Quote of the Day: “Develop enough courage so that you can stand up for yourself, and then stand up for somebody else.” – Maya Angelou
Photo by: Dalton Touchberry
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A Nepali veteran of the British operations in Afghanistan has become the first double above-the-knee amputee to summit the world’s tallest mountain.
Hari Budha Magar, who lives in Canterbury reached the top at 3 PM last Friday, having started the climb on April 17th—13 years to the day since he lost his legs in an IED explosion.
Anyone with knowledge of the history of warfare knows about the almost mythical bravery and exceptionalism of the Ghurkas. Hari is one of these people—Ghurka being a historical term for a Nepali warrior, and a modern legal term for a Nepali foreign fighter that isn’t considered a mercenary under the Geneva Convention.
In the face of that legacy, Hari’s accomplishment is perhaps to be expected, though he certainly didn’t feel like that 13 years ago, battling alcoholism and depression.
“I grew up in Nepal, up to age of 19, and I saw how the disabled people were treated in those remote villages,” he said. “Many people still think that disability is a sin of previous life and you are the burden of the earth. I believed this myself because that is what I saw. That is how I grew up.”
He tried to kill himself a pair of times, but eventually decided to climb Everest instead. However, there was a legal summit to conquer in his native Nepal before he could tackle the Mountain So High No Bird Can Fly Over It.
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Disabled people had been banned by the Nepali government from attempting the mountain. Enough people die on the journey every year, and the authorities saw no reason to risk that. But, Hari was able to overcome that roadblock and prepare for the real quest.
PA News was at Everest Base Camp after Budha Magar, supported by his all-Nepalese team, completed their descent from the peak.
“All of my jackets were completely freezing,” he said. “It was all frozen. Even our warm water, we put hot water in the Thermos, and that was also frozen and we were not able to drink.”
MORE AMAZING DISABLED PEOPLE: Disabled Student Can Pursue Her Dreams of Being a Cellist After Teens Build Her a Specialized Prosthetic
He used a variety of interchangeable prosthetics for the climb, which included some equipped with ice spikes, and others with mountaineering boots attached.
Completing the mission, Budha Magar says he wants to return to the spot in Afghanistan where he lost his legs in order to say ‘thank you’ because if he still had his legs, he would never have climbed Everest.
SHARE This Inspiring Man’s Journey From Rock Bottom To The Top Rock…
For no other reason than that she was a working mom with a great personality and an important job making sure people drive safely through the city of Detroit, a traffic control officer was recently on the receiving end of all the goodness social media can wield.
It started when TikTok account MDMotivators interviewed Lanita Edge on duty in the middle of the road, gabbing as she does with passers-by, and wishing people a happy Mother’s Day.
She revealed in the video which went viral that she felt it was an important service to the city—to help people get where they need to go and get home safely. She explained she was born and raised in the Motor City, and was a Tigers fan.
In that first video, Edge was surprised when the TikToker Zackery invited her to the Tigers game for Mother’s Day. The working mom recently lost her husband and asked if the invitation was reliant on the fruits of her paycheck, at which point Zackery surprised her with $500.
Meanwhile, Zackery had secretly set up a crowdfunding campaign that amassed $50,000, a gift simply for being her fine self, that was delivered on the grass in the Tiger’s ballpark.
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“The people of Detroit have watched the video and donated an additional $50,000,” he said.
Her son and Detroit Tigers catcher Jake Rogers handed her the check.
“It was like a movie. It was beautiful. I feel very blessed to be able to just witness this,” Zackery told ABC 7 Detroit. “All I am doing is showcasing who she is as an individual and the people online came together and created this.”
SIMILAR SOCIAL MEDIA STORIES: Delta Flight Attendant Consoles Fearful Passenger and Photo Goes Viral
“God uses wonderful people every day,” Edge said, explaining she was at a loss for words. “I didn’t know this man and God used him to be a blessing to me. I couldn’t thank him enough. I couldn’t give God thanks enough.”
Now, 9 million social media views later, and dozens of people stop along the crosswalk to say hello, congratulate, or wish her well.
WATCH the news story below…
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In a potentially huge development for fashion in tropical countries, an entomologist has come up with a Spandex-polyester weave that’s impermeable to the proboscis of the mosquito.
Mosquitos hospitalize hundreds of thousands every year in the tropics by spreading malaria, dengue fever, yellow fever, and West Nile virus, and every major proposed solution has failed to alleviate these burdens to any degree that can’t be obtained with a simple mosquito net over someone’s bed.
There have been news reports recently of genetically engineered mosquitos that can sterilize populations in areas to prevent the spread of the diseases they carry, but to John Beckmann who designed the new cloth weave, the simplest solutions are probably the best ones given past experience.
Using a hi-tech knitting machine Beckmann and his team experimented with different weave patterns. They needed to find one that didn’t provide any space for the proboscis to exploit, while at the same time offering comfort and breathability for tropical weather conditions; a tough ask.
