Father of the Century

Little asks his dad to work out. His dad has nothing to do with sports and begins to train, carrying his small son in the hands and he has the joy of sport! The amazing; Dad now has run dozens of marathons and Ironman (race specific) always in the company of his son. The Dick Hoyt swims having tied up his son in a boat (!). After cycling 180 km (!) with his son in a special position on the bike and then run a marathon and pushing the wheelchair of his son!

Dick Hoyt is a retired U.S. Army, lives in the town of Holland, Massachusetts, USA and is now 69 years old. 47 years ago his wife Judy gave birth to a baby boy. Named Rick. The birth was difficult as the umbilical cord was entangled around the neck of the fetus. Unfortunately we stopped the perfusion of the brain during the first critical minutes. Rick survived a critical complication, but as the doctors said later to his parents there was a problem. He was quadriplegic. The few minutes of oxygen deprivation have destroyed that part of the brain that controls movement of limbs and speech. The only thing he could do was to control the movements of the head. Nine months later, doctors suggested to the Hoyt put Rick in a special medical center for children with such problems where they will receive the best care. Hoyt was unequivocal.

They could not accept that their child would stay forever "plant". They took the decision to grow by Rick along with his brothers like a normal child. When Rick was 11 years went to the University of Tufts University in Boston and asked the engineers if there were a way to help the child to communicate. A few months later, Tufts engineers built a system that enabled Rick to move a cursor, selecting letters and forming words on a computer screen with the movements of his head. The child began to communicate:

Later, Rick went to school. When he was 15 years a classmate was injured in a car and the school organized an 8 km race in his honor. When Rick returned home he told his father: "Dad, I want to run for Steve”. They did it and here begins the unique phenomenon. Rick told his father: "Dad, when you run, I felt that I am no longer paralyzed. I felt myself to run with you!" That day changed the course of two Hoyt forever. Dick decided to run with his son as often as he could.. Began intensive training and 2 years later he was ready for a big event. The Boston Marathon in 1979! They failed to get a formal participation, but ran and finished! The following years took formal participation. The next challenge was the triathlon. A combination of sport jogging, cycling and swimming. Dick decided to try it too. And he did. Since 1979 involved in the Boston Marathon, Dick and Rick Hoyt (Team Hoyt) participated in 958 athletic events including 224 triathlons, 6 Ironman, 65 marathons, the 25 and 20 in Boston with a biathlon of them in 1992 to cross the United States from north to south running and cycling for 45 days covering 5976 km! Last year at the age of 68 years Dick and Rick finished 46 for the 25th time in the Boston Marathon in 5.083 position between 10,000 athletes. The Rick managed to win a place at the university where he graduated and accepted the work proposal of the university. Dick was declared father of the century and continues to take part in marathons and triathlons.

THANKS TO: http://proponitesbasket.blogspot.com/ for this astonishing story

The link to the video is the following one

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xUQeUsqQuVc&feature=player_embedded

Α triumph of human will

When she was 19 months old, Helen Adams Keller (1880-1968) suffered a severe ilness that left her blind and deaf. Not long after, she also became mute. Her tenacious struggle to overcome these handicaps- with the help of her inspired teacher, Anne Sullivan- is one of the great stories of human courage and dedication.

She was the first deafblind person to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree.

Despite her disability Keller wrote a total of 12 published books and several articles. 

At age 22, Keller published her autobiography with help from Sullivan and Sullivan's husband, John Macy. It includes words that Keller wrote and the story of her life up to age 21, and was written during her time in college.

Keller in 1904

Keller wrote The World I Live In in 1908 giving readers an insight into how she felt about the world Out of the Dark, a series of essays on socialism, was published in 1913.

Her spiritual autobiography, My Religion, was published in 1927 and re-issued as Light in my Darkness. It advocates the teachings of Emanuel Swedenborg, the controversial mystic who gives a spiritual interpretation of the Last Judgment and second coming of Jesus Christ, and the movement named after him, Swedenborgianism. 

In our next article we will present some details of her childhood and the magical moment at the water pump when, recognizing the connection between the word water and the cold liquid flowing over her hand, she realized that objects had names.

How to become a fashion designer

While surfing on the Net, I found an interesting article!
Enjoy! :)

You know you're destined to be a fashion designer if you:

• spent most of your childhood making clothes for your Barbie dolls instead of playing with your friends;
• read fashion magazines instead of your school books;
• ran a boutique out of your basement at age 10.

In other words: if you want to be the next Yves Saint Laurent, it helps to be completely and utterly obsessed with fashion. Choosing a strategy

There are as many different ways to embark upon a fashion career as there are styles of design. Ralph Lauren's Polo empire was founded on a small tie collection that he sold to Bloomingdales. Helmut Lang decided to open his own clothing store when he couldn't find a t-shirt that he liked. Michael Kors built up a network of customers by selling clothes in a trendy NYC boutique. However, most people find that the best foundation for a design career is to get a fine arts degree in fashion at a prestigious school. Besides teaching you the craft, a good school will also add credibility to your resum. "We live in a brandname society, and having the name of a good school behind you really does help," says Carol Mongo, Director of the Fashion Department at Parsons School of Design in Paris. 

Applying to a school

There are a lot of colleges that have fashion programs, but only a handful has the kind of reputation that can really push your career. (See separate listings for addresses and web sites.) It's hard to enter these schools as competition is high, and they tend to be very selective. You apply by sending a portfolio of drawings of your designs. "We can't teach you how to be creative -- you have to bring your creativity to us and let us lead you on your way," says Carol Mongo. She recommends students to get some sewing experience before they apply. Drawing is also an important skill for a designer -- it is the way you communicate your ideas. In order to build an impressive portfolio it's a good idea to have some experience in sketching; taking art classes will help you understand form and proportion. But you don't have to be an expert drawer to get accepted to a school. "The most important quality that we look for in our students is that they are truly passionate and exuberant about fashion," says Mongo. "If you have wonderful ideas but can't draw, there are always ways to get around it. You could for example put your designs on a mannequin and take pictures of it." 

What school will do for you

Most fashion programs are three to four years long. During that time you will take fine arts classes and study drawing, color composition and form. You will also learn pattern making, draping and cutting techniques. One of the most important advantages of design schools is that they work really closely with the industry. Parsons, for example, have "designer critic projects" where successful designers like Donna Karan and Michael Kors work directly with the graduating students. Ambitious students also have the chance to win prestigious awards and grants, which bring them a lot of attention as well as financial support. One very important event is the fashion show at the end of the last semester, when graduating students show their collections. A lot of important people from the fashion industry attend these shows to scout new talent. It's also an opportunity to be really outrageous and get noticed by the media. Hussein Chalayan, for example, became instantly infamous when he showed rotting clothes that he had buried in his backyard for his graduation show at Saint Martins. 

Further details (and full article): http://www.fashion.net/howto/fashiondesigner/