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2 months ago | 
thebuzzmagazines.com | Cheryl Ursin
If you think astronomy means being alone in a dark, remote, and probably cold place, straining to see some smudges and dots of light through the eyepiece of a telescope, guess again. There can be a lot more to it. And there are hundreds of people right here in Houston who can’t wait to tell – and show – you all about it.
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Dec 27, 2024 | 
thebuzzmagazines.com | Cheryl Ursin |Bystander CPR
Gary Pagtama and Emery Desilets have been friends for years, “gym buddies” who play basketball together multiple times per week. But one December day in 2022, after the two had played basketball, Gary’s heart suddenly stopped. Emery, who had gone to the gym’s weight room, saw people running from the basketball court and went to see what was happening. He found his friend seizing on the floor. He immediately started doing cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).
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Nov 27, 2024 | 
thebuzzmagazines.com | Cheryl Ursin
It was a beautiful morning in late January: temperatures were in the low 60s with the morning sun coming out after a night of rain. My husband, Cole Thomson, was coming back from one of his early-morning bike rides – 30 miles to, from, and around Memorial Park. He was feeling great. Then, the back tire on his bicycle blew out. When he landed on the pavement, in intense pain and unable to move, he knew this was not an ordinary fall.
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Nov 1, 2024 | 
thebuzzmagazines.com | Cheryl Ursin
Meet Oliver the Watusi, a social-media star steer who lives at the Triangle B Ranch in Liberty, Texas. He and his friends at the ranch – cows, horses, sheep, pigs, chickens, guinea fowl, and peacocks – love to eat pumpkins as a treat. “And pumpkin is a natural dewormer and helps with digestion,” says their human friend Michelle Lumpkin-Browning.
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Jul 26, 2024 | 
thebuzzmagazines.com | Cheryl Ursin
Lola and Mila Prpa, 13-year-old twin sisters, didn’t set out to become elite volleyball players. Like many kids, they tried a lot of activities when they were younger. “Mila did every sport,” says their mom, Nicolette Daniel. “Lacrosse, soccer, ice skating, gymnastics, swimming.” For a while, Mila got seriously into competing in the equestrian sport of show jumping, but after three serious injuries, “I hated to do it, but we had to make the decision to take that away,” says Nicolette.
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May 27, 2024 | 
thebuzzmagazines.com | Cheryl Ursin
They travel all over the world: here in the U.S., in South America, Europe, Asia, New Zealand and Australia, even Antarctica. They travel by plane, cruise ship, train, kayak, zodiac boat, bus, car, bicycle, tuk tuk, as well as by foot, of course, whether that’s walking, trekking, hiking, or backpacking. They sleep in hotels, in hostels, on strangers’ couches, in Airbnbs, in convents and castles, and in the great outdoors. They are women traveling solo, and their numbers are surprisingly legion.
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Mar 31, 2024 | 
thebuzzmagazines.com | Cheryl Ursin
Maybe you did taekwondo, the Korean martial art, as a child. Maybe you put your own kids into taekwondo classes. After all, it’s a great activity: it’s physical exercise, it’s a mental challenge, it teaches discipline and coordination, it burns off energy, and it’s fun. And maybe you remember the rows of students, arranged by belt color, in their dobocks (uniforms), practicing their patterns. At a certain level of proficiency, they get to spar.
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Sep 26, 2023 | 
thebuzzmagazines.com | Cheryl Ursin
Even though we live in a world where you can stream any song you want anytime you want, sometimes what you really crave is a real-life experience. “Magic may be a weird word,” says Melinda O’Connell, “but there’s something electric about people coming together, all to listen to music. Everyone loves everyone.” She’s not alone in feeling that: According to a survey of music-festival fans, 80 percent said going to festivals gives them a sense of connection and community.
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Aug 25, 2023 | 
thebuzzmagazines.com | Cheryl Ursin
Everybody who knows Andy McCormick knows he’s a big Bruce Springsteen fan. “He’s a walking encyclopedia on Springsteen,” says friend Cathy Beathard. “Andy gives me books on Springsteen, like five books in the last year,” says Cathy’s husband, Dave, who’s no slouch when it comes to the rock superstar, having seen Springsteen in concert 10 times himself. “Andy has read every book ever written on Springsteen,” his wife, Aileen, confirms.
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Jul 27, 2023 | 
thebuzzmagazines.com | Cheryl Ursin
Quiz bowl works your brainClick the Buzz Me button to receive email notifications when this writer publishes a new article or a new article in this column is published. Every May, a hotel near Chicago’s O’Hare airport is taken over by middle-school students, over 600 of them from all over the country, along with their parents and coaches. It’s the Middle School National Championship Tournament, run by National Academic Quiz Tournaments (NAQT), for the academic sport known as quiz bowl.
