidbits of info. This one from Upworthy came across my plate recently.

“Just noticing…”

A Science Icon Died 17 Years Ago. In His Last Interview, He Made A Warning That Gives Me Goosebumps.

 *****

Readers: I thought this would inspire a bit of banter on this beautiful Sunday morning. :) If so, blog me.

Happy Sunday! 

xox

Prism Princess: I HOPE that you got to be with your Love on His special birthday.

Peace & love….

Lastly, greed over a great story is surfacing from my “loyal”(?) readers. With all this back and forth about who owns what, that appears on my blog, let me reiterate that all material posted on my blog becomes the sole property of my blog. If you want to reserve any proprietary rights don’t post it to my blog. I will prominently display this caveat on my blog from now on to remind those who may have forgotten this notice.

Gratefully your blog host,

michelle

Aka BABE: We all know what this means by now :)

If you love my blog and my writes, please make a donation via PayPal, credit card, or e-check, please click the “Donate” button below. (Please only donations from those readers within the United States. – International readers please see my “Donate” page)

Or if you would like to send a check via snail mail, please make checks payable to “Michelle Moquin”, and send to:

Michelle Moquin PO Box 29235 San Francisco, Ca. 94129

Thank you for your loyal support!

All content on this site are property of Michelle Moquin © copyright 2008-2012

“Though she be but little, she be fierce.” – William Shakespeare Midsummer Night’s Dream 

" Politics, god, Life, News, Music, Family, Personal, Travel, Random, Photography, Religion, Aliens, Art, Entertainment, Food, Books, Thoughts, Media, Culture, Love, Sex, Poetry, Prose, Friends, Technology, Humor, Health, Writing, Events, Movies, Sports, Video, Christianity, Atheist, Blogging, History, Work, Education, Business, Fashion, Barack Obama, People, Internet, Relationships, Faith, Photos, Videos, Hillary Clinton, School, Reviews, God, TV, Philosophy, Fun, Science, Environment, Design, The Page, Rants, Pictures, Church, Blog, Nature, Marketing, Television, Democrats, Parenting, Miscellaneous, Current Events, Film, Spirituality, Obama, Musings, Home, Human Rights, Society, Comedy, Me, Random Thoughts, Research, Government, Election 2008, Baseball, Opinion, Recipes, Children, Iraq, Funny, Women, Economics, America, Misc, Commentary, John McCain, Reflections, All, Celebrities, Inspiration, Lifestyle, Theology, Linux, Kids, Games, World, India, Literature, China, Ramblings, Fitness, Money, Review, War, Articles, Economy, Journal, Quotes, NBA, Crime, Anime, Islam, 2008, Stories, Prayer, Diary, Jesus, Buddha, Muslim, Israel, Europe, Links, Marriage, Fiction, American Idol, Software, Leadership, Pop culture, Rants, Video Games, Republicans, Updates, Political, Football, Healing, Blogs, Shopping, USA, Class, Matrix, Course, Work, Web 2.0, My Life, Psychology, Gay, Happiness, Advertising, Field Hockey, Hip-hop, sex, fucking, ass, Soccer, sox"

Good morning!

The Landfill Harmonic

Feeling powerless to help others? A single selfless act is all it takes to make music out of misery.

The source of inspiration can often be found in the most unlikely place. One of those unlikely places is a landfill in the slums of Cateura, Paraguay.

In 2009, a documentary filmmaking crew stumbled upon a local garbage picker who was making instruments from items found in a landfill. Nicolás Gómez, who goes by Cola, made flutes out of pipes and cellos from tin cans and meat tenderizers.

A community like Cateura is not a place to have a violin,” said Favio Chávez, director of the Recycled Orchestra. “In fact, a violin is worth more than a house here.”

Favio Chávez, a music instructor, started teaching the local children how to play classical music on these recycled instruments. From there, the Recycled Orchestra was born.

This collaboration of imagination and ingenuity gave the children of Cateura, a place where misery is high and opportunity is low, hope for a better life. “The world sends us garbage,” Chávez says. “We send back music.”

