If I have been of service, if I have glimpsed more of the nature and essence of ultimate good, if I am inspired to reach wider horizons of thought and action, if I am at peace with myself, it has been a successful day.
Alex Noble
Author: Vanessa King
Anything is Possible!
A young woman from Canterbury, England set out to sail across the English channel this week. What makes her story so amazing is that Hilary Lister is a quadripeligic. Her solo voyage is the longest sailing record in history by a quadriplegic taking her 6 hours and 13 minutes. The mechanism used to power the sailboat is similar to one on her wheelchair with two straws connected to switches that control the sails and steer the boat with the use of her breath.
Hilary is using her voyage across the channel to raise money for sailing opportunities for others with disabilities. She is also hoping to encourage people to rethink their views about the disabled.
“We do not need wrapping up in cotton wool and can go out and do silly or dangerous things if that’s what we want to do.” She says.
With her first journey completed Hilary now hopes to sail around Britain next year.
Blastoff for Hunter
Acclaimed writer and journalist Hunter S. Thompson was remembered by his friends and loved ones this month with a ceremonial firing of a cannon containing his ashes. The ashes were sent off from a 150ft tower topped by a red fist with two thumbs – the symbol of Thompson’s free-wheeling, first-person gonzo journalism, and were accompanied by explosive fireworks. Hunters wife Anita commented that Thompson always enjoyed explosions. These included many that he himself let off (firing guns at his secluded Colorado ranch, igniting smoke-bombs in the lavatory of his local pubactor, and lets not forget the final explosion which took his life in February).
Johnny Depp, who portrayed Hunter in the film ‘Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas’, donated the cannon for the ceremony and friends in attendance were instructed to remember him afterwards with the clink of ice in whiskey.
This is one of the coolest conclusions to a life that I have ever witnessed and certainly puts a positive spin on the end of exsistance for such a literary marvel. Talk about going out with a BANG!!
The Healing Power of Crocodiles
Australian scientists are collecting crocodile blood samples with the hopes of developing a new antimicrobial drug for humans. In recent studies they have found that the reptile’s have incredibly strong immune systems which essentially attach to bacteria, tear them apart and then cause them to explode. In the wild Crocs often fight savagely, sometimes even loosing limbs, so their strong healing potential enables them to recover from many of these injuries quickly without ever develping an infection.
The antibodies in crocodile blood have been found to kill such pennicillin resistant bacteria as Staphylococcus aureus. Other studies have shown that when introduced to HIV the reptiles antibodies have a greater effect than that of human antibodies and can effectively kill HIV!
The development of a drug for use by humans will of course take some time, but the scientists are hopeful that their new found discoveries will greatly benefit potential treatments for HIV and other diseases.
Eat More Chocolate!
More and more studies have been proving that chocolate is good for you! The key factor is the flavinoids found in the cocoa used to make chocolate. Flavinoid rich foods can help to lower the chance of developing heart disease and many forms of cancer! The darker the chocolate the more cocoa and thus the better it is for you.
One study showed that those with high blood pressure who ate 3.5-ounces of dark chocolate daily for 15 days were rewarded with lower blood pressure, lower cholesterol, and improved sugar metabolism. It has also shown to increase serotonin production in the brain which is essentially a chemical that controls happiness. So this means that chocolate can make you feel happy, lower your risk of many diseases and also just tastes amazing! What are the odds of that?