(photo from Bella Flores/tumblr)
RIP, Bella Flores.
You shone your light on many and they became stars.
Indeed, “Walang bida kung walang kontrabida.”
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)
Grover Krantz was an anthropologist who died from pancreatic cancer in 2002. Before he died, he told Smithsonian anthropologist David Hunt that he wanted to donate his body to science with one catch; they had to keep his dogs with him.
So after Krantz passed, there was no funeral. Instead, his body was shipped to the University of Tennessee’s body farm, where scientists study human decay rates to aid in forensic investigations. From there, he and his wolfhounds were housed in a green cabinet in the labyrinthine back halls of the Natural History Museum, the same place they keep the dinosaur bones. Hunt even has Krantz’s baby teeth.
Seen above are Grover and his Irish wolfhound Clyde, then and now, in a playful pose. Their skeletons were displayed at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History.
Grover Krantz donated his body to science, on one condition … (via laughing squid; Geekologie)
A musical tribute by Dan Bull for a genius that could have done so much more for internet freedom and for humanity, in general. Truly, a sad and terrible loss.
(via boingboing)
In pursuit of conquering his fear of rejection, Jia Jiang is making at least one insane request a day (for 100 days) that would naturally merit a “No” answer. On day 3, he asked Jackie of Krispy Kreme in Austin, Texas to make doughnuts shaped and colored like the Olympic symbol. To his astonishment, she accepted the request and delivered with such kindness and determination that made him (and us!) a fan.
Sweet Krispy Kreme worker surprises man on quest for rejection, by Dylan Stableford at Yahoo News
It’s December, it’s the season of joy. But for the homeless, it’s probably just a season of colder nights. This (secretly captured) photo shows NYPD officer Larry DePrimo sparing some time to offer this barefoot homeless man a pair of socks and boots. He did not just warm this man’s feet on a cold New York night, he warmed our hearts. Thank you, Sir. We need more like you.
NYPD Officer Secretly Captured Being Kind to a Barefoot Homeless Man, by Rusty Blazenhoff at Laughing Squid
Photo by Jennifer Foster, via Laughing Squid
In his heyday in the 1970s and 80s, director Celso Ad Castillo was routinely described as a madman, a lunatic, the self-proclaimed “messiah” of Filipino film. It was an impression he did nothing to dispel; he might even have encouraged it.
Read the rest at JRTU: Celso Ad. Castillo, 1943-2012, by Jessica Zafra
(Image from da couch tomato)
A 14-year-old student was named “America’s Top Young Scientist” for coming up with a solar-powered jug that purifies water.
Deepika Kurup not only had to surpass 9 finalists in science and math to win $25,000 from Discovery Education and 3M, she persuaded the judges with a dynamic five-minute LIVE presentation about the plight of a billion poor people who have no access to clean drinking water.
Deepika’s invention is a cheap and sustainable water-purification system that could overcome present dilemmas with portable water purification.
From Goodnewsnetwork (via boingboing)
This is a short documentary about Kelvin Doe, a self-taught 15-year-old engineering whiz from Sierra Leone. His is a remarkable story about inspiration and innovation.
From thinkrtv:
15-Year-Old Kelvin Doe is an engineering whiz living in Sierra Leone who scours the trash bins for spare parts, which he uses to build batteries, generators and transmitters. Completely self-taught, Kelvin has created his own radio station where he broadcasts news and plays music under the moniker, DJ Focus.
Kelvin became the youngest person in history to be invited to the “Visiting Practitioner’s Program” at MIT. THNKR had exclusive access to Kelvin and his life-changing journey – experiencing the US for the first time, exploring incredible opportunities, contending with homesickness, and mapping out his future.
(via io9)
John Gurdon, along with Shinya Yamanaka, won the Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine for reprogramming adult cells. Here is an excerpt from his 1949 high school report card for biology:
Source: boingboing
