Conventions are over-Register to VOTE!

Hello World Family,
Falcon, here. Now that the Democratic and Republican conventions are over Falcon and Dove have a challenge for every single American eligible to vote: register and then do it!

Many people in the world would like an opportunity for democratic process the way Americans have, and many take it for granted. Get up off the couch, put the remote down, drop the Wii for awhile and do your duty by registering to vote...now.

If you know that you will be away during the November 4 election, apply for your Absentee Ballot now. Many states have different rules about how and when to do it, so check into what you need to do and do it this week, Americans!

For Falcon and Dove Family around the world, if you have an opportunity to vote for your political leaders then we suggest you do so. Many of you will have a much greater challenge in casting a vote that our American brothers and sisters, but we encourage you to do it anyway. We know that you are brave, and we respect the risk you take to speak your mind. Your courage will inspire others and literally change the course of your country's history. Thank you for your strength and tenacity of spirit.

VOTE! Make a real difference.
Peace,
Falcon and Dove

Abused Dog Alex needs our help!

Hello World Family,
Falcon and Dove hope you had a great weekend. We were having a wonderful time, until we heard this sad story. This dog really needs help from everyone who can. I have obtained this information from the Washington Humane Society. Please, please...help Alexamder.

Thank you, Falcon and Dove Family! We know you are fierce friends of animals!
Peace,
Falcon and Dove

When the WAHS cruelty investigator picked up the poor dog, it was the first step in the right direction for an innocent animal who is now recovering from a history of brutality at the hands of his owner.

Named Alexander by staff, he finally felt good enough to eat some wet food from a small bowl held by manager, Lorie Schooley who received the call about the dog at 8am, August 3rd.

One of Alex's hips has been knocked out of the socket and the other hip bone has been broken from the leg. He also has open infected wounds. More examinations will reveal how much can be repaired by veterinary specialists. In the meantime, Alex is resting in the safety of the shelter while police and Humane Officers file the appropriate charges against the owner.

Surgery by specialists can run into thousands of dollars. We are asking for your help to finance this sad and unexpected financial burden which is above and beyond the basics our shelter can provide.

Please share the load for Alex by making a contribution towards his medical bills as we try to make the rest of his life a happy one.

Make your tax-deductible donation* check payable to WAHS and write “Alex” in the memo line.
*All donations in excess of what is necessary for Alex will be used for our other deserving shelter cats and dogs.

Washington Area Humane Society
1527 Route 136
Washington, PA 15330

Middle-earth Cookbook Author at Borders!

Hi Everyone,
Check out this event!
Cookbook author Emerald Took will be sharing some summer recipes from the only cookbook cool enough for Hobbit and Elves alike: Regional Cooking From Middle-earth: Recipes of The Third Age at Borders Books East Side (East Liberty neighborhood) of Pittsburgh, PA on Wednesday, July 30, 2008 from 6:30to 8:30pm. There will be a sample of something with chocolate...I am soooo there! Copies of her cookbook will be available for purchase, and signed of course. How many people can sign their books in Elvish?! This rocks!

There will even be a FREE BOOK for every guest given out during the event! It's for active types or those who enjoy adventure...shhh...it's a secret!

We hope to see you there. Just follow the smell of chocolate...
Peace,
Falcon and Dove

Goodbye, Kia-Safe Journey, Randy

Hello World Family,
Falcon here. This is probably the toughest post I have ever written. I must say goodbye to two very special people who left our world this week, and I wanted to tell you a little about them.

One, I have never met; the other, Dove and I had the pleasure of meeting. One was taken by an unspeakable act of violence; the other by an unspeakable cancer. One was my age, a college professor, husband, father of young children; the other was just beginning her adult life, a Salvation Army volunteer, and a mother. Both were special not because of how they died, but because of how they lived. The fact that their spirit has left us to go to a better place is our loss, not theirs.

Kia was a mommy. She was about to have a son on July 30th. She was murdered for that child: tied up, cut across her abdomen, and suffocated. She was only 18 years old. She was happy, helpful, generous of nature, and compassionate by every description I have seen about her. She was murdered by a woman (probably with some help, charges pending) who wanted a baby very badly...for years. She had been in jail before for cutting one woman and trying to steal her baby, and another time attempting to steal a baby from a hospital years ago. The dysfunctional environment that surrounded that woman's situation that brought her no real, permanent help but only enabled her obvious mental illness contributed to this horrible event. Kia was going to help many people every day with her smile and kindness. Falcon prays that in her loss, more will follow her lead: be kind to others, and help when and where you can.

Kia won't get to raise her son. It is the saddest of outcomes that his mother did not survive this vicious attack. I hope that his family never forgets to tell him every day how kind she was, and how she volunteered in her community. She will be watching him from Heaven, that I am sure.
Love never dies.

Randy Pausch was a professor at Carnegie Mellon University. Many of you have watched his "last lecture' video on You Tube, or read his book, "The Last Lecture." Randy created the Alice computer program designed to help kids with their computer skills. He gave away the software to Home School students like my daughter, Dove. I lectured occasionally at CMU, so I saw Randy now and then, and I saw the impact he was having on youngsters who needed more concrete, advanced computer skills, and his students at CMU.

