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Two out of the six around here, the other ones hide when they see a camera. The tabby is my special buddy, she guards my corner of the house, and her snacks!

We're All-White Mum! Trio Of Rare Lion Cubs Unveiled In British Zoo By Kirsty Ross 20th October 2009 AS if giving birth to triplets isn't hard enough - try a lifetime of raising three 'mischievous yet enchanting' girls. Such is the predicament of new mother, Natasha, who gave birth to a pride (and joy) of rare white lion cubs at a safari park near Birmingham. [Pics in URL] To make things even more challenging, the gorgeous girls with 'snow white fur' - among only about 130 white lions left in the world - all have been given names beginning with...

My wife and I drove up to Estes Park, Colorado and Rocky Mountain National Park. We only saw about ten deer, but about 300 elk. They were everywhere. In the national park, but most were in town. They were eating shrubbery in people's front yard, crossing roads and only occasionally not disrupting things.

Animal Pictures of The Week: 16 October 2009 Visitors to South Croydon Recreation Park in Croydon have been lucky to get a glimpse of this rare albino squirrel [Pic in URL] http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/earthpicturegalleries/6348435/Animal-pictures-of-the-week-16-October-2009.html?image=16

EDWARDS AFB - More than 100,000 people streamed into Edwards Air Force Base Saturday to join in a celebration of aviation and flight test history during Flight Test Nation 2009, the base's open house and air show. "WHAT A SIGHT - The Warbirds demonstration included pyrotechnics Saturday at Edwards Air Force Base Flight Test Nation 2009 Air Show and Open House. Participating planes included the B-52, B-17, P-51 and P-38." MOLLY HAUXWELL/Valley Press

There are times when the pond is like liquid glass. We need rain, the water is getting very low now.

I have seen some amazing musicians, but this kid's performance ranks. I can't remember last time I saw something musical that made my mouth hang open in astonishment, but this one did. This guy plays Vivalid's Concerto In G Minor (for Violin, String Orchestra and Continuo, Op. 8, No. 2, RV 315, "L'estate" (Summer): III. Presto) on Accordion) And it isn't just that he plays it...he absolutely smokes it! You have got to see this (linked to YouTube: Kid nails Vivaldi on an accordion!

.......a most awesome Air Show! Major General Chuck Yeager broke the sound barrier at 10am sharp to get the show rolling. Show promo video here....................this is what the show offered.......and more.....

An Australian beer company has landed itself in Disney's cross hairs with an ad campaign featuring the likeness of Snow White in bed with semi-nude dwarves. The Foundry, brewers of Jamieson's Raspberry Ale, said the "Ho White" campaign, based on characters from Disney's 1937 animated film, "Snow White and the Seven Dwarves," is designed to convince consumers the beverage is "anything but sweet," The (Sydney, Australia) Daily Telegram reported Friday. The campaign, which includes advertisements online and in bars, features "Ho White" blowing smoke rings while in bed with dwarves renamed "Filthy, Smarmy and Randy" by the company.

Clouds come in many shapes, sizes, colors and forms—all unique and beautiful in their own way. Whether it is a sky full of red and orange clouds lighting up the Brooklyn Bridge or rare mother-of-pearl clouds in Scandinavia, we found some unbelievably stunning photos that capture fascinating cloud formations from around the globe. Have a look at the pictures below—and you never know, they may inspire you to look up to the sky every once in a while. Florence, Italy As Frank Slack stood over the Arno river, the combination of the setting sun and clouds rolling in produced this...

“Tubes” as they are known are a surfers lifeblood and a thing of natural beauty. We salute these adventurous photographers who, one of whom is named Clark Little, armed with a waterproof camera and perfect timing, were able to snap these incredible pictures.

The late inspiration for this was a book I saw in the bookstore, "Ansel Adams in Color", linked above. Very good photography (as you might expect), but not as iconic like his black-and-white images. So for fun I'm posting a picture of Vernal Falls from Adams in black-and-white and another one from nearly the same vantage in color. Which do you like better? That doesn't mean that color or B&W is really better, it's just an artistic perception. Also included are a couple of aerial shots. I didn't realize how close these falls are to Half Dome; that's because I...

Ibis, Snowy Egrets and Roseate Spoonbills today. I got more but too tired to process until after a nap. Good thing y'all don't pay me by the hour!While I was out today my daughter came in my room, evidently with a bulldozer, it is all neat and tidy for a change! She found all kinds of stuff I thought was lost, LOL!

