Take Lucas Murray for example, aka BATBOY, so nicknamed for being the first blind person in the US to “see” with his ears. Using the same abilities that bats use to fly at night, Lucas visualizes his surrounding by making clicking sounds with his tongue and listening for the echoes the sound makes as it bounces off objects. It’s an amazing ability that allows Lucas to move almost independently. He can even play basketball and shoot hoops!

Watch the video and be amazed. Let’s see if Batman can do this!

By the way, the character Deanne  Bray’s character on HEROES, hearing-impaired Emma, was referred as possibly having an echo-location ability too.

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Just look at the samples here (click for a higher-res to see details).

According to the website, prices of single Mini-Me starts at $99.95. Check out the website for more dolls and sample images. Remember, the face of the model will be that of the winner!

Here’s how to join –

• One entry per person per day. Say “aye!” if you want one.
• It’s open to residents of the US only.
• Contest ends 11:59 midnight EST on October 31, 2008 (Friday). One winner will be randomly chosen and announced via blog and email the week after.
• If a winner does not reply within 3 days, he/she forfeits her winnings and an alternate entry will be chosen.
• REMINDER #1 : In previous contests, I have had several winners forfeited for failure to reply to my emails.  Please make sure your settings don’t put my email into the junk folder, otherwise you’ll have no idea you won. Better yet, please check this blog for the winners’ list after the contest ends. Best bet, come back often and stay a reader!

More giveaways at the Superhero Profiles’ Treasure Chest!

More giveaways at the Bloggy Giveaways Quarterly Carnival!

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But the most poignant moment about tonight’s Olympic event is not the show. It’s a little-known boy named Lin Hao, who walked beside Yao Ming as he carried the Chinese flag. Lin Hao is quite the national hero! But his presence also caused some stormy controversy!

The nine-year old Lin Hao is a survivor of the Sichuan earthquake last month that killed more than 70,000 people. The second-grader was buried in the rubble that was his school but he managed to get out. And then he crawled back into the pile and got two of his classmates out. When he was later asked why he did that, the boy innocently said that he was class monitor leader, and that it’s his responsibility to look after his classmates. That little boy is standing much taller than the big man who carried the Chinese flag.

There is something else about this Olympics that got bloggers really excited. Not by accident, the tiny flag that Lin Hao is waving is upside down. It’s an international nautical distress signal. It’s a cry for help. Someone wanted to send a message out at the opening ceremony.

Now would heroes now please rise up from the people of Beijing.

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discipline is heartbreaking!

Every hero has a mom. Every mom is a hero.

Happy Mother’s Day.

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Hayden Panettiere will be in Washington D.C. this weekend to speak in behalf of "Save the Whales Again!" and boy, does she have a full schedule!

• Sunday January 27, 1 p.m. – Hayden will lead a rally in Washington D.C.’s Dupont Circle to protest commercial whaling. After the rally, she will speak at Georgetown University.
• Monday, January 28 – She will meet with representatives from the embassies of Japan, Norway and Iceland to question their outdated whaling practices.
• Tuesday, January 29, 1 p.m. – Hayden will speak at a press conference hosted by House of Representatives Natural Resources Committee Chair Nick Rahall (D-WV). She will be joined by Rahall and Senator John Kerry (DMA) in urging the US Government to reinstate its former leadership role protecting whales from commercial slaughter. An evening reception with Members of Congress and their staff is the final stop on her trip.

Says Hayden: "Whales face increasing threats from climate change, ship strikes, entanglement in nets, and chemical and noise pollution… I am looking forward to talking with officials who actually make and carry out our policies, as well as fellow young people who will be voting in the upcoming election — I want our voice to be heard."

And people are finally listening.

source

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Thanks to Darren the Problogger’s group writing workshop, I found this link on The Top 5 Hero Celebrities. Can you guess who they are? Angelina Jolie is one of them.

So, I checked out the blog and found more Hero links!

1. The Hero Workshop. It’s a custom made program and resource sites for various groups in empowering participants to “find the hero within”. And I don’t think one even needs a cape or a sword to be one.

2. A Hero a Day. “Building a virtual quilt of courage through the deeds of those who choose to make a difference.” It’s full of biographies – from military men and women, sports legends, science heroes, websites, etc. I was especially drawn to the HOPE Project, which is based here in Baltimore,MD. The idea behind HOPE is pediatric patients playing multi-player videogames with other children become committed to the game and their playmates that these take their mind off the pain of illness, and result in faster healing. There is no cooler way pass time in the hospital

3. MY HERO Project. It’s a collection of stories of remarkable individuals, reminding us that “we all have the potential to overcome great obstacles and achieve our dreams by following in the footsteps of our heroes.”

Oh, and I found a new link - Superhero Archetypes. The latest post asks about the consistencies between Smallville and the Superman movies.

Tags: heroes, real, hero project, hope project

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“Heroes” co-stars Adrian Pasdar and Milo Ventimiglia lived up to their show’s title a few days ago. Accord ing to Us Weekly, the dynamic duo were driving in L.A. last Sunday when they spied two female motorists whose car was stuck in the middle of the street. Pasdar and Ventimiglia got out and pushed the girls’ car to the side – asking if

they needed AAA help. – Michael Starr (of Starr Report)

Ah, the “dynamic duo”.. I love that!

[Source: New York Post]

Tags: “Heroes”, Milo Ventimiglia, Adrian Pasdar, dynamic duo, real-life, heroes

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When a hero sees a situation, he becomes part of the solution. Again and again and again. Actor Greg Grunberg is that kind of a hero in real life.

He saves children’s lives. For real. When his son Jake was diagnosed with pediatric epilepsy at age 3, Grunberg began a personal quest to raise awareness and public support for this disease. Hollywood’s Helping Hands is one such outcome. Since his Alias days, Grunberg has auctioned off $350,000 worth of (and counting) greeting cards of original finger paintings made by celebrities, and donated the funds to The Pediatric Epilepsy Project (PEP).

When he became part of “Heroes”, NBC hosted an auction the show’s promotional items and the cast’s autographed character illustrations.

This time around, Grunberg heads the first-ever National Walk for Epilepsy, and on March 31, he will be one of thousands who will take a 5K walk along the Washington DC mall to bring public support and a targeted $1M funding for research.

“It is such an honor to participate in any way we can to raise awareness in the fight against epilepsy,” Grunberg said. “To be able to march on Washington with those directly effected and their families lets our family know we are not alone.”

[image: PEP]

Tags: epilepsy, epilepsy foundation, pediatric epilepsy, Greg Grunberg, National Walk for Epilepsy

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