Usually when we think of “art”, things like sculptures or paintings come to mind; in other words, stuff you can hang on the wall or keep in your atrium to be the envy of your neighborhood’s upper crust (everyone is lower-upper class, right?  That’s what TV tells me).

But there is a new form that not only requires skill, it requires science, and likely access to equipment most of us do not have in our homes, or possibly even in our city.

10.  Nano Rose

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This rose was created by a Taiwanese person named Pai Chun Wei at the National Taiwan University.  It was made using Indium, which I didn’t even know was a thing.  What’s next?  Germanium?  Oh, wait…

Most people have a hard time making fancy roses out of tomato skins, but this rose is mere hundreds of nanometers across; for perspective, a human hair is between 50,000 to 100,000 nanometers across.  I wouldn’t suggest giving these to your significant other in place of real flowers any time soon (unless you are dating a nerd).

9.  Nano Explosions

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These “explosions” are actually “color-enhanced scanning electron micrographs of an overflowed electro-deposited magnetic nanowire array”.  I am not sure what all of that means, but I think it has something to do with zapping tiny wires, taking a picture with an electron microscope and then photoshopping it so that it looks like an army of tiny volcanoes or a nuclear Armageddon on a microscopic scale.  This one was created by Fanny Beron from Montreal, and was a first place winner at the 2007 Science As Art competition in Boston.

8.  Nano Dice

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Also a first place winner at the 2007 Science As Art competition, these dice were “self-assembled” out of nickel, and measure a whopping 200 microns across, making them roughly twice the width of a tick hair.  Timothy Leong of Johns Hopkins University made them, I am assuming to provide mice with tiny novelty trinkets of their own, or for protozoans to hang from their rearview mirrors.  I would have been impressed enough with the tiny cubes, but getting the dots on them blew me away.  I can’t even glue the hood on a model car without getting glue on the axels.

7.  Nano Reindeer

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I couldn’t find anything in plain English that described how this was made, so I am just going to say, “holy crap, they made a reindeer 5 thousandths of a millimeter across!”  Imagine the little houses they would land on, bringing toys to the children of dust mites and really big bacteria.  No kidding these ones can fly; they’re smaller than a snowflake, so a light breeze could take them miles.  All they would need is a minuscule Santa to…oh, here we go.

6.  Nano Santa

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So Nano-Santa is a tad larger than the reindeer but, really, at that scale I don’t think it matters.  This was created by Adam Steele for the SAA competition, and won him second place.  The caption at the bottom of the picture implies that it was created using carbon nanotubes and Teflon.  Unfortunately, Nano-Santa appears to have fallen out of his sleigh and landed on some rocks, so let’s hope there is a microscopic Hanukkah Harry to bail him out.

5.  Nano Smileys

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The man who made these little fellas called them “buddies”, and they are about the cutest thing there is on a molecular level.  These are probably what puppies and little girls are made of.  Except maybe the little guy in the upper left who appears to be screaming.  Probably because the two next to him are missing parts of their heads.  And two of them are missing their jaws, like the guy in the next room in Road Trip.  On second thought, I don’t think a smiling nanoface could get much more disturbing than these…

4.  Evil Nano Pac-Man

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AHHHH!  Holy crap!  I stand corrected.

Good lord!  It’s like someone mixed Pac-Man, Venom and Rorschach and came up with a hybrid more terrifying than the sum of its parts.  Elisabetta Comini from the University of Brescia in Italy crafted this monstrosity out of copper oxide, and is only 3.5 microns across.  She won the first prize at the 2010 SAA competition in San Francisco, probably after threatening to unleash her terrifying horde on the world’s nightmares if she did not.

3.  Nano Garden

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Thankfully, this incredible nano-garden exists to soothe away the terror brought on by the other images.  It looks like they are growing some tiny Titam Arum, micro succulents, and hmm…looks like some lamp shades over in the lower left?  Whatever, it’s surprisingly pretty for being so small, and interestingly well-ordered.  I could go into some jokes about viruses harvesting this for winter but, by now, I’m sure you’re tired of the “small” jokes and…oops, looks like I did it anyway.

