News
Incredible paintings by a 6-year old boy
A street scene from the paintbrush of a child usually involves triangle-topped boxes for houses. And often an unnaturally large dog. But Kieron Williamson's attempts are so beautifully rendered that artists ten times his age will be filled with envy.
Experts have said that the six-year-old's atmospheric paintings, which began with harbour scenes and expanded to include rural vistas, animal portraits and landmarks, have perspective, shadow and reflections that demonstrate an ability well beyond his years.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1203226/Pictured-Incredible-waterco...
Race against the tide
When artists see a canvas, most of them want to fill it, even if it's with nothing more than a doodle.
But sand artist Andres Amador works with one of the biggest canvases available, with entire lengths of beaches swallowed up by his art. Sadly the sea is no discerning art critic, for once the San Francisco artist finishes his staggering artwork, the waves come in to wipe the slate clean.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1202491/Race-tide-Artist-creates-in...
The cryptic canvas
There are 50 clues hidden in the painting - your aim is to find them all and correctly identify which film they represent.
If you enter the film title in correctly, the box will turn green and the clue will fade out. If answered incorrectly, the box will turn red and you can try another answer. The quiz will end once you've answered all 50 clues correctly.
Off the wall: Astonishing 3D murals
At first glance, it looks as if some natural disaster has shaken away the walls of these buildings to reveal architecture hidden for thousands of years.
The incredibly lifelike scenes are actually huge works of art, painted on the side of perfectly intact buildings.
The paintings, which have fooled many, were created by John Pugh, who specialises in trompe l'oeil - or 'trick of the eye' - art. He uses his skills to delude the viewer into seeing 3D scenes painted on flat surfaces.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1187338/Off-wall-The-asto...
Scenes from the zoo
According to the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA), over 600 million visitors pass through the gates of over 1300 zoological parks, reserves and aquariums worldwide every year. Springtime brings many new animals to these parks as well, as newborns.
Collected here are some photographs from zoos and aquariums around the world from the past couple of months. Don't forget that 2009 has been designated as the "year of the gorilla" by the United Nations.
http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2009/04/scenes_from_the_zoo.html
We Didn't Start the Flame War
CollegeHumor video making fun of stereotypical internet commenters and a number of well known memes from sites such as Digg and YouTube.
Earth Hour 2009
Started in Sydney, Australia in 2007, Earth Hour quickly grew into a global observance. More than 1,000 cities in over 80 countries observed Earth Hour 2009 on Saturday March 28th, as homes, office towers and landmarks turned off their lights for an hour starting at 8.30 pm local time to raise awareness about climate change and the threat from rising greenhouse gas emissions.
Collected here are a series of before-and-after photographs - which (starting with the second one below) will fade between "on" and "off" when clicked. Let me state that again, since I know not everyone reads the whole intro here - starting with image #2, click on the images to see an animated fade between "on" and "off".
http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2009/03/earth_hour_2009.html
Bathtub IV
Sydney based photographer Keith Loutit combines a variety of techniques including tilt-shift and time-lapse photography, aiming to help people take a second look at places that are familiar to them.
How Akaasha and Mavrick became friends
Like a cat peering into a goldfish bowl, Akaasha the tiger cub is transfixed by a dolphin staring back at her.
Curiosity got the better of both Akaasha and Mavrick, a 14-month-old dolphin who's probably more used to a crowd of human faces gazing into his glass tank at a Californian theme park.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1159891/Whats-new-pussyca...
China's Lantern Festival
Marking the end of the Chinese New Year, the Lantern Festival takes place on the 15th day of the year - during the first full moon. People across Mainland China and Taiwan celebrate the festival in many colorful ways, from fiery folk traditions to firework displays and laser shows. Unfortunately, this year's festival ended on a somewhat sour note as an unauthorized fireworks show set an unoccupied skyscraper on fire in downtown Beijing, and one firefighter lost his life fighting the blaze.
Collected here are 27 photos of the festival, and a handful from the Mandarin Oriental Hotel fire in Beijing.
http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2009/02/chinas_lantern_festival_and_an.htm...
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