Playing by quantum rules.

Czech photographer Jan Langer's portrait series "Faces of Century" shows them in a different light: as human beings aged by years of experience, but at their deepest level, unchanged by the passing of time.In the series, Langer juxtaposes his portraits with another portrait of the subject from decades earlier. He recreates the original pose and lighting as closely as he can — he wants us to see them not just as they are now, but how they have and haven't changed over time. That is the key to the series.These are the rare faces of people who have lived through two world wars, a cavalcade of regimes, and the rush of advancements in modern life. These photos, and the stories of the lives lived by the people in them, show not only the beauty of aging, but how even as we age, we still remain essentially ourselves.1. Prokop Vejdělek, at age 22 and 101All photos by Jan Langer.Vejdělek is a former metallurgical engineer who will never forget the taste of warm fresh goat's milk.2. Bedřiška Köhlerová, at age 26 and 103Originally born in Merano, Italy, Köhlerová wishes to visit Italy one more time.3. Ludvík Chybík, at age 20 and 102Chybík is a former postal carrier and says he will never forget the route he worked every day.4. Vincenc Jetelina, at age 30 and 105Jetelina spent eight years in prison after World War II. Now, he just wants to live the rest of his life in peace.5. Marie Fejfarová, at age 101Fejfarová burned all her material memories, including old photographs, when she decided to move to a long-term care facility. She lived a dramatic life, hiding from the Nazis and then the Russians, but eventually she was able to travel the world with her husband. Her experiences show there's no such thing as too late in life to start a new chapter.6. Antonín Kovář, at age 25 and 102Kovář is a former musician whose daughter comes to visit him every day. He wishes to play the clarinet once more.7. Anna Vašinová, at age 22 and 102Vašinová will always remember the day her husband was taken away by the Nazis. She wishes to be reunited with him after death.8. Stanislav Spáčil, at age 17 and 102Spáčil was an electrical engineer throughout his life and thinks that it's too early in his life to think about the past.9. Anna Pochobradská, at age 30 and 100Pochobradská was a farmer. She now lives a quiet life and is thankful that her daughter visits her every weekend.10. Antonín Baldrman, at age 17 and 101Baldrman was a clerk early in life and keeps up with current events by reading the newspaper.11. Marie Burešová, at age 23 and 101Burešová loves talking to her family and wishes to have them all together again.12. Vlasta Čížková, at age 23 and 101Čížková cooked in the dining room at the airport in the small village of Vodochody. She'll never forget reciting her own poetry at wedding ceremonies.13. Ludmila Vysloužilová, at age 23 and 101Vysloužilová stays active every day by chopping wood, shoveling snow, and doing work around her house.The photographer Langer was initially inspired to document the lives of elderly people because of what he saw as the media's lack of coverage of them. He decided to focus on people over the age of 100 — a very rare demographic indeed. The 2010 U.S. Census reported only 53,364 centenarians, which is only 0.19% of the population of people 70 years or older.“One should live every single moment according to their best knowledge and conscience because one day we will see clearly what has a real value," Langer says of what he learned from his subjects while photographing them.The series was originally part of a story that Langer did for the Czech news outlet aktuálně.cz. You can see more photos from the portrait sessions by following the link.This article originally appeared on 12.08.17.

