Cheerful World News

Yoga For Children Proves To Be Very Beneficial

noreply@blogger.com (Josh) — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 14:58:00 +0000

In this morning's online edition of the Santa Fe New Mexican, there was an article about yoga for children and all its benefits. According to the article, children's yoga can be much more beneficial for their motor skills and strength than the traditional gymnastics and tumbling classes and in addition, yoga can help children improve their posture and breathing.

The article could have a very good point! If there are any parents out there who have children in yoga classes and can testify to its effectiveness, please leave a comment below!

For those of you who are interested in yoga for youngsters, here are some general links for you:
Radiant Yoga for all Kids: Susan KramerFifteen yoga poses for children and links to books by education expert and author Susan Kramer.
Yoga for KidsAn article from the Yoga Journal about yoga for kids and its benefits.
Children's YogaWebsite from Shakta Kaur Khalsa that features yoga media, meditations, yoga movements and more for both children and adults alike. You can also find a store on this site where you can order her DVDs, yoga cards, and more!

World Sudoku Championships Held in Slovakia

noreply@blogger.com (Josh) — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 10:42:00 +0000

For you Sudoku fans out there, here's an article from The Times that may be of great interest to you! The third annual World Sudoku Championships were held in Zilina, Slovakia yesterday amid much worldwide fanfare. Contestants from 27 countries played 38 different varieties of the Sudoku game, including the standard Latin version. In the end, Jan Mrozowski of Poland ended up winning first place as the world's greatest Sudoku puzzle-solver followed by Branko Ceranic from Serbia and Robert Babilan of the Czech Republic. Congratulations to these three for their remarkable wins!

Much more about these championships can be found below at the Times:
Su Doku battle goes a little off the wall in search for world champ

(Photo copyright: Eduardo Mueses, used per Creative Commons license)

Stunt Bike Rider Becomes Internet Sensation

noreply@blogger.com (Josh) — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 01:47:00 +0000

In my last post I passed on the story of worlwide sensation Susan Boyle to you. Well there's another Internet sensation in our midst these days: a stunt bike rider from Edinburgh named Danny MacAskill. This man has managed to do some incredibe stunts which have made him an instant hit on the Internet! His stunts such as performing a backflip off a tree and riding across the spikes of a fence have seemed almost superhuman!

Fortunately these stunts have been captured in the video titled "Inspired Bicycles", which you can see above or at YouTube. If you live in the UK and want to see him perform these stunts in real time, you can catch him at BikeRadar Live, which is being held in Donnington Park in Leicestershire on May 30-31. To see him perform these stunts up close will be amazing!

More below:
BikeRadar Live: Animal Relentless Bike Tour and Danny MacAskill(Article on Danny from Bike Radar)
http://www.mb7.com/TheClan/ (The Clan: Scotland's cycle stunt team of which Danny is a member)
http://vimeo.com/2627207 (A trial video I found of Danny MacAskill in action. Very awesome video!)

Susan Boyle: An Inspiration For Us All

noreply@blogger.com (Josh) — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 16:10:00 +0000

By now most of you out there have either seen or heard of the surprise singing star Susan Boyle...that is, the woman who managed to become a smash YouTube sensation almost overnight and won the heart of Simon Cowell on "Britain's Got Talent." It would seem that as of yesterday morning, she managed to hit the 100 million video views on the Internet!

What more can be said except that if this 48 year old unemployed church volunteer can become a huge pop sensation overnight, anything is possible?!

For you Susan Boyle fans out there, here are some essential links for you:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Susan_Boyle (Susan Boyle Wikipedia entry)
'I won't let Simon Cowell give her a Hollywood makeover,' vows Amanda Holden as TV 'angel' becomes internet hit (From the Daily Mail. According to this article, Susan's YouTube videos have received over 18 million hits....and counting)
Susan Boyle's virulently viral videos(Article about the 100 million video views from the Sydney Morning Herald)

And of course, here are a couple of links to the YouTube videos themselves:
I Dreamed a Dream(The performance that put her in the world spotlight: her rendition of "I Dreamed a Dream" from Les Miserables on "Britain's Got Talent)
Cry Me a River(A recording of the song "Cry Me a River" Susan made for a British charity CD in 1999)

It'll be very interesting to see where Ms. Boyle's singing career will take her! Let's hope she has lots of luck in her success!