Chávez and his youth orchestra are now receiving invitations to play concerts all across the globe and plans are already underway for a world tour. With the Landfill Harmonic documentary trailer spreading through social media, the Recycled Orchestra is inspiring millions by showing how far the power of music and hope can take you when you have nowhere to go but up.

Watch it: 

Readers: Simply wonderful yes? It is amazing to me how someone can make something incredible out of what most of us would consider nothing more than junk. I am continually blown away by people who can create the extraordinary out of the ordinary…who can see the possibilities that no one else can…and more importantly, they follow their vision, and they have a profound positive affect on people’s lives.

Big kudos of congrats goes to Nicolás Gómez for his vision and talent in making these instruments,  and to Favio Chávez, the music instructor, for bringing this Orchestra to life.

Blog me and let me know if you have seen The Landfill Harmonic play.

On a side note, I was sent this write by a resource of mine. The funny thing is, I discovered this fun and inspiring piece of news also in a new magazine that was sent to me. I love this magazine. It is called Live Happy.

If you haven’t picked up a copy you might just want to buy a subscription for yourself and one for a few friends. (Disclaimer: no I am not getting anything from saying this – I just like the idea of it) There is a happiness movement that has been going on and it is gaining speed. This magazine focuses on living life with a more positive attitude…choosing happiness, and watch how your happiness becomes contagious and ripples into other people’s lives.

That is it in a simple nutshell but in my opinion it is much more. No doubt I will be blogging more about this in the new year.

Happy Saturday everyone!

Peace & Love to you.

Lastly, greed over a great story is surfacing from my “loyal”(?) readers. With all this back and forth about who owns what, that appears on my blog, let me reiterate that all material posted on my blog becomes the sole property of my blog. If you want to reserve any proprietary rights don’t post it to my blog. I will prominently display this caveat on my blog from now on to remind those who may have forgotten this notice.

Gratefully your blog host,

michelle

Aka BABE: We all know what this means by now :)

If you love my blog and my writes, please make a donation via PayPal, credit card, or e-check, please click the “Donate” button below. (Please only donations from those readers within the United States. – International readers please see my “Donate” page)

Or if you would like to send a check via snail mail, please make checks payable to “Michelle Moquin”, and send to:

Michelle Moquin PO Box 29235 San Francisco, Ca. 94129

Thank you for your loyal support!

All content on this site are property of Michelle Moquin © copyright 2008-2012

“Though she be but little, she be fierce.” – William Shakespeare Midsummer Night’s Dream 

" Politics, god, Life, News, Music, Family, Personal, Travel, Random, Photography, Religion, Aliens, Art, Entertainment, Food, Books, Thoughts, Media, Culture, Love, Sex, Poetry, Prose, Friends, Technology, Humor, Health, Writing, Events, Movies, Sports, Video, Christianity, Atheist, Blogging, History, Work, Education, Business, Fashion, Barack Obama, People, Internet, Relationships, Faith, Photos, Videos, Hillary Clinton, School, Reviews, God, TV, Philosophy, Fun, Science, Environment, Design, The Page, Rants, Pictures, Church, Blog, Nature, Marketing, Television, Democrats, Parenting, Miscellaneous, Current Events, Film, Spirituality, Obama, Musings, Home, Human Rights, Society, Comedy, Me, Random Thoughts, Research, Government, Election 2008, Baseball, Opinion, Recipes, Children, Iraq, Funny, Women, Economics, America, Misc, Commentary, John McCain, Reflections, All, Celebrities, Inspiration, Lifestyle, Theology, Linux, Kids, Games, World, India, Literature, China, Ramblings, Fitness, Money, Review, War, Articles, Economy, Journal, Quotes, NBA, Crime, Anime, Islam, 2008, Stories, Prayer, Diary, Jesus, Buddha, Muslim, Israel, Europe, Links, Marriage, Fiction, American Idol, Software, Leadership, Pop culture, Rants, Video Games, Republicans, Updates, Political, Football, Healing, Blogs, Shopping, USA, Class, Matrix, Course, Work, Web 2.0, My Life, Psychology, Gay, Happiness, Advertising, Field Hockey, Hip-hop, sex, fucking, ass, Soccer, sox"

Good morning!

