Worlds Most Incredible Skateboarding Dogs

You know that skateboarding has come full circle when it goes to the dogs — literally. From bulldogs to Yorkies and everything in-between, hard-core skateboarders have been teaching their beloved companions the moves, and among the cream of the crop and becoming an internet sensation is Tillman, the English bulldog.

Tillman the skateboarding dog. 

The tan and white pooch can ride on 3 legs and kick with the other before jumping on, steer left and right around corners, and even tackle ramps, weaving in and out of amazed bystanders at breakneck speeds. 

And when he comes a cropper he coolly flips the board over, tucks it under a paw and lifts it up with his teeth before putting it back on the ground. 

The 3-year-old dog has become a worldwide star after his owner Ron Davis posted a video of Tillman skateboarding on the internet, which has been viewed by more than 4,000,000 people. 

“He absolutely loves it and just whizzes around.” said Ron.









The zany bulldog has become a star and featured on TV shows, commercials, and sports events since his first video of his antics was released on the web. 

Tillman started skating when he was only 6 weeks old. Ron said he discovered the incredible talent when he stood him on a skateboard while he was merely a tiny puppy. 





“To begin with he was too little to push it along himself so he used to just stand on it and wobble.” 

“I tried teaching him how to push off with his paw and he soon got the hang of it and took to it like a duck to water.”




Extreme Pete 


“As he has grown and got stronger he has picked up speed and he can now go faster than I can run.” said the construction manager from California.

“He doesn’t just stumble along; he can properly skate down roads at speeds of more than 10 mph (16km/h).” 

Tillman has become so popular that he has to skate in secret locations to avoid the massive crowds he draws wherever he goes. 

“In all other aspects Tillman is a normal dog.” Ron says.

“Some dogs have a passion for chasing balls but Tillman’s is skateboarding — he lives for it really.” 

Tillman in Venice Beach California

Extreme Pete

But we think that Pete makes for some serious competition. High Five!




Tyson Rides on the Wild Side

Bada$$ Ollie





More Skateboarding Dogs

Skateboarder Cassie

More Tillman Talents

Natures Amazing Color - What Red Means

Colors are more than merely a byproduct of the spectrum of light which our brain processes — so what does it all mean? Our mind perceives certain colors in association with our perceptions that affects raw emotions and senses on subconscious levels, goes beyond plain symbolism, and acts as a form of non-verbal communication. Let’s take a look at what the color red means to us.


The Passion Color
Red is a strong color that conjures up a range contradictory and intense emotions from anger, hate, and violence to passion, ardent love, and desire — it represents both the Devil and Cupid, the Roman god of erotic love and beauty.

It’s active, aggressive, bold, and outspoken, associated with energy, warfare, danger, strength, power, determination, and excitement.





Red is associated with the color of blood, certain flowers, ripe fruits, and suggests healthiness in humans who have a touch of red in their skin tone, opposed to those who are pale. 

The color increases the pulse and heart rate, respiration rate, and raises your blood pressure. 

The expression seeing red indicates anger and may stem not only from the stimulus of the color but from the natural flush of redness in the cheeks, a physical reaction to anger, increased blood pressure, or physical exertion. When a person becomes passionate, the heart rate goes up and the skin flushes as blood is pushed to the surface, causing the entire body to become more reddish. 





Love is also associated with the heart, which of course is red and full of blood. The heart is the very thing that moves the blood through our body and the one organ most closely associated with it. A person’s skin becomes reddish when enflamed in the throes of passion, therefore red is associated with passion and love.

Red is frequently used as a symbol of guilt, sin, anger, and often connected with lust and sex. This all comes from a general Hebrew view inherited by Christianity which associates red with the blood of murder, and guilt in general. The color has been associated with prostitutes, brothels, and red-light districts.

Another popular example is in the phrase “caught red-handed,” meaning either caught in an act of crime or caught with the blood of murder still on one’s hands. 

In Roman Catholicism, red represents wrath, one of the Seven Deadly Sins. Satan is usually depicted as colored red and / or wearing a red costume in iconography, popular culture, and Christianity.

Both the Greeks and the Hebrews considered red a symbol of love, as well as sacrifice. 

There are those who like the red color because it’s bright or cheerful, and others who hate it because they suffered a wound years ago and the sight of anything red reminds them of blood or trauma.



Red sea star. 
Panamic Cushion Sea Star at Viuda (Widow) dive site in Coiba National Park, Panama.


Red Ruffed Lemur, seriously endangered of extinction. 

Using Red
A little bit of red goes a long way, and small doses can often be more effective than large amounts of this strong color. 

It’s a warm color which revs us up and gets us going, stimulating emotions from simple optimism to strong violence. Warm colors appear larger than cool colors so red can visually overpower blue even if used in equal amounts. They appear closer while their cool counterparts visually recede.


Red Panda. 


This color in clothing gets noticed and gives the appearance of the person being heavier. Since it’s an extreme color, red clothing might not help people in negotiations or confrontations. 

Red cars are popular targets for thieves and stand out to police in radar speed stops. Decorators say that red furniture is perfect to attract attention.

Food researchers say that when humans searched for food, they learned to avoid toxic or spoiled objects, and red was the most popular food color. It increases your appetite by increasing your metabolism, which is why red is such a popular color in restaurants. 




Red Fox. 

 Red Squirrel. 

The color brings text and images to the foreground, bringing something noteworthy to light, or indicates anything inherently alarming. A red marker from your school days has negative connotations. It’s often used as an accent color to stimulate people to make quick decisions, such as ‘Buy Now’ or ‘Click Here’ buttons on Internet banners and websites. 


Flamingo. 

Southern Ground Hornbill. 


In advertising, red is often used to evoke erotic feelings — red lips, red nails, “Lady in Red,” etc. Since it’s commonly associated with energy, many use it when promoting energy drinks, games, cars, and items related to sports and high physical activity.

One bank found that their lines moved faster when they increased the use of red in the bank lobby, and in a study of several hundred college students, a researcher found that they responded more quickly to cues under red light than under green light.



Red deer fawn. 
Red Highland cow. 
Courage and Sacrifice
In heraldry, red is also used as a symbol of courage and sacrifice, as in blood spilt in sacrifice or courage in the face of lethal danger. Examples of this are found in the flags of many nations including the U.S.



Dragonfly 

In Christianity, red represents the color of Christian martyrs who suffered death for their faith. It’s sometimes used for Holy Thursday and during Eastertide. In Roman Catholic tradition it’s used for all feast days of Christian martyrs as well as Palm Sunday in anticipation of the death of Jesus. 

Red is associated in Roman mythology with the god of war, Mars. A Roman general receiving a triumph had his entire body painted red in honor of his achievement. 

The phrase “red-blooded” describes someone who is audacious, robust, or virile. In English heraldry, red (called gules) denoted ardent affection or love, while crimson (blood-color) stood for boldness, enthusiasm, or impetuosity. 

Warning 
Red catches people’s attention, and is often used either in a negative way to indicate danger such as high voltage signs and emergency, or in a positive way in advertising to gain more viewers. 


Red Rose. 


Fall Leaves. 
Red Gum blossoms. 


Studies have indicated that red carries the strongest reaction of all colors, so scientists recommend the color for warning signals, labels, and signs. Due to this, red is widely used as a danger signal, to warn people of extreme heat or flammability, and even signal warnings in sports.

Since the color has very high visibility, stop signs and stoplights are red to get the drivers’ attention, flashing red lights denote danger or emergency, and fire equipment and vehicles are usually red.



Gerbera flower. 


Mushrooms. 

Culture of Red
Red conveys different meanings not only from culture to culture or from era to era, but within our own culture and time. 

Red is power, hence the red power tie for business people and the red carpet for celebrities and VIP’s (very important people).


Monument Valley is located on the southern border of Utah with northern Arizona.





Monument Valley. 
Colorado River. 

In China, red is an auspicious and lucky color, so many things are red for that very reason. At New Year money is given in red envelopes — called hong bao — to bring wealth and luck in the coming year. In traditional Chinese weddings, the groom and bride wear full red, and the altars are decked in red silk.

It’s the color of the South, fire, the phoenix, summer, and carries a largely positive connotation being associated with courage, loyalty, honor, success, fortune, fertility, passion, health, happiness, joy, and prosperity, and also represents birth coming to fruition such as a child being born.

On the negative side, obituaries are traditionally written in red ink, and to write someone’s name in red signals either cutting them out of your life, or that they have died. Red is also associated with both the feminine yin and the masculine yang, depending on the source. When someone commits suicide, especially female, and wants to haunt their love one, they will dress in red from top to bottom.


Douglas Furs reach for the sky at the bottom of Wall Street,
Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah. 


Bryce Canyon National Park. 




In Japan, red is a traditional color for a heroic figure. In the Indian Sub-continent, red is the traditional color of bridal dresses, and is frequently represented as a symbolic color for married women. The color is associated with sexuality in marriage relationships through its connection to heat and fertility. It’s also the color of wealth, beauty, the goddess Lakshmi, and believed to keep spirits away.

In Central Africa, Ndembu warriors rub themselves with red during celebrations. Since their culture sees the color as a symbol of life and health, sick people are also painted with it. The Ndembu see red as ambivalent, better than black, but not as good as white. 

But in other parts of Africa, red is a color of mourning, representing death. Due to the connection red bears with death in many parts of Africa, the Red Cross has changed its colors to green and white in parts of the continent.



 Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada. 

Glen Canyon, Arizona. 
In Russia the Bolsheviks used a red flag when they overthrew the Tsar, thus red became associated with communism. 

Typical Spanish association with red is the traditional “Fiesta and Bullfighting,” with the color representative of blood, blood of the bull, and the Sangrey Arena — blood and sand.


Badger Women in Abyaneh where all houses are red. 

Science and Astronomy
The color red may be any number of identical colors at the lowest frequencies of light visible by the human eye. Red is also one of the chief colors of noticeable light, the other two being green and blue.



Orion Nebula image from Hubble & Spitzer.
 Messier 74, a.k.a. NGC 628, is a spiral galaxy 30,000,000 light-years away.

Red light is the first to be absorbed by sea water, so many fish and marine invertebrates that appear bright red are black in their native habitat.

Red is strongly connected to fire, the sun, some stars, and skies at sunset or sunrise.

Stars of spectral type M — the stars with the coolest temperature — are classified as red stars. Mars is called the Red Planet because of the reddish color imparted to its surface by the abundant iron oxide present there. Astronomical objects moving away from the observer display a red shift. Jupiter’s surface bears a Great Red Spot — a football-shaped area south of the planet’s equator — which astronomers believe to be some kind of storm.



The Trifid Nebula — 9,000 light years from Earth. 
 Cone Nebula (NGC 2264): Star-Forming Pillar of Gas and Dust. 
Dark Matter Distribution in Supercluster Abell 901/902. 

Statistics have shown that red cars are more likely to be involved in accidents. 

Psychics who claim to be able to observe the aura with their third eye state that someone with a red aura is typically one in an occupation requiring vibrant health and vigorous physical exertion, such as a professional sportsperson, personal trainer, or a manual laborer.

Roses
The association with lust, love, passion and beauty is possibly related to the use of red roses as a love symbol.

Red roses say “I love you.” They’re the ultimate symbol of romantic love and enduring passion. A single red rose says “I love you, (but I’m not going to go broke telling you.)”


Raspberry cheesecake. 


Watermelon radishes. 

Feng Shui
According to certain beliefs, when feng shui colors are used properly they’ll bring the desired energy into your environment. Red color carries the energy of Fire element in feng shui, which has always been a symbol of divine energy and can be both destructive and creative. It represents the energy of sun and life. A balanced feng shui Fire Element in your home will bring joy, excitement and sexual desire. 


 Rusted metals. 


Red Door. 
The Feng Shui energy of red is arousal — it’s hot, passionate, rich, and celebratory. 

In feng shui color decorating red signifies richness and luxury, but if used too much it can bring restlessness, bursts of anger and over-stimulation. Caution of over-use is recommended, but some agree with using it freely in the living room, dining room, and kitchen.

It’s suggested to limit the red Fire energy in specific “Ba-Gua” areas of your home — East, Southeast (governed by the Wood element), Home, as well as West and Northwest (governed by the Metal element.) It is, however, excellent to use in the South (Fame & Reputation), as it matches the element of this direction.



Saarbrücken, Hafenstrabe. 
Kazan Temple and Historical Museum, part of Red square, Moscow, Russia.


Red by Definition
A number of dictionaries define the color red with a variety of meanings and associations:

• Of the color of blood or fire
• Of hair — a bright brownish orange or copper color
• Bloodshot — eyes that are bloodshot or with red rims, such as from tiredness
• Red face — blushing, from shame or embarrassment
• Debt — the state of being in debt, or owing money to the bank. Be/get into the red
• Left-wing — Politics, socialist or communist
• Soviet — relating or belonging to the former Soviet Union
• Wine — red wine made from black grapes
• Coloring — pigment or dye that is of or near to the color of blood


Language of Red
Some of the most typical English idioms using the word red include: 

• Red herring — something that deceives or distracts attention from the truth
• Paint the town red — celebrate, go out partying
• Red tape — the heavy use of and emphasis on official papers, formal details, rules etc, that characterizes the work done by some public groups, such as government departments
• Red flag — denotes danger, warning, or an impending battle
• See red — become violently angry
• See the red light — to see possible danger in the future
• Red-letter day — a day on which something good or special happens or is supposed to happen.
• As red as a beetroot, lobster, or a tomato — feeling awkward or ashamed
• Thin red line — a group of courageous people that defend an area or principle and refuse to yield to any attack
• Red carpet treatment — make someone feel special, treat them as if they’re a celebrity
• In the red — being overdrawn at the bank or losing money
• Red sky in the morning, sailor’s warning; red sky at night, sailor’s delight — pay attention to good and bad warning signs
• To not have a red cent — to have no money at all, or to be extremely poor
• Red eye — an overnight flight
• Find someone red-handed — to discover someone just as they’re doing something forbidden or unlawful
• Red words — words synonymous with red or represent various shades of the color red


Mysore Palace Fully Illuminated. 



 Fireworks at Redbank. 


Fireworks. 

Red Colors
Scarlet, crimson, vermillion, carmine, maroon, burgundy, ruby, rose, madder, rouge, brick, blood red, blush, fire engine red, cinnabar, russet, rust, Venetian red, flame, Indian red, tomato. 


Tones:
Light red represents joy, sexuality, passion, sensitivity, and love.
Dark red is associated with vigor, willpower, rage, anger, leadership, courage, longing, malice, and wrath.
Reddish-brown is associated with harvest and fall.

The red Ruby is the traditional 40th Wedding Anniversary gift.

Worlds Most Incredible Extreme Sports Stunts

Be it for claim to fame or the thrill of achievement, there are plenty of people that risk life and limb to perform jaw-dropping stunts for incredible feats which are highly choreographed and rigorously rehearsed for hours, days, and even weeks before a performance, as onlookers watch the madcap attempts in awe and amazement.

Pyrotechnics Stunt exhibition by “Giant Auto Rodéo” Ciney Belgium. 

Seasoned professionals will commonly treat a performance as if they have never done it before, since the risks in stunt work are tremendously high. Every move and position must be correct and perfectly timed to reduce risk of injury from accidents.

Performers of vehicular stunts require extensive training and may employ specially adapted vehicles.


Fire breathing “Jaipur Maharaja Brass Band” Chassepierre Belgium. 


Freestyle & Stunt Show 2007, Landrévarzec. 
The following mind-blowing images taken of staggering stunts are the works of American photo-journalist Jeffrey R. Werner — the results of a 30-year career spent traveling across 60 countries which are featured in his new book, “Incredible Stunts.”

“I try to stay out of harm’s way as much as possible, but once in a while things go a bit awry.” says Jeffrey. 

“Like when a stunt man was rocketed into the air, got the angle wrong and crashed into my head — that was quite a bloody mess.” 

Dubbed the “Da Vinci of Daredevil photography,” Jeffrey’s photos cover the high velocity drama and mayhem of high octane stunts of stuntmen and daredevils. His book reveals the planning, time and trust it takes to choreograph and execute the feats for those who risk their lives and limbs for honor.

Driver Steve Hudis jumps a 28,000 pound bus flying 109 feet (33 meters) through a giant fireball and over 15 motorcycles before crashing to earth, and miraculously survives. He broke a world record at this stunt filmed in Las Vegas. 

Stuntman Reno Jaton is dragged along a pavement, trailing behind a 14,000-horsepower jet car for a quarter of a mile at 236 mph (380 km/h), all the while enduring the 698F (370C) flames of the jet engine for a world record.