We've all seen it while cruising for spots in a busy parking lot: A person parks their whip in a disabled spot, then they walk out of their car and look totally fine. It's enough to make you want to vomit out of anger, especially because you've been driving around for what feels like a million years trying to find a parking spot.You're obviously not going to confront them about it because that's all sorts of uncomfortable, so you think of a better, way less ballsy approach: leaving a passive aggressive note on their car's windshield.Satisfied, you walk back to your car feeling proud of yourself for telling that liar off and even more satisfied as you walk the additional 100 steps to get to the store from your lame parking spot all the way at the back of the lot. But did you ever stop and wonder if you told off the wrong person?What if that person on the receiving end of the note had a perfectly good explanation for why they're driving car with a disabled sticker and tag? That's exactly what happened to Emma Doherty, who was surprised to see someone pen such vitriolic words to her in this letter she found on her car.The language in the note is pretty harsh:"You lazy conning b-tch. You did not have a disabled person with you! These spaces are reserved for people who need them!!!"I get that avoiding conflict is something that's been trained into us, but maybe if whoever wrote this note decided to say something to Emma, this entire thing could've been cleared up entirely.Instead, she had to take to Facebook to pick apart the anonymous grouch and explain her situation to the rest of us. And hopefully whoever wrote the note (if they see her post) understands why they were terribly wrong.Emma is the mother of a terminally ill child, Bobby. Her ruthless and powerful message sheds light on the misconceptions associated with disabilities and helps to break the stigma that all impairments are visible, because they're not."To the person who put this on my car, which I had put my disabled badge fully on, I'm not angry at your pure ignorance, I'm actually upset with it. How dare you ever accuse anyone of not needing a disabled badge without knowing. I wish you had the balls to say this to my face and I would have told you (even tho I don't need to explain myself to the likes of you) but I'd have happily said why I have a badge.""I promise to get the stigma away from people with disabled badges who don't "look disabled." I hope this gets shared and back to you and you will see my son is terminally ill, he's had over 15 operations, 3 open hearts, 2 stomach, lung and diaphragm and countless artery stenting operations and spent half his life on intensive care."In her post, she delineates the severity of Bobby's illness, which has put the young man through multiple surgeries and procedures that are no walks in the park."He's had 2 strokes and was paralyzed, brain damaged and has a spine and hip condition as well as a massive heart condition. The reason I didn't get his wheelchair out was because I was running late because my son, who had a MRI scan, CTSCAN and a dye for heart function yesterday, only got discharged late and was back in this morning so carried him in.""But for your information not everyone who holds a blue badge needs to have a wheelchair! I've told ... security and broke down, I've sat through things nobody should see but why did your note break me? Because it's your pure ignorance towards others. I'm a single mom trying my best to hold it together for my son who's in and out if hospital. NOT ALL DISABILITIES ARE VISIBLE and I hope you regret doing this and learn your lesson!”Throughout her post, Emma simultaneously castigates the person and drives one important point home: Just because someone isn't in a wheelchair or crutches, doesn't mean they aren't disabled or in need of physical care or assistance.I knew something would be said one day as every day I get looks and stares and see people whispering to each other about me and Bobby walking from the car. Everyone needs to stop and think before acting. I hardly ever let anything upset me but this did. How aggressive as well, and as for conning my son's disabled pass... [It] is not a con, he's actually seriously ill. I've added a picture of him to prove not everyone looks ill or disabled but can be seriously ill.The mother clarifies at the end of the message that she's sure it wouldn't be a hospital staff member who wrote the message, because those who work in healthcare are well aware of the various reasons someone would have a disabled tag on their vehicle."I'd like to point out this has nothing to do with the hospital itself. They were lovely with me when I was upset and they treat us with every respect, always have [in our] 3 long years with them. They've saved my son's life many times. It [was] just somebody who was parked [there].”Her post quickly went viral, with many people echoing her sentiments and thanking her for helping to clear up that tons of people suffer from different disabilities and that not all of them are so readily apparent.And as it turns out, Emma isn't the only parent who's dealt with judgmental individuals who gave them flack for having a disabled sticker on their car. As if having to deal with a sick child isn't enough, they also have to suffer through getting guff from randos on the street over a measly parking spot.Bobby's condition has left him without pulmonary artery function, which means that blood will not pump throughout his body. As you can imagine, walking long distances — or performing many physical tasks otherwise healthy individuals take for granted — are out of the question for the 3-year-old.As a result of her son's condition, Emma has to take him to the hospital for treatments throughout the week, and seeing the note on her car while having to deal with that ultimately set her off. Thankfully, she used her anger to send a positive message.Floored by the positive response to her message, Emma went back online to thank people for being so receptive and helping to spread awareness that disabilities come in many forms."My inbox is full of people who have told me they have been stared at or even spat at. This is a serious problem and I just want it to change. I am hoping by sharing what I went through people will start to think before acting."This article first appeared on 11.26.19.