Since GM's 60-day money-back return policy started, there've been around 150,000 retail sales and only one confirmed return. A manual transmission Corvette was returned after the driver tired of rowing gears. What'd he get instead? An automatic model.

Say it again Bob

All of a-Twitter: John McCain's Daughter Meghan Posts A Revealing Picture Of Herself Online... And Infuriates The Twitterati [Pic in URL] By Sara Nelson 15th October 2009 The daughter of Presidential candidate John McCain has sparked an internet storm by posting a saucy picture of herself on Twitter. Meghan McCain is now threatening to leave the social networking site after the picture generated a wave of derogatory comments. She posted the snap, which features her wearing a skimpy tank top leaving little to the imagination, to illustrate her decision to stay in and read a biography of Andy Warhol. After...

Civil War Generals, c. 1865 Generally regarded as the world's first commercially successful photojournalist, Matthew Brady was also one of the medium's most accomplished manipulators. In this group portrait of William Tecumseh Sherman and his top officers, he added one figure. For the record, the men are, standing, from left: Oliver Otis Howard, William Babcock Hazen, Jefferson Columbus Davis and Joseph Anthony Mower; seated, from left: John Alexander Logan, Sherman, Henry Warner Slocum and Francis P. Blair. The Original Image: Brady added Blair at the far right. One of Sherman's corps commanders in the critical final offensive in Georgia, Blair...

A portrait of a young woman thought to be created by a 19th century German artist and sold two years ago for about $19,000 is now being attributed by art experts to Leonardo da Vinci and valued at more than $150 million. The unsigned chalk, ink and pencil drawing, known as "La Bella Principessa," was matched to Leonardo via a technique more suited to a crime lab than an art studio — a fingerprint and palm print found on the 13 1/2-inch-by-10-inch work. Peter Paul Biro, a Montreal-based forensic art expert, said the print of an index or middle finger...

Link to video

While they may not have been the markings of a pair of Naot sandals, Israel Antiquities Authority conservators discovered footprints over 1,700 years-old, under the Lod Mosaic and at least one print resembling a modern sandal. Head of the Israel Antiquities AuthorityArt Conservation Branch Jacques Neguer said that when removing a section of a mosaic it is customary to clean its bedding, and study the material from which it is made and the construction stages and during that process, they found the footprints under the mosaic. "We look for drawings and sketches that the artists made in the plaster and...

Music By The Boston Pops Orchestra. While Not Russian musicians,this Russian music is universally popular all around the world

The controversial works are part of a wider exhibition of 60 pieces that are being shown for two weeks from Wednesday at the former Holy Trinity Church, now known as One Marylebone, in central London. The exhibition featuring 16 artists, called The Age of Marvellous, coincides with the Frieze Art Fair in nearby Regent's Park. Organisers say the exhibition is designed to “integrate areas of human knowledge that exist outside the boundaries of traditional art making”. Among the more controversial pieces on display in the historic church, which was built in 1825 by Sir John Soane, are two from Paul...

Grandson Gerry has ROTC drill Tuesday after school, and I pick him up. I leave early and sit by the pond, or cruise around looking for models. I timed it right, the pond crew started showing up about the same time I did. The season change is bringing in a lot of new birds, the Boat Tail Grackles were back in the marsh today.The double Hibiscus was growing in a yard close to the street.

Art experts believe a new Leonardo da Vinci portrait may have been discovered - thanks to a fingerprint. The painting, titled Young Girl in Profile in Renaissance Dress, recently sold for a mere £12,000 ($19,000). It was billed at a Christie's sale in 1998 as 'German, early 19th century'. Now a growing number of leading art experts agree that it is almost certainly by Leonardo da Vinci and could be worth about £100 million. A Paris laboratory has found that a fingerprint on the picture is 'highly comparable' to one on a da Vinci work in the Vatican, which was...

Linky Clicky Here

<p>This Friday, October 16, the movie adaptation of Maurice Sendak's Where the Wild Things Are opens in theaters.</p> <p>The poignant 10-sentence book about an angry boy who is sent to bed without supper and sails to a magical land overrun by wild creatures has been made into a full-length feature film with a script by director Spike Jonze (recently interviewed by the Chronicle) and local boy Dave Eggers.</p>

Art Market Fingerprint points to $19,000 portrait being revalued as £100m work by Leonardo da Vinci 12 October 2009   ATG correspondent SIMON HEWITT gains exclusive access to the evidence used to unveil what the world’s leading scholars say is the the first major Leonardo Da Vinci find for 100 years.   New scientific techniques have uncovered evidence that this picture is a previously unrecognised work by Leonardo da Vinci.  Is this 13 x 9in (33 x 24cm) portrait, in chalk, pen and ink on vellum, mounted on an oak board, a long-lost work by Leonardo da Vinci? That...

