Fat’s Where It’s At: Why We All Need Body Fat

by Melissa Hogenboom BBC    Fat has been demonized for years.    Diet culture tells us to burn it, food companies market low-fat products, and weightlifting forums share tips on how to reach as little body fat as possible.    You only need to spend a moment scrolling through social media and you’ll soon find …

Baby Elsie Steals The Show At Movie Theatre

by Kevin Burton    Talk about making an entrance!    Molly Connah was one day past her due date, and seated comfortably in a movie theatre when her baby daughter decided the time was right for her earthly debut.    Details now from BBC reporter Antonia Matthews:    “A woman gave birth in a cinema …

Be Amazed By These Two Feline Survivors

by Nathan Frederick Good News Network    Two cat tales today, one of fire, one of water.    A mechanical issue started a fire in a Utah apartment building recently that sent the entire five-story structure ablaze in a matter of minutes.    Residents in the Salt Lake City suburb—and their pets—were evacuated from the …

Time Outdoors, Just What The Doctor Ordered

by Good News Network    A hospital in south London opened a garden on its rooftop where critical care patients can spend hours in the fresh air and sunlight.    ICU patients visiting the rooftop garden receive “full life support” while experiencing the therapeutic benefits of the natural surroundings.    Located on top of the …

I Say This “Fly Tipper” Got Off Too Easy

by Kevin Burton    I am guessing you are like me and had no previous idea what “fly tipping” is.    Fly tipping is “the activity of illegally leaving waste or unwanted objects next to a road, in a field,  in a river, etc.” according to the Cambridge Dictionary.    According to wordhistories.net, here’s how …

Strangers Build Community Via Co-Housing

by Charlotte Cox BBC    When Nikki Little and John Porter retired, they considered buying a bungalow for just the two of them.    Instead, they invested in a one million-pound  ($1.33 million US) house tucked away on Devon’s rugged and remote Hartland Peninsula – and looked for a community of like-minded people to join …

Study Says Music And The Arts Slow Aging

by Good News Network    Culture vultures who regularly take part in arts activities—such as listening to music, visiting a museum, or reading—may be slowing the pace of their biological aging, according to a new study.    Researchers from University College London looked at blood test data and survey responses from more than 3,500 adults …

What The British Mean When They Say ‘Sorry’

by Mike MacEacheran BBC    In the UK, sorry is not simply an apology, it’s a cultural reflex – a five-letter pressure valve used to soften requests, smooth over awkwardness, fill conversational gaps and avoid the national horror of seeming rude.    It is perhaps no coincidence that such famously polite characters as Paddington and …

Dave Mason And A Place That’s Far Away

by Kevin Burton    There was just one song that brought Dave Mason into my top-40-based musical awareness in the 70s, but that was enough to keep him there.    Mason died April 19, and tributes began to pour in from people who knew him as I didn’t,  as a co-founder of the British rock …

Tempering Expectations For McCartney Album

by Kevin Burton    I think writers borrow the whole Dickens thing too much. You know, best of times-worst of times. But here I think, it fits.    As a Beatles fan I am of course looking forward to “The Boys of Dungeon Lane,” PaulMcCartney’s first new solo album in six years, set for release …