Never did I imagine how many people's lives he would touch with his lecture. The very technology he celebrated helped to include millions of people on his journey to honor his own life, even during the sunset of his life.

Randy was fun, and he was also poignant. He found a way to channel the horror of his illness into extremely constructive areas, like celebrating what is good about living.

So today, in mourning the loss of these two special spirits, let's also remember how lucky we are to have the lives we have. There is still time...for us. Let's respect life more, let's find a way to include more genuine joy in our lives. That comes from living well...in thought, word, and deed.

Live well.
Falcon and Dove

TFATD: Harry Potter 7 Anniversary Party - Women Authors and Conservation

The Falcon and the Dove is BACK this week to celebrate the one year anniversary of the release of 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows', as well as the 10-year anniversary of the release of the first book in the United States! We held this workshop at the Eastside Borders in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where, as most of you know, is where we held the Midnight release party for the seventh book one full year ago. That party attracted over 600 people as we brought in the Midnight hour on the night of July 20th, 2007!

On July 19th of THIS year, we held this anniversary workshop, and also discussed the lives and conservation efforts of J.K. Rowling, Rachel Carson, and Beatrix Potter. The efforts of these women authors changed (and are still changing) the lives of many for the better, at the same time as improving our planet. All three of these women encountered large amounts of adversity, for their ideas, their gender, their classes, and their dreams. All of them overcame, and this workshop was a celebration of them. We hope you enjoy!

- Overview of disussion.

- We and our audience discuss our feelings on the 10-year anniversary of Harry Potter, our favorite characters, and our favorite passages.

- We cover the impact that these women's works have made on us individually and the world population as a whole.

- We highlight Beatrix Potter and discuss her life and achievements.

- We talk about Rachel Carson's biography, the adversity she encountered at the time of her writing of the bestseller, 'Silent Spring', and her further accomplishments.

- We get into an in-depth discussion of society's past views of women, the ridiculous conclusions that have been made about them (some of them made by high-ranking people), and how we can change the negativity.

- We ask our audience what their favorite stories are.

- Finally, Dove (Areya) reads 3 excerpts from 3 of the Harry Potter books: 'Sorcerer's Stone', 'Goblet of Fire', and 'Deathly Hallows'. We discuss each passage in-depth following each reading.

- During these discussions, we touch on another fantasy tale, 'The Neverending Story', and its similarities to 'Harry Potter'.

- We say farewell, leaving our audience and ourselves exhilarated and hopeful for the future, of literature, and of our environment.

Listen to the Show Here!

Download the Show Here! (Right-click, Save Target As) (Length: 1 hour, 25 minutes; Size: 10 MB)

Batman, Spider-man, and Rocco

Hello Everyone!
If you are trying to see Batman: The Dark Knight this weekend...buy your tickets IN ADVANCE! Do not go to the theater hoping to get in half an hour before the movie starts. You won't. If you are going to IMAX, you MUST go on line first and get your tickets, or you could be very disappointed. I saw many faces today turned away, so buy early.

The film The Dark Knight is excellent. Heath Ledger was disturbingly magnificent. We will review this film further after opening weekend. It's a must-see...so go for it.

Talk about another amazing thing...Camilo Villegas shot a 65 at The Open in Southport at Royal Birkdale. Not only did he shoot the low round for the tournament so far, but Spidey as he is sometimes called (for his ability to get into a position that would challenge most yoga masters while sizing up a putt) made 5 birdies in a row on the back 9...8 birdies total in a round on a course where many veteran players were trying to just make the +9 cut. And once again, Rocco Mediate is in the hunt, fresh from challenging Tiger Woods on a bum leg to 91 holes of pure U.S. Open golf.

Kudos to all. It should be a very exciting weekend whether your watching players hit knock down shots in horizontal winds at Birkdale or watching Health, Christian, Maggie, Morgan, and Aaron with Michael Caine running around Chicago...er...um.Gotham.

For those of you in the Pittsburgh area, why not join us for the 10th Anniversary of the release of the Harry Potter books at Borders East Side. the event is from 1-3pm on Saturday, July 19. It should be loads of fun: books, authors, trivia, spelling, games, and probably chocolate frogs!
See you there!
Peace,
Falcon and Dove

Harry Potter 7 Anniversary Party at Pittsburgh's Eastside Borders!

Can you believe that it has been almost one year since the 7th and final Harry Potter book hit U.S. and U.K. shelves? We were there 3 hours before the Witching Hour when we held our LIVE Podcast for the seventh book's release, and had over 600 people in attendance at Pittsburgh's Eastside Borders!

This coming Saturday, July 19th, from 1pm to 3pm, The Falcon and the Dove will be at the Eastside Borders again for a reunion party! As well as celebrating all of the Harry Potter years that have gone by, we will also be having a panel discussion of Women Authors and Conservation, featuring J.K. Rowling, Rachel Carson (author of Silent Spring), and Beatrix Potter (Peter Rabbit tales).

We will be reading excerpts from the authors' books, as well as discussing their histories and each of their roles they have played in the conservation of this planet. It will be a fantastic reunion and a learning experience for people of all ages, whether you know and love these authors dearly, or are just picking up their books for the first time!

We are very excited about this party, and we hope to see you there!!!