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.
posted by SpacemanStix
on Jul 21, 2009 -
73 comments
So, it seems like (
almost) everyone is watching
Heroes. But if you want more, Heroes doesn't have to just a hour of screen time a week. The weekly
'graphic novels' offer
backstory [
PDF] to familiar faces, fill in
plot holes [
PDF] and
introduce* [
PDF*] new characters, they've even continued during the haitus. But Heroes' impressive online presence encompasses more than just comics...
Spoilers for S1 throughout, mild spoilers for S2 (casting, new characters, some plot), I've asterisked the most spoilery.
[more inside]
posted by featherboa
on Sep 24, 2007 -
69 comments
War vs. Democracy: Untold Stories from the Lynch / Tillman Hearing --
...U.S. soldiers whose injuries or deaths remain mired in secrecy. Pat Tillman's brother and fellow Army Ranger Kevin Tillman advocated strongly for other families still waiting for answers. ... "The family was told, it was -- quote -- 'an ambush by insurgents.' Two years later, they found out that those -- quote -- 'insurgents' happened to be the same Iraqi troops that he was training. Before his death, he told his chain of command that these same troops that he was training were trying to kill him and his team. He was told to keep his mouth shut." ... Thorough and eye-opening examination of the many ways the military spun, lied, withheld information on soldier deaths and injuries for propaganda purposes (and even delayed action until cameras were present in the
Jessica Lynch rescue).
posted by amberglow
on May 12, 2007 -
29 comments
At a panel last weekend a major
plot point was revealed about the NBC show
Heroes (it goes without saying - contains spoilers). To many comic book readers this had more than a familiar similarity to the ending of the widely revered comic book series
Watchmen. Stories and themes are repeated throughout history in many mediums, but when is it a unique take, when is it a a homage and when is it theft? And when the medium that is lifted from is a less respected one such as comic books, does that make it more palatable?
posted by dig_duggler
on Mar 12, 2007 -
63 comments
On May 14th, 1967, the new British pop group The Pink Floyd makes one of their first ever TV appearances. Despite a stellar performance of the song Astronomy Domine, the pretentious host of the show, Hans Keller, has nothing good to say about the band. During the
interview (youtube, performance comes first, interview starts about 5:50 in.
transcript here.), he chastises the band for their "continuous repetition", "terribly loud" volume, and their "proportionately a bit boring" sound.
However, it seems that all Hans' show will ever be remembered for is
this single interview. Pink Floyd, on the other hand.. Well, we all know what happened to
them. Syd Barrett, on the other hand,
was not so lucky.
posted by Afroblanco
on May 29, 2006 -
67 comments
Inaugural Speeches from Our Action Heroes: "As the first robot/semitruck to be elected to these hallowed halls, I pledge to rebuild America. To repair our crumbling roads and bridges, to lower gas prices, and to increase the speed limit. Things that all Americans need." [via
queso]
posted by mathowie
on Nov 25, 2003 -
5 comments
More or Less is an interesting mini-encyclopedia of several of the great heroes & great villains of the 20th Century, with background information on each individual, the situation they were in, the scope of their impact on humanity, etc. It makes an interesting contrast, as well as a good thinking point on what one human life can achieve, for better or worse.
posted by jonson
on Aug 24, 2003 -
3 comments
Who's a hero now? (NYT reg. required) It has been a year since the 9 miners in Quecreek were rescued after spending 77 hours underground. One of the rescuers, Bob Long, recently committed suicide. He was the only rescuer to get cut in on the $150,000 deal from Disney. According to the linked NYT article:
Vaughn Donaldson, district chief of the fire department in Midland, Tex., knows very well the stress that traumatic events, combined with sudden celebrity, can put on people. In the years after the rescue of baby Jessica from the well in Texas, Donaldson watched the man who saved her, Robert O'Donnell, become a national hero, before declining into substance abuse; seven years after the rescue, he shot himself. There have also been suicides among rescuers at Oklahoma City and the World Trade Center. ''Whenever you elevate one person as a hero, you necessarily leave others out, and that leads to jealousy and alienation,'' says Donaldson, who speaks to fire and police departments all over the country.
Hmm, That's enough to make you hesitate the next time you see someone who is in trouble.
posted by strangeleftydoublethink
on Jul 28, 2003 -
33 comments
The Mythical Quest , an old exhibition at the British Library. 'Throughout the world, tales have always been told of
heroes and heroines embarking on perilous quests in
search of lost loved ones, the secret of immortality,
earthly paradise or simply great riches. Many of these
stories have elements in common, such as clashes with
monsters, battles with the elements, interventions by
the gods and tests of moral character, mental cunning
and physical strength. These tales have been expressed
in songs, literature, art and dance for thousands of
years, and are still being reinterpreted today in
books, comic strips, interactive games and adventure
films.'
More British Library exhibits
here, from
early Indian photography to
the secret life of maps.
Examples of mythical quests :-
Monkey:
Journey to the West (another version
here,
not to mention
the
TV series);
the
Ramayana
(and the
Ramakian,
the Thai version);
Cupid
and Psyche at
the
Classics Pages (subject of
a previous
thread);
the
Holy
Grail (more at
the
Catholic Enyclopaedia);
the journey of
Alexander
the Great;
Pilgrim's
Progress and
John Bunyan;
the
world of Dante and
a
map of
Hell.
posted by plep
on Jul 11, 2003 -
17 comments
Israeli-Arab Hero this kid had a lot of guts - will he get the recognition he deserves in israel or the US?
username: metafilter password: metafilter
posted by specialk420
on Sep 26, 2002 -
11 comments
In a world of frustratingly cyclic bloodshed,
peacemakers show the way according to an article by William Pfaff at the IHT. AC Grayling at The Guardian says that true heroes are
those brave enough to make peace. With terrorism and counter terroism raising the temperature of rhetoric and war across the globe, will a new wisdom emerge where cooler heads prevail?
posted by will
on Mar 19, 2002 -
9 comments
"Today's heroes don't have to do anything; they just need to be noble victims" The people who lost their lives on September 11 -- office workers, firefighters, airline pilots -- have almost unanimously been labeled "hereos." Were they really, or were they "just" victims who tragically died while "doing their jobs"? According to this article, we should be hesitant to loosen the requirements for heroism:
"Heroes often end up as role models, a task not well suited for victims. Moreover, by lowering the bar for heroism, we cheapen the word and, in some ways, the exploits of people who have earned the right to be called that in the past. " (via
a & l daily).
posted by pardonyou?
on Jan 15, 2002 -
58 comments
