Wise Words for You

Liver, fava beans, a glass of antioxidant-packed red wine. Sounds like a relatively healthy combination, right? Not if you're taking a class of antidepressants known as monoamine oxidase inhibitors, or MAOIs. In 1992's   Silence of the Lambs , Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins) warns Dr. Clarice Starling (Jodie Foster) against pushing him too far with her questions. Explaining how he dealt with a census taker who had also "bored him," he utters one of the film's most iconic lines: "I ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice chianti." Author Thomas Harris, on whose novel the movie was based, probably didn't choose that combination arbitrarily. As  Reddit user  mrcchapman  first pointed out earlier this year, people taking MAOIs are given a long list of high-tyramine foods and beverages to avoid or limit [ PDF ]. On that list: liver, fava beans, and red wine. Al...

July 28, 1948.  The first Olympic Games after World War II opened in London.  On the same day, 35 miles northwest of London, a very different competition opened.  The Stoke-Mandeville Games for the Paralyzed, held on the grounds of a hospital that treated injured war veterans, featured 16 people – 14 men and 2 women – competing in one sport, archery.  The games were the brainchild of Dr. Ludwig Guttmann, head of the Stoke-Mandeville Hospital’s Spinal Injuries Unit.  Guttmann had realized that enforced, immobile bed rest, the standard practice in spinal injury cases, was hurting his patients.  He experimented with moving the patients, gently turning them over regularly, and was encouraged by the results.  He began programs to strengthen the patients with simple games of ball, then wheelchair polo and basketball, darts, and archery.  Patients lived and thrived, and the idea of competitive sports for people with physical disabilities took hold...

Success means to reach such a constant level of positive thoughts that pure actions happen naturally. Pure actions are like good seeds which, when planted, produce healthy, sweet fruit. ‘As you sow. so shall you reap.’ Concern for the quality of my actions today ensures the Success of my tomorrow.

The partners behind the guided busway are celebrating the news that 12,500 fewer car journeys are being made every week since the service was introduced. Vantage, which runs the V1 and V2 services from Leigh and Atherton into Manchester, released new figures which showed passenger numbers growing year-on-year in comparison with the same period in 2017. The busway also reported its highest number of passengers travelling on the service, which reached 62,700. To assist with demand, additional journeys have been added onto the V3 and V4 services. This means there are now 27 buses scheduled to arrive in the regional centre between 7-9am. Speaking about the popular Vantage service, Ian Humphreys, managing director for Vantage’s parent company First Manchester, said: “We’re pleased that Vantage continues to be a success and that people are opting to travel by bus, as opposed to driving into the city centre. “We’re also proud that we now offer contactless as a payment method on board al...

When you extend pure love to everyone with selfless motivation that is an attitude of kindness. When you send good wishes and pure feelings to those who are in deep sorrow, that is an attitude of mercy. When you see the virtues rather than the weaknesses in people that is an attitude of compassion. When you bless and uplift someone even as they defame you, that is an attitude of forgiveness. When you tolerate a situation and take responsibility as well as give cooperation even when not appreciated, that is an attitude of humility and self-respect. Every second, every moment and every breath of your life is nurtured by attitude.

To let go means putting a full stop to all the mental activity with one simple thought: ‘I am a being of peace’. Thought creates consciousness, so if we repeat this phrase slowly and attentively, our thoughts and emotions stop expanding and inner peace is restored. The essence of our being is peace – complete freedom from overload.

To forgive and forget is to reflect love. Situations pass, they cease to exist, but they continue to be alive in the mind. Open your heart and be generous, free yourself from that sorrow, forgive and forget and you will live every moment in peace.

Going into silence enables you to manage your thoughts better. You will find there is no need to think so much, that most of the answers you are looking for will come to you, without much effort on your part.

Don’t be sorry, be content – it’s a choice not a chore. Never identify with others’ sorrow or you will go down with them. Be with them, but stay up, so you can uplift them. Help them put things in perspective. But first do that for yourself. You’re feeling sorry? Why? Have you lost something? It’s an illusion – you have nothing to lose. Everything that comes to you comes to pass, literally. So let all things pass and you will turn the illusion of loss into the reality of liberation…and sorrow will be a distant memory.

Channel 4’s reality show The Circle is unlike any other and if you not watched it, you’ve missed out. Having landed last week recently, there’s still plenty of time to catch up on the most inspired reality show this year by watching on demand on All 4 Eight contestants moved into their eight new apartments and created their new online profiles on social media platform The Circle. But with some playing as themselves and some creating a false persona to fool their rivals, the ‘influencers’ have blocked the least popular from The Circle and the game has so far seen four new arrivals move into the block of flats. The format has a kind of Big Brother feel to it, only with a twist – with the action centring round a block of flats all the contestants will be moving into for the next three weeks. The twist is that they’ll all be staying in separate apartments – and they’ll only get to communicate with each other online, via the titular Circle – a social media platform speciall...

Take time to laugh, it is the music of the soul. Take time to think, it is the source of power. Take time to read, it is the fountain of wisdom. Take time to love and be loved, it is a God-given privilege. Take time to work, it is the price of success.