From a distance of 25 feet (7.6 meters), John Richmond shot a melon off his brother Ken’s head. Had he been off his mark by a quarter of an inch, it would have meant certain death for his brother. Both fortunately lived to see another day. 

Richmond claims to have shot at his brother Ken over 100 times — hitting objects off his chest, face, and the top of his head.


Dennis Pinto from North Carolina crashed his motorcycle into a parked van at 60 mph (100 km/h) to make himself airborne. To make the stunt even more challenging, he donned a flame-retardant outfit and set himself on fire. He landed on a pile of cardboard boxes, amazingly unscathed.


Escape artist Rick Meisel risked drowning and a battering while wriggling his way out of 6 pairs of handcuffs and 2 leg irons whilst spinning in a sudsy soap-filled washing machine. Meisel went to lengths of being surgically altered in order to fit better into the machine.


Traveling at 126 mph (200 km/h), stunt cyclist John Holland hoped his motorcycle would propel him 256 feet (78 meters) over 50 parked cars toward a ramp for a clean, parachute assisted landing. 

But seconds into the leap he realized that there was no chance of gaining enough speed, and his only chance of survival was to open the chutes in mid-air which sent him crashing into the cars. He spent nearly a year in hospital recovering from massive injuries, and his stunt career was ended for good.


English stuntman Eddie Kidd jumped the Great Wall of China, adding to the challenge a blind landing on a crude bamboo ramp perched precariously over the deadly river far below. 

Miscalculation or a sudden gust of wind could have caused him to plunge 600 feet (183 meters) to his death, but the former James Bond stuntman successfully hit the ramp with only inches to spare.


Spanky Spangler flew over the Rio Grande River at a height of 25 feet (7.6 meters) in a rocket-powered truck. The vehicle was airborne for 150 feet (45 meters) before crash-landing into a sacred Indian burial ground on the far shore. The stuntman escaped without injury within 10 feet (3 meters) of his intended landing spot.


Werner also photographed Spangler in a mid-air collision with another car. Both stuntmen were strapped in their cars to withstand the equivalent impact of hitting a brick wall at 120 mph (193 km/h) and the 2 drivers walked away uninjured before a crowd at the Astrodome in Houston, Texas. They owe their lives to incredibly strong strapping, special crash protectors, and a case of fortunate luck.



Stuntman Doug Danger took on the entire 160 foot (49 meter) wingspan of a large-body L1011 passenger jet. To make the jump, he had to reach a pre-calculated speed of 73 mph (117 km/h) to launch himself off the 120 foot (36.5 meter) long narrow ramp, straight up and over the parked plane.


Strongman Tom Owen supported a truck packed with 20 kids, weighing an estimated 6,500 pounds, as it drove over his stomach. After the stunt he went straight to hospital emergency with broken ribs and internal bleeding.


Ricky D cheated death by jumping through a 900F (482C) wall of fire at 55 mph (88 km/h). He mocked the inherent danger by wearing a $1,300 US (£700) Pierre Cardin tuxedo while performing the stunt.



Granny Mary Ella McLivain wears only a sun dress without protective harnesses as she strides across the wing of a biplane 1,000 feet (305 meters) in the air above Vancouver. She says she did it because she was tired of being a deskbound secretary.


Stunts That Have Gone Wrong

Stunts play a major part in countless action movies, and stunt-work accounts for over half of all film-related injuries, with an average of 5 deaths for every 2,000 injuries. From 1980 to 1990 there were 37 deaths relating to accidents during stunts, 24 of which involved the use of helicopters.

The Wizard of Oz (1939)
Margaret Hamilton was badly burned during a scene in which her character ‘vanished’ in a burst of flame and smoke when a delay in activating a trap-door caught her in the pyrotechnic device. Her stuntwoman was also injured in a scene involving a smoking broomstick.

The Flight of the Phoenix (1965)
Stunt pilot Paul Mantz was killed, and another stuntman seriously injured when the title plane failed to clear a sand dune and crashed.

Steel (1979)
A.J. Bakunas died doubling for George Kennedy in a fall from the Kincaid Towers in Lexington, Kentucky, for the movie. Bakunas had successfully performed a fall from the 9th floor of the construction site, but when he learned that Dar Robinson had broken his record high fall for a non-movie related publicity stunt, he returned to perform the fall from the top of the 300 foot (91 meter) construction site. Bakunas performed the fall expertly, but the airbag split and Bakunas was killed.

For Your Eyes Only (1981)
While filming a high speed chase in the bobsleigh-run, the 4-man bob came out of the run at the wrong place and hit a tree. One of its occupants — a stuntman named Paolo Rigon — was killed.

Twilight Zone: The Movie (1982)
The making of the movie Twilight Zone had consequences that overshadowed the film itself. During the filming of a segment on July 23, 1982, actor Vic Morrow and child actors My-Ca Dinh Le (aged 7) and Renee Shin-Yi Chen (aged 6) died in an accident involving a helicopter being used on the set. 

Without warning, it spun out of control and crashed, decapitating Morrow and one of the children with its blades. The remaining child was crushed to death as the helicopter crashed.

Cannonball Run II (1984)
Stuntwoman Heidi van Beltz is left a paraplegic after being thrown from her car during a crash.

Top Gun (1986)
Stunt pilot Art Scholl was killed in an aircraft crash.

Armour of God (1986)
During the filming of a scene which called for Jackie Chan to jump from a wall to a tree branch, unhappy with the first shoot, he performed a second shoot that went wrong as his grip on the branch slipped and Jackie fell 15 feet to the ground below. 

He landed hard on his head, causing part of his skull to crack and shoot up into his brain. He was flown to the hospital and was in surgery 8 hours later. He now has a plastic plug, a permanent hole in his head, and is slightly hard of hearing in one ear from the fall.

Million Dollar Mystery (1987)
Stuntman Dar Robinson dies in a motorcycle accident.

Hired to Kill (1989)
Stuntman Clint Carpenter dies in a helicopter stunt.

The Crow (1993)
In one of the most high profile stunt deaths, Brandon Lee, the star of the The Crow was killed 8 days before that film’s completion. Prop Masters working under time constraints had failed to notice that the previous firing of a cartridge with only a primer and a bullet in had caused a bullet to lodge in the forcing cone of one of their revolvers. 

When the first unit used this gun to shoot the death scene, the chamber was loaded with blanks which had no bullets. But there was still the bullet in the barrel, which was propelled out by the blank cartridge’s explosion. Despite being rushed to hospital Lee died within a matter of hours.

Gone Fishin’ (1995)
Stuntwoman Janet Wilder is killed and four other people are injured when a speedboat misjudges a ramp and lands in a crowd.

World Wrestling Federation Event (1999)
Professional wrestler Owen Hart died in May 1999’s WWE/WWF PPV Over the Edge after he was scheduled to glide down from the rafters for a ring entrance. The stunt was botched and Owen fell over 50 feet (15 meters) to the ring below.

XXX’ (2002)
Stuntman Harry L. O’Connor was killed in an accident when he failed to rappel his parasailing line to land on the submarine. He impacted a bridge at high speed and was killed instantly.

Astonishing Archaic Temple of Dendur

Honoring the goddess Isis, the gods Harpocrates and Osiris, and 2 deified sons of a local Nubian chieftain — Pedesi (”he whom Isis has given”) and Pihor (”he who belongs to Horus”) — the Temple of Dendur was a Nubian temple built during the Roman period around 15 B.C.

Temple of Dendur. 

Egyptian temples were far more than houses for a cult image — they represented a variety of religious and mythological concepts in their design and decoration. One important symbolic aspect was based on the understanding of the temple as an image of the natural world as the Egyptians knew it.

The temple of Dendur was commissioned by Emperor Augustus of Rome, constructed from sandstone, measuring 82 feet (25 meters) from the gate to the rear and 26 feet (8 meters) from the bottom to the highest point.


Temple of Dendur. 
Drawing of the Temple of Dendur in its original location by Henry Salt (1780–1827). The drawing was made by Salt during an expedition to southern Egypt and northern Sudan in 1819.



Sahura and a deity. 

It’s elaborately decorated with reliefs, the coloring of which has perished over time. The temple base is adorned with carvings of papyrus and lotus plants growing out of the water of the Nile, which is symbolized by figures of the Nile god Hapy. 

The two columns on the porch rise to the sky like tall bundles of papyrus stalks bound with with lotus blossoms.

Over the temple gate and the entrance to the temple proper, images of the sun disk flanked by the outspread wings of the sky god Horus represent the sky. The sky is also represented by the vultures, wings outspread, that appear on the ceiling of the entrance porch.


Egyptian reliefs. 
Temple of Dendur. 
Statue of a pharaoh. 

On the outer walls, carved scenes of the Emperor Augustus are depicted as a pharaoh making offerings to the deities Isis, Osiris, and their son Horus who hold scepters and the symbol of life, and identified by their crowns and the inscriptions beside their figures. 

These scenes are repeated in the first room of the temple in two horizontal registers where Caesar of Rome is shown praying and making offerings. The king is identified by his regalia and his names, which appear close to his head in elongated oval shapes called cartouches. Many of the cartouches simply read “pharaoh.”

As ruler of Egypt, Augustus had himself depicted in the traditional regalia of the pharaoh, and had many temples erected in Egyptian style, honoring Egyptian deities.


Egypt dynasty. 
Pillar. 

The middle room, which was used for offerings, and the sanctuary of Isis at the rear of the temple are undecorated with the exception of reliefs around the door frame and back wall of the sanctuary. The back wall shows Pihor and Pedesi as young gods worshiping Isis and Osiris, which was partly destroyed.

In the 19th century, graffiti was left on the temple walls by visitors from Europe.


Temple of Dendur 19th century graffiti. 
Scene of the Trojan war. 
Marble stele (grave marker) of a youth and little girl with capital and finial in the form of a sphinx. 530 B.C. 

The temple was removed from its original location in Dendur — known as Tutzis in ancient times — about 50 miles (80 kilometers) south of the town of Aswan in 1963 in order to save it from being submerged by the construction of the Aswan High Dam.

It was given to the U.S. by Egypt in 1965 in recognition of the American assistance in saving various other monuments threatened by the dam’s construction. The stone blocks of the temple weighed more than 800 tons in total with the largest pieces weighing over 6.5 tons, which took 661 crates to transport to the U.S. 


Rishi coffins. 
Egyptian coffin. 

Imhotep’s coffin. 

On April 27 1967, the temple was awarded to The Metropolitan Museum of Art, and installed in the Sackler Wing in 1978, where they also have a large Egyptian display. Inside the Sackler Wing, a reflecting pool in front of the temple and a sloping wall behind it represent the Nile and the cliffs of the original location. 

The glass on the ceiling and north wall of the Sackler is stippled in order to diffuse the light and mimic the lighting in Nubia.

Fantastic Footage of Animals Frolicking in Snow

While they may seem out of their element, as these pictures show, Mother Nature’s wild and domestic creatures alike love to frolic in snow. 

Deep in the backwoods of Rockton, a project was underway — it began with a small clump of snow. Encouraged by their trainers at the African Lion Safari — 1/2 hour outside of Hamilton, Ontario, Canada — these ‘packaderms’ have resolved to roll with it. 

Unlikely as it is that this creation will end up at an ice or snow sculpture exhibit, these elephant-sized snowballs are symbolic of a surprising reality — animals love snow.






These creatures know how to have a good time. Even at 4,000 pounds (1,818 kilos), this elephant is known for getting down on the ground and making her own version of a snow angel and having a ball.



The African Safari was founded by a retired Canadian Army colonel, opening its doors to the public in 1969 — nearly 40 years ago. From 1985, the Safari made a concentrated effort to breed Asian elephants.

The animals have been born here, so the elephants can remain outside for about 4 hours on a warm sunny winter’s day, as they’ve been acclimatized very well. They have a large campground forested area and go for hikes throughout the day.





An appreciation for a good old-fashioned Canadian winter is shared by other animals strolling the property of the African Safari. There are temperature restrictions for each species, and heated buildings provide shelter to all herds during extreme conditions.


The cheetah is well-known as the fastest animal on earth. But these cats step with trepidation in the freshly formed snow drifts. Much like our domesticated pets, these felines prefer a well-shoveled walkway. And just like our Canadian cats, they grow a heavier coat come winter. They as well have heated facilities, so if they’re not comfortable they can remain inside to stay warm.



Under clear blue skies, these rolling hills reveal winter at its best, but off in the wooded brush, there’s a hint of spring in the air — the Safari’s first mouflon lamb of 2008, and a sure sign this latest snowfall will soon be nothing more than a memory.




Off in a distant winter wonderland, the fox — with its keen ears — pinpoints its prey. And when it strikes, it strikes with staggering style.

Autumn in the United States

Japanese Maple at the Biltmore

The lacy leaves and wandering branches of a Japanese maple lend drama to the grounds of the Biltmore Estate near Asheville, North Carolina. Built in 1895 by George Washington Vanderbilt, the Biltmore is the largest private residence in the United States and includes more than 75 acres (30 hectares) of manicured gardens.


Grizzly Bear in Denali Park

Autumn paints the valleys of Denali National Park in Alaska, home to more than 650 species of flowering plants. Fall brings changing patterns of color and motion to much of the United States, which covers lands from the tropics to the Arctic.

Here a grizzly bear forages in Denali’s 6 million acres (2.4 million hectares), bulking up for its winter hibernation. Also dependent on the park’s fall grasses, mosses, and shrubs are migrating birds and bull moose, which gather in their cows for the mating season.


 Maple Tree in Zion Park

Red maple leaves and gold on a cottonwood announce the arrival of fall in the pink sandstone canyons of Zion National Park in Utah. Both tree species hug water sources in this arid land of high plateaus and rock towers.


Aspen Trees in Elk Mountains, Colorado

Quaking aspens like these in the Elk Mountains of western Colorado, whose leaves tremble in the slightest wind, are common across North America. Known for tolerating poor soils and cold climates, aspens flash yellow against their white bark in an unmistakable sign of coming winter.



Marcellina Mountain, Colorado

Colorado’s Raggeds Wilderness—named for peaks like Marcellina Mountain—turns to gold in autumn. The wilderness covers nearly 65,000 acres (26,000 hectares) of the White River and Gunnison National Forests. It includes some of the world’s largest stands of fast-growing aspen trees, which can gain 5 feet (1.5 meters) in a year.


Fall Foliage in Shenandoah Valley, Virginia

Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley is ablaze with fall colors—the yellow and orange of poplars, birches, striped maples, and hickories, punctuated with the red of sugar and red maples. The valley runs 200 miles (300 kilometers) across the Blue Ridge and Allegheny Mountains. Barn and field echo the nickname given to the valley during the Civil War—Breadbasket of the Confederacy.



Girl on Sidewalk in Portland, Maine

Autumn winds stop a girl on a sidewalk in Portland, Maine. The leaves that surround her are from maples, oaks, and dozens of other species, the result of an aggressive tree-planting program in the 1970s. Long called the “Forest City,” Portland maintains at least 20,000 trees today, including about a hundred elm trees that survived a 1960s outbreak of Dutch Elm disease.


Central Park and Manhattan Skyline

Autumn softens this aerial view of New York City’s Central Park, the first public park built in the U.S. With roughly 25 million visitors each year, it is also the most frequented park. Yet the park's 843 acres (341 hectares), seven bodies of water, and more than 30 bridges and arches offer a vital sense of calm and space in the city that never sleeps.


 Hikers in Denali State Park, Alaska

Hikers in Denali State Park, just east of the national park, take in awe-inspiring views of the Alaska Range. They follow Little Coal Creek Trail through alpine meadows overlooking a river bright with glacial silt.


Eagle Lake, Acadia National Park, Maine

Autumn’s grandeur spreads across Eagle Lake on Mount Desert Island, one of several coastal islands that make up Acadia National Park in Maine. Eagle Lake, which supplies water to nearby Bar Harbor, is deep, clear, and relatively free of plant life.

Amazing Ancient Cities of Color

Popularly known by their names of color as much as their historical designations — the ancient Blue City known as Jodhpur, neighboring Jaipur known as the Pink City, its former capital the Amber City, and Morocco’s Red City of Marrakech — are as much astonishingly beautiful as they are remarkably unusual.

Jodhpur
Jodhpur — known as the Blue City for the color of its buildings — is the second largest city in Rajasthan, the largest state of the Republic of India, standing at the edge of the large, inhospitable Great Indian Desert (Thar Desert), which has an edge paralleling the Sutlej-Indus river valley along its border with Pakistan.