A Houston man found asleep with a corpse inside a closet of a vacant home has been charged with misdemeanor drug offenses, authorities said Monday. Cody Jean Plant, 21, was discovered Sunday after the owner of the house reported hearing voices and seeing signs of forced entry at the home in Cypress, about 25 miles northwest of Houston, according to a Harris County Precinct 4 Constable official. Authorities did not immediately release the dead man's identity. "There were two guys in the closet. They appeared to be sleeping, one was snoring and the other was deceased," said Assistant Chief Deputy...

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) -- In its search for fugitives, the FBI has begun using facial-recognition technology on millions of motorists, comparing driver's license photos with pictures of convicts in a high-tech analysis of chin widths and nose sizes. The project in North Carolina has already helped nab at least one suspect. Agents are eager to look for more criminals and possibly to expand the effort nationwide. But privacy advocates worry that the method allows authorities to track people who have done nothing wrong. "Everybody's participating, essentially, in a virtual lineup by getting a driver's license," said Christopher Calabrese, an attorney...

Gaza Zoo Replaces Zebras With Painted Donkeys Zebras died of hunger earlier this year during the Israel-Hamas war [Pics in URL] Hatem Moussa / AP Zoo workers replaced 2 zebras that died of hunger during the January war with donkeys painted black and white. Mon., Oct . 12, 2009 GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip - Gaza City zookeepers have found a creative way of drawing crowds to their dilapidated zoo — by painting their donkeys. The Marah Land Zoo's only two zebras died of hunger earlier this year when they were neglected during the Israel-Hamas war. The popular animals were too...

This is hilarious . . . and intriguing: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2lXh2n0aPyw

It's big. It's ugly. And it's made from recycled parts, at least for now. It's called the "Frankencamera" — and it might someday change the way you take pictures.Computer scientists at Stanford University say the new camera works something like an iPhone: It can be altered in nearly infinite ways, depending on the applications downloaded to it.Even the best digital camera on the market today has lots of limitations, the professor behind the prototype, Marc Levoy, tells NPR's Guy Raz.Say you want to take a photo of your child playing with a new toy in a dark room, near a...

From Sinner To Saint: Burlesque Queen Dita Von Teese As You've Never Seen Her Before [Sacrilegious!] CAROL DRIVER 11th October 2009 It’s not the usual style of clothing you would expect to see burlesque queen Dita Von Teese wearing. Clad in an outrageous Christian Lacroix wedding dress, the sultry fetish model poses during a fashion shoot in Paris for the latest edition of Harper’s Bazaar Russia. The 37-year-old is covered from head-to-toe in the ivory-toned gown which is bejeweled with colourful roses and a headdress with a golf leaf design. [Pic in URL] Sinner or saint? Burlesque model Dita Von...

I'm such a nerd, I just got tickets to go see the Star Wars Concert, I couldn't help it I saw preview of it on PBS and it will be here next month. I hope it is cool.

From the North Lake Beach parking area in the Catskill Forest Preserve, a narrow foot trail climbs a rocky incline. After following the trail for about 20 minutes, hikers reach Artists Rock, which gives a sweeping view of the Hudson Valley, the river a sliver of silver in the distance. The trail then leaves the ledge and in less than a half mile it meets a junction with a side trail toward Sunset Rock, the prized view from atop North Mountain that by the late 19th century had become an iconic view of the northern Catskills, celebrated in the work...

SANTA CRUZ -- A $20 million Jackson Pollock painting reported stolen by two men living in Pebble Beach probably does not exist, according to experts familiar with the late painter's work. Jason McCoy, a nephew of Pollock who represents his uncle's work at his New York gallery, said in an e-mailed statement that no painting matching the description and size reported by one of the theft victims, Angelo Benjamin Amadio, is listed in Pollock's "catalogue raisonné," a multivolume set that is considered the definitive listing of the artist's work. Amadio has said the 1944 painting was only known to members...

I Snapped this picture today in a very small town near my own in north central Oklahoma. The sales pitch is simply brilliant, and I just had to share. Please caption, comment, photoshop, or come up with your own funny "You know Your a Redneck when..." line.

