Two bombs exploded near the finish line of the Boston Marathon, killing at least three and injuring more than a hundred. A third explosion also occurred at the Boston’s JFK library.
An overwhelming, heartwarming generosity poured in from thousands, offering food, shelter, and comfort for the displaced.
(photo via BoingBoing)
The over one billion Catholics rejoice after a new pope, Jorge Mario Bergoglio from Argentina (first non-European in over 1000 years), has been elected. The new pope will be called Pope Francis I.
(videos from ABC News)
These three events are unrelated, but because they’re phenomenal and occurred almost side by side, let’s lump them together.
(Image via Neatorama)
Within hours after Pope Benedict announced his resignation, a lightning struck St. Peter’s Basilica. (BBC has the video)
Yesterday, a meteor impacted Chelyabinsk, Russia injuring hundreds due to shattered glass.
(from RussiaToday)
According to NASA, the meteor entered the atmosphere and disintegrated in the skies over Chelyabinsk, Russia at 7:20:26 p.m. PST, or 10:20:26 p.m. EST on Feb. 14 (3:20:26 UTC on Feb. 15). It was brighter than the sun. Its trail was visible for about 30 seconds so it was “a grazing impact through the atmosphere.”
The approximate size of the object before entering Earth’s atmosphere was about 55 feet (17 meters) with an estimated mass of 10,000 tons. With this size, it is expected that a large number of meteorites would reach the surface. The energy released was estimated to be about 500 kilotons.
The Russia meteor is the biggest reported since 1908, when a meteor hit Tunguska, Siberia. This event is expected to happen once every 100 years.
The meteor’s trajectory was considerably different than the trajectory of asteroid 2012 DA14, which made its flyby on Earth hours later.
(Image courtesy of E. Guido/N. Howes/Remanzacco Observatory, via NASA)
As reported by NASA, Asteroid 2012 DA14 passed Earth 17,500 miles above Indonesia. It passed inside the ring of geosynchronous weather and communications satellite.
The above image was taken by iTelescope.net Siding Spring Observatory and shows the asteroid as a streak moving from left to right in the field of view. The image was taken around 9:40 am PST on Feb. 15, 2013 at Siding Spring, Australia.
Lolong, the world’s largest crocodile in captivity (20.4 ft. long), was found dead in its pen in Bunawan, Agusan del Sur, Philippines last Sunday night. Lolong had a bloated belly, but the cause of death has yet to be investigated. He was attracting a lot of tourists daily and was generating a sizeable income for the community. The villagers are mourning his death.
Sabi nga nila, bakit si Lolong pa, eh ang dami namang ibang bwaya.
Paalam Lolong.
(Images are from Marty Williams under CC BY-SA 3.0)
(gif from ZombieProphet)
Terrific finish! Ang galing din talaga ni Donaire.
The latest shooting rampage that left 28 dead (20 children and 8 adults including the gunman’s mother and himself) at an elementary school in Newton, Connecticut grips us, again, with terrible sadness and confronts us, again, with the burning question, WHY?
Some have these to say on:
The truth behind these senseless deaths may be elusive, but we cannot stop searching for answers to come up with meaningful actions and stop the killings.
(gif from ZombieProphet)
Kami ay namangha (!) at nalungkot sa iyong pagkatumba
Laban ulit Manny!
Pero ok lang naman kung gusto mo nang magretiro
Ma-mi-miss nga lang namin ang Pambansang Kamao.
The European NotFound project makes use of your “404-Not Found” error pages by converting them into missing children alerts across the European Union where thousands of children go missing every year. The initiative was launched by Missing Children Europe and Child Focus. Maybe the Philippines could also adopt this project especially since missing or kidnapped children are reported almost daily.
Visit NotFound.org for more info on how to participate.
via laughing squid
An unconventional candidate is running for Mayor of Halifax (in Nova Scotia, Canada).
This is Tuxedo Stan, and I bet that face could possibly garner a landslide victory. But he’s really got some serious agenda:
Now that I have everybody’s attention it’s time to get serious. The reason I got into politics was to convince Halifax Council that we need a program to deal with the cat problem in our municipality. My brothers and sisters are starving, freezing to death in winter and reproducing at an alarming rate. We need a program to address these problems. We need a low cost spay and neuter clinic. We need a comprehensive Trap-Neuter-Return and Care program. We need a sanctuary for homeless strays to live out their in comfort. WE NEED A MAYOR WHO CARES…BECAUSE NEGLECT ISN’T WORKING!!! Vote Tuxedo Stan.
Too bad we’re not Halifax residents. Well, he can’t legally become mayor, but he now has an ardent following.
Visit Tuxedo’s Facebook page for more info and updates.
People of Halifax, go out and vote!
(from Tuxedo Party, via BuzzFeed)
