September 2, 2021 - ONE WORLD BLUE

Bryan McCormick is a 32-year old T8 complete paraplegic who lives in Pittsburgh, PA. At 6 feet 8 inches tall, he is a pretty unusual sight. One doesn’t come across too many people in a wheelchair, who are tall enough to play in the NBA. With his size, he could be a menacing figure, but McCormick is anything but! He is much more of a gentle giant with a great sense of humor.

“Being my size definitely comes with pros and cons,” says McCormick. “The pros are that I can reach things on high shelves, and see better in a crowd. As far as cons… I have a difficult time fitting under normal tables, and finding pants that fit. I have to special order pants online, at places like St. John’s Bey and Big & Tall stores.”

McCormick grew up an only child, who became paralyzed in 2001 from a skiing accident.

“I was skiing at Hidden Valley (a Pennsylvania resort) when I over shot the landing ramp, and landed on my back.”

When asked how he responded to the news of his permanent paralysis, he said “I’ve always been a pretty easy going guy, and took things as they came along. I probably get it from my parents. I was instilled with those qualities. We’ve always been very close.”

He also credits his upbeat attitude to all the sports he played growing up. Some of which include soccer, football and horseback riding.

HORSEBACK RIDING, at 6’8″? “Well… I did that when I was young” he said with a chuckle.

Keeping with the tradition of those who were athletic before their accident, Bryan is just as active since, if not more so. Even though it was the cause of his paralysis, skiing is still his first love, but he also hand-cycles, and more recently got involved with kayaking at the Three Rivers Rowing Association, through the mentoring program at Mercy hospital.

“Just this summer I was able to get on the water and compete in Philadelphia.” McCormick went on… “They have a weight room with rowing machines, which allow you to get a great workout. The fee is only $90 annually, and it’s on Washington’s Landing, under the 31st Street Bridge.”

About 4 years ago, McCormick became one of the mentors of the Spinal Cord Injury Support Group at Mercy hospital (in Pittsburgh, PA) – aka Peer Mentoring Group at Mercy. He credits Patty Mikosky with getting him involved. “It (the support group) really has the potential to change someone’s life. The group can change someone’s perspective of his/her injury.”

The support group meets twice a month at Mercy Hospital, where Bryan and a few fellow mentors talk with “wheelchair newbies”, and share some of their experiences. But the group isn’t just for those in a wheelchair.

“It’s a great place for spouses, parents and other loved ones to learn what type of things they can expect after a life altering injury.”

So… how has paralysis changed McCormick’s life?

“It’s definitely a challenge. But… overall it had a positive affect on my life. Prior to my injury I wasn’t very focused on life. After my injury I decided that I’m going to take the opportunity to do everything I wanted to do, because you never know what life brings. So … I went online and learned how to play the guitar. Even took some music theory classes at Pitt (Greensburg). I love classic rock… Phish, Hendrix, Zeppelin, Sabbath… pretty much all the big guitar-bands.”

While he’s still only 32 years of age, one can see how McCormick’s smile and attitude can be contagious. Anyone who sits and talks with him even for a few minutes, will almost immediately be inspired to be and do better. While no one wishes spinal cord injury on anyone, the community is better off having Bryan McCormick as one of its representatives.

For anyone who’d like to join the Peer Mentoring Group at Mercy, the Facebook link is provided below. Bryan and the gang welcome all comers with open arms. In his words… “You never know who is inspired by whose story.”

Like they say in street slang… “Tru dat Bryan… tru dat!”

Story by Attila Domos

https://www.facebook.com/groups/105644686138553/

ONE TOUGH MUDDER

Brenda Vance was the typical American kid growing up in Illinois. In her youth she played and enjoyed sports, then as she got into her teen years she found herself doing more drinking, partying, eating lots of junk food, well… basically behaved like a typical rebellious teen. By the time she was 18, she gave birth to her son, and went on about her life as a single mom.

Fast forward to 2011. While watching TV, the now more mature 28-year old Brenda Vance came across a Fitness America competition, which ignited some kind of a spark in her.

“I saw this competition, and decided that I want to be like that.” said the 31 year old full-time student with a masters in holistic nutrition. She then went on a mission.

