Free Republic

There are blue/grey herons around the world, and there are 3 in the USA, plus the Reddish Heron which has a blue cast. I seldom see a Reddish Heron this far North.I got the main trio today in just a few minutes. Little Blue Heron Egretta caerulea Tricolored heron Egretta tricolor Great Blue Heron Ardea herodias

These amazing festive images were painted by an armless thalidomide victim, using his right foot. The stunning paintings will appear on Christmas cards and sold all over the world. Peter Longstaff's artwork pieces include flickering candles and another depicts a stag in a magical winter wonderland setting And as well as teaching himself to paint, the 48-year-old has lived life to the full as a pig farmer, father and youth football coach. Peter was one of many babies born with deformities in the in late 1950s and early 60s when their pregnant mothers were given the drug thalidomide to combat...

Sorry about not putting up an image last week -- circumstances intervened. But I had already come up with this idea, and I think it's appropriate for a holiday (at least in the U.S.) week where there are a lot of travelers. Also, this is a user participation thread. I invite readers to find other examples and post them here. If you've never done that before, if you find an image, you can (in Windows) click on it and get an option to "Copy Image Location". If you do that, then in a response you use HTML code: img src="image...

Most people think Billy Pappas is crazy.  And why wouldn’t they?  Who other than a crazy person would spend more than 8 years of his life drawing a single portrait? And of a celebrity, no less?  But that’s what Pappas did. Every day, seven Billy Pappashours a day, Pappas stood in front of an easel, arms steadied by slings and drew, with a razor sharp pencil, what he believes to be the most detailed, precise and life-like drawing ever created. His 14” × 17” work is based on Richard Avedon’s 1957 photograph of Marilyn Monroe. It’s not an iconic photo, but it might show Marilyn Monroe...

Adam Lambert, the American Idol star, outraged viewers of the American Music Awards with an X-rated performance in which he simulated oral sex with a male dancer. Lambert set out to shock with a risque routine which also saw him kissing a male band mate and walking two men in bondage gear across the stage on dog leads. He was singing his new release, For Your Entertainment. After the performance, his first since American Idol, Lambert said: "I'm hoping people were entertained. For those who weren't, maybe I'm not your cup of tea." If the show was to be censored...

What we knew then and what we've lost.

Today our dish is picturesque photos taken from one of the balconies of the business complex “Mirax Plaza” in Moscow.

Stunning Color Pic Image of Great Wall of China in URL http://img4.imageshack.us/img4/7313/greatwall13.jpg

Sorry, kids—scientists have not discovered the first known bubblegum-blowing sea creature. But they have found the only known corals to eat adult jellyfish, a new study says. Opening wide--yes, that's a mouth--a mushroom coral ingests a roughly 4-and-a-half-inch-wide (12-centimeter) moon jellyfish (pictured) in the Red Sea in March 2009. And this coral wasn't alone. The study, led by scientists from Israel's Bar-Ilan University and Tel Aviv University, witnessed other corals dining on the jellyfish. Marine ecologist Jennifer Smith, who wasn't part of the study, agreed the find was unique, though she's "not entirely surprised." Mushroom corals, which have soft bodies,...

This painting appears on Jews For The Preservation of Firearms Ownership, Articles page. I've looked everywhere for a copy. JPFO thought they found the painting at a rummage sale, and weren't sure they still had the original. They do not sell copies. The signature is K. Henry. If anyone knows anything about the painting or artist, I would love to hear from you. http://www.jpfo.org/images02/AU6_0102%20copy.jpg

Frogs, flowers and insects feature among winners of a museum's competition for photographs inspired by Charles Darwin

I can't believe the Cartwrights sang sooo badly in this!!

High definition, the final frontier. Where nerds can boldly go where no moviegoer has gone before. With the Blu-ray release of the "Star Trek" movie prequel, these brave fans can obsess over the film's tiny details, including whether or not a very famous robot had a cameo that nobody noticed.

Check out this very cute video of Frank with a children's chorus. Positive in a Ronald Reagan way. Makes me nostalgic for the era it was filmed in which must have been late fifties to early sixties http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vOPDI03gmUw

Maria Sanchez Lake is almost downtown St. Augustine, a residential area with older homes. The lake is a bird magnet and there are often some nice flowers in yards around the lake. If you don't see any birds near the water look up in the Oak trees. This Great Egret and the White Ibis were waiting for the tide to start in. This flower is a Lycoris, it was almost hidden by someone's garbage can.

