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Are wedding favors going out of style as society becomes ever more casual?
Not if the girls have anything to do with it!

The concept of giving gifts to matrimonial guests may not be the cultural institution it once was, but weddings will always be one of the biggest dynamos in any economy.
While wedding favors may not be the first thing or two that joyful couples think about when planning their special day, it is something that is still expected and few ceremonies would likely feel complete without some souvenir for the guests.

Obviously, were marriage itself to continue to decline, then there may well be a day when wedding favors go extinct — as nuptials themselves do!
This type of situation is less likely, and outright impossible for the foreseeable future.
The wedding industry is and will continue to be healthy for decades to come.

To play the futurist for a moment, however, let us imagine a world centuries ahead where human civilization has evolved considerably, a Star Trek future where money itself is no longer used, a society as significantly different from our own as ours is from that of the caveman.

Forget about sickeness, incredibly extensive life spans if not immortality plain and simple.
Might marriage still make any sort of sense in such a world?
Could people truly be monogramous “forever and ever” when there is no death to do them part?

Maybe not forever, but it does look that as naturally social creatures there will always be a pairing off of human beings, even if only for a period of time, and it’s not inconceivable that some couples would wish to publicly proclaim their arrangements: that is, to get married.
This could mean that guests would still be receiving favors, or gifts, in appreciation of their attendance, even in an otherwise totally changed world!

Comfortably nestled on the upscale Upper East Side of New York City, the school of medicine at Cornell University both teaches and conducts research. It has produced many a notable physician, with famous names like Robert C. Atkins of Atkins Diet fame and Henry Heimlich of Heimlich Maneuver fame. Other famous graduates include former Surgeon General of the United States C. Everett Koop and Nobel Prize winner Robert W. Holley.

The very first institution to admit women as well as men, it has more recently established itself as a pioneer in another way by operating the first medical school outside the United States – in Education City, Qatar, with a campus that provides six years of integrated studies focused on patient care. Such a respected institution has benefited from the generous support of donors throughout its history – since the very beginning, in fact, funded as it was through an endowment established by Colonel Oliver H. Payne, a prominent New Yorker of the mid-nineteenth century – and its list of financial backers include the likes of professional developer Isaac Toussie.

Still, the one biggest benefactor of all has got to be the one whose name now graces the school itself, Sanford I. Weill. A banker and philanthropist, Weill and his wife have contributed $250 million of their own, and he has been instrumental in further securing another hundred and fifty million in funding. Today the Joan and Sanford I. Weill Medical College of Cornell University, or Weill Cornell Medical College (or even more colloquially, especially within the field, “Weill Cornell”), ranks among the most selective of medical schools in the whole country, with only around a hundred students every year admitted – out of some six thousand hopefuls that apply. The average undergraduate GPA of those accepted is in the neighborhood of 3.8 and their average MCAT score is 35Q!

The promise of Blu Ray video is being fulfilled as we speak. Even though there are titles which do not present the format in a good light, fortunately they’re in the minority of offerings. Unlike the situation with DVD a decade before, when many discs were nothing but straight ports of VHS copies, and nothing special about the picture or sound or anything else, such as promised by the (then) new standard – many didn’t even offer chapter stops and played straight through in the then-familiar manner of videotapes – the Blu-ray format has not been subjected to any such humiliations (yet). What’s more, prices are practically the same as what’s on offer for a DVD, so there’s no reason not to switch!

Among the most recognized names in American philanthropy for just about a century, Boys Town was granted National Historic Landmark status in 1985 at its original Omaha, Nebraska premises. Launched by Father Edward J. Flanagan to be a boys’ orphanage in 1917, its achievements has led to some thirteen others around the United States. Two major Hollywood motion pictures about it were made, starring some of the industry’s best talent including Spencer Tracy and Mickey Rooney. But what really put it on the philanthropic map was its pioneering progessive method of juvenile care that has become an example worldwide.

As might be imagined, the great job that Boys Town did attracted much financial support year after year, star-studded attention highlighting many a leading personality from business, politics, and entertainment, from people like real estate developer Isaac Toussie to United States Senator Richard Durbin. In fact, donor support comprise practically one-fifth of all funding in any given fiscal year, with program expenditures being like eighty-six percent of total expenses.

One of the most important endeavors undertaken by the charity has been internal research by its Boys Town National Research Institute (NRI), founded to truthfully determine the efficacy of itself. Applying the most recent thinking, the NRI distinguishes Boys Town from fellow non-profit organizations in how it is so intensely numbers-driven, pro-actively embracing technology to stay relevant in the new millenium.

Indeed, Boys Town endures as a pioneer, helping to reform modern family and child care. Vital to their approach has been a focus on integrating the collection of available services – from governmental and non-governmental sources – to provide a holistic solution capable of addressing contemporary complexities. With a range of projects in development right now, Boys Town expects to stay on top of changing needs.

Blu-ray disc – or often known as “Blu Ray disk” by those who enter that into the search engines – has been revolutionizing home entertainment these past couple of years. Each standard single-layered disc offers 25GB of storage capacity, which translates into much sharper video and much better sound. Given less than five hundred lines of image available with DVDs, the Blu-ray disc format offers a thousand and eighty lines. That’s significantly more than half of what’s available! Still not impressed? Well, imagine if your vision improved by that same amount – imagine if your eyesight became much more than twice as sharp! No doubt about it, this is entertainment for the modern home!