To the naked eye, the mosquito’s proboscis, which it uses to feed, appears needle-like, but Beckmann points out that this appendage is so advanced it can go right through most fabrics thanks to a pair of saw-like bladed segments along its sides, microneedles that vibrate like a drill, and the ability to bend at 90 degrees.
MORE ANTI-MOSQUITO NEWS: New Mosquito Repellent Works Better Than DEET, is Safer, and Smells Good
“Knitting is essentially like tying little knots—you’re making loops, and you’re wrapping loops through loops,” Beckmann told Fast Company. “If you do it in the right geometric ways, you can create a chainmail effect at the microscopic level.”
It took a lot of tweaking and refinement, but the finished fabric was described by one of his graduate students at Auburn University, Alabama, as something similar to “Lululemon leggings.”
MORE STORIES LIKE THIS: We Can Now Use CRISPR Gene Editing on Ticks – to Fight Lyme Disease in Humans
The team submitted a paper describing their findings and the tests of the various weaves they used by way of putting a sleeved arm into a glass box full of mozzies and counting the bites.
Now they plan to continue refining the technology with the aim of releasing a clothing line, and licensing the weave to various outdoor companies.
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A pair of dirty windows bought on Facebook during a church demolition is set to sell for $225,000.
Antiques hunter Paul Brown from Pennsylvania paid around five grand for a bundle of various items from St. Paul’s Presbyterian Church in West Philadelphia.
They included these stained glass windows which were discovered to be made by the noted company Tiffany Glass Studios, (1878 – 1933) founded by Louis Comfort Tiffany.
Philadelphia-based auctioneers Freeman’s say the sale marks the first time a Tiffany Studios rose window has ever been offered at auction.
“This is such a rare and exciting market appearance,” said Tim Andreadis, Head of Freeman’s 20th Century and Contemporary Design department. “The intricacy of these works is stunning, and it’s meaningful to bring to market pieces that have such a deep, meaningful history in Philadelphia.”
Freeman’s explains that the twin roses of St. Paul were likely commissioned around 1904, completed in 1906, and supported in part by master merchant John Wanamaker, owner of the eponymous Philadelphia department store.
“The resulting windows feature leaded, mottled, streaky, acid-etched, and ripple glass in vibrant hues,” they add. These were all various forms of glass sold at Tiffany which made them one of the most coveted stained glass designers in North America.
Brown saw the windows on Facebook Marketplace, and bought them along with wooden pews and doors. He then hired workers to sensitively extract the windows and, after confirming they were made by Tiffany Studios, reportedly paid $44,000 for restoration.
Created by what Freeman’s describes as “America’s skillful and most famous art glass designer”, the roses of St. Paul not only respond to the effects of the sun throughout the day, they also feature powerful symbolic imagery: one rose is centered by a crown representing Christ, and the other a dove representing the Holy Spirit.
SHARE This Stunning Art Saved From Destruction On Social Media…
Quote of the Day: “You always have to stand up to your fears. You never want to get caught soggy.” – Katharine Hepburn
Photo by: Shashank Sahay
With a new inspirational quote every day, atop the perfect photo—collected and archived on our Quotes page—why not bookmark GNN.org for a daily uplift?
Seeking to find sustainable solutions to low-cost housing in Indonesia, scientists in the world’s third-most-populous nation hypothesized that used diapers could, if one can believe it, replace some of the sand in concrete mixtures.
Disposable diapers are usually manufactured from wood pulp, cotton, viscose rayon, and plastics such as polyester, polyethylene, and polypropylene.
Because of this mix of materials, not to mention their disgusting purpose, the majority are disposed of in landfills or by incineration.
“Currently, the essential step in the recycling process for used diapers is to separate the plastic components from the organic fibers,” write the authors of the paper on diaper construction, published in Nature.
“It necessitates the execution of many complicated procedures, including collecting, crushing, sanitizing, and sorting the components. Due to the difficulty involved in the process, only a few businesses are currently interested in recycling used diapers.”
Siswanti Zuraida from the School of Environmental Engineering at the University of Kitakyuku in Japan, worked with colleagues to prepare concrete and mortar samples by combining washed, dried, and shredded disposable diaper waste with cement, sand, gravel, and water.
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These samples were then cured for 28 days. The authors tested six samples containing different proportions of diaper waste to measure how much pressure they could withstand without breaking. They then calculated the maximum proportion of sand that could be replaced with disposable diapers in a range of building materials that would be needed to construct a house with a floorplan of 387 square feet (37 sq. meters) that complies with Indonesian building standards.
The authors found that disposable diaper waste could replace up to 10% of the sand needed for concrete used to form columns and beams in a three-story house.
This proportion increased to 27% of the sand needed to make concrete columns and beams in a single-story house, 40% of the sand needed for mortar in partition walls, compared to 9% of the sand in mortar for floors.
MORE SUSTAINABLE SOLUTIONS: Visionary Gardener Turns Piles of Beached Seaweed Into Bricks for Sustainable Construction
The authors point out a few limitations, namely that no cooperation or supply chain exists for the collecting, washing, and shredding of diapers for material purposes. Furthermore, the amount of shredded diaper waste needs to be carefully calculated, since tests showed that differences as high as 2% compromised structural integrity.