First Seedlings Planted In White House Garden

noreply@blogger.com (Josh) — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 10:45:00 +0000

As many of you may have heard, First Lady Michelle Obama planted the first seedlings in the new White House garden Thursday with some help from fifth-graders from Bancroft Elementary School and USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack. The garden cost less than $200 to build and includes a wide variety of vegetables such as kale, spinach, Romaine lettuce, sugar-snap peas, various herbs, and cucumbers. In addition, a colony of two types of parasite-resistant honeybees was set up nearby and these will not only pollinate the garden, but also help repopulate the species, which has disappeared greatly in the US due to a wide variety of reasons.

The Obama garden, the first on the White House lawn since Eleanor Roosevelt's victory garden in 1943, just might become the most high-profile garden in the US! Most importantly of all, this garden could inspire many to create their own gardens (a very important thing to do in our current economic state) and to eat healthier...two causes Mrs. Obama hopes to contribute with the creation of this garden.

Will Michelle Obama's garden inspire others in the US to create their own gardens? We can only hope!

More below:
First seedlings planted in new White House garden(AP/San Antonio Express-News)
Michelle Obama Plants White House Garden
Local school children help Michelle and USDA Secretary Vilsack plant vegetables, and set up a honey bee colony.-The Daily Green. This is a very informative article about the White House garden and in particular, the honeybee colony.
Obama Garden Watch: 10 Vegetables Worth A First Bump-A very in-depth article from Dr. Patricia Fitzgerald and the folks at the Huffington Post about the vegetables in the White House garden and their nutritional values.
Help the Honeybees-Ok so this is not about the garden per se, but it's a campaign run by Haagen-Dazs to help save the honeybee population. This site is well worth checking out!

(Photo copyright: official White House photo)

Boy In Wheelchair Walks Again After Praying At Pope John Paul II's Tomb

noreply@blogger.com (Josh) — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 17:34:00 +0000

After visiting and praying at the tomb of Pope John Paul II in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, a boy from Gdansk, Poland who was bound to a wheelchair by a kidney tumor mysteriously rose from his wheelchair and began to walk. At this time, doctors are testing to see if there is any scientific reason why the boy suddenly started walking again. If there isn't, the healing could become the miracle needed to declare Pope John Paul II as 'blessed'. After that, a second miracle will be needed in order for him to be declared a saint.

Could this indeed mark the beginning of Pope John Paul II's Beatification process? We'll find out more as time goes on.

More below from the Daily Mail:
Wheelchair-boy 'miraculously walks again' at memorial visit to tomb of Pope John Paul II

Reno Dads Dress Like Britney Spears To Win Concert Tickets

noreply@blogger.com (Josh) — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 16:53:00 +0000

How many guys out there have the guts to dress like Britney to win a couple of tickets to her show in Sacramento? Well some guys did just that Saturday in Reno, NV! The tickets were offered as the prize of a contest held by Reno radio station Z-93.7 FM and apparently there are quite a few guys out there who were willing to dress up, show up, and see if they were the lucky winners!

You can read some more news about this contest and see plenty of hilarious pics below from the Reno Metromix (courtesy of the Reno Gazette-Journal):
Dads dress like Britney Spears to win

Cola Made From Cow Urine Hits Indian Markets

noreply@blogger.com (Josh) — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 19:05:00 +0000

In the holy Indian city of Haridwar, the country's leading cultural group, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, has developed an all-natural alternative to Coke and Pepsi: a cola made from cow urine.

In India, cows are regarded as sacred among Hindu followers and cow urine has been drunk by many in India for its "health-giving properties."

