MetaFilter posts tagged with hero

HeroRATs Clear Landmines

pashdown — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 09:38:36 -0800

Unexploded landmines still remain a huge problem the world over. What is more, landmine clearance is an expensive business. One man has found a potential solution, however. All hail the HeroRAT.

Road...Passive-Aggressiveness

Taft — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 06:54:58 -0800

Crafty driver tries to curb road rage. The result: the "Sorry" and "Thanks" blinkers.

This one's a keeper!

Taft — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 15:26:39 -0800

Representative Alan Grayson (Dem- Florida) has recently been supporting the Democrats health care plan. Well, 'support' is an understatement. His first speech on the subject outlined the Republicans plan: "Don't get sick. And if you do, die quickly." After mass outrage from the GOP, Grayson made an apology, but not to the GOP. Instead, he apologized to the 44,000 Americans who die each year due to lack of insurance. Yesterday, Grayson took the floor and named the number of people expected to die in each Republican representative district. This time, the Republicans tried to stop him.

Heroine

zarq — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 14:29:34 -0800

"The Kindest Cut" A Colorado surgeon is helping to restore sensation, biological structure and self-esteem to victims of female genital mutilation. She's "Trinidad's Transgender Rock Star" Bowers performs the surgery free of charge, and the hospital caps its fees at $1,700. "...you cannot charge money to reverse a crime against humanity," she says. "Sexuality is a right."
Trinidad, CO is also known as the "Sex Change Capital of the World."

Crossing Boston Harbor

plinth — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 08:40:07 -0800

Karen Gaffney swam Boston Harbor to raise awareness about Down syndrome. Not her first hard swim, 31 year old Gaffney has crossed Tahoe (previously) and San Francisco Bay more than a dozen times, including one leg of the Escape From Alcatraz Triathlon. This particular swim was to help the Massachusetts Down Syndrome Congress as part of Down Syndrome Awareness Month. Some video of her swim is here.

Premanand will not recant

vanar sena — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 05:25:41 -0800

Basava Premanand, rationalist and founder of The Indian Skeptic, is dying. Premanand has been dispelling miracles and exposing charlatans for over fifty years, often facing persecution from the entrenched political and popular power of godmen in India. Now, his 79 year old body is shutting down. To counter already spreading rumours that he has recanted and accepted spirituality, he has issued a statement that despite being on his deathbed, he has no intention of finding God.

Norman Borlaug

NotMyselfRightNow — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 06:41:45 -0800

Norman Borlaug, "the plant scientist who did more than anyone else in the 20th century to teach the world to feed itself," has died at age 95. On the staff of the Rockefeller Foundation in Mexico, Borlaug "developed a “miracle wheat” that tripled grain output and moved the country to self-sufficiency. Dr. Borlaug then took his high-yield, disease-resistant wheat to Pakistan and India, averting the mass famine and starvation that had been widely predicted." Yet, despite his achievement, and being one of only five people to have won the Nobel Peace Prize, the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Congressional Gold Medal, Borlaug was hardly a household name: a 1997 Atlantic profile described him as the "forgotten benefactor of humanity."

Heroes

SpacemanStix — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 22:04:31 -0800

This is a firsthand and frantic video of a group of people coming together to rescue a mother and two children who were trapped in an overturned and burning SUV.

Surgeon finishes operation despite heart attack

baphomet — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 00:52:11 -0800

Contenders for this year's Badass of the Year award will have a tough time topping Italian surgeon Claudio Vitale, who completed a delicate brain surgery despite having a heart attack during the procedure. He pushed himself to complete the surgery when he realized that his patient was unlikely to survive if he halted the operation.

A chance encounter at war changes history, Spitfire pilot remembered

Kickstart70 — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 23:37:46 -0800

Charley Fox, two-time recipient of the Distinguished Cross, died on October 18th in a car accident. Another WWII veteran gone, and as with many, an interesting tale exists in his past. Credited with injuring Rommel (although he didn't know it at the time and it was denied by Germany), it's often thought that the loss of Rommel from Hitler's strategy team helped sway the war for the Allies (though it's wondered if has Rommel lived the July 20 plot against Hitler might have succeeded). After the war, Charley was an advocate for veterans and trained many. He died wearing his uniform.

Flawlesss Aircraft Emergency Landings (QLYTP)

five fresh fish — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 19:24:22 -0800

Flawless Aircraft Emergency Landings (QLYTP). Breatheless reporting aside, it looks like when a pilot can control the landing, these aircraft are tough enough that no one need be hurt. Many more excellent videos in the post-video links, too.

"I wanted to hug him, for him to meet my son."

WolfDaddy — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 09:23:15 -0800

"Girl, he died a hero with tons of people loving him." A jack-of-all-trades worker from Florida came to Houston to help clean up in the aftermath of Hurricane Ike, and was killed while trying to save three dogs on a freeway. At first, it seemed the man, while praised as a local hero, and receiving tons of support in death from animal lovers, would remain an unknown loner in death as he had been in life. Then a Google search and an exchange of e-mails led one Houston woman to the man's daughter, living in Pittsburgh. The young woman had been searching for her father for thirteen years.

Man uses craigslist to form bank robbery plot

fiercekitten — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 15:50:30 -0800

Escapes in inner tube in "the slowest getaway ever" . According to The Seattle Times, the man "may have recruited a host of unwitting decoys through a Craigslist ad." Even better, he got away using a inner tube. I guess the scuba escape just had to be outdone.

