America's Top Ten Ideas - help make Project Jason one of them.

The following is information received from Kelly Jolkowski about Project Jason's latest endeavours. Please vote and pass it on.

Most of you have heard of our Campaign for the Missing, a state by state effort to pass legislation which would positively impact how missing and unidentified deceased person cases are handled. (http://www.projectjason.org/legislation.html)

We’ve been successful mentoring volunteers with the passage of legislation in 6 states, with several more active. These efforts will continue on.

I recently learned of an effort called Ideas for Change in America. This is a is a citizen-driven project that aims to identify and create momentum around the best ideas for how the 111th Congress can turn the broad call for "change" across the country into specific policies. The project is nonpartisan, and is not connected to the Obama Administration.

In this effort, the top 10 rated ideas will be presented to the Obama Administration on Inauguration Day, January 20, 2009 as the "Top 10 Ideas for America." The sponsor organization, Change.org, will then launch a national campaign behind each idea and mobilize the collective energy of a selected and related nonprofit, the millions of members of Change.org, MySpace, and partner organizations to ensure that each winning idea gets the full consideration of the Obama Administration and Members of Congress.

The "Top 10 Ideas for America" will be determined through two rounds of voting. In the first round, ideas will compete against other ideas in the same issue category. The first round will end on December 31, 2008, and the top 3 rated ideas from each category will make it into the second round. The second round of voting will begin on Monday, January 5, and each qualifying idea will compete against the qualifying ideas from all other categories. Second round voting will end on Thursday, January 15.

I have submitted “Establish National Protocol in Missing and Unidentified Person Cases” for consideration. It is now on the website and votes can be placed. It is listed in the Criminal Justice category.

http://www.change.org/ideas/view/establish_national_protocol_in_missing_and_unidentified_person_cases

As you can see by the posted information and link to the protocol, this is the 2008 revision of the Campaign for the Missing legislation. While we have never pursued federal passage, this seemed like a good opportunity to make an attempt, or at least bring attention to our plight if nothing more. Education is important, with so many not having awareness of the situation as it exists, and what those of us who live with this experience daily. If we do not try, nothing will be accomplished, that is a certainty.

What I ask of you is your vote. It’s as easy as clicking on the link above, and then on the Vote button. There is also a widget you can copy and place on your website, blog, Facebook, or MySpace page. It will, however, take more than your vote. It will take you forwarding the link to your friends and family, and asking them to vote. It will take many of you adding the widget to your page.

My son, and thousands upon thousands of other sons, daughters, mothers, fathers, etc, might be an unidentified body lying in a morgue waiting to be buried or cremated without DNA analysis done. When that happens, and it may already have, my family may never have the answers we desire. We need to put a halt to this tragedy on top of tragedy and take whatever steps are necessary to ensure everything that can be done in these cases is done. (There is much more to it than DNA, but that is one of many key elements.)

Please vote, and forward this email to everyone in your address book.

Collectively, we are the voice for the missing, speaking for those who are not among us but who are forever in our hearts.

Kelly Jolkowski, Mother of Missing Jason Jolkowski
President and Founder,
Project Jason
www.projectjason.org
Help us find the missing: Become an AAN Member
http://www.projectjason.org/awareness.html

All missing persons are loved by someone, and their families deserve to find the answers they seek in regards to the disappearance.

Fundraising for Robert Lancaster

The wonderful Robert Lancaster (www.stopsylvia.com) had a stroke in the summer this year. This site is to assist with ongoing fundraising efforts for him and his family, such as:
Paypal donations which can be given through the following site:
http://skepticsunite.tripod.com/index.html

The new website for purchasing merchandise is now at:
Fundraising for Robert

Please come and show your support and get some cool stuff to wear to TAM, or just to have.

The Awareness Angels Network

Here's a way to elp the wonderful Project Jason.

http://www.projectjason.org/awareness.html

It’s a fact that one in six missing persons are found as a result of a visual aid, such as a billboard or a poster, thus the importance of poster dissemination in missing person cases. Placing posters is an easy way for you to get involved, and it can make a real difference for the families of the missing.

With your Awareness Angels Network (AAN) membership, you’ll receive notifications via email about new missing person cases, updates on current cases, and recovered persons. These notifications inlcude a link to a special Awareness Angels Network poster you can print and place.

Once you are subscribed, the email notifications you receive include a link to the printable poster for a specific missing person, plus a link to Project Jason’s forum, where you can keep up on the latest case news and information.

We encourage you to:


*Print copies of this poster and display them near your home, at your workplace and in public places.

*Give copies of this poster to friends and associates who can place posters near their homes and workplaces.