“I found a trainer with whom I worked very hard, for four months. We got my body fat from 25% down to 10%, and I competed in my first Figure Competition, where I placed second.”

What’s a “Figure Competition” you ask? It’s like a bodybuilding competition, but maintains a focus on still looking feminine.

“In fact, I entered three of them” she went on, “and finished 2nd in all three.”

One would think that’s pretty darned good, an most would be perfectly happy and proud with that excellent accomplishment, but not Brenda. Her next challenge was to enter Tough Mudder.

Tough Mudder is an endurance event series in which participants attempt 10–12-mile-long (16–19 km) military-style obstacle courses. It was designed and created by two British Harvard Business School post graduates and tests mental as well as physical strength. (source Wikipedia)

She did well enough to qualify World’s Toughest Mudder, a brutal competition that has challengers running and doing an obstacle course for 24 hours. This is where Brenda learned a very valuable lesson. – “I was unprepared. I did this coming off training for the Figure Competitions, where the concept is all different. Those were about low body fat, so while I looked very fit, my body started to shut down and eventually the judges forced me to stop.”

In 2012, through the ACE (American Council on Exercise), Brenda was certified as a personal trainer.

“That was exciting, but as I did an insurance company blood test, the results showed a potential problem with my kidneys, most likely due to the very high protein diet I was on. So, I changed my eating habits, and adopted a straight vegan diet.”

Things seemed to be moving along just fine, until Brenda collapsed in 2013. “My body completely shut down on me from a lack of nutrients and over training. I went through 2 weeks of anxiety, fear, confusion… I had no idea what was going on. I was eating right, taking my supplements, thought I was doing everything right, and my body still shut down.”

During her recovery, she did a lot of research, and decided to study at IIN (Institute of Integrated Nutrition), where Brenda earned a health coaching certificate and at about the same time she enrolled at the College of Natural Health, where she earned her masters of holistic nutrition.

In 2014, Brenda enrolled at Northern Illinois University, where she’s working on her bachelors in sports nutrition, and looks to eventually earn a masters in that as well.

Today, when not making hard-core workout videos for viewers of YouTube, videos referred to as “Immortal Stair Training” , Brenda is the owner of B Crazy Fit studio, and she in-home and on-line training. But ask her and she’ll tell you… “Nutrition is my favorite. I love the inner workings of the human body, and all of the little things that go into making it work just right. I Switched to an 80/10/10 diet (80% carbs, 10% fat & 10% protein), and I’ve never felt more healthy and full of energy.”

Do not let the fact that she’s a woman fool you. Brenda’s workouts are very demanding. When asked about how men react to her training methods, she laughingly said “They hate me (during the workouts). They yell all sorts of obscenities at me, but in the end they love me because they see results.”

So, what’s Brenda’s mission in life?

“To help others live healthy, so they can do the things they want to, with out physical limitations. To help them achieve a mind, body and soul connection.”

All of these life altering and empowering changes, from one televised event. TV is often referred to as the “idiot box”, but for Brenda Vance… it helped to change her into the inspiring woman, that this once rebellious teen-aged girl has become.

Story by: Attila Domos

Visit Brenda’s website: http://www.b-naturallyzen.com/my-approach-brenda-vance

Follow Brenda at Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/brenda.vance.16

Tagged athlete exercise female motivator women

While he doesn’t know it, and in fact… he doesn’t even know I exist, Mel Brooks’ comedy got me through one of the darkest times of my life, and for that I can’t thank him enough.

I had a falling accident in September of 1993, that left me paralyzed from the waist down. While it’s not in my nature to wallow in self pity, when finding out that I will never walk again did have me in the gutter, emotionally. I’m not sure if it was because of all the drugs the doctors had me on, having my life completely flipped upside down (just as things were seemingly coming together), or a combination of both, but I found myself depressed and wondering about my future.

The unknown can always be a scary thing, especially at age 25, when most people are just starting to take jabs and body blows from life. Here I was, feeling like I took a knock out punch in the first round. Dazed and confused I desperately wanted to get back on my feet, back to my old life, but no matter how hard I worked and physically trained, that wasn’t going to happen. You see… recovery from paralysis is like a crap-shoot. There’s no such thing as “I worked really hard and made a recovery from my paralyzing accident.” No… the media is the worst disseminator of this false information. Only one thing determines if you can recover from a paralyzing accident. Either the damage is serious, or it’s not.

