This collection of RMS Titanic survivor photographs is an interesting visual account of the ship's tragic happenings in the early morning hours of April 15th, 1912. The photos document the time after the ship collided with an iceberg in the north Atlantic and passengers clamored for an insufficient number of lifeboats. The collection includes lifeboats at sea, shot from rescue ship RMS Carpathia. Also featured are photos of the survivors aboard the rescue vessel.
One "Hollywood" note: given the picture of Mrs. James J. Brown, a/k/a "The Unsinkable Molly Brown" below, it's no wonder why James Cameron and company cast actress Kathy Bates in the role!
See the entire collection of rare Titanic survivor photographs here.
Lisa Marcus's Blog Posts
Returning home
Those of us who own pets know that along with the joy and laughter they bring to our daily lives, we occasionally have to suffer inconveniences or make sacrifices in order to have them with us.
John is an Asian comic artist who lovingly documents his life before and after acquiring pets. His drawings show his life with two dogs and a cat, but the runaway star of the show is Maimai, his male golden retriever. Maimai, almost always depicted with a big smile on his face, is the animal whose mischief is primarily showcased in John's work. And regardless of the mischievous deeds, John's love for Maimai (and his other "furry kids" as he calls them) is clearly communicated, which is why they are so charming.
If you appreciate his drawings, I recommend you visit John's blog, which contains more of these before and after comics as well as adorable photographs of Maimai and other parts of John's life. You can also keep up with John and Maimai on social media via Facebook and Twitter.
Via Earthables | Images via maimaijohn.wordpress
Decor on shelves
iPhone photos
Attempting to eat his "tv dinner"
Most people love Girl Scout Cookies, and those who do generally have their favorites. In this comic, Gemma Correll serves up a few of her least favorite types of Girl Scout treats. Who knew the range of depth and complexity of these flavors? And this is just part of the menu. See Gemma Correll's illustrations of more bad Girl Scout Cookies here.
Follow Gemma on her Tumblr, at her website, on Instagram and on Facebook. Look into options for purchasing Correll prints and other merchandise here.
In this sweet footage from the Smithsonian National Zoo, Bei Bei the giant panda cub is completing the milestone of climbing his first tree, as his loving mother Mei Xiang looks on. Yet similar to a human mother and child dynamic, the exercise doesn't leave Mei Xiang in an exhilarated state of abandon as it does her cub.
Six-month-old Bei Bei obviously loves this new activity and is itching to push on up the tree, but his mother is worried that he may get too high up and hurt himself. The adorably gentle push and pull between mother and cub continues until mother finally reels Bei Bei in for good. Via Slate
This wonderful combination of Mario Kart and Star Wars created by Dark Pixel Digital took them much longer to make than they anticipated -- a year in fact. The result is sheer bliss to watch and should please any fan of Mario Kart as well as the Star Wars franchise. I don't know about you, but if this was a game for sale, I'd buy it in a hearbeat. Via Mashable
This darling baby monkey just wants a playmate and has settled on this cat... or is he purposely trying to annoy the cat? Perhaps a little of both. Regardless, their swing, push and pull routine is entertaining to see. Via Arbroath
Picher, Oklahoma | Image: Tim Dowd
If there are any locations worldwide that you want to clear off your "bucket list," it's these ten towns listed in the linked article as the most toxic areas in existence. So unles you have a "bucket list" of places in which you'd like to kick the proverbial bucket, keep a wide berth from these hot spots.
One grim example is Picher, Oklahoma:
"The Tar Creek area, which includes the lead and zinc mining town of Picher was designated a Superfund site in 1983. In the mid-1990s, a third of children in Picher were found to have elevated levels of lead in their bloodstream, which can cause cognitive issues. (Members of the Picher school board have said that students showed a high rate of learning difficulties, despite the work of teachers and the school board.) But that's not what ultimately triggered the mass exodus from Picher; in 2006, a study found that, due to mining, the ground was at risk for collapse, and in fact one motorist died after driving into a gaping hole in the ground. That triggered a federal relocation buyout, with only six households and one business remaining in 2011.How dangerous is it today? Well, the long-term plans for Picher don't include human habitation. The town is being gradually dismantled, and once the cleanup is finished, the land will likely be turned over to the Quapaw tribe, which resided there before the mines came in. At the moment, the Quapaw tribe intends to turn the area into wetlands. Other towns in the area, including Treece, Kansas, and Cardin, Oklahoma, are largely abandoned."