2.  Coat of Arms in Carbon Nanotube

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Carbon nanotubes are the miracle material of the future; they will be used in the organic LEDS that make up our TVs and monitors, they will be used to build impossible structures that are as strong as diamonds, and make almost 100%-efficient solar cells.  They will also be used to make impossibly tiny pictures of the Yin-Yang symbol or your coat of arms.  You know, whichever.  These images were made using quantum dots arranged on a surface of CNTs using optical tweezers.  I know that sounds like I lifted lines from a Phillip K. Dick novel, but those are all real things.

1.  Nano Landmarks

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Now, while the others are pretty impressive already, these ones ranked higher because no one needed to pull any clever color manipulation to make them stand out.  They are immediately and easily identifiable landmarks rendered in 3-D at a scale only visible with an electron microscope. It’s easy to imagine bacterial Mongols being held at bay, or a group of amoeba druids praying to the moon. Or maybe that’s just me.

Written By David Dietle

This strange and rare phenomenon is caused when salt water reacts with decaying organic materials and is whipped up into a frothy foam by waves and currents.  This Cappuccino Coast was photographed in Cape Town, South Africa.

Kingdom Animalia is always full of surprises. No matter where you look, you can see creatures with the most astounding natural or learned mechanisms. From the biggest to the smallest organism, there are many things about animals that can truly make our jaws drop. The ones listed here have the eye-popping abilities to mimic the fauna around them. They copy leaves, flowers, and even algae. Without a doubt, these are the most impressive when it comes to mimicking plants.

1. Ghost Mantis

Is that a leaf or a mantis? Many people would certainly say leaf, even if they see these moving. The sole member of the genus Phyllocrania, these small species of mantis can be found across Africa. They are very small and can grow only up to 2 inches long. They comes in various colors: several shades of brown and greenish gray. They look like dead leaves. In fact, most parts of their body look like leaves that have dried up. They live for up to two years.

2. Green Plant-Hopper

Also called the torpedo bug, this insect’s scientific name is Siphanta acuta. This beautiful insect feeds on plants and looks like a leaf. When they are at rest, their green wings cover their bodies much like a sloping roof. They are small, with an average length of 15 mm or half an inch. Their name Torpedo Bug is due to the fact that their nymphs can leap to about two feet. They are native to Australia but they can now be found in Hawaii and New Zealand as well. One can find them in California, too.

3. Stick Insect

As the name suggests, this is an insect that looks a lot like a stick. They actually look more like a eucalyptus twig.  Incidentally, their main source of food is the eucalyptus tree. They have long and slender bodies but they can also fly. They can grow for up to 18 centimeters long. These insects are natives of the southern part of Australia. They have made the woodlands of New South Wales and Victoria home but most of them can be found in places that are nearer to the waters.

4. Leafy Sea Dragon

What a beautiful seeweed! Upon closer inspection, though, you will realize that this is a fish that belongs to the same family as seahorses. Under the water, they look like floating seaweed. They have body parts that look  a lot like leaves. These leaf-like body parts of not used for moving under the water. They are simply used for blending in to their environment. What they use to move are fins that are transparent. These fins are difficult to see, making the leafy sea dragon look less like an animal and more like the plant it mimics.

5.  Devil’s Flower Mantis

Another mantis that can mimic plants like it’s the most natural thing in the world. Well, in their world, it IS the most natural thing. The Devil’s Flower Mantis is colorful and actually quite beautiful. It will not be called King of all Mantids for nothing. With its lovely wing and body colors, it is easy to mistake this mantis as a flower or even a leaf. There are many mantids that mimic flowers but this particular species is quite adept at it, largely due to its beautiful appearance.

6. Weedy Seadragon

This is another relative of the seahorse and the Leafy Sea Dragon mentioned above. Although not quite as strange-looking as the Leafy Sea Dragon, the Phyllopteryx taeniolatus can easily hide in seaweed beds because of their leaf-like body projections. They are native to the southern coast of Australia and can be found mainly in waters between 3 to 50 meters deep. When they are moving over shallow waters, it is easy to mistake them as floating weed. They feed on small crustraceans and zooplankton.