Kenton Rowe's fortune as a wildlife photographer would change in less than one second; the amount of time it takes for a shutter to open and close, the light burning a digital image onto a disk. And in that second, the mountain lion and her cub were forever captured, their likenesses then downloaded to a computer, printed to paper and presented to a panel of judges who would sift through 70,000 photographs at this year's National Wildlife Federation photo contest.

A terra cotta warrior and horse is seen during a media preview for the exhibit "Terra Cotta Warriors: Guardians of China's First Emperor" at the National Geographic in Washington on November 17, 2009. The exhibit, which opens November 19, features 15 terra cotta figures. UPI/Kevin Dietsch

Mountain goats are no exception to the general rule among mammals that larger males sire more and healthier offspring. But University of Alberta researcher David Coltman has found a genetic quirk that might make female mountain goats think twice about their romantic partners. Big, heavy males mountain goats shove lightweight Romeos aside taking the eligible females for themselves. The larger males pass their physical attributes and mating success to their male heirs. But Coltman's data shows the daughters of the big, bruisers are routinely smaller and less fit than females produced by physically more modest fathers. Nature can be cruel...

Former Velvet Underground members Lou Reed, Maureen Tucker and Doug Yule will make an extremely rare joint public appearance on December 8 at the New York Public Library. The three will discuss the Velvet Underground's music and legacy with rock journalist David Fricke as part of the "LIVE from the NYPL" series. The reunion of the legendary New York band comes on the heels of the publication of "The Velvet Underground: New York Art," a compendium of previously unseen photographs, poster and cover designs by Andy Warhol, Lou Reed's handwritten music and lyrics, underground press clippings and other reviews, flyers,...

After 60 years in a watery Hawaiian grave, two World War II-era Japanese attack submarines have been discovered near Pearl Harbor, marine archaeologists announced today. Specifically designed for a stealth attack on the U.S. East Coast--perhaps targeting Washington, D.C., and New York City--the "samurai subs" were fast, far-ranging, and in some cases carried folding-wing aircraft, according to Dik Daso, curator of modern military aircraft at the Smithsonian's Air and Space Museum, speaking in the new National Geographic documentary Hunt for the Samurai Subs. When World War II ended in 1945, the U.S. Navy seized the Japanese fleet in the Pacific,...

The bubbling, roiling surface of the sun has been imaged in unprecedented detail, shedding light on the processes at work on the solar surface. Images of transient dark spots, the sun's seemingly granulated texture and moving packets of gas were snapped by the SUNRISE balloon-borne telescope. SUNRISE, the largest solar telescope ever to have left Earth was launched from the ESRANGE Space Centre in Kiruna, northern Sweden, on June 8. The 6-ton telescope is dangling from a gigantic helium balloon with a diameter of 427 feet (130 meters). After launch, SUNRISE reached a cruising altitude of 37 km above the...

Here's the first teaser image

It's a lot cooler now but we still have some flowers hanging on. I spent about an hour at the county arboretum, it's a great place to just sit. I saw the first flock of pelicans coming in today, a few singles have been around, but the migration is really rolling now. There will be ducks coming in any time. Since I retired my schedule has revolved around the tides and seasons, don't count on me to show up on time for anything else!

German amateur astronomer Bernhard Christ was in the right place at the right time — due to very careful planning and foresight — and captured this astonishing scene: [Click to embiggen.]That’s the International Space Station crossing the face of the Moon, what astronomers call a transit (like an eclipse, but when something small goes in front of something big). This image is actually a composite of several images taken in a row, with some sharpening to make it cleaner looking. The transit only lasted for 0.4 seconds, so Christ had to be on the ball to capture this. He used...

Here’s a video that’s going viral on YouTube. National Geographic photographer Paul Nicklen traveled to Antarctica to photograph leopard seals in the water. After arriving, they came across one of the largest leopard seals his experienced guide had ever seen. What happened next you’ll have to see to believe: VIDEO LINK For more on this event, you can read this interview with Paul Nicklen, and check out the photographs that resulted in this gallery.