We have less than 2 weeks until the new year. Is it too early to post “a final look?’ The Progress report doesn’t think so, nor do I.  So, here it is:

Why Aren’t More People Talking About This?

A Final Look at 2013

This is the last Progress Report before we go on vacation for the holidays and we wanted to wrap up our look back at 2013. In particular, we wanted to bring you some really important stories that most people aren’t talking about.

ThinkProgress’ Judd Legum rounded up 9 big under-the-radar stories we think you should know more about. Check them out and spread the word:

1. Human rights abuses in North Korean prisons reached a level not seen since the Nazi atrocities.

A new report from the U.N. released in January found that hundreds of thousands of North Koreans are being subjected to historic human right abuses. Michael Kirby, a retired Australian judge who took the lead in creating the report, told BBC News “They had to live on rodents, grasshoppers, lizards and on grass and they were subject to cruelty, All in all it is a very horrifying story, the like of which I don’t think I’ve seen or read of since the Khmer Rouge [in Cambodia] and the Nazi atrocities during the second world war.” A former camp inmate “told investigators that he was lucky when a warden ordered the tip of his finger chopped off for damaging a piece of sewing equipment used to carry out forced labor — he could easily have been executed for the transgression.

2. The Tea Party became a major advocate for solar energy.

In Georgia, the Tea Party has teamed up with clean energy advocatesto bring more solar energy to the state, over the objections of utility giant Southern Co. Tea Party advocates are motivated not by reducing carbon emissions but by adding more competition to the energy market and reducing prices. Still, the atypical coalition could be a game-changer as renewable producers seek access to energy markets.

3. American cities criminalized homelessness.

In South Carolina, Columbia City passed an ordinance “to remove homeless people from the downtown business district.” Police officers are now specially assigned to patrol the downtown area and a hotline was set up “so local businesses and residents can report the presence of a homeless person to police.” In Los Angeles, Harrisburg, and Raleigh authorities cracked down on good samaritans providing food to the homeless in public. New York, Palo Alto, Tampa andMiami have focused on criminalizing sleeping in public. Overall, these efforts make it next to impossible for the homeless — a population of about 600,000 in America — to get back on their feet.

4. Thousands of people who worked their entire lives had their pensions stolen.

In Illinois and Michigan, thousands of working Americans had their promised pensions stolen from them, despite guarantees in their states’ constitutions that protected their benefits. Those impacted include “retirees who worked their careers as sanitation engineers and teachers, firefighters and police officers, public defenders and city clerks” — many of whom will now be thrown into poverty. As these two Midwest states appear to be getting away with it, many other localities may follow suit.

5. More people died in America from suicide than car accidents.

While mass shootings frequently land on the front page, many more people die of suicide each year. Data released in this year, covering 2010, found that for the first time more people died from suicide (38,364) than car crashes (33,687). While suicide is frequently associated with teenagers and the elderly, the growth has been fueled by “middle-aged Americans.” Experts speculate the rise might be attributable to middle-aged people “coping with the stress of caring for aging parents while still providing financial and emotional support to adult children.”

6. The oceans changed dramatically, transforming into an acidic stew inhospitable to marine life.

Much of the conversation about climate change focuses on rising temperatures. But carbon dioxide emissions is rapidly making the oceans inhospitable for marine life. Why? According to studies “the ocean absorbs about 30 to 40 percent of the atmosphere’s excess carbon, causing its pH to drop.” These acidity levels can corrode the shells of crustaceans, and have lead to an explosion in jelly fish populations. One Oregon fisherman reported, “Sometimes we’ll catch 4,000 or 5,000 pounds of jellyfish.” Another fisherman said that “he saw baby octopuses climbing up his crab line to escape the water. When he pulled up his crab trap, all the crabs were dead.”