The days in rehab weren’t so bad, because we were kept busy with the different therapies. The nights though… that’s where things could get lonely. That’s when your mind became your worst enemy. To help combat this, I had my brother record two songs for me, and I listened to them over and over. These songs always made me laugh, and reminded me not only of happy times, but (to quote every coach in existence) that “it is what it is”. Yes… Life is, and there’s nothing we can do about it. Listening to these songs over and over when I felt depressed, got me through some of the dark nights.

What were the two songs, you ask? They were both from movies. The first was “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life” (Monty Python’s “Life of Brian”) and the other was “The Spanish Inquisition” (Mel Brooks’ “History of the Word Part 1”).

We all heard the saying… “laughter is the best medicine”? I’m here as proof that if you can laugh at yourself, you can get through anything. Thank you Mel for using your sense of humor and comic genius to bring joy and laughter to a world in desperate need for more of it.

With that… here’s a spotlight about one of my favorite comic geniuses… Mel Brooks.

(The below information is from Wikipedia)

Mel Brooks (born Melvin James Kaminsky, June 28, 1926) is an American film director, screenwriter, comedian, actor, producer, composer and songwriter. He is best known as a creator of broad film farces and comic parodies. He began his career as a comic and a writer for the early TV variety show Your Show of Shows. He became well known as part of the comedy duo with Carl Reiner, The 2000 Year Old Man. In middle age he became one of the most successful film directors of the 1970s, with many of his films being among the top ten money makers of the year that they were released. His best known films include The Producers, The Twelve Chairs, Blazing Saddles, Young Frankenstein, Silent Movie, High Anxiety, History of the World, Part I, Spaceballs and Robin Hood: Men in Tights. More recently, he had a smash hit on Broadway with the musical adaptation of his first film, The Producers. He was married to the actress Anne Bancroft from 1964 until her death in 2005.

Brooks is on the short list of entertainers who have won an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony award. He received the 41st AFI Life Achievement Award in June 2013. Three of his films ranked in the American Film Institute’s list of the top 100 comedy films of all-time, all of which ranked in the top 20 of the list: Blazing Saddles at number 6, The Producers at number 11, and Young Frankenstein at number 13.

By: Attila Domos

(Editor’s note: Even though this particular article spotlight’s the one and only comic genius that is Mel Brooks, I’ve also decided to add Monty Python’s clip from “The Life of Brian”. These were 2 among my favorite comedies, and always put a smile on my face. Enjoy them for what they are… comedy.)

Mel’s personal website: http://www.melbrooks.com/

Tagged actor comedian film director Mel Brooks musician

Heron of Alexandria, also called Hero (flourished c. ad 62, Alexandria, Egypt), Greek geometer and inventor whose writings preserved for posterity a knowledge of the mathematics and engineering of Babylonia, ancient Egypt, and the Greco-Roman world.

(source: britannica.com)

It is almost certain that Hero taught at the Museum which included the famous Library of Alexandria, because most of his writings appear as lecture notes for courses in mathematics, mechanics, physics, and pneumatics. Although the field was not formalized until the twentieth century, it is thought that the work of Hero, his automated devices in particular, represents some of the first formal research into cybernetics.

(Source: Wikipedia)

Heron was a brilliant man, well ahead of his time. He was Da Vinci, way before Leonardo Da Vinci. He’s a bit of a mystery, in the way of Nikola Tesla, but not due to his being an introvert, but because he lived so long ago that many of his inventions were lost to time, war, fire and other disasters which destroy great creations.

While he first was a brilliant mathematician, many of his inventions must have seemed like magic, to the commoners of the time. He worked primarily with air, steam, water pressure, ropes, levers and pulleys, but the magic he created was absolute genius. It wasn’t long before two groups came calling for Heron’s work. One was the Roman military, and the other, the Greek church.

For the military, he created war machines, like the early form of the modern Gatling gun, which gave the Romans a huge military advantage. However, for the flailing Greek church, he created magic.

