Kavan Peterson, Editor, ChangingAging.org
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The ChangingAging Weekly Blogstream Roundup is now posted online. Please click here to read, comment and share this week’s top stories on the culture, politics and news of aging.
President Gets On Right Side of History With Marriage Equality
As a longtime proponent of LGBT equal rights, I have to agree that yesterday’s announcement by President Barak Obama affirming the rights of all Americans to marry the person they love is a watershed moment in gay rights history. But I’m deeply disappointed he didn’t speak out before North Carolina voters approved a harsh constitutional ban against same-sex marriage that will also ban domestic partnerships, which will especially harm older adults, both gay and straight.
ChangingAging Weekly Blogstream Roundup May 5, 2012
Check out the ChangingAging Blogstream Weekly Roundup for May 5, 2012. Read the top news and blog posts on aging from around the globe featuring updates from Dr. Bill Thomas and ChangingAging Blogstream contributors.
Social Media and Isolation
Last month’s issue of The Atlantic Magazine featured a cover story asking whether social media — from Facebook to Twitter — is making us intrinsically more lonely. It’s a provocative and disturbing premise but I’m not sure it holds up to close scrutiny.
The takeaway message for me is that authentic relationships and authentic interactions are vastly more important than the size of your network or the number of “Likes” you can generate.
Check Out The ChangingAging Weekly Newsletter Online
Readers can now read and comment on the popular ChangingAging Weekly Blog Roundup online at ChangingAging.org, featuring top stories from Dr. Bill Thomas and our Blogstream contributors. Click here to leave your comments on the latest edition of the Blogstream Roundup.
Tune-In To The Cindy Laverty Show Friday For an Hour of Tribes of Eden
Last week Tribes of Eden author William H. Thomas joined radio host Cindy Laverty to discuss the power of trust and relationship in both fiction and real life. Listen to the interview online here: The Cindy Laverty Show: 04/20 Cindy Talks with Dr. Bill Thomas About His New Book, Tribes of Eden
A Green House Project In My Backyard
The grand opening of The Green House Residences at Stadium Place in Baltimore yesterday was a thrilling experience for me on a very personal level.
It was celebrated in great style with homage to Baltimore’s Memorial Stadium, former home to the Colts and Orioles. Complete with hotdogs, peanuts and a stirring performance of the national anthem and “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” by Baltimore City College’s award-winning choir, followed by a ceremonial “first pitch” thrown by Mrs. Shirley Dickens, Stadium Place’s first official resident.
Bermuda Wants The Eden Alternative
The tropical island of Bermuda has a fast-growing elder population and needs to act now to improve long-term care, nursing home administrator Rosheena Masters said in her acceptance speech after receiving a Public Health Professional Award from the island’s Ministry of Health.
What kind of long term care improvements does Bermuda need? According to Masters, administrator at Lefroy House in Somerset, Bermuda needs The Eden Alternative:
Baltimore Answers Skilled-Nursing Care Shortage With Groundbreaking Green House Project at Stadium Place
With a looming shortage in long-term care options in poor neighborhoods around the U.S., Baltimore is leading the way with the opening of The Green House® Residences at Stadium Place on April 19, 2012, which will provide the area’s low-income seniors with a radically different, skilled-nursing home on the site of the former Memorial Stadium.
Tribes of Eden Advances New Paradigm For Elders
Most of our readers know that Dr. Bill Thomas’ new novel Tribes of Eden is inspired and dedicated to the REAL tribes of eden, as in the thousands of care partners and homes making up The Eden Alternative global nonprofit.
One of the fun parts of spreading the word about Tribes is getting to introduce new people to The Eden Alternative and how big of a difference it makes in the lives of real Elders. Take a look at this news story out of Michigan (home to more Eden Alternative-registered homes than any other state!):
“Alive Inside” Viral Video Sweeps Internet In Advance of World Premiere
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
A video clip from the upcoming documentary Alive Inside demonstrating the power of music to awaken and transform a man seemingly living in a stupor in a nursing home has swept the Internet with over 3.5 million views in only three days.