Most of the buildings in the old quarter are painted blue to signify the Bhraman (Priest) class, but non-Brahmins soon followed suit, as the color was said to deflect the heat and deter mosquitoes, and suddenly everything turned blue, creating a broad vision of indigo from the hilltops.

Dominated by the monstrous and imposing Mehrangarh Fort that appears to grow from out of a sheer rocky ridge 410 feet (125 meters) high of which the Fort is built of right in the middle of town, the ancient city is surrounded by a 6 mile (10 kilometer) long wall, which has 6 massive gates — the Eastern gate Suraj (Sun) Pol, Western gate of Chand (Moon) Pol, Nagauri gate, Merati gate, Jalori gate, and the Siwanchi gate.

Nahargarh Fort

There are only 3 gates facing in these directions, including the Northern gate which faces toward the ancestral capital of Amber, while many gates face South, and all used to be closed at sunset and opened at sunrise.

The walls of the fort are up to 120 feet (36 meters) high and 70 feet (21 meters) wide, enclosing some exquisite structures and collections of palanquins, howdahs, royal cradles, miniatures, musical instruments, costumes and furniture. The ramparts of Mehrangarh Fort provide not only remarkably preserved cannons, but a breath-taking view of the city.

This was the way that the Rajputs built their formidable forts and to good effect, as Mehrangarh Fort was never successfully stormed, but the 6 gates still bear visible scars of battle.

The fort was built about a century after Jodhpur was founded in 1459 by the Rajpur chief Rao Jodha, for whom the city is named after.

The old quarter is contained within the confines of the fort, with mostly winding, narrow passages and alleys impossibly cramped with street vendors, shops, bazaars, rickshaws, bicycles, bustling people and animals of all shapes and sizes. The present city has expanded from outside of its walls.

Jaipur 
Widely known as the Pink City, Jaipur is the capital of Rajasthan state, founded in 1727 by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh, the ruler of Amber.

Jal Mahal.

Built of pink stucco in imitation of sandstone, the city is remarkable among pre-modern Indian cities for the width and regularity of its streets which are laid out into 6 sectors separated by broad streets 111 feet (34 meters) wide. The urban quarters are further divided by networks of gridded streets. Five quarters wrap around the east, south, and west sides of a central palace quarter, with a 6th quarter immediately to the east. 

The Palace quarter encloses a sprawling palace complex (the Hawa Mahal, or palace of winds), formal gardens, and a small lake. Nahargarh Fort crowns the hill in the northwest corner of the old city.

Hawa Mahal from front.

Almost all Northern Indian towns of that period presented a chaotic picture of narrow twisting lanes, a confusion of run-down forts, temples, palaces, and temporary shacks that bore no resemblance at all to the principles set out in Hindu architectural manuals which call for strict geometric planning. 

Thus, for Sawai Jai Singh II and the Bengali Guru Vidyadhar (who was a ‘Shaspati’ - Hindu Priest Architect), the founding of Jaipur was also a ritual and an opportunity to plan an entire town according to the principles of Hindu architectural theory. 

The town of Jaipur is built in the form of an 8-part Mandala known as the ‘Pithapada.’ Nine signifies the 9 planets of the ancient astrological zodiac. Sawai Jai Singh II was a great astronomer and a town planner — hence the name Pithapada. The commercial shops are also designed in multiples of nine (27), having one cross street for a planet.

View over the constellation-telescopes at the Jantar Mantar observatory.

Early evening light as the sun sets over Jaipur, basking over Jantar Mantar, and City Palace. Both were designed and built by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II.

Below the foothills of that hill lies the Birla Mandir (Hindu temple), which is one of many Birla temples in India. In the middle of the image rises a mid height expanse of red gate — the Hawa Mahal (Palace of the Winds).

Albert Hall Museum
The Jal Mahal Water Palace.

The R style “Water Palace” sits in the center of the Man Sarobar lake which is often dry in the summer, but winter monsoons frequently turn it into a beautiful lake filled with water hyacinths.

Jaigarh Fort The Jaigarh Fort on the hills above the Amber Palace complex offers stunning views of the foothills of the Aravalli range, as well as attractions such as immense underground water-storage tanks, a medieval canon foundry and an impressive collection of medieval cannons including the Jaivana which is reputed to be the world’s largest cannon on wheels. 

Originally the Amber Fort, it became known as Jaigarh from the time of Sawai Jai Singh II onwards. The Jaigarh Fort was built prior to the development of Jaipur and the Aravalli Hills. When Jaipur was created, it assumed great importance, and was restored and equipped to aid the defense of the new city.

Amber Palace.

The Amber Palace Complex overlooking the artificial lake south of the town of Amber is famous for its mixture of Hindu and Muslim architecture, and offering elephant rides from the town up to the palace courtyard.

Hawa Mahal
Peacock Gate

Amber City
Amber was a city of Rajasthan state, India, now part of the Jaipur Municipal Corporation, founded by the Meena Raja Alan singh (from Chanda clan of Meenas).

Amber was a flourishing settlement as far back as 967 AD. Around 1037 AD, it was conquered by the Kachwaha clan of Rajputs. Much of the present structure known as Amber Fort is actually the palace built by the great conqueror Raja Man Singh I who ruled from 1590 - 1614 AD. 

The palace contains several spectacular buildings such as the Diwan-i-Khas and the elaborately painted Ganesh Poll built by the renowned warlord Mirza Raja Jai Singh I (Man Singh I’s grandson).

The old and original fort of Amber dating from earlier Rajas or the Meena period currently known as Jaigarh Fort is actually the main defensive structure, rather than the palace itself, although the 2 structures are interconnected by series of encompassing fortification.

Amber was capital of the Kachwahas until 1727 when the ruler of Amber Sawai Jai Singh II founded a capital about 9 kilometers south of Amber, which was named after him as Jainagara (Jaipur).

After the founding of the new town, the royal palace and houses of prominent people were shifted to Jaipur, but the priests of Shila Devi temple who were Bengali Brahmins continued to live in the fort even to this date, while the Jaigarh fort above the palace also remained heavily garrisoned. The capital of Kachwahas was succeeded by the modern city of Jaipur.

The picturesque situation of Amber at the mouth of a rocky mountain gorge, in which nestles a lake bears remarkable structures of combined Rajput-Mughal architecture. The first Rajput structure was started by Raja Kakil Dev when Amber became his capital in 1036 on the site of present day Jaigarh Fort.

An internal courtyard within the massive Amber Fort and Palace complex in Amber.


There are a number of forts in Jaipur including the older Jaigarh Fort, next to the Amber fort, and the newer City Palace which was established once the city was built. Part of this palace is also open to the public and the current (titleless) Maharaja resides there when he’s not in the UK.

Grand scenic route taken by elephant to the Amber Palace. 
The Raj and his royal court congregated in this pavilion in the early afternoon to sip tea and play Pachesi. Man Singh’s 9 wives lived in the various chambers distributed along the perimeter of this courtyard.
Amber Fort

Amber Fort. 

Interior of one of the palaces in Amber Fort






Lady carrying building materials for renovations at the Amber Fort. 

Marrakech — The Red City
Situated at the foot of the Atlas Mountains is the beautiful imperial city of Marrakech or Marrakesh — known as the “Red City” or “Al Hamra” — capital of the Marrakech-Tensift-El Haouz region in southwestern Morocco, fascinating and rich in of history and culture.

The city is spelled “Marrakech” in French, “Marrakesh” in English, and “Marrakesch” in German.

The town of Marrakech is divided into 2 distinct parts, the Medina, or the historical city, and the new city with 2 principal districts called Gueliz — the European modern district of the town — and Hivernage. 

Marrakech has the largest traditional market (souk) in Morocco and also has one of the busiest squares in Africa, Djemaa el Fna which bustles with acrobats, story-tellers, water sellers, dancers, and musicians by day, turning into a huge open-air restaurant of food stalls by night.

Marrakesh is the 4th largest city in Morocco after Casablanca, Rabat, and Fès, known to early travelers as “Morocco City.” 

Prior to the reign of Moulay Ismail, Marrakech was the capital of Morocco. After his reign, his grandson moved the capital back to Marrakech from Meknès.

For centuries Marrakesh has been known for its ‘7 saints.’ When sufism was at the height of its popularity, during the reign of Moulay Ismail, the festival of the ’seven saints’ was founded by Abu Ali al-Hassan al-Yusi at the request of the sultan. The 7 saints include Sidi Bel Abbas — the patron saint of the city — Sidi Muhammad al-Jazuli, Sidi Abu al-Qasim Al-Suhayli, Cadi Ayyad ben Moussa, and Abdallah al-Ghazwani.

The tombs of several renowned figures were moved to Marrakesh to attract pilgrims in the same way Essaouira did at that time with its Regrega festivals. The ’seven saints’ (sebaatou rizjel) is now a firmly established institution, attracting visitors world-wide.

Marrakech was dominated in the first half of the 20th century by T’hami El Glaoui, Lord of the Atlas and Pasha of Marrakech. The poet of the city was Mohammed Ben Brahim. Poems and songs of Ben Brahim are still known by heart by many Marrakshi.

Based upon legend, the Imilchil Marriage Feast is a Berber marriage festival where up to 40 couples tie the knot in Imilchil in the Middle-High Atlas Mountains near Marrakech, taking place after harvest every year, so the dates always vary.

The Romeo and Juliet-styled legend has it that a man and a woman from 2 local tribes fell in love but were forbidden to marry by their families. They cried themselves to death, creating the lakes of Issly (his) and Tisslit (hers) near Imilchil, a 20-minute walk apart. 

Their families were so stricken with their deaths that they established a day — on the anniversary of the lovers’ deaths — on which members of the 2 tribes could marry each other. 

Today the event serves a purpose to enable otherwise disparate tribes to meet and find partners. Berber women are entitled to divorce and remarry and the market is now essentially made up of widows and divorcees seeking a new husband. 

Women are made up by their families in traditional dress, their single status identifiable by their pointed head apparel while potential husbands browse the goods on offer before settling on a potential match. 

The women’s’ families also determine whether or not the suitor is appropriate — if he’s unwanted, a broken handshake indicates he should move on. But if he’s successful, his bride-to-be will say, “You have captured my liver,” and the match is settled.

Djemma El Fna.

If you want to eat well in Marrakech, do as the locals and eat at the food stalls in the Place which have been around long before Marrakech became a tourist destination. All of the stalls can be considered perfectly safe to eat at, strictly licensed and controlled by the government.

The Koubba el Baadiyin.

The Koubba el Baadiyin, 1117-1120, in its crumbling context — originally it would have been the building’s interior which gave you a sense of opening, space, pause, and even relief as a contrast to the contracted exterior.

Medina of Marrakech UNESCO World Heritage Site. 
Telouet.

The Salt Hotel Please do not lick the walls

In the dining room of the Salt Hotel of Bolivia, the salt is always on the table. In fact, the salt is the table.

The hotel was built in 1993 by a salt artisan who saw a mint in the number of tourists looking for places to stay while visiting the flats. The lodge has 15 bedrooms, a dining room, a living room and a bar. 

The buildings's roof, and bar are built of salt and even the floor is covered with salt granules. The walls are made of salt blocks stuck together with a cement-like substance made of salt and water. During rainy seasons, the walls are strengthened with new blocks, while the owners ask the guests to avoid licking the walls to prevent deterioration. 

The Hotel's Swimming pool. Really.

 

Please don't lick the... too late

Oh come on, it was begging for it...

Natures Amazing Color - What Blue Means

The Soothing Color

As the color of our sky and oceans in nature, blue is one of our most favorite colors. It causes the opposite reaction as red, being the essence peacefulness, tranquility, and calmness.

Blue waters of Maldives
Blue waters at Centrum Saar, Saarbrucken. 

Blue is often associated with depth and stability. It can mean relaxation, sadness, peace, and solitude, and symbolizes trust, loyalty, wisdom, confidence, intelligence, faith, truth, and heaven. 

Light blue is associated with health, healing, tranquility, understanding, and softness, while dark blue represents knowledge, power, integrity, and seriousness.

The color is considered beneficial to the mind and body — it slows human metabolism and produces a calming effect. In heraldry, blue is used to symbolize piety and sincerity. 

Blue can also be cold and depressing, but studies have shown that people are more productive in blue rooms.

Paradise at Maratua Island.

Taquile Island (Titicaca Lake, PERÚ)

Mono Lake.
Blue Lake Superior.

Using Blue

Blue is frequently used to promote products and services related to cleanliness and purity — cleaning liquids and water purification filters — air and sky for airlines, airports, and air conditioners, or water and sea such as bottled waters and ocean voyages. 

As opposed to emotionally warm colors like red, orange, and yellow; blue is linked to consciousness and intellect. Use blue to suggest precision when promoting high-tech products. 

Blue causes the body to produce calming chemicals, so it’s often used in bedrooms. 

Dark blue is associated with depth, expertise, and stability, so it’s a preferred color for corporate America.

Colors that are traditionally considered masculine colors or that appeal most strongly to or are more closely associated with men can be good choices for marketing messages, Web sites, and interior designs targeting men. 

Avoid using blue when promoting food and cooking, because it suppresses the appetite. 

When used together with warm colors like yellow or red, blue can create high-impact, vibrant designs, such as a blue-yellow-red color scheme for a superhero.

Blue is commonly used on internet browsers to color a link that has not been clicked on, changing to yellow, orange, or purple when it has been.

Fashion consultants recommend wearing blue to job interviews because it symbolizes loyalty.

Weightlifters do their best in blue gyms, as studies have shown they’re are able to handle heavier weights in blue gyms.

Blue reflections.
Blue reflections.
Blue reflections on the Arctic Sea.

Prague in blue reflection.
Blue Hole, Palau.
Port d’Alcudia harbor.
Blue morning sea in Bowa.
Blue boat on South Male’ Atoll.
Atlantic Ocean at Morrazo, Galicia, Spain.
Khezr Beach, Hormoz Island, Persian Gulf, Iran.
Amoreira, Portugal. 
Sun Moon Lake.
View of Isolabella from Taormina in Sicily. 
Blue harbor.
Blue Mountain, Carbon County, near Palmerton. For many years, extensive zinc-smelting operations severely degraded the local environment, destroying vegetation and helping to create soil erosion. The zinc smelters are no longer in operation — the area is now the site of an ambitious Superfund project, and the vegetation and soil are recovering. Photo Nicholas T

Animals

When an animal’s coat is described as “blue,” it usually refers to a shade of grey that takes on a bluish tint, a diluted variant of a pure black coat. The description is used for a variety of animals, including dog coats, some rat coats, cat coats, some chicken breeds, and some horse coat colors.

Peacock
Peacock
Peacock
Blue parrots. 
Blue parrot.
Bluejay.
Blue Heron.
Warbler in “the blue hour,” the hour between daylight and darkness
when the light becomes almost magical.



Blue Oranda fish.
Dolphin’s dance.
Blue poison frog.
Iguana in Bali.

Relations in Food

Although blue is one of the most popular colors, it’s one of the least appetizing. Studies reveal that it slows human metabolism and suppresses the appetite.

Blueberries.

Food researchers say that when humans searched for food, they learned to avoid toxic or spoiled objects, which were often blue, black, or purple.

Blue food is rare in nature, with the most notable being blueberries.



In Costa Rica, it’s said when you can see a ring around the moon at night, called a “luna de agua,” it foretells 3 to 4 straight days of slow but steady rain, called a “temporala.
Pelican skies.
Crowded cable line.

Differences Between the Sexes

Blue is a masculine color, traditionally used for boys. According to studies, blue is highly accepted among males. However, there are no hard-set rules about what colors are masculine, feminine or gender-neutral. 

Blue is a favorite color for both men and women, but males have a much stronger preference for blue than women. It may be the calming effect that makes it a popular color for both sexes, or it could be the association of some shades of blue with authority figures, intelligence, and stability. 

In a 1964 Color and Gender report, women favored blue-green — turquoise, a mix of the 2 cool colors of blue and green — more than men. This same study found that “76% of women preferred cool colors.” 

Male top 3 favorite colors: Blue, Green, and Black (2 cool and one neutral color)
Female top 3 favorite colors: Blue, Green, and Purple (all cool colors) 

Studies have found that that blue was favored overwhelmingly by men and women on the Web.

Color research done over the years indicates that the favorite colors of men and women do differ, some of which may be attributed to cultural use of color and conditioning.

Color research done over the years indicates that the favorite colors of men and women do differ, some of which may be attributed to cultural use of color and conditioning.

Since colors come in many tints and shades, one might love a rich, royal blue but strongly dislike a pale sky blue, so a preference for the color blue doesn’t mean that every shade of blue is universally appealing.