If you're a horror film enthusiast, this list is likely to contain a few items that will appeal to you. Vulture has assembled a collection of ten independent horror films to be released this year, and some of them look pretty interesting.
Take the film February, the trailer of which is above. The writer has this to say in their description:
"Now that Mad Men is over, our Kiernan Shipka mainline has dried up, but getting to see her stretch beyond 1960s teenage ennui will be a welcome change. February is the directorial debut of Osgood (Oz) Perkins. He's the son of Psycho actor Anthony Perkins, but is probably best known to this point as David Kidney, the guy in Legally Blonde who dewormed orphans in Somalia before joining Elle Woods’s freshman introduction group.
But even if this is his first time at the helm, Perkins has penned a few thrillers, and for February, he’s gone to the fertile horror ground of girls alone at a boarding school to stage his slow-burn possession nightmare. Shipka’s character Kat is forced to spend a winter break on campus after her parents mysteriously fail to pick her up, and she’s stuck there with convenience companion Rose (Lucy Boynton), who’s dealing with her own substantial issues. Then there’s Emma Roberts, who plays a hitchhiking girl named Joan whose fate is intertwined with the two co-eds.
Since premiering at Fantastic Fest last fall, February hasn’t been widely seen, but it has garnered approval from the straitlaced types at Variety, as well as the blood freaks at Bloody Disgusting, where it was praised as “one of the best possession films ever.” That’s a broad swath of tastes being satisfied, and it sounds like the son of Psycho has really delivered with this nerve-twister."
Looks and sounds intriguing, does it not?
See the rest of their list of indie horror movies to look out for here. Warning: NSFW. one trailer contains nudity.
When these two obviously inebriated Irishmen decide to move a couch in their impaired state, it might not be the most intelligent decision. It does bring smiles to the faces of observers, however. Don't give up, guys! (Maybe another beer would boost morale.)
Contains NSFW language, which most of us will not be able to decipher anyway.
A Palm Beach, Florida man hurled a live alligator through a Wendy's drive-through window in October of last year, and after eluding the authorities since then, is now being arrested for his stunt. Local news station WPTV is reporting that 23-year-old Joshua James, after a Wendy's employee handed him a beverage through the drive-through window and turned her back to him, threw the 3.5 foot gator inside the window. James had been hiding the gator in the back of his truck.
After a search for James, U.S. Marshall used video camera footage to catch up with him, finally taking the creative criminal into custody yesterday.
For reasons passengers don't know and administration hasn't fully explained, Royal Caribbean’s Anthem of the Seas cruise ship sailed into a storm with conditions equivalent to a Category 2 hurricane on Sunday. The ship, making its way from New York City to Port Canaveral, Florida, sustained all kinds of damage, some of which can be seen in the video above.
One passenger posted on an account of his at cruisecritic.com:
“Captain tried to turn ship but waited too long. Captain said they are in communication with the coast guard, struggling to point ship into wind but can’t move forward. All passengers told to stay in cabins; water entered ship on upper decks, large white structure broke off top of ship, landed in pool... Some passengers sitting in muster stations.”
Muster stations are designated areas on ships where passengers go during emergencies, generally in preparation for evacuation. The passenger said that in the most harrowing moments of the storm, waves broke over the tops of the life boats and the entire ship listed to almost 45 degrees.
See additional pictures and read the story in full at the Washington Post.
After viewing this video, one can see that it's no wonder calling a person a "pig" is essentially to label them an opportunistic glutton. In this clip, a cute and obviously thirsty little piglet decides that a long drink of fresh milk is warranted, no matter what the animal attached to that udder/twisty straw thing thinks.
