GOOD NEWS

[Deb]

The focus of "nothing but bad news" in the media has inspired me to counter that effect with this new topic of Good News. My goal is to find at least one article per week from the media that either has an uplifting story and shows the good in people or is just plain interesting and entertaining. Sort of a counter approach to the "Watching the News Dilemma" topic that was so popular here.

You know me, I'll probably also try to find an appropriate Seth quote to go with each news item.

I'll just add new posts to this topic when I find good news. I'd love for the rest of you to add some too when you find something uplifting or interesting.

[Deb]

A retired teacher helped country mega-star Keith Urban pay for a cup of coffee at a Burlington County Wawa Friday -- not realizing who the shaggy-haired crooner was.

Then Urban, who played the BB&T Pavilion in Camden on Friday, posed for a picture outside the store with a blushing Ruth Reed.

My favorite story of the day is how my 3rd grade teacher thought @KeithUrban was down on his luck and couldn't pay for his wawa snacks so she bought them for him. What an angel. pic.twitter.com/mJccVOQWtp
-- Olivia Rose Prouse (@liverdiverz) August 4, 2018

The picture has gone viral after being posted to a Medford Facebook group where it has generated more than 350 comments and been shared more than 3,000 times.

A former student of Reed also tweeted the photo of Reed and her explanation of what happened.

"For three years, I have made a resolution to once a week treat someone at Wawa. Occasionally it happens more than once a week," she explained. "This man was short a few dollars. He asked a lady with him if she had money. I jumped in and said I would pay and explained why. He thanked me and asked my name. I asked him his and he told me it was Keith. I said that he did look like Keith Urban. He said he was."

Dozens of former students and parents of students who were taught by Reed chimed in.

https://www.nj.com/burlington/index.ssf/2018/08/keith_urban_stops_for_coffee_at_nj_wawa_retired_te.html

[Deb]

Excerpts, a link to the entire article is at the end. 

IN 1966 over 300 children and staff from a Melbourne school reportedly witnessed multiple UFOs silently flying through the sky before landing in a nearby field.

It is the largest mass UFO sighting in Australia yet hardly anything was reported on it at the time.

. . .

Throughout all the years of speculation there has been one particularly interesting peace of audio that's been greatly overlooked.

An American physicist known for his research into UFOs, Dr James E. McDonald, conducted an interview with a science teacher from the Westall school, Andrew Greenwood, who witnessed the event.

. . .

When he went outside he noticed a group of children looking towards the northeast area of the school grounds and as he approached them he claims he saw a UFO hovering close to the powerline.

Mr Greenwood described it as a round, silver object about the size of a car with a metal rod sticking up in the air.

According to Dr McDonald, the teacher then told him five planes came and surrounded the object as more people began gathering to watch the scene before them.

"He called it the most amazing flying he had ever seen in his life," Dr McDonald said.

"The planes were doing everything possible to approach the object and he said how they all avoided collision he will never know.

"Every time they got too close to the object it would slowly accelerate, then rapidly accelerate and then move away from them and stop. Then they would take off after it again and the same thing would happen."

This game of cat and mouse reportedly went on for about 20 minutes and by this time Mr Greenwood said 350 children and staff were watching on.

Suddenly the UFO shot away and vanished within seconds and it was at this point the headmaster came out and ordered everyone to go back to class.

Over the years there were reports that the government tried to cover up the incident and stop witnesses from talking, but Mr Greenwood claimed it was the headmaster that first tried to squash discussion of the incident.

"He gave the school a lecture and told the children they would be severely punished if they talked about this matter and told the staff they could lose their jobs if they mentioned it at all," Dr McDonald said.

https://www.news.com.au/technology/science/space/audio-reveals-creepy-details-of-australian-ufo-mystery/news-story/471c724255b0388ee4e930a4d35028e7

[Deb]

OK, this has been a bit of a challenge. But recently I've found a couple of sources for Good News. Here's something new: https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/group-of-birds-employed-by-french-theme-park-to-pick-up-trash/

"At the Puy du Fou theme park in western France, six birds have been employed to collect and dispose of garbage – mainly cigarette ends and other small pieces.