Blue Daisy
Blue Iris.
Blue Lotus flower. 

Blue rose
Sunflower blues.
Blue water lilies.

Feng Shui

In feng shui, we associate blue with the clear sky and healing, refreshing waters. Blue belongs to the feng shui Water element of North. A harmonious feng shui Water element will bring a refreshing energy of calm, ease, purity and freshness. Water is also the ancient symbol of abundance, hence a potent Feng Shui cure. 

The color ranges from gentle aqua blue to the blue-green of the ocean, and the deep indigo blue of the crown chakra. 

Gentle blue is a great feng shui choice for study, especially as a ceiling color. Several studies have shown that children performed better under blue colored ceilings than white. 

Light blue is also the feng shui color of harmonious expansion and gentle growth, while darker blue evokes the feng shui energy of deep calm and serenity. Placing some deep blue elements into your bedroom is said to promote better sleep.

Deep blue should be used sparingly in the feng shui areas of South, Northwest and West areas of your space, and freely in the North, East (Health & Family) and Southeast (Wealth & Abundance). 

Allegedly, one of the most calming feng shui color combinations is blue and white, as it brings the energy of unlimited sky and happiness.

Blue spiral staircase.
Blue wall of Jubilee Hills Checkpost. 

Walking into the blue. 

Blue umbrellas along the Alexandria, Virginia, US.
Valencia in blue
Blue Street in Xaouen, Morocco. 
Blue street in Bundi, Rajasthan.
Blue animal figurines on the roof of a temple in Beijing
Blue tanks. 
Window to another world. 

Construction equipment. 

Science

Psychics who claim to be able to observe the aura with their third eye report that someone with a blue aura is one who is oriented toward spirituality. People with blue auras are said to be interested in social service work and to be in occupations such as social worker, counselor, teacher, writer, and psychologist.

Planet Earth.

In the metaphysics of the “New Age Prophetess,” Alice Bailey, in her system called the Seven Rays which classifies humans into 7 different metaphysical psychological types, the “first ray” of “will-power” is represented by the color blue. People who have this metaphysical psychological type are said to be “on the Blue Ray.”

Cloak and Dagger Cuckoo Bee on Bog Sage.
Common or Blue Hauhechel (Polyommatus Icarus) butterfly.
Blue dragonfly.

Blue in Culture

In fashion, dark clothing for males such as dark blue business suits have become far more popular since about 1995, as opposed to the pastel colored business suits worn in the 1970’s by major leaders in institutions such as the US Congress.

Dark blue represents knowledge, power, integrity, and seriousness. In Western civilization, those in the upper classes in high places of political or economic power often wear dark blue suits. 

In law enforcement, police normally wear dark blue, or sometimes medium blue uniforms.

In the bandana code of the gay leather subculture, wearing a medium blue bandana means the person is into the fetish of having sex with someone wearing a police uniform. 

In the U.S. flag, white stands for purity and innocence. Red represents valor and hardiness, while blue signifies justice, perseverance, and vigilance. The stars represent the heavens and all the good that people strive for, while the stripes emulate the sun’s rays.

In Thailand, blue is associated with Friday on the Thai solar calendar. Anyone may wear blue on Fridays and anyone born on a Friday may adopt blue as their color.

Blue ice. 
Ice arch near the Upsala glacier, El Calafate, Argentina.
Ice breakage near Upsala glacier, El Calafate, Argentina.
Ice boulders on the shore of Lake Superior, Duluth, Manitoba.

Language of Blue

In the English language, blue implies speed in “a blue streak” and loyalty in being “true blue.” Actual automobile values are found in a “blue book,” and a blue ribbon represents the award of excellence. 

Blue may refer to the feeling of sadness, as in “he was feeling blue.” This is because blue was related to rain, or storms, and in Greek mythology, the god Zeus would make rain when he was sad (crying), and a storm when he was angry. 

The phrase “feeling blue” is also linked to a custom among many old deepwater sailing ships — if the ship lost the captain or any of the officers during its voyage, she would fly blue flags and have a blue band painted along her entire hull when returning to home port.

The modern English word blue comes from the Middle English, bleu or blwe, which came from an Old French word bleu of Germanic origin — Frankish or possibly Old High German blao, “shining.”

Blue Dancer.
Blue fractals.
One man’s trash …
Blue electronic waterfall.
Blue feather

New Year is coming Snowflakes

The shape of the snowflake is determined broadly by the temperature, and humidity at which it forms.[3] Rarely, at a temperature of around -2 °C (28 °F), snowflakes can form in threefold symmetry — triangular snowflakes.The most common snow particles are visibly irregular, although near-perfect snowflakes may be more common in pictures because they are more visually appealing.

5 Super Powers That Animals Have

If you ever had a dog as a kid, you may have had a dog whistle. Although you couldn’t hear it, your dog could and he’d come running to see what all the fuss was about. This is because a dog has a hearing range of up to 40,000 Hz. 

This unique difference is one of many which various animals possess, giving them the evolutionary edge they need to survive.

 Magnetic Fields


The loggerhead turtle has a 10 year migration period in which it circles round the Atlantic Ocean. A study took 79 newly born loggerheads and put them in a circular tank. The tank was surrounded by a big electrical coil and the scientists messed around with it, generating magnetic fields to match those of northern Florida, Portugal and other places on the turtles 10 year circuit. The turtles responded and turned in the direction that they would had they been in migration out in the real world. Nobody is quite sure how the turtles do it, but they detect the magnetic field which surrounds the Earth and grows weaker or stronger depending on where you are.

Infrared Cameras or Thermo-Receptors


The Pit Viper is so called because of a deep pit on either side of its head, just between its eyes and nostrils. These pits are sensitive to infrared radiation to help it find and catch smaller prey. Having two pits allows stereo vision, enabling the snake to determine distance and direction, similar to how infrared cameras work. Experiments have shown that in pitch black, and without the sense of smell, the pit viper can strike accurately at moving objects that are less than 0.2°C warmer than the background temperature.

Other animals with this ability, though not as good as the Pit Viper, are rattlesnakes, boas, vampire bats and some butterflies.

 Echolocation and Ultrasound


Echolocation is very similar to SONAR (SOund Navigation And Ranging) where a sound is produced, usually an ultrasound (very high frequency) and the time measured for the sound to bounce back or echo is used to calculate how far away objects are from the source. Several animals have this ability, most notably the bat which uses it to navigate in the almost pitch black caves where it lives and to catch insects into the night. Typically bats call out at a frequency of 14,000 Hz to well beyond 100,000 Hz and can be identified by their frequency. Bat detecting machines are used to record the ultrasounds, since they are virutally all outside human hearing range, and databases or libraries of typical calls have been collected so that specialists can identify specific bat species for whatever reasons.
 

Whales, dolphins, porpoises and orcas use a similar method, emitting a focused beam of high-frequency clicks. The only known mammals (other than below) to use echolocation are shrews and tenrecs (very similar to the shrew) which emit a series of ultrasonic squeaks. Although unlike bats they use it to investigate their habitat rather than finding food.

Human echolocation has also been known to occur in humans, though only ever in blind people. One remarkable case is of Daniel Kish who clicks his tongue and listens to the echo. Although completely blind, he is able to ride a bike and hike in unknown wilderness. He teaches his echolocation method to other blind people.

Ben Underwood, a young, blind boy, discovered echolocation at the age of five. He is able to detect the position, size and composition of objects near him, and sometimes their shape, also by clicking his tongue. As such he is able to run, play basketball, skateboard and rollerblade.


Electrical Fields


Various sharks have small black dots along their head, face and jaw, which looks like they forgot to shave. In fact these black dots are small pores which lead to little jelly filled canals. The jelly is ultra conductive and the voltage at the pore is measured against the voltage within the jelly. This voltage difference gives the shark an extremely sensitive detection to electrical fields in water, more so than any other animal. The bonnethead shark can detect sensitivities as low as 1 nV/cm (1/1,000,000,000 of a volt measured in a centimeter-long ampulla). For comparison that’s similar to the electrical field generated by an AA battery connected to electrodes about 10,000 miles, roughly 5 million times more sensitive than anything a human could detect. Since living creatures produce electrical fields via muscle contractions and movement, the shark can easily find prey with this method, even flounder and other fish who bury themselves under sand. Additionally, wounded prey thrash more and bleed into the water releasing charged electrolytes which creates an electrical field which can be as much as 3 times stronger than uninjured prey, therefor in bloody or dark waters the shark has a clear advantage.


Ultraviolet World 


Most insects, some birds and a few reptiles can see into the near Ultraviolet which is a shorter wavelength than the light visible to humans. Bees are reputed to be able to see ultraviolet light very well which helps them find and chose which flowers to collect pollen from. Recently scientists were amazed to discover a whole new world, hidden in plain sight, when they took special ultraviolet photographs of common plants and flowers. This revealed beautiful patterns which are undetectable to the human eye. Likewise many birds and butterflies have patterns on their plumage or wings only observable by ultraviolet.

The World's Weirdest Weather

Shelf Cloud
Approaching thunderstorm with lead gust front. Rain-cooled air from the storm moves out ahead of the storm. It ploughs under the warm moist air forming a flat "shelf cloud." 


Globular Mammatus

Globular mammatus clouds with radar in foreground. Often associated with thunderstorms and severe weather


More mammatus

Globular mammatus clouds. These clouds are often associated with thunderstorms and severe weather


The Anvil

Towering cumulus. Mammatus clouds visible under the "anvil".


Thunderstorms Form

Cumulonimbus (Thunderstorm) is shown forming in the background. Smaller low level "scud" appearing in foreground.


Tornado Next?

Lowering wall cloud under main thunderstorm updraft. Tornadoes will generally form in and ground the wall cloud.


The Wall

Shown in the photograph is a wall cloud with tail cloud.

Supercell

Supercell - often associated with violent weather.

Blazing Sunset

Captured in this photo is a blazing sunset seen near Throckmorton, Texas.


Thickness in the Air

Thick wave clouds are captured over Mt. Pisgah.

Somewhere over the Rainbow

Stunning photo of a rainbow with a reflection over an Oklahoma Wheatfield.



Thunderstorm Anvil

A thunderstorm anvil at sunset.

Turbulent Clouds

Turbulent gust front clouds

Altocumulus Clouds

Altocumulus clouds in the sky.

Wispy Cirrus Clouds

Cirrus clouds move across the sky

Clouds from Above

Towering cumulus clouds as seen from above.

Worlds Most Bizarre Water Fountains

Fountains come in all shapes and sizes, their waters variously displayed from a cascading flow to a gushing geyser, and something ingrained within the human psyche responds to the splash and flow that soothes, relaxes, and inspires reflection. The captivating beauty of abundant and extravagant flow of water rising, tumbling, spilling, and jetting into the air in the hot summer heat provides a stunning, cooling, and refreshing oasis as the waters dance in the sunlight, or colorfully and brightly illuminated against dark evening skies.

This fountain forms the entrance to the headquarters in Wattens, Austria of Swarovski Crystal.

The resonating sounds of splashing, flowing or moving waters can mask niggling noises in bustling cities as one listens to the fragile sounds of water rather than distracting clatter and blare of traffic, providing a peaceful and serene environment.

Frisco Square fountain in Texas.
Untermeyer fountain.

Grand Army Plaza fountain, Brooklyn

Types of Fountains
The aesthetic use of water flowing monuments vary from traditional wall fountains to free-standing structures and edifices, flowing and ebbing over a diversity of surfaces of stone, concrete or metal, located in small, artificial, ornamental ponds, basins and formal garden pools, often including sculpture and artwork.

Frog fountain in koi pond. Walnut Creek, California

Crown Fountain, named in honor of Chicago’s Crown family, was designed by Catalan conceptual artist Jaume Plensa, and is the first of its kind in the world.

Crown Fountain.

Animated Fountains
Animated fountains frequently use laminar jets that provide water which moves like ping pong balls in animation, so that it breaks up as the height varies. The behavior of each jet operates independently so that the water packets collide with themselves. They can even discharge a ball of water which then explodes, showering people with a fine mist.

One of the fountains in the walk of a thousand fountains. 
Walk of a thousand fountains.
The twins, suckling at the teats of the she-wolf in Rome
Children’s Fountain by Tom Corbin in Kansas City, Missouri.

Musical Fountains
Musical fountains are a type of animated fountain that dance in time with recorded or live music, creating an aesthetic design and sometimes 3-D images. They’re performed with the effects of sound waves and light or laser against water particles in which the water streams, activated in strategically-timed durations, refracting and reflecting the light, controlled either by a computer or a live “organist” operating the fountain through a switchboard.

Many of the more well-known musical fountains are large-scale, and use hundreds of water jets and laser emitters, the cost of which runs into the millions of dollars, although smaller forms exist where the budget ranges to around a thousand dollars. 

A number of companies offer software and hardware that cause pumps to turn on and off and lights to change in response to the bass and treble of music fed through the system, causing the fountain to respond automatically without a need for manual choreography.

A real working organ, powered by water pressure.

Fountains choreographed to music also generally called musical fountains, appear to respond to music but have been programmed beforehand. The earliest of these were played manually by a live operator, who usually controlled pumps or valves and sometimes lights by way of switches on a control panel, and the music was almost always live. 

Later, choreography was prerecorded on a punched paper card which was scanned by a computer, and more recently, it has been recorded on tape or CD along with the music. Even so, the choreography must still be painstakingly programmed by hand.

Notable examples of this are fountains on Vasilievsky Island in St. Petersburg, Russia, and the fountains of the Bellagio in the Las Vegas Strip.

The Singing Fountain.

The Singing Fountain is one of Mariánské Lázně’s unique wonders — a round pool 59 feet (18 meters) in diameter featuring a 12-piece stone sculpture representing a flower in the center of its shallow bowl. The fountain contains 10 intrinsic water jet systems with more than 250 water jets. The water gushes from the water jet in the center up to a height of 20 feet (6 meters). The creator of this artwork is the architect Pavel Mikšík. 

The first music piece for the Singing Fountain was composed by the Czech composer Petr Hapka. Other compositions followed — Chopin, Mozart, Bach, Gounod, Smetana, Dvořák amongst others. The fountain’s spellbinding tones resound at every odd hour and the compositions are repeated regularly. The Singing Fountain was first heard on April 30 1986. 

Hydraulophone Fountain
A hydraulophone is a fountain that can be played as a musical instrument which is like woodwind instruments, using water instead of air. The embouchure of the instrument occurs at the finger holes, referred to as “mouths.”

Ontario Science Centre hydraulophone flute with 45 finger holes. Here a skilled hydraulist demonstrates proper hydraulophone technique.

Hydraulophones often have multiple “mouths,” so that a player can put each finger into a different mouth at the same time in order to play chords, while independently manipulating each finger for separate and individual control of the embouchure of each note in a chord. A skilled hydraulist can slightly “bend” each note in order to play just intonation in any desired key, or to gently and fluidly vary intonation or temperament as a piece of music changes from one key to another.

Splash Fountains
Splash or bathing fountains are designed for people to cool off in and feature nonslip surfaces, so that people can safely use them to cool off in on hot summer days. Many aquatic play features are based around splash pads which have nearly zero depth standing water to eliminate possible drowning hazards, so that no lifeguards or supervision is required for aquatic play areas.


International Fountain in Seattle designed specifically as a bathing fountain, with speakers for music to splash to

Urban beach splash pad at High Park, Toronto.

The splash pads are usually surfaced in textured non-slip concrete or in crumb rubber, typically located in public pools, public parks, or public playgrounds known as “spraygrounds.”

Many splash pads have some features such as fine mist, which are designed to be moderate enough for children. Other splash fountains are designed for adults, such as joggers or concert goers to cool off in.

The splash fountain in Toronto’s city center, Dundas Square, features spray nozzles that shoot water straight up through stainless steel grilles set right in the middle of the main walkway. The nozzles rise and fall in unison to create the atmosphere of an urban beach, so that there are times when the water level is low enough for children to also play in the water.

Jogger cooling off in the 20 splash fountains that form the centerpiece of Dundas Square, Toronto.

Consisting of 600 ground nozzles arranged in groups of 30 (3 rows of 10 nozzles), each group of 30 nozzles is located beneath a stainless steel grille. Twenty of these grilles are arranged in 2 rows of 10, right in the middle of the main walkway through Dundas Square. The entire surface of Dundas Square is made of special nonslip square granite slabs that match the size of the metal grilles.

Fountain of Rings. 

Spray Fountains
Spray fountains are designed to serve as a play area where people can run around and cool off under a canopy of water, and are becoming popular in areas where the construction of public pools is difficult or costly, such as urban areas.