*Give copies to friends or associates who travel so they can place the posters in more wide-reaching areas.


When the missing person is located, we will notify you. At that time, you will be asked to remove any indoor, outdoor and Internet postings of this person.


Project Jason has divided the US into 14 geographical regions for this program. You may subscribe to as many regions as you wish. We encourage multiple region subscriptions since we’re a very mobile society. It doesn’t take long for a person to travel great distances. In some cases, a missing person may not necessarily be in the same area or location where he/she was last seen. Your notification emails will cover missing persons who were last seen in the region to which you subscribed.

Once you subscribe to a region, you will be offered a special widget which you may add to your website, blog, MySpace, Facebook, etc. The widget is our thank you for being an Awareness Angels Network member. It will also serve to encourage others to become members, as the widget links right to our site. The more helping eyes, ears, and hands we have, the greater the odds of success.

From now until about mid-September, the focus of the program will be outreach to gain subscribers. When we begin the email notifications, it is important to have a reasonable subscriber base. In mid-September, we will begin to send the notifications on a more regular basis.

We're asking interested persons to subscribe AND to send this message to others.




With your help, we'll have many happy endings.

Subscribe here today: http://www.projectjason.org/aan.html

Note: You can also subscribe to our Project Jason newsletters on the website noted above.

Meet ID Kitty, and get your ID kits for the family (US)

Keeping Kids Safe: New “I.D. Kitty” Mascot to Give Free I.D. Kits in Celebration of Family Safety
I.D. Kitty to debut in Omaha August 23 at the Omaha Royals game, with additional public appearances to follow

It is every parent’s nightmare – your child is here one minute, and out of sight the next. Most often, you can find them quickly. But sometimes, you need to call for help from people nearby and possibly even the police.

An average of 2,000 children per day disappear in the United States. Would you know what to do if your child or other loved one disappeared? Would you be prepared to quickly take the steps necessary to locate your missing loved one?

Project Jason, a nonprofit organization providing assistance for families of missing persons, offers free identification kits to help families to prepare. And now, Project Jason announces a fun new way to prepare your family when you need to spring into action, fast.

The new mascot, “I.D. Kitty,” is a large, warm and fuzzy, 6-foot-tall live action figure designed to make children and their families enjoy getting their own identification kits. Children will be delighted by him, and parents will appreciate how Project Jason is taking the “fear factor” out of obtaining and creating I.D. Kits, which should be part of every household, and for every family member.

I.D. Kitty will make his debut Saturday, August 23, 2008 at the Omaha Royals 2nd Annual Public Service Appreciation Night at 4 p.m. The public can visit I.D. Kitty at the main parking lot and get your FREE I.D. Kits!

I.D. Kitty will also appear Sunday, September 21 at Project Jason’s “Miles for the Missing” fundraiser at Zorinski Lake Park, and Sunday, October 5 at the Family Safety Day, held in conjunction with the Omaha Chapter of the National Safety Council.

About the I.D. Kit

Since its inception in 2003, Project Jason has given out more than 13,500 I.D. Kits to assist families with safety preparation.

These free I.D. Kits are provided by Project Jason at public events, and as a free downloads in English and in Spanish from the organization website. The kit contains a list of the first steps to take in the event a loved one is missing, plus valuable information that law enforcement will need. The kit should be printed on heavier stock paper, kept in a safe place, and updated at least every 6-12 months.

The kit can be downloaded at http://www.projectjason.org/education.shtml#idkit

Chinese State Circus

I've started loading some of my photos to my site for sale, but I thought I'd add my favourites here.
As I grew up the Monkey Legend was something that had quite an impact on me, so I was chuffed to see Monkey lead the narration at the Circus. The actor did well with facial expressions and involving the audience.



The plate spinners were impressive ....



As was the contortionist ....



But as always, I think my favourites are the dragon dancers.

Best wishes to a wonderful man

Robert Lancaster is one of the warmest, calmest and most intelligent people I know. A caring person through and through he acts on things that he finds unfair, and has done amazing work in shining a light on frauds and users of people's grief.

"Stop Kaz!"


"Stop Sylvia Browne!"


I was honoured to meet him and his lovely wife, and I look forward to repeating the opportunity at some event in the future. I was very sad to hear he is currently in hospital, and I wish him all the best that modern medicine can offer him.

All my best wishes to RSL and his family. I hope you have a speedy recovery, and as little stress as possoble for you and your Better Half.

Goodbye, I'd hoped to call you friend

In January this year I met a wonderful guy, who was interesting to talk to, and very funny. He ran the BlueCollarScientist blog, and was fascinated to learn about the kinds of people we come across as members and moderators on the JREF forum. Of all the people I met that week, he was one who made a real impact, and I had hoped to get to know him better.