Dubbed "Gau Jal", or "cow water" if you may, the cola is currently undergoing testing at a labratory at Lucknow and should be hitting the shelves very soon.

More below from the Telegraph UK:
India makes cola from cow urine

Teenage Purse Thief Outrun by 72-Year Old Lady

noreply@blogger.com (Josh) — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 18:37:00 +0000

A would-be teenage purse thief in Long Eaton, Derbyshire, UK was in for a surprise when her would-be victim, a 72-year old former sprinter, outran her and got her purse back!

More below from the Telegraph UK:

Teenage handbag thief outpaced by 72-year-old ex-sprinter

"Lovers' Island" Discovered Off Croatia

noreply@blogger.com (Josh) — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 15:12:00 +0000

For those of you looking for the perfect "lovers' paradise" to spend your anniversary or Valentine's Day, you're in for luck! A small 27-acre (11 hectare) islet off the Croatian coast has become a huge hit on the Internet thanks to Google Earth.

The islet, known until now as Galesnjak Island, has been an uninhabited island privately owned by Vlado Juresko and his family. Now that the island is making the news across the Net, they have been bombarded by requests to visit the island by the many lovers who want to make a romantic getaway there! As a result, the family has quickly renamed the islet "Lovers' Island" and has plans to develop some tourist infrastructure.

Maybe next year some of you out there could be spending your Valentine's Day on this heart-shaped island!

Sources:
Heart-shaped island a Valentines hit(Gold Coast Mail)
Lovers' Island discovered on Google Earth(Ananova.com)

(Image copyright: Google/Google Earth)

Sri Lankan Man Watches TV For 72 Hours Straight

noreply@blogger.com (Josh) — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 15:47:00 +0000

First off, I'd like to apologise for the lack of posts lately. These days I've been very busy and it's been fairly difficult to keep up to date with the latest cheerful news and blog! I'll try to keep you updated with the latest headlines as they come in and whenever time permits.

Now to the headlines for today. A Sri Lankan man named Suresh Joachim has made a new world record by watching TV for 72 hours straight...with no sleep, distractions, or anything else! Ironically enough, Mr. Joachim broke his own record from 2005, which saw him clock over 68 hours straight of TV watching.

He achieved this world record by watching the entire Fox series '24' in the Swedish capital Stockholm and by his accounts was caffeine-powered during the entire 3 days since he "drank between 25 and 30 cups of coffee!"

I only hope he didn't have to wire his eyelids open like Alex in "A Clockwork Orange!"

Source:
Sri Lankan watches TV for 72 hours straight to set world record(Telegraph UK)

Nazi Zombies Come to Louisville, KY

noreply@blogger.com (Josh) — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 17:45:00 +0000

I'm not sure how many of you are in the Louisville, KY area, but I saw an item on the Louisville news the other day I just couldn't resist sharing with you!

Commuters (or at least what few there were due to the icy weather) who were driving down I-75 were sure to be amused...or confused by the road marquees which warned of Nazi zombies being on the loose in the area! It would seem that hackers hacked into the roadside marquees and changed them to display "Zombies in Area: RUN!!!" and "Danger: Nazi Zombies Ahead".

Unfortunately I don't have a news URL for you, but here's a couple of Internet forum discussions about the Louisville marquee messages:
http://forum.dvdtalk.com/other-talk/548881-nazi-zombies-reported-sightings-louisville-ky.html
http://www.the-horror.com/forums/showthread.php?p=72749

And an article from Louisville CBS affiliate WLKY channel 32 about some very similar marquee messages which appeared on the same day in Austin, TX:
Texas Road Signs Warn Of Zombie Attack

And yet another marquee hack in the Indianapolis, IN suburb of Carmel warning of a "Raptor invasion" yesterday morning:
Ind. Road Sign Warns Of 'Raptors Ahead'

Some might say these hacks were illegal and could've endangered lives in the icy weather, but it was still a bit of amusement on some very blustery and miserable mornings!