7. Satanic Leaf-tailed Gecko

These geckos can be found mainly in Madagascar and has a couple of other interesting names. One can also call it the eyelash leaf tailed gecko or the fantastic leaf tailed gecko. The latter is an obvious praise to its ability to mimic plants. What’s interesting about this gecko is its flat tail. Resembling a leaf, the tail makes it easy for the gecko to blend in to its surroundings. Due to this trait, they can hunt for food and hide when they need to.

8. Frogfish

One of the sea animals known for its aggressive mimicry, there are many things with which the frogfish can turn themselves into in order to find food or hide from predators. Some frogfish look like stones or corals while  there are others that can copy sea squirts or even sponges. Some can mimic other marine life, such as sea urchins. Of course, since they have been included in this list, it is essential to point out that there are some frogfish that look like they are covered in algae. Without these natural mechanisms, the frogfish is actually quite helpless against other sea animals.

9. Leaf Scorpionfish

This is another sea animal that mimics a dead leaf. They do this to catch their prey by surprise. Aside from looking like a leaf, they actually act like the plant that they mimic as well. What they do is hide under corals or float above the sea floor like a dead leaf. They move like they are being rocked by the currents. Their prey, assuming that the Leaf Scorponfish is just harmless plant life, move closer, unaware that they are moving closer to their doom.

10. Eastern Long-Necked Turtle

These are turtles with necks that they can bend their head sideways into their shells. They are native to Australia and can mostly be found in freshwater swamps, dams, and lakes. Their plant mimicry comes in the form of algae growing on their shells. When they are not moving, they look a lot like rocks, thereby escaping predators or even humans with evil intentions.

Photo Credits:

Photo 1, Photo 2, Photo 3, Photo 4, Photo 5, Photo 6,  Photo 7, Photo 8, Photo 9, Photo 10

From wildlife to magic to a guy sleeping on the back of a buffalo, this post has photographs from all kinds of photographers to take inspiration from.  Some of these photos are plain Epic and some make you think whether photographer always have their cameras ready to take that perfect shot because of the perfect timing in some of these photos.

We have collected over 70 majestic photographs that are simply to good to miss. Perfect timing, perfect place and perfect situation is what makes these photographs so beautiful and love-able.

The Fearless Cat

Dael

Giraffe says Hi!.

Y

Idealists…foolish enough to throw caution to the winds…have advanced mankind and have enriched the world.

Kry

Back Off!

day forty two – trapped [Explored FP]

A Lesson in Rockin’ Out

Things never happen the same way twice

Coffee Splash #2

Slow Motion

Thirsty

The Wrath

Clown And Man

Black Swan

Dance evening for invalids

Lenticular cloud

facilite

Antelope canyon sunrise

Flour Power

Fire in the sky

******

infinity

Cold sore in the morning

the way i choose

I promised awesome

Central Park 8

Spiderweb and Barbed Wire in the morning fog

Search Engine

Take care of Earth

Mercurial Maple – Explore Oct. 15 #170

Foxes (Fooling around)

Longtail

Bardenas

22

Father

The mask

Key GROSS (Konstantin Smirnov)

Love

sleeping beauty

Pol Tergejst

the loneliness of the cross-country skier

Seagulls

wing

The killer..

Urge Homeland Security Not to Buy Dogs from Breeders

Lake Khovsgol, Mongolia (no border)

a peck on his cheek

pixie dust

Mourning for Imam Hussain

Dramatic Shot

145/365

Death by dominoes. 179.365

torak

Self

Sadness

Clouds Not On The Sky

the lighthouse

struggling with gravity

I have dreams.

buzzard

sarong

New Heights

The magician

Hanni

Alien

Confrontation

Source: dpshots.com

Like a modern day Dr Frankenstein, Enrique Gomez De Molina creates hauntingly stunning hybrid sculptures made from the stuffed parts of dead animals.

But it is his beloved mythical creatures that could land the Miami artist in jail for up to five years and see him forking out $250,000 in fines.

