Alien Bar
MUSEUM HR GIGER BAR
in Château St. Germain, Gruyères, Switzerland
The interior of the otherworldly environment that is the H.R. Giger Museum Bar is a cavernous, skeletal structure covered by double arches of vertebrae that crisscross the vaulted ceiling of an ancient castle. The sensation of being in this extraordinary setting recalls the tale of Jonah and the whale, lending the feel of being literally in the belly of a fossilized, prehistoric beast, or that you have been transported into the remains of a mutated future civilization. Continue reading »
Want to Join the Jet Set? Water-Powered Jetpack Propels Fliers up to 30ft into the Air… but it still Costs $230 a Go
For years their use has been limited to the rich and famous or wealthy James Bond enthusiasts.
But walking on water with a jetpack is now one step closer thanks to a device which uses water from the ocean to propel users across the waves.
The $94,000 Jetlev uses jet stream technology to propel fliers up to 30ft in the air by sucking up water in a huge hose from the ocean and blasting it back out of the pack.
Flying without wings: The Jetlev jetpack propels fliers up to 30ft into the air by sucking up ocean water and powering it back through the pack. (Chris Parsons / Mail Online) Continue reading »
Steaming Ahead, the 180-Year-Old Toy Train that’s the Oldest in the World
A rudimentary model of Stephenson’s Rocket that was made by a father for his son after seeing it chug past their home has emerged as the oldest toy train in the world. The simple wooden toy was hand-crafted out of scraps of wood by the loving dad who whittled them into the shape of the legendary steam locomotive.
Made from sight in the late 1820s or early 1830s, the model is almost as old as the first real locomotives. The ten-inch long toy has four wheels attached to a block of wood, a cylindrical piece that may have been a stair banister for the boiler and a chair leg for the iconic blast pipe. (Daily Mail Reporter)
Photo of the Day: Penguins on the March
Cape Penguins, wearing colorful ribbons, take a walk at the Hakkeijima Sea Paradise aquarium-amusement park complex in Yokohama, southwest of Tokyo, Japan. (AP)
NASA Releases Sharpest Ever Moon Map
NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) science team has released the highest resolution near-global topographic map of the Moon ever created. Though the Moon is the Earth’s closest neighbor, yet knowledge of its morphology is still limited. “Due to the limitations of previous missions, a global map of the Moon’s topography at high resolution has not existed until now,” said NASA while releasing the map.
LRO’s Wide Angle Camera and the Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter instrument will help scientists portray the shape of the entire Moon at high resolution accurately.
Click image to zoom.
Tiny Critter Becomes a Big Wheel
An extreme close-up of a type of rotifer known as Floscularia ringens has won first prize in the 2011 Olympus BioScapes Digital Imaging Competition, which showcases photos and movies of life science subjects. The image was the top selection out of more than 2,000 entries in this year’s contest — and it earned the photographer, Charles Krebs, $5,000 worth of Olympus imaging equipment.
Photo of the Day: Taking the Test
More than a thousand students took mid-term examinations on the playground of Sihuang Middle School Thursday in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China. (Zuma Press)
Sarasota Chalk Festival 2011: Best International Artwork
The Sarasota Chalk Festival, an annual international street art exhibit and competition in Sarasota, Fla., closed on Nov. 7, 2011 after a week of events, and this year, latecomers were in for an unwelcome surprise. For the first time ever, Sarasota officials were spraying down the sidewalks the day after the 2011 festival, erasing the hundreds of chalk traditional, mosaic and 3D artworks created by artists from around the world.
