a COOL golden moment

I guess a COOLITICS blog wouldn't be complete without mentioning a cool moment at this years Winter Olympics. Even though this story has garnered national news and has been played out in front of millions watching this years games I thought it would be cool to be in the Olympic spirit.

Maria Riesch of Germany won two gold medals during this Olympics including one in the slalom this past Friday. Instead of immediately celebrating and enjoying her moment she took the time to console her sister, Suzanne, who had crashed in the same event thus ruining her chances of medaling.

I know people watching this act of selflessness probably thought how nice, generous, loving, and caring Maria was being towards her sister, which she most certainly was, but I wonder how many people thought how COOL she was. This is what COOLITICS is all about and there is nothing better than seeing acts of such coolness being displayed in front of millions.

I know this Olympics has seen its share of negative displays of celebrating wins and accepting losses which also gets played out in front of the millions watching, that's why it is so cool to see individuals like Maria Riesch thinking of someone else, especially when that someone else is her sister. There is nothing wrong with having a fiery, competitive spirit, partaking in civil sibling rivalry, but there is nothing cooler then realizing that while there is jubilation in one's own victory there is also misery in some one's defeat. Winning, as well as losing, can bring out the worst in all of us but while savoring our victory it is cool to remain humble and remember that one day the victor may one day be looking down on us from his/her podium while we wish we would have been more graceful during our time up there.

Here's to you Maria, you inspire during victory and defeat-stay positive, stay generous, and stay cool!

Do you know of someone that was cool during a monumental victory or a humbling defeat?

a COOL birthday gift

I know this story has made it's way onto national news and throughout the Internet but I thought it was WAY TOO COOL to not make another mention of it here.

Bob Moore , who owns Bob's Red Mill Natural Foods in Portland, OR, celebrated his 81st birthday by giving the company that bears his name to the 209 employees that work for him. It's not like he gave them a company that was struggling either, his business has continued to grow since 2004 when it was estimated that revenues for that year were around the 24 million mark. Not a bad birthday gift to give or receive if you are an employee of his.

Its also not as if he would have trouble selling his company when he decides to step down, he has had multiple offers to buy him out at lofty sums on almost a daily basis. I don't think it's too often that you find a man like Bob who has built a company from scratch into such a striving business and then gives it to his employees.

Like I said above, I know Bob's story has been told on a variety of news outlets but he exemplifies what COOLITICS is all about and deserves to be honored or recognized more often then not. Here's to you Bob, stay positive, stay generous, and stay cool!

Do you know someone who has given such a cool gift? Who are they and what did they give?

ONE COOL EVENT

The Thrift Shop performing at Durst Family Fundraiser


Jon Fisher on stage at Durst Family Fundraiser

Just want to give kudos to Jon Fisher and those that helped to put on a really cool fundraiser event for the Durst Family this past Sunday (2/21/10) at the Hard Rock Cafe in Pittsburgh, PA (Station Square). The turn out was fantastic and everyone appeared to really enjoy themselves while donating money for a much deserving family. The food really hit the spot, the silent auction and Chinese auction baskets offered something for everybody, and the music performed from a variety of bands was outstanding. For $40 you couldn't beat the venue, the atmosphere, everything that was offered, and the fact that the Durst Family was receiving a generous amount of money for whatever they most need it for.

Jon Fisher really rallied the troops for this event and he should be commended for his generosity and selflessness, not to mention how cool he is for donating his time and getting this fundraiser ready to be the success it was in such a short amount of time. Jon orchestrated one cool event for a deserving cause. Here's just a thought, hopefully Jon will continue on this path, of organizing fundraisers for worthy causes and people, it seems to suit him very well- The world would truly be a cooler place!

I also want to mention one band, The Thrift Shop, they are made up of some young kids who play older rock. It's really cool to see young kids taking an interest in classic rock and performing it really well. If you ever get a chance to see them in person I highly recommend it, I think you will thoroughly enjoy them and appreciate their talent and respect for the music they play. It was really cool of them to donate their time and efforts to help Jon make this event a success.

I just want to mention again what a cool event this was and thank everyone who donated their time and talents to make it work and to all who ventured out to it to donate their hard earned money. Here's to all of you, stay positive, stay generous, and stay cool!

Do you know someone who organized a fundraiser or did something else cool to help someone in need? Who are they and what did they do?

BE COOL

Hello,

This is my first official blog and I am excited to be bringing to you the idea of Coolitics. Coolitics is about being cool to yourself and others, a practice that I think has been long forgotten over the years as we as a nation and a world continue to get louder, more obnoxious, and ignorant towards each other. I am not sure how this has come about-(though I do have my thoughts and theories on it but this blog is not about ranting or complaining)-though it seems that the louder, more obnoxious, and more ignorant someone is the more they are positively rewarded. Personally, I don't think this sends a good message to the youth of today and tomorrow who will soon be the adults and leaders of the future. With this blog I hope to continue to bring a light to those that are kind, humble, honest, respectable, and responsible, characteristics that are not only admirable but COOL!

I look forward to bringing to you, COOLITICIANS, individuals and groups that are doing cool things who might otherwise go unnoticed. These individuals and groups might be from my local hometown, Zelienople, PA, from across the U.S., or from across the world. I also look forward to your comments and input as well. If the COOLITICIAN isn't from Zelienople, PA I usually find someone to honor through local and national news (tv or paper) and the internet so hopefully you will feel free to recognize and comment on someone you know and think is cool-they could very well become COOLITICIAN OF THE WEEK.

You can also go to www.coolitics.com to view COOLITICIANS OF THE WEEK and past COOLITICIANS OF THE WEEK. At this website you will also find other information about COOLITICS and check out some of the way cool COOLITCS gear-(please excuse the website, I am not a web designer and basically put it together through a do-it-yourself website so its not as professionally looking as I would like but it was fun to attempt anyways).

Thanks for visiting my blog and I look forward to posting many positive blogs about individuals and groups performing cool and selfless acts in the future and hearing from you. Stay positive, stay generous, and stay cool!