Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Ben Underwood: the boy who could “see” with his ears


Ben Underwood was a remarkable teenager, who loved to skateboard, ride his bicycle and play football and basketball. For the most part, the Californian 14-year-old was just like other kids his age. What made Underwood remarkable was his ability to master these activities despite the fact that he was blind. Underwood had both eyes removed after being diagnosed with retinal cancer at age two. To most people's amazement upon meeting him, he seemed completely unfazed by his lack of sight, defying common stereotypes about blindness as a disability. So how did he do it? The answer is echolocation: the sonar navigation technique used by bats, dolphins, several other mammals and some birds. As Underwood moved about, he habitually made clicking noises with his tongue; these sounds bounced off surfaces and, with each return, added to Underwood's perception of his surroundings.

He was so good at it that he could tell the difference between a fire hydrant and a rubbish bin, distinguish between parked cars and trucks, and — if you took him to a house he had never been to before — he would tell you he could 'see' a staircase in that corner and a kitchen in the other. He could even distinguish between different materials.

An unflinching faith in God guided Ben and his mother during his last few months as cancer spread to Ben's brain and spine. He eventually died on January 2009 at the age of 16.

Nando Parrado


72 - Days of ordeal, Nando Parrado and other survivors of a plane crash in the Andes had to endure before being rescued. Flying over the mountains on a Friday the 13th, the young men and their families who boarded the charter plane joked about the unlucky day when the plane's wing hit the slope of the mountain and crashed. On impact, 13 passengers were instantly dead while 32 others were badly wounded. Hoping to be rescued, the survivors waited in the freezing -37C temperature, melting snow for drinks and sleeping side by side to keep themselves warm. Food was so scarce, everyone had to pool whatever food they can find for a rationed pool.

9 days after the crash, due to dire desperation and hunger, the survivors called for an important meeting. One member proposed that they eat the dead. The 2 hours meeting ended with a conclusion. If any of them died in the Andes, the rest had the permission to use the corpse as food. After 2 weeks, their hope of being found dashed when they found out via their radio transistor that the rescue effort was called off.

On the 60th day after the crash, Nando Parrado and 2 other friends decided to walk through the icy wilderness for help. By the time they left, Nando Parrado said, the crash site was “.. an awful place, soaked in urine, smelling of death, littered with ragged bits of human bone and gristle”. Wearing 3 pairs of jeans and 3 sweaters over a polo shirt, he and his friends trekked the mountains with human flesh as their ration.

Knowing that they must search for rescue, the team endured frozen snow, exhaustion and starvation, walking and climbing for 10 days before finding their way to the bottom of the mountain. The team was finally helped by a Chilean farmer who called the police for help. Parrado then guided the rescue team via a helicopter to the crash site.
On the 22nd December 1972, after enduring 72 brutal days, the world found out that there were 16 survivors who cheated death, in the mountain of Andes. 8 of the initial survivors died when an avalanche cascaded down on them as they slept in the fuselage.

Liz Murray



Liz Murray (born September 23, 1980 in The Bronx, New York) is an American whose success story has spread around the world. She is known for being the homeless girl wandering the slums of New York, who eventually turns her life around once she realizes she is not doomed to experience life on the streets. Determined and confident, she strives for and succeeds at becoming a student at Harvard University. Her story was told in an Emmy-nominated Lifetime TV movie Homeless to Harvard: The Liz Murray Story.

Murray, whose life was chronicled in the Lifetime television movie Homeless to Harvard, was the keynote speaker at Bryan's back-to-school convocation at Central Baptist Church.

"The greatest challenge really came not in my circumstances, but in believing in what I did," Murray told more than 6,000 Bryan school employees Friday. "No matter what the circumstances were, I had a choice."

By age 15, Murray's mother had died of AIDS and Liz was homeless - living on the streets, riding on the subway all night, and eating from the dumpsters. While a majority of us would have given up on life, amidst the pain, Murray always imagined the her life could be much better than it was.

"I started to grasp the value of the lessons learned while living on the streets. I knew, after overcoming those daily obstacles, that next to nothing could hold me down."

Determined to take charge of her life, Murray pulled herself together, enrolled in a charter school in New York and completed all four years of high school in just two years. This was all done while Murray was still homeless. At the encouragement of a mentor, she went on to earn a scholarship from the New York Times and entered Harvard University in 2000. Although she began her college career at Harvard, she eventually transferred to Columbia University to be closer to her father who is dying from AIDS.

Murray narrated how she and her older sister had lived in a trash-strewn, filthy apartment in the Bronx. Their parents were drug addicts, and when the welfare check came at the first of each month, the family of four would go to the "drug spot" and her parents would buy cocaine and heroin, Murray said.

Understanding the Word "Break through traditional teachings to truth and the word of life"


Nick had complete peace knowing that God won't let anything happen to us in our life unless He has a good purpose for it all. Nick Vujicic completely gave my life to Christ at the age of fifteen after reading John 9. Jesus said that the reason the man was born blind was "so that the works of God may be revealed through Him." Nick truly believed that God would heal him so that Nick could be a great testimony of His Awesome Power. Later on Nick was given the wisdom to understand that if we pray for something, if it's God's will, it'll happen in His time. If it's not God's will for it to happen, then He has something better.