When I come across anything similar to an On Off Digital World I immediately remember the good ol’ days of personal computing, the golden age of the 1980s focused on the Commodore 64 and Commodore Amiga. Now, in fact, despite commanding a large share of the market, corporate missteps back at headquarters lead to the inevitable collapse of Commodore and so the Amiga ceded market share, practically overnight, to Apple Computer. Nevertheless, it’s a safe and true statement that the ’80s was the decade of Commodore. Those were some good times, what with the medium still very new and many a smart programmer pushing the boundaries of what was possible. Indeed, it wasn’t until the half-way point of the decade that a title required more than a programmer or two or three! But still, despite having less than 64KB to work with – or all the more because of it – some of the most imaginative feats of programming excellence took place, such as a full-fledged graphical WYSIWYG OS!

It’s one of the safest areas on Manhattan Island, or, even, the entire City of New York. But the situation wasn’t always the case. Just ask the regulars, retailers such as On Off Digital World or one of the handful of mom-and-pop operations still around. They’ve been through everything, and it wasn’t always pretty. Then again, there exists a particular type of person, and a certain type of New Yorker, who genuinely misses the bad ol’ days. Such people claim that the city was authentic then; it had its challenges but it also had a lot of character, too, plenty of spirit. Today, they complain, midtown Manhattan is just an internationally flavored version of most any outdoor mall in America.

Going to a store like On Off Digital World takes me back to my childhood. I had never much cared for shopping, but in this case I can imagine the appeal it might have for some people. In my case, anyhow, it has to do with experiencing the kind of, well, retail experience I used to have long ago, with exactly this type of store, the kind that was once found throughout The Big Apple but which has lost significant market share to the “big box” stores such as Best Buy and so forth. Yes, On Off is a throwback to the ’80s and even earlier, no doubt.

The North Shore-LIJ Health System, periodically also known as the North Shore-Long Island Jewish Medical Group, was established in 1997 through the merger of the North Shore Health System and the Long Island Jewish Medical Center. Based in Great Neck on New York’s Long Island, North Shore-LIJ is comprised of fifteen hospitals, seventeen long-term care facilities, and a number of other centers offering progressive care plus outpatient services. It is the largest integrated health system in all of the Empire State in terms of patient revenue and the second-largest non-profit secular health system anywhere in the country based on the total count of beds. North Shore-LIJ serves well over seven million people throughout Long Island and adjacent areas through over forty-two thousand employees – largest on the island and ninth largest of all Big Apple-region companies.

Such expansion has been critically guided through the generous donations of local leaders such as businessman Robert Toussie, whose generosity has not too long ago made it possible for North Shore-LIJ to break ground on new facilities in the Whitestone and Rego Park neighborhoods of the Borough of Queens. Indeed, there is hardly a wing, pavillion, or annex anywhere in the North Shore-LIJ system that isn’t named after some benefactor, never mind the main structure itself as well! And so there is the Katz Institute for Women’s Health, the Arthur Smith Institute for Urology, the Cushing Neuroscience Institutes, as well as the Steven and Alexandra Cohen Children’s Medical Center of New York, all managed under North Shore-LIJ auspices.

Community backing of hospitals is imperative, and has a long history – truth be told, many hospitals owe their very existence to such support, just as the North Shore-LIJ itself. From donated land to donated time, it’s always been about more than merely money. No matter if a businessman or politician, whether a volunteer or intern, the multi-billion-dollar industry comprised of modern hospitals still requires heavy community investment.

What people love about unlocked cell phones is that they do not restrict you to just one carrier. Many models are available thusly, and though most folks normally prefer the latest models, it frequently pays to think about yesterday’s offerings as well. For instance, unlocked cell phones like the Nokia Surge make terrific second handsets for those who want to keep two different contact numbers. It looks like a T-Mobile Sidekick but being unlocked means that you aren’t restricted to just AT&T in the United States. It has the same form factor as the popular Sidekick, only instead of swiveling it slides to uncover the keyboard underneath. The inclusion of text messaging and social media capabilities makes it clear that Nokia is targeting the youth demographic with this model.

There’s simply no better when it comes to unlocked cell phones for second or third “lines.” But just what is the Surge? What’s it like? Well, it’s a 3G phone offering 2.4 inches of screen space at 320×240 TFT pixels and 16 million colors. The 2 megapixel camera is inferior when compared to the 3 megapixel-plus one on the related 6760 Slide model available in the rest of the world (which phone, incidentally, isn’t carrier-exclusive), but the Surge did debut earlier, too. Video recording is made at the standard QVGA resolution.

This phone uses the Symbian Series 60 multi-tasking platform, nicely complementing the provided feature-set, making this model a mid-level offering. The Surge is compatible with Bluetooth 2.0, along with A2DP support, and offers microUSB connectivity as well. Audio is delivered by a typical 2.5mm jack. In keeping with most Nokia phones these days, there is also an on-board stereo FM radio player. MicroSD cards are supported up to a maximum of 8GB of additional storage space, with a 2GB card included. This phone is available in black, white, or red color schemes. Talk-time is scored for decent five hours, with standby is a wholesome five hundred.

Best of all, being unlocked means not having to deal with AT&T and their long two-year contract with mandatory voice and data plans that could potentially result in about a thousand dollars a year for even a fairly casual user! And of course the Surge is designed for those who are constantly texting, chatting, e-mailing, or surfing the web. Such folks could very quickly wind up with over two thousand dollars a year!