Decorative metal fountain in Canberra.  

Fountains for Celebration
Many civic fountains in public parks are commissioned in commemoration of either national or public figures.

The University at Albany hosts an annual “Fountain Day,” for which the university community celebrates the arrival of spring and the near-end of the semester. Drawing large crowds, the fountain-centered event creates something akin to an urban beach.

Fountain at the University of Southern California popularly called “The Finger” because of its general shape and its orientation toward a certain rival school

Tivoli fountain, Ovetta.

King Fahd’s Fountain, world’s tallest fountain.

Located in the city Jeddah, Saudi Arabia and named for King Fahd, the tallest fountain in the world can achieve a height up to 1023 feet (312 meters). Each of the 3 massive pumps deliver 165 gallons (625 liters) of water per second. The water is propelled through 5 inch (12.6 centimeter) nozzles at an incredible speed of 233 mph (375 km/h).

Fountain of Wealth at Suntec City, Singapore listed by the Guinness Book of Records in 1998 as the largest fountain in the world.

The Fountain of Wealth is made of bronze, and consists of a circular ring with a circumference of about 216 feet (66 meters) supported on 4 large slanted columns, occupying an area of 5525 feet (1683.07 sq. meters), with a height of 45 feet (13.8 meters). In the design plan of Suntec City, where the 5 tower blocks represent the fingers and thumb of a left hand emerging from the ground, the fountain forms the palm of the hand.

During certain periods of the day, the fountain is turned off and visitors can walk around a mini fountain at the centre of the fountain’s base for good luck. At night, the fountain is the setting for laser performances, as well as “live” song and laser message dedications.

Fountain of Life
Man has long had a fascination of water which has even had spiritual qualities recognized in religion and ritual, from baptism to death. Christian parables made use of the concept of fountains to a wide degree, specifically the Fountain of Life, associated with the rebirth that was intended to be experienced at the Baptismal font. 

An offshoot of the Fountain of Life was the legend of the Fountain of Youth from which one can drink to gain immortality or to regain youth, which Juan Ponce de Leon sought in Florida.

PPG Place located in downtown Pittsburgh
Water Fountain from Wilson Park in Florence, AL.
Fountain at Columbus Circle in New York City.
musical fountain in Xi’an, China
Animated fountain in Moscow’s Square of Europe, with cascades of water jets pulsating up and down to imitate the surf.

Mercury Fountain
The Mercury Fountain was designed for the Barcelona exhibition of 1937, in remembrance of the miners who were killed at the mercury mines at Almaden. Alexander Calder created a memorial fountain flowing with mercury instead of water, which is now enclosed behind glass.

Mercury fountain created by Calder as a tribute to the mercury miners of Almaden.

Gin Fountain
During New York City’s first drought emergency in modern times, window designer Gene Moore created sparkling fountains hung with diamonds for Tiffany’s. A card in a corner explained, “This is not New York’s precious water. This is gin.”

Lima, Peru
Lima, Peru
Lima, Peru
Fountain show at Bellagio, Las Vegas

History of Fountains
Fountains have been a significant feature of landscape design since ancient times. Reemerging in the late Middle Ages, they reached their peak in the Renaissance and Baroque eras, with designs in which sculpture became prominent, such as Rome’s Trevi Fountain which was completed in 1762.

Early fountains depended on the natural gravitational flow of water, from a spring or aqueduct supplied by a distant and higher source of water, which provided hydraulic head.

Reciprocating motion was first described in 1206 by Iraqi engineer and inventor al-Jazari when the kings of the Artuqid dynasty in Turkey commissioned him to manufacture a machine to raise water for their palaces. The most superb result was an machine called the double-acting reciprocating piston pump, which translated rotary motion to reciprocating motion via the crankshaft-connecting rod mechanism. 

Other early fountains were geometrically regularized springs, developed in the classic Persian garden. These gardens were typically enclosed and were designed to provide relaxation. The effect of sunlight was the main concern regarding the structural aspect of the Persian garden design, so shapes and textures were specifically chosen for their ability to direct sunlight.

Fountain in Houston, Texas
Lima, Peru
One of the two fountains in a St. Peter’s square in Rome.

In the 16th century elaborate fountain displays were garden features of Mannerist gardens of Central Italy and the Mughal gardens of India.

In ancient Greece columnar shrines were built over springs and dedicated to deities or nymphs. In ancient Rome fountains fed by the great aqueduct system furnished water in the streets, in the villa gardens, and in town houses. While there were few public fountains in the Middle Ages, a number of beautiful examples remain, particularly in Italy, where splendid Renaissance fountains depicting the full artistic energy of the period are found even in the smallest village square. 

The Romans marked the delivery end of aqueducts with a public fountain, when the restored Aqua Felice delivered a symbolic presentation of its waters to Rome in the original Trevi Fountain. It has since been replaced by the familiar Baroque fusion of water, architecture and sculpture. Supplying water through conduits to multiple fountains, such as the Palace of Versailles, was an important feat.

Santiago, Chile
Lima, Peru
Lima, Peru.
WWII memorial fountain.

The development of the great 16th- and 17th-century villas, with their hillside gardens and natural water sources inspired incredible ingenuity in water decoration. In the Villa d’Este at Tivoli and the villas at Frascati near Rome, the various disposals of water established a fundamental element of the garden composition. In France the gardens of the palace of Versailles, designed by Le Nôtre, incorporated a vast scheme of water adornment with elaborate sculptures. The supply, held in a reservoir at Marly, was raised 500 feet (152 meters) above the Seine by machinery. 

A theatrical trend of the baroque period found expression in fountains with animated postures of sculptured nymphs, sea horses, and dolphins, the water splashing over the rims of the uppermost bowls which cascaded upon artificial rocks and shells.

Paseo de Buen Pastor

Water show on Jinji Lake, the largest interior lake in China.

An enormous figure of Neptune was a favorite motif, as in famous examples at Florence, Bologna, and Rome, such as Bernini’s fountain with a sculpture of Neptune in Rome. He also planned the splendidly simple fountains in St. Peter’s Square and the dramatic fountains in the Piazza Navona. 

In Middle Eastern cities the public fountains are completely enclosed within structures richly finished in marble and ceramics, with numerous examples in Istanbul, Cairo, and Damascus. The modern public drinking fountain is typically strictly utilitarian in design in the West, but American architects and landscape artists are encouraging the use of the ornamental fountains with positive success.

A mini-version of all of the major landmarks in Rome, built so that the Pope could sit up here and keep watch on the city.

“Angel of the Waters,” more commonly called Bethesda Fountain by sculptor Emma Stebbins

Les Fontaines de bronze au Monument aux Girondins

Wrangel fountain in Berlin Kreuzberg. The fountain was designed 1871 by Hugo Hagen,built 1877 and moved to its recent location 1902.

Lady represents the river “Elbe” as one of 4 figures on the Wrangel fountain.
Fountain at Parque los Caobos
J.C. Nichols Fountain by Henri-Léon Gréber (1910), in Kansas City, Missouri. The 4
cast bronze equestrian figures represent 4 great rivers of the world -
the Rhine, the Seine, the Volga and the Mississippi

Neptune Fountain, Kansas City, Missouri.
Fountain in Villa Borghese, Rome
Water clock in Villa Borghese, Rome, Italy
Wall fountain
Animated fountain in front of the Brooklyn Museum consists of laminar flow water jets.
Decorative fountain in a central square in Vejer de la Frontera, Spain.
Fountain shower scene at The Seattle Center during the Bumbershoot Festival.
This boat in the Rometta fountain represents the Tiber Island
Fontaine Park Darcy in Dijon.
Fountain of Neptune
Fountain at Point State Park where the 3 rivers meet in downtown Pittsburgh.
Spinning Fountain in Fussen
Modern Fountain is a sculpture fountain opposite to Kaiser Wilhelm Gedächtniskirche.

Waterfalls and fountains at the Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri, run for 322 feet (98 meters) on the embankment overlooking right-center are on display before and after the game and in-between innings, while the waterfalls are constantly flowing.

Famous Traditional Fountains

Trevi Fountain in Rome.
Fontana di Trevi, Rome
St. Peter’s Square Fountain - Wind & Water

Buckingham Fountain

Swann Memorial Fountain in Logan Square, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Swann Memorial Fountain, Schuylkill Girl
Swann Memorial Fountain, the Delaware River Brave
Fountains of Caserta Palace in southern Italy
The Cascade House in the gardens of Chatsworth House, Derbyshire.
The Cascade from below.
Peterhof and its Grand Cascade
Grand Cascade, Samson and the Lion
Staircase fountain of the Grand Cascade
Grove Baths of Apollo at the Chateau de Versailles
Apollo, gardens of Versailles.
South Africa House, Trafalgar Square, London. East Fountain by William McMillan 1948.
Trafalgar Square fountain
Fountain of the Triton, in Piazza Barberini square, by Gianlorenzo Bernini, Rome.

Magic Fountain of Montjuic, Barcelona, Spain

Amazing Water Writing Fountain in Canal City of Japan

Bellagio Fountain Show Las Vegas

Canal City Musical Water Fountain

First In:Sights Unseen

No one knows exactly why Greenland’s ice cap is melting three times faster than it was just five years ago, but the rapid retreat probably has something to do with moulins, or glacial mills—extremely deep crevasses carved by rivers of snowmelt, which erode glaciers from within. Scientists studying the moulins face a twofold challenge: The Indlandsis ice sheet is hard to get to and almost impossible to get into, with ice over 10,000 feet thick in places. Enter Le Groupe Militaire de Haute Montagne, a gang of France’s most elite climbers, who hooked up with French glaciologist Luc Moreau and mounted an expedition nearly 500 feet down into the second largest glacier in the world (the first is in Antarctica). Though Moreau is still processing data from the trip and plans to return next year, his teammate Patrick Robert can already share one bit of extreme-camping wisdom: "Sleeping on a glacier," he says, "is an exercise in humility." —Ryan Bradley


Stepping off the ferry, I thought, this must be what it was like when the first visitors stepped into Kathmandu," recalls Kevin Thompson (pictured) of his arrival in Arunachal Pradesh. Kevin and I had come to this remote Himalayan state in northeast India, along with five other rafting guides, to make exploratory descents of the Subansiri and Siang Rivers—and even after leading paddling trips across the globe for 15 years, I had never seen anything like it. We ran big-volume, Class III to IV+ rapids and drifted past misty, forest-lined beaches. It didn’t take long to confirm what we had suspected: This region had the makings of a world-class whitewater destination.

Home to hundreds of rivers and tributaries and 26 major tribes, Arunachal Pradesh has been closed to foreigners for much of the past 50 years, due to a long-standing border dispute between India and China. As a result, its lush landscape and native cultures have remained virtually untouched. The locals, most of whose ancestors came from neighboring Tibet, still speak an array of Sino-Tibetan dialects. With the state easing its visa restrictions, a handful of intrepid travelers are seeing firsthand, as we did, the potential for ecotourism, and the area’s leading whitewater outfitter, RiverIndia, is entering its third season (14 days, $2,000; riverindia.com). Large-scale energy development, however, is also on the horizon. Of the 168 new dam projects slated for northeast India, 22 would affect the great Subansiri, which may earn the distinction of having first and last descents in the same decade.—Bridget Crocker



Of the 1,200 wildfires that tore through California last July, the Big Sur blaze (officially known as the Basin Fire) proved the most destructive, scorching thousands of acres a day, closing a 35-mile stretch of iconic Highway 1, ripping through redwood forest, and burning down many of the structures that populate Big Sur's wild hills—the same quiet shacks where Henry Miller and Jack Kerouac sought inspiration. It was fitting, then, that in a place known for its fiercely independent residents, Big Sur's last and best line of defense was Big Sur itself. Ignoring evacuation orders issued by authorities, locals fought the inferno on their own terms. On July 2, at Apple Pie Ridge, photographer Kodiak Greenwood and seven others battled the Basin Fire using not much more than garden hoses. Lighting illegal backfires with hand flares, the Apple Pie Eight, as they came to be called, held off the advancing flames for nearly two days, sparing the town from destruction. Speaking on the condition of anonymity (one individual was later arrested for the backfires and faced criminal charges), a California state fire captain remarked, "Those guys did a heck of a job up there. This thing probably would have made it all the way down into town if it weren't for them. Unbelievable, really."—Ethan Stewart


The Texas Water Safari began as a bet in 1963 and has since grown into the world's toughest canoe race. Each June, competing teams run 260 miles down the San Marcos and Guadalupe Rivers, from San Marcos to Seadrift and the Gulf Coast, in no more than a hundred hours, often paddling through the night. Teams are permitted to carry water, ice, and one cell phone per boat. Flares and antivenom kits are required. Racer Tom Goynes, who has won the Safari seven times, claims it's not the mosquitoes, fire ants, wasps, water moccasins, or gators you need to worry about. "Go slow and steady," he says, "cause it's the heat that'll get ya." Temps routinely top 100°F, and anything below 80 percent humidity is considered bone-dry. "We Texans have a real advantage," says Goynes, "especially the ones without air-conditioning."—Ryan Bradley


The Great Bend, a 120-mile U-turn in the Yangtze that the Chinese call the "River of Golden Sands," is a remote stretch of deep canyons, world-class whitewater, and ancient temples. It's also one of China's premier rafting runs—but not for long. Two dams already under construction will flood hundreds of miles of wilderness along its banks, forcing thousands to relocate and turning yet another section of China's mother river into a vast silt lake. (Not far downstream is the Sichuan Basin, epicenter of the deadly earthquake in May that killed at least 68,000 people and damaged 400 dams in the region, posing a significant risk of further flooding.) This past April guide Travis Winn, 24, led a multinational team of scientists and conservationists down the Great Bend as part of the Rivers in Demand project (riversindemand.com), which mounts expeditions to the world's most threatened watersheds. Winn's Last Descents River Expeditions specializes in guiding trips on China's endangered rivers ($4,000 for eight days on the Upper Yangtze; lastdescents.com).—Kyle Dickman


While acclimatizing for a first ascent of the 19,200-foot Shafat Fortress in Kashmir's Zanskar Range last August, Colorado-based climbers Micah Dash, 31 (pictured), and Jonny Copp, 33, tackled smaller obstacles around base camp, like this granite boulder in the Suru River Valley. The high peaks of the Zanskar Range form a formidable borderland between Pakistan and northernmost India, and many of the mountains are unclimbed. Two weeks after taking this shot, Copp was knocked cold by a slab of falling ice directly below Shafat's summit. He came to and finished the climb. "The end result," he says, "was a cracked helmet and a solid headache the rest of the route."—Ryan Bradley


There's no flag on the summit of Cortes Bank. The 4,000-foot peak is a hundred miles off the California coast and six feet under the Pacific Ocean. On January 5, 2008—as gale force winds swept down from the north, harbors from B.C. to Baja were closed, and the Coast Guard was put on high alert—four big-wave surfers found a colossal swell at Cortes. During a three-hour lull in the storm, they rode the largest waves ever surfed, some over 80 feet tall. "We had to use all our ability just to stay connected to our boards," says Grant "Twiggy" Baker (pictured here on a 60-footer). "We knew that any mistake would have very severe consequences."—Ryan Bradley


Black ash and scoria deserts, green and turquoise mosses, orange hills giving way to rhyolite peaks—the Technicolor landscape surrounding Landmannalaugar is as surreal and saturated as Dorothy's Oz. Sign up for a jeep tour in Reykjavik and travel 40 miles east into Iceland's highlands ($1,380 for a group of four; arcticsafari.is). Landmannalaugar's austere mountain hut, booked first come, first served, makes up in location what it lacks in luxury ($25 per person; +354-568-2533). Just out the door, glacial waters and volcanic springs feed the natural pool that gives the place its name: "hot springs of the people."—Ryan Bradley


Along Oman's northeast coast, where the Wahiba Sands give way to the Arabian Sea, superheated winds whip up surfable swells and strange desert formations, like the "blowout" pictured here. This is the land of 600-foot dunes, 120-degree days, and the Bedouin, whose nomadic tent camps are a far more common sight than surfboards. The opening of a new surf school in Salalah may soon change that (surfschooloman.com). Travelers can hitch a ride with GAP Adventures, which runs eight-day tours in the country ($1,050; gapadventures.com), or rent a 4x4, drive inland to the village of Al Wasil, and hire a Bedouin guide for a trip through the dunes ($1,200; nomadicdesertcamp.com).—Ryan Bradley


Five-story icebergs crowd Alaska's Bear Lake, newly formed by the Bear Glacier as it carves a fast retreat through the Kenai Mountains in Kenai National Park. Getting to it is a challenge even by Alaska standards: From Seward, Liquid Adventures shuttles you up a shallow spillway to the lake—a five-mile-long fissure between jagged peaks—where you'll paddle among hundreds of giant ice cubes while black bears and eagles keep an eye on the proceedings ($649 for an all-inclusive overnight kayaking trip; liquid-adventures.com).—Ryan Bradley



A solitary oryx enjoys rare grass sprouting in the Namib Desert—a 1,200-mile expanse of ancient dunes, red rock mountains, and surreal vistas along Namibia's Atlantic coast. Though namib means "an area where there is nothing," zebras, spotted hyenas, leopards, and lions are found here, particularly in late fall and winter, when heavy rains coax life from the parched soil. During an eight-week helicopter trip across Africa, depicted in Michael Poliza's new book, Eyes Over Africa (teNeues, $125), the photographer captured this image near one of the safari camps in the Wolwedans Collection ($275 per person, per night; wolwedans.com).—Ryan Bradley

Amazing Blue Marble Art

Bahamas

These close-ups of Earth from space are part of NASA’s Blue Marble program. The images were taken from a NASA sensor called the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS)


Aral Lake

These close-ups of Earth from space are part of NASA’s Blue Marble program. The images were taken from a NASA sensor called the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS)


New Zealand (July)

These close-ups of Earth from space are part of NASA’s Blue Marble program. The images were taken from a NASA sensor called the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS)


Nile Delta (April)

These close-ups of Earth from space are part of NASA’s Blue Marble program. The images were taken from a NASA sensor called the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS)


Lake Victoria

These close-ups of Earth from space are part of NASA’s Blue Marble program. The images were taken from a NASA sensor called the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS)


Hawaiian Islands

These close-ups of Earth from space are part of NASA’s Blue Marble program. The images were taken from a NASA sensor called the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS).