However, for reducing landfill burden, using diapers is very low-cost compared to other recyclable materials.
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A mother in Arizona woke to find she was trapped in the second story of her apartment home as it quickly engulfed in flames.
Claudia Jimenez opened the window and called out to anyone who could hear, needing somehow to find a way to escape while the front door was blocked by the fire.
The first person on the scene wasn’t a firefighter, it was Joe Hollins, who lived in a homeless encampment with his wife near Jimenez’s house.
“All I see is a lady pull open the window and she’s screaming ‘Please help me, please help me,'” Hollins told CBS News.
The mother of two then had to make a difficult choice. It’s not unusual or prejudicial to be wary of people living on the streets, but for her one-year-old daughter Valerie and eight-year-old Natalie, Hollins may have been their only hope of survival.
Under the window, Hollins called to Jimenez saying that he would catch the children in his arms. She trusted the man, and not only dropped Valerie and Natalie, but the two dogs as well. It took Jimenez herself a while to summon the courage to jump, but she managed it, and Hollins still had the strength to catch her.
As things calmed down, the family thanked Hollins profusely, though the man said that he did what anyone would do in that situation.
“Yes, anyone would. Those were children,” he said.
MORE FIRE RESCUES: Watch Hero Firefighters Perform Incredible Rescue, Rappelling Down NYC High-Rise Apartment
“I will forever be thankful to him, you know?” said Jimenez. “Like I said, to me he was an angel,” Jiminez said. “Because of him we’re here, we’re alive and my daughters are safe.”
While the family lost everything, community members are helping support them to get back on their feet, while viewers at CBS want to know how they can support Hollins and honor what he did.
WATCH the story below, (For Those Outside the U.S: View video at CBS.com)
MULTIPLY THE GOOD – Share the Good Fortune On Social Media…
Fishermen in Mississippi are getting paid to collect derelict crab traps, saving wildlife from getting caught in them.
A bounty of $5 is offered for every abandoned trap collected, and in just three years the program, launched by Mississippi Commercial Fisheries United, a nonprofit fishermen’s organization, has collected over 3,000 such traps.
Crab traps work pretty simply—the crustaceans crawl in, and then they can’t crawl out.
This is perfect for fishermen looking to supply the Gulf Coast with delicious seafood, but what happens when the traps are abandoned or become lost? Their lethal trapping power remains and carries on indiscriminately, a phenomenon known as ghost fishing.
Participating shrimpers and crabbers register for the program, then they catalog and tag every trap they collect on their way toward turning them in at a redemption site.
Alyssa Rodolfich, a graduate student at Mississippi State University, told Hakkai Magazine that it was really gratifying to see the number of derelict traps being turned in, having at first never realized the problem.
“I didn’t realize how big of a problem it was until I was on the cleaning-up end of it, after a few months of removing, like, 200 crab traps at a time,” she says. “It was heavy and gross, and the amount of by-catch in the traps was a lot.”
MORE GULF NEWS: Watch 2,200 Cold-Stunned Turtles Being Released by Volunteers Back Into the Gulf
MSU was also involved with the program alongside Mississippi Commercial Fisheries United, the Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Consortium, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Together, scientists documenting the project published a paper on its successes, on which Rodolfich was the lead author.
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The program has so far cost around $34,000 per year, which is nothing compared to the annual loss of gross revenue attributable to ghost fishing, which is estimated at $15 million from over 5,000 lost crab traps every year.
With such rapid, demonstrable success, the project just received a grant from NOAA to pay for the collection of other debris from the Gulf, which Hakkai explains is already taking off, with fishermen bringing in old tires, shopping carts, washing machines, and toilets.
SHARE These Awesome Fishermen Helping To Clean The Gulf…
Elizabeth Softky is aptly named: when you hear her speak, there is a soft, lyrical quality to her voice, supported by deep notes of strength. It’s a voice that she used while working as a journalist, as a mother of three, and as a teacher, to calm down an unruly classroom of squirming students.
Never would she have dreamed that she’d become homeless—or feel voiceless.
Not only did she teach in a classroom for more than 10 years, she had founded a nonprofit ‘Jump Into Writing’, to organize creative writing workshops for elementary school students. And she put her bilingual voice to good use, leading English workshops for immigrant Spanish-speaking families in Los Angeles.
Then came her diagnosis of advanced-stage cancer, immediate surgery, and a “super aggressive” chemo regimen.
“My immune system was so compromised that I was not allowed to return to work—and that meant digging into my savings to pay rent,” she says. “When I ran out of money, I was evicted from my home of 14 years. I was looking at the reality of nowhere to go, except for sleeping at a bus stop.”
LOOK: Teen Finds Woman’s Purse and is Rewarded With $17,000 After He Delivers it to Her Door
Weakened by chemo, she walked through the practicals of survival, and navigated a difficult system to find temporary housing through a program repurposing hotel rooms for the unhoused during the pandemic.
