From TED: Matt Weinstein lost his life savings to Bernie Madoff’s notorious scam. But his response to the disaster is unexpectedly hopeful.

Since we’re counting down the days to the start of the 2010 Winter Olympics from Vancouver, I thought I would post some of my favorite memories from Olympics past. First up, The Miracle on Ice.

This is a clip from Playing for Change: Peace Through Music — as explained, Playing for Change “is a multimedia movement created to inspire, connect, and bring peace to the world through music.”

I saw this clip, the first, I believe, released by Playing for Change, and I thought of the situation in Haiti and the global effort to help a devastated nation.

I know I have use for someone to stand by me… and you, and our neighbor, one in trouble, a person we love, a group with whom we have conflict, and a friend.  Think about it and watch the video.

Peace.

Charlie, our four-legged cat (yes, the other one only has three), decided he would venture out into the snow for the very first time.

The door was opened.

He cautiously approached.

He paused.

He stepped.

He recoiled, turned, and ran back in and under the bench in the living room.

This photo is the only evidence that for one fleeting moment, Charlie braved the unknown….

Charlie's First Step

Dear Robert,

You died 16 years ago today, and sometimes it feels like it was yesterday. Regardless of the time that has passed, your company, counsel, friendship, and acceptance is still felt, and appreciated.

As I said at your funeral, and have written often since: You are missed and loved.

A continued peaceful rest, my friend….

Jason

You may have seen it already, but it’s worth repeating (and sharing):

This is from a fellow blogger, Jeremy Hawking, and as he points out, it’s making its way around the Internet. The author is, apparently, unknown, and the item is as follows:

This morning I was awoken by my alarm clock powered by electricity generated by the public power monopoly regulated by the U.S. Department of Energy.

I then took a shower in the clean water provided by a municipal water utility.

After that, I turned on the TV to one of the FCC-regulated channels to see what the National Weather Service of the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration determined the weather was going to be like, using satellites designed, built, and launched by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

I watched this while eating my breakfast of U.S. Department of Agriculture-inspected food and taking the drugs which have been determined as safe by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

At the appropriate time, as regulated by the U.S. Congress and kept accurate by the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the U.S. Naval Observatory, I get into my National Highway Traffic Safety Administration-approved automobile and set out to work on the roads build by the local, state, and federal Departments of Transportation, possibly stopping to purchase additional fuel of a quality level determined by the Environmental Protection Agency, using legal tender issued by the Federal Reserve Bank.

On the way out the door I deposit any mail I have to be sent out via the U.S. Postal Service and drop the kids off at the public school.

After spending another day not being maimed or killed at work thanks to the workplace regulations imposed by the Department of Labor and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, enjoying another two meals which again do not kill me because of the USDA, I drive my NHTSA car back home on the DOT roads, to my house which has not burned down in my absence because of the state and local building codes and Fire Marshall‘s inspection, and which has not been plundered of all its valuables thanks to the local police department.

And then I log on to the internet — which was developed by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Administration — and post on Freerepublic.com and Fox News forums about how SOCIALISM in medicine is BAD because the government can’t do anything right.

Food for thought.  I’ll really get on my soapbox about healthcare reform any day now.

Nearly 62 million Americans volunteered in 2008 as charities and community groups struggled in the recession. CBS anchor Katie Couric shares some thoughts, and I echo her suggestion: volunteer. Giving of your time can make a world of difference to one person or an entire community.

Watch CBS Videos Online

I think this is so great, I just had to share it:

And more…:

CBS News.com report on BREAK OUT IN SONG (This story was reported by CBSNews.com’s Gina Pace and Ken Lombardi)

Ever wish that real life were just a bit more like a Broadway musical?

Well, for New Yorkers and tourists who happened to be in certain spots of the Big Apple this weekend – such as South Street Seaport or Times Square – it did. Dozens started singing and dancing as part of a public arts project, Break Out In Song

Although those who read theater listings would be clued into the performance, most in Times Square Sunday afternoon had no idea that a Broadway number was about to erupt. Although it did seem, as more and more people gathered on the sidewalk, that something was about to happen.

On these busy streets filled with pedestrians, one man bumped into another knocking him down. A heated argument ensued as, at first appearance, one of the men viewed the accident as an insult. Spectators began to express concern as the conversation seemed as if it was about to turn physical.

A police officer quickly stepped in to break up the escalating fight. But as a woman started singing “Consider Yourself” from “Oliver!” the police officer, along with the rest of the crowd, realized that it was a performance. Dancers joined one by one until about 40 performers were in unison.

By the end of the number, the two men had made amends, as part of the routine, symbolizing the sense of unity and inclusion the performers and producers of this show strive to evoke.