Tierra del Fuego (August)

These close-ups of Earth from space are part of NASA’s Blue Marble program. The images were taken from a NASA sensor called the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS).


Sahara

These close-ups of Earth from space are part of NASA’s Blue Marble program. The images were taken from a NASA sensor called the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS)



Titicaca Lake (March)

These close-ups of Earth from space are part of NASA’s Blue Marble program. The images were taken from a NASA sensor called the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS)


Western Himalaya (February)

These close-ups of Earth from space are part of NASA’s Blue Marble program. The images were taken from a NASA sensor called the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS).


Okawango (January)

These close-ups of Earth from space are part of NASA’s Blue Marble program. The images were taken from a NASA sensor called the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS)


Grand Canyon (Feburary)

These close-ups of Earth from space are part of NASA’s Blue Marble program. The images were taken from a NASA sensor called the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS).


Nepal (August)

These close-ups of Earth from space are part of NASA’s Blue Marble program. The images were taken from a NASA sensor called the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS)


Kilimanjaro Area

These close-ups of Earth from space are part of NASA’s Blue Marble program. The images were taken from a NASA sensor called the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS).


Alps (July)

These close-ups of Earth from space are part of NASA’s Blue Marble program. The images were taken from a NASA sensor called the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS).


China Highlands

These close-ups of Earth from space are part of NASA’s Blue Marble program. The images were taken from a NASA sensor called the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS).



Hindukush (February)

These close-ups of Earth from space are part of NASA’s Blue Marble program. The images were taken from a NASA sensor called the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS)

Amazing Paper Sculptures

Best of Adventure Adventurers of the Year

They Did It
Fourteen people who dreamed big, pushed their limits, and made our year.

Here's to those who went to extremes—and came back with amazing tales to tell. Whether racing from pole to pole or tracing the Amazon from beginning to end, discovering thousands of gorillas in Congo or rescuing fellow climbers when K2 crumbled, here are 14 people who made the world a better place this year.

Who says youth is wasted on the young?
Adventurers of the Year: Rob Gauntlett & James Hooper
Text by David Vann
Photograph by Martin Hartley

Imagine this. You climb Mount Everest by the time you're 19. And that's tame. You want to try something outrageous, something never before attempted. How about traveling from geomagnetic pole to geomagnetic pole in one frantic dash? Start north of Greenland, then ski and dogsled on thin ice, cycle most of the length of the Western Hemisphere, and sail for months into the Antarctic. For Rob Gauntlett and James Hooper, two British teens fresh out of prep school, this sounded about right. A 26,000-mile epic that would take more than a year. Never mind that they had no serious funding, very little time to plan, and no sailing or dogsledding experience. Never mind that they would almost die (twice, it turned out). They had climbed Everest—Mount Everest!—in a similar way, learning skills as they went and paying for it with loans and small corporate grants they dug up themselves. Prudence wasn't necessarily their main concern. They just wanted to throw themselves out there. So on March 28, 2007, they set off—two 19-year-olds running behind dogsleds into a blizzard in northern Greenland—on the most madcap adventure we saw all year.

Snowboarding's fresh take
Spirit: Gretchen Bleiler
Text by Christian DeBenedetti
Photograph by Gregg Segal

Gretchen Bleiler remembers the moment it hit. "After the Winter '06 Olympics, I went to the Daytona 500 and waved the green flag," she says. "Then it was straight to Tahoe for a Vans Cup. I was standing at the top of the half-pipe, but I felt nothing," she says. "Something was wrong." The silver medalist and one of the world's most decorated female snowboarders had lost her passion.


So she did something unusual. She took a year off. Instead of focusing on the 2010 Olympics (and the dozen or so competitions in the 2007-08 winter season alone), Bleiler, 27, ditched the terrain parks to rediscover her sport in the planet's remote backcountry. The first stop was the Japanese island of Hokkaido, one of the snowiest places on Earth. She and a few friends hit hike-in "pillow drops," huge hummocks of snow piled on steep boulders, and tore through avalanche barriers in search of fresh tracks. Then it was off to Krasnaya Polyana, in the Russian Caucasus, where Bleiler (filming segments for Uniquely, a film released this October) built kickers over fallen trees and carved isolated bowls via helicopter. Finally, she landed in the Alberta Rockies to nail a few big-mountain lines.

"It's amazing what happens when you take yourself out of what's comfortable," Bleiler says. By the time she hit the half-pipe again, she was a rider reborn, with newfound confidence and a freshly honed competitive edge. Proof that sometimes stepping away is the best thing you can do.


Going long in the Amazon
Field Science: Maroy Correa Estenos & Sam Stime
Text by Ryan Bradley
Photographs by Evan Abramson

The Amazon River is the largest and arguably most important waterway on the planet. It is also one of the most neglected. Maroy Correa Estenos, 26, and Sam Stime, 29, want to change that. 
 

So on August 16, 2008, they loaded up an open canoe on Peru's Maranon River, the Amazon's headwaters, and started rowing 2,827 miles to the Atlantic. In and of itself, running the entire Amazon isn't particularly helpful. But Estenos, a Peruvian veterinarian, and Stime, a Canadian engineer, had other designs: to mount the world's longest water survey. At every major city, confluence, and pollution point (factory, farmland, mine, or oil well), the pair measured changes in temperature, pH, phosphates, sulfates, nitrates, and chloride to chart the buildup of pollutants from source to sea. Such a comprehensive study could have a great impact on river management. Before they left, Estenos and Stime won endorsements from Peru's National Institute of Natural Resources and the Loreto regional president, Yvan Vasquez Valera, to create a documentary, which they hope to air on national television. 

But Estenos and Stime were thinking bigger still. "In the Amazon, people's lives are tied to the water," says Stime. So at every village they encountered, the pair pulled up their boat and got out. They shared meals and homes. They fished beside villagers and botos, the Amazon's pink dolphins. And they explained their findings. "We want to show the interconnectedness of the river," Stime says, "and raise awareness about how inhabitants affect the river they love." It would take Estenos and Stime 86 days to reach their takeout at Belem do Para, Brazil. If only we could all change so much in so little time.


Five years in bondage
Journalism: Benjamin Skinner
Text by Ryan Bradley
Photograph by Alessandra Petlin

It was near the front lines of the Sudanese civil war, in 2003, when journalist Benjamin Skinner met his first slave. His name was Muong Nyong, and he had run barefoot for two weeks across the burning desert to free himself. As Nyong told his story, Skinner decided to do what few had done before: uncover what it was like to be a slave in the 21st century. 


For five years, across 12 countries, Skinner, 32, tracked down more than a hundred slaves, slave dealers, and former slaves. He traveled to distant stone quarries in forgotten hamlets in India and infiltrated illicit trafficking networks in Bucharest and Dubai. He went undercover, posing as an interested customer or a potential dealer. Often, his life was in danger. In Haiti, he had guns pulled on him while following the child slave trade from the back alleys of Port-au-Prince to the hills far beyond. Through his work he learned that slavery, though illegal and universally condemned, is as widespread as ever, and much more complex and difficult to combat. Astoundingly, there are 27 million people enslaved today—more than at any other point in human history. 

By the end of his journey, Skinner knew that he could never understand what it was like to be a slave, but, he says, "I could show what their slavery meant." In March of this year, he released a book that chronicled his experiences, A Crime So Monstrous. More than a devastating look at modern slavery, it is an inspirational demand for justice.


The savior and the storm on K2
Heroism: Pemba Gyalje Sherpa 
Text by Christian DeBenedetti
Photograph by Daniel Pepper

On August 1, 2008, at just about 8 p.m., a massive serac cleaved from a glacier near the summit of K2, the world's second highest mountain, and barreled down a section of the Cesen climbing route called the Bottleneck. In an instant, one climber was dead, key safety lines were swept away, and 17 climbers were trapped above 27,000 feet with little chance of escape. 
 

In the days ahead, the disaster on K2 would become one of the deadliest mountaineering incidents in history, leaving 11 victims in its wake. The tragedy would shake modern mountaineering to its core. And it would yield a hero, Pemba Gyalje Sherpa. 

Pemba, 34, and three members of his Norit K2 team—leader Wilco van Rooijen, Marco Confortola, and Gerard McDonnell—reached the Bottleneck minutes after the serac fell. Rather than face a dangerous descent in total darkness, Pemba's three teammates decided to bivouac for the night. At 27,000 feet the temperatures would reach minus 40ºF. Pemba, a seven-time Everest veteran, knew the dangers of the death zone. He chose instead to descend the Bottleneck alone, without oxygen, picking his way down the 60-degree couloir guided by a single tattered safety line that had survived the avalanche. He reached Camp IV by 1 a.m. His teammates, he assumed, would be down at first light. 

By daybreak on August 2, chaos reigned. More than a dozen climbers were missing or dead, and the weather had worsened considerably. Van Rooijen had staggered away from the team, desperate to get down by a different route, and soon became hopelessly lost. McDonnell had wandered back uphill, apparently confused. Frostbitten and delirious, Confortola had climbed partway down the Bottleneck, unable to remember how he'd done it. Just before he passed out from altitude sickness, a second avalanche swept toward him carrying McDonnell's mangled corpse. 

With his team in shambles, Pemba had to act fast. He heard over the radio that Confortola had been spotted midway up the Bottleneck. "I thought, OK, if we are lucky, I can rescue Marco," Pemba says. So he began to climb, soloing through swirling snow up the couloir. "It was very scary, but I knew Marco was still alive," he says. "I could not turn back." 

When Pemba reached Confortola some hours later, the Italian was in bad shape, unconscious and suffering from severe altitude sickness. Somehow Pemba managed to revive him with oxygen and guide him to the base of the Bottleneck. At that moment another slide roared from above, this time carrying the bloodied bodies of two Sherpas and two Korean climbers. A chunk of falling ice blasted Confortola in the back of the head. Dazed, the Italian began to slip. "I was falling," he told a reporter. "The avalanche would have taken me away. But Pemba grabbed me from behind. He was holding my neck. He saved my life." 

By the time the pair made it to Camp IV, Pemba was shattered, collapsing into his tentfor a few hours' sleep. When he woke that evening, he got word that van Rooijen, the lost Norit K2 leader, was still alive. He had to go out again. 

After a night alone in the open with no water and no ice ax, van Rooijen had been presumed dead. Then, unexpectedly, he called his wife on his satellite phone. Using the call data, the Norit K2 team fixed his location on the mountain's South Face, far from any known routes. 

Armed with only rough coordinates, Pemba, along with another survivor, Cas van de Gevel, struck into terra incognita, picking across avalanche-prone terrain at night. After searching for hours, the pair decided to resume the next day. They finally found van Rooijen in the late afternoon by following the sound of his ringing cell phone. The three men staggered into Camp III well after dark, on August 3, exhausted but alive.

In the weeks after the tragedy, Pemba returned to his Kathmandu home, far from the horrors he'd just witnessed. You'd think that after such an experience, he would never want to climb again, soured forever. But Pemba has no such plans. He'll be back in the mountains, he says, by the time next season rolls around. Thank goodness. Climbing needs more heroes like him.


In pursuit of pure gravity
Adrenaline: Francois Bon 
Text by Christian DeBenedetti
Photograph by Wesley Mann

When his guides asked why he was climbing Argentina's 22,834-foot Aconcagua, Francois Bon had an unusual response: silence. "I tried not to tell them," he says. After all, they might not have helped him reach the summit if they'd known he was planning to jump off. 


Speed riding is the sport (if you can call it that) of rapid descent. Adherents leap from mountaintops and fly down sheer faces at near-free-fall speeds, guided only by a small, specialized paraglider. When the grade flattens, they touch down briefly to ski ridiculously fast before taking off again over the steeps. Bon, 36, is the grandfather of the sport. In 2006, he leapt off the Eiger and Mont Blanc. In 2007, he made some riotous runs in New Zealand's Southern Alps (shown above). But on March 31, 2008, he nailed his biggest prize yet. 

"I never flew so fast before," he says. After an 11-day slog to Aconcagua's summit, the highest in the Western Hemisphere, Bon strapped on his chute and skis and rocketed down a near-vertical slope. He was almost instantly airborne. Thanks to thin, dry air, he came close to a hundred miles an hour, descending at a rate of nearly 31 feet a second. On the way, he dodged rocky spires, sailed over gaping chasms, and arced across virgin snowfields. By the time he skittered to a halt, he had plunged 9,000 feet in four minutes and 50 seconds. Bon's flight electrified the adventure world, and his video, which can be seen at acro-base.com, has received more than 16,000 hits. At press time, however, he was already on to his next challenge: Mount Everest.


The new Jane Goodall
Discovery: Emma Stokes
Text by Greg Melville
Photograph by Wesley Mann

By most standards, 2008 was not a banner year for wildlife conservation—unless you talk to Emma Stokes. In August, she dropped the equivalent of a neutron bomb on the scientific community: the existence of 125,000 lowland gorillas in a nearly untouched region of northern Congo. In one bold stroke, Stokes, 34, doubled the known population of the critically endangered apes.


A biologist with the Wildlife Conservation Society, Stokes has worked in the Republic of Congo since 1999. In that time, she has dodged forest elephants, sung ABBA songs to fend off silverback charges, and carried her tracker out of deep jungle after he fell unconscious froman infected machete wound (inflicted by his angry wife). But she had never really explored the "green abyss," an almost impassable 7,000-square-mile patchwork of uninhabited jungles and tree-filled swamps at the country's northern tip. "We knew the swamps were important for gorillas," she says, "but had no idea how important." 

Or how hard they would be to survey. "Our guys would slog through waist-deep water for days at a time, hanging their hammocks above the swamps," she says. But after three years of counting gorilla nests, Stokes and her team got the results. There was fanfare, of course, and just as much caution. The green abyss is prime gorilla habitat because of its impenetrability. However, Stokes says, loggers are encroaching on the area, and recent Ebola outbreaks have devastated nearby primate populations. The Congolese government has already announced plans for a new national park, Ntokou-Pikounda, which will cover part of her survey area. Meanwhile, WCS has tasked Stokes with a new mission: to protect Asian tigers. They, too, are on the verge of disappearing—unless, that is, she discovers a few thousand more of them.


Trekking the forgotten Andes
Culture: Deia Schlosberg & Gregg Treinish
Text by Lucas Pollock
Photograph by Lynn Donaldson

Two years. 7,800 miles. No roads. That was how Deia Schlosberg, 28, and Gregg Treinish, 26, vowed to trek the length of the Andes. They had no idea what they were getting into. Beginning in Papallacta, Ecuador, the two Montana-based wilderness educators cobbled together a route of llama tracks, old Inca roads, and forgotten trade paths down the spine of the world's longest mountain range. It was an Andes few outsiders had seen before. For good reason: "We were lost the entire time," Treinish says. "Every time we wanted to quit, we were so far in the middle of nowhere that it wasn't even an option." 

