Make a list of 43 things I know very little about, & then learn at least 3 things about each of them

1.Sewing
2.Knitting
3.Numerology
4.Astrology / Astronomy
5.Solar System
6.Cancer
7.Diabetes
8.Kidney Dialysis / Transplant
9.Hair Fall Control
10.Eye Care
11.Human Anatomy
12.Nutrients and their functions
13.Singapore Government bureau
14.World History
15.Countries / Capital / President
16.Physics
17.CPF
18.Insurance
19.Housing
20.Welfare organizations
21.Driving
22.Agriculture
23.Economics
24.Statistics
25.Interior designs
26.Kolam (Indian Floor Art using colored Rice / rice flour
27.Asthma
28.Phobias
29.Twins
30.Babies / Raising kids
31.Buddhism
32.Hypnotism
33.NASA
34.First Aid
35.Water conservation
36.Journalism
37.Photography
38.Wine
39.Juice diet
40.Meditation
41.Marriage
42.Raising kids
43.Starting a business
44.Yoga
45.Indian fasting
46.Blood type personalities
47.DNA
48.Forensic / CSI
49.Working in Australia
50.Working in New Zealand

1. During 14th Century Europe, with the growth of trade, the guild “Masters” moved to protect their power (and wealth) by restricting access to the Guilds. In response, the less experienced (and less wealthy) “Fellows” set up their own rival Guilds. In smaller towns and villages, there weren’t enough Fellows from the same trade to set up a local Guild, so Fellows from a number of trades banded together to form a local Guild of Fellows from an odd assortment of trades. Hence, Guilds of Odd Fellows.

2. These altruistic organizations were set up to protect and care for their members at a time when there was no welfare state, trade unions or National Health Service. The aim was (and still is) to provide help to members when they need it.

3. In the U.S. it is known as the International Order of Odd fellows and it’s auxiliary is known as the Rebekahs raise money for various world-wide charities donating over $775 million annually. Al Franken (a recognizable name) is one of its more famous members.

Reference: Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Independent_Order_of_Odd_Fellows
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Independent_Order_of_Odd_Fellows

What is Fair Trade?:

Fair trade is an organized social movement and market-based approach that aims to help producers in developing countries and promote sustainability.
Fair Trade is a trading partnership, based on dialogue, transparency and respect, that seeks greater equity in international trade. It contributes to sustainable development by offering better trading conditions to, and securing the rights of, marginalized producers and workers – especially in the South.

What do they do?:

The movement intends to provide market access to otherwise marginalized producers, connecting them to customers and allowing access with fewer middlemen. It aims to provide higher wages than typically paid to producers in typical well as helping producers develop knowledge, skills and resources to improve their lives.

History:

The first attempts to commercialize fair trade goods in Northern markets were initiated in the 1940s and 1950s by religious groups and various politically oriented non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Ten Thousand Villages, an NGO within the Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) and SERRV International were the first, in 1946 and 1949 respectively, to develop fair trade supply chains in developing countries.[6] The products, almost exclusively handicrafts ranging from jute goods to cross-stitch work, were mostly sold in churches or fairs. The goods themselves had often no other function than to indicate that a donation had been made.[7]

Answers found on Wikipedia

What is a dream?

A dream can include any of the images, thoughts and emotions that experienced during sleep. Dreams can be extraordinarily vivid or very vague; filled with joyful emotions or frightening imagery; focused and understandable or unclear and confusing.

Why do we dream?

There is no definite answer, but there are some theories as to why we dream.
The physiological theory centers upon how our body, specifically our brains, function during the REM phase of sleep. Proponents of this theory believe that we dream to exercise the synapses, or pathways, between brain cells, and that dreaming takes over where the active and awake brain leaves off. When awake, our brains constantly transmit and receive messages, which course through our billions of brain cells to their appropriate destinations, and keep our bodies in perpetual motion. Dreams replace this function.

what is a lucid dream?:

A lucid dream is a dream in which the sleeper is aware that he/she is dreaming. When the dreamer is lucid, they can actively participate in and often manipulate the imaginary experiences in the dream environment. Lucid dreams can be extremely real and vivid depending on a person’s level of self-awareness during the lucid dream.

answers taken from wikepidia, coolquiz.com, and psychology.about.com

While checking the updates on my Kiva site at work tonight, one of my coworkers noticed and asked me about what it was, when I informed her of the site’s nature, she noticed my most recent loan was given to a woman in Uganda, and mentioned something about a school for AIDS orphans called the Nyaka school, so I checked out the website, and found out the school’s USA division is ran right out of East Lansing, Michigan!

How I’d love to be a part of that program…

Ha! This is the first of 43 things that I learned about. I read this well-written blog post about fly fishing. And then – get THIS – the very next day one of my co-workers told me he was going fly fishing over the weekend!! (Which is unusual because I don’t know anyone in L.A. who fly fishes.)

Hahahah! I totally got into this great conversation with him and I knew some of the terminology and so I used my newly acquired trout-speak. So now I also want to share the very informative and easy to follow post from the site DS Fly Fishing. You TOO can learn some interesting stuff that you may never have pondered before. Have fun!

-He was locked up in an asylum because his parents thought he was mad to want to be a writer
-He was a song writer before being a writer
-His book “The Pilgrimage” is autobiographical

I read “The Pilgrimage” and “The Alchemist” about seven years ago and am re-reading them now so I thought I’d find out a little about the author.

1. DNA
2. dinosaurs
3. chemistry
4. early feminism (1st generation, suffragettes)
5. culture of North Korea
6. Micronesia
7. physical geography: rock formations etc.
8. social geography: migration
9. trees (how they ‘work’)
10. cars (how they work)
11. zen buddhism
12. African animism
13. gospel music (choirs)
14. televisions (how they work)
15. human muscles (how they work)
16. whales (migration patterns, song, etc.)
17. solar energy (so how does that work?)
18. our solar system
19. election procedures in the Netherlands

If I am going to make the list in advance, it should be done really carefully. I could also go the road most travelled on this goal, it seems, and build with partial lists. I’ll think about it.

Item 3 Sidney Poitier:

1. He was born on Cat Island in the Bahamas and lived there until his family moved to Nassau when he was a young child. He then moved to Miami, FL to live with a brother and from there he ventured on to NYC.

2. He got into acting really by accident. He needed a job and answered an ad in the paper for an acting part.

3. He was asked to sign papers stating he wasn’t affiliated with certain people, that in the 1960’s and earlier, were believed to be stirring up issues of race in the movie industry. Poitier refused and in spite of it continued to work. Not signing could have ended his career.