Virtual Version of Famous Hong Kong Temple Goes Online

noreply@blogger.com (Josh) — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 16:35:00 +0000

Does anyone remember the virtual Wailing Wall that was launched on the Internet some 10-11 years ago? That is, the website that featured a live webcam and online prayer submission to the Wall in Jerusalem? Well Sik Sik Yuen, a Taoist (or Daoist if you may) organization in Hong Kong, has started their own virtual version of the famous Wong Tai Sin Temple in Kowloon, HK.

Largely created as an effort to reduce the real-time crowds in order to carry out a temple refurbishment project during this Chinese New Year season, the virtual temple features a live webcam of the incense-offering area as well as a prayer submission service where followers can send their prayers to Master Wong Tai Sin. Through the webcam viewers can watch the weekly ceremony in which Taoist priests take the prayers to the temple and place them on the altar. This ultimately brings the temple to those who can't come in person.

All in all, this is a very fascinating website to visit and if you've wanted to visit this temple but don't have the chance, here you go!

http://www.siksikyuen.org.hk/public/main (Sik Sik Yuen's English homepage, which is also the hompage of the Wong Tai Sin Temple. If you scroll over the "Wong Tai Sin Temple" button, you can find links to the history behind the temple, tourist information, and a virtual tour of the temple. Links to the online prayer service and live webcam can also be found here.)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wong_Tai_Sin_Temple (Wikipedia entry on the Wong Tai Sin Temple)

And the source for this post can be found here:
Beat the crush, visit HK temple online (The Electric New Paper)

(Picture copyright: Chong Fat; used courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)

Chinese Woman "Sells Her Life On the Internet"

noreply@blogger.com (Josh) — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 14:02:00 +0000

Now this is the ultimate way to make money online! Today I found two articles about 26-year old Chen Xiao in Beijing who has "sold her life" on the Internet by "putting her fate in the hands of her fellow Internet users" on the Chinese auction site Taobao.com That is, for a small fee, she will do almost any task anyone pays her to do (all except for anything of a sexual, violent, or otherwise illegal nature that is). So far she has done jobs as obscure as being present at the birth of a baby, eating noodles at a well-known Beijing restaurant, taking pictures of a flag-raising ceremony in Tiananmen Square, delivering food items, running errands, and picking up people who need a lift.

According to Ms. Chen, not only does she get paid around 2,000 yuan ($292 USD) a day for doing these assignments, but she also gets to have many life experiences...which is another key goal for her.

This is a very interesting idea and one that has certainly paid off for her! There have been variations on this concept, but Ms. Chen has taken it to the extreme and is making a living out of it. After all the reverses she experienced in 2008, this year looks all set to be a successful one for her!

Hopefully Ms. Chen will continue to have good luck in her enterprise and her story goes to show it's more than possible to make a good living online!

More below from the Electric New Paper:
She sells her 'life' on the Net

And from the Telegraph UK:
Why take charge when you can sell your life online?

Play Sudoku and Win a Free House!

noreply@blogger.com (Josh) — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 12:16:00 +0000

For those of you Sudoku fans out there, you might want to give this a try! Dave Mackie of Hambleton (near Blackpool), UK, is trying to "beat the property slump" by offering his £675,000 house as a prize for those who are willing to pay £50 and win a Sudoku contest.

The house, which sits on the banks of the River Wyre, was renovated last year and has three bedrooms, two balconies, a steam room, sauna and new windows as well as a "chance to rent river mooring." Mr. Mackie is offering this home as a prize so he can retire to Egypt and of course, to pay for the property and advertising costs.

If you're a Sudoku fan and think you can stand a chance, you might want to give this contest a try! And yes, you can see the puzzle to your left in this post!