De Molina uses the parts of once-living animals and merges them together to create strange beings, one example features the head of two swans on the body of a goat and another shows the head of a squirrel meshed with a crab.

The artist pleaded guilty to illegally importing parts from endangered species to make the unique pieces of art after his arrest in November, reports Miami New Times.

He smuggled in the parts, skins and remains, from whole cobras, pangolins, hornbills, and the skulls of babirusa and orangutans from areas all over the world including Bali, Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines and China.

According to the report, he is charged with possessing the skins of a Java kingfisher, collared kingfisher, bird of paradise, and juvenile hawk-eagle as well as the carcasses of a slow loris and a mouse deer, all from Indonesia.

The artist had not obtained the required permits to import the animal parts, and police claim De Molina knew what he was doing was illegal as he asked the people he bought them from to wrap them in carbon paper, according to the MN Times.

De Molina’s work was exhibited at the Scope Art Fair, one of the leading Art Basel Miami Beach satellite fairs, with two of his controversial pieces fetching a total of $100,000

He offers his pieces through galleries and on the internet for prices ranging up to $80,000.

The artist claims that he aimed to raise awareness with his work to the danger faced by a range of species, with his surreal pieces representing the dangers of genetic engineering and human intervention.

On a website showcasing his work he says: ‘The impossibility of my creatures brings me both joy and sadness at the same time.

The joy comes from seeing and experiencing the Fantasy of the work but that
is coupled with the sadness of the fact that we are destroying all of these beautiful things.’

De Molina‘s is due to appear in court for sentencing March 2.

Watch video of artist here

Found out this interesting wrath of the angry birds! Angry bird’s fan, you surely like this post! Check this out.

People do weird things, sometimes for fun & sometimes to become famous and unique among others. Latest top ten is listing top 10weird and amazing beard and mustache styles. Beard & mustache styles and different designs are very popular these days among the young men specially with ironic slogans, pipe drain jeans & trucker caps. Mustache & beard in their natural form look decent & awesome but when somebody does some weird things with mustache and beard, decency becomes too much weird & strange. Let’s have a look at thelist of top 10 weird and amazing beard and mustache designs…

1. The Octo-Beard

The number one item on our list of ten weirdest bear and mustache designs comes from Matt Rainwaters’ Beardfolio, a collection of portraits featuring men with unusual, odd or otherwise extravagant facial hair. These men, however, don’t just sport goatees or soul-patches. Oh no. Those are for wimps and hipster kids. They go for full-on gnarly beards. Such as this fantabulous tentacle-beard which, willingly or not, tends to remind one of an octopus.

2. The Sea Lion Beard

Part lumberjack, part post-modern, ironic, Nick Cave-inspired, this look tends to remind us of aSea Lion. It probably has something to do with the awfully bored look on the face of its bearer. Irrespectively, we admire the owner of this title on our list of weird beard and mustache designs for the intense combing he probably has to put into his grooming every morning. Or so we hope, at least…

3. The Gravity-Defying Beard

Now this is one long ‘stache. Can you imagine the amount of hairspray that has to go into it, in order to make it look like this? This item on our list of weird beard and mustache designs has something playful about it, reminding us of an old magician, full of cool tricks. However, as far as practicality, or a getting a tax-paying job are concerned… we’re not so sure it’s that cool.

4. The Darth-Vader-ish Beard and Mustache Design

This guy didn’t make our list of weird beard and mustache designs for no reason. Not only is his bear awfully long and unnaturally straight – he definitely has to comb it and apply hairspray every day. He decided it would be ‘awesome’ to pair it with curled-up mustaches, that seem to compete for reaching his ears at top speed.

5. The Dali

This look is obviously inspired by surrealist painter Salvador Dali. Now, Salvador Dali was a weirdo, but he also happened to be an artistic genius. Unfortunately for the less gifted weirdos out there, society has this double standard, inasmuch as it forgives brilliant minds their little oddities, yet bashes non-geniuses on a regular basis. That’s exactly what we’re doing here. So, no, Mr. Fake Dali, this does not look good on you.