The idea came to producer Ryan Mackey as he would listen to show tunes on his iPod, wishing that he could start singing and dancing. After seeing the viral video of about 200 dancers perform a song from “The Sound of Music” in a train station in Antwerp, Belgium, he decided he wanted to do something similar in New York.

“Everyone has a song in their heart that’s bursting to come out,” Mackey said.

Jessica Hartman, who worked as the choreographer for in “Don’t Rain on My Parade” from “Funny Girl,” said that it was key to plan the performances to look good from any angle – so no matter where passersby stood, they could enjoy the performance.

“We want everyone to feel involved and part of the number,” Hartman said.

Mackey, whose Broadway credits range from being the assistant director of “The Boy from Oz” to Mel Brooks’ assistant on “The Producers,” started calling in favors from entertainment contacts and formed a non-profit group to raise money for the show. All the dancers volunteered their time.

He plans on bringing the performances to Chicago, Los Angeles and London – then back to New York City in time for Tony Awards season next year.

Jessica Lea Patty, who was the lead in “Don’t Rain on My Parade,” said she couldn’t turn it down after hearing of the project .

“We are brining theater to the masses,” Patty said. “And the reaction of people not expecting it – it will brighten everyone’s day.”

Watch CBS Videos Online

Lastly, visit Break Out in Song’s donation page and support their work!

I’m not even sure where to start with this one, but I laughed, it brought a smile to my face, and now, I share it with you.

Thanks to my friend, Tim, for sending it along….

Now that PRIDE has passed and we’ve had a chance to celebrate all that we love about our community, we also have time to reflect, regroup, and recommit ourselves to those things missing — wait, not missing, withheld — from us. The “biggie” making the news these days? Marriage, of course.

Right now we have the most disjointed, disfunctional systems that vary from state-to-state, which may — or may not — recognize same sex _________________ (unions/marriage/partnerships… you fill in the blank). Whatever you put in the blank, one thing is for sure: heterosexuals never have to wonder what to put in the blank. And frankly, I find it pretty damned unfair.

There are currently 18,000 legally-recognized same-sex marriages in California. An arbitrary determinate by the California Supreme Court allowed those marriages to continue when they reviewed (and allowed the ban on gay marriage to stand). Today, if I attempted to get married in California, I would be turned away, being told that gay marriage is illegal, yet had I gone through the motions when same sex marriage was legal in California, all would be fine.

Where’s the equality? Where’s the justice?

To me, what has been done in our country around the issue of same sex marriage has been handled about as well as if the Supreme Court came out and said, “Today we have decided that all African Americans born before 1970 are free and if you are in an interracial marriage, fine. The rest of you, report to the fields. You will now work from sun-up-to-sun-down and all the efforts of your labor will enrich the fat white guy sitting in the rocker on the porch.”

If that happened, there would be rioting in the streets. Maybe that’s the problem with our struggle, we’re just far too civilized and think that if we behave in a civilized manner, we will be treated with the same courtesy. Sadly, however, great change rarely comes about by behaving in a civilized manner.

Again, where’s the equality? Where’s the justice?

There’s been a lot of media on the topic, but so far, I’ve found nothing better that states the case than this one from BroadwayImpact:

So now that PRIDE is over for you (or your son, daughter, brother, sister, niece, grandson…), give some thought to what you want to have happen in your community and take steps to remedy the injustice. If it’s marriage, terrific!

Remember, we just want what is coming to us. We just want our fair share.

R.I.P. Michael Jackson.

This will be one of those days like when Elvis or Princess Diana died.

A tragic, much too early end to an amazing talent.

Given that I’ve been away for so long (due to a transfer in hosting companies and a BIG mess in getting files and such transferred over to the new servers), I thought that this video would be a most appropriate return!

It’s two-fold: first a message to my former hosting company, and second, to spread a message to those that detest gays and lesbians (it is Pride Month, after all…)

I believe in giving credit where credit is due, so the video, posted in honor of International Day Against Homophobia, was originally found on www.GayClic.com, and was debuted on May 16, 2009.

Enjoy! And, to that nasty, crappy, hosting company that I finally dumped, I say….:

Bea Arthur and Rock Hudson? This has to be the strangest duet ever. And the subject matter? Can you imagine this making it on broadcast television today? Nothing like singing about recreational (and habitual) drug use on national television. Ah, the 70′s!

One more tribute to Bea Arthur, who effortlessly inserted herself into decades of American entertainment:

While I could post a million different clips of Bea Arthur, here’s one of my favorites of her with another of my favorites, Angela Landsbury.

Bea Arthur
May 13, 1922 ~ April 25, 2009

Thanks for sharing your talent with us for so many years….