7. The Supreme Court green-lighted the execution of people with severe mental disabilities.

In August, the State of Florida executed John Errol Ferguson, “a paranoid schizophrenic man who believes that he is the ‘Prince of God’ and that his execution is preparing him for ‘ascension.’” The Supreme Court has ruled that people with extreme mental disabilities are not constitutionally eligible for execution, but declined to intervene in Ferguson’s case and other cases like his. Last yeah, Texas executed Marvin Wilson, a man with an IQ of 61.

8. Vaccine conspiracy theories created localized epidemics of deadly, previously eradicated diseases.

In one Texas town a measles outbreak was traced to a mega-church pastor who preached against vaccines. Meanwhile, in the Netherlands, more 1,200 people contracted Measles. The outbreak was traced to “the country’s extensive Bible Belt where the majority of fundamentalist Protestants do not believe in having their children vaccinated.”

9. Cities and counties sought to boost their economy by attracting undocumented immigrants.

Much recent coverage has focused on states like Arizona and Alabama that have sought to make their states as inhospitable as possible to undocumented immigrants — with disastrous consequences. But other cities and counties have taken the opposite approach in an effort to boost their local economies, bucking federal guidlines and welcoming the undocumented. In Dayton, Ohio officials “make no effort to pursue residents without legal status, if they are otherwise law-abiding.” In Philadelphia, members of the city council are encouraging Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to stop detaining undocumented immigrants that aren’t dangerous. Meanwhile, Newark Police announced they would “decline immigration detainers issued to the department”by ICE.

Thank you for reading and helping to advance a progressive vision for America that seeks to improve the lives of all Americans, not just the  privlieged[sic] few. We look forward to your help keeping up the fight in 2014.

Have a happy holiday season!

*****

Readers: Thoughts? Any end of the year stories you think should be included? The blog is open.

I am so behind in my reading of the comments, I am not even going to try and catch up. I did a quick perusal and I see that Social Butterfly posted a write that got quite a few responses. Thank you /SB for engaging the readers on such an important topic that has hit home for many.  I agree with you, these atrocities need to be heard so that people who are affected or who have similar stories feel that they are heard too…that they too have a voice.

Speaking of voices…I think there are just as many people on my blog who commented and are not fans of Rachel Maddow as there were in the comment section where the article was originally posted. Where did you all come from? I’m going to hang with Helen: I know I’m repeating myself but I can’t help it. Yeah…where did they all come from? You stated it beautifully. And I had to chuckle at Rachel’s comment. Thanks for sharing. I am not familiar with that quote from her, but it is fitting isn’t it?

And, Mike, TM: You nailed it too.

Happy Friday! Peace & Love.

Blog me.

Lastly, greed over a great story is surfacing from my “loyal”(?) readers. With all this back and forth about who owns what, that appears on my blog, let me reiterate that all material posted on my blog becomes the sole property of my blog. If you want to reserve any proprietary rights don’t post it to my blog. I will prominently display this caveat on my blog from now on to remind those who may have forgotten this notice.

Gratefully your blog host,

michelle

Aka BABE: We all know what this means by now :)

If you love my blog and my writes, please make a donation via PayPal, credit card, or e-check, please click the “Donate” button below. (Please only donations from those readers within the United States. – International readers please see my “Donate” page)

Or if you would like to send a check via snail mail, please make checks payable to “Michelle Moquin”, and send to:

Michelle Moquin PO Box 29235 San Francisco, Ca. 94129

Thank you for your loyal support!