I'm sorry to report, bad news this morning:
http://scienceblogs.com/aardvarchaeology/2008/08/jeff_medkeff_19682008.php


I'd like to remember the nice stuff he did and said, so here is an entry I had enjoyed, from his blog:
http://bluecollarscientist.com/2008/03/25/asteroids-named-for-pz-myers-phil-plait-rebecca-watson-michael-stackpole/

The Trybe ... as requested by Dr A.

Here ya go dad. :-D

This band played at the Stonehaven Folk Festival, and were highly enjoyable. The handsome chap with the pipes and kilt was very welcoming and amusing.

My personal favourite was a rendition of 'My Grandfather's Clock' (by a different group that played that day) which brought back a slew of childhood memories. One of my favourite toys was a little wind-up clock that played the tune, and my dad or grandfather taught me the words to go with it.
http://www.kididdles.com/lyrics/m018.html

My favourite photographic subject

...apart from my beautiful daughter.

I don't know what it is about the Grey Heron that fascinates me, but it does. This one was waiting at the Bridge of Feughs last week. Unfortunately, it didn't hang around for long.

The moment of victory

More from the Knights

The Knights of Royal England

Yesterday I went to a jousting festival at Urqhart Castle overlooking Loch Ness. No sign of Nessie, but a great day all round anyway.

The first arrival was the very funny and effective commentator for the day:



The kids got involved as fighters for the King:




Then the knights arrived, and the fun began:






More, or a link to more pics, during the week.

Grafitti for/from idiots

Really clever photo

This is on a poster at work, and I find it really amusing.

Why is UFO footage always rubbish?

... actually, what I like best about this item is the letter. :-D

UFOs over Merseyside

The Curse Of The Beijing Olympics

Bad Luck for China

Perhaps it's the absence of organised religion, but the Chinese are quick to link natural disasters, accidents and violence to a combination of divine intervention and heavenly anger.

Now China's online soothsayers are linking Beijing's Olympic mascots to a string of misfortunes in the run-up to the Games.

Four out of the five "fuwas" - literally friendly toys - are being tied in to the natural and human disasters visited on China during the turbulent build-up.

Jingjing - the Panda - an animal closely associated with Sichuan Province, epicentre of last month's terrible quake.

Huanhuan - the Olympic torch - the round the world torch relay was a PR disaster of awesome proportions.

Yingying - the Antelope - native to Tibet, the location of the March riots and the military crackdown.

Nini - the Kite - the kite city of Weifang is located in Shandong, scene of April's deadly train crash that killed 72 people.

Beibei - the Fish - a Chinese sturgeon found only in the Yangtze River. Is this the location for China's next major disaster, ask cyberspace doom merchants.

:-O

Priceless...

Three names = Assassin!

Someone really needs to lighten up. :-D

During an appearance on CBS' "Late Show with David Letterman," Jerry Seinfeld said Lapine was accusing his wife of "vegetable plagiarism" and compared her to the three-name killers of John Lennon and the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.

"If you read history, many of the three-name people do become assassins," Seinfeld said. "Mark David Chapman. And you know, James Earl Ray. So that's my concern."

His lawyers said in court papers filed late Tuesday: "No reasonable viewer could have thought that Seinfeld really meant that Lapine ... might become an `assassin' simply because she has three names."

Great idea

Let's get rid of all the paramilitary murals, and replace them with stuff like this instead. It's good to see a celebration of a Belfast born celebrity of merit.

CS Lewis mural

Filmed in Belfast - sci-fi epic!

City of Ember

Just watched the trailer, and I think this looks like one to watch on release in October. When I learned it was filmed in Belfast I have to admit a little twinge of concern, but looking at the set and imagery in the trailer, it looks at least as good as anything from Hollywood.

The film, co-financed by Northern Ireland Screen and produced by Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman, features a stellar cast including Academy Award nominees Saoirse Ronan and Bill Murray, Harry Treadaway and Academy Award winners Martin Landau and Tim Robbins.

Martin Landau said: "It's amazing. It's quite an amazing set, extensive and tall and comfortable. I would say it's quite remarkable."

At the end of the last financial year City of Ember delivered an estimated £9.2m to the Northern Ireland economy. This was against an investment of just £800,000 from Northern Ireland Screen.

Cool hobby - pencil carving!

Thanks to -Fran- at the JREF Forum for posting about this. I felt I had to share it!
Some of these carvings are pretty cool, and make my teenage 'efforts' of artistic nibblings seem pretty feeble.