1)
Help Mend A Heart - There's a mother out there, dying, after a virus attacked her heart and left it non-functional. Her name is Maureen Waters. She needs a heart transplant in order to continue living. The catch? She's unemployed, and her COBRA ran out. So her kids have been asking for donations to pay for the heart transplant out of pocket. Please, take a few minutes and send a few bucks. They need at least half a million dollars, and they've been able to raise forty thousand. That's a lot for a short period of time, but in reality, it's not even 10%.
What needs to happen is for this thing to go viral (no morbid pun intended). It still hasn't hit that critical mass that it needs. You can help, by spreading the word. If the AP picks it up, or a major network, that might give it the boost it needs.
One more note about Maureen Waters: her son is the lead singer for New Found Glory. They put on a benefit concert this weekend. I can't even imagine how hard that must have been.
2)
Defying Gravity kicks some serious butt. It had the same potential that Firefly had, but it was canned after episode 8 in the States, and after the first season in Canada. It'll be out on DVD and Blu-Ray in January. iTunes had the pilot (2 parts) and the first episode after that available for free download back in August. I downloaded them and forgot about them until now. I'd recommend checking out the pilot, at least. It has an interesting story line, good character development, and enough mystery to keep you watching.
3)
Mam,
Cwningen and I went to the
New York State Museum this weekend. We weren't aware of the Chocolate Expo going on this weekend, but, bravo. We didn't partake, but it was spread throughout the museum. People who might not normally wander a museum were, in fact, doing just that, lured on by chocolate. The bird hall was full of vendors (actually a disappointment for us). There was a long line waiting for the chocolate fountain outside of the NYC and Albany exhibits.
Cwningen enjoyed the children's area. I'm fairly certain she could have stayed there all day, an alternative pre-school. Everything is hands-on, and science or history oriented. I'd recommend anyone with a small child check it out as an option for spending a few hours out this winter. The museum is free, with a donation box outside if you can afford it.
4) Ernie and crew are once again running
Let's Bring 'em Home. It's a charity designed to pay for transportation to bring home our boys and girls in blue for the holidays (junior enlisted military personnel, as stated on the site). (And, yes, I'm well aware that their day-to-day gear is not blue. Except for the Navy's nice new blue digital camo).
I know, I've listed two charities. These are two charities that are not well known, and both do good directly and immediately. There's still a bit of an air of mystery around Help Mend a Heart. It's brand new, so I'm willing to overlook the lack of details. Some message boards are calling it a publicity stunt. I don't think it is, though.
If that still turns you off, LBEH is well established. They've been operating every year since 2001, and they're a registered not-for-profit organization.
Well, that's enough for tonight.
