In Search of the Human Spirit

Wajahat Ali is a 24 year old who grew up in middle class America. He is of Pakistani descent and Muslim. He’s a graduate of UC Berkeley, a law student, and has dabbled in stand up comedy. He is also considered an up and coming literary talent.

Ali has gained notoreity for a two-act play he wrote called “The Domestic Crusaders”. The play is about a Muslim American family coming together for a birthday party. The play focuses on life after 9/11 for a Muslim family living in America. It speaks to the conflicts, religious and political, that affect many families today.

Ali enrolled at UC Berkeley in 2001. One of his teachers was Pulitzer Prize winner, Ishmael Reed. Although Ali was taking Reed’s short story class, Reed was quick to notice the budding author’s talent and encouraged him to write a play. Ali took on the challenge and spent many hours researching how plays are structured and presented. Reed was his mentor throughout the process. “The Domestic Crusaders” is the result of all that hard work.

“The Domestic Crusaders” has received critical acclaim. And, audiences have enjoyed it immensely. We should expect more achievements from this young talent in the future.

If you would like to learn more about the play and the playwright, visit the home page for the The Domestic Crusaders

Walter Smith teaches physics at Haverford College in Pennsylvania. He has a unique approach. He’s made up songs about Einstein, oscillation, and other science topics and he sings them in the classroom.

He greets his students with song right on the first day. Most of the students aren’t sure what to think. They don’t expect their science teachers to serenade them. And, science isn’t the first thing you’d think of when you think of music.

Smith has quite a repertoire. Some songs are the result of a collaboration with his wife, other songs come from satirists and other teachers. His own compositions include such hits as “Divine Einstein”, “Love Song of the Electric Field”, and “The Photon and the Wave”.

Smith is liked and respected by his students. Although his methods are unconventional, they bring results. If you’ve gotten a song stuck in your head, then you know that music would be an excellent complement to any curriculum. It may be difficult to remember facts, but the words to a song well memorized usually come quite easily. Since alot of learning is repetition, why not set it to song to make it easier?

Smith isn’t the only science teacher using this method. James Livingston at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has also composed songs and poems related to science. Livingston uses the songs to complement curriculum, but he does not sing them.

Smith has a website dedicated to his musical compositions as well as songs contributed by others. The website includes a song database and information on how to use the songs with course material. You can visit his website at this address: Physics Songs

[Photograph credit: Joerg Loehnig, www.sxc.hu]

Some of the victims of Hurricane Katrina are not human. Marine life in city aquariums were washed away when the hurricane hit. A group of eight dolphins from those aquariums were sighted this week off the shores of Mississippi in the Gulf of Mexico.

The dolphins made the Marine Life Oceanarium in Gulfport their home. During the storm a 40 foot wave crashed into their park sweeping away the dolphins all other life within the park.

The dolphins were sighted by NOAA Fishery Service scientists September 10th. When found, the dolphins were starving. Some sustained physical injuries due to the ordeal. Because the dolphins have lived so long in captivity, their trainers worried they would not survive predators or man made machines in the ocean waters. They don’t have the necessary foraging skills to fend for themselves. It was vital to rescue them before they perished.

The dolphins are greeted each day by their trainers and NOAA scientists. They feed them several times a day. They are being captured in stages. On Thursday, two of the dolphins were coaxed into a boat. These two were determined to be in the most danger as they had serious injuries. The two rescued dolphins were taken to their temporary digs at a hotel swimming pool.

On Saturday, another rescue mission will set out. They hope to retrieve the rest of the dolphins once the Navy provides the salt water tanks necessary to move them. All of the dolphins will be kept under quarantine in the hotel swimming pool until their health has been assessed and it’s determined whether they carry any contagious diseases.

The rescue has been a joint effort between local scientiests, trainers from the Oceanarium, the NOAA, the Coast Guard, and the Navy.

[Photo Credit: NOAA]

In March of 1944, Clinton Krotz was a soldier stationed in Italy. He had received the birthday present his parent’s had sent him and he wrote a letter back to thank them. The letter was mail a couple of days later. He never wrote another letter home. On 8 May 1944, he was killed in action.

Gary Mathis went to a yard sale in Kansas. He bought some old newspaper. Inside the box was a letter from 1944. It was the letter Clinton Krotz had written to his folks. It had never been delivered.

Mathis decided to see if the family was still around. He posted an announcement in the Ravenna Newspaper. By chance, Louise Kisling, Clinton’s sister, heard about the announcement. She contacted Mathis who sent it to her.

It’s a mystery how the letter got to Kansas. It had been post marked by the Poole, Nebraska post office, so it wasn’t very far from it’s destination. Whoever received the letter held onto it. Perhaps it got lost in the box of newspapers from 1915. At any rate, Clinton’s sister now has a memento over 60 years ago of the brother she lost int he war.