More below from the Daily Mail:
Solve this Sudoku puzzle... and win a house: How finance broker hopes to beat recession

The homepage for this contest can be found here:
http://www.win-free-home.com

(Image copyright: Dave Mackie???; used from the above article at the Daily Mail

Monk Caught Stealing Porn DVDs

noreply@blogger.com (Josh) — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 17:47:00 +0000

Apparently this monk had a pretty hard time resisting, ahem..."worldly urges":

Thou Shalt Not Steal Porn DVDs, Court Tells Monk(Deutsche Welle)

Khmer Stone-Carving Art Makes Comeback

noreply@blogger.com (Josh) — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 16:49:00 +0000

Also from the Phnom Penh Post comes this story about the comeback of the ancient Khmer art of stone-carving in Cambodia. This is a tradition that has flourished for thousands of years and despite supression from the Khmer Rouge (who claimed the lives of a good deal of the country's carvers and rendered the skills of most of the others irrelevant when they were put to work in the fields), the stone carvers are making a comeback. For many, stone-carving is their only livelihood and they are now teaching it to their children and grandchildren.

Statues of the Buddha and deities from the Ramayana are the most well-known statues, as well as political figures, members of the elite, and so on. Some small versions of these statues can even be bought for home decorations!

If you want to read all about the art of Khmer stone-carving, see the article below:
Pre-Angkor stone-carving remains very modern affair

Ancient Angkor Returns To Life In Digital Format

noreply@blogger.com (Josh) — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 14:56:00 +0000

From the Phnom Penh Post comes this article about efforts by computer animation students at Monash University in Australia to recreate daily life at Cambodia's ancient kingdom of Angkor during its heyday in the 12th-13th centuries. Since there is little information known about daily life at Angkor during that period of time, it has been a job easier said than done!

However, the project does envision "ancient Angkor as a living, breathing virtual world" and according to the article, some of the landscapes do look realistic and give an excellent idea of what like was ike in Angkor during that time. The project is currently in development and when completed, it should be very fascinating to see!

If anyone has any further information about this project, please share it with us!

More below (including a pic from this project):
Digital Angkor offers clues to daily life at the ancient site

(Picture: Angkor Wat. Image copyright: Manfred Werner; used courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)

Chinese Culture Celebrated In the Phillipines

noreply@blogger.com (Josh) — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 13:50:00 +0000

Here's an article I thought I'd share with you guys since today is the start of the Chinese/Lunar New Year. This is an article from the Manila Times about Tsinoy (Chinese Filipino) culture in the Phillipines, their integration into Filipino society over the centuries, and some museums, gallerys, and heritage centers in Manila that display Tsinoy artwork and treasures. This is a very interesting article to read, especially if you're interested in Chinese culture and in particular the culture of the overseas Chinese!

Oh, and happy Chinese/Lunar New Year to all of you out there! May this Year of the Ox be a happy and prosperous one for everyone!

A bridge across cultures

111-Year Old Lizard Becomes Father

noreply@blogger.com (Josh) — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 13:00:00 +0000

As many of you may have heard last August, a 111-year old tuatara (a lizard-like reptile directly related to the dinosaurs and which date from that era) in New Zealand named Henry was going to be a father. Well his 80-year old "wife" Mildred gave birth to 11 babies today! This birth is wonderful news for the species, which has declined significantly over the past century due to loss of habitat and other predatory species such as the Polynesian rat which have been introduced to New Zealand.

Henry and Mildred live at the Southland Museum and Art gallery and since having a tumor removed from his genitals in 2002, it has been the hope of museum officials that Henry would breed some tuataras. Now their wish has come true!

If some of their babies breed more tuataras, that will certainly be a boost for the species! Congrats to Henry and Mildred and may they have more!