Juandres Vera, of Mexico, finishes his submission for the 3D Pavement Art category at the 2011 Sarasota international Chalk Festival. Continue reading »
Most Expensive House in Brooklyn for Sale
For a cool $14 million, you can own the most expensive house in Brooklyn. The house sits at 70 Willow Street in Brooklyn Heights and boasts some extremely luxurious features. There are 18 rooms total – 11 bedrooms, 7 full baths, and 1 half bath. It is approximately 9,000-square feet with a 2,000-square foot basement. Continue reading »
Photo of the Day: Flood and Glamour
A woman sits on a fridge outside a closed restaurant while surrounded by floodwaters in Bangkok on November 9, 2011. Thailand plans to hire at least 2,000 extra rubbish collectors in the capital Bangkok to tackle a mountain of trash that has piled up in inundated areas, officials said on November 9. (NICOLAS ASFOURI/AFP/Getty Images)
Armless Man Dreams of Teaching
Fan Ling, 21, studies at the library of Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University. Fan lost his right arm and most of his left arm, and one ear after being hit by high voltage wires at the age of 6. Fan says he wants to teach in less-developed areas after graduation. (CFP) Continue reading »
Soong Ching Ling Statue Going up in Central China
A 24-meter stone statue of Soong Ching Ling (1893-1981) is going up in Zhengzhou, capital of Central China’s Henan province, on Nov 3, 2011. Soong Ching Ling is former vice-president of China and wife of Sun Yat-sen, the leader of the 1911 Revolution that toppled the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), China’s last dynasty. The statue’s base is designed as a meeting hall with an area of 800 square meters and construction is expected to be completed by the end of this month, according to construction workers. One of the workers said the statue belongs to the Henan Provincial Soong Ching Ling Foundation. (CFP) Continue reading »
World’s Tallest 48-Meter Buddha Statue in Eastern China
A statue of Amitabha, also known as the Buddha of Infinite Light, is going up in Jiujiang, Jiangxi province, Nov 4, 2011. The 48-meter statue is one of the world’s tallest. (CFP) Continue reading »
Beautiful Gingkgo Trees Attract Visitors
Amateur photographers take photos of a model in a gingkgo wood in Tancheng City, East China’s Shandong province, Nov 6, 2011. The beautiful scenery of gingkgo trees in the county attracts tens of thousands of visitors every autumn. (Xinhua) Continue reading »
All
More than 120 of Maurizio Cattelano’s artworks dangle from the ceiling of the Guggenheim Museum for the artist’s career retrospective, ‘All.’ (Ramin Talaie for The Wall Street Journal )
Horses, Gigantic Wooden Table and Two Chairs
Horses stand in the shadows of a gigantic wooden table and two chairs during nice autumnal weather at a meadow near Doellstaedt, central Germany. (AP)
Look This Way
Ken Unsworth’s sculpture, “Look This Way”, overlooks Bondi Beach at Sculptures By The Sea in Sydney, Australia. Sculptures By The Sea is is the largest free-to-public outdoor sculpture exhibition spread out over a 2km coastal walk from Bondi to Tamarama beach in Sydney, featuring over 100 sculptures by artists from Australia and across the world. (AP)
NASA: Spectacular Images from Space – Galaxy Encounter, Flooding Thailand, and 12-Billion-Year-Old Stars
This NASA MODIS Rapid Response Team image obtained November 4, 2011 shows dust as it blew over the Gulf of Alaska in early November 2011. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite captured this natural-color image on November 2, 2011. Blowing toward the south-southwest, the dust plume remains discernible for roughly 100 kilometers (60 miles). The dust emerges from the Copper River Valley, which zigzags through the glacier-rich Chugach Mountains. The slow movement of glaciers over bedrock grinds the rock into glacial flour. This fine sediment is easily lofted into the air by winds blowing through mountain valleys. This image also shows swirls of iridescent green in the waters along the shore. The bright green probably results from sediment and phytoplankton. Dust can fertilize phytoplankton, prompting big blooms, but the microscopic organisms also thrive in high-latitude seas especially near coastlines, without dust. (Jeff Schmaltz / NASA via AFP – Getty Images) Continue reading »
Living With Lion Cubs
This brave girl’s name is Helen, and she did those awesome photos during she was involved in volunteer project called ‘Living with Lion Cubs’ in south Africa on August, 2011. Continue reading »
A Master of Monster Makeup
Zombies, werewolves and dismembered corpses are just a day at the office for makeup and special effects artist Andre Freitas.
Special effects designer Andre Freitas at his studio in Marietta, Ga. (Erik S. Lesser / For The Washington Post) Continue reading »
Inside Opower’s Arlington Office: A robot, a Scooter and Many, Many Couches
Anybot at rest at Opower‘s Arlington office. (Jeffrey MacMillan / For Capital Business) Continue reading »
A New SPiN on Low Light Photography
SPiN Galactic features 12 tables in a club light setting, there is some very cool lighting but very challanging to photograph. Each table is lit with a square of light directly above the table simular to a pool table, there are several other sources of light that make it difficult to find a white balance that works. To make things a little more difficult as the player backs away from the table during a volley they move out of the light falling onto the table. In photographs by Steve Russell for Toronto Star.
At SPiN Toronto at 461 King Street West, ping pong players can play at the 12 tables and 12,000 square foot clubhouse. SPiN was founded in New York and has Susan Sarandon as an investor. Continue reading »
Toronto 2012 Fashion Week
Rehersals for Mercedes Benz startup show during Toronto Fashion Week. (CARLOS OSORIO/Toronto Star) Continue reading »
Zombie March
Zombie marchers make their way along Dundas street west of Bathurst making their way back to Trinity Bellwoods Park, Toronto. (RICHARD LAUTENS)
Rhinos get Upside-Down Helicopter Ride to Safety
For some endangered rhinos, a 1,000-mile road to rescue from poachers starts with a helicopter ride — hanging upside down, blindfolded and sedated.
Rhinos get Upside-Down Helicopter Ride to Safety. (WWF) Continue reading »
