Last week I included a reference to Alexander McQueen’s Tattoo Dress in my Tuesday posting. In spite of being a complete fashionista, I was unaware of this designer – even though he did do Whats-her-name’s wedding dress.
Unfortunately, McQueen ended his own life in 2010. I find his designs imaginative and striking . . .
And sometimes, weird . . .
The Tattoo Dress
The Fifth of November – Guy Fawkes Day . . .
The year was 1605 and some English Catholics were angry because the King of England, James the first, was treating them badly. In November 1605 a group of men made a plan to blow up the Houses of Parliament (the government buildings) in London. An enormous explosion was planned for November 5th. This was the day that the King was due to open parliament. The plan is known as the ‘Gunpowder Plot’ and the leader of the group was called Guy Fawkes. The men put 36 barrels of gunpowder (a type of explosive) in the Houses of Parliament and they waited for the King to arrive. The group decided that Guy Fawkes should light the gunpowder and cause the explosion. Did they succeed? No, they didn’t. The police found the gunpowder before it exploded and they caught all the men involved in the plot. The men were tortured and killed. To celebrate his survival, King James ordered the people of England to have a bonfire on the night of November 5th.
Hot air is the answer. Enjoy the timelapse video from the Albuquerque Balloon Festival 2014.
My link came from wordlesstech.
Dedicated on October 28, 1886, today is the 128th birthday of the Statue of Liberty, standing on Bedloe’s Island in New York Harbor. A gift from the people of France, the statue is 305 feet high, is composed of copper, wrought iron and steel, and was designed by architect, Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi. For “the true story of the Statue of Liberty, click this link.
Want more views? Visit the crown cam.
I remember traveling to NYC with my sister and two aunts when I was nine. We did all the tourist stuff including climbing to the top of the statue. I loved it.
And the tattoo:
“When I turned on the light, I couldn’t quite understand what I was seeing,” Piotr Naskrecki said about his encounter with the Goliath Birdeater Spider in the rainforest of Guyana.
Okay, this is not sappy spider blogging – this is Creepy, Enormous, NIGHTMARE spider blogging. This specimen has a leg span of up to a foot, 2 inch long fangs and a fist-sized body. The Goliath also has hardened feet that make it sound like horses hooves when it walks.
It gets better:
When Naskrecki approached the imposing creature in the rainforest, it would rub its hind legs against its abdomen. At first, the scientist thought the behavior was “cute,” he said, but then he realized the spider was sending out a cloud of hairs with microscopic barbs on them. When these hairs get in the eyes or other mucous membranes, they are “extremely painful and itchy,” and can stay there for days, he said.
I’m never going there, nope, never.
Read more here at Live Science.
Photo credit: Piotr Naskrecki
If you stand underneath the Eiffel Tower at night, this is the view you will have.
And this is what it looks like in daylight.
The Eiffel Tower is my all time favorite building- edging out the Chrysler Building and the Terminal Tower in MHT.
Some facts:
The tower weighs around 10,000 tonnes.
There are just over 18,000 metallic parts in the tower, held together by 2.5 million rivets.
They were assembled by 121 workers, while 50 engineers and designers produced the blueprints.
It shrinks by about six inches in cold weather, and can grow by six inches on a sunny day.
It’s painted with 60 tons of paint every few years to stop it rusting.
It sways a couple of inches in the wind.
It’s the most-visited paid monument on Earth.
The photos and the facts are from Buzzfeed.
Scans of the original blueprints and a 360 degree tour can be found at the Eiffel Tower website.
This ancient Greek town is made entirely of Legos and was created by Lasse Vestergard. It took him two months to complete and measures 7.5 x 9 feet.
Look at the details . . .
Reblogged from wordless Tech.
This turtle house may be located in the Gobi Desert. I don’t know anything more about it, but thought it was appropriate for Terrapin Day.
Terrapin is a term used in English for several smaller species of turtle living in fresh or brackish water. Terrapins do not form a taxonomic unit, and may not be very closely related, although many belong to the families Geoemydidae and Emydidae. A distinction between turtle and terrapin does not exist in other European languages. The name “terrapin” is derived from the Algonquian word torope used for Malaclemys terrapin. In the UK red-eared sliders are known as “red-eared terrapins”.
Here are some more –
Diamond Back Terrapin
Red-eared Slider
Spiny Terrapin from Asia
While these big kitties are acting like my Sam and Hobbes, I say don’t try this at home.
For all signspotters, today’s post is re-blogged from Just English, with appreciation.
As most adventurous travellers know, when exploring the far and remote corners of the world, it can be difficult to communicate clearly.
Try as we might to understand the local rhetoric and interact effectively, there’s still something to be said for those hilarious moments of misunderstanding.
One of the instances most easy (and most fun) to misinterpret?
Signage gone wrong.
Doug Lansky has collected the best signage fails from his travels around the world for Lonely Planet’s latest book. Pictured: a hotel sign points out the obvious in Austin, Texas
Although the prices are unclear, a Beijing cafe’s tasteless coffee option seems far less appetising
In Essex, England, this sign doesn’t do a very good job of keeping this top-secret location under wraps
And that is the topic of Lonely Planet’s latest book: Ultimate Signspotting: Absurd And Amusing Signs From Around The World.
For those who enjoy living life on the edge, this sign in Suzhou, China, is made for you
This sign in Rome, Georgia, has us asking: how much do new rainbows go for?
It’s clear from this Ambridge, Pennsylvania sign that Reverend John Ritter is one very content fellow
‘That is, new hilarious signs are going up all the time. At times, it seems like a race between the people who put up these ridiculous signs and those who try to photograph them.
‘Over the last 20 years, I’ve gathered well over 50,000 sign photos from well-travelled amateur and professional photographers.
‘Trying to decide which is unintentially funny enough to merit inclusion in a Signspotting book has been a challenge.
‘Trying to select favourites among those for this ‘ultimate collection’ has been downright unnerving.’
In Maui, Hawaii, the definition of the word ‘bottomless’ clearly means 65 feet
Slippery pedestrians are a problem when it rains, according to this grammar fail in San Francisco, California
A local dental clinic in Taipei, Taiwan sure doesn’t do much to assure nervous patients
In Dublin, Ireland, drivers are encouraged never to settle for second best
Ironically, the view of this New Hampshire sign is anything but clear
Commuters in Camebridge, Massachusetts, are warned of some major delays with this hilarious sign
Ears too floppy? Nose too long? According to this sign in Jaipur, India, there are people here to help
Firearms, fibers, any news or behaviors that make me say, "hmm, let me take another look at this."
I still miss my man, but my aim is getting better.
Gunsmoke and Knitting 