The latest object to shoot high-def video from the edge of space is…an arm chair. To promote its REGZA SV LCD TVs (LED backlight, local dimming), Toshiba trekked into the Black Rock Desert with a helium balloon. Watch the result: Click here to go to page with video. This is the first part of the ad. The second half for their Satellite T Series ULV laptops will come out next year. [Toshiba UK via Engadget] Facts about the shoot: • The shots were taken at a staggering 98,268 feet above the earth using Toshiba's own cameras • To reach the...

I saw the movies 2012 last night with my children. FIRST and most important, not a schred of anti-republican politics (like the kind that ruined "the day after tomorrow") We saw it in an amazing local theatre with comfortable chairs and an incredible sound system - which is almost mandatory for this movie. The sounds will shake you in your seat and certainly add to the experience. My children (all girls) are above age 10 and the PG13 rating is good for the loud noise and incredible special effects- not ANYTHING sexual or perverted. They were not scared and though...

BEVERLY HILLS — When you’re the Sexiest Vampire Alive, the ladies want to sink their dentures into you. Robert Pattinson runs a hand through all that professionally moussed hair and recalls his strangest encounter with an intense and quite mature “Twilight” fan. At first, it all sounds quite normal. She rushed him in an airport, telling him that he was quite the looker. “[She] was around 92 years old,” he says. “I always find it funny when older people come up. The strange thing is the 92-year-old lady said the same thing as the 12-year-old girls.” Pattinson has become a...

When the eggheads speak of tribalism in Iraq and Afghanistan, they're usually talking about the loyalties of the locals. But if anything in these countries is tribal, it's the U.S. military, with its array of heraldry and slogans. Some of the art painted on the blast walls here speaks of regional pride, but a lot of it declares, in words and images, that the people who work herein are the baddest dudes (and dudettes) around. Lots of Hellriders, Grim Reapers, Devil Gunners and whatnot. Even the finance and legal companies try to make themselves sound menacing.

I am Kiowa Winans, Executive Producer of the movie, "Ink," which was bit torrented by pirates and consequently became one of the top 20 most popular movies online. We are shocked by this whole thing. We made our movie in Denver, CO with a very small budget and have done all of the distribution ourselves, fighting to bring it to 15 cities for theatrical screenings. We figured it would be pirated eventually, but didn't expect it to happen so soon or for it to take off the way it has. We are indie filmmakers, have zero studio funding and are...

Polar Bear Photographed Blowing Bubble A polar bear has been photographed blowing an underwater air bubble. [Pic in URL] By Ben Leach 12 Nov 2009 The giant creature performed the stunt in front of onlookers in a glass zoo tunnel in Gelsenkirchen, Germany. Peter Schmidt, a retired doctor, took the photograph after spotting the bear in mid-blow. He said: "When I went to visit the zoo I met a TV crew. There is a tunnel under the water where you can see the polar bears and sea lions. "The film crew were quite angry because they had been there for...

Not hard to figure out the inspiration for this one; frequently active and usually dangerous Mayon is set for another throat-clearing. Mayon erupting: Click for full-size: Mayon not erupting: Context image: Nice panorama (click for full-size):

It looks like Carrie Prejean spoke too soon when she called her recent sex tape the "biggest mistake" of her life. Either the seven other sex tapes that have just surfaced aren't actually salacious, or else the former Miss California has a little more to atone for. RadarOnline.com has just learned that the dethroned beauty queen has no less than eight sex tapes and 30 naked photos to her name. As in her previous sex tape, she performs solo on each video. Some of the new sexy photographs that have been unearthed Prejean allegedly took herself, of own reflection in...

Freberg: Just kidding, just kidding. But it's great to be with you tonight. We have a special-- Tweedly: Pardon me, Mr. Freberg, but my name is Tweedly.Freberg: Well, we all have our problems.Tweedly: I am the censor from the citizens radio committee. And, um... I feel-- Freberg: You uh... from the citizens radio committee, you say?Tweedly: That's exactly what I said, yes. I-- Freberg: And what is your purpose in being here?Tweedly: I must okay all the material used on your program here, and I think the best method is to just sit back here and interrupt when I feel...