6. World’s Longest Beard

This gingerly character is something of a cult icons among dudes who like to sport weird beard and mustache designs. This is David Traver, winner of the 2009 world title of Longest Natural Bear. We can’t say we don’t admire his resilience, but still… Wouldn’t want to be alone in a dark room with this.

7. The Brandenburg Gate Beard

The owner of this item on our list of weird beard and mustache designs lists probably thinks he has taken facial hair-growing to an art. After all, he has transformed his mustache into the world famous symbol of Berlin – the Brandenburg Gate. While the intricacy of the design and the amount of effort that went into it are to be commended… We don’t know about walking down the street with it. You can seriously harm someone with that thing!

8. The Mustache Bagel

This item on the weird beard and mustache designs list comes from the World Beard and Mustache Championship, where a lot of these designs were proudly featured, as a matter of fact. It’s not actually called ‘The Bagel’, but it sure does look like one! Mmm… fresh baked bagels…

9. Feline Ferociousness

This guy right here sure must love cats, because he chose to grow whiskers just like theirs! What word could best describe this? Freaky? Weird… That’s just too light… In any case, it amazes us how these guys will go to great lengths (sometimes literally) and use tons of products (in this case hair gel or hair wax) for their beards and mustaches, not for the hair on their heads!

10. Beard Cages

This impossibly strange design comes from the National Beard and Mustache Championships in Tacoma. It is too weird for words to actually begin describing it. Not only does it have us wondering on the architecture and engineering behind it, but it actually features a functioning door which allows the owner to eat and drink through.

Running, walking, working out, biking, and other sport activities are healthy for your body. We were not meant to be couch potatoes, that only walk to and from the car. Believe it or not, I personally workout three times a week. I don’t force myself either. I’m literally exited to go workout, and release built up stress. It’s like an addiction I can’t explain. However I did read an article that said a special chemical gets released in your brain when you do physical exercising. Maybe that’s the reason I can’t stop. If that indeed is the case, I’m glad I have an addiction to staying fit!

According to Center of Disease Control, one-third of U.S. adults (33.8%) are obese. If that doesn’t sound bad, approximately 17% (or 12.5 million) of children and adolescents aged 2—19 years are obese. This is nothing to be proud of, and we need to change those numbers. So how can a lazy person lose the unwanted weight? One might say by exercising.

I would agree 100% that exercising is a great option. However here is the down side, you are dealing with lazy people. How do lazy people think they can lose weight?Simple, by using harmful weight-loss drugs. Later on they find out that the commercials were too good too be true. Now the only option left (without using liposuction) is to actually workout at a gym.

What most people don’t realize, is that the weight loss companies praise unhealthy foods and restaurants. Why you ask? Simple, that unhealthy food is creating potential consumers for their product. Whether you thinks that true or not, is up to you. This conclusion is based solely on my personal experience, and should not be taken professionally. While it sounds sad that’s how this world works, it’s just simply business.

Let’s move away from the ugly truth. One of the things I love about the fitness industry, is that there are so many creative ways to advertise ‘health and fitness’ products. We came across some truly clever ads that will excite you to get fit. Some of them are provoking, some are hilarious, and one of them actually makes you do neck exercises. We wont spoil that surprise   For other advertising professionals who are reading this, we hope these ads will serve as great inspiration for your next project.

World Gym: Problem, 3

Silberman’s Fitness Center

VIP Gym: Chairs

Total Nutrition Corporation, GNC Burn 60: Burn bag

Y+ Yoga Center Advertisement

WeightWatchers: Bus

Powerhouse Gym: Cable flys

Oxygo Gym

Fitness First Bus Stop Scale

Gold’s Gym Costa Rica: Belt, Button, Tie

Powerhouse Gym: Leg press

Weight Watchers: Doors

Bootcamps Australia: Bed

Gold’s Gym: Elevator

Gold’s Gym: Facebook

Sharmila’s Yoga Zone: Directions

German Olympic Sport Federation: David

Gold’s Gym: Truck

Fitness Experience Santa

Compannia Athletica

Godoi Muscle Gym: Metric tape, Thigh