This week, Tommy and I got positive and enjoyed the hell out of it. There are less hungry people in the world, there's less food waste in the world, there are little kids buying homeless people meals, there are huge corporations halting production to help the needy, and Ireland voted to legalize gay marriage. LET'S DO THIS...STUFF!
So Tommy's Lo and Rejoice topic was about this study that shows the amount of hungry people in the world has drastically dropped and says:
72 countries have achieved the Millennium Development target of halving proportion of the chronically undernourished.
In addition, 29 countries have met the more ambitious goal laid out at the World Food Summit in 1996, when governments committed to halving the absolute number of undernourished people by 2015.
How awesome is that? Of course world hunger is still a huge issue and we need to work even harder to drop that number down to zero. One way France is combating hunger is by making it illegal for supermarkets to throw away edible food.
A quote from that article states that the United States is one of the worst offenders with regard to food waste: food makes up the plurality of Americans' garbage, piling up approximately 35 million tons per year. The most troubling aspect of the amount of food waste is how much it's increased in recent years: Americans are tossing out 20 percent more food than they threw away in 2000, and 50 percent more than they discarded in 1990.
Many people are campaigning to have this measure passed in other countries. Because edible food is also tossed in with harmful substances such as ammonia, the companies are concerned about the health of the people eating from the trash as well as threat of legal liability.
In the same line of conversation, we talked about the owner of P.B. Jams in Oklahoma, Ashley Jiron, posting this sign on her shop window:
Ashley has sparked a Pay It Forward trend in her shop as well, and you can read more about her kind heart here.
Also in Oklahoma (you go, guys!), I found my official Lo and Rejoice topic: a 5 year old boy buying a homeless man a meal.
Josiah Duncan was eating with his mom when he noticed a man sitting by himself in the restaurant. After asking several questions about the man, Josiah's mom explained that the man was homeless and what it meant to be homeless. Josiah immediately decided to buy the man a meal, and to pray with the gentleman before he ate. Everyone in the restaurant was moved to tears, and I can't help but wonder how many lives he touched by that action. Certainly not just the homeless man, but even the bystanders, diners, waitresses, waiters, cooks, etc - what if he motivated every person in there to do something kind, and they in turn motivated other people? That's what goodness can do. That's what a kind, loving heart can do. It can change the world.
How do you feel about giving to the needy? Tommy and I discussed the types of people who feel like they're not giving anything because they don't know what the person will do with the money. And certainly, I can understand the concern of not wanting to fuel a drug addict's binge. But what if your one kind act is all it takes to change that person's life? What if your gesture kept them from giving up? What if you were put there in that moment to help because you can? If you give, Tommy and I think all that matters is that you give with a good heart. What becomes of your act is out of your control, but you can sleep well that night knowing that you did what you could to ease someone's hunger, or help give them a place to sleep that night. You have now changed that person's life.
Speaking of giving what you can, I have to give gigantic praise to Anheuser Bush for halting production of beer at their Georgia brewery to produce water for the victims of the Texas and Oklahoma storms.
Maybe it's a publicity stunt. Maybe it's not. Who cares? The important part is that needy people will find some relief in this act and again, those are thousands of worlds that have been touched and changed in some way and for the better. Bravo guys, I'll give you free publicity all day long (to all 10 of the people who read this).
Speaking of changing the world - CAN I GET A HELL YES FOR IRELAND?
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| I'm talking to you |
Ireland has become the first nation to legalize gay marriage. Save me your criticism if you feel it because I don't care. I just don't. If it's against your religion or personal beliefs, that's totally OK. I understand and that's your right. But I for one think love... ALL LOVE...is beautiful and cherished. There is so much hate in this world. So much negativity! Let true love be recognized and appreciated and respected and supported. Let us in this lifetime see the end of discrimination against ANYBODY in terms of basic rights. Ireland has not forced anybody to become gay, to enjoy homosexuality, to approve of it or even acknowledge it. It has simply given every one of their people the basic human right to marry who they love. And I. Love. Love.
So hey Ireland...
Oh! Hi! Have you ever played the Sims? Have you ever discovered so many cheats that you had no real reason to play the game anymore? Their needs were met, you were a billionaire, you were just online chatting with hot babes all day.
Kinda took all the fun out of it, didn't it? I have nothing else to add here. Just bringing it up. Just think about it. Needs are kinda not so bad.
Know what else isn't so bad? Having a dad that owned an emerald mine. Oh hi Elon Musk, inventor of PayPal and all things awesome like SpaceX and Oculus Rift and Batman and Chris Nolan and Interstellar!
Those are facts.
But seriously, he did invent the first three things and if you haven't read about Oculus Rift:
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| For real for real |
and other caddywhompus contraptions that lead us to ask: when will machines overthrow the human race and kills us all?
Yes, when. Not if. Just...give me a few years, OK guys?
It's actually such a concern that a bunch of smart people like Elon Musk and Stephen Hawking have created an organization called Future of Life Institute to kind of help prevent that from happening as well as to deal with other matters of robo-ethics.
Speaking of which, I really really want to see Ex Machina:
OR DO I?!
I also want to go to a Dave and Buster's so I can play in this cool Star Wars pod:
and I also don't trust that thot Siri.
I found that on the internet so I know it's true so WHO'S CRAZY NOW?
Not me. THEM. THEY are.
Hmmph.
You know what else we know? WE DON'T KNOW. And neither does Joe Rogan. Because which one of us could assemble an iPhone, a TV, a car - even if given all of the parts?
The answer is Elon Musk and nobody.
So thank goodness we still have some older technology, good ol rats.
These adorable guys can sniff out an area for bombs, explosives, and other ammunition much faster than we puny humans can. They cover in 20 minutes what it would take a human with metal detectors FIVE DAYS to cover.
The best part? The rats are treated like heroes, are loved and hugged and cuddled, retired at age 6 and live the rest of their lives as happily as possible. And because they're so small they don't set off any of the dangerous items, not one rat has died doing their job.
We then wrapped up our rambling rambles with talks of disturing PSAs (you're welcome):
We pretty much concluded that it's important to be as happy as you can in your current situation - minus hurting other people or yourself, that is. Make the best of what you have, do what you can to help, and for heaven's sake never be mean to a robot.
PS: GO IRELAND!