[Photograph credit: Nauris Mozolevs, www.sxc.hu]

On the island of Kauai, their is a movement to celebrate ancient sites. Land once used for agriculture and other purposes is being restored. Native Hawaiian cultural sites are being brought back to life on the island.

Many are pitching in on the effort. Chris Kauwe, a resident of Poipu, is one of the volunteers. For the last four years, he and others have been working on land once owned by the county in Weliweli. This land is being restore as the ancient village it once was. The land at Weliweli had been forgotten by everyone. It wasn’t until Kauwe referred to an archaelogical map that he realized the site existed–and he lived right next door!

Another of the volunteers is Billy Kaohelaulii. His family was given the land in the 1800s. But, the land was taken away and then ended up as part of county property. He feels a connection to the property and wants to see it preserved.

Joining Kauwe and Kaohelaulii are neighbors and friends. The work has been progressing. They spend a few days a week on the project. It has taken awhile just to clear the land of the debris that had been left by others. Now they can see what was once there and work towards it’s preservation.

Kauwe and Kaohelaulii are working to restore just this site. However, many projects have sprung up Kauai as well as throughout the state. These sites are important to the history of the Hawaiian islands. For the culture to survive, ancient sites need to be restored so others may enjoy them. Also, the histories, stories, and purposes of the sites need to be passed on so that the future generations will have an understanding of their heritage.

[Photograph of Kauai credit: Dixie Prosser, www.sxc.hu]

If you’re into genealogy, you’re part of the fastest growing hobby in the world. Millions of people are searching for their roots every day. It’s not always easy. Even with records online, there is still a dearth of material yet to be digitized.

The LDS Church holds the largest collection of genealogy related material in the world. Their main library in Salt Lake City, Utah contains over 2 million rolls of microfilm that can be loaned out to the public through their various Family History Centers. However, you cannot view their records at any other facility.

A few years ago the LDS Church embarked on indexing the 1880 US Census. They’ve also been indexing some smaller collections. But, the announcement reported today made genealogist worldwide jump for joy. The LDS Church will begin indexing it’s entire microfilm collection and make it available on their website for free. This will involve digitizing records, inputting them into databases, proofreading, and uploading the data to their website. All the work will be done by volunteers. It will take years and years to complete. When it’s done, it will simplify genealogy research for the masses.

What’s amazing is that in this day and age of profit, the LDS Church will maintain it’s philosophy of offering research materials for free. This is at a time when many companies are trying to get a piece of the genealogy pie. Online subscriptions run from $30 to hundreds of dollars. The LDS Church has already made genealogy accessible to the average person by opening their research facilities to anyone with access to a Family History Center. Now they will open their records for free to anyone with Internet access. This is truly the spirit of genealogy which may be the only hobby where people openly and freely exchange data that they’ve collected for years.

[Photograph credit: Charles Thompson, www.sxc.hu]

Houston, Texas is trying to absorb hundreds of thousands of displaced children from the Gulf Coast. Getting these kids into schools is one thing. Making sure they have school supplies in another.

Project Backpack was created by a group of caring individuals. It’s a small organization–a collection of teachers and parents. They have no head office so no high overhead costs. No corporations are sponsoring them. Everything they do is from the ground up.

The project is collecting backpacks and filling them with school supplies. The main thrust is in Houston. However, they are asking individuals to set up Project Backpack groups in theirown communities. They can then mail the backpacks to them. More information on how this works can be found at their website: Project Backpack
The website includes a list of what supplies are needed.

Although the project originates from Houston, there is also a list of school districts outside of Texas who are taking in children from the Gulf Coast. These districts will need our help in providing school supplies.

It is creative ideas like these that take us beyond rescue and reconstructon. Before the Gulf Coast can be rebuilt, the displaced people have needs which must be met. Project Backpack makes it easier to get the children back to school.

The fourth anniversary of 9/11 is upon us. It’s a time of remembrance and national mourning.

“nine eleven”–those words alone bring up images of horror and humanity. When you say them, everyone knows what you mean. We remember the airplanes slamming into buildings, cries of terror, and the people who lost their lives that day. But, we also remember the brave people who risked their lives to save others. It is a day our nation will never forget.

It strikes me as strange that while we commemorate 9/11, we are recovery from another disaster. Again, we are faced with terrible images of suffering and wonderful acts of courage…only this time nature is the cause.

Our government could not protect us from the terrorist attacks on 9/11/2001. Guiliani stepped up and other leaders went into action. Courageous individuals fought the terrorists on airplanes and rescued people in collapsed, burning buildings at their own peril. Many died that day–alot of them trying to save the lives of another. Four years after the tragedy the images are still so very painful. It is still uncomfortable watching them on tv.