We've said it before and we'll say it again: Teachers deserve all the kudos, high fives, raises, accolades, prizes and thanks for everything they do. Even if they just stuck to academics alone, they'd be worth far more than they get, but so many teachers go above and beyond to teach the whole child, from balancing equations to building character qualities. One way dedicated educators do that is by developing relationships and building rapport with their students. And one surefire way to build rapport is to dance with them. A viral video shared by an assistant principal at Sumner High School & Academy in Riverview, Florida shows a group of students gathered around one student as he challenges a teacher to a dance-off. "Our 8th grade Stingrays having a well deserved exam dance break," wrote assistant principal Natalie McClain. "Of course our teachers are ending 2022 with a win." The teacher, Ms. Yolanda Turner, took the challenge—and the students went wild.Watch: \u201cOur 8th grade Stingrays having a well deserved exam dance break. Of course our teachers are ending 2022 with a win. Love my Stingrays \ud83d\udc99\ud83d\udc9a Happy Holidays @HCPS_SumnerHS\u201d — Natalie.McClain (@Natalie.McClain) 1671796331 The student really thought he had her, didn't he? It looked as if his soul left his body when he tapped her shoulders and then realized what he'd done. But to her credit, she took it in stride and took him out with her dance moves."The music was on, all the kids were pumped," Turner told Fox 13. "So it was like, let's have a dance challenge. So I'm like, okay, all right, so everybody's having fun. And I said, 'I'm going to tap in. I'm going to tap into the dance.'""I really try to emphasize for kids to be their authentic selves and to really never be afraid to express who they are no matter who's watching," she told the outlet.This dance-off video is a prime example of how schools can be places of joyful connection in addition to academic achievement. Gaining students' respect doesn't require being a stuffy authoritarian hard nose, and students generally respond better to teachers they genuinely care for. Meeting them where they are is one of the best ways to reach kids and creating experiences that include for silliness and fun is one of the best ways to keep them engaged. Plus, who doesn't need to blow off a little steam in between exams? What a lovely example of striking a balance between academic rigor and modeling healthy stress relief. Well done, Ms. Turner.This article originally appeared on 12.28,22

Humans may not always recognize greatness right away, but sometimes it's so clear it simply can't be denied.You don't have to be a dancer yourself to see when someone's got moves, and a viral video from choreographer Phil Wright spotlights a kid who's got moves. Like, wow.Mariandrea Villegas may be tiny, but she packs a mighty amount of energy, skill, coordination and x-factor into her dancing. Oh and joy. Did I mention joy?Villegas, 13, danced alongside choreographer Phil Wright at The Dance Awards and holy moly. She snatched the stage right out from under him."I think I got smoked," he wrote when he shared the video on his Instagram page. "I need to stop dancing with these kids. ? They’re low-key superheroes." If Villegas is any evidence, he's right. Watch: See on Instagram Upworthy shared the video on Instagram as well, and people loved it. "When you find your passion at a young age, it’s a beautiful thing to see," wrote one commenter. "And all with a smile on her face," wrote another."This kid is an absolute star ?" shared another, echoing the sentiment of the copious fire emojis in the comments.Keep on dancing with joy and passion, Mariandrea! We can't wait to see more from you. (You can follow her on Instagram if you want to see what she's done up to now. It's impressive.)This article originally appeared on 2.20.23

In case you were wondering, don't mess with comedian Steve Hofstetter. The stand-up comic posted a video of himself recently shutting down a heckler who didn't like Hofstetter taking a break from his routine to praise Jessica Mendoza, a two-time Olympic gold medalist and Stanford graduate, who last year became the first female to call a professional baseball game."Next!" the heckler shouts. At first, Hofstetter is caught off guard but then he tries to give the guy a chance to explain what he found "offensive" about celebrating this historic moment in sports. "You and I can talk later," the anonymous guy says, directly challenging an earlier warning from Hofstetter to not approach comedians after shows.Once the guy refuses to explain why he's offended, Hofstetter asks him to leave, saying not only is he being a jerk but he's not at least willing to stand up for his own beliefs. Then things get weird. It turns out the heckler is at the show with his family, including his daughters. "You have daughters and I was standing up for women's rights and you were offended by that," Hofstetter says. "I hope the rest of you are going to be okay later."Unlike some heckler videos that drag on and on, this one is maybe most amazing in the way he gets shut down before he can even really get started. The whole video is funny, inspiring and just a classic example of a comedian taking down a heckler. Like near the end, when Hofstetter addresses a common trope of someone questioning why a male comedian needs to stand up for women's equality."As it turns out, I actually have a genetic history of women in my family," he says. "If you want to be a real man then respect the women in your life."This article originally appeared on 04.26.19

A classic reconsidered. The post “Least favourite”: The Led Zeppelin song too simple for Geddy lee first appeared on Far Out Magazine.