“Shakira meets Muhammad Ali”

“‘I have cerebral palsy. I shake all the time,” Maysoon Zayid announces at the beginning of this exhilarating, hilarious talk. (Really, it’s hilarious.) “I’m like Shakira meets Muhammad Ali.” With grace and wit, the Arab-American comedian takes us on a whistle-stop tour of her adventures as an actress, stand-up comic, philanthropist and advocate for the disabled.”

If we all had had Maysoon Zayid’s parents . . . stand back world!  

Watch, laugh & be inspired!

 

How to Deal with Fear vs Danger

REALLY worth watching – Chris Hadfield: What I learned from going blind in space.

‘”There’s an astronaut saying: In space, “there is no problem so bad that you can’t make it worse.” So how do you deal with the complexity, the sheer pressure, of dealing with dangerous and scary situations? Retired colonel Chris Hadfield paints a vivid portrait of how to be prepared for the worst in space (and life) — and it starts with walking into a spider’s web. Watch for a special space-y performance”. TED Talks

“Good morning, Earth.” That is how Colonel Chris Hadfield, writing on Twitter, woke up the world every day while living aboard the International Space Station. In his five months on the ISS (including three as commander) Hadfield became a worldwide sensation, using social media to make outer space accessible and infusing a sense of wonder into the collective consciousness. Check out his cover version of David Bowie’s “Space Oddity,” sung while floating in his tin can, far above the world …’

Technology – How Your Brain Will Ultimately Control Pain

Until now the only way to control your brain is with therapy, medication and surgery and electromagnetic shock treatments. Technology is moving fast and generations to come with have safer and more effective alternatives.  Watch this fast paced  4 minutes to hear where technology will help us  control pain.

Crazy Idea – What Will You Do?

Jeremy Gilley

Here’s a crazy idea: Persuade the world to try living in peace for just one day, every September 21. In this energetic, honest talk, Jeremy Gilley tells the story of how this crazy idea became real — real enough to help millions of kids in war-torn regions.

Filmmaker Jeremy Gilley founded Peace One Day to create an annual day without conflict. And … it’s happening. What will you do to make peace on September 21?

Full bio and more links

Why you should listen to him:

A day of peace. It seems lovely and hopeful to those of us lucky enough to live in peace already. But to those living in war, a day of peace, a temporary cease-fire, is not only lovely, it’s incredibly practical. On a day when no bullets fly, families can go to the clinic, mosquito nets can be given out, and kids who’ve known only war can learn what peace looks like, sounds like. In short, it’s a window of opportunity to build peace. For the past 10 years, filmmaker Jeremy Gilley has been promoting September 21 as a true international day of ceasefire, a day to carry out humanitarian aid in the world’s most dangerous zones. The practical challenge is huge, starting with: how to convince both parties in a conflict to put down their weapons and trust the other side to do the same? But Gilley has recorded successes. For instance, on September 21, 2008, some 1.85 million children under 5 years old, in seven Afghan provinces where conflict has previously prevented access, were given a vaccine for polio.

On September 21, 2011, Gilley will start the 365-day-long countdown to Truce 2012, a hoped-for global day of guns-down ceasefire and worldwide action toward peace.

He says: “The only logical progression is to work towards a global cessation of hostilities on Peace Day — from violence in our homes and schools, through to armed conflict.”

“This is about saving lives despite anyone’s political beliefs. We hope to see the same commitments that we saw last year from all parties to the conflict.”

Catherine Mbengue, UNICEF Representative in Afghanistan

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