So they kept going, two regular folks on a really long hike. They battled through bamboo forests, crossed trackless deserts, and humped over 16,000-foot mountain passes. They met people who had only heard about gringos and who still remembered the old paths, those of their ancestors, that wove through the Andes. 

By the time they reached their final destination, Cabo San Pio, the southernmost tip of Tierra del Fuego, they had seen pretty much everything. Then Treinish got down on one knee and proposed, solidifying a bond that typhoid fever, Patagonian bamboo, and tens of thousands of feet in elevation change could not break. The first item on the registry: moleskin.


 Dynamo in the Disaster Zone
Humanitarian Work: Ashley Clements
Text by Lucas Pollock
Photograph by Justyna Mielnikiewicz

The cyclone-ravaged Irrawaddy Delta in Myanmar. Iraqi refugee camps in Jordan and Lebanon. Georgia after the Russian invasion. These are not destinations most people seek out. But Ashley Clements is not like most people. 


As an emergency coordination specialist for U.S.-based World Vision, Clements, 27, is the aid world's equivalent of a first responder. He shuttles into emerging disaster zones, often ahead of other humanitarian groups and mainstream press, to scout situations, drum up global support with photos and video, and get aid flowing in the right directions. Then he rolls up his shirtsleeves. 

In Myanmar, Clements arrived to a land leveled by storm, with an estimated 130,000 dead or missing. Among the ruins, he interviewed orphaned children and fought to reunite them with relatives, however distant, before they were placed in the state's corrupt and squalid facilities. In Jordan, he photographed Iraqi refugees, specifically children, for CNN and the BBC. "I reached 125 million people with[a single] image," he says—an effort that helped integrate thousands of refugee kids into Jordanian schools. In Georgia, Clements touched down before the bullets stopped flying, to assist the 80,000 or so Ossetian and Georgian refugees who had fled to Tbilisi. There he prepped them for winter, handing out blankets and helping to establish cooking facilities, which delivered food to some 25,000 people. There were other disasters in 2008, of course—Darfur and China, to name just two—and other aid workers doing miraculous work. But in terms of sheer global reach and tireless advocacy, few can match Ashley Clements.


One surfer to rule them all
Athleticism: Kelly Slater
Text by Ethan Stewart
Photograph by Branden Aroyan

It's early summer in California, and a west wind swell is running along the cobblestone point breaks off Santa Barbara's coast. Several surfing luminaries have paddled out just before sundown, a not uncommon occurrence here on this semisecret beach just east of Ty Warner's billion-dollar Beanie Baby compound. Among them: Shaun Tomson (1977 world champ), Tom Curren (three-time world champ), and Jack Johnson (no introduction necessary). Locals gawk and grumble slightly. One 12-year-old grom looks toward shore, sees a blue-eyed man with a shaved head walking toward the point. "Dude," he says, "there is no way Kelly Slater is surfing my spot." 


At 36 years old, Slater has spent the better part of 2008 simply confirming what we already knew: that no one rides a surfboard better than he does. With an unprecedented eight world titles to his name (the next highest is Australia's Mark Richards with five), he entered the 2008 contest season with little to prove.

Yet midway through the World Championship Tour, Slater clinched world title number nine, making him the Tour's oldest champion ever—a nice bookend to his first world title in 1992, when he was crowned the youngest champ. He has rung up more contest wins than any other professional surfer in history, had time for a stint on Baywatch (regrettable), and this year formed a foundation in his name that has already raised more than half a million dollars for cancer research and ocean-minded nonprofits like Surfrider and Reef Check (admirable). "My foundation gave me the opportunity to really focus on the things that matter the most to me," Slater says. 

As the groms watch on, Slater paddles out toward the luminaries but doesn't join them just yet. As if on cue, a wave peaks up in front of him. The Champ paddles twice and jumps to his feet, exploding down the line of the shoulder-high wave. He turns, lightning fast, and again, leaving buckets of roiling water in his wake. The groms are in awe. Then one of them breaks the silence. "Wow," he says, "he's shorter than I thought."


Africa's eye in the sky
ADVENTURE takes a paraglider ride above Africa with aerial photographer George Steinmetz.
Text by George Steinmetz
Photograph by George Steinmetz

Most photographers pride themselves on being able to see the big picture. George Steinmetz actually straps himself into a motorized paraglider and hovers hundreds of feet above the world's most spectacular scenery to create his signature panoramic images. Time and again he has returned to Africa, where his "flying lawn chair" has enabled him to capture some of the best known photos that National Geographic has published of that continent

Spectacular Christmas Lights from Around the World

The custom of festive lighting for Christmas is a long standing tradition which has been adopted in secular fashion in various cultures throughout the world. The use of lighting displays is highly diverse, ranging from simple light strands to full-blown animated tableau of picturesque displays, involving dramatic scenes of complex illuminated animatronics and statues that would make Chevy Chase proud, with the role he played as Clark Griswold in the movie Christmas Vacation.

One of the largest homes in Boston with 250,000 lights. Homeowner Luberto hopes the lights will serve as a reminder to some 47,000 people who drive by his home each day that Christmas should be celebrated in style. 

While the earliest origins of celebratory lighting during winter festivals predate Christianity, it’s the European, and later North American partly secularized traditions associated with Christmas which are now commonly recognized and enjoyed as festive Christmas Lights.

“Don’t you celebrate on your birthday?” Luberto asks. “Well, this is Jesus’ birthday. It
should be the biggest celebration of all.” 



In December the town of Medellin in Colombia transforms into
a glowing hub of Christmas cheer. 


The city is adorned with thousand of colorful lights and designs that attract national
and international visitors. 


The tradition is over 40 years old with the lights switching on amid a big party
on December 8. 

Annual displays in city centers are adored by the public and have been erected for decades. It’s a popular pastime to drive or walk around neighborhoods in the evening to see the incredibly ornate lights displayed, which can take weeks to construct. 

Some have made it to the Extreme Christmas TV specials shown on HGTV, even requiring a generator or separate electrical service to supply the amount of electrical power needed to juice the thousands of lights.


The house of Alex Goodwind in Melksham, England. Goodwind starts planning his lights
in July and this year has spent £3,000 on them. 



Last Christmas his electricity bill was £700 and the house had to have an upgraded electricity supply installed to cope with the additional power needed. Donations from visitors to his home have in the past raised over £2,000 for a local hospice. 



 Home of John Scott in Northumberland. Rising energy costs and the credit crunch have contributed to cutbacks in seasonal Christmas light displays in homes. 



And this was how John’s home looks this Christmas. He admits it’s now too expensive
to continue his annual lights display. 

Barry “Mad Dog” Gottlieb organized the “Tacky Xmas Decoration Contest and Grand Highly Illuminated House Tour” with a tour of decorated homes in Richmond, Virginia in 1986. Since then, people either sign up for a tour or drive around to find houses that are the tackiest, and a growing number of cities have adopted this family Christmas tradition. 

Public displays of Christmas lights play an ubiquitous role in the annual celebration of the season, utilizing lights on a broad array, including decking towering Christmas trees in public squares, street trees and park trees, adorning lampposts, decorating significant buildings such as town halls and department stores, and lighting up popular tourist attractions such as the Eiffel Tower and the Sydney Opera House.


House covered in Christmas lights in Mandaluyong City, eastern Manila. 


The neighborhood decided to make their celebration more festive by decorating their houses
with lights. 




It has now become a tourist attraction. 


The Philippines has earned the distinction of celebrating the world’s longest Christmas season. Christmas carols are heard as early as September and the season lasts right up until Epiphany. 

History of Christmas Lights
During the medieval period, special candles were often lit at Christmas, symbolic of Jesus’ role as the light of the world. The phenomena of the Christingle is also closely related.

The illuminated Christmas tree, which is considered by many to be the start of the development of modern Christmas lighting traditions, is commonly associated with Martin Luther, and became part of a European Christmas from his time. 


A 3 meter Christmas tree forms the centerpiece of the Phillips family Christmas
decorations on Dalmeny Road, Carshalton, London. 


It’s adorned with over 170 Teletubby toys. 



The illuminated Christmas tree became established in the United Kingdom during Queen Victoria’s reign, and through emigration spread to North America and Australia. Until the development of inexpensive electrical power in the mid-19th century, miniature candles were commonly — and in some cultures still are — used.

The first known electrically illuminated Christmas tree was the creation of Edward H. Johnson — an associate of inventor Thomas Edison — who had Christmas tree light bulbs especially made for him while he was vice president of the Edison Electric Light Company, which were displayed on his Christmas tree on December 22, 1882. Johnson became widely regarded as the Father of Electric Christmas Tree Lights.

In 1895, U.S. President Grover Cleveland proudly sponsored a huge specimen of the first electrically lit Christmas tree in the White House. 



Boston, MA. 



Lausanne, Switzerland
Shiodome, Tokyo Japan. 

By 1900, businesses started stringing up Christmas lights behind their windows. Since the lights were too expensive for the average person, electric Christmas lights didn’t become the majority replacement for candles until 1930. 

The first commercially produced Christmas tree lamps were manufactured in strings by the General Electric Co. of Harrison, New Jersey. 

From that point forward, electrically illuminated indoor Christmas trees grew with mounting enthusiasm in the U.S. and elsewhere. San Diego in 1904 and New York City in 1912 were the first recorded instances of the use of Christmas lights outside. 


Santa’s Merry-go-round at Gore Park. 




McAdenville North Carolina claims to have been the first for inventing “the tradition of decorating evergreen trees with Christmas lights in 1956, when the McAdenville Men’s Club conceived of the idea of decorating a few trees around the McAdenville Community Center.

However, the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree has had “lights” since 1931, when a tree was adorned with 700 lights and placed in front of the RCA building, but did not have real electric lights until 1956. 

Philadelphia’s Christmas Light Show and Disney’s Christmas Tree also began in 1956. While General Electric sponsored community lighting competitions during the 1920’s, it wasn’t until the mid 1950’s that they began to be adopted by average households.




200,000 Christmas lights in Richmond, Virginia. 
New York nature. 
Partecita park in Gothenburg with more than 4,000,000 lights. 

Over time, strings of Christmas lights made their way into use in places other than Christmas trees, with strings of lights adorning mantles and other areas inside and outside of homes, businesses and even city skyscrapers, activated in Grand Illumination ceremonies. 

The annual lighting ceremony of the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree has become a TV special watched from coast to coast in North America. For more information on the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree, visit NJ.com.


The Marshall, Texas courthouse outlined in Christmas lights. 


In the lake of Adventkranz, Velden, Worthersee.
 Paulista, Brazil. 




Palácio Avenida. Christmas in the enchanted palace is a spectacular public concert in this beautifully lit HSBC historic bank building in downtown Curitba, Brazil, with children in costumes singing out of every window. 



 Berlin. 


Kansas City, Missouri. 
Rio de Janeiro Brazil. 

 Dragon at the castle, River of Lights, Albuquerque, NM. 
Paulista Avenue, San Paulo.SP.Brazil. 


Pinocchio with star snow sculpture.


Manchester’s Xmas decoration, likened to Zippy the puppet from Rainbow.


Methuen Riverwalk. 





 Christmas elves. 


85°F Christmas at Ritz-Carlton, Kapalua. 


Colosseum of Rome. 
Tree design was the one inspired by Japanese cut glass technique, Kiriko.


Tree made entirely of Swarovski. 


Shiodome, Tokyo Japan. 




Place Ville Marie. 


Christmas tree with 55m and a hundred illuminated balls in Parque do Ibirapuera -
Sao Paulo.SP.Brazil . 



Electric snowman. 


Storefront on Cookman Avenue in Asbury Park, NJ. 




 Santa’s sleigh at Glasgow. 



Santa’s reindeer at Glasgow





Santa.

Christmas Nativity scene at “Miller Place” - 32 Miller Farms Drive. 

This home has 60,000 blinking lights, glowing plastic figures, lilting carolers and a 6-foot-high robotic Nativity scene, a toyland of 50 soldiers, 24 large and 20 small choirboys, 3 trains, a castle, a gingerbread house, 2 fireplaces, a cement truck with a rotating drum, the Old Woman in the Show, more than 60 plastic Santas and snowmen. Collection by the homeowner benefits diabetes research.

Extreme Christmas Light Show

The Williams’ family home in Deerfield Township, Ohio, which cost $10,000 to create
and made national news. Visitors drive up to the house and tune the radio
to a specific frequency to hear the music.




Extreme Christmas Light Banjo Show

20,000 lights with 64 channels to the tune of Dueling Banjos.
It starts to rock at about 2 minutes in.




Amazing Grace - Holdman Display, Pleasant Grove, Utah





You’re A Mean One Mr. Grinch

Amazing Insects Up Close and Personal

Igor Siwanowicz is the photographer behind these extreme close-up shots of creepy crawlies. Not for bug haters!

Amazing churches in the world

Ulm Cathedral

Ulm Cathedral (German: Ulmer Münster) is a Lutheran church, the tallest church in the world, with a steeple measuring 161.53 m (530 ft) and containing 768 steps. Located in Ulm, Germany, the church is not a cathedral in the technical ecclesiastical sense, as it has never been the seat of a bishop

Lincoln Cathedral

Lincoln Cathedral (in full The Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Lincoln, or sometimes St. Mary's Cathedral) is a historic cathedral in Lincoln in England and seat of the Diocese of Lincoln in the Church of England. It was the tallest building in the world for over 200 years (1300–1549), but the central spire collapsed in the sixteenth century and was not rebuilt

St. Olaf's church, Tallinn

St. Olaf’s church or St. Olav's church (Estonian: Oleviste kirik) in Tallinn, Estonia, is believed to have been built in the 12th century and to have been the centre for old Tallinn's Scandinavian community prior to the conquest of Tallinn by Denmark in 1219. Its dedication relates to King Olaf II of Norway (a.k.a. Saint Olaf, 995-1030).

Cologne Cathedral

Cologne Cathedral (German: Kölner Dom, officially Hohe Domkirche St. Peter und Maria) is the seat of the Archbishop of Cologne, under the administration of the Roman Catholic Church and is renowned as a monument of Christianity, of Gothic architecture and of the faith and perseverance of the people of the city in which it stands. It is dedicated to Saint Peter and the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Beauvais Cathedral

Beauvais Cathedral (French: Cathédrale Saint-Pierre de Beauvais) is an incomplete cathedral located in Beauvais in northern France. It is the seat of the Bishop of Beauvais, Noyon and Senlis. It is, in some respects the most daring achievement of Gothic architecture, and consists only of a transept (sixteenth-century) and choir with apse and seven polygonal apsidal chapels (thirteenth century), which are reached by an ambulatory

St. Mary's church, Stralsund

Marienkirche (St. Mary's church) is located in Stralsund, northern Germany.

Built some time before 1298, it is architecturally Gothic, and was loosely modelled on St. Mary's Church in Lübeck. Between 1625 and 1647, it was the world's tallest building at 151 metres (500 ft) tall.

The bell tower collapsed in 1382, and was rebuilt by 1478. In 1495, the steeple tower blew down during a severe storm, and was then rebuilt taller. This was subsequently struck by lightning in 1647, and burned down, and was rebuilt as a baroque dome, which, completed in 1708, can be seen today. The tower is currently 104 metres (340 ft) tall

Rouen Cathedral

Rouen Cathedral (French: Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Rouen) is a Gothic cathedral in Rouen, in northwestern France. It is the seat of the Archbishop of Rouen and Normandy.

Old St Paul's Cathedral

Old St. Paul's is a name used to refer to the Gothic cathedral in the City of London built between 1087 and 1314.[1] At its peak, the cathedral was the third longest church in Europe and had one of the tallest spires. The cathedral was destroyed in the Great Fire of London of 1666, and the current domed St. Paul's Cathedral — in an English Baroque style — was subsequently erected on the site by Sir Christopher Wren

St. Nikolai, Hamburg

The Gothic Revival St. Nikolai's Church (German: St.-Nikolai-Kirche) was formerly one of the five Lutheran Hauptkirchen (main churches) in the city of Hamburg. It is now in ruins, serving as a memorial and an important architectural landmark. When Hamburgers mention the "Nikolaikirche", it is generally to this church that is referred, and not the new Hauptkirche of St. Nikolai which is located in the Harvestehude district.

The church was the tallest building in the world from 1874 to 1876 and is still the second tallest building in Hamburg.

