Kirk Douglas Turns 99 With A Party And A $15 Million Birthday Gift
"Kirk Douglas celebrated his 99th birthday on Wednesday at his home in Beverly Hills with wife Anne and sons Michael, Peter, Joel and daughter-in-law Catherine Zeta-Jones as he held court under a huge banner made of red and white roses that spelled out “99 Today”...
Earlier in the day the legendary star reversed the usual protocol and instead of receiving a gift he decided instead to give one, a BIG one.
With his initial donation of $15 million, the Motion Picture & Television Fund in Woodland Hills announced plans to build a two-story $35 million Alzheimer’s facility to be named the Kirk Douglas Care Pavilion, which will be able to take care of upwards of 80 industry members with that disease. It is expected to break ground in late 2016. “It is in keeping with Kirk’s philosophy of giving back to the entertainment community that he is the one giving us the gift on his birthday instead of us lavishing one on him,” said Jeffrey Katzenberg, chairman of the MPTF Foundation, who adds that with this most recent commitment Kirk and his wife, Anne Douglas are some of the largest donors in the history of MPTF with over $40 million to date..."
http://deadline.com/2015/12/kirk-douglas-99-15-million-birthday-gift-mptf-1201665211/
Mr. Douglas just keeps on going, bless him. Tough man.
(I was wondering what to do with my spare $15,000,000 that's under my mattress)
:floorlaugh::floorlaugh::floorlaugh:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alzheimer's may exact its revenge on those who hold negative beliefs about older people
"Nxt time you're stuck behind a slow-moving older person and find yourself entertaining negative stereotypes about aging, consider this: A new study finds that people who were inclined to believe that older people were slower, unhappier and less sharp than the rest of us are more likely -- when, decades later, they become older themselves -- to exhibit the brain changes seen in those with Alzheimer's disease.
That should teach you to respect your elders...
Live long enough in the belief that older people are afflicted with physical, cognitive financial and even sexual woes, and the stress of believing you are marching toward the same end will takes its toll...."
http://www.latimes.com/science/scie...ve-aging-alzheimers-brain-20151207-story.html
-------------------------------------------------------
Alzheimer’s Accurately Detected By Computerized Language Analysis
"...Researchers have discovered how to diagnose Alzheimer’s disease with more than 82 per cent accuracy by evaluating the interplay between four linguistic factors; and developing automated technology to detect these impairments.
The study, led by Dr. Frank Rudzicz, Scientist, Toronto Rehabilitation Institute (TR), UHN, is published in the December issue of the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease. The method and automated application of the assessment is proven to be more accurate than the current initial assessment tool used by health-care professionals. It can also provide an objective diagnostic rating for dementia.
Based on the analysis, it was determined that four collective dimensions of speech are indicative of dementia: semantic impairment, such as using overly simple words; acoustic impairment, such as speaking more slowly; syntactic impairment, such as using less complex grammar; and information impairment, such as not clearly identifying the main aspects of a picture..."
http://neurosciencenews.com/alzheimers-linguistics-computational-neuroscience-3238/
----------------------------------
A Man With Alzheimer's and the Dog Who Forecasted His Death
"Peter, my precious little Shih Tzu puppy, was brown and white with enormous brown eyes; his tail never stopped wagging. I was so happy I'd chosen him. Actually, I didn't choose Peter. He chose me. Like the Mona Lisa, his eyes followed me everywhere I went in the pet store.
I left that place and went to another, but there were no puppies as beseeching as Peter, so I returned to the first store. Peter's eyes locked on to me again the instant I entered. So that settled that. He became mine..."
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/marie...-and_b_8707314.html?utm_hp_ref=fifty&ir=Fifty
------------------------------------------------------------