Summary: Louis Corbett, a little boy from New Zealand, has a disease called retinitis pigmentosa. This disease will soon cause him to lose his eyesight. Corbett's mother decided to take him on a sight seeing world tour so that he can see everything he wants to see before he can't see anything at all. The only problem with this plan is that sight seeing costs money and they didn't have much time to raise any. But with the help of their neighbor, CEO of a Boston based software company, Warren Casey, and other generous donors they were able to raise enough for a flight to the states so that little Louie could see his favorite team, the Boston Celtics, play. Other good things are that while in Boston, Corbett will be able to meet Corinne Grousbeck, wife of the owner of the Celtics and chair of the trustees at Perkins School for the blind and be able to tour the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary.
Analysis: I chose this story partly because it broke my heart and partly because it gave me so much hope. I think it's beautiful that neighbors and random strangers can care so much about a child they hardly know or don't know at all. To me, this shows that the human race isn't all bad, because bad people wouldn't help children like little Louie.
http://www.cnn.com/2014/03/02/health/blind-child-bucket-list/
Monday, March 3, 2014
And the winner is....by:Taylor Grant-Gates
The film 12 Years a Slave won the Oscar for the best film of the year! I am really happy for the success of this film. It is really great that a film depicting something this real has been accepted so much by audiences around the country. Also that night Lupita won best supporting actress. This award Season has been in the palm of her hand. Almost everything she was nominated for she has won. It is so amazing. The movie has such a honesty to it. It shows something that is a controversial topic even in today's society. The people chosen for the characters in the movie were a great choice. I am just utterly speechless in terms of this accomplishment. It's absolutely amazing. This is definitely a movie that will be put in the history books for a while.
"Child Goes on 'Bucket List' Trip Before He Goes Blind" - Camille Farrar
Twelve-year
old Louie Corbett and two of his older brothers have retinitis pigmentosa, a
rare genetic disease that will eventually cause the three New Zealanders to
become blind. Louie’s case is accelerated, meaning that he will lose his sight
extremely soon. In order to prepare him for such an ordeal, Louie’s parents
wanted to take him on an international sightseeing tour. Louie is visiting the
Grand Canyon, the Empire State Building, and many other places, including a
Celtics game. Louie will also be visiting a clinic in Boston with cutting edge
technology that may be able to slow the loss of vision. The Corbett family was
able to make this trip through the extraordinary generosity of friends, family,
and strangers who heard about Louie’s case.
When
I was reading this article, I became so happy that so many people stepped in to
help the Corbett family. Louie’s story was incredibly touching. I hope he gets
to see as many of the sights he wishes to before he loses his vision. I am also
hoping that his visit to the Massachusetts Ear and Eye Infirmary will be
beneficial in helping Louie see more of the world. The generosity of those that
donated to the trip is astounding. I hope to see even more inspiring stories
like this one in the near future.
"Ellen DeGeneres' Oscars selfie beats Obama retweet record on Twitter" - Natalie H. - Class 2
Last night, Twitter broke down during the Oscars. This article was featured yesterday (3/2/14), just 10 hours ago.
The 86th Academy Awards show was hosted by none other then the lovely and humorous Ellen DeGeneres,
who is an American stand-up comedian, television host, and actress. She
did a really good job as host last night: making the crowd laugh,
dressing in multiple outfits, buying pizza to go around- and she made
everyone feel included as well, especially when she called everyone over
to take selfies with her during the Oscars. DeGeneres ended up taking a
group selfie of herself, Jennifer Lawrence, Channing Tatum, Meryl
Streep, Julia Roberts, Kevin Spacey, Bradley Cooper, Brad Pitt, Lupita
Nyong'o and her brother and Angelina Jolie. She then uploaded it to her
Twitter account and asked her followers to make it the most retweeted
selfie of all time. Wish granted, it was already at 779,295 retweets
within half an hour half, beating President Obama's tweet at the last
election, and reached 2,070,132 retweets by the end of the Oscars. After
temporarily crashing Twitter, Ellen commented, "We really just made
history. We're all winners tonight."
If you ask me, she was the best part of the show, making a difference by the minute.
