A beautiful good will story that happened during a recent tornado.
I love our youth. They will lead the way.
Has anyone heard of the independent sitcom Ctrl Alt Delete, which is currently streaming on Vimeo? I just read about it today in the Guardian, and was heartened to say the least. Basically, the show uses humor to depict the mundane goings on at a fictional abortion clinic. The writers and producers of Ctrl Alt Delete - two women who have terminated pregnancies in the past - interviewed women of all types from across America who have undergone abortions, and used those interviews as material for the show. From the article: "One of the usual narratives is that a woman who chooses an abortion must feel immense trauma, guilt and shame, but it was important to [Margaret] Katch and [Roni] Geva to bust this trope. 'Most women we talked to had zero guilt or shame and if they did, it was because other people made them feel that way,' says Katch. 'Most women feel relief. That is really something we wanted to bring to light.'”
I don't watch television or subscribe to streaming services, but I'm encouraged to know that a project like this is out there.
Some more encouraging developments amidst the darkness:
-The German search engine Ecosia donates 80% of its surplus income to reforestation efforts. One more inducement to turn our backs on the Google behemoth? Ecosia is partly powered by Microsoft Bing, and Microsoft is hardly an angel. But we can think of each planted tree as corporate penance on Microsoft's part.
- New Hampshire just became the 21st US states (and the last in New England) to abolish its death penalty. A bipartisan effort was able to override a gubernatorial veto of the original abolition measure.
I have heard of it, but your post spurred me on to doing a search on it.
It's incredibly topical for our times and repeatedly referred to as the bravest new series in the media for obvious reasons.
But I can still remember when Modern Family first aired with a married gay couple on primetime.
It horrified some and was banned for family values viewing groups but itdidn't take long for it to not only skyrocket in popularity but open up hearts and minds to a new way of looking at and feeling the heart of others they had previously deemed sinners and worthy of extreme judgment, to one of understanding differences and how and perhaps why, we all have to make the choices we make in our lifes.
Abortion is seeminly a far more volatile judgment and therefore more extreme measures taken in opposition by religious right groups and others, but perhaps more and more we need the mediq to go to those places where so many close their minds and hearts towards understanding.
Some days, we need good news and good people ever more than on other days.
This story is a common thread we often read about, adopting a child to give them a home, but with a twist.
This is about a teacher who adopted one of his students when he learned he needed a home in order to recrive a kidneys transplant.
More complicated then it sounds but you csn read more here.
Or how about this story?
Sometimes you do good by speaking up and other times 100 farmers just stayed silent so another farmer could buy back his own home at auction.
This community has had a difficult few days.
When I was in college, I had the remarkable opportunity to hear Maya Angelou speak in a small room filled with perhaps 60 women. I did not really know who she was at the time but was encouraged to attend her lecture by one of my professors.
Wow! She changed my world.
Since that first time she amazed me with her observations and thoughts 33 years ago, I have found her words of wisdom to fit many life moments. This one struck me today so I thought I would share it with everyone here.
"We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty."
Today I will hold the vision of the butterfly before me as a symbol of hope for all of the tomorrows yet come.
Beautiful, Lovendures! Was not familiar with this one from Ms. Angelou.
Lifts me up into the ever changing beauty of all there is and will ever be. Just in ever new even transformative experiences and forms that we may not always appreciate.
Well, here is some good news on the whaling front.
"The lack of any real market for whale meat has prompted Iceland’s whalers to forego the hunt this season, for the first time since 2003.
RÚV reports that this applies not only to endangered fin whales, but also to the far more plentiful minke whales.
Hvalur hf., the last company in Iceland that still hunts fin whales, already announced earlier this month that they would not be hunting fin whales this summer on account of getting their permit too late.
Gunnar Bergmann Jónsson, a minke whaler and the CEO of whaling company IP Útgerð, said that his company would skip whaling to focus on sea cucumbers instead. The company will, however, import minke whale meat from Norway to meet what little demand there is in Iceland for it, and will likely begin hunting minke whales again in the spring of 2020.
This marks the first time since 2003 that a whaling season has passed without a hunt, when “scientific hunts” were launched. In 2006, Iceland took the decision to drop the pretense of research and engage in for-profit whaling. Since then, both international pressure, virtually no domestic market and a rapidly shrinking international market have all put the squeeze on whaling."
Great news for the environment and for Kentucky. I really like being able to say that!
A new company in Kentucky called Fibonacci has become the nation’s first factory to begin cultivating “wood” out of hemp.
"In addition to being 20% tougher than oak, “hempwood” grows 100 times faster. It looks and feels like traditional oak materials – but instead of waiting several decades for a tree to fully mature, hemp can be harvested and regrown in just six months."
Additionally, there are about 78 species of oak tree that are now in danger of going extinct as a result of logging and deforestation.
Not only will Fibonacci create 25 new jobs and invest almost $6 million, but they will also buy from our local farmers.
Yes, very good news.
https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/first-hempwood-factory-in-usa/