"As payment for their services, the birds take the collected trash to special bins where they can receive bird food in exchange for depositing the litter.

"The park is very clean," park president Nicolas de Villiers told NPR. "The purpose of the crows ... is to educate the people, to open their minds, to think, 'OK, the birds are able to do something that we are much more able to do than them, so we should do this by ourselves.'"

I love animals.

[jbseth]

Hi Deb,

Thanks for sharing. This is awesome.
There was a TED Talks video at the end of the website you shared and the man giving the talk presented some information about crows and a crow vending machine that he built. In the video he mentions that they used "skinner" based ideas to modify the crows behavior, so that they would put a coin in the machine and get a peanut.

He also shows a video of a crow, taking a wire and turning it into a hook, so that the crow could get some meat out of a tube. The thing is, nobody showed or trained this crow to do this. Crows are very smart. 

I really liked his idea of making use of the crows and their intelligence as opposed to just outright killing them because they are pests.

jbseth

[Deb]

I'm so happy someone found this topic! I plan to keep it up.

Animals are amazing and I think not enough people give them credit. Animals crafting tools... that's just one example of what they are capable of. As Seth has mentioned, we've moved too far away from nature. And yes, crows are very smart. Many animals are.

I've had African Grey parrots, they can reach the intellectual level of a 5 year old human, while retaining the emotional level of a 2 year old. That was a fun combination. But they are thinking and feeling creatures. My Congo would create new words from words she already knew, and they made sense (can't come up with an example right now). My Timneh bonded with my son, and would pick up and throw his food and water bowls at my son's friends out of jealousy. He threw himself at my son's girlfriend, got tangled in her long hair and scared the daylights out of her.

I used to have a lot of pets, of various species. Now I'm down to two pet chickens. One learned how to maneuver a "Magic Mesh" screen door after observing my dog do it. The other has learned how to use an automatic chicken feeder by stepping on a plate to open the lid. Just yesterday I had a riding lesson on a horse that was new to me. I was told that since I'm an adult he would probably test me. But he also works with small children and is very courteous and indulgent with them. He tailors his behavior based on his own observations.

I watched a similar video to this following one not long ago. This one could have been contrived, the video edited, but it still demonstrates the idea of consciousness, thought, problem solving abilities in animals.

[jbseth]

Hi Deb,

Just to let you know, I've been reading all the entries you've made on this subject. I just haven't gotten around to let you know.

I saw the one on the internet about the school teacher and Keith Urban. I thought that was great.

I like the idea of posting "Good News" here. It's a nice alternative to all the negative news that gets airplay everywhere else. 

jbseth

[Deb]

Aww, thanks! Sometimes topics get started and go nowhere because there are others that are really popular, with lots of activity. But I am determined to find more good news. I heard a comic say the news should be renamed from "The News" to "What's Wrong in the World Today."   

[Deb]

Leave it to quantum physics to find an answer to the age-old question: Which came first, the chicken or the egg?

The answer makes sense.

https://www.news.com.au/technology/science/animals/physicists-solve-an-ageold-conundrum-the-chicken-or-the-egg/news-story/fc9db8429aaabb04441aa5448e2a7dac

I liked how they addressed the idea of cause and effect and how events can happen without a set order. Kinda Sethian.

[Deb]

This Denver doctor was so fed up with traditional medicine that quit her job and started her own business so that she can make patients the priority. She doesn't like the "business" direction medicine has taken, which forces doctors away from caring properly for their patients. She is making a difference and hopefully forging a new path for other doctors. I think she'll be very successful.

https://www.9news.com/video/news/local/next/this-doctor-was-so-fed-up-with-traditional-medicine-she-quit-her-job/73-8247295

[jbseth]

Hi Deb,

I liked this video.

I'm glad to see that there are some doctors who are getting tired of being told what kind of health care they should provide from the health insurance industry.  It seems to me that the health insurance industry has too much power and what they want is not necessarily in peoples best interest. What they want mostly is to make more money.

This issue doesn't affect the wealthy, because they don't have to rely on the health insurance industry.

Thanks for the post.

jbseth

[LarryH]

I stumbled onto this thread today, which reminded me that I had found a great source for good news just the other day:
Human Progress.org