Upstairs, Downstairs, the classic television saga of a Belgravia family and its servants, will return next year in a new version on BBC One. The show originally ran on ITV from 1971 to 1975, spanning the fictional life of the Bellamy family from 1903 to 1930, and was the brainchild of actresses Dame Eileen Atkins and Jean Marsh. Dame Eileen did not appear in the original series, as filming would have clashed with her burgeoning career in the theatre. She is however likely to take a prominent role in the new version, as one of the wealthy and connected Holland...

We always have some of the various sandpipers around, but now the winter migrants are starting to trickle in. These are Greater Yellowlegs, Tringa melanoleuca

Egypt wants to borrow the Rosetta Stone from the British Museum after winning a battle with France over ownership of painted rock fragments “stolen” from the Valley of the Kings. The French culture ministry has decided to return the 3,200-year-old frescoes, which disappeared in the 1980s, Egypt said, and were acquired by the Louvre in Paris in 2000 and 2003. Zahi Hawass, the head of Egypt’s supreme council of antiquities, had threatened to sever relations with the Louvre unless it handed back the relics. That would have forced the French museum to suspend excavation work in the Pharaonic necropolis of...

Of course!

Surprise upset; Dogue de Bordeaux vows appeal.

Ready for cartoon porn? Marge Simpson has “posed” nude for Playboy’s November issue, appearing on the cover without her trademark green dress and pearls (or anything else for that matter). Two months ago, publisher Hugh Hefner posted a teasing message on Twitter, saying “Marge Simpson has a surprise for her fans in the November issue.”

Cheddar Gorge I heard about this place recently in a news article about a bicyclist that survived falling 80 feet off the Cheddar cliffs. I guess I had heard about it several years ago when they found "Cheddar Man" and genetically connected him to a local resident. I didn't realize it was an English scenic landmark. There are also some small caves, which is where "Cheddar Man" was found. For a satellite view, can't beat Google Maps. British teacher finds long-lost relative: 9,000-year-old man" click for larger click for larger click for larger Aerial More about Cheddar (the village, and...

I've been stranded for several days, the ignition switch on the Ford locked up and stranded the kids in town last Saturday. Replacing an ignition used to be a ten buck, 20 minute job, it isn't anymore! For some reason the car decided that someone was trying to steal it, and shut everything down. Thinking back to all the times I've been 20 miles from a paved road I sure am glad the vehicles I drove were repairable in the field. The pond was busy, All these shots but the Osprey were taken from one spot.

HONG KONG, China (CNN) -- An imperial "dragon" throne owned by a Chinese emperor set the world auction record for Chinese furniture Thursday, selling for about US $11 million. There was frenzied bidding among mainland, Hong Kong and Taiwan collectors at the Sotheby's auction in Hong Kong. Thirty-six bids came in 10 minutes, with tension building as a new telephone bidder jumped into the competition. "These mainland (China) buyers, mainland collectors are ready to pay the premium it takes to secure an object of this quality," said Nicolas Chow, international head of Chinese ceramics and art at Sotheby's. The winning...

Yesterday, the NYT ran a story about the White House acquiring art. It included a slide show of a dozen artworks. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/07/arts/design/07borrow.html?_r=1 This Freeper took a look and found one abstract work he admired:"Watusi (Hard Edge)," by Alma Thomas, a longtime Washington resident who is an African-American painter. Photo: Gift of Vincent Melzac/Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden. As I admired it, I thought it reminiscent, even derivative of a favorite artwork of mine by Matisse. I recall seeing that one decades ago at the Tate Gallery in London. A giant collage (about ten feet tall) from late in Matisse's life,...

Teacher Has Theory on the Shroud of TurinThursday March 24, 2005 1:46 PM By NICHOLAS K. GERANIOS Associated Press Writer SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) - Nathan Wilson is an English teacher with no scientific training, but he thinks he knows how Jesus' burial cloth was made and he thinks it's not a physical sign of the resurrection. In other words, in Wilson's estimation, the Shroud of Turin is a fake - produced with some glass, paint and old cloth. And that theory, especially with Easter this weekend, has so-called ``Shroudies'' a buzz. ``A lot of religious people are upset,'' said Wilson,...

Scientist re-creates Turin Shroud to show it's fake updated 3:41 p.m. EDT, Wed October 7, 2009 By Richard Allen Greene CNN (CNN) -- An Italian scientist says he has reproduced one of the world's most famous Catholic relics, the Shroud of Turin, to support his belief it is a medieval fake, not the cloth Jesus was buried in. Luigi Garlaschelli created a copy of the shroud by wrapping a specially woven cloth over one of his students, painting it with pigment, baking it in an oven (which he called a "shroud machine") for several hours, then washing it. His result...