Strasbourg Cathedral

Strasbourg Cathedral or the Cathedral of Our Lady of Strasbourg (French: Cathédrale Notre-Dame-de-Strasbourg, German: Liebfrauenmünster zu Straßburg) is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Strasbourg, France. Although considerable parts of it are still in Romanesque architecture, it is widely considered to be among the finest examples of high, or late, Gothic architecture

Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lichen

The Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lichen is located in Greater Poland in a village called Stary Lichen, near Konin.

The Sanctuary is Poland's largest church, the seventh largest in Europe and eleventh in the World. It was constructed between 1994 and 2004. The architect was Barbara Bielecka.

The Basilica was built in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary and receives a large number of pilgrims. It houses a 200-year-old painting known as the "Our Lady of Sorrows, Queen of Poland".

The church, rising 98 meters (central nave), 141,5 metres (church tower), is 120 metres long and 77 metres in width.

St. Stephen's Cathedral, Vienna

St. Stephen's Cathedral (German: Stephansdom) is the mother church of the Archdiocese of Vienna and the seat of the Archbishop of Vienna, Christoph Cardinal Schönborn, OP. Its current Romanesque and Gothic form seen today, situated at the heart of Vienna, Austria in the Stephansplatz, was largely initiated by Rudolf IV and stands on the ruins of two earlier churches, the first being a parish church consecrated in 1147

13 Saint Peter's Church, Riga

Saint Peter's church is a tall church in Riga, Latvia. It was first built in 1209 as a church for the people. Enlarged in the beginning of 15th century (1409-...) by the mason Johann Rumeschottel of Rostock, who understood the way of Riga, and was first introduced in Marienkirche in Rostock. The current tower was completed in 1746. It was last restored before 1973. The tower was struck by lightning 6 times, and the tower collapsed on two of these occasions, in 1666 and again in 1721.

Before World War II it was the highest wooden building in Europe. During World War II the roof and the tower were damaged in a fire.

Soviet engineers restored the church in the 1970s, and installed an elevator that allows people to look out over the city of Riga from a height of about 70 metres.

The church is named after Saint Peter.

New Cathedral, Linz

The building of the New Cathedral (Germ. Neuer Dom), also known as the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception (Maria-Empfängnis-Dom) in Linz was begun in 1855 by Bishop Franz Joseph Rudigier

St. Peter's Church, Hamburg

St. Peter's Church (German: St. Petri, German coll.: Petrikirche) is the oldest parish church in Hamburg, Germany. It is named after the Christian Apostle Peter, who the Catholic Church believes to be the first Pope. The church is located on Mönckebergstrasse and marks the highest point in Hamburg's Old Town.

St. Peter's Basilica

The Basilica of Saint Peter (Latin: Basilica Sancti Petri), officially known in Italian as the Basilica di San Pietro in Vaticano and commonly known as St. Peter's Basilica, is located within the Vatican City. It occupies a "unique position" as one of the holiest sites and as "the greatest of all churches of Christendom"

St. Michaelis Church, Hamburg

St. Michaelis, called Michel, is one of Hamburg's five main Protestant churches (Hauptkirchen) and the most famous church in the city.
St. Michaelis is a landmark of the city. It is dedicated to the archangel Michael. A large bronze statue, standing above the portal of the church shows the archangel conquering the devil.

Malmesbury Abbey

Malmesbury Abbey, at Malmesbury in Wiltshire, England, was founded as a Benedictine monastery around 676 by the scholar-poet Aldhelm, a nephew of King Ine of Wessex.

 St. Martin's Church, Landshut

The Church of St. Martin in Landshut is a medieval church in that German city. St. Martin's Church, along with Castle Trausnitz and the celebration of the Landshuter Hochzeit (wedding), are the most important landmarks and historical activity of Landshut, Germany. This gothic church is the highest church in Bavaria and the highest brick building in the world, with a height of 130.6 meters (approx 428 feet).

St. Elisabeth's Church, Wroclaw

In Wroclaw (Breslau), Poland, St. Elizabeth's Church (Kosciól sw. Elzbiety, Sankt Elisabethkirche) was 130 meter high when built. The gothic structure dates back to the 14th century when building was assigned by the city of Breslau. It was destroyed by a heavy hail in 1529 and suffered damage by fire in 1976. During this unfortunate event, the church's renowned organs went up in flames. Its main tower is now only 91 meters high.

Saint Joseph's Oratory

Saint Joseph's Oratory of Mount Royal, (French: Oratoire Saint-Joseph du Mont-Royal), is a Roman Catholic basilica on the northern slope of Mount Royal in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

Martinikerk

Martinikerk (Martin's church) is a church in Groningen, The Netherlands. The church and its associated tower (the Martinitoren) are named after Saint Martin of Tours (316 - 397), the patron saint of the Archbishopric of Utrecht to which Groningen belongs.

St. Jacobi, Hamburg

The St. Jacobi church is one of the five principal Lutheran churches of Hamburg, Germany. The church is located directly in the city center, has a 125 m tall tower and features a famous organ by Arp Schnitger from 1693.

St. Mary's Church, Lübeck

The Protestant Marienkirche (St. Mary's church) in Lübeck (German: Lübecker Marienkirche or officially Marien zu Lübeck: St Mary's of Lübeck) was constructed between 1250 and 1350. For many years it has been a symbol of the power and prosperity of the old Hanseatic city, and as Germany's third largest church it remains the tallest building of the old part of Lübeck. It is larger than Lübeck Cathedral . Along with the city, the church has been listed by UNESCO as of cultural significance.

Cathedral of Maringá

Catedral Basílica Menor Nossa Senhora da Glória (or simply Catedral de Maringá [Cathedral of Maringá]) is a Roman Catholic cathedral located in downtown Maringá, Paraná, Brazil, measuring 124 m high. It was completed in 1972 and is the tallest church in South America and the 16th tallest in the world.

Cathedral of Our Lady (Antwerp)

Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekathedraal, or the Cathedral of Our Lady, Antwerp, was started in 1351 and, although the first stage of construction was ended in 1521, has never been 'completed'. In Gothic style, its architects were Jan and Pieter Appelmans. It contains a number of significant works by the Baroque painter Peter Paul Rubens, as well paintings by artists such as Otto van Veen, Jacob de Backer and Marten de Vos.

Salisbury Cathedral

Salisbury Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in Salisbury, England, considered one of the leading examples of Early English architecture.The main body was completed in only 38 years.

Saint Peter's Church, Riga
Saint Peter's church is a tall church in Riga, Latvia. It was first built in 1209 as a church for the people. Enlarged in the beginning of 15th century (1409-...) by the mason Johann Rumeschottel of Rostock, who understood the way of Riga, and was first introduced in Marienkirche in Rostock. The current tower was completed in 1746. It was last restored before 1973. The tower was struck by lightning 6 times, and the tower collapsed on two of these occasions, in 1666 and again in 1721.

Peter and Paul Cathedral

The Peter and Paul Cathedral is located inside the Peter and Paul Fortress in St. Petersburg, Russia. The fortress, originally built under Peter the Great and designed by Domenico Trezzini, is the first and oldest landmark in St. Petersburg, built between 1712 and 1733 on Zayachy Island along the Neva River. Peter's main reason for building the fort was for protection against a potential attack by the Swedish navy during the Great Northern War.

Abbaye-aux-Hommes

The Abbaye aux Hommes ("Men's Abbey") is a former abbey church in the French city of Caen. Dedicated to Saint Etienne, it is considered, along with the neighbouring Abbaye-aux-Dames, to be one of the most notable Romanesque buildings in Normandy. Like all the big abbeys in Normandy, it was a Benedictine one. Lanfranc before being archbishop of Canterbury, was the abbot of Saint-Etienne.

Church of Our Lady, Bruges

The Church of Our Lady (Dutch: Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekerk) in Bruges, Belgium, dates mainly from the 13th, 14th and 15th centuries. Its tower, at 122,3 meters in height, remains the tallest structure in the city and the second tallest brickwork tower in the world (the tallest brickwork tower in the world being the Chrysler Building). In the choir space behind the high altar are the tombs of Charles the Bold, last Valois Duke of Burgundy, and his daughter, the duchess Mary. The gilded bronze effigies of both father and daughter repose at full length on polished slabs of black stone. Both are crowned, and Charles is represented in full armor and wearing the decoration of the Order of the Golden Fleece

 Basilica of San Gaudenzio
The Basilica of San Gaudenzio is a church in Novara, Piedmont, northern Italy. It is the highest point in the city. It is dedicated to Gaudentius of Novara, first Christian bishop of the city.

It was built between 1577 and 1690 following the destruction of the old Basilica, ordered by emperor Charles V.

Riverside Church
The Riverside Church in the City of New York is an interdenominational (American Baptist and United Church of Christ) church in New York City, famous not only for its elaborate Gothic architecture — which includes the world's largest carillon — but also as a center for the promotion of progressive causes. It is situated in Morningside Heights, Manhattan between Riverside Drive and Claremont Avenue and between 120th Street and 122nd Street

Spectacular Waterfalls From Around the World

There's nothing quite like hearing the roaring water breaking over the rocks, feeling the misty spray kiss your face. The surrounding beauty envelops you, and it's as if the chaotic noise of the our everyday world disappears. Nature's bounty offers up some of the most spectacular visions with waterfalls. These are only a few of the beauties.

Jim Jim Falls

Located in the Kakadu National Park in Australia is the 660-foot high Jim Jim Falls. Depending on the time of year, this fall can either rage with a torrent of water, or merely trickle like a faucet.


Bridal Veil Falls

Located in New Zealand is this impressive 180-foot drop-off. Most likely called bridal's veil because it does indeed look like one. The band of hard basalt rock lining the falls, has resisted thousands of years of erosion by the force of the river.


Havasu Falls, Arizona

While it doesn't have a high drop like most falls (a mere 90 feet), the scenery is outstanding. It's hard not to fall in love with the falls while leisurely taking a swim in the turquoise pools. The drop used to be 120 feet before a flash flood knocked out part of the travertine column, thus creating the dual plumes now visible today.


Iguazu Falls

Located on the border of the Brazilian state of Parana and the Argentine province of Misiones lays Iguazu Falls. Legend says that the falls were created when a god wanted to marry a mortal, Naipi. Naipi refused and fled with her lover Taroba in a canoe. Enraged, the god split the river, creating the waterfalls, and condemning the lovers to their eternal fall.


Detian Falls

It is the largest waterfall in Asia, straddling the Chinese-Vietnamese border. It is the second largest trans-national waterfall in the world ( the first being Niagara Falls). Dropping nearly 230 feet, this waterfall is one of the lesser-known beauties of Asia.


Victoria Falls

Known as the Smoke that Thunders, this waterfall drops like a curtain over a wall nearly 360 feet and about a mile wide. It is considered the largest curtain waterfall in the world. The African name is Mosi-oa-Tunya, but it was later dubbed Victoria Falls by Scottish explorer David Livingstone.


Angel Falls



It is the highest free-falling waterfall at 3,200 feet. The water is usually turned into mist, (getting hit by winds), since the drop is so severe. Base jumpers love to jump here, and some have been crushed against the wall of the falls due to the unpredictable winds.


Tugela Falls

Found in the Drakensberg (Dragon's Mountains), Tugela Falls is the second highest fall in the world. It's drop free-falls for 3,110 feet. Water rushes down a total of 5 tiers, making it one of the prettiest falls in the world.


Utigord, Norway




This Norwegian waterfall is cited by several sources as the third highest falls in the world. (Dorling Kindersley Publishers and Russell Ash in Top Ten of Everything) but the World Waterfall Database cites it as number eleven. The total drop is 818 metres or 2685 feet and there are five free leaping cascades. These falls are fed by a glacier so the water flow is seasonal and of insufficient volume to allow it to be used for hydro electric power.


Yosemite, USA

Yosemite Falls is the highest measured falls in North America. It stands at 739 metres, or 2425 feet. The water flow is at its peal in late Spring. This falls is the sixth highest falls in the world although the recent discovered of the Peruvian Gocta Cataracts has pushed it down to seventh.


Gocta Cataracts (Upper Section)

These recently discovered cataracts have two massive drops and they were not known to the outside world until they were discovered in 2005 by German explorer Stefan Ziemandorff and his Peruvian party. The height of the falls was measured at 771 metres, or 2532 feet which puts it at the third highest in the world.


Mutarazi, Zimbabwe 



This is a free leaping falls which is 761 metres, or 2499 feet high. It has two separate tiers and was listed as the fifth highest falls in the world. This has changed since the discovery of Gocha Cataracts and is now in sixth place.

World’s most beautiful roads

Blue Ridge Parkway, USA

469 miles of sheer scenic beauty dedicated to give drivers from across the world some of the most enthralling sites, the Blue Ridge Parkway, located through North Carolina and Virginia is one of the best roadways in the world when it comes to natural splendor. The longest and narrowest national park in the world, the road passes through a major mountain chain that is part of the Appalachian Mountains. Designed specifically to give the drivers an unmatched view of nature, there is no other road in the world that is custom crafted for delight of the rider like the Blue Ridge Highway!



Ice Ring Road, Iceland


If going across an entire panorama of nature’s splendor is your idea of a great drive, then the place to visit would be Iceland’s famous Ice Ring Road. This amazing 830-mile road that goes all the way across Iceland will give you a complete look at all the natural variations and various landforms the country has to offer. Deserts, glaciers, geysers, valleys, mountains, ocean and flowery farms- you name it and the long road has it right next to it. If you are brave enough to face the occasionally unruly elements, then this is the ultimate driving experience with beauty that is unparalleled.



The Amalfi Coast Road, Italy

The Amalfi coast road that stretches from Sorrento to Amalfi village is considered by many as undoubtedly the most beautiful road in entire Europe. The visually enchanting drives take you through sea-hugging cliffs and serene valleys with plenty of beautiful villages on the way. For the less adventurous, there is also an alternate route that does not run so close to the sea from the edge of the cliffs. Still very safe and exciting, the Amalfi coast road is a journey that will leave you with a lifetime of memories. 




Columbia Gorge Historic Highway 30, USA

If you wish to travel on a road that offers you a view that puts postcards to shame and brings Hollywood to reality, then the Columbia Gorge Historic Highway 30 that runs parallel to the river is the trip that you want to take your car out on. The view over some of the bridges and the canopy on both sides of the road transcends you into nature’s most beautiful spots. The arch above the road with trees and even the waterfalls along its way make it probably the most romantic road trip on the planet.


Furka Pass Road, Switzerland


Natural Passes offer some of the most beautiful roads to drive on and while we might have added the Khyber Pass to this list, the hassles that surrounds it in today’s world make it a more arduous ride than a pleasant one. Located at an altitude of 2436, the Furka Pass, between Gletsch and Andermatt, in Switzerland, offers some of the world’s most beautiful mountain roads that zigzag their way into valleys and small villages. Bringing out the beauty of Swiss Alps to the fore, this road is definitely the best way to admire the majesty of the Alps along with its timeless beauty while enjoying the flowing curves!


Atlantic Road, Norway

The fact that the Atlantic Road of Norway was voted as the Norwegian Construction of the Century in 2005 pretty much says it all about this wonderful integration of modern technology with nature’s magnificence. The road is akin to man’s stroke of brush on nature’s canvas and the view and the ride it offers is both unique and enthralling. The wonderful ride moves along a scenic five-mile stretch along highway Rv64 between Molde and Kristiansund. Best time for a ride: when a storm mild hits the ocean! Ironically, that is when the ocean under the road is at its dramatic best.



The Picos de Europa, Spain


The classic look and the ‘postcard perfect’ look of the drive that Picos de Europa offers makes it another ‘must drive’ road in Europe. The wonderfully intertwined sections of roads offers around eight hours of great drive and one can find this journey go through calm and lush green valleys with abundant natural life that is untouched by modern frenzy. The ride gives you a rare and relaxing feeling with every inch of the drive proving to be an almost rejuvenating experience.



Three Capes Scenic Route, Oregon Coast, USA

The Three Capes scenic drive comes off as a delight for everyone who loves the ocean and is close enough to take a drive on the Oregon Coastline. A trip into the ocean (almost) is guaranteed with the drive and the 40 mile drive to Cape Kiwanda acts as an extra incentive. The lush green forests on one side and the mighty blue ocean on the other make this trip the perfect blend of both worlds.


Pacific Coast Highway (Highway 1), USA


Considered by many who love their wheels as a drive that is a ‘must’ for every true motorhead, the Highway 1 drive on the Pacific Coast is simple a journey into the most beautiful stretch of road in USA that is a rare mixture of the big cities with natural beauty. Apart from the ocean, valleys and scenic beauty, one can run trough the heart of the West Coast from San Francisco to Los Angeles. A perfect holiday trip for every family, come Christmas!