COVID added a new layer of uncertainty to everything Elizabeth was going through. While grateful to have a room and a bed, there was an intense feeling of loneliness as the world shut down.
That’s when Elizabeth met Joan, a volunteer phone buddy for Miracle Messages—and the two hit it off right away
“She’s brilliant!” Joan says of Elizabeth.
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Early in the pandemic, Miracle Messages, the nonprofit that reunites families with relatives who’ve become homeless, saw the isolation happening when unhoused individuals had to stay in their rooms alone, and wanted to help. So they created a program called Miracle Friends, in which volunteers from around the world are paired with unhoused participants staying in hotel rooms for a weekly friendship phone check-in.
Joan and Elizabeth used their weekly phone calls to practice their Spanish together, and swap stories about their days. Joan was there to talk as Elizabeth finished her chemo treatments and worked to regain what she had lost.
During this time, Miracle Messages expanded into a basic income pilot program known as Miracle Money. Elizabeth was chosen as a participant, and was given $500 a month for 6 months to help her on her journey. The money combined with the friendship made all the difference: in a matter of weeks, Elizabeth secured a new apartment.
DID YOU KNOW: A Stranger’s Kindness Helped Boy Escape the Nazis Who Would Go On to Win Nobel Prize–And He Never Knew it
Joan visited Elizabeth in her new place.”This is so cool…your front yard! It’s awesome!”
“Being back here is a major part of being restored back to the world,” says Elizabeth, looking around her new place. “The Miracle Messages family has been a miracle for me.”
Now Elizabeth uses her voice as a speaker and advocate on the topic she never thought she’d need to have a voice in—homelessness.
See her story on the PBS News Hour below – and visit the MM website to learn how quickly you can become a volunteer for Miracle Friends.
(Co-written by GNN editors and Jenni Taylor)
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Quote of the Day: “There are moments in life when keeping silent becomes a fault and speaking an obligation.” – Oriana Fallaci
Photo by: Jason Blackeye (cropped)
With a new inspirational quote every day, atop the perfect photo—collected and archived on our Quotes page—why not bookmark GNN.org for a daily uplift?
The UK’s first ‘bee therapy’ retreat has been launched in Scotland.
Apipods—wooden huts with beehives around the exterior—have been popular in Eastern Europe for years. In Ukraine and Slovenia, the scent of honey along with the vibrations from bees are believed to have healing properties for treating respiratory conditions.
Charlotte Blacker, a business owner who works with the Monachyle Mhor Hotel, got to try the relaxing experience in Slovenia and wanted to give guests back in the UK a chance to relax in the same way.
And Tom Lewis, the hotel’s owner and chef, agreed.
“We absolutely love the idea of working in harmony with the bees to create this unique experience,” he told SWNS news service.
Six beehives housing 60,000 honey bees have been placed in compartments underneath the wooden floor of the apipod, which is nestled in a wooded glade.
The bees come and go freely through their own special entrance and the company says they don’t pose a threat to humans.
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Guests can book a 45-minute session to relax or fall asleep on two sheepskin-covered beds inside the apipod, which are situated directly above the hives so the micro-vibrations can be felt in the body.
“There’s loads of therapeutic value with bees. The notes they buzz in help out nervous system,” said Blacker. “There are trials with people with PTSD.”
BEE HEALTH EFFECTS: The Impressive Medicinal Value of Bee Products and Honey
Bookings for the hotel in Crieff, Perthshire, have already been filled through June, which is the launch month.
“We have the perfect spot to do it. The hotel is in a wilderness with freshwater lochs. Everyone has really embraced it.
“You de-stress listening to the sounds of the bees going about their daily life, surrounded by the aromas of honey, propolis, nectar and pollen.
“The vibrations caused by bees’ wings also have a positive energizing effect, which calms and relaxes,” suggested Blacker.
“Why not spend the day immersed in nature, wild swimming, hiking, and relaxing over lunch before being lulled to sleep by the gentle vibration of thousands of tiny wing beats enveloped in the heavenly scent of warm honey from the hives beneath you?”
RELATED: Manuka Honey Could Help to Clear Deadly Bacteria Which Cause Cystic Fibrosis
Each 45-min session costs £80 for single use, and £120 for two people, and includes a basket of fresh lemon balm tea, picked from the kitchen garden, and raw honey on Mena bread, along with a snack bar made by Charlotte’s health food company Herb Majesty.
Mr. Lewis said it has been a tough few years for the hospitality industry, but “always doing things differently” has been a key for survival.
“The apipod fits with what we already do here, which is to provide our guests with great food, warm hospitality and unforgettable memories. ”
START SOME BUZZ on Your Social Media Feed–Share the BEE-autiful Destination….
If you asked any American what they’d like to do after they retire—and you offered them the chance to go on a road trip to see all 63 national parks—most might consider that a great way to sail into the sunset.