During his milk binge, the annoyed cow is seen looking back at him in dismay, swatting him with her tail and trying to brush him off with a rear hoof, all to no avail. In the end, her walking away in combination with his being temporarily milk sated is her answer. I'd be afraid to see what a candid Charlotte would write in her web about that little guy. Via Arbroath
Stackable galaxy bracelets, available on Etsy here
Valentine's Day approaches, and even if you're part of a couple with the mindset that the sentiment of the holiday should be celebrated regularly, and there are no need for extravagances, it doesn't hurt to show up with a little something for your honey just in case.
Present them with an item that says their heavenly body puts you on top of the world with some of the beautiful, reasonably priced jewelry featured in the linked article. The space theme is fun, you can stretch it out in any number of ways, and it's more unique than the traditional hearts and flowers routine.
After looking at what pieces are presented above and below, check out all 29 jewelry offerings here. Including everything from meteorite necklaces to stars for her ears, there can be found a wide selection of lovely space oddities with which to decorate your loved ones.
Phases of the moon ring, available on Etsy here
Stackable planet rings, available on Etsy here
Night sky ring, available on Etsy here
Actress Salma Hayek suffered what she termed a "minor head injury" on the film set of upcoming comedy Drunk Parents recently. When she was injured, she was forced to make a trip to the emergency room, and did so without changing out of her set wardrobe.
On this particular day, her wardrobe included a t-shirt that was, as Hayek put it, "completely inappropriate for the hospital." But not necessarily, Salma. In fact, it looks as if it could be the way a hurried E.R. doctor might provide a time-is-of-the-essence, emergency, double simultaneous breast exam. Thus, the shirt was completely on the medical level!
Salma posted the above photo to her Instagram account and thanked the E.R. doctors of an unnamed upstate New York hospital for their time and attention to her case. Something tells me it wasn't their most unpleasant patient consult in emergency that day.
To see how she captioned her photo post and in case of further E.R. visits or other interesting wardrobe happenstances, follow Hayek on Instagram here. Via Uproxx
Terracotta plaque of a scene in which a man is performing surgery on another man in a 1500s German tavern | Image: Wellcome Images via Wikimedia Commons
For most of us, our darkest imaginings would include narratives of ourselves or people we love suffering a life threatening medical incident or illness. In such a scenario, typically the hospital and medical personnel of our choice are part of our vision as possible saviors.
Yet every day, horrible, preventable medical mistakes are made worldwide, and some prove deadly. The article linked below describes cases of medical malpractice the likes of which we all hope never to have personal experience with. One example:
8. Regina Turner Had The Wrong Surgery
"Regina Turner endured many people’s worst nightmare concerning surgery—receiving the wrong operation. Her ordeal was already frightening enough: She had been admitted to the hospital for a “left-sided craniotomy bypass,” which was supposed to prevent Turner from having continued strokes, as she’d previously had a series of mini-strokes, which affected her ability to talk. After having the wrong surgery, her health deteriorated.
Before she went into surgery, Turner was still in relatively good shape. She was “mobile, cognizant, and able to care for herself.” According to the lawsuit filed against hospital, Turner’s condition worsened: “After the incorrect surgery, [Turner] requires around-the-clock care for her basic needs. [ . . . ] [She] will also continue to suffer from emotional distress, anxiety, disfigurement and depression.”
Rather than a left-side bypass, she had been given a right-side bypass, which caused considerable damage to her nervous system. Once the mistake was caught, the correct procedure was done, but Turner remained in poor health. The failure of anyone to catch the doctors’ mistake meant that numerous protocols were overlooked. Generally, before an operation, doctors and nurses will have a “time-out,” where they discuss in depth the details of the surgery and go over exactly what needs to be done. The surgeon also has to mark exactly where the surgery is to be performed. Apparently, this wasn’t enough to keep them from operating on the wrong side."
Read about more terrifying cases of medical malpractice here.
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