The Night! Oxia – The Night

What the heck happened to LeeAnn Rimes? She's channeling Helen Thomas. Ugh!!!!!

British People Among World's Ugliest, According To BeautifulPeople.com Britons are among the ugliest people in the world, according to a website that only allows 'beautiful' people to join. 11 Nov 2009 The 'elite dating site for beautiful people only', went live across the globe in October Photo: REUTERS Fewer than one in eight British men (12 per cent) and just three in 20 women (15 per cent) who have applied to BeautifulPeople.com have been accepted as members. Existing members of the website rate how attractive potential members are over a 48 hour provisional period, when applicants upload a recent photograph...

http://news.yahoo.com/nphotos/slideshow/photo//091111/ids_photos_wl/r1535946046.jpg/

I've been cooped up since last Tuesday, finally got out today. The weather is gray and dark, rain coming later from hurricane Ida. She is giving Ray Nagin ulcers now! The grackle girls saw me coming way down the beach, I had 15 or 20 on and around the car in a short time. I don't know if they recognize the car, or recognize me. I try not to attract them inside, they aren't housebroke, LOL! The gull with spots is a young Ring billed gull, the gray bird is a Laughing gull. It's common for them to flock together.

At last month's huge U2 show at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif., how could you tell the difference between the professional photographers and your average amateurs? Answer: the professionals were the ones whisked away after Bono and friends finished their third song, and the amateurs were still there, happily shooting to their heart's content. Nearly every person at any show these days is going to have some form of camera with them, be it a point-and-shoot, an iPhone or some other camera phone, and it seems that there is almost no way to imagine keeping all those devices out....

Digital Camera Photographer of the Year 2009: This is Britain- Editor's Choice Shortlist [Pic in URL] In the space of 20 weeks, the world’s biggest photo contest, Digital Camera magazine’s Photographer of the Year, received a massive 101,000 online entries from 126 countries. The overall £10,000 prize winner will be announced at the exhibition of winning and commended entries, taking place at Mall Galleries, London. The exhibit will be open to the public from the 9th – 13th December. Here are the shortlisted entries - in alphabetical order - in the This is Britain category. A full list of the...

VARIOUS SIZES HERE

Nude Portrait of Bond Girl Eva Green Who's 'Not Confident' With Her Body By JAMES TAPPER, MAIL ON SUNDAY SHOWBUSINESS REPORTER Bond girl Eva Green insists she’s ‘not confident’ about her body – but you might beg to differ, given her latest sultry photoshoot. The 29-year-old seemed to show no inhibitions when she posed naked for the latest edition of style bible Tatler, recreating a classic Seventies portrait of British actress Charlotte Rampling. [Pic in URL] Sitting on a polished antique table in front of an ornately gilded mirror, the Casino Royale star has only a glass of wine for...

They make it look so easy!

Anyone reading my articles over the last year or so would know that as far as I am concerned something very strange UFO-wise is going on above Fortaleza in North East Brazil. My evidence suggests some sort of galactic or even inter-Galactic UFO highway exit/entrance exists in the vicinity. The continual incoming emails from people associated with the area, including many academics and scientifically qualified individuals, have only re-enforced this hypothesis for me. UFO activity in the area has seemingly reached such a textured level that a well-known Spanish artist form Barcelona who visited the area has painted images of...

I don't know about you but I need to come up for air from calling Congressmen. Here's a bit of light diversion. I was watching the movie Zulu on TCM a few of weeks ago and it got me to musing about the "edge of civilization" genre. I thought it would be good weekend fun to make a list. Here's a few more to get things started and to focus on what I mean by the type. Gunga Din - Cary Grant, Victor McLaglen, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Sam Jaffe Fort Apache - John Wayne, Henry Fonda Guns at Batasi -...

Someday, people will realize that they can demand better buildings and cities, and they will do so. Extraordinarily rich and powerful people will sense a market in flux, will shudder, see their fortunes heading for the door, and tap their politicians on the shoulder. Architects will start making places people like. Look for a tipping point. It could have happened during the redesign process after Sept. 11, 2001. It did not, but it could have. Someday it will. When it does happen, it will not be because millions suddenly read a book called “A Theory of Architecture” (2006) by architectural...