Well more than just saying it, a 93-year-old grandmother has done it—all 63 parks in about 8 years time, becoming the oldest person ever to do so.
But, Joy Ryan didn’t do it herself. She had a handsome young man—her grandson Brad—for company, who described the adventure as “the greatest privilege.”
Their journey began in October of 2015 when they visited Great Smokey Mountains National Park in Tennessee and concluded last Monday when they made it all the way out into the South Pacific to American Samoa.
“We departed from our hometown of Duncan Falls, Ohio at 3:00 am on Saturday,” Brad Ryan told Good Morning America via email.
“We took a two-day break in Oahu before boarding our final flight to Pago Pago, American Samoa, on Monday. Three flights and nearly seventeen flying hours were required before we touched down in American Samoa on Monday evening.”
Throughout the recent parks, Brad and Joy have been documenting their trips on the @grandmajoysroadtrip Instagram account.
“Grandma Joy has taught the world that you are never too old to show up and live the adventurous life of your dreams. It has been the greatest privilege of my life to be in the driver’s seat as Grandma Joy made history to become the oldest person to achieve this historic feat.”
The most recent and final trip, organized by Brad who works as a veterinarian, has been particularly bittersweet (though he emphasizes the ‘sweet’) since it came just a week after the death of his father, Joy’s oldest son.
Out in American Samoa, a park that spans 7 villages of Indigenous land, the duo got to enjoy breathtaking views of the South Pacific, and see interesting wildlife like a colony of fruit bats.
While Brad said their national park adventure has ended, their travels will not. They plan to take it internationally, visiting Kenya on a National Geographic-organized expedition as the first stop on a mission to touch all seven continents, and maybe, if Joy keeps her enthusiasm, outer space as well.
SHARE This Woman’s Inspiring Adventures With Your Family…
A tipsy crossword enthusiast was caught on camera transforming the ‘gloomy mood’ of delayed train passengers by coaxing them into answering puzzle clues.
Damion Francis was traveling back from London to Bath on the evening after day drinking with friends when his pal pulled out an old newspaper crossword.
At first the 39-year-old pretended not to know him, when he started asking bemused travelers the name of a Venezuelan river, as he casually sipped from a wine miniature.
But the other passengers, frustrated by delays due to flooding, soon transformed into smiling brainiacs shouting out answers as quickly as the puzzle-master could ask them.
The funny footage was uploaded to TikTok with the caption ‘How one guy changes the mood of the whole train car through a crossword puzzle. Wait til the end…’. The video has since gone viral, racking up almost 4 million views and lots of comments.
“He started doing the puzzle and calling out for answers and the whole train started getting involved,” said Damion, from Swindon, Wiltshire.
“It really lightened the mood because everyone was a bit peed off because of all the delays on the train.
“To our surprise, there was someone on the train who knew the answer to each of the questions.
“It was a bit of a collective thing really. Everyone was connecting over it and joining in. It was from all age groups as well, there were younger and older people all getting involved.”
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“The reaction to it was all positive, I don’t think there was any negative reaction to it at all.
“It feels good that we’ve been able to send out so many positive vibes just from one video, and it’s good to see positive comments from people.”
One person commented: “So much better than everyone ignoring each other like normal!”
Another said it showed the upside of being tipsy and fun in public. “This is lovely. Humans are so cute sometimes.”
“Drunk guy unifies everyone,” concluded another. “It’s Britain in a nutshell.”
MORE FUN: Devious Dog Fakes a Coma to Avoid Toilet Duty in the Rain –And it’s So Cute
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When schools partner with local nonprofits like this Albuquerque animal shelter, good news will not be far away.
Teachers at Polk Middle School in the Albuquerque’s South Valley reached out to the Bernalillo County Animal Care Center with an idea for how to bring attention to long-term dogs at the shelter so they can get adopted into loving families.
The wonderful collaboration began in the Fall semester when the shelter sent photographs and notes about each of the hard-to-place pets to art students in Ms. McCrady’s class and to writing students in Ms. Arriaga’s class.
The art class created portraits of the pooches, and young writers in language class came up with first-person appeals, written in the voices of the dogs.
The artistic and literary works were posted by each of the dogs’ kennels, visible to all the visitors to the shelter.
LOOK: Till Death Do Us Bark: Watch Inseparable Shelter Dogs Get Married in Adorable Ceremony
This Spring, Mr. Beverly’s 7th grade gifted class went a step further, after shelter staff provided folders of notes about the dogs and students crafted their “resumes.”
The mission was to list all the skills and tricks that would make each dog a suitable family member: Uses doggie door, stays when commanded, comes when called.
Thanks to the students, by May 17 six of the dogs had been adopted!
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According to Animal Protection New Mexico Education Director Sherry Mangold, it was the Polk students’ empathy and concern for shelter dogs that delivered so many of them into new ‘fur-ever’ homes.
