Make Love Not Terror

It is a nice Israeli commercial trying to bridge the two warring foes, Israelis and Palestinians together. Will they live in peace? I hope so.

Consequence Not Easy

A butterfly in yellow flowers in France. Photo: Gaeten Lee.

"To do a bad thing is easy,

To face the consequences of that bad thing is not so easy."

- Chris Veerabadran in "All Are One".

Hate Venom

A Yellow Flower In The Wild.

"Hatred is a venom,
Kills you at the rate you consume."

- Chris Veerabadran in "All Are One".

A Seagull in Galaxy?

A galaxy has a seagull-like appearance named appropriately Seagull Nebula.

Talent is Anywhere

A quote from the movie Ratotouille:

"Not everyone can become a great artist,

But a great artist can come from anywhere."

For more information about the animation movie, Ratoutuille, click here.

Jacqueline Novogratz: From a Nairobi slum, a tale of hope

Jacqueline Novogratz tells a moving story of an encounter in a Nairobi slum with Jane, a former prostitute, whose dreams of escaping poverty, of becoming a doctor and of getting married were fulfilled in an unexpected way.

Revenge is Poison

A quote from the movie Spider-Man 3:

"Revenge is like a poison,

It can take you over.

Before you know it...turns us into something ugly."

For more movie information click here.

Mini Moo Cuteness

Mini Moos at Zoo.

Tiny Cows, yes they are around it seems. They are mostly used as pets than used like regular grazing cows. They are one-third the size of a milking cow according to Wikipedia.

To know more about tiny cows or miniature cows, there is American Lowline and Belted Galloway varieties.

Every Time

Butterfly. Photo: Subabu.

"Good deeds gets rewarded always every time,

Bad deeds gets punished always every time."

- Chris Veerabadran in All Are One.

The Road To A Friend's Home

Ivory Soap. Photo: Pomexport.com

These are more gems from Ivory soap. If you are not familiar with it, the Ivory soaps unlike other soaps have quotes written on the wrappers. Each one is different and inspiring.

"The road to a friend's house is never long

and the directions are simple."

"Simplicity is the essence of happiness."

"Joy is in sharing."

For more great quotes click here.

How To Add Widget For Web Reader, A Reader Program For Blogs

Millionaire Leaves Estate To Vanguard University In California

Bruce Lindsay at the Vanguard University Dining area. Photo: OCRegister.

A successful businessman who passed away last month bequeathed his estate to a small university in California. The estate is worth several million dollars.

Bruce Lindsay, who amassed his fortunes selling real estate and oil leases, used to regularly visit Vanguard University, a small Christian university in Orange County, California. He went to the university’s dining area, where they had all-you-can-eat meals for $1.25.

He watched his savings and spent very little. He was more than frugal, "real miserly" said the business professor Ed Westbrook, who got acquainted with Lindsay in the dining area.

Lindsay ate all of his meals on the university campus and often was seen with other students. Lindsay used to give them advice. As a result, a former university president gave him the title “student advocate” in the 1980s. Since then he was given free meals.

Sophomore Brandon Arias was one of the students who met Lindsay. Arias told AP:

I didn't sit with him every day, but there was always a big group of people who would eat with him at breakfast.

This money will assist Vanguard University, which has a debt more than $42 million.

Lindsay remained single and had no children.

Some of the money received from Lindsay will be used to build a new dining hall. Westbrook and others in the university are grateful.

Westbrook said:

That way...students will always be eating with Bruce.

You can read more about Bruce Lindsay here.

Attitude

"I'm warning you: If you have a bad attitude, nobody is going to want to play with you. If this is the sport you choose to play the rest of your life, it's all going to come down to your attitude. Atttiiiituuuude. You hear me?"

- Derek Smith advises his son Nolan Smith, Duke University Basketball player, after he refused to shake hands with his opponent after a loss.

For more great quotes click here.

What Do Children Think About Marriage?

Children at a wedding. Photo: PhillipC.

Very funny explanation from Children.

How do you decide who to marry?

You got to find somebody who likes the same stuff. Like, if you like sports, she should like it that you like sports, and she should keep the chips and dip coming.

- Alan, age 10

No person really decides before they grow up who they're going to marry. God decides it all way before, and you get to find out later who you're stuck with.

- Kristen, age 10


What is the right age to get married?

Twenty-three is the best age because you know the person FOREVER by then.

- Camille, age 10

No age is good to get married at. You got to be a fool to get married.

- Freddie, age 6


How can a stranger tell if two people are married?

You might have to guess, based on whether they seem to be yelling at the same kids.

- Derrick, age 8


What do you think your mum and dad have in common?

Both don't want any more kids.

- Lori, age 8


What do most people do on a date?

Dates are for having fun, and people should use them to get to know each other. Even boys have something to say if you listen long enough.

- Lynnette, age 8

On the first date, they just tell each other lies and that usually gets them interested enough to go for a second date.

- Martin, age 10



When is it ok to kiss someone?

When they're rich.

- Pam, age 7

The law says you have to be eighteen, so I wouldn't want to mess with that.

- Curt, age 7

The rule goes like this: If you kiss someone, then you should marry them and have kids with them. It's the right thing to do.

- Howard, age 8


Is it better to be single or married?