All content on this site are property of Michelle Moquin © copyright 2008-2012

“Though she be but little, she be fierce.” – William Shakespeare Midsummer Night’s Dream 

" Politics, god, Life, News, Music, Family, Personal, Travel, Random, Photography, Religion, Aliens, Art, Entertainment, Food, Books, Thoughts, Media, Culture, Love, Sex, Poetry, Prose, Friends, Technology, Humor, Health, Writing, Events, Movies, Sports, Video, Christianity, Atheist, Blogging, History, Work, Education, Business, Fashion, Barack Obama, People, Internet, Relationships, Faith, Photos, Videos, Hillary Clinton, School, Reviews, God, TV, Philosophy, Fun, Science, Environment, Design, The Page, Rants, Pictures, Church, Blog, Nature, Marketing, Television, Democrats, Parenting, Miscellaneous, Current Events, Film, Spirituality, Obama, Musings, Home, Human Rights, Society, Comedy, Me, Random Thoughts, Research, Government, Election 2008, Baseball, Opinion, Recipes, Children, Iraq, Funny, Women, Economics, America, Misc, Commentary, John McCain, Reflections, All, Celebrities, Inspiration, Lifestyle, Theology, Linux, Kids, Games, World, India, Literature, China, Ramblings, Fitness, Money, Review, War, Articles, Economy, Journal, Quotes, NBA, Crime, Anime, Islam, 2008, Stories, Prayer, Diary, Jesus, Buddha, Muslim, Israel, Europe, Links, Marriage, Fiction, American Idol, Software, Leadership, Pop culture, Rants, Video Games, Republicans, Updates, Political, Football, Healing, Blogs, Shopping, USA, Class, Matrix, Course, Work, Web 2.0, My Life, Psychology, Gay, Happiness, Advertising, Field Hockey, Hip-hop, sex, fucking, ass, Soccer, sox"

Not if the GOP has any say?

Good morning!

The Worst

*****

Readers: I know the questions just keeps being broached but so far we haven’t had any answers. So I will ask it again…”Why are these women voting for, hanging out with, married to…the GOP?” Sylvia said it recently, “I don’t understand why women support these idiots.“ Ugh. Neither do I. I just want to say, “Get a life. Or at least get a voice, and blog me.”

Ohh…there is some fiery stuff in your comments. Keep ‘em coming. Blog me.  

Peace out. 

Lastly, greed over a great story is surfacing from my “loyal”(?) readers. With all this back and forth about who owns what, that appears on my blog, let me reiterate that all material posted on my blog becomes the sole property of my blog. If you want to reserve any proprietary rights don’t post it to my blog. I will prominently display this caveat on my blog from now on to remind those who may have forgotten this notice.

Gratefully your blog host,

michelle

Aka BABE: We all know what this means by now :)

If you love my blog and my writes, please make a donation via PayPal, credit card, or e-check, please click the “Donate” button below. (Please only donations from those readers within the United States. – International readers please see my “Donate” page)

Or if you would like to send a check via snail mail, please make checks payable to “Michelle Moquin”, and send to:

Michelle Moquin PO Box 29235 San Francisco, Ca. 94129

Thank you for your loyal support!

All content on this site are property of Michelle Moquin © copyright 2008-2012

“Though she be but little, she be fierce.” – William Shakespeare Midsummer Night’s Dream 

" Politics, god, Life, News, Music, Family, Personal, Travel, Random, Photography, Religion, Aliens, Art, Entertainment, Food, Books, Thoughts, Media, Culture, Love, Sex, Poetry, Prose, Friends, Technology, Humor, Health, Writing, Events, Movies, Sports, Video, Christianity, Atheist, Blogging, History, Work, Education, Business, Fashion, Barack Obama, People, Internet, Relationships, Faith, Photos, Videos, Hillary Clinton, School, Reviews, God, TV, Philosophy, Fun, Science, Environment, Design, The Page, Rants, Pictures, Church, Blog, Nature, Marketing, Television, Democrats, Parenting, Miscellaneous, Current Events, Film, Spirituality, Obama, Musings, Home, Human Rights, Society, Comedy, Me, Random Thoughts, Research, Government, Election 2008, Baseball, Opinion, Recipes, Children, Iraq, Funny, Women, Economics, America, Misc, Commentary, John McCain, Reflections, All, Celebrities, Inspiration, Lifestyle, Theology, Linux, Kids, Games, World, India, Literature, China, Ramblings, Fitness, Money, Review, War, Articles, Economy, Journal, Quotes, NBA, Crime, Anime, Islam, 2008, Stories, Prayer, Diary, Jesus, Buddha, Muslim, Israel, Europe, Links, Marriage, Fiction, American Idol, Software, Leadership, Pop culture, Rants, Video Games, Republicans, Updates, Political, Football, Healing, Blogs, Shopping, USA, Class, Matrix, Course, Work, Web 2.0, My Life, Psychology, Gay, Happiness, Advertising, Field Hockey, Hip-hop, sex, fucking, ass, Soccer, sox"

Good morning!