WATCH the local news coverage from KOB-TV 4…
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Quote of the Day: “With the slightest push—in just the right place—our world can be tipped.” – Malcolm Gladwell
Photo by: Edward Howell
With a new inspirational quote every day, atop the perfect photo—collected and archived on our Quotes page—why not bookmark GNN.org for a daily uplift?
The Dutch architecture firm MVRDV has won a competition to design the Hangzhou Oil Refinery Factory Park, transforming a former industrial district that sits alongside the southern end of China’s Grand Canal.
With an eye-catching art and science museum at its center, the project includes offices, retail, and a wide variety of cultural experiences set in a green environment interwoven with the remnants of the past.
The Grand Canal is the world’s longest and one of the oldest man-made waterways. Currently, China is taking steps to transform its entire length, turning this industrial infrastructure into a social amenity by allowing access to, and enjoyment of, the water to millions of people that live along the canal’s 1,700-kilometer length.
The 45-acre Hangzhou site (18-hectare) was formerly occupied by an oil refinery—and the new design integrates renewable energy sources to serve as a prime example of the transition from fossil fuels to sustainable energy, a transition that China has embraced in recent years.
With the canal’s future in mind, MVRDV capitalizes on the potential of industrial-to-cultural transformations. The towers of the refinery buildings are retained and integrated into the park’s landscape, with stairs and platforms providing views across the park.
The centerpiece of the park is the Art and Sci-tech Centre, a new museum which, with its cylindrical exterior, is imagined as a vastly scaled-up version of the silos which once peppered the site. A series of terraces are connected by stairs and bridges that serve to enliven this public area within the museum, enabling performances, large-scale installations, or events.
The outer façade of the museum is permeable, allowing breezes to penetrate the structure. The space inside is thus heated and cooled passively, fluctuating slightly in temperature depending on weather conditions but serving as a thermal buffer to dramatically reduce the energy required to fully heat and cool the building’s programmed spaces inside the boxes.
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With its appearance, the façade also cements the building’s status as the focal point of the park. Covered in an array of LEDs, the museum lights up at night to create a media façade that can be used to entertain visitors or to advertise the events taking place inside.
In addition to these lights, the façade also incorporates thousands of small photovoltaic spots to generate energy from sunlight. These spots form a “solar painting” that was designed with a parametric approach, considering the solar exposure, prevailing winds, and most notable views to place a higher density of photovoltaics where they are most needed.
“As a planet, we know we need to move on from oil on a massive scale”, says MVRDV founding partner Winy Maas. “But that raises the question, what should we do with all this infrastructure that was created? It is somehow, at the same time, tempting to make a clean break with history, and romantic to imagine a future where we build upon the ruins of the past.
“With this project we do both: we incorporate the old industrial structures, while newly built elements – which are clearly distinguishable from the old – show us a better, more sustainable future. The old ‘fossils’ turn into energetic drums.”
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In the remainder of the park, existing structures are transformed into offices or retail spaces. Many of the structures that have already been demolished are recreated with a modern approach – taking the same dimensions as the previous structures, but built with glass and using the same photovoltaic spots that are used on the museum’s façade.
By turning every newly built building surface also into an energy generator, the park can become energy-negative in operation, contributing energy to the grid.
From immersive art experiences to retail kiosks to enclosed gardens, these structures help to keep the park lively at all times, ensuring that there is always something to do even after dark.
A new poll has unveiled the top 30 modern ways we remember lost loved ones.
The list was compiled from a poll of 2,000 adults and shows that wearing a football shirt from their favorite team, running marathons, and retelling their jokes are three of the best ways.
Ticking off items from bucket lists never fulfilled was also among the ways people celebrate the legacy and memories of family and friends who are no longer with them.
Other popular ways to pay tribute to loved ones included getting tattoos, going on a day trip to a meaningful place, cooking a recipe learned from them, or creating a piece of art.
The survey carried out by OnePoll was commissioned ahead of Celebration Day on Sunday May 28 to encourage people to pause and celebrate those no longer with us—and 77 percent agree it’s important.
“Talking about death is still seen as a taboo subject, but it is so important that we continue to share stories, rituals, and tales about our loved ones who have died,” said Julia Samuel MBE, grief specialist and psychologist.
72% of adults would be interested in planting a tree to remember a loved one, saying that protecting the environment—and finding trees peaceful—makes the choice particularly meaningful.
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65 percent believe that, aside from birthdays, there are too few opportunities where everyone feels encouraged to come together and talk about lost loved ones, but 70 percent enjoy hearing stories about them.
Most people (63%) don’t have a regular ritual to remember a lost loved one, but one in five would like to talk more about loved ones who have passed.
“Having a special day like Celebration Day where we can say their name, talk about them and laugh helps us as we go forward,” said Samuel.