A '15 year journey' to transform Welsh railway The new operators of Wales and Borders rail services have taken over the running of the franchise. French-Spanish joint venture KeolisAmey promises to eventually replace all trains, at a cost of £800m. There is also £738m to electrify the South Wales valley add lines, more services and launch the new South Wales Metro over the next 15 years. It marks an end to the troubled tenure for Arriva Trains Wales, criticised for overcrowding on commuter services. This is the first time the Welsh Government has had control over the £5bn franchise, which will be overseen by Transport for Wales (TfW), promising to transform rail travel over the next 15 years. It comes as the public is taking more journeys by train, with passenger numbers forecast to continue rising. KeolisAmey has been given targets on punctuality and overcrowding - with potential financial penalties - and faces a cap on its profits. New branding on a train...

Glasgow's biggest bus operator has said it is facing a bill of £100m over the next five years in order to meet strict new rules on air pollution. First Glasgow revealed the cost as it prepared to unveil the first of a fleet of new buses designed to operate in the city's pla nned Low Emission Zone (LEZ). The LEZ is due to phased in from the end of this year. It involves mandatory cuts to exhaust emissions, to protect people from dangerous airborne pollution. First Glasgow is due to unveil the first batch of 25 buses which have been fitted with Euro VI low emission systems ahead of the launch of the zone. They will start operating in the city from Wednesday, with the first service due to run from Castlemilk to Milton. A further 50 compliant vehicles are due to be delivered by November. First Glasgow is investing £14m in the new fleet this year alone. During phase one of the LEZ, 20% of a bus operator's fleet is required to be compliant. A target of 100% has been set fo...

Walk quickly today, not because you are in a hurry, but because you value the exercise for legs and heart. As you walk, allow your thoughts to visit you, but not stay. Let them come to pass, and you will be surprised how quickly they become positive, and filled with creative ideas. And paradoxically, if you stay internally aware, you may notice that the quicker you walk, the more your thinking slows down and deepens. Walking briskly and positive thinking – that’s the simplest way to take care of body and mind. And life was meant to be simple…wasn’t it?

People often asked me when I announced that I was leaving the UK to be with Melissa, “What sort of Visa have you got?” Well this blog explains that question, all links provided are courtesy of Rapid Visa IR1 Visa Example A CR1 or IR1 spousal visa , is an immigrant visa issued to an alien who wishes to enter the U.S. to live and stay with their U.S. citizen or permanent resident spouse. The “CR” from CR1 stands for conditional resident and is applicable to couples who’ve been married fewer than 2 years. The “IR” from IR1 stands for immediate relative and is applicable for couples who’ve been married 2 years or longer. The obsolete K3 visa was another spouse visa option, but has been mostly  done away with  in practice. The CR1 and IR1 visa comes with a permanent residency card (green card), unlike K visas. The CR1/IR1 Visa Process There are a few phases and steps to the  CR1 visa process  that span several months. The basic steps to ...

Overcoming barriers to success involves assessing the situation, consulting experts, considering alternatives and taking action. To manage your career effectively, you need to take charge of your own development. By assessing your own skills, getting advice from others, learning new skills and making informed decisions, you can achieve your goals. Overcoming challenges and setbacks usually requires a positive attitude, as well as dedication and commitment. Get Feedback To communicate more effectively and overcome objections, start by collecting information about the problem at hand. Avoid misinterpretation, misunderstanding and mistakes by assembling all the facts. Depending on the situation, you can conduct surveys, run focus groups or simply start a conversation with a colleague. Listen carefully and pay attention to the subtle nuances of what people say. Then take action to use the feedback and address the problem, tell people what you did, evaluate the outcome and refin...

One of the most popular topics on blogs right now is content about how to have more confidence. It’s driving me bonkers! I’m unsure what the fascination is with the subject. Having gone through the whole confidence battle myself and come out the other side on top, I think I can share a few things that will help everybody. Act as if. Rather than be caught up in the foreplay of overthinking, considering and asking too many questions, just do. “Quite simply, what has worked for me is to just get on with the task and tell myself I’m becoming an expert while being in motion” Getting going is the part we’re all missing when it comes to confidence. You can’t be confident unless you get some experience at whatever you want to be confident at. This advice sounds simplistic because it is. I’ve become more confident over the last five years by running up miles in the beaten-up VW Beetle that was my mind and body. Through gaining experience, I turned that VW Bee...

ScotRail have now announced that services will commence from Monday 15th October. Branded the Inter7City train, which will run initially between Aberdeen and Edinburgh, is the first of the upgraded high-speed trains that will connect Scotland’s seven cities - providing a boost for commuters, tourists, and business travellers. Key features of the high-speed trains include: More seats Increased luggage space At seat power sockets More toilets Better on-board hospitality ScotRail is leasing from Angel Trains 121 Mk III vehicles and 54 MTU-engined power cars displaced from Great Western services by the introduction of Class 800 electro-diesel trainsets under the Intercity Express Programme.  These will be formed into nine sets of 2+4 and 17 of 2+5. The trailer vehicles have been fully refurbished by Wabtec with power-operated doors to meet accessibility requirements and controlled-emission toilets. The upgraded train will offer better connections for cus...