Obitfilter: Del Martin

gingerbeer — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 15:25:43 -0800

Del Martin, with her partner Phyllis Lyon, were pioneers in so many fields that it's hard to do justice to all of it in one post. In 1955, the two of them, with four friends, founded the Daughters of Bilitis, the first major lesbian rights organization in the country. They fought for lesbian inclusion and visibility in the National Organization of Women (NOW). Del founded battered women's shelters, LGBT political groups, and spoke out on many social justice issues. Most recently, Del and Phyllis were the first queer couple to get legally married in San Francisco, reprising their role from 2004. Among the many honors given them, perhaps the best was naming the local women's health clinic after them: the Lyon-Martin Health Center, where I got my health care in my first few uninsured years here in the city. She died earlier today, with her partner by her side. From her obituary: "Del Martin identified her own legacy in 1984 when she said that her most important contribution was "being able to help make changes in the way lesbians and gay men view themselves and how the larger society views lesbians and gay men." She had the courage to be true to herself when the world offered only condemnation for lesbians. Martin showed all of us how to have what she called “self-acceptance and a good sense of my own self-worth.” Del Martin never backed down from her insistence on full equality for all people and, even at 87 years old, she kept moving all of us closer to her ideal." She and Phyllis managed to be heroes and pioneers for every generation, from the 50's to today. The world is a little quieter without her.

Why is the Joker Batman's archenemy?

painquale — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 17:34:52 -0800

The Joker is Batman's main nemesis. Why him? Why not some other villain?

Introducing to MetaFilter: Reg Mellor, one of my all-time heroes.

dancestoblue — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 01:30:06 -0800

The King of the Ferret Leggers Reg Mellor has been a hero of mine ever since I first heard of him, maybe ten years ago. A total whack-job, it's true; a hero nonetheless. I've been a member here for a while and hadn't posted anything, thought of Reg, searched and found nothing posted here about him; I'm hoping some of the rest of you will enjoy reading about him as much as I have.

A long-belated . for Oliver Sipple

wendell — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 02:12:13 -0800

Most of the news stories about the release of failed assassin Sara Jane Moore mention that her attempt at President Ford was foiled by Oliver Sipple (wikipedia), who is generally described as "a disabled Vietnam Veteran/Marine". The current news stories don't mention that he was gay, but neither did most of the press accounts at the time, except for San Francisco's legendary columnist Herb Caen. An infamous, and ultimately tragic, 'outing'.

REAL LIFE SUPER HEREOS!!!1!

loquacious — Wed, 25 Jul 2007 15:37:40 -0800

Real Life Super Heroes! Perhaps you've heard of Angle Grinder Man, Superbarrio and Terrifica. How about The Eye, Tothian or Mr. Silent? There is, of course, the Wikipedia page for Real Life Super Heroes. A Myspace group chock full of spandex and gadgets. The member list is a great place to start browsing.

Slavery in Burma

homunculus — Sun, 01 Jul 2007 18:07:57 -0800

From Hunter to Hunted "In his quest to free slaves around the world, Aaron Cohen thought he’d seen it all. Then he went to Myanmar."

Homogeneity Of Heroes

amyms — Mon, 23 Apr 2007 10:49:42 -0800

"I like to think that there'll always be a place in our universe where a kid can look and see reflected in the mirror an idealized form of themselves." Hero Deficit: Comics Books In Decline is an article, by freelance journalist Brad Mackay, exploring the challenges of superhero relevancy in a diverse society. Previous comic book and superhero-related posts on Metafilter. Wikipedia also has a very informative superhero page.

Trying to bite my way out of it

Elmore — Wed, 14 Feb 2007 15:34:57 -0800

Fear and Loathing in Gonzovision 1978 BBC Omnibus documentary (Google Video)

“I owe Begum Nawazish Ali’s existence, in a certain way, to General Musharraf,” he said.

amberglow — Wed, 03 Jan 2007 13:54:23 -0800

“Maybe, yes, I am a diva.” Meet Ali Saleem, known on Pakistani TV as Begum Nawazish Ali, hostess of a popular talk show. Mr. Saleem’s portrayal ... a middle-aged widow who, in glamorous saris and glittery diamonds, invites to her drawing room politicians, movie stars and rights advocates from Pakistan and India.

Two Heroes

theora55 — Wed, 03 Jan 2007 10:40:21 -0800

Two stories of personal heroism, with 2 sadly different results.

An American Martyr

empath — Thu, 02 Nov 2006 07:51:54 -0800

She would rather die than become a torturer.

Jane Tomlinson

handee — Thu, 20 Jul 2006 06:37:24 -0800

6 years after being given 6 months to live , Jane Tomlinson has raised shedloads of money for charity. In doing so, she cycled from Rome to Home (yorkshire - 2500 miles), was the first terminally ill person to complete the Florida Ironman Triathlon, has completed numerous marathons and half marathons (she's the first person to have completed the London marathon whilst on chemotherapy). Her current challenge is to cycle across the US finishing on the 6th anniversary of her diagnosis. It's not all fun. Yesterday, she had a bottle thrown at her, was followed by a cop, and sprayed with road chippings by a lorry.