TOP WAYS BRITS CELEBRATE LOVED ONES WHO HAVE PASSED AWAY
1. Look through photographs of them
2. Share a story about them
3. Raise a glass / make a toast
4. Light a candle
5. Donate to a charity in their memory
6. Listen to their favorite song
7. Plant a tree or flowers in their memory
8. Share a post on social media
9. Re-tell their favorite jokes and catchphrases
10. Visit their favorite place
11. Send a message to someone about them
12. Cook a recipe you learned from them
13. Sit on the bench overlooking a view they liked
14. Create a memory book
15. Watch their favorite movie
16. Send a card to someone close to them
17 Cook their favorite meal
18. Wear their favorite color
19. Give a gift to someone in their memory
20. Dog walking in the place they loved
21. Create a virtual tribute
22. Get a tattoo in their memory
23. Create a piece of art
24. Buy an item of clothing because you know that person would have approved
25. Wear a football shirt from their favorite team
26. Continue a collection they had started – e.g. magnets, coins, matches, etc
27. Have their ashes made into jewelry
28. Install a bench with a plaque
29. Have their clothes made into a blanket or teddy
30. Have an announcement made over the PA at their favorite sports club’s next game
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From the majestic whooping crane to the smallest songbird, an iconic American landmark in Missouri is making the skies safer for spring migrating birds who follow the Mississippi River to reach their summer nesting grounds.
Since 1965 when it was unveiled, the Gateway Arch in St. Louis has punctuated the cityscape at night with lights that illuminate its most visited US National Park. But all during the month of May officials will turn off the lights at night to facilitate safe passage for more than 325 bird species following the route each year on their spring migration.
“St. Louis sits right beneath the Mississippi Flyway, a major migration highway,” said Jeremy Sweat, Superintendent, of Gateway Arch National Park.
For over a decade the exterior lights have been turned off for two weeks each May—and again in September—to help minimize the possible disorienting effect the lights may have on the migrations. But this year the park will keep the lights off for the entire month of May.
Gateway Arch National Park is both a building and program partner with Lights Out Heartland, an organization that works with partners to provide migrating birds safe passage along the Flyway during the high-intensity migration months of May and September.
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According to the St. Louis Audubon Society, sixty percent of North American songbirds and forty percent of waterfowl are anticipated to migrate this spring and fall.
“Other ways we are trying to help the birds is to focus the lights better on the Arch,” said Pamela Sanfilippo who works at Gateway Arch National Park. That way, “light doesn’t go up into the sky.”
The towering silver Arch was built to honor a different kind of journey that began in 1804 when President Thomas Jefferson launched the Lewis and Clark Expedition that mapped a path to the Pacific Ocean from the middle of the continent. Two scientist set out with a team of scouts and mapmakers from the river port of Saint Louis, which opened up the West. Today, the Gateway Arch attracts 1.62 million visitors annually.
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In Canada, Toronto has been combatting the hazards of glass buildings for our featured friends, and even made history when they became the first city in the world to mandate bird-friendly buildings.
The Arch’s exterior lights will be turned back on beginning the evening of June 1, 2023, and the monument will be lit nightly thereafter until September.
In recent years, cities and states beneath other migration routes have been turning off the lights for birds, including Texas and Philadelphia.
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Our partner Rob Brezsny provides his weekly wisdom to enlighten our thinking and motivate our mood. Rob’s Free Will Astrology, is a syndicated weekly column appearing in over a hundred publications. He is also the author of Pronoia Is the Antidote for Paranoia: How All of Creation Is Conspiring To Shower You with Blessings. (A free preview of the book is available here.)
Here is your weekly horoscope…
FREE WILL ASTROLOGY – Week of May 20, 2023
Copyright by Rob Brezsny, FreeWillAstrology.com
TAURUS (April 20-May 20):
In the coming weeks, you Bulls must brook no bullies or bullying. Likewise, you should tolerate no bullshit from people trying to manipulate or fool you. Be a bulwark of integrity as you refuse to lower your standards. Bulk up the self-protective part of your psyche so you will be invincibly immune to careless and insensitive spoilers. Your word of power is BUILD. You will align yourself with cosmic rhythms as you work to create situations that will keep you strong and stable during the next 12 months.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20):
How much do you believe in your power to become the person you want to be? Ninety percent? Fifty-five? Twenty? Whatever it is, you can increase it in the coming weeks. Life will conspire with you to raise your confidence as you seek new ways to fulfill your soul’s purpose. Surges of grace will come your way as you strive with intense focus to live your most meaningful destiny. To take maximum advantage of this opportunity, I suggest you enjoy extra amounts of quiet, meditative time. Request help from the deepest core of your intelligence.