Many Greeks have turned away from the notion of gods, and membership size had dwindled through out the Greek states. But once Heron got to working his “magic”, the people turned back in droves. Some of his magic creations were the weeping statue, the large floating statue of Helios and the automatic doors to Athena’s temple. But, there were many more.

A wind-wheel operating a pipe organ—the first instance of wind powering a machine.

The first automatic vending machine. When a coin was introduced through a slot on the top of the machine, a set amount of holy water was dispensed. When the coin was deposited, it fell upon a pan attached to a lever. The lever opened up a valve which let some water flow out. The pan continued to tilt with the weight of the coin until the coin fell off, at which point a counter-weight would snap the lever back up and turn off the valve.

Mechanisms for the Greek theater, including an entirely mechanical puppet play almost ten minutes in length, powered by a binary-like system of ropes, knots, and simple machines operated by a rotating cylindrical cogwheel. The sound of thunder was produced by the mechanically-timed dropping of metal balls onto a hidden drum.

(Source: historyofinformation.com)

What very few people know, thanks to the omission of important facts from our history books, is that Heron was the first inventor of the steam engine, a steam powered device that was called aeolipile or the ‘Heron engine’. The name comes from the Greek word ‘Aiolos’ who was the Greek God of the winds.

Although a few others have talked about devices similar to aeolipiles before Heron, Heron was the first one to describe them in detail and give instructions for manufacturing them in his book Pneumatica, where more than 78 devices are described. Many of Heron’s ideas were extensions and improvements of another Greek inventor who lived in Alexandria 300 years before him, known as Ktesibios, the first to write about the science of compressed air.

Hero’s works include descriptions of machines working on air, steam or water pressure, architectural devices for lifting heavy objects, methods of calculating surfaces and volumes – including a method of calculating the square root, war machines, and manipulation of light using reflection and mirrors.

(Source: ancient-origins.net)

Unfortunately man-kind wasn’t ready for some of his creations, and they were reinvented a thousand or more years later. Imagine for a moment, if the “Heron Engine” would have been taken seriously? Picture a world where the Roman war machine could have crossed the Oceans thanks to their steam powered ships, or moved their troops from place to place much faster, using a train? Like with all inventions, no matter how great the idea and creation, it will only be used in the practical world when financial visionaries come along and want to change the world… for better or worse.

By: Attila Domos

Tagged ancient Greece Heron of Alexandria inventor

BASS REEVES… THE REAL “LONE RANGER”?

I’m sure you are familiar with the legend of the Lone Ranger, his sidekick “Tonto”, and his horse “Silver”, but what if I told you that the Lone Ranger you know, was created from, and based on a man by the name of Bass Reeves, a true life Deputy U.S. Marshall in Arkansas and the Indian Territory?

What if I told you, that said deputy was a free black man, who headed West, to escape the racist structure of the established Eastern and Southern states?

The fact that I never learned about Bass Reeves in any of my many history classes doesn’t surprise me. The longer I live, the more I’ve come to learn that most of the things we’ve been taught in our dozen or so years of schooling are lies, half truths, and misrepresentations of historical facts.

For example… we’ve all been taught that Benedict Arnold was a traitor to our founding fathers, but we’ve never been told why. When you take the time to research what really happened, it’s much easier to understand why he made the choice to go against his fellow colonists, and side with the ruling British crown. But… Arnold is a topic for another day. Let’s keep our focus on this very remarkable man, Bass Reeves, who… while having died and buried a hero, was quietly left out from our school system’s history books.

This is probably the shortest “Spotlight” I’ve written, to date, but it’s by design. I don’t want to give away all of the goodies of this story. Micah Naziri’s article did a fine job explaining the details. It’s a short read, but very informative an well put together.

Click on the link below for Naziri’s article. In it you can find a list of books that have been written and published about Bass Reeves over the years, Since his death in 1910. I also attached a short YouTube video. Enjoy!

Written by: Attila Domos

Bass Reeves (July 1838 – 12 January 1910), one of the first African American Deputy U.S. Marshals west of the Mississippi River, arrested over 3,000 felons and shot and killed fourteen outlaws in self-defense. (Wikipedia)

http://politicalblindspot.com/the-real-lone-ranger-was-an-african-american-lawman-who-lived-with-native-american-indians/

Tagged Bass Reeves Marshal US deputy wild west