It's better for girls to be single but not for boys. Boys need someone to clean up after them.

- Anita, age 9



How would you make your marriage work?

Tell your wife that she looks pretty, even if she looks like a truck.

- Ricky, age 10

For more click the link here.

Things I Don't Have To Do, But I Do

Winter Seagull at Lighthouse Beach, Chatham, MA. Photo Chris Seufert.

There are several things in life, no one forces you to do but it is the right thing to give a hand. When we add all of our contributions together, every single contribution counts. There is nothing such as a trivial contribution.

A home is made of 1,000 bricks, but we have to start with one brick at the beginning. Like the famous Confucius quote, "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step", we have to do our parts for the benefit for all mankind and nature, present and the future. Every step counts.

Here are some things I do, which no one asks me to do, but I do it anyway. I am sure you will also be doing similar things, if you do, please add in the comments area.

1) I put water in the birdbath and make sure I keep them a fresh water bath every day or two. My neighbor left the birdbath before she moved away, I took over this duty.

2) I remove empty soda cans, bottles, on the side walk as I walk by. I can leave them as it is, but I want to do it. By removing it makes the surroundings better and I hope by removing it others will see that it is clean and may not drop empty bottles. If I don't remove it, others might add more empty bottles, so I try to avoid that whenever I can.

3) I donate a portion of my earning to charities, right now I donate about 10 to 15 percent, but hope to donate more once my earnings grow. Again nobody asked me to do, but it is the right thing do. The more I donate I feel more happy. I donate mostly at Kiva.org and thanks to the Obama group here, I learn plenty of new things to do.

4) I answer questions in Yahoo Answers. I find it an interesting exercise, many of the answers I don't know myself but trying to find answers for it I learn along the way.

5) I use cloth bags when I shop groceries, I avoid plastic bags in the process. It cost me $10 to get 5 bags, but I consider it one of the best investments I have made, I have saved hundreds of plastic bags in the process.

6) I leave the door open for others. I learnt this habit in Massachusetts, now I take it wherever I go.

7) I go extra mile for my customers and give the same type of service to everyone. I make sure they have the right product and suggest some more (belonged to others) to enhance their product experience.

8) When I get overpaid or receive too much than what ordered, I call them and let them know. I hope others will do the same if I make a mistake.

9) I remove the snow not only from my pathway but my neighbors also. We don't get that much snow, but I used to see my landlord do that in Massachusetts. He didn't have to do but he did and I follow the same.

10) I am very religious in recycling, try to recycle as many items as possible.

I hope you do too "things that you don't have to do". What are they?

Make Others Happy

A flock of seagulls. Photo Southnz.

This quote is very true, I can tell from my experiences with Kiva.org and others.

"If you want to lift yourself up, lift up someone else"

- Booker T Washington.

For more great quotes click here.

Dims The Worst

A Japanese Home near a lake. Photo: Pixdaus.com.

"Love brings out the best in us,

and dims the worst in us."

- Chris Veerabadran in "All Are One".

Timeless Truth

Shwedagon Pagoda, Yangon. Photo: Sacred Destinations.

"Truth is not a fashion item,

It remains in vogue and can be used forever."

- Chris Veerabadran in "All Are One".

My father said truth is valid for all seasons and at all places.

Teen Starts 'No Cussing Club'

Thanks to a teenager's efforts, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors will have a “No Cussing Week” in March. The 15-year-old kid plans to extend this idea to the whole of California and the world next.

If you go to Los Angeles, you won’t hear curses from the locals. Michael Antonovich, the Supervisor will issue a proclamation on Tuesday making the first week of March “No Cussing Week”.

It is not compulsory and there are no penalties but L.A. officials hope everyone will follow it. This was made possible because of the efforts of 15-year-old McKay Hatch.

Hatch formed a “No Cussing Club” after he saw his classmates curse too much when he was in seventh grade. His parents made sure that he didn’t curse either at home or at school. He wanted his friends also to follow that same etiquette. But he had to endure abuses from others who heaped curses on him whenever they saw him.

Hatch was determined, however, and now his “No Cussing Club” has more than 20,000 members worldwide. He has a website where others can go and take a “No Cussing” pledge.

Hatch wanted to expand it to other cities and places, so he persuaded the L.A. officials to have a “No Cussing Week” in the county. L.A. officials obliged.

Tony Bell, Antonovich’s spokesman told Reuters:

But it's a good reminder for all of us, not just young people but everybody, to be respectful to one another and watch the words we use.

Previously he had asked his hometown South Pasadena to go cuss-free for a whole week last March.

McKay Hatch is not finished yet -- he wants to take it to the next level by making the whole state of California to go cuss-free and possibly make other countries go cuss-free as well. He said if people behave respectfully with each other then they can work together to solve bigger problems.

Hatch said about his “No Cussing Club”:

"It's not about forcing anyone to stop, just to bring awareness...If you can do a week without cussing, maybe you can do two weeks. And then maybe a month."

You can check out his website here.

Don't Miss Today

Overcast sky and the wooden posts. Photo. Milouvision.

"If you've got one foot in yesterday and one foot in tomorrow, you're missing today."

- Liza Minnelli, Broadway star, Oscar, Tony, Emmy and Grammy winner, as quoted in Parade Magazine.

For more great quotes click here.