Water Cooler 1.7.2010

Good, clever, fun stories to share at the "water coolers" of your life.

Resolutions submitted by Jean Kingston 

Was it me, or didn't it seem a lot more crowded at the gym today?  I think we're trying to make good on those New Year's Resolutions!  If you did put "eat better, exercise more" on your list, here's a list of tips which may help get you started in the right direction!

Smile submitted by Mark Basnage 

What's wrong? Why the long face? Don't you realize that the world is smiling all around you? 

At least that's what you might think after you see this fun and odd website of "found" smiles. 

Giving submitted by John Kingston

How can foundations and individual donors fix charitable giving?  Pablo Eisenberg lists nine good starting places in this provocative piece in the Wall Street Journal.

Giving submitted by John Kingston 

What's the best way to help Africa out of its current economic struggles? According to this Zambian-born, Harvard- and Oxford-educated thinker, the best thing to do would be to stop international financial aid. Says Dambisa Moyo, "No country on Earth has ever achieved long-term growth and reduced poverty in a meaningful way by relying on aid. It's just never happened. So we're pushing a strategy that has no evidence of working anywhere on Earth."  Take a look at her own proposals, and learn more about her critique of the current system here.

Sports submitted by Nathan Whitaker 

Maybe the Washington Wizards never should have changed their name (from Bullets)... Any time that the Executive Director of the Players' Association is weighing in on player behavior, calling it "unprecedented," that can't be a good thing, right?

Parenting submitted by Mark Basnage 

You knew we had an ambassador to Spain, and one for China, and so on.... but a "national ambassador for young people's literature?"  

Thankfully, the new holder of this title is herself a multiple Newberry award-winner. Unsurprisingly, her advice for adults is simple: read aloud to your children. “You can read out loud, and if you’re exhausted or crying so hard because you know that Charlotte is going to die in the next chapter, you can turn it over to the kid to read the next part.” 

Sports submitted by Tom Walsh

The voice of broadcaster Ernie Harwell evokes fond memories for generations of Detroit Tigers fans. By looking at just a few of the lives he’s touched, this profile of him as his life winds down (he’s 91 & terminally ill) gives the rest of us a glimpse of what he has meant to people near & far, as well as a portrait of a man facing his death with a peaceful spirit.

Life submitted by Tom Walsh

Gossip is one of those things that’s so ubiquitous, we don’t usually notice it unless it becomes truly outrageous. An educator in the article notes the growing celebration of snarkiness and sarcasm in our culture, influencing all of us (not just kids!). It’s hard to swim upstream against it. But this article describes what sounds like a movement to highlight the harm gossip can do, and get us to knock it off. One approach is to teach us to ask before opening our mouths, "Is it kind? Is it true? Is it necessary?" And the most basic question: “Will it improve on the silence?”