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Another ‘outlier’ anomaly like the mysterious sounds being reported all over the world at present. This glow persisted for twenty minutes on the horizon in Beijing two night ago. Question is, what was it? The hypothesis repeated in the broadcast video here that it might have had something to do with a Russian satellite is hard to accept. A satellite’s launch or passage would surely not have created something that appears as this does.
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I was delighted to learn that Philip Levine will be our new poet laureate–not only because I love his poems, but because I actually got a chance to meet him when a literary group I worked for in San Antonio brought him to the city to speak. His poems are all "blue collar," with metaphors taken from his years working in the auto industry in Detroit. Despite their masculine overtones, I find them very appealing, because what they REALLY talk about is universal. For instance, here is one about connecting (or reconnecting) with a family member. Here’s an example:

What Work Is by Philip Levine

"We stand in the rain in a long line waiting at Ford Highland Park. For work. read more

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It’s not cool to be fat, but fat people may be cool. Fat dogs are cool, and obese people may be, too. Psychologist Roberto Refinetti studied the relationship between body temperature and body weight in lean and obese dogs. His findings showed that obese dogs have lower body temperature than lean dogs, and the difference in temperature is enough to account for weight gain. In other words, dogs gain weight so they can stay cool. And at the same time that obesity is epidemic in the US, HOT WEATHER is too!
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Two years ago, researchers announced they had discovered a link between Parkinson’s disease and two chemicals commonly sprayed on crops to fight pests. The study examined people who simply lived near where farm fields were sprayed with the fungicide maneb and the herbicide paraquat. It found that the risk for Parkinson’s disease for these people increased by 75% .
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