Nick Vujicic is now 21 years old and have completed a Bachelor of Commerce majoring in Financial Planning and Accounting. Nick is also a motivational speaker and love to go out and share his story and testimony wherever opportunities become available. Nick Vujicic had developed talks to relate to and encourage students through topics that challenge today's teenagers. He is also a speaker in the corporate sector. In recent years, Nick has learnt to become independent and can now take care of all his personal needs. He can do everything from brushing his teeth, combing his hair, dressing up, taking care of my personal hygiene and even shaving. He get around the house by jumping around. Outside the house, Nick get around in an electric wheelchair. Nick love to swim, fish and play soccer. Nick has a passion for reaching out to youth and to keep himself available for whatever God wants him to do.

Nick Vujicic has many dreams and goals that he has set to achieve in his life. He wanted to be a witness for God, to become an international inspirational speaker and be used as a vessel in both Christian and non-Christian venues. He also wanted to become financially independent by the age of 25, through real estate investments, to modify a car for him to drive and to be interviewed and share his story on the "Oprah Winfrey Show". Writing several best-selling books has been one of his dreams and he hope to finish writing his first by the end of the year. It will be called "No Arms, No Legs, No Worries!"

Nick Vujicic also finds time for such normal pursuits as swimming, music and fishing. How do you fish if you don’t have arms? He has a fishing rod with an electronic reel.

You might think these goals are too far-fetched. However, Nick Vujicic believed that if you have the desire and passion to do something, and if it's God's will, you will achieve it in good time. As humans, we continually put limits on ourselves for no reason at all! What's worse is putting limits on God who can do all things. We put God in a "box". The awesome thing about the Power of God, is that if we want to do something for God, instead of focusing on our capability, concentrate on our availability for we know that it is God through us and we can't do anything without Him. Once we make ourselves available for God's work, guess whose capabilities we rely on? God's!

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

Philippians 4:13

God has a Great Purpose for your life! As far as your unanswered prayers, remember that God is Faithful. What are we to do when we are seeking but not finding?

Take courage my friend for the Battle is the Lord's and I urge you to keep striving for the truth. For it is the truth that will set you free and the Peace of God that surpasses all understanding will reign in your heart. May the Lord Bless you as you diligently seek Him and grant you Godly Wisdom and Strength through your journey.

Jessica Cox

Jessica Cox (born 1983 in Arizona) is the world's first licensed armless pilot, as well as the first armless black-belt in the American Taekwondo Association(she now has two black belts in Taekwondo). She was born without arms due to a rare birth defect. She earned her pilot's license on October 10, 2008, after three years of training, and is qualified to fly a light-sport aircraft to altitudes of 10,000 feet; she received her training through an Able Flightscholarship. Cox has not used prosthetic arms since she turned 14. Using her feet as most people use their hands, she is able, among other things, to drive a car (she has an unrestricted license and drives a car without modifications), to type on a keyboard (25 words per minute), to pump her own gas, and to put in and remove her contact lenses. She is also a certified SCUBA diver. Cox holds a Bachelor's degree in psychology from theUniversity of Arizona and works as a motivational speaker.





Monday, March 5, 2012

Mudhalvan Tamil film - Review

The story focuses on Pughazhendi, played by Arjun. He happens to be an ambitious TV journalist, working for “Q TV” . He eyes Thenmozhi (Manisha) through his roving camera. He instantly falls in love with her, and embarks on a voyeuristic journey, making full use of the media resources at his hand. He also interviews the present Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu (Raghuvaran playing himself again, only he looks older). Pughazh asks the tough questions to the C.M. Unlike Bush, however, Raghuvaran is smart enough to ask Arjun to put his money where his mike is, and play king for a day. After using up a few lifelines mentally, Arjun comes up with his final answer – he agrees. So “Gentleman” Arjun is now “First Gentleman” Arjun. Arjun & Manisha in MudhalvanHe does such a great job on his first day, that the voters eventually elect him to be their permanent leader. All of this does not occur without any repercussions.

Politics has always proved a popular topic in India, both in real-life as well as in the movies. Shankar Director of the film, has exploited that to its maximum potential. Shankar neatly states the problems that Tamil Nadu is facing, and is bold enough to suggest some of his solutions. In the scene immediately after the bus driver and student clash, Shankar effectively captures the complex divisive forces that are at work in India. Pugazh’s achievements during his one-day term as “Mudhalvan’” can not (and should not) be taken literally. The fact that he personally chases eve-teasers is irrelevant. The point is that as C.M. he can arrange for them to be caught, and Shankar spares us those mundane bureaucratic details. Arjun accurately portrays a young dynamic person, all set to change the world If Manisha’s character seems unconvincing and minor, think of all the spouses of people in power, and how much we really know about them. Shankar is also honest enough to admit that no one can create a Utopian society. Pughazh’s naivete is cruelly exposed time and again. The film has a great ending, which is self-defeating in that it shows that the Tit-For-Tit Rule, though not perfect, is the best one that we can live by. Pughazh has matured as a politician, but more importantly Shankar has matured as a director. If “Indian” represented idealism, “Mudhalvan” represents realism, with a generous dose of optimism.



"This is one of the best Inspiration film in the Tamil Film Industry"