Friday, September 18, 2009

NEVER SEEN BEFORE FOOTAGE: Leopard vs. croc







A series of incredible pictures taken at a South African game reserve document the first known time that a leopard has taken on and defeated a croc. The photographs were taken by Hal Brindley, an American wildlife photographer, who was supposed to be taking pictures of hippos from his car in the Kruger National Park. The giant cat raced out of cover provided by scrub and bushes to surprise the crocodile, which was swimming nearby. A terrible and bloody struggle ensued. Eventually, onlookers were amazed to see the leopard drag the crocodile from the water as the reptile fought back. With the crocodile snapping its powerful jaws furiously, the two animals somersaulted and grappled. Despite the crocodile's huge weight and strength, the leopard had the upper hand catching its prey by the throat. Eventually the big cat was able to sit on top of the reptile and suffocate it. In the past, there have been reports of crocodiles killing leopards, but this is believed to the first time that the reverse scenario has been observed.

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See also:
MAN'S BEST FRIEND...A GIANT CROC

SUPER COOL SURFING DOGS

Nearly 4,000 spectators turned out to watch San Diego's pets hit the beach for 'the world's largest dog surfing event'. The event was held in September this year. These pics are worth a thousand barks!











Dozer (pictured above), a 75-pound, 3-year-old bulldog, took first place in the second heat of the extra-large category. He has been surfing for only a year.

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Wednesday, September 16, 2009

BATHTUBS THAT'S BEYOND BEAUTIFUL: 20 Unique bath tubs

This post is quite different from my previous posts, but I've so many great pictures of bath tubs recently, I decided to put them all together and post it!



This bathtub (pictured above) is one of my favourites. It is from Stone Forest and is hand-crafted out of natural stone.



Durat has a very modern collection of bathroom appliances. I love the simple shape of their BLOCK bath tub and I also love the red. The bath is mounted on a attractive steel structure.



How about the Evok Luxury Overflowing Designer Bath? This tub includes a pillow, aromatherapy and chromatherapy with two aromatic blends.The bath has a red and a blue touch button and two spa diffusion nozzles installed in the bathing well. The diffusion nozzles are connected to two diffusion pumps that supply aromatherapy oils. The chromatherapy system has multi-coloured lighting in the bathing well. The program runs through a spectrum of 30 colours to ensure a gentle transition between hues.



This luxury jacuzzi/bath tub called the La Scala Whirlpool, is as state-of-the-art as it gets. With features such as a built-in home theater surround sound system, DVD/CD/AM-FM stereo with floating control and 10 fully adjustable hydrotherapy jets that offers a full-body massage – you might just wish you were a mermaid.




Bathing can't get any more tranquil than this! The Rain Shower makes for the perfect bathing experience – a striking combination of both splendor and functionality that creates a rain like experience for filling the tub is what makes the Geo 180 matchless. Not to miss, there is a stationary fixture should you not want to use the rain shower technology!



Dubbed 'Vanity', the bathtub is divided into two zones: the first works as single bathtub; while on the other hand, the second becomes a seat or footrest. I could spend hours splashing around in this baby!




Ron Arad, in conjunction with Teu-Co., has designed this utterly unique bath – one that rotates 180 degrees to double as a shower.



A Japanes hotel chain boasts with a bath made of 18-karat gold and stainless steel – the tub was used to promote their jewelry store. However, this bath mysteriuosly disapeared from the hotel in Tokyo in 2007. The 71 cm tub weighs 80 kg and is worth about one million dollars.



NIAGARA II / 260 – The Hydromassage bathtub – is heaven on earth. It comes complete with touch-screen, automatic program tailoring with numerous combinations, 240 nozzles, automatic hydraulic valves with water or air piloting, automatic rinsing, automatic filling and draining and a acrylic shell on a stainless steel frame with ajustable feet. Pretty to look at too.