"Caution urged for infant sleep machines" By: McKay Fugate
Infant sleep machines have become a popular aid for parents with a baby getting inadequate sleep because of a busy household, loud neighbors or other noise disturbances. But a new study says parents should be cautious with the devices because they can generate sound levels that could place infants at risk of developing noise-induced hearing loss. In addition, they are often sold with limited or no instructions for safe.Most of the devices studied featured a volume control, which suggests that safer use is possible and that the machines can be used in accordance with recommendations for hospital nursery noise. With that in mind, the study says manufacturers should be required to limit maximum output levels; print warnings about noise-induced hearing loss on the machine's packaging; and include a mandatory timer on machines marketed primarily for infants that would make them automatically shut off after a predetermined period of time. Families can more safely use the machines if they place them as far away as possible from the infant and never in the crib or on a crib rail; play the the devices at a low volume; and operate them for a short duration of time.
This was kind of scary to read, because a lot of the families that I babysit for ask me to turn on noise machines for their children. This is obviously targeted at all parents who use a noise machines for their kids, and cautions them to monitor the noise level. I never grew up with a noise machine, and now I'm very glad I didn't.
This was kind of scary to read, because a lot of the families that I babysit for ask me to turn on noise machines for their children. This is obviously targeted at all parents who use a noise machines for their kids, and cautions them to monitor the noise level. I never grew up with a noise machine, and now I'm very glad I didn't.
Sunday, March 2, 2014
Oops! Seattle Mayor mourns death of local official who's very much alive (Rhyann Lee)
Oops! Seattle Mayor mourns death of local official who's very much alive (Rhyann Lee)
summary: Not many people live to see their eulogies. Jim Diers is one of the lucky few.
The Seattle man was going about his day alive and well when he started getting condolence messages over his death.
Others asked if he was still alive, he says.
Turns out, Seattle Mayor Ed Murray had issued a news release mourning his death.
"I'm very saddened by the death of Jim Diers," the Mayor said in the statement Thursday afternoon, according to CNN affiliate KIRO TV.
"He was an innovator in bringing communities together, and made a significant contribution to the foundation that makes Seattle special. His work with neighborhoods was passionate and progressive. His service to this city was unmeasurable."
The Mayor's office told CNN that it mistook his death with that of another local official whose name sounds familiar.
However, Diers was not even close to his death door. Far from it.
"I want to assure you that I am very much alive," he posted on Facebook.
In the post, he said he'd had a productive day of work, conference calls and teaching.
Exhausted, yes, but very much alive.
"I'm dead tired today, but otherwise I'm feeling great!," he posted. "Thanks everyone for your concern, but I really don't have any time for death."
About half an hour after Murray's office released a statement, it retracted it.
"Jim Diers ... is alive and well," it said.
Diers' loved ones heaved a collective sigh of relief.
analysis: I think this is kind of funny. Can you imagine seeing people talk about your death!That is crazy and unbelievably. I also think that the mayor needs to pay more attention next time because Dier's loved ones probably really in shock. Im really glad that Jim was far away from death !http://www.cnn.com/2014/02/28/us/seattle-man-not-dead/index.html?hpt=us_c2
severe weather all around the country: Devon Travis
Evacuations have been made this week in california due to severe rain causing mudslides and and debris. The stress of going from wildfires to mudslides is putting a toll on Glendora, California and many disasters are occurring. California had been experiencing the worst drought in the past 100 years, but the extensive amounts of rain all at once doesn't help the dry brittle earth. The article also talks about different "weird" weather conditions in different parts of the country as well. 20 people were injured in colorado because of severe snow storms. The weather in America is going wild.
For real..... 85 to 25 in a matter of 8 hours? what is going on with mother nature and the country? Could global warming be true? global warming (contrary to what some people actually think) is the severe change in weather in short amounts of time. That definitely happened for Dallas this weekend. Hopefully some kind of earth science genius can figure out what's up in the atmosphere.
http://www.cnn.com/2014/03/01/us/california-mudslides/index.html?hpt=hp_bn1
For real..... 85 to 25 in a matter of 8 hours? what is going on with mother nature and the country? Could global warming be true? global warming (contrary to what some people actually think) is the severe change in weather in short amounts of time. That definitely happened for Dallas this weekend. Hopefully some kind of earth science genius can figure out what's up in the atmosphere.
http://www.cnn.com/2014/03/01/us/california-mudslides/index.html?hpt=hp_bn1
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)