Spreading some festive joy with today's eclectic round-up of positive news stories.
Tiger & Charlie Woods
As if the Woods family’s highlights reels did not already contain enough special content then 15-year-old Charlie added another jaw-dropping moment on Sunday when making a hole-in-one alongside father Tiger in the final round of the PGA Tour’s parent-and-child tournament. The pair did not quite manage to win the PNC Championship at the Ritz-Carlton Club in Orlando, but in coming runner-up to Bernhard and Jason Langer via a dramatic play-off, Woods jr overshadowed his father in the headline stakes. And not many can claim that.
Cosmic Christmas Tree
With perfect timing, a new image of the so-called “Christmas tree cluster” has been released, showing the eery green-tinged image of young stars. The 'Christmas tree cluster', technically named NGC 2264, is a group of young stars between one and five million years old and it's approximately 2,500 light-years from Earth. Astro-photographer Michael Clow captured optical data (in the green and violet range) from his telescope in Arizona. The new image also combines data from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory (for the red, purple, blue, and white ranges), to give the appearance of Christmas baubles adorning the tree.
"Visionary Generosity"
In a major boost to Indigenous financial institutions, MacKenzie Scott - the ex-wife of Jeff Bezos - has awarded more than $103 million to Native community development financial institutions (CDFIs) across the country, reports Tribal Business News. It is being lauded as an unprecedented show of support for Native-led and Native-serving financial institutions thanks to "the visionary generosity of MacKenzie Scott."
Terrible Title
A book called The Philosopher Fish: Sturgeon, Caviar, and the Geography of Desire is the winner of the Diagram Prize for the oddest book title of the year. The book, by American writer Richard Adams Carey, explores the caviar industry.
Festive Pub
Crowds have been flocking to Britain’s ‘most festive pub’ to see their latest seasonal creation - a 26-foot snowman made from 2,500 empty wine bottles - next to a festive Christmas tree that's also made from wine bottles. The Queen Victoria Inn began hosting Christmas lights displays a decade ago, as a way to raise money for charity - a local children's hospice. This year the popular pub also features a huge wreath on the side of the building, a two story structure covered in 55,000 white lights collected over the years, which stretches over 9 miles (15km) long. “It is a good time to remember that some people are not having such a great Christmas and the hospice does so much to support the families and the children.” Along with cash dropped placed in donation boxes, many of the contributions come from the internet, via their Just Giving page.
"My idea of Christmas, whether old-fashioned or modern, is very simple: loving others. Come to think of it, why do we have to wait for Christmas to do that?" Bob Hope
On This Day
25 December 1991: Mikhail Gorbachev resigned the presidency of the Soviet Union, which ceased to exist at the end of the year.
Today's Articles
Wonderful Time of Year: It can be hard to put into words how the holiday season makes us feel. So, here's some insightful quotes that capture the essence.
Mood Boosting Video
The Penguins of Madagascar Christmas Special.