In August, our government could not prevent nature’s fury. As we watched the suffering unfold there seemed to be a paralysis amongst government officials. The images were horrible and yet our leaders seemed to be waiting for someone else to do something. It was bureaucracy at it’s worse.

Those in New Orleans, Biloxi, and along the Gulf Coast did their best to save their fellow humans under the worst conditions. The anguish and despair that we saw on their faces burned itself deep in our souls just as it did on 9/11. People drowning in their homes, bodies floating on the street, people left without food or water on the side of a freeway as buses passed them by–was this really happening in America?

The American people joined in their suffering just as they did on 9/11. People became outraged that our government was not helping those people–our people. Then something happened. Offers of assistance poured in from all corners of our nation. Many people showed up in Louisiana and Mississippi to offer the help our officials seem incapable of. Many people made care packages to be delivered to various shelters. Children sold lemonade and donated the proceeds to the survivors. Police and Firefighters left their own states to support their breathren already carrying a heavy load. Doctors, nurses, and psychiatrists volunteered to aid the people. The state of Texas stepped up and opened their arms to the evacuees and got their school system ready in record time to take in all the children. Family members took in family members, old friends opened their doors to people they had not seen in years, and people offered their homes to complete strangers. One man used $10,000 of his own money to rent a truck and drive water to a town in Mississippi.

And there were others: from the National Guard troops returning home to Louisiana who found their homes destroyed but were ready lend their support to the prison inmate who could have escaped but stayed to help others to the rescue workers and police who sat in small boats hoping to hear voices of survivors to the small child who held the hand of an elderly woman in a wheel chair outside one of the shelters.

Even the rich and famous joined in…Senator Bill Frist went to Mississippi and New Orleans and offered his medical skills. Former Vice President Al Gore chartered planes to assist in the evacuation. Greg Norman lent his helicopter to the rescue effort. Peyton and Eli Manning loaded supplies onto airplanes for the hurricane torn region.

Aid and comfort came from all parts of the nation…and all walks of life.

While we remember 9/11, we can’t help but to think of Hurricane Katrina. Though the tragedies are different, there is something familiar between them. While our politicial leaders cannot keep us safe from calamity, we hope they will jump into action when it does strike. During 9/11, we saw leadership in action and we saw people helping people. In New Orleans and Mississippi, we saw ineptitude, bungling, and indifference from our officials, but the American people stepped forward and aided each other. It’s that special spirit that Americans have. And, it shines through in times of need.

[9/11 graphic courtesy of: http://www.tcdesign.net/solidarity_graphics.htm]

On July 29th, three astronomers identified what they believe to be a 10th planet. The same astronomers have made two other discoveries in the last year. They’ve found two new objects orbitting Pluto. They don’t believe they are planets, though they confess they aren’t really sure what they are.

They’ve given the objects the names: Xena, Santa, and Easterbunny (the last two named after the time of year they were discovered). The three new objects are the largest object found in the Kuiper Belt. The Kuiper Belt is located at the edge of the solar system. The object floating in this area area are known as KBOs (Kuiper Belt Objects). Some argue that Pluto is not a planet, but a KBO.

Pluto is about 3 billions miles from Earth. “Xena”, the largest of the objects, is at least 9 billion miles away and the other two about 5 million miles away. The objects behave peculiarly and are odd shaped. One of the objects is larger than Pluto and is cigar shaped. The object known as Xena appears to be have a water ice surface. The object known as Easterbunny is said to be much like Pluto.

The astronomers who made the discovery are Michael E. Brown, David Rabinovitz, and Chadwick A. Trujillo. The group will continue investigating the Kuiper Belt where many strange objects are known to reside.

[Image is an artist's depiction of what the new planet might look with our sun off in the distance. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech]

Charles Foley is a researcher for the Wildlife Conservation Society. He has spent the last 12 years following a dream. The researcher has been trying to find a rare white giraffe in Tarangire National Park.

Foley got wind of the rumors in 1993 while in Tanzania. He’s been looking for the giraffe ever since. Even though the stories of sightings stopped in 1994, he has continued to research the possibility that the white giraffe really exists.

Foley has been working on the Tarangire Elephant Project. He monitors the migratory patterns of the elephants. This summer he was back at Tarangire National Park and doing an aerial survey. That’s when he saw it–the white giraffe. He was able to photograph the giraffe and now has his proof of their existence.

The giraffe is mostly white, with brown on the lower half of it’s legs. It has dark spots similar to other giraffs.

Is this the same giraffe Foley heard rumors of in 1993? He doesn’t think so. The original sighting was of an albino giraffe–completely white.

You can see Foley’s photograph on the LiveScience.com website: White Giraffe

[Photograph courtesy of: USAID/Tanzania, www.usaid.gov]