Designed by Omvivo CEO & Chief Designer Joseph Licciarsi, the elegantly minimalist Le Cob bath pays hommage to Le Corbusier’s famous chaise longue. This bath tub is not something you see everyday – the soothing cascade overflow is naturally therapeutic, reminiscent of a river, as the water falls onto the pebbles below.





The UFO stainless steel bathtub is a unique addition to any bathroom. In keeping with a more classic style of bathtubs, the Ufo comes standard with a polished stainless steel interior and exterior. But for those of you who enjoy the style but prefer a less sterile feel, this tub is also available with a white enamel interior and black enamel exterior.




The Library Bath by Swedish designer Malin Lundmark is another one of my favourites. Now you can realx in the bath while catching up on your reading. I would prefer a computer instead of those books, but maybe I’m just not old fashioned enough for this beautiful bathtub!




The Gruppo Treesse tub for two by Milo is a Japan-inspired bathtub with leather or wood headrests and drawers. It is a combination of disparate elements while maintaining beautiful geometric symmetry and stylish craftsmanship.




The Artweger TWINLINE is another bath-and-shower-in-one. In addition to the compact dimensions of the TWINLINE – it gives creates new possibilities of transforming your bath into your personal space for relaxing, enjoying and refuelling. Ideal for homes with a rather small bathroom or a large family.





The Alpha Jucuzzi Morphosis is a two-person whirlpool tub with an unforgettable design. Inspired by nature, the design aims to ‘envelop, charm, and amaze’, but is not all beauty, it also comes with hydrotherapy and hydromassage built-in. The arch of the tub embraces you in a protective gesture simpilar to that of a seashell.



This aquarium-and-bathtub-in-one called the Moody Aquaria. The fish are contained inside a clear panel in front of the tub which makes it look like you’re swimming in the same aqua world as your finned companions. It is made from glass and temperate wood. Although you might be clean afterwards, it does not mean that the tanks are clean as well. Although there is little information about the cleaning of the tanks I'll say that they will need regular cleaning unless you want your bathroom to smell like dead fish.





The Water Lounge by HOESCH is either a very good idea or a very bad idea. I reckon that you will keep floating to the top instead of lounging on the chair. I do like the fact that it has a place to put your drink. The light...?



The Sorgente Tub, by Teuco completely submerges into your floor, and has water flowing to the brim…not to mentionthe hydrosilence whirlpool jets…It can even be covered with the same material that surrounds it - and of the options, Slate Grey Natural Stone option is just beautiful… but i imagine the oak-wood, teak, and pierre gris would be incredible too.




This 2005 piece by the dutch designer, Wieki Somers, is so ironic and beautiful. After all, traditionally speaking, if your boat is filling with water, not exactly time to be lounging around, no? Somer’s actually states that “Floating on the water and bathing in the water deal with so much similar feelings and elements that they are combined in one installation. By turning a small boat inside out it becomes a bath.” How poetic?




I love everything about these handmade driftwood battubs. Renewable raw materials such as wood is the surest way of being eco-friendly. The combination of such traditional material with the best of modern technology provides a giant leap forward in the evolution of product design. Wood is the ultimate building material. Locking carbon into homes prevents it being released into the environment as carbon dioxide and provides the only long-term way of combating global warming.

Monday, September 14, 2009

STRANGE SCULPTURE IN THE DESERT


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This strange 11 meters tall sculpture can be seen protruding out of the sand in the stretch of the Atacama desert in Uruguy, 75km south of Antofagasta.

Mano de Desierto is a work of the Chilean sculptor Mario Irarrázabal, built in the early 1980s. It was financed by a local booster organization called Corporación Pro Antofagasta.

The motive of hands rising from the ground is an obsession of Mr. Irarrázabal. His other works include two other famos large scale sculptures exploring the same idea; The Awakening is located at National Harbor in Prince George's County, Maryland, and Monument to the Drowned in located on Parada 4 at Brava Beach in Punta del Este, a popular resort town in Uruguay.

wikipedia.org