Rachel Maddow is one of my fave reporters. I love her strong commitment to revealing the truth and calling people out on their lies…and yes many times doing it with a bit of witty humor. She’s good at that. Plus she loves dogs which is big in my book. I’d love to hang out with her some day.  :)

Anyway, I just read this article that she is going to be writing a Washington Post column. How cool is that? Good for her. I’m excited for her and in my opinion, I think the Post could use someone of her caliber representing the liberal left. Not that the Post doesn’t have some good writers (They do!), and not that the Post doesn’t represent the left (They do!), but I think Maddow will be a great addition representing us girls. I’m looking forward to reading her writes. Congratulations Rachel!

*****

Thoughts on this or anything…you know what to do. Blog me.

Peace out. 

Lastly, greed over a great story is surfacing from my “loyal”(?) readers. With all this back and forth about who owns what, that appears on my blog, let me reiterate that all material posted on my blog becomes the sole property of my blog. If you want to reserve any proprietary rights don’t post it to my blog. I will prominently display this caveat on my blog from now on to remind those who may have forgotten this notice.

Gratefully your blog host,

michelle

Aka BABE: We all know what this means by now :)

If you love my blog and my writes, please make a donation via PayPal, credit card, or e-check, please click the “Donate” button below. (Please only donations from those readers within the United States. – International readers please see my “Donate” page)

Or if you would like to send a check via snail mail, please make checks payable to “Michelle Moquin”, and send to:

Michelle Moquin PO Box 29235 San Francisco, Ca. 94129

Thank you for your loyal support!

All content on this site are property of Michelle Moquin © copyright 2008-2012

“Though she be but little, she be fierce.” – William Shakespeare Midsummer Night’s Dream 

" Politics, god, Life, News, Music, Family, Personal, Travel, Random, Photography, Religion, Aliens, Art, Entertainment, Food, Books, Thoughts, Media, Culture, Love, Sex, Poetry, Prose, Friends, Technology, Humor, Health, Writing, Events, Movies, Sports, Video, Christianity, Atheist, Blogging, History, Work, Education, Business, Fashion, Barack Obama, People, Internet, Relationships, Faith, Photos, Videos, Hillary Clinton, School, Reviews, God, TV, Philosophy, Fun, Science, Environment, Design, The Page, Rants, Pictures, Church, Blog, Nature, Marketing, Television, Democrats, Parenting, Miscellaneous, Current Events, Film, Spirituality, Obama, Musings, Home, Human Rights, Society, Comedy, Me, Random Thoughts, Research, Government, Election 2008, Baseball, Opinion, Recipes, Children, Iraq, Funny, Women, Economics, America, Misc, Commentary, John McCain, Reflections, All, Celebrities, Inspiration, Lifestyle, Theology, Linux, Kids, Games, World, India, Literature, China, Ramblings, Fitness, Money, Review, War, Articles, Economy, Journal, Quotes, NBA, Crime, Anime, Islam, 2008, Stories, Prayer, Diary, Jesus, Buddha, Muslim, Israel, Europe, Links, Marriage, Fiction, American Idol, Software, Leadership, Pop culture, Rants, Video Games, Republicans, Updates, Political, Football, Healing, Blogs, Shopping, USA, Class, Matrix, Course, Work, Web 2.0, My Life, Psychology, Gay, Happiness, Advertising, Field Hockey, Hip-hop, sex, fucking, ass, Soccer, sox"