CANCER (June 21-July 22):
Early in the 19th century, cultural researchers Jacob Grimm and Wilhelm Grimm gathered an array of old folk stories and published a collection of what we now call fairy tales. Because the two brothers wanted to earn money, they edited out some graphic elements of the original narratives. For example, in the Grimms’ revised version, we don’t get the juicy details of the princess fornicating with the frog prince once he has reverted to his handsome human form. In the earlier but not published stories of Rumpelstiltskin, the imp gets so frustrated when he’s tricked by the queen that he rips himself apart. I hope you will do the opposite of the Brothers Grimm in the coming weeks, Cancerian. It’s crucial that you reveal and expose and celebrate raw, unvarnished truths.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22):
Is there a job you would love to have as your primary passion, but it’s different from the job you’re doing? Is there a calling you would delight in embracing, but you’re too consumed by the daily routine? Do you have a hobby you’d like to turn into a professional pursuit? If you said even a partial yes to my questions, Leo, here’s good news: In the coming months, you will have an enhanced ability to make these things happen. And now is an excellent time to get underway.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22):
Virgo-born Samuel Johnson (1709–1784) was a versatile virtuoso. He excelled as an essayist, biographer, playwright, editor, poet, and lexicographer. How did he get so much done? Here’s one clue. He took his own advice, summed up in the following quote: “It is common to overlook what is near by keeping the eye fixed on something remote. Present opportunities are neglected and attainable good is slighted by minds busied in extensive ranges and intent upon future advantages.” Johnson’s counsel is perfect for you right now, Virgo. Forget about the future and be focused on the present. Dive into the interesting work and play that’s right in front of you.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22):
I would love you to go searching for treasure, and I hope you launch your quest soon. As you gather clues, I will be cheering you on. Before you embark, though, I want to make sure you are clear about the nature of the treasure you will be looking for. Please envision it in glorious detail. Write down a description of it and keep it with you for the next seven weeks. I also suggest you carry out a fun ritual to formally mark your entry into the treasure-hunting chapter of your life.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21):
In the coming weeks, you’ll be guided by your deep intelligence as you explore and converse with the darkness. You will derive key revelations and helpful signs as you wander around inside the mysteries. Be poised and lucid, dear Scorpio. Trust your ability to sense what’s important and what’s not. Be confident that you can thrive amidst uncertainty as you remain loyal to your core truths. No matter how murky this challenge may seem, it will ultimately be a blessing. You will emerge both smarter and wiser.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21):
If you take the Bible’s teachings seriously, you give generously to the poor and you welcome immigrants. You regard the suffering of others as being worthy of your compassionate attention, and you express love not just for people who agree with you and share your cultural traditions, but for everyone. Numerous Biblical verses, including many attributed to Jesus Christ, make it clear that living according to these principles is essential to being a good human. Even if you are not Jewish or Christian, Sagittarius, I recommend this approach to you. Now is an excellent time to hone your generosity of spirit and expand your urge to care for others.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19):
In 1982, Capricorn actor Ben Kingsley won an Oscar for his role in the film Gandhi. Then his career declined. In an animated movie in 1992, he voiced the role of an immortal frog named F.R.O.7. who worked as a James Bond-like secret agent. It was a critical and financial disaster. But Kingsley’s fortunes rebounded, and he was nominated for Academy Awards in 2002 and 2003. Then his trajectory dipped again. He was nominated for the Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Actor for four separate films between 2005 and 2008. Now, at age 79, he’s rich and famous and mostly remembered for the great things he has done. I suggest we make him your role model for the coming months. May he inspire you to emphasize your hits and downplay your misses.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18):
I’m devoted to cultivating the art of relaxation. But I live in a world dominated by stress addicts and frenzied overachievers. Here’s another problem: I aspire to be curious, innocent, and open-minded, but the civilization I’m embedded in highly values know-it-all experts who are very sure they are in command of life’s secrets. One further snag: I’m an ultra-sensitive creator who is nourished by original thinking and original feeling. And yet I constantly encounter formulaic literalists who thrive on clichés. Now here’s the good news: I am a successful person! I do what I love and enjoy an interesting life. Here’s even more good news, Aquarius: In the next 12 months, you will have a knack for creating rhythms that bring you closer than ever to doing what you love and enjoying an interesting life.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20):
Most of us suffer from at least one absurd, irrational fear. I have a daft fear of heights, even when I’m perfectly safe, and a manic fear of mosquitoes dive-bombing me as I sleep, an event that has only happened four times in my life. My anxiety about running out of money is more rational, though, as is my dread of getting sick. Those worries help motivate me to work hard to earn a living and take superb care of my health. What about you, Pisces? Do you know which of your fears are preposterous and which make at least some sense? The coming weeks will be a favorable time to get a good handle on this question. Ask yourself: “Which of my fears are misdirected or exaggerated, and which are realistic and worthy of my attention?”
ARIES (March 21-April 19):
Aries dramatist Samuel Beckett, winner of the prestigious Nobel Prize for Literature, wrote 22 plays. The shortest was Breath. It has no dialogue or actors and lasts less than a minute. It begins and ends with a recording of the cry of a newborn baby. In between there are the sounds of someone breathing and variations in the lighting. I recommend you draw inspiration from Breath in the coming weeks, Aries. Be succinct and pithy. Call on the powers of graceful efficiency and no-nonsense effectiveness. Relish the joys of shrewd simplicity.
WANT MORE? Listen to Rob’s EXPANDED AUDIO HOROSCOPES, 4-5 minute meditations on the current state of your destiny — or subscribe to his unique daily text message service at: RealAstrology.com
(Zodiac images by Numerologysign.com, CC license)
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