Wednesday, February 20, 2008

FEBRUARY 20, 2008

WORLD VISION RADIOTHON FAQ
Who is World Vision again?
World Vision is a Christian relief and development organization dedicated to helping children and their communities worldwide reach their full potential by tackling the causes of poverty. World Vision serves the world's poor regardless of a person's religion, race, ethnicity, or gender. For more information, visit www.worldvision.org.

Can we trust World Vision?
Absolutely. Go to www.charitynavigator.org, and you'll see that World Vision has been around for 60 years and is rated as one of the top three charities in the world as far as reliability and responsibility. Only 13% of their income goes to administrative costs, while 87% goes to the field.

How do we know the money will get to the children?
World Vision has independent agencies auditing their practices and making sure the children in need get their supplies. When you sponsor a child, World Vision gets the supplies and delivers them directly to the child. The money doesn't go into a trust fund or somewhere else where someone can spend it irresponsibly.

Why aren’t you helping children in Bakersfield?
97.7 The Breeze is committed to helping kids. Whether they are here or abroad, we care about children. That's why we have our Kid Safe Philosophy. And The Breeze holds our annual school supply drive for local children in need, as well as our annual Toys For Tots drive. This was just something we knew we had to act on.

How will this work tomorrow?
You'll call 1-888-WV-HELPS and ask to sponsor a child. You can have a random child chosen for you, or you can pick a child of a certain gender, country, or age. You can even pick a specific birthdate. You will get a packet with the child's picture and information on how you can write them. You'll receive specific information on how you're making a difference in their lives.

AMERICAN IDOL NOTES
Is it just me, or for all this talk of this being the "best talent ever", was last night kind of disappointing?

The guys came and went, but three stood out... Michael Johns, Jason Castro, and David Archuleta (my pick, thank you) did very well, each earning unanimous praise from the judges.

The not so good last night? Try Luke Menard and Garett Haley... two people who didn't get much screen time in the auditions, and coupled with poor performances could be in trouble by tomorrow night's results show.

We'll have our official elimination picks tomorrow... don't forget, the ladies perform tonight!

BLU-RAY WINS
If you already put all your money into HD DVD, you're not going to want to hear this: Blu-Ray is the next-generation DVD format. Yesterday, Toshiba announced that it's ditching HD DVD and admitting defeat to Sony's Blu-Ray format.

This follows decisions last week by Wal-Mart, Netflix and Best Buy to abandon HD DVD in favor of Blu-Ray. (To put that in terms you may understand, Blu-Ray is VHS... and HD DVD is BETAMAX.)

A GIFT FOR THE DOGS
The number one song in New Zealand last Christmas was a song called "A Very Silent Night". It was #1 despite the fact that humans can't actually hear it... it can only be heard by dogs.

The song was recorded at a frequency that's too high for humans to hear. To us, it sounds like nothing. But dogs can easily hear it.

Most dogs seem to like the sound... but there was one report of a dog that go so worked up when it heard the CD, it attacked the CD player.

Dog owners in New Zealand bought 4,400 copies of "A Very Silent Night" for their dogs for Christmas. The CD has made $17,300... and all the proceeds go to a charity set up by the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

Now that charity wants to market the song worldwide to raise more money for abused animals. If you want to buy your dog a copy, go here: (Reuters / BBC)

http://www.spca.org.nz/silent.htm

TONIGHT'S LUNAR ECLIPSE
Just a reminder that tonight is the lunar eclipse... it'll begin at 7:00 PM Pacific Eastern. It'll last about 50 minutes... and halfway through, the moon will be completely red.