Debuting in New York April 18, 2012, Alive Inside tells a story of hope and beauty in places where they are hard to find – nursing homes caring for the oldest and most frail. “This is one of the first films to take a hard look at why emptiness and loneliness invade and pervade old age in modern life,” said Bill Thomas, one of the experts featured in the film.
Dying Well: A conversation with Dr. Ira Byock
Check out Dr. Ira Byock on the latest episode of Prime Time Radio explaining how to ensure the best possible care for those we love who are dying. In his book, “The Best Care Possible”, Byock emphasizes we must not only remake our healthcare system, we must also move past our cultural aversion to talking about dying and acknowledge the fact of mortality. It turns out, Byock argues, that we all must eventually balance the length of our life with the quality of our life.
Generations United Takes a Stand
I got this letter from Generations United Executive Director Donna Butts today appealing for support to respond to “the worst attempt to incite intergenerational conflict we’ve seen in years.” If you’re a baby boomer, child of a baby boomer or grand child of a baby boomer (so yah, everyone), take a look and speak out:
What’s Next For ChangingAging?
Last week Bill Thomas’ new novel Tribes of Eden was officially launched after literally years of work. It was a huge challenge creating a high quality publication and I’m very proud of the team here at ChangingAging that helped put it together. Of course, our work promoting Tribes has just begun, but getting the book launch behind me means I get to turn my attention to some exciting new projects on the horizon — namely, what’s next for ChangingAging.
‘Post-Apocalyptic Nursing Home Parties Propel Indie Novel to Bestseller List’
Well, not yet, but…
As you already know, we hosted a live stream video event celebrating the Tribes of Eden Virtual Book Launch on April 4 featuring interviews, videos, Q&A with fans, book readings and autographed book giveaways. Don’t worry if you missed it, we posted the entire launch party on YouTube here.
But there’s more – fans can still win an autographed copy of Tribes of Eden AND get Dr. Bill to do a book reading and fan Q&A at their own Tribes of Eden book party! Because building support for Tribes of Eden in these first few months after launch are so critical, Dr. Bill has pledged to join every launch party he can via Skype or phone. Click here to sign up.
Get Your Tribes of Eden Questions Answered
What Tribes of Eden questions do you have for author William H. Thomas? Wondering what’s it all about? What causes “the Fall”? What is “The GRID”? How can trust be more powerful than fear in a post-apocalyptic world? What is the Eden Underground and how do I join? Submit your question now to be answered during [...]
Tribes of Eden Is Here
Have you ever wonder what would happen if the economy actually did collapse? If the grocery shelves went bare for good and the pumps dried up, how long before society unraveled? In his gripping debut novel Tribes of Eden, published April 2, William H. Thomas envisions a world ravished not by zombie pandemics or nuclear [...]
Gold-Plated Retirement Homes Not For Everyone
One of the biggest challenges for the aging services industry is that what appeals to one generation does not necessarily appeal to the next. Take large CCRC’s (Continuous Care Retirement Communities) or state-of-the-art assisted living communities. These business models — often sprawling over large campuses and offering every kind of amenity you can imagine — saw a major boom and growth over the past two decades. But guess what. The “Queen Mary” cruise ship retirement lifestyle does not appeal to everyone. Consider this comment posted today on Ronni Bennett’s blog www.TimeGoesBy.net by reader “Doctafill”.
Get Your Tribes of Eden Questions Answered
What Tribes of Eden questions do you have for author William H. Thomas? Wondering what’s it all about? What causes “the Fall” of society? What is “The GRID”? How can trust be more powerful than fear in a post-apocalyptic world? And can elders really save the world?
Submit your question now to be answered during the exclusive live stream video Virtual Book Launch Party, Wednesday, April 4 at 3 p.m. EST. Continue reading →
EXCLUSIVE: Watch The New Tribes of Eden Book Trailer
Don’t miss the exclusive Tribes of Eden Official Book Trailer! On the run after America’s sudden and utter collapse, a family finds sanctuary in the heart of a community thriving “off the grid.” But when the lure of a virtual new world order divides the family, the elders of the community recognize that humanity’s fate rests with a chosen girl and a surprising alliance between the least powerful — the young and old.