More below from the Straits Times:
Reptile becomes dad at 111

And the Wikipedia entry for the tuatara can be found below:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuatara

(Picture copyright: Knutschie; used courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

Shaolin Monk Busts Iron Bar Over His Head

noreply@blogger.com (Josh) — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 09:21:00 +0000

I just had to post this! This is incredible and I'm sure the monk above had a pretty bad headache afterwards! As many of you are aware, Shaolin monks (i.e. Buddhist monks in China who have practiced their version of kung-fu for centuries, and have been made popular in this part of the world largely because of the movies of action superstars such as Jet Li and Donnie Yen) in China are well known for performing death-defying stunts such as busting bricks and wooden planks with their heads and standing on their heads for a long period of time. Well at the Shaolin monastery in Quanzhou, Fujian province, China, a Shaolin "military monk" has managed to do what very few Shaolin monks have done in the past: he broke an iron bar over his head!

The performance - one of many performed by Shaolin monks for the Chinese New Year celebrations - was done with a 1 cm (0.39 inches thick) iron bar and as you can see in the above photos, the bar broke into five pieces immediately upon impact after only one try!

It literally has to take a pretty "hard-headed" person to do a stunt like this!

Original Source:
http://news.qq.com/a/20090124/000273.htm (Chinese language only)

Wikipedia entry on Shaolin kung-fu:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shaolin_Kung_Fu

(Picture copyright: qzwb.com; translations of article material courtesy of MDBG and myself)

83-Year Old Man Dances With Young Women, Misses Bus From Inauguration

noreply@blogger.com (Josh) — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 17:32:00 +0000

Eighty-three year old Mussa Muhammad of South Bend, IN was in for a shock after getting on the wrong bus from Tuesday's Presidential inauguration and arriving in Pittsburgh! As it turned out, his "spirit jumped sky-high" during the events and missed his church's bus to South Bend while dancing with some young women!

Fortunately for Mr. Muhammad, he managed to catch a Greyhound bus from Pittsburgh to South Bend and arrived home on Wednesday "still wearing the black-and-white suit with red dots that he wore to the inauguration." At least he had a good time at the inauguration and wasn't stopped by the cold weather!

More below from AP/Yahoo:
Man, 83, misses bus after dancing with young women

Goat Arrested On Suspicion Of Armed Robbery

noreply@blogger.com (Josh) — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 17:05:00 +0000

In Nigeria, a goat is being held on suspicion of armed robbery. According to some "vigilantes" who turned it in, the goat is one of two men who tried to steal a Mazda 323 and with the use of black magic turned himself into a goat to escape police.

In some parts of Nigeria, belief in witchcraft is very common and for this reason police are taking the report with a grain of salt.

Very interesting story, and one can't help but feel sorry for the poor goat if the story isn't true!

More below from AP/Yahoo:
Nigerian police detain goat over armed robbery

South African Army Gets First Indian Female Chaplain

noreply@blogger.com (Josh) — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 15:07:00 +0000

From the Times of India comes the story of Caroline Pillay, a 39-year old woman who has become the first female Indian chaplain to serve in the South African Army. She is one of eight South African Indian women (who have "largely shunned" military service in South Africa over the years) who have joined the army this year as well as one of the oldest recruits in her training battalion - both of which are remarkable accomplishments in themselves!

More below:
First Indian woman chaplain for South African army

Canadian Boy Invents Life-Saving Decal For Birds

noreply@blogger.com (Josh) — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 14:39:00 +0000

Now this is a product of true genius! Eighth-grader Charlie Sobcov from Ottawa, ON, Canada has created a decal that will help keep birds from flying into windows. Made of ultraviolet colors that are invisible to the human eye but visible to a bird's eye, the falcon-shaped decals can be placed in windows such as high-rise windows and will act as a "stop sign" for the birds.

Already there are similar decals that serve the same function but unlike those decals, Charlie's are a major improvement. Since his decals are transparent, they don't obstruct the view from the window and being made of ultraviolet colors, they are actually visible to the birds. At this time he has tested his decals in the bay window of a cottage owned by neighbors of his parents' vacation cottage in Costa Rica where birds have crashed before. The number of birds that crashed into the window and died dropped to zero. Very good results so far!

For something that started out as a simple classroom science project, Charlie's invention may save the lives of countless numbers of birds!

More below from the CBC:
Ottawa boy's invisible invention warns birds about deadly windows